Today's news tips:
Russia’s Central Bank and Ministry of Finance discuss creation of “Russian Crypto Exchange”
Donald Trump Jr. Launches Telegram Channel 'The DeFiant Ones' for New Crypto Project
Nasdaq withdraws application to list Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETF options
Circle proposes new capital risk framework for stablecoins
South Korea’s National Pension Fund Increases Indirect Exposure to Bitcoin by Acquiring MicroStrategy Shares
Binance Labs announces investment in decentralized AI ecosystem MyShell
DOGS releases token economics, 81.5% of the total supply of 550 billion is allocated to community users
Chaos Labs Completes $55 Million Series A Funding, Led by Haun Ventures
Regulatory News
Russia’s Central Bank and Ministry of Finance discuss creation of “Russian Crypto Exchange”
As Russia continues its turn toward crypto assets, ministers in Moscow and the country’s central bank are discussing plans to create a “Russian crypto exchange,” Cryptonews reported. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has held talks with the central bank on a proposal to “establish legal cryptocurrency exchanges in Russia.” Siluanov said the two sides have yet to agree on a “solution” that is acceptable to both sides. But he claimed that a breakthrough could be coming, with the relevant legislation “likely to be ready for submission to the State Duma at the autumn session.” Siluanov noted that existing Russian cryptocurrency exchanges still operate in a “gray area” of regulation, but that Russia’s recent legislative efforts on cryptocurrency regulation are “significant progress.” Long-serving Siluanov and the equally long-serving central bank governor, Elvira Nabiullina, are both close allies of the country’s President Vladimir Putin. However, the two have long been at odds over cryptocurrency regulation. Nabiullina is a staunch cryptocurrency skeptic, while Siluanov prefers a more progressive approach. This has led to a long-standing stalemate in cryptocurrency policy that was only resolved recently when Putin ordered them to speed up their regulatory work. The order has led to the rapid introduction of regulations on cryptocurrency mining and the use of cryptocurrencies in cross-border trade in Russia.
Dubai Court Recognizes Cryptocurrency as Valid Method of Salary Payment
According to Cointelegraph, the UAE has made a major update to its judicial approach to cryptocurrency, with the Dubai Court of First Instance recognizing that wages paid in cryptocurrency are valid under employment contracts. Irina Heaver, a partner at the UAE law firm NeosLegal, explained that the ruling in Case No. 1739 of 2024 indicated a departure from the court's earlier position in 2023, when a similar claim was dismissed because the cryptocurrency involved lacked an accurate valuation. Heaver believes that this demonstrates a "progressive approach" to integrating digital currencies into the country's legal and economic framework.
The case Heaver recently mentioned involved an employee who sued his employer for non-payment of wages, illegal termination compensation, and other benefits. The case was unique in that the employee's employment contract included not only a traditional fiat currency salary, but also stipulated that 5,250 EcoWatt tokens should be paid monthly as part of the salary. The core of the dispute was that the employer failed to pay the EcoWatt token portion of the salary as required by the contract for six months. In 2023, the court first recognized the validity of the EcoWatt token in this contract, but because the employee failed to provide a clear method to convert the tokens into fiat currency, the court did not force the employer to pay in cryptocurrency. However, in 2024, the court "took an important step" on this issue. It ruled in favor of the employee, explicitly requiring the employer to pay wages directly in cryptocurrency as agreed in the employment contract without converting them into fiat currency. Heaver said that this ruling not only reflects the court's growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies in employment contracts, but also emphasizes the court's recognition of the transformative nature of financial transactions in the Web3 economy.
Federal Reserve Chairman Powell will deliver a speech on the economic outlook on the evening of August 23 and set the tone for a September rate cut.
According to Jinshi, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell is scheduled to speak on the economic outlook at 10:00 pm Beijing time on August 23, the first full-day meeting of the Kansas City Federal Reserve's annual economic seminar in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. This annual meeting of global central banks provides Powell with an opportunity to make an updated assessment of the trajectory of the US economy and the outlook for monetary policy between the Fed's July and September policy meetings. Last month, he said that if inflation and the labor market continue to cool, the Fed may consider cutting interest rates at its next meeting.
