Scenius Sync (Issue #108)

RNC Support for Pro-Crypto Policy Measures, Soon Mt. Gox, ETH ETFs Inch Closer, Hamster Kombat Hits 239M Users In 81 Days, & MultiCoin To Match Up to $1M In SOL Donations to Pro-Crypto Candidates

Scenius: The intelligence and the intuition of a whole cultural scene. The communal form of the concept of genius.

Welcome to The Scenius Sync.

Our mission with this concise publication is twofold:

1. Share the essential stories driving the crypto industry and markets.

2. Highlight innovative applications and mainstream adoption of crypto and blockchain technology.

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Essential News 🗞

1. Republican Party champions key crypto issues in 2024 party platform

   • The Republican National Committee has expressed support for several pro-crypto policy measures that favor digital asset companies and holders in its official party platform for the 2024 U.S. elections, marking its latest effort to reach crypto-focused voters. The “Make America Great Again” Republican Party Platform vows to end an “unlawful and un-American crackdown” on the U.S. crypto industry, according to the official GOP document released on Monday by presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign. The platform also includes promises to “defend the right to mine bitcoin” and allow crypto holders to self custody their tokens, in addition to opposing the creation of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs). 

2. Mt. Gox Bitcoin Distribution to Begin ‘As Soon As Possible’, Says Bitstamp

   • Bitstamp, one of five crypto exchanges tapped to help distribute the billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin currently owed to Mt. Gox creditors, said on Monday that it plans to disburse funds to investors as quickly as possible once they are received.  “According to the agreement with the Mt. Gox trustees, Bitstamp has 60 days to distribute the tokens, though we are of course working to make sure those investors are made whole as soon as possible,” the Robinhood-acquired exchange said in a statement shared with Decrypt. 

   • Nonethless, it has been reported that Mt Gox creditors may have to wait for up to three months to receive their bitcoin

3. Germany Speedruns Bitcoin Selloff, Moves $900 Million in Just 8 Hours

   • The German government has drastically increased the amount of seized Bitcoin that it is moving to exchanges and market makers, with more than $900 million worth transferred already on Monday in a span of just 8 hours, per on-chain data tracked by Arkham Intelligence.

4. Celsius Aims To Recover $100 Million From Users Who Withdrew Funds Before Bankruptcy

   • The administration overseeing now-defunct Celsius’s bankruptcy filed legal action on July 1 against users who withdrew their funds in the 90 days prior to the firm’s demise. According to Business Wire, the Celsius Litigation Administrator filed complaints in the Southern District of New York against holders with more than $100,000 of withdrawal preference exposure (WPE). These are investors who managed to withdraw funds in the 90 days prior to when the firm began its bankruptcy proceedings–which took place between April 14, 2022 and July 13, 2022. Over 1,500 account holders now face the potential of returning up to $100 million.

5. US House may vote to overturn Biden’s SAB 121 veto next week

   • United States President Joe Biden’s controversial veto to block Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 could be overturned by the House of Representatives next week. SAB 121 — a proposed rule mandating that SEC-reporting entities custodying cryptocurrencies record those holdings on their balance sheets — is currently on the House’s “legislation that may be considered” list, according to a weekly schedule posted by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.

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Innovation & Adoption 💡📈

1. Ethereum ETFs Inch Closer to Listing as Amended Filings Stack Up

   • As the crypto market awaits a regulatory green light on spot Ethereum ETFs, amended filings from several asset managers suggested the approval process continues apace. VanEck was first to submit an amended registration statement for its spot Ethereum ETF Monday, unveiling a new name for its product: The VanEck Ethereum Trust. That move was followed by 21Shares, which submitted a new registration for its spot Ethereum ETFs as well.

     Grayscale then joined in with two amended filings of its own, one for the $28 billion Grayscale Ethereum Trust, and another for a “mini” equivalent intended to be a lower-cost alternative. Franklin Templeton subsequently filed an amended filing for its spot Ethereum ETF, followed by Fidelity and BlackRock.

2. Multicoin to Match Up to $1 Million in Solana Donations to Pro-Crypto Candidates

   • In a move to bolster support for cryptocurrency-friendly politicians in the United States, crypto investment firm Multicoin Capital on Friday announced a matching campaign for donations made to the Sentinel Action Fund.  Kyle Samani, managing partner at Multicoin Capital, revealed the initiative in a detailed Twitter (aka X) thread, emphasizing the importance of political engagement in shaping the future of cryptocurrency regulation. The campaign, set to run for 10 days, will see Multicoin Capital matching all donations made in Solana (SOL) tokens to the Sentinel Action Fund, up to a total of $1 million. 

3. Hamster Kombat hits 239M users in 81 days

   • The viral growth of Hamster Kombat and its upcoming token launch on the TON blockchain could onboard hundreds of millions of people to Web3, according to Telegram founder Pavel Durov. In a public post to his Telegram channel’s 2.7 million subscribers, Durov highlighted the viral clicker game’s booming success. Since its launch in March 2024, the game has attracted over 200 million players.

   • In related Hamster Kombat news, 'Hamster Kombat' Pre-Market Trading Expands as Viral Telegram Game’s Token Launch Nears

4. BlackRock's BUIDL Fund Tops $500M as Tokenized Treasury Market Soars

   • Global asset manager BlackRock's BUIDL token, issued in partnership Securitize and backed by U.S. Treasuries, has surpassed $500 million market value on Monday, Ethereum blockchain data by Etherscan shows.

     It's the first tokenized treasury product to achieve the milestone, taking only four months since its debut in March. The growth for BlackRock's tokenized product has been fueled by other decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols such as Ondo Finance and Mountain Protocol using BUIDL as a backing asset for their own yield-products. Digital asset brokers such as FalconX and, most recently, Hidden Road, also added the token to collateral assets for their institutional investor clients across their networks.

5. EigenLayer competitor Symbiotic crosses $1 billion in deposits in under a month

   • Restaking protocol Symbiotic has surpassed deposits of $1 billion. The protocol reached its deposit cap of 210,600 wrapped stETH yesterday.

     Symbiotic allows users to deposit funds to secure third-party protocols, competing with EigenLayer.