Mind The Block: Your Weekly Dose of Web3 News and Insights
Mind The Block Headlines This Week
Table of Contents
- Bitcoin Open Interest Hits Record $36.3B
- Solana Plans Upgrade for Network Demand
- Saudi Arabia Joins mBridge Project
- Nexus Laboratories Secures $25M Series A
- Apple AI Adopts Blockchain-ish Privacy Tech
- OKX, McLaren Launch ‘Race Rewind’ NFTs
- Optimism Drops 18%, Stabilizes at $2.14-$2.24
- How to Prevent Reentrancy Attacks
News
- Bitcoin’s open interest reached an all-time high of $36.3 billion in US dollar terms, reaching over 500,000 BTC.
- Ripple is exploring new opportunities for collaboration with Georgia’s National Bank of Georgia (NBG) to digitalize the economy.
- Binance has launched a Word of the Day game, offering users a chance to test their crypto knowledge and earn 1,000,000 Binance Points.
- Axelar has announced support for Polygon Amoy (Sepolia) and Linea Sepolia testnets.
- Blockchain Expo World Istanbul, a global event, will take place in Istanbul from July 4 to 7, 2024.
- StealthEX has partnered with Secretblock, a privacy bridge protocol.
- Lucky Catoshi, a Singapore-based meme coin project, offers users over 1% of its token supply through social media interactions.
- Value DEX has partnered with HashKing, a decentralized staking protocol for Ethereum and Filecoin, to enhance its platform.
- BlockDAG has upgraded its X1 Miner App Beta Version, enhancing stability and efficiency.
- New Zealanders increasingly turnto crypto for wealth creation, with nearly half seeking to build wealth through crypto instead of real estate.
Extras By Mind The Block
- Forward Research has acquired Odysee, a crypto-based YouTube competitor, to integrate its seven million users into Arweave.
- Cerus Markets has partnered with CellXpert to provide unparalleled value to its crypto trading partners.
- Arkreen has partnered with The Graph to launch its subgraphs on the decentralized network.
- Polyhedra Network has launched an exclusive open-source repository for zero-knowledge proofs technology.
- IONET has partnered with Aptos Labs to leverage blockchain for transparent AI asset records.
- Zone has launched a blockchain-powered Point-of-Sale (PoS) payment gateway product.
- FriendTech plans to migrate from Coinbase’s Layer 2 blockchain Base to a proprietary Friendchain network in partnership with Conduit.
- Singaporean authorities have issued a joint advisory warning local businesses about the rising threat of an Akira ransomware variant.
- Core Scientific has announced a strategic partnership with AI firm CoreWeave.
- Cross Light Capital and Affin Bank have partnered to launch Malaysia’s first digital asset fund, Performa Digital Asset Fund.
- iExec has released an enhanced DataProtector, Monetize Version.
- Polyhedra Network has launched a temporary staking program, offering participants $1.13 million worth of ETHFI, ID, and CYBER tokens.
Major Companies Making Moves
- Ripple has partnered with Clear Junction to enhance cross-border payments, enabling instant and secure GBP and EUR payouts.
- Solana team is preparing for a v1.18.15 mainnet upgrade to address congestion issues and massive demand for the Solana network.
- Arbitrum integrates with IoT devices to enhance security, efficiency, and user control.
- Hex Trust Group has secured an additional Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from Dubai’s VARA.
- IBM Research and Red Hat have launched InstructLab.
- Polygon has announced a $720 million Community Treasury to support blockchain development over the next decade.
Government, SEC & Regulation
- New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing NovaTech and AWS Mining for allegedly defrauding hundreds of thousands of customers.
- HSBC China is now offering e-CNY services to its corporate clients.
- Donald Trump has expressed his ambition to become the “crypto president” during a fundraising event in San Francisco.
- Saudi Arabia has joined the mBridge project, an international digital currency platform initiated by the Bank for International Settlements.
- FBI warns of a surge in scams demanding cash, gold, or cryptocurrency payments from government officials.
- South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) is considering classifying some nonfungible tokens (NFTs) as virtual assets.
- Paradigm Operations LP filed an amicus brief in the Crypto Freedom Alliance v. Securities and Exchange Commission case.
- Ramp Network is establishing its European headquarters in Ireland, joining a growing number of other firms.
- Federal Court in Australia has ruled Block Earner not liable for breaching financial services law when it offered its Earner product.
- Ripple has partnered with 80% of Japan’s banking industry, with over 60 banks integrating its technology.
- South Korean lawmakers may “abolish” a new crypto tax law six months before it comes into force.
- India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Prafful Gupta and associates concerning a cryptocurrency fraud ring targeting a foreign national.
Raises & Major Investments rounds
- ZKP virtual machine Nexus Laboratories raised $25M in a Series A funding round led by Lightspeed and Pantera Capital.
- The Sandbox has raised $20 million through a convertible debt offering, valuing the company at $1 billion.
- Solana-based multisig protocol Squads raised $10M in a Series A funding round led by Electric Capital.
- Decentralized lending protocol Mountain Protocol raised $8M in a Series A funding round led by Multicoin Capital.
- Crypto asset financial services provider SCRYPT Digital raised $5M in a funding round led by Braza Bank.
Trends & Narrative
- Apple’s new AI model uses “blockchain-ish” tech to preserve user privacy, with features across iPhones, iPads, and Macs.
- Multi-Asset Coin Selection algorithm transforms UTXO-based blockchain transactions by optimizing the process across multiple assets.
- Ethereum leaders face a “massive contradiction” as they must choose between supporting a capitalist or socialist economic system.
- Earthy, an innovative Web3 platform, aims to revolutionize charitable giving by leveraging blockchain technology.
- Peter Schiff warns Bitcoin pumpers that ETF buyers will not save them, causing the cryptocurrency market to become more unstable.
NFTs, Gaming, Metaverse
- Arbitrum has announced a $215m gaming catalyst program to advance the Web3 gaming industry.
- OKX and McLaren Formula 1 Team are launching a “Race Rewind” digital collectible series.
- Earthlings Gaming Metaverse is a free-to-play game integrating Hedera blockchain technology for fast transactions.
- SuperGaming has clarified that rumors about Web3 integration in their upcoming game, Indus, were a misinterpretation of a live session.
- McDonald’s Singapore has launched the “My Happy Place” metaverse.
- Axie Infinity has launched an Axie Bounty Aid program to assist players struggling with daily tasks on the Bounty Board.
- Delabs Games has announced strategic partnerships with Ambrus Studio and Counter Fire to transform Web3 gaming.
- Ronin has launched Ronin Forge, an early access program for experimental game studios to develop and launch games.
Onchain Data
- Shiba Inu (SHIB) has experienced a 2814% spike in daily burns, with 7,912,388 SHIB tokens blazed in seven transactions.
- Toncoin (TON), the cryptocurrency linked to Telegram, has experienced a 7% price drop since its year-to-date high of $7.54 on June 6.
- Optimism’s price dropped 18% below the Ichimoku Cloud on June 7, stabilizing between $2.140 and $2.240.
- Polygon (MATIC), the token that powers Layer 2 platform Polygon, has seen a 10% decline in the past seven days.
- Notcoin (NOT), a Telegram-based clicker game, has seen its price increase by 12% in the past 24 hours to $0.01957.
Educational Guides and Tips from Mind the Block
- How to prevent reentrancy attacks In Smart Contracts.
- What is DePIN? DePIN use cases future scope.
- Inflation Explained: What It Is and Why It Happens.
- How Smart Contracts Are Used in Crypto Casinos.
- What are Validiums, and how do they work?
See you in the next edition of the Mind The Block.
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