World Liberty Financial (WLFI) is a DeFi project initiated by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump. It brings together top talents from the cryptocurrency, DeFi, finance, and technology fields, such as Steve Witkoff and Corey Caplan. The platform aims to challenge the traditional banking system by providing modern decentralized financial solutions, addressing the lack of innovation, transparency, and inclusiveness in the current financial industry. WLFI is also closely tied to Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, with investments in WLFI tokens seen as a political bet on his election victory.
Despite gaining significant attention, especially from crypto enthusiasts and Trump’s political supporters, the project has been controversial due to concerns about its co-founders’ backgrounds and the token’s centralized tokenomics. Furthermore, the project’s roadmap is unclear, and its long-term prospects are met with skepticism. However, as the election approaches, WLFI could become a new fundraising channel to support Trump’s campaign.
According to the roadmap shared with potential investors, WLFI’s first token sale aims to raise $300 million, with 20% of the token supply sold at a fully diluted valuation of $1.5 billion.
Terms
According to the website, $WLFI tokens are only sold to non-U.S. users.
The main sales terms and conditions are as follows:
1. $WLFI is for governance purposes only, not an investment tool.
2. Tokens do not grant any economic rights or ownership.
3. All $WLFI tokens are indefinitely locked in wallets or smart contracts and are non-transferable.
4. Transferability can only be unlocked through governance procedures after at least 12 months and compliance with applicable laws.
5. No secondary market creation is planned.
6. Token purchases are non-refundable unless required by law.
Progress
The project’s website went live between 8:00 AM and 9:00 AM Eastern Time on October 16, and so far, around $11 million worth of tokens have been sold.

Previously, the World Liberty Financial team stated that the project would provide cryptocurrency lending services on the Ethereum blockchain, similar to many existing DeFi applications.
According to market reports, Paxos CEO Rich Teo has joined the Trump family’s WLFI project as the head of stablecoin and payments, though it remains unclear whether he has left his position at Paxos.
The specifics of World Liberty Financial’s offerings are still unclear. The token sale terms might be designed to avoid legal risks, but the project has faced criticism in the market.

#WLFI #TrumpInCrypto

Token Unlocks

Axie Infinity ($AXS ) will unlock approximately 9.25 million tokens on October 14 at 13:10 UTC, accounting for 6.08% of its circulating supply, valued at around $43.1 million.
Taiko ($TAIKO) will unlock around 12 million tokens on October 14 at 00:00 UTC, making up 14.99% of the circulating supply, with a value of approximately $18.7 million.
CYBER ($CYBER ) will unlock approximately 890,000 tokens on October 14 at 08:00 UTC, representing 3.81% of the circulating supply, valued at approximately $2.6 million.
Starknet ($STRK K) will unlock around 64 million tokens on October 15 at 00:00 UTC, representing 3.3% of the circulating supply, with an estimated value of $26 million.
ApeCoin (APE) will unlock approximately 15.6 million tokens on October 17 at 12:30 UTC, accounting for 2.31% of the circulating supply, valued at around $11.2 million.
Echelon Prime (PRIME) will unlock 750,000 tokens on October 17 at 00:00 UTC, representing 1.57% of the circulating supply, with a value of approximately $6.1 million.
Pixels (PIXEL) will unlock around 54.38 million tokens on October 19 at 10:00 UTC, making up 7.05% of the circulating supply, valued at approximately $7.2 million.

Trump Family Crypto Project WLFI Public Sale Details in Livestream

The Trump family’s crypto project, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), will hold a livestream on October 14 at 12:00 PM (UTC). During the livestream, they will introduce the WLF team, advisors, exclusive insights from special guests, and details about the public sale. 
According to AggrNews, both Elon Musk and Donald Trump are expected to appear as potential guests. The WLFI announcement poster displayed silhouettes of two special guests, which seem to resemble Musk and Trump.

Soneium Will Announce Winners of the Incubation Program on October 14

Soneium, a Layer 2 project, announced that they will reveal the winners of the Soneium Spark Incubation Program on October 14. The selected projects, which provide exceptional value to the Soneium community, will receive direct investment opportunities from Soneium. The company’s investments will focus on projects that align closely with their vision, have a significant impact in target markets, and can solve major challenges. The investment decisions will be made through collaborative discussions with qualified teams to ensure mutual coordination and long-term success.

Puffer Finance Will Start Airdrop on October 14

The restaking agreement Puffer Finance announced that its native token, $PUFFER, will begin the airdrop on October 14 at 11:00 PM (UTC), lasting until January 15, 2025. 
The total supply of PUFFER tokens is 1 billion, with 7.5% allocated for the first-season airdrop of the Crunchy Carrot Quest. Community users can participate and vote on the future direction of the protocol. Additionally, 1% of the token supply will be distributed to Ethereum core developers to support their four-year development plan. PUFFER is the core of all project products, including the world’s first permissionless LRT and a fast Rollup solution based on UniFi.

Fairdesk Exchange Will Close Services, Retain Withdrawal Function Starting October 17

Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange Fairdesk announced it will officially close all services by November 30, 2024, due to policy and regulatory challenges. 
Since its establishment in 2021, Fairdesk has provided high-quality trading services to users in the U.S. and Canada. However, due to changes in the regulatory environment, the platform has decided to shut down permanently. Users need to liquidate (futures and spot positions) their accounts before October 17, after which the platform will retain only the withdrawal function until November 30, when it will close entirely.

deBridge Expected to Launch DBR Token on October 17 via Jupiter’s LFG Launchpad

The cross-chain interoperability protocol deBridge is expected to launch its governance token, DBR, on October 17 through Jupiter’s LFG Launchpad. 
The token distribution plan allocates 20% of the total 10 billion supply to the community, with 1.8 billion DBR in circulation at launch. Of the remaining supply, 26% is allocated to ecosystem support, 20% to core contributors, 17% to strategic partners, 15% to the deBridge Foundation, and 2% to validators. The DBR launch follows the deBridge points program, which retrospectively rewards existing users based on their past activity.

