🌳 Canada Weighs Tariffs on Chinese-Made EVs Amid Global Pressure; Kraken Resolves $3M Dispute with CertiK Over Bug Bounty

Macro & TradFi

Canada is poised to introduce potential tariffs (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-06-20/canada-prepares-potential-tariffs-on-china-electric-vehicles-after-us-eu-moves?srnd=homepage-asia) on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs), aiming to align with similar measures taken by the US and the European Union. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's administration is under increasing pressure both domestically and internationally to address China's aggressive expansion into global EV markets, seen as an attempt to dominate supply chains and undermine Western industries. The US recently proposed to nearly quadruple its tariffs on Chinese EVs to 102.5%, while the EU plans to raise tariffs up to 48% on certain vehicles. Canadian officials are considering public consultations on the tariffs, with concerns focused not on Tesla, but on cheaper EVs from other Chinese manufacturers potentially flooding the market.

The Japanese yen is experiencing its longest decline (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-06-20/yen-s-six-day-slump-puts-spotlight-on-risk-of-japan-intervention?srnd=homepage-asia) since March, prompting concerns that Japan might intervene to stabilize its currency. Recently trading around 158.90 per dollar and nearing a critical level of 160, the yen has faced six consecutive sessions of losses. Masato Kanda, Japan’s top currency official, emphasized the government's readiness to act appropriately to curb excessive volatility. Despite Japan being added to the U.S. Treasury’s foreign-exchange monitoring list, there were no direct criticisms of Japan's intervention measures.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended their streak of record highs, closing lower as Nvidia's shares dropped 3.54%, dragging down tech-heavy indexes. Despite briefly reaching a new milestone of 5,500 points, the S&P 500 faced pressure from economic indicators, including a rise in jobless claims to the highest level since January and a decline in single-family homebuilding. While the energy and utilities sectors posted gains, these were overshadowed by losses in technology. Conversely, the Dow Jones rose by 299.90 points, or 0.77%. Market sentiment was dampened by Kroger's cautious outlook and a sharp decline in Trump Media & Technology Group's shares, leading to a mixed day on Wall Street. Additionally, the Bank of England maintained its rates but signaled potential support for future rate cuts among policymakers.

DeFi & CeFi

   •   Kraken recovers $3 million from CertiK, ending bug bounty saga

   •   Trump scores Bitcoin donations worth $2 million from Winklevoss twins

   •   Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy acquires 11.9K more Bitcoin for $786M

   •   3iq applies to launch Solana ETP in Canada

   •   Layer 2 network Blast to roll out its token airdrop next week

   •   ‘Pharma Bro’ claims Barron Trump holds private keys to DJT token

Kraken (https://cointelegraph.com/news/kraken-recovers-3-certik-bug-bounty-saga) has successfully recovered nearly $3 million in digital assets from blockchain security firm CertiK, concluding a contentious bug bounty dispute. This resolution follows an incident where CertiK, acting as a security researcher, identified a vulnerability and withdrew the funds from Kraken's accounts on June 9. Kraken accused CertiK of extortion for demanding a reward and a meeting with the business development team before returning the assets. CertiK defended its actions, asserting the substantial withdrawal was necessary to test Kraken's security limits and emphasized that no user funds were at risk. The recovery, minus transaction fees, was confirmed by Kraken's Chief Security Officer Nicholas Percoco on June 20.

🌳 Canada Weighs Tariffs on Chinese-Made EVs Amid Global Pressure; Kraken Resolves $3M Dispute with CertiK Over Bug Bounty

Macro & TradFi

Canada is poised to introduce potential tariffs (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-06-20/canada-prepares-potential-tariffs-on-china-electric-vehicles-after-us-eu-moves?srnd=homepage-asia) on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs), aiming to align with similar measures taken by the US and the European Union. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's administration is under increasing pressure both domestically and internationally to address China's aggressive expansion into global EV markets, seen as an attempt to dominate supply chains and undermine Western industries. The US recently proposed to nearly quadruple its tariffs on Chinese EVs to 102.5%, while the EU plans to raise tariffs up to 48% on certain vehicles. Canadian officials are considering public consultations on the tariffs, with concerns focused not on Tesla, but on cheaper EVs from other Chinese manufacturers potentially flooding the market.

The Japanese yen is experiencing its longest decline (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-06-20/yen-s-six-day-slump-puts-spotlight-on-risk-of-japan-intervention?srnd=homepage-asia) since March, prompting concerns that Japan might intervene to stabilize its currency. Recently trading around 158.90 per dollar and nearing a critical level of 160, the yen has faced six consecutive sessions of losses. Masato Kanda, Japan’s top currency official, emphasized the government's readiness to act appropriately to curb excessive volatility. Despite Japan being added to the U.S. Treasury’s foreign-exchange monitoring list, there were no direct criticisms of Japan's intervention measures.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended their streak of record highs, closing lower as Nvidia's shares dropped 3.54%, dragging down tech-heavy indexes. Despite briefly reaching a new milestone of 5,500 points, the S&P 500 faced pressure from economic indicators, including a rise in jobless claims to the highest level since January and a decline in single-family homebuilding. While the energy and utilities sectors posted gains, these were overshadowed by losses in technology. Conversely, the Dow Jones rose by 299.90 points, or 0.77%. Market sentiment was dampened by Kroger's cautious outlook and a sharp decline in Trump Media & Technology Group's shares, leading to a mixed day on Wall Street. Additionally, the Bank of England maintained its rates but signaled potential support for future rate cuts among policymakers.

DeFi & CeFi

   •   Kraken recovers $3 million from CertiK, ending bug bounty saga

   •   Trump scores Bitcoin donations worth $2 million from Winklevoss twins

   •   Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy acquires 11.9K more Bitcoin for $786M

   •   3iq applies to launch Solana ETP in Canada

   •   Layer 2 network Blast to roll out its token airdrop next week

   •   ‘Pharma Bro’ claims Barron Trump holds private keys to DJT token

Kraken (https://cointelegraph.com/news/kraken-recovers-3-certik-bug-bounty-saga) has successfully recovered nearly $3 million in digital assets from blockchain security firm CertiK, concluding a contentious bug bounty dispute. This resolution follows an incident where CertiK, acting as a security researcher, identified a vulnerability and withdrew the funds from Kraken's accounts on June 9. Kraken accused CertiK of extortion for demanding a reward and a meeting with the business development team before returning the assets. CertiK defended its actions, asserting the substantial withdrawal was necessary to test Kraken's security limits and emphasized that no user funds were at risk. The recovery, minus transaction fees, was confirmed by Kraken's Chief Security Officer Nicholas Percoco on June 20.