The week ahead's three biggest cryptocurrency stories

Following a relatively busy week here's what to keep an eye on as we enter the fourth quarter of the year.  

Celsius, the next hearing

Last week, bankrupt crypto lender Celsius parted ways with CEO Alex Mashinsky after a group representing customers and creditors in the bankruptcy process called for his removal.

The firm's CFO Chris Ferraro then moved into the role of "Chief Restructuring Officer" and interim CEO.

On Friday, the Department of Justice sought to block withdrawals from the platform until an independent examiner has completed her investigation. Celsius had filed a motion to return funds to customers in the custody and withhold accounts program at the start of this month, with the U.S. Trustee objecting to that motion, saying "the motions are premature and should be denied until after the Examiner Report is filed."

The next hearing is set for Thursday, Oct. 6.

GUSD stablecoin volume in MakerDAO

Last week, Tyler Winklevoss submitted a proposal on the MakerDAO forum to boost the adoption of the Gemini dollar (GUSD) stablecoin in the latter’s ecosystem. 

The proposal sets out plans to grow the volume of GUSD in the MakerDAO PSM, which refers to the peg stability module that allows users to mint DAI by swapping any MakerDAO-accepted collateral. The PSM is considered useful for maintaining DAI’s peg to the U.S. dollar.

Since yesterday, and for the next 3 months, Gemini will contribute to MakerDAO a fixed rate of 1.25% for any GUSD present in the PSM, as long as the average monthly balance on the last day of the month is over $100m GUSD.

Gemini's proposal is just the latest move by a stablecoin issuer to promote the use of their token; over the last month several stabelcoin issuers have jostled for position with various announcements and partnerships. The adjusted transaction volume of stablecoins came in at just over $765 billion in September, according to The Block's data dashboard. 

Crypto events to keep an eye on

 There are two crypto events on the docket this coming weekend, first the Blockchain Economy Dubai Summit on Oct. 4 and 5 , then Blockchain Expo 2022 in Silicon Valley on Oct. 5 and 6. 

Ivan Liljeqvist, the founder of web3 development platform Moralis, will be speaking in Dubai along with a host of other speakers. Meanwhile, Spanish telecom giant Telifonica's head of IOT will be speaking in Santa Clara, California, a week after reports suggested the $19 billion firm is allowing the use of cryptocurrency for purchases on its Tu.com marketplace.

Last week, the Converge22 conference in San Francisco facilitated a plethora of announcements, from Circle's acquisition of Elements to California's intentions to develop a crypto and web3 regulatory regime that could be a model for other states to adopt, with a particular eye toward crypto mining operations.