Today's News Highlights:
US FBI Arrests Mastermind Behind SEC X Hacking Incident
Kraken Launches Wrapped Bitcoin Product kBTC
Polymarket's Official App Downloads Rank First in "Newsstand" Category in US App Store
Regulatory News
US SEC Officially Appeals Ruling in XRP Lawsuit Against Ripple
According to Bitcoin.com, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially appealed the ruling in its lawsuit against Ripple regarding XRP. On Thursday, the regulatory agency submitted a C-form to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In this case, the SEC is the plaintiff and appellant, while the defendants are Ripple Labs Inc. and its executives Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen. The SEC's initial lawsuit accused Ripple and its leaders of offering and selling XRP without necessary registration, violating relevant provisions of the Securities Act of 1933. In the appeal, the SEC contests several key rulings. It questions the court's conclusion that XRP sold by Ripple on digital asset platforms does not constitute unregistered securities, as well as the decision regarding Garlinghouse and Larsen's personal sales not violating securities laws. The SEC also disputes the ruling that Ripple's non-cash XRP distribution in exchange for services did not violate the Securities Act of 1933.
On July 13, 2023, Ripple achieved a partial victory when the court ruled that XRP sales on digital trading platforms are not considered securities. However, the court found that XRP sold to institutional investors by Ripple constitutes unregistered securities. Additionally, the court ruled that Garlinghouse and Larsen's personal XRP sales do not constitute illegal activity. On August 7 of this year, the court issued a final judgment requiring Ripple to pay a civil penalty of $125 million and prohibiting the company from violating the Securities Act again.
US CFTC Claims Court's Ruling Allowing Kalshi to Launch Prediction Markets is Erroneous
According to The Block, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) stated that a judge from a US district court erred in ruling that the commission exceeded its authority in blocking prediction market Kalshi from offering US election predictions. In an appeal brief submitted to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Wednesday, the CFTC argued that the ruling should be "overturned and the commission's order restored." The CFTC stated in the brief: "The district court erred at every turn, refusing to accept the ordinary meanings of four independent terms or phrases in the legal text, or simply conflating them." These phrases include "gambling" and "trading." This occurred about a year after the CFTC stated that Kalshi could not offer election contracts. The CFTC claimed these contracts "are against the public interest" and involve gambling. In the CFTC's brief, the commission delved into the contents of the Commodity Exchange Act, including protecting "all market participants from fraud or other abusive sales practices."
Kalshi filed a lawsuit in November 2023. Subsequently, a judge from the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in September that the CFTC exceeded its statutory authority in attempting to block Kalshi from offering election contracts. The judge stated in the ruling that Kalshi's contracts do not involve "illegal activities or gambling." The commission quickly appealed this ruling, but it was ultimately dismissed by the federal appeals court on October 2. Since then, Kalshi has launched betting on who will win the US presidential election.
FBI Arrests Mastermind Behind SEC X Hacking Incident
The US Department of Justice announced that Eric Council Jr., a man from Alabama, was arrested by the FBI for his involvement in the January 2024 hacking of the US Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) X account (formerly Twitter). The hackers posted false information claiming that the SEC had approved a Bitcoin ETF, causing Bitcoin prices to briefly surge by $1,000. This attack was carried out through SIM swapping, and Council is charged with identity theft and device fraud. The SEC and FBI are closely investigating the case. It is reported that the Alabama man suspected of attacking the SEC through SIM swapping in January 2024 searched Google for terms like "SECGOV hack," "how to tell if I'm being investigated by the FBI," and "signs of being investigated by law enforcement or the FBI without being notified" after the hacking incident.
Ireland is Urgently Updating Financial Regulations to Cover Cryptocurrencies
According to the Irish Examiner, the Irish government is urgently drafting legislation to ensure that digital asset and cryptocurrency companies are included in regulatory oversight before the new EU anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws take effect on December 30. Finance Minister Jack Chambers has been authorized to update financial regulations to ensure compliance with the new EU rules. Earlier this year, Irish police seized approximately €6.5 million in cryptocurrency during investigations into dark web markets and money laundering activities.
AI
According to Yicai, multiple developers received emails from Microsoft stating that due to local regulatory requirements, Microsoft Azure OpenAI services will be shut down on October 21, and in the future, only enterprise customers in mainland China will be able to subscribe to Azure's OpenAI services.
