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Wintermute USA LLC registered as a broker-dealer with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and became a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) on August 7, 2026, establishing a regulated presence in US securities markets for a major digital-asset liquidity provider.
According to an official announcement, the New York-based affiliate can trade equities and equity options as principal and participate in primary markets for exchange-traded products. The registration places Wintermute within the infrastructure used to create and redeem shares of digital-asset exchange-traded products.
The registration gives Wintermute USA a regulated route into US securities activity while keeping its business focused on proprietary trading. Under SEC and FINRA oversight, the firm can provide liquidity to national securities exchanges and over-the-counter counterparties for its own account.
Good morning, USA Wintermute USA is now an SEC-registered broker-dealer and FINRA member (https://t.co/7rQGL6UzX6) The registration marks Wintermute's entry into U.S. regulated markets and strengthens our coverage of institutional counterparties in the region pic.twitter.com/IBZBbAB7GP
— Wintermute (@wintermute_t) August 6, 2026
Wintermute Broker-Dealer Registration: How SEC Status Expands Access to Stocks and Crypto ETFs
According to Wintermute, the registration is explicitly limited to proprietary principal trading. Wintermute USA LLC is authorized to trade equities, equity options, and other security-based instruments for its own account, self-clear digital-asset securities transactions for its own account, and act as an Authorized Participant for exchange-traded products, including products tied to digital assets.
Authorized Participants create and redeem ETF shares, a primary-market function that helps align an ETF’s trading price with its underlying assets. That role gives Wintermute USA the ability to participate in the market infrastructure supporting crypto-linked exchange-traded products rather than only trading their shares in secondary markets.
Wintermute said the registration follows continued investment in the U.S. market and active engagement with regulators and policymakers on market structure and digital-asset regulation.
Wintermute is entering a broker-dealer market with fewer registered firms than in recent years. FINRA oversaw 3,184 registered broker-dealers at the end of 2025, down from 3,394 in 2021.
Wintermute Registers as U.S. Broker-Dealer, Targets Wall Street Market-Making Giants The Wall Street Journal reported that Wintermute’s U.S. arm has registered as a broker-dealer, bringing it under FINRA and SEC oversight and making it eligible to seek designated market-maker… pic.twitter.com/bD9BpIDLJU
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) August 6, 2026
Regulated Market Access: Why Wintermute’s SEC Status Matters for Institutional Crypto Liquidity
Across global venues, the Wintermute group facilitates more than $10 billion in average daily trading volume and provides liquidity across more than 60 centralized and decentralized exchanges. Crypto Briefing reported that the firm processed approximately $3.5 trillion in trading volume in 2025. Wintermute has also said in its H1 2026 OTC report that institutional counterparties accounted for roughly 72% of its spot trading volume, up from 59% a year earlier.
Wintermute said its U.S. institutional client base includes ETF issuers. Its ability to act as an Authorized Participant allows Wintermute USA to participate directly in the creation-and-redemption process for exchange-traded products while operating for its own proprietary account.
Wintermute founder and CEO Evgeny Gaevoy said the company expects digital assets and traditional finance to develop in parallel, intersect in new ways, and integrate more deeply over time. He said firms operating across both centralized digital-asset markets and regulated U.S. securities venues will need technical and operational expertise in both areas.
The registration also comes amid developments in tokenized securities. In March 2026, the SEC cleared Nasdaq’s rule for tokenized share trading, and Intercontinental Exchange backed a tokenized equities venture with OKX in June. Citigroup research estimates that the current $17 billion tokenized-asset market could expand to $5.5 trillion by 2030, while a16z crypto estimates that real-world tokenized assets excluding stablecoins have surpassed $34 billion.
Stocks and Crypto ETFs: What Wintermute’s Broker-Dealer Status Means for Market Structure
SOURCE: CoinGlass
According to reports on the announcement, Wintermute aims to compete with major market makers, including Citadel Securities, Jane Street, and Jump Trading, within three to five years.
Its planned rollout begins with commodities and digital-asset ETFs, with tokenized equities identified as a potential later expansion subject to further regulatory approval. Designated Market Maker status on a major exchange is the stated longer-term objective.
Only three firms currently hold Designated Market Maker status on the New York Stock Exchange under its market model: Citadel Securities, Virtu Americas, and GTS Securities. Wintermute’s ability to reach comparable status would depend on additional approvals.
Wintermute has already entered adjacent markets through over-the-counter market making in tokenized gold products including PAXG and XAUT. The company’s US broker-dealer registration adds regulated securities and exchange-traded product services to its proprietary trading activities.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Details are based on Wintermute’s announcement and publicly available reporting as of August 2026. Forward-looking statements about Wintermute’s strategy and expansion plans are not guarantees of future results.
The post Wintermute Gains Regulated Route Into U.S. ETF Markets appeared first on Tokenist.

Galaxy Digital (NASDAQ: GLXY) shares fell sharply following the firm’s August 5, 2026 earnings release, which reported an $85M net loss for Q2 2026 and gross revenues and gains from operations of $8.711Bn, down 15% QoQ from $10.213Bn in Q1 2026.
This comes as depreciation in digital asset prices hammered the Treasury and Corporate segment and pushed firm-wide adjusted EBITDA to negative $77M, according to the company’s August 5 earnings release.
Galaxy is becoming an AI company with a crypto problem. An $85 million Q2 loss sent $GLXY down 14% as falling crypto prices hit earnings. But its AI data centre pipeline now exceeds 5.7 GW, while the CoreWeave lease could generate around $80 million per quarter at 90%+… pic.twitter.com/dYGNbKJ0Ot
— BeInCrypto (@beincrypto) August 6, 2026
The headline loss, however, obscures a meaningful operational split: the Digital Assets segment generated adjusted gross profit of $66M, up 34% QoQ, while the Helios campus in West Texas delivered its first revenue-generating quarter under a 15-year CoreWeave lease, contributing $20M in adjusted gross profit and $11M in adjusted EBITDA.
The central investor tension for GLXY is now structural: the operating businesses are improving, but crypto-linked balance sheet exposure continues to overwhelm segment-level gains whenever digital asset prices soften.
Mark-to-Market Transmission: How Digital Asset Price Depreciation Turns Segment Gains Into a Firm-Wide Net Loss
SOURCE: Yahoo Finance
Galaxy’s balance sheet reflects unrealized losses on its digital assets, leading to a reported adjusted gross loss of $42M and an adjusted EBITDA of negative $78M in Q2 2026.
Net digital assets fell 15% quarter-over-quarter, from $1.362Bn to $1.160Bn, due to price declines and risk reduction. The Treasury and Corporate segment’s losses overshadowed the $86M adjusted gross profit from Digital Assets and Data Centers.
This trend follows a $216M net loss in Q1 2026, although Q2 shows improvement amid ongoing market pressures. The company’s earnings remain closely tied to crypto prices.
This highlights a challenge in achieving revenue diversification, as the AI data center revenue stream needs to grow significantly to mitigate balance sheet volatility.
Crypto Expert Report: What is the Best Meme Coin to Buy and Forget Until the Next Bullrun?
Galaxy Digital Q2 2026 Earnings: $8.711Bn Gross Revenue, $85M Net Loss, and the Helios Campus Starting to Count
Galaxy’s Q2 2026 earnings release highlights key performance differences across segments. The Digital Assets segment generated $66M in adjusted gross profit, up from $49M in Q1, with Global Markets contributing $49M despite a 7% decline in trading volumes against a broader industry drop. The loan book averaged $1.438Bn, a slight increase from Q1.
Asset Management and Infrastructure Solutions added $17M in profit, but assets under management dropped 12% to $7.1Bn due to falling digital asset prices, with ETF assets down 18% to $1.805Bn.
The AI data center business showed significant growth, boosting adjusted gross profit from $3M in Q1 to $20M in Q2, driven by the ramp-up of Phase I data hall delivery. Total data center assets reached $2.544Bn, with $448M in capex deployed during the quarter. Galaxy expects Phase I to generate about $80M in quarterly leasing revenue starting Q3 2026.
Bull, Base, and Bear Case: What the Helios Ramp and Crypto Exposure Mean for GLXY Investors in Q3 2026
So much criticism of $GLXY. Have held since 2020. People forget what it is right now: it's a crypto trading / infra biz that has frontloaded an AI infra buildout that will ramp meaningfully in H2 with Helios generating cash as of Q2. Helios hedge got dragged w/ the Leopold… pic.twitter.com/UbrZUYtevM
— XCap (@XCapitalMgmt) August 5, 2026
Bull Case: The Helios Phase I lease is expected to generate ~$80M in quarterly revenue with margins over 90% starting Q3 2026, creating a reliable income stream. Recent developments include a $3.5Bn private offering for Helios I Phase II and site acquisitions that expand the power pipeline beyond 5.7 GW. Galaxy is also in talks for the remaining 830 MW of capacity at Helios and has an additional 2 GW under study to meet growing AI infrastructure demand.
Base Case: Operating businesses are improving on an adjusted gross profit basis while treasury losses decrease as crypto markets stabilize. The Digital Assets segment saw 34% QoQ adjusted gross profit growth, showing reduced reliance on token prices. A partnership with BNY enhances institutional distribution possibilities not yet reflected in current financials.
Bear Case: High capital expenditures of $448M in Q2 are hindering cash generation, and the new $3.5Bn senior secured debt necessitates precise Helios lease performance. Delays in Phase II or declines in AI infrastructure demand could threaten the balance sheet. Additionally, a 15% QoQ drop in digital asset exposure leaves Galaxy vulnerable, with $1.16Bn still linked to crypto that could exacerbate losses if prices fall again.
Crypto Expert Report: What Are the 10 Next Crypto to Explode in 2026?
Disclaimer: The author does not hold or have a position in any securities discussed in the article. All stock prices were quoted at the time of writing.
The post Helios Ramp Can’t Offset Crypto Losses as Galaxy Digital Posts $85M Q2 Net Loss appeared first on Tokenist.

