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Tom Lee: Ethereum Will Penalize Impatient Investors
On July 7, 2026, Tom Lee stated on the New Era Finance Podcast that the recent lag in the crypto market is primarily due to the aftermath of deleveraging, with capital flowing toward yield-bearing sectors. When discussing how to maintain conviction during the pullback of assets like Ethereum, he noted that the fundamentals remain unchanged.
Citing Nvidia's $2 trillion surge in three months after a long consolidation at $160, Tom Lee expressed that both the stock and crypto markets will ultimately penalize impatient investors, and those who cannot hold on are the ones who actually lose.

According to Drop Site News, blockchain firm Consensys accidentally hired a software developer linked to North Korea. The developer, using the alias “Tyler Knapp,” joined through a third-party service provider and contributed to MetaMask-related code, including crypto-to-fiat conversion features. Consensys said it revoked the developer’s access after identifying the security risk and confirmed that no assets or data were compromised, no malicious code was deployed, and users were not affected.

FTX wird am 31. Juli mit seiner fünften Gläubigerverteilung beginnen und etwa 900 Millionen US-Dollar an Inhaber zulässiger Forderungen der Convenience- und der Non-Convenience-Klasse im Rahmen seines Restrukturierungsplans auszahlen, die die erforderlichen Schritte vor der Ausschüttung bis zum 16. Juni als Stichtag abgeschlossen haben. Anspruchsberechtigte Gläubiger werden voraussichtlich innerhalb von ein bis drei Geschäftstagen nach dem 31. Juli die Gelder über ihren ausgewählten Verteilungspartner erhalten. Anspruchsberechtigte Inhaber von Vorzugsaktien erhalten an diesem Tag ebenfalls eine zweite Zahlung.

According to Sports Business Journal, Galaxy and Texas Tech signed a 15-year partnership to rename Jones AT&T Stadium as Galaxy Stadium beginning with the 2026 season. The deal is worth about $75 million, making it one of the largest naming-rights agreements in college athletics. Galaxy will also become the university’s official data center and digital assets partner.

CoinShares sagte, dass digitale Anlageprodukte für digitale Assets eine Rekordserie von acht Wochen mit Abflüssen in Höhe von 8 Milliarden US-Dollar beendeten und letzte Woche Zuflüsse von 287 Millionen US-Dollar verzeichneten. Schwächer als erwartet ausgefallene US-CPI- und PPI-Daten führten anschließend am Dienstag und Mittwoch zu weiteren Zuflüssen von 415 Millionen US-Dollar, hauptsächlich in Bitcoin. CoinShares geht jedoch weiterhin davon aus, dass BTC in einer Spanne bleiben wird, und hält einen Ausbruch über 80.000 US-Dollar ohne klarere Verschiebung der Erwartungen an die Geldpolitik für unwahrscheinlich.

According to Coinglass, the Coinbase Bitcoin Premium Index has remained negative for 60 consecutive days since May 19, with the latest reading at -0.1025%. The previous record was a 40-day negative streak from January 16 to February 24, surpassing the roughly 30-day stretch seen during the Oct. 11 market crash. Historically, prolonged negative premiums have often coincided with weaker U.S. institutional demand, raising concerns over near-term pullback pressure.