Most developers received the email on the morning of the 17th. One developer stated, "This was the only window for individuals to use OpenAI compliantly in the country, and now it is closed." Meanwhile, some developers expressed dissatisfaction with Microsoft's "only giving four days to process." Microsoft has not yet commented on the matter.
Project Updates
PANews reported on October 18 that Worldcoin, a digital identity project supported by Sam Altman (now renamed World Network), showcased its next-generation iris scanning device "Orb" and other tools at a live event in San Francisco. The new Orb is easier to mass-produce, has fewer components, and operates three times faster. World stated that people will soon be able to verify their identity in coffee shops and announced a partnership with Rappi, the top delivery service company in Latin America, to allow people to book on-site Orb verification services.
Additionally, World introduced Deep Face, an attempt by the company to use human verification services to combat deepfakes and impersonation online. The startup stated that Deep Face can enhance the functionality of applications like FaceTime, Zoom, and X, but did not provide details on how this would be achieved. The company also announced a beta version of its World ID credential, a government ID alternative for online use.
According to The Block, the digital identity project Worldcoin, supported by Sam Altman, is rebranding to World Network, abbreviated as World. At the time of the rebranding, the project also announced that its Layer 2 network, World Chain, has launched on the mainnet. World Chain is a second-layer blockchain network secured by Ethereum that is connected to the project. Optimism, Alchemy, Uniswap, Safe, Dune, and Etherscan will support the launch of this blockchain. The blockchain is built using the OP Stack, and World Network stated that user transactions account for approximately 44% of OP Mainnet activity, making it the largest application on the network. World wrote in a press release: "As the project scales and the importance of the World ID human protocol proof increases, the name 'Worldcoin' can no longer encompass the project's mission of accelerating the development of everyone. With the three pillars of World Chain, World ID, and Worldcoin, World is truly building a network composed of real, verified humans, aimed at achieving an optimistic future where humanity continues to be at the center of AI advancement."
Later, news emerged that Uniswap and LayerZero have both announced that they are now live on the World Chain mainnet.
YGG Expands Beyond Gaming, Launches New Project "FoW" Offering Decentralized Earning Opportunities
According to the official blog, the gaming guild Yield Guild Games (YGG) announced the launch of Future of Work (FoW), a new project aimed at providing decentralized earning opportunities within the broader Web3 ecosystem for its community. The scope of FoW has expanded beyond gaming, tapping into the growing demand for human input in areas such as AI data labeling and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) for broader applications. The YGG community was introduced to FoW during Season 6 of the Guild Advancement Program (GAP), featuring AI bounty tasks from partner projects Sapien, FrodoBots, and Navigate, highlighting gamified tasks on each platform.
Binance to End Pre-Listing Trading for Scroll (SCR) and Launch Spot Trading with Seed Tag
According to the official announcement, Binance will end pre-listing trading for Scroll (SCR) at 17:00 (UTC+8) on October 21, 2024, and will open SCR/BTC, SCR/USDT, SCR/FDUSD, and SCR/TRY spot trading pairs at 16:00 (UTC+8) on October 22, 2024. The SCR deposit channel is now open, and SCR withdrawals are expected to open at 16:00 (UTC+8) on October 23, 2024, with the transfer function resuming before 18:00 (UTC+8) on October 21, 2024. The seed tag will apply to SCR.
Eclipse: Official Bridge Now Live, Eclipse Mainnet Open to the Public
The Ethereum SVM Layer 2 network Eclipse announced on the X platform that the official bridge is now live, allowing users to claim the commemorative NFT "Path of Discovery," with the minting window open for 7 days. For the next four months, all platform fees on Scope will be donated to the Eclipse Creator Fund to support artists and their creative activities on Eclipse. As the Eclipse mainnet opens to the public, the withdrawal function will be launched in the coming weeks.
According to CNBC, US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's crypto project World Liberty Financial released a 13-page document on Thursday detailing its mission and how tokens are allocated, stating that Trump and his family can receive 75% of the net revenue, which translates to the Trump family receiving 22.5 billion "WLFI" tokens, valued at $337.5 million based on a price of 1.5 cents per token at this week's issuance. The document also indicates that Trump and his family bear no liability. It states that they are not directors, employees, officers, or operators of WLF or its affiliates and claims that the project and tokens "are not political and have no association with any political campaign."
