[News Brief] Jul 4, morning | CryptoQuant: Surge in Exchange Deposits Could Increase Volatility in the Crypto Market

CryptoQuant: Surge in Exchange Deposits Could Increase Volatility in the Crypto Market

CryptoQuant said that exchange deposits of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and altcoins have risen sharply, which could increase volatility in the cryptocurrency market.

According to The Block, CryptoQuant Head of Research Julio Moreno said in a report that Bitcoin inflows to exchanges rose to about 49,000 BTC on June 30. He explained that there have been only four instances this year in which single-day inflows approached 50,000 BTC.

CryptoQuant added that in the past, similar spikes in exchange inflows were often followed by larger price swings and directional moves. It also noted that exchange deposits of Ethereum and altcoins have continued to increase, adding to market pressure.

Visa, M-Pesa, and Onafriq Launch Pilot for Dollar-Pegged Stablecoin Payments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Visa, M-Pesa, and Onafriq have launched a pilot project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for cross-border mobile payment settlements using a dollar-pegged stablecoin, according to Odaily.

The pilot will cover overseas top-ups for mobile wallets, international commerce payments, and remittances. The World Bank estimates that the average cost of cross-border remittances in Sub-Saharan Africa is about 8% of the transfer amount.

Visa previously worked with African crypto exchange Yellow Card to explore the use of stablecoins for treasury management and international payments.

Morpho Association Raises $175 Million in Round Led by Paradigm, a16z Crypto, and Ribbit Capital

The Morpho Association has raised $175 million in a funding round led by Paradigm, a16z Crypto, and Ribbit Capital, according to Wu Blockchain.

Strategic investors in the round included Apollo Funds, Circle Ventures, VanEck, Ledger, and Cathay Innovation.

Morpho said it is building an open credit network that connects traditional finance with on-chain markets.

CME's Average Daily Crypto Contract Volume in June Rose 76% Year Over Year

Odaily reported on July 4 that CME's average daily volume of crypto contracts in June rose 76% from a year earlier, with notional value exceeding $10 billion.

The IMF said the future of tokenized financial systems will depend on policy choices and that three types of payment assets, including stablecoins, may coexist.

Separately, Spotify requested the removal of its branding from Kalshi and Polymarket, while Korean companies raised concerns that they had not participated in discussions related to the OUSD Alliance member list and were unaware of any such role.

Listed Companies Have Net Purchased 166,984 BTC So Far This Year

According to Odaily, data from BitcoinTreasuries shows that listed companies have made net purchases of 166,984 BTC so far this year.

This is about twice the 81,153 BTC mined during the same period. The average daily BTC purchases by listed companies were calculated at 912 BTC.

New Address Buys $31.42 Million Worth of ETH Over Three Days, Then Begins Buying WBTC

According to on-chain analyst Ai Yi, a new address, 0x268…47643, bought $31.42 million worth of Ether over the past three days and then began buying WBTC.

The address withdrew 100 WBTC from Binance five hours ago, worth about $6.24 million. WBTC is now the second-largest asset held by the address.

The average purchase price for the address is estimated at $1,591 for Ether and $62,390 for WBTC.

Chun Wang Deposits Additional 9,876 ETH to Binance

Odaily, citing Onchain Lens, reported that Chun Wang deposited an additional 9,876 ETH to Binance.

The deposit was worth about $17.02 million. Exchange deposits are generally interpreted as an increase in potential sell-side supply.

1,625 BTC Moved From Kraken to Unidentified Wallet

Whale Alert said that 1,625 BTC was transferred from Kraken to an unidentified wallet. At the time of the transfer, the amount was worth about $110.4 million.

Large transfers from exchanges to external wallets can be interpreted as a sign of reduced selling pressure, though the actual holding purpose remains unconfirmed.

Major U.S. County Sheriffs' Association Shifts to Neutral Stance on the Clarity Act

A major U.S. county sheriffs' association has shifted to a neutral stance on the Clarity Act, according to Odaily.

A Fox Business crypto reporter said on X that the association made the decision after recent discussions over Section 604 of the bill, the provision related to the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act.

In a letter to the leadership of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, the association said that after further review of the bill, there is an opportunity to strengthen it in a way that supports responsible innovation while reflecting the practical needs of state and local law enforcement agencies.

Sui Reveals Key Ecosystem Updates for This Week

According to Odaily, Sui said on X that this week's key ecosystem updates include privacy, the expansion of decentralized capital markets, and the addition of new development teams.

LoquaApp launched a privacy-first AI agent messaging app on Sui. Users can send messages, interact with AI agents, and transfer tokens peer-to-peer within chats.

0xfluid selected Hashi to build an institutional Bitcoin credit market. This will allow native BTC to be used as collateral in Sui-based verification contracts.

Sui also highlighted RipStationxyz's support for on-chain trading and physical redemption of graded Pokémon cards, the connection between tokenized real-world asset finance in Africa through realtbook and paga, and the completion of the third Sui Hydropower Fellowship cohort by six early-stage development teams.

In addition, tradeonhudi announced plans to launch 24/7 leveraged perpetual contracts for Asian equities targeting the Korean, Japanese, and Hong Kong markets. Sui also said it plans to open Sui Tunnels experiments to test the network's TPS ceiling under stress conditions.