1. Russian President Putin Signs Law Officially Legalizing Cryptocurrency Mining link

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a bill officially legalizing cryptocurrency mining. The law introduces new concepts such as digital currency mining, mining pools, mining pool infrastructure operators, address identifiers, and individuals organizing mining pool activities. Mining is considered part of circulation rather than the issuance of digital currencies. Only registered Russian legal entities and individual entrepreneurs are authorized to engage in mining, while individuals who do not exceed government-set energy consumption limits can mine without registration. Additionally, foreign digital financial assets can be traded on Russian blockchain platforms, and the Russian Central Bank has the authority to prohibit individual issuances if financial stability is threatened. The law will take effect ten days after its official publication. Putin described this as a promising economic sector, emphasizing that Russia must seize the opportunity to swiftly establish legal frameworks, develop infrastructure, and create conditions for the circulation of digital assets.

2. Global Market Flash Crash on August 5, Crypto Market Liquidations Total $1.022 Billion link

On August 5, Binance data revealed that Bitcoin briefly fell below $50,000, with a 24-hour decline of 17.58%, while Ethereum plummeted to a low of $2,111. The liquidation amount across the entire network exceeded $382 million within one hour on that day. According to Coinglass, in the past 24 hours, the total liquidations reached $1.022 billion, with long positions liquidated for $891 million and short positions for $131 million. On that day, USDT experienced substantial premiums on the C2C platforms of Binance and OKX, with USDT priced around 7.6 yuan on OKX, representing a 6.3% premium, and around 7.5 yuan on Binance, reflecting a 4.9% premium.

Simultaneously, global markets also saw significant declines. The Nikkei 225 index closed down 12.40% on Monday, the Korean Composite Index (KS11) fell 8.75%, and the three major US stock indices suffered sharp declines at the open. The Dow Jones dropped 1,070 points, the S&P 500 fell 4.2%, and the Nasdaq declined 6%. Prominent technology stocks plummeted, with Nvidia (NVDA.O) dropping 13%, falling below the $100 mark; TSMC (TSM.N) down 10%, Apple (AAPL.O) down 9%, and Tesla (TSLA.O) falling about 11%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index decreased by 2.4%. The “Big Seven” tech giants in the US all experienced severe drops, with Apple down 9.6%, Microsoft down 4.8%, Nvidia down 14.3%, Google down 6.5%, Amazon down over 8%, and Tesla down more than 10.85%. By the end of the day, the Nasdaq had reduced its losses to a decline of 3.43%.

QCP Capital pointed out that on August 5, 2024, the crypto market faced a storm, with Bitcoin and Ethereum hitting lows of $49,000 and $2,116, respectively. The large-scale ETH sell-offs by Jump Trading and Paradigm VC, along with the surge in front-end ETH implied volatility to 120%, were direct triggers for the downturn. The worsening macroeconomic conditions and heightened global risk aversion following last Friday’s disappointing US unemployment data led to a dramatic increase in market volatility. Nevertheless, the forward basis and funding rates remain stable.

Additionally, as of August 3, the US saw a new weekly initial jobless claims figure of 233,000, the lowest since the week of July 6. Analyst Adam Button noted that the initial claims decreased by 17,000 from the revised level of the previous week, suggesting that the increase in claims was more due to hurricane impacts rather than a fundamental trend.

Despite widespread belief that US economic data is manipulated, these figures still influence risk asset movements. Bitcoin and Ethereum rebounded over 5% on Thursday. The impact of the Japanese yen interest rate hike has temporarily subsided, but the market remains jittery with high levels of the fear index. According to options data, the implied volatility (IV) for major tenors remains above 60%, with little room for significant short-term declines. Currently, the 7-day realized volatility (RV) for BTC stands at 100%, far exceeding IV levels. Volatility exhibits clustering effects, and significant fluctuations may lead to prolonged aftershocks, with IV showing strong support.

3. White House and Harris Advisors Hear from Crypto Industry Executives as Democrats Launch “Crypto for Harris” Campaign link

According to The Information, on Thursday, a group of cryptocurrency industry executives held a conference call with White House officials and advisors to Vice President Kamala Harris to provide input on the Democratic presidential candidate’s stance on cryptocurrency policy. The executives expressed their concerns about crypto regulations, but no commitments were made by the White House representatives or Harris’s advisors. Participants included executives from Coinbase, Ripple, Kraken, and Circle, as well as venture capitalists Mark Cuban, Chris Dixon, and Ron Conway. The call was also attended by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed, National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo, and Senior Advisor and Legislative Affairs Director for the Vice President, Kristine Lucius.

Additionally, the U.S. Democratic Party has launched the “Crypto for Harris” campaign, with plans to host a virtual town hall meeting next week. The event will feature speakers such as billionaire entrepreneur and crypto advocate Mark Cuban, SkyBridge Capital founder and Trump critic Anthony Scaramucci, and several minority Democratic members of the House. The town hall, which is open to the public, will discuss ways to support Harris’s campaign and fundraising efforts. The “Crypto for Harris” initiative aims to engage the 40 million American voters who hold digital assets and demonstrate the Democratic Party’s commitment to advancing the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry.

