Cointelegraph

Securitize Capital, a subsidiary of tokenized asset platform Securitize, has registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as an investment adviser, allowing the company to expand its regulated investment advisory business for institutional clients, Securitize said Monday.
The registration adds investment advisory capabilities to Securitize’s existing regulated businesses, which include an SEC-registered broker-dealer, alternative trading system, transfer agent and fund administration services.
CEO Carlos Domingo said the registration strengthens Securitize’s ability to help institutions develop and manage investment strategies for onchain capital markets. Securitize Capital previously operated as an exempt reporting adviser and is now subject to additional disclosure, compliance, recordkeeping and examination requirements under the Investment Advisers Act.
Securitize is the largest tokenization platform by onchain asset value, with around $4.8 billion in tokenized assets across funds from BlackRock, Apollo, KKR, VanEck, Hamilton Lane and other asset managers.
The company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SECZ on July 2 after completing a merger with Cantor Equity Partners II. Shares have since fallen about 46% from their first-day closing price.
Top RWA tokenization platforms. Source: RWA.xyz
Magazine: CLARITY hopes fade, BitMEX shuts as lawsuit looms: Hodler’s Digest, July 26

Tether’s gold-backed token XAUt has received Shariah certification from Amanah Advisors, a move that could expand access to the token among Islamic financial institutions and investors seeking Shariah-compliant exposure to physical gold.
The certification found XAUt’s structure complies with key Islamic finance principles, including full backing by physical gold, the absence of interest and leverage, and transparent reserves. Each XAUt token represents one troy ounce of physical gold stored in Swiss vaults, according to Tether.
The designation gives Tether a clearer pathway to market XAUt to Islamic financial institutions and investors that require Shariah-compliant investment products. Tether said it expects the certification to support adoption across markets where Islamic finance is widely used, including the Gulf Cooperation Council, South Asia and parts of Africa.
XAUt is one of the largest tokenized gold products in the crypto market. Tether’s latest reserves report showed the token was backed by more than 707,000 troy ounces of physical gold worth over $3.3 billion as of March 31.
According to RWA.xyz data, the token’s onchain asset value has climbed from about $700 million in July 2025 to roughly $2.5 billion.
Tether tokenized gold. Source: RWA.xyz
Shariah-compliant crypto products gain traction
Cryptocurrencies have long divided Islamic scholars, with debates centering on whether digital assets comply with Shariah principles that prohibit excessive uncertainty, speculation and interest. As companies seek to address those concerns, Shariah-compliant digital assets have begun to emerge.
One early example came in 2025, when Bahrain-based AlAbraaj Restaurants Group adopted a Bitcoin (BTC) treasury strategy and said it planned to develop Shariah-compliant financial instruments to broaden access to Bitcoin across the Islamic world.
More recently, in April, Palm Azgar Finance expanded its Shariah-compliant PUSD stablecoin to ADI Chain, targeting the more than $3 trillion Islamic finance market. PUSD became the second stablecoin available on the network, allowing institutions to settle transactions using either a dollar-linked asset or a dirham-denominated token on the same infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Dubai has emerged as a leading crypto hub in the Middle East, continuing to expand its regulated digital asset market. Earlier this month, the emirate’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) issued its 50th virtual asset service provider license, surpassing the number of licensed crypto firms in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Magazine: CLARITY hopes fade, BitMEX shuts as lawsuit looms: Hodler’s Digest, July 26

Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, has agreed to acquire the wallet-as-a-service business of Magic Labs, expanding its enterprise infrastructure offering as demand for onchain financial services continues to grow.
Payward said Monday the acquisition will allow it to integrate Magic Labs’ non-custodial wallet technology into Payward Services, its business-to-business platform for crypto trading, custody, tokenized assets and fiat on- and off-ramps. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The addition of embedded wallets allows businesses to offer self-custodied wallets directly within their applications instead of relying on third-party wallet providers, giving business clients a broader suite of blockchain infrastructure through a single integration.
Magic Labs said its infrastructure has been used to create more than 60 million non-custodial wallets for over 200,000 developers and has facilitated more than $10 billion in stablecoin transactions.
The companies expect the transaction to close in the coming weeks, subject to customary closing conditions.
Following the sale, Magic Labs said it will focus on Newton, a platform that helps users and applications securely authorize and verify onchain transactions without relying on centralized intermediaries.
Magazine: Here’s why the CLARITY Act’s ethics deal may be so hard to reach

