Today's news highlights:
Bloomberg: Russia is trying to circumvent Western sanctions by using Bitcoin for transactions within BRICS countries.
Apple released a new AI preview, which includes features integrated with ChatGPT.
Tesla's Bitcoin holdings remained unchanged in Q3 2024, with a net profit of $2.167 billion.
Bitwise report: Tether's profits surpassed BlackRock's last year, and stablecoins are becoming an important application of crypto technology.
The Base mainnet will introduce fault proofs on October 30.
The crypto derivatives trading protocol Variational completed a $10.3 million seed round funding, with participation from Coinbase Ventures and others.
An insider's single sale accounted for 50% of the total supply of SHAR tokens, causing the SHAR price to plummet by 96%.
GOAT's market capitalization exceeded $800 million, with a 24-hour price increase of 43.12%.
Regulatory news
Bloomberg: Russia is trying to circumvent Western sanctions by using Bitcoin for transactions within BRICS countries.
According to Bloomberg terminal information, as the BRICS summit kicks off in Kazan, Russia, cryptocurrency has become one of the topics. Russian lawmakers are pushing an idea that Russian miners can sell their tokens to international buyers, who can then use Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to pay for imports, effectively circumventing Western sanctions. The sanctions have heavily impacted Russia, but cryptocurrency provides an alternative to the traditional financial system that relies on the dollar and banks.
Richard Wolf, an American economist and honorary retired professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, commented on the situation, stating that the BRICS alliance is surpassing the already peaked U.S.; the U.S. is on a downward trajectory and is trying to maintain its international dominance; and the BRICS nations are also gaining economic advantages over the U.S.
The U.S. Department of Justice warns Elon Musk that daily $1 million donations may involve illegal activities, and the voter restriction raises legal controversies.
According to CNN, the U.S. Department of Justice recently warned America PAC, owned by Elon Musk, that its activity of giving away $1 million daily to registered voters in swing states may violate federal laws. The Department's Public Integrity Section sent a letter to the political action committee, highlighting that its 'cash giveaways' could constitute election-related illegal activities.
According to federal law, paying people for voter registration is illegal, while Musk's activity requires participants to be registered voters in designated states and to sign petitions supporting the First and Second Amendments. Despite Musk's emphasis on social media that winners are non-partisan and not required to vote, experts believe that restricting participation to registered voters still carries legal risks.
After facing criticism, America PAC referred to the bonus as 'compensation for spokesperson positions', but the website's terms did not change substantively, still requiring winners to be registered voters. It is unclear whether the Department of Justice letter prompted content adjustments.
U.S. government lawyers defended Nishad Singh, stating that he provided 'significant assistance' in the FTX investigation.
According to CoinDesk, U.S. prosecutors handling the case of former FTX executive Nishad Singh have requested the sentencing judge to consider Singh's 'significant assistance' and 'exemplary cooperation' in the government's investigation into FTX. In a document submitted on October 23, the prosecutors stated that Singh 'has shown genuine remorse and a desire to help'. Singh assisted the government in understanding how FTX's code allowed the illegal use of customer funds and detailed the transactions that Sam Bankman-Fried made with the stolen funds.
In February 2023, the former engineering chief pleaded guilty to six criminal charges, including fraud and conspiracy, related to the collapse of FTX last November. Last week, his lawyers submitted a sentencing document on October 16 requesting the federal judge to spare him from imprisonment. They described him as 'an exceptionally selfless person', claiming his role at FTX was limited and detailing his cooperation with authorities. Singh and former FTX CTO Gary Wang are both awaiting sentencing.
The Bank of Canada cut interest rates by 50 basis points, marking the fourth consecutive rate cut.
According to China Fund News, the Bank of Canada cut interest rates by 50 basis points on Wednesday, lowering the benchmark rate from 4.25% to 3.75%, marking the largest reduction in borrowing costs since the early days of the pandemic in March 2020. The Bank of Canada stated that this is a sign of the country returning to a low-inflation era. To counter soaring prices, the Bank of Canada had previously raised rates to a 20-year high, but it has cut rates four times in a row since June. The inflation rate in September dropped to 1.6%, below the target of 2%.
