Today's News Highlights:
Binance to Launch BNSOL/USDT Spot Trading Pair
Grayscale Applies to SEC to Convert Its Mixed Crypto Fund Including BTC, ETH, and SOL into an ETF
Kraken Supports Its Users in Re-staking ETH on EigenLayer
SingularityDAO Plans to Merge with Cogito Finance and SelfKey to Form an AI-Centric Layer-2 Network
Regulatory News
According to Jinshi News, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee stated that the government will continue to promote the policy stance and guidelines for the application of artificial intelligence in central bank digital currency, mobile payments, virtual banks, virtual insurance, and virtual asset trading. Measures include: 1. Promoting cross-border payment applications using central bank digital currency, with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority actively testing and exploring more technical solutions and scenarios related to cross-border trade settlement on various central bank digital currency cross-border networks, and expanding the participation of public and private institutions; 2. Improving regulations on virtual assets and trading, with the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau completing the second round of consultation on the regulation of over-the-counter trading of virtual assets and submitting a virtual licensing system for regulating virtual asset custody service providers; 3. Promoting the tokenization of real-world assets and the digital currency ecosystem, with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority advancing the Ensemble project.
According to Bloomberg, U.S. prosecutors have recommended that Ilya Lichtenstein, the mastermind behind the largest cryptocurrency theft in history, be sentenced to five years in prison for his involvement in the $6 billion money laundering scheme related to the 2016 Bitfinex exchange hack. According to court documents revealed by the government on Tuesday, Lichtenstein, who pleaded guilty last year, should serve more time than his rapper wife and accomplice Heather Morgan. Last week, prosecutors indicated that Morgan, who calls herself the "Wall Street Crocodile," should receive an 18-month sentence. Prosecutors stated that Lichtenstein fits the profile of young cybercriminals whose online activities "have become somewhat normalized, thereby diminishing the impact on victims." Government lawyers told a federal judge in Washington, "A harsh sentence in this case will help break this cycle." Prosecutors did not seek the maximum sentence for Lichtenstein, considering his cooperation in other criminal cases. Earlier this year, he testified in a government prosecution of the Bitcoin Fog mixing service money laundering case. Sentencing is scheduled for November.
Italy Plans to Raise Capital Gains Tax on Bitcoin from 26% to 42%
According to Bloomberg, Italy plans to raise the capital gains tax on cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin from 26% to 42%.
Project Updates
The chief architect of decentralized GPU cloud computing provider Aethir, @Jadenonclouds, posted on X platform stating, "The Aethir Foundation will begin transferring some ATH tokens to separate wallets for our planned various funding programs. Users may notice some larger ATH fluctuations today. Please do not panic. In the coming days, each different funding wallet will be labeled." Aethir's official account also reposted this message, stating, "The preparation for the ecological fund has begun. This $100 million fund will support various growth programs for AI and gaming innovators. Applications are now open." Previously, Aethir announced a $100 million ecological fund to accelerate AI and gaming innovation.
Binance to Launch BNSOL/USDT Spot Trading Pair
According to the official announcement, Binance will launch the BNSOL/USDT spot trading pair on October 17, 2024, at 16:00 (UTC+8). Additionally, Binance will open trading bot services for the following trading pairs on October 17, 2024, at 16:00 (UTC+8): BNSOL/USDT (spot algorithm orders). Full margin leverage for Binance will add BNSOL as a collateral asset on October 17, 2024, at 18:00 (UTC+8), along with full margin and isolated margin trading pairs for BNSOL/USDT and full margin leverage trading pairs for BNSOL/SOL.
Gotbit: CEO Arrested in Portugal, Will Fully Cooperate with Investigation to Clear Misunderstandings
Market maker Gotbit officially stated on X, "Our CEO Alex Andryunin has been arrested in Portugal. We currently have no further details, but rest assured that your accounts at Gotbit are safe. Our goal is to prove the innocence of the company and CEO Alex Andryunin. We are fully prepared to cooperate with the authorities, providing all necessary documents to support the investigation and quickly resolve this misunderstanding. We will update as soon as more information is available."