Bitcoin (BTC) sought to build on local highs at Monday’s Wall Street open as US stocks opened in the green.
Key points:
Bitcoin approached new local highs with the start of the week’s first US trading session.
Stocks also opened higher amid relief over a hiatus in the US-Iran war and potential progress on reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
BTC price action defended two daily moving averages on Sunday’s weekly close.
Bitcoin follows stocks higher as Iran news offers risk-asset tailwind
Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD spiking to near $66,000 as markets reacted to a pause in strikes between the US and Iran.
BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
Additional reports cited an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman announcing that Tehran and Oman were “trying to establish mechanisms regarding maritime traffic” through the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil route currently closed.
US WTI crude oil fell toward $82 per barrel on Monday before a modest rebound. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index were both up by around 0.3% at the time of writing.
CFDs on US WTI crude oil one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
Acknowledging a potential stumbling block in the form of higher US bond yields, trading company QCP Capital voiced that they were anticipating tailwinds for the crypto market going forward.
“Digital assets have generally outperformed equities in July despite a more challenging macro backdrop,” the firm wrote in its latest Market Color analysis.
“BTC and ETH are up approximately 11.6% and 24.6% month-to-date, respectively, even as higher Treasury yields and periodic risk-off sentiment have weighed on broader markets.”
QCP referenced developments around the CLARITY Act, a key piece of proposed crypto legislation still under consideration.
“Market attention also remains on developments surrounding the proposed CLARITY Act, which continues to be closely followed by digital asset participants given its potential implications for the US regulatory framework,” it continued.
BTC price support holds but remains fragile
Among Bitcoin traders, caution mixed with quiet optimism over BTC price action on shorter time frames.
Crypto trader and analyst Michaël Van de Poppe highlighted that BTC was holding the 21-day and 50-day simple moving averages (SMAs) as support. These stood at $64,289 and $63,261, respectively.
“This is a strong signal for the markets to be betting on the long side of this asset, however, it’s still a little fragile,” he wrote in ongoing updates on X.
“I’d much prefer to see a strong move to $66,000-67,000 over the next 1-3 days to see a continuous bid coming in.”
BTC/USDT one-day chart. Source: Michaël Van de Poppe on X.com
Data from CoinGlass showed crypto short liquidations spiking as the market rose, with these nearing $250 million over a 24-hour period.
BTC/USD vs. crypto liquidations (screenshot). Source: CoinGlass

Hong Kong digital asset services business HashKey Holdings has merged its HashKey Exchange and HashKey Global exchanges into a single platform and application.
Core jurisdictional hubs including Hong Kong, Singapore, the Middle East (Dubai) and Bermuda have been merged under a single platform, according to a Monday announcement. The move represents a departure from the early stages of the virtual asset industry when licensed exchanges typically operated under regional siloed models to simplify compliance. HashKey said.
The transition follows a principle of “unified entry, localized compliance” where all users download the same application while the platform manages compliance across their specific legislative domain — across the Hong Kong, Global, Singapore, or Middle East regions.
This results in a single front-end that simplifies access to systems that are promised to remain compliant with local regulatory frameworks thanks to localized management.
Other platforms, including OKX, present their website and mobile apps as one platform, while its terms assign customers to different providers according to residence. On the legal backend, that same platform is based on separate entities for Singapore, Dubai, Australia, the EEA, Brazil and the United States.
Kraken similarly consolidated Dutch broker BCM into its platform after acquiring it in September 2024. In August, Kraken began serving its European Economic Area through its Irish MiCA entity under a similar unified regulatory framework.

