Hyperliquid, a decentralized derivatives trading protocol, is seeing increased trading activity as its native token HYPE maintains a solid support level and network growth signals further potential. Recent data shows buyers are defending key price zones, while rising protocol fees highlight strengthening user engagement on the platform.
Price action and key support levelsHYPE is currently priced at $61.01, with a 24-hour trading volume of $235.1 million and a market capitalization of $15.43 billion. Over the previous 24 hours, the token gained 2.41%, which positions it for a possible bullish reversal. Market observers note the importance of HYPE holding above its main support, as sustained buying interest keeps the positive market structure intact despite recent consolidation.
According to Bitcoin Meraklisi, a well-followed cryptocurrency analyst, the critical $58 support serves as a crucial threshold for further bullish momentum. Holding this level is essential for the asset to pursue higher prices. If the price closes above the $74 resistance on higher timeframes, a bullish cup pattern could form, potentially pushing HYPE toward the $172 target. Failure to hold $58, however, may weaken the overall outlook and open the way for corrections.
Bitcoin Meraklisi emphasizes the significance of the $58 support, indicating that if HYPE remains above this level, there is room for a sustained upward move, while breaching it would likely lead to a loss of momentum.
Hyperliquid fee revenue surgesHyperliquid’s network has seen its daily protocol fee collection surge to $1.9 million, according to data compiled by blockchain research firm NSB Intel. This new milestone places Hyperliquid in sixth place among protocols that generate the highest daily fee revenue, surpassing competitors such as Canton in the process.
This surge in fee accrual is widely viewed as a positive sign for the protocol, pointing to greater user adoption and a notable increase in trading volumes on the platform.
Mini dictionary: Hyperliquid is a decentralized perpetual futures protocol that allows on-chain trading of cryptocurrency derivatives without the involvement of centralized intermediaries. The protocol’s growth is measured in part by fee revenue and user activity metrics.
ProtocolDaily Fee RevenueRankingHyperliquid$1.9 million6thCantonBelow $1.9 millionBelow 6thMarket sentiment and future outlookStronger trading volumes and higher protocol fee revenue have fueled optimism for HYPE’s continued growth. As bullish sentiment returns to the wider crypto market, reflected in upward movement in BTC, Hyperliquid investors are increasingly confident in the platform’s competitive position.
Technical analysts observe that, provided HYPE maintains critical support levels, the asset could test and potentially break above significant resistance barriers. If momentum holds, this move may accelerate gains and reinforce the token’s position within the decentralized finance landscape.
However, should HYPE lose its main support, analysts caution that the asset could see increased selling pressure and a price correction. Sustained network activity and fee generation remain important indicators for investor confidence and future price action.
Continued expansion in both trading activity and protocol revenue reflects the growing role of Hyperliquid in the decentralized finance sector, underscoring its strengthening market position relative to other DeFi platforms.
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.
ZHIPU posts a short-term plunge of over 17%; major long investors, who are nearly 300% underwater on their principal, continue adding positions to average down.
According to Hyperinsight monitoring, ZHIPU on Hyperliquid plummeted before Hong Kong stock market opening. Within about an hour, it hit a low of $120.7, down roughly 17%; the decline continued during Hong Kong trading hours. On the news front, ZHIPU completed the placement of 19.78 million new H shares on July 13. On July 17, Moonshot AI released the 2.8-trillion-parameter open-source model Kimi K3, intensifying market concerns over China’s large language model competitive landscape, leading ZHIPU’s Hong Kong-listed shares to drop 28.49% that day. No new company-specific negative news has been identified as of press time. The sharp price drop has further hit ZHIPU’s largest long position holder: a whale wallet starting with 0xddb. The whale currently holds 7,300 contracts with 10x isolated long leverage, with a position value of approximately $905,000, average entry price of $174.2, and liquidation price of around $78.3. It has an unrealized loss of about $367,000, a return rate of -288.2%, equivalent to 2.88 times its initial position cost of $127,000. The whale first opened a long position near $198.45 on the evening of July 6 and has not sold since; at 10:12 today, it added 409.1 contracts against the trend at $129.6. - HyperInsight Bot is now live. Add @HyperInsightBot to your Telegram group and set it as an admin (enable message sending permission) to automatically sync on-chain information.
10 minutes ago
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) will issue the Guidelines for the Construction of Computing Power Standard System, and promote the establishment of standards including market-based pricing for computing power.
The State Council Information Office held a press conference to brief on the development of industry and information technology in the first half of 2026. Xie Cun, spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and Director-General of the Department of Information and Communication Development, stated that over the past two years, more than 70 major computing power corridors have been built around national computing power hub nodes, with network performance between these hub nodes improved by 10%. The current explosive growth of large AI models and agent applications has driven a continuous rise in demand for intelligent computing power. Going forward, the MIIT will continue to follow the systematic work approach of "point, chain, network, dimension, and system" to optimize the deployment of computing infrastructure resources, build interconnected computing power nodes, and enhance the utilization efficiency of computing power resources. In terms of focusing on key points, the MIIT will optimize the deployment of computing power resource supply, coordinate factors such as industrial development and energy supply, promote the construction of intelligent computing clusters and the coordinated development of computing power and electricity, build a tiered computing power layout, and strengthen overall monitoring of computing power. Additionally, it will issue guidelines for the construction of a computing power standard system, and promote the establishment of standards including computing power service capability evaluation and market-based pricing for computing power.
10 minutes ago
Moody's: South Korea's economic growth may slow in the second quarter.
Moody's Analytics noted in a report that South Korea's second-quarter economic growth is likely to slow to 0.9% from 1.8% in the first quarter. Driven by an AI-fueled semiconductor boom, exports—especially semiconductor shipments—will again act as the key growth driver. South Korea's domestic demand is projected to stay weak, with consumption seeing only a marginal improvement. High energy costs have amplified inflationary pressures, while government measures can only partially ease the strain. South Korea's preliminary second-quarter GDP figure will be released on Thursday.
10 minutes ago
A South Korean trading platform triggered the KOSPI index circuit breaker, halting program trading for 5 minutes.
South Korean exchange KRX triggered the sidecar mechanism due to KOSPI index volatility, suspending program trading for approximately five minutes. The sidecar mechanism is designed to address sharp short-term fluctuations, restricting only program trading while manual trading remains normal. Unlike the circuit breaker mechanism, the sidecar does not halt entire market operations, functioning more like a "speed bump" during periods of market volatility. By contrast, circuit breakers are typically used in extreme market scenarios, suspending all trading across the market when triggered to prevent panic-driven volatility from escalating further.
10 minutes ago
Citigroup downgraded its rating for the South Korean stock market to "Neutral".
Citigroup has adjusted its rating on South Korean stocks from "overweight" to "neutral" amid sharp volatility in chip stocks over recent weeks, as the bank seeks to reduce its exposure to artificial intelligence (AI) themed investments. A poster child for the global AI trading frenzy, South Korea’s KOSPI index has become the world’s best-performing stock market this year. However, in recent weeks, the market has faced sharp swings due to retail investors’ enthusiasm for single-stock leveraged ETFs and valuation concerns. Citigroup remains structurally bullish on the AI sector’s outlook, but has shifted its stance on the South Korean market to neutral.
10 minutes ago
SK Hynix experienced sharp price swings that trapped three newly entered whales, with the latest buyer chasing the rally only $60 away from liquidation.
According to Hyperinsight monitoring, SK Hynix (SKHX) on Hyperliquid saw sharp volatility after opening this morning. The token opened at $1168.1, surged to a high of $1270.1 within half an hour, marking an ~8.7% gain, before quickly pulling back. At 9:55 a.m., it hit a low of $1185.3, down ~6.7% from its peak. During this swing, three whales sequentially opened long positions on SKHX, holding a total of 11,620.674 contracts worth roughly $14.036 million. Based on SK Hynix’s current quoted price of $1198, all three long positions are now underwater: - Whale starting with 0xf4b: New long position with 10x leverage, holding ~$2.715 million, average entry price of $1210.6, unrealized loss of ~$9,000, liquidation price of $1130.4. - Whale starting with 0x564: New long position with 10x leverage, holding ~$4.918 million, average entry price of $1238.9, unrealized loss of ~$125,000, liquidation price of $851.5. - Whale starting with 0x2ab: Converted from a short position to long and continued adding to longs, with 10x leverage, holding ~$6.403 million, average entry price of $1212.8, unrealized loss of ~$25,000, liquidation price of $650.3. Notably, the 0xf4b whale is closest to liquidation. When SKHX dipped to $1185.3 intraday, the gap between its entry price and liquidation price narrowed to just ~$54.9; as the price rebounded to $1298, the gap has since widened to ~$68.
ZHIPU posts a short-term plunge of over 17%; major long investors, who are nearly 300% underwater on their principal, continue adding positions to average down.
According to Hyperinsight monitoring, ZHIPU on Hyperliquid plummeted before Hong Kong stock market opening. Within about an hour, it hit a low of $120.7, down roughly 17%; the decline continued during Hong Kong trading hours. On the news front, ZHIPU completed the placement of 19.78 million new H shares on July 13. On July 17, Moonshot AI released the 2.8-trillion-parameter open-source model Kimi K3, intensifying market concerns over China’s large language model competitive landscape, leading ZHIPU’s Hong Kong-listed shares to drop 28.49% that day. No new company-specific negative news has been identified as of press time. The sharp price drop has further hit ZHIPU’s largest long position holder: a whale wallet starting with 0xddb. The whale currently holds 7,300 contracts with 10x isolated long leverage, with a position value of approximately $905,000, average entry price of $174.2, and liquidation price of around $78.3. It has an unrealized loss of about $367,000, a return rate of -288.2%, equivalent to 2.88 times its initial position cost of $127,000. The whale first opened a long position near $198.45 on the evening of July 6 and has not sold since; at 10:12 today, it added 409.1 contracts against the trend at $129.6. - HyperInsight Bot is now live. Add @HyperInsightBot to your Telegram group and set it as an admin (enable message sending permission) to automatically sync on-chain information.
10 minutes ago
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) will issue the Guidelines for the Construction of Computing Power Standard System, and promote the establishment of standards including market-based pricing for computing power.
The State Council Information Office held a press conference to brief on the development of industry and information technology in the first half of 2026. Xie Cun, spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and Director-General of the Department of Information and Communication Development, stated that over the past two years, more than 70 major computing power corridors have been built around national computing power hub nodes, with network performance between these hub nodes improved by 10%. The current explosive growth of large AI models and agent applications has driven a continuous rise in demand for intelligent computing power. Going forward, the MIIT will continue to follow the systematic work approach of "point, chain, network, dimension, and system" to optimize the deployment of computing infrastructure resources, build interconnected computing power nodes, and enhance the utilization efficiency of computing power resources. In terms of focusing on key points, the MIIT will optimize the deployment of computing power resource supply, coordinate factors such as industrial development and energy supply, promote the construction of intelligent computing clusters and the coordinated development of computing power and electricity, build a tiered computing power layout, and strengthen overall monitoring of computing power. Additionally, it will issue guidelines for the construction of a computing power standard system, and promote the establishment of standards including computing power service capability evaluation and market-based pricing for computing power.
10 minutes ago
Moody's: South Korea's economic growth may slow in the second quarter.
Moody's Analytics noted in a report that South Korea's second-quarter economic growth is likely to slow to 0.9% from 1.8% in the first quarter. Driven by an AI-fueled semiconductor boom, exports—especially semiconductor shipments—will again act as the key growth driver. South Korea's domestic demand is projected to stay weak, with consumption seeing only a marginal improvement. High energy costs have amplified inflationary pressures, while government measures can only partially ease the strain. South Korea's preliminary second-quarter GDP figure will be released on Thursday.
10 minutes ago
A South Korean trading platform triggered the KOSPI index circuit breaker, halting program trading for 5 minutes.
South Korean exchange KRX triggered the sidecar mechanism due to KOSPI index volatility, suspending program trading for approximately five minutes. The sidecar mechanism is designed to address sharp short-term fluctuations, restricting only program trading while manual trading remains normal. Unlike the circuit breaker mechanism, the sidecar does not halt entire market operations, functioning more like a "speed bump" during periods of market volatility. By contrast, circuit breakers are typically used in extreme market scenarios, suspending all trading across the market when triggered to prevent panic-driven volatility from escalating further.
10 minutes ago
Citigroup downgraded its rating for the South Korean stock market to "Neutral".
Citigroup has adjusted its rating on South Korean stocks from "overweight" to "neutral" amid sharp volatility in chip stocks over recent weeks, as the bank seeks to reduce its exposure to artificial intelligence (AI) themed investments. A poster child for the global AI trading frenzy, South Korea’s KOSPI index has become the world’s best-performing stock market this year. However, in recent weeks, the market has faced sharp swings due to retail investors’ enthusiasm for single-stock leveraged ETFs and valuation concerns. Citigroup remains structurally bullish on the AI sector’s outlook, but has shifted its stance on the South Korean market to neutral.
10 minutes ago
SK Hynix experienced sharp price swings that trapped three newly entered whales, with the latest buyer chasing the rally only $60 away from liquidation.
According to Hyperinsight monitoring, SK Hynix (SKHX) on Hyperliquid saw sharp volatility after opening this morning. The token opened at $1168.1, surged to a high of $1270.1 within half an hour, marking an ~8.7% gain, before quickly pulling back. At 9:55 a.m., it hit a low of $1185.3, down ~6.7% from its peak. During this swing, three whales sequentially opened long positions on SKHX, holding a total of 11,620.674 contracts worth roughly $14.036 million. Based on SK Hynix’s current quoted price of $1198, all three long positions are now underwater: - Whale starting with 0xf4b: New long position with 10x leverage, holding ~$2.715 million, average entry price of $1210.6, unrealized loss of ~$9,000, liquidation price of $1130.4. - Whale starting with 0x564: New long position with 10x leverage, holding ~$4.918 million, average entry price of $1238.9, unrealized loss of ~$125,000, liquidation price of $851.5. - Whale starting with 0x2ab: Converted from a short position to long and continued adding to longs, with 10x leverage, holding ~$6.403 million, average entry price of $1212.8, unrealized loss of ~$25,000, liquidation price of $650.3. Notably, the 0xf4b whale is closest to liquidation. When SKHX dipped to $1185.3 intraday, the gap between its entry price and liquidation price narrowed to just ~$54.9; as the price rebounded to $1298, the gap has since widened to ~$68.
ZHIPU posts a short-term plunge of over 17%; major long investors, who are nearly 300% underwater on their principal, continue adding positions to average down.
According to Hyperinsight monitoring, ZHIPU on Hyperliquid plummeted before Hong Kong stock market opening. Within about an hour, it hit a low of $120.7, down roughly 17%; the decline continued during Hong Kong trading hours. On the news front, ZHIPU completed the placement of 19.78 million new H shares on July 13. On July 17, Moonshot AI released the 2.8-trillion-parameter open-source model Kimi K3, intensifying market concerns over China’s large language model competitive landscape, leading ZHIPU’s Hong Kong-listed shares to drop 28.49% that day. No new company-specific negative news has been identified as of press time. The sharp price drop has further hit ZHIPU’s largest long position holder: a whale wallet starting with 0xddb. The whale currently holds 7,300 contracts with 10x isolated long leverage, with a position value of approximately $905,000, average entry price of $174.2, and liquidation price of around $78.3. It has an unrealized loss of about $367,000, a return rate of -288.2%, equivalent to 2.88 times its initial position cost of $127,000. The whale first opened a long position near $198.45 on the evening of July 6 and has not sold since; at 10:12 today, it added 409.1 contracts against the trend at $129.6. - HyperInsight Bot is now live. Add @HyperInsightBot to your Telegram group and set it as an admin (enable message sending permission) to automatically sync on-chain information.
10 minutes ago
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) will issue the Guidelines for the Construction of Computing Power Standard System, and promote the establishment of standards including market-based pricing for computing power.
The State Council Information Office held a press conference to brief on the development of industry and information technology in the first half of 2026. Xie Cun, spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and Director-General of the Department of Information and Communication Development, stated that over the past two years, more than 70 major computing power corridors have been built around national computing power hub nodes, with network performance between these hub nodes improved by 10%. The current explosive growth of large AI models and agent applications has driven a continuous rise in demand for intelligent computing power. Going forward, the MIIT will continue to follow the systematic work approach of "point, chain, network, dimension, and system" to optimize the deployment of computing infrastructure resources, build interconnected computing power nodes, and enhance the utilization efficiency of computing power resources. In terms of focusing on key points, the MIIT will optimize the deployment of computing power resource supply, coordinate factors such as industrial development and energy supply, promote the construction of intelligent computing clusters and the coordinated development of computing power and electricity, build a tiered computing power layout, and strengthen overall monitoring of computing power. Additionally, it will issue guidelines for the construction of a computing power standard system, and promote the establishment of standards including computing power service capability evaluation and market-based pricing for computing power.
10 minutes ago
Moody's: South Korea's economic growth may slow in the second quarter.
Moody's Analytics noted in a report that South Korea's second-quarter economic growth is likely to slow to 0.9% from 1.8% in the first quarter. Driven by an AI-fueled semiconductor boom, exports—especially semiconductor shipments—will again act as the key growth driver. South Korea's domestic demand is projected to stay weak, with consumption seeing only a marginal improvement. High energy costs have amplified inflationary pressures, while government measures can only partially ease the strain. South Korea's preliminary second-quarter GDP figure will be released on Thursday.
10 minutes ago
A South Korean trading platform triggered the KOSPI index circuit breaker, halting program trading for 5 minutes.
South Korean exchange KRX triggered the sidecar mechanism due to KOSPI index volatility, suspending program trading for approximately five minutes. The sidecar mechanism is designed to address sharp short-term fluctuations, restricting only program trading while manual trading remains normal. Unlike the circuit breaker mechanism, the sidecar does not halt entire market operations, functioning more like a "speed bump" during periods of market volatility. By contrast, circuit breakers are typically used in extreme market scenarios, suspending all trading across the market when triggered to prevent panic-driven volatility from escalating further.
10 minutes ago
Citigroup downgraded its rating for the South Korean stock market to "Neutral".
Citigroup has adjusted its rating on South Korean stocks from "overweight" to "neutral" amid sharp volatility in chip stocks over recent weeks, as the bank seeks to reduce its exposure to artificial intelligence (AI) themed investments. A poster child for the global AI trading frenzy, South Korea’s KOSPI index has become the world’s best-performing stock market this year. However, in recent weeks, the market has faced sharp swings due to retail investors’ enthusiasm for single-stock leveraged ETFs and valuation concerns. Citigroup remains structurally bullish on the AI sector’s outlook, but has shifted its stance on the South Korean market to neutral.
