Weekly Report | Huang Tianyou appointed as Chairman of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission for a three-year term; Radiant Capital suspends its lending market due to a vulnerability attack, with estimated losses of about $58 million; Praxis raises $525 million to build a crypto-friendly city
Optimism's new revenue engine Superchain: OP Stack ecosystem revenue has surpassed 40 million USD; clone version of "MicroStrategy" enters the market in bulk, has the BTC "lying win strategy" been confirmed?; after the founder's arrest, Telegram abandons privacy protection, how does the disruptor SendingNetwork achieve communication freedom?Organizer: Luan Peng, ChainCatcher
"What Important Events Happened This Week (10.14-10.20)"
According to Caixin, the Hong Kong SAR government announced that the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR has appointed Dr. Huang Tianyou as the Chairman of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) for a three-year term, from October 20, 2024, to October 19, 2027, under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Chapter 571).
Polkadot community members Alice and Bob released the Treasury operational report for Q3 2024 on the official governance forum.
The report shows that the Polkadot Treasury balance is 33.3 million DOT (approximately $153 million), with a surplus of 32.4 million DOT (approximately $149 million) after deducting liabilities.
In terms of expenditures, the Polkadot Treasury spent a total of $27 million (5.2 million DOT) in Q3, which is about half of the total expenditure in Q2 (down from $58 million to $27 million), and in DOT terms, it decreased from 8 million DOT to 5.2 million DOT.
Specifically, marketing-related expenses saw the largest decrease, from $27 million to $9.9 million; development-related expenses remained stable, increasing from $10 million to $11.9 million; operational expenses also remained at a similar level, decreasing from $1.7 million to $1.4 million; talent and education-related expenses saw a slight increase, from $2.3 million to $3.8 million; research expenses were low, decreasing from $1.5 million to $310,000; no economic incentive proposals were approved this quarter.
3、Bitcoin Infrastructure Company Blockstream Completes $210 Million Convertible Note Financing, Led by Fulgur Ventures
Bitcoin infrastructure company Blockstream has completed $210 million in convertible note financing, led by Fulgur Ventures. This round of financing will be used to accelerate market adoption of its Bitcoin Layer 2 technology, expand its mining operations, and increase its Bitcoin reserves.
Blockstream's Layer 2 solutions include Liquid Network and Core Lightning.
It is reported that over $1.8 billion in assets have been issued on the Liquid Network, including stablecoins, tokenized bonds, and securities, with approximately 3,844 Bitcoins locked on-chain (worth about $250 million). The company plans to position Liquid as the "de facto infrastructure" for the tokenization of physical assets within the Bitcoin ecosystem.
4、Canary Submits Litecoin Spot ETF Application to U.S. SEC
According to the U.S. SEC's official website, cryptocurrency investment firm Canary Capital has submitted a registration application for a spot LTC exchange-traded fund (ETF) to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
5、"Network State" Project Praxis Raises $525 Million to Build Crypto-Friendly Cities
Claiming to be the world's first "network state," the project Praxis announced on Tuesday that it has secured $525 million in funding to build a cutting-edge city that supports the development of cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, energy, and biotechnology.
According to the announcement, the funding participants include Arch Lending, GEM Digital, Manifold Trading, and new angel investors such as Dan Romero (CEO of Farcaster), Tom Schmidt (General Partner at Dragonfly), and Rob Hadick (General Partner at Dragonfly).
Additionally, Web3 asset data platform RootData shows that Praxis is a community composed of future city residents, including founders, creatives, investors, and everyone in between. Membership is based on an application process. Once accepted, members can participate in activities and contribute to the city's development. Most importantly, members share a common lifestyle: optimism, health, clear goals, and a commitment to ideas greater than themselves, summarized in one word: vitality.
6、Sources: Do Kwon Conducted at Least Three Cryptocurrency Transactions After Arrest
According to Protos, Terra founder Do Kwon was arrested in Montenegro on March 23, 2023, but his electronic devices were not handed over to the investigating judge until June of that year.
An official from Montenegro's special police told Portal ETV that during searches of inmates, including Do Kwon, laptops, phones, cryptocurrency wallet login information, and "other codes to access the blockchain" were found.
Two sources stated that at least three cryptocurrency transactions were conducted using Do Kwon's crypto wallet during his detention. This information was linked to accounts associated with a mobile phone company in Podgorica.
7、CMB Wing Lung Bank Launches Virtual Asset ETF Trading Service for Hong Kong Stocks
According to the Hong Kong Economic Journal, CMB Wing Lung Bank has officially launched trading services for virtual asset exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the Hong Kong stock market, becoming one of the first Chinese-funded banks in Hong Kong to offer virtual asset ETF trading services.
