03 Jul 2024 - 3:45pm (GMT +1)Previous: 54.8Becslés: 712K Source: forexfactory.com Previous data Impact on markets A general market effect that is constantly changing depending on the current economic environment. Summary - Analysis Long term trend of data: Unknown Most expected effect: Forex ( DXY ), US Stocks If new data is higher than previous: Positive ( Forex:DXY, US Stocks: Services sector ) If new data is lower than previous: Negative ( Forex:DXY, US Stocks: Services sector ) Effect-balancing with other data: Yes More on TOTM PROConclusion Conclusions based on the new data will be included in the TOTM PRO level live stream announcements every Monday and Thursday.

NewsThe advantage of a balloon trip is that it requires no special preparation or long training and puts less strain on the body.It is important to note, however, that balloons do not actually launch passengers into space; they only ascend to the stratosphere and then return. Nevertheless, companies often refer to this service as a form of space travel, as it is promised that at an altitude of tens of kilometres, participants can feel as if they are in space and see the Earth from a whole new perspective. Founded in 2020, the Spanish EOS-X Space vehicles consist of a helium-filled balloon and a capsule that can accommodate 8 people at a time, one of whom will act as pilot. The balloons will soar to an altitude of around 35 kilometres, and passengers will enjoy five hours of spectacle, including a two-hour ascent phase.Travel in luxury cabins will be available primarily to the wealthy, with tickets ranging from HUF 60-80 million, according to EOS-X. The company originally planned to launch the commercial service in 2024, but this has now been pushed back to 2025. This has put them in close competition with Space Perspective, who have also set late 2024 to early 2025 as the launch date for their first flight.Related categories RecommendedYou may also be interested in these articles![brbl_post_grid include_categories="current" order="DESC" post_count="3" post_padding="0px|0px|0px|0px|true|true" content_padding="0px|0px|0px|0px|true|true" image_height="200px" date_spacing="0px" date_icon_size="0px" date_icon_color="RGBA(255,255,255,0)" excerpt_spacing_top="0px" author_spacing="0px" author_icon_size="0px" author_icon_color="#ffffff" column_gap_x="30px" column_gap_y="0px" show_avatar="off" thumb_size="medium" content_length="120" overlay_icon_color="RGBA(255,255,255,0)" post_bg_color="RGBA(255,255,255,0)" content_bg_color="RGBA(255,255,255,0)" column_count_tablet="2" column_count_phone="1"...

In June 2024, the Conference Board's consumer confidence index fell to 100.4 from 101.3 in May. The Current Situation Index rose to 141.5 from 140.8 the previous month. Conversely, the expectations index fell to 73.0 from 74.9 in May and remained below 80 for the fifth consecutive month, generally indicating a recession is approaching.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for May rose 2.9% year-on-year, compared with a 2.7% increase in April. The increase in the overall CPI was mainly driven by higher prices for services, which rose by 4.6% in May, following a 4.2% increase in April. Among services, prices for mobile services, travel, rentals and air transport rose the most. Prices of goods rose by 1.0%, the same pace as in April. On a month-on-month basis, the consumer price index rose by 0.6% in May, mainly due to higher prices for travel.

German business morale unexpectedly fell in June, reflecting more pessimistic expectations for the largest European economy, according to a survey published on Monday. The Ifo institute said its business climate index fell to 88.6 points in June from 89.3 in May, compared with a forecast of 89.7 in a Reuters analyst survey. "The German economy is finding it difficult to emerge from stagnation," said Clemens Fuest, president of the Ifo. The expectations index fell to 89.0 in June from a slightly revised 90.3 the previous month.

