The UK may liquidate Bitcoin

The movement of bitcoins held by the state has always attracted widespread attention from the market, and any suspected selling action may cause market panic. The German government has just sold all 50,000 bitcoins since June 19, which is considered to be one of the main reasons for the continuous decline of bitcoin in early July.

The United Kingdom, the third largest country in terms of Bitcoin holdings (according to statistics, there are 61,245 Bitcoins, mainly from a major money laundering case. A hotel worker, Jian Wen, was convicted of international money laundering activities. The British Royal Prosecution Service froze and confiscated her assets, including Bitcoins). There have also been recent reports of possible sales in the United Kingdom.

Merryn Somerset Webb, a current Bloomberg columnist, wrote an article suggesting that the new British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, should sell the Bitcoins confiscated by the UK to fund her economic plan. Reeves inherited one of the worst economic situations since World War II, and it would take a lot of money to achieve her goal of "rebuilding Britain and making every part of the country better", but there is a large amount of cash at hand that does not need to be taxed, and that is the Bitcoin held by the UK.

Webb said that the funds raised from the sale of Bitcoin can be invested in some expenditures that can quickly bring returns. In addition, she also reminded that when selling Bitcoin, we should learn from Germany's lessons to avoid causing market turmoil.

Finally, Webb added that as long as international criminal activities still use Bitcoin and the police continue to track these criminals, the stock of Bitcoin in the hands of the government may continue to increase, thereby convincing the government to sell appropriately. At present, the UK has not taken any position or action on this issue.

Bitcoin may serve as a reserve currency for the United States

Rumors that Trump might announce a U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserve have created quite a stir in the cryptocurrency community.

Former US President Donald Trump will deliver a keynote speech at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville next week. Rumors circulating on social media suggest that Trump may announce Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset for the United States during negotiations. These speculations come from Dennis Porter, co-founder of SatoshiAct, who claims that reliable sources have confirmed Trump's intentions.

If the U.S. adopts Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset, it could leverage its position as the largest national holder of Bitcoin and echo Trump’s view that all remaining Bitcoin should be mined in the United States.

However, these claims have not been confirmed by Trump, his staff, or any public external sources. This sentiment about the US Bitcoin reserves is based on a small number of sources and can still be classified as an online rumor. But as the Bitcoin 2024 conference approaches, the crypto community is eagerly awaiting confirmation of these speculations.

Biden may withdraw from the election

There are less than four months left in the US presidential election, which takes place every four years. However, compared to Trump's growing calls on social media, Biden is increasingly being called on to withdraw from the election due to his poor performance in the first televised debate. According to reports, Biden's donors are decreasing, and donations can no longer meet the needs of his campaign, which needs to be actively expanded in the three months before the presidential election.

Although Biden repeatedly stressed after the debate that he would run to the end, he had previously said that if he had health problems, he might consider withdrawing. Biden recently tested positive for the new coronavirus and has returned to his villa to recuperate, and did not participate in the scheduled campaign activities.

According to several people close to Biden, the president's attitude towards stepping down has changed. However, there is still some time before the US election, and there are still many variables in the middle.

Ethereum Spot ETF Listed

After years of regulatory resistance and countless revised registration documents, a spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) has finally hit the market.

For the first time, publicly traded Ethereum (ETH) ETF shares will be listed on some of the most popular U.S. brokerage platforms, joining stocks such as Apple Inc. (AAPL) and the SPD R&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY). The much-anticipated listing is a defining moment for the cryptocurrency market and an opportunity for millions of U.S. institutional and retail investors.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) confirmed July 23 as the launch date for five ETFs trading on its platform: the 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF, the Fidelity Ethereum Fund, the Invesco Galaxy Ethereum ETF, the VanEck Ethereum ETF, and the Franklin Ethereum ETF.

The other four spot ETH ETFs will be traded on Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Arca. Although these exchanges have not yet made official announcements, they are widely expected to be listed on July 23 as well.

South Korea’s First Crypto Regulatory Framework

South Korea's "Virtual Asset User Protection Act" has now officially come into effect, focusing on protecting users' cryptocurrencies and deposits, while regulating market manipulation, unfair trading and other behaviors. This is also the first special law in South Korea's history to be enacted for cryptocurrencies.

The bill imposes stricter requirements on digital asset exchanges. Service providers in South Korea are now legally obliged to store at least 80% of user cryptocurrency deposits in cold wallets that are separate from their own funds.

Exchanges must also entrust users' cash deposits to local licensed banks for safekeeping and maintain cryptocurrency reserves equal to the amount and type of customer deposits. In addition, crypto services in South Korea must now take out adequate insurance or establish reserve funds to deal with hacker attacks or liquidity crises.

In addition to measures to protect user funds, the bill also requires exchanges to establish real-time monitoring systems to report irregular trading activities that may violate the law. Companies that fail to comply with the new requirements may face penalties or suspension of services from the Financial Services Commission (FSC), South Korea's top financial regulator.

South Korea is reported to have one of the largest cryptocurrency markets in the world. According to data from the first quarter of 2024, the Korean won became the most used fiat currency in crypto transactions, surpassing the US dollar.

Binance Invests in US Treasury Bonds

On July 19, a U.S. court approved Binance to invest customer funds in U.S. Treasury bills. Earlier, Binance requested court approval to invest approximately $40 million in batches of $10 million each over four weeks. These investments will be made through trading accounts on TreasuryDirect in U.S. Treasury bills with a rolling maturity of four weeks.

According to the order issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Binance will be able to invest “certain” customer funds through third-party investment managers, as long as Binance ensures that the funds are not reinvested in the company or any of its related entities.

The court order also stipulates that Binance must provide data on any costs associated with maintaining custody of U.S. Treasury investments in its monthly reports detailing its business expenses and operations.

The court's approval for Binance to invest customer funds in U.S. Treasuries suggests that cryptocurrencies could play a role in supporting demand for a weak dollar amid the BRICS countries' move to de-dollarize.

More specifically, by purchasing and holding U.S. debt instruments, the launch of collateralized stablecoins has the potential to extend the dollar’s ​​dominance for decades, thereby offsetting some of the massive inflation brought on by years of quantitative easing, poor monetary policy, and reckless fiscal policy.

Decentralization of blockchain

On July 19, the world was hit by a massive, unprecedented blackout that paralyzed countless Windows computers with the dreaded "blue screen of death." Multiple industries were affected, including financial services, healthcare organizations, and some TV broadcasters. Air travel was particularly affected, with flights grounded, delayed, and airports issuing warnings to passengers. Statistics show that the outage was widespread, affecting businesses and consumers in India, Germany, Australia, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The outage is believed to have originated from cybersecurity company Crowdstrike, which experienced a major outage due to a recent technology update. Although CrowdStrike withdrew the update, the impact of the error was far-reaching and made one point clear: centralization can have serious consequences.

X CEO Elon Musk took the lead in describing it as the "biggest IT failure of all time." The crypto community's reaction was swift and fierce, pointing out that the decentralized nature of blockchains allowed them to continue operating despite large disruptions in the global economy, demonstrating their resilience amid global technological fragility.

Against the backdrop of global IT turmoil, Bitcoin’s stability enhances its appeal as a resilient investment and has the potential to boost its market price.

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