A new bipartisan bill, the Combating Money Laundering in Cybercrime Act of 2024, seeks to expand the authority of the United States Secret Service in terms of investigating and prosecuting digital asset crimes.

Preventing Crimes

Introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar, Chuck Grassley, and Catherine Cortez Masto, this legislation aims to address the growing threat of illegal activities involving cryptocurrencies by enhancing the role of the Secret Service in combating financial crimes.

The bill proposes that the Secret Service gain more power to tackle issues such as financial fraud and unlicensed money transmission related to digital assets. It also requires a Government Accountability Report to evaluate the effectiveness of the law enforcement in detecting and preventing money laundering.

Collaboration Is Key

The rise of cryptocurrencies has created new challenges for law enforcement, prompting this bill to strengthen regulatory measures. It acknowledges the need for better threat assessments and collaboration between agencies to address digital currency crimes effectively.

With bipartisan support, the bill represents a key step in improving the U.S. response to digital asset-related crimes and enhancing national security. It also highlights the importance of ongoing collaboration between government agencies and lawmakers to tackle issues in the digital currency market.

Senator Cynthia Lummis has proposed a bill to make Bitcoin a U.S. strategic reserve asset, which has attracted bipartisan interest and significant public support. Announced at a Bitcoin conference in July, the bill directs the U.S. Treasury to acquire one million BTC, valued around $60 billion, over five years.

Strengthening The Dollar

Lummis equates this initiative to the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, suggesting it could strengthen the dollar and help manage the national debt, which exceeds $35 trillion. In the past three days, 2,200 letters urging support for the bill have been sent to senators, with the majority going to Democrats.

The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs for review. If approved, it will be debated and possibly amended by the Senate before proceeding to the House of Representatives and, if passed there, to the President.

A Key Issue

Despite recent market declines and volatility in the cryptocurrency sector, the bill highlights the growing influence of digital assets in U.S. politics. If successful, it could reshape the approach to digital currencies in the U.S. and set a precedent for global financial systems.

Cryptocurrency is a significant political issue for American youth because it represents financial innovation and independence, offering new opportunities for wealth-building and economic participation. Many young people are drawn to the potential of digital assets for their transparency, decentralization, and potential for high returns.

Additionally, as digital natives, they are more attuned to the technological advancements and future potential of cryptocurrencies, making it a key topic in discussions about financial reform and policy.

According to a recent report by on-chain analyst EmberCN, a sharp decline in Ethereum (ETH) prices triggered a wave of liquidations among leveraged ETH whales.

A Broader Downturn

Several whale addresses were compelled to sell their ETH to cover loans, including an address starting with 0x1111, which liquidated 6,559 ETH to repay a 277.9 WBTC loan, and an address starting with 0x4196, which sold 2,965 ETH to settle a 7.2 million USDT loan. Another address, beginning with 0x790c, offloaded 2,771 ETH to address a 6.06 million USDC loan, while an address starting with 0x5de6 sold 2,358 ETH to cover a 5.17 million USDC loan.

These liquidations happened amid a broader market downturn over the past 24 hours. Crypto Briefing reported that Bitcoin (BTC) fell 12% to $53,000, while ETH experienced a drop of over 20%, wiping out the gains that Etreheum had obtained for the year. The correction, which started on Friday, seems to have been influenced by disappointing employment data and rising geopolitical tensions.

Heightened Liquidation Pressures

By Saturday, Bitcoin had fallen below $60,000 due to increasing recession fears. With bearish conditions dominating, ETH and other altcoins also suffered considerable losses. ETH, for example, plunged to $2,300 in the past week, reflecting a decline of over 30%, according to CoinGecko.

Contributing to the downturn were heightened liquidation pressures and rumors about significant ETH sales by Jump Trading. The cascading effect of these events led to an extraordinary $100 million in liquidations within a single hour, with the total for the day exceeding $445 million.

Chateau raised an undisclosed amount in Pre-Seed funding with help by Hack VC. Chateau is a protocol that brings private equity and fund investments on-chain, providing DeFi participants access to private market opportunities.

Signum Capital helped Pichi Finance secure $2.5M. Pichi Finance is a trustless points protocol, allowing users to trade points from leading protocols pre-TGE. 

Morpho Labs raised $50M in Strategic funding with support by Ribbit Capital. Morpho is a decentralized P2P lending protocol on Ethereum and Base L2.

