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According to official news, Gate will launch a special gift event for new users from July 2, 16:00 to July 9, 16:00 (UTC+8). During the event, new users who complete their first flash exchange can participate in multiple rewards: for a single first exchange of 1 USDT, they will receive a 100% chance to win a mystery box lottery, with a maximum prize of 888 USDT in cash; for a first exchange of 200 USDT, they will also receive an additional cash reward of 2 USDT and 1 chance to enter the mystery box lottery; users who accumulate a flash exchange trading volume of 1,000 USDT can claim a cash reward of 20 USDT. The total prize pool for the event is 60,000 USDT, and rewards are available on a first-come, first-served basis.In addition, Gate will launch the fourth phase of the flash exchange regular investment benefits from July 3, 16:00 to July 17, 16:00 (UTC+8), where an individual can receive rewards worth up to 1,300 USDT. During the event, new users who complete their first flash exchange and successfully create a regular investment strategy with a successful deduction can receive up to 300 USDT in dual-currency financial experience; users who continuously complete flash exchanges and regular investment check-ins for 3 days and 7 days can receive 300 USDT and 600 USDT in dual-currency financial experience, respectively. At the same time, users who accumulate a regular investment trading volume of 100 USDT or an accumulated flash exchange trading volume of 500 USDT can share two prize pools of 10,000 USDT each based on their trading volume proportion, with a maximum of 400 USDT in dual-currency financial experience available per individual.

CME Group announced that its average daily trading volume (ADV) in June reached a new record of 30.6 million contracts, a year-on-year increase of 19%; the trading volume in the second quarter reached 29.8 million contracts, marking the second highest in history.In terms of cryptocurrency, the CME's average daily trading volume for cryptocurrency futures contracts in June increased by 76% year-on-year, reaching 334,000 contracts, with a nominal value of approximately $10.7 billion. Among these, the average daily trading volume of micro Bitcoin futures contracts grew by 46%, reaching 77,000 contracts. In the second quarter, the average daily trading volume for cryptocurrency futures contracts reached 250,000 contracts, a year-on-year increase of 32%, with a nominal value of approximately $13.7 billion, of which the average daily trading volume of Ethereum futures contracts increased by 10%, reaching 18,000 contracts.

The digital art marketplace Exchange Art, based on the Solana blockchain, officially announced that due to the prolonged downturn in the on-chain art market and the inability to find a sustainable business financial model, the platform will officially cease all operations and services on August 1, 2026.The official statement indicated that before the shutdown, all artworks and funds currently stored in Exchange Art's sales and custody contracts will be fully refunded to the original owners. Since all artworks on the platform have been minted on the Solana blockchain, users can subsequently import them directly to other markets, and creators and collectors do not need to take additional actions to ensure asset security. Additionally, the official recommends that users log into their accounts as soon as possible before the platform closes to save necessary personal information and data records.

Tom Lee, Chairman of BitMine, the largest treasury in Ethereum, stated that there are ample reasons for the ETH/BTC exchange rate to strengthen in the second half of 2026. The core logic is that the narrative of ETH as a currency is gaining market attention. Tom Lee pointed out three major catalysts: the continuous growth of stablecoins, the wave of asset tokenization, and the increase in new forks and projects within the Ethereum ecosystem, all of which are reinforcing ETH's value storage properties and improving its performance relative to BTC.Tom Lee clearly expects the ETH/BTC exchange rate to continue rising throughout 2026 and emphasized that this is a key indicator worth ongoing attention. Tom Lee believes that macro factors also support the ETH/BTC exchange rate: the decline in oil prices alleviates inflationary pressures, cryptocurrencies remain downstream beneficiary assets of the AI narrative, and the advancement of the CLARITY Act and the GENIUS Act retains a favorable regulatory window.

