Former President Donald Trump has gained a slight edge over Vice President Kamala Harris in betting markets for the 2024 presidential election, with Polymarket showing him ahead 53.7% to 45.6%. The margin, while narrow, marks the first time Trump has taken the lead since Harris was nominated by the Democratic…

Ward Roddam, the Mayor of Rockdale, Texas, has highlighted Bitcoin’s crucial role in revitalizing the town’s economy. In an Oct. 7 op-ed, Roddam explained that the world is nearing a new economic era driven by what he calls the “digital energy boom,” largely fueled by Bitcoin. He noted that rural…

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is reportedly set to issue more licenses to crypto businesses by the year’s end, local news outlet Hong Kong 01 reported on Oct. 7. This follows the recent approval of HKVAX as the third licensed crypto exchange in the city. ‘Deemed to…

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently converted a significant portion of his memecoin holdings to ETH for charitable donations. In an Oct. 7 post on X, Buterin revealed that he sold 10 billion Moodeng tokens to fund anti-airborne-disease technologies. On-chain analysis platform Lookonchain confirmed the statement, noting that Buterin sold the…

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has exempted crypto transactions from the country’s 5% value-added tax (VAT). This exemption is part of an amendment to the Executive Regulation of the Federal Decree Law on VAT. According to a document released on Oct. 4, the amendment will take effect on Nov. 15,…

21Shares, a crypto investment firm, has called on the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) to establish standardized regulations for incorporating crypto into UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) funds, according to an Oct. 7 statement. The firm noted that the current approach lacks consistency and causes confusion…

Blockchain security platform Scam Sniffer has reported the shutdown of a wallet drainer operating on The Open Network (TON) blockchain, citing the absence of large-scale participants, also known as “whales.” In an Oct. 7 screenshot shared by Scam Sniffer, the wallet drainer revealed it was ending its operations because TON…

Digital asset investment products globally faced $147 million in net outflows last week, according to the latest weekly CoinShares report. This marks the first net outflow week in the past four weeks after a period of consistent inflows. Despite the outflows, digital asset products experienced a 15% increase in trading…

The Ethereum community is evaluating Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 7781, which aims to increase network throughput by reducing slot time. On Oct. 5, Ben Adams, co-founder of Illyriad Games, introduced a proposal to lower Ethereum’s slot time from 12 seconds to 8 seconds, which would boost transaction throughput by about…

Tokyo-listed investment firm Metaplanet has expanded its Bitcoin holdings by acquiring an additional 108.786 BTC for ¥1 billion, equivalent to about $6.7 million, at an average price of $61,904 per Bitcoin, as disclosed in a statement on Oct. 7. Since the beginning of this month, Metaplanet has been aggressively increasing…