Former CSRC vice chairman Fang Xinghai is under investigation for discipline violations as Beijing's anti-corruption campaign targets senior

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US tariffs on Brazil rise to 17.7% with 25% set for 2026. Dollar stablecoins dominate 90% of Brazil's crypto volume as trade tensions reshape

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Exa's semantic web search API is now integrated into xAI's Grok Build, giving coding agents access to billions of indexed pages and financial

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Arival Bank launches USDC and USDT stablecoin payment and treasury tools for global businesses across Base, Polygon, Solana, and Ethereum with

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US threatens to destroy IRGC revenue facilities amid rising tensions. Iran reconstruction funding in a US-Iran deal in 2026 at 29% YES.

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Bitcoin Magazine

National Fraternal Order of Police Gives Green Light to Clarity Act in Latest Support for Crypto Bill

The National Fraternal Order of Police became the latest organization to throw its support behind the long-awaited Clarity Act. 

In a statement Friday, specifically addressed to Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Timothy Eugene Scott, the fraternal organization wrote that it approved of the latest bill. The FOP works to improve the working conditions of law enforcement officers.

The newest draft bans officials and their families from issuing or promoting crypto, something opposition lawmakers previously had issue with. On Wednesday, Senator Warren, a long-time crypto critic, said that the latest bill would allow President Donald Trump to make money from crypto, as well as benefit criminals. 

“The latest version of the ‘Clarity Act’ includes several provisions that improve the ability of State and local law enforcement to protect consumers, investigate financial crimes, and coordinate with their Federal partners,” the letter read. 

“The revised bill establishes safeguards aimed at addressing fraud and victimization involving digital asset kiosks and related activity while also providing for anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance obligations across the digital asset ecosystem.”

U.S. lawmakers are currently mulling over the latest draft of the Clarity Act — a crypto market structure bill aims to set in stone digital asset regulation. 

More support for the bill 

Top crypto advocacy groups the Crypto Council for Innovation, Blockchain Association, and the Digital Chamber also threw their support behind the latest draft of the Clarity Act on Friday. 

The trade associations said that passing the bill is necessary to establish the “first comprehensive federal consumer protection framework for digital asset markets” as more Americans begin to use and invest in crypto. 

The Clarity Act, which Republicans passed last year, has been in a deadlock mainly because banking chiefs raised concerns over stablecoins and the yield they would potentially pay customers. 

America’s biggest crypto exchange, Coinbase, pulled support for the bill in January after clashing with banking chiefs who said that earning yield on stablecoins should be banned. 

U.S. banks have said they could lose customers if crypto exchanges offer more attractive products for their deposit base. 

A new bill has been circulating this week and it is expected it will head to floor vote. 

The latest draft bans officials and their families from issuing or promoting crypto — a sore point for Democratic politicians who have argued that President Donald Trump’s family has unfairly benefited from crypto ventures.

President Trump campaigned on a ticket to help the crypto space but his digital asset ventures have raised eyebrows among Washington lawmakers who think the Trump family has unfairly profited from crypto businesses. 

This post National Fraternal Order of Police Gives Green Light to Clarity Act in Latest Support for Crypto Bill first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.

Bitcoin Magazine

Sealed in Foil: BMAG’s New Focus on Trading Cards

Somewhere right now, on a livestream, someone is tearing open a foil package while hundreds of people watch. Trading cards have become a spectator sport. The card market is at all-time highs, cardboard repriced by the hour, rare cards selling for eight figures, and a general sense of frenzy. But watch enough of it and something strange becomes clear. Nobody is looking at the cards. The audience isn’t consuming images, it’s consuming anticipation.

The card boom has also surfaced hard questions, and the hardest ones surround grading. The past year saw the hobby’s dominant grading house facing scrutiny over grades that shifted after cards moved through its own buyback program, and collectors began asking, who grades the grader. When a single subjective number separates a card from ten times its value, and the arbiter of that number also holds a position in the asset, the hobby has a verification problem. These are, in the language of bitcoiners, trusted-third-party problems.

The two worlds keep arriving at the same three questions: what’s real, what’s rare, and what holds value. A graded slab and a confirmed transaction on the timechain are answers to the same anxiety. Collectors demanding transparent grading and provenance that can’t be quietly revised are asking for verification over trust, whether they use those words or not. In that sense, card collectors and bitcoiners already share the same ideals.

This is why BMAG (Bitcoin Museum and Art Gallery) is making trading cards a serious part of its program. Seven years as the cultural wing of the Bitcoin Conference, more than 130 BTC ($8+ million) in art and collectibles sales, the first Magic: The Gathering tournament at a Bitcoin Conference, staged in Las Vegas with Kraken and on-site TAG grading, and the conviction that cards are asking the same questions bitcoin already answered.

Source: https://my.taggrading.com/card/P7612780

The fullest expression of that focus arrives this August. At Bitcoin Asia 2026, August 27-28 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, BMAG will debut a full Trading Card Expo on the conference floor. The Expo is anchored by a marketplace of established vendors from across Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, alongside live activations, grading and authentication, card auctions, and a curated gallery presentation surrounding it all. Cards and collectibles will be available for purchase, and attendees are encouraged to bring their own cards for grading or resale to the 40+ card vendors. Hong Kong is one of the most active card markets in the world and a Bitcoin conference is the natural room for it.

But a marketplace alone isn’t the point. The trading card has an art pedigree longer than most people realize. Jefferson Burdick, the father of American card collecting, spent his final years transferring thousands of cards into albums at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where his collection remains today. Art Spiegelman worked at Topps inventing series like Garbage Pail Kids before his mainstream graphic novel successes. And the critic Brian Droitcour recently put his finger on why the format matters right now: a Magic card is an image that does something, rarity and function entwined, while NFTs inherited that logic and captured only the rarity. Droitcour argues that NFTs dissolved the old hierarchy between the artwork and the collectible, and that the most interesting artists working today make objects that are both at once. 

A generation of artists has taken that invitation literally. Over the past few years, a loose scene of mostly pseudonymous artists, formed across crypto subcultures, Twitter timelines, and private group chats, has been quietly staging one of the more genuine artistic rebellions of the decade. Where the establishment crypto-art world courted galleries with polished generative work, these artists went the other direction, making images dense with meme references, anime, veiled art history, and internet debris, layered so deep that critics had to invent new words for them. They call the style schizocollage. In Spike Art Magazine, Dean Kissick placed the work in the lineage of deliberately “bad painting,” a tradition Marcia Tucker gave institutional credentials when she inaugurated the New Museum with an exhibition of that name in 1978. And increasingly, the scene’s work has been heading not toward the gallery wall but toward cardboard: the pack, the pull, the sleeve, and the slab treated not as merchandising afterthoughts but as the medium itself.

BMAG has spent years working in a room the traditional art world ignored, the art gallery inside a Bitcoin conference. When the painter Nardo showed at Bitcoin MENA in 2024, our conversation kept circling memes as units of cultural transmission and the internet’s layered debris as legitimate subject matter for painting. A year later his Citadel, a seven-foot oil painting built from a 4chan meme, debuted at the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas: a monument raised to an internet shitpost. The card movement runs on the same current at a different scale, small enough to fit in a penny sleeve. It’s a conversation we’ve continued in these pages all year, with founders like Alladan Flinn of Based Trading Cards, who describes cards as physical timestamps of the Bitcoin movement. We’ll have much more to say about the artists of this scene, and what they’re bringing to Hong Kong, in the weeks ahead.

The Card Expo debuts at Bitcoin Asia 2026, August 27-28 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Vendors of cards, collectibles, and related goods can apply for a table here. Tables are limited.

Follow BMAG on X at @BMAG_HQ for new partnership announcements, auctions, and first looks at the artists coming to Hong Kong.

This post Sealed in Foil: BMAG’s New Focus on Trading Cards first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Dennis Koch.

Bitcoin Magazine

Top Crypto Industry Groups Pen Letter to Senate Leaders Urging Them To Support the Clarity Act

Top crypto advocacy groups the Crypto Council for Innovation, Blockchain Association, and the Digital Chamber have said in a letter that they support the latest draft of the Clarity Act. 

In a letter Friday, the trade associations said that passing the bill is necessary to establish the “first comprehensive federal consumer protection framework for digital asset markets” as more Americans begin to use and invest in crypto. 

U.S. lawmakers are currently mulling over the latest draft of the Clarity Act — a crypto market structure bill aims to set in stone digital asset regulation. The latest draft bans officials and their families from issuing or promoting crypto. 

“Nearly 67 million Americans, about one in four, already own digital assets, and recent research demonstrates that this trend is only growing,” the letter said. 

“This is a crucial opportunity for the Senate to improve upon the status quo by establishing durable rules for digital assets that protect consumers, safeguard markets, and ensure that innovation can thrive in the United States,” it added. 

Banking representatives, regulators and crypto industry leaders have been meeting at the White House to work on the Clarity Act since last year. 

The bill was passed by the House of Representatives but has been in deadlock after banking chiefs raised concerns over stablecoins and the yield they would potentially pay customers. 

America’s biggest crypto exchange, Coinbase, pulled support for the bill in January after clashing with banking chiefs who said that earning yield on stablecoins should be banned. 

U.S. banks have said they could lose customers if crypto exchanges offer more attractive products for their deposit base. 

Latest Clarity Bill 

A new bill has been circulating this week and it is expected it will head to floor vote. 

On Thursday, Goldman Sachs chairman and CEO David Solomon became one of the first big bankers to throw his support behind the bill. 

The latest draft bans officials and their families from issuing or promoting crypto — a sore point for Democratic politicians who have argued that President Donald Trump’s family has unfairly benefited from crypto ventures.

“These improvements reflect engagement with policymakers across both parties and demonstrate that a well-crafted market structure framework can promote innovation while also bolstering national security,” the letter by the trade associations added. 

This post Top Crypto Industry Groups Pen Letter to Senate Leaders Urging Them To Support the Clarity Act first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.

Bitcoin Magazine

Democrats Push Back on GOP Ethics Text as Thune Doubts a Pre-Recess Clarity Vote

Senate Democrats have rejected the ethics provision in the latest Clarity Act draft in blunt terms, and Majority Leader John Thune cast doubt on Thursday that the crypto market-structure bill can pass before the August recess.

“Whatever piece of s–t they sent back to us, that was not a serious effort,” Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona told Politico, faulting Republicans for turning months of talks into language he called far from a deal. Gallego said he is at work on a counteroffer with Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina “and other Republicans that are not being named right now.” “We are still in this fight,” he said. “We are going to send back language.”

The dispute centers on enforcement. Democrats say they will not accept an ethics provision with the Department of Justice as its sole enforcer, a stance rooted in distrust of the Trump Justice Department to police the president. 

Earlier talks broke down over the role state attorneys general would play in enforcing the rules.