ETHGlobal San Francisco to Launch on October 18

According to the official 2024 schedule released by ETHGlobal, the eighth hackathon event of this year, named ETHGlobal San Francisco, will take place from October 18-20.

Scroll: SCR Airdrop Snapshot Planned for October 19, Claiming Starts on October 22

The Ethereum Layer 2 network Scroll announced the token distribution details for SCR on platform X. The total token supply is 1 billion SCR, with the airdrop snapshot planned for October 19, and the token release and airdrop claim date set for October 22, 2024. Scroll stated that SCR will serve as the main governance mechanism for the protocol, evolving into a utility token as Scroll becomes more decentralized. More details regarding the SCR token release and airdrop claiming will be shared in the coming days.

#Tokenunlock #scroll #WLFI #Soneium #Airdropairdrop

Market Observations
Decline in Primary Market Financing
The primary market remains pessimistic. According to RootData, in Q3 2024, Web3 primary market funding activities declined. There were 321 financing rounds, down 25.7% from the previous quarter, with total funding amounting to $2.406 billion, a 15% decrease from the prior quarter. Venture capital transaction activity (measured by monthly deal count) fell to the lowest in four years.

Security Incidents
The blockchain sector continues to face severe security challenges. According to Certik’s Q3 security report, there were 155 security incidents during this period, with total losses amounting to $753.09 million. Although the number of incidents decreased by 27 compared to Q2 2024, the total loss increased by 9.5%.

Industry Challenges
The issue of high token valuations and low initial circulation ratios has been a subject of intense debate since its introduction. Binance, in its latest industry observation report, again mentioned the problem of overvaluation in primary market projects. Additionally, the report highlighted that projects still have significant room for improvement in transparency, centralization, and token distribution during their operations.

Market Share of Centralized Exchanges
According to CCData, overall trading volume in the crypto sector in September fell to its lowest level since June. Last month, Binance’s combined market share for spot and derivatives trading dropped to its lowest level since September 2020.
Binance’s spot trading volume fell by nearly 23% from August, bringing its market share down to 27%, its lowest level since January 2021. The platform’s derivatives trading also decreased by 21%, accounting for 40.7% of the centralized exchange market share, the lowest since September 2020. Meanwhile, Crypto.com saw over a 40% increase in spot and derivatives trading volume month-over-month, and Bybit and Bitget also achieved positive growth.

Market Environment
BTC spot ETFs had a net inflow of $55.21 million last week, while ETH spot ETFs had a net outflow of $5.22 million. BTC prices rose 1% over the past week, while ETH prices increased by 1.4%, with the ETH/BTC exchange rate falling below 0.04. In Q3, BTC spot prices fluctuated between $58,000 and $66,000, and BTC’s market dominance reached 56.58%, maintaining a mid-level range.
The TVL (Total Value Locked) of the SUI and APTOS ecosystems grew significantly in the past month, both reaching record highs. Originating from the Diem blockchain project launched by Meta (formerly Facebook), SUI and APTOS have been hyped as “Solana killers” in the market. Over the past month, SUI’s TVL has increased by 46.98%, while APTOS’s TVL rose by 46.97%. In terms of token-denominated metrics, SUI has experienced net outflows since September, whereas APTOS has maintained a consistent net inflow. It is important to note that both SUI and APTOS are currently in a phase where early investors are unlocking large amounts of tokens at a rapid pace, as indicated by their respective tokenomics.
Trending Topics
Airdrop Sector: No More Opportunities in Airdrops? Scroll Airdrop Rules Spark Dissatisfaction
The prominent Layer2 project Scroll announced its launch on Binance Launchpool, allocating 5.5% of its tokens. 7% of the tokens are for airdrops to users, which will be distributed on October 22. Users expressed dissatisfaction mainly for two reasons: 1) The airdrop ratio is considered unreasonable; 2) The airdrop timing allows “whales” to dominate the shares that should go to regular users.

Meme Sector: Zoo Concepts, U.S. Election Themes, and Elon Musk's Mars City Ideas Leading Meme Coin Development
Thanks to the market’s dissatisfaction with VC tokens, MEME tokens have been gaining popularity due to their low initial market capitalization and fair issuance. Concept tokens related to zoo themes, U.S. elections, and Musk’s Mars City have received significant attention.

HBO Documentary: Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery
HBO released a documentary titled Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, suggesting that Satoshi Nakamoto might be Peter Todd. Todd, however, denied the allegation.

FTX Bankruptcy Compensation Plan Approved
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has confirmed FTX’s restructuring plan. According to the information disclosed, since filing for bankruptcy, FTX has recovered assets worth between $14.5 billion and $16.3 billion, which are ready to be distributed. A portion of the funds is expected to return to the crypto market, potentially contributing to market growth. 
FTX filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, a reorganization-type bankruptcy that allows businesses to continue operating while restructuring their debts under court supervision, thus offering potential for a successful recovery.

Eigenlayer Hack Raises Controversy
On-chain data analysis team Lookonchain detected a wallet selling 1.67 million EIGEN tokens through MetaMask at a price of $3.30. These tokens were reportedly received from the EigenLayer team wallet. EigenLayer responded, stating that the hack occurred when an investor’s email about transferring vested tokens to a custodial address was intercepted.
Early token recipients during TGE have sparked concerns about insider trading, with multiple key opinion leaders questioning EigenLayer’s token unlocking practices and investor fairness.

