News Roundup — RFK Jr. Announces Bold Plan to Back Dollar With Bitcoin, End Bitcoin Taxes

Major news stories this week;

1. RFK Jr. Announces Bold Plan to Back Dollar With Bitcoin, End Bitcoin Taxes
2. Binance completes integration of Bitcoin Lightning Network
3. Aave Protocol activates GHO stablecoin on the Ethereum mainnet
4. New Bitcoin addresses hits yearly high
5. Société Générale subsidiary becomes the first fully-licensed crypto provider in France
   

Story Summaries;

1. Speaking at a Heal-the-Divide PAC event, Democratic Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. outlined specific Bitcoin-focused policies that he would enact as president, including gradually backing the U.S. dollar with bitcoin and making bitcoin profits exempt from capital gains taxes. “My plan would be to start very, very small, perhaps 1% of issued T-bills would be backed by hard currency, by gold, silver platinum or bitcoin,” Kennedy said, describing his vision for returning to a hard currency standard in the U.S.
2. Crypto exchange Binance has completed the integration of the Bitcoin Lightning Network, enabling faster and cheaper bitcoin transactions for users. The Bitcoin Lightning Network sets up direct payment channels between users, allowing them to conduct off-chain transactions with minimal fees later settled on the main Bitcoin blockchain. Direct payment channels make sending and receiving bitcoin easier without congesting the main chain.
3. Lending protocol Aave has ventured into the realm of decentralized digital dollars by activating its decentralized GHO stablecoin on the Ethereum mainnet.
   The decisive move is a result of executing the approved governance vote put forth by Aave’s decentralized autonomous organization earlier this week. The GHO stablecoin, which was initially released on the Goerli testnet back in February 2023, will be available for users on the Aave version 3 on Ethereum. This development aligns with an industry trend that is seeing DeFi platforms roll out their own stablecoins. Curve Finance, one the largest decentralized exchanges by trading volume, also launched its own overcollateralized stablecoin in May.
4. The number of unique addresses on the Bitcoin network hit a high for the year, according to The Block's data dashboard. The seven-day moving average for new addresses topped 500,000 for the first time this year, surpassing the previous high of 499,000 on April 8. On July 12, the metric reached 501,440. That's the highest level since May 2021.
5. Forge, a subsidiary of Société Générale — the third-largest bank in France — became the first company to obtain the highest access license for providing crypto services in the country — a prerequisite for numerous service activities (PSAN). The provider will have a right to custody digital assets, to purchase and sell them for legal tender, and trade them against each other.

And that’s all for last week’s news! Wishing you a great week ahead!