Marathon Digital, a bitcoin mining startup, attributes the recent decline in Bitcoin mined in June on Texas weather and a decline in transaction fees. According to a statement from Marathon Digital dated July 5, the total amount of Bitcoin produced in June decreased by 21% from May. The influence of the weather in Texas, where Marathon’s major operations are based, was the main explanation given for the reduction in production, which saw 979 Bitcoin produced throughout the month. The start of June marks the transition from spring to summer in Texas.  “The decreased production relative to last month was due to weather-related curtailment in Texas and a significant decrease in transaction fees.”the statement said. The average temperature increased by about 8.4 degrees fahrenheit between May and June, according to information from the National Weather Service in Dallas, Texas.June had an average temperature of 84 degrees whereas May had 75.6.According to a Feb. 6  report, Riot Platforms, a crypto mining company, saw 17,040 rigs go offline at its Texas operations as a result of the “severe winter weather” in the state. According to the statement, transaction fees for Marathon Digital decreased from 11.8% of all Bitcoin earned in May to roughly 5.1% in June.Although network congestion decreased in June, it was highlighted that the development of Bitcoin Ordinals dramatically boosted transaction costs in May. Despite this, the business stated that it still has a good prognosis for the “future of mining economics.” This is not the first time Texas weather has significantly affected cryptocurrency miners.According to Peter Wall, CEO of cryptocurrency mining company Argo Blockchain, which runs a data center in West Texas, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas issued a conservation alert in July 2022, forcing Argo and many other mining operators in the region to temporarily halt mining operations.More recently, a report published on July 5 by cryptocurrency analytics platform Coin Metrics indicated that the second quarter of 2023 saw Bitcoin miners earn $184 million from transaction fees, which is more than they did for the entire year of 2022.

Three of Binance’s senior management have declared that they will be leaving the organization.Although this is being interpreted by market experts as executives jumping ship, CEO Changpeng Zhao downplayed it on Twitter by calling it just “usual turnover.” According to a Fortune article, numerous senior employees, including Han Ng (general counsel), Patrick Hillmann (chief strategy officer), and Steven Christie (SVP for compliance), have told Zhao of their leaving this week.Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the company’s CEO, meanwhile, seems to be ignoring the news and maintaining a confident demeanor.On Friday morning (Asia time), CZ clarified the situation on Twitter by highlighting that news organizations had given erroneous information regarding the causes for the departures. He referred to the stories as “FUD,” a word for fear, uncertainty, and doubt that is frequently used in the cryptocurrency industry.Zhao stated in his tweet that employee turnover is common in businesses due to shifting markets, the developing global environment for cryptocurrencies, and individual circumstances.He offered his condolences to the departing team members and thanked them for their efforts to the expansion of the business.Zhao also used the occasion to praise the team members for excelling in their new positions and congratulate them.

Circle, the issuer of the USD Coin (USDC), has frozen $63 million in three wallet addresses linked to the hack of the cross-chain bridge platform Multichain. In a recent tweet, security firm PeckShield disclosed that Circle has frozen $27.65 million, $30.1 million, and $5.5 million in three wallet addresses that experienced a major outflow of

Polygon Labs, the business behind the Polygon blockchain, has announced management changes as it prepares for the next chapter of its corporate evolution, dubbed “Polygon 2.0.” Marc Boiron, the company’s chief legal officer, has been appointed to CEO, while President Ryan Wyatt will step down at the end of July and remain in an advising

Three Arrows Capital (3AC)’s liquidator may attempt to recoup around $1.2 billion from Digital Currency Group (DCG) and cryptocurrency lender BlockFi by clawing back payments made by the hedge fund as liquidation approached but before the procedure began. A confidential July 7 report from Teneo, the liquidator,that CoinDesk examined included “prospective claims” totaling more than

Stellar (XLM) saw a drop in price during the previous week, going from $0.1 to $0.096. This indicates a value decline of -13.42%. Furthermore, XLM had a slight decline of -0.61% over the last 24 hours. These price changes show that there is a slight bearish mood dominating the cryptocurrency market, and that XLM is

