Weekly Report | MicroStrategy increases its holdings by approximately $2.03 billion with 27,200 BTC; the official X account of the Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E) led by Musk is now online
xAI, owned by Musk, has completed a $5 billion financing; the global Bitcoin ETF holdings have surpassed Satoshi Nakamoto; Powell: The Federal Reserve may implement more rate cuts, and the policy will gradually shift to a more neutral level.Organizer: Luan Peng, ChainCatcher
"What Important Events Happened This Week (11.11-11.17)"
1、「DeInsight 2024」 Bangkok Annual Summit Has Begun
The "DeInsight 2024" annual summit, hosted by ChainCatcher and RootData during the Bangkok Devcon, has commenced at the Hotel Nikko Bangkok. The number of registered attendees has surpassed 2,000, and the conference aims to gather elite individuals in the Web3 field to exchange insights about the industry.
As one of the organizers, RootData will also unveil the RootData List 2024 annual heavyweight rankings at the conference. This list is the second annual selection launched by the Web3 data platform RootData following its first release in 2023, aiming to showcase influential and innovative key players in the Web3 space and assess the critical forces driving industry progress.
2、FTX Sues Binance, Zhao Changpeng Faces $1.8 Billion Recovery Demand
FTX has sued Binance, with former CEO Zhao Changpeng facing a $1.8 billion recovery demand. In the filing, the plaintiffs claim that Binance, its former CEO Zhao Changpeng, and other Binance executives obtained at least $1.76 billion worth of cryptocurrency through fraudulent transfers from FTX.
The transaction was part of a buyback agreement reached between Binance and FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried in July 2021, who is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence. In that transfer, Bankman-Fried sold approximately 20% of FTX's international business and 18.4% of its U.S. entity, West Realm Shires Services (operating under the name FTX US).
Puffpaw founder Reffo, MTT Sports co-founder Joe, SoSoValue co-founder Jess Lo, CMT Digital researcher Oliver Jaros, and Ether.fi ecosystem head Charles Mountain attended the DeInsight conference and engaged in an in-depth discussion on hot topics such as the evaluation system for killer applications and key tracks in a roundtable titled "Building Killer Applications."
The guests had diverse backgrounds and varied understandings of killer applications. Oliver emphasized the importance of PMF (Product-Market Fit) and GPEN (Global Payment Network). Jess believed meme coins are the most eye-catching applications of this cycle, while Joe from MTT Sports argued that a smooth user experience and security are the most important qualities of an application. Reffo considered positive interaction with consumers to be paramount. Charles stated, "Typically, the killer applications in my mind are those with meta-definitions; more specifically, they can address retention, not just growth."
When comparing Web2 and Web3, the guests noted that both are community-based and need to find core users to understand their pain points and needs. However, there are stark differences in the monetization of user behavior and marketing investments between the two.
Regarding the impact of elections on Web3 applications, the guests mentioned that the market fluctuations caused by Trump's election have drawn attention, with many founders returning to the U.S., potentially leading to more crypto conferences in the future. Under the spotlight, the biggest killer application is the election prediction platform.
Finally, the guests forecast that the most likely tracks for killer applications include payment and stablecoins that integrate on-chain and off-chain, which could attract more users from emerging countries.
4、RootData List 2024 Annual Rankings Officially Announced
During the "DeInsight 2024" annual summit held at Bangkok Devcon, Hunter, co-founder of the Web3 data platform RootData, officially announced the RootData List 2024 annual rankings.
This list is the second annual selection launched by RootData following its first release in 2023, aiming to showcase influential and innovative key players in the Web3 space and assess the critical forces driving industry progress. RootData is committed to demonstrating the core forces and trend characteristics of industry development through rigorous data analysis.
The statistics for this list cover the period from October 31, 2023, to October 31, 2024, and five rankings have been released: Top 50 Projects (completed TGE), Top 50 Projects (not yet TGE), Crypto VC Top 50 Investment Institutions, Top 10 Angel Investors, and Top 20 Best CEOs. The specific rankings are as follows:
5、MicroStrategy Increases Holdings by Approximately $2.03 Billion, Acquiring 27,200 BTC
MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor announced on social media that MicroStrategy has increased its holdings by approximately $2.03 billion, acquiring 27,200 BTC. The company now holds a total of 279,420 bitcoins, with a year-to-date return of 26.4%.
