Cryptocurrency Posts
Crypto Briefing
FIFA President Infantino eyes expanding the World Cup to 64 teams by 2030, with major implications for fan tokens, NFTs, and sports crypto markets.
The post FIFA’s World Cup expansion to 64 teams could reshape crypto fan token markets appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Barclays upgraded Marvell Technology to Overweight with a $150 price target, citing AI data center demand for optical technologies and 46% revenue growth.
The post Barclays upgrades Marvell Technology to overweight, betting big on AI infrastructure demand appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Houthi threats against Saudi Arabia escalate as $900 million in crypto transactions traced to group-linked addresses raise regulatory concerns for Bitcoin
The post Houthis escalate threats against Saudi Arabia as crypto ties raise regulatory red flags appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
FanDuel co-founder Nigel Eccles pivots BetHog from crypto casino to AI dealer licensing with $10M Series A, as stablecoins dominate platform deposits.
The post FanDuel founder shuts crypto casino to focus on AI dealers appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Caspian Pipeline warns of oil flow disruptions after drone attacks. WTI reaching $110 in July 2026 at 2.9% YES.
The post Caspian Pipeline warns of oil flow disruptions after drone attacks appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Bitcoin Magazine
Bitcoin Magazine
Bitcoin Sentiment Is Turning Bullish — But It’s Too Early to Celebrate: Report
The Bitcoin bottom may be in — but don’t get your hopes up: It might struggle to go up anytime soon, according to one investment firm.
A Friday report from European asset management firm CoinShares said that investors last week threw fresh cash at Bitcoin — and other crypto — exchange-traded products, indicating a change in sentiment.
But other factors may hold digital asset markets from going higher, James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, wrote.
“We have said for some time that Bitcoin has probably reached, or is close to, its floor,” the report read. “But we see no significant upside potential from here.”
The report added that current macroeconomic headwinds, such as the US bombing Iran and rising oil prices, could see inflation go up again.
Bitcoin’s price was up earlier this week, hitting a seven-day high of $65,501 on news that inflation in the US was softer than expected. It has since erased those gains and was recently trading for $64,010.
The price of Bitcoin has typically done well on news that inflation is coming down because investors expect interest rates to come down. But Butterfill said that “a rate cut does not look probable at this stage.”
Bitcoin’s worst run on record
CoinShares’ data showed that investors pulled a total of $8 billion out of funds giving crypto exposure — “the worst run on record.”
Last week, though, things reversed when $287 million hit crypto funds, CoinShares said, with the data so far showing that this week looks likely to be another positive streak.
The price of Bitcoin has typically done well when US investors — previously excluded from crypto investing — have bought shares in exchange-traded funds approved in 2024.
The products — handled by the likes of BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale — allow more traditional investors or Wall Street institutions to buy positions in Bitcoin via shares that trade on stock exchanges.
Since BTC’s October all-time high of $126,080, crypto markets have faced a battering as those investors have fast cashed out of the funds. Bitcoin has struggled to make gains, especially after the US and Israel started bombing Iran, leading to a surge in the price of oil.
The leading cryptocurrency is now nearly 50% below its record.
“The dominant picture is that the current setup is prompting interest in adding positions, but caution prevails while sentiment remains broadly negative,” CoinShares added.
This post Bitcoin Sentiment Is Turning Bullish — But It’s Too Early to Celebrate: Report first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.
Bitcoin Magazine
Ocean Mining VP Jason Hughes: BIP-110 on Track to Fail as Miner Signaling Stays Below 1%
BIP-110 – My Notes to Miners
This is a guest post by Jason Hughes, VP of Development and Engineering at Ocean Mining. Opinions expressed are entirely his own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine. The article originally appeared on X.com and has been published with the permission of the author.
Let me start off by saying I’m not pro BIP110, and I’m not anti-BIP110. If it actually succeeds as something that gains true consensus within the network and ends up being enforced by a majority of the network… cool. If so, then we’ll go with it because the network has spoken and accepted it, and all nodes, including non-BIP110 nodes, will be pulled along for the ride. Unfortunately for proponents of the proposal, that simply isn’t currently the case by any measurable metric, nor does it appear to have a trajectory suggesting that will change, either.
There’s been a lot of misleading information about this whole thing, especially in the context of mining. A few quick key bullet points to briefly counter some hyperbole from proponents: BIP110 is NOT inevitable. It CAN fail. BIP110 can and will cause a chain split/fork in a minority hashrate situation. BIP110 is NOT without risk to miners choosing to adopt it. Miners not supporting BIP110 are not suddenly mining “invalid” blocks just because a proposal that isn’t yet adopted simply exists. You’re not a bad person or evil simply because you don’t like or support BIP110. (The fact that I feel the need to point out that last part is actually kind of sad…)
I was going to write a long post to help keep miners informed about things they need to remain aware of as this all plays out… before realizing I already did so months ago, as a document I authored that I had hoped could be put out as a miner education piece at OCEAN. Sadly, it never got published. So I went ahead and updated it, and well, here it is.
Again, keep in mind this was written months ago, intended to be as agnostic as possible in an effort to make it acceptable as a corporate post. That effort failed, so I’m posting it as a personal document today instead. As a miner making important decisions about your operations, you need to be aware of all of this without the sugarcoating and, frankly, outright misleading information coming from some of the BIP110 proponents. You must be vigilant and decide what’s right for you.
While there is certainly some misleading information from the opposition as well, nothing I’ve seen is nearly as egregious as the extremely premature claims of victory and accompanying hyperbole pushed by the BIP110 side. Summarizing my doc a bit, my personal suggestion to miners is this: Signal if you support BIP110. Do not signal if you don’t support BIP110 or don’t care. Either way, monitor the network on/around/before block 961632.
If you continue to see non-signaling blocks from major pools, you can be reasonably certain they’re not going to suddenly decide later to throw away millions of dollars’ worth of revenue to backtrack and signal for BIP110. If they do, by some chance, start to signal for BIP110, you should monitor that and consider switching as required to stay on the heaviest chain. The key point is that, realistically, only one side can win. It’s either BIP110 succeeds, and miners not on the BIP110 side fail, or BIP110 fails, and miners on the non-BIP110 side succeed.
Moving on, let’s dive into a small fraction of my rationale.
QUICK FACT: Between 7 and 15% of Bitcoin Nodes are signaling support for BIP110.
Depending on which centralized crawler you look at… no way to know for sure [how many BIP110 nodes are signaling support]. My personal private crawler puts this number much lower, but that’s a discussion for another day. Suffice it to say, I think it’s logical and correct to say that even 15% is not a majority.
“But Jason! UASF got Segwit activated with fewer nodes!”
Yep, because many miners, merchants, users, etc., all actually wanted Segwit. There was tremendous economic and community weight behind it. Without rehashing that whole thing, as plenty of resources on the topic from before BIP110 are worth a read, suffice it to say that BIP110 and Segwit activations are not quite comparable, as many have already pointed out. Segwit, for example, went into its UASF territory with around 1/3rd of the network’s hashrate already signaling support. With that kind of backing, the UASF to help push the MASF over the tipping point made a lot of sense. It doesn’t make sense here for BIP110.
QUICK FACT: 0.6% of blocks over the past 60 days have signaled support for BIP110.
[0.6% is a] pretty stark contrast to even Segwit’s low baseline support. Yes, I know it’s increased slightly in the past couple of weeks, but no new entrants. Just more clearly rented hashrate from one of the same small proponents.
Something to keep in mind is that mining BIP110 signaling blocks via DATUM on OCEAN carries virtually no risk to the miner up until the fork point at block 961632. The cost is negligible, as you’re effectively guaranteed to recoup rental costs, etc.
It’s awesome that the ability to do so exists, and I wouldn’t have it any other way… but just something to keep in mind when weighing signaling from such blocks in the grand scheme of things from a risk-reward, money-on-the-table perspective.
“But Jason! Miners have no incentive to signal until the last minute!”
I also see no evidence to suggest that this could be the case. Subjectively, I disagree with the premise, as it’s not in a mining pool’s best interest to destabilize the network in such a way. Part of the reason for early signaling and lock-in periods is to help coordinate upgrades in a smooth fashion. Waiting until the last minute negates that benefit entirely. I see no compelling rationale or upside to doing so.
Continuing on this, as part of my personal node monitoring setup, I specifically monitor nodes known to belong to various entities, such as other mining pools, exchanges, large lightning nodes, merchants, etc. A supermajority of which are monitored with explicit permission and confirmation/coordination.
QUICK FACT: All major mining pools I monitor are currently running some variant of Bitcoin Core v30 or v31 (except OCEAN).
Expanding on that, most [mining pools] have updated their nodes since the proliferation of BIP110’s release, even since the release of Knots 29.3. Additionally, it is known that many mining pools run modified versions of their node software to facilitate various requirements of their specific infrastructure. Such changes would need to be ported to a BIP110-compatible client, tested, evaluated, and deployed ahead of time. I currently see no evidence that this is the case currently.
As far as I can tell, the pools are aware but ignoring.
“But Jason! Miners don’t determine consensus! Nodes do! Otherwise, they’ll just cancel halvings!”
This is one of the funniest and most ridiculous arguments I’ve heard from the pro-BIP110 crowd. Comparing a consensus change that can be unilaterally enforced upon the network by miners and accepted by 100% of existing nodes (a soft fork), with a hard fork which no existing node will accept… is disingenuous at best. T
ightening rules (like BIP110): Soft fork, can be enforced by miners if they choose to do so. Loosening rules (like canceling a halving): Hard fork, can not be enforced by miners without effectively 100% buy-in from the entire network… which isn’t likely to happen. Comparing the two is, bluntly, just stupid.
“But Jason! If you don’t upgrade to the latest consensus rules, you’re insecure! You’ll lose funds! You’ll mine invalid blocks! You’ll [insert additional hyperbole here]!”
This would be true of a consensus change that has, well, consensus. While BIP110 has made a valiant effort to gain that consensus, it has yet to have any measurable majority at what is now arguably the 11th hour. Not in nodes, not in hashrate, not in the social layers (consensus.health has a cool visual there where you’ll find me in the middle).
If somehow BIP110 gains 51%+ of the network hashrate on/before block 961632… then, alright. It’s enforced, since as a soft fork a majority of miners can unilaterally enforce it in the absence of a fully adopted URSF (effectively a misnomer, as this would kind of be a hard fork).
“But Jason! It can’t gain consensus by already having consensus! You have to give it a chance!”
Firstly… no I don’t, even though I have. Second, it’s a rushed proposal that never had the time to even try and gain real consensus. It’s been 7 months since the release of the first BIP110 client. There’s ~3 weeks to go before “mandatory” signaling starts as of now (less by the time you read this). 90% of the time available has passed with no change in overall sentiment from any relevant players. If it hasn’t gained sufficient adoption in the past 7 months, it’s not likely to do so in the next 3 weeks.
“But Jason! CSAM! CSAM! Pedophiles! CSAM!”
I’ll be the first to say, even I personally overstated the risk here early on when Core proposed its OP_RETURN change. I personally expected something particularly egregious to hit the chain almost immediately, and to the best of my knowledge, that’s not yet happened. Could it still happen? Yeah, I suppose.
But considering from a technical perspective, byte-for-byte the same contiguous arbitrary data can provably end up stored in the current chain or the BIP-110 chain without much issue… this particular argument for BIP-110 falls pretty flat to me at this point.
Do I want CSAM in the chain? Of course not. Am I a pedophile if I don’t support BIP110? Also not.
Concluding Thoughts
I could continue to go on and on and on, but I’ll stop here. I’ve wasted enough time on this. I’m sure I’ve done plenty to annoy both sides of the BIP110 debate at this point, as I don’t adopt either stance. I’m sure I’ll catch flak from all angles simply for daring to speak my mind on it.
Overall, I mostly think it was silly to approach addressing a real problem (the OP_RETURN default change in Bitcoin Core) with the maximum anti-spam manifesto based soft fork proposal… which provably cannot stop spam, arbitrary data, etc. 
(Yes, I know, proponents will claim it’s not about spam… and will also make semantic arguments that it does stop data as well… neither of which appears to be correct.)
I’ll close with the concession that I could be wrong. I’m not Nostradamus, and I can’t accurately predict the outcome with 100% certainty. I can only go by what the data tells me, and so I give BIP110’s success less than a 5% chance of actually succeeding… and I consider that generous. You can take my opinions on this however you wish, but I highly recommend you don’t discount the actual data points, remain vigilant, and do what’s best for you and your mining revenue. Don’t be gaslit by either side of the debate, and make your own decisions.
Here’s a link to the same document linked above for ease of access.
This post Ocean Mining VP Jason Hughes: BIP-110 on Track to Fail as Miner Signaling Stays Below 1% first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Jason Hughes.
