1. ETC Announcement: Ethercluster service will be terminated on July 24, and relevant parties should migrate ETC mainnet and Mordor testnet endpoints
Ethereum Classic (ETC) officially released an important announcement, announcing that its Ethereum-based open source cloud architecture Ethercluster will terminate its service on July 24, 2023. This will affect all parties using the ETC mainnet and Mordor testnet Ethercluster endpoints, including wallet operators, exchanges, mining pools, and DApp developers. Ethereum Classic emphasized that all parties should complete the migration of the ETC mainnet and Mordor testnet endpoints before this date to ensure the smooth operation of the business. Previously, Ethereum Classic had changed the RPC URL of its mainnet from Ethercluster to Rivet, and planned to migrate the Ethercluster Mordor testnet endpoint to the new endpoint.
2.IMF: Banning crypto assets may not be the most effective way to manage risks
In an article discussing the interest in central bank digital currencies in Latin America and the Caribbean, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said: "While some countries have banned crypto assets outright given the risks of crypto assets, this approach may not be effective in the long run." That is, banning crypto assets in a country may not be the most effective way to manage risks in the long run. Instead, the IMF said, "The region should focus on addressing the drivers of cryptocurrency demand, including citizens' unmet digital payment needs, and improving transparency by recording crypto asset transactions in national statistics." The focus should be on mitigating such (crypto asset) risks while still "taking advantage of the potential benefits of technological innovations related to crypto assets."
3. JPMorgan Chase has begun providing euro blockchain payments to businesses
According to Bloomberg, Basak Toprak, head of Coin systems for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at JPMorgan, said that the company has used its JPM Coin system to introduce euro-denominated payment methods for corporate customers. It is reported that the system allows wholesale payment customers such as large multinational companies to transfer US dollars or euros between their accounts, or pay other customers of the bank using blockchain rather than traditional payment methods. Since the launch of JPM Coin in 2019, JPMorgan has processed about $300 billion in transactions using JPM Coin. In comparison, the total amount of payments processed by JPMorgan Chase every day is close to $10 trillion.
4. A whale address increased its holdings by more than 180,000 AAVE, equivalent to about 13.2 million US dollars
On-chain analyst Lookonchain tweeted that the price of AAVE has suddenly soared by about 27% in the past 5 hours, which seems to be related to the giant whale address starting with 0x5a80. In the past 5 hours, the giant whale address starting with 0x5a80 has accumulated 182,152 AAVE (about 13.2 million US dollars) from exchanges through multiple addresses, and currently holds 399,585 AAVE (about 29 million US dollars).
5. The Lido community is voting on the proposal "Sustainable approach to stETH growth: a tiered reward sharing plan"
The Snapshot voting page shows that the Lido community is voting on the proposal "Sustainable Methods for StETH Growth: Tiered Reward Sharing Program", which will end on June 30. The proposal aims to introduce a reward sharing system and launch a tiered reward sharing program to provide a certain proportion of the DAO's 5% staking reward share to participants who use Lido to stake ETH, which ensures that the incentives are aligned with the ETH staked by Lido and maintains the sustainability of the protocol. It is also proposed to establish a committee to control the multi-signature wallet and have the power to whitelist, filter and distribute stETH protocol rewards. The reward sharing program is divided into three stages: 1. Participation: This stage includes the initial application and evaluation process, and interested participants must meet the eligibility criteria; the reward sharing committee will review and vote on the application, and then add the accepted addresses to the program. 2. Reward Sharing: The committee will monitor the participants' stETH contributions and calculate rewards based on active activities, disqualified activities, and unstaked ETH. 3. Exit: The exit stage either occurs when the participant voluntarily leaves the project, does not renew participation, is disqualified for violating the terms and conditions of the project, or is terminated due to a DAO vote. Potential participants can be wallets, institutions, protocols, crypto services, new banks, and custodial services. Participants share 5% of the DAO's staking rewards in five tiers: 30% for 10,000-50,000 ETH; 35% for 25,000-150,000 ETH; 40% for 31,500-350,000 ETH; 45% for 43,500-700,000 ETH; and 50% for 570,000 ETH or more.
6. Optimism’s gas fee for a single transaction has dropped by about 70% since the Bedrock upgrade
Crypto analysis company Messari said on Twitter: "Since Optimism has completed the mainnet Bedrock upgrade, fees have been reduced by about 47% and deposit time has been shortened. The gas fee for a single transaction has dropped by about 70%, making the Optimism mainnet the cheapest Ethereum L2 network for token exchange. Bedrock brings Optimism closer to the 'super chain'."
7. US judge approves Hermès' request to stop selling MetaBirkin NFT
According to Cointelegraph, French luxury brand Hermes has won another infringement lawsuit against artist Mason Rothschild. Manhattan Judge Jed Rakoff has issued a permanent ban on all "MetaBirkin" NFT sales on June 23. Judge Rakoff said: "The defendant's entire plan is to deceive consumers by using variations of the Hermes trademark to make them believe that Hermes is supporting his lucrative MetaBirkins NFT. Nothing in the First Amendment can exempt him from responsibility for such plans." Earlier on February 9, Hermes won the trademark infringement case against Metabirkins NFT. On March 7, the Hermes court blocked the sale of MetaBirkin NFT.
