Coming every Saturday Hodler Digest It will help you keep track of every important news that happened this week. Best (and worst) quotes, top adoption and regulation, leading currencies, predictions and much more – a week on Cointelegraph in one link.
This week’s top news
Binance launches $1 billion fund to develop BSC ecosystem
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced a $1 billion acceleration fund this week. The funds will be directed towards supporting the development of the Binance smart chain ecosystem.
Binance explained that the 10-digit sum will be part of a tiered development model across four specialized areas: Talent Development, Liquidity Incentive Program, Builder Program, Investment and Incubation Program.
The largest beneficiary of the fund is said to be the investment and incubation program, which will receive approximately $500 million, according to Binance. The branch will focus on multi-chain expansion in areas such as metaverses, gaming, virtual reality and artificial intelligence.
Coinbase FTX and Binance Follow in NFT Market Launch
Coinbase announced on Tuesday that it will launch the NFT market later this year. The platform will initially support tokens from the Ethereum blockchain and will be launched in the US before expanding globally.
Given that Coinbase recorded around 68 million verified users and 8.8 million monthly active users in the second quarter, the company’s new NFT platform could soon launch some serious competition with giants like OpenSea.
Evidence of this was seen after the announcement, as the number of waitlisted subscribers reached nearly 1.1 million people within 48 hours. In contrast, data from DappRadar shows that OpenSea has a 30-day rolling average of 261,000 active users.
G7 leaders issue guidance on central bank digital currency
The Group of Seven (G7) Forum, made up of the world’s seven largest advanced economies, discussed a fully centralized form of digital assets called Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) this week. The meeting resulted in the endorsement of 13 principles of public policy with regard to their implementation.
The Group of Seven major industrialized nations decided that any newly launched central bank digital currencies should “do no harm” to a central bank’s ability to maintain financial stability, suggesting that the damage to individual sovereignty by tracking their spending habits and programming their money on the table.
Some of the CBDC-focused policies included mandates that digital currencies should be energy-efficient and fully interoperable on a cross-border basis, along with complementing the existing monetary system.
Crypto lending company Celsius Network raises $400 million
Crypto lending platform Celsius Network has raised $400 million in an equity funding round led by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and WestCap. The company said it will use the new capital to double its headcount to about 1,000 and expand its offerings and products.
“It’s not $400 million. It’s credibility that comes with the people who wrote those checks,” Celsius co-founder Alex Mashinsky said in an interview with the Financial Times on Tuesday.
Another company to close out the capital increase was cryptocurrency risk management firm Elliptic, which raised… $60 million in group C financing. The round was led by Evolution Equity Partners and included support from SoftBank Vision Fund 2, AlbionVC, Digital Currency Group, Wells Fargo Strategic Capital and SBI Group, to name a few.
Senior Engineers Working on Facebook Jump Wallet to A16z Crypto Box
Reports surfaced on Monday that two senior engineers working on Facebook’s dreaded digital currency project packed their bags and headed to Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).
The engineers who survived the clutches of Mark Zuckerberg are named Naseem Daqeuk and Riaz Fizulaboy. The duo spent two years working on Facebook’s digital wallet called Novi. Faizullabhoy will serve as Chief Technology Officer of the Cryptographic Division at a16z, while Eddequiouaq will assume the role of Chief Information Security Officer.
“Andreessen Horowitz has shown an impressive dedication to developing the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem over the past decade, and we took the opportunity to join their senior team and provide technical support to their rapidly expanding portfolio,” Faizullabhoy said.
Winners and losers
At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) in a $60,687, ether (ETH) in a $3,817 And XRP in a $1.13. Total market value at $2.44 trillion according to To CoinMarketCap.
Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, Stacks were the top three gainers of the week (STX) 38.94%, permanent protocol (burp) by 30.55% and Telcoin (phone) by 24.63%.
The top three altcoin losers of the week are Arweave (EN) By -21.68% Tera (luna) at -17.50% and phantom (FTM) at -15.41%.
For more information on crypto prices, be sure to read Cointelegraph Market Analysis.
Most unforgettable quotes
“Bitcoin is much less risky at $43,000 than it was at $300. It has now been set up, huge amounts of venture capital have been allocated, and all the major banks are involved.”
Bill Miller, founder of Miller Value Partners
“I think the big difference between Ethereum and Bitcoin is that Bitcoin is a platform where the value of the ecosystem comes from the value of the coin but, in Ethereum, the value of the coin comes from the value of the ecosystem.”
Vitalik ButerinCo-founder of Ethereum
“I could say ‘I have a gold ETF or a Bitcoin ETF,’ but I’m storing that gold in a vault. Would the SEC allow it? Probably not. Unless companies can demonstrate they can hold it and address a lot of the issues Gensler mentioned. Specifically, it won’t work.”
