FedNow: US instant payments service is about to launch,
transforming the country’s payment system
The FedNow instant payment service, powered by the US Federal
Reserve (Fed), is about to launch, offering Americans the ability
to send and receive funds in real time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week. This initiative represents a significant development in
the country’s payment system. The launch of FedNow could
affect discussions around the implementation of Central Bank
Digital Currencies (CBDCs) in the US, but it remains unclear
whether this will reduce the need for a CBDC in the
future. Progress on a retail CBDC in the US has been slow, but
the country is moving towards a wholesale CBDC. The launch of
FedNow will reshape the US financial landscape and its relationship
to emerging technologies.
UK FCA launches Digital Sandbox to boost financial startups
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has unveiled its
Digital Sandbox, a program designed to support tech startups in the
early stages of product development. Starting August 1st,
companies involved in financial activities such as banking,
investing, lending and payments will be able to access the Digital
Sandbox. This initiative will allow projects to test their
products and services in a controlled environment without negative
real-world impacts. The aim is to boost innovation, foster
economic growth and increase international competitiveness.
Regulation of retail cryptocurrencies compared to gaming rejected
in UK by government
The UK government has rejected a proposal to regulate retail
cryptocurrency trading in the same way as gambling. The House
of Commons Treasury Committee had called for similar regulation,
arguing that crypto investment activity is comparable to
gambling. However, the government strongly disagrees with this
approach, citing the possibility of conflict with international
recommendations and an overlap of financial regulators and the
Gambling Commission.
Kuwait bans virtual assets to combat money laundering and terrorist
financing
Regulatory authorities in Kuwait have issued circulars banning
the use and recognition of virtual assets in the country, following
recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to
combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The circulars
impose an absolute ban on most cryptocurrency operations, including
payments, investments and mining. Authorities seek to protect
users from the risks associated with virtual assets and claim that
these currencies lack legal status or support. Violations of
the circulars may result in penalties under the money laundering
law.
More than 200 stores in Hong Kong accept digital yuan payments,
driving expansion of Chinese CBDC
More than 200 stores in Hong Kong now accept digital yuan
payments, according to local banks. This initiative is part of
China’s efforts to expand the use of its CBDC beyond the country’s
borders. The list includes retailers that cater primarily to
Chinese tourists. Additionally, mainland Chinese shoppers can
receive discounts when using the digital yuan at select Hong Kong
stores. Chinese banks are looking to increase international
spending options for their customers, with a focus on Hong Kong and
Macau.
Terraform Labs seeks FTX documents in case against SEC, names new
CEO
Blockchain developer Terraform Labs (TFL) is seeking to obtain
relevant documents from the bankrupt FTX to defend itself against
the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC sued
the TFL and its former CEO in February, alleging fraudulent
activities that resulted in the collapse of the Terra/LUNA
tokens. The TFL claims the collapse was caused by a
coordinated third-party attack. Now, they want FTX to provide
documents related to transactions involving cryptocurrencies,
including Terra USD (COIN:USTCUSD) and LUNA
(COIN:LUNAUSD). TFL claims that this information is in the
possession of FTX and is relevant to its case. In other news,
as Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon faces possible extraditions,
as a result, the company has appointed Chris Amani as its new
CEO. Amani, who had already worked at Terra since 2021 as
Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, took over in
April 2023. Amani stated that the company does not plan to launch
new stablecoins and will focus on other products. He expressed
hope that Kwon can clear the allegations as Terra continues to
operate without him.
FTX users targeted by phishing attacks after exchange goes bankrupt
Several users of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX are
being targeted by potential phishing attacks. They received a
fake “password reset” email from FTX customer support. The
email contained a link that directed users to a claims portal
related to FTX’s bankruptcy. Cybersecurity experts believe
that someone may be using a mailing list to force reset users’
credentials. If a hacker gets access to the email addresses,
they can steal funds from users’ accounts. The exchange owes
an estimated $8.1 billion to customers since its collapse last
November.
North Korean hackers break into software company JumpCloud to
target cryptocurrency customers
North Korean state-backed hackers broke into U.S. software
company JumpCloud to target its cryptocurrency customers, according
to security researchers. The attack forced JumpCloud to reset
customers’ API keys. The Lazarus hacking group, known to
target cryptographic entities, was attributed to the
breach. CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) and SentinelOne (NYSE:S)
linked the attack to the Lazarus subgroup called “Labyrinth
Chollima”. North Korea has a history of carrying out
cryptocurrency theft operations to fund its nuclear program.
Immunefi’s ChatGPT generates meaningless web3 security reports,
resulting in account bans
The Web3 bug bounty platform Immunefi has been receiving a
barrage of web3 security reports generated by ChatGPT since its
launch. However, the reports were deemed meaningless and did
not find any real vulnerabilities. As a result, Immunefi
permanently banned 21% of accounts that used the tool. While
most whitehats have a positive opinion of ChatGPT, there are
concerns about its limited accuracy in identifying vulnerabilities
and the need for additional security measures. Immunefi has
paid out over $80 million in bug bounties to date.
Kraken expands derivatives service with new CEO of Crypto
Facilities
Kraken is expanding its institutional derivatives service with
the appointment of Mark Jennings, a hedge fund veteran, as CEO of
Crypto Facilities. Kraken’s acquisition of Crypto Facilities
in 2019 allowed the crypto derivatives trading platform to remain
regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Jennings
intends to highlight Kraken’s ability to provide institutional
derivatives to its clients.