Bitcoin Magazine
SBI Holdings Takes Majority Stake in Singapore’s Coinhako After MAS Approval
SBI Holdings has completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Coinhako, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency platform, after securing approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
The Japanese financial group made the purchase through its subsidiary SBI Ventures Asset Pte. Ltd., which injected capital into Coinhako parent Holdbuild Pte. Ltd. and bought shares from existing shareholders. The transaction closed July 16, making Coinhako a consolidated subsidiary.
Coinhako operates through Hako Technology Pte. Ltd., holder of a Major Payment Institution license from MAS, and Alpha Hako Ltd., a crypto asset service provider registered with the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission.
The platform spent a decade building a customer base across Southeast Asia, a region SBI now positions as a base for its digital asset strategy.
SBI plans to combine Coinhako’s customer base, operational expertise, and regional network with its own financial services, technology, and global footprint. The company intends to expand a digital asset corridor that starts with Japan and Southeast Asia, and to develop services tied to its JPYSC yen-denominated stablecoin. SBI also flagged opportunities in tokenization, on-chain finance, and cross-border trading.
“Our group aims to create a global corridor for digital assets by connecting exchanges around the world, enabling investors worldwide to make optimal investments without being hindered by national borders or currency barriers,” Chairman Yoshitaka Kitao said. He described Singapore as a crucial region because its digital asset regulations are ahead of the curve.
Coinhako co-founder and CEO Yusho Liu called the deal a natural step. “For the past 10 years, we have built from the ground up Southeast Asia’s most trusted and legally compliant cryptocurrency platform in the world’s most advanced regulatory environment,” he said, adding that SBI’s backing gives the firm a stronger foundation.
SBI Holding’s crypto moves
The acquisition caps a run of crypto moves by the conglomerate, which holds more than 14 million users and $308 billion in assets under custody. In the past month, SBI led EDX Markets’ $76 million Series C, backed risk manager Gauntlet, launched JPYSC, and partnered with the Solana Foundation on an on-chain financial market in Japan.
In June, the group agreed to buy Tokyo exchange Bitbank for about $289 million, and this week it teamed with Ondo Finance to tokenize Japanese equities.
One limit remains: JPYSC does not yet support withdrawals to external wallets, which confines its use to SBI’s own platform.
This post SBI Holdings Takes Majority Stake in Singapore’s Coinhako After MAS Approval first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.
Bitcoin Magazine
Bitcoin Mining Giant Foundry Asks Miners To Vote on BIP-110 Soft Fork
Foundry Digital, the world’s leading Bitcoin mining pool operator, has said it will allow mining clients how the pool should signal on the BIP-110.
The Rochester, New York-based firm said Friday in an email to miners that they will be able to vote by using their hashrate — literally computing power — to vote either for or against the proposal.
BIP-110, or the Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 110, is a proposal aimed at temporarily restricting spam on the blockchain. If it goes through, a soft fork — a backward-compatible rule change — would take effect, restricting the amount of non-monetary data on the network.
“As miners, it’s important for you to have a voice and participate in the governance of the network,” Foundry said in its announcement.
“It’s one of the more actively debated proposals in Bitcoin right now, and miners play a direct role in whether it activates,” the company added.
Also known as the “reduced data temporary soft fork,” the proposal would cap the amount of arbitrary, non-monetary data that transactions can carry.
Its rules limit most new outputs to 34 bytes, restore an 83-byte limit on OP_RETURN outputs, and reject data pushes above 256 bytes.
Those for the proposal say that the soft fork would allow Bitcoin to function as pure peer-to-peer money.
But opponents, including Strategy founder Michael Saylor and Blockstream co-founder Adam Back, argue it converts a policy dispute into a consensus change that could invalidate fee-paying transactions.
Foundry’s process
Under Foundry’s process, each vote carries weight based on an account’s average 10-day hashrate on the pool between July 6 and July 15. Foundry said it will signal based on the majority of hashrate-weighted votes across the signaling period, which it expects to run through early August at block 961,632.
The company’s starting position is no. It said that until “Yes” votes cross 51% of voting hashrate, Foundry signals “No” with all of its blocks. A crossing of that threshold switches the pool to “Yes” with all of its blocks.
Foundry controls about a third of network hashrate, a share that makes its position consequential for the outcome. Analysts at BGeometrics identified decisions by Foundry and Antpool as capable of moving daily signaling into a meaningful range. A mandatory signaling window near block 961,632, projected for early August, will force the question before the activation timeline closes.
Accounts that do not respond count as “No” votes. Foundry said owners can change their choice while the window remains open, and that individual votes stay confidential, though aggregate results may be shared.
This post Bitcoin Mining Giant Foundry Asks Miners To Vote on BIP-110 Soft Fork first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo and Micah Zimmerman.
Bitcoin Magazine
Bitcoin Price Falls Under $63,000 on U.S.-Iran Strikes and Trump’s China Charge, but Onchain Data Points to Buyers
Bitcoin price fell below $63,000 on Friday, as a fresh wave of U.S. airstrikes on Iran and a new political dispute between Washington and Beijing pushed investors out of risk assets.
Bitcoin price traded near $62,800, an extension of Thursday’s 1.4% slide from $65,000, according to Bitcoin Magazine Pro data. The token slipped under its 50-day simple moving average, a gauge of near-term momentum that many traders watch.
The bitcoin price retreat tracked a broad decline across global markets. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 4% and entered a correction, a fall of more than 10% from its June 25 peak, as memory-chip maker Kioxia lost 16.1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 2%, while the Shanghai Composite fell 3.1% to an 11-month low.
Futures tied to the Nasdaq pointed to a decline of 1.6%, an echo of Thursday’s drop on Wall Street, where chip shares from Nvidia, Micron, Broadcom and Qualcomm came under pressure on fears that the AI rally has run past its earnings.
Bitcoin price, Iran escalations, and uncertainty in Washington
Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency, citing the Hormozgan province governorate, said U.S. airstrikes hit five bridges in the southern province.
A separate missile strike damaged the maritime control tower at Iran’s Chabahar port. WTI crude climbed near $79 a barrel, a rise close to 15% across five sessions, a move that revived concern about inflation and the path of interest rates.
A second front of uncertainty opened in Washington. President Donald Trump declassified intelligence reports that allege Chinese interference in U.S. elections and claimed Beijing obtained 220 million voter records, a threat he cast as a danger to democracy. China’s embassy denied the allegations.
The dispute itself carries little market weight, though traders fear it could strain ties before Trump’s September meeting with Xi Jinping. The Australian dollar, a proxy for China-linked trade, weakened against the greenback.
Bitcoin price market dynamics
Against that backdrop, some analysts argue the sell-off masks a market whose core drivers have changed little. Nicolai Sondergaard, a research analyst at Nansen, said the bitcoin price tape reflects macro data more than a geopolitical hedge.
“The inflation and liquidity channel is doing more work here than the geopolitical hedge narrative,” Sondergaard said. He pointed to the June CPI report released July 14, which showed headline inflation of 3.5% against a 3.8% forecast and a core reading of 2.6% against 2.9%. The dollar index sank to near 100.77, a multi-month low, and the 10-year Treasury yield eased to 4.57%.
The softer print reset Fed expectations. Odds of a rate hike at the July 28-29 meeting fell from above 40% to the low teens, according to CME FedWatch data.
“The FOMC meeting on July 28 to 29 is the actual binary,” Sondergaard said. “If the CPI data holds and the Fed signals a credible pivot path, the conditions for sustained ETF inflows are back in place.”
Onchain flows support his read. Spot bitcoin ETFs drew $510 million across three sessions this month, an end to a $2.73 billion outflow streak, with BlackRock’s IBIT in the lead. Nansen’s data shows large wallets held their ground through the strike.
“Net outflows hit -18.3 BTC in the strike hour, then reverted to a post-shock average of +0.67 BTC per hour, meaning buyers returned within the same session,” Sondergaard said.
Sondergaard framed positioning as constructive rather than fragile. Funding rates sat near zero, a sign that leveraged longs are not crowded, and smart-money long/short ratios ran at 1.58 with no rotation into stablecoins. Retail traders held a ratio of 1.79, a step ahead of the pros but in the same direction. Seven-day inflows concentrated in liquid staking, DeFi lending and decentralized exchanges, a risk-on allocation.
Sondergaard said the sequence rhymes with past shocks. “Prior Middle East escalations produced the same pattern: short-duration flush, accumulation resumes,” he said.
“MVRV sits at 1.205 with realized price at roughly $53,000 and the long-term holder cost basis around $49,900, which defines the structural floor,” Sondergaard said. “That is not the profile of a market running on geopolitical sentiment.”
At the time of writing, the bitcoin price is $62, 836.
This post Bitcoin Price Falls Under $63,000 on U.S.-Iran Strikes and Trump’s China Charge, but Onchain Data Points to Buyers first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.
CryptoSlate
Michael Saylor has entered Bitcoin's BIP-110 fight with a 110-point case against a temporary soft fork that would restrict certain arbitrary-data and script uses.
His intervention lands while live monitoring shows 0.89% signaling and the current difficulty period is already mathematically unable to reach the proposal's early-lock threshold.
Editor’s Note: BIP-110 proposes a one-year Bitcoin soft fork that would temporarily restrict certain arbitrary-data and script uses at the consensus level. Supporters argue the limits would reduce data-storage abuse and protect node resources, while critics warn that its mandatory-signaling path and rejection of transactions currently valid under Bitcoin’s rules could set a dangerous consensus precedent and increase the risk of a chain split.
The executive chairman of Strategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, said he shares supporters' desire to protect the network but believes “the proposed cure is more dangerous than the condition.”
His case favors neutral base-layer rules, hard consensus, open markets, and permissionless innovation. In an earlier post, he warned about the precedent of invalidating currently valid, fee-paying transactions.
Saylor's institutional weight raises the dispute's profile, but it gives him no special authority over Bitcoin consensus. What matters next is whether miners, enforcing nodes, and economic actors coordinate before the proposal's fixed block heights arrive.
One final ordinary early-lock period remains
The monitor recorded 11 signaling blocks among 1,236 tracked at 06:07 UTC on July 20, leaving 780 blocks and requiring 1,098 more signals to reach the 1,109-block threshold. Even if every remaining block signaled, the period would finish with only 791 signals.
The next 2,016-block period, heights 959,616 through 961,631, is therefore the final full chance to lock in through the ordinary threshold. Under the canonical BIP, that requires 1,109 signaling blocks, about 55%.
If that period fails, enforcing nodes require bit 4 from heights 961,632 through 963,647 and reject blocks that omit it. From the July 20 monitor tip and nominal 10-minute blocks, the mandatory-signaling window would run roughly from Aug. 8 to Aug. 22. Forced lock-in occurs at height 963,648, followed by latest-path activation at 965,664, around Sept. 5. Actual dates will move with block production.
Without broad support from mining pools, Bitcoin could split into competing histories. Nodes enforcing BIP-110 may reject blocks that other nodes accept, leaving exchanges and businesses to choose which chain governs deposits, withdrawals, and confirmations.
Mining pools now face a choice over which chain to signal for. Wallet developers need to check for exposed Taproot and Miniscript paths, while node operators decide whether to enforce BIP-110.
A durable split is not inevitable because miners could coordinate, enforcement could remain limited, or economic actors could converge on one history. Non-signaling does not amount to rejection. The version bit shows visible support, not why a miner stayed silent.
BIP-110's temporary rules would last 52,416 blocks, about one year after activation, while exempting inputs that spend UTXOs created beforehand. CryptoSlate previously covered the broader fork risk and the July operator deadline.
Saylor's entry now raises the profile, but the decisive next signals remain identifiable pool support, enforcement choices, and concrete exchange or wallet readiness plans.
The post Saylor joins Bitcoin’s BIP-110 fight as miners get one last chance to avoid forced signaling appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Bitcoin's return to positive exchange-traded fund flows is colliding with a deeper contraction in crypto-market liquidity, leaving its recovery vulnerable as oil prices climb and geopolitical tensions disrupt one of the world’s most important energy corridors.
Data from CryptoSlate shows that the recent inflows have helped Bitcoin stabilize near $64,000 after an eight-week investor retreat.
Yet stablecoin reserves continue to fall on major exchanges, limiting the capital available to sustain a breakout above the resistance that has capped the cryptocurrency for months.
That divide has left Bitcoin caught between improving sentiment and a market structure that could expose leveraged traders to a sharper decline if support near $60,000 gives way.
Oil above $90 threatens Bitcoin’s inflation relief
The macroeconomic conditions that helped Bitcoin recover are coming under renewed pressure as fighting between the United States and Iran disrupts shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude climbed to a one-month high above $91 a barrel as markets priced in the risk of prolonged interruptions to global energy supplies. The advance threatens to revive inflation concerns shortly after softer US price data eased fears that monetary policy would remain restrictive for longer.
