Daily Report | The US, UK and other countries jointly combat cryptocurrency tax evasion; Coinbase will launch PIRATE; Upbit will launch ONDO; Nigeria withdraws tax charges against Binance executives

Organizer: Fairy, ChainCatcher

Important News:

• SEC Chair: Progress on registration procedures for spot Ethereum ETF issuers is smooth
• Nigeria's Federal Inland Revenue Service withdraws tax charges against Binance executives
• Hong Kong-listed Coolpad Group plans to invest over HKD 100 million to procure electronic computing servers for crypto mining
• Countries including the US, Japan, and the UK sign a joint statement to combat cryptocurrency tax evasion
• Ripple cites Terraform settlement case, seeks to reduce the proposed $2 billion fine by the US SEC
• ZKsync Chinese community: Matter Labs' uncompromising principles will ruin ZKsync, and it will disclose all truths in detail
• Coinbase: Will list Pirate Nation (PIRATE)
• Upbit will list Ondo Finance (ONDO)

"What important events happened in the past 24 hours"

SEC Chair: Progress on registration procedures for spot Ethereum ETF issuers is smooth

According to Jinshi, Gary Gensler, the chair of the US SEC, stated during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Thursday: "Individual spot Ethereum ETF issuers are still in the process of registration, and progress is smooth. The final approval of a few issuers' registration statements depends on the quality of investor disclosure information."

Nigeria's Federal Inland Revenue Service withdraws tax charges against Binance executives

According to CoinDesk, a family spokesperson stated in an email on Friday that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) of Nigeria has withdrawn tax charges against Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla. FIRS agreed to modify the charges to only target Binance, conducted through its local representatives. Gambaryan will no longer need to appear in court regarding the FIRS case.

However, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla remain defendants in a money laundering case. The statement indicated that the next hearing for this case is scheduled for June 19, during which the "application for a fundamental rights enforcement order" will be heard. The trial will resume on June 20. Gambaryan remains detained in Kuje prison.

ZKsync Chinese community: Matter Labs' uncompromising principles will ruin ZKsync, and it will disclose all truths in detail

The ZKsync Chinese community posted on X: "Today, we are disappointed with the leadership of Matter Labs. The Chinese community cannot change anything but must be accountable to the contributors and community members who follow. We will detail all experiences and publicly disclose everything we know, including specific evidence. Matter Labs' uncompromising principles will ruin ZKsync."

Hong Kong-listed Coolpad Group plans to invest over HKD 100 million to procure electronic computing servers for crypto mining

According to an announcement from Hong Kong-listed Coolpad Group, the company has signed a procurement contract for 2024 to purchase equipment, with a total price of $13,583,700 (approximately HKD 106,089,000), for 2,700 electronic computing servers used for crypto mining.

Coolpad Group stated that its existing computing power is 873,000 TH/S, and after the procurement contract transaction is completed, the computing power will increase to 1,504,800 TH/S. The board believes that crypto mining is an attractive business that can enhance profitability in the long term, considering the atmosphere, market trends, and prospects of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.

Countries including the US, Japan, and the UK sign a joint statement to combat cryptocurrency tax evasion

According to Financefeeds, dozens of countries, including the US, Japan, and the UK, have signed a joint statement agreeing to a set of crypto tax rules developed by the OECD, known as the Crypto Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). The joint statement indicated that the signatory countries will expedite the transformation of CARF into domestic laws and promptly initiate exchange agreements to facilitate exchanges starting in 2027. Reports suggest that the CARF is expected to launch in 2027 for information sharing as part of these countries' efforts to combat tax evasion using digital assets.

Ripple cites Terraform settlement case, seeks to reduce the proposed $2 billion fine by the US SEC

According to The Block, Ripple Labs' lawyers are attempting to leverage the recent fine against Terraform Labs by the US SEC to argue for a lower fine in their case with the SEC. Ripple has been engaged in a lengthy legal battle with the SEC for the past few years and stated in a "supplemental authority notice" on Thursday that the proposed financial penalty by the regulator is unreasonable. The company compared the SEC's proposed $2 billion fine for its sale of XRP to institutional investors with the fine against Terraform Labs.

Ripple believes that its fine should be closer to $10 million. On Wednesday, Terraform agreed to pay a fine of $4.47 billion, and later on Thursday, a judge approved the settlement agreement. Ripple's lawyers stated: "The civil penalty sought by the SEC in the Terraform case indicates the unreasonableness of the civil penalty sought in this case. As explained in Ripple's opposition, in similar (or even more severe) cases, the civil penalties agreed upon by the SEC ranged from 0.6% to 1.8% of the defendant's total revenue. Terraform fits this pattern."

