Here’s what happened in crypto today
Today in crypto, from Aug. 1, offering or advertising unlicensed stablecoins to retail investors in Hong Kong could get violators a 50,000 Hong Kong dollar fine and six months in jail, Ether slightly dipped on Wednesday as the network’s staking exit queue hit an 18-month high, and Block, Inc. joined the S&P 500 to expand the benchmark index’s exposure to Bitcoin.Hong Kong to criminalize unlicensed stablecoin promotions from Aug. 1Hong Kong will start enforcing its Stablecoin Ordinance on Aug. 1, making it illegal to offer or promote unlicensed fiat-referenced stablecoins (FRS) to retail investors. The new law introduces criminal penalties of up to a level five fine of 50,000 Hong Kong dollars (about $6,300) and a maximum sentence of six months imprisonment. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the special administrative region’s central bank, issued a public warning on Wednesday, urging investors to steer clear of unlicensed offerings to avoid inadvertently breaking the law. HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue said in the warning that the upcoming regulation aims to bring credibility and stability to the budding stablecoin sector while safeguarding investors from fraud and excessive speculation. Yue said a market frenzy fueled by hype surrounding stablecoin announcements led to unjustified stock prices and trading volume spikes. “It seems necessary to further rein in the euphoria,” Yue wrote in the Wednesday announcement. Ether stumbles as validator exit queue hits 18-month highEther (ETH) dipped 7% from its year-to-date high on Wednesday as the queue for validators and investors to unstake the asset hit an 18-month high. ValidatorQueue shows 644,330 ETH worth around $2.34 billion is lined up to leave the blockchain with an 11-day wait.Unstaking typically means validators are looking to free up the asset for sale, but that isn’t always the case and staking service Everstake explained the backlog was likely validators exiting to “restake, optimize or rotate operators, not leaving Ethereum.”It said investors and holders also may want to lock in profits, “because it’s natural to assume that some stakers are preparing to sell, which could create short-term sell pressure and potentially lead to a price correction.”There is also 390,000 ETH worth around $1.2 billion waiting to enter into staking, bringing the net amount being unstaked to around 255,000 ETH.Block, Inc. joins S&P 500Jack Dorsey's technology company Block joined the Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) index on Wednesday, marking the third public company with Bitcoin holdings to join the global benchmark.Block holds 8,584 Bitcoin (BTC) worth approximately $1 billion, according to BitcoinTreasuries.NET. That stash makes Block the 13th-largest corporate holder of BTC.The company's shares on the NYSE exchange have jumped nearly 14% over the past five days since the company announced it would join the S&P 500.The S&P 500 tracks 500 of the largest publicly listed US companies. Among the other index companies exposed to BTC are Tesla and Coinbase.To be listed in the S&P 500, a company must have a market cap greater than $18 billion, a public float (a portion of the company’s outstanding shares that are available for trading) greater than 10%, and the most recent quarter’s earnings must be positive.