Equinix's strategic pivot to AI infrastructure could redefine data center economics, driving premium revenue growth and reshaping market dynamics.

The post Equinix targets hyperscale and enterprise AI demand with infrastructure investments appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Strive's strategy could significantly influence Bitcoin market sentiment and corporate adoption, impacting long-term valuation and investment trends.

The post Strive’s Jeff Walton sees Bitcoin reaching $10–15T, aims to maximize shareholder value appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

The AI-driven cybersecurity initiative may accelerate regulatory measures on AI, impacting market dynamics and foreign technology control.

The post White House launches AI-driven Gold Eagle cybersecurity program under Trump appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

England's reliance on overseas talent highlights the Premier League's diminishing influence on national team success, raising questions about domestic player development.

The post England scores 13 World Cup goals with zero from Premier League players appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

IBM's Power11 systems could redefine enterprise IT by enhancing automation, reducing energy costs, and driving sustainable tech adoption.

The post IBM unveils AI-powered Power11 systems targeting enterprise automation and energy efficiency appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Bitcoin Magazine

China’s Prosecutors Move to Treat Crypto Mixers as Evidence of Money Laundering

China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate has published a set of recommendations that would reshape how the country investigates and prosecutes cryptocurrency-related money laundering, including a proposal to treat the use of mixers and privacy coins as evidence of criminal intent.

The article, released in the official Procuratorial Daily, was written by two prosecutors from Hunan Province’s Yuhu District and an associate law professor at Xiangtan University. 

The authors argue that the decentralized, pseudonymous, and cross-border design of virtual currencies has outpaced China’s legal framework and created a three-part problem: defining the offense, gathering evidence, and recovering stolen assets.

At the center of the debate is a gap between statutes. China’s Anti-Money Laundering Law has dropped restrictions on which predicate offenses qualify, but Article 191 of the Criminal Law still limits money laundering charges to seven categories. 

As a result, most crypto cases fall under Article 312, which covers concealing criminal proceeds, a charge the authors describe as a catch-all. They call for wider use of the money laundering statute and a “one case, two checks” principle that would require investigators to look for laundering indicators in every major criminal probe.

Burden shifts in China’s courts

Three proposals stand out. The first, described as blockchain self-authentication, would treat on-chain records from public block explorers as reliable when hash values match, and would preliminarily establish their integrity. 

The second would shift the burden of proof: once prosecutors submit a transaction-chain analysis report, the defense would need to disprove it. 

The third would allow courts to presume laundering intent from conduct alone. Under that standard, the use of mixers or privacy coins, the sale of large holdings at off-market prices, or high-value transactions through anonymous wallets with no clear source would establish intent unless a defendant offered a reasonable rebuttal.

The authors also address evidence collection, noting that mixers, privacy coins, and decentralized exchanges allow multi-layered splitting and cross-chain transfers that traditional methods struggle to trace. 

They propose adaptive rules for electronic data, tiered standards of proof, and clearer authorization for technical measures such as real-time monitoring and traffic analysis, with limits to protect personal information and cybersecurity.

Asset recovery presents a further obstacle. With crypto trading banned in China, authorities hold seized coins without a legal channel to liquidate them. 

The paper recommends a national platform to store, value, and dispose of confiscated assets through compliant channels, along with an expert committee that would set values using on-chain data and international exchange prices.

It also urges bilateral and multilateral agreements and a blockchain-based “judicial cooperation chain” to trace and freeze funds moved abroad.

The recommendations carry no legal force, but they signal a possible direction for China’s courts. The proposals arrive as Chinese-language laundering networks processed $16.15 billion in 2025, about 20% of the global total, according to Chainalysis. 

In 2024, Chinese prosecutors brought charges against more than 3,000 people in crypto-related laundering cases, a figure that underscores the scale of the challenge.

This post China’s Prosecutors Move to Treat Crypto Mixers as Evidence of Money Laundering first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

The Bitcoin Softfork That Tried to Police “Junk Data” — And Why It’s Already Failing

This is a guest post by Brandon Black. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.

Within the tiny internet bubble of Bitcoin X (formerly Bitcoin Twitter or Crypto Twitter), there has been a lot of noise in the past year about @dathon_ohm’s proposal for a Reduced Data Temporary Softfork, otherwise known as BIP110. Underlying this proposal is the idea that certain Bitcoin transactions have been violating the principles of the network by including in their locking or unlocking scripts data that can be interpreted in one or more additional ways besides their plain Bitcoin script interpretation. According to BIP110’s supporters, reducing the use of these transactions is sufficient justification for the most confiscatory Bitcoin softfork to date, on a deployment timeline that is dramatically faster than the two most recent softforks, and with a lower activation readiness threshold.

Bitcoin is an open-access, censorship-resistant ledger to which anyone can write entries if they are willing to pay fees sufficient to convince block template creators and miners to include their transaction. The fundamental value of Bitcoin vs. all other ledger systems is the aforementioned open access. Without it, Bitcoin’s ledger has no more value than the bowling alley scoreboard. Because of this fundamentally open access, we all know that Bitcoin will be used by those we hate. Much like the principle of free speech, which is meaningless unless it applies to speech that we don’t like, Bitcoin’s open access would be meaningless if it only applied to transactions of which you or I approve. I will therefore assume that we do not want to be in the business of inspecting how other people structure their ledger entries any more than we want them inspecting our entries.

BIP110 proponents might say, “Sure, but that only applies to monetary entries! What about these non-monetary entries?”, but the reality is that there simply is no such distinction. Every transaction made on Bitcoin is made by satisfying the conditions of some locking script to make an entry in the ledger, which consumes input coins and creates output coins. The fact that one transaction’s scripts are larger or smaller than another is of no relevance to me as a Bitcoin node operator or user. First, I simply do not look at other people’s transactions. They’re no more my business than other people’s orders at the local café. Second, my node makes no such distinction. Transactions are either valid or invalid, and they are either costly to validate (like a large multisig) or cheap to validate (like one of these Ordinals or OP_RETURNs).

One could argue that Bitcoin, like gold, would be a superior monetary asset if it could not also be looked at in other ways. Imagine if gold could not be used in industry or jewelry! It might be true that that would make it better as money. But of course, the very same properties that make gold good money also make it desirable in jewelry and industry. The same applies to Bitcoin. The very fact that Bitcoin allows anyone to make an entry if they are willing to pay the fees means that we must give up the idea that we can control how they will look at that entry. No matter what restrictions we put on the structure of the entries, it will always be possible to make entries that can be interpreted in other ways by non-Bitcoin software. So, both with Bitcoin and with gold, we accept that other use is inevitable. In gold, this leads to distortions in the market when non-monetary demand increases or decreases. In Bitcoin, this can lead to periods of higher transaction fees when there’s greater demand for its limited blockspace.

In Bitcoin, we have two advantages that gold does not have. First, making Bitcoin transactions that can be viewed in alternative ways does not affect the market for Bitcoin itself. Unlike gold, very little Bitcoin is allocated to these uses. Second, in Bitcoin, we have a protocol that is already designed to minimize cost to the validation network from such other interpretations. Bitcoin limits both the size of blocks and the number of signatures that can be used in transactions. These are the greatest costs to validating nodes, and the protocol limits on them have been in place since the very early days of Bitcoin, precisely to prevent abuse by any high-frequency or high-volume use of the ledger. These limits have already spurred innovations such as the Lightning Network, Ark, Spark, Cashu, and many more. Even the boom in demand for blockspace caused by these “non-monetary” ledger entries (yes, that does sound ridiculous) has increased the use of these scaling solutions, which require fewer entries on the main ledger.

With the justification for BIP110 thus explored, and hopefully shown to be woefully lacking, let’s look at the proposed change itself. BIP110 restricts the size of locking scripts, restricts the number of alternative scripts in taproot, makes the taproot annex invalid, removes all upgradable witness and tapscript versions, removes all tapscript upgradable opcodes, and makes OP_IF and OP_NOTIF invalid in tapscript. All of these restrictions apply to UTXOs created during the 52414 blocks (approximately 1 year) after its activation. BIP110 also proposes a miner readiness signaling threshold of 55% instead of the threshold used in prior miner signaled softforks of 90% or more. If 55% of blocks do not signal readiness before block 961632, nodes enforcing BIP110 will treat blocks not signaling readiness as invalid to force the change to lock in by block 963648 and activate by block 965664.

BIP110 would be the most sweeping restriction of Bitcoin script since Satoshi’s well-known deactivation of many opcodes in response to a critical vulnerability (CVE-2010-5137) back in 2010. It proposes miner signaled activation with an unprecedentedly low threshold and node-forced activation after less than 9 months from the date the BIP was assigned a number. It does all of this because (as discussed above) other people are viewing certain ledger entries in ways which the BIP110 supporters do not approve of. Worse yet, the folks who use such disapproved ledger entries have already updated their software to continue making such entries even if BIP110 were to become Bitcoin’s consensus rule set. This was, of course, a predictable outcome (many of us explicitly predicted it) because it is fundamentally impossible to restrict how other people use external software to analyze entries on an open-access public ledger.

In summary, BIP110 is a proposal to do something impossible (limit how users of an open access ledger use that ledger) in response to a problem that is already fully addressed through Bitcoin’s existing protocol limits. It proposes to do this impossible thing on an irresponsibly short activation timeline, with incredibly limited code review, and regardless of whether the change reaches any type of ecosystem consensus. Fortunately, Bitcoin is not such a delicate flower of a system that such a foolhardy attempt at modifying it will succeed. Not only have miners soundly rejected BIP110, but other voices throughout the developer, investor, influencer, and corporate landscape have spoken out against the changes.  In August, this particular attack against Bitcoin’s consensus rules will have made Bitcoin stronger through its failure, and the network will continue its steady rhythm of tick-tock, next block.

This post The Bitcoin Softfork That Tried to Police “Junk Data” — And Why It’s Already Failing first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Brandon Black.

Bitcoin Magazine

CleanSpark Signs $6.6 Billion Data Center Lease as Bitcoin Miner Pivots to Compute

CleanSpark, the Nasdaq-listed bitcoin miner, said on July 14 that it has signed a 20-year infrastructure lease with an unnamed high-investment-grade global technology company at its campus in Sandersville, Georgia. 

The deal marks the firm’s largest step from pure bitcoin mining toward high-performance computing for hyperscale clients.

The lease covers data center infrastructure that will support 175 megawatts of critical IT load. CleanSpark expects the initial term to generate $6.6 billion in contracted revenue, a figure that would climb to $11.6 billion if the tenant exercises both extension options. 

The company has recently announced that it would repurpose part of its electricity capacity and mining infrastructure to power AI data centers, aiming to diversify beyond bitcoin mining. 

CleanSparks’ average annual net operating income from the agreement should reach $330 million. First deliveries are due in the fourth quarter of 2027.

In a further sign of the tenant’s appetite, the two sides executed a letter of intent and an exclusivity arrangement covering CleanSpark’s entire Texas portfolio, a base of up to 885 megawatts of secured and planned power capacity. Should that convert into firm contracts, CleanSpark’s transition into an infrastructure landlord for artificial-intelligence and cloud workloads would deepen.

CleanSpark holds 13,924 bitcoin

The announcement lands as CleanSpark’s core mining business posts records. The company produced 614 bitcoin in early July and lifted its operational hashrate to 50 exahashes per second, a company high. 

