Today's news tips:

Regulatory/Macro

South Korean lawmakers say Upbit could face fines of up to 183 trillion won for KYC violations

South Korean lawmaker Min Byung-deok said that cryptocurrency exchange Upbit may face a fine of up to 183 trillion won for KYC violations and other violations, and referring to domestic bank cases, the fine amount may be between 45 trillion and 95 trillion won. According to the Financial Information Analysis Unit (FIU), Upbit has more than 9.57 million violations, of which about 9.34 million involved customer identity verification issues. Currently, FIU has implemented business suspension and personnel accountability, but the amount of the fine has not yet been determined.

French lawmakers propose using surplus nuclear power for Bitcoin mining, with annual revenue of $150 million

According to CryptoSlate, French lawmakers recently submitted a bill to the National Assembly, proposing a five-year Bitcoin mining pilot program to use excess power from nuclear power plants for mining. According to the French Association for the Development of Digital Assets (ADAN), the use of 1 gigawatt of surplus electricity can bring France $100 million to $150 million in revenue each year. Lawmakers said that this move would not only make up for the maintenance costs of nuclear power plants, but also avoid electricity waste and help balance the power grid. The bill also mentioned that the heat generated by mining can be used in areas such as regional heating and greenhouse agriculture. If the pilot program is approved, it will be launched immediately and a feasibility assessment will be conducted six months later. It was reported last month that the French National Assembly temporarily rejected the Bitcoin mining proposal due to procedural issues.

Fourth Paradigm plans to place 25.9 million shares to raise more than HK$1.3 billion for RWA, stablecoin and other fields

Fourth Paradigm, a Hong Kong-listed company, announced today (before the trading hours of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange) that the company has entered into a subscription agreement with the subscriber, pursuant to which the subscriber has conditionally agreed to subscribe and the company has conditionally agreed to allot and issue a total of 25.9 million subscription shares at a subscription price of HK$50.50 per share, with a total consideration of approximately HK$1,307,950,000. The announcement stated that the net proceeds from the subscription were approximately HK$1,306.18 million, 50% of which would be used for R&D investment in products and solutions with full-range artificial intelligence capabilities in emerging fields such as embodied intelligence, smart devices, blockchain, real-world assets (RWA) and stablecoins; 40% for global business expansion and potential mergers and acquisitions in emerging fields such as embodied intelligence, smart devices, blockchain, real-world assets (RWA) and stablecoins; and 10% for general corporate purposes.

CME Group has made it clear that it will not launch memecoin derivatives and is considering 24/7 crypto trading

According to CoinDesk, CME Group, the world's largest derivatives exchange, said that due to the lack of practical application scenarios, there is currently no plan to launch derivatives related to memecoin. CME has recently expanded to Solana and XRP futures, and attracted a large number of institutional investors, with related product trading volumes reaching billions of dollars. In addition, CME is exploring whether to extend trading hours to 24/7 to better align with the crypto market, but no formal decision has been made.

UK MPs call for ban on cryptocurrency political donations

According to Cointelegraph, several British MPs have recently called for a ban on the use of cryptocurrencies for political donations, fearing that they are difficult to track and may lead to foreign interference. Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden said that existing legislation needs to be updated in a timely manner to ensure that political financing is transparent and credible. Earlier, the British Reform Party announced that it would accept Bitcoin donations, which attracted attention from all walks of life. Anti-corruption agencies warned that allowing cryptocurrency donations would increase the risk of criminal funds flowing into the political field. In addition to the UK, Ireland and some states in the United States have also imposed bans on cryptocurrency political donations.

Thailand SEC and Bank of Thailand plan to launch nationwide crypto sandbox for tourists

According to Cointelegraph, the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Bank of Thailand plan to launch a nationwide crypto sandbox to allow foreign tourists to use digital assets in Thailand.

Yili Holdings issues nearly HK$20 million of convertible bonds for Web3.0 development

Yili Holdings (00076), a Hong Kong-listed company, announced that it had signed an agreement on July 17, 2025 to issue zero-interest convertible bonds with a total amount of HK$19.95 million to investors. The bond term is six years and the maturity date is July 16, 2031. The conversion price of the bonds is HK$0.25 per share, and a maximum of 79,800,000 new shares can be converted. The new shares will apply for listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, but the bonds themselves will not be listed for trading. The company said that the financing will be used to develop third-generation Internet Web3.0-related businesses to promote future development.

Viewpoint

CryptoQuant: Short-term holder data shows that BTC may still have 20%-25% room to rise

CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost said that the MVRV indicator of short-term Bitcoin holders (STH) shows that the current market still has room to rise. MVRV is an indicator used to measure unrealized profits. Whenever the MVRV value of STH reaches 1.35 (meaning unrealized profits of about 35%), the market usually sees profit-taking, followed by a short-term price correction. At present, this indicator is only 1.15, which is still some distance away from the key point. In addition, the average purchase cost (realized price) of short-term holders exceeded $100,000 for the first time on July 11, and is currently over $102,000, indicating that the market still has the potential to support further increases. Analysts believe that the price of Bitcoin may still have 20%-25% room to rise before entering a new round of profit-taking.

