The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against ConsenSys. The commission alleged that the company has operated as an unregistered broker and engaged in the unregistered sale of securities through its MetaMask Swaps and MetaMask Staking services.

SEC sues ConsenSys

Court filings show that the SEC claims that since 2016, ConsenSys has offered a suite of crypto related services under the MetaMask brand. This includes the MetaMask Swaps platform and the MetaMask Staking service. 

As per the commission, these services involve brokering securities transactions and offering securities without proper registration. This is the main reason for violating federal securities laws.

It mentioned that Consensys violated the federal securities laws by failing to register as a broker, while, it failed to register the offer and sale of certain securities. 

“Since October 2020, Consensys has acted as an unregistered broker of crypto asset securities through its MetaMask Swaps service. Since January 2023, Consensys has engaged in the unregistered offer and sale of securities in the form of crypto asset staking programs, and acted as an unregistered broker, through its MetaMask Staking service. By its conduct as an unregistered broker, Consensys has collected over $250 million in fees,” stated the US SEC.

What are the allegations?

The commission alleges that through “MetaMask Swaps,” Consensys effects the exchange of one crypto asset for another on the investor’s behalf. However, Consensys asks potential investors in crypto asset securities, holds itself out as a place to buy and sell crypto assets (which include crypto asset securities), recommends trades with—as Consensys itself puts it—the “best” value, accepts investor orders, routes investor orders, handles customers assets, carries out trading parameters and instructions on the customer’s behalf, and receives transaction-based compensation.

It further stated that MetaMask Swaps functions as follows. An investor enters the name and amount of the crypto asset that they wish to sell, as well as the name of the crypto asset that they wish to buy in return. MetaMask Swaps then pulls available rates for the requested exchange from a Consensys curated group of execution venues and other third-party liquidity providers (referred to herein as “third-party liquidity providers”) and displays those rates to the investor, highlighting the option that Consensys deems “best.” With one additional click by the investor, MetaMask Swaps performs the functions necessary to effect the trade, on the investor’s behalf, with the third-party liquidity provider. 

A sentiment is emerging in the market that TON (The Open Network) could be the next Solana (SOL) or Ethereum (ETH). This is largely due to its link with Telegram. However, there are several crucial challenges stand in the way that may temper this optimism.

TON set to gain more?

As per a report, despite Telegram’s high global reach and impressive monthly active users (MAUs), the market may be overestimating its distribution capabilities. This includes TON’s programming language limitations and its fully diluted valuation (FDV).

Toncoin (TON) has recorded a major surge of 226% on a year-to-date (YTD) basis. It is still riding an upward trajectory as it gained around 18% in the last 30 days. TON is trading at an average price of $7.55, at the press time. However, it is still down by 16% to stand at $224 million. It is now the 8th biggest crypto with a market cap of $18.6 billion.

Its rapid surge has left behind the top cryptos like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Cardano (ADA) in the tally.  DOGE price dropped by 24% in the last 30 days, while, it has managed to recover by 2% in the last 24 hours. Dogecoin is trading at an average price of $0.125, at the press time. Its 24 hour trading volume is up by 13% to stand at $658 million with a market cap of $18.22 billion.

Telegram holds a high global user base. This is a strong selling point for TON. With high MAUs, it’s one of the most widely used apps worldwide. This wide reach theoretically positions Telegram as a powerful funnel for driving user adoption of TON.

How this can be possible?

However, the bullish sentiment might be overlooking some key issues. Daily active users (DAUs), present a different story. It is a more telling metric of user engagement and monetization potential. Estimates for Telegram’s DAUs range from 55 to 200 million, indicating a much lower engagement rate compared to its MAUs. 

This disparity suggests that Telegram’s user base might not be as monetizable as it appears, which could impact the growth and adoption of TON.

Another major hurdle the report revealed is TON’s native programming language, FunC. Unlike Ethers Solidity, which resembles JavaScript and benefits from widespread usage, and Solana’s Rust, which, while less common, has a dedicated following, FunC is more similar to C. C is not only less familiar but also less favored among developers.

Solana (SOL) has emerged as a key player alongside Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) and the recent Exchange Traded Fund filing shows that. VanEck filed for Solana ETF application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This positive move has pushed SOL to print greens amid high selling pressure.

Is Solana pump coming in?

Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck, showed his confidence in Solana’s potential. However, he compared SOL’s utility with Bitcoin and Ethereum.

As per the report published by GSR, Solana global investment product AUM amounts to 2% of that of Bitcoin. This might underestimate the potential Solana ETF inflows. However, these numbers surely give BTC a large head start. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust was launched in around 2013 but Solan was not even launched until 2020.

GSR suggests that the launch of spot Solana ETFs could drive the price of SOL up by a factor of nine. It went on to describe the fifth biggest crypto as part of “crypto’s big three”. GSR is holding a long position on SOL. It arrived at the “8.9x” estimate after assuming that spot ETFs would attract 14% of the inflows seen by spot Bitcoin ETFs.

It is important to note that in its blue sky scenario, Solana could soar to over $1,320. While its market cap could increase to $614 billion.

What are the chances?

