Headline: Nomura Securities, Laser Digital, and GMO to Explore Stablecoin Issuance in Japan
Nomura Securities, a major player in the Japanese banking industry, and its digital asset division Laser Digital, have partnered with GMO Internet Group, headquartered in Japan, to explore stablecoin issuance in Japan. They plan to explore the issuance, exchange, and circulation of stablecoins denominated in Japanese yen and US dollars. The partnership also plans to offer “stablecoin-as-a-service” products to assist companies in issuing stablecoins. According to their announcement, such products may cover regulatory compliance management, blockchain integration, and backend transaction management. Through this collaboration, Nomura Securities and Laser Digital will focus more on cryptocurrency trading, asset management, and venture capital, while GMO plans to contribute more in terms of technology. Previously, GMO’s US subsidiary GMO-Z.com Trust has issued stablecoins such as GYEN and ZUSD on multiple chains. (The Block)
Stablecoin Market Cap Increases by Nearly $600 Million in the Past Two Weeks, FDUSD Supply Decreases by 29% in the Past 30 Days
Since May 11, 2024, the market cap of stablecoins has increased from $160.86 billion to $161.45 billion, adding $590 million in the past two weeks. USDT has a market cap of approximately $111.95 billion, accounting for 69.34% of the entire stablecoin market. In the past 30 days, the supply of USDT has grown by 1.3%, while the supply of USDC has decreased by 1.9%. As of May 26 (Sunday), USDC’s market cap is $32.72 billion. DAI currently has a market cap of about $5.29 billion, a growth of 1.8% in the past month. FDUSD has experienced the largest decrease in supply within 30 days, with a redemption of 29%. As of the time of writing, its market cap is $3.13 billion. In contrast, Ethena’s USDe has seen a 17.5% increase in supply during the same period, with a market cap of approximately $2.78 billion as of Sunday. (Bitcoin.com)
Ethereum Liquidity Re-collateralization Protocol TVL Exceeds $13.2 Billion, Majority of Protocols TVL Increases by Over 20% in the Past 7 Days
According to DeFiLlama data, the total value locked (TVL) in the Ethereum liquidity re-collateralization protocols currently stands at $13.234 billion. The top five protocols by TVL are: – ether.fi Stake with a TVL of $5.796 billion, a 7-day increase of 29.56%; – Renzo (Ethereum Chain) with a TVL of $2.864 billion, a 7-day increase of 24.48%; – Puffer Finance with a TVL of $1.817 billion, a 7-day increase of 27.21%; – Eigenpie with a TVL of $1.019 billion, a 7-day increase of 25%; – Kelp DAO with a TVL of $971.12 million, a 7-day increase of 24.34%.
Industry News
Tornado Cash Co-founder Seeks Dismissal of Lawsuit Before Trial, Alleges Prosecutor Overreach
Roman Storm, the defense team of Tornado Cash co-founder, has submitted a series of new documents seeking to dismiss the trial against Storm before it begins, alleging prosecutorial overreach in their final pretrial motion. In response to the government’s motion to dismiss the trial against Storm, his defense team filed a reply last Friday arguing that the case against him should be dismissed because the government failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove Storm’s active involvement in the alleged crimes outlined in the indictment. “In fact, just as the government concedes, when bad actors began to abuse the Tornado Cash protocol, it was immutable, and anyone with an internet connection could use it,” the motion stated. The majority of the filings question the government’s characterization of Tornado Cash as a “money transmitting business,” a characterization that has drawn attention from Senators Ron Wyden and Cynthia Lummis, who wrote a letter opposing the government’s interpretation of the term, which is included in Storm’s motion. Storm’s lawyers argue that categorizing Tornado Cash as a money transmitting business “…violates due process, the rule of lenity, and principles against vagueness.” In other motions, the lawyers argue that government prosecutors should be compelled to produce certain communications with Dutch authorities and that the seizure of his cryptocurrency hardware wallet violated the Fourth Amendment. (The Block) Previously in April, the U.S. Department of Justice rejected Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm’s motion to dismiss the criminal charges against him, stating that the documents submitted by the defendant raised disputed issues of fact that should be weighed by a jury.
EU Proposal Considers MEV as Market Abuse, Sets Strict Regulatory Standards
In the draft technical standards under the proposed Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) defines Maximum Extractable Value (MEV) as a clear example of illegal market abuse. Patrick Hansen noted that nearly all regulated crypto businesses in the EU, including exchanges and brokers, will be required to detect and report instances of MEV through comprehensive “Suspicious Transaction or Order Reports” (STORs). The new standards have raised concerns about the feasibility of managing and reporting every instance. ESMA also suggests that authorities within and outside the EU should cooperate in sanctioning market abuse, with actors involved in MEV potentially facing investigations and enforcement actions by international regulatory bodies. The consultation feedback period set by ESMA ends on June 25, and the final standards are expected to have a significant impact on the EU’s crypto regulatory environment.
