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💰 Arbitrum DAO locks up $770 million in ARB tokens into vesting contract
Arbitrum's decentralized autonomous organization has locked up 700 million ARB tokens worth $770 million into a vesting contract. The funds will be released incrementally to the Foundation over a four-year period in a major step for the DAO toward accountability and transparent governance. The move came after the approval of the AIP 1.1 proposal that came amid a controversial governance period within the Arbitrum ecosystem. Earlier this year, the project faced significant backlash over a "special grants" program in the plan that initially sought to allocate over 700 million ARB tokens directly to the Arbitrum Foundation. The Foundation stated the funds would be used to support initiatives built on Arbitrum’s technology. However, the immense scale of the allocation, which was worth over $1 billion at the time, prompted fears over transparency in a project that’s designed to make collective decisions. That led to a subsequent proposal to return the funds from the Foundation back to the DAO which was rejected. Arbitrum is a Layer 2 scalability solution for Ethereum, developed by Offchain Labs.
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📣 Gemini Files Lawsuit Against DCG For Fraud Conspiracy, DCG Calls It A “Publicity Stunt”
Gemini has sued DCG and Barry Silbert for a fraud conspiracy against Genesis creditors. DCG calls it a “publicity stunt”. Mediation process is ending. Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, has sued Digital Currency Group (DCG) and its founder Barry Silbert. Gemini alleges that Silbert and DCG were involved in fraud against creditors of Genesis, a cryptocurrency lending platform that filed for bankruptcy last year. According to the complaint, Silbert and DCG conspired with Genesis to create false financial reports to hide the fact that Genesis was insolvent. DCG responded to the lawsuit by calling it a “publicity stunt” by Cameron Winklevoss to deflect blame from himself and Gemini. The mediation process is coming to an end, and the case is expected to be handled under Chapter 11 bankruptcy law. Gemini claims that Silbert and DCG were involved in a carefully crafted fraud against creditors of Genesis. When Genesis notified Gemini that it would terminate the Earn program in October 2022, Silbert reached out to set up a meeting to induce Gemini to continue to Earn. He did this knowing that Genesis was massively insolvent. Silbert claimed that Genesis faced only a timing issue, but this was a lie that hid the gaping hole in Genesis’s balance sheet.
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💰 Celsius Moved Around $74 Million Altcoins Into BTC And ETH After Approval
According to TheBlock, Celsius transferred approximately $74 million in altcoins, including Synthetix, Uniswap, ZRX, and several stablecoins, after being approved to convert altcoins into Bitcoin and Ethereum. One of the transfers went to a wallet linked to the market maker Wintermute. In addition, Arkham’s report also states that network address Celsius (0x1C…9074) has staked 40.96 thousand ETH, worth about $75 million, for ETH2 staking contract through Figment from date May 10 to 12.a New York court approved Celsius to convert its altcoins into bitcoin and ether from July 1. According to data from the crypto data platform Arkham, the Celsius wallet holds about $615 million in crypto, including $296 million in Bitcoin and $120 million in ethereum. They also have around $100 million worth of CELs and approximately $30 million worth of stablecoins, with the remaining altcoins worth around $69 million. Celsius is preparing a plan to refund users “stuck” on the platform. Accordingly, the company will sell all altcoin balances on customer accounts in exchange for BTC & ETH. Except for CEL, which is the native token of Celsius, most are MATIC and ADA. These are all highly liquid coins, with such a selling force that can not be expected to affect the price of these tokens much. This gives users of the platform some peace of mind about the future repayment plan.