Fox Business reporter: Harris' absence from the "Crypto4Harris" event makes the crypto industry still skeptical about his stance
Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett wrote that Harris herself and members of her campaign team were absent from the event. If the goal of the "Crypto4Harris" event on Wednesday night was to convince the skeptical digital asset industry that Harris's election as president was something they should support, then the event had little effect. Eleanor Terrett said: "I received more than a hundred audience feedback. Most respondents were neither satisfied with Harris' performance on the conference call nor believed that she would cooperate with the so-called "crypto reset" that Democratic politicians and industry leaders encouraged her to accept. This is mainly because Harris has not yet publicly stated her position on cryptocurrencies."
Project News
Donald Trump Jr. Launches Telegram Channel 'The DeFiant Ones' for New Crypto Project
Donald Trump Jr. announced the opening of a Telegram channel "The DeFiant Ones" on the X platform to introduce the upcoming crypto project. He posted on X: "There are many rumors about our crypto project. To find out the real situation and keep up to date with official announcements, join our official Telegram channel and get news directly here." The name of the channel "The Defiant Ones" coincides with a recent trademark application. In July this year, a company called AMG Software Solutions filed trademark applications for "Be DeFiant", "World Liberty" and "World Liberty Financial" for "providing financial information in the field of decentralized finance (DeFi)". Last week, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump refuted rumors that the new crypto project was a meme. “This is about digital real estate,” Eric Trump told the New York Post. “This is equity. This is collateral that anyone can get instantly. I don’t know if people realize what a big shakeup this is to the banking and financial industries. I think at some point, we all want to achieve some form of financial independence and live in a world where we don’t have to play by the big banks’ playbook. That day will come soon.”
Nasdaq withdraws application to list Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETF options
According to The Block, according to documents on the website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Nasdaq withdrew two applications for listing and trading Bitcoin spot and Ethereum spot ETF options. At the same time, the New York Stock Exchange also withdrew the listing and trading applications of Bitwise and Grayscale Bitcoin spot ETF options on the same day. Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart said he expects Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange to resubmit applications for listing Bitcoin spot ETF options in the next few days or weeks. According to previous news, other exchanges also withdrew similar applications last week. MIAX, MIAX Pearl and BOX Exchange withdrew their proposals to list Bitcoin spot ETF options, and the Chicago Board Options Exchange also withdrew its application for listing Bitcoin spot ETF options, but then resubmitted the application. The SEC has not yet approved the trading of options products based on Bitcoin spot and Ethereum spot ETFs.
WazirX: User account balances have been restored and all transactions after withdrawals were stopped on July 18 have been reversed
Indian crypto exchange WazirX released a security incident update, and the planned maintenance has been completed. User account balances have been restored, and all transactions conducted on the WazirX platform since withdrawals were stopped at 1 pm on July 18, 2024 have been reversed. According to previous news, on August 8, WazirX said that after receiving feedback from many users, it decided to restore the balances of all accounts and reverse all transactions conducted on the WazirX platform after withdrawals were stopped at 1 pm Indian Standard Time on July 18, 2024. On July 18, the Indian cryptocurrency trading platform WazirX was hacked, and its multi-signature wallet on the Ethereum network was stolen, with a total of US$234.9 million transferred.
Arbitrum Community Preliminarily Approves Proposal to Enable ARB Staking to Unlock Token Utility
The Snapshot governance page shows that the "Enable ARB staking to unlock token utility" proposal initiated by Frisson, head of Tally's market operations, in the Arbitrum community was passed with a 91.54% approval rate. The proposal proposes to unlock ARB utility by enabling ARB staking and improve the governance and security of the Arbitrum protocol, but will not start distributing fees to token holders for the time being. Through ARB staking, token holders will be able to capture value by delegating tokens to users who actively participate in governance. The proposal will also implement a liquidity staking ARB token (stARB) through the Tally protocol, which can automatically compound any future rewards, can be (re)staking, and is compatible with DeFi. In addition, the initiator of the proposal said that it will work with Arbitrum DAO to decide whether and how to fund the rewards and distribute the rewards between token holders and delegators. According to the schedule of the plan, this vote is a preliminary review on Snapshot. After passing, an on-chain proposal will be released on Tally this month to apply for funds and start development, and a smart contract will be submitted for review in September. In October, an on-chain proposal containing a complete ARB staking implementation will be submitted on Tally.
