For years, institutional capital has tested tokenization in sandboxes, yet full-scale adoption has lagged. Hydra X is hoping a technical shortcut can change that. The firm, a regulated market infrastructure operator, launched the HX Gateway API on July 23, a REST interface designed to connect banks, asset managers, and other financial institutions directly to the Canton Network, according to the original announcement. The move targets one of the most persistent friction points in institutional blockchain use: the complexity of integrating with privacy-focused ledger infrastructure.
The Canton Network, backed by Digital Asset and a consortium of major financial firms, uses a private, permissioned blockchain architecture that allows parties to transact without revealing sensitive data to network operators or competitors. HX Gateway API abstracts that layer into a standard REST API, letting institutions interact programmatically with tokenized assets — from issuance to settlement — without building bespoke node infrastructure or deep in-house crypto expertise. Hydra X already operates under a regulatory framework in its markets, a detail that matters for compliance-heavy institutions.
Tokenization’s Infrastructure Moment The launch lands during a period when on-chain tokenization of real-world assets has moved from experiment to market structure. As covered in a recent weekly tokenization roundup, the total value of tokenized assets has surpassed $20 billion, with landmark deals like Bullish buying Equiniti for $4.2 billion and Ondo settling Treasury tokens with JPMorgan shifting the conversation from proof-of-concept to live capital markets plumbing. An API that lowers the technical barrier to the Canton Network could help traditional firms join that flow without the typical multi-year blockchain integration cycles.
Unlike public blockchains where anyone can run a node, Canton uses smart contracts that enforce strict data segregation. This design appeals to institutions that require transaction confidentiality, but it also means that connecting to the network has, until now, demanded a more involved technical lift. By standardizing the interface, Hydra X is effectively offering a ready-made bridge. It’s a playbook that echoes how custodians and exchange APIs simplified crypto access for retail and high-frequency traders a decade ago — now repurposed for the tokenized capital markets stack.
Regulatory Fog Keeps Institutions Cautious Still, infrastructure alone rarely dictates adoption speed. In the United States, the regulatory picture for digital asset markets remains unfinished. Even as firms like Hydra X build the rails, banks are trying to kill the biggest crypto bill in US history just days before a Senate vote, highlighting the political tug-of-war over how tokenized instruments should be treated under existing securities and banking laws. For institutional adoption to scale, the regulatory perimeter must be clear enough for compliance departments to sign off. Until then, any new technical tool — including HX
AUTHOR
Nicholas Otieno is a fintech writer specializing in cryptocurrency markets. Since 2019, he has written articles to educate readers about cryptocurrency and its substantial positive impact on global prosperity. Nicholas is a Bitcoin holder, believing firmly in its fundamentals. His work has been featured in publications such as Finance Magnates, Blockchain.News, Bitcoin Magazine, Coincub, and among others. When he's not writing, Nicholas enjoys performing domestic tasks, spending time with friends, listening to music, and watching football.
On-Chain Activity Spikes as FEFER Gains TractionThe @Stable network recorded more than 167,000 transactions in a single 24-hour window, driven by a sharp surge in demand for $FEFER, the network's first memecoin. The spike marks one of the most active periods the protocol has seen since its mainnet launch and underscores how quickly speculative activity can translate into real infrastructure pressure on newer Layer 1 networks.
Stable is a Layer 1 blockchain built specifically for stablecoin transactions, using USDT as its native gas token. The network is designed specifically for stablecoin transactions and launched its mainnet in New York, unveiling the Stable Foundation and its native STABLE token alongside it. The project raised a $28 million seed round led by Bitfinex, Hack VC, and USDT0, with notable backers including Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino and Anchorage CEO Nathan McCauley.
Infrastructure Upgrades Deployed to Handle InfluxThe sustained demand for $FEFER has prompted the protocol to move quickly on infrastructure improvements. The team is deploying deeper liquidity for cross-chain bridging and working to strengthen RPC performance to accommodate the wave of new participants entering the network.
The response reflects a broader challenge facing purpose-built stablecoin chains: speculative activity, particularly around memecoins, can generate transaction volumes that rival or exceed those from core payment use cases, testing the limits of infrastructure that was designed for a different load profile. General-purpose chains price blockspace by auction, meaning stablecoin transfers compete with memecoin activity for inclusion, which can cause fees to swing sharply and disrupt predictable payment flows. Stable's architecture, which uses USDT for gas, is designed to avoid that dynamic, but the $FEFER pump has put that design under real-world stress for the first time at scale.
The team has not yet disclosed a timeline for completing the upgrades, but the speed of the response suggests the protocol is treating network reliability as a priority as it looks to attract both retail and institutional users.
Sources:
The Block: Stable launches mainnet and native token
Messari: Stable Mainnet and Token Generation Event
Ethena (ENA) is trading at $0.091 after a 4% gain. If momentum holds, $0.13 would be the next major target. Ethena (ENA) has spent weeks doing the work that bull runs are actually built on, holding support, absorbing sell pressure, and slowly shifting the structure in favour of the buyers. A TD Sequential buy signal appeared on the weekly chart and was followed almost immediately by a 17% price rally. ENA is currently trading at $0.09121, up 4.36%.
Both the RSI and ChandeMo Oscillator are forming bullish divergences. That combination of price action still finding its footing while momentum indicators point higher is one of the more reliable early signals that selling pressure is fading and buying interest is building underneath.
The long-term descending trendline that had been suppressing ENA for months has now lost its grip. Rather than falling back below the breakout level, price has spent weeks building acceptance above the former trendline while repeatedly defending the newly established support zone.
Moreover, ENA is now consolidating inside a well-defined rectangle pattern, with buyers defending the lower boundary and price pressing to the upper resistance. Rectangle consolidations of this type precede explosive breakouts. The contraction in volatility is building pressure, and a decisive move above confirms that bulls are reclaiming control.
The Crucial Resistance and Support Levels of Ethena With a potential break above $0.0931, a strong candle opens the path to $0.0950, followed by $0.0985. This threshold can only be achieved by strong momentum without any rejection. Also, if momentum holds and buying interest sustains, $0.13 becomes ENA’s next major target.
If a pullback occurs, it could push the Ethena price toward $0.0860. Further downside invites the $0.0829 zone, before any renewed move higher. A close drop below $0.0812 with stronger bearish momentum could push the price toward $0.078 or lower.
The broader market structure is bullish, and the accumulation pattern is holding. At press time, Ethena needs the key support zone to hold one more time.
ENA’s Technical Momentum Signals a Bullish Move The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) and the signal lines show that the buying pressure is accelerating. Both lines above zero indicate ENA’s overall uptrend. The short-term price momentum is consistently higher than its long-term average.
The recent price surge is gaining speed. A healthy uptrend with buyers firmly in control, and the current momentum is pushing it further. It’s a favourable environment for holding long positions.
In addition, the ongoing market sentiment for Ethena is bullish as the daily Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 70.67. The asset is inside overbought territory. Buyers have been driving the price higher with significant intensity over recent candles.
It doesn’t mean the price will crash immediately, but the odds of a short-term pullback are higher as traders take profits. It is appropriate to wait for a slight dip or for the value to pull back and reset before buying.
Crypto Market Highlights
XRP Flashes a Bullish Divergence: Will Momentum Strengthen Further?
Content Writer | Crypto Enthusiast | Bridging Literature and Blockchain
Q2 was a breakout quarter. Coinbase named Centrifuge a preferred tokenization infrastructure and took an equity stake in CFG. Kraken Institutional and OKX followed with partnerships of their own. Ethena selected Centrifuge after a competitive RFP and allocated $250M to JAAA. New York Life Investment Management, one of the world's largest active managers at roughly $807B in AUM, brought its first tokenized fund onchain with us. Underneath the announcements, our assets moved deeper into DeFi across new chains, venues, and integrations.
Total Value Locked: $1.6B (-6% QoQ)
CFG Token Holders: 10,988 (+16% QoQ)New York Life brings its first tokenized fund onchainNew York Life Investment Management tokenized its U.S. High Yield Corporate Bond Strategy (HYB) on Centrifuge. NYLIM manages around $807B in AUM. HYB is its first tokenized fund and one of the first high yield corporate bond strategies to come onchain. A 180-year-old institution choosing to build on Centrifuge is a signal about where tokenization infrastructure is consolidating.
Coinbase names Centrifuge preferred infrastructureCoinbase selected Centrifuge as a preferred tokenization infrastructure and backed the decision with a strategic investment in CFG. The partnership brings Centrifuge's tokenization framework to Base, with Coinbase's distribution behind it.
Ethena allocates to JAAAEthena selected Centrifuge as a strategic tokenization partner following a competitive RFP, allocating $250M to JAAA as one of the first real-world assets backing USDe. One of the largest allocators in crypto joins the JAAA holder base.
Kraken Institutional adds JAAA to qualified custodyKraken Institutional added JAAA as its first RWA in qualified custody, extending institutional-grade custody to Centrifuge's flagship credit product.
Grove Basin commits $1B for instant JTRSY redemptionsCentrifuge partnered with Grove Basin on a $1B redemption facility for JTRSY, committing daily liquidity for 24/7 USDC instant redemptions. Holders can move out of JTRSY into USDC around the clock, backed by committed liquidity rather than a redemption queue.
IOSG partnership across AsiaCentrifuge and IOSG Ventures entered a strategic partnership to advance institutional tokenization across Asia, targeting Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea. IOSG first backed Centrifuge in 2021 and has now increased its position through open market purchases.
ERC-7540 merged into OpenZeppelinOpenZeppelin merged an implementation of ERC-7540 into its Community Contracts, making the async vault standard co-authored by Centrifuge part of the toolkit most of DeFi builds on. Async settlement is how real-world assets work onchain. What was proven in Centrifuge vaults is now a public building block.
Core assets now live on MonadCentrifuge's core assets went live on Monad, leading with JTRSY, JAAA, and Apollo's ACRDX. The corresponding deRWAs, deJTRSY, deJAAA, and deCRDX, launched alongside them as freely transferable wrappers, giving the assets 24/7 access and onchain liquidity across the Monad DeFi ecosystem.
Centrifuge V3.2 audits completeCentrifuge V3.2 completed audits, with the Onchain Portfolio Manager as its headline feature. The Onchain Portfolio Manager lets an asset manager run a single vault holding tokenized treasuries, credit, equities, and onchain lending positions, rebalancing across all of them with unified accounting and onchain execution.
Deeper DeFi integration for assets on CentrifugedeSPXA gained traction on Uniswap and was added as collateral on Euler, curated by Clearstar. JAAA became the first asset to support leveraged trading on 3F. JTRSY was integrated into Grvt, expanding retail distribution. deJTRSY and deJAAA went live on Sushi on Stellar and arrived on X Layer at launch, part of a broader distribution partnership with OKX.Centrifuge in the PressCoinDesk: New York Life's $800 billion asset manager makes tokenization debut with Centrifuge fundThe Block: New York Life Investment Management makes first tokenized move partnering with Centrifuge on high-yield corporate bond strategyThe Defiant: New York Life Partners with Centrifuge on Tokenized Corporate BondsDecrypt: New York Life Investment Management Debuts First Tokenized Bond FundMarkets Media: 180-year Old New York Life Adds to Tokenized FundsPYMNTS: New York Life Investment Management Bets on TokenizationCoinDesk: BlackRock, Janus Henderson tokenized funds get instant redemptions with new $1 billion facilityThe Block: Janus Henderson takes ENA position, eyes regulated investment products tied to EthenaCrypto Briefing: Centrifuge partners with Ethena to issue $200M in JAAA tokens on SolanaThe Defiant: Coinbase Taps Centrifuge as Preferred Tokenization PartnerCoinDesk: Coinbase taps Centrifuge as preferred tokenization backbone, takes equity stakeThe Block: Coinbase doubles down on Centrifuge investment, taps platform as tokenization partner for BaseCrowdfund Insider: Centrifuge Launches DeFi Compatible Tokenization Framework On Base, Backed By Coinbase PartnershipBlockonomi: Coinbase Backs Centrifuge Tokenization Rollout on BaseCrypto Briefing: Centrifuge integrates tokenization with DeFi on Base, backed by Coinbase investmentInvezz: Grvt expands wealth platform with Centrifuge yield integrationCentrifuge PerspectivesTokenization: From Exploration to Execution: A joint webinar with S&P Dow Jones Indices and Janus Henderson on real-world asset tokenization strategies and execution.DeFi Drip is back with the first three episodes of season 2, recorded at the RWA Summit.
Bhaji Illuminati, Co-Founder and CEO, Centrifuge LabsPaul Frambot, Co-Founder and CEO, MorphoSebastian Pulido, former Director of Institutional & DeFi Business, Aave LabsUnlocking Tokenized Fund Composability: a joint report from LayerZero and Centrifuge.From Tokenization to Vaults: a five-article series on Centrifuge V3.2 walking through the vault stack design, by Jeroen Offerijns, CTO, Centrifuge Labs.Coindesk Live at Consensus, interview with Bhaji Illuminati, CEO, Centrifuge LabsCoinbase, Tokenized T-Bills, and The Future Of Onchain Finance, interview with Bhaji Illuminati, CEO, Centrifuge LabsDesigning Onchain Utility for RWAs: Infrastructure, Vaults, and Curation, panel with Bhaji Illuminati, CEO, Centrifuge LabsThe RWA Boom and DeFi's Trust Reckoning, interview with Graham Nelson, DeFi Product Lead, Centrifuge LabsPartner InsightsBase: Tokenized S&P 500 exposure from Centrifuge is now live on Base.Serotonin: Centrifuge: Tokenization to UtilityDune: The Rise of Composable RWAsPredicate: Predicate and Centrifuge Partner to Bring Real-Time Compliance to the RWA EcosystemPharos: The RealFi Inflection: Assessing the Strategic Trajectory for the Next DecadeKeyring Network: Keyring Brings Centrifuge’s ACRDX into rwa [un]wind to Power On-Chain LeverageHacken: Q1 2026 Security & Compliance Report
Weekly Points Now Live for Ondo Perps UsersOndo Finance has activated its Points program for Ondo Perps, adding a new incentive layer for traders on the platform. Points are earned based on trading volume and open interest, with the first distribution going live on July 23 and covering eligible trading activity dating back to June 2.
A fixed 5 million points will be distributed every week for the duration of the campaign, giving active traders a consistent and predictable rewards target.
The Points program arrives roughly six weeks after Ondo Perps launched on July 7, 2026 as the first perpetual futures platform for equities and commodities to support both tokenized equity holdings and stablecoins as collateral for derivatives positions. The platform covers perpetual futures on leading U.S. equities, ETFs, and commodities, including SPCX, MU, AAPL, NVDA, TSLA, QQQ, gold, and silver, for global investors outside the U.S.
Building on an Existing Rewards StructureThe Points program is the latest addition to a broader incentive stack built around the Ondo Perps product. At launch, Ondo made available up to $3 million in total rewards, starting with $150,000 in USDC pools for the first week of trading activity, alongside a referral program.
Ondo Perps describes itself as the first platform to allow tokenized stocks to be used as collateral for equity perpetuals, giving traders a way to use tokenized real-world assets inside leveraged markets instead of relying only on stablecoins. Rather than parking equities in one venue and stablecoins in another, traders can put their tokenized stocks to work backing leveraged positions.
The market capitalization of stock tokens has tripled since the beginning of the year to approximately $1.96 billion, while Ondo Perps has already surpassed $130 million in 24-hour trading volume. The Points program is designed to sustain engagement as competition in the tokenized asset derivatives space grows.
Sources:
Ondo Perps Launches First Equity Perpetuals Platform, Yahoo Finance
Ondo is Bringing Leveraged Stock Trading On-Chain, TheStreet
Ondo Unveils Perps DEX With Tokenized Stocks as Collateral, Bankless
On July 16, this site set three markers for ONDO: $0.33 as validation, $0.40 as the test above it, and January 18, 2027 as the standing asterisk. On July 21 the token reached $0.389 and the assessment was updated to note the third marker was in progress. Today ONDO trades at $0.4034. The test is no longer approaching. It has arrived, and the token is sitting on the number, down 0.3% on the day, deciding.
ONDO trades at $0.4034 as of July 23, 2026, down 0.3% over 24 hours, per CoinGecko. It remains on CoinGecko’s trending list, having held its position there through a full week of gains.
The Unique Angle: the thesis is showing up in the listings, not the headlines The interesting development today is not on ONDO’s chart. It is two rows down the same dashboard.
CoinGecko‘s new coins section currently lists tokenized traditional-market instruments alongside the usual micro-cap launches: a tokenized CoreWeave equity product priced near $84.55, and a tokenized South Korea Bull 3X ETF product near $23.11. These are not crypto projects. They are conventional financial instruments, an AI infrastructure stock and a leveraged country ETF, arriving on a crypto data platform as tradeable tokens.
That observation matters more for ONDO’s thesis than any price move, because it is direct evidence of the category expanding without a press release. The tokenized real-world-asset argument has always rested on a claim about the future: that conventional instruments would migrate on-chain. When those instruments start appearing in the routine listings feed of a mainstream crypto dashboard, the claim stops being forward-looking and becomes observable.
The precise limits of that evidence require stating. New listings measure supply of products, not demand for them; a tokenized ETF appearing on a list says issuers are building, not that anyone is trading it at scale. It also does not accrue to ONDO specifically. Ondo is one issuer in a category that is becoming more crowded, and competitors arriving is exactly what a validated thesis looks like from the inside. The thesis winning and the token winning are two different outcomes, and this site has been explicit about that distinction on the Ondo prediction page.
