▌BTC Surpasses $70,500
Market data shows that BTC has surpassed $70,500 and is currently trading at $70,549.72, with a daily increase of 2.34%. The market is experiencing significant fluctuations, so it is important to exercise caution and manage risks.
▌YouTube Co-founder Supports Memecoin Based on “First Cat” Video
Steve Chen, co-founder and former CTO of YouTube, has shown his support for the Memecoin project Pajamas (PAJAMAS), which is based on the first cat video uploaded to the platform in 2005. The project is built on the Solana blockchain and currently has a market value of over $20 million. Chen stated that he initially did not participate in the project but decided to support it due to the overwhelming demand from users and the widespread lack of trust in the Web3 world. He has also been involved in various other tech projects, including AI-based trading index funds and investments in startups.
Market Data
According to Coingecko data at the time of writing:
– BTC’s recent trading price is $69,340.19, with a daily change of +1.2%.
– ETH’s recent trading price is $3,891.48, with a daily change of +1.7%.
– BNB’s recent trading price is $603.03, with a daily change of +0.5%.
– SOL’s recent trading price is $169.68, with a daily change of +3.9%.
– DOGE’s recent trading price is $0.1691, with a daily change of +1.7%.
– XPR’s recent trading price is $0.5340, with a daily change of +1.1%.
Policy
▌EU Proposal Considers MEV as Market Abuse, Plans for Strict Regulatory Standards
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has defined Maximum Extractable Value (MEV) as a clear example of illegal market abuse in its proposed technical standards under the Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCA) regulation. Patrick Hansen pointed out that almost all EU-regulated crypto businesses, including exchanges and brokers, will be required to detect and report MEV instances through comprehensive Suspicious Transaction or Order Reports (STORs). The new standards have raised concerns about the feasibility of reporting every single instance and ESMA has also recommended cooperation between authorities within and outside the EU to sanction market abuse, with actors involved in MEV potentially facing investigations and enforcement actions by international regulatory bodies. The consultation feedback deadline set by ESMA is June 25, and the final standards are expected to have a significant impact on the EU’s crypto regulatory environment.
▌US Libertarian Party Nominates Chase Oliver as Presidential Candidate, Cryptocurrency Stance Unclear
Chase Oliver, a 38-year-old candidate, has been nominated as the Libertarian Party’s presidential candidate for the 2024 US presidential election. This third-party candidate will compete against Democratic candidate Joe Biden and Republican candidate Donald Trump.
After Oliver’s nomination, there has been speculation about his stance on cryptocurrencies. While the Libertarian Party supports the use of any mutually agreed-upon commodity or item as currency, Oliver has not made a clear statement on digital assets so far. Oliver’s running mate, Mike ter Maat, strongly opposes Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and supports minimal regulation of cryptocurrencies. In the 2016 presidential election, the Libertarian Party received only about 3% of the votes, but in the 2024 election, third-party candidates may influence the outcome by splitting votes.
Blockchain Applications
▌Sphere Launches Telegram Extension for Bank-to-Wallet Transactions
Blockchain development company Sphere Labs has announced the launch of a Telegram extension that allows users to directly transfer funds between their bank accounts and wallets within the Telegram app. The service will be available to early users from May 27, with a transaction fee of 0.1%. It is expected to be fully rolled out later this year. Users will need to link the service to their bank accounts denominated in USD or EUR.
▌Pyth Entropy and Price Feed Services Deployed on Solana Sei V2
Decentralized oracle service Pyth Network has announced the deployment of Pyth Entropy and Price Feed services on Solana Sei V2.
▌Solana Community Votes in Favor of Proposal to Allocate 100% Priority Fees to Validators
According to the official governance page, the Solana community has voted in favor of a proposal to allocate 100% of the priority fees to validators, replacing the current structure of 50% burning and 50% rewards. The voting concluded at epoch 620 with 51.17% stake participation, and the proposal received a final approval rate of 77.77%.
Earlier, tao-stones posted a proposal on the Solana developer forum titled “Enabling Full Priority Fee Rewards to Validators on Solana Mainnet-beta,” suggesting the adjustment of the priority fee structure to reward validators with 100% of the fees. This is aimed at ensuring that validators have adequate incentives to prioritize network security and efficiency.