NewsStablecoin issuer Tether has announced that it will cease supporting USDT on the EOS and Algorand blockchains. The company stated that it is continuously optimizing processes for maintainability, usage, and community interest, leading to this decision. Users will have the next 12 months to redeem their USDT on these blockchains. Swiss digital asset infrastructure provider Taurus, which serves financial institutions such as Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, and Santander, has announced the expansion of its offerings to the Stellar network. The fintech company's "Taurus-CAPITAL" digital issuance and tokenization platform is now available on Stellar's open-source, public blockchain. This allows banks and issuers to launch and manage any tokenized assets on the Stellar network.Light Protocol and Helius Labs have jointly announced the launch of a new method for scaling Solana applications using a technology called "ZK Compression." This innovation works through a process known as state compression, allowing developers to store certain types of data on Solana’s cheaper ledger storage. This can make a compressed PDA account up to 160 times more cost-effective.Related categories RecommendedYou may also be interested in these articles![brbl_post_grid include_categories="current" order="DESC" post_count="3" post_padding="0px|0px|0px|0px|true|true" content_padding="0px|0px|0px|0px|true|true" image_height="200px" date_spacing="0px" date_icon_size="0px" date_icon_color="RGBA(255,255,255,0)" excerpt_spacing_top="0px" author_spacing="0px" author_icon_size="0px" author_icon_color="#ffffff" column_gap_x="30px" column_gap_y="0px" show_avatar="off" thumb_size="medium" content_length="120" overlay_icon_color="RGBA(255,255,255,0)" post_bg_color="RGBA(255,255,255,0)" content_bg_color="RGBA(255,255,255,0)" column_count_tablet="2" column_count_phone="1" column_count_last_edited="on|desktop" module_class="remove-pagination"...

NewsOne of the largest Turkish cryptocurrency brokers, BtcTurk, has suffered a cyberattack. It appears that ten hot wallets were affected, primarily involving the theft of AVAX assets. Binance has announced its assistance in investigating the hack and has frozen over $5.3 million worth of stolen assets so far. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT estimates the damage at around $55 million. The stolen assets were linked to a large AVAX sale, sent to Binance and Coinbase, and then withdrawn as Bitcoin into two separate wallets. The popular cryptocurrency portfolio management app, CoinStats, has alerted its users about a malicious security incident on the platform, resulting in the vulnerability of created wallets. The company urges users to transfer their assets to another location as soon as possible, especially those who have exported their private keys into the app.Related categories RecommendedYou may also be interested in these articles![brbl_post_grid include_categories="current" order="DESC" post_count="3" post_padding="0px|0px|0px|0px|true|true" content_padding="0px|0px|0px|0px|true|true" image_height="200px" date_spacing="0px" date_icon_size="0px" date_icon_color="RGBA(255,255,255,0)" excerpt_spacing_top="0px" author_spacing="0px" author_icon_size="0px" author_icon_color="#ffffff" column_gap_x="30px" column_gap_y="0px" show_avatar="off" thumb_size="medium" content_length="120" overlay_icon_color="RGBA(255,255,255,0)" post_bg_color="RGBA(255,255,255,0)" content_bg_color="RGBA(255,255,255,0)" column_count_tablet="2" column_count_phone="1" column_count_last_edited="on|desktop" module_class="remove-pagination" _builder_version="4.24.0" _module_preset="default" title_level="h5" title_text_align="left" title_font_size="16px" title_line_height="28px" excerpt_text_color="rgba(255,255,255,0.4)" excerpt_font_size="12px" excerpt_line_height="24px" author_font="|600|||||||" author_font_size="12px" author_line_height="20px"...

NewsCryptocurrency venture capital firm Pantera is launching a new TON fund, the Pantera TON Investment Opportunity, to further expand its exposure to the project. Participation in the fund required a minimum contribution of $250,000. Pantera stated that the network is still in its early stages, and they are keenly observing how Telegram users will integrate with the full ecosystem.Asset manager Fidelity has made a seed investment of $4.75 million in its spot Ethereum ETF, with shares purchased by its subsidiary, FMR Capital. The amended S-1 filing revealed that on June 4, FMR Capital acquired 125,000 shares at approximately $38 each, which the trust used to purchase 1,250 ETH. Details on fees have not been disclosed yet.The Layer 2 network Arbitrum saw its daily revenue soar to a record $3.4 million in ETH on the day of the LayerZero ZRO token claims, driven by increased activity related to the launch. Arbitrum's median fee spiked from 0.01 gwei to 34.7 gwei, significantly raising the average daily transaction fees to $0.89. After the surge subsided, transaction fees returned to their normal average levels.Related categories RecommendedYou may also be interested in these articles![brbl_post_grid include_categories="current" order="DESC" post_count="3" post_padding="0px|0px|0px|0px|true|true" content_padding="0px|0px|0px|0px|true|true" image_height="200px" date_spacing="0px" date_icon_size="0px" date_icon_color="RGBA(255,255,255,0)" excerpt_spacing_top="0px" author_spacing="0px" author_icon_size="0px" author_icon_color="#ffffff" column_gap_x="30px" column_gap_y="0px" show_avatar="off" thumb_size="medium" content_length="120" overlay_icon_color="RGBA(255,255,255,0)" post_bg_color="RGBA(255,255,255,0)" content_bg_color="RGBA(255,255,255,0)" column_count_tablet="2" column_count_phone="1" column_count_last_edited="on|desktop" module_class="remove-pagination" _builder_version="4.24.0" _module_preset="default"...

NewsCameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the brothers behind the Gemini crypto broker, have announced that they will donate a total of $2 million worth of Bitcoin to former U.S. President Donald Trump, the expected Republican candidate in the upcoming presidential election. They explained their decision by stating that the Biden administration has openly declared war on crypto assets, and they do not want to live under intimidation, harassment, and lawsuits by government agencies. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has launched an investigation into the trading firm Jump. The probe specifically focuses on the company's crypto transactions and their participation in trades and investments. Over the past two years, organizations related to crypto assets have increasingly come under the scrutiny of both the CFTC and the SEC, and almost all these cases have resulted in charges being filed.Global digital asset investor 3iQ has applied in Canada to launch the first Solana exchange-traded product (ETP). The ETP, named the Solana Fund, would offer Canadian investors exposure to SOL without requiring them to use blockchain-related technology. If approved, the product would be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker QSOL. Oracle service provider Pyth Network has announced a partnership with the decentralized finance (DeFi) development teams Morpho and Gauntlet. The collaboration aims to utilize Pyth's low-latency price feeds to offer more efficient and secure lending on Base and Ethereum. Through this partnership, DeFi protocols will receive the most up-to-date market prices, significantly reducing the risk of outdated information leading to incorrect pricing and transaction execution.Related categories RecommendedYou may also be interested in these articles![brbl_post_grid include_categories="current" order="DESC" post_count="3" post_padding="0px|0px|0px|0px|true|true"...

UK private sector business activity growth slowed in June, rising at a more moderate pace than at any time since November last year. This was due to slower growth in the services sector, while a strong performance in manufacturing has led to a significant increase in goods production since April 2022. The slowdown in the services sector was partly due to the election period, when customers' spending decisions paused.

The euro-area recovery slowed down at the end of the second quarter of the year, according to preliminary data from the PMI® survey. New orders fell for the first time in four months, leading to weaker business activity and employment growth. Business confidence fell to its lowest level since February. Input cost and output price inflation fell to six- and eight-month lows respectively.

According to companies responding to the June Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey, overall manufacturing activity in the United States remained stable. Although the survey's overall activity index declined, it remained in positive territory, while the index for shipments and new orders remained negative. The employment index increased but remained negative, indicating an overall decline in employment levels. Both price indices continued to show a general upward trend in prices. Most future activity indicators remained positive, although expectations are less broadly based for overall growth over the next six months.

The Swiss National Bank cuts its key policy rate by 0.25 percentage points to 1.25%. The change will take effect from tomorrow, 21 June 2024. Banks' demand deposits with the SNB will bear interest at the SNB's reference rate up to a certain limit, and above that limit will bear interest at 0.75%. The SNB also intervenes actively in the foreign exchange market if necessary. The underlying inflationary pressure has again declined compared to the previous quarter.

NewsThe LayerZero Foundation, which supports the LayerZero omnichain interoperability protocol, has announced that claims for its native token, ZRO, airdrop start today. Eligibility can be checked on a platform launched by the foundation. ZRO has a fixed supply of 1 billion tokens, with 38.3% allocated to users, developers, and community members. As part of the airdrop, 8.5% of the supply, or 85 million ZRO tokens, can be claimed by eligible participants. The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) has introduced the VanEck Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, making it the platform's first spot Bitcoin ETF. The ETF will trade under the ticker VBTC and currently has approximately AUD 982,850 (USD 655,560) in net assets. VBTC operates as a feeder fund, allowing investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin by investing in the VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL) listed on the U.S. stock exchange.Particle Network, a blockchain development company focused on chain-abstraction technology, has raised $15 million in a Series A funding round. The round was co-led by Spartan Group and Gumi Cryptos Capital, with participation from Flow Traders and HashKey Capital. This round brings Particle's total funding to $25 million ahead of its mainnet launch. Michael Saylor's bitcoin-maximalist company, MicroStrategy, has purchased an additional 11,931 BTC for approximately $786 million, at an average price of $65,883 per bitcoin. With this new purchase, its total holdings have increased to 226,331 BTC. According to Saylor, the total stash was acquired at an average price of $36,798 per bitcoin, costing about $8.33 billion, including fees and expenses. Konami Digital Entertainment's digital branch has announced that its Resella NFT platform has chosen the Avalanche Subnet as its blockchain. The platform will be supported by Ava Labs' AvaCloud Web3 launchpad service, ensuring efficiency and zero gas fees for users, while maintaining consistent processing speeds.Related categories...