Bitcoin (BTC) heads into the end of July juggling volatility catalysts as the Federal Reserve reacts to US inflation.
Key points:
The Fed will deliver its latest decision on interest rates as US bond yields spike, with markets seeing a September hike as likely.
June PCE inflation is due on Thursday after hitting a three-year high of 4.1% last month
Signs of a shift in the equities uptrend places the focus on Bitcoin’s macro correlation.
Whales exchange inflows cool by 44% since June
Markets remain split on rate outlook
Attention turns once more to the US Federal Reserve this week, with the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), chaired by Kevin Warsh, set to announce its latest interest rate decision on Wednesday, July 29.
A combination of geopolitical tensions and persistent inflation pressures has reshaped expectations for Fed policy and put the possibility of further rate hikes back on the table as the US 2-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.3% last week. The latest data from the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool currently sees a 31% chance of a hike this week, with a hike at the September meeting having odds as high as 50%.
Fed target rate probabilities (screenshot). Source: CME Group
These rate hike expectations were tempered slightly as oil prices dropped 8% in the early hours of Monday as the US and Iran paused strikes. Rate hike odds therefore shifted from 37.4% to 33.7%. Ongoing developments in the Middle East thus continue to introduce volatility into the macroeconomic outlook, even as PPI inflation data released earlier in the month came in below expectations.
Fed target rate probability comparison for July FOMC meeting (screenshot). Source: CME Group
Commenting, trading resource Mosaic Asset Company also noted a pending upward breakout in 30-year bonds. Although the long end of the bond curve now plays a diminished role in funding the US government, this could notionally add to pressure on Warsh as he shapes his language at the post-FOMC press conference.
“The 30-year Treasury yield is also testing a key breakout level once again. In May, the 30-year yield saw a false break above the 5% level which has served as resistance since late 2023,” it summarized in the latest edition of its regular newsletter, The Market Mosaic.
US 30-year bond-yield data. Source: Mosaic Asset Company
Even before the latest turmoil, new Fed chair Warsh had steered clear of dovish language on the economy and kept his post-FOMC statement and press conference notably brief.
“Inflation remains elevated relative to the Committee’s 2 percent goal, in part reflecting supply shocks that have driven price increases in certain sectors, including energy,” he said at the time.
PCE inflation seen falling from three-year high
Beyond the FOMC, markets will be watching the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index on Thursday for fresh signals over the impact of the US-Iran war on inflation trends. The June print of the index, currently sits at three-year highs.
https://x.com/Cointelegraph/status/2081630825792061501
PCE volatility can have a snap impact on risk-asset performance as traders reprice potential Fed reactions. June’s release coincided with Bitcoin dropping to macro lows around $58,000.
Prefacing its latest analysis, the International Monetary Economics Network (IMEN) predicted that PCE would be moderately lower compared to May’s 4.1% year-on-year tally. “U.S. inflation: We currently expect June PCE inflation to be 3.7% year‑over‑year,” it wrote on X.
US PCE inflation data (screenshot). Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis
Correlation between Bitcoin and equities remains absent
On higher timeframes, correlations between Bitcoin and major equity indices have largely disappeared. Data from TradingView currently puts the daily correlation between BTC/USD and the S&P 500 with a 20-week loopback window as practically absent, at its lowest levels since March. Against the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index, meanwhile, its current correlation coefficient of 0.11 was last observed in mid-February. While correlations on the weekly timeframe move slowly, bearish geopolitical and macro events have the potential to make the two asset classes move in lockstep again.
BTC/USD one-week chart with rolling 20-week stocks correlation. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
For now, corporate earnings in the US have continued to surpass expectations. However, given the historically high valuations, this is unlikely to shield the market from potential pullbacks. Several major US tech stocks saw significant drawdowns last week. The Magnificent 7 falling by an aggregate 5.3% through Friday after $GOOGL and $TSLA had already suffered sell-offs earlier in the week.
In spite of this, “Alphabet, $GOOGL , is the single largest margin contributor after significantly beating earnings estimates,” the Kobeissi Letter commented on the topic at the weekend.
“Meanwhile, 86% of reporting S&P 500 firms have so far beaten EPS estimates, while 80% have exceeded revenue expectations. AI is driving historic earnings growth.”
S&P 500 net profit-margin data. Source: The Kobeissi Letter on X.com
Mosaic Asset Company highlighted the risks that the rate environment may exert on US equities.
“Rising rates across the yield curve could keep pressuring stock prices, where indexes like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq peaked in early June and are now losing key support levels. At the same time, market breadth is deteriorating while the backdrop for seasonality is transitioning from a bullish tailwind to bearish headwind. Seasonality during mid-term election years also tends to produce lower average returns and larger drawdowns.”
With these emerging hurdles, the S&P 500 is at risk of losing its bullish setup altogether, Mosaic warns.
“The S&P already lost one key support level with the 50-day moving average (MA - black line). If trendline support in the triangle gives way, that could set up a test of the 200-day MA (green line) that’s currently near the 7,000 level (or 5% downside from current levels),” it added alongside an explanatory chart.
S&P 500 data. Source: Mosaic Asset Company
On shorter time frames, the picture remains fluid, with a pause in hostilities between the US and Iran providing a bullish impulse across risk assets. US WTI crude oil dropped as low as $83 per barrel to start the week, having previously eyed $95.
“The market is beginning to price-in a peace deal again,” Kobeissi responded.
CFDs on US WTI crude oil one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
“Boring” BTC price range tests 50-month trend line
Bitcoin went on to seal new local highs after Sunday’s weekly close, reaching $65,680 on Bitstamp. Still in a familiar range, BTC/USD battled its 50-month exponential moving average (EMA) trend line, having previously flipped it to resistance in a copycat move from the 2022 bear market.
BTC/USD one-day chart with 50-month EMA. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
Commenting on the current market setup, trader and analyst Rekt Capital flagged resurgent sell-side pressure.
“The more seller-dominant the volume becomes while Bitcoin is at resistance, the greater the chances for a rejection from here,” he warned X followers on Sunday.
Rekt Capital brought the 200-week simple moving average (SMA) into the equation, describing price as “sandwiched” between it and its 50-month counterpart.
“Continued price compression here is unsustainable and will eventually force major volatility,” he forecast.
“And if the seller volume keeps coming in at this rate, then there’ll likely be a breakout on seller volume to precede a rejection from this local resistance area.”
BTC/USD one-week chart. Source: Rekt Capital on X.com
Binance whale inflows nearly halve since mid-June
Commenting on the FOMC meeting and its impact on crypto markets, onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant sees a potential knock-on effect for sell-side pressure on major exchanges.
According to their data, BTC inflows from whales to Binance, have dropped by up to 44% since June 12, while retail inflows fell 22%.
“This leaves retail inflows at roughly twice the level of whale inflows, with a gap of $3.9 billion,” contributor Amr Taha wrote in a blog post on Monday.
“The divergence suggests that the composition of BTC transfers into Binance has shifted: retail participants are currently significantly more active than whales in sending BTC to the exchange.”
Bitcoin whale inflows to Binance (screenshot). Source: CryptoQuant
Taha described the FOMC meeting as a “major macro catalyst” that could reshape the approach of all investor cohorts to the market.
“With retail inflows now running at 2x whale inflows, Wednesday’s Fed decision could provide an important test of whether the current divergence between the two BTC cohorts persists or begins to converge,” he concluded.
As Cointelegraph reported, Binance saw single-day withdrawals of over 9,000 BTC last week.

The Binance app has become unavailable on the Google Play Store in certain European Union countries amid questions over the exchange’s compliance with the bloc’s crypto licensing framework.
A user in Spain confirmed to Cointelegraph on Monday that the Binance app was no longer visible in Google Play searches, although it remained available through Oppo’s App Market, an Android app store used on Oppo devices.
In contrast, checks in Poland showed the Binance app remained available on Google Play, indicating the issue does not affect all EU markets.
The first reports of Binance’s Android app disappearing from Google Play in Europe surfaced last week, when OKX Europe CEO Erald Ghoos claimed on X that the app had been removed due to Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) licensing requirements.
Cointelegraph contacted Binance for comment on the reported changes but did not receive a response by publishing time.
The reports came weeks after Binance withdrew its MiCA application in Greece, shortly before the framework’s transitional period ended on July 1. The company later notified some EU users that access to certain services would be restricted, while withdrawals would remain available.

