Headlines
▌US Media: US Department of Justice considering fraud charges against Binance, but concerned about the risk of a run on the exchange
According to US financial media Semafor, officials from the US Department of Justice are considering bringing fraud charges against Binance, but are concerned about the risk of a run on the exchange or bank. Insiders said federal prosecutors are concerned that if they prosecute Binance, it could lead to a run on the exchange similar to the now-bankrupt FTX platform, resulting in consumer losses and potentially triggering panic in the cryptocurrency market.
Insiders said prosecutors are considering other options, such as fines and deferred or non-prosecution agreements. This outcome would be a compromise, holding Binance accountable for alleged criminal behavior while minimizing harm to consumers.
▌Renowned fund company Direxion applies to SEC to launch Bitcoin Ethereum Strategy ETF
- LianGuai Daily | MicroStrategy plans to raise $750 million to purchase Bitcoin; Kenyan government suspends the operation of Worldcoin.
- Exclusive Interview with 1inch How to Innovate in the DEX Field under the Shadow of Uniswap Monopoly?
- Opinion Please stop participating in the outdated BRC-20 initial coin offering and resist it.
According to documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), renowned fund company Direxion is applying to launch the Direxion Bitcoin Ether Strategy ETF. The product will invest in Bitcoin and Ethereum futures contracts and may also invest in other ETFs with exposure to futures products.
In the same week, six companies including Volatility Shares, Bitwise, VanEck, Roundhill, ProShares, and Grayscale have submitted applications for Ethereum ETFs to the SEC.
LianGuai previously reported that Bloomberg ETF analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas predicted a 65% chance of a US spot Bitcoin ETF being launched this year.
Market
As of the time of writing, according to coinmarketcap data:
BTC recent trading price is $29,158.3, with a daily change of -0.57%;
ETH recent trading price is $1,838.41, with a daily change of -0.23%;
BNB recent trading price is $240.31, with a daily change of -1.13%;
XRP recent trading price is $0.6852, with a daily change of -0.29%;
DOGE recent trading price is $0.0741, with a daily change of -1.60%;
ADA recent trading price is $0.2993, with a daily change of -1.17%;
MATIC recent trading price is $0.6805, with a daily change of -0.96%;
WLD recent trading price is $2.3609, with a daily change of -4.49%.
Policies
▌Sources: SEC preparing to consider approving Ethereum futures ETF
According to sources familiar with the Ethereum futures ETF documents, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has indicated it is prepared to publicly consider such products. However, one source added that the regulator’s willingness to weigh Ethereum futures ETFs does not guarantee their approval.
LianGuai reported that Grayscale had sought to launch an Ethereum futures ETF in May, but withdrew a few days later. Bitwise Asset Management, Direxion, and Roundhill Investments also withdrew their applications shortly after Grayscale. Matthew Sigel, Director of Digital Asset Research at VanEck Fund Group, said that the SEC’s policies on crypto ETFs are “completely inconsistent”.
▌Ukraine’s Security Service: Unregulated crypto exchanges have caused $81 million in tax losses over the past decade
According to a report released by Ukraine’s Security Service on August 2, unregulated cryptocurrency exchanges have caused at least 3 billion hryvnias in tax losses (approximately $81 million) to the country from 2013 to 2023. The government agency stated that it analyzed the trading activities of Ukrainian residents on exchanges, with the bitcoin trading volume during the same period being approximately $55 billion.
LianGuai previously reported that Ukrainian President Zelensky signed legislation called “Virtual Assets” in March 2022, which established a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in the country. At that time, the government stated that it was working on amending Ukraine’s tax and civil codes to align with the legal framework, but as of August 2023, revisions to meet existing requirements had not been implemented.
▌SBF’s lawyers oppose US government’s motion to revoke his bail
In an 18-page letter to Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, Sam Bankman-Fried’s defense lawyers opposed the recent motion by the US government to revoke his bail.
The lawyers representing SBF stated that the arguments and evidence presented are “extremely weak” and heavily rely on assumptions, unproven inferences, and insinuations. During the previous hearing on July 26, the Department of Justice, representing the US government in the SBF case, argued for the revocation of his bail, accusing him of tampering with witness testimony and obstructing justice. Judge Kaplan requested both parties to submit written statements regarding this matter.
▌Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer: Disagreement over Terra judge’s ruling will not affect XRP
Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer, Stuart Alderoty, stated on social media that the disagreement over Judge Jed Rakoff’s ruling will not affect XRP. Rakoff is overseeing the SEC’s case against Terraform Labs and its founder, Do Kwon, and recently opposed a previous ruling by New York Judge Analisa Torres regarding Ripple and XRP.
Alderoty stated that the opinion in the Terra case does not change the ruling that Ripple is not a security, and Judge Jed Rakoff’s comments on Ripple are unnecessary and not binding.
Blockchain Applications
▌Research Report: Identifying “systemically important” blockchain banks can prevent market crashes
Kanis Saengchote, a researcher at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, has recently developed a framework for identifying and measuring systemic risks of decentralized finance (DeFi) institutions.
The new protocol is called Global Systemically Important Protocol (G-SIP), which is a system that identifies and measures “Global Systemically Important Banks” (G-SIB). It enables the International Bank of Settlements to identify weaknesses and establish standards to better prevent losses. Saengchote’s research paper details a method that can apply similar standards to what is referred to as “Blockchain Banks” in the paper, which are any DeFi protocols running on the blockchain.
Cryptocurrency
▌Litecoin (LTC) Falls to Monthly Low After Halving
According to CoinDesk’s price data, Litecoin (LTC) plummeted 6% to $86 after completing the halving, marking the lowest level since June 30th.
