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  • 10/23/23: Hal Is Not The Dev You're Looking For 😶‍🌫️⛏️🇨🇳

10/23/23: Hal Is Not The Dev You're Looking For 😶‍🌫️⛏️🇨🇳

Author

Valko
October 23, 2023

Top News

  • 👻 New study argues Hal Finney can’t be Satoshi Nakamoto | @lopp

  • ⛏️ Mining stocks have outperformed BTC by ~2x this year | Decrypt

  • 🇨🇳 Hong Kong tightens crypto regs after JPEX meltdown | Blockworks

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Hal Finney Was Not Satoshi Nakamoto

A compilation of evidence that Hal Finney and Satoshi Nakamoto were different people.

⌐◪-◪ → Hal Finney (rest in peace) was an iconic cryptographer, game developer, and early contributor to bitcoin - running the 2nd ever Bitcoin node. While many beleive Hal Finney was Satoshi Nakamoto, Jameson Lopp debunks this in his blog post, citing writing styles, time zones, activity patterns, differences in their coding practices and philosophical views on privacy and anonymity. Both are still legends as far as I’m concerned.

Almost All Mining Stocks Have Outpaced Bitcoin This Year - Decrypt

Most mining stocks, except two, have outperformed Bitcoin by more than double this year despite the ongoing bear market.

⌐◪-◪ → I found this headline interesting, as Bitcoin mining stocks have a high beta vs. the index, Bitcoin. For the non finance-bros, a higher beta simply means an asset moves with a greater magnitude, in the same direction, as the benchmark - which in this case is Bitcoin. Essentially, current data suggests Bitcoin mining stocks are to Bitcoin as Tech stocks are to the S&P 500. Looks like the ol’ picks-and-shovels play still works.

Hong Kong strengthens crypto oversight and imposes tighter controls

Authorities in Hong Kong have deemed many virtual asset-related products too complex for retail investors, restricting them to professionals.

⌐◪-◪ → I don’t like this news one bit. Hong Kong wants to restrict crypto investments to “professional investors”. This approach is similar to the US’s “accredited investor” rules, which appky to certain private investments but not crypto. Crypto was created to democratize finance, and Hong Kong just said “fuck that”. Fortunately, where there’s a will there’s a way - and while this may slow things down, nothing can stop crypto.

Peripheral Vision

⛓️ Crypto & DeFi

  • Worldcoin swapping out USDC rewards for its own coin | Blockworks

  • Spot Bitcoin ETF searches spike on Google | @Bitcoin_Magazine

  • Bitcoin core developer steps away from Lightning project | Coindesk

  • Developer exposes BTC Lightning vulnerability | The Block

  • Ethereum crosses 100M addresses with a balance | @AltcoinDailyio

  • Bitcoin dominance hits highest point in over 2 years | @AltcoinDailyio

  • Vitalik is worried about AI threats for Ethereum | Decrypt

🏦 Wallstreet & VC

  • Morgan Stanley says halvening will spark bull run | @BitcoinMagazine

  • Microstrategy’s BTC investment up $110M | Cryptoslate

  • Ex-Israeli intelligence raise $33M for web3 security | The Block

🏛️ Legal & Regulatory

  • SEC is still pursuing XRP over other charges | Coin Edition

  • SEC has a 3% chance of success in Ripple appeal | Cointelegraph

  • SBF trial in final stages; case should end Oct. 26th | Cointelegraph

  • FTX claims trading at 50 cents on the dollar | The Block

  • Nishad Singh had suicidal thoughts amid FTX’s downfall | @CoinDesk

  • California to limit BTC ATM transactions to $1,000/day | CryptoSlate

🌎 Rest of the World

  • Pro-crypto Argentinan candidate wins 30% vote | @BTC_Archive

  • Solana’s largest DeFi protocol blocks UK users | Coindesk

  • Binance to end European Visa card in December | Bloomberg

  • Hong Kong may reverse stance on spot ETFs | Coindesk

  • Deutsche Telekom is running a MultiverseX validator | @AltcoinDailyio

  • 300+ stores accept BTC lightning in Lugano, CH | @BitcoinMagazine

  • China’s digital currency used to settle crude oil deal | The Block

🖼️ NFTs & Metaverse

  • Flooring Protocol reaches $22M TVL after 1st week | @flooringproto

  • Magic Eden halts BRC-20 trading to protect users | CoinGape

  • XCOPY drops new NFT piece, Algo Bro | @XCOPYART

Spectacular Shoutout

Awesome shoutout from @kafcrypto!

Thanks so much, man! I’ve been enjoying your writeups too!

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