Headline:
Since 2014, the US government has sold at least 195,091 BTC, making over $366 million in profit
Casa co-founder Jameson Lopp has tracked the Bitcoin sales by the US government and found that since 2014, the government has seized and sold at least 195,091 bitcoins, making over $366 million in profit.
According to data from Bitcoin Treasuries, the US government currently holds 213,546 bitcoins, which is worth over $13 billion at the current market price, making it one of the largest Bitcoin holders in the world. Meanwhile, the German government is the fourth largest sovereign Bitcoin holder in the world, after China and the UK, holding 46,359 bitcoins.
Musk: Starlink mini to be launched later this year
Musk announced that Starlink mini will be launched later this year.
Market:
As of the time of writing, according to Coingecko data:
BTC recent trading price is $60,781.83, with a -1.6% change in the past 24 hours.
ETH recent trading price is $3,368.01, with a -0.8% change in the past 24 hours.
BNB recent trading price is $572.42, with a -0.9% change in the past 24 hours.
SOL recent trading price is $136.67, with a +0.1% change in the past 24 hours.
DOGE recent trading price is $0.1227, with a -2.7% change in the past 24 hours.
XPR recent trading price is $0.4697, with a -1.3% change in the past 24 hours.
Policy:
The US Department of Justice rules for the first time that the cryptocurrency token HYDRO is a security
The US Department of Justice has announced that it has convicted HYDRO founder Shane Hampton and financial engineering director Michael Kane for manipulating the price of the HYDRO token of Hydrogen Technology. The enforcement agency also stated that the sale of HYDRO by the two individuals constituted unregistered investment contracts, and they were respectively sentenced to two years and eleven months and three years and nine months in prison.
Investigation revealed that the two individuals hired a third-party company, Moonwalkers Trading Limited in South Africa, to engage in false trades worth $7 million and false orders worth over $300 million in the HYDRO market using automated bots.
Nicole Argentieri, head of the Criminal Division of the US Department of Justice, said, “Shane Hampton, Michael Kane, and their conspirators manipulated the price of their company’s cryptocurrency using trading bots to deceive investors. This is the first time a federal jury has found that a cryptocurrency is a security and that manipulating the price of a cryptocurrency constitutes securities fraud.”
Abra settles with 25 US states, to refund customers $82 million
Digital investment platform Abra and its founder and CEO William Barhydt have reached a settlement with financial regulatory agencies in 25 US states. Abra, which operated its mobile application without proper licenses, will refund up to $82 million worth of cryptocurrencies to its US customers in these states. The settlement agreement requires Abra to cease accepting cryptocurrency allocations and trades from its US Abra Trade customers.
Barhydt also agreed not to engage in any capacity in money transmission or money services businesses within these 25 states for the next five years. Charlie Clark, Director of the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, stated that state financial regulatory agencies will hold accountable those who engage in illegal activities.
A spokesperson for Abra stated that the settlement also resolves the issue of unregistered securities sales with certain state securities regulatory agencies. Since June 2023, Abra has refunded over $250 million, which accounts for 99% of its US retail customer-held assets. Abra continues to operate in the US through its SEC-registered investment adviser, Abra Capital Management.
Cryptocurrencies may become a focus in Biden and Trump debates
Cryptocurrencies may become a topic of discussion in the upcoming presidential debates. In response, cryptocurrency advocacy organization Stand With Crypto has launched an online letter-writing campaign, with nearly 2,300 people signing, calling on CNN moderators to ask cryptocurrency-related questions. Sabrina Siddiqui, a spokesperson for the organization, said that this would help voters understand the candidates’ positions on this important economic issue. President Biden’s digital asset policy record includes multiple executive orders and actions by regulatory agencies, while Trump has shifted from a skeptical attitude in the past to supporting cryptocurrency mining and opposing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Kristin Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association, said that this marks significant progress for cryptocurrencies in national political debates.
Nigeria SEC requires cryptocurrency firms to complete registration within 30 days or face enforcement action
The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given cryptocurrency exchanges and digital asset trading firms 30 days to re-register their operations, or they will face the risk of enforcement action.
This announcement is part of Nigeria’s regulation of digital asset trading. The SEC stated that the new registration is aimed at amending its rules regarding the issuance of digital assets, operating platforms, exchanges, and virtual asset service providers (VASPs) custody.