SOL is trading at an average price of $142.5, at the press time. It has managed to gain by over 759% over the last one year. Meanwhile, it is down by 15% in the last one month. Its 24 hour trading volume is down by 12% to stand at $2.25 billion. It is holding a market cap of $65.5 billion.

In the bear case and baseline scenarios, the ETFs would capture 2% and 5% of Bitcoin’s inflows. This could still result in price rises of 1.4x and 3.4x for SOL.

The firm noted that these estimates could be even higher if spot Solana ETFs included income from staking rewards. It is important to note that staking wasn’t permitted in the approved spot Ether ETFs. GSR asserted, “Solana is poised for a spot ETF if and when additional spot digital asset ETFs are allowed in the US, and the impact on price may just be the largest yet.”

The United States Presidential election campaign is getting cryptocurrency savvy as several industry leaders are coming ahead to support candidates through donations. In the latest move, Jesse Powell, Kraken co-founder, donated $1 million to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

Kraken’s co-founder makes it to the list

According to reports, most of the donation made by Jesse Powell turns out to be in Ether (ETH). In an X (formerly Twitter) post Powell announced his support for Trump. He highlighted Trump as the only pro-crypto major party candidate in the 2024 election. 

Donald Trump has interestingly positioned himself as a pro-crypto candidate race. He is advocating for the US to be a leader in this field. He solidifies his stance by accepting campaign donations in crypto.

Jesse Powel in the post stated that “For too long, the crypto industry has been under attack by Elizabeth Warren, Gary Gensler, and others.”  He added that “Despite overwhelming bipartisan Congressional efforts to put clear rules in place, the Biden White House has stood by and allowed a campaign of unchecked regulation by enforcement.”

Kraken co-founder suggested that this approach is diminishing US competitiveness as other major economies around the world advance clear rules to regulate digital assets.

He mentioned that he is excited to join other leaders in our community to unite behind the only pro-crypto major party candidate in the 2024 Presidential election. This will be done so the US can continue to remain a leader in blockchain technology.

It is important to note that Powell is not alone in his support. By donating Ether he joined the list of big figures in the crypto community. This includes the names such as the Winklevoss twins, who each donated $1 million in Bitcoin to Trump’s campaign.

More donations to Trump

However, a part of the Winklevoss twins’ contributions were refunded due to federal donation limits. As reported, the maximum allowable donation per person to the Trump committee is $844,600. Any excess contribution above this limit will be returned.

On the market side, Bitcoin price surged marginally over the past 24 hours to retain the $61,000 price level. BTC is trading at an average price of $61,623, at the press time. Its 24 hour trading volume is up by 3% to stand at $22 billion with a market cap of $1.24 trillion.

Ether, the biggest altcoin, surged by around 2% to keep up the momentum. ETH is trading at an average price of $3,448, at the press time.

Bitcoin (BTC) recorded a marginal surge over the last 24 hours as several positive sets of news triggered a recovery outlook. It is expected that Ether (ETH) and Solana (SOL) might overshadow the biggest crypto’s performance ahead.

Bitcoin to struggle ahead?

Solana saw its largest surge in over a month following VanEck’s application to launch an ETF linked to it. Meanwhile, Ether has outperformed Bitcoin this year and this is majorly driven by the anticipation of the final approvals for ETH linked ETFs.

Bitcoin price is down by around 2% in the last 60 days, while, Ether and Solana have managed to surge by around 8% in the same period. 

BTC was the center of attention when the first US spot ETFs for the largest digital asset were introduced. This attracted major inflows from giants like BlackRock and Fidelity Investments. However, this move helped the biggest crypto to reach a record high of $73,798 in March.

Since then both BTC’s demand and the price have since cooled. Bitcoin price is down by 10% in the last 30 days. It is trading at an average price of $61,523, at the press time. Its 24 hour trading volume is marginally up to stand at $21.7 billion with a market cap of $1.21 trillion.

Ether and Solana ETFs soon?

As reported, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved stock exchange proposals to list spot Ether ETFs. Experts suggest that final approvals could come as early as next week. 

Ether has surged by 51% since the beginning of the year. It has surpassed Bitcoin’s 45% gain. It is important to note that Solana has seen an even more impressive 754% increase over 12 months.

ETH is trading at an average price of $3,438, at the press time. It is still down by 29% from its all time high of $4,891, recorded on Nov 16, 2021.

US Bitcoin ETFs have garnered $14.5 billion in net inflows since their listing in January. JPMorgan Chase strategists predict that Ether ETFs will attract a more modest $1 billion to $3 billion in net inflows for the rest of 2024.

Solana faces additional regulatory challenges, having been named as an unregistered security in various SEC lawsuits. This raises doubts about whether the regulator will approve Solana ETFs despite VanEck’s filing.

Solana is trading at an average price of $144.33, at the press time. Its 24 hour trading volume is up by 114% to stand at $3.1 billion.

Solana (SOL), the fifth biggest crypto, surged by over 8% as VanEck filed for new Solana exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Matthew Sigel, the head of digital assets research at VanEck, on Thursday announced the filing. He stated that the firm has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the VanEck Solana Trust.

Solana ETF coming soon

VanEck is known for being among the first issuers of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States. However, its Solana Trust aims to capitalize on Solana’s decentralized nature and high utility. Sigel highlighted that the native token, SOL, functions similarly to other digital commodities like Bitcoin and Ether.

