Today's news tips:
1. Crypto industry’s $135 million US campaign is undefeated in 48 races to date
2. BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF surpassed its gold ETF in assets in just 10 months
3. The US SEC once again postponed the decision to list spot Ethereum ETF options on the New York Stock Exchange
4. Bloomberg: Law firm partners Farley and Champ are among the candidates to succeed Gensler as SEC chairman
5. Sky Forum has released a new SPK token economics proposal
6. Binance Futures will launch GRASS, DRIFT and SWELL 1-75x USDT perpetual contracts
7. Vitalik: AI is the technology that will drive the development of information finance in the next decade. Prediction market is just one use case of information finance.
8. Smart money with a swing win rate of 85.7% made a profit of $1.51 million on ETH in its 15th swing trade
9. Binance Labs invests in BIO Protocol
Regulatory News
South Korea’s financial regulator will step up its monitoring of the market, with a particular focus on stocks associated with Donald Trump and the growing volatility in the cryptocurrency space, according to the Korea Economic Daily. The decision comes after the recent U.S. election results and the Federal Reserve’s latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement. At a meeting of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on November 8, FSS Director Lee Bok-hyun stressed the need to take strict measures against market manipulation and the spread of unfounded rumors if there is evidence to support it.
Crypto Industry’s $135 Million US Election Campaign Is Undefeated in 48 Races So Far
According to Bloomberg, the crypto industry has spent about $135 million to support more than 50 candidates in the 2024 U.S. election cycle, including Democrats and Republicans, incumbents and challengers, favorites and longshots. But they all have one thing in common now: victory. In the November 5 election, as of noon local time on Friday, all 48 candidates supported by the largest political action committee in the crypto industry were declared winners. In the eight elections still counting votes, candidates supported by the political action committee are leading in all but three.
It may come as a surprise to voters that candidates and ads backed by crypto PACs barely mention the industry or its focus (regulation). However, the main vehicle for its campaigns, Fairshake, has become the largest single-issue Super PAC in history. Fairshake and two other related Super PACs (Defend American Jobs and Protect Progress) are funded by industry giants such as Coinbase, Ripple Labs, and Andreessen Horowitz.
Its influence campaigns far outpace those of traditional corporate donors such as Koch Industries and Chevron Corp., according to consumer advocacy nonprofit Public Citizen. The sector ranks second only to the fossil fuel industry in terms of the total dollars deployed since a landmark 2010 Supreme Court decision lifted limits on corporate political spending. Now the industry is trumpeting its massive election spending and its results as evidence that it has become a political force to be reckoned with, gearing up for the next legislative session and the 2026 midterm elections.
FTX sues Crypto.com to recover $11 million tied to Alameda account
According to CryptoSlate, according to documents on November 8, the bankrupt FTX has filed a lawsuit to recover at least $11 million from Crypto.com accounts associated with its sister company Alameda Research. FTX claims that before filing for bankruptcy, Alameda registered an account on Crypto.com under the name of Ka Yu Tin (aka Nicole Tin). According to the company, this practice is common among Alameda, which often opens accounts in the name of shell companies or employees to cover up its trading activities. However, FTX claims that Alameda provides funds for the account and controls it.
After Alameda declared bankruptcy, Crypto.com reportedly locked the account and denied FTX administrators’ requests to access the funds despite multiple attempts. FTX further claimed that Crypto.com’s denial was based on the account holder’s name not matching the name of the person seeking to recover the funds. FTX claims that it has clarified the complexities of the case to Crypto.com and provided court-approved documents, but Crypto.com has reportedly still not responded.
FTX administrators are currently trying to take advantage of claims filed by affiliates of Crypto.com's parent entity Foris MT and Iron Block. These companies have filed claims against FTX for $18.4 million and $237,800, which were held in FTX.com accounts before the exchange collapsed. In view of this, FTX requested a delay in processing Crypto.com's claims until the exchange releases the Alameda assets it holds. FTX also requested the recovery of assets, legal fees and other relief measures.
DOJ sets up website to collect statements from victims of 2016 Bitfinex hack
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has set up a website to collect statements from people affected by the 2016 Bitfinex hack, according to Decrypt. The program is designed to provide potential victims with an opportunity to tell how the criminal actions of Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife Heather Morgan affected them.
Despite the DOJ’s position that the crimes for which the convictions were made are victimless under the Crime Victims Rights Act (CVRA), the department is issuing this notice to the public to ensure that anyone who may have been harmed by the defendant’s actions is heard. This includes affected Bitfinex account holders.