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🪙 ETH Burned Yesterday Hits 5336,77, New High Since May 25
Yesterday ETH burned, reaching 5336.77 worth over $10 million, based on the current value of Ethereum at the time of publication ($1,936.69), was burned from Ethereum transactions. This is a record high in a month. The annual net issuance rate for Ether yesterday was -3,352.67 ETH. The Ethereum network set a new milestone with 3.4 million ETH worth about $6.5 billion burned after nearly two years of implementing the EIP-1559 coin-burning mechanism. Burning is when a coin or token is sent to an unusable wallet to remove it from circulation. On August 5, 2021, the Ethereum blockchain implemented a significant upgrade known as EIP-1159. This Ethereum improvement proposal has dramatically changed the fee model. Each transaction now includes a variable base fee adjusted to the current demand for block space. This base fee is either burned or permanently removed from circulation, reducing the Ether supply forever. Thereby increasing the token price. Ethereum is issuing new Ether at a rate of 4% per year, although the rate is expected to drop to around 0.5 -1% as part of the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade. When this happens, many speculate that the burning rate of Ether will be greater than the rate of token issuance, making ETH a deflationary currency.
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💰 Do Kwon Transfers $163 Million Worth Of Bitcoin To Anonymous Wallet
Digital Asset reports that Terraform Labs CEO, Do Kwon transferred 5292 BTC (approximately $163 million) from a Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) Binance wallet to a new anonymous wallet on July 3rd. Prior to this transfer, only 351 BTC had been withdrawn from the wallet on May 8th. On July 3rd, 2021, the encrypted wallet held by Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon, known as Luna Foundation Guard (LFG)’s Binance wallet, transferred all 5,292 BTC (approximately $163 million) to a new anonymous wallet that has no known connection to Kwon, according to Digital Asset. The LFG wallet is the Binance wallet of the Luna Foundation, which Kwon established in January 2021 with the aim of defending the price of LUNC (Terra Classic). The wallet contained the largest amount of Bitcoin among Kwon’s on-chain assets. On November 2022, it was reported for the first time that 6983 BTC (approximately 155.6 billion won) were stored in this wallet. Since then, all transactions that took place in the wallet have been tracked and reported ten times. Prior to the BTC transfer, a test transfer appeared between the LFG wallet and the anonymous wallet on June 22nd and 23rd, where they exchanged 0.0211 BTC (approximately 870,000 won) three times.
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🟠 Binance Stops Depositing And Withdrawing Of Multichain Tokens From July 7th
According to the official announcement, Binance will suspend support for the deposit and withdrawal of Multichain cross-chain bridge tokens minted through the following network from 08:00 on July 7 until further notice. This is Binance’s latest move towards the troubled Multichain cross-chain bridge. Previously, Binance had temporarily suspended the top-up of tokens via the project-linked bridge the day after this incident. Deposits for pairs POLS-BSC, ACH-BSC, BIFI-FTM, SUPER-BSC, AVA-ETH, SPELL-AVAXC, ALPACA-FTM, FTM-ETH, FARM-BSC and DEXE-BSC have been affected by This situation. The event started on May 24, the Twitter social network stirred up information that the authorities had arrested the Multichain team in China. At the same time, many on-chain signs indicate suspicious movements related to the MULTI token. Multichain has confirmed that some of the project’s cross-chain remittance gateways are not working due to “force majeure reasons, ” with unknown recovery time. According to the update, some cross-chain bridges of the Multichain protocol have been restored and are now operational as of June 5. Tung Dinh, Vice President of Multichain, confirmed the restoration of the Multichain router2 router, showing that the core component of the bridge is back to normal. There is also speculation about the condition of Multichain’s co-founder and CEO, Zhao Jun, that he may have been released from prison.
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📉 Bitcoin, Ether Supply on Exchanges Fell in June: Goldman Sachs
The supply of bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) on exchanges fell in June as ramped-up regulation and crime persuaded holders to prefer self custody, Goldman Sachs (GS) said in a report Tuesday, citing on-chain data. Supply of bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, dropped 4%, nearing the level of December 2022, itself the lowest since November 2020 – and right before the start of the 2021 bull market, the report said. Ether supply slid 5.8% to levels not seen since May 2018. “Major centralized spot exchanges are facing regulatory headwinds putting investors on alert, cyber hacks and theft continue to be a concern across the crypto markets, highlighting asset holders’ preference for self custody, in line with the popular adage ‘not your keys, not your coins’, and specifically for ether, the enablement of staked ether withdrawals has resulted in investors’ preference to stake ether, instead of passively holding on exchanges,” the report said. Goldman noted that June was a record month for bitcoin miners’ inventory sales as miners took advantage of the cryptocurrency’s strong performance. Total monthly BTC inflows from miners to exchanges almost doubled from May to $99 million, it said.