Treasury holdings rose to 13,924 bitcoin, one of the larger corporate stashes among public miners. Management has kept much of its mined bitcoin rather than sell into the market, a bet on the asset’s long-term price.

Wall Street has warmed to the compute pivot. Citizens began coverage with an Outperform rating and a $27 price target, citing the shift toward hyperscale compute capacity. Chardan lifted its target to $19 from $16 and kept a Buy rating. Both notes framed the Sandersville lease as proof that CleanSpark can monetize its power and land assets beyond mining, where margins swing with bitcoin’s price and network difficulty.

Investor reaction has been mixed. Shares of CleanSpark gained more than 20% in pre-market on the news but have since dropped to 9% gains on the day. 

The Georgia lease offers somewhat of a hedge. Contracted rent from a creditworthy tenant provides a revenue stream that does not rise and fall with hash prices, while the company keeps its mining fleet and bitcoin treasury intact. 

The next test is execution: bringing 175 megawatts online before the close of 2027 and turning the Texas letter of intent into signed leases.

This post CleanSpark Signs $6.6 Billion Data Center Lease as Bitcoin Miner Pivots to Compute first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

UK Adopts ‘No Gain, No Loss’ Tax Treatment for Crypto Lending and Liquidity Pools

The United Kingdom’s HM Revenue & Customs will treat certain disposals involving cryptoasset loans and liquidity pools as “no gain, no loss,” deferring Capital Gains Tax until a user makes an economic disposal of the underlying cryptocurrency.

The measure, published Monday, takes effect 6 April 2027 and applies to individuals and trustees who enter cryptoasset loan and liquidity pool arrangements, according to the policy paper. 

It amends the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992.

The rules cover three scenarios. In a single cryptoasset lending arrangement, a user who acquires or disposes of an interest in exchange for cryptoassets of the same type as those invested will be taxed on a no-gain-no-loss basis. 

Borrowing arrangements will treat borrowed cryptoassets as acquired at market value at the time of borrowing, with any collateral disregarded for Capital Gains Tax purposes.

For automated market-making arrangements — liquidity pools operated through smart contracts — a user acquiring an interest in exchange for the same type of cryptoasset is also taxed on a no-gain-no-loss basis. On exit, that treatment holds to the extent the user receives the same quantity first invested. Any difference between what was invested and what is received triggers a gain or a loss.

HMRC said the change aligns tax treatment with the economics of these arrangements, recognizing gains and losses only when a participant makes an economic disposal.

HMRC simplifies DeFi crypto tax rules

The measure addresses problems that arose from HMRC’s own 2022 guidance, which stakeholders said produced disproportionate administrative burdens. 

A call for evidence ran from July to August 2022, followed by a consultation between 27 April and 22 June 2023 that sought to align tax with economic substance by not treating crypto used in DeFi lending and liquidity pools as a taxable disposal. 

HMRC published a summary of responses at Budget 2025 and set out its approach at that time.

The change is expected to affect about 700,000 individuals who engage in these transactions, according to the paper. HMRC said users will benefit from a framework that is easier to understand.

The current UK regime treats crypto as an investment asset, with selling, swapping, or spending it counting as a disposal for Capital Gains Tax at 18% for basic-rate taxpayers and 24% for higher-rate taxpayers. The new treatment modifies that disposal rule for certain lending and liquidity pool arrangements.

Final costing will be subject to scrutiny by the Office for Budget Responsibility and set out at a future fiscal event. HMRC said the measure is not expected to have any significant macroeconomic impact.

This post UK Adopts ‘No Gain, No Loss’ Tax Treatment for Crypto Lending and Liquidity Pools first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Price Jumps Above $64,000 as Cooler-Than-Expected Inflation Strengthens the Case for Rate Cuts

Bitcoin price briefly climbed above $64,000 on Tuesday after the June Consumer Price Index came in softer than forecast, giving traders fresh reason to bet the Federal Reserve will step back from further tightening.

The Labor Department reported that headline CPI fell 0.1% in June from the prior month, pulling the annual rate down to about 3.9% from 4.2% in May. A near 10% drop in gasoline prices drove much of the decline. Bitcoin price, which had spent the past week under pressure from leverage flushes and geopolitical risk, turned higher on the print and traded near $63,800, a gain of about 2% on the day.

Softer inflation data eases the path toward rate cuts, and lower rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding an asset that pays no yield. As the reading crossed the wire, Treasury yields eased, the dollar gave back ground against major currencies, and equities pushed into the green. Gold added to its recent advance.

Core CPI, which strips out food and energy, held at about 2.9% year over year, above the Fed’s 2% target and a sign that underlying price pressure has not broken. That stickiness keeps a July hike on the table. 

Ahead of the release, futures markets priced a two-in-three chance the Fed holds its 3.5% to 3.75% range at the July 28-29 meeting, with the remainder betting on a quarter-point increase.

Fed Chair Kevin Warsh added to the uncertainty. Minutes from the June meeting flagged AI-driven energy demand as a new source of inflation, a factor that complicates any read on where prices head next. Warsh is due to testify this week, and traders will parse his tone for signals on the September path.

The gasoline drop that flattered the June number could reverse fast. President Trump reinstated a naval blockade on Iranian shipping and moved to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz, and crude has pushed back above $80. A sustained oil rebound would feed straight into the inflation the Fed has fought to contain.

Bitcoin price setup

For Bitcoin price, the setup is a balancing act between hope for looser policy and caution over what a renewed energy shock would mean.  Spot ETF flows, which anchored much of the past year’s demand, have shown signs of fatigue, leaving price more exposed to macro swings.

Bitfinex analysts wrote to Bitcoin Magazine that Bitcoin ETF demand still isn’t price- or sentiment-agnostic, with the bid appearing on calm days and pulling back on volatile ones. The analysts think this signals that Bitcoin remains a macro-dependent asset.

They note the 30-day average of ETF net flows has been in an outflow regime since mid-May 2026, though daily redemptions have eased from $193 million in early June to $88.9 million now, a slowing decline that still hasn’t found a floor for institutional demand.

Over the past 7 days Bitcoin price traded in a roughly $61,600–$64,700 range, peaking near $64,400 around July 10–12 before sliding to its low near $61,600 on July 13. It has since rebounded to $63,748 (up ~1% on the day), landing back in the middle of the week’s range.

The next broader market markers arrive fast: Q2 earnings from JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America land this week, and the July FOMC decision follows in two weeks. 

At the time of writing, the bitcoin price is near $63,780.

This post Bitcoin Price Jumps Above $64,000 as Cooler-Than-Expected Inflation Strengthens the Case for Rate Cuts first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Circle incurred $1.4 billion in distribution costs connected to Coinbase in 2025, up from $924.5 million the year before, according to the company's own 10-K filing.

Those distribution costs equaled roughly 51% of its total 2025 revenue and reserve income.

USDC circulation grew 72% year over year to $75.3 billion in the fourth quarter, and full-year revenue and reserve income climbed 64% to $2.7 billion. Circle retained a 39% margin after distribution and transaction costs, unchanged from 2024 even as growth accelerated.

Distribution and transaction costs consumed roughly 63% of Circle's fourth-quarter reserve income. The pressure now extends beyond the Coinbase agreement, as alternative stablecoin models and trading venues seek a larger share of the reserve income generated by the USDC they distribute.

Circle and Coinbase entered into their current collaboration agreement in August 2023, with an initial three-year term that ends in August 2026.

The filing said Circle and Coinbase will discuss in good faith whether modifications are warranted before the initial term expires. If they do not agree to changes, the agreement automatically renews for another three years, provided both sides continue meeting their obligations.

Coinbase remains USDC's largest centralized distribution partner and is also a participant in Open USD, a rival stablecoin model built by a consortium that includes Visa, Mastercard, and more than 140 other businesses.

Open USD shares reserve earnings with consortium members after deducting a management fee, giving Coinbase another benchmark for how stablecoin economics can be divided among distribution partners.

Where Hyperliquid fits in

Hyperliquid supplies the decentralized version of the same squeeze. USDH, launched by Native Markets as Hyperliquid's native stablecoin, failed to displace USDC's liquidity advantage.

Coinbase has said USDC stays the leading stablecoin on Hyperliquid, with roughly $5 billion in circulation there, and DeFiLlama puts USDC's dominance of Hyperliquid's stablecoin base near 97%.

USDC's dominance didn't stop Hyperliquid from extracting a price for it, as the protocol's AQAv2 framework now directs roughly 90% of cost-adjusted reserve-yield revenue tied to aligned stablecoin supply back to Hyperliquid itself.

Assuming the entire $6.16 billion stablecoin base qualifies as aligned supply and earns a 3.5% reserve yield, it would generate about $215.6 million in annual gross reserve income. A simple 90% calculation produces roughly $194 million, though the framework's cost adjustments mean the actual amount would differ.

JPMorgan has now flagged the Hyperliquid structure as a near-term earnings headwind for both Circle and Coinbase and a longer-term threat to Circle's USDC economics.

The bank describes a setup in which both companies have reason to keep defending USDC's distribution, with competition for that distribution eroding what each retains.

What Circle still has going for it

A platform can point to Open USD's revenue-sharing terms as its bargaining chip with Circle, all without giving up USDC on its rails.

Hyperliquid has taken a similar approach by preserving USDC's liquidity dominance while securing a larger share of the economics generated on its platform.

Circle's sensitivity analysis, which holds USDC circulation and reserve allocation constant, estimates that a 100-basis-point rate increase would add $756 million to reserve income and $369 million to distribution and transaction costs. That would leave Circle with roughly $387 million, or 51%, of the incremental income after those costs.

Circle recently received final OCC approval to establish a national trust bank, a regulatory credential that competitors lacking a federal charter struggle to match.

If Open USD adoption stays slow, the Coinbase relationship renews on comparable terms, and Hyperliquid remains an isolated case, those conditions would support Circle's ability to preserve its current margin and make its regulatory position the larger competitive advantage.

If other major exchanges, wallets, and DeFi protocols start asking for Hyperliquid-style or Open USD-style terms, and Coinbase enters its August 2026 discussions pointing to real alternatives, Circle's retained share of reserve income has room to fall below its current level.

The scenarios below apply a 90% share to gross reserve income for illustration. AQAv2 payments are calculated based on cost-adjusted yield, so the actual amounts would differ.

USDC can keep expanding under that path, with each additional dollar of circulation becoming less valuable to the company that issues it.

The stablecoin competition investors have watched for years assumed that the winner would be whoever commanded the largest supply.

Circle's 2025 numbers point elsewhere, as USDC can keep winning that count, with the platforms holding its users deciding how much of the profit behind that count belongs to Circle.

The post USDC’s 72% surge exposed the expensive truth behind Circle’s stablecoin dominance appeared first on CryptoSlate.

US authorities have used Tether's control over its dollar-linked stablecoin to freeze about $475 million connected to Iran in less than three months, extending Washington's sanctions reach beyond the traditional banking system.

On July 14, the US government sanctioned four wallets on the Tron blockchain holding roughly $131 million in USDT. These addresses are linked to the Central Bank of Iran, also known as Bank Markazi.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) targeted the wallets as part of a broader effort to disrupt revenue networks that Washington accuses Iran of using to evade sanctions. He said US authorities would continue to trace and restrict the movement of those funds.

