***Qrafty smiling the biggest smile*** Aloha, crypto curious! I am Qrafty - the crypto lovin’ honey badger 🦡 !

Welcome to Coinqraft – the daily crypto newsletter for busy but curious people who don’t have time for the crypto drama!🌟

🦡   Qrafty has fresh bits from the crypto jungle, so let’s dive in: 📰 🌟

1. JPMorgan Is Way Into The Crypto Game

2. Apple Bought SBF’s Book Rights

3. Nasdaq Gets Approval For AI Order

Bonus: There Is No GBTC Token!

JP Morgan explores Stablecoin. Because everything else is already in production

The folks at Bloomberg report that JPMorgan is “exploring blockchain based deposit token for payments, settlements“. The intention behind this would be to speed up cross border transactions, especially settlement.

So that you understand better, Qrafty wrote a short explanation about what a payment is. In short, a payment is made of two elements: data + settlement. The data part is easy, the settlement was difficult until Bitcoin and blockchain showed up.

What JPMorgan did was to get meetings with all the blockchain companies that dealt with settlement, payments, security, etc. and then they built their own system, by picking the best options from everyone. That initiative is called ONYX, “the world’s first bank-led blockchain platform for the exchange of value, information and digital assets”. It started in 2020.

Why would they do that, Qrafty?

Since they’re JPMorgan, all DLT companies wanted to pitch them, it’s that easy. In their Unlocking $120 Billion Value In Cross-Border Payments document, they even highlight Ripple and XRP there for cross border payments, among other companies that deal with this sector. For JPM, XRP is deemed volatile, high cost to hold and politically disagreeable (Qrafty read between the lines).

So they built their own, they already have these systems in place and provide them as service for their corporate and B2B clients since 2020, so they have been 100% in production for 3 years strong.

They sure knew how to keep a low profile, didn’t they?

HA, they sure did!

One product/application is called Liink - it’s a network made of banks and other financial institutions for sending payment data. That’s what SWIFT is doing now… get it?

The second product is Coin Systems. Just as it’s name says, a "next-generation payment rails powering right-time value transfer”. This team addresses the problems of settlement and liquidity for cross border payments. So the settlement part, you see?

Their corporate clients can make programmable, real-time, multi-currency payments using multi-bank shared ledgers. JPM Coin is based on that and it’s a permissioned blockchain, which is like a private club of JPM customers.

Aside from that, they also offer treasury solutions and management, and up to this point it seems that either Ripple has counseled them a LOT. Or JPM got inspiration from pretty much everything Ripple did.

Just like Qrafty said in the payment explanation: you can send the data now and settle the actual funds/money transfer later, which is what is actually happening right now in the world of digital payments for merchants.

Merchants take the payment from you, but they receive their funds a couple of days later, at least. With a system like this, payments are made and settled almost immediately. For a merchant, that’s absolutely delicious!

The third one is Onyx Digital Assets is “an asset tokenization platform that enables financial institutions, asset managers and fintechs to unlock untapped utility for their financial assets“.

This is a solution for RWA(real world assets) tokenization and allowing corporate customers (from banks to financial institutions) to issue a coin for… pretty much anything they want! It’s a “bring your own usecase and we will build it” type of situation.

The fourth and final one is called Blockchain Launch and… you guessed it! It’s a BAAS: Blockchain as a Service type of deal. You want your own blockchain developed? Done! We make it for you and you can even connect to our network of partners.

So what’ the conclusion, Qrafty?

The conclusion is that this is an extremely smart move by JPMorgan to create their own banking network, a private club of banks and financial institutions. Aside from the cuteness of all of it, JPM understood that the more banks and financial institutions join this network, the more they become trapped in it, for multiple reasons:

• Vendor Specific Solution: their software solutions will have to either be from JPM or align with their solution; so digital infrastructure becomes dependent of JPM. Sure, there will be others, but who’s going to move their business to them and piss off JPM?

• Network Effects: there’s a finite number of big banks and FI’s, although many; the more adhere to this cartel club, the less there are to adhere to other banking clubs.

• Golden Zoo: in time, the tendency of the banking sector has been to consolidate. Big fish eat small fish, we just had a lot of those events this year. So a small number of bigger and bigger financial players with their own private club, ideology, religion and political views.

• Play Nice or Get Booted: just as SWIFT is and has been a political weapon and financial persuasion instrument, any private club like this has the potential to use different coercion methods in order to apply pressure when needed. And when that’s the only club in the world… it’s hard to say no.

