Headlines
Blast Announces Points Distribution Rules for Second Phase Airdrop, Distributing 10 Billion BLAST
Blast announced the points distribution rules for the second phase airdrop. In the second phase, Blast will distribute 10 billion BLAST tokens, with 50% allocated to regular points (Point). Users can earn points by holding ETH, WETH, USDB, and BLAST, and the accumulation rate for each asset is the same. The remaining 50% will be allocated to gold points (Gold), which Dapps can earn based on their overall attractiveness on the Blast mainnet and in future Big Bang competitions (which will then be distributed to users). Gold distribution will take place in the first week of each month, with the first distribution scheduled for July 8.
Additionally, users who have installed the Blast App will receive "Golden Tickets" based on their ETH, WETH, USDB, and BLAST balances. Golden Tickets give users the chance to earn more points and gold.
Mechanisms such as Jackpot, point multiplier, and referral rewards from the first phase will continue to exist, but referrals in the second phase will be calculated independently.
Starknet Founder: Approximately 4 Billion STRK Reserved for Future Airdrops
Starknet founder Eli Ben-Sasson reflected on the completion of the first round airdrop activity (Provisions) in an article today.
Eli stated in the article that approximately 4 billion STRK tokens have been reserved for future airdrop rounds. He hopes the community can provide more ideas about token distribution mechanisms to help the team find more effective ways to distribute tokens to different groups that care about Starknet's long-term vision and mission.
Capriole Investments Founder: Mt.Gox May Have Begun Repaying Creditors
Charles Edward, founder of digital asset hedge fund Capriole Investments, stated that Mt.Gox may have begun repaying creditors. He revealed that data shows a large amount of Bitcoin has been moving on-chain, with the volume of movement being 10 times higher than the previous peak, indicating that Mt.Gox's distribution may indeed be underway. (Cointelegraph)
marginfi to Launch mrgnswap, Allowing Users to Leverage Long/Short Any Meme Token
Solana lending protocol marginfi announced on X platform that it will launch mrgnswap, allowing users to leverage long/short any meme token.
The official introduction page indicates that leveraged long/short trading is allowed even for tokens that have just been created, and trades will be executed immediately. Currently, early testing qualifications can be applied for by submitting an email.
Industry News
Mantra to Tokenize $500 Million Real Estate for Dubai Builder MAG Group
Mantra Chain announced in a press release that it will tokenize $500 million worth of assets for Dubai real estate developer MAG Group.
Mantra, which focuses on Middle Eastern business, will divide these assets into multiple batches. The first batch will include a residential project called Keturah Reserve, built by MAG in Meydan, Dubai, and will also include a massive luxury home from the development project "The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Dubai, Creekside," valued at $75 million.
Investors will earn returns through stablecoins and Mantra's OM token, with an expected 8% yield from stablecoins and additional OM tokens.
The number of initial jobless claims in the US rose to 238,000 for the week ending June 29, compared to an expectation of 235,000 and a previous value of 233,000.
The four-week moving average of initial jobless claims in the US was 238,500 for the week ending June 29, compared to a previous value of 236,000.
The number of continued jobless claims in the US for the week ending June 22 was 1,858,000, compared to an expectation of 1,840,000 and a previous value of 1,839,000.
Project News
Consensys Acquires Wallet Guard to Protect MetaMask Users from Hacks and Scams
Consensys has acquired the crypto security application Wallet Guard to enhance the security of MetaMask. The specific amount has not been disclosed. As part of the deal, the entire Wallet Guard team will join Consensys. Consensys plans to integrate Wallet Guard's browser extension and security engine to further protect MetaMask users' wallets, digital assets, and data from theft, scams, and fraud. (Theblock)
CoW DAO Initiates $1 Million Token Allocation Proposal for CEX Listing
Snapshot data shows that DEX CoW DAO has initiated a funding proposal to allocate $1 million worth of COW tokens and stablecoins for the purpose of promoting the listing of COW tokens on CEX and covering marketing expenses.
Voting will end on July 10, with current support at 99.72%.
Investment and Financing
According to data from Galaxy Digital, despite the market downturn, crypto venture capital continued to rebound in the second quarter. Founders and investors generally expressed that the financing environment was more active than in the previous few quarters.
Galaxy Digital research analysts Alex Thorn and Gabe Parker wrote in a report on Tuesday, "The sentiment for crypto venture capital continues to improve, although levels are still far below the bull market of 2021-2022."
The Galaxy report stated that venture capitalists invested $3.19 billion in cryptocurrency and blockchain companies in Q2, slightly higher than the $3.16 billion in the first quarter.
Bitcoin layer 1 scaling protocol QED announced the completion of a $6 million seed round financing, with Blockchain Capital as the sole investor. The founder revealed that this round of financing has valued QED at a "9-figure" amount, at least $100 million. As of now, QED's total financing amount has reached $10.6 million. Previously, the company received $3.25 million in seed funding from Arrington Capital, StarkWare, Draper Dragon, and $1.35 million in angel round financing from Sparkle Ventures supported by Animoca Brands. (Theblock)
Compute Labs, a GPU tokenization protocol based on Solana, completed a $3 million Pre-Seed round financing with a valuation of $30 million, with Protocol Labs leading the investment. Blockchain Coinvestors, OKX Ventures, CMS Holdings, HashKey Capital, Amber Group, and P2 Ventures (formerly Polygon Ventures) also participated. Compute Labs' founder and CEO, Albert Z, stated that Compute Labs is currently raising seed round financing at a significantly higher valuation. Compute Labs is building a real-world asset (RWA) tokenization protocol based on computational assets. Computational assets refer to the processing power of CPUs and GPUs, which are crucial for tasks such as data processing and running software. Z stated that computation is one of the most valuable commodities today, especially in the era of artificial intelligence, calling it the "currency of the future." He said that most ordinary investors today cannot invest in enterprise-grade GPUs, and Compute Labs will make it "possible for everyone to invest in computation."