The measures came as hostilities between Washington and Tehran intensified around the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command said it would resume restrictions on maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports beginning July 14, after announcing fresh strikes against Iranian military targets in the preceding days.

Meanwhile, the latest sanction follows Tether's April freeze of more than $344 million across two other Tron wallets. At the time, the company said it acted in coordination with OFAC and US law enforcement after authorities identified the addresses.

Together, the two actions have immobilized about $475 million that US officials have tied to Iran, making Tether an increasingly important instrument in Washington's campaign to limit Tehran's access to dollar-denominated assets outside the banking system.

Tether can enforce those restrictions because it controls the contracts governing USDT. The company can block an address and prevent tokens held there from being moved, even though the wallet and its balance remain visible on the public blockchain.

Washington targets Iran's crypto infrastructure.

The latest freeze extends a widening US campaign against the cryptocurrency infrastructure Iran uses to obtain and move dollar-denominated assets outside the traditional banking system.

Under an enforcement initiative known as Operation Economic Fury, the Treasury Department has targeted crypto exchanges, intermediaries, and blockchain addresses that US officials say have helped the Iranian government evade sanctions and finance military operations.

In June, the Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Nobitex, Bitpin, Ramzinex and Wallex, four exchanges that handled a substantial share of Iran's digital-asset activity. Treasury said Nobitex processed more than half of the country's crypto inflows in 2025 and helped the Central Bank of Iran acquire hundreds of millions of dollars in stablecoins.

The exchange sanctions and wallet freezes show how Washington's approach has moved beyond monitoring crypto transactions after they occur.

By identifying platforms that convert local currency into digital assets and working with issuers such as Tether to disable the resulting tokens, US authorities can target both the entry points and the funds held in custody.

The scale of Iran's crypto market has made those channels an increasingly important part of US sanctions enforcement.

Chainalysis estimated that Iran's cryptocurrency ecosystem received more than $7.78 billion in 2025. Addresses linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) accounted for about half of the country's crypto activity during the fourth quarter and received more than $3 billion over the year, the blockchain-analysis firm said.

By late May, Bessent said US authorities had seized or frozen nearly $1 billion in cryptocurrency connected to Iran through the wider campaign.

The latest action builds on that effort and shows how Tether's control over USDT enables Washington to freeze funds held directly on public blockchain networks.

Tether's controls give sanctions immediate force

These asset freezes highlight a defining difference between stablecoins like USDT and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

No central company can normally stop a Bitcoin address from transferring coins when it controls the required private keys. USDT, by contrast, is issued and administered by Tether. The company can add addresses to a blocklist, making the tokens held there unusable.

That power does not remove transactions from Tron or rewrite the blockchain. It changes what Tether's token contract will permit. An affected wallet may continue to display millions of dollars in USDT, but the holder cannot move or redeem the tokens while the address remains blocked.

Tether can also, in certain circumstances, cancel tokens at one address and issue an equivalent amount at another address. That capability allows law enforcement to move beyond merely identifying crypto assets and, when legal authority permits, place their value under government control.

Stablecoin issuers have long presented such controls as necessary measures to comply with sanctions, seizure warrants, and anti-money-laundering requirements. Their growing use also means that access to dollar-denominated tokens on public blockchains remains conditional on the issuer's approval.

As a result, US agencies have steadily integrated that control into financial enforcement.

In December 2023, Tether said it had adopted a policy to disable tokens held in wallets on OFAC's sanctions list. It also said it had brought the US Secret Service onto its compliance platform and was working to provide similar access to the FBI.

Earlier this year, the company said that it works with more than 340 law enforcement agencies in 65 countries. Those relationships had contributed to more than 2,300 cases and the freezing of over $4.4 billion, including more than $2.1 billion connected to US authorities, Tether said.

The role represents a notable turn for a company that spent years facing US scrutiny over the assets backing USDT.

In 2021, Tether agreed to pay $41 million to settle Commodity Futures Trading Commission allegations that it had made misleading statements about its reserves. It also joined the affiliated exchange, Bitfinex, in an $18.5 million settlement with the New York attorney general that year. Neither settlement required an admission of wrongdoing.

Tether has since positioned cooperation with US investigators as one of its central compliance policies. With about $184 billion of USDT in circulation, the company now operates a dollar substitute used across exchanges, payment services and informal financial networks around the world.

The post US turns stablecoin issuer Tether into a financial weapon against Iran, freezing nearly $500 million appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitcoin approached $65,000 on July 14 as a sharper-than-expected slowdown in US inflation weakened the case for another near-term Federal Reserve interest rate increase.

Data from CryptoSlate showed that BTC rose as high as $64,832 once the report landed, gaining about 4% from its intraday low and coming within $200 of a threshold it has struggled to hold over the past month.

This price performance followed the consumer price index falling 0.4% in June, its largest monthly decline since April 2020, the Labor Department said. Prices were 3.5% higher than a year earlier, down from 4.2% in May and below economists’ forecast for a 3.8% increase.

Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, was unchanged for the month and increased 2.6% from a year earlier. That was also below expectations and marked a slowdown from the 2.9% annual rate recorded in May.

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Jul 14, 2026 · Andjela Radmilac

Jake Kennis, senior research analyst at Nansen, told CryptoSlate that the reading represented a clear improvement but stopped short of establishing that inflation was on a sustained downward path.

Kennis said:

“The softness was led largely by energy, which eases near-term pressure on the Fed heading into the July FOMC and helped risk assets bid. That said, this is a cooler print rather than confirmation of durable disinflation.”

The energy decline behind CPI has already reversed

The inflation catalyst could lose force quickly because Bitcoin is responding to an inflation report that accurately describes June, a month whose conditions offer only a rough guide to the price conditions building in July.

This is because the improvement that pushed Bitcoin higher came from an oil market that had changed substantially before the inflation report reached investors.

BLS data show that energy prices fell 5.7% in June, while gasoline prices declined 9.7%, making the largest contribution to the monthly drop in the headline CPI. Those decreases followed a retreat in crude prices as a temporary agreement between Washington and Tehran raised hopes that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz would recover.

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That reprieve now has unraveled as the US has reinstated a naval blockade on Iran after Tehran said it had closed the strait, following a third consecutive night of attacks on Iranian targets by US forces, which Iran met by launching missiles at US allies and striking commercial vessels moving through the waterway.

Brent crude rose above $87 per barrel on July 14, then pared its gains, trading near $85. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) found an intraday high at $80.53 after both benchmarks reached their highest levels in about a month.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, described the June CPI as a “rearview mirror,” saying the decline reflected prices from several weeks earlier, and the latest escalation pushed crude and retail fuel costs higher.

The timing raises the possibility that headline inflation could rebound as July gasoline, diesel, and transportation expenses are incorporated into the data. Higher crude prices could also spread through freight, aviation, agriculture, and manufacturing supply chains.

A renewed energy shock would complicate Bitcoin’s attempt to move through $65,000, as it could revive expectations that the Fed will keep interest rates elevated or raise them again before the end of the year.

Warsh limits the policy relief

Fed Chair Kevin Warsh told lawmakers on July 14 that monthly price fluctuations were inevitable, particularly in an unsettled global environment.

He said the central bank had no tolerance for persistently elevated inflation and stayed committed to restoring price stability.

According to Warsh:

“The Fed's number one objective is to get monetary policy right—or as near to it as we possibly can. That is our clear and constant aim, the star we steer by. And if we get policy right—and we will—the inflation surge of the last five years will be a thing of the past.”

The Fed held its benchmark rate at 3.5%-3.75% in June after several officials raised concerns that energy costs could keep inflation elevated. The July 14 report weakened the case for a July increase, leaving the outlook for September and later meetings still unresolved.

Warsh described the CPI report as one data point and rejected the suggestion that it represented “mission accomplished.”

The restraint also limited how far traders could extend the post-CPI rally on expectations of easier monetary policy, and Bitcoin stayed below the resistance area that has capped several recovery attempts since June.

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Bitcoin’s $65,000 attempt faces an oil test

Bitcoin must now convert its post-CPI advance into a sustained move through the $65,000-$66,000 resistance area, building on the momentum it is forming.

BTC held near $62,000 through repeated US attacks on Iran and avoided the broad liquidation cascade that followed earlier geopolitical shocks.

Data from Santiment also showed that key Bitcoin stakeholders were exhibiting bullish behavior and accumulating the top crypto.

According to the firm:

“Wallets holding 10–10,000 BTC have added roughly 11,000 BTC over the past week, a meaningful shift because this tier of whales and sharks has historically tracked closely with price direction. Small retail wallets are still mainly accumulating too, which shows dip-buying interest remains alive even after weeks of volatility.”

That accumulation helped Bitcoin respond quickly when CPI weakened the dollar and Treasury yields, and it could also provide support if higher oil prices begin challenging the inflation outlook again.

Lacie Zhang, a research analyst at Bitget Wallet, told CryptoSlate that the CPI report provided the liquidity-driven catalyst Bitcoin needed to break higher, noting that renewed disruption around the Strait of Hormuz made the advance more vulnerable to reversal.

She placed near-term support at $62,000 to $63,000 and resistance at $65,000 to $66,000, and a sustained break above that zone would take Bitcoin beyond the range that has contained it through much of June and July.

Such a move may require an easing of oil tensions, further ETF inflows, or a softer policy signal from the Fed, which could give buyers the confidence needed to absorb profit-taking near $65,000.

Renewed attacks around the Strait of Hormuz would keep the oil-risk premium elevated. Higher fuel costs could lift inflation expectations, restore bets on another rate increase, and weigh on Bitcoin before it establishes support above the resistance zone.

The post Bitcoin pushes toward $65,000 on US inflation relief that may already be fading appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Public companies' Bitcoin treasury reserves become something very different once pledged to lenders. They become collateral, measured against loan ratios that can force a company to post more Bitcoin, repay debt, or risk lender sale rights within hours.

That risk is no longer theoretical. Fold received a formal collateral-maintenance notice in February and posted 50 BTC. Empery Digital's continuing loan crossed its collateral-call level and the company posted 576 BTC. Nakamoto separately posted 688 BTC to satisfy maintenance requirements.

Fold disclosed a formal lender notice. Empery and Nakamoto reported topping up collateral after hitting loan thresholds. However, there was no indication that either lender made a formal call. In addition, none of the companies CryptoSlate reviewed has reported a lender selling its pledged Bitcoin.

Bitcoin trades between $61,988 and $64,207 throughout July 14, making the price down 19-23% over 60 days. No filing says a 12- or 24-hour response clock is currently running as a result of the decline. Although, another threshold breach could turn a market move into an immediate liquidity decision.

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Collateral pressure has already forced companies to act

Fold provides the clearest example of a formal demand. The company received a collateral-maintenance notice on Feb. 5 after Bitcoin fell below the threshold in its loan agreement. It posted another 50 BTC within the required notification period.

Fold reported $20 million outstanding and 430 BTC pledged at March 31. In June, it sold about $45 million of Bitcoin at an average price near $71,000 and repaid the full $20 million balance.

The company directed that sale and repayment.

Empery Digital's filing uses different language. Its continuing Two Prime facility fell below its collateral-call level on Feb. 4, causing the company to post 576 BTC to restore coverage.

Six days later, Empery amended the loan. The new terms reduced its initial collateral ratio from 250% to 174%, its call level from 175% to 153% and its liquidation level from 150% to 143%.

