OpenAI secured $6.6bn at a $157bn valuation, up from $29bn in 2023. Key investors include Microsoft, Nvidia, SoftBank, and others.
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A Consensys poll shows that nearly half of U.S. voters consider crypto important in the upcoming election.
⚫️85% of crypto owners want pro-crypto policies from presidential candidates
⚫️56% of voters support Trump’s pro-crypto approach, while 54% want Harris to clarify her stance
⚫️Swing states like Michigan and Pennsylvania could be influenced by candidates' crypto positions
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Binance founder CZ reportedly made up to $25m per day while in prison, according to Forbes, while Bloomberg estimates he lost money, reflecting differing evaluations of his net worth.
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Bitcoin's sharp 5% decline to $60k, causing over $500m in liquidations with $450m of it in long positions, can be attributed to several factors:
⚫ The crypto market, NASDAQ, Dow Jones, Russell 2000, and S&P 500 all closed negatively amid growing concerns over the Middle East conflict regarding Iran and Israel.
⚫ U.S. JOLTs job vacancies increased to 8.04m, higher than the expected 7.65m.
⚫ U.S. ISM manufacturing PMI was at 47.2%, its biggest drop since May 2023, lower than the expected 47.5%, contracting for its sixth straight month.
⚫ Fed Chair Jerome Powell said there was no urgency to cut rates aggressively.
Meanwhile, gold and silver rose by roughly 1% each.
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Bitwise filed to launch the first spot XRP ETF by registering a trust entity called the CSC Delaware Trust Company in Delaware.
The trust is part of early-stage preparation, with official SEC registration possibly happening months ahead.
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Thailand's second largest bank, Kasikornbank (KBank), plans to launch the country's first licensed digital asset custodian, orbix CUSTODIAN.
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Shigeru Ishiba, Japan's new Prime Minister, faced immediate market friction as the Nikkei stock market plunged 5% on Sept 30 before officially taking the position on Oct 1.
Ishiba's policy supports NFTs and blockchain to boost the value of regional analog experiences like food and tourism and plans to continue the momentum in crypto set by pro-web3 predecessor Fumio Kishida, which included actions like:
⚫ Ending corporate unrealized crypto gains taxation.
⚫ Reviewing crypto regulations, potentially reclassifying crypto from a payment option to an investment tool.
⚫ Establishing a web3 policy office under METI.
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Robinhood introduced crypto transfer services for European users. Previously, European users were limited to buying and selling crypto but could not transfer it.
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Ripple just received in-principal approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), allowing it to introduce cross-border payment services in the UAE.
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ZA Bank, Hong Kong's largest virtual bank, received SFC approval to add virtual asset trading to its Type 1 license and will begin preparing for sandbox testing.
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Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission now allows professional investors, such as institutions and high-net-worth clients, to invest in foreign virtual asset ETFs.
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The FTX token (FTT) surged over 60% amid bankruptcy distributions, reaching $2.71 at one point.
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FTX creditors may recover just 10%-25% of their crypto based on filing date prices when Bitcoin was $16k, causing public dissatisfaction.
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Bitcoin has experienced its historically best September ever, with a +9.34% performance so far.
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SEC Chair Gary Gensler reiterated plans to expand the definition of “exchange,” which could impact DeFi platforms.
The proposed rule change aims to close regulatory gaps and apply stricter requirements to platforms, sparking concern in the digital asset space.
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The SEC filed an appeal in the Ripple lawsuit, specifically the August 7 judgement wherein Ripple would pay $125m in civil penalty, lower than the $2bn requested by the SEC.
Ripple has a 14-day window to file a cross-appeal to challenge SEC's appeal, per Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett.
CEO Brad Garlinghouse also reiterated the final judgement, which was that XRP was not a security.
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The U.S. is emphasizing leadership in crypto and mining, with Kamala Harris and Donald Trump pushing for dominance.
Meanwhile, Russia’s new mining laws have boosted its position, and it could overtake the U.S. in mining capacity within 2-3 years, says BitRiver CEO Igor Runets.
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Bitcoin miners' revenue in September dropped to $816m, marking the lowest monthly figure in a year. Transaction fee revenue was $13.86m, the lowest since BRC-20's emergence in March 2023.
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Binance completed its virtual asset service provider (VASP) registration in Argentina, marking its 20th registration with global regulators.
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FTX's reorganization plan received strong support from creditors, with 94.5% of FTX Dotcom creditors, 89.1% of U.S. creditors, and 95.9% of Dotcom convenience claims voting in favor.
The plan offers 98% of creditors at least 118% of their claim value. The confirmation hearing is set for October 7.
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Gemini will shut down its services to Canadian users by December 31. Users will be given 90 days to withdraw their assets without explanation.
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Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated that while the Fed will continue to lower interest rates to support economic growth, there is no urgency to cut rates aggressively.
He emphasized that the economy is in solid shape, and the Fed aims to maintain stability without rushing into further rate reductions.
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BlackRock’s Ethereum ETF (ETHA) has underperformed compared to its Bitcoin ETF, with $1bn AUM in seven weeks versus Bitcoin’s $24bn.
BlackRock attributes this to a more complex investment narrative for Ethereum but views the progress as positive.
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Coinbase confirmed it would add verifiable proof of reserves for its newly launched Coinbase Wrapped BTC (cbBTC), addressing lack of transparency concerns.
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Bithumb, South Korea's second-largest crypto exchange, is considering a Nasdaq listing in the U.S. next year, with Samsung Securities as the lead underwriter.
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China's stock market rose by over 8.4%, marking its best day in 16 years, almost a week after Beijing launched a $114bn stimulus package to boost the stock market.
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💌💌💌💌💌
✔ This week's crypto market highlights:
⚫Telegram boosts search safety with AI
⚫Binance denies 12.8m user data leak
⚫DOJ sues Visa for debit market monopoly
⚫SEC delays BlackRock ETH ETF options decision
⚫SEC: crypto miners are securities
⚫Ellison sentenced to 2 years for FTX fraud
⚫Gensler confirms Bitcoin not a security
⚫ CZ released from prison
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Transaction fees on the TON blockchain have hit a record high due to increased on-chain activity as users scramble to claim their HMSTR rewards.
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A U.S. judge ruled that the criminal case against Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm will proceed to trial on December 2.
Storm faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted on conspiracy to commit money laundering and violating sanctions.
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Changpeng Zhao, Binance founder, will be released today after a four-month sentence.
He may focus on family, philanthropy, and retains influence at Binance as its largest shareholder despite stepping down as CEO.
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