Golden Weekly is a weekly blockchain industry summary column launched by Golden Finance, covering the week's key news, mining information, project dynamics, technological progress and other industry dynamics. This article is one of the news weekly, taking you through this week's blockchain industry events.

Headlines

▌Musk posted a video with the tag FreePavel to support the founder of Telegram again

Musk released a video with the tag FreePavel to once again support Telegram founder Pavel Durov. In the video, Pavel Durov was interviewed and said, "Musk's acquisition of X has made speech more free. This is a great progress. Humanity needs more social media like X and Telegram that uphold freedom of speech."

▌US agents tried to bribe engineers to better control Telegram

According to a video of an interview between Tucker Carlson, a well-known American political commentator and journalist, and Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, Durov said in the interview: "Whenever we come to the United States, we receive too much attention from the FBI and other security agencies. The last time I went to the United States, I brought an engineer who worked at Telegram. Cybersecurity officials or agents tried to secretly hire my engineer behind my back. They were curious about which open source libraries were integrated into Telegram's application and tried to convince him to use certain open source tools that acted as backdoors." "I have personally experienced similar pressure in the United States. Whenever I go to the United States, I am greeted by two FBI agents at the airport and asked questions. My understanding is that they want to establish a relationship to better control Telegram."

▌Trump posted a tweet with the tag "MAGA", MAGA broke through $0.00008, a 24-hour increase of 30%

Former US President Donald Trump posted a tweet with the "MAGA" tag on the X platform. Perhaps influenced by this, MAGA Hat (MAGA) broke through $0.00008 and now hit $0.00008257, a 24-hour increase of 31%.

▌Coinbase Chief Policy Officer: Has communicated with Harris' team many times, involving issues such as innovation and consumer protection

Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad published a post on the X platform revealing that he has communicated with the team of US Vice President Harris many times. As part of the efforts to repair the tensions in the encryption industry, the Harris team has been in contact with key players in the encryption industry. The exchanges between the two sides involved issues such as promoting American innovation, creating jobs and consumer protection. Although Harris has not yet clearly stated her position on encryption, recent campaign actions suggest that she may turn to the industry and is seeking to participate in the growing encryption industry.

▌US Vice President Harris formally accepts the Democratic presidential nomination

According to CCTV News, on August 22, local time, US Vice President Kamala Harris attended the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination for the 2024 US presidential election. The 2024 US presidential election will be held in early November. Harris officially won the Democratic presidential nomination on August 5 and will face off against Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump.

policy

▌Binance founder CZ faces new class action lawsuit in Seattle federal court

According to U.Today, former Binance CEO CZ and Binance have been accused of being involved in a new class action lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed in the Seattle Federal Court, accusing Binance of laundering money for criminals through its platform, harming the interests of consumers. The plaintiff claimed that Binance, as a "cryptocurrency money laundering empire", allowed hackers, thieves and other criminals to launder illegal gains on the platform and make huge profits in this way. The lawsuit also accused Binance of violating the RICO Act by committing illegal extortion. Previously, CZ had pleaded guilty to money laundering violations in November last year and was sentenced to four months in prison in April this year.

Australian court sides with regulator ASIC in case against Kraken domestic operator Bit Trade

The Federal Court of Australia has ruled that Bit Trade failed to comply with legal obligations regarding the design and distribution of margin trading products mentioned in civil penalty proceedings initiated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in September. Bit Trade Pty Ltd is the Australian operator of Kraken's cryptocurrency exchange. Bit Trade's "Margin Extension" product, which has been available to Kraken's Australian customers since October 5, 2021, is at the heart of the case. The court ruled that Bit Trade violated the law by offering the product without the necessary target market determination (TMD), which is a requirement of the Australian Corporations Act.

▌The U.S. federal court rejected Kraken’s request to dismiss the U.S. SEC lawsuit

In its ruling on August 23, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California rejected the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken's request to dismiss the SEC's lawsuit. The SEC accused Kraken of operating an unregistered securities trading platform. The court held that the SEC's allegations that certain cryptocurrency transactions on the Kraken platform constituted investment contracts were reasonable. The final ruling on the case has not yet been made. Kraken's legal director Marco Santori said that it would prove that these transactions did not meet the requirements of the Howey test.