On July 20, US Central Command said American forces completed their ninth consecutive evening of strikes against Iran at 10 p.m. Eastern time.
The operation targeted Iranian military command centers, air-defense and coastal-surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, communications networks and missile and drone launch positions, CENTCOM said.
The military described the strikes as part of an effort to reduce Iran’s ability to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners traveling through the Strait of Hormuz.
The economic fallout of these actions is already becoming visible in shipping data.
No liquefied natural gas tanker had crossed the strait since Thursday, while broader vessel traffic fell sharply over the weekend, data cited by Reuters showed. Only four vessels transited the waterway Sunday, down from eight the previous day, as tankers accumulated in the Gulf while waiting for conditions to improve.
The disruption creates a new complication for Bitcoin and other assets sensitive to global liquidity.
Recent US inflation reports had encouraged expectations that the Federal Reserve might have more room to loosen monetary policy or avoid further tightening. Lower rates and declining bond yields generally reduce the appeal of holding cash and fixed-income securities while supporting demand for risk assets.
Oil could spoil that relief. If energy prices stay high, transport costs may seep back into inflation and keep financial conditions tight, giving Bitcoin less room to run.
Simon-Peter Massabni, head of business development at XS.com, told CryptoSlate that the market is now facing opposing macroeconomic forces.
Softer inflation has reduced concerns about an extended period of restrictive policy, he said, but the surge in oil prices could quickly reverse those expectations if it begins feeding into consumer prices and broader inflation measures.
Bitcoin’s recovery is therefore relying partly on a disinflation narrative that the conflict around the Strait of Hormuz now threatens to disrupt.
ETF inflows return without a broad recovery in demand
Against that worsening macroeconomic backdrop, US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs have recorded two consecutive weeks of inflows, though the scale and distribution of the capital suggest demand remains narrow.
The funds attracted $75.67 million during the week of July 13 through July 17, following a stronger $197.40 million intake in the previous trading week, SoSoValue data showed.
The combined $273 million marked a reversal after eight consecutive weeks of withdrawals in which investors pulled more than $8 billion from the products.
The improvement has helped Bitcoin stabilize between $64,000 and $65,000, but it has recovered only a small fraction of the capital that left during the preceding selloff. The two weeks of inflows replaced roughly 3% of the money withdrawn during the eight-week losing streak.
Meanwhile, the current ETF rebound has also depended heavily on BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust.
IBIT attracted about $204 million during the latest week, exceeding the net inflow recorded by the entire US spot Bitcoin ETF market. Gains in BlackRock’s fund and Grayscale’s smaller Bitcoin Mini Trust were offset by withdrawals from competing products, including Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund.
That concentration makes the positive flow streak less convincing than the headline total suggests.
Massabni said the four consecutive sessions of inflows during the latest week showed that selling pressure was easing.
However, the dominance of a single fund suggests that demand has not yet spread across the broader ETF market.
A $2.3 billion stablecoin exodus deprives the market of critical dry powder
The limited ETF rebound has coincided with a deeper contraction in stablecoin reserves on major cryptocurrency exchanges.
Binance recorded about $1.55 billion in stablecoin withdrawals over the past 30 days, while reserves on Bybit declined by another $786 million during the same period, an analysis of CryptoQuant data showed.
The combined reduction of nearly $2.3 billion leaves less stablecoin capital sitting on the two platforms and immediately available to purchase Bitcoin or other digital assets.
Stablecoins serve as a central source of liquidity across crypto markets. Traders frequently hold tokens such as USDT and USDC on exchanges, allowing them to move into Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies without first transferring money through the traditional banking system.
A sustained decline in those reserves can weaken the market’s ability to absorb sales or support an extended rally.
Hence, this current contraction helps explain why Bitcoin has continued to struggle against the $60,000 to $65,000 range.
CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost pointed out that the cryptocurrency has spent nearly 165 days repeatedly testing the lower portion of that zone. Buyers have prevented a deeper decline, but those defenses have not produced enough follow-through demand to sustain a breakout.
Derivatives positioning exposes longs to a potential $57,000 flush
This lack of spot liquidity leaves the market highly vulnerable to the structural mechanics of the derivatives sector.
Data provided by analytics platform Alphractal highlights a dangerous concentration of leveraged positioning that could dictate the asset's next major directional move.
Analyzing six-month liquidation metrics, Alphractal identified that the primary liquidity pools for short sellers reside distantly between $82,000 and $84,000. Conversely, long positions are densely clustered near the current spot price, specifically between $55,000 and $57,000.
The massive concentration of leveraged longs directly at the $57,000 mark creates a gravitational pull for the market; should macroeconomic pressures or ETF outflows push Bitcoin below its current support, it could trigger a catastrophic wave of forced liquidations across multiple exchanges.
Despite these looming risks, some market analysts maintain a tentatively constructive outlook based on sentiment indicators.
BIT Official reported that its proprietary Greed & Fear Index is showing signs of improvement despite the overarching bearish positioning.
The firm noted that historically, when the 21-day moving average of this index turns upward, it has marked major tactical bottoms for Bitcoin, suggesting the $60,000 to $65,000 zone may hold as resilient support.
Similarly, independent Bitcoin analyst Michael Van de Poppe noted that the current period of historically low volatility is a necessary phase for establishing fundamental support.
He indicated that breaking and holding the $65,000 resistance level is the critical prerequisite for a broader market rally, while a failure to hold $61,000 would inevitably lead to a test of the $50,000 range.
Ultimately, the market's trajectory hinges on the persistence of external capital.
As BRN Research outlined in an emailed statement to CryptoSlate, the ecosystem simply cannot afford a return to negative institutional flows.
According to the firm, the $62,000 to $65,000 supply band now serves as the ultimate proving ground, and it will either act as the launchpad for a structural reversal or the ceiling that forces the market down to reckon with the $57,000 liquidation pool.
The post Bitcoin ETF inflows return, but $2.3 billion stablecoin liquidity drain leaves $57,000 exposed appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Powerloom, a blockchain network built for decentralized data infrastructure, is scheduled to halt permanently at 6:00 AM UTC on July 21. Users with POWER or other transferable assets still held on the network have under 24 hours to move them to Ethereum as of press time.
Currently, Powerloom's official wind-down page lists the bridge as active. The project's final reminder directed users to initiate a withdrawal through the official bridge and complete the claim on Ethereum before the cutoff.
The bridge only covers balances already available for transfer on Powerloom. Reward claims, unstaking, and node burns closed when mint.powerloom.network went offline at 6:00 AM UTC on July 16.
Powerloom says unclaimed rewards, staked POWER, or node-slot funds that still depended on those dashboard workflows can no longer be recovered. The remaining eligible group is holders with liquid on-chain balances; users waiting on claims or unstaking have no recovery path.
What disappears after the deadline
Powerloom says the chain will stop producing blocks at shutdown. Contracts and state on the network will become inaccessible, and the Arbitrum-based bridge will stop functioning because it will no longer have an operating source chain to connect to.
That dependency is the wider risk behind the deadline. A bridge works only while both sides of a transfer remain available. When one underlying chain is retired, the exit route can vanish even though the destination network continues operating. In Powerloom's case, balances left behind can become stranded with the chain's inaccessible state.
Ethereum-held POWER remains separate from the shutdown. Powerloom says its ERC-20 contract at 0x429F0d8233e517f9acf6F0C8293BF35804063a83 is immutable and will remain accessible on-chain. The deadline applies to assets and application state left on Powerloom, including balances that are not bridged in time. The POWER contract already deployed on the Ethereum network sits outside that deadline.
In a June 15 wind-down announcement, Powerloom's founders said they had concluded that the project lacked a sustainable operating model, continued ecosystem demand, and sufficient resources to support the network over the long term.
The founders stated,
“After a hard review of Powerloom’s path forward, I and Swaroop have decided to wind down Powerloom.
This is not the outcome we wanted. Powerloom began with a clear belief: that onchain applications should have access to reliable, verifiable, decentralized data infrastructure. Over the years, the team and community helped bring that vision through multiple phases—testnet, mainnet, snapshotter participation, data markets, validator infrastructure, and developer-facing products.
It is a bittersweet goodbye for both of us founders, and hopefully for some of the friends we made along the way. “
Before the wind-down, Powerloom had launched its decentralized sequencer-validator network and BDS data market, alongside snapshotter, validator, and developer-facing infrastructure.
Affected users now face a fixed deadline: move transferable assets to Ethereum and finish the claim before 6:00 AM UTC on July 21, or lose access when the Powerloom chain and its bridge stop.
The post Ethereum bridge users have 24 hours to exit before chain shuts down after just 5 week warning appeared first on CryptoSlate.
The UK's designation of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps took effect on July 17, creating a new criminal exposure for UK-linked people and businesses that receive or retain value supplied by or on behalf of the group.
Under the designation instrument, the IRGC became one of the first three bodies added to Schedule 6A of the National Security Act 2023.
The new section 17C offense can carry as much as 14 years in prison when a person obtains, accepts or retains a qualifying material benefit and knows, or in light of other matters known to them ought reasonably to know, that it came from the designated body.
The rules still leave some room for judgment. An Iran-linked payment is not automatically a crime, and a Schedule 6A designation does not itself trigger the asset freezes and dealing restrictions used under UK sanctions. The key questions are whether the value can be tied to the IRGC and what the recipient knew at the time. Freezing stablecoins would still require separate action from an issuer or another legal authority.
The law never mentions crypto assets, but its wording is broad enough to catch them. It covers money or anything of value supplied directly or indirectly, including through companies, which could bring stablecoins and other on-chain transfers within scope.
For an exchange, custodian, issuer, payments business or UK user, that makes wallet attribution and timing the operational problem. A blockchain network may settle an incoming transfer before the recipient can refuse it, and an address may be linked to a designated body only later.
The central questions become what was known about the wallet and counterparty, when it became known, and what happened to the value afterward.
The offense follows the value, not the payment rail
Section 17C(1) goes beyond payments made directly to someone. It can also apply when a person secures or accepts a benefit for someone else, or keeps a benefit already received. The key question is whether the benefit came from a designated body and whether the recipient knew, or should reasonably have known, about that link.
The words “by or on behalf of” and “directly or indirectly” matter in a market built around intermediaries. A payment need not arrive from a wallet labeled “IRGC” or from an entity using the group’s name.
The chain of provision can run through companies or other intermediaries. Yet an Iranian counterparty, an Iran-linked wallet or a crypto payment alone does not establish that the IRGC supplied the benefit. The prosecution would still need the designated-body connection and the required mental element.
The maximum sentence depends on the conduct. On conviction on indictment, a section 17C(1) offense involving obtaining, accepting or retaining the benefit carries up to 14 years and a possible fine.
The section 17C(2) offense of agreeing to obtain, accept or retain it carries up to 10 years and a possible fine. The Home Office announcement describes the regime generically as carrying up to 14 years, while the statutory text supplies that split.
Sending value in the other direction follows a separate statutory route. Section 17B covers conduct intended materially to assist a designated body in carrying out UK-related activities. It also reaches conduct likely to provide that assistance when the person knows, or ought reasonably to know from matters known to them, that it is likely to do so. Receipt and assistance are distinct offenses with distinct elements, and neither creates a blanket prohibition on Iranian crypto activity.
The law also preserves targeted protections. A financial benefit is excluded when it is reasonable consideration for goods or services and providing them is not itself an offense. Other provisions cover reasonable excuses for retention or information, qualifying legal obligations and public functions, and humanitarian activity conducted consistently with internationally recognized applicable principles and standards. Their application remains fact-specific.
On-chain settlement makes timing the hard part
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation’s cryptoassets threat assessment, which concerns sanctions rather than the new designated-body offence, says crypto firms cannot reject incoming blockchain transactions. It also notes that addresses may be attributed later and that analytics can identify historical direct or indirect exposure.
Those observations describe the same technical sequence that UK-linked recipients now need to consider. A deposit can settle before a custodian has a reliable identity for the sending wallet. New intelligence may then connect that address, or a cluster of related addresses, to a designated body after completion.
An initially unidentified receipt is not automatically criminal. The timeline instead becomes potentially important evidence.
A defensible record may need to show the transaction time, wallet risk data available then, counterparty information, when an attribution alert appeared, the basis and confidence for that alert, whether the value remained accessible, and the response after escalation.
Receipt and retention can also occur at different points. Network-level finality may prevent a recipient from unwinding the original transfer, while separate account or token controls can affect what happens next.
A custodian may be able to restrict account access, stop a later withdrawal, investigate the source or seek an appropriate consent route. The necessary response depends on the facts and on which legal regime applies.
The UK connection follows the money
Section 17C can apply to conduct carried out wholly overseas when the benefit is provided in or from the UK, when the actor is a UK person, or when the specified Crown connection exists. UK persons include UK nationals, individuals who live in the UK, bodies incorporated under UK law and unincorporated associations formed under UK law.
