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💰 JPMorgan says an SEC rejection of spot bitcoin ETFs could lead to lawsuits
United States Securities and Exchange Commission decline approval for spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund applications, it may face legal action from applicants, according to JPMorgan. "Any rejection could trigger lawsuits against SEC creating more legal troubles for the agency," JPMorgan analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote in a report on Wednesday. Although any such rejection is unlikely, "it is possible," Panigirtzoglou told The Block. "We believe that a new legal battle on the issue of spot bitcoin ETF approval is not something that the SEC would be willing to face again," he said. Last month, the SEC lost in a case brought against it by Grayscale Investments after a court ruling in favor of the crypto asset manager. The SEC did not appeal, and the ruling was formalized earlier this week — mandating the SEC to reconsider the application from Grayscale to convert its bitcoin trust into a spot bitcoin ETF. JPMorgan expects multiple spot bitcoin ETF approvals to come "within months," it said last week. Today, it said that asset managers appear to be making progress with the SEC with technical preparations and amended filings to clarify issues over market manipulation, commingling customer funds, etc. Bitcoin's strong performance is "fueled by institutional demand" as opposed to the retail-driven performance witnessed in previous quarters, the JPMorgan analysts said.
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🇬🇧 UK Bill for Seizing Illicit Crypto Finally Becomes Law
A bill that will help law enforcement agencies seize and freeze crypto used for crime became law on Thursday after receiving the King's approval . The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill covers a range of criminal activities from drug trafficking to cybercrime. Provisions in the bill give broader powers to local cops, and will let them seize crypto with criminal links without a conviction – something experts say would come in handy, particularly in time-sensitive cases. The bill was introduced last September, and since then amendments have been added to ensure the measures were extended to cover terrorism. Separate provisions to help authorities seize other assets that can help identify crypto linked to crime were also added. It was passed by Parliament on Wednesday. Although the U.K. has expressed a desire to become a global hub for crypto and has passed some legislation to legitimize crypto in the country, it has also been clamping down on crypto crime and scams. Law enforcement agencies have already seized hundreds of millions of pounds worth of crypto tied to criminal activity and have placed crypto tactical advisers in police departments nationwide to assist in investigations.
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🟣 Polygon's POL cryptocurrency contracts deployed on Ethereum mainnet
Polygon Labs has deployed contracts for the project’s next-generation cryptocurrency, POL, on the Ethereum mainnet following a testnet deployment earlier this month. The development comes after a series of now-approved Polygon Improvement Proposals in September that detailed the specifications for the POL token. This cryptocurrency is an evolution of MATIC and aims to align with the architecture of the upcoming Polygon 2.0 upgrade. Several key proposals were on the table: PIP-17, which initiates the POL cryptocurrency upgrade, and PIP-19, which recommends the adoption of POL as Polygon’s proof-of-stake native gas and staking coin. As a result, POL will serve as the main cryptocurrency for the Polygon 2.0 ecosystem, supporting an ecosystem of zero-knowledge-based Layer 2 chains and incorporating features such as staking, community ownership and governance. “POL, a next-generation hyperproductive token, will power a vast ecosystem of zero knowledge-based Layer 2 chains via a native re-staking protocol that allows POL holders to validate multiple chains and perform multiple roles on each of those chains,” said Polygon Labs in a statement.
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🪙 Vitalik Buterin invests in Nocturne Labs, which aims to bring private accounts to Ethereum
Nocturne Labs, a crypto startup that wants to bring private accounts to the Ethereum ecosystem, has raised $6 million in seed funding. Bain Capital Crypto and Polychain Capital co-led the round, with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, Bankless Ventures, Hack VC, Robot Ventures and others participating, it said Wednesday. The firm started raising for the round in January of this year and closed it in August amid a crypto funding slump, co-founder and CEO Luke Tchang told The Block. Founded last year in the United States, Nocturne is building a protocol that aims to allow users to transact anonymously within the Ethereum ecosystem. "Users will have 'internal' accounts within Nocturne where receiving/ spending funds from these accounts works in a way that is anonymous (not all tied back to the same address)," Tchang said. Users will be able to deposit or receive payments into their Nocturne account. They can then prove via zero-knowledge proof technologies that they own such funds and use them for other transactions such as payments, trading and staking, Tchang said. Crypto mixers have poor user experience, Tchang said, explaining that if you put in one ether, you can take out exactly that one ether.
