Golden Weekly is a weekly blockchain industry summary column launched by Golden Finance, covering the week's key news, mining information, project dynamics, technological progress and other industry dynamics. This article is one of the news weekly, taking you through this week's blockchain industry events.

Headlines

▌After Trump was shot, Musk officially stated: I fully support President Trump

Shortly after Trump was shot, Musk officially supported Trump on the social media platform X. Musk said, "I fully support President Trump and wish him a speedy recovery." In the past few months, people have been speculating whether Musk will support him. Yesterday, it was reported that Musk donated to a super political action committee dedicated to helping Trump enter the White House. Musk also said that the director and leader of the Secret Service should resign.

▌Analysis: Trump's attack overturned everything, Biden's gaffe is no longer important

The Telegraph article pointed out that Trump will announce his running mate at the Republican National Convention next Monday. The already strict security measures may be further strengthened to deal with major security breaches. But the rhetoric of Trump supporters will also be different. Trump supporters have claimed that this assassination attempt is his latest battle to "save America", and this argument will now dominate the campaign. After the attack, Trump said, "It is unbelievable that this behavior happened in our country." The subtext of this sentence is obvious: America is broken, and he will fix it with the help of his supporters. This shooting will subvert an already turbulent campaign. Any remaining doubts that Trump will win the election are now fading, and Biden's gaffe earlier this week now seems irrelevant.

▌The total TVL of the forecast market sector exceeded 77 million US dollars, setting a new record high

According to DefiLlama data on July 10, the TVL of the prediction market sector reached $77.42 million, a record high. Among them, Polymarket topped the list with a TVL of $47.69 million. Other protocol platforms with TVL exceeding $1 million include Azuro, Gnosis Protocol V1, Lumi Finance, Augur, EtherFlip, and WINR Protocol.

Analysis: Bitcoin futures term structure suggests bullish sentiment

Golden Finance reported that cryptoslate published an analysis article saying that the prices of Bitcoin futures contracts on major exchanges showed a gradual upward trend. The futures term structure chart shows how the futures prices of Binance, Bybit, Deribit, Huobi, and OKX have steadily increased from August 2024 to June 2025. This continued upward trend shows that the market expects Bitcoin prices to rise in the next year. The chart starts at about $58,000 for the August 2024 contract and gradually increases, with the peak of the June 2025 contract at about $65,000. It is worth noting that Deribit leads with the highest predicted price, indicating that the market is confident in the futures market of the platform. In contrast, Huobi's forecast is slightly conservative, reflecting different market sentiments among exchanges. The trend of rising futures prices may mean that investors remain confident in the long-term value of Bitcoin after the halving in April 2024. Historically, halving events have led to sharp price increases due to reduced supply. The current futures pricing is in line with this historical pattern, and prices are expected to continue to rise. Market participants should consider these forecasts when developing strategies for the coming months, as the futures term structure can provide insight into market expectations and potential price movements.

▌UN report: Bitcoin mining has increased global energy consumption 34 times in 8 years

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) recently released its latest Digital Economy Report 2024, which states that while digitalization has driven global economic growth, its impact on the environment is also becoming increasingly serious. The report states that it is estimated that in 2022, the energy consumption of global data centers will be equivalent to that of France, and global energy consumption due to Bitcoin mining has increased by about 34 times between 2015 and 2023. This puts tremendous pressure on local power grids. For example, data centers in Singapore accounted for about 7% of the country's electricity demand in 2020, while in Ireland, this proportion was as high as 18% in 2022.

policy

▌The British Prime Minister will appoint Tulip Siddiq as the UK Financial Secretary, whose responsibilities include regulating crypto assets

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will appoint Tulip Siddiq as the UK's Financial Secretary, a position that belongs to the Treasury, making her a key figure in regulating and advocating for key financial services industries. People familiar with the matter said that Siddiq, who has been a member of parliament since 2015, is expected to be appointed as the Economic Secretary of the Treasury. This is the equivalent position she held in Starmer's shadow cabinet. The position is called the British Financial City Minister, referring to the City of London and the broader financial services industry in the UK. Its responsibilities also include regulating fintech, crypto assets and debt management policies. Earlier news, Tulip Siddiq said that if the Labour Party wins the election, it will be committed to transforming the UK into a global tokenized asset center.

▌The US SEC drops its investigation into Bitcoin L2 developer Hiro

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped a three-year investigation into blockchain software developer Hiro Systems, formerly known as Blockstack, which raised $70 million in token sales between 2017 and 2019, according to a filing on Friday.

▌US CFTC, Department of Justice, FBI and other federal agencies will jointly combat crypto fraud

On July 13, the U.S. CFTC and the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) of the Department of Justice (DOJ) held the first Fraud Disruption meeting this week to address crypto scams such as pig-killing trays. Such scams cause billions of dollars in losses to the American people every year, making them a key law enforcement focus. Agencies participating in the meeting include the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Social Security Administration, the U.S. Treasury, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, the U.S. Attorney's Office for Massachusetts, and the U.S. SEC. CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam emphasized the urgency of combating these schemes, saying: "It is shocking to hear stories of countless Americans being targeted by fraud by global criminal organizations." He emphasized the CFTC's commitment to strengthening customer protection initiatives against retail fraud. The meeting focused on prevention strategies, technical disruption of fraud, and cooperative law enforcement efforts. Participants also launched anti-fraud activities to remind Americans to be vigilant against emerging fraud threats.