10 minutes ago
Whale Alert: A single whale holds a long BTC position worth $107 million, now the largest BTC bull.
According to Hyperinsight monitoring, a 40x-leveraged whale (0x66f) accumulated a long position of 1,662.50 BTC between last night and early this morning, with the position valued at approximately $107 million, marking the address’s only current holding. Its average entry price is $63,958.4, generating an unrealized profit of $926,900 and a return of around 34.87%, while its liquidation price stands at $63,143.1. Over the past seven days, this whale has opened a total of 1,882.87 BTC in long positions, with a trading volume of roughly $121 million for these longs; at 7:12 AM today, it added 2.04 BTC to its long position at $64,700, making it the largest BTC long holder on Hyperliquid.
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) will issue the Guidelines for the Construction of Computing Power Standard System, and promote the establishment of standards including market-based pricing for computing power.
The State Council Information Office held a press conference to brief on the development of industry and information technology in the first half of 2026. Xie Cun, spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and Director-General of the Department of Information and Communication Development, stated that over the past two years, more than 70 major computing power corridors have been built around national computing power hub nodes, with network performance between these hub nodes improved by 10%. The current explosive growth of large AI models and agent applications has driven a continuous rise in demand for intelligent computing power. Going forward, the MIIT will continue to follow the systematic work approach of "point, chain, network, dimension, and system" to optimize the deployment of computing infrastructure resources, build interconnected computing power nodes, and enhance the utilization efficiency of computing power resources. In terms of focusing on key points, the MIIT will optimize the deployment of computing power resource supply, coordinate factors such as industrial development and energy supply, promote the construction of intelligent computing clusters and the coordinated development of computing power and electricity, build a tiered computing power layout, and strengthen overall monitoring of computing power. Additionally, it will issue guidelines for the construction of a computing power standard system, and promote the establishment of standards including computing power service capability evaluation and market-based pricing for computing power.
10 minutes ago
Moody's: South Korea's economic growth may slow in the second quarter.
Moody's Analytics noted in a report that South Korea's second-quarter economic growth is likely to slow to 0.9% from 1.8% in the first quarter. Driven by an AI-fueled semiconductor boom, exports—especially semiconductor shipments—will again act as the key growth driver. South Korea's domestic demand is projected to stay weak, with consumption seeing only a marginal improvement. High energy costs have amplified inflationary pressures, while government measures can only partially ease the strain. South Korea's preliminary second-quarter GDP figure will be released on Thursday.
10 minutes ago
A South Korean trading platform triggered the KOSPI index circuit breaker, halting program trading for 5 minutes.
South Korean exchange KRX triggered the sidecar mechanism due to KOSPI index volatility, suspending program trading for approximately five minutes. The sidecar mechanism is designed to address sharp short-term fluctuations, restricting only program trading while manual trading remains normal. Unlike the circuit breaker mechanism, the sidecar does not halt entire market operations, functioning more like a "speed bump" during periods of market volatility. By contrast, circuit breakers are typically used in extreme market scenarios, suspending all trading across the market when triggered to prevent panic-driven volatility from escalating further.
10 minutes ago
Citigroup downgraded its rating for the South Korean stock market to "Neutral".
Citigroup has adjusted its rating on South Korean stocks from "overweight" to "neutral" amid sharp volatility in chip stocks over recent weeks, as the bank seeks to reduce its exposure to artificial intelligence (AI) themed investments. A poster child for the global AI trading frenzy, South Korea’s KOSPI index has become the world’s best-performing stock market this year. However, in recent weeks, the market has faced sharp swings due to retail investors’ enthusiasm for single-stock leveraged ETFs and valuation concerns. Citigroup remains structurally bullish on the AI sector’s outlook, but has shifted its stance on the South Korean market to neutral.
10 minutes ago
SK Hynix experienced sharp price swings that trapped three newly entered whales, with the latest buyer chasing the rally only $60 away from liquidation.
According to Hyperinsight monitoring, SK Hynix (SKHX) on Hyperliquid saw sharp volatility after opening this morning. The token opened at $1168.1, surged to a high of $1270.1 within half an hour, marking an ~8.7% gain, before quickly pulling back. At 9:55 a.m., it hit a low of $1185.3, down ~6.7% from its peak. During this swing, three whales sequentially opened long positions on SKHX, holding a total of 11,620.674 contracts worth roughly $14.036 million. Based on SK Hynix’s current quoted price of $1198, all three long positions are now underwater: - Whale starting with 0xf4b: New long position with 10x leverage, holding ~$2.715 million, average entry price of $1210.6, unrealized loss of ~$9,000, liquidation price of $1130.4. - Whale starting with 0x564: New long position with 10x leverage, holding ~$4.918 million, average entry price of $1238.9, unrealized loss of ~$125,000, liquidation price of $851.5. - Whale starting with 0x2ab: Converted from a short position to long and continued adding to longs, with 10x leverage, holding ~$6.403 million, average entry price of $1212.8, unrealized loss of ~$25,000, liquidation price of $650.3. Notably, the 0xf4b whale is closest to liquidation. When SKHX dipped to $1185.3 intraday, the gap between its entry price and liquidation price narrowed to just ~$54.9; as the price rebounded to $1298, the gap has since widened to ~$68.
10 minutes ago
Whale Alert: A single whale holds a long BTC position worth $107 million, now the largest BTC bull.
According to Hyperinsight monitoring, a 40x-leveraged whale (0x66f) accumulated a long position of 1,662.50 BTC between last night and early this morning, with the position valued at approximately $107 million, marking the address’s only current holding. Its average entry price is $63,958.4, generating an unrealized profit of $926,900 and a return of around 34.87%, while its liquidation price stands at $63,143.1. Over the past seven days, this whale has opened a total of 1,882.87 BTC in long positions, with a trading volume of roughly $121 million for these longs; at 7:12 AM today, it added 2.04 BTC to its long position at $64,700, making it the largest BTC long holder on Hyperliquid.
Binance and Bybit lost nearly $2.3 billion in stablecoin reserves over the past 30 days. Binance recorded approximately $1.55 billion in outflows, while Bybit lost around $786 million. Declining stablecoin reserves suggest weaker incoming liquidity and reduced buying power. Bitcoin’s inability to sustain moves above key levels is being linked to a lack of fresh market capital. A recovery in stablecoin inflows could become an important catalyst for renewed crypto market momentum. Bitcoin’s prolonged struggle to escape its current consolidation range is being accompanied by a worrying trend in exchange liquidity, with billions of dollars in stablecoins leaving major trading platforms.
Data from CryptoQuant shows that stablecoin reserves across exchanges have continued declining, signaling that investors are pulling capital away from centralized platforms rather than preparing for increased exposure to digital assets.
The latest figures show Binance and Bybit recorded combined stablecoin outflows of nearly $2.3 billion over the past 30 days. Binance experienced the largest decline, losing approximately $1.55 billion in stablecoin reserves, while Bybit saw around $786 million leave its platform.
The sharp reduction in available stablecoin liquidity comes as Bitcoin remains trapped below key resistance levels, with the market struggling to attract the fresh capital needed for a sustained breakout.
Binance Stablecoin Reserves Point to Falling Market Liquidity Table of Contents
Binance Stablecoin Reserves Point to Falling Market LiquidityBitcoin Faces Liquidity Problem Despite Holding Key LevelsBinance and Bybit Lead Exchange Stablecoin ExodusWeak Demand Keeps Crypto Market Sentiment Fragile Stablecoins such as USDT and USDC are often viewed as the primary source of liquidity within crypto markets. Traders typically move stablecoins onto exchanges when preparing to buy assets, making exchange reserves an important indicator of potential purchasing power.
When reserves rise, it can suggest that investors are positioning themselves for market exposure. However, declining reserves often indicate that capital is being withdrawn, either into private wallets, alternative investments, or out of crypto entirely.
The recent decline across major exchanges suggests that demand for immediate crypto exposure remains limited.
According to CryptoQuant’s data, the broader exchange stablecoin reserve trend has been negative since the beginning of the year, with outflows consistently outweighing inflows.
The chart shows that after periods of strong stablecoin accumulation during previous market rallies, exchange reserves have shifted into a prolonged contraction phase, particularly heading into 2026.
Bitcoin Faces Liquidity Problem Despite Holding Key Levels Bitcoin has spent nearly 165 days testing the $60,000 region, with attempts to regain stronger upside momentum failing to produce a decisive breakout.
Although BTC briefly moved above $80,000 in May, the rally lost momentum as buyers failed to maintain sufficient demand pressure.
Market analysts have increasingly pointed toward liquidity conditions as one of the major factors limiting Bitcoin’s upside potential.
Unlike previous bullish cycles where increasing stablecoin reserves provided additional buying power, the current environment reflects cautious positioning among investors.
The lack of fresh stablecoin inflows means exchanges have fewer readily available funds from traders looking to accumulate Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.
This creates a difficult environment where even positive catalysts may struggle to generate sustained price movements without renewed capital entering the market.
Binance and Bybit Lead Exchange Stablecoin Exodus Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has seen one of the most significant reductions in stablecoin reserves.
A $1.55 billion decline over 30 days represents a substantial withdrawal of available trading liquidity. Meanwhile, Bybit’s $786 million decline highlights that the trend is not isolated to a single platform.
Combined, the two exchanges have lost close to $2.3 billion in stablecoins, suggesting a broader shift in investor behavior.
Rather than keeping capital available on exchanges, many market participants appear to be moving funds into self-custody wallets or reducing their exposure to crypto markets.
This behavior typically reflects a more defensive market environment where investors are waiting for clearer signals before committing additional capital.
Weak Demand Keeps Crypto Market Sentiment Fragile The stablecoin outflow trend adds to other signs of cautious positioning across the cryptocurrency market.
Bitcoin’s inability to establish a strong breakout above major resistance levels has reduced confidence among traders, while declining liquidity has made it harder for buyers to create meaningful upward momentum.
Lower exchange reserves do not necessarily indicate a bearish long-term outlook. In some cases, withdrawals can represent investors moving assets into long-term storage rather than selling.
However, the timing of the decline suggests that immediate market demand remains weak.
For Bitcoin to regain a stronger bullish structure, analysts believe the market will likely need renewed liquidity injections, whether through institutional demand, retail participation, or increased stablecoin deployment. The current liquidity environment highlights one of the biggest challenges facing Bitcoin’s next potential move higher.
While institutional adoption, spot Bitcoin ETFs, and broader regulatory developments continue shaping the industry, price momentum ultimately depends on available capital entering the market.
For now, declining stablecoin reserves indicate that investors remain cautious, limiting the buying pressure required for Bitcoin to break decisively out of its long consolidation phase.
Until exchange liquidity begins recovering, Bitcoin may continue facing resistance as the market waits for fresh demand to return.
New blockchain data shows that the connection between Bitcoin and the wider altcoin market has weakened sharply in recent weeks. However, industry analysts caution that this trend does not guarantee the start of an altcoin season or a broad market uptrend for alternative cryptocurrencies.
Altcoin-Bitcoin correlation falls to recent lowsSouth Korea-based blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant has reported that the 14-day average correlation score between Bitcoin and major altcoins now stands between 0.26 and 0.27. This marks one of the lowest readings for 2024. A correlation close to 1.0 means that assets usually move together, while a lower score reflects greater independence between their price moves.
The latest data indicates a notable break from the high-correlation trends often seen during periods of synchronized crypto market rallies. CryptoQuant’s chart suggests that a similar dip occurred in early May, when Bitcoin and altcoins briefly traded out of sync before reverting to more classic market behavior.
Analysts from CryptoQuant stated that while low correlation triggers discussions about potential altcoin rallies, the current numbers actually illustrate growing market dispersion, not broad-based strength among alternative assets.
Instead of moving in tandem, altcoins have started to show more individualized price action, with only select tokens drawing significant investor interest.
Mini dictionary: CryptoQuant, a blockchain data analytics company, specializes in on-chain metrics and market insights for digital assets including Bitcoin and altcoins.
Selective capital flows highlight fragmented marketHistorically, major cryptocurrency bull runs have lifted most digital assets at the same time as traders rushed into the sector. But as uptrends mature, leadership tends to narrow, with capital concentrating in a handful of outperforming projects while many other altcoins lag.
Analysts interpret the declining correlation as a reflection of this fragmented dynamic. Rather than displaying a unified uptrend, most altcoins now move independently, with fewer tokens catching meaningful inflows.
This selective momentum suggests that institutional and experienced investors are increasingly focused on specific projects that have strong fundamentals, clearer regulatory standing, or growing adoption in the real world.
Such fragmentation has become more visible as sophisticated investors express greater preference for a small group of altcoins, leaving the majority underperforming or moving sideways.
Bitcoin continues to anchor market directionWhile Bitcoin’s influence on the broader digital asset market has waned slightly, the leading cryptocurrency still remains the main trend-setter. Over the past several weeks, Bitcoin has benefited from a return of net inflows into US spot ETFs, a return to risk appetite among institutional investors, and steady accumulation by large holders.
At the same time, on-exchange BTC reserves remain low, which analysts take as a sign that long-term investors continue to hold their positions rather than selling for short-term gains.
Despite the current period of low correlation, analysts warn that this environment could swiftly reverse if Bitcoin experiences notable price swings. In the event of a significant pullback, correlations with altcoins are expected to climb as investors reduce risk exposure across the crypto sector.
Dispersion replaces broad-based ralliesPeriods of low Bitcoin-altcoin correlation typically coincide with increased price dispersion, where just a handful of projects outperform while others stagnate or underperform. For traders and fund managers, this puts greater emphasis on selecting winners rather than relying on general market exposure.
Analysts caution that as long as Bitcoin maintains steady growth and market participation remains concentrated on select altcoins, current conditions are unlikely to produce a broad-based altcoin rally.
However, should Bitcoin experience renewed volatility or begin declining, market correlations could quickly rise again as risk aversion spreads throughout the digital asset market.
For now, CryptoQuant’s data points to a fragmented market characterized by narrow leadership, not confirmed across-the-board altcoin strength. Low correlation may persist, but investors are advised to stay selective in navigating the current crypto landscape.
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.
Strategy introduced its Digital Credit Capital Framework, boosting its U.S. dollar reserve target to roughly $3 billion.
American business intelligence firm Strategy has bolstered its financial position by addressing liquidity concerns raised earlier this year. In a July 14 follow-up, the on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant said the company’s new capital framework has eased short-term financial pressure. The firm, however, noted that questions remain about Strategy’s long-term Bitcoin strategy.
The update follows CryptoQuant’s June 23 assessment, which warned that Strategy’s cash reserves were shrinking even as Bitcoin purchases continued. At the time, analysts estimated the company had enough liquidity to cover preferred dividend obligations for only about 14 months without additional funding.
Strategy Rolls Out New Capital Framework To address those concerns, Strategy introduced its Digital Credit Capital Framework on June 29 to strengthen its financial flexibility. The plan established a board-approved U.S. dollar reserve policy that initially targeted about $2.55 billion before later raising the goal to roughly $3 billion.
The framework also raised the STRC dividend rate to 12% and approved up to $1 billion each for preferred securities issuance and MSTR share repurchases. It also introduced a Bitcoin Monetization Program, allowing the company to sell up to $1.25 billion in Bitcoin to support reserves and funding needs.
The on-chain analytics firm said the measures are closely aligned with recommendations made in its earlier report. Strategy also paused additional Bitcoin purchases and sold 3,588 BTC worth about $216 million between June 29 and July 5. It further raised $466.7 million through its MSTR at-the-market share offering.
As a result, cash reserves rose from roughly $1.44 billion to about $3 billion, extending estimated dividend coverage to around 29 months. During the same period, Strategy maintained its Bitcoin holdings at approximately 843,775 BTC by suspending further accumulation.
Questions Over Future Bitcoin Management Remain According to CryptoQuant, the market has responded positively to the stronger liquidity position, although some uncertainty remains. STRC recovered from a June low near $75 to around $88 but continued trading below its stated value of $100.
You may also like: Buy or Sell? What Michael Saylor’s Cryptic New Tweet Means for Bitcoin What Happens to Bitcoin if the Fed Raises Rates in July? Bitcoin’s Coinbase Premium Has Been Negative for 60 Days – Why It Matters Even so, analysts said the framework does not explain when Bitcoin purchases could resume after the recent pause. They also said the Bitcoin Monetization Program prioritizes dividends, reserves, and share repurchases without defining a clear Bitcoin trading strategy.
For years, Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin [BTC] strategy looked nearly impossible to challenge. Every capital raise financed another Bitcoin purchase. Every rally reinforced the model. Shareholder dilution also seemed justified because the corporate treasury kept expanding.
Yet, success gradually introduced a different challenge. The financial engine behind the relentless accumulation is now demanding more from the treasury it was built to grow. At press time, Strategy held 843,775 BTC, worth about $54.5 billion. This milestone comes after adding 171,278 BTC this year.
Source: Bitcoin Treasuries However, those holdings carry a $63.69 billion cost basis, with an average purchase price of $75,482. That gap has shifted attention from accumulation toward the sustainability of the model. Reflecting that transition, the recent sale of 3,588 BTC was used to support STRC dividends and strengthen $3 billion in cash reserves.
That said, the real question remains. Can Bitcoin‘s future appreciation continue offsetting dilution, financing costs, and an increasingly self-dependent capital structure?
The engine behind Strategy Dependence on the rising price of Bitcoin is no accident; it has been the foundation of Strategy’s accumulation engine since day one.
Meanwhile, the Market to Net Asset Value (mNAV) has slipped to just 1.03x. The metric gauges how the market values a Digital Asset Treasury (DAT). Previously, it spiked as high as 2.51x, but the sharp decline has eroded the premium that once made equity issuances highly accretive.
Rather than relying on operating cash flow, the company depended on maintaining an enterprise mNAV above 1, allowing it to issue shares at a premium and recycle fresh capital into Bitcoin purchases.
For years, that formula worked remarkably well in favor of the DAT. As mNAV climbed to 3.89x, Strategy raised $25.3 billion during 2025 and accelerated its treasury expansion without materially weakening shareholder exposure. However, currently, the math has changed.
Source: Strategy Therefore, Strategy will likely have to shift its focus away from adding to its Bitcoin holdings and toward creating flexibility within its balance sheet. Still, not everyone views the recent pressure as evidence that the model is failing.
Lead Information Compliance Assurance Manager at SpaceX, Vincent Peters, observed,
People often confuse volatility with failure. Bitcoin has experienced extraordinary appreciation punctuated by significant corrections.
