Golden Weekly is a weekly blockchain industry summary column launched by Golden Finance, covering the week's key news, market and contract data, mining information, project dynamics, technological progress and other industry dynamics. This article is a project weekly, taking you to see the progress of this week's mainstream projects and star projects.

Bitcoin

Standard Chartered: Bitcoin could reach $100,000 before US election

Geoffrey Kendrick, head of foreign exchange and digital asset research at Standard Chartered Bank, said: "As the US election approaches, I expect the price of Bitcoin to reach $100,000, and if Trump wins, it will reach $150,000 by the end of the year." "The Biden administration recently showed pragmatism in approving a spot Ethereum ETF, but then Biden vetoed efforts to repeal SAB121. So Trump is still friendlier than Biden."

Bitcoin Miners and Exchange Reserves Drop 183,253 BTC Since January

Data shows that in the 158 days since the beginning of this year, the amount of Bitcoin held by exchanges and miners has decreased by 183,253 BTC, worth nearly $13 billion. These funds were withdrawn from the joint wallets of miners and exchanges, of which about 90.95% of Bitcoin withdrawals came from cryptocurrency exchange reserves, and about 9.05% (ie 16,578 BTC, worth $1.17 billion) were withdrawn from the collective address of current BTC miners.

US Bitcoin ETF funds have been flowing in for 18 consecutive days, and the options market is betting on Bitcoin to hit a new high this month

U.S. exchange-traded funds that invest directly in Bitcoin have recorded net inflows for the 18th consecutive day, setting a record for consecutive days of inflows, and the surge in demand has helped push the world's largest digital asset to a record high. Data shows that since its launch on January 11, as of Thursday, more than a dozen such products have received a total net subscription of US$15.6 billion and total assets of US$62.3 billion. Many speculators in the options market expect that Bitcoin prices will exceed the historical highs set in March this month, thanks to ETF demand and expectations of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. "A large amount of funds have flowed into spot Bitcoin ETFs," Sean Farrell, head of digital asset strategy at Fundstrat Global Advisors LLC, wrote in the report. "Macro trends continue to favor cryptocurrencies, with economic growth slowing but not recessionary, and inflation continuing to show signs of slowing."

Bitfinex: Bitcoin bull market peak may occur in the fourth quarter of 2024

Analysts at cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex predict that the current Bitcoin bull cycle could peak in the fourth quarter of 2024. Bitfinex analysts said: "Historical data shows that Bitcoin usually reaches a new all-time high (ATH) a few months after the halving event. Therefore, we predict that the market top may occur around the fourth quarter of 2024." Analysts said that historically, Bitcoin has reached a market top when a specific ratio is above 3.2, indicating that there may be room for further growth before the digital asset reaches its peak. Key indicators such as the market value to realized value (MVRV) ratio indicate that there is a large amount of unrealized profits. The current MVRV value is about 2.56. Historically, when the MVRV ratio exceeds 3.2, the Bitcoin market has peaked. Bitfinex analysts predict that Bitcoin can reach at least $120,000 in the current cycle.

Chairman of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission: Bitcoin has experienced multiple cycles of rise and fall in the past 15 years, proving its ability to survive as an alternative asset

On June 5, Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission Chief Executive Leung Fung-yee pointed out at the Greenwich Economic Forum (Hong Kong) that we should make good use of the power of technology and focus on distributed ledger technology (DLT). Leung Fung-yee pointed out that DLT is applied to virtual assets in the financial market. Bitcoin has experienced multiple cycles of rise and fall in the past 15 years, which proves its ability to survive as an alternative asset. What is more certain is that as the underlying technology of Bitcoin, DLT will stand the test of time. The potential advantages of DLT are obvious. This technology can improve the efficiency of physical assets in distribution, clearing, settlement and custody while reducing costs. She emphasized that the NFT craze may have subsided, but the technology is gradually being used by the physical asset world, and physical assets are gradually being tokenized. The potential benefits include several aspects. Leung Fung-yee pointed out that adhering to the technology-neutral position, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission adopts the principle of "same business, same risks, same rules". Investor protection is the top priority of its work.