Icebreaker Labs secured $5M in Seed funding with support by CoinFund. Icebreaker is a Web3 professional network for proving qualifications and making verifiable recommendations.

Layer2 Financial raised $10.70M in Series A funding with help by Galaxy. Layer2 Financial is designed to provide fintech companies and their customers with fully compliant payments, banking, and digital asset wallets for multiple currencies. With just one API, users can access all these services seamlessly and easily.

Mask Network helped jokerace successfully raise $3M. Jokerace is a governance platform that allows projects to create on-chain allowlists.

Lukka raised an undisclosed amount in Strategic Funding with help by Animoca Brands. Lukka is a technology company serving businesses that regularly interact with crypto assets with institutional-grade data and software solutions.

Raad Labs secured $2.25M in Seed funding with support by CoinFund. Raad Labs is a project focused on modernizing data management and collection for weather intelligence.

Hyperbolic raised $7M in Seed funding with help by Polychain Capital. Hyperbolic is an Open-Access AI Cloud where users are given accessible and affordable computing resources.

Mintify Inc obtained $3.4M with support by Amber Group. Mintify is an NFT multi-chain aggregator, analytics platform and trading terminal.

The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies has dipped to $2.3 trillion for the first time in several weeks. Recent economic uncertainty in the US has caused Bitcoin (BTC) to tumble, with its price dropping to $60,500, a level not seen in almost three weeks. Meanwhile, altcoins are struggling even more. In the past day, SOL, TON, and UNI have each fallen by over 5%, and ETH has slipped below $3,000.

BTC Hits 3 Week Low

The week started off with a surprise. On Monday, Bitcoin soared to $70,000, buoyed by Donald Trump and his high-profile appearance at the 2024 Bitcoin Conference in Nashville. However, this peak was short-lived, as Bitcoin quickly fell nearly $4,000. After a brief period of stability on Tuesday and Wednesday, bearish trends took hold again on Thursday and Friday, driving the price of BTC down to $60,500.

This is the lowest Bitcoin has been since July 14th. The decline is largely due to economic uncertainties in the United States, highlighted by a recent disappointing job report, which revealed the highest unemployment rate since October 2021 at 4.3%.

Market Impact

The drop triggered a wave of investor withdrawals concerning Bitcoin ETFs, and Wall Street also took a hit. Bitcoin has since partially recovered to around $62,000, with its market cap falling below $1.220 trillion and its dominance over altcoins at about 53%.

Altcoins have experienced even steeper declines than Bitcoin. Ethereum has lost 5% in a day and is now trading below $3,000. BNB has seen a similar daily drop, falling under $550. Solana, Toncoin, and Uniswap have dropped 5%, 6%, and 5.5%, respectively. Other significant losses include FLOW (-12%), MKR (-9.5%), WIF (-9%), JUP (-9%), and ONDO (-9%).

Other Markets

Donald Trump is actively campaigning in Pennsylvania, making headlines as he stumps across the state. Meanwhile, investors are on edge, bracing for a tumultuous end to 2024 due to expected Federal Reserve rate cuts and increasing concentration in big tech.

Elsewhere, Japanese markets are experiencing turbulence due to recent rate hikes, prompting investors to adopt long-term strategies to weather the storm. In China, the economy continues to advance with limited momentum, while Libya faces a partial shutdown of its largest oil field amid ongoing conflict. On the other side of the globe, Mexico has resumed avocado exports to the U.S. following a brief suspension.

In financial news, Apax-backed crate supplier Tosca is negotiating with lenders for critical funding, and the impact of a year of high Federal Reserve rates on the U.S. economy is under scrutiny. Credit traders are rushing to hedge against uncertainties in the U.S. economy, and a U.S. LNG exporter is seeking legal recourse against Kiewit over pollution disputes.

Multiple crypto executives are anticipated to have several key discussions with White House representatives and Representative Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) to express their concerns and explore possible policy adjustments regarding digital assets.

Harris Could Support Crypto

Following a roundtable discussion in July, crypto leaders are set for a second meeting with officials in the Biden administration. Though the names of the executives have not been disclosed, they are expected to engage with outgoing senior White House advisor Anita Dunn, National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard, and Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed.

This development follows a virtual session led by Cleve Mesidor, a former Obama administration official and executive director of the Blockchain Foundation. During the meeting, there was optimism about a potential Kamala Harris presidency taking a favorable approach to crypto and Web3 technologies.

