Planet Daily | Blast announces the detailed distribution rules of the second phase of the airdrop; Starknet founder: Approximately 400 million STRK tokens are reserved for future airdrop rounds (July 4th)

Headline

Blast announced the points distribution details for the second phase of the Airdrop, which will distribute 10 billion BLAST.

Blast released the detailed rules of the point distribution for the second phase of the airdrop. In the second phase, Blast will distribute 10 billion BLAST airdrop, of which 50% will be allocated to ordinary points (Point). Users can earn Point by holding ETH, WETH, USDB, and BLAST, and the Point accumulation rate for each asset is the same. The other 50% will be allocated to gold points (Gold). Dapps can earn Gold (and distribute it to users) based on their comprehensive attractiveness on the Blast mainnet and in future Big Bang competitions. Gold distribution will take place on the first week of each month, and the first round will be announced on July 8th.

In addition, users who have installed the Blast App will receive ‘Golden Tickets’ based on their ETH, WETH, USDB, and BLAST balances. Golden Tickets give users the opportunity to earn more Points and Gold.

Jackpot, points multiplier, invitation points return and other mechanisms that existed in the first phase will continue to exist, but invitations in the second phase will be calculated independently.

Starknet founder: Future airdrop rounds have reserved approximately 400 million STRK

Starknet founder Eli Ben-Sasson today reflected on the first round of the project’s completed airdrop activity (Provisions).

In the article, Eli stated that about 400 million STRK tokens have been reserved for future airdrop rounds, hoping that the community can provide more ideas about token distribution mechanisms to help the team find a more effective way to distribute tokens to different groups who care about the long-term vision and mission of Starknet.

Capriole Investments founder: Mt.Gox may have initiated creditor repayment

Charles Edward, founder of digital asset hedge fund Capriole Investments, said that Mt.Gox may have started repaying creditors. He revealed that a large amount of Bitcoin has been moving on-chain, 10 times more than the previous peak, indicating that the distribution from Mt.Gox is indeed happening. (Cointelegraph)

marginfi will launch mrgnswap, allowing users to leverage long/short any Meme token

The Solana lending protocol marginfi announced on the X platform that it will launch mrgnswap, allowing users to leverage long/short any Meme token.

According to the official introduction page, even if the token has just been created, leveraged long and short trading is allowed and will be executed immediately. It is currently in the stage of applying for early testing qualifications by filling in the email.

Industry News

Mantra will tokenize $500 million in real estate for Dubai developer MAG Group

Mantra Chain stated in a press release that it will tokenize assets worth $500 million for Dubai real estate developer MAG Group.

Mantra, focusing on the Middle East business, will divide these assets into multiple batches, the first batch will include a residential project Keturah Reserve, built by MAG in Meydan, Dubai, and will also include a giant mansion in the development project worth 75 million US dollars, ‘The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Dubai, Creekside’.

Investors will earn profits through stablecoins and Mantra’s OM token, with an expected yield of 8% from stablecoins and additional OM tokens.

In the week ending June 29, the initial unemployment claims in the United States were 238,000, expected 235,000, and the previous value was 233,000.

The initial jobless claims in the United States for the week ending June 29 were 238,000, with an expected 235,000 and a previous value of 233,000.

The four-week average of initial jobless claims in the United States rose to 238,500 in the week ending June 29, up from 236,000 in the previous week.

The number of continued claims for unemployment benefits in the United States for the week ending June 22 was 1.858 million, with an expected 1.84 million and a previous value of 1.839 million.

Project News

Consensys acquires Wallet Guard to protect MetaMask users from hackers and scams

Consensys has acquired the encryption security application Wallet Guard to help enhance the security of MetaMask. The specific amount has not been disclosed for now. As part of the deal, the entire Wallet Guard team will join Consensys. Consensys intends to integrate Wallet Guard’s browser extension and security engine features to further protect the wallets, digital assets, and data of MetaMask users from theft, fraud, and deception. (Theblock)

CoW DAO initiates a $1 million token funding proposal, planned for listing on CEX

The snapshot shows that DEX CoW DAO has initiated a funding proposal, requesting the allocation of 1 million US dollars worth of COW tokens and stablecoins as listing fees and marketing expenses to promote the listing of COW tokens on CEX.

