Headlines
▌Musk's Starship aims to conduct its fourth test flight tomorrow night
Musk's space exploration company SpaceX has received regulatory approval to conduct the fourth test flight of Starship on June 6, with a launch window of 120 minutes starting at 20:00 tomorrow night (Thursday) Beijing time. In this test flight, SpaceX's focus is no longer on entering orbit, but on demonstrating the ability to return and reuse Starship and super-heavy rockets.
▌U.S. securities regulators investigate Roaring Kitten's GameStop trading
The Massachusetts Securities Regulatory Agency is investigating GameStop's trading activities. A spokesperson for the agency said that it is investigating the activities of GameStop investor Keith Gill. Earlier on June 3, GameStop's US stock price surged 110% before the market opened. Previously, a post on Reddit claimed that Keith Gill, also known as "Roaring Kitty", had built a $181 million position in GameStop.
Quotes
As of press time, according to Coingecko data:
The latest transaction price of BTC is 70600.1 USD, with a daily increase or decrease of +2.6%;
ETH's latest transaction price is $3,814.82, with a daily change of +1.3%;
BNB's latest transaction price is $686.51, with a daily increase of +9.6%;
SOL's latest trading price is $171.81, with a daily change of +4.2%;
DOGE’s latest trading price is $0.1616, with a daily change of +2.1%;
XPR recently traded at $0.526, with a daily change of +1.1%.
policy
▌The U.S. House of Representatives budget aims to prevent the SEC from implementing SAB 121
An upcoming House appropriations budget could prevent the Securities and Exchange Commission from implementing its controversial Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 (SAB 121). FOX Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, who reported the news on June 4, said the bill would prohibit the SEC from using appropriations to implement the rule. Appropriations allow agencies to incur debt and receive payments from the U.S. Treasury for a stated purpose.
A policy rider in the budget prohibits the SEC from implementing or enforcing Accounting Bulletin No. 121, which implements harmful digital asset requirements. It is unclear whether the budget will be passed in its current form. The House of Representatives, which currently has a Republican majority, is likely to pass the appropriations bill at a hearing on June 5. However, the Senate, which has a Democratic and Independent majority, will need to negotiate its own appropriations bill with the House bill.
Terrett said Democratic support for an earlier resolution with the same goal, HJ Res. 109, means the Senate will likely keep the rider in the budget. That bill seeks to provide the SEC with a total of $2 billion in funding through 2025, rather than the $2.59 billion requested by SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.
▌Ukrainian police raid crypto scam call center, arrest 14 people
The Ukrainian National Police raided a fraud call center network that promised fake cryptocurrency investments and defrauded victims in Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan and the European Union. During the operation, the police detained 14 suspects and seized 12 luxury cars, 136 computer devices, 951 SIM cards and $64,500 in funds. The scammers posed as stock exchange employees and used psychological techniques to persuade victims to invest in cryptocurrencies and transfer funds to digital wallets and bank cards controlled by criminal organizations. Police said one of the organizers of the network was associated with a "thief kingpin" nicknamed "Khmyelo."
▌New South Korean law requires crypto deposits to pay interest
South Korea’s new law will require banks to pay interest on deposits at cryptocurrency exchanges, which could severely impact KBank’s profits. KBank currently has $3.6 billion in deposits from major cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, accounting for more than 20% of its customer balances. Under the new law, if interest rates are set at 1%, KBank will have to pay about 50 billion won ($36 million) in interest, which is equivalent to its current profits. The law will take effect in July 2024, and the timing is particularly unfavorable for KBank, which is preparing to go public. Upbit is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, and other Korean banks do not have significant exposure to cryptocurrency deposits.
▌Tether CEO: EU MiCA regulations contain some "problematic" requirements
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said that the EU's Market in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation "contains several problematic requirements." He said: "These requirements may not only make the work of stablecoin issuers extremely complicated, but also make EU-licensed stablecoins extremely vulnerable and more risky to operate. As with any regulatory framework of this scale, further discussion of technical implementation standards is crucial to give the market clarity on certain regulations."
According to MiCA, to become a regulated stablecoin provider in the EU, issuers must have an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license. Ardoino said Tether has engaged extensively with its European exchange counterparties on the relevant requirements, including those related to the continued listing of USDt and other Tether tokens, as well as interpretation of key regulatory provisions.
