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ChainCatcher news, the SIP-033 and SIP-034 proposals have been officially activated at Bitcoin block height 923222, and the Bitcoin smart contract layer Stacks has simultaneously launched the Clarity 4 smart contract language. This upgrade introduces six core features for developers: on-chain contract code hash retrieval and verification, custom contract post-condition settings, simple value to ASCII string conversion, current block timestamp retrieval, secp256r1 signature verification (supporting native key integration), and a dimensional resource tenure extension mechanism. These features will lower the development threshold for native Bitcoin DeFi applications, help build safer and more flexible financial protocols, and further strengthen Stacks' positioning as the liquidity layer of the Bitcoin ecosystem. All Stacks transactions are settled on the Bitcoin chain and rely on the transfer proof mechanism to obtain Bitcoin network security guarantees.

ChainCatcher reported that Wintermute released a report stating that over the past week, the market mainly digested the sharp adjustment in rate cut expectations—the probability of a rate cut plummeted from 70% to 42% within a week, with the volatility amplified by a macro data vacuum. Powell's ambiguous stance on rate cuts forced the market to reassess the divergence among FOMC members, revealing that a consensus on rate cuts is far from being reached. Risk assets weakened in response, and the crypto market, as a sentiment indicator, was the first to bear the brunt. Among cross-asset performance, digital assets continued to lag at the bottom. This weakness is not a new phenomenon: since early summer, crypto assets have consistently underperformed the stock market, partly due to their negative bias relative to equities. What is unusual is that in this round of decline, both BTC and ETH underperformed the overall altcoin market. The reasons can be attributed to: altcoins have already been in a prolonged downtrend; certain segments such as privacy coins and fee-switch tokens still show localized resilience. Some of the pressure comes from whale position adjustments. Although there is a seasonal pattern of reductions from Q4 to January of the following year, this year it has clearly been brought forward, as many traders expect the four-year cycle theory to suggest that next year will enter a lull period. This consensus becomes self-fulfilling: preemptive risk management actions have intensified volatility. It should be clarified that this round of selling pressure is not supported by deteriorating fundamentals, but is purely a macro-driven adjustment led by the United States. Currently, the macro backdrop remains favorable, with global easing continuing, US QT nearing its end, fiscal stimulus channels active, and Q1 liquidity expected to improve. The key signal missing from the market is the stabilization of leading assets—unless BTC returns to the upper end of its volatility range, market breadth will be difficult to expand and narrative logic will remain short-lived. The current macro environment does not match the characteristics of a prolonged bear market. As policy and interest rate expectations become the main catalysts, once leading assets regain momentum, the market will have a broad foundation for recovery.