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| Hey Insider! Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony about the stablecoins before the House Financial Services Committee hit the headlines of the day. Today’s issue also covers Ripple’s in-principle approval in Singapore, the German intelligence agency’s NFT collection to hire new talent, BitGo’s termination of the Prime Trust acquisition deal, and many other biggest stories from the crypto market. I hope you enjoy your reading! Doğa
p/dogayurduneri | |
| 1 | | At the U.S. House Financial Services Committee's semi-annual hearing on monetary policy, the Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman, Jerome Powell, has revealed the agency's stance on the stablecoins. During his testimony, Powell said the Fed, the U.S. central banking system, sees stablecoins as a form of money. More: - The Fed official stated that the ultimate source of credibility in money is the central bank in all advanced economies, and thus, the Fed should regulate and supervise the stablecoins in the U.S.
- Powell shared the agency's view on the stablecoins in response to Congresswoman Maxine Waters' question on whether stablecoin issuers should be licensed or regulated and whether the Fed should oversee them.
- The Fed Chairman also pointed out that the digital asset industry appears to be here to stay, though it has seen a sharp decline since last year.
- He added that the Fed was involved in talks with lawmakers from both parties on the upcoming crypto legislation.
- Powell's statements show that the Fed is still a long way from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) or a digital dollar.
- However, the Chairman underlined that allowing the creation of a lot of private money at the state level would be a mistake since it would weaken the Fed's role.
Zoom Out: - In July, the U.S. House Financial Services Committee will vote on a comprehensive framework for stablecoins, which would be the first crypto legislation in the U.S. if passed, and a separate crypto bill aimed to move the status of digital assets from security to commodity.
- A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency whose value is pegged to another reference asset, usually a fiat currency.
- Customers generally use these assets to trade with different cryptocurrencies without converting their funds back into fiat currencies.
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What the numbers say: A recent research jointly conducted by The Block Research and the crypto exchange Coinbase has shown that 52% of Fortune 100 companies had crypto initiatives at various stages since the beginning of 2020. The study pointed out that 70% of these companies moved their crypto initiatives to the publicly launched stage as of Q2 2023, hitting the highest level in three years. Also, 20% of the remaining projects are currently at the pre-launch stage, while a 10% portion is still in development. Details: The research findings have also revealed that financial services and enterprise have become the top two categories most invested by Fortune 100 firms. As for the crypto industry, NFTs saw the most investment from the giant companies with an 11% rate, while Web3 and decentralized finance (DeFi) made up 9% and 1% of the investments, respectively. What it means: The Fortune 100 list is published by Fortune magazine each year to indicate the largest 100 companies by revenue in the U.S. Relevance: The crypto industry recently hit the headlines with not only the initiatives from Fortune 100 companies but also an influx from the traditional finance (TradFi) giants. Most recently, the multi-billion dollar asset managers BlackRock, WisdomTree, and Invesco have consecutively filed an application for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), causing the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin to hit a two-month high. Then, the investment firm Valkyrie joined these three firms by filing a similar application. The trend was followed by the launch of a new crypto exchange backed by Wall Street giants like Citadel Securities, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Charles Schwab Corp. Over the last months, many other TradFi giants, including the largest German bank Deutsche Bank, the French asset manager CACEIS, the U.S.' oldest bank BNY Mellon, and the stock exchange giant Nasdaq, also announced their plans to offer crypto custody services. Brands that should care: On the other hand, the research findings have pointed out that the number of private crypto investments made by Citi Ventures, Google Ventures, Microsoft Ventures, and Goldman Sachs equals the investments by all other Fortune 100 companies combined. | | | |
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| 3 | | Digital asset trust company BitGo has terminated its acquisition deal with the crypto custodian Prime Trust. Earlier in June, the firm had signed a non-binding term sheet to acquire 100% of Prime Trust's parent company, Prime Core Technologies. More: - BitGo said it did not make the decision easily, and it is a result of considerable effort to find a path forward.
- The firm also underlined that it would remain committed to delivering trust in digital assets.
- The two firms reached an agreement after Prime Trust faced financial difficulties due to its exposure to the bankrupt crypto lender Celsius.
- At the time, BitGo stated that the deal would bring business continuity and long-term stability to Prime Trust clients.
Zoom Out: - Prime Trust began operations in 2018, and since then, it served nearly 700 clients.
