[News Brief] Jun 24, morning | Senator Cynthia Lummis: 'The CLARITY Act is expected to be brought to the Senate floor in July'

Senator Cynthia Lummis: 'The CLARITY Act is expected to be brought to the Senate floor in July'

Source: Bitcoin Magazine

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis said on Fox Business that the CLARITY Act is expected to be brought to the Senate floor in July.

The CLARITY Act is a bill designed to establish a clearer market structure for digital assets in the United States and clarify the authority of regulatory agencies. It has drawn attention from the crypto industry as a potential solution to regulatory uncertainty.

$134 million liquidated from the crypto market in the past hour

According to CoinGlass, $134 million worth of positions were liquidated across the crypto market over the past hour.

Of that total, long liquidations accounted for $125 million, while short liquidations totaled $8.539 million.

Standard Chartered initiates coverage on Aave: 'AAVE price target of $3,500 by end-2030'

Standard Chartered has initiated coverage on the decentralized lending protocol Aave and set a price target of $3,500 for the AAVE token by the end of 2030, according to PANews.

According to the report, Standard Chartered said Aave’s revenue is closely tied to its deposit volume. Following the KelpDAO exploit, Aave deposits fell from $44 billion to $23 billion, while borrowing declined from $18 billion to $9.5 billion, but the bank believes the protocol is now near a bottom.

Standard Chartered projects that the scale of active assets in DeFi will grow to around $2.7 trillion by 2030, driven by the expansion of stablecoins and the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA).

The bank also cited Aave Horizon’s permissioned RWA lending market and the structure under which GHO stablecoin fees accrue to the protocol as long-term growth drivers.

Binance withdraws MiCA license application in Greece, to pursue authorization in another EU member state

Binance has withdrawn its MiCA license application submitted in Greece and will instead seek authorization in another EU member state, according to PANews.

Binance said it made the decision after reviewing the progress and timeline of the Greek regulatory process, adding that it prioritized user interests.

The company said Europe remains a key market and that it will continue operating in compliance under the EU’s unified MiCA regulatory framework. It expects to secure the relevant license in another member state within the next few months, but said the specific country will be disclosed once preparations are complete.

Kraken-incubated L2 Ink upgrades to Optimism’s OP Enterprise

PANews, citing The Block, reported that Ink, the Ethereum layer-2 network incubated by Kraken, has upgraded to Optimism’s fully managed OP Enterprise service and entered into a multi-year partnership.

Under the partnership, Optimism will handle production infrastructure operations for the Ink mainnet. The Ink Foundation plans to focus on ecosystem expansion and the development of new financial products.

Ink launched its mainnet in December 2024 and processed more than 1 million transactions on its first day. Annual revenue from applications built on the chain is reportedly approaching $40 million.

As a design partner for OP Enterprise, Ink is also participating in the development of features including programmable block building, withdrawals to Ethereum within one day, and sequencer compliance modules. Ink aims to achieve throughput of 400 megagas per second and block times as low as 100 milliseconds by the end of 2026.

ECB Executive Board member: 'Digital euro will have minimal impact on banks and financial stability'

Piero Cipollone, a member of the European Central Bank’s Executive Board, said the digital euro would have only a minimal impact on banks and would not pose risks to financial stability.

The digital euro is a central bank digital currency (CBDC) being pursued by the ECB, and concerns over deposit outflows from banks and effects on liquidity in the financial sector have been key issues in the debate.

Kalshi enters early-stage IPO preparations: 'No plan to go public in 2026'

Prediction market platform Kalshi has entered the early stages of preparing for an initial public offering, but said it does not plan to go public in 2026.

According to CNBC, Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour said that as the company’s business and financial scale grow, discussions about going public are “a conversation we have to have.” Earlier, The Information reported that Kalshi could potentially list as early as late 2027 to 2028.

According to the report, Kalshi’s valuation stood at about $2 billion as of late June 2025 and later rose to about $22 billion after its Series F fundraising in May of this year.

Mansour said Kalshi is strengthening controls on insider trading risks and improving market trust through enhanced KYC measures, verification of traders’ employer information, and lawsuits targeting individual accounts.

Coatue founder Philippe Laffont: 'I prefer investing in space over Bitcoin'

According to Odaily, Coatue Management founder and portfolio manager Philippe Laffont said on Squawk Box that he is no longer fully confident in his previous view on Bitcoin.

Laffont said he is re-evaluating Bitcoin’s role as an investment asset and that, for now, he prefers investing in the space sector over Bitcoin.

Solmate files lawsuit against RockawayX CEO over fraud and misrepresentation

Solmate has filed a lawsuit against Viktor Fischer, managing partner and CEO of RockawayX, alleging fraud and intentional misrepresentation.

According to Odaily, Solmate claims Fischer raised and invested $50 million through RockawayX and then attempted to sell the company at a valuation of about $200 million. Solmate said that valuation was based on inaccurate financial statements provided to Brera Holdings.

Solmate’s board said it halted the transaction after identifying red flags during due diligence. The company said false claims surrounding the matter had weakened market expectations and led to a discounted valuation, and that it intends to pursue accountability through litigation.

Bitcoin falls below $61,000

Bitcoin (BTC) has dropped below $61,000.

According to PANews, BTC was trading at $60,978.10 on OKX, down 2.42% on the day.