Daily Report | Binance will list Toncoin (TON); Most Web3 companies settled in Hong Kong face difficulties in opening bank accounts; The Democratic Party launches the "Crypto for Harris" campaign to counter Trump
August 8 News OverviewOrganizer: Luan Peng, ChainCatcher
Important News:
- Binance to List Toncoin (TON)
- Meson CEO Responds to "OKX Delisting MSN," Reiterates Commitment and Future Plans
- Brazilian Securities Commission Approves First Solana Spot ETF
- OneCoin Founder Ruja Ignatova's Assets Frozen by UK Court
- Former CoinShares CSO Seeks to Raise $75 Million for Two New Venture Funds
- 10x Research: Nasdaq's Downside Risks Persist, Bitcoin May Decline Further
- Democrats Launch "Crypto for Harris" Campaign to Counter Trump
- Hong Kong Legislator Wu Jiezhuang: Most Web3 Companies Settling in Hong Kong Face Difficulties Opening Bank Accounts
"What Important Events Happened in the Last 24 Hours"
According to an official announcement, Binance will list Toncoin (TON) on August 8, 2024, at 10:00 (UTC).
Binance will open new spot trading pairs: TON/BTC, TON/USDT, TON/FDUSD, and TON/TRY.
Withdrawals will open on August 9 at 10:00 (UTC).
Meson CEO Responds to "OKX Delisting MSN," Reiterates Commitment and Future Plans
Meson CEO Sherlock Shi expressed frustration over OKX's recent decision in a post on X, acknowledging its impact on supporters. He stated that while the specifics are uncertain, the team is working hard to achieve its goals and comply with OKX's requirements.
The CEO emphasized that despite his youth, he has witnessed many changes in the cryptocurrency space over seven years, including ETH plummeting to $60 and the rise of DeFi Summer. He is convinced of one thing: if you believe in it, stay committed and persevere. Price is a significant challenge, but as long as they survive and follow their vision, they can overcome it.
Sherlock Shi clarified some of the company's commitments, stating that meson.network will design its own solutions to meet market demands and launch its own chain (Epic: Meson-3.0). The core business of meson.network is to operate a bandwidth market. Individuals with IP can join the network as miners, while those needing proxy services will have to pay.
Previously reported, according to an official announcement, OKX will officially delist the following trading pairs on August 9, 2024, from 4:00 to 4:30 PM (UTC+8).
The specific trading pairs involved are as follows: MSN/USDT, OMN/USDT, REP/USDT, BTC/EURT, ETH/EURT, EURT/USDT, IGU/USDT, PCI/USDT, SLN/USDT.
Brazilian Securities Commission Approves First Solana Spot ETF
According to Cointelegraph, the Brazilian Securities Commission (CVM) has approved the first Solana spot ETF. This investment product is managed by QR, a company that manages Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, and will be managed by Vortx. The ETF is still in the preliminary operation stage and needs to obtain approval from B3 due to regulatory reasons, with a launch expected within 90 days.
OneCoin Founder Ruja Ignatova's Assets Frozen by UK Court
On August 7, the High Court of England issued a ruling to globally freeze the assets of Ruja Ignatova, known as the "Crypto Queen," and several of her associates allegedly involved in the OneCoin scheme.
Over 400 victims of the OneCoin collapse petitioned the court to freeze the assets of Ignatova, OneCoin co-founder Sebastian Greenwood, Christopher Hamilton, and Robert MacDonald, who are accused of helping OneCoin launder money, as well as the assets of four influencers who promoted OneCoin to the public.
Additionally, business entities suspected of being used for money laundering and purchasing OneCoin assets have also been subjected to global asset freeze sanctions.
It is reported that Ruja Ignatova deceived investors through a $4 billion Ponzi scheme from the establishment of OneCoin in 2014 until the fraudulent project collapsed in 2017, during which she went missing. The last sighting of the Crypto Queen was in Athens, Greece, in 2017, after which she disappeared, prompting the FBI to place her on its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.
Former CoinShares CSO Seeks to Raise $75 Million for Two New Venture Funds
According to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, former Chief Strategy Officer of digital asset management company CoinShares, Meltem Demirors, is seeking to raise $75 million for two new venture funds.
