Telegram withdraws from incompatible markets, Nvidia receives subpoena from US Department of Justice

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

Headlines

▌Pavel Durov: Telegram is ready to exit incompatible markets

Telegram founder Pavel Durov spoke through Telegram after being arrested in France, saying that the company is ready to exit markets that are incompatible with its privacy and security principles. Durov further mentioned that Telegram has taken similar actions in multiple countries, such as Russia and Iran.  

Last month, Durov was arrested at the Paris airport and charged with "assisting in the dissemination of child pornography and drug trafficking and other crimes." At present, he has been released by the French authorities, but he needs to be subject to judicial supervision and stay in France temporarily. According to reports, Telegram mainly relies on cryptocurrency-related activities for income and holds digital assets worth $400 million in 2023.

▌Nvidia receives subpoena from the US Department of Justice, antitrust investigation escalates

It is reported that the US Department of Justice has issued subpoenas to Nvidia (NVDA.O) and other companies to seek evidence that Nvidia has violated antitrust laws, reflecting the escalation of the investigation. According to people familiar with the matter, the Department of Justice previously only issued questionnaires to relevant companies, but now it has issued a legally binding request for the recipient to provide information. This means that the government's investigation is one step closer to formally filing a lawsuit. People familiar with the matter said that antitrust officials are worried that Nvidia is making it more difficult for customers to switch to other suppliers and punishing buyers who do not exclusively use its artificial intelligence chips. Representatives of the Department of Justice and Nvidia declined to comment.  

In addition, Nvidia (NVDA.O) closed down 9.5% on Tuesday, wiping out nearly $280 billion in market value, with a total market value of $2.65 trillion.

▌Vitalik Buterin refuted the claim of selling Ethereum for profit

On Friday, August 30, blockchain data tracker Lookonchain revealed that Buterin transferred 800 ETH (worth about $2 million) to a multi-signature (multi-sig) wallet. Shortly thereafter, the recipient address exchanged 190 ETH for 477,000 USDC.  

This latest transfer prompted a crypto community member on X to accuse Buterin of ignoring comments on his recent ETH transfer. Subsequently, another crypto community responded that there was nothing wrong with the Ethereum co-founder selling ETH to make some profits.  

However, Buterin responded to this support post on X, claiming that no ETH was sold for profit. He said: "Since 2018, I have never sold and kept the proceeds. All sales have been used to support various projects that I think are valuable, both within the Ethereum ecosystem and broader charities (such as biomedical research and development)"

▌Bitcoin miners face the toughest month in 2024: August revenue hits a new low for the year

August was the most difficult month for Bitcoin miners to earn this year. Bitcoin mining revenue in August fell by $99.75 million from July, setting the lowest revenue since September 2023. The on-chain fees collected in August also fell, with subsidies and fees generating a total of $851.36 million, of which $20.76 million came from on-chain fees, reaching the lowest level since last year, a drop of $4.14 million from July.

Policy

▌SEC warns FTX not to repay creditors with stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies

According to TheBlock, a recent filing by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) warned FTX Assets that the agency may oppose any attempt to use stablecoins or other digital assets to repay creditors.  

At the same time, the agency, like the U.S. Trustee, also opposes the release clause that limits the future legal liability of FTX debtor property. Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Criticizes SEC's Ambiguous Stance on FTX's Plan, Says Investors Deserve "Better Outcomes" Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal expressed concern that the SEC did not clarify FTX's plan to repay creditors with stablecoins or other cryptocurrencies. Grewal's comments were in response to a filing on Friday in which the SEC reserved its rights in approving FTX Trading Ltd.'s joint bankruptcy protection plan in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Grewal said on social media platform X on Sunday: The SEC did not point out that this behavior was illegal. He referred to the wording used by the securities regulator in a court document, in which the SEC wrote: The SEC did not express an opinion on this behavior. Under federal securities laws, the SEC does not express an opinion on the legality of the transactions outlined in the plan and reserves the right to question transactions involving crypto assets.

▌Van Loon plaintiffs sue the U.S. Treasury Department over sanctions on Tornado Cash

Van Loon plaintiffs appealed to the Fifth Circuit on September 2, challenging the U.S. Treasury Department's decision to add Tornado Cash to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. The plaintiffs believe that the Treasury Department's sanctions on this open source project without clear guidelines could threaten programmers' First Amendment rights.  

