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Bitcoin rises 0.25% amid mixed unemployment data: traders await CPI

On Aug 4, Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) surged after mixed US unemployment data weakened the US Dollar. BTC/USD reached daily highs of $29,273. While US stocks and Bitcoin made modest gains, the US dollar was down 0.6% to 101.8 on the DXY index. Trader Michaël van de Poppe believes that BTC could rise pending the next CPI inflation print. The BTC price range is set to remain over the weekend as traders wait to see the market’s reaction to the economic data.

Ethereum ETF frenzy: SEC receives 12 requests, approval chances 65%

The US SEC has received 12 applications for Ethereum ETFs as of August 3rd. Companies such as Bitwise, Grayscale and ProShares have filed multiple applications. Experts believe the apps are a gamble to get the first Ethereum ETF (COIN:ETHUSD) in the US, but regulatory uncertainty persists. Meanwhile, the SEC is still dealing with applications for Bitcoin ETFs, and analysts suggest there is a 65% chance of approval by the end of the year.

CME grows 24% in July in crypto options volume

Crypto options trading volume on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) grew 24% in July to reach $940 million, driven by investor interest in hedging tools. Bitcoin options were up 16.6% to $734 million, while ether options were up 60% to $207 million. The surge in BTC options volume suggests that institutions are seeking hedging amid market uncertainty. Total futures volume on CME fell 17.6% to $39.1 billion following the global slowdown. The combined volume of crypto and derivatives trades on centralized exchanges fell by 12% in July.

Block makes $2.4 Billion from Bitcoin sales

Payments firm Block (NYSE:SQ), led by Jack Dorsey, reported revenue of $5.5 billion in the second quarter, with $2.4 billion coming from sales of Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD), an increase of 34% compared to the previous year. Gross profit increased 27%, driven by higher amount of BTC sold to customers despite lower Bitcoin prices in the quarter. The Cash App, which allows BTC to trade in US Dollars, generated a gross profit of $968 million, up 37% year-on-year. Block also holds around 8,027 BTC on its balance sheet.

Coinbase strikes back: SEC lawsuit and Q2 results

Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), a US cryptocurrency exchange, filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the SEC in June. Coinbase’s attorneys allege that the SEC violated due process and abused its regulatory power, citing SEC v. Ripple. The company requests that the court dismiss the case, arguing that the SEC’s action is punitive and represents an overstatement of its authority. The SEC filed suit against Coinbase in June, and the company has repeatedly denied the commission’s allegations. Additionally, the exchange released its second-quarter earnings report on Aug. 3, reporting a loss of 42 cents per share, better than analysts’ expectations for a loss of 76 cents per share. Revenue reached nearly $708 million, beating the estimate of $628 million. Despite cryptocurrency price growth this year and a 168% rise in Coinbase’s share value, revenue from retail transactions has remained low (-13%), the second lowest point since the company was launched. listed in 2021. The company also posted a net loss of $97 million and adjusted profit of $194 million in EBITDA. Coinbase strengthened its balance sheet by reaching $5.5 billion in dollar assets. It is also gearing up for the launch of its Layer 2 network, Base, on August 9th.

Binance adds 22 new assets for loans and collateral, possible ShibaSwap listing

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has announced the addition of 22 new lendable assets and collateral to its Flexible Lending and VIP Lending services. Some of the new collateral assets include Shiba Inu (COIN:SHIBUSD), Compound (COIN:COMPUSD) and Theta (COIN:TETAUSD). This development has also raised speculations about the possible listing of the Bone ShibaSwap token (COIN:BONEUSD) on Binance, coinciding with the launch of layer 2 blockchain, Shibarium, scheduled for August. Binance has also added Nem (COIN:XEMUSD) as a new asset available for borrowing on its cross-margin trading platform.

Revolut suspends U.S. crypto services due to regulatory uncertainty

British digital bank Revolut plans to suspend its cryptographic services to customers in the US due to regulatory uncertainty and changes in the market. As of September 2nd, US users will not be able to purchase cryptocurrencies through the app, and access to cryptocurrencies will be disabled a month later. The decision will affect less than 1% of Revolut’s cryptocurrency customers, which has around 25 million customers worldwide. Increased regulatory crackdowns on cryptocurrencies in the U.S. have led other companies to discontinue similar services to institutional clients.

Multichain exploit wallet sells millions in tokens on Uniswap, impacting WOO price

An Ethereum wallet funded by a beneficiary of the Multichain exploit sold $2.4 million worth of Chainlink tokens (COIN:LINKUSD) and $1.8 million worth of WOO Network tokens (COIN:WOOUSD) on Uniswap, resulting in a drop of 3.5% on the price of WOO. The wallet received funds from a suspicious address after receiving blocks from the Multichain team. Multichain shut down its operations after the CEO and his sister were detained by Chinese police, and the bridging protocol was previously exploited with a $130 million theft. In addition, the wallet has received and sold CRV (COIN:CRVUSD) and YFI (COIN:YFIUSD) tokens on Uniswap.

Bitcoin Bonnie and Clyde: Hacker admits Bitfinex hack and money laundering

In 2016, 119,754 bitcoins were stolen from Bitfinex, worth $71 million at the time. On Thursday, tech entrepreneur Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein admitted in federal court to hacking the exchange. Lichtenstein and his wife, Heather Morgan, were accused of laundering some of the stolen bitcoin, while the rest, worth $3.6 billion, was seized by authorities. The couple became known as “Bitcoin Bonnie and Clyde”. Lichtenstein pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money and faces up to 20 years in prison, while Morgan pleaded guilty to related charges.

