The much-anticipated native token of the Ethereum layer-2 network, Blast (BLAST), saw a 40% surge following its launch, outperforming other recent high-profile airdrops.
BLAST started at $0.02 per token, giving it a fully diluted value (FDV) of $2 billion at launch, based on data from Ambient Finance and Aevo, a perps trading platform.
Since its debut, BLAST’s price has risen over 40% to $0.0281, according to CoinMarketCap.
This performance contrasts with other recent token launches, such as Ethereum layer-2 network zkSync (ZK) and cross-chain interoperability LayerZero (ZRO), which have dropped 46% and 43% from their launch prices, respectively.
The BLAST airdrop released 17% of its total supply.
Users who bridged Ether or USD on Blast (USDB) to the network starting late last year received 7%, another 7% went to those who contributed to the success of decentralized applications (DApps) on the network, and the remaining 3% was allocated to the Blur Foundation for future community airdrops.
Despite its strong performance, the airdrop faced criticism from crypto market commentators on X, particularly from those who felt the launch valuation was lower than expected.
READ MORE: Trump Emerges as Pro-Innovation Candidate with Key Endorsements from Crypto and Finance Leaders
Arthur Cheong, co-founder of DeFiance Capital, expressed surprise at BLAST’s $2 billion FDV, having anticipated a value closer to $5 billion.
Blast, co-founded by Blur creator Tieshun Roquerre, known as PacMan, faced criticism from its seed investors last November.
They argued that the network lacked sufficient features to justify a one-way bridging mechanism, which required users to lock up their ETH for several months.
The Blast airdrop, like other major airdrops this year, attracted numerous scammers on X.
These events are prime targets for scammers who create convincing copycat profiles, as airdrops typically require users to connect their wallets and sign transactions to claim their tokens.
The crypto security service Scam Sniffer reported that one user lost over $217,000 after falling victim to a Blast airdrop scam, having signed multiple phishing signatures.
This highlights the ongoing risks associated with large-scale airdrop events in the crypto space.
To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.
Jamaal Bowman, a House Representative for New York’s 16th Congressional District, has lost the Democratic primary, which could have allowed him to retain his seat in 2025.
According to a June 26 projection from NBC News, Democratic challenger George Latimer will defeat Rep. Bowman by roughly 58% to 42%, with 84% of the vote reported at the time of publication.
The Fairshake political action committee (PAC) spent more than $2 million on a media campaign opposing Bowman’s reelection, not for his voting record against pro-crypto bills, but for claims of “pushing dangerous conspiracy theories.”
During his time in Congress, Rep. Bowman voted against the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century (FIT21) Act, the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, and a joint resolution overturning a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule on banks handling crypto.
Latimer, in contrast, has not made any notable statements on crypto or blockchain.
Bowman had the support of many members of his party.
However, interest groups, including Fairshake and the United Democracy Project — a PAC reportedly tied to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee — spent $17 million to oppose the Democratic incumbent.
Bowman has been openly critical of Israel following the nation’s military actions in Gaza.
Before the primary election, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) called out Fairshake and the United Democracy Project for “dump[ing] nearly $15 million to unseat a member of Congress” as “corruption” and “a core threat to American democracy.”
On June 25, AOC won the Democratic primary for New York’s 14th Congressional District.
Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss, who recently pledged $1 million to support Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, said on X on June 25 that “this is what happens when you pick a fight with the crypto army.”
His comments were likely alluding to Latimer’s primary victory.
READ MORE: Bitcoin and Ether Transaction Fees Plunge Amidst Crypto Market Turmoil
In Utah, John Curtis, a Representative for Utah’s 3rd Congressional District, won the June 25 Republican primary for the U.S. Senate. According to filings with the Federal Election Commission,
Fairshake’s affiliate PAC Defend American Jobs spent more than $3 million on media buys supporting Curtis and roughly $1.2 million to oppose challenger Trent Staggs.
While Staggs’ position on crypto is unclear, Rep. Curtis cosponsored the FIT21 Act and the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act and voted in favor of the joint resolution to overturn the SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121.