Empery had $45 million outstanding and 1,096 BTC pledged under that agreement at March 31. Its July update again reported $45 million of debt after a voluntary $10 million repayment, but did not provide a new pledged-Bitcoin figure.

The company also said it had sold 1,400 BTC since May 7 at an average price of about $62,200, leaving it with 1,514 BTC and $73.9 million in cash. Those were company-directed treasury and repayment decisions, not a reported lender liquidation.

Nakamoto disclosed another form of collateral pressure. On Feb. 5, it posted 688 additional BTC to satisfy maintenance requirements on a 210 million USDT loan, bringing the pledged amount to about 4,405 BTC.

Nakamoto later refinanced the position. It sold roughly 600 BTC and exited derivatives positions, generating about $48 million in net proceeds. It used $45 million to reduce the loan to 165 million USDT, with the new facility initially secured by 3,805.112 BTC.

Its filing describes maintenance and liquidation thresholds without disclosing the numerical levels. That prevents a reliable calculation of how far Bitcoin would need to fall before another action was required.

The filings trace what can happen before liquidation. A lender flags a breach, the borrower adds collateral, then may sell assets, refinance or repay the debt.

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Some contracts give borrowers only hours to respond

These agreements show how fast companies may need to move when their collateral cushion shrinks. Because each contract measures risk and gives notice differently, the headline ratios do not offer a like-for-like ranking.

USBC provides the clearest company-calculated buffer. It said the value of its pledged Bitcoin could have fallen another 18.2% from its July 2 level before reaching the 130% call ratio, assuming it neither repaid principal nor added collateral.

USBC also said no collateral call, mandatory repayment or liquidation event had occurred as of July 2. In fact, Bitcoin has risen around 5% since.

Its quarterly filing says the February amendment reduced the period for providing collateral at the liquidation level to 12 hours.

However, the filed loan amendment also says a breach of the 143% liquidation level automatically creates an event of default and permits the lender to sell collateral without notice. The disclosure does not support treating 12 hours as an unconditional grace period.

We can also look to Hut 8, adding another active facility with a short timetable. The company entered a $200 million FalconX Charlie loan on May 1 at 7%, using the proceeds to repay an earlier Coinbase facility.

The refinancing released roughly 3,300 BTC from the previous collateral arrangement, according to Hut 8's quarterly filing. The company did not disclose the exact amount pledged under the new FalconX loan.

Under the FalconX agreement, a drop below the 130% call level allows the lender to issue a notice requiring funds or collateral within 24 hours.

At the 105% default level, a borrower that promptly provides the required officer certificate may receive a delay limited to the lesser of 12 hours or the time left in the original 24-hour period. If those conditions are not met, the lender's rights can arise without that delay.

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The clock matters before liquidation begins

The filings cannot tell us which borrower is nearest to a collateral call. They can show how quickly the pressure builds once coverage breaks.

A lack of standards in reporting metrics really muddies the playing field here.

USBC does not directly state its pledged-Bitcoin quantity. Empery's last disclosed collateral amount is dated March 31 even though its debt was updated in July. Hut 8 does not disclose the exact amount securing its FalconX loan, while Nakamoto omits the numerical maintenance and liquidation thresholds.

Using those mismatched disclosures to produce Bitcoin trigger prices would create false precision. Repayments, collateral transfers, interest and contract-specific valuation rules can all change a company's coverage without a matching move in Bitcoin's spot price.

That does not make the contractual risk theoretical. A company receiving a notice will have to source cash, transfer more Bitcoin or repay debt within the applicable window. In some agreements, that decision can be measured in 12 or 24 hours.

The most important distinction is between forced response and lender liquidation. Fold, Empery and Nakamoto have already disclosed notices, threshold breaches or maintenance postings. They later sold assets, refinanced facilities or reduced debt, but the reviewed filings describe those as borrower actions.

A lender does not have to sell the pledged Bitcoin to tighten a company’s position. The loan itself can lock up more of the reserve, force a scramble for cash and turn a passive holding into an immediate liability.

The next meaningful signal will be a filing that reports a new notice, collateral transfer, repayment, threshold change or lender action.

Until then, corporate Bitcoin reserves can still remain untouched for years while they are unencumbered. However, once they back a loan, contractual ratios and response clocks determine how long the company has to act. And Bitcoin financing is becoming a thing, especially for miners trying to survive the winter.

The post Bitcoin treasuries already faced two collateral calls in 2026 and some loans can liquidate after just 12 hours appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky took to X (formerly Twitter) to argue that real-world asset tokenization should be judged by how much ownership friction it removes and whether holders can trust whoever holds the underlying asset.

[Editor's note: He announced no Airbnb tokenization product.]

Applied to Airbnb, his thesis points to a counterintuitive opportunity. The company could use its marketplace reach and identity, along with booking and payment signals, to support regulated financing for hosts, while separate lenders, issuers, special-purpose vehicles, custodians, and title systems define the legal claims and keep the homes off Airbnb’s balance sheet.

Chesky cited fractional access, faster settlement and markets that stay open as potential gains. He then connected the trust problem to Airbnb’s experience persuading strangers to share homes, later adding that “Trust is everything”.

His thoughts came after he shared a video of Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, who argued that productive assets such as tokenized stocks, futures, and private companies would drive crypto’s growth as financial markets move on-chain.

Airbnb’s scale can make the approach look deceptively like a property portfolio. Its May 2026 company facts report more than 9 million active listings, more than 5.5 million hosts and more than $380 billion earned by hosts since the platform began.

Airbnb’s 2025 annual filing says the company records rental revenue as an agent because it does not control the right to use host properties, fulfill hosts’ rental promises, bear inventory risk or set host prices. Its stay revenue primarily reflects service fees.

Airbnb reported $107 million in net property and equipment as of Dec. 31, 2025, but that balance does not represent vacation homes listed on the platform. Its gross property and equipment consisted mainly of software and leasehold improvements, while a remaining $49 million category combined buildings and land with computer equipment, construction in progress, and office furniture.

Airbnb’s terms also state that Airbnb and its affiliates do not own, control, offer, or manage the listings on the platform

What it has is distribution, trusted identities, and operating data around host activity.

Host payout financing offers the clearest asset-light path

Airbnb has already shown how platform data can support financing without turning the company into a lender or landlord. In 2018, it allowed participating hosts to provide Airbnb-generated proof of income to specialist mortgage lenders.

A future structure could build on that logic, although Airbnb has announced no such plan.

Hypothetically, a host could receive capital upfront in exchange for tokenized claims on eligible future Airbnb payouts, with the tokens defining payment rights and distribution terms.

Alternatively, a financing vehicle could raise capital from investors and fund hosts, and issue tokens representing investor claims against the vehicle rather than against Airbnb or the underlying property.

Airbnb might, with the necessary agreements and host consent, provide verification signals, distribute the product, or route eligible payments. The lender or investor would have the rights granted by the on-chain financing contracts against the host or vehicle, not an automatic claim on Airbnb or the home.

However, before a stay becomes eligible, a booking may be canceled or changed, and the expected payout may shrink or disappear. Any financing contract would need rules for eligibility, refunds, chargebacks, occupancy changes, payment control, servicing, privacy, loss allocation, and shortfalls.

Different legal structures would produce different obligations. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau treats some sales-based financing tied to anticipated revenue as business credit. Other structures could trigger securities or additional laws depending on their terms. A blockchain record would not necessarily settle that classification.

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Airbnb’s options diverge sharply once the legal claim and balance-sheet exposure are made explicit:

To be clear, none of these structures is an announced Airbnb product. The first structure best preserves the company’s role as a marketplace. Property equity could still be asset-light for Airbnb if a separate vehicle held title, but it would leave much more off-chain work. A loyalty product might be useful without creating an investable claim at all.

A token cannot supply the missing legal rights

Current tokenized stocks already show why the legal wrapper does the heavy lifting. Tenev's Robinhood already has its live Chain designed for tokenized real-world assets. Its new Stock Tokens, however, are debt securities issued by Robinhood Assets in Jersey. Holders have contractual rights under that debt instrument, but no legal or beneficial ownership or shareholder rights in the referenced company.

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A January SEC staff statement describes issuer-sponsored tokenized securities and third-party models, including custodial and synthetic structures. The nonbinding statement applies to instruments that are securities, not every tokenized asset. For an instrument that is a security, moving it on-chain does not remove federal securities-law requirements; its structure still determines what the holder owns or is owed.

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For property equity, the token cannot create clean title, clear a lien or define investor governance by itself. The off-chain entity would still need to hold or evidence the property interest and allocate maintenance, vacancy and local accommodation obligations.

Those burdens make Airbnb buying properties and selling interests the most significant break from its agent model. It would add the inventory, capital, and operating risks that the platform currently largely leaves with hosts, along with new conflicts between investors and the supply side of the marketplace.

With contingent payouts, the real challenge sits in the contract. Airbnb could stay out of the ownership chain while clear eligibility rules, consent, payment controls, and an enforceable claim keep hosts, investors, and service providers aligned. Its trust and operating data could support that structure while specialist firms hold and enforce the claim.

Crypto exchanges are already becoming distribution channels for exposure to traditional assets. Airbnb’s possible advantage would be different: verified history behind host activity and a payment relationship with the people seeking capital.

The concrete signal to watch is a regulated partnership that uses verified booking history to finance contingent host payouts while specialists own, service, and enforce the claim.

An “Airbnb coin” or tokenized listings would take the company somewhere else entirely. A financing partnership offers a simpler way to test whether Chesky’s ownership idea works without disrupting Airbnb’s marketplace model.

The post Airbnb’s 9 million listings could unlock crypto host financing while the homes stay off its balance sheet appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Bitcoin has finally punched through the $65,000 wall that capped every rally for the past month. After grinding sideways for weeks, BTC exploded off its early-July lows and reclaimed the level that bulls have been staring at since mid-June. The move is fast, it's clean, and it's got a real macro story behind it — which is exactly why traders are suddenly paying attention again.

Let's break down what happened, why it happened, and where the charts say we're going next.

Why did Bitcoin break above $65,000?

The short answer: inflation cooled and the Fed rate-hike fear evaporated. Bitcoin pushed toward $65,000 as a sharper-than-expected slowdown in US inflation weakened the case for another near-term Federal Reserve rate move. June CPI came in soft, and that single data point flipped market psychology from defensive to risk-on almost overnight.

But this isn't a one-catalyst story. Several things stacked up at the same time:

• Relief bounce. The stream of bad news that dragged BTC under $58,000 on July 1 — including chatter around Michael Saylor trimming part of his stack — has dried up. When the bad news stops, price tends to snap back.
• Regulatory tailwinds. There's growing buzz around a fresh version of the Crypto Clarity Act, plus Circle securing approval to set up a national trust bank. Regulatory clarity is rocket fuel for institutional confidence.
• ETF inflows. Weekly Bitcoin ETF inflows have been running north of $1.3 billion, a strong signal that big money is accumulating, not fleeing.
• Seasonality. July has historically been a reliably green month for Bitcoin. The calendar was quietly on the bulls' side the whole time.

From a low near $58,000 at the start of the month to above $65,000 now, that's a move of roughly 15% in two weeks. Not bad for a coin everyone had written off as "boring" ten days ago.

