Summary of important events (07.29-08.04)

1. Top 3 Hot Events of Last Week 

US July Nonfarm payrolls expanded by 187,000, lower than expected.

On August 4, the US released July Nonfarm payrolls, which expanded by 187,000 for July, slightly below the Dow Jones estimate for 200,000. The unemployment rate was 3.5%, against a consensus estimate that the jobless level would hold steady at 3.6%.

Curve Finance confirms various Ethereum pools hacked, its founder's $168M stash is under stress.

On July 31, several liquidity pools on Curve Finance were exploited, resulting in approximately $70 million in losses and triggering panic within the DeFi ecosystem. 

CRV’s price has sunk more than 20%, putting an $168 million stash of founder Michael Egorov's money at risk of being liquidated, the money is secured by 427.5 million CRV (approximately 47% of total circulating supply).

To mitigate the risk, Egorov took measures, including offloading 72 million CRV tokens in a series of significant over-the-counter deals.

Litecoin completed the third halving event, the block reward was reduced to 6.25 LTC.

On August 2, LTC completed its third halving at block height 2,520,000, reducing the block reward from 12.5 LTC to 6.25 LTC.

2. Cryptocurrencies & Exchanges

On July 31, Binance’s Dubai subsidiary Binance FZE obtained an MVP license from Dubai's Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA).

On August 1, Binance Japan offers a selection of 34 tokens for spot trading, including BNB, which becomes available in the country for the first time.

On August 1, Coinbase International sees $2 billion in trade volume during July.

On August 1, FTX submits a reorganization plan to restart the offshore exchange to compensate for customer losses.

On August 2, KuCoin's Bitcoin and Litecoin mining pools will be suspended starting at 4:00 pm UTC on Aug 15 until further notice.

3. Regulatory Updates

On July 31, the US SEC sues Richard Heart and his projects HexPulseChain and PulseX for fraud, securities violations.

On August 3, the Financial Services Commission (FIU) of South Korea plans to extend the range of inspections and sanctions for virtual asset business operators.

On July 29, Peru issues a new decree requiring cryptocurrency exchanges to comply with anti-money laundering regulations.

On August 1, Ukraine required local cryptocurrency companies to provide financial information.

4. Market Updates

On July 29, Cryptocurrency market maker Wintermute's co-founder Yoann Turpin relocated 4% of employees to Singapore.

On July 29, the Japan Blockchain Association (JBA) is pleading with the government to change the taxes regulations for crypto assets and transactions to support the expansion of the web3 economy. 

On July 31, Australia’s Bendigo Bank blocks high-risk crypto payments to combat investment scams.

On August 1, Standard Chartered Bank Hong Kong established a specific framework for opening crypto accounts.

On August 1, Nomura’s digital-asset subsidiary gets full Dubai crypto license.

On August 2, Volatility Shares, Bitwise, Roundhill, VanEck, Proshares, and Grayscale filed applications for Ethereum futures ETFs.

On August 3, South Korea's preeminent financial authority, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), raised a red flag for consumers over a surge in cryptocurrency-related investment scams and disclosed that it received 406 reports in two months. 

On August 3, Direxion submitted Bitcoin and Ethereum futures ETF applications to the US SEC.

On August 3, HashKey Exchange and OSL Digital Securities Ltd. won Hong Kong's first crypto exchange licenses under a new regime that allows exchanges to serve retail customers.

On August 4, Revolut temporarily suspend cryptocurrency services in the US.

5. Statements from Individuals/Organizations

On July 29, Cardano founder: ADA is not a security irrespective of what SEC says as the project is run by the community and open-sourced.

On July 30, Hong Kong Secretary of the Treasury: since October last year, 90 virtual asset-related companies intend to settle in Hong Kong. 

On July 31, Grayscale: expects to receive a decision in its lawsuit against the SEC before Fall 2023.

On July 31, Jihan Wu: In the coming RWA wave, CRV is one of the most important infrastructures. I have BTFD.

On July 31, Mexican Senator Kempis: Mexico can "spearhead" Bitcoin adoption in Latin America.

On August 2, Grayscale Research Director: Bitcoin’s outlook may hinge on US soft landing.

On August 2, Coinbase CEO: was interested in integrating the Lightning Network, emphasizing the company's commitment to Bitcoin adoption.

On August 3, CZ: Binance's internal address encountered a zero transfer scam attack. Binance has requested to freeze the USDT in time.

On August 3, Michael Saylor: MicroStrategy to stay on Bitcoin course even if spot ETFs approved

On August 4, Joseph Chan: Hong Kong is committed to promoting the sustainable development of financial services in the entire virtual asset value chain.