Ripple received a full MiCA Crypto-Asset Service Provider license from Luxembourg's Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier on July 6, 2026. The approval enables Ripple to offer regulated crypto services across the European Economic Area under a single national authorization. The firm previously obtained an Electronic Money Institution license in February 2026 and a UK Financial Conduct Authority registration, completing its compliance stack under MiCA's transition period that ended on July 1. With the license, Ripple can passport its services to 30 EEA countries, serving roughly 450 million people and a portfolio of more than 75 authorizations worldwide. The European permission allows Ripple to provide custody, exchange, and transfer services for cryptoassets alongside its existing fiat and e‑money offerings. In contrast, the U.S. regulatory framework remains unsettled; the CLARITY Act, which would define XRP's classification, is awaiting Senate floor action in the week of July 20 and requires seven Democratic votes to advance. Ripple's price has shown limited reaction to the European license, reflecting broader market conditions rather than the regulatory milestone. The company's expanded European footprint may increase demand for its regulated payment services, but XRP's token demand remains uncertain until U.S. legislation provides clear guidance.
Bitcoin, Ethereum, regulation, and the forces moving digital assets.
President Donald Trump’s most recent Office of Government Ethics filing shows that his crypto-related holdings, including licensing revenue from Trump-branded tokens and earnings from World Liberty Financial, create a governance challenge that goes beyond conventional ethics concerns. Crypto assets can be tied to regulatory decisions, political signals, and branding in ways that traditional investments do not, allowing value to shift rapidly in response to public policy. As a result, the president’s economic interests in the sector may influence market perception of policy outcomes. The disclosure lists substantial crypto-related revenue streams linked to political activity and regulatory developments such as the Clarity Act, Executive Order 14178, and broader federal attitudes toward digital assets. Because crypto markets operate continuously across global platforms, changes in administration stance can affect token prices, trading volumes, and the commercial viability of related ventures. While the filing provides a map of the president’s exposure, it does not resolve concerns about the overlap between public authority and private financial benefit. Legal scholars have noted that existing blind‑trust rules address only part of the issue, as many crypto businesses derive value from access, branding, and regulatory climate even when day‑to‑day management is delegated. Experts suggest that clearer separation between public power and token‑linked economics may be needed, including provisions for recusal, counterparty transparency, and the treatment of governance rights or revenue claims held through affiliated entities. The situation underscores that disclosure alone may be insufficient to address the institutional risk posed when presidential financial interests intersect with a fast‑moving, policy‑sensitive digital‑asset market.
Hong Kong Interbank Clearing Limited discovered multiple counterfeit websites that impersonate official faster payment system (FPS) services and advertise cash rewards to obtain personal and banking information from users. The scheme asks victims to submit Hong Kong ID numbers, ID photos, phone numbers, bank account details and names in exchange for promised cash rewards before directing them to deposit or withdraw funds through virtual wallets. The websites claim to provide refund assistance or transaction support and direct victims to communicate with fake customer service representatives. HKICL stated the sites have no connection to its operations. The warning follows recent regulatory actions by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, which introduced new cybersecurity requirements for licensed virtual asset platforms. The SFC requires firms to replace SMS-based authentication with passkeys, device binding or hardware security keys within 12 months and has added Aurum/Aurum Foundation to its Alert List after determining the entity was offering virtual asset, futures and derivatives services without a required license. HKICL reminded the public that it does not provide FPS services directly to individuals and does not initiate contact regarding such services. It urged anyone receiving suspicious communications to verify the source through the organization’s official hotline and to report suspected fraud to police promptly.
Binance reported June futures trading volume of $1.63 trillion, the highest monthly total for the exchange in 2026, even as market sentiment remained cautious and summer participation fell. The figure marks the peak level recorded for the exchange in the period covered.
Derivatives activity remained strong despite Bitcoin trading near the mid-$60,000 range and the usual seasonal dip. Traders continued to assess positions as Europe implemented the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, and the summer holiday period typically reduces market engagement.