According to the Wen Wei Po, the Hong Kong police released data on online investment fraud cases for the first nine months of 2024. A total of 3,468 cases were reported, involving approximately HKD 2.2 billion, with 35% related to virtual assets. Although this is a decrease compared to the same period last year, the number of cases in October surged by 24% month-on-month, indicating a rebound trend.
The largest single loss came from a virtual asset fraud case, where a female executive of a cryptocurrency company was defrauded of HKD 78.47 million. The police reminded that nearly 60% of victims first encountered the fraudsters through instant messaging software, and 40% of victims were aged between 40 and 59.
From January to October 2023, there were 5,017 investment fraud cases, involving approximately HKD 4.93 billion. In September of this year, 312 cases occurred, involving HKD 187 million; in October, the number increased to 380 cases, involving HKD 248 million, showing an upward trend. The police urged investors to remain vigilant against virtual asset investment traps.
7、Ethereum Developer Proposes Native Token-Related Proposal EIP-7809
Ethereum developer Paul Berg has released a proposal regarding multiple native tokens on Ethereum, aiming to improve the user experience when transferring tokens, make native financial products easier to deploy, and enhance the innovative potential of Ethereum L2 applications.
The proposal, named EIP-7809, suggests adding a backward-compatible extension to the EVM, which, if approved through Ethereum's new proposal process, would allow fungible tokens to operate with "native-like" properties.
ETH has been operating as Ethereum's native token, while almost all other Ethereum-based tokens are built on the network but do not possess most of the same "native" characteristics as ETH. This limits functionalities such as direct token transfers using opcodes and transferring multiple tokens in a single contract call. EIP-7809 introduces four new opcodes:
- MINT & BURN, allowing token supply management through minting and burning;
- BALANCEOF for checking token balances;
- NTCALL for token transfers that require contract calls;
- NTCREATE for creating contracts with upfront token deposits.
According to The Block, Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake proposed a new consensus layer upgrade proposal "Beam Chain" at the Devcon conference, referred to as "Ethereum 3.0" by the community. The proposal aims to achieve faster block times, lower validator staking requirements, "chain snarkification," and quantum-safe improvements. The core of Beam Chain is to introduce technologies like zkVM to significantly enhance the scalability of the Ethereum mainnet, potentially without relying on Layer 2 solutions.
Doug Colkitt, founder of Ambient Finance, stated that the localization of zkEVM could completely eliminate gas limits, allowing nodes to only verify snarks, theoretically achieving infinite scalability for L1. However, this proposal may lead to further centralization in block construction.
Drake emphasized that the final implementation of Beam Chain requires community consensus and described it as his "most ambitious proposal to date." He previously resigned from his advisory position due to potential conflicts of interest with EigenLayer.
9、Global Bitcoin ETF Holdings Exceed Satoshi Nakamoto
According to Trader T's monitoring, the total holdings of Bitcoin ETFs globally have now surpassed the holdings in Satoshi Nakamoto's wallet address.
10、Trump Family Project WLFI: Token Sale Participants Can Now Add WLFI Tokens to Their Wallets
The Trump family crypto project WLFI (World Livity Financial) announced on social media that WLFI token sale participants can now add WLFI tokens to their wallets.
11、Russia Approves Cryptocurrency Tax Framework, Miners Implement Two-Stage Taxation System
According to Forbes, the Russian government's legislative activity committee advanced a cryptocurrency tax bill on November 11, 2024. The bill defines cryptocurrency as property and establishes different tax requirements for individual and corporate miners. Under the new regulations, businesses must register with the Federal Tax Service to legally conduct mining operations, while individuals with monthly electricity consumption below 6,000 kWh are exempt from registration.
The new framework adopts a two-stage taxation model: the first stage taxes when cryptocurrency is received, with the tax base calculated based on the closing price on major exchanges; the second stage taxes upon sale, with additional taxes if the sale price exceeds the initial taxable value. Starting in 2024, individual traders and miners with annual income exceeding 2.4 million rubles will be taxed at a progressive rate of 13% to 22%, while corporate tax rates will increase to 25% in 2025.