The on-chain spot exchange Rialto has announced its departure from stealth mode and is officially live. The platform is powered by PropAMM (proprietary automated market maker) and focuses on the integration of cryptocurrency and traditional finance, having collaborated closely with Robinhood Crypto, Offchain Labs, and Arbitrum over the past year.It is reported that Rialto is built on top of Robinhood Chain and Arbitrum, breaking the traditional market time constraints and supporting 24/7 trading of cryptocurrency spot, stock tokens, ETFs, commodities, and Pre-IPO assets. Users can self-custody equity tokens and use them directly as collateral for third-party lending. Currently, the platform is running its own PropAMM "Rivo Altus" to provide foundational liquidity, with over 90 Robinhood tokenized stocks and mainstream crypto assets already launched in the initial phase.

According to The Block, the on-chain perpetual contract exchange Extended announced the completion of a $12.5 million strategic financing round. This round was led by multi-asset trading platform eToro, with participation from Jump Crypto.It is reported that this investment is closely related to eToro's earlier acquisition of the self-custody wallet Zengo this year. eToro stated that both parties will work together to expand access to global financial markets through next-generation on-chain infrastructure and explore integration opportunities between traditional financial assets and decentralized trading environments.Extended was founded by former Revolut employees and is built on StarkWare's scaling engine StarkEx, which is set to launch by the end of 2024. Currently, eToro is integrating Zengo's multi-party computation (MPC) based non-custodial wallet technology into its brokerage platform to further expand its digital asset technology ecosystem.

Tokenization infrastructure company Securitize has officially listed on the New York Stock Exchange, with the trading code SECZ. On its first day of trading, the stock price rose by more than 16% at one point and is currently trading around $12.74, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.886 billion.Earlier reports indicated that Securitize's merger with Cantor Equity Partners II (CEPT) SPAC is expected to raise about $400 million. Securitize claims it has obtained regulatory licenses related to digital securities infrastructure in both the United States and the European Union, managing on-chain physical assets exceeding $4 billion.

Bitget's US stock options trading feature has officially launched, with the first batch opening over 540 popular underlying assets, covering core indices such as the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Dow Jones 30, as well as mainstream ETFs. In the future, it will gradually cover all stocks and ETFs. To optimize user experience and lower trading thresholds, all users can trade US stocks on Bitget.The options trading launched this time adopts a T+1 settlement cycle, consistent with US stock spot trading; the trading hours are from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM Eastern Time, and only cash trading is supported (margin buying is not supported). The margin rate for Long Call/Put is 100%.The system also provides order profit and loss estimation assistance, supports order modification, cancellation, and record inquiry, ensuring users achieve more transparent asset allocation. Users can go to the Bitget App to update to version 2.87.0 for the experience.

According to on-chain detective ZachXBT, multiple reports indicate that the centralized cryptocurrency exchange AscendEX (formerly Bitmax) has recently delayed or failed to process users' withdrawal requests for several days or even weeks, yet the platform continues to accept user deposits.As early as the initial warning on June 26, ZachXBT pointed out that, after reviewing on-chain data from Arkham and TRM, several known hot wallets of AscendEX (covering EVM, Tron, and Solana networks) severely lack major market cap tokens such as ETH, USDT, and SOL, indicating that the platform is likely facing a serious liquidity crisis.The latest situation shows that, in the 9 days since the first warning, the official X account of AscendEX has remained inactive, and the platform's co-founder George (Jing) Cao has not responded to inquiries from users with large amounts of trapped funds. Currently, ZachXBT strongly advises users unable to withdraw their funds to report to law enforcement and regulatory agencies in their respective countries or regions as soon as possible.It is reported that AscendEX was founded by George (Jing) Cao and Ariel Ling in 2018. In December 2021, the platform was attacked by the hacker group Lazarus Group, resulting in approximately $78 million in asset losses.

