Daily Digest - 26th October 2022

Headlines

▌Musk told banks that he plans to complete the acquisition of Twitter on Friday

Musk broke the news on a Monday video call with the bankers, according to Bloomberg, citing sources close to the deal.Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Barclays are the primary financiers, each committing at least $2.5 billion in debt financing for the deal.The banks will set aside the cash by Thursday, according to Bloomberg.

Policies

▌Lawmakers in the U.K. voted in favor of recognizing crypto assets as regulated financial instruments and products in the country.

The House of Commons, the Parliament's lower house, met on Tuesday for a line-by-line reading of the proposed Financial Services and Markets Bill, which broadly covers the U.K.'s post-Brexit economic strategy. The lawmakers considered a list of proposed amendments to the bill, including one put forward by parliamentarian Andrew Griffith to include crypto assets in the scope of regulated financial services in the country. The draft bill already included measures to extend existing regulations to payments-focused stablecoins.

Cryptocurrency

▌Remittance Giant Western Union Plans to Venture into Crypto Denver

Colorado-based remittance giant Western Union has filed several crypto-related trademark applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, according to trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis. The company's trademark applications suggest that it possibly intends to launch a virtual currency exchange while also managing and maintaining digital currency wallets. On top of that, Western Union might issue its own cryptocurrency token in order to compete with crypto-native companies.

▌BNB Chain Launches $10 Million Gas Fee Incentive to Support Growth of Web3 Dapps

BNB Chain announced the exciting launch of a $10 million Growth Incentive Program to help projects with user acquisition and growth. The program will immediately be active for projects in Q4, with gas incentives up to 800 BNB per project in a monthly period. BNB Chain committed $1 million per month for relevant teams participating, helping drive them toward further user acquisition and growth.

▌BitMEX CEO Alexander Höptner Steps Down

Alexander Höptner is leaving his role as CEO of crypto exchange BitMex. Höptner joinedBitMex in January 2021. Stephan Lutz has been appointed as Interim CEO of BitMex.