Grayscale Adds Staking to Ethereum and Solana Products, Becoming the First Staking ETFs. Crypto asset management firm Grayscale is adding staking functionality to its Ethereum and Solana products: the Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHE), the Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust ETF (ETH), and the Grayscale Solana Trust (GSOL). This move makes ETHE and ETH the first spot cryptocurrency ETPs listed in the United States to offer staking services, while GSOL also becomes one of the few ways for investors to stake Solana through a traditional brokerage account. Investors can now earn rewards simply by depositing these funds into a regular brokerage account.
▌Polymarket is online on the Bitcoin network and supports users to deposit using BTC
Prediction market platform Polymarket announced that it has officially launched on the Bitcoin network and began to support users to deposit using BTC.
Market
As of press time, according to Coingecko data:
BTC price is $124,666, up or down 0.5% in 24 hours;
ETH price is $4,676.96, up or down 3.3% in 24 hours;
BNB price is $1,210.26, up or down 2.7% in 24 hours;
-0.3%; the price of HYPE is $47.04, with a 24-hour increase or decrease of -3.1%.
Policy
▌The EU intends to give ESMA greater powers to comprehensively regulate cryptocurrencies and stock markets
According to market news, the European Commission is planning a comprehensive reform and plans to give the EU market regulator, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), direct supervision over stock exchanges, cryptocurrency companies and clearing houses. ESMA Chair Verena Ross stated that the move aims to address the long-standing fragmentation in EU financial markets and create more integrated and globally competitive capital markets. Currently, regulatory oversight of crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) rests primarily with member states under the MiCA framework, but ESMA considers this decentralized oversight inefficient and weakens consumer protection. However, the proposal has drawn opposition from smaller countries such as Luxembourg and Malta, who warn that centralized authority could harm their local financial sectors. Vietnam Limits Cryptocurrency Pilot Program to Five Licensed Exchanges Vietnam's Deputy Finance Minister announced at a government press conference on Monday that the number of licenses available for the cryptocurrency exchange pilot program will be capped at five. While some companies are preparing systems and engaging in preliminary discussions with officials, the Ministry of Finance has not yet received any formal applications. Industry experts have criticized the high capital requirements and regulatory uncertainty, warning that such policies favor large financial institutions at the expense of innovative fintech companies.
▌The US Senate failed to pass a bipartisan funding bill, extending the government shutdown
On October 6th, the US Senate voted on a Democratic-proposed funding bill aimed at ending the government shutdown. The bill ultimately failed with a 45-50 vote. Subsequently, the US Senate voted on a temporary funding bill proposed by the Republicans. The result also fell short of the passing threshold, and the bill was not passed. With the bill's rejection, the US government shutdown will continue. Ondo Finance has completed its acquisition of Oasis Pro, a broker-dealer licensed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The acquisition aims to boost Ondo's tokenized securities business, a move initially announced in July. Plume Network has received SEC approval to become a registered transfer agent for tokenized securities. Plume Network has received SEC approval to become a registered transfer agent for tokenized securities. As a registered transfer agent, Plume will manage digital securities and shareholder records directly on-chain and support interoperability with the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) clearing network. OpenAI and AMD announce multi-billion dollar chip deal OpenAI and chip design company AMD (AMD.O) have announced a multi-billion dollar partnership to develop artificial intelligence data centers that will run on AMD processors. Under the terms of the agreement, OpenAI has pledged to purchase AMD chips equivalent to 6 gigawatts of computing power, starting with the MI450 chip next year. OpenAI will purchase the chips directly or through its cloud computing partners. AMD's CEO said in an interview Sunday that the deal will generate tens of billions of dollars in new revenue for AMD over the next five years. The two companies did not disclose the expected total cost of the program, but AMD said it costs tens of billions of dollars per gigawatt of computing power. If OpenAI achieves certain deployment milestones, OpenAI will receive warrants for up to 160 million AMD shares, representing approximately 10% of the chip company, in phases at a price of 1 cent per share. Furthermore, AMD's stock price must rise for the warrants to be exercised.
▌Galaxy Digital launches fintech platform GalaxyOne, which includes cryptocurrency trading functions
Golden Finance reported that Galaxy Digital, led by billionaire Mike Novogratz, launched the fintech platform GalaxyOne to provide professional-grade financial products to individual investors in the United States. The platform can be used on iOS, Android and the web, integrating cryptocurrency trading, US stock investment and high-yield savings into an integrated digital experience. It is worth noting that GalaxyOne provides two main products for investors who want to earn interest. One of them is Galaxy Premium Yield, which is designed for qualified investors in the United States. Participants can obtain an annualized yield (APY) of up to 8.00% through notes issued by Galaxy Digital LP. Bee Maps secures $32 million in funding from Pantera Capital and others Bee Maps (formerly Hivemapper, Inc., now under the new brand name) has raised $32 million in funding to scale its Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN) mapping network. The funding round included participation from Pantera Capital, LDA Capital, Borderless Capital, and Ajna Capital. In conjunction with the funding, Bee Maps launched a new subscription-based “Bee Membership” to lower the barrier to entry for contributors.