Cosmos ecosystem software development company All in Bits reported that serious security issues were found in the Cosmos Hub's Liquid Staking Module (LSM), including that most of the LSM code was written by North Korean agents; LSM is not an independent module but a set of modifications to existing staking, allocation, and slashing modules, which may affect all staked ATOM; vulnerabilities allowing slashing evasion still exist; 19 months of code changes were not audited; significant misstatements by Zaki Manian and Iqlusion; lack of transparency from ICF, Stride Labs, and informal systems. All in Bits recommends immediate fixes for the main staking vulnerabilities in LSM; an immediate, comprehensive audit of LSM; full disclosure of the investigation timeline regarding North Korean agents' involvement; blacklisting of ICF stakeholders; and new audit and oversight agreements for ICF-funded projects.
a16z Co-Founder: I Have No Connection to Meme Coin GOAT and Do Not Play Any Role in It
a16z co-founder Marc Andreessen stated on X, "To clarify, this summer, I sent a personal contribution of $50,000 in unconditional research funding to terminal of truths and its founder Andy Ayrey, with no additional conditions. This funding was intended to support independent AI research and has yielded fruitful results. However, I have no connection to Meme coin GOAT. I was not involved in its creation, do not play any role in it, have no financial interest, and do not hold any of that Meme coin."
According to CoinDesk, new investment firm Canary Capital Group, focused on digital assets, submitted an S-1 application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday to launch the Canary Litecoin ETF. The S-1 document is a necessary filing for companies to issue new securities and list them on public stock exchanges, and it is one of the two required documents for launching exchange-traded products (the other being the 19b-4 filing). Canary Capital Group was founded by Steven McClurg, a former co-founder of Valkyrie Funds, and has only been established for about a month, having submitted an XRP fund application to the SEC a week ago.
Grayscale Applies to SEC to Convert Its Mixed Crypto Fund Including BTC, ETH, and SOL into an ETF
According to The Block, Grayscale Investments submitted an application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, requesting to convert its mixed crypto fund, which includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and Avalanche, into an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The company had previously converted its Bitcoin and Ethereum funds into ETFs. According to the company's website, Grayscale's cryptocurrency-based financial instrument, the Digital Large Cap Fund, trading under the ticker GDLC, is currently trading over-the-counter with assets under management of $524 million. The fund is primarily composed of Bitcoin, accounting for nearly 75%, followed by Ethereum at about 19%. The remaining portion consists of SOL, XRP, and AVAX.
According to CoinDesk, Ripple Labs announced its exchange and market maker partners for the upcoming USD-pegged stablecoin RLUSD, which is awaiting regulatory approval from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). Ripple has partnered with exchanges such as Bitstamp, Bitso, and Bullish, while Keyrock and B2C2 will serve as market makers for RLUSD. Ripple Labs President Monica Long stated that RLUSD will serve as an important bridge for payments and the tokenization of real assets, supported by short-term U.S. Treasury bonds, dollar deposits, and cash equivalents. RLUSD is planned to be tested on the XRP Ledger and Ethereum network, with a launch expected soon.
Arthur Hayes: Significantly Reduced Holdings in Meme Coins, Currently Only Holding SCF
BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes stated in his latest article that due to geopolitical risks, he is prepared for a significant devaluation of his holdings and has substantially reduced his positions in previously purchased meme coins as tensions escalate between Iran and Israel. The only meme coin he currently holds is SCF. Arthur also mentioned that there are no indications for Maelstrom's investment head Akshat to slow down or stop deploying funds into presale token trading. For the idle fiat held by Maelstrom, it will be staked on Ethena to earn substantial interest while waiting for the right opportunity to buy various illiquid cryptocurrencies.
Kraken Supports Its Users in Re-staking ETH on EigenLayer
According to Decrypt, cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced in a statement on Tuesday that its users can now re-stake ETH on the Ethereum network and earn additional rewards through projects on EigenLayer. This new feature aims to broaden the opportunities for investors to earn on-chain yields, making it "easier for a wider range of customers to re-stake." Kraken's Staked will act as a validator for ETH re-staking, allowing participating users to hold their rewards on Kraken or convert them to fiat or other cryptocurrencies.
According to Decrypt, asset tokenization company Securitize announced the launch of a conversion service between Circle's stablecoin USDC and BlackRock's USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL). This move aims to reduce investment costs and simplify the subscription process for traditional financial investors participating in BUIDL. Securitize is collaborating with BlackRock to issue BUIDL tokens via the Ethereum blockchain. Blockchain infrastructure company Zero Hash will be responsible for the conversion service between dollars and digital assets. The BUIDL fund is currently valued at approximately $550 million, allowing institutional investors to invest in secure assets like U.S. Treasury bonds by purchasing tokenized shares, enjoying benefits such as instant settlement and enhanced liquidity.