4. Bank of Japan Vice Governor: No Rate Hike if Market Unstable link

Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida stated that the central bank will not raise policy rates amid instability in financial and capital markets. In his first public address following the historic crash in the Japanese stock market, Uchida described recent market movements as “extremely volatile,” emphasizing the need for the Bank of Japan to maintain an accommodative monetary policy for the time being. Following Uchida’s remarks, the yen fell by over 2% against the dollar, briefly reaching the mid-147 yen level, while the Nikkei index surged by more than 1,000 points.

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5. U.S. Judge Fines Ripple $125 Million in SEC Case link

Judge Analisa Torres of the Southern District of New York found that Ripple’s 1,278 institutional sales transactions violated securities laws, resulting in a fine of $125.035 million. This penalty is significantly lower than the SEC’s demand for $1 billion in illicit gains plus pre-judgment interest, and an additional $900 million in civil penalties. The ruling determined that Ripple’s direct sales of XRP to institutional clients breached federal securities laws, but also found that Ripple’s programmatic sales of XRP to retail investors through exchanges did not violate any securities laws. Judge Torres further issued an injunction preventing Ripple from future violations of federal securities laws and mandated that if Ripple intends to sell any securities, it must submit a registration statement. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse responded on Twitter, stating, “The SEC initially sought $2 billion; the court recognized their overreach and reduced their demands by approximately 94%. We respect the court’s decision and are determined to continue growing our company. This is a victory for Ripple, the industry, and the rule of law. The SEC’s opposition to the entire XRP community is now gone.”

6. U.S. Judge Officially Approves $12.7 Billion Settlement Between FTX and CFTC link

On August 7, U.S. District Judge Peter Castel officially approved the $12.7 billion settlement agreement reached between FTX, Alameda, and the CFTC to resolve a 20-month-long lawsuit. Notably, the CFTC did not seek civil penalties, meaning the entire $12.7 billion will be used to directly repay FTX creditors. Previously, FTX had reached a $12.7 billion settlement agreement with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), pending approval by a Delaware judge. The settlement includes $8.7 billion in compensation and $4 billion in disgorgement.

7. Paris Olympic Venues and Dozens of French Museum Stores Hit by Cyberattacks, Hackers Demand Cryptocurrency Ransom link

The venues for the 2024 Paris Olympics, including the Grand Palais and several museum shops across France, have been targeted in a cyberattack, with hackers demanding ransom payments in cryptocurrency. The cybercriminals focused on the system that centrally manages the financial data of these retail outlets. The French National Agency for the Security of Information Systems (ANSSI), responsible for overseeing Olympic cybersecurity, has been alerted to the incident and stated that the event will not affect any systems related to the operation of the Olympics and Paralympics.

8. Plustoken Ponzi Scheme Transfers Over $450 Million in ETH link

On Thursday, Arkham tweeted that over $450 million in Plustoken funds had been transferred. The Plustoken wallet, over a 24-hour period, associated with dozens of wallets and transferred $464.7 million worth of ETH. Plustoken, a Ponzi scheme from 2018–2019, defrauded global investors of approximately $2 billion to $2.9 billion in cryptocurrency. In June 2020, the Plustoken wallet transferred 789,500 ETH, distributing it through hundreds of intermediary wallets. At today’s prices, the ETH transferred from the Plustoken wallet in mid-2020 is now worth $1.9 billion.

9. Bitcoin ETF Options Could Launch in Q4 This Year, BlackRock Applies for Ethereum Spot ETF Options link

Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart tweeted that Bitcoin ETF options are set to launch in the fourth quarter of this year. The SEC’s decision deadline is around September 21, but further steps from the OCC and CFTC will still be needed afterward. CBOE recently withdrew its application for spot Bitcoin ETF options, which initially seemed like a setback. However, they have just submitted a new and updated application.

NASDAQ and BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm, plan to offer trading options for their spot Ethereum ETF. In a filing released on the SEC’s website on Tuesday, BlackRock and NASDAQ proposed rule changes to list and trade options on the iShares Ethereum Trust, addressing investor demand for Ethereum products and positions. The SEC is expected to make a final decision on the proposal by early April 2025.

10. OKX Users with Direct Fund Interactions with Tornado Cash to Face Account Termination link

OKX CEO Star tweeted that individuals under sanctions are unable to successfully open accounts on OKX. Additionally, users who deposit from sanctioned entities such as Garantex and Tornado Cash into OKX, or withdraw from OKX to these sanctioned entities, will trigger compliance risk controls, leading to account termination. Star emphasized that anyone interacting with Tornado Cash funds will face account closure, with no exceptions.

Fundraising

• Binance Labs has announced an investment in Solayer, a re-staking network within the Solana ecosystem. link

• Vessel has successfully completed a $10 million seed round of funding. link

• Andrena, a DePIN protocol on Solana, has announced the completion of an $18 million funding round. link

• Cartridge, a blockchain gaming infrastructure provider, has raised $7.5 million in Series A funding. link

• Elmnts, a platform for tokenizing mining rights, has completed a $2 million Pre-Seed round of funding. link

• Web3 game studio Curio has secured $5.7 million in seed funding. link

• Khalani Network has announced a $2.5 million seed round of funding, led by Ethereal Ventures. link

• Open-source blockchain data exploration tool Blockscout has completed a $3 million seed round of funding. link

• Moonveil has announced the completion of Pre-Series A funding, totaling $9 million. link

Learn more, check out crypto-fundraising.info.

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