Top Headlines
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has once again postponed its decision on the proposed WisdomTree Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). Initially set for May 30, the new deadline is now July 14. The extension allows the SEC additional time to review the proposed rule change and public comments. This change would permit the listing of the WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust (BTCW). Since its filing in March, only four public comments have been received.
In other news, investment management firm Guggenheim has filed with the SEC to launch the Guggenheim Active Allocation Fund. This fund aims to maximize total returns through current income and capital appreciation. It will employ tactical asset allocation and relative value strategies. Notably, the fund may gain exposure to cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, through cash-settled derivatives or other investment vehicles. The filing highlights that such investments could lead to significant losses due to the high volatility of digital assets.
Ethereum achieved record-breaking metrics in May. Adjusted on-chain transaction volume surged to $666 billion, a 92.7% increase from April. Miner revenue also hit a new high of $2.35 billion, up 42.4% from the previous month. Additionally, transaction fees paid to Ethereum miners exceeded $1 billion for the first time, reaching $1.03 billion.
On the development front, Polkadot’s testnet, Westend, has successfully upgraded its Shell chain to the asset parachain Westmint (a version of Statemint for Westend). This upgrade is stable, and the next planned step is to upgrade the Shell to Statemine on Kusama. Once Statemine is running smoothly, the much-anticipated Kusama parachain auctions are expected to commence.
Digital Currency Developments
Standard Chartered Bank is establishing a joint venture to facilitate the buying and selling of virtual currencies, including Bitcoin. Partnering with BC Technology Group Ltd, the new entity will be based in the UK and serve the European market. It aims to assist institutional traders in finding counterparties for trading all major virtual currencies. Operations are scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of this year.
Uniswap’s community has proposed reducing the UNI governance proposal threshold from 10 million UNI to 2.5 million UNI. If the proposal secures delegations totaling 10 million UNI, an on-chain vote will be triggered.
SushiSwap community members have introduced a proposal designed to cover all operational expenses without selling any SUSHI tokens. This initiative aims to further decentralize the treasury and provide protection during bear markets. The proposal suggests implementing a governance-controlled "expense ratio" parameter, initially set at 90%. This would redirect a portion of transaction fees from xSUSHI stakers to the treasury as reserve assets like ETH or DAI.
Sweden’s Nordic Growth Market (NGM) exchange now offers a Polkadot Exchange Traded Product (ETP) labeled “VALOUR POLKADOT (DOT) SEK.” This ETP, a product from digital asset investment firm Valour, began trading on the exchange recently.
Etherscan has launched a new Non-Fungible Token (NFT) transfer tracking tool. This enhancement allows users to monitor most NFT activities on the Ethereum blockchain, improving market transparency. Investors can now access comprehensive price history, trade dates, and minting dates for NFTs.
Ethermine mining pool has introduced a new payment option for its miners using the Polygon network. This feature enables daily payments as low as 0.005 ETH, settles earnings in USD-backed stablecoins, and allows miners to participate in DeFi activities. Additionally, miners can manually request payments for balances exceeding 0.005 ETH.
Polygon has partnered with fundraising platform Polkastarter. This collaboration aims to provide efficient token fundraising capabilities, enhancing performance and reducing costs for projects built on Polygon.
OKEx has published details of its latest OKB token buyback and burn. From March 1 to May 31, 2021, the exchange repurchased and destroyed 2,008,753.54 OKB tokens, worth approximately $36.15 million. These tokens were sent to a burn address. The total number of OKB tokens destroyed to date is 32,563,881.78, with the current circulating supply standing at 267,436,118.22.
Blockchain Industry Trends
Razer CEO Tan Min-Liang has indicated that the company is exploring entry into the cryptocurrency space. While acknowledging user interest, Tan expressed concerns about the industry's impact on GPU availability and the environment. He stated that Razer is unlikely to issue its own cryptocurrency but may begin accepting one or more cryptocurrencies as payment for its hardware and services.
In China, Beijing has launched a new digital yuan pilot program. The "Beijing Splendid Striver Digital Carnival" initiative will distribute 200,000 digital red envelopes, each containing 200 digital yuan (e-CNY). Winners can spend this currency at nearly 2,000 designated merchants across the city. This effort is part of broader preparations for the Beijing Winter Olympics' digital currency acceptance environment.
Beijing Poly International Auction is set to hold its first dedicated NFT digital art auction. Titled "Metaverse: Digital Twin," the event features works from digital media and crypto artists. This auction explores questions about reality and virtual technology in the Web 3.0 era, with some pieces sourced from NFT art gallery Neal Digital Gallery.
Investment and Financing Landscape
tZERO, the security token platform owned by Overstock, is reportedly seeking a strategic partner or buyer to scale its operations. While the company states the goal is not an outright sale but finding the right partner, options include a potential public listing via a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC).
Indonesian cryptocurrency exchange Tokocrypto, backed by Binance, plans to go public within the next two to three years. This move follows Binance's acquisition of the exchange last year.
Venture capital firm The Spartan Group has significantly exceeded its fundraising target for a new fund focused on DeFi. Initially aiming for $20 million, the firm secured $110 million. These funds will be directed toward investments in the decentralized finance sector.
EmiSwap, a community-governed decentralized exchange (DEX), has raised $104 million from a large number of investors, with individual contributions capped at $25,000. The project is supported by various entities in the crypto space.
Master Ventures has launched a $30 million crypto fund specifically focused on projects building parachain slots on Polkadot. Dubbed the "Master Ventures Polkadot VC Fund," it is the first of its kind and will invest in promising projects within the Polkadot and Kusama ecosystems.
