Daily Report | Polychain accuses former employee of insider trading with Eclipse Labs; Coinbase adds SD to its coin roadmap; German government retrieves 1,118 BTC from CEX and other addresses this morning
July 10 News Overview整理：Fairy，ChainCatcher
Important News:
- Forbes Reporter: A U.S. Digital Goods Hearing and Cryptocurrency Roundtable Will Be Held Tonight
- Data: "German Government" Wallet Address Transfers Out Approximately 5103 BTC Again
- Polychain Accuses Former Employee of Insider Trading with Invested Project Eclipse Labs
- Data: Bitcoin Transaction Costs Fell to $38.69 on July 7, the Lowest in Four Years
- Matrixport: ETH Futures Long Positions Increased to 3.1 Million ETH, Possibly Indicating Ethereum ETF Approval Soon
- Coinbase Adds Stader (SD) to Coin Listing Roadmap
- BlackRock Submits Securities Registration Application for Ethereum Spot ETF to U.S. SEC
- Data: German Government Address Withdraws a Total of 1118 BTC from CEX and Other Addresses This Morning
What Important Events Happened in the Last 24 Hours?
Data: "German Government" Address Transferred 3000 BTC to Flow Traders Address 25 Minutes Ago
According to Arkham data, the wallet address marked as "German Government" transferred 3000 BTC to a Flow Traders address 25 minutes ago.
Data: German Government Address Again Transferred 750 BTC to Suspected B2C2 Group Address
According to Arkham data, the wallet address marked as the German government transferred 750 BTC to a suspected B2C2 Group address 10 minutes ago.
Forbes Reporter: A U.S. Digital Goods Hearing and Cryptocurrency Roundtable Will Be Held Tonight
According to Forbes reporter Eleanor Terrett, today is a big day for cryptocurrency in the U.S. capital. At 10:00 AM (EST), the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry will hold a hearing on digital goods regulation, with CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam in attendance.
At the same time, at 10:00 AM (EST), Ro Khanna will join Mark Cuban, Democratic officials, White House representatives, and industry leaders for a cryptocurrency roundtable.
Data: "German Government" Wallet Address Again Transfers Out Approximately 5103 BTC
According to Arkham data, 17 minutes ago, the on-chain wallet address marked as "German Government" transferred out 5103.489 BTC again.
This included transferring 750 BTC to a Kraken address, 536.108 BTC to a Cumberland DRW address, 1127.381 BTC to Flow Traders, 500 BTC to Coinbase, and 2190 BTC to three other unknown addresses.
Data: Bitcoin Transaction Costs Fell to $38.69 on July 7, the Lowest in Four Years
According to Cointelegraph, the average fee for each Bitcoin transaction fell to $38.69 on July 7, the lowest since 2020.
Additionally, according to Ycharts data, on July 7, Bitcoin miners processed 673,752 transactions through the Bitcoin network. BTC accounted for 89.7% of the transaction volume, while the rest was Ordinals (0.7%), BRC-20 (4.1%), and Runes (5.4%). The income of Bitcoin miners that day accounted for 1.14% of the transaction volume, which is the average share over the past six months. Despite the lower average transaction costs, miners still benefited from the reduced network difficulty, allowing them to process transactions with relatively small computing power.
Federal Reserve Chairman Powell to Face Congressional Questioning at 10 PM Tonight
According to Jin10, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell will face questioning from Congress at 10 PM tonight. Market fluctuations may occur, and investors should be aware of the associated risks. In his speech yesterday, Powell did not reveal the timing of interest rate cuts, but his remarks seemed to indicate a subtle shift.
Matrixport: ETH Futures Long Positions Increased to 3.1 Million ETH, Possibly Indicating Ethereum ETF Approval Soon
Matrixport stated that Ethereum (ETH) futures positions show a bullish trend. Despite a price correction, ETH futures long positions have increased from 2.7 million ETH to 3.1 million ETH since the market rise on May 20. This indicates that futures traders expect the Ethereum ETF to be approved soon.
Even though the spot price has not yet reflected this sentiment, market sentiment remains bullish, and this time may not trigger a "sell the news" event.
