Criticism Mounts Against Polkadot
Victor Ji, co-founder of Manta Network, has described the Polkadot ecosystem as toxic, accusing the team of inefficiency and a lack of genuine decentralization. He asserted that Polkadot adds no real value to Web3.
FTX-Linked Bank Silvergate to Disburse Millions in Fines
Silvergate, a banking partner of the bankrupt entities FTX and Alameda, will pay fines totaling $63 million to the Federal Reserve and the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI). Of this sum, $43 million will be paid to the Fed and $20 million to the DFPI. Additionally, the SEC seeks to impose another $50 million in penalties on the company.
Circle Declares Full MiCA Compliance for USDC and EURC
On July 1, at a press conference in Paris, Circle announced that its stablecoins, USDC and EURC, now adhere fully to the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations.
LayerZero Clarifies: Alleged Bug is a Design Feature
Bryan Pellegrino, CEO of LayerZero, has dismissed claims by anonymous crypto sleuth 0x52 about a critical vulnerability in the protocol.
Abra Resumes Operations in the US
Asset management company Abra has launched the Abra Treasury, a crypto platform for corporate clients.
Gemini Becomes New Partner of Real Bedford FC
Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini has become a sponsor of the English football club Real Bedford, owned by Peter McCormack, host of the popular podcast What Bitcoin Did. The sponsorship deal was paid in Bitcoin, which will be used for club development and the launch of a youth academy.
Alibaba Expands Support for Blockchain Units
Alibaba’s arm, Ant Digital Technologies, has increased the registered capital for two of its blockchain subsidiaries, Ant Chain Digital Technology and Ant Blockchain Technology. The capital infusion exceeded previous amounts by over fifteen times, with the former receiving approximately $289 million and the latter about $200 million.
SK Hynix Bets Big on AI
South Korean chip manufacturer SK Hynix has announced plans to invest $74.6 billion by 2028 in production facilities focused on artificial intelligence. Concurrently, its parent company, SK Group, aims to raise $57.9 billion in investments in semiconductors, process optimization, and AI technologies.
SEC Files Lawsuit Against Consensys, Developer of MetaMask
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against Consensys, accusing the company of violating federal securities laws.
WhiteBIT and NaUKMA Issue First Tokenized Diplomas
Ukrainian cryptocurrency exchange WhiteBIT and the National University “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy” (NaUKMA) have successfully wrapped up their first “Blockchain Technologies” educational program at the academy’s Faculty of Computer Science.
Journalists Wage On Against OpenAI
The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI for unauthorized use of the nonprofit organization’s materials in training its large language models.
CleanSpark Acquires GRIID
CleanSpark, a mining company, is acquiring the U.S.-based infrastructure firm GRIID for $155 million. The boards of both companies have approved the deal, which now requires the nod from other shareholders and regulatory bodies. The acquisition is expected to be finalized by the third quarter of 2024.
Crypto Projects Suffer $572M Losses in Q2 2024
In the second quarter of 2024, crypto projects lost $572 million to fraud and hacks, more than doubling the $265 million in the same period last year. The two biggest victims were centralized exchanges: Japan’s DMM Bitcoin ($305 million) and Turkey’s BtcTurk ($55 million).
Coinbase Files Lawsuits Against SEC and FDIC
Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange, has initiated legal proceedings against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) over alleged violations of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
US Federal Reserve Bank Stress Test Results: Are Banks Resilient?
The US Federal Reserve has concluded its annual stress test, evaluating 31 banks to ensure they can withstand minimum capital requirements in the event of a hypothetical recession.
Polymarket Disputes Its Oracle Service on Barron Trump’s DJT Role
Following reports that Martin Shkreli and Donald Trump’s son, Barron, were involved in launching the DJT token, a betting market titled “Was Barron involved in DJT?” appeared on Polymarket.
Abra to Halt Services in the U.S. and Return Funds to Clients
According to the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, an investigation conducted by financial regulators across several U.S. states revealed that the cryptocurrency company Abra was offering trading and investment services without the requisite licenses.
Crypto Developers Slam CertiK’s Agressive Marketing Approach
Mikko Ohtamaa, a developer of the algorithmic trading protocol TradingStrategy․ai, has voiced concerns about the auditing company CertiK. According to Ohtamaa, CertiK independently adds projects to its Skynet rating list, which assesses cybersecurity, decentralization levels, and more.
Setback for OpenAI: Delay in Major Feature Launch
OpenAI has made the ChatGPT app for macOS available to all users, but the spotlight remains on the much-awaited advanced Voice Mode introduced with GPT-4o.
Fed Hack Claims Dismissed
The hacker group LockBit, which recently claimed to have breached the U.S. Federal Reserve and stolen over 30 TB of secret documents, only managed to release confidential data from Evolve Bank & Trust. This included information about file domains, virtual machines, and more.
Cardano Attack Backfires on Hacker
The Cardano mainnet was targeted by a DDoS attack in which the perpetrator attempted to overload the system by launching hundreds of smart contracts in an effort to steal staked tokens. However, the developers coordinated a response that successfully thwarted the attack, resulting in the hacker losing funds instead.
HYDRO Founders Incarcerated
The founders of Hydrogen Technology, the company behind the HYDRO token, have been imprisoned for manipulating the cryptocurrency’s price and conspiring to defraud investors. Shane Hampton, the Head of Financial Engineering, was sentenced to 2 years and 11 months, while CEO Michael Kane received a sentence of 3 years and 9 months.
Linux Foundation’s New Push for Decentralization
The Linux Foundation, a non-profit organization, is set to launch the LF Decentralized Trust (LFDT). This new platform aims to foster the development of open-source decentralized technologies across a range of sectors, including security, scalability, and finance.
Memecoins: The Driving Force of the Crypto Market in 2024
In the first half of 2024, memecoins demonstrated the highest profitability (1834%) among all cryptocurrency sectors. Following far behind were Real World Assets (RWA) – tokenized real assets, including BlackRock products, with a growth of 213%.
OpenAI’s New Policy: API Restrictions for China
While ChatGPT has been unavailable for mainland China users, developers in the region were able to utilize OpenAI’s services for their applications.
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Who Is Crypto Kaleo: A Market Analyst with 700,000 Followers
Crypto Kaleo is a renowned crypto trader and one of the most followed influencers in the industry. Active since 2017, he has built a strong presence on X, TradingView, and other platforms, sharing technical analysis, market predictions, and insightful commentary on the crypto space.
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Zora Network Reviewed: A Testnet Guide
Are sky-high Ethereum fees getting you down? The folks at Zora have come up with an alternative, introducing their Layer 2 solution with lower transaction fees. This article will walk you through how to get involved with the project and earn some rewards.