- Prime Trust's subsidiary Banq also recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. District Court of Nevada.
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| 4 | | Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has announced that it would launch the second NFT collection with Cristiano Ronaldo on July 3 as part of its multi-year partnership with the football legend. The 29,000-NFT collection dubbed ForeverCR7: The GOAT (Greatest of All Time) will celebrate Ronaldo's reign as the highest goal scorer in history, with 838 career goals so far. More: - The NFTs will give fans a chance to own the goal numbers, access exclusive benefits, products, and rewards, interact with Ronaldo, and ensure access to all future NFT collections with the legendary player.
- Ronaldo said it is great to have the opportunity to collaborate again with Binance on this project for his fans, and he cannot wait to see the response to the collection.
- The collection includes digital collectibles for 20 of Ronaldo's most memorable goals across four rarity levels, which are Super Super Rare (SSR), Super Rare (SR), Rare (R), and Normal (N).
- Each rarity level will come with its own set of exclusive perks.
- Six of the seven SSR NFTs will be put up for sale at a 48-hour auction, and the bidding price will start at $15,000.
- These six NFTs will feature the opportunity to join an in-person training session with Ronaldo, along with tickets to the upcoming Binance Blockchain Week.
- Fans will be able to purchase the SR and R NFTs for $200 and $30, respectively, through subscription on Binance's marketplace.
- On the other hand, the pieces with the rarity level N will be able to be bought by purchasing the ForeverCR7 Box with a price tag of $10.
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| 5 | | Ripple, a payment protocol most famous for its native token XRP, has received in-principle approval for a major payments institution license in Singapore. The license will allow Ripple to offer its digital asset services and token products in a regulated way in the city-state. More: - The license was granted to Ripple by the region's financial market regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
- The company applied for the license under Singapore's Payment Service Act.
- Through the approval, Ripple's subsidiary Ripple Markets Asia Pacific will also be able to expand its On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) service that helps customers transfer XRP funds around the world without intermediary banks.
- Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse praised the MAS for its practical, innovation-first approach to crypto-related services.
- Garlinghouse also stated that Singapore would serve as a significant entry point for Ripple's operations in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.
Zoom Out: - Last year, Ripple doubled the headcount in its headquarters in APAC.
- Most recently, the stablecoin issuer Circle and the crypto exchange Crypto.com obtained a permanent license for their digital asset services in Singapore after passing the preliminary stage.
- Several other crypto companies, including Coinbase and Blockchain.com, also have in-principle approval from the MAS.
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| 6 | | Germany's federal foreign intelligence agency, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), has launched a 999-piece NFT collection dubbed the Dogs of BND on the Ethereum network. The agency locked access to the dog-themed collection featuring a treasure hunt, which would help BND recruit new cybersecurity talent. More: - The NFTs are inspired by BND's guard, security dog, and other intelligence roles.
- All German citizens above the age of 13 will be able to participate in the hunt.
- BND has posted a string of hidden characters on Instagram, which directs users to an Ethereum address, as a clue to invite the candidates to join the race.
- The candidates must find the correct data using this clue to access the collection and be eligible to mint an NFT.
- Only 987 NFTs in the collection can be minted by the eligible hunters, and the agency has yet to include 12 of the NFTs in the treasure hunt.
- These 12 NFTs will be used by the intelligence service in more difficult challenges.
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- Popular sportswear brand Puma has partnered with Web3 streetwear brand Gutter Cat Gang and NBA player LaMelo Ball to release an NFT sneaker collection.
- CACEIS, a French asset manager owned by Credit Agricole and Santander, has registered with France's financial market regulator to offer crypto custody service.
- Crypto mining firm CleanSpark has bought two Bitcoin (BTC) mining facilities in the U.S. for $9.3M in cash.
- Bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital's (3AC) founders have launched a new venture capital (VC) fund dubbed 3AC Ventures.
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 | Staff Writer | | Doga is a tech and science editor who has been writing news for nearly 10 years. She worked for leading tech platforms and mainstrem media channels as an editor and presenter throughout his career. Then, she carried her know-how to more than one platform. She is a part-time cat lover and binge-watcher, and also fond of science, space, and emerging tech. She always has a story to tell. She is a bit addict to the laughter and -unfortunately- the '90s culture. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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