Headlines
U.S. House fails to override Bidens veto of SAB-121
A majority of members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted against President Bidens support for the Securities and Exchange Commissions (SAB-121) crypto accounting policy, but fell short of the two-thirds vote needed to overturn the veto. SAB-121 requires banks to include customer crypto assets on their balance sheets, increasing banks capital requirements. Republicans pushed for its revocation even as the SEC negotiated with the banking industry to revise the policy. The Blockchain Association believes SAB-121 is a tool for the SEC to crack down on digital assets. The Government Accountability Office determined that the SEC viewed the policy as guidance rather than formal rules, and Congress attempted to overturn it through the CRA, but Biden vetoed it. Industry leaders met with lawmakers and White House representatives to call on the Biden administration to adjust its position.
Source: US SEC allows some companies to be exempted from cryptocurrency accounting policy SAB 121
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has opened a path for banks and brokerages to avoid reporting customer cryptocurrency holdings on their balance sheets, but companies must offset the risks posed by those assets to get around controversial cryptocurrency accounting guidance that has become a target of Congress.
SEC staff has begun issuing guidance that, based on guidance issued two years ago, may not require liabilities to be reported on the balance sheet for certain arrangements, said an SEC source familiar with the matter.
Several large banks that began consultations with SEC staff in 2023 received permission to bypass balance sheet reporting to ensure their customers’ assets are protected in the event of a bankruptcy or failure. Other measures, such as internal safeguards designed to better protect those assets, would address legal risks associated with the emerging asset class, the person said.
It also said the SEC believes the guidance has worked and that companies have made adjustments to address the threats posed to investors by hacker attacks and business failures.
The SEC’s accounting stance could expand the range of companies that U.S. cryptocurrency holders can choose to house their growing portfolios. Banks say the accounting treatment effectively prevents them from offering crypto services because larger balance sheets would trigger capital requirements set by bank regulators, not the SEC.
SEC drops investigation into PAXOS, determines BUSD is not a security
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped its investigation into PAXOS and determined that BUSD was not a security.
According to a letter disclosed by Fortune, Jorge Tenreiro, acting head of the Crypto Assets and Networks Division, informed Paxos on July 9 that he does not intend to recommend enforcement action. More than a year ago, the SEC issued a Wells Notice to Paxos regarding the U.S. dollar-backed BUSD stablecoin issued in partnership with Binance.
German government addresses sold $376 million worth of Bitcoin in the past 16 hours
According to Spot On Chain, in the past 16 hours, the German government address has sold another $376 million worth of Bitcoin, including:
- 10,627 Bitcoins sold at an average price of $57,976 ($616 million);
- Recovered 4,169 Bitcoins ($240 million) at an average price of $57,469.
Currently, the German government address only has 9,094 BTC ($520 million), which is about 18% of the initial amount. At this rate, it may sell all Bitcoin in the next 1-2 days.
Industry News
Ethereum spot ETF issuers await key SEC guidance
The issuer of the Ethereum ETF is waiting for the SEC to respond to its latest S-1 form filed on July 8. Sources said the SECs next instructions will be critical. After the approval of the 19 b-4 form in May, the issuer had several rounds of exchanges with the SEC on the S-1 form, and the process is expected to be nearing completion. The SECs review is close to final approval, said a source.
CME Fed Watch: The probability of a 25 basis point rate cut in September has risen to 83%.
According to CME Fed Watch, traders expect the probability of the Fed cutting interest rates by 25 basis points in September to be 83.0% (the forecast value on July 9 was 71.8%); the probability of keeping interest rates unchanged is 9.1%; and the probability of cutting interest rates by 50 basis points is 7.9%.
MicroStrategy Announces 10-for-1 Stock Split
MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor posted on X platform that MSTR (MicroStrategy) plans to conduct a 10-for-1 stock split.
