Today's News Highlights:
Ripple Labs Plans to File "Cross-Appeal" in SEC Case
Uniswap Developers Launch Their Own Layer2 Network Unichain Built on Optimism Technology
Fidelity Plans to Launch Its First Money Market Fund Traded via Blockchain
Regulatory News
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sued Cumberland DRW, claiming it operates as an unregistered securities dealer. According to the SEC's lawsuit information, Cumberland has been trading crypto assets classified as securities for its proprietary accounts as an unregistered dealer since March 2018.
In response, Cumberland DRW announced on the X platform that the SEC believes some of our transactions involving certain crypto assets are securities transactions. We took this step in 2019 by acquiring a registered broker-dealer. Until then—despite Chairman Gensler's calls to "come in and register"—we were only told that we could trade BTC or ETH (both commodities not under SEC jurisdiction) through our broker-dealer.
Cumberland DRW stated that the SEC's action will not change its business operations or the assets it provides liquidity for. The court's accusations against DRW are "merely based on a 'the earth is flat' type of conviction." This time, the SEC's approach seems to be a game of "Catch-22," where the ability to "come in and register" is just a mirage. We are ready to defend ourselves again.
Ripple Labs Plans to File "Cross-Appeal" in SEC Case
According to CoinDesk, Ripple Labs announced on Thursday that the company will appeal the ongoing case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as part of maintaining its legal defense while the SEC's appeal is under consideration in the appellate court.
Earlier this month, the SEC submitted a notice of appeal regarding Ripple's long-standing case, which the regulatory agency first filed against Ripple in December 2020. Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty stated that Ripple's appeal aims to ensure the company retains its viewpoints and arguments in the case, but he did not elaborate on what the company might argue in its motion. He said, "We are doing this to ensure we leave no room for arguments, including the argument that an investment contract cannot exist without the fundamental rights and obligations in a contract."
Like the documents submitted by the SEC last week, Ripple's initial filing is merely a notice indicating that a more comprehensive argument will be submitted in the future. Alderoty stated that both parties will fill out a form in the coming weeks to provide a "fairly high-level description" of their arguments, but neither the regulatory agency nor the company will disclose specific details before submitting opening statements. He mentioned that the SEC's brief might be released around the end of January, while Ripple's opening brief (which will be combined with its opposition to the SEC's brief) will be released sometime after that.
OKX Announces It Is the First Crypto Trading Platform to Obtain Full Operating License in UAE
According to official news, on October 10, 2024, Rifad, the General Manager of OKX Middle East, announced that OKX has become the first crypto trading platform in the world to obtain a full operating license in the UAE. Rifad stated that in the future, OKX will continue to invest, grow, and expand in the region. Dubai has become one of the global centers for virtual assets, increasingly recognized for its technological innovation and development strategies. We are eager to participate in the technological innovation and community building in the ever-evolving digital asset space.
According to The Block, U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty has released a draft legislation on stablecoin regulation aimed at creating a clear regulatory framework for stablecoins. The draft is similar to the "Payment Stablecoin Transparency Act" co-developed by House Representatives Patrick McHenry and Maxine Waters, aiming to balance federal oversight between banks and non-bank institutions. Hagerty noted that the draft legislation allows stablecoin issuers to apply for exemptions after reaching a $10 billion threshold while continuing to comply with state regulations. Additionally, the draft stipulates that stablecoins must be pegged 1:1 to reserve assets like the U.S. dollar.
According to FOX Business, crypto derivatives exchange Bitnomial has sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), questioning its regulatory authority over XRP futures. After Bitnomial self-certified XRP dollar futures contracts, the SEC claimed that XRP is a security and required the exchange to comply with additional regulations. Bitnomial argues that XRP futures should not be classified as security futures and seeks a court declaration to prevent the SEC from asserting jurisdiction over it. This lawsuit intensifies the battle between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over regulatory authority over crypto assets.
Project Updates
Former Binance CEO Zhao Changpeng posted on the X platform: "I will attend the Binance Blockchain Week in Dubai from October 30 to 31 in a personal capacity. This is one of the largest Web3 events of the year. See you then."
