Today's Headlines:
- The US government transferred 10,000 confiscated bitcoins related to the Silk Road to Coinbase Prime last night
- Telegram introduces paid emoji reactions for posts, channel owners can convert received Stars into TON rewards
- After Apple opened up NFC chip development to third-party developers, Circle plans to launch instant payment on iPhone
- Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley collectively bought over $600 million worth of bitcoin spot ETFs in the second quarter of this year
- Offchain Labs establishes new department "Tandem" and has invested $10 million in the department
- Former members of the TON Foundation establish TON Ventures, with an initial fund size of $40 million
- Decentralized AI blockchain platform Sahara AI completes a $43 million financing round, with Binance Labs leading the investment
- Marathon Digital acquires 4,144 BTC for $249 million, with the total BTC on the balance sheet now exceeding 25,000
Policy and Regulatory News:
- US Vice President Harris to announce her economic plan this Friday
- US July non-seasonally adjusted CPI year-on-year at 2.9%, core CPI year-on-year at 3.2%
- Senator Chuck Schumer promises to enact legislation supporting cryptocurrencies if Harris is elected president
- The US government transferred 10,000 confiscated bitcoins related to the Silk Road to Coinbase Prime last night
Project Updates:
- Telegram introduces paid emoji reactions for posts, channel owners can convert received Stars into TON rewards
- After Apple opened up NFC chip development to third-party developers, Circle plans to launch instant payment on iPhone
According to Cointelegraph, Jeremy Allaire, CEO of stablecoin company Circle, stated that his company is planning to launch instant payments on iPhone after Apple opened up the development of iPhone secure payment chips to third-party developers. Apple announced on August 14 that it will open up the use of its NFC chip and Secure Element (SE) to third-party app developers, paving the way for blockchain-based payment integration on Apple devices for crypto developers. In a subsequent post, Allaire explained that prior to Apple's action, the only payment functionality using NFC on iPhone was Apple's own Wallet app and Apple Pay. Allaire stated, "This will allow [point of sale] to inform the iPhone of which USDC address it will accept, or the amount to be paid, and then the iPhone's wallet app can prompt the user to confirm the payment (such as using FaceID), and initiate a transaction on the blockchain to settle USDC. Combined with high-performance and low-cost blockchain networks, this will open up a powerful path for directly paying merchants with USDC." Additionally, Allaire explained that Apple's opening of access to its NFC chip will apply to "many aspects" beyond USDC, including NFTs for tickets, other certificates, and other stablecoins like EURC. It is worth noting that Apple stated that these APIs will be available to developers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the UK, and the US, but did not mention the EU and its 27 member states.
Blockchain data visualization platform Bubblemaps released a report revealing that Indian developer Sahil Arora made about $30 million in 2024 by issuing tokens for celebrities. The report pointed out that Arora, currently residing in Dubai, issued tokens for several well-known personalities such as Mayweather, Caitlyn Jenner, Iggy Azalea, Jason Derulo, Amber Rose, Lil Pump, Davido, Sunny Leone, Bobbi Althoff, Trippie Redd, but most projects ended up worthless. Arora operated through the Pump.fun platform, using his Instagram influence and verification badge to convince celebrities to promote token addresses for high rewards. He typically held 25-40% of the token supply and immediately sold after the celebrity's promotion, using the celebrity's fans as liquidity. Bubblemaps identified over 40 addresses related to Arora. From early 2024 to date, he has cashed out about $26.4 million, with the highest cash-out amount in August reaching $6.6 million. Despite causing significant losses to investors, Arora's actions are in a legal gray area and difficult to prosecute. Even the celebrities involved have not taken action due to partial responsibility.
Bubblemaps mentioned that Sahil's first foray into the cryptocurrency field can be traced back to 2017 when, at the age of 18, he founded Vuzelaa Group in India, installing Bitcoin ATMs globally. From 2020 to 2023, Sahil launched over a dozen crypto projects, such as the ZelaaPayAE crypto debit card and the ZelaaNFT NFT marketplace. Although both tokens failed, he made substantial profits and tasted the quick profit experience.
Later in the day, ZachXBT stated that Bubblemaps' investigation data may be inaccurate, and Sahil's earnings this year may only be between $2 to $3 million.
Token issuance trading platform Meteora, launched by DEX Screener, announced on its official blog that through Moonshot, creators and majority holders of meme tokens will receive locked-in lifetime liquidity fees. Moonshot aims to transform creators and early supporters into shareholders, allowing them to benefit from the long-term growth of the token, while reducing pump and dump behavior, challenging Pump.fun. The initial liquidity will be permanently locked, and 80% of the funds collected through dynamic fees will be distributed. The specific distribution is as follows: 20% to token creators; 70% to the initial top 50 token holders; 10% to DexScreener; 20% of the dynamic fees will be transferred to integrators and trading bots that refer traders to the liquidity pool.
