gm 27/10

Summary
gm, Bitcoin surged past $115,000, driven by positive developments in US-China trade negotiations, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announcing a "substantial framework" to avoid upcoming tariffs. This trade optimism sparked a broader market rally, with $319 million in short positions liquidated as Ethereum jumped 7.3% and Solana rose 5.5%. Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan made significant strides in crypto adoption by launching a stablecoin pegged to its national currency on BNB Chain and confirming plans for a CBDC, while Western Union announced a pilot for stablecoin-powered transfers, signaling growing institutional embrace of blockchain technology for cross-border payments. Additionally, Coinbase's x402 protocol for AI-powered autonomous transactions recorded explosive growth, with activity increasing by over 10,000% in the past month, highlighting the emerging intersection of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency.

News Headlines
📊 NYDIG: Bitcoin Isn't Digital Gold, It's a 'Liquidity Barometer'

• New research from NYDIG challenges the narrative that Bitcoin serves as a reliable inflation hedge, with data showing weak and inconsistent correlations between Bitcoin's price and inflation measures.
• NYDIG concludes that Bitcoin functions better as a measure of global liquidity rather than an inflation hedge, with investors advised to view gold as a hedge against real rates while seeing Bitcoin as a barometer reflecting capital flows and interest rates.

🏦 Major Iranian Bank Goes Bankrupt, Affecting 42 Million Customers

• Ayandeh Bank, one of Iran's largest private financial institutions, has declared bankruptcy with $5.1 billion in losses and nearly $3 billion in debt, forcing state-owned Bank Melli to absorb assets of 42 million affected customers.
• This collapse underscores the fragility of Iran's banking sector amid international sanctions and currency devaluation, with eight other banks at risk according to the Central Bank of Iran, drawing parallels to the traditional banking failures that inspired Bitcoin's creation.

💰 Korean Public Company Bitplanet Begins Bitcoin Treasury Plan

• Bitplanet, a publicly listed company in South Korea, has initiated a daily Bitcoin accumulation strategy by acquiring 93 BTC as part of a broader plan to build a treasury of 10,000 Bitcoins using $40 million in new funding.
• The program, positioned as the first Bitcoin purchase by a public Korean firm, marks a significant shift for Bitplanet as it transitions from IT services to embracing a dedicated Bitcoin treasury model amid Bitcoin's recovery in the broader market.

⛏️ Mid-tier Bitcoin Miners Gain Ground Post-Halving

• The Bitcoin mining sector is seeing intensified competition among mid-tier miners following the 2024 halving, with companies like Cipher Mining, Bitdeer, and HIVE Digital significantly enhancing their realized hashrate.
• The race for market share has led to unprecedented debt levels, reaching $12.7 billion from $2.1 billion a year ago, as miners invest in next-generation hardware and diversify into artificial intelligence and high-performance computing to offset declining margins.

🔒 Ledger's New Multisig Interface Sparks Backlash Over 'Cash Cow' Fees

• Ledger's launch of a new multisig interface has been praised for technical improvements but criticized for implementing a flat fee of $10 on transactions and 0.05% on token transfers, in addition to standard blockchain fees.
• Discrepancies between statements made by Ledger CEO Charles Guillemet about free fees versus actual documented charges have led to allegations of misleading communication, despite the company's strong market position securing approximately 20% of global cryptocurrency value.

Market Metrics

Fundraising & VC
1. ME3 (Undisclosed, $3M) - Non-custodial wallet and crypto exchange for gamers
2. ZKLSOL (Public Token Sale, $969.42k) - Yield-bearing privacy protocol on Solana

Regulatory
📱 Australia's Crypto Industry Backs Draft Laws Despite Concerns

• Australian crypto firms broadly support the government's new draft legislation while requesting clarity on licensing requirements and consumer protections.
• Industry leaders have raised concerns about potential discretionary powers for regulators and insufficient guidance for offshore exchanges operating in the Australian market.

💴 Japan Launches First Yen-Backed Global Stablecoin

• Japan has introduced JPYC, the world's first yen-pegged stablecoin, fully backed by domestic deposits and Japanese government bonds.
• Unlike other Asian stablecoins, JPYC benefits from the yen's free convertibility, aiming to facilitate a decentralized USD/JPY market and enhance liquidity in Asian crypto settlements.

⚠️ Bitcoin Improvement Proposal Sparks Legal Threat Controversy

• A new soft fork proposal by Bitcoin developer Luke Dashjr has ignited controversy over language suggesting legal consequences for those rejecting the proposed changes.
• Critics argue the proposal's wording contradicts Bitcoin's foundational principle of permissionless use, with some labeling it an "attack on Bitcoin."

🔍 North Korea's Crypto Theft Reaches $2.84B in 2024

• North Korea has stolen $2.84 billion in cryptocurrency since January 2024, with at least $1.65 billion taken in the first nine months of this year.
• The country's hacking operations are bolstered by IT workers abroad operating in countries like China and Russia, though Western law enforcement capabilities to counter these threats are improving.

🌐 AWS Outage Reveals Crypto's Centralization Vulnerability

• A recent 15-hour Amazon Web Services outage affected major crypto platforms including Coinbase and MetaMask, revealing the industry's dependence on centralized infrastructure.
• Despite blockchain's decentralized design, experts note that most platforms rely heavily on large cloud providers, creating concentration risks that undermine Web3's resilience.

Technical Analysis
Bitcoin - Bitcoin 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 currency is testing resistance at points 115500. This could give a negative reaction, but an upward breakthrough of points 115500 means a positive signal. Negative volume balance weakens the currency in the short term. The currency is overall assessed as technically negative for the short term.

Ethereum - Investors have accepted lower prices over time to get out of Ethereum and the currency is in a falling trend channel in the short term. This signals increasing pessimism among investors and indicates further decline for Ethereum. The currency is moving within a rectangle formation between support at 3808 and resistance at 4642. A decisive break through one of these levels indicates the new direction for the currency. The currency is between support at points 4130 and resistance at points 4300. A definitive break through of one of these levels predicts the new direction. Volume tops and volume bottoms correspond badly with tops and bottoms in the price. Volume balance is also negative, which confirms the trend. The RSI curve shows a rising trend, which is an early signal of a possible trend reversal upwards for the price as well. The currency is overall assessed as technically negative for the short term.