The morning of July 8 sees the crypto market undergoing a moderate correction. Bitcoin (BTC) is trading near the $62,838 mark, showing a decline within the daily range of $62,505 – $64,189. Ether (ETH) is also under pressure, sitting at $1,754. Among the top 10 by market cap, TRON shows the best daily performance (+0.22%), while Ethereum leads the week (+10.39%). Dogecoin is the day's laggard, losing 3.05%. Among the top 100 coins, Zcash stands out with a 7.50% gain over 24 hours, while Bonk falls by 8.42%.
Key morning events: Secret Network, Strike, and Kraken's legal victory
Privacy blockchain Secret Network has announced plans to migrate from the Cosmos ecosystem to Arbitrum. The team cites growing security risks associated with the development of artificial intelligence: old code is becoming increasingly vulnerable to analysis and attacks, especially given the progress of AI models. The decision was prompted by a bridge hack in June that resulted in a loss of $4.7 million. Developers also note an outflow of liquidity from Cosmos and a brain drain. A snapshot of SCRT balances is scheduled for September 1, after which a new ERC-20 standard token will be issued on Arbitrum. The market reaction was negative: SCRT crashed by 24% in 24 hours.
Payment platform Strike has launched a "volatility-proof" loan backed by bitcoin. CEO Jack Mallers claims that the client's collateral remains untouched even during a sharp drop in BTC. The product offers a high rate of up to 14.2% APR, a six-month term, and a maximum loan-to-collateral ratio of 45%. A 10-day grace period is provided for late payments, after which Strike may begin liquidating the collateral. However, as Mallers emphasizes, this is not protection against liquidation per se, but specifically against forced margin calls.
The parent company of the Kraken exchange, Payward, has won a $22 million arbitration against former auditor Mazars USA. The lawsuit was triggered by the fact that in 2022, during the height of Operation Choke Point 2.0, the auditor abruptly halted an almost completed audit of Kraken, causing reputational damage to the exchange. Mazars confirmed in writing that they had no complaints against the exchange's management, citing uncertainty due to the SEC lawsuit. Later, after Gary Gensler's resignation, this lawsuit, like almost all other regulatory cases against crypto companies, was dismissed.
My analysis: The Secret Network migration is a symptomatic move, showing that even specialized L1 blockchains are not immune to brain drain and capital flight toward more liquid ecosystems. Strike's product, in turn, attempts to solve the fundamental problem of lending against volatile assets, but its "protection" is more of a marketing gimmick than a technological breakthrough. And Kraken's victory over Mazars is an important precedent that may cool the enthusiasm of auditors who prematurely abandon crypto projects under regulatory pressure.