He added that while those corrections create headlines, they “don’t necessarily invalidate a long-term strategy.” Unless Bitcoin regains sustained upward momentum, rebuilding the premium may prove more important than acquiring the next Bitcoin.
The per-share challenge That changing reality is also reshaping how Strategy measures success. The company was never trying to own more Bitcoin for the sake of it. Instead, the objective was to ensure every shareholder owned more Bitcoin over time. Such a distinction made BTC Yield and Bitcoin per share the clearest measures of whether the model was truly creating value. For several years, the model delivered on that promise.
BTC yield reached 9.4% in early 2026, while Bitcoin per share climbed to 207,776 satoshi (sats), supported by 171,278 BTC in net accumulation. Yet, the BTC yield has fallen off slightly, hovering around 6.6% as of press time. Although the flywheel has slowed down considerably, that same slowdown has started to impact how well Strategy is performing, according to those same metrics.
As enterprise mNAV compressed toward 1.03x, each new share issued generated less incremental Bitcoin ownership than before.
Source: Strategy More importantly, investors are no longer watching Strategy solely for the size of its Bitcoin treasury. They are watching whether it can continue funding future purchases. That debate has also attracted criticism from longtime Bitcoin skeptic Peter Schiff, who questioned Strategy’s capital allocation. He argued,
The model needlessly destroyed shareholder value by selling discounted MSTR shares instead of Bitcoin.
That shift matters. Rather than being simply the largest owner of Bitcoin, Strategy has become a proxy indicator for institutional demand for Bitcoin.
Therefore, the debate is moving beyond treasury growth alone, with the focus now on whether Strategy can maintain investor confidence in its ability to generate shareholder wealth over the long term by continuing to fund future purchases.
The cost of conviction Building the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin treasury has given Strategy its greatest financial burden. That trade-off is becoming harder to ignore as Strategy’s capital structure grows more complex.
The DAT has approximately $1.76 billion annually in Stretch (STRC) dividend obligations. In addition to those, it also has convertible notes and continuing equity financing. Meanwhile, its software business generates only about $500 million in annual revenue.
Source: Strategy Therefore, there exists a large funding gap. This funding gap explains why, currently, capital markets are equally important to the price of Strategy’s Bitcoin.
As Andrew Bahlmann, founder of Deal Leaders International, noted,
Having conviction with respect to an asset does not equate to having confidence in the ability to finance it.
He added that lenders ultimately favor collateral that remains stable across market cycles rather than assets whose value fluctuates sharply.
Strategy has approximately $2.5 to $3 billion in cash reserves. Therefore, it retains some financial flexibility. Still, prolonged mNAV compression may limit access to accretive capital. This would increase reliance upon reserves or selective sales of the Strategy’s Bitcoin to meet obligations. As such, this challenge is evident when compared to peers.
Metaplanet continues to expand through lower-cost yen-denominated financing. This is by accepting currency risk in exchange for cheaper capital despite mNAV near 0.92x. In contrast, Semler Scientific has adopted a more conservative approach, relying on lower issuance and minimal preferred obligations.
Source: Bitcoin Treasuries Strategy still commands unmatched scale with 843,775 BTC, yet its funding model is also the most demanding. The comparison highlights a growing trade-off across Bitcoin treasury companies.
All in all, aggressive accumulation can accelerate growth, but resilient capital structures ultimately determine how well that growth survives prolonged market stress.
Final Summary Bitcoin accumulation alone no longer guarantees Strategy’s long-term success. BTC treasury growth now hinges on sustainable capital, not just larger holdings.
Bitcoin’s oldest vulnerability didn’t disappear when the network grew into a trillion-dollar asset. The risk that quantum computers could one day forge digital signatures and steal coins from exposed addresses has lingered since the beginning. Now a group called Project Eleven has funded a proof-of-concept that offers a recovery path—but only for wallets that use a specific key derivation structure. And the most famous stash on the network doesn’t qualify.
According to the original report, the proof runs in 243 milliseconds on a laptop. It leverages the wallet’s own key-derivation path—the hierarchical deterministic (HD) path defined in BIP32—to assert ownership after a quantum attacker has forged the corresponding signatures. The concept, funded by Project Eleven, aims to give users a way to reclaim coins trapped in addresses once their public keys become exposed on-chain.
The tension between progress and protection has always been asymmetric in Bitcoin. A quantum-capable adversary wouldn’t need to break the entire network; they could simply target any address whose public key is visible. That includes practically all spent-from addresses in pay-to-public-key-hash (P2PKH) and, critically, the early pay-to-public-key (P2PK) outputs that still hold a significant number of coins—including the roughly 1.1 million BTC attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto.
The Derivation Path Fix Modern HD wallets generate keys deterministically from a master seed, following a structured path such as m/44′/0′/0′/0/0. That path becomes an alternative credential: if you can prove you know the path and the master seed, you can reassert control over coins even if the original public key was compromised. In essence, the path acts as a second authentication factor. The proof-of-concept demonstrates that this credential can be used to construct a valid transaction within 243 milliseconds on standard hardware.
That mechanism doesn’t work for Satoshi’s coins. Those early outputs were created using raw public keys, without any hierarchical derivation path that a modern wallet would recognize. They remain locked in a pre-BIP32 world. The proof is not a silver bullet; it’s a tool for the post-HD era of Bitcoin, which began years after Satoshi disappeared. Rolling out such a recovery mechanism would likely require a soft fork or at least broad community consensus, something Bitcoin’s governance process rarely delivers quickly.
Satoshi’s Coins and the Quantum Clock The 1.1 million BTC sitting in Satoshi-era addresses represent a permanent test case. If a quantum computer ever reaches the threshold where it can derive private keys from public keys in a reasonable time frame, those coins would become instantly stealable. The absence of a derivation path makes the new recovery tool irrelevant for them. Whether Satoshi’s coins should be considered a donation to the quantum future or a ticking clock for Bitcoin’s security model is a debate that flares up regularly among core developers.
Meanwhile, developer activity across blockchains remains high, underscoring that security research is not stagnant. Top 10 Blockchains by Developer Activity This Week includes networks with strong protocol research, and Bitcoin’s own developer community has been exploring proposed solutions like Lamport signatures and post-quantum cryptography for years. The Project Eleven proof adds another piece to that evolving puzzle.
What Remains Unknown Several questions are left open. First, how would users securely present their derivation path without exposing the master seed? The proof likely handles this cryptographically, but implementing it in practice introduces new attack surfaces. Second, would miners and node operators support a protocol change that might be perceived as enabling recovery of lost coins—a concept that carries its own philosophical baggage in Bitcoin’s immutability culture? And third, the exact timeline for quantum threats remains speculative. Breakthroughs in quantum error correction could compress the window for coordinated protocol upgrades.
For now, the project offers a practical illustration that Bitcoin’s scripting flexibility can be used to address quantum risks—provided the coins sit in wallets built after a certain point. The real test will be whether the community can move from a proof-of-concept to a live network upgrade before the threat becomes real. Satoshi’s coins, however, will likely remain the network’s silent exception.
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TLDR:Bitcoin Puell Multiple Marks Its Highest Cycle BottomHistorical Bitcoin Puell Multiple Readings Show a Narrower EdgeLarge Bitcoin Orders Absorb Retail Selling Near $64,700 Bitcoin Puell Multiple’s cycle low of 0.53 is its highest bottom recorded since 2018 began. Sub-0.65 Puell readings since 2013 preceded median 180-day gains near 55 percent historically. Large Bitcoin orders added $1.4B in positive delta as retail sold roughly $604M near $64,700. Bitcoin’s shallower price drawdowns each cycle, not halvings, explain the rising Puell floor. Bitcoin’s Puell Multiple has posted its highest cycle bottom on record, with the current reading at 0.84 after falling to a low of 0.53.
The metric measures miner revenue against its 365-day average, and each cycle’s floor has landed higher since 2018.
The trend arrives as separate on-chain data shows large Bitcoin holders absorbing supply sold by smaller traders near the $64,700 level. Analysts say both signals point to shifting market structure rather than a single decisive bottom.
The Bitcoin Puell Multiple tracks miner income from new coins against its own 365-day moving average. A low reading signals miners are earning less than usual from freshly minted supply. Analyst thechessONCHAIN explained that daily readings carry noise, so the depth of the low matters most.
This cycle’s floor sits at 0.53, the highest bottom recorded across four cycles. Prior lows landed near 0.28 in December 2018 and 0.35 in July 2022, with September 2024 reaching 0.49.
The Bitcoin Puell Multiple currently reads 0.84, well above the 0.53 low already logged. Each successive cycle has produced a shallower bottom than the one before it. That pattern has held consistently since the metric first flagged a cycle low in 2018.
According to thechessONCHAIN, the four-year halving is not driving the shallower lows. The Puell Multiple scales both miner revenue and new supply, so halvings cancel out mathematically. The real cause is that Bitcoin’s price now falls less sharply during each downturn.
Historical Bitcoin Puell Multiple Readings Show a Narrower Edge Since 2013, Bitcoin Puell Multiple readings below 0.65 preceded a median 180-day gain near 55 percent. That figure roughly doubles the 28 percent median return from a random entry point. Drawdowns during these episodes stayed capped between 30 and 40 percent.
Deep bear markets have historically produced steeper drawdowns of 60 to 70 percent. Low Puell Multiple readings tend to arrive with comparatively contained downside risk instead.
Only 57 to 67 percent of these low-reading episodes ended higher after 180 days. That win rate sits barely above Bitcoin’s overall 63 percent baseline for random entries. thechessONCHAIN pointed to July 2022 as an example where the signal still failed to hold.
The 2024 and 2026 lows both formed while Bitcoin’s price remained relatively elevated. That makes them Puell Multiple lows rather than confirmed price bottoms. A move beneath recent lows for several weeks would carry more decisive weight.
Large Bitcoin Orders Absorb Retail Selling Near $64,700 Separate order-flow data from analyst Ardi shows a split between small and large Bitcoin traders. Bitcoin traded near $64,739.37 while retail-sized spot orders posted about $604 million in net selling. Mid-sized orders stayed close to flat, sitting near negative $25 million.
$BTC
While everyone has been watching price chop inside the same range, the participants behind the move have been trading in completely opposite directions.
Retail-sized spot orders have recorded roughly $604M in net selling.
Mid-sized orders are sitting slightly negative at… pic.twitter.com/dd4iZmtxhJ
— Ardi (@ArdiNSC) July 19, 2026
The largest order-size cohort told a different story over the same period, accumulating more than $1.4 billion in positive volume delta. Ardi noted smaller participants have been selling the range while larger buyers absorbed the supply.
This divergence helps explain why Bitcoin has continued forming higher lows recently. Repeated attempts to push price lower have failed to break the broader trading range. Large-order accumulation appears to be offsetting consistent selling pressure from smaller accounts.
Ardi cautioned that a reclaim of $64,800 would need this divergence to persist. A reversal, where large-order buying fades while retail selling accelerates, would weaken the setup. For now, larger orders continue absorbing what smaller traders are selling across the range.
Witnesses reported multiple explosions in Tabriz, Iran’s major northwestern industrial city, part of a broader wave of blasts also reported in Tehran and Isfahan around mid-July 2026. The cause of the explosions has not been confirmed by Iranian authorities, and the US military denied any involvement in strikes on Iranian territory.
Tabriz is one of Iran’s most significant industrial hubs, home to heavy manufacturing, refining infrastructure, and a meaningful share of the country’s mining activity.
What happened on the ground Reports placed the explosions across multiple Iranian cities between July 15 and 19, 2026, with Tabriz drawing the most witness accounts. Iranian state media acknowledged the blasts but stopped short of attributing them to any specific cause or confirming targeted sites.
Separately, a pattern of explosions was also reported at southern Iranian locations, including the port of Bandar Abbas and sites near Bushehr, which houses nuclear-related infrastructure.
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Iranian authorities have not confirmed casualty figures, no facilities have been officially named as damaged, and no group has claimed responsibility in a manner that has been independently verified.
Iran’s crypto angle is bigger than it looks Iran has spent years building out a Bitcoin mining industry specifically because its subsidized electricity costs make the economics attractive, even under the weight of international sanctions. Tabriz sits in the middle of that equation.
No confirmed losses to mining facilities in the Tabriz region have been documented from these incidents. A significant disruption to Iranian mining capacity would, at least at the margins, affect global Bitcoin hashrate.
Running parallel to the explosions: Iran reportedly completed its first known import transaction using approximately $10 million in digital assets. The specific cryptocurrency used was not named in the reports, but the transaction marks a notable escalation in how sanctioned economies are using digital rails to move value across borders.
Markets barely blinked Bitcoin was trading near $63,800 during the period when the explosions were being reported, with intraday volatility of approximately 0.3%. Ether held steady around $1,800.
What investors should actually be watching is the hashrate data. If Tabriz mining operations sustain damage that goes unreported initially but shows up later in network statistics, that would be the lagging indicator worth tracking.
A documented $10 million crypto import transaction by a sanctioned state gives regulators in the US, EU, and UK concrete evidence to point to when arguing for stricter crypto compliance requirements. Exchanges operating in those jurisdictions should expect renewed pressure around know-your-customer protocols for transactions that touch wallets linked to sanctioned regions.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
ZHIPU posts a short-term plunge of over 17%; major long investors, who are nearly 300% underwater on their principal, continue adding positions to average down.
According to Hyperinsight monitoring, ZHIPU on Hyperliquid plummeted before Hong Kong stock market opening. Within about an hour, it hit a low of $120.7, down roughly 17%; the decline continued during Hong Kong trading hours. On the news front, ZHIPU completed the placement of 19.78 million new H shares on July 13. On July 17, Moonshot AI released the 2.8-trillion-parameter open-source model Kimi K3, intensifying market concerns over China’s large language model competitive landscape, leading ZHIPU’s Hong Kong-listed shares to drop 28.49% that day. No new company-specific negative news has been identified as of press time. The sharp price drop has further hit ZHIPU’s largest long position holder: a whale wallet starting with 0xddb. The whale currently holds 7,300 contracts with 10x isolated long leverage, with a position value of approximately $905,000, average entry price of $174.2, and liquidation price of around $78.3. It has an unrealized loss of about $367,000, a return rate of -288.2%, equivalent to 2.88 times its initial position cost of $127,000. The whale first opened a long position near $198.45 on the evening of July 6 and has not sold since; at 10:12 today, it added 409.1 contracts against the trend at $129.6. - HyperInsight Bot is now live. Add @HyperInsightBot to your Telegram group and set it as an admin (enable message sending permission) to automatically sync on-chain information.
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China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) will issue the Guidelines for the Construction of Computing Power Standard System, and promote the establishment of standards including market-based pricing for computing power.
The State Council Information Office held a press conference to brief on the development of industry and information technology in the first half of 2026. Xie Cun, spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and Director-General of the Department of Information and Communication Development, stated that over the past two years, more than 70 major computing power corridors have been built around national computing power hub nodes, with network performance between these hub nodes improved by 10%. The current explosive growth of large AI models and agent applications has driven a continuous rise in demand for intelligent computing power. Going forward, the MIIT will continue to follow the systematic work approach of "point, chain, network, dimension, and system" to optimize the deployment of computing infrastructure resources, build interconnected computing power nodes, and enhance the utilization efficiency of computing power resources. In terms of focusing on key points, the MIIT will optimize the deployment of computing power resource supply, coordinate factors such as industrial development and energy supply, promote the construction of intelligent computing clusters and the coordinated development of computing power and electricity, build a tiered computing power layout, and strengthen overall monitoring of computing power. Additionally, it will issue guidelines for the construction of a computing power standard system, and promote the establishment of standards including computing power service capability evaluation and market-based pricing for computing power.
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Moody's: South Korea's economic growth may slow in the second quarter.
Moody's Analytics noted in a report that South Korea's second-quarter economic growth is likely to slow to 0.9% from 1.8% in the first quarter. Driven by an AI-fueled semiconductor boom, exports—especially semiconductor shipments—will again act as the key growth driver. South Korea's domestic demand is projected to stay weak, with consumption seeing only a marginal improvement. High energy costs have amplified inflationary pressures, while government measures can only partially ease the strain. South Korea's preliminary second-quarter GDP figure will be released on Thursday.
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A South Korean trading platform triggered the KOSPI index circuit breaker, halting program trading for 5 minutes.
South Korean exchange KRX triggered the sidecar mechanism due to KOSPI index volatility, suspending program trading for approximately five minutes. The sidecar mechanism is designed to address sharp short-term fluctuations, restricting only program trading while manual trading remains normal. Unlike the circuit breaker mechanism, the sidecar does not halt entire market operations, functioning more like a "speed bump" during periods of market volatility. By contrast, circuit breakers are typically used in extreme market scenarios, suspending all trading across the market when triggered to prevent panic-driven volatility from escalating further.
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Citigroup downgraded its rating for the South Korean stock market to "Neutral".
Citigroup has adjusted its rating on South Korean stocks from "overweight" to "neutral" amid sharp volatility in chip stocks over recent weeks, as the bank seeks to reduce its exposure to artificial intelligence (AI) themed investments. A poster child for the global AI trading frenzy, South Korea’s KOSPI index has become the world’s best-performing stock market this year. However, in recent weeks, the market has faced sharp swings due to retail investors’ enthusiasm for single-stock leveraged ETFs and valuation concerns. Citigroup remains structurally bullish on the AI sector’s outlook, but has shifted its stance on the South Korean market to neutral.
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SK Hynix experienced sharp price swings that trapped three newly entered whales, with the latest buyer chasing the rally only $60 away from liquidation.
According to Hyperinsight monitoring, SK Hynix (SKHX) on Hyperliquid saw sharp volatility after opening this morning. The token opened at $1168.1, surged to a high of $1270.1 within half an hour, marking an ~8.7% gain, before quickly pulling back. At 9:55 a.m., it hit a low of $1185.3, down ~6.7% from its peak. During this swing, three whales sequentially opened long positions on SKHX, holding a total of 11,620.674 contracts worth roughly $14.036 million. Based on SK Hynix’s current quoted price of $1198, all three long positions are now underwater: - Whale starting with 0xf4b: New long position with 10x leverage, holding ~$2.715 million, average entry price of $1210.6, unrealized loss of ~$9,000, liquidation price of $1130.4. - Whale starting with 0x564: New long position with 10x leverage, holding ~$4.918 million, average entry price of $1238.9, unrealized loss of ~$125,000, liquidation price of $851.5. - Whale starting with 0x2ab: Converted from a short position to long and continued adding to longs, with 10x leverage, holding ~$6.403 million, average entry price of $1212.8, unrealized loss of ~$25,000, liquidation price of $650.3. Notably, the 0xf4b whale is closest to liquidation. When SKHX dipped to $1185.3 intraday, the gap between its entry price and liquidation price narrowed to just ~$54.9; as the price rebounded to $1298, the gap has since widened to ~$68.