The commission stated in a statement on its website, “All existing and potential VASPs are directed to visit the SEC’s e-portal and complete the registration process within 30 days of the date of this notice.”
Blockchain Applications:
Polkadot community proposes developing an interoperability bridge between Polkadot and Cardano
The Polkadot community is discussing a new proposal to develop a bridge that connects Polkadot and Cardano. Felix, the agent for Unifires, revealed that a proposal for a Cardano-Polkadot light client and NFT exchange bridge has been submitted and plans to be submitted to Polkadot’s OpenGov. Polkadot’s Chief Ambassador Tommi Enenkel (Alice and Bob) stated that this can be achieved by verifying Beefy proofs on Cardano. The proposal has gained widespread support from the community.
In addition, SnowBridge launched a bridge between Polkadot and Ethereum on June 20. SnowBridge uses first-party signatures from validators to support the transfer of ERC20 assets between the two networks and is expected to achieve arbitrary message passing and launch liquidity plans in the future.
Bitcoin Virtual Machine team launches BitZK service to expand the Bitcoin network
The Bitcoin Virtual Machine (BVM) team has launched BitZK, a zero-knowledge (ZK) service aimed at enhancing the scalability of Bitcoin. This service allows users to create aggregations and migrate applications from Ethereum to Bitcoin. @bird2836, a BVM developer, stated that this is the first instance of a Bitcoin ZK aggregation on the mainnet, marking a significant technological breakthrough. The monthly fee for the BitZK service starts at $99 and has attracted early users including RWA Chain, POWD3R Blockchain, and Octopus Bridge. BVM was launched in January 2023 with the goal of enabling the Bitcoin network to have the functionalities of networks like Ethereum, leveraging the security and data availability of Bitcoin to drive the development of Bitcoin scaling solutions.
SEC may approve Ethereum spot ETF as early as July 4
Industry executives and other participants have revealed that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may approve an Ethereum spot ETF as early as July 4, as negotiations between asset management firms and regulatory agencies have entered the final stage. Asset management firms including BlackRock and VanEck are among the eight firms involved in the negotiations.As a professional translator, I would like to translate this news article into English using descriptive language. The sentences are accurate, coherent, and retain proper nouns and all references. The meaning is guaranteed to be the same, without any grammatical errors. Please note that the translation does not include a period at the end. Please find the translation below:
In seeking SEC approval for these funds, they stated that the process of amending the offering documents has progressed to the point where only “minor” issues need to be resolved. A lawyer working with one of the issuing companies also indicated that it is now just a matter of “final touch-ups,” and approval could come in as little as one to two weeks. ETF analyst Eric Balchunas had previously predicted approval as early as July 2nd.
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If elected, Trump will choose Vivek Ramaswamy as Vice President
According to Bitcoin Magazine, if elected, Trump will choose Vivek Ramaswamy as Vice President. Vivek Ramaswamy supports Bitcoin and has accepted BTC Lightning Network donations during the presidential campaign.
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UDPN launches tokenized deposits and asset tokenization system
UDPN has officially launched its first production systems, including stablecoins and asset tokenization solutions. These systems were developed in collaboration with Hong Kong-based Red Date Technology and German consulting firm GFT to support interoperability among multiple banks. UDPN is able to connect tokenized deposits, central bank digital currencies, and stablecoins from multiple banks, ensuring seamless integration through a messaging mechanism similar to Swift.
Previously, UDPN conducted concept validations with several high-profile institutions, including Standard Chartered Bank, Deutsche Bank, KPMG, and CBDC developer Giesecke+Devrient. These systems integrate with traditional backend systems through APIs, allowing banks to establish business nodes on UDPN and provide tokenized deposit services to corporate clients, bypassing restrictions of traditional banking systems.
UDPN plans to further decentralize the operation of its network by advancing institutional governance structures in the future.
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State Street Bank partners with Galaxy to launch new digital asset strategy
State Street Bank (State Street Global Advisors) and Galaxy Asset Management have announced a partnership to launch a next-generation digital asset investment strategy that goes beyond the realm of cryptocurrencies and opens up new opportunities for investors. This collaboration combines the strengths of two industry leaders to provide investors with manager-guided strategies to directly participate in the $24 trillion digital asset ecosystem.
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Evolve Bank customer data leaked by ransomware
Customer data from crypto-friendly Evolve Bank has been leaked by Lockbit ransomware. Lockbit initially threatened to release secret Federal Reserve data containing details of enforcement actions against US banks, but ultimately leaked 33TB of Evolve Bank and Trust data.
