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Recently, the NEAR Protocol (COIN:NEARUSD) celebrated two major milestones: processing 450 million transactions and reaching 12.3 million unique addresses, reflecting its growing popularity. The NEAR token is currently up 2.21%, trading at $4.63, after hitting an intraday high of $4.74. In June, the platform demonstrated exceptional efficiency with a 99.7% transaction success rate and low transaction fees, while integrating strategic innovations such as artificial intelligence. These developments position NEAR as a strong contender in the blockchain space.
The native cryptocurrency of the Celestia blockchain network (COIN:TIAUSD), which recently saw a jump of over 25% in value, reaching $7.44, now faces a decline of 5.4%, standing at $6.87. This movement illustrates market volatility, even with TIA being the top-performing asset among the top 100 digital assets. Traders’ skepticism is evidenced by negative funding rates, showing a strong bet on price declines. These rates, recalculated every eight hours, indicate that traders with short positions compensate those in long positions due to the predominance of the former. This trend of bearish bets, the most intense in six months, suggests many are selling during a recovery despite Celestia’s promising developments as a crucial data availability layer for layer 2 platforms.
The financial conglomerate Block (NYSE:SQ) has completed its first contract to supply advanced 3-nanometer mining chips to Core Scientific (NASDAQ:CORZ), one of the leading Bitcoin miners. This new hardware will add nearly 15 exahashes per second to Core’s mining capacity and was developed in collaboration with the miner to meet the needs of a modular and scalable platform. The partnership underscores Block’s commitment to driving innovations that promote the advancement and decentralization of Bitcoin mining.
Analysts at Bernstein have initiated coverage of Core Scientific (NASDAQ:CORZ) and Iris Energy (NASDAQ:IREN) with an optimistic outlook, highlighting their hybrid strategies integrating Bitcoin mining and data center operations for artificial intelligence. They see these companies as ideal partners for developing AI data centers due to their prepared infrastructure and efficient operational capabilities. Both companies have recently secured significant partnerships, expecting to generate billions in revenue, with Core Scientific emerging from recent bankruptcy and IREN rapidly expanding its operations.
After a notable recovery from a recent drop below $54,000, Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) is down 0.7% in the past 24 hours, trading at $57,589.07, following an intraday high of $59,481.93. This volatility comes at a crucial time, with Mt. Gox, one of the first and most notorious Bitcoin exchanges, starting to reimburse creditors after its 2014 bankruptcy. This event is seen as a significant closure of a turbulent chapter for Bitcoin but also influences the current market dynamics, leading to cautious investor movements. Bitcoin’s recovery has been substantial, but the situation remains dynamic and unpredictable, reflecting the complexity of global cryptocurrency markets and macroeconomic variables at play.
On July 9, recent data from Farside shows a significant increase in investments in Bitcoin ETFs, with inflows of $216.4 million, totaling $654.3 million in inflows over three trading days. BlackRock (NASDAQ:IBIT) led with inflows of $121 million, reaching a total of over $18 billion. Fidelity’s ETF (AMEX:FBTC) added $91 million, totaling $9.5 billion. ARK’s ETF (AMEX:ARKB) also saw an increase of $43.3 million. In contrast, Grayscale (AMEX:GBTC) and Bitwise (AMEX:BITB) faced outflows. This trend coincides with the increase in Bitcoin’s price above $59,000.
Katherine Dowling, compliance director at crypto asset manager Bitwise, stated that the launch of a series of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on Ether in the United States is imminent, although the exact date is still unknown. According to Dowling, discussions between issuers and the SEC have raised fewer questions, signaling that approval is near. The approval of Form S-1s, detailing information about the issuers and their products, is a crucial step for the launch of these ETFs.
The Open Network (COIN:TONCOINUSD), integrated with Telegram, saw an impressive user increase in 2024, growing from 1 million to over 9 million activated wallets from January to June. However, this expansion has attracted scammers, resulting in a phishing attack alert from SlowMist. With a goal of reaching 500 million users by 2028, TON faces the challenge of protecting users without compromising its rapid adoption. The security of Mini Apps, applications linked to TON on Telegram, primarily depends on developers, not Telegram, highlighting the need for continuous vigilance against fraud and other security threats.
Benevolent hackers, also known as white-hat hackers, sometimes face the near-impossible challenge of guessing lost cryptocurrency wallet passwords, comparable to winning the Powerball 100 times. According to Cointelegraph, a client named Michael sought help in 2022 to recover the password of his Bitcoin wallet, lost a decade ago and protected by a password generator that created a 20-character combination. Initially deemed unfeasible, the task became possible when an old vulnerability in the password generator allowed the possibilities to be reduced, leading to the successful recovery of $3 million in Bitcoin after a year of intense efforts.
The cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has joined several major companies to create the Blockchain Security Standards Council (BSSC) to improve security in the crypto space. Alongside partners such as Anchorage Digital, Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), and others, the initiative aims to establish uniform security standards to combat threats like fraud and cyberattacks. Through consensus, the BSSC plans to develop security benchmarks and an audit process by the end of 2024. This collaboration aims to enhance security in the sector and increase confidence in digital assets.
