Bitcoin Whales Accumulation Amid Market Slump Highest Since April 2023

Bitcoin whales bought 71,000 Bitcoin during the crypto market downturn earlier this month, making it the fastest rate of accumulation since April 2023. Data from CryptoQuant highlights that Bitcoin whales are now stacking Bitcoin at the quickest pace (on a 30-day moving average) since April 2023, shortly after several U.S. banks collapsed. According to IntoTheBlock, much of this Bitcoin was acquired when Bitcoin dipped to $54,200 on July 5.

Meanwhile, smaller traders have been offloading their Bitcoin holdings during the recent dip, as reported by cryptocurrency analytics firm Santiment. Despite this, Santiment observed a net increase of 261 Bitcoin wallets holding at least 10 Bitcoin over the first 10 days of July. "This should give traders comfort in a long-term bullish future," Santiment added.

However, not all Bitcoin whales are following the same strategy. On July 14, a dormant Bitcoin whale became active after a 12-year hiatus, transferring 1,000 Bitcoin, worth nearly $60 million, to two new wallets, according to Whale Alert.

BTC is currently trading at $62,500, surging 4.7% in the past 24 hours. However, it suffered a significant drawdown in the past few weeks, which saw prices touch $54,000 on July 5. Industry experts attribute the price slump to the impending offloading of $8 billion by Mt. Gox to its creditors and the German government's plan to sell nearly 50,000 Bitcoin, valued at $3 billion. Despite these challenges, Bitcoin showed signs of recovery over the weekend, breaking the $60,000 resistance barrier and surging to $62,000. BTC experienced a sharp increase immediately after U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt while speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13.

Germany Sells Off Final Bitcoin Reserves From Initial $3B Worth of Holdings

The German government completed the sale of its remaining Bitcoin holdings on July 12. The final transaction involved 3,846 Bitcoin, valued at around $62,604 per Bitcoin, which were sent to "Flow Traders and 139Po," entities likely to institutional deposit/OTC services, according to Arkham Intelligence.

The majority of the 50,000 Bitcoin sold by the German government over the past three weeks originated from asset seizures. This sale marked the culmination of weeks of increased selling activity by the German government, which has offloaded tens of thousands of Bitcoin in multiple tranches. This significant liquidation has been a key factor in keeping the sell-off of Bitcoin to a low of $54,000 on July 5.

Despite Germany's exit from its Bitcoin holdings, market pressures remain due to the impending $9 billion Mt. Gox reimbursement plan. The Mt. Gox exchange, which collapsed in 2014 when Bitcoin's price was still in the hundreds of dollars, has long been a source of market anxiety. The reimbursement plan aims to compensate creditors, potentially adding significant selling pressure to the market in the coming weeks. However, it is hard to estimate the impact of the Mt Gox reimbursement on the markets due to various factors.

Amidst the heightened selling pressure, institutional investors seized the opportunity to buy the dip. Data from CoinShares showed that U.S. exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw inflows of $295 million during the week of July 8, reversing a trend of suppressed inflows into these investment funds. This activity suggests that institutional investors remain confident in the long-term prospects of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Surges Following Attack on Donald Trump During Campaign Rally

Bitcoin (BTC) saw a significant spike on Saturday following reports that former U.S. President Donald Trump, the leading Republican candidate for the 2024 election, was attacked at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on July 13. Bitcoin's price jumped from $58,300 to a peak of $59,800 in less than an hour, marking its highest level in a week. BTC is currently trading at $62,500, surging 4.7% in the past 24 hours.

The surge in Bitcoin's value, however, pales in comparison to the dramatic price increases seen in meme coins inspired by Trump. TREMP, in particular, saw the largest gains, soaring as much as 111% following the incident.

The incident occurred while Trump was delivering a speech at a Pennsylvania rally. Reports indicate that loud noises resembling gunshots or explosions were heard, causing Trump to react and seek cover. He was quickly surrounded by Secret Service agents and was seen with blood on his face before getting back on his feet. The Secret Service has confirmed that Trump is safe, and the incident is regarded as an assassination attempt, with the suspected shooter reportedly killed by Secret Service agents.

Trump's recent vocal support for crypto, which contrasts with current President Joe Biden's stance, may also play a role. Some investors believe that surviving an apparent assassination attempt could bolster Trump's campaign, potentially leading to more favorable crypto regulations if he wins the election.

