Linera Launches Babbage Testnet

Nick Timiraos, widely known as the "Fed mouthpiece", reports that Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson has signaled officials may want to wait longer before implementing another interest rate hike, a view that echoes comments from New York Fed President John Williams. Both top Fed officials are now implicitly casting doubt on an October rate hike, just days after investors were steadily increasing their bets on such a move. In a speech, Jefferson stated: "Looking ahead, I believe any future policy adjustments should be determined by careful assessment of data trends, evolving economic outlooks, and the balance of risks. Since the September meeting, yields across all maturities have risen further, indicating investors are reassessing the changing macroeconomic landscape. My colleagues and I need to make our own judgments, which may require more time. I will continue to assess whether underlying trends show inflation is returning to the target level at a sufficiently fast pace. With more data in hand, we may be better able to judge these trends and what monetary policy stance is appropriate."

According to on-chain analyst Ai Yi (@ai_9684xtpa), a crypto whale opened an $8.07 million ETH position four hours ago. Since September 2, the whale has accumulated a total of 12,134.13 ETH, worth $32.41 million at an average price of $2,671.25, and has now deposited the ETH into Aave.

According to Reuters, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a $139 million disbursement to El Salvador, after granting a waiver to the country for violating conditions related to limits on further Bitcoin purchases. The IMF Executive Board completed the second and third reviews of El Salvador’s $1.4 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF), allowing the immediate disbursement of the funds. The IMF noted that El Salvador’s economic performance has exceeded expectations, driven by improved security conditions and increased investor confidence. The IMF added that some planned performance criteria were not met, including the metric related to Bitcoin holdings. However, the IMF approved the waiver after El Salvador took strong corrective actions and renewed its commitments. In September, IMF staff stated that documents provided by El Salvador showed the additional Bitcoin the country acquired after the first review came from private donations, not public funds. The IMF also said El Salvador has made progress in anti-money laundering measures, fiscal transparency, and transferring most ownership and control of the state-owned digital wallet Chivo to private operators.

Fed’s Lorie Logan stated that the policy stance has been off track, and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) should raise interest rates by at least 50 basis points.

According to official announcements, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed a new regulatory framework to standardize the custody of crypto assets by investment advisors and regulated funds. The framework is designed to provide a "compliance path" for holding digital assets under a set of rules that were largely established before the internet era. SEC Chair Paul Atkins stated: "Since the launch of Bitcoin in 2008, the crypto asset market has evolved from a niche novelty to a multi-trillion-dollar asset class, with investors actively seeking exposure to it. Unfortunately, our rules and regulation have failed to keep pace with this development." The proposal addresses a key challenge facing institutional investors: that some crypto assets currently may not have qualified custody infrastructure available. It will also allow self-custody of crypto assets under specific circumstances, and permit state-level trust companies to provide custody services for the crypto assets of clients and regulated funds. This is highly significant for asset management firms, hedge funds, and other institutions that wish to hold Bitcoin and other crypto assets directly, rather than gaining exposure through ETFs or other intermediaries. Additionally, the proposal will allow investment advisors to engage in "self-custody" of crypto assets for clients and regulated funds in limited cases, including situations where the advisor determines no qualified custodian is accessible. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce further clarified that this "self-custody" refers to the investment advisor acting as the custodian of client assets, rather than investors directly controlling their own crypto assets.

According to Bloomberg, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed allowing more investment firms to hold digital assets on behalf of their clients. This marks the latest move by the agency to advance cryptocurrency regulation. Earlier, a market structure bill backed by the crypto industry stalled in the U.S. Senate last month. If ultimately passed, the proposal would eliminate some existing custody requirements. The SEC will solicit public comments on the proposal for 60 days before drafting a final version based on feedback. The final rule will still need to be approved by an SEC vote before taking effect.