Bitcoin Price: US$ 64,027.60 (-0.20%)
Ethereum Price: US$ 3,426.50 (+1.16%)
Despite ongoing sanctions and legal issues, Tornado Cash has seen a $1.9 billion surge in deposits in the first half of 2024, indicating its continued use by large hacking groups. The sanctions have not deterred its popularity, leading to a lawsuit supported by major crypto firms challenging the sanctions’ legality, while its co-founders face various legal challenges. Meanwhile, BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF continues to attract significant investments, with nine consecutive days of inflows despite a decline in positive Bitcoin sentiment and increased short positions by traders. Interestingly, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index shows a market sentiment rebound to “Greed,” despite the recent price fluctuations. Additionally, Italy’s state-owned bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA has completed a $27.2 million digital bond issuance on the Polygon blockchain, as part of a European Central Bank trial, showcasing the potential of public blockchains for financial transactions. This transaction underscores the growing interest in tokenisation, though there are differing views on its scalability and efficiency for handling large volumes of real-world assets.
A new cyber threat known as an “overlay attack” is increasingly targeting crypto users by creating fake interfaces on their devices to steal sensitive information like usernames and 2FA codes, exploiting seemingly benign apps and bypassing 2FA protections, thus posing serious risks to both banking and crypto applications. In anticipation of Ether ETF listings, issuers are engaged in a fee war, with many offering significant discounts or waivers to attract investors; meanwhile, Grayscale is maintaining higher fees for its existing Ethereum Trust, while Franklin Templeton leads with a full fee waiver for up to a year or until it reaches $10 billion in assets, illustrating the competitive ETF market. Simultaneously, Kraken is expanding its Custody services to the UK and Australia, marking its first international rollout after its US launch, and plans further regional expansions, while also partnering with Tottenham Hotspur as its official crypto and Web3 partner and distributing Mt. Gox reimbursement funds to creditors following a substantial Bitcoin transfer.
BitGo has integrated the Stacks blockchain to enhance Bitcoin functionality, enabling users to earn Bitcoin rewards through “stacking” while mitigating additional risks, marking a step forward in institutional adoption of Bitcoin-native decentralised finance. As Stacks prepares to release sBTC, a Bitcoin-backed asset designed to advance Bitcoin DeFi, BitGo will support this new token standard as a network Signer. Meanwhile, a recent Reddit poll indicates that most Mt. Gox creditors intend to hold onto their Bitcoin payouts, though the results may be skewed by sample size and biases; as of July 17, Mt. Gox trustees have distributed over 36% of the owed Bitcoin, with notable transactions recently made to Kraken. In Greece, a new tax framework for cryptocurrencies is expected by January 2025, with a special committee proposing a 15% capital gains tax on crypto profits, reflecting the country’s growing crypto activity and collaborations, such as the recent partnership between the Greek stock exchange and the Sui blockchain.
Chainlink has introduced its Digital Assets Sandbox (DAS), enabling financial institutions to quickly test digital asset innovations like bond tokenisation, cutting trial times from months to days and boosting efficiency. This move addresses institutional needs for secure and rapid experimentation in blockchain technology, with tokenisation projected to grow into a $16 trillion market by 2030, as noted by the Global Financial Markets Association and Boston Consulting Group. Meanwhile, the Bitcoin Runes protocol has experienced a sharp decline in popularity since its launch, with a significant drop in its share of Bitcoin network transactions and waning investor interest, reflecting broader fluctuations in the hype around Bitcoin-based NFTs and decentralised finance innovations. Additionally, OKX has selected Malta as its compliance hub for the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations, citing the country’s strong regulatory standards and infrastructure, while simultaneously exiting Nigeria due to regulatory changes affecting local customer services.
Source: https://cointelegraph.com
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