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📣 Bitget To Launch New Product To Expand On Crypto Lending Sector
According to a July 4 news release, Bitget, a well-known crypto-exchange, has entered the “crypto lending” market with the debut of its new product, Crypto Loans. The exchange states the loan product employs a “dual-coin approach.” Those who stake one coin will be compensated with another asset. Customers of Bitget’s new Crypto Loans service will be able to stake low-demand currencies. Bitget will lend such users more liquid assets in exchange. Bitget has established itself in the cryptocurrency industry by providing both copy-trading and crypto-derivatives services, and it is now time to cater to the rising loan demand. Furthermore, the new business hopes to attract a new audience of customers who have been turned down by conventional lenders and are searching for alternative funding options via digital assets. Bitget’s Crypto Loans utilize a dual-coin strategy, allowing customers to stake one of their assets as collateral in return for the option to borrow a matching amount in another currency. Each loan is granted at a fixed interest rate, and the amount borrowed is decided by the collateral’s market value. Loans are granted for a certain length of time.
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🪙 Litecoin Halving Less Than 30 Days, LTC Up 31% In The Last Week
According to Litecoin halving data, 29 days, 20 hours and 45 minutes (1,7682 blocks) are still left before the Litecoin (LTC) block reward halving. The halving is scheduled to take place on August 2, at which point the block reward will drop from 12.5 LTC to 6.25 LTC. Litecoin has been trending on social media as the asset approaches its halving event. Litecoin has seen significant growth over the past 30 days. The price of LTC has increased by more than 27% since the one-month countdown to the Litecoin halving began. Most investors expect the Litecoin price to increase after the halving event, as the number of rewards will decrease, thus increasing demand. However, there are several other factors to consider. Each LTC price halving is usually very chaotic. This includes a significant price pump, a corresponding correction, a price low, and a local rally to the top. After the halving, the price of LTC was corrected from the high at that time. It will then form a new low followed by a sharp rise to a new all-time high. Therefore, we will likely see a post-halving price pump on August 2, 2023. And according to previous halvings, the price could correct before reaching a local top.
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🇧🇾 Belarus Plans To Ban Crypto Trading Between Individuals: Report
According to uz.kursiv.media, Belarus is planning to ban cryptocurrency transactions between individuals to prevent criminal activity and promote transparency. The legislation would require citizens to trade only through official exchanges. Belarus is reportedly working on a bill that would prohibit cryptocurrency transactions between individuals. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) believes that this will help prevent the withdrawal of funds earned through criminal means. The ministry hopes that this restriction will make it unprofitable for fraudsters to operate within Belarus. Currently, law enforcement authorities have identified 27 instances of illegal cryptocurrency exchanges since the beginning of 2023, with an estimated profit of almost 22 million Belarusian rubles ($8.7 million). While the proposed legislation may seem strict, it is in line with other countries efforts to regulate the cryptocurrency market. Many governments are concerned about the use of cryptocurrencies for illegal activities, such as money laundering and tax evasion. By requiring citizens to trade cryptocurrencies only through official exchanges, the Belarusian government hopes to prevent such activities and ensure greater transparency and control.
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🪙 Binance Conducts 11th Terra Classic Burn, 2.65 Billion LUNC Tokens Burned
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, has burned 2.65 billion Terra Classic (LUNC) tokens in its 11th burn round. The total LUNC tokens burned by Binance now exceed 35.5 billion, with the community’s burn surpassing 68 billion. Traders have reacted positively to the burn, with LUNC seeing a 3% price increase. Based on a transaction executed on July 1, Binance transferred 2.65 billion LUNC tokens to the burn address, reducing the circulating supply. The transaction also involved a transaction fee of 13.25 million LUNC. The Terra Classic burn mechanism automatically burns tokens whenever a transaction occurs on the network. The number of tokens burned is relative to the number in circulation. This ensures that the total supply of tokens is constantly decreasing, hypothetically increasing their value over time. As reported by Coingape, Binance conducted a burn of 1.04 billion LUNC tokens in June. Although Binance reduced its contribution from LUNC spot and margin trading fees from 100% to 50%, the community expressed gratitude for the support provided by the crypto exchange and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao. In June, LUN struggled to surpass the $0.0001 mark and declined below the support level of $0.000090.
