- Bitcoin Gains Momentum on Fed Pivot Narrative, But Some Banks Anticipate Dollar Rebound
Bitcoin (BTC) continues to build bullish momentum, hoping that financial stability risks and signs of economic slowdown will force the Federal Reserve (Fed) to pivot away from aggressive liquidity withdrawal measures. However, some observers are unconvinced the Fed will abandon or dramatically slow the so-called liquidity tightening anytime soon and expect renewed dollar strength.
The top cryptocurrency by market value reached a high of $20,150 soon before press time, registering a 2% gain for the day. The dollar index fell to a nine-day low of 11, having hit a two-decade high of 114.77 on Sept. 28.
Bitcoin buyers stepped in on Monday after the U.S. Institute of Supply Management (ISM) said its manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) dropped to 50.9 in September, the lowest reading since May 2020, from 52.8 in August. Notably, the index’s new orders and employment measures contracted, strengthening the case for the Fed pivot.
- Disclosures Show Shopify’s CEO Bought $3M Worth of Coinbase Shares During the Past 2 Months
Coinbase Global Inc. (Nasdaq: COIN) shares have seen better days as statistics show during the past 12 months, COIN has lost 73.47% or a loss of 184 nominal U.S. dollars in value. On Monday, October 3, 2022, COIN gained 2.11% during the past 24 hours and 0.93% over the last five days.
Today, COIN’s current market value has been hovering around 66.61 nominal U.S. dollars per share. Public records indicate that during the last two months, Shopify CEO Tobias Lütke has picked up a touch less than $3 million worth of COIN shares.
Lütke acquired 3,930 shares of COIN on August 11 and he paid $97.24 per share. Five days later, Lütke purchased 4,023 shares on August 16 at $90.55 per share. From August 11, up until September 27, Lütke purchased thousands of Coinbase shares approximately six times.
- Payments Giant Mastercard Launches Cryptocurrency Anti-Fraud Tool for Card Issuers
Payments giant Mastercard today is launching Crypto Secure, a new software product designed to help banks and other card issuers identify and block suspicious transactions from crypto exchanges, according to a CNBC report.
A similar system is already in place for Mastercard’s fiat transactions, with the technology now expanding to Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies.
Powered by CipherTrace, the crypto sleuth company Mastercard acquired last year, the tool uses “sophisticated” artificial intelligence algorithms and data from public blockchains to determine the risk of crime associated with crypto exchanges connected to the payments network.
https://decrypt.co/111189/mastercard-launches-cryptocurrency-anti-fraud-tool-card-issuers
- McDonald’s Starts to Accept Bitcoin and Tether in Swiss Town
Multinational fast food chain McDonald’s started to accept Bitcoin (BTC) as a payment method in the 63,000-populated city of Lugano in Italian Switzerland, which is becoming a hotspot for crypto adoption in Western Europe.
A one-minute video of ordering food on McDonald’s digital kiosk and then paying for it at the regular register with the help of a mobile app was uploaded on Twitter by Bitcoin Magazine on Oct. 3. The Tether (USDT) logo could be spotted next to the Bitcoin symbol on the credit cash machine, which is not surprising, as in March 2022 the city of Lugano announced it would accept Bitcoin, Tether and the LVGA token as a legal tender.
On March 3, 2022, the city signed a memorandum of understanding with Tether Operations Limited, launching the so-called “Plan B.” According to this plan, Tether has created two funds — the first one is a $106 million, or 100 million Swiss francs, investment pool for crypto startups, and the second is around $3 million, or 3 million Swiss francs, attempt to encourage the adoption of crypto for shops and businesses across the city.
https://www.binance.com/en/news/flash/7224610
- How Crypto Twitter reacted to Kim Kardashian’s $1.26M SEC fine
The crypto community reacted with a mix of disbelief and amusement after reality star Kim Kardashian was fined for promoting the cryptocurrency EthereumMax (EMAX).
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fined Kardashian $1.26 million on Oct. 3, for “touting on social media” about the EMAX without disclosing she was paid $250,000 to post about it.
Kardashian has neither admitted to nor denied the SEC’s allegations, but settled the charges and agreed to not promote any cryptocurrency assets until 2025.
SEC chairman Gary Gensler tweeted the fine was a reminder that celebrity endorsement of investment opportunities doesn’t “mean those investment products are right for all investors.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/how-crypto-twitter-reacted-to-kim-kardashian-s-1-26m-sec-fine
- Luna Classic, Remnant of Terra Collapse, Drops After Underwhelming Binance Burn Mechanism Data
The crypto exchange Binance’s planned “burn” of luna classic (LUNC) – the remnant cryptocurrency of the failed blockchain project Terra prior to its reboot – was supposed to boost the price. At least, that was the speculation of many crypto traders.
