“The cryptocurrency appeared to get a lift from the likeliest outcome of this week’s U.S. elections, where a Democratic president is blocked from passing major initiatives (like tax cuts) by a Republican-controlled U.S. Senate. That could imply more monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve.
In traditional markets, stocks rallied globally, Treasury yields dropped, the dollar declined and gold strengthened as investors reacted to the growing likelihood that a U.S. government led by former Vice President Joe Biden might struggle to enact tax cuts, pushing more of the onus of financing new Treasury debt onto the Federal Reserve.”
See Also: Federal Reserve Keeps Rates Close to Zero, Maintains Asset Purchases
See Also: Bitcoin Breaks $15K as Investor Numbers Peak
See Also: Lightning Operators Are Bracing for a Bitcoin Bull Run
“The seizure on Tuesday, tied to early darknet market Silk Road, is the largest the U.S. has ever conducted, the DOJ said. Court documents reveal the seized funds include over 69,370 bitcoin.
Prosecutors say an unnamed hacker stole the trove from Silk Road and moved them to a wallet where they sat from April 2013 until the Tuesday seizure. The individual consented to the government seizure on Tuesday.
If the government were to auction them as it typically does, the coins could rejoin the circulating supply.”
See Also: US Seizes $24M in Crypto as Part of Brazilian Probe Into $200M Fraud Scheme
“Deposits began in earnest, with over $1 million in ETH landing in the contract within the first half hour. At the time of writing, around eight hours after the official announcement, just over 14,000 ETH has been staked. At today’s prices, that equates to roughly $5.5 million.
In order for the Beacon Chain mainnet genesis event to be initiated, 524,288 ETH from 16,384 validators is required.
This is the initial bond offering for the largest non-sovereign global economy the world has ever seen.”
See Also: Guide: How to become a validator on Eth2
See Also: Bankless Podcast w/Prysmatic Labs (Video)
“A group of Spanish companies, including banks and energy firms, is working to develop a “self-managed” digital identity system using blockchain technology.
The group, called Dalion, said the “secure and reliable” ID platform will give users more control over their personal data, and will be accessible via their mobile devices.
The platform will remove the need for users to fill in “tedious” forms, per the release, automatically providing the validated data required by the requesting entity. The project is slated for completion within six months, with a production rollout to follow in May 2021.”
“The DOJ filed a lawsuit Thursday to stop Visa’s planned $5.3 billion acquisition of fintech firm Plaid, saying it violates antitrust laws and would eliminate competition in the online debit market.
According to the DOJ’s complaint, Visa currently operates the largest card network in the United States and has a 70% market share of all online debit transactions. Plaid, on the other hand, provides the technological infrastructure for multiple fintech platforms such as PayPal’s Venmo and crypto exchange Coinbase.
DOJ noted Plaid’s online debit service could become a significant competitor to Visa and Mastercard.
If allowed to proceed, the acquisition would deprive American merchants and consumers of this innovative alternative.”
“Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of cryptocurrency derivatives platform FTX gifted Biden’s campaign a total of $5.2 million, behind only former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s $56 million donation.
Bankman-Fried is a member of the wealthiest Democratic super PAC, Future Forward, which includes Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.”
“En+ Group, the world’s top producer of low-carbon aluminum and the largest private-sector generator of hydropower, has entered its first crypto mining joint venture. The new venture, called Bit+, will focus on creating facilities that support crypto mining with a low carbon footprint.
En+ Group’s partner in Bit+ is the Russian company BitRiver, which provides hosting services and turnkey solutions for large-scale, institutional crypto mining operations.”
The Disrupt 