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💰 Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index Hits Highest Level in 6 Months
Bitcoin’s recent surge towards $35,000 has pushed the ‘Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index’ into ‘Greed’ territory, reaching its highest level since April 2023. Despite predominantly reflecting ‘Fear’ in the latter part of 2022, the current wave of optimism in the market suggests a potential revival in the crypto domain. Although heightened greed levels may indicate the possibility of a market correction, analysts remain optimistic about Bitcoin’s growth, considering the favorable factors at play. The ongoing revival in the cryptocurrency market, particularly Bitcoin’s bullish journey towards $35,000, has influenced investors’ perceptions of this digital asset. The widely followed ‘Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index,’ which serves as a barometer of overall sentiment towards the primary cryptocurrency, has entered the ‘Greed’ zone for the first time since mid-July, coinciding with Bitcoin’s climb towards the coveted $30,000 level on October 21. As of today, October 24, investor sentiment appears even more enthusiastic, with the index reaching 66, its highest reading since April 16, 2023. Throughout the latter part of 2022, the ‘BTC Fear and Greed Index’ predominantly resided in the ‘Fear’ or ‘Neutral’ categories.
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📣 Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank Execute Stablecoin Payments UDPN Blockchain Execute
Standard Chartered’s SC Ventures and Deutsche Bank have successfully completed the first proof of concept (PoC) for the Universal Digital Payments Network (stablecoin payments UDPN blockchain), marking a significant stride in the world of digital finance. Stablecoin payments UDPN blockchain, envisioned to bridge the gap between various Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and blockchain networks, operates on a permissioned blockchain, distinguishing itself from the conventional Swift model. Red Date Technology, a co-founder of the Chinese Blockchain-Based Service Network (BSN), spearheads the stablecoin payments UDPN blockchain initiative in collaboration with GFT consultancy and DLA Piper’s digital asset initiative, TOKO. The UDPN Alliance, comprising several prominent organizations, is actively involved in network governance. The fundamental objective of stablecoin payments UDPN blockchain is to surmount the current barriers hindering the widespread adoption of digital currencies, primarily the lack of interoperability across diverse token offerings. Interoperability among stablecoins is primarily facilitated through centralized crypto exchanges, raising concerns about oversight and regulation.
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💰 Bitcoin ETF Speculation Fuels A Potential Of 10% Gain Following Recent Rallies
Bitcoin ETF speculation drives rally as historical data suggests potential gains. Leading asset managers compete to offer spot Bitcoin ETF in the US. Analysts anticipate regulatory approval by year-end, as per BBG. A Bitcoin rally driven by optimism surrounding exchange-traded funds (ETFs) may continue to gain momentum, following historical patterns. In the past week, the largest digital asset experienced a significant 9.5% surge, the largest weekly gain since June. Historical data compiled by Bloomberg indicates that weekly gains of this magnitude have often preceded an average 10% climb in Bitcoin over the subsequent month. As of this writing, Bitcoin is trading at $30,518 after reaching $30,985 on the same day, CoinMarketCap data shows. Leading asset managers such as BlackRock Inc. and Fidelity Investments are among several firms competing to offer a spot Bitcoin ETF in the US. Many believe that these ETFs will attract new inflows into the cryptocurrency market, as institutional players are likely to be drawn in. Bitcoin has outperformed other digital assets this year, with an 87% rebound, surpassing the 44% gain of the top 100 tokens. It currently accounts for nearly 50% of the $1.2 trillion digital-asset market, regaining the dominance it held in 2021.