According to the documents, the two new funds are named Crucible Capital Fund I and Crucible Capital Fund 1-A. They aim to raise $45 million and $30 million, respectively. Demirors is listed as a managing member and general partner of both funds.
Demirors served as Chief Strategy Officer at CoinShares from May 2018 until her departure in January 2024. According to her LinkedIn profile, she still serves as the director of the Blockchain Strategy Project at the University of Oxford.
10x Research: Nasdaq's Downside Risks Persist, Bitcoin May Decline Further
10x Research released a report stating that Bitcoin spot ETFs have recently failed to capitalize on the downturn, continuing to see outflows without significant inflows from stablecoins. The lack of buyers during this decline is concerning and has made market direction unclear.
Yesterday, it noted that Bitcoin attempted to rebound but emphasized the strong resistance in the $56,000 to $57,000 range, which hindered the rebound triggered by the Bank of Japan's statement. However, the Bank of Japan did not hit the rewind button but merely pressed the "pause" button, as they may raise interest rates again.
10x Research's key information emphasizes that even if the market surpasses the hype surrounding Japanese arbitrage trading news, downside risks still exist in the Nasdaq index, and Bitcoin may decline further.
Democrats Launch "Crypto for Harris" Campaign to Counter Trump
According to FOX Business, the U.S. Democratic Party has launched the "Crypto for Harris" campaign, planning to hold a virtual town hall meeting next week featuring billionaire entrepreneur and cryptocurrency advocate Mark Cuban, SkyBridge Capital founder and Trump critic Anthony Scaramucci, and several minority Democratic members of the House. The meeting will be open to the public to discuss ways to support Harris's campaign and fundraising.
The "Crypto for Harris" campaign aims to attract 40 million American voters who own digital assets and demonstrate the Democratic Party's stance on promoting the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry. The Republican Party's influence among cryptocurrency voters is rising, with Trump promising to reduce regulation and establish a Bitcoin reserve at a Bitcoin conference. However, Harris's campaign team has recently brought in former advisors from Binance and Ripple, showing its emphasis on the cryptocurrency industry.
Wu Jiezhuang, chairman of the Hong Kong Legislative Council's Web3 and Virtual Assets Development Subcommittee, conducted a survey of the Web 3.0 industry this month and announced the results today, finding that most Web 3.0 companies settling in Hong Kong face difficulties opening bank accounts. When opening accounts with virtual banks, they are often required to have company shareholders or directors visit Hong Kong multiple times, maintain fixed deposits, and face high fees, taking nearly six months to successfully open accounts. Wu Jiezhuang stated that while opening accounts with virtual banks is easier than with traditional banks, the prolonged delays for these Web 3.0 companies are undoubtedly a fatal blow to their business operations in Hong Kong, suggesting that the government and banks relax conditions where feasible.
Data: Approximately $2.25 Billion Nominal Value of BTC and ETH Options Expiring Tomorrow
According to Deribit data, approximately $2.25 billion nominal value of BTC and ETH options will expire tomorrow. Among them, the nominal value of the expiring BTC options is $1.75 billion, with a Put Call Ratio of 0.66 and a maximum pain point at $59,500; the nominal value of the expiring ETH options is $500 million, with a Put Call Ratio of 0.93 and a maximum pain point at $2,950.
Data: Six Hong Kong Virtual Asset ETFs Have a Trading Volume Exceeding HKD 37.4621 Million Today
Hong Kong stock market data shows that as of the market close, the trading volume of six Hong Kong virtual asset ETFs today was HKD 37.4621 million.
Among them:
The trading volume of Huaxia Bitcoin ETF (3042.HK) was HKD 18.54 million;
The trading volume of Huaxia Ethereum ETF (3046.HK) was HKD 1.65 million;
The trading volume of Harvest Bitcoin ETF (3439.HK) was HKD 7.57 million;
The trading volume of Harvest Ethereum ETF (3179.HK) was HKD 0.8221 million;
The trading volume of Bosera HashKey Bitcoin ETF (3008.HK) was HKD 6.50 million;
The trading volume of Bosera HashKey Ethereum ETF (3009.HK) was HKD 2.38 million.
"What Exciting Articles Are Worth Reading in the Last 24 Hours"
Tether's 10th Anniversary: Daily Earnings of Nearly $30 Million, Still Hard to Escape "Exit" Risks?