The WLF white paper states that a Delaware company named DT Marks DEFI LLC (associated with Trump) will receive three-quarters of the net protocol revenue. The document released on Thursday defines net protocol revenue as income received by WLF from "any source (including but not limited to platform usage fees, token sale proceeds, advertising, or other revenue sources), after deducting agreed-upon fees and reserves necessary for WLF's ongoing operations." Approximately $30 million of the initial revenue is designated for reserves to cover operational costs and other financial obligations. The remaining 25% of net protocol revenue will belong to Axiom Management Group (AMG), a Puerto Rico limited liability company wholly owned by co-founders Chase Herro and Zachary Folkman. AMG has agreed to allocate half of its rights to net protocol revenue to a third limited liability company, WC Digital Fi, which is an affiliate of Trump's friend and political donor Steve Witkoff and "certain family members." Witkoff's son Zachary is also listed as one of the co-founders of the project.
Coinbase International to Launch Turbo Perpetual Futures Contracts
Coinbase International announced on the X platform that it will add support for Turbo perpetual futures contracts on Coinbase International and Coinbase Advanced, with the TURBO-PERP market expected to open at 17:30 (UTC+8) on October 24, 2024, or later.
ZKsync released its first governance proposal, named ZKsync Ignite, which aims to transform ZKsync Era into a liquidity hub for Elastic Chain. To this end, 300 million ZK tokens will be distributed to DeFi users over the next 9 months. The proposal has been published on the ZK Nation forum, aiming to promote further development and expansion of the ZKsync ecosystem.
Kraken Launches Wrapped Bitcoin Product kBTC
According to the official blog, Kraken has launched a new wrapped Bitcoin product, kBTC, which is a fully custodial, cross-network compatible ERC-20 token. kBTC is backed 1:1 by Bitcoin and can be used in decentralized applications such as DeFi, expanding the use cases of Bitcoin through interoperability with networks like Ethereum and OP Mainnet. Kraken emphasizes its best custodial practices and transparency, allowing users to verify kBTC's reserves on-chain at any time.
Kaiko Report: Wash Trading by DeFi Issuers Remains "Widespread"
PANews reported on October 18 that, according to Bloomberg, research firm Kaiko stated that wash trading strategies used to inflate the value of the FBI-created token NexFundAI remain a common practice on decentralized exchanges (DEX) and can also be encountered on some centralized exchanges.
Kaiko analysts stated in a report on Thursday that their data shows that among over 200,000 assets on Ethereum DEXs, many lack utility and are controlled by individuals; some token issuers are establishing short-term liquidity pools on the exchange Uniswap, controlling the liquidity in the pools and engaging in wash trading to attract other investors; once others enter, the issuers sell off the tokens, achieving returns of up to 22 times their initial Ethereum investment within about 10 days; this analysis reveals widespread fraudulent behavior among token issuers that extends beyond the scope of the FBI's NexFundAI investigation.
PANews reported on October 18 that, according to CoinDesk, as entrepreneur Elon Musk further disclosed his proposed "Government Efficiency Department" plan at a town hall in Pennsylvania, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose in after-hours trading on Thursday in the US. The event encouraged early voting in key battleground states for both the Republican and Democratic parties. The proposed department, abbreviated as DOGE, will seek to improve the efficiency of government use of taxpayer funds while streamlining the departments responsible for expenditures. Musk stated at Thursday's town hall meeting that the proposed department could operate like a company, rewarding those who perform well and penalizing those who fail to deliver results. Crypto traders expect that Trump's victory could spark more discussions about "Dogecoin," and if Dogecoin indeed becomes part of the government, it could stimulate retail interest and attention towards Dogecoin in the future.
According to data from CoinGecko, the price of the DOGE token is currently reported at $0.1333, with a 24-hour increase of 8.6%.
PANews, October 18 - Multi-chain lending protocol Radiant Capital announced on the X platform that on October 16, 2024, it experienced an extremely complex security breach incident, resulting in a loss of $50 million. The attackers injected a highly advanced malware that compromised multiple developers' hardware wallets. The method of compromising these devices was so covert that the front end of the Safe wallet (formerly Gnosis Safe) displayed legitimate transaction data, while the backend was simultaneously signing and executing tampered transactions. This security breach occurred during the routine multi-signature emission adjustment process, which is designed for periodic adjustments based on market conditions and utilization rates. Throughout the process, DAO contributors strictly adhered to industry-standard operating procedures. They used Tenderly to simulate and verify each transaction, and multiple developers conducted detailed reviews at each signature stage. Neither Tenderly nor the front-end checks of Safe detected any anomalies. However, shockingly, this attack went completely unnoticed during the routine manual review of transactions in the Gnosis Safe user interface and the Tenderly simulation phase. This fact has been confirmed by external security teams, including Security Alliance and HypernativeLabs. In the face of this severe challenge, Radiant Capital quickly collaborated closely with Seal911 and Hypernative, strengthening multi-signature control measures. Meanwhile, the FBI and zeroShadow have also fully intervened, actively investigating and freezing the stolen assets.