Gold price futures (GC=F) rose to $4,222.92 on August 5, 2026, marking three straight days of gains and a near one-month high. Progress in US-Iran talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz led to a drop in crude oil prices and softened inflation expectations.
This has prompted a shift in Federal Reserve rate-hike forecasts from two increases to one by the year’s end, according to CME FedWatch data cited by CNBC. Spot XAU/USD also climbed 1.3% to $4,127.04, while the US dollar index (DXY) fell to around 99.70.
SOURCE: Kalshi
Three key factors are driving gold prices higher: a 14-day streak of net inflows into Chinese gold-backed ETFs, a bullish 4-hour chart structure in XAU/USD following a break above the 200-period EMA, and declining real yields.
This environment reduces the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets, benefiting both gold and Bitcoin, and by proxy, the broader cryptocurrency market.
The Hormuz-to-Inflation Transmission Channel: How Strait of Hormuz Deal Progress Reaches Fed Pricing
$XAU $GOLD $GLD We have a breakout… pic.twitter.com/hFaZLi2l9G
— Michael Isakov (@michaelsisakov) August 5, 2026
The sequence linking Strait of Hormuz diplomacy to Fed rate-hike repricing involves four main steps. First, progress in reopening this crucial waterway, through which about 20% of global oil flows, decreases the risk premium in crude prices, with WTI dropping to around $76.06 and Brent to $80.09. Second, lower oil prices directly impact CPI expectations, reversing the inflation pressures that had kept the Fed aggressive since the US-Iran conflict escalated.
As a result, softer CPI expectations lead to a reduced terminal rate trajectory. Traders adjusted their expectations from two Fed rate hikes by year-end to one, with a 59% probability cited for a hike at the September Federal Open Market Committee meeting, down from 67%. Fourth, the tightening expectations lower the DXY, as the dollar’s yield premium narrows.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated a potential deal with Iran to reopen the Strait, supported by reports of progress from Oman and Qatar. However, Tehran denied formal talks were underway, and J.P. Morgan emphasized the uncertainty surrounding the Iran conflict resolution, categorizing it as a catalyst for repricing rather than a definitive shift in the macroeconomic landscape.
SOURCE: TradingView
Crypto Expert Report: What Are the 10 Next Crypto to Explode in 2026?
Soft Dollar and Real Yield Compression: The Macro Setup Crypto Bulls and Gold Price Enthusiasts Have Been Waiting For
The DXY’s decline toward 99.70 and falling Treasury yields have recreated some of the macro conditions that previously fueled Bitcoin’s rallies. Dollar weakness benefits crypto in two ways.
First, it makes BTC cheaper for non-US buyers and lowers the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets like Bitcoin and gold as real yields fall. When short-duration Treasury yields drop relative to inflation expectations, zero-yield assets become more appealing.
The current situation differs from early 2026, when inflation fears from rising gas prices linked to the Iran war kept the Fed hawkish, causing gold to underperform against equities and Bitcoin.
Now, the shift stems from declining oil prices and interest rate expectations, making it a real-yield and dollar trade rather than a geopolitical safe-haven move. This is crucial for crypto, as institutional investment in Bitcoin ETFs has historically surged under similar conditions.
Additionally, China’s recent gold ETF inflow streak, with 14 consecutive days of inflows, mirrors Bitcoin’s ETF dynamics and indicates that institutional investors are positioning based on real yields and dollar trends rather than merely chasing momentum.
J.P. Morgan reports that China’s net gold price imports soared to 317 tons in Q1 2026, signifying strategic accumulation by the People’s Bank of China amid renminbi reserve diversification following the 2022 Russian asset freeze.
J.P. Morgan’s $6,000 Target and the Bear Case: What a Fed Hiking Cycle Would Do to Crypto and the Gold Price
BREAKING: Spot gold prices surge above $4,200/oz, hitting the highest level since June 22nd. Precious metals continue to gain momentum amid mounting inflation and uncertainty. pic.twitter.com/Syv330XQ5Y
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) August 5, 2026
J.P. Morgan’s commodities research predicts XAU/USD will average $6,000/oz in Q4 2026, down from $6,300/oz in February, with potential for $6,300/oz by the end of 2027. This 5% reduction reflects waning investor interest and uncertainty over the Iran resolution timeline.
Analyst Shearer noted gold is “stuck” in a range above the 200-day moving average at $4,340/oz and below the 50-day at $4,730/oz, with concerns about the Fed responding to inflation impacting investor focus on gold.
The bear scenario, where strong US growth and rising inflation prompt Fed rate hikes, could lead to outflows from gold ETFs and dampen gold prices, alongside similar effects for Bitcoin in a tightening environment. Shearer considers this a challenging outlook for 2026, though some Fed officials support tighter policy.
Crypto Expert Report: What is the Best Meme Coin to Buy and Forget Until the Next Bullrun?
Disclaimer: The author does not hold or have a position in any securities discussed in the article. All stock prices were quoted at the time of writing.
The post Fed Rate-Hike Bets Halved as Iran Diplomacy Sends Gold Price to $4,222 appeared first on Tokenist.

SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) reported Q2 2026 revenue of $7.81Bn, up 92% year-over-year from $4.1Bn and well above the $6.93Bn consensus per LSEG, in its first-ever quarterly earnings release on August 4, 2026.
However, the stock fell approximately -8.5% in after-hours trading to around $114.60 as capital expenditure of $18.37Bn, driven by $15.83Bn in AI infrastructure alone, erased the top-line euphoria that had sent shares up 9.43% during the regular session to $125.33.
SPACEX $SPCX Q2’26 EARNINGS HIGHLIGHTS Revenue: $7.8B (Est. $6.93B) ; +92% YoY EPS: -$0.09 (Est. -$0.26) EBITDA: $3.5B (Est. $2.03B) ; +191% YoY Net Income: -$541M (Est. -$1.94B) Segment Revenue: Space: $962M; +29% YoY Connectivity: $4.3B; +66% YoY… pic.twitter.com/oyqSBGmY4F
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) August 4, 2026
Elon Musk told analysts the company is targeting $1 trillion in revenue by 2030, one year ahead of the prior estimate he offered just six weeks ago at the IPO, while the AI segment posted a $1.26Bn operating loss in the quarter and Starlink remains the company’s sole profitable business unit.
A 92% revenue beat paired with a $541M net loss and a capex run rate that now eclipses quarterly revenue is the precise configuration that forces growth-stage investors to recalibrate.
The SpaceX Capex-to-Loss Transmission: How $18.3Bn in AI Infrastructure Spending Turns a Revenue Beat Into an After-Hours Selloff
SOURCE: Yahoo Finance
SpaceX’s Q2 2026 capital expenditure reached $18.37Bn, a sixfold increase from the previous year, significantly exceeding analyst estimates by 39%. Of this amount, $15.83Bn was dedicated to AI compute buildout, doubling from Q1 2026.
CFO Bret Johnsen indicated that capex levels may remain high for the next two quarters, suggesting total AI infrastructure spending could surpass $60Bn by year-end.
Despite claiming efficient deployment with a sub-one-year payback, the AI unit reported an adjusted EBITDA of $1.1Bn against a $1.26Bn operating loss, raising questions about profitability.
The market’s response highlights that when expenses outpace revenue growth, stock prices typically reflect that disconnect, and SpaceX is not immune to this trend.
SpaceX Q2 2026 Earnings: $7.8Bn Revenue, $541M Net Loss, and the Starlink Segment Carrying the Entire P&L
SpaceX’s Q2 2026 report reveals key insights into its revenue streams. The Connectivity segment, primarily Starlink, generated $4.29Bn, exceeding estimates and yielding $1.66Bn in operating income, making it the only profitable unit.
The Space segment reported $962M in revenue but had a $542M operating loss, indicating challenges in the core rocket business. The AI segment brought in $2.56Bn in revenue but also faced a $1.26Bn operating loss.
Starlink reached 12 million users by the end of Q2, a 17% increase from the previous quarter and double year-over-year. Average revenue per user fell to $66 from $85 a year earlier, reflecting a shift to lower-priced international plans.
The net loss for the quarter decreased to $541M from $1.008Bn a year prior, with a total loss of around $2Bn for the first half of 2026. Cash surged to $93.5Bn, while debt rose to $36.8Bn.
Musk has advanced his $1 trillion revenue projection to 2030, with SpaceX on track for $100Bn in annual recurring revenue by year-end, aided by contracted cloud services and a pending $60Bn acquisition.
Crypto Expert Report: What is the Best Meme Coin to Buy and Forget Until the Next Bullrun?
Analyst Pushback: Why a 92% Revenue Beat and a $1 Trillion Forecast Aren’t Resolving the AI Profitability Question
BREAKING: SpaceX is partnering with @Nvidia to design the Starmind Al1 satellite compute payload. Each Starmind AI1 satellite will feature: • NVIDIA Rubin GPUs • NVIDIA Vera CPUs • Up to 150 kW of compute • Solar power in space • Laser links to Starlink AI data centers… pic.twitter.com/nxHf3TKsCB
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) August 4, 2026
The bull case for SPCX hinges on Starlink’s dominance in satellite connectivity and rapid returns from AI infrastructure. SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell highlighted that the company has never lost an enterprise Starlink customer, describing this revenue as sticky.
Elon Musk projected Starlink could eventually handle most internet traffic in its markets. Deutsche Bank’s Edison Yu rates SPCX a Buy with a $255 price target, suggesting a 103% upside.
Conversely, the bear case emphasizes the AI business’s significant losses, making it hard to argue SpaceX is undervalued. Analysts like Brady Wang note that while Starlink’s subscriptions are strong, it is the only profit-generating segment, raising concentration risk as AI investment increases. Matt Britzman highlights a valuation disconnect, with Musk discussing future projections amid current losses of $2 billion in H1.
Additionally, Musk stated that SpaceX will exclusively use Nvidia’s Vera Rubin chips for its AI data centers and expects a significant share of Nvidia’s GPU output by 2026. This reliance on Nvidia could introduce supply-chain variability into capex projections for H2 2026.
SPCX Below IPO Price: The After-Hours Move, the August 6 Lockup, and What the Float Mechanics Mean for Near-Term Price Action
SPCX debuted at $150 on June 12, 2026, but has since traded below its $135 offering price, closing at $125.33, a 7.2% discount, and further dropping to about $115.76 in after-hours trading, reflecting a 14.2% decline.
IPO investors are facing losses, especially as the key reference level is $135. Additionally, the August 6 lockup expiration will release around one billion shares (20% of total shares) for sale, creating potential oversupply.
With a pre-earnings closing price of $114.53, analysts warned that this combination of weak earnings and increased supply poses significant risks to the stock.
Crypto Expert Report: What Are the 10 Next Crypto to Explode in 2026?
The author does not hold or have a position in any securities discussed in the article. All stock prices were quoted at the time of writing.
The post SpaceX Debut Earnings: Revenue Doubles but $18B AI Capex Triggers After-Hours Selloff appeared first on Tokenist.