Greg Cipolaro, Head of Global Research at digital asset investment firm NYDIG, stated in a report last week that the halving cycle of Litecoin has always been anticipated, with a trough and peak occurring before the halving event. In previous halving years, LTC reached its peak about four to six weeks before the halving, then experienced a decline during the halving period and touched bottom after the halving.
▌Wintermute Trading Withdraws Over 8 Million ARKM Tokens from Binance, Becomes the 10th Largest Holder of ARKM
According to data from blockchain analytics company Nansen, major cryptocurrency market maker Wintermute Trading has withdrawn over 8 million ARKM tokens from Binance, increasing its holdings by 731%. After the transaction, Wintermute becomes the 10th largest holder of ARKM. The token has dropped 5.6% in the past 24 hours, trading slightly below $0.47.
Arkham Intel Exchange incentivizes users to uncover the mastermind behind anonymous cryptocurrency wallets and rewards them with ARKM tokens. ARKM was launched on July 18th at a price of $0.75. The day before the launch, Wintermute received around 15 million tokens from Arkham Intelligence’s Multisig wallet.
▌Curve Protocol Terminates CRV Rewards for Liquidity Pools Affected by Recent Vulnerabilities
According to a message posted by Gabriel Shapiro, a member of Curve E-DAO, on social media, Curve Finance lending protocol has terminated governance token rewards for selected liquidity pools affected by recent vulnerabilities, including pools affected by the recent Vyper compiler vulnerability and the multiBTC pool affected by the recent Multichain vulnerability. This termination was carried out by Curve Emergency Decentralized Autonomous Organization (Curve E-DAO), a committee composed of selected members from Curve DAO’s governing body.
According to the announcement, this decision affects the liquidity pools of alETH+ETH, msETH-ETH, pETH-ETH, crvCRVETH, Arbitrum Tricrypto, and multibtc3CRV. In the future, Curve DAO can vote to reinstate these rewards.
▌Curve Founder Sells 7.5 Million CRV OTC, Currently Holds $82.6 Million in Loans
According to Lookonchain monitoring data, Curve founder Michael Egorov has just sold 7.5 million CRV through OTC and repaid $3 million USDT on Aave. He currently holds loans worth $82.6 million, including $51.24 million USDT on Aave, $12 million MIM on Abracadabra, $9.19 million FRAX on Fraxlend, $9.4 million DOLA on Inverse, and $740,000 XAI on Silo.
▌Micheal Saylor: Bitcoin ETF does not pose a threat to MicroStrategy
Michael Saylor, co-founder of MicroStrategy, stated that despite concerns and uncertainties about regulatory clarity in the cryptocurrency industry, Bitcoin trading has hardly been questioned by regulatory agencies. Saylor said in an interview with CNBC that Bitcoin is the “most certain thing in an uncertain economy”. In addition, he welcomes the development of spot ETFs by financial giants and believes that Bitcoin ETFs do not pose a threat to MicroStrategy. He said, “You can think of Bitcoin as a beautiful house in a terrible neighborhood that you have to pay cash for and takes a year to buy and you can never rent out. A spot Bitcoin ETF is like the same beautiful house in a nice neighborhood where you can buy it tomorrow without a down payment.”
▌CoinFund appoints Dilveer Vahali as Chief Risk and Legal Officer
CoinFund, an investment firm focused on cryptocurrencies, has hired Dilveer Vahali as its newly established Chief Risk and Legal Officer to help portfolio companies meet their daily legal needs. Vahali previously worked at private investment firm Chermin Group, which included cryptocurrency companies in its portfolio. Prior to that, Vahali was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, responsible for private equity firms and mergers and acquisitions.
▌Robinhood’s Q2 cryptocurrency revenue drops 18% to $31 million
Online trading platform Robinhood’s latest financial report shows that its cryptocurrency trading revenue in the second quarter was $31 million, an 18% decrease from the first quarter’s $38 million. Cryptocurrency trading revenue in the second quarter accounted for 16% of total trading revenue of $193 million, a 7% decrease from the previous quarter.
The company also reported that it holds $11.5 million in cryptocurrency assets, the same amount as at the end of the first quarter. Its overall revenue for the second quarter was $486 million, higher than analysts’ expectations of $473 million.
In June, Robinhood discontinued support for tokens classified as securities in the SEC’s lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase, including Cardano (ADA), Polygon (MATIC), and Solana (SOL). The platform currently supports trading of 15 different cryptocurrencies.
Important Economic Dynamics
▌Economic Daily: Promoting consumption has great potential in the capital market
It is an undeniable truth that having money allows for consumption and the courage to consume. To expand the consumption market, it is necessary to increase the “money bags” of the general public, including finding ways to increase residents’ property income so that they can also make money through stocks, funds, and other channels, thereby turning consumption desire into consumption ability. From this perspective, leveraging the role of the capital market is a necessary step to restore and expand consumption. When the capital market is active, companies operate well, investment income increases, and consumers naturally have more confidence. Therefore, leveraging the entire consumer market by activating the capital market can promote domestic demand and drive economic transformation and upgrading, which is not only effective but also has great potential. (Jinshi Data APP)
LianGuai Encyclopedia
▌What is UniswapX
UniswapX will improve swaps in multiple ways: obtaining better prices through aggregated liquidity sources; gasless transactions; preventing MEV (Miner Extractable Value); no fees for failed transactions; in the coming months, UniswapX will expand to gasless cross-chain swaps.
Disclaimer: LianGuai, as a blockchain information platform, publishes articles for informational purposes only and does not constitute actual investment advice. Please establish correct investment concepts and enhance risk awareness.
Like what you're reading? Subscribe to our top stories.
We will continue to update Gambling Chain; if you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us!
