AI Crypto Tokens Surge Despite Nvidia's Market Cap Plunge

Artificial intelligence-related crypto tokens have soared over the past week, even as Nvidia, a key player in the AI space, experienced a significant drop in its market capitalization. Nvidia's stock price plummeted by 11.16% over the last five trading days, erasing $430 billion from its market cap, according to Google Finance. As of June 25, Nvidia's market cap stands at $2.91 trillion, down nearly 13% from its all-time high of $3.34 trillion.

Nvidia’s decline came amid concerns over substantial share sell-offs by its top executives, including President Jensen Huang. Since June 13, Huang has sold $79.38 million worth of Nvidia stock, as per a June 21 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Research firm Barchart reported that Nvidia insiders have collectively sold over $796 million worth of shares this year, nearing the billion-dollar mark. Despite this, portfolio analyst Oguz O pointed out that many of these sales are pre-planned, a common practice for executives to systematically sell stock over time.

AI-related cryptocurrencies such as Fetch.AI (FET) and SingularityNET (AGIX) have seen impressive gains. Over the past seven days, Fetch.AI surged by 35% and SingularityNET by 34%, according to CoinMarketCap data. This growth is particularly noteworthy given the broader crypto market's decline during the same period, with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) falling by 7% and 2.2%, respectively.

Other AI tokens have also shown gains. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's Worldcoin (WLD) saw a 5.9% increase over the past week, while Arkham Intelligence’s native token, ARKM, rose by 26% during the same period.

Trump Could Speak at Bitcoin 2024 Conference in Nashville

According to a report from Axios, Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump might be making an appearance at Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville this July. The news outlet cited two sources familiar with the discussions, suggesting that Trump is in talks to speak at the prominent cryptocurrency event.

Other notable political figures are also slated to speak at the conference, including presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and Republican Senators Bill Hagerty and Marsha Blackburn.

Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, has been vocal about his support for cryptocurrency in the lead-up to the November election. At a recent event at Mar-a-Lago, he told attendees that he would advocate for bitcoin mining if he returned to the White House, highlighting miners' contributions to energy grid stability. Additionally, Trump expressed his willingness to accept political donations in the form of cryptocurrency and pledged to halt what he described as "Joe Biden's crusade to crush crypto."

In contrast, President Joe Biden's re-election campaign has been engaging with members of the crypto industry for advice on digital asset policies. This marks a notable shift from the Biden administration's previously less favorable stance on cryptocurrency. Both Trump and Biden are set to face off in a debate on Thursday, hosted by CNN.

Mt. Gox to Begin Repaying Defunct Exchange Users in July 2024

The long-awaited repayments to former users of Mt. Gox, the notorious cryptocurrency exchange that lost 850,000 Bitcoins in 2014, is set to begin in July 2024. According to a written note issued on June 24 by the exchange's rehabilitation trustee, repayments will be made in Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).

"The Rehabilitation Trustee will commence the repayments in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash in due course to the cryptocurrency exchanges with which the Rehabilitation Trustee has completed the exchange and confirmation of the required information for implementing the repayments," the announcement stated.

"We will commence the repayments in the order of the cryptocurrency exchanges with which the Rehabilitation Trustee will complete the exchange and confirmation of the required information. Please wait for a while until the repayments are made," the trustee reiterated.

Mt. Gox owes more than $9.4 billion worth of Bitcoin to approximately 127,000 creditors. These creditors have been waiting for over a decade to recover their funds following the exchange's collapse in 2014 due to multiple unnoticed hacks.

In May, Mt. Gox's rehabilitation trustee, Nobuaki Kobayashi, confirmed that a significant transfer of 141,686 BTC, valued at $9.62 billion, to a new wallet labeled "1Jbez" was part of the repayment process. This transfer marked the first on-chain movement of funds from the collapsed exchange in over five years.

