WuBlockchain Weekly: Federal Reserve Adopts Dovish Stance, Debut of Hong Kong Spot ETF, CZ Sentenced to Four Months in Prison and Top10 News

1. Powell: Unemployment Rate Must Rise by Over 0.2% to Prompt Fed Interest Rate Cut link

The Federal Reserve has acknowledged recent setbacks in combating inflation but indicated a higher likelihood of maintaining interest rates at current levels for a longer period rather than raising them again. Officials on Wednesday kept the benchmark rate stable between 5.25% and 5.5%. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggested that unexpected weakness in the labor market could prompt the Fed to cut rates. How weak does the job market need to be? Powell believes the unemployment rate (currently at 3.8%) must rise by more than 0.2 percentage points for the central bank to shift focus away from inflation. Powell still anticipates a decline in inflation largely due to housing deflation. Currently, the threshold for a Fed rate cut is high, but the threshold for resuming rate hikes is even higher.

CNN reports that there is currently uncertainty about when the Fed will cut rates, with different institutions providing varied predictions: JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs anticipate the first rate cut in July, while Wells Fargo is betting on September. Bank of America expects the first rate cut to occur in December. Meanwhile, some Fed policymakers have even raised the possibility of rate hikes instead of cuts. According to the futures market, Wall Street’s best bet for the first rate cut is in September, and the magnitude of the cut is expected to be modest.

2. Bitcoin Spot ETF Sees 6 Consecutive Days of Net Outflows, BlackRock’s ETF IBIT Records First Net Outflow link

On May 2nd (Eastern Time, May 1st), the net outflow of Bitcoin spot ETFs reached a historic high of $564 million. On the same day, the Grayscale ETF GBTC experienced a net outflow of $167 million, bringing its total historical outflow to $17.47 billion. The iShares ETF IBIT saw its first net outflow, totaling $36.93 million for the day. The largest single-day net outflow came from the Fidelity ETF FBTC, amounting to $191 million. Bitcoin spot ETFs have now experienced net outflows for 6 consecutive days.

3. BlackRock Digital Assets Chief: Institutional Investors Such as Sovereign Wealth Funds, Pension Funds, and Endowments May Start Trading Spot ETFs link

Robert Mitchnick, Head of Digital Assets at BlackRock, mentioned in a recent interview that sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and charitable foundations may start trading spot ETFs in the coming months. Mitchnick highlighted that these institutions have been engaging in thorough due diligence and research discussions on Bitcoin and other crypto assets, with BlackRock playing an educational role in this process. He also noted that BlackRock has had multiple discussions with these types of institutions about Bitcoin over the past few years, and currently, some registered investment advisors are selectively offering BlackRock’s IBIT ETF to clients, with plans to soon expand availability to a broader range of wealth management clients.

4. First-day Total Trading Volume of 6 Hong Kong Virtual Asset Spot ETFs Approximates HK$87.58 Million link

The total trading volume of the first 6 virtual asset spot ETFs issued in Hong Kong was approximately 87.58 million HKD. In contrast, the debut trading volume of US Bitcoin ETFs reached a staggering 4.6 billion USD, which is 383 times higher than the first-day trading volume in Hong Kong.

Specifically, the trading volumes for the following Hong Kong ETFs were: ChinaAMC Bitcoin ETF (3042 HK) — 37.16 million HKD, ChinaAMC Ethereum ETF (3046 HK) — 12.66 million HKD, HashKey Bitcoin ETF (3008 HK) — 12.44 million HKD, HashKey Ethereum ETF (3009 HK) — 2.48 million HKD, Harvest Bitcoin Spot ETF (3439 HK) — 17.89 million HKD, and Harvest Ethereum Spot ETF (3179 HK) — 4.95 million HKD.

According to the Shanghai Securities News, the ChinaAMC Bitcoin ETF and ChinaAMC Ethereum ETF raised over 1.1 billion HKD on their first day. Combined with the fundraising amounts of the other two institutions, the total fundraising for this batch of cryptocurrency ETFs is approximately 2 billion HKD. ChinaAMC Fund successfully attracted more resources by offering rebate fees to distributors.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted that the ChinaAMC Bitcoin ETF attracted $123 million in funds on its first day, ranking sixth among the 82 ETFs launched in Hong Kong over the past three years and placing it in the top 20% overall. One confusing aspect of this launch is the significant gap between assets under management (AUM) and trading volume on the first day. It appears that they already had a sizable AUM before trading began, whereas in the US, issuers prefer to let subscribed investors purchase on the first day, influencing trading volumes.

Eric Balchunas emphasized that the launch of Hong Kong ETFs coincides with the slowdown of US cryptocurrency ETFs, providing a timely opportunity. The inflow of over $141 million will likely offset the outflows seen in US ETFs.

5. CZ Sentenced to Four Months in Prison link

In the early hours of May 1st at 3 a.m. Beijing time, the judge rejected the Department of Justice’s request for a 36-month imprisonment, stating that the court needed to strive for an appropriate and reasonable judgment, ultimately deciding on a four-month sentence. CZ expressed gratitude for everyone’s concern and support in his tweet, whether through letters, on the Twitter platform, or in other forms, all of which have deeply inspired him and kept him strong. He stated that he will serve his sentence, concluding this phase, and focus on the next chapter of his life (education). Additionally, CZ mentioned that he will continue to be a passive investor (and holder) in cryptocurrency.