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💰 Solana's Largest Defi Protocol Marinade Starts Blocking UK Users
Solana's largest decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, Marinade Finance, has blocked users in the United Kingdom from accessing the site due to "compliance concerns" over Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulations. Marinade is responsible for most of the total value locked (TVL) on the Solana blockchain, with $248 million spread across native and liquid staking products. The amount of assets across the entire Solana blockchain stands at around $350 million, according to DefiLlama. Marinade currently offers annual yields of 8.15% for native staking and 7.7% for liquid staking, with native staking being rolled out earlier this year. Orca Finance, Solana's largest decentralized exchange, added geo-blocking for U.K. users. The restrictions against U.K. users appear to be in response to the FCA's new promotions rules, which restrict the marketing of crypto-related products or services. Centralized crypto businesses like Bybit and Paypal have withdrawn from the U.K. market whilst Binance has temporarily paused new U.K. sign-ups following the release of the FCA's promotions rule. Luno also blocked some customers from investing in crypto. But geo-restrictions are rare for decentralized protocols, most of which do not require know-your-customer (KYC) checks.
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🇮🇪 Coinbase picks Ireland for its EU MiCA hub
U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has officially chosen Ireland as the location for its European MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) hub, marking a significant step in its ongoing international expansion efforts. MiCA, set to apply to crypto asset service providers by the end of 2024, will enable Coinbase to serve a vast market of 450 million people across 27 countries under a single regulatory framework and national supervision. The recent adoption of MiCA by EU policymakers is seen as a pivotal moment for the cryptocurrency industry in the region. The regulatory clarity provided by the framework underscores the region’s recognition of the potential offered by emerging technologies. Coinbase said Ireland’s favorable political environment and robust regulatory infrastructure for financial technology companies were key factors in its decision. The company already maintains operational structures in Ireland and benefits from access to a deep talent pool with expertise in financial services and cutting-edge technologies. Setting up a MiCA hub is part of Coinbase’s Phase II strategy, known as “Go Broad, Go Deep,”.
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🇭🇰 Hong Kong to crack down on crypto money launderers in the aftermath of $193M JPEX scandal
Hong Kong’s Customs and Excise Department is looking to tighten regulatory measures to address the money-laundering risks associated with cash-for-crypto shops, South China Morning Post reported on Oct. 21. The decision comes after police arrested some of these store owners in connection with the alleged $192.7 million fraud perpetrated JPEX crypto exchange. Hong Kong, traditional money changers are overseen by the Customs and Excise Department. However, over-the-counter (OTC) cryptocurrency exchange shops currently operate without licensing or regulatory oversight. According to Ho, in order to improve Hong Kong’s crypto regulatory regime, both these aspects need to be considered. Later this month, Ho’s department will sign a memorandum of cooperation with its South Korean counterpart to bolster intelligence sharing and enforcement collaboration. Additionally, the department plans to promote international cooperation against such crimes as it prepares to assume the role of vice-chair for the Asia-Pacific region at the World Customs Organization for a two-year term starting in July 2024. While Ho did not confirm whether her department is actively involved in reviewing crypto regulations, she said there is “always room to improve the law enforcement and surveillance regime.”
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💰 Bitcoin core developer steps back from Lightning Network over “hard dilemma”
Security researcher and developer Antoine Riard is stepping down from the Lightning Network’s development team, citing security issues and fundamental challenges to the Bitcoin ecosystem. According to a thread on the Linux Foundation’s public mailing list, Riard believes the Bitcoin community faces a “hard dilemma” as a new class of replacement cycling attacks puts Lightning in a “perilous position.“. The Lightning Network is the second-layer solution built over the Bitcoin blockchain. Through the Lightning Network, users can open payment channels, conduct multiple transactions off-chain and settle the final result on the Bitcoin blockchain. The replacement cycling attack targets these payment channels. It is a new type of attack that allows the attacker to steal funds from a channel participant by exploiting inconsistencies between individual mempools. Lightning developers grapple with challenges, including criticisms surrounding the network’s complexity and the demands placed on user experience. Since its inception in 2018, the layer-2 network has gained popularity, with a total value locked reaching $159.5 million at the time of writing, according to data from DefiLlama. However, this figure is still very modest when compared to Bitcoin’s $587 billion market capitalization.