MakerDAO has passed and implemented a proposal to reduce the size of WBTC collateral to cope with the potential risks of custody changes
MakerDAO has passed and implemented a series of proposals yesterday, including a proposal to initiate a reduction in the size of WBTC collateral. According to the proposal, the core vault will reduce WBTC-A DC-IAM (maximum collateral amount) from 500 million to 0, WBTC-B DC-IAM (maximum collateral amount) from 250 million to 0, and WBTC-C DC-IAM (maximum collateral amount) from 500 million to 0, disable WBTC lending in SparkLend, and reduce WBTC LTV from 74% to 0%. The proposal stated that due to the potential risks of changes in WBTC custody, the integration of WBTC collateral on Maker and SparkLend will bring higher risks, and the above actions are taken to limit the growth of WBTC exposure.
Circle proposes new capital risk framework for stablecoins
Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, recently released a white paper titled “Risk Capital for Stable Value Tokens” that proposes a new risk-based capital management model for stablecoins and other digital cash tokens. The authors of the paper argue that in order to mitigate the unique risks faced by stablecoins, other fiat currency equivalent tokens, and their issuers, stablecoins require adequate capital reserve requirements that should exceed the capital standards currently established under the Basel banking regulatory framework. According to the authors, these unique risks include, but are not limited to, token price shortages due to market trading and the prevalence of secondary markets, digital token “runs” due to excessive selling, operational risks, and technical risks. These unique challenges distinguish stablecoin issuers and the digital assets they issue from traditional banks. The authors of the paper believe that the solution to this problem is to adopt what they call the Token Capital Adequacy Framework (TCAF).
Circle’s paper explains that current banking regulations use fixed-ratio risk standards and risk weights that do not necessarily reflect true risk levels. Using long-term Treasury bonds as an example, the authors note that despite the high interest rate risk associated with long-term Treasury bonds, their weighted risk is low under current banking standards. TCAF addresses this issue by adopting a dynamic risk-sensitive model that first stress tests reserves and then listens to stakeholder input. The TCAF model also considers technical risks such as blockchain network performance and cybersecurity. The paper also states that TCAF’s dynamic approach could result in higher or lower capital requirements than current banking standards, which would vary depending on the risk environment.
Circle’s new model has five objectives. First, it seeks to distinguish between emerging “disappearing” risk factors and “disappeared” risks that have been successfully mitigated or no longer pose a threat. The model also seeks to play a complementary role, helping regulators to adequately address operational risks while being as “simple” as possible and avoiding the bloated and costly risk management departments of the traditional banking industry. The fourth main goal of TCAF is to provide a set of risk management standards that are applicable across jurisdictions and institutions. Last, but not least, the model aims to provide incentives and accountability to mitigate negative risk externalities.
The issuance and redemption of the Euro stablecoin AEUR has been suspended due to the collapse of Swiss bank FlowBank
The collapse of the $781 million Swiss bank FlowBank is having a ripple effect on the cryptocurrency industry and threatens the existence of the stablecoin AEUR, DL News reported. This is because Anchored Coins AG, the Swiss company that issued the euro-pegged stablecoin AEUR, deposited part of its $63 million euro stablecoin reserves with the troubled bank. According to a statement on the company's website, the company has suspended the issuance and redemption of its tokens until further notice. The company has also stopped accepting new customers. Anchored Coins said: "As the bankruptcy proceedings related to the liquidation of FlowBank SA are still in the early stages, it is unclear how much of this part of our collateral will be able to be recovered. Therefore, in the event of a shortage, the 1:1 redemption rate may not be maintained, which would result in corresponding losses for AEUR token holders." The company also said that "such losses will be shared pro rata among all AEUR token holders as required by Swiss law." These deposits provide a fallback redemption guarantee for its stablecoin holders in the event that Anchored Coins itself is unable to fulfill its obligations to redeem user tokens for fiat currency. As FlowBank enters liquidation, the funds are in limbo until Swiss authorities appoint a liquidator to oversee the return of deposits to creditors - which may take some time. Anchored AG cannot guarantee the recovery of all deposits from the affected banks, which could mean losses for stablecoin holders. Earlier on June 13, Swiss regulators closed the cryptocurrency-related bank FlowBank and initiated bankruptcy proceedings.
