Today's news tips:
MicroStrategy spends $4.6 billion to increase its holdings of 51,780 bitcoins
Trump Media and Technology Group in advanced talks to acquire cryptocurrency trading platform Bakkt
IBIT options are expected to be officially launched on November 19
Russia approves amendment to cryptocurrency transaction tax bill, with tax rate not exceeding 15%
Lido and other crypto people plan to launch "Y" project to compete with Sam Altman's World Network
Solana is the most popular blockchain with a share of 38.79%, followed by Base
Regulatory News
BIT Mining reaches settlement with US SEC over bribery of Japanese officials
According to Bloomberg, crypto mining company BIT Mining Ltd. (formerly 500.com Limited) was accused by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of bribing Japanese officials to bid for a casino resort project and agreed to pay a $4 million fine to reach a settlement. According to the SEC, the company paid $2.5 million in cash and gift bribes between 2017 and 2019, including bribes to Japanese lawmakers.
The U.S. Department of Justice said BIT Mining will also pay a $10 million criminal fine, of which $4 million will be offset by a fine paid to the SEC. 500.com recorded bribes with false consulting contracts and management consulting fees to cover up illegal activities, and company executives, including the then CEO, were accused of directly participating in directing and covering up this illegal behavior.
Heather Morgan, money launderer in Bitfinex hack, sentenced to 18 months in prison
According to Cointelegraph, Heather Morgan, known as "Razzlekhan", was sentenced to 18 months in prison in a Bitcoin money laundering case related to the 2016 Bitfinex exchange hack . Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, a judge in the District Court for the District of Columbia, announced the verdict at a hearing on November 18. Morgan pleaded guilty in August 2023 to conspiracy to commit money laundering and defraud the United States.
California Court Rules Lido DAO Members Can Be Liable Under Partnership Law
According to Decrypt, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that Lido DAO can be regarded as a general partnership and its members are required to bear legal responsibility for its operations. The court rejected Lido's claim that it is a non-legal entity and determined that Lido participants profited through governance and operations and could not evade responsibility due to the decentralized structure.
The ruling states that members holding Lido governance tokens (LDO) make decisions and profit from staking rewards, constituting a partnership. In addition, although Lido did not sell tokens directly, its advertising and promotion of tokens through cryptocurrency exchanges was considered a securities sale and still required legal liability.
The case sets a new precedent for the legal status of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and the liability of their members. Miles Jennings, a16z crypto legal counsel, expressed concern about the ruling, saying it could make any form of DAO participation (such as forum postings) a basis for partnership liability.
Trump to meet privately with Coinbase CEO on Monday to discuss appointments
Russia approves amendment to cryptocurrency transaction tax bill, with tax rate not exceeding 15%
According to Interfax, the Russian government has approved a draft amendment to the bill on taxing income and expenses from digital currency mining and its purchase and sale. Digital currency transactions are not subject to VAT. Income from digital currency transactions will be included in the same tax base as income from securities transactions. Therefore, the maximum personal income tax rate for cryptocurrency taxation will not exceed 15%. Operators of mining infrastructure must report information to the tax authorities on people who use their infrastructure to mine cryptocurrencies.
Project News
IBIT options are expected to be officially launched on November 19
According to The Block, the U.S. Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) announced that it is ready to clear options transactions related to spot Bitcoin ETFs. IBIT options are expected to be officially launched on November 19 (Tuesday), becoming the first option trading product linked to spot Bitcoin ETFs.
The OCC said it will be responsible for clearing and risk management, and these options will be listed on exchanges regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and will not fall under the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). In January this year, the SEC approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs, and BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) was approved in September to become the first spot ETF to launch options.
According to the Magic Eden Foundation, the token economic model of its token $ME has been officially announced, with a total supply of 1 billion, of which more than half will be allocated to the community. The first token generation event (TGE) will distribute 12.5% of $ME, which will be fully unlocked and distributed to Bitcoin, Solana and EVM ecosystem users through the Magic Eden mobile app. Unclaimed tokens will flow back to the community staking reward pool.
Distribution details: 37.7% is allocated to the community and ecosystem, of which 22.5% is used to reward active users of the protocol, and 15.2% supports ecological development; 26.2% is allocated to contributors, including core developers and consultants; 23.6% is used for strategic participants, and is locked for at least 12 months. All tokens will be fully circulated within 4 years. To ensure the security of the protocol, a 5-member security committee will be established to supervise the multi-signature wallet. The ME Foundation will serve as the management body of $ME, promote the development of the on-chain economy, and provide staking rewards to token holders.