Circle will acquire IBM’s blockchain patent portfolio, the USDC (USDC) issuer said on Monday.
No financial details for the transaction were disclosed in Circle’s announcement. CRCL stock price was up more than 2% in premarket activity on Monday following the announcement, according to Yahoo Finance data.
The portfolio comprises more than 680 patent families and nearly 1,000 issued patents worldwide. Circle said the acquisition positions it as the leader in blockchain patent holdings in the United States, with an intellectual property position that directly supports the fintech’s foundation for building the internet financial system.
IBM’s blockchain focus has leaned heavily into supply chain applications, which seek to increase transparency in tracking products across numerous intermediaries. In recent years, it has slowed its patent filings from peak years 2018-2019, when more than 500 blockchain-related patents were filed, research firm GreyB said.
“IBM has been a pioneer in technological innovation, and this acquisition expands Circle’s ability to advance the infrastructure that powers global, internet-native finance,” said Sarah Wilson, general counsel and corporate secretary at Circle.

Strategy, the business intelligence firm that has built the largest corporate Bitcoin treasury, continued adjusting its capital structure last week through a combination of stock sales and preferred share repurchases.
Strategy sold 5,429,160 shares of its Class A common stock (MSTR) through its at-the-market (ATM) offering program between July 20 and July 26, generating $544.5 million in net proceeds.
The MSTR share price was up more than 2% in Monday’s premarket activity, according to Yahoo Finance. The STRC preferred shares were up 2.3% to $88.90 ahead of the Nasdaq open.
The company also repurchased 288,930 shares of its STRC preferred stock for $25 million, according to a Form 8-K filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.
The update comes after Strategy executive chairman Michael Saylor sparked speculation on Sunday with his “We’re gonna need another color” post on X, which some market observers interpreted as a hint at a new move involving the company’s preferred stock strategy.
Source: Michael Saylor on X.com
Stock sales boost dollar reserve $3.75B
Following additional capital raised through its ATM stock offering program, Strategy increased its US dollar reserve to $3.75 billion as of July 26, up from $3.225 billion the previous week.
However, Strategy reported no Bitcoin purchases or sales during the July 20-26 period, leaving its holdings unchanged at 843,775 BTC, acquired at an average purchase price of $75,476 per Bitcoin, or $63.69 billion in aggregate. The biggest crypto was last trading hands at roughly $64,971 at time of publication.
Strategy’s growing cash reserve highlights management’s efforts to maintain liquidity as it expands its capital markets activity through common stock offerings and preferred stock instruments. The reserve is intended to support dividend payments on preferred stock and interest payments on the company’s outstanding debt.
Saylor sparks debate over BTC future role for banks
The update came shortly after Saylor reignited a debate over whether banks have a place in Bitcoin’s future after arguing that the crypto asset’s growth depends on integration with traditional financial institutions.
Saylor wrote on X on Sunday that rejecting Bitcoin’s links to financial infrastructure would deny access to most potential users. His comments drew criticism from some BTC supporters, who contend that greater involvement from banks conflicts with the network’s original goal of enabling transactions without intermediaries.
Several users pushed back against Saylor’s argument by citing Bitcoin’s white paper, which introduced the asset as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system designed to remove the need for financial institutions. The exchange highlighted a growing divide between advocates who view banks as necessary gateways for mainstream adoption and those who see them as a threat to Bitcoin’s decentralized foundation.
Magazine: Strategy became a symbol of the dot-com crash: Could history repeat?

European authorities added 15 crypto companies including a BNY Mellon unit to the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework register in the third update of regulated providers since the July 1 transitional deadline.
With the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) update on Friday, its interim MiCA register shows 309 licensed crypto-asset service providers (CASPs).
The latest entries include four banking institutions, including BNY SA/NV, the Belgian subsidiary of US banking giant BNY Mellon, and three German banks, alongside digital asset platforms such as BitPay, Coinify and Bleap.
The update comes as regulators continue building out the MiCA framework, which introduced the European Union’s first unified rules for crypto service providers and aims to bring more oversight to the sector.
Germany and Denmark lead latest CASP additions
Germany and Denmark accounted for the largest number of the latest additions, with three new CASPs registered in each country. Bulgaria and Latvia followed with two additions each, while Belgium, Cyprus, Liechtenstein and the Netherlands each added one provider.
The German additions included cooperative financial societies Spar-und Kreditbank Rheinstetten and VR-Bank Augsburg-Ostallgäu, along with Raiffeisenbank Falkenstein-Wörth.
15 new CASPs in the MiCA register update on Thursday. Source: ESMA
Other newly listed providers include: Bulgaria’s Altcoins BG and Digital Assist; Denmark’s SafeLynx Technologies and Januar, a digital asset infrastructure company; and, Latvia-registered providers Bleap and Nodu Digital.
MiCA expansion continues after July deadline
The latest update follows ESMA’s previous register additions after the July 1 deadline, including 14 CASPs added in the regulator’s second post-deadline update, which included major industry companies such as Ripple Payments Europe.
While the CASP roster expanded, ESMA reported no changes to other MiCA-related registers in the latest update, including authorized issuers of asset-referenced tokens (ARTs), e-money tokens (EMTs), and crypto assets, as well as non-compliant entities.
The continued updates show that MiCA implementation remains an evolving process, with regulators still adding authorized providers as companies complete licensing procedures across European markets.
At the same time, some industry executives warn that the cost of maintaining a MiCA license could push smaller firms out of the market, with Gate Europe CEO Giovanni Cunti saying some licensed companies may struggle to sustain the compliance resources required over the long term.
Magazine: Here’s why the CLARITY Act’s ethics deal may be so hard to reach

