LianGuai Morning News | Bitcoin network fees increased by 40% this week, with an average of 30 BTC per day.

LianGuai Morning News Bitcoin network fees rise 40% this week to an average of 30 BTC per day.

Headlines

▌ Hong Kong Maintains Leading Position in the Selection of “The Most Suitable Region for Widespread Adoption of Cryptocurrencies” for Two Consecutive Years

LianGuai reported that Hong Kong has once again been named the region most suitable for widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies in 2023, maintaining its leading position for two consecutive years. Today, the CRS (crypto readiness score) was announced, with Hong Kong taking the top spot with a CRS score of 8.36. The CRS score for the United States has dropped by 6.5%, from 7.7 in 2022 to 7.25, falling to third place. On the other hand, Switzerland’s CRS score has increased by more than 9%, rising from 7.5 to 8.18, ranking second globally.

▌Bitcoin Network Fees Increase by 40% This Week, Averaging 30 BTC per Day

On September 15th, IntoTheBlock data shows that Bitcoin network fees have climbed by 40% this week, stabilizing at around 30 BTC per day, which is double the amount compared to the same time last year (before the launch of Ordinals).

• Fuel NFT and Market Ecosystem Inventory
• Will the arrival of various ‘X’ RC-20 standards be the future of Bitcoin?
• Bitfinex Cryptocurrency market funds outflow reached $55 billion in August.

▌Hong Kong Monetary Authority: Some Virtual Asset Institutions’ Use of “Bank” is Misleading or May Involve Criminal Activities

On September 15th, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority issued a statement pointing out that some virtual asset institutions claim to be “crypto banks,” “virtual asset banks,” “digital asset banks,” “digital banks,” or “digital trading banks,” or claim to provide banking services or bank accounts. Some virtual asset institutions also use the term “deposits” to describe funds held by customers in these institutions, or promote savings plans as low-risk and high-return options, which are misleading. According to the Banking Ordinance, only licensed banks, restricted license banks, and deposit-taking companies (referred to as recognized institutions) authorized by the Monetary Authority can operate banking or deposit-taking businesses in Hong Kong. Apart from recognized institutions, anyone who uses the term “bank” in their business name or representation in Hong Kong, or claims to be a bank or is conducting banking business in Hong Kong, is committing a crime. No one is allowed to operate a deposit-taking business in Hong Kong or invite members of the public to make any deposits; otherwise, it is also a crime. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority reminds that virtual asset institutions that are not Hong Kong banks are not regulated by the Monetary Authority, and funds held in these institutions or platforms are not protected by the Hong Kong Deposit Protection Scheme.

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Market

As of the time of writing, according to coinmarketcap data:

The recent trading price of BTC is $25,946.8, with a daily change of +0.73%;

The recent trading price of ETH is $1,591.95, with a daily change of +0.93%;

BNB recently traded at $211.4, with a daily change of +1.15%;

XRP recently traded at $0.47802, with a daily change of +1.34%;

DOGE recently traded at $0.061133, with a daily change of +0.46%;

ADA recently traded at $0.2469, with a daily change of +0.61%;

SOL recently traded at $18.2, with a daily change of +1.35%.

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Policy

▌US SEC: Binance.US refuses to cooperate with investigation

On September 15th, the US SEC accused Binance.US of refusing to cooperate with an investigation, stating that the company’s custody, settlement, and brokerage services violated federal securities regulations. US federal regulators are concerned that the custody services provided by Ceffu, which Binance.US uses, violate previous agreements aimed at preventing assets from flowing overseas and are worried about assets being transferred abroad. The SEC stated that during the discovery process, Binance.US’s parent company BAM only provided “approximately 220 documents, many of which were incomprehensible screenshots and documents without dates or signatures”. In a filing submitted on September 12th, Binance.US claimed that the regulatory concerns about Ceffu were baseless and that the request for more documents was a futile fishing expedition. Binance.US stated that merely creating wallets through Ceffu does not mean that the company’s international division can custody or access customer funds.

▌US SEC agrees to unseal confidential documents in Binance lawsuit

According to a court filing on September 15th, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a “motion to unseal” to disclose the contents of the confidential documents it submitted last month. In fact, both the US SEC and the defendants, Binance and Binance.US, have agreed to unseal many of the documents submitted by the SEC last month, including those related to “motion for a preliminary injunction and other relief” and “motion to oppose Binance.US’s protective order”. The SEC claims that Binance.US should have submitted sealed documents to the court as requested by the SEC, resulting in significant delays in the case. Despite Binance.US (BAM) submitting revised versions of the relevant documents, experts still express concerns due to the importance of this case.