He noted that, like Ether, SOL can be traded on platforms or used in peer-to-peer transactions. If the US SEC approves the application then the trust is expected to be listed on the Cboe BZX Exchange.

Matthew Sigel mentioned that Solana is open-source blockchain software designed to handle various applications, including payments, trading, gaming, and social interactions. 

He highlighted that it is operating as a single global state machine without sharding or layer 2s. “The Solana blockchain is a unique combination of scalability, speed, and low costs that may offer a better user experience for many use cases,” stated the head of digital assets research at VanEck.

However, Sigel went on to answer the very curious question of why they believe SOL is a commodity like  Bitcoin, Ether.

Why this ecosystem?

The post says that they believe that the Solana ecosystem supports a broad range of applications and services. The tally includes from decentralized finance (DeFi) to non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This underscores SOL’s utility and value as a digital commodity.

He suggested that there is no single intermediary or entity that operates or controls the Solana network.

Solana was struggling with high selling pressure and wasn’t able to find its way to settle. The positive news has pushed the crypto to move ahead. SOL price is up by over 11% in the last 7 days. It is trading at an average price of $146.93, at the press time. Its 24 hour trading volume is up by 48% to stand at $2.69 billion. SOL is holding a market cap of more than $68 billion.

The digital assets market surged by 1.16% over the last day to stand at around $2.29 trillion. Bitcoin price remained marginally up while Ether gained by more than 2%.

Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer of Coinbase, expressed strong criticism towards financial regulators for their handling of the digital asset industry. He stated that Financial regulators have used multiple tools at their disposal to try to cripple the crypto market. This comes in when the crypto exchange has been asking for clear guidelines over the trading linked to cryptos.

Coinbase hits back

Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer highlighted that “the US Securities and Exchange Commission has claimed sweeping authority, but refuses to provide any rules, let alone consistent or coherent ones.”

Grewal revealed that Coinbase has filed lawsuits under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to gain crucial information. He wrote, “Today we filed lawsuits under the Freedom of Information Act for requests we made over a year ago seeking important information to which we, and the public, are entitled.” 

The attorney revealed that Coinbase asked the SEC for documents about closed investigations to shed light on how the commission views its newfound, sweeping (and unlawful) authority. However, one such investigation that only recently closed was focused on Ether.

Ether, the biggest altcoin, recorded a drop of 12% in the last 30 days. ETH is trading at an average price of $3,468, at the press time.

He added that Coinbase also sought the FDIC for the letters they sent to financial institutions asking them to indefinitely “pause” crypto-related activities. This is an action that the FDIC’s own Office of Inspector General criticized for creating a “risk that the FDIC would inadvertently limit financial institution innovation and growth in the crypto space.

What’s behind this?

Grewal stated that this is no way to regulate and this is no way to operate a transparent government. He revealed that, now, Coinbase demands better from our financial regulators.

As reported History associates requested “access to all copies and records concerning Ethereum’s shift to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism.” Meanwhile, the SEC had denied the request and their appeal.

They also filed FOIA requests on two closed investigations. One of these investigations involves Zachary Coburn and another for Enigma MPC. The firm sought “records… reflecting or concerning any investigation” of the two. 

Enigma MPC settled with the SEC in 2020 over securities law violations. Coburn created the crypto trading platform Ether Delta. He settled with the SEC in 2018. Despite appeals, the SEC had denied the requests by citing potential harm to ongoing enforcement proceedings.

In the last few weeks, especially in June 2024, the cryptocurrency market has experienced massive losses due to hacks and scams. Following this recent wave of crypto losses, the overall loss in the second quarter of 2024 has more than doubled compared to the same period last year. Today, on June 27, 2024, the blockchain security firm Immunefi published a report stating that the total losses for Q2 2024 reached over $572 million, up from $220 million in Q2 of 2023.

$572 million crypto loss in Q2 2024

These massive losses in the evolving industry come from hacks on centralized exchanges (CEXs). According to the report, in Q2 2024, CEXs experienced a total crypto loss of $401 million, which is equivalent to 70% of the total. This occurred despite a relatively small number of successful attacks on centralized protocols, with only five incidents recorded.

Besides CEXs, during the same period, the decentralized protocols experienced 62 successful scams resulting in $171 million in crypto loss. However, this loss is 25% lower than the previous year. 

However, the major incident was observed on May 31, 2024, following the hack of the DMM cryptocurrency exchange that lost nearly $305 million of Bitcoin. Additionally, this was the only largest single loss in Q2 2024. Whereas, another major hack was observed on June 22, 2024, when BtcTurk was breached, leading to $55 million in losses. Together, these two incidents accounted for more than 62% of the total losses for the quarter.

The report also highlighted that Ethereum and the BNB Smart Chain remained the top targets for hackers and scammers, representing 71% of total losses. However, there is growing evidence that Ethereum layer 2 solutions are becoming more popular among malicious actors. Arbitrum, for instance, was the third most targeted network, with four incidents accounting for 5.5% of total losses. Blast and Optimism each faced three incidents.

