● US SEC officially starts Bitwise Bitcoin ETF application review process
Bitcoin Archive tweeted that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission officially approved Bitwise's Bitcoin ETF application. According to ETF analyst James Seyffart, this officially opened the U.S. SEC's review process.
According to previous reports, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart shared a picture on Twitter, listing the key time nodes of the review process for Bitcoin spot ETFs that have submitted 19b-4 applications. The next deadline for the SEC to make a decision on the Bitwise Bitcoin ETP Trust application is September 1, 2023, and the final deadline is March 14, 2024.
● US judge rules XRP is not a security
Watcher.Guru tweeted that a U.S. judge ruled that XRP is not a security. In addition, market sources said that the judge ruled that Ripple's sales of XRP to institutions are securities.
● US SEC responds to Ripple case: recognizes part of the court's ruling, but will still review relevant decisions
According to FOX Business reporter Eleanor Terrett’s Twitter post, the U.S. SEC issued a statement on the court’s ruling on XRP, saying that it was satisfied with part of the ruling, but would still review the court’s decision. The specific content is:
“We are pleased that the court found that Ripple’s offer and sale of XRP tokens in the form of investment contracts violated the securities laws in certain circumstances. The court agreed with the SEC that the Howey test can be used to analyze whether crypto transactions are securities and rejected Ripple’s self-proposed test for what constitutes an investment contract, instead emphasizing that Howey and subsequent cases have ruled that a wide variety of tangible and intangible assets can be the subject of investment contracts. In addition, the court rejected Ripple’s fair notice argument, noting that the Howey test is clear and that claiming ignorance is not a defense to securities law violations. The SEC will continue to review this decision.”
● The US FTC reached a $4.7 billion settlement agreement with Celsius Network, but its co-founder has not yet agreed to the settlement
According to the Daily Planet, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reached a settlement agreement with the cryptocurrency lending company Celsius Network, which will be prohibited from handling consumers' assets and accuses three former executives of deceiving consumers into transferring cryptocurrencies to their platform by falsely promising that deposits are safe and available at any time.
The FTC’s proposed settlement with Celsius and its affiliates would permanently prohibit these companies from offering, marketing, or promoting any product or service that can be used to deposit, exchange, invest, or withdraw any asset. Celsius and its affiliates agreed to pay a $4.7 billion judgment, which will be suspended to allow Celsius to return its remaining assets to consumers during bankruptcy proceedings. Former CEO and co-founder Alexander Mashinsky and Celsius’ other co-founders Shlomi Daniel Leon and Hanoch “Nuke” Goldstein have not yet agreed to a settlement, and the FTC’s lawsuit against them will continue in federal court.
● Alex Mashinsky charged with fraud and attempted cryptocurrency manipulation
According to Bloomberg, Alex Mashinsky was charged with fraud and attempted manipulation of cryptocurrency in a federal court in New York. The SEC and CFTC filed a lawsuit against Celsius Network and Alex Mashinsky. According to the indictment released on Thursday, prosecutors claimed that from 2018 to June 2022, Alex Mashinsky "planned a fraud scheme to defraud customers of Celsius Network LLC and its related entities."
According to a previous report by Bloomberg, the U.S. SEC filed a lawsuit against Celsius Network and its former CEO Alex Mashinsky in the Manhattan federal court on Thursday. People familiar with the matter revealed that Alex Mashinsky was arrested on Thursday morning local time in connection with the company’s bankruptcy investigation.
● The U.S. Department of Justice, CFTC, and FTC all filed lawsuits against Celsius and its former CEO Mashinsky
According to the Daily Planet, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Department of Justice (DOJ), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have all filed lawsuits against Celsius Network and its former CEO Alex Mashinsky in the past hour.
According to Bloomberg, the U.S. SEC filed a lawsuit against Celsius Network and its former CEO Alex Mashinsky in Manhattan Federal Court on Thursday. People familiar with the matter revealed that Alex Mashinsky was arrested on Thursday morning local time due to the company's bankruptcy investigation.
● Europe's first Bitcoin ETF is expected to be publicly listed this month
According to the Financial Times, Europe's first Bitcoin ETF is expected to be publicly listed this month. Asset management company Jacobi Asset Management initially announced that its Bitcoin ETF would be listed on the pan-European exchange in Amsterdam in July 2022. However, the company now says that the fund is "on track" to launch this month because it believed that "the timing was not right" last year.