AI
Apple released a new AI preview, which includes features integrated with ChatGPT.
According to TechCrunch, on Wednesday, Apple Intelligence released the latest updates for iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2, allowing developers to experience the integration of ChatGPT for the first time. Meanwhile, Apple also launched other smart features, including Genmoji, Image Playground, Visual Intelligence, and Image Wand. The public will also gain access to Apple Intelligence features for the first time, such as integrated writing tools, image cleaning, article summarization, and a redesigned Siri input experience, which were offered in iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and 15.1 versions. However, they will have to wait for future updates to access OpenAI's platform. Users must select Apple Intelligence and ChatGPT during the setup process or in later settings. They do not need to have a ChatGPT account or a standalone app. However, without a premium account, their access to queries will be limited, although everyone can access all models from OpenAI, including GPT-4.
OpenAI launched a simplified consistency model (sCM), which will significantly enhance sampling speed.
According to OpenAI's announcement, it has launched a new simplified consistency model (sCM) based on a simplified continuous-time consistency model, providing higher training stability and scalability.
Project updates
dYdX issued a sunset process reminder for dYdX v3, stating that all trading, etc., will stop on October 28.
dYdX posted on the X platform: 'dYdX v3 sunset process reminder, all trading, oracle price updates, and funding payments will stop at 20:05 Beijing time on October 28. We encourage users to plan to close positions and withdraw USDC from the dYdX v3 smart contract.' According to previous announcements, this change only affects dYdX v3 users, while users of dYdX Chain, dydx.trade, or v4 API are not affected by this change.
Tapioca Foundation: $4.7 million in funds were stolen due to a social engineering attack, and a 10% reward will be offered for information leading to recovery.
According to the official announcement from the Tapioca Foundation, on October 19, Tapioca DAO suffered a social engineering attack, resulting in $4.7 million in stolen funds. The team previously offered a $1 million bounty to the hacker in exchange for the remaining $3.7 million, setting a deadline of 4 PM UTC on October 22. As the deadline has passed without response, this proposal has now been voided.
The Tapioca Foundation is currently working with law enforcement and several security teams, including ZeroShadow, Seal911, and the BNB Smart Chain team, as most of the stolen funds remain on that chain. Tapioca is now offering a 10% bounty for any individuals who can provide clues or take action to help recover the funds, with relevant information to be sent to tapiocahack@protonmail.com.
An insider's single sale accounted for 50% of the total supply of SHAR tokens, causing the SHAR price to plummet by 96%.
According to Lookonchain monitoring, an insider sold 500 million $SHAR in a single transaction, accounting for 50% of the total supply, in exchange for 19,620 $SOL (approximately $3.38 million), causing the $SHAR price to plummet by 96%.
The insider previously used 5,710 $SOL (approximately $948,000) across 16 wallets to scoop up 665.6 million $SHAR (accounting for 66.56% of the total supply) and dispersed these tokens to over 100 wallets. Four hours ago, he collected 500 million $SHAR from 104 wallets and sold them all at once, making a profit of 13,910 $SOL (approximately $2.4 million).
zkLink Core DAO announced that over 40% of the ZKL tokens' unlock has been postponed by six months.
According to The Block, zkLink Core DAO announced the postponement of its ZKL token unlocking plan, delaying the token unlock originally scheduled for October 22 by six months. This decision affects 40.5% of the total ZKL token supply and impacts the token distribution for early private round investors, teams, and advisors, with the unlock now set to begin on April 22, 2025.
ZachXBT: OTC trader 'Wang Yicong' has helped the hacker organization Lazarus Group launder tens of millions of dollars.