According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) announcement on July 2, to further improve the KOSDAQ market system, KRX has officially revised the relevant listing rules and implementation details, aiming to strictly control the deviation of technology special listing companies from their main business.The new regulations clearly state that companies listed through technology exceptions that change their main business direction within 5 years after listing (excluding businesses similar to or subsidiary to the original main business) will be subject to substantial delisting review. KRX officials specifically cited an example where a related biotechnology company transferred its management rights to an overseas digital asset company after listing last year and illegally transformed into a "cryptocurrency vault" and other digital asset professional investment institutions. KRX emphasized that such behavior has caused the company to deviate from the technical and growth assessment basis approved at the time of listing, and therefore must undergo strict delisting review.In addition, the new regulations have added additional restrictions to the grace period for delisting conditions enjoyed by special listing companies (i.e., exemption from revenue insufficiency or large-scale losses within 3 to 5 years), requiring relevant companies to publicly disclose their "corporate value enhancement plans" during this period to ensure future growth and strengthen communication with investors. This revision of regulations also includes measures to optimize the capital market, such as expanding customized qualitative review standards for innovative companies and establishing a low PBR (price-to-book ratio) company disclosure system.

Jack McDonald, Senior Vice President of Ripple's Stablecoin Business, disclosed eight recent developments regarding RLUSD in a post on X on June 29, covering settlement, regional access, on-chain liquidity, cross-border payments, multi-chain support, exchange listings, charity, and the Japanese market.Mastercard has expanded its settlement capabilities to support RLUSD across eight blockchain networks, including the XRP Ledger; Ripple has also increased the availability of RLUSD in Turkey through partnerships with BiLira, Bitexen, and Bitlo, and collaborated with Bitso to support liquidity and cross-border transactions for RLUSD and MXNB via the XRP Ledger's Permissioned DEX.RLUSD has also achieved multi-chain support through Wormhole Native Token Transfers and entered the Japanese market via SBI VC Trade after obtaining approval from the Financial Services Agency of Japan; additionally, RLUSD has been listed on exchanges such as Gate and Floq, and integrated with cross-chain infrastructure provider Squid Router, while Ripple joined Water's GetBlue campaign as its exclusive digital asset and payment partner.

According to Jinshi reports, CME's "FedWatch" shows that the probability of the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates unchanged in July is 66.3%, while the probability of a cumulative rate hike of 25 basis points is 33.7%. By September, the probability of keeping interest rates unchanged drops to 33.1%, the probability of a cumulative rate hike of 25 basis points rises to 50%, and the probability of a cumulative rate hike of 50 basis points is 16.9%. These figures are consistent with those released before the ADP announcement.

CryptoQuant analyst Axel Adler Jr. released a report indicating that the current Bitcoin market correction is more severe than in February. The 30-day average inflow of Bitcoin to exchanges has risen to 122,000 coins, significantly higher than the annual baseline of 82,000 coins, and about 50% higher than the average of around 80,000 coins during the February sell-off period, approaching the upper range of 131,000 coins. Meanwhile, the price has dropped from $77,000-$78,000 to the current approximately $59,000.At the same time, the 30-day average SOPR (Spent Output Profit Ratio) has fallen to 0.99, consistently below the critical level of 1, indicating that the market is, on average, in a state of realized losses. From May to July, this indicator was below 1 for 37 out of 61 days. The combination of these two indicators shows that the volume of sell-offs and realized losses makes the current correction more pronounced than in February. Adler pointed out that this is not a temporary pressure event, but rather a continuous selling process. For the market to stabilize, two signals need to appear simultaneously: SOPR rising above 1 (meaning that those selling coins are no longer losing money), and the inflow to exchanges returning to annual normal levels. The main risk is that if a large amount of coins continues to flow into exchanges, the supply pressure will persist, making it difficult for market sentiment to improve.

