Organized by: Luan Peng, ChainCatcher
"What Important Events Happened This Week (10.14-10.20)"
According to Caixin, the Hong Kong SAR government announced that the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR has appointed Dr. Huang Tianyou as the Chairman of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) for a three-year term, from October 20, 2024, to October 19, 2027, under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Chapter 571).
Polkadot community members Alice and Bob released the Q3 2024 Treasury operational report on the official governance forum.
The report shows that the Polkadot treasury balance is 33.3 million DOT (approximately $153 million), with a surplus of 32.4 million DOT (approximately $149 million) after deducting liabilities.
In terms of expenditures, the Polkadot treasury spent a total of $27 million (5.2 million DOT) in Q3, which is about half of the total expenditures in Q2 (down from $58 million to $27 million), and in DOT terms, it decreased from 8 million DOT to 5.2 million DOT.
Specifically, marketing-related expenses saw the largest decrease, from $27 million to $9.9 million; development-related expenses remained stable, increasing from $10 million to $11.9 million; operational expenses also remained at a similar level, decreasing from $1.7 million to $1.4 million; talent and education-related expenses saw a slight increase, from $2.3 million to $3.8 million; research expenditures were low, decreasing from $1.5 million to $310,000; no economic incentive proposals were approved this quarter.
Bitcoin infrastructure company Blockstream has completed $210 million in convertible note financing, led by Fulgur Ventures. This round of financing will be used to accelerate the market adoption of its Bitcoin Layer 2 technology, expand its mining business, and increase Bitcoin reserves.
Blockstream's Layer 2 solutions include Liquid Network and Core Lightning.
It is reported that over $1.8 billion in assets have been issued on the Liquid Network, including stablecoins, tokenized bonds, and securities, with approximately 3,844 Bitcoins (worth about $250 million) locked on-chain. The company plans to position Liquid as the "de facto infrastructure" for the tokenization of physical assets within the Bitcoin ecosystem.
4. Canary Submits Litecoin Spot ETF Application to the SEC
According to the SEC's official website, cryptocurrency investment company Canary Capital has submitted a registration application for a spot LTC exchange-traded fund (ETF) to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
5. “Network State” Project Praxis Raises $525 Million to Build Crypto-Friendly Cities
Claiming to be the world's first "network state," the project Praxis announced on Tuesday that it has raised $525 million to build a cutting-edge city that supports the development of cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, energy, and biotechnology.
According to the announcement, the financing participants include Arch Lending, GEM Digital, Manifold Trading, and new angel investors such as Dan Romero (CEO of Farcaster), Tom Schmidt (General Partner at Dragonfly), and Rob Hadick (General Partner at Dragonfly).
Additionally, Web3 asset data platform RootData shows that Praxis is a community composed of future city residents, including founders, creatives, investors, and everyone in between. Membership is based on an application process. Once accepted, members can participate in activities and contribute to the city's construction. Most importantly, members share a common lifestyle: optimism, health, clear goals, and a commitment to ideas greater than themselves, summarized in one word: vitality.
6. Sources: Do Kwon Conducted at Least Three Cryptocurrency Transactions After Arrest
According to Protos, Terra founder Do Kwon was arrested in Montenegro on March 23, 2023, but his electronic devices were not handed over to the investigating judge until June of that year.
An official from the Montenegrin special police told Portal ETV that during a search of inmates, including Do Kwon, a laptop, mobile phone, cryptocurrency wallet login information, and "other codes to access the blockchain" were found.
Two sources stated that at least three cryptocurrency transactions were conducted using Do Kwon's crypto wallet during his detention. This information was linked to accounts associated with a mobile phone company in Podgorica.
7. China Merchants Yonglong Bank Launches Virtual Asset ETF Trading Service for Hong Kong Stocks
According to the Hong Kong Economic Journal, China Merchants Yonglong Bank has officially launched trading services for virtual asset exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the Hong Kong stock market, becoming one of the first Chinese-funded banks in the region to offer virtual asset ETF trading services.
In response to Zhu Su's previous post involving Arthur Hayes, Arthur Hayes stated, "The only true information in your post is that both of us worked at Deutsche Bank. When you are ready to cooperate with the BVI liquidator, please do so quickly and stop making creditors pay legal fees. BitMEX will accept the court's decision as appropriate, but I will not engage in behind-the-scenes trading as you did with CoinFlex, Hodlenaught, Ox, etc."
