The biggest news in the cryptoverse for Oct. 28 includes Binance making a $500 million contribution to Elon Musk’s Twitter deal, Ethereum outperforming other Layer-1 networks, deBridge introducing a new standard for cross-chain transfers, and Wisdom Tree recording a loss of about 36% in crypto assets in the third quarter.
CryptoSlate Top Stories
Binance founder CZ confirms $500M equity investment to back Musk’s Twitter deal
The World’s richest man Elon Musk finally clinched ownership of Twitter today, with support from leading crypto exchange Binance.
Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao confirmed that his company supported Musk’s $44 billion deal with a “small contribution” of $500 million. The contribution will help bridge the gap between social media and web3 and drive a wider adoption for the cryptocurrency industry.
Ethereum price outperforms other L1 networks
It’s been a monumental week for Ethereum after its recent price gains saw it become the 50th most valuable asset globally, and now outpacing other Layer 1 networks.
According to CryptoSlate data, in the last seven days, ETH surged over 18.7% to cross the $1,500 mark, while other Layer-1 tokens like ATOM, MATIC, and SOL increased about 17.86%, 15.56%, and 12.49% respectively.
DeFi protocol deBridge to launch new standard for cross-chain transfers
deBridge said it will launch a liquidity-on-demand infrastructure called DeSwap Liquidity Network (DLN), which will facilitate cross-chain transfers at zero slippage.
According to DLN’s design, it will provide on-demand liquidity, thus eliminating the need for protocols to lock up before completing transactions. The DLN infrastructure will help reduce the risk of bridge exploits, as the total value locked in protocols will remain zero.
Wisdom Tree takes 36% loss in crypto assets in Q3
Investment management firm Wisdom Tree said it lost about $87 million from its crypto holdings to the bear market, according to its third-quarter report.
Between June and September, it recorded about 36% in loss after its crypto holding fell from $265 million to $178 million.
Costa Rican congresswoman proposes bill to regulate, recognize cryptocurrency
Costa Rica’s congress has received the “Cryptoassets Market Law (MECA)” bill from Congresswoman Johana Obando.
The MECA bill seeks to recognize cryptocurrency as an investment asset in Costa Rica but will exempt crypto miners from paying taxes on their mining profits.
US Trustee opposes Celsius’ $2.9M employee bonus plan
Celsius had requested the court’s approval for it to pay up to $2.9 million as retention bonuses to 62 employees helping out in its restructuring efforts.
The United States Trustee filed moved to oppose the motion stating that it is not logical for a company owing its customers billions of dollars to propose a multi-million bonus plan for employees. It argued that the unnamed employees may as well be insiders of the management team.
Research Highlight
Terra collapse sparked explosive growth in long-term Bitcoin supply
The Terra collapse which recorded over $60 billion as losses to investors, has been viewed as an undoing of the crypto industry. However, on-chain metrics analyzed by CryptoSlate suggest that it helped to increase Bitcoin’s long-term holding rate.
Following the collapse in May, long-term holders declined significantly, however, since the start of September, the Long-Term Holder Net Position has surged to new highs.
As a result, long-term holders have been on the increase, while short-term holders are decreasing rapidly.
News from around the Cryptoverse
Binance to help Twitter with blockchain
A Binance spokesperson told Reuters that the crypto exchange is creating a team to help Twitter integrate blockchain and crypto solutions, following Elon Musk’s takeover.
Twitter’s blockchain team will work at using on-chain solutions to reduce bot account issues plaguing the leading social media platform.
NFT trading coming to Twitter
Twitter said it will integrate NFTs from Rarible, Magic Eden, DapperLabs, and Jump Trade on Twitter Tiles to make it easier for users to trade NFTs on the go.
VISA files Trademark for crypto wallet, NFTs, and Metaverse
Leading payment giant VISA has reportedly filed two trademark applications in the United States to offer services related to crypto wallets, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and the Metaverse.
THORChain resumes operation
A software bug forced the THORChain blockchain to suspend operations on Oct. 27. Roughly 24 hours later, the project team announced that the issue has been rectified and that users’ funds are safe for access.
Premier League partner Sorare to create NFT for soccer teams
Sky News reported that the Premier League is offering up to £30 million to NFT platform Sorare, to help create digital images of footballers across 20 English clubs.
Hong Kong set to legalize crypto trading
Hong Kong is making a U-turn to its anti-crypto stance after it announced plans to legalize retail trading of cryptocurrencies, Bloomberg reported.
All crypto exchanges in the country will be mandated to obtain a regulatory license before they can offer trading services to retail investors.
Crypto Market
In the last 24 hours, Bitcoin (BTC) increased by +1.05% to trade at $20,650, while Ethereum (ETH) also increased by +2.35% to trade at $1,562.