Van Loon and its team sued the Treasury Department in September 2023, accusing it of overstepping its authority. Tornado Cash was sanctioned for alleged involvement in money laundering activities, with the government claiming that the platform has been involved in more than $7 billion in illegal funds since 2019. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) supported the lawsuit, fearing that the government's sanctions would have a chilling effect on open source software development.  

The local court had previously dismissed the lawsuit, arguing that the sanctions were limited to transactions involving Tornado Cash smart contracts and would not affect the development and discussion of open source code. However, EFF and other digital rights advocates remain concerned about the broad impact of the case and emphasize the importance of protecting programmers' rights.

▌U.S. CFTC Recovers $18 Million Worth of Cryptocurrency from a Commodity Pool Ponzi Scheme

According to an announcement released by the CFTC, the commission has recovered $18 million worth of digital assets associated with an alleged commodity pool Ponzi scheme. Oregon man Sam Ikkurty is allegedly accused of defrauding investors from a so-called "crypto hedge fund." Ikkurty promised to return the "net profits" to investors, but failed to do so and did not even tell investors that the fund's performance had fallen 98.99% in a few months.  

U.S. District Court Judge Mary Rowland of the Northern District of Illinois ordered Ikkurty and several other related entities to pay a total of $209 million in penalties, including nearly $84 million in customer restitution, approximately $37 million in disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and approximately $110 million in civil penalties. Ikkurty was also ordered to pay more than $14 million in contempt of court penalties.

▌Trump promises to embrace "future industries" such as cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence

Donald Trump reiterated in a public speech at the Economic Club of New York on Thursday that if re-elected president, he will make the United States the world's cryptocurrency capital and will embrace "future industries" such as cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence. He said: "We will not attack future industries, but embrace them, including making the United States the world capital of cryptocurrency and Bitcoin." 

In an hour-long speech, Trump outlined his plan to reform the U.S. economy after his re-election, including cutting regulations and promoting the growth of domestic energy production. Trump also said that he would adopt Elon Musk's suggestion to set up a government efficiency committee to audit federal government spending and find waste, and offered to lead the committee.

▌Trump will set up a government efficiency committee, and Musk has agreed to lead the committee

According to market news, former US President and Republican presidential candidate Trump said that if elected as the next US president, he will set up a government efficiency committee, and Musk has agreed to lead the committee. Brian Hughes, a senior adviser to Trump's campaign team, said that Trump will work with Tesla CEO Elon Musk to explore ways to implement the mission of the government efficiency committee. It was previously reported that Trump will adopt Musk's proposal for the government efficiency committee and will launch an economic plan to reduce the cost of living "to make America affordable again."

▌Fed: United Texas Bank has "significant deficiencies" in crypto customer and bank risk management

The Federal Reserve said in a cease and desist order issued on Wednesday that United Texas Bank, which has ties to the crypto industry, has "significant deficiencies" in crypto customer and bank risk management. It is reported that the Texas bank has worked with cryptocurrency companies in the past, especially with the Stellar Foundation and Circle's USDC. The Fed added that United Texas Bank has since taken steps to strengthen its Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering programs. According to the order, the next step is that the bank's board of directors must submit a written plan on how to "strengthen the board's supervision of the bank's compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Act requirements," as well as plans to change its "customer due diligence program."  

This is the second time the Fed has taken enforcement action against a cryptocurrency-related bank in a month. In August, the Federal Reserve said it found "significant deficiencies" in Customers Bancorp, Inc.'s risk management and anti-money laundering compliance.

▌Nigerian judge postpones bail hearing for Binance executives to October 9

Tigran Gambaryan, head of Binance's financial crime compliance, has been detained in Nigeria since February 2023, and his scheduled bail ruling has been postponed to October 9. Gambaryan was initially charged with tax evasion and money laundering, but his family reported that his health continued to deteriorate during his detention. Gambaryan's lawyers filed a motion for bail on the grounds that the prison failed to properly address his health issues. As a U.S. citizen and former IRS agent, his detention has attracted much attention, and more than 5,400 people have signed a petition calling for him to be sent back to the United States. The Nigerian tax department dropped some charges in June, but the money laundering charges may still bring him to court.

Blockchain Applications

▌Cardano has completed the first phase of the Chang hard fork

Cardano has completed the first phase of the Chang hard fork, laying the foundation for more decentralized governance.  

At 5:44 am Beijing time this morning, Cardano officially began transferring control of the $13 billion blockchain to its native ADA token holders.  