Coinbase: Will list Pirate Nation (PIRATE)

According to official news, Coinbase will add support for Pirate Nation (PIRATE) on the Ethereum network (ERC-20 token).

Upbit will list Ondo Finance (ONDO)

According to an official announcement, the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit has announced support for new trading pairs for Ondo Finance (ONDO), which are now available in the KRW, BTC, and USDT markets. ONDO is a digital asset based on the Ethereum network, and its deposit and withdrawal functions will be opened within three hours after the announcement.

The trading support times are as follows:

• USDT market: June 14, 15:00 (UTC+8)
• BTC market: June 14, 16:00 (UTC+8)
• KRW market: June 14, 17:00 (UTC+8)

QCP Capital: Bitcoin miner sell-off post-halving limits price increase, expecting a relatively calm summer crypto market

QCP Capital stated that despite strong momentum in the stock market, Bitcoin has still struggled to recover after the FOMC meeting. They believe this divergence is due to Bitcoin miners experiencing a post-halving sell-off, which directly limits the price. Additionally, Flowbank, which has a tripartite agreement with Binance, is currently facing bankruptcy proceedings.

They expect the summer to be relatively calm, with low market volatility and no catalysts to drive the market. Regarding Ethereum, they believe there will be no immediate sparks, and Gensler is expected to approve the spot Ethereum ETF only by the end of summer.

They suggest accumulating trades in advance during this long-term calm summer, especially targeting Ethereum. Currently, Ethereum's volatility is trading at a 10 volatility premium over Bitcoin, and they expect that as they await the approval of the S-1 form by the end of summer, Ethereum's writers will return, narrowing this gap.

DFI: Crypto trading platform Ethfinance may be a scam platform, investors unable to withdraw funds after depositing

The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) Securities Division issued a consumer warning stating that an investor learned about a crypto trading platform called Ethfinance through a connection sent via LinkedIn and transferred a total of $310,000 from their DeFi wallet to the platform. When he attempted to withdraw part of the initial principal and profits, the investor was told that he needed to add more funds to complete the "smart contract" before withdrawing funds.

DFI stated that the investor did not remit any additional funds. The investor was unable to withdraw any funds from their account, and their account has been locked. The case appears to be a "prepaid fraud case," but it has not yet confirmed these allegations. The platform has also been mentioned in previous complaints, with a California resident reporting that they encountered a stranger online who offered to teach them how to make money by trading cryptocurrency options, resulting in a loss of over $165,000.

Biden nominates US CFTC commissioner to lead FDIC and Treasury Department executives

According to The Block, based on a statement released by the White House on Thursday, US President Joe Biden announced the nomination of Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero to lead the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and nominated CFTC commissioner Kristin Johnson to serve as Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the Treasury Department.

Both Democratic CFTC commissioners have urged the agency to issue rules or guidelines to protect consumers and address conflicts of interest in the cryptocurrency sector.

Romero has warned that there are "contagion risks" in the cryptocurrency market and compared the industry to the financial crisis of 2008. Romero also sponsored the CFTC's Technology Advisory Committee, which voted earlier this year to submit a report to the commission calling for government and industry efforts to understand decentralized finance.

Bloomberg ETF analyst: Prediction of approval for Ethereum spot ETF S-1 application around July 4 may need to be delayed

Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas stated: "It is reported that issuers are still waiting for comments from the SEC's corporate and financial department on their S-1 submitted two weeks ago, which is the first time this department has reviewed these documents. Why? Because (most likely) last-minute political changes surprised them.

It is unclear whether they are prioritizing this work, and I may need to delay my previous prediction of approval for the spot Ethereum ETF S-1 around July 4." Previously, the SEC chair mentioned in a hearing that the document might be approved sometime this summer, but did not specify a date.

Cryptocurrency giants have accumulated $160 million in funds to support crypto-friendly US candidates

According to Bloomberg, cryptocurrency billionaires and their allies have accumulated $160 million in funds to protect their wealth by supporting US candidates who advocate for light regulation of the crypto industry. This large sum has made the cryptocurrency industry one of the most influential participants in federal campaign financing.

This funding could disrupt the California Senate race. In November, it could be key for the Republican Party to win a majority in the Senate.

Holograph: Contract attacked, hackers can illegally mint 1 billion HLG tokens

The all-chain NFT protocol Holograph posted on social media that the Holograph contract has been exploited by malicious actors, allowing hackers to illegally mint an additional 1 billion HLG tokens.

Currently, the team has patched the initial vulnerability and is working with various trading platform partners to lock malicious accounts, while investigations are underway and they are contacting law enforcement.

Lista DAO: TGE on June 20 and airdrop distribution

The second phase of Binance's Megadrop project, Lista DAO, announced on social media that it will have its TGE on June 20 and distribute airdrops, with users having 30 days to claim the airdrop.