In Japan crypto news, global cryptocurrency exchange Bitget confirmed on August 3, 2026, that it will fully exit the Japanese market, halt new user registrations immediately, restrict all trading activity from November, and forcibly close any remaining open positions by December 31.
This is part of a phased wind-down driven by Japan’s tightening licensing regime, which now imposes criminal penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment or fines of approximately $62,800 on unregistered crypto service operations.
Bitget Is Ending Its Services In Japan@Bitget is set to exit the Japanese market, halting all new user registrations effective immediately. The platform, currently ranked as the fifth-largest exchange on CoinGecko, has mandated that all existing users close their remaining… pic.twitter.com/zAqqh1ZvNy
— BSCN (@BSCNews) August 3, 2026
The exit is not a voluntary business pivot. Japan passed a bill classifying cryptocurrencies as financial products, with enforcement rules set to take effect in 2027 following promulgation in July 2026, and the Financial Services Agency (FSA) had already issued formal warnings to Bitget in March 2023 and again in November 2024 for allegedly serving Japanese residents without registration
A third warning followed in June 2025, when the Kanto Local Finance Bureau cited BTG Technology Holdings Limited, identified as providing services under the Bitget name, for soliciting online over-the-counter derivatives without registration.
Crypto Expert Report: What is the Best Meme Coin to Buy and Forget Until the Next Bullrun?
Bitget Japan Crypto Exit Mechanics: What Forced Position Closure Means for Users and the Phased Restriction Timeline
SOURCE: CoinGecko
Bitget stopped accepting new registrations from Japanese residents on August 2, 2026. From November 1, existing users will not be able to open new trades or increase positions across all product lines, including spot and futures trading.
Any open positions after November 1 will be liquidated by December 31, 2026. Users will receive withdrawal instructions via email, and withdrawal access will remain available after the trading shutdown, but card services will end by December 31.
Users mistakenly classified as Japanese residents must complete Level 2 identity verification by November 1, 2026, or their accounts will be treated as belonging to Japanese residents. The number of affected users and the aggregate position value have not been disclosed.
Japan FSA Licensing Regime: How the Legalities Made Bitget’s Unregistered Status Untenable
The Japan crypto regulatory framework requires entities providing crypto asset exchange services to residents to register with the FSA under the Payment Services Act, imposing higher compliance costs than many offshore jurisdictions. Bitget, unregistered under this framework, faces significant enforcement risks by continuing to serve Japanese users.
The recent financial-products classification law further intensifies this risk by categorizing cryptocurrencies as financial products, subjecting crypto service providers to severe penalties, including up to 10 years in prison or fines around $62,800. This change transforms administrative compliance failures into potential criminal violations.
Bitget’s situation reflects a broader trend, as Japan has upheld a strict licensing regime since the 2017–2018 exchange failures, increasing pressure on unregistered foreign platforms. The FSA’s removal of Bitget’s app signals a proactive approach to limiting its market access. Similar enforcement actions have been observed against other unlicensed exchanges in strict jurisdictions.
Japan Crypto Market Displacement: Which Registered Domestic Exchanges Stand to Absorb Bitget’s User Base, and What the Exit Signals About Offshore Platform Viability in Regulated Asian Markets
Bitget’s exit routes its displaced Japanese users to registered domestic exchanges like bitFlyer, Coincheck, and GMO Coin, all compliant with FSA regulations. Kraken also offers a regulated option for users wanting a broader product suite. This transition benefits registered operators as they incur no additional marketing costs.
More importantly, this shift signals a significant change in Japan’s retail crypto market, which has been accessible to offshore exchanges without full FSA registration.
The new financial-products law raises penalties for non-compliance, making it more costly for mid-tier platforms to operate without registration, leading to exits rather than new applications. This situation mirrors pressures faced by major exchanges in the EU due to MiCA licensing requirements.
Bitget is leaving Japan. The crypto exchange has stopped accepting new Japanese users and will begin restricting existing accounts from November 1. By December 31, Bitget will fully exit the market. Japan has some of the strictest crypto regulations in the world, with… pic.twitter.com/EzJDBAu4Vq
— That Martini Guy ₿ (@MartiniGuyYT) August 3, 2026
Bitget Japan: User Fund Recovery Timeline, FSA Enforcement Escalation Risk Into Year-End, and Whether Bitget Could Pursue Re-entry Under a Future Registered Entity
The key deadline is November 1, 2026, when users must contest their Japanese-resident classification. Missing this deadline forces users into a wind-down process, and the volume of disputes will impact the closure by December 31. Bitget plans to provide email-based withdrawal instructions, but this process hasn’t been tested at scale.
The FSA has no current enforcement actions against Bitget beyond previous warnings. However, the regulator’s increasing scrutiny of unregistered platforms raises concerns. Delays or non-compliance with the December 31 wind-down could lead to further penalties.
Re-entry as a registered entity is possible, as previously approved by the FSA, but Bitget has not indicated any plans for this. The requirements set forth by the Payment Services Act would necessitate a significant change in revenue projections compared to those leading to their exit in August 2026. History shows that re-entry into markets after regulatory exits typically takes years.
Crypto Expert Report: What Are the 10 Next Crypto to Explode in 2026?
The author does not hold or have a position in any securities discussed in the article. All prices were quoted at the time of writing.
The post Japan Crypto News: Criminal Penalty Risk Drives Bitget Out of Nippon by Year-End appeared first on Tokenist.

In Binance Iran news today, at least $676M in cryptocurrency flowed from wallets linked to Shelbit, an unlicensed Dubai-based exchange allegedly operating at the center of a sprawling sanctions-evasion network by Iran, into Binance, according to a Reuters investigation published July 31, 2026.
Blockchain data reviewed by Reuters showed approximately $540M of those transfers arrived after Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) had already fined Shelbit for operating without a license.
The findings position Binance as the primary named counterparty in what Reuters describes as a $4Bn sanctions-evasion structure connecting Iran’s central bank, a Farsi-language online gambling network spanning more than 2,000 websites, and an Iranian bitcoin mining operation to global crypto markets through a single offshore exchange.
A Reuters investigation found that Shelbit, an unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange based in Dubai, processed at least $4 billion in cryptocurrency since May 2024 as part of a suspected Iranian sanctions-evasion network. Shelbit handled at least $125 million linked to Iran's… pic.twitter.com/aOsmxBh74r
— Tabz (@TabzLIVE) August 1, 2026
Shelbit processed at least $4Bn since May 2024 despite having no functional public website, operating out of a three-room office above a budget hotel in Dubai’s Deira district, registered alongside a watch trading business, according to Reuters.
The scale and timing of the alleged flows, $540M of the $676M routed to Binance arriving after VARA’s fine, indicate the exchange continued operating at volume through regulatory action rather than winding down in response to it.
Transaction Mechanics and the Binance Iran Routing Structure
Sanctions didn't push Iran off the financial grid, they pushed it onto stablecoins Iran's crypto economy passed $7.78B last year across roughly 75 domestic exchanges, per Chainalysis, with documented IRGC wallets and leaked data on the Central Bank's own usage. Analysts can… pic.twitter.com/aiUnpejCXB
— BSCN (@BSCNews) August 2, 2026
Blockchain data reviewed by Reuters indicates that funds flowed from Shelbit-linked wallets to Binance, with Shelbit acting as an aggregation layer for money from three main sources: Iran’s central bank, an unnamed Iranian bitcoin mining entity, and an Iranian online gambling network.
At least $125M was traced from the central bank to Shelbit, along with another $20M from the mining operation. The gambling network, led by social media influencers Sasha Sobhani and Pooyan Mokhtari, generated significant transaction volume.
Binance stated that Shelbit never had a direct account on its platform, and transactions were not flagged as high-risk by its blockchain analytics firm. While Binance processed hundreds of millions of dollars related to Shelbit users, it emphasized that its compliance team investigated and froze relevant accounts when flags arose.
Rich Sanders, a blockchain investigator, suggested that the operation was linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which has reportedly co-opted online gambling to bypass international banking restrictions.
Crypto Expert Report: What is the Best Meme Coin to Buy and Forget Until the Next Bullrun?
Iran’s Offshore Exchange Strategy: Unlicensed Intermediaries and Global Counterparty Exposure
The Shelbit structure leverages a jurisdictional gap noted in previous Iran-linked enforcement actions: domestic Iranian exchanges face OFAC designation and volume declines, prompting transaction flows to offshore intermediaries in jurisdictions with lighter regulatory oversight.
Shelbit, registered in Dubai, provides distance between sanctioned Iranian entities and global crypto markets. This gap is significant for compliance; while OFAC can directly sanction Iranian exchanges, targeting a UAE-registered entity requires proof of its role in sanctions evasion.
VARA’s July 24, 2025 cease-and-desist against Shelbit for serious anti-money laundering violations lays the groundwork for OFAC’s potential designation. A US Treasury spokesperson indicated that OFAC is seriously considering these allegations in efforts to disrupt Iranian digital asset networks.
Binance Compliance Exposure: What $540M in Post-Fine Flows Means for a Platform Under Regulatory Scrutiny
SOURCE: TradingView
The $540M figure from flows to Binance after VARA fined Shelbit highlights ongoing transactions despite Shelbit’s documented regulatory issues as a sanctioned, unlicensed entity.
Binance’s claim that Shelbit-linked transactions weren’t flagged as high-risk by its analytics vendor shifts focus to the effectiveness of its screening methods rather than its intent.
Binance’s European licensing efforts face challenges, especially regarding compliance history and AML controls, which are crucial for regulatory assessments in EU member states.
Any enforcement action tied to Iranian sanctions would impact these licensing reviews. VARA is investigating Shelbit for sanctions evasion and has ordered the exchange to cease all unlicensed crypto activities, likely requiring Binance to provide transaction records for the relevant period.
Crypto Expert Report: What Are the 10 Next Crypto to Explode in 2026?
The post Binance Iran News: Exchange Received $540M After Iranian Shelbit Was Fined appeared first on Tokenist.

