Today's news tips:
1. Former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison's sentencing hearing will be held on September 24
2. The Federal Reserve will announce its interest rate decision at 2:00 a.m. Thursday
3. Wintermute will launch a new prediction market OutcomeMarket next week
4. Google Cloud launches new blockchain RPC service, now supports Ethereum mainnet and testnet
5. Binance: Welcome to report any form of corruption, the reward will be up to 5 million US dollars
6. Crypto venture capital Dragonfly is seeking to raise $500 million for a new fund
7. Coinbase includes CoW Protocol (COW) in its coin listing roadmap
8. Bitcoin spot ETF had a total net inflow of US$187 million yesterday, continuing its net inflow for 4 consecutive days
Recommended reading:
Vitalik Buterin's speech at TOKEN2049: The crypto industry has entered a mature stage, and these future directions are exciting
Full text of Arthur Hayes’ speech at Token 2049: The market may collapse after the rate cut, but Ethereum may perform well
Regulatory News
FTX auditor Prager Metis reaches $1.95 million settlement with SEC
According to The Block, auditing firm Prager Metis has reached a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), agreeing to pay $1.95 million to resolve allegations of negligence in its audit of the now-defunct crypto exchange FTX. The SEC accused Prager Metis of "falsely stating" FTX's financial status in two audit reports submitted between February 2021 and April 2022 and failing to comply with generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS). In addition, the company did not fully disclose the potential risks of the relationship between FTX and Alameda Research.
The US SEC charged three individuals and five companies with operating a "pig killing" scam
According to CoinDesk, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sued three individuals and five companies for allegedly operating a "pig-killing" scam. This type of scam uses social media applications to gain the trust of victims, tricking them into investing in fake cryptocurrency platforms and then absconding with the money. This is the first time the SEC has taken enforcement action against this type of crypto scam. The SEC accused the NanoBit platform of defrauding at least 18 investors of nearly $1 million through a fake crypto ecosystem, while another platform, CoinW6, defrauded at least 11 investors of a total of $2.2 million. The SEC reminds the public to be wary of investment opportunities promoted on social media.
The Federal Reserve will announce its interest rate decision at 2:00 a.m. Thursday
The Federal Reserve will announce its interest rate decision at 2:00 a.m. Beijing time on Thursday. The market generally expects that the first rate cut in four years will be implemented, but it is still unclear whether the rate cut will be 25bp or 50bp. The latest "dot plot" and economic forecast will also be announced at that time. According to CME's FedWatch tool: the probability of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates by 50 basis points is 61%, while the probability of the Federal Reserve choosing a smaller rate cut of 25 basis points is 39%.
AI
BlackRock and Microsoft to set up $30 billion artificial intelligence investment fund
According to the Financial Times, citing people familiar with the matter, BlackRock is planning to launch an artificial intelligence investment fund of more than $30 billion with technology giant Microsoft, which will build data centers and energy projects to meet the growing demand for electricity and infrastructure for artificial intelligence. BlackRock will launch this fund together with its new infrastructure investment unit, Global Infrastructure Partners, and it will become one of the largest investment vehicles in Wall Street history. Microsoft and Abu Dhabi-backed investment company MGX are general partners of the fund. People familiar with the matter also said that chipmaker Nvidia will provide expertise. According to people familiar with the matter, the investment tool aims to address the huge demand for electricity and digital infrastructure to build artificial intelligence products. The computing power of artificial intelligence requires more energy than previous technological innovations.
It is expected that the existing infrastructure will face serious capacity bottlenecks in the coming years.
Japanese AI company Sakana AI completes 30 billion yen Series A financing, with a valuation of 1.5 billion US dollars
Japanese AI startup Sakana AI has raised approximately 30 billion yen (approximately $214 million) in its latest Series A financing, bringing the company's valuation to $1.5 billion. The financing was supported by major Japanese companies such as Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui, Mizuho Financial Group, NEC, KDDI, and Fujitsu. Sakana AI is committed to providing energy-efficient AI solutions, especially for countries with limited resources, and has received investment from global well-known companies such as NVIDIA.
