☄️Trump's WLFI Token Sale Flounders

GM Defiers!

The Trumps’ World Liberty Financial token sale is off to a poor start. The token has raised just 4% of its stated goal of $300 million in 24 hours and suffered multiple outages.

Grayscale has filed with the SEC to convert its Digital Large Cap Fund into a spot ETF. However, with the fund’s holdings including SOL, XRP, and AVAX, its chances of being approved may be slim.

Markets rallied on Wednesday, with Dogecoin surging 10%. BTC tagged $68,000, while SOL and DOT posted minor gains.

Base has overtaken Arbitrum by DeFi TVL. The milestone comes as the network continues to post all-time highs for on-chain activity.

Also, Vitalik wants to lower staking collateral to 1 ETH, Christie’s announces digital art auction supporting UNHCR, TON taps Axelar to introduce cross-chain interoperability, Sonic litepaper sends FTM surging, and Bitcoin maxis decry Runes adoption.

✍️ In today’s newsletter:

World Liberty Financial attracts few buyers
WLFI token sale suffers outages
Grayscale’s latest ETF bid
Bitcoin open interest hits all-time high
Base tops L2 ecosystem by DeFi TVL
Vitalik wants to shake up Ethereum staking
Christie’s announces charitable auction on Ethereum
TON to unlock cross-chain connectivity
FTM soars after Sonic whitepaper published
Bitcoin conservatives hate Runes’ rise

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🪙Trump-Backed WLFI Token Sale Raises Just $12M In 24 Hours

World Liberty Financial’s token sale is failing to live up to expectations. The Trump family-backed project sold just 4% of allocated tokens in its first 24 hours.

💥Trump’s World Liberty Financial Website Crashes Shortly Into Token Sale

The World Liberty Financial website suffered multiple outages after WLFI sales went live. The project hopes to raise $300 million in total.

📄Grayscale Files To Convert $520M Multi-Crypto Fund Into Spot ETF

Grayscale wants to turn its Digital Large Cap Fund into a spot ETF. The $520 million fund holds Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Ripple, and Avalanche, meaning Grayscale’s latest ETF bid may face hurdles.

📈Bitcoin Rallies to $68,000 as Open Interest Hits Record High

Open interest in Bitcoin futures has risen sharply since the beginning of October. After climbing to $35.6 billion in September, it now stands at an all-time high of $39 billion as of Oct. 16

🚀Base Overtakes Arbitrum By DeFi TVL

Base is now the largest Ethereum Layer 2 by DeFi TVL with $2.57 billion. The milestone coincides with Base’s throughput posting new highs of 76.1 transactions per second.

💡Vitalik Proposes Fundamental Changes to Ethereum

Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s chief scientist, wants to reduce the barriers to solo staking. Buterin advocated for decreasing the collateral requirement for solo stakers from 32 ETH to 1 ETH.

🎨Christie’s Announces Art Auction Supporting UNHCR On Ethereum

Christie’s, the renowned auction house founded in 1766, is hosting an art auction on Ethereum to raise money for the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees (UNHCR). The event will take place from Oct. 23 through Oct. 30.

⛓️TON Taps Axelar For First Cross-Chain Interoperability Infrastructure

The Open Network is leveraging Axelar to introduce cross-chain connectivity for the first time. TON developers will soon be able to interact with 68 different blockchains. TON also announced a web3 game distribution platform.

⛓️FTM Surges as Sonic Publishes Litepaper

The litepaper for Sonic, Fantom’s forthcoming overhaul, is now live. The document’s publication coincided with FTM outperforming the broader markets.

😠New Bitcoin Block Explorer Feature Has Maxis Complaining Again

Bitcoin maximalists are unhappy with mempool.space, a veteran block explorer, for labeling on-chain transactions involving Runes. Critics claim that Runes do not belong on the Bitcoin blockchain despite the token inscription ecosystem garnering significant adoption.

🌍 ELSEWHERE

Italy stiffens terms of digital services tax in 2025 budget (Reuters)
a16z crypto report finds cryptocurrency activity and usage at all-time high (The Block)
U.S.-Listed Bitcoin Miners Hit Record 29% of Network Hashrate in October: JPMorgan (Coin Desk)
Bitcoin Monthly Trading Volumes Averaged $2 Trillion Year-to-Date (Unchained)