1. Federal Reserve Holds Benchmark Interest Rate Steady at 5.25%-5.50% link

On September 21st, the Federal Reserve kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged in the range of 5.25% to 5.50%, aligning with market expectations. The Federal Reserve’s FOMC statement noted that recent indicators indicate that economic activity has been steadily growing. Employment growth has moderated in recent months but remains robust, with the unemployment rate staying at a relatively low level. Inflation continues to be elevated. Twelve officials anticipate another rate hike later this year, while seven officials expect it to remain unchanged. The median projection suggests that there will be two rate cuts in 2024.

Federal Reserve Chairman Powell has remarked that officials do not yet need to decide whether to hike rates again this year. Let us continue to monitor the data. While inflation has recently decreased somewhat, it is hoped that this trend will persist for at least three months. The pace of the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes last year signifies that ‘we indeed possess the ability to exercise prudence as we move forward.’

2. Bitcoin Network Experiencing the Longest Period of Continuous Full Blocks in its History link

On September 21st, according to data from @Data_Always, the Bitcoin network is experiencing the longest period of sustained block congestion in its history. This signifies continuous congestion on the Bitcoin network, which can have a greater impact on the confirmation of low-value transactions. When blocks are congested, miners may prioritize transactions that offer higher fees, as this allows them to earn more income, potentially causing delays for low-value or low-fee transactions. Mempool data indicates that there are currently over 458,000 unconfirmed transactions on the Bitcoin network.

3. Grayscale Files New Application for Ethereum Futures ETF link

On September 20th, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, Grayscale Investments submitted a new application for an Ethereum futures ETF to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This ETF is filed under the 1933 Securities Act, which governs the filing of commodity and spot Bitcoin ETFs. Previously, Grayscale won against the SEC in its Bitcoin spot ETF application, with a judge ruling that the regulatory agency must reevaluate the proposal.

4. Mt. Gox Extends Repayment Deadline by One Year link

The official announcement on the Mt. Gox website on September 21st states that the trustee has changed the deadlines for the basic repayment, early lump-sum repayment, and interim repayment from October 31, 2023, to October 31, 2024. For creditors who have provided their information, repayment will commence as early as the end of this year, in the order specified. Mt. Gox will distribute its holdings, including 142,000 BTC, 143,000 BCH, and 69 billion JPY.

5. Binance’s Weekly Summary

a. Binance Wallet Consolidation Leads to Ethereum Gas Prices Surging to 300 Gwei link

On September 21st, Ethereum mainnet gas fees surged from under 10 to around 300. The primary reason might be the significant increase in transfer activity on Binance’s part. According to data from @sankin_eth’s Dune dashboard, the address in question consumed 362 ETH in gas today and processed 94,000 transfers, both well above the usual volume. Binance personnel have stated that they were simply consolidating funds during a period of low gas fees.

b. Binance Plans to Delist All Stablecoins in Europe by June 30th Next Year link

On September 21st, Marina Parthuisot, Binance’s legal head in France, stated during an online public hearing organized by the EBA that given the lack of approval for any stablecoins under the MiCA regulation, ‘Binance plans to delist all stablecoins in Europe by June 30, 2024. This could have significant implications for the European market compared to other parts of the world.’

CZ’s response to WuShuo is as follows: “This is a matter taken out of context. In reality, we have several partners about to launch the Euro and other stablecoins, all in fully compliant ways.”

6. FTX’s Weekly Summary

a. FTX Files Lawsuit Against SBF’s Parents to Reclaim Transferred and Misappropriated Funds link

On September 19th, according to Coindesk, FTX has filed a lawsuit against SBF’s parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, seeking to ‘recover millions of dollars in fraudulent transfers and misappropriation of funds.’ The amended complaint requests the court to award FTX compensatory damages for bankruptcy harm, restitution of any property or payments made to SBF’s parents in the past, and punitive damages for ‘intentional, willful, wanton, and malicious conduct.’ FTX Trading paid a total of $18,914,327.82 (inclusive of taxes and costs) to Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried for Blue Water. Barbara Fried is a ‘key figure’ in SBF’s political donation strategy.

