Golden Weekly is a weekly blockchain industry summary column launched by Golden Finance, covering the week's key news, mining information, project dynamics, technological progress and other industry dynamics. This article is one of the news weekly, taking you to a glance at the major events in the blockchain industry this week.
Headline
▌pump.fun suspected of being attacked by flash loans
Solana chain token launcher pump.fun suspected of being attacked by flash loans, and the attacker can participate in the meme coins released by the platform indefinitely through the loophole. As of press time, Phantom Wallet has temporarily blocked the official website of the pump.fun project. Bonkbot said that for the sake of caution, transactions on Pump.fun are temporarily banned to ensure the safety of users.
▌Blockchain Game Investment Reaches Nearly $1 Billion in April
A total of $988 million was invested in blockchain games in April, the highest level since January 2021. The number of daily unique active wallets also reached a record high of 2.9 million for blockchain games. DappRadar, in collaboration with the Blockchain Game Alliance, released its April Blockchain Game Report on May 17. The banner month for the industry was accompanied by a similar trend in the overall decentralized application (Dapp) market. According to the report, the recent boom can be attributed to several factors, including consumers' renewed interest in digital assets in the context of gaming, and the trend of playing airdrops continues to stimulate interest in blockchain games. In addition, the current hot topic in the Web3 industry focuses on the surge in new gaming tokens.
▌A whale withdrew 520 billion PEPE from Binance, about 5.28 million US dollars
According to Lookonchain monitoring, 30 minutes ago, a whale withdrew 520 billion PEPE (about 5.28 million US dollars) from Binance. It is worth noting that this whale is not smart. He bought a total of 10 tokens but never sold them. According to the current price, he lost a total of 6.1 million US dollars and made a profit of 5 tokens, with a winning rate of 50%.
▌Google launches AI video generation model Veo
Google DeepMind CEO announced that the company will launch the AI video generation model Veo. The model benchmarks its competitor OpenAI's video generation model Sora.
Policy
▌Musk was asked to testify in the US SEC's investigation into its $44 billion acquisition of Twitter
According to Watcher.Guru on the X platform, Musk was asked to testify in the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)'s investigation into its $44 billion acquisition of Twitter.
▌New UK law takes effect, police can confiscate cryptocurrencies without arrest
The UK has implemented a new law since April, allowing police and the National Crime Agency to confiscate cryptocurrencies without arresting suspects. According to the 2023 amendment to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, authorities can confiscate cryptocurrencies and physical items related to people suspected of engaging in criminal activities. This move has sparked controversy, with some people worried that it may lead to abuse of power and undermine personal rights. The law does not yet detail how to destroy confiscated assets, nor does it specify how police share information when cryptocurrencies are transferred to other jurisdictions. The new system will have a direct impact on crimes such as fraud and drugs, but it has also raised public concerns about abuse of power.
▌The U.S. Treasury Department intends to strengthen money laundering supervision for cryptocurrencies and other illegal finance
The U.S. Treasury Department released its 2024 National Strategy for Combating Terrorism and Other Illegal Financing on Thursday, outlining priorities for combating illegal financing. The Treasury Department highlighted its ongoing work around cryptocurrencies, including sanctions on certain trading platforms and groups such as Bitzlato and Lazarus, a settlement with Binance, and warnings against pig-killing scams. The report pointed out that the four priorities of the U.S. Treasury Department are to narrow gaps in anti-money laundering regulations, support more effective and risk-centric frameworks, improve the efficiency of law enforcement agencies, and leverage technological innovation. Updating the existing cryptocurrency regulatory framework will support these priorities.
▌U.S. Congressman Thomas Massie Introduces Bill to Abolish the Federal Reserve
U.S. Congressman Thomas Massie Introduces Bill to Abolish the Federal Reserve.
▌French Securities Regulator Issues New Warning on Bybit
French securities regulators have issued a new warning to cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, urging customers to make arrangements for the possibility that the platform may suddenly stop providing services to French customers. The Financial Markets Authority (AMF) said in a notice on Thursday that the exchange is not registered as a digital asset service provider (DASP) and is therefore illegally providing services in France. Bybit has been blacklisted by the AMF since May 20, 2022 for illegal operations.
▌U.S. Congressman: Senate may be affected by multiple Democrats supporting cryptocurrency bill
Patrick McHenry, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, said that the expected voting results on U.S. cryptocurrency industry regulatory legislation next week will have a significant impact on the U.S. Senate's position, especially whether a large number of Democrats support the bill. Previously, the House of Representatives passed a number of cryptocurrency-related bills, including the "21st Century Financial Innovation and Technology Act," which is about to be voted on for final approval in the House of Representatives. Although the bill may face challenges in the Senate, McHenry and others are optimistic about the results of the House vote on it because it is related to the development of the cryptocurrency industry in Washington.