The GOP language came from an agreement between the White House and Republican Senators Cynthia Lummis and Bernie Moreno. Lummis defended it, and said in a statement that “President Trump is supporting the most robust ethics rules ever imposed on the office of the presidency.” 

The new draft would bar federal officials from issuing digital assets and would sunset in 2029, and the White House has pressed Democrats to accept it. Tillis called the White House-approved language “good,” yet allowed that “the baseline… falls short of what some of the Democrats want,” and said one more talk with the White House lies ahead.

The ethics fight traces to President Trump’s crypto ventures, which a July disclosure tied to more than $1 billion in income over the past year. A group of seven Democrats led by Angela Alsobrooks said this week the text “falls short” on consumer protection, illicit finance, and conflicts of interest.

The Clarity Act has 14 days before the August deadline

Thune tempered expectations on the calendar. Industry and congressional negotiators had marked August 7 as the date the bill needed to clear the Senate for a real shot at passage this year. 

“I don’t think we’ll be able to get them done,” Thune told reporters, in reference to Clarity and a separate college-sports bill. “I would like to at least get Clarity started. We’ll see where the votes are.”

A start before the recess would leave the bill for a narrow window in September, with midterm campaigning and other priorities set to crowd the floor. Thune’s staff pointed to a Russia sanctions bill that the late Senator Lindsey Graham championed as the next item for floor time. White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt pushed back on Thune’s read, and told CoinDesk he was “perplexed” and “slightly more optimistic,” with the first week of August still open.

The bill has moved through months of bipartisan talks, and the House passed its version in July 2025. Beyond ethics, some Republicans have flagged the treatment of stablecoin yield, and Goldman Sachs, one of the bill’s backers, sits opposite JPMorgan in a Wall Street split over the measure. Galaxy Research has cut its passage odds to 50-50.

This post Democrats Push Back on GOP Ethics Text as Thune Doubts a Pre-Recess Clarity Vote first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoinist.App Brings Private Mining Pools to iOS

RAS AL KHAIMAH, UAE, July 23, 2026: BFM Company Limited today introduced Bitcoinist.App, a non-custodial Bitcoin mining app and Learn-to-Mine platform released exclusively for iOS. Available from the Apple App Store, Bitcoinist.App gives people a simple way to learn how Bitcoin mining works, access real hashpower, create private Bitcoin mining pools, and receive payouts directly to a wallet they control. Onboarding uses Sign in with Apple, and users can begin from an iPhone without buying mining hardware or entering payment information.

Most people will never run a miner at home. In some regions, particularly parts of the developing world, high room temperatures can cause mining equipment to overheat, while the electricity needed to run air conditioning around the clock can make home mining prohibitively expensive. Noise and the miner’s own continuous power draw add to the barrier. In many parts of the world, people access the internet primarily through mobile data on a phone, without a practical wired connection for dedicated mining equipment. A physical miner also needs a stable network connection. Bitcoinist.App lowers those barriers with a simple iOS interface for learning about Bitcoin and directing real, remotely hosted hashpower through three modes:

• Learn and unlock. The built-in Bitcoin Academy offers a 31-lesson video curriculum that explains Bitcoin and mining in practical terms. Educational videos and optional rewarded ads can unlock free mining rental time, so users can start mining from day one without a purchase.
• Rent or connect. Paid access is offered through an in-app subscription. Users can access hashpower in 1 TH/s increments from miners hosted in UAE data centers and third-party facilities, or from capacity supplied through third-party hashpower marketplaces. Mining does not run on the iPhone. The app is a simple control layer for real hashpower, and pricing is published in the app. Support for connecting user-owned hardware, including home miners like the Bitaxe, is planned.
• Route and pool. Users can create a private mining pool, invite friends and family to combine hashpower, and compete with the global hashrate. They can also mine solo or route miners to the Ocean pool for steadier payouts.

Bitcoinist.App is strictly non-custodial. There is no internal wallet or platform balance. Users choose an external self-custody wallet for payouts; mined bitcoin is sent to that address rather than held inside the app. Bitcoinist.App does not hold user private keys or mined funds.

Bitcoinist.App provides mining infrastructure and education, not a yield product, investment scheme, or custodial wallet. An in-app subscription or ad-supported access provides mining time, not bitcoin and not a promised return. Mining outcomes depend on network difficulty, pool performance, transaction fees, and deployed hashpower. Some hosting and hashpower capacity comes from third parties, so availability and performance can vary by provider. Nothing in this release guarantees any amount of mined bitcoin.

“We designed Bitcoinist.App to orange pill the masses through mining and education,” said Fouad Jamil, Founder and CEO of Bitcoinist.App. “People can begin with a phone, learn what Bitcoin mining actually does, direct real hashpower, and receive every sat in a wallet they control. We are not mining for users and we never custody their bitcoin. We provide the infrastructure and tools; users decide where their hashpower goes.”

Bitcoinist.App is operated by BFM Company Limited, registered in RAK DAO, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE (Bitcoin Mining license No. 07010714), with mining infrastructure in UAE data centers and third-party mining facilities around the world. Additional capacity may be supplied through third-party hashpower marketplaces. Availability is subject to regional eligibility.

Download the app

Bitcoinist.App is now publicly available exclusively on iOS. Users can download the app from the Apple App Store.

About Bitcoinist.App

Bitcoinist.App is a Bitcoin-only, non-custodial mining app and education platform available exclusively on iOS. Designed for ease of use, it lets people learn about Bitcoin, unlock free mining rental time through educational videos and optional rewarded ads, or choose an in-app subscription for ongoing access to real hashpower. Users can create private mining pools with friends and family, compete with the global Bitcoin hashrate, or route miners to Ocean, while payouts go directly to self-custody. Mining does not run on the iPhone. Bitcoinist.App is operated by BFM Company Limited (RAK DAO, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE). The official website is bitcoinist.app. Follow Bitcoinist.App on X, Telegram, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

Press contact

pr@bitcoinist.app

Press kit

bitcoinist.app/bitcoinist_presskit.zip

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored press release. Readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence before acting on any information presented in this article.

This post Bitcoinist.App Brings Private Mining Pools to iOS first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Bitcoin Magazine.

A 15-page federal criminal complaint details how investigators combined a Bitcoin trail with Google cookies, phone records, and more than 500 Uber Eats deliveries to identify Zyaire Dontaevious Zamarion Wilkins as the alleged financier and marketer of a Steam malware campaign. A later search uncovered a Monero seed phrase tied to roughly $382,000 in cumulative transaction activity.

Federal agents arrested Wilkins, 21, in Florida on July 14. The complaint, entered the following day, charges him with one count of conspiracy to obtain information by computer for private financial gain.

The allegations concern the same eight-game campaign CryptoSlate reported on July 19. The FBI and the complaint allege that the campaign infected approximately 8,000 devices, accessed about 80 cryptocurrency wallets and stole at least $220,000.

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The complaint also lays out how investigators connected campaign funding to Wilkins and what they found after obtaining a residential search warrant.

Messages describe Wilkins’ alleged financing role

Prosecutors allege that another participant created the developer accounts and launched the games, while Wilkins supplied funding and helped market them.

The games were promoted through Discord, Telegram, X and LinkedIn, while bots allegedly identified people with large crypto holdings for targeted messages.

Messages cited in the complaint include discussions about spending $10,000 on a remote-access trojan, embedding malware in games and persuading more people to download them.

Subject #1 allegedly told investigators that Wilkins provided launch and marketing funds in exchange for a share of stolen cryptocurrency and access to victims’ private information.

Bitcoin payments opened a wider identity trail

Investigators found the Bitcoin address in messages seized from an unnamed alleged co-conspirator identified as “Subject #1,” according to the complaint.

Wilkins allegedly supplied the address to receive funding for a cryptocurrency-draining campaign, and investigators verified that the address received an approximately $10,000 payment on the day it was supplied.

The complaint says investigators subsequently identified payments from the same address to Bitrefill, which allows customers to purchase gift cards and other digital products with cryptocurrency.

Bitrefill records connected the payments to one account that had purchased more than 150 gift cards, including Uber Eats cards. The account was registered using an email address that investigators then examined through records obtained from Google.

Google records allegedly linked that address through browser cookies to other accounts. One appeared to use Wilkins’ initials and was associated with a University of West Florida student, while another listed a phone number as its recovery number.

Investigators also linked that number to an email address containing Wilkins’ name, a Snapchat account that previously displayed his name, and a T-Mobile account registered at an address associated with his family.

More than 500 food orders narrowed the trail to three addresses

Uber identified one account associated with the Uber Eats gift cards, according to the complaint. That account was registered with the same phone number found in the other records.

Further Uber records showed that the account placed more than 500 food-delivery orders between March 2024 and May 2026, spending over $9,000. Every order went to one of three locations: two addresses associated with the University of West Florida and Wilkins’ North Lauderdale address.

The timing also followed an alleged pattern. Deliveries to the university addresses largely occurred while classes were in session, while orders outside those periods went to Wilkins’ family address. The complaint says approximately 15 deliveries went to the North Lauderdale address between May 6 and May 17, 2026.

The Uber records formed one part of a wider identity chain that included Bitrefill account data, Google cookies, email addresses, phone records, Snapchat data, and mobile-location information.

The complaint does not establish that every payment or food order involved stolen funds.

Search uncovered a Monero seed phrase tied to $382,000 in activity

FBI agents searched Wilkins’ North Lauderdale residence on July 8 and seized laptops, phones, other digital devices, and three cryptocurrency wallet seed phrases, according to the complaint.

One seed phrase was associated with a Monero wallet containing eight addresses. Investigators said the wallet’s transaction history showed that Wilkins had sent or received approximately 1,233 XMR, valued at roughly $382,000.

The $382,000 figure reflects cumulative transaction activity described in the complaint. It is separate from the alleged victim-loss estimate of at least $220,000, and the filing does not characterize all 1,233 XMR as stolen funds or as Wilkins’ wallet balance.

The complaint’s identification narrative relies on the Bitcoin address and records from Bitrefill, Google, Uber, Snap, T-Mobile, and other providers. Investigators obtained the Monero evidence after executing the residential search warrant, using a seized seed phrase rather than tracing Wilkins through Monero’s public transaction history.

Wilkins is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. TechCrunch reported that his attorney did not respond to a request for comment. Local 10 reported that Valve had not responded to its questions about the case and Steam’s security measures by publication.

The post FBI used Google cookies, 500 food orders and a Monero seed phrase to identify Steam malware funder appeared first on CryptoSlate.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $225 million in net outflows on July 23, ending a seven-session inflow streak as net redemptions from BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust dominated the reversal.

IBIT posted a $202 million net outflow, accounting for 89.96% of the US spot Bitcoin ETF sector’s aggregate net outflow.

Five other funds recorded combined outflows of $27.6 million, while Grayscale’s GBTC attracted $5 million. Together, the funds outside IBIT therefore contributed a net $22.6 million to the daily outflow.

