The crypto community is divided over a new hook for Uniswap v4 hooks that is published in an open-source site. Before users can trade in token pools, the hook enables Know Your Customer (KYC) checks to be performed on them.
A commenter on X (previously Twitter), criticised the hook, and pointed out that it might lead to decentralised money protocols being included on regulatory whitelists. “It starts with the ‘KYC option’ for LPs, as I have stated in every article I have made over the past year. And finally it enters an off chain database that has been approved by regulators. Non-KYC is then accused of being used to launder money for terrorist purposes. Stop being a soyboy snob,” the post said.
A hook is essentially a mechanism that enables programmers to modify code without changing the program’s overall structure. Developers will be able to employ KYC verification within the decentralised finance protocol in Uniswap v4 thanks to this hook.
KYC procedures are used by financial institutions to verify customer identities and evaluate related risks. Detecting money laundering and terrorist funding operations is one of KYC’s main objectives. Now, this hook on Uniswap v4 pools is fuelling debates about the future of decentralised finance (DeFi).
Australian Crypto Exchanges Praise Treasury’s Proposals
Australian crypto exchanges have praised the Australian Treasury’s latest proposal to place crypto exchanges under the existing financial services license regime.
The Treasury presented a fresh set of proposed laws in a consultation paper on October 16, 2023 that suggests regulating cryptocurrency exchanges under the current financial services rules and establishing a plethora of new restrictions for all Australian businesses dealing with digital assets.
Australian Treasury Assistant Stephen Jones said the new regime was focused on three main areas: providing a framework for industry growth and innovation, allowing regulatory certainty to crypto service providers, and ensuring that common consumers and their assets remain protected. He was speaking at the Australian Financial Reviews Crypto Summit event on October 16.
Grayscale GBTC Discount Falls To 16% As Markets Bet On Bitcoin ETF Approval
As spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continue to inch closer to probable approval in the United States, Grayscale’s Bitcoin investment vehicle, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), is trading at its lowest discount in close to two years.
According to the most recent data from YCharts, as of October 13, 2023, the difference between
GBTC and Bitcoin’s net asset value (NAV) had shrunk to 15.87 per cent.
A mutual fund or ETF’s discount to NAV, expressed as a percentage, indicates how much it is currently trading below its NAV. The indicator measures how far a security’s price has deviated from its actual worth.
According to data, the discount for GBTC started to decrease after BlackRock and a number of other financial institutions submitted spot Bitcoin ETF applications in mid-June. At that time, the discount was 44 per cent and had decreased to 26.7 per cent by July 5, 2023. Since then, the number has kept getting less.
Some analysts say GBTC’s discount is narrowing because investors are pricing in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) approval on several pending spot Bitcoin ETF applications.
