Cryptocurrency
XRP Ledger Captures $2.6 Billion in Tokenized Real-World Assets
The XRP Ledger recorded $2.6 billion in new real-world asset inflows over the past six months, securing second place among major blockchain networks. This surge, tracked by RWA.xyz, highlights a shift toward onchain record-keeping for energy contracts and institutional financial products, even as the ledger's liquidity profile remains heavily concentrated.
Bitcoin Policy Institute joins U.S. State Department tech initiative
The Bitcoin Policy Institute has secured a seat as a founding partner in the U.S. State Department’s Freedom Tech Excellence Program. This talent initiative embeds private-sector specialists into diplomatic teams to address global digital challenges, ranging from online censorship and surveillance to the governance of artificial intelligence.
Robinhood eyes Crypto.com partnership to scale prediction markets
Robinhood is in talks to integrate Crypto.com’s event contracts into its rapidly expanding prediction market hub, a move aimed at diversifying its supplier base. By moving beyond its reliance on Kalshi and its own Rothera venture, the brokerage seeks to secure a dominant position in a sector projected to reach $1 trillion by 2030.
Binance weaponizes fake phishing to tighten internal security
Every month, Binance subjects its workforce to simulated phishing attacks designed to mimic the sophisticated social engineering tactics currently draining billions from the cryptocurrency sector. This internal red-teaming program serves as a high-stakes stress test, directly linking an employee's ability to spot malicious lures to their professional performance ratings.
Wise Targets GENIUS Act After OCC Rejection of U.S. Charter Bid
After the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency denied its inaugural bid for a national trust bank charter in Austin, Texas, fintech giant Wise is pivoting toward the federal framework established by the GENIUS Act to secure its U.S. regulatory standing.
BitMart Announces Phased Shutdown as BMX Token Crashes
Cryptocurrency exchange BitMart has begun an orderly wind-down of its global platform, sparking a 63% collapse in the value of its native BMX token. The exchange cited shifting market conditions and strategic changes for the closure, ending a seven-year run that saw the firm reach a $300 million valuation.
BlueNoroff hackers use fake video calls to profile crypto wallets
A North Korea-linked hacking group is weaponizing fake Zoom and Microsoft Teams meetings to harvest cryptocurrency assets. By compromising trusted Telegram accounts, attackers lure industry professionals into meetings where they silently scan browser-based wallets for high-value targets before deploying custom malware payloads designed for Windows and macOS.
Upbit Adds Morpho and Euler to KRW Market Amid Volatility
South Korea’s largest exchange, Upbit, has expanded its KRW-denominated offerings by listing decentralized lending tokens Morpho (MORPHO) and Euler (EUL). The move provides local investors direct access to Ethereum-based DeFi protocols, though the rollout for Euler faced a last-minute schedule adjustment due to liquidity requirements.
Uniswap introduces restricted pools for compliant tokenized assets
Uniswap Labs has launched Permissioned Pools on its v4 protocol, integrating onchain access checks specifically designed for regulated assets. By utilizing custom hooks, the system enforces issuer-managed allowlists at the smart-contract level, ensuring that only verified wallets can participate in swaps or liquidity provision for tokenized securities and equities.
Sberbank Sets December Launch for Regulated Crypto Trading Hub
Sberbank has committed to launching a comprehensive cryptocurrency trading and digital depository infrastructure by December 1, 2026. The move aligns with Russia’s impending regulatory framework, positioning the nation’s largest lender to manage custody, settlement, and asset recording services for domestic clients ahead of the July 2027 licensing deadline.
USDT0: The Omnichain Dollar and the Architecture of Trust
Tether’s largest stablecoin now travels across blockchains as USDT0, a version that functions as a canonical, issuer-aligned representation of the dollar. While its builders reject the 'wrapped' label, the system relies on a lock-and-mint mechanism that shifts the risk profile from simple reserve holdings to a complex, multi-layered verification stack.
The Dual-Token Paradox: Why StableChain Excludes Its Own Asset
StableChain is a payments network engineered to be invisible to its users. While its native STABLE token secures the chain and facilitates governance, it is explicitly excluded from the transaction path, where Tether’s USDT serves as the sole unit of account, gas, and settlement medium.
Tether’s Dual-Chain Strategy to End the $2.9 Billion Fee Leak
Tether is aggressively funding two competing blockchain infrastructures, Plasma and Stable, to reclaim the estimated $2.9 billion it loses annually in network fees. By backing two distinct design philosophies, the stablecoin giant aims to break its dependence on external rails like Tron and Ethereum, which currently capture the value generated by USDT usage.
Wall Street’s Multi-Billion Dollar Bet on Prediction Markets
Wall Street is no longer treating prediction markets as a speculative curiosity. With the New York Stock Exchange’s parent, Intercontinental Exchange, committing $2 billion to Polymarket and rival Kalshi raising capital at a $22 billion valuation, the financial establishment is aggressively securing the probability layer of the modern economy.
ARK Invest Expands Crypto Portfolio With BitMine and Solana ETF
Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest deployed approximately $251,500 into crypto-linked assets on Friday, diversifying its holdings across BitMine Immersion Technologies and the 3iQ Solana Staking ETF. The move signals a continued strategy of building thematic exposure through public equities rather than direct token ownership.