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💰 Coinbase's Grewal Is 'Quite Hopeful' That Bitcoin Spot ETFs Will be Approved
Crypto exchange Coinbase's (COIN) chief legal officer Paul Grewal is "quite hopeful" that bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications will be approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A spot bitcoin ETF will follow the price of bitcoin rather than the prices of bitcoin futures, giving investors direct exposure to the largest digital cryptocurrency without owning it themselves. The optimism surrounding a potential spot bitcoin ETF was started earlier this year when TradFi giants like BlackRock filed for spot ETF with the SEC. The bitcoin price could rise to between $42,000 and $56,000 if the BlackRock ETF is approved, according to crypto services provider Matrixport. Such bullish price action would also help crypto-linked stocks such as Coinbase, MicroStrategy (MSTR) and miners including Marathon (MARA), Riot Platforms (RIOT). Grewal didn't speculate when the approvals will come but said that given some of the key TradFi firms have applied for spot bitcoin ETFs, it is only a matter of time. "I think that the firms that have stepped forward with robust proposals for these products and services are among some of the biggest blue chips in financial services,” Grewal told CNBC. “So that, I think, suggests that we will see progress there in short order,” he added.
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🏦 Crypto Exchange Coinbase Chooses Ireland as EU MiCA Hub
America’s leading crypto exchange, Coinbase, announced it has chosen Ireland as its “MiCA hub” in the European Union. The trading platform said the decision is part of the realization of the second phase of its “Go Broad, Go Deep” strategy for international expansion. Coinbase currently holds an e-money institution license and a virtual asset service provider (VASP) registration in Ireland as well as licenses and registrations in other EU countries When it’s granted, the latter will permit the exchange to offer its services across the Union, operating under a single license and regulator. MiCA, which was adopted earlier this year, is set to enter into force in the member states by the end of next year. In the U.S., Coinbase has been engaged in a legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission which has accused it and other major crypto platforms like Binance of illegally trading unregistered securities. The exchange has been among those in the industry calling for introducing dedicated legislation rather than applying existing U.S. laws to crypto assets through courts. The American crypto giant has welcomed the adoption of MiCA, describing it as a pivotal moment for cryptocurrencies.
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🪙 Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin faces lawsuit over Consensys stock value
Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin is facing a lawsuit from more than two dozen former Consensys employees, accusing him, Consensys and other parties of maneuvering valuable assets out of its Swiss holding company. The complaint was filed in New York state court on Thursday. It claims assets — including its web3 wallet MetaMask, partly developed by some of the plaintiffs — were transferred out of Consensys AG, leaving them with worthless shares. Lubin allegedly arranged to move the assets to a new U.S.-based company, CSI, in 2020, so it could solicit outside investment, with the help of Consensys General Counsel Matt Corva, enabling Lubin to replace the plaintiffs with Wall Street investors. Lubin also brought in investment bank JPMorgan, who, in exchange for its own blockchain business, Quorum, received 10% of CSI, according to the complaint. Corva, JPMorgan and Umar Farooq, Global Head of Blockchain at JPMorgan, are also listed as defendants. When Lubin established Consensys in 2014, many employees accepted lower salaries with the understanding they would receive company equity, according to the suit. Lubin reportedly dedicated 30% of the company to employee stock, with the suing party holding about 9% of that portion.