NewsBitwise has updated its registration form for the spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF). The documents reveal that Bitwise Investment Manager's affiliated entity will purchase the initial share baskets for $2.5 million. According to the asset manager, Pantera Capital is interested in purchasing $100 million worth of shares. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart predicts that spot Ethereum ETF products are expected to launch before July 4. Consensys Software, the company behind the popular MetaMask crypto wallet, announced that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has concluded its investigation into Ethereum 2.0. The SEC will not press charges on the grounds that the sale of ETH constitutes a securities transaction. However, Consensys stated that the fight continues, and in the ongoing lawsuit, they seek a declaration that the MetaMask Swaps and Staking user interface software service does not violate securities laws. Iran has announced the launch of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI)'s public pilot project for the digital rial. The national digital currency will target domestic micropayments and will first be deployed in the Kish Island free zone as a test. This popular tourist destination will make the digital rial available to both bank customers and tourists.Laser Digital, the crypto division of Nomura, has obtained its financial services permission from the Abu Dhabi Global Market's Financial Services Regulatory Authority, granting it a full brokerage license in Abu Dhabi for both traditional and digital assets. This license allows Laser Digital to offer broker-dealer, asset management, and fund management services in the region for both digital and traditional assets. Related categories RecommendedYou may also be interested in these articles![brbl_post_grid include_categories="current" order="DESC" post_count="3" post_padding="0px|0px|0px|0px|true|true"...

Retail sales grew more slowly than expected in May as high interest rates and inflation continued to weigh on consumers. According to the Commerce Department, retail sales grew 0.1%, lower than the 0.3% increase expected by economists, but better than the 0.2% decline in April. Retail sales excluding autos and gasoline rose 0.1%, below the 0.4% increase expected but better than April's 0.3% decline. The report comes less than a week after the Federal Reserve's revised Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) showed the central bank expects an interest rate cut this year.

Solana's layer 2 solution focused on gaming, Sonic, has raised $12 million in a Series A funding round led by Bitkraft Ventures. As part of the deal, Bitkraft has joined Sonic's board of directors. This Series A round brings Sonic's total funding to $16 million, following a $4 million seed round in 2022.

Web3 payment infrastructure provider Transak has announced the launch of a fiat-to-crypto on-ramp service for PayPal's stablecoin, PYUSD. PYUSD can now be purchased on the platform using fiat currency via the SEPA transfer system or mobile payment apps like Google Pay and Apple Pay.

The Ethereum restaking protocol Renzo has raised $17 million across two separate funding rounds, led by Galaxy Ventures and Brevan Howard Digital Nova Fund. Built on Ethereum's EigenLayer protocol, Renzo allows individuals to restake ETH, wBETH, and stETH within the protocol. This new funding follows Renzo's $3.2 million seed capital raise in January.

TIME, the media company behind Fox Corporation, Fox News, Fox Sports, and Fox Entertainment, has been selected as the first external publication partner for the Polygon-based Verify Protocol. This protocol aims to allow users to independently verify that blockchain-managed content comes from a trusted publisher. TIME will use this blockchain-based media platform as part of its content licensing and verification strategy.

NewsThe company sees the project as a further step towards achieving net zero emissions, with a target date of 2040, which they estimate will enable their customers' Volvo fleets to be net zero by 2050. An important part of this process will be the progressive reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from their cars, with a 40% reduction in lifecycle emissions by 2025 compared to previous levels and a full switch to electric drive by 2030. Of course, the type of energy source, i.e. the type of energy used, is not an insignificant factor in the environmental performance of electric vehicles. Volvo also plans to use green hydrogen in its hydrogen engines, which means that the hydrogen will be produced by electrolysis, making it more sustainable than black, brown, blue or grey hydrogen. The trucks will have zero emissions, according to the manufacturer, and will also have the advantage of very low nitrogen oxide emissions.The vehicles will be built using HDPI (High Pressure Direct Injection) technology developed for them by Westport Fuel Systems, which is designed primarily to reduce carbon emissions from long-haul, heavy-duty vehicles. The obvious advantage of this solution is that it is based on existing, proven internal combustion engines and promises performance at least as good as diesel. The range of trucks remains similar to previous models.Related categories RecommendedYou may also be interested in these articles![brbl_post_grid include_categories="current" order="DESC" post_count="3" post_padding="0px|0px|0px|0px|true|true" content_padding="0px|0px|0px|0px|true|true" image_height="200px" date_spacing="0px" date_icon_size="0px" date_icon_color="RGBA(255,255,255,0)" excerpt_spacing_top="0px" author_spacing="0px" author_icon_size="0px" author_icon_color="#ffffff" column_gap_x="30px" column_gap_y="0px" show_avatar="off" thumb_size="medium" content_length="120" overlay_icon_color="RGBA(255,255,255,0)"...

