Headlines
▌Robinhood and Revolut are exploring the launch of stablecoins
According to people familiar with the matter, popular online brokerage firms Robinhood and Revolut are exploring issuing their own stablecoins. Robinhood said it has no plans to issue them "at the moment." Revolut said it plans to "further expand" its suite of cryptocurrency products.
▌WBTC supply on Aave hits a record high
According to Dune data, the supply of Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) on the Aave platform exceeded 37,000 in September, with a value of over $2 billion, setting a record high. Although investors have doubts about the security of WBTC's Bitcoin support, WBTC remains the most popular Bitcoin derivative. Previously, BitGo's agreement with BiT Global caused controversy, and some DeFi protocols even considered removing WBTC, but these plans have been postponed.
Quotes
As of press time, according to Coingecko data:
BTC's latest transaction price is $65,183.32, with a daily change of +3.2%;
ETH's latest transaction price is $2,633.08, with a daily change of +2.1%;
BNB's latest transaction price is $596.75, with a daily change of +1.6%;
SOL's latest trading price is $155.62, with a daily change of +5.2%;
DOGE's latest transaction price is 0.1182 yuan, with a daily increase or decrease of +8.9%;
XPR recently traded at $0.5906, with a daily change of +1.2%.
policy
▌Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm will enter trial process
According to the latest news, a New York judge ruled that the criminal case of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm will enter the trial process. The U.S. Department of Justice accused Storm and his colleague Roman Semenov of three crimes, including conspiracy to launder money, operating an unlicensed remittance business, and violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, involving assisting the North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group in laundering more than $1 billion. Storm has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and the defense team said he only wrote the Tornado Cash code. The trial is scheduled to begin on December 2, and if convicted, Storm could face up to 45 years in prison.
▌The US Foreign Affairs Committee passed a resolution calling for the release of Binance executive Gambaryan
The U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee passed a resolution calling on the Nigerian government to immediately release Binance Financial Crime Compliance Director Tigran Gambaryan and provide him with "unrestricted medical care." Gambaryan was detained after arriving in Nigeria in February this year on charges related to profiting from illegal trading on Binance. His health deteriorated sharply during his imprisonment and he suffered from a herniated disc and pneumonia. The resolution was proposed by Republican Congressman McCormick and will next be voted on by the full House.
▌Tether assists Dutch and US law enforcement agencies in combating cryptocurrency money laundering
The Netherlands Financial Information and Investigation Bureau (FIOD), the National High-Tech Crime Unit (NHCTU) and the U.S. Secret Service jointly took action to successfully crack down on two cryptocurrency exchanges suspected of money laundering, with Tether actively involved and freezing a large amount of cryptocurrencies.
The investigation focused on Cryptex and pm2btc, which were accused of providing a channel for criminal activities to convert cryptocurrencies into fiat currency. In this operation, law enforcement authorities froze 7 million euros worth of cryptocurrencies, marking a major victory in the fight against financial crime.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the company will continue to support global law enforcement and maintain the security and integrity of digital finance.
▌Swan Bitcoin accuses former employees of conspiring with Tether to steal mining business
Swan Bitcoin recently filed a lawsuit accusing its former employees and executives of conspiring to steal the company's bitcoin mining business and planning to start a competing company called Proton Management. The lawsuit claims that former employees stole "highly proprietary code" from Swan's bitcoin mining monitoring software and poached the company's suppliers and business partners.
In addition, Swan accused Tether of assisting in the implementation of this plan, claiming that Tether provided "legal cover" for a hostile takeover by issuing a "default notice." Just four days after the former employee resigned, Tether notified Swan that Proton would take over the daily management of Bitcoin mining.
Swan is currently seeking a permanent injunction against Proton to prevent it from further interfering with the company's mining operations, and is asking the court to force the former employees to return the stolen equipment and confidential information and pay compensation for damages.
▌The United States sanctions a Russian virtual currency exchange and individuals
On September 26, local time, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a statement saying that the U.S. Treasury Department has determined that a Russian virtual currency exchange "PM2BTC" related to Russian citizen Sergey Sergeyevich Ivanov is related to "illegal finance." In addition, the U.S. Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on Ivanov and a virtual currency exchange "Cryptex" operating in Russia on the same day.
Blockchain Applications
▌Morocco plans to invest $1.1 billion to promote AI and blockchain, striving to become a global digital hub by 2030
Morocco announced the "Digital Morocco 2030" plan, which plans to invest $1.1 billion to promote the digitalization of public services, economic growth, and create 240,000 digital industry jobs with artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology as the core. The strategy also aims to support the development of start-ups through AI and blockchain platforms and improve Morocco's global ranking in the United Nations Online Services Index from 100th to 50th. In addition, Morocco plans to increase digital export revenue to 41.5 billion dirhams by 2030 and expand 5G coverage to 70% of the country.