Solana ecosystem restaking protocol Solayer announced on the X platform that the Solayer mainnet has gone live and introduced the endogenous Application Verification System (AVS) staking system standard. Participants can stake SOL to receive sSOL, then delegate sSOL to selected e-AVS to receive native staking rewards (8.12%), MEV boosts, and AVS rewards. Solayer also released the v1 development toolkit, allowing developers to interact directly with core functionalities. The project has been audited by Halborn Security and plans to launch more features, including an in-protocol fee module and permissionless AVS management.
Grass is taking a snapshot to determine eligibility for an upcoming airdrop
Grass, an AI web crawler project based on the Solana network, announced on the X platform that with the end of Epoch 7, it is taking a snapshot to determine eligibility for an upcoming airdrop. The user's network participation (weighted by Epoch) will serve as the basis for their rewards. Detailed information on how to check eligibility for the airdrop and more token economic information will be provided in the coming weeks. Looking ahead, after the network release, the next phase for Grass will shift from building core infrastructure to supporting the development of applications that will coordinate the interests of users and the network on a large scale.
OKX to list ARKM, PIXEL, BOME spot trading
According to official information, OKX will list ARKM, PIXEL, BOME spot trading. Specifically, the ARKM/USDT trading pair will go live today at 14:00; the PIXEL/USDT trading pair will go live today at 16:00; and the BOME/USDT trading pair will go live today at 18:00.
Circle CEO: Harris campaign team actively engaging with the crypto industry
According to CryptoSlate, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire expressed optimism about rumors of US Vice President Kamala Harris shifting to a more favorable stance on cryptocurrencies. In an interview with CNBC on August 14, he stated that Harris's presidential campaign team is actively collaborating with the crypto industry to deepen understanding of crypto-related policies and prepare for the 2024 US election. Allaire said, "The government and the Harris campaign are working together to really understand these issues, participants, industries, and policy issues." He also shared his views on a virtual roundtable he participated in on August 8 with White House officials, Harris campaign representatives, US legislators, and industry leaders. The CEO of Circle stated that the event highlighted the bipartisan nature of the issue and its importance to voters. He added that the industry is seeking clarity on Harris's economic policy intentions and her stance on cryptocurrencies.
According to Cointelegraph, a document from August 13 revealed that the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Arca Exchange withdrew a rule change it proposed in January this year, which would have allowed the listing and trading of options based on commodity trusts, including crypto ETFs such as Grayscale's GBTC. This is the latest in a series of regulatory activities surrounding crypto ETF options. Earlier, on August 8, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) amended an application for listing Bitcoin ETF options. Additionally, a document from August 6 showed that Nasdaq requested the US SEC to allow it to list options for the BlackRock iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA). Bloomberg expects Bitcoin spot options to go live in the fourth quarter.
Eric Trump, son of Donald Trump, hints at upcoming crypto project involving "digital real estate"
According to CoinDesk citing the New York Post, the holding company of former US President Donald Trump's business empire, the Trump Organization, is set to launch a new cryptocurrency project. Eric Trump, son of the former president and executive vice president of the Trump Organization, revealed the upcoming project in an interview with The Washington Post but refused to disclose any specific details, only stating that "everything is ready" and the crypto project will be announced publicly once it is ready. He hinted that the project may involve "digital real estate," suggesting that people can lend or borrow funds through it. Eric Trump stated, "This project is fair, collateral that anyone can get immediately. I don't know if people realize what a big shock this is to the banking and financial industry." He also expressed unique views on "how easily people are excluded from certain markets" and indicated that the Trump family "certainly has suffered a fair amount of financial discrimination." Additionally, Eric Trump said, "I think at some point, we all want to achieve some form of economic independence, living in a world where we don't have to follow the script of the big banks. That day is coming soon." Earlier on August 7, Eric Trump expressed a strong interest in crypto/DeFi and announced a major announcement.
Multiple suspects in the Holograph June hacking incident arrested in Italy
The full-chain NFT protocol Holograph announced on the X platform, "After a two-month intense pursuit by the French Office for the Prevention of Cybercrime (OFAC), BRI, Europol, the Italian Anti-Mafia Investigation Bureau, and the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS), we are pleased to announce that several individuals have been arrested in connection with the Holograph hacking incident on June 13. As part of the arrest operation, a large amount of assets and electronic devices have been frozen and seized. With the assistance of French authorities, the arrest operation took place in Italy. The suspects will soon be extradited to France for trial. Due to the ongoing investigation, the names of the suspects cannot be disclosed at this time as requested by French authorities. The team will share more information about the recovery of assets in the Holograph ecosystem."
