Daily News: Fed Holds Rate Unchanged, White House Digital Asset Report Released, Hong Kong Requires Stablecoin Holding KYC, and More

The Federal Reserve Maintains Interest Rates Unchanged for the Fifth Consecutive Time, Meeting Market Expectations

The Federal Reserve maintains interest rates unchanged for the fifth consecutive time. The Federal Reserve keeps the benchmark interest rate at 4.25%-4.50%, meeting market expectations.

The White House Releases Digital Asset Report, No Substantial Update on Bitcoin Reserve Plan

The White House releases its long-awaited digital asset report.

The report outlines a national strategy aimed at positioning the United States as a global leader in blockchain, cryptocurrency markets, and tokenized finance. While the report covers a wide range of digital asset policy areas, it provides no substantial update on the government's planned Bitcoin reserve, merely reiterating the statements from President Trump's January executive order without listing follow-up steps or implementation timelines.

The release of this report stems from an executive order signed by President Trump in January, which established an interagency task force on emerging technologies like digital assets and artificial intelligence. The 166-page document is spearheaded by David Sacks, White House head of cryptocurrency and AI affairs, and Bo Hines, executive director. It incorporates input from the Treasury Department, Commerce Department, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), presenting multiple proposals for regulatory simplification, innovation support, and regulatory modernization.

Trump Imposes an Additional 40% Tariff on Brazil and Reaches Trade Agreement with South Korea

Trump signs an executive order imposing an additional 40% tariff on Brazil, raising the total tariff rate to 50%.

Additionally, Trump announces a trade agreement with South Korea, under which a 15% tariff will be imposed on South Korean goods exported to the U.S., while South Korea commits to investing $350 billion in the United States.

Hong Kong Stablecoin Holders Required to Verify Identity Initially, Regulations May Relax Later

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) will open applications for the first batch of stablecoin issuer licenses from August 1 to September 30, 2025, marking the formal implementation phase of Hong Kong's stablecoin regulations.

All compliant stablecoin holders in Hong Kong must have their identities verified, effectively implementing a real-name system to strengthen measures against money laundering and financial crime risks. Chen Jinghong, HKMA Assistant Chief Executive (Regulation and Anti-Money Laundering), stated that this arrangement is stricter than the "whitelist" system proposed in earlier anti-money laundering consultation documents. However, the regulations may be relaxed in the future if the technology matures.

OpenSea Team Member: Airdrop Criteria Will Consider User Profiles

Addressing community inquiries about token airdrop criteria, OpenSea team member Adam Hollander responded on Discord that the team is evaluating historical usage data and transaction volumes across different years. While specific details cannot be promised or disclosed at this time, user profiles will be taken into account, such as:

• Users who appeared during the bull market but never returned afterward;

• New users who joined solely for mining purposes;

• Early users (OGs) who have been around since the beginning, weathered the bear market, and remain active to this day.

Hyperliquid Faces Brief Service Disruption Due to Traffic Surge, Plans Compensation for Affected Users

Hyperliquid's official Discord post states that its API servers experienced a significant traffic surge between 14:10 and 14:47 UTC, resulting in delays in order processing.

The platform has recently seen record-breaking open interest and protocol revenue. Hyperliquid emphasized that the incident was not caused by hacking or exploit vulnerabilities, and its blockchain, consensus mechanism, and HyperEVM remained unaffected, with block production maintaining normal speeds.

Although the API servers returned error responses during the congestion, transactions were still sent to the mempool and eventually written into blocks. Hyperliquid announced plans to release an appropriate refund scheme for affected users in the coming days. Users will not need to manually submit tickets, as compensation will be processed automatically.

Ondo Finance Highlighted in White House Report, Tokenized Securities and Stablecoins Recognized as Cornerstones of Future Financial Systems

Ondo Finance has been featured in the latest White House report released by the U.S. Presidential Digital Asset Market Task Force.

The report acknowledges tokenized securities, stablecoins, and programmable settlement as essential components of the future financial system. Ondo Finance stated that it has launched the first batch of tokenized U.S. Treasury bonds broadly accessible to global investors, alongside developing the first on-chain financial protocol designed to support permissioned tokenized securities and stablecoins.

Earlier this year, Ondo Finance introduced Ondo Chain, a specialized infrastructure aimed at facilitating the seamless integration of traditional finance with on-chain finance, specifically catering to tokenized real-world assets.

eToro Evaluates Launching Its Own Blockchain, CEO Hints at Potential Sidechain Development

Nasdaq-listed trading platform eToro is exploring the possibility of launching its own blockchain. CEO Yoni Assia revealed in a recent interview that the company is currently assessing potential collaborations, including Layer 1 and Layer 2 solutions, and is also considering the creation of an eToro sidechain.

While Assia refrained from sharing specific details, he noted that if eToro decides to shift part of its business operations to the cryptocurrency sector, developing a sidechain would be a logical step. In the crypto industry, a sidechain refers to a lightweight blockchain built on top of an existing blockchain infrastructure.

JPMorgan Partners with Coinbase to Offer Cryptocurrency Services for Chase Customers

JPMorgan has announced a partnership with Coinbase to provide cryptocurrency purchase services for Chase credit card customers.

Under the plan, Chase customers will be able to use their credit cards to fund Coinbase accounts. Furthermore, by 2026, JPMorgan intends to introduce direct bank-to-wallet transfer functionality. In a groundbreaking move, the bank will also allow Chase Ultimate Rewards points to be converted into cryptocurrency at a 1:1 ratio—marking the first time a major bank's rewards program supports crypto redemption.

RD Technologies Secures $40 Million in Series A2 Funding Led by ZA Global and Others

Hong Kong-based fintech company RD Technologies has completed a $40 million Series A2 funding round, according to an official announcement. The round was co-led by ZA Global, China Harbour, Bright Venture, and Hivemind Capital, with additional participation from Sequoia China (HSG), Eternal Digital, Junshi Investment, and Guotai Junan International Private Equity Fund.

RD Technologies plans to use the funds to expand its platform capabilities in preparation for Hong Kong's upcoming stablecoin licensing regime, set to take effect on August 1, 2025. Additionally, ZA Bank has signed a strategic memorandum of understanding (MoU) with RD Technologies to explore compliant applications of stablecoins in financial services, including reserve asset custody and stablecoin distribution.

Kraken Seeks to Raise $500 Million at $15 Billion Valuation

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is aiming to raise approximately $500 million in funding at a valuation of $15 billion.

The move comes as Kraken continues to expand its operations and solidify its position in the competitive cryptocurrency exchange market. This funding round could provide the platform with additional resources to enhance its offerings, scale its infrastructure, and potentially explore new opportunities in the rapidly evolving crypto industry.