The Brazilian Federal Police last week busted an alleged international drug cartel thought to have trafficked around 6.5 metric tons of cocaine and laundered billions of reals in proceeds via methods that included crypto-enabled illicit money brokers.
According to a July 23 announcement, federal and state law enforcement arrested nine people and executed 13 pretrial detention warrants and 44 search-and-seizure warrants across São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Santa Catarina and Espírito Santo.
The organization is suspected of moving billions in Brazilian reals through various asset-concealment methods, including shell companies, crypto-enabled illicit money brokers, luxury assets and real estate. The suspects will face charges including participation in a transnational criminal organization, international drug trafficking and money laundering.
The report follows the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioning six Ethereum addresses tied to a Sinaloa Cartel-linked money laundering network that allegedly converted drug proceeds into cryptocurrency in May.

CLARITY may get a vote, but don’t get your hopes up yet
Despite wealthy memecoin entrepreneur President Donald Trump agreeing to an ethics deal, the Clarity Act (CLARITY) is floundering as the August recess deadline looms.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he doesn’t believe the act has the votes to pass just yet, but may bring it to a vote anyway to “get Clarity started. We’ll see where the votes are.”
The ethics deal would prohibit all US officials from issuing or sponsoring digital assets, but contains some “get out of jail free” provisions for the President that the Democrats are unhappy with, including the fact the rules expire the day he is scheduled to leave office in 2029.
The ethics provisions will also be enforced by the Attorney General that Trump appointed. The Democrats instead want state Attorney Generals to enforce it — but Trump seems unlikely to agree to empower dozens of state AGs to attempt to prosecute him.
The White House described the bill as the “most comprehensive and wide-ranging ethics provision in history,” while Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego described it as a “piece of s---” and “not a serious effort.”
Negotiations are continuing to find a deal both sides can live with, but given the lack of trust, it’s not going to be easy to find a compromise.
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon conceded the bill is “not perfect” but has supported it anyway, along with Fidelity and Charles Schwab who represent many trillions in assets under management each.
Law enforcement organizations have also begun to signal support, with The National Fraternal Order of Police representing hundreds of thousands of members, stating the latest version of the BRCA (which protects developers of decentralized protocols) would not impede investigations into money laundering and fraud.
The odds of the bill passing this year are at 38% on Polymarket.
BitMEX to shut down after 11 years as class action launched against it
BitMEX, one of the pioneers of cryptocurrency derivatives trading, announced it will shut down operations in September after 11 years.
BitMEX launched in 2014 and became known for introducing the 100x leverage perpetual swaps.
In recent years volumes have tanked increased competition from major exchanges like Binance and decentralized protocols like Hyperliquid.
CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju said BitMEX’s share of the Bitcoin futures market has fallen to just 0.08%, with roughly $84 million in daily trading volume.
“It was a great exchange that helped shape the industry, and now it is passing the torch to the next generation of exchanges it inspired,” Ju said.
BitMEX’s utility token BMEX collapsed in value after the announcement. That same day, news emerged of a class action lawsuit accusing the crypto derivatives platform of fraudulently engineering customer liquidations to seize traders’ collateral. BitMEX denied the allegations and said it had successfully defended itself against similar claims in the past.
Restructuring adviser Roshan Dharia told Cointelegraph the exchange’s demise shows the industry is consolidating.
The top five platforms now control an estimated 80% of global spot volume, leaving mid-tier and regional exchanges with shrinking margins and no viable path to scale... The headwinds are structural, not cyclical.
As if to undescore the point, BitMart subsequently announced it would also close in the coming months.
S&P launches blockchain fundamentals index for digital assets
S&P Dow Jones Indices and Pantera Capital have launched a digital asset index that tracks the major crypto assets — but doesn’t include Bitcoin or XRP.
The S&P Pantera Digital Asset Index is designed to be the benchmark crypto index for institutions, but it screens out blockchains based on minimum thresholds for protocol revenue, market capitalization and liquidity.
The index launched with 18 constituents, with Ether (ETH), BNB (BNB), Solana (SOL), TRON (TRX) and Hyperliquid (HYPE) as its five largest holdings, while Bitcoin (BTC) and XRP (XRP) are the largest non-constituents.
The latest index follows a broader industry push to develop institutional-grade benchmarks for digital assets, with similar products including the Nasdaq Crypto Index US ETF, the Franklin Crypto Index ETF and the the Coinbase Store of Value Index among others.
Robinhood to expand prediction markets as CFTC issues new warning
Robinhood is reportedly discussing plans to expand its existing prediction markets offerings with crypto exchange Crypto.com.
According the Wall Street Journal the talks involve integrating yes-or-no event contracts supplied by Crypto.com. Robinhood launched its prediction markets in March 2025, initially facilitated by Kalshi in order to comply with regulatory requirements from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Bernstein analysts last week raised its price target on Robinhood (HOOD) stock to $160 from $130 per share, based on the company’s outlook for prediction markets and tokenized equities.
Meanwhile the CFTC, which aims to become the primary regulator of prediction markets, issued a shot across the bow of providers last week, telling platforms they need to get a lot more specific about event contracts certifications.
