gm 02/10

Summary
gm, Bitcoin surged past $117,000 as the market kicked off "Uptober," historically Bitcoin's strongest month. Chainlink announced a major integration with Swift that will enable banks to process transactions on blockchain using existing infrastructure, potentially revolutionizing institutional access to digital assets. Stablecoins continued their expansion in real-world use cases, with Arf and Huma joining Circle Payments Network to enable on-demand USDC credit for cross-border settlements. Meanwhile, innovative developments emerged from multiple fronts: Phantom launched its own stablecoin "CASH," Sui blockchain unveiled plans for native stablecoins backed by Ethena and BlackRock's BUIDL, and SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce highlighted regulatory pragmatism in the agency's no-action letter to decentralized infrastructure project DoubleZero, providing clarity for similar projects in the space.

News Headlines
🚨 SBI Crypto Hit by $21M Hack with Potential North Korean Connections

• SBI Crypto, a subsidiary of Japan's SBI Group, experienced a $21 million cryptocurrency theft, with Bitcoin and Ether stolen from addresses associated with the company on September 24.
• Blockchain investigator ZachXBT noted that the attack tactics resemble those used by North Korean cybercriminals, with stolen funds routed through multiple exchanges and mixed using Tornado Cash, a sanctioned service.

⚡ Solana Developers Propose Removing Block Compute-Unit Limit

• Jump Crypto's Firedancer team has proposed removing Solana's block-level compute unit limit (currently capped at 60 million) to enhance throughput by allowing block producers to create larger blocks.
• The modification, likely to be implemented after the Alpenglow upgrade, aims to improve user experience by reducing congestion during high-demand periods, though critics question the immediate benefit.

💰 XRP Jumps 5% as SBI Lending Program and ETF Countdown Fuel Rally

• XRP surged 5.2% to $2.97 following the launch of SBI's institutional lending program aimed at boosting XRP adoption in Japan, with trading volume exceeding 160 million tokens.
• Traders are closely monitoring XRP's momentum as it approaches the critical $3.00 resistance level, with seven ETF applications facing an important SEC decision deadline on October 18.

🏆 Metaplanet Becomes 4th Largest Corporate Bitcoin Holder After $600M Purchase

• Japanese investment company Metaplanet has acquired an additional 5,268 BTC (~$600 million), increasing its total Bitcoin holdings to 30,823 BTC valued at approximately $3.6 billion.
• This acquisition makes Metaplanet the fourth-largest corporate Bitcoin holder globally, surpassing the Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company, with its Bitcoin investments purchased at an average price of about $116,000.

📊 Strategy (MSTR) Set for S&P 500 Consideration After Second Profitable Quarter

• Michael Saylor's Strategy (MSTR) is on track for its second consecutive profitable quarter, with projected earnings of approximately $2.9 billion ($10 per share) due to bitcoin's price increase to $114,000.
• With accumulated earnings of roughly $22.80 per share over the past year, Strategy now meets S&P 500 inclusion criteria, which requires positive trailing twelve-month EPS, profitable latest quarter, and sufficient public float.

Market Metrics

Fundraising & VC
1. xMoney (Strategic, $21.5M) - Licensed global payment infrastructure
2. Lava (Undisclosed, $17.5M) - Bitcoin-backed loans
3. Cheeze (Seed, Undisclosed) - Blockchain-powered rewards app

Regulatory
⚖️ EU Watchdog Pushes For Stablecoin Ban

• The European Systemic Risk Board has recommended banning multi-issuance stablecoins, particularly those issued with entities outside the EU, citing financial stability concerns.
• This follows ECB President Christine Lagarde's comments about regulatory gaps related to non-EU stablecoins and could pressure authorities to restrict major issuers like Circle and Paxos.

🌐 Turkey Expanding Crypto Oversight Powers

• Turkey is drafting legislation to empower its financial intelligence unit (Masak) to freeze bank and crypto accounts linked to suspected criminal activities.
• The proposed bill would allow authorities to shut down accounts, limit transaction amounts, and blacklist crypto wallet addresses across financial institutions and exchanges.

⌛ Government Shutdown Delays Crypto ETF Approvals

• The US government shutdown is likely to delay approval of new cryptocurrency ETFs as the SEC will operate with limited staff during this period.
• While industry experts emphasize that demand for cryptocurrency investment products remains strong, any disruptions in approvals will be temporary once operations resume.

💰 NY Regulator Updates Crypto Insolvency Guidance

• NYDFS Superintendent Adrienne Harris announced updated guidance for crypto companies regarding insolvency, clarifying acceptable sub-custodians and asset utilization rules.
• The revised guidelines require custodians to maintain users' cryptocurrencies in separate or omnibus onchain wallets and prohibit using these assets for their own purposes.

🏦 Bank of England Governor: Stablecoins May Reduce Bank Reliance

• Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey indicated stablecoins could lessen the UK's dependency on commercial banks, suggesting a potential evolution in the central bank's view on digital assets.
• Bailey emphasized the need for thorough consideration of implications while announcing an upcoming consultation paper on a systemic stablecoin regime.

Technical Analysis
Bitcoin - Bitcoin is in a falling trend channel in the short term. Falling trends indicate that the currency experiences negative development and falling buy interest among investors. The currency has broken up through resistance at points 117700. This predicts a further rise. RSI diverges negatively against the price, which indicates danger of a reaction downwards. The currency is overall assessed as technically positive for the short term.

Ethereum - Ethereum is within an approximate horizontal trend channel in the short term. This indicates that investors are uncertain and waiting for signals of further direction. A break upwards will be a positive signal, while a break downwards will be a negative signal. The price has reacted back after a break of the double top formation without quite reaching the objective at 3878. A significant break 4298 will again give new negative signals to the currency, while a break of the opposite side of the formation will be a strong positive signal. The currency has broken up through resistance at points 4300. This predicts a further rise. In case of negative reactions, there will now be support at points 4300. The RSI curve shows a falling trend, which is an early signal of a possible trend reversal downwards for the price as well. The currency is overall assessed as technically slightly positive for the short term.