Fractal Bitcoin releases Q4 2024 roadmap, including Runes activation, Fractal voting and governance, etc.
Fractal Bitcoin has released its Q4 2024 roadmap. This includes:
October: Runes activation, CAT20 indexing and transfers in UniSat wallet, trustless CAT20 trading market and first season retroactive funding;
November: Fractal voting and governance, PizzaSwap upgrade and performance optimization;
December: Achieve zkAtomicSwap, advanced CAT protocol support and PizzaSwap mainnet upgrade.
Crypto companies raised $823 million in funding in September
On October 7, TIE terminal data showed that 33 DeFi companies announced funding in September. Crypto companies raised $823 million in September alone, distributed across 200 different companies.
Celestia ecosystem's $100 million funding topped the list, followed by Infinex, which raised $65 million through a public token sale.
Additionally, 41 companies conducted seed round funding last month.
Layer3 has expanded to Solana, supporting L3 staking via Wormhole
Distribution, identity and incentive infrastructure Layer3 has announced its expansion to the Solana network, aiming to create a consumer distribution layer for Solana protocols, supported by native L3 tokens on Solana via Wormhole.
This expansion brings new features, including optional token migration via Wormhole & Portal, new leaderboards, rewards, user flows and community structures, as well as L3 staking on Solana via Wormhole.
If Trump wins, Robinhood's general counsel may become the new SEC chairman
Robinhood's general counsel Dan Gallagher is seen as a potential nominee for the new SEC chairman if Trump is re-elected. However, the SEC is currently considering suing Robinhood over its growing crypto business, alleging it may have failed to register as a broker and clearing agency in the crypto market. Gallagher opposes this, calling the case "nonsensical". He points out that Robinhood's crypto trading volume is far less than other platforms and it does not offer crypto lending or staking products. If Gallagher is elected, he may face a controversial confirmation process, as Democrats have long been cautious about industry officials serving in federal regulatory agencies.
Bitlayer completes $9 million Series A+ financing at $300 million valuation, led by Polychain Capital
On October 9, Bitcoin-native Layer2 project Bitlayer completed a $9 million Series A+ financing at a $300 million valuation, led by Polychain Capital, with Franklin Templeton co-leading, and participation from SCB Limited, Selini Capital, G-20.G roup and other investors.
Bitlayer co-founder Charlie Hu revealed that the round started in early August and closed last week. Just three months ago, the company had completed a $11 million Series A round.
Like the previous Series A, Bitlayer's Series A+ financing used a simple future equity agreement (SAFE) structure, with token warrants, and the valuation remained at $300 million, including both equity and fully diluted token valuation. The latest round brings Bitlayer's total funding to $25 million.
Trump family's World Liberty Financial formally proposes to launch on Aave Ethereum mainnet
World Liberty Financial (WLF), supported by the Trump family, has proposed to launch on the Ethereum mainnet using Aave V3, allowing users to borrow and lend assets like ETH, WBTC, USDC and USDT. WLF plans to allocate 20% of protocol interest to the Aave ecosystem reserve and expand to the Scroll Ethereum Layer2 network after successful integration. Additionally, WLF will sell non-transferable governance tokens, with 63% allocated for public sale, despite facing skepticism, analysts believe the project may attract more user attention to DeFi.
Animoca Brands: Will acquire more PROS tokens from the open market
Animoca Brands plans to acquire more PROS tokens from the open market. PROS is the utility token of Prosper, which has been redesigned to bring institutional-grade Bitcoin mining capabilities on-chain and seeks to provide comprehensive exposure to Bitcoin hashrate and the broader Bitcoin ecosystem.
Animoca Brands states that this acquisition demonstrates the company's support for Prosper's new strategic direction, which will bring new utility to the PROS token and signifies its commitment to the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Institutions: Fed is expected to only cut rates by 25bp this year
Citadel Securities says the strong US economy and stubborn inflation will lead the Fed to only cut rates once more this year. Citadel Securities' global head of rates trading Michael de Pass said in an interview: "I'll be bold and say that for the rest of this year, we're ultimately only going to see a 25 basis point cut." The market "still implies 50 basis points of cuts this year. When we look at it, both in terms of the underlying strength of the economy and the stickiness of inflation, that number feels a bit high."After the strong US job data in September, swap traders have scaled back expectations for further Fed rate cuts, now pricing in around 47 basis points of cuts by the end of 2024. Before the jobs report, they had expected around 75 basis points of cuts by year-end. Michael de Pass said the adjustment is reasonable, but still too aggressive.