The reversal followed seven consecutive positive sessions between July 14 and July 22, during which the ETFs attracted a combined $999 million. The July 23 withdrawal erased approximately 22.5% of those additions, leaving the full eight-session period with a net inflow of $774 million, according to Farside Investors

Bitcoin weakened alongside the reversal

Bitcoin also moved lower during the July 23 session yesterday. BlackRock reported that IBIT’s net asset value declined 1.63% for the day, while its CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate benchmark ended at $64,768.

The decline was directionally consistent with softer ETF demand, although the same-day timing leaves causation unresolved. Fund flows are calculated after the trading session and can reflect investor positioning established at different points during the day.

The concentration within IBIT makes the session especially significant for BlackRock’s fund. The $202.5 million net outflow was nearly nine times the combined net outflow from every other product.

However, the broader eight-session total remains firmly positive. On the available flow evidence, July 23 looks more like a partial reversal of the preceding streak than clear evidence that the broader inflow trend has ended.

IBIT’s net outflow should also be understood as fund activity instead of a discretionary bearish trade by BlackRock. According to BlackRock’s product documentation, ordinary investors trade IBIT shares on the secondary market, while authorized participants create or redeem large aggregated units known as baskets.

The reported flow therefore reflects net redemption activity in IBIT shares through that structure. Characterizing it as BlackRock withdrawing corporate capital or independently deciding to sell Bitcoin would misstate the mechanism.

Further sessions will test the ETF demand buffer

The durability question now depends on whether the July 23 reversal extends into subsequent finalized sessions. Repeated net outflows would unwind more of the $999.3 million accumulated during the streak and provide stronger evidence that ETF demand has weakened.

A return to inflows would strengthen the interpretation that July 23 was a one-session reset. Based on finalized data through that date, the recent eight-session window still shows $774.2 million of net demand despite the IBIT-led reversal.

The post BlackRock’s IBIT accounted for 90% of a $225 million Bitcoin ETF reversal after a seven-day buying streak appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Zilliqa has suspended native transactions after discovering that roughly five affected signatures from the same private key may provide enough information to reconstruct that key, creating a recovery problem that an ordinary transfer cannot safely solve.

The vulnerability is confined to Schnorr signatures generated for native, non-EVM transactions through the Zilliqa Ledger app, according to the network’s security disclosure. Zilliqa said every version of the app released between 2019 and 2026 contained the flaw.

Zilliqa said it detected on-chain activity consistent with active exploitation on July 19 and confirmed the root cause on July 21. The disclosure did not identify affected addresses or quantify any losses.

Public signatures can expose the private key

The flaw occurred while the Ledger app generated the ephemeral nonce required for each native Zilliqa signature. The signing routine generated 40 bytes of randomness and reduced the result modulo the secp256k1 curve order, but then copied the wrong 32-byte range into the nonce buffer.

That operation retained eight zero-padding bytes while discarding eight bytes of actual entropy, fixing the nonce’s highest 64 bits at zero and leaving each value below 2¹⁹².

Zilliqa said an attacker can combine approximately five affected signatures produced by the same private key and use lattice-reduction techniques to reconstruct that key within seconds on commodity hardware.

Any account that has broadcast approximately five or more native transactions signed through the Zilliqa Ledger app should therefore be considered compromised, according to Zilliqa. The weakened signatures remain permanently available on-chain, so updating the app cannot remove the information already exposed. Affected private keys must ultimately be retired.

Zilliqa credited KuCoin with reporting the incident and helping confirm the vulnerability. According to the disclosure, the exchange recovered affected private keys using publicly available signatures and assisted in tracing the problem to the app’s nonce-generation code.

A normal rescue transfer could be front-run

Moving assets to a new address once native transactions resume carries another risk. An attacker who has already reconstructed the private key can also sign a valid transaction and attempt to front-run the legitimate holder’s transfer.

This leaves Zilliqa balancing two requirements before reopening native activity: allowing legitimate users to migrate their assets while preventing attackers with the same signing authority from winning the transaction race.

The network said it was finalizing a coordinated remediation plan and advised anyone who has signed native Zilliqa transactions with a Ledger device to await official instructions before taking action.

Zilliqa suspended native, non-EVM transactions as a protective measure after identifying the vulnerability. The project said the pause halted further draining of affected accounts.

At publication time, Zilliqa had not announced a reopening date or published its final migration procedure through its official channels.

A corrected version of the Ledger app is being prepared in coordination with Ledger and will restore full-width nonce generation. The update can prevent future signatures from exposing the same information, but it cannot secure keys compromised by signatures already recorded on-chain. Zilliqa said release details would be announced separately.

EVM and official SDK signing paths are unaffected

The disclosure does not describe a compromise of Ledger hardware generally. Zilliqa attributed the vulnerability to its Ledger app’s implementation of native transaction signing.

Zilliqa said EVM transactions are unaffected. The nonce-generation paths used by its official zilliqa-js, gozilliqa-sdk, and pyzil software development kits also fall outside the disclosed vulnerability.

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The post A 7 year Ledger bug lets attackers rebuild a private key from five signatures in seconds appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The revised CLARITY Act is exposing unusual divisions across Wall Street, Washington and the crypto industry as lawmakers struggle to build support for a Senate vote.

Senate Republicans this week released a new draft that would bar the president and other federal officials from issuing or sponsoring digital assets.

The changes have drawn sharply different reactions from influential figures across finance and crypto.

Goldman Sachs Chief Executive David Solomon reportedly urged Congress to advance the sweeping market-structure bill despite disagreements within the banking industry over provisions that could intensify competition for deposits.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, meanwhile, has sided with Sen. Elizabeth Warren on one of the bill’s most contentious political issues, arguing that President Donald Trump should stay out of crypto markets while in office.

The contrasting positions underline the complicated coalition surrounding CLARITY as senators seek compromises on stablecoin rewards, government ethics and financial regulation, with the bill’s path to passage narrowing.

Goldman Sachs breaks with banking opposition

In a recent interview, Solomon took a different position from major banking groups that want lawmakers to tighten the bill before it advances.

The banking executive told Politico he was “very supportive” of moving the legislation forward to establish a market structure and allow innovation to develop. While acknowledging that the bill remained imperfect, he said creating a level playing field and greater market stability should take priority.

That stance contrasts with a coalition of banking groups that said the latest Senate draft still threatens the deposits that support lending across the US.

The American Bankers Association, Bank Policy Institute, Consumer Bankers Association, Financial Services Forum, Independent Community Bankers of America and National Bankers Association said lawmakers should strengthen restrictions on interest-like payments for holding stablecoins.

The groups warned that allowing such rewards could draw deposits away from banks and reduce funding available for small-business, mortgage and agricultural lending.

“We appreciate [lawmakers] willingness to consider targeted changes that would strengthen the prohibition on interest-like payments for holding stablecoins,” the groups said, adding that the payments could “siphon away the bank deposits” used to finance lending.

The dispute has become one of the main fault lines between banks and crypto companies as stablecoins expand beyond trading into payments, settlement and other financial services.

Banks argue that exchanges and other intermediaries could effectively compete with deposit accounts by offering rewards on stablecoin balances while operating under a different regulatory framework. Crypto companies have pushed back, saying broader restrictions would curb competition and protect incumbent lenders.

JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon has also raised concerns about the framework, putting Solomon on the opposite side of an increasingly public debate within Wall Street over how far Congress should go in restricting stablecoin rewards.

The disagreement comes even as large financial institutions deepen their involvement in blockchain-based finance. Goldman and other banks have explored tokenized deposits, stablecoins and blockchain settlement as digital assets become more closely integrated with traditional markets.

Solomon’s support suggests Goldman Sachs is willing to tolerate unresolved disputes over those provisions to secure a broader federal framework for crypto markets.

Hoskinson backs Warren as crypto industry pushes for passage

The political divide is becoming more complicated inside crypto, where support for CLARITY is increasingly colliding with concerns over Trump’s personal involvement in the industry.

In an X post, Hoskinson blamed the Trump administration’s handling of crypto policy for making the legislation more partisan.

Hoskinson said Democrats had increasingly framed the issue as “Crypto = Trump = Corruption,” making it harder to build bipartisan support for legislation. He said:

“No progress can be made if crypto is partisan.”

He also backed Warren’s argument that Trump’s position creates a conflict with direct participation in financial markets. Over the past year, Warren has consistently criticized Trump's crypto ventures, while arguing that the current bill will “supercharge Trump’s crypto corruption.”

In view of this, Hoskinson posited that “the president shouldn’t be a market participant” because “he is the ultimate insider” whose policies and actions influence the broader industry.

The comments put Hoskinson alongside one of crypto’s most persistent critics on a narrow but consequential issue while stopping well short of opposing broader market-structure legislation.

That distinction is important because much of the crypto industry continues to press Congress to pass CLARITY despite acknowledging shortcomings in the latest draft.

Chris Dixon, who leads crypto investing at Andreessen Horowitz, said the legislation would establish protections that are currently missing from US crypto markets and argued that lawmakers should not allow disagreements over individual provisions to derail the broader framework.

“No law is perfect, and the CLARITY Act is no different,” Dixon said, adding that the latest version reflected months of bipartisan negotiations and significant compromises by the industry.

He argued that passage would give the US clearer rules for digital assets and help prevent financial innovation from moving to jurisdictions with more developed regulatory frameworks.

The contrast illustrates the increasingly narrow line the industry is trying to hold.

Crypto firms broadly want Congress to establish federal rules governing digital-asset markets. Still, Hoskinson’s comments show that support for the legislation does not necessarily translate into acceptance of Trump’s personal crypto interests.

CLARITY Act path narrows

Those divisions are emerging as Democratic opposition and a shrinking Senate calendar make CLARITY’s path to passage increasingly difficult.

Seven Democratic senators who have participated in negotiations said the updated CLARITY Act still falls short despite the addition of the new ethics restrictions.

Sens. Angela Alsobrooks, Cory Booker, Catherine Cortez Masto, Ruben Gallego, John Hickenlooper, Mark Warner and Raphael Warnock said provisions covering elected-official ethics, consumer protection, illicit finance, conflicts of interest and market integrity still need to be strengthened.

Their position is significant because Republicans cannot pass the market-structure legislation on their own. CLARITY needs 60 votes to advance in the Senate, requiring support from Democrats who remain willing to negotiate but are not prepared to back the current text.

At the same time, the remaining window for the bill has also narrowed.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune reportedly said he does not expect the Senate to complete the legislation before lawmakers leave for their August recess, undercutting a deadline that negotiators had increasingly used to force compromises on the remaining disputes.

The likely delay removes some of that immediate pressure while pushing the bill deeper into an election-year calendar already crowded with other legislative priorities.

Sen. John Kennedy had warned that failure to secure a positive vote before the August break would shift the odds against supporters, reflecting concerns that reaching an agreement could become harder once senators return.

