Scenius Sync (Issue #109)

Trump’s Polymarket Odds Hit All-Time High Post Shooting, Trump Names Pro-Crypto Running Mate J.D. Vance, Larry Fink Calls BTC A Legitimate Financial Instrument, & Spot ETH ETFs To Launch July 23rd

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.

If you find this newsletter valuable, please subscribe and share The Scenius Sync with your network 💪

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Essential News 🗞

1. Trump's Odds of Victory Hit All-Time High on Polymarket After Shooting

   • The former president, who was injured at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, now has a 70% chance of retaking the White House, according to traders on the crypto-based prediction market. Trump-themed Polifi tokens and crypto broadly also rose.

2. Trump’s VP pick J.D. Vance owns over $100,000 in bitcoin

   • J.D. Vance, the venture capitalist turned politician tapped as running mate by former President Donald Trump, owns between $100,001 and $250,000 in bitcoin, according to his latest federal financial disclosure. The Ohio Senator disclosed that he held those bitcoin on Coinbase in his mandated Annual Report for the calendar year 2022 filed in October 2023. Vance also maintained accounts on brokerages Robinhood and Charles Schwab.

   • More coverage from CoinDesk here and and Blockworks here.

3. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink calls bitcoin 'legitimate financial instrument'

   • BlackRock Cofounder and CEO Larry Fink has changed his mind on cryptocurrencies over the years. "I was a proud skeptic," Fink said Monday on CNBC, "and I studied it, learned about it, and I came away saying, okay, you know, my opinion [for] five years was wrong." BlackRock’s IBIT has become the largest spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund by market cap, leading Fink to double down on his statementthat bitcoin is like digital gold. BlackRock also recently hit a major milestone for its digital asset class: The BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity (BUIDL) fund surpassed $500 million in market value. This makes BUIDL the highest-valued tokenized treasury fund in the world, according to its issuer, Securitize Markets.

4. Celsius to liquidate tokens, hundreds of NFTs following settlement with KeyFi founder Jason Stone

   • Celsius has settled an adversary proceeding with KeyFi and its founder, Jason Stone, following months of legal battles. The settlement agreement will see KeyFi transfer tokens and hundreds of NFTs, including valuable tokens such as CryptoPunks and Fidenzas, to Celsius to be liquidated over the next 12 months in return for up to $800,000 and a rare NFT. 

5. South Korea proposes pushing back crypto gains taxation to 2028

   • The taxation on crypto gains, which was initially scheduled for 2022, is now in discussions to begin in 2028. The South Korean won was the most-used fiat currency for crypto trades in the first quarter of this year.

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Innovation & Adoption 💡📈

1. Spot Ethereum ETFs likely to launch July 23

   • The new spot ether ETFs will likely launch next week on Tuesday, July 23, Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas said in a post on X.  The SEC has asked issuers to add in the Sponsor Fee in the next filings, which are due by Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. EST.

2. Coinbase launching a 'one-stop' crypto app designed to simplify user experience

   • Coinbase announced on Thursday that it is launching a new web app designed to provide users with a single platform for viewing and managing their entire crypto exposure, including tokens, NFTs and DeFi positions. Users can connect multiple wallets to the new web app, according to a statment. Coinbase executives said the platform will provide users with a "one-stop destination to explore, manage, and engage with people, communities, and businesses on chain."

3. Blockchain payment network Partior raises $60m in Series B round

   • Partior, a blockchain settlement network and financial services company, said in a blog post that it had completed a $60 million Series B investment round led by Peak XV Partners. Valor Capital Group and Jump Trading Group supported the round, while JPMorgan, Standard Chartered, DBS, and Temasek provided continued support as founding shareholders.

4. MakerDAO's $1B Tokenized Treasury Investment Plan Draws Interest from BlackRock's BUIDL, Ondo, Superstate

   • MakerDAO announced on Thursday an open competition to invest $1 billion in tokenized U.S. Treasury offerings. Top issuers such as BlackRock with Securitize, Ondo Finance and Superstate are planning to apply, they told CoinDesk. Maker's governance token (MKR) jumped 5% on the news.

5. Telegram tap-to-earn baseball video game launched by Delabs Games

   • The world of Telegram clicker games appears to be becoming more competitive by the day. Following what appears to be swelling popularity for crypto games like Hamster Kombat, Notcoin and Yescoin — simple tap-to-earn titles easily accessible through the Telegram messaging app — South Korean Delabs Games has announced it is launching the baseball-themed Giga Chad Bat.