Headlines
▌"WikiLeaks" founder Assange will appear in court for violating US espionage laws
On June 26, local time, Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, arrived in Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, by plane, and will appear in a US court for his alleged violation of the US Espionage Act. The US media quoted a legal document on the 24th saying that Assange, the founder of the WikiLeaks website, agreed to plead guilty on the same day. After pleading guilty, Assange does not need to go to the United States to serve his sentence. According to the prescribed procedures, Assange must appear in a US federal court and plead guilty to a felony, and the plea agreement he reached with the US Department of Justice must be approved by the judge of the court. Because Assange refused to set foot on the US mainland, the US Department of Justice approved his appearance in the federal court on Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the date of his appearance was set on the 26th. After completing the procedure, Assange will fly back to Australia.
▌OpenAI postpones the release of ChatGPT’s voice assistant feature
OpenAI has delayed the release of its much-anticipated ChatGPT voice assistant feature to ensure it can securely and efficiently handle requests from its millions of users. The company introduced a voice option for GPT-4o at a product launch event in May. OpenAI said it had originally intended to roll out the voice feature to a small group of paying ChatGPT plus users in late June, but later determined it would take another month to "reach our standards." "We are improving the model's ability to detect and reject certain content," the company said on Tuesday. The move marks a potential setback for OpenAI, which is struggling to stay ahead of the increasingly fierce competition in artificial intelligence.
Quotes
As of press time, according to Coingecko data:
The latest transaction price of BTC is $61,809.32, with a daily increase of +2.6%;
ETH's latest transaction price is $3393.68, with a daily change of +1.3%;
BNB's latest transaction price is $577.83, with a daily change of +1.8%;
SOL's latest trading price is $136.50, with a daily change of +3.3%;
DOGE’s latest trading price is $0.1261, with a daily change of +5.9%;
XPR recently traded at $0.4752, with a daily change of +0.3%.
policy
▌US Congressman Mike Flood pushes for cryptocurrency policy reform in Congress
Republican Rep. Mike Flood of Nebraska has pushed for cryptocurrency policy reform in Congress, successfully pushing for the passage of two major pieces of legislation. The Financial Innovation and Technology Act for the 21st Century (FIT21) and the proposal to repeal Securities and Exchange Commission Rule SAB-121, co-sponsored by Flood, passed in a historic vote in May, winning unexpected bipartisan support.
Flood entered Congress through a special election in 2022, and although he has relatively little experience, his extensive experience in the Nebraska Legislature prompted him to pay attention to the cryptocurrency field. He emphasized that cryptocurrencies are attractive to younger generations and hopes to ensure that the state government plays an important role in cryptocurrency regulation.
Flood also mentioned that Representatives French Hill and Warren Davidson play an important role in digital asset policy making. He hopes that in the next Congress, FIT21 and the Stablecoin Act will be passed to ensure that the rules do not stifle innovation and promote legislation on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.
▌US Congressman: Very optimistic about Bitcoin, Texas should welcome Bitcoin mining
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz said that he is very optimistic about Bitcoin. He believes that Texas should welcome Bitcoin mining. I own three mining machines and they are mining in Texas.
▌The Vice Chairman of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee leads the push for Binance executives detained in Nigeria to return to the United States
French Hill, vice chairman of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, is leading a push to repatriate Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan, who is detained in Nigeria.
Tigran Gambaryan, an American citizen and former IRS agent who worked as a compliance officer at Binance, flew to Nigeria in February to meet with government officials on behalf of Binance, but was detained in a Nigerian prison for nearly four months on "fabricated" charges such as money laundering and tax evasion. French Hill said he plans to call Roger Carstens, the U.S. State Department's special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, in the coming days to seek advice on Gambaryan's case.
French Hill said: “Tigran Gambaryan is a pawn in the Nigerian political struggle. He needs to be brought back to the United States where he belongs, so that Binance can continue to communicate with Nigeria.”