Following initiatives in the United States and the United Kingdom, Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) will expand its project promoting digital asset regulation to Canada. The “Stand With Crypto Canada” campaign will launch on July 12 to inform Canadians about cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. The goal is to improve policymakers’ understanding of the opportunities offered by blockchain. The initiative will also support pro-crypto candidates in the upcoming Canadian federal elections, planned before October 2025.
Uniswap (COIN:UNIUSD), a decentralized exchange, has appealed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to reconsider its proposal to include DeFi markets in the definition of “exchange.” The SEC faced resistance after suggesting that these definitions be expanded, which the crypto community views as an effort to over-regulate the sector. Citing the Supreme Court decision in the Chevron case, Uniswap argues that the SEC’s proposal will face legal challenges and waste resources without a clear legal basis.
While Senator Debbie Stabenow is advancing a new proposal to regulate the cryptocurrency market in the US, the leading Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, John Boozman, indicates that the industry is still not satisfied with the bill. Boozman highlighted that industry feedback suggests a lack of sufficient support for the proposal. Meanwhile, Rostin Behnam of the CFTC expressed concern about the slow response of Congress to regulatory challenges, which harms investors and US competitiveness.
The city of Santa Monica, California, is innovating by opening an official Bitcoin office in partnership with the nonprofit Proof of Workforce, at no cost to the city. With the initiative unanimously approved by the city council, the office will focus on four main goals: educating about Bitcoin, promoting partnerships and conferences to boost tourism, connecting residents to jobs, and exploring sustainable Bitcoin mining with the city’s renewable energy. Inspired by El Salvador’s example, Santa Monica seeks to position itself as a Bitcoin-friendly destination.
Central banks, including the European Central Bank (ECB), are increasingly interested in using blockchain technology. Recently, the ECB tested the application of blockchain in central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in collaboration with Zama. This experiment focused on liquidity matching, a crucial process for aligning financial assets and liabilities of banks. The technology would enable operations without the direct intervention of the central bank, representing a significant advancement in financial risk management.
According to Reuters, the deputy governor of the Bank of Israel, Andrew Abir, stated that Israel will not decide on introducing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) before the European Central Bank (ECB) makes a similar decision. Abir suggests that the ECB will lead the movement among Western central banks, potentially triggering a series of similar initiatives in other countries. Although Israel is actively exploring the concept with the launch of the Digital Shekel Challenge, the final decision on whether to issue a CBDC has not yet been made.
Animoca Brands reported a substantial 72% increase in bookings in the first quarter of 2024, reaching $90 million compared to $52 million the previous year. This increase is attributed to strong performance in digital asset consulting and operations in its blockchain and Web3 businesses. Simultaneously, the company managed to reduce its operating costs by 14%, down from $64 million to $55 million. The cost reduction and increase in bookings strengthen the company’s financial position, preparing it for a potential re-entry into the Australian Stock Exchange.
During the Ethereum Community Conference in Brussels, Ethereum (COIN:ETHUSD) co-founder Vitalik Buterin addressed an audience of 1,100 people on how to strengthen the Ethereum blockchain as the base layer. He discussed concerns about the technical complexity of operating a node and the difficulty of individual staking, proposing practical solutions to these issues. Additionally, he suggested increasing the quorum threshold from 75% to 80% to improve security against attacks and maintain high operational standards on the blockchain.
Following a successful DAO vote, Nomic, a provider of a decentralized Bitcoin bridge, plans to increase Bitcoin liquidity on the Osmosis platform (COIN:OSMOUSD). The proposal, accepted with 99.6% of the votes, allows waiving bridge fees for Bitcoin transactions that start or end on Osmosis. In exchange, Nomic will receive a portion of the trading fees for its Bitcoin derivatives on Osmosis. Sunny Aggarwal of Osmosis supported the measure, highlighting its potential to innovate revenue models and align interests between platforms, promoting a more competitive and fair environment for payment providers.
Founded in March 2020 in Boston by Zach Herbert, Ken Carpenter, and Jacob Johnston, Foundation Devices is a private company that develops hardware and software wallets for Bitcoin. With 24 employees, the company has not disclosed the amount of Bitcoin it holds but stands out for its commitment to security, privacy, and open-source philosophy. Herbert’s mission is to make Bitcoin self-custody accessible to everyone, comparing the ease of use of its products to those of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). The flagship product, the Passport hardware wallet, is known for its simplified user experience and elegant design, and works in conjunction with the company’s Envoy mobile app, offering an integrated solution for Bitcoin management.
Hypersphere, a cryptocurrency investment firm, announced the launch of the Atlas fund, with $130 million in assets under management. The fund, which started in stealth mode in January, applies Wall Street-style trading strategies to maximize returns on crypto assets. With a team comprised of former members of firms like Millennium and Bridgewater, Atlas aims to offer a diversity of trading strategies and high liquidity, minimizing volatility and providing stable returns.
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