Crypto weekly is co-authored by @serdave
PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- BTC ($29,818): +4% / +80%
- ETH ($1,638): +2% / +37%
- SOL ($28.87): +20% / +196%
- UNI ($4.13): 0% / -20%
- MATIC ($0.59): +11% / -21%
MARKET CAP CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- Crypto Market Cap ($1.2T): +5% / +42%
- BTC Dominance: 49%
- ETH Dominance: 17%
- Tether ($84B): +1% / +27%
- USDC ($26B): +1% / -42%
NFT 3M TRADING VOLUMES
THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO
- Hamas and other militant groups received over $130 million in cryptocurrencies over the past year according to a report by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic. Link. Blockchain analytics provider Chainalysis said the dollar amount is likely ‘overstated’, as it includes all flows to service providers even if only some of those funds were associated with terrorism financing. Link. Chainalysis Report.
- The US Treasury Department wants to designate all cryptocurrency “mixers”, which allow crypto users to transact anonymously, as money-laundering hubs that threaten national security. The proposal will be open for public comment for 90 days before possibly being adopted. Link. Link.
- Binance US users can no longer withdraw US dollars directly from the platform. The exchange had suspended dollar deposits in June after being sued by the SEC and losing many of its banking partners. Link.
- Uniswap Labs will impose a 0.15% fee on trades executed through its hosted front-end. The fee is different from Uniswap’s existing “protocol fee” which is governed by UNI token holders. The 0.15% “interface fee” will help Uniswap Labs sustainably fund its operations. Link. Tweet.
- USDC stablecoin issuer Circle released a programmable crypto wallet that lets merchants take over and pay for customers’ transaction fees. Link.
- Reddit announced it was ending its blockchain-based rewards program Community Points, which it had launched in 2020 as a way to reward users for activity in certain subreddits. Link. Link.
- A new report alleges Coinbase’s trading volume fell by 17% in Q3, and is down about 52% year-over-year. Coinbase will report is Q3 results on November 2nd. Link.
- The SEC withdrew its lawsuit against Ripple Lab executives Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen. The case against Ripple Labs for selling unregistered securities related to its XRP token will continue. Link. Link. Link.
- The New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Gemini, Genesis, and DCG for allegedly defrauding more than 230,000 investors of more than $1 billion. The lawsuit alleges that crypto exchange Gemini failed to disclose the risks of its Earn program, which was operated by crypto lender Genesis, despite knowing that Genesis’ loans were undercollateralized and heavily concentrated. Link. Link.
- The ECB said it would move forward with a digital euro, beginning with a two-year “preparation phase”. Link.
- The US government holds over 200,000 bitcoin, worth roughly $5 billion. The bitcoin was recovered or seized from cybercriminals and darknet markets. Link.
- Former employees are suing Consenys CEO Joe Lubin for allegedly promised large equity stakes in the company that became worthless after transferring all core assets and IP to a newly formed company in the US. Link. Link.
- Binance is no longer offering its Visa debit card in Europe, which it had begun offering in September 2020. Link.
- Tether’s CTO, Paolo Ardoino, is taking over as CEO of the stablecoin. USDT accounts for nearly 70% of the stablecoin market. Link.
- The FBI charged six individuals with operating an illegal $30 million money laundering business, where they converted illicit funds to bitcoin or cash on behalf of clients who made money by selling drugs or illegal hacking. Link.
- Blockchain firm LBRY is shutting down. In late 2022 a judge ruled that the initial sale of LBRY’s token (of the same name) constituted an unregistered security offering. Link.