Today in Crypto: Google Cloud Offers Certain Customers Up To $1M for Cryptomining Attacks, Countdown Until MiCA Enters into Effect Officially Starts, Hong Kong to Lay Foundations to Implement Retail CBDC

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
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Security news

• Google Cloud announced that its new Cryptomining Protection Program offers up to $1 million for cryptomining attacks. “The service covers unauthorized Google Cloud compute expenses associated with undetected cryptomining attacks for Security Command Center Premium customers, said the announcement. “The maximum amount of credits issued under this program to any customer will not exceed $1 million USD in any 12-month period,” it added.

Regulation news

• The European Union’s landmark Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) law was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) on Friday, signaling that the bill has been formally passed and starting the countdown until new rules take effect. The law enters into force in 20 days, while its provisions apply on December 30, 2024.  

CBDC news

• The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said it will start laying the foundation to implement a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC), aka rCBDC. According to a report published on Friday, a recent study and comments from “two rounds of market consultation” convinced the HKMA that it’s “necessary to at least start paving the way for possible future implementation” of such an asset. It said that “the HKMA will therefore start work to lay the foundations for, and conduct in-depth studies and pilots on, the implementation and application of rCBDC.”

Mining news

• Hut 8 Mining said that repairs to damaged equipment at its Drumheller, Alberta, Canada, site are taking longer than expected because of power shortages and equipment failures. The miner said that “given the challenges with bringing the equipment back online, we will not meet the previous restoration timeline estimate as communicated on May 8.” The company mined 147 Bitcoin in the period ending May 31, and it sold BTC 179 in May for proceeds totaling $6.8 million, it said.

Exchange news

• OKX said it burned around $258 million worth of its OKB tokens between March and May, representing the third-highest burn in its history. In this round, the total number of OKB bought back and burned from the secondary market was nearly 5.5 million, the exchange said. Per the report, compared to this 20th round, OKX burned more tokens only in the 5th and 6th rounds: 6.1 million and 5.95 million, respectively. “As of today, we have burned a total of 64,042,314.70 OKB. The current OKB in circulation is 235,957,685.30 OKB,” it said.
• OKX, an Official Cryptocurrency Exchange Partner of Manchester City Football Club, announced that the players will wear the OKX Training Kit before the Saturday match at Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, where they will face off against Inter Milan. “The Final is a fitting end to a successful second season of OKX’s partnership with Manchester City,” the exchange said.

Investment news

• Blockchain-based insurance marketplace Nayms announced the launch of its Nayms Marketplace on the Ethereum network. It said that its first fully capitalized insurance program has been launched on the marketplace. “Additionally, Nayms is thrilled to disclose the successful raising of $500,000 USDC in its first segregated account, with targeted annual returns averaging around 15%,” said the press release.