👮 Australian Authorities Raid Binance Offices

Good Morning.

We hope all of our American readers enjoyed their holiday!

Crypto certainly hasn’t taken any time off, and June closed with record volume, notably higher than the past few months. And further good news could be on the way, with analysts believing that one of the Bitcoin ETF applications could be approved.

Let’s dive into the headlines. 👇

Markets

Cryptocurrency Trading Volumes Increase for First Time in 3 Months (2 minute read)
Crypto trading volumes experienced a much-needed boost in June after a three-month slump. The optimistic atmosphere was fueled by the exciting news of asset manager BlackRock and other prominent institutions filing spot bitcoin exchange-traded-fund (ETF) proposals. According to CCData's report, combined spot and derivative trading volumes on centralized exchanges saw a 14% surge, reaching $2.71 trillion. This increase marked the first monthly upturn since March. Notably, a handful of well-known U.S. institutions, including Invesco, WisdomTree, and Fidelity, enthusiastically filed or refiled for spot bitcoin ETFs with the U.S. SEC.

Bitcoin No Longer Correlated to U.S. Stocks, Crypto Analytics Firm Block Scholes Says (2 minute read)
Bitcoin has broken free from its close ties to the U.S. stock markets. Recent data from crypto derivatives analytics firm Block Scholes reveals that the correlation between bitcoin's spot price and Wall Street's Nasdaq and S&P 500 has plummeted to nearly zero, the lowest point in two years. Andrew Melville, a research analyst at BlockScholes, noted that this level of correlation hasn't been seen since July 2021, when BTC was between its previous highs in April and November. This decline in correlation is attributed to both bitcoin and traditional assets recovering from the losses incurred during last year's tightening cycle.

Coinbase Suddenly Surges After Reports Suggest SEC Is Poised To Make A Game-Changing Decision (3 minute read)
The news of BlackRock's spot bitcoin ETF filing has propelled the prices of major crypto like bitcoin, ethereum, BNB, and XRP, indicating a potential softening of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) stance on such ETFs. Following this, Coinbase's share price surged after being included in the refiled spot bitcoin ETF applications of asset managers BlackRock and Fidelity, leading Bernstein analysts to believe that the chances of SEC approving a U.S. spot bitcoin ETF are fairly high. While the SEC has concerns about the reliability of spot prices and potential manipulation on exchanges like Coinbase, the evolving regulatory landscape suggests a growing possibility of a spot bitcoin ETF approval.

Tech

Binance and Coursera link up to tap into demand for blockchain developers (2 minute read)
Binance Academy, the educational branch of Binance, has teamed up with Coursera, a leading online learning platform boasting a user base of over 124 million registered learners worldwide. This partnership aims to offer a wide range of crypto education programs, covering blockchain, web3, and cryptocurrency technologies. The courses will cater to both beginners and individuals aspiring to build a career in the crypto space. Upon completion of each course, learners will receive a digital certificate to showcase their industry knowledge and enhance their career prospects. Binance cites a PwC report highlighting the potential of blockchain technology to boost global GDP and create over 40 million jobs by 2030, emphasizing the importance of acquiring relevant skills in this rapidly evolving industry.

Azuki DAO Governance Token Contract Exploited Amid Vote to Sue Founder (3 minute read)
Two attackers managed to take advantage of a vulnerability in the governance token contract for Azuki DAO, resulting in the loss of 35 ETH. The exploit occurred due to a lack of proper validation in the contract's signatureClaimed variable, leaving it susceptible to replay attacks. As a precautionary measure, the contract has been temporarily paused, as highlighted by blockchain analytics firm MetaSleuth. Interestingly, this incident coincides with an ongoing community vote within Azuki DAO to engage a lawyer in an attempt to recover 20,000 ETH from Zagabond, the founder of the NFT project. Currently, an overwhelming 88% of the community has expressed support for the proposal, utilizing 29 million BEAN tokens to cast their votes.

Bitcoin Ordinals Launchpad Luminex Announces BRC-69 Standard to Simplify Recursive Inscriptions (3 minute read)
Luminex have introduced a new standard called BRC-69, aiming to simplify the creation of Recursive Ordinals and bring about notable improvements. With this standard, Luminex promises a reduction of over 90% in inscription costs, making it easier and more affordable for creators to participate. By lowering inscription costs, Luminex hopes to alleviate congestion in the block space as more inscriptions flood the network. In a tweet, Luminex emphasized the importance of innovative approaches to enable creators to unleash their ideas while optimizing efficiency, considering the increasing scarcity and costliness of Bitcoin block spaces.

Misc

Canadian Teens Charged With Nabbing $4.2M in Bitcoin, Ethereum by Impersonating Coinbase Support (2 minute read)
Two seventeen-year-old boys from Hamilton, Canada, have been arrested and charged with theft and possession of criminally-obtained property. They allegedly defrauded a U.S. man of $4.2 million in Bitcoin and Ethereum using a "spear phishing" attack, where they posed as Coinbase Support to gain access to the victim's cryptocurrency portfolio. Spear phishing is a targeted form of phishing that tricks individuals into divulging sensitive information.

Australian authorities invade Binance offices amid probe (2 minute read)
Australian authorities have carried out a surprise raid on the premises of Binance, as reported by Bloomberg. This action is part of an extensive investigation led by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) specifically focused on the closure of Binance Australia's derivatives division. The ASIC operation aims to meticulously examine the operations of Binance's derivatives arm and assess the categorization of its clientele, as revealed by undisclosed individuals with insider knowledge. This recent development follows Binance's previous announcement in April, wherein the company expressed its intention to wind down its derivatives business in Australia and voluntarily surrender its license for financial services.

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