Headlines
▌Trump: Crypto project World Liberty Financial will be launched on September 16
Donald Trump announced that his cryptocurrency project World Liberty Financial will be officially launched on September 16. He stated on the official X account that the project aims to "embrace the future of cryptocurrency" and "abandon outdated large banks."
Trump actively embraced cryptocurrencies during his campaign and promised that if he was re-elected president, he would fire SEC Chairman Gary Gensler and block the sale of 213,000 bitcoins in the United States. The project will be based on the decentralized financial platform Aave and the Ethereum blockchain and will revolve around a "credit account system."
Dolomite co-founder Corey Caplan was appointed as a consultant for the project, which will work with top security experts to ensure user safety. Two days ago, Lara and Tiffany Trump's X account was hacked and the relevant token information was released. Congresswoman Maxine Waters criticized the project.
Harris urges Trump to continue presidential debate
U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Harris said on the 12th local time after Republican presidential candidate and former President Trump said he would no longer participate in the presidential debate: "We still owe the voters a debate." Harris talked about the presidential election debate at a rally in North Carolina that day and said: "Two nights ago, Trump and I had our first debate. I think we have a responsibility to have another debate because this election and what it concerns are of great importance."
Quotes
As of press time, according to Coingecko data:
BTC's latest transaction price is $58,143.08, with a daily change of +1.3%;
ETH's latest transaction price is 2,362.32, with a daily change of +0.8%;
BNB's latest transaction price is $544.61, with a daily change of +2.5%;
SOL's latest trading price is $136.08, with a daily change of +2.6%;
DOGE’s latest trading price is $0.1027, with a daily change of +1.1%;
XPR recently traded at $0.5619, with a daily change of +5.0%.
policy
▌Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele promotes Bitcoin or is it more of a PR strategy
Vera Bergengruen, a reporter for Time magazine, said that El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele's push for Bitcoin to become a legal tender is mainly for public relations effects rather than real economic improvements. Bukele's advisers called the introduction of Bitcoin "a great rebranding" aimed at changing the outside world's perception of El Salvador. Since the announcement of Bitcoin's legalization in 2021, the policy has caused confusion, forcing the Bukele team to promote the potential benefits of Bitcoin.
Bukele has proposed building a volcano-powered "Bitcoin city," but the project has never been completed. He has also regularly discussed buying Bitcoin with state funds, and there is currently about $400 million in the "public purse." Bukele will remain president until 2029.
▌Eight Democratic lawmakers held a private roundtable meeting with crypto industry executives to discuss Bitcoin-related issues
According to Fox reporter Eleanor Terrett, on Wednesday afternoon, the crypto industry organization Chamber of Digital Commerce and the office of U.S. Congressman Wiley Nickel hosted a private policy-focused roundtable specifically to discuss Bitcoin.
The meeting was for House Democrats interested in learning more about the largest digital currency and its approach to legislation. Who’s in attendance: Eight Democratic House members (names not disclosed) and executives from Riot Platforms, Baker Mckenzie, Auradine, TeraWulf, Sustainable BTC, and CleanSpark.
It is reported that the topics discussed included using BTC for financial inclusion, mining and energy sustainability, and competition with China. The meeting was productive, with members asking good questions, participating actively, and eager to learn.
▌Georgia judge dismisses two criminal charges against Trump in election interference case
A judge in Georgia, U.S., dismissed two criminal charges against former President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Trump in the 2020 Georgia election interference case, as well as another charge against a Trump ally.
Brazil's federal police crack down on $9.7 billion in cryptocurrency money laundering
The Brazilian Federal Police recently launched an operation called "Niflheim" to combat huge money laundering activities through cryptocurrencies. The operation targeted three major organizations, and the police seized and froze approximately $1.58 billion in assets. Since the investigation began in 2021, these organizations are alleged to have laundered up to $9.7 billion, with funds mainly coming from drug trafficking and smuggling. This operation shows the widespread use of cryptocurrencies in illegal activities, which has aroused global regulatory concerns.