▌U.S. Department of Justice: Two brothers who attacked the Ethereum blockchain to steal $25 million in cryptocurrency were arrested
The U.S. Department of Justice Southern District Attorney's Office announced that the brothers Anton Peraire-Bueno and James Peraire-Bueno were arrested for allegedly exploiting a vulnerability in the Ethereum blockchain to steal approximately $25 million worth of cryptocurrency in about 12 seconds.
According to the indictment, the two suspects studied mathematics and computer science at a famous American university and used their expertise to manipulate and tamper with the transaction verification and addition protocols of the Ethereum blockchain to fraudulently obtain the victim's cryptocurrency. This is the first such attack in history. The two were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to launder money, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Deputy Attorney General Monaco said that although the defendants planned for months and carried out this complex and unprecedented fraud in seconds, they still could not escape the law.
Blockchain Applications
▌zkSync announces the release of the last v24 protocol upgrade before the network governance is handed over to the community
zkSync said on the X platform that it firmly adheres to its commitment to decentralization. This has been the sole focus since it began supporting EIP4844 in March. The upcoming v24 version is the last planned protocol upgrade that needs to be carried out before the network governance is handed over to the community. The remaining missing parts are expected to be completed by the end of June. Decentralization is an important and irreversible step that requires the utmost attention at the intersection of complex technical and legal frameworks. In an industry often characterized by hype and short-term sacrifice, zkSync continues to strive to stand out and build foundational technologies that stand the test of time.
▌Web3 platform Radix has proposed a Bottlenose protocol update to its community of node runners
DeFi and Web3 platform Radix has proposed a Bottlenose protocol update to its community of node runners, and it is expected to be enacted around June 3. One of the standout features of the update is the introduction of AccountLockers, "lockers" through which token deliveries pass, which can accept or reject AccountLockers are designed to block unwanted deposits and simplify dApp bookkeeping. Other Bottlenose features include API and Radix engine enhancements, and the addition of a recovery fee vault.
▌Mastercard and Standard Chartered pilot tokenized deposits
Mastercard has partnered with Standard Chartered Bank on a proof-of-concept pilot to explore tokenized deposits and tokenized carbon credits. The two financial services giants worked with Standard Chartered’s Hong Kong digital bank Mox and asset tokenization technology company Libeara to conduct a PoC on the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Fintech Supervisory Sandbox.
▌Shibaswap has expanded to the Shibarium blockchain
The development team of the Meme token project SHIB announced that the decentralized exchange (Dex) Shibaswap has expanded to the Shibarium blockchain. SHIB’s lead developer detailed that Shibaswap’s trading platform is now accessible to users of both the Ethereum and Shibarium networks.
▌Komodo plans to transition from proof of work to proof of stake
Komodo, a blockchain interoperability and atomic swap technology project, plans to transition its blockchain from proof of work to proof of stake. This transformative shift underscores Komodo’s strong commitment to environmental sustainability as PoS consumes much less energy than PoW.
▌FLock.io merges decentralized AI training with Morpheus smart agents
The "AI co-creation" platform FLock.io and the network that powers smart agents Morpheus announced a strategic partnership to advance decentralized AI capabilities in Web3. The team said that by merging FLock.io's community-driven, decentralized AI training model platform with Morpheus, enabling smart agent builders to deploy their code and earn rewards, the partners aim to reduce reliance on OpenAI's centralized external function calls and integrate more smart agents into Web3 wallets. Ultimately, this integration will enable users to leverage artificial intelligence directly from their wallets for a seamless, secure and intuitive trading experience.
▌Bitcoin L2 Network Stacks Community Expects Two Major Upgrades
Bitcoin L2 Network Stacks said on the X platform that Bitcoin L2 is the first theme in 2024. As Bitcoin L2 matures, the Stacks community expects two major upgrades.
Cryptocurrency
▌Opinion: Money laundering case through Tornado Cash should not affect the case of Tornado Cash founder
A spokesperson for the DeFi Education Fund said they were disappointed with the outcome of Pertsev's case in the Netherlands, but believed that it should not affect the U.S. case against Roman Storm.
As previously reported, a Dutch court convicted 31-year-old Pertsev of laundering $1.2 billion through Tornado Cash and sentenced Pertsev to 64 months in prison. Meanwhile, Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm's trial in the United States will begin on September 23.
