Harris team actively engages with the crypto industry; Musk updates MAGA avatar

Golden Weekly is a weekly blockchain industry summary column launched by Golden Finance, covering industry trends such as key news of the week, mining information, project dynamics, and technological progress. This article is one of the news weekly, taking you to a glance at the major events in the blockchain industry this week.

Headlines

▌Mark Cuban: Harris team actively seeks to engage with the encryption industry

Crypto industry supporters are paying attention to presidential candidate Kamala Harris's public mention of "digital assets" during the campaign. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said that Harris' team actively seeks to engage with the encryption industry and listens carefully to industry opinions, which may indicate that Harris plans to draw a line with the Biden administration's encryption policy.

▌Musk updates social media account profile: wearing a dark "MAGA" hat

On October 5, local time, American billionaire and Tesla CEO Musk updated his social media platform X account profile. In the new profile, Musk wore a dark "Make America Great Again (MAGA)" hat. Earlier that day, former US President and Republican presidential candidate Trump returned to Butler, Pennsylvania, where the "attempted assassination" took place, to hold a campaign rally. Musk attended and gave a speech, and publicly expressed his support for Trump wearing a dark "MAGA" hat. This is the first time Musk has participated in Trump's campaign after publicly supporting him.

▌QCP Capital: Geopolitical risks are the biggest hidden danger before the US election. Investors can lock in profits to prepare for the end-of-year rise

QCP Capital posted on its official channel that there was a conflict between Iran and Israel this week, and the market expects Israel's retaliation to be more severe. Their targets are key infrastructure such as Iran's nuclear facilities or oil facilities. In addition, the non-agricultural data reflects a strong labor market, and the possibility of further interest rate cuts later this year has boosted risky assets, allowing BTC to recover $62,000. Although QCP Capital still believes that macro data still supports the view of "upward October" (Uptober). But before the US election, geopolitical risks are the biggest hidden danger. QCP Capital prefers to lock in yields at current levels, take profits, and prepare for the end-of-year rise.

▌U.S. Congressman Tom Emmer: Cryptocurrency laws will be introduced no matter who wins the U.S. election

"No matter what the outcome of the U.S. election, I hope you'll see digital asset legislation begin to move forward in both institutions," U.S. Congressman Tom Emmer said at the Messar Mainnet conference held in New York this week. "I think whoever is in power is a matter of 'when', not 'if'."

▌CryptoQuant founder: The impact of social media on financial markets will continue to increase, and Bitcoin is a typical example

On October 5, CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju posted on social media, "Since the invention of the Internet, the impact of social media on financial markets has become increasingly religious. Elon Musk's Tesla, Satoshi Nakamoto's Bitcoin, and various crypto communities are typical examples. Companies are rushing into social media, trying to form religious communities full of blind faith. However, not everyone can become a prophet. Most people fail to attract followers. Especially in the crypto field, if internal efforts to expand influence fail, they may hire opinion leaders (KOLs) externally to create false beliefs. Only a few projects have succeeded in this regard. The influence of social media on financial markets will continue to increase. Since communities are made up of people, this religious color will also deepen. I believe that understanding how religion works will help understand the future of financial markets. "

Policy

▌SEC Director Who Led Crypto Crackdown to Leave

Gurbir S. Grewal, director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, will leave after 21 years in the job. Deputy Director of the Division Sanjay Wadhwa will serve as interim acting director, and Chief Counsel Sam Waldon will serve as acting deputy director. Gurbir S. Grewal, who served as director of enforcement under Gensler for three years, will officially step down on October 11. As the security regulator's top cop, Gurbir S. Grewal filed enforcement actions against several of the most prominent U.S. cryptocurrency companies, including Coinbase, Kraken and Ripple Labs, as well as countless international entities such as Binance. During Gurbir S. Grewal's tenure, the agency approved more than 100 enforcement actions against cryptocurrency companies.

US Ohio Senator Introduces Bill to Accept Cryptocurrency for Tax Payments

US Ohio Senator Niraj Antani has introduced a bill that would require Ohio and its local governments to accept cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, for state and local taxes. Antani said promoting the use of cryptocurrencies would help drive innovation and put Ohio at the forefront of the economy. The bill would also allow state universities and state pension funds to invest in cryptocurrencies.

▌US Federal Court of Appeals Approves Legalization of Election Prediction Markets

Despite opposition from regulators, the US Federal Court of Appeals approved derivatives exchange Kalshi in its ruling on October 2 to list event contracts related to US election results. The ruling paves the way for the operation of election prediction markets, which could include Web3 platforms like Polymarket doing business in the United States. On October 2, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) attempt to block Kalshi The request to list derivatives tied to political outcomes comes just before the U.S. presidential election.