Uniswap Developers Launch Their Own Layer2 Network Unichain Built on Optimism Technology
According to CoinDesk, the main developers of the decentralized cryptocurrency exchange Uniswap plan to launch their own blockchain, Unichain, as a Layer2 network on Ethereum, as part of efforts to make transactions faster, cheaper, and improve liquidity. According to a press release, the new network "Unichain" will go live on a private test network on Thursday. The technical development of the project is led by Uniswap Labs, relying on technology borrowed from the Optimism OP Stack of the Ethereum Layer2 team. Therefore, Unichain will become part of the Optimism-affiliated network Superchain.
As part of the release, the Uniswap Labs team plans to bring unique technical features to the chain, which is co-built with the Ethereum development team Flashbots, including a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) for block building and a secure computing area to ensure transactions and code are not tampered with, as well as a community validation network. The team stated in a press release that the TEE aims to bring transparency to transaction ordering, with block generation times between 200-250 milliseconds. In contrast, the Ethereum mainnet currently takes 12 seconds, and most Layer2 networks take 2 seconds.
The Uniswap team wrote in the press release that the community validation network is set to launch in 2025, aiming to "help validate blocks by allowing full nodes to stake UNI," thereby aiding decentralization.
Unichain White Paper: To Become a Validator in UVN, Must Stake UNI Tokens on Ethereum Mainnet
The Layer2 network Unichain launched by Uniswap developers states in its white paper that to become a validator in the UVN (Unichain Virtual Machine), node operators must stake UNI tokens on the Ethereum mainnet. The staking status is tracked in Unichain's smart contracts, which receive notifications of staking and withdrawal operations through native bridging. Unichain's blocks are divided into fixed-length Epochs. At the beginning of each Epoch, the current staked balance is snapshot, and Unichain chain fees are collected and calculated for the reward value of each staked token.
Participants can also stake and vote for validators, thereby increasing the staking weight of that validator. A limited number of validators with the highest staking weight will be considered the active set and will be eligible to publish proofs and receive the designated rewards for that Epoch.
Ubisoft to Launch Its First Web3 Game "Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles" on Oasys Blockchain
According to Cointelegraph, French video game company Ubisoft has announced that its first game utilizing Web3 technology, "Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles," will be launched on October 23 and will be deployed on the Oasys Layer2 network Home Verse, which is a blockchain-driven Web3 gaming ecosystem.
The game is described as a tactical role-playing game (RPG) where players can assemble champion teams to participate in player-versus-player (PvP) battles. Set in a dark fantasy world, the game focuses on team building, strategy, and combat. Players can own, trade, and use 75,000 unique digital collectible champions to form their battle teams. Ubisoft's new Web3-enhanced game will feature a "Forge" system that allows players to customize their champions to create new ones.
dYdX Founder Antonio Juliano Announces Return as CEO
According to official news, dYdX founder Antonio Juliano has announced his return to the position of CEO and will operate the company in founder mode. Previously, Juliano announced his resignation from the dYdX CEO position in May.
Aethir Launches $100 Million Ecosystem Fund to Accelerate AI and Gaming Innovation
According to Cointelegraph, decentralized GPU cloud computing provider Aethir has announced the launch of a $100 million Aethir ecosystem fund to accelerate innovation in artificial intelligence and gaming. The initiative includes the Aethir Catalyst program, aimed at providing high-performance GPU resources to startups and enterprises. The Aethir Catalyst program is the foundation of the fund, allocating $20 million through grants and subsidies to support over 100 projects.
336 million ATH tokens will be evenly distributed between AI and gaming projects to establish strategic partnerships and support innovation across various fields. The fund's allocation model aims to reduce the computing costs for companies integrating artificial intelligence, machine learning, or high-engagement gaming applications. In addition to grants, the fund also includes a subsidy program that can cover up to 35% of the costs of external GPU services, allowing businesses to access high-performance computing without upfront costs.