#Funding #SECURITIZE #FTXAuction $SUI $APT $EIGEN

The blockchain industry continued to face significant security challenges in the third quarter of 2024. According to Certik’s Q3 Security Report, there were 155 security incidents during this period, resulting in total losses of $753.09 million. Compared to Q2 2024, although the number of incidents decreased by 27, the amount of losses increased by 9.5%. These figures indicate that while the frequency of security incidents has decreased, the average loss per incident has risen, reflecting the increasing complexity and sophistication of attack methods. Large-scale phishing attacks and private key leaks, in particular, have caused substantial losses for users and businesses, raising widespread concerns within the industry regarding security issues.
Analysis of Security Incident Types and On-Chain Distribution
In the third quarter, phishing attacks were the most prevalent, involving 65 incidents and causing approximately $343.09 million in losses. These attacks often exploit user negligence, impersonating legitimate websites or wallets to steal users' private keys and sensitive information. Additionally, private key leaks represented another significant threat, resulting in $324.4 million in losses from just 10 incidents, each with considerable financial damage, highlighting their high destructive potential. Besides these primary types, other attack methods, including smart contract exploits and exchange hacks, also impacted the market during this quarter.

Among these security incidents, attacks on the Ethereum chain were the most frequent, with 86 incidents and total losses of $387.89 million, closely tied to its status as one of the most active blockchain platforms. Additionally, Bitcoin saw the largest loss in a single incident, with a whale wallet breach in August causing a massive loss of $238 million. The phenomenon of multi-chain attacks also stood out, with 7 incidents across multiple chains, resulting in nearly $90 million in losses, indicating that attackers are expanding their targets beyond a single blockchain.

The Long Road Ahead for Industry Security
The overview of blockchain security incidents in Q3 2024 highlights the diversity of attacks and the varying destructive power of different types. Compared to traditional technical vulnerabilities, phishing attacks and private key leaks occurred more frequently and caused greater financial damage. This underscores the continued weaknesses in information security education and prevention among users and businesses. Meanwhile, as blockchain infrastructure supports large-scale user engagement and capital flows, it faces heightened risks of attacks.
The overall situation this quarter also revealed an important trend: the development of multi-chain interoperability and the expansion of the Bitcoin ecosystem have provided attackers with more targets and opportunities. While the growth of on-chain activities helps to drive market and ecosystem dynamism, it also offers hackers and malicious actors a broader attack surface. This necessitates a strong focus on cybersecurity as technological innovation and application scenarios expand.

#CertiK #SecurityAlert

Overall Situation
According to data from RootData, Q3 2024 showed a downward trend in Web3 primary market funding activities. The quarter saw 321 funding rounds, a decrease of 25.7% from the previous quarter, with a total funding amount of $2.406 billion, down 15.0% compared to the last quarter.

The infrastructure sector continued to lead, with total funding of $745 million, accounting for 30.9%. Notably, the “Others” category (excluding infrastructure, DeFi, NFT, gaming, CeFi, DAO, social, and tools) reached a total funding amount of $453 million, making up 18.8% of the total. This trend was driven by several factors, including the sustained popularity of the Meme sector this quarter, the rise of AI-Web3 integration projects, and the continuous expansion of DePin and the Bitcoin ecosystem. Investors and the market are seeking new narratives and innovation.
The largest single funding round this quarter came from Bitcoin mining company Iris Energy, raising $413 million. Notably, among the top 10 funding projects, M&A transactions accounted for a total of $681 million, making up 57.5% of the total.
Investment Institutions
Robot Ventures was the most active investor this quarter, with 22 investments. Among the 12 institutions that made more than 10 investments, infrastructure remained the most favored sector, with DeFi-related projects receiving 56 investments. Binance Labs and OKX Ventures each made 16 investments in Q3, with 5 and 6 investments in GameFi-related projects, respectively, showing higher activity in this sector compared to other investment institutions. Additionally, DAO, NFT, and tools & information projects continued to see limited interest.

Solana Ecosystem Projects See Continuous Growth in Funding
According to the “State of Solana: Breakpoint Edition” report, 29 projects built on the Solana blockchain secured $173 million in funding during Q3 2024, the highest level since Q2 2022. Each month in Q3 2024 saw consecutive growth, with September reaching $103 million, marking the strongest month of funding since June 2022.

#Funding #BinanceLabsInvestment #Solanaecosystem #fundraising

On October 7, 2024, FTX Trading Ltd. (operating as FTX.com) and its affiliate debtors announced that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware confirmed their reorganization plan, less than two years after their historic bankruptcy filing.
Asset Value
In filings on May 8, FTX reported that since filing for bankruptcy, they have recovered and liquidated assets valued between $14.5 billion and $16.3 billion. Under the reorganization plan, approximately 98% of creditors will receive around 119% of their approved claims within 60 days after the plan becomes effective, subject to KYC requirements. The distribution includes assets managed by FTX’s Chapter 11 debtors and various partners like FTX Digital Markets, Ltd. (Bahamas) and FTX Australia.
Payment Timeline
With the plan’s approval, FTX aims to compensate 98% of users within 60 days post-activation of the plan. While the plan is approved, the effective date is not yet determined. FTX creditor Mr. Purple has suggested two timelines: an activation on October 31, potentially allowing payments before year-end, or delays extending payments to early 2025 due to the reserve fund motion expected in November or December.

Impact on FTT
Following the plan’s approval, FTT surged past $3.4, reaching a peak of $3.43 before stabilizing at $2.49.