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🏦 Coinbase-incubated Layer 2 Base open-sources code to enhance transparency
Coinbase-incubated Layer 2 network Base has open-sourced its code repositories to enhance transparency and open the project to public contributions. “By sharing our work openly, we enable the community to track our progress and ensure that we're living up to our commitments,” Base said in the announcement. “This transparency also serves as a catalyst for collaboration, as it allows developers to tap into our knowledge base. The Base Layer 2 network on Ethereum is built on OP Stack in collaboration with Optimism. “Supporting open source has been one of our key tenets since we announced the testnet at the start of the year,” Base Senior Software Engineer Anika Raghuvanshi told The Block. “Our goal is to be decentralized, permissionless, and open to anyone. We joined Optimism as a Core Dev on the open source OP Stack, and open sourcing Base’s contracts and frontend is a continuation of our commitment to building a technology that is open for everyone.”. By open-sourcing its smart contract repositories (or repos), the core Base team aims to provide developers with increased transparency around its development.
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🇺🇸 Sen. Sherrod Brown calls for crackdown on use of crypto to fund terrorism
Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, called for a crackdown on the use of cryptocurrency to fund terrorism and evade sanctions in the wake of attacks on Israel. His comments came as the industry has argued that recent figures being used to portray the scale of crypto fundraising by terrorist groups are being taken out of context. Brown, who holds the purse strings for bills in his committee, said crypto platforms too often times do not use the "same common sense protections,". "Some crypto services and tokens even help users keep their transactions anonymous and when law enforcement attempts to trace or block crypto funds, it becomes a game of whack a mole," Brown said during a hearing on Thursday. Brown's comments come on the heels of some controversy over how crypto has been involved in the fundraising of terrorist group Hamas. The Wall Street Journal reported two weeks ago that Hamas, along with other militant groups, raised millions worth of crypto ahead of attacks in Israel. The WSJ cited crypto researcher Elliptic, which on Wednesday said that figures are being misrepresented. "I welcome more ideas from anybody on this committee and anybody at the witness table and anybody in the audience," Brown said.
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🐸 Pepecoin Doubles to $500M Market Cap as Memecoin Fever Steals Bitcoin's ETF Thunder
The price of pepe (PEPE), one of the many memecoins that spawned out of crypto winter, has doubled in a week to a $500 million market cap as traders anticipate the etchings of a bitcoin (BTC) spot ETF-induced bull market. The frog-themed memecoin was one of the beacons of optimism in the recent bear market, rising to a $1.6 billion market cap in early May as traders speculated over whether it could rival the likes of dogecoin (DOGE) and shiba inu (SHIB). The hype rapidly wore off as the market cap slipped to $244 million earlier this month, but it now appears to have found a way out of the doldrums with a significant uptick in trading volume and on-chain activity. On Wednesday, a post on pepe's X page revealed that more than 155,000 individual wallets were holding pepe, including all token bridges to Arbitrum and BSC. Trading volume reached $423 million over the past 24 hours, a 22% rise from the previous day, according to CoinMarketCap. The recent gain can be attributed to a $5.5 million token burn that took place on Tuesday, which alleviated fears of a rogue developer potentially selling tokens on the open market.
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🇺🇸 SEC's Gensler stays true to form, uses Wednesday speech to say crypto is full of 'fraud, scams, bankruptcies and money laundering'
Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler is standing firm in his long-held view that many cryptocurrencies are subject to existing securities laws, despite pushback from the industry. Gensler, who has also said that crypto firms are subject to the same rules as traditional finance, reinforced his view on Wednesday in prepared remarks at the 2023 Securities Enforcement Forum. His comments came amid a week of rabid speculation about the status of pending applications for spot bitcoin ETFs. The agency has brought numerous cases against crypto firms over the past year, including ones against U.S.-based Coinbase and the world's largest crypto exchange, Binance. In those lawsuits, the agency often cites the Howey Test, a 1946 U.S. Supreme Court case involving citrus groves to determine whether transactions are investment contracts and thus subject to securities laws. However, that approach has garnered criticism from some, including Coinbase, which has said the SEC stretched its arguments in Howey "beyond recognition." Gensler also spoke in general about charges the SEC has brought against others, including a case involving the former CEO of McDonald's. "And don’t get me started on crypto," Gensler said. "I won’t even name all the individuals we’ve charged in this highly noncompliant field."
