Trump will return to the assassination site Meta launches new virtual reality device

Headline

▌Trump will return to the site of the "attempted assassination" on October 5 and hold a campaign rally

The campaign team of former US President and Republican presidential candidate Trump said on September 25 local time that Trump will return to Butler, Pennsylvania on October 5 to hold another campaign rally. Since Trump encountered the first "attempted assassination" at his campaign rally in Butler on July 13, he has said several times that he will return to Butler for another rally.

▌Meta launches new virtual reality headset and enters the metaverse

Meta launched a series of new products at an event at its headquarters in Menlo Park, California on Wednesday, including an updated, low-cost Quest 3S virtual reality headset and a series of enhancements to its artificial intelligence assistant Meta AI.  

The updates will bring a slew of celebrity voices to the company’s AI assistant — including Awkwafina, John Cena and Dame Judi Dench — that will respond to users’ questions. The assistant is integrated into most of Meta’s mainstream apps, including Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Facebook.  

The new products are Zuckerberg’s attempt to marry his vision for the social network with what’s possible with today’s technology. While Meta has had some success selling virtual reality headsets and its Ray-Ban augmented reality glasses have been a surprise hit, Zuckerberg’s vision of the metaverse is still years away.  

Meta has invested nearly $50 billion in its Reality Labs division, the part of the company that does hardware, over the past few years. The division won’t be profitable anytime soon. Plus, Meta’s expansion into AI and data centers is becoming increasingly expensive.

Market

As of press time, according to Coingecko data:

BTC's latest transaction price is $63,098.57, with a daily increase or decrease of -1.7%;

ETH's latest transaction price is $2,579.44, with a daily increase or decrease of -2.7%;

BNB's latest transaction price is $587.31, with a daily increase or decrease of -3.0%;

SOL's latest transaction price is $148.15, with a daily increase or decrease of -2.8%；

DOGE's latest transaction price is 0.1086 yuan, with a daily increase or decrease of -0.9%；

XPR's latest transaction price is 0.5831 US dollars, with a daily increase or decrease of -1.3%.

Policy

▌Harris says U.S. should be a leading player in blockchain, reiterates support for digital assets

U.S. Vice President Harris said in a speech to the Economic Club of Pittsburgh on Wednesday that under her leadership, the United States will "recommit" to maintaining global leadership in areas that will define the next century, "maintaining dominance in artificial intelligence and quantum computing, blockchain and other emerging technologies."  

Until last weekend, Harris had remained silent on cryptocurrencies on the campaign trail. At a recent Wall Street fundraiser in Manhattan, Harris said artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies are part of her vision for an "opportunity economy."  

The outcome of the November election could be a mixed bag for cryptocurrencies, according to VanEck analysts. "We believe that while Harris and Trump are bullish on Bitcoin, both parties have had more nuanced impacts on the broader digital asset market," the analysts wrote earlier this week. "Both administrations are likely to maintain, if not accelerate, fiscal spending, which could lead to further quantitative easing - especially if anti-business policies intensify." They noted that a Harris presidency could be more favorable for Bitcoin because it would "accelerate many of the structural issues driving Bitcoin adoption."

▌South Korea Establishes Digital Asset Protection Fund to Assist in Recovering User Funds of Failed Crypto Exchanges

South Korea will establish a digital asset user protection fund to help users affected by failed crypto exchanges recover trapped funds. The fund, initiated by self-regulatory organization DAXA and approved by South Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC), is scheduled to launch in October. With 10 of South Korea's 22 crypto exchanges closed and another three suspended, the safety of user funds has become a focus. The fund will negotiate with failed exchanges to transfer user funds and virtual assets to bank accounts managed by the fund, and then contact users to arrange the return process.

▌Former US officials protest in front of the United Nations, calling for the release of Binance executives detained in Nigeria

A group of former US government employees and compliance officials who now work in the cryptocurrency industry held a protest in front of the United Nations in support of Tigran Gambaryan, Binance's head of financial crime compliance, who has been detained in Nigeria since February. Gambaryan was tried for suspected money laundering and was detained in the notorious Kuje prison, where his health deteriorated. Former federal prosecutor Amanda Wick, who organized the protest, emphasized that Gambaryan had worked for the US government as an IRS criminal investigator.

▌The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that it has fined 23 entities and individuals more than $3.8 million for failing to report their holdings and insider trading in a timely manner. The charges involve Forms 13D, 13G, and Forms 3, 4, and 5 that were not submitted as required.  

