NewsBriefs - Polymarket odds on Biden's dropout surge following New York Times report
Following a New York Times article suggesting President Joe Biden might reconsider his 2024 campaign plans, the crypto betting platform Polymarket saw odds that Biden will drop out of the presidential race jump to nearly 80%. This significant increase from 55% earlier reflects a volatile week where $10 million was staked on this outcome after recent debates raised concerns about Biden's electability against Donald Trump.
Following a New York Times article suggesting President Joe Biden might reconsider his 2024 campaign plans, the crypto betting platform Polymarket saw odds that Biden will drop out of the presidential race jump to nearly 80%. This significant increase from 55% earlier reflects a volatile week where $10 million was staked on this outcome after recent debates raised concerns about Biden's electability against Donald Trump.
The Digital Asset Exchange Alliance (DAXA) in South Korea has issued new guidelines to prevent mass delistings and enhance market stability. This move comes in anticipation of the country's new "Virtual Asset User Protection Act," which aims to curb market manipulation. The guidelines promote transparency, prohibit trading support fees, and set standardized criteria for listing and delisting tokens across major exchanges. These measures are set to improve compliance and user protection amid regulatory changes effective from July 19.
The Ethereum Foundation's email account was compromised on June 23 to disseminate a phishing scam promoting a non-existent partnership with LidoDAO for staking cryptocurrencies at a 6.8% yield. The exposure led to nearly 35,794 scam emails sent, risking the crypto assets of subscribers by directing them to a malicious web app. Fortunately, no crypto losses were reported from the affected users, though 81 email addresses were exposed. The foundation has since regained control of the account and secured it against further malicious activity.
A federal judge has set an accelerated court schedule for the lawsuit between Consensys and the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Key deadlines include September and November for opening and opposition briefs, with a potential decision expected by December. The case, pivotal in defining SEC's regulatory scope over Ethereum and other crypto tokens, also follows recent Supreme Court opinions potentially affecting SEC's enforcement authority.
Aave has initiated the deployment of its GHO stablecoin on Arbitrum, leveraging the Aave v3 on this leading Layer 2 network to enable users to mint and burn GHO tokens. This integration aims to reduce transaction fees, speed up operations, and increase liquidity, thereby expanding GHO's utility in digital payments and other DeFi applications. The Arbitrum DAO supports this development by incentivizing GHO adoption with significant ARB token allocations. This move marks an important phase in GHO's broader cross-chain expansion strategy, which involves multiple networks and is backed by Chainlink's cross-chain interoperability protocol.
Worldcoin, the crypto project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has strengthened its team by hiring former executives from Apple, Google, Meta, Tesla, and X. These executives, including new Chief Device Officer Rich Heley and Chief Privacy Officer Damien Kieran, aim to enhance the project's security, privacy, and technology as part of their efforts to develop Worldcoin's biometrically-based digital identity system, World ID. This initiative seeks to distribute a global digital currency equitably and is currently preparing to transition to its Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain.
Polkadot, an early competitor of Ethereum in the crypto space, has reported spending $87 million of its DOT tokens in the first half of this year, significantly up from its previous expenditure. With over $245 million in DOT tokens remaining, the treasury estimates a financial runway of two years at the current spending rate. Major expenditures included marketing, software development, and liquidity provision for developers and trading platforms on its network. Concerns arise within the community regarding the sustainability of such high spending levels.
The German Government recently moved 832.7 Bitcoin, valued at $52 million, to major exchanges including Bitstamp, Coinbase, and Kraken. This follows a larger transfer of 1,500 Bitcoin valued at $94.7 million. The government still retains 43,859 Bitcoin, equivalent to approximately $2.74 billion.
South Korea's twenty crypto exchanges, in collaboration with the Digital Asset Exchange Association (DAXA), will start reevaluating over 1,300 tokens currently traded domestically. These evaluations align with South Korea's new industry regulations that take effect from July 19, focusing on stringent compliance, security measures, and investor protection protocols. The revision will be part of a broader implementation of self-regulatory codes aiming to enhance transparency and fairness across all token listings.
The Cardano Foundation, in collaboration with the Crypto Carbon Ratings Institute, has released new sustainability indicators for the ADA network, ensuring compliance with the impending Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation in the European Union. The report highlights Cardano's adoption of energy-efficient consensus protocols significantly reducing its electricity usage and carbon footprint, setting industry benchmarks ahead of regulatory changes due in December. This proactive approach supports Cardano's goal of sustainable blockchain adoption while meeting European Securities and Markets Authority standards.
A class action lawsuit against Keith Gill, known as Roaring Kitty, alleging manipulation of GameStop stock prices through social media was voluntarily dismissed. The suit, initiated on Friday and dropped by Monday, accused Gill of benefitting from inflating GameStop's stock via his online influence. This rapid legal reversal occurs amidst Gill's continued high-profile activity in the stock market, signaling persistent volatility and scrutiny around such figures in the crypto and stock trading communities.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sued Silvergate Capital Corporation and its former top executives for allegedly misleading the public and shareholders about adhering to Bank Security Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) regulations. Despite warnings of non-compliance from government examiners and failures in monitoring suspicious activities, including nearly $9 billion transactions linked to the bankrupt FTX, Silvergate claimed robust AML defenses. The bank experienced a precipitous downfall, leading to its voluntary liquidation amid a broader banking crisis.
Bernstein Research identifies Polymarket as the largest blockchain-based prediction market for the 2024 US presidential election, highlighting its role in enhancing transparency and efficiency in political betting. The platform, running on the Ethereum-Polygon blockchain, has amassed over $200 million in bets, with current odds favoring former President Donald Trump at 63%. The analysis also underscores a significant decline in bets on President Joe Biden, reflecting recent shifts in public sentiment and market dynamics.
Circle has secured the first global stablecoin issuer license under the new EU Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) rules, allowing it to issue both EURC and USDC in the EU. Circle Mint France, a subsidiary granted an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license by French authorities, will facilitate the issuance. This move follows regulatory shifts that have led to the delisting of certain other euro-denominated stablecoins like Tether’s EURT.