▌Crypto industry exerts influence in US elections, and crypto-friendly candidates gain support
The US crypto industry is influencing the upcoming election by investing huge amounts of money in Washington, where crypto political action committees such as Fairshake have raised tens of millions of dollars to support crypto-friendly candidates. These efforts have been successful in some key campaigns and have attracted attention in Washington. Not only that, the attitudes of candidates are also changing, and even crypto skeptics, such as Senator Sherrod Brown, have expressed a willingness to consider crypto legislation. Although voters who hold cryptocurrencies tend to prefer Trump as president, industry insiders are divided on whether Trump's presidency is really more conducive to cryptocurrencies.
▌Insiders of Solana-based Cypher Protocol admit to stealing $300,000
Insiders of Solana-based cryptocurrency trading protocol Cypher Protocol admit to stealing $300,000. An anonymous developer named Hoak admitted to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cryptocurrency from Cypher's hacker compensation fund. Hoak said in a statement that he took the funds and then lost them. He attributed his behavior to a "serious gambling addiction."
▌Bitcoin's 90-day correlation with U.S. stocks rose to 0.17 last week
Data shows that the 90-day correlation between Bitcoin and U.S. stocks rose to 0.17 last week, up from a multi-year low of 0.01 recorded in March. Despite this, Bitcoin's correlation with risky assets is still far below the bull market high of more than 0.6.
▌U.S. mining company CleanSpark purchased a mine near a missile base in Wyoming
U.S. Bitcoin mining company CleanSpark purchased a mine near a U.S. missile base in Wyoming from a company related to Chinese investors.
Previously reported, Biden banned crypto mining companies supported by Chinese investors from owning land near U.S. missile bases.
▌Coinbase shares fell 9% due to news that CME was considering listing spot Bitcoin
Coinbase shares fell 9% to $202.49 due to news that CME was considering listing spot Bitcoin. The stock was the second worst performer among cryptocurrency stocks on Thursday.
Previously reported, CME plans to launch Bitcoin spot trading.
▌Coinbase is eyeing the demand for cryptocurrency in Australia's pension sector
Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, is targeting the potential demand of Australia's growing self-managed pension industry. John O'Loghlen, managing director of Asia Pacific, said the exchange is developing a service for this market segment. The latest data from the Australian Taxation Office shows that such portfolios account for about a quarter of Australia's $2.5 trillion pension system, and A$1 billion (US$664 million) is allocated to cryptocurrencies.
▌Grayscale ETHE negative premium rate reaches 23.64%
According to Coinglass data, the current Grayscale ETH Trust Fund (ETHE) negative premium rate is 23.64%; the ETC Trust negative premium rate is 44.63%.
▌Elliott Capital and Apollo Management hold a total of about $65 million worth of spot Bitcoin ETFs
Elliott Capital disclosed that it holds BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF IBIT worth nearly $12 million. In addition, Apollo Management Holdings disclosed that it held ARKB worth $53.2 million at the end of the quarter. Other well-known figures who revealed on Wednesday that they would allocate assets to spot Bitcoin ETF funds include Aristeia Capital and Hudson Bay Capital.
Important Economic Dynamics
▌The probability of the Fed keeping interest rates unchanged in June is 91.5%
According to CME's "Fed Watch", the probability of the Fed keeping interest rates unchanged in June is 91.5%, and the probability of a 25 basis point rate cut is 8.5%. The probability of the Fed keeping interest rates unchanged by August is 66.0%, the probability of a cumulative 25 basis point rate cut is 31.6%, and the probability of a cumulative 50 basis point rate cut is 2.4%.
▌Federal Reserve Board Governor Bowman: States and the federal government need to cooperate on stablecoins
Federal Reserve Board Governor Bowman said that states and the federal government need to cooperate on stablecoins, and New York Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said she hopes to vote on the stablecoin bill she co-led with Wyoming Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis, which involves the roles of state and federal governments.
▌Federal Reserve Board Governor Bowman: Inflation will remain high for some time
Federal Reserve Board Governor Bowman said that inflation will remain high for some time, and if inflation stagnates or rebounds, the Fed is willing to restart interest rate hikes.
▌The three major U.S. stock indexes closed mixed
The three major U.S. stock indexes closed mixed, with the Dow up 0.35%, the Nasdaq down 0.07%, and the S&P 500 up 0.12%. Hot technology stocks rose and fell, with Nvidia down nearly 2%, and Tesla and Google up more than 1%.
Disclaimer: As a blockchain information platform, Golden Finance publishes articles for information reference only and not as actual investment advice. Please establish a correct investment concept and be sure to increase risk awareness.