Good Morning,

Here's a quick preview of today’s content: Ross Ulbricht receives a massive crypto donation, James Wynn has become the Jim Cramer of crypto, Bitcoin hashrate might hit a record difficulty, Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade is causing security concerns, proof-of-stake blockchains get positive announcement from SEC, and so much more.

A new week = new portfolio gains. Let’s dive in.

Market Snapshot

  • ETH experienced sharp intraday volatility, dropping from $2,551.09 to a low of $2,499.09 before stabilizing around $2,506, according to CoinDesk Research's technical analysis data model.

  • A high-volume sell-off in the final hour triggered a break below the $2,515-$2,520 support zone, raising concerns of institutional distribution.

  • Ether is now consolidating just above $2,500, a key psychological and technical level that may determine near-term market direction

Headline Roundup
The major headlines driving crypto markets

  • James Wynn, who got litquidated of 1,044 BTC, has become the crypto version of Inverse Cramer, and traders have profited millions (CD)

  • Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht mentions freedom, decentralization, and unity in first public appearance since being pardoned by President Trump – watch his full speech

  • Ross Ulbricht received a 'donation' of 30 BTC (~ $31.4M) to his bitcoin wallet (CT)

  • Yuga Labs continues IP sell off with sale of Moonbirds to a gaming startup (TB)

  • 25 suspects between the ages of 16 and 23 have been charged for links to crypto abduction case in France (TB)

  • Jamie Dimon believes the stockpile of bitcoin is a major fail for the U.S. and recommends missiles instead (CD)

  • BitGo and Kraken started redistributing $5B to FTX creditors on Friday (TB)

  • Trump Media officially closes $2.4B fundraise intended for a bitcoin treasury (CD)

  • Brazilian fintech Meliuz sees shares tank after $78M equity offering to develop bitcoin reserve strategy (CD)

  • Webus International considers $300M non-equity raise for XRP strategic reserve (CD)

  • $1.3M auctioned off for artwork and other jail mementos of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht (TB)

  • Institutional investors gain access to XRP through Hashkey Group listing (CD)

  • OpenSea introduces ‘Voyages’ incentives and token trading across 19 blockchains (DF)

  • Canary Capital continues altcoin ETF applications with Cronos added to the list of over a dozen (DT)

  • Banks are seriously interested in stablecoin integrations according to Stripe founder John Collison (TB)

  • Dubai-based crypto exchange Fastex announces U.S. expansion with Los Angeles office opening (CD)

  • Coinbase returns to San Francisco after abandoning the city in 2022 with a newly signed office lease (DT)

  • Bitcoin hash rate expected to reach new all time difficulty with projected 4% jump (CD)

M&A Announcements

  • Orb Club has been acquired by Mask Network for an undisclosed amount (CR)

Venture Capital

  • Stealth stablecoin firm Atticus looks to hit $2B valuation in potential funding lead by Anduril founder Palmer Lucky and Haun Ventures (TB)

  • Consensys Software, Pantera Capital, and others join $425M PIPE financing for SharpLink Gaming ($SBET ( ▼ 3.17% ) ) ether treasury (YF)

  • Token issuance startup Cooking.City completes $7M financing from Jump, CMT Digital, and other investors (CC)

  • DNA Fund committs $5M to crosschain decentralized exchange PACT SWAP (CT)

  • Decentralized AI Solana startup Assisterr raises $2.8M at a $75M valuation from Outlier Ventures, Echo, and more (CT)

  • Dexari, a crypto trading platform, closes $2.3M seed round co-led by Prelude Ventures and Lemniscap (PA)

  • Bitrue strategically invests $2M into memecoin platform Alph.AI (AI)

  • IOSG Ventures makes strategic investment via Kickstarter program into Winks.Fun (IV)

Launches

  • OpenSea OS2 launches publicly out of beta ahead of planned SEA airdrop (BW)

  • Bitcoin Lightning Network developer Amboss develops a self custodial bitcoin yield service Rails (BM)

  • Hidden Road, recently acquired by Ripple, launches digital assets prime brokerage in the U.S. (CD)

Regulation

  • The SEC confirms in official letter that staking activities are not securities transactions (DF)

  • Bipartisan House members introduce CLARITY bill for digital asset regulation (DF)

  • Judge declares the DOJ had no Brady violation concerns to review materials ahead of Roman Storm case in July (CD)

Cybersecurity

  • Crypto trading firm Wintermute warns of automated attacks on Ethereum blockchain following Pectra upgrade as one user loses $150k in a phishing attack (TB)

  • U.S. sanctions Funnull Technologies for role in Huione linked pig butchering scams totaling $200M (CD)

  • Insurance companies are being pushed to develop new protections as crypto-related ransoms and kidnappings are on the rise (CT)

Extra Reads

Chart of the Day

Crypto traders might have found their new "Inverse Jim Cramer" in James Wynn's trading wallet.

"The winning strategy lately? Do the opposite of James Wynn," said blockchain sleuth @Lookonchain in an X post, pointing to a trader who has been making millions by doing exactly the opposite of James Wynn's trades (CD)

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