SEC Ends Investigation into Bitcoin Scaling Network Stacks Without Enforcement Action

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has concluded its investigation into Stacks, a Bitcoin scaling network, and its original developer Hiro Systems, deciding not to pursue any enforcement action. This development, announced in a filing released on Friday, marks the end of an inquiry that began in 2021.

"On July 9, 2024, Hiro Systems PBC (“Hiro”) was informed by the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) that the staff concluded its investigation as to the Stacks Blockchain and that based on the information known to the staff as of that date, the staff does not intend to recommend an enforcement action by the SEC against Hiro," the filing stated.

The investigation's closure is a significant relief for Hiro Systems, which faced scrutiny despite assertions from Stacks (formerly Blockstack) network contributors that their token sale had been "SEC-qualified." Hiro Systems emphasized their dedication to regulatory compliance and support for developers innovating on Bitcoin in a blog post.

"This outcome reaffirms our commitment to striving for faithful fulfillment of regulatory compliance and meeting our mission to support developers as they build and innovate on Bitcoin. We’re proudly a developer focused company above all else—our tooling has evolved and grown over the last several years and now covers Ordinals, BRC-20s, Runes, Stacks, and soon, the new sBTC Bitcoin asset." the post read.

While the conclusion of the SEC's investigation is undoubtedly positive for Hiro, the process itself has been arduous and costly. A source familiar with the matter described the three-year-long investigation as "insanely expensive" and "super invasive," with annual costs exceeding seven figures. The source also noted that interactions with the SEC often felt like "conversing with a brick wall."

Trump Memecoins Surges After Assassination Attempt on Donald Trump

The price of the largest Donald Trump-themed memecoin, MAGA (TRUMP), skyrocketed following an assassination attempt on the former U.S. president during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The ethereum-based memecoin surged from $6.31 to $10.36 immediately after the incident, boosting its market capitalization from $293 million to $469 million in less than 45 minutes, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Similarly, other memecoins like TREMP and MAGA climbed 111% and 55% respectively following the incident. All three memecoins have since traded back down from the highs, but are still green on the weekly. TRUMP and MAGA have the highest valuation in the political memes category, with a market cap of $332 million and $76 million respectively.

The dramatic price movements followed a tense moment at the July 13 rally, where several shots were fired as Trump was speaking on stage. Witnesses reported that Trump clutched his ear and fell to the ground as U.S. Secret Service agents rushed to protect him. Despite the chaos, Trump managed to raise his fist and shout towards the crowd before being escorted off the stage by his security detail.

The events also had a notable impact on the prediction market. On Polymarket, a Polygon-based prediction market platform, Trump's odds of winning the upcoming election surged from 60% to 68% immediately after the assassination attempt. In contrast, President Joe Biden's reelection odds dropped from 30% to 15%. Trump now stands as the clear frontrunner on the platform, with overall odds of 71%, compared to 18% for Biden and 5% for Vice President Kamala Harris.

DeFi Apps Frontend Targeted in Domain Registry Attack on Squarespace

On July 11, several decentralized finance (DeFi) apps fell victim to a domain registry attack, according to a post on X by Blockaid. The initial investigation suggests the attacker is targeting domain names hosted by Squarespace, putting any DeFi app using a Squarespace domain at potential risk.

The attacker managed to take over the DNS registry for Compound Finance and attempted, but failed, to do the same with Celer Network's registry. The issue first came to light when security researchers noticed the Compound interface at compound.finance was redirecting users to a malicious site. This site featured a drainer app designed to steal users' tokens.

At 1:38 pm UTC, Celer Network disclosed that it had also been targeted. However, thanks to its domain monitoring system, Celer detected and intercepted the takeover before any damage could be done. By 3:38 pm UTC, Blockaid had issued a warning that "multiple DeFi front ends are at risk of hijacking, with a few incidents already taking place." The attackers seem to be hijacking DNS records of projects hosted on Squarespace.

0xngmi, a developer at DefiLlama, shared a list of potentially affected domains. This list includes over 100 DeFi protocols like Pendle Finance, dYdX, Polymarket, Satoshi Protocol, Nirvana, and LooksRare, among others. Web3 wallet MetaMask warned users about possibly compromised apps linked to the attack. "For those of you using MetaMask, you’ll see a warning provided by @blockaid_ if you attempt to transact on any known site involved in this current attack," MetaMask announced.