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💰 BlackRock Bitcoin ETF in August Got on DTCC Site That Just Belatedly Moved Markets
The price of bitcoin surged on Monday after BlackRock’s proposed ETF showed up on the DTCC’s website and dropped when it vanished Tuesday. Impulsive trading in crypto markets is nothing new and the movement in the price of bitcoin (BTC) over the past two days over the addition – and then removal – of BlackRock’s proposed ticker for its spot bitcoin ETF on the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp.’s website is just another example. As it turns out, the ETF has been on the website since August, a spokesperson for DTCC confirmed in an email to CoinDesk. Crypto traders this week interpreted the inclusion on the page as a sign BlackRock’s product might get approved soon. But an ETF appearing there does not indicate anything about its regulatory approval, DTCC said. Being there is just part of the prep work – getting a ticker symbol and unique ID code known as a CUSIP – any ETF would undertake pending U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approval. “It is standard practice for DTCC to add securities to the NSCC security eligibility file in preparation for the launch of a new ETF to the market,” according to the spokesperson. Bitcoin on Monday shot above the $35,000 mark after crypto traders noticed BlackRock’s ETF on the page. But bitcoin slumped Tuesday after it disappeared.
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⚪️ Supra and Google Partner to Bring Fast Price Feeds to Financial Markets
Supra, a leading provider of secure, scalable oracles for decentralized applications (dApps), today announced a partnership with Google Cloud to bring fast and reliable price feeds to Web2 and Web3 financial markets. The partnership will allow Supra to leverage Google Cloud’s infrastructure and expertise to provide dApps with access to real-time price data from a variety of sources, including exchanges, OTC markets, and various data providers. The partnership will initially focus on providing dApps with access to price data from major exchanges, such as Binance, Coinbase, Gate, Gemini, OKX, and Kraken. Among many use cases, Supra will use Google Cloud’s Pub/Sub service to provide reliable and robust delivery of real-time price data to dApps. This will allow dApps to build applications that can react to market changes in real-time with low latency. The partnership is a significant step forward for Supra and Google Cloud. It will help to accelerate the adoption of decentralized applications in the financial sector and make them more accessible to a wider audience of developers at greater speeds and lower latencies.
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🐸 Pepe Memecoin Burns $5.5M Tokens Prompting 31% Rise
The pepe memecoin (PEPE) bucked the trend of bitcoin (BTC) dominance over the past 24 hours, rising by 31% following a 6.9 trillion ($5.5 million) token burn. The popular frog-themed memecoin is now trading at a two-month high as the burn quells concerns over the team's token holdings. The team now holds 3.79 trillion tokens ($3.72 million), which would have minimal impact if sold on the open market as 24-hour trading volume has surged to $397 million, according to CoinMarketCap. The decision to burn tokens came after a handful of rogue pepe developers executed a series of unexpected transfers out of the project's multisignature wallet, effectively stealing millions of dollars worth of pepe, as alleged by a team member. "A new team of advisors have been brought on to guide Pepe forward," a post on the pepe X (formerly Twitter) account said. "Uses for the remaining 3.79T tokens attributed to the original team CEX multi-sig wallet for strategic partnerships and marketing opportunities are currently being explored." The rise in PEPE coincided with bitcoin rallying to a 17-month high of $35,000, fueled by optimism around the potential approval of a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF).
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⚪️ Worldcoin to pay orb operators in WLD rather than USDC
The Worldcoin Foundation will soon pay orb operators, who scan people into the Worldcoin network, in WLD tokens rather than USDC stablecoins. The foundation expects to complete the transition by next month, according to its announcement, which is not visible to users in the United States. Of the approximately 134 million WLD issued, 100 million were given as loans to market makers while 34 million have been distributed to users and orb operators in the form of grants. Worldcoin announced that the agreements would be renewed until December 15 of this year with a reduced amount of 75 million tokens; the market makers will return or, alternatively, purchase some or all of the remaining 25 million as part of the agreement. The Foundation also gave an update on the WLD token's circulating supply, which has reached over 1% of its total supply of 10 billion tokens. Of the approximately 134 million WLD issued, 100 million were given as loans to market makers while 34 million have been distributed to users and orb operators in the form of grants. Despite "operational challenges" cited by Sam Altman — the co-founder of Worldcoin, who's best known for founding OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT — Worldcoin's token grants appear to be growing steadily over time, following an initial period of hyped adoption.
