Major Ripple (XRP) Announcement Concerning Thousands of US Users

Artificial intelligence-driven edtech firm Genius Group plans to distribute potential winnings from its multibillion-dollar lawsuits with shareholders and use a portion to expand its Bitcoin treasury, the company said.

In a Thursday press release, the board of directors at Genius Group approved the distribution plan for repurposing any wins from two lawsuits, which seek combined damages of more than $1 billion.

One lawsuit has been filed under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), which seeks damages of over $750 million against LZGI International. The second is yet to be filed, according to Genius Group’s CEO, Roger Hamilton.

Hamilton said it is expected to claim at least $262 million based on 2023 data, with updated figures likely to increase that amount to account for damages in 2024 and 2025.

Hamilton said that the lawsuits aim to recover damages caused to the shareholders by the defendants.

“The Board believes that 100% of any proceeds from the successful outcome of these cases should be directly distributed or reinvested for the benefit of shareholders,” he said.

Analytics account on X social media network, Lookonchain, has spread the word about a significant amount of Ethereum transferred to an anonymous wallet earlier today. Ethereum Foundation, which made the transaction, is a nonprofit organization that supports various projects on the Ethereum blockchain.

Meanwhile, over the past 24 hours, the second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, has shown a volatile price trajectory. After a 3.7% decline, ETH rebounded, going up by 1.62%, and is changing hands at $2,440 at press time.

Ethereum Foundation transfers 9,000 ETH over past month

Today, the foundation moved 1,000 ETH worth $2.45 million. However, this was not the first transaction in the past 30 days. The Lookonchain post says that over the past month, the Ethereum Foundation transferred a total of 9,000 ETH to the very same wallet. This amount of Ethereum is valued at around $22 million.

While it may seem like the aforementioned entity has been actively moving ETH to sell it, additional data suggests that the target crypto wallet (-0xc061) might be associated with Gnosis Safe Proxy and might be a multi-signature wallet.

Gnosis Safe Proxy allows users to manage and secure digital assets on the Ethereum network. This suggests that the foundation may be allocating funds for external use — this entity is well known for supporting young, promising cryptocurrency projects.

Ethereum Foundation supports Tornado Cash cofounder's legal defense: Vitalik Buterin

Besides, the Ethereum Foundation has also been regularly donating to support the legal defense of Tornado Cash cofounder Roman Storm. As reported by U.Today on Thursday, Ethereum cofounder and public leader Vitalik Buterin confirmed that the EF is “matching donations” to the legal defense fund support of the aforementioned individual.

Storm is currently battling legal charges in the U.S., which include ones related to money laundering and violating sanctions.

Ethereum ETFs face modest $33.2 million inflows

The Lookonchain X account also reported that on June 26, spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw a netflow of 13,642 ETH, which equals a modest $33.2 million. That figure took into account the large outflow experienced by the Fidelity Ethereum Fund ETF, totaling 10,897 ETH.

Otherwise, BlackRock’s ETF scooped up 22,698 ETH worth $55.25 million. That was the largest ETH acquisition by a single Ethereum ETF. Currently, BlackRock holds 1,743,756 ETH valued at $4.24 billion in total.

The Layer-2 (L2) token market is gaining attention for enhancing Ethereum’s scalability, but sky-high valuations raise questions about their true value.

Fierce competition among existing L2 projects and newcomers like INK brings opportunities and significant risks in 2025.

The Potential of L2 Tokens

With Ethereum still facing limitations, Layer-2 projects are increasingly vital for improving scalability. Vitalik Buterin has introduced a new Ethereum roadmap focused on enhancing the security, finality, and scalability of Layer 2 solutions.

A recent analysis by Ignas on X provides a comprehensive view of the current L2 token market.

The first key aspect is the fees generated by L2 projects. According to Ignas, annual fees from L2 blockchains show stark disparities: Arbitrum One leads with $19.5 million, Optimism at $18.3 million, zkSync earns just $1.3 million, and Starknet approximately $600,000.

This gap reflects the uneven scale and adoption among L2 projects, with Arbitrum and Optimism dominating, while Starknet remains in early development.