He also supported the SEC’s efforts to approve spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds and said, “crypto has become a significant part” of the U.S. economy.
With roughly $169 million in its coffers contributed by crypto firms, including Coinbase and Ripple, Fairshake’s media campaigns may have already influenced U.S. voters.
In March, California Representative Katie Porter lost a primary race for the U.S. Senate after a Fairshake ad claimed she took campaign contributions from “big pharma, big oil, and the big bank executives.”
Protect Progress, another Fairshake affiliate, backed Democratic candidates Shomari Figures and Julie Johnson, who won their respective primaries in California and Texas.
To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.
After a week of net outflows, United States-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced a reversal on June 25, with net inflows reaching $31 million.
Data from SoSo Value reveals a shift from the past seven consecutive trading days, which saw $1.1 billion in total outflows from the spot Bitcoin ETFs.
On Tuesday, June 25, the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) led net inflows with $49 million, followed by the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) with $15 million, and the VanEck Bitcoin Trust ETF (HODL) with net inflows of $4 million.
Conversely, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) experienced net outflows of $30.3 million, and the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF reported $6 million in net outflows.
However, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) — the largest fund by assets under management — saw no inflows on June 25.
The same was true for ETFs from Invesco Galaxy, Valkyrie, and Franklin Templeton.
As of June 25, the 11 spot Bitcoin funds that debuted in January have seen net inflows totaling $14.42 billion.
READ MORE: TON Blockchain Faces Rising Phishing Threats Amid Explosive 2024 Growth, Experts Warn
Recent outflows from U.S.-based spot Bitcoin ETFs have been the highest since April, when total net outflows exceeded $1.2 billion between April 24 and early May.
Despite these fluctuations, prospective U.S. issuers continue to finalize their registrations, following the approval of the ETFs by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in May.
Firms have been submitting amended Form S-1 registration statements as part of this process.
According to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, spot Ether ETFs could potentially begin trading in the U.S. by July 2.
On June 25, investment manager VanEck filed a Form 8-A with the SEC for its spot Ether ETF, bringing it one step closer to launching.
The price of Bitcoin rose from $61,359 on June 25 to $61,732 at the time of publication, marking a 0.6% increase, according to TradingView data.
To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.
The Open Network (TON), a blockchain and cryptocurrency platform integrated with Telegram, is set to receive a significant boost from a new fund backed by the Bitget crypto exchange.
Bitget has announced the creation of a $20 million TON Ecosystem Fund in partnership with Singapore-based investment firm Foresight Ventures, as shared with Cointelegraph on June 26.
This fund aims to support early-stage projects on the TON platform amidst the growing number of TON-based applications and the increasing value of its native cryptocurrency, Toncoin (TON).
The fund will provide comprehensive support for project development within the TON ecosystem, including offering liquidity on the Bitget platform.
The TON ecosystem has shown remarkable growth in 2024.
According to Delphi Digital, this expansion is driven by Telegram’s substantial monthly user base of 900 million, which brings more users into the crypto space daily.
By mid-June, the TON blockchain consistently recorded more active addresses than Ethereum, nearly every day for almost a month.
Furthermore, the total value locked (TVL) in the TON ecosystem has increased more than fivefold over the past two months, reaching $600 million.
This surge is attributed to the influx of new projects and assets such as TON-based Tether (USDT), DeDust.io, and Ston.fi.
Additionally, Toncoin has been hitting all-time highs, peaking at $8.17 on June 14. CoinGecko data indicates that TON has returned over 400% since the start of 2024.
READ MORE: Bitcoin and Ether Transaction Fees Plunge Amidst Crypto Market Turmoil
Bitget’s new funding initiative, in collaboration with Foresight Ventures, aims to facilitate the mass adoption of crypto.
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen commented on the initiative: “We are glad to see that the TON ecosystem is experiencing a positive feedback loop due to the growth in users, TVL, and token price.”
She added, “We believe in the potential of TON and its ability to create a more equitable future.
“Our Telegram Signal Bot is just one example of how we are empowering the community and enhancing the user experience.”
This new fund follows Bitget’s previous efforts to support the rapidly growing TON ecosystem.
