Headlines
▌The IRS has finalized new regulations for taxing cryptocurrencies
The IRS has finalized new rules for taxing cryptocurrencies, and cryptocurrency trading platforms will need to report transactions to the IRS starting in 2026. However, decentralized platforms that do not hold assets will be exempt. These are the main points of the new rules finalized by the IRS and the U.S. Treasury on Friday, essentially implementing a provision of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by the Biden administration in 2021. Even without these new rules, cryptocurrency holders will need to pay taxes; however, there is no real standardization on how to report these holdings to the government and individual investors. Starting in 2026 (covering transactions in 2025), cryptocurrency platforms must provide a standard 1099 form, similar to the ones sent by banks and traditional brokerage firms. In addition to simplifying the tax process for cryptocurrencies, the IRS also said it is working to combat tax evasion.
▌Curve founder has delivered 7.5 million CRV to Christian
According to on-chain analyst Yu Jin, the founder of Curve said that the 30 million CRV sold to Christian will be delivered in mid-August because he still has 24.7 million CRV that will not be fully unlocked until August 12. He has already delivered 7.5 million CRV to Christian, and the number of CRVs that have not yet been unlocked is enough. This also means that on August 12, all of the CRV of the founder of Curve will be unlocked. In addition, he has 103 million CRV locked up until June 2028.
Quotes
As of press time, according to Coingecko data:
The latest transaction price of BTC is $60,800.46, with a daily change of +0.12%;
ETH's latest transaction price is $3,374.18, with a daily change of -0.4%;
BNB's latest transaction price is $569.69, with a daily change of +0.07%;
SOL's latest transaction price is $140.06, with a daily change of -1.07%;
DOGE's latest trading price is $0.1214, with a daily change of -1.86%;
XPR’s most recent trading price is $0.4722, with a daily change of -0.06%.
policy
▌Former SEC Chairman: The burden of proof always lies with the SEC to prove that a product is a security
Former SEC Chairman John Reed Stark said the burden of proof always lies with the SEC to prove that a product is a security. As far as I know, the judge only asked the SEC to prove that people who buy Binance products are "investors" who buy Binance products because they hope the price will increase, rather than "customers" who buy Binance products because the products provide a certain practicality (such as trade discounts). According to the judge, a digital asset security “ceases to be a security” if it somehow transforms into a utility instrument rather than a vehicle for investment speculation. Notably, the judge explicitly rejected the puzzling finding in the Ripple ruling that some kind of contractual relationship must exist between investors and issuers in the secondary market to trigger registration requirements, something no other district court has done Conclusions that are supported by any form of adoption or even citation.
▌Vitalik Buterin: Cryptocurrency regulation has created "anarchy tyranny"
In response to a user of Warpcast, a social media platform based on the Farcaster protocol, Vitalik Buterin described a situation where current regulatory measures have basically forced honest cryptocurrency developers into a corner. The main challenge of cryptocurrency regulation (especially in the United States) has always been this phenomenon. If you do something useless or you ask people to give you money in exchange for vague mentions of potential returns, then you are free and innocent, but if you try to clearly explain to your customers where the returns come from and promise them what rights they have, then you are finished because you are a "security." The incentive gradient created by this "anarchic tyranny" will ultimately be worse than pure anarchy or pure tyranny. From anarchy, there seems to be no end to the bad actors, scammers, and unfounded hype on social media and sharing platforms. Previously, Buterin had put forward three suggestions aimed at solving the problem of "uselessness" of cryptocurrency products and services.
▌Consensys Chief Legal Officer: The IRS has cancelled a final broker reporting rule for us
Bill Hughes, Chief Legal Officer at Consensys, said the IRS "rejected a final broker reporting rule from us, and it did not finalize the rule regarding non-custodial wallets and related non-custodial software products. They said those products are still under review and may be brokers, and they will determine their status later. The scope of "digital assets" under this final rule is overly broad and offensive. Every NFT disposal is a reportable event. So is every stablecoin disposal. You can't redeem USDC for dollars on an exchange without filing a form with the IRS stating your gain or loss was a fraction of a penny.
▌Consensys Software: SEC’s actions are regulatory overreach
Consensys Software issued a statement in response to the SEC's allegations that the company conducted an unregistered securities offering through Metamask Staking and Swaps. Consensys believes that the SEC's actions are regulatory overreach and vowed to defend its position in court, emphasizing the broader impact on the web3 ecosystem. On Friday, Consensys Software issued a statement in response to the charges brought by the SEC. The SEC accused Consensys of engaging in unregistered securities offerings and sales through a service called Metamask Staking, and operating as an unregistered broker through Metamask Staking and another service called Metamask Swaps.
