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Here’s What Happened in the Cryptocurrency Industry Today — TradingView News
RFK Jr. says he will pardon Ross Ulbricht if he is elected president. Bitcoin blockchain bandwidth usage has surpassed 90% for the first time since the 2024 halving. Meanwhile, the launch of LayerZero’s new token has been mired in controversy over the donation requirement needed to claim the token.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants pardon for Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht
US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) says Silk Road darknet marketplace founder Ross Ulbricht has served enough time and should be released.
If elected — recent polls show him in a very distant third behind incumbent President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump — RFK Jr. says he would grant Ulbricht an absolute pardon. However, in the likely event that he does not assume the presidency of the United States, he also signed a petition calling for the former Silk Road founder’s freedom and encouraged his social media followers to follow his lead .
RFK Jr. also took to X.com to explain that, in his opinion, Biden and Trump had collaborated with CNN to keep him out of the upcoming presidential debates. Cointelegraph
Bitcoin regains blockchain dominance after BTC halving
Bitcoin blockchain bandwidth usage has surpassed 90% for the first time since April’s halving event, signaling a substantial increase in network activity.
The chart from Dune Analytics user Cryptokoryo portrays the decisive moment on June 20, where BTC’s 91.4% dominance replaced 6.8% for Runes, 1.6% for BRC-20 and 0.2% for Ordinals in the transactional share.
The increase in bandwidth usage after the halving can be primarily attributed to the adoption of new token standards, including Runes and BRC-20.
Data from Dune Analytics shows a significant increase in transactions involving both token standards, particularly on April 23, when Runes transactions surpassed 750,000.
ZRO token tumbles 17% amid controversy over LayerZero’s ‘not an airdrop’
Cross-chain interoperability protocol LayerZero’s newly launched LayerZero (ZRO) token has fallen 17% since its launch amid controversy over the donation criteria for claiming the tokens, which some have likened to a “tax.”
Some disagree with the criticism and think that the mechanism could be a good step towards solving the problems plaguing recent token launches.
Upon its launch on June 20, ZRO surged 15.15% to $4.71 in just 20 minutes before plummeting 22% in two hours, a pattern often seen in token airdrops.
In this case, the launch of ZRO came with a unique controversy. LayerZero has made it so that users who wish to claim the tokens are required to donate a small amount of money per ZRO token.
LayerZero predicted that the donations would lead to the donation of approximately $18.5 million to Protocol Guild, a crowd funding mechanism for Ethereum 
The move was met with a wave of backlash from the crypto community as users argued that having to pay a “fee” changes the nature of the “airdrop” to something more akin to an initial coin offering ( ICO).
Additional reporting by Geraint Price, Sam Bourgi and Felix Ng.