The rehabilitation process has been closely monitored by the cryptocurrency community, with many users anxiously awaiting the return of their lost assets. However, the news has spooked the crypto markets, with investors concerned about the potential selling pressure resulting from Mt Gox’s Bitcoin holdings. Bitcoin (BTC) fell over 7% following the news and broke below the key $60,000 level, although it has since recovered to trade at $61,324 currently.

TON Blockchain Faces Surge in Phishing Attacks Amid Rapid Growth: SlowMist

The Open Network (TON) is grappling with an increase in phishing attacks amid its explosive growth in 2024, according to Yu Xian, founder of the blockchain security firm SlowMist. Xian noted that the TON ecosystem, which includes a variety of decentralized applications (DApps) and tokens, has become a prime target for phishing attackers. "There are more and more phishing activities in the TON ecosystem," Xian wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).

The vulnerabilities stem from the ease with which scammers can infiltrate message groups within the Telegram ecosystem, posting phishing links that deceive users into compromising their TON wallets. "The Telegram ecosystem is too free, and many phishing links — or bot forms — are spread through message groups, airdrops, and other deceptive methods to lure away users’ TON wallets in batches," Xian explained.

The surge in phishing activity correlates with the rapid expansion of the TON ecosystem in 2024. The native cryptocurrency Toncoin (TON) and the play-to-earn token Notcoin (NOT) have been significant drivers of this growth. Clicker games and tokens like Notcoin have gained immense popularity among Telegram users, contributing to the ecosystem's expansion.

As of now, the TON ecosystem has a combined market capitalization of $20.2 billion, according to CoinMarketCap data. TON has a market cap of $18.6 billion, making it the 8th most valuable cryptocurrency, while NOT is valued at $1.48 billion, despite only launching slightly over a month ago.

Solana Memecoin Dogwifhat (WIF) Drops Out of Top 50 Crypto Momentarily

Dogwifhat (WIF), a memecoin on the Solana blockchain, has fallen out of the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization after suffering a significant 38% price drop over the past week. Over the past week, the price of Dogwifhat decreased by as much as 43%, which saw the market cap reach a low of $1.52 billion. This decline allowed Fantom (FTM) to surpass WIF momentarily, as Fantom's market cap rose by 2.24% to $1.65 billion.

While some traders suggest that WIF has entered an accumulation zone, others disagree. "Many people are talking about how WIF is in their accumulation zone, but I just checked the chart, and it doesn’t seem like anyone is accumulating," remarked pseudonymous crypto trader Blockgraze in a June 23 post on X.

The sharp decline in Dogwifhat's value has also impacted futures trading. Open Interest (OI), which represents the total value of all unsettled Bitcoin futures contracts across exchanges, has dropped by 25% to $209.64 million over the same period, as reported by CoinGlass. If WIF rebounds by approximately 13% to its previous price of $1.81, it could potentially wipe out around $13.53 million in short positions.

Currently, Dogwifhat remains the fourth largest memecoin by market cap, trailing behind Pepe (PEPE), which boasts nearly three times Dogwifhat's market cap at $4.57 billion. At the time of writing, Dogwifhat is trading at $1.91, marking a remarkable 24% recovery over the past 24 hours. It has regained its top 50 ranking, flipping Fantom, according to CoinMarketCap data.

What’s Causing the Bitcoin Price Decline?

The market is all red once again.

Over the past week, Bitcoin has shed nearly $5,000 from its value, plummeting from a comfortable perch above $66,000 to hover around the $61,000 mark (at the time of writing). This sudden plunge has left investors and analysts confused.

This sharp decline coincided with a significant shift in market sentiment. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index fell from 60 to 49 in just 13 days, moving from "Greed" to the edge of "Neutral" territory.

The sudden price drop and sentiment shift have left many wondering about the underlying causes.

Several key events in crypto appear to have influenced this market movement.

Let's jumpt to the details of what's been happening in the Bitcoin market and explore the factors behind this recent plunge.

