Compiled by: Luan Peng, ChainCatcher
Important News:
- Crypto AI startup OpenLayer completes $5 million seed round financing, a16z CSX participates
- Marathon Digital issues $850 million convertible bonds for debt buyback and Bitcoin acquisition
- Shanghai High Court: Virtual currency has property value, personal holding of virtual currency is not illegal
- Virtual asset custody platform Haru Invest officially declared bankrupt by South Korean court
- Colombian Stock Exchange considers launching cryptocurrency ETF
- OKX to launch MORPHO (Morpho) spot trading, deposits now open
- South Korea plans to implement a 20% crypto tax in 2025 and raise the tax exemption threshold
- Russia's new energy policy will ban cryptocurrency mining in 13 regions
"What important events have occurred in the past 24 hours?"
Crypto AI startup OpenLayer completes $5 million seed round financing, a16z CSX participates
Crypto AI startup OpenLayer has completed a $5 million seed round financing, with participation from a16z Crypto Startup Accelerator (CSX), Geometry, IOSG Ventures, Spartan Group, LongHash Ventures, and undisclosed angel investors from EigenLayer, AltLayer, Puffer Finance, and Sei Network.
The financing process began in June and ended in August. This round of financing uses a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) structure. OpenLayer plans to launch its own token in the future. Currently, the U.S. OpenLayer company has 7 employees and plans to hire two more engineers.
OpenLayer acts as an AI data layer, allowing users to contribute and verify data through a Chrome extension and earn points. According to its website, application developers can access this user data with user consent, thereby protecting privacy. Use cases include training AI models, user localization, and enhancing features.
Marathon Digital issues $850 million convertible bonds for debt buyback and Bitcoin acquisition
According to Decrypt, Bitcoin mining company Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) is issuing $850 million in convertible notes, with an option to expand to $1 billion, as part of a plan to repurchase existing debt, acquire Bitcoin, and fund corporate plans during the cryptocurrency market recovery.
The company plans to use $199 million of the expected $833 million net proceeds from this sale to repurchase its existing $212 million 2026 convertible notes. Marathon Digital stated that the remaining funds will be used to purchase more Bitcoin and for general corporate purposes, including working capital, strategic acquisitions, asset expansion, and repaying other debts.
The Shanghai High People's Court published an article regarding a dispute case involving the validity of a virtual currency issuance financing service contract, which was adjudicated by the Songjiang District People's Court. The court held that token issuance financing is an illegal public financing activity, and the "Blockchain Incubation Agreement" involved in the case is invalid.
The article pointed out that virtual currency, as a type of virtual commodity, has property value and is not prohibited by law. Although there are no explicit regulations on virtual currency in Chinese law, regulations issued by the People's Bank of China and other departments have regulated activities related to virtual currency.
Therefore, while individuals holding virtual currency are not illegal, commercial entities cannot freely participate in virtual currency investment transactions or issue tokens on their own. If they violate civil or criminal legal principles and rules during transactions, they may suffer losses or even be suspected of committing crimes.
Virtual asset custody platform Haru Invest officially declared bankrupt by South Korean court
Virtual asset custody platform Haru Invest was officially declared bankrupt by the Seoul restructuring court in South Korea on November 20.
The operating company of Haru Invest, Haru Management Limited, was previously filed for bankruptcy due to its inability to pay debts. The court stated that although the company is registered in the British Virgin Islands, it has an office and operates in South Korea, giving the South Korean court jurisdiction over the case.
The court plans to hold the first creditors' meeting on February 11, 2025, to liquidate and distribute the company's assets through a bankruptcy administrator. It is reported that Haru Invest attracted investors by falsely promising to guarantee principal and high returns since 2020 and suddenly stopped withdrawals in June last year, affecting over 16,000 investors.
It is reported that from March 2020 to June last year, Haru Invest deceived investors by falsely promising to guarantee principal and pay high returns, suddenly stopping withdrawals and absconding with approximately 14 trillion won worth of cryptocurrency.
Colombian Stock Exchange considers launching cryptocurrency ETF
The Colombian Stock Exchange BVC stated that it is "exploring" the possibility of launching a cryptocurrency ETF through its overseas investment department.
According to Criptonoticias, BVC is "negotiating" with its public foreign securities platform, Colombia Global Market (MGC). Nicolás Sánchez, head of equity investment at BVC, stated, "As new participants and market makers enter the market, BVC is working to expand its product range and improve market efficiency."
