Today's news tips:
U.S. SEC Chairman: Ethereum spot ETF approval process is "progressing smoothly"
BLAST Token Economics Release: Total BLAST Token Supply 100 Billion, 17 Billion for Initial Airdrop
The wallet address of the âGerman Governmentâ transferred out another 1,095 BTC
VanEck has filed Form 8-A for its spot Ethereum ETF and plans to waive fees for Ethereum spot ETFs for a limited time
Crypto Infrastructure Conduit Completes $37 Million Series A Funding, Led by Paradigm and Haun Ventures
Kaiko Report: Bybit becomes the world's second largest cryptocurrency exchange, second only to Binance
Amber Group received 220 million tokens transferred from BLAST project, and may become the only market maker of BLAST
a16z Crypto General Counsel Proposes Three Frameworks for Startups to Decentralize
Regulatory News
U.S. SEC Chairman: Ethereum spot ETF approval process is "progressing smoothly"
According to The Block, Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said at the Bloomberg Investment Summit in New York on Tuesday that the approval process for the Ethereum spot ETF is "progressing smoothly" although the specific timetable is unknown. He emphasized that it is key for asset management companies to fully disclose information so that these registration statements can take effect. Gensler also reiterated on Tuesday that most cryptocurrencies are securities and said that there are violations on crypto platforms.
Two men sentenced for manipulating HYDRO cryptocurrency price and defrauding investors
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, two men were sentenced for manipulating the price of Hydrogen Technology's cryptocurrency HYDRO and defrauding investors. Shane Hampton, 32, of Philadelphia, was sentenced to two years and 11 months in prison, and Michael Kane, 39, of Miami Beach, was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison.
The Department of Justice said this was the first time a cryptocurrency was deemed a security in a federal criminal trial and that manipulation of cryptocurrency prices constituted securities fraud. Kane and Hampton used trading robots through the South African company Moonwalkers Trading Limited to manipulate HYDRO prices from October 2018 to April 2019, making about $7 million in "knock trades" and more than $300 million in "false trades." They made about $2 million in profits through manipulation. Kane pleaded guilty in November 2023, and Hampton was convicted by a federal jury in February 2024.
AI&NFT
OpenAI: ChatGPT desktop app now available to all macOS users
According to the OpenAI announcement, the ChatGPT desktop application is now available to all macOS users. Users can quickly access ChatGPT through the shortcut Option + Space, which is convenient for chatting, processing emails, screenshots, and other content on the screen. In addition, OpenAI has now launched a new feature that allows users to search past conversation records. Users can also quickly and easily query any information on their computers.
Project News
FTX restructuring plan sparks controversy, creditors are about to vote
According to The Block, at a bankruptcy hearing on Tuesday, FTX's lawyers and creditors debated a disclosure statement. The disclosure statement provides creditors with more information to make a decision about FTX's reorganization plan. John Dorsey, a judge in the U.S. Delaware Bankruptcy Court, will have to approve the plan and the disclosure statement, and then creditors will vote on the plan before a confirmation hearing later this year. Some people, including FTX's largest creditor group, opposed the plan and said that cryptocurrencies should be paid in kind rather than in U.S. dollars when FTX filed for bankruptcy in November 2022. FTX's lawyer Andrew Dietderich said the plan was "largely agreed upon by both parties." They plan to initiate a vote and said one of the purposes of the vote is to get feedback from creditors.
VanEck has filed Form 8-A for its spot Ethereum ETF
Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg ETF analyst, said on X platform: âVanEck just filed a Form 8-A (Securities Registration Application) for a spot Ethereum ETF. This is just part of the process, but it is worth noting that they also filed a Form 8-A exactly 7 days before the spot Bitcoin launch. This bodes well for our July 2nd (7 days from now) prediction. But then again, anything is possible. We will definitely hear more soon.â
VanEck plans to waive fees on Ethereum spot ETF for a limited time
According to CryptoSlate, VanEck announced that it will waive fees for its Ethereum spot ETF, adopting a similar strategy to the Bitcoin ETF launched earlier this year. Matthew Sigel, the company's head of digital asset research, said that the zero-fee strategy will help increase interest in Ethereum while also lowering the entry barrier for new investors. VanEck plans to waive fees on the first $1.5 billion in assets by 2025, and then charge a 0.20% fee. In addition, Franklin Templeton said it will waive fees on the first $10 billion in assets within six months, and then charge a 0.19% fee.