South Korea’s National Pension Fund Increases Indirect Exposure to Bitcoin by Acquiring MicroStrategy Shares
According to Yonhap News Agency Infomax, the National Pension Service of South Korea (NPS) acquired 245,000 shares of Bitcoin development company MicroStrategy in the second quarter of this year. The purchase has been disclosed in the 13F filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Although the fund sold 23,956 shares of Coinbase in the second quarter of this year, this investment is another indirect investment in Bitcoin by the fund after purchasing 282,673 shares of Coinbase in the third quarter of last year. It is worth noting that as of July 31, MicroStrategy held 226,500 Bitcoins, becoming the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin other than the issuer of the spot Bitcoin ETF.
701 new funds disclose their holdings of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the latest 13F reports, with the total number of holders approaching 1,950
Hedge funds, pensions and banks continue to pour money into direct Bitcoin ETFs, according to Bloomberg. The most prominent buyers so far include hedge funds such as Millennium Management, which holds shares in at least five Bitcoin ETFs, according to an analysis of second-quarter filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm, which manages $68 billion in assets, has slashed its ETF holdings from the previous quarter, but remains the largest holder of most funds, including BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). Capula Investment Management, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors and Steven Cohen's Point72 Asset Management also reported holdings in these ETFs. Other buyers include the Wisconsin Investment Board and market makers from Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands, Canada and Switzerland. In addition, buyers in the second quarter included hedge fund Hunting Hill Global Capital, which reported holdings of IBIT and has been involved in the cryptocurrency space since 2016, according to its founder and chief investment officer Adam Guren. Data compiled by the media outlet showed that after Wednesday’s deadline for filing second-quarter 13F reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 701 new funds reported holdings in spot Bitcoin ETFs, bringing the total number of holders to nearly 1,950.
Coinbase International will launch ATOM, DYDX and OM perpetual futures contracts
According to the official announcement, Coinbase International Exchange and Coinbase Advanced will add support for Cosmos, dYdX and MANTRA perpetual futures contracts. ATOM-PERP, DYDX-PERP and OM-PERP markets will be open on or after 17:30 on August 22, 2024, Beijing time.
NEBRA launches its “Universal Proof Aggregator” technology on Ethereum mainnet
According to The Block, blockchain research institute NEBRA officially launched its "Universal Proof Aggregation" technology on the Ethereum mainnet. The technology aims to reduce the blockchain verification cost by aggregating multiple zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) into a compact proof. NEBRA CEO Shumo Chu said that zero-knowledge technology is expensive due to computational complexity, which limits its widespread application. NEBRA's aggregator can reduce the verification cost to one-tenth of the original cost, and early users include Worldcoin, Brevis and Altlayer. It was previously reported that blockchain and zero-knowledge proof research institute Nebra completed $4.5 million in financing.
Binance Labs announces investment in decentralized AI ecosystem MyShell
Binance Labs announced that it has invested in the decentralized AI ecosystem MyShell through the sixth season incubation program. MyShell allows users to create, own and share AI applications, and is committed to building an open AI creator ecosystem. Launched in April 2023, MyShell revolves around four pillars: open source model layer, AI creator platform, AI application store, and incentive network, aiming to promote the popularization of AI through open collaboration and fair profit models.
DOGS releases token economics, 81.5% of the total supply of 550 billion is allocated to community users
TON Ecosystem Meme Project DOGS releases token economics, with a total supply of 550 billion community tokens $DOGS. 81.5% of them are allocated to community users, 73% will be awarded to Telegram OG users, and the rest will be used to reward traders, sticker creators and future community members. In addition, 10% is allocated to the team and future development, most of which will be gradually released within 12 months. 8.5% is used for CEX and DEX liquidity and related listing activities. As a community token derived from VK and Telegram, DOGS will launch the function of on-chain emoticon stickers that can be minted and traded in the future to further expand its application scenarios.
Orderly Network will issue ORDER tokens on August 26 and has announced the complete token economics
According to official news, Web3 liquidity provider Orderly Network announced that ORDER tokens will be issued on August 26, and users can claim all airdrops on the same day, and staking activities will also start on the same day. In addition, the complete economics of ORDER tokens are announced. The maximum supply of ORDER is 100,000, and the community allocation accounts for 55%, including 13.3% retroactive airdrops, 15% trading rewards, 10% market making rewards, 8.35% builder rewards, and 8.35% future product releases. In addition, strategic investors account for 15%, teams and consultants account for 20%, and foundations account for 10%.