The One Number That Matters $0.40. The level named seven days ago, reached today, unresolved.
The mechanics of round-number resistance apply with unusual clarity here because ONDO’s approach was orderly rather than parabolic: 17.4% on July 16, consolidation, 13.6% on July 21, then a flat session directly on the number. That sequence describes a market working toward a level rather than gapping through it, which historically requires more than one attempt to clear. A daily close above $0.40 on sustained volume satisfies the third and final marker from the July 16 assessment. A rejection here sends the token back toward the validated $0.33 support, and the two-week advance becomes a range rather than a trend.
Neither outcome would be a surprise. The purpose of naming a level in advance is that both answers are informative when it arrives.
Key Levels Resistance: $0.40, active now, then $0.50 as the next round-number reference with no recent trading history beneath it. Support: $0.33, validated on July 16 and untested since. The structure remains unusually clean, which is why level-based assessment works better on this token than on most mid-caps.
Supporting Context The standing asterisk has not moved. Approximately 1.94 billion ONDO, about 19.4% of total supply, unlock in a single cliff on January 18, 2027 per public vesting data, expanding the float by roughly 40% against a circulating supply near 4.9 billion. Nothing in this week’s price action changes that arithmetic, and any thesis extending past 2026 must absorb it. Our token unlock guide explains why the recipient of a cliff matters as much as its size.
The institutional record behind the token also remains as previously documented: tokenized US stocks structured on DTC-held securities, multi-chain 24/7 trading, roughly $700 million in tokenized equities with proxy voting, the Oasis Pro broker-dealer acquisition, and a 21Shares filing for an ONDO exchange-traded product. That record is the reason the token has a bid. The governance-only value capture, where holders vote but do not receive product yield, remains the reason it has a ceiling.
Bottom Line ONDO at $0.4034 is standing on the exact number this site named a week ago, and the next two daily closes settle a question that has been open since July 16. Above $0.40, all three markers are satisfied and the recovery extends toward $0.50. Below, the move retreats to a validated support and becomes a range. Meanwhile the category around the token keeps expanding in ways visible on the listings feed rather than in headlines, which is the more durable signal and the one that will still matter after this level resolves.
This article is for information only and is not investment advice. Crypto assets are extremely volatile and you can lose your entire stake. Always do your own research.
Frequently Asked Questions What is the Ondo price today? ONDO trades at $0.4034 as of July 23, 2026, down 0.3% over 24 hours, sitting directly on the $0.40 resistance level.
Why does $0.40 matter for ONDO? This site named $0.40 as the test above validated support at $0.33 on July 16. Round-number resistance typically requires more than one attempt to clear, so a daily close above it would confirm the two-week advance rather than cap it.
Can ONDO reach $0.50? $0.50 is the next round-number reference, roughly 24% above today's price, and it only comes into play after a confirmed close above $0.40. Without that, the level is not in the conversation.
Are tokenized stocks really launching on-chain? Tokenized equity and ETF products, including a CoreWeave equity token and a leveraged South Korea ETF token, currently appear on CoinGecko's new coins list. That shows issuers are building in the category, though listings alone do not indicate trading demand.
What is the ONDO unlock in 2027? Approximately 1.94 billion ONDO, about 19.4% of total supply, unlock in a single cliff on January 18, 2027, expanding the circulating float by roughly 40%.
Does ONDO pay yield from Ondo's tokenized Treasuries? No. ONDO is a governance token. Product yield flows to holders of the tokenized product tokens, not to ONDO holders, which is the central limitation on the investment case.
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Simeon is a detail-driven editor who sharpens every piece with clarity and precision, ensuring clean, consistent, and professional content throughout.
New FINRA authorizations allow Ondo, via Oasis Pro Markets, to launch regulated markets and services for tokenized securities in the U.S. under SEC and FINRA oversight.
Ondo Finance today announced that its SEC-registered broker-dealer subsidiary Oasis Pro Markets has received U.S. regulatory authorization to offer compliant tokenized corporate equities and funds to U.S. financial institutions and hundreds of millions of American retail investors under SEC and FINRA oversight, via OTC retailing, underwritten primary offerings, private placements and other activities. The authorizations further enable Oasis Pro Markets to operate a compliant platform for U.S. issuers to conduct primary offerings of, and for U.S. institutional and retail investors to engage in secondary trading of, these tokenized securities.
Under this framework, Oasis Pro Markets can offer U.S. investors market access to NMS equities, fund interests such as ETFs, mutual funds, and index funds, and securities issued through IPOs and traded in secondary markets. Settlement for these assets can occur with fiat currencies or supported stablecoins, including directly between blockchain-based wallets.
These authorizations build upon Ondo’s acquisition of Oasis Pro, which owns an SEC-registered broker-dealer, an SEC-registered alternative trading system (ATS), and an SEC-registered transfer agent. Oasis Pro’s transfer agent, Oasis Pro TA, provides support for digital asset transfer agent services, such as onchain capitalization table management, shareholder rights, and cross-asset collateral mobility.
The approvals further allow Ondo’s Oasis Pro Markets to support omnibus account structures through integrations with existing broker-dealer and advisory channels. This will enable institutional investors, registered investment advisers, and retirement accounts to access tokenized securities through their current brokers, significantly reducing onboarding friction and enabling broader participation by U.S. investors.
Oasis Pro Markets LLC is an SEC-registered broker-dealer and Alternative Trading System, and a member of FINRA/SIPC. For more information regarding the background of Oasis Pro Markets, see FINRA BrokerCheck.
Oasis Pro TA LLC is an SEC-registered transfer agent.
Except for Oasis Pro Markets and Oasis Pro TA, respectively no Ondo Finance or Oasis Pro affiliate provides (i) broker-dealer or Alternative Trading System or (ii) transfer agent services, respectively.
Oasis Pro Markets is regulated by FINRA and the SEC; however, membership and registration do not guarantee compliance with all rules. Neither the SEC, FINRA nor any federal or state regulator or self-regulatory organization has recommended or approved any investment or verified the accuracy or completeness of any information herein.
Nothing herein constitutes an offer to sell, or any solicitation of an offer to buy, any assets. Nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, tax or financial advice. Acquiring tokenized securities involves risks. A holder of tokenized securities may incur losses, including total loss of their purchase price. Past performance may not be an indication of future results. Investors are responsible for conducting their own research, investigation, verification, checks or consultation for professional or investment advice.
The communications herein may contain forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements regarding future financial performance, business strategies, or expectations for the growth or development of Ondo Finance, Oasis Pro, Oasis Pro Markets, Oasis Pro TA, or any of their respective affiliates (each, an "Applicable Entity"). These statements are based on management's current expectations, estimates, projections, and beliefs, and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expect," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the following: economic, competitive, legal, governmental, and technological factors affecting the operations, markets, products, services, or prices of any Applicable Entity. No Applicable Entity undertakes any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
Tom Lee: Artificial intelligence is approaching the "wealth uncanny valley," where individual AI agents may earn more income than human workers.
BitMine, the largest Ethereum treasury, Chairman Tom Lee cited his own previous interview, stating that artificial intelligence is approaching the "wealth uncanny valley". At a future stage, the income generated by an individual’s AI agent could exceed that from their own labor. When this moment arrives, people may begin to question whether they are working for AI or AI for them. AI agents could take over bank accounts, replace some jobs, and even build independent financial systems. Tom Lee admitted that this trend "might make people fear the future".
10 minutes ago
Goldman Sachs CEO publicly supports the CLARITY Act, diverging from his banking peers on stablecoin yield provisions.
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has explicitly voiced support for advancing the CLARITY Act in an interview, while acknowledging the legislation is not perfect. "Like all legislation, the CLARITY Act has many areas open to debate and discussion, but I think one of the most important things it does is create a level playing field to enhance market stability and enable these markets to develop properly. I strongly support advancing the CLARITY Act so that we can establish market structures and kickstart the innovation process." Solomon’s endorsement comes as Republican senators are discussing an updated version of the bill, with a possible full Senate vote next week, marking another step forward for the long-awaited crypto market structure legislation. His supportive stance stands in sharp contrast to fierce opposition from fellow banking executives including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. Dimon said in May that the latest bill version "allows them to effectively pay interest on things like deposits and stablecoins without necessary protections," warning "banks will not accept this approach, and it will eventually blow up." JPMorgan also argued in a June blog post that companies offering products with functions similar to traditional bank accounts should be subject to equivalent regulation and consumer protection rules. The core of the controversy revolves around the stablecoin interest provisions.
10 minutes ago
Tesla's losses widened to 12% in early trading, weighed down by negative free cash flow.
According to BIT (bit.com) market data, Tesla’s early-session losses widened to 12%, trading at $329.015 per share, with a total market capitalization of $1.24 trillion. This morning, Tesla released its second-quarter (Q2) financial results: revenue reached $28.24 billion, exceeding market expectations and rising 26% year-over-year, marking its first year-over-year revenue growth rate above 20% in three years. However, Q2 operating profit was only $398 million, far below the market consensus of $1.39 billion; adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.33, down 18% year-over-year and also missing forecasts significantly. Notably, Tesla’s Q2 free cash flow stood at -$1.09 billion, its first quarterly negative figure since Q1 2024.
10 minutes ago
Uniswap v4 Launches Permissioned Pools
Uniswap has rolled out Permissioned Pools, a new hook standard for Uniswap v4 that enables permissioned asset trading via automated market makers, with compliance enforced directly on-chain. The permissioned asset pools are built in collaboration with on-chain asset management teams, and its first batch of partners includes Superstate, Securitize, and Dowgo.
10 minutes ago
Abraxas Capital deposits 2,211 $BTC to Kraken and 30,825 $ETH to Binance
Abraxas Capital deposited 2,211 $BTC ($143.88M) into #Kraken and 30,825 $ETH ($59.19M) into #Binance over the past 8 hours.
10 minutes ago
The US stock market's optical communication sector rose across the board, with Lumentum and AAOI gaining more than 7%.
According to market data from BIT (bit.com), the U.S. optical communication sector rallied across the board. Pure Photonics ETF FOTO and Corning advanced over 3%, Coherent and Ciena gained more than 4%, while Lumentum and AAOI jumped over 7%.
TLDR: Tokenized bank deposits will become transferable across Ethereum, Solana, Base, and Keeta through LayerZero’s interoperability standard. Commercial bank deposits held through Bivo will support USD and eight additional fiat currencies scheduled for release later this month. Keeta will retain issuer controls while LayerZero manages consistent token supply and cross-chain settlement without separate liquidity pools. The partners disclosed no transaction forecasts or participating banks, leaving institutional adoption dependent on demand and security settings. LayerZero and Keeta are bringing tokenized bank deposits to Ethereum, Solana, Base, and the Keeta Network. The partnership creates cross-chain rails for regulated commercial bank money used in payments and treasury operations. Bivo-held commercial bank deposits will support the issued assets. The first rollout will cover the U.S. dollar and eight additional currencies later this month.
The model differs from common reserve-backed stablecoins. Each token represents money held as a commercial bank deposit through Bivo. LayerZero supplies the interoperability layer, while Keeta provides compliance-focused payment infrastructure. Institutions can therefore manage one asset across several public networks.
Tokenized Bank Deposits Gain a Cross-Chain Settlement Layer LayerZero will use its Omnichain Fungible Token standard for transfers between supported blockchains. The standard burns tokens on one network and mints matching tokens on another. This structure keeps the total supply consistent across every deployment. It also avoids separate liquidity pools and reduces reliance on wrapped versions.
Issuing institutions retain control over the token contracts and their operating rules. They can define verification settings, transfer limits, compliance checks, and other safeguards. That control is important for commercial bank money, where issuers must manage legal and operational obligations.
The initial network includes Ethereum, Solana, Base, and Keeta. Supported currencies will include USD, EUR, JPY, CNY, GBP, CAD, MXN, AED, and HKD. LayerZero said the currencies are scheduled to become available later this month. The company currently connects more than 170 public blockchains.
Cross-chain settlement could help institutions move working capital between blockchain environments without maintaining isolated balances. A treasury team could hold one regulated asset while accessing different payment or market venues. The structure may also reduce reconciliation work created by separate token versions.
LayerZero already supports multichain assets used by payment and tokenization companies. Its OFT framework tracks supply across networks at the contract level. Keeta now applies that model to deposit-backed money rather than crypto-native assets. The partnership extends interoperability into routine banking settlement.
Keeta Adds Bank Controls While Adoption Questions Persist Keeta is building its network for regulated payments and institutional settlement. The company is also integrating LayerZero as an anchor within its own blockchain. Keeta said a public stress test recorded 11.2 million transactions per second. The test involved Google’s Spanner engineering team.
Bivo provides access to U.S. payment rails and a partner-bank network. Its role links the on-chain tokens with commercial bank deposits held through regulated financial channels. The arrangement gives the system a banking foundation rather than a portfolio of reserve assets.
This structure preserves direct issuer authority over contracts throughout the transfer process. Institutions can maintain controls while using public blockchains for distribution and settlement. That combination may address concerns around fragmented liquidity and inconsistent token versions. It does not remove the need for bank participation.
Still, the partners have not disclosed expected transaction volumes, participating banks, or committed institutional users. Those details will determine whether the infrastructure gains regular settlement activity. Technical capacity alone does not guarantee demand from banks or corporate treasurers.
Security controls will also receive close attention after the April 18 KelpDAO incident. Attackers drained 116,500 rsETH, worth about $292 million, after compromising infrastructure supporting a single-verified setup. LayerZero later ended support for that configuration and increased default verification requirements. The Keeta rollout will depend on how institutions configure those controls.
Goldman Sachs CEO publicly supports the CLARITY Act, diverging from his banking peers on stablecoin yield provisions.
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has explicitly voiced support for advancing the CLARITY Act in an interview, while acknowledging the legislation is not perfect. "Like all legislation, the CLARITY Act has many areas open to debate and discussion, but I think one of the most important things it does is create a level playing field to enhance market stability and enable these markets to develop properly. I strongly support advancing the CLARITY Act so that we can establish market structures and kickstart the innovation process." Solomon’s endorsement comes as Republican senators are discussing an updated version of the bill, with a possible full Senate vote next week, marking another step forward for the long-awaited crypto market structure legislation. His supportive stance stands in sharp contrast to fierce opposition from fellow banking executives including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. Dimon said in May that the latest bill version "allows them to effectively pay interest on things like deposits and stablecoins without necessary protections," warning "banks will not accept this approach, and it will eventually blow up." JPMorgan also argued in a June blog post that companies offering products with functions similar to traditional bank accounts should be subject to equivalent regulation and consumer protection rules. The core of the controversy revolves around the stablecoin interest provisions.
6 minutes ago
Tesla's losses widened to 12% in early trading, weighed down by negative free cash flow.
According to BIT (bit.com) market data, Tesla’s early-session losses widened to 12%, trading at $329.015 per share, with a total market capitalization of $1.24 trillion. This morning, Tesla released its second-quarter (Q2) financial results: revenue reached $28.24 billion, exceeding market expectations and rising 26% year-over-year, marking its first year-over-year revenue growth rate above 20% in three years. However, Q2 operating profit was only $398 million, far below the market consensus of $1.39 billion; adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.33, down 18% year-over-year and also missing forecasts significantly. Notably, Tesla’s Q2 free cash flow stood at -$1.09 billion, its first quarterly negative figure since Q1 2024.
6 minutes ago
Uniswap v4 Launches Permissioned Pools
Uniswap has rolled out Permissioned Pools, a new hook standard for Uniswap v4 that enables permissioned asset trading via automated market makers, with compliance enforced directly on-chain. The permissioned asset pools are built in collaboration with on-chain asset management teams, and its first batch of partners includes Superstate, Securitize, and Dowgo.
6 minutes ago
Abraxas Capital deposits 2,211 $BTC to Kraken and 30,825 $ETH to Binance
Abraxas Capital deposited 2,211 $BTC ($143.88M) into #Kraken and 30,825 $ETH ($59.19M) into #Binance over the past 8 hours.
6 minutes ago
The US stock market's optical communication sector rose across the board, with Lumentum and AAOI gaining more than 7%.
According to market data from BIT (bit.com), the U.S. optical communication sector rallied across the board. Pure Photonics ETF FOTO and Corning advanced over 3%, Coherent and Ciena gained more than 4%, while Lumentum and AAOI jumped over 7%.
6 minutes ago
LayerZero announced a partnership with Keeta, and will support cross-public-chain transfers of tokenized commercial bank deposits.
LayerZero announced a partnership with Keeta to support the transfer of tokenized commercial bank deposits across public blockchains including Keeta Network, Ethereum, Solana, and Base, providing institutional cross-chain settlement infrastructure. The two parties will combine LayerZero’s omnichain interoperability protocol with Keeta’s compliance infrastructure to enable institutions to conduct fund management and payment operations. The newly launched Keeta Stablecoins are backed by commercial bank deposits held by U.S.-licensed fintech platform Bivo. Unlike traditional stablecoins, they are pegged to actual commercial bank deposits and allow issuing institutions to retain control over contracts via LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) standard. Keeta Stablecoins will launch later this month, initially supporting the U.S. dollar, with plans to expand to additional fiat currencies including the euro, Japanese yen, Chinese yuan, British pound, Canadian dollar, Mexican peso, UAE dirham, and Hong Kong dollar.
