Grayscale adds staking for ETH and SOL products, Polymarket launches on the BTC network.

Headline

▌Grayscale has added staking capabilities to its Ethereum and Solana products, becoming one of the first staking ETFs

The cryptocurrency asset management company Grayscale is adding staking features to its Ethereum and Solana products: Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHE), Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust ETF (ETH), and Grayscale Solana Trust (GSOL). This move makes ETHE and ETH among the first spot cryptocurrency ETPs to be listed in the U.S. and offer staking services, while GSOL also becomes one of the few ways for investors to stake Solana through traditional brokerage accounts. Now, investors only need to deposit these funds into regular brokerage accounts to earn rewards.

▌Polymarket launches on the Bitcoin network, allowing users to deposit using BTC

The prediction market platform Polymarket announced the official launch on the Bitcoin network, allowing users to deposit using BTC.

Market

As of the time of writing, according to data from CoinGecko:

The price of BTC is $124,666, with a 24-hour change of +0.5%;

The price of ETH is $4,676.96, with a 24-hour change of +3.3%;

The price of BNB is $1,210.26, with a 24-hour change of +2.7%;

The price of SOL is $232.45, with a 24-hour change of +0.6%;

The price of DOGE is $0.2655, with a 24-hour change of +4.6%;

The price of XRP is $2.99, with a 24-hour change of +0.4%;

The price of TRX is $0.3468, with a 24-hour change of +1.7%;

The price of WLFI is $0.1989, with a 24-hour change of -0.3%;

The HYPE price is $47.04, with a 24-hour change of -3.1%.

Policy

▌The EU plans to grant ESMA greater powers for comprehensive regulation of cryptocurrency and stock markets

According to market news, the European Commission is brewing a comprehensive reform that plans to grant the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) direct oversight authority over stock exchanges, cryptocurrency companies, and clearing houses. ESMA Chair Verena Ross stated that this move aims to address the long-standing issue of fragmentation in the EU financial market and to create a more integrated and globally competitive capital market. Currently, the regulatory authority over crypto asset service providers (CASP) is mainly executed by individual member states under the MiCA framework, but ESMA believes that this decentralized regulation is inefficient and undermines consumer protection. However, the proposal has faced opposition from smaller countries such as Luxembourg and Malta, who warn that the centralization of power could harm the local financial industry.

▌Vietnam limits cryptocurrency pilot to 5 licensed exchanges

The Deputy Minister of Finance of Vietnam announced at a government press conference on Monday that the maximum number of licenses for the cryptocurrency exchange pilot program is set at 5. Although some companies are preparing relevant systems and have had preliminary communications with officials, the Ministry of Finance has not yet received any formal applications. Industry experts have criticized the high capital requirements and regulatory uncertainties, warning that this policy favors large financial institutions and is detrimental to financial technology innovation companies.

▌U.S. Senate Fails to Pass Bipartisan Funding Bill, Government Shutdown Continues

On October 6 local time, the U.S. Senate voted on a funding bill proposed by the Democrats aimed at ending the government “shutdown,” which ultimately failed to pass with 45 votes in favor and 50 votes against. Subsequently, the Senate voted on a temporary funding bill proposed by the Republicans. The voting results still did not meet the threshold for passage, and the bill failed. With the bill being rejected, the U.S. government “shutdown” will continue.

Blockchain Applications

▌Ondo Finance has completed the acquisition of broker Oasis Pro

Ondo Finance has completed the acquisition of Oasis Pro, a brokerage licensed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This acquisition aims to promote the development of Ondo's tokenized securities business, which the company initially announced in July.

▌Plume Network approved by the SEC, registered as a tokenized securities transfer agent

Plume Network has been approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and registered as a transfer agent for tokenized securities. As a registered transfer agent, Plume will directly manage digital securities and shareholder records on-chain, and support interoperability with the U.S. Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) settlement network.