▌US urges Nigeria to release detained Binance employees
The U.S. government has urged Nigeria to release Binance employee Tigran Gambaryan, two senior State Department officials revealed. Gambaryan was arrested in Nigeria in February and faced serious health problems in prison.
The detention has become an important factor affecting the diplomatic relations between the United States and Nigeria. U.S. Secretary of State Blinken communicated with the Nigerian Foreign Minister on the matter in May. Other U.S. diplomats, including the ambassador to Nigeria, have also privately called on the Nigerian president, finance minister, justice minister and trade minister for Gambaryan's release. U.S. diplomats said that based on humanitarian considerations, the 40-year-old Gambaryan should be released. He suffered from health problems such as malaria and spinal disc herniation in prison, but did not receive proper medical treatment and his health condition deteriorated sharply.
Gambaryan arrived in Nigeria in February to hold talks with local officials about Binance’s operations in the country. Nigerian authorities accused Binance of causing a collapse in the naira exchange rate, thereby harming the Nigerian economy by allowing users to transfer funds out of the local currency, the naira. Authorities charged Gambaryan and Binance with tax evasion and money laundering. The tax charges have been dropped, but other charges remain.
▌US lawmakers initiate new bill to establish a joint advisory committee on digital assets between the SEC and CFTC
According to Fox News reporter Eleanor Terrett, Tennessee Republican Congressman John Rose, a member of the U.S. House Financial Services Republican Committee, is proposing a new bill called the "BRIDGE Digital Assets Act," which would establish a joint advisory committee on digital assets between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). It is reported that the purpose of the committee is to allow the industry to provide advice to the two agencies on rules, regulations and policies related to digital assets. The committee will be composed of 20 private sector participants who represent different interests in the Crypto field.
John Rose said: “The current heavy-handed, enforcement approach to regulation is not working and is encouraging investment in this critical innovation overseas. The Digital Assets Joint Advisory Committee will provide a framework for governments and the private sector to work together as partners to shape the regulatory environment for digital assets and private sector participants towards success.”
Blockchain Applications
▌ZKsync officially launches on-chain governance system
ZKsync officially launched the on-chain governance system. The ZKsync governance system is designed around the principles of separation of powers and checks and balances. By design, no person or entity has the power to change the ZKsync protocol. All changes to the protocol must be approved by three independent bodies, which exercise independent judgment and control over their decisions: the token holder community, the security committee, and regulators with consistent values who ensure that proposals are implemented.
The Token Holder Assembly allows token holders and representatives to submit and vote on protocol upgrades directly on the chain; the Security Committee is composed of technical experts, responsible for reviewing and approving protocol upgrades, and has the right to freeze the protocol in an emergency; Guardians ensure that governance proposals are in line with the values of the ZK Creed.
The governance system supports three types of proposals: ZKsync Improvement Proposals (ZIPs), Token Program Proposals (TPPs), and Governance Advisory Proposals (GAPs).
Treasure DAO Proposal Seeks to Migrate from Arbitrum to ZKsync
Treasure DAO members will vote on a proposal that would approve the migration of the web3 gaming ecosystem from Arbitrum to ZKsync. The proposal states that ZKsync is more “suitable” to meet Treasure’s long-term plans for decentralized gaming.
If approved, Treasure’s testnet will move from Arbitrum to a new testnet on ZK Stack before launching the mainnet, the statement said. Holders of Treasure’s native token MAGIC will be responsible for deciding on the migration plan. The statement said the Treasure platform has more than 10 games.
Cypherpunk Holdings changes its name to Sol Strategies
Cypherpunk Holdings, a Canadian company focused on blockchain investments, today announced that it has changed its name to “Sol Strategies” to reflect its new investment strategy centered around Solana. The shift includes staking Solana and investing in the protocol’s projects and infrastructure. The change in the company’s legal name from “Cypherpunk Holdings Inc.” to “Sol Strategies Inc.” is effective September 12, 2024, and was unanimously approved by the company’s board of directors and shareholders at the company’s general meeting of shareholders held on July 30, 2024. Sol Strategies will continue to trade on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) under the ticker symbol HODL and on the OTC markets under CYFRF.