CLARITY hinges on Trump’s ethicsSummer Mersinger, the CEO of the Blockchain Association and a former commissioner at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said: “Ethics is the big elephant in the room.”
“For my members and what we are advocating for on the Hill... look, whatever you decide on ethics, that’s really not our concern. That is politics. That’s Congress. That’s elected officials. But please don’t let it kill all the hard work that we put in the rest of the bill.” Source: Polymarket
Prediction markets see record Q2 volume, France blocks PolmarketCrypto markets continued to flounder in the second quarter, with the notable exception of prediction markets.
Spot trading volume across the top 10 centralized exchanges (CEXs) fell from $2.7 trillion in the first quarter to just $1.95 trillion in the second, according to CoinGecko’s latest Crypto Industry Report.
CEX perps volume also declined 10% to $12.7 trillion, while the stablecoin market slipped 1.6% to $305.1 billion. In contrast, prediction markets recorded their strongest quarter on record with $113.8 billion in notional volume.
Polymarket’s World Cup winner market alone has attracted more than $3.3 billion in trading volume, while contracts tied to the 2028 US presidential election rank among the platform’s largest markets, according to Polymarketscan data.
Meanwhile, France’s National Gambling Authority has just ordered internet service providers to block access to Polymarket as it considers prediction markets to be illegal gambling.
Polymarket is blocked in 33 countries... unless you have a VPN of course.
Strategy became a symbol of the dot-com crash: Could history repeat?
Senate agrees SBF should serve his time as FTX distributes another $900MThe US Senate has adopted a resolution opposing executive clemency for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
The measure cannot block a presidential pardon but reflects bipartisan Senate opposition.
Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison in March 2024 after being convicted of fraud and conspiracy charges linked to FTX’s collapse in 2022.
Speculation about a possible presidential pardon grew after Bankman-Fried applied for clemency from Trump in June 2026.
On Friday, the FTX Recovery Trust said it would distribute about $900 million to creditors in the fifth round of repayments. The trust has now paid out about $10 billion since the company filed for bankruptcy.
Tokenized stocks hit record $2.3B The global market capitalization of tokenized stocks rose to a record $2.3 billion on Wednesday, as more investors sought exposure to blockchain-based equity products.
The Ethereum network boasted the largest market share, at 34%, followed by BNB Chain with 30% and the Solana network with 23%, data aggregator Token Terminal shared in a Wednesday X post.
The largest increase came from Kraken exchange’s xStocks, which accounted for $507 million worth of tokenized stocks and Binance’s bStocks, with $334 million. Ondo Finance remained the largest tokenized stock issuer with $955 million in onchain equities, according to Token Terminal data.
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, which is the custodian of $114 trillion in assets, last week launched a trial of tokenized securities in partnership with more than 40 financial firms.
Robinhood Chain also aims to become a leader in tokenized stocks, however its volume to date is largely driven by memecoins.
Is Robinhood Chain’s success bullish or bearish for ETH the asset?
US and UK to align stablecoin rules, but Genius Act rules are TBAThe US Department of the Treasury and HM Treasury in the UK have issued four joint recommendations on digital assets.
The task force recommended that authorities consider a private-sector-led group focused on “testing of cross-border use cases for tokenized assets” and that financial agencies in the US and the Bank of England identify shared approaches on the regulation of tokenized assets.
The statement said that stablecoins “should be fully backed, on at least a one-to-one basis, by high-quality, liquid assets,” aligning with the US law.
Ironically, a few days later it emerged the US regulatory agencies had all missed Saturday’s rulemaking deadline for the GENIUS stablecoin act. Missing the statutory deadline does not invalidate the GENIUS Act, but will result in issuers having less time to comply before the rules go into effect in January.
Source: ZachXBT (but DYOR)
Winners and LosersAt the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at $64,620, Ether (ETH) at $1,868 and XRP (XRP) is at $1.09. The total market cap is at $2.21 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin winners of the week are Pump.fun (PUMP) which gained 36%, Venice Token (VVV) on 10%, and Litecoin (LTC) which is up 7%.
The top three altcoin losers of the week are DeXe (DEXE) after it lost 27%, Lighter (LIT) which was down 17%, and Worldcoin (WRLD) which fell 14%.
Prediction of the WeekBitcoin gets new $80K August target“It’s holding the crucial level at $61,000 and flipping important MAs for support, indicating that there’s more momentum on the horizon,” he wrote, referring to moving average trend lines.
“I’m expecting to see a rally to $68,000 in the next 1-2 weeks, followed by a continuation towards $75,000-80,000 in August.”Not everyone agreed with the analysis, including nichoxbt who thinks the price is heading back under $60,000.
Source: Nichoxbt
Top FUD of the WeekConsensys unknowingly outsourced developer work to North KoreanBlockchain company Consensys accidentally used a software developer linked to North Korea, who had access to some of its systems for a month.
First reported on Friday by Drop Site, Consensys earlier this year took on a software developer via a “reputable third party service provider” who was later discovered to have ties to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The move caused the Metamask developer to temporarily suspend product releases, but said an investigation has “confirmed there was no misappropriation of assets or data, no malicious code deployed, and no impact to user safety and security.”
Kaspersky identifies malware framework targeting crypto investorsCybersecurity company Kaspersky said a newly identified malware framework is targeting cryptocurrency investors.
Dubbed “OkoBot,” the malware initiates an infection chain that starts with social engineering tactics such as ClickFix, which tricks users into running malicious commands, or trojanized GitHub apps that deliver a backdoor to infected devices, the cybersecurity company wrote in a Wednesday report.
A separate malware campaign seeks to infiltrate the devices of Web3 developers via fake LinkedIn recruitment opportunities, according to SlowMist.
Attackers contact blockchain devs via LinkedIn, posing as recruiters. They then send fake GitHub repositories to victims, claiming they contain code that needs to be assessed before the interview, the security company said in a Saturday report.
Base’s social bet left it trailing in prediction markets and perps: PollakBase creator Jesse Pollak says he is stepping back from leading the Base App after admitting he made a “wrong bet” on social, leaving the chain to fall behind on prediction markets and perpetual futures.
In a post to X on Wednesday, Pollak said he had bet that creator, content and messaging apps would drive adoption, but instead the market “disintegrated completely.”
Pollak said he now realized financial applications are the way forward for the network, with a focus on trading, payments and AI agents.
The Base App will now return to Coinbase, and will be overseen by crypto influencer and trader Jordan Fish, better known on X as “Cobie.”
Top Magazine Stories of the WeekStrategy became a symbol of the dot-com crash: Could history repeat?MicroStrategy blew up during the dot-com era, before Michael Saylor transformed it into the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder. Did he learn his lesson?
Is Robinhood Chain’s success bullish or bearish for ETH the asset?Surging volumes on Robinhood Chain could be very good for Ethereum, but only if the “ETH is money” crowd turn out to be right.
Gambling on random Pokémon cards: Onchain gagcha hits record high as crypto sinksUsers spent a record $324 million on onchain gacha in June, even as Bitcoin hit a 21-month low. The thrill of scoring a top Pokemon card from a random pack is becoming big business.
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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.
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ZHIPU posts a short-term plunge of over 17%; major long investors, who are nearly 300% underwater on their principal, continue adding positions to average down.
According to Hyperinsight monitoring, ZHIPU on Hyperliquid plummeted before Hong Kong stock market opening. Within about an hour, it hit a low of $120.7, down roughly 17%; the decline continued during Hong Kong trading hours. On the news front, ZHIPU completed the placement of 19.78 million new H shares on July 13. On July 17, Moonshot AI released the 2.8-trillion-parameter open-source model Kimi K3, intensifying market concerns over China’s large language model competitive landscape, leading ZHIPU’s Hong Kong-listed shares to drop 28.49% that day. No new company-specific negative news has been identified as of press time. The sharp price drop has further hit ZHIPU’s largest long position holder: a whale wallet starting with 0xddb. The whale currently holds 7,300 contracts with 10x isolated long leverage, with a position value of approximately $905,000, average entry price of $174.2, and liquidation price of around $78.3. It has an unrealized loss of about $367,000, a return rate of -288.2%, equivalent to 2.88 times its initial position cost of $127,000. The whale first opened a long position near $198.45 on the evening of July 6 and has not sold since; at 10:12 today, it added 409.1 contracts against the trend at $129.6. - HyperInsight Bot is now live. Add @HyperInsightBot to your Telegram group and set it as an admin (enable message sending permission) to automatically sync on-chain information.
5 minutes ago
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) will issue the Guidelines for the Construction of Computing Power Standard System, and promote the establishment of standards including market-based pricing for computing power.
The State Council Information Office held a press conference to brief on the development of industry and information technology in the first half of 2026. Xie Cun, spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and Director-General of the Department of Information and Communication Development, stated that over the past two years, more than 70 major computing power corridors have been built around national computing power hub nodes, with network performance between these hub nodes improved by 10%. The current explosive growth of large AI models and agent applications has driven a continuous rise in demand for intelligent computing power. Going forward, the MIIT will continue to follow the systematic work approach of "point, chain, network, dimension, and system" to optimize the deployment of computing infrastructure resources, build interconnected computing power nodes, and enhance the utilization efficiency of computing power resources. In terms of focusing on key points, the MIIT will optimize the deployment of computing power resource supply, coordinate factors such as industrial development and energy supply, promote the construction of intelligent computing clusters and the coordinated development of computing power and electricity, build a tiered computing power layout, and strengthen overall monitoring of computing power. Additionally, it will issue guidelines for the construction of a computing power standard system, and promote the establishment of standards including computing power service capability evaluation and market-based pricing for computing power.
5 minutes ago
Moody's: South Korea's economic growth may slow in the second quarter.
Moody's Analytics noted in a report that South Korea's second-quarter economic growth is likely to slow to 0.9% from 1.8% in the first quarter. Driven by an AI-fueled semiconductor boom, exports—especially semiconductor shipments—will again act as the key growth driver. South Korea's domestic demand is projected to stay weak, with consumption seeing only a marginal improvement. High energy costs have amplified inflationary pressures, while government measures can only partially ease the strain. South Korea's preliminary second-quarter GDP figure will be released on Thursday.
5 minutes ago
A South Korean trading platform triggered the KOSPI index circuit breaker, halting program trading for 5 minutes.
South Korean exchange KRX triggered the sidecar mechanism due to KOSPI index volatility, suspending program trading for approximately five minutes. The sidecar mechanism is designed to address sharp short-term fluctuations, restricting only program trading while manual trading remains normal. Unlike the circuit breaker mechanism, the sidecar does not halt entire market operations, functioning more like a "speed bump" during periods of market volatility. By contrast, circuit breakers are typically used in extreme market scenarios, suspending all trading across the market when triggered to prevent panic-driven volatility from escalating further.
5 minutes ago
Citigroup downgraded its rating for the South Korean stock market to "Neutral".
Citigroup has adjusted its rating on South Korean stocks from "overweight" to "neutral" amid sharp volatility in chip stocks over recent weeks, as the bank seeks to reduce its exposure to artificial intelligence (AI) themed investments. A poster child for the global AI trading frenzy, South Korea’s KOSPI index has become the world’s best-performing stock market this year. However, in recent weeks, the market has faced sharp swings due to retail investors’ enthusiasm for single-stock leveraged ETFs and valuation concerns. Citigroup remains structurally bullish on the AI sector’s outlook, but has shifted its stance on the South Korean market to neutral.
5 minutes ago
SK Hynix experienced sharp price swings that trapped three newly entered whales, with the latest buyer chasing the rally only $60 away from liquidation.
According to Hyperinsight monitoring, SK Hynix (SKHX) on Hyperliquid saw sharp volatility after opening this morning. The token opened at $1168.1, surged to a high of $1270.1 within half an hour, marking an ~8.7% gain, before quickly pulling back. At 9:55 a.m., it hit a low of $1185.3, down ~6.7% from its peak. During this swing, three whales sequentially opened long positions on SKHX, holding a total of 11,620.674 contracts worth roughly $14.036 million. Based on SK Hynix’s current quoted price of $1198, all three long positions are now underwater: - Whale starting with 0xf4b: New long position with 10x leverage, holding ~$2.715 million, average entry price of $1210.6, unrealized loss of ~$9,000, liquidation price of $1130.4. - Whale starting with 0x564: New long position with 10x leverage, holding ~$4.918 million, average entry price of $1238.9, unrealized loss of ~$125,000, liquidation price of $851.5. - Whale starting with 0x2ab: Converted from a short position to long and continued adding to longs, with 10x leverage, holding ~$6.403 million, average entry price of $1212.8, unrealized loss of ~$25,000, liquidation price of $650.3. Notably, the 0xf4b whale is closest to liquidation. When SKHX dipped to $1185.3 intraday, the gap between its entry price and liquidation price narrowed to just ~$54.9; as the price rebounded to $1298, the gap has since widened to ~$68.
BIP 110 reached “Complete” status on June 25, 2026, proposing a one-year restriction on Bitcoin transaction data. Miner signaling for the proposal sits at 0.86%, far below the 55% threshold needed for early lock-in. Mandatory signaling begins at block 961,632, expected around August 7, with full enforcement targeted for September 1. Mining pool Foundry opened an internal vote that could shift the outcome before the deadline arrives. Bitcoin’s BIP 110 proposal, a one-year softfork that would reimpose strict limits on how much arbitrary data miners can embed inside transactions, advanced to complete status on June 25, 2026. Weekend signaling data puts miner backing at just 0.86%, a fraction of the 55% threshold needed for miners to lock the rule in early and guarantee it takes effect. The shortfall matters less than it might elsewhere in Bitcoin’s governance history, because BIP 110 does not need miner consent to take effect. Its mandatory signaling phase starts automatically at block 961,632, expected around August 7, and full enforcement follows on September 1 regardless of how many miners have opted in by then. Signaling works by having miners mark the blocks they produce to show whether they support the change, similar to a running vote tallied block by block.
A Rule Core Wrote Into Existence Itself The proposal exists because of a decision Bitcoin Core made months earlier. In late 2025, Core developers removed the historical 80-byte limit on OP_RETURN, a small text field Bitcoin lets users attach to a transaction to store non-payment data, like a short note, an image reference, or a token record, aiming to push data-heavy users toward prunable storage rather than methods that permanently bloat the UTXO set, the ledger of unspent coins every node has to hold. BIP 110 reverses that call and goes further, capping data pushes at 256 bytes and OP_RETURN itself at 83 bytes across seven distinct consensus restrictions new rules that every computer running the Bitcoin software would have to follow. Node-level support runs between 7% and 15%, carried almost entirely by users on Bitcoin Knots rather than Core. Knots has served for years as the client of choice for operators who want tighter limits on which transactions their computer accepts and passes along before miners confirm them, and this fight has turned it into the technical base camp for developers like Luke Dashjr and channels such as Bitcoin University, who treat inscriptions, Ordinals, and Runes as spam bloating storage costs for every full node operator.
None of that miner math is settled, though. Foundry controls between 25% and 30% of global hash rate, and it opened an internal vote over the weekend letting individual rig owners direct their share of the pool’s power toward signaling BIP 110. A meaningful swing from Foundry’s base could pull support well above 0.86% before block 961,632 arrives, though nothing guarantees that happens in time.
Date or Block Height Milestone Status June 25, 2026 BIP 110 reaches “Complete” status Confirmed Weekend of July 18-19, 2026 Miner signaling measured at 0.86% Below the 55% threshold needed for miners to approve it early Block 961,632 (~August 7, 2026) Mandatory signaling begins (enforced by node software, not by a miner vote) Automatic, independent of miner support September 1, 2026 Full enforcement target Pending Timeline table showing BIP 110 milestones from completion in June through enforcement in September 2026.
The Ordinals Camp Answers With DOG Mode’s Relaxed Rules Ordinals advocate Leonidas proposed a counter on July 16 and 17: DOG Mode, an alternative Core client that relaxes local relay policy instead of tightening consensus rules, permitting transactions near the full block size and cutting the dust limit to 1 satoshi. Backers say that frees up roughly $25 million in bitcoin that currently sits below the dust limit, the smallest payment size a node will bother forwarding because the fee to move it would cost more than the payment itself. The distinction that matters here is structural. DOG Mode only changes the mempool, the waiting room where unconfirmed transactions sit before a miner picks them up, and the relay policy a node uses to decide what to pass along to other nodes. It leaves the rules for what makes a block valid completely alone. That means DOG Mode needs just one cooperating miner willing to include the relevant transactions, rather than the network-wide agreement BIP 110 requires.
Aspect BIP 110 / Bitcoin Knots DOG Mode Type of change Consensus rule (network-wide) Local settings on individual nodes OP_RETURN cap 83 bytes Unrestricted, per Core v30 Dust limit Unchanged Cut to 1 satoshi Activation requirement Network-wide node adoption One willing miner Comparison table of consensus and policy differences between BIP 110 and the DOG Mode alternative client.
Blockstream CEO Adam Back spent the weekend spelling out the downside case. If nodes running BIP 110’s rules start rejecting blocks once mandatory enforcement hits, while miners without majority backing keep mining under the old rules anyway, the network splits into two chains that stop recognizing each other’s blocks. Back called the likely loser a “Pompeii chain,” a minority network frozen at the moment of the split, and mocked BIP 110’s backers on X for failing to line up real financial backing behind the effort.
MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor took the opposing position furthest in a weekend essay titled “110 reasons BIP-110 is a bad idea.” His argument: money cannot distinguish valid transactions from spam by design, and encoding that distinction into consensus hands developers a censorship tool. He warns that tool could later be pointed at privacy features or corporate custody arrangements once the precedent exists. He pairs it with an economic warning – suppressing data-heavy transactions cuts fee demand precisely as block subsidies, the fixed reward miners earn for each block, keep shrinking on a preset schedule, pushing miners to rely more on fees to stay profitable.
Seeking Alpha downgraded its near-term Bitcoin outlook from Strong Buy to Tactical Buy over the weekend, citing governance risk tied to the August deadline rather than any shift in the long-term monetary case. MicroStrategy alone holds 843,775 BTC, and treasury firms in that position value Bitcoin specifically for a rule set that doesn’t move without overwhelming consensus – a softfork activating on sub-1% miner backing, purely because nodes enforce it regardless, is exactly the governance uncertainty that kind of holder has avoided since 2017’s Blocksize Wars. What happens next hinges on Foundry’s vote closing before block 961,632 and on whether Knots adoption grows past its current 7% to 15% share in the weeks remaining.
