Ethereum Completes Energy-Saving ‘Merge’ Upgrade

THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO

• Ethereum’s massive software upgrade just went live. Thus far, all signs suggest the so-called merge — which is designed to cut the cryptocurrency’s energy consumption by more than 99% — was a success. The very first proof-of-stake block of transactions has been finalized with a nearly 100% client participation rate. This was, by far, the best-case scenario.

• 'ETH Killers' are about to be crushed. BowTied Bull thinks that alternative competing “ETH Killers” will be crushed with the new narrative assuming Ethereum 2.0 is a success. The issues are more likely to show up over the next 3-4 months if there are any. If you own a lot of altcoins, you should think about the position and why it will survive if ETH continues to scale to 100,000 TPS. Read more here.

• Wall street-backed crypto exchange EDX markets set for November debut. EDX Markets will start trading a limited number of spot, crypto tokens starting with a November trial period, with the official launch in January, Chief Executive Officer Jamil Nazarali said in an interview. It is backed by Charles Schwab, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paradigm, Sequoia Capital, Citadel Securities, and Virtu Financial.

• GameStop is adding NFT trading cards to loyalty program perks. The company is adding NFT trading cards for the virtual game Gods Unchained as a perk for its loyalty program members as the legacy retailer works to deepen its reach into the crypto-centered web. Those who are existing members as of Sept, 27 will get a code on that date that they can redeem for the NFT trading cards.

• SEC to set up a new office for crypto filings. The U.S. securities regulator will set up two new offices to deal with filings related to crypto assets and the life sciences sector. The “Office of Crypto Assets” and the “Office of Industrial Applications and Services” will join seven existing offices under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) department which handles corporate disclosure filings. Read more here.

• Fidelity weighs Bitcoin trading. Fidelity is weighing a plan that would allow its brokerage customers—some 34.4 million individual investors—to trade the world’s largest cryptocurrency, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing anonymous sources. A move that would mark a significant advancement in the financial giant’s march into digital assets.

• KKR makes its piece of PE fund available on a public blockchain. The buyout firm is partnering with digital-assets specialist Securitize, which will tokenize an interest in the second iteration of KKR’s Health Care Strategic Growth Fund and make it available on the Avalanche public blockchain, executives from both companies said. It's the company's latest bid to expand individual investors’ access to private investment vehicles.

• Starbucks wades into Web3 with NFTs. The company unveiled its Starbucks Odyssey program, a platform using Polygon, an Ethereum network, that coffee drinkers can log into with their existing program credentials to play games or take challenges to earn non-fungible tokens. They’ll also be available for purchase via credit card, no crypto necessary.

• Polygon is increasing its workforce by 200 employees. Companies in nearly every industry are reducing their workforce and yet Polygon is looking to bolster employment numbers to develop its blockchain more. The goal of the hiring spree is to onboard a diversified mix of contract and full-time workers to capitalize on the woes that other crypto companies have been entrenched in since the market took a nosedive this year.

• A South Korean court issued an arrest warrant for Do Kwon. The arrest warrant is related to the Terra Luna collapse. Do Kwon and five others are currently located in Singapore, according to people familiar with the matter. The allegations include violations of South Korea's capital markets law. Do Kw0n has been contacted for comment but did not reply. Source(27:50)