Hey there, PoI readers! 💫

It's your favorite crypto connoisseur, Mochi, back with another serving of tantalizing tech and web3 news. From Coinbase assembling its political dream team and Synthetix's dramatic Ethereum homecoming to Trump's Fed chair mystery box and Luma AI turning filmmakers into wizards, we've got a lot to unpack. So, buckle up and get ready for a wild ride through the wonderland of digital assets!

INTEL BRIEF

🟧 Coinbase taps former UK Chancellor George Osborne to lead its advisory council as the exchange goes full "financial supermarket" mode with tokenized stocks and prediction markets.

🟧 Synthetix is making a dramatic comeback to Ethereum mainnet after three years away, betting that lower gas fees and network improvements mean it's finally time to "run it back."

🟧 Trump calls Fed governor Chris Waller "great" and says he'll announce his pick to replace Jerome Powell as Fed chair within weeks, with crypto-friendly Kevin Hassett currently leading the odds.

🟧 Luma AI drops Ray3 Modify, a new model that lets creators generate videos from start and end frames while preserving actor performances—basically giving filmmakers AI superpowers without the headaches.

Coinbase Appoints Former UK Chancellor George Osborne to Chair Its Advisory Council

Coinbase is assembling the Avengers, except instead of fighting aliens, they're battling regulatory red tape and trying to become your new favorite financial Swiss Army knife.

The largest US-based crypto exchange just handed the keys to its advisory council to George Osborne, who previously ran the UK's wallet as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Osborne isn't exactly new to the Coinbase crew—he's been advising the company since 2024, right when they were throwing hands with the SEC (ah, good times).

But here's where it gets spicy: Osborne isn't just collecting a paycheck and nodding along. This guy has been publicly roasting the UK government for dragging its feet on crypto regulations. Back in August, he penned a Financial Times op-ed basically saying, "Hey UK, wake up! Your pound is about to become as relevant as a fax machine" because US dollar-backed stablecoins are eating everyone's lunch. His big concern? The lack of British pound-pegged stablecoins means the dollar is cementing itself as the global reserve currency while the UK watches from the sidelines.

Osborne called his new gig an "amazing opportunity" to learn about the blockchain revolution and how it can spread ownership to people "left behind by the system." Translation: He's bullish on crypto's potential to democratize finance (and probably not thrilled about being left behind himself).

This appointment comes as Coinbase is on a shopping spree, gobbling up companies like crypto derivatives exchange Deribit and expanding way beyond just crypto. They're going full "everything app" mode, adding tokenized stock trading and prediction markets to their platform, with plans to roll out perpetual futures by 2026 with up to 50x leverage. Because apparently, trading crypto wasn't exciting enough already.

George Osborne, former UK Chancellor, now chairs Coinbase's advisory council after advising since 2024

He's been critical of UK's slow crypto regulations and warned the pound risks irrelevance against dollar-based stablecoins

Coinbase is expanding aggressively with tokenized stocks, prediction markets, and perpetual futures (50x leverage!) coming in 2026

Synthetix Returns to Ethereum Mainnet as Gas Fees Drop and Network Scales

DMs, Synthetix is returning to Ethereum mainnet after a three-year hiatus—and founder Kain Warwick is feeling pretty confident about it.

"By the time perp DEXs became a thing, the mainnet was too congested, but now we can run it back," Warwick told Cointelegraph. And honestly? He's got a point. Back in the day, trying to run a perpetual decentralized exchange (perp DEX) on Ethereum was like trying to host a rave in a phone booth—theoretically possible, but wildly impractical and expensive.

Here's the tea: High gas fees and network congestion made Ethereum mainnet about as appealing as a paper umbrella in a hurricane for complex trading infrastructure. So, like many others, Synthetix packed its bags and moved to Optimism in 2022, later expanding to Arbitrum and Base. Even dYdX bounced to StarkWare's StarkEx layer-2 solution. The costs were "just too high," Warwick explained, and the efficiency of markets basically tanked.

But plot twist: Ethereum's been hitting the gym. On Wednesday, average gas fees sat at a measly 0.71 gwei—that's nearly 26 times lower than the same day last year when it was 18.85 gwei. Translation? Ethereum is no longer the financial equivalent of paying $50 for a cup of coffee.

Warwick believes the combination of layer-2 scaling and layer-1 improvements means "you can actually run critical infrastructure on mainnet again." He even predicts other perp DEXs will follow Synthetix's lead, noting that "most of the liquidity in the crypto world is on Ethereum mainnet"—the assets, the margin, the everything. It's the most efficient onchain market, he argues.

And in classic Warwick fashion, he couldn't resist a jab: "It wouldn't be a Synthetix launch if someone didn't try and follow us within 20 minutes." Shots fired!

With Ethereum potentially eyeing a gas limit increase to 180 million in 2026, Warwick thinks 2025 might be Ethereum's best year since the Merge in 2022, with renewed focus on what builders actually need.

