Community Check-in: September 8th Morning Greeting

**Bitcoin mining difficulty reached an all-time high of 134.7T**, tightening profit margins for large operations and raising centralization concerns. However, small miners on Solo CK Pool still secured full block rewards worth over $340K each. **CFTC offshore exchange guidance faces criticism** from Centrifuge's General Counsel Eli Cohen, who called the advisory outdated and emphasized that lasting regulatory clarity must come from Congress-led unified legislation. **ARK Invest expanded crypto exposure** by purchasing 387K BitMine shares and 144K Bullish shares totaling ~$23.5M across ETFs. BitMine separately increased ETH holdings by $65M, now controlling 1.5% of supply. **Ethereum ETFs experienced outflows** for 5 consecutive days (~$1B total), with $447M on Friday alone. ETH dropped nearly 3% last week. Despite short-term weakness, major investors increased ETH holdings by 14% over 5 months, with BitMine's Tom Lee maintaining a $60K ETH price target.

**Bitcoin maintains strength above $100,000** as cross-chain routing protocol Bridgers enhances its Bitcoin bridging capabilities. **Key Features:** - Finds optimal cross-chain routes for Bitcoin using aggregated liquidity - Non-custodial execution through smart contracts - No fund custody - users maintain wallet control **Supported Bitcoin Wallets:** - TokenPocket, Unisat, Ctrl Wallet, OKX Wallet - SafePal, imToken, OneKey, Bybit Web3, Bitget Wallet **How It Works:** - Scans DEXs and bridges for best routes - Users authorize transactions - Smart contracts execute on-chain Bridgers operates as a routing protocol rather than a traditional exchange, allowing users to move Bitcoin across chains while maintaining full custody of their assets. [Try Bridgers](http://dapp.bridgers.xyz)

**Hong Kong's monetary authority plans selective stablecoin licensing approach** The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) will issue only a **limited number of stablecoin licenses** in its initial phase, despite receiving 77 applications from major financial institutions. **Key applicants include:** - HSBC - ICBC (Asia) - Bank of China (Hong Kong) - Standard Chartered **Industry frontrunners identified** Market insiders suggest **Standard Chartered and Bank of China (Hong Kong)** are positioned as leading candidates for first-round approvals. This selective approach indicates Hong Kong's cautious but strategic entry into regulated stablecoin markets, prioritizing established banking relationships over broad market access.

Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) has recommended **moving crypto oversight** from the Payment Services Act to the stricter **Financial Instruments and Exchange Act**. **Key changes:** - Stronger investor protection measures - Alignment with traditional securities frameworks - Enhanced regulatory oversight **Problems being addressed:** - Poor disclosure practices - Unregistered operations - Fraudulent activities This regulatory shift would bring digital assets under the same strict rules that govern traditional securities, marking a significant tightening of Japan's crypto regulatory landscape.