▌The U.S. SEC supports the U.S. Supreme Court's approval of a class action lawsuit accusing Nvidia of concealing cryptocurrency mining revenue

The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) told the U.S. Supreme Court that a class action lawsuit against investors alleging that Nvidia misled cryptocurrency miners in its sales should be approved. The legal battle between Nvidia and investor groups has been going on since 2018, and the case has now reached the U.S. Supreme Court. In an out-of-court opinion on October 2, Acting U.S. Attorney General Elizabeth Prelogar and SEC senior lawyer Theodore Weiman argued that the lawsuit "provides enough details" to allow it to survive the district court's dismissal, adding that the Supreme Court should give the green light to revive the lawsuit through the appeals court. “Meritorious private litigation is an important complement to criminal prosecutions and civil enforcement actions by the Department of Justice and the SEC,” the opinion adds.

▌U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna Becomes First Democrat to Sponsor Bitcoin Reserve Act

U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis announced legislation to create a strategic bitcoin reserve at Bitcoin Nashville in July. Lummis’ bill would purchase 1 million bitcoins using existing funds from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department. The same day Lummis unveiled details of her bill, former President Donald Trump outlined his own policy of creating a “national bitcoin reserve” and “never selling” the roughly 200,000 bitcoins currently owned by the U.S. government. During a recent episode of the Unchained Podcast, Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna emphasized that the U.S. government should continue to hold seized bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset. Connor believes that this is a bipartisan concern, and he believes that Bitcoin may increase the Federal Reserve's reserves due to its appreciation potential and help maintain the United States' financial leadership. The United States should take a leading role in this new asset class to set market rules. In addition to advocating for Bitcoin, Connor has been committed to improving cryptocurrency regulation. He co-sponsored the FIT 21 bill to balance regulation between the CFTC and the SEC, which has won the support of more than 70 Democrats. His goal is to reshape the party's attitude towards cryptocurrency, moving away from past hostility and taking a more positive stance on decentralization and innovation.

Blockchain Applications

▌UniSat: Simple Bridge is now online on the Fractal Bitcoin mainnet

Simple Bridge, developed by the UniSat team, is now online on the Fractal Bitcoin mainnet. Users can connect assets from different protocols (sBTC, sORDI, sSATS, sQUAQ, SOSHI, sPEPE, stRAC, sMEME, sRATS, sPIZZA, etc.) to PizzaSwap securely and efficiently through Simple Bridge, and enjoy seamless cross-chain transfers.

▌Lamborghini partners with Animoca Brands to bring its sports cars to the Metaverse platform

Lamborghini, in partnership with Animoca Brands, plans to bring its iconic sports cars to the upcoming Metaverse platform "Fast ForWorld". Players will be able to own and trade these digitized Lamborghini sports cars in multiple gaming platforms, with the first batch of assets set to go live in November.

▌Ubisoft to launch Arbitrum-based NFT collection on Magic Eden

Ubisoft will launch Arbitrum-based "Niji Warrior ID Cards" NFT collection on the Magic Eden marketplace for its upcoming multiplayer shooter Captain Laserhawk: The G.A.M.E. The NFTs will reflect player activity and provide game governance features.

▌Franklin Templeton Expands On-Chain Money Market Fund to Aptos Network

Aptos has now become the latest network where investors can trade shares of the Franklin Templeton OnChain U.S. Government Money Market Fund (FOBXX). The fund is reportedly the second largest tokenized fund on the market, with a market value of $435 million, and has been launched on Arbitrum, Stellar, Polygon and Avalanche, as well as Ethereum.

▌Indonesia Post Launches NFT Stamps

Indonesia Post issued an announcement on its official Instagram page, announcing the issuance of the first NFT stamp, with the pattern "Cenderawasih" (Bird of Paradise). According to the Post Office, the NFT stamp will have a physical version and an NFT version. The series of stamps will also be issued in the form of a booklet.

Cryptocurrency

▌China's former vice finance minister Zhu Guangyao: We must attach importance to the study of the development of cryptocurrency

The 2024 Tsinghua PBC Chief Economist Forum was held in Beijing on September 28. Zhu Guangyao, former vice minister of the Ministry of Finance, attended and delivered a speech. Zhu Guangyao called for the study of the development of cryptocurrency, "It does have a negative impact. We must fully recognize its risks and harm to the capital market, but we must study the latest changes and policy adjustments in the world, because it is a crucial aspect for the development of the digital economy." Zhu Guangyao reviewed the development of cryptocurrency. Over the past decade, the United States has always believed that cryptocurrency has great destructive power on international anti-money laundering and international anti-terrorist financing. In addition, the sharp fluctuations in the value of cryptocurrency have a huge impact on the international financial market, but this year, the US policy has undergone a major evolution. Zhu Guangyao introduced that Trump's campaign platform explicitly included cryptocurrency, and he also publicly stated, "We must embrace cryptocurrency, otherwise China will replace us." The SEC has also approved 11 Bitcoin ETFs to be listed in the stock and futures markets. Among emerging market countries and BRICS countries, Russia, South Africa, Brazil, and India have also made some moves.

