Check out the biggest breaking crypto market updates for today:
Elon Musk’s Tesla Still HODLing $218M In Bitcoin
According to electric car manufacturer Tesla’s Q3 report, the company did not sell any of its bitcoin holdings nor purchase any additional bitcoin in the third quarter. The report shows that Tesla holds $218 million worth of “digital assets.”
Tesla remains one of the largest holders of BTC among publicly traded companies, even after its massive sale of nearly 75% of its total holdings in the last quarter.
Overall, Tesla posted $3.3 billion in profits attaining revenues of $21.45 billion, which reportedly fell short of analysts’ expectations, and saw Tesla’s stock price fall by nearly 14% in after-hours trading.
During the Q2 investor call, Musk had said the company sold its Bitcoin to free up cash as COVID lockdowns continue in China. “It was important for us to maximize our cash position, given the uncertainty of COVID lockdowns in China,” he explained.
Despite that sale, Tesla is still one of the largest bitcoin holders among publicly traded companies, after MicroStrategy with 130,000 BTC (around 2.48 billion) and Galaxy Digital Holdings with 16,400 BTC (about $313 million).
Musk’s plan to buy Twitter and the subsequent legal battle over wanting to back out of the deal did not factor into the decision at the time, nor does it seem to have changed the company’s stance on crypto.
In September, leaked messages showed the world’s richest man having discussions with various tech entrepreneurs – including Block Inc.’s Jack Dorsey and FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried – about the potential future of the popular social media platform. One idea floated included adding a payment option using Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency, Dogecoin.
The idea, Musk said, was to have users pay a tiny amount worth a fraction of a cent to register a message on-chain, which will cut the majority of spam and bots by requiring 0.1 DOGE to post or repost comments.
Fidelity Digital Assets Will Begin Offering ETH To Institutions Later This Month
According to a memo sent out by Fidelity Digital Assets, institutional clients of the firm will be able to trade ether (ETH) from Oct. 28. The action is the latest step taken by Fidelity, the parent firm of Fidelity Digital Assets, to make cryptocurrency accessible to institutional clients.
Just earlier this month, the firm launched a new Ethereum Index Fund for accredited investors after raising around $5 million since sales began on September 26.
The memo stated,
“Investors will be able to buy, sell and transfer ether, accessing the same operational excellence, robust security, and dedicated client service model provided for bitcoin investments today.”
Fidelity Digital Assets is an independent subsidiary of financial services company Fidelity Investments, focusing exclusively on digital assets. The company launched in 2018 with bitcoin trading and custody offerings and received a trust charter from New York’s financial services regulator in 2019.
“With the Ethereum Merge completed, many investors are looking at Ethereum through a new lens,” the screenshot posted to Twitter states.
Both Fidelity Digital assets and its parent Fidelity Investments have revealed a heap jof crypto-related announcements in recent weeks.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Fidelity was looking to launch bitcoin trading capabilities for retail customers on Sept. 12. Fidelity Digital Assets, Charles Schwab, and Citadel Securities then said they were launching a digital asset exchange called EDX Markets a day later. Fidelity Investments then disclosed that it would launch a new Ethereum Index Fund in a Sept. 26 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.
Fidelity companies have also posted several roles for crypto jobs in recent months, with open positions including a crypto wallet product owner at Fidelity Digital Assets
Retail Investors Become Vigilantes In The Hunt For Terra’s Do Kwon
As Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon continues to stay out of sight of law enforcement agencies, an association of nearly 4,400 crypto investors is trying to track down Kwon, who is wanted in South Korea on charges of financial fraud.
The 4,400 crypto investors belong to a Discord group titled “UST Restitution Group.” Most of the members of this group are trying to recover from the devastating losses caused by the collapse of Kwon’s terraUSD and Luna coins in May.
Members of the group are searching the internet for leads and sharing them with the group in an apparent effort to find Kwon after becoming frustrated with the lack of results from law enforcement officials. Members have speculated that Kwon is likely living in countries like Russia, Dubai, Azerbaijan, or even floating on a yacht somewhere.
A member of the group stated,
“Dubai is friendly to crypto, very international (he would not stand out), and has limited extradition treaties in place. It would seem like the best fit for the 3-5 hour time zone shift apparent in the data.”
Investors have launched class action lawsuits against Kwon in Singapore and the US, while Interpol has issued a red notice for him. South Korea is expected to revoke his passport Wednesday.
Kwon claimed in an interview on crypto podcast Unchained this week that the charges against him were not “legitimate” and were “politically motivated”. He said he was complying with document requests from South Korean prosecutors and apologized to the victims of his blockchain system’s collapse.
He denied any wrongdoing but declined to disclose his whereabouts, citing security concerns. His last known location at teh end of April was Singapore, according to the South Korean government.
“UST Restitution Group” is made up of members from around the world. “His days are numbered,” said a top URG member with the nickname Antithesis. “We have people who are very, very close to Do Kwon.”
Antithesis claimed that his group is doing “lots” of work to track down Kwon. “I obviously wouldn’t delve into specifics because publishing our methods would render them ineffective. I think we’re doing more than anyone else, though.”
Antithesis said he lost a big chunk of life savings worth several hundred thousand dollars by betting on terraUSD and called the experience “devastating”.
“The entire timetable for my life’s plans has been upended and set back many years. The stress on top of it has also probably shaved off several years from my lifespan,” he said.
Another member nicknamed HKTrader said he worked for a fintech company headquartered in Hong Kong and had blown his savings for a house on terraUSD. He said he spent a month organizing a Singapore class action lawsuit against Kwon and discovered his whereabouts in the country by hiring a private detective.
“We tracked [him] down pretty well when he was in Singapore,” HKTrader said, but he added that his group lost track of Kwon after he left the city-state.
He said he was skeptical of Interpol’s ability to locate Kwon. “You know how Interpol works. It’s up to the hosting country to act,” he said.
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