That leaves negotiators facing two related problems: finding enough Democratic votes for the legislation and finding enough Senate floor time to act on any agreement they reach.

CLARITY Act supporters are nevertheless continuing to press for passage.

Sen. Bill Hagerty, one of the Republican lawmakers backing the legislation, said “the time for CLARITY is now,” arguing that the US needs clearer digital-asset rules to protect consumers while keeping investment and jobs in the country.

Crypto companies are also making a similar case. Coinbase President Emilie Choi said the broader regulatory framework should appeal even to lawmakers and voters who have little enthusiasm for the industry because it would establish federal oversight and consumer protections that are currently lacking.

She said:

“Whether you like crypto, hate crypto, or don’t care, you should want this bill passed. It’s now down to the Senate to help America set the standard.”

The post CLARITY Act splits Wall Street and crypto as Goldman Sachs breaks with banks and Charles Hoskinson backs Warren appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitcoin fell below $65,000 as surging oil prices and higher Treasury yields triggered a broader retreat from risk assets.

Data from CryptoSlate shows the largest cryptocurrency traded near $64,980 as Brent crude remained on track for a weekly gain of almost 10%. Oil settled 7% higher at $100.69 a barrel on July 23, its first close above $100 since May, before retreating to about $96.70 in European trading as of press time.

The move rippled across global markets. The 10-year US Treasury yield climbed to roughly 4.7%, its highest since January 2025, while the S&P 500 fell 1.2% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.2% on July 23.

The repricing followed attacks on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea that prompted President Donald Trump to threaten Iran and the Houthis with “major military punishment.” The latest escalation raised fresh concerns over energy flows already disrupted by reduced traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Oil shock revives rate pressure

The surge in crude is now feeding directly into expectations for interest rates, adding another source of pressure on Bitcoin.

Higher energy costs risk keeping inflation elevated through transportation, manufacturing and consumer prices, limiting the Federal Reserve’s room to ease policy. Treasury markets have already begun reflecting that shift as investors demand higher yields to hold longer-dated government debt.

Related Reading

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Traders have also increased bets on another Fed move. CME FedWatch placed the probability of a quarter-point rate increase at the July 28-29 meeting near 40%, a repricing that would further tighten financial conditions for assets sensitive to liquidity.

André Dragosch, head of research for Europe at Bitwise, said a sustained rise in oil could push the 10-year Treasury yield above 5%.

Dragosch said the pressure could extend beyond U.S. monetary policy. Major oil importers such as Japan may need to raise cash as their energy bills increase, potentially creating another source of selling in US Treasuries.

Jurrien Timmer, Fidelity Investments’ director of global macro, pointed to another complication. With the correlation between bonds and equities still positive, he said rising term premiums could weigh on both asset classes at the same time.

That would leave investors with fewer places to absorb a broader risk-off move.

For Bitcoin, the combination of higher oil prices, rising yields and weaker diversification across traditional markets could amplify pressure just as spot demand and ETF flows begin to lose momentum.

Bitcoin demand weakens as ETF flows reverse

The tougher macro backdrop is arriving as the demand that supported Bitcoin’s recent rebound begins to lose momentum.

US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds posted $225.2 million in net outflows on July 23, snapping a seven-session inflow streak, SoSoValue data showed.

The funds had taken in nearly $1 billion during that run and remained about $274 million in positive territory for the week through Thursday.

While one day of outflows does not mark a broader institutional retreat, the reversal removes a source of demand that had helped underpin Bitcoin as pressure from rising yields and weaker equities intensified.

Meanwhile, on-chain data point to a similar loss of momentum.

CryptoQuant founder and CEO Ki Young Ju said spot demand has weakened, while futures demand remains positive but well below the levels recorded during Bitcoin’s rebound three months earlier.

CryptoQuant data showed spot demand had been largely negative or flat since June even as Bitcoin recovered from its early-July lows. Futures traders continued to add exposure, but at a much slower pace than during the previous advance.

The divergence suggests Bitcoin’s recovery is becoming more reliant on derivatives demand at a time when tighter financial conditions could make leveraged positions more vulnerable to a reversal.

This imbalance adds to the pressure around $65,000, where Bitcoin is struggling to preserve gains made earlier this month.

Red Sea attacks threaten to prolong oil pressure

The immediate risk is that the tanker attacks could turn the Red Sea into a second sustained source of disruption for global energy shipments.

Trump said Iran would be held responsible for further Houthi attacks and threatened military retaliation against both Tehran and the group. He later said damages to ships and cargo from future attacks could be covered with Iranian funds controlled by the United States.

The warning came as the US completed a 13th consecutive night of strikes against Iran, with little indication that either side was preparing for near-term negotiations.

Energy markets are already contending with sharply reduced traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Renewed Houthi attacks would add pressure around Bab el-Mandeb, the narrow passage connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and a key route for shipments moving toward the Suez Canal.

A prolonged disruption could keep oil prices elevated even after Friday’s pullback.

JPMorgan analysts estimated that each additional month of constrained supply could add $7 to $8 a barrel to Brent. A three-month disruption could push the benchmark’s monthly average toward $114, they said.

Such an outcome would extend the same pressures that drove Bitcoin below $65,000 this week. Higher oil prices could keep inflation expectations elevated, sustain upward pressure on Treasury yields and reduce the Federal Reserve’s room to loosen monetary policy.

Bitcoin would face that backdrop while spot demand remains weak and ETF flows show early signs of losing momentum.

That leaves the oil market as an important near-term variable for crypto traders. A de-escalation that restores shipping flows could ease some of the pressure on rates and risk assets.

Further attacks, however, would increase the chances that the energy shock lasts long enough to tighten financial conditions further.

The post Bitcoin declines below $65,000 as Trump threatens Iran after tanker attacks send Oil above $100 appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Barely a week after the Ostium oracle exploit hit Arbitrum, another perpetuals DEX on the same network was drained. On July 22, 2026, AFX Trade lost roughly $24.15 million USDC after an attacker compromised the validator signing keys behind a bridge the protocol operates. The stolen funds were moved to Ethereum and swapped for around 12,467 ETH — nearly emptying the platform's total value locked.

Once again, the weak point wasn't the smart contract code. It was the off-chain infrastructure sitting around it, and in this case a bridge that AFX ran itself rather than Arbitrum's native one.

What happened to AFX Trade?

Security firm Blockaid flagged the exploit at 21:30 UTC on July 22. The attacker gained control of the validator signing keys for AFX's USDC custody bridge — the component that authorizes cross-chain withdrawals. With enough signatures to meet the bridge's quorum, the malicious withdrawal looked entirely legitimate to the system.

That detail matters: Blockaid noted the on-chain logic worked exactly as designed. Five hot-validator signatures met the threshold needed to approve the transfer, so the contract released the funds without any bug being triggered. The problem was that the keys producing those signatures were in the wrong hands.

After draining the vault, the attacker bridged the USDC from Arbitrum to Ethereum and swapped it for roughly 12,467 ETH at an average of around $1,937 per token. According to PeckShield, the converted ETH was consolidated into a single wallet.

Was the Arbitrum network itself hacked?

No — and that distinction is important. The exploit hit a third-party bridge that AFX maintains on top of Arbitrum, not Arbitrum's native bridge or the wider Layer 2. Steven Goldfeder, co-founder of Offchain Labs (the team behind Arbitrum), stated the network's native bridge had not been hacked or exploited in any way.

A breach of Arbitrum's own bridge would have rippled across the entire Layer 2 ecosystem. A compromised app sitting on top of it, by contrast, is a contained failure — bad for AFX and its users, but not a systemic threat to other Arbitrum protocols.

Why are bridges such a common target?

Bridges have been one of the most lucrative attack vectors in DeFi for years, and the reason is structural. They hold large pools of locked assets and depend on validator sets or multisig arrangements to authorize transfers. That concentrates trust in a small set of keys — and if those keys are compromised, the on-chain code will happily approve withdrawals that look properly signed.

The AFX incident fits the pattern precisely. The trading engine and Arbitrum's core infrastructure were untouched; the single weak link was the signing layer of a bridge the team operated itself. It echoes the broader story of 2026, in which most major DeFi losses have come from compromised off-chain components rather than flawed Solidity.

How much was stolen, and where is the money now?

Around $24.15 million in USDC was drained — close to the protocol's entire TVL. Unlike many exploits where funds vanish into a mixer, here the trail is still visible: the attacker swapped the USDC for roughly 12,467 ETH and left it sitting in a known Ethereum wallet, with no large follow-on withdrawals reported. Security firms Blockaid and PeckShield are actively tracing the address.

That the funds haven't been laundered yet leaves a narrow window for recovery — which is exactly what AFX is trying to exploit.

What is AFX doing to recover the funds?

Hours after the attack, AFX suspended the compromised bridge and made a public offer to the attacker: return 70% of the stolen assets and keep the remaining 30% — roughly $7.2 million — as a "white hat bounty." The team posted a specific Ethereum address for the return.

This has become a standard playbook in crypto exploits. The logic is blunt: recovering 70% beats recovering nothing, and modern on-chain forensics make laundering a large sum increasingly hard without eventually being identified. It's not without critics, though — some security researchers argue that paying attackers normalizes a "steal first, negotiate later" dynamic. Whether it works here depends entirely on whether the attacker prefers a clean exit to the risk of trying to move the ETH.

As of now, the exact method by which the keys were compromised is still under investigation, and the funds remain in the attacker's wallet.

What does the AFX hack mean for DeFi traders?

For anyone using perpetual DEXs on Layer 2 networks, the lesson is to look underneath the trading interface. A protocol can have solid smart contracts for its perps engine and still be gutted if the bridge it relies on has centralized validator keys. The AFX and Ostium incidents within a single week — both on Arbitrum, both off-chain compromises — make that point hard to ignore.

Practical takeaways for traders: understand whether a platform relies on a self-operated bridge, be cautious about how much capital you leave parked in one venue, and follow official channels rather than rumor threads during an active incident.

Where can you trade crypto on regulated platforms instead?

Incidents like the AFX hack are a reminder of the trade-off that comes with unaudited or lightly regulated venues. In the EU, the MiCA framework now sets a common standard: since July 1, 2026, any platform serving EU clients needs a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) authorization, covering governance, client-asset safeguarding, IT security, and AML requirements. As of late July 2026, the ESMA register lists close to 300 authorized CASPs across the EEA, with a single authorization passporting across all member states.

If you'd rather trade on regulated, compliant platforms than expose funds to a bridge or oracle-dependent perp DEX, it's worth comparing venues by their license status, fees, and available assets. Our broker and exchange comparison page breaks this down side by side so you can pick a platform that matches how you actually trade.

One regulated option is XTB, a publicly listed, established broker that has secured approval to offer spot crypto trading to EEA clients (via its Cyprus authorization), alongside its regulated brokerage products. You can open an account with XTB here.