BNB Beacon Chain to Officially Shut Down on November 19 at 14:00
According to an announcement from the official BNB Chain blog, the BNB Beacon Chain will implement the final "Sunset Hardfork" plan at block height 384,544,850 on November 19, 2024, at 6:00 UTC (14:00 Beijing time). At that time, the BNB Beacon Chain will cease operations, and nodes must be updated to version 0.10.24.
According to The Block, Singapore's largest bank, DBS (Development Bank of Singapore), has launched a new service called "DBS Token Services," aimed at providing blockchain-based banking solutions for institutional clients. This service integrates tokenization and smart contract functionalities and combines them with DBS's existing banking services to help businesses optimize liquidity management and streamline operational processes.
DBS stated that the service is based on a permissioned blockchain compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, integrating a core payment engine and various industry payment infrastructures. The new services include "Treasury Tokens," "Conditional Payments," and "Programmable Rewards." Through smart contracts, institutions can manage fund usage more flexibly.
Eigenlayer's Official X Account Suspected to be Hacked, Posting Fake Airdrop Links
Mudit Gupta, Chief Information Security Officer at Polygon, stated on the X platform that Eigenlayer's official Twitter account has been hacked. Currently, the hacker may be spreading fake links claiming to have new airdrop activities. Mudit reminded users not to click on any links and emphasized that there are currently no new airdrop plans. Users are advised to remain vigilant to avoid being scammed.
Financing News
zkPass Completes $12.5 Million Series A Financing, Valuation Reaches $100 Million
Privacy-preserving data verification protocol zkPass has completed a $12.5 million Series A financing round, achieving a valuation of $100 million. Investors in this round include dao5, Animoca Brands, Flow Traders, Amber Group, IOBC Capital, Signum Capital, MH Ventures, and WAGMI Ventures. This round of financing was conducted through a Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT) structure, and zkPass plans to launch its token in the first quarter of next year. zkPass utilizes zero-knowledge proof technology to allow users to verify information, such as identity or financial records, without sharing specific data.
Important Data
PANews, October 18 - According to SoSoValue data, the total net inflow of Bitcoin spot ETFs yesterday (October 17, Eastern Time) was $470 million. Yesterday, Grayscale's ETF GBTC had a net inflow of $45.7048 million, with a historical net outflow of $20.096 billion. Grayscale's Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF BTC had a net outflow of $0.00 yesterday, with a historical total net inflow of $419 million. The Bitcoin spot ETF with the highest single-day net inflow yesterday was BlackRock's ETF IBIT, with a net inflow of $309 million, bringing its historical total net inflow to $22.770 billion. Following that was the ETF ARKB from Ark Invest and 21Shares, with a net inflow of $100 million, bringing its historical total net inflow to $2.748 billion. As of the time of writing, the total net asset value of Bitcoin spot ETFs is $64.061 billion, with an ETF net asset ratio (market cap compared to total Bitcoin market cap) of 4.84%, and the historical cumulative net inflow has reached $20.664 billion.
Later news indicated that BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF has attracted over $1 billion in funds so far this week.
According to Arkham data, Donald Trump's cryptocurrency holdings have increased by $6.1 million since the beginning of this year. Over 65% of the cryptocurrencies he currently holds are meme coins.
Polymarket's Official App Ranks First in the "News" Category in the US App Store
The official app of the decentralized prediction market Polymarket currently ranks first in the "News" category (free) download chart in the US Apple App Store, surpassing traditional giants like The New York Times, CNN, and The Wall Street Journal. Additionally, according to The Block, the betting volume on the decentralized prediction platform Polymarket regarding the 2024 US presidential election has exceeded $2 billion. The market has added $1 billion in betting volume over the past 24 days, with Donald Trump's winning probability at 62.3% and a betting volume of $608 million, while Kamala Harris's winning probability is at 37.5% with a betting volume of $405 million. The US presidential election has become a major growth driver for Polymarket.
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
