Bitcoin's market share reached 45.84%, a two-year high | Binance Morning Report (June 16)

● Bitcoin’s market share reached 45.84%, a two-year high

According to The Block data dashboard, Bitcoin Dominance has reached 45.84%, a nearly two-year high. The last time such a level appeared was in July 2021, when it reached 46.77%. This shows that traders and investors are flocking to Bitcoin rather than altcoins with smaller market share.

● A Bitcoin whale increased its holdings by 15,000 BTC on June 15

According to Tokenview on-chain data, the Bitcoin whale (address beginning with bc1ql49y) accumulated 15,200 BTC through 9 transactions on the 15th. The current balance of this address is 111,700.2 BTC, ranking fourth in terms of holdings.

● Celsius submits updated bankruptcy plan, which is opposed by some borrowers

Bankrupt crypto lending platform Celsius filed an updated bankruptcy plan that incorporates the successful bid by the Fahrenheit consortium to buy its assets, which must be approved by the New York Bankruptcy Court overseeing the liquidation.

David Adler, an attorney representing some of Celsius' borrower groups, said the debtor has chosen to process the retail loan claims through an offset process, where the debtor has no intention of meeting its contractual obligations (i.e., returning the collateral to the borrower) despite the debtor's demand for repayment of the loan (i.e., requiring performance by the borrower). This proposed process is a near-violation of consumer lending laws (state and federal), and the interim borrower groups will oppose the plan.

● DWF Labs Partner: Trading activity has bottomed out, with 24-hour spot trading volume at a new low since the winter of 2019

Andrei Grachev, managing partner of DWF Labs, tweeted that trading activity has bottomed out, with 24-hour spot trading volume at $23 billion, the lowest since the winter of 2019. Behind the scenes, exchanges are starting to ask projects to manage trading volume, liquidity, etc., otherwise they will be delisted. Retail activity is also low, but people want and people need something to speculate, make money (or lose money), and even the currencies with larger market capitalizations can see 20-30% price changes in 24 hours, but they are still fragile. IDOs, IEOs, direct listings are no longer working, and people are waiting for new things and Binance Launchpad projects. It always promotes retail trading, and if something is successful, many people will try to repeat it.

Grachev said, “Projects, exchanges, market makers and other market participants are trying to fix the market (behind the scenes), there is no 100% solution, but it will bring something to the market. We are at the bottom in terms of activity, but the price is uncertain. But at the same time, if we are lucky, our market activity should increase in a few months and the price will also rise.”

● Fed Chairman Powell: It may be reasonable to continue to raise interest rates, but the pace should be more moderate

Fed Chairman Powell said that the pause is a continuation of the pace of moderate interest rate increases; as we get closer to the target, moderate rate hikes are meaningful, and the main issue is to determine the extent of further rate hikes; it may be reasonable to continue to raise interest rates, but the pace should be more moderate, and the pace of rate hikes and the final level of rate hikes are two independent variables; we have not yet decided whether to raise interest rates in July, and we may need to exercise more restraint than expected at the last meeting. (Jinshi)

● The US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board: Will increase supervision of auditors involved in cryptocurrency transactions

The U.S. audit regulator said on Wednesday that auditors have fallen short in rooting out unusual transactions and assessing whether cryptocurrency mining revenue is properly accounted for when reviewing the financial statements of companies involved in cryptocurrencies. The U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) issued an "Opinion on Audits of Public Companies Involving Crypto Assets" to assess how auditors test their clients' crypto transactions or holdings.

As part of a cross-company review of emerging audit risks, the committee will increase these oversight efforts this year and will review how auditors deal with fraud risks for clients with large crypto transactions and holdings. Botic, head of the committee's inspection department, said that if cryptocurrencies are seen to have a significant impact on a company's financial statements or the company's activities, they will be inspected. (Accounting Today)

● EU to consult on cryptocurrency complaints and conflict of interest rules in July

According to the official website, the European Securities Markets Authority ESMA will consult in July on proposed new complaint handling and conflict of interest rules that crypto companies within the EU must comply with.

ESMA will make recommendations in July on how the EU’s new Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) rules will work in practice, including the forms and notifications that crypto firms and established funds must follow in order to offer services within the bloc.

ESMA said the second round of consultations in October will consider disclosure of environmental impacts and may also touch on transaction transparency and governance requirements, while the third round of consultations scheduled for early 2024 will focus on market abuse and investor protection. (CoinDesk)

● The EU will create the European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (EDIC) by the end of the year

The European Commission will launch a new European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (EDIC) dedicated to increasing efforts to compete with other large blockchain infrastructures, such as South America's Lacchain and China's Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN). The creation of the new blockchain entity will be formalized before the end of the year. Then, EDIC will be "gradually organized to be fully operational in 2024." The European Commission reportedly spent 347 million euros on blockchain-related research and innovation projects between 2017 and 2022.

It is reported that the European Blockchain Services and Infrastructure (EBSI) is the current blockchain project, established in 2018 by the Commission and a group of 29 European countries, laying the foundation for future EU public services. After the Stockholm Conference, EBSI will slowly transition to a new political entity. At full scale, each country will run at least one EBSI node. (DLNews)

● The EU will release the Digital Euro Act on June 28 to protect personal transaction data

The EU digital euro bill, which will be published by the European Commission on June 28, shows that the use of digital euros to pay interest or surcharges will be prohibited. In addition, the bill states that from the date of the first issuance of the digital euro CBDC, cash offline payments must be supported to protect privacy, and users cannot program it to restrict subsequent use. The bill will be proposed by the European Commission on June 28. For offline transactions, neither the European Central Bank nor payment service providers can access personal transaction data, and banks that distribute digital euros can send detailed information about the source of account funds to financial crime authorities in the event of suspected money laundering. (CoinDesk)

● French President: Will invest more than 500 million euros to develop artificial intelligence and build a world-class industrial cluster

French President Emmanuel Macron announced at the opening ceremony of the "Vive la Tech" science and technology innovation exhibition held in Paris on the 14th that he would invest an additional more than 500 million euros to develop artificial intelligence and build a world-class industrial cluster.

Macron pointed out at a roundtable meeting with start-up leaders that in the face of the new industrial revolution, France must build 5 to 10 artificial intelligence industry clusters and create world-leading top companies, and plans to invest more than 500 million euros for this purpose. He also said that the government will invest 50 million euros to upgrade the existing Jean-Zay supercomputer project. He hopes that France will vigorously develop generative artificial intelligence and open source large language models, and encourage the establishment of a French database.

Macron introduced that a fund called "Tibi 2" invested by 28 institutional investors will be used to finance start-ups. The fund has currently raised up to 7 billion euros, with the ultimate goal of 10 billion euros. He also said that 125 technological innovation companies have received funding from the "France 2030" investment plan. (Xinhua News Agency)

● Bank of England Deputy Governor Cunliffe: Public debate is needed to increase trust in central bank digital currency

Bank of England Deputy Governor Cunliffe said the UK "may need" a digital pound, and the view on the digital pound has not changed since February. The decision on the central bank's digital currency will be made "in a few years". The central bank's digital currency is an "anchor" for confidence in the currency. Public debate is needed to increase trust in the central bank's digital currency. (Jinshi)