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.

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What happened today?

With Bitcoin hanging around the $60,000 line still, the market feels nervous which shows in how much alt-coins are down across the board. In fact, despite the drop in its price over the last few days Bitcoin dominance is nearly at 3-year highs. While everything was starting to look bullish, this has certainly not been a good start to the “Uptober” everyone was hoping for. If we look back to October 2023 which is remembered as being one of best months of Bitcoin performance ever, BTC actually started the month on a low note falling over 5% over the first two weeks. This led to traders on Twitter complaining that Uptober had been canceled just like they are now, right before it printed a +30% candle to end the month on a high note.

Interestingly, while most coins sit way down on the day Aptos has topped the charts with an 8% gain on news that Franklin Templeton would be launching its onchain money market fund on Aptos. It’s exciting to see institutions getting more interested in onchain finance, and I hope this is the start of a market shift towards more “real” products versus the memecoins we’ve all been trading this year.

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

• New HBO Documentary aims to reveal Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto’s true identity

• JPMorgan says geopolitical risk could drive investors to gold and bitcoin

Alt Coins

• Grayscale rolls out Aave fund

Popular Products

• Chainalysis CEO steps back for ‘personal issue’ after a decade of service

New Launches

• Visa to held banks test tokenized assets, smart contracts

Miscellaneous

• A Messari crypto conference sponsor is a tax dodger who says 99% of Americans shouldn’t pay up

Tweet of the Day

Marc Andreesen, cofounder and general partner at a16z, shares his “support” for New York unions:

Fun Fact of the Day

The first Bitcoin faucet, giving away free Bitcoin, was created by Gavin Andresen in 2010.

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