Vanguard's new CEO: No plans to launch a cryptocurrency ETF
According to The Block, Vanguard's new CEO Salim Ramji stated in an interview that the company has no plans to launch a cryptocurrency ETF. Salim Ramji took over as Vanguard CEO last month, having previously held senior leadership positions at BlackRock for ten years. Ramji recently served as the global head of iShares and index investments at BlackRock, responsible for managing a significant portion of the company's client assets and developing the iShares platform. Vanguard is the world's second-largest asset management company, with assets under management exceeding $9 trillion.
According to The Block, Cynthia Lo Bessette, head of Fidelity Digital Asset Management department, stated in an interview that it is currently unclear whether there will be another ETP product after Bitcoin and Ethereum. Bessette added that while the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not approved an Ethereum ETF that can collateralize the underlying assets, this situation may change as collateral is a key part of the Ethereum ecosystem. The emergence of an Ethereum collateral ETF may be a matter of time rather than if it will happen. Her team has had "constructive conversations" with SEC staff about the possibility of introducing this feature to the market. Additionally, Fidelity Digital Asset Management department is also researching tokenization, including stablecoins, on-chain government bonds, and credit.
According to The Block, EigenLayer is testing support for permissionless tokens, allowing any ERC-20 token to be added as a re-stakable asset to the protocol. Eigen Labs stated that this feature will be deployed to the mainnet next week, expanding the range of assets that can provide security for decentralized networks and unlocking the cryptographic economic security of ERC-20 tokens. After completing preliminary testing on the testnet, EigenLayer will enter the mainnet phase, and the user interface support is expected to be launched in the late third quarter. Earlier this year, Andreessen Horowitz invested $100 million in Eigen Labs, and the total asset value of the project has now exceeded $12 billion.
Offchain Labs establishes new department "Tandem" and has invested $10 million in the department
According to Bloomberg, Offchain Labs, the developer of the Arbitrum blockchain, has announced the establishment of a new business unit called "Tandem," dedicated to driving mainstream adoption of crypto networks. Offchain Labs has invested $10 million in the department, focusing primarily on Ethereum ecosystem projects outside of Arbitrum. The company has received support from venture capital investors such as Lightspeed Venture Partners and Ribbit Capital. Tandem will focus on promoting blockchain applications in mainstream markets, such as collaborating with Robinhood and blockchain games that work with Arbitrum. Offchain Labs expects the new department to become one of its main sources of revenue.
MetaMask launches blockchain debit card developed in collaboration with Mastercard and Baanx
According to CoinDesk, MetaMask is launching a blockchain debit card developed in collaboration with Mastercard and Baanx. The initial batch of MetaMask cards will be piloted with a small number of users in the EU and the UK, with plans to expand to broader regions later this year. The card allows users to directly use their USDC, USDT, and wETH assets from their self-hosted MetaMask wallet for payments, with the assets supported by the Linea blockchain (an Ethereum Layer-2 network).
Former members of the TON Foundation establish TON Ventures with an initial fund size of $40 million
According to The Block, former TON Foundation members Ian Wittkopp and Inal Kardan have established TON Ventures and launched the first fund worth $40 million. The fund aims to support projects based on the TON blockchain. Wittkopp and Kardan previously served as the director of TON Accelerator and the game director, respectively. TON Ventures primarily invests in early-stage projects within the TON ecosystem, focusing on decentralized finance, gaming, advertising/marketing, and regulated financial products. Wittkopp stated that TON Ventures has already supported over a dozen startups, including Catizen, Tradoor, and Evaa Protocol. The average investment amount of the fund is $500,000 or less, but it also participates in larger "strategic" transactions such as major protocols. The fund is expected to be fully deployed within a year.
Binance launches BANANA perpetual contract on Binance Futures
Binance Futures will launch the USDⓈ-M BANANA perpetual contract at 10:00 on August 15th, Beijing time, with leverage of up to 50x.
Hedge fund Millennium reduces holdings of spot Bitcoin ETFs in Q2
According to Trader T, hedge fund giant Millennium Management reduced its holdings in spot Bitcoin ETFs in the second quarter (calculated by reported value). The holdings of FBTC decreased by 14%, with the current holding value at approximately $589 million; IBIT holdings decreased by 48%, with the current holding value at approximately $371 million; GBTC holdings decreased by 52%, with the current holding value at approximately $82 million. However, the company increased its holdings in the following products: BITB holdings increased by 71%, with the current holding value at approximately $65 million; MSTR (MicroStrategy stock) holdings increased by 8837%, with the current holding value at approximately $121 million.