Y Combinator-backed AI fintech startup Corgi Funds listed 24 additional ETFs on Cboe BZX Exchange across June 30 and July 2, 2026: 15 leveraged 2x Daily ETFs priced at a 0.45% expense ratio and nine July Series Structured Buffer ETFs at a 0.30% net expense ratio.
This extends a launch blitz that Bloomberg’s ETF IQ newsletter reported on July 30, putting the Chicago-founded firm on pace to list roughly 500 funds within its first year of operation.
Corgi is bringing silicon valley playbook to ETF Terrodome: “We have goals of competing with the likes of BlackRock, Vanguard, Invesco and State Street,” said Anthony Crinieri, 27, PM at Corgi. “It doesn’t happen overnight; we’re not naive.” Corgi needs $56mil in ann revenue to… pic.twitter.com/BBtwRFfZbB
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) July 30, 2026
That 500-fund target, attributed by Bloomberg to Corgi’s staged rollout strategy, took BlackRock decades to reach across its iShares lineup. Corgi, valued at $1.3Bn following a $160M Series B led by TCV, bringing total capital raised to $268M.
This is compressing that timeline to a single calendar year, backed by an AI-driven security selection process and fee structures that systematically undercut incumbent issuers across leveraged, buffered, and thematic product categories.
Corgi Funds July Product Architecture: 2x Single-Stock Leverage at 0.45% and a 27-Fund Buffer Grid Built on FLEX Options
SOURCE: MorningStar
The June 30 tranche included 14 single-stock 2x Daily ETFs, such as Apple and GameStop, along with the Corgi Quantum Computing 2x Daily ETF (Cboe BZX: XQTM), each with a 0.45% expense ratio, the lowest among US-listed 2x daily long ETFs.
The July 2 tranche added nine Structured Buffer ETFs using FLEX Options, offering price return exposure to various benchmarks while providing downside protection ranging from 10% to 100% over the annual period from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027.
The Corgi US Equities 100% Structured Buffer ETF, July Series (Cboe BZX: HJLY) targets full absorption of SPY losses within its cap.
This brings Corgi’s buffer lineup to 27 funds across three series, with average gross and net expense ratios of 0.40% and 0.30%, respectively, after a fee waiver. CEO Nicolas Laqua noted the commitment to competitive pricing and investor choice.
Crypto Expert Report: What is the Best Meme Coin to Buy and Forget Until the Next Bullrun?
Bloomberg’s ‘Spray-and-Pray’ Label and the $22 Trillion ETF Market Corgi Is Entering at Record Pace
Bloomberg’s ETF IQ newsletter described Corgi’s approach as a spray-and-pray strategy in the highly competitive $22 trillion global ETF industry. On May 6, 2026, Corgi launched 28 actively managed funds in a single day, marking the largest thematic ETF launch in US history by one issuer.
This rollout included the Corgi Crypto Infrastructure ETF (BLCK) and the Corgi Digital Banking & Fintech Infrastructure ETF (KYC), both competitively priced between 0.20% and 0.35%.
Corgi’s extensive lineup covers various themes, including aerospace, AI cybersecurity, and robotics, with the aim of creating a broad product grid.
This strategy allows a few successful funds to offset the overall infrastructure costs, relying on AI-driven efficiency to manage overhead at low asset levels.
SOURCE: CoinGlass Structural Significance: A Newly Registered Adviser With $268M and No Long-Term Track Record Entering the Most Crowded Fee-War Environment in ETF History
Corgi Funds filing infrastructure and fee strategy pose challenges to established issuers. With a 0.20%–0.45% expense ratio for thematic, leveraged, and buffer products, Corgi funds rank at the lower end of the competitive spectrum.
This pricing is sustainable only if their $268M reserve can cover operating losses until assets under management (AUM) reach a self-funding level. However, this becomes risky if key funds fail to attract beyond initial capital.
The prospectus clearly outlines risks: Corgi Strategies, LLC has limited experience with registered funds, and the funds lack operational history, which may delay achieving market liquidity and efficiency.
For high-risk products like single-stock 2x Daily ETFs that rely on swap agreements, these risks are significant. In contrast, BlackRock benefits from decades of experience and established infrastructure in fund administration.
Crypto Expert Report: Follow The Money – Which Presales Are Attracting Crypto Whales in 2026?
Disclaimer: The author does not hold or have a position in any securities discussed in the article. All stock prices were quoted at the time of writing.
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The Federal Reserve held interest rates at 3.50%–3.75% on July 29 in a 9-3 vote, the most lopsided dissent since September 2016, as three regional presidents pushed for an immediate 25 basis point hike, sending 30-year Treasury yields to an intraday high of 5.2273%, their steepest level since June 2007, before settling at 5.2039% per Reuters data. This data drop puts Bitcoin ETF flows under increasing pressure.
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh acknowledged the yield surge at his post-meeting press conference, welcomed it as evidence that markets were doing the tightening work, but explicitly declined to validate those moves with a policy commitment.
FED CHAIR KEVIN WARSH JUST MADE IT CLEAR: THE FIGHT AGAINST INFLATION IS NOT OVER. Key points from the FOMC press conference: • The Fed held rates in a 9–3 vote after a heated internal debate. • Warsh said inflation is still too high and the 2% target is non-negotiable.… pic.twitter.com/EYM60bTGyr
— Crypto Rover (@cryptorover) July 29, 2026
Fed funds futures responded by pricing in roughly a 60% chance of a rate hike at the September meeting, with 33 basis points of cumulative tightening implied by year-end, according to CNA.
That repricing immediately elevated the opportunity cost calculation for non-yielding assets, a transmission that runs directly into Bitcoin’s institutional demand curve and into the ETF flow mechanics that have become the primary price-discovery mechanism for spot crypto in 2026.
The Yield-to-Bitcoin Transmission Channel: How a Hawkish Hold Reaches Crypto’s Order Book
SOURCE: CoinGlass
The Federal Reserve’s decision on July 29 impacts Bitcoin’s spot market through four main steps. First, the hawkish hold on interest rates raises the probability of a September hike, increasing expected short-end yields.
Second, dissent among FOMC members about hiking rates pushes long-end yields higher, raising the 30-year Treasury yield to a 19-year high. With long-end yields above 5.20%, Treasuries present a higher return hurdle for non-yielding assets like Bitcoin, influencing institutional allocation decisions.
This leads to de-risking through Bitcoin ETF redemptions, which creates selling pressure in the Bitcoin spot market. Previous yield spikes have correlated with significant BTC drawdowns and ETF outflows.
Blerina Uruci from T Rowe Price remarked that Warsh’s ambiguous stance could create market confusion, as the September rate hike is priced in without a guarantee of action.
Kerry Craig from JP Morgan noted that the discrepancy between the Fed’s rhetoric and actions challenges market expectations, contributing to yield volatility that poses additional risks for Bitcoin and high-beta assets.
EXPLORE: Crypto Expert Report: What Are the 10 Next Crypto to Explode in 2026?
IBIT Flow Mechanics: What the Hawkish Posture Does to Spot Bitcoin ETF Demand
The BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) emerged as the leading institutional option for spot Bitcoin exposure, capturing most net inflows during the 2026 bull run.
A hawkish hold is altering the flow outlook for IBIT, as institutional clients reassess their risk models against a 5.22% 30-year Treasury benchmark, leading to redemption orders that prompt the transfer of Bitcoin from Coinbase custody to spot markets and increase available supply.
This mechanism was evident in June, where large outflows from IBIT demonstrated how rising Treasury yields could quickly reverse inflow trends, with single-day redemptions reaching hundreds of millions.
The post-July 29 environment, characterized by a 19-year yield high and a 60% chance of a September rate hike, mirrors conditions that drove June outflows, tightening timelines for institutional reallocations.
Coordination across spot crypto ETFs like IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC enhances the impact. Simultaneous net outflows in response to macroeconomic factors indicate that institutional investors are reacting to the overall yield environment rather than specific products, with the July 28 session already highlighting the connection between rate-hike expectations and ETF outflow pressure.
Bitcoin ETF Crypto-Linked Equities: How the 5.22% 30-Year Yield Compresses Valuations Across the Listed Sector
JUST IN : 30-Year Treasury Yield soars to highest level since the run-up to the Global Financial Crisis pic.twitter.com/s753xj9rtb
— Barchart (@Barchart) July 29, 2026
The impact of the hawkish hold on crypto-linked equities, such as miners, exchanges, and leveraged Bitcoin holders, operates through a valuation-compression channel rather than via the Bitcoin ETF redemption mechanism.
With the 30-year Treasury yield at 5.2273%, discount rates for long-duration, non-yielding assets rise, reducing the present value of future cash flows for Bitcoin-related companies. Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN) exemplifies this, as its revenue is volume-sensitive and contracts when institutions lower risk exposure amid tighter financial conditions.
Bitcoin miners face additional sensitivity due to their reliance on debt markets that have adjusted alongside rising Treasury yields, increasing refinancing costs and compressing margins as BTC prices face downward pressure from ETF flows.
Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR), which holds leveraged Bitcoin, encounters dual compression: rising discount rates lower its BTC holdings’ value, while higher yields increase its debt costs.
The crypto-linked equities that rallied before the July 29 meeting are now the most exposed to a downturn, having anticipated a more dovish Fed. The 9-3 vote alters this outlook.
OCBC’s Vasu Menon highlighted that the steepening Treasury yield curve, coupled with Middle Eastern tensions and semiconductor volatility, suggests continued market instability, which has historically correlated with higher downside risk for crypto equities.
Disclaimer: The author does not hold or have a position in any securities discussed in the article. All stock prices were quoted at the time of writing.
The post 9-3 Fed Dissent and 5.22% Treasury Yields Put Bitcoin ETF Flows Under Pressure appeared first on Tokenist.

Consensys, the Ethereum infrastructure firm led by co-founder Joseph Lubin and best known for the MetaMask wallet, has pushed its planned US public offering from a late-February 2026 confidential S-1 filing with the SEC to fall 2026 at the earliest.
The postponement comes as crypto markets absorb a sustained February sell-off that has eroded risk appetite across digital assets, pulling Ethereum below levels at which Consensys’s revenue narrative would withstand the granular scrutiny of a public-market roadshow.
This IPO news drop comes as the total crypto market cap climbed +0.8% overnight, to $2.28 trillion, after briefly flirting with a loss of the key $2 trillion support level. ETH USD is trading at $1,915, up +1.5% in the past 24 hours.
Crypto IPO pipeline is frozen. Kraken paused. Grayscale postponed. Consensys delayed. Ledger waiting. Frozen listings don't mean frozen hiring. Every firm paused for markets is still building the legal and compliance stack they need to list. The work doesn't stop when the S-1…
— OxJules (@OxJulesX) July 27, 2026
Consensys IPO Delay Rationale: Macro Conditions, Bitcoin ETF Outflows, and the Case for Waiting on a Better Window
Consensys had engaged JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs to lead the offering, a pairing that signals the firm was positioning itself for a sizeable institutional book rather than a retail-driven debut.
The February crypto market sell-off cut that runway short, driven by a convergence of macroeconomic uncertainty, new tariff concerns, reduced expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, and significant outflows from Bitcoin ETFs that cascaded into leveraged liquidations across digital assets.
The Bitcoin ETF outflow dynamic was particularly damaging to IPO timing calculus. Sustained redemptions from spot Bitcoin funds serve as a real-time gauge of institutional sentiment, and a negative flow trend makes it structurally harder to argue that crypto-native infrastructure commands a premium multiple in public markets.
A Consensys spokeswoman declined to address the specifics, stating the company’s position: “As a matter of policy, we don’t comment on market speculation.”
The delay buys Consensys measurable runway, time to demonstrate Linea zkEVM adoption metrics, progress on Infura decentralization, and revenue durability before facing public-market pricing pressure from buy-side analysts at the very banks underwriting the deal.
$ETH is still holding above the $1,900 level. Dips are getting bought, which is a good sign. But Ethereum needs to break above a $2,000 zone soon, or the current move could end up being a distribution. pic.twitter.com/yGZnuGgg0X
— Ted (@TedPillows) July 29, 2026
EXPLORE: Crypto Expert Report – What Are the 10 Next Crypto to Explode in 2026?
Consensys Company Snapshot: $7Bn Series D Valuation, MetaMask Scale, and a Four-Product Stack Priced for Ethereum Throughput
Consensys last raised external capital in early 2022, closing a $450M Series D at a $7Bn valuation, which hasn’t been updated since, although secondary transactions suggest an implied value of around $7.25Bn. The time elapsed since this round raises questions about the valuation’s credibility, given the lack of new revenue or user metrics.
MetaMask is central to Consensys’s model, boasting around 100 million monthly active users. It generates revenue mainly through its in-wallet swap and staking features, directly tied to Ethereum’s transaction volume and staking yields. This dependency is a key factor for potential public investors, as ETH price and on-chain activity heavily influence revenue.
In addition to MetaMask, Consensys offers Infura (node infrastructure), Linea (a zkEVM Layer 2 network), and Consensys Staking, all of which further link the company’s fortunes to Ethereum’s performance. This creates a compelling IPO narrative in a bull market but poses risks in a downturn.
Crypto IPO Landscape: BitGo’s -36% Post-Debut, Kraken and Ledger on Hold, and What Fall 2026 Needs to Deliver
SOURCE: Yahoo Finance
BitGo (BTGO) successfully completed the only crypto-native IPO of 2026, raising about $213M in January at $18 per share, but the stock has since dropped around 36% from that price.
This decline has prompted other firms, such as ConsenSys, Kraken, and Ledger, to pause their IPO plans, signaling a broader issue in the crypto market.
Despite initial regulatory clarity, which encouraged these firms to pursue public listings, it hasn’t been enough to offset recent valuation declines.
For the market to recover by fall 2026, Bitcoin and Ethereum need to stabilize, and BitGo’s share price must rebound to indicate that current weaknesses are temporary. Lubin’s decision to delay reflects a more disciplined approach compared to their earlier fundraising days.
DISCOVER: Crypto Expert Report: What is the Best Meme Coin to Buy and Forget Until the Next Bullrun?
The author does not hold or have a position in any securities discussed in the article. All stock prices were quoted at the time of writing.
The post MetaMask Maker Consensys Shelves IPO Plans Until Fall 2026 appeared first on Tokenist.