Earlier on October 9, it was reported that the US prosecutors temporarily believed that the only compensation recipient who met the victim status in the 2016 Bitfinex hacker attack case was Bitfinex .
US SEC again postpones decision on listing of spot Ethereum ETF options on New York Stock Exchange
According to The Block, the U.S. SEC has once again postponed its decision on whether to approve the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)'s request to list spot Ethereum ETF options. The SEC said in a filing that the postponement is intended to conduct more analysis and public comments, especially on whether the proposed rule changes comply with the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act. The SEC emphasized concerns about the potential impact of the proposal on preventing market manipulation, protecting investors, and ensuring a fair trading system, which fall under Section 6(b)(5) of the Securities Exchange Act.
According to Bloomberg, people familiar with the matter said that Richard Farley, a partner at the law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, and Norm Champ, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, are among the candidates to succeed Gary Gensler as chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Other people familiar with the matter said that Dan Gallagher, legal director of Robinhood Markets Inc., current U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Mark Uyeda, and former Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Heath Tarbert are also under consideration. People familiar with the matter said that former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Paul Atkins and Robert Stebbins, a partner at the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, are also in the running.
Members of President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team and other advisers began talks with potential candidates after the election, according to some people familiar with the matter. Discussions are ongoing and it may be weeks before a candidate is finalized. Regardless of Trump’s choice, the next SEC chairman is likely to carefully review major Gensler-era rules that have yet to be implemented or take effect, and seek to reduce regulation of the digital asset industry to comply with securities laws.
Project News
MANTRA opens OM token airdrop enquiry and announces airdrop details
According to official news, MANTRA, a Layer1 blockchain focusing on RWA assets, has opened OM airdrop inquiries and announced the details of the airdrop. The total amount of airdrops is 50 million OM, of which 60% are allocated to KARMA pre-mainnet task participants, 12% to Galxe Season1 event participants, 8% to ATOM pledgers to MANTRA nodes, 4% to Bad Kids NFT holders, 4% to Celestine Sloth NFT holders, 3.5% to Pudgy Penguins NFT holders, and 3.5% to testnet validators, etc. In addition, MANTRA stated that the previous "3-month cliff period, followed by initial liquidity allocation and 9-month linear unlocking" will be changed to "shortening the cliff period to 1 month, followed by 11 months of linear unlocking."
Sky Forum has published a new SPK token economics proposal
Sky (formerly MakerDAO) said on the X platform that the new SPK token economics proposal is now available on the Sky forum. The proposal aims to regulate the issuance of Star tokens, and the first Star token SPK will be launched in the coming months. As stated in the proposal, the founding issuance of Star tokens will last for 10 years, with half of the issuance occurring in the first two years, and the issuance rate halving every two years thereafter. Like all future Star tokens, the total supply of SPK is 10 billion; 8 billion of which are allocated to three recipient types, namely USDS holders, activated SKY holders, and sealed SKY holders, and SPK is expected to be issued first in the coming months; in addition, 1 billion is allocated to liquidity bootstrapping and another 1 billion is allocated to contributor token grants. Both parts of the tokens will be managed by the governance team of each Star token, with rewards tied to milestones and performance, and liquidity tokens subject to transparency and reporting. Subject to the approval of the governance layer, this proposal aims to establish a clear and transparent framework for the issuance of each Star token within the Sky ecosystem.
Binance Futures to Launch GRASS, DRIFT, and SWELL 1-75x USDT Perpetual Contracts
According to the official announcement, Binance Futures will launch perpetual contracts at the following time, with a maximum leverage of 75 times:
2024-11-08 23:30 (GMT+8): GRASSUSDT perpetual contract;
November 8, 2024 23:45 (ET8): DRIFTUSDT perpetual contract;
2024-11-09 00:00 (GMT+8): SWELLUSDT perpetual contract.
Tether Treasury minted 1 billion authorized but unissued USDT on the Ethereum network
According to Whale Alert, Tether Treasury minted 1 billion USDT on Ethereum about 8 hours ago. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said this was an authorized but unissued transaction, which means it will be used as inventory for the next issuance request and on-chain exchange.
CZ: As Bitcoin continues to hit new highs, investors should exercise proper risk management
CZ said on the X platform that when Bitcoin continues to hit new all-time highs, investors should conduct proper risk management. There will be many troughs (and peaks) in the future, so make sure you can handle them. Control your greed and don't put all your eggs in one basket.
Vitalik published an article titled "From prediction markets to info finance". Vitalik believes that even if the existing prediction market is a very useful tool for the world, the prediction market is only a use case of the "information finance" category.