Broader Impact
The reorganization plan stipulates that 98% of creditors will be compensated in cash at 118% of their claim value based on the November 2022 bankruptcy filing. Remaining creditors are set to receive 100% of their claims, along with additional time-value compensation worth billions. About 94.48% of creditors, representing claims worth $6.83 billion, supported the plan.
Some creditors, including those led by Sunil Kavuri, opposed the plan, preferring direct compensation in cryptocurrency rather than cash-based on 2022 values. However, the FTX liquidation team and the presiding judge opposed this approach.
As the compensation progresses, some funds are expected to re-enter the crypto market, potentially supporting market trends.

$FTT #FTXAuction #FTX.Trading.Ltd

On September 23, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) officially announced the launch of the second phase of the “e-HKD” pilot program, further exploring innovative use cases of the digital currency for individuals and businesses.
The trial from the first phase indicated that “e-HKD” could provide unique value to Hong Kong’s existing payment ecosystem in three areas: programmability, tokenization, and real-time settlement. “e-HKD” has the potential to facilitate faster, more cost-effective, and inclusive transactions while fostering new types of economic activities.
In its statement, the HKMA mentioned that the project has been renamed from the “e-HKD Plan” to the “e-HKD+ Plan.” The second phase of the “e-HKD” pilot will conduct a more comprehensive exploration of the digital currency ecosystem.
The second phase aims to explore innovative use cases for the e-HKD and tokenized deposits around three main themes: tokenized asset settlement, programmability, and offline payments. The HKMA has selected 11 companies from various industries to participate, including the Bank of China, Hang Seng Bank, HSBC, #AptosLabs , and Visa. Over the next 12 months, the HKMA will work closely with these companies, with plans to share the key outcomes of the second phase with the public by the end of 2025.

The findings from the second phase will help the HKMA understand the practical issues that may arise in designing, implementing, and operating a public-private coexisting digital currency ecosystem. The “e-HKD+” project will continue to advance related technological and legal foundations, laying the groundwork for the potential future issuance of “e-HKD” for personal and corporate use.
Additionally, according to the HKMA, an “e-HKD” industry forum will be established to provide participating institutions with a collaborative platform to discuss common issues and explore whether new digital currencies can be implemented and applied on a larger scale.

#cbdc #HongKong

Prediction markets are not a new concept; they have existed in various fields for decades. Traditional prediction markets usually operate through centralized betting or financial platforms, where participants can speculate on the outcomes of future events such as sporting events, political elections, or economic trends.
With the advent of blockchain technology, prediction markets have entered a new stage of development. The decentralization, transparency, and immutability of blockchain have made these markets more fair and trustworthy. Such platforms allow global users to predict future events without relying on a trusted intermediary, increasing the fairness and inclusivity of the market. Among the many crypto prediction platforms, Polymarket has stood out due to its unique operating mechanism and its ability to capitalize on trending political events, becoming a leader in the field.
According to data, Polymarket currently dominates almost the entire crypto prediction market share.

Polymarket is a prime example of a blockchain prediction market, garnering significant attention and participation during the U.S. presidential election. During this period, the platform saw a surge in users and transaction volumes. As of now, over 166,000 users have participated in betting on the platform, with a total transaction volume exceeding $2.96 billion. Moreover, these figures are still on an upward trend.

Polymarket’s Growth Tied to the U.S. Election
A search through Google and Polymarket’s market data shows that Polymarket’s rapid development is highly correlated with the U.S. elections. Multiple bets are placed around election-related topics.

The rapid development of prediction platforms this year can also be attributed to external factors such as the increasing adoption of blockchain technology and improvements in infrastructure.

More Than Just a Betting Platform—Also a Sentiment Indicator
Polymarket’s success is not only due to providing a platform for predicting events but also because it has gradually become a barometer for market sentiment. Polymarket’s theoretical foundation comes from Friedrich Hayek’s famous paper, The Use of Knowledge in Society. Hayek argued that economic incentives are the key to driving people to better understand uncertainty. When economic incentives come into play, people are inclined to seek out more accurate and better information sources, think more deeply, and attempt to place their money on outcomes that are more likely to happen.

Compared to traditional primary and secondary markets, prediction markets create a unique “trading structure” where users are both predictors and investors, able to earn financial benefits by participating in event predictions. The potential for airdrops is also a reason why users participate.

Prediction Markets Gain Attention
According to a report by The Information, insiders revealed that the prediction market Polymarket is seeking to raise $50 million in funding. Polymarket is also considering issuing its own token, though The Information did not provide further details.
Although Polymarket currently holds a dominant market share in the crypto prediction market, it still has significant room for growth compared to traditional prediction markets. Several institutions have expressed optimism about this sector or have started building their own prediction markets.
Cryptocurrency investment firm 1confirmation mentioned in a letter to LPs that the scale of prediction markets could grow 100-fold in the next few years. DWF Labs stated that it is seeking to support projects related to prediction markets and encouraged relevant teams to contact them via their website. According to a report by The Block, Wintermute is launching a prediction market called OutcomeMarket.

#Polymarket #Debate2024 #predictons #DWFLabs #Wintermute

Large Token Unlocks
Venom (VENOM) will unlock approximately 235 million tokens at 4:00 PM Beijing time on September 25, accounting for 12.66% of its circulating supply, valued at around $25.96 million.
YGG (Yield Guild Games) will unlock approximately 14.08 million tokens at 10:00 PM Beijing time on September 27, accounting for 3.65% of its circulating supply, valued at around $6.33 million.
AGIX (SingularityNET) will unlock approximately 8.19 million tokens at 8:00 AM Beijing time on September 28, accounting for 1.63% of its circulating supply, valued at around $5.74 million.
TORN (VENOM) will unlock approximately 92,000 tokens at 11:30 AM Beijing time on September 28, accounting for 2.41% of its circulating supply, valued at around $247,000.