Another critical factor is the Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV) to fees ratio. Ignas calculates Arbitrum’s ratio at 137.8x, Optimism at 205.7x, and Starknet at 4,204x.

These shocking figures prompt questions about the rationality of current valuations. For context, Tesla’s P/E ratio is 187x, and the S&P 500 average is 29x, showing L2 tokens are valued far beyond traditional companies.

Ignas argues that with Arbitrum’s $19.5 million annual fees, this revenue is too modest to justify current valuations, especially as operational costs and competition among L2s rise. This raises doubts about whether strong fee growth and adoption can justify their value.

Governance Role and Manipulation Challenges

Beyond fee sharing, the governance role of L2 tokens is a key driver. These tokens allow holders to participate in strategic decisions, such as Arbitrum’s DRIP proposal, which allocates $80 million in ARB for incentives to attract liquidity and drive growth.

However, Ignas highlights that governance mechanisms are being distorted by manipulation. Through platforms like Lobby Finance, just 5 ETH (about $10,000) can control 19.3 million ARB (around $6.5 million). This vote-buying undermines the true value of governance, diminishing the incentive to hold tokens for this purpose and raising concerns about system transparency.

Overall, the prospects of L2 tokens hinge on future fee growth and adoption. With the Pareto principle (80/20), only 20% of L2s may capture 80% of liquidity, suggesting that only a few projects like Arbitrum, Optimism, or Base will endure long-term.

However, the continuous emergence of new L2s, alongside liquidity mining strategies like INK, may delay the identification of winners. In this context, investing in L2 tokens carries high risks, requiring investors to wait patiently for clear differentiation among projects. Yet, with the potential of L2 technology, this remains a noteworthy field, provided investors understand the associated risks and opportunities.

A fund based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced a significant investment of $100 million in the Trump-backed decentralized finance (DeFi) platform World Liberty Financial, and its native token WLFI.

The investment was confirmed in a joint statement by Aqua 1 and World Liberty Financial, highlighting the collaboration as a step towards developing a blockchain financial ecosystem and integrating stablecoins.

World Liberty Financial Partners With Aqua 1

Zak Folkman, co-founder of World Liberty Financial, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership, stating, “We’re excited to work hand-in-hand with the team at Aqua 1.” 

This investment positions Aqua 1 among the largest stakeholders in the Trump family’s cryptocurrency project. It is further strengthened by the backing of crypto billionaire Justin Sun, who is the top investor in the company with a substantial $75 million stake.

This marks the second investment from a UAE-based firm in World Liberty Financial within a short span; earlier this year, Abu Dhabi’s MGX used World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin to facilitate a $2 billion investment in Binance. 

David Lee, a founding partner at Aqua 1, stated that Aqua 1 and the decentralized platform will collaborate to “identify and nurture promising blockchain projects.”

World Liberty Financial also plans to support the Aqua Fund, an investment vehicle focused on enhancing the digital economy in the Middle East. In addition, Aqua 1 will aid World Liberty Financial in expanding its reach into South America, Europe, Asia, and emerging markets. 

Both companies are also set to develop “BlockRock,” a platform aimed at tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs) to bridge traditional investments like real estate with the Web3 ecosystem.

New App Launch Planned 

In tandem with these initiatives, World Liberty Financial is preparing to release an audit report of its stablecoin, USD1, within days. Folkman, speaking at the Permissionless conference in Brooklyn, New York, also mentioned that the platform’s WLFI token may soon become tradable. 

Launched two months prior to the US presidential election, WLFI has already generated substantial revenue for Trump’s family business through the sale of governance tokens. These tokens grant holders the ability to vote on project changes and influence its strategic direction.

While WLFI is currently not tradable, Folkman hinted at forthcoming updates that users should watch for in the coming weeks. He also revealed that the company’s stablecoin has received its first attestation report, which will be available on the company’s website.

To further facilitate user engagement, Folkman announced the upcoming launch of a new app designed to simplify cryptocurrency use for everyday investors. 

As of press time, the official TRUMP memecoin trades at $8.96, recording a major 30% drop in the monthly time frame. 

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com