Today's news tips:
Hong Kong government plans to launch virtual asset custody licensing system next year
Russia imposes controls on Bitcoin mining operations
BlackRock, a major shareholder, will vote on Monday on whether Microsoft should study buying Bitcoin
HKEX to launch virtual asset index series on November 15
Ethena Labs: No locked team or investor tokens are used to earn rewards via sENA
Robinhood launches US election prediction contracts, users can bet on Harris or Trump's victory
CoinShares: Digital asset investment products saw a net inflow of $901 million last week
Base’s daily stablecoin transfer volume exceeds all other chains for the first time
Regulatory News
Hong Kong government plans to launch virtual asset custody licensing system next year
According to Oriental Daily, the Hong Kong government intends to improve the regulation of virtual asset transactions. The Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Chan Ho-lim, said that the government plans to complete the second round of public consultation on the regulation of virtual asset over-the-counter (OTC) transactions next year, and will also propose a proposed licensing system for virtual asset custody service providers for consultation next year to ensure that the safe custody of digital assets meets international standards. He emphasized that the concept of virtual assets is clear, and believes that "only by providing a transparent, certain and predictable regulatory environment can financial innovation be effectively encouraged." Before the end of this year, a draft bill will be submitted to the Legislative Council to establish a licensing system for issuers of fiat stablecoins to build a security framework for this emerging market. He pointed out that many financial institutions choose to set up regional headquarters or the largest regional business in Hong Kong, which means that Web 3 companies in Hong Kong can easily access a large number of potential customers, investors and business partners, making Hong Kong an ideal place for their entrepreneurship and expansion.
Later news came out that the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission plans to launch a virtual asset trading platform advisory group in early 2025 ; Hong Kong announced its AI policy in the financial sector and proposed to extend the preferential tax policy for cryptocurrencies ; the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong said that several more virtual asset trading platform licenses may be issued before the end of the year.
Russia imposes controls on Bitcoin mining operations
The Russian government has enacted a new law regulating digital currency transactions, aimed at controlling Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining activities, according to Crypto Briefing. The bill, which will take effect on November 1, authorizes the Russian government to ban digital currency mining in designated regions or territories. The bill also outlines the conditions for implementing such a ban. According to the report, under the new regulations, the government can regulate the activities of mining infrastructure operators, turning from a previous obligation to a formal right now. The law also expands the scope of entities that can access digital currency identification addresses. Previously limited to the Federal Financial Supervision Service, now all federal administrative agencies, including investigation and investigative agencies, have this power. The new law allows individuals to mine without registration within specific electricity consumption limits, while companies must register to mine legally. The Federal Tax Service will be responsible for supervising the miners' register, which was previously managed by the Ministry of Digital Development. For companies that repeatedly violate regulations within a year, the Federal Tax Service can remove these companies from the miners' register, prohibiting them from providing services to unregistered or deregistered entities.
"Federal Reserve mouthpiece": The US may face new inflation risks after the election
According to Jinshi, Nick Timiraos, the "Federal Reserve mouthpiece", said that the Fed's two-and-a-half-year fight to reduce inflation seems to have been successful, but the US election may change this situation. Both candidates support policies that promote economic growth, which may prevent inflation from falling further. However, economists and even conservative advisers are worried that the views supported by Trump are particularly likely to ignite the flames of inflation. These include his proposals to impose comprehensive tariffs on imported goods, expel workers, and rely on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. Taken together, these policies are moving in the direction of inflation. Trump's proposal may put him in a new battle with the Federal Reserve, whose mission is to keep inflation low. Any factors that reignite inflation may cause officials to slow down or even stop their plans to cut interest rates.
Project News
BlackRock, a major shareholder, will vote on Monday on whether Microsoft should study buying Bitcoin
Crypto trader Fred Krueger posted on the X platform that BlackRock owns 7% of Microsoft (MSFT), second only to Vanguard. In addition, BlackRock also holds 8% of MicroStrategy (MSTR). BlackRock will vote on Monday to decide whether Microsoft should study buying Bitcoin. As a major shareholder holding about 7% of Microsoft's shares, BlackRock usually votes on its shares at shareholders' meetings. As one of the largest asset management companies, BlackRock actively participates in the corporate governance of its investment companies. They exercise voting rights on various issues such as board member elections, executive compensation, mergers and acquisitions, and other corporate policies. Their voting decisions follow their duties as fiduciaries, which is to seek the best interests of the actual owners of the shares they manage-the clients. Earlier news, Microsoft's December shareholders' meeting will review the Bitcoin investment proposal, and the board of directors recommends voting against it.
