WuBlockchain Weekly: U.S. CPI Falls Below Expectations, Spot Ethereum ETF S-1 Approval Anticipated This Summer, Binance Global Users Surpass 200 Million and Top10 News

Jun 14, 2024

1. U.S. Announces 3.3% Year-over-Year CPI for May link

The United States announced an unadjusted CPI annual rate of 3.3% for May, below the expected 3.4% and the previous value of 3.4%. The unadjusted core CPI annual rate for May was 3.4%, also below the anticipated 3.5% and down from 3.6%, marking the lowest level since April 2021.

Additionally, the Federal Reserve announced it would maintain interest rates at 5.25–5.5%, aligning with market expectations. According to the dot plot shared by Nick Timiraos, four Federal Reserve officials believe there will be no rate cuts this year, up from two officials in the March forecast. Seven officials anticipate one rate cut, while eight officials foresee two rate cuts. This suggests a slight majority of officials consider one rate cut as the baseline expectation for this year.

2. Biden Campaign Team Discussing Acceptance of Cryptocurrency Donations link

President Biden’s campaign team is in discussions with cryptocurrency industry participants about accepting cryptocurrency donations via Coinbase Commerce. The Biden team aims to attract voters interested in cryptocurrency and bolster campaign funds. An insider noted, “People in Biden’s inner circle specifically warned the campaign that if you remain silent on cryptocurrency issues and fail to keep up, you might lose the election.” Currently, the negotiations for accepting cryptocurrency donations are still exploratory.

3. Trump: Wishes All Remaining Bitcoins Were Produced in the U.S. link

On his media platform Truth Posts, Donald Trump campaigned by stating that Bitcoin mining might be our last defense against CBDCs; Biden is full of hatred for Bitcoin; and we want all remaining Bitcoin to be mined in the United States, which will help us dominate in energy.

Previously, Bitcoin Magazine posted photos showing Donald Trump meeting with its CEO and representatives of American Bitcoin miners, where he promised support for the crypto mining industry. Trump also expressed his approval of CleanSpark’s initiatives to its co-founder. In recent months, Trump has shown a marked increase in interest in cryptocurrency, frequently making public statements in support of it and becoming the first major party presidential candidate to accept cryptocurrency donations.

4. SEC Chair: Approval of Spot ETH ETF S-1 Likely by End of Summer link

Fox reporter Eleanor Terrett reported that SEC Chairman Gary Gensler recently informed Senator Bill Hagerty that he expects the approval of the ETH spot ETF S-1 to be completed by the end of this summer, typically referring to the period from June to August in the U.S. Gensler also mentioned that due to the permissionless nature of blockchain, DeFi faces challenges in complying with anti-money laundering laws.

When directly asked if Ethereum (ETH) is a commodity, SEC Chairman Gensler did not provide a definitive answer, maintaining an uncertain stance on the asset. In the same hearing, CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam answered affirmatively when asked if Ethereum is a commodity.

Senator Bill Hagerty encouraged the SEC to provide clear guidance on cryptocurrencies, stating, “The industry needs a proper ecosystem… so we don’t push it overseas.” SEC Chairman Gensler countered by saying that violating the law and disliking the law are different from a lack of clarity.

5. Ethereum Founder Vitalik Suggests Responses to Memecoin Dominance link

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has addressed the phenomenon of memecoins dominating the narrative, outlining several directions he believes can expand and improve the everyday use of cryptocurrencies. These directions include:

zk Reputation/Identity/Credentials: Utilizing zero-knowledge proofs to enhance identity verification and credential systems.

P2P Cross-Border Payments: Reducing fees and improving user experience in peer-to-peer cross-border transactions within this cycle.

Decentralized Social Networks: Developing social platforms that operate on decentralized principles.

Prediction Markets: Making prediction markets practically usable within this cycle.

Privacy: Enhancing privacy features in cryptocurrency transactions and applications.

Enterprise Applications via zk Validiums: Implementing zero-knowledge validiums to facilitate corporate use cases.

zk and Censorship-Resistant Voting: Combining zero-knowledge proofs with censorship-resistant mechanisms to improve voting systems.

6. Binance Global Users Surpass 200 Million, He Yi Addresses Issues in Space link

Binance officially announced that at 23:58 on June 8 (GMT+8), the platform’s global registered user base surpassed 200 million. Binance took 2 years and 2 months to grow from 100 million to 200 million users. Binance CEO Richard stated, “We are honored to announce that Binance has reached 200 million registered users, and this number continues to grow. This achievement reflects the ongoing trust of the crypto community and industry participants in the Binance ecosystem. We cherish this trust and, as a user-centric platform, are always committed to prioritizing the needs of our expanding user base.”