Analyst JA Maartun said the increase reflects active position opening and management on Binance. He noted that the gap between cautious sentiment and elevated derivatives participation warrants attention. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission began a 60-day public comment period on proposed changes to portfolio margining for securities, security-based swaps, futures and related products. The review follows the approval of U.S. crypto perpetual futures and seeks industry input on coordination to improve risk management, reduce market fragmentation and protect consumers. On Friday, the CFTC temporarily halted the listing of CME Group's proposed 24/7 crude oil futures contract after the exchange self-certified the product while the agency evaluated continuous futures trading implications. The pause used existing regulatory authority to allow further review before proceeding.
The data suggest traders are maintaining leveraged exposure on Binance despite regulatory scrutiny and seasonal slowdown, leaving the impact of upcoming rule changes on futures activity unclear.
Bonzo Lend, a lending protocol on the Hedera network, reported a loss of approximately $9 million after an attacker manipulated the price of its SAUCE token as collateral. The incident, detailed in a report published on Saturday, showed the attacker deposited 250 SAUCE tokens, which were worth only a few dollars, and then submitted a price update that inflated the token’s value by about 12 orders of magnitude. The wallet subsequently borrowed 6.63 million USDC and 34.5 million wrapped HBAR from the protocol’s liquidity pool. Bonzo attributed the issue to a flaw in Supra’s on‑chain oracle verifier, which accepted a manipulated price carrying a zeroed signature. Supra acknowledged the problem and released a fix, while the protocol stated that its contracts and the Hedera network were not compromised.
The case exemplifies how oracle failures can convert low‑value collateral into a means to withdraw large sums from lending platforms, even when the application and underlying blockchain operate as designed.
DeFi exploits have increased in 2026, with the second quarter recording 83 separate incidents and roughly $755 million in stolen assets, according to CryptoRank. Cross‑chain bridge exploits accounted for $351 million, while administrator compromises and fake token price manipulation represented 37% of quarterly losses. Total value locked in DeFi fell 39% to over $70 billion in June from about $115 billion in January. The repeated security incidents have raised concerns about user confidence and capital outflows.
A similar attack occurred in February on a YieldBlox DAO‑managed lending pool on the Stellar network, where attackers drained about $10 million by manipulating the price path used to value USTRY collateral.
The pace of cryptocurrency initial public offerings has slowed in 2026 as investors move capital toward artificial intelligence and amid heightened macroeconomic uncertainty. Earlier in 2026, firms such as Circle and Bullish launched successful IPOs, prompting optimism about a strong year for crypto listings. Investment banker Christian Lopez, head of blockchain and digital assets at Cohen & Company Capital Markets, said the slowdown reflects a broader shift away from crypto assets and a reduction in appetite for high‑beta securities. He noted that the October 2025 liquidity event reduced capital available to the digital asset ecosystem. Retail participation has declined, with many investors redirecting funds to AI stocks and the so‑called Mag 7 technology companies. Even AI‑focused equities have seen recent pullbacks, suggesting continued rotation. Macro factors, including expectations for interest rates and global deleveraging, have increased caution toward crypto IPOs. While the Federal Reserve and the Trump administration have signaled a possible move toward lower rates, actions by the Bank of Japan and other central banks have kept markets volatile. Lopez said investors are wary of aftermarket support for new crypto stocks, which has delayed listings. Several companies have postponed IPO plans, including Kraken’s parent Payward, Consensys, Ledger, and Grayscale, while Blockchain.com filed a confidential S‑1 with the SEC in May and FalconX submitted a draft registration. Lopez indicated that the market may not reopen meaningfully for crypto offerings until 2027, as the Bitcoin price cycle is expected to bottom around October and the broader crypto market typically follows Bitcoin’s trajectory. Regulatory clarity is no longer the primary barrier; Lopez said companies previously went public before clear rules existed and that access to capital is now the main concern. He added that firms are diversifying beyond pure crypto trading to improve their prospects for public listings. Institutional adoption of blockchain technology continues to expand, with Morgan Stanley, Nasdaq, and the New York Stock Exchange building blockchain‑based settlement infrastructure. Initiatives such as the OpenUSD network now involve more than 140 financial institutions and payments firms focused on stablecoin settlement. Lopez expects long‑term winners to be infrastructure providers rather than firms focused solely on individual cryptocurrencies. The timeline for renewed crypto IPO activity remains uncertain, with the market potentially reopening in 2027 contingent on Bitcoin’s price cycle and broader macro conditions.
