Bitcoin Price: US$ 28,500.78 (+4.96%)
Ethereum Price: US$ 1,599.42 (+2.67%)
In a letter to Cointelegraph readers, the publication apologised for mistakenly posting an unverified message on X, claiming that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission had approved BlackRock’s iShares spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The false information, originating from an unconfirmed screenshot on X, was posted on social media without prior editorial approval, leading to an internal investigation to improve social media management processes. Uniswap Labs announced a 0.15% fee on trades involving specific tokens executed through its front end, distinct from the protocol fee managed by governance voters. The fee aims to fund operations and development. Manta Pacific network, initially an optimistic rollup built with OP Stack software, is shifting to become a ZK-rollup using Polygon’s Chain Development Kit (CDK), with concerns over security and transaction finality cited as reasons for the transition.
Binance, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, has ceased the acceptance of new users from the United Kingdom to adhere to the nation’s crypto advertising regulations, necessitating firms registered with the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to approve their own ads. This decision followed Binance’s partnership with an unauthorised firm, Rebuildingsociety.com, which drew attention from the FCA. Meanwhile, Tether, a stablecoin issuer, froze 32 cryptocurrency addresses linked to terrorism and warfare in Israel and Ukraine, cooperating with the Israel National Bureau for Counter-Terror Financing. The combined value of frozen assets in these addresses amounted to $873,118. This action was taken in response to reports of Binance aiding Israeli authorities in the seizure of crypto wallets connected to Hamas during the Gaza conflict. In a separate development, decentralised staking protocol Lido Finance announced it would wind down its operations on the Solana blockchain after a community vote, citing financial sustainability issues and low fees generated. Lido users could no longer stake as of October 16, and they must unstake assets by February 4, 2024, using the command-line interface (CLI). Despite this decision, the Solana (SOL) cryptocurrency’s value surged by 8.6% in the past 24 hours. These events represent significant developments in the cryptocurrency sector, with Binance adjusting its practices to meet regulatory standards, Tether taking action against potential misuse, and Lido Finance making strategic decisions regarding its presence on the Solana blockchain.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler has expressed grave concerns about the impending financial crisis driven by the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), emphasising the risk associated with the centralisation of AI models and cloud service providers, echoing his 2020 research warning about AI’s potential to cause financial system fragility. These comments reflect the SEC’s increasing regulatory focus on AI, a growing challenge alongside cryptocurrency regulation. Meanwhile, the SEC’s 2024 examination priorities report includes intensified scrutiny of crypto dealer-brokers, emphasising technological solutions such as AI and blockchain in financial services. Additionally, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has signalled openness to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) as the future of money, suggesting tokenised bank deposits and CBDCs could revolutionise digital financial transactions, building on findings from the RBA’s pilot CBDC program.
The Solana Foundation has partnered with the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), one of the UAE’s free economic zones, to offer technical support and business development assistance through its blockchain platform, extending its grant program and educational courses. In another development, the United States government has become one of the largest Bitcoin holders, amassing over 200,000 BTC, valued at more than $5 billion, despite selling a portion earlier this year. Analysis by the crypto firm 21.co estimated the U.S. government’s holdings and revealed they primarily resulted from significant Bitcoin seizures over the past few years. Furthermore, Grayscale’s Bitcoin investment vehicle, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), is trading at a 15.87% discount to Bitcoin’s net asset value (NAV) as of October 13, the narrowest discount in nearly two years, as the market anticipates potential approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States.
Source:
https://coindesk.com
https://cointelegraph.com
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