South Korea to regulate cross-border virtual asset transactions
According to Jin Shi News, the South Korean Ministry of Finance stated that South Korea plans to start regulating cross-border transactions of virtual assets such as cryptocurrencies from the second half of 2025, introducing registration and reporting requirements. The Ministry of Finance stated that under the new regulations, companies handling cross-border virtual asset transactions will be required to register with the authorities in advance and report their transaction details to the Bank of Korea on a monthly basis. According to data from the Korea Customs Service, since 2020, South Korea has seen 11 trillion won (79.7 billion US dollars) worth of foreign exchange-related crimes, of which 81.3% involved virtual assets.
Pennsylvania House passes bipartisan bill aimed at providing regulatory clarity for digital assets
According to FOX Business, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives has passed a bipartisan bill aimed at providing regulatory clarity for digital assets. The bill was passed by a large margin of 176 to 26 votes, including the support of 76 Democrats and all 100 Republican members. The bill allows residents to self-custody digital assets and provides clear tax guidance and payment use rights for Bitcoin transactions.
The bill was drafted by the Bitcoin advocacy group Satoshi Action Fund, reflecting the trend of states pushing for cryptocurrency regulation in the absence of clear federal oversight. If passed by the Senate, the bill will be submitted to Governor Shapiro for signing. Additionally, 1.5 million Pennsylvania residents, or 12% of the total population, hold cryptocurrency, making them an important support base for this legislation.
OpenAI plans to launch its next-generation frontier model Orion before December
OpenAI disbands another security team, "AGI Readiness" chief advisor resigns
According to CNBC, OpenAI is disbanding its "AGI Readiness" team, with the team members being reassigned to other teams within OpenAI. This team was previously responsible for assessing OpenAI's ability to handle increasingly powerful AI technologies and evaluating the world's readiness for such technologies.
Binance CEO: Tigran Gambaryan released after nearly 8 months of detention in Nigeria
Binance CEO Richard Teng posted on the X platform, saying: "We are deeply relieved and grateful that Tigran Gambaryan has been released after nearly 8 months of detention in Nigeria. During this difficult period, Tigran has shown immense strength, and we commend his resilience in the face of such adversity. We are thankful to all who have dedicated countless hours to support Tigran's release. Tigran's health and well-being remain our top priority, and we are pleased that he can now be with his family to receive the medical care and rest he urgently needs. Binance remains committed to working with global regulators to ensure compliance and transparency in the evolving digital asset space. We look forward to putting this incident behind us and continuing our efforts to create a brighter future for the global blockchain industry. Nigeria has a young, tech-savvy population with a keen interest in digital finance, and is fully capable of leveraging blockchain technology to address economic and social challenges. We look forward to playing a constructive role in this endeavor."
Market news: Polymarket confirms that Trump whale FREDI9999 is a French trader
According to Aggr News citing Bloomberg, Polymarket has confirmed that the Trump whale FREDI9999 is a French trader. Previously, it was reported that FREDI9999 held over $20 million in bets on Trump's victory on Polymarket, raising concerns about manipulation.
According to Bloomberg, the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken plans to launch a blockchain in early 2024 for decentralized applications, allowing token trading, borrowing and lending without intermediaries. This new digital ledger called Ink will use technology similar to Coinbase Global Inc.'s Base.
Ink founder Andrew Koller said in an interview that the developer testnet will launch later this year, allowing developers to test Ink's applications, and the blockchain is expected to open to retail and institutional users in the first quarter. Koller said Kraken does not plan to issue its own token; Ink applications will be provided through the Kraken Wallet app; there will be more than a dozen applications available when Ink debuts, such as decentralized exchanges and aggregators; ultimately, the chain may become home to real-world asset and advanced lending applications; Kraken initially plans to be the chain's sequencer, earning money by organizing and managing transactions on the network, but this function will eventually be decentralized and shared by multiple parties.
Binance Labs announces investment in Solana ecosystem fitness accountability app Moonwalk Fitness
According to the official blog, Binance Labs has announced an investment in the Solana ecosystem fitness accountability app Moonwalk Fitness. Moonwalk Fitness plans to use this round of funding to accelerate product development and launch iOS and Android apps.