Tad Park, founder and CEO of Volt Equity
“I’m not a student of Bitcoin and where it’s going, so I can’t tell you if it’s going to get to $80,000 or not. But I do believe that there is a huge role for digital currency, and I think this will help consumers around the world – whether it’s Bitcoin or Anything else, or more than a government cryptocurrency, or digital dollar, that will play out.”
Larry FinkPresident of BlackRock
“We haven’t even reached the growth part equivalent to Web 3, which will create untold wealth.”
Mark YuskoCEO of Morgan Creek Capital
“The reason I own bitcoin is because the US government and every government in the Western Hemisphere is now printing money until the end of time.”
Barry SternlichtCo-founder of Starwood Capital Group
“Overall, we have been through a long period of low inflation, and we have central banks testing in uncharted territory with very loose monetary policy. It is quite reasonable that people would want an alternative to fiat currency.”
Bill WintersCEO, Standard Chartered
“We are always in a crypto bubble because there is still a lot to build.”
Franklin B., Director of Portfolio Development at Pantera Capital
Predicting the week
SEC likely to allow Bitcoin ETF futures trading next week: Reports
Regulatory approval of an ETF has eluded the cryptocurrency industry for years. A wrap-around approach to the equation may become a reality, however, as many entities are seeking approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a Bitcoin ETF based on a futures contract rather than a physically backed alternative.
Two of these exchange-traded funds, the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF and the Invesco Bitcoin Strategy ETF, could see the green light from the SEC during the week of October 18, according to Friday tweets from Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg.
“Bitcoin futures ETFs have said they won’t face any opposition in the SEC, according to multiple sources confirming this (aside, I hear the same thing),” Balchunas tweeted with an article from Bloomberg. “Lots of a bargain. We expect to launch it next week.” Balchunas said he personally thinks approval is more than 90% likely. As early as October, Balchunas Male 75% odds For Bitcoin futures, the ETF was given the green light in October.
However, the commission can also delay its decision. Cointelegraph published a separate article this week covering comments from Todd Rosenbluth, Senior CFRA Director for the ETF and Mutual Fund Research, who noted the ETF’s approval of bitcoin futures. It may not arrive until 2022.
while, The evidence appeared on Friday Shows the groundwork being laid for a possible SEC approval of a Bitcoin futures ETF from Valkyrie. ETF shares have received NASDAQ registration approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the Securities and Exchange Commission may decide to delay a ruling on this ETF until December, the current deadline is October 25.
FUD of the week
Bitmain stops shipping Antminer crypto-mining hardware to China
Bitmain, the largest provider of crypto mining equipment, closed its doors in China on October 11. The company was forced to halt operations in the wake of the Chinese government’s latest response against the cryptocurrency and the demonic freedom it represents.
The company said its move to stop shipping crypto-mining rigs was part of a response to China’s carbon-neutral policies and environmental goals. However, Bitmain will continue to provide Antminer crypto-mining hardware to users around the world, including those in Taiwan and Hong Kong, while the company has also increased its Antbox mobile mining containers production capacity.
“From October 11, 2021, Antminer will stop shipping to mainland China. For customers in mainland China who have purchased long-term products, our staff will contact them to provide alternative solutions,” Bitmain said in an announcement.
Bitcoin futures ETF likely to be delayed until 2022, research firm CFRA says
While Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas pointed out the potential for a Bitcoin-based ETF approval during the week of October 18 (as covered above), CFRA’s Todd Rosenbluth expressed a different view earlier this week.
While acknowledging that Bitcoin futures is likely to be the first product given the green light by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Rosenbluth stresses that the crypto sector may have to wait until next year due to the cloud regulatory environment.
The researcher also suggested that regulators might wait for all of these products to achieve their goals so that they could be approved simultaneously to avoid the “first mover advantage”.
The Estonian regulator wants to cancel all licenses for cryptocurrency exchanges
On Wednesday, Matisse Meeker, head of the Estonian Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), reportedly urged the Estonian government to take back all licenses for cryptocurrency exchanges in the state.
Mäeker is said to be seeking to re-establish the regulatory landscape surrounding cryptocurrencies, pushing them in a new direction. The head of the Financial Intelligence Unit emphasized that the public is not aware of the risks inherent in the cryptocurrency industry, pointing to the usual tropes of troublesome behavior such as money laundering, terrorist financing and hacking.
He also argues that the Estonian crypto industry, in its current state, does not create jobs for citizens and does not contribute “anything important” to the country’s tax authorities.
“The stakes are very, very high. We need to respond fundamentally and very quickly.”
Cointelegraph’s Best Features
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Metaverse and the new economic model of gaming
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