Reason #1: German Government's Bitcoin Sale

The crypto market experienced significant turbulence following news that the German government is preparing to liquidate a substantial Bitcoin holding.

The German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) held approximately 50,000 BTC, seized from a piracy site in 2013, now valued at over $3 billion.

This news, which came to light a few days ago, likely triggered Bitcoin's initial drop from $66,000 to $63,000 - as can be seen on CoinMarketCap.

The prospect of such a large amount of Bitcoin potentially entering the market has understandably caused concern among investors.

Reports suggest that the German authorities have already begun the process, selling around 3,000 BTC in recent days. However, the bulk of the holding—47,000 BTC—remains to be sold.

The government appears to be taking a measured approach to minimize market impact, but investor anxiety persists.

Reason #2: Big Players Hitting the Brakes

The second major factor behind Bitcoin's recent price slide involves the market's biggest fish – the "whales."

Here's what's happening: Whales have suddenly become much less active. Data from Santiment shows that big transactions (over $100,000) dropped by 42% in just a couple of days. That's a significant change in behavior.

So why does this matter? Well, when whales slow down their trading, it often signals caution. This whale behavior is especially interesting as it's happening right after a period of heavy selling.

What does this mean for the market? It could be that these large investors are waiting to see if prices will drop further before they start buying again. Or they might be holding off on selling more to avoid pushing prices down too quickly.

Either way, when the whales get quiet, it's often a sign that the market is at a crossroads. Their next moves could give us clues about where Bitcoin's price might head in the coming weeks.

Reason #3: Mt. Gox Returns With Repayments

The defunct exchange has resurfaced and shaken things up once again. More than a decade after its collapse, Mt. Gox has announced that it will begin repaying its creditors – and the news has sent ripples through the Bitcoin market.

Mt. Gox's Rehabilitation Trustee, Nobuaki Kobayashi, announced that repayments in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash will start in early July.

Why is this such a big deal?

Well, Mt. Gox was once the biggest exchange in crypto before its dramatic closure in 2014.

This isn't a small change we're talking about. The three Mt. Gox wallets combined hold 141,686 BTC, worth approximately $8.71 billion.

The fear is simple: as creditors finally get their hands on their long-lost Bitcoin, many might rush to cash out. This potential flood of Bitcoin hitting the market has investors on edge.

The impact was almost immediate. Bitcoin's price took a nosedive to $61,060, marking a 6.5% drop in just 24 hours. While it's since recovered slightly to around $61,300, the market remains jittery.

It's not just Bitcoin feeling the heat. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) also took a hit, dropping 9% in the wake of the announcement.

While the repayment process is set to begin soon, it's worth noting that it could stretch out over several months. The deadline for repayments was previously extended to October 2024, giving the market some breathing room.

Reason #4: Domino Effect

The recent Bitcoin price drop wasn't just about external factors. A significant internal market mechanism played a crucial role in amplifying the decline: cascading liquidations in the derivatives market.

Think of it as the crypto world's version of a domino effect, and it's been in full swing over the past 24 hours.

Here's what went down: As Bitcoin's price started to slip, it triggered a chain reaction in the derivatives market. According to data from Coinglass, $311.3 million worth of crypto positions were liquidated in just 24 hours.

Out of this $305.89 million, $275.75 million were long positions. In plain English, that means the vast majority of these liquidations hit traders who were betting on crypto’s price to go up.

This cascade of liquidations isn't the root cause of Bitcoin's price drop, but it certainly didn't help matters.

As the market navigates through these issues, it's clear that multiple factors are at play. The German government's Bitcoin movements, whale behavior shifts, Mt. Gox repayment plans, and cascading liquidations have all contributed to the recent price volatility.

While short-term fluctuations can be unsettling, they also provide valuable insights into market dynamics. As the dust settles, market participants will be keenly watching how these factors evolve and influence Bitcoin's trajectory in the coming weeks and months.