Crypto detective ZachXBT disclosed on X platform that a Chinese OTC trader named 'Wang Yicong' has been helping the Lazarus Group launder tens of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency since 2022 through bank transfers. A few months ago, a follower contacted me after their trading account was frozen following a P2P transaction with Yicong Wang (an OTC trader who has used aliases like Seawang, Greatdtrader, and BestRhea977). They then shared a Tron wallet address with me from screenshots of WeChat conversations with Wang Yicong: THsSCBGazjjho7u2BQQsmrpbDv1Q237FL4. Recently, Wang Yicong contacted them, requesting a larger USDT to CNY order of about $1.5 million to be placed on August 13, 2024, with an exchange rate far below the market rate. The related address is THjaAygUNkzoXufwEoKCzbUZHpsehL9rAZ. When reviewing blockchain data related to Wang Yicong, you will notice the integration of a large amount of illegal funds from other hacking incidents involving Irys co-founders, Alex Labs, as well as other cases involving EasyFi, Bondly, and Maverick.
Michael Saylor's comments on 'regulated Bitcoin custody' have been criticized by Vitalik.
According to The Block, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently criticized MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor's views. Saylor stated in a recent interview with the New Zealand Herald that concerns about using regulated entities to custody Bitcoin mainly stem from 'paranoid cryptocurrency anarchists'. He articulated reasons for Bitcoin being a superior digital asset and store of value, arguing that it should be seen as 'a digital currency crucial to human progress.' However, his views on regulated custody sparked strong reactions within the Bitcoin community, especially from advocates of self-custody, with some questioning whether Saylor truly understands the essence of Bitcoin.
In response to this controversy, Vitalik expressed his views on X platform. He stated, 'I am happy to say that I think Michael Saylor's comments are simply ridiculous. He seems to clearly support the method of protecting cryptocurrency through regulatory capture, but there are many precedents of failure for this approach. I think this is completely contrary to the core principles of cryptocurrency.' Vitalik's remarks were in response to Casa co-founder and CTO Jameson Lopp, who previously warned that 'self-custody of Bitcoin is not an exclusive choice of the paranoid. Convincing people to trust third-party custodians actually brings many long-term negative effects.' He emphasized that self-custody is crucial not only for individual Bitcoin holders but also for maintaining decentralization, enhancing network security, ensuring governance participation, and driving ongoing innovation and expansion without relying on third parties.
Unlike Lopp's perspective, Saylor advocates for holding Bitcoin through regulated entities like BlackRock, Fidelity, JPMorgan, and State Street. He believes this approach is not only safer but also reduces volatility and minimizes the risk of losses. Because governments and legislators have investments in these institutions, they are less likely to become targets of government crackdowns compared to unregulated private entities.
Layer 1 blockchain MANTRA, focused on RWA assets, has launched its mainnet.
Layer 1 blockchain MANTRA, focused on RWA assets, announced on X platform that its mainnet is now live, enabling users to perform several important activities, including: bridging OM tokens from ERC-20 to the MANTRA mainnet token to gain access to future RWA tokens; users can stake OM to help secure the network and earn on-chain staking rewards; OM will become an important part of the RWA ledger; and earning KARMA by completing new tasks on the mainnet.
Ripple CEO stated that Citibank, a long-term partner, has terminated its personal banking services due to its crypto background.
According to CoinDesk, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse revealed at DC Fintech Week in Washington that Citibank, a long-term partner, has terminated its personal banking relationship with him due to his background in the cryptocurrency industry. Garlinghouse stated that this is a result of the U.S. government's pressure on banking institutions to be cautious in engaging with crypto assets. He mentioned that Citibank gave him five days to manage the account funds and explicitly stated that this action was due to his 'prominent position in the crypto industry', which led to more scrutiny from federal regulators.
Garlinghouse criticized the Biden administration's regulatory stance on the cryptocurrency industry, specifically targeting the SEC Chairman Gary Gensler's hardline approach, and stated that regardless of the presidential election results in November, the U.S. crypto policy will improve in the future. Additionally, he mentioned that an ETF linked to XRP is 'inevitable' and suggested that crypto startups register overseas to avoid regulatory uncertainties in the U.S.