According to the monthly employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the United States added 209,000 jobs in June, which was down from a downwardly revised 306,000 jobs in May and somewhat below estimates for 230,000 jobs.Originally, 339,000 jobs were added in May.Contrary to forecasts, the jobless rate decreased to 3.6% in June from 3.7% in May.In the moments following the publication of the article, the price of bitcoin (BTC) increased slightly to $30.250. The announcement follows the ADP’s shocking jobs report for June, which saw 497,000 jobs added versus the 220,000 predicted, dramatically raising interest rates and sending bitcoin plunging by roughly $1,000, or more than 3%.This morning’s employment data is noteworthy for ending an extraordinary string of 14 consecutive months of exceeding forecasts, despite having only a little headline miss.Examining the report’s specifics, we see that the labor force participation rate remained constant at 62.6% for the fourth consecutive month.In June, average hourly wages increased by 0.4%, exceeding expectations of 0.3%.Average hourly earnings increased annually by 4.4%, which was above expectations of 4.2% but unchanged from May. The number of jobs added in May was revised downward by 33,000, while the number of jobs added in April was reduced downward by 77,000 to 217,000.The April and May figures were reduced by 110,000 jobs overall due to revisions.Even though there is still a ton of economic data to come in July, today’s report is the final one on national employment before the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision meeting in late July.Prior to these most recent figures, markets were nearly certain that the central bank will resume raising interest rates at that meeting. Consumer Price Index (CPI) data shows that while inflation is currently 4.0%, it peaked at 9.1% in 2022, much beyond the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.Furthermore, the core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, has been more resistant, with its current rate of 5.3% being much more gently down from its peak of 6.6% last year.To date, the jobs situation has remained positive despite the central bank’s apparent opinion that a more sluggish employment picture is required to bring inflation under control.It remains to be seen if today’s weaker payroll figures signal the start of a trend.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is looking into team members of the decentralized finance (DeFi) platform BarnBridge in the most recent regulatory dispute a crypto startup in the nation has encountered. With BarnBridge’s interest rate swaps, any variable yield provided by cryptocurrency platforms like Aave or Compound may be changed to a fixed

According to the New York Times, Tom Brady, the quarterback for the New England Patriots and seven-time Super Bowl champion, served as an ambassador for the FTX bitcoin and crypto exchange. He promoted the new company as the most dependable establishment in the cryptocurrency market through a variety of venues, including a Super Bowl advertisement,

For the first week of July, crypto storage tokens outperformed high cap tokens such as bitcoin and ether with tokens such as Filecoin’s FIL and Storj’s STORJ On Tuesday,The Storj protocol’s native token jumped 43%. It has lately gained 15% in the last seven days % although it has subsequently receded slightly. Filecoin’s FIL, a

Following the recent passage of legislation permitting stablecoins in Japan, payment services business Circle is considering the issuance of a stablecoin. Jeremy Allaire, the firm’s co-founder and CEO, maintained that if stablecoins are more used for global commerce, foreign currency transfers, and cross-border trade, Japan might become a key market. Japan’s stablecoin bill establishes a

The Florida Office of Financial Regulation indicated in a bankruptcy court filing that the regulator still had “administrative discretion” to prosecute Bittrex. The Florida Office of Financial Regulation is considering legal action against Bittrex, a cryptocurrency exchange based in the United States that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May. The filing was made by

Users in the Netherlands may choose to transfer funds from Binance to Coinmerce, according to Coinmerce CEO Jaap de Bruijn in a blog post. Coinmerce was chosen as the company’s local partner as it prepares to quit the Dutch market owing to regulatory reasons. Binance is closing its operations in the Netherlands and other European

According to a study from the European Commission that was leaked, a new type of global governance is necessary for the metaverse to remain open and legal.According to the draft document, which CoinDesk obtained, it wants to examine the legal obstacles to new forms of digital cooperation like decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and also suggests loosening restrictions to encourage innovation.The document, a version of which is scheduled for publication next week, asserted that “virtual worlds bring unprecedented opportunities in many societal areas,” noting advantages for healthcare, education, and culture.New models of global governance are also impacted by this technological change. To make sure the next generation of the internet “is shaped as an open, secure space, respectful of EU values and rules,” the statement added, international cooperation is required on issues like technology standards, identity management, censorship, and monitoring.In the document, it was stated that “The Commission will support the creation of a technical multi-stakeholder governance process to address essential aspects of virtual worlds and Web4 that are beyond the remit of existing internet governance institutions,” presumably referring to the international organizations that govern today’s online environment, such as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The commission stated that it plans to conduct a study to “identify the legal, administrative, and economic barriers that prevent their uptake” before the end of the year in order to explore the potential of new digital cooperation models, such as decentralized autonomous organizations, which serve as the foundation for many novel financial applications.According to the text, it will encourage “regulatory sandboxes” to test out quick projects under a laxer regulatory environment.The study also highlights the danger of powerful “gatekeeper” firms excluding rival competitors and of low-quality goods harming well-known brands. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the Commission, made a commitment to produce the document in September of last year. According to authorities, they want the metaverse to uphold EU values like privacy and basic rights.An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by a commission representative.