SingularityDAO Plans to Merge with Cogito Finance and SelfKey to Form an AI-Centric Layer-2 Network
According to CoinDesk, SingularityDAO, Cogito Finance, and SelfKey plan to merge to create a new project focused on the tokenization of the artificial intelligence (AI) economy called Singularity Finance (SFI). This new entity will provide a Layer-2 network for tokenizing assets (such as GPUs) and offering AI-driven financial tools. The merger will convert SelfKey's existing token KEY into SFI, while SingularityDAO's SDAO and Cogito's CGV tokens will merge into SFI at ratios of 1:80.353 and 1:10.89, respectively. The process may be adjusted based on discussions among stakeholders. Previously, SingularityNET completed a similar merger with AI projects like Fetch.ai and Ocean Protocol in June.
Financing News
Blockchain video game development company Azra Games announced the completion of $42 million in Series A financing, led by Pantera Capital, bringing the total funding amount to $68.3 million. Azra Games was founded in 2022 by veteran game designer Mark Otero, who was a developer of the popular game "Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes." Azra plans to develop a high-quality role-playing game called "Project Legends," integrating NFT and blockchain technology while advancing the development of fourth-generation RPGs, initially launching on mobile devices.
Blockstream Completes $210 Million Convertible Bond Financing, Led by Fulgur Ventures
According to The Block, Bitcoin infrastructure development company Blockstream announced the completion of $210 million in convertible bond financing, led by Fulgur Ventures. Blockstream plans to use the funds to accelerate the market application of its Layer 2 technology, expand its Bitcoin mining business, and enhance its Bitcoin reserves. Blockstream's Layer 2 solutions include Liquid Network and Core Lightning, aimed at improving the speed and cost efficiency of Bitcoin transactions. Additionally, Blockstream plans to leverage the asset tokenization potential of the Bitcoin ecosystem to establish Liquid as the infrastructure for tokenizing real assets.
According to The Block, Opacity Labs, the developer of the data verification platform Opacity Network using zero-knowledge proofs, raised $12 million in a seed financing round. Archetype and Breyer Capital co-led the round, with participation from a16z Crypto Startup Accelerator (CSX), Finality Capital Partners, Bodhi Ventures, and Escape Velocity (EV3). The company began fundraising in July and completed the financing last month. The structure of this round of financing is a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) with a valuation cap and token warrants, with specific valuations undisclosed. This seed round financing brings Opacity's total funding to $13.4 million, following a previous Pre-Seed round of $1.4 million. Opacity is described as a data verification network utilizing zero-knowledge proofs, allowing users to verify information without disclosing underlying details. For example, individuals can verify income for a mortgage application without revealing the actual amount. Opacity employs zkTLS (zero-knowledge Transport Layer Security), an extension of the standard TLS protocol that combines zero-knowledge proofs to enhance privacy and security during data transmission. Additionally, it utilizes multi-party computation (MPC) architecture and EigenLayer's Active Verification Service (AVS) to act as a validator for user data.
According to The Block, cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Bitnomial announced on Tuesday that it has raised $25 million in a funding round led by Ripple Labs and launched its perpetual futures trading platform, Botanical, in the U.S. Botanical is currently in closed testing and will provide investors with a way to trade perpetual futures, traditional futures, and options, utilizing Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin for settling perpetual futures. Bitnomial CEO Luke Hoersten stated in a press release, "By launching Botanical, we are taking a bold step towards our mission of providing a regulated and innovative trading experience that offers an alternative to the DEX and VPN-based solutions commonly found in today's perpetual trading." Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse commented, "Bitnomial's introduction of an offshore trading model into the U.S. derivatives industry presents a significant market opportunity as they build a compliant derivatives market for digital assets like XRP." Tuesday's announcement came after Bitnomial filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last week, accusing the agency of claiming that the exchange's unlisted XRP futures products violate federal securities laws. In 2020, Bitnomial was one of the few U.S. companies approved by the CFTC to manage a designated contract market, allowing it to offer Bitcoin futures and options.
"Network State" Project Praxis Raises $525 Million to Build Crypto-Friendly Cities
According to The Block, the "network state" project Praxis announced on Tuesday that it has secured $525 million in funding to build a cutting-edge city that supports the development of cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, energy, and biotechnology. Praxis is led by 28-year-old co-founder Dryden Brown and has attracted a significant number of new investors, including Arch Lending, Manifold Trading, GEM Digital, as well as angel investors like Farcaster CEO Dan Romero and Worldcoin co-founder Max Novendstern. The project had previously raised funds from Paradigm, Alameda Research, and Three Arrows Capital.
