OVERVIEW

Ethereum ETFs Explode: $1B Day One 

Slightly down today, but not as bad as most thought. There was a good chunk of the crypto community that believed the ETH ETFs would result in a major panic sell-off, but that hasn’t been the case today. 🤹 

In today’s Litepaper, we’re looking at how much the ETH ETFs traded on their first day - small spoiler: it impressed.

Also on deck: SingularityNETs big AI investment, COTI and Israel team up, and a weird crypto kidnapping story. 📰

Also, a special shoutout to Stocktwits user CrabbyLobster! The ‘Why Should You Care’ section was all his idea!

Before we dive in, here’s today’s crypto market heatmap:

And here’s a look at crypto’s total and altcoin market cap YTD:

ETHEREUM
Ethereum ETFs Crush $1B Mark 👊

$ETH ETFs made their market debut and, in less than a day, have already smashed through $1 billion in trading volume. 🔊 

Within the first 15 minutes, these ETFs racked up a jaw-dropping $120 million in volume. Despite this, Ethereum's price hasn’t skyrocketed—yet. As of now, ETH is chilling at $3,488, up a mere 1.31%.

It took Bitcoin a few weeks to hit its stride and over a month to reach an all-time high. If Ethereum follows suit, August could see ETH and its ETFs reigning supreme.

According to Bloomberg’s ETF master, Eric Balchunas, today’s $1.08 billion was roughly 23% of Bitcoin's day-one spot ETF trading—above the analyst estimates of 15-20%. If you’re interested in monitoring individual wallets, on-chain analytics firm Nansen has a dashboard.

As soon as the on-chain analytics firms get the data smoothed out, I’ll be sharing the inflows/outflows info here in a future Litepaper.🔥

Why you should care 🫂

The big fear here is how much selling pressure Ethereum and the broader crypto market could see due to Grayscale’s $ETHE. Back in January, Grayscales spot Bitcoin ETF, $GBTC, had 624,470 Bitcoin.

Since then, Grayscale has sold off 348,000 BTC. But BlackRock has added 323,000 Bitcoin to their $IBIT ETF - negating a lot of the FUD from Grayscale’s selling.

If BlackRock and/or the other ETH ETFs can’t match the feared selling from ETHE, then some very ugly bearish price action might be in crypto’s future. 🐻 

NEWS
AI Arms Race: SingularityNET's $53M Supercomputer Investment 🤖

SingularityNET dropped $53 million on a modular supercomputer to supercharge decentralized artificial general intelligence (AGI). 💸 

This hefty investment includes top-tier tech like modular data centers and high-performance GPUs from Nvidia ($NVDA), AMD ($AMD), and Tenstorrent.

Specs and Ambitions

The first phase, worth $26.5 million, is all about beefing up AI infrastructure. It's built to turbocharge deep neural networks and large language models, making them smarter and faster. We're talking Nvidia L40S GPUs, AMD Instinct processors, and Tenstorrent server racks. 🧠 

Ben Goertzel, SingularityNET's CEO, highlighted how this setup will push AI forward with better learning algorithms and massive data processing capabilities. The goal? Continuous learning and self-improvement for AI in complex tasks like large-scale knowledge distillation and multi-step reasoning.

AI Race: Game On

SingularityNET isn't the only player in this high-stakes game. The Monetary Authority of Singapore just threw $74.36 million into AI and quantum computing, and Fetch.ai ($FET) is pumping $100 million into its own infrastructure.

Fetch.ai, SingularityNET, and Ocean Protocol recently merged into a single entity called the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance. 🤖

Why You Should Care 🫂 

AI development is very centralized. Entities like Nvidia, Microsoft ($MSFT), Meta ($META), and OpenAI have a near stranglehold on making Skynet a reality.

The Artificial Superintelligence Alliance ($AGI) is one of the only major players (another being $RENDER Protocol) working on the decentralization of AI development. 🤔 

NEWS
COTI’s Privacy Tech Chosen For Israel’s CBDC 🤯 

Today, $COTI announced its participation in the Central Bank of Israel's CBDC project, joining forces with big names like PayPal ($PYPL) and Fireblocks. 🔥 

The Bank of Israel has been toying with the idea of CBDCs since 2018. Now, they'll work with COTI to implement advanced functionalities and build an ecosystem around their CBDC. As the only blockchain network chosen, COTI gets to showcase its expertise in design considerations.

