WuBlockchain Weekly: MtGOX Executes Large-Scale Transfers, ETH ETF May Launch by End of June, Babylon Secures $70 Million Investment and Top10 News

May 31, 2024

1. Mt. Gox Cold Wallet Begins Large-Scale Transfers link

On May 28 at 9:41 UTC+8, Mt. Gox’s cold wallet initiated a transfer of Bitcoin, including 47.229k BTC to the new address 1HeHLv…vHoV68, 23.797k BTC to the new address 1zuWGg…FWGRH6, 47.229k BTC to the new address 16eAGJ…37P9gX, and 19.41k BTC to the new address 15VuDC…gSZnh4. Mt. Gox issued a statement clarifying that the rehabilitation trustee has not yet made direct repayments of BTC or BCH through designated cryptocurrency exchanges nor sold BTC and BCH to generate proceeds for repayments. Former Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpelès also commented on X, stating, “The trustee is moving the tokens to another wallet in preparation for possible distributions this year, and there will be no immediate sale of Bitcoin.”

2. BlackRock Submits Revised S-1 Statement; Ethereum Spot ETF Expected to Launch by Late June link

BlackRock has filed an amended S-1 registration statement, disclosing information about seed capital investors, paving the way for the listing and trading of its proposed Ethereum ETF. The revised document reveals that on May 21, 2024, seed capital investors purchased seed creation baskets totaling 400,000 shares at $25.00 per share. These shares will trade under the ticker “ETHA.” Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas stated that BlackRock’s amended S-1 is a “good sign,” suggesting that other companies may soon file similar documents, with trading possibly commencing around late June or July 4.

3. Biden Campaign Engages Key Figures in the Cryptocurrency Industry link

President Biden’s re-election campaign team has started engaging with key figures in the cryptocurrency industry, seeking guidance on “the future development of the crypto community and crypto policy.” According to several anonymous sources, this outreach includes reaching out to influential industry leaders previously dismissed by the Biden administration, signaling a significant “shift” in Biden’s approach to the industry. The outreach began approximately two weeks ago as Biden’s team increasingly recognizes that cryptocurrency-related issues could impact the upcoming closely contested presidential race.

This move may be in response to pressure from Trump’s campaign. According to Bitcoincom, David Bailey, CEO of Bitcoin Magazine and a cryptocurrency advisor for Trump’s campaign, revealed that Trump had inquired about the potential use of Bitcoin to address the US national debt. Bailey mentioned that during his first meeting with Trump, Trump asked if Bitcoin could do anything about the $35 trillion debt. Bailey previously disclosed that his team had been advising Trump to develop a pro-Bitcoin and cryptocurrency policy. He also mentioned an executive order submitted to Trump that he plans to sign on his first day back in office if re-elected.

4. U.S. Treasury Deputy Secretary: No Plans to Ban Cryptocurrency Mixing Services link

U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Brian Nelson stated that the Treasury Department does not intend to ban cryptocurrency mixing services. Nelson clarified that the 2023 proposal by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) aims to promote transparency rather than prohibit mixing services. He emphasized that the Treasury seeks to collaborate with the cryptocurrency industry to find ways to enhance privacy without facilitating terrorist financing. Nelson noted that most mixers are currently used to evade anti-money laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) reporting requirements, making them attractive to criminals.

5. EU Draft Considers MEV as Market Abuse link

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has defined Maximum Extractable Value (MEV) as a clear example of illegal market abuse in its draft technical standards under the proposed Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. Crypto commentator Patrick Hansen noted that almost all EU-regulated crypto businesses, including exchanges and brokers, will be required to detect and report MEV instances through comprehensive Suspicious Transaction or Order Reports (STORs). Those engaging in MEV activities could face investigations and enforcement actions from both EU and international regulators. ESMA has set a consultation feedback deadline of June 25, and the final standards are expected to significantly impact the regulatory landscape for crypto in the EU.