Goldman Sachs CEO publicly supports the CLARITY Act, diverging from his banking peers on stablecoin yield provisions.
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has explicitly voiced support for advancing the CLARITY Act in an interview, while acknowledging the legislation is not perfect. "Like all legislation, the CLARITY Act has many areas open to debate and discussion, but I think one of the most important things it does is create a level playing field to enhance market stability and enable these markets to develop properly. I strongly support advancing the CLARITY Act so that we can establish market structures and kickstart the innovation process." Solomon’s endorsement comes as Republican senators are discussing an updated version of the bill, with a possible full Senate vote next week, marking another step forward for the long-awaited crypto market structure legislation. His supportive stance stands in sharp contrast to fierce opposition from fellow banking executives including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. Dimon said in May that the latest bill version "allows them to effectively pay interest on things like deposits and stablecoins without necessary protections," warning "banks will not accept this approach, and it will eventually blow up." JPMorgan also argued in a June blog post that companies offering products with functions similar to traditional bank accounts should be subject to equivalent regulation and consumer protection rules. The core of the controversy revolves around the stablecoin interest provisions.
6 minutes ago
Tesla's losses widened to 12% in early trading, weighed down by negative free cash flow.
According to BIT (bit.com) market data, Tesla’s early-session losses widened to 12%, trading at $329.015 per share, with a total market capitalization of $1.24 trillion. This morning, Tesla released its second-quarter (Q2) financial results: revenue reached $28.24 billion, exceeding market expectations and rising 26% year-over-year, marking its first year-over-year revenue growth rate above 20% in three years. However, Q2 operating profit was only $398 million, far below the market consensus of $1.39 billion; adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.33, down 18% year-over-year and also missing forecasts significantly. Notably, Tesla’s Q2 free cash flow stood at -$1.09 billion, its first quarterly negative figure since Q1 2024.
6 minutes ago
Uniswap v4 Launches Permissioned Pools
Uniswap has rolled out Permissioned Pools, a new hook standard for Uniswap v4 that enables permissioned asset trading via automated market makers, with compliance enforced directly on-chain. The permissioned asset pools are built in collaboration with on-chain asset management teams, and its first batch of partners includes Superstate, Securitize, and Dowgo.
6 minutes ago
Abraxas Capital deposits 2,211 $BTC to Kraken and 30,825 $ETH to Binance
Abraxas Capital deposited 2,211 $BTC ($143.88M) into #Kraken and 30,825 $ETH ($59.19M) into #Binance over the past 8 hours.
6 minutes ago
The US stock market's optical communication sector rose across the board, with Lumentum and AAOI gaining more than 7%.
According to market data from BIT (bit.com), the U.S. optical communication sector rallied across the board. Pure Photonics ETF FOTO and Corning advanced over 3%, Coherent and Ciena gained more than 4%, while Lumentum and AAOI jumped over 7%.
6 minutes ago
LayerZero announced a partnership with Keeta, and will support cross-public-chain transfers of tokenized commercial bank deposits.
LayerZero announced a partnership with Keeta to support the transfer of tokenized commercial bank deposits across public blockchains including Keeta Network, Ethereum, Solana, and Base, providing institutional cross-chain settlement infrastructure. The two parties will combine LayerZero’s omnichain interoperability protocol with Keeta’s compliance infrastructure to enable institutions to conduct fund management and payment operations. The newly launched Keeta Stablecoins are backed by commercial bank deposits held by U.S.-licensed fintech platform Bivo. Unlike traditional stablecoins, they are pegged to actual commercial bank deposits and allow issuing institutions to retain control over contracts via LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) standard. Keeta Stablecoins will launch later this month, initially supporting the U.S. dollar, with plans to expand to additional fiat currencies including the euro, Japanese yen, Chinese yuan, British pound, Canadian dollar, Mexican peso, UAE dirham, and Hong Kong dollar.
Key Takeaways The HYPE token experienced a 7% decline within 24 hours and has fallen 15% across the last week, hovering near $58. Investment firm Multicoin Capital withdrew 1.96 million HYPE tokens (approximately $120M) from staking through three separate wallets, weeks after releasing an optimistic $319 price forecast. Selini Capital followed suit by unstaking around 504,000 HYPE tokens (~$31M), contributing to market uncertainty. Spot HYPE exchange-traded funds experienced multiple days of net withdrawals throughout July, including a peak single-day outflow of 90,580 HYPE on July 17. Technical analysis suggests a breach of the $54–$55 support range could drive HYPE down to $48, whereas maintaining this level may enable a bounce to $63–$67. The Hyperliquid (HYPE) token has encountered significant downward pressure throughout the current week, declining from a recent peak of $70 to approximately $58. The cryptocurrency has shed around 15% of its value during the past week, including a sharp 7% decrease over the most recent 24-hour period.
Hyperliquid (HYPE) Price Notwithstanding this recent pullback, HYPE maintains an impressive 129% gain year-to-date for 2026, positioning it among the top-performing digital assets of the year.
The current price decline appears connected to several substantial unstaking transactions executed by well-known cryptocurrency venture capital entities. Blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain identified that Multicoin Capital moved nearly 400,000 HYPE tokens to Coinbase Prime while simultaneously initiating an unstaking request for another 212,000 tokens.
Additional blockchain intelligence reveals that Multicoin withdrew a combined 1.96 million HYPE from staking positions across three different wallets, representing roughly $120 million in value. These holdings had remained locked in staking for close to two months prior to their withdrawal.
The sequence of events sparked discussion within cryptocurrency circles. Approximately one month before initiating the unstaking process, Multicoin released an extensive research report expressing strong confidence in HYPE with a projected long-term valuation of $319. Blockchain records indicate Multicoin initially acquired HYPE tokens at approximately $30 each, suggesting a complete liquidation at present market rates would generate around $18.5 million in total gains.
Selini Capital Also Withdraws Significant Stake Investment firm Selini Capital similarly unstaked roughly 504,000 HYPE tokens, representing approximately $31 million in market value. Combined, these two institutional players have withdrawn more than $150 million worth of staked HYPE tokens from the network.
While unstaking tokens doesn’t necessarily indicate immediate liquidation plans, it does enable unrestricted token movement. Transferring assets to centralized exchanges such as Coinbase is commonly interpreted as preparatory action for potential selling.
Cryptocurrency research account Coin Bureau highlighted on X that Hyperliquid’s open interest reached a fresh 2026 peak of $11.5 billion — representing the highest recorded level since the notable “10/10 crash” event. This data indicates robust trading activity persists despite declining spot market prices.
Institutional Demand Weakens Through ETF Withdrawals Traditional institutional participation has shown signs of cooling. Spot HYPE ETFs registered a combined net withdrawal of 11,210 HYPE on July 21. The most significant single-day withdrawal during July occurred on the 17th, when institutional investors removed 90,580 HYPE tokens from fund holdings.
From a chart perspective, HYPE has broken beneath the support boundary of a symmetrical triangle formation that had contained price action for multiple weeks. The Relative Strength Index has declined to 40, while the Chaikin Money Flow indicator has shifted into negative territory, both signaling diminishing bullish momentum.
Source: TradingView Critical support is established within the $54 to $55 range. Should buyers successfully protect this zone, market analysts anticipate a potential rebound toward $63, followed by resistance at $67–$70. Conversely, a confirmed close beneath this support area could trigger further downside movement toward $48.
Current market data shows HYPE trading at $58, with market participants closely monitoring the $54–$55 support threshold through upcoming sessions.
The Hyperliquid (HYPE) token saw a notable decline this week, dropping from a recent high of $70 to around $58. Over the past seven days, HYPE has fallen by 15%, including a 7% decrease within the last 24 hours, prompting concerns about growing selling pressure among investors.
Major withdrawals by Multicoin CapitalA sequence of large-scale unstaking transactions by prominent investment firms has contributed to this downturn. Lookonchain, a blockchain analytics provider, reported that Multicoin Capital transferred nearly 400,000 HYPE tokens to Coinbase Prime, along with an additional 212,000 tokens requested for unstaking. In total, Multicoin moved approximately 1.96 million HYPE tokens—valued at about $120 million—across three different wallets after keeping these funds staked for nearly two months.
Multicoin Capital, a venture capital firm specializing in cryptocurrency and blockchain investments, had bought these tokens at around $30 each. Their recent moves came only weeks after the company published a bullish research report predicting a long-term HYPE price target of $319.
Multicoin Capital had initially acquired significant HYPE holdings at about $30 apiece and, should it exit now, could realize total profits of roughly $18.5 million, based on current market rates.
Approximately a month before these withdrawals, Multicoin Capital released a report outlining its positive outlook on HYPE, reinforcing the impact of its recent actions on market sentiment.
Mini dictionary: Multicoin Capital is a crypto-focused venture capital firm. It manages funds and invests in early-stage blockchain projects, with a significant presence in the decentralized finance and web3 sectors.
Selini Capital joins large-scale unstakingSelini Capital, another significant player in digital asset investments, also removed its stake, pulling out approximately 504,000 HYPE tokens worth around $31 million. Whether these tokens will be sold or simply repositioned remains uncertain, but such moves often indicate a strategic shift or preparation for potential selling.
Combined withdrawals from Multicoin and Selini Capital exceed $150 million in HYPE tokens and have fueled speculation within the wider crypto market about possible further downside.
Transferring recently unstaked tokens to centralized exchanges like Coinbase typically signals the potential for near-term selling, particularly when large investment firms are involved.
Alongside these developments, Coin Bureau, an independent cryptocurrency research resource, noted that Hyperliquid’s open interest set a new 2026 high at $11.5 billion—its highest since last year’s “10/10 crash”—reflecting vigorous derivatives trading activity even as spot prices soften.
Mini dictionary: Selini Capital is a digital assets investment firm that participates in trading, staking, and early-stage funding of blockchain projects, focusing on institutional strategies.
ETF outflows and technical outlookInstitutional sentiment toward HYPE has shifted, as spot HYPE ETFs recorded consistent outflows throughout July. On July 21, net withdrawals amounted to 11,210 tokens, while July 17 registered the highest single-day exit this month with 90,580 tokens redeemed from funds.
DateHYPE ETF Net WithdrawalJuly 1790,580 tokensJuly 2111,210 tokensTechnical analysis shows that HYPE has broken below the support range formed by a symmetrical triangle pattern. The Relative Strength Index, now at 40, and a negative Chaikin Money Flow highlight fading bullish momentum and investor caution.
A key support area has formed between $54 and $55. Analysts believe that defending this level could allow prices to rebound toward $63 and potentially challenge resistances up to $70. However, losing this support would expose HYPE to the risk of sliding toward $48.
At present, HYPE is trading around $58, with traders closely observing its performance near the $54–$55 technical threshold in the upcoming sessions.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market continue to feel the effects of the extensive liquidation cascade that occurred on October 10 last year. Market capitalization across the sector remains approximately 45% lower compared to the period leading up to that event. Amid this backdrop, decentralized derivatives platform Hyperliquid has seen its native token, HYPE, surge by about 34% during the same timeframe, exceeding the broader market’s performance. Hyperliquid’s total open interest recently reached $11.51 billion, marking its highest level this year since the October crash when Bitcoin was trading near $100,000.
Hyperliquid’s growth diverges from the marketAs Bitcoin trades around $65,000, new data from Coinglass indicates that aggregate open interest in crypto futures markets stands at $116.66 billion. This figure reflects a decrease of 47% from the October 10 benchmark. Despite the market’s ongoing recovery, Hyperliquid’s metrics show strong growth, suggesting the platform is carving out a larger role in a challenging environment for digital assets.
Hyperliquid operates as a decentralized perpetuals exchange, allowing users to trade derivative contracts without central intermediaries. Its recent performance contrasts with the more modest rebound observed among leading centralized exchanges (CEXs), highlighting a shift in trader activity toward decentralized alternatives.
Date/PeriodTotal Crypto Open InterestHyperliquid Open InterestBitcoin PriceOctober 2025 (pre-crash)$220.12 billion$15 billion~$100,000Current$116.66 billion$11.51 billion~$65,000RWA perpetuals surpass Bitcoin trading on HyperliquidReal-world asset (RWA) perpetual contracts have emerged as the primary driver of increasing open interest on Hyperliquid. Daily open interest in RWA perps currently stands at $3.61 billion, achieved through the HIP-3 protocol introduced on October 13, 2025. HIP-3 allows users to stake 500,000 HYPE and launch a new perpetual market without direct approval from Hyperliquid’s core team.
With $3.61 billion in open interest, RWA perpetuals now represent the largest segment on Hyperliquid, overtaking Bitcoin, HYPE, and major layer-1 token markets. Daily trading volumes on HIP-3 products now account for half of total perpetual trading volume on the platform, compared to just 3% at the beginning of the year when core perpetuals made up 97% of activity.
Mini dictionary: Real-world asset (RWA) perpetuals are derivative contracts that enable continuous trading of assets linked to real-world items such as equities, commodities, or bonds on blockchain-based platforms. The HIP-3 framework allows for decentralized market deployment without centralized oversight, expanding the variety and accessibility of RWA-based derivatives.
Daily HIP-3 volumes now hold a 50% share of Hyperliquid’s total perpetual trading, while core perpetuals have seen their dominance drop from 97% to 50% within a few months.
Hyperliquid’s share of global perpetual open interest among major exchanges has risen to 9.5%, a new peak according to Hypeflows data. This is an increase from 6.9% recorded in late May. Despite this, Hyperliquid’s own open interest remains about 23% below its October 2025 high of nearly $15 billion. Meanwhile, competitors such as Binance, Bybit, and Gate.io have seen more pronounced declines due to post-crash deleveraging. Analysts interpret Hyperliquid’s rising market share as a result of weathering the downturn more successfully than its peers, rather than drawing substantial trader migration from these platforms.
ExchangeOpen Interest, CurrentChange Since Oct 2025Hyperliquid$11.51 billion-23%Binance(not specified)Larger contractionBybit(not specified)Larger contractionGate.io(not specified)Larger contractionHyperliquid’s all-time high market share has been attributed to shrinking less sharply than major centralized exchanges during market turbulence.
Concentration of open interest and CEX competitionThe majority of HIP-3 open interest—over 90%—is concentrated in TradeXYZ, a protocol launched by Hyperunit, Hyperliquid’s tokenization arm. HIP-3 market operations are conducted outside Hyperliquid’s core liquidity pool, meaning responsibilities such as data oracles, margin rules, and liquidity are managed by the venue operator. This setup has resulted in a single venue supporting roughly a third of Hyperliquid’s overall open interest.
Centralized exchanges are monitoring the trend. Binance responded by launching pre-IPO perpetual contracts featuring a SpaceX market on May 21, followed by seven US equity and ETF perpetuals offering up to 25x leverage as of July 9. The availability of RWA-based products with CEX-scale liquidity marks a shift that may alter the competitive landscape for Hyperliquid and DeFi derivatives markets.
Mini dictionary: TradeXYZ is a DeFi protocol built by Hyperunit, the tokenization arm of Hyperliquid, specializing in deploying and managing on-chain perpetual derivatives markets. The project enables decentralized trading of novel assets and was responsible for most HIP-3 open interest following the rollout of RWA markets.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
Bitwise’s chief investment officer thinks the next crypto bull run won’t be sparked by meme coins or speculative mania. It’ll be driven by something far less exciting on paper: real businesses generating real revenue, both onchain and off.
Matt Hougan singled out Hyperliquid and Robinhood as the two entities best positioned to bridge decentralized finance and traditional markets, arguing their convergence should lift flagship assets like Bitcoin and Ether along the way.
The Hyperliquid thesis Hyperliquid has quietly become one of the most compelling stories in DeFi. The onchain perpetuals exchange has carved out a dominant position in decentralized derivatives trading, but what makes it interesting to institutional investors isn’t just volume. It’s the tokenomics.
The protocol directs 99% of its revenue toward buybacks and burns of its native HYPE token. In English: almost every dollar the platform earns goes directly toward reducing token supply, which is about as shareholder-friendly as crypto gets.
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Hougan specifically referenced what he called the “Hyperliquid Lane” as a particularly promising investment corridor. And Bitwise is putting its money where its CIO’s mouth is. The firm launched the Hyperliquid ETF, ticker BHYP, on May 15, offering direct HYPE exposure alongside staking rewards of 0.34%.
That ETF launch coincided with broader acceptance of crypto-native assets in traditional investment wrappers. Multiple HYPE ETFs have collectively raised nearly $150 million in assets, suggesting that the appetite for exposure to revenue-generating DeFi protocols extends well beyond crypto-native investors.
Robinhood’s blockchain pivot On the TradFi side, Robinhood has been making aggressive moves that go far beyond simply listing a few more tokens on its existing platform.
The company launched its Arbitrum-based Robinhood Chain on July 1, with the public mainnet achieving $450 million in total value locked and processing over 95 million transactions within just three weeks.
The chain offers tokenized stocks to customers in over 120 countries, effectively turning traditional equities into 24/7 tradeable onchain assets.
Hougan referred to this as the “Robinhood Lane,” a parallel investment thesis to Hyperliquid but approaching convergence from the opposite direction. Where Hyperliquid brings institutional-grade tokenomics to DeFi, Robinhood brings DeFi-grade accessibility to traditional finance.
HYPE is already listed on Robinhood’s platform alongside Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies, creating a direct connection between the two ecosystems Hougan is most bullish on.
