On October 14th, the optimistic sentiment spread in the cryptocurrency market, $Bitcoin (BTC.CC)$ regaining the $64,000 mark, trading at $64,045.99; $Ethereum (ETH.CC)$ reaching the $2,500 mark again, at $2,534.22.

Key Focus

• Trump announced this week's "coin issuance"! WLFI publicly sells to whitelist, eligibility opened to non-US citizens

Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump announced on Sunday, October 13th, on his official Twitter account that the token of the World Liberty Financial (WLFI) project under his family will officially go on sale this Tuesday, emphasizing it as an opportunity to shape the future of finance, with the project open to non-US citizens and whitelist-eligible participants.

The Trump family's encrypted project World Liberty Financial (WLFI) will start live streaming at 20:00 on October 14th Beijing time, introducing the WLF team and advisors; exclusive insights from special guests; and details of public sales. According to AggrNews, Musk and Trump are expected to be potential guests in this live event. Upon inspection, the WLFI announcement poster featured silhouette portraits of two special guests, which bear a slight resemblance to Musk and Trump.

• Viewpoint: The trend of meme coins is inevitable, but further transparency and fairness are still needed.

Cryptocurrency KOL cygaar stated on X platform: "The trend of meme coins is inevitable. Cryptocurrencies are widely adopted by the following groups: - Always online, love internet culture; - Always looking for ways to make money; - Want to be part of a closely-knit community; - Need some beliefs. For the new generation of internet consumers, creating, trading, and discussing tokenized memes is a natural progression. There is still a lot of work to be done to make meme coins more transparent and fair, but people are having fun and some are making (a lot of) money from it. The temptation to get rich by investing in the next virally spreading meme coin will continue to attract users. This is also why AMC and GME have become such massive phenomena. As long as people spend a lot of time on the internet, meme coins will continue to exist and prosper."

• Last week, the USA Bitcoin spot ETF increased its holdings by a total of 4635 BTC, exceeding the production during the same period.

According to HODL15Capital monitoring, the US Bitcoin spot ETF increased its holdings by a total of 4,635 BTC last week, exceeding the BTC production during the same period (3,150 coins).

• NYDIG: Sharp ratio shows Bitcoin returns are 'unique,' able to compensate for volatility risks.

According to data from New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), despite significant volatility, Bitcoin is the highest returning asset.

In a recent analysis report, NYDIG's Global Head of Research Greg Cipolaro stated that Bitcoin's returns are 'unique' and compared it to other asset classes using the Sharpe ratio. This ratio is used in finance to evaluate an asset's performance relative to its risk. Specifically, it calculates the ratio of excess returns to the volatility of these returns. The higher the Sharpe ratio, the better the risk-adjusted performance.

Cipolaro provides Sharpe ratios for other asset classes (including stocks and bonds) over different holding periods, using monthly total returns to create rolling Sharpe ratios. He concluded from the data: 'Bitcoin is in a favorable position in each indicator for each time frame compared to almost all asset classes.' Cipolaro pointed out that the Sharpe ratio for gold in the past 12 months is slightly higher, but the two are so close that the difference is 'negligible'.

On October 7, a report from Goldman Sachs stated that despite Bitcoin's 40% increase so far this year, its performance is not enough to offset its volatility. Cipolaro countered: 'The analysis results are exactly the opposite, with the risks (price fluctuations) borne by Bitcoin investors being compensated in terms of returns.' Cipolaro also pointed out that while the Sharpe ratio is useful for comparing risk-adjusted returns, absolute return is the ultimate key to fulfilling financial obligations. He added that this indicator does not reflect all the risks investors may face, such as reviews or asset seizures. (Cointelegraph)

• Bitcoin's monthly demand growth rate hits a new high since April.

CryptoQuant analyst Julio Moreno stated on X platform that Bitcoin demand appears to be recovering. Since April 22, Bitcoin demand has been growing at the fastest monthly rate. Although the demand momentum is still in the negative range (red bars), indicating that selling volume still exceeds buying volume, the degree of this imbalance has eased.

• Trader Peter Brandt: Bitcoin's price surges often occur in the latter half of the halving cycle.

Renowned trader and chart analyst Peter Brandt warned Bitcoin investors that market trends show potential downside risk. He pointed out that Bitcoin has not hit a new high for 30 consecutive weeks, a situation that historically has led to over 75% price drops. Brandt remains optimistic, predicting that by August or September 2025, the price of Bitcoin will reach $0.135 million, but also warns that if Bitcoin falls below $0.048 million, his analysis will be invalidated, requiring a reassessment of the market. Brandt also emphasized that Bitcoin's uptrend often occurs in the latter half of the four-year halving cycle.

• The ranking of the best regions globally for cryptocurrency business in 2024 has been released, with Dubai, Switzerland, and South Korea taking the top three spots.

