EIGEN airdrop application is now open, US DOJ appoints FRA as Binance’s external regulator

Headline

▌EigenLayer Foundation: EIGEN airdrop claims and pledges are now open

The EigenLayer Foundation announced that EIGEN airdrop claims and pledges were launched at 1 a.m. on May 11.

▌U.S. DOJ selects consulting firm FRA as Binance’s external regulator

According to people familiar with the matter, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has selected consulting firm Forensic Risk Alliance (FRA) as Binance’s external regulator. Wall Street law firm Sullivan & Cromwell was initially considered the best choice for this role. The U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment on the matter. Spokespersons for Sullivan & Cromwell and FRA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Market

As of press time, according to Coingecko data:

BTC's latest transaction price is $60,797.14, with a daily increase or decrease of -3.4%;

ETH's latest transaction price is $2,909.90, with a daily increase or decrease of -3.9%;

BNB's latest transaction price is $586.00, with a daily increase or decrease of -1.6%；

SOL's latest transaction price is 146.25 US dollars, with a daily increase or decrease of -4.3%；

DOGE's latest transaction price is 0.1442 US dollars, with a daily increase or decrease of -4.8%；

XPR's latest transaction price is 0.5022 US dollars, with a daily increase or decrease of -3.3%。

Policy

▌The U.S. Congress may vote on new legislation for the crypto industry before the end of May

Patrick McHenry, chairman of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, said that the new legislation will provide more clarity in regulation for the cryptocurrency industry and may be voted on by the end of May. The proposed legislation, called the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century (FIT21) Act, aims to provide a clear regulatory framework for digital assets and address long-standing market regulation and consumer protection issues.

▌The U.S. House of Representatives will hold a full house vote on the cryptocurrency bill

The U.S. House of Representatives will hold a full house vote on the cryptocurrency market structure bill. The bill, the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21), is the most comprehensive cryptocurrency legislation to date passed by a congressional committee and a milestone in important digital asset regulatory legislation. The bill was promoted by Republican Patrick McHenry, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and has been voted through by the House Rules Committee, and will become the first digital asset regulatory bill to pass the House. McHenry said that the passage of the bill will provide a clear regulatory framework for the digital asset market, consolidate the United States' leadership in the global financial system, and strengthen its role as an international innovation center. Despite good progress, the bill may face challenges in the Senate, so further observation is needed.

▌The U.S. SEC rejected Coinbase's request for the Court of Appeals to rule on cryptocurrency rules

The U.S. SEC rejected Coinbase's request for the Court of Appeals to review whether traditional securities rules apply to cryptocurrencies. In its application, Coinbase said it hoped that the Court of Appeals would consider whether the Howey test, which has long been used for securities assessments, should be applied to digital assets. However, the SEC pointed out that Coinbase has not successfully demonstrated the need for such an assessment. The SEC said that Coinbase tried to create a "new legal test," but this attempt was rejected by the court. The court held that Coinbase's arguments lacked consistency and did not successfully prove that there was a decisive issue. At present, the judge responsible for hearing the SEC's case against Coinbase will rule on Coinbase's interlocutory appeal motion. Colombian President Suspected of Accepting $500,000 in Illegal Crypto Donations Colombian President Gustavo Petro is suspected of accepting more than $500,000 in digital token donations from a scam cryptocurrency project during his 2022 campaign. According to a former contractor, the illegal donation occurred during a meeting in February 2022, where the advantages of cryptocurrency and the possibility of working with the government were discussed. The allegation is one of the latest allegations President Petro faces during his campaign, following an investigation into his campaign by the Colombian Attorney General's Office last year. Mark Cuban Slams SEC Chairman, Says Crypto Voters Will Have a Voice in the 2024 Election Billionaire Mark Cuban responded to former 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's stance on cryptocurrency on social media. Cuban accused SEC Chairman Gary Gensler of failing to properly protect investors from fraud and warned Congress that cryptocurrency voters will have a voice in the 2024 election. A January poll showed that 51% of cryptocurrency voters support Trump as a presidential candidate, but there is a larger split in the congressional elections. Trump has said he will accept cryptocurrency donations to support his campaign, while Gensler believes that the cryptocurrency market is risky and needs regulation.

Blockchain Applications

▌Galaxy Researcher: The debate over including EIP 3074 in Pectra is a positive sign

Christine Kim, a researcher at Galaxy Research, said that the debate over including EIP 3074 in Pectra is a positive sign, showing that Ethereum's decentralized governance works and does not necessarily lead to a permanent chain split. Although the protocol developers decided to include EIP 3074 in Pectra in ACDE #185, the wallet developers present at the ACDE #186 meeting disagreed, so all developers agreed to discuss the matter further in a separate conference call.  

