Cryptocurrency
HashKey Cloud and BitGo Partner to Simplify Institutional Staking
Institutional investors can now access proof-of-stake networks without forfeiting asset custody under a new partnership between HashKey Cloud and BitGo. By integrating validator infrastructure directly with BitGo’s security framework, the firms aim to eliminate the need for clients to move assets into external wallets to earn network rewards.
EU Blocks Belarusians From Managing MiCA-Regulated Crypto Firms
Starting August 25, Belarusian nationals and residents will be prohibited from owning, controlling, or holding governance positions within crypto-asset service providers regulated by the European Union. This expansion of existing sanctions targets the full spectrum of services defined under the bloc’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework.
Mirae Asset Rebrands Korbit as Digital X After Controlling Buyout
South Korea’s financial giant Mirae Asset has officially rebranded the cryptocurrency exchange Korbit as Digital X. This pivot follows the completion of an acquisition that saw Mirae Asset Consulting secure a 97.15% controlling stake, marking the first time a traditional domestic financial group has fully absorbed a major digital asset platform.
DeFi aggregator Odos to shut down services by July 30
The operating company behind Odos, a prominent decentralized exchange aggregator, announced it will permanently cease all services on July 30, 2026. While the platform’s underlying smart contracts and the associated ODOS token remain on-chain, the team behind the development and maintenance of the interface is winding down operations.
Lien Finance drained of $542K in bond logic exploit
An attacker exploited a flaw in Lien Finance’s bond token exchange logic to mint unsupported assets and drain liquidity, resulting in a loss of approximately $542,144 in USDC. Security researchers identified the incident as a failure in protocol pricing and validation rather than a conventional smart contract breach.
Bitcoin Climbs as Regulatory Shifts and Security Breaches Define Market
Bitcoin gained 4.16% this week, pushing total crypto capitalization to $2.22 trillion as the asset class decoupled from stagnant U.S. equities. While market sentiment improved, the sector faced fresh volatility triggered by high-profile bridge exploits and the looming shutdown of the long-standing derivatives exchange BitMEX.
Drift Protocol Exploiter Moves $44M Through Tornado Cash
After three months of total silence, a wallet linked to the $285 million Drift Protocol hack has surged into action. The attacker funneled 23,095 Ether into the Tornado Cash mixer, effectively obscuring the trail of a theft that continues to challenge independent investigators and blockchain security firms alike.
Zhibao Technology Plans $220 Million Bitcoin Treasury via PIPE Deal
Shanghai-based Zhibao Technology has entered a non-binding agreement to secure approximately 3,500 Bitcoin, valued at roughly $220 million, through a private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing. If finalized, the deal would see investors issue Bitcoin directly for company shares, fundamentally shifting both the firm's balance sheet and board composition.
Mubadala Capital Tokenizes $75M Private Fund on Solana, Base, and Sui
Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund arm, Mubadala Capital, has brought a $75 million private market strategy onchain. By partnering with infrastructure provider KAIO, the firm is offering tokenized access to its Alternative Solutions Fund across the Solana, Base, and Sui networks for qualified institutional and accredited investors.
Poolin Files for Chapter 11 as Texas Mining Sites Hit the Auction Block
Facing $173 million in debt, Singapore-based bitcoin mining giant Poolin has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New Jersey. The company aims to offload its West Texas infrastructure through a court-supervised auction, with stalking-horse bids already reaching $52 million from Thor CALAP LLC for its Pyote and Tarbush facilities.
Ripple Targets Institutional Growth Amidst RLUSD Volume Dip
Ripple has launched Ripple Mint and secured a strategic investment in compliance firm Notabene to bolster institutional adoption of its RLUSD stablecoin. While the token’s holder base has grown by 6%, these infrastructure upgrades arrive as monthly transfer volumes cooled by 25% to approximately $10.95 billion in July.
LayerZero and Keeta Launch Multichain Tokenized Bank Deposits
Institutional capital is moving toward a multichain future as LayerZero and Keeta unveil plans to bring tokenized commercial bank deposits to Ethereum, Solana, and Base. By utilizing LayerZero’s omnichain infrastructure, the initiative aims to facilitate the transfer of bank-grade digital assets across public blockchains for global settlement and treasury operations.
Flow Traders Taps Bitcoin-Backed Credit in New Lombard Pilot
Institutional market maker Flow Traders has initiated a pilot program to borrow stablecoins using a novel onchain credit strategy, effectively decoupling the borrowing entity from the collateral provider. The model leverages Bitcoin Earn deposits to secure loans, offering yield to depositors while providing institutional firms access to decentralized capital.
China Completes First Digital Yuan Trade Settlement With Singapore
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has processed a 10 million yuan import shipping payment to Singapore using the updated Digital Currency Express platform. This transaction marks a significant milestone in Beijing’s strategy to bypass conventional international banking intermediaries and shorten settlement times for cross-border trade.
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BitMEX hit with class action lawsuit over alleged liquidation schemes
A proposed class action filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York accuses BitMEX of engineering forced liquidations to retain hundreds of Bitcoin. The legal challenge emerged on the same day the derivatives exchange announced it would cease all operations by late September.