South Korean online gaming giant NCSoft has received a return of more than 250 times on its investment in SUI tokens
According to local news website Bloter, South Korean online game giant NCSoft has received more than 250 times the return on its investment in SUI tokens in the first half of this year. NCSoft sold 16,908,112 SUI tokens at 1,490 won (about $1.10) each in the first half of this year, with a total revenue of 25.2 billion won (about $18.6 million). The initial investment was only 100 million won. Last year, NCSoft invested about 300 million won at 6 won per token to purchase 49,920,806 SUI tokens, most of which were locked. The remaining 32,921,536 tokens will be unlocked in May next year and May 2026. It is worth noting that in November 2022, NCSoft's US subsidiary NC West invested $15 million in Sui's developer Mysten Labs.
Binance Futures will launch SYN 1-50x USDT perpetual contracts
According to the official announcement, Binance Futures will launch the SYNUSDT perpetual contract at 20:30 (ET on August 16, 2024), with a maximum leverage of 50 times.
gm.ai releases roadmap, including GM airdrop season 3, as well as funding and incubation for gmAl-based projects
Solana’s on-chain AI concept project gm.ai released a future roadmap, which includes the following aspects.
1. More gmAl-driven applications: New applications are being developed at an accelerated pace that will leverage the gmAl model and provide potential airdrop rewards to GM holders during the project launch phase.
2. Funding and incubation for projects based on gmAl: A funding and incubation program will be launched to support projects built on gmAl. Selected projects will receive funding, resources, and guidance to accelerate their growth and success in the gmAl ecosystem.
3. Provide exclusive benefits for GMAnchor participants: Launch anchoring activities for early GM holders. Lock GM tokens in the smart contract anchor vault to access a reward pool of 100 million GM tokens. Early participants will ensure a guaranteed seat in the gmAl data verification program launched in October this year.
4. GM Airdrop Season 3: The next airdrop will further integrate the spirit of AI into GM.Al and consolidate its position as the operating layer of Solana AI. This season will introduce the concept of "labeling data for AI" and provide users with new opportunities to interact with the platform and earn rewards.
5. Accelerate the development of gmINFRA: The core of its infrastructure is gm-01-8B (large language model), which is currently in the testing phase and open to all developers for free. Efforts are being made to fine-tune the model.
6. Strategic multi-chain expansion for enhanced interoperability: The gmAl team is exploring multi-chain expansion to improve interoperability and expand the influence of gmAl.
Lightweight node protocol Over Protocol releases airdrop claim standards
According to official news, the lightweight node protocol Over Protocol has released the airdrop application standards. The main groups that can receive airdrops include: OverWallet users (need to pass the witch detection, the airdrop share depends on OverWallet points, friend cards and test network activities), OverNode (no witch detection is required, users who meet the requirements of the first and second seasons of the open test network), Nethers NFT holders (no witch detection is required, each NFT will receive 764.64 OVERs), OKX Cryptopedia participants (task participants are eligible), and users who pass the HashKey witch detection task (task participants are eligible).
New disclosure documents show Trump made more than $7 million from NFT
According to Cointelegraph, according to personal financial disclosures obtained by the U.S. ethics watchdog "Citizen Morality", Trump declared that he held Ethereum-based crypto assets worth between $1 million and $5 million. In addition, Trump revealed that he earned more than $7.15 million from three NFT series, including the "Mugshot" project for criminal prosecution and two separate Donald Trump trading card series.
Blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence estimated Trump’s Ethereum-based cryptocurrency holdings at $3.5 million at the time of publication.
Analyst: Suspected Eigen Labs employee addresses received a total of 487,900 ETHFI, 1,964,800 ALT and 1,335,000 REZ
Wu Blockchain analyst defioasis said on the X platform that according to the information provided by CoinDesk, 51 Eigen Labs employee addresses suspected to be related to the incident were found through on-chain reverse query. The basic method is to verify by claiming the amount of ETHEFI and ALT from the official airdrop contract (it is worth noting that the amount of ALT and REZ airdrops obtained by the suspected Eigen Labs employees investigated by the author is somewhat different from the CoinDesk investigation, but ETHERFI is basically corresponding). Among these 51 suspected Eigen Labs employee addresses: 46 addresses received ETHERFI airdrops, with a total of 487,933 ETHERFI, of which 19 addresses chose to (partially) sell or transfer to CEX after receiving the airdrop, with a sales rate of 41.3%; only 1 address chose to pledge, and the rest of the addresses continued to hold. 41 addresses received ALT airdrops, with a total of 1,964,838 ALT. 17 of them chose to sell (partially) or transfer to CEX after receiving the airdrops, with a sales rate of 41.5%; 13 addresses chose to stake, with a stake rate of 31.7%; the rest of the addresses continued to hold. 20 addresses received REZ airdrops, with a total of 1,335,090 REZ. 8 of them chose to sell (partially) or transfer to CEX after receiving the airdrops, with a sales rate of 40%; only 1 address chose to stake, and the rest of the addresses continued to hold.