BLAST Token Economics Release: Total BLAST Token Supply 100 Billion, 17 Billion for Initial Airdrop
According to official news, the Blast Foundation will airdrop BLAST to the community at 22:00 on June 26th, Beijing time. Regarding the BLAST token economics, the total supply of BLAST tokens is 100 billion, and 17 billion will be used for the initial airdrop. 50% is allocated to the community, 25.5% is allocated to core contributors (subject to a 4-year lock-up period, 25% of the core contributor tokens are unlocked 1 year after the TGE date, and then unlocked linearly every month for the next 3 years), 16.5% is allocated to investors (subject to a 4-year lock-up period, 25% of the core contributor tokens are unlocked 1 year after the TGE date, and then unlocked linearly every month for the next 3 years), and 8% is allocated to the Blast Foundation (the foundation's allocation will be unlocked linearly over four years from the TGE date).
Zeta Marketsâ ZEX airdrop will be available at 18:00 on June 27
Zeta Markets, a decentralized exchange based on Solana, announced on the X platform that the $ZEX airdrop will be available at 10:00 UTC (18:00 Beijing time) on June 27, 2024. Users can visit token.zeta.markets to claim the airdrop.
Slerf: Compensation has been issued to all users who participated in the pre-sale
According to Slerf's official tweet, Slerf, a meme project in the Solana ecosystem, announced that it has issued compensation to all users who participated in the pre-sale. More than 25,000 wallets have received 100% refunds, and the last 250 wallets have received 25% refunds. Users can check whether their wallets have received deposits from the address fCuw5ppJ9aZYzjm8EsT2fHwxV1h5JwUfqXM44iX3Pzb.
Aave founder: The first Aave market tailored for Lido is about to go live
Aave founder Stani Kulechov said on X platform: "The first Aave market tailored for Lido is about to go live. Aave V3 is flexible enough to meet any type of risk configuration preferences based on specific needs. Expect more similar custom markets to develop gradually."
Solana Foundation launches Actions and Blinks, two development tools to simplify on-chain transactions
According to The Block, the Solana Foundation is releasing tools designed to turn any website or application into a cryptocurrency trading portal. The first tool, called "Actions," allows users to easily complete on-chain transactions on websites, social media platforms, and QR codes. In addition, the Foundation has launched "blinks," an innovative feature that converts "Actions" into shareable links, meaning that any digital path containing a URL can become the starting point for cryptocurrency transactions on the Solana blockchain.
Solana-focused startup accelerator Colosseum raises $60 million to invest in early-stage projects
Colosseum, a startup accelerator focused on Solana, announced that it has raised $60 million for its fund to invest in early-stage projects, CoinDesk reported. The fund has been oversubscribed and will focus on pre-seed investments in startups selected by the winners of the Solana Hackathons. The accelerator sees hackathons as a "melting pot" for crypto innovation and company formation. It held its first Solana hackathon earlier this year, attracting more than 8,000 participants, according to the statement. To date, Colosseum has funded 11 companies and deployed $250,000.
CoinStats CEO: The company's AWS infrastructure was hacked, affecting 1% of total users
Narek Gevorgyan, CEO of cryptocurrency portfolio management company CoinStats, said on the X platform that the company's AWS infrastructure was hacked, and evidence showed that the attack was carried out by an employee downloading malware. The attack mainly affected a small number of users using CoinStats Wallet, accounting for only 1% of the total users. Gevorgyan sympathized with the victims and promised to provide support, and is currently waiting for the details of the law enforcement department to be completed before publishing a detailed report.