That reach brings more than regulated trading venues into the review population. UK-linked exchanges and custodians are the clearest examples because they receive and hold customer assets.
Payment processors, OTC desks, merchants and other businesses may facilitate or retain on-chain value. Some stablecoin issuers, depending on their token architecture and authority, can restrict later token use after an attribution. Ordinary UK-linked users can receive value too, subject to the same designated-body nexus and knowledge threshold.
The government’s impact assessment says the Act creates no new business reporting duty. It nevertheless considers businesses that receive, hold or transfer funds on behalf of a designated body and encourages existing suspicious-activity and consent processes. Applying the same logic to crypto goes beyond what the law explicitly requires.
Governance can affect the exposure. Under section 35 of the National Security Act 2023, an officer can face liability alongside a body when a Part 1 offense is committed with the officer’s consent or connivance, or is attributable to the officer’s neglect. Directors are not automatically responsible for every flagged wallet, but escalation ownership and documented follow-through now carry higher stakes.
Designation is separate from a sanctions freeze
Schedule 6A and UK financial sanctions perform different legal functions. The government factsheet says an organization listed only under sanctions is outside the designated-body offenses unless it is also designated for those offenses.
Adding a body to Schedule 6A does not itself trigger the asset-freeze, non-dealing and reporting duties that arise under financial-sanctions law. It also leaves stablecoin smart contracts unchanged. An issuer freeze depends on a separate sanctions obligation, another legal basis, or action taken under the issuer’s own controls.
CryptoSlate’s earlier coverage of Tether freezing 134 wallets illustrates that technical layer. The issuer used control over its token to freeze addresses in a sanctions context. The new UK question is different: whether a person accepted or retained a benefit tied to a designated body with the required knowledge, including when no issuer has frozen anything.
A sanctions-only workflow therefore leaves a gap. A firm may need to separate a Schedule 6A attribution alert from an OFSI asset-freeze match, then determine which legal and operational escalation paths apply.
One wallet can raise questions under both regimes, but the presence or absence of a sanctions freeze does not resolve section 17C liability.
Controls need an evidentiary timeline
For UK-linked crypto businesses that receive, hold, transfer or facilitate value, a practical response may be to review how existing controls preserve the chronology behind a decision.
The Act itself does not impose this crypto-specific checklist, but the offense and official crypto risk material support scrutiny of how a business:
- maps designated bodies, aliases and relevant counterparties separately from financial-sanctions lists;
- records the source, confidence and time of a wallet attribution;
- re-screens earlier deposits when reliable attribution changes;
- connects on-chain findings with customer, corporate and intermediary information;
- escalates uncertain matches without treating proximity to an Iran-linked wallet as proof; and
- documents decisions about access, retention, withdrawal and existing reporting or consent routes.
UK cryptoasset exchanges and custodian wallet providers already operate within an FCA anti-money laundering framework that expects proportionate transaction monitoring and internal escalation. Schedule 6A adds a separate potential criminal exposure to facts those systems may surface.
The targeted statutory protections do not amount to a generic safe harbor for due diligence, unsolicited transfers or network-level irreversibility. A suspicious activity report or a request through an existing consent process may form part of an escalation, but the official material does not present either as an automatic defense to section 17C. The analysis remains tied to the benefit, its connection to the IRGC, the facts known to the person, and the conduct that followed.
Recipients generally cannot reject or unwind an incoming blockchain transfer at network level, although separate account or issuer controls may restrict its later use.
The designation’s first crypto test will therefore center on whether UK-linked recipients and intermediaries can reconstruct a defensible account of attribution and knowledge as wallet intelligence changes.
Since July 17, that evidentiary timeline can sit behind criminal exposure measured in years even when the transfer itself settled in seconds.
The post UK turns delayed wallet identification into a 14-year criminal risk for crypto firms appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Grayscale wants to turn staking rewards from its Ethereum and Solana funds into cash payouts at least once a quarter, starting around Aug. 7. That would give investors a straightforward way to compare what each fund actually delivers.
In July 17 SEC filings for the Grayscale Ethereum Staking ETF and Grayscale Solana Staking ETF, the asset manager said it intends to amend both trust agreements. If executed, each trust would convert the ETH or SOL received as staking rewards into cash at least quarterly, and promptly distribute the proceeds after expenses not covered by the sponsor.
That requirement sets a minimum, not a fixed payment date or return. Grayscale could distribute more frequently, with each payout depending on the staking rewards actually received during the period. The filings say those amounts cannot be predicted with certainty, so the regularity applies to the process rather than the outcome.
From one payout to a comparable cadence
The proposed structure would make recurring a cash-distribution mechanism ETHE used earlier this year. On Jan. 6, the fund paid about $0.083 per share, or $9.39 million in total, from staking rewards earned between Oct. 6 and Dec. 31, 2025, and sold for cash, according to CryptoSlate's January coverage.
That January distribution showed staking rewards converted into cash for shareholders. Adding GSOL and a minimum schedule would create a like-for-like basis for comparing actual net cash payouts, disclosed expense drag and timing across Ethereum and Solana, rather than judging the structure from a single ETHE event.
The design also reflects the IRS framework for staking inside qualifying grantor trusts. Revenue Procedure 2025-31 allows a compliant trust to distribute net staking rewards consistently either in kind or after a cash sale no less frequently than quarterly. Grayscale's proposed agreements specifically choose cash, requiring the trusts to sell the native-asset rewards before passing the net proceeds to shareholders.
Cash distribution does not defer all tax consequences until payment. Assuming grantor-trust treatment, the ETHE and GSOL disclosures say U.S. holders would recognize their pro rata share of staking rewards as taxable income when the trust receives them, regardless of when cash is later distributed. Selling ETH or SOL to fund the payout can also produce a pro rata capital gain or loss.
The investor gain is comparability: a recurring cash record across two assets. The remaining tradeoffs are the variable rewards, expenses, conversion and holder-specific tax consequences behind each payment.
The post Grayscale is setting up a quarterly cash showdown between Ethereum and Solana staking appeared first on CryptoSlate.
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Russia's push to bring digital assets into international commerce is moving forward, though not as quickly as first planned. After passing its first reading back in April, the government's crypto bill has been revised and cleared for its next stage. Russia's State Duma committee has approved a revised cryptocurrency regulation bill for its second reading, removing a proposed requirement to declare crypto wallet addresses while adding provisions for crypto-funded investments and new transfer controls.
The headline feature for businesses is unchanged: crypto stays banned for domestic payments but is permitted for cross-border trade. Meanwhile, Bitcoin is flashing strength of its own, closing above key long-term support for a third straight week. Below, we cover both the regulatory update and what the BTC chart is signaling.
Where does Russia's crypto bill actually stand right now?
It has passed one of three required readings. The bill, formally titled "On Digital Currency and Digital Rights," passed its first reading with 327 of 340 deputies voting in favor. Since then it has been reworked. Russia's Financial Markets Committee approved the revised bill for its second reading, with Chairman Anatoly Aksakov saying the proposal removes wallet address reporting while strengthening legal protections for crypto owners.
Importantly, the second-reading floor vote hasn't taken place yet. The committee endorsement was announced through Aksakov's Telegram channel, and records on the State Duma website had not yet been updated since the bill cleared its first reading in April. Two Duma readings, Federation Council approval, and a presidential signature are still required before it becomes law.
What changed in the revised bill?
Several things. The updated draft no longer requires cryptocurrency holders to declare wallet addresses; instead, users would only need to report wallet balances and transaction volumes. Aksakov said the revision is intended to reduce the risk of sensitive information being exposed in ways that could be used against Russia.
New investment and control provisions were also added. Investors would be allowed to purchase Russian securities and Digital Financial Assets using cryptocurrencies, and licensed Russian brokers and asset managers could eventually gain access to approved foreign crypto exchanges, subject to additional conditions. Retail investment limits remain unchanged, while the bill introduces a new provision allowing authorities to delay certain large outbound crypto transfers for up to two days. The retail cap holds at 300,000 rubles annually.
Why does the cross-border trade angle matter?
Because it hands Russian companies a settlement route outside sanctioned banking channels. The bill maintains crypto's ban for domestic payments while carving out its use in foreign trade and, in the revised text, covering investor eligibility, consumer protections, cross-border crypto transactions, and the use of digital assets in Russia's financial markets. The scale is significant: Russian exporters and importers moving goods across an estimated $240 billion in trade volume and facing payment friction would gain a legal pathway to settle contracts in cryptocurrency.
Only major assets are expected to qualify. Only cryptocurrencies with market caps above 5 trillion rubles (around $66.6 billion) and a five-year trading history would be eligible, with Bitcoin and Ethereum the expected first approvals.
When will the law take effect?
Later than originally targeted. Finance ministry official Alexey Yakovlev told Interfax the bill is largely ready but unlikely to be adopted by the initial July 1, 2026 target, having been sent back for committee review before its second reading. No firm replacement date has been confirmed, so the timeline now hinges on how quickly the remaining readings and approvals proceed.
Bitcoin Price Analysis: Why s Bitcoin Price UP?
Bitcoin just delivered its highest weekly close in five weeks. More notably, $BTC closed above its 200-week moving average support for the third consecutive week — resilience that stands out given the Nasdaq 100 fell more than 4% over the same period. That divergence from tech equities at a major support zone is exactly what bulls want to see.
The technical picture is constructive. The MACD has turned bullish, the RSI bullish divergence remains valid, and the Stochastic RSI is showing positive momentum. The bullish engulfing candle from three weeks ago is also still holding — a pattern that has appeared three times this cycle, each time followed by a strong rally.
Which Bitcoin levels matter most?
The map is clean on both sides. Resistance sits at $67,000, then $83,000. Support sits at $58,000, then $49,000.
Two scenarios stand out. If BTC holds above $58K, it could break toward $67K and then $83K. If instead BTC closes below $58K on the weekly chart, the next meaningful support is around $49K. With price currently trading near $64K, the $58K weekly close is the line in the sand to watch.
Memecoins Sold for Profit: What Tax Rules Apply to Small Coins
Memecoins like Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, Pepe, or Bonk can experience significant price fluctuations in a short period. Those who invest early and sell after a strong increase may achieve a high profit. However, the same tax rules that apply to more well-known cryptocurrencies generally apply to memecoins as well.
It does not matter whether a coin has a high market value, is only trending for a short time, or was originally created as an internet joke. What matters most are the acquisition date, the sale date, and the total profit realized.
Memecoins are Taxed as Cryptocurrencies
The Federal Ministry of Finance treats cryptocurrencies in private assets as so-called other economic goods. This includes not only Bitcoin and Ether but also smaller altcoins and memecoins.
If an individual sells a memecoin for a profit within one year of purchase, it may be considered a private sale transaction under § 23 of the Income Tax Act. The tax name or technical design of the coin is usually less important than whether it was acquired and later sold.
Therefore, the basic tax rules also apply to coins that have a low market capitalization or are traded on decentralized trading platforms.
The One-Year Holding Period is Crucial
For privately held cryptocurrencies, there is generally a holding period of one year. If more than twelve months pass between acquisition and sale, any profit made is usually tax-free under current law. However, if the sale occurs within one year, it must be determined whether the profit is taxable.
Example:
An investor buys memecoins for 2,000 euros on January 10. On June 1 of the same year, he sells the coins for 7,000 euros. The profit, before considering any possible fees, is 5,000 euros. Since less than a year has passed between the purchase and sale, the transaction generally falls under the category of private sale transactions. If the sale were to occur after the one-year holding period, the profit would generally be tax-free in private assets.
Not Just Sales in Euros Matter
Many investors assume that only the payout to their bank account is tax-relevant. However, this is a common misconception. A disposal can not only refer to the sale of a memecoin for euros. Exchanging it for another cryptocurrency can also be treated as a sale for tax purposes.
Tax-relevant transactions can include:
- Selling memecoin for euros
- Exchanging memecoin for Bitcoin
- Exchanging memecoin for Ether
- Exchanging memecoin for a stablecoin like USDT or USDC
- Using memecoin for goods or services
For example, if someone exchanges Dogecoin for a profit in USDT, they realize the profit at the time of the exchange. The fact that the stablecoins remain on the crypto exchange afterward does not prevent potential tax liability. The Federal Ministry of Finance clarifies that exchanging one cryptocurrency for another is generally considered a disposal of the cryptocurrency given and an acquisition of the cryptocurrency received.
The Exemption Limit is 1,000 Euros
For profits from private disposals, there is an annual exemption limit of 1,000 euros. This is not a tax allowance. If the total profit from all private disposals in the calendar year remains below 1,000 euros, it remains tax-free. If the limit is reached or exceeded, the entire taxable profit can be assessed.