Aprobit, a South Korean Crypto Exchange, Announces It Will Stop Trading on September 23
Aprobit, a South Korean crypto exchange, has announced its closure, with trading stopping on September 23, and withdrawals available until December 23. Aprobit stated, “Due to changes in the business environment, we have decided to terminate trading support. We will do our utmost to ensure that users do not experience inconvenience when retrieving their assets after the trading support ends.”
ether.fi Foundation: Season 3 ETHFI Airdrop Check is Live, Claims Open on September 23

The ether.fi Foundation announced on Platform X that the Season 3 ETHFI airdrop check is now live, with the snapshot taken on September 15. Eligible eETH re-stakers can claim their airdrop from September 23 to 27.

Former Alameda Co-CEO Caroline Ellison to Be Sentenced on September 24

Caroline Ellison, former co-CEO of Alameda and ex-girlfriend of SBF, will be sentenced on September 24 in New York court. 
Previously reported, Ellison pleaded guilty in December 2022 after FTX’s collapse, which resulted in billions of dollars in customer losses. She faces charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. These charges could lead to a maximum of 110 years in prison, but her cooperation with prosecutors could result in a lighter sentence.

BNB Chain: MVB Season 8 Application Deadline Extended to September 25

BNB Chain has announced that the deadline for MVB Season 8 applications has been extended to 11:59 PM on September 25, allowing more teams the opportunity to participate.

Cardano to Launch Fund 13 on September 26 with 50 Million ADA for Quality Proposals

Cardano will launch Fund 13 on September 26, allocating 50 million ADA ($16.5 million) to fund quality proposals. The community will vote to determine which ideas receive funding, consistent with Catalyst’s democratic governance approach. 
Unlike previous rounds, Fund 13 emphasizes enterprise solutions. Proposals can be submitted until October 10, with partners given an extended deadline of November 7 to refine their proposals. Community voting will take place from November 28 to December 12.

Telegram Game “Hamster Kombat” to Launch Tokens and Airdrop on September 26

The Telegram game “Hamster Kombat” has announced that it will launch its HMSTR tokens on The Open Network (TON) on September 26, with an airdrop to players the same day. The token launch was initially scheduled for July but was delayed due to the scale of the distribution. 
The team reported in July that since its launch in the spring, Hamster Kombat has attracted over 300 million players, with more than 80 million active players in the past month, according to Telegram.

CZ Might Be Released from Prison on September 29

According to data from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons, information related to a case highly associated with Binance founder CZ shows that an Asian male named “CHANGPENG ZHAO,” aged 47, is scheduled to be released on September 29, 2024 (local U.S. time). His registration number is 88087-510, and he is located at Long Beach RRM.

Wintermute Plans to Launch Prediction Market OutcomeMarket This Week

Last week, Wintermute announced it is using Chaos Labs’ Edge Proofs Oracle to develop a new prediction market product called OutcomeMarket. The product will first launch betting markets for TRUMP and HARRIS tokens (based on the U.S. election). Wintermute plans to launch OutcomeMarket on multiple networks this week, including Ethereum Mainnet, Arbitrum, and Base.

#Aprobit #Tokenunlock #CZBİNANCE #Wintermute #venom

Background
On July 18, 2024, on-chain monitoring agencies detected unusual transfers from the wallet of the Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX. It was confirmed that the exchange had been hacked. SlowMist founder Cos stated that the breach occurred due to the compromise of a multi-signature ETH hot wallet address. 
For more details, see the previous report here: https://www.wikibit.com/en/202407192024959118.html.

Dispute over Responsibility

WazirX and Liminal Custody, the custodians of the stolen funds, have been blaming each other for the incident. The compromised wallet was a multi-signature wallet with five signers from the WazirX team and one from Liminal, a third-party custodial service provider hired by WazirX. 
WazirX stated that the attack was related to the multi-signature wallet associated with Liminal’s digital asset custody service, citing “discrepancies between the data displayed on Liminal’s interface and the actual transactions.”
Liminal, on the other hand, claimed that its infrastructure had not been breached and that all wallets, including WazirX’s, remained secure. A multi-signature wallet requires multiple signatures to authorize transactions.

Binance Denies Responsibility

In a blog post, Binance stated that the Zanmai-operated WazirX platform reported a cyberattack on July 18, 2024, resulting in user fund losses of approximately $235 million, and WazirX has been unable to fulfill withdrawal requests. Binance also pointed out that Zettai’s primary owner, Nischal Shetty, made some inaccurate statements regarding the ongoing dispute between Zettai and Binance. Shetty suggested that Binance might somehow be responsible for the losses suffered by WazirX users and creditors as a result of the cyberattack. Binance refuted these claims, stating that any such assertions are highly misleading.
Binance clarified that it never acquired WazirX, despite signing an agreement, because Zettai failed to meet its obligations, and the proposed transaction was never completed. Binance emphasized that it has never owned, controlled, or operated WazirX at any time, including before, during, or after the alleged hack.
Shetty claimed that the current dispute between Zettai and Binance might lead to Binance owning WazirX, which would, in turn, make Zettai’s creditors Binance’s creditors, meaning Binance would be responsible for WazirX users. In response, Binance rejected this notion, stating that it does not own or operate WazirX, is not a party to WazirX’s agreements with its users, holds no WazirX user funds, and bears no responsibility for the consequences of the cyberattack. Shetty’s statements were deemed inaccurate and misleading.

