Headline
▌Lawyer: SEC Chairman may become a witness in the SBF case
American lawyer MetaLawMan stated in a tweet that the new indictment by the US Department of Justice against SBF alleges that SBF lobbied members of Congress and other senior government officials to promote cryptocurrency regulation, which benefited his business and personal interests. This may make SEC Chairman Gary Gensler a witness in the case, which means that SBF’s lawyers will be able to question Gensler during the trial.
Market
As of press time, according to coinmarketcap data:
- LianGuai Daily | LianGuai will launch a cryptocurrency center for specific users; Sun Yuchen claims to currently hold over 100,000 bitcoins.
- IOSG Weekly Report 8 Application Fields Where LLM Interacts with Blockchain
- Notional CEO Why is Arbitrum the preferred Layer2 platform for building DeFi protocols?
BTC recent trading price is $29,442.2, with a daily change of -0.54%;
ETH recent trading price is $1,845.8, with a daily change of -0.42%;
BNB recent trading price is $240.47, with a daily change of -0.21%;
XRP recent trading price is $0.6354, with a daily change of +0.55%;
DOGE recent trading price is $0.0748, with a daily change of -0.01%;
ADA recent trading price is $0.2909, with a daily change of -0.24%;
MATIC recent trading price is $0.6797, with a daily change of -0.66%.
Policy
▌US FDIC Report: Cryptocurrencies pose unique risks to US financial stability
A report by the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) states that cryptocurrencies pose unique risks to US financial stability. The organization devotes an entire chapter to discussing cryptocurrencies in its annual report titled “Risk Assessment.” The report states that one of the FDIC’s most concerning issues is the “dynamic nature” of digital assets, which makes it difficult to assess their potential impact on the financial system. The FDIC lists opaque areas including fraud, legal uncertainty, and “immature risk management practices.”
The FDIC states that one problem with cryptocurrencies is the unpredictability of inflows and outflows of deposits, which may create liquidity risks when providing banking services to digital asset companies. The FDIC also believes stablecoins are dangerous because they are prone to runs, and if there is a rapid increase in fund outflows, the balance sheets of banks holding stablecoin reserves may be vulnerable.
▌US Department of Justice accuses SBF of misappropriating over $100 million in customer deposits for political donations
A publicly available regulatory document shows that the US Department of Justice has filed an updated indictment against SBF, which includes charges of violating campaign finance laws as part of a wire fraud scheme. The Department of Justice alleges that SBF illegally misappropriated over $100 million in customer deposits for campaign donations.
In a filing submitted to the Southern District of New York on August 14, US prosecutor Damian Williams has brought seven charges against SBF, which are almost identical to the charges he faced when he arrived in the US from the Bahamas in December 2022. According to the new indictment, Bankman-Fried misappropriated FTX customer deposits, resulting in over $100 million being used “to provide campaign contributions to both the Democratic and Republican parties in an effort to influence cryptocurrency regulation.” The prosecutor also stated that some of the political donations were made in the name of FTX executives to conceal the source of the donation funds.
Blockchain Applications
▌Lamina1, the metaverse blockchain, launches testnet and Hub for developers and creators
Lamina1, a metaverse-focused L1 blockchain co-founded by science fiction writer Neal Stephenson and early Bitcoin investor Peter Vessenes, has launched its betanet testnet and a new Hub for Web3 builders and developers, aiming to simplify the Web3 wallet experience and onboarding process. During the testnet period, partners, world builders, validators, and developers can try out various aspects of the network and patch their toolkits. Lamina1 states that the goal of the betanet is to allow builders to create modules for the open metaverse in a “more durable and stable environment” before the upcoming mainnet release.
The release date for Lamina1’s mainnet has not been determined, but Lamina1 CEO Rebecca Barkin stated that they plan to launch a widely accessible product in early next year.
▌Gaming giant Take-Two to launch its first web3 game Sugartown on Ethereum
Take-Two Interactive Software, the publisher of the popular multi-billion-dollar video game franchise “Grand Theft Auto,” is launching its first web3 game called Sugartown. According to a statement, Sugartown is developed by Take-Two subsidiary Zynga, and the new game allows players to earn in-game currency. Players can access the game using Ethereum (or ERC-721) tokens, and an access token called Oras will be minted later this year, with Zynga releasing 10,000 tokens in the “initial run.”
LianGuai previously reported that the company participated in a $40 million Series A funding round for a web3 gaming startup. Take-Two describes the launch of the new game as the “first instance of a major mobile game developer building an encrypted game from scratch.”
Cryptocurrencies
▌Ark and 21Shares have submitted three Bitcoin futures ETF applications since last Friday
Ark and 21Shares have submitted three Bitcoin futures ETF applications since last Friday. According to documents filed on August 11, one of the ETFs will invest in cash-settled Bitcoin futures contracts traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). The planned product is called Ark 21Shares Active Bitcoin Futures ETF (ARKA) and may also hold US Treasury bonds, money market instruments, and repurchase agreements. The second proposed fund is the Ark 21Shares Active On-Chain Bitcoin Strategy ETF (ARKC), which will also invest at least 25% in Bitcoin futures contracts (ARKA), with the remaining assets invested in cash and cash equivalents. Finally, the proposed Ark 21Shares Digital Assets and Blockchain Strategy ETF (ticker code ARKD) will allocate to Bitcoin futures contracts or ARKA, as well as stocks of blockchain, digital asset, and fintech industry companies.