In resubmitting its application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a spot bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF), Valkyrie Digital Assets joined asset managers BlackRock and Fidelity in the effort. In a new 19b-4 filing, the Tennessee-based asset manager announced that cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase would serve as the partner for an agreement referred to as a surveillance-sharing arrangement. This agreement is meant to prevent market manipulation and has been a crucial component of all ETF applications in the previous month. According to the Wednesday filing, Nasdaq, the exchange Valkyrie would use to launch the ETF, “executed a term sheet” with Coinbase, which Valkyrie claimed to be the “largest United States-based spot trading platform for Bitcoin.” Last week, BlackRock and Fidelity submitted updated papers. In January 2021, the asset management submitted the initial application. On June 21, it submitted new documentation to the SEC, designating Nasdaq as its preferred exchange and changing its ticker symbol to $BRRR. A bitcoin futures ETF from Valkyrie is already available on the market. The decision was made in May 2022.

According to a press statement on Wednesday, payments platform Nuggets is collaborating with the Bank of England to create a privacy and identification layer for a hypothetical digital pound. The technology, which allows for decentralized identities, intends to create a private and secure system to thwart transaction tracking and correlation as well as fraud and money laundering. A digital pound was undoubtedly needed, but the Bank of England (BoE) declared it would not decide to issue one until at least 2025 when it first started its consultation on a central bank digital currency. Legislators have previously discussed the privacy of digital currency. According to Nuggets, its privacy layer would incorporate zero-knowledge proofs, allowing users to confirm their identity without disclosing any personal information. Alastair Johnson founded and serves as CEO of Nuggets, a company he co-founded with Seema Khinda Johnson in 2016. initiative Rosalind, which brought together monetary authorities and the business sector to promote retail digital currency payments, was the first initiative on which Nuggets collaborated with the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) and the BoE. According to a business representative, the BoE requested Nuggets to look into and develop the privacy layer for the digital pound as a result of that work.

A decentralized blockchain network known as Interlay launched a brand-new platform on Wednesday that it refers to as a “one-stop shop” for Bitcoin decentralized finance (DeFi). The platform has a decentralized exchange (DEX) and a lending protocol, both of which are connected with Interlay’s current DeFi bridge, a method for connecting various blockchains, which was introduced last year and is powered by the wrapped token InterBTC (iBTC). Wrapped tokens are artificial (or tokenized) representations of cryptocurrency assets that are not created by the blockchains on which they are present. According to Interlay, its new bitcoin DeFi hub aims to fill the void left by the year’s earlier closure of peer-to-peer bitcoin exchanges like LocalBitcoins and Paxful as well as the multi-billion dollar exodus from two of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, Binance and Coinbase, sparked by the ongoing SEC lawsuits against the two centralized platforms. In an interview, Interlay CEO and Co-Founder Alexei Zamyatin stated that “LocalBitcoins closed, Paxful had issues.” “We concentrate on trying to unlock more functionality for bitcoin and we try to be a substitute for centralized exchanges,” the company claims. The 30-year-old PhD in computer science alumnus characterizes the new platform as combining the well-known DEX Uniswap with the open-source liquidity and lending protocols Aave and Compound. In addition to bitcoin (BTC), the hub apparently includes tether (USDT), polkadot (DOT), and Interlay’s governance token INTR. The project claims that liquid staking tokens, or portable tokens that represent staked cryptocurrencies, “are expected in Q3” and that assets from Ethereum and Cosmos may be made available by the end of the year. This cornucopia of tokens may irk some Bitcoin purists, but Zamyatin says it’s a necessary step in bringing “Bitcoin to one billion people.” “Financial freedom means different things to different people,” Zamyatin explained. “For some, it means that they can hedge against fiat by buying bitcoin and just holding it, but not

Denmark’s financial regulator has ordered Danish bank Saxo to sell its own cryptocurrency holdings, the body announced recently. According to the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA), it is not permissible for banks to conduct such activity as supplementary bank business for reasons of financial stability under existing legislation. “Saxo Bank A/S has traded in crypto

Crypto trading volumes increased for the first time in three months in June, fueled by confidence following the filing of spot bitcoin exchange-traded-fund (ETF) proposals by asset manager BlackRock and other significant institutions. According to CCData, total spot and derivative trading volumes on centralised exchanges increased 14% to $2.71 trillion. This is the first monthly