Bank of America holds IBIT worth $2.8 million and FBTC worth $1.5 million in Q2
According to the second-quarter 13-F filing submitted to the SEC by Bank of America, as of June 30, the bank held IBIT worth $2.8 million, an increase of 31%, and FBTC worth $1.5 million, an increase of 21%.
Hedge fund company D.E. Shaw increases holdings of spot Bitcoin ETFs by over $170 million in Q2
According to the second-quarter 13-F filing submitted to the SEC by hedge fund company D.E. Shaw, as of June 30, the company increased its holdings of the Belay IBIT by $90 million and the Fidelity FBTC by $90 million, totaling an increase of over $170 million. It is reported that D.E. Shaw's holdings in IBIT in the first quarter were $6 million, and its holdings in FBTC were $3 million.
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley collectively purchase over $600 million of spot Bitcoin ETFs in Q2
According to Reuters, regulatory filings released on Wednesday show that Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley collectively purchased over $600 million of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs' quarterly disclosure filing (13-F) submitted to the SEC shows that as of June 30, the bank purchased approximately $418 million worth of Bitcoin spot ETFs, with the majority of the holdings being Belay IBIT, totaling nearly 7 million shares valued at approximately $238 million. At the same time, Goldman Sachs also holds a significant amount of Fidelity FBTC and Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF shares. On the other hand, as of June 30, Morgan Stanley also holds 5.5 million shares of Belay IBIT, valued at $188 million. The bank also holds a small amount of Ark ARKB and Grayscale GBTC shares.
Binance to launch GUSDT and RAREUSDT perpetual contracts on Binance Futures
Binance Futures will launch the GUSDT perpetual contract at 20:30 on August 15, 2024 (Beijing time), and the RAREUSDT perpetual contract at 21:00 on August 15, 2024 (Beijing time), with leverage of up to 50x.
Funding News
Decentralized AI blockchain platform Sahara AI completes $43 million in funding, led by Binance Labs
[Decentralized AI blockchain platform Sahara AI announces successful completion of a $43 million funding round, led by Binance Labs, Pantera Capital, and Polychain Capital, with participation from global top-tier investment institutions such as Samsung, WeWork, and Kasikornbank of Thailand. Additionally, several leaders in the AI industry and academia have joined the effort, including Laksh Vaaman Sehgal, Vice Chairman of Motherson Group, and Rohan Taori, a scientist at Anthropic. Sahara AI was founded by Sean Ren, an AI professor at the University of Southern California, and Tyler Zhou, former investment director at Binance Labs. Since April 2023, the company has established partnerships with 35 leading enterprises and research institutions, including Microsoft, Amazon, and MIT. The funding will be used to expand the team, enhance AI blockchain performance, and accelerate developer ecosystem development. He Yi, Co-founder of Binance and Head of Binance Labs, stated, "Binance Labs is committed to empowering teams with disruptive technological solutions and supporting Web3 founders who can create lasting impact. We look forward to Sahara AI pioneering the decentralized AI blockchain platform, reshaping the future of AI to make it more transparent, secure, and accessible to all."
Permissioned Ethereum L2 developer Parfin completes $10 million funding round, led by ParaFi Capital
According to The Block, Parfin, a crypto infrastructure company focused on enterprise blockchain development, has raised $10 million in the first round of its Series A funding. The round was led by ParaFi Capital, with participation from Framework Ventures, L4 Venture Builder, and Núclea. Parfin plans to raise an additional $16 million in the second round of its Series A funding, bringing the total funding to $38 million. Founded in 2019, Parfin will use the funds to continue developing its custom Rayls network and expand into global markets, particularly in Latin America. Rayls is a permissioned EVM blockchain designed for enterprise use cases such as tokenization, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and institutional transactions. All accounts must comply with KYC requirements while maintaining user privacy, and the blockchain is connected to the DeFi world through the Rayls public chain. The blockchain is currently involved in a CBDC pilot with the Central Bank of Brazil and was selected for the Mastercard Start Path program in May. Additionally, Parfin provides stablecoin, fiat on/off-ramp, and crypto brokerage services.
Stablecoin payment platform Sling Money has announced the completion of a $15 million Series A funding round, led by Union Square Ventures, with participation from Ribbit Capital and Slow Ventures. This funding round will help Sling Money advance its mission of enabling instant, convenient, and low-cost cross-border remittances. Transfers on Sling Money are conducted using Pax Dollar (USDP), a USD-backed stablecoin issued by Paxos Trust Company. USDP and its reserves are subject to strict regulation by the New York State Department of Financial Services. Leveraging stablecoin technology and a user-friendly interface, Sling Money enables users to make instant transfers between over 50 countries with minimal fees. The company previously raised a $5 million seed round led by Ribbit Capital.