Bitcoin dropped as much as 3% to $63,020 during Asian trading on July 28, its lowest level in 11 days, as derivatives markets priced in roughly a 1-in-3 chance of a surprise 25-basis-point Fed rate hike at Wednesday’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
This is according to Bloomberg reporting by Suvashree Ghosh. Ethereum fell a steeper -3.3% over the same session, reflecting broad-based crypto market selling pressure tied to the recalibrated rate expectations.
The BTC price decline coincided with a structural rupture in ETF flow data: US spot Bitcoin ETFs shed more than $465M over July 23–24, snapping a seven-session inflow streak that had provided a consistent demand floor beneath the market, according to TradingKey.
That reversal removed a critical support pillar at a moment when macro headwinds were already intensifying, leaving the crypto market exposed to the full weight of institutional de-risking ahead of the FOMC decision.
The Fed Rate-Hike Probability Transmission Channel: How Rising Hike Odds Reach Bitcoin’s Order Book
SOURCE: Polymarket
The connection between FOMC rate expectations and Bitcoin’s order book hinges on institutional investors’ opportunity-cost considerations.
When the probability of a Fed rate hike rises, front-end Treasury yields increase, making non-yielding assets like Bitcoin less attractive. For example, the 2-year Treasury yield rose by 15-20 basis points ahead of the July 28 session, driven by stronger US economic data.
Caroline Mauron from Orbit Markets noted that selling during this session was linked to heightened Fed-hike probabilities and macro concerns about AI-related credit risks, with $62,000 identified as a key support level.
Citadel Securities indicated that a surprise 25-basis-point hike could enhance Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s credibility in fighting inflation, signaling a policy shift rather than just a minor adjustment.
Additionally, thinner liquidity during the Asian trading session intensified price movements, pushing Bitcoin toward $63,200. The 90-day correlation between Bitcoin and the Nasdaq 100 has risen to the 0.4-0.5 range, while its correlation with real yields has become more negative.
This dynamic means a hawkish Fed not only impacts sentiment but also tightens financial conditions for institutional investors, with Bitcoin ETF redemptions being a direct consequence of this tightening.
DISCOVER: Crypto Expert Report – What Are the 10 Next Crypto to Explode in 2026?
ETF Outflow Mechanics: The $465M Two-Day Redemption and What the Cross-Fund Alignment Reveals
SOURCE: CoinGlass
US spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced net outflows exceeding $465M on July 23–24, breaking a seven-session inflow streak. IBIT was identified as a primary contributor to these outflows.
The simultaneous redemptions suggested that institutional investors were reacting to a common macroeconomic event, specifically the repricing of Fed rate-hike odds ahead of the July 29 FOMC decision.
This cooling institutional activity indicated a temporary exhaustion of the recent accumulation phase, with spot Bitcoin ETFs now accounting for 20–30% of US Bitcoin spot trading volume on peak days.
Additionally, around 60,000 BTC were transferred to exchanges by short-term holders during this period, further intensifying selling pressure and leading to a technical breakdown in the market.
Macro Backdrop and Institutional Context: How Elevated Rate-Hike Odds Are Channeling Capital Away From Spot Bitcoin
$BTC failed to hold the $65,000 level. This happened as the Senate put the Clarity Act on hold. Now, the next key support level for Bitcoin is $62,000-$65,000. This should hold, or else BTC will end up giving all the gains. pic.twitter.com/CVFjOqdY4Q
— Ted (@TedPillows) July 28, 2026
The July 28 session was influenced by Bitcoin’s trading range of $60,000–$70,000 over the prior month, with 30-day realized volatility dropping to the mid-teens.
This volatility compression and stalled upside momentum made holding Bitcoin through an FOMC meeting risky for institutional investors, given the potential for a disorderly break below $62,000 if rates were increased.
According to Mudrex’s Akshat Siddhant, the crypto market experienced bearish sentiment due to weaker US labor data and concerns that AI-sector spending is impacting risk appetite.
The strengthening US dollar, which is inversely correlated with Bitcoin’s value, added pressure, as rising real yields diminished the appeal of non-sovereign assets. The total crypto market cap fell about 1.6% to $2.26 trillion, indicating a broader risk-off trend.
The inflation backdrop raised Fed rate-hike odds to one-in-three, influenced by persistent above-target CPI readings. This situation has undermined the macro tailwind that previously supported Bitcoin’s rise.
EXPLORE: Crypto Expert Report – Which Presales Are Attracting Crypto Whales in 2026?
Disclaimer: The author does not hold or have a position in any securities discussed in the article. All stock prices were quoted at the time of writing.
The post Fed Rate Hike Odds Hit 1-in-3: What Next for BTC? appeared first on Tokenist.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon told Politico on July 23, 2026, that he supports advancing the revised CLARITY Act, describing the crypto market-structure legislation as creating “a level playing field to enhance market stability”.
This is a direct public contradiction of JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who warned in May that the bill’s stablecoin yield provisions will “eventually blow up.”
The confrontation is not merely a personality clash between two Wall Street titans: it is a structural fight mapped precisely onto diverging balance-sheet models. Solomon leads an investment bank whose fee revenue rises with institutional crypto trading volume and capital markets activity; Dimon leads a deposit-funded commercial lender whose cost of funding compresses if yield-bearing stablecoins compete directly for retail balances.
Republicans released the revised CLARITY Act draft on July 23, triggering the split within hours. The bill represents the most advanced attempt yet at a unified US crypto market-structure framework, building on the House-passed FIT21 bill, which stalled in the Senate in 2024, and on years of failed Lummis-Gillibrand negotiations.
The Stablecoin Yield Provision: What the CLARITY Act Permits and Why Deposit-Funded Banks Frame It as Unregulated Deposit-Taking
BREAKING: GOLDMAN SACHS CEO SUPPORTS THE CLARITY ACT APPROVAL "I’m very supportive of moving the Clarity Act forward, so we can get some market structure in place." – David Solomon, Goldman Sachs CEO -POLITICO pic.twitter.com/L49yPG2WvD
— Bitcoin Archive (@BitcoinArchive) July 23, 2026
The CLARITY Act debate centers on language that would allow crypto platforms to offer yield on dollar-pegged stablecoins, a point that banking trade groups, including the American Bankers Association, have opposed for nearly a year.
The current draft allows such rewards, subject to capped payments and additional disclosure requirements. JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon has expressed concerns, stating the bill permits crypto firms to pay interest on deposits without the necessary banking regulations, which he believes could lead to major issues.
Additionally, the bill clarifies the regulatory split between the SEC and the CFTC, designating certain digital assets as commodities under CFTC oversight, a move advocates like Solomon argue is vital for market development.
Solomon’s Endorsement and the Investment-Bank Business Model: Why Goldman Sachs Breaks With Wall Street on Regulation
Solomon’s support for the CLARITY Act has broken the unified stance of large banks, reflecting the Goldman Sachs crypto revenue model.
Unlike JPMorgan, Goldman relies less on retail deposits and more on fees from market-making, underwriting, and digital asset initiatives. Regulatory clarity in crypto could expand Goldman’s market reach.
This divergence is notable, as both banks have previously collaborated on blockchain projects, including tokenized repo initiatives. Solomon’s stance indicates that differences in business models regarding retail stablecoins overshadow their institutional cooperation.
He acknowledged the legislation’s imperfections but emphasized the importance of progress over regulatory uncertainty, aligning with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’s view of the bill as a bipartisan compromise, even as Senate Democrats contested this characterization shortly afterward.
Democratic Opposition and the 60-Vote Gap: Why Gillibrand’s Absence From the Dissent Statement Is the Number to Watch
SOURCE: TradingView
Seven Senate Democrats, including Angela Alsobrooks, Cory Booker, and Elizabeth Warren, criticized a revised Republican bill as inadequate on ethics and consumer protection in a joint statement.
Booker emphasized the need for bipartisan support, while Warren declared the bill “dead on arrival,” highlighting its failure to prevent conflicts of interest related to Trump and crypto. Key Democratic demands include state attorneys general sharing enforcement authority, which Republicans oppose.
Notably absent from the dissent is Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a key negotiator, signaling that a 60-vote coalition could still be possible. Meanwhile, Republicans like Tim Scott contend the bill protects Americans and national security.
A Senate floor vote is expected soon to resolve the ethics dispute and secure sufficient Democratic backing before the bill moves to the House. Gillibrand’s upcoming statement will be crucial in assessing the bill’s likelihood of passage.
Crypto Expert Report: What Are the 10 Next Crypto to Explode in 2026?
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The EU’s 21st Russia sanctions package, adopted July 23, 2026, introduces, for the first time, a legal instrument that allows the bloc to ban all crypto-asset transactions between EU operators and any crypto-asset service provider operating in an entire third-country jurisdiction.
This is a structural departure from the prior firm-by-firm designation model, and immediately paired the tool’s introduction with transaction bans on 14 crypto-related service platforms spread across six countries.
EU Blacklists 14 Crypto Platforms Over Russian Sanction Evasion The EU has banned 14 cryptocurrency exchanges in Georgia, Panama, the United Arab Emirates, and the Marshall Islands for helping Russia evade sanctions. These new rules create a unique regulatory approach, giving… pic.twitter.com/ReRN8tHg5F
— BSCN (@BSCNews) July 24, 2026
The 218-listing package, the largest batch of individual listings of the last four years, totaling 218, of which 48 are individuals and 170 are entities, also imposes asset freezes on 94 Russian banks and extends transaction bans to 33 additional Russian credit and financial institutions.
The six jurisdictions hosting the 14 newly banned platforms are Georgia, Panama, the UAE, the Marshall Islands, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus. The Council’s stated deterrence logic is explicit: the threat of cutting an entire country’s crypto sector off from EU market access is designed to pressure host governments into shutting down or expelling platforms that facilitate Russia sanctions evasion, rather than waiting for the EU to individually chase successor entities each time a listed operator restructures.
Third-Country Crypto Ban Mechanics: How the EU’s New Instrument Works, What Legal Authority It Rests On, and What Triggers Activation Against a Jurisdiction
Prior EU Russia sanctions targeted crypto through individual entity designations – listing a named exchange, wallet provider, or payment processor. The new instrument inverts the targeting logic entirely: rather than naming a company, the Council can now name a country and prohibit all EU operators from transacting with any crypto provider in that jurisdiction.
The Council’s own language describes it as enabling the EU to ban any transaction between an EU operator and any crypto provider used by Russia, framing geographic exclusion as the enforcement mechanism rather than entity identification.
The instrument sits within the broader MiCAR-adjacent compliance architecture that EU-regulated crypto-asset services firms already operate under, which sets a high political bar but also signals that any country-level ban carries the full weight of EU institutional consensus.
The tool is framed explicitly as a deterrent: the mere existence of a credible country-ban mechanism changes the calculus for host governments that have, until now, faced limited pressure to police platforms facilitating crypto sanctions evasion on their territory.
Immediate Enforcement Action: 14 Platform Transaction Bans Across Georgia, Panama, UAE, Marshall Islands, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus – Plus Four New A7 Network Designations Including African Links
The 14 crypto-related service platforms subject to immediate transaction bans span six jurisdictions: Georgia, Panama, the UAE, the Marshall Islands, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus.
Full designations appear in the relevant legal acts published in the Official Journal of the EU, but their geographic distribution maps directly onto the offshore and near-abroad corridors that compliance analysts have flagged as primary routing points for Russia-linked crypto flows.
Separately, the package adds four new designations tied to the cross-border A7 network, including its newly documented links to Africa, extending the EU’s reach against the cross-border A7 network, including its new links to Africa. The 21st package targets the network’s human and corporate nodes.
The Kyrgyzstan dimension also appears in the banking sector: the Council imposed a transaction ban on a Kyrgyz bank linked to Russia’s SPFS financial messaging system, along with three other non-Russian banks cited for circumventing EU sanctions.
Russia Sanctions Evasion Backdrop: Why the EU Shifted From Firm-Level to Country-Level Targeting After Offshore Crypto Platforms Systematically Replaced Designated Predecessors
SOURCE: TradingView
The new instrument addresses a structural problem in sanctions enforcement: when the EU or G7 designates a crypto exchange, successor platforms in low-regulation jurisdictions quickly absorb the displaced volume.
The UAE, Georgia, and offshore registries such as the Marshall Islands have repeatedly provided Russian users with continued access to dollar-denominated settlements and crypto liquidity despite sanctions. This mirrors the dynamics observed in Iran, where sanctioned countries use offshore crypto infrastructure to maintain global financial access.
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, highlighted that the 21st sanctions package targets over a hundred banks and crypto operators, as well as Russian vessels and oil refineries, aiming to pressure Russia to halt civilian killings and engage in negotiations.
The new country-level ban reflects a strategy of jurisdiction-wide deterrence, acknowledging that Russia is also building its own domestic crypto infrastructure in response to international pressure.
The post Russia Crypto News: EU’s 21st Sanctions Package Bans 14 Crypto Platforms and Introduces Country-Level Block Tool appeared first on Tokenist.

