WuBlockchain Weekly: China Unveils Massive Stimulus Measures, etc
Colin Wu . 2024-09-27 . New article
1. Chinese Stock and Bond Markets Surge, CNY Reaches 16-Month High Against the Dollar link

On Tuesday, China’s central bank announced its largest stimulus measures since the pandemic began, aiming to lift the economy out of deflation and return to government growth targets. The measures include reducing borrowing costs, injecting more funds into the economy, and alleviating the mortgage repayment burden on households. As a result, Chinese stock and bond markets rose, with Asian stocks hitting a two-and-a-half-year high. Additionally, the renminbi surged to a 16-month high against the US dollar.

2. Harris Commits to Establishing U.S. Dominance in the Blockchain Sector link

During a speech at the Pittsburgh Economic Club on Wednesday, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris stated that under her leadership, the U.S. will “recommit” to maintaining global leadership in defining the next century, emphasizing the need to dominate fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, blockchain, and other emerging technologies. Until last weekend, Harris had remained silent on cryptocurrency during her campaign. However, at a recent Wall Street fundraising event in Manhattan, she highlighted that artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency are integral to her vision of an “opportunity economy.”

3. CZ May Have Been Released Early from Prison link

CZ may be released two days earlier than the official release date this Friday, as prisoners typically leave jail early if their release falls on a weekend. A Binance spokesperson expressed their delight that Zhao Changpeng will be reunited with his family. His lawyer stated that CZ does not wish to grant interviews on the day of his release. CZ has spent approximately two months in a minimum-security prison in the California desert before being transferred to a temporary facility in Long Beach, where he has been allowed supervised outings, including trips to the movies.

4. U.S. SEC Reaches Settlement with TrustToken and TrueCoin Over Allegations of Fraud Against TUSD Investors link

The U.S. SEC announced a settlement with TrustToken and TrueCoin, who were accused of defrauding investors in TrueUSD (TUSD). Under the terms of the settlement, both parties will pay $163,000, with TrueCoin additionally responsible for $340,000 in disgorgement. According to the SEC’s press release, by March 2022, TUSD’s operations had been sold to an overseas entity, which, along with TrueCoin, invested over $500 million in a speculative fund. By the fall of 2022, TrueCoin and TrustToken were aware of redemption issues with the overseas fund but continued to issue false statements to investors, claiming TUSD was backed one-to-one by U.S. dollars. Furthermore, the SEC indicated in its filings that investors’ participation in a joint venture met one of the criteria of the Howey test, supporting the claim that TUSD falls under the definition of a security.

5. Telegram to Provide More User Data to Government Following CEO’s Arrest link

On Monday, Telegram made significant changes to its privacy policy, stating that it will share users’ IP addresses and phone numbers with law enforcement in cases involving potential criminal activity. These changes follow the arrest of CEO Pavel Durov in France last month. The new policy contrasts sharply with previous statements, where Telegram only disclosed user information in cases of suspected terrorism.

6. Ethereum Active Accounts Fall to Lowest Level Since December 1, 2023 link

As of September 21, 2024, the seven-day moving average of Ethereum transaction fees reached $3.52, a staggering 314% increase from $0.85 on September 1. This rise in transaction fees has significantly boosted the ETH burn rate, with daily ETH burns reaching 1,360 on September 21, up 1,600% from 80.27 on September 1. Uniswap and its V2 version have become the most gas-consuming smart contracts over the past 30 days. However, network activity has not increased alongside rising transaction fees, with the number of active Ethereum accounts falling to its lowest point of the year at approximately 385,000, an 11% decline from the beginning of the month and the lowest since December 1, 2023.

7. Binance Launches Pre-Market Spot Trading Service link

On September 25, 2024, Binance launched a pre-market spot trading service, allowing users to trade “actual tokens” before they are officially listed. Binance is the first cryptocurrency exchange to offer actual token pre-sale trading. This service integrates Binance Spot and Binance Launchpool, enabling users to acquire new project tokens by staking BNB and other tokens. Currently, only select Launchpool tokens are available for pre-sale market trading, with restrictions on withdrawals, transfers, and deposits before the official listing.

8. World’s First Crypto Islamic Account Now Fully Launched on Bybit link

Bybit CEO Ben announced that the world’s first Islamic crypto account is now fully launched on Bybit, offering 75 Sharia-compliant tokens for global Muslim traders. The initial products include Sharia-compliant offerings such as spot trading, DCA trading bots, and spot grid bots, ensuring ethical and direct trading aligned with Islamic values. In developing the Islamic account, Bybit consulted with ZICO Shariah, a licensed Islamic advisory firm based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

9. Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison, $11 Billion Seized link

Caroline Ellison, the former girlfriend of SBF and CEO of Alameda Research, was sentenced to two years in prison by a federal judge in New York on Tuesday. She was also ordered to forfeit $11 billion for her role in the significant fraud and conspiracy that led to the collapse of the once $32 billion cryptocurrency exchange, FTX. While the judge praised Ellison for her extensive cooperation with prosecutors, which ultimately contributed to SBF’s conviction, he emphasized that her sentence needed to serve as a deterrent to other potential offenders. The judge allowed Ellison to voluntarily surrender to prison on or after November 7.

10. Swedish Police Identify Illegal Cryptocurrency Exchanges as Professional Money Launderers link

The Swedish Police Authority and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) recently released a report categorizing certain cryptocurrency exchanges as “Professional Money Launderers (PML)” and identifying four typical money laundering patterns. The report classifies these illicit exchanges into node transaction providers, Hawala transaction providers, asset transaction providers, and platform transaction providers. Node transaction providers are deeply embedded within criminal networks, facilitating bidirectional transactions; Hawala transaction providers are connected to underground banking systems, exerting significant influence in the Middle East; asset transaction providers systematically utilize cryptocurrency assets with substantial transaction volumes; and platform transaction providers operate on public P2P platforms, primarily catering to small-scale drug buyers and fraudsters.

Fundraising

  • The decentralized finance platform Drift Labs has announced the successful completion of a $25 million Series B funding round. link
  • The general FHE protocol octra has secured $4 million in a Pre-Seed funding round. link
  • The Web3 video game protocol Forge has finalized a new round of financing. link
  • Helix Labs has announced the completion of $2 million in Pre-Seed financing. link
  • Web3 game developer Darkbright Studios has successfully raised $6 million in seed funding. link
  • The Movement ecosystem DeFi project Meridian has completed a $4 million seed round, led by ParaFi Capital and Borderless Capital. link
  • The personalized on-chain operation recommendation platform Daylight has secured $6 million in seed funding, with USV and 1kx leading the round. link
  • Initia has announced the completion of a $14 million Series A funding round, with a fully diluted valuation of $350 million for the company’s token. link
  • AminoChain has successfully raised $5 million in seed funding, led by a16z. link
  • The Solana DePIN project Mawari Network has completed a strategic financing round of $10.8 million. link

Learn more, check out crypto-fundraising.info.

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