luxury phone brand VERTU from the UK held a new product launch at the Hong Kong FINTECH WEEK, launching its new dual-model AI and Web3 phone METAVERTU2, which comes pre-loaded with its self-developed cryptocurrency wallet Value. Additionally, it is equipped with an App Store for users to download blockchain-related applications. It is reported that the starting price of this phone is HKD 33,100.

According to Contxto, Vaas, a Brazilian cryptocurrency anti-fraud company, announced the completion of a pre-seed round of financing of BRL 10 million (approximately USD 2 million), led by ABSeed and with participation from Fuse Capital and Honey Island under 4UM. Vaas's solution supports tracking the entire history of assets in encrypted wallets and identifying some unconventional or suspicious transactions. The new funds will be used to develop new products and expand business into traditional financial areas such as banks.

The UK government released its final rules on cryptocurrency assets and stablecoins on Monday. The report is the next step in the drafting of a bill that will compete with the EU's MiCA in regulating cryptocurrency assets. Oliver Linch, CEO of Bittrex Global Exchange, said the new framework could end the "chaos" of the country's policy initiatives, setting up guardrails for companies and lending platforms in terms of consumer protection, prudential requirements, information disclosure, and market abuse.

Jake Chervinsky, the Chief Legal Officer of risk fund Variant, stated that the cryptocurrency industry is facing macro challenges, and DeFi is facing a "comprehensive positive attack" from regulatory agencies. Chervinsky believes that regulatory agencies want to identify the identities of all parties involved in transactions and want a comprehensive understanding and supervision of the financial system. Cryptocurrency mixers are tools that people can use to protect their privacy, and he said: "What we see is a comprehensive positive attack by regulatory agencies, especially anti-money laundering regulatory agencies, whose goal is to figure out who the traders are and how to avoid such technologies." Chervinsky said that since the Patriot Act came into effect more than 20 years ago, the US Treasury Department has been able to identify major money laundering issues. He said: "They can sanction an institution, a jurisdiction, an account type, or even a type of transaction."

On October 30th, Thai Kasikornbank (K-Bank) announced that it has acquired 97% of the shares of Satang, a Thai cryptocurrency trading platform, and Satang will be renamed Orbix. According to a document, the transaction is valued at THB 3.705 billion (approximately USD 102.8 million) and was completed through a new subsidiary of K-Bank called Unita Capital, whose mission is to invest in digital asset companies. The new company will add three subsidiaries: Orbix Custodian, Orbix Invest (digital asset fund management company), and Orbix Technology (blockchain technology developer). Satang has been operating in Thailand since 2017.

According to a report by DeSpread Research on October 30th, Koreans are active cryptocurrency traders with a strong preference for altcoins and local tokens, and local exchanges also outperform global competitors in trading volume. According to a survey by the Korean Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU), the number of cryptocurrency investors in the country reached about 6 million this year, accounting for 10% of the total population. Most of these investors are engaged in investment activities centered on centralized trading platforms, making the influence of centralized trading platforms in the Korean cryptocurrency market significant. DeSpread wrote in the report: "Korean exchanges have reacted explosively to Ripple-related news. The trading volume of the four major Korean exchanges increased from $27 billion in June to $37 billion in July, a month-on-month increase of 37%; most individual investors on Upbit show strong interest in altcoins with high profit potential and tend to accept related high risks. This is considered one of the reasons why the proportion of altcoin trading is relatively high in the Korean market." The preferred trading network in Korea is also different. Due to relatively low transaction fees, Tron's network is used for most transactions.

Global market research company Technavio analysis shows that from 2022 to 2027, the global cryptocurrency market is expected to grow by $1.81578 billion, and the market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 15.81% during the forecast period, with the North American market accounting for 48% of global market growth. Technavio pointed out that the continuous growth of digital payment demand has driven the growth of the North American cryptocurrency market, with the highest growth rate in the United States, where about 8% of Americans have conducted cryptocurrency transactions.

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As shown by DeFiLlama data, cybercriminals have stolen about $1 billion from the cryptocurrency market up to 2023, a 60% decrease compared to the previous year.

Floki, a Shiba Inu-themed project, has updated its staking data. As of now, the total locked staking amount for FLOKI tokens has exceeded $41.35 million. The minimum staking period for these tokens is three months, and the usual staking period is four years. This means that more than 12% of the FLOKI token supply will be removed from circulation in the foreseeable future. It is reported that the total circulation of TokenFi's TOKEN token is 10 billion, and 10% of the token supply will be used to provide liquidity on Uniswap and PancakeSwap.