OKX Ventures announced an investment in Lombard to drive innovation in the Bitcoin re-collateralization ecosystem. Lombard is a Babylon-based solution that provides cross-chain liquidity collateralization for Bitcoin. Lombard's flagship product is LBTC. Lombard collaborates with Babylon, and Babylon's collateralization protocol allows Bitcoin assets to be collateralized in a trustless and self-custodial manner, providing economic security for proof-of-stake (PoS) systems. Through Babylon, collateralized Bitcoin assets are converted into LBTC, allowing integration into the most commonly used DeFi protocols on the Ethereum mainnet and future popular Layer 2 chains. LBTC moves seamlessly across chains and is used as collateral in decentralized finance, aiming to unlock over $1.3 trillion worth of Bitcoin for lending and trading. This initiative not only brings new capital opportunities for Bitcoin holders but also drives the growth of various ecosystems and DeFi protocols, enhancing the utility and liquidity of Bitcoin.
Regulatory Trends
Prior to the UK general election, major political parties remained silent on the issue of the crypto industry. The Labour Party, most likely to win tomorrow's UK general election, hardly mentioned cryptocurrencies during the campaign, which may indicate continued uncertainty about the future of the crypto industry in the country. Apart from briefly stating a desire for the UK to become a tokenization hub and supporting the digital pound initiative, the party has remained silent on cryptocurrencies. In the last debate between Prime Minister Sunak and Labour MP Starmer, this topic did not come up, with the debate focusing on welfare, immigration, and relations with the EU. While the Conservative government has introduced a series of cryptocurrency policies, its current manifesto does not mention this. The Labour Party leads in opinion polls, with 42% of voters expressing support. According to Ipsos' June survey of voting intentions, the Conservative Party's support is at 19%. When seats are calculated, Starmer is likely to become prime minister with a majority in parliament. (CoinDesk)
Hong Kong's Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Christopher Hui, stated that as the cryptocurrency industry develops, regulatory agencies will review the requirements for activities related to cryptocurrencies as needed. Hui stated today that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Securities and Futures Commission will "closely monitor market developments and review the regulations for virtual asset-related activities as appropriate." When asked if regulatory agencies would expedite the review process for cryptocurrency licenses and relax the rules for intermediaries distributing crypto assets, he made the above comments. (The Block)
Voices of Individuals
Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, stated that the average entry price for Bitcoin ETFs is estimated to be between $60,000 and $61,000, and retesting this level could trigger a wave of liquidation. Additionally, 30% of the funds flowing in belong to a non-directional arbitrage strategy, namely basis trading, rather than direct bullish bets. Markus Thielen added, "When Bitcoin fell to $56,500 on May 2, BlackRock claimed that 'sovereign wealth funds and pension funds' were coming, which helped stop the decline, but now BlackRock says that 80% of the Bitcoin in their IBIT ETF comes from retail investors, not institutions." (Coindesk)
Steve Kurz, head of asset management at Galaxy Digital, stated that the US SEC may approve a spot Ethereum ETF before the end of July and described the prospects for other crypto ETFs. Kurz said he expects the spot Ethereum ETF to be approved "in a matter of weeks, not days," but within a month. He stated that Galaxy has been working with the US SEC on the application for several months and noted that the upcoming spot Ethereum ETF the company is launching is similar to the existing spot Bitcoin ETF (BTCO). Galaxy collaborated with investment management firm Invesco to create these two funds. Kurz also expressed optimism about the approval of other spot crypto ETFs beyond Ethereum. He said that legislation (including laws defining securities) is necessary, and he believes that even if Biden continues as president, this process will proceed. (CryptoSlate)
The Federal Reserve's megaphone: Powell brings rate cuts back into view, highlighting cautious optimism.
Wall Street Journal reporter Nick Timiraos, known as the "megaphone of the Federal Reserve," recently wrote that Federal Reserve Chairman Powell has brought rate cuts back into view. Powell's remarks highlight a cautious optimism that had faded after disappointing inflation data was released in April. He stated that the economy has made "significant progress," "real progress," and "quite substantial progress" in reducing inflation while achieving stable growth. However, he remains cautious about rate cuts, indicating that the likelihood of a rate cut at the Fed's meeting later this month is still slim. Additionally, Powell refused to disclose whether he is preparing for a rate cut in September. He said, "I'm not going to pin down any specific date here today."
Matthew Sigel, head of digital asset research at VanEck, stated that the likelihood of VanEck's application to issue a spot Solana ETF largely depends on the results of the 2024 presidential election and whether Gary Gensler continues to serve as chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. "Cryptocurrency voters are likely to play a significant role in this election. We have seen changes in the regulatory environment at the elected officials level. Several Democratic lawmakers have voted in favor of legislation supporting cryptocurrencies."
Sigel agreed with SEC Chairman Gary Gensler's recent comments that "Ethereum applications are progressing well," and added, "This may be the only time in three years that I agree with Gary Gensler's views." (Decrypt)
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