Bitcoin’s Key Indicators Flash Bullish Signals, According to Trader

Popular trader Roman recently highlighted two classic technical indicators for BTC/USD, suggesting that Bitcoin (BTC) could be setting the stage for a significant price breakout. Roman's analysis points to the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Bollinger Bands on the weekly chart as key signals for a potential price surge.

Despite a lackluster performance in June that left many holders disappointed, Bitcoin's long-term outlook remains promising. Some analysts believe that BTC is merely consolidating below its all-time highs, a typical behavior in bull markets that can persist for several months.

Roman, however, sees a return to the highs seen earlier this year as imminent. On June 21, he noted that Bitcoin is forming a third bullish divergence between its price and RSI, while many traders are capitulating and predicting lower prices. He emphasized that the Bollinger Bands are tightening, which often precedes a period of high volatility.

"We are now forming a 3rd bullish divergence between Price and RSI while many are capitulating & calling for lower," Roman wrote. "Bollinger Bands are also squeezing tighter - creating that volatility to send without returning." An accompanying chart showed RSI making lower lows as the price made higher lows. This combination, along with the narrowing Bollinger Bands, suggests that significant volatility could be on the horizon.

X's Payments Platform to Launch Without Dogecoin or Crypto Integration

Despite speculation fueled by Elon Musk's vocal support for Dogecoin (DOGE), regulatory documents indicate that Musk's plans for a payments service do not currently include digital tokens, according to a Bloomberg report. The documents reveal plans for a subsidiary called X Payments, which has obtained money transmitter licenses in 28 states and is seeking approval in the remaining ones. X Payments is expected to offer a service similar to Venmo or Zelle, providing a new way for users to handle payments on the platform.

While the integration of cryptocurrencies could happen in the future, Dogecoin supporters remain hopeful. However, the precise objectives of X Payments remain somewhat ambiguous based on the documents and statements from Musk and Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino.

Yaccarino recently emphasized the transformative potential of Twitter's upcoming payments functionality. "We are actually redefining what users will come to rely on," she said. "The scope of our vision, and the pace of the innovation at the company, is like nothing I can describe."

Despite the absence of immediate crypto integration, Musk's enthusiasm for digital currencies remains evident. His tweets have previously caused significant price movements in Dogecoin, and Tesla once held a substantial Bitcoin stash. Musk has also reportedly spent years exploring the potential for crypto payments.

MakerDAO Governance Delegate Loses $11 Million in Phishing Scam

A MakerDAO governance delegate has lost $11 million worth of Aave Ethereum Maker (aEthMKR) and Pendle USDe tokens due to a phishing scam. The incident, detected by Scam Sniffer in the early hours of June 23, occurred after the delegate inadvertently signed multiple fraudulent signatures.

The scam involved the transfer of 3,657 aEthMKR tokens from the sender address “0xfb94d3404c1d3d9d6f08f79e58041d5ea95accfa” to the recipient address “0x739772254924a57428272f429bd55f30eb36bb96,” with the transaction being confirmed in just 11 seconds. Arkham identified the victim as a MakerDAO governance delegate, a crucial role within the MakerDAO ecosystem. These delegates are responsible for voting on governance proposals, polls, and executive votes, significantly influencing the decisions within the Maker protocol.

Phishing scams involve cybercriminals posing as reputable entities to deceive individuals into providing sensitive information. In this case, the victim was tricked into signing multiple permit network phishing signatures, leading to the substantial loss of tokens.

The MakerDAO protocol relies on MKR tokenholders and delegates to vote on proposals, which progress from initial polls to final executive votes. Once a proposal is approved, it is implemented into the Maker protocol after a waiting period known as the Governance Security Module (GSM), designed to prevent sudden changes to the protocol.

CoinStats Suspends User Activity Following Security Breach Affecting 1,590 Wallets

Cryptocurrency portfolio manager CoinStats announced a security breach that impacted 1,590 crypto wallets. "The attack has been mitigated, and we have temporarily shut down the application to isolate the security incident." According to the CoinStats team, only a small fraction, 1.3%, of all CoinStats Wallets were affected. The company reassured users that "none of the connected wallets and CEXes were impacted."