Frumtak Ventures' Fourth Fund Raises $84 Million, Focusing on AI and Deep Tech Intersection
Icelandic early-stage investment firm Frumtak Ventures has completed fundraising of $84 million for its fourth fund. The Frumtak IV fund was oversubscribed and is the successor to the $57 million Frumtak III fund from 2021.
A report from 2023 showed that foreign investment in Icelandic startups has tripled year-on-year. Frumtak Ventures has previously invested early in digital therapy pioneer Sidekick Health and pharmaceutical supply chain innovator Controlant.
It is reported that Frumtak Ventures focuses on supporting entrepreneurs solving real-world problems, primarily investing in B2B SaaS startups. The new fund will continue to seek investment opportunities at the intersection of software, AI, and deep tech, especially in historically strong sectors in Iceland such as marine technology, logistics, healthcare, tourism, energy, climate, and gender equality.
Lithuania Fines Crypto Company Payeer $10.1 Million
Lithuania has imposed a record fine of €9.3 million (approximately $10.1 million) on crypto company Payeer for sanctions and money laundering violations.
The Lithuanian Financial Crime Investigation Service stated in a statement released on Tuesday that Payeer allowed Russian clients to "conduct ruble transactions by transferring funds from EU-sanctioned Russian banks." The statement noted that Russian individuals and entities were "given the opportunity to obtain cryptocurrency wallets, account management, or storage services."
Binance Plans Wallet Maintenance on July 17, Suspending Deposits and Withdrawals
Binance will conduct wallet maintenance on July 17, 2024, at 3:00 PM. To support this maintenance, Binance will suspend all network deposits and withdrawals at 3:00 PM on July 17. The maintenance is expected to take 1 hour, and deposits and withdrawals will automatically resume after the maintenance is completed. During the wallet maintenance, users can trade tokens normally.
Multi-Chain Search Engine Dora Completes $5.5 Million Financing, Dragonfly and Lemniscap Co-Lead
According to official news, multi-chain search engine Dora announced the completion of $5.5 million in financing, co-led by Dragonfly and Lemniscap, with participation from Robot Ventures, Maven 11, Arche Capital, and others.
It is reported that Dora has created the Dora block explorer and Dora discovery engine to facilitate on-chain adoption and will enhance interoperability solutions integrated into Dora.
Coinbase Adds Stader (SD) to Coin Listing Roadmap
According to official news, Coinbase has added Stader (SD) to its coin listing roadmap.
Polychain Accuses Former Employee of Insider Trading with Invested Project Eclipse Labs
According to CoinDesk, crypto venture capital giant Polychain has accused its former employee Niraj Pant of engaging in behind-the-scenes trading with invested project Eclipse Labs, violating the fund's policies.
According to three insiders and internal documents reviewed by CoinDesk, former Eclipse Labs CEO Neel Somani quietly allocated 5% of the upcoming Eclipse crypto token to Pant in September 2022—just days after Pant instructed Polychain to lead a $6 million pre-seed round investment in the company.
The final allocation was reduced to 1.33%, worth approximately $13.3 million based on the fully diluted valuation from the most recent private investment round. (According to sources close to Eclipse Labs, the company's recent funding round set the fully diluted valuation of its token at $1 billion.)
"Polychain only became aware of the financial relationship between Eclipse and Niraj Pant after he left the company," a Polychain spokesperson said in an email to CoinDesk. "Polychain has strict policies and procedures regarding employees serving in advisory roles. After Mr. Pant left Polychain, the company discovered he had violated its policies and conducted an investigation."
AI Startup Captions Completes $60 Million Financing, Led by Index Ventures
According to Bloomberg, AI startup Captions has completed $60 million in financing, led by Index Ventures, with participation from Kleiner Perkins, a16z, Sequoia Capital, and actor Jared Leto. This brings its total funding to $100 million, with a valuation of $500 million.
Captions, founded in 2021, uses AI technology to help people create, edit, and distribute videos.
