BTCUSD Bitcoin

Distribution of Mt. Gox funds and its impact on the Bitcoin market

Kraken exchange customers were informed via email that Mt. Gox refunds had been transferred to Kraken, with distribution expected within 7 to 14 days. Arkham Intelligence noted the movement of 48,641 Bitcoins, valued at $3.1 billion, from a Mt. Gox fiduciary wallet, suggesting this wallet is associated with Kraken. Meanwhile, the Mt. Gox trustee has been moving funds from cold wallets to hot wallets, with a current total of 138,985 BTC.

The crypto community is intensely debating the potential effects of these refunds on the markets, with predictions ranging from a significant drop in Bitcoin’s price, a rise above $70,000 by mid-September, to institutional interest absorbing the volatility.

Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) is currently priced at $64,760, fluctuating -0.14% in the last 24 hours. Fernando Pereira, an analyst at Bitget, suggests that the S&P 500 index performance today will be a key indicator for Bitcoin’s future price direction.

“If the S&P closes negative on Tuesday, we may see a bearish trend that will likely drive BTC below $60,000, but if we have a positive day on the S&P 500, we could see BTC reach new all-time highs by the end of the month,” Pereira pointed out.

Launch of Ether ETFs in the US: moderate expectations and preliminary SEC approval

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gave preliminary approval to three of the eight asset managers planning to launch ETFs tied to the spot price of ether. Final approval depends on the submission of final documents by the end of this week. According to Reuters, the ETFs are scheduled to start trading next Tuesday, marking a significant step in the acceptance of digital assets in the mainstream financial market. It is expected that all eight funds will be launched simultaneously.

According to a recent report by Citi (NYSE:C), US spot Ether ETFs are expected to capture only 30% to 35% of the net inflows compared to Bitcoin ETFs, totaling between $4.7 and $5.4 billion in six months. The report suggests that Ether (COIN:ETHUSD) may not currently offer the same long-term diversification benefits as Bitcoin, which could limit additional inflows into Ether ETFs.

Zcash community adopts decentralized funding with 20% of block rewards

The Zcash community (COIN:ZECUSD) approved reallocating 20% of block rewards to a decentralized grants system known as the “Lockbox for Decentralized Grants Allocation.” About 63% of voters supported the proposal, which aims to accumulate funds for future disbursements based on community decisions. This new model will replace the previous direct funding system, promoting greater decentralization and accountability in the project’s development. The native token of Zcash is up 8.47% in the last 24 hours, with a latest price of $30.62.

Worldcoin extends token lock-up and boosts valuation

Tools for Humanity (TFH), the developer of Worldcoin, announced the extension of the WLD token lock-up period for the team and investors from three to five years, aiming to strengthen the project’s development and stability. The change, aligned with Worldcoin’s (COIN:WLDUSD) long-term goals, resulted in a significant increase in the token, which reached a peak price of $2.86 on Tuesday. At the time of writing, WLD marked a 19.45% increase, trading at $2.78.

LiFi protocol suffers $10 million crypto theft

The LiFi protocol, a cross-chain exchange and bridge platform for Solana (COIN:SOLUSD) and EVM assets, fell victim to a cyber attack resulting in the loss of approximately $10 million. The platform alerted its users to avoid interacting with its applications while the incident is under investigation. The exploit targeted users with “infinite approvals” configured, who were the most affected. Analyses indicate the stolen stablecoins were converted to Ethereum (COIN:ETHUSD) and dispersed across various wallets.

Polygon Labs launches Plonky3 for zero-knowledge proof advancements

Polygon Labs (COIN:MATICUSD) announced the readiness of Plonky3, its new generation of zero-knowledge proof systems, offering greater modularity and flexibility for developers. This update from Plonky2 will be open-source and promises to significantly improve Ethereum scalability. Plonky3 provides customizable options to optimize proof speed and size, marking an important advancement in zero-knowledge proof technology.

Uniswap Labs launches wallet extension for Chrome browser

Uniswap Labs introduced a new wallet extension for the Chrome browser, allowing users to set up or import Uniswap wallets directly in the browser’s sidebar. The extension supports multiple blockchain networks such as Ethereum and Avalanche, facilitating asset swaps, transaction signing, and transfers without the need for pop-ups. The new feature has attracted nearly 800,000 interested users since its initial announcement in February. The native token of Uniswap (COIN:UNIUSD) is down 4.77% in the last 24 hours, with a latest price of $8.19.

Bitso integrates Lightning Network for faster and cheaper Bitcoin transactions

Bitso, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges in Latin America, partnered with Lightspark to integrate the Bitcoin Lightning Network into its platform. This will enable faster and cheaper Bitcoin transactions for over 8 million retail customers and 1,700 institutional clients of Bitso. The exchange will use Lightspark’s infrastructure to facilitate Lightning transfers, maintaining control over private keys. Adopting this technology aims to improve Bitcoin transfer efficiency, reducing costs and time.

Sustained increase in Bitcoin ETF investments in the US

On July 15, US exchange-traded Bitcoin funds recorded $300 million in inflows, according to data from Farside Investors. Most of these investments were in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:IBIT), which added $117.2 million to the total managed assets of $18.4 billion, and in ARK 21Shares (AMEX:ARKB), also with $117.2 million in inflows.

Leaders support Trump with millions in donations

A select group of venture capitalists, magnates, and tech executives, including Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss of Gemini, contributed $8.75 million to a new political action committee (PAC) supporting Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, co-founders of crypto investor a16z, plan substantial donations to Trump’s reelection campaign. According to Cointelegraph, they announced this internally after Trump chose JD Vance, a prominent crypto advocate, as his vice president. Other notable donors include Douglas Leone of Sequoia Capital and Joe Lonsdale of Palantir. Elon Musk, despite denying rumors of a planned $45 million monthly donation, expressed support following an incident involving Trump.

Web3 executive suggests blockchain to prevent data breaches like AT&T’s

Tim Kravchunovsky, founder and CEO of Chirp, argued that the recent AT&T (NYSE:T) data breach could have been prevented using blockchain. He highlighted that storing data in a decentralized and immutable system could significantly reduce the chances of security breaches and offer quicker responses to threats, making violations harder to conceal and manage. The breach exposed call records and phone numbers of 109 million users, suggesting traditional data storage solutions are insufficient for modern security needs.