Kategorie: Crypto Markets

• Mountain Protocol has integrated Chainlink’s cross-chain transfers technology.
• The cross-chain interoperability protocol, CCIP, will help USDM users transfer yield-bearing stablecoin across Ethereum, Base and other chains.

Mountain Protocol has announced that it will tap into oracle network Chainlink’s technology for cross-chain transfers of its yield-bearing stablecoin USDM.

The USDM token is fully backed by US Treasuries.

Mountain Protocol integrates CCIP

According to a blog post, the integration involves Chainlink’s cross-chain interoperability protocol (CCIP).

Mountain Protocol will leverage the standard for cross-chain  transfers of its stablecoin USDM across Ethereum, Optimism, Arbitrum, Base, and Polygon PoS. Users can use the Chainlink-powered XSwap bridge for these transfers.

Mountain Protocol launches USDM cross-chain native bridging with @chainlink’s CCIP, simplifying transfers and unifying liquidity across multiple blockchains while ensuring security.

You can now move your USDM across chains via https://t.co/KBqYH5C2dx or via @xswap_link’s app.… pic.twitter.com/X1Kx0ctp6k

— Mountain Protocol (@MountainUSDM) October 17, 2024

It’s the latest CCIP integration by a blockchain protocol, with users benefitting from simplified transfers, unified liquidity and security.

Using CCIP for USDM transfers works by burning tokens on originating blockchain and minting new ones on the destination chain. This ensures supply consistency and transaction integrity, with users able to tap into the stablecoin for decentralised finance activities on any of the supported chains.

Chainlink’s CCIP is key in the growing tokenized real-world assets market. Currently total RWA on-chain is over $13 billion, according to rwa.xyz. Meanwhile, the stablecoin market is around $171 billion, with USDM around  $55.5 million per rwa.xyz.

The cross-chain interoperability protocol, alongside other services such as Proof of Reserve, Data Streams and Data Feeds are helping bring DeFi to more people through tokenized RWAs.

Other than token transfers and DeFi, Chainlink’s CCIP has use cases across gaming, web3 usernames and liquidation protection.

The post Mountain Protocol integrates Chainlink’s CCIP for USDM transfers appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Worldcoin has rebranded to ‘World’ and introduced several new features to enhance its World ID.
• The project also announced the mainnet launch of its blockchain World Chain.

Worldcoin is now simply “World” after the blockchain-based identity verification project announced it’s rebranding on Oct. 17.

Sam Altman and Alex Blania, co-founders of World, announced the name change during a company event in San Francisco. As well as the rebranding, the project unveiled several updates aimed at bringing ‘proof-of-humanity’ technology to more people.

One of the key announcements is World’s unveiling of a new version of the biometric identification device the Orb. The company said the next-gen Orb is powered by NVIDIA’s latest Jetson chipset and offers as much as fivefold the AI performance of the previous version.

World has also introduced World ID 3.0, an advanced version of World ID and designed to enable further verification across the globe. The World ID Credentials and Deep Face features enhance this capacity, allowing those with NFC-enabled passports to verify their identity via their devices.

The new World ID 3.0 features World ID Credentials, a way for even more people to participate in & benefit from World Network using things like an NFC-enabled passport. pic.twitter.com/sLGRCEzIiD

— World (@worldcoin) October 17, 2024

According to details in the blog post, verified passport holders can claim the native cryptocurrency WLD even before fully verifying their ID via the Orb.

World Chain mainnet launch

Oct. 17 also saw World Chain, the layer-2 chain the World Foundation announced earlier in the year, launch its mainnet. Approximately 15 million people have migrated or are completing the migration to World Chain as of Thursday, October 17, 2024.

World Chain is a blockchain network that will prioritise human activity and transactions over bots and launched with support from several crypto platforms, including Dune, Uniswap, Optimism, Alchemy, Safe and Etherscan.

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• Cosmos co-founder Jae Kwon alleges North Korean agents helped develop Cosmos Hub’s LSM code.
• Kwon accuses Iqlusion’s Zaki Manian of hiding unresolved security risks.
• Kwon urges an immediate audit and stricter oversight for future implementations.

Cosmos co-founder Jae Kwon has raised serious concerns regarding the integrity of the Cosmos Hub’s liquid staking module (LSM), alleging that significant portions of its development involved individuals linked to North Korea.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Kwon accused Cosmos validator hosting firm Iqlusion and its leader, Zaki Manian, of “gross negligence” in allowing the module’s integration without adequate security vetting.

Cosmos Hub’s LSM developers North Korea agents

According to Kwon, development of the LSM began in August 2021 under the direction of Iqlusion and Manian, with contributions from developers Jun Kai and Sarawut Sanit.

Kwon alleges that these developers were later identified as North Korean agents and had provided a substantial portion of the module’s code.

Despite awareness of their connections since March 2023, Kwon claimed Manian withheld this information and failed to disclose several unresolved security risks associated with the LSM.

The controversy gained traction following Manian’s social media acknowledgement that he had known about the North Korean-linked developers for months. However, instead of taking preventive actions, such as conducting an additional audit or informing the Cosmos community, Kwon stated that Manian continued to assert the module was “ready to be deployed.”

Kwon accused Manian of a “profound breach of trust” for prioritizing deployment over community safety.

