TLDR CRYPTO 2023-09-27

STABLECOIN ISSUERS RISK DISRUPTING FUNDING MARKETS, JPMORGAN SAYS

According to JPMorgan, the rise of stablecoin issuers in short-term funding markets may disrupt the sector, following the Federal Reserve's decision to limit access to the reverse repo facility. This could lead to stablecoins competing with the multitrillion-dollar money-market fund industry for assets, like Treasury bills, potentially driving rates down. The bank cautioned this could expose the traditional financial system to the instability found in the crypto space.

THE WORLD’S BIGGEST CRYPTO FIRM IS MELTING DOWN

This WSJ article details the woes that Binance has been facing over the past year. Amidst US enforcement threats from the DOJ and the SEC, global crypto exchange Binance has been plagued by departures of senior executives and has been forced to make massive layoffs - 1,500 employees in total. Its market share has dropped from 70% at the start of the year to 50% now.

PARADIGM LAUNCHES POLICY LAB IN MOVE TO ADVANCE CRYPTO ADVOCACY

Crypto venture firm Paradigm has launched a Policy Lab aimed at keeping legislators updated on the crypto industry's policy issues. The lab, a first in the sector, will publish research, commentary, and advocacy reports. The main aim of the lab is to act as an advocate in the space, something that is severely lacking and could help shape positive policy shifts.

AND FIAT CURRENCY WITH USDC

MoneyGram, the worldwide payments platform, is launching a non-custodial wallet to enable users to transfer funds between fiat currency and the popular stablecoin USDC. MoneyGram worked with the Stellar blockchain to develop and power its wallet. This move forms part of MoneyGram's digital transformation strategy, aiming to redefine the protocols of fiat currency transfers.

1KX 🤝 CONSUMER

1kx, a company traditionally focused on infrastructure investing, has reportedly directed its attention towards consumer investing over the past 2 years, completing over 30 investments in areas like virtual worlds, games, and social payments. This post details the areas in which they’ve focused and invested and provides an interesting look into the visions these crypto-native VCs have for the space.

FAIR TRADE: LAUNCH ERC-20 TOKENS WITH UNISWAP V4

Fair Trade is a new Uniswap V4 pool designed to launch tokens with security assurances for traders and future token holders. Projects can safely raise ETH, distribute tokens, and pool liquidity using Uniswap V4 hooks. The system provides an alternative to traditional fundraising methods, allowing project funds to be fully trackable on-chain.

In this paper, the Fed outlines the rapidly growing financial innovation of tokenization in crypto asset markets, discussing potential benefits and financial stability implications. The report highlights how tokenization, the process of linking reference assets to crypto tokens, can potentially provide greater access to markets that are otherwise difficult to enter, facilitate lending via token collateral, and improve market liquidity and price discovery.

PUDGY PENGUINS WADDLE THEIR WAY INTO 2,000 WALMART LOCATIONS

Pudgy Penguins has announced the roll-out of its NFT-based toys in around 2,000 Walmart stores across the US following a successful debut on Amazon. The move signals increasing recognition of NFTs from traditional consumer brands and marketplaces. This strategy is a unique approach attempting to build a globally recognizable set of IPs on the back of an NFT-first brand.

‘IMMEDIATELY’

In light of Grayscale’s convincing win in its battle against the SEC over ETF applications, 4 US Congress members are now urging Gary Gensler to approve the listing of spot bitcoin ETFs immediately.

CHASE U.K. TO BLOCK CRYPTO PAYMENTS CITING FRAUD, SCAMS

Chase is prohibiting crypto-linked transfers for U.K. clients starting on Oct. 16, citing concerns over increasing crypto scams.

TELEGRAM STARTS TO LOOK LIKE A SUPER APP, ECHOING WECHAT

Telegram is evolving towards a super app model similar to WeChat, integrating mini-apps and decentralization. Partnerships with the TON Foundation and Tencent Cloud seem to be geared toward expanding this ecosystem globally.