Secondo CryptoPotato, il Dipartimento del Tesoro degli Stati Uniti ha assunto una posizione negativa nei confronti dei servizi di mixaggio di criptovalute, noti anche come Convertible Virtual Currency Mixing Services (CVC). Sebbene esistano usi legittimi per questi servizi, ad esempio per i clienti attenti alla privacy che cercano di evitare di essere tracciati dagli strumenti di analisi blockchain, anche i criminali informatici li utilizzano spesso. Tornado Cash, un noto mixer, è attualmente accusato in un tribunale di Manhattan che potrebbe comportare una condanna a 20 anni di carcere per i suoi fondatori.

20 ottobre 2023

Gli Highlights Settimanali del Mercato è un'iniziativa del team di Binance Research per concludere la settimana, riassumendo gli eventi chiave del mercato e le opinioni del team.

🔎Macro/TradFi

Standard Chartered introdurrà un servizio di custodia di criptovalute a Dubai, negli Emirati Arabi Uniti, rivolto a clienti istituzionali e supportando Bitcoin ed Ethereum.

Metamask ha annunciato un'integrazione con Stripe per abilitare il servizio on-ramp per gli utenti statunitensi.

Dopo che CoinTelegraph ha rilasciato chiarimenti sulla condivisione di notizie false sull'ETF Bitcoin, Larry Fink, CEO di BlackRock, ha riconosciuto la domanda globale di criptovalute da parte dei clienti e attribuisce la recente azione dei prezzi a una "fuga verso la qualità" in mezzo alle speculazioni sull'approvazione degli ETF Bitcoin spot.

Secondo Foresight News, il protocollo f(x) con leva ETH ha adottato lo standard Omnichain Funtable Token (OFT) di LayerZero, consentendo agli utenti di trasferire token fETH, xETH e FXN attraverso la rete Arbitrum. Il conio e lo scambio di fETH e xETH avverranno ancora solo sulla rete principale, ma il token bridging tra Ethereum e Arbitrum può essere completato tramite la scheda "bridge" sul sito ufficiale.

Secondo Cointelegraph, OpenAI, il creatore del chatbot AI ChatGPT, ha collaborato con il gruppo tecnologico G42 con sede a Dubai per espandere le capacità di intelligenza artificiale in Medio Oriente. La collaborazione mira a utilizzare i modelli di intelligenza artificiale generativa di OpenAI nei settori in cui G42 ha esperienza, come servizi finanziari, energia, sanità e servizi pubblici.

G42 ha affermato che le organizzazioni negli Emirati Arabi Uniti (EAU) e in altre regioni che utilizzano le sue soluzioni aziendali dovrebbero ora disporre di un processo più semplificato per integrare le capacità avanzate di intelligenza artificiale nelle aziende esistenti. L'azienda prevede di dare priorità alla propria sostanziale capacità dell'infrastruttura AI per supportare l'inferenza locale e regionale di OpenAI sui data center di Microsoft Azure.

According to CoinDesk, Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital (MARA) has announced that it will store some of its digital assets with Fidelity Digital Asset, adding a second custody partner in an effort to diversify. Previously, Marathon had stored all its bitcoin with a single provider. As part of its broader treasury management strategy, the company has now added a new, enterprise-grade custodian as its second custodian. In a separate filing, Marathon stated that it would open one or more custodial asset accounts with Fidelity.

Marathon may further expand and add more custodians in the future. The company held 13,726 bitcoin as of September 30 and is producing over 1,000 more per month. Marathon CFO Salman Khan said in a statement that it is an opportune time to diversify their bitcoin custody across multiple custodians. Custody plays a crucial role in crypto and other markets, as firms that do not want to store their own digital assets can entrust them with a third party. Having more than one company providing custody ensures that if a single provider encounters issues, not all assets will be lost. Marathon's decision comes after several custodians, including Fortress Trust, have been targeted by hackers who stole some digital assets. In the case of Fortress Trust, the theft led to the custodian attempting to sell itself to blockchain tech company Ripple, but the deal ultimately fell through. Marathon's stock was up 1.3% in post-market trading and has risen 116% this year, while bitcoin has climbed 71%.