Why this matters for Bitcoin and Ether Hougan’s thesis rests on several converging trends. Stablecoins continue to expand as payment rails. Tokenized assets are reaching mainstream distribution through platforms like Robinhood Chain. Trading is moving toward 24/7 availability with instant settlement. And ETF flows into crypto products are improving after a period of tepid institutional interest.
For investors, the signal from Bitwise is fairly clear. Its decision to launch a dedicated Hyperliquid ETF, combined with Hougan’s public endorsement of the Robinhood convergence thesis, suggests Bitwise sees this TradFi-DeFi merger as the defining theme of the next market cycle. The early numbers—$450 million in TVL for Robinhood Chain, $150 million in HYPE ETF assets—suggest the market is already buying in.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Fasanara Capital, an institutional asset manager overseeing roughly $5.7 billion in assets, is sitting on a sizable short position against Ethereum through the decentralized perpetuals platform Hyperliquid. The firm’s trading account, identified on-chain as BobbyBigSize, is part of a combined $108 million ETH short between Fasanara and fellow institutional player Abraxas Capital.
Both positions are currently underwater, with ETH trading around $1,920.
What the on-chain data shows Nansen’s on-chain tracking has linked BobbyBigSize’s activity directly to Fasanara Capital’s trading operations. The account has been consistently building high-leverage short positions across various crypto assets, with ETH being the primary target.
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Fasanara’s share of the combined short sits at approximately $67 million, while Abraxas Capital accounts for the remainder. Abraxas recently deposited $3 million USDC into Hyperliquid to expand its shorting exposure across both ETH and Bitcoin.
Fasanara Digital, the firm’s crypto-focused arm, launched in 2018 and has built a digital asset platform managing around $500 million. The firm is known for quantitative trading approaches, which suggests these shorts may be part of a broader, hedged strategy rather than a pure directional bet.
Abraxas Capital is known for delta-neutral and arbitrage strategies, meaning they typically try to profit from price discrepancies between venues rather than simply betting on direction. Their short position could be offset by long exposure elsewhere.
Why Hyperliquid matters here Hyperliquid is a decentralized perpetuals exchange with on-chain settlement, meaning every trade is visible and verifiable. That’s how analysts were able to track BobbyBigSize’s positions in the first place.
Previous notable ETH shorts on the platform have exceeded $100 million at leverage ratios as high as 23x.
What this means for ETH investors The fact that both positions are underwater adds a consequential dynamic. If ETH continues to hold above $1,920 or moves higher, the pressure to unwind these shorts could create a short squeeze dynamic, where forced buying to close losing short positions would push prices up further. Conversely, if ETH breaks below current support levels, the $108 million combined short becomes a meaningful overhang that could accelerate any downward move.
Traders should watch whether BobbyBigSize reduces or increases its position in the coming days. On-chain transparency means positions are visible in real time. If Fasanara starts closing its short, that signals the thesis may be shifting. If it adds more, the firm clearly sees further downside ahead despite the current losses.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Goldman Sachs CEO publicly supports the CLARITY Act, diverging from his banking peers on stablecoin yield provisions.
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has explicitly voiced support for advancing the CLARITY Act in an interview, while acknowledging the legislation is not perfect. "Like all legislation, the CLARITY Act has many areas open to debate and discussion, but I think one of the most important things it does is create a level playing field to enhance market stability and enable these markets to develop properly. I strongly support advancing the CLARITY Act so that we can establish market structures and kickstart the innovation process." Solomon’s endorsement comes as Republican senators are discussing an updated version of the bill, with a possible full Senate vote next week, marking another step forward for the long-awaited crypto market structure legislation. His supportive stance stands in sharp contrast to fierce opposition from fellow banking executives including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. Dimon said in May that the latest bill version "allows them to effectively pay interest on things like deposits and stablecoins without necessary protections," warning "banks will not accept this approach, and it will eventually blow up." JPMorgan also argued in a June blog post that companies offering products with functions similar to traditional bank accounts should be subject to equivalent regulation and consumer protection rules. The core of the controversy revolves around the stablecoin interest provisions.
6 minutes ago
Tesla's losses widened to 12% in early trading, weighed down by negative free cash flow.
According to BIT (bit.com) market data, Tesla’s early-session losses widened to 12%, trading at $329.015 per share, with a total market capitalization of $1.24 trillion. This morning, Tesla released its second-quarter (Q2) financial results: revenue reached $28.24 billion, exceeding market expectations and rising 26% year-over-year, marking its first year-over-year revenue growth rate above 20% in three years. However, Q2 operating profit was only $398 million, far below the market consensus of $1.39 billion; adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.33, down 18% year-over-year and also missing forecasts significantly. Notably, Tesla’s Q2 free cash flow stood at -$1.09 billion, its first quarterly negative figure since Q1 2024.
6 minutes ago
Uniswap v4 Launches Permissioned Pools
Uniswap has rolled out Permissioned Pools, a new hook standard for Uniswap v4 that enables permissioned asset trading via automated market makers, with compliance enforced directly on-chain. The permissioned asset pools are built in collaboration with on-chain asset management teams, and its first batch of partners includes Superstate, Securitize, and Dowgo.
6 minutes ago
Abraxas Capital deposits 2,211 $BTC to Kraken and 30,825 $ETH to Binance
Abraxas Capital deposited 2,211 $BTC ($143.88M) into #Kraken and 30,825 $ETH ($59.19M) into #Binance over the past 8 hours.
6 minutes ago
The US stock market's optical communication sector rose across the board, with Lumentum and AAOI gaining more than 7%.
According to market data from BIT (bit.com), the U.S. optical communication sector rallied across the board. Pure Photonics ETF FOTO and Corning advanced over 3%, Coherent and Ciena gained more than 4%, while Lumentum and AAOI jumped over 7%.
6 minutes ago
LayerZero announced a partnership with Keeta, and will support cross-public-chain transfers of tokenized commercial bank deposits.
LayerZero announced a partnership with Keeta to support the transfer of tokenized commercial bank deposits across public blockchains including Keeta Network, Ethereum, Solana, and Base, providing institutional cross-chain settlement infrastructure. The two parties will combine LayerZero’s omnichain interoperability protocol with Keeta’s compliance infrastructure to enable institutions to conduct fund management and payment operations. The newly launched Keeta Stablecoins are backed by commercial bank deposits held by U.S.-licensed fintech platform Bivo. Unlike traditional stablecoins, they are pegged to actual commercial bank deposits and allow issuing institutions to retain control over contracts via LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) standard. Keeta Stablecoins will launch later this month, initially supporting the U.S. dollar, with plans to expand to additional fiat currencies including the euro, Japanese yen, Chinese yuan, British pound, Canadian dollar, Mexican peso, UAE dirham, and Hong Kong dollar.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
Goldman Sachs CEO publicly supports the CLARITY Act, diverging from his banking peers on stablecoin yield provisions.
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has explicitly voiced support for advancing the CLARITY Act in an interview, while acknowledging the legislation is not perfect. "Like all legislation, the CLARITY Act has many areas open to debate and discussion, but I think one of the most important things it does is create a level playing field to enhance market stability and enable these markets to develop properly. I strongly support advancing the CLARITY Act so that we can establish market structures and kickstart the innovation process." Solomon’s endorsement comes as Republican senators are discussing an updated version of the bill, with a possible full Senate vote next week, marking another step forward for the long-awaited crypto market structure legislation. His supportive stance stands in sharp contrast to fierce opposition from fellow banking executives including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. Dimon said in May that the latest bill version "allows them to effectively pay interest on things like deposits and stablecoins without necessary protections," warning "banks will not accept this approach, and it will eventually blow up." JPMorgan also argued in a June blog post that companies offering products with functions similar to traditional bank accounts should be subject to equivalent regulation and consumer protection rules. The core of the controversy revolves around the stablecoin interest provisions.
5 minutes ago
Tesla's losses widened to 12% in early trading, weighed down by negative free cash flow.
According to BIT (bit.com) market data, Tesla’s early-session losses widened to 12%, trading at $329.015 per share, with a total market capitalization of $1.24 trillion. This morning, Tesla released its second-quarter (Q2) financial results: revenue reached $28.24 billion, exceeding market expectations and rising 26% year-over-year, marking its first year-over-year revenue growth rate above 20% in three years. However, Q2 operating profit was only $398 million, far below the market consensus of $1.39 billion; adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.33, down 18% year-over-year and also missing forecasts significantly. Notably, Tesla’s Q2 free cash flow stood at -$1.09 billion, its first quarterly negative figure since Q1 2024.
5 minutes ago
Uniswap v4 Launches Permissioned Pools
Uniswap has rolled out Permissioned Pools, a new hook standard for Uniswap v4 that enables permissioned asset trading via automated market makers, with compliance enforced directly on-chain. The permissioned asset pools are built in collaboration with on-chain asset management teams, and its first batch of partners includes Superstate, Securitize, and Dowgo.
5 minutes ago
Abraxas Capital deposits 2,211 $BTC to Kraken and 30,825 $ETH to Binance
Abraxas Capital deposited 2,211 $BTC ($143.88M) into #Kraken and 30,825 $ETH ($59.19M) into #Binance over the past 8 hours.
5 minutes ago
The US stock market's optical communication sector rose across the board, with Lumentum and AAOI gaining more than 7%.
According to market data from BIT (bit.com), the U.S. optical communication sector rallied across the board. Pure Photonics ETF FOTO and Corning advanced over 3%, Coherent and Ciena gained more than 4%, while Lumentum and AAOI jumped over 7%.
5 minutes ago
LayerZero announced a partnership with Keeta, and will support cross-public-chain transfers of tokenized commercial bank deposits.
LayerZero announced a partnership with Keeta to support the transfer of tokenized commercial bank deposits across public blockchains including Keeta Network, Ethereum, Solana, and Base, providing institutional cross-chain settlement infrastructure. The two parties will combine LayerZero’s omnichain interoperability protocol with Keeta’s compliance infrastructure to enable institutions to conduct fund management and payment operations. The newly launched Keeta Stablecoins are backed by commercial bank deposits held by U.S.-licensed fintech platform Bivo. Unlike traditional stablecoins, they are pegged to actual commercial bank deposits and allow issuing institutions to retain control over contracts via LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) standard. Keeta Stablecoins will launch later this month, initially supporting the U.S. dollar, with plans to expand to additional fiat currencies including the euro, Japanese yen, Chinese yuan, British pound, Canadian dollar, Mexican peso, UAE dirham, and Hong Kong dollar.
Tesla's losses widened to 12% in early trading, weighed down by negative free cash flow.
According to BIT (bit.com) market data, Tesla’s early-session losses widened to 12%, trading at $329.015 per share, with a total market capitalization of $1.24 trillion. This morning, Tesla released its second-quarter (Q2) financial results: revenue reached $28.24 billion, exceeding market expectations and rising 26% year-over-year, marking its first year-over-year revenue growth rate above 20% in three years. However, Q2 operating profit was only $398 million, far below the market consensus of $1.39 billion; adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.33, down 18% year-over-year and also missing forecasts significantly. Notably, Tesla’s Q2 free cash flow stood at -$1.09 billion, its first quarterly negative figure since Q1 2024.
7 minutes ago
Uniswap v4 Launches Permissioned Pools
Uniswap has rolled out Permissioned Pools, a new hook standard for Uniswap v4 that enables permissioned asset trading via automated market makers, with compliance enforced directly on-chain. The permissioned asset pools are built in collaboration with on-chain asset management teams, and its first batch of partners includes Superstate, Securitize, and Dowgo.
7 minutes ago
Abraxas Capital deposits 2,211 $BTC to Kraken and 30,825 $ETH to Binance
Abraxas Capital deposited 2,211 $BTC ($143.88M) into #Kraken and 30,825 $ETH ($59.19M) into #Binance over the past 8 hours.
7 minutes ago
The US stock market's optical communication sector rose across the board, with Lumentum and AAOI gaining more than 7%.
According to market data from BIT (bit.com), the U.S. optical communication sector rallied across the board. Pure Photonics ETF FOTO and Corning advanced over 3%, Coherent and Ciena gained more than 4%, while Lumentum and AAOI jumped over 7%.
7 minutes ago
LayerZero announced a partnership with Keeta, and will support cross-public-chain transfers of tokenized commercial bank deposits.
LayerZero announced a partnership with Keeta to support the transfer of tokenized commercial bank deposits across public blockchains including Keeta Network, Ethereum, Solana, and Base, providing institutional cross-chain settlement infrastructure. The two parties will combine LayerZero’s omnichain interoperability protocol with Keeta’s compliance infrastructure to enable institutions to conduct fund management and payment operations. The newly launched Keeta Stablecoins are backed by commercial bank deposits held by U.S.-licensed fintech platform Bivo. Unlike traditional stablecoins, they are pegged to actual commercial bank deposits and allow issuing institutions to retain control over contracts via LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) standard. Keeta Stablecoins will launch later this month, initially supporting the U.S. dollar, with plans to expand to additional fiat currencies including the euro, Japanese yen, Chinese yuan, British pound, Canadian dollar, Mexican peso, UAE dirham, and Hong Kong dollar.
7 minutes ago
$BTC ETFs +$709.47M, $ETH ETFs +$160.63M in 7-day inflows
While the cryptocurrency market has experienced very sharp declines since October 2025, expectations for a new bull market are increasing among investors.
While there are differing predictions regarding the bottom and the start of a new bull market, a current assessment comes from Bitwise Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Matt Hougan.
In a recent blog post, Bitwise’s CIO stated that positive signals regarding Bitcoin and the formation of a bottom in the market are beginning to emerge.
Hougan, while acknowledging that Bitcoin’s rise since early July, the renewed inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs, and the recovery in investor sentiment are positive signs of a bottoming out, said it is still too early to say that “the bear market is completely over” for the current situation.
At this point, Bitwise’s CIO stated that the bad period in the crypto market is about to end, claiming that the new bull market will be based on the convergence of crypto and traditional finance.
Along with the bottoming out signals, Hougan argued that the next crypto bull market could be driven by Hyperliquid-style projects and large financial companies like Robinhood.
At this point, Bitwise’s CIO stated that the next cryptocurrency bull market will likely be driven by trends such as stablecoins, tokenization, 24-hour trading, instant payments, and institutional DeFi.
The first group consists of crypto protocols that generate real revenue, such as Hyperliquid (HYPE), operating in decentralized derivatives markets, while the second group comprises publicly traded financial companies like Robinhood (HOOD) that aim to integrate traditional finance with crypto infrastructure.
According to Hougan, these two structures are among the best examples of how to benefit most from the combination of traditional finance and blockchain technology.
Bitwise’s CIO said of the hype, “I think even if the price doubles, it will still have reasonable valuation.”
He also predicted that more crypto projects could adopt similar token economies in the coming period, citing altcoins such as Uniswap (UNI), Aave (AAVE), and Morpho (MORPHO) as examples.
Bitwise’s CIO concluded by arguing that while previous bull markets were largely fueled by expectation and speculation, the new cycle will be built on real use cases, revenue-generating applications, and structural transformation within the financial sector.
*This is not investment advice.
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Bitcoin fell hard on Thursday following stronger-than-expected U.S. employment data. The latest U.S. initial jobless claims came in lower than forecast, which raised hopes that the Federal Reserve would maintain a higher interest rate for longer.
Bitcoin Nears $65K Breakdown Amid Latest U.S. Jobs Dat The BTC price dipped to its lowest point of the day at $65,059.59, barely above the $65,000 support level. At press time on July 23, Bitcoin traded at $65,108.24, down 1.02% in the 24-hour timeframe.
Bitcoin price chart today. Source: TradingView For further context, the hourly chart had already been pointing to a downward trend even before the economic data. After the report, the downtrend exacerbated.
A string of long red candles pushed Bitcoin down below the $65,400 support area. Moreover, bulls seem to have attempted a bounce near $65,060, but it did not work out but, the recovery was restricted.
That implies that bears are still in control of the short term trend. If Bitcoin drops below $65,000, it could see another leg down. To get back $65,400 – $65,500 will be the first step to strength, analysts say.
The fall was after the most recent U.S. initial jobless claims release. Initial claims for the week ended July 18 dropped to 187,000, the U.S. Department of Labor reported. Further, it is much lower than the Wall Street forecast of 212,000 claims.
The claims for the week also fell by 22,000, from the revised 209,000 of the previous week. The four-week average fell to 207,500. Economic data suggested that the U.S. labor market remained robust in spite of high interest rates.
Will Latest U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Data Impact FOMC Decision? For context, the Fed will have less reason to loosen monetary policy when the job market is strong. If the economy is strong, policymakers can afford to keep selling rates high. Risk assets are typically negatively affected by higher interest rates. That includes cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, with investors moving into more secure, profitable avenues.
The focus now is on the July 28-29 FOMC meeting. According to the CME FedWatch Tool data, the chances of Fed holding its benchmark rate at 3.50%-3.75% are 62.1%. However, after the recent jobs data, the market now prices on a 37.9% chance that the Fed rate will be raised by 0.25%.
Meanwhile, the Bitcoin price is now at an important technical level, according to crypto tools data. The $65,000 support will be a focal point for traders as they wait for next week’s Fed meeting. In case of a hawkish stance, BTC could face further heat, per experts.
Amazon just posted a job listing that has the crypto world doing a collective double-take. The company is looking for a “Bitcoin and Crypto Ecosystem Lead,” a senior role designed to drive digital asset strategy across one of the most influential corporations on the planet.
The position’s mandate covers three main pillars: leading blockchain integration strategy, establishing strategic partnerships in the crypto ecosystem, and encouraging the adoption of digital assets across Amazon’s platforms.