Project News
Coinbase Adds CoW Protocol (COW) to its Listing Roadmap
Coinbase Assets tweeted that it has added CoW Protocol (COW) to its coin listing roadmap today.
Former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison sentencing hearing set for Sept. 24
According to Cointelegraph, the sentencing hearing of Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, will be held on September 24. In a document filed with the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York on September 17, U.S. prosecutors stated that Ellison gave "extraordinary cooperation" in the prosecution of former FTX CEO SBF, assisted in investigating the wrongdoings of Alameda Research and FTX, provided "credible and powerful testimony" against SBF at trial, and confessed his serious misconduct in the collapse of FTX. Although Ellison participated in the wrongdoing, prosecutors attributed the main responsibility to SBF. Ellison had previously pleaded guilty to seven charges of wire fraud, commodity fraud, securities fraud and money laundering. The prosecutor recommended a lighter sentence for him, and his lawyer requested that he had served his sentence and be subject to three years of supervised release. Like Ellison, Nishad Singh, former director of engineering at FTX, and co-founder Gary Wang also pleaded guilty to criminal charges and cooperated with prosecutors. They will attend sentencing hearings on October 30 and November 20, respectively.
Wintermute to launch new prediction market OutcomeMarket next week
According to The Block, crypto trading platform Wintermute will launch a new prediction market OutcomeMarket on Ethereum, Base and Arbitrum next week. The company is using Chaos Labs' Edge Proofs Oracle to develop OutcomeMarket, and will first launch betting markets for TRUMP and HARRIS tokens. "Unlike existing prediction markets that are limited to a single chain, the multi-chain approach allows users' native blockchain ecosystems to participate directly without cumbersome asset bridging," Wintermute wrote in a statement. Wintermute also pointed out that DeFi may be integrated in the future, such as providing users with returns or leverage. Wintermute also plans to use trading platforms Bebop, WOO and Backpack as market makers for two initial ERC-20 token markets, and will expand to more markets. Wintermute's trading pool will be supported by liquidity, and payments will be made when one party wins.
He Yi: Binance listing consists of four parts: business, research group, committee, and compliance review.
He Yifa responded to the anxiety and rumors of the cryptocurrency circle in a long article. She said that from Bitcoin being called a "Ponzi scheme" by countless people over and over again, and being criticized by countless mainstream media, to the approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, it is of course a great victory. At the same time, we can see that the trading scale of traditional financial products related to cryptocurrencies is steadily expanding, such as: CME and ETF trading volume. Yes, the big ones are coming, but the way they come is different from the way everyone imagines that capital will take over without thinking. Just like the Internet changed the publishing industry and the television industry, it did not happen overnight, but it moistened things silently, and brought more than just the rise of Bitcoin.
In terms of the basic framework and process of listing on Binance, He Yi said that Binance listing consists of four links: business, research group, committee, and compliance review. Binance lists projects that users need, projects with users and traffic, projects that have a long life, and projects with solid business logic. He Yi finally said that if we have different opinions, then you may be right.
Deribit to launch BNB perpetual contracts and options on October 1
According to Deribit's official announcement, Deribit will launch BNB perpetual contracts and options on October 1, 2024, at 9:00 am UTC (17:00 Beijing time). The minimum order size for BNB-USDC perpetual contracts is 0.01 BNB, and the minimum price change is 0.05 USDC; the contract multiplier for BNB options is 1, the minimum order size is 1, the minimum price change is 0.1 USDC, and daily, weekly and monthly expiration options are available. The pricing and margin of the two products will use USDC, which is consistent with the standards of SOL and XRP. A non-trading version is currently available in the API for customers to prepare their systems.