Immunefi founder’s words on crypto loss

Mitchell Amador, founder of Immunefi, highlighted the importance of securing centralized exchange infrastructure, stating, 

“This quarter highlights how infrastructure compromises can be the most devastating hacks in crypto, as a single compromise can lead to millions in damages. Robust measures to safeguard the entirety of the ecosystem are crucial.”

Despite the massive losses in Q2 2024, there were some successes in recovering stolen funds. Security researchers managed to recover nearly all the funds from the Gala Games protocol hack. Additionally, most of the funds lost by Alex Labs, Bloom, and Yolo Games were also recovered. These recoveries represented about 5% of the total amount lost in the quarter.

In this downturn market, the overall cryptocurrencies are struggling to gain momentum amid this situation Tron founder Justin Sun’s wallet address (TPyjyZ…kgNan5) found moving tokens on Binance. Today on June 27, 2024, an intelligence firm Arkham disclosed that a TPyjyZ…kgNan5 wallet linked to Sun has transferred a massive 173.821 million Tron (TRX) worth $21.37 million, a massive 120.149 billion BitTorrent (BTT) worth $105k, and 20.293 billion WIN worth $1.79 million to world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange Binance at 17:00. 

Is Justin Sun dumping these tokens?

Following this massive tokens deposit on Binance, the current holding of Sun is somewhere around $1.019 billion and it is down by $2.16 million in the last 24 hours. Despite massive deposits, the token price remains stable. 

According to the data from coinmarketcap, BTT is currently moving near $0.00000088, and in the last 24 hours, it experienced a decent 0.7% upside move. If we look at the performance of BTT over a longer period, in the last 7 days it experienced a 1.4% downside move. Whereas, in the last 30 days, BTT lost nearly 26% of its value. 

Looking at TRX, currently, it is moving near $0.123, and in the last 24 hours, it experienced a nearly 0.9% downside move. If we look at the performance of TRX over a longer period, in the last 7 days its price is up by 5.2%. Whereas, in the last 30 days TRX is up by 11%. However, the current deposit by Sun may create a potential downside move in the coming days. Whereas, WIN is currently moving near $0.000089 and in the last 24 hours it experienced only 0.38% of a downside move. 

Justin Sun’s recent activity

Besides the recent deposit by Justin Sun, earlier in June on 21 and 24 Sun’s linked wallet accumulated a massive 23,338 Ethereum worth $18.97 million from Binance as reported by Todayq News. 

Despite Ether’s massive accumulation by Sun, Ethereum’s price is still struggling and remained stable for the last few days. Currently, ETH is moving near $3,430, and in the last 24 hours, it experienced a 1.65% upside move. Whereas, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) is currently moving near $61,275, and in the last 24 hours it experienced a 0.31% downside move. However, the overall cryptocurrency market is down by 1%, and trading volume has dropped by 14%.

Ripple Labs, the famous blockchain firm, is dealing with heavy regulatory pressure in the United States of America. Amid this trouble, the crypto company is moving ahead to launch its own stablecoin. In the latest interview on “The Scoop”, Ripple President Monica Long talked about the stablecoin (RLUSD) and the potential launch of an XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Ripple soon to launch stablecoin

Monica Long introduced the much anticipated Ripple’s stablecoin as it is primarily driven by the needs of Ripple’s existing payment clients and banking partners. She highlighted the role of stablecoins in intensifying transaction efficiency and transparency.

Ripple President stated “The US dollar stablecoin aims to optimize efficiency in major payment corridors where liquidity is abundant. In contrast, XRP will continue to serve as a bridge asset, particularly in more costly and less liquid payment corridors,” 

It is important to note that the launch of the dollar backed token will support XRP. It will address the different needs in the payment arena. Long also talked about Ripple’s strategic expansion into broader blockchain solutions.

Monica Long mentioned “We’ve identified new opportunities for Ripple to be a holistic enterprise blockchain infrastructure provider,” she said. However, this move will allow financial institutions to engage in real-world asset (RWA) tokenization.

SEC law challenge

Long expressed concerns about the ongoing regulatory challenges in the US and she particularly mentioned the SEC lawsuit and its aggressive stance on crypto regulation. She added, “The clarity around XRP specifically has been very helpful, but the overall temperament of the US government, especially the SEC, has not slowed down its war on crypto; it’s only accelerated.”

Ripple President highlighted that “XRP has been trading within the top 10 for most of its existence and on top exchanges like Coinbase.” With the court ruling that XRP is not a security and given its sustained high trading volumes, Long believes that considering an ETF is a logical next step.

“The court’s ruling last year that XRP is not a security is pretty meaningful,” she added. “Given its sustained high trading volumes, it’s logical to consider an ETF as a sensible next step.”

Garlinghouse took to X to express his disapproval. He stated that this is absolute nonsense coming from Gary Gensler. He added “ And this slander about “all crypto execs going to jail” from the man who completely missed FTX (and actually cozied up to SBF), and wasn’t even invited to the DOJ announcement about Binance.”

Kaspa (KAS) turned out to be the biggest gainer of the last 24 hours as the largest of the cryptos are still facing a decline. KAS price jumped by over 10% while Bitcoin dropped marginally over the last day. However, this sudden surge comes in over the recent announcement done by Marathon Digital Holdings.