The leaked content includes details of Federal Reserve enforcement actions against Evolve Bank, as well as insecure and unsound banking practices involving fintech collaborations. The leaked files reportedly contain personal identifying information of end-users, such as social security numbers, card PAN numbers, wire transfers, and settlement files.
Lockbit set a deadline for ransom payment, but apparently did not receive payment. Evolve Bank acknowledged these reports in customer notifications and is actively investigating the details of the incident.
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ZynCoin reaches settlement with Philip Morris
ZynCoin, a meme token named after a nicotine pouch, has reached a settlement with Fortune 500 company Philip Morris. Philip Morris initially demanded that ZynCoin cease using the name “ZYN Coin” and its related logos, but due to the decentralized nature of ZynCoin with no centralized entity to sue or stop the token, a compromise was reached to retain the “zyn” prefix and make minor modifications to marketing.
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Opinion: US government selling 4,000 bitcoins unlikely to impact the market
CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju posted on X platform, stating that the US government selling 4,000 bitcoins is unlikely to have much impact on the market. This is because during periods of high inflow to spot ETFs, Coinbase Prime has the liquidity to process sell orders of 20,000 to 49,000 BTC per day, and during low inflow periods, it can handle 6,000 to 15,000 BTC per day. Ki Young Ju stated, “I’m tired of FUD from government selling, so I posted this.”
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Privacy protocol ATOR announces rebranding as Everyone
Privacy protocol ATOR has announced its rebranding as Everyone, with the original ATOR tokens being convertible to ANYONE tokens and accompanied by revised tokenomics. The ATOR pool ranks among the top 15 Uniswap pools on Ethereum by locked value, and as of February 2023, ATOR is transitioning to a fully decentralized layer and rapidly expanding to over 1,800 relays. The design of the Anyone protocol enables multi-level composability, aiming to provide developers and projects with a platform to build applications securely and privately.
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NFT market sales decline by 45% in Q2 2024
NFT sales declined by 45% in the second quarter of 2024, following the bearish trend of Bitcoin. Data from CryptoSlam reveals that NFT sales dropped to $2.24 billion, the lowest level since the third quarter of 2023. This sharp decline contrasts with the $4.1 billion in sales recorded in the first quarter of 2024, which continued the growth trend from the fourth quarter of 2023 at $2.9 billion.
June 2024 also saw a significant drop, with the average NFT sale value decreasing by 59% compared to March. The month is also expected to have the lowest NFT transaction volume since March 2021.
Key economic developments
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US large banks pass annual Fed stress tests, paving the way for increased dividends
US large banks have passed the Federal Reserve’s annual stress tests, paving the way for increased dividends. The Federal Reserve stated in a statement on Wednesday that each company remains above the minimum capital requirements under the hypothetical scenarios of an economic recession. The regulatory body stated that these banks would collectively withstand losses of nearly $685 billion, which represents a larger decline in capital than in last year’s stress tests but remains “within the range of recent stress test results.”
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90.7% probability of the Fed maintaining interest rates in August
According to CME’s “FedWatch,” there is a 90.7% probability that the Fed will maintain interest rates in August, with a 9.3% probability of a 25 basis point rate cut. The probability of the Fed maintaining interest rates in September is 37.2%, with a cumulative 57.3% probability of a 25 basis point rate cut and a 5.5% probability of a cumulative 50 basis point rate cut.
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US stocks close higher as popular tech stocks mostly rise
US stocks closed higher as the Dow rose 0.04%, the Nasdaq rose 0.49%, and the S&P 500 index rose 0.16%. Most popular tech stocks rose, with Tesla up nearly 5%, Amazon up nearly 4%, reaching a market cap of over $2 trillion, and Apple up 2%.
Encyclopedia
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What is an infinite mint attack?
An infinite mint attack refers to malicious manipulation of contract code to continuously mint new tokens beyond the authorized supply limit. Malicious actors may profit from such attacks by selling illegally created tokens or disrupting the normal operation of affected blockchain networks. The prevalence of infinite mint attacks emphasizes the importance of thorough code audits and incorporating security measures into smart contract development to prevent such vulnerabilities.
Disclaimer: As a blockchain information platform, the content of the articles we publish is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as actual investment advice. Please establish a correct investment concept and be sure to increase risk awareness.
