Read in the Digest:
Bitcoin (BTC) surges to touch $20k, amidst hopes of a Fed retreat. Tether increases Treasury bill holdings – commercial paper at $50 million. Joe Biden’s administration urges Congress to accelerate crypto regulations. Ethereum’s ecosystem dominates smart contracts TVL with 62%. Argentina’s state-owned energy firm powers mining with residual gas.Bitcoin (BTC) Surges to Touch $20k, Amidst Hopes of Fed Retreat
Bitcoin (BTC) opened Uptober worse than investors had predicted, dropping beneath $19k due to bearish pressure. However, the tides look to be changing, as Bitcoin rallied to briefly trade above the $20,000 level for the first time this month.
In the last 24 hours, the price of BTC shot up by as much as 4.6% to trade at an inter-day high of $20,071. Bitcoin now trades at $19,935 at the time of writing, and maintains considerable bullish momentum.
The 24 hour price chart for Bitcoin (BTC). Source: CoinMarketCap
The rally comes after the Institute for Supply Management reported a surprising monthly decline in the manufacturing index. The news has led to a newfound belief among investors that the Federal Reserve could be set to slow its interest rate hike.
In its latest report, the United Nations (UN) advised the U.S. Fed and other large western regulators not to persist with raising their interest rates. The UN claims that the continuous interest rate hikes could throw the world into recession.
Flipsider:
Cardano Founder Charles Hoskinson, in his latest podcast, has called for mining of Bitcoin (BTC) to end.Why You Should Care
Slowing interest rate hikes, which have negatively affected the prices of Bitcoin and crypto in general, could give crypto industry room to recover from 2022’s price crash.
Tether Increases Treasury Bill Holdings – Commercial Paper at $50 Million
In its latest portfolio holdings update, Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin, announced that it has increased its Treasury bills holding by 14.6%, but reduced its commercial paper holdings since June 2022.
Tether’s CTO Paolo Ardoino announced that the company’s commercial papers (short-term unsecured debt issued by companies) now register as less than $50 million. As of May, the company held $20.1 billion in commercial papers.
Tether has also significantly increased its Treasury bills holding. The company’s total portfolio now consists of 58.1% Treasury bills, up from the 43.5% of its total portfolio recorded on June 30th.
The firm claimed that it has plans to reduce its commercial paper holdings to zero by the end of 2022. Tether’s USDT remains the biggest stablecoin in the crypto market, with a market capitalization of $67.69 billion.
Flipsider:
As part of a $1.4 trillion lawsuit, Tether was recently ordered by Judge Katherine Polk Failla to produce its general ledgers, balance sheets, income, cash flow, and profit and loss statements.Why You Should Care
The measure represents part of Tether’s response to calls for increased transparency amid growing concerns over the stability of its ecosystem and USDT stablecoin.
Joe Biden’s Administration Urges Congress to Accelerate Crypto Regulation
On October 3rd, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) released a report urging Congress to pass laws on a range of issues, including the regulation of bitcoin and other crypto assets sold on the spot market.
The report from the U.S. regulatory panel, comprising top financial regulators and the Treasury inclusive, explains that many crypto asset activities lack basic measures to combat risk, or to even ensure that leverage is not excessive.
The FSOC’s report recommends that the laws passed by Congress should give Federal market regulators the authority to draft and enforce specialized crypto asset markets rules that existing securities laws do not cover, as well as to allow the supervision of crypto firm affiliates and subsidiaries.
The report further advises that any such legislation should cover abusive trading practices, conflicts of interest, cyber security and record-keeping, while outlining a federal framework for stablecoin issuers, addressing market integrity and consumer protection.
Flipsider:
Although there has been a concerted effort to push for crypto regulation, insiders report that, based on Congressional negotiations, any such legislation is still months away.Why You Should Care
Crypto legislation would allow regulators across different jurisdictions to better understand and coordinate businesses and crypto markets.
Ethereum’s Ecosystem Dominates Smart Contracts TVL with 62%
Ethereum, the world’s first smart contract platform, has managed to remain the most popular choice among developers to this day. The preference for the network has led to Ethereum dominating the total value locked (TVL) in the sector.
With the rise of Ethereum Layer-2 solutions, Messari, the crypto market intelligence provider reports that the dominance of Ethereum and its Layer-2 projects in terms of smart contracts TVL has hit 62%.
According to data from Messari, Ethereum alone contributes $34 billion to the total TVL. Although Ethereum’s TVL grew by 8% in Q3, the Layer-1 network’s growth was dwarfed by its Layer-2 protocols.
The data aggregator reports that the TVL of Arbitrum and Optimism held far higher quarterly growth rates at 33% and 224% respectively. The Layer-2 solutions now contribute over $1 billion to the global smart contracts TVL.
Flipsider:
Messari also reports that lending volumes on the Ethereum chain dropped from $280 billion per day in Q2, to $116 billion per day in Q3.Why You Should Care
The smart contract dominance held by the Ethereum ecosystem highlights the extent of its development compared to other chains.
Argentina’s State-Owned Energy Firm Powers Mining with Residual Gas
On October 2nd, Argentina’s state-owned energy company YPF announced that it has been supplying power to an undisclosed international crypto mining company. YPF plans to launch a second project eight times larger before the end of the year.
In July YPF Luz, the renewable energy arm of YPF, installed a 1-megawatt (MW) pilot in the Loma Campana area to enable crypto mining operations to convert energy from the residual gas generated by oil production.
The second crypto mining pilot, which will measure at 8MW in the Bajo Del Taro area, is expected to be launched before the end of 2022. The company noted that payment for the service can either be fixed or tied to the price of the mined assets on the market.
More state-owned energy companies are delving into crypto mining. In June Crusoe Energy, a U.S.-owned company that pioneered bitcoin (BTC) mining, expanded to Oman and Abu Dhabi.
Flipsider:
Bitcoin’s energy consumption has led to governments around the world, including the United States and Paraguay, signing laws that limit energy usage in crypto mining operations.Why You Should Care
The project seeks to take advantage of the gas, which would otherwise have been burned, to generate cheap energy for crypto mining.
Flipsider News, zz_index, zz_popular, zz_top, ZZZ Editors’ Picks, ZZZ Native, Bitcoin (BTC), Crypto News, Ethereum (ETH), Joe Biden, Tether (USDT)Read More
You might also be interested in reading Meta pulling the plug on NFTs across Instagram and Facebook.