6. Binance Sells GOPAX Victims’ Claims at Less Than Half Face Value, Resulting in Losses of Billions of KRW link

According to Korean media outlet Hankyung, Binance, the largest shareholder of the Korean exchange GOPAX, has sold the asset claims of GOPAX victims for less than half their face value. Initially, Binance promised to fully compensate investors in the GoFi virtual deposit service who suffered losses due to a suspension of fund withdrawals, which amounted to around 70 billion KRW at the time. In return, Binance acquired GOPAX’s shares at a significantly discounted price, becoming its largest shareholder. However, instead of using its own funds for compensation, Binance sold the victims’ asset claims at a low price to pay the compensation, essentially engaging in a “debt-for-debt” transaction. During this process, the prices of virtual assets like Bitcoin surged, leading to an increase in the scope of losses. After accounting for the amounts already repaid, the estimated debt of GoFi is currently around 100 billion KRW, resulting in GOPAX incurring losses of several hundred billion KRW.

7. PayPal’s Stablecoin PYUSD Now Live on Solana Blockchain link

PayPal’s stablecoin PYUSD has been launched on the Solana blockchain. According to the official statement, users can transfer PayPal’s stablecoin to Solana via Crypto.com, Phantom, and Paxos, the issuer of PYUSD. Jose Fernandez da Ponte, PayPal’s Senior Vice President of Blockchain, Crypto, and Digital Currencies, expressed the company’s interest in Solana’s potential for payments and peer-to-peer money flows, beyond just trading purposes. PYUSD was initially introduced last August as an Ethereum-based stablecoin, backed 1:1 by assets including USD and U.S. Treasuries.

8. Bitcoin Spot ETF Records 13 Consecutive Days of Inflows link

According to SoSoValue data, on May 30th (Eastern Time), Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a total net inflow of $48.706 million. Grayscale’s ETF GBTC recorded a net outflow of $0.00 for the day, with a historical net outflow of $17.777 billion. The Bitcoin spot ETF with the highest single-day net inflow was Fidelity’s ETF FBTC, which had a net inflow of $119 million for the day, bringing its historical total net inflow to $8.884 billion. As of May 30th, Bitcoin spot ETFs have experienced net inflows for 13 consecutive days. The total net asset value of Bitcoin spot ETFs currently stands at $59.026 billion, with an ETF net asset ratio of 4.37%, and the historical cumulative net inflow has reached $13.809 billion.

9. Bernstein: Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF Market Cap Expected to Grow to $450 Billion link

The Bernstein report highlights that the total market size of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs is expected to grow to $450 billion, indicating a potential influx of over $100 billion into crypto ETFs over the next two years. Previously, the brokerage predicted a peak for Bitcoin in the 2025 cycle at $150,000, with an end-of-year target of $90,000. Additionally, the report notes that Ethereum is the first PoS token approved for spot ETFs, which could positively impact other blockchain tokens, potentially benefiting Solana (SOL).

10. Bitcoin Staking Protocol Babylon Secures $70 Million Financing Round Led by Paradigm link

The Bitcoin collateral-focused startup Babylon raised $70 million in its latest funding round, with Paradigm leading the investment. This marks the largest recent investment in the Bitcoin ecosystem. Previously, Binance Labs had announced its investment in Babylon. By the end of 2023, Babylon had completed an $18 million financing round led by Polychain Capital and Hack VC.

Fundraising

Bitcoin lending protocol Babylon secured $70 million in financing with Paradigm leading the round. link
AI-based DeFi platform Aperture Finance completed its Series A funding round at a valuation of $250 million. link
Decentralized AI project GaiaNet announced a $10 million financing round. link
Oracle protocol Switchboard completed a $7.5 million Series A funding round. link
Neynar secured $11 million in its Series A financing. link
RWA tokenization platform Fortunafi completed a strategic seed round raising $9.51 million. link
Mighty Jaxx raised $11 million in its A+ funding round. link
Blockchain gaming developer Supervillain Labs secured $4.5 million in seed funding. link
Infrastructure project Parasail by DePIN completed a $4 million seed funding round led by Protocol Labs. link
SocialFi infrastructure OpenSocial announced a $5 million seed funding round. link
Blockchain node management platform NodeOps raised $5 million in seed funding. link
Ethereum L2 network Mint Blockchain secured $5 million in seed funding. link
PlayAI announced a $4.3 million seed funding round. link
Blockchain game Kuroro Beast secured $2.5 million in strategic financing. link

Learn more, check out crypto-fundraising.info.

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