Bitcoin is poised for a second consecutive weekly rally. Starting the week around $59,000, BTC pushed above the psychological $60,000 mark on Tuesday, then went on to set a local September high of $64,133.
The rally came after the Fed announced a 0.5 percentage point rate cut and the Bank of Japan (BoJ) decided to keep its interest rate unchanged at 0.25%. The top asset is currently trading around $63,000.
Let's join Digital Money Blog to review the outstanding news of the week starting from September 16 to September 22, 2024.
1. Focus
The US Federal Reserve (Fed) cut its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to a range of 4.75%-5% at 1am this morning (September 19), marking the first rate cut in four years after the central bank's most aggressive rate hike cycle.
“The Committee has increased confidence that inflation is moving toward 2 percent and judges that risks to achieving its maximum employment and inflation goals are roughly balanced,” the Fed’s press release said. “The economic outlook remains uncertain, and the Committee is mindful of risks to both of its dual goals.”
According to the Fed's quarterly economic projections, members expect the average federal funds rate to fall to 4.4% by year-end, reflecting another 50 basis point cut at the next two Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings, up from just one cut forecast in June.
“The U.S. economy is in a good place and our decisions today are designed to keep that going,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in a post-meeting press conference. He said that unemployment at “anything below 4% is a good labor market” and that he did not see any evidence that “the likelihood of a recession or slowdown is increasing.”
He also stressed that the Fed has not declared victory over inflation yet, and that the 50 basis point cut should not be seen as a “new pace” for further rate cuts, reiterating the Fed’s data-dependent approach.
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) decided to keep its interest rate unchanged at 0.25% on Friday, after official data showed core consumer prices rose 2.8% year-on-year in August.
The decision was widely expected amid concerns that rising prices could hurt consumer spending. The BoJ has been cautious about adjusting interest rates, as raising them could dampen economic activity and hamper demand-driven inflation, which it is trying to boost.
Stock and currency markets have seen increased volatility since the July rate hike to 0.25%. The central bank said it would review the impact of the previous hike before making further adjustments, to avoid further market volatility.
2. Project, protocol
BNB Chain, a community-driven blockchain ecosystem, has just announced an update that aims to improve the stablecoin’s infrastructure by making transactions gas-free.
The initiative, announced on September 18, aims to make stablecoin payments more accessible, fast and cost-effective, in line with the goal of simplifying everyday cryptocurrency transactions.
Gala Wen, Director of Ecosystem Growth at BNB Chain, shared that the company is collaborating with centralized exchanges (CEX), wallet providers, and bridges, to create a “zero-fee trading experience.”
Trading floor
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently filed an amended complaint in its ongoing lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange Binance, seeking to remedy issues raised by a federal judge earlier this year.
The lawsuit, which began in June 2023, alleges Binance operated as an unlicensed broker, clearinghouse, and trading platform, and offered unregistered securities through its native token BNB, stablecoin BUSD, and staking services.
SEC Files Amended Complaint Against Binance, Putting More Emphasis on Exchange’s Token Listing Process
Moonbix, Binance's latest tap-to-earn game on Telegram, has just been leaked and is attracting a lot of attention in the crypto community. Due to many problems arising, Binance had to officially speak out.
In a recent announcement, Binance confirmed that Moonbix is their game project, operating on the Telegram mini app.
Binance also warns the community that there are currently many scam projects impersonating the name Moonbix, so be careful.
In just 1 day of leak, the game had more than 1 million players hoping to earn airdrop tokens from the world's largest exchange.
ETF
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially approved Nasdaq to list and trade BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF spot share options.
In a September 20 announcement, the SEC approved options trading for the iShares Bitcoin Trust, ticker symbol IBIT, on Nasdaq. According to Nasdaq, the exchange will apply the same options trading rules for the Bitcoin ETF as it does for other ETFs.
“IBIT options will be settled in kind in the U.S. style,” the SEC said in a statement. The exchange said IBIT options must comply with its initial and ongoing listing standards, which include a basic requirement that the underlying security “have a significant number of shares outstanding, be widely held, and be actively traded.”
Stablecoin, CBDC, Memecoin
The stablecoin wars are heating up, with the latest entry from BitGo, the leading US digital asset custodian, through the launch of its new coin pegged to the US dollar on Wednesday.
Called USDS, the new stablecoin will focus on “fairness, transparency, and market neutrality.” USDS is expected to launch in January 2025, with rewards promised to users.
The launch comes as BitGo attempts to compete with Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, in developing new digital asset products.
NFT, AI, DeFi, Metaverse
BlackRock, Microsoft, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), and MGX have joined forces to form the Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership (GAIIP), an initiative to mobilize $30 billion in private capital to expand data centers and enhance energy infrastructure for artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
Larry Fink, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock, emphasized that investing in AI infrastructure such as data centers and energy sources is a huge and sustainable opportunity, predicting that it will create a trillion-dollar market.
“Data centers are the foundation of the digital economy; these investments will drive economic growth, job creation, and AI technology innovation.”
Scam, hack
Hung Dinh, a famous businessman with many technology products known to the community, is becoming the center of attention on social networks due to fraud allegations related to the GM.AI project.
On the afternoon of September 14, account X with the username @HungDinhScammer shocked the crypto community when it accused Hung Dinh, a famous Vietnamese CEO and businessman, of being behind a $30 million crypto scam through the GM.AI project.
The $30 million fraud allegations involving the GM.AI project have sent shockwaves through the crypto community, drawing strong reactions from both investors and industry influencers.
After a long period of silence, Hung Dinh, under the account @dexter_cap, suddenly posted a new tweet on September 16, 2024 to apologize and commit to compensate investors of the GM.AI project. This is a response to public pressure and serious fraud allegations that he is facing.
Legal regulations
The Hong Kong government is expected to issue new policies for the financial industry regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by the end of October.
The policies aim to boost the use of AI in traditional trading, investment banking, and cryptocurrency sectors in Hong Kong. The Financial Services and Treasury Bureau (FSTB) will develop a framework to ensure the ethical use of AI in financial markets. Officials are currently finalizing the policy document and seeking industry input, according to a Bloomberg report citing unnamed sources.
The AI guidelines will be released during the Hong Kong FinTech Week event, which runs from October 28 to November 1.