In response to Zhu Su's previous post involving Arthur Hayes, Arthur Hayes stated, "The only true information in your post is that both of us worked at Deutsche Bank. When you are ready to cooperate with the BVI liquidators, please do so quickly and stop making creditors pay legal fees. BitMEX will accept the court's decision as deemed appropriate, but I will not engage in behind-the-scenes trading like you did with CoinFlex, Hodlenaught, Ox, etc."
It is reported that Zhu Su previously stated that most of the work he did was for Arthur Hayes, and that they worked together at the same bank counter at Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong, possibly having two or three dozen close mutual friends. Zhu Su claimed to have provided many collaboration opportunities to Arthur Hayes, leading many creditors who incurred losses to seize these opportunities. Earlier this year, after Arthur Hayes indicated that this affected his ability to conduct business, Zhu Su withdrew his expedited protection order against Arthur Hayes.
9、DBS Bank Launches "Token Services" to Achieve Blockchain-Based Banking
Singapore's DBS Bank has launched a new service called "DBS Token Services," which combines tokenization and smart contract capabilities with its existing banking services.
According to the statement, DBS Token Services integrates the bank's licensed blockchain compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, its core payment engine, and multiple industry payment infrastructures.
Additionally, smart contracts enable institutions to programmatically manage the use of funds. Specifically, the new service includes Treasury Tokens, Conditional Payments, and Programmable Rewards.
Loh Boon Chye, Head of Global Transaction Services at DBS Bank, stated that DBS Token Services allows corporate and public sector entities to "optimize liquidity management, streamline operational workflows, enhance business resilience, and open new opportunities for end customers or end users to participate."
According to Coindesk, Citi (C) stated in a research report on Wednesday that a Republican landslide victory in the upcoming U.S. elections would be the most favorable outcome for Coinbase and the cryptocurrency market, while a victory for Harris and a divided Congress could lead to more uncertainty in the digital asset industry.
Analysts led by Peter Christiansen wrote, "The Trump/Vance combination has publicly supported digital asset reform, and Republican control of the Senate is crucial for passing bills like FIT21 and confirming leaders who support cryptocurrency. With a unified Congress, the pace of digital asset reform may accelerate."
However, the report noted that a Republican victory in the Senate and a Democratic victory in the House would still be favorable for Coinbase and the cryptocurrency market. The U.S. elections will be held on November 5, with results announced on November 8.
11、Bernstein: Bitcoin Strength Linked to Increased Probability of Trump Winning
Analysts at research and brokerage firm Bernstein stated that after a 5% rise on Monday, Bitcoin has increased by about 14% in October, surpassing $65,000. This is driven by a correlation with the rising probability of Donald Trump's election, with MicroStrategy being a leading indicator of potential bullish breakouts.
Gautam Chhugani, Mahika Sapra, and Sanskar Chindalia analyzed, "We believe the recent strength of Bitcoin is due to the correlation between Bitcoin and the probability of Trump's election returning, despite both sides expressing support for digital assets. However, due to Trump's increased odds in the election prediction market, the bids in the crypto market are stronger."
Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive John Lee stated that the government will continue to promote the policy stance and guidelines for the application of artificial intelligence in innovative financial services such as central bank digital currency, mobile payments, virtual banks, virtual insurance, and virtual asset trading.
Measures include: 1. Promoting cross-border payment applications using central bank digital currency. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is actively testing and exploring more technology solutions and scenarios related to cross-border trade settlement on various central bank digital currency cross-border networks, expanding the participation of public and private institutions; 2. Improving regulation of virtual assets and trading. The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau will complete the second round of consultation on the regulation of over-the-counter trading of virtual assets and submit a virtual licensing system for regulating virtual asset custodians; 3. Promoting the tokenization of real-world assets and the digital currency ecosystem. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is promoting the progress of the Ensemble project.
According to Cointelegraph, Radiant Capital and two cybersecurity companies disclosed that after a cybersecurity vulnerability incident exceeding $50 million occurred on the BNB Chain and Arbitrum, Radiant Capital has suspended its lending market.
Web3 cybersecurity company De.Fi Antivirus stated on X platform: "By exploiting the 'transferFrom' function on BSC and ARB chains, attackers targeted the Radiant Capital contract, stealing user funds, including USDC, WBNB, ETH, etc. The attack resulted in approximately $58 million in stolen funds." This is similar to the estimate from another cybersecurity company, Ancilia Inc., which estimated the loss at around $50 million. Radiant is controlled by a multi-signature wallet, and the attackers gained control of the private keys of multiple signers, then controlled multiple smart contracts.
