Bitcoin Price: US$ 61,773.70 (+2.41%)
Ethereum Price: US$ 2,374.75 (+1.41%)
Donald Trump made headlines by using Bitcoin to purchase burgers at a New York City bar, marking a significant shift in his stance on cryptocurrency despite previously criticising it. This event occurred shortly after Trump launched a crypto token through World Liberty Financial, signalling his increasing involvement in the crypto space. Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov predicted that tokenised real-world assets (RWA) will soon surpass the value of cryptocurrencies on Web3, highlighting the potential for decentralised finance to transform traditional finance through innovations like Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol. Similarly, Polygon’s Colin Butler emphasised that tokenisation of assets such as bonds and Treasury bills could be a “killer app” for cryptocurrencies, with the potential to revolutionise global financial systems by reducing costs and improving settlement times, although some analysts remain cautious about the market’s projected growth.
WisdomTree has launched a tokenised real-world assets (RWA) platform called WisdomTree Connect, allowing users to access regulated fund tokens from various wallets and blockchain networks. Initially, the platform will use third-party custodians to hold users’ tokenised funds, but it plans to expand access to self-custodied wallets as RWAs represent a $30 trillion global market opportunity. Silvergate Capital Corporation, the parent company of Silvergate Bank, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, listing assets between $100 million and $500 million and liabilities ranging from $10 million to $50 million. This filing follows the bank’s shutdown amid liquidity troubles and regulatory scrutiny after FTX’s collapse, proposing full payment for some debts while cancelling claims related to common stock. Ethena Labs reported a front-end exploit on its website, advising users to avoid any sites claiming to be Ethena while assuring that customer funds remain secure, highlighting ongoing vulnerabilities in the crypto space. In 2024, crypto hacks have surpassed $1.2 billion in losses, marking a 15.5% rise in malicious activities from the previous year, with major incidents like the $27 million Penpie protocol exploit and the $6 million Delta Prime hack, suspected to involve North Korean hackers.
Richard Schueler, known as Richard Heart, is under investigation for tax evasion in Finland, where authorities issued a remand order on Sept. 13 due to discrepancies in his income reporting between 2020 and 2024, with unpaid taxes potentially amounting to hundreds of millions of euros. In the U.S., Heart also faces a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit for unregistered securities offerings linked to his crypto companies, HEX, PulseChain, and PulseX, which raised over $1 billion. Despite his presence on social media, authorities in both countries have been unable to locate him. Meanwhile, BNB Chain announced a gasless stablecoin payments initiative on Sept. 18, aimed at making transactions using Tether, USDC, and FDUSD more accessible by removing gas fees. In partnership with Binance, Gate.io, and wallet providers like Bitget and SafePal, the initiative seeks to simplify crypto payments and advance Web3 adoption. Additionally, BitGo, backed by Goldman Sachs, is launching a new stablecoin, USDS, in January 2025, which will distribute 98% of earnings to network participants. Backed by short-term Treasury Bills, USDS aims to challenge traditional stablecoins by incentivising liquidity providers, allowing users to mint tokens without fees using USD, USDT, or USDC.
At Token2049 in Singapore, Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, warned of a potential market crash following rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve, criticising the move as a “colossal mistake” amid heavy government spending. He predicted a 50 to 75 basis point cut, which could trigger a downturn due to narrowing interest rate differentials between the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen. Despite his concerns, Hayes remains optimistic about cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, predicting its bull market could reignite if yields decline. Meanwhile, CEX.io partnered with MoneyGram and the Stellar blockchain to enhance crypto cash-in and cash-out services, allowing users in regions like the European Economic Area, Africa, and Latin America to convert USDC to physical cash at MoneyGram locations. This integration with Stellar offers a streamlined fiat-to-crypto conversion process, with plans to expand the service to more countries. At the same event, Vitalik Buterin celebrated the reduction of Ethereum layer-2 transaction fees to nearly zero, marking a key milestone in making the network more affordable for daily use. He also noted improvements in confirmation times since the Merge, stressing the need to balance mainstream adoption with decentralisation, while adding a light-hearted touch by reflecting on crypto-themed songs.
Source: https://cointelegraph.com
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