On June 13, Binance co-founder He Yi held a Twitter Space to address questions. Regarding the recent wash trading incident, He Yi mentioned that the product was designed with user-friendliness in mind and was not strict enough. Following this experience, Binance will enhance its risk control standards and levels. At the time, they noticed price fluctuations, but risk control deemed them insignificant and let them pass. He Yi also dismissed the idea that “competitors” were behind the issue.

Concerning the listing process, He Yi acknowledged the dilemma: if they don’t list projects with high FDV (Fully Diluted Valuation), they are criticized for ignoring cutting-edge technologies; if they list projects with low FDV, they are criticized for listing problematic projects. Every policy has loopholes, and the process is a constant battle of wits. Moving forward, Binance hopes to focus more on enabling blockchain use by entrepreneurs rather than just trapping users in airdrop and trading scenarios.

Regarding delisting, He Yi explained that the review process considers whether the product is under development, its liquidity, the presence of significant negative factors, and compliance with various countries’ regulations. The recent decrease in delisting frequency is because bull market project teams have become active again. Additionally, Binance has a dedicated department for daily monitoring of listed projects and strongly opposes buying shells.

He Yi shared that she writes emails to CZ daily and also needs to write book reports. Her daily life mainly consists of exercising, attending phone meetings, and putting her child to sleep, which she finds quite monotonous.

He Yi also mentioned that Binance has listed projects that were mocked, such as “Hook,” which was criticized for having fake users but actually had non-typical crypto users. Another listed game project brought in millions of registrations but only 56 trading users. Binance is experimenting with normal business models and is prepared to face ridicule and failure during the process.

7. Bybit to Relocate Staff to Malaysia and Dubai After Opening Registration for Chinese Users link

WuBlockchain exclusively learned that Bybit, after opening registration for Chinese users, is initiating a comprehensive plan to relocate its employees to Malaysia and Dubai, and is considering closing its offices in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and other locations within China. Currently, most of the employees in China are in technical roles. For those unwilling to relocate, Bybit may proceed with layoffs and provide compensation. Analysts point out that after opening registration for Chinese users, domestic employees undoubtedly face higher risks. Bybit’s move is considered a standard practice, as other exchanges and cryptocurrency institutions have previously required all employees to relocate abroad for collective office work or face layoffs.

8. Tether Investment Arm Plans to Invest Over $1 Billion in the Next 12 Months link

Tether Holdings Ltd. CEO Paolo Ardoino has revealed that its investment division expects to allocate over $1 billion to trading in the next 12 months. In an interview, Ardoino stated that the company is focusing on alternative financial infrastructure in emerging markets, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology — sectors in which it has invested approximately $2 billion over the past two years. While Tether plans to maintain 100% reserves and set aside an additional 6% buffer from profits to ensure smooth redemption of USDT, it also intends to invest a portion of the remaining profits into trading. Additionally, the company has invested over $1 billion in artificial intelligence, including support for data center operator Northern Data Group.

9. MicroStrategy Announces Plan to Raise $500 Million via Private Placement to Purchase Bitcoin link

MicroStrategy has announced plans to raise $500 million through a private offering of convertible senior notes, which it intends to use for purchasing additional Bitcoin and other corporate purposes. The notes are set to mature in 2032. This private placement targets eligible institutional buyers, with the initial purchasers having the option to buy an additional $75 million worth of notes within 13 days from the issuance date.

10. Paradigm Announces $850 Million Third Venture Fundraising link

Paradigm has announced the successful raising of its third $850 million venture capital fund, dedicated to early-stage cryptocurrency projects. Founded in 2018, Paradigm’s co-founder Matt Huang expressed a growing conviction in the importance of cryptocurrency technology over the past six years. Paradigm will continue its focus on early-stage efforts through its entrepreneur-in-residence and incubation programs, with plans to foster the development of more open-source projects in the coming years.

Fundraising

Symbiotic’s repledge project completed a $5.8 million seed funding round, with Paradigm leading. link
Nexus Labs completed a $25 million Series A financing. link
Multi-signature protocol Squads completed a $10 million Series A financing, led by Electric Capital. link
Layer3 announced the completion of a $15 million Series A financing, with ParaFi and Greenfield Capital leading. link
The NEAR Foundation announced the establishment of Nuffle Labs and secured $13 million in financing. link
Telegram’s encrypted gaming ecosystem Pixelverse completed a $5.5 million financing round. link
On-chain data developer Irys completed $8.9 million in financing. link
The metaverse platform Yuliverse announced the completion of a $4 million Pre-A financing round. link
DeFi protocol Ink Finance completed over $5 million in financing, with participation from GSR and others. link
Payment startup Kima completed a $5 million financing round. link
Web3 social app Halo announced the completion of a $3 million seed financing round. link
Decentralized data protocol Codatta announced the completion of a $2.5 million seed financing round. link
Decentralized credit protocol Qiro Finance completed a $1.2 million Pre-Seed financing round. link

Learn more, check out crypto-fundraising.info.

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