According to official sources, Bitcoin network infrastructure developer Satflow has announced the completion of a $7.6 million seed funding round, with Variant Fund leading the investment and participation from Nascent, Coinbase Ventures, UTXO Management, Hash3, CMS, Asymmetric, Robot Ventures, Bitcoin Frontier Fund, Sora Ventures, and MEME LAND, as well as angel investors including Nick Hansen from Luxor, Udi Wertheimer from Taproot Wizards, FarmerJoeDomo, Dan Held from Taproot Wizards, and Danny Diekroeger from Deezy.
Satflow will focus on providing infrastructure for market makers and large traders, elevating Bitcoin L1 to institutional-grade quality and enhancing decentralization.
Mining News
Marathon Digital Holdings, a U.S. Bitcoin mining company, revealed in its official blog that as of July 31, 2024, the company held 20,818 BTC on its balance sheet, second only to MicroStrategy. Between August 12 and August 14, 2024, Marathon Digital used proceeds from convertible notes to purchase 4,144 BTC (approximately $249 million). This purchase, combined with the BTC mined by the company so far this month, has increased Marathon Digital's total BTC holdings on the balance sheet to over 25,000 BTC.
Important Data
Two-thirds of institutional Bitcoin ETF holders increased or bought in the second quarter
According to Cointelegraph, Bitwise data shows that approximately 66% of institutional investors held or increased their Bitcoin ETF positions through US spot ETFs in the second quarter. Based on the 13F filings submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 44% of asset managers increased their Bitcoin ETF positions in the second quarter, while 22% maintained their positions. Only 21% of institutions reduced their positions, and 13% liquidated them. Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan stated, "This is a pretty good result, comparable to other ETFs." It is worth noting that the SEC Form 13F is a quarterly report that must be submitted by institutional investment managers with assets under management of at least $100 million.
Lido Ethereum staking has been in a net outflow state for 12 consecutive days since August
According to on-chain analyst @ai_9684xtpa, Lido Ethereum staking has been in a net outflow state for 12 consecutive days since August, and it has been observed that every instance of continuous net outflow from Lido after BTC ATH corresponds to a market downturn. The net outflow from 08.01 to 08.12 was 74,304 ETH (valued at $194 million), with a single-day net outflow of 31,104 ETH on 08.12, accounting for 42% of the total outflow over 12 days. Data for 08.13 and 08.14 shows a slight recovery.
According to on-chain analyst Yu Jin, a new address accumulated 1,605 WBTC (approximately $94.62 million) within 3 days after the controversy over WBTC custody change. On 8/11, BitGo announced a joint venture with BiTGlobal to move WBTC to a jurisdictional custody. Subsequently, some protocols and institutions stated that they would no longer use WBTC due to potential risks. The next day (8/12), this address was created and began to withdraw a large amount of WBTC from Binance, accumulating a total of 1,605 WBTC (approximately $94.62 million) at an average price of $58,920 over the past 3 days.
Aave's weekly active borrowers reach approximately 40,000, setting a new record, indicating signs of recovery for the decentralized finance protocol. Aave founder Stani Kulechov reported on X on August 14 that the protocol's weekly active borrowers reached around 40,000, surpassing the previous high set at the end of 2022. The trend is driven by emerging lending markets such as Base and Scroll. According to Dune Analytics, Base currently accounts for nearly 30% of the total independent wallets on Aave V3. Layer2 platforms Arbitrum and Polygon rank second and third, with Aave wallet shares of 23.4% and 21%, respectively. Meanwhile, Kulechov pointed out that the platform's weekly depositors have almost reached peak levels. According to Dune Analytics, Aave (AAVE) depositors surged at the beginning of this month. Additionally, the total value locked (TVL) in the entire DeFi ecosystem has grown by 40% to reach $90 billion year-to-date. However, the recent market correction has impacted it.
Canaan Inc. (嘉楠科技) released its unaudited financial performance for the second quarter ending June 30, 2024. The report shows that the company's revenue for the quarter was $71.9 million, exceeding the expected $70 million and representing a 104.8% increase from the previous quarter. Mining revenue was $9.3 million, a decrease from $10.5 million in the first quarter and $15.9 million in the same period last year, mainly due to reduced Bitcoin mining output after the halving. As of the end of the second quarter, Canaan Inc. held a record high of 1,114.2 BTC.
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