Trump Team Moves $17M in TRUMP Tokens Amid Senate Ethics Impasse
A transfer of 16.84 million TRUMP tokens to Fireblocks custody wallets has intensified market scrutiny, coinciding with a legislative standoff in the Senate. As the Official Trump team shifts these assets, Democratic lawmakers continue to block the CLARITY Act over disputes regarding who should enforce new crypto ethics rules.
John Thune forces Senate showdown on CLARITY Act
Senate Majority Leader John Thune is pushing the CLARITY Act toward a floor vote before the August recess, a high-stakes maneuver designed to force senators to declare their positions on digital asset regulation even as the bill struggles to clear the 60-vote threshold needed to bypass a filibuster.
Triple-A Hot Wallets Drained in $9.7M Cross-Chain Exploit
Suspicious outflows totaling more than $9.7 million have hit hot wallets linked to Singapore-based payment provider Triple-A. On-chain investigators identified unauthorized transfers spanning at least four major blockchains, with the stolen assets rapidly swapped and consolidated into a single Ethereum address holding over 5,226 ETH.
Across Protocol Relayer Suffers $4 Million Loss in Solana Exploit
An attacker fabricated over $41 million in Solana deposit events, forcing the Risk Labs-operated relayer for Across Protocol to suspend operations. While the breach triggered hundreds of fraudulent payouts, the protocol's architecture insulated user funds from the incident, leaving the relayer to absorb the net loss.
Crypto Markets Brace for $77 Million Token Influx on August 1
A combined $77.07 million in BEAT, EIGEN, and ZETA tokens is set to hit circulation on August 1, triggering concerns over potential sell-side pressure. While the market prepares for the influx, the three assets exhibit starkly different price behaviors leading up to their respective release times.
Audiera’s BEAT token faces $67M supply shock as August unlocks loom
Market anticipation is peaking for a massive influx of liquidity on August 1, as Audiera prepares to release 21.25 million BEAT tokens into circulation. Valued at approximately $67.78 million, this single event represents the largest supply shock of the day, overshadowing scheduled releases for EIGEN and ZETA.
Chinese Court Sentences Sifang Operators Over $428M Gambling Network
Five operators of the Sifang payment platform received prison sentences ranging from three to six years for facilitating a massive gambling operation. The network processed over 2.95 billion yuan, equivalent to $428 million, by leveraging a complex web of USDT wallets, bank cards, and third-party merchant accounts.
Samson Mow Sees Bitcoin Preferred Shares Rebounding Toward Par
Strive’s SATA preferred shares have clawed back 16% from their June lows to trade near $97, fueling optimism from Jan3 CEO Samson Mow that Strategy’s STRC will soon follow suit and return to its $100 par value, signaling a restoration of investor confidence in the Bitcoin-linked financing model.
House Passes Congressional Stock Ban Despite Senate Skepticism
The US House of Representatives narrowly approved the Stop Insider Trading Act on Wednesday, voting 232-198 to curb congressional stock purchases. The legislation, championed by Representative Bryan Steil, now heads to the Senate, where it faces immediate pushback from lawmakers who argue the bill fails to address existing portfolios.
Strategy’s STRC preferred stock gains institutional favor despite price lag
Strategy’s STRC preferred stock has emerged as the primary holding across three major U.S. ETFs, with institutional portfolios absorbing $756 million in assets. Despite this surge in professional interest, the security continues to trade roughly 13% below its $100 target, complicating the company’s plans to leverage the stock for further Bitcoin acquisitions.
Memecoin.Fun secures $3.5M as Robinhood Chain launchpad race heats up
With decentralized exchange volume on the new Robinhood Chain topping $9 billion, Memecoin.Fun has raised $3.5 million to expand its token issuance infrastructure. The funding signals a sharpening battle for dominance among launch platforms vying to capture the network’s speculative trading activity.
Nvidia and Meta push back against U.S. restrictions on open AI models
A coalition of 25 tech giants, including Nvidia, Meta, and Microsoft, is urging U.S. policymakers to reject sweeping controls on open-weight AI models. The group argues that broad restrictions would stifle domestic innovation and weaken American leadership just as Chinese competitors begin to challenge U.S. dominance in the field.
India Demands GitHub Remove Jack Dorsey’s Bitchat Code
Indian authorities have issued a three-hour ultimatum to GitHub to purge three repositories hosting the Bitchat messaging app, citing national security risks. The order, delivered by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, targets the decentralized tool as protests intensify in New Delhi and mobile network restrictions remain in effect.
Coinbase reshuffles executive ranks amid strategic pivot
Coinbase is overhauling its leadership team, replacing four senior executives in the wake of a 14% workforce reduction. The exchange is aggressively repositioning itself as a multi-asset platform, moving beyond pure crypto to integrate stocks, derivatives, and prediction markets as core revenue drivers for the company.
LMAX Eyes $5 Billion Valuation in Strategic Review
Institutional trading firm LMAX Group has tapped Morgan Stanley and KBW to explore a potential sale or public listing. The process, which could value the London-based company at up to $5 billion, comes as the firm positions itself to capitalize on growing interest from traditional financial institutions in digital asset markets.