Massive Bitcoin sale by German government triggers volatility in cryptocurrency market
The German government transferred over $900 million in Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD), causing an immediate drop in the cryptocurrency’s price. According to Arkham Intelligence data, around 16,309 BTC were moved to exchanges like Bitstamp, Kraken, and Coinbase. After these transactions, Bitcoin’s price fell to a 24-hour low of $54,278.93, later rebounding by 0.9% to $56,324.02. The sale is part of a larger divestment, reducing the government’s holdings from 50,000 to 23,788 BTC.
Bitfinex analysts suggest that Bitcoin may have found a local bottom. The massive sale by the German government, which released large quantities of seized Bitcoin into the market, represents only a small fraction of the total transaction volume since 2023, indicating minimal long-term market impact. Indicators like negative funding rates and the drop in the Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR) point to a potential recovery.
Celo advances integration with Ethereum by launching Dango Layer 2 testnet
Celo, a pioneer in mobile Layer 1 blockchain, has taken a significant step towards integrating with the Ethereum ecosystem by launching the Dango Layer 2 testnet. Following a community vote, the Celo network will transition to a Layer 2 chain under Optimism’s “Superchain” ecosystem. This development aims to facilitate token bridging between Ethereum and Celo, increase transaction speed, and reduce block times. Celo’s native token (COIN:CELOUSD) rose 5.88% in the last 24 hours, trading at 0.504000.
Binance delists four altcoins, causing price drops
Binance announced it will delist four altcoins — BarnBridge (COIN:BONDUSD), Dock (COIN:DOCKUSD), Mdex (COIN:MDXUSD), and Polkastar (COIN:POLSUSD) — starting July 22, causing a significant depreciation in the market value of some of these cryptocurrencies. The decision reflects the exchange’s practice of periodically reevaluating listed assets to ensure they meet required standards, including trading volume and network security. In the last 24 hours, BarnBridge, Dock, and Polkastar dropped by 33%, 44%, and 24%, respectively. At the time of writing, Mdex shows a 0.8% increase.
Bitcoin ETFs attract substantial investments despite volatility
Last Friday, US Bitcoin ETFs recorded notable inflows of $143.1 million, the highest amount in the past two weeks. The Fidelity ETF (AMEX:FBTC) led with $117.4 million in inflows, followed by the Bitwise ETF (AMEX:BITB) with $30.2 million, and the VanEck ETF (AMEX:HODL) with $12.8 million. The Ark Invest ETF (AMEX:ARKB) also saw an influx of $11.3 million. However, the Grayscale ETF (AMEX:GBTC) faced a setback with $28.6 million in outflows. Other funds had no net inflows in their spot BTC ETFs.
Bitstamp accelerates Bitcoin distribution to Mt. Gox creditors
Bitstamp has committed to quickly distributing Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) payments to creditors of the defunct Mt. Gox exchange, despite having a 60-day deadline to do so after receiving the cryptocurrencies. The exchange expressed its intention to expedite reimbursements to mitigate the impact on affected investors. The complexity of the repayment schedules involves multiple exchanges, each with its own timelines for processing payments.
Metaplanet intensifies Bitcoin investments despite price drop
Japanese consultancy and investment firm Metaplanet (TSX:3350) continues to expand its Bitcoin portfolio, purchasing an additional 42,466 bitcoins for approximately $2.5 million (400 million yen), despite the recent depreciation of the cryptocurrency. With this acquisition, the company raises its total bitcoins to 203,734, acquired at an average price of $62,000, above the current market value.
Riot Platforms intensifies efforts to reform Bitfarms’ board
Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT) launched a website, “ABetterBitfarms,” intensifying its effort to take control of rival Bitfarms (NASDAQ:BITF). Riot argues that Bitfarms’ corporate governance needs reform and seeks to reconstitute the company’s board to better represent shareholders’ interests. Bitfarms had previously rejected an initial $950 million takeover bid from Riot.
DMG Blockchain announces June results and future mining plans
DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc. (USOTC:DMGGF) reported its June 2024 operational results, highlighting the extraction of 24 BTC and a hashrate of 0.98 EH/s. The company holds a balance of 464 BTC and plans to fully energize 4,550 new Bitmain T21 miners in July. Despite the summer heat, DMG has implemented infrastructures to maintain hash rate stability and expects to significantly increase its mining capacity to 1.7 EH/s.