Coinbase: Cryptocurrency voters may become a key force in the US election
As the US presidential election approaches in November, cryptocurrency has become a hot topic for candidates and voters. Research released by Coinbase on July 11 showed that cryptocurrency voters have a significant influence in key battleground states, with one in six cryptocurrency holders living in these states. The study shows that cryptocurrency voters are young and diverse, with Generation Z and millennials accounting for 65% and non-white voters accounting for 35%. They are very active politically, with 90% of cryptocurrency voters planning to vote on November 5, and their enthusiasm for supporting cryptocurrency candidates is four times that of non-voters. This group is more bipartisan, with 35% Democrats, 34% Republicans, and 31% centrists. Candidates are beginning to realize the importance of crypto voters, and candidates such as Trump and Biden have expressed their support for the development of cryptocurrencies.
The U.S. June core CPI annual rate was 3.3%, expected to be 3.40%, and the previous value was 3.40%.
The U.S. unadjusted core CPI annual rate in June was 3.3%, in line with expectations of 3.40% and the previous value of 3.40%.
The monthly rate of seasonally adjusted CPI in June was -0.1%, expected to be 0.10%, and the previous value was 0.00%.
The number of initial jobless claims in the week ending July 6 was 222,000, compared with expectations of 236,000 and the previous value of 238,000.
JPMorgan Chase: Crypto Market Expected to Rebound in August
JPMorgan Chase released a research report stating that it expects the crypto market to rebound in August. The estimated net cryptocurrency flows fell from $12 billion previously to $8 billion, including $14 billion in net flows into cryptocurrency funds as of July 9, $5 billion in futures flows from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), $5.7 billion in funding for cryptocurrency venture capital funds so far this year, minus a $17 billion adjustment to account for rotation from exchange wallets to new spot ETFs.
On-chain data shows that the transaction volume of DApps on the Ethereum chain exceeded US$200 billion in the past 30 days, reaching US$200.9 billion.
During this period, the transaction volume of the L2 ecosystem increased significantly: the transaction volume on the Arbitrum chain increased to US$52.4 billion, an increase of 94%; the transaction volume on the Blast chain increased to US$51.1 billion, an increase of 62%; the transaction volume on the Base chain increased to US$18.4 billion, an increase of 57%.
In comparison, BNB Chain and Solana saw an average drop of 27% in on-chain transaction volume during the same period.
In addition, the TVL on the Ethereum chain is 17.7 million ETH, which is basically the same as a month ago.
Project News
Hamster Kombat: There will be a second season and a second round of airdrops in the next two years
The founder of TON ecosystem project Hamster Kombat said in an interview with The Block: The game will go on, and there will be a second season with the second airdrop in the next two years.
DOGS: Community members exceed 2 million
DOGS announced in the Telegram group that the number of community members has exceeded 2 million.
REVOX announced on the X platform that it will allocate 15% of RGT tokens to its AI Ecosystem Fund, aiming to:
Support early AI concepts;
Reward contributors, including data, computing power, annotations, testing, etc.
Capture DApp value and create profits for RGT token holders.
Degen: Airdrop 2 Season 5 claim is now online
Degen announced on the X platform that the fifth season of Airdrop 2 is now available. It is no longer necessary to keep 10,000 DEGEN in the wallet. In addition, only the Degen locked in the Degen Vault will be counted in the sixth season.
Sanctum founder: 61,181 Sybil addresses found, accounting for about 20% of the total addresses
Sanctum founder FP Lee published a post on the X platform to disclose more details about the projects airdrop. FP Lee mentioned that a total of 314,367 addresses registered to participate in the Wonderland event, with a total accumulated points of approximately 2.5 trillion.
FP Lee also mentioned that through anti-Sybil investigations, 61,181 addresses have been marked and blacklisted, accounting for about 20% of the total registered addresses. The CLOUD recovered from the Sybil addresses will be used to provide additional rewards for honest users.
Investment and Financing
SocialFi platform RECRD completes $4 million financing, Sui Foundation leads the investment
SocialFi platform RECRD announced that it has completed two rounds of financing totaling US$4 million, led by Sui Foundation, with participation from DNA Fund, Alphabit Fund and others.
RECRD’s platform allows creators to receive 100% of ad revenue, tokenized based on views rather than followers. Creators can also turn their videos into NFTs and sell them directly on the platform.