Binance: Welcome to report any form of corruption, the reward will be up to 5 million US dollars
Binance Chinese posted on the X platform that recently, a screenshot of a certain V community circulating in the Chinese community triggered a discussion about Binance's "rat warehouse". Although the content of these screenshots was eventually confirmed to be a misunderstanding, Binance attaches great importance to such issues. Any behavior involving leakage or corruption will be dealt with seriously once verified.
According to the exchange's compliance requirements, all Binance employees need to complete relevant mandatory compliance training. At the same time, Binance also has an independent audit team that specializes in investigating such violations. If it is verified that there is information leakage or insider trading suspicion, Binance will immediately initiate legal proceedings to transfer the relevant personnel to the judicial authorities, and those who are serious will face criminal liability.
Reporting any form of corruption is welcome, and the reward will be up to $5 million. The reporting channel is open and transparent, and any clues about coin listing or other forms of corruption are always welcome. After verification, if it involves Binance internal personnel, you will be provided with a reward of $10 to $5 million while protecting your personal information.
BitGo to launch reward-based stablecoin USDS in January 2025
According to CoinDesk, BitGo announced that it will launch a new stablecoin USDS in January 2025. Unlike existing stablecoins, USDS will attract participants by providing rewards to institutions that provide liquidity. USDS will be supported by short-term treasury bonds, overnight repurchase agreements and cash, and BitGo calls it the first "open participation" stablecoin. CEO Mike Belshe said the move is aimed at creating a fairer system and plans to go online on major exchanges with the goal of reaching $10 billion in assets within a year.
Google Cloud launches new blockchain RPC service, now supports Ethereum mainnet and testnet
According to the official blog of Google Cloud, Google Cloud has launched a new blockchain RPC service, which aims to help Web3 developers build and expand decentralized applications faster. The service is based on Google infrastructure, providing reliable, scalable and cost-effective solutions, simplifying the complexity of node management. Google Cloud's Blockchain RPC now supports the Ethereum mainnet and testnet, and will be expanded to several other chains next year. Developers can enjoy up to 100 requests per second through the free tier. The service is compatible with the Ethereum JSON-RPC standard, allowing developers to easily integrate.
Boyaa Interactive invested 100 bitcoins in Web3 esports platform MTT ESports in exchange for 25% of its equity
According to an announcement released by Boyaa Interactive, Boyaa Interactive International Co., Ltd. announced its investment in the MTT ESports project. The company will invest 100 bitcoins (approximately US$5.8193 million) through a subscription agreement in exchange for a 25% stake in MTT ESports. MTT ESports focuses on developing Web3 infrastructure and e-sports platforms. Its technology is based on the Cosmos ecosystem and is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
LayerZero Foundation launches lzCatalyst program to connect developers and venture capital institutions
The LayerZero Foundation has launched the lzCatalyst program, which aims to connect top developers with the best venture capital firms in the crypto industry. As launch partners of lzCatalyst, institutions such as a16z Crypto, Animoca Brands, Delphi Ventures, and PayPal Ventures can choose to invest up to $300 million to support innovative cross-chain applications built on LayerZero. The program provides developers with sufficient funds and resources, and participating funds can invest directly in projects, and investment decisions will remain independent. If a project receives investment support from multiple funds, it can also receive additional strategic funding from the LayerZero Foundation.
1inch launches new feature Fusion+, allowing users to trade across chains
Decentralized trading protocol 1inch has launched a new feature, Fusion+, that allows users to trade digital assets across chains while retaining self-custody of their assets. With Fusion+, users have full custody of their assets, while the architecture ensures that transactions on both networks involved in the swap are fully completed without relying on a third party. The feature ensures that cross-chain swaps are secure, trustless, and fully verified. Currently, Fusion+ is in beta and users need to manually enable it in the settings.
Financing News
Crypto VC Dragonfly is looking to raise $500 million for new fund
According to Bloomberg, crypto venture capital firm Dragonfly Capital is seeking to raise $500 million for its fourth fund, which will invest in early-stage projects. It is reported that it has successfully raised $250 million and plans to complete financing in the first quarter of next year.