According to the disclosure from the People's Procuratorate of Jing'an District, Shanghai, recently, the court prosecuted a certain Li for suspected illegal business operations in a criminal gang that used virtual currency for cross-border money laundering and illegal foreign exchange. On June 10, the case was heard in court and a verdict was announced on the spot, marking a conclusion to a series of illegal business operations spanning three years and involving over 200 million yuan. In July 2024, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange discovered abnormal clues regarding Company Z using virtual currency to transfer assets for domestic clients during routine monitoring, and subsequently referred the case to the public security authorities for handling.Investigations revealed that Company Z was registered overseas in 2019, promoting itself under the guise of a "private bank" and developing a virtual banking app to create a facade of legitimacy, but it had not obtained the necessary foreign exchange business operation license in China and was essentially engaged in illegal foreign exchange activities. The gang targeted high-net-worth individuals with funding needs for overseas property purchases, immigration, and studying abroad, using intermediaries to attract clients, with customer managers, traders, and customer service personnel facilitating the currency exchange process. Clients purchased virtual currency from virtual currency exchangers with renminbi and transferred it to Company Z's overseas virtual wallet, after which the gang exchanged the virtual currency for foreign currency abroad and transferred it to the clients' designated overseas accounts. There was no actual cross-border flow of funds; instead, settlements were made through domestic and foreign capital pools, with Company Z charging a 3% currency exchange service fee and paying intermediaries a 0.5% commission.A total of nine individuals have been brought to justice in this case, while one main suspect is still under investigation. After review, the relevant personnel collectively violated national laws by illegally buying and selling foreign exchange, disrupting financial order, and the circumstances were serious or particularly serious, warranting criminal liability for illegal business operations. The court sentenced five individuals, including Gao and Li, to prison terms ranging from six years to two years and six months, and imposed fines ranging from 1.5 million yuan to 300,000 yuan; for Chen, Huang, and four others, due to lighter criminal circumstances, relatively smaller amounts involved, and voluntary confession, the procuratorial authority made a decision of relative non-prosecution according to the law.

According to CoinPost, bitFlyer Europe, a subsidiary of bitFlyer Holdings in Luxembourg, has obtained the CASP license under the MiCA framework issued by the Luxembourg Financial Supervisory Authority (CSSF), effective June 26. With this license, bitFlyer can provide cross-border services across all 27 member states of the European Union. bitFlyer stated that this is the first time a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange has obtained a CASP license under MiCA.

According to Protos, the Estonia-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinmetro has announced that it has submitted a restructuring application to the local court. The platform stated that this move is due to "a special situation caused by the bankruptcy of a financial service provider," and has fully suspended user registration, deposits, and withdrawals since June 22.Coinmetro CEO Kevin Murcko revealed that the failure of the related provider actually occurred years ago, but as the July 1 deadline for compliance with the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) approaches, this legacy funding gap has had a substantial and fatal impact on the company's balance sheet. Additionally, reports indicate that Coinmetro is currently facing issues in Estonia, including overdue annual reports and unpaid taxes, and was sued last August by the bankruptcy trustee Prime Trust, seeking to recover approximately $1.2 million that was withdrawn before its collapse.

Today, the main indices of A-shares collectively rose, with the Shanghai Composite Index up 0.50% to 4094.40 points, the Shenzhen Component Index up 2.48% to 16205.56 points, the ChiNext Index up 2.99% to 4342.71 points, and the STAR 50 Index up 3.85% to 2207.86 points. The total trading volume in the Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing markets reached 3.29 trillion yuan, a decrease of 245.5 billion yuan compared to the previous trading day. Over 3000 stocks in the market rose, with 170 stocks hitting the daily limit.In terms of sectors, robotics, optical optoelectronics, semiconductors, and military electronics led the gains; while animal health, pharmaceutical commerce, coal, and banking sectors saw the largest declines.From the overall performance in the first half of the year, the main indices of A-shares all rose. Among them, the Shanghai Composite Index accumulated a rise of over 3%, the Shenzhen Component Index accumulated a rise of nearly 20%, the ChiNext Index accumulated a rise of over 35%, and the STAR 50 Index accumulated a rise of over 64%.