Kaspa jumps 17% in 7 days

The crypto mining company revealed that it is now mining Kaspa (KAS), a proof-of-work (PoW) digital asset. It mentioned that this major move aims to diversify Marathon’s digital asset portfolio. 

Data indicates that Kaspa is the fifth largest PoW digital asset by market cap. It is valued at approximately $4.1 billion. Its circulating supply is 24 billion KAS, with a block reward of 103.83 KAS and a terminal supply cap of 28.7 billion KAS.

KAS price is now up by 17% in the last 7 days. KAS is trading at an average price of $0.172, at the press time. Its 24 hour trading volume is up by 192% to stand at $172.15 million. This surge comes in when top cryptos like Bitcoin and Ethereum are struggling to keep up.

Bitcoin price is down by 11% in the last 30 days due to increased selling pressure. BTC is trading at an average price of $61,174, at the press time. It is holding a market cap of more than $1.2 trillion. On the other hand, Ether price is also down by around 13% in the same period of time. ETH is trading at an average price of $3,399, at the press time.

What’s next?

It is important to note that Kaspa is similar to Bitcoin in being an open-source, decentralized, and scalable Layer-1 protocol. It uses PoW as its consensus mechanism. Unlike Bitcoin’s linear blockchain, Kaspa uses a BlockDAG (Directed Acyclic Graph).

The mentioned stated that Marathon began evaluating Kaspa in May 2023. This was done in order to diversify its revenue streams. It deployed the first Kaspa ASICs in September 2023. As of June 25, 2024, Marathon has mined 93 million KAS, valued at approximately $15 million.

The cumulative crypto market cap surged marginally over the last day to stand at $2.26 trillion. Its 24 hour trading volume is down by 10% to stand at $56.82 billion. Bitcoin’s dominance is currently 53.29%, a decrease of 0.11% over the day. Top meme cryptos also recorded a major slump. Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) printed red.

In this current market sentiment, exploiters, attackers, and hackers are very active and trying to trick investors as well as traders. Today, on June 27, 2024, local media reported that Australia’s biggest YouTube news broadcaster Seven Network which has nearly 1.71 million subscribers was hacked by a crypto scammer.

Hackers hijack Australia’s biggest YouTube news broadcaster

Following the hack, the hacker renamed the channel to Tesla and went live, showing a fake video of Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk discussing cryptocurrency using AI. During this live stream, more than 150,000 people were connected, and it was observed that Musk was saying he was giving away crypto.

Additionally, the fake AI video of Musk also touts a “double your money” scheme, as scammers encourage viewers to scan Tesla-branded QR codes on the screen and deposit assets to double their crypto holdings. The fake AI video of Musk says, “Let’s make this evening unforgettable and double your wealth with Tesla.” The fake Musk video also adds, “I am not joking, this is absolutely real and available to all of you.”

However, following this incident, Seven spokesman said, “Seven is investigating and working with YouTube to resolve the situation as soon as possible.”

This is not the first time scammers have done such a thing over the internet. Earlier, we experienced a similar activity when Ripple founder and CEO Brad Garlinghouse was shown talking about an XRP airdrop. Additionally, these scammers are using the video and running paid ads on social media platforms like X, YouTube, and others to trick crypto investors.

Cryptocurrency market overview

However, following that incident, Brad made a post on X exposing the fake XRP airdrop. In this struggling cryptocurrency market, we have experienced several crypto scams, with millions lost in June 2024 alone. Despite these incidents, there was no significant impact on the market.

As of now, the overall cryptocurrency market is down by 4.75%, with top cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and BNB (BNB) experiencing price drops in the last 24 hours. Currently, BTC, ETH, SOL, and BNB have seen price drops of 0.6%, 0.25%, 0.55%, and 0.35%, respectively, in the last 24 hours. At the same time, the crypto meme industry is up by 3.3%, despite top meme coins including Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Pepe (PEPE), and Floki (FLOKI) being in a downturn.

The biggest altcoin, Ethereum (ETH), is on a decline despite gaining clarity over the launch of a spot Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF). Ether price is down by 13% in the last 30 days. It seems like the massive interest in these investment products is waning among investors.

Ether ETF is on the way

As per reports, the final approval for trading spot Ether ETFs by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could be granted as early as July 4. However, the report indicates that the SEC has yet to confirm the approval. Discussions are going on with asset managers that have reached the final stages.

It added that eight asset managers seek approval to launch spot Ether ETFs. This includes BlackRock, VanEck, Franklin Templeton, and Grayscale Investments. The US SEC approved the listing of spot ETH ETFs on three American stock exchanges last month.

The initial approval was for the 19b-4 forms tied to the Ether ETFs. It is required for introducing new products or amending existing rules. It is important to note that the final step requires the SEC to greenlight the S-1 forms filed by the issuers.

The report mentioned that the Executives from two firms involved in the process have indicated that minor issues in the S-1 forms. These errors are being addressed and the approval is likely just a week or two away.

Crypto market is expecting a boom

The digital assets market rejoiced as the US SEC approved Bitcoin ETFs in January. This move ended a decade long wait and led to the addition of nearly $38 billion in assets. Bitcoin went on to hit the all time high (ATH) of over $73,500 in March. BTC is trading at an average price of $60,751, at the press time.

