Welcome to the Beluga Brief, where we deliver data-driven insights to your inbox every day of the week, spending our time in the crypto trenches and combing through thousands of crypto news feeds so you don’t have to.

What happened today?

Market hype is heating up and we’re seeing lots of tokens announce launch dates once again after a pretty quiet summer. Despite it being notoriously difficult to time the crypto market well, it seems we have quite the backlog of tokens that were waiting until “better market conditions” to launch. While there are too many upcoming launches to go through here in the newsletter, Beluga will be launching a product in the coming weeks covering all the hottest new tokens along with our expert analysis and scoring system to give our users an edge! As always this will be free for everyone, so stay tuned to the Beluga Brief and follow us on Twitter to make sure you don’t miss it.

While Bitcoin had a bit of a boring day, alt-coins continue to silently outperform. More specifically, Layer 1 tokens that aim to compete with the likes of Ethereum and Solana have been the top gainers with Sei and Starknet leading the charge. One of the major narratives we’ve seen throughout the years has been that of “Ethereum killers” so seeing this collection of tokens pop makes me think it just might be returning. Some of the characteristics of products that fit into this category are fast, cheap Layer 1 blockchains that are gaining mindshare either through something like a big partnership or better yet, through rapid growth of the ecosystem.

Biggest Headlines

The Beluga intern has been hard at work gathering all the most important crypto news stories so you have them in one place!

The Majors

• Visa to help banks issue Fiat-backed tokens on Etheruem via new tokenized asset platform

• Friday’s end-of-month bitcoin options expiry could trigger significant market volatility: Deribit

Hacks

• WazirX hacker is almost done laundering $230M in stolen funds

• Coinbase Ventures-backed Truflation hacked for about $5 million, says ZachXBT

Alt Coins

• How TON’s Telegram distribution strategy is bringing millions of new users onchain

• DePIN players Hivemapper, Helium, and Helio chart real-life crypto path on Solana

New Launches

• PayPal to allow US business accounts to buy and transfer crypto

• Binance launches pre-market spot trading service with ‘actual tokens’

Miscellaneous

• Stablecoins will drive institutional adoption in Asia: Chainalysis CEO

• A16z makes first ‘DeSci’ investment in decentralized biobank platform AminoChain

Tweet of the Day

Ever felt like government policy makes no sense when it comes to crypto? Read on for Nic Carter’s deep dive into how the Biden administration nefariously targeted Silvergate with the goal of de-banking crypto for good.

Fun Fact

The concept of "colored coins" on Bitcoin paved the way for tokenization on blockchains.

The content on this site is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. While Beluga strives to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of information, there may be discrepancies when comparing our data to that of financial institutions, service providers, or specific product websites. Always consult with a professional before making any financial decisions.

Will McKinnon is the Head of Content for Beluga and has spent every day for many years trading coins. For that reason there are too many to name, however his largest holdings by a significant margin are Ethereum and Bitcoin. NFA DYOR