The role could touch everything from payments infrastructure to supply chain management to AWS’s existing blockchain services. Amazon already employs people in blockchain-adjacent roles, including a Senior Blockchain Architect and a Global Practice Lead for Blockchain. Those positions have largely been housed within AWS, where Amazon has built out blockchain-as-a-service products for enterprise clients.
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This new role appears to sit a level above that work, with a broader focus on the crypto ecosystem itself rather than just the underlying infrastructure.
The job was posted around September 14–15, 2025, and comes with a compensation package in the range of $370K to $514K per year, with the total package reported at approximately $500,000 annually.
Amazon’s market capitalization hovers around $2 trillion to $2.5 trillion, making it one of the most valuable companies in the world. The hiring move comes at a time when major corporations are increasingly dipping their toes into blockchain technology. Amazon’s approach appears more operational than speculative, focused on integrating crypto into its existing business rather than treating it as a treasury asset.
The regulatory landscape for crypto in the US remains complex, with ongoing debates about how digital assets should be classified, taxed, and supervised. The creation of a dedicated leadership role suggests Amazon wants someone who can engage with regulators and policymakers as part of their mandate. Amazon operates in dozens of countries, each with its own approach to crypto regulation.
As of mid-2026, mainstream outlets including CoinDesk have not confirmed whether the role has been filled, indicating a cautious approach from major media to the announcement.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Michael Saylor’s Strategy and eight financial firms, including ARK Invest, BlackRock, and Coinbase, have launched the Bitcoin Security Consortium to support the network’s long-term security. The founding members have also pledged $15 million to support Bitcoin developers as they seek to address quantum threats.
Strategy Announces Launch of Bitcoin Security Consortium In a press release, the Bitcoin treasury firm announced the launch of the Consortium to support the Bitcoin network’s long-term security, with members pledging an aggregate of $15 million over the next three years.
Founding members of the Bitcoin Security Consortium include Strategy alongside Anchorage Digital, ARK Invest, BlackRock, Block, Blockstream, Coinbase, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Galaxy Digital. The Bitcoin treasury firm noted that these are a cross-section of the institutional BTC ecosystem.
BlackRock, Fidelity, and ARK Invest are notably Bitcoin ETF issuers; Anchorage Digital and the top crypto exchange Coinbase offer custody services to these ETF issuers. Meanwhile, Block, Blockstream, and Galaxy offer Bitcoin-related services.
Strategy revealed that Mike Schmidt, Executive Director of Brink, will coordinate the day-to-day work in a volunteer capacity. Schmidt also confirmed in an X post that he is receiving no compensation from the Bitcoin Security Consortium.
Today nine institutions including BlackRock, Fidelity, Coinbase, and Strategy announced the Bitcoin Security Consortium (@BTCconsortium), pledging $15M toward Bitcoin security work over the next three years. I’ve agreed to help coordinate the group’s work as a volunteer.
I said…
— Mike Schmidt (@bitschmidty) July 23, 2026
“I continue to run Brink, independent of any Consortium member. I’ve committed to a year in this role, maybe I’d do two, but ultimately I see it as a seat that should rotate to other participants over time. My commitment is to Bitcoin, and that doesn’t change,” he said.
How The $15 Million Funding Will Work The Bitcoin Security Consortium will fund and support developers and researchers already working on Bitcoin’s security. This will include the long-term work of securing the network against potential quantum threats.
Strategy also revealed that each founding member will direct its own funding independently to the developers, researchers, and organizations it chooses. Schmidt mentioned in his X post that there will be no Consortium positions on protocol changes.
He also noted that Quantum is the first focus but that if the Bitcoin Security Consortium works out well, there is room to support other security efforts too. Data from the top crypto prediction platform Polymarket shows that there is only a 14% chance that Quantum Computing breaks Bitcoin by December 2027.
Tesla's losses widened to 12% in early trading, weighed down by negative free cash flow.
According to BIT (bit.com) market data, Tesla’s early-session losses widened to 12%, trading at $329.015 per share, with a total market capitalization of $1.24 trillion. This morning, Tesla released its second-quarter (Q2) financial results: revenue reached $28.24 billion, exceeding market expectations and rising 26% year-over-year, marking its first year-over-year revenue growth rate above 20% in three years. However, Q2 operating profit was only $398 million, far below the market consensus of $1.39 billion; adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.33, down 18% year-over-year and also missing forecasts significantly. Notably, Tesla’s Q2 free cash flow stood at -$1.09 billion, its first quarterly negative figure since Q1 2024.
7 minutes ago
Uniswap v4 Launches Permissioned Pools
Uniswap has rolled out Permissioned Pools, a new hook standard for Uniswap v4 that enables permissioned asset trading via automated market makers, with compliance enforced directly on-chain. The permissioned asset pools are built in collaboration with on-chain asset management teams, and its first batch of partners includes Superstate, Securitize, and Dowgo.
7 minutes ago
Abraxas Capital deposits 2,211 $BTC to Kraken and 30,825 $ETH to Binance
Abraxas Capital deposited 2,211 $BTC ($143.88M) into #Kraken and 30,825 $ETH ($59.19M) into #Binance over the past 8 hours.
7 minutes ago
The US stock market's optical communication sector rose across the board, with Lumentum and AAOI gaining more than 7%.
According to market data from BIT (bit.com), the U.S. optical communication sector rallied across the board. Pure Photonics ETF FOTO and Corning advanced over 3%, Coherent and Ciena gained more than 4%, while Lumentum and AAOI jumped over 7%.
7 minutes ago
LayerZero announced a partnership with Keeta, and will support cross-public-chain transfers of tokenized commercial bank deposits.
LayerZero announced a partnership with Keeta to support the transfer of tokenized commercial bank deposits across public blockchains including Keeta Network, Ethereum, Solana, and Base, providing institutional cross-chain settlement infrastructure. The two parties will combine LayerZero’s omnichain interoperability protocol with Keeta’s compliance infrastructure to enable institutions to conduct fund management and payment operations. The newly launched Keeta Stablecoins are backed by commercial bank deposits held by U.S.-licensed fintech platform Bivo. Unlike traditional stablecoins, they are pegged to actual commercial bank deposits and allow issuing institutions to retain control over contracts via LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) standard. Keeta Stablecoins will launch later this month, initially supporting the U.S. dollar, with plans to expand to additional fiat currencies including the euro, Japanese yen, Chinese yuan, British pound, Canadian dollar, Mexican peso, UAE dirham, and Hong Kong dollar.
7 minutes ago
$BTC ETFs +$709.47M, $ETH ETFs +$160.63M in 7-day inflows
Lombard Finance is bringing institutional Bitcoin lending on-chain, and it has picked Flow Traders to prove the concept works.
The company launched its Bitcoin Onchain Credit Strategy on July 23, 2026, giving regulated firms a way to post Bitcoin as collateral and borrow stablecoins through a private underwriting structure on Cap, an automated credit marketplace. Flow Traders, one of the more recognizable names in institutional digital asset trading, serves as the pilot partner for the rollout.
What Lombard is actually building The mechanics run on two token types. Lombard’s LBTC is a liquid-staked Bitcoin token, and BTC.b is a wrapped Bitcoin variant that lets the asset move across different blockchain environments. Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol, known as CCIP, handles the plumbing between networks, and Lombard has already migrated more than $1B in assets through it.
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Jacob Phillips, Lombard’s CEO, put it plainly. Asset managers need reliable access to stablecoin borrowing in DeFi markets, and the existing infrastructure has not delivered that in a way regulated firms can actually use.
The market Lombard is entering Bitcoin-based lending is not a small niche. The BTC-based lending market currently holds approximately $4.31B in liquidity, making it one of the more substantial corners of the broader DeFi credit landscape.
Lombard ranks as the second-largest protocol in that market, which is notable for a company founded in 2024. The firm’s Bitcoin Earn program, a separate but related product, has crossed $1B in deposits from more than 38,500 users.
The protocol operates across Ethereum, Base, and Solana, which matters because institutional allocators increasingly want cross-chain exposure without managing the operational complexity of bridging assets themselves. CCIP handles that routing, reducing one of the more persistent friction points for large-scale on-chain participation.
What this means for the DeFi credit market Third, the Chainlink CCIP integration is more than a technical footnote. Having a protocol of Lombard’s size commit more than $1B in assets to CCIP infrastructure signals that the cross-chain messaging layer is maturing into something institutions are comfortable building on top of.
For investors watching the DeFi credit sector, the risk to watch is execution. A market stress event that forces rapid liquidation of Bitcoin collateral across multiple chains is exactly the scenario where cross-chain infrastructure gets stress-tested in ways that sandbox environments cannot replicate. Lombard’s Chainlink dependency means that any CCIP disruption would have direct operational consequences for the strategy.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Nine of the largest names in institutional Bitcoin launched the Bitcoin Security Consortium on Thursday, a group backed by $15 million in member pledges over three years to fund work on the network’s long-term security, including preparation for a future era of quantum computing.
Founding members are Anchorage Digital, ARK Invest, BlackRock, Block, Blockstream, Coinbase, Fidelity Digital Assets, Galaxy, and Strategy, a lineup that spans holders, custodians, exchanges, infrastructure and payments providers, and asset managers.
The consortium’s day-to-day work falls to Mike Schmidt, executive director of the developer non-profit Brink, who serves in a volunteer role.
Schmidt tweeted about the role, saying, “I said yes because supporting Bitcoin’s developers and helping people understand their work are the two things I’ve spent my time in Bitcoin on, through Brink and Optech. This group wants to do both: fund the people already securing Bitcoin, and bring accurate information about that work to audiences it doesn’t currently reach.”
Each member directs its own funding to the developers, researchers, and organizations it chooses; the $15 million figure is an aggregate of independent pledges rather than a pooled fund. The group also plans to serve as a reference point on Bitcoin’s security for investors, the public, and the media, and to publish material it will update as the field develops.
Funding advocates The consortium drew clear limits around its role. It says it does not develop or direct Bitcoin’s protocol, takes no position on specific protocol changes, and does not speak for Bitcoin or its developers.
It casts itself on the model of industry groups that fund the open-source software they rely on without controlling the work.
“Bitcoin’s development is, and will remain, the work of a global, decentralized community of contributors,” the group said.
“As long-term holders, we have every incentive to see Bitcoin remain secure for generations,” said Phong Le, Chief Executive Officer of Strategy. “Funding the people who do this work, and helping inform the conversation around it, is a natural way for us to contribute.”
Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock’s Global Head of Digital Assets, said Bitcoin Core developers “do incredibly important work,” and that the members would make “significant additional funding available to support Bitcoin’s long-term security needs.”
Brink, the non-profit coordinating the effort, has funded open-source Bitcoin work since 2020, including more than $1 million to developers in a single year and the first third-party security audit of Bitcoin Core. Schmidt co-founded the group with developer John Newbery.
Much of the consortium’s stated focus lands on the quantum question. Large-scale quantum computers able to break BTC’s cryptography do not exist today, and credible estimates place such capability years out.
The group frames post-quantum protection as a long-term priority the technical community already works on, and positions itself as a grounded source as that work moves.
That framing matches a wider institutional turn toward the issue. Coinbase has formed a quantum computing advisory board, Galaxy launched its own quantum readiness initiative with developer grants days before, and BlackRock has listed quantum computing as a risk in its spot BTC ETF filings.
Developers, for their part, have proposed migration plans built on schemes such as BIP-360 that would move coins to quantum-resistant addresses, and the Bitcoin Policy Institute has warned the timeline is compressing.
Views on urgency diverge, a split the consortium’s members embody. Adam Back, founder of member firm Blockstream, has called the quantum threat decades away, while other voices place a capable machine within the next several years.
The stakes are large either way, since Coinbase research has estimated that between 20% and 50% of BTC’s supply, much of it in older wallet formats, could face exposure to a long-range quantum attack.
The consortium sidesteps the timeline debate and stakes its role on funding and information rather than a forecast. Its own summary holds that the risk is real, yet the network is preparing.
Micah Zimmerman
Micah first discovered Bitcoin in 2018 but remained a skeptic on the sidelines for too long. Since 2021, he has covered crypto and business and now works as a news reporter for Bitcoin Magazine, based in North Carolina.
A strong labor market usually cuts against the case for lower interest rates, a headwind for risk assets. On Thursday, Bitcoin eased while XRP kept rising, a split that captures a market pulled in two directions.
Initial jobless claims fell to 187,000 in the week ended July 18, down 22,000 from the prior week's 209,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
That is the lowest level since 1969 and a historically low print, a sign that employers are holding tightly onto workers even as other corners of the economy soften.
On paper, that is good news. For a crypto market that has spent 2026 hoping for interest-rate cuts, it is more complicated.
The last time this few Americans filed for unemployment, it was September 1969, the peak of the long 1960s boom, when the economy was running hot on Vietnam-era spending and joblessness sat near 3.5%, among the lowest of the postwar era. What makes the comparison starker is scale: the U.S. labor force back then was less than half the size it is today, so 187,000 claims now represents a far smaller slice of American workers than it did 57 years ago. In short, the job market hasn't looked this tight in more than half a century.
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Strong jobs data can weigh on cryptoFewer people filing for unemployment points to a resilient economy, which gives the Federal Reserve less reason to cut rates quickly.
Higher-for-longer rates tend to pull money toward safer, yield-bearing assets and away from riskier ones like Bitcoin.
Bitcoin (BTC) traded around $65,659 on Thursday morning, down about $200 on the day and roughly flat over the session, according to price data compiled by Fortune. The move is small, but the backdrop is not: Bitcoin sits about $53,000 below where it stood a year ago, deep in the drawdown that has gripped it through 2026.
Trending on TheStreet Roundtable:Veteran Ripple developer regrets selling XRPXRP eyes bigger move as Binance open interest hits 2026 highRipple wants AI agents to pay with XRP and RLUSDXRP goes the other wayXRP changed hands near $1.13, up more than 9% so far this month after opening July around $1.04, making it one of the few major assets climbing against the grain..
The S&P 500 opened approximately 1.1% lower on Tuesday while the NASDAQ fell roughly 1.8%. Prediction markets had essentially called it in advance, pricing in a near-100% probability of a down-open for the S&P 500.
This isn’t the first tremor of the month. On July 7, the NASDAQ dropped 1.2% and the S&P 500 fell 0.5%, with chip stocks dragging the indexes lower.
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Throughout 2026, Bitcoin and Ether have generally underperformed compared to advancing US equities like the NASDAQ and S&P 500. Stocks rallied, and crypto mostly sat there. Now stocks are pulling back, and crypto still isn’t doing much.
No specific tokens or crypto events have been identified as catalysts for Tuesday’s equity decline. The two markets appear to be operating on genuinely separate tracks right now.
For crypto-focused portfolios, Bitcoin and Ether’s underperformance during a period of strong equity returns suggests that the next catalyst for digital assets probably won’t come from the macro side. It’ll need to be crypto-native, whether that’s regulatory clarity, institutional adoption milestones, or on-chain developments that shift sentiment.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
Crypto exchange BitMEX will close down in September, according to a Thursday announcement on the company’s website.
The exchange said that after “a strategic review of the business and the broader crypto industry, the board of HDR Global Trading Limited, owner and operator of BitMEX, has decided to close the exchange.”
BitMEX did not give further information on why the exchange was closing but told users to withdraw their funds “as soon as practical.”
“The BitMEX platform has always remained grounded to the true ethos of Bitcoin — neutrality, transparency, and decentralisation, which is evident through our peer-to-peer operations and a top priority focus on user fund safety,” the statement read.
“While this news is a difficult one to share, we are proud of everything that has been built at the company since its launch as a pioneer of crypto derivatives.”
BitMEX added that users will be able to access services as normal until September 23. After that date, the exchange will only hold client assets until they are withdrawn.
It continued that it had unstaked all staked BMEX Tokens on the platform, and they are now available in users’ accounts.
Run-ins with the law Run by eccentric crypto entrepreneur Arthur Hayes, BitMEX has had its fair share of run-ins with the law.
Regulators first stated that BitMEX had allowed U.S. clients to use its exchange without verifying their identities.
The company in 2021 paid $100 million in civil penalties after the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network alleged that the exchange’s senior leadership “altered U.S. customer information to hide the customer’s true location.”
BitMEX founders Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed pled guilty in 2022 to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act for failing to operate an anti-money laundering program at the cryptocurrency exchange. Each founder then agreed to pay a $10 million fine to settle the charges.
Then, last year, BitMEX was hit with a further $100 million fine for its guilty plea for breach of the United States Bank Secrecy Act.
But following the election of crypto-friendly President Donald Trump, all three founders were pardoned in 2025.
Mathew Di Salvo
Mathew is a reporter who's covered the space since 2019, reporting on everything from Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele's Bitcoin bet to crypto exchange FTX's bankruptcy.
"History might not repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme," one popular analyst stated.
The primary cryptocurrency has staged a minor resurgence over the past week, with its valuation briefly rising to nearly $67,000 and now hovering around $65,000.
However, some analysts warn that this is unlikely to mark the start of a new bull run, envisioning a major collapse in the near future.
Same as 2022? BTC, which plunged below $58,000 at the end of June, has rebounded by double digits in the following several weeks. And while bulls eagerly await the end of the bear market, the analyst who uses the X moniker BATMAN shut down that optimism.
They believe the cryptocurrency’s recent price increase mirrors the one from the autumn of 2022, which was followed by a massive crash to roughly $16,000.
