1. Coinbase's negotiations with traditional financial institutions are gradually heating up
Shan Aggarwal, vice president of corporate and business development at Coinbase, said that Coinbase's talks with large financial companies have "shifted" in the past six to nine months, especially as the issue of cryptocurrency in the United States has become a bipartisan consensus. He said that the dialogue may eventually allow more traditional financial players to join Web3 and promote the mass adoption of digital assets. But the "cumbersome" entry is still a major pain point in attracting the next wave of Web3 users to join the blockchain.
2. BlackRock calls Bitcoin and Ethereum "safe haven assets" and "risk-taking assets"
BlackRock stated at the conference on October 3: Bitcoin is a "safe haven asset", a global currency alternative, a global, decentralized, non-sovereign asset that can hedge against increasing global chaos and declining trust in governments, banks and legal currencies; Ethereum is a "risk-taking asset", a "blockchain adoption bet asset", a core infrastructure that supports a variety of blockchain-based applications and is critical to the continued adoption and integration of blockchain technology.
3. UAE exempts cryptocurrency transfers and conversions from VAT
The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) of the United Arab Emirates announced on October 2nd the revision of the country's VAT rules, which include VAT exemptions for additional services, including the management of investment funds and the transfer and conversion of virtual assets. PwC pointed out that the exemptions for the transfer and conversion of virtual assets will be retroactively applied from January 1, 2018, and virtual asset companies should pay special attention to the recovery of their input VAT.
4. Vitalik Donates 100 ETH to Tornado Cash Developer Defense Fund
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin donated 100 ETH, worth about $240,000, to the Tornado Cash developer defense legal fund "Free Alexey & Roman". This is Vitalik's third donation to the fund. Currently, the total fundraising amount of the fund has exceeded 327 ETH, equivalent to about $785,000. These funds will be used to support the legal defense of Tornado Cash developers Alexey Pertsev and Roman Storm. Despite the legal pressure, Tornado Cash's deposits in the first half of 2024 reached approximately $1.9 billion, an increase of 50% over the whole of last year.
5. China's State Council Information Office will hold a press conference on October 8 to introduce a "package of incremental policies"
The Information Office of the State Council of China will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, inviting Zheng Zhajie, Director of the National Development and Reform Commission, and deputy directors Liu Sushe, Zhao Chenxin, Li Chunlin, and Zheng Bei to introduce the relevant situation of "systematically implementing a package of incremental policies to solidly promote the upward economic structure and the continued improvement of the development trend" and answer questions from reporters.
6. Hot project dynamics of the week: TON established Memelandia to develop memecoin, Grayscale launched Aave Fund, Synthetix will be "completely reformed", etc. (0929-1005)
1. TON community announced the establishment of Memelandia link
The TON community announced the establishment of Memelandia, which will develop and execute a strategy with the support of the TON Foundation and the TON Association to develop the memecoin narrative in the TON ecosystem, with goals including increasing memecoin trading volume on TON, increasing the number of traders and issued memecoins, supporting the launch of successful cases (MC of more than $100 million), and ensuring that TON becomes the new meme coin center. The working group will lead and promote marketing and business development efforts, create new analysis and trading tools, and design relevant incentive programs.
2. Worldcoin Foundation launches new continuous funding programlink
The Worldcoin Foundation has launched a new continuous funding program to simplify the application process and inspire the innovative potential of global community builders. Unlike the previous phased funding structure, applicants can now submit proposals at any time, and the Foundation will adopt a rolling review model to accelerate response and support projects. Key areas include World ID applications, digital identity solutions, user growth plans, governance innovation, and developer experience optimization. Applicants need to ensure that the project is in line with Worldcoin's current technical requirements. The official online website is now open for application.
3. The head of Base Protocol will also lead Coinbase Wallet link
Jesse Pollak, head of the Base protocol, tweeted that in addition to leading the Base team, he will also lead Coinbase Wallet and join the Coinbase executive team. Pollak said that Base and Coinbase Wallet have the same goal, which is to make the world's on-chain very simple and connect everyone to the products being built throughout the on-chain economy. Now, the two will be able to work more closely together to achieve this goal. Base will continue to adhere to its core values of serving everyone, becoming a bridge rather than an island, as well as decentralization and open source. Coinbase Wallet will continue to play a role in the entire on-chain economy and will begin to embody other Base value work in more ways.