Getting back to JPMorgan exploring a stablecoin, the only reason they haven’t done it is because they want the green light from the legislators. That’s all. JPM even congratulated Ripple for their victory against the SEC.

JPMorgan is playing a strategic game. They have launched the information that they’re waiting for an answer. Just like they played out the waiting game for 10 years and took the best from everyone in their own solution.

Qrafty will keep an eye on the development of JPM’s network for banks and FIs.

🙃 Qrafty hopes that today’s main story brought brave badgery value to you! Now it’s time for a break, you deserve a bit of fun! 😇 👇️

1. We welcome our new AI overlords…

Nasdaq just announced that it received approval for their first AI powered order named Dynamic M-ELO, an advanced trading order type they cooked up.

It uses a bunch of other algos to continually analyze market conditions and dynamically adjust the holding period for trades in real-time. This adaptability aims to enhance trade execution by improving fill rates, reducing market impact, and delivering better overall performance compared to the traditional, static M-ELO order type.

But the REAL news is that they created a predictive tool for their strike prices!

What does that mean, Qrafty?

You see.. Nasdaq has a ton of different options for trading. Like, almost 1.5 million of them! But they realized it was getting kinda tricky to figure out which new options to add.

So, they came up with a cool predictive AI software in the US options markets this year called the Strike Price Optimization Program. This program uses algorithms and AI to guess which options are gonna be popular. It looks at millions of options every day and says, "Hey, these ones are probably gonna be traded a lot, and these ones maybe not so much."

This way, Nasdaq can keep the total number of options from getting too crazy, but still make sure there's enough of them for people to trade. It makes things smoother and more efficient for Nasdaq's internal operations.

So it’s just poof, all people gone?

Nooo, don’t believe that! They say it's not all left to the computer brains! Real people check what the program suggests every day to make sure it's all correct, nothing's missing and the AI is not hallucinating on energy spikes… again.

This new process is like a shortcut that saves a bunch of time and brainpower. Before, Nasdaq had to manually go through millions of options every single day. Now, the computer helps out, and the humans can focus on other important stuff. So, it's a win-win! Or people getting fired…

2. How Does One Misplace 29,421 Bitcoin!?! HOW!??

So, there's this guy named Cornelius Johannes Steynberg all the way from South Africa, and he's in some deep trouble. He got slapped with a bill for a whopping $1.7 billion! Yeah, that's billion with a "B." Why, you ask? Well, he was running a company called Mirror Trading International, and they were up to some fishy business.

Mirror Trading International had this scheme where they convinced folks to put their bitcoins into a big pool, promising them loads of profit.

But guess what?

It was all a trick, and they managed to fool around 23,000 people in US! They collected a mountain of bitcoins, over 29,421 of 'em, which is worth more than $760 million today. Back when they were running the show, all that Bitcoin was over $1.7 billion!

But here is what caught Qrafty’s eye: “The defendants misappropriated, either directly or indirectly, all the Bitcoin they accepted from the pool participants.“

These guys somehow made all that bitcoin disappear! Poof, gone! Qrafty's sitting there thinking, "How on Earth (or any planet) do you misplace 29,241 Bitcoins? HOW?!”

3. CFTC Commissioner says let’s talk, not fight

The CFTC Commissioner, Summer Mersinger, has a radically different approach to regulation and engaging with the companies in the DeFi sector.

“I am concerned that the Commission in these cases is taking another step down the path of bringing enforcement actions when we should be engaging with the public.”

To wrap it up, the Commissioner seems to be saying, "Hey, let's not go all 'enforcement mode' on DeFi tech! It's like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. We need a mixed bag of solutions, involving chats, rules, and maybe even a little interpretive dance, to tackle the quirks of this funky new field!"

At the same time today, the CFTC has taken action against three companies: Opyn, Inc., based in California; ZeroEx, Inc., based in California; and Deridex, Inc., based in North Carolina. All of them did nasty stuff in DeFi and failed to register for… anything actually.

One paid $250,000, another $200,000 and the last company paid $100,000. Case was settled.

4. Grab integrates WEB3 services

Grab, the super-app best known for giving you rides, is diving headfirst into the world of decentralized technology, and it's a big deal. While its main gig is getting you from point A to B, Grab has just made a major move by adding Web3 services into the mix. Now, users can score blockchain rewards, use NFTs to pay for stuff, and even set up their very own Web3 wallet, among other cool things.

