Kamala Harris, the Vice President of the United States and a potential Democratic Party candidate for the upcoming election, will reportedly not be attending the Bitcoin Conference 2024, as confirmed by David Bailey, CEO of Bitcoin Magazine.

 

Disappointing But Not Unexpected

Bailey noted the decision is not unexpected, as the Biden administration is very much anti-crypto in general. David also previously hinted at the possibility of Harris, a potential Democratic presidential nominee, speaking at the event similar to her Republican counterpart, Donald Trump, describing it as an opportunity for the party to reconsider its stance on crypto.

The decision for Harris not to attend has sparked speculation about her possibly negative stance on crypto. Bailey himself seems to share this perspective and reaffirmed his support for Donald Trump, emphasizing the potential difficulties Harris might face addressing the community given current policies.

 

Stuck In The Past

Some like Adam Cochran criticize the crypto community for increasingly attacking Democrats, suggesting a need for bipartisan engagement to advance constructive crypto policies. Many in the community believe that the Democratic party is more interested in maintaining the status quo rather than pushing the envelope in terms of financial innovation.

While reports suggest Harris may reconsider her approach to crypto if elected in the upcoming presidential election following Joe Biden opting to drop out of the race, skepticism remains among stakeholders like Tyler Winklevoss and other notable names.

 

Toyota is investigating the potential of integrating Ethereum blockchain technology into its vehicles. The move comes right after the United States Securities And Exchange Commission recently approved several spot Ethereum ETF applications.

 

Creating A MOA

According to the announcement, Toyota intends to incorporate the Ethereum blockchain into its vehicles and is planning to create a Movement Oriented Account (MOA) using the ERC-4337 standard.

Toyota Blockchain Lab aims to develop an MOA (Mobility Oriented Account) based on Ethereum ERC-4337 to ensure the account's maintenance even if the private key is lost. The development of the MOA tool using the ERC-4337 standard is aimed at advancing towards fully autonomous driving in the future.

 

Exploring New Ways

Company representatives referred to such a blockchain account as a MOA (Mobility-Oriented Account). Based on the widely adopted Account Abstraction standard ERC-4337 in Ethereum, Toyota is actively exploring new ways on how to effectively design MOA. Toyota Blockchain Lab also expressed interest in receiving new proposals through the Ethereum community, including EIP-7702.

Ethereum remains a widely popular choice among car manufacturing companies because its blockchain technology offers robust security, transparency, and the ability to create decentralized applications. These features are appealing for integrating smart contracts and managing data securely across complex supply chains and vehicle ecosystems.

 

Coinbase has filed a motion against the United States Securities Exchange Commission, compelling the regulator to provide access to private emails linked to Gary Gensler amid their ongoing legal dispute.

 

Clarity Is Key

The move follows Coinbase recently communicating to Judge Katherine Polk Failla, indicating their intention to narrow the scope of their document request concerning the regulator after encountering resistance.

Initially seeking private communications by Gensler dating back to his tenure as SEC Chair, Coinbase now focuses specifically on documents related to any and all communications during when Gensler first started as Chair in 2021. The motion specifies a subpoena request pertaining to Gensler and his speeches about digital asset regulatory status and exchanges.

 

Crucial Significance

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, emphasized that these documents are crucial for their defense against allegations by the SEC regarding unauthorized trading of unregistered securities on their platform. The motion asserts that the SEC refusing to search beyond its Enforcement Division is unjustified, citing issues of relevance, burden, and privilege.

Coinbase is also seeking information about SEC staff conversations with other market participants and documents related to their 2021 public offering, which underwent a six-month SEC review. The motion underscores that the SEC did not conclude Coinbase was operating as an unregistered exchange, broker, or clearing agency nor identified tokens listed on their platform as securities.

 

Swan Bitcoin, a company specializing in Bitcoin investments, has decided against pursuing its initial plans to become publicly traded and is winding down its managed mining operations. CEO Cory Klippsten announced in a recent post that the company is scaling back its increased spending in its core financial services business. This includes reducing staff across various departments, although specific numbers were not disclosed.

 

Revised Expectations

Klippsten expressed regret over the necessity of letting go of some of the highly skilled employees who have worked at Swan Bitcoin for a long time, calling them some of the top Bitcoin experts globally. He emphasized his willingness to collaborate with them again in the future.

The decision to abandon its managed mining business and halt its IPO plans is reportedly due to revised expectations regarding revenue by mining operations in the near term. Swan Bitcoin had previously disclosed its development of a Bitcoin mining division starting mid-last year, alongside plans for a Series C funding round and a potential public offering within the next year.