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🇭🇰 Hong Kong Reverses Stance on Spot-Crypto, ETF Investing, With a Catch
Hong Kong's financial regulator has extended earlier guidance that limited the sale of spot products to professional investors, allowing intermediaries to offer services to wider range of clients. "The policy is updated in light of the latest market developments and enquiries from the industry seeking to further expand retail access through intermediaries and to allow investors to directly deposit and withdraw virtual assets to/from intermediaries with appropriate safeguards," the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) said in a circular on Friday. The change in regulation comes amid mounting interest in spot bitcoin exchange-traded-funds (ETFs). Recently, JPMorgan said the approval of spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. could happen within months, and probably before Jan. 10, the final deadline for the Ark 21Shares application. It also comes after the authority accused crypto exchange JPEX of operating without a license, making arrests, and saying it would publish details of licensed applicants. The other catch is that potential clients would need to take a one-off test to determine their investing knowledge and ensure they have sufficient net worth to assume the risks related to virtual asset trading. Intermediaries would also need to provide clients with risk disclosure statements.
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💰 Bitcoin dominance hits highest point in over two years
Bitcoin's dominance in the cryptocurrency market has increased to over 49%, marking its highest point in more than two years, according to The Block's data dashboard. Bitcoin's dominance has experienced a steady rise, moving from approximately 38% at the start of this year to reach 48.85% on October 21, marking the highest level observed since April 2021. This surge in dominance can be attributed to a year-long rally in bitcoin, with the cryptocurrency's price surging by 81% since the beginning of the year. Bitcoin's dominance has experienced a steady rise, moving from approximately 38% at the start of this year to reach 48.85% on October 21, marking the highest level observed since April 2021. As noted by The Block Research's Rebecca Stevens, the increase in dominance reflects the crypto "is holding strong in current market conditions and has actually been performing well for much of this week." "Inflation woes, geopolitical risk, and an increasingly partisan U.S. government have been weighing on investors who are looking to minimize risk," Stevens added. "Meanwhile, bitcoin seems closer than ever to getting a spot ETF approval and in a certain sense serves as an ideological hedge to the uncertainty on the world stage, helping it reclaim more dominance in the crypto space."
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🇪🇺 Crypto Shareholder Requirements Set Out by EU Banking Regulators
Crypto company shareholders with a more than 10% stake will be vetted for previous convictions or sanctions under bank-style rules proposed by EU regulators Friday. The rules come as high-profile crypto industry executives including FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried, Celsius’ Alex Mashinsky and Binance’s Changpeng “CZ” Zhao fight U.S. charges that they have misled or defrauded customers, or failed to comply with federal securities laws. New European Union laws known as the Markets in Crypto Assets regulation, MiCA, due to take effect in December 2024. Shareholders and board members of crypto asset service providers “must not have been convicted of offenses relating to money laundering or terrorist financing or of any other offenses that would affect their good repute,” a condition that has to be “maintained at all times,” said the EBA and ESMA, the EU rulemaking agencies responsible for banking and securities markets law. In other parts of the financial sector, ownership curbs have been used to try and prevent former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from owning a major shareholding in a bank. Berlusconi, who died earlier this year, had previously been convicted of tax fraud. MiCA authorizations – which will allow crypto companies to operate across the 27-nation bloc.