▌Director of the Korean National Tax Service: Strengthening crackdown on tax evasion using virtual assets

According to LianGuai, Kim Chang-ki, the director of the Korean National Tax Service, announced that they will crack down on malicious tax evasion, including new forms of tax evasion based on online platforms. With the rapid development of industries related to virtual assets such as cryptocurrencies in recent years, it is necessary to strengthen cooperation among countries to combat related tax evasion. To address tax evasion using virtual assets, it is essential to enhance research foundations. Kim Beom-jun, a professor at Seoul National University Law School, stated that the income tax law scheduled to be implemented in 2025 will limit the taxation of virtual asset transactions to transfers and leases, and other types of transactions will not be taxed.

▌Japanese Government to Allow Startups to Raise Funds with Cryptocurrencies

September 15th news, the Japanese government will relax regulations on financing for startups, allowing startups to receive cryptocurrency investments from venture capitalists (VC). The new regulations will cover funds known as Limited Partnership for Investment (LPS).

▌Fox Reporter: New York Department of Financial Services to Release Modifications to Token Listing Policy Standards Today

September 15th news, according to Fox reporter Eleanor Terrett, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) will release modifications to its token listing policy standards today. Cryptocurrency companies operating in New York will no longer be allowed to self-certify the adoption/listing of new tokens. The purpose of canceling the self-certification process is to ensure that all BitLicense and Limited Purpose Trust Companies (LPTC) comply with the same DFS-approved listing standards and provide more clarity for the industry plagued by scams.

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Blockchain Applications

▌EthereumACDEConference:EIP-7514Confirmed as Part of Dencun Upgrade

September 15th news, Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko summarized the latest Ethereum execution layer meeting, which discussed topics including devnet-8 status updates and confirming EIP-7514 as part of the Dencun upgrade. EIP-7514 aims to update the maximum validator growth rate from exponential to linear growth through the Epoch Churn Limit restriction.

▌HSBC Collaborates with Hong Kong University of Science and Technology to Trial e-HKD

LianGuai reported that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced the launch of the “e-HKD” pilot program in May, with HSBC collaborating with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology to conduct e-HKD payment tests on campus. The HKUST Business School and HSBC announced that a one-week hypothetical e-HKD trial will be conducted from September 16th to 22nd, with nearly 200 HKUST students and faculty members participating. Each participant can receive 100 hypothetical e-HKD tokens through a specially designed electronic wallet and use them for consumption at 5 merchants on campus, such as cafes and canteens. HSBC has designed and built a platform that uses distributed ledger technology (DLT) to simulate the payment and instant settlement of programmable currency in different retail settings. In addition, the prototype digital tokens have smart contract and programmable capabilities, allowing users to automatically receive preset rewards upon completing eligible transactions.

▌Xian Metro Implements “Digital RMB” for Fare Payment

LianGuai reported that the “Xian Metro Digital RMB Fare Payment Launch Ceremony” was recently held at the Olympic Sports Center Station on Line 14 of Xian Metro, marking the implementation of “Digital RMB” fare payment in Xian Metro. Currently, citizens can download the Xian Metro App and Digital RMB App, open a personal wallet in the Digital RMB App, and activate the Xian Metro wallet quick payment service. Then, when using the Xian Metro App for transportation, they can default to using Digital RMB for payment, enabling contactless payment and scanning code through the entire Xian Metro line. In addition, at stations along Line 14 of the metro, they can choose to use Digital RMB for on-site ticket purchase through self-service ticket machines, following the screen instructions to scan the code using the Digital RMB App and complete the payment.

▌2.2万张BTC期权和15.6万张ETH期权即将到期

LianGuai reported that on September 15th, the option data showed that 22,000 BTC options are about to expire, with a put option ratio of 0.74, a maximum pain point of $26,000, and a nominal value of $560 million. 156,000 ETH options are about to expire, with a put option ratio of 1.09, a maximum pain point of $1,650, and a nominal value of $250 million. Greeks.live stated that BTC and ETH have had very small fluctuations during the trading day, with only significant fluctuations occurring around Tuesday. It is common for recent fluctuations to be concentrated in just one or two days a week, and there is also a relatively small market focus, with almost no significant news from Token 2049. These factors have led to a significant decrease in bullish positions and a significant increase in bearish positions for BTC in this week’s delivery. Skew is gradually returning to near zero, and whales continue to bet on continued low volatility. However, trading intensity has decreased this week.

▌Shenzhen: Distributing 50,000 zero-threshold digital RMB red packets and 10 million yuan of “Wen Hui Quan red packets”.

LianGuai reported that the Shenzhen Development and Reform Commission issued the “Several Measures for Promoting Consumption in Shenzhen”. The measures propose to expand cultural and sports consumption. Regularly carry out cultural benefit activities, distribute 10 million yuan of “Wen Hui Quan red packets” and 50,000 zero-threshold digital RMB red packets, and encourage reading, watching movies, appreciating performances, visiting exhibitions, and tourism. Strengthen the crackdown on illegal activities such as scalping tickets by “scalpers”. Encourage sports consumption, hold sports events such as the China Cup Sailing Race, the BWF World Tour Super 1000 China Masters, and the National Fencing Championships, improve the “iShenzhen” sports venue one-click reservation platform, and promote the coverage of “open sharing, one-click reservation” for various school sports venues to exceed 50%. A total of 60 million yuan of sports venue consumption vouchers will be distributed throughout the year.

