Friend.tech, an app on Base, has become a popular platform for speculating on the popularity of personalities on X (formerly Twitter). It also serves as a private chat room between influencers and their followers. In just a short period of time, friend.tech has generated a significant amount of revenue, accounting for over 21% of Base's total transaction fees in a recent seven-day period.

A recent investigation by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors found that Silvergate Bank collapsed due to its overreliance on crypto clients and nepotism within the bank's leadership. The full report was not released due to confidentiality reasons. The bank's downfall began in 2013 when senior leadership changed strategy to focus on customers engaged in crypto activities, leading to concentration risk and significant losses.

Circle, the issuer of USD Coin (USDC), has argued in a court document that stablecoins pegged to sovereign currencies like the US dollar are not securities. Circle filed an amicus brief in the SEC's lawsuit against Binance, stating that stablecoins do not meet the criteria for being considered securities. The outcome of the lawsuit could have significant implications for the regulation of stablecoins as a whole.

ParaFi Venture Fund II LP has raised $38,915,000 from 52 investors since May 15, with a target of $100 million. That's according to an SEC filing. The fund, founded by Ben Forman in 2018, was initially filed for in September 2022 but had not made any sales at that time. ParaFi has seen significant investment activity, including $200 million for its flagship fund and $30 million for a new fund in 2021.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has once again delayed its decision on four Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) filings, including those from BlackRock, Bitwise, Invesco Galaxy Digital, and Valkyrie. This marks the second extension in a month, as the SEC is still gathering public comments and has not made a decision yet. The deadline for these ETF applications was scheduled between October 16 to 19, but due to an impending government shutdown, the SEC expedited its announcement.

Su Zhu, co-founder of Three Arrows Capital (3AC), has been arrested in Singapore while attempting to leave the country. Zhu will serve a four-month prison sentence for refusing to comply with a court order to account for his activities as 3AC's founder and investment manager. Teneo, the joint liquidators of 3AC, plans to press Zhu for more information during and after his imprisonment.

Circle, the company behind USDC, has entered the SEC's case against Binance, arguing that stablecoins designed for payments do not fall within the SEC's jurisdiction as they do not have the features of an investment contract. Circle also stated that users of stablecoins do not expect any profit from holding them.

As reported by Bloomberg, US crypto exchange Kraken plans to offer stock and ETF trading services in the UK and the US. This would be the first time that Kraken explores the TradFi space.

According to a person familiar with the matter, Kraken is going to offer the service as soon as 2024 via a new division called Kraken Securities, which has obtained regulatory permits in the UK but hasn't been approved in the US.

Mixin founder Feng Xiaodong stated in Mixin Messenger that the main stolen assets in this recent attack incident were Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT in ERC-20 format.

Users will receive compensation at the following ratios: Bitcoin (90%), Ethereum (30%), ERC-20 format USDT (10%). Feng Xiaodong mentioned that for other token teams are prepared to use existing funds and borrow money to provide 100% compensation. For the three mentioned tokens with the largest amount stolen, compensation will be calculated in USD bonds based on the token prices on the day of the theft. Priority will be given to compensating the victims of ERC-20 USDT.

Furthermore, Feng Xiaodong also stated that the reason for the initial estimated loss of $200 million was due to the difficulty of tracking and recovering assets in Mixin, a system designed primarily for privacy and decentralization. It was challenging to determine the full extent of the losses, and the recovery efforts have only resulted in the retrieval of a portion of the lost assets.

Kraken, a 12-year-old cryptocurrency company, plans to expand its services to include trading in US-listed stocks and exchange-traded funds, according to Bloomberg. The company has already obtained regulatory permits in the UK and has applied for a broker-dealer license in the US. Kraken aims to launch this new service in 2024, entering a competitive market dominated by zero-commission players like Robinhood and Public.com.