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Good morning, Coin Discoverers!

CRYPTO

• BTC: $66,697.80 (-0.06%) YTD (+51.00%)

• ETH: $3,489.69 (+0.64%) YTD (+48.32%)

• BNB: $600.52 (+0.11%) YTD (+91.31%)

*Crypto numbers as of 5:00 am EST on June 14th

Riot ups Bitfarms stake to 14% ($3.87M)

Early Thursday evening, bitcoin miner Riot Platforms announced the acquisition of 1,432,063 shares of Bitfarms at approximately $2.70 per share, totaling around $3.87 million.

Riot now holds 57,620,000 shares of Bitfarms, representing approximately 14% of the company. This marks the latest move in Riot's ongoing attempt at a hostile takeover of Bitfarms.

Last month, Riot Platforms attempted to acquire Bitfarms for approximately $950 million. On Wednesday, Riot Platforms’ CEO criticized Bitfarms’ latest plans to block the takeover attempt.

$5M bounty for hacker

After the UwU Lend exploiter failed to return funds, the protocol is taking another initiative to catch the culprit.

UwU Lend has established a $5 million ETH bounty for "the first person to identify and locate" the exploiter, according to an Input Data Message (IDM) on Ethereum, adding, "No recovery of funds or charges required."

Previously, the protocol had discussed establishing a bounty directly with the exploiter. Under this arrangement, the attacker could keep 20% of what they took, provided they returned the remaining 80%.

a16z-backed Coinbase soon

Backed by A16z, Proof of Play's crypto game "Pirate Nation" secured a token listing on Coinbase shortly after its launch on Thursday.

According to a statement, "PIRATE is an ERC-20 token on Ethereum Mainnet and serves as a utility token for 'Pirate Nation.'" The token launched on Thursday at 12:00 a.m. EST and, by 3:33 p.m. EST, had risen over 90%, reaching $0.28, according to CoinGecko.

Wants $2B fine (lower)

Lawyers for Ripple Labs are aiming to use the recent fines imposed on Terraform as leverage to negotiate a lower penalty in their case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Ripple, which has been engaged in a legal battle with the SEC for several years, stated in a "notice of supplemental authority" on Thursday that the financial penalties proposed by the agency were unreasonable. The company compared the SEC's proposed $2 billion fine for selling XRP to institutional investors to fines imposed against Terraform Labs. Ripple contended that its fine should be closer to $10 million.

STOCKS

• DOW: 38,647.10 (-0.17%)

• S&P: 5,433.74 (+0.23%)

• NASDAQ: 17,667.56 (+0.34%)

*Stock numbers as of market close on June 13th

$56B 'deliver'

Tesla (TSLA.O) announced on Thursday that shareholders have approved CEO Elon Musk's $56 billion pay package. This substantial approval underscores strong confidence in his leadership and provides a significant incentive for him to remain focused on Tesla, which is his primary source of wealth.

The approval, backed by 72% of votes, underscores the support that Musk enjoys from Tesla's retail investor base, many of whom are vocal fans of the mercurial billionaire. The proposal passed despite opposition from 28% of votes cast by large institutional investors and proxy firms.

Tesco board faces CEO pay scrutiny

The board of Tesco (TSCO.L), Britain's largest supermarket group, will need to defend CEO Ken Murphy's pay package of nearly £10 million ($13 million) as shareholders convene for the annual meeting this Friday. Shareholders are increasingly critical of executive compensation deemed excessive, particularly in light of the current cost of living challenges.

Tesco's latest annual report, released last month, revealed that Murphy's compensation rose sharply to £9.93 million for the fiscal year ending Feb. 24, 2024, up from £4.44 million in 2022/23.

REAL ESTATE

• 15-year: 6.38%

• 30-year: 6.97%

*Mortage rates via Mortgage News Daily

Mortgage apps up 15%

Last week, mortgage application activity rebounded strongly after a decline during the prior holiday-shortened week. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported that its Market Composite Index, which gauges mortgage application volume, surged by 15.6% when adjusted for seasonal factors and showed a notable 26.0% increase without adjustment.

Specifically, the Refinance Index saw a robust 28.0% increase from the previous week and was also up by 28.0% compared to the same week last year. Consequently, the refinance share of applications rose to 35.2% from the previous week's 31.1%.

TECH

AI Image Fight: SD3 vs Rivals

Stability AI's SD3 launch is creating waves in AI circles, aiming to elevate image generation standards, surpassing SDXL, Mid Journey, and Ideogram.

We conducted a rigorous comparison using identical prompts across models, acknowledging their inherent differences. Evaluations covered diverse scenarios to test artistic and practical capabilities. Using consistent seeds and standardized prompts ensured fair assessment.

QUICK RECAP 

#1. IMF board approves Argentina to access $800M, confirms $44B program on track with targets.

#2. S&P 500, Nasdaq hit fourth straight record highs; jobless claims rise, producer prices drop.

#3. The yen dropped post-BOJ as rates held; BOJ plans bond buying cut in July.

#4. Flix explores non-IPO options, discussing a 30% stake sale with EQT, valuing it at €3.2B.

#5. Oil prices dipped: Brent crude fell 72 cents to $82.04, WTI lost 79 cents to $77.84.