 

Time To Adapt

Despite experiencing significant growth last year, including doubling its team and achieving over $125 million in annualized revenue, Swan Bitcoin faces challenges in the competitive mining landscape. Factors such as the recent Bitcoin halving, which reduced block rewards and heightened competition, as well as the popularity of spot Bitcoin ETFs diverting investor interest away, have contributed to this strategic shift.

To adapt, many mining companies are diversifying beyond traditional mining activities into areas like artificial intelligence and cloud computing, leveraging their existing infrastructure to remain profitable amidst evolving market conditions.

 

Cryptocurrencies held steady on Monday following the United States Securities And Exchange Commission (SEC) approving several spot Ethereum ETFs. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) saw a modest 1% dip, settling around $67,359.39, while ETH experienced a 1.55% decline, closing at $3,483.31. Meme coins like Dogecoin (DOGE) also slipped by 1.64%, trading at $0.1387.

 

Greed Dominates

Bitcoin traded within the $67,000 to $68,000 range, while Ethereum faced selling pressure post-ETF approvals. Notable market movements included a significant $30 million Ether transfer to Binance, raising concerns of potential market impacts.

Liquidations also totaled over $105 million in the past 24 hours, wiping out nearly $75 million in long positions. The Open Interest for Ether grew marginally by 0.25%, indicating new short positions amid price declines, while the Open Interest for Bitcoin fell 1.11%, reflecting reduced long positions.

The Cryptocurrency Fear & Greed Index rose to 71, indicating increased market greed. Top gainers over the past 24 hours included Helium (HNT), up 4.18% to $5.10, cat in a dogs world (MEW) rising 3.63% to $0.007637, and XRP (XRP) gaining 2.16% to $0.6076. The global cryptocurrency market now stands at $2.44 trillion, down 1.44% in the last day.

 

Stocks React

In stocks, the S&P 500 rose 1.08% to close at 5,564.41, its best performance since early June, with the Nasdaq Composite climbing 1.58% to 18,007.57, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 0.32% to reach 40,415.44. NVIDIA Corp. led the charge, gaining 4.76%. Major indices like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite had their largest weekly declines since April last week.

Lastly, traders are now anticipating a 91% chance of the Fed cutting interest rates at the upcoming FOMC meeting, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Analysts noted potential market pullbacks following the approval of spot Ether ETFs but advised buying on dips, citing bullish signals on longer time frames.

 

Elon Musk recently made headlines by changing his profile photo on social media to depict laser eyes, a widely recognized symbol within the Bitcoin community. This update coincided with flight data indicating his private jet had touched down in Tennessee, where the Bitcoin Conference was scheduled to take place.

 

Tracking His Movements

The news was initially reported by Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett, renowned for her coverage of cryptocurrency, and later confirmed by an Instagram account dedicated to tracking Musk and his aviation movements.

Historically, Musk has been proactive in managing his online presence, including taking steps to restrict Twitter accounts that track his movements. However, similar accounts on Instagram have continued to operate without interruption.

 

History Repeats Itself

Musk has had countless past interactions with the crypto community on social media which have included displaying Bitcoin-themed imagery and mentioning Bitcoin in his Twitter bio, although these references have since been removed over time. These actions have drawn significant attention by both cryptocurrency enthusiasts and the broader public, reflecting the ongoing influence that Elon has in the digital currency sphere.

Musk and his tweets have often caused significant price movements for the entire crypto market in the past, making him a central figure in the cryptocurrency community. His involvement has also sparked debates about the influence of prominent figures on decentralized currencies and their future adoption.

 

The U.S. political scene recently underwent seismic changes as President Joe Biden announced that he will no longer be competing in the 2024 election, conceding to his long-time rival Donald Trump. This significant development introduced new volatility into cryptocurrencies associated with Trump, who is seen favorably by some in the crypto community.

 

Selling Activity Spikes

MAGA Coin, linked to the Make America Great Again movement which was introduced by Trump years ago, experienced an 8% decline over the past 24 hours. Trading volume for this Ethereum-based token surged by 140%, reflecting intense selling activity. Meanwhile, a meme coin named after the former President, based on Solana, surged by 53% in the same period, accompanied by a 265% increase in trading volume.

The negative market response may stem due to Biden exiting the race, but it is worth noting that crypto speculators have been betting against Biden for a while, with odds of his withdrawal soaring on platforms like Polymarket even before the formal announcement.

 

Trump Continues To Gain Momentum

Trump-themed cryptocurrencies have seen strong rallies this year, buoyed by his supportive stance on the U.S. cryptocurrency industry. His advocacy has resonated with crypto enthusiasts, whether through promises to make the U.S. a crypto-friendly destination, his portrayal as a crypto president, or his acceptance of crypto donations.