The advisory addresses concerns about the practice of submitting broad, template-style certifications that combine many potential event contract variations into a single certification.
Carl Kennedy, a partner at New York law firm Katten Muchin, also told a House Agriculture Committee hearing last week, that the CLARITY Act could help the CFTC’s efforts to oversee the “explosive growth of prediction markets.”
Balaji’s Network School turns to Kazakhstan amid Malaysia setback
Balaji Srinivasan’s Network School, a community of “digital nomads,” is eyeing a new campus in Kazakhstan after its Forest City campus had its business license in Malaysia revoked over alleged premises-use violations.
A memorandum of understanding was signed between Kazakhstan’s relevant Minister Zhaslan Madiyev and Srinivasan to establish the first Network School campus in the country, which aims to become a digital hub.
The school was forced out of Johor in Malaysia, following a controversy in Malaysia over allowing Israeli dual citizens to attend. The Muslim majority country has no diplomatic relations with Israel. Despite an investigation finding no visa violations, the Network School was ordered to shut down on another pretext.
Dragonfly Capital managing partner Haseeb Qureshi said the drama has validated Balaji’s Network State thesis.
“The whole idea of a network state is taking a dense group of talent and capital, and collectively negotiating with states. The Malaysia drama set up Balaji to negotiate better terms with another state to copy and paste the network there.“
Winners and losers
At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $65,395, Ether (ETH) is at $1,958, and XRP (XRP) is at $1.11. The total market cap is at $2.24 trillion according to CoinMarketCap.
Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin winners of the week are Audiera (BEAT), which gained 53%, Shinba Inu (SHIB) with a 29% gain, and Venice Token (VVV), which increased 19%.
The top three altcoin losers of the week are DeXe (DEXE), which lost 89%, Midnight (NIGHT), which fell 26%, and Pyth Network (PYTH), which dropped 10%.
Prediction of the Week
Bitcoin will get ‘lift’ from Hyperliquid, Robinhood in next crypto bull market
Bitcoin (BTC) is “finally showing signs of a bottom,” according to Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise.
Houghan predicts that TradFi integrations, particularly Hyperliquid and Robinhood, will drive the next crypto bull market, and the resulting tide should “lift” the largest cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ether.
Houghan believes crypto is bringing major benefits like 24/7 trading to traditional markets, and noted that today “nearly half the volume on Hyperliquid is in conventional assets like oil, silver, and the S&P 500 [and] it’s expanding into spot commodities, prediction markets, and options,”
Bitwise data also suggests apparent demand for BTC is showing signs of reversal. The metric measures the difference between newly-mined BTC and the supply inactive for at least one year.
Source: Matt Hougan
Top FUD of the Week
Home invasions became most common crypto wrench attack in H1 2026: CertiK
Home invasions became the most common form of crypto wrench attacks during the first half of 2026, rising to 20 publicly reported incidents from just one a year earlier, according to blockchain security firm CertiK.
On Thursday, CertiK said it verified 52 wrench attacks worldwide in the first half of 2026, up 33.3% from 39 incidents during the same period in 2025. Kidnappings rose to 16 from 12, while robberies declined from five incidents to one.
CertiK said the recorded financial exposure linked to the attacks reached about $124.1 million, up from $10.5 million a year earlier.
The increase in home invasions suggests criminals are increasingly bypassing digital safeguards by physically coercing crypto holders and their families.
Hackers steal $31.6M in 2 crypto bridge attacks within 7 hours
Hackers stole more than $31.6 million across two unrelated crypto bridge exploits spaced just hours apart, targeting bridges operated by decentralized perpetual exchange AFX and Verus Protocol.
According to Blockaid, AFX, a decentralized perpetual exchange operating on Arbitrum, reportedly lost $24.15 million on Wednesday through a hack targeting one of its cross-chain bridges. Hours later, Blockaid said it detected an exploit targeting the Verus Ethereum Bridge that resulted in about $7.5 million in crypto being stolen.
“Another bridge, another exploit. Bridges will always be a weak link, until security is upgraded,” onchain investigator TheCrypticWolf said in a post on X.
Ethereum ETFs close week in red, end 5-day inflow streak
US-listed spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) logged $70.62 million in net outflows on Friday, ending a five-day inflow streak.
Ethereum funds saw $211.25 million in net inflows over the previous five sessions from July 17, according to SoSoValue data. They still posted $103.9 million in net inflows for the week ended Friday.
Despite the outflows, Ethereum ETFs extended their weekly inflow streak to three straight and have attracted $337.74 million in net inflows so far in July.
The Bitcoin ETFs reversed gains made earlier in the week to end up with $33.9 million of inflows.
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Stablecoin payments firm Triple-A confirmed that unauthorized access to its treasury wallets resulted in the loss of company-owned digital assets.
On Monday, the Singapore-based company said it detected the unauthorized access on Saturday and temporarily placed certain services into maintenance mode for about three hours while it secured the affected infrastructure. Triple-A said client funds were not affected because it does not custody digital assets on behalf of customers and keeps client funds separately in trust accounts with safeguarding institutions.
Triple-A did not disclose the amount lost or explain how the wallets were compromised. Onchain investigator Specter previously estimated the losses at about $11.8 million.
The company said the financial impact was limited to specific operational accounts and would be absorbed through its treasury reserves. It added that all services had been restored and transactions and settlements were processing normally.
Triple-A said it was working with cybersecurity specialists, blockchain forensics firms and authorities, including the Singapore Police Force, to investigate the incident, trace the assets and support recovery efforts.