The voting will end on July 10, with a current support rate of 99.72%.

Investment and Financing

Galaxy Digital: Q2 received $3.19 billion in venture capital in the encryption field, and the financing environment remains active

According to Galaxy Digital’s data, despite the market downturn, the encryption venture capital continued to rebound in the second quarter, with founders and investors generally indicating that the financing environment is more active than in the previous few quarters.

Galaxy Digital research analysts Alex Thorn and Gabe Parker wrote in a report on Tuesday: ‘Cryptocurrency venture capital sentiment continues to improve, although it remains far below the bull market of 2021-2022.’

The Galaxy report states that venture capitalists invested $31.9 billion in cryptocurrency and blockchain companies in Q2, slightly higher than the $31.6 billion in the first quarter.

Bitcoin’s on-chain scaling protocol QED has completed a $6 million seed round of financing, with participation from Blockchain Capital.

Bitcoin on-chain scaling protocol QED announced the completion of a $6 million seed round of financing. Blockchain Capital participated as the only investor, and its founder revealed that this round of financing has brought QED’s valuation to a “nine-digit” level, which is at least $100 million. So far, QED has raised a total of $10.6 million. Previously, the company had received $3.25 million in seed funding from companies such as Arrington Capital, StarkWare, and Draper Dragon, as well as $1.35 million in angel funding from Sparkle Ventures supported by Animoca Brands. (Theblock)

Compute Labs, a Solana-based GPU tokenization protocol, has completed a $3 million pre-seed round of financing, with Protocol Labs leading the investment.

Compute Labs, a GPU tokenization protocol based on Solana, completed a $3 million Pre-Seed round of financing with a valuation of $30 million, led by Protocol Labs, with participation from Blockchain Coinvestors, OKX Ventures, CMS Holdings, HashKey Capital, Amber Group, and P2 Ventures (formerly Polygon Ventures). Albert Z, founder and CEO of Compute Labs, stated that the company is currently raising a seed round at a significantly higher valuation. It is reported that Compute Labs is building a tokenization protocol for real-world assets (RWA) based on computing as the underlying asset. Computing refers to the processing power of CPUs and GPUs, which is crucial for tasks such as data processing and running software. Z said that computing is one of the most valuable commodities today, especially in the era of artificial intelligence, and he referred to it as the ‘currency of the future.’ He said that most ordinary investors are unable to invest in enterprise-level GPUs today, but Compute Labs will make it possible for ‘everyone to invest in computing’.

OKX Ventures announced investment in Lombard, driving innovation in the Bitcoin re-stake ecosystem

On July 3rd, OKX Ventures announced an investment in Lombard. Lombard is a Babylon-based solution that provides cross-chain liquidity staking for Bitcoin.

Lombard’s flagship product is LBTC. Lombard partners with Babylon, whose staking protocol allows Bitcoin assets to be staked in a trustless and self-custodial manner, providing economic security for Proof of Stake (PoS) systems. Through Babylon, the staked Bitcoin assets are converted into LBTC, enabling them to be integrated into the most popular DeFi protocols on the Ethereum mainnet and future Layer 2 chains. LBTC moves seamlessly across chains and is used as collateral in decentralized finance, aiming to unlock over $1.3 trillion worth of Bitcoin for lending and trading. This initiative not only brings new capital opportunities to Bitcoin holders but also drives the growth of various ecosystems and DeFi protocols, enhancing the utility and liquidity of Bitcoin.

Regulatory Trends

Before the UK general election, the major political parties remained silent on the issue of the encryption industry.

The Labour Party, which is most likely to win tomorrow’s UK general election, has hardly mentioned cryptocurrency during the campaign, which may mean that the future of the country’s crypto industry remains uncertain. Apart from a brief statement of hoping that the UK will become a center for tokenization and supporting the digital pound plan, the party has remained silent on cryptocurrency.

