1. Federal Reserve Raises Interest Rates by 25 bps link

On July 27th, according to The Wall Street Journal, the Federal Reserve announced a 25 basis point interest rate hike, bringing the rates to the highest point in twenty-two years. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell did not rule out the possibility of another rate hike at the central bank’s next meeting in September. The Federal Reserve aims to maintain long-term inflation rates at 2%.

CICC (China International Capital Corporation) pointed out that the overall changes in the Federal Reserve’s meeting statement were not significant, and Powell’s speech retained flexibility for future policies. It is expected that July is likely to be the last rate hike in this round, but if the month-on-month inflation rate continues to be above 0.4% before the September meeting, there may be additional rate hikes. Attention will be given to the Employment Cost Index (ECI) data on Friday and Powell’s statements on inflation-fighting measures at the Jackson Hole Conference in August. The earliest possibility for rate cuts is expected to be in the first quarter of next year. Short-term expectations suggest that US bond rates and the US dollar index will remain volatile, and the US stock market may turn downwards after the expectation of a recession intensifies. Additionally, it is essential to monitor the recent major US stock financial reports closely.

2. Worldcoin Launches Token WLD link

On July 24th, Worldcoin, created by Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, launched its token WLD, which officially went live today. Prior to this, the development company Tools for Humanity, associated with Worldcoin, raised $115 million in Series C funding, led by Blockchain Capital with follow-on investments from a16z and others. According to its token economics, the initial total supply is 10 billion tokens, with 75% allocated to the Worldcoin community, 9.8% to the initial development team, and 13.5% to TFH investors. Over 2 million users have already received more than 43 million WLD tokens.

3. MetaMask Product Lead Discusses Future Plans link

On July 27th, Decrypt conducted a video interview with the Product Lead of MetaMask. During the interview, the Product Lead mentioned that MetaMask might undergo significant changes in the coming years, depending on which Snaps developers choose to integrate. Currently, MetaMask has 30 million monthly active users and 100 million overall users. There is a possibility of expanding to support non-EVM chains. However, there are no immediate plans to introduce utility for tokens. The Product Lead emphasized that rapid action and trial and error are not in line with the principles of Web3, and that their users do not desire such an approach. The full interview can be found on the WuShuo official website.

4. KuCoin Exchange Announces Workforce Reduction of Nearly 30% link

On July 25th, according to exclusive information from WuShuo, the cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin is planning to lay off nearly 30% of its workforce. Currently, KuCoin has around 1000 employees. The main reason for the layoffs is the recent comprehensive compliance strategy and stricter Know Your Customer (KYC) measures, which have resulted in a decline in profit margins. Previously, KuCoin users in many regions, such as the United States and Canada, have been affected by the enforcement of these measures.

In response to this, KuCoin stated that the company will undergo certain personnel optimization and adjustments based on the development of their business and semi-annual performance assessment, which is a normal part of organizational development and personnel changes. Facing new challenges and opportunities, KuCoin is actively embracing compliance and focusing on the development of their core business.

5. Binance’s Weekly Summary

a. Binance Officially Responds to Dismissing CFTC’s Lawsuit Alleging Illegal Commodity Trading Products for U.S. Residents link

On July 28th, Binance officially responded to the CFTC’s lawsuit accusing it of offering illegal commodity trading products to U.S. residents. Binance, in its rebuttal, stated that the CFTC has exceeded its statutory jurisdiction. The company emphasized that it does not operate in the United States, and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, is also not a U.S. resident. Binance further pointed out that the first six charges brought by the CFTC “do not apply to foreign conduct described herein,” and some of the allegations fail to meet the required legal standards.

b. Binance Withdraws Application for Cryptocurrency License in Germany link

On July 26th, Binance announced that it has withdrawn the license application submitted to the German financial regulator BaFin. A spokesperson for Binance stated that there have been significant changes in the global market and regulatory landscape, and the company still plans to apply for a license in Germany, but the submitted application must accurately reflect these changes. Prior to this, BaFin made an internal decision not to grant Binance a cryptocurrency custody license.

c. CZ: Binance to Commence Full-Fledged Services on New Platform in Japan in August link

On July 25th, during his video speech at the global conference WebX, CZ , the CEO of Binance, announced that Binance will begin offering comprehensive services on a new platform in Japan starting from August. Previously, Binance Global announced that it would stop providing services to Japanese residents on November 30, 2023, and the company plans to launch a local platform in Japan in the summer of 2023.