▌OpenAI and AMD Announce Chip Agreement Worth Billions of Dollars

OpenAI and chip design company AMD(AMD.O) announced a multi-billion dollar partnership to collaboratively develop artificial intelligence data centers running on AMD processors. According to the terms of the agreement, OpenAI commits to purchasing AMD chips equivalent to 6 gigawatts of computing power, starting with the MI450 chip next year. OpenAI will purchase the chips directly or through its cloud computing partners. The CEO of AMD stated in an interview on Sunday that this deal will bring hundreds of billions of new revenue to AMD over the next five years. The two companies did not disclose the expected total cost of the plan, but AMD indicated that the cost per gigawatt of computing power could reach hundreds of billions of dollars. If OpenAI reaches certain deployment milestones, it will receive warrants for up to 160 million shares of AMD stock at a price of one cent per share, which is about 10% of the chip company. Additionally, AMD's stock price must rise for the warrants to be exercised.

▌Galaxy Digital launches the financial technology platform GalaxyOne, which includes cryptocurrency trading features

Golden Finance reports that Galaxy Digital, led by billionaire Mike Novogratz, has launched the financial technology platform GalaxyOne, which offers professional-grade financial products to individual investors in the United States. The platform is accessible via iOS, Android, and web, integrating cryptocurrency trading, US stock investments, and high-yield savings into a unified digital experience. Notably, GalaxyOne provides two main products for investors looking to earn interest. One of them is Galaxy Premium Yield, designed specifically for US accredited investors, allowing participants to achieve an annual percentage yield (APY) of up to 8.00% through notes issued by Galaxy Digital LP.

▌Bee Maps secures $32 million in funding, with participation from Pantera Capital and others

Bee Maps (formerly known as Hivemapper, Inc., now using a new brand name) has raised $32 million in funding to expand the scale of its decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) mapping network. Participants in this financing round include Pantera Capital, LDA Capital, Borderless Capital, and Ajna Capital. Alongside the funding, Bee Maps has launched a new subscription-based “Bee Membership” program to lower the barriers for contributors to participate.

Cryptocurrency

▌Bitcoin Soars to All-Time High as Options Traders Bet It Will Reach $140,000

Bitcoin soared to a historic high over the weekend, prompting options traders to increase their bets that the largest cryptocurrency will rise to $140,000. According to data from Deribit, a crypto derivatives exchange owned by Coinbase, the open interest in short-term Bitcoin options contracts expiring at the end of the year is concentrated around this strike price for call options. There has also been a moderate increase in demand for put options, as traders seek downside protection after the rise. “The nominal open interest in Bitcoin futures and perpetual contracts has reached record highs, despite a wave of 'buy to close' liquidations,” said Greg Magadini, head of derivatives at Amberdata. “The market's upward momentum has surprised many, and we have not yet seen a peak, especially since many traders had previously shorted the market.”

▌Strategy: Q3 Bitcoin Holdings Yielded $3.9 Billion

Michael Saylor, co-founder and executive chairman of Strategy Inc., stated on Monday that the company's Bitcoin holdings achieved a massive fair value gain of $3.9 billion in the third quarter of this year. According to Saylor's latest updates, the company holds 640,031 Bitcoins, with an average purchase price of less than $74,000 each. Based on the market price of Bitcoin, as of Sunday, these holdings are valued at approximately $79 billion.

▌Grayscale's two ETH spot ETFs have staked 32,000 ETH in the past 9 hours

On-chain analyst Yu Jin stated that the ETH of the US ETH spot ETF is now allowed to be staked, which may be one of the reasons for ETH's rebound from $3,800 to $4,700 during this period (. Grayscale's two ETH spot ETFs have staked 32,000 ETH in the past 9 hours. They conducted a large-scale ETH distribution 20 days ago, with each address receiving 3,200 ETH. Last night, the announcement confirmed that the ETFs they manage can now stake ETH, and they used 10 addresses to stake 32,000 ETH.

▌Pantera Founder: The return rate of Solana held by Pantera's Blockchain Fund IV is as high as 850%

Dan Morehead, the founder of Pantera Capital, revealed in a post that Pantera launched its fourth blockchain fund (Blockchain Fund IV) in 2021. The Solana held by Blockchain Fund IV has achieved a return of 850% over the past four years, going through three rounds of doubling. The first round was during the FTX bankruptcy fund, where SOL was purchased at a 50% discount off the then-current spot price (2x); the second round was when the spot price of Solana roughly doubled )1.1 times (; the third round was through the PIPE transaction of the Sol treasury company (2.4x). In addition, with the 7% yield from SOL staking, the return rate of Solana held by Blockchain Fund IV reached 850%.