▌The US SEC closes the office that attracted much attention due to the DEBT Box encryption lawsuit
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the closure of its Salt Lake City office, which was in the spotlight for its unsuccessful lawsuit against the DEBT Box crypto company. Previously, the SEC filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit and the judge dismissed the case against DEBT Box. The case had triggered lawyer resignations and accusations against the agency, which ultimately led to the closure of the office. The SEC moved its Denver office to take over enforcement jurisdiction.
Blockchain Applications
▌Sotheby’s will auction BAYC series of “Golden Orangutan” NFT
Sotheby’s is about to auction a golden hairy gorilla NFT created by Yuga Labs, along with other rare digital artworks. The auction will test the staying power of gorilla-themed assets in the art world. The auction items include an NFT from the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), as well as other rare digital artworks.
Cryptocurrency
▌FTX: Plans to pay more than $200 million in taxes to the IRS, not $24 billion
According to a June 3 legal filing, FTX plans to pay the IRS $200 million in priority tax claims and $685 million in subordinate tax claims. Priority tax claims, like taxes, are payments that must be paid before other debts, while subordinate claims are paid only after priority obligations are satisfied.
FTX argued in bankruptcy court that the amount it owed was much less than the $24 billion the IRS claimed. Previously, the IRS claimed FTX owed $44 billion in taxes but later lowered the amount to $24 billion.
The FTX debtors, who were responsible for managing the company during its bankruptcy, believe that the IRS incorrectly included funds misappropriated by Sam Bankman-Fried and other tax liabilities in its calculations. The IRS disagrees with the debtors' arguments and plans to seek huge tax liabilities if no settlement is reached. The objection deadline in the case is June 17, and the hearing date is June 25, 2024.
▌Ripple CEO: Spot XRP ETF is expected to appear in 2025
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said he expects a spot XRP ETF to appear in 2025.
▌Bitwise Chief Investment Officer: Washington’s crypto political shift brings opportunities
Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise, said that the political shift in Washington, D.C. regarding crypto has been underestimated. He pointed out that the crypto industry has accumulated strong political power in Washington, and if people realized this change, the market would have hit new highs long ago. Hougan believes that once Wall Street accepts crypto assets, the market will usher in a major leap.
▌Bain Capital Crypto is raising a second crypto fund
Bain Capital Crypto is raising its second cryptocurrency fund, with documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Bain Capital launched its first $560 million crypto fund in March 2022, and despite the subsequent market downturn, the fund has continued to invest actively in 2022 and 2023, including participating in Sam Altman's Worldcoin's $115 million financing. The first fund, co-led by Stefan Cohen and Alex Evans, focuses on early investments and liquid tokens in the decentralized finance (DeFi) and Web3 sectors. Currently, the fund has invested nearly $100 million in multiple projects. Bain Capital Crypto has not yet commented on the new fund, citing compliance issues.
▌Global Web3 financing totaled US$917 million in May, and Farcaster’s valuation reached US$1 billion
According to statistics from Cailianshe Venture Capital, in May, there were 100 financing events in the global Web3 field, basically the same as in April; the total financing amount reached US$917 million, a month-on-month decrease of 5.46%.
In terms of sub-tracks, the blockchain infrastructure track had the largest number and total amount of financing in May. 41 projects in this track received a total of US$498 million. However, the total amount of financing in this track dropped by nearly US$100 million compared with April. The DeFi track and CeFi track maintained a certain growth in total financing.
From the perspective of institutional investment, Animoca Brands, OKX Ventures and Coinbase Ventures are the top three investment institutions in May. Animoca Brands has invested 9 times, 4 of which were in blockchain infrastructure; OKX Ventures has invested 5 times, 3 of which were in blockchain infrastructure; Coinbase Ventures has invested 4 times, all of which were in blockchain infrastructure.
Rune casting accounts for 77.1% of all Bitcoin transactions in the past 24 hours
Ordinals developer and Runestone initiator Leonidas posted on social media that rune casting accounted for 77.1% of all Bitcoin transactions in the past 24 hours.