▌Ripple and Kraken Legal Directors: The court's dismissal of the SEC lawsuit is a victory for the crypto industry

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California recently dismissed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) lawsuit against Kraken. The SEC claimed that some crypto tokens on the Kraken platform were securities, but the court ruled that these tokens were not securities. Kraken's Chief Legal Officer Marco Santori said this was a major victory for Kraken and the principle of clarity in the crypto industry, further confirming Kraken's long-standing position that there are no securities transactions on its platform. Ripple's Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty also expressed support for this, pointing out that this is another court that has denied the concept of "crypto asset securities" and is a blow to the SEC's strategy of regulation through law enforcement. Santori also emphasized that the SEC's enforcement-based regulatory approach may lead to extensive investigations of many transactions, and called on Congress to develop a clear market structure framework to promote the development of blockchain technology.

Colombian regulator accuses Worldcoin of violating data protection laws

Colombia's Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC) has accused Worldcoin, a decentralized identity project founded by Sam Altman, and the company behind it, Tools for Humanity, of violating the country's personal data protection regulations. The SIC has issued a preliminary notice of prosecution, alleging that the companies failed to comply with relevant policies when collecting sensitive personal data. Worldcoin currently collects data using its Orb devices in 25 locations in Colombia, including the capital Bogota. If found guilty, the SIC could impose financial sanctions on Worldcoin, temporarily suspending or permanently shutting down its operations in Colombia. Worldcoin has not yet responded to the allegations.

Blockchain Applications

▌Communication platform Status will launch Layer 2 network Status Network

Status, an open-source communication platform based on Ethereum, is working with Linea, backed by Consensys, to launch a Layer 2 rollup solution. Status raised $100 million in 2017 through an ICO for its native SNT token. Meanwhile, Linea, launched last year, is a zkEVM Layer 2 blockchain backed by blockchain development company Consensys. The two parties are jointly developing a Layer 2 network called Status Network that will run in parallel with Linea's zkEVM chain. Cyprien Grau, a core contributor to Status, said: By launching Status Network, we envision creating the infrastructure needed to support a thriving, decentralized ecosystem of applications and services. In addition, Status contributors will interact with Linea's open source code and actively participate in the management of its codebase to maintain a parallel version.

▌Sony Group will jointly launch Ethereum L2 network Soneium

Sony Block Solutions Labs, a joint project between Sony Group and Singapore's Startale Labs, said on Friday that it will launch a new layer 2 network called Soneium on the Ethereum blockchain. Soneium is expected to go live on a test network in the coming days and will utilize Optimism Rollup technology, which allows users to trade on the Ethereum network at a lower cost. It will be built using the Optimism blockchain ecosystem's OP Stack, a customizable toolkit that allows developers to create their own networks using Optimism's technology and connect to other networks in the ecosystem through "super chains."

MakerDAO will launch upgraded versions of DAI and MKR, NST and NGT

According to TheBlock, MakerDAO announced its Endgame plan to launch upgraded versions of DAI and MKR, NewStable (NST) and NewGovToken (NGT). MakerDAO emphasized that the existing DAI and MKR will continue to be available unless the governance department decides otherwise. Users can continue to hold and use both tokens. DAI will be available indefinitely, and users can upgrade to NewStable (NST) and choose to transfer back to DAI at any time. The exchange ratio is 1 DAI = 1 NewStable. The ecosystem will explore the differentiation of DAI and NewStable in the future. DAI may focus on crypto-native use cases, while NewStable will be adopted on a large scale. MKR will continue to be used for voting on governance proposals, and NGT introduced in the future will also be used for voting, which can be seamlessly converted back to MKR to ensure flexibility. The exchange ratio is 1 MKR = 24,000 NewGovTokens. MKR will continue to be used for voting on governance proposals, and NGT introduced in the future will also be used for voting, which can be seamlessly converted back to MKR to ensure flexibility. The exchange ratio is 1 MKR = 24,000 NewGovTokens.

io.net launches a staking plan to earn block rewards by staking devices in the IO network

Solana Ecosystem DePIN Protocol io.net announced the launch of a staking program designed to enhance the security and performance of the GPU Internet (IOG) while providing community members with the opportunity to earn rewards through their contributions. By staking their devices in the IO network, users can turn computing power into a source of income and distribute block rewards based on device performance. The program accommodates a wide range of devices from high-end GPUs to more modest settings.

▌Magic Eden Foundation launches ME token for cross-chain transactions

The Magic Eden (ME) Foundation has announced the upcoming launch of the ME token, which is designed to support Web3 consumer decentralized applications (DApps) through cross-chain digital asset transactions. The ME Foundation's mission is to help develop the ME decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) protocol with "community-led governance." The token is expected to be the core of Magic Eden, an NFT and Runes platform, which plans to be the first platform to officially adopt ME as its ecosystem token. NFT marketplace Magic Eden launched its first mobile wallet app on Thursday, allowing NFTs to be traded and swapped for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana. The platform will also begin using tokens issued by the foundation that supports the ME ecosystem. MagicEden's new app will support the exchange of digital assets across five blockchains: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Polygon and Base. MagicEden is also considering expanding into categories such as staking tokens, a service that provides holders with returns.

