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Bitcoin approached $30,000 on Wednesday morning as investors await the US July Consumer Price Index (CPI). Core inflation, excluding food and energy, is expected to reach 0.4%, indicating lower inflation, which may reduce the chances of a Federal Reserve rate hike. Analyst Oliver Rust predicts a rise in the CPI from 3% to 3.4%, influenced by the resurgence in consumer spending. At press time, Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) is down 0.3% at $29,688.55.
Blockchain security company PeckShield revealed vulnerabilities in DeFi projects on Aug. The Aave protocol had its Earning Farm compromised by reentry, resulting in the theft of at least $287,000 worth of Ether. Reentrance attacks trick systems into getting more resources. It’s unclear if this attack is related to previous exploits on Curve Finance’s pools, which experienced similar attacks. Earning Farm, designed for Ether, wBTC and USDC, has been attacked before. In 2022, it lost 750 Ether in instant lending attacks.
Hackers accessed Blockchain Capital’s Twitter account, fraudulently promoting a “BCAP” token offering. Posts asked users to link their cryptocurrency wallets to a fake website, mimicking the company’s. The FBI has issued a warning about similar scams, where criminals trick victims into linking wallets to fake websites, draining their assets. This attack comes after the recent spate of fake non-fungible tokens (NFT) scams. Blockchain Capital quickly recovered the hacked account.
Bitsonic CEO Jinwook Shin has been arrested by South Korean police for allegedly stealing exchange user investments and deposits. He is accused of falsely manipulating prices and trading volume, causing a loss equivalent to US$7.5 million. Bitsonic’s vice president also faces charges, but no remand. South Korea has stepped up its efforts against crypto crimes with a new interagency investigation unit.
A class-action lawsuit accuses Silicon Valley law firm Fenwick & West of collaborating in fraud with cryptocurrency exchange FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried. The suit alleges that Fenwick had a close relationship with FTX, offering services that facilitated fraud and embezzlement. The lawsuit highlights close ties between former Fenwick attorneys who joined FTX. The office is accused of helping FTX grow while being aware of improper activities, as well as advising FTX to avoid regulatory scrutiny.
MuesliSwap, a decentralized exchange (DEX) based on Cardano, announced that it will refund users who suffered losses due to a misunderstanding about slippage on the platform. The slippage, caused by a decentralized matchmaker adjustment, resulted in high user fees over a year. The developers plan to compensate those affected with project funds and have implemented fixes to resolve the issue. The platform locks over $10 million worth of tokens and is popular on the Cardano network, and traded over $500 million worth of tokens last year, according to DefiLlama.
Decentralized exchange (DEX) SpiritSwap, built on the Fantom platform, will cease operations from September 1, citing exposure to the troubled Chinese Multichain protocol. The Multichain hack emptied SpiritSwap’s treasury, making it unable to fund essential operations. The team is looking to transfer DEX to new owners. SpiritSwap’s Total Blocked Value (TVL) dropped from $374 million in January 2022 to $2.92 million due to the incident. The Multichain protocol has negatively affected the Fantom ecosystem, resulting in TVL declines and project closures, including Geist Finance.
Aptos Labs, a Layer 1 blockchain founded by former employees of Meta (NASDAQ:META), has unveiled a new collaboration with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). In addition to exploring innovative solutions related to asset tokenization and digital payments, the partnership will also involve the use of Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI service. The partnership’s initial focus is to employ Microsoft’s artificial intelligence to simplify user onboarding to web3 and assist developers in creating smart contracts and decentralized applications. Aptos will launch “Aptos Assistant”, a digital assistant based on Microsoft AI to answer questions about its blockchain.
Universal Music Group (EU:UMG) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) are in discussions to license melodies and artist vocals for artificial intelligence (AI) generated music, in order to control the rise of deep fakes in the music industry. Negotiations are still in the early stages, with the aim of developing a tool that creates legally copyrighted tracks. Artists would have choice about the use of their voices. Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) has also stepped up control of AI-generated content, while Grimes supports this trend and has launched his own voice simulation program.
David Rubenstein, co-founder of the Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG), discussed with Bloomberg the durability of Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) as a relevant financial asset, reinforcing its position in the financial and investment landscape. He addressed the growing institutional interest in the cryptocurrency, highlighting the pursuit of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) for a Bitcoin ETF. Rubenstein lamented not investing when Bitcoin was at $100, while praising the change in attitudes towards cryptocurrencies. While he does not own cryptocurrencies, he does invest in digital asset trading companies, expressing confidence in the underlying infrastructure. Rubenstein’s vision reflects evolving market prospects, with growing institutional interest and regulatory clarity for the promising future of cryptocurrencies.
Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) presents the “Onchain Summer” event, reflecting the global diversity of the cryptocurrency and blockchain community. The Onchain Summer online event, presented by Coinbase, will run from August 9th to 31st. This multi-week celebration, developed in collaboration with Base, brings artists, builders and brands together to promote art, music and games on-chain. With participation facilitated by the Coinbase-Base integration, the event unites the community and explores the potential of blockchain technology.
Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) released a report highlighting the rapid crypto adoption and innovation in New York. The survey revealed that 19% of residents own cryptocurrencies, with 1 in 3 believing they make the financial system fairer and are valuable investments. The state is home to 692 blockchain companies and over 800 founders, and 52% of Fortune 100 companies have crypto initiatives. Finance, tech and retail companies lead the way, while fashion is also embracing crypto, as seen in Morphew’s NFT collection. New York has a dynamic crypto scene despite restrictions on cryptocurrency mining.
Bitstamp, the oldest cryptocurrency exchange, plans to suspend trading of seven popular U.S. tokens, all considered unregistered securities by the SEC. Affected tokens include Polygon (COIN:MATICUSD), Solana (COIN:SOLUSD), Near Protocol (COIN:NEARUSD), Axie Infinity (COIN:AXSUSD), Chiliz (COIN:CHZUSD), Decentraland (COIN:MANAUSD) and The Sandbox (COIN:SANDUSD). The suspension will take place on August 29th, while users can still keep and withdraw the assets. The move follows similar lawsuits against other exchanges such as Coinbase and Binance. Revolut and other platforms have also suspended or terminated operations in the US due to regulatory uncertainties.
Wealth management firm Bernstein predicts 2,140% growth for stablecoins over the next five years, with the market rising from $125 billion to $2.8 trillion by 2028. Integration into consumer platforms is seen as crucial to this boom, allowing for expansion of use beyond cryptographic platforms. The report highlights the favorable regulation of stablecoins and their competition with bank deposits as investments. Large financial and cryptocurrency companies have also launched their own stablecoins, adding momentum to growth.
With the deadline looming for the current $22 million settlement with Block.one (B1), the EOS Network Foundation (ENF) has urged plaintiffs to reject the proposed settlement. ENF argued that the existing settlement does not adequately compensate for the losses caused by Block.one’s misconduct and stressed that the amount is negligible compared to what B1 raised. In addition, ENF pointed out that the agreement limits future legal actions against Block.one. ENF urged community members to opt out of the agreement before the August 29 deadline.
Maple Finance, a blockchain-based credit marketplace, has opened its USDC cash management pool, backed by tokenized U.S. Treasuries (T-bills), to U.S. investors after securing an exemption from Rule 506(c) of the SEC. Investors can park USDC in Treasuries for a 4-5% yield. Demand for blockchain-based T-bills has been growing as they offer attractive yields and inflation protection for companies and investment funds. The tokenized bond market has grown sixfold this year, reaching nearly $700 million.
Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital (TSX:GLXY) reported a net loss of $46 million for the second quarter, reflecting the prior year’s crypto credit crisis and bankruptcies that impacted capital markets. Operating performance was impacted by low liquidity and regulatory uncertainty, with the trading business facing a 54% decline in quarterly revenues. The asset management unit saw revenue increase of 619%, and mining showed a boost. The company is also exploring partnerships to launch publicly traded products in Europe and the US.
Despite a more than 300% increase in Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) production, Marathon Digital Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA) posted a net loss of $21.3 million in the second quarter. The miner reported revenue of $81.8 million, selling 63% of its mined BTC for a gain of $23.4 million. CEO Fred Thiel highlighted the surge in the energized hash rate and record production of 2,926 BTC during the period. Marathon shares rose on Wednesday in response to the financial reports.
The Bank of Russia (BoR) has revealed that starting on August 15, it will start testing its central bank digital currency (CBDC) project with digital rubles. Thirteen banks and a restricted group of customers will participate in the pilot tests. The first phase will focus on refining core processes such as establishing digital ruble accounts, digital transactions between individuals and automated payments. The expectation is that from 2025, citizens and companies will be able to actively use the digital ruble. President Putin enacted the digital ruble legislation in July.
Blockchain security firm CUBE3.AI has launched its AI-powered real-time security application after raising $8.2 million in an initial round led by Blockchange Ventures. The round included input from multiple investors and will be used to further develop the Detect, Protect and Manage products, which use machine learning algorithms to protect blockchain protocols from threats and fraud. The Detect app is free and monitors risks, while the paid Protect app offers in-depth protection, and the Manage app allows tracking and analysis of wallets.
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