OKX to launch MORPHO (Morpho) spot trading, deposits now open
According to an official announcement, OKX is about to launch MORPHO (Morpho). Morpho is a decentralized lending protocol that supports over-collateralized lending of crypto assets (ERC20 and ERC4626 tokens) on the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). The specific schedule is as follows:
- MORPHO deposit opening time: November 20, 2:00 PM (UTC+8)
- MORPHO auction time: November 21, 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM (UTC+8)
- MORPHO/USDT spot trading opening time: November 21, 6:00 PM (UTC+8)
- MORPHO withdrawal opening time: November 22, 6:00 PM (UTC+8)
South Korea plans to implement a 20% crypto tax in 2025 and raise the tax exemption threshold
According to the Seoul News, the ruling party in South Korea intends to advance the plan to tax cryptocurrency gains starting in early 2025, rather than approving further delays.
Initially, a 20% tax on cryptocurrency gains (plus local taxes for a total of 22%) was set to take effect on January 1, 2022. Due to strong opposition from investors and industry experts, the plan has been postponed twice to January 1, 2025. According to local media reports, despite discussions and proposals for further delays, including suggestions to implement it starting in 2028, the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) remains committed to implementing the tax plan on time.
However, the party is modifying the plan to raise the tax exemption threshold for cryptocurrency gains below 2.5 million won ($1,795) to 50 million won ($35,919). The Democratic Party plans to pass the amendment on November 25 in the National Assembly's tax subcommittee and in the full session on November 26.
Russia's new energy policy will ban cryptocurrency mining in 13 regions
The Russian government's Electricity Development Commission approved restrictions on cryptocurrency mining on Monday, which will take effect on December 1, with an enforcement period from November 15 to March 15 each year until 2031.
Deputy Minister of Energy Evgeny Grabchak confirmed this decision, which targets 13 regions including Irkutsk, Buryatia, and Transbaikal, but excludes Moscow. The approval to extend the enforcement period is aimed at managing peak electricity demand and addressing energy shortages. Other affected regions include Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Donetsk, and Luhansk People's Republic.
According to the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission, Yao Qian, the former director of the Technology Supervision Department of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and former director of the Information Center, has been expelled from the Party and public office due to serious violations of discipline and law. Investigations revealed that Yao Qian used regulatory power to seek benefits for specific technology service providers, involving power-money transactions related to virtual currency, and illegally accepted huge amounts of property.
In addition, he violated the spirit of the Central Eight Regulations by improperly accepting valuable items, attending banquets, and engaging in irregular operations in employee recruitment and investment shareholding. The CSRC Party Committee and relevant disciplinary inspection and supervision departments have decided to impose severe penalties on Yao Qian and refer the criminal issues to the procuratorial organs for legal review and prosecution.
Previous reports indicated that Yao Qian was suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and had undergone disciplinary review by the disciplinary inspection team stationed at the CSRC and investigation by the Shantou Municipal Supervisory Committee in Guangdong Province.
It is reported that Yao Qian was the first director of the Digital Currency Research Department at the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and was named one of the most influential figures in the blockchain field by Coindesk in 2017. He has published several research articles on blockchain technology, digital currency, and Web 3.0, and co-authored "Web 3.0: Changes and Challenges of the Next Generation Internet."
Hong Kong Cyberport's Web3 Blockchain Companies Increase to Over 270
According to Cointelegraph, Hong Kong Cyberport, a business center owned and operated by the Hong Kong government, has added over 120 companies in 16 months, now hosting more than 270 blockchain technology-related enterprises.
The founders of these 270+ companies come from over 20 countries and regions, including Japan, South Korea, the United States, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and India, in addition to Hong Kong and mainland China.
According to a Legislative Council report, Cyberport's Web3 companies have begun applying blockchain technology to real-world applications, including smart living, digital entertainment, fintech, and network and data security. Additionally, Cyberport is actively recruiting companies specializing in blockchain security, asset custody, and crypto wallets to promote collaboration among various Web3 companies within its network.
Data: BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Options First-Day Trading Volume Reaches $1.9 Billion
Cointelegraph reported on the X platform that the first-day trading volume of BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF options reached $1.9 billion.
Binance to Launch APE/FDUSD, FDUSD/USDC, and Other Spot Trading Pairs
Binance will launch spot trading pairs APE/FDUSD, FDUSD/USDC, HBAR/USDC, OM/USDC, RAY/USDC, TAO/USDC, and TURBO/FDUSD on November 22, 2024, at 16:00 (UTC+8), providing users with more spot trading options.