According to the introduction, Moonwalk Fitness combines gamification and financial incentives to promote healthier lifestyles. It encourages users to stake USDC, SOL or BONK to complete daily step goals, with those who fail to meet the target losing a portion of their stake, which is then distributed to the winners.
Coinbase International will list ApeCoin perpetual futures contracts
Coinbase International announced on the X platform that Coinbase International and Coinbase Advanced will add support for ApeCoin perpetual futures contracts, with the APE-PERP market expected to open at 5:30 pm Beijing time on October 31, 2024 or later.
Binance Futures lists GOAT 1-75x USDT perpetual contract
According to the official announcement, the Binance Futures platform listed the GOATUSDT perpetual contract on October 24, 2024 at 9:30 pm (UTC+8), with a maximum leverage of 75x.
Blockchain startup R3 is considering various options including a sale
According to Bloomberg, sources familiar with the matter revealed that the New York-based blockchain startup R3 has had preliminary discussions with representatives from Ava Labs, the Solana Foundation, and Adhara. These discussions, which have been ongoing for at least six months, have covered various options such as joint ventures, minority stake sales, or a complete sale. Sources stated that although R3's Corda technology is used by real-time platforms such as the Swiss stock exchange's digital asset trading platform, some projects have not yet reached the testing phase. The company laid off around one-fifth of its staff a year ago and currently has 200 to 250 employees.
According to The Block, Microsoft will include a proposal to "evaluate investing in Bitcoin" as a voting item at its annual shareholder meeting on December 10. The proposal was submitted by the conservative think tank The National Center for Public Policy Research, but the board recommends that shareholders vote against it, stating that it is "unnecessary" and that the company's management has "carefully considered" the relevant issues.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Microsoft stated that its global finance team regularly evaluates various investment assets, including cryptocurrencies, to achieve diversification and risk management. While Bitcoin has been considered in the past, the board has not made any further investment decisions due to factors such as volatility. If the proposal is approved, Microsoft would become the largest publicly traded cryptocurrency investor, surpassing MicroStrategy and Tesla.
According to Cointelegraph, the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) behind the Gnosis Chain, GnosisDAO, has approved a proposal to launch a $40 million venture fund aimed at accelerating early-stage blockchain projects. GnosisDAO will contribute $20 million to the fund, with the remaining $20 million coming from external LPs. The fund, named GnosisVC Ecosystem, will prioritize investments in projects focused on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, decentralized infrastructure, and financial payment channels.
Social media platform Bluesky completes $15 million Series A funding led by Blockchain Capital
According to the official announcement from Bluesky, the social platform has completed a $15 million Series A funding round, led by Blockchain Capital, with participation from Alumni Ventures, True Ventures, SevenX, and Pivot Global. Despite receiving support from crypto venture capitalists, Bluesky has explicitly stated that it will not "over-financialize" the platform through tokens, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), or other means.
Currently, Bluesky has over 13 million users and plans to use the new funds to strengthen community building, invest in trust and security domains, and support the AT Protocol developer ecosystem. The platform will also develop a subscription model, providing users with features such as video uploads and personalization. Additionally, Bluesky will build payment services for creators, exploring voluntary monetization avenues to support the growth of more Web3 applications.
Arkham Intelligence tweeted that US government-associated addresses are suspected of being attacked, with around $20 million in USDC, USDT, aUSDC, and ETH transferred from the address 0xc9E6E51C7dA9FF1198fdC5b3369EfeDA9b19C34c to the attacker address 0x3486eE700CcaF3E2F9C5eC9730a2e916a4740A9f.
The attacked address 0xc9E had previously received funds from 9 US government-seized addresses related to the Bitfinex hack case, including the address 0xE2F699AB099e97Db1CF0b13993c31C7ee42FB2ac mentioned in court documents. Currently, the attacker address 0x348 has started converting these funds into ETH and is suspected of using potentially suspicious addresses associated with money laundering services to launder the funds.