8. The proposal to deploy Uniswap V3 to Fantom has passed the temperature check vote
The Snapshot voting page shows that the Uniswap community passed the temperature check vote for the proposal to "deploy Uniswap V3 on Fantom" with 84.48% support. The vote was jointly initiated by Blockchain Columbia, Fantom and Axelar teams. They estimate that if the deployment is completed, 30% of Fantom's current DEX trading volume will flow to Uniswap. The deployment and its costs will be borne by the Fantom Foundation and Axelar. After the on-chain voting is completed, Axelar will be responsible for the deployment of the Uniswap V3 smart contract on Fantom, while Uniswap Labs will be responsible for the front-end integration. The audit is expected to take about 4-6 weeks.
9. Azuki: Elementals covers the four elemental domains of earth, fire, lightning and water
Azuki posted an article by his founding team member STEAMBOY on Twitter, in which he talked about the creative ideas of the Elementals series of NFTs. STEAMBOY said that the idea of Elementals is based on Azuki's roots and creates something new and amazing based on that foundation. Elementals covers four elemental domains: earth, fire, lightning and water, and each field has its own unique features. In addition, over the past six months, Azuki has also recruited digital artists such as Tenn, Tomugi and Skycrow to expand the team. According to news yesterday, Azuki will launch the Azuki SBT series of NFT Elementals on June 27, and the pre-sale will start at 0:00 on June 28, Beijing time. Both Azuki and BEANZ holders can receive 1 Soulbound Token (SBT) airdrop.
10.AAVE community has passed the temperature check vote for the "Native Stablecoin GHO Initial Liquidity Pool" proposal
The Snapshot voting page shows that the AAVE community's proposal on "GHO (Aave native stablecoin) liquidity pool" was passed by the temperature check vote with 99.99% support. The proposal stated that GHO is expected to be launched in the near future, and this proposal shows the community a preliminary liquidity strategy. The strategy consists of primary and secondary liquidity pools, and it is possible to include some liquidity pools in the Aave Security Module (SM) in the future. The proposal proposes three main liquidity pools: GHO/bb-a-USD (US dollar stablecoin liquidity pool), LST/GHO, GHO/LUSD. After discussing and reaching a consensus on the GHO liquidity pool, the next step will be to prepare a proposal on adjusting the size of the liquidity pool and propose a plan on how to increase liquidity.
11. Foreign media: BlackRock, Ripple, Nasdaq and other companies are interested in the restart of FTX 2.0
According to Coingape, according to court documents filed in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court on June 22, FTX's consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal announced the names of the parties under the sale clause of Section 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, which allows the sale of the company's assets. The list represents entities interested in the relaunch of FTX 2.0, who have been contacted and signed a confidentiality agreement to seek more details about the reorganization and relaunch of the exchange. Well-known companies on the list include Nasdaq, Ripple Labs, Galaxy Digital, BlackRock, Tribe Capital, Robinhood, NYDIG and OKCoin. The report said that this is not an exclusive list of potential buyers or investors, but parties interested in the crypto exchange. The FTX debtor plans to conduct a sales process in the third or fourth quarter of this year and select a "first bidder." One of these companies is likely to be the first bidder. The companies also plan to invest in FTX 2.0, and the team led by John Ray III, the current CEO of FTX, is conducting bidding process letters, interested parties, market makers, and the restart of FTX Japan. It is reported that Section 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code is a procedure for companies that have filed for bankruptcy protection to auction off some or all of their assets. Usually, a 363 liquidation sale includes three steps: preliminary negotiations between the bankrupt company and potential acquirers, waiting for the court to approve the transaction, and the formal asset auction after approval.
12. Swiss prosecutors have frozen $26 million in assets of Do Kwon and others
According to Digital Asset, Swiss prosecutors recently froze approximately $26 million in assets, including Bitcoin, belonging to Do Kwon, CEO of Terraform Labs (TFL), and others, which were stored in Signum, a digital asset bank in Zurich, Switzerland. The assets involved are said to be owned by Do Kwon, former Chai Corporation CEO CHANG JOON HAN, former head of TFL's research team Nicholas Platias, and TFL. The size of the frozen assets is almost twice the size of the assets previously disclosed by South Korean prosecutors. Earlier on June 9, Dan Sunghan, director of the Financial Crime Investigation Bureau of the Seoul South District Prosecutor's Office, said that South Korean prosecutors sought to freeze $13 million in funds related to Do Kwon in a Swiss bank.
13. BlackRock executives: Only by implementing KYC and anti-money laundering measures in DeFi will institutions truly adopt blockchain technology
According to DL News, Joseph Chalom, head of strategic ecosystem partnerships at BlackRock, said at an auditorium of financial professionals on Thursday that stocks, bonds and other traditional assets will be tokenized, but the speed will be "slower than people expect." In addition, he emphasized that blockchain technology will not be truly adopted by institutions until "KYC (know your customer)" and anti-money laundering practices are accepted and implemented in DeFi. Chalom said: "I think no matter how much liquidity there is, it will be difficult for large regulated institutions to participate without these obstacles. I only know that if we don't know who we are trading with, we will go to jail." Earlier on June 16, it was reported that BlackRock had submitted an application for a Bitcoin spot ETF.