On June 25, Bitget’s non-custodial wallet launched a comprehensive support package for the TON network, aiming to connect decentralized applications within the ecosystem.
Bitget had earlier introduced the Telegram Signal Bot to streamline direct trading signals across trading communities.
To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.
The recent bearish market turmoil has dampened the previously high levels of bullish remarks and euphoria surrounding Bitcoin’s price, potentially indicating a market bottom.
Data from crypto analytics firm Santiment shows that bullish Bitcoin remarks across social media platforms like X, Reddit, Telegram, 4Chan, and BitcoinTalk have significantly declined over the past few weeks.
BTC’s price has been trading sideways since the Bitcoin halving in April.
Santiment data indicates that trader sentiment was most bullish at the beginning of April, leading up to the Bitcoin halving.
However, over the past three months, optimism has gradually waned as traders have lost confidence in the markets due to Bitcoin’s failure to reach new all-time highs.
On the other hand, bearish calls have also declined over the same period, but not as drastically as the bullish calls. Santiment noted that the decline in trader euphoria around Bitcoin is a potential bottom signal.
A bottom signal suggests an impending market trend reversal.
When an asset is undervalued or trading at its lowest point, investors often view it as a buying opportunity.
From a technical analysis perspective, the lowest level of support for the asset is referred to as the bottom.
Bitcoin hit a new all-time high on March 14, reaching $73,780 on Coinbase.
Since then, the top cryptocurrency has traded in a range between $60,000 and $70,000, momentarily dropping below $60,000 before regaining key support. BTC is currently trading at $61,500.
READ MORE: Bitcoin Rebounds Above $62,000 After Six-Week Low, Analysts Eye $63,500 Target
Historically, every four-year halving cycle has resulted in a new all-time high for Bitcoin after the event.
The price of Bitcoin typically begins to rise about a month before the halving, driven by the anticipation of increased scarcity.
However, the price does not surge immediately after the halving. Instead, it usually enters a sideways movement or consolidation phase before experiencing a bullish breakout.
Bitcoin analyst Willy Woo noted that the BTC price will recover after “weak miners die and hashrate recovers.”
He added that in 2017, the hashrate recovery took 24 days, while in 2021, it took only eight days. In 2024, the recovery has already taken 61 days.
Another popular Bitcoin analyst, Rekt Capital, said that Bitcoin continues to consolidate in the post-halving reaccumulation range.
The upper resistance level of the range is approximately $71,500, while the lower support level is around $60,600, which is the current price of BTC.
To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.
On June 28, 21Shares submitted an S-1 application to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a spot Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF), to be named the 21Shares Core Solana ETF.
This marks the second SEC filing for a spot SOL ETF, following VanEck’s submission on June 27.
The proposed ETF is slated to trade on the Cboe BZX Exchange, with Coinbase acting as the custodian for the fund’s Solana holdings, all of which will be privately insured.
Assets of the ETF will be stored in segregated wallets on the Solana blockchain.
Unlike some other funds, the 21Shares Core Solana ETF will not engage in validating or staking SOL.
The intraday share value will be recalculated every 15 seconds, while the valuation of SOL within the fund will be determined daily at 4:00 pm ET (09:00 pm UTC).
Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, 21Shares is a crypto-focused financial technology firm.
It already offers ETFs for future Ether, as well as spot and future Bitcoin in the U.S. market in collaboration with ARK Invest.
Additionally, the partnership provides an ETF that invests in BTC and ETH futures, along with publicly traded equities of companies involved in the blockchain and digital economy sectors.
READ MORE: Potential U.S. Spot Solana ETFs Could Skyrocket SOL Price by Ninefold, GSR Markets Predicts
Following VanEck’s filing on June 27, the price of SOL experienced a rapid increase from $139 to $150. As of 12:00 pm ET, SOL was trading at approximately $141, according to CoinMarketCap.
Previously, on May 31, 21Shares had applied for a spot ETH ETF named the 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF, after ending its partnership with ARK Invest for that specific application.
The SEC approved the ARK 21Shares spot ETH ETF 19b-4 filing on May 23. It is worth noting that S-1 filings, such as the one for the Solana ETF, are separately reviewed and approved by the SEC.