▌FTX restructuring plan sparks dispute in court, creditors are about to vote
FTX's bankruptcy reorganization plan has sparked a heated debate in Delaware Bankruptcy Court. FTX lawyers and creditors discussed the disclosure statement at a hearing on Tuesday. The statement provides creditors with information to help them decide whether to accept the reorganization plan. FTX plans to pay at least 118% of the claim amount to 98% of creditors, but some creditors want to be paid in cryptocurrency instead of cash. Judge John Dorsey needs to approve the plan, and creditors will then vote, and confirmation hearings will be held later this year. The next hearings are scheduled for July 17 and August 15.
▌South Korean Delio platform CEO admits to failing to protect user principal and faces criminal charges
Jung Sang-ho, the former CEO of Delio, admitted in court that users did not receive "principal protection" when transferring assets to the platform. The platform collapsed last year with debts of about 250 billion won (US$181 million). Prosecutors charged him with fraud, embezzlement and breach of trust.
▌Former fintech CEO sentenced to 3.75 years in prison for crypto price manipulation
Former Hydrogen Technology Corporation CEO Michael Kane was sentenced to 45 months in prison for manipulating cryptocurrency prices, and former financial engineering head Shane Hampton was sentenced to 35 months in prison. Kane was accused of manipulating Hydro (HYDRO) token trading volume and prices and pleaded guilty to securities price manipulation and wire fraud. This case is the first time that a cryptocurrency has been deemed a security in a federal criminal trial.
Blockchain Applications
▌Immutable and blockchain gaming platform MARBLEX establish partnership
Web3 gaming platform and ecosystem Immutable today announced a partnership with Netmarble’s dedicated blockchain gaming platform MARBLEX. The partnership will see MARBLEX, along with several other super IP games, migrate to the innovative Immutable zkEVM chain powered by Polygon, the first chain built specifically for gamers. The partnership includes the migration of the full MARBLEX gaming platform and three Netmarble games.
▌Ava Labs launches blockchain solution to provide intellectual property management for Korean K-pop artists
Ava Labs uses blockchain technology to provide intellectual property management for Korean K-pop artists. According to a report by Allied Research, the K-pop industry is expected to be valued at $20 billion by 2031.
Justin Kim, head of Ava Labs Korea, said blockchain technology can provide artists with unprecedented transparency and efficiency, especially in live music and events, solving the problem of underreporting of ticket sales.
The use of blockchain technology in the music industry continues to expand. Ghostface Killah of Wu-Tang Clan released original music containing Bitcoin Ordinals inscriptions, and heavy metal band Megadeth distributed non-fungible tokens to provide holders with unique experiences.
▌Enzyme launches modular liquidity re-staking function
DeFi asset management protocol Enzyme published a statement on the X platform stating that it has cooperated with Nektar Network to launch a modular liquidity re-pledge function specifically for re-pledge projects.
▌Rollup deployment platform Conduit completes $37 million Series A financing
Rollup deployment platform Conduit announced the completion of a $37 million Series A financing round, which was co-led by Paradigm and Haun Ventures, with participation from Bankless Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and others. Conduit founders hope to make on-chain computing as accessible as cloud computing so that cryptocurrency developers can build without restrictions. The new funds will help Conduit go beyond the typical Rollup deployment use case. Since its launch, Conduit has helped teams such as Degen and Proof of Play build their first L3.
Cryptocurrency
▌VanEck launches zero-fee plan to become a leader in cryptocurrency ETFs
VanEck announced that its spot Ethereum ETF will be fee-free, following its earlier Bitcoin ETF strategy. Matthew Sigel, head of digital asset research at VanEck, said the zero-fee strategy aims to become the "preferred provider of cryptocurrency ETFs" and attract more investors, despite possible initial losses.
VanEck plans to waive fees on the first $1.5 billion in assets by 2025, with a 0.20% sponsorship fee thereafter. Franklin Templeton, the only other spot ETH ETF issuer to disclose fees and waivers, has a fee of 0.19% with waivers covering $10 billion for six months.
VanEck has filed an 8-A securities registration form with the SEC, which Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas sees as a good sign for its release on July 2. BlackRock’s ETH ETF fees are expected to influence other funds’ decisions.