Project News

After Musk named Grok male AI companion, Valentine's market value exceeded 15 million US dollars, TAKI, CHAD and ANDREJ all fell by nearly 90%

According to gmgn data, after Elon Musk announced that he would name Grok's male AI companion "Valentine", the market value of the meme coin Valentine quickly exceeded $15 million, soaring 86,000% in one hour. At the same time, other meme coins with related names fell sharply, such as TAKI, which fell 87% in one hour, CHAD, which fell 97%, and ANDREJ, which fell 92%. Earlier news, Elon Musk planned to name Grok's male AI companion "Valentine".

Elon Musk to name Grok male AI companion Valentine

Elon Musk announced on social media that he named the male companion of his AI platform Grok "Valentine". The name was taken from the protagonist of the classic science fiction novel "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert Heinlein, which was also the inspiration for the name of the AI Grok. Musk explained that "Grok" means to understand things deeply and empathetically, which embodies the core concept of AI design. It is worth noting that according to gmgn data, the female Grok

Users with Binance Alpha Points greater than or equal to 213 can participate in the BAS project Pre-TGE event

According to Binance Chinese, users with Alpha points greater than or equal to 213 can participate in the BAS project Pre-TGE event through the Alpha event page, and participation will consume 10 points. Please note that the pre-sale tokens will have a lock-up period and cannot be traded, transferred or used for the time being. The unlocking period is determined by the project party and may not be disclosed in advance. Please be sure to understand the relevant restrictions before participating.

ETH perpetual contract trading volume surpasses BTC, topping the market

According to Crypto News, Ethereum (ETH) global perpetual contract trading volume reached US$90.82 billion, surpassing Bitcoin (BTC)'s US$82.93 billion for the first time, ranking first in the entire market.

OKX will launch SPX and MOG perpetual contracts

According to the official announcement, OKX will officially launch SPXUSDT and MOGUSDT perpetual contracts on the web, App and API at 1:00 pm (UTC+8) on July 17 and 1:15 pm (UTC+8) on July 17, respectively. It is reported that SPX is a memecoin centered on rising stock prices on Ethereum, Solana and Base. MOG is a memecoin centered on the spirit of victory on Ethereum and Base.

Raydium has repurchased 69.1 million RAYs with a total of US$190 million, accounting for 25% of the circulation.

According to data released by Infra, as of July 2025, Raydium has invested a total of US$190.4 million in USDC to repurchase $RAY, with a cumulative repurchase amount of 69.1 million pieces, accounting for 25% of its circulating supply.

Orca plans to launch Launchpad in late July or early August

According to Blockworks reporter Jack Kubinec, Solana's ecosystem liquidity protocol Orca is planning to launch its new Launchpad (token issuance platform) in late July or early August. The biggest highlight of this product is that the Orca team has developed a new mechanism that aims to allow real users to outperform automated robots (bots) when participating in the new coin rush, improving fairness and user experience.

Coinbase launches Base App to create a one-stop social and trading platform

According to The Block, Coinbase officially released the Base App, upgrading the original Coinbase Wallet to a "universal application" that integrates social networking, mini-apps, transactions, and USDC instant payments. The new platform is based on the Ethereum Layer 2 Base ecosystem. Users can view friends' transactions in real time in social dynamics, directly exchange tokens, and realize the income of content creators through the Farcaster protocol. The Base App also has hundreds of mini-apps built in, supporting NFC one-click USDC payments and encrypted chats. Coinbase said that this move is aimed at making on-chain operations as simple as using ordinary apps. It will gradually open public beta in the future and invite developers to integrate the "Sign in with Base" function.

Important data

Ethereum spot ETF had a net inflow of $727 million yesterday, a record high

According to SoSoValue data, the Ethereum spot ETF had a net inflow of $727 million on July 16 (EST), setting a new single-day record. Among them, BlackRock's ETHA had a net inflow of $499 million, and Fidelity's FETH had a net inflow of $113 million. The current total net asset value of the ETF is $16.41 billion, accounting for 4.02% of the ETH market value.

Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a net inflow of $799 million yesterday, marking the 10th consecutive day of net inflows

According to SoSoValue data, Bitcoin spot ETFs had a net inflow of $799 million on July 16 (EST), of which BlackRock's IBIT had a net inflow of $764 million and ARKB had a net inflow of $19.8169 million. The current total net asset value of ETFs is $153.762 billion, accounting for 6.45% of the BTC market value, and the historical cumulative net inflow has reached $53.865 billion.

