Global cryptocurrency trading is on the rise, with a study from CoinWire predicting industry trading volumes will exceed $108 trillion by the end of 2024.
This estimate represents a 90% increase compared to 2022.
The United States is leading with a projected crypto trading volume surpassing $2 trillion.
While the US may lead in trading volume, Europe dominates in global cryptocurrency transaction value, accounting for 37.32%.
Europe has been proactive in shaping its cryptocurrency industry through regulations, providing clear guidelines for traders and exchanges.
The European Union’s landmark Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation partially came into effect on June 30, focusing on stablecoins.
Further regulations for crypto asset service providers are expected in December.
This legislative framework, in development since 2020, represents the EU’s first set of uniform market rules for crypto assets.
The survey anticipates Europe’s cryptocurrency trading volume will reach $40.5 trillion in 2024, a 2.7-fold increase from its $15 trillion in 2022.
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Asia follows closely, accounting for 36.17% of the world’s cryptocurrency transaction value.
The study’s conclusions were drawn by analyzing centralized exchanges with trust scores higher than six on CoinGecko.
This analysis considered factors like web traffic by country, supported languages, headquarters location, and trading time zones.
One key finding is that Binance dominates the crypto exchange market in over 100 countries, with a trading volume of $2.77 trillion.
Binance.US also holds a significant presence, though with a lower trading volume of $3.9 billion. This makes Binance the most “widely used” exchange globally.
On July 5, Binance celebrated its seventh anniversary and the milestone of reaching 200 million users worldwide.
Following Binance are OKX and Cex.io, with a presence in 93 and 92 countries, respectively, and trading volumes of $759 billion and $1.83 billion.
Coinbase and Bybit operate in 90 and 87 countries, respectively, with trading volumes of $662 billion and $1.14 trillion.
The rise in global crypto trading and the increasing regulatory clarity in regions like Europe signify a rapidly maturing industry poised for significant growth in the coming years.
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King Doge (KINGDOGE) is a new memecoin that was launched on the Solana blockchain earlier this week, and it has huge potential.
New Solana memecoin King Doge is poised to skyrocket over 16,000% in the coming days, before it begins trading on centralized exchanges.
The memecoin currently has a market cap of around $20,000, and it can only be purchased via decentralized exchanges, such as Raydium and Jup.ag.
However, once it gets listed on centralized exchanges later this month, its market cap and price will skyrocket, because millions of new crypto traders will be able to easily buy it.
This means that smart crypto investors who purchase King Doge before its first CEX listing will make huge returns.
All of King Doge’s liquidity is burned, meaning the developers cannot take out the liquidity that they have allocated (unlike 99% of new Solana memecoins.) This a major advantage for early investors and it significantly increases its potential of generating huge gains in the coming days and weeks.
To buy KINGDOGE on Raydium or Jup.ag, users need to connect their Solflare, MetaMask or Phantom wallet, and then exchange Solana for King Doge by entering the token’s contract address – 8wcpzdFBrHHkzfZXDV73DnuizCpQUd7WWMyu3nwQWTSy – in the receiving field.
If you don’t have a wallet already, you can easily create a new one and transfer some Solana to it from any centralized exchange of your choice, before swapping the Solana for KINGDOGE tokens.
The United States Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright vs. Raimondo has significant implications for the cryptocurrency industry.
The ruling, which ended the long-standing Chevron deference, shifts power between the judicial and executive branches of the US government.
Since 1984, Chevron allowed courts to defer to federal agencies in interpreting ambiguous statutes, but the 6–3 decision on June 28 changed that.
“Chevron is overruled,” the court declared.
“This decision impacts many sectors, including technology, finance, healthcare, and the environment.
Jim Lundy, a securities enforcement and litigation partner at Foley & Lardner, commented, “The Supreme Court did the appropriate thing with this ruling because the Chevron deference had started to stretch too far for certain agencies.”
Joshua Simmons, a partner at Wiley Rein, noted the ruling’s significant long-term impact, especially for the crypto and blockchain sector.
“The decision takes away the deference that agencies had,” Simmons said, suggesting that more companies will challenge agency decisions and face a more level playing field.
Joanna Wasick, a litigation partner at BakerHostetler, highlighted how crypto was referenced during oral arguments.
“Loper Bright’s attorney, Paul Clement, pointed directly to crypto as an example of how the SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission] oversteps its authority.”
This ruling could push Congress to pass crypto reform legislation and encourage companies to bring lawsuits.
Peter Van Valkenburgh wrote in a Coin Center blog, “Without Chevron, a judge in SEC v. Consensys need not defer to the SEC’s own understanding of what exactly a ‘broker’ is.” Uniswap Labs also referenced Loper Bright, urging the SEC to drop its proposal on decentralized finance.