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🆘 Poly Network Attacker Issues 'Worthless' Billions in SHIB, BNB, BUSD in Latest Crypto Hack
Attackers issued billions worth of several tokens on Sunday morning after exploiting a smart contract function in cross-chain protocol PolyNetwork’s bridge tool. Bridges allow users to swap tokens between different blockchains using a smart contract by locking value on one network, and releasing it on another. PolyNetwork attackers were likely able to manipulate the way the bridge works and trick it into issuing tokens on one network which, in reality, did not exist. Attackers minted 24 billion binance usd (BUSD) and bnb (BNB) on the Metis blockchain, 999 trillion shiba inu (SHIB) on the Heco blockchain, and millions of other tokens on various other networks, such as Avalanche and Polygon. This meant the attackers’ wallet held over $42 billion worth of tokens (on paper) immediately following the attack. But an abject lack of liquidity prevented the attackers from monetizing the gigantic token stash. Metis developers confirmed there was no “sell liquidity available” for the BNB and BUSD, while the illicitly-issued METIS tokens were locked on the PolyNetwork bridge by developers.
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🏦 Kraken Is Requested By The IRS For Customer Information From $20,000
According to The Block, Kraken was ordered by a judge on Friday to provide certain user information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The IRS wants the exchange to identify accounts with more than $20,000 in crypto transactions annually between 2016 and 2020. Kraken has previously objected to the IRS subpoena partly because its concerns will create a great burden. The exchange called the agency’s summons an “irrational treasure hunt,” arguing that it crossed the line. Kraken will have to disclose information such as name, date of birth, physical address, phone number, and tax identification number. Friday’s ruling in favor of the government comes amid a deepening US crackdown on cryptocurrencies. The Securities and Exchange Commission this month filed a lawsuit accusing Coinbase of operating an illegal exchange and alleging that Binance.US mishandled customer funds, misled investors and agencies’ regulatory authorities as well as violations of securities rules. Kraken is a leading cryptocurrency exchange with a daily trading volume of around $650 million globally, according to CoinMarketCap. The company did not immediately respond to an email request for comment on the ruling.
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🏦 Huobi Exchange Had Leaked OTC Transaction Info, User Data From 2017 To 2021: Report
Huobi exchange suffers massive data leak, including OTC transactions, user/VIP info, and tech data. Huobi responded, but the incident raises data security concerns. Wu reported that Huobi exchange has suffered a massive data leak, according to Aaron Phillips, a white hat security researcher. The leaked data includes OTC transaction information, user information, VIP user information, and technical infrastructure data. The leaked data is said to have occurred between 2017 and 2021. Huobi has confirmed the incident and stated that it was caused by the irregular operation of relevant personnel in the S3 barrel of the test environment of the Japanese station. The relevant user information was completely isolated on October 8, 2022. After the incident was discovered by the white hat team, Huobi’s security team took action on June 21, 2023, and immediately closed the relevant file access permissions. The vulnerability has been fixed, and all relevant user information has been deleted. Huobi has thanked the White Hat team for their contributions to its security. Huobi’s updated response stated that the OTC data mentioned in the article is not real transaction data, but test data.
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🪙 Binance Burns Tokens To Increase Efficiency and Reduce Costs
In a recent announcement on Twitter, Binance revealed its plan to burn a selection of idle Binance-pegged tokens. The tokens scheduled for burning are TRXOLD, PAX, DAI, USDP, PAXG (on the Binance Smart Chain), PAXG (on the Binance Chain), BUSD, and USDC. These tokens represent a range of digital assets that have been pegged to their corresponding fiat currencies or assets, providing users with liquidity and stability. This reduction in supply often contributes to price stability and can generate positive effects on market dynamics. By burning these idle tokens, BNB aims to enhance the efficiency of its token ecosystem. The act of token burning involves permanently removing a certain quantity of tokens from circulation, thereby reducing the total supply. This reduction in supply often contributes to price stability and can generate positive effects on market dynamics. However, the token burning process initiated by BNB is distinct from the traditional concept of token burning, as it is tied to the release of collateral on their native networks. This approach allows BNB to maintain a balanced utilization of resources while ensuring the liquidity and availability of the underlying assets.