In 2019, Binance announced the acquisition of WazirX, but in 2022, Binance’s founder denied this, stating that the deal was never completed.

#wazirX #wazirxExchangeHacked #BinanceAnnouncement

On September 13, Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers submitted a 102-page brief to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, claiming that the former FTX CEO was “never presumed innocent” and was subject to scrutiny that allegedly influenced prosecutors, the presiding judge, and the media. 
According to the appeal, SBF’s lawyers argue that the jury “was only allowed to see half of the situation regarding FTX user funds” and allege that prosecutors “made false claims” by stating that the funds were permanently lost, and that Bankman-Fried deliberately caused this loss. They further assert that FTX debtors’ attorneys collaborated with the U.S. government in a manner beyond “cooperation,” supposedly acting as an “extension of the prosecution” by providing information.

The appeal reads: “From day one, the mainstream narrative has been that Bankman-Fried stole billions of dollars in customer funds, leading to FTX’s collapse and resulting in billions of dollars in losses. This narrative was originally fabricated by the lawyers who took over FTX and was later adopted by contacts within the U.S. Attorney’s Office.” It goes on to claim that “Now, nearly two years later, a different picture has emerged—confirming that FTX was never insolvent and actually had billions of dollars in assets to repay customers. But the jury in the Bankman-Fried case never saw this picture.”
Sam Bankman-Fried’s Conviction for Fraud
In November 2022, FTX declared bankruptcy due to a liquidity crisis, causing widespread market disruption and significant losses for investors. SBF and his company Alameda Research were accused of misusing customer funds for high-risk trading and failing to fulfill proper financial management responsibilities. 
SBF faced charges including wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering. Prosecutors argued that SBF deceived investors and customers by hiding FTX’s true financial state and illegally used customer deposits for risky investments and personal expenses. Despite his defense lawyers arguing that he did not intentionally deceive anyone, the court found him guilty.
FTX’s Overcompensation Plan
On May 8, FTX and its affiliated debtors filed a reorganization plan and disclosure statement with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The plan outlined a distribution strategy for global customers and other creditors, focusing on redistributing nearly all assets held by FTX at the time of its November 2022 bankruptcy. FTX expects to recover between $14.5 billion and $16.3 billion in assets for distribution. The plan projects that 98% of FTX creditors will receive at least 118% of their recognized claims within 60 days of the plan’s implementation, with the remainder of creditors receiving 100% compensation for their recognized claims, including reimbursement for the time value of their investments.

#FTT🔥🔥 #sbf #FTXAuction

Recently, Ethereum has encountered significant FUD due to its weak price performance. Despite the introduction of the EIP-1559 burn mechanism, the decline in on-chain activity and usage has slowed the burn rate, failing to offset the increased supply of ETH, leading to continued inflation.

On-chain activity has also declined, with daily active addresses and transaction volumes decreasing. Previously, DeFi and NFTs brought a surge of users and transactions to Ethereum, but as these applications lose steam, they can no longer sustain high on-chain activity, causing network revenue from transaction fees to drop. This has raised concerns about Ethereum’s future, further fueling FUD.
Although Layer 2 development and the introduction of blob structures have successfully lowered gas fees, on-chain demand is fundamentally driven by profit opportunities. When there are no clear alpha opportunities, it’s difficult to attract users to engage in on-chain activities. While Layer 2 has alleviated the load on the main chain, it has also fragmented liquidity, as various Layer 2 solutions isolate funds, further impacting Ethereum’s overall on-chain activity and economic performance. This fragmentation has diluted Ethereum’s pricing power, weakening its competitive edge in the broader blockchain ecosystem.

The Empty Cities Created by Layer 2
Since the beginning of 2024, the narrative of on-chain performance and technical superiority has lost its power. Layer 2 was once seen as the key to Ethereum’s scalability, with technical advantages at the forefront of market discussions. However, as the market cooled, this narrative failed to sustain user engagement. After the airdrop expectations were shattered, many Layer 2 networks became “empty cities,” with zkSync being a prime example. Users flocked in hopes of lucrative airdrops from early participation, but once these expectations were met, user activity plummeted, leading to a sharp drop in on-chain activity.

The core issue behind these “empty cities” is the lack of sustained, large-scale applications, despite the improvements in performance. High throughput and low transaction costs alone aren’t enough to maintain long-term user activity. Without groundbreaking applications to keep users engaged, these networks struggle to retain their user base.
Furthermore, Layer 2 and data availability (DA) solutions have diverted significant economic activity from Ethereum’s main chain. While these solutions have reduced the load on the mainnet, they have also fragmented liquidity and diluted Ethereum’s value aggregation. Economic activity that once belonged to Ethereum has dispersed across various Layer 2 networks, gradually weakening Ethereum’s pricing power and diminishing its network effects and market advantages.

VC Investment Preferences
VCs have always favored infrastructure projects because they offer higher certainty, larger profit margins, and the capacity to accommodate more capital. Compared to application-layer projects, infrastructure projects can absorb more investment and offer more predictable returns. Over time, VCs have developed a path dependency in their investment strategies.

For example, early VC investments in Ethereum, Cosmos, and Polkadot have yielded substantial returns as these projects have become central to the blockchain industry. These investments have thrived across multiple bull and bear markets, ensuring long-term profitability.
Moreover, with the rise of modular blockchain solutions, more projects are creating their own Layer 2 solutions to boost valuations and raise growth ceilings. This trend has become the “crypto political correctness,” where building infrastructure has become the default strategy for Ethereum ecosystem projects.