With odds favoring Trump and his electoral prospects standing at 65% on Polymarket, the cryptocurrency market remains bullish on his potential return to office. The 2024 United States Presidential Election will be held on Tuesday, November 5th, later this year. Voters will elect a President and Vice President for a term of four years.

 

etherfuse raised $3.00M in Seed funding by North Island Ventures. Etherfuse is a blockchain infrastructure platform that launched Stablebond, a tokenized bond issuance product based on Solana.

 

 

Nirvana Labs decured $4.00M in Seed funding led by Castle Island Ventures. Nirvana Cloud is a Web3 optimized bare-metal cloud that is built to handle the most demanding web3 workloads.

 

 

ZKEX.com secured an undisclosed amount in Seed funding with support by Fenbushi Capital. ZKEX is a multi-chain order DEX that facilitates buying and selling crypto assets across multiple blockchains. It operates in a trust-minimized, non-custodial manner and leverages zero-knowledge proofs to ensure transaction security and reliability.

 

 

Truvius raised $3.20M in Pre-Seed funding with support by Galaxy. Truvius is a platform designed to support systematic and accessible investing in digital assets.

 

 

Zivoe secured an undisclosed amount of funding via Concave, showcasing strong investor interest. Zivoe is a real-world asset credit protocol aiming to disrupt predatory high-interest consumer lending by bringing yield from consumer loans on-chain.

 

 

Liquidium obtainerd $2.75M in Seed funding led by CMS Holdings, LLC. Liquidium is a platform for P2P Ordinals lending. It offers users the option to either lend or borrow Bitcoin, utilizing a special type of Bitcoin-based assets known as Ordinal Inscriptions as collateral.

 

 

Chainbase raised $15.00M in Series A funding with support by Tencent. Chainbase is a Web3 interaction layer infrastructure, providing APIs, node services, and data cloud solutions.

 

 

zkLink received strategic support by OKX Ventures, although the exact amount was undisclosed. zkLink is a trading-focused multi-chain L2 network with unified liquidity secured by ZK-Rollups.

 

 

Allium secured $16.50M in Series A funding through Theory VC. Allium provides a unified data platform for blockchain analytics teams to extract insights and monitor on-chain patterns in real time.

 

Bitcoin (BTC) has remained strong over the last 24 hours, achieving gains exceeding 5%. In a broader sense, the cryptocurrency market experienced a significant recovery yesterday after a sluggish start and notable declines.

Buyers intervened and propelled Bitcoin above $67K, with numerous altcoins also showing impressive returns. Remarkably, all of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by total market capitalization are in the green.

 

Bitcoin Reaches Above $67K

BTC hit a local daily high of $67,400 on Bitstamp but has since decreased to its current level of $66,600. Despite this, it remains a strong performance, and the bulls might be consolidating in preparation for a new rally toward the $70K mark.

When viewed on an hourly scale, the price appears to be on an upward trend, raising the question of whether it will reach $70K, the next significant level. Moreover, it is not just Bitcoin experiencing gains, as the entire market is showing strength. In fact, all large-cap altcoins have risen significantly. Notable performers include DOGE, which increased by approximately 7.3%, SOL by nearly 6%, AVAX by 5.4%, NEAR by over 6%, and various others. SEI and ORDI rose by 18.5% and 16.4%, respectively. Among meme coins, POPCAT and BONK performed best, increasing by 16% and 13.2%.

 

Other Markets

The 2024 Republican National Convention is a focal point amidst various economic developments. Investors are increasingly drawn to junk debt and industrial sectors under the influence of the Trump trade surge, while the tech sector faces pressure to deliver on earnings amidst a significant stock slump. Additionally, the US economy anticipates the release of Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index figures amid easing inflation, which could reassure the Federal Reserve.

Meanwhile, Ghana teeters on the brink of a debt default, and Nigeria celebrates the opening of the $21 billion Dangote Mega Oil Refinery, aiming for a daily output of 550,000 barrels. Across the Pacific, Xi Jinping is still trying to reclaim wasteland for agricultural use which underscores his efforts to bolster food security and reduce reliance on imports, reflecting broader global economic dynamics.

 

A recent incident resulted in widespread global disruption as a cybersecurity software update by CrowdStrike encountered several unexpected bugs that caused issues across various industries including banks, airports, and media outlets.

The update led to widespread failures in Windows operating systems, resulting in the infamous blue screen of death. CrowdStrike has reassured that the outages were not due to a cyberattack and has implemented a fix to mitigate the issue. Despite the significant impact, the cryptocurrency sector appears to have remained unaffected.

