3422 BTC dormant for 12 years transferred, South Korean Democrats promise to approve crypto ETF

Golden Weekly is a weekly blockchain industry summary column launched by Golden Finance, covering the week's key news, mining information, project dynamics, technological progress and other industry dynamics. This article is one of the news weekly, taking you to a glance at the major events in the blockchain industry this week.

Headlines

▌3422 BTC dormant for 12 years were transferred, an increase of 7018 times compared to 2012

According to EmberCN monitoring, 3422 BTC dormant for 12 years were transferred to a new address in the past 3 hours, with a value of 324 million US dollars. Tracing back to the source, these BTC were withdrawn from the BTC-e trading platform (one of the ancient trading platforms, which has been closed) in 2012, when the BTC price was only $13.5. These 3,422 bitcoins were worth $46,000 at the time, and are currently worth $324 million, an increase of 7,018 times.

▌South Korean presidential campaign frontrunner promises to approve Bitcoin ETF

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of South Korea, has reportedly become the latest presidential candidate to promise to approve spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other crypto-friendly measures if elected. Lee Jae-myung announced his cryptocurrency commitment on May 6 as part of a broader initiative to provide more investment opportunities for young people in South Korea, one of the main target groups for the upcoming June 3 election. The Korea Economic Daily (KED) quoted Lee as saying in Korean: "I will create a safe investment environment where young people can [accumulate] assets and plan for the future." He also promised to legalize spot cryptocurrency ETFs, reduce transaction fees, and take more consumer protection measures.

▌US Treasury Secretary: Disapproval of the Federal Reserve's issuance of digital currency

US Treasury Secretary Benson said he disapproved of the Federal Reserve's issuance of digital currency. "It's hard to know when the market will turn against our debt. We are trying to control the absolute level of debt and drive GDP growth, and agree with Yellen that the ratio of debt to GDP is key."

▌Visa strategically invests in blockchain payment company BVNK

The venture capital arm of global payment service provider Visa (V) has made a strategic investment in BVNK, a startup building a stablecoin-based payment infrastructure, reflecting the trend of traditional financial companies entering blockchain-driven currency flows. A BVNK spokesperson confirmed in an email that the deal has been completed, but declined to disclose the size of the investment. BVNK develops software that allows companies to send and receive stablecoins in global markets. The London-based company said its annualized stablecoin trading volume has reached $12 billion and has recently entered the U.S. market with offices in New York and San Francisco. The company has applied for licenses in all U.S. states and has been approved in several states.

▌CZ: The option to buy Bitcoin before the government is disappearing

Binance founder CZ quoted the news that Arizona has formally enacted the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act on the X platform, and said: Investors can buy when the government starts buying or after the government starts buying, and the option of “before the government buys” is gradually disappearing.

Policy

▌Discussion draft of the U.S. Digital Asset Regulatory Framework Act is released

According to official news, French Hill (Arkansas 2nd District), Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, G.T. Thompson (Pennsylvania 15th District), Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee's Digital Assets, Fintech and Artificial Intelligence Subcommittee Bryan Steil (Wisconsin 1st District), and Dusty Johnson (South Dakota Statewide), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee's Commodity Markets, Digital Assets and Rural Development Subcommittee, released a discussion draft of the bill today to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets in the United States.

▌New Hampshire Governor Signs Law Allowing State to Invest in Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency

New Hampshire Governor Signs Law Allowing State to Invest in Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency.

▌Democratic Senators Propose Banning President from Investing in or Supporting Crypto Assets

After abruptly withdrawing support for the Senate's first stablecoin regulation bill, Senate Democrats announced on Tuesday that they would introduce a new bill to ban federal officials and their families from issuing digital assets, a bill that directly targets the stablecoins and meme coins currently held by Trump and his family. The bill's sponsor, Oregon Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley, said, "Currently, anyone who wants to establish a relationship with the president can make personal profits for the president by purchasing cryptocurrencies owned or controlled by him. This is an extremely corrupt practice that threatens our national security and erodes the public's trust in the government. We must put an end to this corruption immediately."

▌US Senators propose the MEME Act, which intends to prohibit the president and members of Congress from issuing Meme coins

US Senator Chris Murphy posted that he will propose the MEME Act to prohibit the president or members of Congress from issuing Meme coins. Murphy said that "Trump Coin is the biggest corruption scandal in the history of the White House" and said that he would work with Congressman Sam Liccardo to promote legislation to curb such behavior.

▌The US SEC is considering allowing companies to use distributed ledger technology to issue, trade and settle securities

Hester Peirce, a commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said that the SEC is considering a potential exemption order that would allow companies to use distributed ledger technology (DLT) to issue, trade and settle securities, and allow companies to use innovative trading systems to trade eligible tokenized securities.

Blockchain Applications

▌Acting Chairperson of the U.S. CFTC: CFTC plans to participate in tokenization pilot projects in some industries as an observer

According to Forbes reporter Eleanor Terrett, Acting Chairperson of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Caroline Pham told me at the Medici Network Conference that the CFTC plans to participate in tokenization pilot projects in some industries as an observer so that the agency can experience firsthand how tokenized assets work in the real world and accumulate experience in related technologies.