Conclusion
Ethereum’s dilemma is clear: while its infrastructure has improved, offering better performance and scalability, the lack of a breakthrough, large-scale application remains a key challenge. VC funding has fueled the rise of Layer 2 and infrastructure projects, but despite their technical advancements, they have failed to deliver user-driven applications, leading to a decline in on-chain activity and value fragmentation. Ethereum’s progress in infrastructure is undeniable, but the challenge lies in transforming this strong foundation into real user demand and a thriving application ecosystem, which remains the biggest hurdle for its future.

$ETH $ZK #EthereumSignal #Layer2Coin

Fractal Bitcoin is a Bitcoin Layer 2 solution developed through a collaboration between the Unisats team, BSF, Uniworlds, and Asset Bridge. Fractal Bitcoin enhances transaction processing capacity and speed by recursively creating infinite scaling layers on top of the Bitcoin main chain using the BTC core code, while maintaining full compatibility with the existing Bitcoin ecosystem.
On September 9, 2024, the Fractal Bitcoin mainnet officially went live. Following the launch, a large number of mining machines connected to the Fractal Bitcoin network, and within just three days, the total mining hashrate reached 266.8 EH/s, ranking third among all POW networks.

Mining output and the price of FB tokens have become key topics of interest in the community, with participants carefully calculating costs, profits, and risks. This article will provide a comprehensive overview of Fractal Bitcoin’s mining rules, mining costs, and token economics to assess its potential returns and risks.
Token Allocation
Fractal Bitcoin’s native token is FB, with a total supply of 210 million. 80% is allocated to the community, and 20% to the team and contributors, with the specific distribution as follows:
PoW Mining (50%): Half of the total token supply is allocated to Proof-of-Work (PoW) mining.Ecosystem Treasury (15%): 15% of tokens are reserved for the ecosystem treasury, dedicated to funding initiatives that enhance the Fractal ecosystem and provide resources for ongoing core improvements.Presale (5%): 5% of tokens are allocated to presale for early investors and network participants. These funds are crucial for covering initial development and operational costs, as well as for conducting security audits to ensure network robustness. All presale tokens are locked for six months and will be released linearly over 12 months.Advisors (5%): Another 5% is reserved for advisors who provide strategic guidance and support for the ongoing development of the Fractal network.Community Grants (10%): 10% of tokens are reserved for community grants, intended for building partnerships and liquidity programs.Core Contributors (15%): The remaining 15% of tokens are allocated to core contributors responsible for building and maintaining the Fractal core software.

Fractal Bitcoin previously announced a total airdrop of 1 million FB tokens to eligible UniSat and OKX Wallet users. Based on the token distribution, the initial circulating supply of Fractal is capped at 8.35 million tokens.
Mining Rules
Fractal employs a unique mining mechanism called “Cadence Mining,” where out of every three blocks mined, two are mined permissionlessly, and one block is merged-mined. Traditional miners can participate in merged mining, which accounts for one-third of the mining share, while permissionless mining takes the remaining two-thirds. Fractal does not implement a whitelist, allowing any device with hashrate to participate.
Assuming an average block time of 30 seconds, with 25 FB tokens rewarded per block, approximately 72,000 FB tokens can be mined daily.
Mining Costs
Due to the uniqueness of the mining mechanism, the costs are divided into two parts. For miners involved in merged mining, the cost is almost negligible. For those participating in permissionless mining, the costs are as follows:
With an average block time of 30 seconds and a reward of 25 FB per block, daily output is around 72,000 FB tokens. For 1 PH/s, a miner could expect to mine approximately 3.43 FB per day, or around 102.8 FB per month. Based on the current market price of leasing 1 PH/s (1 EH/s = 1,000 PH/s) at $3,000 per month, the FB price would need to exceed $29 for miners to break even.
However, given actual circumstances, including slower-than-expected block times and varying local electricity costs, mining costs may differ, meaning the above estimates should only be taken as a rough reference.
Based on an initial circulating supply of 8.35 million and a monthly output of 2.16 million tokens, FB’s monthly inflation rate could reach an exaggerated 25.87%. This inflation estimate may be understated due to potential overestimation of the initial circulating supply and underestimation of the monthly output. Additionally, the complexity of calculating costs, especially due to mining machine rental prices and the unique mining model, could impact confidence in secondary market purchases.

#fractal #BTCL2 #proof-of-work #btcecosystem

According to the FBI’s latest report from the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), investors lost a record $5.6 billion due to crypto-related financial crimes in 2023, a 45% increase from 2022.
The report, released on Monday, stated that investment fraud was the most common and costly type of crypto-related fraud in 2023. Of the more than 69,000 crypto-related crime reports the agency received last year, nearly half were related to investment fraud, with losses amounting to $4 billion. While crypto crimes represented about 10% of the complaints filed with the FBI, the $5.6 billion figure accounts for nearly half of the total losses reported.
Investment scams typically promise victims high returns with minimal risk, and these types of scams have been increasing in recent years. The most prevalent type of crypto-related investment fraud last year was what the FBI described as “trust-based” scams, also known as “pig butchering” scams. In these schemes, scammers build relationships with victims (often via messaging apps) and then encourage them to invest large sums of money in fraudulent cryptocurrency platforms, from which victims are unable to withdraw funds.
According to the FBI report, many victims of such pig butchering or investment scams “have accumulated significant debt to offset the losses from these fraudulent investments.” While those aged 30 to 49 filed the most complaints related to investment scams, victims over the age of 60 reported the highest losses—exceeding $1.24 billion in just one year.
Although IC3 accepts complaints from both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals, U.S. investors accounted for 83% of all crypto-related fraud reports received last year. California residents led in both the number of complaints (9,522) and the amount of losses ($1.2 billion).
Human Trafficking Connection
A 2022 investigation by ProPublica, later followed by probes from organizations like the United Nations, revealed that many cryptocurrency investment scammers are victims of human trafficking, held captive by so-called “pig butchering” gangs across Southeast Asia and forced to carry out fraud.
The FBI report warns U.S. citizens traveling abroad of the risk of false recruitment advertisements linked to labor trafficking at overseas scam operations.
“These work sites imprison workers and use intimidation tactics to force them into participating in fraudulent schemes. Criminals post fake job ads on social media and online job boards, primarily targeting people in Asia,” the report said.
“Workers are often told they must pay for transportation and other costs, leaving them in debt from the start. They are then required to work off their debt while also covering food and lodging expenses. Criminals use the increasing debt and fear of local law enforcement as additional means of control. Trafficked workers are sometimes sold and transferred between different work sites, further increasing their debt,” the report continued.
#Scandal

