Today in the cryptocurrency space, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent praised Singapore’s approach to digital asset regulation. The Bitcoin White Paper published by Satoshi Nakamoto celebrated its 17th anniversary, but the slump in BTC prices spoiled the occasion as Red October approached for the first time in seven years. Elsewhere, Michael Saylor said it was unlikely that Strategy would consider acquiring another Bitcoin treasury company because there is too much uncertainty.
Scott Bessent praises Singapore’s adoption of cryptocurrencies
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent praised Singapore’s proactive approach to digital asset and stablecoin regulation, highlighting what he described as a model for effective and safe innovation in financial technology.
Speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea, Bessent met with Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to discuss financial cooperation and the future of digital finance.
Bessent highlighted Singapore’s forward-looking regulatory regime and said the two sides discussed “expanding the adoption and use of digital assets and USD stablecoins,” according to the report.
Mr. Bessent also told APEC leaders that through continued efforts to strengthen America’s industrial and technological capabilities, the country is seeing “record levels of capital being invested in advanced manufacturing and technology sectors.”
This statement reflects the Trump administration’s mission to pursue prudent digital asset regulation while balancing innovation and financial stability.
Bitcoin White Paper celebrates 17th anniversary as BTC’s first Red October in 7 years approaches
Bitcoin’s foundational document, now in its 17th year, charted the path of the world’s first decentralized digital currency from a niche financial experiment to a $2 trillion global asset held by governments and institutions.
Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto published his first Bitcoin whitepaper on October 31, 2008, 17 years ago today, in response to the global financial crisis.
The document, titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System,” describes a decentralized peer-to-peer network that can prevent double spending through proof-of-work (PoW) consensus.
Three months after the white paper was published, Nakamoto minted the first Bitcoin block, the Genesis block, with a reward of 50 Bitcoins (BTC), launching the world’s largest decentralized network.
Thaler says the strategy is unlikely to displace rivals, “there’s just a lot of uncertainty.”
Strategic Chairman Michael Saylor said the company is not interested in acquiring other Bitcoin finance companies due to the uncertainty associated with acquisitions, although it has not been ruled out completely.
“Generally, we have no plans to pursue M&A.” [merger and acquisition] Even though it looks like there is potential growth, there is not a lot of activity,” Thaler told investors on Strategy’s third-quarter earnings call on Thursday.
“There is so much uncertainty, and these events tend to take six to nine months or even a year,” he added. “Even if an idea looks good when you start, it may not be a good idea six months later.”
But Saylor didn’t completely rule out an acquisition, giving Strategy the space to change its mind on the matter.
“I don’t think we would ever say ‘never, never, never,’ but what we can say is that our plan, our strategy, our focus is to sell digital credit, improve our balance sheet, buy Bitcoin, and communicate that to credit investors and equity investors,” Saylor said.
Strategy CEO Von Leh added that merging and acquiring software companies, Strategy’s main business, is “very difficult.”