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💰 Shibarium Plans To Launch Mainnet On August 2023 At Blockchain Futurist Conference
Shib chief developer Shytoshi Kusama announced in a blog post that Shibarium, a Layer 2 blockchain solution, is planning to launch its mainnet at the Blockchain Futurist Conference in Toronto this August. SHIB chief developer Shytoshi Kusama announced in a blog post that Layer 2 blockchain solution Shibarium may launch the mainnet at the Blockchain Futurist Conference in Toronto this August. Shibarium will hold a multi-month hackathon while Shib will have two booths, a VIP cabana, and Shibarium. As one of the event’s lead sponsors, the developers believe the conference will provide a much-needed atmosphere to share such good news. The conference is also an opportunity for Shib to strengthen its position as a major player in cryptocurrency. This is a significant undertaking for Shib, as it is roughly their third anniversary and the birthplace of Eth. The conference will also feature Unification, BadIdea.Ai, and new partners announced during the summer Shibarium. Additionally, all projects that have indicated their willingness to build with Shibarium Tech at the conference will be on display. Moreover, Shib will be speaking virtually (via AI) at a conference for the first time.
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🇯🇵 Circle Considers Issuing A Stablecoin In Japan Under Strict New Regulations
Circle is planning to expand its business by considering issuing a stablecoin in Japan once the country’s regulatory framework comes into effect on June 1. According to CoinDesk, Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire said that in light of the fact that the stable money management law took effect on June 1, Circle is considering issuing a stablecoin in Japan. If the plan is successful, Japan could become an extremely large market if it is applied to cross-border trade, foreign currency trading and global trade. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire expressed interest in the Japan partnership he visited last month. In a historic move, Japan’s parliament passed the regulatory framework around stablecoins in early June, providing a safety net for investors. This makes Japan one of the first major economies to pass legislation specifically for stablecoins. Reportedly, Japan’s revised “Payment Services Law” will certify fiat currency-backed stablecoins as “electronic payment methods” and authorize their issuance. The bill provides clarity around the definition of stablecoins, which will now be considered digital currencies and must be linked to a yen or other legal tender, ensuring holders have the right to redeem them at face value.
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📣 Starknet Bridges Over 500K Unique Wallets From Ethereum With $65 Million Deposits
Over 500K unique wallets bridged to Starknet, depositing $65M. ETH dominates bridged assets. JediSwap leads in TVL. According to Nansen’s report, over 500,000 unique wallets have bridged to Starknet from Ethereum, depositing a total of over $65 million on the network. The majority of these wallets have bridged very low amounts, with 60% of depositors bridging between $1 and $100, and 94% of depositors bridging less than $1,000. In terms of wallet age, most wallets (~75%) are less than one year old. The breakdown is as follows: 24.5% of wallets are 1-year-old or older, 41% are between 3-12 months old, 26.6% are between 1-3 months old, 6.78% are between 1 week – 1 month old, and 1.1% are less than 1 week old. ETH is the dominant bridged asset, accounting for nearly 75% of all assets bridged, largely due to it having by far the highest maximum cap imposed by StarkWare. JediSwap is the top protocol by total value locked, with more than 2x the TVL of second place, and the only non-AMM is the lending protocol zkLend – the native L2 money-market protocol built on Starknet. The relatively low TVL can be largely attributed to the restrictions imposed on the network.
