😡 SEC Chair Gensler is NOT happy

Good morning.

The last 4 weeks have seen a streak of inflows into Crypto not seen since the heights of 2021, with Bitcoin absorbing most of the buying pressure. The XRP legal saga has also continued, with the SEC’s chairman, Gensler, speaking for the first time since his agency lost a ruling to XRP. And as you can imagine, he doesn’t seem happy..

Let’s dive in 👇

Markets

Streak of inflows into crypto products highest since 2021 (2 minute read)
For the fourth consecutive week, investments into crypto products have maintained a steady flow, resulting in the highest overall total in nearly a month, surpassing levels not seen since 2021. Crypto funds saw $137 million of inflows last week, roughly the same as the week before, according to a Monday report by CoinShares. The gains brought inflows over the last four weeks to $742 million — a level not reached since crypto prices were soaring to all-time highs nearly two years ago. Such inflows spiked at roughly $200 million during a week in late June after asset management giant BlackRock and other fund issuers filed for spot bitcoin ETFs, starting what has become a four-week streak.

SEC Chair Gensler 'Disappointed' in Ripple Court Ruling on Retail Investors (2 minute read)
The chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, has expressed his disappointment with a judge’s recent ruling in the regulator’s ongoing case against Ripple. Following last week’s ruling that programmatic sales of XRP to public buyers did not constitute the sale of unregistered securities, Gensler said that he was “disappointed” with Federal district judge Analisa Torres’ decision. He added that the commission is, “looking at it and assessing that option,” raising the possibility of a legal appeal to challenge the ruling. In his first remarks on the case since the ruling, Gensler told the audience at the National Press Club that he was “pleased” that the judge found that institutional sales of XRP constituted unregistered securities sales.

Ron DeSantis Promises to Ban CBDCs if Elected President (1 minute read)
Current Florida Governor and GOP presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis continued his campaign against central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), vowing a ban if he were elected president. “Done, dead, not happening in this country,” said DeSantis at the Family Leadership Summit in Iowa last Friday. “If I am the president, on day one, we will nix central bank digital currency.” DeSantis has been an outspoken critic of CDBDs for allowing “government-sanctioned surveillance,” and in March signed a bill to prohibit the use of a national CBDC as money within Florida.

Tech

Dragonfly, Arthur Hayes Back $6M Round for New Stablecoin, Ethena (2 minute read)
Portugal-based Ethena, a startup developing an internet savings bond as well as a new Ethereum-based stablecoin secured by derivatives, has raised $6 million in a seed funding round led by crypto-focused venture capital firm Dragonfly. The startup will use the capital toward the launch of its stablecoin and bond asset in the third quarter. Other backers in the round included BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes and his family office, Maelstrom, and a handful of crypto derivatives exchanges, including Deribit, Bybit, OKX, Gemini and Huobi, among others.

Misc

Thodex ex-CEO jailed for 7.5 months in Turkey (1 minute read)
Faruk Fatih Özer, the founder and CEO of Thodex, a defunct crypto exchange in Turkey, has been imprisoned after failing to provide the necessary tax documents to the country’s Tax Inspection Board. The Turkish crypto boss was deported from Albania last year after fleeing his country and was arrested in Istanbul on April 20.

Crypto memes can be considered financial promotions, says UK watchdog (2 minute read)
Crypto firms and influencers may need to start slapping disclaimers on crypto memes to stay compliant with advertising laws in the United Kingdom, according to a new proposed guidance from the country's financial regulator. On July 17, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) released a proposed guidance on social media financial promotions that targets promotional memes and financial influencers — “finfluencers.”

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