Vitalik supports Roman Storm CZ and laments entering the crypto space too late

Headlines

▌Vitalik supports Roman Storm: I hope the United States will take the lead in making a safer world with less data leakage a reality

Ethereum founder Vitalik wrote, "An interview with Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm (the 2019 FinCEN (US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) guidance, which we rely heavily on, clearly states that service providers who provide anonymization software are not subject to the scope of money transmission business license regulation. This makes us believe that what we are developing should not put us in a high-risk position) is very good. His trial will begin in 10 days. Today, backdoor-free message privacy has been widely accepted, and many commercial and government people are also frequently using tools like Signal. Considering the frequent hacking of centralized databases that we see today, improving privacy protection in other areas such as payment, identity, and artificial intelligence should not be seen as a relationship that needs to be "balanced" with security-it is itself an important part of security. I hope the United States can lead the way in making a world that is safer, freer, and less data-breached a reality. The first step is to send a clear signal to developers that this important work is welcome. ”

▌CZ: After seeing the giant whale in 2011 casually transfer the cryptocurrency acquired at $0.1, I realized that I entered the crypto field too late

Changpeng Zhao (CZ), founder of Binance, said that after seeing the giant whale in 2011 casually transfer the cryptocurrency (BTC) acquired at $0.1, he realized that he entered the crypto field too late.

Market

As of press time, according to CoinGecko data:

BTC price is $107,616, up or down -1.4% in 24 hours;

ETH price is $2,513.37, up or down -3.0% in 24 hours;

BNB price is $654.98, up or down -1.2%;

SOL price is 148.39 US dollars, 24 hours ups and downs -2.9%;

DOGE price is 0.163 US dollars, 24 hours ups and downs -5.5%;

XRP price is 2.22 US dollars, 24 hours ups and downs -5.8%.

TRX price is $0.2828, 24-hour change -1.4%.

Policy

▌US Cryptocurrency Week will review three key bills: CLARITY Act, Anti-CBDC Act and GENIUS Act

During US Cryptocurrency Week (July 14-18), Congress will review three key bills: CLARITY Act, Anti-CBDC Act and GENIUS Act.

▌Turkey Bans PancakeSwap for Unauthorized Cryptocurrency Activities

The Capital Markets Board of Turkey (SPK) announced that it has banned PancakeSwap, a decentralized trading platform, for providing crypto assets services to Turkish residents without a license, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Capital Markets Law. The ban is part of a larger crackdown on unlicensed platforms, involving more than 60 crypto and forex websites.

▌Swedish Justice Minister Urges Greater Efforts to Confiscate Criminal Crypto Assets

Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer called on the police, tax authorities and enforcement authorities to step up the seizure of criminal proceeds, including cryptocurrencies. Under strict confiscation laws passed last year, authorities can seize suspected assets even if specific criminal behavior cannot be proved. About $8.4 million in property has been seized so far. Some lawmakers have proposed to use the confiscated bitcoins to build a national strategic reserve, following the practice of the United States and other countries. Previous reports have pointed out that a large number of criminals in Sweden use cryptocurrencies to launder money, and law enforcement agencies have suggested expanding law enforcement actions on crypto platforms.

Blockchain applications

▌Coinbase director: "Dormant 14-year giant whale $8 billion BTC transfer" may involve private key leakage

Coinbase director Conor Grogan posted on social media that yesterday's "dormant 14-year Bitcoin ancient giant whale $8 billion BTC transfer" may have the possibility of private key theft or leakage. Conor found that one hour before the giant whale wallet made a large-scale transfer of BTC assets, one of the wallets conducted a test transaction of Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and then transferred out all BCH. Conor believes that this behavior pattern is unusual, other BCH wallets have not been used, and BCH is usually less concerned by whale monitoring services. It may be a low-key way to test private keys. He speculates that these wallets are unlikely to be exchange wallets. Conor said that although this is only speculation, if it is true, this may be the largest digital asset theft in human history.

▌Canadian Bank Explores Retail CBDC Technical Path

The Bank of Canada has taken an important step in exploring the technical feasibility of the digital Canadian dollar, proposing a system designed specifically for retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) that focuses on simple daily payments. It is reported that the Bank of Canada team examined the OpenCBDC 2PC model, which was developed in collaboration with the MIT Digital Currency Initiative. Its design prioritizes privacy, speed and decentralization, allowing users to hold digital funds directly, just like digital cash.

Cryptocurrency

▌Data: Currently, more than 30.4% of Bitcoin has been idle for more than 5 years and has not been transferred or traded

According to Cointelegraph, more than 30.4% of Bitcoin has been idle in its respective addresses for more than 5 years and has not been transferred or traded.