According to Cointelegraph, Universal Music Group (UMG) has announced a partnership with social music creation platform BandLab Technologies. The collaboration aims to promote responsible practices with artificial intelligence (AI) in the music industry, focusing on the ethical use of AI and protecting the rights of artists and songwriters. Michael Nash, the executive vice president and chief digital officer of UMG, emphasized the importance of responsible AI use in music creation tools and championing human creativity and culture.

UMG has previously addressed AI-related issues, such as collaborating with Google to combat AI deep fakes and developing a tool for legally creating AI tracks using artists' likenesses. YouTube has also released principles for working with the music industry on AI technology, including the introduction of its new 'Music AI Incubator'. The issue of copyright infringement regarding AI has reached the courts, with a United States judge denying copyright for AI art in August 2023.

According to CryptoPotato, Bitmain, a leading Bitcoin ASIC manufacturer, has reportedly terminated four employees for leaking salary information and violating the company's 'Management Standards for External Information Disclosure.' The company emphasized that employees should not share any company information with external parties without proper authorization.

This development comes a week after some Bitmain employees raised concerns about salary arrears due to cash flow issues, as per information obtained from the Maimai Community, China's workplace networking site, on October 8th. They also noted that the 2022 bonuses remained unpaid and that half of the base salary for all employees and performance-based wages could be withheld due to poor cash flow issues.

In response to the violation of company policy, Bitmain issued an internal disciplinary notice and dismissed the employees who disclosed salary delay information on the social networking platform. The company also reported the incident to the educational institutions where the interns involved in the matter are enrolled, hinting at potential legal consequences.

While Bitmain has not publicly commented on the development, the company made a significant investment of $53.9 million in Core Scientific to support mining operations in September. As part of the purchase agreement, Bitmain will provide Core Scientific with 27,000 Bitmain S19J XP 151 TH bitcoin mining servers. In exchange, Bitmain will receive $23.1 million in cash and $53.9 million in Core Scientific common stock. The company also recently unveiled its newest mining device, the S21 Antminer series.

According to Cointelegraph, Meta AI has developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) system that combines a non-invasive brain scanning method called magnetoencephalography (MEG) with AI to decode imagery from human brain waves. The system can be deployed in real time to reconstruct images perceived and processed by the brain at each instant.

A demonstration of the model's real-time capabilities was showcased on X, formerly Twitter, by the AI at Meta account. The experimental AI system requires pre-training on an individual's brainwaves, interpreting specific brain waves as specific images. There is no indication that the system could produce imagery for thoughts unrelated to pictures the model was trained on.

Meta AI acknowledges that this is early work and further progress is expected. The research is part of the company's ongoing initiative to unravel the mysteries of the brain. While there is no current reason to believe the system could invade someone's privacy, it could potentially provide a quality of life upgrade for some individuals. The Meta AI team hopes that one day it may provide a stepping stone toward non-invasive brain-computer interfaces in a clinical setting that could help people who have lost their ability to speak.

According to Cointelegraph, a bipartisan parliamentary committee in the United Kingdom has called for action to protect creators from potential copyright violations related to nonfungible tokens (NFTs). The committee also requested the government to address possible harms caused by sporting groups issuing digital assets. The members of the committee believe that the most pressing issue is the risk to the intellectual property rights of artists due to the ease and speed at which NFTs can be minted.

In other NFT news, Yemel Jardis, the executive director of the Decentraland Foundation, shared his thoughts on the NFT market slump with Cointelegraph. He believes that as more community education on NFTs takes place, the focus will shift from speculative trading to genuine utility. According to Jardis, a steep decline in NFT prices should not be seen as a sign of distress, but rather as an indication that the market is maturing.

Additionally, the Ethereum wallet MetaMask, popular among NFT collectors, was briefly removed from Apple's App Store on October 14. This raised concerns over a possible permanent removal from the marketplace. At the time, Apple users were also unable to download the application from the MetaMask website. Some speculated that Apple's terms of service were behind the app's disappearance, as the App Store's rules prohibit apps running unrelated background processes, such as cryptocurrency mining.

According to CoinDesk, a CNBC report has revealed more information about Jimmy Zhong, who was arrested last year for stealing over 50,000 bitcoins from the Silk Road marketplace. The case was reopened when Zhong called emergency services in Athens, Georgia, to report that hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cryptocurrency had been stolen from his home. After some investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) arrested Zhong and seized one of the largest-ever amounts of cryptocurrency from an individual.