Plasma One’s product narrative has gradually evolved from a stablecoin payment tool into a stablecoin neobank account. On its website, Plasma positions Plasma One as an account for managing and using funds globally, with core features centered around Spend, Earn, and Send. Users can spend through the Plasma One Card and receive XPL cashback on eligible purchases, connect their balances to the Earn feature to generate yield, or make fee-free USDT transfers through Plasma’s routing network.
The significance of this type of product goes beyond simply offering another stablecoin card. Growth in the stablecoin market has historically been driven by trading, on-chain settlement, DeFi collateralization, and cross-border transfers, while the user experience has remained fragmented across wallets, exchanges, bridges, blockchains, and gas fees. Plasma One seeks to repackage stablecoins into an everyday financial account: users can hold dollar-denominated stablecoins, make payments, transfer funds, withdraw to local bank accounts or wallets, and access enhanced benefits through a membership system.
Plasma One is one of the fastest-growing stablecoin neobanks, reaching $1 million in cumulative transaction volume and $1 million in weekly transaction volume within a relatively short period of time. These figures suggest that early users are not merely registering accounts or waiting for airdrops, but are generating real transaction activity through spending, transfers, and account usage.
Stablecoins Need an Account Layer
Stablecoins have already proven their value as on-chain dollars. They enable 24/7 transfers, bypass geographic restrictions, and serve as settlement assets for exchanges, DeFi protocols, market makers, and cross-border users. For users in some emerging markets, dollar-denominated stablecoins have already become a store of value and a remittance tool.
A larger consumer market requires stablecoins to evolve from on-chain assets into usable accounts. In everyday life, users care about practical questions: Can they transfer funds at low cost? Can they pay with a card at merchants? Can they withdraw funds easily? Can they hold a dollar balance? Are the fees transparent? Does the account experience resemble that of a traditional financial app?
Traditional crypto wallets solve the problem of asset custody. Exchanges solve trading and liquidity. Bank cards solve merchant acceptance. DeFi solves yield generation. Plasma One combines these components into a single product, allowing users to use stablecoins through an account-based experience rather than managing deposits, transfers, conversions, spending, and yield strategies across multiple applications.
The Plasma One Account Model
The structure of Plasma One can be divided into three layers.
The first layer is the spending account. The Plasma One Card is issued by Rain as a Visa Principal Member under a Visa license. According to the official website, it can be used at Visa merchants in more than 200 countries, both online and offline. On iOS, the card supports Apple Pay, although availability depends on regional regulations. Support for Android and Google Pay is still being rolled out. The website also states that users can freeze their cards or lock their accounts within the app and withdraw funds to local bank accounts through off-ramp services, with the available rails depending on the user’s jurisdiction.
The second layer is stablecoin transfers. Plasma One emphasizes the ability to send and receive stablecoins across borders, while enabling zero-fee USDT transfers through Plasma routing. The goal is to make stablecoin transfers feel closer to everyday account-to-account transfers.
The third layer is yield and rewards. The website indicates that Plasma One can offer up to 4% cashback on eligible spending and up to 6% yield on account balances. Cashback is distributed in XPL, with the exact rate determined by membership tier. The Earn feature is not a traditional bank deposit or savings account. At present, Plasma One’s Earn vault is connected to Aave’s USDT0 market, so yields may vary with supply and demand, interest rates, and broader on-chain conditions in the Aave market.
Together, these three layers form the core logic of the Plasma One stablecoin account. Users enter the account, hold a dollar-denominated balance, spend with a card or transfer funds, connect idle balances to yield opportunities, earn XPL through spending, and use XPL within the membership and rewards system for higher-tier benefits.
The Plasma website also explicitly states that Plasma itself is not a bank. Account services for Plasma One are powered by Bridge, while the card is issued by Rain. Stablecoin balances are not bank deposits and are not protected by deposit insurance. This makes Plasma One closer to a stablecoin-based fintech account than an on-chain replica of a traditional bank account.
Lite, Core, and Platinum: From Low-Barrier Card Access to XPL-Based Membership Benefits
Plasma One currently features a three-tier membership system consisting of Lite, Core, and Platinum.
Lite serves as the entry-level tier. It offers 2% base cashback, zero card issuance cost, 0.25% referral rewards, standard fees, standard support, and one free virtual card. The purpose of Lite is to lower the barrier for first-time users, allowing them to complete account setup, card issuance, and spending with minimal friction.
Core is designed for more active everyday AI users and is described as “the card for everyday AI users.” It offers 5% cashback on AI-related spending, 3% cashback on other purchases, 1% referral rewards, a ChatGPT Go subscription, priority support, lower fees, and up to two free virtual cards. The 5% AI cashback applies to up to $500 in monthly eligible spending. Users can access Core through a $199 annual subscription or by locking 20,000 XPL for 12 months.
Platinum represents a higher-tier benefits layer for XPL holders and is described as being “exclusively for XPL holders.” Users must lock 100,000 XPL for 12 months to qualify for Platinum status. Platinum offers 4% base cashback, 10% cashback on AI-related spending, 10% cashback on flights, up to $600 in eligible annual flight cashback, Claude Pro and ChatGPT Plus subscriptions, 1% referral rewards, VIP support, no additional fees, and up to three free virtual cards. The Platinum page also lists travel-related benefits including lounge access, Visa concierge services, auto rental insurance, travel insurance, baggage delay coverage, lost luggage protection, and global eSIM access.
This tiered structure allows Plasma One to go beyond acquiring users through cashback incentives alone. Instead, it segments users by value: Lite targets low-friction user acquisition, Core focuses on high-frequency digital subscriptions and AI-related spending, while Platinum is designed for users with larger balances, higher spending activity, and deeper XPL commitment. In this model, XPL becomes the key asset that enables users to progress from a standard account to higher membership tiers.
XPL at the Center of the Product
One of the core design principles behind Plasma One is the integration of XPL into cashback, membership, and account benefits.
Rewards within Plasma One are distributed in XPL. Cashback first accrues in USD terms and is converted into XPL at the time of distribution based on market prices provided through CoinGecko APIs. Users can convert their XPL rewards into dollars for use in their card account, or withdraw them. Users can also purchase and manage XPL directly within the app, and qualify for Platinum status by locking XPL.