Frederik Gregaard, CEO of the Cardano Foundation, said: "Many in the Cardano community are leaning towards the network because of its promise of a decentralized governance model."

▌Bluesky users surge by 1 million, becoming a popular choice after Brazil bans X

Decentralized social platform Bluesky has seen a surge of 1 million users after Brazil banned X, attracting a large number of new users in just three days. The platform faced technical challenges as its traffic surged 15 times over the weekend.  

Co-founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Bluesky has similar functions to X, allowing users to post text updates, share photos and forward content. Its registration was fully opened in February this year.  

The Brazilian Supreme Court upheld a ban on X for failing to comply with a judicial order to remove illegal content and for not appointing legal representatives in Brazil. The decision shuts down X’s operations in the world’s sixth-largest market.  

The court also imposed a fine of 50,000 Brazilian reals per day on users who try to circumvent the ban, and they could face criminal charges.  

While X faces legal and financial woes, Bluesky is quickly adapting to new users, starting to publish content in Portuguese and offering localized tutorials. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has directed his followers to alternative platforms, including Bluesky.

▌World Liberty Financial, a crypto project supported by Trump, may be based on Dough Finance code

World Liberty Financial, a crypto project associated with Trump, will be based on the decentralized financial platform Aave and the Ethereum blockchain, using a non-transferable governance token WLFI and a credit account system. The project is allegedly inspired by the DeFi protocol Dough Finance, although it has not yet been confirmed whether its codebase will be used. Dough co-founders Zachary Folkman and Chase Herro are also involved in the operation of the project. Trump family members, including Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Barron Trump, are involved in the planning of the project. The Trump family has alerted the public to potential scams and said that official announcements will be released through their channels.

▌Polygon launches upgrade from MATIC to POL tokens with an annual issuance rate of 2%

Polygon will officially launch the upgrade of its long-used MATIC tokens to new POL tokens on Wednesday. The upgrade is part of the "Polygon 2.0" roadmap, which aims to enhance the flexibility of token issuance and make POL the native token of the Polygon PoS chain and other chains in its ecosystem. The annual issuance rate of the new POL token will be 2%, and part of the supply will be used to reward validators of Polygon PoS, and the other part will enter the community treasury to support the sustainable development of the ecosystem. Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron said that the upgrade was due to the technical limitations of the MATIC token, and the new token issuance method will provide support for the development of the community and decentralized network.

▌ApeCoin Announces BluePrint Roadmap, Will Launch Consumer Applications to Promote Community Development

Yuga Labs and BAYC co-founder Greg Solano, who recently took over as Yuga Labs CEO, said the company is re-planning its roadmap through a new set of initiatives called BluePrint.  

The Bored Ape Yacht Club-themed project will launch consumer applications to attract new users and inspire community building on the upcoming ApeChain network, which a Yuga Labs employee confirmed "will be launched soon."  

ApeCoin has also partnered with web3 commerce platforms Halliday, Decent, and Privy to simplify the registration process. Halliday said it is using payment companies MoonPay and Stripe to build a fiat-to-cryptocurrency on-ramp, which will be able to "accept payments in any token from any blockchain" in X Post.

▌Citi survey finds that institutional demand for CBDC settlement has dropped sharply, turning to other digital payment methods

According to Citi's latest white paper "The Evolution of Securities Services", the survey results of nearly 500 institutions showed that the demand for using central bank digital currency (CBDC) for digital asset settlement has dropped sharply from 52% last year to 15%. In contrast, institutions have increased their interest in other digital payment methods such as non-bank stablecoins, tokenized deposits and tokenized money market funds. In addition, the survey also pointed out that although North America leads in proof of concept (30%), there are no commercial projects yet, while Europe and Latin America have more actual projects underway. As traditional and digital assets merge, Citi expects automation, cloud infrastructure, and solutions integrated with DLT networks to become a focus of future investments.

Cryptocurrency

▌Vitalik Buterin proposes radical plan to pseudo-decentralize entire cities

In Vitalik Buterin’s reply to a post by cryptocurrency KOL Farcaster, Vitalik shared an innovative blueprint for a city that would be built on a hybrid that blends the principles of democracy, capitalism, and decentralization.   