Synthetix is returning to Ethereum mainnet after 3 years on layer-2s like Optimism, Arbitrum, and Base

Gas fees have plummeted—0.71 gwei now vs. 18.85 gwei a year ago, making mainnet viable again for perp DEXs

Warwick expects other exchanges to follow, citing Ethereum's dominance in liquidity and assets as the main draw

Trump Calls Fed Governor Chris Waller Great as Chair Announcement Looms Within Weeks

President Donald Trump is weeks away from announcing his pick for Federal Reserve Chair, and the shortlist is looking surprisingly crypto-friendly.

At a Thursday press conference, Trump gave Chris Waller—a current Fed governor—a glowing review, calling him "great" and a "fantastic man" he's been "very involved with" throughout his career. For those keeping score at home, Waller raised eyebrows (in a good way) back in August at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium 2025 when he said there's "nothing to be afraid of" about crypto payments operating outside the traditional banking system. In a world where regulators usually treat crypto like it's radioactive, that's basically a love letter.

But here's where it gets interesting: According to Polymarket, Waller only has a 14% chance of getting the gig, making him the third most likely pick. The current frontrunner? Kevin Hassett, a crypto-friendly White House economic adviser, sitting pretty at 53% odds. Former Fed governor Kevin Warsh is in second place with 28%. When asked about Fed governor Michelle Bowman, Trump played it coy, calling her a "fantastic person" without confirming she's on the shortlist (Polymarket gives her just 2% odds).

Trump says he's narrowed it down to three or four candidates and believes "every one of them would be a good choice." He expects to make the announcement in the "next couple of weeks"—though he hedged a bit, saying maybe not before year-end, but "pretty soon."

Why does crypto care so much? Simple: Interest rates. The Fed controls them, and when rates go down, investors tend to pile into higher-risk assets like crypto because boring stuff like bonds and term deposits become less attractive. The Fed chair essentially has a hand on the dial that can make Bitcoin go brrrr or... not.

With a potentially crypto-friendly chair on the horizon, the industry is watching this appointment like it's the Super Bowl, Oscars, and finale of their favorite show all rolled into one.

Trump praised Chris Waller as "great," but Kevin Hassett leads Polymarket odds at 53% for Fed chair

Waller has been pro-crypto, saying there's "nothing to be afraid of" regarding crypto payments outside traditional banking

Announcement expected in the next couple of weeks—crypto watching closely since Fed interest rates heavily impact the market

Luma AI Unveils New Model That Lets Creators Generate Videos Using Just Two Frames

Luma AI just dropped a game-changer that's going to make video creators rethink their entire workflow. Meet Ray3 Modify, the AI model that's basically saying, "Why reshoot when you can just AI it?"

Here's the magic: Ray3 Modify lets users modify existing footage by providing character reference images while keeping the original performance intact. Even better? You can give it a start frame and an end frame, and the AI will generate all the transitional footage in between. It's like having a time machine, but for video editing—and way less likely to cause a paradox.

The a16z-backed company announced Thursday that this model solves a massive headache for creative studios: how to preserve human performance while still getting wild with AI-generated effects. The model reportedly follows input footage better than a puppy following a treat, allowing studios to use real human actors and then transform them without losing the original motion, timing, eye line, or emotional delivery. Translation? Your actor's Oscar-worthy performance stays intact while you turn them into a space cowboy in a fantasy realm.

Want to change someone's costume? Done. Need them in a completely different location? Easy. Forgot to capture that perfect transition? Ray3 Modify's got your back. The model can transform an actor's appearance using character references while maintaining details like costumes, likeness, and identity across shots. It's essentially giving creators the ability to reshoot scenes with AI without dragging everyone back to set.

Amit Jain, Luma's co-founder and CEO, said it best: "Generative video models are incredibly expressive but also hard to control." Ray3 Modify blends real-world footage with AI expressivity while giving creatives full control—no more wrestling with unpredictable AI outputs.

The model is live now on Luma's Dream Machine platform, where the company has been building out video modification capabilities since June 2025. And they've got the cash to back it up—Luma just closed a $900 million funding round in November, led by Saudi Arabia's Humain (backed by the Public Investment Fund), with heavy hitters like a16z, Amplify Partners, and Matrix Partners joining in. They're even planning a 2GW AI cluster in Saudi Arabia. Big moves.

Ray3 Modify lets users generate videos from start/end frames while preserving actor performances (motion, timing, emotion)

Creators can transform appearances, costumes, and locations without reshooting—AI handles the heavy lifting

Available on Dream Machine platform; Luma raised $900M in November and is building a massive AI cluster in Saudi Arabia

And that's a wrap, my lovely PoI readers! I hope this edition left you feeling informed, entertained, and maybe even a little bit richer (in knowledge, of course). From executive appointments shaking up the industry to AI models reshaping creativity, it's clear that the crypto and tech worlds never sleep—and neither do we!

Remember to stay curious, stay informed, and keep spreading the love. Until next time, this is Mochi, signing off with a virtual high-five!

P.S. Don't forget to share your thoughts, questions, and favorite crypto puns with us. very voice matters in the PoI community! 📣❤️ Share the newsletter

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