Explorer returns $10 million in cryptocurrencies stolen from Curve Finance

The exploiter who stole $61 million worth of assets from decentralized exchange Curve Finance returned part of the cryptocurrencies after interacting with one of the victims. Around $10 million worth of ETH and alETH was transferred to the Alchemix wallet. This action offers hope that more assets will be recovered. Curve’s CRV token (COIN:CRVUSD) is up more than 6% in the last 24 hours following the transactions. The attack rocked the DeFi sector, leading to precautionary withdrawals and a drop in the price of CRV. To avoid loan write-offs, Curve’s founder sold off some of his CRV inventory.

US Department of Justice responds to allegations of discrediting witness by former FTX CEO

The US Department of Justice has responded to allegations by lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of the bankrupt exchange FTX, saying he took steps to discredit a witness and smear the jury. Lawyers for the DoJ have asked for his bail to be revoked and for him to be detained pending trial. Bankman-Fried’s attorneys argued that his arrest would raise First Amendment concerns. The DoJ argued that his arrest would not jeopardize his defense, and cited a Harvard law professor to support the position that he has the right to comment publicly on the allegations against him.

GMX V2 Platform draws over $1.2 million in liquidity pools on the Arbitrum Network

Version 2 of the GMX trading platform, a popular decentralized exchange on the Arbitrum Layer 2 network, has successfully launched, attracting over $1.2 million in liquidity pools. The new version offers spot and perpetual futures trading for a variety of assets, including Dogecoin (COIN:DOGEUSD), with lower fees to attract more trading activity. GMX liquidity pools are rewarding liquidity providers with up to 45% annualized, and the introduction of V2 could boost the value of the platform’s governance token, GMX (COIN:GMXUSD). Currently, GMX owns more than $447 million in Arbitrum and $74 million in the Avalanche network.

zkSync vs Polygon Zero: Code assignment dispute heats up

Matter Labs CEO Alex Gluchowski has vehemently denied Polygon Zero’s claims that zkSync copied its code without proper attribution. Gluchowski argued that zkSync’s Boojum code is an independent implementation of the RedShift construct, introduced by Matter Labs three years before Plonky2’s Polygon Zero paper. He acknowledged that attribution could have been handled more standardly, but criticized the public allegations, emphasizing respect for the spirit of open source.

dYdX considers migration of governance token to dYdX Chain

The dYdX exchange, a leader in decentralized derivatives, is considering turning its governance token into the native asset of the future dYdX chain. The decision will be made through a governance vote, and the community will have a voice in the process. If approved, the ERC-20 token will be migrated from Ethereum to the dYdX Chain, a Cosmos SDK-based network. Possible functions of the new asset include staking, governance and rewards. The debut of version 4 is expected later this year.

President Biden becomes a Bitcoin ‘Ambassador’ in Campaign Video

President Joe Biden inadvertently became a brand ambassador for Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) in a video promoting his re-election campaign. The coffee mug shown in the video features the red “laser eyes”, a symbol used by Bitcoin enthusiasts. Although the Biden administration is considered anti-cryptocurrency, the post attracted attention and enthusiasm from the crypto community. Recently, a House panel passed bills to bring regulatory clarity to cryptocurrency companies.

Strict licensing regime for crypto exchanges in Hong Kong

The new regulatory licensing regime for cryptocurrency exchanges in Hong Kong can require up to $20 million to obtain the license. The regime allows platforms to serve retail investors, but derivatives and stablecoins are currently not allowed. Exchanges must handle their own custody, and insurance requirements are stringent, which can make it difficult to create meaningful competition. The approval of Hong Kong’s digital asset regulatory sandbox is seen as a positive step, but uncertainties and challenges remain for companies seeking the license.

Russia’s official digital ruble logo unveiled, CBDC in operation

The Bank of Russia has unveiled the official logo for the digital ruble, its central bank digital currency (CBDC). The logo features an international ruble symbol in a circle, in various color combinations. The bank also disclosed commission fees, which will be free until the end of 2024, but starting in 2025, there will be charges for transactions between businesses and individuals. The CBDC went live on August 1, 2023, after a pilot phase with thirteen local banks. Its mass adoption in Russia is expected to happen only after 2025 or 2027.

Mining giants will profit from Bitcoin trends: Bernstein analysis

According to Berstein, digital asset mining companies with high capacity and low production costs will be the main beneficiaries of recent trends. The top four miners who invested in equipment will profit the most from Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD), estimated at around $30,000. The top companies’ projected 182% growth over the next few years strengthens their position. Price volatility will not affect your productivity, while the halving and higher BTC prices will favor the entire mining sector. Industry consolidation will benefit the most prominent low-cost players such as Hut 8 (NASDAQ:HUT).

Argo Blockchain July update: mining volume, revenue and expansion

Argo Blockchain (NASDAQ:ARBK) has released an operational update for July 2023. During the month, the company mined 129 Bitcoins, representing a daily average of 4.2 BTC, down 11% from the previous month. Mining revenue totaled US$3.87 million. The company also installed and powered 1,242 BlockMiner machines, increasing its total hash capacity to approximately 2.6 EH/s. Interim CEO Seif El-Bakly expressed satisfaction with efforts to resume growth and roll out more machines.