▌Report: BTC volatility may increase, long-term holders will face seller pressure
According to a Glassnode market report on Tuesday, sell-side pressure from long-term BTC holders (those who have held Bitcoin for 3 months to 3 years) is increasing, adding: "We can expect that if prices rise, the incentive for this group to sell more supply will increase and further increase their unrealized profits."
The Glassnode report predicts that volatility will increase after the relative stability of the Bitcoin market over the past week. The report added: "The sell-side risk ratio of long-term and short-term holders has readjusted, indicating that a new equilibrium has been found. This shows that the market is ready to act and expectations for near-term volatility should increase."
▌Fidelity: Bitcoin has entered a more mature stage of adoption
Jurrien Timmer, head of global macro at Fidelity, said that Bitcoin has entered the late stage of the adoption cycle and has reduced volatility. He pointed out that Bitcoin has become an important part of the investment portfolio and recommended allocating 2% of funds to Bitcoin. He predicted that Bitcoin will gradually mature and its volatility will decrease, which will attract more institutional investors.
▌Report: Spot Ethereum ETF is expected to attract $4 billion in inflows
Crypto analysis firm K33 Research said in a report that a spot Ethereum ETF that can directly hold Ether (ETH) will be listed in the United States soon and may attract $4 billion in inflows in the first five months. K33 estimates that the inflow of ETH ETFs in the first five months will be between $3 billion and $4.8 billion. This estimate is slightly higher than JPMorgan's forecast of $3 billion this year.
The report said that at current prices, this is equivalent to 800,000 to 1.26 million ETH accumulated in the ETF, accounting for about 0.7%-1.05% of the total token supply, which will lead to a supply tightening of ETH assets and ETH prices may suffer a supply "shock". K33 analysts predict that with the launch of the Ethereum ETF, the price of ETH is expected to start outperforming BTC after the ETH/BTC pair has experienced a downward trend for nearly two and a half years. Vetle Lunde, senior analyst at K33 Research, said: "This huge supply absorption shock should drive ETH's price appreciation."
Important economic developments
▌The probability of the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates unchanged in June is 99.8%
According to CME's "Fed Watch": the probability of the Fed keeping interest rates unchanged in June is 99.8%, and the probability of raising interest rates by 25 basis points is 0.2%. The probability of the Fed keeping interest rates unchanged by August is 82.3%, the probability of cumulatively cutting interest rates by 25 basis points is 17.5%, and the probability of raising interest rates by 25 basis points is 0.1%.
▌The three major U.S. stock indexes all closed slightly higher
The three major U.S. stock indexes all closed slightly higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.35%, the Nasdaq up 0.17%, and the S&P 500 up 0.15%. Nvidia rose more than 1%, setting a new record high.
▌Zimbabwe's new currency ZiG faces challenges and opportunities
Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), a new currency launched by the Zimbabwe Reserve Bank (ZRB), has performed well in foreign exchange markets but is facing difficulties in its own country. The ZRB has taken new measures to crack down on black market trading and called on the public through its X-account to report illegal traders and businesses that refuse to accept ZiG. Since ZiG was launched in physical form, its exchange rate against the US dollar has risen by 1.9%.
On May 15, police arrested 224 illegal foreign exchange traders, and the RBZ Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) froze 90 bank accounts and monitored bank activities to detect illegal transactions. The crackdown has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of illegal money changers in Harare CBD and surrounding areas. However, coin shortages continue to plague the central bank, and the RBZ plans to increase the supply of small change.
Zimbabwe’s Homelink Financial Services will offer ZiG debit card withdrawals in seven cities from June 10, with other financial institutions to follow in the future. ZiG is Zimbabwe’s sixth currency in 15 years, backed by gold and foreign exchange, but its launch has received mixed reactions from the public.
Golden Encyclopedia
▌What is liquidity staking?
Liquid staking allows stakers to maintain liquidity of their staked tokens by using alternative tokens, which they can use to earn additional yield through DeFi protocols. Liquid staking enables cryptocurrency holders to participate in staking without giving up control of their holdings. This changes the way users do staking. Projects such as Lido have introduced liquid staking to provide tokenization of staked assets in the form of tokens and derivatives.
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.