▌BitMine increased its holdings by 179,000 ETH last week

According to data from Strategicethreserve, the ETH treasury company BitMine increased its holdings by 179,000 ETH last week, worth approximately $824 million. Currently, BitMine holds a total of 2.83 million ETH, with a total value of around $12.96 billion.

▌Standard Chartered: It is expected that $1 trillion in deposits from emerging market banks will flow into stablecoins by 2028

Standard Chartered Bank estimates that by the end of 2028, as much as $1 trillion in deposits from emerging market banks could flow into stablecoins. Historically, emerging markets have been hotspots for stablecoin adoption, primarily due to a large unbanked population in these regions. This trend may even intensify in light of the U.S. GENIUS Act imposing zero yield requirements on compliant issuers, as capital returns are deemed more important than the return on capital.

Important Economic Dynamics

▌Federal Reserve's Schmid: Interest rates have been “appropriately adjusted”; focus should be on inflation risks

Kansas City Fed President George said on Monday that he is inclined not to cut interest rates further, stating that the Fed should continue to focus on the risk of high inflation as it seeks to balance the dual risks of overly tight and overly loose policy. George supported the Fed's decision to lower rates by 25 basis points in September, calling it an appropriate risk management decision against the backdrop of a cooling labor market. However, he pointed out that various indicators show that the overall job market remains healthy, while inflation remains too high, with service sector inflation stabilizing around 3.5% in recent months, well above the Fed's 2% inflation target. “A concerning sign is that the breadth of price increases is also widening,” George said, noting that as of August, nearly 80% of the categories in official inflation statistics had price increases, up from 70% at the beginning of the year. He added, “Overall, I expect the impact of tariffs on inflation to be relatively mild, but I think this indicates that policy has been appropriately calibrated rather than suggesting that policy rates should be significantly lowered.”

▌Gold futures rise to the key level of 4000 US dollars

The New York futures gold has for the first time ever reached the integer threshold of $4000/ounce, a rise of over 50% within the year. Spot gold is reported at $3976.94/ounce, also setting a new historical high.

▌Trump: Progress Made on Government Shutdown Issue

U.S. President Trump: Progress has been made on the government shutdown issue.

▌The probability of the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates by 25 basis points in October is 94.1%

According to CME's “FedWatch”: the probability of the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates unchanged in October is 5.9%, while the probability of a 25 basis point rate cut is 94.1%. The probability of the Federal Reserve maintaining interest rates in December is 0.6%, with a cumulative probability of a 25 basis point rate cut at 15.5% and a cumulative probability of a 50 basis point rate cut at 83.9%.

Golden Encyclopedia

▌What is a multi-signature cold wallet?

A cold wallet is a method of storing cryptocurrency that remains offline and disconnected from the internet. This setup makes it more difficult for hackers to remotely access funds. Cold wallets reduce the risk of online attacks such as phishing or malware by keeping private keys stored offline. Multi-signature technology requires multiple private keys to approve a transaction, while a single-signature wallet only requires one key. It can be thought of as a joint bank account, where any withdrawal requires two or more signers to approve. This additional layer of security means that even if one key is compromised, an attacker cannot unilaterally transfer funds. Multi-signature cold wallets require multiple private keys from trusted parties to approve and authorize transactions, enhancing security by preventing single points of failure.

Although multi-signature wallets have security advantages, they are not immune to attacks. Hackers often exploit vulnerabilities in implementation, human behavior, or third-party services. To make multi-signature cold wallets more secure, higher signature thresholds should be used, multi-factor authentication should be implemented, and keys should be stored in secure, geographically distributed locations. For those looking to protect their cryptocurrency assets from theft and fraud, multi-signature cold wallets remain one of the best options. However, their complexity and potential vulnerabilities should not be overlooked, especially in the case of supply chain attacks.