Additionally, Binance will open trading bot services for the following trading pairs on November 22, 2024, at 16:00 (UTC+8): spot algorithm orders for APE/FDUSD, FDUSD/USDC, HBAR/USDC, OM/USDC, RAY/USDC, TAO/USDC, and TURBO/FDUSD.
"What are the exciting articles worth reading in the past 24 hours?"
_During the Devcon in Bangkok, the Web3 asset data platform RootData, in collaboration with ChainCatcher, officially released the _"RootData: 2024 Web3 Industry Development Research Report and Annual List"_ (click the link to view the full report and list)._
The report analyzes and interprets the development characteristics of the Web3 venture capital market in 2024 and prominently releases the RootData List 2024. This list is the second annual selection launched by RootData following its first release in 2023, and its results are gaining attention from more entrepreneurs, investors, LPs, and crypto enthusiasts.
RootData List 2024 includes five lists: Top 50 Projects (completed TGE), Top 50 Projects (not yet conducted TGE), Crypto VC Top 50 Investment Institutions, Top 10 Angel Investors, and Top 20 Best CEOs.
ChainCatcher will publish a series of articles to dialogue with the projects and institutions listed in RootData List 2024, seeking builders who navigate through bull and bear markets and tracking the latest trends in Web3.
Today's featured project, Huma Finance, was selected for the RootData List 2024 annual list "Top 50 Projects (not yet conducted TGE)."
With Token Launch Approaching, How to Value Magic Eden?
"The 'hairy party's' 'big pig's trotter rice' is about to be served." This morning, the Magic Eden Foundation announced the ME token economics, with a total supply of 12.5% allocated for token airdrops, all of which will be unlocked at TGE. Meanwhile, Magic Eden co-founder and CEO Jack Lu stated on X that the ME token will launch in a few weeks, and community-first features will be introduced to reward loyal users, allowing them to earn ME tokens through daily use of Magic Eden products.
As a result of the ME token economics announcement, pre-market data from Whales Market shows that ME (Magic Eden) is currently priced at 2.5 USDT, with a 24-hour increase of 150% and a trading volume exceeding $200,000. Some large score boosters in the Magic Eden community are quite satisfied with the current pre-market price performance, even believing that ME could open at $3 to $4.
Why is the Listing Premium Effect of Upbit in South Korea Gradually Diminishing?
I hope everyone can earn life-changing money on-chain. Haven't you? Perhaps it's been sold off by the South Korean market. I've seen dozens of profit and loss screenshots, with profits reaching hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. I've even heard that some people I know have made a lot of money in real life. Yes, if you don't trade meme coins, you won't make money.
Until now, the public perception is that Koreans only trade on centralized exchanges, mainly on Upbit. This is only partially true. When there are 1000x opportunities on-chain, what use is a centralized exchange?
However, when you look at $DOGE and $SHIB, Upbit is still the second-largest spot market.
On November 19, local time in the U.S., soon-to-be President Trump announced new cabinet nominations: he nominated Howard Lutnick, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, as the new Commerce Secretary, who was previously one of the candidates for Treasury Secretary (with a 9% election probability in the related pool on Polymarket yesterday).
Trump stated in a press release that Lutnick will lead all U.S. affairs related to tariffs and trade. As for the role of Commerce Secretary, he will oversee all hot responsibilities of the Commerce Department: funding new chip factories, implementing trade restrictions, releasing economic data, and even monitoring the weather. He is also one of the co-chairs of Trump's transition team, tasked with filling about 4,000 government positions before the presidential inauguration.
According to procedural rules and past experience, it will take 2 to 4 months of background checks and Senate voting confirmation from the time of presidential nomination to final appointment.
The most relevant aspect to the crypto world is that Howard Lutnick, as CEO, manages over half of the reserves behind Tether at Cantor Fitzgerald. (Odaily previously reported that Tether's $39 billion USDT reserves (U.S. Treasury bonds) are managed by Wall Street bond trading giant Cantor Fitzgerald. Tether reported earlier this week that its assets amounted to $67 billion by the end of 2022. Tether has also become an "indispensable cornerstone of the crypto circle" due to its leading market share in stablecoins.)
So, how solid is Howard Lutnick's background? What is his relationship with Trump and Musk? What statements or initiatives has he made regarding the crypto industry? Odaily Planet Daily will detail Howard Lutnick's story in this article.
How Did a Kid Who Live-Streamed a Token Launch Become a New Top Influencer?
When this kid earned $30,000 through a token issued via pump.fun, he excitedly drooled during the live stream, and apart from "yooo" and "wtf," he couldn't express his joy of harvest in any other words.
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