Today in Crypto: The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has hired crypto-focused attorneys to advise its new chair. Bitcoin investors posted net realized losses over the past 30 days for the first time since late 2023 and memecoin platform Pump.fun launched a new investment arm.
US CFTC chair Selig appoints crypto lawyer as senior adviser
Michael Selig, chair of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), announced the appointment of a senior adviser with experience in litigating crypto and blockchain cases.
In a Tuesday notice, Selig said Michael Passalacqua, a former associate at international law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, would join the CFTC as a senior adviser. Selig cited Passalacqua’s experience with “financial regulatory matters involving crypto assets and blockchain technologies.”
“Earlier in his career, [Passalacqua] served as assistant general counsel at a crypto asset capital markets firm where he advised on a range of crypto asset regulatory and transactional matters,” said Selig.
According to Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Passalacqua helped author a letter that led the US Securities and Exchange Commission to issue a no-action letter clearing state-chartered trust companies to act as crypto custodians. The agency’s Division of Investment Management said in September that it would not recommend filing enforcement actions against advisers using a state trust company as a crypto custodian.
Selig named Passalacqua and former Treasury Department official Cal Mitchell as senior advisers as the CFTC prepares for an expanded role in crypto regulation. The appointments came as Selig said the commission is working to “future-proof” its regulatory approach, citing pending US Senate legislation that would give the CFTC a “broad set of new responsibilities” over digital asset markets.
Bitcoin holders see first 30-day stretch of realized losses since late 2023
Bitcoin holders have realized net losses over 30 days, marking the first such stretch since late 2023, after more than two years dominated by realized profits.
According to data shared by Julio Moreno, head of research at CryptoQuant, the Bitcoin (BTC) rolling 30-day realized profit and loss metric has dipped below zero, indicating that coins moved onchain during the past month were sold at below their purchase cost.
“Bitcoin holders realizing losses, for a 30-day period since, late December for the first time since October 2023,” Moreno wrote on X.
The net realized profit/loss metric shows the net magnitude of profit or loss realized by all holders spending coins, according to CryptoQuant. A negative reading does not necessarily imply a price decline, but rather suggests that selling pressure is increasingly coming from holders who bought at higher levels.
Amid the renewed pressure on Bitcoin and digital assets, gold has surged past $4,700 per ounce for the first time as rising geopolitical tensions continue to push investors toward traditional safe-haven assets.
Pump.fun unveils Pump Fund investment arm
Memecoin launchpad Pump.fun is spinning up a new investment arm aimed at backing promising startups, in its first significant pivot away from its memecoin roots.
Pump.fun said on Monday it was launching Pump Fund alongside a $3 million hackathon, which would fund 12 projects with $250,000 each at a $10 million valuation.
It added that the investment arm would be “aligning itself with projects long-term,” which do not need to be crypto-related, and that it would provide mentorship from Pump.fun founders.
The project comes as trading volumes on the Pump.fun have fallen from highs in early 2025, which was spurred by a frenzy of memecoin trading at the time.
Pump.fun said its new investment arm would fund projects of “all maturities, verticals, and traction” with a focus on teams that are “shipping quickly [and] openly communicating their plans.”
“Aside from product/social traction, we'll assess the long-term viability of the project,” it added.