Solana (SOL) ranks as the fifth largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
However, the Solana blockchain has faced criticism for experiencing frequent outages and delays in transaction processing during periods of high congestion.
To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.
Spot Solana exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States could potentially drive up the price of SOL by a factor of nine, according to crypto market maker GSR Markets.
In a June 27 report, GSR described Solana as part of “crypto’s big three” and investigated whether Solana would be the next spot cryptocurrency ETF to receive U.S. regulatory approval.
Coincidentally, the report came out the same day VanEck filed to issue a spot Solana ETF, surprising many.
GSR, which holds a long position on SOL, estimated an “8.9x” price increase assuming the spot Solana ETFs would attract 14% of the flows that spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen since their January launch, based on their relative market cap size.
In GSR’s “blue sky scenario,” Solana’s current price of $149 could soar to over $1,320, boosting Solana’s market cap to $614 billion.
In contrast, GSR’s “bear” and “baseline” scenarios would see spot Solana ETFs capturing 2% and 5% of Bitcoin ETF flows, leading to 1.4x and 3.4x price increases for SOL, respectively.
The firm noted that these estimates might be even higher if spot Solana ETFs included income from staking rewards, although staking wasn’t allowed in the approved spot Ether ETFs.
GSR stated, “Solana is poised for a spot ETF if and when additional spot digital asset ETFs are allowed in the US, and the impact on price may just be the largest yet.”
Despite GSR’s optimism, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas and others believe that a change in the U.S. presidency and the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would be necessary for a spot Solana ETF to be seriously considered.
The SEC and its Chair, Gary Gensler, labeled SOL as a security in lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase, arguably making the pathway to approval more challenging than for the now-approved spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs.
VanEck’s application follows cryptocurrency asset manager 3iQ’s filing for a spot Solana ETF in Canada, marking a North American first.
The Solana ecosystem and network have also received praise from $1.5 trillion asset manager Franklin Templeton, although the firm hasn’t confirmed plans for a spot Solana ETF in the future.
Globally, over $1 billion worth of Solana exchange-traded products are already available.
To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.
A failed spam attack on the Cardano blockchain has prompted developers to work on a node upgrade to prevent future distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
On June 25, the Cardano network faced a DDoS attack beginning at block 10,487,530.
Raul Antonio, CTO of Fluid Tokens, explained that the attack aimed to trick the Cardano blockchain into charging lower fees for high-value transactions.
Additionally, if the attack had succeeded, the attacker could have stolen staked Cardano tokens from the network.
During the attack, Philip Disarro, founder and CEO of Anastasia Labs, explained: “The idea behind this attack is to take advantage of the fact that the size of reference scripts currently does not impact the transaction fee, but it does impact the work that validators have to do to process the transaction.”
Disarro and other Cardano developers managed to outsmart the attacker, reclaim the stolen ADA tokens, and stop the DDoS attack.
The attacker eventually ceased the DDoS attack and failed to move any stolen funds.
READ MORE: Bitcoin and Ether Transaction Fees Plunge Amidst Crypto Market Turmoil
Disarro commented: “Thanks for the free money moron.
“Truly iconic that the attacker who presumably wanted to damage the ecosystem actually ended up donating to the open-source smart contract development work we do […]”
Disarro mentioned that there were alternative methods to stop the attack, but his approach was the quickest.
He added, “If you rush to deploy something to production without thorough testing and a high-quality, independent audit, you might wind up losing a lot of money to vulnerabilities just like the attacker did.”
Intersect, a member-based organization for the Cardano ecosystem, confirmed the attack and thanked the developer community for their swift action against the DDoS attack.
Despite the attack, the Cardano network was not compromised and continued to function normally.
However, Intersect noted, “The network has experienced a higher load than normal and some stake pool operators (SPOs) have been negatively affected due to an intensification in block height battles.”
Intersect assured that once a solution has been thoroughly tested and deployed, they will share the new node version for SPOs to upgrade to.
The Intersect task force is working to identify and test a solution to further reduce the impact of such spam attacks.
