Morning Minute is a daily newsletter crafted by Tyler Warner. The insights and viewpoints shared are his own and do not necessarily mirror those of Decrypt. Additionally, be sure to check out our new daily news show covering all the top stories in 5 minutes, available on Apple Pod or Spotify.
Good morning!
Here are today’s leading updates:
- Major cryptocurrencies experience declines of 2-5% following US military actions in Iran, with BTC priced at $62k
- Vanguard is seeking a head of digital assets, signaling a shift in its stance on crypto
- The SEC is expected to unveil its cryptocurrency regulations as early as this month
- Zcash surged 10% due to advancements in its Tachyon Upgrade aimed at eliminating counterfeiting concerns
- CASHCAT skyrocketed 13x to $110M as Robinhood Chain memes gained traction following comments from Vlad Tenev
🏛️ Vanguard, Once a Crypto Skeptic, Is Now Hiring for a Digital Assets Leadership Position
The asset management giant Vanguard, which oversees approximately $11 trillion and has historically warned clients against investing in cryptocurrencies, has opened a search for its inaugural Head of Digital Assets. This executive will be responsible for developing a multi-year strategy focused on tokenization, stablecoins, custody solutions, and blockchain settlement, as well as engaging with regulators.
This move marks a significant change for a firm that has been known for its skepticism towards cryptocurrencies. Vanguard previously refrained from allowing clients to trade Bitcoin ETFs, labeling Bitcoin as a volatile asset class that did not align with its long-term investment philosophy. However, it softened its stance last December by permitting brokerage clients to trade third-party crypto funds.
This development indicates a broader trend of traditional finance entities embracing cryptocurrency. The question remains whether Vanguard’s clientele will be interested in crypto investments.
🔒 Zcash Climbs 10% as Tachyon Upgrade Approaches Completion to Address Counterfeiting Issues
Zcash experienced a more than 10% increase on Tuesday, momentarily surpassing $500 for the first time since early June, as developers made strides in proving that its upcoming shielded pool is free from hidden counterfeiting vulnerabilities. This price movement was part of a larger trend of declines in the cryptocurrency market.
The catalyst for this surge was Project Tachyon, which focuses on enhancing both the scaling and privacy features of Zcash. Founder Zooko Wilcox announced that the team is nearing a formal verification that the new "Ironwood" shielded pool does not contain any undetectable counterfeiting flaws, which had previously plagued the Orchard disclosure. This earlier bug, which had existed for four years, was swiftly resolved and reportedly never exploited, but Zcash's privacy architecture made it difficult to cryptographically assure that no counterfeit coins were generated, leading to a significant drop in ZEC’s value. The Ironwood upgrade introduces a new shielded pool and migration options for users to transfer their funds while ensuring no hidden inflation has occurred, with deployment expected within this month, aided by AI-driven verification that accelerates what was once a lengthy process.
In addition to addressing counterfeiting, the Tachyon project aims to enhance private transaction scalability significantly, potentially reaching thousands of transactions per second, akin to Solana’s Firedancer, while improving defenses against quantum attacks by eliminating on-chain data that could be targeted. The combination of privacy, scalability, and quantum resistance is noteworthy as the market anticipates confirmation that previous issues were not exploited.
🌎 Macro Crypto and Markets
- Major cryptocurrencies are down 2-5% after the US military actions in Iran and the end of the ceasefire; BTC -2% at $62k; ETH -2% at $1,743; SOL -5% at $77; HYPE -4% at $68
- MORPHO (+7%), STABLE (+5%) and UNI (+4%) were among the top gainers
- Oil +5% at $74; Gold -2% at $4,060
- Stock futures are also showing red due to the ceasefire news; DOW -1%, Nasdaq -1.3%
- The SEC is set to propose its long-awaited crypto regulations this month, aiming to create safe harbors for activities such as tokenized securities and DeFi
- Trump’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is still under deliberation, with the White House assessing which department has the authority to manage the government’s Bitcoin
- India's central bank has indicated it "leans toward prohibiting" crypto, advising that banks and financial institutions should be restricted from engaging with crypto assets and private stablecoins to mitigate risks
- Kraken is pursuing a full banking license in Europe, which would enable the exchange to offer banking services throughout the EU
- Wintermute described Bitcoin’s recent price increase as a temporary relief rally rather than a sign of a sustained recovery
- The Coinbase Premium has been negative for 50 consecutive days, indicating Bitcoin has been trading at lower prices on the largest US exchange compared to offshore markets for nearly two months, highlighting weak domestic demand during July’s rally
- The combined market cap of USDT and USDC dropped to $257 billion from $268 billion over the last two months, while Tether burned $2.5B of USDT on Ethereum on July 7 in a significant reduction
Corporate Treasuries & ETFs
- Bitcoin ETFs recorded $21M in net inflows on Tuesday, continuing their streak; ETH ETFs noted $27M in inflows
- Saylor stated that a BTC annual appreciation of 3.3% is sufficient to sustain STRC indefinitely (STRC -3% at $86)
Meme Coin Tracker
- Meme coins saw declines of 3-5%; DOGE -4%, SHIB -3%, PEPE -4%, PENGU -7%, TRUMP -4%, BONK -7%
- CASHCAT on the Robinhood chain surged over 13x to $110M, while various other meme coins experienced increases of 5-10x; DogInHood rose 68x to $7M; Vlad Tenev tweeted that Robinhood Chain is “great for memes too”
- Solana-based memes and leaders were severely affected during the Robinhood chain transition, with Ansem dropping 27%, manlet -64%, and CARDS -22%
📈 Myriad Market of the Day
💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker
- Polymarket integrated Spark for instant Bitcoin Lightning deposits, allowing for immediate crediting of funds through zero-confirmation Lightning transfers
- Tether allocated $20 million to Mercado Bitcoin to support the exchange’s growth in Latin America
- EDX Markets secured $76 million in a Series C round led by SBI Holdings, providing the institutional crypto exchange with new capital and a stronger foothold in Asia
- Binance introduced BTC Yield, a covered-call product aimed at existing Bitcoin holders looking to generate income from idle assets
🚚 NFT Developments
- NFT leaders remained mostly stable; Punks unchanged at 32.4 ETH, BAYC steady at 9.27 ETH, Pudgy down 1% at 4.54 ETH; Hypurr decreased by 3% to 210 HYPE
- Gremlin Cartel (+10x) and Metawinners (+43%) were the top movers