“Side by side, this level looks concerning. It mirrors a similar bullish pump from 2022 that led to nothing afterward. History might not repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme,” they stated.
Of course, one should keep in mind that the drop below $20K at that time was driven largely by the meltdown of the once-prominent crypto exchange FTX: something that sent shockwaves through the entire digital asset sector.
For their part, X user Kabuki believes that the latest price setup represents a classic bull trap. They think BTC could dump to as low as $47,000 by August before starting a major uptrend move that could take it to over $200,000 by the start of next year.
Monitoring These Vital Levels X user Ted also gave his two cents, noting the decline from the local high of almost $67K to the current $65K. At the same time, he emphasized the importance of the lower target, arguing that BTC could surge to $67,500-$68,000 if it stays above.
You may also like: Bitcoin Could Rally to $173K if This Pattern Plays Out: Analyst China Pumps Billions in Tech ETFs: What Does It Mean for Bitcoin Miners? Bitcoin’s Next Big Move Hinges on Break Above This Key Level: Bitfinex Meanwhile, Bitfinex’s analysts pointed to a key reaction zone between $67,900 and $68,300, where the short-term holder realized price and the second-quarter opening level have lined up. They believe a decisive breakout above or below that range could determine the asset’s direction in the near future.
It is important to note that the renewed institutional interest gives hope that Bitcoin hasn’t completely lost its momentum and might soon post fresh gains. According to SoSoValue, the inflows into spot BTC ETFs have surpassed outflows in the past seven consecutive days, something unseen since April.
Spot BTC ETFs, Source: SoSoValue The development shows that pension funds, hedge funds, and other conservative investors have increased their exposure to the asset, prompting BlackRock, Fidelity, and many other financial giants that have launched such products to purchase Bitcoin, thereby backing their shares. The situation was much different toward the end of June, when spot BTC ETFs saw a weekly outflow of around $1.8 billion.
When will the Bitcoin bear market end? This might be the biggest question investors are asking this cycle.
The tricky part is that on-chain metrics and historical trends are currently pointing in different directions. From an on-chain perspective, the end of the bear cycle could be closer than many expect.
One analyst highlighted that long-term Bitcoin holders have almost stopped taking profits, while sell-side pressure has eased for the first time since September 2025. This lines up with CryptoQuant data showing 9,030 BTC leaving Binance, pointing to improving Spot demand.
Together, seller exhaustion and renewed demand suggest Bitcoin could be moving closer to a potential cycle bottom.
Source: CryptoQuant Adding more context, Bitcoin’s Coinbase Premium Index is showing another interesting trend.
Notably, the negative Coinbase Premium suggests U.S. institutional investors are still net sellers, with Coinbase seeing continuous selling pressure for 900 consecutive hours, the highest level of pessimism in the past two years.
However, the indicator has reached extreme levels, which CryptoQuant notes has historically acted as a bullish signal for Bitcoin.
In short, seller exhaustion is now showing up across multiple metrics. This lines up with Bitcoin’s [BTC] four weeks of upside, strengthening the case that the bear cycle may be behind us.
With BTC consolidating around $65k, the current setup could pave the way for a move toward $70k as we head into August.
However, “timing” is still the missing piece.
Bitcoin bottom debate heats up Timing has always mattered more than patterns, according to some analysts.
However, historical data shows these patterns are not random. Bitcoin has historically completed a 5-wave correction during major bear markets, a structure seen in 2015, 2018, and 2022. This cycle has followed a similar pattern, suggesting a potential bottom could be forming.
The main concern, however, is timing. Previous bear markets lasted 365 days, while this cycle would have bottomed nearly 100 days earlier.
Recent Grayscale data adds to this caution, with analysts suggesting that if the traditional four-year cycle repeats, BTC’s bear market could continue until September or October.
Source: Grayscale Against this backdrop, some analysts believe Bitcoin’s recent upside could be just a dead cat bounce.
Notably, the gap between improving on-chain signals and cycle timing has left even analysts like Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst, uncertain about the Bitcoin bottom thesis, responding with a simple “we’ll see.”
This uncertainty keeps the bear market bottom debate open.
Hence, if historical timing plays out (a view many market participants still follow), Bitcoin could see another leg down before the bear cycle ends, supporting Grayscale’s late Q3-early Q4 timeline for a potential bottom.
Final Summary Bitcoin’s selling pressure is fading, suggesting the bottom could be closer. History shows Bitcoin bear markets usually take longer to end, meaning another drop is still possible.
BlackRock clients have reportedly purchased $38 million worth of Bitcoin, highlighting sustained institutional interest in the digital asset through BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). This purchase, although smaller compared to recent larger inflows, suggests ongoing demand for Bitcoin exposure via regulated financial products. BlackRock’s IBIT has been a significant player in the market since its launch, with previous reports indicating substantial asset flows both into and out of the fund. This move comes amidst Bitcoin at approximately $65,001, with BlackRock continuing to expand its digital asset offerings since 2024.
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Key Takeaways The purchase of $38 million in Bitcoin by BlackRock clients suggests ongoing institutional interest. Market behavior appears consistent with scenarios where Bitcoin could experience upward price movements. Current market pricing for Bitcoin reaching $82,500 in July remains speculative with low probability. What to Watch Market participants will be observing whether continued inflows into BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust could further influence Bitcoin’s price trajectory. Key indicators include potential announcements of large Bitcoin purchases by institutions like MicroStrategy, or significant Bitcoin ETF inflows exceeding $500 million. Additionally, any regulatory announcements from the SEC regarding Bitcoin ETFs could impact market sentiment and pricing. As the month progresses, the possibility of Bitcoin reaching higher price targets will remain a topic of interest.
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Term Structure
Contract Odds Δ since publish Volume 24h August 1 2026 0.2% — — View market → August 1 2026 44.5% — — View market → August 1 2026 15.5% — — View market → August 1 2026 5.5% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.5% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.1% — — View market → August 1 2026 1.4% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.1% — — View market → August 1 2026 5.1% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.1% — — View market → August 1 2026 1% — — View market → August 1 2026 1.6% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.9% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.5% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.1% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.1% — — View market → August 1 2026 0.1% — — View market →
Kazakhstan has laid out a plan to build a national strategic crypto reserve fed by its bitcoin miners, part of a two-step push by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to pull the country’s large mining industry into a regulated, state-supervised system.
A presidential decree signed July 7 sets the frame, and a government resolution approved July 18 supplies the mechanism. The government cleared the rules for strategic digital mining under Government Resolution No. 638, published in the PRG.kz legal database.
Together the two measures aim to route mining output and crypto trading through Kazakh infrastructure, with the state taking a share of mined coins for a sovereign reserve.
The reserve sits at the center. Under the July 18 resolution, the Kazakhstan government created a program of “strategic digital mining,” in which miners receive electricity quotas at capped tariffs on 10-year contracts from listed power producers. In exchange, they must hand over part of what they mine, according to local reporting.
A formula sets the transfer at 10% of mined digital assets after the cost of electricity and grid services, paid each month to the state-linked Astana Hub fund, which passes the coins to the National Investment Corporation of the National Bank for management inside a “national strategic crypto reserve.”
The first approved power source is the Ekibastuz GRES-1 coal plant, with a 300-megawatt quota. To qualify, a miner must run a data center of at least 150 megawatts, with rigs that each clear 150 terahashes per second, among other conditions.
The resolution defines its reserve as a vehicle to invest in digital assets, in derivatives tied to those assets, and in the shares of companies that build or invest in crypto.
Rather than hold coins alone, the structure gives the state a spread of exposure to the sector it now seeks to grow, with the National Bank’s investment arm at the controls.
The design turns Kazakhstan’s cheap power and mining base into a channel for state accumulation, an approach that echoes the reserve strategies spreading among governments. Kazakhstan had floated a $1 billion crypto reserve built in part on seized assets and state-mined coins, and its central bank moved to invest up to $350 million in crypto-linked funds.
The United States established a strategic bitcoin reserve from forfeited coins last year, a model other states have weighed.
Kazakhstan as a bitcoin mining hub Kazakhstan ranks among the world’s largest bitcoin mining hubs, fifth by mining activity in the Cambridge Digital Mining Industry Report from April 2025, a status built on cheap coal power that drew miners after China’s 2021 ban, though the country moved to tighten its mining rules over grid strain.
The new program reads as an attempt to harness that base rather than curb it, and the decree directs the Kazakhstan government to tap associated petroleum gas, natural gas, and renewable output for mining.
Other crypto tasked The July 7 decree reaches past mining. It sets up a Committee on Digital Assets and Payment Systems under the National Bank, and orders work on tokenization platforms, exchange and custody services, and crypto-fiat channels tied to the financial system.
It calls for stablecoins to settle cross-border trade for export and import, tokenized government securities by the end of 2026, and rules that isolate customer assets from a bankrupt provider’s estate.
To pull activity onshore, the decree offers a plan to exempt individuals from personal income tax on crypto gains earned through Kazakh providers from the start of 2026 through the end of 2028, plus a window for holders to disclose coins acquired or mined in the past if they move them into regulated infrastructure.
The government also plans a National Cryptocurrency Analysis Center by mid-2027 to track transactions and flag illicit schemes, along with a review of DeFi platforms.
Micah Zimmerman
Micah first discovered Bitcoin in 2018 but remained a skeptic on the sidelines for too long. Since 2021, he has covered crypto and business and now works as a news reporter for Bitcoin Magazine, based in North Carolina.
After several months of extreme volatility that has caused futures traders across the crypto derivatives market to trade with caution, it appears that traders are becoming more active in XRP futures again.
Latest data from crypto analytics platform CryptoQuant shows that XRP leverage trading on Binance is rising following the recent rebound in its price.
XRP OI spikes to 440.6 million tokensThe data further revealed that the 30-day Open Interest Z-Score for XRP futures has surged to about 1.60 on Binance. This suggests that open interest is now well above its average over the past month.
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Moreover, XRP open interest on the exchange has surged to about 440.6 million XRP, while its 30-day moving average has also surged to 418.5 million XRP, as XRP continues to trade near $1.14.
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The increase in Binance XRP derivative activity suggests that more traders are opening new futures positions amid growing confidence and optimism over XRP's next price move.
While this provides a bullish outlook for XRP, analysts note that the surge in futures activity does not guarantee a price rally. However, it shows that market participants are becoming more confident in opening new leveraged positions after a long period of extreme caution.
When will the XRP price break out?It is important to note that XRP spot activity has yet to mimic the renewed optimism seen in the futures market, causing its price to remain at local low levels.
Market analysts believe that the divergence between XRP rising open interest and a stable price move could mean that the market is building up for a larger price move.
As such, if the price of XRP increases in correspondence with its rising open interest, this could trigger a strengthening bullish conviction among traders, leading to sustained buying momentum that could drive the price toward a major breakout.
In This Article XRP News: The Cup and Handle Setup and What it MeansETF Inflows: Green on the Surface, Fading UnderneathWhat Glassnode's Hodler Metric Is SignalingThree Scenarios for What Happens Next: XRP News Catalysts Needed for Bullish Continuation In XRP news today, Ripple has slipped since July 21 but remains around $1.13, tracing a textbook cup-and-handle formation on the daily chart, with $1.15 as the breakout trigger and $1.21 as the pattern target.
The setup looks clean. The institutional money flow behind it does not. That gap between the chart structure and the capital supporting it is the central tension shaping the XRP trade right now.
According to data from CoinGlass, spot XRP ETF monthly inflows have collapsed from a $131.94M peak in May to just $12.43 million in July, the weakest month on record. Inflows are still technically positive, but it is not a technicality worth glossing over.
XRP News: The Cup and Handle Setup and What it Means Since early July, XRP has formed a cup-and-handle pattern on the daily chart. The cup represents a gradual recovery from selling pressure, while the handle reflects a consolidation phase since July 21.
The bullish outlook remains supported by declining sell volume as prices drift lower, indicating a pause rather than a fresh wave of selling. Key resistance is at $1.15, aligning with the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement level.
A daily close above this would break the handle and activate the cup neckline at $1.16, with $1.18 and $1.21 as potential targets for XRP Ripple.
However, it’s important to note that XRP has previously failed to sustain cup formations. A single candle wick above $1.15 is insufficient; a confirmed daily close is necessary for a convincing breakout.
$XRP
Say what you want, but this entire setup looks insane!
Sweep the lows or not…
A major move is coming. pic.twitter.com/MJFD9UJNzh
— Jim Knox (@Jim_Knox589) July 23, 2026
ETF Inflows: Green on the Surface, Fading Underneath In other XRP news, ETF inflows have consistently been net positive since their launch, though monthly totals have declined. According to CoinGlass, inflows were $81.59M in April, peaked at $131.94M in May, then dropped to $59.46M in June, and fell further to $12.43M in July.
This downward trend suggests that institutional demand for XRP has weakened, as ETF inflows typically indicate professional buyers’ interest, which makes it a crucial data point to watch in the coming weeks.
A decline in these flows could affect XRP’s price, especially as it nears a breakout point. Similar patterns of reduced institutional demand are also seen in Bitcoin ETF products.
(SOURCE: CoinGlass)
What Glassnode’s Hodler Metric Is Signaling The Hodler Net Position Change metric from Glassnode tracks whether long-term XRP holders are net adding to or trimming their positions. It is an on-chain measure of accumulation or distribution behavior among wallets that have held for extended periods, the cohort least likely to be driven by short-term noise.
The metric’s recent history is worth tracing carefully because it has already run this playbook once. On June 22, the Hodler Net Position Change hit one of its highest readings. From that peak, it fell steadily through to July 1.
During exactly that window, XRP price corrected from $1.13 down to $1.05 – a 7% move that caught many traders offside who were watching the chart setup rather than the on-chain signal. Then, as long-term holders began adding again, price recovered.
Since July 19, the metric has turned lower again. It has eased from approximately 231 million to roughly 226 million XRP, according to Glassnode data cited in the BeInCrypto analysis. The setup is close enough to the June precedent to warrant attention.
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Three Scenarios for What Happens Next: XRP News Catalysts Needed for Bullish Continuation
(SOURCE: TradingView)
The chart and institutional data for XRP news indicate three potential paths for its price action:
Bull Case: XRP closes above $1.15, confirming a cup-and-handle breakout. If $1.16 is breached, the $1.21 target could be met, but this would require stable ETF inflows to maintain gains.
Base Case: XRP trades sideways between $1.12 and $1.15 as Hodler Net Position Change declines and ETF inflows remain weak. The cup-and-handle pattern remains valid but unconfirmed, awaiting a macro catalyst.
Bear Case: A sharper decline in Hodler metrics leads to a drop below $1.13, exposing support levels at $1.12 and $1.09. A break below $1.05 invalidates the pattern and shifts focus to broader support. This scenario aligns with current ETF flow trends.
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XRP has arrived at a critical technical point, with its recent rebound drawing close attention from market analysts who see this juncture as pivotal in determining the token’s short-term direction. Crypto strategist CasiTrades stated that key resistance and support levels now stand to either confirm a broad trend reversal or reinforce the prevailing bearish structure.
Wave 2 correction tests critical resistanceCasiTrades identified XRP’s current movement as a “Wave 2 correction” within the Elliott Wave framework, noting that the retracement has now reached the 0.854 Fibonacci level, positioning the price precisely at $1.16. She regarded this as a significant but acceptable retracement for the correction phase, according to technical analysis standards.
The analyst emphasized that the outlook for a deeper decline would only change if XRP surpasses $1.20. She indicated that this level acts as a definitive price ceiling for the ongoing bearish scenario displayed on her chart. As long as XRP fails to record a new high above this threshold, the current expectation for continued downward movement remains intact.
On her chart, CasiTrades highlighted repeated rejections near $1.164 and projected possible moves toward the next lower supports, underlining the significance of these thresholds. She further mapped resistance levels above the current price, which must be overtaken for any sustained bullish reversal to gain confirmation.
RSI divergence strengthens the bearish stanceMomentum indicators continue to play a supporting role in the overall analysis. CasiTrades reported that the approach to $1.164 produced bearish divergences on the Relative Strength Index (RSI) across several timeframes. This technical pattern occurs when the price makes a higher high while momentum does not follow, which is frequently interpreted as a signal of weakening buying pressure and a possible precursor to downward momentum.
These momentum signals—combined with price action at resistance—have led CasiTrades to anticipate that XRP could accelerate toward lower price levels if the bearish thesis remains valid. Such a scenario would see the token testing underlying support areas in the near term.
This ‘Wave 2 correction’ has now reached an 0.854 retrace, precisely at $1.16. Though it’s a deep move, it still fits within Elliott Wave correction parameters, so the bearish scenario is intact unless $1.20 is broken.
Key levels to watch and tools for market monitoringIf the price fails to reclaim key thresholds, CasiTrades marked $0.93 and $0.87 as the next significant support zones. She signaled that a drop toward these levels could strengthen the current trend and potentially attract buyers looking for an opportunity at lower valuations.
Conversely, an advance above $1.20 would invalidate the primary bearish scenario, while a breakout past $1.30 would neutralize another alternative downward pattern, potentially clearing a path to $1.65—a level she described as major macro resistance. Only after such breakouts could traders anticipate a broader uptrend gaining traction.