Cryptocurrency
▌Bitcoin soars to a record high, options traders bet it will rise to $140,000
Bitcoin soared to a record high over the weekend, and options traders increased their bets, expecting the largest cryptocurrency to rise to $140,000. According to data from Deribit, a crypto derivatives exchange owned by Coinbase, open interest in short-term Bitcoin options contracts expiring at the end of the year is concentrated around this strike price for call options. Demand for put options also saw a modest increase as traders sought downside protection after the rally. "Notional open interest in Bitcoin futures and perpetual contracts is currently at a record high, despite a wave of 'buy to close' liquidations," said Greg Magadini, head of derivatives at Amberdata. "The market rally has been unexpected, and we haven't seen a peak yet, especially since many traders were short the market." Strategy Inc. co-founder and executive chairman Michael Saylor said Monday that the company saw a significant fair value gain of $3.9 billion on its Bitcoin holdings in the third quarter of this year. According to Saylor's latest update, the company holds 640,031 Bitcoins, purchased at an average price of less than $74,000 per coin. Based on Bitcoin's market price, these holdings were worth approximately $79 billion as of Sunday. Grayscale's two ETH spot ETFs have staked 32,000 ETH in the past nine hours. On-chain analyst Yu Jin stated that the ETH in US ETH spot ETFs is now allowed to be staked, which may be one of the reasons for ETH's recent rebound from $3,800 to $4,700. Grayscale's two ETH spot ETFs have staked 32,000 ETH in the past nine hours. They conducted a large-scale ETH distribution 20 days ago, with each address receiving 3,200 ETH. Last night's announcement confirmed that their managed ETFs can now be staked, and they then used 10 addresses to stake 32,000 ETH. Pantera Founder: Pantera's Blockchain Fund IV Has Seen an 850% Return on Solana Holdings. Dan Morehead, founder of Pantera Capital, revealed in a post that Pantera launched its fourth blockchain fund (Blockchain Fund IV) in 2021. The value of Solana held by Blockchain Fund IV has seen a return of 850% over the past four years, doubling three times. The first was from the FTX bankruptcy fund, which purchased Sol at a 50% discount to the then-current spot price (doubling its value by 2 times); the second was when Solana's spot price roughly doubled (1.1 times); and the third was from the Sol Treasury PIPE transaction (2.4 times). Combined with the 7% return from staking Sol, Blockchain Fund IV's Solana holdings have seen a return of 850%.
▌BitMine increased its holdings by 179,000 ETH last week
According to data from StrategyEthreserve, ETH treasury company BitMine increased its holdings by 179,000 ETH last week, worth approximately $824 million. BitMine currently holds a total of 2.83 million ETH, with a total value of approximately $12.96 billion.
▌Standard Chartered: It is expected that $1 trillion in emerging market bank deposits will flow into stablecoins by 2028
Standard Chartered Bank estimates that by the end of 2028, up to $1 trillion in emerging market bank deposits may flow into stablecoins. Historically, emerging markets have been hot spots for stablecoin applications, mainly due to the large number of unbanked populations in these regions. This trend could intensify even under the GENIUS Act, which imposes a zero return requirement on qualifying issuers, as return on capital is more important than the rate of return on capital.
Important Economic Developments
Federal Reserve President Schmid: Interest rates are "appropriately adjusted," but attention should be paid to inflation risks
Kansas City Fed President Schmid said on Monday he favors not cutting interest rates further, saying the Fed should remain mindful of the risk of excessive inflation as it navigates the dual risks of overly tight and overly accommodative policy. Schmid supported the Fed's decision to cut interest rates by 25 basis points in September, calling it appropriate risk management amid a cooling labor market. However, he noted that various indicators suggest the overall job market remains healthy, while inflation remains excessively high. Services inflation has stabilized at around 3.5% in recent months, well above the Fed's 2% inflation target. "A worrying sign is that the scope of price increases is also broadening," Schmid said, noting that as of August, nearly 80% of categories in official inflation statistics saw price increases, up from 70% at the beginning of the year. He added: "Overall, I expect the impact of tariffs on inflation to be relatively modest, but I view this as a sign that policy is appropriately calibrated, rather than a call for a significant cut in policy rates." Gold futures rose to $4,000 per ounce in New York, marking the first time in history that gold futures have hit $4,000 per ounce, surging over 50% this year. Spot gold was trading at $3,976.94 per ounce, also a record high. Trump: Progress Made on Government Shutdown Issues US President Trump: Progress Made on Government Shutdown Issues. According to CME's "Fed Watch," the probability of the Fed keeping interest rates unchanged in October is 5.9%, and the probability of a 25 basis point rate cut is 94.1%. The probability of the Fed keeping interest rates unchanged in December is 0.6%, with a cumulative probability of a 25 basis point rate cut of 15.5% and a cumulative probability of a 50 basis point rate cut of 83.9%. What is a multi-signature cold wallet? A cold wallet is a cryptocurrency storage method that is kept offline and disconnected from the internet. This setup makes it more difficult for hackers to access funds remotely. By keeping private keys offline, cold wallets reduce the risk of cyberattacks such as phishing or malware. Multi-signature technology requires multiple private keys to approve transactions, while single-signature wallets only require a single key. Think of it like a joint bank account, where any withdrawal requires approval from two or more signers. This additional layer of security means that even if a single key is compromised, an attacker cannot unilaterally transfer funds. Multi-signature cold wallets require multiple private keys from trusted parties to approve and authorize transactions, enhancing security by preventing a single point of failure.
Despite their security advantages, multi-signature wallets are not immune to attack. Hackers often exploit weaknesses in implementation, human behavior, or third-party services. To make multi-signature cold wallets more secure, use a higher signing threshold, implement multiple layers of authentication, and store keys in secure, geographically dispersed locations. Multi-signature cold wallets remain one of the best options for those looking to protect their cryptocurrency assets from theft and fraud. However, their complexity and potential vulnerabilities should not be overlooked, especially in the event of a supply chain attack.
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