On July 7, 2026, Hong Kong authorities announced a set of measures aimed at expanding yuan financing, gold settlement and offshore bond market access.
The package reflects a broader effort to make Hong Kong a more active hub for non‑dollar financial activity, following the rise of stablecoin networks that simplify dollar transfers.
The measures include trial operations of a central gold clearing and settlement system, a target to increase Hong Kong’s gold storage capacity to more than 2,000 metric tons within three years, and the revival of US dollar‑denominated gold futures alongside exploration of yuan‑denominated futures. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority expanded its RMB Business Facility to 500 billion yuan, up from 200 billion yuan, effective July 10. Additionally, the Southbound Bond Connect investment quota was raised to 800 billion yuan, allowing mainland investors greater access to offshore bonds.
Together, the steps are intended to give institutions more avenues to fund yuan transactions, settle gold trades and purchase Chinese bonds without relying on the U.S. dollar. Gold, as a widely recognized reserve asset, may add appeal to the yuan‑based platform. However, China’s capital controls continue to restrict the free movement of yuan, which has driven some market participants toward Bitcoin and dollar‑denominated stablecoins.
The success of the initiative will hinge on institutional adoption of the new clearing and funding infrastructure and on the extent to which global investors view yuan and gold assets as viable alternatives to dollar‑linked stablecoins.
BIP 110, formally called the Reduced Data Temporary Soft Fork, would temporarily limit the size of OP_RETURN fields and block data chunks larger than 256 bytes, effectively restricting how non-financial information can be stored on Bitcoin. The proposal is set to enter a signaling period from block 957,600 to block 959,615, with a voluntary lock-in deadline at block 961,542, after which activation is expected near September. Miner signaling, which requires only 55% support, has not risen above 1% and currently stands at zero, with no major mining pool backing the change. Node adoption is limited to a few implementations, primarily Bitcoin Knots, and remains in low single-digit percentages. Michael Saylor, founder of Strategy, posted on July 11 that the plan would turn a spam dispute into a consensus rule that could invalidate some fee-paying transactions, and Adam Back, co-founder of Blockstream, argued that Bitcoin will not join a fork that enforces the restriction. Supporters say the changes would refocus Bitcoin on payments and reduce node resource demands, while critics say the rule improperly censors valid transactions and creates a policy debate that should not be encoded into consensus. If the threshold is not met, the main network will continue unchanged and the rule would apply only to a minority chain.
Paul Grewal notified Coinbase on July 8 that he would resign as chief legal officer and corporate secretary, effective July 31, according to an 8-K filing disclosed July 9.
Paul Grewal notified Coinbase on July 8 that he would resign as chief legal officer and corporate secretary, effective July 31, according to an 8-K filing disclosed July 9.
He will move into an advisory role from August 1 through October 31, receive a lump sum equal to three months of base salary at the end of the advisory period, retain restricted stock units scheduled to vest on August 20, and remain on the board of Coinbase National Trust Company.
Grewal joined Coinbase in summer 2020 after serving as vice president and deputy general counsel at Facebook and as a federal magistrate judge in the Northern District of California. He oversaw the company's direct listing on Nasdaq in April 2021 and led its defense against the SEC's June 2023 lawsuit that alleged Coinbase operated as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency. The case was dismissed in 2025, after which Coinbase shifted its focus to legislative efforts, including the GENIUS Act for stablecoins and the CLARITY Act for market structure, with the Senate scheduled to vote on the latter in July 2026.
The departure coincides with the final weeks of the CLARITY Act's legislative calendar, which faces a deadline before the Senate recess on August 7. Coinbase has restructured its legal team, appointing Molly Abraham as general counsel and corporate secretary and naming Ryan VanGrack as vice chairman and head of corporate affairs, while Faryar Shirzad continues as chief policy officer. The company says the transition reflects a move from litigation to product and regulatory integration, with its legal strategy now centered on licensing, trust charter approvals, and stablecoin compliance rather than ongoing SEC enforcement.
Grewal's exit marks the end of the enforcement era for a generation of crypto lawyers and signals confidence that the pending legislation, rather than further court battles, will determine the industry's regulatory future.