In the previous debate between Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour MP Keir Starmer, this topic did not come up. The debate focused on welfare, immigration, and the relationship with the European Union. Although the Conservative government has introduced a series of policies on cryptocurrencies, it is not mentioned in their current manifesto.

The Labour Party is leading in the opinion polls, with 42% of voters expressing support. According to an Ipsos survey of voting intentions in June, the Conservative Party has a support rate of 19%. When the seats are calculated, it is very likely that Starmer will become Prime Minister with a majority in parliament. (CoinDesk)

Xu Zhengyu: Hong Kong regulators will review the rules for cryptocurrency-related activities “as appropriate”.

Hong Kong SAR Government Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau Director Xu Zhengyu said that with the development of the cryptocurrency industry, regulatory authorities will review the requirements for activities related to cryptocurrencies as needed.

Xu Zhengyu stated today that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Securities and Futures Commission will “closely monitor market developments and review regulations related to virtual asset activities as appropriate.” When asked by a legislator whether the regulatory agencies will expedite the review process for cryptocurrency licenses and relax the rules for intermediaries to distribute crypto assets, he made the above comments. (The Block)

Character Voice

1 0x Research founder: Bitcoin ETF average entry price is 60-61 thousand US dollars, 30% of the inflow funds are basis trading

1 0x Research founder Markus Thielen said that the average entry price for Bitcoin ETF is estimated to be between $60,000 and $61,000, retesting this level may trigger a wave of liquidation. In addition, 30% of the capital inflow belongs to a non-directional arbitrage strategy, namely basis trading, rather than direct bullish bets.

Markus Thielen added:“When Bitcoin fell to $56,500 on May 2, BlackRock claimed ‘sovereign wealth funds and pension funds’ were coming, which helped to stop the decline. But now BlackRock says that 80% of the Bitcoin purchased in their IBIT ETF comes from retail investors, not institutions.” (Coindesk)

Galaxy executive: Spot Ethereum ETF expected to be listed in July, optimistic about approval of more encryption ETFs

Galaxy Digital asset management director Steve Kurz said the US SEC may approve spot Ethereum ETFs before the end of July and described the prospects for other encryption ETFs.

Kurz said he expects the Ethereum spot ETF to be approved in “weeks, not days”, but within a month.

He said that Galaxy has been working with the US SEC on the application for months and pointed out that the upcoming spot Ethereum ETF is similar to the existing spot Bitcoin ETF (BTCO). Galaxy has collaborated with investment management company Invesco to create these two funds.

Kurz is optimistic about the approval of other spot encryption ETFs besides Ethereum. He said that legislation, including laws defining securities, is necessary, and he believes that even if Biden continues to serve as president, this process will continue. (CryptoSlate)

Fed megaphone: Powell puts rate cuts back on the table, highlighting cautious optimism

Wall Street Journal reporter and the so-called “mouthpiece of the Fed” Nick Timiraos wrote in a recent article that Fed Chairman Powell has brought the possibility of a rate cut back into focus. Powell’s speech highlighted a cautious optimism, which had waned after disappointing inflation data was released in April. He stated that the economy has made “significant progress,” “real progress,” and “quite substantial progress” in reducing inflation while achieving stable growth. However, he remains cautious about a rate cut, indicating that the likelihood of a rate cut at the Fed’s meeting later this month is still slim. In addition, Powell refused to disclose whether he is preparing for a rate cut in September. He said, “I will not specify any particular date today.”

VanEck: If Gensler no longer serves as SEC chairman, the probability of approving Solana ETF will increase

VanEck’s Director of Digital Asset Research, Matthew Sigel, said that the likelihood of VanEck applying for the issuance of a Spot Solana ETF largely depends on the outcome of the 20204 presidential election and whether Gary Gensler continues to serve as Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). ‘Cryptocurrency voters are likely to play a significant role in this election. We have seen changes in the regulatory environment at the elected officials level. Several Democrats have voted in support of legislation supporting cryptocurrency.’

Sigel agrees with SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s recent comments that ‘Ethereum applications are progressing well’ and adds, ‘This may be the only time in three years that I agree with Gary Gensler’s views.’ (Decrypt)