It is reported that Zhu Su previously stated that most of the work he did was for Arthur Hayes, and that they worked together at the same bank counter at Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong, possibly having two or three dozen close mutual friends. Zhu Su claimed to have provided many collaboration opportunities to Arthur Hayes, leading many creditors who incurred losses to seize these opportunities. Earlier this year, after Arthur Hayes indicated that this affected his ability to conduct business, Zhu Su withdrew the expedited protection order against Arthur Hayes.
9. DBS Bank Launches "Token Services" to Enable Blockchain-Based Banking
Singapore's DBS Bank has launched a new service called "DBS Token Services," which combines tokenization and smart contract capabilities with its existing banking services.
According to the statement, DBS Token Services integrates the bank's permissioned blockchain compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, its core payment engine, and multiple industry payment infrastructures.
Additionally, smart contracts enable institutions to programmatically manage the use of funds. Specifically, the new services include Treasury Tokens, Conditional Payments, and Programmable Rewards.
Liam O'Connor, Head of Global Transaction Services at DBS Bank, stated that DBS Token Services allows companies and public sector entities to "optimize liquidity management, streamline operational workflows, enhance business resilience, and open new opportunities for end customers or end users."
According to Coindesk, Citi (C) stated in a research report on Wednesday that a Republican landslide victory in the upcoming U.S. elections would be the most favorable outcome for Coinbase and the cryptocurrency market, while a victory for Harris and a divided Congress could lead to more uncertainty in the digital asset industry.
Analysts led by Peter Christiansen wrote, "The Trump/Vance combination has publicly supported digital asset reform, and Republican control of the Senate is crucial for passing bills like FIT21 and confirming pro-crypto institutional leaders. With a unified Congress, the pace of digital asset reform may accelerate."
However, the report noted that a Republican victory in the Senate and a Democratic victory in the House would still be favorable for Coinbase and the cryptocurrency market. The U.S. elections will be held on November 5, with results announced on November 8.
11. Bernstein: Bitcoin Strength Linked to Increased Probability of Trump Winning
Analysts at research and brokerage firm Bernstein stated that after a 5% increase on Monday, Bitcoin has risen about 14% in October, surpassing $65,000. This is driven by a correlation with the increased probability of Donald Trump's election, with MicroStrategy being a leading indicator of potential bullish breakthroughs.
Gautam Chhugani, Mahika Sapra, and Sanskar Chindalia analyzed: "We believe that the recent strength of Bitcoin is due to the correlation returning between Bitcoin and the probability of Trump's election. Although both sides have expressed support for digital assets, the stronger bids in the crypto market are attributed to Trump's increased odds in the election prediction market."
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee stated that the government will continue to promote the application of artificial intelligence in innovative financial services such as central bank digital currency, mobile payments, virtual banks, virtual insurance, and virtual asset trading.
Measures include: 1. Promoting the application of central bank digital currency for cross-border payments. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is actively testing and exploring more technology 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. The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau will complete the second round of consultation on the regulation of over-the-counter trading of virtual assets and submit a virtual licensing system for regulating virtual asset custodians. 3. Promoting the tokenization of real-world assets and the digital currency ecosystem. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is advancing the Ensemble project.
According to Cointelegraph, Radiant Capital and two cybersecurity companies disclosed that after a cybersecurity vulnerability incident exceeding $50 million occurred on the BNB Chain and Arbitrum, Radiant Capital has suspended its lending market.
Web3 cybersecurity company De.Fi Antivirus stated on the X platform: "Using the 'transferFrom' function on the BSC and ARB chains, attackers targeted the Radiant Capital contract and stole user funds, including USDC, WBNB, ETH, etc. This attack resulted in approximately $58 million in stolen funds." This estimate is similar to that of another cybersecurity company, Ancilia Inc., which estimated the loss to be around $50 million. Radiant is controlled by a multi-signature wallet, and the attackers gained control of the private keys of multiple signers, subsequently controlling several smart contracts.
Radiant stated in a post on the X platform: "We are aware of the issues in the Radiant lending market on the BNB Chain and Arbitrum. We are working with SEAL911, Hypernative, ZeroShadow, and Chainalysis and will provide updates as soon as possible. The markets on Base and the mainnet will be suspended until further notice."