SEC on June 30 issued a request for public comment on "novel" exchange‑traded funds, defining them as funds that invest in innovative asset classes or use novel strategies. The request listed crypto assets, commodities, single‑stock strategies, leveraged products and other structures for consideration.
The comment period follows years of debate over whether the SEC should permit spot cryptocurrency products to be offered through exchange‑traded funds. Spot Bitcoin products such as Fidelity’s FBTC are exchange‑traded products rather than funds governed by the Investment Company Act of 1940, though they are commonly called ETFs.
The SEC asked whether existing rules need new portfolio limits, strategy restrictions or exclusions, and whether the ETF label should be applied to products outside the investment‑company framework. Regulators said they are examining leverage, derivatives exposure, structural complexity and valuation risk within products that many investors view as simple.
Crypto ETFs provide retail investors access to volatile digital assets through familiar brokerage accounts, but the underlying markets trade 24 hours a day, have fragmented liquidity and raise custody and valuation questions. Issuers have expanded product designs to include leveraged exposure, income‑generating structures and token baskets, prompting concerns about investor understanding.
The SEC indicated that tighter limits on complexity could slow new approvals, increase disclosure requirements and limit the ability of issuers to create products that rely on the familiarity of the ETF wrapper. The agency said it wants to ensure that public investors can evaluate the underlying exposure independently of the product’s packaging.
The broader debate will shape how crypto assets are integrated into mainstream investment vehicles and how regulatory oversight evolves. The outcome may affect the speed of new ETF approvals and the transparency of product structures.
CoreWeave, an AI cloud infrastructure provider, has obtained more than $20 billion in debt and equity financing this year, including a $3.1 billion loan secured by graphics processing units. The oversubscribed facility reflects strong institutional demand for AI‑focused capital. Investors have allocated record amounts to AI infrastructure in 2026, with AI ranked as the most popular funding category, while Bitcoin has declined more than 50 percent from its prior peak near $126,000 despite a record expansion of global money supply. The financing includes interest income, identified collateral, and fixed maturity terms, allowing investors to assess GPU value, contract strength, cash‑flow projections, and refinancing risk. Credit ratings from Moody’s and Fitch assigned the facility Ba2 and BB+ ratings. Unlike Bitcoin, which offers no revenue, yield, or claim on operating assets, AI infrastructure provides multiyear, dollar‑denominated contracts backed by major technology firms. The Bank for International Settlements estimates that the five largest hyperscalers will invest over $1 trillion in AI‑related capital expenditures through 2026, exceeding their free cash flow and increasing debt reliance. BIS warnings indicate that weaker returns could lead to a pullback in AI financing, potentially affecting credit markets. Pierre Rochard, CEO of The Bitcoin Bond Company, noted that capital is flowing into physical AI assets tied to supply constraints, crowding out Bitcoin investment. He added that a slowdown in AI capex could eventually free liquidity for Bitcoin, though short‑term market reactions may be negative as risk‑off sentiment prompts broad asset sales. The long‑term outlook for Bitcoin may improve if AI investment contracts, creating an environment where scarce monetary assets become more attractive.
Michael Saylor, executive chairman of Strategy, and Adam Back, chief executive of Blockstream, have reiterated their opposition to BIP-110, a proposed temporary fork that would restrict non‑monetary transactions on the Bitcoin network. The proposal, introduced in December 2025, aims to curb spam from Ordinals inscriptions and preserve Bitcoin’s peer‑to‑peer cash functionality.
BIP-110 was drafted by the pseudonymous developer Dathon Ohm with support from Ocean protocol founder Luke Dashjr. Activation would require support from 55% of Bitcoin nodes during a defined block period; in the most recent period, only about 1% of blocks signaled support. Current Ordinals activity has fallen to fewer than 10,000 inscriptions per day, down from more than 400,000 at its August 2023 peak, according to Dune Analytics.
Saylor posted on X that “there are 110 things more dangerous to Bitcoin than spam,” adding that BIP-110 could invalidate ordinary transactions. Back described the proposal as “a quest to police other people,” saying it conflicts with Bitcoin’s decentralized, permissionless ethos. Proponents argue the fork would not cause a chain split, imposes a one‑year temporary limit, and would not affect fee‑paying transactions in the long term.
The dispute highlights ongoing tension within the Bitcoin development community over how to manage network load, and its outcome remains uncertain as the required node support has not been achieved.