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💰 Cardano Total Value Locked In DeFi Hit All-Time High
Cardano (ADA) is seeing its positive growth towards decentralized finance (DeFi), while the current price movement remains largely unchanged. According to data from the DeFiLlama aggregator, ADA Total Value Locked (TVL) across DeFi ecosystems has risen to an all-time high, with the increase being maintained steadily from the start of 2023 to present. At the present time, TVL on DeFi platforms reaches over $210 million, representing 2% of the current total supply of ADA. It is still one of the coins with the highest market capitalization in the crypto market. Although this amount is not being supplemented in Dollar terms because of the token’s price drop, it does demonstrate how much interest investors have in the Cardano DeFi universe. If the measure just tracked the number of mentions, a thread with a high number of mentions may boost the count on its own, even if mentions were low elsewhere on social media. As a result, to gain a more accurate reflection of the trend in the larger market, the social volume only takes into account unique postings. However, in terms of macro factors, Cardano is facing unfavorable factors from the US authorities, namely the U.S. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has designated ADA as a security token in its lawsuits with US exchanges, which caused its price to plummet in early June.
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🇦🇺 Australian Regulators Attack Binance Offices In Ongoing Investigation
According to Bloomberg, The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is conducting an investigation into Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. According to unnamed sources, ASIC searched the company’s Australian offices as part of an ongoing inquiry into the exchange’s now-defunct local derivatives business. The categorization of retail and wholesale customers by Binance Australia is the subject of ASIC’s investigation. Binance said in April that it would close its local futures exchange while continuing to operate its spot platform. Due to misclassification as wholesale investors, the business claimed to have terminated the derivatives holdings of some Australian customers. ASIC, who had previously suspended Binance Australia’s derivatives license, indicated that their investigation against the business is still continuing and declined to confirm or deny the search activities. The exchange replied by saying its collaboration with local authorities and commitment to achieving regulatory requirements in order to provide fully compliant service to Australian customers.
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💰 Value locked in Solana's liquid staking protocols surged by 91% in H1
The Solana ecosystem has recorded an increase in the value of assets staked into liquid staking protocols, marking a 91% rise year-to-date. By the end of June, a combination of liquid staking protocols, including Marinade Finance, Lido, Jito, JPool, and Socean, had cumulatively held $187 million in staked Solana (SOL) tokens, according to The Block Research. This represents a substantial growth from the initial $98 million staked at the beginning of the year. Kevin Peng, a research analyst at The Block, suggests that the rise in inflows into Liquid Staking Derivatives (LSDs) within the Solana ecosystem could be a result of the considerable growth seen in this niche across the broader crypto space. Specifically, the liquid staking growth on Ethereum following the Shapella upgrade may have spurred a ripple effect that extended to Solana. So far this year, about 1.66 million SOL, equating to $31 million, has been deposited into LSD protocols, which shows that increased inflows are partly responsible for the jump in liquid staking TVL. Another key factor propelling this trend is the increase in the price of Solana’s native token, SOL, which has soared by about 60%.
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🪙 TRON’s First RWA Product stUSDT Exceeds $22 Million in Pledges on Launch Day
According to official data from the TRON website, the total pledged amount for stUSDT has already surpassed $22 million. stUSDT, running on the decentralized platform JustLend, aims to establish a strong connection between individual and institutional investors in the cryptocurrency world and the real world. By leveraging smart contracts, the platform aspires to provide a fair and accessible RWA investment channel for everyone. The launch of stUSDT marks a significant step forward in TRON‘s ecosystem. The early success of stUSDT shows the growing interest and confidence in TRON’s RWA products, as investors understand the potential for big returns while delving into real-world asset investments inside the blockchain ecosystem. This is evidenced by the fact that the early success of stUSDT has been reflected in the early success of stUSDT. stUSDT paves the way for an investing landscape that is more accessible and egalitarian in the field of decentralized finance (DeFi), which is being driven by TRON’s ongoing efforts to develop and expand its product offerings. stUSDT platform, an upcoming welfare event with dates ranging from July 10th to August 10th has been announced.