Withdrawals from crypto exchange BitMart appeared to slow after it announced plans to wind down its operations.
On Monday, blockchain analytics account Lookonchain reported that only 58 wallets withdrew about $805,000 in over 24 hours. It added that the exchange had not processed any withdrawals during the latest eight-hour period it tracked.
X users also continued to report withdrawal difficulties. One user said they received an email stating that a USDT withdrawal had been completed even though the transaction had not been processed and their account displayed an “on-chain withdrawal freeze.” Another user said a $30 test withdrawal remained pending for over 30 minutes. These are individual claims and could not be verified.
BitMart’s ability to return customer funds smoothly will be a key test of its promised “orderly” wind-down and could determine whether declining confidence develops into a broader rush for the exits.
BitMart previously said withdrawals remain available but warned that requests may face additional compliance and security checks, including reviews of customer identities, login devices, withdrawal addresses, trading histories and sources of funds. The exchange may also request proof of identity, address, source of funds or ownership of the receiving wallet.
Cointelegraph reached out to BitMart for comments but did not receive a response before publication.
BitMart token extends decline as exchange prepares to close
On Sunday, BitMart announced that it would stop accepting new registrations and deposits while restricting new spot orders and futures positions. Trading services are scheduled to end on Aug. 26, with the platform expected to cease operations entirely on Jan. 31, 2027.
Arkham-identified wallets attributed to BitMart held about $69 million in crypto assets on Monday, down from roughly $102 million on July 6.
BitMart’s BMX token traded near $0.057 on Monday and had fallen about 81.5% over seven days, according to CoinGecko. The token was trading around $0.31 late Friday before the exchange’s shutdown became public.
BMX token’s 24-hour chart. Source: CoinGecko
The closure also prompted discussion about whether larger exchanges could acquire smaller competitors.
Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao said acquiring a centralized exchange was more complicated than buying other businesses because buyers could inherit security vulnerabilities, including backdoors left by previous teams. He added that acquisitions remain possible but require greater scrutiny.
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Cross-chain bridging and atomic swap protocol Garden Finance temporarily took its app offline after blockchain security firm Blockaid reported an exploit targeting the protocol’s hash time-locked contracts (HTLC) across four blockchain networks.
On Sunday, Blockaid said an attacker drained about $450,000 in USDT from Garden’s HTLC contracts on Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum and BNB Smart Chain. HTLCs are time-bound escrow contracts that Garden uses to facilitate atomic swaps between Bitcoin and assets on other networks.
Blockaid described the exploit as ongoing when it published its alert but did not disclose the suspected vulnerability or say whether the incident affected user funds. Blockaid’s alert included addresses associated with the attacker and the affected contracts.
Garden said separately that it had detected “unusual activity” and was conducting a full investigation while its app remained temporarily offline.
Garden Finance and Blockaid acknowledged Cointelegraph’s request for comments.
The incident follows an October 2025 breach in which an attacker stole about $11.4 million after compromising the operating environment of one of Garden’s solvers. Garden said that breach did not affect its protocol contracts or put user funds at risk.

Decentralized cloud storage provider Storj Labs has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company said it plans to keep its network running while restructuring legacy liabilities and exploring an ownership pathway for STORJ tokenholders.
On Sunday, Storj said it filed the voluntary case in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of West Virginia. The company said ordinary operations and customer services would continue during the process, subject to court oversight, while its parent company, Inveniam, would continue to support the business.
The restructuring could become an unusual test of whether utility-token holders can participate in the ownership of a company emerging from bankruptcy.
In an open letter to its community, Storj said its liabilities largely predate its current strategy and are too substantial to resolve through business growth alone. It said the network continues to operate normally and its token’s utility is unchanged.
STORJ showed no significant immediate price reaction following the announcement, trading around $0.072 at the time of writing, according to CoinGecko.
Storj explores equity pathway for tokenholders
Storj said management intends to propose a mechanism allowing tokenholders to participate in the reorganized company’s equity.
However, Storj has not disclosed how tokenholder eligibility would be determined, whether participation would involve a token snapshot or lockup, or how much equity might be allocated. The company acknowledged that any plan must follow bankruptcy priorities and receive court approval.
Cointelegraph reached out to Storj for comment but did not receive a response before publication.
Storj is among the crypto industry’s longest-running decentralized infrastructure projects. Storj began in 2014 as an open-source peer-to-peer cloud storage project that sought to let users rent storage from other network participants rather than rely on centralized providers.
Storj’s bankruptcy filing comes in the same month as at least two other crypto companies sought Chapter 11 protection.
Movement Labs filed under Subchapter V on July 15 after months of turmoil linked to its MOVE token, while Bitcoin mining pool Poolin filed on July 22 as it pursued a court-supervised sale of two Texas mining sites.
BitMEX also announced in July that it would shut down after 11 years. Still, the derivatives exchange did not file for bankruptcy, instead opting for an orderly wind-down following a strategic review.
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Layer-1 blockchain network WEMIX said an attacker moved about 724,000 in USDC.e tokens after compromising ownership of a contract linked to its WEMIX$ stablecoin and issuing tokens without authorization.
The abnormal transactions occurred on Sunday at 9:17 UTC, according to a preliminary incident update from WEMIX. The attacker issued about 5.23 million WEMIX$, which was converted into 30,736 WEMIX and 724,198.27 USDC.e. The USDC.e was then bridged to Ethereum and BNB Smart Chain before being exchanged for assets including Ether and Tether’s USDT and distributed across multiple addresses.
WEMIX said some of the funds were deposited into centralized exchanges. The company identified the attacker’s wallets and requested asset freezes and assistance from exchanges and stablecoin issuers, adding that some exchanges had already frozen addresses linked to the incident.
The company temporarily suspended all bridges connected to its layer-1 network, WEMIX3.0, including Chainlink CCIP and the PLAY Bridge. It also suspended trading in affected liquidity pools, withdrew foundation-provided liquidity, and paused services including the WEMIX$ Module and PNIX decentralized exchange.
WEMIX said the cause and full impact remain under investigation and warned that the preliminary figures could change.