SEC Decides to Drop Investigation into Paxos

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced its decision to drop the investigation into stablecoin issuer Paxos, opting not to pursue an enforcement case. Jorge Tenreiro, the acting chief of the SEC's crypto assets and cyber unit, stated that the SEC will not recommend enforcement action against Paxos concerning the Binance USD (BUSD) token. This decision follows a Wells notice issued to Paxos in February 2023, in which the SEC claimed that BUSD was an unregistered security and that Paxos had violated federal securities laws.

Paxos responded to the SEC's decision with a statement on July 11, expressing satisfaction with the outcome. "Paxos Trust Company has always maintained that its USD-backed stablecoins are not securities under federal securities laws and that the Wells notice was unwarranted and unjustified," the company said. "We are proud of our relentless advocacy for stable-value digital assets and that the SEC staff determined it will not bring enforcement action against Paxos in connection with BUSD."

The Wells notice issued to Paxos in February was part of a broader push by the SEC to regulate the growing digital asset market. At the time, the notice indicated that the SEC believed that Paxos was violating federal securities laws.

The company reiterated that “Paxos has and always will prioritize the safety of customer assets. Paxos issued stablecoins are always backed 1:1 with US dollar-denominated reserves, fully segregated and held in bankruptcy remote accounts. Paxos stands apart as the only issuer to secure regulatory oversight in order to introduce safe solutions that will drive significant innovation across the global financial system.”

Inflation Slows for Fourth Consecutive Month, Bitcoin Reverses Gains

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures price changes across a wide range of goods and services, increased by 3.0% over the 12 months through June. This figure came in slightly below economists' expectations of a 3.1% rise. On a month-to-month basis, inflation actually decreased by 0.1% in June, marking the first monthly decline since May 2020. This follows a flat reading in May.

The slowdown in the pace of inflation for the fourth month in a row signals progress in the Federal Reserve's efforts to tame inflation. This development has been eagerly awaited by investors, who are hoping that this could pave the way for rate cuts in the near future.

Earlier this week, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell expressed satisfaction with the inflation slowdown but emphasized that policymakers need more evidence of a downward trend toward the Fed’s 2% target before considering rate cuts.

CME traders had predicted a 65% chance of an initial Fed rate cut in September. However, some analysts, like Valentin Fournier of BRN, are cautious, suggesting that hawkish comments from the Fed could temper market enthusiasm following Thursday's inflation report. Fournier pointed to the strong Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report on June 28 as an example, where the market reacted as if inflation was not decreasing.

Bitcoin (BTC) has rebounded from its recent four-month low, climbing past $59,000 momentarily following the release of CPI figures. However, Bitcoin has failed to stay above $59,000, falling back down to $56,600. It is down 0.8% in the past 24 hours.

Germany Nears End of Massive $2.8B Bitcoin Selloff

After weeks of selling, the German government is approaching the conclusion of its extensive Bitcoin liquidation process. Germany held 50,000 BTC, valued at $2.8 billion at today's prices, in government wallets earlier in June. These funds were seized from the operators of the film piracy site Movie2k earlier this year. As of today, most of these funds have been moved out of the government's Bitcoin wallet.

Since June 20, Germany has transferred billions of dollars in Bitcoin to major crypto exchanges such as Kraken, Coinbase, and Bitstamp, as well as to wealth management firm Cumberland and other addresses believed to belong to over-the-counter or institutional trading desks. On-chain data from Arkham Intelligence indicates that only 4,925 BTC, approximately $284 million worth at current prices, remain in the German government’s wallets.

Outflows began at a relatively moderate pace but ramped up significantly earlier this week, with the government sending out $900 million from its wallet on Monday alone. The German government has reduced its Bitcoin holdings to less than $1 billion as of Wednesday. Given that these coins have been directed towards trading platforms, most analysts assume they are being sold on the market, contributing to the sell pressure that has impacted Bitcoin's price in recent weeks

Nevertheless, the state’s net balance is rapidly approaching zero, suggesting that the government's market impact may soon diminish. Some bullish Bitcoin investors believe Germany is missing out on significant future gains by liquidating these assets now.