In response to the question of whether cities should "be for-profit institutions or public interest institutions," Buterin advocated a mixed approach: "We want public infrastructure to serve all income levels, we want cities to have a positive-sum effect on the country and the world, we have humanitarian values, and we don't want to solve the problem of homelessness by 'giving them a one-way bus ticket to other cities. '"

▌Analyst: The value of BTC may rise sharply after the US election

According to Bitcoin.com analysis, looking back at the history of Bitcoin prices after the 2016 and 2020 elections, in 2016, the price of BTC peaked in December 2017, while in 2021, the price high was reached in November. For example, during the US election on November 5, 2016, BTC was trading at $703 per coin, and by the end of 2017, it had soared to nearly $20,000. It can be clearly seen that the value of BTC has risen significantly after each election. However, the peak of each bull market occurred about a year after the election.

▌Bitcoin miners' revenue fell to a 12-month low in August

Bitcoin miners' revenue fell to a 12-month low in August 2024, mainly affected by the halving event in April. According to data from Bitcoin monitoring platform Bitbo, mining revenue in August was about $827 million, lower than any month since September 2023 and far below the peak of nearly $2 billion in March 2024.  

The halving event, which occurs every four years, cuts the bitcoin reward per block in half. April's halving reduced the reward from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. Since the halving, the number of bitcoins mined each month has steadily declined, from a high of 347,000 BTC in May 2011 to less than 14,000 BTC in August.  

The fourth bitcoin halving event resulted in a reduction in daily mining output and revenue opportunities, affecting miners' profit margins and profitability, the JPMorgan report noted. The five publicly traded bitcoin miners that JPMorgan followed saw a 28% drop in mining volume in the second quarter.  

In response to the drop in revenue, bitcoin miners are adjusting their business models, with some companies such as Core Scientific, Hive Digital Technologies and Hut 8 investing in artificial intelligence applications, while others such as Bitdeer Technologies Group are improving mining efficiency. Bitdeer reported that its gross profit in the second quarter of 2024 increased by about 50% year-on-year.

▌Galaxy Digital: BTC may be in a range-bound state until November due to the impact of the US presidential election

Alex Thorn, head of research at crypto asset management company Galaxy Digital, said that in addition to the early declines, another reason why August was so difficult was the oversupply of Bitcoin, however, these oversupply problems are said to have now largely subsided or resolved. "Most of the Bitcoin retained by the U.S. government was seized from theft and will likely be returned rather than sold, the German government has already completed its sale, we believe the Bitcoin estate from Mt. Gox has been largely distributed, and all bankrupt companies have returned available tokens to creditors, the outlook for Bitcoin is bright from a supply perspective. The estate distribution of the defunct exchange FTX could be a positive catalyst, and we expect that repayment to begin within the next six months." Thorn added, "The distribution will provide a large amount of cash to a creditor group consisting of known crypto investors who may consider reinvesting in the industry." According to Thorn, Bitcoin may remain range-bound until November as the U.S. presidential election has a huge impact on investors. He said a Trump victory could be a positive catalyst, while any negative impact from a Harris victory is likely to be minimal. "I expect volatility in the market until we know more about expectations for rate cuts and the election."

▌Binance to launch Solana liquidity staking token BNSOL by the end of September

Binance will launch Solana liquidity staking token "BNSOL" by the end of September. BNSOL will enable users to stake SOL tokens to earn a portion of network payment fees and mint a liquid staking token that can be used when the underlying token is locked.

▌DeFi protocol Penpie was hacked, and about $27 million in crypto assets have been stolen

The decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Penpie, built on the tokenized yield platform Pendle, was hacked on Wednesday. Blockchain data shows that hackers have stolen about $27 million in crypto assets from the protocol, including various types of staked Ethereum, Ethena's sUSDE and wrapped USDC stablecoins. Pendle confirmed that it had discovered a security vulnerability in the Penpie protocol and would maintain close communication with the team. Pendle added that investors' funds are safe on Pendle, but as a precaution, all contracts have been temporarily suspended. Data shows that Penpie (PNP) plummeted 40% after the attack. Pendle (PENDLE) fell nearly 8% in the past 24 hours. ▌ Grass launches airdrop inspection page, and the first airdrop accounts for 10% of the total According to official news, Grass announced the launch of the airdrop inspection page.  

Currently, the inspection page only reflects the allocations for Closed Alpha and Epochs 1-7, and does not include the ongoing Bonus Epoch or To Be Announced allocations. The total supply will be 1 billion GRASS tokens, with 10% reserved for the first airdrop. The detailed allocation is: 

Closed Alpha: 1.5%; Epochs 1-7: 7%; Bonus Epoch: 0.5%; To Be Announced: 1%.

