Here’s what happened in crypto today

The first hours of July 3 have already seen a crypto project losing multi-million dollars in a hack without any visible impact on the broader market. Meanwhile, widely-followed crypto influencers are sure about a Bitcoin ETF approval in the coming months.

Here’s what has happened in crypto today. 

Related: Bitcoin traders torn between breakout and $28K dip as BTC price stalls

Poly Network’s losses may have been double than anticipated

Blockchain interoperability platform Poly Network may have lost more than $5 million in a hack that exploited Ethereum (ETH), BNB Chain, Polygon (MATIC), Avalanche (AVAX), Optimism (OP), and five other blockchains.

According to the latest findings by security firm Beosin, attackers have stolen about $10 million after liquidating ETH from Poly Network. Nonetheless, they may have failed to liquidate about $260 million due to poor market liquidity. 

@PolyNetwork2 exploiter has swapped a total of 5,196 $ETH (~$10.1M) on Ethereum.

Other tokens (~$260 million) may not be cashed out by the attacker due to low liqudity.

The fees for these addresses on Ethereum are from @Bybit_Official, @kucoincom, @FixedFloat, @ChangeNOW_io pic.twitter.com/rTxIvY993P

— Beosin Alert (@BeosinAlert) July 3, 2023

It has been just under two years since Poly Network’s last hack, wherein it lost an astonishing $600 million, thus becoming one of the largest bridge hacks in Web3 history.

Market: Filecoin booms as most crypto assets stabilize 

The Poly Network hack has been unable to scare off crypto bulls if one looks at their market performance on July 3.

Notably, the cryptocurrency market’s capitalization has increased by over 1.5% to an intraday high of $1.17 trillion. Leading these gains among the top coins is Filecoin (FIL), which has risen 20% to $4.93, its highest level in a month.

Other top-performing assets include the Graph (GRT), which has jumped 18% intraday to reach its one-month high of $0.139.

A wave of Bitcoin ETF applications led by star asset management firm BlackRock has boosted upside sentiments in the crypto market.

Nonetheless, most top cryptocurrencies may come under pressure if the Federal Reserve delivers 50 basis points of additional interest rate tightening by 2023’s end.

Regulation updates: Thailand, Hong Kong, and the U.K.

July 3 has been a relatively better day as far as crypto regulations are concerned. For instance, Hong Kong regulators appointed a new Web3 task force to oversee and ensure sustainable crypto development in the region.

The announcement comes in a bid to boost Hong Kong’s crypto-friendly regulations. Recently, Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) pressured banking firms, including Standard Chartered, HSBC, and Bank of China, to accept crypto exchanges as clients.

Related: Belarus wants to ban P2P cryptocurrency transactions

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom is taking more steps to clarify crypto’s definition within the legal purviews, days after granting regulators the power to introduce and enforce rules to regulate the crypto sector. 

On July 3, the U.K. Law Commission proposed to create a special category of personal properties to integrate cryptocurrencies. The commission said the new category would enable them to accurately recognize different types of digital assets — ranging from cryptocurrencies to digitized instruments.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.