This creates a relatively clear growth loop. Users spend through Plasma One and earn XPL cashback from eligible transactions. They manage XPL within the app. Users seeking higher cashback rates, AI-related benefits, travel perks, and premium service benefits can lock XPL. The locking mechanism increases user retention and account switching costs, while enhanced benefits encourage additional spending and larger account balances.
XPL cashback should also be understood within the framework of digital assets. XPL is not fiat currency, is not backed by any government, and its price may fluctuate. Cashback is subject to eligible spending categories and monthly limits. Rewards are not earned on ATM withdrawals, peer-to-peer transfers, currency exchange transactions, tax payments, gift cards, gambling-related transactions, quasi-cash transactions, cryptocurrency purchases and sales, wire transfers, cash advances, and certain other excluded categories. Plasma One’s rewards structure varies by membership tier and eligible spending category. According to the latest information from the project team, Core and Platinum rewards are no longer subject to fixed monthly caps; instead, the effective reward rate decreases after certain spending thresholds. Referral rewards are calculated separately under the program rules.
At the network layer, XPL also serves as the native asset of the Plasma ecosystem. XPL is the native token of the Plasma blockchain and is used to facilitate transactions while rewarding participants who validate transactions and support the network.
Plasma plans to introduce inflationary rewards once external validators and delegated staking are launched. The initial annual inflation rate will be 5%, decreasing by 0.5% per year until reaching a long-term baseline rate of 3%. The protocol also incorporates an EIP-1559-style base fee burn mechanism designed to offset long-term inflation. XPL allocated to the team and investors is not eligible for unlocked rewards.
Viewed from this perspective, XPL connects three distinct layers simultaneously: network security and transaction activity on Plasma, cashback and membership tiers within Plasma One, and ecosystem growth and liquidity incentives. If Plasma One continues to generate real spending activity and account usage, demand for XPL may expand beyond on-chain transactions and become increasingly tied to account-level benefits and user participation.
Plasma Network: A Layer 1 Designed for Stablecoin Payments
Plasma is a Layer 1 blockchain purpose-built for stablecoin payments. It features a 1-second block time, 3-second deterministic finality, zero network transfer fees, and emphasizes high throughput tailored for stablecoin-based payment activity. Plasma’s partner page highlights payment and financial infrastructure partners including Bridge, MoonPay, Shift4, Rain, Ramp, and Whop.
In its technical documentation, Plasma is defined as a payments-focused Layer 1 designed for high-frequency fund flows, payment applications, and a stablecoin-first user experience. PlasmaBFT, the network’s consensus protocol, is based on Fast HotStuff and is designed to deliver rapid finality and high-throughput payment processing. The execution layer is EVM-compatible, allowing developers to deploy applications using Solidity, Foundry, Hardhat, wallets, SDKs, and existing EVM development tools. In addition, Plasma is building protocol-level infrastructure for stablecoin gas payments, privacy-preserving transfers, and other payment-related workflows.
Plasma One serves as the flagship product of the Plasma network. Built on top of Plasma, Plasma One is the network’s first flagship product, providing individuals and businesses with a global dollar account. Users can deposit stablecoins, gain access to dollar-denominated balances, send funds instantly, earn yield on eligible balances, and spend through the Plasma Card. The underlying network provides low-cost transfers, fast settlement, deep liquidity, EVM compatibility, and payment-specific functionality, while the account layer translates these capabilities into user-facing experiences centered on spending, transfers, and yield generation.
The Significance of AI Spending and Travel Benefits
Both Core and Platinum position AI-related spending as a core benefit. Core centers on 5% AI cashback and a ChatGPT Go subscription, while Platinum offers 10% AI cashback along with Claude Pro and ChatGPT Plus. This design targets a clearly defined group of early users: globally distributed consumers who frequently subscribe to AI tools, SaaS products, cloud services, and digital applications.
AI subscriptions share several characteristics that align well with stablecoin-based accounts. They are typically billed monthly, denominated in U.S. dollars, inherently cross-border, and used by highly digital-native customers. Many users encounter issues when paying for AI services, including card restrictions, payment failures, foreign exchange costs, or subscription management challenges. By making AI spending a high-cashback category, Plasma One effectively selects a high-frequency, global, and dollar-denominated spending vertical as its initial point of entry.
The travel benefits offered through Platinum correspond to another high-value spending category. Flights, hotels, car rentals, insurance, eSIM services, airport lounges, and concierge services are all areas where cross-border financial accounts can naturally establish relevance. For higher-spending users, cashback serves as an acquisition tool, but long-term retention depends on whether the account can support a continuous set of use cases across travel, subscriptions, business expenses, and everyday spending.
Conclusion
The core value of Plasma One is not simply the launch of another stablecoin card. Rather, it combines stablecoins, spending accounts, Visa payments, DeFi yield opportunities, XPL cashback, and membership benefits within a single product structure. What users experience is a dollar-denominated account, card-based spending, AI subscription rewards, travel benefits, yield on balances, and fee-free transfers. Underneath these experiences are the Plasma network, Bridge, Rain, payment infrastructure partners, and the XPL economic model.
The stablecoin industry is entering a phase where ownership of user accounts may become the primary competitive advantage. Plasma One aims to move stablecoins beyond exchange balances and blockchain addresses and into spending, subscriptions, travel, transfers, and balance management. XPL sits at the center of this account system, connecting cashback rewards, membership staking, network security, and ecosystem growth.
If Plasma One can continue expanding real transaction activity while encouraging users to hold, manage, and lock XPL over the long term, Plasma may gain more than a consumer-facing application. It may establish an entry point into a global payments network built around stablecoin-based accounts.
Source:
https://www.plasma.org/personal
https://www.plasma.org/personal/core
https://www.plasma.org/personal/platinum
https://www.plasma.org/network
https://www.plasma.org/docs
https://www.plasma.org/docs/get-started/xpl/tokenomics
https://www.plasma.org/plasma-one-cashback-and-referral-terms
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Japanese financial group SBI Holdings said it received approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore and, on July 16, acquired a majority stake in Holdbuild, the parent company of Singapore-based crypto platform Coinhako, through a capital injection and the purchase of shares from existing shareholders. Coinhako will become a consolidated subsidiary of SBI, while the transaction value was not disclosed. Coinhako’s Hako Technology holds a Major Payment Institution license from the MAS.