The company began purchasing SOL in the second quarter of 2024 (when former Valkyrie CEO Leah Wald took over as CEO) and currently holds over 86,000 solana (worth over $11 million at current prices), most of which are staked for token rewards.
Cryptocurrency
▌BlackRock: Bitcoin is an alternative to global legal tender
Global asset management giant BlackRock said that Bitcoin, as a hedge tool for the global financial system, can cope with the increasing global chaos and geopolitical uncertainty. BlackRock believes that Bitcoin can serve as an alternative currency as trust in governments, banks and legal currencies declines.
▌US Consumer Protection Group Warns Tether of Reserve Transparency Issues
U.S. consumer protection organization Consumers' Research released a report on September 12, warning that stablecoin issuer Tether has problems with the transparency of its U.S. dollar reserves. The organization pointed out that Tether has not yet provided a complete audit conducted by a well-known accounting firm, despite repeated promises to do so. They also compared this lack of transparency with the situation before FTX's collapse, and issued an open letter to U.S. state governors, emphasizing the potential risks of Tether.
At the same time, Tether actively responded to external doubts. In July this year, it hired former Chainalysis chief economist Philip Gradwell to provide a report on the use of USDT, and announced in August that it would assist law enforcement agencies in recovering $108.8 million in USDT related to illegal activities.
Visa releases first cryptocurrency research report
Payment giant Visa released a cryptocurrency study on the use of stablecoins. The study shows that the use of stablecoins has gradually gone beyond speculative transactions and is increasingly used in practical application scenarios.
The study, titled “Stablecoins: The Story of Emerging Markets,” is the first to track actual stablecoin usage on a global scale, surveying 2,500 users in Brazil, Nigeria, Turkey, Indonesia and India.
Important economic developments
▌The market slightly raised its bets on a 50 basis point rate cut by the Federal Reserve next week
Swap contracts have slightly increased the likelihood of a 50 basis point rate cut by the Federal Reserve next week after the Wall Street Journal reported that policymakers were considering a 25 basis point or 50 basis point cut. The September OIS contract fell about 3 basis points to an intraday low of around 5.04%, corresponding to a rate cut of about 28 basis points in the September meeting, moving towards the midpoint of Wednesday's range; as of Wednesday's close, the corresponding rate cut was 26 basis points. Bets on rate cuts this year remain around 103 basis points, unchanged during the day.
▌The current U.S. fiscal year draws to a close, with the budget deficit widening to $1.9 trillion
With one month left in the fiscal year, the U.S. federal budget deficit soared in August, and rising interest costs continue to weigh on the overall balance of payments. Data released by the U.S. Treasury on Thursday showed that the deficit reached $1.9 trillion in the 11 months ending in August, an increase of 24% year-on-year. The deficit in August alone was $380 billion, while August 2023 was a surplus after adjusting for calendar differences. A large part of the difference in the month was due to the rejection of student loan relief. The interest burden on the U.S. debt balance remains a major drag on the budget. Interest costs totaled $1.05 trillion in the first 11 months of this fiscal year, up 30% from 2023. Annual interest costs have never exceeded $1 trillion before, but Treasury officials pointed out that the level of interest costs as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) was higher in the early 1990s.
Golden Encyclopedia
What is the Ethereum Prague-Electra (Pectra) upgrade?
Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade combines two separate upgrades: the Prague upgrade and the Electra upgrade. The Prague upgrade focused on changes to the network’s execution layer, while the Electra upgrade affects the consensus layer. These upgrades are collectively referred to as the “Pectra” upgrade when combined. The Pectra upgrade will follow “Dencun,” a merger of the Deneb and Cancun upgrades in March 2024. Technically, Dencun is an Ethereum hard fork designed to reduce transaction fees for Layer 2 solutions. Pectra is a new milestone on the Ethereum development roadmap and is scheduled to go live in Q1 2025. This timeline allows for the inclusion of additional features to improve the Ethereum user experience (UX).
Disclaimer: As a blockchain information platform, Golden Finance publishes articles for information reference only and is not intended as actual investment advice. Please establish a correct investment philosophy and be sure to raise your risk awareness.