Patience Is Key

Given the array of priorities and the various groups that have aligned with her in just a short period, Kamala is not going to declare crypto as her top priority, Mesidor stated. Cryptocurrency has emerged as a significant campaign issue, with former President Donald Trump supporting the digital asset sector.

Recently, Trump predicted that Bitcoin would surge like never before if he wins the election, and vowed to replace the current SEC chair, Gary Gensler, who is perceived as adversarial towards cryptocurrencies. Trump declared at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville that he will appoint a new SEC chairman who believes America should build the future and not block it.

The Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF), an independent financial think tank, has suggested that Harris adopt a crypto-friendly stance to counter Trump. However, not everyone agrees with pro-crypto promises. Esteemed economist Paul Krugman criticized Trump and his Bitcoin advocacy, labeling it as a government bailout of a scandal-ridden industry.

On Thursday, Bybit announced it will be exiting the French market due to regulatory developments as various new cryptocurrency legislation changes in Europe continue to impact the landscape for digital assets.

MiCA In Full Effect

Starting August 13th, French users can only withdraw existing funds, with the platform switching to a close-only mode, restricting new positions or purchases. Bybit has faced plenty of controversy in France, with the AMF previously warning that it was operating outside national regulations and had been blacklisted for non-compliance. The AMF emphasized that exchanges must register as digital asset service providers (DASP), which Bybit had not done.

The exit aligns with the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, introduced by the European Commission in September 2020 and ratified in April 2023. MiCA, which enforces rules for crypto providers and stablecoin issuers, began affecting stablecoins in June and will extend to other cryptocurrencies and services starting December 30, 2024.

The Controversy Continues

Bybit has faced challenges globally, exiting Canadian and U.K. markets in 2023 due to stricter regulations. The exchange no longer serves the U.S., the U.K., China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada, and other restricted regions. Despite these restrictions, Bybit remains the second-largest exchange by trading volume, with $5.5 billion traded on Thursday, behind Binance which has $11.4 billion.

Also in France, the controversy surrounding the Paris 2024 Olympics centers on issues such as the high costs, potential environmental impact, and concerns over security and the displacement of local communities. Critics argue that the event could exacerbate social inequalities and cause significant disruptions, and that the focus should be on solving these issues rather than alienating international companies like ByBit.

Do Kwon, the ousted co-founder of Terraform Labs, is poised to be extradited to South Korea following a court ruling in Montenegro. This decision rejects the U.S. request for his extradition. Currently, no date has been set for the extradition.

What Happened

The Appellate Court of Montenegro supported an earlier ruling by the High Court of Podgorica to return Kwon to South Korea rather than the U.S., as CoinDesk reported on Thursday. This recent ruling is anticipated to resolve the ongoing dispute over the extradition location.

Although previous appeals against U.S. extradition were successful, the decision to send him to South Korea faced delays due to the Supreme Court of Montenegro. The ultimate decision regarding the extradition will be made by Montenegro Minister of Justice, according to the Office of the Supreme State Prosecutor.

Why It Matters

The legal battle against Terraform Labs and Do Kwon has been ongoing for over two years. In April, a U.S. District Court determined that Terraform Labs and Kwon had defrauded investors during the dramatic collapse of stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) and its associated cryptocurrency Terra (LUNA), events that resulted in a loss exceeding $40 billion and instigated a massive cryptocurrency market downturn.

In June, Terraform Labs reached a $4.47 billion civil settlement with the SEC after being found guilty. This settlement includes $4.05 billion in disgorgement plus interest, and a $420 million civil penalty. In September 2022, Interpol issued a red notice for his arrest. He was detained in Montenegro in March 2023 while attempting to use a counterfeit Costa Rican passport to travel to Dubai. Despite an initial four-month sentence for using false documents, Kwon remained in custody until his release on bail in March of this year.

On Wednesday, Senator Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo, introduced a bill to the U.S. Senate aimed at establishing a national Bitcoin reserve, reflecting growing political interest in the flagship cryptocurrency.

Boosting The Economy

Named the Boosting Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide (BITCOIN) Act of 2024, the bill seeks to enhance the global financial position of the USD (United States Dollar). Lummis first announced it at the Bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tenn.

Finance professor Nikhil Bhatia predicts the bill will not be voted on until after the U.S. Presidential election, given the current political climate. He believes it stands a better chance in 2025. The proposed Act would create a strategic reserve of Bitcoin to boost the American economy internationally, similar to historical gold reserves.