Bitget plans to expand to the Middle East and hire new employees
Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget is planning to expand its
operations to the Middle East and hire up to 60 new
employees. The company has already opened an office in Dubai
and is exploring opportunities in Bahrain and the United Arab
Emirates. Bitget is also seeking licenses to operate in the
region. The expansion follows the company’s launch in Turkey
and a partnership with Copper to offer custody
services. “ We expect to rapidly scale our Middle
East team to support business growth, with between 30 to 60 hires
over the next two years ”, Gracy Chen, managing director,
said in a statement.
Sequoia Capital undergoes restructuring after FTX collapse, crypto
investor exit
Sequoia Capital underwent a reshuffle of its VC team, resulting
in the departure of two crypto investors, Daniel Chen and Michelle
Fradin, along with other partners, Michael Moritz, Mike Vernal and
Kais Khimji. Chen and Fradin were involved in the company’s
cryptocurrency investments. The decision came after the
collapse of FTX in 2022, which caused significant losses for
Sequoia. Michael Moritz has also stepped aside to focus on his
wealth management company, Sequoia Heritage. The exits are
part of the company’s restructuring strategy.
Bitmain enters Filecoin mining industry with new mining machine
Bitmain, maker of cryptocurrency mining machines, is entering
the Filecoin (COIN:FILUSD) mining industry for the first
time. They are offering a new mining machine model priced at
$38,888 per unit. The machines come with a high hash rate and
users can host them on Antpool mining pool platform associated with
Bitmain to start earning rewards immediately after
purchase. Furthermore, Bitmain is also introducing a delegated
staking service for Filecoin. Sales of Bitmain’s Filecoin
mining machines will start on July 21st.
Chainlink launches interoperability Protocol to facilitate asset
transfer between blockchains
Chainlink recently launched an interoperability protocol between
blockchains with the aim of facilitating the transfer of
assets. Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov has bigger
ambitions and predicts that banks and financial institutions will
create their own blockchains, which will eventually connect to
public blockchains like Ethereum. Nazarov believes that this
fusion between public and private blockchains can add a lot of
value to cryptocurrencies. Chainlink is already working with
banks and financial institutions on interoperability testing and
sees a bright future in this area. Chainlink tokens
(COIN:LINKUSD) saw an increase of up to 19% in the last 24 hours,
and an increase of 31.68% for the week.
Chingari integration with Aptos blockchain drives increase in users
and activity
The integration of Indian social media platform Chingari with
the Aptos blockchain has resulted in a significant increase in
activity. After migrating to Aptos due to Solana network
issues, Chingari experienced a 900% growth in new users, totaling
nearly 90,000 daily onboardings. On-chain instant features
such as virtual gifts have driven this increase, along with
Chingari’s new wallet, which allows users to earn tokens through
engagement and content creation. Additionally, the company
anticipates rapid growth in the number of users and transactions,
outpacing other decentralized applications. This trend of
shifting towards more efficient and usable blockchains is also seen
in other industries such as gaming,
Reddit presents strategy for integrating digital collectibles with
the Ethereum blockchain
Mirela Spasova, senior engineer at Reddit, presented at the
Ethereum Community Conference (EthCC) the platform’s strategy to
integrate millions of users with its blockchain-based digital
collectibles. Collectible avatars allow users freedom of use,
including the option to resell them on popular NFT
marketplaces. Reddit has prioritized the user experience by
developing a non-custodial wallet and facilitating quick
onboarding. This initiative has already attracted more than
eight million users and promoted community involvement.
Push Protocol launches Push Spaces for community-based
decentralized streaming
Push Protocol launched Push Spaces, a decentralized,
community-based streaming solution, during EthCC. The
platform, similar to Twitter Spaces, allows users to interact and
express their thoughts without the need for transaction
subscriptions or payment of fees. Push Protocol has also
strategically partnered with Unstoppable Domains and Polygon to
improve adoption of decentralized messaging and deliver a new user
experience. The purpose of the Push Protocol is to
revolutionize the interaction of web3 users natively in the web3
environment.
Liquid staking becomes largest DeFi sector by total locked amount,
surpassing DEXs
The liquid staking subsector has become the largest
decentralized finance (DeFi) sector in terms of Total Value Locked,
according to Binance. Liquid staking surpassed decentralized
exchanges (DEXs) as the top-ranked DeFi category in April 2023. The
liquid staking engine played an important role before the Ethereum
Shanghai upgrade, allowing users to get liquidity while earning
income on Ether (COIN:ETHUSD). The report also mentioned the
emergence of LSTfi protocols, where LSTs are used as collateral to
create stablecoins. Despite the growth in liquid staking, the
DeFi sector as a whole has underperformed the global crypto
market.
Binance Labs invests $10 million in Radiant Capital
Binance Labs, the venture capital division of cryptocurrency
exchange Binance, has invested $10 million in cross-chain lending
protocol and Radiant Capital lending. Radiant is built on
LayerZero, an interoperability protocol that allows communication
between different blockchains. Radiant supports lending and
on-chain lending, with plans to expand to more Ethereum-compatible
chains. The funding round will be used to develop new products
and features, including extending oracle support and deployment on
the Ethereum mainnet. Radiant is already a leading lending
protocol on Arbitrum (COIN:ARBUSD) and BNB Chain (COIN:BNBUSD).
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