Radiant stated in a post on X platform: "We are aware of the issues in the Radiant lending market on the BNB Chain and Arbitrum. We are working with SEAL911, Hypernative, ZeroShadow, and Chainalysis and will provide updates as soon as possible. The markets on Base and the mainnet will be suspended until further notice."
The Russian Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring) emphasized that even if the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) decides to blacklist Russia, its anti-money laundering system will continue to operate effectively. Previous assessments mentioned issues with virtual currency regulation, but Rosfinmonitoring insists that these issues have been resolved.
According to TASS, the regulatory agency stated: "The Russian Federation has improved its ratings on three FATF recommendations, with only one being downgraded to 'partially compliant' due to insufficient legislative regulation in the field of virtual currency circulation."
However, Rosfinmonitoring pointed out that since these assessments, Russia has passed two federal laws to strengthen its digital currency regulatory framework. The agency added: "Since then, the Russian Federation has passed two federal laws regulating the circulation of digital currencies."
It is reported that the FATF is an intergovernmental organization that sets global standards for anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism. Whether Russia will be blacklisted will be discussed at the FATF plenary meeting from October 21 to 25.
15、Worldcoin Renamed to World Network and Announces World Chain Mainnet Launched
The digital identity project Worldcoin, supported by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, announced its renaming to World Network (abbreviated as World) and officially launched its Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain mainnet, World Chain.
World Network stated that as the project scales and the importance of the World ID human proof protocol increases, "Worldcoin" can no longer fully encapsulate the project's mission. The new brand World includes three core pillars: World Chain, World ID, and Worldcoin token, aiming to build a network composed of real, verified humans to drive advancements in artificial intelligence.
World Chain is a "human-only" community built on the OP Stack, providing more practical applications and lower gas fees, and will allow users to participate in the development direction of World Chain in the future. Well-known projects such as Optimism, Alchemy, Uniswap, Safe, Dune, and Etherscan will support the launch of this blockchain.
"What Interesting Articles Are Worth Reading This Week (10.14-10.20)"
1、Optimism's New Revenue Engine Superchain: OP Stack Ecosystem Revenue Exceeds $40 Million
The crypto community is celebrating DeFi leader Uniswap's launch of the new Layer 2 network Unichain, while Optimism, as the key underlying technology provider, is the silent big winner behind the scenes.
On October 15, during the official announcement of Uniswap's developer grant program for Unichain, it was stated that Unichain is a new Layer 2 network built on OP Stack technology. As a part of Superchain, Unichain developers can also receive additional rewards from Optimism Collective Grants. This announcement undoubtedly serves as a public endorsement of OP Stack technology and clarifies Uniswap's preference for OP Stack among various L2 Stacks development solutions (such as Arbitrum, zkSync, etc.).
The collaboration between the two not only indicates Uniswap's deep recognition of OP Stack's technological strength but also introduces a strong ally to Optimism's Superchain ecosystem. As of October 17, the number of L2 or L3 chains built on OP Stack has risen to 39, bringing over $40 million in revenue to Optimism.
Uniswap's involvement is undoubtedly a boon for Optimism. As a long-standing backbone in the DEX market, Uniswap's large user base and trading volume are likely to inject new vitality into Optimism's SuperChain ecosystem and open up new revenue growth opportunities.
2、Clone Version of "MicroStrategy" Enters in Bulk, Has BTC's "Lying Win Strategy" Been Confirmed?
Last week, after founder Michael Saylor announced that Microstrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) aims to become the leading "Bitcoin bank," MSTR surged nearly 16% last Friday, breaking through $212 (temporarily retreating to $194), with its market capitalization soaring to $43 billion, setting a new historical high.
Since Microstrategy began its Bitcoin investment strategy in August 2020, MSTR has increased by over 1600%, outperforming BTC and major tech stocks like Nvidia in the S&P 500.
Under regulatory pressure, Telegram's privacy promises have crumbled.
Telegram's rapid rise to become the world's fastest-growing communication platform, boasting 900 million monthly active users and attracting the crypto community, is largely due to its strong stance on privacy protection, freedom of speech, and anti-censorship.
However, following the arrest of founder Pavel Durov in France, Telegram's privacy policy underwent a significant change.
Telegram first quietly updated its FAQ, removing the statement, "All Telegram chats and group chats are private conversations between participants. We do not process any requests related to them."
