GameStop raises funds to increase its BTC holdings; EU plans to allow interoperability with non-EU stablecoins

Headline

▌GameStop raised an additional $450 million to increase its holdings of Bitcoin

Golden Finance reported that GameStop disclosed in a document submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the company raised an additional $450 million by selling zero-interest convertible senior notes, bringing the company's total funds raised from convertible bond issuance in mid-June to $2.7 billion. The funds will be used for corporate purposes and investments, including the continued acquisition of Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset.

▌The EU intends to allow EU and non-EU stablecoins to interoperate and strengthen the MiCA regulatory framework

According to people familiar with the matter, the European Commission is about to issue guidance to clarify that under the framework of the Crypto Asset Market Regulation (MiCA), stablecoins issued by companies holding EU licenses can be interchangeable with similar tokens issued by their non-EU subsidiaries (interoperable and fungible). This move is intended to enhance regulatory clarity and respond to compliance questions raised by French regulators.

Market

As of press time, according to CoinGecko data:

BTC price is $107,267, 24 hours ups and downs +1.2%;

ETH price is $2,418.64, 24 hours ups and downs -1.2%;

BNB price is $645.82, 24 hours ups and downs +0.4%;

SOL price is 143.34 US dollars, up and down -1.6% in 24 hours;

DOGE price is 0.1645 US dollars, up and down -0.6% in 24 hours;

XRP price is 2.19 US dollars, up and down -0.2% in 24 hours.

TRX price is 0.2733 US dollars, up and down -0.2% in 24 hours.

Policy

▌Powell: Stablecoin framework has made significant progress

Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said that in the past few years, the stablecoin industry has gradually matured and become more mainstream. The stablecoin framework has made significant progress. He also said that he is reviewing and withdrawing many previous guidelines on cryptocurrencies.

▌Trump: Considering three to four candidates for the next Fed chairman

Trump called Federal Reserve Chairman Powell "terrible" and said he knew three or four people were competitors for the next Fed chairman. Asked if he was interviewing candidates to replace Powell, Trump told reporters: "I know who I would choose within three or four people." The main contenders reportedly include former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, National Economic Council Director Hassett, current Fed Governor Waller and Treasury Secretary Bessant. Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell for not cutting interest rates and has raised the idea of ​​firing him or appointing a successor as soon as possible, although he has often retracted those threats. Some analysts believe this is an effort by Trump to influence monetary policy through a "shadow Fed chairman" before Powell leaves office in May 2026.

▌Planning to use cryptocurrencies as mortgage collateral, U.S. housing regulators ask the "two houses" to be prepared

On Wednesday local time, Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), posted on social media: "After in-depth research and in line with President Trump's vision of making the United States the 'cryptocurrency capital', today I ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare to list cryptocurrencies as recognized assets for mortgage applications." This directive marks a possible major shift in the asset review standards for U.S. government-supported companies to assess mortgage qualifications, and is also in line with the Trump administration's established goal of promoting the popularization of cryptocurrencies in the United States.

▌The U.S. Capitol Hill is divided over the advancement of the GENIUS Act

The U.S. Capitol Hill is engaged in a fierce game over cryptocurrency legislative strategies. Republicans in the House and Senate, as well as within the crypto industry, are discussing whether the GENIUS Act should be packaged with the market structure bill or passed separately. Some industry giants such as Coinbase and a16z support the packaged passage, but the DeFi community prefers to push the GENIUS Act to land quickly first. At the same time, several Republican members of the Senate prefer to pass the GENIUS Act alone first. At present, the opinions of all parties have not yet been unified, and the legislative prospects remain uncertain.

▌Fed proposes to relax enhanced supplementary leverage ratio requirements for large banks

The Federal Reserve announced its proposal to relax an important capital rule that large banks previously said limited their ability to hold more U.S. Treasuries and act as intermediaries in the $29 trillion market. The Federal Reserve voted on Wednesday to propose changes to the so-called enhanced supplementary leverage ratio (ESLR), which applies to large U.S. banks such as Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs Group. The Fed proposed to reduce the capital requirement for holding companies based on this ratio from the current 5% to a range of 3.5% to 4.5%, and the requirement for their bank subsidiaries will be reduced from 6% to the same range. Fed Chairman Powell said that given the significant increase in the size of relatively safe assets on bank balance sheets, it is prudent for the Fed to reconsider the relevant rules. The statement showed that Fed Governors Barr and Kugler opposed the proposed reforms. Fed Governor Bowman said that the adjustment measures will enhance the resilience of the U.S. Treasury market and reduce market disorders.

