The controversial paper by the European Central Bank (ECB) that almost described Bitcoin as a pyramid scheme has been criticized by crypto scholars. Dr. Murry Rudd of the Satoshi Action Fund noted that the ECB paper criticized Bitcoin’s volatility, lack of productive contribution, and concentration of wealth. Rudd argued that the ECB misunderstood the technological foundations of Bitcoin and ignored the volatility of early-stage technology adoption. He also emphasized that the ECB’s efforts to develop a central bank digital currency (CBDC) constitute a conflict of interest. Share your views in the comments.

The US may be lagging behind in crypto regulations, but the laws could start to take shape after the elections, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said at the DC Fintech Week conference. Ardoino emphasized that the US has always been a leader in technological developments and said that it has fallen behind in crypto regulations. The crypto industry is demanding special regulations, stating that it does not comply with current financial rules. He stated that after the election results, sensible crypto and stablecoin regulations should be implemented that will protect users. We are waiting for your comments.

Meta, a social networking company with almost 4 billion users, is testing facial recognition technology to combat fake celebrity scam ads on its platform.

Meta says early tests with a small group of celebrities have shown “promising results” and that it will trial facial recognition technology with 50,000 other celebrities and public figures in the coming weeks. The system detects scams by comparing images in ads with celebrities’ Facebook and Instagram profile pictures.

The move is part of Meta’s broader fight against “celeb-bait” scams, which are used by cybercriminals to steal personal information or money.

We welcome your comments: How effective do you think such technological measures would be?

Airdrop requests from the new Ethereum layer-2 network called Scroll briefly sent blob fees as high as $4.52. This is the third time since Ethereum’s Dencun update in March that blob fees have increased.

Pseudonym crypto data analyst Hildobby noted in a post on the X platform on October 22 that the increase was triggered by the listing of Scroll’s governance token SCR on Binance and the airdrop to users.

According to Dune Analytics data, blob fees reached a four-month high of $4.52 on October 22. This increase increases the transaction costs on Ethereum L2s, while also increasing the network’s revenues.

To address this, Ethereum developers have submitted a new Ethereum Improvement Proposal called EIP-7742. This proposal aims to increase the scalability of the network by dynamically adjusting blob gas targets.

What do you think about these developments? We welcome your comments.

Tesla may still be holding $780 million worth of Bitcoin, despite transferring all of its Bitcoin holdings to unknown wallets on Oct. 15. Arkham Intelligence noted that these moves were wallet rotations. Tesla split 11,509 Bitcoins among seven wallets, with the largest transfers being worth $142.2 million and $128.1 million. These large transfers initially sparked fears of a market crash, but the price of Bitcoin rose by 5%. It’s unclear why Tesla made these transfers, but some observers believe the funds were moved to a custodian. We welcome your comments.

Komainu is aiming to acquire Propine Holdings, the parent company of Singapore-based local custody provider Propine Technologies. The transaction value was not disclosed. If approved, the sale would be Komainu’s first acquisition. Propine holds a Capital Markets Services Licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Following the acquisition, Komainu will apply for a Major Payments Institution licence from the MAS. CEO Paul Frost-Smith said Propine will contribute to Komainu’s strategy to expand its presence in Asia. Share your views in the comments.

Aurum Equity Partners has announced a $1 billion tokenized fund. The fund aims to build data centers in the US, UAE, Saudi Arabia, India, and Europe. It will use Zoniqx’s asset tokenization solutions and the DyCIST protocol, exploring tokenization of real-world assets with the XRPL blockchain. This aims to attract a broader audience of investors. Aurum has traditionally focused on sustainable growth. The tokenization market could grow 50x by 2030. Share your views in the comments.

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Gustavo Rodriguez, one of the promoters of cryptocurrency mining and trading firm IcomTech, is on trial in New York on fraud charges. Rodriguez’s lawyers requested an evidentiary hearing in a hearing held in the Southern District Court of New York on October 22, indicating that they intend to testify at the hearing in March 2024. The court will hear testimony from Rodriguez and a witness on October 25.

Rodriguez and David Brend were indicted along with IcomTech founder David Carmona. IcomTech was alleged to have been a crypto Ponzi scheme that bilked users out of more than $8 million between 2018 and 2019. Carmona pleaded guilty in December 2023 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison in October 2024.