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Other federal agencies might also feel Loper Bright’s impact. Custodia, a state-chartered crypto bank, recently appealed the Federal Reserve’s decision to deny it a Master Account, potentially benefiting from this ruling.
Kathryn Haun called the ruling “the most significant court case for technology policy in the U.S. in years.”
Lundy emphasized that while the ruling doesn’t eliminate regulatory agencies’ rulemaking abilities, it removes Chevron deference in ambiguous cases.
This change may not be a game-changer historically but will influence how agencies like the SEC and CFTC craft rules for the cryptocurrency industry.
In Europe, the impact of Loper Bright is seen as potentially reducing regulatory barriers, similar to the EU’s MiCA framework.
Annabelle Rau of McDermott Will & Emery suggested that a more predictable regulatory landscape could encourage innovation in digital asset tokenization.
Overall, while the ruling alters the game, its full impact will unfold over time through further litigation and challenges.
As Lundy noted, the defense bar will likely explore new ways to challenge SEC and CFTC rulemakings for the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries.
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The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC) has urged accounting and auditing professionals to play a crucial role in detecting and preventing terror financing.
This alert highlights five primary methods terrorists use to transfer funds, including cryptocurrencies.
ICPAC, which regulates the accountancy profession in Cyprus, issued a “terror financing alert” to enhance efforts against such activities.
While law enforcement agencies usually handle financial crimes such as money laundering and terror financing, ICPAC emphasizes the need for accounting professionals to participate in monitoring. The regulator stated:
“These days, given the nature of services provided and the role of professionals as gatekeepers, it is a requirement for obliged entities to take an active role in the prevention phase.”
ICPAC identified five fund transfer methods used by terrorists: donations through nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), cash, bank transfers and gift cards, cryptocurrencies, and shell companies.
Regarding cryptocurrencies, ICPAC advises accountants to watch for anonymous cross-border peer-to-peer transfers, crowdfunding, charitable donations, and anonymous online fundraising campaigns.
ICPAC instructed its members, firms, and compliance officers to report suspicious activities, warning that failure to do so constitutes an offense.
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Consequently, flagged transactions will undergo thorough scrutiny, including profiling individuals, screening crypto wallets and transactions, and using specialized blockchain tools.
A U.S. Treasury official revealed that Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas, used small amounts of cryptocurrencies for funding but preferred traditional financial methods.
Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic confirmed that Palestinian Islamic Jihad raised $12 million through crypto fundraising, contradicting a Wall Street Journal report that initially claimed they received between $41 million and $93 million from August 2021 to June 2023.
Elliptic found no evidence of such high amounts raised through crypto, prompting the Journal to correct its report.
“To be clear,” Representative Tom Emmer asked the Treasury’s Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson, ”Hamas is using crypto in relatively small amounts compared to what’s been widely reported, that’s correct?”
“That’s our assessment, yep,” Nelson confirmed.
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Bitcoin experienced a notable spike to new one-week highs on July 11 following a bullish surprise from United States macroeconomic data.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView revealed a rapid yet brief climb in Bitcoin’s price to $59,516 on Bitstamp.
This surge came after the release of June’s US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, indicating inflation slowing more than anticipated.
Both year-on-year and month-on-month CPI figures were 0.1% lower than expected, resulting in a positive response from both crypto and US stock markets.
“The all items index rose 3.0 percent for the 12 months ending June, a smaller increase than the 3.3-percent increase for the 12 months ending May,” a press release from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics confirmed.
“The all items less food and energy index rose 3.3 percent over the last 12 months and was the smallest 12-month increase in that index since April 2021.”
Despite this, the initial gains were short-lived, with BTC/USD quickly losing the $1,000 it had initially gained.
“Inflation coming down faster than expected. Local higher high for Bitcoin in response,” popular trader Jelle summarized on X.
“Time to let the dust settle, but safe to say it’s much stronger than it was at the start of the month. Reclaim $60,000 and things will look much better.”
The $60,000 level remained a critical target for market participants. Fellow trader Wolf identified it as a key resistance point, citing the 21-week exponential moving average at $60,900.
“The 60-61.6k range is where the strongest resistance lies, due to horizontal and weekly 21EMA barriers,” he told X followers.
“If this level is cleared, the bulls will regain control.”
Other significant levels include the 200-day moving average and the short-term holder cost basis, the latter at $64,088, according to Look Into Bitcoin.
Short-term holders, the more speculative Bitcoin investors, held up to 2.8 million BTC at a loss when prices fell to four-month lows of $53,500 last week.
Caution remained as markets anticipated the distribution of coins from the defunct exchange Mt. Gox.
Crypto commentator Zen suggested a potential BTC price drop as these funds hit exchanges, requiring two days for market rebalancing.
Jamie Coutts, chief crypto analyst at Real Vision, saw this as ultimately beneficial.