Circle received final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on July 10 to establish a national trust bank named First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., doing business as Circle National Trust. The bank will provide fiduciary digital‑asset custody for Circle and its affiliates under direct OCC supervision and will not accept ordinary deposits, make loans, offer checking or savings accounts, or provide FDIC‑insured retail banking services.
The trust‑bank charter allows Circle to manage its USDC reserve, which totals about $73.3 billion, and to streamline compliance ahead of potential passage of the GENIUS Act. Circle said the bank may later offer custody directly to a limited number of regulated financial institutions if demand arises, and it may bring reserve management inside the trust bank at a later date, though no timeline has been disclosed.
The OCC’s decision follows a conditional approval issued in December 2025 and represents a final step in the charter process. Circle indicated that the new framework gives it a federal fiduciary structure that competing stablecoin issuers may find difficult to replicate quickly, potentially influencing which banks and regulated firms choose digital‑dollar infrastructure.
The Independent Community Bankers of America raised concerns during the application that national trust charters could grant fintech companies bank‑like benefits without the full capital and consumer‑protection requirements of insured commercial banks, but the OCC granted the charter anyway. Operational testing will determine whether external institutions adopt Circle’s custody service and whether USDC reserve management is transferred into the trust bank.
An IMF working paper by economist Brandon Joel Tan models how stablecoins affect parallel foreign‑exchange markets when official dollar access is limited. The study finds that stablecoins can provide dollar‑like claims in economies with fixed or heavily managed exchange rates where banks cannot meet demand, but they may also trigger rapid withdrawals of the domestic currency during periods of stress, potentially intensifying currency runs. Tan notes that the visible, high‑frequency price of stablecoins can signal dollar scarcity and prompt simultaneous abandonments of the local currency when the official rate deviates from market rates. The paper cites examples where retailers at a Bolivian airport accepted USDT as a reference while still taking U.S. dollars or bolivianos, and where Argentine users exchanged pesos for dollar‑pegged tokens in informal channels to preserve savings amid peso depreciation and capital controls. The Financial Stability Board has warned that dollar‑denominated stablecoins could expose emerging economies to currency substitution, weaken monetary policy effectiveness, and circumvent capital‑flow restrictions, urging regulators to assess liquidity and operational risks as the sector expands. The findings suggest that regulators may consider temporary limits on large or panic‑driven transactions during periods of currency pressure.
Empery Digital announced on July 10 that it sold 1,400 bitcoin at $62,200 each, raising $87.1 million. The company said the proceeds will fund an artificial intelligence data center in the Midwest. Empery holds 1,514 bitcoin and has no plans to acquire additional bitcoin, though it may sell more if opportunities arise. Co‑CEO Ryan Lane said the firm will continue to allocate capital to hyperscaler‑anchored projects. The sale is part of a broader trend in which digital asset companies have begun liquidating holdings to support other ventures. Digital assets have posted three consecutive quarters of losses in 2026, the longest streak since the 2022 bear market, as investors shifted capital to AI equities and Bitcoin ETFs experienced their largest quarterly outflow since launch.
Tom Lee, head of distribution at Fundstrat, said Ethereum will become the central link that unites traditional finance and cryptocurrency as the two markets converge.
His comment follows Bitmine's disclosure that its Ethereum treasury grew to 5.74 million ETH, representing about 4.8% of the total circulating supply of roughly 120.7 million ETH.
The company also reported holding 206 Bitcoin, $527 million in cash and marketable securities, and equity stakes in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings, with total assets valued at approximately $11.1 billion.
Lee said the distinction between traditional financial markets and digital assets will eventually disappear, with Ethereum positioned at the center of that transition.
He linked Ethereum's outlook to the pending CLARITY Act, which he said could provide clearer regulatory guidance for smart contract platforms as digital assets integrate into payment systems and financial services.
Layer‑2 activity on Ethereum has expanded, with Visa and Shopify already processing USDC transactions through scaling solutions, illustrating practical use beyond speculation.
Lee reiterated his stance while responding to a post by Carrie Presley, head of distribution at Fundstrat, who recalled an earlier conversation in which she expressed optimism about Ethereum and blockchain technology.
