Trump raised $331 million in Q2, Ethereum Foundation emails hacked

Headlines

▌Trump Raised $331 Million in Q2, Surpassing Biden

Donald Trump raised $331 million in the second quarter, giving him more cash on hand than incumbent President Joe Biden, a development that could heighten anxiety among Democrats about the incumbent's reelection campaign. The amount raised by Trump and the Republican National Committee surpassed the $264 million raised by Biden and the Democratic National Committee in the second quarter. The Trump campaign said it now has nearly $285 million in cash on hand, compared to the $240 million Biden reported, a stunning reversal after Biden's fundraising had crushed his opponent for months.

▌Ethereum Foundation Email Hacked, Hackers Promoted Lido Staking Phishing Scam

The Ethereum Foundation's email account was hacked, phishing emails were sent to 35,794 people, and the email addresses of 81 subscribers were recorded. The email falsely claimed that the Foundation was working with LidoDAO to provide a 6.8% return on staking Ethereum. If the user clicked the link in the email and approved the transaction, their wallet would be emptied. The Foundation quickly blocked the malicious email, closed the attack path, and issued a warning to the relevant parties. The investigation showed that although the attacker obtained some new email addresses, no victims lost funds in the attack.

Market

As of press time, according to Coingecko data:

BTC's latest transaction price is $62031.46, with a daily increase or decrease of -1.3%;

ETH's latest transaction price is $3416.71, with a daily increase or decrease of -0.7%;

BNB's latest transaction price is $578.98, with a daily increase or decrease of +0.4%；

SOL's latest transaction price is 153.72 US dollars, with a daily increase or decrease of +5.0%；

DOGE's latest transaction price is 0.125 US dollars, with a daily increase or decrease of +1.3%；

XPR's latest transaction price is 0.4844 US dollars, with a daily increase or decrease of +1.6%.

Policy

▌DCG and its executives again urge New York Attorney General to drop civil fraud lawsuit

Crypto company DCG and two of its executives – CEO and founder Barry Silbert and Soichiro “Michael” Moro, former CEO of DCG’s wholly owned trading unit Genesis, have asked lawyers to file documents to convince a judge to dismiss the civil fraud lawsuit filed against them by New York Attorney General (NYAG) Letitia James.

The lawyers argue that social media posts about Genesis’ “strong” balance sheet were not lies intended to defraud, but rather “corporate exaggerations.” “DCG did what a responsible parent company should do, providing advice, offering financial support, and in some cases reviewing and commenting on Genesis’ communications,” DCG lawyers wrote.

▌Ripple and Coinbase Use Court Ruling to Challenge SEC Crypto Regulation

Coinbase and Ripple Labs are using a recent court ruling to challenge the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) regulatory stance on cryptocurrencies. The court ruled that the SEC failed to prove that BNB’s secondary sales were securities in the Binance case, winning legal support for Coinbase and Ripple. Coinbase stressed that the SEC needs to conduct rulemaking to clarify the legal status of digital assets, while Ripple pointed out that the ruling shows that handling the crypto industry on a case-by-case basis may not be the most effective approach. The ruling has exacerbated legal uncertainty in the industry, prompting the parties to accelerate their efforts to seek confirmation and guidance from the courts and the appeals process. The SEC’s legal disputes with Ripple, Coinbase, and Binance are still ongoing, and future scheduling meetings are expected to have an important impact on the progress of these cases.

▌Polymarket: Kamala Harris' odds of winning the Democratic nomination rise

According to data from crypto prediction market platform Polymarket, Vice President Kamala Harris' odds of becoming this year's Democratic presidential candidate rose to 31% on Tuesday, a sharp increase from 7% earlier. Similarly, the price of Harris' "yes" contract on the PredictIt platform also doubled to 35 cents.  

While Joe Biden remains the presumptive Democratic nominee, many supporters are calling on him to step aside and hope that Harris will take over. South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn and former Congressman Tim Ryan expressed their support for Harris in the media.  

In addition, Tuesday was the fifth-largest trading day in Polymarket's four-year history, with $5.7 million in transactions. Meanwhile, the price of KAMA, a meme coin named after Harris, doubled to $0.007815 in 24 hours.

Blockchain Applications

▌Ethereum DApp Volume Surges 83%, But Driven Mostly by a Single App

Decentralized application (DApp) transaction volume on the Ethereum network recently surged 83%, but 59.5% of it came from a single application, Balancer. Despite the overall increase in transaction volume, the number of active Ethereum users decreased by 8% and the total locked value (TVL) also decreased by 17.5%.

This growth is inconsistent with the trend in the rest of the crypto market, and excluding Balancer's contribution, Ethereum's transaction volume actually decreased by 5%. This anomaly suggests that further analysis is needed to understand the real demand and potential manipulation behind the increase in transaction volume.