Borderless Capital is introducing a $25 million blockchain investment fund in Miami. This fund will leverage technology from Algorand and Circle, the operator of the USDC stablecoin. It aims to help local companies build payment and capital market platforms on the Algorand blockchain.
AU21 Capital has established a $21 million fund dedicated to investing in projects built on Polygon. Beyond capital, the firm will provide support in business development and marketing. The fund's managers anticipate substantial returns from these investments.
Reef Finance has unveiled a $20 million grant program for developers building on its cross-chain DeFi operating system. The grants will fund project development and provide infrastructure, with a particular focus on DeFi and NFT applications.
Cryptocurrency derivatives company Hxro has completed a $15 million funding round led by hedge fund Commonwealth Asset Management. Hxro is building a decentralized options market protocol on the Solana blockchain.
Decentralized content publishing platform Mirror has raised over $10 million in a seed funding round at a valuation of $100 million. Participants included Union Square Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz.
Endaoment, an on-chain nonprofit organization, has secured $2.5 million in seed funding. The platform, built on Ethereum, allows for tax-deductible donations under US law, as it is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. All donations remain on the blockchain unless the receiving organization chooses to cash out.
Layer 2 privacy protocol Zecrey, which utilizes zk-Rollup technology, has closed a $1.5 million seed round. The funding will support the further development of its privacy-focused scaling solution.
IDO platform and THORChain liquidity relayer Thorstarter has completed a $1.5 million private funding round. The capital will be used to build cross-chain swap liquidity for THORChain and support its ecosystem growth.
Synthetic asset protocol ARCx has announced a $1.3 million funding round, bringing its total raised to over $8 million. The project continues to develop its decentralized credit scoring and synthetic assets platform.
Global Regulatory Updates
The European Central Bank (ECB) has issued a warning regarding central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). It stated that nations choosing not to develop their own digital currency could face threats to their financial systems and monetary autonomy. The ECB's report suggests that a CBDC would help maintain the autonomy of domestic payment systems and the international use of a currency in the digital age.
The Central Bank of Turkey is collaborating with other government agencies to draft upcoming cryptocurrency regulations. A report submitted to the Turkish parliament outlines the bank's views on cryptocurrencies, detailing their history, nature, and associated risks. Notably, the report emphasizes environmental concerns, citing the high energy consumption and contribution to global warming from crypto mining activities.
Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina has declared that CBDCs are the future of the financial system. She linked this evolution to the rise of the online economy, noting the need for fast and cheap payment systems. A consultation paper on the digital ruble has been released, with a prototype expected by the end of 2021. Pilot tests could begin next year.
Expert Opinions and Market Voices
Official Chinese news agency Xinhua has published commentary critical of speculative "air coin" projects. The article stated that such assets, lacking intrinsic value or practical application, ultimately lead to significant investor losses when their prices collapse. It also highlighted the substantial energy consumption of cryptocurrency mining, calling for comprehensive measures, including adjustments to electricity pricing and environmental policies, to curb the practice.
Chinese state television broadcaster CCTV featured a segment on virtual currency scams. The report detailed a common fraud scheme on Uniswap, where malicious actors create tokens with code that prevents selling, allowing them to drain liquidity and exit. The segment emphasized that illegal securities issuance and unlicensed futures trading on crypto platforms are subject to increasing regulatory scrutiny.
A senior official from Hamas reported a significant surge in cryptocurrency donations following recent conflicts. While not disclosing specific figures, the official noted that increased international attention had led to more donations to the group's military wing via its website, with crypto becoming a growing portion of its total funding.
Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin reflected on the lengthy development process of Ethereum's transition to Proof-of-Stake (PoS). Initially estimated to take one year, the process has stretched to six. Buterin cited internal team conflicts as a major challenge, noting that the hardest problems are often related to people, not technology. He suggested that Ethereum 2.0 might achieve the scalability required for large enterprise applications by the end of 2022.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does the SEC's delay of the Bitcoin ETF decision mean?
The delay indicates the regulator is conducting a thorough review of the proposed rule change and public comments. It is a standard procedure for complex financial products and does not necessarily imply a negative outcome. The new deadline for a decision is set for mid-July.
How can miners benefit from Ethermine's new payment system on Polygon?
This system allows miners to receive daily payments, even for small amounts of ETH (as low as 0.005). It reduces transaction fees, provides earnings in a stable value asset (USDC), and opens opportunities to participate in DeFi yield-generating activities directly with their mining rewards.
What is the purpose of a parachain auction on Kusama/Polkadot?
Parachain auctions allow projects to secure a slot to connect their own blockchain (parachain) to the central relay chain of Kusama or Polkadot. This provides them with shared security and the ability to interoperate with other parachains in the ecosystem.
Why are central banks concerned about not issuing a digital currency?
Central banks, like the ECB, worry that without a sovereign digital currency, their citizens and businesses might become reliant on payment services dominated by a few large foreign tech companies. This could undermine the central bank's ability to manage monetary policy and act as a lender of last resort.
What is an "air coin" as criticized by regulators?
"Air coin" is a derogatory term for a cryptocurrency that has no fundamental value, utility, or tangible asset backing. It is created primarily for speculative purposes and is highly susceptible to price manipulation and collapse, posing significant risks to investors.
How does SushiSwap's new proposal protect the treasury?
The proposal introduces an expense ratio that diverts a small portion of transaction fees to the treasury as stablecoin reserves (e.g., DAI or ETH). This creates a buffer of value-stable assets that can support operations and development during market downturns without forcing the sale of the native SUSHI token.