According to the Industrial Mining Association, these tax measures could generate 50 billion rubles (approximately $521 million) in revenue for the budget each year.
12、Musk: It Feels Amazing to Hear Traditional Media Say "DOGE" in the News
In response to investor Melissa Chen's post stating, "I laughed so hard when I heard serious reporters from The Wall Street Journal say DOGE in serious news; I can hardly believe it all started from a meme," Musk replied, "That's amazing."
13、Musk-Led Government Efficiency Department (D.O.G.E) Official X Account Launched
According to relevant page information, the official X account of the Government Efficiency Department (D.O.G.E), led by Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, has been launched.
Notably, the account's handle is "@DOGE."
14、Gary Gensler Issues Statement Suggesting He May Leave the SEC
According to market news, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler issued a statement suggesting he may leave the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
15、Powell: The Fed May Implement More Rate Cuts, Policy Will Gradually Shift to a More Neutral Level
Federal Reserve Chairman Powell stated that interest rates are expected to decline further, but he hinted that rates may not drop as much in the coming months. Powell mentioned that the Fed may implement more rate cuts, as economic trends and dynamics are expected to remain unchanged at least in the short term. This includes a slowdown in the job market and cooling inflation, while interest rates remain at restrictive levels, which could push unemployment higher. Powell stated, "Over time, we will shift policy to a more neutral level."
According to Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, attorneys general from 18 states in the U.S. have filed a lawsuit against the SEC and its commissioners, accusing them of unconstitutional overreach and unjust "persecution" of the crypto industry under SEC Chairman Gary Gensler's leadership.
The lawsuit, signed by 18 Republican state attorneys general, details how the agency has conducted "severe government overreach" against the $3 trillion industry through enforcement actions, infringing on states' rights to regulate their economies.
The 18 Republican state attorneys general are asking the court to declare that "digital asset transactions are not investment contracts" and to issue an order preventing the SEC from bringing future charges against "digital asset platforms that fail to register as exchanges, dealers, brokers, or clearing agencies." According to the complaint, many states have already established their own regulatory frameworks for the crypto industry and encouraged its development.
According to Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, Nebraska and Kentucky are jointly leading a coalition of 18 states challenging the Biden-Harris administration's illegal and extensive regulation of cryptocurrencies. In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, state attorneys general and other parties accuse the SEC of exceeding its authority.
Despite the SEC and its chairman previously taking actions and making public statements, the agency has launched a regulatory offensive against crypto companies. The SEC has exceeded the authority granted by Congress, attempting to classify cryptocurrencies as investment contracts to bring them under SEC regulation.
In addition to Nebraska and Kentucky, the participating states include Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.
17、Insider: Musk's xAI Completes $5 Billion Financing
According to the Financial Times, Musk's SpaceX and xAI are set to achieve a multi-billion dollar valuation leap through a new deal. Insiders revealed that Musk's AI startup xAI has raised $5 billion, reaching a valuation of $45 billion, nearly double its valuation from a few months ago.
Insiders indicated that SpaceX is preparing to launch a tender offer in December, selling existing shares of the company at approximately $135 per share. This would push the rocket manufacturer's valuation above $250 billion.
18、On-Chain Token Trading Platform DEXX Suspected of Being Hacked, Funds of Multiple Users Transferred
The on-chain token trading platform DEXX is suspected of being hacked, with multiple users reporting that funds within the platform have been transferred, likely due to a private key leak. Currently, DEXX has not responded to this matter.
According to community feedback, users are advised to transfer all tokens to a new on-chain wallet as soon as possible and are recommended not to exchange for SOL, as doing so would result in immediate transfer of funds.
Yu Xian, founder of Slow Mist, posted an update on the DEXX incident on social media, stating that Slow Mist has received nearly 500 requests related to the DEXX theft, and the incident analysis is still ongoing. The initial assessment indicates losses in the tens of millions (due to significant price fluctuations of some meme coins), with almost every victim corresponding to a different attacker address, indicating that the attackers had planned this incident for a long time. The source of gas was exchanged three days ago through XMR.