Donald Trump Announced as Keynote Speaker at Bitcoin 2024 Conference

Former U.S. President Donald Trump will take the stage as a keynote speaker at the Bitcoin 2024 conference, set to take place in Nashville, Tennessee, from July 25 to 27. Known as one of the world's largest Bitcoin events, the conference will feature a lineup of influential figures in the cryptocurrency space.

Joining Trump at the Bitcoin 2024 conference will be other notable U.S. politicians, such as presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and Republican Senators Bill Hagerty and Marsha Blackburn. Kennedy Jr., who delivered a keynote speech at Bitcoin 2023, has been a vocal advocate for crypto, pledging to protect the right to hold and use bitcoin.

In recent months, Trump, the presumptive Republican Party presidential nominee, has shown strong support for the cryptocurrency and blockchain sectors. At a Mar-a-Lago event last month, he declared his intent to advocate for Bitcoin mining if re-elected. In May, Trump began accepting political donations in cryptocurrencies, a move that has garnered him significant backing from key industry players, including Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood.

In contrast, President Joe Biden’s campaign has reportedly been engaging with members of the crypto industry to shape digital asset policies but has yet to make significant announcements. The Chamber of Progress, a U.S. tech industry group, recently urged Biden in a letter to support comprehensive crypto regulation, noting that Trump has effectively capitalized on the current administration’s lack of clarity in this area.

CFTC Chair Reiterated to U.S. Senate that Bitcoin and Ethereum Are Commodities

The chief of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Rostin Behnam, has once again advocated for his agency to oversee Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, by classifying them as commodities. Speaking before the U.S. Senate Committee on July 9, Behnam referenced a recent Illinois court ruling that reinforces this classification.

The court decision on July 3 was part of a $120 million Ponzi scheme case involving an Oregon man accused of fraud. The Illinois district court judge declared that both Bitcoin and Ethereum qualify as commodities under the Commodity Exchange Act. The ruling also extended this classification to Olympus (OHM) and KlimaDAO (KLIMA).

Behnam also cited a 2022 report from the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) that pointed out a regulatory gap in the spot market for digital assets that are not securities, suggesting that the CFTC should play a more significant role in overseeing digital commodities.

Behnam emphasized that the lack of action from other U.S. regulators would not diminish public interest in digital assets and could potentially increase risks to financial markets and investors. “In short, our current trajectory is not sustainable. Federal legislation is urgently needed to create a pathway for a regulatory framework that will protect American investors and possibly the financial system from future risk,” he asserted.

The CFTC Chair outlined five key legislative priorities he believes his agency could implement to better regulate digital commodities. These priorities include crafting rules tailored to the unique risk profile of cryptocurrencies, establishing a permanent “fee-for-service” funding model, requiring comprehensive disclosure from registrants about their crypto assets, and enhancing the CFTC’s Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) capabilities.

Goldman Sachs Plans To Launch Tokenization Funds, RWA Marketplace

Goldman Sachs, a 150-year-old financial institution, is reportedly planning to launch three tokenization projects by the end of the year, according to a Fortune report. Details about these projects remain limited, but sources indicate that one will target the U.S. fund sector while another will focus on European debt markets. Additionally, the firm plans to create marketplaces for tokenized assets.

Unlike some of its competitors, Goldman Sachs is focusing on using permissioned networks rather than fully decentralized blockchains like Ethereum, due to regulatory concerns. Mathew McDermott, Goldman's Global Head of Digital Assets, noted that the firm has been working with permissioned blockchain networks since 2021. Goldman Sachs has worked with the European Investment Bank to issue bonds and tokenized a sovereign green bond for the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

McDermott, who has been a strong advocate for digital transformation and blockchain technology, has been a key figure in Goldman’s digital asset initiatives. A 19-year veteran at Goldman, McDermott was instrumental in establishing the bank’s digital asset desk in 2021 and spearheaded the development of its cash-settled crypto derivatives trading products.

Goldman Sachs’ entry into the tokenization arena comes as rival firms like BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and Fidelity are already making notable advances in the "real-world asset" tokenization space. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink recently described tokenization as "the next generation" for markets. BlackRock’s Ethereum-based tokenized fund, BUIDL, recently surpassed over $500 million in assets under management.

