In the crypto world today, a pro-crypto political organization has thrown its support behind Andrew Cuomo in the race for New York City mayor. Additionally, Grayscale Investments has introduced its staking-enabled Solana ETF in the U.S., while Ethereum’s Fusaka fork has been activated on its final testnet.
Pro-crypto group endorses Andrew Cuomo for NYC mayor as election nears
Innovate NY, a political group promoting digital assets and funded with approximately $100,000 ahead of the New York City mayoral election, has endorsed independent candidate and former state Governor Andrew Cuomo.
In a notice released on Tuesday, Innovate NY supported Cuomo for mayor in a race that is already underway with early voting. The organization highlighted an agenda that encompasses “blockchain, tokenization, public-benefit stablecoins, and artificial intelligence.”
Registered as an independent spender with the New York City Campaign Finance Board, Innovate NY received funding of $99,500 from six individuals through two companies as of Wednesday.
According to spending records, Innovate NY allocated $30,000 towards a flyer promoting Cuomo and opposing Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani, who is currently leading in several polls against the former governor.
The mayoral race in New York City has attracted significant attention from the crypto community due to its potential implications for businesses operating in the U.S.’s largest economic center. Voters will decide between frontrunners Mamdani, Cuomo, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa on Nov. 4.
In the closing weeks of his campaign, Cuomo has sought the endorsement of crypto-centric New York voters, committing to establish an Innovation Council with advisory panels for crypto, AI, and biotech if elected. Meanwhile, Mamdani, who has been leading in polls against Cuomo, has primarily focused on cost-of-living issues such as childcare and affordable housing, largely avoiding the topic of digital assets in his campaign.
Grayscale launches Solana ETF, entering the SOL staking ETF competitive landscape
Grayscale Investments has unveiled its staking-enabled Solana spot exchange-traded fund (ETF), enhancing institutional access to Solana investment opportunities.
According to a Wednesday announcement, the Grayscale Solana Trust ETF commenced trading under the GSOL ticker on the NYSE Arca platform. This product includes staking capabilities, allowing investors to earn rewards via Solana’s proof-of-stake (PoS) system.
Inkoo Kang, Grayscale’s senior vice president of ETFs, stated that the new offering is “enhancing investor choice.” The organization has now positioned itself among the largest managers of Solana (SOL) exchange-traded products (ETPs) in the U.S. based on assets under management.
This launch follows Bitwise’s introduction of its staking Solana ETF on Tuesday, which commenced with $222.9 million in assets under management. Grayscale launched with a seed of $102.7 million, which is less than half of Bitwise’s initial funding.
Ethereum’s Fusaka fork set for mainnet following final testnet launch
Ethereum’s forthcoming major upgrade, Fusaka, was deployed on the blockchain’s final testnet, Hoodi, on Tuesday, paving the way for its mainnet launch on Dec. 3, which is expected to introduce several enhancements in scalability and security to the network.
The Fusaka upgrade will introduce various Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), such as Peer Data Availability Sampling, or PeerDAS, through EIP-7594, allowing validators to access smaller segments of data on layer 2 networks instead of full blobs, thus enhancing node efficiency.
The update will also incorporate EIP-7825 and EIP-7935, aimed at increasing the gas limit and enhancing efficiency as Ethereum prepares to facilitate parallel execution, enabling the simultaneous processing of multiple smart contracts. Additional EIPs in the update focus on enhancing zero-knowledge rollups.
This upgrade aims to boost Ethereum’s scalability, one of the three aspects of the so-called “blockchain trilemma,” as coined by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, alongside decentralization and security.
