Cryptocurrency traders in the United States returned from the July 4 holiday break to a historic Bitcoin price plunge of over 10%, in a drop that seemingly sparked a buying spree among spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) investors.

Tron founder Justin Sun unveiled plans to develop a stablecoin that can be transferred without transaction fees, with these fees being “entirely covered by the stablecoins themselves.”

The President of the Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan), Yang Chin-long, has recently emphasized a focus on steady progress over speed in developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Spot Bitcoin ETFs See Highest Inflows in a Month After Historic Price Drop
• Tron Founder Announces Fee-Free Stablecoin Set for Q4 Launch
• Taiwan's Central Bank Emphasizes Progress on CBDC Development

Spot Bitcoin ETFs See Highest Inflows in a Month After Historic Price Drop

Cryptocurrency traders in the United States returned from the July 4 holiday break to a historic Bitcoin price plunge of over 10%, in a drop that seemingly sparked a buying spree among spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) investors.

Data compiled by Farside Investors shows that U.S.-based spot Bitcoin ETFs saw their highest net inflows in a month on Friday, totaling $143.1 million. Leading the charge was Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), which raked in a hefty $117.4 million in net new investments.

Other funds like Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), ARK/21 Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), and VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL) also saw positive inflows, while the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which has the highest fees among its peers, continued to experience asset outflows.

The drop of Bitcoin dropped to its level since February to trade at a $53,763.63 low last week amid a wide market sell-off attributed to a confluence of factors, including concerns surrounding a potential supply surge with the return of 140,000 BTC to former customers of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox, along with sales from wallets controlled by the German government.

Tron Founder Announces Fee-Free Stablecoin Set for Q4 Launch

Tron founder Justin Sun unveiled plans to develop a stablecoin that can be transferred without transaction fees, with these fees being “entirely covered by the stablecoins themselves.”

Sun proposed the stablecoin on social media, noting it’s slated to launch on the Tron blockchain in the fourth quarter of the year before expanding to Ethereum and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible blockchains.

The crypto entrepreneur added he anticipates the service “will greatly facilitate large companies in deploying stablecoin services on the blockchain, elevating blockchain mass adoption to a new level.”

The proposed stablecoin would compete with similar offerings, including PayPal’s stablecoin PYUSD, which allows users based in the US to convert the coin into USD to then send and receive cross-border payments without fees.

Similarly, Coinbase Wallet currently offers free USDC transfers on the Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain Base. Notably, USDC issuer Circle and crypto exchange Binance both dropped support for the stablecoin on Tron.

Taiwan's Central Bank Emphasizes Progress on CBDC Development

The President of the Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan), Yang Chin-long, has recently emphasized a focus on steady progress over speed in developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Yang dismissed the notion of a race among countries to be the first to launch such a currency, citing the lack of clear success stories from those who have already done so. In a report released ahead of his presentation to the Finance Committee of the Legislative Yuan, President Yang outlined the central bank’s plans for a digital New Taiwan dollar.

The bank, per the report, is currently conducting experiments in three distinct scenarios, aiming to bolster domestic payment efficiency and foster innovation. While there currently isn’t a specific launch date for the CBDC, efforts to refine the payment system's processing speed and explore innovative applications are ongoing.

A noteworthy development is the prototype platform designed for retail CBDC payments, which currently can support up to 20,000 transactions per second. Additionally, a proof-of-concept for a wholesale CBDC is in the works.

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