The annual inflation rate in the euro area rose to 2.6% in May 2024 from 2.4% in April, compared with 6.1% a year earlier. EU annual inflation was 2.7% in May 2024, also up from 2.6% in April but up from 7.1% a year earlier. The data were published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. The lowest annual inflation rates were registered in Latvia (0.0%), Finland (0.4%) and Italy (0.8%), while the highest rates were recorded in Romania (5.8%), Belgium (4.9%) and Croatia (4.3%). Compared with April, annual inflation fell in eleven Member States, remained stable in two and rose in fourteen.

Stablecoin issuer Tether has announced a new category of stablecoins called synthetic digital assets. The first token in this category will be called Alloy by Tether, with the ticker aUSDT. It will be pegged to the USD but overcollateralized by Tether Gold (XAUT). XAUT is theoretically backed by physical gold stored in Switzerland.

Crypto broker FalconX has introduced support for USTB collateral for trading. USTB represents tokenized T-Bills, which are short-term government securities issued by the U.S. government that can be traded on public blockchains. With U.S. T-Bills continuing to offer yields above 5%, they have become increasingly popular among some investors over the past year as an alternative to stablecoins.

Coinbase International Exchange and Coinbase Advanced have announced the launch of the Pre-Launch market for pre-release tokens. This platform allows users to trade perpetual futures contracts on tokens that have not yet been released. The market is available exclusively to eligible institutional users through Coinbase International, and to retail traders through Coinbase Advanced, outside the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Business activity in New York State declined modestly in June, according to the Empire State Manufacturing Survey 2024. Although the overall business conditions index rose ten points, it still stands at -6.0, a level below zero. New orders were unchanged, while shipments showed an increase. Delivery times were slightly shorter and the availability of supply, which is reported as a monthly indicator for the first time, was little changed. Stock levels remained unchanged. Labour market conditions remained weak as employment and hours worked continued to decline.

Retail sales in China in May beat expectations, rising 3.7% year-on-year. This exceeded the 3% growth forecast by Reuters economists. By contrast, other economic indicators such as industrial production and investment in fixed assets fell short of expectations. Industrial production grew by 5.6% year-on-year, below the 6% growth expected, while investment in fixed assets rose by 4%, just below the 4.2% forecast in the Reuters poll.

David Hirsch, the head of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s Crypto Asset and Cyber Unit in the Division of Enforcement, is leaving the agency. After nine years of service, he has decided to depart, though he has not disclosed any details about his future plans. As crypto becomes an increasingly hot political issue in the United States ahead of this year's presidential election, the SEC is finding itself more and more in the spotlight.

NewsQUICK OVERVIEW ZKsync launched its new governance system and announced its airdrop Terraform Labs agreed to a $4.47 billion fine in its lawsuit with the SEC T-Mobile entered Bitcoin mining Polygon introduced a new governance hub and launched new blockchain development incentives MicroStrategy plans another $500 million bond issuance Solana weeded out harmful validators and launched its brand-focused platform, Bond Binance's Swiss banking partner, FlowBank, is being liquidated Financial Institutions and Crypto BrokersCrypto.com has received the Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI), enabling it to expand its offerings in the country, including crypto-fiat trades and fiat wallets. Ripple Labs has completed its acquisition of the digital asset custodian Standard Custody. The company will play a significant role in Ripple's planned USD stablecoin launch and real asset tokenization processes. As part of the deal, Standard Custody CEO Jack McDonald has been appointed as Ripple's Senior Vice President for Stablecoins while retaining his CEO position at Standard Custody.Project InvestmentsAt the Prague Bitcoin Conference, a representative from Deutsche Telekom, known as T-Mobile, announced plans to mine Bitcoin. The company has been running its own node for some time and plans to engage in digital monetary photosynthesis and Bitcoin mining in the future. The non-profit NEAR Foundation launched Nuffle Labs, which will develop the NEAR Fast Finality Layer and other tools in the NEAR modular product suite. The independent organization received $13 million in strategic funding from Electric Capital and angel investors Sreeram Kannan from EigenLayer and Sandeep Nailwal from Polygon. MicroStrategy, known for its Bitcoin accumulation, plans to raise another $500 million through a convertible senior notes offering, with an option to extend by an additional $75 million. The proceeds will be used to...

Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, announced that the Chang hard fork has entered its testing phase. If successful, the upgrade could be implemented by the end of June. This upcoming hard fork will transform the blockchain into a truly community-driven ecosystem. Additionally, it will introduce Plutus V3, which includes solutions for zero-knowledge proofs, enabling more secure private transactions.

The foundation behind the Solana blockchain recently removed more than 30 validators from its delegation program after it was proven they were involved in so-called sandwich attacks. These validators collectively held 1.5 million SOL, which represents about 0.5% of the staking amount. Such attacks involve manipulating transaction prices, and in the past two months, they have generated tens of millions of dollars in profit.

At the Prague Bitcoin Conference, a representative of Deutsche Telekom, known as T-Mobile, announced the company's intention to start mining Bitcoin. In his presentation, he revealed that the company has been operating its own node for some time and that T-Mobile plans to participate in the "digital monetary photosynthesis" by engaging in Bitcoin mining in the future.

The Aragon Project, a prominent developer of decentralized autonomous organizations, is implementing an end-to-end governance solution for Polygon, complete with protocol governance contracts. The goal of the community-driven governance hub is to empower users and builders to influence fundamental technical developments of Polygon through their votes. This project marks a significant step towards more inclusive and decentralized governance for Polygon.

The Nigerian Federal Inland Revenue Service has dropped tax violation charges against imprisoned Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan, who had been arrested on tax-related offenses. The tax authority reviewed its original indictment and, in a revised submission to the court, listed Binance as the sole defendant. Meanwhile, Gambaryan is suffering from malaria and pneumonia in prison. The announcement also revealed that the ordeal is not over, as money laundering charges are still pending.

The Swiss regulatory authority has initiated the closure of crypto-friendly FlowBank and filed for bankruptcy proceedings against the institution due to insolvency risks. FlowBank, which served as a banking partner for Binance, also acted as a custodian for several large traders who preferred not to leave their funds on the platform.

Chinese banks extended 950 billion yuan ($130.93 billion) in new yuan loans in May. This represents an increase from 730 billion yuan in April. The figure is also down from 1.36 trillion yuan in the same month last year. The People's Bank of China does not publish a monthly breakdown, Reuters calculated the May data from the bank's January-May statistics released on Friday, comparing them with the January-April figures.

The Monetary Policy Board of the Bank of Japan (MPJ) unanimously decided to keep policy rates in the 0-0.1 percent range at its meeting today. Purchases of government bonds, corporate bonds and other money market instruments will continue as decided in March.

The DeFi aggregator and portfolio manager Zapper has unveiled its new protocol aimed at making on-chain data interpretation more accessible, even without advanced coding skills. The developers have created indexing templates that simplify the process of indexing on-chain data, enabling users to place data in context more easily. The platform is also preparing to launch a native ZAP token in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Solana has officially launched Bond, a new blockchain-based customer engagement platform designed to help various brands foster long-term loyalty with their users. Solana Labs promises that brands will not need blockchain experience, as the service will be accessible through a single application programming interface. It will offer collectible limited-edition digital products to encourage repeated engagement.

The blockchain tokenization platform Holograph has confirmed that a hacker breached its protocol operator contract, minting 1 billion HLG tokens worth $14.4 million. As a result, its native token, HLG, plummeted by 79%. The project's developers have since fixed the problematic code and are collaborating with crypto brokers to freeze the malicious actor's accounts.

MicroStrategy, known for its substantial Bitcoin holdings, aims to raise an additional $500 million through a convertible senior note offering, with an option to increase by $75 million. The company plans to use the proceeds to acquire more Bitcoin and for general corporate purposes. Depending on market conditions and other factors, the notes, maturing in 2032, will be issued in a private placement to qualified institutional buyers.