The Russian Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring) emphasized that even though the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) decided to blacklist Russia, its anti-money laundering system will continue to operate effectively. Previous assessments mentioned issues with virtual currency regulation, but Rosfinmonitoring insists that these issues have been resolved.
According to TASS, the regulatory agency stated: "The Russian Federation has improved its ratings on three FATF recommendations, with only one downgraded to 'partially compliant' due to insufficient legislative regulation in the field of virtual currency circulation."
However, Rosfinmonitoring pointed out that since these assessments, Russia has passed two federal laws to strengthen its digital currency regulatory framework. The agency added: "Since then, the Russian Federation has passed two federal laws regulating the circulation of digital currencies."
It is reported that the FATF is an intergovernmental organization that sets global standards for anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism. Whether Russia will be blacklisted will be discussed at the FATF plenary meeting from October 21 to 25.
15. Worldcoin Renamed to World Network and Announces World Chain Mainnet Launch
The digital identity project Worldcoin, supported by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, announced its renaming to World Network (abbreviated as World) and officially launched its Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain mainnet, World Chain.
World Network stated that as the project scales and the importance of the World ID human proof protocol increases, "Worldcoin" can no longer fully encapsulate the project's mission. The new brand World includes three core pillars: World Chain, World ID, and Worldcoin token, aimed at building a network composed of real, verified humans to drive advancements in artificial intelligence.
World Chain is a "human-only" community built on the OP Stack, providing more practical applications and lower gas fees, and will allow users to participate in the development direction of World Chain in the future. Well-known projects such as Optimism, Alchemy, Uniswap, Safe, Dune, and Etherscan will support the launch of this blockchain.
"What Exciting Articles Are Worth Reading This Week (10.14-10.20)"
1. Optimism's New Revenue Engine Superchain: OP Stack Ecosystem Revenue Exceeds $40 Million
The crypto community is celebrating DeFi leader Uniswap's launch of the new Layer 2 network Unichain, while Optimism, as the key underlying technology provider, is the silent big winner behind the scenes.
On October 15, during the official announcement of Uniswap's developer funding initiative for Unichain, it was stated that Unichain is a new Layer 2 network built on OP Stack technology. As part of the Superchain, Unichain developers can also receive additional rewards from the Optimism Collective Grants. This announcement is undoubtedly a public endorsement of OP Stack technology and clearly expresses Uniswap's preference for OP Stack among various L2 Stacks development solutions (such as Arbitrum, zkSync, etc.).
The collaboration between the two not only indicates Uniswap's deep recognition of OP Stack's technological strength but also brings a strong ally to Optimism's Superchain ecosystem. As of October 17, the number of L2 or L3 chains built on OP Stack has risen to 39, bringing over $40 million in revenue to Optimism.
Uniswap's participation is undoubtedly a boon for Optimism. As a long-standing backbone in the DEX market, Uniswap's large user base and trading volume are likely to inject new vitality into Optimism's SuperChain ecosystem and open up new revenue growth opportunities.
Last week, after founder Michael Saylor announced that Microstrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) aims to become the leading "Bitcoin bank," MSTR surged nearly 16% last Friday, breaking through $212 (temporarily retreating to $194), with a market capitalization soaring to $43 billion, setting a new historical high.
Since Microstrategy launched its Bitcoin investment strategy in August 2020, MSTR has increased by over 1600%, outperforming BTC and major S&P 500 tech stocks like Nvidia.
Under regulatory pressure, Telegram's privacy commitments have crumbled.
Telegram has become the fastest-growing communication platform globally, boasting 900 million monthly active users and attracting the crypto community largely due to its strong stance on privacy protection, freedom of speech, and anti-censorship.
However, following the arrest of founder Pavel Durov in France, Telegram's privacy policy underwent a significant change.
Telegram quietly updated its FAQ, removing the statement: "All Telegram chats and group chats are private conversations between participants. We do not process any requests related to them."
Pavel Durov soon announced in Telegram that user IP addresses and phone numbers would be shared with relevant regulatory authorities. Recently, the Wallet application on Telegram also began supporting law enforcement evidence collection.
Telegram's compromise has once again raised user concerns about privacy security. Especially in crypto transactions, which involve a large amount of personal information and financial data, the sharing of user data with regulatory authorities by Telegram is bound to increase transaction risks.