Before his arrest, Zhong was known for hiring private jets, throwing lavish parties, and gifting his friends thousands of dollars. He was charged with wire fraud and, after pleading guilty, was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison. He also forfeited his bitcoin. Zhong, now 33 years old, began his sentence at the federal prison camp in Montgomery, Alabama, on July 14, 2023. Zhong's attorney, Michael Bachner, told CNBC that the government has not been hurt by his client's actions. He pointed out that if the government had seized the 50,000 bitcoins at the time of Silk Road operator Ross Ulbricht's arrest, they would have sold them for about $320 per coin, or roughly $14 million. However, due to Zhong's actions, the government has made a $3 billion profit.

According to CoinDesk, the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) has been criticized by its inspector general for leaving banks under its supervision unprepared to navigate the regulator's crypto expectations. As a result, the FDIC has agreed to develop a new strategy by January. The Office of the Inspector General for the FDIC found the agency's performance in preparing the industry for crypto risks to be lacking, according to a report issued on Wednesday.

The report concluded that the FDIC's lack of clear procedures causes uncertainty for supervised institutions in determining the appropriate actions to take. The agency also hadn't concluded its effort to assess whether it could head off systemic banking dangers from crypto. The inspector general noted that the FDIC told some banks to pause their crypto activities last year and this year, but then it didn't tell the banks how long they'd be paused or how it might end.

The FDIC has been suspicious of the digital assets industry and has leaned toward shielding the banking system from deep involvement with crypto. This stance has been felt acutely by crypto businesses struggling to find and maintain banking relationships in the U.S. The agency agreed to inspector general recommendations that it come up with a plan and schedule for figuring out the risks cryptocurrency activity poses to lending institutions, and that it also clarify its process for the crypto reviews at individual banks.

According to CoinDesk, the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) has been criticized by its inspector general for leaving banks under its supervision unprepared to navigate the regulator's crypto expectations. As a result, the FDIC has agreed to develop a new strategy by January. The Office of the Inspector General for the FDIC found the agency's performance in preparing the industry for crypto risks to be lacking, according to a report issued on Wednesday.

The report concluded that the FDIC's lack of clear procedures causes uncertainty for supervised institutions in determining the appropriate actions to take. The agency also hadn't concluded its effort to assess whether it could head off systemic banking dangers from crypto. The inspector general noted that the FDIC told some banks to pause their crypto activities last year and this year, but then it didn't tell the banks how long they'd be paused or how it might end.

The FDIC has been suspicious of the digital assets industry and has leaned toward shielding the banking system from deep involvement with crypto. This stance has been felt acutely by crypto businesses struggling to find and maintain banking relationships in the U.S. The agency agreed to inspector general recommendations that it come up with a plan and schedule for figuring out the risks cryptocurrency activity poses to lending institutions, and that it also clarify its process for the crypto reviews at individual banks.

According to CoinDesk, the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) has been criticized by its inspector general for leaving banks under its supervision unprepared to navigate the regulator's crypto expectations. As a result, the FDIC has agreed to develop a new strategy by January. The Office of the Inspector General for the FDIC found the agency's performance in preparing the industry for crypto risks to be lacking, according to a report issued on Wednesday.

The report concluded that the FDIC's lack of clear procedures causes uncertainty for supervised institutions in determining the appropriate actions to take. The agency also hadn't concluded its effort to assess whether it could head off systemic banking dangers from crypto. The inspector general noted that the FDIC told some banks to pause their crypto activities last year and this year, but then it didn't tell the banks how long they'd be paused or how it might end.

The FDIC has been suspicious of the digital assets industry and has leaned toward shielding the banking system from deep involvement with crypto. This stance has been felt acutely by crypto businesses struggling to find and maintain banking relationships in the U.S. The agency agreed to inspector general recommendations that it come up with a plan and schedule for figuring out the risks cryptocurrency activity poses to lending institutions, and that it also clarify its process for the crypto reviews at individual banks.

