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Schroders Divests Benchmark to Söderberg & Partners
Schroders is offloading its UK financial advice arm, Benchmark, to Sweden’s Söderberg & Partners. The move aligns with a broader strategy to streamline operations and concentrate resources on wealth management, specifically its Cazenove Capital unit and international wealth divisions, even as Schroders itself faces a pending acquisition by Nuveen.
ZachXBT liquidates copycat meme coins to fund disaster relief
After unauthorized meme coins surfaced bearing his likeness across multiple blockchains, pseudonymous investigator ZachXBT liquidated the unsolicited tokens to secure $41,000 for humanitarian aid. The move serves as a pointed rebuttal to developers attempting to leverage his reputation to drive speculative trading activity without his consent.
South Korea pauses Polymarket enforcement amid gambling probe
South Korean regulators have deferred a final ruling on Polymarket, granting the prediction platform an opportunity to defend its operational model against potential violations of national gambling laws. The decision follows a broader crackdown initiated by the Gangwon Provincial Police targeting local users involved in election-related betting markets.
Dormant Bitcoin Wallet Awakens Amid High-Stakes New York Legal Battle
After nearly 15 years of absolute silence, a Bitcoin wallet containing 30 BTC has transferred its holdings, marking a rare movement within a controversial New York court case. The address is one of 39,069 wallets currently entangled in a legal dispute over whether dormant cryptocurrency can be classified as abandoned property.
US Traders Bypass Polymarket Bans to Bet $571 Million on Global Conflict
Despite strict geographic restrictions meant to block American users from the offshore prediction platform Polymarket, U.S.-linked digital wallets funneled $571 million into political and geopolitical contracts over the past year. This volume positions the United States as the platform's primary market, outpacing Hong Kong by over $149 million in total activity.
Supreme Court Strikes Down Louisiana Voting Map in Voting Rights Act Blow
A 6-3 Supreme Court decision on Wednesday forced Louisiana to redraw its 2024 congressional map, effectively dismantling the last functional protections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The ruling in Louisiana v. Callais classifies the state’s attempt to establish a second majority-Black district as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.
Trump Claims Pro-Democracy Resolution Would Destroy GOP
Donald Trump declared Sunday that a new congressional resolution aimed at restoring voting rights and reforming the Supreme Court would prove fatal to the Republican Party. The former president’s public outburst followed the introduction of the proposal by leaders of four major Democratic caucuses in the House of Representatives.
KT targets won-backed stablecoins in 18 trillion won expansion
South Korea’s dominant telecommunications provider, KT, is pivoting toward digital finance with an 18 trillion won investment strategy. Chief Executive Park Yoon-young announced the plan this week, aiming to leverage the company’s massive network and customer base to build a robust infrastructure for token issuance and won-denominated stablecoins.
Ripple Secures Luxembourg CASP License for European Expansion
Luxembourg’s Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier has granted Ripple full Crypto Asset Service Provider authorization, cementing the firm’s ability to offer regulated crypto payment services across the entire European Economic Area. This milestone follows the recent conclusion of the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets transition period.
BitTorrent to Launch Quarterly Token Burn Program in 2026
Starting in the third quarter of 2026, BitTorrent will dedicate 100% of revenue from its decentralized services to a permanent buyback and burn program for BTT tokens. The initiative aims to link token scarcity directly to the platform's operational success, with all repurchased assets removed from circulation.
Hong Kong Eases Crypto Licensing Hurdles After Industry Pushback
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission has agreed to decouple the Certified Virtual Asset Platform exam from its mandatory training course, marking a significant win for local professionals. The move follows intense negotiations between regulators and industry representatives seeking to lower barriers to entry in the city’s expanding digital asset sector.
South Korean consortium tests programmable digital local currency
A blockchain-powered pilot in South Korea has achieved a 100% transaction success rate, processing payments and settlements in under one second. The K-STAR consortium and BNK Busan Bank tested programmable digital money capable of enforcing spending restrictions, automated merchant settlements, and expiration dates within a real banking environment.
Ill Bloom vulnerability puts thousands of crypto wallets at risk
A security flaw dubbed Ill Bloom has compromised the integrity of recovery phrases across multiple blockchains, leading to the theft of approximately $5 million in digital assets. Security firm Coinspect warns that the vulnerability, stemming from weak random number generation, has affected wallets created as far back as 2018.
Summer.fi Faces $6 Million Drain in Automated Vault Exploit
Security firm Blockaid has flagged an active exploit targeting the DeFi yield platform Summer.fi, with initial estimates suggesting approximately $6 million in assets have been drained. The breach underscores recurring vulnerabilities in automated vault systems, which rely on complex smart contract integrations to manage user funds across multiple protocols.
South Korea moves to formalize crypto seizure in debt collection
South Korea’s Supreme Court has unveiled a regulatory framework to seize, freeze, and liquidate digital assets during civil debt enforcement proceedings. The proposed amendments to the Rules on Civil Execution aim to integrate cryptocurrency into the national legal debt recovery system, with implementation slated for October 1.