But the impact turned out to be underwhelming.
Since the mechanism was implemented a week ago, Binance destroyed – “burned” in crypto terms, or a reduction in the outstanding supply – $1.8 million worth of LUNC, based on a tweet Monday by Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao. That amount represents only 0.08% of the total supply of the token, too minuscule to make any measurable impact on the tokens’ hyperinflated supply.
The price of LUNC dropped 12% in the last 24 hours, to $0.0003037, according to cryptocurrency price tracker CoinGecko.
- Decentralized App BCH Bull Prepares for Launch, Platform Allows Users to Long or Hedge Bitcoin Cash Against a Myriad of Tradeable Assets
In recent times, there’s been a few different projects building within the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) ecosystem. One protocol called Anyhedge just released the protocol’s alpha version, which allows users to create smart contracts onchain. Furthermore, the team behind Anyhedge, General Protocols, recently summarized the Anyhedge Extension, which was made possible after the new ruleset changes were applied to the BCH network last May.
Decentralized App BCH Bull Prepares for Launch, Platform Allows Users to Long or Hedge Bitcoin Cash Against a Myriad of Tradeable Assets
This month, General Protocols aims to launch the decentralized application (dapp) BCH Bull.
This month, General Protocols has plans to launch a dapp called BCH Bull, an application that allows people to long BCH against a number of tradeable assets. BCH Bull is a permissionless and noncustodial dapp built on the BCH chain. Tradeable assets that can be used to long or hedge bitcoin cash include assets like the U.S. dollar, bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), or the precious metal gold.
- Long Line of Bidders ‘Expected’ for Crypto Lender Celsius’ Assets: Court Filing
The troubled crypto lender’s assets will soon be up for auction.
The timeline for the auction of Celsius’s assets has been revealed as per a filing from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
The final bid deadline is October 17, and if necessary, an auction will be held on October 20, 2022.
The sale hearing, a hearing conducted by the bankruptcy court to approve the proposed transaction, will then be conducted via Zoom on October 28, 2022.
The filing indicates the court anticipates “a large number of expected participants” but does not reveal any of the prospective buyers.
Celsius, which at one point claimed to have over $20 billion of assets under management, first filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on July 2022, revealing a $1.2 billion hole in its balance sheet following months of speculation regarding its financial stability.
https://decrypt.co/111196/long-line-bidders-expected-crypto-lender-celsius-assets-court-filing
- Shiba Inu Reveals “Canyon” Concept Artwork For SHIB Metaverse
Shiba Inu has continued to release beautiful visuals of different sections of its metaverse. After releasing the concept artwork for Rocket Pond and WAGMI Temple, the canine-themed project has shared the first concept art for Canyon.
According to a blog post today, Shiba Inu sees concept art as an initiative that provides the strongest reference points that align the creative outlook and the hub being introduced.
Similar to the Rock Pond and WAGMI Temple artworks, the first concept of Canyon is depicted in black and white, communicating suggestions and feedback to express the hub’s role in the metaverse.
“Black and white sketches and concept artwork include a strong, physical, and powerful potential, especially in abstract artwork. Amongst the architectural inspiration designs taken from many locations,” The teams behind Shiba Inu metaverse noted.
https://www.binance.com/en/news/flash/7224290
- Tether commercial paper exposure now under $50M — CTO
Stablecoin issuer Tether has nearly completely slashed its commercial paper holdings, with less than $50 million worth of commercial paper units as of Sept. 30, 2022.
Tether chief technology officer Paolo Ardoino made the announcement in an Oct. 3 tweet, adding also that Tether’s United States Treasury bills increased to 58.1% of its total portfolio, up 25.1% from its June 30 figure of 43.5%.
Commercial papers are short-term debt instruments issued by companies, which are often used to finance various business operations, while treasury bills are claimed to be more stable than commercial papers as they offer “zero default risk” since investors are guaranteed to at least recoup the purchase price.
In June, Tether said it was aiming to decrease commercial paper backing of Tether (USDT) to “zero,” and rolled into short-maturity U.S. Treasury bills — aimed at increasing the stability of its ecosystem and USDT stablecoin.
The stablecoin issuer has also been seeking to increase transparency into its dollar reserves and backing.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/tether-commercial-paper-exposure-now-under-50m-says-cto