Solana’s Firedancer Validator Client Achieves Milestone on Testnet

Firedancer, a cutting-edge validator client for the Solana blockchain developed by Jump Crypto, successfully built its first accepted block on the Solana testnet this Wednesday. This high-performance validator client, written in C++, is poised to significantly enhance Solana’s transaction processing capabilities by introducing sharding support, which can drastically increase the network's throughput.

The introduction of Firedancer is particularly exciting for Solana enthusiasts because it not only decentralizes the network further but also boosts its security. With Firedancer, Solana is expected to handle up to 1 million transactions per second (TPS), a significant leap from its current real TPS of approximately 3,000. For comparison, Ethereum’s maximum daily TPS is 22.

Helius Labs CEO Mert described Firedancer as "arguably one of the most performant pieces of open source software ever created" in a statement on X. Validators play a crucial role in blockchain ecosystems by proposing and verifying new blocks. Until now, Solana has relied on a single validator client, whereas Ethereum benefits from having multiple clients, enhancing its resilience to bugs and attacks. Firedancer has been in development since August 2022 and promises to bring similar benefits to Solana.

Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko remarked on X, "This might be the last large-scale systems project that humans built all on their own," highlighting the project's significance.

Despite this breakthrough, the transition to Firedancer has not been entirely smooth. An engineer from the Firedancer team noted that although the client successfully built an additional three blocks, it encountered synchronization issues with the rest of the network, necessitating a temporary shutdown. These issues are expected to be addressed in future updates.

Bitcoin’s On-Chain Metrics Signal Potential Downside Despite BTC Whales Accumulation

Bitcoin on-chain metrics indicate potential further declines, according to a new CryptoQuant report. Despite these signals, Bitcoin whales are accumulating at the fastest rate in over a year. The profit and loss (P&L) index is currently around its 365-day moving average (MA). The on-chain data provider warns that if this index drops below its 365-day MA, Bitcoin could face a significant correction, akin to those seen during previous downturns.

"A crossover to the downside has been associated with major corrections (May-July 2021) or the start of a bear market (November-December 2021)," the report states, highlighting historical patterns.

CryptoQuant’s bull-bear market cycle indicator also approaches a critical threshold. Should it dip below the neutral line, it could signal the onset of a bear market, similar to previous cycles observed in March 2020, May 2021, and November 2021. This potential shift could herald further price declines. Adding to the uncertainty, the growth of Tether’s (USDT) market cap has stalled. CryptoQuant notes that historical Bitcoin recoveries often coincide with increased stablecoin liquidity, particularly from USDT minting.

Despite these bearish signals, Bitcoin whales have been aggressively accumulating during the recent price dip. Large holders increased their Bitcoin holdings by 6.3% over the past month, the fastest accumulation rate since April 2023. This trend indicates rising demand for Bitcoin at lower price levels, which is also reflected by increased inflows into US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The ETFs saw $143.1 million in inflows on July 5, despite a drop to four-month lows. This was followed by $294.9 million and $216.4 million in net inflows on July 8 and July 9, respectively.

BlackRock's Tokenized Fund BUIDL Surpasses $500M in Assets Under Management

BlackRock's tokenized fund, BUIDL, has achieved a significant milestone by crossing a market value of $502.8 million, as per Etherscan data. Launched in March on Ethereum through a collaboration with Securitize Markets, BUIDL, also known as the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, offers institutional investors a unique opportunity to earn yields on tokenized U.S. Treasuries.

In just over four months since its inception, BUIDL has become the first tokenized fund to exceed the half-billion-dollar mark, establishing itself as the largest of its kind, according to data from rwa.xyz. This achievement has pushed the Franklin Templeton OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX) to second place, which now manages assets over $400 million. The FOBXX fund has been available since April 2021.

The third most valuable tokenized fund is Ondo Finance’s USD Yield fund (USDY), which launched last August and currently holds $281 million in assets under management (AUM). The rapid growth of BUIDL highlights the increasing interest and investment in tokenized treasuries, a market that has expanded by over 130% since the beginning of the year, now valued at more than $1.8 billion.

Overall, the market for real-world assets (RWA) is currently valued at $12.45 billion, with industry experts anticipating further growth. Last month, RWA emerged as one of the best-performing sectors, driven by projects such as Ondo Finance, Clearpool, and Maple Finance. These projects saw their native tokens' fully diluted market cap increase by 53% in May alone.

