The Daily: Robinhood exec could lead SEC if Trump wins, 'Uptober' is back on track as bitcoin recovers and more

I hope you had a good weekend, folks. In today's Daily, a Robinhood exec could reportedly be tapped to lead the SEC if Donald Trump wins the presidential election, QCP says "Uptober" is back on track as bitcoin recovers, a new Ethereum proposal could boost throughput and more.

Meanwhile, JPMorgan analysts identify the key catalysts shaping crypto's near-term outlook.

Let's get started.

Robinhood exec could be tapped to lead SEC if Trump wins

Robinhood Chief Legal Officer Dan Gallagher is emerging as a leading contender to head the Securities and Exchange Commission if Donald Trump wins the 2024 election, Politico reported on Monday, citing former top regulators, lobbyists and securities lawyers.

• Gallagher previously served as a Republican SEC commissioner from 2011 to 2015 and has recently criticized the agency's approach to regulating digital assets.
• It would be an intriguing appointment given the firm's crypto unit, Robinhood Crypto, received a Wells Notice from the SEC in May, signaling charges could be incoming.
• "It is an honor to have my name included in any discussion of who may be the next SEC Chairman," Gallagher said in an emailed statement to The Block.
• "I’ve had the privilege to serve in various roles at the SEC, including as a commissioner. I care deeply about the agency, and my hope for any new SEC Chairman would be that they foster access to the markets, and ensure the U.S. remains at the forefront of financial innovation."
• Other potential SEC Chair candidates if Trump is elected include former CFTC Chair Chris Giancarlo, former SEC General Counsel Robert Stebbins and Republican SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce.

'Uptober' back on track as bitcoin recovers, QCP says

Bitcoin's "Uptober" narrative is regaining momentum , according to QCP Capital analysts, driven by positive U.S. employment data and rebounding from last week's volatility that saw it drop to around $60,000.

• October has historically been a strong month for bitcoin, the analysts noted, notching up average gains of almost 30% in eight of the last nine years.
• "With additional rate cuts lined up and bitcoin's strong correlation to equities, we remain optimistic about a strong October," they said.
• Bullish sentiment continues in the derivatives market, with options flows pointing to a strong Q4, they added, while the memecoin sector also surged, spurred by gains in Donald Trump-inspired PolitiFi tokens.

Ethereum proposal calls for slot time reduction to boost transaction throughput

A new Ethereum proposal, EIP-7781, suggests reducing the blockchain's slot time from 12 seconds to 8 seconds to boost transaction throughput by 33%.

• The proposal, authored by researcher Ben Adams, aims to lower latency for Layer 2 rollups that leverage the sequencing capabilities of the Ethereum mainnet, increasing efficiency without raising peak bandwidth requirements that strain resources.
• Shortening the slot time would produce blocks more frequently, improving overall network performance without changing block size.
• EIP-7781 is currently under preliminary review and discussion as part of Ethereum's ongoing efforts to improve network scalability.

Vitalik Buterin donates $182K to help fight airborne diseases after receiving billions of Moo Deng memecoin tokens

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin donated $182,000 worth of ether , converted from billions of Moo Deng memecoin tokens people had sent him, to the biotech charity Kanro.

• Buterin reiterated that any memcoins sent to him would go to charity but suggested that users should either send the tokens directly themselves or create a DAO to involve the community in fund allocation.
• "I've said before that I think the best thing for memecoins is if they can be maximally positive-sum for the world, so it's great to see moments when that actually happens!" Buterin wrote on X.
• The Moo Deng memecoin is inspired by the viral pygmy hippo from Thailand's Khao Kheow Open Zoo, with a current market cap exceeding $105 million.

Trump leads Harris by 8% on Polymarket; Elon Musk calls it 'more accurate' than polls

Donald Trump currently leads Kamala Harris by 8.3% on the decentralized predictions platform Polymarket, with 53.8% odds of winning the U.S. presidential election compared to 45.5%.

• Following his appearance at Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania over the weekend — the same place where the former president narrowly survived the assassination attempt in July — tech billionaire Elon Musk said Polymarket's betting results are "more accurate" than traditional election polls as "actual money is on the line."
• However, Polymarket’s prediction differs from the latest national polling average from the New York Times, where Harris leads by 49% to Trump's 47%.

In the next 24 hours

• U.S. FOMC member Raphael Bostic will speak at 12:45 p.m. on Tuesday. Fed Governor Philip Jefferson follows at 7:30 p.m.
• Merge Madrid gets underway in Spain.

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