Recommended reading: Vitalik: From Prediction Market to Information Finance
Financing News
Binance Labs Announces Investment in BIO Protocol (BIO)
Binance Labs announced an investment in BIO Protocol (BIO) to accelerate funding innovation in decentralized science (DeSci). BIO Protocol reshapes the way early scientific research is financed and commercialized through blockchain technology, providing a global community for scientists, patients, and investors to collectively fund, develop, and co-own new drugs and treatments. This round of financing will be used to expand the BioDAO ecosystem, provide seed funding for new BioDAOs, and strengthen community and token economic support. BIO Protocol's model is similar to the "Y Combinator of on-chain science", and its BioDAO network covers multiple fields including rare diseases, longevity research, and mental health, aiming to address critical gaps in traditional scientific research funding. BIO currently has seven BioDAOs, and the next batch of projects will focus on the development of therapies to address long-term COVID-19 and rare diseases, as well as research on quantum microscopy.
BIO Protocol is currently conducting the second round of BIO Genesis, providing users with early access to $BIO tokens until the tokens are transferable. Users can redeem $BIO with ETH or DeSci tokens. BIO is committed to building on-chain scientific communities (BioDAOs) through DeFi mechanisms and real intellectual property (IP).
L1 blockchain developer Pharos completes $8 million seed round led by Lightspeed Faction and Hack VC
According to The Block, L1 blockchain developer Pharos has raised $8 million in seed funding, led by Lightspeed Faction and Hack VC, with SNZ Capital participating as a strategic investor. Other investors include Reforge, Dispersion Capital, Hash Global, Generative Ventures, MH Ventures, Zion and Chorus One. Pharos is building a new L1 blockchain specifically for fintech use cases such as real-time payments and real-world assets.
Important data
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Becomes the Third-Highest Fund in Inflows Among All U.S. ETFs in 2024
According to CryptoSlate, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has become the third-highest net inflow fund among US ETFs in 2024, attracting $26.174 billion. As of now, IBIT's annual return rate is 48.52%, and its assets under management have reached $30.1 billion, surpassing many traditional ETFs in both net inflows and performance. In addition, IBIT's annual return rate is almost twice the second highest return rate of other funds in the top ten fund flow rankings. However, IBIT's total assets under management (AUM) are more than ten times smaller than the other top four funds.
Just yesterday, November 7, IBIT saw net inflows of $1.1 billion in a single day, a figure that exceeds the annual inflows of all but the top 150 ETFs in the U.S. This significant inflow exceeds the total year-to-date inflows of most of the approximately 3,300 ETFs in the U.S. market.
BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF surpasses its gold ETF in assets in just 10 months
Nate Gerac, president of The ETF Store, disclosed on the X platform that the assets of BlackRock's Bitcoin exchange-traded fund iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) have surpassed its gold exchange-traded fund iShares Gold ETF (IAU), which was achieved in just 10 months. IAU was launched in January 2005.
According to on-chain analyst Ember, a whale who earned $8.01 million in $WIF in September has built a position in WIF again: he withdrew 6.9 million WIF ($15.87M) from Binance 4 hours ago at a price of $2.3. He previously hoarded 9.8 million WIF at the bottom of $1.53 through Binance and Bybit in early September, and then sold it at $2.35 at the end of September, making a profit of $8.01 million (+53%).
Tether transferred 632 million USDT to Cumberland DRW in the past 13 hours
According to @ai_9684xtpa, Tether has transferred 632 million USDT to Cumberland DRW in the past 13 hours. In the past three days, the total amount of USDT transferred from Tether Treasury to DWR has reached 1.178 billion; since November, ERC20 USDT has been issued nearly 3 billion net. Cumberland DRW is one of Binance's important market makers, and about 79% of the USDT issued to Cumberland will be sent directly to Binance.
According to @ai_9684xtpa, the smart money with a swing win rate of 85.7% made a profit of $1.51 million in the 15th swing trade. In the past half hour, the smart money cleared the 11,267 ETH (cost $2,910) bought yesterday at an average price of $3,043.6, about $34.29 million. Currently, 13 out of 15 trades are profitable, with a win rate of 86.7%, and a total profit of $5.38 million.
An ETH whale sold more than 3,367 ETH 6 hours ago after 8 years of dormancy
According to Onchain Lens, after 8 years of silence, an ETH whale has started selling its $ETH assets. 8 years ago, the whale received 12,229 ETH from @ShapeShift, worth $149,000, with an average price of $12.22. 6 hours ago, the whale transferred all its ETH to a new address and started selling. So far, 3,367.5 ETH have been sold for $10.16 million, with an average price of $3,018. The wallet still holds 8,862 ETH, worth $27 million.