Not only individual memecoin sales are considered. The total profit from all private disposals in the relevant calendar year is generally what matters. In addition to various cryptocurrencies, other private disposals may also be included in the calculation under certain conditions. Therefore, investors should not consider each coin in isolation. The statutory exemption limit of 1,000 euros is derived from § 23 of the Income Tax Act.
Example of the Exemption Limit
An investor achieves the following results within a year:
- 700 euros profit with Dogecoin
- 450 euros profit with Pepe
- 200 euros loss with Shiba Inu
The total profit amounts to 950 euros. If there are no other relevant private disposals, the total profit remains below the exemption limit of 1,000 euros. However, if a total profit of 1,050 euros is generated, not only the amount above 1,000 euros is taxable. In principle, the entire profit of 1,050 euros can be tax-relevant.
How is the profit calculated?
The taxable profit is simply derived from the difference between the sale proceeds and the acquisition costs. Fees directly related to the transaction can also play a role in the calculation.
Simplified formula:
- Sale price
- minus acquisition costs
- minus deductible transaction costs
- equals taxable profit or loss
If an investor buys memecoins for 1,500 euros and later sells them for 4,000 euros, there is initially a profit of 2,500 euros. Fees for buying and selling can accordingly change the taxable result. The calculation becomes more complicated when coins are purchased in multiple partial transactions at different prices and later sold only partially.
Multiple purchases complicate allocation
Memecoins are often bought in several tranches. For example, investors may initially invest a small amount, buy more after a price drop, and later sell only a portion of their holdings.
It must then be clear which coins are considered sold and which acquisition costs and holding periods are assigned to those coins. The BMF letter on cryptocurrencies contains guidelines for determining and documenting such transactions. Depending on the case, individual assessments or simplified allocation methods may be relevant. It is especially important that the chosen and used calculation is documented in a traceable and consistent manner.
Those who hold the same memecoins on multiple exchanges and wallets should not mix their holdings without verification. Transfers between one's own wallets are generally not considered sales but must be documented to avoid being mistakenly classified as taxable transactions.
Losses from memecoin sales can be relevant
Not every memecoin increases in value. Many projects lose a significant portion of their market capitalization shortly after launch or are hardly traded anymore. If a memecoin is sold or exchanged at a loss within the one-year holding period, a tax-deductible loss from a private sale may arise.
Such losses can generally be offset against profits from other private sales. However, free offsetting against wages, business income, or capital gains is generally not possible. If losses remain, a loss carryback or loss carryforward may be applicable under legal conditions within this type of income. However, a mere price loss is not sufficient. As long as the coins are merely sitting in the wallet and have not been sold, the loss is generally not realized for tax purposes.
Worthless coins are a special case
Memecoins that have become practically worthless or can no longer be traded are particularly challenging. This applies, for example, after a rug pull, project abandonment, or removal of the token from trading platforms.
An economic total loss does not automatically lead to the tax office accepting a tax-deductible loss. It is often crucial whether there is actually a verifiable sale or another tax-relevant realization event. Sales at a very low price, token swaps, abandoned projects, and technically inaccessible coins should therefore be examined individually. Especially for larger amounts, tax advice may be advisable.
Airdrops and gifted memecoins require special examination
Memecoins do not always enter the wallet through a traditional purchase. Some investors receive coins through airdrops, promotions, community rewards, or free token distributions. In such cases, the tax treatment cannot be assessed solely based on the rules for a normal purchase. It must be examined, among other things, whether taxable income arose at the time of receipt and what value can later be set as acquisition costs.
The start of the holding period may also depend on the specific circumstances. Therefore, investors should document when and for what reason they received the coins and what market value they had at that time.
Commercial trading may be taxed differently
The rules described primarily apply to occasional sales from private assets. In cases of extensive, systematic, and permanently profit-oriented activities, a commercial activity may exist. A high number of trades alone does not automatically lead to a business operation. The overall picture of the activity is always decisive.
A commercial classification can have significant consequences. These include, among other things, different profit determination rules, potential trade tax, and the loss of tax-free sales after the one-year holding period. Those who operate automated trading systems, manage third-party capital, consistently act like a professional trader, or additionally offer extensive services related to trading should have their classification examined early.
What documents investors should secure
With memecoins, complete documentation is particularly important. Small coins are often traded on multiple exchanges, through decentralized platforms, or directly via wallets. Some projects or trading venues disappear shortly after launch.
Therefore, investors should secure the following as soon as possible:
- Date and time of each purchase
- Number of coins purchased
- Purchase price in euros
- Cryptocurrency used in an exchange
- Date and value of each sale or exchange
- Transaction and network fees
- Exchange statements and CSV files
- Wallet addresses and transaction hashes
- Proof of transfers between own wallets
- Information on airdrops or gifted coins
- Exchange rates and price sources used
Screenshots alone are often not sufficient but can be helpful as a supplement. Complete transaction histories, blockchain data, and traceable calculations are better. The BMF explicitly emphasizes the obligations to cooperate and record income from cryptocurrencies in its letter from 2025.
Small coins do not automatically mean small tax amounts
The term memecoin can be misleading, as it can lead to significant taxable amounts. Early buyers can achieve profits that are significantly above the exemption limit during strong price increases. The tax office does not fundamentally distinguish whether a project is serious, technically innovative, or merely temporarily popular. Profits from speculative coins can also be taxable. Therefore, investors should check before selling when the coins were acquired and what tax consequences a sale or exchange could trigger.
Conclusion
For memecoins, the same tax rules generally apply in private assets as for other cryptocurrencies. If the sale or exchange occurs within one year after purchase, the profit may be taxable. After the one-year holding period, the profit is generally tax-free under current law.
Moreover, exchanging for Bitcoin, Ether, or stablecoins can already be considered a sale. Additionally, investors must observe the annual exemption limit of 1,000 euros for all private sales.
Especially for small and short-term traded coins, comprehensive documentation is crucial. Exchanges can close, tokens can disappear, and historical price data can sometimes be difficult to obtain. Those who secure purchases, sales, fees, and wallet transfers early can make their later tax return significantly easier and more traceable.
Bitcoin just went through one of its roughest stretches in years. After starting 2026 above $93,000, BTC bled through the first half of the year and dropped roughly 20% in June alone, sliding to around $58,000 on July 1 — its lowest level in more than 21 months. It even closed a full week below its 200-week moving average for the first time in about four years, a line that has historically only broken during deep bear phases.
So why is anyone talking about altcoins right now? Because the market has since steadied, with $BTC clawing back toward the $60,000–$65,000 zone, and because July has historically been one of Bitcoin's stronger months — green in 9 of the last 13 years with an average return north of 7%. If that seasonal pattern plays out and Bitcoin turns its recent low into support, capital tends to rotate down the risk curve into altcoins. That's where the bigger percentage gains usually show up.
This article focuses on five altcoins that fit three strict filters: a market cap under $2 billion (room to grow), a price under $10 (no psychological "too expensive" barrier), and genuine, demonstrable utility (not just hype). Every price and market cap below reflects early-July 2026 levels and will move — treat them as a snapshot, not a promise.
A necessary reality check first: this is a conditional setup, not a confirmed bull run. Bitcoin is still trading below major moving averages, spot ETFs saw record outflows in June, and several banks have cut their targets. Small-cap altcoins fall harder than Bitcoin when the market turns risk-off. Everything below assumes the recovery continues — if BTC loses its recent lows instead, these coins would likely drop faster than the market. Position accordingly.
Why do altcoins sometimes outperform Bitcoin?
When Bitcoin is falling or uncertain, money hides in BTC or leaves crypto entirely. But when Bitcoin stabilizes and confidence returns, traders start hunting for higher returns, and that capital flows into altcoins. Because these projects have far smaller market caps than Bitcoin, a relatively small amount of new money can move their prices sharply — the same dynamic that makes them fall harder on the way down. This rotation is what people mean by "altseason," and it typically favors coins with real usage and a clear story, not just the biggest names.
1. Render (RENDER) — decentralized GPU power for the AI boom
- Price: ~$1.48
- Market cap: ~$768 million
- Sector: AI / decentralized compute (DePIN)
Render connects people who need heavy graphics and AI computing power with those who have spare GPUs to rent out. As demand for AI training and rendering explodes, decentralized compute networks are one of the clearest "picks and shovels" plays in crypto. Render recently expanded its network capacity significantly through a governance proposal that added tens of thousands of GPUs via a new subnet, directly boosting what the network can handle. With AI infrastructure being one of the hottest narratives heading into the second half of 2026, Render sits right in the middle of it — and at under $1B, it has room to run if that theme keeps attracting capital.
2. Ondo (ONDO) — bringing real-world assets on-chain
- Price: ~$0.35
- Market cap: ~$1.7 billion
- Sector: Real-world asset (RWA) tokenization
Ondo is a leader in tokenizing real-world assets — think U.S. Treasuries, stocks, and ETFs turned into on-chain tokens. It has built serious institutional credibility, with partnerships and pilots involving names like BlackRock, JPMorgan, and Mastercard, and its platform now spans hundreds of tokenized equities. RWA is widely seen as one of the most durable long-term narratives in crypto because it connects blockchain to trillions of dollars in traditional finance. The one thing to watch: Ondo has significant token unlocks scheduled through 2028, which can add selling pressure even when fundamentals are strong.
3. Injective (INJ) — the finance-focused Layer 1
- Price: ~$5.03
- Market cap: ~$504 million
- Sector: DeFi Layer-1 blockchain
Injective is a blockchain built specifically for financial applications — decentralized exchanges, derivatives, prediction markets, and lending. It offers fast, low-cost transactions and a fully on-chain order book, and it's interoperable with major chains like $Ethereum and $Solana. With one of the smaller market caps on this list (under $500M) but a mature, working ecosystem and over a billion transactions processed, Injective is the kind of established-but-undervalued project that can move fast if DeFi activity picks back up in a recovery.
👉 Compare the best exchanges to buy INJ and other altcoins in our broker comparison.
4. Kaspa (KAS) — one of the fastest proof-of-work networks
- Price: ~$0.027
- Market cap: ~$766 million
- Sector: Layer-1 (proof-of-work, now programmable)
Kaspa is a proof-of-work Layer 1 built on its GHOSTDAG protocol, designed for extremely fast block times and high throughput. Its big recent catalyst is the Toccata hard fork (activated June 30, 2026), which added native smart contracts and token support — transforming Kaspa from a pure payments chain into a programmable one. That upgrade opens the door to a whole new wave of apps and developer activity. Kaspa also had a fair launch with no pre-mine and its emissions are winding down toward zero, which reduces future dilution — a rare structural positive among small-caps.
5. XTB-listed majors as your recovery anchor
- Sector: Diversified exposure
Not every allocation in a recovery needs to be a small-cap moonshot. Pairing the higher-risk picks above with exposure to established assets — and using a regulated platform — is how experienced traders manage the downside if the recovery stalls. If you want to trade crypto-related instruments alongside stocks and ETFs on a regulated, MiCA-era-compliant broker, XTB is one option worth reviewing.
👉 Trade on a regulated platform: Open an account with XTB.
Which altcoin is the best buy in July 2026?
There's no single "best" — it depends on which narrative you believe in most. If you're betting on AI, Render is the cleanest exposure. If you want the most durable long-term story, Ondo and RWA lead. If you want a small, established DeFi network with room to grow, Injective stands out. And if you're drawn to a freshly upgraded, fair-launched Layer 1, Kaspa just became a lot more interesting. The smart move for most people is diversification across narratives rather than betting everything on one coin.
Crypto is closing the week in cautious green after a whipsaw few days. A softer-than-expected inflation print early in the week pushed Bitcoin briefly above $65,000 and Ethereum over $1,900, before a sixth straight day of U.S. airstrikes against Iran pulled risk assets back down. As of now, the majors are holding modest weekly gains, but the market remains firmly below where it started 2026.
Here's what moved this week and what to watch next.
Where are crypto prices right now?
As of this weekend, here's the snapshot for the majors:
- Bitcoin ($BTC): ~$64,300, up roughly 3.3% on the week but still down around 27% year-to-date
- Ethereum ($ETH): ~$1,860, the standout performer of 2026 with a positive YTD near +40% while the rest of the majors sit in the red
- $XRP: ~$1.14, the most muted weekly move among the majors, holding just above the $1 support level
- Solana ($SOL): leading the majors on the week with gains near +5%, trying to reclaim its previous trading range
- $BNB: ~$610, up over 1% on the day
Bitcoin dominance sits around 57%, and total 24-hour market volume is hovering near $36 billion. Sentiment has recovered from June's "Extreme Fear" lows but remains fragile.
What drove the market this week?
Three forces defined the week. First, a softer inflation report early in the week reignited hopes of a less hawkish Fed, sparking the mid-week surge that briefly took Bitcoin over $65K. Second, geopolitics reasserted itself — a sixth day of U.S. airstrikes against Iran, with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed and oil prices climbing, dampened appetite for risk-based assets like crypto. Third, ETF flows kept whipsawing: after June's record $4.5 billion in net outflows — the worst month on record for U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs — early July saw flows partially reverse, and the market is watching closely for the first sustained "consecutive net inflow week" that many analysts see as the signal to re-engage.