On the same day, according to The Block, legal representatives for SBF’s parents are counterattacking the lawsuit filed by FTX. Joe Bankman’s attorney, Sean Hecker, and Barbara Fried’s attorney, Michael Tremonte, have stated that this is a dangerous attempt to intimidate Joe and Barbara and disrupt the jury’s process just days before SBF’s trial begins. These claims are entirely false. They also added that Mr. Ray and his legal team have billed several million dollars, while the returns to FTX customers have been relatively minimal.

b. Stanford University to Return FTX Donation Worth Over $5.5 Million link

On September 20th, according to Blockworks, Stanford University received over $5.5 million in donations from the FTX Group. These donations are said to have been made directly by Joe Bankman, SBF’s father, who is a professor at Stanford University. A spokesperson for Stanford University acknowledged these donations and committed to refunding the money to the creditors.

c. FTX Files Lawsuit Against Former Employee of FTX Affiliate Salameda link

On September 22nd, FTX has filed a lawsuit against former employees of its subsidiary entity Salameda, seeking to recover approximately $157.3 million. The filing states that within the 90 days before the bankruptcy application on November 11, 2022 (referred to as the “preference period”), the defendants received withdrawals that constituted preferential transfers and were “avoidable under the Bankruptcy Code.” The documents also indicate that the defendants used their relationships with FTX personnel to ensure they were prioritized over other customers. These transfers were completed within hours before FTX halted withdrawals on November 8, 2022. Of the total $157.3 million, over $123 million was withdrawn on or after November 7th.

7. Zodia Custody, Supported by Standard Chartered Bank, to Provide Yield for Cryptocurrency Assets for the First Time link

On September 19th, according to The Block, Standard Chartered Bank’s cryptocurrency division, Zodia Custody, will begin offering its institutional clients the opportunity to earn returns on their cryptocurrency assets for the first time. According to today’s announcement, the company has partnered with OpenEden to link custody of cryptocurrency assets with real-world yield opportunities. The product will also allow institutions to access staking services.

8. Tether Acquires $420 Million Worth of 10,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs link

On September 21st, according to Forbes, Tether has purchased 10,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs worth $420 million, and this transaction will grant them a 20% stake in the Bitcoin mining company Northern Data. Northern Data plans to rent out these chips to artificial intelligence startups. Northern Data is not the first cryptocurrency mining company to seek new sources of income amid the AI boom. Previously, mining firms like Hive, Crusoe, and Hut 8 have rented out some of their chips by the hour to startup companies in need of computing power, especially after Ethereum transitioned to Proof of Stake (PoS).

9. Balancer Faces BGP or DNS Hijacking Attack link

On September 20th, DeFi liquidity protocol Balancer suffered a BGP or DNS hijacking attack. Balancer advised users not to interact with its UI. According to on-chain analyst ZachXBT, the Balancer front-end attacker has profited approximately $238,000, and the stolen funds are stored in an address starting with Ox6457.

On September 21st, the official Balancer Protocol Twitter account announced that the protocol has resumed normal operation.

10. Wintermute Criticizes DWF Labs Again in Blockbeats Interview link

On September 18th, Wintermute criticized DWF Labs again during an interview with Blockbeats. He stated that DWF Labs essentially labeled over-the-counter trading as investment, whereas people typically associate investments with a long-term perspective, and trading is more short-term in nature. He also argued that the industry needs some light regulation to prevent bad actors. He pointed out that the biggest criticism of market makers in the industry is that there are many who manipulate the market rather than providing liquidity to guide the market’s healthy development.

In response to Wintermute’s comments, DWF Labs stated during their BlockBeats interview that they do not engage in any manipulative behavior. They explained that when people see signs that a particular asset could be profitable, they invest in it. Liquidity in the market is not as robust as it was a year ago, and it can easily be driven by market participants rather than being manipulated. They suggested that people always need someone to either praise or blame, and in this market cycle, that target is them, but in the next market cycle, it could be someone else.

Fundraising

• Cryptocurrency startup Mesh completes a $22 million Series A funding round. link

• Blockchain gaming startup Proof of Play raises $33 million in seed round funding. link

• Web3 social app based on the Lens protocol secures $2.3 million in seed pre-funding. link

• Decentralized hackathon service BeWater completes a $1 million angel funding round. link

• Web3 creator community Afterparty secures $5 million in funding. link

• Decentralized information marketplace protocol Freatic receives $3.6 million in funding led by a16z crypto. link

• Middle East crypto asset startup Fuze completes a $14 million seed funding round. link

• Blockchain technology company Jiritsu secures $10.2 million in funding. link

• French startup Stoïk completes a $10.7 million funding round with participation from a16z. link

• Cryptocurrency startup Bastion completes a $25 million seed funding round. link

• Blockchain data visualization company Bubblemaps completes a $3.2 million seed funding round. link

Learn more, check out crypto-fundraising.info.

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