It has been a busy day in terms of news, so let us catch you up on the latest and greatest.

Today’s Agenda:

• Market Watch
• Highlights of the Day
  • Sony Plans to Launch a Crypto Exchange
  • Circle Announces Compliance with MiCA
  • Roaring Kitty Lawsuit Has Been Dismissed
• Project of the Day
• Crypto Corner
• Market Sentiment & Predictions
• Business & Political Insights 

Market Watch

Top Gainers

• Bonk ($BONK): +13.5%
• LayerZero ($ZRO):  +10.5%
• Brett ($BRETT): +5.8%

Top Losers

• Artificial Superintelligence Alliance ($FET): -9.8%
• Celestia ($TIA): -6.5%
• Ethena ($ENA): -5.6%

Trending Crypto Sectors/Categories

• Cross-chain Communication
• Consensys Portfolio
• Solana Meme

Total Crypto Market Cap – 2.43 Trillion

Fear and Greed Index – 51

Top NFT Sale

• CryptoPunks #1717 Sold for 30 ETH 

Highlights of the Day

Sony Plans to Launch a Crypto Exchange

Sony, renowned for its innovation in electronics and entertainment, is now making waves in the cryptocurrency industry. Recent reports reveal Sony’s strategic move to enter the crypto market through the acquisition of Amber’s Japan unit. This acquisition paves the way for Sony to revive the Whalefin crypto exchange, originally acquired by Amber in 2019, pending regulatory approval.

What Makes Sony Stand Out?

Competing with established players like Bitflyer and GMO Coin, Sony aims to distinguish Whalefin by leveraging its strong brand identity and expansive global presence. This strategic advantage positions Sony to attract a new wave of crypto traders and investors, marking a significant step in the company’s evolving digital strategy.

Circle Announces Compliance with MiCA

Circle, a prominent issuer of stablecoins like USDC and EURC, has taken a significant stride towards regulatory compliance in Europe. The company has announced its adherence to the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, marking itself as the first global stablecoin issuer to achieve this milestone. Additionally, Circle has secured an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from France’s ACPR, reinforcing its commitment to regulatory standards.

Stablecoin Issuance in Europe

This compliance empowers Circle to legally issue USDC and EURC stablecoins within the European market, pegged to the US dollar and the euro respectively. Effective July 1st, Circle will begin native issuance of both USDC and EURC, signaling a new era of stablecoin availability and compliance in Europe.

Roaring Kitty Lawsuit Has Been Dismissed

The class action lawsuit against Keith Gill, known as Roaring Kitty, alleging stock manipulation of GameStop has taken an unexpected turn. Court documents reveal that the plaintiff has voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice. This lawsuit accused Gill of artificially inflating GameStop’s stock price through his social media presence.

Market Impact

The dismissal’s immediate market impact is modest, with GameStop shares showing a slight increase in after-hours trading. Similarly, Chewy stock has also seen marginal gains. The development adds another chapter to the ongoing GameStop saga, leaving uncertainties about its broader implications moving forward.

Project of the Day

MANTRA

MANTRA ($OM) is making waves in the blockchain space as a Security-first RWA Layer 1 platform, designed to meet real-world regulatory standards. Tailored for both Institutions and Developers, MANTRA offers a Permissionless Blockchain catering to Permissioned applications.

In recent market movements, $OM currently boasts a market cap exceeding $683 million, with a price hovering above $0.8. Over the past week, it has shown a modest increase of over 15%, while its remarkable surge of over 3400% in the last 12 months underscores its dynamic growth. Achieving an all-time high of over $1 in June, MANTRA continues to gather momentum, potentially challenging higher resistance levels. Considering all this and keeping in mind that RWA is one of the hottest Meta in this bull run, the long-term outlook on $OM remains bullish.

Crazy Day in Crypto

• Arkham Intelligence have identified that wallets associated with the German government transferred 1500 BTC on Monday morning to multiple destinations, including exchanges such as Bitstamp, Coinbase, and Kraken, as well as undisclosed wallets.

Market Sentiment & Predictions

• As per data from PeckShield, losses from hacks and exploits in the cryptocurrency community dropped significantly in June, totaling nearly $176 million across about 20 incidents, a sharp decline from May’s $385 million.
• As per Henrik Andersson, NFT sales plummeted by 44% in Q2, influenced by a surge in memecoins and a downturn in the market.
• Historical Bitcoin data indicates a typical July rebound, yet concerns about German Bitcoin sales and Mt. Gox repayments could potentially moderate the anticipated price increase.

Business Talks & Political Insights

• The US Marshals Service has chosen Coinbase Prime to oversee large-cap digital assets seized in criminal investigations, following a Justice Department audit that underscored difficulties in cryptocurrency management and tracking.

Keith Gill, known as Roaring Kitty, disclosed a 6.6% ownership stake in Chewy, amounting to over 9 million shares of its Class A common stock, leading to a 34% stock rally and valuing his stake at $245 million.