1. US Judge’s Ruling on XRP Complex, Controversy Continues over Whether It Is a Security link

On July 14th, the Southern District of New York court ruled on the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple and concluded that Ripple’s programmatic sales and other distributions of XRP do not constitute offers and sales of investment contracts. However, Ripple’s institutional sales of XRP were found to be unregistered offers and sales of investment contracts in violation of Section 5 of the Securities Act. As a result of this news, as of the time of writing (July 14th), XRP saw a maximum increase of 103%, with a current price of $0.77 and a surge in market capitalization, ranking it fourth. For more updates and discussions on the XRP ruling, please follow Wu Shuo’s official website (wu-talk.com).

2. US June Unadjusted CPI Sees 3% Year-on-Year Increase link

On July 12th, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the non-seasonally adjusted Consumer Price Index (CPI) for June. The annual rate of CPI was 3%, slightly lower than the expected 3.1% and down from the previous value of 4.0%. The non-seasonally adjusted core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, had an annual rate of 4.8% in June, lower than the expected 5.0% and down from the previous value of 5.3%. The overall CPI and the core CPI both rose by 0.2% in June, slightly below the expected increase of 0.3%. This data is unlikely to have a significant impact on the FOMC meeting scheduled at the end of July. It is widely expected that the FOMC will continue to raise interest rates at the July meeting, but the data may have an impact on the September meeting, depending on the labor and inflation data next month.

3. China’s June CPI Sees Year-on-Year Growth Rate Fall to 0% link

On July 10th, China released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for June, showing a year-on-year growth rate of 0%, which remained unchanged from May. Meanwhile, the Producer Price Index (PPI) for industrial producers experienced a further decline, reaching its lowest level since January 2016. This was mainly due to the continued fall in prices of commodities such as petroleum and coal, as well as the impact of a higher base in the same period last year. Both the CPI and PPI figures were lower than market expectations.

4. Circle Co-Founder: Stablecoins More Helpful for CNY Internationalization than CBDCs link

On July 11th, Jeremy Allaire, co-founder of Circle, expressed his views on China’s openness to the cryptocurrency market in an interview with the South China Morning Post. He stated that he did not hold any illusions about China mainland opening its market to cryptocurrencies, but remained optimistic about the development of Web3 in Hong Kong and the local monetary authority’s regulation of stablecoins. He mentioned that if the Chinese government ultimately wants to see the CNY being used more freely in trade and commerce worldwide, stablecoins may be better suited to achieve this goal than central bank digital currencies.

5. Standard Chartered Bank Predicts Bitcoin to Reach $50,000 by the End of 2023 and $120,000 by the End of 2024 link

In a research report on July 8th, Standard Chartered Bank predicted that the price of Bitcoin could rise to $50,000 by the end of 2023, and revised its Bitcoin price target for the end of 2024 from $100,000 (as forecasted in April) to $120,000. It is worth noting that although Standard Chartered Bank is one of the largest banks in the UK, its predictions regarding Bitcoin have been inconsistent. In a previous report at the end of 2022, it predicted a potential surprise of Bitcoin plummeting to $5,000 in 2023.

6. Temasek States No Immediate Plans to Invest in Cryptocurrency Companies link

On July 11th, Chief Investment Officer of Temasek, Rohit Sipahimalani, stated in an interview with CNBC that due to regulatory uncertainties in the cryptocurrency industry, the fund is currently not planning to invest in cryptocurrency companies. When considering FTX, Temasek conducted necessary due diligence on early-stage investments but found it to be very challenging. Temasek announced its worst returns since 2016 on Tuesday, influenced by macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges.

7. 7-Eleven Launches Free Slurpee NFT on Polygon link

On July 12th, according to Decrypt, 7-Eleven, the world’s largest convenience store chain, launched a free Slurpee NFT on Polygon. The NFT can be experienced by scanning through a mobile device. As per the terms of service, the “Find Your Slurpee Vibe” collectibles by 7-Eleven are only authorized for collectors and cannot be stored, sold, or transferred to third parties.

8. US Department of Justice Arrests DEX Attacker Who Stole Over $9 Million link

On July 12th, the United States announced its first criminal case involving the attack on a decentralized exchange (DEX) smart contract. Shakeeb Ahmed has been charged by the United States Southern District of New York federal prosecutors with telecommunications fraud and money laundering, with each charge carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment. Shakeeb Ahmed utilized his expertise to execute a flash loan attack on a DEX operating on the Solana blockchain, resulting in the theft of approximately $9 million worth of cryptocurrency. The indictment does not explicitly mention the targeted DEX, but the description aligns with last year’s theft incident involving Crema Finance, a liquidity protocol on Solana. Crema Finance fell victim to a hacking attack in July last year.

9. Over 8,000 Seized Silk Road BTC Allegedly Sent to Coinbase, According to US Department of Justice link

On July 12th, it was observed that over 9,000 BTC from addresses associated with the Silk Road, which were allegedly seized by the US Department of Justice, have been transferred. The remaining balance of over 30,000 BTC still remains in one address and has not been moved. Previously, the US government sold 9,800 BTC on March 14th and announced plans to sell an additional 41,500 BTC related to the Silk Road in four batches within a year. Wu Shuo’s Analysts have analyzed the on-chain activity of the address involved in this transfer and believe that the transferred BTC has been moved to Coinbase’s cold wallet address.

10. US Regulatory Authorities Sue Celsius Network and Former CEO Alex Mashinsky link

On July 13th, according to Bloomberg, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against the bankrupt cryptocurrency lending company Celsius Network and its former CEO, Alex Mashinsky, in the Manhattan federal court. Detailed information has not been immediately disclosed. According to sources familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg, Alex Mashinsky was arrested after an investigation into the company’s collapse, with the arrest occurring on Thursday morning. In addition to the SEC, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have also filed lawsuits against Celsius and Alex Mashinsky.

Previously, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against former CEO Alex Mashinsky of Celsius Network in January of this year, alleging that he made false statements about the company’s condition to encourage a continuous flow of funds, deceiving hundreds of thousands of investors.

Fundraising

• Web3 startup Narval successfully completes a $4 million seed funding round, led by BlockTower VC. link

• Cryptocurrency cybersecurity firm Olympix announces the completion of a $4.3 million seed funding round. link

• NFT lending protocol Gondi, developed by Florida Street, secures $5.3 million in funding. link

• Software company Alluvial announces the completion of a $12 million Series A funding round, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Kraken, and others. link

• AI and cryptocurrency hybrid project Giza announces the completion of a $3 million seed funding round. link

• Automated customer support company AwesomeQA secures $2.8 million in seed funding, led by North Island Ventures. link

• Web3 music startup Sound raises $20 million in funding led by A16z. link

• NFT ticketing solution GET Protocol completes a $4.5 million seed funding round. link

• Binance Labs commits to invest $15 million in Web3 gaming platform and publisher Xterio. link

Learn more, check out crypto-fundraising.info.

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