▌Phantom: The search bar function has been prioritized to facilitate users to search for Solana ecosystem tokens

Phantom officials posted on the X platform that the search bar function priority will be increased soon. Users can search for any token from Phantom Explore, reducing the trouble of using third-party tools, and all search, research and swaps will be solved in one stop. Among them, the token search function will be launched to all users in the next few days.

▌Linea: Officially launched the first online biometric human identity tool Privado ID

Linea officials posted on the X platform that they have officially launched the first online biometric human identity tool Privado ID in cooperation with Synaps and Verax Attestation Registry, and users can use it to participate in the construction of a more humane and privacy-centric community.

Cryptocurrency

▌Spot Bitcoin ETFs Receive $790 Million in Net Inflows in June Even as Bitcoin Price Dropped 7%

Spot Bitcoin ETFs received $790 million in net inflows in June, even as Bitcoin price dropped 7%. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) continued to be the largest Bitcoin fund, with inflows of more than $1 billion, offsetting the huge outflows from Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). In contrast, spot funds as a whole saw massive outflows in April when Bitcoin price dropped 15%.

Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, noted that baby boomers are holding more than expected. June's inflows benefited in part from expectations for a spot Ethereum ETF. Regulators and potential issuers are working to gain approval, and it is expected that these ETFs may be listed this month, indicating that regulators are gradually accepting the cryptocurrency industry as part of the financial system.

▌13 of the top 25 US hedge funds already have Bitcoin ETF exposure

Data from investment company River shows that as of the end of the first quarter of 2024, 13 of the top 25 US hedge funds already have Bitcoin ETF exposure. Among them, Millennium Management, which owns 27,263 BTC worth $1.69 billion, accounts for about 2.5% of its total assets under management (valued at $67.7 billion).

Other important players include Schonfeld Strategic Advisors (holding 6,734 BTC) and Point72 Asset Management (holding 1,089 BTC). In contrast, some top hedge funds, such as Bridgewater Associates, AQR Capital Management and Balyasny Asset Management, have not yet invested in Bitcoin ETFs.

▌Telegram mini program developers can now exchange Telegram Stars for TON tokens

Telegram mini program developers can exchange Telegram Stars for TON tokens, or purchase Telegram ads at a discount. The announcement stated: "Robot developers who provide digital goods and services and creators who monetize their channels through paid posts can now use the Telegram Stars they earn to get Toncoin rewards or buy Telegram ads. Telegram does not actually charge any commission from Stars transactions, so only taxes and payment system fees are paid. When users transfer Stars to Telegram advertising accounts, Telegram will provide a 30% discount to pay all third-party payment system fees." Analysts warn that Bitcoin prices may have reached the "peak of the cycle" Analysts warn that Bitcoin prices may have reached the "peak of the cycle" Charles Edwards, founder of Capriole Investments, said that multiple on-chain indicators show "signs of weakness" in Bitcoin prices. Here are three key reasons: 1. The inflation rate of long-term holders is close to the critical value: The inflation rate of Bitcoin long-term holders (LTH) has been steadily rising, approaching the critical value of 2.0, which usually marks a high probability of the top of the cycle. The current value is 1.9, indicating increased market pressure.  

2. Dormancy Flow indicator rises: Dormancy Z-score has risen sharply in the past three months, indicating a high average age of Bitcoin spent. The peak of this indicator usually heralds the arrival of the top of the cycle, and it is currently similar to the top structure of 2017 and 2021.  

3. Spending surge: Bitcoin's 7-10-year spending suddenly increased, showing a risk area. The increase in spending in 2024 shows that this cycle is progressing rapidly. In addition, more than $9 billion of Bitcoin was transferred from addresses held for more than ten years, partly due to Mt. Gox's preparation to repay creditors.  

The market is worried that Mt. Gox will release 142,000 Bitcoins (about $9 billion), which may increase selling pressure. Nevertheless, payment options and institutional ownership by long-term holders may ease this pressure.

Important Economic Dynamics

▌The probability of the Fed keeping interest rates unchanged in August is 91.7%

According to CME's "Fed Watch", the probability of the Fed keeping interest rates unchanged in August is 91.7%, and the probability of a 25 basis point rate cut is 8.3%. The probability of the Fed keeping interest rates unchanged by September is 31.2%, the probability of a cumulative 25 basis point rate cut is 63.4%, and the probability of a cumulative 50 basis point rate cut is 5.5%.

Golden Encyclopedia

▌What is Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS)?

DPoS is an evolution of the Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, designed to provide enhanced scalability, efficiency, and democratic governance. Daniel Larimer proposed the DPoS concept in 2014 as an enhancement of the traditional PoS consensus mechanism, designed to improve efficiency and scalability. Larimer first shared his vision in a Bitcointalk forum post, which led to the actual implementation of DPoS and the launch of BitShares in 2015.

Disclaimer: As a blockchain information platform, Golden Finance publishes articles for information reference only and is not intended as actual investment advice. Please establish the correct investment philosophy and be sure to increase risk awareness.