Cryptocurrency

▌DCG: Bitcoin and Ethereum mini trust inflows have exceeded US$270 million and US$220 million

Grayscale's parent company DCG said that Grayscale has launched nine new products this year, such as single asset trusts that track assets such as Bittensor, as well as Bitcoin and Ethereum mini trusts, which have inflows of more than US$270 million and more than US$220 million, respectively.

Coinbase platform BTC premium hits highest level since July

Julio Moreno, head of research at CryptoQuant, posted on social media that demand for Bitcoin in the United States soared today as the Federal Reserve hinted that it would begin a cycle of interest rate cuts, and the Bitcoin premium on the Coinbase platform reached its highest level since July 15.

▌JPMorgan Chase: Bitcoin mining opportunities are worth about $74 billion

According to the latest research report from Wall Street investment bank JPMorgan Chase, based on the current Bitcoin price, the potential value of the remaining 1.3 million Bitcoins to be mined is approximately $74 billion. The bank also lowered the target prices of CleanSpark (CLSK), Iren (IREN), Marathon Digital (MARA), and RiotPlatforms (RIOT) to reflect second-quarter performance and changes in Bitcoin prices and network computing power. JPMorgan Chase expects block reward revenue opportunities to be approximately $37 billion over the next four years, down 19% from early June but up 85% year-on-year. The bank expressed a preference for Iren and Riot Platforms, believing that the recent poor performance of these stocks provides investors with buying opportunities.

▌Rune Protocol accounts for 69.1% of Bitcoin transactions, ranking first

Ord.io published a post on X saying that today, the proportion of Runes activity on the Bitcoin chain ranked first, accounting for 69.1% of all transactions. According to Geniidata data, the total transaction volume of Runes in the past 24 hours was about 1.36 million US dollars, and the total market value of Runes was about 850 million US dollars, an increase of 6.36%.

▌Vitalik Buterin: I am grateful for the existence of Aave

Vitalik Buterin said in a post on X: “Aave is great, and I appreciate its existence, but if you tell them you’re offering ‘loans’, it won’t offer you almost anything you’d normally think of.”

Important economic developments

▌The swap market expects the Fed to cut interest rates by nearly 100 basis points before the end of the year

The swap market remained stable, and the Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates by nearly 100 basis points before the end of the year.

▌Fed Harker: Neutral interest rate is around 3%

We do not see a significant risk of a deterioration in the labor force, and in our view, unemployment will not exceed 5%. Low- to middle-income households are feeling the pinch. Contacts urged the Fed not to opt for a patchy process of rate cuts. The neutral rate is around 3%.

▌Fed's Goolsbee: All conditions required for rate cuts have been met

Fed's Goolsbee said that he supports the Fed to start paying attention to the job market; inflation is on the path to return to 2%; policy is currently at the tightest point in the entire rate hike cycle; the Fed's forecast shows broad support for rate cuts; all conditions required for rate cuts have been met; almost all indicators show that the job market is cooling; he does not want to provide clear guidance on the Fed's interest rate decisions; he does not think inflation will stay above 2%.

▌Fed's Goolsbee: It is crucial to keep a close eye on the cooling of the job market

Fed's Goolsbee said that given that inflation is moving toward the 2% target, it is time to pay more attention to the employment side of the central bank's dual mission. "As Chairman Powell said, we want to be vigilant about the job market. We are not just fighting inflation now, inflation is moving toward 2%," he said in an interview with CNBC. Goolsbee declined to say whether he favored a rate cut at the September meeting, but he reiterated that there was no need to tighten policy when the economy was not overheating. He said that almost all labor market indicators were cooling, and it was uncertain whether they were moving toward more normal levels or falling to weaker levels.

▌Santander Bank: If August employment data is strong, the Fed may give up the idea of ​​cutting interest rates by 50 basis points

In his speech at the Jackson Hole conference, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell stressed the importance of U.S. employment data for the upcoming monetary easing cycle. Stephen Stanley of Santander Bank said in a note that this adds to the importance of August employment data, which will be released on September 6. He said that after unexpectedly weak employment growth in July, the increase in August would not be a complete shock. More broadly, Powell and others at the Fed have recently begun to express concerns about cooling labor market conditions, so stronger data in August could dispel the idea of ​​a 50 basis point rate cut next month. Stanley believes that the employment report may be more critical than the August core CPI data.

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.