On July 15, 2026, the perpetuals DEX Ostium was drained of $23.75 million USDC after an attacker got hold of an oracle signer private key and used it to manufacture fake profitable trades until the vault ran dry. Ostium paused trading within an hour of the first malicious transaction, and after an eight-day investigation and hardening effort, reopened the platform on July 23.

Unlike the smart contract bugs that once dominated DeFi hack headlines, this attack targeted the off-chain infrastructure that feeds prices into the protocol — the part most audits and bug bounties are never paid to look at.

What exactly happened to Ostium?

The root cause was a compromised oracle signer private key rather than a flaw in Ostium's Solidity code. Security firm Blockaid, which first flagged the incident, reported that the attacker used a registered PriceUpKeep forwarder to submit future-dated, authorized oracle reports. Those reports tricked the protocol into thinking a series of trades were profitable.

From there the attacker ran roughly 20 looped open-and-close trades through delegated actions, pulling repeated payouts from Ostium's main OLP (liquidity provider) vault without ever taking on real market exposure. The vault's payout logic trusted the forged price input as genuine, so it settled trades that only looked profitable because the feed itself had been faked.

Why is an oracle signer key such a big deal?

An oracle signer key works like a master password for price data. When a protocol like Ostium settles perpetual trades, it relies on signed price feeds to decide who's in profit and who isn't. Whoever controls that signing key can effectively tell the protocol whatever price they want — bypassing the automated checks meant to keep the feed honest.

That's what makes this class of attack so damaging. The smart contracts did exactly what they were programmed to do; they simply acted on fraudulent instructions from someone who had access they shouldn't have had. It fits a broader 2026 pattern in which the largest DeFi losses increasingly come from the human and infrastructure layer rather than buggy code.

How much was lost, and where did the money go?

Ostium confirmed the exact figure: 23,752,746 USDC drained from the OLP vault. Early estimates had varied — Blockaid put the net loss near $18 million and CertiK closer to $22 million — but the protocol's own accounting settled on roughly $23.75 million gross. Galaxy Research traced eight payouts to a single wallet, including transfers of around $11.86 million, $4.49 million, and $3.59 million.

Crucially, the exploit hit shared liquidity in the public OLP vault, not individual trader collateral. Trader margin stayed isolated and frozen inside the smart contracts throughout the pause. The stolen USDC, however, was converted into roughly 12,084 ETH and routed through the mixing service Tornado Cash, which significantly limits the chances of recovery.

Has the Ostium hack been resolved?

Partly. Trading resumed on July 23 at 10:00 a.m. ET (2:00 p.m. UTC), but the situation isn't fully closed. Here's where things stand:

Trading reopened in phases — risk-management functions and reduce-only orders came back first, with remaining features restored gradually to keep the system stable. Open positions and pending orders carried over rather than being closed during the outage, and every position was recalculated at the live market price at reopen, so no trader was liquidated because of price moves during the pause.

The stolen funds have not been recovered. Ostium is working with cybersecurity firms Mandiant, zeroShadow, and Collisionless, plus the SEAL 911 emergency response group and law enforcement, and has been coordinating with exchanges, bridges, and stablecoin issuers to trace the money.

Compensation for impacted liquidity providers is still being finalized. Ostium said it will contribute from its own balance sheet alongside partners to make affected LPs whole, but a detailed recovery plan was still pending at reopen. So while trading is live again, the funds recovery and LP reimbursement pieces remain open.

Does funding and auditing protect a protocol like this?

Not on its own. Ostium had raised around $27.8 million from top-tier backers including General Catalyst, Jump Crypto, Coinbase Ventures, Wintermute, and GSR, and had gone through multiple audits. None of that addressed key management for its oracle signers.

Notably, Ostium's Immunefi bug bounty scope treated registered keepers — including PriceUpKeep and their forwarders — as trusted, explicitly placing any finding that required a compromised or malicious keeper outside the program. In other words, the exact attack surface that was exploited had been declared out of scope for researchers.

What does the Ostium hack mean for DeFi and RWA platforms?

It's another reminder that securing oracle infrastructure matters as much as auditing smart contracts — arguably more, as RWA protocols pull in equities, commodities, forex, and index prices from off-chain sources. Any protocol relying on a single trusted signer key or the same oracle provider should be asking whether it's exposed to the same single-point-of-failure.

For traders, the practical takeaways are familiar but worth repeating: revoke unnecessary contract approvals, be cautious with funds parked in perp DEX vaults, and watch official channels rather than rumor threads during an active incident.

Where can you trade crypto on regulated platforms instead?

Incidents like the Ostium hack are a reminder of the trade-off that comes with unaudited or lightly regulated venues. In the EU, the MiCA framework now sets a common standard: from July 1, 2026, any platform serving EU clients needs a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) authorization, which covers governance, client-asset safeguarding, IT security, and AML requirements. As of late July 2026, the ESMA register lists close to 300 authorized CASPs across the EEA, and a single authorization passports across all member states.

If you'd rather trade on regulated, compliant platforms than expose funds to an oracle-dependent perp DEX, it's worth comparing venues by their license status, fees, and available assets. Our broker and exchange comparison page breaks this down side by side so you can pick a platform that matches how you actually trade.

One regulated option is XTB, a publicly listed, established broker that has secured approval to offer spot crypto trading to EEA clients (via its Cyprus authorization), alongside its regulated brokerage products. You can open an account with XTB here.

Bitcoin and the wider crypto market moved sharply lower on Thursday as escalating tensions between the United States and Iran pushed oil above $100 per barrel. The renewed geopolitical uncertainty erased part of this week’s crypto recovery and returned inflation and interest-rate concerns to the center of the market.

Bitcoin fell below $65,000 after recently approaching $67,000. Ethereum slipped under $1,900, while XRP, Solana, Dogecoin and Cardano recorded even larger daily losses.

The immediate question is whether this is a temporary reaction to breaking news or the beginning of another significant crypto correction.

Why Did Oil Rise Above $100?

Brent crude jumped approximately 7% to more than $100 per barrel, reaching its highest level in nearly two months. West Texas Intermediate also moved above $90.

The surge followed attacks by Iran-aligned Houthi forces on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. The group also threatened to disrupt Saudi oil shipments through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes.

These attacks are particularly concerning because shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has already been severely disrupted. If both the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea become increasingly dangerous for tankers, a substantial share of global energy supplies could face delays or complete interruption.

US President Donald Trump subsequently promised significant military punishment against Iran and its regional allies, raising concerns that the conflict could expand further.

Goldman Sachs analysts have warned that Brent crude could rise above $120 if the supply disruption continues.

Why Is Bitcoin Falling When Oil Rises?

Bitcoin does not depend directly on oil, but a major energy shock can affect nearly every risk asset.

Higher oil prices increase transportation, manufacturing and electricity costs. Businesses frequently pass those costs on to consumers, creating another source of inflation.

If inflation starts accelerating again, the Federal Reserve may be unable to reduce interest rates. It could even consider additional rate increases if price pressures become severe enough.

That possibility is already entering market expectations. Following oil’s surge, traders reportedly began assigning an almost 40% probability to a Federal Reserve rate hike at its next meeting. Only a few days earlier, the probability had been in the single digits.

Higher rates generally hurt Bitcoin, technology stocks and other speculative investments. Investors can earn more from government bonds while taking considerably less risk, reducing the appeal of non-yielding assets.

Crypto Market Turns Red

Bitcoin was trading around $64,700 after falling roughly 2% over 24 hours. The decline followed its rejection near the important $67,000 resistance level.

Ethereum dropped close to 3% to approximately $1,888, losing the psychologically important $1,900 level. The damage was more pronounced among several major altcoins:

• XRP declined approximately 3.8%.
• Solana fell around 3%.
• Dogecoin lost nearly 5%.
• Cardano dropped more than 5.5%.
• Stellar declined approximately 4.5%.

Hyperliquid, Zcash and Monero were among the few major cryptocurrencies remaining positive during the same period.

The performance suggests investors are reducing exposure to higher-risk altcoins first. This is typical during periods of geopolitical uncertainty, when liquidity moves toward cash, government bonds and other defensive assets.

Bitcoin’s Safe-Haven Narrative Faces Another Test

Bitcoin is frequently presented as digital gold and a hedge against political instability. However, its reaction to the latest Iran escalation tells a more complicated story.

Instead of rising alongside geopolitical risk, Bitcoin declined with stocks. This suggests that traders are still treating BTC primarily as a risk asset, especially when an international crisis threatens inflation and monetary policy.

Bitcoin may benefit from currency debasement and long-term concerns about government debt. In the short term, however, sudden market shocks often lead investors to sell liquid assets to reduce risk or cover losses elsewhere.

This does not necessarily invalidate Bitcoin’s long-term safe-haven argument. It does show that Bitcoin can behave very differently from gold during the initial stage of a crisis.

Can Bitcoin Recover?

The $64,000 to $65,000 area is now the first important zone to watch. If Bitcoin stabilizes above this region, the decline could remain a normal correction following its 13% recovery from July’s lows.

A rebound would need to push BTC back above $67,000. Breaking that resistance could reopen the path toward $70,000 and then the 200-day moving average near $72,800.

The bearish scenario would begin with a decisive loss of $64,000. That could expose the recent support zones around $62,000 and $60,000. Altcoins would likely experience proportionally larger losses if Bitcoin moves toward those levels.

The next move will depend heavily on developments in the Middle East. Any indication of de-escalation or restored shipping routes could pull oil lower and help crypto recover. Additional attacks on tankers, energy facilities or strategic waterways could push oil higher and extend the risk-off move.

Is Another Crypto Crash Coming?

The current decline is not yet large enough to confirm a new crypto crash. Bitcoin remains above its recent lows, and the market has not experienced the type of widespread liquidation cascade normally associated with a major breakdown.

However, the combination of $100 oil, rising bond yields, renewed rate-hike expectations and escalating military action creates a dangerous environment for speculative assets.

Crypto investors should therefore watch oil alongside Bitcoin. As long as Brent remains above $100 and the conflict continues expanding, BTC may struggle to regain $67,000—even if ETF demand and regulatory developments remain supportive.

For now, geopolitical risk has taken control of the market, and Bitcoin’s next major move may be decided outside the crypto industry.

Ethereum is knocking on the door of $2,000. After bottoming near $1,500 in June, $ETH has staged one of its most constructive recoveries of the year, climbing steadily through July to trade at $1,921 at the time of writing. The chart shows a clean sequence of higher lows, and the daily RSI at roughly 60 and rising confirms that momentum has swung firmly back to buyers. The question now is whether ETH can convert this momentum into a breakout above the psychologically loaded $2,000 mark.

Where does Ethereum trade right now?