Rodriguez and Brend were found guilty of fraud in March 2024. Rodriguez’s lawyers pointed out similarities to the AirBit crypto Ponzi scheme. Prosecutors have requested a sentence of 160 months in prison for Rodriguez.

What do you think of this case? We welcome your comments.

Metallicus, the digital banking network, has announced that it has launched its services on the Federal Reserve’s FedNow instant payments platform. The announcement comes a year after Metal Blockchain’s integration with FedNow was announced, highlighting the lengthy certification process.

“Metallicus has worked diligently to be certified as a service provider to financial institutions on the FedNow Service,” said Metallicus COO Don Berk. Metal Blockchain is a secure and theoretically infinitely scalable fork of Avalanche.

FedNow launched in July 2023 and is designed to facilitate instant payments. We welcome your comments.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) have released a series of reports ahead of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting to be held on October 23-24. Brazil has called for discussions on digital currencies as it assumes the G20 presidency for 2024.

The BIS and FSB released reports on tokenization on October 22. Both reports emphasized that tokenization is rare and poorly understood, and carries similar risks to traditional finance. The FSB highlighted issues such as liquidity and maturity mismatch, leverage, asset price and quality.

The BIS noted that tokenization carries known risks of existing systems, and that these risks may manifest in different ways due to changes in market structure. The BIS said tokenization could provide potential benefits in terms of security and efficiency, while the FSB recommended increased monitoring and information sharing.

It was noted that central banks should start thinking about how to regulate tokenization. Share your views in the comments.

Bitcoin (BTC) fell 4.1% between October 21-22 and encountered resistance at $69,500. This correction erased the previous week’s gains and investors are questioning whether the $67,000 level can be reclaimed. The decline in the S&P 500 has made Bitcoin investors more cautious. However, there are positive factors for alternative assets like gold.

Paul Tudor Jones recommended gold and Bitcoin, stating that the US government will follow an inflationary path. Bitcoin’s fundamentals remain solid. Do you think BTC can see $67,000 again? We are waiting for your comments.

Gary Gensler, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has been sending mixed messages about cryptocurrencies since 2021. In an interview published on October 22 with Bloomberg Business, Gensler dodged the question of regulating digital assets and celebrated Bitcoin’s (BTC) “sweet sixteen.” He said the SEC will continue its current approach, considering the risks of digital assets for investors.

Gensler said the SEC has used sound laws to protect investors and promote market formation for nine decades, and they will continue in that vein. The interview comes a day after the SEC made crypto assets a priority for 2025.

Gensler’s approach has been questioned by business leaders and lawmakers. What do you think the SEC’s stance on the crypto industry should be? We welcome your comments.

Famous investor Paul Tudor Jones is investing in Bitcoin (BTC) and other commodities after the November presidential elections in the US, stating that all roads lead to inflation. Speaking to CNBC, Jones said he prefers a basket consisting of gold, Bitcoin, commodities and NASDAQ technology stocks, and stays away from fixed-income assets.

While the US Federal Reserve's long-term inflation target is 2%, US consumers expect inflation to be around 3% for the next 12 months. However, Jones stated that increasing government spending and upcoming tax cuts make it difficult to achieve these targets.

According to a JPMorgan report, investors are turning to gold and BTC due to increasing geopolitical tensions and high inflation expectations. The BTC price has increased by more than 50% since the beginning of the year, and analysts are eyeing price targets near BTC's current peak.

Share your views in the comments.

Buenos Aires, Argentina, announced the issuance of digital identities using blockchain technology and zero-knowledge cryptography. On October 21, the government announced that it has integrated its decentralized identity solution QuarkID into the miBA digital platform. Since October 1, more than 3.6 million active users of miBA have received decentralized digital identities secured by QuarkID. This step gives citizens more control over their personal data and sets a new standard in digital identity management. Share your views in the comments.

Anthropic announced a new version of its AI model Claude and a developer beta for “computer use” on October 22. This beta will give developers the ability to control Claude’s mouse cursor, click buttons, and add text in the user environment.

