McDonald’s starts to accept Bitcoin and Tether in Swiss town
Multinational fast food chain McDonald’s started to accept Bitcoin (BTC) as a payment method in the 63,000-populated city of Lugano in the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland, which is becoming a hotspot for crypto adoption in Western Europe.
In March 2022, the city of Lugano announced it would accept Bitcoin, Tether and the LVGA token as a legal tender.
Despite bear market, Bitcoin holders are on the rise
According to IntoTheBlock, the number of Bitcoin holders has been growing in the bear market. Over 42 million addresses are currently holding BTC, 4.5 milion more than a year ago.
Regarding types of investors, the data shows that “Hodlers” – addresses that have held their coins for beyond 1 year – are the most common, numbering 29.78 million. “Cruisers” (1-12 month addresses) are at 14.85 million, while the remaining 2.33 million addresses are “Traders” (1 month or less).
Ethereum mining, staking revenues down more than 50% in September
Miners and staking validators combined made $406.86 million — down by roughly 51.7% month-over-month, according to data compiled by The Block Research.
The Merge reduced the new issuance of ETH significantly, which had a negative impact on miner and staking revenue.
Mastercard launches new crypto fraud protection tool
The financial service provider Mastercard launched a new crypto service related to risk management on Oct. 3. Mastercard’s new service, Crypto Secure, is aimed to help banks find and prevent fraud on crypto merchant platforms.
Crypto Secure combines the usage of artificial intelligence, blockchain data and public records of crypto transactions, along with other sources, to determine crime-related risks of crypto exchanges within the Mastercard network. Mastercard already has a similar service with fiat currency transactions available to banks.
Bitcoin Lightning Network capacity strikes 5,000 BTC
The Bitcoin Lightning Network reached a milestone capacity of 5,000 BTC ($96 million). In effect, more and more Bitcoin is being introduced to Lightning Network payment channels worldwide, as Bitcoiners continue to support the growth of the network.
The Lightning Network allows users to send Bitcoin (or satoshis, the smallest amount of a Bitcoin) to send or receive money faster and with lower fees. The more capacity on the network, the more liquidity is on hand. As a result, users can experience faster payment speeds and potentially larger transaction volumes.
Solana NFT sales volume nearly doubled last month
Solana NFT sales have jumped in recent weeks, thanks to the success of projects like y00ts and ABC.
DappRadar recorded almost $133 million worth of Solana NFT sales last month, nearly double the $68.5 million mark from August.
FTX launches US Dollar spot index futures
FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange, announced Monday that it is expanding its reach into the realm of foreign exchange derivatives trading by offering a perpetual futures contract linked to a US dollar spot index.
For the new perpetual contract, the product will be called the FTX Dollar Spot Index, which is designed to track the performance of the top 4 global currencies against the US dollar: the euro, Japanese yen, Canadian dollars and British pounds.
U.S. regulators want more direct oversight of crypto exchanges and regulation of stablecoins
According to its most recent report on digital assets, a group of top U.S. regulators wants Congress to approve legislation to allow for more direct monitoring of crypto exchanges and complete regulation of stablecoins.
The report also calls for regulators to be more proactive in enforcing current laws and directly overseeing crypto-related businesses and activities, especially where they intersect with the traditional financial system.
Binance burns $1.8 million in LUNC trading fees following community proposal
In an Oct. 3 update, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said the exchange had burned roughly $1.8 million worth of Terra Classic (LUNC) trading fees for LUNC/BUSD and LUNC/USDT spot and margin trading pairs. According to Binance, the burn included the equivalent of 1,863,213.47 Tether (USDT), roughly 5.5 million LUNC.
Days before Binance released the report, the LUNC price showed positive growth. From September 26, the price of LUNC increased by more than 70% and reached $0.003728 at around 11 AM on October 2.
US senator bill seeks to cushion crypto exchanges from SEC enforcement actions
United States Senator Bill Hagerty, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, introduced legislation seeking a safe harbor for cryptocurrency exchanges from “certain” Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement actions.
The Digital Trading Clarity Act of 2022, introduced by Senator Hagerty, aims to provide regulatory clarity around two primary concerns plaguing crypto exchange establishments — the classification of digital assets and related liabilities under existing securities laws.