Upbit will launch trading pairs for SAFE in Korean Won, BTC, and USDT.
According to Upbit's announcement, the platform will support the trading of the new digital asset SAFE, opening markets for Korean Won, BTC, and USDT. SAFE is based on the Ethereum network, and trading is expected to start on October 24 at 18:00 (KST), with deposits opening within two hours of the announcement.
Safe (SAFE) is a project dedicated to providing users with flexible and complete control over their crypto assets, aiming to enable users to truly 'own' various digital assets such as digital identities, financial assets, and digital art. Safe achieves its vision through the smart contract-based multi-signature wallet Safe{Wallet} and the open-source modular account abstraction framework Safe{Core}, and promotes future realization through the ecosystem participation reward system Safe{Pass}.
Binance completed the integration of Worldcoin (WLD) mainnet.
Binance announced that it has completed the integration of Worldcoin (WLD) mainnet and has opened deposit and withdrawal services.
Bitwise report: Tether's profits surpassed BlackRock's last year, and stablecoins are becoming an important application of crypto technology.
According to Bitwise's Q3 crypto market report, stablecoins are becoming an essential application of crypto technology, with their influence gradually permeating several trillion-dollar markets. Bitwise noted that the top five stablecoins hold more U.S. Treasury bonds than some G20 countries like Germany. Additionally, several publicly traded companies, including Visa, have begun adopting stablecoins, with Tether's profits surpassing BlackRock's last year.
The business model of stablecoins earns interest through holding income-generating assets like government bonds, making it a bridge between traditional finance and the digital economy. Despite price stability, investment opportunities still exist. Bitwise believes that with clearer regulations and the entry of payment giants, stablecoins might become an alternative to money market funds. Furthermore, blockchains like Ethereum also benefit from the growth of stablecoins.
The report suggests that stablecoins hold great potential and investors should closely monitor their development. Currently, the total amount of liquid deposits in the U.S. is about $18 trillion, while the scale of stablecoins is only 1% of that market. If interest-paying stablecoins are approved on a large scale in the future or if regulatory frameworks become clearer, the market share of stablecoins could significantly increase.
Binance will support network upgrades and hard forks for Harmony (ONE) and VITE (VITE).
Binance will support network upgrades and hard forks for Harmony (ONE) and VITE (VITE). The Harmony (ONE) project plans to upgrade at block height 64,847,872, expected on October 31, 2024, at 21:00 Beijing time. Binance will suspend ONE deposits and withdrawals at 20:00 on the same day. Additionally, the VITE (VITE) project will upgrade at block height 166,869,900, expected at 22:30 Beijing time on October 31, 2024. Binance will suspend VITE deposits and withdrawals at 21:30 on that day.
Hackers from Radiant Capital have bridged approximately $52 million in stolen funds from Arbitrum and BNB Chain to the Ethereum network.
According to PeckShieldAlert monitoring, the hacker address involved in the Radiant Capital attack has bridged nearly all stolen funds from Arbitrum and BNB Chain to the Ethereum network, totaling approximately 20,500 ETH, valued at about $52 million.
The Base mainnet will introduce fault proofs on October 30.
According to the official announcement from Base, the mainnet will introduce fault proofs on October 30, marking an important step towards decentralization. With this mechanism, anyone can monitor and challenge invalid withdrawal transactions without permission, eliminating the need to trust third parties. The Base team stated that they have been working closely with Optimism to ensure the smooth launch of fault proofs and upgrade security. During the upgrade, all pending withdrawal transactions will need to be re-verified.
Financing news
The crypto derivatives trading protocol Variational completed a $10.3 million seed round funding with participation from Coinbase Ventures.
According to The Block, Variational, a crypto derivatives trading protocol built on the Ethereum Layer 2 network Arbitrum, has raised $10.3 million in seed funding. Bain Capital Crypto and Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia India and Southeast Asia) co-led the funding, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Dragonfly Capital, North Island Ventures, Hack VC, and other investors.