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has been vocal about the transformative potential of tokenization for financial assets. In an interview with Bloomberg earlier this year, Fink stated, “We could customize strategies through tokenization that fits every individual, we would have instantaneous settlement. We believe this is a technological transformation for financial assets.”

Solana Memecoin BONK Flips WIF in Market Cap While BTC Faces Selling Pressure

Bitcoin (BTC) is under significant selling pressure, largely due to actions from the German government and the impending refunds from the Mt. Gox exchange. Meanwhile, memecoins are experiencing a surge after weeks of selling off. Among the memecoins, BONK has seen the most impressive gains, jumping 12% in the past 24 hours, making it the largest Solana-based meme coin by market capitalization. This rise allowed BONK to surpass Dogwifhat (WIF), which fell by 3%.

Other meme coins have also enjoyed a rally. The Base chain's Brett (BRETT) increased by 6%, while Ethereum-based Mog Coin (MOG) climbed 8.7%. Despite these daily gains, these tokens remain down over the week, in line with the broader memecoin market.

Memecoins have faced declines over the past week, with some suffering a greater drawdown. Solana coin Michi (MICHI), launched by Pump.fun, plummeted by 48%, Ethereum’s Pepe (PEPE) is down 17%, and Popcat (POPCAT) has slipped by 17%.

Meanwhile, Gigachad (GIGA) has skyrocketed by 400% over the past month. This dramatic rise follows American bodybuilder Mike ‘Titan’ O’Hearn joining the GIGA community and promoting it on social media. This collaboration has made GIGA one of the few meme coins to post gains over the week. Another standout is Billy (BILLY), which has climbed 147% in the past month. BILLY is currently the largest token created by Pump.fun, boasting a market cap of $157 million.

TON and Polygon Labs Collaborate to Bring EVM Functionality Through New TON L2

The TON Application Chain (TAC) and Polygon Labs have announced a significant collaboration to introduce Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) functionality to the TON ecosystem. The integration, revealed on July 9, involves the TON L2 incorporating Polygon CDK and the interoperability protocol Agglayer. This move aims to enable EVM-compatible decentralized applications (DApps) on TAC, expanding the range of services available to TON users, including decentralized finance (DeFi), gaming, and identity solutions.

TAC is described as a layer-2 network built on TON, designed to bring EVM-based decentralized applications to both TON and Telegram users. The founding team of TAC includes notable figures such as Curve founder Michael Egerov and the team behind The Open Protocol (TOP), which provides crypto wallet functionality within the Telegram app. Looking ahead, Pavel Altukhov, CEO of TAC, mentioned that TAC is planning to raise an additional $5 million in an external funding round.

Altukhov explained that the introduction of EVM compatibility is a game-changer for the TON Network. He highlighted that this will remove barriers for users and expects a surge in interest for DeFi and GameFi applications post-integration. He also mentioned the recent integration of USDT on TON and the rise of Tap-to-Earn applications, particularly through a project called Notcoin. "The expansion of the mini apps ecosystem has driven the growth of 5.8 million monthly active on-chain wallets on Telegram. TAC's integration is expected to amplify this demand further," he added.

With applications like Wallet in Telegram, the EVM-compatible integration will provide Ethereum developers access to Telegram's extensive user base, facilitating the implementation of more real-world crypto applications. Potential use cases include DeFi applications, gaming, and decentralized identity solutions.

Bitcoin Price Flat as Fed Chair Jerome Powell Addresses Senate on Inflation

Bitcoin (BTC) remained relatively stable as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell delivered his testimony before Senate lawmakers on July 9. During his testimony to the Senate Banking Committee, Rep. John Kennedy (R-LA) asked, "So, when are you going to lower interest rates?" Kennedy's question echoed a broader sentiment among financial market participants eager for clues about the Fed's next moves regarding monetary policy and interest rates. With Bitcoin's price hovering near a five-month low, some investors are hopeful that potential rate cuts could eventually boost cryptocurrency prices.