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.
ZHIPU posts a short-term plunge of over 17%; major long investors, who are nearly 300% underwater on their principal, continue adding positions to average down.
According to Hyperinsight monitoring, ZHIPU on Hyperliquid plummeted before Hong Kong stock market opening. Within about an hour, it hit a low of $120.7, down roughly 17%; the decline continued during Hong Kong trading hours. On the news front, ZHIPU completed the placement of 19.78 million new H shares on July 13. On July 17, Moonshot AI released the 2.8-trillion-parameter open-source model Kimi K3, intensifying market concerns over China’s large language model competitive landscape, leading ZHIPU’s Hong Kong-listed shares to drop 28.49% that day. No new company-specific negative news has been identified as of press time. The sharp price drop has further hit ZHIPU’s largest long position holder: a whale wallet starting with 0xddb. The whale currently holds 7,300 contracts with 10x isolated long leverage, with a position value of approximately $905,000, average entry price of $174.2, and liquidation price of around $78.3. It has an unrealized loss of about $367,000, a return rate of -288.2%, equivalent to 2.88 times its initial position cost of $127,000. The whale first opened a long position near $198.45 on the evening of July 6 and has not sold since; at 10:12 today, it added 409.1 contracts against the trend at $129.6. - HyperInsight Bot is now live. Add @HyperInsightBot to your Telegram group and set it as an admin (enable message sending permission) to automatically sync on-chain information.
5 minutes ago
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) will issue the Guidelines for the Construction of Computing Power Standard System, and promote the establishment of standards including market-based pricing for computing power.
The State Council Information Office held a press conference to brief on the development of industry and information technology in the first half of 2026. Xie Cun, spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and Director-General of the Department of Information and Communication Development, stated that over the past two years, more than 70 major computing power corridors have been built around national computing power hub nodes, with network performance between these hub nodes improved by 10%. The current explosive growth of large AI models and agent applications has driven a continuous rise in demand for intelligent computing power. Going forward, the MIIT will continue to follow the systematic work approach of "point, chain, network, dimension, and system" to optimize the deployment of computing infrastructure resources, build interconnected computing power nodes, and enhance the utilization efficiency of computing power resources. In terms of focusing on key points, the MIIT will optimize the deployment of computing power resource supply, coordinate factors such as industrial development and energy supply, promote the construction of intelligent computing clusters and the coordinated development of computing power and electricity, build a tiered computing power layout, and strengthen overall monitoring of computing power. Additionally, it will issue guidelines for the construction of a computing power standard system, and promote the establishment of standards including computing power service capability evaluation and market-based pricing for computing power.
5 minutes ago
Moody's: South Korea's economic growth may slow in the second quarter.
Moody's Analytics noted in a report that South Korea's second-quarter economic growth is likely to slow to 0.9% from 1.8% in the first quarter. Driven by an AI-fueled semiconductor boom, exports—especially semiconductor shipments—will again act as the key growth driver. South Korea's domestic demand is projected to stay weak, with consumption seeing only a marginal improvement. High energy costs have amplified inflationary pressures, while government measures can only partially ease the strain. South Korea's preliminary second-quarter GDP figure will be released on Thursday.
5 minutes ago
A South Korean trading platform triggered the KOSPI index circuit breaker, halting program trading for 5 minutes.
South Korean exchange KRX triggered the sidecar mechanism due to KOSPI index volatility, suspending program trading for approximately five minutes. The sidecar mechanism is designed to address sharp short-term fluctuations, restricting only program trading while manual trading remains normal. Unlike the circuit breaker mechanism, the sidecar does not halt entire market operations, functioning more like a "speed bump" during periods of market volatility. By contrast, circuit breakers are typically used in extreme market scenarios, suspending all trading across the market when triggered to prevent panic-driven volatility from escalating further.
5 minutes ago
Citigroup downgraded its rating for the South Korean stock market to "Neutral".
Citigroup has adjusted its rating on South Korean stocks from "overweight" to "neutral" amid sharp volatility in chip stocks over recent weeks, as the bank seeks to reduce its exposure to artificial intelligence (AI) themed investments. A poster child for the global AI trading frenzy, South Korea’s KOSPI index has become the world’s best-performing stock market this year. However, in recent weeks, the market has faced sharp swings due to retail investors’ enthusiasm for single-stock leveraged ETFs and valuation concerns. Citigroup remains structurally bullish on the AI sector’s outlook, but has shifted its stance on the South Korean market to neutral.
5 minutes ago
SK Hynix experienced sharp price swings that trapped three newly entered whales, with the latest buyer chasing the rally only $60 away from liquidation.
According to Hyperinsight monitoring, SK Hynix (SKHX) on Hyperliquid saw sharp volatility after opening this morning. The token opened at $1168.1, surged to a high of $1270.1 within half an hour, marking an ~8.7% gain, before quickly pulling back. At 9:55 a.m., it hit a low of $1185.3, down ~6.7% from its peak. During this swing, three whales sequentially opened long positions on SKHX, holding a total of 11,620.674 contracts worth roughly $14.036 million. Based on SK Hynix’s current quoted price of $1198, all three long positions are now underwater: - Whale starting with 0xf4b: New long position with 10x leverage, holding ~$2.715 million, average entry price of $1210.6, unrealized loss of ~$9,000, liquidation price of $1130.4. - Whale starting with 0x564: New long position with 10x leverage, holding ~$4.918 million, average entry price of $1238.9, unrealized loss of ~$125,000, liquidation price of $851.5. - Whale starting with 0x2ab: Converted from a short position to long and continued adding to longs, with 10x leverage, holding ~$6.403 million, average entry price of $1212.8, unrealized loss of ~$25,000, liquidation price of $650.3. Notably, the 0xf4b whale is closest to liquidation. When SKHX dipped to $1185.3 intraday, the gap between its entry price and liquidation price narrowed to just ~$54.9; as the price rebounded to $1298, the gap has since widened to ~$68.
Crypto analyst Crypto X AiMan recently highlighted archived remarks from Greg Kidd regarding the future potential of XRP. Greg Kidd, known for being among the first ten employees at Ripple and its early chief risk officer, holds an option on 1% of the total XRP supply, which is equivalent to roughly 1 billion tokens. According to Crypto X AiMan, Kidd has the ability to exercise this option at a price near $0.003 per XRP.
The global liquidity challengeKidd emphasized the magnitude of global liquidity immobilized in the banking system. Approximately $30 trillion remains locked in nostro and vostro accounts worldwide. These accounts are used by banks to pre-fund currency reserves, ensuring that cross-border transfers settle efficiently. However, Kidd describes these dormant funds as “a dead weight drag on society.”
Ripple developed XRP to address this problem by facilitating transaction settlements in as little as three seconds, with fees less than a penny per transfer. This rapid settlement capability enables banks to free up much of the capital traditionally tied up in various fiat currencies held across the globe. Kidd asserted that the need for nostro and vostro liquidity “is going to be replaced by XRP.”
Greg Kidd maintains that global nostro and vostro liquidity, currently estimated at $30 trillion, is likely to shift to XRP if Ripple’s system continues to gain momentum in traditional finance.
Crypto X AiMan calculated the potential implication: if XRP is adopted to absorb liquidity from these accounts, an enormous $30 trillion could move into XRP. Kidd views this as only the first use case for the token.
Mini dictionary: Nostro and vostro accounts are special bank accounts used for cross-border transactions where banks hold money in foreign currencies at other banks, often to make international transfers smoother and faster.
Bank adoption and institutional entryKidd pointed out that mainstream banks have been slow to embrace new technologies for cross-border settlement. He notes that banks are “very far back on that curve,” while money transmitters such as MoneyGram acted much sooner. He also referenced that some global banks started using XRP in limited internal transfers between their own subsidiaries, bypassing traditional correspondent banking structures.
He remarked that industry-wide adoption by banks is “still very, very early,” but anticipated broader institutional involvement over the coming years. Data cited by Crypto X AiMan indicates that institutional interest in XRP has grown in recent years, supporting Kidd’s view of developing momentum.
Kidd said institutional XRP adoption is in its early stages, but the growing interest from banks and payment firms signals that change is underway.
Demand, fixed supply, and use casesXRP was created with a maximum supply of 100 billion tokens, and its supply cannot increase further. Kidd drew a comparison between XRP and Bitcoin, in terms of fixed supply dynamics. Just as institutional accumulation of Bitcoin can drive price appreciation, every financial institution holding XRP for liquidity needs adds upward pressure, since supply remains capped.
Crypto X AiMan observed that addressing the nostro and vostro account use case is only the beginning. Other demand catalysts for XRP include central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), AI-powered technologies, and increased global payment traffic.
Kidd said he joined Ripple after he recognized its ambition to create “a universal ledger, one ledger for all the value in the world.” He continues to believe that wider adoption of XRP is still in its early stages, and that the sheer size of the opportunity is significant.
Use CaseImpact on XRP DemandNostro/Vostro replacementPotential $30 trillion liquidity shiftInstitutional settlementsIncreased utility for large-value transfersCBDCs, AI, payment growthAdditional demand for token usageRipple is a US-based technology company founded in 2012, focused on providing real-time settlement solutions and cross-border payment infrastructure for financial institutions. XRP is the digital asset at the core of Ripple’s payment network.
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.
Jake Claver, a digital asset strategist known for his outspoken views on cryptocurrency markets, is encouraging $XRP holders with fewer than 1,000 tokens to focus on long-term planning rather than seeking immediate profits. He advises investors to prioritize patience and estate planning over current price movements, emphasizing that substantial wealth may take decades to materialize.
Focus on the long termClaver argues that holding small XRP amounts will not result in sudden riches. Instead, he describes such holdings as a potential foundation for future financial security, provided investors take a long-term perspective and secure their assets appropriately.
Even a small XRP position can be the start of generational wealth. Secure it properly, include it in your estate plan, and think long term. The greatest investments are often the ones future generations benefit from.
He defines “generational wealth” as assets totaling between $20 million and $50 million. According to Claver, this threshold is necessary to maintain a comfortable lifestyle and leave a meaningful inheritance, especially as inflation reduces the purchasing power of the dollar.
Ambitious price predictionsTo illustrate the scale required for generational wealth, Claver calculates that an individual holding 200 XRP would only reach $20 million if XRP were to rise to $100,000 per token. He sets this as a potential price target for the period between 2030 and 2032, but does not claim this figure is certain.
Claver has issued bold forecasts in the past. He previously projected XRP would reach $100 by the end of 2025, a level not achieved, as XRP’s price hovered between $2 and $3. After facing criticism for that prediction, Claver recently suggested XRP could hit $750 by the end of 2026, and his latest target of $100,000 implies a nearly 91,750-fold increase from XRP’s current price of $1.09.
Price TargetProjected YearPrice at Projection$1002025$2–$3$7502026$1.09$100,0002030–2032$1.09Mainstream analysts generally forecast XRP prices in the $5 to $50 range by 2030, citing Ripple’s ongoing efforts to expand its payment network, a push for greater regulatory clarity in the United States, and increased institutional interest in the token.
Achieving a $100,000 price point would require XRP’s market capitalization to surpass the cumulative value of the entire global cryptocurrency sector by multiples, and no widely recognized analytic models currently support such a scenario for the foreseeable future.
Planning and security for XRP holdersWhile Claver’s price projections have drawn skepticism, he puts greater emphasis on sound financial planning. He strongly advises investors to store XRP in cold wallets, ensure digital assets are part of estate plans, and make access instructions—such as seed phrases—available to trusted family members to safeguard long-term wealth.
Claver underlines that managing succession and asset safety is vital, no matter how much XRP a person holds. Without clear estate plans, holdings risk evaporating during probate or being lost entirely.
Mini dictionary: Cold storage, a security measure in which cryptocurrencies are kept offline—typically using devices like hardware wallets or paper wallets—to reduce the risk of hacking or unauthorized online access.
Jake Claver is recognized for his involvement in cryptocurrency education and market analysis, and he frequently shares digital asset management advice on social media platforms.
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.
The CLARITY Act, a significant piece of legislation aimed at clarifying cryptocurrency regulations in the United States, faces a critical Senate vote in the coming days. The bill’s passage is under intense scrutiny, with its fate strongly tied to ongoing political disputes, particularly concerning the financial disclosures of President Donald Trump.
Lummis highlights urgency as Senate window closesSenator Cynthia Lummis, a key supporter of the CLARITY Act, has drawn attention to the tight legislative schedule. She has cautioned that if the bill does not pass now, cryptocurrency regulation could be delayed until 2030. Lummis voiced her concerns in a June appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box, responding to JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon’s criticism regarding the bill’s anti-money laundering measures. She countered his points by emphasizing the bill’s multiple references to the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering (AML) requirements.
Senator Lummis underscored that the CLARITY Act includes 16 or 17 direct references to the Bank Secrecy Act, aiming to reinforce anti-money laundering compliance, and warned that missing the current Senate window could postpone comprehensive crypto regulation for years due to election-driven legislative limitations.
With the 2026 election approaching, legislative time for floor debates is shrinking. A new Congress will be seated after the midterms, requiring the process to restart entirely if the bill fails to proceed in the current session.
Mini dictionary: CLARITY Act, a proposed US bill designed to establish clear rules for digital asset markets and address regulatory uncertainties in the crypto industry.
Warren demands Trump’s crypto income disclosureSenator Elizabeth Warren has added further complexity by issuing a demand to President Trump to disclose all cryptocurrency earnings, setting a deadline of July 23. In a letter dated July 16, Warren requested a detailed financial disclosure covering Trump’s crypto-related income from January 1 to July 15.
Trump’s financial filings for 2025 show approximately $1.4 billion in income linked to the official TRUMP meme coin and World Liberty Financial. Warren has argued that this creates a conflict of interest for elected officials, as their personal gains might be directly affected by legislation they are currently evaluating.
Senator Warren has asserted that transparency around President Trump’s crypto holdings is critical to addressing fears that lawmakers could benefit financially from regulatory decisions about the industry.
Mini dictionary: World Liberty Financial, a financial entity reportedly tied to digital asset ventures associated with President Trump.
DateDisclosure RequirementLinked EntitiesIncome AmountJuly 16, 2026Warren requests voluntary disclosureTRUMP meme coin, World Liberty Financial$1.4 billionPolicy divides deepen as Democrats push for stricter rulesDemocratic senators have taken an increasingly hardline position. Several, including Senators Chris Murphy, Chris Van Hollen, and Jeff Merkley, have expressed opposition to the CLARITY Act in its current form. Additionally, Senator Adam Schiff has stated that the bill must contain explicit provisions to prevent President Trump and his family from profiting from cryptocurrencies.
Republicans counter that such ethics provisions should be considered separately, arguing that attaching them to the CLARITY Act could undermine its chances of passage. Some related amendments were previously rejected during the act’s review by the Senate Banking Committee.
Mini dictionary: Senate Banking Committee, a key committee in the US Senate responsible for reviewing legislation related to finance, banking, and securities.
Senate faces procedural hurdles before recessThe Senate is scheduled to leave for its August recess on August 7. Legislative priorities, including a major defense spending bill, are competing for limited floor time. Analyst and crypto trader Merlijn The Trader has argued that the CLARITY Act is not failing due to policy disagreements, but rather because of a standoff linked to a single individual’s financial interests. The future of cryptocurrency regulation in the US could hinge on developments in the next two weeks, with regulatory uncertainty potentially extending throughout the remainder of the decade if the bill does not advance.
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.
Monday was extremely painful for the BTC funds, but the rest of the week managed to offset the losses.
After a violent eight-week streak with nothing but substantial withdrawals, the spot Bitcoin ETFs changed their course in the middle of July and now extended their recovery period with another green performance.
However, the funds tracking the largest altcoin managed to beat the market leader in terms of weekly net inflows.
BTC ETF Green Wave Endures Perhaps due to the rising tension in the Middle East over the previous weekend, Monday began with a massive $424.66 million net outflow from the spot BTC ETFs. This was the single-largest withdrawal since June 26. Thus, the good news from the previous week started to look like a fluke that cannot be repeated.
However, investors’ behavior changed in the following four days, and fresh capital started to flow in. Data from SoSoValue shows that $181 million entered the funds on Tuesday, another $107.8 million on Wednesday, $79.15 million on Thursday, and $132.30 million on Friday. As such, the weekend ended in the green, with net inflows of $75.67 million.
Nevertheless, these numbers are nowhere near the mass exodus experienced from the middle of May and the beginning of July. In five out of these eight weeks, investors pulled out $1 billion or more, with the week that ended on June 26 registering the second-highest net outflows of $1.79 billion. Overall, the funds lost more than $8 billion in approximately two months.
The cumulative total net inflows dumped from $59.34 billion to $51.08 billion before they recovered some ground to $51.35 billion as of July 17.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs Net Flows. Source: SoSoValue ETH Funds Do Even Better While the financial vehicles tracking BTC attracted just over $75 million last week, those following the largest altcoin did even better. The spot Ethereum ETFs gained $105.44 million, building on the previous week’s $84.42 million.
You may also like: The ETF Battle Between Gold and Bitcoin: Is BTC Really Losing? Bitcoin Nears Final Stage of Bear Market Window – Is a Broader Recovery in Sight? Bitcoin Records Worst June in Four Years – Is a Cyclical Bottom in Play? Monday was also in the red, but in a more modest manner. Investors took out $15.41 million. Thursday saw $28.04 million in net outflows, but the $58.34 million on Tuesday, $53.83 million on Wednesday, and $36.73 million on Friday offset all the losses.
Similar to the BTC ETFs, the Ethereum counterparts were on an eight-week red streak, in which they lost well over $1.1 billion in cumulative total net inflows, going from $12.09 billion to $10.89 billion. However, the figure has risen to $11.08 billion after the two consecutive weeks in the green in mid-July.
Leading Ethereum software firm Consensys has firmly denied rumors that user data or funds were compromised after a North Korea-linked IT worker temporarily gained access to the core codebase of its popular Web3 wallet, MetaMask.
The security incident, which took place earlier this year, involved an individual operating under the alias "Tyler Knapp" (GitHub username: "imyugioh").
The individual was not a direct employee of Consensys, but was instead engaged as a consultant through an unnamed third-party provider.
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Between March 9 and early April 2026, the contractor contributed directly to MetaMask’s core codebase, specifically working on the wallet's fiat on-ramp and off-ramp features.
Upon detecting the threat, Consensys took immediate and aggressive action. The firm froze all product releases, swiftly terminated the contractor's access, and launched a comprehensive internal security audit.