Musk: I still hold a lot of Dogecoin, and SpaceX holds a lot of Bitcoin
Dogecoin UI designer DogeDesigner shared an audio clip of Musk, in which Musk said "I still hold a lot of Dogecoin, and SpaceX holds a lot of Bitcoin." However, DogeDesigner did not indicate the time when Musk made this statement.
Trump Media and Technology Group in advanced talks to acquire cryptocurrency trading platform Bakkt
According to the Financial Times, Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), owned by US President-elect Donald Trump, is in talks with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) to acquire its cryptocurrency trading platform Bakkt, which is expected to be completed in an all-stock manner. Bakkt's current market value is about US$150 million, while TMTG's equity valuation is as high as US$6 billion, providing sufficient capital support for its business expansion.
According to Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs Group is in talks with potential partners to spin off its digital asset platform into a new company for large financial companies to create, trade and settle financial instruments through blockchain technology.
Lido and other crypto people plan to launch "Y" project to compete with Sam Altman's World Network
OOY will launch DOG perpetual contract at 2pm today
OOY will officially launch the DOGUSDT perpetual contract on the web, App and API at 2:00 pm on November 19, 2024 (UTC+8).
Solana is the most popular blockchain with a share of 38.79%, followed by Base
According to data released by Coingecko (as of November 11, 2024), Solana has become the most popular blockchain with a share of 38.79%, and Base is closely behind with a share of 16.81%. The two together account for 56% of the interest share of the global blockchain ecosystem. Ethereum ranks third with 10.76%. Other blockchains such as TON, Sui, BNB Chain, Cosmos, etc. are also on the list, but their shares are relatively low, less than 5%.
Andrew Tate Pledges to Follow MicroStrategy in Buying Bitcoin
British and American social media personality, businessman, and former professional kickboxer Andrew Tate (@Cobratate) announced that he would follow up with $1 million in Bitcoin every time MicroStrategy buys Bitcoin. Although he calls himself a "poor man" who cannot compare with MicroStrategy's purchases, he revealed that he already has millions of dollars in Bitcoin, far more than he needs. However, he emphasized that this is a cultural symbol, so every time MicroStrategy buys, he will increase his holdings by $1 million in Bitcoin.
MicroStrategy to issue $1.75 billion of zero-coupon convertible senior notes
According to an announcement on MicroStrategy's official website, MicroStrategy announced that it plans to issue $1.75 billion in zero-interest convertible senior notes, which are expected to mature in 2029. This private placement will be open to qualified institutional investors and some non-US investors, and the size of the offering may increase to $2 billion if market conditions permit. The notes can be converted into cash, MicroStrategy Class A common stock, or a combination of the two, and the final terms of the offering will be determined at pricing. MicroStrategy plans to use the proceeds to purchase more Bitcoin and for other corporate purposes.
Semler Scientific, a US listed company, spent $17.7 million to increase its holdings of 215 bitcoins
According to PR Newswire, Semler Scientific (SMLR), a US medical technology listed company, announced that between November 6, 2024 and November 15, 2024, it purchased 215 bitcoins for US$17.7 million in cash, at an average price of US$82,502 per bitcoin, including fees and expenses.
As of November 15, 2024, Semler Scientific holds a total of 1,273 bitcoins with a total purchase price of $88.7 million and an average purchase price of $69,682 per bitcoin (including fees and expenses). From October 1, 2024 to November 15, 2024, Semler Scientific's BTC yield was 18.9%.
Genius Group announced that it has purchased 110 Bitcoins for $10 million
According to GlobeNewswire, Genius Group (NYSE American: GNS) announced that it has completed its first Bitcoin purchase, purchasing 110 Bitcoins for $10 million, with an average price of $90,932 per Bitcoin. This is the first step of the company's "Bitcoin First" strategy, which plans to invest more than 90% of existing and future reserves in Bitcoin, with a total target of $120 million .
MicroStrategy spends $4.6 billion to increase its holdings of 51,780 bitcoins
According to official news, MicroStrategy used the proceeds from stock sales to purchase an additional 51,780 bitcoins for a total price of US$4.6 billion (average purchase price of US$88,627) between November 11 and 17, 2024.
