Stripe Acquires Bridge for $1.1B, Pump.fun Launches Advanced Terminal and More: Oct 22

The crypto market remains in the greed territory today, with the Crypto Fear & Greed Index decreased from 72 to 70. Bitcoin (BTC) has shown some decreasing momentum, trading at $67,375 in the past 24 hours. Despite recent fluctuations, the overall market sentiment leans towards greed. 

• Stripe made a major move into the stablecoin sector by acquiring Bridge for $1.1 billion.

• Pump.fun, a memecoin platform on Solana, launched an advanced trading terminal and hinted at an upcoming token launch and airdrop. 

• Chainlink continues to innovate by integrating AI and oracle technology, enabling near real-time access to corporate financial data on-chain. 

• Prices (UTC+8 8:00): BTC: $67,375, -2.40%; ETH: $2,666, -2.93%

• 24-hour Long/Short: 48.5%/51.5%

• Yesterday’s Fear and Greed Index: 70 (72 24 hours ago), level: Greed

Crypto Fear & Greed Index | Source: Alternative.me

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Stripe has acquired Bridge, a stablecoin platform, for $1.1 billion, more than five times Bridge's $200 million valuation. This deal is a strategic move for Stripe to enter the stablecoin market and enhance global money movement.

Bridge provides infrastructure for issuing and transferring tokenized money on various blockchains, serving clients like SpaceX, Coinbase, and Stellar. Stripe processed over $1 trillion in payments in 2023 and now aims to leverage stablecoins to make transactions faster, cheaper, and more efficiently, focusing on solving real-world financial problems.

Bridge shares Stripe’s belief that stablecoins can play a crucial role in transforming finance. The acquisition will accelerate their shared vision of creating a more efficient financial system with stablecoins at the center. Stripe plans to expand stablecoin adoption to make transactions easier across borders, improving the user experience for moving, storing, and spending money.

The timing is significant, with stablecoins gaining traction. According to a16z’s "State of Crypto 2024" report, stablecoins processed $8.5 trillion in Q2, surpassing Visa’s $3.9 trillion. This shows growing mainstream interest, with companies like Revolut and Visa exploring stablecoin use. Stripe’s acquisition of Bridge positions it to be a leader in this evolving financial landscape.

Read more: USDT vs. USDC: Differences and Similarities to Know in 2024

Pump.fun, a Solana-based memecoin platform, has launched its latest trading tool—Pump Advanced. This new terminal aims to rival established platforms like Photon and Bull X. It includes features like mini charts, top holder stats, and social activity metrics, all in one interface. To attract new users, Pump.fun is offering 0% fees for the first month and secure logins through email with Privy, a non-custodial wallet solution.

During the launch event, co-founder Sapijiju hinted at the upcoming launch of a Pump.fun token and a possible airdrop, though no official timeline has been set. He indicated that the airdrop could be "a lot more lucrative" compared to others in the industry, sparking excitement among users. It’s expected that the token will launch on Solana, keeping in line with the platform’s current ecosystem.

Pump.fun has seen tremendous success since its January launch. It has generated over $140 million in fees and facilitated the creation of more than 2.5 million Solana-based tokens. The platform’s appeal lies in its simplicity, allowing users to easily create and launch tokens—contributing to popular meme coin trends like celebrity tokens and viral livestream stunts.

In the past week, Pump.fun reached a new high, with 31,600 new tokens created in a day, and its trading volume topped $1.1 billion. With the launch of Pump Advanced and its growing popularity, Pump.fun is strengthening its position as a major platform for meme coin enthusiasts, even as competition heats up on other networks. The introduction of its own token and airdrop could further boost its reputation and drive user engagement.

Chainlink is tapping into artificial intelligence and decentralized oracles to revolutionize the availability of real-time corporate action data on the blockchain. Announced on Oct. 21, Chainlink's pilot project seeks to tackle inefficiencies in data surrounding mergers, dividends, and stock splits—information often stored in fragmented and unstructured formats like PDFs and press releases. By combining oracles and large language AI models, Chainlink converts off-chain data into a standardized digital format that is accessible in near real-time.

Source: Chainlink

The pilot is supported by major financial institutions like Franklin Templeton, Swift, UBS, and blockchain networks including Avalanche and zkSync. The use of AI and Chainlink oracles aims to reduce costs and manual processes, enhancing efficiency in managing corporate actions that cost financial institutions up to $5 million annually.

Mark Garabedian, director of digital assets at Wellington Management, emphasized how this system could dramatically cut manual work and bring cost savings. Decentralized oracles connect blockchains to the broader financial world, and Chainlink has been exploring how they can support institutional finance. Recent partnerships, such as with Taurus for institutional tokenization, aim to improve cross-chain mobility, transparency, and security.

Chainlink is positioning itself at the center of blockchain adoption within the traditional finance sector, driving innovation by integrating secure and verified data flows from the external financial ecosystem into the blockchain world.

Read More: 94% of Asian Private Wealth Considers Crypto Investing, Vitalik Buterin's Vision for “The Surge”, FBI Arrests SEC’s X Hacker: Oct 18

Today highlights some transformative moves in the crypto sector. Stripe’s acquisition of Bridge signals its intent to lead the stablecoin revolution, Pump.fun's advancements push its presence further in the memecoin market, and Chainlink’s use of AI and oracles is setting the stage for bridging traditional finance and blockchain. As mainstream interest grows and more players innovate, the cryptocurrency landscape continues to evolve at an exciting pace. Keep an eye on these developments as they may reshape the industry's future.