If Ether ETF gets approval then Grayscale will move ahead to convert its Ether trust fund into an ETF. Same as it did with the Bitcoin trust fund.

Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas has suggested that ETH ETFs may capture lower net flows than expected, partly because ETH futures ETFs were less successful than anticipated.

According to a recent analysis by StoneX, the launch of spot Ethereum ETFs could trigger a 40% growth in ETH’s price within two months of their launch. The model predicts ETH’s price to range between $2,142 and $12,621 over the next two years, attributing the conservative estimates to the belief that NFTs will not gain mainstream attention as they did in 2021.

As Bitcoin’s (BTC) price comes near a crucial level of $60,000, two major countries including Germany and The United States move massive BTC to the US’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. Today on June 27, 2024, an on-chain analytic firm spotonchain made a post on X, that the United States has transferred a massive 3,940 BTC worth $241 to Coinbase Prime. This move by the US has gained massive attention from investors and traders across the industry.

The US Government moved another 3,940 $BTC ($241M) to #Coinbase Prime ~9 hours ago.Their last move was sending 2K $BTC ($131M) to Coinbase Prime on Apr 3, 2024, but it did not directly affect the BTC spot price.Currently, the US Government holds around 213.5K $BTC ($13B).… pic.twitter.com/WszoKCJK95

— Spot On Chain (@spotonchain) June 27, 2024

US government moves $241 million of Bitcoin 

This is not the first time the US has transferred a massive $241 million of Bitcoin, earlier on April 3, 2024, they moved nearly 2K Bitcoin worth $131 million to Coinbase Prime as data shared by Spotonchain. However, following that massive $131 BTC transaction, Bitcoin didn’t experience any impact on its price and market. 

Despite this massive Bitcoin move in 2024, the US government still holds a massive 213.5K BTC worth $13 billion. However, this week we have experienced a similar BTC move by the government of Germany as reported by Todayq News on June 25, 2024. According to the report, Germany moved nearly 900 BTC to a different wallet, where 200 BTC moved to Coinbase, another 200 BTC to Kraken, and 500 BTC to an unknown wallet address 139Po.

Bitcoin technical and price-performance analysis

Following all these transactions Bitcoin’s price remained stable near the $60,000 level. Currently, BTC is moving near the $60,800 level, and in the last 24 hours, it experienced over 1.45% of downside momentum. However, the trading volume has also dropped by 21% in the previous 24 hours which might be a potential indication of lower investors and traders participation. On the other hand, Bitcoin’s open interest (OI) has also dropped by 2.3% which might be another sign of a lack of investor interest.

If we look at the performance of Bitcoin over a longer period, in the last 7 days it experienced more than 7% of downside move. Whereas, in the last 30 days Bitcoin fall more than 11%. 

With bearish Bitcoin price performance in the last 30 days, according to expert technical analysis, Bitcoin is looking bearish as it is below 50 EMA (Exponential Moving Average) and near a crucial support level of $60,000 and 200 EMA. If Bitcoin on a daily time frame gives a strong candle closing below the $60,000 level, then there is a high possibility that we may see Bitcoin to the $53,200 level. 

New regulations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) could potentially ban crypto payments in the country, according to crypto and blockchain lawyer Irina Heaver. On June 5, 2024, the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) discussed projects under the financial infrastructure (FIT) program, aiming to enhance digital transformation.

UAE may ban crypto payments, Here’s what Lawyer said

The board approved regulations for payment token services, focusing on stablecoins. These new rules state that payment tokens must be backed by UAE dirhams and cannot be linked to other currencies. Heaver said that these regulations effectively ban the use of cryptocurrencies for goods and services unless they are licensed dirham payment tokens

Historically, the UAE has been attractive to foreign investors due to its liberal policies, including the absence of capital controls and flexible commercial laws. This freedom allows parties to decide on transaction terms, including payment methods and currencies. Heaver expressed concerns that the new regulations might contradict these pro-commerce and pro-investment principles, potentially affecting foreign investment inflows.

Heaver also noted that stablecoins like Tether have been crucial for transactions in the Web3 and crypto sectors. She warned that the new rules might hinder the UAE’s progress in developing the digital economy by banning the use of stablecoins in transactions.

“This policy shift could signal a less favorable environment for the crypto industry, which is not beneficial for the UAE’s image or its ambitions in the digital economy,” Heaver added.

Another issue highlighted by Heaver is the lack of industry associations in the UAE, similar to the Crypto Valley Association in Switzerland, which successfully lobbied against unfavorable regulations. She believes that the fragmented nature of existing associations in the UAE, which often focus on business development rather than advocacy, is a significant disadvantage. This fragmentation means there is no unified voice to challenge policies that could harm the growth of Web3 and crypto in the UAE.

Overview of the crypto market

In contrast, the overall cryptocurrency market is up by 0.65% in the last 24 hours. Top assets like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and BNB (BNB) experienced decent surges of 0.67%, 0.5%, 1.05%, and 1%, respectively, in the same period.

Although the market sentiment is quite bearish at this moment, investors and institutions are taking this as an opportunity to continuously accumulate or add altcoins to their holdings, as observed in a recent report by Todayq News on June 26, 2024.

The intense legal tussle between the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple has grabbed the spotlight in the crypto industry for a long period. However, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has made headlines for his sharp response to the latest comments by the SEC chair Gary Gensler.