20、Bitcoin Official X Account Releases "Coke Cup" Promotional Image
The official Bitcoin X account @Bitcoin released a promotional image suspected to be AI-generated, featuring a cup of ice-cold Coke with the Bitcoin logo printed on it, and a prompt to follow the official Bitcoin X account in the lower right corner.
"What Exciting Articles Are Worth Reading This Week (11.11-11.17)"
1、ME Token TGE Approaches, Magic Eden's Leap from NFT Market to One-Stop Crypto Asset Trading Platform
"The economic model of the ME token will be announced on November 18." This was the latest update revealed by Magic Eden CEO Jack Lu during a live broadcast on November 8. This news undoubtedly brings long-awaited hope to the crypto community, marking the imminent realization of Magic Eden's token issuance aspirations.
In the TestME application testing event that ended on November 1, the ME token attracted over 400,000 wallet addresses to actively participate in the claiming process within just three days. This event served as a crucial technical validation before the ME token issuance, and its successful completion indicates that the TGE (official issuance) of the ME token is not far off.
As the ME token issuance date approaches, every progress update from Magic Eden not only captures the attention of the crypto community but also prompts a reevaluation of the platform's value and its future development potential.
Magic Eden has transformed from a single NFT trading platform into a comprehensive ecosystem that integrates various functions, including wallet services, NFT trading, token trading, and cross-chain bridging. This stunning transformation is impressive.
Soon, users will be able to easily trade all types of assets on-chain within the Magic Eden DApp, with its rich product features rivaling those of a "decentralized Binance/Coinbase."
2、Highlights from the DeInsight 2024 Annual Summit
On November 11, the "DeInsight 2024" annual summit was successfully held at the Hotel Nikko Bangkok, co-hosted by ChainCatcher and RootData, with SoSo Value as a co-organizer. The event lasted a full day, featuring a schedule of keynote speeches, roundtable discussions, networking receptions, and exhibition area exchanges, providing a high-quality venue for thousands of Web3 partners to exchange industry insights. Among the hundreds of meetings that kicked off during Thailand's Devcon, the DeInsight annual summit became one of the largest peripheral events in terms of participation.
3、Was It Insider Theft or Hacking? Tracking the DEXX Theft Incident
On November 16, user assets on the on-chain trading terminal DEXX were stolen, with multiple meme coins experiencing significant sell-offs early this morning. Currently, security companies have not determined the exact amount stolen, but community rumors suggest that the losses may exceed $16 million.
DEXX founder Roy stated this morning that he would compensate users for their losses. As of now, multiple users have reported that their account assets have been isolated to secure addresses.
4、CZ and Vitalik Together Call for Action, Crypto Hot Money Flows into DeSci
In the past week, DeSci has suddenly become a hot topic of discussion again. Following Binance Labs' announcement of investment in BIO Protocol, tokens in the DeSci field such as VITA, GROW, and RSC have all seen significant increases, maintaining strong performance even during the recent market correction. The previously low-profile BIO Genesis event was also quickly filled, and even the pump experiment platform previously launched by the BIO team has been "revived." It seems that all the crypto hot money is now flowing into DeSci.
5、Who Will Trump Appoint as SEC Chairman? What Pro-Crypto Policies Will He Implement?
Under Trump's leadership, heads of the SEC and other agencies will have the authority to decide whether cryptocurrencies will become a larger and more formal part of the financial system. This choice has significant implications for the global economy, and the risks are high, as evidenced by the catastrophic ripple effects following the collapse of crypto giant FTX in 2022.
Millions of people have traded trillions of dollars through stablecoins, yet the definition and understanding of this category remain vague.
Stablecoins serve as a medium of value storage and exchange, typically pegged to the U.S. dollar, but not necessarily so. They can be categorized along two dimensions: from under-collateralized to over-collateralized, and from centralized to decentralized. This classification helps to understand the relationship between technology structure and risk and dispel misconceptions about stablecoins. I will propose another beneficial way of thinking based on this framework.
