GM citronauts. Buckle up for today's juicy squeeze of crypto news – we've got more zest than a lemon grove and hotter drops than a habanero farm.
🚶 VanEck’s Matthew Sigel says that despite some setbacks, spot Solana ETFs might still be on their way to the US market.
🐋 Crypto whale lost $55M in DAI to a phishing scam.
📰 News drops: Donald Trump might offer Elon Musk a cabinet position, Germany seizes 13 crypto ATMs and $23M + more
| Crypto Market Cap $2.2 Trillion 0.5% (24H) | |||
| Name | Price | 24H % | 7D % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin BTC | $60,140.07 | -3.63% | -0.34% |
| Ethereum ETH | $2,611.56 | -4.27% | -2.39% |
| BNB BNB | $557.69 | 4.53% | 6.44% |
| Solana SOL | $141.93 | -5.12% | -4.65% |
| Prices as of 10:05 AM EST. Click here to see live data. |
The crypto market took a nosedive today, wiping out most of yesterday's gains and casting a shadow over top coins. Recent data paints a mixed picture: while Bitcoin demand seems weak, long-term holders are buying at record rates. Institutional investors have increased their stake in Bitcoin ETFs to 21%, up from 18% last quarter.
As always, the crypto rollercoaster continues its unpredictable journey. 🎢
The SEC has gifted us spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs this year. You don't look a gift horse in the mouth, which we're not, but maybe we can also get a pony?
Everyone wants to think that Solana will be the one to join the barn next. However, Imma be honest, the situation isn't looking very optimistic for the moment:
- The SEC has previously labeled SOL a security = more inspections = rocky road to an ETF;
- The Cboe seems to have removed 19b-4 filings for Solana ETFs. After learning that, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas poetically said there's a "snowball chance in hell of approval" for a Solana ETF to see the light of day.
Despite all that, Matthew Sigel, Head of Digital Assets Research at VanEck, thinks it's not over yet, saying that regulators have started to recognize some digital assets as securities in primary markets and commodities in secondary markets.
He further pointed out that Solana's snowball could be the 2018 My Big Coin case.
And the story goes: the CFTC sued the crypto payments company My Big Coin, alleging its MBC token breached the Commodities Exchange Act. My Big Coin then went like, "nah, stay in your lane, MBC isn't a commodity 'cause no futures contracts reference it" (not a direct quote, btw).
The judge wasn't convinced by this clapback, 'cause this situation reminded her of previous cases involving natural gas. Natural gas is delivered to various hubs; however, even if futures contracts exist only for gas delivered to one specific location, all types of natural gas are treated as commodities.
"This same logic could apply to digital assets like Solana and could shape the future of ETF regulation," Sigel concluded.
And while the US is shyly (🥺) taking one step forward and then two steps back out here in the crypto ETF market, Brazil came in doing a double backflip. Having pioneered the world's first spot SOL ETF earlier this month, it was announced today that they're now onto their second fund.
Alexa, play Brazilian funk for the rest of the day. Please and thank you.
There have been moments in my life where I would've cried after losing $55 (yesterday, I would've cried yesterday). Now imagine having to put an M at the end of that. Nightmare fuel.
Sadly, that is exactly what happened to one crypto whale, who lost $55M worth of DAI in a phishing scam.
It all started when the whale accidentally signed a fake transaction and shifted the ownership of their funds to the scammer.
They then seemed to have realized the oopsie, 'cause they tried to withdraw the funds to a new address, but it was too late already.
Here's a little pledge to repeat before bed so that no such thing ever happens to you: See how I double-check before I click "confirm"? I don't carelessly sign random transactions; I'm very mindful, very demure when I'm signing transactions. Stay mindful, y'all.
📰 News drops
🍊Donald Trump has suggested he might offer Elon Musk a Cabinet position if he wins the upcoming election. Having called Musk a "bullshit artist" before, Trump seems to have changed his opinion about the tech entrepreneur, now saying he's a "very smart guy".
🇩🇪German Authorities seized 13 crypto ATMs and nearly $28M in cash. These ATMs were allegedly installed without proper authorization.
💥Malaysian authorities have destroyed 985 Bitcoin mining machines worth about $452K. This is part of a broader crackdown on power theft issues related to Bitcoin miners.
🚫A member of the European Parliament for Emmanuel Macron's party threatened to shut down X in Europe. "If Elon Musk does not comply with the European rules on digital services, the EU Commission will ask the continental operators to block X or, in the most extreme case, force them to completely dismantle the platform in the territory of the Union," he said.
🔶Binance is listing Dogs (DOGS), a Ton memecoin. The trading of DOGS will start on August 26 at 12PM UTC.