Bitcoin price analysis: what the chart says

On the 2-hour chart, the structure is textbook. BTC spent the back half of June and early July carving out a base, put in a clear higher low around the $58,000 zone (the level marked as major support), and has now driven straight into the $65,000 resistance that rejected price back in late June.

The key levels to watch:

• $65,000 — the line in the sand. This capped the June rally and is the level BTC is now testing. A clean 2-hour or daily close above $65,000 turns old resistance into new support and opens the door higher.
• $67,300 — the next real obstacle. This was the lower high printed on June 15. To convince anyone that a real trend change is underway, bulls need to take this out. Until they do, this remains "just a bounce" for the skeptics.
• $58,000 — the floor. As long as BTC holds above this, the broader structure stays constructive.

Momentum backs the move: RSI on the lower timeframe has surged toward 67 and is pointing up, showing real buying pressure rather than a limp drift higher. It's not yet screaming "overbought," which leaves room for continuation.

Prediction: If Bitcoin holds $65,000 as support on a retest, the path of least resistance points to $67,300 first, then a run at $70,000, which analysts have flagged as the natural upside target if the $58,000 base holds. The bullish scenario needs that June high taken out to confirm. The bearish scenario is simple: rejection at $65,000, a slip back below, and a re-test of $62,000–$58,000. Watch the reaction at the line — that's where this gets decided.

One honest caveat: some analysts warn the inflation-relief pop may already be fading, and geopolitical risk in the Middle East hasn't gone anywhere. This is a real breakout attempt, not a guaranteed one.

How are ETH, XRP, SOL and DOGE reacting?

Altcoins are riding Bitcoin's coattails — and in several cases outperforming it on the day:

• Ethereum ($ETH): trading around $1,875, up roughly 5–6% on the day. ETH is leading the majors, helped by news that Morgan Stanley pushed forward updated S-1 filings for spot ETH and SOL ETFs. Staking demand keeps grinding higher in the background.
• $XRP: around $1.10, up close to 4%. Social sentiment on XRP has turned notably bullish — though it's worth noting that historically, loud XRP optimism has sometimes preceded pullbacks, so keep expectations measured.
• Solana ($SOL): near $77–78, up around 3–3.7%. SOL is a direct beneficiary of the Morgan Stanley ETF filing story and remains one of the higher-beta plays when risk appetite returns.
• Dogecoin ($DOGE): around $0.074, up roughly 3%. Classic DOGE behavior — it wakes up when Bitcoin runs and the mood turns risk-on.

The broad tape is green: total crypto market cap climbed back toward $2.3 trillion, up nearly 3% on the day, with Bitcoin dominance holding around 56%. When BTC leads and alts follow without dominance collapsing, it usually signals a healthy, BTC-led leg rather than a frothy alt blow-off.

Trading the majors and want regulated access? If you're in Europe, make sure your exchange is MiCA-compliant. Compare the top MiCA-regulated exchanges here to trade $BTC, $ETH, $XRP, $SOL and $DOGE with proper regulatory coverage.

Bottom line

Bitcoin breaking $65,000 is the most convincing move BTC has made in weeks, and it's backed by a genuine macro shift: cooling inflation, fading Fed-hike fears, strong ETF inflows and improving regulatory optics. The technicals agree, with a clean higher-low base and momentum turning up.

The catch is confirmation. Bulls must hold $65,000 and then clear the $67,300 June high to prove this is a trend change and not just the best relief bounce of the summer. Reclaim those levels and $70,000 is squarely in play. Lose $65,000 and we're right back to chopping between $62,000 and $58,000.

Bitcoin Price Breaks $64,000 After Cooling CPI Inflation

The trigger was a single data point: US Consumer Price Index inflation came in at 3.5%, well below the 3.8% markets expected. Cooler inflation is exactly what risk-on traders had been waiting for, and Bitcoin responded instantly, punching through $64,000. Ethereum followed, climbing toward $1,900 as the broader crypto market caught the bid.

$135M in Short Liquidations Fuel the Crypto Market Surge

Rallies this sharp are rarely just spot buying. As Bitcoin ripped higher, traders betting on lower prices got caught on the wrong side — and in a 60-minute window, $135 million in short positions were liquidated. Each forced liquidation buys back the asset to close the position, adding fuel to the move that triggered it. That short squeeze cascade is why the candle went vertical rather than grinding up slowly.

Why Cooling CPI Inflation Boosts Rate Cut Odds

This is the real story beneath the price action. Inflation cooling to 3.5% strengthens the case for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates sooner. Lower rates are broadly bullish for crypto: cheaper money pushes investors out of safe yield and into higher-risk assets like Bitcoin, and rate cuts typically weaken the dollar, historically a tailwind for crypto. Markets are now repricing the odds of a cut, and that repricing is showing up directly on the charts.

Bitcoin Price and Ethereum Price Outlook

The immediate direction hinges on whether the move holds above key levels — $64,000 for $Bitcoin and the approach to $1,900 for $Ethereum. Holding confirms the breakout; failing could signal the rally was driven more by liquidations than conviction. The bigger swing factor is the Fed: if more data confirms the cooling trend, rate cut expectations firm up. If the next print runs hot, today's optimism could reverse just as fast.

Crypto Price Today: Red Across the Board

The market is having a rough Tuesday. The global crypto market cap sits at around $2.23 trillion, down roughly 1.5% over the last 24 hours, with total trading volume near $68.5 billion. Sentiment has soured too — the Fear & Greed Index dropped from 28 (Fear) to 22 (Extreme Fear).

Here's how the top of the board looks today:

The one standout is Hyperliquid (HYPE), which despite today's dip is up a staggering ~150% year-to-date — a rare bright spot in an otherwise brutal year for holders.

Why Is the Crypto Market Down Today?

Two words: geopolitics and macro. Crypto's weekend gains gave way to a Monday selloff as Middle East tensions resurfaced, and around $253 million in leveraged positions were wiped out. Bitcoin slipped below $62,000 after climbing to roughly $64,500 earlier, as escalating U.S.–Iran tensions added another layer of risk to global markets.

The bigger picture remains sobering: Bitcoin is down about 30% year-to-date and sits more than 50% below its October record.

What Important Events Are Happening in Crypto Right Now?

Is institutional money still buying the dip? Yes — aggressively. Tom Lee's BitMine expanded its ether treasury to 5.77 million tokens, roughly 4.8% of total ETH supply. On the ETF side, the rotation into Ethereum has been dramatic: ether ETFs recently tallied $1.6 billion in inflows while Bitcoin ETFs saw around $175 million in outflows.

Where does regulation stand? The CLARITY Act — crypto's market-structure bill — is in a decisive phase. The revised draft merges proposals from the Senate Banking and Agriculture Committees, but key provisions remain under active negotiation, particularly around ethics rules, so the timing of a Senate floor vote is uncertain. President Trump has urged the Senate to pass the bill in honor of Senator Lindsey Graham, who passed away on July 11.

What else is on the radar?

• New Hampshire passed the Blockchain Fundamentals Act, safeguarding crypto self-custody, developers and miners, and introducing blockchain dispute resolution.
• Circle's 2026 Developer Grants awarded nearly half of recipients from Africa and the Global South, focused on stablecoin payments and remittances.
• Oil jumped after President Trump's new restrictions on Iranian shipping, with Brent crude up about 10% — a reminder that macro shocks are bleeding straight into risk assets.

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The 3 Events This Week That Could Unlock Bitcoin's Next Move

Buckle up — the next few days are stacked with catalysts. Between July 13 and 19, crypto enters one of 2026's busiest macro weeks. Here are the three that matter most.

1. Inflation Data: June CPI (Today) and PPI (Wednesday)

The headline event. Monthly CPI for June is expected to slow to 0.2% from 0.5% in May, with annual inflation projected to fall to 3.8% from 4.2%. A soft print revives rate-cut hopes; a hot one keeps the pressure on crypto. The Producer Price Index follows on Wednesday, July 15, measuring wholesale inflation and rounding out the picture ahead of the Fed's next move.

Watch out for the wildcard: Fed Governor Christopher Waller warned that another strong inflation reading could push the central bank toward tighter policy, saying he'd treat a higher print as "signal, not noise." Following his remarks, the odds of a September rate hike jumped to 51.6% on the CME FedWatch Tool.

2. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh Testimony (July 14 & 15)

Arguably the single biggest swing factor. Warsh testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday and the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday — his first appearance since taking the helm in May. At his June debut, he effectively killed the market's remaining 2026 rate-cut thesis and sent Bitcoin tumbling, so every word will be parsed for clues on the path ahead.

3. The CLARITY Act Push

The regulatory catalyst. A dovish Warsh lean or a legislative breakthrough could spark the relief rally the market has been waiting for; a hawkish tone and a stalled bill would deepen the malaise. The key deadline to watch: August 7, 2026 is the last day of the Senate term before the summer recess and campaign season.

And looking just beyond this week: all of this data feeds directly into the next FOMC meeting on July 28–29, 2026, where the rate decision will be made.

Crypto Future Price: Will Bitcoin Price go up?

Bitcoin is pinned at the psychologically critical $60K zone while three forces — inflation data, Fed signaling, and the CLARITY Act — pull the market in different directions at once. It's a high-volatility setup layered onto a fragile market. The next 48 hours could set the tone for the rest of the summer.

The crypto market opened the week in the red. $BTC pulled back below a closely watched level as renewed US-Iran hostilities rattled risk assets and traders locked in weekend gains. But underneath the selloff, the ETF data just delivered a signal that has been missing for two months. Here is a breakdown of the crypto news today and what is moving the bitcoin price.

What Is the Bitcoin Price Today?

The btc price today sits at around $63,000, down roughly 1.4% over the past 24 hours after sliding from above $64,300 at the weekly close. The move triggered about $253 million in 24-hour liquidations, skewed toward longs, though the flush was modest — roughly a sixth of the market's worst single-day wipeouts over the past month. $Bitcoin has now traded inside a $59,000 to $66,000 range for a month, so today's drop sits firmly within established territory rather than signaling a breakdown.

Zoom out and the picture stays sober: BTC is down about 30% year-to-date and more than 50% below its October record.

Why Is Bitcoin Falling Today?

Two forces met at once. First, geopolitics: reignited US-Iran tensions over the Strait of Hormuz pushed investors out of risk assets across the board. South Korea's Kospi index shed 9.2%, and WTI crude gained 3% to trade above $73 a barrel as the conflict continued. Second, profit-taking: Bitcoin and the broader market rallied into the weekend, so part of Monday's slide is simply traders banking gains after a strong run.

Which Altcoins Are Hit Hardest Today?

The steeper losses landed further down the risk curve:

• Lighter ($LIT): down 8% in its first major selloff after a 200%+ two-month rally.
• Cardano ($ADA): down 19% since July 4, after a violent 39% June drop and a 40%+ early-July bounce.
• Jupiter ($JUP): down more than 15% on the week as daily volume collapsed to just $17 million, versus $500 million+ regularly in 2025.

On the corporate side, Strategy (MSTR) raised $466.7 million via a stock sale last week, lifting its cash reserve to $3 billion while keeping its Bitcoin stack unchanged at 843,775 coins.

Are Bitcoin ETF Inflows Turning Positive Again?

This is the signal worth watching. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded their first weekly inflows in nine weeks, pulling in roughly $197 million, according to SoSoValue. That breaks an eight-week outflow streak that bled $2.43 billion in May and $4.5 billion in June. July has now logged $124 million in net inflows so far.