▌Aave community proposes to deploy AaveV3 on the Aptos mainnet

The Aave community proposes to deploy Aave V3's ARFC on the Aptos mainnet. The proposal includes deploying Aave V3 on the Aptos mainnet and improving the efficiency, accessibility and resilience of the Aave V3 protocol through Aptos, enabling Aave to serve a wider audience.

▌NewLimit, founded by Coinbase CEO, completes $130 million in Series B financing

NewLimit, an anti-aging company founded by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstorng, announced the completion of a $130 million Series B financing round, led by Kleiner Perkins, with participation from Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross and Khosla Ventures.

▌Adidas launches NFT blind box for Xociety game based on Sui chain

Adidas creates NFT skins for the upcoming third-person encrypted shooting RPG game Xociety, supporting Sui public chain. 2,600 Adidas mysterious blind box NFTs can be opened to reveal in-game skins, including black hoodies, neon sportswear and other styles printed with the Adidas logo. Each blind box contains clothing sets of different rarity, divided into four grades: Uncommon, Rare, Epic and First, and will be minted on Tradeport at 9 a.m. Eastern Time on May 16.

▌USDT will be integrated into Line's Mini Dapp platform and self-hosted wallet

According to Tether's official news, the stablecoin USDT will be integrated into the Mini Dapp platform and self-hosted wallet of Japanese social communication giant Line.

Cryptocurrency

▌Forbes: Wall Street institutions are preparing for a sharp rise in the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency markets

According to anonymous sources, high-speed trading giant Tower Research Capital has joined Citadel Securities to "increase its bets on cryptocurrencies." As the Trump administration pledges to open up Bitcoin trading and cryptocurrency markets, lift Biden-era restrictions, and rapidly advance legislation to reshape the financial system, Wall Street is quietly increasing its support for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Last week, Wall Street giants who manage a total of $10 trillion in funds on behalf of their clients predicted that they would "open up business" to Bitcoin this year, allowing advisors to recommend Bitcoin ETFs to clients for the first time.

▌Japanese listed company Metaplanet once again increased its holdings of 555 Bitcoins

According to Metaplanet's announcement, as of May 7, the company had purchased 555 additional Bitcoins at an average price of 13,824,064 yen (about $89,000), with a total amount of 7.672 billion yen. The current total holdings reached 5,555 BTC, with a total investment of 71.763 billion yen (about $465 million). This purchase is part of its "Bitcoin fiscal strategy". The company has continued to raise funds to buy Bitcoin through additional stock and bond issuance since 2024.

▌The Chairman of the U.S. SEC will deliver a keynote speech on asset tokenization on the 12th

The Chairman of the U.S. SEC, Paul Atkins, will deliver a keynote speech on asset tokenization on the 12th. On the same day, the U.S. SEC will hold a roundtable meeting with the theme of "Tokenization: Moving Assets Onchain: Where TradFi and DeFi Meet." Participants from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission include: Chairman Paul S. Atkins, Director of the Crypto Working Group Office Richard B. Gabbert, Commissioner Hester Peirce, etc. Other participants include: Cynthia Lo Bessette (Fidelity), Eun Ah Choi (Nasdaq), Will Geyer (Invesco), etc.

▌Ethereum's market value exceeds $300 billion, surpassing Coca-Cola and Alibaba to rank 39th in the global asset ranking

According to the latest data from 8marketcap, Ethereum's current market value has exceeded $300 billion, currently reaching $309.52 billion, with a 24-hour increase of 8.42%, surpassing Alibaba (US$303.72 billion) and Coca-Cola (US$303.53 billion), rising to the 39th place in the global asset market value ranking.

▌DeFi platform Zaros will cease operations due to exhaustion of funds

The DeFi platform Zaros team tweeted that it will cease operations due to exhaustion of funds. The team tried to adjust the strategy, but it failed to continue because the system could not access existing liquidity sources and the timing of ZRS token issuance. In addition, neither of the two co-founders sold any ZRS tokens during this process.

Important Economic Dynamics

▌China's central bank announced a rate cut and reserve requirement ratio cut

▌China's foreign exchange reserves in April were $3281.662 billion

China's foreign exchange reserves in April were $3281.662 billion, expected to be $3265 billion, and the previous value was $3240.67 billion.

▌FOMC Statement: Uncertainty in the U.S. Economic Outlook Has Further Increased

The Federal Reserve FOMC statement showed that uncertainty in the U.S. economic outlook has further increased. The Federal Reserve reiterated its focus on risks on both sides of its dual mission. Although fluctuations in net exports affected the data, economic activity continued to expand at a "solid pace."

▌Traders continue to believe that the Fed may cut interest rates in July

After the announcement of the Fed's interest rate decision, traders continued to believe that the Fed will cut interest rates before July and still expected three rate cuts this year.

▌Powell: Inflation has fallen sharply

Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said that inflation has fallen sharply and the inflation rate is slightly above the target level of 2%. Short-term inflation expectations have risen. The labor market is not the main source of significant inflationary pressure; long-term inflation expectations are consistent with the target. And said that the Federal Reserve has an obligation to stabilize inflation expectations.