In Russia crypto news, the State Duma passed Bill No. 1194918-8 on July 21, 2026, imposing a ₽300,000 (~$3,800) annual purchase cap on non-qualified retail crypto investors, banning peer-to-peer trading through licensed intermediaries only, and routing all domestic activity through a Bank of Russia-supervised exchange regime effective September 1, 2026.
Anatoly Aksakov, chair of the State Duma Financial Market Committee, stated that the crypto market’s regulation would be fully streamlined by July 27, with implementation rolling out in phases starting on the September 1 effective date.
Russia just passed the bill regulating crypto and digital rights. This allows companies to use crypto for cross-border trade, pending Putin's signature. https://t.co/PyBK2vrLp7 pic.twitter.com/R53elKn0yq
— BSCN (@BSCNews) July 21, 2026
The law creates Russia’s first comprehensive crypto regulation framework, one that simultaneously tightens domestic retail access to levels that will push many existing participants toward compliance or exit, while carving out an explicit permission structure for cross-border settlements that functions as a state-sanctioned alternative to SWIFT.
The EU’s April 2026 sanctions package, which targeted Russian crypto providers directly and noted Russia’s growing reliance on cryptocurrencies for international transactions, provided the geopolitical backdrop against which the Duma finalized the law’s provisions.
Russia Crypto Retail Investor Framework: The ₽300,000 Annual Cap, Mandatory Risk-Awareness Test, and Whitelisted Asset List That Define Non-Qualified Access
SOURCE: TradingView
Non-qualified investors have a ₽300,000 (~$3,800) annual purchase limit per licensed intermediary, enforced individually at each platform, making multi-platform arbitrage difficult.
They must pass a mandatory risk-awareness test before making purchases, which blocks transactions until it is passed. This aligns with the Bank of Russia’s preference for controlled retail participation.
Cross-border transfers for non-qualified accounts are capped at ₽100,000 per transaction. The asset list is limited to high-market-cap instruments, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, and USDC, while privacy coins are excluded due to anti-money laundering laws.
A 48-hour cooling-off period applies to some purchases. Qualified investors, with a ~₽3,000,000 purchase ceiling, face no asset restrictions and a ~₽1,000,000 cross-border transfer limit.
P2P Ban Mechanics and Timeline: September 1 Soft Prohibition, July 2027 Hard Enforcement, and What Happens to Russia’s Informal OTC Market
Starting September 1, 2026, legally recognized crypto transactions in Russia must occur through licensed digital depositories or authorized platforms, making informal peer-to-peer trading illegal.
The hard ban on P2P trading will take effect on July 1, 2027, giving unlicensed operators about ten months to either obtain registration with the Bank of Russia or shut down.
During this period, banks must refuse transfers linked to suspect unlicensed exchanges, and licensed platforms cannot route payments to unregistered foreign venues.
This prohibition aims to eliminate informal intermediation, forcing traders to either comply with the regulated system or risk operating illegally as the deadline approaches.
JUST IN: Russia's State Duma passes comprehensive crypto law in second and third readings first legal framework for digital currency circulation, custody, and exchange licensing in the country. Recognizes crypto as property, permits cross-border trade settlements, keeps domestic… pic.twitter.com/GdjxD4FTzh
— 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸XRP (@BankXRP) July 21, 2026
Licensed Exchange Framework and Bank of Russia Crypto Oversight
Entities operating as crypto exchanges, brokers, custodians, and similar roles must be licensed by the Bank of Russia after September 1, 2026. This licensing requires meeting capital, anti-money laundering, and transaction reporting standards. Licensed platforms can also act as tax withholding agents, integrating Russia crypto income into Russia’s tax system.
The previous legal grey area under the 2020 Digital Financial Assets law ends with the new regulations. Existing firms can operate without registration until July 1, 2027, but banks must block transfers to unlicensed operators immediately, limiting unlicensed platforms’ access to payment systems sooner than the deadline.
Additionally, the law provides judicial protection for digital currency holders, easing legal barriers for those entering the licensed framework. This approach contrasts with Europe’s MiCA, which imposes more restrictions on retail access while permitting state-directed cross-border transactions.
The author does not hold or have a position in any securities discussed in the article. All prices were quoted at the time of writing.
The post Is Putin Set to Legalize Crypto in Russia? What Next for BTC? appeared first on Tokenist.

The BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) added $116M in inflows on July 21, 2026, continuing a reversal of flows tied to the May–June outflow streak, which saw IBIT shed roughly $3.3 billion.
The purchase was likely facilitated through IBIT’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) ETF and represents one of the more consequential single-session inflow prints since the fund’s recovery arc began on July 2.
This ETF data drop comes as Bitcoin surged above $66,000, currently trading for $66,300 with a +3.5% daily gain and a 24-hour trading volume of $31.5Bn.
SOURCE: CoinGlass Blackrock IBIT Bitcoin Flow Reversal Mechanics: The $3.3Bn Outflow Streak and What the July Recovery Arc Reveals
The $116M July 21 inflow comes after the May–June outflow cycle that was followed by a return to net inflows. According to CoinGlass data, US spot Bitcoin ETF outflows totaled $2.73Bn over a 10-day streak that ended on July 2.
IBIT accounted for approximately $3.3Bn in redemptions during the broader May–June cycle. Weekly outflow volumes compressed from approximately $2Bn at the streak’s peak to roughly $700M as BTC recovered above $64,000.
The reversal sequence unfolded in three identifiable phases. The first positive session on July 2 produced $216M in net inflows across US spot Bitcoin ETFs; July 6 followed with $294.8M; and July 7 saw Blackrock IBIT post a single-day inflow of $187.2M, bringing its total to $209.4M, its largest print in weeks.
This drove total cross-fund inflows to $265.7M over a two-day window, per CoinGlass. The three-session window from July 2 through July 7 yielded approximately $510.7M in cumulative net inflows, establishing the structural case that the outflow streak had exhausted itself rather than merely paused.
Macro Backdrop and Institutional Context: How Softening Rate Expectations Are Channeling Capital Back Into Spot ETF Structures
BREAKING : BlackRock ETF has bought $116,500,000 worth of Bitcoin. They have been buying Bitcoin for 5 consecutive days. pic.twitter.com/Pkh3rt191Y
— Ash Crypto (@AshCrypto) July 21, 2026
The May–June outflow cycle was structurally driven by sustained upward pressure on 10-year Treasury yields, which elevated the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets like Bitcoin and triggered tactical de-risking among institutional allocators who had built positions through IBIT during the fund’s earlier accumulation phase.
The transmission channel now operating in the opposite direction runs through softening rate expectations, reducing the relative yield penalty for Bitcoin exposure, combined with BTC prices sitting approximately 20% below mid-May highs, a price point that institutional allocators appear to be treating as a tactical re-entry level.
IBIT’s scale means this re-engagement is not frictionless: at 734,762 BTC and an approximate AUM of $76Bn, even modest percentage-of-AUM inflows translate to nine-figure daily acquisition volumes that visibly move the structural supply-demand balance.
Butterfill characterized the early July inflows as the largest since the outflow cycle began in early May, describing the current window as a repair observation phase rather than a confirmed recovery, a distinction that remains relevant as the July 21 print extends, but does not yet definitively confirm, the inflow trend.
$67,500 as the Pivot Level: What Sustained IBIT Inflows and Polymarket Repricing Mean for Bitcoin’s Next Move
People keep saying it can't keep playing out the same, but $BTC is still closely following the 2022 pattern. Price now pushing towards $67k – right on queue. Max fear bottom towards the end of Q3, before kicking off the new bull early next year? Bring it on. pic.twitter.com/QVYxTHBR8V
— Jelle (@CryptoJelleNL) July 21, 2026
The bull case hinges on sustained IBIT inflows through July, supported by macro data such as inflation trends and Federal Reserve guidance, with the potential to reach $67,500.
Conversely, the bear case involves a resumption of outflows, in which a large redemption could prompt a reassessment of the current recovery as just a short-term bounce, especially if SEC regulatory actions introduce uncertainty for spot ETFs.
MEXC analysts have set $70,000 as the level indicating a full structural reversal, with only a 23.5% probability according to Polymarket data.
The base case anticipates consolidation between $64,000 and $67,500 as market participants evaluate whether recent inflows signal lasting institutional interest or merely tactical dip-buying, while keeping an eye on any SEC developments that could affect ETF structures.
Disclaimer: The author does not hold or have a position in any securities discussed in the article. All stock prices were quoted at the time of writing.
The post IBIT Hits 734,762 BTC as BlackRock July Inflows Push Polymarket Odds to 60.5% appeared first on Tokenist.