As of November 17, 2024, the total amount of bitcoins held by MicroStrategy reached 331,200, with an average purchase price of approximately US$49,874 per coin, and a total cost of approximately US$16.5 billion.
Japanese listed company Metaplanet increases its holdings of 124.11 Bitcoins
Japanese listed company Metaplanet announced that it had purchased an additional 124.117 bitcoins for 1.75 billion yen, and currently holds a total of 1,142.287 bitcoins.
ai16z co-founder: "ai16zeliza" was deliberately named after us by its creator to deceive buyers
ai16z co-founder Shaw posted again in response to the Eliza project controversy, saying: "The token you purchased was actually named after us by the creator to deceive you. It deceived our own partner developers into thinking it was our partner's token. Many people came to our Discord to discuss 'ai16zeliza' without realizing it was not ours. I didn't call the token a scam, it was out of kindness. I will respect your airdrop of scam tokens because I said I would, but many of you really don't deserve it."
According to previous news, ai16z Lianchuang stated that Eliza was preempted by another team and they would not give up the Eliza project that they originally planned to launch .
Financing News
Bitfinity Network Launches Bitcoin L2 Network and Announces $12 Million Funding
According to Cointelegraph, Bitcoin Layer2 solution Bitfinity Network has been launched and completed $12 million in financing, aiming to create decentralized finance (DeFi) features for Bitcoin that are compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). This round of financing includes $7 million from well-known supporters, including Polychain Beacon Fund, ParaFi, Draft Ventures, and Warburg Serres, while another $5 million came from over-the-counter token sales. According to reports, Bitfinity Network will use the Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) chain fusion technology to enable Bitcoin native assets "to operate in an ecosystem compatible with Ethereum". In addition, the security of its L2 network is enhanced through "a strong proof-of-stake protocol that utilizes Chain-Key technology."
Mining News
MARA Increases Convertible Senior Notes Offering Size by $150 Million to $850 Million
According to CoinDesk, Bitcoin listed mining company MARA Holdings (MARA) has increased its previously announced convertible senior notes offering from $700 million to $850 million. The company also increased the option amount for initial purchasers to purchase additional bonds from $105 million to $150 million. The offering is expected to end on November 20 and is a private placement for qualified institutional buyers. The note will mature on March 1, 2030, will not include regular interest, and can be converted into cash, MARA common stock, or a combination of both at MARA's discretion. The initial conversion price is approximately $25.91, a 42.5% premium to MARA's current share price of $18.18. The funds raised are expected to be approximately $833 million, of which $199 million will be used to repurchase MARA's existing $212 million convertible notes in 2026. The rest will be used for Bitcoin (BTC) acquisitions, asset expansion, and general corporate purposes. Earlier yesterday, news that MARA intends to raise $700 million to purchase more Bitcoin by issuing convertible senior notes.
Bitcoin mining difficulty increased by 0.63% to 102.29 T this morning
CloverPool data shows that the difficulty of Bitcoin mining has been adjusted at block height 870,912 (2024-11-19 04:42:12), with the difficulty of mining increased by 0.63% to 102.29 T, setting a new record high. The current average computing power of the entire network is 1.08 ZH/s.
Important data
pump.fun sold another 105,000 SOL 7 hours ago, worth about 25.23 million US dollars
According to on-chain analyst Yu Jin’s monitoring, pump.fun sold another 105,000 SOL ($25.23M) 7 hours ago after 8 days. Now pump.fun earns about 15,000 SOL ($3.6M) a day. So far, pump.fun has received a total of 1.308 million SOL in transaction fees. Among them, 971,400 SOL ($168.49M) were sold at an average price of $173.
200 Bitcoins were transferred out of Mt.Gox related wallet addresses, worth about $18.31 million
According to data from the on-chain monitoring platform iChainfo, the wallet address 1BuN9WfAdgE9SzwoMbxUNEWKE98P4YnhKR related to Mt.Gox transferred 200 bitcoins to the addresses bc1qw26802r8dqe5dw30p3f3rfv77hzm0gnf2xk3xe and bc1qava88dehscy6rx35rsawn5uc6es4cracful935 in the past two hours, with a total value of approximately US$18.31 million.
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