HKEX to launch virtual asset index series on November 15
According to Jinshi.com, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange announced today that it will launch the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Virtual Asset Index Series (Index Series) on November 15, 2024 to provide a reliable benchmark price for virtual assets, a rapidly emerging asset class, and support Hong Kong's development into Asia's leading digital asset center. The index series will provide a transparent and reliable benchmark for the pricing of Bitcoin and Ethereum in the Asian time zone, and is committed to providing a unified reference price for virtual assets to resolve price differences between such assets on global exchanges. "We are pleased to launch the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Virtual Asset Index Series to meet the region's demand for this rapidly emerging asset class," said Chan Yik Ting, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. "By providing a transparent and reliable real-time benchmark, we hope to help investors make informed investment decisions, thereby supporting the healthy development of the virtual asset ecosystem and consolidating Hong Kong's position as an international financial center."
Market News: Tether CEO says his company owns 82,454 BTC
According to Bitcoin Magazine’s post on the X platform, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino revealed that the company owns 82,454 BTC, worth approximately $5.55 billion.
1inch announces partnership with Bruce Lee's family company
According to the official blog, 1inch announced a long-term cooperation agreement with Bruce Lee's family company to promote the adoption of DeFi and Web3. 1inch said that the name "1inch" itself is derived from Bruce Lee's iconic "one-inch punch", and Bruce Lee's versatility, agility and innovative spirit have always guided its development of products such as Fusion+. 1inch also stated that under this cooperation, 1inch and Bruce Lee's family company are launching an advertising campaign with the slogan "Take Cryptocurrency Seriously". The campaign aims to change people's impression of cryptocurrency so that it is no longer seen as unserious or purely speculative, and to convey to the public that cryptocurrency represents the future financial system.
Crypto artist Beeple: NFT speculators have left, leaving only some core enthusiasts
According to Decrypt, crypto artist Beeple (Mike Winkelmann) said in an interview recently: "At present, NFT speculators have left, leaving only some core enthusiasts who 'understand the technology'. Looking back on that era, I find it crazy because NFTs have been hated for much longer than they have been loved. We lost a lot of users, but those people were never for art, I could see it at a glance. Speculators have moved on, but people are still passionate about this kind of thing." It is reported that Beeple's NFT work "Everydays: The First 5,000 Days" was sold for $69.3 million in 2021, setting a record. Since then, enthusiasm around NFTs has cooled significantly, and trading volume has plummeted by more than 90%.
Cathie Wood: Global economic uncertainty strengthens our confidence in Bitcoin
When asked in an interview with Bloomberg whether she was still confident that Bitcoin would reach its $1 million target, Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest, said: “Yes, the greater the uncertainty and volatility in the global economy, the stronger our confidence in Bitcoin. One of the reasons is that we have just experienced an inflation panic, which we believe is mainly caused by supply chain problems, and Bitcoin is a hedge against inflation.”
According to DL News, FTX has agreed to drop its lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange Bybit and reached a $228 million settlement agreement, which will allow FTX to recover $175 million in digital assets from the Bybit exchange and sell other assets including BIT tokens to Bybit's investment arm Mirana Corp. for $53 million. Previously, FTX accused Bybit-related accounts of transferring $327 million in assets on the eve of its collapse, making it impossible for other users to withdraw cash. Earlier this month, FTX's approved compensation plan is expected to allocate at least $12.6 billion in funds to affected users. The compensation plan will be launched within 60 days of the effective date, and the specific date has not yet been determined.
Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, posted on the X platform that a preview of Tether's Local AI development kit was shown yesterday at Lugano Plan ₿. The kit is privacy-focused and powered by peer-to-peer technology. Code can be written once and run anywhere, from $40 mobile phones to flagship smartphones, from laptops to mainframes with many H100s, from smart refrigerators to car entertainment systems. Terher's AI SDK is very modular, supports any model (Marian, Llama, etc.) and loads/stores weights and fine-tuning data in P2P data structures, and will be open source after "actual combat" testing.
Japanese listed company Metaplanet increased its holdings of 156.78 Bitcoins
According to official news, Japanese listed company Metaplanet announced that it had purchased an additional 156.78 bitcoins for 1.6 billion yen. It currently holds a total of 1,018.17 bitcoins with an average purchase price of US$61,552.
