Here's what caught my eye in the crypto world today:

RFK Jr. Advocates for Ross Ulbricht's Pardon

U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared his intention to pardon Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road darknet marketplace, if he becomes president. Despite trailing far behind Joe Biden and Donald Trump in polls, RFK Jr. is committed to Ulbricht’s release, arguing he has served enough time. Even if he doesn’t win, he has signed a petition for Ulbricht's freedom and urged his supporters to do the same. He also accused Biden and Trump of colluding with CNN to exclude him from the upcoming presidential debates.

Bitcoin's Blockchain Bandwidth Usage Hits New High

For the first time since the April 2024 halving, Bitcoin’s blockchain bandwidth usage has surpassed 90%. On June 20, BTC’s 91.4% dominance outpaced Runes at 6.8%, BRC-20 at 1.6%, and Ordinals at 0.2%, according to Dune Analytics. This spike in network activity is mainly due to the adoption of new token standards like Runes and BRC-20. Notably, Runes transactions exceeded 750,000 on April 23, highlighting a surge in network usage post-halving.

LayerZero's ZRO Token Launch Faces Backlash

LayerZero’s new token, LayerZero (ZRO), launched amid controversy over a donation requirement for claiming tokens. Since its debut on June 20, ZRO has dropped 17%. Initially, the token surged 15.15% to $4.71 within 20 minutes but fell 22% within two hours, a typical pattern for token airdrops. The controversy stems from LayerZero's requirement that users donate a small amount per ZRO token, which is projected to raise $18.5 million for the Protocol Guild, an Ethereum developer collective. This move has sparked criticism, with many arguing that this “tax” turns the airdrop into something more akin to an initial coin offering (ICO).