Daily News: House Approves Trump’s 'One Big Beautiful Bill', ZKasino Founder Arrested in UAE, Ripple CEO to Attend Crypto Market Hearing

House Approves Trump’s Tax and Spending Bill

The House of Representatives approved Donald Trump’s flagship tax and spending legislation with a narrow 218-to-214 vote, marking a major political victory for the president six months into his second term. The bill extends tax cuts from Trump’s first administration, introduces steep cuts to social welfare programs like Medicaid, and scales up military investment while rolling back clean energy tax credits. Despite concerns over its $3 trillion addition to the national debt, the legislation has been praised by business groups as a boost for economic growth but heavily criticized by Democrats for its impact on low-income Americans.

U.S. Initial Jobless Claims, June Non-Farm Payrolls, and Unemployment Rate Released

• Initial jobless claims for the week ending June 28: 233,000, compared to an expected 240,000. The previous figure was revised from 236,000 to 237,000.

• Seasonally adjusted non-farm payrolls for June: 147,000, compared to an expected 110,000. The previous figure was revised from 139,000 to 144,000.

• Unemployment rate for June: 4.1%, compared to an expected 4.3%. The previous figure was 4.2%.

Scott Bessent Predicts Fed Could Cut Rates by September

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the Federal Reserve might lower interest rates by September or sooner due to mild inflation from President Trump's tariffs. He emphasized that tariffs have not caused significant inflation and suggested quicker action from the Fed, while also criticizing its cautious approach. Chairman Jerome Powell noted that the Fed has held rates steady in 2025, waiting to see if inflation rises this summer due to tariffs.

A Full Committee Hearing on Crypto Market Structure to Be Held Next Week, Ripple CEO to Attend

Eleanor Terrett disclosed that the Republican Banking Committee will hold a full committee hearing on the structure of the crypto market next week. The hearing will take place at 10:00 AM (Eastern Time) on Wednesday. Confirmed participants include:

• Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple;

• Kristin Smith, CEO of Blockchain Association;

• Jonathan Levin, CEO of Chainalysis;

• Dan Robinson, General Partner at Paradigm.

U.S. Senator Lummis Proposes Comprehensive Digital Asset Tax Legislation, Including a $300 Small Transaction Tax Exemption

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis proposed a comprehensive digital asset tax legislation aimed at providing a clear tax framework for the digital asset industry.

The legislation includes several key provisions: establishing a $300 small transaction tax exemption, ending double taxation on digital asset miners and stakers, ensuring parity with other financial assets (such as digital asset lending, wash sales, and mark-to-market tax treatment), and exempting charitable donations from valuation requirements.

According to the U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation, the legislation is estimated to generate approximately $600 million in net revenue during the 2025-2034 budget window. Lummis stated that the legislation aims to adapt tax laws to the digital economy and avoid hindering U.S. innovation.

JupiterDAO Core Working Group Disbands, 4.5 Million JUP Tokens to Be Fully Returned to DAO

JupiterDAO officially announced the disbandment of its Core Working Group (CWG) on July 3, and confirmed that all 4.5 million JUP tokens allocated to the group will be returned to the DAO wallet.

CWG stated that, given the DAO's entry into a six-month voting suspension and reset phase, they evaluated their functional scope and concluded that most of their tasks have been essentially completed. The group was established about 18 months ago with an initial plan to operate for four years but determined that the DAO has developed to a point where the core working group is no longer needed as originally envisioned.

CWG member Morten will join the Jupiter team full-time as an operations and quality control engineer, while Kemo will return to his own project, Radiants. Over the next two weeks, the group will collaborate with the team and other working groups to ensure all outstanding matters are properly handled.

Binance Adds Pre-Check Step for Alpha ICNT Airdrop Purchase, Allowing 30-Minute Facial Verification Exemption

Binance announced a new pre-check step for the Alpha ICNT airdrop purchase phase. Users can complete the pre-check within 15 minutes before the purchase phase begins, and successful completion grants a 30-minute exemption from facial verification.

WhiteRock Finance Founder Arrested in UAE Over $30 Million ZKasino Fraud Case

ZachXBT reported on social media that UAE authorities detained Ildar Ilham, the founder of decentralized finance protocol WhiteRock Finance, accusing him of orchestrating a $30 million fraud through the gambling platform ZKasino.

Case details reveal that ZKasino, launched in April 2024, had promised to airdrop native tokens to specific users but failed to fulfill this promise over a year later. In April this year, Dutch authorities arrested a 26-year-old suspect, allegedly crypto industry figure Elham Nourzai, on charges including fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering.

ZachXBT indicated that Ilham’s arrest is connected to the investigation into Nourzai and ZKasino, with proceedings underway to extradite him to the Netherlands. Another potential suspect, Lior Ben Zakan, has not yet been mentioned.

Telegram Ecosystem Infra The Open Platform Secures $28.5 Million in Series A Funding, Led by Ribbit Capital

The Open Platform announced its completion of a $28.5 million Series A funding round, with Ribbit Capital leading the investment. The post-investment valuation has reached $1 billion. Crypto venture capital firm Pantera Capital also participated in the round. This funding round involved the sale of approximately 5% of equity and did not include cryptocurrency shares.

The Open Platform has raised over $70 million to date. TOP is the core developer of Telegram's official blockchain, The Open Network (TON). Its "Telegram Wallet" has been made available to users in regions such as Russia and Asia. The new funds will be used to expand into compliant markets in Europe and the United States and to incubate blockchain games and AI applications based on TON.

YZi Labs Participates in Digital Asset's $135 Million Series E Round to Expand Canton Network Infrastructure

YZi Labs announced its participation in blockchain technology company Digital Asset's $135 million Series E financing round on July 3, according to an official statement.

This round of funding builds on the $135 million Series E financing announced by Digital Asset on June 24. Major financial institutions participating in this round include DRW, Tradeweb, DTCC, Citadel Securities, and Goldman Sachs.

The investment will be used to expand the Canton network infrastructure, accelerate institutional onboarding, and support the composability and interoperability required to bring more physical assets on-chain.

Robinhood CEO Addresses Stock Tokens Controversy

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev clarified that the platform’s new OpenAI and SpaceX “stock tokens” are blockchain derivative contracts rather than actual equity, following criticism from OpenAI. The tokens, minted on the Arbitrum blockchain, aim to provide retail investors with a way to track private company valuations. OpenAI has publicly stated it does not endorse or authorize these tokens. Robinhood plans to expand the offering to over 200 U.S. equities and private stakes.

Ondo Finance and Pantera Capital Plan to Invest $250 Million in RWA Projects

Ondo Finance and Pantera Capital plan to invest $250 million in RWA (Real-World Assets) projects, according to Axios on July 4th. Ondo's Chief Strategy Officer Ian De Bode stated that the funds will be used for equity investments and project tokens.

The two companies aim to bring traditional financial markets closer to the digital asset space and enable 24/7 trading of RWAs. This new initiative will expand Ondo's existing business in the tokenized RWA sector. Earlier this year, Ondo Finance launched a platform offering on-chain investment channels for U.S. securities such as stocks, bonds, and ETFs.