Corporate Titans Pledge $15M to Shield Bitcoin from Quantum Threats
A coalition of nine major firms, including BlackRock, Coinbase, and MicroStrategy, has launched the Bitcoin Security Consortium to finance long-term network protection. The group aims to dedicate $15 million over three years to research, specifically targeting post-quantum cryptography to guard against hypothetical future computing breakthroughs.
SEC Schedules September Roundtable on 24-Hour Equity Trading
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is set to host a public roundtable on September 17 to address the technical and regulatory hurdles of moving toward 24-hour equity trading. The agency aims to evaluate infrastructure requirements and investor safeguards as major exchanges push to extend traditional market hours.
Gemini Donates $10M in Bitcoin to Trump-Aligned PAC
Two Bitcoin contributions totaling $10 million were wired to MAGA Inc. by Gemini Trust Company on June 19, according to Federal Election Commission filings. The massive donation to the pro-Trump super PAC occurred just three weeks after the exchange and the CFTC jointly moved to vacate a 2025 consent order.
Coinbase enables USDC payments for autonomous AI agents
Autonomous AI agents can now initiate USDC transactions directly with businesses through a suite of new financial tools from Coinbase. The expansion addresses a shift in digital activity, as software-generated traffic to the exchange’s documentation recently surpassed human interaction for the first time, signaling a move toward machine-to-machine commerce.
Binance Adds Across, Lisk, and Stacks to Monitoring Watchlist
Binance has placed Across Protocol, Lisk, and Stacks under increased scrutiny, applying a Monitoring Tag to all three assets following a comprehensive project review. The exchange warned that these tokens now face potential delisting if they fail to meet evolving standards for liquidity, security, and network development.
Bitcoin Slides as New Tariffs and Strong Labor Data Hit Risk Assets
Bitcoin dipped below $65,000 on Thursday after the Trump administration unveiled aggressive tariffs on 60 trading partners, covering over 99% of U.S. imports. The move, aimed at curbing forced labor, coincided with a sharp drop in jobless claims and rising Treasury yields, fueling a broader sell-off across global markets.
EU Targets Crypto Hubs and Shadow Fleet in Major Sanctions Expansion
The European Union has activated its 21st sanctions package against Russia, targeting 14 international crypto platforms and 94 financial institutions. This sweeping measure, the bloc’s largest in four years, introduces a new mechanism allowing the EU to ban crypto services across entire jurisdictions deemed complicit in sanctions evasion.
Bitget Gains New Zealand Registration to Boost Tokenized Stock Offerings
Bitget has secured registration on New Zealand’s Financial Service Providers Register, covering five business categories including asset custody and foreign exchange. While the move supports the exchange’s global expansion, the registration does not equate to a full license or government-backed supervision from local financial authorities.
Gate CEO Dr. Han Rejects AI Autonomy in Crypto Trading
Artificial intelligence should function as a sophisticated research assistant rather than a replacement for human judgment in cryptocurrency markets, according to Gate founder and CEO Dr. Han. While automated systems excel at processing vast market datasets, the final responsibility for trading decisions must remain with the user.
Bitcoin slips below $65K as Middle East conflict spikes oil prices
Bitcoin retreated to $64,831 on Thursday after Donald Trump signaled a potential massive military strike against Iran. The threat, paired with Houthi attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, triggered a sharp risk-off sentiment in markets, pushing Brent crude futures past the $100-per-barrel threshold for the first time since May.
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev’s X account hijacked for $10M memecoin scam
A breach of Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev’s X account triggered a frantic, high-stakes market surge on July 23, as hackers utilized his profile to promote a fraudulent memecoin. The scam, dubbed 'Vladhood,' temporarily reached a $10 million market capitalization before the brokerage confirmed the account compromise and disavowed the token.
Ondo Finance Clears FINRA Hurdle for U.S. Tokenized Securities
Ondo Finance’s broker-dealer subsidiary, Oasis Pro Markets, has secured FINRA authorization to offer tokenized equities, ETFs, and mutual funds to U.S. investors. This regulatory milestone allows the firm to integrate blockchain-based assets directly into traditional retirement accounts and institutional brokerage systems, marking a significant expansion for the tokenization platform.
Ripple bets on Notabene to scale RLUSD into $2 trillion network
Ripple has acquired a strategic stake in the compliance firm Notabene to bridge its RLUSD stablecoin into a global institutional payment network. The partnership aims to resolve institutional hesitation regarding stablecoin transactions by embedding regulatory compliance directly into the payment flow for firms handling over $2 trillion in annual volume.
Cathie Wood Bets $14M on Circle as CRCL Slides Toward Support
Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest snapped up 220,012 shares of Circle Internet Group this week, a $13.9 million play executed as the stock dipped below $64. The purchase, spread across three of the firm's actively managed ETFs, signals a deepening conviction in the stablecoin issuer despite a persistent bearish technical trend.
Brent Crude Surge Puts Fed’s Inflation Progress at Risk
As Brent crude prices breach the $100 threshold, economist Peter Schiff is warning that a sharp energy rebound could derail the cooling inflation trend seen in June. The rapid climb, fueled by Red Sea shipping disruptions, threatens to reverse recent gains just as the Federal Reserve prepares for its upcoming policy meeting.