Ethereum traded around $1,800, a level that has remained steady over the past 24 hours and risen about 2.2% over the previous seven days.
Regulatory progress on the CLARITY Act remains uncertain, and the extent to which traditional financial institutions will adopt Ethereum-based infrastructure is yet to be determined.
In late June 2026, XRP fell to $1.01 and then stabilized between $1.05 and $1.13, marking a decline of more than 25% for the year and about 65% from its July 2025 high of $3.65. At the same time, tokenized assets on the XRP Ledger reached $3.5 billion, surpassing the year‑start level, and spot XRP exchange‑traded funds recorded eight consecutive weeks of net inflows, accumulating roughly $1.49 billion. Ripple obtained full MiCA licensing in the European Union on July 6, 2026, and joined the National Securities Clearing Corporation’s participant directory on March 2, 2026, after acquiring prime broker Hidden Road in October 2025. Daily transactions on the ledger rose to approximately 3 million in March 2026, up from mid‑2025 averages, and a protocol amendment enabling fixed‑term lending through Single Asset Vaults is pending validator approval with supermajority support approaching the 80% threshold. The CLARITY Act vote scheduled for August 7 could serve as a binary catalyst; passage would expand institutional buyer access, while failure would reinforce bearish sentiment. Analyst forecasts vary widely: Standard Chartered reduced its 2026 price target to $2.80, Bitwise projects $4.94, and JPMorgan estimates $4‑$8.4 billion in first‑year ETF inflows if the legislation passes. Whale activity increased, with about 450 million XRP moving through Binance in a 10‑day period in March and wallet creation rising to 5,000 per day in late June, indicating accumulation at current price levels. The price range between $1.00 and $1.06 has acted as support, while a breach below $1 could lead to lower demand zones near $0.80‑$0.90. The market awaits the CLARITY vote and related regulatory developments to determine whether the price‑company gap narrows. The next 26 days include the CLARITY draft, potential floor vote, the July escrow release, continued ETF flow data, and the validator vote on the lending amendment, representing a concentrated period of potential resolution for the XRP‑Ripple disconnect.
Robinhood Chain processed 7.6 million transactions in a single day on July 11, just 11 days after its mainnet launch, narrowing the gap with Coinbase's Base, which recorded 9.2 million transactions in the same period. The surge follows a 90‑day subsidy that covers gas fees for users, eliminating transaction costs until the end of September 2026. Protocol fees averaged about $4,000 per day during the subsidy period, according to data from MSBIntel and Token Terminal. Robinhood Chain, built on Arbitrum, has become one of the most active Layer 2 ecosystems, surpassing $500 million in single‑day volume on Uniswap deployments and ranking second behind Ethereum mainnet in spot activity. The network benefits from tokenized stock offerings and integrations with Chainlink, Uniswap and Morpho. Robinhood's stock rose roughly 10% after its Layer 2 announcement and an additional 7% following the rollout of AI‑powered agentic trading, according to Yahoo Finance data. Analysts are watching to see whether transaction volume remains robust after the subsidy ends. The gas subsidy expires at the end of September 2026, after which users will pay transaction fees and on‑chain activity will determine the sustainability of current levels.
Senate staff will release a unified draft of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act in the week of July 13, merging work from the Banking and Agriculture Committees into a single text exceeding 70 pages. Floor consideration is scheduled for the week of July 20, before the Senate’s August 7 recess and after a defense spending bill competes for floor time.
Senator Cynthia Lummis has said the legislation represents the last realistic opportunity for comprehensive digital asset regulation before 2030, as failure would leave the regulatory framework to other jurisdictions.
The bill establishes a three‑bucket taxonomy for digital assets: commodities, which include assets such as Bitcoin, Ether and Solana, would be overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; investment contracts, such as tokens sold to fund a centralized team, would remain under the Securities and Exchange Commission; and permitted payment stablecoins would be regulated by banking agencies under the GENIUS Act framework.
A registration regime for exchanges, brokers and dealers would be created, subject to Bank Secrecy Act anti‑money‑laundering requirements. The legislation would codify the Howey test for determining when a token qualifies as an investment contract and would shield software developers from money‑transmitter liability when they do not hold customer assets.