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🇰🇷 South Korea Passes Crypto Bill for User Protection
South Korea's National Assembly passed the Virtual Asset User Protection Act on Friday, marking the country's first step towards building a legal framework for virtual assets. The legislation, which will take effect next year, is compiled from 19 proposals from lawmakers. It defines digital assets and sets out penalties for unfair transactions. Service providers must segregate user assets, have insurance, hold some reserves in cold wallets and maintain records of all transactions. The bill gives the Financial Services Commission authority to oversee and inspect service providers. The Bank of Korea has the right to request data from service providers. The bill marks the country's first step towards a digital asset legal framework. The legislation, which will take effect next year, is compiled from 19 proposals from lawmakers. It defines digital assets and sets out penalties for unfair transactions. Service providers must segregate user assets, have insurance, hold some reserves in cold wallets and maintain records of all transactions. Virtual assets have come under more scrutiny in the country following an investigation into a domestic lawmaker's crypto holdings and last year's collapse of Terraform Labs.
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🇹🇭 SEC Thailand Prohibits Crypto Staking And Lending With The Passage Of The New Act
On July 3, 2023, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC Thailand) issued guidelines for cryptocurrency trading entrepreneurs to disclose risk warnings so that traders are adequately informed about the risks of cryptocurrencies, as well as rules prohibiting digital asset business operators from providing services. Instead, to strengthen investor protection from the hazards of such services, back digital asset custody with returns to deposit staking and lending. To safeguard investors, the rules went into force on July 31, with an injunction prohibiting deposit staking and lending effective on August 30. However, the SEC approved requiring cryptocurrency business operators to disclose warnings of the risks of trading cryptocurrencies at its meeting No. 12/2022 on September 1, 2022, and set to prohibit digital asset business operators from providing services or supporting deposit staking & lending services. The authorities determined to adopt upgrading the rules for revealing risk warnings from cryptocurrency trading to be more suitable at meetings No. 16/2022 on December 1, 2022, and No. 9/2023 on May 11, 2023, so the SEC Thailand has continued to write the regulations for both of these topics.
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📣 Over 60% of Institutional Investors Bullish on Crypto for Next 12 Months: Survey
Institutional investors expressed their belief in more real-world use cases and improvements in regulatory clarity, fueling the drive for crypto adoption. A new survey by Binance Research, the research arm of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, found that most institutional investors are optimistic about the outlook of cryptocurrencies for the next 12 months. The study, dubbed the “Institutional Crypto Outlook Survey,” explored the respondents’ attitudes, preferences, motivations, and adoption toward crypto investments. The respondents comprised a diverse mix of institutional investors with various levels of experience and assets under management (AUM). More than 48% of the participants have over five years of crypto investing experience. Funds with crypto AUM below $25 million made up 52.4% of the surveyees, while those with AUM above $100 million accounted for 22.6%. Regarding allocation, 47.1% of the participants disclosed that they maintained their crypto holdings over the past year, while 35.6% increased theirs within the same period. About half of the respondents expect to increase their crypto possessions with time, while 4.3% would do the opposite in the next year.
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🇺🇸 Bittrex Challenges SEC's Authority in Lawsuit Dismissal Motion
Cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex has submitted a motion to dismiss in its legal dispute with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Bittrex argues that the SEC does not have the authority to regulate cryptocurrencies as securities unless explicitly granted by Congress. This assertion challenges the SEC’s interpretation of existing securities regulations and seeks to establish a more defined regulatory framework accommodating digital assets. In its motion to dismiss, Bittrex has adopted a similar approach to Coinbase, aligning its arguments closely with those made by the larger cryptocurrency exchange. This alignment indicates a strategic move by Bittrex to capitalize on the robust legal framework established by Coinbase and construct a unified defense against the SEC’s lawsuit. Bittrex’s legal team identifies what they perceive as shortcomings in the SEC’s allegations regarding the trading of investment contracts. While both defendants acknowledge that the initial sale of certain crypto assets could be classified as securities contracts, they contend that the same classification does not extend to assets traded on secondary markets.
