7/2/24: I Want You, Coinbase 🇺🇸🪙🏝️

Author

Valko
July 02, 2024

Top News

  1. Coinbase lands $32.5M deal with US DOJ to custody seized crypto

  2. Circle is first global stablecoin issuer compliant under new EU laws

  3. The Bahamas wants to provide CBDC access via commercial banks

Specs’ Breakdown

1. Coinbase lands $32.5M deal with US DOJ to custody seized crypto

⌐◪-◪ → The US Marshals Service, an agency within the DOJ, just partnered with Coinbase to provide custody and trading services for their “large cap digital assets” aka all their seized crypto.

The irony here is that:

  • The government is suing Coinbase for being an unregistered security exchange and clearing agency

  • While simultaneously paying them $32.5M to be its custody and trading partner

The best part is, that the DOJ could have used a traditional bank/custodian if Biden hadn’t vetoed the crypto custody bill.

The mental gymnastics here are impressive.

2. Circle’s stablecoins now available under new EU stablecoin laws

⌐◪-◪ → Circle’s stablecoins, $USDC and $EURC, are now available under the new EU stablecoin laws, MiCA.

This makes Circle the first global stablecoin issuer compliant with MiCA — solid bragging rights!

For context: before the rules took effect on June 30th, some exchanges delisted euro-denominated stablecoins like Tether’s $EURT.

This is positive news for the industry as it brings much-needed regulatory clarity to the EU, the third-largest economy in the world.

3. The Bahamas wants to provide CBDC access via commercial banks

⌐◪-◪ → The Bahamas Central Bank is developing regulations to require commercial banks to offer access to its new CBDC, “the Sand Dollar”.

The Sand Dollar was officially launched in October 2020, which makes The Bahamas the first economy in the world to launch a CBDC.

In terms of traction, the volume of Sand Dollars in circulation rose to $1.7M in 2023, a 60.8% rise from the beginning of the year, and personal wallets grew to 119k, a 20% increase.

Crypto outsiders might view CBDC adoption as a positive, but it’s actually deeply Orwellian and the US is fighting hard to ban it.

Everything Else

⛓️ Crypto & DeFi

  • PayPal stablecoin $PYUSD goes live on Jupiter

  • Vitalik: Making Eth 'home staking friendly' will ensure decentralization

  • Polkadot criticized for $37M marketing spend

  • Transak partners with Uniswap Labs to provide fiat on-ramp services

  • Manta's co-founder turns against DOT ecosystem

  • Bitfarms boosts BTC mining for 21% in June, amid takeover attempt

  • Pendle TVL drops 40% from $6.2B to $3.7B in one week

  • Aptos proposes deploying Aave V3 on Aptos Network

  • George Santos' Q-themed token plummets after he steps aside

  • Jupiter announces roadmap with 2 token launches, 3 votes, 1 reward

🏦 Wallstreet & VC

  • Robinhood acquires AI investment research firm Pluto Capital

  • Mamori raises $5M to develop blockchain issue detection algorithm

  • Anchorage offers investment returns via deal with Hashnote

  • US spot Bitcoin ETFs report $130M net inflows, largest in 3 weeks

  • ETH ETF inflows to hit $5bn in 6 months, Gemini report

  • ETH public funds see $60M weekly outflows, largest since 2022

  • Iris Energy raised $413M to fund Bitcoin mining

  • Bitfarms mined 189 bitcoin in June, up 21% from previous month

  • Anchorage Digital offers clients yields up to 40% via Hasnote

  • DRiP Haus, Solana creator platform acquires Vault Music

🏛️ Legal & Regulatory

  • Binance.US is 'prepared' for discovery as SEC legal battle advances

  • Silvergate sued by SEC for AML procedures settles for $63M

  • Coinbase puts SEC on notice 'liability shouldn't depend on the court’

  • Roaring Kitty Lawsuit dismissed just days after being filed

  • Robinhood now available in US, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands

🌎 Rest of the World

  • EU traders urged to convert non-compliant stablecoins, MiCA goes live

  • Singapore approves Paxos to issue stablecoins

  • Kenya protest leaders see crypto as alternative to unfair system

  • German government moves new $17M worth of Bitcoin to exchanges

  • South Korea reevaluates 1,300 tokens with updated standards

🖼️ NFTs & Metaverse

  • Pudgy Penguins hit 12.78 ETH floor, up 40% in a week

  • Blast TVL down $1B in the past 10 days, daily txs down 50%

  • Moonray launches on Epic Games Store, begins play-to-airdrop push

  • HashKey to distribute native token via tap-to-earn Telegram game

  • Raydium supports SOL Blink for all assets

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