Web3 Today News

Regulation and Macro

A South Korean lawmaker stated that a well-known cryptocurrency exchange could face hefty fines due to KYC violations and other actions, with amounts possibly between 450 trillion and 1,830 trillion won. The exchange has over 9.57 million violations, of which about 9.34 million involve customer identification issues. Relevant authorities have implemented business suspensions and personnel accountability, but the specific fine amount has yet to be determined.

The French National Assembly recently received a proposal suggesting a five-year pilot program for Bitcoin mining, utilizing surplus electricity from nuclear power plants for mining. It is estimated that this could generate an annual income of 100 million to 150 million dollars for France. Lawmakers believe that this move would not only offset the maintenance costs of nuclear power plants but also help avoid electricity waste and contribute to grid balance. If the plan is approved, it will be launched immediately and a feasibility assessment will be conducted six months later.

Several MPs in the UK have called for a ban on the use of cryptocurrencies for political donations, expressing concerns about their traceability and the potential for foreign interference. The Minister for the Cabinet Office stated that existing legislation needs to be updated promptly to ensure political financing is transparent and trustworthy. Previously, a political party announced it would accept donations in Bitcoin, raising concerns from various sectors. Anti-corruption agencies have warned that allowing cryptocurrency donations would increase the risk of criminal funds entering the political arena.

The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission and the central bank plan to launch a national crypto sandbox that allows foreign tourists to use digital assets in Thailand.

Project and Market Dynamics

A well-known entrepreneur announced that the male companion of his AI platform will be named "Valentine". The name is derived from the protagonist of the classic science fiction novel "The Left Hand of Darkness". The entrepreneur explained that the meaning of the AI's name is to understand things deeply and empathetically, reflecting the core philosophy of AI design.

The world's largest derivatives exchange has stated that there are currently no plans to launch derivatives related to meme coins due to a lack of practical application scenarios. The exchange has recently expanded to Solana and XRP futures, attracting a large number of institutional investors, with trading volumes for related products reaching billions of dollars. Additionally, the exchange is exploring whether to extend trading hours to 24/7 to better align with the crypto market, but no formal decision has been made yet.

A well-known trading platform announced that users with points greater than or equal to 213 can participate in the Pre-TGE event of specific projects, which will consume 10 points to participate. Please note that the presale tokens will have a lock-up period and cannot be traded, transferred, or used temporarily. The unlocking period will be determined by the project party and may not be disclosed in advance.

According to reports, the global perpetual contract trading volume of Ethereum (ETH) reached $90.82 billion, surpassing Bitcoin (BTC) at $82.93 billion for the first time, ranking first in the entire market.

The liquidity protocol Orca in the Solana ecosystem plans to launch a new Launchpad (token issuance platform) at the end of July or early August. The biggest highlight of this product is the development of a new mechanism aimed at allowing real users to have an advantage over automated bots when participating in new token sales, enhancing fairness and user experience.

A large exchange has officially launched a new application that upgrades the existing wallet into a "universal application" that integrates social networking, mini-apps, trading, and USDC instant payments. The new platform is based on the Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystem, allowing users to view friends' transactions in real-time on social feeds, directly exchange tokens, and monetize content creators' earnings through the Farcaster protocol. The application also features hundreds of mini-apps, supports one-click USDC payments via NFC, and offers encrypted chatting.

Important Data

The Ethereum spot ETF saw a net inflow of $727 million on July 16 (Eastern Time), setting a single-day historical record. Among them, a large asset management company's ETF had a net inflow of $499 million. The current net asset value of the ETF has reached $16.41 billion, accounting for 4.02% of ETH's market value.

The Bitcoin spot ETF saw a net inflow of $799 million on July 16 (Eastern Time), marking the 10th consecutive day of net inflow. Currently, the ETF's total net asset value stands at $153.762 billion, accounting for 6.45% of BTC's market value, with a historical cumulative net inflow of $53.865 billion.

The current net circulation of USDT has reached 160.261 billion USD, setting a historical high. On the chain side, Tron, Ethereum, and Solana dominate, with circulation amounts of 80.117 billion, 75.637 billion, and 18.864 billion USD respectively.

An institution has currently transferred 79,471 ETH (approximately $250 million) to the exchange for liquidation. Since it began liquidating, its on-chain borrowing has decreased from $275 million before selling ETH to the current $168 million. This indicates that the institution has sold at least $107 million worth of ETH in the past day. Currently, the institution's on-chain address still holds approximately 108,000 ETH (about $367 million).

About 7 hours ago, an early Bitcoin whale transferred 40,192 BTC (approximately $4.76 billion) to a new wallet. Two days ago, this whale had transferred 40,009 BTC (approximately $4.71 billion) to institutions and exchanges.

A stablecoin issuer minted 1 billion stablecoins on Ethereum at 16:51, worth approximately $999,951,475.

Financing and Acquisitions

The stablecoin payment and embedded financial service platform Kun KUN announced the completion of its Series A financing, with investors including BAI Capital, GSR Ventures, a listed company in Hong Kong, and Eternium Global. Since its establishment 20 months ago, Kun KUN has raised a total of over 50 million USD.

The crypto infrastructure company Talos announced the acquisition of blockchain data provider Coin Metrics. According to insiders, the transaction amount exceeded $100 million. This acquisition aims to integrate on-chain data services to provide institutional clients with a one-stop solution for digital asset trading and portfolio management.

Institutional Dynamics

World Liberty Fi spent $10 million USDC in the past 9 hours to purchase 3,007.4 Ethereum at a price of $3,325 each.

SharpLink Gaming has purchased another 20,279 ETH worth approximately $68.38 million through a certain exchange in the past 4 hours. Since the beginning of June, SharpLink Gaming has accumulated a total of 321,000 ETH, with an average purchase price of about $2,745, and the current floating profit has reached $204 million.

U.S. listed company Windtree (WINT) announced that it has signed a securities purchase agreement worth $60 million, with potential future subscriptions that could yield up to a total of $140 million, bringing the total subscription amount to $200 million. The funds raised will primarily be used to initiate the BNB treasury strategy and acquire BNB.

The board of directors of Canadian listed company Matador Technologies Inc has approved a long-term Bitcoin acquisition strategy, planning to accumulate up to 6,000 Bitcoins by 2027 or earlier.

The UK-listed company The Smarter Web Company disclosed that it has increased its holdings by 325 bitcoins, bringing its total to 1,600 bitcoins.