▌US federal judge upholds “most” of SEC’s charges against Binance
A U.S. federal judge upheld most of the SEC's charges against Binance, finding that the company may have offered unregistered investment products in violation of anti-fraud regulations. The ruling found that most of the agency's arguments were reasonable and rejected certain arguments raised by Binance that were also rejected by other judges, such as the Major Questions Doctrine, which means that the SEC does not have the power to fully regulate the cryptocurrency industry. In addition, the court also found that Binance founder and former CEO CZ, who is currently serving a prison sentence and has been charged by the Department of Justice against Binance in a separate case, may be personally liable for Binance's violations given his control over Binance. However, the judge also rejected certain complaints related to some of the charges. Judge Amy Berman Jackson's ruling noted that the charges did not meet the Howey test. Judge Jackson also dismissed charges related to BNB secondary sales and Binance's Simple Earn project, but the charges against Binance's Earn Vault will continue. Of the 13 charges, only one charge (related to BUSD sales) was completely dismissed.
Blockchain Applications
▌BNB Chain: This upgrade optimizes data storage and processing on the blockchain, reducing L2 transaction costs by 90%
BNB Chain announced that with the launch of BEP336, BNB Chain has recently undergone a transformative upgrade. This upgrade optimizes data storage and processing on the blockchain, significantly reduces L2 transaction costs by 90%, and improves network performance.
Hamster Kombat becomes the third fastest app to reach 150 million users
TON ecosystem game Hamster Kombat became the third fastest app to reach 150 million users in history. The augmented reality mobile game Pokémon GO, launched in 2016, took 33 days to reach 150 million users. It held this record until the summer of 2023, when Instagram's X competitor Threads reached this goal in just six days. At the same time, Hamster Kombat is the first YouTube channel to gain more than 10 million users in a week. The team has applied for the Guinness World Record for this achievement.
Cryptocurrency
▌The number of Solana chain NFTs minted has exceeded 500 million
SolanaFloor posted on the X platform that the number of NFTs minted on the Solana chain has exceeded 500 million, most of which use the new compressed NFT standard. At the same time, the total collection exceeds 100,000 and the collection addresses exceed 49 million.
The FTC has warned consumers about a surge in social media investment scams, especially cryptocurrency investments
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has warned consumers about a surge in social media investment scams, especially cryptocurrency investments. These scams involve fraudulent messages claiming to guarantee high returns with little to no risk. The FTC advises against such messages and reminds consumers that all investments have inherent risks. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a consumer alert on Friday. The alert was written by Andrew Rayo, a consumer education specialist at the FTC, who said that breaking information about investments on social media is almost always a scam.
▌About 20 minutes ago, 9764 ETH was transferred to Coinbase
According to Whale Alert, about 20 minutes ago, 9,764 ETH (worth approximately $32,966,189) was transferred from an unknown wallet to Coinbase.
▌In the past 24 hours, 6257.55 BTC have flowed into exchange wallets
According to the latest data, 6257.55 BTC flowed into exchange wallets in the past 24 hours, 17471.14 BTC flowed into exchange wallets in the past 7 days, and 63109.82 BTC flowed out of exchange wallets in the past 30 days. As of press time, the total balance of exchange wallets is 2,486,333.1 BTC.
Important economic developments
▌Strategist: Inflation and employment pave the way for the Fed to cut interest rates in September
Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, said: "Friday's PCE data was in line with expectations, which was a relief and something that the Fed leaders welcomed. However, the policy path is uncertain. Further deceleration in inflation, coupled with more evidence of a weakening job market, would pave the way for the first rate cut in September."
▌Economist El-Erian: Economic slowdown increases the risk of Fed policy mistakes
Mohamed El-Erian said the softening of the Fed's preferred inflation measure underscores that the slowdown is amplifying the risk of central bank policy mistakes. "The economy is slowing faster than most economists expected and faster than the Fed expected," said El-Erian, dean of Queens College at the University of Cambridge. "The economy is slowing with very little buffer," said El-Erian. "A forward-looking Fed would certainly be open to the possibility of a rate cut in July." Instead, the Fed "remains overly data-dependent and it would take quite a bit of history to change that." The latest median forecast released by Fed officials this month calls for one rate cut of 25 basis points this year, compared with three cuts in March. The market still expects at least one rate cut of 25 basis points this year, as early as September. The chances of a rate cut in July are slim. El-Erian said the Fed faces the risk of keeping rates "too high for too long." In his view, the probability of a U.S. recession is 35%, while the probability of a soft landing is 50%. "The more likely mistake right now is that the Fed does not start cutting rates early enough, so that it ends up having to cut more than it should."
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.
