Tether adds 1 billion USDT, Trump wishes BTC white paper a happy 16th anniversary

Golden Weekly is a weekly blockchain industry summary column launched by Golden Finance, covering the week's key news, mining information, project dynamics, technological progress and other industry dynamics. This article is the news weekly, taking you to a glance at the major events in the blockchain industry this week.

Headline

▌Tether minted 1 billion USDT

According to Whale Alert, Tether Treasury minted 1 billion USDT on the Tron blockchain about an hour ago.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said this was an authorized but unissued transaction, meaning it will be used as inventory for the next issuance request and on-chain exchange.

▌Trump: Happy 16th Anniversary of Bitcoin White Paper

Former US President Trump posted on social media platform X: "I want to wish our great Bitcoin enthusiasts a happy 16th anniversary of the Satoshi Nakamoto White Paper. We will end Harris's war on cryptocurrency, and Bitcoin will be made in the United States! Vote for Trump!"

▌Coinbase Board Approves $1 Billion Stock Repurchase Plan

Coinbase announced that its board of directors had authorized and approved a stock repurchase plan in October 2024, allowing the company to repurchase up to $1 billion of Class A common stock, and the plan has no expiration date. The specific repurchase time and amount will depend on market conditions. The company added that the repurchase will be at its sole discretion and that it is not obligated to "repurchase any amount or number of Class A common shares, and the plan may be modified, suspended or terminated at any time."

▌Trump family crypto project WLF plans to issue stablecoins

Sources said the Trump family crypto project "World Liberty Finance" (WLF: The World Liberty) plans to issue stablecoins. WLF, which recently raised $14 million in its first token sale, plans to create and issue its own stablecoin, which is still under development and may take some time to launch.  

One source said the team is still determining how to ensure the security of the financial product before bringing it to market. Another source said the team is simultaneously developing the main project components of World Liberty Financial, including stablecoins, to ensure that these features can be launched at the right time.

▌FTX settles lawsuit against Bybit exchange for $228 million

The FTX bankruptcy group filed a legal document on October 24, agreeing to a $228 million settlement with the Bybit exchange, a lawsuit originally filed by the FTX bankruptcy group in 2023 to recover funds to repay former customers and creditors.  

According to legal documents, the settlement agreement will allow FTX to withdraw $175 million in digital assets held on Bybit and sell approximately $53 million in BIT tokens to Mirana Corp, the investment arm of the Bybit exchange.

Policy

▌Biden criticizes Musk for hypocrisy: The world's richest man worked illegally when he first came to the United States to start a business

Biden named Musk, calling him hypocritical on immigration issues. Biden pointed out that Musk started his long career in the United States as an "illegal worker" and eventually became the world's richest man.

▌US media: Bloomberg boss has spent nearly $100 million to support Harris

According to the New York Times, citing multiple people familiar with the matter, former New York Mayor and Bloomberg boss Michael Bloomberg recently donated $50 million to a nonprofit organization supporting Democratic presidential candidate Harris. People familiar with the matter said that Bloomberg's latest donation was given to the nonprofit organization Future Forward USA Action. Before this anonymous donation, he had already provided $47 million in public political donations to the Democratic Party, second only to George Soros among all the Democratic Party's major donors. Bloomberg invested $95 million to help the Democratic Party in the 2018 midterm elections. Forbes data shows that Bloomberg, 82, is worth about the same as Bill Gates, about $105 billion.

▌Reuters/Ipsos poll: Harris leads Trump by only one percentage point, 44% to 43%

A Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday showed that Harris' lead over Trump in the final stages of the US presidential campaign has further narrowed, leading by only one percentage point, 44% to 43%.

▌Italian Finance Minister: Digital assets have "extremely high risks" and a 42% crypto capital gains tax is necessary

During the World Savings Day event on October 31, Italian Economy and Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti refuted criticism of the plan to increase capital gains tax on cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin to 42%. Giorgetti said digital assets have "extremely high risks" and a 42% crypto capital gains tax is necessary. 

Previously, the Italian Council of Ministers approved a budget bill to increase the capital gains tax on Bitcoin from 26% to 42%. The proposed tax increase still needs to be reviewed and approved by Italian lawmakers before it can be implemented.

▌A Pennsylvania judge put Musk's case involving the US election on hold while the case is heard in federal court

A Pennsylvania judge put Musk's case involving the US election on hold while the case is heard in federal court.  

Musk was previously asked to attend a hearing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to review his million-dollar lottery to encourage voters to vote. It is reported that Musk supports former US President and Republican presidential candidate Trump and has spent millions of dollars to support his campaign. Musk announced the $1 million prize lottery through the "American Political Action Committee" to increase voter registration in competitive areas.

Blockchain Applications

▌Vitalik Buterin: Reduced Instruction Set Computing V (RISC-V) is an important part of the Ethereum Virtual Machine

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said that Reduced Instruction Set Computing V (RISC-V) is an important part of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Buterin pointed out that open source instruction sets are crucial in the existing roadmap for formal verification of validity proofs.