Fidelity Plans to Launch Its First Money Market Fund Traded via Blockchain
According to The Information, Fidelity Investments is paving the way for the future launch of a money market fund that may be traded on the blockchain. This is the latest attempt by the traditional financial giant to accelerate financial transactions and expand its product audience. Fidelity submitted relevant documents to U.S. securities regulators on September 26, detailing its plans. By launching this fund, Fidelity will compete with BlackRock, the world's largest asset management company, which has a similar fund that has attracted over $500 million in investor capital.
Coinbase International to Launch Big Time Perpetual Futures Contracts
According to an official announcement, Coinbase International and Coinbase Advanced will add support for Big Time perpetual futures contracts. The BIGTIME-PERP market will open at 5:30 PM Beijing time on October 17, 2024, or later.
Continue Capital co-founder Lin Xiaohong posted on the X platform: "I accidentally exposed that I haven't exited the circle and passively made a charitable headline."
This follows a phishing attack this morning on an address suspected to belong to Continue Fund, which resulted in losses exceeding $35 million. The victim is suspected to be Continue Capital co-founder Lin Xiaohong. The attack led to the theft of 15,079 fwDETH from his address, and the hacker quickly cashed out through transactions. However, due to insufficient liquidity, the asset value significantly shrank to about $5.5 million.
Binance Launches Pre-Market Trading Feature
According to official news, Binance has announced that its pre-market trading feature is officially live, allowing users to buy and sell before the Launchpool tokens are listed.
The Sony Layer2 project Soneium announced that it will reveal the winners of the Soneium Spark incubation program on October 14. Projects that can bring exceptional value to the Soneium community will receive investment opportunities from Soneium. Soneium's investments will focus on projects that closely align with its vision, have a significant impact in their target markets, and can address major challenges. Investment decisions will be made through collaborative discussions with qualified teams to ensure alignment and long-term success.
Financing News
According to The Block, based on a roadmap shared with potential investors, the Trump family cryptocurrency project World Liberty Financial (WLFI) plans to begin its token sale next week. The roadmap indicates that WLFI's "initial sale" will raise $300 million, selling 20% of its token supply at a fully diluted valuation of $1.5 billion. This suggests that more token sales may follow. In last month's X Spaces, Folkman stated that 63% of the token supply will be sold to the public, with 17% allocated for user rewards and 20% for team rewards.
The roadmap clearly states that WLFI will be a governance token used for voting on decisions regarding the future development of the WLFI platform. These tokens will be non-transferable for the first 12 months. Even if the community decides to vote on whether the tokens can be transferable during this period, it can only be implemented after one year. Governance functions will take effect immediately, regardless of whether they are transferable.
The first phase of World Liberty Financial is to launch a version of the DeFi lending platform Aave on the Ethereum Layer 2 network Scroll, allowing users to lend and borrow tokens, starting with Bitcoin, Ether, and stablecoins. This part of the plan has already begun. The second phase involves integration with exchanges, allowing users to trade through on-chain Know Your Customer (KYC) agreements. The project intends to create a stablecoin-centered credit card that allows people to use their tokens in the real world. The final phase of the project is to tokenize real-world assets and obtain regulatory approval. This may include hotels and sports clubs. At the same time, the project aims to establish a settlement platform for stablecoins.
Web3 Gaming and EdTech Ecosystem PiP World Completes $10 Million Seed Round Financing
According to CoinDesk, the Web3 gaming and education technology ecosystem PiP World has completed a $10 million seed round financing from fintech company Exinity to build what it calls the "Duolingo of the cryptocurrency space."
PiP World combines gameplay with personalized learning, and its gaming ecosystem includes: a AAA strategy management simulator game PiP Trader for building trading portfolios, a Telegram click-to-earn game PiP World's Gold Rush, a gamified application PiP Academy that simplifies financial concepts, and a stock simulator StockRise.
According to The Block, Yala is a cryptocurrency startup focused on developing a Bitcoin-backed stablecoin. The company raised $8 million in a seed round led by Polychain Capital and Ethereal Ventures. Other investors include Galaxy, Anagram, ABCDE, Amber Group, HashKey Capital, Satoshi Lab, and UTXO Management. Yala co-founder and COO Kaitai Chang stated that this was an oversubscribed seed round, with an initial target of raising $5 million. Yala began its seed round fundraising in March and concluded it last month.