▌SIM card swap attacks are rampant, causing nearly $50 million in losses

According to FBI statistics, there were more than 1,000 SIM card swap attacks in 2023, causing losses of nearly $50 million. Scammers collect personal information, impersonate phone owners to trick operators into changing cards, and intercept SMS verification codes to steal crypto wallet funds. Typical cases include Brandon Buchanan, co-founder of Iterative Capital, who was defrauded of $450,000 worth of Bitcoin. Experts recommend using APP authenticators instead of SMS secondary verification. High-risk users should set up a dedicated secondary verification phone number and register for each service with different email addresses. Institutions can use multi-signature wallets and blockchain risk control tools (such as Crystal Intelligence) to monitor transactions in real time and intercept anomalies to reduce the risk of asset theft.

▌Coinbase CEO: U.S. banks are closed on Independence Day, and crypto is here to serve you every day

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong wrote, "U.S. banks are closed today (July 4 is Independence Day), and crypto is here to serve you every day."

▌"Insider whales" once again increased their short positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum, with overall losses exceeding $14 million

According to OnchainLens monitoring, "Insider whale" @qwatio once again increased his short positions in Bitcoin (40x leverage) and Ethereum (25x leverage) after being partially liquidated 10 times in a row. He has lost $16 million in this transaction. Overall, his total loss has exceeded $14 million. Currently, his Bitcoin short position size is $55,854,244, with a floating profit of $129,125.46; The Ethereum short position size is $11,052,100.83, with a floating loss of $138,595.90.

▌An address withdrew 7.03 million FORM from CEX, equivalent to $19.82 million

According to the on-chain analyst EmberCN, a giant whale/institution withdrew 7.03 million FORM (approximately $19.82 million) from Binance to an on-chain address in the last half hour.

Important Economic Dynamics

▌Analyst: Market preference for the US dollar is weakening

According to Jinshi Data, Swissquote senior market analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya: Preference for the US dollar is weakening. First, concerns about US debt are heating up, and second, preference for US debt faces risks. Another reason is that the tariff situation and trade disruptions will have a negative impact on US economic growth, and the Federal Reserve may not be able to support the economy when inflation risks rise.

▌US officials: EU trade negotiations are still continuing, and optimistically expected to reach an agreement soon

US White House officials: EU trade negotiations are still continuing, and optimistically expected to reach an agreement soon.

▌Analysis: Non-farm report will not change the Fed's wait-and-see stance

Gold experienced temporary pressure in the previous trading day after non-farm payrolls data showed that the US economy added significantly more jobs than expected and the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell. However, Linh Tran, an analyst at XS.com, said in a report that the report did not indicate an overheated economy, but rather showed a relatively stable growth rate. Tran said that this was not enough to force the Fed to reconsider its wait-and-see stance on monetary policy, which is why gold prices did not fall further.

▌British media: The United States made a last-minute request and threatened to impose a 17% tariff on European agricultural products

According to the Financial Times, three sources said that the United States threatened to impose a 17% tariff on EU agricultural exports, which sharply escalated its trade conflict with the European Union. The last-minute request came before the July 9 deadline for a trade deal. The United States said it would impose a 20% tariff on all EU goods if no deal was reached. EU Trade Commissioner Sefcovic received the request at a meeting in Washington on Thursday and passed it on to ambassadors from the 27 member states on Friday. European Commission President von der Leyen said on Thursday that she hoped to reach a "principle agreement" that would allow the two sides to continue negotiations before reaching a final deal. But Washington is pushing countries to reach a binding agreement before the deadline set by Trump.

▌Failed to make a breakthrough, US-EU trade talks will continue until the weekend

According to CCTV News, local time on the 4th, EU diplomats said that EU negotiators failed to make a breakthrough in US-EU trade talks, and the relevant negotiations will continue until the weekend. EU negotiators said that if a broader trade agreement cannot be reached, they hope to ensure that the US will extend the period for suspending tariffs. It is reported that the scale of the EU's second round of countermeasures has been reduced from the initial 95 billion euros to 72 billion euros. EU diplomats said the United States threatened that it might impose a 17% tariff on EU agricultural exports.

Golden Encyclopedia

▌What is the difference between gold-backed stablecoins and dollar-backed stablecoins?

Gold-backed tokens and dollar-backed tokens are both stablecoins, but they differ in several ways. Gold-backed stablecoins and dollar-backed stablecoins differ mainly in the collateral that supports their value. Gold-backed stablecoins are pegged to physical gold, usually at a fixed ratio, while some dollar-backed stablecoins are backed by US dollars, short-term and cash deposit reserves. The value of gold-backed stablecoins fluctuates according to the market price of gold, which may experience short-term fluctuations but tend to appreciate in the long run. Dollar-backed stablecoins maintain a 1:1 peg to the US dollar, ensuring more predictable short-term stability. Unless external factors such as regulatory changes or reserve mismanagement affect the peg, its value will remain stable. USD-backed stablecoins are more liquid and widely accepted in the crypto ecosystem, including exchanges, payment systems, and DeFi applications. They are often used for trading and lending. Gold-backed stablecoins, while helpful for preserving value, are rarely integrated into DeFi protocols due to concerns about low liquidity. Stablecoins backed by gold can hedge against inflation and attract investors seeking growth. USD-backed stablecoins are favored by investors seeking stability and a store of value.