Ethereum continued to quietly outperform. Analysts point to ETH's historical tendency to lead broader crypto recoveries, and its technical setup — having reclaimed key moving averages while pressing toward 100-day EMA resistance near $1,944 — looks stronger than Bitcoin's right now.
Why is Bitcoin still underperforming?
The short version: Bitcoin's 2026 pain hasn't come from crypto fundamentals — it's come from flows and macro. ETF outflows removed a large structural source of demand, a hawkish Fed under Chair Kevin Warsh kept the dollar firm, and capital rotated into AI stocks for much of the year. Warsh's June meeting delivered an unambiguously hawkish message, with the dot plot now pointing toward a possible hike in 2026 rather than a cut. Until ETF flows turn durably positive, Bitcoin's biggest structural bid remains a swing factor rather than a tailwind.
What to expect next week
The calendar is dominated by one event: the Federal Reserve's July 28–29 FOMC meeting. Markets are now pricing a meaningful probability of a rate hike, a stark shift from the rate-cut expectations that carried into the year. This meeting is widely viewed as the decider for whether the recent bottom holds or another leg lower opens up.
Key things to watch:
- The Fed meeting (July 28–29): the single biggest catalyst. A hawkish hold or hike keeps the dollar elevated and pressures crypto; any dovish surprise could be the relief catalyst risk assets are waiting for.
- ETF flows: watch for a sustained multi-day inflow streak — that's the signal many institutions want before re-engaging.
- Key Bitcoin levels: support around $58,000 and resistance near $63,800–$65,000. Holding above $61,000 keeps the recovery case alive; a clean break above the 100-day EMA opens the door toward the $68,000–$70,000 zone.
- Ethereum: a break above ~$1,944 resistance would confirm ETH's leadership narrative.
- Geopolitics: developments around Iran and the Strait of Hormuz remain a live risk-off wildcard that can override the technical picture at any time.
Expect range-bound, headline-driven trading in
Federal prosecutors have charged a 21-year-old Florida resident and student, Zyaire Wilkins, over an alleged scheme that hid crypto-stealing malware inside video games uploaded to Steam. Once victims downloaded and installed the games, the malware quietly harvested passwords and personal data and drained their crypto wallets. On Tuesday, the FBI arrested Wilkins, and on Wednesday prosecutors accused him and a number of unnamed co-conspirators of hacking crimes.
What actually happened on Steam?
According to a federal criminal complaint, Wilkins and his alleged partners published multiple malware-laced games over roughly two years. Over the past two years, Wilkins and his partners allegedly published several malware-laden video games on Steam, including BlockBlasters, Dashverse, Lampy, Lunara, and PirateFi. Some reporting on the broader FBI investigation lists additional titles including Chemia, DashFPS and Tokenova.
The games weren't broken shells — they were built to pass as the real thing. All the games were designed to look legitimate, to the point that players could install them and play them, but they all contained malware. That's what made the operation effective: victims had no obvious reason to suspect the title they were playing was siphoning their credentials in the background.
How much crypto was stolen?
The numbers are significant for a scheme run through consumer gaming titles. Using that malware, says the FBI, Wilkins and his accomplices infected around 8,000 victims, and then hacked around 80 cryptocurrency wallets to steal at least $220,000 worth of crypto. The alleged campaign ran between May 2024 and February 2026.
The infected games were pushed hard across social channels. The FBI said the group promoted the games on Discord, Telegram, X, and LinkedIn while using bots to identify users with large cryptocurrency holdings and send targeted messages encouraging them to install the games. In other words, the operation didn't just wait for random downloads — it appears to have deliberately hunted high-value crypto holders.
How did the FBI track him down?
This is where the case gets almost comical. Investigators followed the money out of the scheme's Bitcoin wallet and into gift cards. Investigators put a name to the scheme by following stolen Bitcoin to more than 150 gift cards, most of them spent on Uber Eats.
From there, the trail led straight to Wilkins' door. A subpoena to Uber matched the cards to an account with deliveries at Wilkins' family home and his addresses at the University of West Florida. When agents searched the North Lauderdale residence, they seized several devices and three cryptocurrency wallet seed phrases, one belonging to a Monero wallet. The complaint also notes his crypto history: Wilkins' transaction history showed $382,000 in cryptocurrency sent or received, per the complaint.
What charges does he face?
Wilkins was arrested Tuesday and charged with conspiracy to obtain information by computer for private financial gain — a count that carries up to a decade in prison. The case is being prosecuted in Seattle, near the Washington headquarters of Steam owner Valve. It's the first arrest tied to the FBI's broader Steam malware investigation, which the bureau went public with back in March. Wilkins' attorney has not commented on the allegations.
Decrypt
Plus, a selloff in Oil has markets looking green into the Monday open. And PUMP is leading all alt movers on the week at a surprising time.
The Strategy chairman argued that the soft fork is a 'bad idea,' warning that it would cause more harm than the problem it aims to solve.
OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Sol or Anthropic's Claude Fable 5: Which one is right for you? The answer depends on your needs. Here's our review.
ECB board member Piero Cipollone laid out the three-layer threat banks face from digital payments, and pitched the digital euro as the only structural answer.
Input Output is handing its core infrastructure to outside teams as ADA gets a lift from an imminent protocol upgrade.
U.Today - IT, AI and Fintech Daily News for You Today
XRP Ledger recovering in most important metrics, but it's not yet clear if price is going to follow.
Bitcoin accumulation has surged significantly among large wallet holders, while mid-sized holders are doing the opposite, aggressively selling off their holdings.
DOGE co-founder defends Dogecoin's security as discussion around merge mining continues.
Shiba Inu will most likely face more pressure as investors are back at pushing more funds to the market.
As miners chase AI profits, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong reveals why global inflation fears and rising deficits will keep driving Bitcoin’s price higher.
Blockonomi
TLDR
- Stock index futures posted gains Monday ahead of critical earnings reports from major technology companies
- Tensions between Washington and Tehran intensified over the weekend following Iranian strikes on US allies in Kuwait
- Crude oil retreated from earlier highs after Tehran indicated willingness to maintain diplomatic channels through intermediaries
- Key earnings releases expected from Alphabet, Intel, IBM, and Tesla throughout the week
- Bitcoin declined 0.8% to $64,187, with Treasury yields ticking modestly higher
Equity futures in the United States advanced Monday morning as market participants prepared for a critical week of technology sector earnings releases. The gains materialized despite heightened military confrontation between Washington and Tehran during the weekend period.
Futures contracts for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%, while the S&P 500 futures advanced 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed approximately 0.4%.
The three primary equity benchmarks experienced declines during the previous week, pressured by significant selling in semiconductor manufacturers and technology firms associated with artificial intelligence development.
Technology Giants Set to Report Results
Market observers are closely monitoring upcoming financial results from Alphabet, Intel, IBM, and Tesla, scheduled for release this week. Shareholders are eager to determine whether substantial investments in AI infrastructure are translating into meaningful revenue growth.
The artificial intelligence narrative has been the primary catalyst driving equity performance in recent months, though multiple sector rotations have left traders seeking renewed evidence that the investment thesis remains viable.
According to Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid, the previous week served as a stark reminder of “significant unresolved issues” that could pressure markets, especially amid reduced trading volumes typical of the summer season.
Middle East Conflict Impacts Market Sentiment
Military confrontation between Washington and Tehran intensified during the weekend period, marking the ninth consecutive day of American military operations. Iranian forces responded by launching strikes against American allies throughout the region, including targets in Kuwait. US Central Command confirmed that two American service members were killed when Iranian forces attacked a military installation in Jordan on Friday.
Crude oil prices initially surged following the developments but subsequently retreated. Tehran communicated its intention to maintain diplomatic engagement with Washington through third-party mediators, a signal that markets interpreted as preserving opportunities for negotiated solutions.
Brent crude futures were recently quoted around $86.46 per barrel, substantially below the elevated levels observed during April and May. West Texas Intermediate futures remained relatively stable near $81.74.
Energy market participants appear to be considering scenarios beyond potential disruptions at the Strait of Hormuz, with alternative transportation corridors for petroleum exports under evaluation.
The US dollar index remained unchanged against major global currencies. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield increased by one basis point to 4.56%.
Bitcoin experienced a 0.8% decline during the preceding 24-hour period, settling at $64,187. The digital asset frequently correlates with broader risk appetite, and its modest downturn reflected measured caution among investors entering the new trading week.
E-Mini Nasdaq 100 futures contracts showed gains of approximately 1%, while E-Mini S&P 500 futures increased roughly 0.55%. E-Mini Dow futures registered gains of about 0.42% during the pre-market session.
Attention now shifts decisively to corporate earnings. The performance metrics delivered by Alphabet, Intel, IBM, and Tesla during this reporting period could establish market direction throughout the remainder of the summer months.
The post Stock Futures Gain as Markets Brace for Major Tech Earnings Week appeared first on Blockonomi.
Key Highlights
- Anchorpoint, supported by Standard Chartered, is finalizing the official HKDAP rollout in Hong Kong.
- The stablecoin will feature complete one-to-one reserve backing with Hong Kong dollars.
- Successful Ethereum mainnet trials validated HKDAP’s issuance and transaction functions.
- Regulatory framework mandates segregated reserve holdings and continuous monitoring.
- The project reinforces Hong Kong’s vision for compliant digital payment infrastructure.
Anchorpoint, with backing from Standard Chartered, is gearing up to deploy HKDAP in Hong Kong by late July. Industry sources suggest the firm will make a formal announcement once all regulatory and operational requirements are satisfied. This deployment represents a significant milestone for Hong Kong’s licensed stablecoin sector under its evolving digital asset regulatory structure.
Regulatory authorization enables HKDAP deployment
The fintech company is moving forward with HKDAP following receipt of one of the territory’s inaugural stablecoin issuer authorizations in April. Anchorpoint operates with financial support from Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), HKT, and Animoca Brands. The forthcoming announcement will signal the shift from regulatory licensing to active market issuance.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (MOU) granted Anchorpoint authorization under the Stablecoins Ordinance during the first quarter of this year. The regulatory regime mandates that issuers maintain comprehensive reserve coverage and robust custodial arrangements. HKDAP will debut under explicit regulatory standards designed for fiat-pegged digital currencies.
Anchorpoint has confirmed that each HKDAP token will be entirely supported by Hong Kong dollar reserves. These reserves will be maintained in separate accounts that meet all regulatory mandates. The oversight framework demands ongoing reserve administration, transparent reporting, and persistent regulatory scrutiny throughout the token’s lifecycle.
Blockchain testing validates commercial readiness
Before preparing for market launch, Anchorpoint executed an Ethereum mainnet transaction test in May. The trial included licensed digital asset platform OSL Group and trading venue PantherTrade. Furthermore, participants successfully completed token creation, transfer operations, and settlement using production-grade blockchain systems.
The trial demonstrated that HKDAP operated effectively on Ethereum outside of any regulatory testing environment. Participating entities verified both the payment mechanism and compliance architecture throughout the exercise. As a result, the initiative advanced toward full market deployment after technical validation.
Anchorpoint chose Ethereum due to its extensive compatibility with digital asset infrastructure. HKDAP can integrate with established wallet providers, trading platforms, and decentralized finance protocols. The organization also plans to uphold compliance with Hong Kong’s licensing standards while functioning on the public blockchain network.
Territory strengthens regulated digital currency ecosystem
Anchorpoint has previously outlined a phased business-to-business-to-consumer deployment model for HKDAP ahead of mass market availability. The organization plans to broaden distribution incrementally following the initial commercial phase. Meanwhile, this gradual approach enables operational validation before extensive adoption throughout payment networks.
Hong Kong is actively building a regulated marketplace for digital payment instruments tied to the local currency. The Stablecoins Ordinance defines requirements encompassing reserve composition, user safeguards, and continuous regulatory supervision. Officials seek to establish a structured framework for authorized stablecoin providers operating within the region.
The anticipated deployment places HKDAP among the first regulated Hong Kong dollar stablecoins accessible under the updated regulatory system. Standard Chartered-backed Anchorpoint now appears positioned to initiate the subsequent phase of its authorized digital asset initiative. Besides facilitating compliant blockchain-based transactions, HKDAP also demonstrates Hong Kong’s comprehensive commitment to advancing its licensed digital financial infrastructure.
The post Anchorpoint Prepares to Deploy HKDAP Stablecoin with Standard Chartered Support appeared first on Blockonomi.