In plain terms: after two brutal months of institutions pulling out, the tide may be turning. Analysts caution the structural bid stays unproven until BlackRock's IBIT sees sustained inflows — but for the first time in a while, the flow data leans constructive.

What Crypto Events Should Traders Watch This Week?

This is one of 2026's busiest macro weeks, and two levers dominate:

• Inflation data: June CPI lands Tuesday, PPI Wednesday — two chances to read the Fed's rate path. Softer prints could strengthen the case for easier policy, which has historically supported Bitcoin.
• Fed Chair Warsh testimony: Kevin Warsh testifies before the House and Senate this week, his first appearance since May. At his June debut he held rates steady and tilted the dot plot toward hikes, sending Bitcoin tumbling — so traders will parse every word.

On regulation, the CLARITY Act reconciliation push continues alongside the July 18 GENIUS Act stablecoin deadline. Every step toward asset-classification clarity chips away at the regulatory-uncertainty discount weighing on the market.

What Do XTB Stock Savings Plans Offer?

XTB's savings plan offering covers individual stocks as well as ETFs — not just exchange-traded funds — meeting the growing demand for hands-off, recurring stock investing. Investors can set up an automated savings plan on a single share, an ETF, or a mix of both.

The headline number: XTB offers 3,469 stocks eligible for savings plans, on top of its lineup of ETFs, ETNs, and ETCs. That makes automated, recurring investing available across a large slice of the global equity market — not just fund-based products.

How Much Does an XTB Savings Plan Cost?

The fee structure is one of the most competitive parts of the offering, and it applies uniformly across every eligible stock, ETF, ETN, and ETC:

• 0% commission on monthly trading volume up to 100,000 EUR
• 0.2% commission (minimum 10 EUR) on volume above that threshold

For the vast majority of retail investors — who rarely approach a six-figure monthly savings rate — this effectively means commission-free automated investing. The cost only becomes a factor at volumes far beyond typical private savings plans.

What Are XTB's Savings Plan Templates?

Alongside individual stocks, XTB offers pre-built savings plan templates. Rather than researching and assembling a portfolio from scratch, investors can pick a ready-made plan aligned with a theme or goal — particularly useful for beginners who want a starting point rather than a blank page.

Examples of the predefined plans include:

• Growth — built around funds like a NASDAQ 100 ETF and an MSCI World ETF
• Dividends — including a FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield ETF and an S&P Euro Dividend Aristocrats ETF
• Semiconductors — featuring stocks such as Nvidia, TSMC, Broadcom, and AMD
• Renewable Energy — with names like Ørsted, First Solar, and AXIA Energia

Several additional templates are available, and the platform offers a streamlined, intuitive setup process.

Why Do Savings Plans Matter for Long-Term Investors?

Automated savings plans are the mechanism behind dollar-cost averaging — investing a fixed amount at regular intervals regardless of price. Instead of trying to time the market, you buy consistently, smoothing out your average entry price over time and removing the emotional guesswork that trips up most investors.

Adding individual stocks to that model matters. With savings plans no longer confined to diversified funds, the same automated, low-cost approach can be applied to specific companies — whether that's a single conviction holding or a self-built basket of names — while still keeping the discipline of recurring, scheduled buying.

How to Start a Stock Savings Plan on XTB

Getting started is straightforward, and the interface is designed to make setup quick even for first-time investors:

1. Open or log in to your XTB account and complete verification.
2. Fund your account via SEPA transfer, card, or e-wallet.
3. Browse the eligible stocks and ETFs, or pick one of the ready-made templates.
4. Set your recurring amount and interval (for example, monthly).
5. Confirm the plan — from there, purchases run automatically.

Because XTB offers real stocks and ETFs in its savings plans (not derivatives), you own the underlying assets directly, with commission-free investing up to the volume threshold noted above.

👉 Start your XTB savings plan here →

The joint recommendations back cross-border stablecoins and tokenized markets, setting a shared direction while avoiding binding rules.

Demis Hassabis says artificial general intelligence is only a few years away and proposes a new U.S. standards body to test frontier AI models before release.

Consumer prices cooled more than expected in June, yet geopolitical tensions continue to cast a shadow over crypto prices

Moving crypto into a lending protocol or liquidity pool won’t count as a taxable disposal, deferring the charge until a real cash-out.

Strategy’s Bitcoin-buying machine stayed in neutral, while BTC and crypto majors chop and oil spikes ahead of a key CPI print this morning.

Ripple’s David Schwartz invokes the First Amendment to defend historic XRP college sports ads, arguing crypto bans are constitutionally impossible.

One of the highest Cashcat profitability whales sold at a perfect timing almost every single time.

A new partnership between SBI Holdings and the Solana Foundation has sparked concern among some XRP holders.

The market-wide downtrend might finally disappear from our radars, as bears are gradually losing their pressure.

Ripple has burned another 10 million RLUSD, continuing a string of treasury burns that has reduced the circulating supply of its U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin.

Key Takeaways

• Goldman Sachs shifted its rating on NIO from Neutral to Buy, boosting the price target to $7.00 from $6.60
• First-half 2026 deliveries reached 191,000 units, representing a 67% year-over-year increase
• The ES8 SUV captured the top position in the Rmb400k+ segment with monthly sales exceeding 10,000 units
• Analyst Tina Hou at Goldman projects 43% volume expansion for NIO in 2026, while the broader NEV sector grows just 1%
• NIO shares have declined 3% year-to-date and currently trade at a 25-29% valuation discount versus NEV competitors

Shares of Nio (NIO) climbed 3.2% to $4.93 on Tuesday following an upgrade from Goldman Sachs, which elevated the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer from Neutral to Buy and increased its price objective from $6.60 to $7.00.

NIO Inc., NIO

Tina Hou, the Goldman Sachs analyst behind the upgrade, contends that the stock price has become “disconnected from the company’s improving fundamentals.” Despite these operational improvements, NIO shares remain down 3% for the year and have retreated 28% from their April high, trading substantially below the 52-week peak of $8.02.

The rating change arrives as NIO’s vehicle portfolio demonstrates significant momentum in the market. The redesigned ES8 has consistently delivered more than 10,000 units monthly over the past 12 months ending June 2026, establishing itself as the leading seller in the premium SUV category above Rmb400,000.

During the first six months of 2026, NIO shipped 191,000 vehicles, marking a robust 67% increase compared to the same period last year. This performance stands out even more impressively considering the overall NEV market experienced a 14% decline in retail sales during the identical timeframe.

The automaker now commands a 39% market share in the premium Rmb400k+ vehicle category and expanded its total NEV retail market share to 3.6% in the first half of 2026, up from 2.1% in the prior year.

Goldman’s Financial Projections

Hou anticipates NIO’s delivery volume will expand 43% throughout 2026, propelled by fresh model introductions such as the ES9 and L80, both launched in May 2026. Meanwhile, the domestic NEV market is forecast to grow a mere 1% during the same timeframe.

For subsequent years, the analyst predicts volume increases of 19% in 2027 and 11% in 2028, bolstered by updates to NIO’s 5 and 6 series vehicle lines.

Regarding profitability margins, Hou anticipates NIO will achieve a vehicle gross margin of 17% in 2026, surpassing the peer group average of 15%.

The most significant projection concerns bottom-line profitability. NIO is expected to generate a non-GAAP net profit of Rmb1.6 billion in 2026, a dramatic reversal from the Rmb12.4 billion loss recorded in 2025. Free cash flow is forecast to flip from negative Rmb3.1 billion to positive Rmb12.1 billion.

Valuation Analysis and Analyst Consensus

Relative to pure-play NEV competitors, NIO currently trades at a 25-29% discount based on 2026-2027 price-to-sales multiples and a 17% discount on 2027 price-to-earnings ratios. Hou identifies this valuation gap as an attractive entry point given the company’s near-term product strength.

The $7 price target suggests approximately 40% upside potential from present levels. Wall Street’s consensus price target ranges between $6.42-$6.70 across various sources, still indicating roughly 28-36% upside potential.

Analyst sentiment remains divided across Wall Street. Goldman’s upgrade contributes to the current breakdown of seven Buy ratings, four Hold ratings, and two Sell ratings, resulting in an overall consensus Hold rating.

Institutional investment activity has accelerated recently. ABC Arbitrage SA initiated a Q1 position totaling 670,417 shares valued at approximately $4 million. Atlantic Union Bankshares and Allworth Financial have also expanded their holdings in recent quarters. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively control 48.55% of NIO’s shares outstanding.

The post Nio (NIO) Stock Surges After Goldman Sachs Upgrade — 40% Upside Projected appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR:

• Binance aims to become a super app beyond trading, offering payments and finance. 
• Shunyet Jan says stablecoin usage is driving demand for payment services. 
• Binance added tokenized stocks and ETFs to expand its financial ecosystem. 
• Emerging markets show strong trust in Binance over local banks and governments.

Binance is repositioning itself as a crypto super app, moving beyond trading into payments and broader financial services.

Shunyet Jan, the exchange’s head of spot trading and derivatives, told CoinDesk that stablecoin adoption is reshaping digital asset usage.

The strategy shift comes as Binance marks its ninth year in operation. Jan described plans to unify trading, payments, and financial products on one platform.

Binance Builds a Super App Around Payments

Binance’s leadership views payments as the next major growth area for the exchange. Jan explained that trading still anchors the business at present.

Stablecoins, however, are increasingly used for transfers rather than speculation alone. This shift has opened a market larger than trading revenue by itself.

“We’re trying to not just be a crypto exchange, but be a super app that involves payment,” Jan said. He added that framing Binance as a payment provider changes the scale of its potential market entirely.

Jan pushed back on any suggestion that growth has slowed for the exchange. “I don’t think it’s really leveled off,” he said, attributing recent changes to rising stablecoin usage.

People now move digital assets for spending needs, not only investment purposes. That behavior is driving Binance to expand its product lineup steadily.

Over the past year, Binance introduced tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds. These additions support a broader goal of keeping users within one ecosystem.

Jan said the company wants users to trade, pay, and invest together. This mirrors ambitions already voiced by other major exchanges in the sector.

Jan noted that many Binance employees keep most assets on the platform itself. “I think a lot of the Binance employees and myself included keep most of our assets on the exchange because we could do whatever we need,” he said. He explained that this includes making payments and spending directly through a linked debit card.

Emerging Markets Fuel Binance’s Super App Ambitions

Binance sees strong demand for its super app model across emerging markets. Jan explained that many users in these regions lack full banking access.

Others face limited options for traditional investment products through local institutions. Crypto and stablecoin services help address that gap for these users.

Jan said trust plays a central role in why users choose Binance locally. “Sometimes they trust us more than the local government or local banks,” he said.

This dynamic strengthens the case for expanding financial services in such regions. It also supports demand for a unified super app approach worldwide.

Binance is not alone in pursuing this broader financial platform strategy. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong described a similar vision back in 2023.

He compared that goal to Tencent’s WeChat, a dominant app across Chinese digital life. Armstrong reaffirmed the same long-term ambition again during 2025.

Both exchanges appear to be responding to similar stablecoin adoption trends. Banks and payment firms increasingly treat stablecoins as settlement infrastructure now.

This pattern suggests exchanges industry-wide are rethinking core business models. Binance’s super app push reflects that broader shift toward integrated platforms.