Praxis stated in a press release, "Seeing institutions like BlackRock commit to cryptocurrency, we designed a crypto-native mechanism that uses tokenized real-world assets to finance large projects and collaborates with Global Emerging Markets, the largest new city development project in the Middle East. This financing primarily consists of extraction tools, representing the first deployment of this mechanism. The project's website also states that it has nearly 14,000 "Praxians" residing around the world.
It is worth noting that GEM Digital's previous investments have been suspected of issues, commonly using tactics like "investment commitments" and "large investments." Earlier reports from PANews in 2022 indicated that most projects invested by GEM lacked highlights and were primarily announced through investment commitments rather than direct investments, collaborating with project parties to issue positive news, driving up prices before selling, completing profit distribution with project parties.
Important Data
Data: World Liberty Financial Currently Has Sales of $11.25 Million
According to data from its official website, as of 16:46 Beijing time today, the cryptocurrency project World Liberty Financial, supported by the Trump family, has sold approximately 7.5021 WLFI tokens in its public token sale, with a remaining token quantity of 192.5 million. At a price of $0.015 per token, the sales amount to approximately $11.25 million.
According to The Block, based on on-chain data tracked by analytics firm Arkham Research, electric vehicle giant Tesla, operated by Elon Musk, has transferred approximately $770 million worth of 11,509 Bitcoins to about seven new addresses. This appears to be the entirety of the company's remaining Bitcoin reserves. The company invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin in February 2021. Prior to these token transfers, Tesla conducted six test transactions, marking the first interaction with its Bitcoin wallet since it sold most of its assets in 2022. It remains unclear why the company chose to transfer Bitcoin after more than two years of inactivity, but some speculate it may be preparing to sell more Bitcoin. As of October 15, Tesla is estimated to hold 9,720 Bitcoins, valued at approximately $650 million, significantly down from its peak of 43,000. However, Arkham believes Tesla holds up to 11,509 Bitcoins across 68 addresses, valued at approximately $770 million at current prices. According to estimates from BitcoinTreasuries, Musk's space exploration company SpaceX also holds an additional 8,285 Bitcoins. The company is set to announce its third-quarter financial results after the market closes on October 23.
According to SoSoValue data, yesterday (Eastern Time, October 15), the total net inflow for Bitcoin spot ETFs was $371 million. Yesterday, Grayscale's ETF GBTC saw a net inflow of $7.9929 million, with a historical net outflow of $20.142 billion. Grayscale's Bitcoin mini trust ETF BTC had a net inflow of $13.3601 million yesterday, with a historical total net inflow of $419 million. The Bitcoin spot ETF with the highest net inflow yesterday was BlackRock's ETF IBIT, with a net inflow of $289 million, bringing its historical total net inflow to $22.067 billion. Following that was Fidelity's ETF FBTC, with a net inflow of $35.0345 million, and its historical total net inflow reached $10.260 billion. As of the time of writing, the total net asset value of Bitcoin spot ETFs is $63.126 billion, with an ETF net asset ratio (market cap relative to total Bitcoin market cap) of 4.8%, and historical cumulative net inflows have reached $19.734 billion.
Bitcoin's Market Share Reaches Highest Level Since April 2021
According to Cointelegraph, amid a downturn in the altcoin market and a continued rise in cryptocurrency prices, Bitcoin's market share has reached its highest level since April 2021. Data from TradingView shows that Bitcoin's dominance reached a three-and-a-half-year high of 58.77% early this morning, while the price of Bitcoin also hit a new high in ten weeks.
GOAT Market Cap Surpasses $300 Million, Price Rises 137% in 24 Hours
Market data shows that the AI concept meme coin GOAT has surpassed a market cap of $300 million, with the token price currently at $0.3020, reflecting a 137% increase in 24 hours.
Ethereum Foundation Sells 100 ETH for 257,900 DAI
On-chain data shows that the Ethereum Foundation's address 0xd77…1f4, used for small high-frequency sales of ETH, sold 100 ETH at a price of $2,579 each about 20 minutes ago, exchanging for 257,900 DAI.
According to on-chain analyst Yu Jin's monitoring, similar to before, the 178,631 SOL (worth $28 million) redeemed by FTX/Alameda yesterday was distributed to 20 addresses eight hours ago. Among them, 113,515 SOL (worth $17.59 million) have flowed into Coinbase and Binance. Currently, FTX/Alameda's SOL transfer pattern is to redeem around 170,000 SOL between the 12th and 15th of each month and distribute them to 20 addresses, with most of the SOL flowing into Coinbase and Binance.
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