 

Damage Control

CrowdStrike, a cloud-based cybersecurity platform aimed at preventing viruses and hacker attacks, faced system collapses for many users due to its latest update. However, leading companies in the crypto industry, such as Binance, Worldcoin, Tools for Humanity, and the Algorand Foundation, confirmed that their operations continued smoothly. Kraken also reported no disruptions because of the CrowdStrike service issue.

CrowdStrike is actively assisting affected customers due to a flaw found in a single update for Windows hosts, while Mac and Linux systems are unaffected. The incident is not attributed to a security breach or cyberattack. The problem has been identified, isolated, and a fix has been deployed.

 

Crypto Firms Remained Unaffected

The crypto industry demonstrated resilience during the disruption. For instance, the meme coin platform Pumpfun, operating on the Solana blockchain, highlighted its continued functionality while the London Stock Exchange faced issues. Bitcoin (BTC) and its decentralized structure was praised for contributing to its stability throughout the disruption.

While crypto platforms remained stable, it is important to note that the Solana blockchain has experienced past outages. Protos, the source of the report, is currently contacting various cryptocurrency entities to assess the impact of the CrowdStrike outage. Companies like Coinbase, Solana, and Bitfinex have yet to provide comments.

 

The Shiba Inu (SHIB) team has responded to the WazirX hack, where a substantial amount of SHIB tokens were stolen, urging holders to stay resilient and highlighting the necessity for enhanced security measures.

 

Dealing With The Loss

Shiba Inu is a popular cryptocurrency featuring a dog-themed motif, whereas WazirX is a prominent Indian crypto exchange. Trillions of SHIB tokens were reportedly taken, resulting in considerable financial losses. Lucie, the Marketing Head at Shiba Inu, extended sympathies to those affected by the hack, which resulted in millions of dollars being seized.

Cryptocurrency hacking has seen a rise in recent years, causing billions in losses and exposing vulnerabilities within the crypto ecosystem. WazirX is the latest victim of such attacks. Just hours ago, hackers exploited WazirX, according to reports by Lookonchain, a widely-used on-chain tracker on the X platform (formerly Twitter). The hackers absconded with over $230 million in various crypto assets, including Shiba Inu, Ethereum, MATIC, PEPE, USDT, and GALA.

 

Cause For Concern

The breach has caused alarm among cryptocurrency investors, particularly those holding SHIB tokens on WazirX. Lucie addressed affected SHIB holders, expressing her hopes for their recovery of funds and urging WazirXIndia to resolve the issue promptly. She acknowledged the significant amount stolen but underscored its proportion relative to total SHIB circulation. Lucie encouraged the community to remain united and supportive in the face of adversity, viewing it as an opportunity for growth.

Kaal Dhairya, a developer at Shiba Inu, echoed sympathy for impacted SHIB holders, voicing frustration over the attack and urging community solidarity. This incident underscores the critical need for crypto exchanges to bolster security measures to safeguard investor assets. Strengthening security protocols is imperative to uphold trust in the digital asset sector. As the industry evolves, robust cybersecurity practices remain essential for both exchanges and projects to protect investors.

 

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, co-founders of the popular cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, have contributed $1 million in Bitcoin (BTC) to support John Deaton and his political campaign against Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), known for her adversarial stance towards cryptocurrencies.

 

Huge Donations

Tyler Winklevoss announced a $500,000 donation to Deaton, endorsing him as a candidate who champions Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and business interests, contrasting sharply with Senator Warren and her opposition to the industry. In a similar move, Cameron Winklevoss confirmed a matching $500,000 Bitcoin donation to Deaton, emphasizing his alignment with pro-Bitcoin, pro-crypto, and pro-business values.

This donation marks another instance where the Winklevoss twins have used their cryptocurrency wealth to support political causes. Previously, they donated $2 million in Bitcoin to former President Donald Trump and his 2024 election campaign, aiming to counter what they perceive as anti-crypto policies under the Biden administration.

 

A Key issue

The aforementioned donations come amid ongoing debates over cryptocurrency regulation, with Senator Warren advocating for stringent regulations to curb potential illicit activities associated with digital currencies. In contrast, Deaton has been critical of the SEC and its regulatory approach towards cryptocurrencies and has served as legal counsel in prominent crypto-related cases, such as representing XRP. Crypto has become a key political issue for many in the United States, particularly among the youth.

Overall, the support shown by the Winklevoss twins for Deaton underscores their commitment to defending the interests of the cryptocurrency industry in the face of regulatory challenges. Their Gemini crypto exchange is generally regarded as a reputable platform with a strong emphasis on security and regulatory compliance. It offers a user-friendly interface and supports a variety of cryptocurrencies for trading.