Web3 data and AI company Validation Cloud completed a new round of financing of $10 million.
According to a press release, Web3 data and AI company Validation Cloud announced a $10 million financing round from True Global Ventures, with plans to use the funds to expand its AI products and achieve seamless access to Web3 data. The company's product platform consists of three parts: staking, node API, and data and AI. In terms of staking, Validation Cloud's staked assets have exceeded $1 billion. Some of Validation Cloud's clients include Chainlink, Aptos, Consensys, Stellar, and Hedera. Earlier, in February, it was reported that Validation Cloud completed a $5.8 million financing round led by Cadenza Ventures.
Web3 mobile gaming platform Party Icon completed a $9 million seed round funding, led by Bitkraft Ventures.
According to The Block, Bitkraft Ventures led a $9 million seed round funding for the Web3 mobile gaming platform Party Icons. This round also saw participation from IDG Capital and The Sandbox co-founder Sebastien Borget. The funds will be used to drive the development of Party Icons' gaming and social experiences, as well as strengthen its Web3 infrastructure.
Bitkraft partner Jonathan Huang stated that Party Icons aims to combine the social elements of party games with the intensity of shooting games. Party Icons currently offers three different modes, hoping to become a platform for players to not only play games but also interact socially. Although crypto games have struggled to penetrate the mainstream market, there is still continuous investor support for Web3 gaming projects.
Self-custodial digital trading company Shuttle Labs has completed a $6 million seed round financing, with participation from CMCC Global and others.
Self-custodial digital trading company Shuttle Labs announced that it has completed a $6 million seed round financing, with participation from Anthony Scaramucci, CMCC Global, SALT Fund, Flow Traders, and several former FTX employees. Shuttle Labs also announced the launch of the beta version of its self-custodial digital trading platform, Genius, aimed at addressing a series of issues that led to the bankruptcy of FTX, such as security, user control, and decentralization, and exploring the risks eliminated by self-custody, ensuring users always hold their own private keys.
European digital asset platform STOKR completed a $7.98 million financing round, led by Fulgur Ventures.
According to The Block, the European digital asset platform STOKR has completed $7.98 million in financing, planning to use most of the funds to establish one of the first corporate Bitcoin reserves in Europe. This round of financing was led by Fulgur Ventures, including 100 Bitcoins (approximately $6.78 million) and 1.2 million euros in cash (totaling 7.4 million euros).
STOKR stated that it will emulate MicroStrategy's strategy and actively expand its Bitcoin reserves in the coming years. The company also plans to launch tokenized assets based on Bitcoin and develop institutional tokenization infrastructure on native Bitcoin Layer 2 technologies (such as Liquid Network).
Mining news
Bitcoin mining company TeraWulf plans to raise $350 million through convertible bonds for stock buybacks.
According to The Block, Bitcoin mining company TeraWulf plans to raise $350 million through the issuance of convertible preferred notes to support a $200 million stock buyback plan. The company stated that initial purchasers can choose to increase by $75 million within 13 days after the note issuance, with the notes maturing on February 1, 2030, and specific interest rates not yet disclosed. TeraWulf's board has approved a buyback of up to $200 million of common stock by December 31, 2025.
Previously, TeraWulf announced earlier this month that it had sold a 25% stake in the Nautilus facility for approximately $92 million. According to the latest operational data, the company mined 176 Bitcoins in September, down 8 from August. Currently, TeraWulf is the fifth largest publicly listed Bitcoin mining company, with a total market capitalization of $2.44 billion.
Important data
Tesla's Bitcoin holdings remained unchanged in Q3 2024, with a net profit of $2.167 billion.