BlackRock’s BUIDL fund nears $500 million despite crypto market downturn
BlackRock’s Institutional Digital Liquidity USD Fund (COIN:BUIDLUSD), a tokenized fund on the Ethereum network, is close to accumulating $500 million in assets under management, standing out during a downturn for major assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The fund, which requires a minimum investment of $5 million, focuses on cash, US Treasury securities, and repurchase agreements, and has captured about 30% of the market since its launch in March.
Golem moves over $100 million in Ether to exchanges
Last month, Golem (COIN:GLMUSD) transferred a substantial amount of over $100 million in Ether to various cryptocurrency exchanges, indicating a possible intention to sell. This action included transferring 26,000 ETH in the last three days, valued at around $79 million. Despite no confirmation of a sale, transfers to exchanges typically suggest this intention. Golem, a pioneer in ICOs, raised a significant sum since its launch, with a large amount still in reserve.
Messari challenges SEC and declares regulatory independence
Messari, a prominent US crypto market intelligence platform, announced its independence from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), criticizing the regulator’s approach as overly stringent. CEO Ryan Selkis accused the SEC leadership of corruption and vowed to challenge the agency’s authority over the crypto industry in courts and Congress, citing recent regulatory failures and court decisions questioning the SEC’s mandate.
Tether surpasses major cryptocurrencies in daily trading volume
Stablecoin Tether (COIN:USDTUSD) achieved a 24-hour trading volume exceeding the combined volumes of five major digital assets, including Bitcoin (COIN) and Ethereum (COIN). The volume recently reached over $55 billion in a single day, reflecting Tether’s dominant market position, serving as a primary indicator of liquidity and stability in the crypto ecosystem.
Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, recently argued in an interview with Cointelegraph that running AI models locally on users’ devices, such as smartphones and laptops, is essential for privacy protection and data independence. According to him, this practice increases security by keeping data confined to the user’s device, eliminating dependence on external servers, and enabling offline functionality.
Ampleforth launches VER, a volatility-targeted stablecoin alternative
Ampleforth and its developer, Fragments, introduced VER, a digital asset designed to be less volatile, combining aspects of commodity-based money and peer-to-peer systems. This innovation is achieved through “tranching,” which splits the volatility of Ampleforth’s native token (COIN:AMPLUSD) into two assets: SPOT, a low-volatility token, and stAMPL, a staked token that absorbs most price fluctuations.
Stolen Pancake Bunny funds moved after three years via Tornado Cash
After three years of inactivity, funds linked to the attack on the decentralized finance protocol Pancake Bunny on the BNB Smart Chain were transferred using the privacy protocol Tornado Cash. In 2021, Pancake Bunny fell victim to a flash loan attack, resulting in significant losses and a 95% devaluation of its BUNNY tokens. Recently, an address associated with the hacker transferred 1,002 Ether, valued at around $3 million, aiming to avoid tracking.
Khamzat Chimaev’s manager denies fighter’s involvement with SMASH memecoin
Majdi Shammas, manager of UFC fighter Khamzat Chimaev, clarified that Chimaev was not involved with promoting the SMASH memecoin, despite contrary claims. Shammas said he accepted to promote the coin on his own after being approached by a group of Chimaev’s fans and apologized for any misunderstanding caused. The controversy arose after accusations that the SMASH development team made significant purchases of the coin, suggesting a potential pump-and-dump scheme.
The meme revolution: transforming finance with gamification and community
Combining humor and profitability, memes have reshaped finance, turning community groups into economic powerhouses within days. Often seen as mere humorous images, memes represent deep cultural nuances and have catalyzed significant financial movements in both traditional finance and cryptocurrencies. This approach has captured the essence of community financing on Reddit (NYSE:RDDT) and permeated cryptocurrency markets with memecoins like DOGE. With blockchain technology, these group dynamics have evolved into gamified financing forms, highlighting a new path for community engagement and financial democratization. This interaction fosters a new era of finance driven by meme culture and gamification, making the financial process more accessible and enjoyable.
Digital distraction: “Hamster Kombat” game affects elections in Iran
According to CoinDesk, two months after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s death in a helicopter accident, Iran faced challenges in the elections for his successor due to citizens being distracted by the crypto game “Hamster Kombat,” available on Telegram. According to a senior military official, the population was so engrossed in the game that they could not adequately assess the candidates.