The Block

Quick Take Bitcoin’s price has increased above the $66,000 mark, buoyed by positive inflation data, according to an analyst. The Fed’s key inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, fell to 2.2% in August, coming in below economists’ expectations.

Quick Take Institutional investment managers with at least $100 million in equity assets under management recently filed 13F reports. Business intelligence firm MicroStrategy holds 331,200 BTC, worth roughly $29.7 billion.

Quick Take Donald Trump’s social media company Truth Social is reportedly in “advanced talks” to acquire storied crypto platform Bakkt, according to the Financial Times citing two people familiar with the matter. Bakkt, founded by NYSE operator Intercontinental Exchange in 2018, has gone through multiple pivots as it has struggled to gain traction.

Quick Take Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong is meeting with President-elect Donald Trump to discuss “personnel appointments,” according to The Wall Street Journal. Trump has yet to pick who to nominate as Treasury Secretary and chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission — both of which would have major implications for the crypto industry.

Analysts say the SEC’s approval of options for the spot bitcoin ETF marks a significant shift in how institutional investors may engage with bitcoin, with potential implications for demand for the underlying asset.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved BlackRock’s proposal to list and trade options for its spot bitcoin ETF last Friday.

Quick Take MapleStory N, developed by Nexpace on the Avalanche blockchain, aims to capture the Web3 gaming market by leveraging the nostalgia of the original MapleStory, a popular MMORPG launched in 2003. Nexpace is targeting people who have fond memories of the original MapleStory, believing they have a competitive edge in attracting real users. Due to South Korea’s ban on blockchain-based games, MapleStory N will be released outside its home country.

Quick Take 13Fs are a way to glimpse how the largest portfolios and some of the most influential money managers play the market. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust remains the market leader among Bitcoin ETFs.

Quick Take Heather. Morgan, who also goes by her rap name, “Razzlekahn,” was sentenced in a Washington D.C. court on Monday. Morgan’s husband, Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein was sentenced to five years in prison for his role last week.

Quick Take The highly-anticipated Ethereum-compatible Layer 1 Monad has begun rolling out its testnet as part of a phased release, a source told The Block. Analysts at Bernstein have outlined the key upcoming catalysts that could propel bitcoin’s price to their cycle target of $200,000 in 2025. Netherlands-based Quantoz Payments has launched MiCA-compliant stablecoins USDQ and EURQ, pegged to the dollar and euro, on the Ethereum blockchain. The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The

Quick Take Ethereum-compatible Layer 1 blockchain Monad has begun rolling out its testnet as part of a phased release. “I made a tx, it was fast,” said well-known crypto trader Jordan Fish, also known as Cobie.