This move by Telegram may force a large number of privacy-conscious users to "flee," seeking instant messaging platforms that achieve anti-censorship and communication freedom from the ground up, without relying on the founder's promises.
4. Ether.Fi Founder Reveals: The Top Ten Chaos in Crypto VC
You meet with a partner or assistant, and the meeting goes smoothly, but they arrange another meeting with another partner, who has no idea who you are, hasn't received any relevant briefings, and hasn't read the notes. Thus, you experience another first meeting. If this happens three times or more, it becomes even more "exciting."
5. Interview with Sui Co-founder Adeniyi: What Have We Done to Improve User and Developer Experience?
This article is an interview by Grayscale with Sui co-founder Adeniyi Abiodun. Adeniyi Abiodun is the co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Sui/Mysten Labs. Before founding Mysten Labs, Adeniyi led many R&D initiatives at Meta in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space, including the Diem (formerly known as Libra) network and the Move programming language. In the interview, Adeniyi delves into the advantages of the Sui network and some practical application scenarios, discussing Sui's innovative applications aimed at users and developers, and outlining the future development direction of Sui. Below is the full dialogue:
On October 13, the closing price of the SUI token surpassed $2.2, setting a new all-time high, with its market capitalization entering the top 20, and the upward trend continuing. By October 14, the token price had exceeded $2.3, with a rise of over 30% in the past two days. Recent monitoring data from traders shows that the performance of the SUI token has surpassed that of TON, making it the best-performing public chain token from the beginning of 2024 to now.
At the same time, several ecological meme project tokens, such as HIPPO, BLUB, and FUD, have also surged, with increases exceeding tenfold. Additionally, two major DeFi applications within the ecosystem, the lending protocol NAVI Protocol and the order book exchange DeepBook, will officially start token trading on October 14.
The strong performance of the Sui token and ecosystem projects has attracted significant attention in the crypto market, with a large influx of funds into the Sui ecosystem seeking wealth opportunities. According to Cointelegraph, nearly 27% of the funds that flowed out of Solana in September have moved to Sui.
According to DeFiLlama data, the trading volume of funds on the Sui chain in the past seven days has exceeded $1.32 billion, ranking sixth in the entire public chain market, with Arbitrum in fifth place.
How to seize new wealth opportunities in the rise of the Sui chain ecosystem has become a hot topic in the crypto community.
7. On the Eve of Airdrop, How Many Points Do Scroll Team Addresses Have?
Scroll is set to officially take an airdrop snapshot tomorrow and will open airdrop claims on October 22. On the eve of the airdrop, on-chain analyst Andrew 10 GWEI published an in-depth analysis of the points (marks) accumulated by several co-founders and team members of Scroll. The data shows that multiple addresses associated with the Scroll team have generally accumulated tens of thousands or even millions of points.
In response, several community members have called for fairness, suggesting that addresses holding large amounts of points should be excluded from the airdrop. As of the publication, the Scroll team members have not responded to Andrew 10 GWEI's investigation.
Since its launch, EigenLayer has been surrounded by controversy. Initially, there were high salaries to "hire" researchers from the Ethereum Foundation, followed by disputes over token ownership.
9. Beyond Memecoins, Why You Should Pay Attention to Undervalued Liquid Tokens?
The argument for liquid tokens is simple: I believe there are huge opportunities (alpha) in the liquid token investment space, while the VC token investment space is already oversaturated.
Many great companies are building in the cryptocurrency space, and they all have their own tokens, but the pricing is not reasonable.
The main driving force behind valuations in 2021 was the depiction of dreams. I believe that valuations after 2024 will come from the realization of these dreams.
10. “Network Nation” Project Praxis Raises $525 Million, Blockchain Utopia Still Faces Many Challenges
On October 15, the project Praxis, claiming to be the world's first "network nation," announced it has raised $525 million.
Of the $525 million raised, $500 million comes from GEM Digital, and the remaining $25 million comes from Arch Lending. However, this amount has not all been received; the project needs to relinquish some powers and achieve goals at each stage to receive the full amount.
The Praxis project was founded in 2020, during the peak of the metaverse concept. Praxis, in contrast, aims to create a "nation" or "city" in the real world through the concept of a network nation. Will such a utopian practice succeed?
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