ETH is changing hands around $1,921, down a marginal 0.63% on the day but comfortably inside its July uptrend. The recovery has been orderly rather than explosive: price reclaimed the $1,800 zone and has been holding above it, turning former resistance into fresh support. The 4H structure reveals a clear and steady uptrend throughout July — a series of higher lows building from $1,450 through $1,600, $1,700, $1,800, and now approaching $1,900 — the most constructive price structure ETH has shown all year. That structural shift is what separates the current move from the failed bounces earlier in 2026.

What are the key resistance levels for ETH?

The immediate battle is at $2,000 (marked orange on the chart). This is both a psychological round number and a technical ceiling where prior selling clustered. Above it, the next major hurdle sits at $2,400 (yellow), the level that capped ETH throughout April and May, followed by the green line at $2,600. A daily close above $2,000 would open the path toward that $2,400 zone; until then, ETH remains in a recovery phase rather than a confirmed breakout. Broader forecasts echo this: longer-term forecasts can still point above $2,000–$2,500 by year-end, but that now depends on ETF stabilization, stronger liquidity, and renewed risk appetite.

What are the downside support levels?

On the way down, $1,800 is the first line of defense — the level ETH just reclaimed and must now hold to keep the bullish structure intact. Below that, support steps down to $1,600, then $1,540, and finally $1,400 (all marked yellow), which roughly aligns with June's capitulation lows. Losing $1,800 on a daily close would be the first warning that the July recovery is unwinding.

Ethereum price prediction: high and low targets

Putting the chart together with current momentum, here's how the near-term scenarios break down.

• Bullish target (high): A confirmed daily close above $2,000 clears the way toward $2,400, with the RSI still having room before overbought territory. This is the higher-probability path while ETH holds above $1,800.
• Bearish target (low): A rejection at $2,000 followed by a break of $1,800 support puts $1,600 and then $1,540 back in play. A deeper flush would retest the $1,400 zone.

Analyst forecasts broadly align with the upside case. Ethereum's July 2026 price prediction targets $1,960, with a range of $1,718–$1,960, while some models see momentum extending into August. It's worth noting that the monthly close carries outsized weight here: if ETH closes July above $2,050, some traders are targeting $4,000 and above, along with a new all-time high this cycle.

BitMEX announced the closure of its exchange, which will take effect on 23 September 2026 at 04:00:00 UTC. The exchange was co-founded by Arthur Hayes, and the decision follows a strategic review by owner HDR Global Trading Limited. With immediate effect, the platform has stopped all new account registrations.

Why is BitMEX shutting down?

Following a strategic review of the business and the broader crypto industry, the board of HDR Global Trading Limited, owner and operator of BitMEX, decided to close the exchange. The company did not cite financial difficulties or regulatory action as the reason, describing the move instead as the outcome of a broader strategic assessment. BitMEX also did not disclose what the review found, or whether the sale process that began last year produced a bidder.

BitMEX was one of the pioneers of crypto derivatives trading and helped popularize perpetual swap contracts — a product that lets traders speculate on asset prices without expiration dates. The team noted it invented the 100x leverage perpetual swap, now the most traded product in the crypto industry.

What happens to my funds?

BitMEX told users their assets remain fully safe and under their control during the transition period. The exchange said assets exceed liabilities per its Proof of Reserves and Liabilities page, and that it lost zero customer funds to hacks across its full operating history.

Users are urged to close all positions and withdraw funds well before the deadline. KYC-verified users who fail to withdraw before the shutdown will incur an account management fee of $50 per month or 1% of the balance, whichever is higher. 

What is the wind-down timeline?

The exchange will continue operating normally until late August before gradually winding down. Starting August 26 at 04:00 UTC, users will no longer be able to open new positions and will only be allowed to reduce or close existing trades. The exchange will force-close remaining open positions ahead of the shutdown to wind down the market in an orderly fashion, and anything still open at the closure time will be force-closed immediately.

BitMEX also confirmed it has unstaked all BMEX tokens held in staking, making them immediately available to holders.

What should users watch out for?

BitMEX warned users of potential phishing scams related to the closure and noted that withdrawal processing may face delays due to blockchain confirmation times. The main challenge the exchange faces is offramping user assets into fiat, as network congestion on the Bitcoin blockchain could cause significant withdrawal delays.

The closure comes amid a shifting competitive landscape. Centralized exchange perpetual futures volume fell 10% to $12.7 trillion in Q2 2026, while decentralized alternatives such as Hyperliquid rose to become the second-largest perpetuals exchange by open interest, behind Binance.

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TLDR

• NVIDIA shares fell 1.13% as open AI policy debate gained momentum.
• Tech giants urged lawmakers to avoid broad restrictions on open AI models.
• Open AI adoption could expand enterprise demand for NVIDIA GPU hardware.
• AI growth across industries supports long-term demand for computing power.
• NVIDIA benefits from AI expansion regardless of which models dominate.

NVIDIA (NVDA) shares fell 1.13% to $206.40 after a late-session decline erased earlier gains. The move came as major technology companies urged U.S. lawmakers to support open AI models. Meanwhile, the proposal highlighted how broader AI adoption could increase demand for computing infrastructure.

NVIDIA Corporation, NVDA

Tech Companies Push Open AI Policy

NVIDIA joined Microsoft, Meta, IBM, Hugging Face, Mozilla, Mistral, and other organizations in supporting open AI models. The group submitted a joint letter urging U.S. lawmakers to avoid broad restrictions. Instead, the companies promoted targeted legal measures against technology misuse and intellectual property theft.

The coalition argued that open AI models improve competition and reduce deployment costs across industries. It also stated that organizations gain greater control by running AI models inside their own infrastructure. As a result, enterprises, governments, and research institutions could expand AI adoption without relying entirely on closed systems.

The discussion follows increasing policy attention toward AI regulation in the United States. Lawmakers have explored additional safeguards after cybersecurity concerns involving advanced AI systems. At the same time, the administration continues reviewing restrictions affecting Chinese AI developers and advanced semiconductor technology.

Open AI Models Support NVIDIA Hardware Demand

NVIDIA’s business differs from companies that develop proprietary AI models. Instead, the company supplies graphics processing units that power AI training, fine-tuning, and deployment. Therefore, expanding AI development across more organizations directly increases demand for NVIDIA’s hardware.

Open AI models allow more businesses, universities, healthcare providers, manufacturers, and public institutions to deploy artificial intelligence. Consequently, computing demand spreads beyond a small group of hyperscale cloud providers. That wider adoption creates additional opportunities for GPU infrastructure suppliers.

The strategy also aligns with growing enterprise demand for customizable AI systems. Organizations increasingly prefer models they can modify and operate within private environments. As deployment expands across industries, GPU requirements continue increasing regardless of the underlying AI model.

Global AI Expansion Creates Broader Market Opportunities

Recent reports indicate that Chinese AI developer DeepSeek continues facing computing capacity constraints despite operating large GPU clusters. The company also expects additional NVIDIA-powered systems after recent changes affecting certain AI chip sales into China. Those developments suggest continued dependence on advanced GPU infrastructure.

The broader AI market continues supporting both proprietary and open AI ecosystems. Closed models remain important for advanced reasoning and regulated applications. Open models continue expanding across enterprise deployments, sovereign AI projects, and specialized industry solutions.

NVIDIA’s infrastructure business benefits from activity across both segments because every AI deployment requires computing power. That position reduces dependence on any single AI developer or platform. As AI adoption spreads worldwide, demand for high-performance GPUs remains central to the company’s long-term business strategy.

The post NVIDIA (NVDA) Stock: Drops as Open AI Models Expand Future GPU Demand appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• EVTL falls 3.32% after landmark Valo eVTOL public flight demonstration
• Vertical advances Valo certification and UK production expansion plans
• UK backs Vertical with proposed £10 million manufacturing support package
• New global partnerships strengthen commercial and regulatory expansion
• Defence and autonomous technology efforts gain further government momentum

Vertical Aerospace Ltd. (NYSE: EVTL) shares fell 3.32% to $1.46 after early selling pressure followed updates from the Farnborough International Airshow. The company highlighted progress across flight testing, manufacturing, certification, and commercial partnerships. Meanwhile, the announcements reinforced its long-term strategy for launching the Valo electric aircraft.

Vertical Aerospace Ltd., EVTL

Vertical Aerospace expands certification and manufacturing progress

Vertical Aerospace completed the first public transition flight by an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft at the Farnborough International Airshow. The demonstration included vertical take-off, wing-borne flight and vertical landing without requiring a runway. The company repeated successful demonstration flights before large public audiences throughout the event.

The flight demonstrations supported Vertical Aerospace’s certification roadmap for its Valo aircraft. The company continues testing piloted full-scale prototypes while advancing design approvals for future certification. Vertical still targets Type Certification in 2029 before commercial entry into service.

Vertical Aerospace also strengthened its manufacturing strategy during the exhibition. The company entered advanced discussions with the UK Government over support worth up to £10 million. The funding would help establish its first full-scale production facilities within the United Kingdom.

The company also signed a memorandum with UK Export Finance during the event. The agreement explores export financing and customer funding as production expands. The UK Government supported the £3.4 million ECLiPSE programme led by Vertical Aerospace to develop charging and thermal management technologies for electric aircraft.

Partnerships strengthen commercial and defence expansion

Vertical Aerospace continued expanding its commercial ecosystem through several new agreements announced during the airshow. The company joined Honeywell Aerospace’s Project VERTI-GO to support safe eVTOL integration into European airspace. The initiative supports broader regulatory preparation for commercial electric aviation.

The company also signed customer agreements with Sigma Air Mobility and VIC Properties. These agreements explore premium urban air mobility services, including future operations in Portugal. Vertical Aerospace expanded international regulatory cooperation through agreements with Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation and Cluster2 Airports Company.

Vertical Aerospace also strengthened its defence activities during the exhibition. The company expanded autonomous capabilities through its partnership with Near Earth Autonomy. The UK Ministry of Defence continued engagement regarding future applications involving eVTOL, hybrid-electric and autonomous technologies.

Valo programme advances despite EVTL share decline

Vertical Aerospace continues positioning the Valo programme for commercial deployment through certification, manufacturing, and regulatory preparation. The company works with regulators, infrastructure partners, and air navigation service providers to integrate eVTOL operations into existing airspace. The strategy supports future airport shuttle and urban mobility services after certification.

The Farnborough announcements build upon earlier development milestones achieved across testing and industrial planning. Vertical Aerospace has focused on combining aircraft development with manufacturing readiness and international partnerships. The company aims to establish a complete commercial ecosystem before launching passenger services.

Despite those operational developments, EVTL shares declined during Friday’s trading session. The stock dropped sharply after the market opened before stabilizing near $1.46 during afternoon trading. The company’s announcements reflected continued progress toward commercializing its next-generation electric aircraft.