6. Tether Achieves Record Net Profit Exceeding $4.52 Billion in Q1 2024 link

Tether Holdings Limited has recently released its performance report for the first quarter of 2024, indicating a record-breaking net profit exceeding $4.52 billion and total group net assets reaching $11.37 billion. Approximately $1 billion of the profit is primarily derived from holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds, with the remainder composed of gains from Bitcoin and gold positions valued at market prices. As of March 31st, Tether’s reserve stood at $110.289 billion against liabilities of $104.027 billion. According to analyst Tom Wan from 21 Shares, Tether’s BTC holdings increased by 8,900 BTC compared to the previous quarter, amounting to a total of 75,353 BTC (worth $4.4 billion), representing 0.38% of the total Bitcoin supply.

7. SEC Chairman Accused of Misleading Congress on Ethereum Regulation Issues link

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has been accused by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry of misleading Congress. McHenry alleges that Gensler’s agency knew it considered Ethereum’s ether to be a security before he testified at a hearing and refused to answer related questions. McHenry stated in a statement, “Gensler refused to answer questions about the SEC’s classification of Ether. New court filings show this was an intentional effort to mislead and distort the committee’s position.”

8. a16z Partner Chris Dixon Criticizes US Regulatory System for Allowing Memecoins to Flourish link

Chris Dixon, a partner at a16z, authored a lengthy essay criticizing the U.S. regulatory system for enabling the proliferation of Memecoins while placing obstacles in the path of crypto companies and blockchain tokens with more productive uses. Entrepreneurs are hesitant because they fear that blockchain tokens they are listing or developing for more productivity could suddenly be classified as securities. a16z proposes strengthening regulations, including increased disclosure requirements and longer token lock-up periods.

9. “Bitcoin Jesus” Roger Ver Arrested for Alleged Tax Evasion, US Seeks Extradition link

Roger Ver, also known as “Bitcoin Jesus,” is facing accusations of tax evasion amounting to nearly $50 million, along with charges of mail fraud and making false statements on tax returns. He was arrested in Spain over the weekend on U.S. criminal charges, and the U.S. is seeking his extradition to face trial in the United States. Following his relocation abroad, U.S. law required Ver to file tax returns, reporting the constructive sale of his assets worldwide (including Bitcoin) and reporting the fair market value of his assets. He was also required to pay taxes on these capital gains. Ver allegedly provided or caused to be provided false or misleading information to law firms and appraisers, concealing the true amount of Bitcoin he and his companies owned.

10. Cloud Input Method with Up to One Billion Users May Have Leaked Input Content link

F2Pool and Cobo’s co-founder, known as DiscusFish, tweeted that cloud input methods used by as many as one billion users may have leaked input content. If you have used any of the listed cloud input methods (including Baidu, Honor, iFlytek, OPPO, Samsung, Tencent, among others) to input mnemonic phrases or other sensitive information, it is advised to take immediate action to mitigate risks. The complete report indicates that the team estimates up to one billion users are affected by these vulnerabilities. Several smartphone manufacturers embedded these vulnerable input method programs into their operating systems. Apart from Baidu Input Method, smartphone manufacturers have now patched these vulnerabilities in the embedded input methods. However, with regard to the embedded Baidu Input Method, Honor has not patched any vulnerabilities, while other manufacturers have only patched some of the most serious ones.

Fundraising

• OKX announced an investment in the multi-asset liquidity rehypothecation protocol Bedrock. link
• Binance Labs announced an investment in Movement Labs. link
• Tether invested $200 million in the biotechnology company Blackrock Neurotech. link
• Crypto venture capital firm Pantera Capital has invested in The Open Network (TON). link
• Web3 content publishing platform Paragraph completed a $5 million funding round, and Mirror’s parent company received a $10 million investment to develop new products. link
• Securitize announced the completion of a $47 million strategic financing round led by BlackRock. link
• Tokenized asset issuer Backed completed a $9.5 million financing round with Gnosis leading. link
• Crypto accounting firm Harris and Trotter Digital Assets completed a $10 million strategic financing round led by Orbs. link
• Liquidity collateral protocol MilkyWay completed a $5 million financing round led by Binance Labs and Polychain Capital. link
• Hybrid cryptocurrency exchange X10 announced the completion of a $6.5 million financing round. link
• Crypto voting service platform Agora announced the completion of a $5 million seed round financing. link
• Web3 game Shadow War completed a $5 million financing round. link
• L1 modular liquidity protocol Mitosis announced the completion of a $7 million financing round. link
• Cross-chain DeFi protocol EYWA completed a $7 million seed round financing led by the founder of Curve. link
• Blockchain game studio and infrastructure provider Blade Games completed a $2.4 million seed round financing. link
• Web3 wine marketplace Baxus completed a $5 million strategic financing round. link
• Web3 game startup GFAL completed a $3.2 million seed round financing. link

Learn more, check out crypto-fundraising.info.

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