The Block
Quick Take CUDIS has integrated the World App to enable users to verify and secure their data using World’s proof-of-human technology. The smart ring startup is also launching a limited edition ring for World ID holders.
Digital asset investment products brought in $2.2 billion worth of net inflows globally last week — the largest since July — according to CoinShares.The positive flows were driven by optimism over a potential Republican U.S. election win, Head of Research James Butterfill reiterated.
Bitcoin attempting another breakout above $70,000, rising odds that Donald Trump will win the White House and pro-crypto policies from the Harris campaign are helping to fuel bullish sentiment, according to Bernstein.Bitcoin ETF inflows, crypto equity markets and memecoins boosting retail participation add to a market that is “screaming risk-on,” the analysts said.
Quick Take The leader of Japan’s Democratic Party for the People has included the reduction of taxes on crypto gains as part of the party’s policy statement. Japan currently imposes taxes of up to 55% on crypto gains as cryptocurrency is classified as miscellaneous income.
Bitcoin touched a high of around $69,450 earlier Monday morning in Asia.The U.S. presidential election is expected to play an increasingly influential role in the crypto market in the weeks leading up to its result, one expert said.
This is an excerpt from the thirteenth edition of The Funding sent to our verified subscribers on Oct. 20.The Funding is a fortnightly newsletter written by Yogita Khatri, The Block’s longest-serving editorial member.To subscribe to the free newsletter, click here.
Quick Take Payments company Stripe has acquired stablecoin platform Bridge in a $1.1 billion deal, according to TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington. Stripe’s largest acquisition to date, and the largest acquisition in the crypto industry’s history, Bridge had raised $58 million from investors and was previously valued at $200 million. Bridge offers software that helps businesses accept payments in stablecoins and signals an expansion of Stripe’s crypto adoption efforts.
Quick Take Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin outlined possible approaches the Ethereum community might take to minimize proof-of-stake centralization as part of the blockchain’s planned ‘Scourge’ upgrade in a recent blog post. Buterin called the issue “one of the biggest risks” to Ethereum’s network and outlined several possible approaches to block construction and staking capital provision to minimize dangers.
Quick Take The Pump.Fun team is planning a future token launch, according to an announcement made on a recent X Space. The Solana-based memecoin exchange also announced “Pump Advanced,” a trading terminal with advanced features for power users and 0% fees for the first month.
Quick Take Economists from the European Central Bank argue in a new paper that a perpetually rising price of bitcoin would benefit early holders only and would “…imply a corresponding impoverishment of the rest of society, endangering cohesion, stability and ultimately democracy.” The economists argue that Satoshi’s original vision for bitcoin as a global payment system has failed, leading to a repositioning of bitcoin as an investment asset, and that late adopters can suffer losses even without a “burstin