For the second time this year, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a warning to prediction markets operators to follow the rules when creating contract certifications that operators consider cover a broad swath of events contracts.
The CFTC, which claims to be the primary regulator of prediction markets, on Friday issued an advisory clarifying that, notwithstanding ongoing policy discussions and proposed rulemaking concerning prediction markets, the markets retain the ability to certify event contracts as compliant with the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations without prior commission approval, subject to the statutory framework governing self-certification.
The agency on Friday warned about the number of instances of events contracts that are “self-certified” by the platforms under the agency’s jurisdiction “without supplying the terms and conditions of each proposed permutation and a concise explanation and analysis with respect to the product’s terms and conditions, the underlying commodity, and the product’s compliance.”
“The guidance reiterates that broad, template-style certifications should not be submitted,” the CFTC said in its July 24 announcement. The regulator issued a similar warning about overly generalized submissions on March 12.
The advisory was issued just days ahead of the CFTC’s July 27 deadline to submit comments on its proposed rule amendments governing public interest determinations for certain event contracts involving the Commodity Exchange Act’s enumerated activities.
The CFTC has proposed amendments to clarify how it determines whether certain event contracts are contrary to the public interest, establishing a three-step analytical framework for evaluation.
This framework will help assess contracts based on their involvement in activities like terrorism, assassination, or gaming, ensuring that only appropriate contracts are listed for trading.
The proposed rule, if adopted, would fundamentally reshape aspects of the regulatory landscape for prediction markets, law firm Ropes & Gray said in June.

Sberbank, Russia’s biggest bank, plans to build cryptocurrency trading infrastructure including a digital depository no later than Dec. 1 as the country brings crypto trading, custody and settlement into its regulated financial system.
That digital depository, Interfax reported, will record ownership of cryptocurrency and process most transactions outside of the main blockchain. Sberbank will operate active wallets for client-initiated deposits, withdrawals and transfers.
“One of the key elements of the new infrastructure will be a digital depository, which will maintain records of clients’ cryptocurrency rights and account for transactions outside the main blockchain,” said Alexander Vedyakhin, first deputy chairman of Sberbank’s management board, the state-affiliated press service said. “It will also facilitate transactions on active wallets to fulfill clients’ currency transfer orders.”
Russia’s lawmakers earlier this month moved the country closer to its first comprehensive crypto market framework after completing final readings on a bill that would regulate digital asset activity.
The bill would give the Bank of Russia broad oversight of the regulated market, including authority to determine which crypto assets may be offered through licensed intermediaries and to issue implementing regulations.The central bank has set liquidity thresholds, including an average market capitalization of more than 5 trillion rubles (~$64 billion) and an average daily volume of more than 1 trillion rubles (~$12.8 billion) over two years.
Once in place, it also establishes five categories of regulated market participants, including crypto exchanges, brokers, asset managers, custodians and exchange service providers, defining who can buy, sell, hold and exchange crypto assets as of the framework’s effective date of Sept. 1, 2026.
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Moscow adopts crypto framework as EU tightens sanctions
Moscow is moving to put a working crypto infrastructure in place as the European Union turns up the heat on the country with a package of sanctions targeting Russia amid the country’s war on Ukraine. Last week, the bloc listed cryptocurrency exchange HTX, formerly Huobi Global, in its sanctions.
In a Thursday decision, the European Council amended its previous measures “in view of Russia’s actions destabilizing the situation in Ukraine” to include HTX in a list of 18 entities “providing crypto-assets services or payment services established outside of the Union that are significantly frustrating the purpose of the prohibitions” against Russia. The country continues to face sanctions globally over its war in Ukraine following a military invasion in 2022.
The sanctions against HTX came the same day EU officials announced they would prohibit Belarusian nationals and residents from owning, controlling or managing crypto exchanges and digital asset service providers in compliance with the region’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework.
The UK government imposed similar sanctions on HTX in May, saying there were “reasonable grounds to suspect” that the exchange supported Russia’s government by using financial services and funds facilitated by sanctioned entities.
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Dormant Bitcoin movement in the second quarter fell to its lowest level since the third quarter of 2022, according to data shared by Alex Thorn, Galaxy’s head of firmwide research.
Coin days destroyed, a metric that gives greater weight to older coins, showed a similar decline.
Thorn said the earlier spikes were driven by “OGs taking profit,” similar to the pattern seen during Bitcoin’s 2017 bull market, suggesting long-term holders have slowed selling after elevated distribution in 2024 and 2025.
Dormant coin movement tracks Bitcoin that has remained untouched for extended periods before being spent again. Analysts monitor the metric because increased activity from long-term holders has historically coincided with periods of profit-taking and heightened selling pressure, while subdued activity can suggest those investors are holding rather than distributing their coins.
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