Regulatory trends
UK regulator warns public of new scam where fake lawyers send Bitcoin payment requests
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has issued a warning to alert the public to a new scam involving fake lawyers sending Bitcoin payment requests. According to its website update, an email from the address joyti.henchie@attwaters.co claims to have copied all the recipients personal data and threatens to publish damaging videos unless Bitcoin BTC is paid. The scam email contains a link to a Bitcoin wallet that may contain malware. The email falsely uses the name Patrice Joyce and claims to be associated with the legitimate companies Attwaters Solicitors LLP and Attwaters Jameson Hill Solicitors. However, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in the UK confirmed that they do not authorize or regulate a lawyer named Patrice Joyce.
U.S. CFTC Chairman Urges Congress to Act Quickly on Crypto Regulation
Rostin Behnam, chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), urged Congress to act quickly to enact cryptocurrency regulations.
While Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow said her latest crypto market regulation proposal will soon be presented to committee members, the committee’s ranking Republican member John Boozman said feedback from industry leaders suggests the proposal does not yet have enough support.
Behnam stressed that Congress’s failure to enact a regulatory solution not only harms investors but also puts the United States at a disadvantage in global competition. The Senate Agriculture Committee has been working on legislation that would give the CFTC the power to regulate spot trading of digital commodities. Stabenow hopes to share specific legislative wording with committee members by the end of the week.
Character Voice
CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju stated that the whale who opened a huge Bitcoin long position on June 9 was actually Justin Sun, who opened a Bitcoin long position at $67,000, with a position of $420 million, and the collateral was $460 million in stUSDT.
DefiLlama co-founder 0x ngmi posted on the X platform that a series of projects using Square Space domain name services are at risk of being attacked, including Pendle, dYdX, and a total of 126 official domain names. Users are advised not to link for the time being.
This evening, Celer Network posted on the X platform that the domain name attack against it has been blocked. Earlier, Celer Network posted on the X platform that please do not visit the official website and cbridge. It is investigating a potential DNS domain attack that seems to have hit multiple projects at the same time. The Celer system and funds are safe.
QCP Capital released a market analysis pointing out that the market expects a 70% chance of a rate cut in September, and this optimism is reflected in the continued rise of the stock market, but has not yet been digested by the cryptocurrency market. BTC front-end volatility rose 5 points this morning, and risk reversals favored the upside, indicating that the market expects potential upside volatility. In addition, the German government transferred 10,000 BTC to exchanges and market makers yesterday. The wallet now holds only 15,000 BTC, compared to the initial 50,000 BTC in mid-June, indicating that supply pressures may have eased. With reduced supply, weaker CPI data may be a catalyst for breaking through this range, especially with the upcoming spot Ethereum ETF trading next week, where risk-reward opportunities are expected.
Compound Finance security consultant Michael Lewellen said on the X platform that the Compound Finance URL was attacked, but the Compound protocol itself was not affected and all smart contract funds were safe.
Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu published an article explaining the meaning of tokens and the purpose of Mocaverse. He said that NFTs, due to their unique nature and ability to reflect personal identity and cultural capital, create deeper and more complex network effects than homogeneous tokens. Brand loyalty to companies such as Hermes, Nike or Apple is easily observed, and a similar cultural rise has begun to be seen in the virtual world, such as projects such as Pudgy Penguins and Bored Ape Yacht Club, as well as Animoca Brands Mocaverse.
Mocaverse is an interoperable infrastructure stack designed to enhance network effects and bring together various cultural economies for maximum mutual benefit. It integrates multiple fields such as games, music, sports, animation, NFTs, digital identifiers (DIDs) into a cohesive ecosystem. Mocaverse and MOCA Coin represent cultural capital, which may seem objective today (like most NFTs), but as the Mocaverse reputation layer grows and increasingly rewards and incentivizes the creation of cultural capital, it will become more social and symbolic in meaning and purpose.
Jupiter co-founder meow posted on the X platform that operating a sustainable perpetual contract market requires the continued attention of traders and liquidity providers. Jupiters mission is to ensure that this is not a zero-sum game, but to build a platform where both parties can work together to achieve their risk/return needs. Therefore, Jupiter will not rush to adopt temporary solutions, but make overall improvements.
Jupiter will work with Chaos Labs, Gauntlet, and Offside Labs to analyze user data to update parameters and improve some very difficult technical problems (such as oracle and data delays), and try to solve the problems comprehensively. Some major improvements will also be introduced in oracle and data improvements.