"What are the exciting articles worth reading in the past 24 hours"

Review of Curve founder's $141 million CRV liquidation: Was it a premeditated sell-off?

On the evening of June 13, Arkham reported that Curve founder Michael Egorov's nearly nine-digit lending position ($141 million CRV) has been completely liquidated, resulting in over $1 million in bad debts on Curve's lending platform Llamalend.

In response to this liquidation incident, Curve founder Michael Egorov posted on social media that the Curve team and he have been working hard to resolve the liquidation risk issue. As the public knows, all of his loan positions have been liquidated.

He also added that due to the size of his holdings, the impact on the market was too great, leading to approximately $10 million in bad debts, but he has already repaid 93%, and the remaining bad debts will be repaid soon.

Thus, this 12-hour liquidation incident seems to have been paused, with the CRV price maintaining around $0.28.

However, the reasons behind this large-scale liquidation of CRV lending positions are still worth exploring, and founder Michael Egorov's indifference in facing this liquidation, with a calm attitude of "not replenishing, not rescuing," has surprised many, leading the community to question whether he is selling CRV through mortgage loans for cashing out?

Complete list of 1000 Bitcoin spot ETF buyers: Total investment exceeds $11.5 billion, with hedge funds taking the lead

After the recent deadline for submitting the first quarter 13F reports to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (May 15), approximately 1000 institutions hold about $11.55 billion in Bitcoin spot ETFs.

The investment levels of institutions in Bitcoin ETFs vary, with 18 institutions holding related assets exceeding $100 million, 102 institutions holding related assets exceeding $10 million, and 371 institutions holding related assets exceeding $1 million. The vast majority of institutions hold only a small portion of BTC ETF assets relative to their total assets under management.

The 18 institutions holding related assets exceeding $100 million are mostly well-known hedge funds and asset management companies, such as Millennium Management, Jane Street Group, and Schonfeld Strategic Advisors. Similarly, large institutions' investments in crypto assets only account for a small portion of their total assets under management.

Additionally, although 13F filings have become an important barometer in the investment community, the fact that these institutions hold spot Bitcoin ETFs does not necessarily indicate a bullish outlook on Bitcoin. For high-frequency trading, cryptocurrencies are merely volatile assets, and most institutions purchase Bitcoin for speculative trading strategies, not necessarily indicating their endorsement of any fundamental value of Bitcoin. Does this mean that after the formal approval of the BTC spot ETF in the US this January, the market still lacks long-term holders of Bitcoin?

AI's Oppenheimer moment: How IO.NET is revolutionizing the decentralized AI computing market

Humanity is at an AI Oppenheimer moment.

Elon Musk pointed out: "As we advance our technology, it is crucial to ensure that AI serves the interests of the people, not just those in power. AI owned by the people provides a path forward."

At the intersection with cryptocurrency, AI can achieve its democratization. Starting with open-source models, then the people's AI, serving the people, by the people. While the goal of Web3 x AI is noble, its actual adoption depends on its availability and compatibility with existing AI software stacks. This is where IO.NET's unique approach and technology stack come into play.

Real Case | Is the digital renminbi wallet a new tool for money laundering?

The digital renminbi is a new form of our country's legal currency, possessing the dual advantages of legal tender and electronic payment tools. However, recently, Zhejiang supervision released a report titled "Using digital renminbi accounts to cash out over 200,000 yuan in four days, sentenced!" revealing a criminal case where individuals used digital renminbi to conceal and hide overseas fraud proceeds. This article will analyze the potential criminal legal risks involved in digital renminbi transactions based on this case for readers' reference.

The game between giant VCs: A detailed explanation of the Paradigm and Lido-supported re-staking protocol Symbiotic

As one of the few popular narratives in this bull market, the re-staking track welcomes another heavyweight player. On June 11, Symbiotic announced the completion of its initial deployment and raised $5.8 million in seed round financing led by Paradigm and Cyber Fund. Just five hours after its launch, the staked wstETH on Symbiotic reached its limit, showing a strong momentum.

Considering that the current re-staking track EigenLayer only supports ETH and certain ETH derivative stakes, while Symbiotic supports any asset based on the ERC-20 token standard for staking, the two may become direct competitors. According to previous reports from CoinDesk, this financing is also a game between giant VCs. Several insiders revealed that EigenLayer co-founder Sreeram Kannan had rejected Paradigm's investment in favor of a16z. Cyber Fund was created by Lido co-founders Konstantin Lomashuk and Vasiliy Shapovalov. Although Cyber Fund posted to respect EigenLayer's pioneering work in re-staking, it is not hard to imagine that this investment is also a measure to counter EigenLayer's encroachment on its market share.

So, what exactly is the Symbiotic re-staking protocol?