Pavel Durov soon announced on Telegram that user IP addresses and phone numbers would be shared with relevant regulatory authorities. Recently, the Wallet application on Telegram has also begun supporting law enforcement evidence collection.
Telegram's compromise has once again raised user concerns about privacy security. Especially for crypto users, who deal with a large amount of personal information and financial data, Telegram's decision to share user data with regulators inevitably increases the risks of transactions.
This move by Telegram may force a large number of privacy-conscious users to "flee," seeking instant messaging platforms that achieve anti-censorship and communication freedom from the ground up, without relying on the founder's promises.
4、Ether.Fi Founder Reveals: The Top Ten Chaos in Crypto VC
You meet with a partner or assistant, and the meeting goes smoothly, but they arrange another meeting with another partner, who has no idea who you are, hasn't received any relevant briefing, and hasn't read the notes. Thus, you experience another first meeting. If this happens three times or more, it becomes even more "exciting."
5、Interview with Sui Co-Founder Adeniyi: What Have We Done to Improve User and Developer Experience?
This article is an interview by Grayscale with Sui co-founder Adeniyi Abiodun. Adeniyi Abiodun is the co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Sui/Mysten Labs. Before founding Mysten Labs, Adeniyi led many R&D initiatives at Meta in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space, including the Diem (formerly Libra) network and the Move programming language. In the interview, Adeniyi elaborates on the advantages of the Sui network and some practical application scenarios, discusses Sui's innovative applications for users and developers, and outlines the future development direction of Sui. Below is the full dialogue:
On October 13, the closing price of the SUI token broke through $2.2, setting a new all-time high, with its market capitalization entering the top 20, and the upward trend continues, with the price surpassing $2.3 on October 14, marking an increase of over 30% in the past two days. Recent monitoring data from traders shows that the performance of the SUI token has surpassed that of TON, making it the best-performing public chain token since early 2024.
At the same time, several ecological meme project tokens, such as HIPPO, BLUB, and FUD, have also surged, with increases exceeding tenfold. Additionally, two major DeFi applications within the ecosystem: the lending protocol NAVI Protocol and the order book exchange DeepBook, will officially start token trading on October 14.
The strong performance of Sui tokens and ecosystem projects has attracted significant attention in the crypto market, with a large influx of funds into the Sui ecosystem seeking wealth opportunities. According to Cointelegraph, nearly 27% of funds that flowed out of Solana in September have shifted to Sui.
According to DeFiLlama data, the trading volume of funds on the Sui chain in the past seven days has exceeded $1.32 billion, ranking sixth in the entire public chain market, with Arbitrum in fifth place.
How to seize new wealth opportunities in the rise of the Sui chain ecosystem has become a hot topic in the crypto community.
7、On the Eve of Airdrop, Deep Dive into How Many Points Scroll Team Addresses Have?
Scroll is about to officially take an airdrop snapshot tomorrow and will open airdrop claims on October 22. On the eve of the airdrop, on-chain analyst Andrew 10 GWEI published a deep dive into the points (marks) situation of several co-founders and team members of Scroll, showing that multiple addresses associated with the Scroll team have generally accumulated tens of thousands or even millions of points.
In this regard, several community members have called for fairness, urging that addresses holding large amounts of points should be excluded from the airdrop. As of the publication of this article, the Scroll team members have not responded to Andrew 10 GWEI's investigation.
Since its launch, EigenLayer has faced continuous controversy. Initially, it "hired" Ethereum Foundation researchers with high salaries, followed by token ownership disputes.
9、Beyond Memecoins, Why You Should Pay Attention to Undervalued Liquid Tokens?
The argument for liquid tokens is simple: I believe there are huge opportunities (alpha) in the liquid token investment space, while the VC token investment space has become oversaturated.
Many great companies are building in the cryptocurrency space, and they all have their own tokens, but the pricing is not reasonable.
The main driving force behind valuations in 2021 was the depiction of dreams. I believe that after 2024, valuations will come from the realization of these dreams.
10、"Network State" Project Praxis Raises $525 Million, Blockchain Utopia Still Faces Many Challenges
On October 15, the project Praxis, claiming to be the world's first "network state," announced it has raised $525 million.
Of the $525 million raised, $500 million comes from GEM Digital, and the remaining $25 million comes from Arch Lending. However, this amount has not all been received; the project needs to transfer some powers and achieve goals at each stage to receive the full amount.
The Praxis project was founded in 2020, during the peak of the metaverse concept. Praxis, in contrast, aims to establish a "nation" or "city" in the real world through the concept of a network state. Will such a utopian practice succeed?