The video demonstration showcases Claude’s ability to navigate multiple windows, open new tabs, and transfer data. This innovation could change the current paradigm in which AI models interact with users.

Anthropic noted that this beta is being released early to get feedback from developers. It also noted that it is taking a proactive approach to secure deployment, highlighting privacy and security issues.

Share your thoughts in the comments!

On October 21, decentralized exchange (DEX) Raydium surpassed the Ethereum network in 24-hour revenue. Raydium earned $3.4 million in daily protocol fees, while Ethereum earned $3.35 million, according to DefiLlama data.

Ethereum is trying to recover from the revenue loss after the Dencun update in March reduced transaction fees by about 95%. While Ethereum generally outperforms other blockchains like Solana, it can sometimes lag behind protocols like Raydium.

What do you think about these developments? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Bitcoin (BTC) analysts are focusing on targets just below the current all-time high of $73,679. However, despite the strong chart structure after breaking above $69,000, they warn that the path ahead could be choppy.

ZeroCap chief investment officer Jonathan de Wet noted that Bitcoin is currently looking incredibly strong from a technical perspective. At the time of publication, Bitcoin is trading at $67,054, down 0.40% since October 21.

De Wet emphasized that Bitcoin has broken the downtrend line it has been following since June. This observation was shared by other crypto analysts.

Coinstash co-founder Mena Theodorou noted that geopolitical risks could cause short-term pullbacks. Bitcoin has recently reacted negatively to signs of geopolitical conflict.

De Wet predicts that if Bitcoin breaks the $70,000 level, it could quickly rally to $72,000. However, he noted that it won’t be easy to beat the current all-time high of $73,679.

Theodorou noted that the surge was fueled by increased demand for spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US. Between October 14-18, Bitcoin ETF investors purchased 36,500 BTC, more than ten times the daily issuance of 450 BTC.

What do you think about these developments? We’re waiting for your comments.

BitFuFu, the Singapore-based cloud Bitcoin miner listed on Nasdaq, has acquired its first physical mining facility with the purchase of an 80-megawatt (MW) facility in Ethiopia. The acquisition is described as the start of the company’s infrastructure diversification. The value of the deal was not disclosed.

Leo Lu, CEO of BitFuFu, said the acquisition is a critical milestone in the company’s transition to vertical integration and a more diverse, resilient Bitcoin mining portfolio.

The lower energy costs will reduce Bitcoin production costs and improve profitability by increasing operational capacity. Energy costs are currently hovering below $0.04 per kilowatt-hour.

BitFuFu’s move comes at a time when rising energy prices and Bitcoin’s fourth halving are taking a toll on miners’ profits. The company reported a 70% YoY increase in Q2 revenue to $129.4 million.

What do you think of these developments? We welcome your comments.

Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen below $67,000 after closing above $69,000 last week. However, this decline has not deterred investors. According to Farside Investors data, US-based Bitcoin exchange-traded funds saw $294.3 million in inflows on October 21.

While Bitcoin’s long-term outlook remains solid, it is showing signs of weakness in the short term. Popular X account Emperor suggested that a drop between $62,000 and $63,000 could be a buying opportunity.

Can Bitcoin and altcoins recover from current levels or fall further? We are waiting for your comments.

A new research report has been published that suggests a direct correlation between the price of Bitcoin and the value of the Lightning Network. According to Jesse Shrader, CEO of Amboss Technologies, the “max flow” metric, which measures the maximum transaction capacity of the Lightning Network, is key to understanding the true value of the network.

The report emphasizes that as the price of Bitcoin increases, the Lightning Network’s payment infrastructure scales accordingly. This allows larger dollar payments to act as high-performance microtransactions. “As the price of Bitcoin increases, the payment capacity of the Lightning Network expands,” Shrader said.

Max flow helps identify liquidity distribution and potential bottlenecks by assessing the network’s payment reliability. This metric replaces traditional imperfect metrics such as the number of nodes and channels to measure the growing value of the Lightning Network.

Increased channel capacity and better liquidity distribution could lead to institutional flows to the Lightning Network. “As channel capacity increases, institutions can channel larger payments with lower fees and fewer onchain transaction requirements,” Shrader added.

What do you think the future of the Lightning Network will look like? We look forward to your comments!