Nigel Farage faces new scrutiny over undisclosed gifts
Nigel Farage is defending his financial conduct after reports emerged that he accepted substantial support from George Cottrell, a former adviser with a US fraud conviction. The allegations center on undisclosed benefits, including security, staff, and luxury accommodation, provided to the Reform UK leader before he officially entered Parliament in July.
Central bankers demand AI kill switches to curb market volatility
Financial regulators are sounding the alarm as agentic artificial intelligence evolves faster than oversight frameworks can adapt. During the European Central Bank’s annual meeting in Sintra, officials warned that without immediate safeguards, these autonomous systems could trigger destabilizing feedback loops during periods of sudden market stress.
Senate clocks run down on CLARITY Act as August deadline looms
The July 4 window for the CLARITY Act has shuttered, shifting the legislative focus to August 7. With the Senate’s summer recess and the onset of the campaign season approaching, lawmakers face a shrinking timeframe to reconcile committee versions and secure the sixty votes required to clear the floor.
Coinbase AI glitch sparks backlash over fake World Cup score
Users of the Coinbase trading platform were met with a premature and entirely fictional World Cup match result when an AI-generated alert declared Norway the 3-2 winner over Brazil before the game even began. The notification even credited Erling Haaland with two goals, contradicting the exchange’s own live delay status.
Wealth Management Hiring Roundup: Ogier, Crestbridge and HL
A flurry of senior personnel shifts is reshaping the wealth management landscape, with major firms in the UK and offshore jurisdictions bolstering their leadership ranks. From regulatory expertise at Ogier to a significant technology-focused overhaul at Hargreaves Lansdown, firms are aggressively positioning for mid-year growth.
Wesleyan Expands Smoothed Investment Range for UK Advisors
UK financial services mutual Wesleyan has introduced two new With Profits funds, extending its range of smoothed investment products for wealth advisors. The additions—the With Profits Cautious Fund and the With Profits Adventurous Fund—aim to provide tailored risk profiles for clients looking to buffer against daily market volatility.
Aberdeen Investments Finalizes $2 Billion Closed-End Fund Acquisition
Aberdeen Investments finalized its acquisition of closed-end fund assets from Boston-based MFS Investment Management on July 2, absorbing a portfolio valued at approximately £1.5 billion. The transfer, completed after the New York Stock Exchange closed, marks the firm's tenth acquisition of this type since 2000, bolstering its US market presence.
Cameron Senior Takes Reins at ZEDRA Crown Dependencies
After a planned succession process, global professional services firm ZEDRA has appointed Cameron Senior to lead its Crown Dependencies business. Senior, who joined as deputy regional head in early 2026, will now oversee the firm’s strategic operations in a region that has served as a cornerstone of its business for a decade.
Bitcoin ETF outflows persist for eighth consecutive week
Investors pulled $527 million from spot Bitcoin ETFs between June 29 and July 2, marking the longest weekly withdrawal streak since the products launched. While daily inflows briefly surfaced on July 2, the broader trend remains defined by sustained net selling across the two largest digital asset funds.
Binance Halts Trading Services for French Users Following MiCA Deadline
Thousands of French crypto traders found their accounts restricted on July 1 as Binance ceased spot and margin trading operations. The move follows the exchange’s failure to secure authorization under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, leaving approximately 2 million local users with limited access to their assets.
Asia's Crypto Landscape Shifts as Regulatory Frameworks Diverge
Dubai has officially issued its 50th virtual asset service provider license, cementing its status as a primary hub while Taiwan and India pursue starkly different regulatory paths. As regional competition intensifies, governments are balancing the promise of tokenized government securities against strict central bank oversight and state-backed digital currency rollouts.
Europe Faces Summer of Extremes as Wildfires Follow Record Heatwave
A relentless heatwave has triggered a wave of wildfires across Greece, Spain, Portugal, and France, forcing mass evacuations and raising alarms that the continent faces a catastrophic summer. Emergency crews are battling blazes that have already scorched over 42,000 acres, signaling a fire season that began at least one month early.
Kraken enables tokenized stock collateral for leveraged trading
Traders on Kraken Pro can now deploy tokenized stocks and ETFs as collateral for futures and margin positions without liquidating their underlying holdings. This expansion for eligible non-U.S. users integrates traditional equity exposure directly into the exchange's leveraged trading infrastructure, allowing capital to remain active across multiple market segments.
Supreme Court Blocks Medicaid Patients From Suing Over Defunding
The Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling on Thursday in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic stripped Medicaid beneficiaries of their right to sue states that attempt to defund specific reproductive healthcare providers. The decision effectively empowers states to restrict access to clinics like Planned Parenthood by removing them from public insurance networks.
Planned Parenthood Regains Medicaid Access as Congressional Ban Expires
Reproductive health clinics across the United States officially regained access to Medicaid funding this Saturday after a one-year federal ban expired. The lapse in the restriction, initially signed into law on July 4, 2025, follows a congressional failure to renew the measure before the start of the summer recess.