Growing Pains

However, the bill faces obstacles in a divided Congress amid a contentious election. Bitcoin has become a prominent issue in the 2024 race, with former President Donald Trump endorsing it, while Democrats, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, criticize it as a tool for crime and a threat to the dollar.

Bhatia notes that while most of the support that Bitcoin has may seem right-leaning, it also has progressive advocates who view it as a tool for financial empowerment. He supports the exploration of Bitcoin as a strategic asset for the U.S. without endorsing the bill outright.

Despite recent price drops, Shiba Inu (SHIB), the dog-themed meme coin, has shown notable improvements in key metrics, suggesting a potential price recovery after a period of decline.

Positive Metrics

As the second-largest meme coin by market capitalization, Shiba Inu has seen significant gains in several metrics. IntoTheBlock reports a 430% increase in the 7-day volume of large transactions, now at $32.5 million, and a 0.22% rise in net network growth, signaling bullish sentiment.

Shibburn also notes a dramatic 7,334.38% increase in SHIB burn rates, with over 2.37 million SHIB sent to dead wallets. Additionally, CryptoQuant shows that inflows into exchanges have greatly exceeded outflows, hinting at a shift towards self-custody methods.

Potential For Price Recovery

Previously, Shiba Inu experienced a decline, with key metrics dropping sharply in July. Open interest fell 40% to $80 million, and daily transactions on Shibarium dropped by 50%, contributing to a lower SHIB price. Burn rates also fell by 98.79% during this period.

Despite recent metric improvements, HIB has been relatively stable in terms of its price, with a 5.22% drop over the past week and a 16.07% decrease in 24-hour trading volume. However, the positive changes in metrics may signal a potential recovery. Crypto exchange Changelly predicts a rise to $0.0000263 by August, up from the current $0.000016.

The Securities Commission of The Bahamas has revealed that Parliament has enacted the Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges Act, 2024, which enhances oversight of digital assets and cryptocurrencies.

Introducing Extensive Reforms

The latest legislation in The Bahamas builds upon the legal framework established by the DARE Act 2020, introducing extensive reforms to address the evolving nature of digital asset markets. Christina Rolle, Executive Director of the Securities Commission, stated that DARE 2024 sets a new benchmark for digital asset regulation.

The goal is to ensure investor protection and foster responsible innovation, positioning The Bahamas as a leader in global digital asset regulation, Rolle explained. DARE 2024 aligns with international standards and recommendations issued by the International Organization of Securities Commissions and the Financial Action Task Force. This new legislation reflects extensive global benchmarking and consultations with key stakeholders and industry experts.

Improving The Economy

Key features of DARE 2024 include rigorous standards for managing conflicts of interest and third-party relationships. It categorizes non-fungible tokens as either financial or consumer assets, mandates liquidity and reporting requirements, bans privacy tokens, and prohibits proof-of-work mining.

The introduction of DARE 2024, alongside the Securities Industry Act 2024, represents an overall commitment by The Bahamas to maintaining its position as a leading financial center. These legislative measures aim to provide top-tier consumer and investor protection while fostering a conducive environment for innovation in fintech.

The game plans to allocate 60% of the HMSTR token airdrop to Hamster Kombat players, demonstrating its dedication to rewarding its extensive user base. Although the airdrop was set for this month, it has encountered several delays due to technical issues.

Impressive Progress

A recent whitepaper by the anonymous Hamster Kombat team reveals that the game now boasts 300 million players. This represents a significant portion of the 950 million active users on Telegram. Consequently, the token launch on The Open Network has encountered difficulties, causing uncertainty about the airdrop schedule.

The rapid expansion of the game has not gone unnoticed. Just a month ago, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced that there were 239 million Hamster Kombat players. Shortly after, the team confirmed an additional 250 million players. This latest figure surpasses major free-to-play titles like Fortnite and Roblox, each with over 200 million monthly active users.

Token Value Depends On User Demand

The growth pattern of Hamster Kombat parallels that of Notcoin, another game on Telegram that had a significant airdrop earlier this year. Drawing inspiration via Notcoin and its success, Hamster Kombat aims to develop a broader ecosystem through its airdrop.

The developers emphasized that the token will not be supported by venture capital, meaning its value will be driven solely by the demand derived through Hamster Kombat players. Currently, the game maintains 50 million daily active users and operates in 190 countries, setting a significant milestone for the upcoming airdrop and future development.