Ethena team is questioned for using 180 million ENA to earn Sats in Season 3
X platform user @Nomad02887202 posted that the Ethena team is currently using 180 million ENA tokens (25% of the SENA supply, used to earn Sats) to conduct Sats liquidity mining in Season 3, which actually dilutes the rewards of other participants and raises great concerns about the ethics of the team. The timeline of evidence is as follows: August 22: Coinbase announced that its Prime service will become the primary custodian of ENA tokens for Ethena Labs and Foundation. August 23: The Coinbase Prime custody address received more than 3 billion ENA tokens, which exceeded the total circulation of ENA at the time according to Ethena's vesting plan. There is reason to believe that this is the Coinbase Prime custody address of ENA tokens locked by the Ethena Labs core team and the Ethena Foundation. October 3: When SENA staking was launched via the S2 airdrop, the Coinbase Prime Custody address distributed 180 million ENA tokens to 6 wallets: • Day 1: 2 transfers (30 million and 35 million ENA) • Next few days: 4 transfers (35 million, 30 million, 25 million, 25 million ENA). @Nomad02887202 explained that these SENA can not only earn Sats, but also Ethereal points (the DEX in partnership with Ethena will be launched at the end of 2024). Data shows that the Ethena team's SENA has currently accumulated 20% of the total Ethereal points. The user also pointed out: "This is not the first time that these suspicious addresses have caused doubts. In Ethena's first community call, this was the most voted issue, but the Ethena team chose to completely ignore it, which speaks volumes about the team's ethics and attitude."
Ethena Labs: No locked team or investor tokens are used to earn Ethereal rewards via sENA
In response to the community's questions about whether the Ethena Labs team and investors received sENA rewards through locked tokens, Ethena Labs issued a statement on Discord and X platform, confirming that no locked team or investor tokens were used to obtain Ethereal rewards through sENA. Any ENA tokens transferred from the relevant wallets are tokens unlocked according to the original token distribution plan.
In addition, Ethena Labs stated that these unlocked tokens will not participate in any airdrops or related rewards. To improve transparency, Ethena Labs will update the interface this week to show the total amount of sENA that meets the qualifications for future airdrops and exclude sENA tokens that have not yet been allocated.
a16z partner's post pushed the market value of AI venture capital fund ai16z to nearly $100 million
According to The Block, an AI venture capital fund called ai16z on the emerging platform Daos.fun has reached a market value of nearly $100 million, driven by the a16z partner Marc Andreessen it imitates. The robot is modeled after Marc Andreessen's work and is responsible for managing a fund called ai16z, which currently holds assets worth about $1 million, mostly Degen Spartan AI tokens from Shaw, the creator of the robot. The creators of the a16z fund aim to have Andreessen's AI replica trade based on the recommendations of DAO members, which are weighted according to the members' token holdings and the quality of the recommendations. Andreessen wrote in a post: "GAUNTLET THROWN (Challenge has been given) and attached a screenshot of the robot X account. "Hey I have that t-shirt," Andreessen wrote in another post, along with a screenshot of the ai16z fund's avatar. The posts allegedly caused the Daos.fun website to crash. With Andreessen's own call, the fund's market value once approached $100 million, hitting an all-time high of $96.6 million, before falling back nearly 50% to its current value of about $50 million, and volatility remains high.
Robinhood launches US election prediction contracts, users can bet on Harris or Trump's victory
According to CNBC, Robinhood announced that its users can now trade prediction contracts for the 2024 US presidential election, supporting bets on the outcome of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. The transaction is jointly provided by Robinhood's derivatives department and ForecastEx, and is limited to US citizens who meet certain conditions.
Digital asset giant Tether announced that it will launch its mainstream stablecoin USDT on the Aptos network, becoming the first stablecoin issued on a chain supported by Move technology.
The Aptos network is known for its high performance, low transaction fees, and ultra-low latency. The number of daily active users of the network increased from 96,000 in January to 170,000 in July. This spring, Aptos processed 160 million transactions in one day.
Important data
CoinShares: Digital asset investment products saw a net inflow of $901 million last week
According to the latest weekly data from CoinShares, digital asset inflows reached $901 million last week, bringing the year-to-date net inflow to $27 million, nearly three times the record in 2021. The United States led with inflows of $906 million, Germany and Switzerland recorded increases of $14.7 million and $9.2 million, respectively, while Canada, Brazil and Hong Kong saw small outflows of $10.1 million, $3.6 million and $2.7 million, respectively.
In terms of assets, Bitcoin attracted $920 million in inflows, mainly due to U.S. political factors, and short Bitcoin products saw an outflow of $1.3 million. Ethereum saw an outflow of $34.7 million, becoming the asset with the largest outflow, while Solana and Blockchain Stocks recorded increases of $10.8 million and $12.2 million, respectively.
The U.S. Ethereum spot ETF saw a net outflow of $24.45 million last week
Base’s daily stablecoin transfer volume exceeds all other chains for the first time
According to a tweet by crypto KOL Peter Schroeder, on October 26, Base's daily stablecoin transfer volume exceeded all other chains for the first time. On that day, Base processed more than $18.1 billion worth of stablecoin transactions (99.9% of which were USDC), accounting for more than 30% of all stablecoin transactions that day.