Major Token Unlocks This Week

XAI unlocked approximately 35.81 million tokens at 9:30 UTC+0 on September 9, accounting for 6.27% of its circulating supply, valued at around $6.52 million.APT will unlock approximately 11.31 million tokens at 10:00 UTC+0 on September 11, accounting for 2.32% of its circulating supply, valued at around $68.42 million.IO will unlock approximately 2.87 million tokens at 24:00 UTC+0 on September 11, accounting for 3% of its circulating supply, valued at around $4.48 million.CYBER will unlock approximately 880,000 tokens at 22:00 UTC+0 on September 13, accounting for 3.81% of its circulating supply, valued at around $2.73 million.
Tidal and Quantify Chaos Advisors to Launch Bitcoin & Gold ETF on September 9

Tidal Investments and Quantify Chaos Advisors have submitted a prospectus for the STKD Bitcoin & Gold ETF, which aims to provide investment exposure to both Bitcoin and gold via futures and ETFs. 
According to the prospectus, the strategy combines Bitcoin and gold, aiming to offer complementary benefits and reduce short-term market volatility, potentially leading to more stable investment returns. The ETF is set to go live on September 9, 2024, though no ticker symbol or related fees have been disclosed yet. (The Block)

Fractal Bitcoin Mainnet Launched on September 9, 80% of Tokens Allocated to the Community

The Fractal Bitcoin mainnet launched on September 9, with 80% of the tokens allocated to the community, and the remaining 20% with a vesting period assigned to the team and contributors. 
The BRC-20 standard on Fractal will be activated at block height 21,000. Fractal’s PizzaSwap (formerly Fractal Swap) is set to launch on the testnet this week. Once live, the official team will begin testing an embedded mini asset bridge, allowing users to transfer BTC and other assets between Bitcoin and Fractal.
GammaSwap Airdrop Claims Open on September 9, Allocation Increased to 48 Million Tokens

Arbitrum-based DeFi structured product GammaSwap announced on X its GS airdrop plan, increasing the total distribution from 32 million (2% of the total supply) to 48 million tokens (3% of the total supply). Claims will open on Monday, September 9, and will be distributed over 8 weeks, from September 9 to November 4. Users can claim weekly or at the end of the 8-week period. 
Nearly 1,200 wallets have interacted with GammaSwap Beta mainnet and qualified for the airdrop. The distribution curve ensures a minimum of 3,000 tokens per wallet, with an average distribution of 42,000 tokens. 
Additionally, 0.2% of the token supply will be airdropped to pufETH holders, while 0.8% will be allocated to liquidity mining.
Trump to Debate Harris on September 10 in the U.S. Presidential Election

On August 27, local time, Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump announced on his social platform that he had reached an agreement with ABC to participate in a presidential debate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 10. He will debate Democratic presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris. 
Trump stated that the debate rules will follow the same format as the previous CNN debate, with microphones muted except during each candidate’s turn to speak. There will be no live audience at this debate. Harris’s team has yet to respond to the announcement.
U.S. August CPI Data to Be Released on September 11

The U.S. Department of Labor will release the August CPI data at 20:30 on September 11, which will be the last inflation report before the Federal Reserve’s September meeting.
European Central Bank to Announce Rate Decision on September 12

The European Central Bank will announce its rate decision at 20:15 on September 12, followed by a monetary policy press conference with ECB President Christine Lagarde at 20:30.
TON Ecosystem’s The Open League Season 6 to Start on September 12

The Open League announced in its official Telegram channel that Season 6 will begin on September 12. Next week will bring significant changes aimed at improving user experience, with new events centered around airdrops, rewarding loyalty and activity. Normies and Degens alike are invited to join. Apps, DeFi protocols, and NFTs will no longer compete but collaborate to bring crypto closer to the masses. The top performers will be rewarded.
Binance to Delist MATIC Trading Pairs and Replace Them with POL Trading Pairs on September 13

Binance has announced support for the token swap from Polygon (MATIC) to Polygon (POL). On September 10, 2024, at 11:00 (UTC+8), Binance will halt trading and delist all existing MATIC spot trading pairs (MATIC/BNB, MATIC/BRL, MATIC/BTC, MATIC/ETH, MATIC/EUR, MATIC/FDUSD, MATIC/JPY, MATIC/TRY, MATIC/USDC, and MATIC/USDT), automatically canceling all open orders. Binance will open POL spot trading pairs (POL/BNB, POL/BRL, POL/BTC, POL/ETH, POL/EUR, POL/FDUSD, POL/JPY, POL/TRY, POL/USDC, and POL/USDT) at 18:00 (UTC+8) on September 13, 2024.

$XAI $APT $IO #Polygone #TokenSwap