Ethereum

Animoca Lianchuang: Hong Kong may allow Ethereum spot ETF to be pledged this year

Yat Siu, co-founder of Animoca Brands, said that Hong Kong asset managers are studying the introduction of staking functions to Ethereum spot exchange-traded funds. HashKey and Bosera jointly manage two Hong Kong spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs and are currently developing a proposal to introduce Ethereum staking.

Ethereum core developers agree to add EVM object format (EOF) to Pectra upgrade

Ethereum core developers have agreed to include the EVM Object Format (EOF) in the upcoming Pectra upgrade. As described in EIP-7692, EOF involves about 11 EIPs that provide an optional container for EVM code to improve code verification and introduce new features. If EOF becomes a blocker, it will be separated into different forks to ensure that Pectra can proceed without major delays. EOF will not be part of the initial version of devnet 1. The Pectra upgrade will also include EIP-7702, the account abstraction standard proposed by Vitalik Buterin. Overall, Pectra is considered a comprehensive upgrade with 19 EIPs planned, making it one of the most extensive upgrades in Ethereum history.

ProShares has submitted an application for an Ethereum spot ETF to the US SEC

ProShares has filed Form 19b-4 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list and trade an Ethereum spot ETF on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

SEC Chairman: The speed of listing of spot Ethereum ETF depends on the issuer

Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said on Wednesday that when a spot ETF linked to the cryptocurrency Ethereum will begin trading depends largely on how quickly the issuer responds to the SEC's inquiries. He said, "These registrants will proactively respond to the comments they receive, but the extent of the response is really up to them." Gensler declined to say whether he thought the process would take weeks or months. Gary Gensler and SEC officials have not previously commented on why the SEC made a U-turn and approved the application for a spot Ethereum ETF, but he said on Wednesday that a lawsuit filed by Grayscale last year forced the SEC to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF in January, which affected the SEC's view on Ethereum.

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) is about to be listed in the United States and may attract $4 billion in inflows in the first five months. K33 estimates that the inflow of ETHETF in the first five months is 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, resulting in 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. "This huge supply absorption shock should drive ETH's price appreciation," said Vetle Lunde, senior analyst at K33 Research.

other projects

Marketnode plans to launch blockchain fund settlement infrastructure in late June and release tokenized credit products in Q1 next year

Marketnode, a digital asset company founded by Temasek and Singapore Exchange (SGX), announced that it plans to launch a fund settlement infrastructure based on blockchain technology in late June. It is expected to announce more strategic partners for the network, including financial institutions and infrastructure participants, later in 2024, and launch tokenized credit products (such as bonds and loans) in the first quarter of 2025. Earlier news, Marketnode announced the completion of its Series A financing, led by HSBC, and the amount of financing has not been disclosed.

Qatar Central Bank launches CBDC project

Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has launched the first phase of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) project, focusing on large-value payment settlements between large banks. The project, which will run until October, will focus on distributed ledger technology, artificial intelligence, liquidity and securities trading. QCB began researching CBDC technology in March 2022 and confirmed the launch of the project in June of the same year. QCB Governor Sheikh Bandar bin Mohamed bin Saoud al-Thani said the central bank is evaluating the pros and cons of issuing a CBDC. A day before announcing the CBDC project, QCB launched a new fintech sandbox to provide a rapid testing and evaluation process. The project is part of the national development strategy.

Arweave founder: AO super-parallel computer has made some key breakthroughs in AI technology

According to Sam Williams, founder of Arweave, on the X platform, “The AO hyperparallel computer has made some key breakthroughs in AI technology. These include: full LLM (Llama3 and others) running in AO smart contracts, capable of making financial decisions. WASM64 support allows up to about 18EB of memory at the protocol level. WeaveDrive - in the AO process, data on Arweave can be accessed as a local hard drive. In addition, all the details will be presented on June 20th.”

EthSign announces SignPass, providing convenience to users through on-chain verifiable IDs compatible with passport systems

EthSign announced the launch of SignPass, which facilitates the community through on-chain verifiable IDs that are compatible with existing passport systems. All SignPass credentials will be cryptographically registered on the blockchain through the Sign Protocol, and permanent residency in Sierra Leone can be registered on the chain.

SushiSwap has launched Bitcoin sidechain Rootstock

SushiSwap has launched the Bitcoin sidechain Rootstock. Rootstock was launched in 2018 with the goal of introducing DeFi to the Bitcoin network and being compatible with EVM.