Ripple CEO slams SEC chair

As per reports, Gensler stated that crypto is a field where the leading lights from a couple of years ago are either in jail, about to go to jail, or awaiting extradition.”

On the SEC’s stance on crypto, he stated that “The American public is not getting the proper disclosure that they are required to get by law, but they need.”

Garlinghouse took to X to express his disapproval. He stated that this is absolute nonsense coming from Gary Gensler. He added “ And this slander about “all crypto execs going to jail” from the man who completely missed FTX (and actually cozied up to SBF), and wasn’t even invited to the DOJ announcement about Binance.”

Ripple CEO mentioned that “if he was really “working for the American people” as he says, he would have been fired a long time ago.”

He made a big statement suggesting that Gensler will cause Biden to lose the election.

SEC again under scrutiny

Garlinghouse is also under scrutiny due to a lawsuit in California, where he is accused of making misleading statements about his confidence in XRP while allegedly selling millions of tokens. This case is set to go to trial and adds to the ongoing tension between Ripple and the SEC, which have been engaged in a prolonged legal battle.

Gensler’s comments and Garlinghouse’s sharp retort highlight the ongoing friction between regulatory bodies and the cryptocurrency industry. Gensler’s criticism of the crypto sector underscores the SEC’s stance on the need for stringent regulation to protect investors, citing significant non-compliance within the industry.

Garlinghouse’s remarks suggest that the SEC’s actions could have broader political consequences. By linking Gensler’s regulatory approach to President Biden’s potential electoral challenges, Garlinghouse and Cuban highlight a crucial point of contention in the ongoing debate over cryptocurrency regulation in the US.

On the market side, Ripple’s native crypto, XRP, is down by 12% over the last 30 days. XRP is trading at an average price of $0.471, at the press time. Its 24 hour trading volume is down by 16% to stand at $867 million.

In this bearish market sentiment on June 25, 2024, Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan published a report that the approval of spot Ethereum ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) may attract a massive inflow of $15 billion of net inflows in its first 18th month. However, the ETF experts are speculating that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may approve Ethereum ETF by July 2, 2024. 

Potential inflow in spot Ethereum ETF

One method to estimate these inflows is by examining the market caps of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). Currently, Bitcoin holds 74% of the combined market value of both cryptocurrencies. Investors are likely to allocate funds to Bitcoin and Ether ETFs in similar proportions. Since the introduction of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January, U.S. investors have poured $56 billion into these funds. This figure is projected to surpass $100 billion by the end of 2025 as major investment firms adopt these products.

Hougan in his report added, “ Using this $100 billion figure as a reference, spot Ethereum ETPs would need to attract $35 billion in assets to reach parity, a process I expect will take about 18 months.”

In Canada, Ether ETFs account for about 22%-23% of the total AUM, slightly less than their market cap weight. This difference is attributed to Bitcoin’s first-mover advantage. Some investors might feel their crypto exposure is sufficient after buying a Bitcoin ETF. This trend might also be observed in the U.S., potentially limiting the market share of Ether ETFs to 22%. If this pattern holds, net new inflows to Ether ETFs could be around $18 billion. 

Ethereum price-performance analysis 

Despite all these speculations regarding the world’s second-biggest cryptocurrency, currently, ETH is moving near $3,380, and in the last 24 hours, it experienced a decent 0.45% upside momentum. If we look at the performance of ETH over a longer period, in the last 7 days its price is still down by 5%. Whereas, in the last 30 days ETH has experienced a 14% price drop.

However, the 24-hour trading volume has dropped by 35%, signaling lower investors’ and traders’ participation in Ethereum. 

According to expert technical analysis, Ethereum is looking bearish as it consolidates in a tight range between $3,435 and $3,340 levels and also moves below 50 EMA (Exponential Moving Average). If Ethereum price on a daily time frame gives a strong candle closing above the $3,470 level then in the coming days we may see bullish till $3,600.

The latest guidance issued by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) linked to decentralized finance (DeFi) regulations has raised major concerns for the crypto community. The directions try to grab everything in crypto regulation, including your Bitcoin wallet, using the “interface” argument.

What do Danish rules say?

Crypto expert revealed that the DFSA says that interface providers must be regulated. This also includes Bitcoin wallets, mobile app developers, and more. The broad interpretation implies that any interface used while doing crypto transactions must be regulated involving web browsers to decentralized exchange (DEX) interfaces

However, this approach contradicts the intent of the European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation. The set of crypto rules looks to provide a balanced regulatory framework for the crypto industry.

Meanwhile, the Danish FSA’s guidance seems to be influenced by the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) aggressive stance. Its stance has suggested that all crypto linked interfaces need to be regulated.

If this is being enforced then the guidance would mean that service providers offering Bitcoin wallets, DEX interfaces, or any token-related services to Danish users would need to undergo regulatory approval in Denmark.

It is important to note that banning peer to peer or “unhosted wallets” was earlier proposed by some far-left and far-right MEPs during the preparation of MiCA. However, there are clear political forces in the EU that want to copy the Chinese model.

More slide to come?