Key Highlights
- Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3 and Alibaba’s Qwen3.8 Max are competing with leading American AI systems across performance metrics
- Alibaba shares surged as high as 6% in Hong Kong trading; Tencent climbed 4% during Monday’s session
- South Korean KOSPI index dropped 4.5% as market participants shifted capital from semiconductor equities to Chinese technology platforms
- Goldman Sachs analysts indicate China’s open-source AI systems have achieved a “critical point” enabling worldwide adoption
- At $3 per million input tokens, Kimi K3 represents the highest-priced Chinese model to date, approximating 60% of Claude Opus 4.8’s cost structure
A pair of newly unveiled Chinese artificial intelligence systems are creating significant ripples throughout international financial markets, prompting investors to reallocate capital from chip manufacturers toward Chinese technology companies.
Alibaba offered a preview of Qwen3.8 Max, featuring 2.4 trillion parameters, which the corporation positions as trailing only Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5. Meanwhile, Beijing-headquartered Moonshot AI introduced Kimi K3, an open-weight architecture with 2.8 trillion parameters that achieved a score of 57 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index.
Qwen3.8 is launching and going open-weight soon!
With a massive 2.4T parameters, this model is continuously evolving. We believe it’s one of the most powerful model available today, compatible to leading frontier AI models , second only to Fable 5.
You don't have to wait to… pic.twitter.com/JS3ID73IYS
— Qwen (@Alibaba_Qwen) July 19, 2026
Kimi K3 positioned itself alongside Claude Fable 5 and GPT-5.6 Sol in industry rankings, while outperforming all competing systems in front-end development tasks during blind Arena evaluations. Moonshot AI temporarily suspended accepting new subscribers following the announcement due to overwhelming interest.
Alibaba equity appreciated by up to 6% during Hong Kong trading Monday. Tencent registered a 4% increase. The Hang Seng Tech Index advanced 4%, while the comprehensive Hang Seng Index posted gains exceeding 2%.
Alibaba Group Holding Limited, BABA
Alibaba appreciated approximately 4% during U.S. premarket hours, while Baidu advanced 3.8%.
Major Technology Firms Stand to Gain
Alibaba and Tencent both maintain equity positions in Moonshot AI. Alibaba secured a 36% ownership interest through a February 2024 financing round, with Tencent also participating as an investor.
Bernstein research analysts indicate the implications extend beyond these direct investments. As AI systems become increasingly competitive, cloud infrastructure providers and internet platforms acquire enhanced negotiating leverage versus model developers. Bernstein stated Kimi’s achievements are “probably a positive for Alicloud revenue growth.”
Alibaba additionally possesses a consumer reach advantage. Apple Intelligence obtained Chinese regulatory approval in mid-July 2026 with Alibaba’s Qwen designated as the foundational model supporting the localized user experience.
Citi research analysts suggest organizations possessing comprehensive capabilities — semiconductors, cloud infrastructure, AI models, and end-user applications — such as Alibaba are optimally situated for market leadership. They additionally highlighted Tencent’s desktop AI tool WorkBuddy, which attracts 8 to 9 million monthly users, as an underappreciated competitive advantage.
Semiconductor Equities Face Pressure
The appreciation in Chinese AI platform valuations occurred simultaneously with declines in chip manufacturer stocks. South Korea’s KOSPI index declined 4.5% Monday. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both decreased more than 4%. The KOSPI currently sits 28% beneath its level from one month prior, though maintaining a 55% year-to-date gain.
International investors have withdrawn $110 billion from Seoul markets during the current year. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index entered bear market territory last week, declining over 20% from its late-June record high.
Deutsche Bank observed that Chinese AI systems are nearing cutting-edge capability levels while maintaining pricing structures comparable to mid-range American offerings. This dynamic creates economic pressure on expensive U.S. AI infrastructure investments.
Goldman Sachs stated China’s open-source systems have reached a “critical point of intelligence performance for global proliferation.” Morgan Stanley characterized Kimi K3 as “the result of cumulative progress across China’s AI model industry,” dismissing the notion of an abrupt transformation.
The upcoming milestone arrives July 27, when Moonshot AI plans to publicly release Kimi K3’s open weights.
The post Alibaba (BABA) and Tencent Shares Surge as Chinese AI Breaks Performance Barriers appeared first on Blockonomi.
Key Points
-
South Korean officials draft legislation enabling legal confiscation of private crypto wallets.
-
Proposed amendments establish protocols for secure transfer of confiscated digital currencies.
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Joint custody model between courts and investigators designed to prevent asset misappropriation.
-
New framework fills regulatory voids in current criminal enforcement statutes.
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Security breaches motivate South Korea’s enhanced cryptocurrency confiscation regulations.
Legislative authorities in South Korea have introduced draft amendments designed to facilitate the confiscation of privately controlled cryptocurrency wallets during criminal proceedings. These proposed modifications to the Criminal Procedure Act respond to limitations in existing legislation that fails to comprehensively address digital currencies managed through private cryptographic keys. The framework establishes formal custody mechanisms that would subject confiscated virtual assets to rigorous legal supervision.
Regulatory shortcomings identified in private wallet seizure cases
The legislative proposal originates from an academic study conducted by four National Tax Service officials in South Korea. This research appeared in the Criminal Policy Research journal’s June issue, published by the Korea Institute of Criminology and Justice. Investigation team leader Jang Hee-won contributed to developing this legislative analysis.
The study concentrates on virtual currencies that holders manage independently using private cryptographic keys rather than relying on centralized trading platforms. Such holdings encompass hardware storage devices and personal wallets maintained outside institutional custody arrangements. The study’s authors contend that conventional confiscation methods prove insufficient for addressing these wallet configurations.
The researchers examined a 2025 Supreme Court ruling concerning Bitcoin maintained on a digital currency platform. This judgment validated that law enforcement properly confiscated Bitcoin stored via exchange-managed wallets during criminal cases. Nevertheless, the ruling failed to establish guidelines for privately controlled wallets since investigators cannot physically seize blockchain-native assets.
Draft legislation outlines warrant requirements and transfer protocols
The proposed framework from South Korea advocates establishing specific statutory provisions governing private digital asset confiscations. According to the research paper, judicial warrants must explicitly specify asset classification, quantities involved, authenticated wallet addresses, receiving addresses, transfer mechanisms, and retention procedures. Under these guidelines, law enforcement would implement uniform protocols when executing virtual currency seizures.
The authors further contend that Article 120 of the Criminal Procedure Act inadequately addresses cryptocurrency transactions. Current statutes primarily govern physical searches, property access rights, and associated enforcement actions. Moving cryptocurrencies between wallet addresses necessitates distinct procedural protections and statutory provisions.
The draft legislation also confronts vulnerabilities associated with private key possession during criminal inquiries. Suspects may retain duplicate private keys even after authorities secure one copy. Accordingly, the research recommends transferring confiscated virtual currencies into controlled storage addresses rather than depending solely on access credentials.
Joint custody framework proposed for confiscated virtual currencies
Officials in South Korea have suggested implementing a collaborative custody arrangement involving judicial and investigative bodies. The researchers maintain that concentrating control over seized digital assets within a single entity creates unacceptable security vulnerabilities. Alternatively, collaboratively managed storage solutions would diminish theft potential while enhancing accountability during legal processes.
The proposal incorporates provisional custody provisions for time-sensitive scenarios involving imminent asset movements. Judicial authorities could approve immediate transfers of digital holdings into designated interim wallets pending final custody determinations. Law enforcement agencies could subsequently complete transfers into jointly supervised wallets after satisfying statutory prerequisites.
This legislative initiative follows previous measures aimed at bolstering digital asset security within government institutions. Earlier in the current year, the National Tax Service evaluated private custody service providers following a security breach that compromised wallet recovery credentials. Consequently, unauthorized individuals transferred approximately $4.8 million in cryptocurrency holdings, triggering comprehensive reassessments of confiscation, storage, and liquidation procedures throughout South Korea.
The post South Korea Unveils Draft Legislation for Seizure of Private Crypto Wallets appeared first on Blockonomi.
Key Takeaways
- Morgan Stanley increased quarterly projections for Texas Instruments through September, highlighting ongoing semiconductor sector momentum
- Distributor surveys revealed sustained demand across analog and microcontroller segments, with industrial markets remaining resilient
- Despite improved forecasts, the investment bank kept its underweight stance on TXN shares
- Texas Instruments announced a $1.42 quarterly dividend payment scheduled for August 11, 2026, for shareholders on record by July 31
- Shares settled at $284.02, declining 8.81% weekly but posting a 23.58% gain over three months
Shares of Texas Instruments finished trading at $284.02, sliding 2.47% in the session and dropping 8.81% across the week, despite Morgan Stanley’s decision to increase near-term financial projections for the semiconductor manufacturer.
Texas Instruments Incorporated, TXN
The investment firm elevated its June and September quarter forecasts for TXN, citing growth trajectories exceeding typical seasonal patterns for both reporting periods. These adjustments stem from continued strength across analog and industrial markets, expanding data center applications, and sustained price stability.
Data from Morgan Stanley’s AlphaWise distributor survey covering Q2 2026 indicated that the positive trajectory established during Q1 continues into the fall months, although the rate of improvement has moderated from the pronounced gains observed in earlier quarters.
Survey respondents universally expect stable or growing unit volumes for analog and microcontroller products. The industrial sector maintained consistent demand patterns, while automotive applications showed varied performance.
Current shipment volumes for analog and microcontroller components exceed immediate demand requirements. While distributor momentum showed some deceleration as inventory expansion strategies became less aggressive, Morgan Stanley characterized this development as a natural progression rather than a concerning indicator.
According to the firm, pricing dynamics remain steady and future outlook assumptions have not weakened. The ongoing recovery appears driven by genuine end-market demand rather than widespread inventory rebuilding, featuring targeted restocking activities and localized supply constraints in certain market segments.
Morgan Stanley maintained its underweight recommendation on TXN shares despite raising financial estimates.
Quarterly Payout Announced During Price Correction
Separately, TXN’s board of directors approved a quarterly cash distribution of $1.42 per share in recent days. The payment will be distributed on August 11, 2026, to investors holding shares as of the July 31 record date.
This dividend announcement coincides with the stock’s retreat from elevated price levels. Notwithstanding the recent weekly decline, TXN has delivered a 34.79% total shareholder return over the trailing twelve months.
Contrasting Valuation Assessments
The stock’s valuation presents divergent perspectives depending on analytical methodology. The prevailing bullish assessment places fair value at $435.69 — approximately 53% premium to current trading levels — built on expectations of TXN’s extended capacity expansion program and substantial cash flow generation capabilities.
The optimistic scenario emphasizes TXN’s multi-year initiative to expand domestic 300mm analog production facilities. While this capital deployment temporarily constrains free cash flow generation, analysts anticipate improved operational efficiency and enhanced gross profit margins as facility utilization increases.
An alternative discounted cash flow analysis yields a fair value estimate of $233.65, suggesting current prices represent overvaluation. The disparity between these competing assessments hinges primarily on the timeline for capacity investments to materialize into meaningful cash generation.
Principal concerns include extended capacity buildout timelines or weaker-than-anticipated demand for analog and embedded products connected to artificial intelligence applications.
Morgan Stanley left projections for comparable semiconductor companies unchanged. The firm highlighted Analog Devices as offering the most direct exposure to analog and industrial markets, identified ON Semiconductor as optimally positioned for power chip supply constraints, and noted NXP as a potential winner should automotive demand strengthen.
Despite the recent pullback, TXN maintains a 23.58% return over the past 90 days.
The post Morgan Stanley Upgrades Texas Instruments (TXN) Forecasts Despite Maintaining Bearish Stance appeared first on Blockonomi.
CryptoPotato
Michael Saylor’s bitcoin-accumulating giant continues to refrain from increasing its cryptocurrency stash after a large wave of uncertainty hit the market and its stock performance.
Instead, Strategy continues to focus on rebuilding its USD reserve. In the past week alone, the NASDAQ-listed business intelligence giant ramped up its greenback stash by another $225 million for a total of over $3.2 billion.
Strategy has increased its USD Reserve by $225 million. As of 7/19/2026, we hodl ₿843,775 in our BTC Reserve and $3.2 billion in our USD Reserve. $MSTR $STRC https://t.co/sci7bZHzsy
— Michael Saylor (@saylor) July 20, 2026
Strategy’s bitcoin fortune remains at 843,775 units, accumulated for approximately $63.7 billion at an average price of $75,500 per BTC. The firm remains deep in the red, as the current value of its crypto stash sits around $10 billion lower.
Recent History
Before today’s announcement, Strategy and its co-founder and former CEO changed their course on trading with bitcoin, as it’s no longer a simple buy-and-hold strategy.
Instead, the largest corporate holder of the cryptocurrency made a couple of sales in the past several months, with the second, announced earlier this month, becoming the largest; over 3,500 BTC sold for about $216 million at the time.