Tesla (TSLA) did not sell its Bitcoin holdings worth $763 million in Q3 2024. According to the latest financial report, the company neither increased nor decreased its holdings. However, Tesla transferred its Bitcoin assets from public wallets for the first time this quarter, involving $760 million. According to Arkham Intelligence data, Tesla conducted multiple large transfers, including sending $75.18 million, $76.08 million, and $77.16 million to anonymous wallets, without any sales or conversions to other crypto assets. Since reducing its holdings by 75% in Q2 2022, Tesla has not further sold Bitcoin. Additionally, Elon Musk's SpaceX also holds about $560 million in Bitcoin, with both companies collectively owning about 19,788 Bitcoins, totaling approximately $1.3 billion.
According to Tesla's Q3 2024 financial report, the company's quarterly profit exceeded analysts' expectations and it is expected that this year's vehicle deliveries will show 'slight growth', causing the stock price of the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturer to surge more than 9% in after-hours trading. The report shows Tesla's net profit for Q3 was $2.167 billion, expected to be $1.78 billion, with a gross margin of 19.8%, higher than the expected 17.3%. Revenue grew by 8% to $25.2 billion, slightly below the average expectation of $25.4 billion. Tesla stated, 'Despite the ongoing deterioration of macroeconomic conditions, we expect a slight increase in vehicle deliveries in 2024.' Additionally, Tesla's sales cost per vehicle has dropped to a historical low of approximately $35,100. Tesla still expects to start production of affordable models in the first half of 2025.
An address associated with the Ethereum Foundation reportedly exchanged 100 ETH for approximately 257,400 DAI.
According to Arkham monitoring, last night, a suspected Ethereum Foundation address (0xd7...c1f4) transferred 100 ETH to CoW Protocol, after which this address received approximately 257,400 DAI from CoW Protocol and transferred this DAI to an on-chain address marked as 'Ethereum Foundation' starting with 0x9eE.
It has been reported that since the beginning of this year, a suspected Ethereum Foundation address (0xd7...c1f4) has been selling ETH for DAI through Cow Protocol almost weekly or biweekly, generally in amounts of 50, 100, and 200 ETH.
A certain whale has accumulated a total of 11,320 ETH deposited into Binance over the past week, approximately $29.57 million.
According to The Data Nerd monitoring, five hours ago, a certain whale (boby1337eth) deposited 1,000 ETH (approximately $2.55 million) into Binance. Within a week, this whale has deposited a total of 11,320 ETH (approximately $29.57 million) into Binance. Two hours ago, a wallet (possibly belonging to imToken) also deposited 5,000 ETH (approximately $1.276 million) into HTX.
An address holding 150 Bitcoins was activated after 13.3 years of dormancy.
According to Whale Alert monitoring, a Bitcoin address that had been dormant for 13.3 years has just been activated, holding 150 Bitcoins, currently valued at about $10.03 million, while its value in 2011 was only $2,540.
Data: Among the 575 ETFs launched in the U.S. this year, 14 BTC/ETH ETFs have made it to the top 30 in terms of fund inflows.
The ETF Store president Nate Geraci posted on X platform, stating: 'As of now in 2024, the U.S. has launched 575 exchange-traded funds (ETFs). In terms of fund inflows, 14 of the top 30 are Bitcoin or Ethereum spot ETFs, including 6 of the top 10. There are also 2 ETFs related to MSTR (a company holding a significant amount of Bitcoin) in the top 30. The traditional financial industry's interest in cryptocurrency is real.'
GOAT's market capitalization exceeded $800 million with a 24-hour price increase of 43.12%.
Market data shows that the AI-themed meme coin GOAT's market capitalization has surpassed $800 million, with the current token price reported at $0.8021, reflecting a 24-hour increase of 43.12%.
Data: The total net inflow of Bitcoin spot ETFs reached $192 million yesterday.
Data: The total net inflow of Ethereum spot ETFs reached $1.2663 million yesterday.
PANews APP feature update, download now to experience!
[Comment] Speak freely, exchange views
[Floating window] Reading interrupted, return at any time.
[In-text search] Quick positioning, direct access to the core