Libertarian Party Nominates Chase Oliver as Presidential Candidate, Cryptocurrency Stance Unclear
Chase Oliver, 38, has been nominated as the Libertarian Party’s presidential candidate for the 2024 US presidential election. The third-largest political party’s candidate will be up against Democratic candidate Joe Biden and Republican candidate Donald Trump. After Oliver’s nomination, there has been speculation about his stance on cryptocurrencies. While the Libertarian Party supports the use of any commodity or item agreed upon by both parties as currency, Oliver has not made his specific views on digital assets clear yet. Oliver’s proposed running mate, Mike ter Maat, strongly opposes central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and supports minimal regulation of cryptocurrencies. Additionally, Trump has become more favorable towards cryptocurrencies, announcing his acceptance of digital asset donations and expressing an open attitude towards the technology. Biden, on the other hand, is expected to sign three cryptocurrency-related bills into law before November, which could impact voter choices. The Libertarian Party received only about 3% of the votes in the 2016 presidential election, but third-party candidates may influence the outcome through vote splitting in the 2024 election.
Project News
Friend.tech Co-founder Hints at Intention to Move Protocol Out of Base Due to Unstable Relationship, Leading to Over 32% Drop in FRIEND in 24 Hours
Racer, co-founder of the Web3 social network friend.tech protocol, hinted at the intention to move the protocol out of Base, resulting in a significant drop in the native token FRIEND. According to CoinGecko data, FRIEND is currently trading at $1.01, with a 24-hour decrease of 32.2%. Racer wrote on X, “System design bounty: If you can find a way to move friend.tech out of Base without causing significant issues to users and it runs well enough, we’ve decided to use it and will pay you $200,000.” In another post, Racer explained that the relationship between the friend.tech team and Base has always been unstable, stating, “Farcaster’s investors have been heavily smearing us since we launched, misunderstanding what we’re doing. They’ve put a lot of pressure on the team and users, and since then, our relationship has been on a downward spiral, and we’ve been shunned by the ‘Base community’.” It should be noted that Racer’s posts were no longer accessible at some point on Sunday, and it is unclear whether they deleted their account after the post was made. In response, Jesse Pollak, head of Coinbase’s Base, acknowledged that the friend.tech team felt isolated and disconnected from Base and certain parts of the Ethereum ecosystem. Pollak wrote, “While I would be sad if the team decides to leave Base, I would also respect and support whatever path they choose—that’s the beauty of decentralization and on-chain economies.” (The Block)
Taiko: Protocol Deploys on Ethereum Mainnet and Plans to Launch DAO Later This Year
Taiko, an Ethereum L2 network based on zkRollup, announced on X that its protocol has been deployed on the Ethereum mainnet. After the mainnet launch, Taiko plans to launch a DAO later this year, gradually transferring protocol governance to its community. This transition will be phased, reducing the reliance on “auxiliary wheels” over time until the community achieves full governance. (The Block)
TON TVL Surpasses $300 Million, 10x Growth Since Early March
According to DeFiLlama data, TON TVL has surpassed $300 million, currently standing at $316.82 million, reaching a new all-time high and growing over 10 times since early March ($23 million). The rapid growth of the protocol’s TVL is mainly driven by DEXs such as Ston.fi, Dedust, and liquidity collateralization protocols such as Tonstakers and bemo. (The Block)
People *Voices
JPMorgan: Doubtful of SEC Approving Solana and Other Cryptocurrency ETFs in the US
JPMorgan expects the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to not approve other cryptocurrency ETFs after the approval of the spot Ethereum ETF, unless U.S. policymakers legislate to declare most cryptocurrencies as non-securities. Given the SEC’s view that most cryptocurrencies are securities, the investment bank doubts whether such funds will be approved by the SEC unless there is a legislative change. (The Block)
Silk Road Founder Ross Ulbricht: Thanks Trump for Pledge of Clemency
Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, expressed his gratitude to former U.S. President Donald Trump on X, stating, “Last night, Donald Trump promised to grant me clemency if reelected. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. It’s hard to express how I feel in this moment after spending 11 years in prison. It wouldn’t have been possible without your unwavering support. I have the chance for a second life.” Trump made the promise to commute Ulbricht’s sentence on the first day if he were reelected as president at the Libertarian Party National Convention in Washington, D.C. Many in the audience held up signs saying “Free Ross” and cheered Trump’s commitment.
Nexo Executive: ETFs are Strongest Price Catalyst for ETH in Bull Market Cycle, Could Reach $10,000 by Year-End
Andrey Stoychev, Brokerage Business Manager at Nexo, believes that ETF approvals could be the strongest price catalyst for ETH in the current bull market cycle, and that Ethereum ETFs in the U.S. and similar products in Asia could drive ETH to reach $10,000 by the end of 2024, outperforming Bitcoin’s performance after ETF approvals. (Cointelegraph)
Investments
Elon Musk’s AI Company xAI Raises $6 Billion in Series B Funding, Backed by a16z and Others
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI has announced the completion of a $6 billion Series B funding round. Investors in the funding round include Valor Equity Partners, Vy Capital, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Sequoia Capital, Fidelity Management Research Company, Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal and his Kingdom Holding. The funds raised in this round will be used to bring xAI’s first products to market, build advanced infrastructure, and accelerate research and development of future technologies.
Blockchain Node Management Platform NodeOps Completes $5 Million Seed Funding, Led by L1D
Blockchain node management platform NodeOps has secured $5 million in seed funding, led by L1D. Other participants in the funding round include Blockchain Founders Fund and Finality Capital. NodeOps has built a solution that simplifies the process of deploying and managing nodes by integrating with multiple blockchain networks through innovative tools and support mechanisms.
