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?

More than 24 hours into the ICO for Trump-backed World Liberty Financial and only $12M has been raised, a staggering 4% of the total $300M target. This is despite Trump himself Tweeting yesterday to promote the launch. As we mentioned on Monday, this isn’t very surprising given the 1 year lockup details, the massive valuation of $1.5B, and the fact that the protocol itself is basically just repurposing the existing platform that Aave provides to give the same opportunities. It still seems like an odd decision for Trump to be doing this right before the election, however the 75% chunk of the raise that he stands to gain probably explains the motivation. Another day, another grift by a public figure.

On the trading side of things, Bitcoin touched $68,000 today after a massive rally which forced about $140M in liquidations. Coinbase stock also rallied back over $200 after spending the last few months around $160, indicating the traditional market is paying attention to the recent increase in BTC price as well as ETF flows which have posted massive numbers. Most of the crypto-native attention remains on memecoins, with Solana-based launchpad Pump.fun recording its highest number of coins ever created yesterday, along with a new all-time-high on daily revenue. It’s clear for now this sector isn’t going anywhere, however the thousands of value-extractive coins launched every day are likely unsustainable.

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

• Coinbase shares up 27% in October as Bitcoin rallies to $68,000

• Stacked Bitcoin and Gold ETF launches with the goal of shielding investors from inflation and currency debasement

Alt Coins

• PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin market cap is down 40% from its high above $1 billion in August

• RWA tokenization startup Plume Network says it has $100 million in solar assets available to users keen to earn yield

Regulatory

• Italy considers raising capital gains tax on Bitcoin to 42% from 26%

New Launches

• The Trump boys, a campaign donor, and a ‘dirtbag of the internet’— Meet the operators of World Liberty Financial

Miscellaneous

• A16Z releases their 2024 ‘State of Crypto’ report

• Crypto VC market ‘tepid’ as Q3 investments declined 20%, says Galaxy Digital

Tweet of the Day

Trump’s ICO is off to a rough start, was it really worth the risk?

Fun Fact

Ethereum Classic (ETC) is the original Ethereum blockchain, which survived after a hack forced the Ethereum team to fork the chain.

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