However, Powell responded, "Today, I’m not going to be sending any signals about the timing of future actions." Lower interest rates could weaken the dollar and support Bitcoin's price, as Bitcoin is seen as an alternative monetary system. Zach Pandl, Head of Research at Grayscale, noted that Powell's comments might be setting the stage for an eventual shift in monetary policy. During his remarks, Powell highlighted the Fed's progress in reducing inflation but also acknowledged the risks of maintaining tight monetary policy for too long.

Last month's year-over-year inflation rate was 2.7%, according to the Fed's preferred measure. Powell reiterated that this rate is "still too high" and stressed the need for continued vigilance until the Fed's 2% goal is firmly within reach.

June employment data showed the U.S. economy adding slightly more jobs than expected, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.1%, its highest level since October 2021. This data has strengthened traders' expectations for upcoming rate cuts. According to CME FedWatch, there is a 71% chance that the Fed will implement an initial cut in September, with a total of two quarter-point cuts anticipated by year-end.

The Fed is navigating its dual mandate of promoting stable prices and maximum employment. As inflation shows signs of easing and the Fed's 2% target seems attainable, there is increasing focus on labor market conditions. Powell recently noted that labor market conditions have returned to pre-pandemic levels, describing them as "relatively tight but not overheated."

Rapper Doja Cat's X Account Hacked to Promote Scam Token, Investors Lost $1.6M

Rapper Doja Cat's X account was hacked on July 8, leading to the promotion of a scam token named after her. The scam token, "Doja Cat (DOJA)," briefly reached a market capitalization of $1.65 million after being promoted through the hacked account. However, it soon plummeted to a market cap of just $16,820, resulting in investor losses exceeding $1.63 million.

The now-deleted scam post featured Doja Cat in armor wielding a sword. The post urged followers to "buy $DOJA or else" and included the token's Solana contract address. Additionally, the post contained disparaging remarks about Iggy Azalea, who recently launched her own celebrity memecoin, MOTHER, and reiterated the call to "buy DOJA."

Doja Cat herself appears to disavow the hacked post. “It is not me!” she declares, “It is literally an imposter!” She continues, “Guys, do not believe whatever that was, OK. It was someone else.” Iggy Azalea responded to the incident on her own X account, stating that she recognized the post was not from Doja Cat. “Get rugged if yall want but I’m cool w that girl irl so yall f*cked up w that tweet hackers,” she wrote.

The scam token's Solana contract address revealed that "Doja Cat" (DOJA) reached a peak price of $0.001656 shortly after its launch, implying a market cap of $1.656 million with a total supply of 1 billion coins. Within the next hour, the token's price dropped to $0.00007352, and at the time of publication, it had further declined to $0.00001682, resulting in a market cap of only $16,820 and investor losses of over $1.63 million.

The recent surge in celebrity memecoins has seen many of them lose 90% or more of their value within hours of launch. Legal experts suggest these coins might face class-action lawsuits and scrutiny from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Lionel Messi Promotes Solana-Based Memecoin WaterCoin on Instagram

In a surprising move, international football icon Lionel Messi recently promoted a Solana-based memecoin called WaterCoin (WATER) via his Instagram Stories. The WaterCoin project aims to raise awareness about water-related issues, with aspirations of evolving into a full-fledged ecological cryptocurrency.

According to WaterCoin's documentation, the project's roadmap includes four primary stages: the initial presale of the token, listings on centralized exchanges, celebrity partnerships, and the ultimate goal of becoming a "charity-focused environmental currency." However, the roadmap lacks detailed explanations on how these objectives will be achieved.

However, on-chain analytics platform Bubblemaps posted a tweet stating that 30% of the supply is controlled by insiders. WATER is down 48% from the highs reached following Messi’s post on Instagram Stories.

Blockchain technologies offer innovative solutions for environmental protection due to their transparency and community-focused features. These technologies can enable trustless crowdfunding, efficient organization, and onchain verifiability. For instance, in 2022, Samsung utilized blockchain technology from Veritree to track tree planting efforts aimed at capturing 1 billion pounds of carbon over the next 25 years by restoring forests in Madagascar.

However, the ongoing popularity of memecoins has sparked debate within the crypto community. Despite the risks associated with investing in memecoins, this hasn't deterred traders. Many continue to take significant risks in the hopes of securing substantial profits. Critics argue that these tokens damage the cryptocurrency space's reputation and attract unwanted regulatory scrutiny. Conversely, some proponents believe memecoins can foster vibrant, value-driven communities.