▌Report: Tether supply slowdown shows crypto market cooling
According to Copper’s report, Tether (USDT)’s monthly supply growth was less than 1.5% as of June 24, significantly lower than the over 5% growth in April and May. USDT trading volume dropped from an all-time high of $767.2 billion on March 11 to $53.5 billion on June 24. With USDT market cap reaching $113 billion, the slowdown in supply growth indicates less money flowing into the crypto market.
Additionally, the Bitcoin market has seen a significant increase in daily outflows recently, with more than $540 million flowing out last week. In the past 30 days, the price of Bitcoin has dropped by more than 10%, from $68,000 to $62,000.
Macroeconomic pressures are also having an impact on the crypto market. ETC Group’s report noted that downward revisions to global growth expectations and rising risks of a U.S. recession are likely to continue to challenge Bitcoin prices.
▌Peter Schiff: Bitcoin will fall further before Mt Gox payout
Economist and gold lover Peter Schiff warns that Bitcoin has re-entered official bear market territory, down more than 20% from its all-time high. But the bear market is even more ferocious when measured in gold prices, with Bitcoin now down more than 30% in gold terms. The bear market is still young. Watch out below.
On Monday, Mt. Gox announced that it would begin distributing bitcoins in July, and the gold advocate also warned of the impact of Mt. Gox creditors receiving bitcoins. Schiff argued: Mt. Gox bitcoins haven't even been returned yet. But it will start in July. Therefore, the price of bitcoin could fall significantly before Mt. Gox bitcoins actually start to enter the market.
▌American politicians may use cryptocurrency to divert public attention
According to Turner Wright, cryptocurrency appears to be one of the latest means used by some U.S. lawmakers to "divert attention" from information that could harm voters when they go to the polls in November.
Important economic developments
▌Traders are betting that the Fed will cut interest rates 12 times by March next year
Traders in the U.S. interest rate options market are embracing an emerging bet tied to the path of the Federal Reserve’s interest rates: up to 300 basis points of rate cuts (12 cuts based on the conventional 25bp range) over the next nine months. Over the past three sessions, positions in the options market tied to the secured overnight funding rate show that these bets will gain if the Fed cuts rates to a low of 2.25% in the first quarter of 2025. Unless the U.S. economy suddenly falls into recession, this outcome seems unlikely. This is an aggressive bet given that the market expects the Fed to cut rates by about 75 basis points during this period. Fed officials recently predicted only a 25 basis point rate cut by the end of this year and a total of 125 basis points by the end of 2025. Now, some are also starting to increase their bets to hedge against the consequences of tail risks, such as rapid and extreme rate cuts.
▌The probability of the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates unchanged in August is 88.6%
According to CME's "Fed Watch": the probability of the Fed keeping interest rates unchanged in August is 88.6%, and the probability of a 25 basis point rate cut is 11.4%. The probability of the Fed keeping interest rates unchanged in September is 33.7%, the probability of a cumulative 25 basis point rate cut is 59.3%, and the probability of a cumulative 50 basis point rate cut is 7%.
▌The three major U.S. stock indexes closed mixed, with most popular technology stocks rising
The three major U.S. stock indexes closed mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.75%, the Nasdaq up 1.26%, and the S&P 500 up 0.4%. Most of the popular technology stocks rose, with Nvidia up more than 6%, ending a three-day losing streak and returning to a market value of $3 trillion. Google, Meta, and Tesla rose more than 2%. Semiconductors, automakers, and travel services led the gains, with Carnival Cruise Lines and Rivian up more than 8%, Arm up more than 6%, Norwegian Cruise Line up more than 5%, KLA-Tencent and Toyota Motor up more than 3%, and ASML and Micron Technology up more than 2%.
Golden Encyclopedia
▌What is an infinite coin minting attack?
Infinite minting attacks occur when an attacker manipulates the contract code to continuously mint new tokens beyond the authorized supply limit. Malicious actors may profit from such attacks by selling illegally created tokens or interfering with the normal operation of the affected blockchain network. The prevalence of infinite minting attacks highlights the importance of conducting thorough code audits and incorporating security measures into smart contract development to prevent such vulnerabilities.
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.