Despite addressing the immediate threat, CoinStats has yet to disclose the full extent of the damage from the breach. They have promised to provide updates as more information becomes available. CoinStats emphasizes on its website that it only requests read-only access to connected crypto wallets, which should theoretically keep users' holdings "perfectly safe under any conditions."

CoinStats allows users to connect all their crypto wallets and track their entire portfolio in one place. The platform has shut down its website while it works to resolve the security issue. CoinStats also published a Google document listing the affected crypto wallets, noting that the list might change as the investigation continues, though significant updates are not expected. Users with wallets on the list are advised to move their funds immediately using their exported private keys.

This incident adds to a growing list of security breaches in the crypto industry. Recently, Rain exchange lost $14.1 million worth of crypto in a confirmed exploit two weeks ago. According to Crystal Intelligence, the crypto industry has experienced 785 reported hacks and exploits over the past 13 years, resulting in nearly $19 billion worth of digital assets being stolen since the first known crypto hack on June 19, 2011.

Pantera Capital Launches New Fund for Toncoin Investment

Crypto venture capital firm Pantera Capital is raising funds for a new investment vehicle named the "Pantera TON Investment Opportunity." The fund aims to acquire more The Open Network's Toncoin (TON) tokens. Prospective investors are required to express their interest by June 21 to secure a spot in the fund, with a minimum investment threshold set at $250,000.

Pantera's commitment to TON is evident as this new fund follows the firm's largest-ever investment made in the TON token. Although Pantera did not disclose specific deal terms at the time, the email indicates that the investment was made in March at a "significant discount to the spot price." The investment was officially announced by Pantera in May.

"We believe the TON network is still in its early stages, and we are excited to witness the adoption of its ecosystem and new features by the Telegram user base," said Ryan Barney, a partner at Pantera, last month.

The TON blockchain has experienced significant growth recently. In April, Tether's USDT stablecoin launched on the TON network, achieving rapid adoption. According to Pantera, over 400 million USDT were in circulation on the network within two months, surpassing the adoption rate of any prior blockchain.

Telegram's gaming mini-apps on the TON network have also seen remarkable success. Pantera highlights that Notcoin and Hamster Kombat, two Telegram games, have outpaced traditional crypto games like Axie Infinity. Notcoin reached 35 million players and about 10 million daily active users within five months of its launch, while Hamster Kombat attracted 100 million players and between 40 to 45 million daily active users.

The TON token is now the 8th largest cryptocurrency, with a market cap exceeding $18.2 billion. TON is currently trading at $7.42, down 1% over the past 24 hours but up 19.6% over the past month, despite a market downturn.

Aptos Labs Partners with NBCUniversal for Web3 Fan Experiences

Aptos Labs and NBCUniversal have inked a long-term development agreement to bring innovative Web3 fan experiences, customer loyalty programs, and gaming to the entertainment giant. Aptos, which has a proven track record in enhancing fan engagement for major Universal films, is set to expand on NBCUniversal's prior Web3 initiatives.

The collaboration aims to build on previous successes, such as "Free Renfield the Game," which Aptos developed in March 2023. Based on the film "Renfield," the game allowed players to search for bugs that granted superhuman abilities and match them to scenes from the movie, with prizes including collectible digital art.

In September, Aptos took its Web3 efforts further by creating behind-the-scenes media, augmented reality filters, digital art, and prize opportunities for ticket purchasers of "The Exorcist: Believer" through the Fandango service.

NBCUniversal's embrace of Web3 technology is evident in other offerings as well. Greg Reed, Universal Pictures' vice president of technology partnerships, commented on the evolving landscape: "Today's media and entertainment landscape is rapidly changing, with fan experiences and preferences driving a lot more of those shifts than in previous eras." NBCUniversal, owned by telecommunications giant Comcast, includes DreamWorks film studio and the Peacock streaming service in its portfolio.