In some sectors of the cryptocurrency market, betting on microcaps that claim to be the second coming of well-known meme coins for people who missed the boat the first time around is the newest flavor of the month.Tokens like pepe 2.0, floki 2.0, and bobo 2.0—most of which were just released last week and pose as updated versions of the well-known pepe, floki, and bobo tokens—have seen trading volumes soar to millions of dollars, attracted hundreds of thousands of dollars in liquidity, and transformed a few dollars into six-figure fortunes almost immediately. The majority of these only endure a few weeks at most.Last year, aspirants placed wagers on English-language articles and the grimacecoin, which was motivated by a tweet joking about McDonald’s.On Ethereum (or other blockchains), anybody may call a smart contract to create tokens for a few cents, and since there are decentralized exchanges, tokens can be created instantly, given liquidity, and traded right away. Pepe 2.0, the clone that appeared to be the most well-liked, has seen close to $7 million worth of trading as of Tuesday.Its market value was $18 million, which is lower than the peak of $45 million reached last week.In less than 24 hours, one wallet turned the initial $900 spent on pepe 2.0 into more than $176,000.Analysis reveals that the wallet sold in 2 ether (ETH) clips as the token increased to profit from this position. On-chain analysis softwareBubblemaps has called attention to the centralized conduct of a few early purchasers who probably controlled a substantial portion of the pepe 2.0 supply at launch and are now selling the tokens one by one.Due to strong buying demand and notably limited sales from early buyers, there may have been a huge price pump caused by this concentration. Investors are still drawn to the actual pepecoin (PEPE), with some sizable purchases extending gains after a roughly 80% increase over the previous two weeks.A small portion of the market wagered on the frog-themed tokens flipping dogecoin (DOGE) and shiba inu (SHIB), possibly the most well-known meme coins, in the future, according to data from Lookonchain, indicates two wallets bought millions of the tokens on Monday.

The co-founder of the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange, Cameron Winklevoss, tweeted what he called a “final offer” in the debt-restructuring talks involving the insolvent digital asset firm Genesis. This plan for $1.5 billion in forbearance payments and new loans brought months of discussions and mediation to an end.A “Open Letter to Barry Silbert,” the creator of Digital Currency Group (DCG), which owns Genesis and the sizable crypto asset manager Grayscale, was released by Winklevoss on Twitter on Monday. In the letter, Winklevoss criticized DCG for taking too long to come up with a feasible plan to pay back Genesis’ debtors, who included users of Gemini’s Earn program.Additionally, DCG neglected to pay Genesis $630 million.In a document titled “Best and Final Offer – July 3, 2023,” Winklevoss shared the general framework of a scheme that asks for $1.465 billion in payments and loans that will be made in dollars, bitcoin, and ether.According to the letter, the agreement must be made by July 6 at 4 p.m. “I write to inform you that your games are over,” Winklevoss wrote in the letter. “In addition to dragging out a resolution, they have ballooned professional fees to over $100 million, all of which have gone to lawyers and advisors at the expense of creditors and Earn users.” Genesis disclosed more over $3 billion in claims to its top 50 creditors in a court filing from January.About $1.2 billion is owed to Earn users, claims Winklevoss.Reaching DCG for comment was not successful right away.Winklevoss warned in the letter that failure to accept “this deal” by the deadline might result in legal action being taken against DCG and Silbert personally, as well as efforts to force DCG into default and the creation of a “non-consensual” debt-repayment scheme.

Significant Bitcoin transactions have recently been seen in the market. Bitcoin miners have reportedly moved 54,000 BTC to Binance in the previous three weeks, according to Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant. Ki Young Ju disclosed this drastic shift in a series of tweets, sparking debate about the potential ramifications for Bitcoin’s market dynamics. Despite

According to TKWW, key players such as HKUST Vice-President advise that the Hong Kong government create its own stablecoin, dubbed HKDG, as a strategic move to strengthen the city’s digital economy. The Hong Kong SAR government’s continued promotion and adoption of digital assets places it ahead of countries or regions such as the United States

McDermott Will & Emery, a law firm representing Voyager’s committee of unsecured creditors, has charged the group $5.1 million for work undertaken between March and May. This additional cost increases the total compensation paid to the group to $16.4 million, beyond the $11.2 million allocated as part of the restructuring process. So far, creditors have