▌Astria, a decentralized shared sorting layer, has launched its mainnet

Astria, a decentralized shared sorting layer, has launched its mainnet, and the project is one of the projects that aims to decentralize blockchain "sequencers". Sequencers are components of the Layer 2 network that compile transactions that occur on the secondary network so that they can be recorded on the main Layer 1 blockchain (such as Ethereum). Astria says its setup represents “a single, permissionless network that can be shared by multiple rollups, providing settlement (i.e. bridging) and decentralized ordering, with fast (~2 second) block times and single-slot finality.”

▌Blockchain development platform Alchemy will support Bitcoin for the first time by integrating the Rootstock sidechain

Blockchain development platform Alchemy will support Bitcoin for the first time by integrating the Rootstock sidechain. According to the team: “Alchemy joins more than 150 other integrated dApps as part of the Rootstock ecosystem, bringing more options for EVM-centric developers who want to create and innovate on Bitcoin.”

▌Hong Kong promotes asset tokenization, directly addressing the three major pain points of cross-border payments

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced the development of innovative financial market infrastructure through the Ensemble project to advance the development of Hong Kong’s tokenization market, and collaborated with the Bank of Thailand to explore cross-border tokenization use cases. Ant Group Chairman and CEO Jing Xiandong believes that tokenization has a great impact on global cross-border payments. At present, small and medium-sized enterprises have many pain points in the payment experience when doing cross-border business, such as expensive and time-consuming handling fees. In the future, tokenization technology can be used to improve it. Tokenization is a point-to-point payment without intermediaries, 24-hour online, programmable and executable. Cross-currency payments will be very good if they have tokenized collateral, which is of great significance to the realization of global real-time payments across borders, currencies and banks.

▌Base has enabled fault proof on the mainnet

Coinbase's second-layer chain Base has enabled fault proof on the mainnet. According to a blog post from Base, "Fault proof is an important part of the transition from Phase 0 to Phase 1. In Phase 0, cryptocurrencies have 'full training wheels', while in Phase 1, cryptocurrencies have 'limited training wheels'. This year, the Base core team worked closely with Optimism to introduce the OP stack error-proofing system to Base. This enables a decentralized method for proposing and verifying L2 states, and paves the way for greater community participation.

▌Web3 infrastructure company BlockJoy launches node tool BlockVisor 2.0

Web3 infrastructure company BlockJoy launches BlockVisor 2.0, which is a “custom solution for blockchain node operators designed to eliminate the need for expensive cloud infrastructure.”

Cryptocurrency

▌QCP Capital Analysts: Bitcoin in consolidation mode as institutional demand remains strong

QCP Capital analysts observed that Bitcoin was in consolidation mode as institutional demand remains strong. Bitcoin ( BTC ) saw active market activity last week, with QCP market strategists noting that Bitcoin attempted to break through the previous high of $69,500 before stabilizing at support around $65,000.  

According to QCP analysts, Bitcoin’s dominance rose to 59.75% and net inflows reached $997.7 million, reflecting strong interest from institutional investors. However, Ethereum ( ETH ) fell 5.85% against BTC , indicating that the market focus remains on Bitcoin as it approaches its all-time high.

▌Glassnode: Spot arbitrage trading strategies have increased significantly, and institutional traders have used CME futures for hedging and generating income

Glassnode's analysis shows that spot arbitrage trading strategies have increased significantly, and institutional traders have used CME futures for hedging and generating income. Given that the current annualized base yield is about 9.6%, almost double the yield of short-term U.S. Treasuries, analysts believe that institutional interest in Bitcoin may continue to increase in the coming months.

▌MicroStrategy 2x Leveraged ETF has risen 225% in six weeks

Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, said on the X platform that T-Rex's MicroStrategy 2x Leveraged ETF Launched just six weeks ago, MSTU has risen 225%, with $500 million in trading volume (top 1% of ETFs) and $1 billion in assets under management, more than 1.75 times the first-time listing of the MSTR ETF.

▌Tether CEO: Tether can't possibly go against the U.S. government

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said in an interview that the U.S. government can "destroy" Tether with one click. Therefore, Tether can't go against the U.S. government. He said: "We may not be the best at presenting ourselves, but the important thing is that we got the FBI to join Tether's compliance system. We got the U.S. Secret Service to join. We received a thank-you letter from the Department of Justice... We think we are doing everything we can." 

In addition, Paolo Ardoino said the company is "doing its best" to combat the use of illegal cryptocurrencies. He added that USDT's role in illegal finance is "insignificant" compared to the U.S. dollar. Ardoino said Tether has been actively freezing and blacklisting crypto wallets, and the company works with 180 government agencies around the world.