Consensys has disclosed that a North Korea-linked contractor operating under an alias had access to MetaMask-related code contributions from March 9 until access was terminated in April 2026, a window of roughly one month, after being introduced to Consensys through a third-party service provider with an existing relationship with the company.
Consensys general counsel Matt Corva described the individual as linked to North Korea and confirmed that an internal alert suspended all product releases and barred staff from interacting with the consultant pending a full investigation.
JUST IN: @MetaMask has removed a developer after discovering he was linked to North Korea. He had contributed to its core code for nearly a month and previously worked at Ankr, Blueberry Protocol, DEPO, Pickle Finance and Harmony, all five of which have suffered exploits. pic.twitter.com/RpHznqWp0n
— SolanaFloor (@SolanaFloor) July 19, 2026
The investigation, Corva stated, found no misappropriation of assets or data, no malicious code deployed to production, and no impact to user safety or security.
Consensys notified law enforcement and provided all relevant information. The outcome means MetaMask users were not directly affected, but the one-month access window to the core wallet and mobile code remains the structural concern the disclosure leaves unresolved.
Access Window and Code Scope: What the Contractor Touched and What Consensys’s Investigation Covered
The contractor worked on MetaMask code from March 9 until Consensys cut off access in April 2026. The code contributions involved MetaMask-related code, but no other systems or codebases have been publicly identified as within scope.
Consensys’s statement confirmed that the company quickly identified the threat, followed established security protocols, and immediately terminated access before launching a comprehensive review.
The internal April alert that suspended product releases also demonstrates Consensys retained a predefined mechanism to halt changes while suspicious access was under investigation, a procedural detail relevant to any wallet or protocol team evaluating incident-response design.
Consensys has since reviewed its third-party service practices so that the vetting standards applied to direct employees now extend to more complex outside relationships.
Some recent posts have misstated key facts about a security incident that happened a few months ago. Earlier this year, we identified and contained a threat from an individual engaged as a consultant through a third-party provider. The individual was never a Consensys…
— Consensys.eth (@Consensys) July 19, 2026
DPRK IT Worker Infiltration Pattern: How the MetaMask Incident Fits a Documented Threat Category
The MetaMask case highlights a growing trend of North Korean IT workers infiltrating crypto development teams using false identities through remote contractors.
The FBI’s advisory PSA250123 warns that DPRK operatives exploit company access to copy code repositories, urging strict identity verification, limited access controls, and regular audits of staffing firms. DPRK actors rely on contractor channels due to inconsistent background checks.
The scale of DPRK’s crypto operations underscores why wallet infrastructure is a prime target, with TRM Labs estimating that the DPRK was involved in a considerable portion of crypto thefts in the past year.
An Ethereum-funded project identified suspected DPRK workers across various crypto projects, and U.S. authorities have prosecuted cases where DPRK operatives accessed nearly 70 American companies, generating over $1.2M for North Korea.
CryptoSlate reported that operational compromises, such as issues with keys and approval systems, accounted for about 76% of stolen crypto value in early 2026.
This gap illustrates the importance of access and identity controls over contract-level audits, as a contractor with access to a wallet used by 30 million addresses poses a significant risk.
Alias Construction and Contractor Vetting Failure: What ‘Tyler Knapp’ Reveals About Third-Party Access Risk
MetaMask crypto wallet nearly hacked by North Korea. MetaMask developer Consensys discovered that a North Korean hacker had been on the MetaMask team under a fake identity for about a month and was involved in developing the core wallet code. The person goes by the name "Tyler… pic.twitter.com/8BfsDVJ4T5
— RU (@0xrurik) July 20, 2026
The contractor was introduced to Consensys via a reputable third-party relationship. Corva linked the individual to North Korea and noted their GitHub handle ‘imyugioh’.
This highlights a tactic used by DPRK IT workers: exploiting hiring pipelines rather than brute-force credential theft. MetaMask’s security guidance warns that malicious workers can impersonate identities and forge documents for remote roles, advising measures such as hardware authentication and reference checks.
The incident underscores the supply chain security gap created by third-party relationships. Consensys has not disclosed the vetting process for the contractor prior to March 9, nor whether the third-party provider conducted background checks.
EXPLORE: SpaceX Drops to $132.75 All-Time Low as Lockup Overhang and AI Repricing Weigh on SpaceX Stock
The author does not hold or have a position in any securities discussed in the article.
The post Consensys Confirms North Korean DPRK Contractor Accessed MetaMask Code for a Month appeared first on Tokenist.

President Donald Trump 2025 annual financial disclosure, filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE), shows more than $1.4 billion in crypto related income during 2025.
According to the filing, as reported by Roll Call, the total includes $635 million in royalties tied to Celebration Coins, the licensing vehicle associated with the TRUMP memecoin, $527 million from sales of World Liberty Financial (WLFI) tokens, and about $263 million from the sale of interests in holding companies tied to World Liberty Financial and its stablecoin business.
Together, those crypto ventures accounted for more than half of Trump’s roughly $2.2 billion in reported 2025 income.
The disclosure was released as Senate lawmakers continued negotiations over crypto market structure legislation. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-S.C.) has said he wants the bill considered by the Senate in July 2026, while Democrats have pushed for stronger ethics provisions that would restrict sitting public officials from profiting from cryptocurrencies while in office.
Other media estimates, including Reuters and CNBC, are slightly lower because of rounding and reporting differences, but the OGE disclosure remains the primary source for the figure.
EXPLORE: Trump Crypto OGE Disclosure 2025: $635M Memecoin Royalties and $520M+ WLFI Token Sales
How Trump $1.4Bn Crypto Income Compares to Public U.S. Crypto Company Net Income: Coinbase, Galaxy Digital, Riot Platforms, and the Sector Peer Set
The comparison with publicly traded crypto companies requires important context. Trump’s disclosure reports more than $1.4 billion in realized crypto related income for 2025, while corporate earnings are reported under different accounting standards and over different fiscal periods. Coinbase posted about $2.6 billion in net income for 2024, meaning it exceeds Trump’s reported crypto income on that measure.
Most other U.S.-listed crypto companies reported much smaller profits. Galaxy Digital generated net income in the hundreds of millions of dollars, while Riot Platforms and MARA Holdings posted results well below Trump’s reported crypto income in their latest annual filings.
Meanwhile, Strategy holds the largest corporate Bitcoin treasury but records most Bitcoin gains as unrealized accounting adjustments rather than realized operating income, making direct comparisons imperfect.
The comparison has important limitations. Trump’s more than $1.4 billion represents personal realized income from royalties, token sales, and asset transactions, while public companies report net income after operating costs, taxes, and other accounting adjustments.
Trump’s reported crypto income rivals or exceeds the latest annual net income reported by many publicly traded crypto firms, although it does not surpass Coinbase’s $2.6 billion net income for 2024. The disclosure nevertheless highlights how crypto became one of the largest contributors to Trump’s personal wealth during 2025.
Senate Crypto Market Structure Bill: Democratic Ethics Provisions, the Anti-Profiting Amendment, and Why the OGE Disclosure Complicates the Vote Count
The Senate Banking Committee advanced a substitute amendment to the crypto market structure bill 15-9 on May 14, 2026. Democrats Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) voted in favor but said their support for final passage depends on stronger ethics safeguards.
After Trump financial disclosure, Gallego criticized the president on X, accusing him of using the presidency to profit from crypto. He also pledged to continue pushing for tighter oversight of Trump’s crypto-related business activities.
Trump is using the presidency to profit off the American people. I’ll keep doing everything I can to crack down on his corrupt crypto dealings. https://t.co/iqiwnyWzt2
— Senator Ruben Gallego (@SenRubenGallego) July 1, 2026
Alsobrooks said, ethics provisions remain a key negotiating issue. She argued that any final legislation should include rules applying to the president, vice president, members of Congress, and other senior officials.
Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) also pointed to the disclosure as evidence that the bill should prohibit senior government officials and their families from profiting from the crypto industry while in office. Gallego has also criticized the White House for backing away from earlier discussions on ethics restrictions, leaving the issue unresolved as Senate negotiations continue.
A Senate Republican aide told Roll Call that Republicans intend to move the crypto market structure bill forward even if bipartisan negotiations stall. The aide said the party wants to give cross-party talks time to continue, but would still seek a Senate floor vote if discussions drag on indefinitely.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (R-Ark.) also urged the Senate to act before the August recess, increasing pressure on lawmakers to resolve remaining disagreements. Among the biggest unresolved issues are ethics provisions championed by Democrats, which gained renewed attention following Trump’s financial disclosure.
EXPLORE: CLARITY Act: Senate Stablecoin Bill DeFi Rewards and Updated Draft
The post Trump $1.4Bn Crypto Income Fuels Senate Ethics Fight Over Market Structure Bill appeared first on Tokenist.

SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) touched an all-time low of $132.75 on July 15, 2026, breaching its $135 IPO price just five weeks after the stock first traded on June 12, where it debuted at $150, before closing at $135.27. The stock went on to hit its prior all-time high of $225.64 on June 16 and then slid again in the weeks that followed.
The price action sets up one of the starkest analyst-vs-market disconnects in recent IPO history. According to Yahoo Finance analyst insights, 27 of the 31 Wall Street analysts covering SPCX rate it Buy or Strong Buy, with a consensus price target of $242, implying upside from the July 15 close.
Three compounding structural forces are driving the gap: AI-linked valuations repricing broadly across the IPO cohort; lockup-related supply overhang; and post-IPO euphoria unwinding as early support fades.
SpaceX Price Timeline: How $135 Became a Ceiling Instead of a Floor
The mechanics of the decline begin with a distinction the market initially ignored: the IPO price of $135 per share was the institutional clearing price set alongside the offering, not the $150 at which SPCX debuted on June 12.
Source: SPCXUSD / Tradingview
The difference between those two figures represented immediate first-day euphoria – a premium that late retail buyers paid on top of what institutions received.
The stock went on to close its first full trading day near $161 and briefly pushed to $225.64 on June 16 as momentum and AI-infrastructure positioning drove inflows, and has deteriorated in a near-uninterrupted sequence since.
The breach of $135 on July 15 matters beyond symmetry. That level marked the IPO reference price beneath which investors who bought in the offering are now sitting at a loss. With early post-IPO market support fading, the stock is increasingly trading as a true secondary-market bid.
Analyst Consensus vs. Current Price: Why 27 of 31 Buy Ratings Haven’t Moved the Stock
The 27-of-31 Buy consensus is real, but its signal value requires adjustment for IPO-specific distortions. The majority of the analyst pool covering SPCX includes banks that participated in the underwriting process, institutions whose research departments are structurally incentivized toward constructive ratings in the immediate post-IPO window.
Needham, the most recent firm to publish, maintained its Buy and raised its price target to $250 from $200 as of this week.
Evercore ISI’s Kutgun Maral, who is discussed as a bull, remains constructive but has noted that Starship has yet to prove it can scale, a material qualifier given that the rocket’s first operational payload launch is expected in the second half of 2026.
The mechanism behind the analyst-market divergence is supply-and-demand arithmetic at the float level. SPCX’s freely tradeable float at IPO represented roughly 5% of total shares outstanding, a thin market in which sentiment and momentum dominate price formation, while the overwhelming majority of shares are locked up and not available to absorb or generate a signal.
The $242 consensus target, which implies the full enterprise value of SpaceX’s launch, Starlink, satellite-to-phone, and AI infrastructure businesses discounted at long-dated growth assumptions, is analytically coherent but is being priced against a float so narrow that it functionally cannot reflect fundamental value yet.
Goldman Sachs’s long-term AI revenue forecasts for SpaceX’s infrastructure segment provide the underpinning for the highest targets in the distribution, as detailed in Goldman Sachs’s SpaceX AI revenue forecast through 2030, but those projections are years from validation.
The post SpaceX Drops to $132.75 All-Time Low as Lockup Overhang and AI Repricing Weigh on SpaceX Stock appeared first on Tokenist.

