This week’s news runs the gamut from cross-chain crypto hacks to the Fed’s staunch reaction to a fluctuating jobs market. Let’s get into it.
NASA and SpaceX Make History With Recent Launch:
Earlier this week, SpaceX and NASA launched a Crew-5 commanded by Nicole Aunapu Mann, who made history as the first Native American woman to enter orbit. A registered member of the Wailacki of the Round Valley Indian Tribes in California, Mann spoke to Indian Country Today on her recent feat — “I think it’s important that we communicate this to our community so that other Native kids, if they thought maybe that this was not a possibility or to realize that some of those barriers that used to be there are really starting to get broken down,” she says. The crew docked safely on the ISS on Thursday.
Binance Hit by Bridge Hack, Costing $100M:
Post discovering a vulnerability in the BSC Token Hub cross-chain — a bridge that transfers assets from one blockchain to another — hackers stole an estimated $100M to $110M from the crypto exchange giant, causing the temporary suspension of transactions and fund allocations. Now back up and running, the incident follows a recent string of attacks by hackers on cross-chain vulnerabilities. Just this year, over $2B in crypto has been stolen in such attacks, according to data firm Chainanalysis.
Biden Administration Halts Access to Chinese Chip Technology with Strict Limits:
In an attempt to halt China’s technological aspirations, the U.S. Commerce Department released unprecedented export controls on the sale of semiconductor technology to Chinese companies, the tightest bundle of controls issued by the U.S. in a decade. The move is intended to cripple the advancement of chip-enabled military equipment and reflects the ever-increasing impasse between the world’s current superpowers.
FTX and Visa Collaborate to Launch Crypto Debit Card:
FTX and Visa are collaborating to bring crypto-enabled debit cards to 40 countries, starting in Latin America. The start of a “long-term global relationship,” according to both FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman Fried and Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto at Visa, the card comes with no administrative fees and already operates in the U.S. Despite crypto’s volatility, the duo has faith in the expanded use of stablecoins in global commerce — they announced lofty plans to move into Europe by the end of the year.
U.S. Added 263,000 Jobs, Unemployment Drops:
The latest jobs report released by the Labor Department depicts slowing job growth in September, the second month in a row — still, unemployment surprisingly dropped to 3.5%. The news follows a series of soaring interest rate hikes by the Fed to fight inflation and enliven a tightening labor market. And regardless of the market’s initial reaction, which saw Fed yield rates rise and stocks plunge, Fed members argued that a sustained restrictive policy will remain in order to achieve price stability.