Strategy also launched the Digital Credit Capital Framework to enhance its available liquidity to cover monthly dividend payments and increase its long-term bitcoin exposure. It managed to increase its USD reserve to $3 billion before today’s announcement, which was enough to cover payments for over two years.
Although this pivot from consistent bitcoin purchases was described as a safe and good first step, some analysts continue to question the long-term BTC plan.
The post Strategy Extends Bitcoin Buying Pause While Growing Its USD Reserve: Details appeared first on CryptoPotato.
The FIFA World Cup final, perhaps the biggest sporting event and a spectacle that happens once every four years, took place yesterday (July 19), with Spain facing Argentina.
As usual, it attracted gamblers who wagered substantial sums, such as the Canadian rapper Drake. However, the match’s outcome was far from what the musician (and some other bettors) wanted, and they parted with millions of dollars worth of crypto.
Was Messi Destined to Lose?
Leading up to the big game, tension kept rising, while risk-loving people like Drake placed huge bets, hoping to be on the right side of history and, of course, walk away with huge profits.
The rapper bet $1.5 million in USDT on Argentina to win the final during the 90 minutes (including stoppage time). The South American team was the underdog, and a potential victory would have resulted in a payout of over $5 million worth of crypto for Drake.
Nonetheless, the Canadian lost his bet. Spain outclassed their opponent in every phase of the game, dominating from start to finish, yet winning only 1-0 after Argentina’s goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez did miracles for 106 minutes.
Did Spain play magical football just because Drake bet against them? It’s doubtful, and the idea would only make sense to those who believe in superstitions. At the same time, it is true that teams and athletes supported by the rapper often end up losing, which has led to the phenomenon known as “the Drake Curse.”
Earlier this month, for instance, he placed $1 million in Bitcoin (BTC) on Conor McGregor, who returned to the octagon at UFC 329 in Las Vegas after a five-year absence and faced Max Holloway. But the comeback was far from desired as “The Notorious” lost in the very first round.
Meanwhile, Drake wasn’t the only one losing a huge sum because of Argentina’s inability to win the World Cup for the second consecutive time. Lookonchain revealed the case of one gambler who bet $1.23 on Lionel Messi and his teammates to lift the trophy at a time when the odds in their favor were around 10%. A potential win would have resulted in a profit of well above $10 million.
The Right Bet
Of course, there are others who picked the right horse and made millions. Such an example is a whale who created a new wallet on Polymarket hours before the final and wagered $1.95 million on Spain to become champion when the odds were 59.1%.
“He won and made $1.35M in just a few hours,” Lookonchain stated.
The post Spain’s World Cup Victory Triggers Massive Crypto Losses for Drake and Others: Details appeared first on CryptoPotato.
[PRESS RELEASE – Auckland, New Zealand, July 20th, 2026]
The Request for Proposal Regarding High-Specification Cryptographic Provenance
GLOBAL COMPLIANCE FRAMEWORK & THE 500-YEAR YIXING ZISHA TEAPOTS REAL-WORLD ASSET (RWA) LINEAGE 】
THE JUDGE ARCHIVE-LAB LIMITED (NZ) launches an international technical initiative to establish the definitive 500-year paradigm of Yixing Zisha Teapots. Centering on the “Genesis No. 001” masterpiece, this framework uses high-precision, 100-Megapixel Hasselblad digital scanning for permanent RWA (Real-World Asset) archival and codification, separating “500-year cultural lineage” from mere ephemeral narratives.
【 OFFICIAL ACADEMIC PROVENANCE & HISTORICAL CONTEXT 】
This initiative is anchored in five key institutional verifications:
1. LUO RE-POSIT(S) CENTURIES-OLD CHINESE ARTISTIC TRADITIONS OF ART WITHIN CONTEMPORARY FORMS, TECHNIQUES, AND IDEAS.
—— THE CLAY STUDIO COLLECTION (ACCESSED VIA EHIVE DIGITAL ARCHIVE, REF: PC311 | HISTORICAL OBJECT: YIXING TEAPOTS)
[ THE JUDGE ARCHIVE-LAB DATA COGNITION ] THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE ENCOUNTER:
THE ECHO OF 1999 IS LOUDER THAN THE SILENCE OF 500 YEARS.
2. THE CREATOR, LUO XIAOPING, IS AN ELECTED INDIVIDUAL MEMBER OF THE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF CERAMICS (IAC, GENEVA).
HIS LIFE’S WORK REPOSITIONS CENTURIES-OLD CHINESE ARTISTIC TRADITIONS WITHIN CONTEMPORARY GLOBAL FORMS,
WITH SCULPTURES PERMANENTLY ENSHRINED IN THE WHITE HOUSE (USA) AND MUSÉE ARIANA (SWITZERLAND).
3. LUO XIAOPING’S WORK REPRESENTS A PROFOUND SPIRITUAL DEPARTURE FROM THE PURELY ARTISANAL CONSTRAINTS
OF TRADITIONAL CERAMICS… LUO HAS MASTERFULLY DISMANTLED THE ‘FUNCTIONAL ILLUSION’ OF THE UTILITARIAN OBJECT.
—— JONATHAN MANE-WHEOKI (CNZM), FROM THE HISTORICAL 1999 AUCKLAND EXHIBITION CRITIQUES.
4. CERAMICS MONTHLY (USA) 1999-2001 SPECIAL REVIEWS | VERDICT: BEYOND AESTHETICS;
A MASTERCLASS IN GRAVITATIONAL DEFIANCE AND MATERIAL EXTREMES.
5. HISTORICAL ARCHIVE [1999-2000] | TOPIC: MY WAY | THE SLAB CONSTRUCTION OF LUO XIAOPING
CONTEXT:
APT3 CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW (AU/NZ).
|VERDICT: THE RE-POSITIONING OF
500-YEAR CHINESE TRADITION.
【 INSTITUTIONAL INTAKE & GLOBAL MEDIA PROCUREMENT 】
THE JUDGE ARCHIVE-LAB LIMITED initiates global media procurement for this 500-year archival ledger, with opportunities open for top-tier outlets under framework code TDP. High-spec digital/print dissemination slots available for competitive agency bidding.
* Direct Inquiries: wing@thejudge-lab.nz
【 TOKEN & CRYPTOGRAPHIC COMPLIANCE MATRIX 】
Decentralized parameters under the TDP framework are non-fractional, non-custodial Utility Protocol Keys (TDP) for identity logging, cryptographic verification, and programmatic media display synchronization. This digital archival process does not represent, convey, or imply any equity ownership, revenue-sharing, debt obligation, investment profit pooling, or commercial voting rights in THE JUDGE ARCHIVE-LAB LIMITED or Genesis No. 001. Public financial speculation and securities categorization are expressly disclaimed and legally refused under global financial sanctions.
ARCHIVE STATUS & PERMANENT SOVEREIGNTY:The ownership, provenance history, exhibition context, and material truth of this asset are physically verified and endorsed by the creator, Luo Xiaoping. The official abdication and decoupling of historical interpretive sovereignty are vested directly into the asset owner WING – THE JUDGE ARCHIVE-LAB LIMITED.
【 OFFICIAL RFP TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS 】
* Project Reference Specimen: THE 500-YEAR YIXING ZISHA TEAPOTS PARADIGM
* Material Authentication: Handcrafted Yixing Duan Clay / Gas & Wood-Fired Hybrid Firing
The 1999 Auckland Exhibition Luo Xiaoping Handcrafted Yixing Duan-Ni Teapot Specimen
* Procurement Framework Code: TPD
* Core Procurement Scope: Premium Print Media
MANDATORY TECHNICAL PARAMETER: Bidders and media networks must strictly review and utilize the 19MB lossless asset master, generated via Hasselblad 100-Megapixel technology and hosted on our official website (https://thejudge-lab.nz), as the technical metric and design specification standard for this evaluation.
【 ISSUER AUTHORITY 】
* Entity: THE JUDGE ARCHIVE-LAB LIMITED
* Auditor/MD: WING
* Official Gateway: https://thejudge-lab.nz
The post GLOBAL MEDIA PROCUREMENT: THE 500-YEAR YIXING ZISHA TEAPOTS PARADIGM appeared first on CryptoPotato.
In a deja vu moment mimicking the start of the previous business week, BTC’s price dipped by over a grand as most financial markets opened.
Most larger-cap alts have followed suit with minimal losses. ZEC, though, has dumped the most from this cohort of crypto assets, plunging by over 6%.
BTC Fights for $64K
Recall that last Monday began on an even more painful note. At the time, bitcoin had calmed at around $64,000 before the bears took control and drove it south to under $62,000. However, the softer-than-expected US CPI numbers for June propelled an impressive rally that drove BTC to its highest price tag in approximately three weeks at $65,600.
Nevertheless, the cryptocurrency failed to sustain its momentum and quickly slipped back down to $62,500 on Friday. The bulls stepped up again and helped it recover to $64,000 by Saturday morning.
The weekend was more positive, as BTC managed to climb higher and even touched $65,000 on Monday morning. History repeated itself, though, and it fell to $63,700 earlier today. It has recovered some ground, but it still trades at just below $64,000.
Its market capitalization remains below $1.290 trillion, while its dominance over the altcoins has stalled at 57%.
PI and PUMP – Pump
As reported yesterday, Pi Network’s native token skyrocketed suddenly by double digits and tapped the coveted support-turned-resistance $0.10 level. It has maintained most of the gains, and it’s now fighting to take that line down as well. The other impressive performer today is PUMP, which has rocketed by over 20% to $0.002. In contrast, HASH has dumped by over 9%.
ZEC has lost the most value from the larger-cap alts, sliding below $530 after a 6.5% daily drop. RAIN, BCH, UNI, and TAO have dropped by up to 3% daily.
Most other larger caps have declined by up to 1%, such as ETH, BNB, XRP, SOL, and HYPE.
The total crypto market cap has erased around $20 billion daily and is down to $2.250 trillion on CG.
The post Pi Network’s PI and PUMP Rocket Daily, Bitcoin Fights For $64K: Market Watch appeared first on CryptoPotato.
Hyperliquid announced on July 20 that its upcoming HIP-4 network upgrade will allow permissionless deployment of prediction markets.
The feature, which will launch on testnet before hitting the mainnet, will expand who can create outcome markets while introducing validator-approved templates and a staking system meant to keep those markets clearly defined and properly settled.
How HIP-4 Deployment Will Work
Outcome markets on Hyperliquid have so far only been deployed by validators, but the protocol is looking to change that. According to a post on Hyperliquid’s Telegram channel, validators will vote on standardized outcome templates that anyone meeting the HIP-4 requirements could then use to launch markets.
Those templates will be stored and enforced on-chain, with Hyperliquid saying that they are intended to cover events with sufficient liquidity and user interest while being unambiguous. The responsibility for defining and settling individual markets will lie with deployers according to the chosen template, and multiple deployers could even launch identical markets if they so wish.
Canonical markets created by validators will still exist, but they are expected to become less common, with Hyperliquid suggesting that ideally each year they should account for less than 10 outcome markets. Furthermore, the proposal also introduced financial incentives and penalties, including a 500,000 HYPE stake for anyone looking to become a HIP-4 deployer.
That stake will be locked for six months, and validators can slash it if markets are poorly defined or settled incorrectly under the template. Leaving a market unsettled for more than one week will also see a deployer’s stake slashed, and they are required to settle all their markets before unstaking.
Per Hyperliquid’s post, at first, each deployer will get capacity for 100 outcomes, or 200 outcome tokens, with more allocation planned through a future auction mechanism. The protocol also pointed out that eventually, deployers will be able to set fee sharing of up to 50% on their markets, although configurable fees will be included in another update in the future. Importantly, under HIP-4, only AQAv2 quote tokens will be supported.
“All specifications described above are preliminary and subject to change based on feedback,” the team clarified, adding that users will be informed once the feature goes on the testnet and updates on the documentation are made.
HYPE Not Moved
Even with the announcement, Hyperliquid’s native HYPE token stayed in the red. At the time of writing, it was trading near $60, down about 1% in 24 hours and nearly 10% in the last seven days. CoinGecko data shows it’s the same case across longer timeframes, with HYPE shaving almost 16% from its price across two weeks and nearly 13% in the past 30 days.
However, year-on-year, the asset has managed to stay in the green, being close to 34% higher than where it was 12 months ago, even though recent struggles have pulled it more than 21% below the $76.87 all-time high it hit about a month ago.
Hyperliquid’s push into permissionless outcome markets is coming on the back of a recent CoinGecko report showing that notional volume across prediction platforms hit a record $50.7 billion in June thanks to a calendar of sports events including the UEFA Champions League final, the NBA Finals, and Wimbledon. This helped push numbers for Q2 2026 to $113.8 billion, which is a 48.7% jump quarter over quarter.
The post HIP-4 Upgrade: Hyperliquid Opens Door to Permissionless Prediction Markets appeared first on CryptoPotato.
