Crypto weekly is authored by maaria and david blumenfeld

PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- Crypto Market Cap ($4.08T): 0% / +20%
- BTC ($114,368): -3% / +22%
- ETH ($4,903): +9% / +47%
- SOL ($209): +9% / +10%
- UNI ($11.21): +2% / -15%
- OP ($0.79): +4% / -55%
- COIN ($320): +1% / +29%
- Tether Mkt Cap ($167B): 0% / +20%
- USDC Mkt Cap ($67.5B): -1% / +54%
- BTC / ETH Dominance: 56% / 15%

THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO
- ETH surged 15% to within $1 of its previous all-time high of $4,878 in November 2021, after Fed Chair Jerome Powell hinted at upcoming interest rate cuts, triggering massive short liquidations and a broader risk-on rally. Link. Link. 

- 69 ethereum treasury companies hold 4.1 million ETH worth roughly $17.6 billion. 2.6 million ETH worth roughly $10.9 billion is held by public companies. Link.

- China is considering allowing Yuan-backed stablecoins for the first time, marking a major reversal from its 2021 ban on crypto trading. The State Council, the highest executive body of the Chinese government, is expected to review a roadmap later this month. Link. Link. 

- NY State Assemblymember Phil Steck proposed a 0.2% tax on all cryptocurrency transactions in the state, including stablecoins, with the estimated $158 million in annual revenue going toward funding substance abuse programs in upstate schools. Link. 

- Kanye West’s $YZY token launched on Solana and surged to a $3 billion market cap within an hour before crashing to below $1 billion, raising concerns about market manipulation with 70% of the supply controlled by a single wallet. Link. Link. 

- Story Protocol co-founder Jason Zhao announced he was stepping down as CEO, just six months after the protocol launched its token. Link.

- A record 910,461 ETH, 2.5% of total supply valued around $4 billion, is waiting to exit the ethereum network. Some validators may be looking to sell ethereum, while others may be looking to exit stETH which has come under risk of depegging from ETH. Link. Data. 

- Solana memecoin launchpad Pump.fun surpassed $800 million in lifetime revenue, with the majority coming from its 1% swap fee. Link. Dune Dashboard. 

- SEC Chair Paul Atkins said "very few" crypto tokens are securities, as the agency aims to modernize crypto and securities laws. Link. 

- DOJ’s Matthew Galeotti said “our view is that merely writing code without ill intent is not a crime”, which comes just a few weeks after a jury in NY found Tornado Cash creator Roman Storm guilty of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Link. 

- Japan’s Financial Services Agency wants to treat crypto more similarly to listed stock, and will move crypto gains to a separate tax bucket subject to a flat 20% tax rate. Crypto is currently treated as “miscellaneous income” with a progressive tax rate of up to 55%. Link. 

- MetaMask is launching its own stablecoin called MetaMask USD (mUSD) in partnership with Stripe's Bridge and M0. mUSD will be integrated into MetaMask's self-custodial wallet. Link. 

- Trish Turner, the head of the IRS’s digital assets unit, announced her resignation to pursue work in the private sector. Link.

- Bo Hines, former head of President Trump's digital assets council, was hired by Tether as a strategic advisor. Tether is planning to launch a stablecoin targeted for US institutions later this year. Link.

- Chamath Palihapitiya has launched a $250 million SPAC called American Exceptionalism Acquisition Corp. which will target companies in DeFi, AI, energy production and defense sectors. The “SPAC King” launched 10 SPACs in 2019-2021, with four of them winding down before making any acquisitions. Link. 

- Figure, a blockchain-based lender co-founded by former SoFi CEO Mike Cagney, filed for an IPO. The company was last valued at $3.2 billion. Link. Link.