Empowered Funds is a subsidiary of Alpha Architect, a white-label ETF platform, and is listed as the investment advisor for the proposed funds. 21Shares and Ark Invest will serve as deputy advisors.
▌Bloomberg Analyst: August 15th is the theoretically expected date for the Grayscale lawsuit ruling
Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart tweeted that August 15th is the theoretically expected date for the Grayscale lawsuit ruling, but this is actually just an informed speculation. As legal assistants in Washington D.C. typically rotate this month, the judge’s goal is to clear previous case loads before the new assistants arrive.
▌Celsius to submit debt-to-equity conversion plan for creditor voting
According to Bloomberg, bankrupt cryptocurrency lending institution Celsius Network LLC has been granted permission by the court to begin surveying account holders on their preference for a debt-to-equity conversion plan to restart and repay approximately 2 billion USD worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum. US bankruptcy judge Martin Glenn stated on Monday that he will allow Celsius to start sending out ballots and other voting materials to account holders, with the aim of explaining the company’s plan to repay customers in plain language. Glenn stated that his approval depends on the company’s advisors providing more information on the volatility of the cryptocurrency industry and potential obstacles to the company’s cryptocurrency mining operations.
Celsius lawyer Chris Koenig stated at the hearing that the company expects to begin repaying creditors by the end of 2023.
▌HBAR token rises nearly 50% since mid-June, market cap exceeds 2.1 billion USD
Hedera Hashgraph’s HBAR token experienced a short-term surge of over 15% after being added as a service provider for the FedNow instant payment platform by the US Federal Reserve, bringing its total increase since mid-June to nearly 50% and its market cap to over 2.1 billion USD.
According to a press release from FedNow, Dropp is a banking alternative to credit card payments that allows merchants to accept small purchases digitally without incurring high transaction fees. Dropp enables small payments using HBAR, USD, and USDC tokens from Hedera.
▌The Big Short prototype buys bearish options on US stocks
Securities filings released on Monday show that Michael Burry, the manager of the prototype fund for the movie “The Big Short,” held bearish options on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indexes at the end of the second quarter. Burry’s Scion Asset Management fund bought bearish options on the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF, which tracks the Nasdaq 100 index, with a nominal value of 739 million USD. Additionally, the fund purchased bearish options on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF with a nominal value of 886 million USD.
▌HPOS10I up nearly 30% in 24 hours, becomes the seventh-largest Meme coin by market cap
CoinGecko data shows that HarryPotterObamaSonic10Inu (HPOS10I) is an emerging Meme token inspired by a backpack found in a store in the Netherlands, covered with unrelated logos and text. According to CoinGecko, it claims to be the “people’s Bitcoin” with the stock code “BITCOIN.” It has risen nearly 30% in the past 24 hours, with a trading price of 0.142781 USD, and currently has a market cap close to 150 million USD, making it the seventh-largest Meme coin by market cap.
HPOS10I spokesperson emphasized that HPOS10I represents a new meme coin paradigm that is emerging, one that relies on community creativity and marketing rather than utility or specific individuality.
Important Economic Trends
▌Will the central bank intervene as the RMB exchange rate approaches 7.3 again?
In fact, the central bank has shown greater tolerance for the depreciation of the RMB exchange rate in this round than before. Nevertheless, the central bank’s consistent and clear attitude towards maintaining the RMB exchange rate at a reasonable and balanced level remains. This means that the central bank will still intervene when necessary. Several interviewees told reporters that 7.3 could be the “policy bottom” of the RMB exchange rate, and it is not ruled out that the central bank may once again open the “exchange rate stability toolbox”. Yang Yiping, a macro researcher at Galaxy Futures Institute, told reporters that the central bank may raise the risk margin rate for commercial banks’ forward forex sales. In Yang’s view, there is also room for a certain reduction in commercial banks’ forex deposit reserve ratio. Wen Bin, chief economist at Minsheng Bank, believes that regulatory intervention has been effective, and there are sufficient exchange rate management tools to ensure the stable operation of the market. (21 Caijing)
LianGuai Encyclopedia
▌Six Misunderstandings about Lightning Network
Six misunderstandings about Lightning Network: Misunderstanding 1: Running your own node is necessary to use the Lightning Network in a non-custodial manner, making it difficult for ordinary users to use mobile devices; Misunderstanding 2: Both the sender and the receiver must be online at the same time for a Lightning Network payment to succeed (no offline/synchronized payments); Misunderstanding 3: Lightning Network requires both users to lock the same amount of BTC in the channel to open it; Misunderstanding 4: Lightning Network requires users to specify specific, single-purpose invoices, which results in a very poor user experience; Misunderstanding 5: Users need to understand and choose between Bitcoin and the Lightning Network when sending BTC; Misunderstanding 6: Lightning Network has low capital efficiency, making it impractical.
Disclaimer: LianGuai, as a blockchain information platform, publishes articles for informational reference only and does not serve as actual investment advice. Please establish a correct investment concept and be sure to increase 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!