The companies fined include Alphabet (fined $750,000) and Goldman Sachs (fined $300,000). Other companies, such as Sunbeam Management and TALANTA Investment Group, received fines ranging from $40,000 to $200,000. At the same time, some executives were also fined up to $200,000 for failing to report in a timely manner.  

The SEC stressed that investors rely on timely reports to make wise investment decisions, and this move once again reminds large investors to submit required reports on time.

▌Judge supports SEC's allegation that Green Boxes constitute securities

Ann Marie McIff Allen, U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Utah, said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adequately charged that Green Boxes, combined with the custody agreement, constitute securities. This case is different from an investigation into whether digital assets and their transactions meet the investment contract test.  

Green United LLC failed to convince a federal court to dismiss the SEC's civil fraud lawsuit against it. The SEC filed a lawsuit in March 2023, accusing Green United founder Wright Thurston and his promoters of offering $3,000 "Green Boxes" investments, claiming that these crypto miners were able to mine GREEN tokens on the fictitious Green blockchain, and investors were promised a substantial return of 40% to 50%.  

However, the SEC pointed out that Green United's miners never mined GREEN tokens because the tokens were not mineable and the so-called Green blockchain did not exist. The SEC believes that Green United's real intention is to deceive investors into buying counterfeit S9 Antminers. Although investors effectively purchased the equipment, they did not receive the expected token returns.

▌Telegram wallet temporarily blocks access to UK users due to reorganization

Telegram announced that due to the company's reorganization, the Telegram wallet of British users will be temporarily restricted until the company is registered as a crypto asset provider with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Users can still withdraw funds to external wallets for free during this period.  

Telegram said that registering as a crypto asset provider is to comply with current regulations. At the same time, the platform decided to share user data, including phone numbers and IP addresses, with law enforcement agencies under "valid legal requests" after the policy change, which has aroused concerns among privacy and anti-censorship advocates. Telegram founder Pavel Durov defended that these measures are intended to protect users from criminal activities.  

In addition, Telegram also announced that it would disable the personal geolocation feature in favor of a "Nearby Businesses" option, and stop supporting the "Telegraph" blogging tool because some users abused the platform to spread illegal content. Durov stressed that most users did not take advantage of this feature, but a small number of criminals posed a threat to the law-abiding community.

▌German MP: Will distribute some Bitcoin beginner books in parliament

Joana Cotar, a member of the German Parliament, said she would distribute some Bitcoin beginner books in parliament.

Blockchain Applications

▌LayerZero sees 433% surge in cross-chain activity after announcing its second airdrop

The cross-chain messaging protocol is experiencing a resurgence in cross-chain messaging after announcing its second airdrop, with the average daily message volume rising to 98,000 on Saturday.  

The recent surge is a 433% increase from the previous low of 18,400 messages, indicating renewed interest in the protocol. The protocol has had a sluggish recent activity, with average daily messages hovering around 20,000 for weeks.  

The announcement of the second round of airdrops appears to be the catalyst for this sudden uptick in activity. Wallets that received ZRO tokens in the first round of airdrops but subsequently showed no activity will be excluded from this round of airdrops, incentivizing real users to continue to interact with the protocol.

▌NEAR Protocol: TruFin has launched its institutional-grade liquidity staking solution TruStake based on the network

NEAR Protocol posted on its social media that TruFin has launched its institutional-grade liquidity staking solution TruStake, which runs on the NEAR network.

Cryptocurrency

▌Curve considers removing TUSD as collateral for crvUSD as SEC charges raise concerns

Curve Finance is considering removing TrueUSD (TUSD) as collateral for its stablecoin crvUSD, as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed securities law violation charges against TrueCoin and TrustToken. The allegation alleges that 99% of TUSD's reserve funds are invested in high-risk offshore funds, raising concerns about its security and solvency.  

A proposal was made in Curve's governance forum to reduce crvUSD's TUSD collateral cap to zero and reduce its association with PayPal's stablecoin PYUSD to reduce associated risks. Currently, crvUSD's main collateral includes Ethereum (ETH) and Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC).

▌Financial institutions accelerate exploration of Bitcoin mortgages, and their growth is rapid

Ledn, a fintech company focusing on cryptocurrencies, said that as Bitcoin (BTC) adoption increases and interest rates fall, more and more financial institutions are beginning to try Bitcoin mortgages. In the first half of 2024, Ledn processed about $1.16 billion in cryptocurrency loans, most of which came from financial institutions, with an annual loan yield of more than 10%.  