▌STEPN GO's new coin GGT rose by more than 2100% after listing, and then fell by 73%, now at $6.8

According to market data, STEPN GO's new coin GO GAME TOKEN (GGT) rose by 2120% 1 hour and 10 minutes after listing, and then fell by about 73%, now at $6.8. The market fluctuates greatly, please do a good job of risk control. It is reported that GGT is a token on the Polygon chain, with an unlimited number, and users can obtain it by completing sports tasks. The income of GGT is linked to efficiency attributes. Burning GGT can mint running shoes, upgrade running shoes, etc. GGT consumed by users in the STEPN GO application will be destroyed daily.

Important Economic Dynamics

▌Harris proposes 28% capital gains tax for the rich, far lower than Biden's proposal

U.S. Vice President Harris called for a 28% capital gains tax on people with annual income of $1 million and above at an event in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on Wednesday, calling it a measure to ensure that the rich pay their fair share and saying it would be a level that would benefit investment in American innovators, founders and small businesses. Harris' proposal is lower than the current President Biden's proposal to increase the tax rate to 39.6%, which is currently 20%, marking her efforts to develop a different economic vision from the current president in the general election. Tax policy has become a focus in Harris's campaign against Trump. Trump has called for a series of tax cuts for companies, individuals and retirees. No matter who wins the White House in November, the United States will face a major new tax bill next year, with some of Trump's 2017 tax cuts for households and small businesses set to expire at the end of 2025.

▌Analysis: The Fed's Beige Book is more pessimistic, with most jurisdictions seeing flat or declining economies

Macro strategist Cameron Crise said that throughout the post-epidemic period, the Fed's Beige Book has been pessimistic about economic growth, with the most optimistic assessment of the U.S. economic expansion being "moderate." The latest Beige Book noted that the economies of three regions grew "slightly," while economic growth in the other nine regions was flat or even negative. This is slightly worse than the previous report. In isolation, this sounds bad, and to be sure, the Fed could use this as an excuse to adjust interest rates this month, but it's not much different from most of the past few years. In any case, the market could easily use this as an excuse to throw more money into the bond market.

▌Harris' presidential campaign raised more than $300 million in August

According to NBC News, sources said Harris' presidential campaign raised more than $300 million in August.

▌Coinbase's lobbying spending has surged 34 times since 2017

According to the Social Capital Markets report, Coinbase's lobbying spending has surged 34 times since 2017, from $80,000 to $2.86 million in 2023. Ripple Labs also increased its lobbying spending from $50,000 to $940,000 in the same period, an increase of 1,780%. Binance.US's lobbying spending increased 656% to $1.2 million in 2023. Tether, Uniswap and Block Inc. also spent $1.2 million, $280,000 and $1.7 million on lobbying in 2023, respectively. Lobbying spending across the crypto industry has increased by 1,386% since 2017.

▌The three major U.S. stock indexes all recorded their largest single-day declines since August 6

The U.S. stock market opened lower and fell, and the three major indexes closed lower, all recording their largest single-day declines since August 6. The Nasdaq fell 3.26%, the S&P 500 fell 2.12%, and the Dow fell 1.51%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell nearly 8%. Large technology stocks fell across the board, with Nvidia falling more than 9%, its largest single-day decline since late April; Intel fell more than 8%, Google and Netflix fell more than 3%, Apple fell more than 2%, and Meta, Amazon and Microsoft fell more than 1%. Boeing fell more than 7%, the lowest level since November 2022.

▌Weak data once again raised concerns about economic slowdown, and US stocks "started off badly" in September

New economic data once again raised concerns about the health of the economy. The US stock market started off badly in September, and technology stocks fell collectively. The Dow fell more than 650 points, a drop of 1.6%. The S&P 500 fell more than 2.2%, and the fear index VIX soared 30%. The Nasdaq fell 3.3%, the worst day since the global stock market crash on August 5. Nvidia (NVDA.O), an artificial intelligence darling that has been the focus of investors for more than a year, fell more than 9%, leading semiconductor stocks to put pressure on the stock market. Earlier data showed that the final value of the S&P Global Manufacturing PMI in the United States in August declined, and the US ISM manufacturing index in August was also lower than economists' expectations. "The market seems to be very sensitive to any data right now," said Larry Tentarelli, chief technical strategist at Blue Chip Trend Report. "We have become a very data-dependent market."

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