● Binance Labs announced a $15 million investment in Xterio to develop AI and Web3 game development capabilities
According to the Binance blog, Binance Labs invested $15 million in blockchain game publisher Xterio. The new funds will be used to further promote game and technology development, including AI integration and token issuance, accelerate games incubated by Xterio and developed by its partners, expand its artificial intelligence capabilities, and develop AI-driven interactive experiences to expand game development capabilities in AI and Web3. In addition, as part of a long-term strategic partnership, Binance Labs will support the development of Xterio, and the Xterio token will be released based on the BNB Chain ecosystem.
● Ethereum ranks first in new cryptocurrency ESG ranking
According to CoinDesk, the first ESG benchmark jointly created by crypto data company CCData and the Crypto Carbon Rating Institute (CCRI) was released on Thursday. It evaluates 40 of the largest and most liquid digital assets, evaluating parameters such as decentralization, security and climate impact. Among them, Ethereum ranked first in the first institutional-level crypto ESG ranking, followed by Solana and Cardano, while Bitcoin fell behind due to its large energy consumption. The role of environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements in investment has become increasingly common, especially among institutional investors and large asset management companies.
● Polygon proposed to upgrade MATIC to POL
According to Cointelegraph, Ethereum Layer 2 development company Polygon proposed to upgrade the MATIC token to a multi-purpose token that can be used to verify multiple chains. MATIC's technical upgrade proposal still needs to be approved by the Polygon community. Once approved, MATIC will be upgraded to a multi-purpose token and renamed POL. POL's utility will cover all Polygon protocols, including Polygon PoS, zkEVM, and Supernets.
● Google Play's new policy allows developers to integrate digital assets such as NFTs with apps and games
Joseph Mills, product manager of Google Play, said in a post that Google Play is updating its policies to allow developers to integrate tokenized digital assets such as NFTs into applications and games. Companies that decide to provide the ability to buy, sell, or earn tokenized assets will be required to clearly indicate the presence of blockchain-based elements in the application in the Play Console. It is reported that the first test will be carried out in late summer and the new policy will be fully launched later this year.
● Messari: Solana Q2 revenue fell 15% month-on-month, and the number of validators fell 21.1% month-on-month
Messari released Solana's second quarter report for 2023, which showed that Solana's market value fell 9.2% month-on-month. The number of validators fell 21.1% month-on-month. Revenue (in SOL) fell 15% month-on-month. TVL in US dollars increased 3.8% month-on-month, and TVL in SOL increased 18.6% month-on-month. NFT sales denominated in SOL fell 43.3% month-on-month, and the number of independent buyers still exceeded independent sellers, with a total of approximately 539,000 buyers and a total of approximately 524,000 sellers. In addition, as of June 1, the total number of developers dropped from more than 2,000 at the beginning of the year to 1,475.
● Report: The market size of the crypto payment industry is expected to exceed US$300 billion in 2026
Bing Ventures and Alchemy Pay have released a market research report on the crypto payment industry, which found that the penetration rate of cryptocurrencies in the real economy is still less than 1%, and the biggest obstacle is the strong network effect generated by the existing user base of traditional payments. However, based on estimates of global payment industry growth and sensitivity analysis of the real-life crypto payment market size, the report predicts that the crypto payment market size is expected to reach US$316 billion to US$362 billion by 2026. In addition, compliance and merchant networks are expected to become the most important dual factors in determining the future success of crypto payment companies.
● The United Nations Internet Governance Forum established a dynamic alliance for blockchain security and standardization
According to GlobeNewswire, the United Nations Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and the Government Blockchain Association (GBA) have collaborated to create a dynamic alliance for blockchain assurance and standardization, which will study the blockchain field and its various solutions, collect opinions and make recommendations to the United Nations, and provide practices and guidelines for different industries that use or are considering using blockchain. The alliance targets related industries including artificial intelligence, communication infrastructure, digital identity, economic development, environmental management and supply chain.
● Indian economic affairs chief: G20 ministers will provide advice on cryptocurrency regulation
According to Coin Edition, the report and findings on cryptocurrency regulation will be shared with G20 finance ministers and central bank governors.
Ajay Seth, India’s economic affairs secretary, said that authorities will be asked to provide “guidance notes on a globally coordinated regulatory framework for crypto assets”. The discussion will take place at the upcoming Financial and Central Bank Representatives (FCBD) meeting to be held in India from July 14 to 18 as part of India’s G20 presidency. In addition, governors will be asked to establish a globally coordinated regulatory framework for crypto assets.
● UK lawmakers agree new cybersecurity bill applies to the Metaverse
According to CoinDesk, members of the House of Lords of the UK Parliament agreed on Wednesday that a UK bill on cybersecurity, which provides measures to prevent children from being harmed online, will apply to the Metaverse. It is reported that the Cybersecurity Bill, proposed on March 17, is close to passage and is in the final approval stage before becoming law.