The real kicker? COTI’s tech delivers confidentiality without anonymity. Financial institutions, companies, and individuals can interact confidently while staying compliant with regulations. 🦶 

Central banks are stuck between wanting transparency and needing privacy for CBDCs to gain traction. COTI's got the answer to this tricky balance.

Why You Should Care 🫂 

First, you’d think COTI would be screaming higher today, but it’s up a paltry +7.56% on the news (at the time of writing).

Second, COTI is the only blockchain network chosen - just them.

Additionally, as other nations look at trialing or transitioning to CBDCs, they’ll likely want a blockchain that has done it before. If COTI is successful, they might have prospective central banks knocking down their door.🚪 

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NEWS
Crypto Kidnapping and $400M Heist 😱

Well, it’s been a while since we’ve had one of these crazy ass crypto stories. Jason Anderson, co-founder of the SEC-sued crypto company Debt Box ($DEBT), was allegedly kidnapped and forced to give up control of his company and $400 million. 💸 

The Allegations Unfold

Last year, Debt Box was sued by the SEC, but the SEC misled the judge. The result? Sanctions on Gary Gensler's squad and a collective "WTF?" from the crypto world. Even J.D. Vance joined the chorus, roasting the SEC.

Then, Jason Anderson, Debt Box's co-founder, decided to jet off to Dubai. And that’s when shit hit the fan. According to a Utah police report, his business trip turned into a nightmare. 🎥 

According to Fortune Crypto, Anderson's brother claimed Jason got kidnapped by his own business partners, who squeezed $400 million and control of Debt Box out of him under "mental torture." 

Now, the SEC is deciding whether to refile charges. But with hundreds of millions in limbo and partners bickering like sadistic kids over a toy, the Debt Box saga is far from over. 🔚 

Why You Should Care 🫂 

Unless you’re a DEBT Box holder, then this really doesn’t affect you. ☑️ 

NEWS
Crypto News In Three Sentences 📰

🔄 DeFi Exchange DYdX in Talks to Sell Derivatives Trading Software 

$DYDX Trading Inc. is negotiating to sell its derivatives trading software to major crypto market makers, including Wintermute Trading Ltd. and Selini Capital. This follows the platform's transition to its own blockchain last year and its v4 launch, which increased transaction speeds and lowered fees. Despite the ongoing talks, representatives from dYdX, Wintermute, and Selini have not commented. More from Bloomberg.

💼 Steven Nerayoff Sues Crypto Analyst for Defamation 

$ETH co-founder Steven Nerayoff is suing crypto analyst Truth Labs (Tyler Fayard) for $10 million, claiming defamation. Fayard accused Nerayoff of being an extortionist and a government plant involved in an assassination attempt. Nerayoff seeks damages for emotional, mental, and economic harm caused by these allegations. From Protos.

💰 Mt. Gox Moves $340 Million BTC to Bitstamp 

Bankrupt exchange Mt. Gox transferred 5,110 $BTC, worth $340 million, to Bitstamp as part of its creditor repayment plan. Arkham Intelligence reported this morning that the funds were split across four addresses. Despite fears of market volatility, experts argue this is just unnecessary FUD. Cryptoslate has more.

🎮 Atari Partners with Coinbase to Bring Classic Games to Blockchain 

Atari has partnered with $COIN to bring its classic games, Asteroids and Breakout, to the blockchain through the Onchain Arcade. Players can compete for rewards and leaderboard positions while proceeds from game sales go directly to the creators. This initiative is part of Atari's broader strategy to engage its community using Web3 technology. From CoinTrust.

Links That Don’t Suck 🔗

🌍️ Perfect World co-CEOs reportedly resigned

💵 Hamilton Lane launches $920.7 billion pivate credit fund on Solana

🤖 Meta releases open source AI model it says rivals OpenAI, Google tech

👾 Outer space changes you, literally. Here's what it does to the human body

🈸 Gate.io terminates services for Japanese customers amid regulatory pressure

🤦 Javier Milei fails to stop inflation in Argentina with bitcoin or anything else

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