Earlier yesterday, CoinDesk revealed that Eigen Labs provided employee wallet addresses to the EigenLayer ecosystem project to participate in token airdrops; Eigen Labs responded today that there is no evidence that employees have put pressure on other projects to make improper profits, and welcomes community reports.
Hedge fund Jane Street bought $221 million worth of IBIT for the first time in Q2 and reduced its GBTC holdings by 83%
According to the 13-F data submitted by hedge fund Jane Street to the SEC, Jane Street increased its holdings of IBIT for the first time in Q2, worth US$221 million, and reduced its holdings of GBTC by 86%.
Increased holdings data include: first purchase of 6,474,742 shares of IBIT, with a holding value of US$221 million; increased holdings of 1,472,906 shares of FBTC (+46%), with a holding value of US$233 million (+26%); increased holdings of 123,033 shares of BTCO (+142%), with a holding value of US$12.53 million (+103%); increased holdings of 252,360 shares of EZBC (+187%), with a holding value of US$13.48 million (+148%)
The reduction data include: 1,546,660 shares of GBTC (-83%), with a holding value of US$16.55 million (-86%); 940,927 shares of BITB (-68%), with a holding value of US$14.664 million (-73%); 423,617 shares of ARKB (-12%), with a holding value of US$177 million (-26%); 34,657 shares of HODL (-52%), with a holding value of US$22.04 million (-59%).
Japan: PwC, NTT Digital to develop “digital public goods” using Web3 and blockchain
According to Coingeek, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) announced a new initiative to increase mainstream adoption of digital public goods by businesses and consumers in line with Japan's digitalization plan. The initiative, called "Demonstration Project for Building Digital Public Goods Using Web 3.0 and Blockchain," aims to develop novel practical cases for blockchain in Japan. Led by METI, the initiative has attracted several industry leaders including PwC, Rakuten and NTT Digital to join the pilot study. The project is expected to unfold with four main themes, which METI said are broad enough to cover multiple areas of the national economy. The project will work with NTT Digital and Leaf to establish a tokenized market for a series of real-world assets (RWAs) and has successfully won the award of the relevant construction contract. According to the report, the project will develop an RWA market for Leaf's Sake World, allowing consumers to own digital collectibles in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) while purchasing Japanese alcoholic beverages. Rakuten will be responsible for developing an image copyright management platform using smart contracts, while PwC will lead the protection of content intellectual property (IP) based on Web3. The Hiroshima Web3 Association has reached an agreement with METI to promote "regional revitalization" using governance tokens on a distributed ledger. METI abandoned its initial plan to share information with industry players, suggesting that the plan may have been canceled due to budget constraints. Other projects under the initiative received six-figure grants from METI, with the RWA market receiving $307,000 in funding. METI's latest push into Web3 fits in with Japan's blueprint to combine the physical world with digital products while driving rapid mainstream adoption. METI added that the project will assist lawmakers in developing strong laws to regulate blockchain and digital assets, similar to the European Union's "Horizon 2020" funding program.
Robin Linus releases new whitepaper for BitVM2 and BitVM Bridge, making significant improvements to the original version of BitVM
According to Cointelegraph, Robin Linus, the developer of Bitcoin Virtual Machine (BitVM), a Bitcoin scaling solution, has launched the second version of its sidechain, "BitVM2", and BitVM Bridge, which they said made "significant improvements" to the original system. In an article published on X on August 15, BitVM co-founder Alexei Zamyatin outlined a new white paper that introduces a new framework for how BitVM2 and BitVM Bridge will work. One of the main improvements in the latest version is that it is now "permissionless", which means that anyone can question suspicious transactions and only three transactions are needed to complete the challenge. Previous versions of BitVM required up to 70 transactions to complete a challenge, and only a few specific parties could make challenge requests. Overall, the main goal of BitVM2 is to achieve a rollup - an independent network built on top of Bitcoin that can process transactions more efficiently while maintaining security similar to the original Bitcoin network. BitVM Bridge will allow users to safely transfer Bitcoin to the rollup network and withdraw it with a shorter lock-up period and smaller initial funding requirements.