In discussing the importance of monitoring these technical developments, CasiTrades reminded market participants to prioritize data-driven decisions over emotions. For traders looking to effectively track trends and respond swiftly, tools offering integrated price monitoring, prompt alerts, chart analysis, and filtered news have become essential. CryptoAppsy, which requires no account creation hassle, combines your crypto investments with real-time prices, detailed charts, and multi-currency portfolio management on a single screen. With this all-in-one financial assistant, you can instantly seize opportunities by setting up smart price alerts, filter news specific to your coins, discover newly listed altcoins without missing them, and always stay one step ahead of the market with critical macroeconomic data such as Fed interest rates.
For now, the purple bearish scenario continues to play out as long as XRP remains below $1.20. Breaking above $1.20 or $1.30 would shift the outlook, but traders should rely on actual price action when making decisions.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
Bitcoin spot ETFs in the US just notched their sixth consecutive day of net positive inflows, pulling in roughly $69.1 million on July 21. It’s the kind of streak that doesn’t grab headlines like a 10% price swing, but arguably tells you more about where serious money is actually going.
Meanwhile, XRP spot ETFs are quietly putting together their own narrative. The funds haven’t recorded a single day of net outflows since July 9, a stretch that’s notable given the product category is still less than a year old.
The Bitcoin ETF machine keeps humming Cumulative net inflows into US Bitcoin spot ETFs have now crossed roughly $52.29 billion since these products launched in January 2024. That translates to approximately 648,820 BTC absorbed by these funds.
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Major issuers like BlackRock and Fidelity have been consistent contributors to the flow, suggesting this is institutional capital moving with conviction rather than retail traders chasing a bounce.
XRP ETFs find their footing Since launching in November 2025, XRP spot ETFs have accumulated over $1.4 billion in cumulative inflows.
The last notable outflow event came on July 9, when $7.29 million exited XRP ETF products. That was one of the largest single-day withdrawals the funds have seen. Since then, the picture has been remarkably stable, with daily flows from July 10 through July 20 registering either zero or small positive amounts.
What the flow data actually tells investors The $52 billion cumulative figure for Bitcoin ETFs represents a structural change in how traditional finance interacts with crypto. More than 648,000 BTC sitting in ETF custody means that supply on exchanges continues to thin out.
For XRP, the absence of outflows since July 9 signals that the product has survived its early shakeout period. The $7.29 million outflow on July 9 looks increasingly like a one-off event rather than the start of a trend.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
The XRP Ledger crossed 1.4 million AI-agent transactions this week, and Ripple joined Visa, Mastercard, and Google at the table writing the standard behind them. The milestone is real. So is the arithmetic underneath it: at a fifth of a cent per transaction, the entire agentic economy on XRPL has generated about $280 in fees, and the chain it is chasing has a hundred-times head start.
Summary
The XRP Ledger has processed more than 1.4 million transactions initiated by AI agents, a milestone announced by RippleX’s head of engineering as Ripple ships developer tooling for autonomous payments in XRP and RLUSD. The infrastructure behind it is x402, an open protocol reviving HTTP’s dormant “402 Payment Required” code: a service quotes a price, an agent’s wallet signs and pays, the content or compute delivers, no account, card, or human in the loop. Ripple joined the Linux Foundation’s new x402 Foundation as one of 40 premier members alongside AWS, Google, Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Circle, and Coinbase, and was named a launch partner for Mastercard’s agent-payments network. The audit matters as much as the milestone: at XRPL’s fixed $0.0002 fee, 1.4 million agent transactions represent roughly $280 in total network fees, while Coinbase’s Base has processed 119 million x402 payments and Solana about 35 million, overwhelmingly settled in USDC. The strategic question is the oldest one in the ecosystem wearing its newest costume: even if machine payments become enormous and XRPL wins a share, agents will transact in stablecoins, and what that does for the XRP token is exactly as unresolved as ever. Every technology cycle produces a moment when a real trend and a modest number get announced in the same sentence, and the reader’s job is to hold both without letting either erase the other. The XRP Ledger delivered this cycle’s cleanest example this week. The trend: autonomous AI agents, software that requests a service, receives a price, and pays for it with no human in the loop, are now transacting on public blockchains at meaningful frequency, under an open standard that Amazon, Google, Visa, and Mastercard have just formed a foundation to govern. The number: the XRP Ledger’s share of that future crossed 1.4 million transactions, which, at the ledger’s fixed fee of roughly two-hundredths of a cent, works out to about $280 in total fees, on a network whose leading competitor has processed over a hundred million of the same payments with a year’s head start. Ripple’s engineering leadership frames the moment with a cloud-computing analogy, early days, obvious potential, standards still forming, and the analogy is fair, which is precisely why the honest piece about this milestone is neither the press release nor the dunk. It is the audit: what is actually being built, what the numbers actually measure, and what, if all of it works, actually accrues to whom.
LATEST: Visa and OpenAI team up for secure agent-driven payments in AI commerce. Tokenized credentials allow autonomous transactions through Visa’s global network pic.twitter.com/VBssfwA5Gi
— crypto.news (@cryptodotnews) June 11, 2026 The machinery: what x402 actually is The protocol at the center of the story is elegant enough to explain in a paragraph, and its elegance is why the giants showed up.
When the web’s founders drafted HTTP in the 1990s, they reserved status code 402, Payment Required, for a payments layer the internet never built. Every online payment since has been a workaround: accounts, cards, subscriptions, API keys, invoices, all of them designed for humans with wallets and none of them usable by software that wants to buy one API call’s worth of data right now. x402, developed at Coinbase and contributed this month to a new Linux Foundation body, finally implements the dormant code. A service receiving a request from an unpaid client responds with 402 and a machine-readable quote: the price, the accepted asset, the receiving address. The requesting agent’s wallet signs and broadcasts the payment on a supported blockchain; the service verifies settlement and delivers. No account creation, no card on file, no human approval, no minimum viable subscription. Payment becomes a header, and commerce becomes something two pieces of software conclude in seconds.
The governance followed the code. The x402 Foundation launched on July 14 under the Linux Foundation with roughly 40 premier members, a list that reads like the payments establishment buying insurance on its own disruption: AWS, Google, Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Circle, Coinbase, and, as of this month, Ripple. Membership is the context for everything Ripple has shipped around it: the XRPL AI Starter Kit released in June, packaging wallet integration, documentation servers, and payment tutorials for agent developers; the XRPL AI Hub launched by Ripple-backed t54.ai; support for agent payments in both XRP and the RLUSD stablecoin; and a slot among the thirty-plus launch partners of Mastercard’s own agent-payments network. The XRPL’s technical pitch for the workload is coherent: deterministic finality in three to five seconds, fees fixed at fractions of a cent, native escrow and multisignature support, and a built-in exchange, properties that suit high-frequency machine payments better than they ever suited the retail speculation the ledger mostly hosts. RippleX’s head of engineering, J. Ayo Akinyele, announced the million-transaction crossing with the early-cloud framing: “The potential was obvious, but the tooling and standards were still coming together.” As positioning, it is exactly right. As measurement, it invites the next section.
The audit: what 1.4 million transactions weighs Take the milestone apart with the ledger’s own arithmetic, because the exercise clarifies what is and is not being claimed.
XRPL transaction fees are fixed near $0.0002. One million four hundred thousand agentic transactions therefore generated on the order of $280 in total network fees, a number that is not a gotcha but a measurement: it says the agentic activity on XRPL to date is, economically, a rounding error, and that transaction count on a chain where transactions cost nothing is a metric that measures enthusiasm and testing at least as much as commerce. At two-hundredths of a cent, a single developer’s integration test suite, a hackathon weekend, or an agent pinging a demo API in a loop produces six-figure transaction counts for the price of a coffee. Some unknowable share of the 1.4 million is exactly that, which the more careful voices in the ecosystem, including t54’s own framing of the milestone as showing capability, implicitly concede. The honest description is that XRPL has proven the pipes work, not that anything economically significant flows through them yet.
The comparative table sharpens the same point. Coinbase’s Base network has processed more than 119 million x402 payments; Solana roughly 35 million; both had approximately a year’s head start, and both settle the overwhelming majority of that volume in USDC. Even the leader’s economics remain tiny, industry tallies put cumulative settled x402 volume in the tens of millions of dollars, an average well under a dollar per payment, which confirms the category is micropayments in fact as well as theory. But the ordering matters: XRPL’s 1.4 million against Base’s 119 million is a roughly hundred-fold gap in the category XRPL is now marketing as a strategic fit, and gaps of that shape, in developer-network businesses, historically widen rather than close, because agent frameworks integrate the chains where the other agents already are. The XRP ecosystem has run this race before, shipping credible infrastructure into a category with an entrenched leader and discovering that technical fitness does not conjure developer gravity; the EVM sidechain’s first year, which this publication audited at $25,741 in total value locked, is the cautionary precedent nobody at the milestone party mentions.
And beneath both numbers sits the question this ecosystem can never quite escape, because it is the question: who earns what if this works? Agents transacting under x402 optimize for stable settlement, which is why USDC dominates the category everywhere it exists, and on XRPL the natural settlement asset is RLUSD, whose reserve income accrues to Ripple the company. The XRP token’s role in the flow is gas, priced at two-hundredths of a cent by design, and collateral-adjacent plumbing, which means the milestone’s implicit promise, more agent activity equals more value through XRP, runs directly into the fee math above: a billion agentic transactions a year, a seven-hundred-fold increase from today’s total, would generate roughly $200,000 in annual XRP fee burn. The value-accrual gap between network success and token performance, the gap this publication has documented across payments, custody, and DeFi, arrives in the AI era fully intact. Machine commerce may be enormous. XRPL may even win a real share. The token’s claim on that outcome remains what it has always been: a thesis in search of a mechanism.
The case that the position is still right Having weighed the milestone honestly, weigh the strategy the same way, because the audit cuts against the hype without cutting against the play.
Standards tables are cheap options on large futures. Ripple’s premier membership costs it engineering attention and puts XRP and RLUSD inside the specification process of a payment standard that AWS, Google, Visa, and Mastercard consider worth governing, which is not a marketing decision on their part; the agent-payments category is the rare crypto use case that the traditional payments industry believes in enough to pre-organize around. If machine-to-machine commerce becomes a fraction of what its backers project, the chains and assets wired into the standard from the beginning inherit distribution no retrofit can buy, and the Mastercard launch-partner slot is exactly that wiring. The early-cloud analogy earns its keep here: AWS’s revenue in 2008 was a rounding error too, and the companies that dismissed it on contemporary arithmetic were measuring the wrong thing.
The technical fit argument is also better than the ecosystem’s average claim of this genre. Agent payments genuinely want what XRPL genuinely has: deterministic sub-five-second finality, fees that never spike, native escrow for conditional payments, and an architecture that has processed payments, only payments, for a decade without an outage that mattered. The chains currently leading the category are general-purpose platforms on which payments compete with everything else for blockspace; a specialized settlement layer is a coherent bet on how the category matures, particularly for the enterprise and financial-institution agents Ripple’s distribution actually reaches, as opposed to the consumer-crypto agents Base inherits from Coinbase. And RLUSD’s presence in the standard is unambiguously valuable for Ripple’s stablecoin strategy, whatever it does for the token: every x402 flow RLUSD settles is float, and float is the business.
The bear case concedes all of this and returns to the ledger’s oldest pattern: infrastructure fitness without developer gravity, milestones denominated in counts rather than dollars, and value accruing to the company faster than to the asset. Both cases are live. The difference between them will not be argued into resolution; it will be measured, which is what the final section is for.
The stablecoin sitting in the middle One participant in this story holds a materially different position from all the others, and the analysis owes it a section: RLUSD, which enters the agent-payments race with none of XRP’s value-accrual problem and all of Ripple’s distribution behind it.
The economics of a stablecoin in machine commerce are the economics every issuer already understands, at higher frequency. Each RLUSD that settles agent payments is float, reserves earning treasury yield for the issuer, and agentic flows have a property consumer flows lack: balances that never sleep. A human cardholder’s stablecoins sit idle between purchases; an agent’s working balance turns over continuously, but the aggregate float across a fleet of funded agents is persistent, programmatic, and grows with the category mechanically. If machine payments become a fraction of what the foundation’s membership implies, the stablecoins wired into the standard become the category’s silent tax collectors, and the fight for that position is already visible in the data: USDC’s dominance of Base and Solana x402 volume is Circle collecting the early category almost uncontested. RLUSD’s presence in the XRPL implementation, and in whatever flows the Mastercard partnership eventually routes, is Ripple’s bid for a share, and it is a better bid than the transaction counts suggest, because the enterprise agents Ripple’s institutional relationships reach will care about exactly the things RLUSD was chartered to offer: a regulated issuer, bank-grade reserves, and a compliance posture that a corporate treasury can sign off on.
LATEST: Ripple joins Mastercard’s Agent Pay for Machines launch. XRP Ledger and $RLUSD are positioned to deliver trust, controls, and clear rules for AI agents handling business payments at scale pic.twitter.com/3YargyVJHb
— crypto.news (@cryptodotnews) June 11, 2026 Which sharpens, not softens, the token question this piece keeps returning to. The clearer RLUSD’s path in agent payments becomes, the more precisely the ecosystem’s value routing resolves: the category’s fees go to nearly nothing by design, the float goes to Ripple, and the XRP token’s participation is the $0.0002 toll. There is one construction under which the token does capture something, XRP as the bridge and liquidity asset when agents transact across currencies, using the ledger’s native exchange, which is the on-ledger version of the company’s oldest thesis, and it carries the oldest caveat: it requires agents to hold and route through a volatile asset when a stable one is available, a behavior no current x402 flow exhibits anywhere. Watching whether it ever emerges, in the cross-currency settlement data the ledger makes public, is the cleanest token-relevant observable this whole story offers. Absent it, the honest summary of the agent era for the two assets is uncomfortable and simple: the milestone is XRPL’s, the business is RLUSD’s, and the token is, once again, the venue, not the beneficiary.
What to watch Settled volume, not transaction count. The category’s honest metric is dollars settled through x402 flows on XRPL, a number nobody currently headlines precisely because it is small. When it appears, in t54’s reporting, foundation dashboards, or Ripple’s disclosures, it converts this story from enthusiasm-measurement to commerce-measurement. Until it appears, transaction counts should be read as what they are.
The settlement-asset split. Watch what share of XRPL agentic payments settle in RLUSD versus XRP, and what share of cross-chain x402 volume RLUSD captures against USDC’s incumbency. The first ratio prices the token’s role in its own ecosystem’s newest story; the second prices Ripple’s stablecoin against the category leader on neutral ground.
A commercial workload with a name. The milestone that would actually move this story is one identifiable production deployment, an enterprise paying real money for real services through XRPL agent rails, versus the anonymous aggregate counts. Mastercard’s network going live with Ripple in the loop is the likeliest venue. One named workload outweighs the next ten million test transactions.
The gap’s direction. Base at 119 million and growing; XRPL at 1.4 million and growing. The ratio between their growth rates over the next two quarters answers the developer-gravity question empirically, and it is the same question the EVM sidechain’s first year answered badly. Watch whether this category rhymes.
The 402 status code waited thirty years for the internet to need it, which is a useful reminder that infrastructure stories run on timelines that make any single milestone nearly meaningless. The XRP Ledger’s 1.4 million agent transactions prove the machinery works and prove nothing about who wins, the $280 in fees prices today’s reality without pricing the future, and the foundation seat is a rational option on an outcome no one can yet measure. The audit’s conclusion is not that the story is false. It is that the story is, so far, exactly $280 large, and that everyone quoting the transaction count owes the fee line alongside it.
Disclaimer: This article is for information and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. It describes early-stage technology adoption whose metrics are incomplete and fast-changing, and comparisons rely on figures reported by third parties. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any asset. Always do your own research. Information is accurate as of July 23, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions What is x402? An open payment protocol that implements HTTP’s long-dormant 402 “Payment Required” status code. When software requests a paid service, the server responds with a machine-readable quote, price, accepted asset, receiving address; the requester’s wallet signs and sends payment on a supported blockchain, and the service delivers upon settlement. It was developed at Coinbase and contributed to the Linux Foundation’s x402 Foundation, launched July 14 with about 40 premier members including AWS, Google, Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Circle, and Ripple.
What did the XRP Ledger milestone actually announce? That more than 1 million transactions initiated by AI agents have been processed on the XRPL, a figure now around 1.4 million, announced by RippleX engineering head J. Ayo Akinyele alongside the XRPL AI Starter Kit, tooling that connects agents to wallets, payments, escrow, and documentation, with support for paying in XRP and RLUSD. Ripple also joined the x402 Foundation and was named a launch partner for Mastercard’s agent-payments network.
Why does the article emphasize $280 in fees? Because XRPL fees are fixed near $0.0002 per transaction, so 1.4 million agent transactions generated roughly $280 in total network fees. The figure measures the economic weight of the activity: at fees that low, transaction counts capture developer testing and experimentation as much as commerce, so the count alone cannot distinguish a working economy from a working demo. Settled dollar volume, not yet headlined anywhere, is the metric that would.
How does XRPL’s position compare to other chains? It trails badly on volume and leads on specialization claims. Coinbase’s Base network has processed over 119 million x402 payments and Solana roughly 35 million, both with about a year’s head start and settlement dominated by USDC. XRPL’s counterargument is technical fit, deterministic 3-5 second finality, fixed fees, native escrow, a payments-only track record, and institutional distribution through Ripple and the Mastercard partnership.