Aevo has decided not to renew the trading incentive program and will repurchase at least 1 million AEVO tokens per month from July to December
Aevo, a decentralized derivatives trading platform, released its latest token economics update, saying that in view of the changing market environment and the decline in trading volume, Aevo decided not to renew the $AEVO trading reward activity, but the weekly staking reward of 100k $AEVO remains unchanged. The Aevo Marketing and Growth Committee may re-enable rewards for new product launches or specific activities, but it will not be a long-term plan. Aevo will repurchase at least 1 million $AEVO tokens per month from July to December, and repurchase on the chain to avoid front-running. Future token destruction or reward plans are subject to a vote by token holders.
Cardano successfully fends off DDoS attack attempting to steal staked tokens
According to CoinDesk, the Cardano blockchain successfully defused a DDoS attack on its staked ADA without causing any downtime. The attacker attempted to steal tokens by executing a large number of smart contracts, but was discovered and countered by Cardano developers, recovering some funds. Fluid Token's CTO said that the attack started at block 10,487,530, with 194 smart contracts executed per transaction, and the attacker spent 0.9 ADA per transaction. The founder of Cardano development company Anastasia pointed out that the attack could be stopped immediately by canceling the attacker's staked credentials, and the attacker stopped the attack after seeing the relevant tweet.
a16z Crypto General Counsel Proposes Three Frameworks for Startups to Decentralize
Miles Jennings, General Counsel of a16z Crypto, wrote an article discussing how to organize decentralization in a startup. He proposed three main decentralization frameworks and explained the importance and implementation methods of each framework.
1. Technical decentralization: Create a trustless and autonomous ecosystem through blockchain and smart contract protocols. For example, Ethereum needs to protect the system from attacks by validators and node operators, while simple smart contract protocols only need to be deployed and immutable to achieve technical decentralization.
2. Economic decentralization: The introduction of digital assets makes the Web3 ecosystem more complex. For example, Ethereum uses its digital assets to reward service providers, creating a decentralized economic system. If too much value is concentrated in the hands of one person, it may jeopardize the security and utility of the entire system.
3. Legal decentralization: Decentralization can reduce the risks associated with asset trading. For example, decentralized exchanges make intermediaries unnecessary, so traditional intermediary rules no longer apply. For digital assets, if the Web3 system can eliminate information asymmetry and dependence on the efforts of managers, then securities laws may no longer apply.
Jennings emphasized that in the Web3 system, these three types of decentralization must be considered comprehensively. Changes in any one aspect may affect other aspects, and a delicate balance must be found.
Kaiko Report: Bybit becomes the world's second largest cryptocurrency exchange, second only to Binance
According to a report by cryptocurrency research company Kaiko, Bybit surpassed Coinbase in March this year to become the world's second largest cryptocurrency exchange, second only to Binance. The launch of the spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States has helped Bybit's market share double from 8% in October 2023 to 16% in March. In contrast, Coinbase only grew slightly by 1% during the same period.
The report also noted that Bybit experienced significant growth after the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a lawsuit against Binance in March 2023. Kaiko data shows that Binanceâs market share dropped from 60% in October last year to 54% in March.
Binance.US will suspend services for users in Washington state on August 20
According to Binance.US' official tweet, due to regulatory developments in Washington State, Binance.US will suspend services to Washington State users on or after August 20, 2024, and close all accounts in the state. Binance.US stated that they no longer have a license to operate in the state and recommends that users direct questions or concerns to the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions.
Financing News
Crypto Infrastructure Conduit Completes $37 Million Series A Funding, Led by Paradigm and Haun Ventures
According to official news, crypto infrastructure Conduit announced the completion of a $37 million Series A financing, led by Paradigm and Haun Ventures. Bankless Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Credibly Neutral and Robot Ventures and dozens of angel investors such as Hayden Adams and Tim Beiko participated in the investment. The Series A financing will help it continue to expand Ethereum, making it as easy as possible to deploy, expand and build customizable and reliable Rollups for users.