Sun.io, the DeFi platform owned by Justin Sun, releases SunPump, a Tron-based Meme token generator
According to CoinDesk, Sun.io, a decentralized financial platform owned by Tron founder Justin Sun, has released a token generator called SunPump, which allows users to create meme coins on the Tron blockchain. The platform will compete with Solana's pump.fun, which saw a surge in transaction fees this week, reaching $5.3 million in 24 hours. SunPump provides $10 million in resources for newly issued tokens and introduces an audit process to avoid scams. Sun Justin said that SunPump ensures that projects meet specific standards and improve transparency and user trust by cooperating with the Poloniex exchange.
Financing News
Stablecoin infrastructure company WSPN completes $30 million seed round of financing, led by Folius Ventures and others
According to Foresight News, WSPN, a stablecoin 2.0 infrastructure company, has completed a $30 million seed round of financing, led by Foresight Ventures and Folius Ventures, with participation from Hash Global, Generative Ventures, Yunqi Partners and RedPoint China.
According to reports, WSPN is a new generation of stablecoin infrastructure company, aiming to provide users with more secure, efficient and transparent payment solutions by establishing a global compliance system and a new payment ecological network. WSPN includes core members such as CTH, Paxos and Visa, and has more than 10 years of payment and stablecoin operation experience. At present, WSPN has compliance licenses from many major countries and regions, and is supported by more than 30 exchanges, more than 10 mainstream wallets, dozens of large payment institutions and market makers.
Chaos Labs Completes $55 Million Series A Funding, Led by Haun Ventures
According to CoinDesk, Chaos Labs, a New York crypto startup focusing on on-chain risk management tools, has completed a $55 million Series A financing round. This round of financing was led by Haun Ventures, and participants included well-known investment institutions such as F-Prime Capital, Slow Ventures, Spartan Capital, and large investors such as Lightspeed Venture Partners, Galaxy Ventures, and PayPal Ventures. Chaos Labs has also received support from angel investors such as Anatoly Yakovenko of Solana and Francesco Agosti of Phantom. Chaos Labs was founded in 2021. As the demand for automated risk management in DeFi grows, the company plans to expand its platform. It has currently helped more than 20 protocols such as Aave and GMX manage risks.
Important data
The total net outflow of the US Ethereum spot ETF yesterday was US$39.2111 million, and the ETF net asset ratio reached 2.33%
The total net inflow of the US Bitcoin spot ETF yesterday was US$11.1116 million, and the ETF net asset ratio reached 4.65%
A whale/institution is suspected to have purchased 1,474 WBTC from Galaxy Digital OTC in the early morning, worth $84.03 million
According to the on-chain analyst @ai_9684xtpa, the whale/institution 0x50f...4bF21 is suspected to have purchased 1,474 WBTC worth $84.03 million from Galaxy Digital OTC seven hours ago. The analyst mentioned that WBTC has been greatly affected by the "change in custody rights". This morning, MakerDAO has passed and implemented a proposal to reduce the size of WBTC collateral, which means that the largest acceptor of WBTC no longer supports its application in the DeFi ecosystem.
36.78 million BLUR were unlocked and transferred out from Blur unlock contract at midnight
According to the monitoring of on-chain analyst Ember, it is the time for the monthly unlocking of BLUR again. 36.78 million BLUR (about 5.64 million US dollars) were unlocked and transferred from the Blur unlocking contract to the 0x0A0 multi-signature address 5 hours ago. The 0x0A0 multi-signature address also conducted a small deposit test to Coinbase Prime. These BLUR will enter Coinbase Prime later as before. Since BLUR entered the unlocking cycle on June 15, 2023, 26.6% (800 million) of the total BLUR has been unlocked and flowed into Coinbase Prime. Calculated at the price at the time of transfer, it is worth about 286 million US dollars.
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