Do AI agents pay in XRP or RLUSD? Both are supported, and the split is the story’s key open ratio. Category-wide, agents overwhelmingly settle in stablecoins because they optimize for stable pricing, which favors RLUSD on XRPL, whose reserve income accrues to Ripple the company. XRP functions primarily as network gas at fractions of a cent. This is why network success and XRP token value remain distinct questions, the ecosystem’s long-standing value-accrual gap in its newest setting.
Is the agent-payments category itself real? Early but credible. Cumulative settled x402 volume across all chains remains in the tens of millions of dollars, tiny by payments standards, but the institutional pre-organization is unusual: the world’s largest cloud, card, and payments companies formed a governance foundation before the market matured, and Mastercard is building a dedicated agent-payments network. The category’s backers are exactly the incumbents who usually arrive late.
What would validate XRPL’s bet here? Named commercial workloads and dollar volume. One identifiable production deployment paying real money through XRPL agent rails, plausibly via Mastercard’s network, would outweigh millions of anonymous test transactions. Sustained growth in RLUSD-settled x402 volume, and any narrowing of the transaction-count gap against Base, would show developer gravity forming, the ingredient the ecosystem’s prior infrastructure bets most conspicuously lacked.
What should XRP holders take from the milestone? That the infrastructure story is real, early, and, so far, economically small, and that its success would not automatically flow to the token. The rational reading treats the foundation seat and Mastercard partnership as cheap options on a large future, the transaction milestone as proof of capability rather than adoption, and the RLUSD-versus-XRP settlement split as the number that decides who benefits if the future arrives. This is educational analysis, not investment advice.
Open interest for XRP futures on Binance has surged to 440.6 million tokens, reflecting a renewed wave of activity among derivatives traders. This trend comes after several months marked by high volatility in the cryptocurrency market, which previously prompted many futures traders to adopt a more cautious approach.
Increased leverage and renewed futures activityRecent data collected by the blockchain analytics platform CryptoQuant indicate that leverage trading for XRP on Binance is on the rise. The platform’s latest figures show the 30-day Open Interest Z-Score for XRP futures has reached 1.60, meaning that open interest is currently well above its average level for the past month.
Alongside the Z-Score increase, both total open interest and the 30-day moving average of open interest have risen sharply. The 30-day moving average now stands at 418.5 million XRP, while current open interest has reached 440.6 million XRP. At the same time, XRP’s spot value is holding around $1.14, suggesting that derivatives trading activity has intensified even as the underlying asset’s price remains relatively stable.
Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, offering spot and derivatives trading for a broad range of digital assets, including XRP futures contracts.
Mini dictionary: Open interest (OI) refers to the total number of outstanding derivative contracts, such as futures, that have not been settled. A rising open interest can indicate increasing activity or interest in an asset’s derivatives market.
Analyst outlook and divergence from spot marketThe significant increase in open interest suggests that more traders are opening leveraged futures positions, possibly reflecting rising optimism or confidence about XRP’s next price move. Analysts caution, however, that a buildup in open interest does not automatically lead to a price rally. Rather, it may signal anticipation of an impending major price movement, particularly if these leveraged positions translate into directional trading activity.
So far, renewed activity in the XRP futures market has not been mirrored in spot market trading volumes. XRP’s price continues to trade at locally low levels without a corresponding spike in spot buying, indicating a temporary disconnect between the two markets.
Analysts observe that the divergence between XRP’s rising open interest and relatively stable price movement could indicate that the market is preparing for a more significant shift. If the price begins to rise in tandem with higher open interest, this may reinforce bullish sentiment among traders and drive sustained buying momentum toward a potential breakout.
Potential for a breakout if trends alignMarket analysts are closely watching whether XRP’s price will react positively to the surge in open interest. If a price rally emerges and is supported by increased futures trading, this could inspire further confidence among market participants and amplify bullish momentum.
For now, however, the situation reflects heightened expectations but also underscores the caution prevailing among traders, as past periods of volatility have tempered immediate enthusiasm for aggressive moves in either direction.
MetricCurrent Value30-Day Moving AverageXRP Open Interest (Futures)440.6 million XRP418.5 million XRPXRP Price (Spot)$1.14–Open Interest Z-Score1.60–Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
Cover image via U.Today Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.
TL;DR
U.S. spot XRP ETFs now hold a record 1.47% of total supply worth $1.04 billion, with institutions front-running the CLARITY Act's Senate deadline ahead of the Aug. 7 recessGrayscale's Zach Pandl says Bitcoin has outgrown its four-year halving cycle, pointing instead to the Fed's July 28–29 meeting as the market's next real catalystAFX Trade, Verus Bridge and B² Network lost a combined $35.56 million in three separate DeFi exploits, with Verus hit twice in three months by the same unresolved bugU.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs logged a seven-day, $1 billion inflow streak as Kazakhstan launches state-backed mining and Circle brings USDC to 20 million Kakao and Toss users in KoreaXRP leaves exchanges for ETF vaults ahead of decisive Senate voteU.S. spot ETFs have removed a record 1.47% of XRP's total supply from market circulation. According to the latest SoSoValue data as of July 23, 2026, the funds now hold 977.41 million tokens worth a combined $1.04 billion.
Institutional accumulation is accelerating as the deadline for the CLARITY Act approaches in the U.S. Senate. Lawmakers have about two weeks left to reach a consensus on digital asset oversight rules before Congress leaves for its traditional August recess, which begins on Aug. 7.
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Expectations of long-awaited regulatory clarity are prompting funds to methodically purchase the underlying asset on the spot market and isolate it in custodial wallets, completely removing those coins from exchange circulation.
The price context only underscores the confidence of major players. XRP is currently trapped inside a descending channel near $1.1338, hovering around local support at $1.1158 with a neutral RSI reading of 54.82.
Total inflows in US Spot XRP ETFs since the start of Q3 2026, Source: SoSoValueThe gap between the total amount historically invested in the ETFs, $1.49 billion, and their current net asset value of $1.04 billion clearly shows that the funds are sitting on unrealized losses. Nevertheless, institutional holders are not cutting their losses and continue to maintain positions primarily through Bitwise, which has recorded $501 million in net inflows, and Franklin Templeton, with $416 million.
Although daily activity within the ETFs remains moderate at around $10.9 million in trading volume, the removal of nearly 1.5% of the XRP supply is reducing the depth of exchange order books. If the Senate manages to pass the CLARITY Act before the Aug. 7 recess, a surge in buyers will encounter an obvious shortage of liquidity on the spot market.
Why Grayscale no longer believes in Bitcoin halving cyclesThe leading cryptocurrency has outgrown the training wheels of the halving cycle and now lives by the adult rules of Wall Street, according to Grayscale Research head Zach Pandl, who has urged investors to erase Bitcoin's "four-year cycle" charts from their boards.
In his view, crypto has finally transformed into a mature macroeconomic asset that listens to the Federal Reserve rather than the miners' calendar.
At this point in the cycle, crypto skeptics would usually expect a deep plunge. The traditional theory predicted that Bitcoin would fall below $25,000 by autumn following last year's record high of $126,000. Instead, the coin is currently holding firmly near $65,800, down a relatively modest 48% from its peak by crypto-winter standards.
Bitcoin macro correlation chart (2012–2026), Source: GrayscalePandl therefore believes that, provided the U.S. economy remains resilient, the market bottom may already be behind us.
The foundation of this shift can be seen in macroeconomic charts from Bloomberg and Coin Metrics. Since 2014, Bitcoin's price bottoms have closely coincided not with supply reduction dates, but with declines in the ISM Manufacturing Index and peaks in U.S. two-year Treasury real yields.
The main event of the week is now the Federal Reserve meeting scheduled for July 28–29. Interest rates are currently being held at 3.50%–3.75%. If the regulator officially confirms a pause and rules out further increases, Bitcoin will receive a clear path toward growth, further cementing its status as the leading barometer of global liquidity.
'Black Thursday' for DeFi: Three crypto protocols hacked for $35.56 millionIt was a truly stormy morning for the decentralized finance market, as three projects were targeted by hackers one after another. AFX Trade, Verus Bridge and B² Network found themselves at the center of the exploits, with total losses reaching $35.56 million.
The hackers ruthlessly targeted the industry's main weak points: cross-chain bridge vulnerabilities and compromised administrative keys.
The largest blow hit the AFX Trade protocol on Arbitrum, where attackers drained $24.15 million in USDC stablecoins from its custodial bridge. The project team responded immediately by suspending operations, bringing cybersecurity heavyweights SlowMist and Zellic into the investigation and offering the hacker a deal.
The attacker will be allowed to keep 30% of the stolen amount as a legitimate bounty if the remaining 70% is returned.
On-chain message from AFX Trade to the hacker, Source: ArbiscanMeanwhile, the Verus–Ethereum cross-chain bridge has fallen into the same trap again, turning its exploits into an ongoing series. The hacker used an old repeated-import vulnerability, withdrew 3,816 ETH worth around $7.55 million and is already laundering the funds through the Tornado Cash mixer.
The irony is that the project was already exploited through a similar method in May. In July, the team triumphantly returned the recovered funds to the liquidity pools, only to suffer another identical exploit by July 23 after failing to fix the critical bug in the code.
This appears related to the previous Verus Ethereum Bridge incident in May 2026: same bridge contract, same entry path, and same bug class.
However, this is a new tx with a different attacker and loot wallet.https://t.co/FWGcnHJbzP
— Blockaid (@blockaid_) July 23, 2026 The L2 project B² Network on BNB Chain suffered the smallest loss of the three, although it was still substantial. Its staking contract was targeted, allowing attackers to steal $3.86 million before developers closed the vulnerability.
To the team's credit, it quickly contained the problem and immediately promised to fully compensate affected users from its own reserve funds.
While B² Network prepares the repayments and AFX waits for the hacker's response, the day has once again demonstrated that bridges remain the weakest link in crypto. Hackers have again proved that taking millions out of code is easier than attracting those millions in the first place, while users have once more been reminded who usually pays to close such holes.
Crypto market outlook: Bitcoin ETF inflow streak reaches $1 billion amid sovereign reserve formation and expansion in AsiaInstitutional capital is stabilizing the market, as a seven-day inflow streak into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs has brought in $1 billion, offsetting recent selling pressure.
While Bitcoin remains in a range just below the key technical barrier at $65,500, the long-term trend is shifting toward the nationalization of mining and the deeper integration of stablecoins into Asian payment ecosystems.
Key checkpoints:
ETF momentum accelerates: After a prolonged period of outflows, U.S. spot Bitcoin funds have recorded a seven-day green streak, bringing around $1 billion into the market, while BlackRock and Fidelity remained the traditional leaders.Bitcoin tests a technical reversal: The leading cryptocurrency is being squeezed into a narrowing range, trading at $65,495 after encountering a long-term descending trend line. The nearest support has formed at $63,800, while a break above the $67,433 point-of-control level is required to trigger an aggressive bullish scenario.BIP-110 faces rejection from miners: The controversial proposal to temporarily restrict the Ordinals and Runes protocols by imposing an 83-byte limit on the OP_RETURN field is losing its chances of success. Despite developers' attempts to clear blocks of spam, only 1.1% of miners have expressed support for the update, effectively eliminating the risk of a hard fork.State-backed mining takes root: Kazakhstan has officially introduced fixed electricity tariffs for licensed miners for 10 years in exchange for transferring part of the mined BTC to the central bank's national reserve. The country has joined El Salvador and Bhutan in pursuing a strategy of sovereign cryptocurrency accumulation.USDC enters Korean super apps: Stablecoin issuer Circle has signed agreements with technology giants Kakao Group and Toss to deploy blockchain-based settlements. The integration will provide more than 20 million active users in South Korea with legal access to digital assets.End of an era for a legendary derivatives exchange: BitMEX, which helped pioneer leveraged cryptocurrency trading in 2014, will completely cease operations on Sept. 23, 2026. The phased closure of positions will begin on Aug. 26. You Might Also Like
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has reignited the debate surrounding cross-border payment systems, claiming that XRP offers financial institutions exposure to less transaction risk than traditional SWIFT transfers. His comments followed renewed discussions on blockchain integration in established banking systems, particularly after SWIFT elaborated on its approach to upgrading its global network.
SWIFT’s evolving approach to blockchain integrationSWIFT, a leading global messaging network that enables secure and standardized financial transactions between over 11,500 institutions, recently discussed its blockchain strategy. Instead of creating an entirely new system, SWIFT aims to enhance its current infrastructure by introducing shared-ledger technology.
The organization has stated that this approach will allow the integration of tokenized settlement while maintaining the scale, resilience, and interoperability that characterize modern banking.
In response to SWIFT’s strategy, crypto researcher SMQKE shared a document in which Garlinghouse highlighted factors that contribute most to transactional risk in global payment systems.
Settlement time and volatility in cross-border paymentsGarlinghouse emphasized that the duration required for SWIFT transfers, which typically averages about three days or nearly 270,000 seconds, is a dominant source of risk. During this extended settlement period, institutions are exposed to unpredictability from foreign exchange fluctuations, liquidity demands, counterparty risk, and settlement uncertainty. These dynamics can result in costly hedging requirements.
FeatureSWIFT TransfersXRP LedgerAverage Settlement Time270,000 seconds (≈3 days)3–5 secondsVolatility RiskLow (long exposure period)High (brief exposure period)Need for HedgingOften requiredGenerally not requiredBy contrast, he pointed out that transactions on the XRP Ledger typically settle within a few seconds. Although XRP exhibits greater price volatility than most fiat currencies, the extremely short holding period used for settlement significantly reduces exposure to market risk. Accordingly, Garlinghouse claimed that the net transaction risk is lower with XRP than with fiat currencies over the standard SWIFT settlement window.
If you compare 270,000 seconds in a low-volatility asset to three or four seconds in a highly volatile asset like XRP, it turns out you’re taking less volatility risk with an XRP transaction than you are fiat.
He stated that since XRP is converted almost immediately into the destination currency, institutions can avoid many hedging costs traditionally required to manage risk during longer settlement windows.
With XRP, it’s happening so fast you don’t really need to hedge it because you’re in and out of it in a few seconds.
Two paths for the future of international paymentsThe comparison between Ripple and SWIFT highlights two strategies shaping the global payments sector. SWIFT is working to modernize its established banking infrastructure through tokenized settlement capabilities, while Ripple positions XRP as a native blockchain bridge asset, offering near-instant settlement without relying on pre-funded accounts.
Recent official Ripple documentation also showed that its payment systems can interoperate with SWIFT messaging formats, illustrating that traditional banking rails and blockchain-based solutions need not be mutually exclusive.
This approach suggests that the next generation of cross-border payments may combine the broad global reach of SWIFT with the real-time processing speeds provided by blockchain networks, potentially enabling faster and more efficient international transactions for financial institutions.
Mini dictionary: SWIFT – The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) is a global messaging network used by banks and financial institutions for securely transmitting information and instructions relating to financial transactions.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
XRP selling pressure is dwindling, suggesting bearish exhaustion, as prices sit at an extreme opportunity buy zone on the daily chart.
XRP has spent nearly a year moving through a deep corrective phase after reaching its cycle high in mid-July 2025. Looking at the chart structure today, recent price action suggests that the downtrend is approaching its final stages.
XRP Selling Pressure Has Faded Significantly Chart analysis suggests that XRP is no longer behaving like an asset trapped in a strong bearish trend. Instead, it appears to be building a base near historical levels for the next uptrend phase.
One of the notable confirmations of this is how selling pressure has declined through the ongoing corrective phase. Data shows that the most aggressive selling volume appeared immediately after XRP reached its all-time high of $3.66 on July 18, 2025.
The volume spike marked the beginning of the broader correction and reflected heavy distribution from market participants. However, recent market activity tells a very different story.
As XRP approached its lowest levels in years during the June 26 drop to $1.009, bearish trading volume had fallen dramatically. The peak bearish volume recorded was 421,000 XRP. Days before the June dip, the trading volume had dropped to 105,000 XRP, which is roughly four times lower than what was seen during the initial stages of the downtrend.
Notably, this shift matters because sustained selling pressure usually accompanies strong bear markets. In XRP’s case, the opposite is happening. Prices continued to make new lows while selling momentum declined substantially, signaling gradual exhaustion.
XRP at Extreme Opportunity Buy Zone Further analysis suggests that XRP completed the steepest part of its correction months ago. Since the July 2025 peak, the coin has traded within a falling wedge, persistently making lower highs and lower lows.
XRP Accumulation Zone However, since the broader crypto market crash in February, XRP has largely consolidated, reflecting a market that is no longer dominated by aggressive sellers. Price action has remained in a range, suggesting that the earlier distribution is nearing its completion.
At current levels, XRP has entered an extreme opportunity zone from a long-term perspective. Here the risk-to-reward ratio looks very appealing, with long-term holders already taking advantage of this rare chance to buy at a very low price.
It bears mentioning that the longer XRP spends consolidating around the current levels, the more significant the eventual breakout would be once momentum returns.
Possible Recovery Targets When momentum starts to return, the result could be notable for XRP. One of the possible recovery targets is the level around $3, a 165% increase from the current price of $1.135.
A sustained hold above this level opens the path for a 224% rally to retest the all-time high of $3.66. Notably, these are long-term targets and would require broader market recovery momentum to come to fruition.
Interestingly, XRP is not moving in isolation from the broader crypto market. Comparing its current structure with other major digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum shows similar signs that the bearish phase is nearly complete. This suggests the market is simply gearing up for the next breakout to higher levels.
DisClamier: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author's personal opinions and do not reflect The Crypto Basic opinion. Readers are encouraged to do thorough research before making any investment decisions. The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.