Argentine federal judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi ordered 25 crypto accounts linked to the LIBRA investigation frozen and directed Binance, Bybit, OKX, CoinEx, FixedFloat and Bitfinex to provide customer KYC files, IP logs, linked bank accounts and complete transaction histories. A federal police report traced funds from “Team Libra Wallets” across multiple blockchains and centralized exchanges, including transfers allegedly structured to complicate tracking. The case stems from President Javier Milei’s promotion of the LIBRA token on X in February 2025.

Binance, die weltweit größte Krypto-Börse nach Handelsvolumen, wird Aerodrome Finance (AERO) am 17. Juli um 19:00 Uhr UTC+8 listen und die Spot-Handelspaare AERO/USDT, AERO/USDC und AERO/TRY eröffnen. Einzahlungen werden eine Stunde später freigeschaltet, während Abhebungen voraussichtlich am 18. Juli um 19:00 Uhr UTC+8 verfügbar sein werden. Aerodrome ist das zentrale dezentrale Liquiditätshub von Base, und AERO wird verwendet, um Liquiditätsanbieter zu belohnen und am Vote-Lock-Governance-System des Protokolls teilzunehmen. Binance wird auf AERO seinen Seed Tag anwenden.

Eine Wallet, die vermutlich mit a16z in Verbindung steht, verkaufte 105.400 HYPE im Wert von etwa 6,48 Millionen USD zu einem durchschnittlichen Preis von 61,49 USD, wie HyperInsight berichtet. Weitere 190.000 HYPE wurden über Aggregationsrouten übertragen, die mit Börsen wie Bybit verbunden sind, wobei jedoch unklar bleibt, ob die Tokens vollständig verkauft wurden. Die Adresse bewegte im Tagesverlauf insgesamt 315.000 HYPE und hält nun rund 45.100 HYPE auf HyperEVM. HYPE wurde nahe 58,99 USD gehandelt, ist innerhalb der vergangenen 24 Stunden um 9,72% gefallen und notierte nach einem Rückgang bis auf 58,89 USD.

Tom Lee: S&P 500 könnte bis Jahresende 8.000 übertreffen
BitMine-Vorsitzender Tom Lee sagte in einem CNBC-Interview am 14. Juli, dass der S&P 500 bis Jahresende über 8.000 steigen könnte, da die KI-Story intakt bleibe. Er skizzierte dabei einen möglichen dreiphasigen Markt: Der S&P 500 könnte zunächst 7.700 erreichen, dann einen normalen Rücksetzer von 10% bis 15% sehen, bevor er bis Jahresende wieder über 8.000 rallyt.
Zu der jüngsten Schwäche bei Gold und Silber sagte Lee, dass langfristige Anleger möglicherweise Gewinne mitgenommen hätten, nachdem beide Vermögenswerte ihre Rolle als Wertaufbewahrungsmittel übertroffen hätten und zu „Risk-on“-Assets geworden seien.