The Bitcoin mortgage market is currently about $8.5 billion and is expected to increase to $45 billion by 2030. Ledn competes with other Bitcoin platforms such as Arch and Salt, and will face challenges from financial services giants such as Cantor Fitzgerald. The field is developing rapidly as more regulated cryptocurrency custodians enter the market.

▌Nansen Chief Research Analyst: It is recommended to cut cryptocurrency holdings when the market rebounds

Aurelie Barthere, chief research analyst at blockchain analysis company Nansen, said in a report that the Fed’s decision to cut interest rates is just "meeting market expectations" and that a lot of additional "benefits" have been reflected in riskier assets.  

Barthere analyzed: "It makes sense to keep a cryptocurrency allocation or participate in it because the Fed has just injected more vitality into this bull market. But a lot has been reflected in the prices of risky assets. Considering the asymmetric downside risks, the safer strategy is to cut crypto holdings when the market rebounds."

▌Frax Finance Partners with Re-Pledge Layer Karak to Introduce Native Re-Pledge and DSS

Frax Finance, a hybrid algorithmic stablecoin protocol, announced a partnership with re-pledge layer Karak to introduce native re-pledge functionality and DSS (decentralized security services) in the Frax Finance ecosystem, and natively support this feature on Fraxtal, accelerating the vision of universal verifiable finance.

▌Paypal is enabling US merchants to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies directly from their Paypal business accounts

Paypal said it is enabling US merchants to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies directly from their Paypal business accounts. At the time of the launch, this business account feature was not available in New York State, and the company also provided business accounts with the ability to transfer cryptocurrencies externally.

Important Economic Dynamics

▌Fed Survey: More and More Companies are Postponing Investment Plans Before the Dust Settles on the U.S. Election

More and more companies in the country are postponing major investments before the dust settles on the upcoming U.S. presidential election. The latest Chief Financial Officer (CFO) survey of financial professionals released by the Atlanta Federal Reserve, the Richmond Federal Reserve and Duke University's Fuqua School of Business on Wednesday showed that about 30% of companies have postponed, reduced or cancelled investment plans due to uncertainty about the election results, which is higher than the proportion of 28% in the previous quarter.

▌Fed Kugler: Strongly Support the Decision to Cut Interest Rates by 50 Basis Points

Federal Reserve Board Governor Kugler said today that she "strongly supports" the Fed's decision to cut interest rates by 50 basis points, which reflects its concern for the job market. "The job market remains resilient, but the FOMC now needs to balance its focus so that it can continue to make progress in eliminating inflation while avoiding unnecessary pain and economic weakness," Kugler said. "I strongly support last week's decision (to cut interest rates by 50 basis points), and if inflation continues to progress as I expect, I will support further rate cuts." Kugler expects inflation data released on Friday to show that price pressures continue to ease, with the PCE price index annual rate in August possibly as low as 2.2%. She said it is appropriate for the Fed to focus on the job market now, which has cooled but "remains resilient" and the unemployment rate of 4.2% "is still quite low by historical standards."

▌The probability of the Fed cutting interest rates by 25BP in November is 40.8%

According to CME's "Fed Watch", the probability of the Fed cutting interest rates by 25 basis points by November is 40.8%, and the probability of a 50 basis point cut is 59.2%. The probability of a cumulative rate cut of 50 basis points by December is 19.5%, the probability of a cumulative rate cut of 75 basis points is 49.6%; the probability of a cumulative rate cut of 100 basis points is 30.9%.

▌Federal Reserve Board Member Kugler: Considering the lag in policy, it is necessary to cut interest rates in advance

Federal Reserve Board Member Kugler said that the job market has cooled and does not want it to weaken further; it is reasonable to shift the focus to employment; it will still take some time to reduce the inflation rate to 2%; considering the lag in policy, it is necessary to cut interest rates in advance; the neutral interest rate is not the main factor in interest rate decisions.

Golden Encyclopedia

▌What is Algorithm of Thought (AoT)?

Algorithms of Thought (AoT) is a groundbreaking approach in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) that revolutionizes the way AI models think and reason. Developed by Microsoft Research, AoT introduces a new paradigm for large language models (LLMs) to enhance reasoning capabilities to solve complex problems. It aims to combine the best of both worlds: a nuanced, intuitive understanding of the human thought process with a structured, systematic algorithmic approach.

Disclaimer: As a blockchain information platform, Golden Finance publishes articles for informational purposes only and is not intended as actual investment advice. Please establish the correct investment philosophy and be sure to raise your risk awareness.