The post Vertical Aerospace Ltd. (EVTL) Stock: Drops as Valo Aircraft Advances With Landmark Public Flight Demo appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• AerSale schedules Q2 2026 earnings release for August 6 after market close.
• ASLE confirms earnings conference call and public webcast on August 6.
• AerSale shares Q2 reporting timeline as aviation services business expands.
• AerSale to discuss second-quarter financial results during August webcast.
• ASLE highlights earnings date and integrated aviation aftermarket operations.

AerSale Corporation stock traded at $6.21, up 0.40%, as the company confirmed its second-quarter 2026 earnings release schedule. The aviation aftermarket services provider will publish results on August 6 after the market closes. It will also host a conference call later that day to discuss financial performance and business developments.

AerSale Corporation, ASLE

AerSale Sets August 6 for Second-Quarter Financial Results

AerSale plans to release financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, on August 6. The announcement will arrive after the closing bell. The company will provide a detailed business update alongside its quarterly figures.

Management also scheduled a conference call for 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time on the same day. The discussion will focus on quarterly performance and operational progress. The event will allow participants to hear management’s review of recent activities.

The company will provide a live audio webcast through its investor relations website. The webcast will remain available on a listen-only basis during the event. Afterward, AerSale will archive the replay on its investor website for one year.

Aviation Aftermarket Business Supports Broad Customer Needs

AerSale operates as a global provider of integrated aviation aftermarket services and solutions. The company serves operators of Boeing, Airbus, and legacy McDonnell Douglas aircraft. Its business supports aircraft throughout every stage of the operating lifecycle.

Its service portfolio includes aircraft sales, engine leasing, and used serviceable material sales. The company also provides component maintenance, repair, overhaul services, and airframe support. These operations help customers improve fleet performance while extending aircraft value.

AerSale also develops proprietary aviation technologies for commercial operators. Its product lineup includes AerSafe, AerTrak, and the AerAware Enhanced Flight Vision System. These solutions improve operational efficiency, enhance safety, and reduce operating expenses.

Integrated Model Strengthens AerSale’s Market Position

AerSale combines technical expertise with an integrated operating structure across multiple aviation services. This approach allows customers to source several solutions from one provider. As a result, operators can simplify maintenance and fleet management activities.

The company continues expanding its capabilities through engineering services and FAA-certified solutions. These offerings complement its aircraft, engine, and maintenance businesses. They create a broader service platform for airline and fleet customers.

AerSale has built its business around supporting fleet optimization and lifecycle management. The company helps customers improve aircraft reliability while lowering operating costs. Therefore, its integrated model remains a central part of its long-term operating strategy.

The post AerSale Corporation (ASLE) Stock: Q2 Earnings Release Marks Key Update for Aviation Business appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• ZoomInfo’s GTM platform helps demandDrive unify data and boost recurring revenue.
• demandDrive says GTM platform drove millions in new annual recurring revenue.
• GTM platform combines contact data with website visitor identification tools.
• demandDrive plans to scale automated sales development using ZoomInfo’s GTM.
• ZoomInfo stock trades higher amid demandDrive revenue news.

GTM shares traded at $2.9150 on Friday, up 1.22% for the day. The company said demandDrive, an outsourced sales firm, credits its GTM platform for millions of dollars in new recurring revenue. demandDrive uses the GTM platform to consolidate prospecting data and speed up expansion into new markets

ZoomInfo Technologies Inc., GTM

GTM Platform Replaces Fragmented Tools

demandDrive runs outbound and lead generation programs for mid-market clients across several business services sectors. Before adopting ZoomInfo’s GTM platform, the firm searched separate tools for every new market. That approach slowed research and delayed campaign launches for each new vertical the firm entered.

The GTM platform now gives demandDrive a single verified source for company and contact data. Teams build enriched lists for new verticals without stitching together multiple systems. This consolidation cut the time needed to start prospecting in unfamiliar industries.

Speed matters because demandDrive sells outsourced prospecting as its core service. Clients pay for fast, accurate research rather than internal delays. A slow start in a new vertical directly affects client pipelines and revenue.

Website Visitor Data Sharpens Outreach

ZoomInfo added website visitor identification to the GTM platform for demandDrive’s use. This feature matches anonymous website traffic to the companies generating it. As a result, demandDrive gained a clear, live view of active buyer interest across markets.

The company now prioritizes outreach toward businesses already researching its services online. Combining broad contact data with visitor behavior sharpens targeting across every vertical. Personalized outreach follows naturally once teams know which companies are engaged.

demandDrive credits this combination of breadth and behavior data for its results. Wider contact coverage keeps new vertical lists filled rather than incomplete. Visitor tracking then tells the team which leads deserve immediate attention.

Recurring Revenue Growth and Next Steps

demandDrive attributes millions of dollars in new annual recurring revenue growth to the GTM platform. The company frames this impact in recurring terms, not a single deal. Recurring revenue matters most for a firm running ongoing programs for its clients.

demandDrive now plans to scale automated sales development using the GTM platform. The firm also intends to expand its prospecting processes across new verticals. ZoomInfo remains central to how demandDrive finds and prioritizes future buyers.

ZoomInfo shares continued trading near intraday highs following the demandDrive update. The stock moved between roughly $2.85 and $2.97 throughout the trading session on Friday. Market activity reflected steady interest in the company’s GTM platform and business momentum.

The post ZoomInfo (GTM) Stock: demandDrive Credits Platform for Millions in New Recurring Revenue appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR

• Tompkins reports record Q2 earnings as EPS jumps 36% year over year.
• TMP shares rally 6.51% after stronger profits and loan growth results.
• Net interest margin expands to 3.58% with higher lending income.
• Company raises dividend 13% after strengthening capital position.
• Stable asset quality and $1.7 billion liquidity support financial outlook.

Tompkins Financial Corporation reported record second-quarter 2026 earnings, supporting a sharp gain in its share price. TMP stock climbed 6.51% to $98.68 after the company posted stronger profitability and continued balance sheet growth. The results also reflected higher lending activity, improved margins, and stronger capital levels.

Tompkins Financial Corporation, TMP

Record earnings lift profitability and dividend outlook

Tompkins reported diluted earnings per share of $2.04 during the second quarter of 2026. The figure increased 36.0% from the same period last year. It also rose 12.1% from the first quarter of 2026.

Net income reached $29.3 million during the quarter. That result increased 36.5% year over year and 12.4% from the previous quarter. Meanwhile, six-month net income climbed to $55.4 million from $41.2 million.

The company also raised its quarterly dividend following stronger earnings and capital growth. Management approved a 13% higher dividend than the third-quarter 2025 payment. The increase followed three consecutive quarters of record earnings.

Net interest income reached $74.0 million during the quarter. That total increased 23.0% from the second quarter of 2025. It also improved 3.0% from the previous quarter.

Net interest margin held steady at 3.58% from the prior quarter. However, it expanded 50 basis points from one year earlier. Higher loan yields and lower funding costs supported the annual improvement.

Average loans increased 6.5% year over year during the quarter. Commercial real estate and commercial lending produced most of the expansion. Average earning asset yields also improved compared with last year.

Loan growth offsets lower insurance income

Total loans reached higher levels at the end of June. Period-end loans increased 6.9% from June 2025 and 1.8% from March 2026. Annualized quarterly loan growth reached 7.4%.

Average deposits also strengthened compared with last year. Total average deposits increased 4.4% year over year despite seasonal municipal deposit outflows. Period-end deposits reached approximately $7.0 billion.

Funding costs remained stable during the quarter. The average cost of funds stayed at 1.68%, while interest-bearing deposit costs declined from last year. Noninterest-bearing deposits continued representing 26.9% of average deposits.

Noninterest income declined because of the insurance business sale completed during late 2025. Quarterly noninterest income totaled $13.1 million, down 41.7% from last year. Wealth management, card services, and deposit fees posted moderate gains.

Operating expenses also declined after the insurance unit divestiture. Noninterest expense fell 8.8% year over year to $47.1 million. Lower salary and operating costs offset higher employee benefit expenses.

Income tax expense totaled $9.2 million during the quarter. The effective tax rate remained stable at 24.0%. Six-month tax expense increased alongside stronger earnings.

Capital strengthens as asset quality remains stable

Tompkins maintained solid credit quality during the quarter. The allowance for credit losses equaled 0.89% of total loans. Improved economic forecasts reduced reserve coverage compared with last year.

Provision for credit losses remained unchanged from the previous quarter at $1.5 million. Net charge-offs totaled $1.6 million during the period. Earlier commercial real estate losses created a tougher annual comparison.

Nonperforming assets represented 0.60% of total assets at quarter-end. Meanwhile, loans past due between 30 and 89 days declined from the previous quarter. Several performing loans moved into Special Mention classification during the period.

Capital ratios remained well above regulatory requirements throughout the quarter. Tier 1 capital to average assets increased to 10.69% from 9.36% one year earlier. Total capital to risk-weighted assets also improved to 14.89%.

The company also continued returning capital through share repurchases. Tompkins bought back 11,787 shares during the second quarter. It repurchased 35,518 shares during the first six months of 2026.

Liquidity remained stable at quarter-end despite seasonal funding changes. Available liquidity totaled $1.7 billion, representing 19.4% of total assets. Management maintained access to multiple wholesale funding sources to support future operations.

The post Tompkins Financial Corporation (TMP) Stock: Rallies After Record Q2 Profit and Loan Growth appeared first on Blockonomi.

BKX Services Inc. and David Namdar have filed a class action lawsuit against BitMEX.

The plaintiffs accuse the exchange of market manipulation and misappropriating nearly 623 BTC due to forced liquidations.

Lawsuit Questions BitMEX’s Liquidation Practices

Filed on the same day the exchange announced it would shut down, the two claim that BitMEX’s internal trading team accessed customers’ private information and continued trading while servers were down and users were unable to access the platform.

BitMEX has faced accusations over its liquidation practices and internal trading advantages in the past, with the latest lawsuit reviving these allegations.

According to the complaint, the exchange offered its customers leveraged trading of up to 100 times their collateral but allegedly liquidated their positions before all assets had been used up. This resulted in users losing their positions while the remaining BTC collateral was worth more than the losses incurred.

Instead of refunding the excess BTC to traders, BitMEX allegedly redirected the funds to its insurance pool, which, according to the plaintiffs, made it possible for the platform to financially benefit from forced liquidations.

“BitMEX deliberately developed a system that profited from the liquidations,” read the filing.

The filing also cites an old 2020 case where Brett Messieh and other traders sued the platform for similar offenses. Here, the group accused the company of rigging trading conditions in its favor, resulting in financial losses for users. But the court threw out the case for a lack of evidence.

Traders Lost Almost 623 BTC

Namdar says they lost more than 316.85 BTC in the process, while BKX says its losses were around 305.81 BTC. As a result, the two are looking to recover their seized crypto and damages. Furthermore, the proposed lawsuit seeks to represent U.S. customers who traded BTC perpetual swap products in transactions dating back to July 23, 2018.