BlackRock Submits Securities Registration Application for Ethereum Spot ETF to U.S. SEC
Public documents show that BlackRock has submitted a securities registration application for an Ethereum spot ETF (Form 8-A12B) to the U.S. SEC. The submission of Form 8-A indicates that the issuer can trade the product on exchanges once it is approved, marking potential progress toward the approval of an Ethereum spot ETF.
Data: German Government Address Withdraws a Total of 1118 BTC from CEX and Other Addresses This Morning
According to Arkham monitoring, the wallet address marked as "German Government" withdrew a total of 1118 BTC (approximately $64.71 million) from CEX and other addresses this morning, including 710 BTC from Kraken and a total of 408 BTC from three addresses without clear markings.
"What Exciting Articles Are Worth Reading in the Last 24 Hours?"
In-Depth | Web2 and Web3 Developers Flood into the TON Ecosystem Seeking New Growth, How to Capture Telegram's 900 Million Users?
"The number of event registrations exceeded 500, and the venue, which can accommodate about 200 people, was packed, with attendees filling the corridors. Many users even organized sub-meetings outside on the grass, in nearby Starbucks, and KFC. The enthusiasm of users for the TON ecosystem's FOMO feels reminiscent of the ICO boom on Ethereum in 2017," described a crypto OG who returned from the TON developer event in Shenzhen on June 22 to ChainCatcher.
Not only are users paying attention to the development of the TON ecosystem, but several top crypto investment institutions have publicly expressed optimism and have already positioned themselves in TON tokens. Following Pantera Capital's announcement of fundraising for a new fund to invest more in TON tokens, Kingsway Capital's founder disclosed on June 30 that the largest token held by his institution is TON.
Pantera Capital investment partner Ryan Barney explained the investment in TON by stating that 99.9% of blockchain projects are trying to create community technology from scratch, which is a difficult path, while Telegram has 900 million daily active users, which is beneficial for TON to acquire users.
Driven by popular mini-games like Notcoin and Catizen, the "TG + TON ecosystem" has become a new mainstream narrative in the crypto market, with a large influx of Web2 and Web3 developers entering the TON ecosystem in search of new opportunities.
Vivi, head of Research at the TON Foundation, revealed in an interview with ChainCatcher that there are now over 2000 projects scheduled in the TON mini-program store.
Unveiling the "Dark Secrets" of Project Financing: Former Polychain Partner Niraj Pant Secretly Received "Kickbacks" from Eclipse Labs
Polychain stated that its former general partner Niraj Pant reached a secret agreement with portfolio company Eclipse Labs, which violated the fund's policies.
An investigation by CoinDesk revealed that former Eclipse Labs CEO Neel Somani promised Pant Eclipse tokens worth $13.3 million.
According to sources from Eclipse, Somani promised these tokens as an incentive for Pant to secure Polychain funding.
Polychain stated that Pant did not disclose this transaction to the fund. Later, it invested in Pant's AI startup Ritual.
Pant confirmed that Eclipse Labs allocated him "advisor" tokens but stated that he only reached an agreement with the company after Polychain's investment.
This situation provides a glimpse into the typical dark transactions in the crypto industry's financing scene, where venture capital firms invest in projects and investments in exchange for tokens instead of traditional equity.
Still Holding $1.9 Billion: Unveiling the Background and Consequences of the German Government's Bitcoin Sell-Off
In recent years, with the rapid development of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin has gradually become an important part of the global financial market. As a decentralized digital currency, Bitcoin has not only attracted the attention of numerous investors but has also entered the sights of various governments. Germany, as one of the world's economic powerhouses, has recently engaged in a series of Bitcoin operations that have garnered widespread attention. This article explores the background, process, and impact of the German government's recent large-scale Bitcoin sell-off, sparking a heated debate on whether Bitcoin should be held as a strategic asset.
Should the government hold Bitcoin as a strategic asset?
For weeks, the German government has been actively selling large amounts of Bitcoin, leading to a continuous decline in the value of the global cryptocurrency market. This strategic move has been a key factor in the recent sharp drop in Bitcoin prices, which fell to the lowest level since February 2024 last Friday.