The non-profit NEAR Foundation has launched Nuffle Labs, which will develop NEAR's data availability layer, the NEAR Fast Finality Layer, and other tools in the NEAR modular product suite. The independent organization received $13 million in strategic funding for its launch from sources including Electric Capital, with angel investors like Sreeram Kannan from EigenLayer and Sandeep Nailwal from Polygon also participating.

The Australian unemployment rate fell to 4.0% in May from 4.1% previously, in line with forecasts, according to official data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Thursday. Employment rose by 39.7k from 38.5k in April, exceeding the consensus forecast of 30.0k. The Australian participation rate rose to 66.8% in May from 66.7% in April.

Wholesale prices unexpectedly fell in May, another sign that inflation is moderating. The Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures the prices received by producers in the market for goods and services, fell 0.2% during the month, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics said today. That decline reversed April's 0.5% increase and contrasts with the Dow Jones' 0.1% growth forecast. PPI excluding food, energy, and trade services was unchanged, versus expectations for a 0.3% increase.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has submitted a proposed final consent judgment in the Terraform Labs lawsuit and has asked Judge Jed Rakoff of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to approve the plan. Terraform and its co-founder, Do Kwon, agreed to the judgment in late May over the collapse of an algorithmic stablecoin in 2022. The settlement includes $3.58 billion in damages, a $420 million civil penalty, and bans Kwon from serving as an officer or director of any public company.

Stablecoin issuer Paxos has laid off about 20% of its workforce, amounting to 65 employees. Charles 'Chad' Cascarilla, Paxos co-founder and CEO, stated that the decision was difficult but necessary to capitalize on the significant opportunities in tokenization and stablecoins ahead. The company is reportedly in a very strong financial position for success.

The popular crypto wallet, MetaMask, has launched a pool staking service for Ethereum, allowing users to stake their ETH for rewards with validators operated by the wallet's developer, ConsenSys. The service is currently unavailable to users in the United States and the United Kingdom due to regulatory uncertainties.

The Consumer Price Index showed no increase in May, indicating that inflation eased slightly in the U.S. economy, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. The CPI, an overall inflation index that measures the change in the price of a basket of goods and services in the US economy, remained unchanged during the month, although it rose 3.3% from a year earlier, the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected a 0.1% monthly increase and a 3.4% annual increase.

UK monthly real gross domestic product (GDP) showed no growth in April 2024, compared with a 0.4% increase in March. Real GDP grew by 0.7% in the three months to April 2024 compared with the previous three months. Output in the services sector rose 0.2% in April, the fourth consecutive monthly increase, and for the three-month period as a whole, it expanded 0.9%. Production output fell by 0.9% in April, following a 0.2% increase in March, but increased by 0.7% overall over the three months.

Ripple Labs has finalized the acquisition of the digital asset custodian, Standard Custody. The company is expected to play a significant role in Ripple's planned introduction of a US dollar stablecoin and the tokenization of real assets. As part of the deal, Standard Custody's CEO, Jack McDonald, has been appointed Ripple's Senior Vice President for Stablecoins while remaining the CEO of Standard Custody.

The decentralized exchange SushiSwap has introduced a new business model for its ecosystem. They have established Sushi Labs, an autonomous administrative, technical, and operational organization to govern the Sushi ecosystem. Developers hope this new solution will address the protocol's liquidity issues and break Sushi's stagnation with the introduction of the Route Processor product.

The distributed blockchain network MultiversX has launched its Sovereign Chains solution, potentially increasing the transaction throughput of existing layer-2 chains by up to 100 times. This "blockchain-as-a-service" innovation offers customized blockchain solutions across various sectors such as healthcare, education, government services, financial systems, and supply chains.

The Crypto.com trading platform has received a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI). This approval allows Crypto.com to expand its offerings in the country, including crypto-fiat trading and fiat wallets.

Polygon's community treasury has announced a long-term plan to incentivize blockchain development. They have approved the release of 1 billion POL tokens over 10 years, with an annual allocation of approximately 100 million POL for builders. POL will be Polygon's native token, replacing MATIC in the future. In the first phase, the treasury will distribute 35 million MATIC (approximately $22 million).

The ZKsync Association has announced that next week it will distribute 3.675 billion ZK tokens via airdrop to the early users and developers of ZKsync, its Ethereum layer-2 network. This amount represents 17.5% of the total supply of 21 billion ZK tokens. An additional 49.1% of the token supply will be allocated within the ecosystem, while 17.2% will go to investors and 16.1% to the Matter Labs team.