The post Binance Bets on “Super App” Vision as Stablecoins Reshape Crypto Growth Strategy appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Takeaways

• Broadcom stock advanced more than 1% on Tuesday, finishing at $389.32
• Investor capital shifted from software to hardware following IBM’s disappointing Q2 guidance
• Morgan Stanley’s Joseph Moore maintained his Buy rating with a $502 price target on AVGO
• Moore estimates Broadcom retains approximately 80% of Google’s TPU chip supply and expects that position to hold
• Analyst consensus rates AVGO as Strong Buy, with an average target of $513.29

Broadcom (AVGO) finished Tuesday’s trading session with gains exceeding 1%, closing at $389.32, even as the broader technology sector showed weakness. The upward movement stemmed from two catalysts: capital flowing out of software names and a reaffirmed bullish outlook from Morgan Stanley.

Broadcom Inc., AVGO

The exodus from software stocks began after IBM released preliminary Q2 results ahead of schedule. IBM’s management warned that both top-line revenue and adjusted net profit would fall short of Wall Street expectations.

CEO Arvind Krishna explained that enterprise clients were reallocating budgets away from software and into physical infrastructure—specifically storage solutions, memory modules, and server hardware. This reallocation strategy appears driven by efforts to secure capacity before anticipated price hikes linked to AI infrastructure expansion.

This capital redeployment brought hardware manufacturers like Broadcom into the spotlight. The semiconductor company produces specialized AI accelerators and networking chips designed for AI workloads, positioning it directly in line with this spending trend.

AVGO has delivered a modest 13% gain year-to-date, underperforming many semiconductor competitors. This relative weakness largely stems from ongoing questions about whether MediaTek will capture a larger portion of Google’s TPU chip business from Broadcom.

Morgan Stanley Maintains Conviction

Morgan Stanley’s Joseph Moore tackled this competitive concern head-on in his latest research note. He reaffirmed his Overweight (equivalent to Buy) stance on AVGO with a $502 target, asserting that “AVGO remains a core AI winner.”

Moore recognized that MediaTek has established a legitimate presence in Google’s TPU chip development. Google has strategic incentives to diversify its supplier base, and MediaTek represents a viable option for 3nm TPU production.

However, Moore remains unconvinced that this poses a material threat. He projects Broadcom will maintain roughly 80% of Google’s TPU supply business going forward. He characterized concerns about AVGO’s market share falling to 50% or facing complete displacement as “premature.”

His confidence rests on several factors: Broadcom’s superior access to high-bandwidth memory, advanced packaging expertise, and manufacturing scale that competitors cannot easily match in the near term.

Moore further highlighted that Broadcom has multiple new ASIC customers scheduled to accelerate production in the latter half of 2027. These emerging relationships provide growth drivers independent of the Google partnership.

Street Sentiment

Moore’s optimism reflects the broader Wall Street perspective. The analyst community rates AVGO as Strong Buy, with 23 Buy recommendations against only three Hold ratings.

The consensus price target stands at $513.29, suggesting approximately 32% upside potential from present trading levels.

Moore positions Broadcom as the second-most compelling AI semiconductor investment after Nvidia, citing its dominance in custom ASIC design and AI networking solutions.

Tuesday’s trading saw the stock fluctuate between $384.71 and $397.24. The 52-week range extends from $273.00 to $495.00, illustrating the significant pullback from recent peak valuations.

Morgan Stanley’s research update, dated July 15, 2026, represents the most recent analyst commentary on the stock.

The post Broadcom (AVGO) Stock: The Overlooked AI Chip Winner Analysts Are Backing appeared first on Blockonomi.

TLDR:

• Mizuho downgraded Circle to Underperform, cutting its price target from $85 to $50.
• OpenUSD’s revenue-sharing model threatens Circle’s core USDC business economics.
• Mizuho slashed 2027 adjusted EBITDA forecast to $699 million from $1.09 billion.
• Circle’s August Coinbase renegotiation looms as a key risk to distribution costs.

Mizuho, a major Japanese investment bank, has downgraded Circle from Neutral to Underperform. The bank also slashed its price target on the stablecoin issuer sharply.

Circle’s target price dropped from $85 to just $50 per share. Analysts cited emerging competitive threats that could weigh heavily on future earnings.

Mizuho Cites Growing Threat From Rival Stablecoin Model

The downgrade stems largely from concerns over OpenUSD, a newly launched stablecoin. Analysts led by Dan Dolev outlined the threat in a Tuesday research note.

The team warned that OpenUSD “could fundamentally alter CRCL’s business model, which relies on retaining a large portion of the treasury yield to drive revenues.” That assessment forms the basis for Mizuho’s sharply lowered outlook.

OpenUSD was unveiled on June 30 by the Open Standard consortium. This group already counts more than 140 partners across major financial sectors.

Notable backers include Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase, and BlackRock among others. Their involvement gives OpenUSD substantial credibility and reach within the industry.

Circle’s existing USDC model captures most reserve income before sharing with partners. OpenUSD instead charges a small fee and passes most income along.

This structural difference could force Circle to share more revenue eventually. Distribution partners may push for larger cuts as OpenUSD gains traction.

The timing is notable given Circle’s upcoming negotiation with Coinbase in August. Coinbase remains Circle’s largest and most important distribution partner currently.

Coinbase has already shown support for the OpenUSD initiative publicly. Mizuho’s note suggests this backing could strengthen Coinbase’s position in talks.

Revised Estimates Reflect Deeper Margin Concerns

Mizuho adjusted several key financial estimates to reflect these emerging pressures. The bank raised its 2027 distribution and transaction expense ratio forecast.

That figure now sits at 73%, up notably from a prior 64% estimate. Higher costs directly reduce the amount of profit Circle can retain.

Adjusted EBITDA projections fell as a result of these revised assumptions. Mizuho now forecasts $699 million, down from $1.09 billion previously.

This updated figure lands roughly 25% below current Wall Street consensus estimates. Consensus estimates currently sit near $941 million for the same period.

Mizuho noted that higher interest rates alone will not offset the damage. Even improved reserve yields cannot fully counter mounting distribution cost pressures.

Circle shares reacted to the news, slipping about 0.6% in trading. Shares were last seen near $62.63 at the time of publication.

Beyond OpenUSD, Circle faces additional headwinds from other market participants. JPMorgan flagged separate concerns tied to Circle’s partnership with Hyperliquid.

That bank described the arrangement as creating a prisoner’s dilemma dynamic. Together, these reports paint a more cautious picture for Circle’s near-term outlook.

The broader stablecoin sector has also cooled somewhat in recent months. USDC’s circulating supply dropped to roughly $73 billion from March highs.

Total stablecoin market value has shrunk close to $10 billion since May. Softer trading volumes and rising competition both contributed to that decline.

The post Mizuho Downgrades Circle to Underperform, Slashes Price Target to $50 on OpenUSD Threat appeared first on Blockonomi.

Key Takeaways

• Futures for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq showed mixed movement Wednesday morning
• Producer Price Index for June scheduled for release following Tuesday’s encouraging CPI figures
• Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh scheduled for second Senate Banking Committee appearance
• Quarterly reports expected from Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, Johnson & Johnson, and United Airlines
• ASML delivered preliminary guidance exceeding market expectations

Equity futures in the United States advanced Wednesday morning as market participants awaited additional inflation metrics and another round of quarterly corporate results.

S&P 500 futures climbed 0.1%, with Nasdaq 100 futures posting a stronger 0.6% increase. Dow Jones futures experienced a modest decline, dropping approximately 33 points, or 0.1%.

Price Pressure Data Under Scrutiny

Tuesday’s Consumer Price Index figures revealed the most significant monthly decline in price pressures since April 2020. The benign reading sparked a widespread equity rally and prompted traders to reduce expectations for imminent monetary tightening.

Investors will scrutinize Wednesday’s June Producer Price Index release for additional insight into pricing trends.

The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book — a compilation of regional economic observations nationwide — is scheduled for publication Wednesday.

Fed Chair Kevin Warsh will make his second appearance before the Senate Banking Committee. During Tuesday’s testimony, he emphasized the central bank maintains “no tolerance for persistently elevated inflation.”

Corporate Results Gain Momentum

Tuesday proved largely favorable for financial institutions. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase delivered robust quarterly performance, providing support for the Dow. JPMorgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon remarked that current conditions were “getting close to as good as it gets” for the banking sector.

IBM emerged as Tuesday’s notable decliner, plummeting 25% following disappointing preliminary figures.

Wednesday’s reporting schedule features Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, Johnson & Johnson, United Airlines, and semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML. ASML released preliminary guidance that surpassed analyst projections.

Charlie Anderson, a strategist at UBS Wealth Management, observed an evolving market dynamic. “We’ve gone from a market driven by macro headlines to one increasingly driven by micro fundamentals,” he noted. “That’s a healthier environment for long-term investors.”

He emphasized that attention has transitioned toward cash generation, profitability, and individual company performance rather than widespread artificial intelligence enthusiasm.

Investors are monitoring whether robust quarterly results can provide fresh momentum for equities, particularly as concerns mount that the AI rally may be cooling.

As of early Wednesday trading hours, the E-Mini S&P 500 registered at $7,609.25 while the E-Mini Nasdaq 100 stood at $29,952.50.

ASML’s superior-to-anticipated guidance represented the latest encouraging development ahead of the opening bell.

The post Stock Futures Advance Amid Cooling Inflation and Key Earnings Reports appeared first on Blockonomi.

Bitcoin’s price was positively impacted by the lower-than-expected US CPI numbers for June and pumped to a three-week peak of $65,000 before it was stopped.

Most altcoins have turned green as well, with ETH climbing toward $1,900. ZEC, CC, LINK, and HYPE have marked big gains daily.

BTC Flies After CPI Numbers

After the intense volatility experienced at the start of the previous business week following Strategy’s biggest BTC sale to date and the broken ceasefire between the US and Iran, bitcoin began its gradual recovery on Wednesday from a then-low at $61,600. The bulls managed to help it rebound to $64,000 during the weekend, where it spent most of its time trading sideways.

However, the quickly intensifying and worsening situation in the Middle East took its toll on Monday morning, and the asset fell below $62,000 once again. All eyes then turned to the US CPI numbers for June, which were scheduled to be announced on Tuesday.

The general expectations showed a significant decline from the May record, but the actual data was even lower, with just a 3.5% increase. Although this number might be more misleading than it sounds, BTC’s price reacted with an immediate surge to just over $65,000 earlier today, which became a three-week peak.

It has retreated to $64,500 as of press time, but its market cap has climbed to almost $1.3 trillion. Its dominance over the alts remains stagnant at 56.7% on CG.

PI Finally Bounces

Pi Network’s native token was the poorest performer over the past couple of days, charting consecutive all-time lows. The latest came yesterday morning at just over $0.07. However, that key support provided the necessary assistance for the asset to bounce hard in the past day. PI now stands with a major 16% daily surge and trades above $0.085.

PUMP is the other double-digit gainer, surging by 14% to $0.0166. ZEC has risen the most from the larger caps, adding 9% of value and trading above $550. CC follows suit, while LINK and HYPE are up by around 5% each.

Ethereum has also posted a similar gain, and now trades above $1,870. BNB, XRP, SOL, and RAIN have marked more modest gains.