Aptos, led by former Meta executives Mo Shaikh and Avery Ching, launched a proof-of-stake blockchain in October 2022. This blockchain uses a programming language developed for Meta's Diem stablecoin project.

Kraken Recovers $3 Million in Missing Funds After Bug Bounty Exploit

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has successfully recovered nearly $3 million in digital assets following a high-profile bug bounty exploit by CertiK. Nicholas Percoco, Kraken's Chief Security Officer, confirmed the recovery in a June 20 post on X, stating: "Update: We can now confirm the funds have been returned (minus a small amount lost to fees)." This announcement came after Percoco initially revealed the disappearance of the funds on June 19, attributing the incident to a "security researcher" who had exploited a bug.

Kraken alleged that the security researcher had extorted the exchange, refusing to return the funds without a reward. Blockchain security firm CertiK soon identified itself as the "security researcher" involved in the incident. In a June 19 X post, CertiK detailed that it had informed Kraken about an exploit that allowed the withdrawal of millions from the exchange's accounts. CertiK further claimed that Kraken had threatened its employees to repay the mismatched amount of crypto within an unreasonable time frame, without providing repayment addresses.

The saga raised questions about the necessity of the nearly $3 million withdrawal. Percoco initially noted that a mere $4 transfer would have sufficed to prove the bug and qualify for a sizable reward from Kraken's bounty program. However, CertiK defended its actions, explaining that the large sum was part of an effort to test the limits of Kraken's security and risk controls. "We want to test the limit of Kraken’s protection and risk controls. After multiple tests across multiple days and close to $3 million worth of crypto, no alerts were triggered and we still haven’t figured out the limit," CertiK stated.

CertiK also clarified that it did not initially request a bounty; instead, Kraken had mentioned the bounty first. "We never mentioned any bounty request. It was Kraken who first mentioned their bounty to us, while we responded that the bounty was not the priority topic and we wanted to make sure the issue was fixed," CertiK elaborated. They added that no Kraken user funds were at risk since the exploited funds were "minted out of air."

German Government Begins Massive Bitcoin Sell-Off, Sparking Market Jitters

The German government has commenced the sale of a significant Bitcoin stash seized from the operators of a movie piracy website. Over $195 million in Bitcoin was sold in the past 24 hours. In the latest transactions, $65 million worth of Bitcoin was likely deposited into exchanges, adding to the $130 million moved the previous day. Despite these sales, the German government still holds approximately $3.05 billion in Bitcoin.

This move is part of a recent trend of large-scale Bitcoin transactions by German authorities, with substantial funds being transferred to major exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken, and Bitstamp, hinting at further sales. The nearly 50,000 Bitcoin, originally seized from the operators of Movie2k.to, a film piracy site last active in 2013, were handed over to the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) in January following a voluntary surrender by the suspects.

The sale has already impacted Bitcoin’s market price, which has slipped due to these significant sales. Bitcoin's price has dropped about 0.67% over the past 24 hours, now sitting around $64,723, contributing to a nearly 3% decline over the past 7 days.

Despite the German government's sell-off, companies like MicroStrategy continue to show bullishness. The software firm recently purchased $786 million worth of Bitcoin, expanding its significant holdings. This acquisition followed the raising of $800 million through convertible senior notes.

Bernstein Analysts Predict Bitcoin Could Reach $200,000 by Next Year Due to ETF Inflows

Analysts at research and brokerage firm Bernstein have revised their Bitcoin price target upwards, forecasting that the cryptocurrency could reach nearly $200,000 by the end of next year. This optimistic prediction follows strong inflows into spot U.S. Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) since their approval in January. Previously, Bernstein had set a target of $150,000 for Bitcoin.