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🚨 $656M lost from crypto hacks, scams and rug pulls in H1 2023: Report
According to a June 30 report by Web3 security firm Beosin, the total value of cryptocurrencies lost in scams, hacks and rug pulls amounted to $656 million during the first half of 2023. This includes the loss of $471.43 million in 108 protocol attacks, $108 million in various phishing scams and $75.87 million over 110 rug pulls. For hacks, the amount represented a significant decrease over H1 2022 and H2 2022, where $1.91 billion and $1.69 billion were lost, respectively. In addition, Beosin analysts wrote: In a dashboard compiled by Beosin and Footprint Analytics, only one project was hacked for more than $100 million, that being Euler Finance’s $195 million flash loan hack on March 13. The firm opened redemptions on April 12 after hackers returned most of the stolen assets. The vast majority of crypto lost in H1 2023 were coins and tokens minted on the Ethereum blockchain, at 75.6%. Meanwhile, the second largest stolen asset class, Binance Smart Chain tokens, came at just 2.6%. Furthermore, most of the stolen crypto was lost due to smart contract vulnerabilities (56%), while 21.4% had no clear identifiable reasons for the loss. Nevertheless, the numbers represent a significant decrease over H2 2021, when a record $2.1 billion in crypto was lost due to hacks, phishing scams and rug pulls.
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💰 Largest Crypto ATM Provider Bitcoin Depot Lists On Nasdaq On July 3
Bitcoin Depot, one of the largest crypto ATM companies in the United States, announced the completion of a merger agreement and allowed public listing on NASDAQ on July 3. In a June 30 announcement, fintech firm GSR II Meteora Acquisition Corporation said its shareholders approved the merger so that the company would act as a special-purpose acquisition company for Bitcoin Depot. The deal, first reported in August 2022, is worth $885 million. The combined company will be renamed Bitcoin Depot Inc. and will be led by the current management team. Bitcoin Depot common stock and public warrants are scheduled to begin trading on July 3, 2023 on Nasdaq under the tickers “BTM” and “BTMWW,” respectively. Bitcoin Depot was founded in 2016 with a mission to connect those who prefer to use cash with the broader digital financial system. The company provides users with simple, efficient, and intuitive means to convert some money into Bitcoin, which users can deploy in the payments, spending, and investing space. The company has the largest market share in North America, with approximately 6,440 kiosks as of March 31, 2023.
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💰 Lido Community Boosts Protocol Fund With 20,000 ETH Investment
Lido community, a decentralized staking protocol for Ethereum 2.0, has put forth a proposal aimed at enhancing the platform’s operational sustainability. The proposal suggests allocating 20,000 ETH to the protocol fund, with the goal of generating additional revenue to offset ongoing costs. Currently, the project is in the main voting phase, set to conclude in the early hours of July 1, and has garnered a 100% approval rate. Following this vote, a second voting period will commence. According to the proposal, the expected rate of return on the 20,000 ETH, estimated to be around 4% to 6% annually, could potentially yield an additional $2 million in revenue for the Lido protocol. This anticipated increase in earnings highlights the community’s proactive approach to securing the financial sustainability of the project. The move to allocate funds to the protocol fund aligns with Lido’s objective of creating useful assets that can generate revenue streams. By committing a portion of the ETH holdings, Lido aims to ensure ongoing operational viability while simultaneously exploring avenues to maximize returns for its participants.
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🪙 Zilliqa Planned Upgrade On July 5 Deposits And Withdrawals Will Be Stopped
Layer 1 blockchain Ziliqa has issued a document stating that the Ziliqa mainnet is expected to be upgraded to v9. Now), the Zilliqa network will not process transactions during the upgrade period, and deposits and withdrawals are suspended. The upgrade will introduce several improvements and new features to optimize performance and enhance cross-chain functionality. Among them, the main enhancements are enhancing interoperability between EVM and Scilla, and simplifying ERC-20 and ZRC-2 smart contract. Other improvements include extended testing coverage for third-party EVM contracts and full backward compatibility with all Scilla contracts currently in the Scilla 0.13.3 release. This reinforces Zilliqa’s commitment to security and robust functionality. Additionally, the upgrade includes various bug fixes, improved server-side resiliency and overall network performance improvements, the introduction of enhanced search and tracking capabilities for developers, and support for Extended development platform support. The Zilliqa team will provide quick updates on the completion of the upgrade and appreciate the understanding and patience of all network participants during this period.
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