To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.
Curve Finance has revised its fee distribution mechanism, transitioning from the 3crv token to its native stablecoin, crvUSD, to enhance the stablecoin’s utility within the Curve Finance ecosystem and incentivize users.
According to a press release shared with Cointelegraph, switching the fee distribution to crvUSD will create “an additional supply sink for the stablecoin,” primarily due to uncollected fees contributing to this “supply sink” and potentially boosting the total value locked (TVL) in the ecosystem.
Michael Egorov, founder of Curve Finance, discussed the switch’s impact on users with Cointelegraph:
“The transition to crvUSD means that users will now obtain fees in a dollar-denominated stablecoin.
“This shift simplifies the process significantly, as crvUSD doesn’t have to be converted to anything else to be utilized in Curve Finance products.”
The press release highlights that distributing fees in crvUSD will incentivize stablecoin usage, encouraging users to engage more with products and services that use it.
On community incentives through this transition, Egorov explained that Curve users could deposit crvUSD into the ecosystem using the fees earned.
“The value of 3crv, although generally increasing, has a variable conversion rate (currently around 1.03).
“This variability necessitated additional steps for users to convert 3crv into a more stable or usable form of currency for other activities.”
READ MORE: Binance Tightens Security Measures to Combat Account Misuse and Enhance Platform Integrity
Curve Finance acknowledges potential liquidity concerns and risks associated with the transition.
Egorov elaborated on the risks, mentioning operational risks and asset age:
“The 3crv token has been operational for over four years and has shown no issues. […] CrvUSD is just one year old and has yet to fully establish its reliability.
“It underwent multiple audits and has been deemed fit for deployment, but it is inherently less time-tested compared to 3crv.”
Egorov also addressed operational risks during the “preparation phase” for on-chain votes required for the change, stating that these risks have been mitigated since “all relevant votes” have passed.
Overall, the switch to crvUSD aims to streamline user experience and boost the stablecoin’s role within the Curve Finance ecosystem, despite some inherent risks and the need for further community adaptation.
To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.
The ratio of active Bitcoin addresses has fallen to its lowest level since November 2010, based on onchain data from IntoTheBlock.
In June, the weekly active wallet ratio hit a low of 1.22%, peaking at 1.32%. This highest ratio was last seen in November 2010.
Moreover, the total number of active wallets has also reached multi-year lows. The week of May 27 recorded 614,770 active wallets, the lowest since December 2018.
A declining active address ratio signifies a reduction in buying and selling activity among Bitcoin holders, suggesting a phase of market consolidation.
Juan Pellicer, a senior researcher at IntoTheBlock, attributes Bitcoin’s decreasing wallet activity to weaker retail participation compared to past cycles.
“This year’s run to a new all-time high was driven by institutional capital instead of retail investors,” Pellicer told Cointelegraph.
“The wider economic situation could have played a role in retail not making as many crypto investments as they’ve done in the past.”
The decline in activity comes as investors prepare for increased whale movements, including the Mt. Gox trustee’s plan to start distributing payments to creditors in July.
Some larger holders, including those associated with governments, have also been observed engaging in selling activities.
“Due to this concentration, much of the bearish trading activity is being performed offchain, which doesn’t significantly impact onchain address activity statistics,” Pellicer adds.
Are Runes struggling?
The drop in activity might seem counterintuitive to the launch of Runes, a fungible token protocol introduced to the Bitcoin ecosystem alongside the latest halving event in April.
Runes was anticipated to provide an alternative revenue stream for miners, which it did on the first day as miners earned record-high trading fees on halving day.
However, transaction fees have since normalized to pre-halving levels, and miner reserves, representing the new Bitcoin held by miners, are also at 14-year lows.
Pellicer told Cointelegraph that activity on Runes has cooled off, though the cyclical nature of such assets suggests this is a temporary lull rather than a permanent decline.
Meanwhile, recent crypto attention has shifted to memecoins and celebrity tokens, attracting speculators gambling on larger gains.
Though Bitcoin is known for its volatility, its current state can be considered stable compared to lower-cap memecoins.
To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.