▌Powell: U.S. fiscal policy may push up inflation

Fed Chairman Powell said that fiscal policy may push up inflation and does not consider federal debt issues in monetary policy decisions.

Blockchain Applications

▌Fintech company SoFi will resume crypto trading services and launch blockchain-based global remittance business

Fintech company SoFi announced that it will launch new global remittance services and cryptocurrency investments later this year. According to the announcement, SoFi members will be able to buy, sell and hold a variety of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and ETH later this year. The company also plans to eventually offer stablecoins and other services, including providing members with the ability to borrow against crypto assets, expanding payment options, and introducing new pledge features. SoFi stopped providing cryptocurrency trading services in 2023 and became a regulated bank. However, SoFi said on Wednesday that the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued two interpretive letters in March and May, respectively, allowing nationally chartered banks to provide cryptocurrency custody, execute transactions, hold stablecoin reserves, and other related activities.

▌Privacy Pools, an on-chain privacy solution supported by Vitalik Buterin, adds stablecoin support

According to an announcement released on Wednesday, Privacy Pools, an on-chain privacy solution supported by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, is adding support for stablecoins, providing a way to use assets such as USDT and USDC like cash. The protocol plans to add support for Tether's USDT, Circle's USDC, and Sky's algorithmic DAI stablecoins. Privacy Pools was created by Ameen Soleimani and Zak Cole to achieve on-chain privacy while maintaining compliance. It uses a hybrid network design first proposed by Buterin in 2023, called "association set providers," to filter illegal or unwanted funds, and its development company 0xbow has raised funds from Bankless, Number Group, Public Works, and multiple angel investors including Buterin.

▌Bitfinex Securities launches two alternative financial products in the UK

Bitfinex Securities has issued two alternative financial products in the UK, one focusing on community bank debt, with the product name "TITAN1", which will allocate 5 million pounds (6.8 million US dollars) to subordinated debt issued by Castle Community Bank, a company that provides loans to financially vulnerable customers in Edinburgh, Scotland; the other focuses on litigation related to mis-selling car finance claims, the product name "TITAN2", which will invest 100 million pounds (136 million US dollars) in litigation financing related to misleading sales claims of car finance in the UK. This market is expected to generate billions of dollars in compensation.

▌Crypto Company Zama Raises $57 Million in Series B Funding

Zama, a crypto company that provides fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) for blockchain, said it raised $57 million in a Series B round co-led by Blockchange Ventures and Pantera Capital. The team said the financing will bring Zama's total capital raised to more than $150 million and its valuation to more than $1 billion, making the company the first unicorn company to participate in FHE.

Cryptocurrency

▌Former Blackstone executives and Tether co-founders plan to raise $1 billion to create a listed crypto asset reserve company

According to Bloomberg, former Blackstone Group executives and Tether co-founders are working together to raise $1 billion through SPAC company M3-Brigade Acquisition V Corp. to create a listed crypto asset reserve company. The platform intends to hold a diversified portfolio of digital assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana. People familiar with the matter revealed that fundraising is still in progress and relevant details have not yet been finalized.

▌U.S. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce: In-kind redemptions of crypto ETFs may be imminent

Hester Peirce, a commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said that in-kind redemptions of crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) may be imminent. Peirce was asked during a panel discussion at the Bitcoin Policy Institute on Wednesday whether the SEC would approve physical creation and redemptions and whether this was "just around the corner." She responded, "These (applications) are going through the process... so I think it's definitely 'just around the corner' at some point. I can't predict, but we've heard a lot of interest."