4. Aptos Labs is in agreement to acquire Japanese blockchain developer Palette Chain link
Aptos Labs announced Thursday that it has acquired HashPalette Inc., the developer of the famous Japanese blockchain Palette. HashPort will migrate Palette Chain and HashPalette's applications to the Aptos network, including the EXPO2025 digital wallet for the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, Kansai, Japan. Palette Chain's governance token PLT is expected to migrate to Aptos' native token APT.
5. Humanity Protocol is now live on testnetlink
The blockchain identity authentication platform Humanity Protocol tweeted that it has launched a test network. Users can register for Human ID. In a few weeks, they will be able to register palm prints through the application. Humanity Protocol uses palm print recognition technology and zero-knowledge proof to ensure user privacy and security, aiming to provide accessible and non-intrusive applications for establishing human proof in Web3.
6. Grayscale announces launch of Aave Fundlink
Grayscale announced the launch of the Aave Fund, which aims to provide investors with investment opportunities in AAVE tokens. Aave is a decentralized lending platform based on Ethereum that allows users to use other cryptocurrencies as collateral for automated lending, while also earning interest by lending cryptocurrencies. Although the Aave token has a market value of $2.3 billion and is smaller than more well-known tokens, its protocol has become the largest cryptocurrency lending protocol by total value locked (TVL). Grayscale said that by leveraging blockchain technology and smart contracts, Aave aims to optimize the lending process, reduce the involvement of intermediaries and reduce reliance on human decision-making.
7. An investor proposed a "radical reform" of Synthetix, which received 99% vote supportlink
An activist investor's plan to completely "reboot" DeFi protocol Synthetix and save it from becoming a "zombie" chain has received more than 99% voter support. In the SR-2 proposal filed today, Benjamin Celermajer outlined a plan to "completely overhaul" and improve Synthetix's governance and daily operations. Celermajer said that despite the recent recovery of the broader crypto market, Synthetix has failed to build momentum or witness any sustained adoption due to major flaws in its governance and daily operations. He added that this has caused the Synthetix protocol to miss several major opportunities and its development has been harmed by delays in product launches and a "lack of vision." At press time, the proposal has received almost unanimous support from SNX holders, with 99.4% of the 200 holders (18 million SNX) voting in favor of the proposal.
8. Ethena community released a new proposal "Introducing Ethereal: Requesting Integration to Ethena Governance" link
The Ethena community has released a new proposal "Introducing Ethereal: An Integration Request to Ethena Governance". The proposal requires that Ethereal be directly integrated into Ethena's reserve management system from the date of publication to provide a fully on-chain venue to manage spot and derivatives positions that support USDe. The Ethena community will have the opportunity to receive a 15% allocation of any potential future Ethereal governance tokens, which the proposal suggests will be distributed to ENA holders in circulation. Ethereal is a decentralized exchange (DEX) that integrates spot and perpetual futures built on the upcoming Ethena network, using USDe as a medium of exchange.
9. EigenLayer was criticized by community members for not allowing early investors to receive staking rewards subject to token lock-up restrictionslink
EigenLayer has come under fire after it was revealed that staking rewards received by early investors were not subject to token lock-ups. Investors and community members have complained about the lack of transparency surrounding the EigenLayer token supply. EIGEN has a fixed total supply of 1.68 billion, a circulating supply of 186 million, an FDV of $5.8 billion, and a market cap (excluding uncirculated tokens) of $650 million. Many of the questions raised by community members stem from the fact that some of these locked tokens belong to early investors who bought in funding rounds at a significant discount. Investors who bought in EigenLayer’s $14.4 million seed round, $50 million Series A round, and the latest $100 million round in February can now stake their locked tokens to earn returns. Currently, a total of 130 million EIGEN tokens are staked. Many people believe these are part of the claimed tokens, but in reality, 70 million of these tokens belong to this small group of early investors.
10. Ubisoft will launch NFT link on Arbitrum through Magic Eden
Gaming giant Ubisoft will launch 10,000 NFTs on Arbitrum through Magic Eden in the coming weeks, which will allow holders to experience the upcoming shooter game Captain Laserhawk: The GAME in advance. The game is set in a dystopian world and is inspired by the Netflix series Captain Laserhawk: Blood Dragon Remix.
