Good Afternoon Crypto Enthusiasts!

Glad to have you back for another edition of the UseTheBitcoin.com newsletter.

1. Binance ‘HODLer’ Airdrop Rewards: Binance launched the HODLer Airdrops rewards program for BNB holders, granting early access to tokens from promising projects. Participants need to hold BNB, subscribe to Simple Earn, complete KYC, and reside in eligible jurisdictions.

2. ZRO Token Airdrop Claims Today: The LayerZero Foundation has announced that claims for its ZRO token airdrop will start today at 7 a.m. ET, distributing 85 million ZRO tokens to eligible participants.

3. ConsenSys Lawsuit Against US SEC: ConsenSys will continue its lawsuit against the SEC despite the closure of the SEC's investigation into Ethereum 2.0.

4. Kraken Exploited: Blockchain security firm CertiK revealed it was involved in the controversy with Kraken over a $3 million exploit. CertiK identified a vulnerability, leading to a dispute with Kraken over the return of funds.

5. 💡Feature of the Day - ‘Pharma Bro’ Helped Barron Trump Create DJT Token?: Martin Shkreli claimed involvement in creating the Solana-based DJT token, speculating that Barron Trump might be aware of the project.

   
   All this and more in today’s headlines!

📰 News Highlights:

Binance ‘HODLer’ Airdrop Rewards [Source][Source][Source]

Binance, a leading global crypto exchange, has introduced the HODLer Airdrops rewards program for holders of its BNB token. This initiative will give early access to tokens from select projects launching on Binance.

To participate, Binance users must hold BNB, be subscribed to Simple Earn, complete account verification (KYC), and be from an eligible jurisdiction, which the company has yet to specify.

The exchange will announce HODLer Airdrops in advance, allowing users to prepare for potential rewards, allocated based on their BNB balances.

Binance clarified that participation in HODLer Airdrops would not affect users' standard benefits for holding BNB, such as eligibility for Launchpool and Megadrop events.

ZRO Token Airdrop Claims Today [Source][Source][Source]

The LayerZero Foundation has announced that claims for its native ZRO token airdrop will begin today at 7 a.m. ET. A total of 85 million ZRO tokens will be distributed to eligible participants, marking a significant step for the cross-chain interoperability platform LayerZero.

The ZRO token has a fixed supply of 1 billion, with 38.3% allocated for users, developers, and community members. The initial distribution includes 8.5% of the total supply, or 85 million ZRO tokens, claimable by eligible users.

LayerZero Labs CEO Bryan Pellegrino identified 1.28 million wallets eligible for the airdrop, from over six million unique wallets that have interacted with the protocol.

Future distributions will include 15.3% of the ZRO supply reserved for users, protocols, and infrastructure builders through future snapshots and RFPs. Additionally, 32.2% will go to strategic partners, and 25.5% to core contributors, with a three-year vesting period.

Unclaimed tokens at the end of the claim period will be redistributed to those who claimed, based on the LayerZero Core allocation.

📈Technical Analysis Masterclass /🫨 What’s Buzzing? / 📜 Your Daily Thread:

ConsenSys Lawsuit Against US SEC [Source][Source][Source]

ConsenSys founder Joseph Lubin confirmed that the company will continue its lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), despite the closure of the SEC's investigation into Ethereum 2.0. This development was reported by Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett on X (formerly Twitter).

ConsenSys described the closure of the investigation as a "major win" for the industry, indicating that the SEC will no longer classify Ether sales as securities transactions.

Lubin emphasized that while the closure of the investigation was necessary, it was not sufficient. The ongoing litigation aims to achieve greater legal clarity for the cryptocurrency sector.

The SEC's categorization of Ethereum as a financial security had prompted ConsenSys to file the lawsuit in April. The company alleged that the SEC’s Director of the Division of Enforcement, Gurbir Grewal, initiated the investigation on March 28, 2023, to scrutinize Ether transactions.

Kraken Exploited [Source][Source][Source][Source]

Blockchain security firm CertiK has revealed itself as the “security researcher” involved in a controversy with cryptocurrency exchange Kraken over a $3 million exploit.

According to a June 19 post on X, CertiK informed Kraken about the vulnerability, which allowed CertiK to withdraw millions of dollars from Kraken’s accounts.

Kraken's Chief Security Officer, Nicholas Percoco, accused the unnamed security team—later identified as CertiK—of extortion, claiming they refused to return the funds until Kraken agreed to pay a speculated amount.

CertiK countered, stating that Kraken’s security team threatened its employees to repay an unreasonable amount of crypto in a short time frame without providing repayment addresses.

In a bid for transparency, CertiK went public to protect user security and urged Kraken to stop threatening whitehat hackers. The firm also published a timeline of events starting from the identification of the exploit on June 5 to the alleged threats on June 18.

CertiK plans to transfer the funds to an account that Kraken can access, though initial reactions from the crypto community seemed to side with Kraken, questioning CertiK's motives.

💡 Feature of the Day: 

‘Pharma Bro’ Helped Barron Trump Create DJT Token? [Source][Source][Source][Source]

Martin Shkreli, infamously known as “Pharma Bro,” has claimed involvement in creating the Solana-based token DJT, amidst speculation that Donald Trump or his family might be behind it.

During a June 18 X Spaces discussion, Shkreli revealed he was "helping a friend" when launching the token in April. He mentioned that around 10 people were directly involved in the creation, with 40 to 50 aware of it, and indicated that Barron Trump, Donald Trump's son, was among those aware.

The revelation followed Arkham Intelligence offering a $150,000 bounty to identify the DJT token’s creator, responding to Shkreli’s $100 million bet with crypto trader GCR on the token’s authenticity.

This bounty has fueled investigations, with blockchain sleuth ZachXBT among those submitting evidence, prompting Shkreli’s X Spaces session.

Meanwhile, bets on whether the DJT token is linked to the Trump family have surged on decentralized betting platform Polymarket, with nearly $1.9 million wagered.

😂 Crypto Meme of the Day: 

And that’s it for this today.

With all of the recent hacks taking place, remember to protect your crypto assets with today’s sponsor Trezor hardware wallets.

See you all tomorrow’s edition!

Jonathan Gibson
UseTheBitcoin.com