Tether's circulation exceeds $160 billion, setting a new record high

According to the transparency data on Tether's official website, the current net circulation of USDT has reached 160.261 billion US dollars, setting a record high. In terms of chain, Tron, Ethereum, and Solana are dominant, with circulations of 80.117 billion, 75.637 billion, and 18.864 billion US dollars, respectively. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino wrote that this achievement demonstrates the unparalleled practicality of USDT as a digital dollar in emerging markets.

Trend Research has transferred 79,471 ETH to Binance to reduce its holdings

According to Embers, Trend Research has transferred 79,471 ETH (about $250 million) to Binance for reduction. Since the reduction began, its on-chain borrowing has decreased from $275 million before the sale of ETH to the current $168 million. This means that the institution has sold at least $107 million worth of ETH in the past day. Currently, the on-chain address of Trend Research still holds about 108,000 ETH (about $367 million).

Bitcoin whale transferred another $4.76 billion in BTC to a new wallet 7 hours ago

According to Spot On Chain monitoring, about 7 hours ago, an early Bitcoin whale transferred another 40,192 BTC (about 4.76 billion US dollars) to a new wallet. Two days ago, the whale transferred 40,009 BTC (about 4.71 billion US dollars) to Galaxy Digital and exchanges. At that time, the Bitcoin price was about 117,685 US dollars, and then fell to 115,967 US dollars within 12 hours.

Tether Treasury mints 1 billion more USDT on Ethereum

According to Whale Alert, Tether Treasury minted 1 billion new USDT on Ethereum at 16:51, worth approximately US$999,951,475.

Financing

Stablecoin payment service platform KUN completes Series A financing, with total financing exceeding US$50 million

Stablecoin payment and embedded financial service platform KUN announced the completion of its Series A financing, with investors including BAI Capital, GSR Ventures, a Hong Kong-listed company and Eternium Global. Since its establishment 20 months ago, KUN has raised more than US$50 million in total, further consolidating its leading position in the global stablecoin payment and embedded financial services field.

Crypto Infrastructure Giant Talos Acquires Coin Metrics for Over $100 Million

According to Fortune magazine, crypto infrastructure giant Talos announced the acquisition of blockchain data provider Coin Metrics. People familiar with the matter revealed that the transaction amount exceeded US$100 million. The acquisition aims to integrate on-chain data services to provide institutional clients with a one-stop solution for digital asset trading and portfolio management. Talos was founded in 2018 by Wall Street veterans Anton Katz and Ethan Feldman. Its platform provides technical support for crypto asset trading for hedge funds and other institutions, and was previously valued at US$1.25 billion. Coin Metrics excels in on-chain data analysis and will supplement Talos' historical data and customer service capabilities. Talos CEO said that as the Trump administration promotes regulatory easing, the participation of traditional financial institutions in crypto assets is no longer a suspense, and the focus will shift to the tokenization of traditional assets such as stocks in the future.

Institutional holdings

World Liberty Fi spent tens of millions of dollars to buy 3007.4 Ethereum in the past 9 hours

According to Onchain Lens, World Liberty Fi spent $10 million USDC in the past 9 hours to purchase 3,007.4 Ethereum at a price of $3,325 per ether.

SharpLink Gaming continues to increase its holdings of Ethereum, with cumulative holdings exceeding 320,000

According to Embers, SharpLink Gaming has purchased another 20,279 ETH in the past 4 hours through Coinbase Prime and Galaxy Digital, worth about $68.38 million. Since the beginning of June, SharpLink Gaming has purchased a total of 321,000 ETH in micro-strategy mode, with an average purchase price of about $2,745, and the current floating profit has reached $204 million. It is worth noting that the number shown by Arkham data does not include the 77,000 ETH directly pledged.

Publicly traded Windtree signs $60 million securities purchase agreement to launch BNB treasury strategy

According to Business Insider, Windtree (WINT), a US-listed company, announced that it has signed a $60 million securities purchase agreement with Build and Build Corp. Future subscriptions may generate a total return of up to $140 million, with a total subscription amount of up to $200 million. The proceeds from this fundraising will be mainly used to launch the BNB treasury strategy and acquire BNB. Windtree is expected to become the first Nasdaq-listed company to provide direct investment exposure to BNB tokens.

Matador Technologies, a publicly traded company, plans to accumulate 6,000 Bitcoins by 2027

According to Globenewswire, the board of directors of Canadian listed company Matador Technologies Inc approved a long-term Bitcoin acquisition strategy, which will expand Matador's Bitcoin reserves and make the company an important corporate BTC holder. Matador has submitted a preliminary short version of the basic prospectus to provide financing flexibility in the next 25 months, accumulating up to 6,000 Bitcoins by 2027 or earlier.

The Smarter Web Company, a listed company, increased its holdings of 325 bitcoins, bringing its total holdings to 1,600 bitcoins

According to an official announcement, the British listed company The Smarter Web Company disclosed that it has increased its holdings of 325 bitcoins and currently owns a total of 1,600 bitcoins.

CryptoQuant CEO: The Meme Coin Market is Dead

Popular Articles