Consensys celebrated the MetaMask 10th anniversary on July 14, 2026, by launching Open Money, a self-custodial platform for payments, savings, investing, and digital assets.
This rebranding positions MetaMask as a personal neobank, competing with consumer finance apps while completely inverting their custody model. With over 100 million downloads and trillions in transaction volume, MetaMask has a competitive edge that many fintech challengers lack.
MetaMask hit its 10th anniversary with 100M+ downloads and trillions in transaction volume, now expanding beyond a wallet into a broader financial platform. "The next chapter is Open Money, how money works on the internet," said Consensys CEO Joe Lubin. pic.twitter.com/N3i911NlG5
— Lisa Waine (@Lisa_Waine) July 14, 2026
To drive this transition, Consensys appointed Gal Eldar as chief product officer. Eldar has a strong background in MetaMask.
This includes fiat access and cross-chain bridges, and he previously worked on projects such as AirSwap, making him a perfect fit to lead Open Money’s development.
Money Account Architecture: mUSD Issuance via Stripe’s Bridge, US Treasury Reserves, and How Monad Enables Card-Spend from a Live Yield Position
We sat down for the first time with @ethereumJoseph, Founder and CEO of Consensys and Co-Founder of Ethereum, and @KeoneHD, Co-Founder and GM of Monad Foundation. A conversation about where the future of money is headed, AI, and the new @metamask Money Account. Timestamps:… pic.twitter.com/4pgauuqMps
— Monad (@monad) June 30, 2026
The Money Account is positioned as a self-custodial savings and spending product embedded in MetaMask.
MetaMask says the Money Account can earn yield on mUSD, with the rate varying over time. The specific yield mechanics and the on-chain drivers that dominate were discussed in a third-party analysis.
However, MetaMask has not publicly confirmed the full details, so users should treat the rate as variable and be aware of the underlying DeFi and platform risks.
EXPLORE: MON Price Rally and MetaMask Money Account: What the Monad Integration Signals
Self-Custody vs. Custodial Neobanks: Why the Architectural Distinction Between MetaMask and Coinbase Changes the Risk Profile, Not Just the Branding
The most relevant comparison for MetaMask’s Money Account is Coinbase’s USDC rewards program, particularly in terms of custody.
While Coinbase requires users to cede control to a regulated intermediary, introducing risks such as account freezes and withdrawal limits.
MetaMask allows users to maintain key control over their mUSD balance. This security advantage comes with a support disadvantage, as there is no help desk to reverse user-initiated errors.
Branded under Open Money, MetaMask positions itself against PayPal and traditional neobanks, emphasizing direct control over money that moves like information.
Lubin’s phrase, “We built the rails. Now we are rebuilding finance on top of them,” reflects their evolution from wallet infrastructure to a broader financial system.
MetaMask’s security measures help mitigate custodial risks; in 2025, for instance, it blocked over 6.5M visits to malicious sites and prevented about 150,000 malicious transactions, saving users over $500M through alerts and monitoring.
An upcoming Agent Wallet will extend these protections to AI agents in DeFi transactions, enforcing security checks on autonomous activities.
RELATED: MetaMask Money Account: mUSD, 4% Yield, and Mastercard Spending Explained
Gal Eldar’s CPO Mandate and the Consensys IPO Backdrop: What the ‘Personal Neobank’ Framing Signals for Platform Revenue and Public-Market Positioning
MetaMask Developer Consensys Delays Potential IPO Until Fall Amid Weak Crypto Markets MetaMask developer Consensys has delayed its potential IPO until at least this fall due to weak market conditions. Sources said the company had planned to confidentially file a draft S-1 with… pic.twitter.com/xohyyF6asU
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) May 13, 2026
Eldar’s appointment as chief product officer to lead Open Money consolidates product leadership over the announced Open Money initiative.
The mandate is explicit: bring payments, savings, investing, and digital assets into a single self-custodial interface that competes on usability rather than requiring users to understand the underlying blockchain mechanics.
“People do not think about wallets or blockchains,” Eldar said. “They think about what they want to do with their money.”
That consumer framing aligns with the idea that Money Account activity can create recurring product usage and transaction-based economics, which investors typically evaluate in public-market narratives.
However, specifics like interchange, fee composition, and IPO timing are not included in the provided primary material.
DISCOVER: Consensys IPO Timeline: What the Fall 2026 Target Means Under Joe Lubin
The post Consensys Bets on Self-Custody Finance With The MetaMask Open Money Platform appeared first on Tokenist.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on July 14, 2026, that the Consumer Price Index (CPI data) for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) fell 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis in June.
This is the largest single-month decline since April 2020, when it dropped 0.8% amid pandemic-driven demand destruction, with gasoline prices collapsing -9.7%, pulling the energy index down 5.7% for the month.
US Inflation Cools To 3.5% As June CPI Beats Expectations US inflation drops to 3.5% in June, significantly lower than the anticipated 3.8% consensus. The data show a 0.4% month-over-month decline, the most significant monthly drop in consumer prices since May 2020. Core CPI… pic.twitter.com/oJjr5L1oN1
— BSCN (@BSCNews) July 14, 2026
Headline inflation decelerated sharply to 3.5% year-over-year from 4.2% in May, while core CPI came in flat at 0.0% month-over-month and eased to 2.6% y/y from 2.9%.
In the minutes leading up to the CPI release, markets digested the softer inflation figures. With headline inflation falling and core inflation unchanged, the data sent mixed signals for policy expectations.
The Gasoline-to-Rate-Expectations Transmission Channel: How an Energy Reversal Produces a Qualified Dovish Signal
Mark this! While the market waits for context—namely, #Warsh—here is a word on the #CPI and my yields trade… The energy sector shaved −0.437 points off the headline index, with gasoline alone accounting for −0.394 points (despite having a weighting of only 4.25%). If we… https://t.co/HYbBt1HrZb
— Alma (@alma271828) July 14, 2026
The transmission from that energy deflation to rate-cut expectations runs through a well-established sequence: a softer CPI data headline compresses near-term inflation forecasts, which shifts rate futures pricing toward earlier and deeper cuts, which lowers real yields, which reduces the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding risk assets including Bitcoin.
The April 2020 historical comparator deserves context. That month’s 0.8% decline provides the relevant benchmark for the size of the June move. June 2026’s reversal reflects the unwinding of an energy spike that had pushed the energy index up 10.9% in March.
Core inflation’s behavior, flat at 0.0% m/m, decelerating to 2.6% y/y, is the genuinely instructive data point, and it points in the right direction without delivering a clean all-clear.
EXPLORE: Hawkish Fed, BlackRock IBIT Outflows, and the Fed-Crypto Transmission Mechanism
CPI Data: Why a Flat Core and a Dovish Headline Don’t Unlock a Policy Pivot
Fed leadership continues to emphasize a data-dependent policy, seeking sustained evidence of disinflation. Prior to the June CPI release, FOMC projections indicated that further tightening remained a possibility, suggesting that a single soft print wouldn’t trigger an immediate policy shift. Instead, consistent progress over multiple months is needed.
A positive sign in the June report was the shelter component, which rose just 0.1% month-over-month, the smallest increase since January 2021. While shelter inflation is still elevated at 3.3% year-over-year, its deceleration trend could align with the core cooling the Federal Reserve desires before making adjustments.
Motor vehicle insurance and communication prices also declined, indicating some cooling in services inflation. However, any hawkish statements or strong data before August 12 could reverse the rate-cut expectations that emerged from June’s data. Treasury yields responded to the CPI report, with initial gains fading as markets assessed the data and the policy outlook.
EXPLORE: Rising Treasury Yields and the Mechanism Stalling Bitcoin’s Rally
$65,000 as the Pivot Level: What the June CPI Data Print and Institutional Flow Divergence Mean for Bitcoin’s Next Move
Here's why I think Bitcoin drops lower first. Whales are stacking massive $BTC bids below the current price. There's a HUGE wall of buy orders stretching from around $57K down into the high-$40Ks. One single bid alone is worth $81 million at $61,500. Smart money appears to be… pic.twitter.com/lNiHU6ZCRz
— Crypto Rover (@cryptorover) July 15, 2026
Bitcoin’s reaction to the CPI data release reflects that a headline drop driven by energy doesn’t automatically translate into sustained repricing of crypto risk. With core CPI flat on the month, market expectations for the policy path remain sensitive to the next move.
The lower-inflation-to-rate-cut-to-lower-real-yields transmission that theoretically benefits Bitcoin requires more than a one-month, gasoline-driven headline to materially shift institutional positioning.
For $65,000 to convert from resistance into a confirmed floor, Bitcoin would need sustained improvement in underlying inflation momentum.
Disclaimer: The author does not hold any position in the securities discussed in this article.
The post Gasoline Drives June CPI Data Down 0.4%, But Core Inflation Limits Fed’s Hand appeared first on Tokenist.

HM Treasury’s Wholesale Digital Markets Champion, Chris Woolard, published the first of two reports on July 13, 2026, establishing a 54-firm cross-industry tokenization task force backed by the City of London Corporation, with BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and UBS among the named members.
The initiative targets up to £33Bn in annual economic output and £14Bn in annual tax revenue by 2035, projections that frame this not as a regulatory consultation exercise but as a structural buildout of UK wholesale financial markets infrastructure.
BREAKING: THE UK JUST ASSEMBLED THE BIGGEST TOKENIZATION COALITION IN ITS HISTORY. BlackRock, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Coinbase, and 50+ other firms are joining forces on real-world tokenization. The numbers behind the push: Up to £33 billion in annual economic output by… pic.twitter.com/zz66mQ2yPT
— Crypto Rover (@cryptorover) July 13, 2026
Woolard, the former chair of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) who spent eight years in that role, addressed the report to the UK Chancellor. His framing was explicit: tokenized markets are a network game with no guaranteed position for London.
The taskforce gives the UK government a named institutional coalition to move beyond policy frameworks and into live use cases, with workstream assignments targeted for September 2026 and a comprehensive second report due July 2027.
Tokenized Repo as Flagship Pilot: The Operational Structure Behind the 54-Firm Coalition and Its Spring 2027 Target
The task force will focus on tokenized repo, a short-duration, collateralized lending method that involves trillions in daily wholesale market transactions, making it ideal for DLT to reduce counterparty risk and margin cycles.
Over the next year, the group will explore live tokenization use cases in UK financial markets, starting with tokenized repo.
Organized through cross-industry workstreams, the initiative aims to develop standards for tokenized wholesale assets, as detailed in the HM Treasury report.
It emphasizes the competitive nature of tokenization, stressing the need for swift translation into market activity, which BlackRock has already gotten a head start on.
The Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS) is also part of the UK’s strategy to integrate tokenization into these markets, but specific staffing or timeline details are not provided.
EXPLORE: MetaMask Money Account Pays 4% APY on mUSD With Card Spending Built In
DIGIT, the Digital Securities Sandbox, and the BlackRock led Coalition’s Sovereign Asset Anchor: What the UK’s Approach Reveals About Infrastructure Control
The UK’s approach stands out with its commitment to issuing government debt in Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) form through the Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT), as highlighted by John Orchard.
This sovereign DLT asset serves as a risk-free anchor for pricing, margining, and settling tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), similar to the role of conventional gilts in traditional finance.
Bhatia emphasized that a tokenized repo market requires robust payment infrastructure for real-time settlement and interoperability across various currencies.
The tokenized RWA market is projected by Boston Consulting Group to reach $88 trillion by 2035, while the current crypto and stablecoin market is estimated at $3 trillion.
This positions the UK government to capture a share of this significant opportunity, with Goldman Sachs also signaling its commitment to tokenization infrastructure.
UK pulls Ripple and Wall Street into a plan to tokenize repo and gilts A Treasury-backed report put @Ripple alongside @BlackRock, @jpmorgan and @GoldmanSachs in a 54-firm push to move UK wholesale markets onchain. First target: tokenized repo. Then gilts and funds. The report… pic.twitter.com/p2RNlwTAsp
— BSCN (@BSCNews) July 13, 2026
Regulatory Calendar and Competitive Positioning: What Woolard’s Report Formalizes for UK Wholesale Market Participants
Woolard’s report, directed at the incoming UK Chancellor, emphasizes the need for the UK to keep pace with agile players in the global tokenized markets to secure its position. Woolard stated, “It is a race, and the U.K. must act quickly to influence international market approaches.”
The Bank of England’s synchronization pilot, set for rollout by 2028, will connect the upgraded RTGS system to blockchain-based securities, similar to the ECB’s Pontes program, which launches in Q4 2027. This timing is crucial for wholesale market participants considering cross-border tokenized settlements.
Public feedback on Woolard’s report is open until September 4, 2026. Additionally, the BlackRock Dematerialization Market Action Taskforce (DEMAT) aims to phase out paper share certificates in favor of a more digital shareholding model, promoting modernized infrastructure across various asset classes.
DISCOVER: Goldman Sachs Targets USD/JPY at 165, in Boost for the Yen Carry Trade
The post HM Treasury’s Tokenization Push: £33bn Target, and a 54-Firm Coalition that Includes BlackRock appeared first on Tokenist.