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The company also confirmed that it has notified law enforcement agencies regarding the infiltration.
Correcting misinformationIn a public statement released on X (formerly Twitter), Consensys sought to correct recent misinformation circulating online about the severity of the breach.
"Earlier this year, we identified and contained a threat from an individual engaged as a consultant through a third-party provider," the company stated. "After the threat was quickly identified, we immediately terminated all access, launched a comprehensive investigation, and notified law enforcement."
Consensys emphasized the results of its internal audit, confirming that the threat was neutralized before any damage could occur.
"Our investigation confirmed no malicious code was deployed, no customer assets or data were compromised, and there was no impact to user safety, funds, or security," the firm concluded.
Consensys, a prominent blockchain software company known for developing the MetaMask crypto wallet, has denied reports of a security breach affecting user assets or data. This clarification comes after the company discovered that an external contractor with connections to North Korea temporarily accessed MetaMask’s core codebase earlier this year.
Security incident and contractor backgroundThe incident centered on a consultant operating under the alias “Tyler Knapp,” identified on GitHub as “imyugioh.” According to Consensys, this individual was not a direct staff member, but was engaged through a third-party provider to work on MetaMask. The consultant’s involvement with the wallet’s codebase spanned from March 9 to early April 2026, primarily focusing on features related to fiat on-ramp and off-ramp functionalities.
Consensys took immediate steps to address the potential threat upon its discovery. The company froze all new product releases, ended the consultant’s access, and initiated a thorough internal security review. Law enforcement agencies were promptly notified of the incident as part of the firm’s response protocol.
Mini dictionary: Fiat on-ramp and off-ramp, services that facilitate the conversion between traditional currency and cryptocurrencies, allowing users to deposit or withdraw funds using bank transfers or other standard payment methods.
Official statement and investigation resultsConsensys addressed the concerns in a post on X, seeking to counter online speculation about the scope of the breach. The company outlined that its detection protocols worked as intended, enabling it to contain the threat rapidly.
Earlier this year, we identified and contained a threat from an individual engaged as a consultant through a third-party provider. After the threat was quickly identified, we immediately terminated all access, launched a comprehensive investigation, and notified law enforcement.
According to Consensys, a comprehensive internal assessment was conducted. This review found no indication that malicious code was introduced or that user funds or information were at risk during the incident. The firm further emphasized that there was no effect on the wallet’s performance, security, or functionality.
Our investigation confirmed no malicious code was deployed, no customer assets or data were compromised, and there was no impact to user safety, funds, or security.
Consensys response and user reassuranceAfter identifying the threat, Consensys placed a hold on all product updates to prevent any chance of an undetected security lapse. The company’s security team reviewed all recent changes to the codebase and worked to ensure full system integrity. Users were also notified that law enforcement was handling the case in collaboration with Consensys’ internal team.
With MetaMask serving millions of users globally as a gateway to decentralized web applications, Consensys moved quickly to address any potential risk. The company underscored its ongoing commitment to user safety and its investment in routine audits and security measures.
The identity and deeper background of the contractor remain under law enforcement investigation. Consensys has not disclosed further personal information regarding the individual or the specific third-party provider involved. The company stated that its protocols for screening external contributors are being reviewed and updated.
Consensys reiterated that MetaMask users do not need to take any additional action as a result of the incident, as customer assets and information remain secure.
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.
A South Korean trading platform triggered the KOSPI index circuit breaker, halting program trading for 5 minutes.
South Korean exchange KRX triggered the sidecar mechanism due to KOSPI index volatility, suspending program trading for approximately five minutes. The sidecar mechanism is designed to address sharp short-term fluctuations, restricting only program trading while manual trading remains normal. Unlike the circuit breaker mechanism, the sidecar does not halt entire market operations, functioning more like a "speed bump" during periods of market volatility. By contrast, circuit breakers are typically used in extreme market scenarios, suspending all trading across the market when triggered to prevent panic-driven volatility from escalating further.
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Citigroup downgraded its rating for the South Korean stock market to "Neutral".
Citigroup has adjusted its rating on South Korean stocks from "overweight" to "neutral" amid sharp volatility in chip stocks over recent weeks, as the bank seeks to reduce its exposure to artificial intelligence (AI) themed investments. A poster child for the global AI trading frenzy, South Korea’s KOSPI index has become the world’s best-performing stock market this year. However, in recent weeks, the market has faced sharp swings due to retail investors’ enthusiasm for single-stock leveraged ETFs and valuation concerns. Citigroup remains structurally bullish on the AI sector’s outlook, but has shifted its stance on the South Korean market to neutral.
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SK Hynix experienced sharp price swings that trapped three newly entered whales, with the latest buyer chasing the rally only $60 away from liquidation.
According to Hyperinsight monitoring, SK Hynix (SKHX) on Hyperliquid saw sharp volatility after opening this morning. The token opened at $1168.1, surged to a high of $1270.1 within half an hour, marking an ~8.7% gain, before quickly pulling back. At 9:55 a.m., it hit a low of $1185.3, down ~6.7% from its peak. During this swing, three whales sequentially opened long positions on SKHX, holding a total of 11,620.674 contracts worth roughly $14.036 million. Based on SK Hynix’s current quoted price of $1198, all three long positions are now underwater: - Whale starting with 0xf4b: New long position with 10x leverage, holding ~$2.715 million, average entry price of $1210.6, unrealized loss of ~$9,000, liquidation price of $1130.4. - Whale starting with 0x564: New long position with 10x leverage, holding ~$4.918 million, average entry price of $1238.9, unrealized loss of ~$125,000, liquidation price of $851.5. - Whale starting with 0x2ab: Converted from a short position to long and continued adding to longs, with 10x leverage, holding ~$6.403 million, average entry price of $1212.8, unrealized loss of ~$25,000, liquidation price of $650.3. Notably, the 0xf4b whale is closest to liquidation. When SKHX dipped to $1185.3 intraday, the gap between its entry price and liquidation price narrowed to just ~$54.9; as the price rebounded to $1298, the gap has since widened to ~$68.
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Whale Alert: A single whale holds a long BTC position worth $107 million, now the largest BTC bull.
According to Hyperinsight monitoring, a 40x-leveraged whale (0x66f) accumulated a long position of 1,662.50 BTC between last night and early this morning, with the position valued at approximately $107 million, marking the address’s only current holding. Its average entry price is $63,958.4, generating an unrealized profit of $926,900 and a return of around 34.87%, while its liquidation price stands at $63,143.1. Over the past seven days, this whale has opened a total of 1,882.87 BTC in long positions, with a trading volume of roughly $121 million for these longs; at 7:12 AM today, it added 2.04 BTC to its long position at $64,700, making it the largest BTC long holder on Hyperliquid.
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South Korea's KOSPI index dropped over 4% once again, with SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics both down 4.4%.
According to Bitget market data, South Korea’s KOSPI index has fallen by over 4% again. Both SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics dropped 4.4%.
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Analysis: Binance and Bybit recorded over $2.3 billion in stablecoin outflows over the past 30 days, while Bitcoin (BTC) liquidity continues to contract.
CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost stated in a recent post that stablecoin reserves on Binance and Bybit have been steadily declining, with a combined outflow of more than $2.3 billion over the past 30 days, a trend reflecting insufficient new liquidity in the crypto market. Binance’s stablecoin reserves decreased by roughly $1.55 billion in that period, while Bybit’s fell by approximately $786 million, bringing the total outflow from the two major exchanges to nearly $2.3 billion. Bitcoin has been fluctuating around the key $60,000 level for about 165 consecutive days; although it briefly surged past $80,000 in May, the upward momentum could not hold. The current market lacks new capital inflows, with weak new demand for both BTC and the overall crypto sector. Exchange stablecoin reserves have been on the decline since the start of the year, with outflows dominating, signaling that investors are reducing their fund allocations to exchanges, and some capital may even be exiting the market. Liquidity contraction and cautious market sentiment have become major obstacles for BTC to break out of its current trading range.
South Korea has accelerated its move into blockchain-based finance with the launch of a pilot program aimed at its $900 billion bond market. The initiative comes as Ripple’s XRP Ledger approaches a major milestone, with the total stablecoin supply on the network climbing close to $1 billion, spurred primarily by strong growth in the Ripple USD (RLUSD) token.
XRPL stablecoin supply approaches $1 billionBSC News reported that XRP Ledger’s total stablecoin supply grew by over 5% in the past week, reaching approximately $980 million. Data from DefiLlama confirmed these numbers, showing the network’s stablecoin market capitalization at $980.33 million—an increase of roughly $47.4 million in a single week.
XRP Ledger is edging toward stablecoin dominance, with a surge in supply placing it just short of the symbolic $1 billion mark. The majority of the increase is attributed to RLUSD, which maintains a dominant share of the network’s stablecoin market cap.
RLUSD remains the leading stablecoin on the XRP Ledger, accounting for about 90% of the total supply. USDV ranks as the second-largest token following another period of rapid growth.
The network’s stablecoin supply has shown volatility throughout 2026. XRPL briefly surpassed the $1 billion threshold earlier this year before stabilizing in the $760 million to $980 million range in recent months.
Mini dictionary: RLUSD (Ripple USD) is a USD-backed stablecoin issued on both the XRP Ledger and Ethereum, facilitating fast and low-cost transactions. The token’s recent migration trends have made XRPL the primary platform for RLUSD circulation.
NetworkStablecoin Market CapRLUSD ShareTVLXRP Ledger$980 million~90%$32.8 millionEthereum–<50% of RLUSD–RLUSD migration strengthens XRPL dominanceRecent market data indicate that more than half of RLUSD’s circulating supply now resides on the XRP Ledger. Until early 2026, the stablecoin was primarily issued on Ethereum, but migration activity has shifted the balance, making XRPL RLUSD’s principal blockchain by supply.
Cumulative trading volume for RLUSD pairs on XRPL has surpassed $2.5 billion since its 2025 launch. However, decentralized finance activity on the network remains subdued when compared to the growth in stablecoin supply. DefiLlama’s dashboard shows XRPL’s total value locked at just $32.8 million—far behind its stablecoin circulation.
XRP price stable as South Korea tests blockchain bondsXRP is currently trading at $1.09, achieving a market capitalization near $68.4 billion and ranking sixth among all cryptocurrencies. Daily trading volume stands at $611 million, and the circulating supply is recorded at approximately 62.46 billion XRP.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s bond market pilot marks a significant step for institutional blockchain adoption. The program aims to digitize infrastructure in a market worth around $900 billion, reflecting growing interest among financial institutions in blockchain technology.
Ripple, established in 2012, is a US-based technology company known for developing payment settlement solutions and maintaining the XRP Ledger, a decentralized blockchain designed for fast asset transfers. South Korea’s public sector blockchain initiative and Ripple’s network expansion highlight parallel advances in both institutional and crypto-native segments.
Both developments are seen as signals of increasing blockchain integration across different areas of finance. Market analysts continue to monitor adoption trends, network growth, and liquidity patterns as the sector matures.
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.
Ethereum posted renewed upward momentum after confirming a key breakout above $1,820, with leading analysts indicating potential further gains if current trends persist. The cryptocurrency’s technical setup, supported by whale accumulation and improved regulatory sentiment, is strengthening confidence among traders eyeing a near-term rally.
Technical breakout lifts price outlookETH is currently trading at $1,867.98 with a 24-hour trading volume of $6.63 billion and a market capitalization of $225.48 billion. The asset advanced 1.60% over the past day, adding to optimism about a bullish reversal.
Michael van de Poppe, a prominent crypto analyst known for his technical analysis, identified the close above $1,820 as a major shift for Ethereum. That resistance level had previously blocked rally attempts, but recent buying activity and a firm retest of the zone have reinforced support and signaled a stronger market structure.
According to analysts, holding the $1,820 support could set the stage for Ethereum to approach $2,500 if buying pressure continues to mount and market conditions remain favorable.
Traders are also monitoring the proposed Clarity Act, anticipated to be introduced next week, which could have implications for digital asset regulation and bolster investor sentiment.
Whale accumulation and leveraged trades drive momentumOn-chain platform Lookonchain provided data highlighting a sharp increase in whale activity following a breakout. Two recently created wallets, identified as major investors, have moved significant funds from Bitcoin into Ethereum, advancing the asset’s upward trajectory.
Both addresses reportedly sold a combined 72 BTC before initiating long leveraged positions totaling 12,000 ETH. Large positions of this nature typically draw attention due to their influence on broader market psychology and price stability.
While leveraged trades carry significant liquidation risk, the confidence in these large ETH exposures underlines growing optimism for further price appreciation if market conditions stay supportive.
Mini dictionary: Lookonchain is a blockchain analytics service that provides real-time tracking of large crypto transactions and on-chain movements, helping traders monitor whale activity.
MetricDataETH price$1,867.98Support level$1,820Trading volume (24h)$6.63 billionWhale leveraged position12,000 ETHBTC sold by whales72 BTCMarket capitalization$225.48 billionAnalyst target$2,500Regulatory updates and market sentimentUpcoming regulatory proposals, including the Clarity Act, are being closely tracked by market participants for their potential impact on the crypto sector. Positive developments on this front could serve as a catalyst for further gains and mitigate concerns around legal uncertainty.
Alongside technical signals and on-chain trends, the improved tone in wider crypto markets—enabled by a rebound in Bitcoin—is also contributing to bullish sentiment in Ethereum.
If Ethereum successfully builds above current support levels, analysts believe that the ongoing trend of whale accumulation and sustained demand could enable ETH to move toward the $2,500 mark in the near term.
Market watchers caution, however, that abrupt volatility and the risk associated with large leveraged positions may still affect price action over coming 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.
PANews, July 20 – According to SoSoValue data, crypto market sectors continued to pull back, while the Meme sector was relatively resilient, rising 0.56% in the past 24 hours. Among them, Pepe (PEPE) gained 4.38%, BUILDon (B) surged 31.65%, and Pump.fun (PUMP) jumped 22.76%. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) dipped 0.25%, rebounding above $64,000; Ethereum (ETH) edged up 0.52%, narrowly oscillating around $1,800.
In other sectors, the Layer2 sector fell 0.11% over the past 24 hours, with Mantle (MNT) staying relatively firm, up 1.55%; the Layer1 sector slipped 0.14%, but Canton Network (CC) rose 3.15%; the PayFi sector declined 0.31%, while Telcoin (TEL) pulled up 5.05% intraday; the CeFi sector lost 0.41%, with Cronos (CRO) down 2.30%; the DeFi sector dropped 0.60%, while Jupiter (JUP) bucked the trend, gaining 1.73%.
Crypto sector indices that track historical sector performance show that the ssiMeme, ssiNFT, and ssiLayer1 indices rose 1.27%, 0.65%, and 0.45%, respectively.
Cross-chain bridges keep getting robbed. The latest target is Allbridge, a protocol designed to move stablecoins between blockchain networks, where an attacker made off with approximately $1.65 million before routing the funds from Solana to Ethereum and converting them into ETH.
What happened According to on-chain data flagged by Arkham Intelligence, the attacker extracted the funds from Allbridge’s infrastructure and deliberately moved them across networks, bridging from Solana to Ethereum before swapping into ETH.
Allbridge is a cross-chain bridge protocol focused on stablecoin transfers, operating across EVM-compatible networks as well as non-EVM chains like Solana.
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This is not Allbridge’s first rodeo with attackers. In April 2023, the protocol suffered a flash-loan attack targeting its BNB Chain liquidity pools, which resulted in roughly $570K in losses. That incident involved price manipulation rather than a direct fund drain. Allbridge eventually recovered approximately $465K of those funds through a white-hat hacker arrangement.
Bridge exploits are having a moment A separate incident in April 2026 saw Kelp DAO’s LayerZero-powered bridge lose $292 million in a single exploit.
Allbridge integrated with Algorand in January 2026, broadening its cross-chain stablecoin capabilities.
What this means for investors and the broader market Allbridge’s 2023 response, recovering most of the stolen funds and engaging a white-hat hacker, set a reasonable precedent. Whether the team can replicate that outcome with a larger theft, spanning two separate blockchain ecosystems, is the critical variable to watch.
For traders specifically, the Solana-to-Ethereum fund movement is worth monitoring at the wallet level. Arkham and similar on-chain intelligence platforms will likely continue tracking the attacker’s address, and any movement toward centralized exchange deposit addresses could provide an early signal of whether a recovery or freeze is possible.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Dogecoin (DOGE) is attracting renewed interest from large investors after a notable whale accumulation and technical indicators pointing to possible upward momentum. The popular memecoin currently trades at $0.07250, with 24-hour trading volume reaching $279.78 million and a total market capitalization of $11.24 billion.
Whale activity boosts confidenceRecent on-chain data reveals that prominent investors have continued to accumulate Dogecoin, with a reported purchase of 200 million DOGE valued at about $14 million through the Robinhood trading platform. This trend signals that major players remain confident in Dogecoin’s prospects despite ongoing market fluctuations.
Such accumulation by whales, or large holders, is closely watched by market participants, as these actions often impact market sentiment and liquidity. Industry observers note that when whales acquire significant amounts during periods of price consolidation, it can be an indicator of anticipated significant moves.
Mini dictionary: Robinhood is a US-based trading platform offering commission-free cryptocurrency and stock trading, popular among retail and crypto investors.
Market participants often track whale transactions, as the activity of these large holders can substantially influence Dogecoin’s liquidity and market sentiment.
Technical patterns suggest bullish setupAccording to analysis shared by Crypto With Gopal, Dogecoin’s price is currently consolidating within a narrow, downward-sloping channel, forming a bullish flag pattern. This flag pattern typically follows a strong price move and serves as a sign of continuation before another upward movement may take place.
Analysts are watching for a confirmed breakout, which would likely be indicated by higher trading volumes. Such a move could see DOGE aiming toward the $0.075 level in the near term. However, until a decisive breakout is observed, market sentiment remains cautiously optimistic as traders continue to assess whether DOGE can sustain its current technical position.
MetricValuePrice (at publication)$0.0725024h Volume$279.78 millionMarket Cap$11.24 billionRecent Whale Buy200 million DOGE ($14 million)Breakout Target$0.075The bullish flag formation reflects Dogecoin buyers defending support levels while the selling pressure wanes, hinting at healthy consolidation before a potential price increase.
Market outlook remains cautiousDogecoin’s immediate price direction now hinges on whether bulls can generate a breakout from the current flag formation, supported by sustained buying activity. If the bullish scenario materializes, further upside movement may follow. Conversely, the absence of a breakout could lead to range-bound trading as participants wait for a catalyst.