▌Nigerian court to rule on Binance tax evasion case on October 11

The High Court in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, will rule on Binance's tax evasion case on October 11, 2024. According to it, Binance faces four charges of tax evasion, including failure to register for tax with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) of Nigeria. According to local media reports, Binance's lawyer Ayodele Omotilewa appeared in court on Friday, July 12, and pleaded not guilty to all four charges before Judge Emeka Nwite. Omotilewa urged the judge to dismiss the charges, arguing that the case lacked substance, similar to the previous dismissal of charges against Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla. Judge Nwite decided to adjourn the case until October for further deliberation and review of the evidence presented. This gives the defense and prosecution more time to prepare their respective cases.

Nigerian crypto activists suggest regulating Bitcoin and Ethereum as commodities

July 13 news, in view of a recent court ruling in Illinois that classified Bitcoin and Ethereum as commodities, Nigerian stakeholders urged the Nigerian SEC to adopt a similar approach in its regulatory framework. Lucky Uwakwe, chairman of the Blockchain Industry Coordination Committee of Nigeria (BICCoN), said that this approach will provide creators with clear guidelines on where they should seek regulation. "The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission should bear in mind the need to formulate rules to define the asset class of crypto assets or subdivide the corresponding cryptocurrencies into asset classes and explain to the public how such cryptocurrencies qualify as securities or commodities." Uwakwe pointed out that while both the US SEC and CFTC agree that Bitcoin and Ethereum are commodities, the distinction between proof of stake (PoS) and proof of work (PoW) protocols may change the classification of specific crypto assets.

Blockchain Applications

▌Vitalik calls on the industry to work together to launch ERC-3770 and ERC-7683

On July 9, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin demonstrated the current interface for depositing to Polymarket and the interface that should be presented on the X platform, and called on the industry to work together to launch ERC-3770 and ERC-7683. It is reported that ERC-3770 aims to improve the cross-chain user experience. Specifically, ERC-3770 makes the address a complete "how to pay me" identifier again by including chain information as part of the address. This improvement helps to simplify the cross-chain transaction process, allowing users to handle cross-chain payments more intuitively and conveniently. ERC-7683 is a new cross-chain intent standard proposed by Uniswap Labs in cooperation with Across Protocol, which aims to establish a unified framework for specifying an intent-based system for cross-chain operations.

▌Circle announced that the Euro stablecoin EURC will be introduced into Base

Circle announced that the stablecoin EURC will soon be introduced to Base, which is the first euro-backed stablecoin on Base. EURC is issued by Circle and now joins USDC. USDC is the largest stablecoin on Base, with a circulation of more than $3 billion as of July 9.

▌Worldcoin announces the launch of World Chain developer preview

Worldcoin announced the launch of the World Chain developer preview, which provides global developers with the opportunity to start building World Chain before the World Chain mainnet is launched. Remco Bloemen, head of the Worldcoin Foundation protocol, said that through the World Chain developer preview, developers will be able to deploy infrastructure on the "gated mainnet" because World Chain skips the testnet.

▌Vitalik: Ethereum network should deal with 51% attacks in a more automated way

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin advocated for a push to make the Ethereum network better prepared for a 51% attack during his keynote at the ETHCC in Brussels. He believes that an automated response to such attacks should be prepared, which would take some pressure off the social layer. A potential response to such an attack would be for honest validators to move to a fork of the chain, and current plans would rely heavily on social consensus, with community members working together to agree on a fork. However, Buterin believes that it would be better if the network was better prepared for such a response. He said that such a response would be largely automated and planned in advance. Buterin also advocated for increased adoption of light clients in Ethereum's infrastructure layer, especially wallets. He said that they should also support validation of zk-EVM, providing further support for layer 2 networks. In addition to this, he also believes that the protocol should be further simplified to make life easier for developers and users.

▌Bitcoin L2 Network Stacks has completed the code writing of Nakamoto upgrade

The Stacks Foundation, the foundation of Bitcoin L2 network Stacks, said on the X platform that the code writing of Nakamoto has been completed ahead of schedule (July 15), and is currently undergoing internal and external audits, testing, and bug fixes. It is reported that the Nakamoto upgrade will separate the block production schedule of Stacks from that of Bitcoin, and will introduce a new Stacks block production method and update its transfer proof consensus algorithm. The Stacks Nakamoto upgrade will be able to achieve a transaction speed of about 5-10 seconds, which is about 100 times faster than the current transaction speed.

Cryptocurrency

▌Mr. Maji has sold all his BLURs, losing $3.16 million

According to Spot On Chain, Machi Big Brother has sold all his BLUR, losing $3.16 million. In the past 24 hours, he deposited all 18.4 million BLUR ($3.13 million) into Binance, causing the price to fall after each deposit. Currently, he holds: 275 million BLAST ($4.45 million), with an estimated loss of $1.5 million; 8.8 million FRIEND ($1.71 million), with an estimated loss of $13.8 million.