“While painful in the short term, the distributions of the Mt. Gox reserve and government sales remove the annoying supply overhang, helping distribute coins to a wider array of holders, thereby growing the network and leaving Bitcoin even better off than before,” he wrote on X on July 10.
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Early investors in memecoins like Shiba Inu (SHIB), Bonk (BONK) and Dogecoin (DOGE) made astronomical returns, and King Doge (KINGDOGE) presents a similar opportunity for a limited time.
King Doge (KINGDOGE), a newly launched Solana memecoin, is poised to explode over 14,000% in a matter of days, as former Shiba Inu (SHIB), Bonk (BONK) and Dogecoin (DOGE) investors pour funds into this new token.
KINGDOGE will be listed on KuCoin, one of the largest centralized exchanges in the world, within a few days – and this is a massively bullish development for the token, as millions of new investors will easily be able to buy King Doge.
Currently, King Doge can only be purchased via Solana decentralized exchanges, like Jupiter and Raydium, and early investors stand to make huge returns in the coming days.
To buy KINGDOGE on these platforms, users need to connect their Solflare, MetaMask or Phantom wallet, and swap Solana for King Doge by entering its contract address – 8wcpzdFBrHHkzfZXDV73DnuizCpQUd7WWMyu3nwQWTSy – in the receiving field.
If you don’t have one of these wallets already, they can create a new wallet in a few minutes and transfer some Solana to it (which will then be used to buy the memecoin), from an exchange like Coinbase, Binance and many others.
KINGDOGE currently has a market cap of just under $20,000, with over $3,000 in locked liquidity, meaning it has huge upside potential.
Early investors could make returns similar to those who invested in Shiba Inu (SHIB), Dogecoin (DOGE) and Bonk (BONK) before these memecoins went viral and exploded in price.
If this happens, a new wave of memecoin millionaires could be created in a matter of weeks – or potentially even sooner.
Binance, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, is reportedly in the final stages of negotiating the sale of a majority stake in the South Korean exchange Gopax to the local cloud service provider Megazone.
According to a report by South Korea’s news agency The Chosun Ilbo on July 11, Binance is preparing to reduce its 72.6% stake in Gopax to as low as 10%.
An anonymous industry insider related to Gopax indicated that Binance is pushing the sale to enhance its governance structure as requested by local financial authorities.
Initially, Binance announced the acquisition of a 72.26% stake in Gopax in February 2023, aiming to re-enter the South Korean market after ceasing operations there in 2021.
However, the acquisition faced hurdles as South Korean financial authorities blocked the capital injection by denying the change of the largest shareholder.
Additionally, Binance’s regulatory challenges in the United States, including a lawsuit from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, fueled further regulatory skepticism in South Korea.
The recent news about the potential sale comes just weeks before Gopax is expected to renew its real-name account contract with Jeonbuk Bank, which is due to expire on August 11, 2024.
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Jeonbuk Bank and Gopax had signed a two-year real-name account contract in August 2022.
Cointelegraph reached out to Binance for a comment on the sale of Gopax shares but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
Gopax was significantly impacted by the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX crypto exchange in November 2022.
Shortly after FTX’s collapse, Gopax halted withdrawals of principal and interest payments in its decentralized finance service, which included products from the now-bankrupt crypto lending firm Genesis Global Capital.
Before its bankruptcy, Genesis’ parent company, Digital Currency Group, was reportedly Gopax’s second-largest shareholder and a crucial business partner, supplying its GoFi product.
According to The Chosun Ilbo, Gopax’s total debt was 118.4 billion South Korean won ($86 million) as of April 2024.
Binance’s decision to sell the majority stake in Gopax underscores the complex regulatory landscape and the challenges of maintaining operations in the highly scrutinized cryptocurrency market.
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Crypto privacy protocol Railgun has successfully thwarted Inferno Drainer’s recent attempt to launder stolen funds.
On July 10, MistTrack reported on X that Railgun had blocked a July 9 attempt to launder over 174 Ether (approximately $533,000).
This forced the stolen ETH to be returned to Inferno’s original wallet address.
Alan Scott Jr, a Railgun contributor, explained to Cointelegraph that Inferno’s attempt to exploit the Ethereum-based privacy protocol was halted by Railgun’s automated private proofs of innocence (PPOI) system.
Scott said, “The tokens could only return to the attacker’s address — they were not welcome in RAILGUN.”
He elaborated that the PPOI system ensures that tokens sent by malicious actors can only be returned to the initial shielding wallet.
“This is part of PPOI. This technology is brand new, but this is a great example that shows it works.”
Railgun, established in January 2021, employs zero-knowledge (ZK) cryptography to obscure wallet balances, transaction history, and details.
This allows users to interact with decentralized apps (DApps) on Ethereum or other supported chains privately.