▌Arbelos Markets Director: Even if the Middle East conflict triggers investors' caution, the seasonal trend of cryptocurrencies is still there

The growing tensions in the Middle East have triggered cautious sentiment in global markets, and the crypto market has fallen. Data shows that Bitcoin fell by about 4% in the first two days of October, in sharp contrast to the average increase of 20% in October throughout the past 10 years. Sean McNulty, head of trading at liquidity provider Arbelos Markets, believes that the sell-off is a "temporary setback" given that the Federal Reserve has begun to cut interest rates, and the government after the US presidential election in November may also be more friendly to the cryptocurrency industry. "October tends to be Bitcoin's best month, and this seasonal trend remains."

▌Japan will evaluate cryptocurrency regulations and is expected to create conditions for the launch of cryptocurrency ETFs

According to foreign media reports, Japan plans to evaluate the effectiveness of its cryptocurrency regulations. This review will be carried out in the next few months and may pave the way for the country to launch cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs). An official from the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan said that the review will measure whether the country's current approach to cryptocurrency regulation under the Payment Services Act (PSA) is sufficient. The PSA was originally enacted in 2009, and Japanese lawmakers have revised the PSA several times to respond to changes in the financial services landscape triggered by the emergence of digital currencies. The bill recognizes Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies as legal property. It also requires cryptocurrency exchanges to register and comply with the country's anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) obligations.

▌CertiK: More than $750 million in cryptocurrency was still stolen last quarter

CertiK, a cybersecurity company, revealed on Tuesday that although the number of hacking attacks in the cryptocurrency field decreased last quarter, the total value stolen soared. CertiK said in its latest Web3 security report that hackers stole a total of $750 million in 155 incidents, bringing the total losses this year to nearly $2 billion.

▌Remixpoint, a listed company, recently purchased crypto assets worth about $5.27 million

On September 27, Remixpoint, a Japanese listed company, officially disclosed the details of its latest round of crypto asset investment, with a total investment of 750 million yen (about $5.27 million), including 64.4 BTC (600 million yen), 130.1 ETH (50 million yen), 2,260.5 SOL (50 million yen), and 12,269.9 AVAX (50 million yen). This investment is the first batch of the company's "total 1.5 billion yen (about $10.55 million) virtual currency purchase plan" announced on September 26, aiming to reduce the risk of yen depreciation through diversified investment and optimize cash management strategies.

Important Economic Dynamics

▌Nick Timiraos: September employment report may close the door for the Fed to cut interest rates by another 50 basis points next month

On October 5, "Federal Reserve mouthpiece" Nick Timiraos said that the September employment report may close the door for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by another 50 basis points next month and keep officials on track to cut interest rates by 25 basis points.

▌ADP report: Job creation rebounded broadly after five months of slowdown

The ADP report showed that U.S. job creation rebounded broadly after five months of slowdown, with only a decrease in jobs in the information industry and an increase in manufacturing jobs for the first time since April.

▌JPMorgan Chase: Geopolitical conflicts may attract investors to favor gold and Bitcoin

Analysts at JPMorgan Chase said that the growing geopolitical tensions and the presidential election in November are prompting investors to view gold and Bitcoin as safe-haven assets, or "depreciation trades." Analysts said that this "depreciation trade" is driven by a variety of factors, including increased geopolitical uncertainty since 2022, persistent inflation concerns, huge government deficits in major economies, and weakening confidence in fiat currencies, especially in some emerging markets.

▌BlackRock: Fed expected to cut rates in 2025 too

The Fed will implement two more 25 basis point rate cuts this year, in part to ease the burden on a large number of people who are suffering from high borrowing costs, said Rick Rieder, chief investment officer of global fixed income at BlackRock. But he also believes that the Fed will stick with the rate cuts until 2025 because rates are still too high relative to inflation.

▌Bank of America adjusts its forecast for a Fed rate cut in November from 50 basis points to 25 basis points

Bank of America adjusts its forecast for a Fed rate cut in November from 50 basis points to 25 basis points.

Disclaimer: As a blockchain information platform, Golden Finance publishes articles for information reference only and is not intended as actual investment advice. Please establish a correct investment philosophy and be sure to raise your risk awareness.