Laut SoSoValue-Daten verzeichneten US-Spot-Bitcoin-ETFs am 16. Juli insgesamt netto Zuflüsse in Höhe von 79,15 Millionen USD, angeführt von BlackRocks IBIT mit 33,44 Millionen USD. Spot-Ethereum-ETFs verzeichneten insgesamt netto Abflüsse in Höhe von 28,04 Millionen USD, obwohl Bitwises ETHW den größten Tageszufluss mit 2,28 Millionen USD meldete. BlackRock ist der weltweit größte Vermögensverwalter, während Bitwise eine führende auf Krypto fokussierte Vermögensverwaltungsfirma ist.

Der Krypto-Trader Ansem sagte, Token-Rückkäufe böten nicht zwangsläufig dauerhafte Unterstützung für die Bewertungen, und verwies auf die deutliche Lücke zwischen Hyperliquid und Pump.fun. Die beiden Plattformen erzielen jeweils etwa 800 Millionen USD und 440 Millionen USD an annualisierter Umsatzleistung; beide verwenden einen Teil ihrer Gewinne, um Token zurückzukaufen. Dennoch trägt HYPE eine vollständig verwässerte Bewertung von rund 65 Milliarden USD, während es bei PUMP etwa 1,4 Milliarden USD sind. Ansem zufolge belohnt Hyperliquid seine Kernnutzer beständig, während Pump.fun mit seinem noch nicht eingelösten Airdrop-Versprechen das „Trust Premium“ geschwächt hat.

Zwischen dem 11. Juni und dem 13. Juli wurden auf dem Peer-to-Peer-Markt von Binance in Venezuela rund 1,389 Milliarden USDT gehandelt, im Durchschnitt etwa 44 Millionen US-Dollar pro Tag. Ecoanalítica, ein venezolanisches Wirtschaftsberatungs- und Forschungsunternehmen, schätzte, dass das Volumen etwa 75 % der monatlichen Ölexporte des Landes entsprach und im Juni einen bedeutenden Anteil am Devisenangebot der Zentralbank ausmachte. Der lokale Over-the-Counter-Preis von USDT ist auf etwa 840 Bolívares gestiegen, rund 15,5 % über dem offiziellen Wechselkurs.

Fed-Chef: Wir retten niemanden, auch nicht das Krypto
Der Vorsitzende der US-Notenbank, Kevin Warsh, sagte in einer Anhörung am 14. Juli vor dem Finanzausschuss des US-Repräsentantenhauses, dass die Fed nicht in das Geschäft mit Rettungsaktionen einsteigen wolle. Er hoffe, dass Reformen die extremen Risiken verringern können, sodass das Finanzsystem nicht in eine Lage gerate, in der jemand gerettet werden müsse – einschließlich der Kryptoindustrie.
Als er jedoch darauf angesprochen wurde, ob die Fed Unterstützung leisten würde, falls Stablecoins oder der Krypto-Markt einem Run ausgesetzt wären, machte Warsh keine eindeutige Zusage, dass es unter keinen Umständen eine Rettungsaktion geben würde.

Citadel Securities hat 400 Millionen US-Dollar in Crypto.com bei einer Bewertung von 20 Milliarden US-Dollar investiert und damit die erste institutionelle Finanzierungsrunde der Krypto-Börse eingeläutet. Crypto.com zufolge soll das Kapital das Wachstum über mehrere Anlageklassen hinweg beschleunigen, darunter tokenisierte Wertpapiere und Derivate.

Bloomberg-ETF-Analyst Eric Balchunas sagte, der aktiv verwaltete Krypto-ETF TKNZ von T. Rowe Price sei heute gestartet – als erster Multi-Token-aktiv verwalteter Spot-ETF. Er erhebt eine Gebühr von 0,75 % und verfügt über ungefähr 15 Millionen US-Dollar an anfänglichen Vermögenswerten. Das Eröffnungs-Portfolio weist 40,75 % in BTC, 18,42 % in ETH, 11,01 % in BNB, 9,44 % in SOL, 9,37 % in XRP, 6,45 % in HYPE, 3,00 % in XLM und 1,28 % in DOGE aus. USDC und Cash machen 0,16 % bzw. 0,11 % aus. Der Fonds ist gegenüber BTC untergewichtet und gegenüber den meisten anderen Tokens übergewichtet, insbesondere gegenüber HYPE.