This isn't just about hitching a ride anymore; it's about riding the wave of the future. Grab is smartly tapping into the growing demand for decentralized services, and this bold move puts them right at the cutting edge of innovation in our tech-crazy world.

They will use their main use-case as a hook for other services they’re going to build on the platform.

5. Ripple Went Out License Shopping

Ripple, the XRP adopter and corporate blockchain and crypto software company, just acquired Fortress Trust, a sidekick of Fortress Blockchain Technologies.

These guys at Fortress Trust are like the cool kids of Web3, dealing in all things money, rules, and tech for blockchain pioneers.

And guess what? Ripple hit the jackpot by grabbing a fancy Nevada Trust license. They're basically building a trophy case of licenses - they've got a NY BitLicense, a bunch of Money Transmitter Licenses, and even a nod from Singapore's Central Bank. Qrafty likes to joke and jest, but that’s how you approach compliance as a company.

6. Beware of scams! There’s No GBTC drop or coin!

Please be aware about the scam that’s going around the crypto jungle right now… it’s about scammers trying to ride the Grayscale victory against the SEC.

Someone is making a false promise that $25 million worth of a new token called GBTC (which is usually associated with Grayscale - the $13 billion trust) will be given to people who visit a website mentioned in the post.

But here's the trick: The account behind these promises, @Grayscale_FND, has no connection to the actual company Grayscale. A spokesperson from Grayscale confirmed this on Friday, making it clear that it is an obvious scam.

7. Apple gets rights to SBF’s book, loses $200 billion

Amid escalating U.S.-China tensions, Apple's market value has shrunk by approximately $200 billion in recent days, with reports suggesting Beijing is targeting the tech giant.

In another development, Apple has allegedly secured the rights to a book chronicling the story of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the disgraced founder of FTX. The forthcoming book, titled "Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon," will be written by Michael Lewis, renowned author of "The Big Short," in a literary rights deal valued at around $5 million.

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Isn't it funny how your mind can make you search for your glasses while you're actually wearing them?

Qrafty’s thougt of the day

Other stories

Another Texan crypto miner got paid to shut down

As they announced in their monthly investor update, in August, Iris Energy earned $2.3 million in power credits, mainly through voluntary curtailment at its Childress facility in Texas. The company successfully mined 410 bitcoins during the same period. They're currently on schedule to expand capacity at the site by five times, with the project slated for completion in early 2024.

Binance Integrates Ethereum (ETH) on zkSync Era Network

Binance announced that it has completed the integration of Ethereum (ETH) on the zkSync Era network. Deposits and withdrawals for Ethereum (ETH) tokens are now open on the zkSync Era network.

Also, CZ mentioned on Twitter that “No liquidity issues. All withdrawals (and deposits) are properly handled. All customer funds are #SAFU, and 100% reserved.“

Bitcoin will be taught in El Salvador schools

By 2024, every school in the country will include Bitcoin education, thanks to this program. Launched on the second anniversary of the pioneering Bitcoin Law, it's designed to educate 150 public school teachers about Bitcoin and its implications.

FBI is looking into DCG and Barry Silbert

Winklevoss, co-founder of Gemini Trust Co., has been demanding $1.5 billion from DCG's CEO, Barry Silbert, on social media. Gemini later sued DCG. Recently, FBI agents, SEC staff, and NYC prosecutors met with Cameron Winklevoss to discuss the fraud allegations against Silbert. Silbert, however, hasn't faced charges and denies any wrongdoing, as per Bloomberg.

Former FTX executive pleads guilty

Ryan Salame admitted guilt for illegal political contributions and unlicensed money transmitting. A former FTX executive, he's the fourth to plead guilty in connection with FTX's collapse. Salame, released on a $1 million bond, awaits trial alongside former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.

Market Whispers

Bitcoin no fun! Qrafty is disappointed…

After yesterdays pump, up to 26,4k, today it went back to 25.6k, not being able to reclaim 26k. I said it, don't jinx it Qrafty...bad mouth Qrafty!

Now, heading into the weekend, there's not much hope for action, only if you are that kind of addict that trades even in 500$ range. If so, good luck to you and happy weekend!

Qrafty ends channeling his inner trader.

Today is NATIONAL 401(K) DAY!

That’s all from Qrafty 🦡 for today! Qrafty thanks you and wishes you to live each moment as if you are listening to the music you love most!

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