Crypto trading platform Crossover Markets completes $12 million Series A financing, led by Illuminate Financial and DRW Venture Capital
According to CoinDesk, ultra-low latency cryptocurrency trading platform Crossover Markets has completed a $12 million Series A financing round led by Illuminate Financial and DRW Venture Capital. Existing investors include Flow Traders, Laser Digital, Two Sigma, Wintermute, and retail brokers such as Exness, Gate.io, GMO, Pepperstone, Trademax and Think Markets. Illuminate Financial founder Mark Beeston will join the board of directors.
Important data
IntoTheBlock: Bitcoin whale holders increased their holdings by 7,130 BTC yesterday, worth about $436 million
IntoTheBlock said on the X platform that despite the FUD in the market, the net inflow of Bitcoin's largest wallets has reached the highest level since the end of May. Yesterday alone, whale holders who control at least 0.1% of the total supply of Bitcoin increased their holdings by 7,130 Bitcoins, worth approximately $436 million.
Pump.fun competitor Moonshot has seen more than 7,000 Solana Meme Coins created since its launch yesterday
According to Decrypt, DEX Screener launched the token issuance trading platform "Moonshot" on Monday. Currently, more than 7,000 Solana Meme coins have been created on the platform. The platform is regarded as a competitor of pump.fun. However, among the more than 7,000 tokens created in Moonshot, only 27 reached the threshold of 500 SOL to obtain liquidity pools on Raydium, and only a few of them had positive price trends.
Ethereum's circulating supply has been rising steadily for nearly 72 consecutive days, with an increase of nearly 50,000 ETH since mid-April
According to Blockworks, Ethereumâs circulating supply has now risen steadily for nearly 72 consecutive days, adding nearly 50,000 ETH (about $168.7 million) since mid-April.
The wallet address of the âGerman governmentâ transferred out another 750 BTC
Arkham data shows that at 15:51 Beijing time, the wallet address marked as "German Government" transferred a total of 750 BTC to unknown addresses starting with 139PoP, Kraken and Bitstamp.
Later in the day, it was reported that the âGerman Governmentâ address transferred approximately 345 BTC to Flow Trader.
Binance: Megadrop Lista event had more than 1 million participants, of which 102,000 accounts were identified as fraudulent accounts by risk control
According to the supplementary statement released by Binance Web3, there were more than 1 million participants in the Megadrop Lista event, of which 102,000 accounts were identified as fraudulent accounts by risk control (this number is still being updated). After further screening of account aggregation actions and other behaviors, the platform finally confirmed and banned 297 main accounts, one of which even aggregated up to 9,000 KYC accounts.
Binance emphasized that risk control measures are only for accounts identified as fraudulent, and real users do not need to worry. If users believe that their real accounts have been misjudged, they can file a complaint through the online customer service platform, and the platform will handle and resolve the problem as soon as possible.
The whale address starting with 0x837 transferred 1.1 trillion PEPE to Binance in the past hour, worth $14.2 million
Spot On Chain monitoring shows that the whale address 0x837 transferred 1.1 trillion $PEPE (worth $14.2 million) to the Binance deposit address in the past hour, and may soon sell it on a centralized exchange. The whale address currently still holds 300 billion $PEPE (worth $3.78 million), with an estimated total loss of $1.7 million (-5.69%).
Amber Group received 220 million tokens transferred by BLAST project 4 hours ago, and may be the only market maker of BLAST
According to Twitter user @ai_9684xtpa, the originator of the points, $BLAST, will be launched tonight. Amber Group may be the only market maker of BLAST. It received 220 million tokens transferred by the project party 4 hours ago and then distributed them to 3 addresses. Among them, address 0x584âŠ7705 has received 0.149 ETH from Amber to the Blast network as a mining fee four hours ago.