The draft includes more than 16 illicit‑finance safeguards and $150 million in dedicated enforcement funding, including new sanctions authority aimed at Iran and powers for exchanges to freeze illicit funds.
Republicans control 53 of the 100 Senate seats, and cloture requires 60 votes. All Republican votes are expected, leaving seven Democratic votes needed for passage. As of early July, no Democrat has committed to supporting the bill.
The ethics provision is a central obstacle. It would bar senior officials, including the president, from holding business interests in the crypto industry. President Trump’s crypto holdings have been estimated at $2.3 billion, raising concerns about a conflict of interest. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Elizabeth Warren have stated the bill will not pass without an ethics mechanism, while the White House, through adviser Patrick Witt, argues that ethics rules should apply uniformly and that singling out the president is unacceptable. Several attempts to reconcile the positions, including a Van Hollen amendment and a framework involving state attorneys general, have failed.
A staffing dispute also threatens the bill. Expanded mandates for the SEC and CFTC would require new commissioner nominations. Senator Amy Klobuchar has proposed an amendment that would delay CFTC rulemaking until four commissioners are confirmed, a condition Democrats view as leverage but that the CFTC says is extraneous to its statutory authority.
A third dispute concerns Section 604 of the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, which would protect developers of decentralized software from being classified as money transmitters when they do not custody customer assets. Law‑enforcement groups, including the National Sheriffs’ Association and the Fraternal Order of Police, have objected, saying the shield could impede illicit‑finance prosecutions. Senator Ron Wyden has urged preservation of the provision, while some Democrats say they will not vote for the bill until law‑enforcement concerns are addressed.
The legislative calendar creates a narrow window. The Senate returned from its state work period on July 13 with three weeks before the August 7 recess. The first week is partially occupied by a defense spending bill. If floor time is scheduled for the week of July 20, the bill must clear committee, debate, amendment and cloture votes before the recess. A Senate‑passed version could move directly to the House for a single vote, provided the text remains close to the House version and Republican leaders can sell it to their members.
If the bill fails, existing regulatory frameworks would continue. The SEC’s Regulation Crypto exemption and the CFTC’s use of its derivatives authority would constitute a de facto system, but these administrative rules could be altered without congressional action. Market participants have priced the likelihood of passage at roughly 50 percent, based on price reactions after the May 14 committee vote, which saw Bitcoin rise to $81,449 and XRP gain 4.5 percent. Projections from JPMorgan, Standard Chartered and Citi suggest that passage could generate $4 billion to $8.4 billion in first‑year inflows for a spot XRP ETF and set Bitcoin price targets around $143,000 to $150,000. Failure would remove that catalyst without triggering forced selling, leading to a gradual decline in expectations rather than a sharp drop.
Observers will watch three signals to gauge the bill’s prospects: the final ethics language and its enforcement mechanism, whether leadership schedules floor time for the week of July 20, and any public statements from the seven potential Democratic swing voters, especially those who have received crypto‑aligned contributions.
Empery Digital (EMPD) shares rose after the firm disclosed it had sold nearly half of its Bitcoin holdings to fund an AI data center project and pay down debt.
The shares increased 4.2% to $3.95 in the first 35 minutes of trading on Friday and closed the day up 1.58% at $3.86.
Empery Digital, which had shifted to a Bitcoin‑centric treasury strategy in mid‑2025 when Bitcoin approached an all‑time high, sold about 1,400 Bitcoin at an average price of $62,200 per coin, raising roughly $87.1 million over two months.
The proceeds were used to fund its 25% stake in a Hunt Properties‑affiliated venture acquiring an industrial site for conversion into an AI data center and to repay $10 million of outstanding debt, reducing its Bitcoin holdings to 1,514 BTC worth approximately $97 million.
Shareholder Tice P. Brown, a near‑10% owner, had pressed the company to abandon its Bitcoin‑buying strategy and called for the resignation of the CEO and board.
The sale reflects a broader trend of capital moving from Bitcoin to artificial intelligence investments as confidence in Bitcoin‑focused treasury models declines.
Analysts noted that the market reaction suggests investors view the reallocation as a strategic shift rather than a negative signal for the company.
Japan’s Cryl announced a Bitcoin‑backed loan program of up to $6.2 million (1 billion yen) for individuals and businesses.