To understand the richness and limitations of stablecoin design, we can draw on the history of banking: which methods were effective, which were not, and why. Like many products in the crypto space, stablecoins may quickly replicate banking history, starting from simple paper money and gradually expanding the money supply through complex lending mechanisms.
First, I will discuss the recent history of stablecoins, then take you back through banking history to make a beneficial comparison between stablecoins and banking structures. Stablecoins provide users with experiences similar to bank deposits and paper money—convenient and reliable value storage, exchange mediums, and loans—but in a non-custodial "self-custody" form. In this process, I will evaluate three types of tokens: fiat-backed stablecoins, asset-backed stablecoins, and strategy-backed synthetic dollars.
Let's delve deeper into this topic.
7、Getting Close to Tech Mavericks and Rebellious Politicians: The Alternative Duo of Musk and Trump
On October 17, the 53-year-old "tech maverick," known as the "Iron Man of Silicon Valley," Musk, appeared as scheduled in the small town of Folsom, Pennsylvania.
This is a quiet town with a population of less than 9,000, where residents rarely discuss their political leanings publicly, and political slogans are scarce. Like countless ordinary American towns, the people here are not particularly interested in "who will be the ultimate winner of the presidential election," at least on the surface.
With nearly 20 days left until the U.S. election, Musk embarked on his "campaigning tour" to ensure that his supported Republican presidential candidate, Trump, could return to the White House—this was the first stop on his nationwide speaking tour, with the first speech taking place at the town hall in Folsom. Although this was originally a closed-door speech (Note: Participants were reportedly required to be registered voters in Pennsylvania and sign a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments), the unconventional Musk chose to simultaneously launch a Space live stream on X (formerly Twitter) and stated, "I will answer as many questions as possible from both the offline audience and the online audience."
At that time, he was unsure whether Trump would ultimately secure the position of the 47th president of the United States, but his consistent life philosophy and style told him: This is a war without gunpowder; we can only move forward, not backward.
As for why he chose Pennsylvania as his first stop, it is not only because Trump faced an armed attack at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last July, nor simply because it is the state where Trump attended the Wharton School and Musk attended the University of Pennsylvania. More importantly, Pennsylvania is "the most critical part of the seven key swing states in the presidential election"—holding 19 electoral votes out of the 270 needed for victory, making it a "battleground" in this "donkey vs. elephant" war.
As Musk stated, "I believe Pennsylvania is the key to this election. I think this election will determine our future and the fate of America and Western civilization, not just who will be president for the next four years, but what the world will look like. Pennsylvania is extremely, extremely, extremely important for the future of the world."
From the day he chose to bet on Trump, no, even earlier, before completing the acquisition of Twitter in October 2022, Musk had been preparing for this day. Faced with an America gradually sliding into the abyss of liberalism and thousands of American people, he must rally for Trump and fight for a future for himself. Otherwise, what awaits him will be the "arrangements" that the "enemies" have long plotted—disgrace and even irreparable ruin.
He has no choice but to go ALL IN, betting his entire fortune, life, and reputation.
8、From Euthanasia to Saving America: The Past and Present of Internet Celebrity Squirrel Peanut
Around 9 AM Beijing time on November 14, the market showed that PNUT (Peanut the Squirrel) briefly broke through $2.50, reporting $2.4158, continuing to set a new historical high with a 24-hour increase of 422.3%.
This is not the first time PNUT has drawn attention with its surge. Around 8 PM on November 13, PNUT briefly broke through $1.50, reporting $1.515, with a 24-hour increase of 247.41%; on November 11, influenced by Binance's announcement to list Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT), PNUT briefly reached $0.28, with a 141.15% increase within an hour.
But the story of the squirrel goes far beyond the rise and fall of a meme coin; it is associated with too many labels—U.S. elections, Trump, Musk, euthanasia… More stories need to be told from before the U.S. elections.
In Base's application activities, the DeFi category performed outstandingly, with address activity soaring from 143,600 in Q2 2024 to 405,700 in Q3.
10、Bloomberg: "Oligarch" Musk's New Ventures
Musk bets on the Trump administration just as he once bet on Twitter.
