Crypto weekly is co-authored by @serdave and @maaria
PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- Crypto Market Cap ($2.3T): +8% / +32%
- BTC ($64,067): +9% / +51%
- ETH ($2,742): +4% / +20%
- SOL ($159): +11% / +56%
- UNI ($6.59): +6% / -10%
- MATIC ($0.52): +27% / -46%
- Tether Mkt Cap ($118B): +1% / +29%
- USDC Mkt Cap ($34.8B): 0% / +42%
- BTC / ETH Dominance: 54% / 14%
- Bitcoin rebounded above $67,000 after Jerome Powell indicated the Fed would decrease interest rates in September. Risk markets more broadly rallied on the news. Link. Link.
- The US Treasury Department withdrew a proposed rule from 2020 that would have required reporting of self-custodied crypto transactions to FinCEN. Link.
- BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) is the first of the 11 spot ether ETFs to surpass $1 billion in net inflows since launching in July. Link.
- Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov was taken into custody in Paris on suspicions of failing to take steps to prevent criminal use of the messaging application. Telegram has about 900 million active users and recently launched its own blockchain. Link.
- Kamala Harris campaign advisor Brian Nelson said the administration would champion policies supporting the growth of digital assets in the US, but did not provide any concrete details. The official Democratic Party platform makes zero mentions of crypto, in contrast to the Republican Party platform. Link. Link.
- A judge ruled against Kraken’s motion to dismiss in its case with the SEC, who alleges the exchange is selling unregistered securities. The judge said some transactions might be investment contracts but criticized the agency's labeling of tokens as “crypto asset securities” as unclear and confusing. Link.
- The crypto industry has contributed $119 million cumulatively to PACs this election cycle, trailing only the fossil fuel industry. Link.
- Grayscale is launching an AVAX Trust product for Avalanche akin to its past BTC and ETH trusts. Grayscale currently has trust products for Chainlink, Filecoin and Bitcoin Cash, among others. Link.
- Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump are launching a DeFi project called The Defiant Ones. There’s little details of the project but Donald Trump posted a dedicated telegram channel on his Truth Social account this week. Link.
- Asset manager Franklin Templeton announced its FOBXX tokenized treasury fund is launching on Avalanche. The fund is already available on Arbitrum. Link.
- Tether announced the launch of a stablecoin pegged to the UAE Dirham, joining its existing lineup of stablecoins pegged to the US Dollar, Euro, Chinese Yuan, and Mexican Peso. Link.
- Gas on Ethereum mainnet reached an all time low of 3 gwei (roughly 5 cents) this week. Link.
- Former FTX executive Ryan Salame is urging a court to enforce his plea deal with the DOJ, claiming they have not upheld their promise to stop investigating his partner, Michelle Bond, for campaign finance violations related to her 2022 congressional campaign. Link. Link. Court Filing.
- Ethereum layer-2 Optimism is planning a hard fork after undergoing security audits that revealed vulnerabilities in its fault proof system. The foundation said the vulnerabilities identified during the audit have not been exploited. Link.
- Prometheum, the controversial crypto firm known for agreeing with the SEC’s stance that most crypto tokens are securities, plans to expand its custody service to include UNI and ARB. The firm currently offers custodial services for ETH, which it has labeled a security. Link.
- Story Protocol announced a Series A raise co-led by A16z and Polychain Capital at a $2.25 billion valuation. The company is building a blockchain dedicated to protecting and distributing intellectual property and has raised $140 million to date. Link.