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🇺🇸 FBI Charges 6 for Allegedly Running $30M Money Transmitting Business Using Crypto
The FBI has charged six people for allegedly operating an illegal $30 million money-transmitting business using cryptocurrencies, according to court documents filed Wednesday in the Southern District of New York. The six – Shaileshkumar Goyani, Brijeshkumar Patel, Hirenkumar Patel, Naineshkumar Patel, Nileshkumar Patel and Raju Patel – operated without an appropriate money transmitting license in New York, according to the filing. The details, disclosed in the unsealed affidavit of an FBI agent seeking the individuals' arrest. The U.S. Magistrate judge has granted the conditional release of at least one of the people named, Naineshkumar Patel, according to a court document. The filing cites an unidentified co-conspirator as saying that at least some clients "made money by selling drugs" and that the wealthiest clients "were hackers." The co-conspirator told an undercover officer that he had made approximately $30 million over three years through the exchange of cash for virtual currency. The arrested individual would later become a confidential source and for the next eight months cooperate with law enforcement in approximately 80 controlled pick-ups of cash totaling approximately $15 million.
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🪙 Tether New CEO Ardoino Will Lead The $84B Stablecoin Giant
Paolo Ardoino, the Chief Technology Officer of Tether Holdings, will become the Tether new CEO, which is now valued at $84 billion. Ardoino will also continue as the CTO of Bitfinex. Paolo Ardoino, the Chief Technology Officer of Tether Holdings Ltd, is set to become the new CEO of the $84 billion stablecoin giant. Ardoino, an Italian software engineer, has been the unofficial frontman for Tether, communicating with the public through social media posts, interviews, and industry conferences. Tether’s USDT, a digital token pegged to the US dollar, has seen significant growth and now accounts for nearly 70% of the stablecoin market. However, the company has faced scrutiny over its lack of transparency and allegations of misrepresentation. Tether, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, operates with minimal public visibility. Most of its assets supporting the token are short-dated US Treasury bills, ensuring profitability during times of high-interest rates. The company reported around $3.3 billion in excess capital and has banking partnerships with institutions such as Cantor Fitzgerald and Deltec Bank & Trust. Ardoino will oversee Tether’s finances and research and development initiatives.
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🇺🇸 US Treasury plans to designate international crypto mixers as money-laundering hubs: WSJ
The Treasury Department is planning to designate international crypto mixers as money-laundering hubs, citing Hamas' use of them along with other terrorist groups, according to The Wall Street Journal. "Today’s action underscores Treasury's commitment to combating the exploitation of Convertible Virtual Currency mixing by a broad range of illicit actors, including state-affiliated cyber actors, cyber criminals, and terrorist groups," said Wally Adeyemo, deputy Treasury secretary, according to the WSJ. The designation comes shortly after a report from the WSJ that said that said Hamas, along with other militant groups, used crypto as a financing tool ahead of attacks in Israel earlier this month. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., along with more than a hundred other lawmakers including both Democrats and Republicans, said they were concerned about how Hamas raised millions of dollars through crypto in a letter sent to the Biden administration on Tuesday. "As Congress considers legislative proposals designed to mitigate crypto money laundering and illicit finance risks, we urge you to swiftly and categorically act to meaningfully curtail illicit crypto activity and protect our national security and that of our allies," the letter stated.
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💰 Polygon proposes 13-member 'protocol council' to supervise smart contract upgrades
Polygon Labs has introduced a new governance improvement proposal, designated as PIP-29, which seeks to form a Protocol Council to steer changes made to its core smart contracts. The Protocol Council is set to consist of 13 members charged with supervising modifications to Polygon’s system-level smart contracts. The proposal identifies several influential individuals and organizations slated to join the Protocol Council. Given the importance of upgradeability in smart contracts for Polygon’s system architecture, the Protocol Council is expected to play a crucial role in ensuring both security and the ability for smooth transitions to updated versions. A regular change to Polygon’s smart contracts will require 7/13 consensus signatures from the Protocol Council members with a 10-day timelock. This consensus will be used for all ordinary configuration changes in the contract. In case of an emergency, a change would require a 10/13 consensus from the Protocol Council but with no timelock, according to the proposal. The council will supervise time-locked alterations to these smart contracts on the Ethereum network, pertinent to both current and future Polygon 2.0 protocols.
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