The total crypto market cap has increased by over $60 billion in a day and now sits at $2.280 trillion.

The post Pi Network’s PI Finally Rebounds as Bitcoin (BTC) Eyes $65K: Market Watch appeared first on CryptoPotato.

326 Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) tokens on Ethereum were withdrawn from exchanges in a single day. According to fresh data shared by Santiment, this is the largest net exchange outflow since early June.

This transfer of coins has reduced the amount of WBTC immediately available on trading platforms.

Exchange Outflow

The latest outflows come as Bitcoin continues to trade through a “risk-heavy stretch.” Even as the crypto asset briefly climbed to $65,000 on Wednesday, market pressure from geopolitical tensions and ETF flow swings persists, Santiment stated in its findings. The large exchange withdrawals, however, could potentially serve as a positive signal for the broader crypto market recovery. The analytics platform added,

“Wrapped Bitcoin’s 6-week high exchange outflows provide more good news to crypto’s rebound “

Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) was launched in 2019 following a joint initiative by BitGo, Kyber Network, and Ren. It remains the largest tokenized version of Bitcoin, with a market capitalization of about $7.6 billion. Coinbase entered the space with cbBTC in 2024, which has grown to nearly $6 billion in market value. This space has become increasingly competitive in 2026.

Last month, stablecoin issuer Circle expanded the market by launching cirBTC on Ethereum.

Recovery Near?

As for Bitcoin’s price, the crypto asset moved higher after the latest US inflation report came in cooler than expected. Consumer prices fell 0.4% in June, bringing annual inflation to 3.5%. Economists had expected a 0.2% monthly decline and a 3.8% annual rate.

Meanwhile, Bitfinex analysts said that the asset is approaching what has historically been the final stage of its typical bear market period. According to the report, the BTC often spends five to six months trading below the Short-Term Holder Realized Price before entering a broader recovery. With July being identified as the fifth month of the current cycle, analysts believe the market could be closing in on a significant rebound.

They still warned that history alone does not guarantee a recovery. While July has traditionally been a favorable month for Bitcoin, broader macroeconomic conditions will also play a crucial role.

The post Is Wrapped Bitcoin Flashing a Bullish Signal? Exchange Outflows Hit Six-Week High appeared first on CryptoPotato.

[PRESS RELEASE – London, United Kingdom, July 15th, 2026]

CT3 today announced the transition of its decentralized storage infrastructure to a dedicated Storage Contracts model designed to support continued platform growth, improve infrastructure scalability, and expand storage capacity as demand increases.

The transition follows rapid growth across the CT3 ecosystem, with more than 180,000 unique users having used the platform and more than 500,000 uploads completed. Each upload is linked to an NFT access key, allowing platform activity and network usage to be independently verified on-chain.

Continued growth in demand for ct-3.cloud services has increased pressure on the existing infrastructure. Processing all new uploads through a single main collection and one smart contract may reduce scaling flexibility and make storage capacity more difficult to manage as network activity expands.

Under the new architecture, new uploads will be distributed across dedicated Storage Contracts rather than a single main contract. Each Storage Contract is linked to a fixed amount of storage capacity and operates as an independent infrastructure segment with its own capacity, utilization level, and on-chain statistics.

The new model is intended to distribute workloads across multiple smart contracts, improve the transparency and measurement of resource utilization, and support the deployment of additional storage capacity as demand grows. Participants may finance the deployment of new Storage Contracts and the addition of storage capacity. The allocated capacity is used to store files uploaded through ct-3.cloud, while the resulting profit is shared between CT3 and the participant who financed the infrastructure expansion.

Infrastructure Segmentation

Previously, CT3 keys were issued primarily through the main collection and a single contract flow. As the platform expanded, this model became less flexible for handling different categories of data.

Storage Contracts divide the infrastructure into separate segments. Each segment:

• operates through its own smart contract;
• is linked to a specific amount of storage capacity;
• can serve a particular category of files;
• allows capacity utilization and workload to be measured independently;
• reduces pressure on the main NFT key issuance process.

This separation makes the infrastructure more resilient and allows individual areas of the platform to scale without rebuilding the entire system.

How the Allocated Storage Capacity is Used

Each Storage Contract is linked to a defined amount of capacity within the CT3 network. Once activated, the corresponding storage space is supplied by network nodes and used to store data uploaded through ct-3.cloud.

The allocated capacity may be used for:

• standard user files;
• corporate archives;
• automatic backups;
• long-term datasets;
• future CT3 products and applications.

Larger contracts can accommodate heavier files and more substantial flows of corporate or backup data. This allows the network to direct workloads to infrastructure segments with sufficient available capacity.

Storage Contract Economics

The commercial model behind Storage Contracts is based on the real use of CT3 infrastructure. The platform acquires storage capacity from node operators and provides it to ct-3.cloud customers at the market price of the storage service.

A participant finances the deployment of a new Storage Contract and the expansion of the network’s available capacity. Once launched, this capacity is used to store personal and corporate data, while the generated profit is distributed between the investor and CT3.

The financial performance of each contract depends on two main factors:

• the actual utilization of the allocated capacity;
• the margin between the cost of acquiring storage capacity and the price charged to end users.

Storage Contracts therefore allow participants to take part in the growth of CT3 infrastructure and potentially earn income linked to real demand for storage services. The more actively the allocated capacity is used, the greater the contract’s potential result.

On-chain transparency

The operation of each Storage Contract can be verified through the blockchain. Files stored within the allocated capacity are represented by NFT keys containing storage-related metadata.

The combined size of the files associated with these keys can be compared with the utilization figure displayed for the contract. Through the smart contract address, an investor can verify issued NFTs, collection activity, and the actual use of the capacity they helped finance.

This model makes it possible to independently verify:

• the number of keys created;
• the volume of stored data;
• utilization of the allocated capacity;
• activity within a specific Storage Contract;
• the relationship between infrastructure usage and profit generation.

For ct-3.cloud users, the experience remains unchanged: both existing and new NFT keys continue to be supported, and the transition to the new architecture requires no additional action.

About CT3

CT3 is developing a decentralized data storage infrastructure that combines independent nodes, the ct-3.cloud interface, NFT access keys, and blockchain verification.

Users upload files through ct-3.cloud, after which the data is distributed across network nodes. An NFT key is created for every stored object, confirming access rights and containing the relevant storage metadata.

Within this model, nodes provide physical storage capacity, CT3 manages data distribution and access, while individual and corporate users generate demand for storage services.

As the number of users and uploads increases, the network must continuously expand its available capacity. At certain times, demand growth may outpace the addition of new capacity from node operators. Storage Contracts allow CT3 to add new resources in a structured way and allocate them to specific areas of use.

The post CT3 Announces Dedicated Storage Contracts to Expand Decentralized Storage Infrastructure appeared first on CryptoPotato.

[PRESS RELEASE – Marbella, Panama, July 15th, 2026]

Finassets, a crypto payment gateway for businesses, announced an increase to its partner revenue share. The first-year referral rate rises to 40% of the processing revenue a referred merchant generates. From year two, the rate continues at 20% for five additional years while the merchant keeps processing, extending the total partner earning window to six years per referral, with the term extendable based on the merchant profile.

Payout speed, contract length, and dashboard visibility are among the key considerations affiliate marketers weigh when comparing crypto affiliate programs, and this update puts Finassets among the top crypto affiliate programs open to B2B partners.

A different model from trading-based programs 

Many crypto exchange affiliate programs and trading platforms base payouts on trading fees generated by active traders, tying affiliate income to short-term trading volume through a fixed commission plan or a minimum payout threshold. Finassets ties partner earnings to a merchant’s ongoing processing volume instead — a relationship that can continue for the full six-year term.

One agreement, six years of revenue share

1. Apply to become a partner. Submit an application and our team handles onboarding and sets clear terms from day one, with a personal referral link and dashboard account.
2. Finassets onboards the merchant. KYB, compliance, and integration are handled entirely by Finassets.
3. The partner earns. Revenue share is calculated per merchant and paid same-day, in crypto. The term can be extended based on the referred user profile.

A merchant referred through a partner’s affiliate link and processing $500,000 a month generates about $2,000 a month in processing fees at Finassets’ 0.40% rate. Here’s how that translates into partner earnings:

Based on a merchant processing $500,000/month at Finassets’ 0.40% fee. Illustrative; actual earnings depend on the merchant’s processing volume.

“Most cryptocurrency affiliate programs ask partners to keep generating referrals just to keep earning,” said Vitalijs F., CEO of Finassets. “We built this revenue share model so one merchant relationship can keep paying out for years, without additional marketing efforts from the partner after the introduction.”

Real-time visibility, reliable payouts 

The agent dashboard tracks referral volume and revenue share per merchant in real time, with a full transaction history for reconciliation and one-click withdrawals. Deposits are typically credited within about 30 seconds of network confirmation, and partners are supported by dedicated account managers who respond quickly. Payouts are same-day, in crypto. Finassets supports 70+ cryptocurrencies across its full product suite, the same infrastructure referred merchants use to process payments.

The affiliate program is open to eligible B2B participants in selected international markets, subject to Finassets programme terms and applicable jurisdictional requirements.

More information and the partner application:  https://www.finassets.io/en/affiliate-program/

About Finassets 

Founded in 2021, Finassets is a Panama-registered crypto payment gateway supporting cross-border and crypto-driven businesses across eligible markets. Finassets provides crypto invoicing, payment links, payment buttons, mass payouts, API integration, crypto checkout, and an affiliate program within a structured, transparent environment for crypto payment processing.

Website: https://www.finassets.io

The post Finassets Raises Affiliate Revenue Share to 40%, Becoming One of the Highest-Paying Crypto Affiliate Programs appeared first on CryptoPotato.

PI crashed 40% this week after a massive sell-off that drove it to consecutive all-time lows. However, it has rocketed by 10% since those lows, begging the question of whether the bottom is in.

PI Network (PI) Price Predictions: Analysis

Key support levels: $0.07

Key resistance levels: $0.10, $0.13, $0.16

PI Crashed to $0.07

PI just had one of the worst weeks in 2026 after the price lost support at $0.10. With this level turned into resistance, sellers rushed for the exits and sent the price into a nose-dive to $0.07, which became its latest record low.

With confidence gone, buyers had vanished. For example, in the past 10 days, only one day closed in the green. This shows that the sentiment is extremely bearish and the downtrend has entered a new phase where a bottom could be found much quicker.

More positive news came in the past several hours, with PI finally rebounding to $0.08 as of press time. However, it remains to be seen whether this is another dead-cat bounce.

Sell-Side Volume Exploded

As soon as the support at $0.10 was lost, sell volume began to pick up. This only made things worse and likely led to cascade liquidations that put even more pressure on the falling price.

While the sell pressure has decreased compared to yesterday, the day is not over, and this could still change. The price held above $0.07 and bounced to $0.08, but this could very well be just a temporary pause before new lows.

Momentum Indicators Are at Extremes

Due to heavy selling pressure, the momentum indicators have reached extreme levels. For example, the daily RSI is at 12 points, a level never seen before for this cryptocurrency. Extremes are also the place where bottoms are found.

Hopefully, this price action will bring about an end to the downtrend and allow PI to consolidate and confirm a bottom. If the support at $0.07 won’t hold, then buyers will likely retreat to $0.06 or even $0.05. The current resistance is at $0.10.

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