6. Bybit Payroll Head Involved in Large-scale USDT Embezzlement, Singapore Court Details Cryptocurrency Property Attributes link

Bybit, a cryptocurrency exchange, has filed a lawsuit against Ms. Ho, who was responsible for handling the company’s internal payroll, alleging that she abused her authority to transfer a large amount of USDT to an address secretly owned and controlled by her. On July 25th, the Singapore High Court upheld the judgment, stating that cryptocurrencies are widely recognized as property, and holders of crypto assets have intangible property rights recognized under common law. As such, they can be enforced in court as items in litigation. The court ruled that Ms. Ho must immediately repay Bybit all the transferred funds along with interest. The full judgment can be found on the WuShuo official website.

7. Alphapo Hot Wallet Hacked, Stolen Amount Totals $23 Million link

On July 23rd, according to blockchain investigator ZachXBT, the hot wallets of Alphapo, a cryptocurrency payment service provider, were hacked, resulting in the theft of over 23 million USD in funds from ETH, Tron, and BTC. In the case of Ethereum, the stolen funds were converted to ETH and then bridged to Avalanche and Bitcoin. Alphapo is known for processing payments for various gambling services such as HypeDrop, Bovada, and Ignition, with HypeDrop temporarily suspending withdrawals.

As reported by PeckShield, the attackers of Alphapo transferred approximately 6.07 million USDT, 108,000 USDC, 100 million FTN, 430,000 TFL, 2,500 Ethereum, and about 1,700 DAI to an address starting with “0x040a.” Subsequently, they traded some stablecoins and altcoins for 5,730 Ethereum and conducted transactions through the Avalanche Bridge to convert them to BTC. Additionally, around 12 million USDT and 5.2 million TRX were transferred to an address starting with “TDoNAZ.”

On July 26th, SlowMist tweeted that CoinsPaid, Atomic, and the Alphapo attacker might all be associated with the North Korean hacking group Lazarus.

8. Missing Cryptocurrency Influencer Found in Argentina, Partially Dismembered Remains Found in Suitcase link

On July 28th, according to the New York Post, the missing cryptocurrency influencer Fernando Pérez Algaba was found in Argentina, with some of his dismembered remains discovered in a suitcase. It is reported that Algaba earned millions of dollars by renting luxury cars and selling cryptocurrencies, and he frequently advertised to his 900,000 followers on Instagram. The police have launched a murder investigation into the case.

9. Paradigm Announces Search for New Deep Collaboration Project link

On July 26th, the cryptocurrency investment firm Paradigm announced its search for new deep collaboration projects and offered support and funding. Currently, Paradigm has the capacity to engage in 3 to 5 new project collaborations. Additionally, Paradigm is exploring various areas, including Intent-centric protocols and infrastructure, Hooks based on Uniswap v4, infrastructure for a multi-chain world centered around Rollups, shared sequencers, blockchain games, crypto-native social applications, prediction markets, stablecoin payments, on-chain treasuries, and Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) applications.

10. Elon Musk Redesigns Brand, Replaces Twitter’s Iconic Blue Bird Logo with X Symbol link

On July 25th, the official Twitter logo was changed to an “X,” and the help center now displays the official name change from “Tweet” to “Xeet.” This renaming action by Twitter has led to the emergence of numerous imitations, with several tokens bearing the letter “X” being listed on decentralized exchanges (DEX) and experiencing unusual price surges. Professional traders believe that this optimistic sentiment arises from mainstream tokens like BTC and ETH going through a low-volatility period, leading some market participants to speculate on altcoins and low-cap stocks.

Fundraising

• EthStorage has successfully raised 7 million USD in funding with a valuation of 100 million USD. link

• Animoca Brands is set to invest 30 million USD in the web3 application startup, Hi. link

• The decentralized GPU infrastructure, Aethir, has announced today the completion of a Pre-A round financing of 9 million USD, with a valuation of 150 million USD. link

• Flashbots, the Ethereum infrastructure service, has secured a financing of 60 million USD at a valuation of 1 billion USD. link

• Delabs Games has announced the completion of a seed round financing of 4.7 million USD, with Hashed leading the investment. link

• The GameFi project, Kandle.xyz, has successfully raised 1.7 million USD in a seed round financing. link

• The privacy-focused email system, Dmail, has completed a Pre-A round financing with participation from Amino Capital and others. link

• Cymbal, a blockchain technology startup, has announced the completion of a financing round totaling 18.5 million USD. link

Learn more, check out crypto-fundraising.info.

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