The initiator of the discussion, tao-stones, stated that the implementation of this proposal would require feature gates. While the payment structure for transaction submitters will remain unchanged, software containing this proposal will distribute a larger proportion of fees to validators compared to previous versions. Therefore, feature gates are crucial to ensuring a smooth transition for all validators at epoch boundaries and maintaining consensus.
Cryptocurrency
▌Kaiko: Approval of Ethereum Spot ETF Will Drive Long-Term Growth
According to Kaiko’s research, “the approval of an Ethereum spot ETF eliminates regulatory uncertainty and has a positive impact on Ethereum’s long-term growth. While short-term resistance is possible, this approval indicates that the SEC implicitly views Ethereum as a commodity rather than a security. However, Kaiko also predicts potential outflows from Grayscale’s ETHE fund, and new inflows may have an impact on the market.”
▌Soros Holds MicroStrategy Stocks Worth $135 Million in Q1 2024
According to Bitcoin News, among the top stocks held by Soros as of Q1 2024, the most notable may be MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) stocks, worth approximately $135 million.
▌CryptoQuant Research Director: Frequency of BTC Spending for Over 10 Years Remains High
On-chain data shows that long-term Bitcoin investors are awakening at a significant pace in the current cycle. According to Julio Moreno, Research Director at CryptoQuant, there has been a significant movement of Bitcoin tokens that have been dormant for over 10 years. In March, this indicator reached 3.7%, setting a new all-time high. This trend is particularly evident during Bitcoin’s price surges and is primarily motivated by profit-taking.
Although the percentage has decreased after subsequent price fluctuations, the recent price recovery has pushed the indicator back up to 2.5%. While lower than the peak in March, this percentage remains high compared to historical data. The movement of these long-standing tokens is typically associated with long-term holders (HODLers).
▌Crypto Detective Roxo Exposes Behind-the-Scenes of Celebrity Memecoin Scam
According to crypto detective Roxo, a man named Sahil used social engineering techniques to gain access to the X accounts of Caitlyn Jenner, Soulja Boy, Rich The Kid, Kazumi, and Ivana Knöll to carry out a memecoin scam. Roxo points out that Jenner’s team was deceived, while other celebrities were manipulated by Sahil to pump and dump tokens. Despite Jenner continuing to promote her JENNER coin, Sahil has successfully executed five influencer scams. Roxo’s investigation found that all the related tokens are linked to Sahil’s wallet address. Jenner’s manager, Sophia Hutchins, confirmed that JENNER coin is legitimate and the account has not been hacked. Rich The Kid stated in a video that his account was hacked by Sahil and used to promote tokens, which were subsequently pumped and dumped, with all the funds transferred to Sahil’s account and then blocked. Sahil’s account has now been deleted.
▌Juno Provides Update on Synapse Bankruptcy Proceedings: Will Collaborate with Trustee and Offer Support
Crypto application Juno has announced on X platform that a hearing regarding the ongoing dispute between Evolve and Synapse was held in a US federal court on May 24, 2024. While the dispute remains unresolved, progress was made during the hearing. Jelena McWilliams, former Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), has been appointed as the Chapter 11 trustee for Synapse. The court has instructed Trustee McWilliams to prioritize ensuring that end-users can access their funds. Additionally, the court has requested regular updates on the progress from the US trustee. Juno is committed to collaborating with Trustee McWilliams and providing all necessary support, resources, and information to facilitate prompt access to funds for its end-users. Users will be promptly notified of any significant developments.
Previously, BaaS fintech company Synapse filed for bankruptcy protection in April this year, and according to the documents submitted by Synapse, as many as 100 fintech companies and 10 million end-users may be affected by the company’s collapse, including Juno.
Key Economic Developments
▌Probability of No Change in US Interest Rates in June: 98.2%
According to CME “FedWatch”: the probability of no change in US interest rates in June is 98.2%, while the probability of a 25 basis point rate hike is 1.8%. The probability of no change in rates until August is 88.0%, with a cumulative probability of a 25 basis point rate cut at 11.8%, a cumulative probability of a 50 basis point rate cut at 0.2%, and a cumulative probability of a 25 basis point rate hike at 0%.
Golden Encyclopedia
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Ethereum Burn Address
The Ethereum burn address is a unique element in the Ethereum blockchain specifically designed for the permanent removal of circulating Ethereum. The Ethereum burn address is represented by the address 0x00000000000000000000000000000000000000. The basic concept behind the burn address is the intentional destruction of tokens.