Uniswap Labs announces the launch of Unichain
On October 10, according to official information, Uniswap Labs has announced the launch of Unichain, a fast, decentralized Optimism super-chain L2 aimed at becoming the chain for cross-chain DeFi and liquidity.
Unichain will integrate Flashbot's Rollup Boost solution to achieve 1-second block times. The Unichain testnet has launched today, with the mainnet to follow later this year. The Uniswap Foundation will provide grants and project support to help developers build on Unichain.
Japanese listed company Metaplanet increases its BTC holdings by 108.99 BTC again
On October 11, according to official information, Japanese listed company Metaplanet has again increased its BTC holdings by 108.99 BTC, and now holds 748.502 BTC.
Four reasons why Ethereum spot ETFs are underperforming
Ethereum ETFs have seen poor performance, with $556 million in net outflows. This may be due to factors like unfavorable funding environment, lack of staking rewards, and marketing challenges. Investors can hold Ethereum through other means, reducing demand for ETFs. Crypto ETFs face marketing difficulties as investors struggle to understand Ethereum's core use cases and valuation. Traditional investors may not find Ethereum's valuation attractive, as its price rationality is hard to prove.
Ethena aims for the stablecoin summit: How can a DeFi dark horse challenge Tether's dominance?
Ethena is the fastest growing DeFi product, with a $3 billion yield-bearing stablecoin market, aiming to challenge Tether's $160 billion market. Its value proposition is to deposit $1 and earn yield in a neutral position, offering the highest returns among crypto stablecoins. As interest rates decline, Ethena's yield premium is expected to rebound, and the newly launched USTb stablecoin will drive its adoption. USTb, backed by Blackrock and Securitize, can reduce yield volatility and is poised to become the dominant stablecoin in the crypto market. Despite some drawbacks, Ethena is set to become the largest market in crypto, a bet on the next big dream for this crypto cycle.
From Texas Hold'em Prodigy to Prediction Market Legend: Domer Reveals the Secrets to Earning Millions on Polymarket
Polymarket is the largest blockchain-driven prediction market platform, attracting tens of thousands of users to trade billions of dollars monthly. Last week, Chain News interviewed Domer, the highest-ranked trader in terms of trading volume and profits, who shared insights into prediction markets and political betting. Polymarket faces two challenges: securely settling $1 billion in bets and establishing new leading markets. The trader advises betting based on one's own strengths and avoiding controversial markets. The launch of Polymarket's token can improve the user experience, and Kahneman's bias theory plays an important role in betting.
Trump's Crypto Project: World Liberty Financial, a Crypto Experimental Field of Capital and Power
WLFI is a crypto project launched by the Trump family, aiming to combine capital and technology through decentralized finance and cryptocurrencies. The project faces the risks of politicization and regulatory constraints, but its vision is to break down the barriers of the traditional banking system and provide financial services to those who cannot access traditional banking services. The governance token and token distribution issues of WLFI limit the participation of ordinary users. The project chooses Ethereum as the technical foundation, but also faces challenges such as competition, scalability, and transaction fees. Although the team members have a complex background, the strong advisory team gives it promising development prospects in the future. However, WLFI is a game of capital and politics, and its design and operation model serve more as a tool for fundraising for high-net-worth individuals and political purposes. Regardless of WLFI's success or failure, it reveals the potential role that cryptocurrencies may play in the future of politics and finance.
CGV Founder Steve: Lessons from the "Lost Thirty Years", Japan's Web3 Industry Should Avoid "Form without Substance"
The Japanese government is actively introducing policies to support Web3 technology, but conservative culture and bureaucratic systems still limit the pace of innovation. Japanese companies lack a keen response to emerging markets and technologies, and the bureaucratic system also exacerbates the lack of innovation. The Japanese government should simplify approval procedures, strengthen interdepartmental coordination, introduce incentive measures, and cooperate with international partners to cultivate high-end talent. Japan needs to break free from the constraints of conservative culture and bureaucratic systems, seize the opportunities of technological change, and achieve long-term sustainable development in the Web3 field.