Analysts also point out that overall momentum in the cryptocurrency market, particularly the recent upward trend for Bitcoin (BTC), could help bolster Dogecoin’s prospects in the short term. However, the unpredictable nature of crypto markets necessitates caution, and traders should remain vigilant.
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.
Cardano, a decentralized blockchain platform, has officially activated Protocol Version 11 through the Van Rossem hard fork. This makes it the first network upgrade fully approved by the community through onchain voting
The upgrade also brings faster, cheaper smart contracts, giving developers more powerful tools to build on the blockchain.
Cardano Launches Its First Fully On-Chain Governed Hard ForkCardano has officially activated the Van Rossem hard fork, upgrading the network to Protocol Version 11 (PV11).
Unlike previous upgrades, this marks the first Cardano hard fork approved entirely through onchain governance. The proposal was voted on by Delegated Representatives (DReps), Stake Pool Operators (SPOs), and the Constitutional Committee (CC) under Cardano’s new governance system introduced in the Conway era.
Following the successful activation, Intersect, the organization coordinating Cardano’s governance process, confirmed the upgrade had gone live on the mainnet.
van Rossem hard fork update 🍴
The van Rossem hard fork has been successfully enacted on Cardano Mainnet! 🎉
We would like to take a moment to recognise the work of the Hard Forking Working Group to get us to this moment. Coordinating ecosystem partners, SPOs, DApps,… pic.twitter.com/SSleGfA5zE
— Intersect (@IntersectMBO) July 18, 2026 “The Van Rossem hard fork has been successfully enacted on Cardano Mainnet.”
Intersect announced, thanking ecosystem partners, developers, exchanges, DReps, SPOs, and Constitutional Committee members who helped complete the upgrade safely.
What’s New in Protocol Version 11?Protocol Version 11 mainly focuses on making Cardano smarter, faster, and more efficient for developers building decentralized applications (DApps).
The upgrade introduces several improvements, including:
New Plutus smart contract features are introduced through multiple Cardano Improvement Proposals (CIPs).Lower smart contract execution costs with improved cost models.Faster processing using new case expressions for Boolean, Integer, and Data types.Expanded cryptographic functions, including BLS12-381 support.Better consistency across Plutus V1, V2, and V3, allowing developers to use the same built-in functions across all versions.Stronger ledger rules and improved network security.According to Intersect, testing showed no performance regressions after the upgrade, while security audits confirmed the safety of the new Plutus features and execution cost models.
The transaction format also remains unchanged, making the transition smoother for existing applications.
Upgrade Opens the Door for Cardano’s Next PhaseBeyond improving today’s network, Protocol Version 11 also lays the technical foundation for Cardano’s upcoming Dijkstra era, where more advanced smart contract capabilities are expected.
Intersect’s Hard Fork Working Group recommended the hard fork in June, and later approved by its Technical Steering Committee before receiving enough governance votes to move forward.
Before activation, Cardano’s Constitution required that at least 85% of active stake pools upgrade to compatible node software, helping ensure a smooth network transition.
Following the successful upgrade, ADA saw a modest market reaction, rising to around $0.1649.
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TLDR: Cardano’s Van Rossem hard fork is the first upgrade approved entirely through onchain governance. Protocol Version 11 unifies Plutus built-in functions across versions V1, V2, and V3 networks. Five new CIPs add modular exponentiation, array types, and BLS12-381 multi-scalar multiplication. The hard fork honors Max van Rossem, a Dutch Cardano governance builder who passed in 2025. Cardano has completed its Van Rossem hard fork, activating Protocol Version 11 across the mainnet network. The Cardano hard fork marks the first upgrade approved entirely through onchain governance, without relying on centralized coordination.
Named after the late Dutch community leader Max van Rossem, the update introduces new Plutus primitives, unified built-in functions, and ledger-level improvements.
The Cardano hard fork also lowers smart contract execution costs while preparing the network for its upcoming Dijkstra era.
Governance Process Behind the Cardano Hard Fork The Van Rossem upgrade moved the Cardano mainnet from Protocol Version 10 to Protocol Version 11. The change occurred through an intra-era hard fork, keeping the ledger within the Conway era. No era transition took place during the process.
Intersect’s Hard Fork Working Group recommended the governance action on June 15, 2026. The Technical Steering Committee endorsed the recommendation one day later. Both bodies confirmed the proposal met the required technical standards before submission.
The Cardano Constitution required at least 85% of stake pools by active stake to upgrade node software beforehand.
The relevant guardrail states that stake pools must move to “a Cardano node version that is capable of processing the rules” tied to the new protocol version. This threshold was verified by the Constitutional Committee and stake pool operators.
Testing reports confirmed no behavioral regressions across the network. Complete conformance was demonstrated between specification and implementation for new ledger rules. Performance benchmarks for Cardano Node version 11.0.1 showed no regressions compared to earlier releases.
New Plutus Capabilities Introduced Five Cardano Improvement Proposals introduced new Plutus primitives through this hard fork. These include CIP-0109, CIP-0132, CIP-0133, CIP-0138, and CIP-0153. Each proposal targets a specific performance or functionality gap in smart contract execution.
CIP-0109 adds a modular exponentiation built-in, supporting cryptographic operations like elliptic-curve calculations.
CIP-0132 introduces a dropList function, improving list-element access and redeemer-indexing efficiency. CIP-0133 enables multi-scalar multiplication over BLS12-381, supporting zero-knowledge proof verification onchain.
CIP-0138 brings a new Array type with constant-time indexing to Plutus Core. This replaces the previous singly-linked list structure for many use cases. CIP-0153 introduces a native Value type, streamlining multi-asset token handling within smart contracts.
Following the hard fork, all built-in functions became available across Plutus V1, V2, and V3. Untyped Plutus Core also gained case-expressions for Bool, Integer, and Data types. This replaces costlier conditional patterns that previously slowed script execution.
Ledger Enhancements and Tribute to Max van Rossem The hard fork strengthened several ledger-level protections during this update. VRF key hash uniqueness is now enforced at the ledger level, preventing duplicate stake pool registrations. This change mitigates certain attack vectors tied to VRF key reuse.
Reference input rules for Plutus V1 and V2 scripts were also revised. Constitutional Committee voting restrictions were promoted from mempool checks to ledger predicates. This change improves transparency across all transaction submission paths.
The hard fork carries the name of Max van Rossem, a Dutch community builder who passed away in October 2025.
He co-led the Constitutional Committee Election Working Group and represented the Dutch community at the Constitutional Convention in Buenos Aires.
Van Rossem founded AdaMoments and later Moments, guided by the belief that “user data = user’s data.” His son, Max Louis Hans van Rossem, was born on January 11, 2026. The Cardano hard fork now carries his father’s name into the network’s permanent history.
USDT must qualify as a foreign issuer before July 18, 2028, to retain access across U.S.-based exchanges. Tether may need OCC registration, U.S. oversight, examinations, and compliance with asset-freeze orders. Proposed reserve rules could separate U.S.-backing assets from Tether’s gold, Bitcoin, and other holdings. USA₮ gives Tether a regulated U.S. route, but it does not automatically preserve USDT exchange listings. Tether’s USDT is approaching a regulatory deadline that could determine whether American exchanges may continue offering the stablecoin after July 18, 2028. The GENIUS Act does not impose an automatic prohibition, but it creates a three-year transition for payment stablecoins serving United States customers.
USDT Faces 2028 Compliance Deadline for Continued U.S. Exchange Access
According to CoinDesk, Tether and other foreign stablecoin issuers may have until July 2028 to meet GENIUS Act requirements or risk becoming ineligible for listing on U.S. centralized exchanges. Compliance… pic.twitter.com/tnWsojH3lP
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) July 19, 2026
After that date, domestic digital asset providers may offer only tokens issued by approved American companies or qualifying foreign issuers. As of July 19, 2026, several essential regulations remained unfinished, leaving the compliance route incomplete despite the approaching deadline. The unfinished rulebook remains central to how exchanges assess access and compliance before the transition ends.
Foreign Issuer Approval Defines USDT’s 2028 Access Test To preserve USDT access through American platforms after the transition, Tether must qualify under the law’s foreign issuer framework. That process requires more than maintaining sufficient assets behind the token.
The issuer must demonstrate the technical ability and formal commitment to follow lawful United States orders, including freezes and asset seizures. Treasury must also recognize Tether’s home jurisdiction as operating a stablecoin regime comparable to the American system.
Tether would then register with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and consent to United States legal jurisdiction. That registration would introduce reporting requirements, regulatory examinations, ongoing supervision, and closer scrutiny of reserves linked to American customers.
In addition, the OCC’s March proposal sets out another operational condition. A qualifying foreign issuer would generally need to maintain sufficient reserves at United States financial institutions to meet local liquidity demands.
However, a Treasury-approved reciprocal arrangement could permit a different structure. Even so, the final rules will determine whether that alternative is available and how regulators assess foreign-held reserves.
Reserve Rules Could Reshape Tether’s U.S. Compliance Path Meanwhile, Tether reported about $183 billion in token-related liabilities at the end of March 2026. In addition, the company disclosed an $8.23 billion excess reserve buffer.
Its holdings included roughly $20 billion in physical gold and $7 billion in Bitcoin. Although those assets strengthened Tether’s overall coverage, they did not fall within the proposed reserve categories for supervised payment stablecoins.
Under the OCC proposal, qualifying reserves would generally include cash, demand deposits, short-term Treasury securities, overnight repurchase agreements, and eligible government money-market funds. Treasury securities would also need no more than 93 days remaining until maturity.
As a result, Tether may need to separate reserves supporting American activity from its gold, Bitcoin, and other nonqualifying assets. However, the company would not necessarily need to sell every holding that falls outside the proposed categories.
Instead, those assets could remain outside the required one-to-one reserve pool or continue operating as excess corporate assets. Ultimately, final regulations will determine how issuers must calculate, locate, and disclose reserves backing tokens held by United States customers.
Meanwhile, Tether has already established a separate domestic route. In January 2026, it launched USA₮ through Anchorage Digital Bank as a federally regulated, dollar-backed stablecoin.
That structure provides the company with a product designed for the GENIUS Act framework. Nevertheless, the launch of USA₮ does not automatically preserve USDT listings on American exchanges.
Platforms would still need assurance that USDT’s foreign issuer satisfies every final legal condition before the 2028 cutoff. With major rules still at the proposal stage, Tether has about two years to register, adjust its reserve structure, expand USA₮, or combine those approaches.
This is a general announcement. Products and services referred to here may not be available in your region. Terms and conditions apply. Disclaimer: This is not available for users in the EEA. Fellow Binancians, Binance is pleased to launch a new Word of the Day (WOTD) game! The theme of this week’s WOTD is “TradFi Meets Crypto”. Read selected articles to learn more about this topic and participate in this week’s WOTD to grab a share of the rewards. Activity Period: 2026-07-20 00:00 (UTC) to 2026-07-26 23:59 (UTC) Complete 5 Words to Unlock Your Share of 15 BNB WOTD is an educational word-guessing game, which allows users to increase their crypto vocabulary and stay on top of the latest market developments. 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Circle’s stock price has become a pressure gauge for the company’s claim that regulated stablecoins can build durable moats. A 76% drop from $260 to $62 doesn’t usually align with the narrative of a dominant infrastructure play, and Circle President Heath Tarbert had to address that directly during a July 14 interview with FOX Business, as detailed in the original report.
Tarbert’s message was a long-game thesis: Circle is building what he calls full-stack internet platform infrastructure, and the stock will eventually reflect that. The timing matters because Circle is arguing this just as the Open USD consortium—a 140-member group featuring Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, and Google—formalizes a competing vision for stablecoin issuance. The consortium promises interoperability and broad distribution through existing payment rails, challenging Circle’s position as the regulated stablecoin standard.
What $73 Billion and 34 Chains Really Mean Tarbert pointed to two numbers that Circle believes are extremely difficult for any consortium to replicate quickly. USDC has $73 billion in circulation and native support on 34 Layer-1 and Layer-2 blockchains. That breadth of chain support is not a minor integration detail; it means USDC is already embedded in the developer workflows and liquidity routing for DeFi protocols across ecosystems, as shown by recent blockchain developer activity rankings that put Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon among the most active environments—all chains where USDC functions natively.
Native deployment matters because cross-chain bridges introduce latency and security vulnerabilities. A consortium that launches a stablecoin on a handful of chains later this year might find that liquidity and developer tooling have already clustered around USDC. Tarbert’s network effects argument leans heavily on the idea that minting another dollar token is easy, but persuading every lending protocol, DEX, and yield aggregator to re-plumb their infrastructure around a new asset is an entirely different problem.
The Tether Shadow and the Regulatory Edge Circle’s competitive positioning isn’t only about Open USD. Tether remains the largest stablecoin by market cap, operating with a much lighter regulatory footprint. Tarbert drew a deliberate line: USDC is the largest regulated stablecoin and holds the highest actual transaction volume. That framing matters because transaction volume—not just issuance—is what generates fee revenue and signals real usage rather than parked capital.
The regulatory dimension complicates the consortium picture as well. Washington’s stablecoin legislation remains in flux, with major crypto bills facing last-minute banking opposition that could reshape who gets to issue dollar tokens. A framework that enforces strict reserve and redemption requirements benefits Circle because it is already operating under those constraints with USDC. The consortium players, many of which have not yet publicly detailed their reserve structures, may have to adapt quickly if the legislative environment tightens.
What remains uncertain is whether the market will reward Circle’s patience. The stock’s collapse suggests investors are pricing in the possibility that a payments-industry consortium backed by Visa and Mastercard can erode USDC’s share faster than Tarbert’s network effects can defend it. The consortium’s distribution advantage—direct access to merchants and card networks—is not imaginary, but stablecoin adoption to date has been driven by DeFi capital, not retail payments. If the market shifts toward consumer and merchant settlement, that advantage could become more threatening.
What the Stock Tells You That Press Statements Don’t Tarbert’s answer was structurally sound for a long-duration asset story: the fundamentals are in place, the moat is real, and the stock price will catch up. But a 76% drawdown also signals that public markets see a path where Circle’s regulated status becomes less of a differentiator and more of a cost center. The stablecoin sector is moving toward tokenized treasury products and real-world asset integrations, as seen in the broader drive to put $20 billion of real-world assets on-chain, and that shift could create demand for multiple compliant stablecoins rather than a single winner.
The next few months will test whether Circle’s infrastructure-first approach can withstand a payments-industry offensive while Washington sorts out the legislative framework. For traders and market participants watching the stablecoin wars, the gap between Circle’s $73 billion circulation figure and its $62 stock price is the only number that currently speaks without a corporate filter.
AUTHOR
Brenda is a writer with three years of experience specializing in cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. She graduated from the University of Mombasa with a degree in Psychology. She has worked at Cryptopolitan and Blockchain Reporter.
TLDR: GENIUS Act’s one-year rule deadline passed on July 18, 2026, with zero final rules issued. Stablecoin supply grew 18.6% to $308.1 billion despite the unfinished regulatory framework. USDT and USDC together control 83% of the stablecoin market as rules remain drafts. Full regulatory effect now shifts to January 18, 2027, regardless of rulemaking progress. The GENIUS Act reached its first anniversary on July 18, 2026, without a single final rule published by regulators. The statutory deadline for completing payment stablecoin regulations passed with eight proposals still pending across several federal agencies.
Meanwhile, the stablecoin market expanded from $259.7 billion to $308.1 billion over the same period, an 18.6% increase recorded entirely under an unfinished regulatory framework. The law’s full effect now shifts to January 18, 2027, regardless of rulemaking progress.
Market Growth Outpaces Regulatory Progress On-chain data pulled on July 19 confirmed the scale of the gap between law and enforcement. Total stablecoin supply climbed from $259.7 billion at signing to a May peak above $320 billion. It settled at $308.1 billion by the missed deadline, showing steady expansion despite regulatory delays.
Four agencies hold responsibility for finalizing GENIUS Act rules, and none has completed the process. The OCC proposed a broad implementing rule in March covering reserves, capital and custody standards. The FDIC and NCUA submitted separate prudential and licensing proposals, while Treasury addressed state-level regulation in April.
Market concentration adds weight to the delay, since two issuers control most circulating supply. USDT and USDC together represent about 83% of the stablecoin market, meaning any final rule shapes their operations directly. USD1, the World Liberty Financial token, has grown into the fifth-largest stablecoin despite limited scale a year ago.
An institutional cohort has expanded inside this regulatory gap throughout the GENIUS Act’s first year. PayPal’s PYUSD, BlackRock’s BUIDL, Ripple’s RLUSD and Paxos-backed USDG all grew without finished federal guidance. These issuers built market share while the rules meant to govern them remained in draft form.
Stablecoin Issuers Face Uncertainty Ahead Of 2027 Deadline Congress built a backstop into the original legislation covering scenarios where deadlines slip. The Act takes effect on the earlier of January 18, 2027, or 120 days after final rules publish.
Since no rule finalized after September 20 can move that date earlier, January 18 now stands as the effective start.
Draft proposals outline requirements without yet carrying legal force for issuers. Reserves must sit one-to-one in cash and short-dated Treasuries under current drafts.
Redemptions would need processing within two business days, alongside a five-million-dollar capital floor from OCC language.
Individual issuers face different exposure depending on their current structure and market. Circle’s USDC has the most riding on final capital and reserve requirements. Tether launched USAT, a US-compliant token, anticipating rules that remain unpublished a year later.
Stablecoins function as the settlement layer beneath most crypto market activity today. Every DEX pair and on-chain treasury operates on infrastructure lacking finished US legal grounding. The market added $48 billion in new supply without waiting for regulatory certainty to arrive.
Whale Alert: A single whale holds a long BTC position worth $107 million, now the largest BTC bull.
According to Hyperinsight monitoring, a 40x-leveraged whale (0x66f) accumulated a long position of 1,662.50 BTC between last night and early this morning, with the position valued at approximately $107 million, marking the address’s only current holding. Its average entry price is $63,958.4, generating an unrealized profit of $926,900 and a return of around 34.87%, while its liquidation price stands at $63,143.1. Over the past seven days, this whale has opened a total of 1,882.87 BTC in long positions, with a trading volume of roughly $121 million for these longs; at 7:12 AM today, it added 2.04 BTC to its long position at $64,700, making it the largest BTC long holder on Hyperliquid.
6 minutes ago
South Korea's KOSPI index dropped over 4% once again, with SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics both down 4.4%.
According to Bitget market data, South Korea’s KOSPI index has fallen by over 4% again. Both SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics dropped 4.4%.