▌Tether CEO: USDT should be considered a digital dollar

Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, wrote on the X platform that the stablecoin USDT is a technology developed by Tether in 2014. It is now used by many people and adopted by multiple governments. USDT is used by hundreds of millions of people around the world, especially in emerging economies, so it is no longer just a "cryptocurrency" but should be regarded as a digital dollar. The real innovation is that through USDT, Tether has established a checking/savings account for all people living in countries with extreme inflation and insufficient banking services, bringing checks and balances to the financial industry.

▌Bitcoin mining sustainable energy utilization rate reaches 56.2%, a record high

Data shows that the sustainable energy utilization rate of Bitcoin mining has reached 56.2%, a record high. (Bitcoin Magazine)

▌Analysis: If BTC rebounds to $72,300, it will trigger $5.6 billion in short liquidations

According to data released by on-chain analyst Ali on the X platform, if Bitcoin triggers a U-shaped rebound to $72,300, up to $5.6 billion of liquidity in the market will be liquidated by short positions.

▌Yat Siu: Animoca Brands currently has more than 500 investments, and the NFT market will recover

Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, expressed the following views in the latest interview: 1. Thanks to Telegram and TON, I believe that in the next 12 to 18 months, we will see more than 100 million users joining Web3, because distribution channels such as Telegram are launching games. 2. The biggest regulatory challenges currently faced by Web3 companies are mainly in the United States, Hong Kong, Japan and Southeast Asia. The Asian market is very friendly to Web3 and the rules are quite clear. 3. It is currently in the early development stage of the metaverse. 4. Animoca Brands currently has more than 500 investments, including about 160 investments in the gaming field around games, education and distribution, and more than 70 investment transactions have been completed in the education field. 5. NFT currently has a monthly trading volume of about US$500 million. Usually after the summer, when market activity picks up, we will see more trading volume and activity. The market is also seasonal, and generally speaking, all markets are like this. 6. Animoca is a bit like DAO. It is true that it wants to go public, and it has also said that it may be in 2025 or 2026, so it is not just 2025, but in between. There is still a lot of work to be done at this stage, such as determining the location of the company, moving out of Australia, deciding which market to list, and hiring consultants. It is impossible to list a company in one month. It takes some time.

Important economic developments

▌Fed mouthpiece: Powell's shift suggests interest rate cuts are imminent

Nick Timiraos, the "Federal Reserve mouthpiece," pointed out in his article that Fed Chairman Powell said at a hearing on Tuesday that the trade-off between reducing inflation and maintaining a solid labor market is changing, a cautious but important shift that brings the Fed one step closer to cutting interest rates. "Rising inflation is not the only risk we face," Powell said. "We have seen a clear cooling of the labor market in many ways. This is not the source of widespread inflationary pressures in the economy right now." This assessment is noteworthy because Fed officials have long believed that an overheated labor market is the main risk to the process of keeping inflation down. Powell admitted that he would not have made such a judgment just two months ago. In fact, Powell's comments at a meeting in Portugal last week were also more cautious before the U.S. Department of Labor released its June employment report.

▌The probability of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates has increased significantly, and the first rate cut in September is almost a foregone conclusion.

According to CME's "Fed Watch", the probability of the Fed keeping interest rates unchanged in August is 91.2%, and the probability of a 25 basis point rate cut is 8.8%. The probability of the Fed keeping interest rates unchanged in September is 7.3%, the probability of a cumulative 25 basis point rate cut is 84.6%, and the probability of a cumulative 50 basis point rate cut is 8.1%.

▌Fed's Daly: The economy shows that one or two rate cuts this year would be more appropriate

Fed's Daly said that recent inflation conditions are a relief, but progress will not be smooth; inflation is expected to gradually decline and the labor market is also gradually slowing down; the economy looks to be on a path where one or two rate cuts this year are "more or less" more appropriate; more information is needed before taking the next step completely; so many people are talking about the labor market, which is a pretty big signal sent by the Fed; the labor market has slowed down, but it remains solid.

▌Coinbase: The U.S. economy may peak in the second quarter of this year

Coinbase released a weekly report saying that the U.S. economy may peak in the second quarter of 2024. If the U.S. economy then falls into a recession, retail investors may be reluctant to hold new stock or cryptocurrency positions. In addition, the report also pointed out that no matter which candidate wins, the U.S. election in November is likely to trigger more fiscal expansion. This is a strong motivation to buy Bitcoin as an alternative to the traditional financial system.

▌Source: Russian President Putin may make a major statement on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in the next few days

BITCOINLFG revealed on the X platform that sources said Russian President Vladimir Putin may make a major statement on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in the next few days.

Disclaimer: As a blockchain information platform, Golden Finance publishes articles for information reference only and is not intended as actual investment advice. Please establish a correct investment philosophy and be sure to raise your risk awareness.