▌Invesco and Galaxy Submit Solana ETF S-1 Registration Statement to US SEC

Investment management company Invesco Ltd and cryptocurrency-focused company Galaxy Digital LP have joined the Solana ETF race. Subsidiaries of the two companies filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, applying for the "Invesco Galaxy Solana ETF." The statement said that if approved, the fund will trade on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) BZX under the ticker "QSOL." Invesco Capital Management LLC will serve as the sponsor and Bank of New York Mellon will serve as the manager. Galaxy will be responsible for acquiring tokens. The statement also noted that Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC will serve as the custodian of SOL. As previously reported, the U.S. SEC asked Solana ETF issuers to update their S-1 filings earlier this month, suggesting that approval could be coming soon.

▌Ethereum-based stablecoin adoption hits record high

Ethereum-based stablecoin adoption hits record high, with more than 750,000 unique users per week, a record high. USDT and USDC together account for most of the approximately $134 billion stablecoin market on the network.

▌Bit Digital will fully transform into an Ethereum pledge and treasury company, gradually withdrawing from the Bitcoin mining business

Bit Digital (code: BTBT), a U.S.-listed company, announced a strategic transformation, planning to gradually stop its Bitcoin mining business and gradually convert its BTC holdings into ETH, focusing on Ethereum pledge and asset allocation, and becoming a "pure Ethereum pledge and treasury company." The company will sell shares and spin off its high-performance computing subsidiary WhiteFiber to raise funds to buy more ETH. As of the end of March this year, Bit Digital held more than 24,000 ETH and 417 BTC, and operated one of the world's largest institutional-grade Ethereum staking infrastructures.

▌Anthony Pompliano's ProCap BTC increased its holdings by 1,208 Bitcoins

Bitcoin-native financial services company ProCap BTC, LLC has purchased 1,208 Bitcoins at a time-weighted average price of $105,977 per Bitcoin, bringing its total holdings to 4,932 Bitcoins. The purchase comes on the heels of the company's announcement on June 23 that it had reached a $1 billion business merger agreement with Columbus Circle Capital Corp. I (NASDAQ: CCCM), which will be listed as ProCap Financial, Inc. after the merger is completed. The company said it will continue to execute its Bitcoin purchase plan and expects to have $1 billion worth of Bitcoin on its balance sheet after the business merger is completed.

▌US listed company Mega Matrix bought 12 BTC for the first time

Mega Matrix Inc., a New York Stock Exchange-listed company, announced that it had bought 12 bitcoins for the first time, with an average price of $105,554. The company announced last month that its board of directors had approved Bitcoin and Ethereum as treasury reserve assets, aiming to enhance its long-term balance sheet.

▌Cumberland-related wallets received 454 million USDT from Tether in the past two days

According to Lookonchain monitoring, a wallet associated with Cumberland received 454 million USDT from Tether in the past two days and deposited it in Coinbase, Binance, Bybit, OKX, Kraken and other trading platforms.

Important Economic Dynamics

▌Powell: The current economic situation is highly uncertain

Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said that the current economic situation is highly uncertain and hopes to base it on actual data rather than make overconfident predictions. He does not want to provide too much forward guidance. In uncertain times, it is reasonable to take slower actions.

▌Powell: Future trade agreements may allow the Fed to consider rate cuts

Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said that future trade agreements may allow the Fed to consider rate cuts.

Golden Encyclopedia

▌What is the difference between gold-backed stablecoins and dollar-backed stablecoins?

Both gold-backed and dollar-backed tokens are stablecoins, but they differ in several ways. Gold-backed and dollar-backed stablecoins differ primarily in the collateral that backs their value. Gold-backed stablecoins are pegged to physical gold, usually at a fixed ratio, while some dollar-backed stablecoins are backed by reserves of U.S. dollars, short-term, and cash deposits. The value of gold-backed stablecoins fluctuates based on the market price of gold, which can experience short-term volatility but tends to appreciate in the long run. Dollar-backed stablecoins maintain a 1:1 peg to the U.S. dollar, ensuring more predictable short-term stability. Unless external factors such as regulatory changes or reserve mismanagement affect the peg, their value will remain stable. Dollar-backed stablecoins are more liquid and widely accepted in the crypto ecosystem, including exchanges, payment systems, and DeFi applications. They are often used for trading and lending. While gold-backed stablecoins help preserve value, they are rarely integrated into DeFi protocols due to concerns about low liquidity. Stablecoins backed by gold can hedge against inflation and attract investors seeking growth. Stablecoins backed by the US dollar are favored by investors seeking stability and a store of value.