6 minutes ago
Analysis: Binance and Bybit recorded over $2.3 billion in stablecoin outflows over the past 30 days, while Bitcoin (BTC) liquidity continues to contract.
CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost stated in a recent post that stablecoin reserves on Binance and Bybit have been steadily declining, with a combined outflow of more than $2.3 billion over the past 30 days, a trend reflecting insufficient new liquidity in the crypto market. Binance’s stablecoin reserves decreased by roughly $1.55 billion in that period, while Bybit’s fell by approximately $786 million, bringing the total outflow from the two major exchanges to nearly $2.3 billion. Bitcoin has been fluctuating around the key $60,000 level for about 165 consecutive days; although it briefly surged past $80,000 in May, the upward momentum could not hold. The current market lacks new capital inflows, with weak new demand for both BTC and the overall crypto sector. Exchange stablecoin reserves have been on the decline since the start of the year, with outflows dominating, signaling that investors are reducing their fund allocations to exchanges, and some capital may even be exiting the market. Liquidity contraction and cautious market sentiment have become major obstacles for BTC to break out of its current trading range.
6 minutes ago
Hong Kong-listed Zhipu fell more than 13%
According to Bitget market data, Zhipu (02513.HK) fell more than 13% and MINIMAX-W (00100.HK) dropped over 4%.
6 minutes ago
Southern Fund’s double-leveraged long ETFs tracking SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics both rose 15% at opening.
Southern’s 2x Long SK Hynix (07709.HK) and Southern’s 2x Long Samsung Electronics (07747.HK) both opened 15% higher.
6 minutes ago
The South Korean government plans to establish a legal framework for the issuance of Korean won stablecoins, and promote the internationalization of the Korean won.
According to South Korean media reports, the Financial Services Commission, Bank of Korea, Financial Supervisory Service, and Korea Securities Depository have jointly announced relevant plans, aiming to transform the South Korean won from a restricted-convertible currency to a freely convertible one and improve the cross-border capital flow system. Under the framework of the Digital Asset Basic Act, the South Korean government intends to clarify the issuance and circulation rules for KRW-denominated stablecoins, providing an institutional basis for the entry of KRW-pegged stablecoins into the market. Furthermore, the Bank of Korea will advance a pilot project combining institutional central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) with tokenized government bonds, and participate in the Bank for International Settlements (BIS)-led Project Agora to explore a digital cross-border payment system.
Whale Alert: A single whale holds a long BTC position worth $107 million, now the largest BTC bull.
According to Hyperinsight monitoring, a 40x-leveraged whale (0x66f) accumulated a long position of 1,662.50 BTC between last night and early this morning, with the position valued at approximately $107 million, marking the address’s only current holding. Its average entry price is $63,958.4, generating an unrealized profit of $926,900 and a return of around 34.87%, while its liquidation price stands at $63,143.1. Over the past seven days, this whale has opened a total of 1,882.87 BTC in long positions, with a trading volume of roughly $121 million for these longs; at 7:12 AM today, it added 2.04 BTC to its long position at $64,700, making it the largest BTC long holder on Hyperliquid.
6 minutes ago
South Korea's KOSPI index dropped over 4% once again, with SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics both down 4.4%.
According to Bitget market data, South Korea’s KOSPI index has fallen by over 4% again. Both SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics dropped 4.4%.
6 minutes ago
Analysis: Binance and Bybit recorded over $2.3 billion in stablecoin outflows over the past 30 days, while Bitcoin (BTC) liquidity continues to contract.
CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost stated in a recent post that stablecoin reserves on Binance and Bybit have been steadily declining, with a combined outflow of more than $2.3 billion over the past 30 days, a trend reflecting insufficient new liquidity in the crypto market. Binance’s stablecoin reserves decreased by roughly $1.55 billion in that period, while Bybit’s fell by approximately $786 million, bringing the total outflow from the two major exchanges to nearly $2.3 billion. Bitcoin has been fluctuating around the key $60,000 level for about 165 consecutive days; although it briefly surged past $80,000 in May, the upward momentum could not hold. The current market lacks new capital inflows, with weak new demand for both BTC and the overall crypto sector. Exchange stablecoin reserves have been on the decline since the start of the year, with outflows dominating, signaling that investors are reducing their fund allocations to exchanges, and some capital may even be exiting the market. Liquidity contraction and cautious market sentiment have become major obstacles for BTC to break out of its current trading range.
6 minutes ago
Hong Kong-listed Zhipu fell more than 13%
According to Bitget market data, Zhipu (02513.HK) fell more than 13% and MINIMAX-W (00100.HK) dropped over 4%.
6 minutes ago
Southern Fund’s double-leveraged long ETFs tracking SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics both rose 15% at opening.
Southern’s 2x Long SK Hynix (07709.HK) and Southern’s 2x Long Samsung Electronics (07747.HK) both opened 15% higher.
6 minutes ago
The South Korean government plans to establish a legal framework for the issuance of Korean won stablecoins, and promote the internationalization of the Korean won.
According to South Korean media reports, the Financial Services Commission, Bank of Korea, Financial Supervisory Service, and Korea Securities Depository have jointly announced relevant plans, aiming to transform the South Korean won from a restricted-convertible currency to a freely convertible one and improve the cross-border capital flow system. Under the framework of the Digital Asset Basic Act, the South Korean government intends to clarify the issuance and circulation rules for KRW-denominated stablecoins, providing an institutional basis for the entry of KRW-pegged stablecoins into the market. Furthermore, the Bank of Korea will advance a pilot project combining institutional central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) with tokenized government bonds, and participate in the Bank for International Settlements (BIS)-led Project Agora to explore a digital cross-border payment system.
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.
The GENIUS Act’s one-year implementation deadline passed on July 18, 2026, without any final regulatory rules for stablecoins being enacted, leaving major issuers and the broader market operating in a state of uncertainty.
Regulatory delays persist as market expandsEight regulatory proposals remain unfinished across several federal agencies, despite a statutory requirement to finalize rules within one year of the Act’s signing. Currently, no agency has completed its obligations under the legislation, and the process shows no clear sign of resolution.
Meanwhile, the total supply of stablecoins grew by 18.6% over the past year, climbing from $259.7 billion to $308.1 billion. On-chain data collected July 19 indicates the market briefly peaked above $320 billion in May before settling just over $300 billion ahead of the regulatory deadline.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) introduced a wide-ranging proposal in March, addressing reserves, capital requirements, and custody standards. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) presented distinct approaches for prudential oversight and licensing, while the US Treasury Department focused primarily on state-level regulatory coordination in its April proposal.
Market share in the stablecoin sector remains highly concentrated. Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC collectively account for approximately 83% of circulating stablecoins. Any forthcoming rules will therefore have direct consequences for these two dominant issuers. Notably, World Liberty Financial’s token, USD1, grew into the fifth-largest stablecoin after only a year in limited circulation.
StablecoinMarket Share (%)Status (July 2026)USDT~50Operational, awaiting rulesUSDC~33Operational, awaiting rulesUSD1N/AGrew to 5th-largestEmergence of new stablecoins amid uncertaintyThe lack of finalized regulation has not deterred innovation. Over the first year of the GENIUS Act, a number of institutional stablecoins expanded their presence. PayPal launched PYUSD; BlackRock introduced BUIDL; Ripple rolled out RLUSD; and Paxos issued USDG—all during a period when regulatory frameworks remained incomplete.
These issuers built significant market share while the rules designed to guide their operations were still undergoing agency review.
Mini dictionary: GENIUS Act, the first comprehensive US federal law targeting payment stablecoin regulation, introduced requirements for reserves, licensing, redemption timelines, and capital standards, with oversight from multiple federal agencies.
Congress structured the GENIUS Act so that all provisions automatically take effect on the earlier of January 18, 2027, or 120 days after final rules are published by regulators, regardless of how incomplete the process remains.
Key provisions from draft rule proposals specify that stablecoin issuers must hold reserves one-to-one in cash and short-term treasuries, with redemptions processed within two business days and a $5 million capital requirement. However, since these rules remain in draft form, they do not yet have the force of law.
Challenges and new timelines for issuersStablecoin issuers face differing exposure to the proposed regulations, depending on their operational structure. Circle’s USDC, for example, may face stricter capital and reserve requirements once rules are finalized. Tether’s launch of USAT, aimed at US regulatory compliance, also reflects efforts to anticipate new standards now postponed at least another six months.
No agency issued a final rule before September 20, 2026, which locks January 18, 2027, as the date when the GENIUS Act will fully take effect, even if agencies remain behind on rulemaking.
The stablecoin market added $48 billion in new supply while regulatory uncertainty persisted, highlighting the scale of trading and settlements occurring without finalized US rules.
Stablecoins underpin activity on every decentralized exchange and power much of the crypto market’s infrastructure, all while operating in the absence of a concrete federal legal framework. The sector’s significant growth underlines ongoing demand despite protracted delays in regulation.
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.
FTX, the notorious bankrupt crypto exchange of Sam Bankman-Fried, is readying for another creditor repayment. In this respect, FTX is going to start its 5th creditor repayment round on the 31st of July. As per CryptosRus, the crypto exchange has allocated a staggering $900M for disbursement. The development is a part of the ongoing endeavors of the platform to compensate qualified creditors after it collapsed back in 2022.
FTX TO DISTRIBUTE ANOTHER $900 MILLION TO CREDITORS
FTX will begin its fifth round of creditor repayments on July 31, distributing approximately $900 million to eligible claimants through BitGo, Kraken, and Payoneer. Funds are expected to arrive within 1–3 business days.
Since… pic.twitter.com/WIjcVOqKdy
— CryptosRus (@CryptosR_Us) July 19, 2026 FTX Repayment Procedure Advances with $900M in 5th Round after Cumulative $10B Reimbursement The exclusive creditor repayment of FTX comes after many earlier distributions that have returned a cumulative $10B to its creditors. This time, it will disburse $900M among the creditors starting from July 31. Eligible claimants will get funds via BitGo, Payoneer, and Kraken, in line with their chosen method. The payments are anticipated to reach receivers within 1 to 3 business days following the beginning of processing.
Under the court-authorized restructuring plan of the FTX estate, it has consistently processed its claims to resolve a notable insolvency case in the crypto market. Additionally, the upcoming disbursement underscores another critical landmark in FTX’s long-running process for bankruptcy recovery. Among the leading beneficiaries of the platform have been holders of relatively lesser “convenience” claims.
Creditors Recover Nearly 120% Recoveries Amid Notable Repayment Progress The respective creditors have reportedly gained recoveries of almost 120% of the allowed claims thereof. This reflects both the applicable interest and the principal value as part of the repayment model. As a result, the outcome has surpassed the expectations of several impacted consumers who initially thought about huge losses following the dramatic failure of the platform.
According to CryptosRus, at the moment, almost 162,000 of the total 460,000 creditor claims have been reimbursed. Bigger consumers have also witnessed significant recoveries. Several of the creditors have obtained nearly 103%-105% of the allowed claim amounts.
Additionally, the 5th round signifies considerable progress that the FTX bankruptcy estate has achieved over the past months. Overall, the consistent repayments underscore the progress of the bankruptcy proceedings while swiftly moving toward the conclusion of a widely observed restructuring case in the crypto sector.
AUTHOR
Crypto journalist with years of experience providing in-depth analysis and news on blockchain and decentralized finance. With a keen eye for detail, Shahzaib delivers insightful articles that explore the latest trends, market movements, and innovations within the crypto and blockchain ecosystem. His work focuses on educating readers while offering expert commentary on the evolving landscape of digital assets, DeFi protocols, and the broader impact of blockchain technology.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of FTX, has returned to the center of political debate after formally requesting a pardon from US President Donald Trump in the aftermath of his fraud conviction. The US Senate responded quickly, passing a resolution that urges the president not to grant clemency to Bankman-Fried, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for one of the largest fraud cases in cryptocurrency history.
Senate urges denial of pardon for FTX founderThe Senate approved S. Res. 772 by unanimous consent on July 15, making clear its collective opposition to any presidential pardon or commutation for Bankman-Fried. Sponsored by Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ruben Gallego, the resolution does not carry the force of law but places each senator on the record regarding the high-profile case.
Senators Lummis and Gallego have both played key roles in shaping federal digital asset policy, and their leadership on this measure was widely recognized by policymakers and industry observers. Bitcoin News pointed out that the Senate’s action marked rare bipartisan unity in response to a crypto fraud scandal of this magnitude.
The Senate’s resolution, while symbolic, serves as a political warning rather than a legal restriction, highlighting the chamber’s unified stance on accountability in crypto-related crimes.
Despite the Senate’s action, the vote does not impose any legal barrier on the president’s constitutional authority to grant federal pardons. The measure mainly reflects lawmakers’ views amid growing scrutiny on crypto fraud cases and high-profile figures.
Mini dictionary: FTX, a now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, collapsed in 2022 following revelations of fraud and misuse of customer funds, resulting in one of the most significant scandals in the digital asset industry.
Presidential authority remains intactUnder the constitution, the president alone holds the authority to issue federal pardons regardless of congressional resolutions. As such, Donald Trump remains empowered to decide on Bankman-Fried’s request, independent of the Senate’s position.
Reuters reported that Bankman-Fried submitted a request for a pardon following the completion of his sentencing process, but he has not sought a commutation. At this stage, the request is with the Justice Department. Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried continues to challenge the conviction related to the collapse of FTX and its trading affiliate Alameda Research.
Earlier this year, Trump told The New York Times he had no intention of granting a pardon to Bankman-Fried. However, his previous acts of clemency for other figures in the digital asset sector during his current term have kept this latest application under close public and industry scrutiny.
Fraud conviction shapes US crypto politicsBankman-Fried’s downfall and conviction on seven counts connected to FTX and Alameda Research remain a defining moment for cryptocurrency regulation and court precedent. In 2023, a New York jury found him guilty of defrauding customers, lenders, and investors of billions of dollars through the now-collapsed exchange.
Judge Lewis Kaplan subsequently handed down a 25-year prison sentence, citing the extraordinary scale of losses and the damage inflicted on the ecosystem, retail clients, and institutional partners.
Prosecutors estimated that FTX’s collapse wiped out billions in user accounts and precipitated significant losses across the digital asset markets. The Senate’s recent vote does not end Bankman-Fried’s pardon attempt, but it signals lawmakers’ firm opposition as the final decision remains with Trump.
EventDate/StatusMain ActionFTX Collapse2022Exchange bankruptcy, fraud revealedSBF Conviction2023Found guilty on 7 countsSenate VoteJuly 15, 2026Unanimous resolution against pardonPardon RequestPendingAwaiting decision from President TrumpDisclaimer: 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.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 final is shaping up to be the most watched sporting event in history, and crypto has a front-row seat. The White House confirmed that President Donald Trump will attend the Spain vs. Argentina final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, joining a halftime show headlined by Madonna, Shakira, and BTS. For the crypto industry, this convergence of presidential optics, pop culture spectacle, and record-breaking viewership could be the single highest-visibility moment its sponsorship dollars have ever bought.
Kraken was named the Official Crypto Exchange Supporter of the 2026 World Cup on June 9. FIFA’s own digital collectibles marketplace, Collect, runs on the Avalanche blockchain. Both initiatives are about to be bathed in the attention of an audience expected to reach into the billions.
The biggest sponsorship stage crypto has ever had The 2026 tournament has already broken attendance records, with more than 6.5 million fans passing through stadiums across the US, Mexico, and Canada. The final between Spain and Argentina is expected to command viewership numbers that dwarf anything a single crypto brand has been attached to before.
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FIFA’s Collect platform, built on Avalanche’s blockchain infrastructure, lets fans buy, trade, and own digital collectibles tied to World Cup moments.
What Trump’s attendance means for crypto visibility Trump’s sole in-person appearance during the entire tournament being the final itself is a deliberate choice. Trump has positioned himself as a champion of the crypto industry throughout his political career. His attendance at an event where Kraken holds official sponsorship status creates an implicit visual association between the administration and the crypto sector, even if no direct endorsement is made.
The halftime show was announced on May 14. Madonna, Shakira, BTS, and Justin Bieber collectively command social media followings in the hundreds of millions.
What this means for investors Avalanche’s AVAX token is the one to watch from a direct exposure standpoint. FIFA’s Collect platform running on Avalanche means that every digital collectible minted during the final flows through that network.
Kraken, as a private company, doesn’t offer a direct token play. But increased brand awareness for a major exchange tends to correlate with higher trading volumes across the platform.
Crypto.com paid $700M for the naming rights to the former Staples Center in Los Angeles, and while the brand awareness was significant, it didn’t insulate the company from having to make substantial layoffs during the bear market.
FIFA isn’t experimenting with Avalanche as a novelty — it’s building a consumer product on top of it. The broader context is the normalization of on-chain consumer products in a $500B global sports industry.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup Final between Spain and Argentina kicks off July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. But the real story for the crypto world isn’t happening on the pitch. It’s happening in the ticketing infrastructure underneath it.
FIFA’s blockchain-based ticketing platform, FIFA Collect, built on Avalanche, has processed over $25 million in secondary market transactions as of mid-July. More than 100,000 Right-to-Buy tokens have been issued for the tournament, and demand for the final has pushed secondary ticket prices as high as $10,000.
Blockchain meets the beautiful game The federation deployed its ticketing system on Avalanche’s blockchain, issuing Right-to-Buy tokens that give holders the ability to purchase tickets at face value. Think of it like a digital queue ticket that’s verifiable, tradeable, and impossible to counterfeit. In English: instead of fighting bots on Ticketmaster, fans received blockchain-verified tokens that guaranteed their spot in line.
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MetLife gets a makeover The stadium itself has undergone significant upgrades to host the final. MetLife Stadium installed a state-of-the-art natural grass pitch, replacing its usual synthetic turf surface, along with enhanced security measures and improved fan infrastructure designed to handle the massive international crowd descending on the New York metro area.
FIFA is even monetizing the grass. Pieces of the final match pitch will be sold as souvenirs, priced between $450 and $3,000.
The crypto industry’s footprint at the tournament extends beyond ticketing. Kraken was named the Official Crypto Exchange Supporter of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in June 2026.
What this means for crypto investors The speculative side of crypto has also taken notice. An unofficial memecoin tied to the final, trading under the ticker $FINAL, has reportedly generated trading activity around the event. Traders chasing event-driven memecoin pumps should approach with the usual caution, which is to say, don’t bet the rent.
Blockchain-based ticketing solves real problems: fraud prevention, transparent secondary markets, and verifiable ownership. The $25 million in secondary volume proves there’s genuine demand for these solutions when applied to events people actually care about.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