Critical vulnerabilities in the LSM

Security issues had already surfaced during a 2022 audit that revealed critical vulnerabilities in the LSM. These vulnerabilities were reportedly addressed by the same North Korean-linked developers.

Kwon suggested that despite Manian’s claim of rewriting the LSM code before deployment, significant risks persisted, especially since the module was not a standalone feature but a set of modifications built atop existing Cosmos staking modules.

This could potentially expose all staked ATOM tokens to security threats.

Kwon has called on the Cosmos governance community to initiate a comprehensive audit of the LSM immediately. Additionally, he urged the Interchain Foundation to impose stricter auditing standards and create an oversight framework to ensure the security of future Cosmos implementations.

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• Grayscale filed to convert its $524M Digital Large Cap Fund into an ETF.
• The fund includes BTC, ETH, Solana, XRP, and Avalanche among its holdings.
• This is Grayscale’s third ETF conversion after its Bitcoin and Ethereum funds.

Grayscale Investments has taken a significant step toward expanding its suite of cryptocurrency-based financial products by filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to convert its Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC) into an exchange-traded fund (ETF).

The GDLC, which currently trades over the counter, offers diversified exposure to several leading digital assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), Ripple (XRP), and Avalanche (AVAX).

Grayscale’s move marks a continued effort by Grayscale to make cryptocurrency investments more accessible to traditional investors.

Grayscale’s Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC)

According to the company’s report, the fund has $524 million in assets under management, with a significant concentration in Bitcoin and Ethereum, which make up nearly 75% and 19% of the holdings, respectively.

The remaining portion is allocated to Solana, XRP, and Avalanche, providing investors with a balanced exposure to established and emerging cryptocurrencies.

The third time Grayscale is converting a fund into an ETF

If approved, the ETF would represent Grayscale’s third conversion of a fund into an ETF, following its previous transitions of Bitcoin and Ethereum funds earlier this year.

A spokesperson from Grayscale emphasized that the filing reflects the firm’s commitment to enhancing the accessibility of the crypto asset class for mainstream investors.

The company aims to leverage the regulatory structure of an ETF to offer a more efficient and widely accepted investment vehicle, which could attract additional interest from institutional and retail investors.

In parallel with Grayscale’s move, the market has seen a surge in ETF filings for various crypto assets.

Recently, Bitwise submitted an application to the SEC seeking permission to list a spot XRP ETF and Canary Capital submitted applications to list XRP and Litecoin ETFs. However, these filings have yet to receive approval, underscoring the regulatory uncertainty surrounding crypto-based ETFs in the United States.

Grayscale’s initiative to convert GDLC into an ETF aligns with its broader strategy of offering products that bridge the gap between traditional finance and the evolving digital asset landscape.

Alongside its proposed conversion, the firm has also introduced funds that provide exposure to XRP and the AAVE governance token, reflecting its proactive approach to navigating the competitive and regulatory dynamics of the crypto market.

The post Grayscale wants to convert its mixed-crypto fund into an ETF appeared first on CoinJournal.

• John Deaton questioned Elizabeth Warren’s “anti-crypto” approach during the debate
• Warren said she wants the crypto industry to “follow the same rules as every bank and stockholder”
• Warren asked what favors crypto insiders were expecting for the financial help they were giving Deaton’s campaign

Senator Elizabeth Warren and crypto lawyer John Deaton took part in a heated debate over the crypto industry as they took up positions to claim the seat as the US senator from Massachusetts.

Speaking about when he first heard about Bitcoin, Deaton, a Republican, said that it could help “cut out predatory banks and middlemen…and helped unbanked people like my mom.” Questioning Warren’s perceived “anti-crypto” approach, Deaton added:

“With illegal immigration bankrupting the state, with inflation pricing regular people out of the economy […] why did this senator wake up one day and say with all that, I will build an anti-crypto army because crypto is so important to her?”

Warren answered that she was “fine” with people buying and selling crypto, but that she wants the industry to “follow the same rules as every bank, every stockholder, every credit union, and that [there are] some consumer protection laws and some laws to make sure that it’s not open for terrorists, drug traffickers, human traffickers, and Iran.”

Continuing to hit back at Deaton, Elizabeth Warren questioned who the people wanted representing them in Washington, adding:

“There’s one candidate standing here who gets 90% of the funding to keep their campaign going from one industry – the crypto industry. One candidate who has said quite openly that his personal worth is 80% tied up in crypto.”

What do they want in return?

While Deaton didn’t respond to Warren’s claims, he argued that her bill “bans crypto self-custody in America, yet she’s allowing the banks to custody Bitcoin, another example that Senator Warren’s policies do not help poor people, they do not help the working class.”

“She favors the accredited investor rule that excludes 85% of the American population.”

Warren, in turn, said she was confused by Deaton’s claim that he had upset the crypto industry and “crypto billionaires,” adding:

“I’m just trying to understand why crypto folks are so mad at him, so mad that they’re funding 90% of his campaign.”

She also questioned what crypto insiders were expecting in return for their financial help during his campaign.

Deaton, known for his involvement in the Ripple vs. SEC lawsuit, highlighted his role in helping XRP holders, adding that it was due to his actions that eventually led to Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen donating $1 million to Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign.

In February, it was reported that Deaton would run for Senate against Warren. Following the news, Warren labelled Deaton’s bid a “threat” as she mobilized supporters to secure her seat.

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