Railgun’s PPOI system, launched in January 2023, ensures that tokens entering the Railgun smart contract are not associated with known undesirable transactions or actors.
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Users must create a ZK-proof demonstrating their funds are not part of a pre-set list of transactions and wallets.
Scott detailed that the PPOI system detects transactions linked to malicious actors and blocks them from being processed through the protocol.
The only option for the sender is to return the tokens to the original address.
“That transaction flow remains trackable, and attempting to use Railgun provides zero privacy to that actor,” he stated.
Inferno Drainer has stolen over $180 million in crypto from over 189,000 victims since its inception in August 2023, according to Dune Analytics data.
In April, Railgun refuted claims by independent crypto reporter Colin Wu, who alleged the protocol had been used by the North Korean hacking group Lazarus.
Despite blockchain security firm Elliptic labeling Railgun a “prime alternative to Tornado Cash” after U.S. sanctions against the crypto mixer, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has defended Railgun, asserting that privacy is “normal.”
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Crypto exchange Bitget reported a notable $700 million capital inflow and a surge in website traffic during the second quarter of 2024.
The company experienced a 50% increase in traffic compared to the previous quarter, attracting 10 million monthly visitors in Q2.
Additionally, Bitget saw 2.9 million new users and a 10% rise in its spot trading market volume from Q1.
Bitget also reported significant growth in its funds.
The company noted that its Bitcoin (BTC), USDT, and Ether (ETH) holdings surged by at least 70%.
BTC holdings grew by 73%, while USDT and ETH holdings saw increases of 80% and 153%, respectively.
This translates to approximately $700 million in capital inflow, according to Bitget.
In Q2 2024, Bitget formed partnerships with three Turkish national athletes: wrestler Buse Tosun Çavuşoğlu, boxer Samet Gümüş, and volleyball player İlkin Aydın.
This initiative is part of a broader campaign featuring football legend Lionel Messi.
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen expressed gratitude for the community’s support, emphasizing the company’s commitment to Web3’s future. Chen stated:
“Q2 2024 has been a pivotal period for Bitget. Our collaboration with Turkish athletes along with significant growth in users and website traffic is a part of our global expansion.”
In collaboration with Singapore-based investment firm Foresight Ventures, Bitget launched a $20 million ecosystem fund in Q2.
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This fund aims to support early-stage projects on The Open Network (TON) and foster the development of the TON ecosystem.
The exchange also emphasized its proof-of-reserves (PoR) report, which shows ratios above 100% for all major assets.
Bitget reported holding more than 100% of cryptocurrencies compared to user funds, enhancing trust and security.
Furthermore, Bitget’s protection fund is valued at over $420 million, providing additional security for its users.
To combat the rising threat of deepfake scams, Bitget partnered with Know Your Customer (KYC) verification provider Sumsub.
This collaboration aims to prevent deepfake scammers from completing the KYC verification process on the exchange.
On June 27, Bitget researchers warned that losses from deepfake attacks within the crypto space could reach $25 billion in 2024.
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Central banks globally are increasingly exploring blockchain technology, with the European Central Bank (ECB) being a recent participant.
The ECB recently completed a blockchain experiment for its central bank digital currency (CBDC) with Zama, as announced by Nigel Smart, the firm’s chief academic officer.
During a panel at FHE Summit 2024, Smart stated, “We did one with the European Central Bank on liquidity matching. […] And a number of applications on CBDCs have been actually to remove the central bank out of the equation and replace it with a blockchain.”
Liquidity matching, the process of aligning a bank’s inflows and assets with its outflows and liabilities to ensure sufficient funds to meet obligations, is crucial.
However, Smart highlighted that liquidity matching is challenging for multiple parties transacting on the same blockchain network.
He elaborated, “Then the issue is if you have multiple entities on the blockchain and it’s all encrypted stuff, how do you do liquidity matching? That’s a really big issue.”
Smart, a prominent cryptographer, is developing fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) solutions for blockchain and artificial intelligence at Zama.
FHE allows computations on encrypted data without decrypting it, enhancing data security.
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In early March, Zama secured a $73 million Series A funding round to advance the firm’s FHE stack and provide developers with more tools for data privacy solutions.
Multiparty computation (MPC), which enables multiple parties to compute shared data without revealing the actual data, also shows promise.
Smart noted that the MPC-based experiment with the ECB was successful, but scaling to support the entire European economy will require more time.
He said, “We did an experiment with the European Central Bank where we essentially ran the Finnish economy through an MPC engine, and we could keep track. We could actually keep up with Finland, which is good, but not on the European scale yet.”
Smart added that the financial sector is increasingly exploring MPC technology, which could lead to more use cases for large financial institutions.
This growing interest in advanced cryptographic solutions signifies the financial sector’s drive towards greater security and efficiency through technology.
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