▌Ming-Chi Kuo: Meta's AR glasses Orion will actually go into mass production later
Well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo pointed out that Meta Platforms' internal product roadmap shows that the AR glasses Orion will be mass-produced as early as 2027. However, since the EMS/NPI manufacturer has not yet been determined, and considering many technical issues, the actual mass production time should be later. Before Orion goes into mass production, Meta may launch a lower-specification version (such as using LCoS to replace Micro LED). Meta's strategy is to continuously test and collect market feedback to quickly improve the product, rather than waiting until the product is perfect before releasing it. Orion is positioned to replace mobile phones and tablets, and its key selling point is the integration of AI and spatial computing.
▌QED and Nexus plan to introduce smart contracts to the Dogecoin network
QED Protocol and Nexus announced that they will launch the zero-knowledge virtual machine (zkVM) as a Layer-2 expansion solution to introduce smart contracts to the Dogecoin network. This move will enable the popular memecoin network to compete with Ethereum and Solana in the smart contract market. Dogecoin currently does not support smart contracts, and through the high-throughput expansion of zkVM, developers will be able to create high-performance applications such as decentralized exchanges and NFTs on it. The total market value of Dogecoin is about 17 billion US dollars, and the expansion plan may further enhance its market position.
Cryptocurrency
▌Chainalysis: The Middle East accounts for 7.5% of global crypto transactions
According to a report released by Chainalysis, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region accounted for 7.5% of global cryptocurrency trading volume between July 2023 and June 2024, with a total transaction value of approximately US$338.7 billion. The report shows that 93% of the transaction amount comes from institutions and professional investors, while retail investors account for only 1.8%. The region mainly conducts cryptocurrency transactions through centralized exchanges, while the UAE and Saudi Arabia have shown a high interest in decentralized platforms. The UAE is becoming a global cryptocurrency hub, benefiting from clear regulations and forward-looking digital asset policies.
▌Italy's UniCredit intends to acquire Germany's Commerzbank, which may promote the development of European crypto banking
Italian lending giant UniCredit has expressed interest in acquiring part of the state-owned German bank Commerzbank. Executives from both companies will hold preliminary talks on September 27 to discuss the potential deal, which could boost cryptocurrency business in the European banking industry through Commerzbank's partnership with Deutsche Börse. Commerzbank currently works with Deutsche Börse subsidiary Crypto Finance to provide Bitcoin and Ethereum trading services to German corporate clients. Although UniCredit has not yet formally proposed the acquisition, its stake has increased to about 21% and has applied to increase it to 29.9%. The German government and some board members have expressed opposition to the acquisition.
▌Bitcoin is more correlated with global liquidity than gold and stocks
According to a report by venture capitalist Lyn Alden, Bitcoin (BTC) has a correlation of 83% with global liquidity, surpassing all major asset classes. The report noted that Bitcoin typically rises when liquidity expands and adjusts when liquidity contracts, making it the "purest liquidity indicator."
Between May 2013 and July 2024, Bitcoin’s correlation with global liquidity reached 0.94, but has weakened in the short term, with the 12-month and 6-month rolling average correlations at 0.51 and 0.36, respectively.
Liquidity is measured by M2 supply, including cash, bank account funds, etc. The report believes that global liquidity is a key driver of Bitcoin's long-term price performance, and investors can use this information to analyze Bitcoin market cycles. However, this correlation may weaken in major industry events or extreme market conditions.
Important economic developments
▌The size of U.S. money market funds hit a new high of $6.42 trillion
Although the Federal Reserve has started a rate cut cycle, investors are still pouring money into U.S. money market funds, pushing asset size to a new high. Data released by the Investment Company Institute on Thursday showed that about $121 billion flowed into U.S. money market funds in the week ending September 25. Total assets reached a record high of $6.42 trillion.
▌The probability of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates by 25BP in November is 48.9%
According to CME's "Fed Watch", the probability of the Fed cutting interest rates by 25 basis points by November is 48.9%, and the probability of cutting interest rates by 50 basis points is 51.1%. The probability of a cumulative rate cut of 50 basis points by December is 28.0%, and the probability of a cumulative rate cut of 75 basis points is 50.2%; the probability of a cumulative rate cut of 100 basis points is 21.9%.
Golden Encyclopedia
What is the Algorithm of Thought (AoT)?
Algorithms of Thought (AoT) is a groundbreaking approach in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) that revolutionizes the way AI models think and reason. Developed by Microsoft Research, AoT introduces a new paradigm for large language models (LLMs) to enhance reasoning capabilities to solve complex problems. It aims to combine the best of both worlds: a nuanced, intuitive understanding of the human thought process with the structured, systematic nature of an algorithmic approach.
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.
