Summary
gm, Bitcoin approached its all-time high of $112K amid positive sentiment from US-China trade talks, which triggered nearly $200 million in short liquidations. Hong Kong advanced its CBDC efforts by partnering with Chainlink's Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol to explore cross-border transactions, enlisting major partners including Visa and ANZ Bank. Meanwhile, governance tokens like Uniswap and Aave surged after SEC Chair Paul Atkins announced plans for an "innovation exemption" aimed at facilitating DeFi development, while Coinbase reported an 82% reduction in account lockouts through improved machine learning and infrastructure. Additionally, traditional finance continued its crypto integration with Société Générale-Forge launching a USD-pegged stablecoin on Ethereum and Solana, and Guggenheim expanding its digital commercial paper offering on the XRP Ledger.

News Headlines
📊 BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF Blows Past $70B in Record Pace for ETFs

  • BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) has become the fastest ETF in history to exceed $70 billion in assets under management, reaching this milestone in just 341 days—five times faster than the previous record set by SPDR Gold Shares.
  • With total holdings of 661,457 Bitcoin valued at $71.9 billion, IBIT is now the largest institutional holder of Bitcoin, surpassing Binance and Michael Saylor's Strategy. Analysts predict it might even surpass Bitcoin's creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, by next summer.

🔧 TOOL Promises 1-Second Execution on Ethereum Without Rollups

  • TOOL (Trustless Orderflow Operations Layer) introduces a novel middleware solution that enhances Ethereum's transaction speed without protocol changes by dividing the 12-second block time into 12 mini-rounds of one second each.
  • The system processes order flow off-chain for faster execution while maintaining Ethereum's security and decentralization through Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs). The team has raised $6 million and aims to achieve significant pre-commitment from validators within three months.

🏦 Franklin Templeton Launches 'Intraday Yield' for Tokenized Assets

  • Franklin Templeton has introduced "intraday yield" on its Benji platform, allowing investors to earn returns on tokenized securities calculated down to the second, a significant improvement over traditional end-of-day calculations.
  • The feature, debuting on the Stellar network, enables yield payments even on days when markets are closed and supports wallet-to-wallet transfers on supported blockchains and stablecoin purchases or redemptions of tokenized securities.

🐋 Mystery Whale Opens $300M Leveraged Bitcoin Bet: James Wynn Alt Account?

  • A mysterious investor has opened a significant $300 million leveraged long position in Bitcoin, showing an unrealized profit exceeding $4 million but vulnerable to liquidation if Bitcoin falls below $105,780. Blockchain data suggests possible involvement of James Wynn, who recently lost $25 million when his previous $100 million position was liquidated.
  • This major bet coincides with increasing institutional interest in Bitcoin, reflected in recent corporate treasury activities and healthy inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs, signaling positive investor sentiment toward Bitcoin's future potential.

💰 Plasma Attracts $500 Million for ICO—And One Trader Spent $100K on Ethereum Gas Fees

  • Plasma, a Bitcoin-backed stablecoin network, quickly amassed $500 million in deposits for its upcoming token sale, with one trader paying $100,000 in Ethereum transaction fees to prioritize their $10 million USDC deposit.
  • Despite the rush, only $50 million worth of tokens will actually be offered from the 10% of total XPL token supply available in the auction. This surge of interest is viewed as a potential revival of the initial coin offering (ICO) craze last seen in 2017.

Market Metrics

Fundraising & VC
1. Hypernative (Series B, $40M) - Web3 security platform
2. Noah (Seed, $22M) - Stablecoin-based cross-border payments platform
3. Silhouette (Pre-seed, $3M) - Shield exchange on Hyperliquid

Regulatory
🏛️ CLARITY Act Advances: Crypto Bill Clears Key Hurdles

  • The CLARITY Act has passed through both the House Financial Services Committee (32-19) and Agriculture Committee (47-6), moving closer to a full House vote.
  • If enacted, the bill would establish a regulatory framework favoring CFTC oversight over SEC for most digital assets, potentially creating clearer rules for the crypto industry.

🌏 South Korea Advances Stablecoin Legislation

  • South Korea's ruling party is advancing the Digital Asset Basic Act, which would allow companies to issue local stablecoins with minimum equity capital of 500 million won ($368,000).
  • Stablecoin issuers would be required to guarantee refunds through reserves and obtain regulatory approval from the Financial Services Commission.

📱 Telegram Founder Suggests Political Motives Behind French Detention

  • Telegram founder Pavel Durov expressed confusion over his detention in France, suggesting it may have been politically motivated to crack down on his messaging platform.
  • Durov claimed French authorities were primarily interested in Telegram's operations while alleging his complicity in criminal activity without due process.

⚖️ Russian Crypto Founder Charged with Sanctions Evasion

  • Iurii Gugnin, founder of crypto payment companies Evita Investments and Evita Pay, has been charged with laundering over $500 million through U.S. banks for sanctioned Russian institutions.
  • The Justice Department alleges Gugnin created a covert pipeline for Russian banks like Sberbank while circumventing international sanctions.

🔍 SEC Requests Updates from Potential Solana ETF Issuers

  • The SEC has asked prospective Solana ETF issuers to update their S-1 forms within a week, focusing on language about in-kind redemptions and staking inclusion.
  • Sources indicate these revisions could position Solana ETFs for approval within three to five weeks, signaling potential openness to staking in ETF products.

Technical Analysis
Bitcoin - Bitcoin is in a rising trend channel in the short term. This shows that investors over time have bought the currency at higher prices and indicates good development for the currency. The currency is approaching resistance at 111600 points, which may give a negative reaction. However, a break upwards through 111600 points will be a positive signal. The currency is assessed as technically neutral for the short term.

Ethereum - Investors have paid higher prices over time to buy Ethereum and the currency is in a rising trend channel in the short term. Rising trends indicate that the currency experiences positive development and that buy interest among investors is increasing. The currency has marginally broken up through resistance at points 2770. An established break predicts a further rise. Volume tops and volume bottoms correspond well with tops and bottoms in the price. This strengthens the trend. The currency is overall assessed as technically positive for the short term.