The ranking of the most suitable countries and regions in the world for crypto businesses in 2024 has been released. The top ten rankings are: Dubai, Swiss Franc, South Korea, Singapore, USA, Estonia, Italy, Russia, Germany, Brazil. It is reported that Dubai scored the highest in terms of regulatory clarity, tax-free capital gains, favorable corporate tax (9%), and affordable licensing fees, making it the top destination for crypto.

• Analysis: Macro factors affecting the performance of cryptos are shifting from monetary policy to the USA election.

Analysts David Duong and David Han from Coinbase stated, 'Despite the lackluster price trend of Bitcoin this week, market sentiment remains mostly unchanged, with the perpetual contract funding rate and open interest maintaining stability over the past week, which proves this point.' Coinbase analysts pointed out that the macro factors influencing crypto performance are transitioning from monetary policy to the U.S. election results, despite recent increases in CPI and core PPI, market expectations for interest rate cuts remain generally stable.

• Ethiopia will increase the allocation of electrical utilities for bitcoin mining to 600 megawatts.

Ethiopia has increased its electrical utilities distribution for Bitcoin mining to 600 megawatts, making it one of the fastest-growing Bitcoin mining markets globally. According to Ethan Vera, the Co-Founder and CEO of Bitcoin mining company Luxor, the African country plans to add several hundred more megawatts of electricity by the end of this year. Earlier this year, Ethiopia signed power supply agreements with 21 major mining companies from China, indicating its intention to lead the way for Chinese Bitcoin miners. Coupled with the operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, these agreements are not only expected to open up new sources of foreign exchange for Ethiopia but also to position the country as a hub for Chinese Bitcoin miners.

• Viewpoint: The recent stablecoin market cap decreased by 0.78 billion USD, may indicate a decline in market purchasing power.

On-chain analyst Ali stated in a post on X that the recent stablecoin market cap decreased by 0.78 billion USD, indicating a decline in market purchasing power. This may lead to a weakening demand for cryptocurrencies, potentially causing prices to stagnate or even fall.

• South Africa's tax authority plans to include cryptos in its compliance program.

According to Bitcoin.com, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) has announced plans to incorporate crypto assets into its tax compliance program. The South African tax authority is seeking information about crypto users and is intensifying efforts to identify and audit non-compliant taxpayers. Tax officials urge taxpayers concerned about compliance to participate in voluntary disclosure programs, but those already audited will not be eligible. SARS emphasizes the consequences of deliberate tax evasion and states that all non-compliant taxpayers will be held accountable.

• "Bitcoin" Google search volume drops to a new low for the year, while "memecoin" search volume surges.

According to Cointelegraph, the Google search volume for 'Bitcoin' hit a one-year low during the week of October 12, 2024. On a scale of 100, global interest in this search term had dropped to only 33 by the end of this week. Meanwhile, searches for 'memecoins' during the same period were at 77%, but have not yet exceeded the historical high of 100 set in late October 2023. However, Ki Young Ju, CEO and founder of CryptoQuant, believes that due to the high market interest in these digital assets, by the end of October 2024, the search volume for memecoin will return to its previous all-time high.

• Monochrome plans to launch Australia's first Ethereum spot ETF on cboe.

Monochrome Asset Management is preparing to launch Australia's first ethereum spot ETF on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe). The Monochrome Ethereum ETF (IETH) will start trading on Monday, following the company's introduction of the Bitcoin ETF (IBTC) in August 2023, which currently has a size of $15 million (10.1 million USD) in assets. Although this scale is still far from the billions held in the US, the fund positions itself as the world's first to offer physical ethereum subscriptions and redemptions. The ETF will also be available on most Australian brokerage platforms, supporting transfers from crypto platforms, decentralized wallets, and cold wallets. Crypto financial services company BitGo and cryptocurrency exchange operator Gemini will provide custody services for IETH, while State Street Australia will serve as the fund manager.

• Stocks of microstrategy MSTR soared 1,620%, surpassing bitcoin, and the S&P 500 index.

Since microstrategy adopted a bitcoin-centered global strategy, the company's stocks MSTR have soared 1,620%, far exceeding bitcoin itself, the S&P 500 index, and technology giants like Nvidia. The company's bitcoin holdings now exceed 252,000 BTC. Microstrategy's CEO, Michael Saylor, remains optimistic about the price of bitcoin as his company plans to further increase its BTC investments.

• Report: Nearly one-tenth of surveyed users in Italy invest in cryptocurrencies, with a higher percentage among Generation Z and Millennials.

Bitpanda released a study on the cryptocurrency investment market in Italy, indicating that nearly one-tenth (9%) of surveyed users in Italy are currently investing in cryptocurrencies, with this figure rising to 16% for Millennials and 13% for Generation Z. This highlights significant differences in investment habits between the 'young and old generations' residing in Italy, with only 8% of Generation X currently owning cryptocurrencies, and only 4% of Baby Boomers owning cryptocurrencies.

Editor/rice