This expands Japan’s small market for regulated crypto‑backed financing. In 2020, Fintertech, a joint venture of Daiwa Securities Group and Credit Saison, began offering Bitcoin‑or Ether‑backed loans of up to $3 million.
Borrowers can receive amounts from $6,200 to $6.2 million at annual rates of 3.5 % to 7 %. The loan‑to‑value ratio ranges from 40 % to 60 %. Loans are for one year and are repaid in a lump sum, with principal and interest due after the term. Applicants must pass a screening process.
Fintertech’s website lists loans for individuals and businesses with rates of 4 % to 8 % and a minimum borrowing amount of 5 million yen ($31,000). In October 2025, Daiwa Securities began introducing customers at its branches to Fintertech’s digital asset‑backed loans; the firm is 80 % owned by Daiwa Securities Group and 20 % by Credit Saison.
Metaplanet Securities, JPYC and Progmat announced a study to examine using Bitcoin as collateral or credit enhancement for digital corporate bonds and blockchain‑based credit instruments. They said no issuance has been decided and the project remains in the research phase.
The launch indicates increasing interest in Bitcoin‑backed credit products in Japan, though regulatory clarity and market adoption remain unanswered questions.
Ethereum Foundation developers used artificial intelligence agents to examine the gossipsub messaging protocol and discovered a crash vulnerability, identified as CVE-2026-34219, that could cause validator nodes to shut down. The bug has been patched.
The AI agents generated detailed narratives describing potential attack sequences, but human reviewers verified which issues were real. The vulnerability existed in gossipsub, a protocol that routes messages between nodes. A remote system could send malformed data that triggered an impossible calculation, causing the node software to crash and take the validator offline until restarted. The Foundation disclosed the issue and assigned it the CVE identifier. Researchers noted that AI-generated reports often conflated test‑only crashes, attacks that require manual value placement, and formal verification results that proved only trivial statements. Three categories of false positives were observed: crashes that occur only in test builds where safety checks are active, attacks that depend on an adversary inserting a malicious value that is rejected by normal entry paths, and verification proofs that demonstrate mathematically correct but irrelevant behavior. Because AI tools struggle with exploits that require a sequence of valid steps, the Foundation uses agents to propose suspect message flows while continuing to run standard fuzzing and manual review.
The issue is resolved, and the Foundation plans to integrate AI suggestions into its ongoing testing pipeline.
Bitcoin near $64,100 Ahead of July CPI Report. Bitcoin traded around $64,100 on July 13, three days before the U.S. consumer price index report scheduled for July 14 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The price had risen about 2.6 percent over the prior seven days, according to CryptoSlate market data, while 24‑hour trading volume was roughly 21 percent below its recent average. The CPI report is an important macro indicator that influences Federal Reserve policy expectations. Market participants have assigned a 64.6 percent probability that the Fed will keep its target range of 3.50‑3.75 percent unchanged at the July 29 meeting, and a 35.4 percent probability of a quarter‑point increase, based on CME FedWatch methodology. By September, probabilities show a 50.9 percent chance that rates will reach 3.75‑4.00 percent and an 18.8 percent chance of 4.00‑4.25 percent. ETF demand has been mixed. U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange‑traded funds recorded a net inflow of $90.4 million on July 10 after losses of $180.2 million in the previous two days. Earlier, on July 6, the funds took in about $266 million, with the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) contributing $209 million. Open interest in Bitcoin futures stood near $47.3 billion, with modest positive funding and short liquidations dominating the latest 24‑hour period. Treasury yields rose on July 10, with the two‑year yield at 4.21 percent and the ten-year at 4.56 percent, according to Treasury data. An unexpected rise in the CPI could push yields higher and strengthen the dollar, increasing the likelihood of a rate hike and putting downward pressure on Bitcoin prices. Conversely, a softer CPI reading might support lower yields and a weaker dollar, offering some support to the rebound, though that scenario is viewed as lower probability. Analysts note that holding the $64,000 level will depend on continued buying pressure after the CPI release, while a downside surprise could revive expectations for Fed easing later in the year. The market will assess whether the CPI data and subsequent Treasury market movements align with current Fed probability forecasts, and whether ETF flow trends confirm the recent price recovery or reveal further volatility.