According to CoinDesk, bear markets provide an opportunity for firms to build and position themselves for the next bull run. As a result, features that were once cutting-edge become standard in the next cycle. Crypto exchanges can no longer simply facilitate buying and selling cryptocurrency; they must evolve beyond being mere asset marketplaces, particularly with the rise of decentralized finance (DeFi). Instead, they should construct portals to an entire financial universe.

The opportunity is significant as Gen Z comes of age with crypto familiarity and eagerness to invest. A recent survey by the FINRA Foundation and the CFA Institute found that 44% of Gen Z investors started investing by purchasing crypto, while 32% started with stocks and 21% with mutual funds. Additionally, 65% of Gen Z investors use financial apps and pay attention to their guidance.

Crypto platforms offering 'investment as a service' can take cues from traditional finance giants like Vanguard to welcome the next generation to a home base for wealth development. However, early attempts in this area have been hindered by U.S. regulations, with crypto exchanges no longer able to offer debt-based yield services or retail-friendly staking services.

A compliant path forward involves proactively cooperating with the Securities and Exchange Commission and relying on robust custody partnerships, including tools like separately managed accounts. Direct indexing platforms are the next step to wide adoption of long-tail digital assets beyond bitcoin and Ethereum. Indexes allow for efficient asset allocation, risk management, product development, and performance measurement, enabling crypto to evolve into an institutional financial market.

Advisers will play a crucial role in simplifying Web3, managing client inventory, and maximizing yield with the inevitable proliferation of on-chain protocols, products, and decentralized apps. However, what is missing in the U.S. is regulatory support and index adoption that captures the more nuanced and differentiating aspects of crypto markets, such as proof-of-stake reward rates. While U.S. regulators are hoped to provide clear guidelines, innovation will continue with or without them.

Fellow Binancians,
Binance will open trading for the ATOM/FDUSD, AVAX/FDUSD, BAND/TRY, BCH/FDUSD, LOOM/TRY and MATIC/FDUSD spot trading pairs at 2023-10-19 08:00 (UTC).
In addition, Binance will enable Spot Grid and Spot DCA Trading Bots services for the NTRN/USDT and PENDLE/USDT trading pairs at 2023-10-19 08:00 (UTC).
Start Trading on Binance Spot Now!
Notes:
TRY is a fiat currency and does not represent any other digital currencies.Users will enjoy zero maker fees on FDUSD trading pairs until further notice.Where any discrepancy arises between the translated versions and the original English version, the English version shall prevail.
Thanks for your support!
Binance Team
2023-10-18

According to Cointelegraph: Bitcoin's price is predicted to hit at least $128,000 by the conclusion of 2025, according to various analytics models. Renowned trader and analyst, CryptoCon, proposed this lofty two-year target on Oct. 17 via X (formerly known as Twitter).

The Bitcoin market forecasts differ regarding the cryptocurrency's price trajectory following next year's block subsidy halving. However, CryptoCon maintains a bullish long-term outlook, with figures around $130,000 emerging as the most popular prediction.

BTC price model data. Source: CryptoCon/X

Forecasts based on multiple Bitcoin price cycles, as well as their peaks and troughs, all point to the $130,000 mark. As CryptoCon notes, early tops in each price cycle, as well as the cycle top constituting new all-time highs, reaffirm this expectation.

The analyst further elaborated that early tops, on average, occur within a three-week frame around July 9, and all-time highs tend to materialize within three weeks around Nov. 28.

CryptoCon devised this prediction by using simple diagonal trendlines from the first early top. The resulting calculation identified the price of the last two cycle tops accurately and suggested a price target of around $138k for the current cycle.

Despite being open to lower prices, CryptoCon's analysis predominantly favors a $130,000 target for Bitcoin during this cycle. According to the model's timeline, 2025 should witness the peak of the next cycle, almost double the current 2021 record.

These four-year halving cycles have shaped the viewpoints of many notable Bitcoin market commentators. Among them is analyst Rekt Capital, who anticipates new local lows in the pre-halving year 2023 before the bull market peaks. In the past, Rekt Capital cautioned about possible price downturns with highs of $32,000 forming a double-top pattern.

As Rekt Capital explains, downturns "should be treated as an opportunity for re-accumulation," suggesting that while the current pattern favors bears, bulls should still view any lows as investment opportunities.