On the market side, Bitcoin (BTC) price dropped by around 6% in the last 7 days. The recent increase in the selling pressure led the biggest crypto asset to drop below the $60,000 price level. Bitcoin is trading at an average price of $61,460, at the press time.

The cumulative crypto market cap surged marginally over the last day to stand at $2.26 trillion. The 24 hour trading volume is down by 27% to stand at $62 billion.

Expert highlighted that there is also confusion among crypto asset service providers in the EU regarding the correct deadlines. This is linked to the sustainability disclosures mandated by MiCA. 

MiCA includes requirements for crypto issuers and service providers to make sustainability disclosures. Asset referenced tokens (ARTs) and electronic money tokens (EMTs) are needed to make such disclosures from June 30, 2024. While all crypto asset service providers must start by the end of 2024.

It will be crucial to see what would be the next move taken by the authority.

After several exploitations and security breaches in June 2024, today Binance the world’s biggest cryptocurrency announced that they will soon cease and remove major spot trading pairs from the exchanges. However, those spot trading pairs are BLUR/FDUSD, LINK/TUSD, MEME/ETH, METIS/FDUSD, NFP/BNB, OSMO/BTC, SHIB/TUSD.

This is why Binance ceased these trading pairs 

Binance in his report clearly mentioned that, to protect users and maintain trading they conduct a periodic review of all listed spot trading pairs based on multiple factors including poor liquidity and trading volume. Following this review, Binance has now decided to delist above mentioned spot trading pairs.

However, the exchange in his report also confirmed that the delisting of a spot trading pair does not affect the availability of the tokens on Binance spot. Additionally, the report stated that “Users can still trade the spot trading pair’s base and quote assets on other trading pair(s) that are available on Binance. 

Moreover, this mentioned trading pair will be delisted on June 28, 2024, at 3 P.M. Binance urges users to update or cancel their spot trading pairs before the exchange ceases its service to avoid any potential losses. This is not the first time Binance has ceased trading services of any spot trading pairs, but this time Binance is going to cease major spot trading pairs.

Cease tokens performance 

After the announcement from Binance, the tokens didn’t see any impact on their prices. Following the announcement, LINK experienced a 0.5% positive momentum, METIS had a 0.8% negative momentum, OSMO saw a 1.4% price drop, and SHIB experienced a 1% price drop in the last 24 hours.

Despite these developments, the overall cryptocurrency market is currently up by 0.5%. Top assets like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL) experienced decent price surges of 0.5%, 0.3%, and 0.55% respectively in the last 24 hours. Additionally, in the same period, 31,830 traders were liquidated, and the total liquidations amounted to $80.15 million.

Meanwhile, Notcoin (NOT), Ethereum Name Service (ENS), Pepe (PEPE), and dogwifhat (WIF) are the top gainers among the top cryptocurrencies. In the last 24 hours, NOT, ENS, PEPE, and WIF experienced price surges of 10%, 6%, 5%, and 4% respectively.

On June 26, 2024, the on-chain analytics firm Lookonchain posted on X that someone’s wallet address (3TQYNN…yFAccW) had dumped a massive 2.5 million Doraemon (DORAE) meme token worth $1.45 million, causing the price to drop by 99% and indicating a potential rug pull. Lookonchain suggests that the potential suspect behind this dump is the project developer. All these incidents occurred in the last 12 hours.

Doraemon( $DORAE ) rug!Someone dumped all 2.5M $DORAE for 10,538 $SOL($1.45M), causing the price to drop by more than 99%!1/ Some on-chain data suggests that this person is likely the developer. pic.twitter.com/5sMPwILkR0

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) June 26, 2024

DORAE token price drop 99%

The wallet that dumped a massive 2.5 million DORAE received 304 SOL worth $41,000 six hours ago from Kucoin and the wallet address CEHgjR to buy the 2.5 million DORAE tokens. After acquiring the 2.5 million DORAE tokens, the suspect sold all of their holdings for 10,538 SOL worth $1.45 million one hour ago, according to Lookonchain. Additionally, during these six hours of DORAE transactions, this wallet address (3TQYNN) made $1.41 million.

Wallet address CEHgjR that sent SOL to the potential suspect received 215.7 million DORAE from the deployer. Following the above DORAE transaction information from an on-chain analytic firm, signaling that the wallet dumping 2.5 million DORAE tokens is related to the deployer.

This is not the only individual that made massive price profits before rug pull several more traders also made huge profits from DORAE tokens. One guy converted its $686 to $619K before the token price dropped by 99%. However, this massive dump by these traders signals a potential rug pull.

Overview of meme coins and top cryptocurrencies 

Following a rug pull, the crypto meme industry is still up by 3.5% in the last 24 hours. Top meme tokens, including Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Pepe (PEPE), Dogwifhat (WIF), and Floki (FLOKI), experienced impressive price surges of 1.65%, 2%, 8%, 6%, and 2%, respectively, in the same period.

In contrast, the overall cryptocurrency market is up by 0.65% in the last 24 hours. Top assets like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and BNB (BNB) experienced decent surges of 0.67%, 0.5%, 1.05%, and 1%, respectively, in the same period.

Although the market sentiment is quite bearish at this moment, investors and institutions are taking this as an opportunity to continuously accumulate or add altcoins to their holdings, as observed in a recent report by Todayq News on June 26, 2024.