Are you curious about the latest in the crypto world? Here’s a rundown of today’s key trends and events affecting Bitcoin prices, blockchain technology, DeFi, NFTs, Web3, and crypto regulations.
SEC charges Abra with unregistered sale of crypto asset securities in Abra Earn
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has brought charges against Plutus Lending LLC, operating under the name Abra, for offering and selling unregistered crypto asset securities through its crypto lending product.
In an official statement, the agency further claimed that Abra, a financial services and technology company, operated as an unregistered investment company. The SEC's complaint is primarily focused on Abra's yield-earning service, known as Abra Earn, which allowed U.S. users to earn interest on their cryptocurrency holdings. According to the SEC, Abra utilized customer digital assets to generate income for itself, fund interest payments, and offer securities that were not exempt from SEC registration requirements.
The SEC also noted that Abra Earn accumulated nearly $600 million in crypto assets, with $500 million of that total coming from U.S. customers.
Crypto investment products see the largest inflows in five weeks.
Cryptocurrency investors have been increasingly buying Bitcoin (BTC)-related exchange-traded products (ETPs) due to concerns about potential interest rate cuts in September.
According to a report from the crypto investment firm CoinShares on August 26, digital asset investment products saw weekly inflows of $533 million between August 18 and August 24.
The pace of purchasing crypto-related ETFs last week was the highest in the past five weeks, driven by expectations of interest rate cuts in the United States. On August 21, U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hinted that the first interest rate cuts could happen in September 2024.
Among the various crypto investment products analyzed by CoinShares, Bitcoin-related ETPs received the largest inflows last week, totalling $543 million.
The most notable buying activity came from BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, which recorded $318 million in inflows last week.
In contrast, Ether (ETH)-related crypto investment products experienced outflows totalling $36 million over the same period. Despite new ETH ETF issuers seeing inflows, the Grayscale Ethereum Trust offset this by recording $118 million in outflows.
Tokenized Treasury Funds Pass $2B Market Cap Amid BlackRock’s Explosive Growth
In less than five months after reaching $1 billion in market capitalization, tokenized Treasury notes have doubled in size, surpassing the $2 billion mark on Saturday, as reported by RWA.xyz.
Tokenized Treasuries are digital versions of U.S. government bonds that can be traded as tokens on various blockchains, including Ethereum, Stellar, Solana, and Mantle. While the $2 billion milestone is significant for these newly launched funds, it represents only a fraction of the potential within the $27 trillion Treasury market.
A key contributor to this year's surge in market capitalization is BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL). Within just six weeks of its late March launch, BUIDL became the largest tokenized Treasury fund, reaching a market cap of $375 million. Its assets have since grown to $503 million. Other notable players in this space include Franklin Templeton’s OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX) and Ondo’s U.S. Dollar Yield (USDY), both of which have also experienced significant growth.
However, much of the recent expansion has been driven by smaller issuers, according to data from rwa.xyz. Hashnote’s offering surged nearly 50% over the past month, reaching $218 million. Meanwhile, products from OpenEden and Superstate grew by 37% and 18%, respectively, both approaching the $100 million market cap.
Tokenized Treasury funds have become increasingly popular among crypto traders seeking to diversify their portfolios and capitalize on the rapid rise in Treasury yields in recent years while also enjoying the flexibility of settling transactions at any time.
Telegram CEO’s arrest is tied to a cybercrime investigation of unauthorized ‘cryptology’ services, say French authorities.
The reasons behind the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov by French authorities have become more apparent following a statement released by the Tribunal Judiciaire de Paris on Monday.
Durov was detained as part of a comprehensive cybercrime investigation involving allegations related to the provision of "cryptology" services and tools. According to the statement, "Pavel DUROV, founder and CEO of the instant messaging platform Telegram, was arrested at Le Bourget airport on the outskirts of Paris on Saturday, August 24, 2024, and subsequently taken into police custody at 8 p.m." This arrest is linked to a judicial investigation that commenced on July 8, 2024, following a preliminary inquiry initiated by Section J3 - JUNALCO (Fight against Cybercrime) of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The statement further elaborated that the "judicial investigation was opened against an unnamed individual on charges including the provision of cryptology services designed to ensure confidentiality without a certified declaration, the provision of a cryptology tool not solely ensuring authentication or integrity monitoring without prior declaration, and the importation of a cryptology tool ensuring authentication or integrity monitoring without prior declaration."
Additional charges listed in the investigation include complicity in "possessing pornographic images of minors" and "laundering of proceeds derived from offenses and crimes committed by an organized group."
Durov is currently being questioned as part of the cybercrime investigation, and he may be held until August 28, according to the statement.
Several prominent figures in the crypto community have expressed their support for Durov, including Elon Musk, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin (who noted that his opinion is based on the information available so far), TRON founder Justin Sun, and Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko.
Rumpel Labs to launch platform for tokenizing airdrop points
Rumpel Labs is set to launch a new decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol in September, which will allow users to tokenize and trade airdrop points, as announced on August 26.
Supported by venture capital firms such as Dragonfly and Variant, Rumpel aims to enhance liquidity and price discovery for off-chain loyalty points, thereby unlocking new opportunities for point holders, traders, airdrop hunters, and point issuers.
Rumpel joins the growing number of newly launched protocols, like Nudge, that seek to address issues with the current methods of attracting and incentivizing users in the Web3 space. Nudge is developing a two-sided marketplace where protocols pay users incentives to redirect on-chain assets, liquidity, and engagement.
The current airdrop model faces challenges, including token underperformance and disputes over arbitrary payouts. Rumpel has noted that due to “underwhelming allocations and surprise airdrop criteria, point farmers' returns have fallen significantly short of users’ expectations for early 2024.”
“We have spoken to many users who feel they are ‘late to a points program,’ are ‘uncomfortable with exposing their capital to excessive smart contract risks,’ or ‘do not wish to navigate the complexities of obtaining additional allocations before an airdrop,’” Rumpel stated.
Kommentarer