Highlights
EU to Implement New Crypto Regulations: Impact on Stablecoins and Exchange Strategies
Morgan Stanley Among Top Holders of U.S. Bitcoin ETFs, Reveals $270M Investment
Vitalik Buterin Unveils EIP-7706 to Tackle Ethereum’s Gas Fee Crisis
European regulators are finalizing the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations, set to take full effect by 2025, with initial implementation starting in July. These new rules will significantly impact stablecoins like Tether’s USDT, requiring issuers to hold licenses and adhere to strict governance and reserve management standards. Kraken is reviewing its support for USDT in the EU, while Tether plans to maintain its regulatory dialogue and focus on EUR liquidity. OKX has already adjusted its USDT trading support in the EU. Kraken is also selecting its European headquarters post-MiCA, with France and Ireland as potential locations.
Morgan Stanley has become one of the top holders of U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs, with $269.9 million in Grayscale’s GBTC and $2.3 million in Ark Invest’s ARKB, as revealed in a quarterly 13F filing with the SEC. This positions Morgan Stanley as the third-largest holder of GBTC shares. The bank’s substantial investment reflects a growing institutional interest in bitcoin ETFs, which are seen as a significant shift in digital asset perception and use. Other major holders include Susquehanna, Horizon Kinetics, and Millennium Management.
Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin has proposed EIP-7706 to address Ethereum’s high gas fees. This proposal introduces a new gas type specifically for transaction calldata, creating a separate fee market to reduce calldata costs and optimize block space usage. EIP-7706 aims to resolve inefficiencies in the current gas model by incorporating basefee and priority fee as a unified vector, enhancing network efficiency and stability. This follows Buterin’s recent focus on multidimensional gas models to improve scalability and transaction processing.
News
Kraken ‘Actively Reviewing’ Tether’s Status Under New EU Rules
Morgan Stanley discloses US spot bitcoin ETF holdings worth over $270 million in filing
Failed Crypto Firm Genesis Approved to Repay Creditors Billions
Tornado Cash verdict has chilling implications for crypto industry
Products
Ethereum’s Gas Crisis Over? Vitalik Buterin Presents New Solution
Futures exchange CME plans to launch bitcoin trading
GainsPad Finally Launches And Ushers In A New Era Of Web3 Fundraising
Magic Square Launches Fundraising Platform for Web3 Projects
Regulation
Filing suggests SEC is exploring grounds to deny spot Ether ETFs
SEC Filing Hits Back at Coinbase ‘Power Grab’ Accusations
CFTC Issues Order Against Crypto Prime Brokerage Firm for Illegally Providing U.S. Customers Access to Digital Asset Derivatives Trading Platforms
US Treasury strategy would tighten virtual asset regulations, increase AI use
Funding
VC Roundup: Web3 infrastructure, ‘tokenization of everything’ drawing investors
Blockchain gaming investments reached nearly $1B in April
Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, Vitalik Buterin Back $45M Investment in Polymarket
Web3 AI platform ChainML raises $6.2 million in seed extension round
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