▌Wall Street Analysts Expect Coinbase Q3 Revenue to be Affected by Declining Trading Volumes and Regulatory Uncertainty

Wall Street analysts expect Coinbase (COIN) spot trading volumes to slow further in the third quarter, in part due to a lack of catalysts for cryptocurrencies and an uncertain regulatory environment ahead of the presidential election. Coinbase's third-quarter revenue is expected to fall by about 13%, to $1.26 billion from $1.45 billion in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, earnings per share (EPS) are expected to be $0.46, up from $0.14 in the second quarter. "Trading volumes are expected to remain weak this quarter, primarily due to lower retail trading revenues," analyst Benjamin Buddish wrote in a note. He gave the stock an equal-weight rating and raised its price target to $175 from $169, while lowering its third-quarter EPS estimate to $1.05 from $1.62.

▌Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Advocates for Strategic Bitcoin Reserves

Florida’s Chief Financial Officer advocates for strategic Bitcoin reserves, calling BTC “digital gold.”

▌Canary Capital Submits Spot Solana ETF Application to US SEC

According to a public document, Canary Capital has submitted a spot Solana ETF application to the US SEC, another company that applied for a Solana ETF after VanEck & 21Shares. According to the document, the fund hopes to “provide exposure to the price of Solana ('SOL') held by the trust.” Custodian and manager information was not disclosed.  

Canary Capital previously submitted registration statements for spot Litecoin ETFs and XRP ETFs.

▌Riot Platforms lowers hash rate expectations, Q3 net loss of $154 million

Crypto mining company Riot Platforms reported a net loss of $154.4 million in the third quarter, or a loss of $0.54 per share, compared with a net loss of $84.4 million in the second quarter (loss of $0.32 per share). Q3 non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA loss was $3.6 million, a slight increase from a loss of $3.1 million in the same period last year. Riot Platforms produced 1,104 bitcoins in the third quarter, which was the same as the 1,106 bitcoins mined in the same period last year.  

Riot Platforms expects its self-mining hash rate to reach 34.9 EH/s by the end of 2024, lower than the previous target of 36.3 EH/s. The revised forecast stems from a slower-than-expected expansion of the newly acquired facility in Kentucky, which is now scheduled to be operational in 2025. Riot also lowered its 2025 target from 56.6 EH/s to 46.7 EH/s.

▌Tether's net profit in the third quarter reached $2.5 billion, and its cumulative profit in the first nine months of this year reached $7.7 billion

Tether Holdings released its third-quarter financial report for 2024, showing that the company's net profit reached $2.5 billion, the cumulative profit in the first nine months reached $7.7 billion, and total assets reached $134.4 billion, all of which were record highs. The circulation of Tether's stablecoin USD₮ is close to $120 billion, a year-on-year increase of 30%. In addition, Tether holds $102.5 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds, ranking among the top 18 holders in the world. At the same time, the company's reserve buffer increased to more than $6 billion, and it continued to invest in areas such as gold, Bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence.

▌Analyst: Ethereum's "lowest retracement point" before hitting a new all-time high may be $2,500

Independent analyst Poseidon said that Ethereum had experienced the "last drop" last weekend, falling to $2,382, but immediately rebounded to above $2,500 within 48 hours. The trader explained that ETH has recovered the 200-day EMA level on the 8-hour time frame, and the weekend's decline was a "bear trap/bias", and the "lowest retracement point" before hitting a new all-time high may be $2,500.  

Analysts said: "If it stays above $2,600, I will add more long positions. I still believe that this range will eventually break to the upside."

Important Economic Dynamics

▌The probability of the Fed cutting interest rates by 25BP in November is 97.7%

According to CME's "Fed Watch": The probability of the Fed cutting interest rates by 25 basis points by November is 97.7%, and the probability of maintaining the current interest rate unchanged is 2.3%. The probability of maintaining the current interest rate unchanged by December is 0.6%, the probability of a cumulative interest rate cut of 25 basis points is 27.7%, and the probability of a cumulative interest rate cut of 50 basis points is 71.7%.

▌ECB Vice President Guindos: Inflation will fall back to target next year

ECB Vice President Guindos said that inflation will fall back to target next year; the price outlook is surrounded by major risks; the risks to the economic outlook have increased and are biased to the downside.

▌Bank of Canada Governor: We are beginning to see some effects of recent rate cuts

Bank of Canada Governor Macklem said that we are beginning to see some effects of recent rate cuts.

▌Goldman Sachs: Gold is aiming for $3,000 next year

Goldman Sachs said that we have formally established a gold pricing framework and elaborated on the drivers of our bullish forecast, expecting gold prices to rise by about 10% to $3,000 per ounce by December 2025. Our model is able to explain monthly price movements well by aggregating physical gold demand from financial and monetary authorities, investors and speculators.

▌Capital Economics: Nonfarm payrolls must be much lower than expected for the Fed to be more dovish

Olivia Cross of Capital Economics said in a report that nonfarm payrolls would have to show a "significant decline" this week for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by another 50 basis points next week. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect new payrolls to slow to 100,000 from 254,000 in September due to the impact of hurricanes and strikes. Cross said the data would need to be much lower than expected to prompt the Fed to be more dovish. On the other hand, Cross sees upside risks to inflation, which is another reason for the Fed to proceed cautiously.