1. Ethereum Continues to Rise Today, Breaking Through $4,700
ETH briefly broke through $4,700, currently trading at $4,675.57, with a 24-hour increase of 6.71%. BTC briefly surpassed $122,000, currently at $121,958, with a 24-hour increase of 2.63%.
2. US Treasury Secretary Bessent Calls for 50 Basis Point Rate Cut in September
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the Federal Reserve should consider a 50 basis point rate cut at the September 16-17 meeting, citing revised data showing weaker job growth in May and June than previously reported, and recent inflation data not showing the expected price increases driven by tariffs. He hopes that Stephen Miran, nominated by President Donald Trump as a Federal Reserve board candidate, will be confirmed by the Senate before the meeting, and says this appointment will change the composition of the Federal Reserve.
3. OKX: X Layer Completes PP Upgrade and One-Time Burn of 65.25 Million OKB
OKX announced a strategic upgrade of X Layer, positioning it as a public chain focused on DeFi, payment, and RWA scenarios. The upgrade is accompanied by an optimization of the OKB Gas Token economic model, with OKB continuing as the sole Gas and native token of X Layer. OKX will one-time burn 65,256,712.097 OKB from historical buybacks and reserves, and after completion, will upgrade the OKB smart contract by removing issuance and manual burn functions, fixing the total supply at 21 million. Meanwhile, OKTChain will be phased out, stopping trading on OKX from August 13, 2025, 14:10 (UTC+8), and will periodically exchange OKT for equivalent OKB at the average closing price from July 13 to August 12, 2025. On-chain OKT exchange will be supported until January 1, 2026. Affected by this news, OKB briefly rose to a historical high of $99.27 and is currently around $84, with a market cap of $1.76 billion.
4. Reuters: Do Kwon Admits Fraud Charges, Potentially Facing Up to 25 Years in Prison
Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon pleaded guilty on Tuesday in the US to two federal charges: conspiracy to commit fraud and wire fraud. Kwon, who developed TerraUSD and Luna cryptocurrencies, caused approximately $40 billion in losses when they collapsed. If found guilty, Kwon could face up to 25 years in prison.