Earlier on Thursday, BitMEX owner HDR Global Trading said it will shut down the exchange after a strategic review, with the decision expected to take effect on September 23. The platform has already suspended new account registrations, with traders now only allowed to close existing positions.

Following the announcement, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes thanked his partners, employees, and customers for their support over the years. “It was an amazing ride,” he wrote, adding that he was proud the exchange was shutting down “responsibly on our own terms.”

The post BitMEX Hit With 623 BTC Lawsuit After Announcing Shutdown appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Bitcoin’s mid-week price rally that drove it to a monthly peak of $67,000 came to a halt, and the asset dipped below $64,000 earlier today, erasing essentially all the gains it had recorded.

Here are the two possible reasons behind this nosedive.

ETF Investor Exodus

At first, we begin with the spot exchange-traded funds tracking the largest cryptocurrency. They were on a seven-day roll that began last Tuesday and had attracted roughly $1 billion within that timeframe for the first time since April. However, investors changed their minds once again on Thursday, pulling out over $200 million worth of BTC. This coincided with the asset’s initial retracement that drove it toward $65,000.

More recent on-chain data from today, though, claimed that BlackRock has continued to dispose of BTC for its clients, sending approximately $203 million to Coinbase Prime, which it always uses when it liquidates some of its ETF positions.

Of course, the actual damage for the entire day will be announced tomorrow when data providers such as SoSoValue update their numbers. For now, though, the uncertainty remains relatively high given the latest trend shift.

BlackRock moved 3.126K $BTC (~$203M) from its IBIT Bitcoin ETF wallet to Coinbase Prime.

The movement was executed across multiple transactions, including several 300 $BTC batches and one 126.168 $BTC transfer.@blackrock @coinbase pic.twitter.com/hD4ty5YARy

— Onchain Lens (@OnchainLens) July 24, 2026

Trump Threatens With New Tariffs

Ever since he returned to the White House, President Donald Trump has made numerous attempts to impose tariffs on essentially all countries at one point. What’s particularly interesting is the fact that nations within the EU have become the main target, even though they are supposed to be allies.

History shows that the darkest hours of tariff threats have impacted BTC severely, including last April when the asset tanked. The past few hours brought another example of this, which coincided with the asset’s retreat to just under $63,000.

He blamed the bloc for imposing substantial penalties on some of the largest US companies, such as Apple, Meta, and Google, and warned that his administration will “immediately initiate a 301 Investigation into the practice of “ROBBING” American Companies and, in turn, the American Taxpayer.” In addition, he outlined an upcoming wave of tariffs.

“The European Union will pay a very big price for this illegal and highly unethical conduct, which I have consistently warned them about. The penalties will be entirely reversed and, we anticipate, a substantial TARIFF to be placed on them at the earliest possible moment,” reads the message.

The post Here’s Why Bitcoin Dipped Below $64K Today appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Senate Democrats are mounting a fresh push to rewrite the CLARITY Act’s ethics provisions after dismissing the White House-backed proposal unveiled by GOP senators, according to Politico.

Senator Ruben Gallego blasted the latest draft and said that the proposal Republicans sent back was “not a serious effort” despite months of bipartisan negotiations.

Dispute Deepens in Senate

At the center of the dispute is how to prevent President Donald Trump from profiting from digital assets. Democrats insist they cannot support ethics rules that are enforceable only by the Department of Justice. Negotiations involving Gallego, Senators Cynthia Lummis and Bernie Moreno, and the White House ultimately collapsed over whether state attorneys general should also have authority to enforce the provisions.

In an interview on Thursday, Gallego said,

“I can’t imagine that that’s a serious effort – after all the work that we’ve done with our Republican colleagues, that they would take the months and months of work and somehow interpret that and turn around and think what they offered was even remotely close.”

Gallego added that he is now working with Senator Thom Tillis and other unnamed Republicans on a counterproposal, while insisting, “We are still in this fight.”

Lummis defended the proposal while Tillis said the White House-approved language was “good,” but acknowledged that further changes may be necessary to secure the 60 votes needed to advance the legislation. Tillis added that another round of discussions with the White House is expected to determine whether additional revisions would be “acceptable” to the president.

The disagreement has also put the bill’s timeline in doubt. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said that he no longer expects the Senate to pass either the CLARITY Act before lawmakers leave for the August recess.

Hopes that the CLARITY Act could provide the US crypto industry with long-awaited regulatory clarity have been one of the factors supporting bullish expectations for the market this year. However, prediction market odds of the bill’s passage declined amid disagreements over ethics provisions and other issues that have slowed negotiations.

Middle Ground

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong recently warned that parts of the company’s business could move overseas if the US fails to pass clear crypto legislation. While Coinbase wants to keep most of its operations in the country, the exec said regulatory clarity is needed to prevent capital, businesses and users from shifting offshore.

Amid the ongoing standoff, crypto commentator Crypto Sensei recently proposed a compromise to break the deadlock. In a recent post on X, he suggested keeping the DOJ as the primary enforcer while imposing statutory deadlines for investigations, creating an independent ethics review body to oversee DOJ decisions, and allowing state attorneys general to intervene only under limited conditions if the DOJ fails to act.

He also called for annual disclosures detailing ethics complaints, investigations, and enforcement actions for greater transparency.

The post Dem Senator Slams GOP’s CLARITY Ethics Proposal as ‘Not a Serious Effort’: Report appeared first on CryptoPotato.

The biggest meme coin by market capitalization is down 12% over the past month, while its most recent plunge below a critical level suggests sellers may now be in full control.

On the other hand, Ali Martinez pointed to the formation of a rare setup that could be a precursor to a major bull run.

Will Bears Keep the Wheel?

DOGE has tumbled by roughly 5% on a 24-hour scale and is currently worth around $0.069 (according to CoinGecko). The X account BSCN noted that in its weekly anomaly report, Santiment flagged the meme coin as “hype without news,” warning that a price drop below $0.071 would hand control to the sellers.

“Santiment’s core read was that DOGE trades as amplified Bitcoin beta, falling harder in selloffs, and this session proved it on cue,” it added.

According to the analytics platform, a quick reclaim of the key $0.071 zone would repair the setup, but staying beneath it would indicate that bears continue to dominate.

Other market observers who also touched upon DOGE include Kamran Asghar and Scient. The former claimed that the token is approaching “a make or break” level, predicting that “the next big move could shock everyone.” The latter was firmly on the bearish side, expecting a further drop in the coming days.

The Bullish Signals

Contrary to its poor performance as of late, the renowned analyst Ali Martinez outlined that DOGE’s weekly TD Sequential indicator has flashed numerous consecutive buy signals. He labeled the development “a rare setup that could be warning a major bull rally is approaching.”

X user Cryptollica chipped in, too, noting the “dead attention” surrounding Dogecoin recently. At the same time, they believe this is the best moment to jump on the bandwagon, saying:

“Invest when no one else cares. That way, you will make money.”

The institutional interest is also worth mentioning. Earlier this week, spot DOGE ETFs witnessed their first green day since mid-June. However, the capital flowing into these products remains negligible, and appetite from big players like pension funds and hedge funds should seriously increase to positively impact the price.

The post Dogecoin (DOGE) Slips Below a Key Level: Can Bulls Repair the Damage? appeared first on CryptoPotato.

The previous business week ended with a leg down that drove the primary cryptocurrency to $62,500. However, it reacted swiftly and recovered to $64,000 during the weekend.

The gradual climb continued on Sunday and Monday morning when BTC peaked at $65,000, but it was rejected and slipped south by over a grand to $63,750. The next leg up was a lot more impressive. Bitcoin didn’t stop at $65,000, and even the $66,000 resistance fell on the first attempt. Thus, the asset’s rally extended for a bit more, reaching $67,000 (on some exchanges) for the first time since the middle of June.

It came on the heels of renewed ETF net inflows and new accumulations from certain large investors. However, the price run couldn’t be sustained for long, and BTC quickly dipped back down to $66,000 on Wednesday, $65,000 on Thursday, and it plunged to $64,000 earlier today.

Despite its $3,000 correction from the local top, bitcoin remains about 2% up on the week. Similar gains are evident from Ethereum, which challenged $1,950 at one point, and TRX, which remains at around $0.33. Even more impressive price performance comes from XMR; a 9% pump has driven the privacy token to over $350. UNI and HBAR have posted notable gains as well, while HYPE, ZEC, CC, and DOGE remain in the red on a weekly scale.

Bitcoin’s market dominance has also dwindled in the past few days. It exploded to over 57% during the mid-week run, but it has dipped below 56% on CoinGecko now.

Market Data

Market Cap: $2.295T | 24H Vol: $61B | BTC Dominance: 55.9%

BTC: $64.000 (+2%) | ETH: $1,855 (+2.4%) | XRP: $1.09 (+1.7%)

This Week’s Crypto Headlines You Can’t Miss

Strategy Extends Bitcoin Buying Pause While Growing Its USD Reserve: Details. Saylor’s company appears to have listened to some market experts who suggested that it should pause its BTC purchases in favor of rebuilding its USD reserve. The past week proved that narrative right once again with another no-buy bitcoin announcement.

Veteran Crypto Exchange BitMEX to Shut Down in September. After nearly a decade in existence, the veteran derivatives platform BitMEX announced that it will close shop in September. The creator of the 100x perpetual swap will permanently cease operations on September 23 and urged users to withdraw their funds by then. While on the subject, DEX aggregator Odos said it will shut down next week.

SEC Agrees to Overhaul Recordkeeping After Settling Coinbase Lawsuit Over Gensler’s Lost Texts. Despite not admitting any wrongdoing, the US Securities and Exchange Commission settled with Coinbase a lawsuit launched by the exchange and agreed to pay $150,000 in attorney fees. The regulator also said it will review its own internal processes.

‘Hackers Day’: 3 Crypto Protocols Drained of $35 Million in 24 Hours. July 23 became known in the crypto community as ‘Hackers’ Day’ with 3 major exploits taking place within less than 24 hours. The largest of the bunch was against Arbitrum-based protocol AFX Trade, in which the bad actors swiped over $24 million in USDC.

EU Hits Russia With Toughest Crypto Crackdown Yet. The European Union approved its 21st sanctions package against Russia, targeting 11 crypto operators and 94 financial institutions to combat sanctions evasion. Many of those platforms came from Belarus and Nigeria and were linked to numerous Russian financial activities.

Ethereum (ETH) Is Cheap, But Not at Bottom Yet: Analysts. The world’s largest altcoin may be trading well below its record peaks and at a discount, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it has bottomed yet. Analysts at CryptoQuant noted that only two out of five signals suggest that the worst is behind ETH.

Charts

This week, we have a chart analysis of Ethereum, Ripple, Cardano, Binance Coin, and Hyperliquid – click here for the complete price analysis.

The post Bitcoin Rejected at $67K, Strategy Stays on Hold, BitMEX Shuts Down: Weekly Crypto Recap appeared first on CryptoPotato.