▌Data: Base’s transaction volume per second is twice that of ZkSync and four times that of Arbitrum.

LianGuai reported that in its official tweet, Base stated that its transaction volume per second reached 21.29 TPS, which is twice as fast as ZkSync and four times as fast as Arbitrum. In addition, Base’s 24-hour trading volume exceeded all Layer 2 on September 14th, processing 1.88 million transactions in less than a day.

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Cryptocurrency

▌Report: The amount of cryptocurrency stolen by hackers related to North Korea has decreased by 80% compared to last year.

LianGuai reported that in a report on September 14th, Chainalysis stated that as of September 14th, 2023, hackers related to North Korea have stolen a total of $340.4 million worth of cryptocurrency, which is lower than the record level of $1.65 billion stolen funds in the 2022 report. Compared to 2022, the amount of cryptocurrency stolen by hackers related to North Korea has decreased significantly by 80%. Chainalysis pointed out that this year’s decrease does not necessarily indicate an improvement in security or a reduction in criminal activity. In the two recent hacker attacks, attacks related to North Korea accounted for about 30% of all cryptocurrency funds stolen this year. At the same time, Chainalysis found that in recent years, North Korean hackers have increasingly relied on certain Russian exchanges for money laundering. The company stated that North Korea has been using various Russian exchanges since 2021. One of the largest money laundering activities involved the transfer of $21.9 million from the Harmony bridge hack on June 24th, 2022.

▌Report: North Korean Hackers Stole $1.7 Billion in Cryptocurrency Last Year, Breaking the Previous Record

LianGuai reports that the United Nations Security Council’s sanctions committee on North Korea submitted a report to the Security Council last month stating that it is estimated that North Korean hackers broke the previous record by stealing $1.7 billion (approximately 22 trillion Korean won) in cryptocurrency last year. According to analysis by blockchain tracking company TRM Labs, a total of $200 million (approximately 26.56 trillion Korean won) has been stolen as of the 18th of last month. This is equivalent to more than 20% of all cryptocurrencies stolen this year.

▌Report: Germany’s Blockchain Industry Invested a Total of $355 Million in 34 Transactions in 2023

LianGuai reports that according to a report released by Crypto Valley Venture Capital (CVVC), Germany achieved a new record high in global venture capital financing shares in 2023. The “2023 German Blockchain Report” states that the blockchain industry invested a total of $355 million in 34 transactions. Germany attracted 2.4% of global blockchain funds and 2.5% of global transactions. Compared to the figures of 0.9% of global financing and 1.9% of global transactions in 2022, the percentages in these two statistical data have increased in 2023. Germany obtained 9.4% of European blockchain funds and 10.3% of the total European blockchain transactions.

▌After Ethereum’s Transition to PoS, ETH Net Supply Decreases by Nearly 300,000

LianGuai reports that on September 15th of last year, Ethereum implemented a key upgrade called Merge, which switched the largest smart contract blockchain from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. According to data from the Ethereum analytics dashboard ultrason.money, since then, Ethereum has minted 680,455.31 Ether (ETH) and burned 980,377.87 Ether (ETH), resulting in a decrease in net supply of 299,922.50 Ether (ETH). Calculated on an annualized percentage basis, the supply has decreased by 0.249%.

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Important Economic Trends

▌Major U.S. Stock Indices Declined Collectively on September 15th, Semiconductor Sector Under Pressure

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 288.34 points, or 0.83%, at 34,618.77 points on Friday, September 15th;

The S&P 500 Index closed down 55.09 points, or 1.22%, at 4,450.01 points on Friday, September 15th;

The Nasdaq Composite Index closed down 217.72 points, or 1.56%, at 13,708.33 points on Friday, September 15th.

Semiconductor sector under pressure, AMD (AMD.O), Arm (ARM.O) fell more than 4%, Nvidia (NVDA.O) fell more than 3%, TSMC (TSM.N) fell more than 2%, and residential construction and charging pile sectors had the largest decline. (Jinshi Data APP)

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LianGuai Encyclopedia

▌Homomorphic Encryption

Homomorphic encryption is a special encryption method that allows processing of ciphertext to still yield encrypted results. This means that the ciphertext can be processed directly, similar to processing plaintext and then encrypting it, resulting in the same outcome. From an algebraic perspective, this is referred to as homomorphism.

Disclaimer: LianGuai, as a blockchain information platform, publishes articles for informational reference only and does not constitute actual investment advice. Please establish the correct investment concept and be sure to increase risk awareness.

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