Bitcoin Price: US$ 63,149.84 (-1.73%)
Ethereum Price: US$ 2,579.95 (-2.76%)
Truflation, a blockchain-based inflation data platform backed by Coinbase, confirmed a malware attack that led to a $5.2 million loss affecting its Ethereum wallets, though customer funds were safe. The team is actively addressing the situation, working to protect remaining assets, and is open to negotiating with the hacker while offering rewards for help. Kamala Harris recently spoke about her vision for the US to lead in blockchain and emerging technologies, with a focus on innovation and consumer protection in digital assets. Analysts have mixed views on how her potential presidency could impact cryptocurrency markets, with some predicting it would boost Bitcoin adoption and others expecting it to lower prices. At the same time, Ledn, a Bitcoin-backed lending platform, reported that more financial institutions are exploring Bitcoin-backed loans due to rising fiat interest rates and growing Bitcoin adoption. The market for these loans is projected to reach $45 billion by 2030, with Ledn processing $1.16 billion in loans in the first half of 2024, competing with both Bitcoin platforms and traditional financial institutions.
PayPal announced that business accounts can now buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies, except in New York, and merchants can withdraw assets to external wallets for added security. In addition, PayPal expanded its PYUSD stablecoin to the Solana network for lower transaction costs, though PYUSD’s $1 billion market cap still trails behind competitors like Tether and Circle. A VanEck report suggests Solana could hit $330 due to its faster, cheaper transactions compared to Ethereum, though institutional adoption remains slow as firms hesitate to move away from established assets like ETH. Ethereum’s price struggles are linked to value extraction by layer-2 networks after the Dencun upgrade, reducing layer-1 revenues by 99% since March 2024. Meanwhile, Curve Finance is considering removing TrueUSD as collateral for its crvUSD stablecoin following SEC charges against TrueCoin for misleading investors about TUSD’s backing. The proposal also includes limiting exposure to PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin while maintaining a diverse collateral base, including Wrapped Bitcoin and Wrapped Staked Ether.
Chainlink’s report projects the tokenised asset market could reach $10 trillion by 2030, driven by institutional adoption and regulatory developments. Tokenised assets, currently valued at $118.57 billion, are primarily hosted on Ethereum, which controls 58% of the market. Tokenisation enhances liquidity for traditionally illiquid assets like real estate, and initiatives such as Singapore’s Project Guardian are further driving growth. Meanwhile, BitcoinOS launched BitSNARK, a zk-SNARK verification protocol that enables private transactions and smart contracts on Bitcoin without altering its core protocol, supporting decentralised finance and cross-chain applications. However, the Bitcoin community’s resistance to change, as seen in the 2017 Bitcoin Cash fork, could present challenges. On Sept. 24, Ether.fi successfully thwarted a domain takeover attempt, confirming no user funds were compromised. The DeFi protocol had strengthened security with hardware authentication, helping mitigate the threat, while communication with users was promptly handled via X and Discord.
Vitalik Buterin praised Celo for surpassing Tron in daily stablecoin addresses, highlighting its role in expanding global financial access. Celo is transitioning to an Ethereum layer-2 solution to enhance interoperability with Ethereum, which will further boost innovation and adoption. Major stablecoins like USDC and Tether have integrated with Celo, contributing to its increasing stablecoin market share, while Minipay and Valora have driven adoption, with Minipay amassing 3 million wallets by mid-2024. In another development, Golem reassured its community that the transfer of 135,000 ETH to centralised exchanges was part of a staking test rather than a sell-off. Although the team faced backlash due to delayed communication, they clarified that using exchanges helped create a controlled environment to minimise external risks. Additionally, Assetera launched a regulated secondary market for tokenised real-world assets on Polygon, offering various financial instruments. Regulated under MiFID II, Assetera aims to enhance liquidity and accessibility through atomic swaps, with measures in place for anti-money laundering and regulatory compliance.
Sky, formerly Maker, is reevaluating its plan to offboard Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) as collateral for its lending protocol after receiving a recommendation from BA Labs following discussions with BitGo co-founder Mike Belshe. With BitGo committing to providing at least 60 days’ notice before any changes to WBTC control, BA Labs believes the collateral risk is manageable, leading to a proposal for a pause on the offboarding, which is set for an executive vote on October 3. Meanwhile, BlackRock’s Robbie Mitchnick argues that Bitcoin has been misclassified as a “risk-on” asset and asserts its unique characteristics differentiate it from equities, making it more of a “risk-off” asset; he emphasises Bitcoin’s role as a global money alternative with no country-specific or traditional counterparty risks. In a more optimistic vein, crypto analyst PlanB has proposed a scenario in which Bitcoin could soar to over $1 million by the end of 2025, driven by political shifts and market conditions, although many commentators consider this prediction overly optimistic. Additionally, during a congressional hearing, US Representative Tom Emmer criticised SEC Chair Gary Gensler for creating the term “crypto asset security” without legislative backing, labelling his tenure as the most destructive in the SEC’s history amid backlash over the SEC’s handling of crypto-related cases. In response, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce noted that the agency should have acknowledged sooner that crypto tokens are not necessarily securities and suggested the need for clearer guidelines, while Gensler maintained that the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 will remain in place to ensure public companies account for their crypto holdings, despite criticism that it complicates the digital asset landscape.
Source: https://cointelegraph.com
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