The analysts' projection is based on the assumption that spot Bitcoin ETFs will account for around 7% of the total circulating Bitcoin supply by the end of 2025. "We see Bitcoin ETFs as on the cusp of approvals at major wirehouses and large private bank platforms in the third and fourth quarters," wrote Bernstein analysts Gautam Chhugani and Mahika Sapra in a note to clients.

They describe the institutional basis trade as a "Trojan Horse" for adoption, with institutional investors currently evaluating long positions. Presently, nearly 80% of spot Bitcoin ETF flows come from self-directed retail investors via broker platforms, while institutional integrations with wirehouses are still in their early stages.

According to Bernstein, combined ETFs have already attracted around $15 billion in net new flows. The analysts expect Bitcoin ETFs to represent approximately 7% of Bitcoin in circulation by 2025 and about 15% by 2033. They project that spot Bitcoin ETFs will reach around $190 billion in assets under management (AuM) by the market peak in 2025 and $3 trillion by 2033.

Jupiter Co-Founder Proposes Major Tokenomics Overhaul, 30% Cut to Supply

Pseudonymous co-founder of Jupiter, known as Meow, published a draft proposal to alter the tokenomics of JUP, the native token of the Solana-based decentralized exchange aggregator. This proposal suggests significant changes, including a 30% reduction in the total supply of JUP, currently at 10 billion tokens, a voluntary 30% cut from the team’s allocated tokens, and a corresponding 30% decrease in “Jupuary” emissions.

"The primary concern is that our fully diluted valuation (FDV) and total supply are problematic," Meow said. Currently, Jupiter has an FDV of $7.74 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. "Additionally, there are ongoing concerns about emissions," Meow added.

The announcement caused JUP to rise approximately 7% to $0.82. However, it has since traded back down and is flat for the past 24 hours, trading around $0.77. JUP is still trading higher than its initial airdrop price of $0.66 in January, however, it has lost more than half of its value from its all-time high of $1.75 in March.

The disparity between JUP's total supply and its current circulating supply is substantial, with 8.65 billion tokens yet to circulate, more than six times the current circulating supply. Meow believes the proposed reductions will "trim the excess from the FDV, engage the community in understanding JUP’s tokenomics, address concerns over high emissions, and motivate everyone towards collective growth."

LayerZero Announces Airdrop Eligibility for 1.28 Million Wallets

LayerZero, the leading cross-chain interoperability protocol, has revealed that 1.28 million wallets are eligible for its highly-anticipated airdrop. The announcement, made by Bryan Pellegrino, CEO of the LayerZero Foundation, marks one of the largest token generation events to date.

On July 19, Pellegrino disclosed that 23.8% of the token supply will be distributed to LayerZero users and developers. Of this, 8.5% of the tokens will be claimable when the airdrop goes live. The allocation includes 5% for core contributors, 3% for ecosystem projects that have submitted requests for proposals (RFP), and 0.5% for the community pool. The remaining tokens will be distributed gradually over the next three years, with retroactive distributions occurring every 12 months.

However, Pellegrino cautioned that the number of eligible wallets could change as the project continues to weed out wallets involved in sybil farming. Sybil farming refers to the practice where a single entity uses multiple wallets to farm activity on a protocol to increase their airdrop allocation.

In an effort to maintain the integrity of the airdrop, LayerZero has launched an anti-sybil campaign to exclude addresses identified as engaging in sybil activity. Addresses found to be sybil farming will be excluded from the airdrop, though sybil users who self-report could still receive 15% of their expected token allocation. Pellegrino noted that of the six million wallets that have used LayerZero, about one million were involved in sybil farming.

In April 2023, the company successfully raised $120 million in a Series B funding round, which valued LayerZero at $3 billion. The protocol facilitated over $6.7 billion worth of cross-chain asset transfers and transmitted 29.6 million messages in the first quarter of 2024.

