1. Australian stablecoin startup Stables partners with Mastercard to expand into Europe
According to Cointelegraph, Australian stablecoin payment startup Stables announced a partnership with Mastercard to expand its business to Europe and the UK, allowing users to use USDC to purchase goods or services in 27 European countries. Bernado Billota, co-founder of the company, said that the total target market size of new customers in Europe is about 20 times that of Australia.
2. Japanese listed company Metaplanet increased its holdings by 20.38 bitcoins
Japanese listed company Metaplanet announced that it has increased its holdings by 20.38 bitcoins and currently holds 245.992 bitcoins.
Metaplanet previously announced that the board of directors decided to issue a second tranche of ordinary bonds worth 1 billion yen (approximately US$6.26 million), and the funds raised will be used to purchase Bitcoin.
3. Football club Real Bedford FC purchased 66.9 Bitcoins
Peter McCormack, chairman of the football club Real Bedford FC, announced that the club purchased 66.9 bitcoins at an average price of $67,220, with a total value of approximately $4.5 million. Currently, the club holds 82.7 bitcoins, of which 15.8 are used as floating funds for football affairs and the rest are stored in the club's treasury.
Earlier in April, Gemini co-founders the Winklevoss twins invested $4.5 million in Bitcoin in Real Bedford FC, becoming co-owners of the club along with podcaster and journalist Peter McCormack.
4. InvestHK: Global Fast Track Program 2024 now accepts applications, focusing on three new areas including blockchain
Invest Hong Kong announced that the seventh Global Fast Track Programme 2024 (the Programme) is now open for applications, with the deadline being September 20. In addition to FinTech and AI, three new focus areas will be introduced this year, including ESG/Green FinTech, Blockchain and Insurance/HealthTech, to keep pace with the ongoing evolution and emerging trends in the financial services industry. Invest Hong Kong’s Global Head of Financial Services, Technology and Sustainability, David Leung, said the global Fast Track Programme has served more than 1,000 fintech companies from more than 50 economies.
5. Iowa and seven other states in the United States jointly oppose the SEC's excessive regulation of cryptocurrencies
According to Bitcoin.com, a coalition of seven states led by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird filed a friend-of-the-court brief on July 10 to challenge the SEC’s overreach in cryptocurrency regulation. Other member states of the coalition include Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. The Iowa Attorney General’s Office pointed out that the SEC’s “bypassing Congress to grant itself new powers is illegal and will stifle innovation.”
6. Bank Rakyat Indonesia and Bank Negara Indonesia integrate payment platform Mercuryo
Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) and Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) have integrated payment platform Mercuryo, Cointelegraph reported.
Mercuryo said the integration will allow local users to exchange Indonesian rupiah (IDR) for 40 different digital tokens. These include Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT, among others.
7. Hong Kong financial regulators will adopt CertiK's recommendations to strengthen the stablecoin regulatory framework
Hong Kong's Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and the Monetary Authority recently released the "Consultation Conclusions - Legislative Proposals for Implementing a Regulatory Regime for Stablecoin Issuers in Hong Kong", adopting two suggestions from CertiK on strengthening risk management and user protection. The Treasury Bureau and the HKMA particularly emphasized the importance of building a good regulatory environment and plan to further improve relevant legislation based on public opinions. CertiK's suggestions mainly involve private key storage and accident management to enhance user protection and risk management. Both the Secretary for the Treasury and the HKMA, Mr. Paul Chan, and Mr. Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of the HKMA, said that these measures will help promote the sustainable development of Hong Kong's stablecoin ecosystem.
8. TON Foundation and Animoca Brands’ Mocaverse partner to launch $20 million ecosystem development plan
The TON Foundation has partnered with Mocaverse and MOCA Foundation under Animoca Brands to launch a $20 million ecosystem development plan, which will encourage developers and users to adopt the TON ecosystem through joint incentives such as The Open League, hackathons and accelerator programs.
9.CoinShares: Net inflows into digital asset investment products reached $1.35 billion last week
CoinShares’ latest weekly report shows that digital asset investment products saw net inflows of $1.35 billion last week, bringing total inflows over the past three weeks to $3.2 billion.
Bitcoin saw net inflows of $1.27 million last week, while short Bitcoin ETPs saw net outflows of $1.9 million, bringing total outflows since March to $44 million.
Ethereum saw $45 million in net inflows last week, surpassing Solana to become the altcoin with the most inflows so far this year. Solana saw $9.6 million in net inflows last week. Litecoin was the only altcoin to see more than $1 million in inflows, with $2.2 million in inflows last week.
10. CSOP Asset Management will launch Asia’s first inverse Bitcoin ETF in Hong Kong
According to Bloomberg, Ding Chen, CEO of CSOP Asset Management, said that the first inverse ETF linked to cryptocurrency in the Asia-Pacific region, the CSOP Bitcoin Futures Daily (-1x) inverse product, will be launched in Hong Kong on Tuesday morning.
11. Cryptocurrency exchange Woo X allows users to withdraw daily interest from its Treasury-backed yield vault
Cryptocurrency exchange Woo X allows users to withdraw interest daily from its U.S. Treasury-backed yield vaults, CoinDesk reported. These RWA vaults, built with the help of OpenTrade, previously operated on a 7-day or 28-day basis. The upgrade allows users to withdraw the interest earned on USDC stablecoins deposited in the vaults on a daily basis without a fixed term. Woo X and OpenTrade claim that they are the first exchange to offer T-Bill interest products to retail customers. OpenTrade CEO Dave Sutter said that this product provides users with greater flexibility and security, which is more advantageous than traditional financial products.
