Weekly Market Highlights -  Stripe makes a US$1.1B bet on stablecoins

25 October 2024Macro/TradFiStripe acquired stablecoin platform Bridge in a $1.1 billion deal, the largest acquisition in the crypto industry to date.China's central bank cuts lending rates by 25 basis points to boost economic recovery.At the annual summit in Kazan, BRICS leaders advocated using Bitcoin to bypass Western sanctions. Putin criticized the weaponization of the dollar, calling it 'a great mistake.'The Bank of Canada cut its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 3.75% on Wednesday, marking its fourth consecutive cut since June.Denmark may tax unrealized crypto gains and losses beginning as early as 2026.Microsoft shareholders to vote on Bitcoin investment proposal. The board advises against it.CryptoL1/L2:Yuga Labs, creator of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), has launched ApeChain, a consumer-focused Layer 3 developed on Arbitrum One.Scroll's native governance token, SCR, launched earlier this week with a market cap of around $212 million.Kraken to launch Ethereum L2 'Ink' for DeFi in early 2025, built on Optimism’s Superchain.DeFi:Pump.fun, the memecoin platform on Solana, announced a future token release and unveiled its upgraded trading terminal, "Pump Advance".Uniswap Labs announced permissionless bridging across nine blockchain networks directly from the Uniswap Interface and Uniswap Wallet.MakerDAO contemplates dropping the Sky rebrand after a lukewarm reception for the Sky governance token. A formal governance poll is scheduled for November 4.NFT:Solana-based NFT platform Magic Eden added Berachain and ApeChain, reaching nine supported blockchains and nearing its year-end goal of ten.Ubisoft, the publisher of Assassin’s Creed and Just Dance, launched its first original NFT game, Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles, on Wednesday.Others:MetaMask and Space ID have teamed up to simplify digital asset transactions and wallet access. Users can now replace all public wallet addresses with a single, secure, customizable handle.Crypto custody firm Komainu, backed by Nomura, is set to acquire Singapore-based Propine Holdings, pending MAS approval.Japanese investment firm Metaplanet Inc. raised 10 billion yen (US$66M) from 13,774 shareholders through its stock acquisition rights program, as the company pours money into Bitcoin investments.Latest Binance Research Publications Check out our latest publications:Overview of Stablecoin RegulationMonthly Market Insights - October 2024Industry Observation: Valuation, Centralization, Transparency, and RebrandingExplore our Binance Research website for more project and macro research.For more frequent market updates and insights, follow us on Twitter @BinanceResearch.That’s a wrap!Binance ResearchAbout Binance Research: Binance Research is the research arm of Binance, the world's leading cryptocurrency exchange. The team is committed to delivering objective, independent, and comprehensive analysis and aims to be the thought leader in the crypto space. Our analysts publish insightful thought pieces regularly on topics related but not limited to, the crypto ecosystem, blockchain technologies, and the latest market themes.General Disclosure: This material is prepared by Binance Research and is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities, cryptocurrencies or to adopt any investment strategy. The use of terminology and the views expressed are intended to promote understanding and the responsible development of the sector and should not be interpreted as definitive legal views or those of Binance. The opinions expressed are as of the date shown above and are the opinions of the writer, they may change as subsequent conditions vary. The information and opinions contained in this material are derived from proprietary and non-proprietary sources deemed by Binance Research to be reliable, are not necessarily all-inclusive and are not guaranteed as to accuracy. As such, no warranty of accuracy or reliability is given and no responsibility arising in any other way for errors and omissions (including responsibility to any person by reason of negligence) is accepted by Binance. This material may contain ’forward looking’ information that is not purely historical in nature. Such information may include, among other things, projections and forecasts. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. This material is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell in any securities, cryptocurrencies or any investment strategy nor shall any securities or cryptocurrency be offered or sold to any person in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the laws of such jurisdiction. Investment involves risks.