Last week, Tether released its Q2 2024 financial report. Tether's Q2 net operating profit reached $1.3 billion, with profits for the first half of 2024 reaching $5.2 billion, setting a historical high.
A profit of $5.2 billion in six months translates to nearly $30 million per day, a figure that many listed companies can only envy. However, Tether, which has made a fortune, may not be as rosy as the financial report suggests.
On June 31, the new EU "MiCA" regulation came into effect, meaning Tether's stablecoin officially faces mass delisting in Europe. Crypto exchanges like Binance, OKX, Uphold, and Bitstamp have announced the delisting of nearly all USDT trading pairs in Europe due to this regulation.
In contrast, competitor Circle has obtained legal permission under "MiCA" to sell its USDC and EURC stablecoins across Europe.
Europe is the largest region for cryptocurrency adoption. A recent study released by CoinWire shows that Europe's cumulative cryptocurrency trading volume accounts for 37.32% of the global market.
Circle is capturing a significant market share from Tether. A CCData report indicates that after the European regulations took effect, trading volume for USDC trading pairs on centralized exchanges increased by over 48%.
Since its establishment in 2014, Tether has weathered multiple crypto crises and regulatory FUD, growing into a behemoth. Will Tether's future be "too big to fail," or will it still struggle to escape "exit" risks?
Behind Ore's Explosion: Mining Revenue Approaches Shutdown Price, V2 Performance Lags Behind V1
Ore resumed mining on August 6, becoming a focal point in Solana this week, with the heat of RootData, a Web3 data asset platform, skyrocketing.
On July 29, Ore founder Hardhat Chad announced the update of the ORE v2 version. According to Coingecko data, Ore's price hit a high of $1,409 per coin on July 30, rising nearly 40% within 24 hours.
Based on Ore V1's performance in April this year—when the project's mining frenzy caused network congestion in Solana, forcing a technical upgrade—and the market's excitement before V2 mining began, many miners focused on this project and started mining after V2 launched.
Perhaps influenced by the widespread market downturn, Ore's price has plummeted since resuming mining on August 6, dropping nearly 90% from its peak, with miners complaining in the community that Ore is at shutdown price.
At this moment, it is just like then.
Now, the breadth and depth of nihilism in the crypto industry are comparable to Q3 and Q4 of 2019. At that time, the crypto industry was caught in a cycle of Fomo3 D, EOS gambling D apps, and hyper-leveraged perpetual contracts, crazily squeezing the last drop of liquidity from the market, leading practitioners to lose faith and confidence, with the notion that "crypto = Ponzi" becoming rampant, and tail-end CEXs launching multi-tiered commission ambassador programs.
BTC experienced a sharp decline over the first five days of this month, ultimately ending on July 5 with a breakout and market sell-off (including altcoins and BTC), dropping to a low of $53,500. This sell-off was likely due to improper positions held by market participants, but the main panic news at the time was that the German government was selling 50,000 $BTC seized years ago.
Subsequently, $BTC oscillated between $54,000 and $58,000 for several days. On July 13, Donald Trump was shot at a meeting, triggering a strong rebound in $BTC for several days, while also increasing the likelihood of Trump winning the election. Within a week, $BTC essentially rose to $68,000 with little retracement. All this happened while Mt. Gox began distributing $BTC to creditors, involving billions of dollars in $BTC, but had little noticeable impact on BTC's price, which was seen as a very bullish signal.
Currently, MicroStrategy, the publicly traded company with the largest Bitcoin holdings, has not only inspired Japanese listed company Metaplanet to adopt a similar strategy but has also become a research case for U.S. listed medical technology company Semler Scientific.
On May 28 of this year, this medical company, then valued at $200 million, announced its Bitcoin reserve strategy, purchasing 581 Bitcoins for $40 million. In the following week, on June 6, Semler Scientific announced the purchase of an additional 247 Bitcoins for $17 million, with CEO Doug Murphy-Chutorian emphasizing that this was just the beginning.
On August 6, Semler Scientific announced an additional purchase of 101 Bitcoins for $6 million. Since announcing its Bitcoin asset reserve strategy on May 28, 2024, the company has accumulated a total of 929 Bitcoins, amounting to $63 million. Recently, Semler Scientific's chairman Eric Semler revealed the story behind the company's strategic shift to increase Bitcoin reserves.