VC firm Patron has raised $100 million for its new consumer venture fund
According to Bloomberg, Patron, a venture capital firm led by former gaming industry executives Jason Yeh, Brian Cho and Amber Atherton, has raised a new $100 million fund to focus on investing in early-stage consumer-oriented technology startups, especially technology inspired by games. The fund is backed by Silicon Valley heavyweights such as Marc Andreessen, Garry Tan and Ron Conway. Patron plans to invest in 20 to 25 companies in three years, with a single investment amount of $1 million to $4 million, focusing on using gaming industry experience to drive innovation in other markets, such as AI virtual assistants and smart shopping assistants.
Web3 startup Vana completes $5 million financing, led by Coinbase Ventures
According to The Block, Coinbase Ventures led Vana's $5 million financing round, bringing its total financing to $25 million. Vana is a Web3 startup dedicated to building a user data pool network that allows users to monetize social media data through decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and provide training data for AI models. Other well-known supporters of Vana include: Casey Caruso, Packy McCormick, Manifold, GSR, Will Price, Jez, SCB 10X, Defiance Capital, Contango, Auros Ventures, MH Ventures, BoxGroup and Will Manidis.
Previously, Vana raised $18 million in a Series A round led by Paradigm and a $2 million seed round led by Polychain. Vana's Reddit DAO has attracted about 140,000 users to participate, and users can earn hundreds of dollars by contributing historical data to the platform.
Solana gaming company MagicBlock completes $3 million pre-seed financing, with a16z participating
According to Blockworks, Solana-based gaming company MagicBlock has completed $3 million in pre-seed financing, with venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) participating. The company plans to use the new funds to expand its team and develop technology, including introducing its game engine to the Solana mainnet and working with online games. Founded in September 2023, MagicBlock is currently developing a game engine that allows video games to run entirely on the chain.
TON receives $30 million in strategic investment, with Bitget and Foresight Ventures participating
According to The Block, TON received a $30 million strategic investment, with Bitget and Foresight Ventures participating. The investment aims to strengthen the development of Telegram-based projects, focusing on click-to-earn games such as Hamster Kombat and Notcoin. Bitget and Foresight said that with this new investment, they plan to "get more deeply involved in TON blockchain governance and future development plans." A statement said: "The investment will be distributed through the acquisition of TON tokens."
Important data
Bitcoin spot ETF had a total net inflow of US$187 million yesterday, continuing its net inflow for 4 consecutive days
According to SoSoValue data, yesterday (September 17, Eastern Time), the total net inflow of Bitcoin spot ETFs was $187 million. Yesterday, Grayscale ETF GBTC had a net outflow of $0.00 per day, and the current historical net outflow of GBTC is $20.061 billion. Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF BTC had a net outflow of $0.00 per day, and the current historical total net inflow of Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust BTC is $383 million. The Bitcoin spot ETF with the largest net inflow on a single day yesterday was Fidelity ETF FBTC, with a net inflow of $56.6121 million per day, and the current historical total net inflow of FBTC is $9.704 billion. The second largest was Bitwise ETF BITB, with a net inflow of $45.3528 million per day, and the current historical total net inflow of BITB is $2.044 billion.
As of press time, the total net asset value of the Bitcoin spot ETF was US$54.84 billion, the ETF net asset ratio (market value as a percentage of the total market value of Bitcoin) was 4.62%, and the historical cumulative net inflow has reached US$17.497 billion.
Basechain daily transaction volume hits a new record of over 4.5 million transactions during the weekend
According to The Block, Coinbase's Layer 2 solution Base set a new record of more than 4.5 million transactions last Saturday, further consolidating its position as the leading Layer 2.
Ceffu deposited another 1,347 BTC to Binance 1 hour ago, worth about $81.25 million
According to Lookonchain monitoring, Ceffu deposited another 1,347 BTC ($81.25 million) to Binance 1 hour ago. In the past 3 months, Ceffu has deposited 16,123 BTC ($952 million) to Binance, with an average price of $59,043.
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