According to a research study published on Monday by brokerage company Bernstein, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) position on spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETF) is a challenging one to hold and the likelihood of approval is pretty high.According to Bernstein, the SEC recently approved leverage-based futures ETFs on the basis that futures pricing originates from a regulated exchange like the CME. The SEC has previously permitted futures-based bitcoin ETFs. The SEC feels that a spot bitcoin ETF would not be reliable because “spot exchanges (like Coinbase) are not under its regulation, and therefore spot prices are not reliable and prone to manipulation,” according to experts lead by Gautam Chhugani.Several applications for a spot bitcoin ETF have been submitted, but the regulator has not yet approved any.Last month, a division of Blackrock submitted the necessary paperwork to establish a spot bitcoin ETF.This spurred other asset managers to seek or reapply for a bitcoin ETF product, including Invesco and Wisdom Tree. The report mentioned Grayscale’s ongoing appeals court case about its attempt to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into an exchange-traded fund (ETF).“The court did not sound convinced that the futures price is not derived from the spot price, and thus to allow a futures based ETF and not allow spot sounds like a difficult pill to swallow for the courts,” noted the analysts.The source added that the market has now also proposed a surveillance arrangement between the operator of the spot exchange and a regulated exchange like Nasdaq. The broker claimed that because there isn’t a bitcoin spot ETF, over-the-counter products like the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) are becoming more popular and are more expensive, illiquid, and ineffective.Digital Currency Group (DCG), the parent firm of CoinDesk, owns Grayscale.“SEC would rather bring in a regulated bitcoin ETF led by more mainstream Wall Street participants and with surveillance from existing regulated exchanges, than having to deal with a Grayscale OTC product filling the institutional gap,” the report stated.

CoinShares announces a sharp rise in investor enthusiasm for digital assets, with a $125 million influx over the past week. The overall inflows over the past two weeks came to $334 million, or just under 1% of the total assets under management (AuM). With a significant $123 million inflow over the past week, Bitcoin continues

Peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency transactions will be prohibited by law in Belarus in order to combat fraud, the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced in a Telegram message on Sunday. Only exchanges located in the Belarus Hi-Tech Park (HTP) will be permitted to accept cryptocurrency transactions from citizens of the east European nation, “for the sake of transparency and control.”According to the ministry, it has tracked down 27 individuals who offer illicit cryptocurrency exchange services that scammers use to obtain money from their schemes. “The introduction of a practice similar to the procedure for exchanging foreign currencies will make it impossible to withdraw money obtained through criminal means. In such conditions, it will simply be unprofitable for IT fraudsters to operate in Belarus,” the statement read.

Following a merger with the $885 million-valued special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) GSR II Meteora (GSRM), shares of Bitcoin Depot, the largest crypto ATM operator in the world, more than doubled on their Nasdaq debut on Monday.The first provider of cryptocurrency ATMs to list on a significant American stock exchange is Atlanta, Georgia-based Bitcoin Depot, which trades under the symbol “BTM.” BTM shares climbed as high as $6.60 in pre-market trading, more than double GSRM’s closing price from Friday, before tumbling to $3.39, up 5% from that price. With the help of a crypto ATM, customers can purchase cryptocurrency with cash or debit cards and wire the tokens directly to a specific wallet without using a cryptocurrency exchange.Scammers, on the other hand, have also used them to advertise things on websites like eBay or Craigslist with instructions for buyers to pay by depositing actual cash at an ATM.According to information from Coin ATM Radar, Bitcoin Depot operates approximately 6,000 of these machines, holding a 20% market share of ATMs in the United States and a 17.6% global share. According to Bitcoin Depot CEO Brandon Mintz, the crypto ATM market is “highly fragmented,” which leaves plenty of space for consolidation in the industry. As a result, the company is currently focusing on this area. “There’s a few dozen operators with over 100 bitcoin ATMs in the U.S. alone and there has not been a lot of M&A activity in this space compared to other parts of the crypto and blockchain industry,” Mintz said in an interview. “Rolling up this highly fragmented market is a really

The Virtual Asset User Protection Act was approved by South Korea’s National Assembly on Friday, which was the first step in the development of the nation’s legal framework for virtual assets. The bill, which will go into force the next year, is the result of 19 legislative proposals. It outlines the definition of digital assets

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has declared that cryptocurrency service providers in Singapore would need to place client funds under a statutory trust before the end of the year for security. Following a public consultation on improving customer protection that was launched in October 2022, the MAS is now required to comply. The MAS