CertiK Reveals Itself as Kraken's $3 Million Exploiter Amid Controversy

Blockchain security firm CertiK has publicly identified itself as the "security researcher" involved in a contentious incident with cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, in which $3 million worth of digital assets were reportedly extracted from Kraken accounts.

CertiK disclosed it had informed Kraken about an exploit that allowed the removal of millions of dollars from the exchange’s accounts. Kraken’s chief security officer, Nicholas Percoco, had previously accused an unnamed security team of “extortion” for withholding the return of the funds until Kraken agreed to a payment, purportedly linked to potential damages had the vulnerability not been disclosed.

CertiK responded by alleging that Kraken's security team threatened individual CertiK employees, demanding the repayment of a mismatched amount of cryptocurrency within an unreasonable time frame, and without providing repayment addresses. “In the spirit of transparency and our commitment to the Web3 community, we are going public to protect all users’ security. We urge [Kraken] to cease any threats against whitehat hackers,” CertiK stated.

The security firm provided a timeline of events, beginning with the identification of the exploit on June 5 and culminating in claims that Kraken threatened a CertiK employee on June 18.

The incident has sparked mixed reactions within the crypto community. While some users have expressed support for Kraken, arguing that CertiK's actions do not align with the typical behavior of white hat hackers, others have criticized Kraken's handling of the situation. The legal ramifications for Kraken remain uncertain at this stage.

Bitcoin Whales Realize Unprecedented $1.2B in Profits Amid Market Turmoil

Over the past two weeks, long-term Bitcoin (BTC) whales have cashed out $1.2 billion in profits. According to CryptoQuant, these "old whales" have taken advantage of soaring prices to sell coins they acquired at much lower values, marking an unprecedented profit-taking period in USD terms.

CryptoQuant's Head of Research, Julio Moreno, highlighted the significance of this activity, noting that the last comparable event occurred in April 2022, when Bitcoin traded at $40,000. During that period, whales realized $683 million in profits in a single day, translating to 17,000 BTC. In contrast, the recent two-week period saw profits of 14,000 BTC but with a much higher USD value.

Bitcoin whales, typically entities holding at least 1,000 BTC (worth approximately $65 million at current prices), are often institutional investors rather than individuals. CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju suggested that many of these sales have likely been executed through brokers, which means the market hasn't yet felt the full impact of this sell-off. However, he cautioned that brokers could deposit BTC to exchanges, potentially affecting market liquidity and prices.

This activity comes at a time when the crypto market is already facing bearish momentum. Bitcoin has dropped 3% over the past week, compounded by $300 million in outflows from Bitcoin ETFs over the last two days.

AI-Related Tokens Surge Following Nvidia's To Be the World’s Most Valuable Company

Fetch.ai (FET) has led a notable surge in major AI-related cryptocurrency tokens over the past 24 hours, spurred by Nvidia's recent achievement of becoming the world's most valuable company. Fetch.ai saw its value soar by over 25%, with other tokens such as Bittensor (TAO) rising by more than 19%, Render (RNDR) jumping over 13%, and NEAR Protocol (NEAR) and Internet Computer (ICP) experiencing gains just under 10%.

The market's enthusiasm for AI-related cryptocurrencies reflects the broader excitement surrounding advancements in artificial intelligence and their potential applications. This trend is evident as Nvidia's prominence in the AI space bolsters investor confidence and drives up the value of related digital assets.

However, YouHodler Risk Manager Sergei Gorev has advised caution regarding the latest rally in AI-related tokens. He suggested that the recent surge might be fueled more by market hype than by underlying fundamentals. "As for the quotes of Nvidia shares, we consider the stock's recent dynamics as a result of the market's overreaction to prospects that are not yet fully clear. The narrative of creating something new has always caused hype in the market, whether it's 3D printers, electric vehicles, etc. Now, it's about the hype around AI."

While the excitement around AI and its potential continues to drive significant gains in the cryptocurrency market, industry experts like Gorev urge investors to remain cautious and consider the long-term viability and substance behind these valuations.