From the discussion on the EIP 3074 call, it can be seen that EIP 7702 proposed by Vitalik Buterin may be a way forward for a more flexible EOA in the short term, and all parties may reach an agreement. At present, there are still details to be worked out about the future of EIP 7702 and 3074, but the discussions so far have promoted constructive dialogue between different stakeholders and opened up a new path forward, enhancing consensus among participants. As long as Ethereum's governance processes, forums (ACD calls), and key players (Ethereum protocol developers) remain open for anyone to participate, it is possible to achieve the desired results and drive the Ethereum community forward.

Cryptocurrency

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▌More than one-third of U.S.-listed ETFs may not cover operating costs

According to data from Bloomberg Intelligence and industry insiders, the average expense ratio for new ETF development has risen to 0.63%, a record high since 2010, partly due to spot ETFs involving Bitcoin, reflecting that the industry's fee competition has reached its limit. Although cheap fees are good for investors, it is a challenge for issuers. The latest data shows that about one-third to more than half of U.S.-listed ETFs may not cover operating costs. Fee competition in the ETF market is evolving into demand for high-fee, high-profit products. At the same time, the mutual fund industry faces the challenge of continued net closures as investors turn to more cost-effective ETFs. The mutual fund industry is trying to transform in a variety of ways to adapt to this change, but mutual funds still have an advantage in the U.S. pension system.

▌ARK Invest and 21Shares' proposed spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) will not include staking

ARK Invest and 21Shares' proposed spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) will not include staking. Previous documents mentioned that the staking section may be included, but the latest document was updated last Friday to remove the content. This move may mean a strategic adjustment with an eye on SEC approval. Analysts pointed out that the prospect of SEC approval of the spot Ethereum ETF is no longer optimistic, and one analyst lowered the estimate of the approval chance from 70% to 25%. ARK Invest and 21 Shares have not yet commented on this.

▌JP Morgan holds multiple US spot Bitcoin ETFs

US financial giant JP Morgan Chase announced its Bitcoin spot ETF positions held by Grayscale, ProShares, Bitwise, BlackRock and Fidelity. According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 10, JPMorgan Chase holds about $760,000 worth of ProShares BITO, BlackRock IBIT, Fidelity FBTC, Grayscale GBTC and Bitwise BITB. In addition, the bank also holds 25,021 shares of Bitcoin ATM supplier Bitcoin Depot, worth about $47,000.

▌The address that defrauded 1,155 WBTC has returned about 96% of the funds to the victims

Blockchain data shows that the address poisoning attacker tricked users into sending him 1,155 Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) (worth $68 million at the time), and the attacker has returned almost all of the stolen funds. These funds have been converted into Ether (ETH) during the attacker's holding period, and the price of ETH has fallen. However, the attacker returned approximately 22,960.07 ETH, worth approximately $65.7 million, which is more than 96% of the USD value of the funds initially stolen.

Important Economic Dynamics

▌Fed Kashkari: The threshold for another rate hike is high, but this possibility cannot be ruled out

Fed Kashkari said that he was cautious about the restrictiveness of monetary policy; he was taking a wait-and-see attitude towards future monetary policy; he was in a wait-and-see state to see if inflation stagnated; the threshold for another rate hike was high, but this possibility could not be ruled out; if inflation data supported it, the Fed would keep interest rates unchanged.

▌The Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded eight consecutive gains on the daily line, and the three major US stock indexes all rose for at least three consecutive weeks

The three major US stock indexes closed with mixed gains and losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.32%, recording eight consecutive gains on the daily line, and a cumulative increase of 2.16% this week; the S&P 500 index rose by 0.16%, a cumulative increase of 1.85% this week; the Nasdaq fell by 0.03%, a cumulative increase of 1.14% this week. Among them, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose for 4 consecutive weeks, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose for 3 consecutive weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded the largest single-week increase since mid-December last year.

Golden Encyclopedia

▌How difficult is it to mine Bitcoin alone?

Mining Bitcoin alone requires a miner to compete with all other miners around the world. Bitcoin's Proof of Work (PoW) consensus protocol makes mining a natural competition. Regardless of the power of the mining equipment, the chances of a single miner beating the rest of the world's miners to obtain the target hash value of the block are almost zero.

Disclaimer: As a blockchain information platform, Golden Finance publishes articles for information reference only and is not intended as actual investment advice. Please establish the correct investment concept and be sure to increase risk awareness.