Yala was founded in January of this year, with founders including former Binance Labs employee Chang, Alchemy Pay co-founder Bin Liu, and former Circle engineering director Vicky Fu. The trio aims to promote the development and expansion of decentralized finance using Bitcoin. Yala is developing a yield-earning stablecoin backed by Bitcoin, named YU. Users will soon be able to mint YU by depositing Bitcoin into any target blockchain via MetaMint. Yala claims that investors have already pledged over 2,000 BTC as collateral for its protocol. While Yala currently accepts BTC as collateral, the protocol plans to accept Bitcoin liquid staking tokens in the future. The Yala protocol is currently under development, with a testnet expected to launch this month and a mainnet anticipated in the first quarter of next year. The governance token YALA is also expected to launch alongside the mainnet.
According to official news, the blockchain MOBA game Infinitar announced the completion of a $9 million Series A financing, led by Lam Group and AccelByte, which fully subscribed to the remaining financing amount, bringing Infinitar's valuation to $150 million. This new financing round brings its total funding to $11.9 million, with other investors including Waterdrip Capital, AC Capital, DEX Ventures, and Mason Labs. Infinitar has introduced a play-to-earn (P2E) economic model, allowing players to earn tokens and NFTs through in-game achievements and competition. Infinitar is set to launch several updates, including a public beta release, experience center, global guilds, community, studio node program, Gold mining system, and token TGE announcement.
Important Data
18,000 BTC Options and 212,000 ETH Options Expiring Today, Total Notional Value Exceeds $1.6 Billion
Greeks.live macro researcher Adam posted on the X platform that 18,000 BTC options are expiring, with a Put Call Ratio of 0.91 and a maximum pain point of $62,000, with a notional value of $1.1 billion. 212,000 ETH options are expiring, with a Put Call Ratio of 0.4 and a maximum pain point of $2,450, with a notional value of $510 million.
Japanese Listed Company Metaplanet Purchases Nearly 109 Bitcoins Again
Japanese listed company Metaplanet announced that it has made an additional purchase of Bitcoin worth 10 billion yen, acquiring 108.999 Bitcoins at an average purchase price of 9,174,396 yen per coin. This purchase brings its total Bitcoin holdings to 748.502 coins, with a total investment amount of approximately 6.965 billion yen and an average holding cost of 9,304,655 yen per coin.
TON Wallet Addresses Exceed 100 Million After "Hamster Kombat" Airdrop
According to CryptoQuant data, the number of TON (The Open Network) wallet addresses has surpassed 100 million, marking an important milestone for the network. At the beginning of the year, the number of TON wallet addresses was only 4.3 million, indicating significant growth over the past few months, especially with the launch of Telegram game tokens like Hamster Kombat on the TON network, leading to a surge in users.
BlackRock Purchased 12,272 Bitcoins in the Past 16 Days, Worth Approximately $742 Million
According to Lookonchain monitoring, BlackRock has purchased 12,272 Bitcoins (worth approximately $742 million) in the past 16 days. Between August 27 and September 24, when Bitcoin prices were consistently below $60,000, BlackRock's Bitcoin accumulation was minimal. However, since September 24, BlackRock has resumed buying, increasing its holdings by 12,272 Bitcoins, currently holding a total of 369,822 Bitcoins, valued at approximately $22.4 billion.
USDC Transfer Volume on Base Chain Approaches $15 Billion Yesterday, Setting a New Record
According to a tweet by Peter Schroeder, the USDC transfer volume on the Base chain set a new historical high yesterday, processing nearly $15 billion in USDC transfers in a single day. This month, Base has processed over $100 billion in USDC transfers, accounting for 36% of all USDC transfer volume.
Peter Schroeder stated last week that the average daily USDC transfer volume on Base exceeded $10 billion in the past 30 days, surpassing the transfer volume on other blockchains during the same period.
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