a16z's Miles Jennings Says Banks Fighting the CLARITY Act Are 'Accelerating Their Own Obsolescence'
Six banking trade groups are pushing senators to tighten the CLARITY Act's prohibition on interest-like rewards for stablecoin holdings. Miles Jennings argues banks fighting the bill accelerate their obsolescence because such payments would continue under an alternative called GENIUS if CLARITY fails.
GUARDD Meets with SEC to Discuss Secondary Trading of Tokenized Exempt Securities
GUARDD met with the SEC to discuss secondary trading of tokenized exempt securities. Sherwood Neiss, GUARDD's founder and co-author of the JOBS Act, led discussions about facilitating token-based transactions for securities that qualify for regulatory exemptions.
Solana (SOL) Real-World Assets (RWAs) Market Tops $3.73 Billion
The Solana blockchain's real-world assets market reached $3.73 billion in total value, marking a new all-time high. This expansion reflects growing institutional participation in the tokenization of traditional financial instruments on the network.
Circle Reveals Institutional Validators for Arc Blockchain Ahead of September Mainnet Debut
Circle has announced institutional validators for its Arc blockchain ahead of the network's September 16, 2026 mainnet launch. The validators include established financial institutions selected to secure the blockchain network.
Circuit, DaLand Give Credit Unions a Direct Path to Bitcoin
Circuit and DaLand have created a production-ready system enabling credit unions to directly offer Bitcoin and digital asset services. Credit unions can now provide these services without depending on external platforms.
Russian President Vladimir Putin Approves Framework for Digital Assets
Russia established comprehensive regulations for digital currencies and digital rights through legislation signed August 4, 2026. The framework creates operational standards for cryptocurrency exchanges and other digital asset market participants.
Coinbase Just Got Full UK Trading License, And Tokenized US Stocks With Dividends Are the Headline Feature
Coinbase received full UK trading authorization from the FCA, enabling equity and derivatives trading in the region. The company's headline feature includes tokenized US stocks that distribute dividends to holders.
Putin signs landmark crypto regulation into law
Russia has signed new cryptocurrency regulation into law that will affect digital finance operations. The law is expected to influence international regulatory standards and cross-border cryptocurrency transactions.
Uniswap launches Pools token launchpad for Robinhood Chain
Uniswap launched a Pools token launchpad specifically for Robinhood Chain to improve token liquidity and accessibility. The launchpad enables projects to distribute tokens through decentralized pools on the Robinhood Chain network.
Uniswap Expands Digital Assets Offerings with Earn Feature Enabled by Morpho
Uniswap introduced an Earn feature that allows users to generate passive returns on idle digital assets directly through its interface. The feature is powered by Morpho and enables traders to earn without leaving the Uniswap platform.
Mastercard Extends Crypto Credential to Cross-Border Stablecoin Payments in Borderless.xyz Pilot
Mastercard is testing cross-border stablecoin payments through a pilot program with three initial participants that verifies compliance once at the payment's origin rather than repeatedly. The pilot includes Infinia, Walapay, and Koywe as participants in the Borderless.xyz network of stablecoin payment providers.
Institutions Now Drive 72% of Crypto’s OTC Flow, Wintermute Data Shows
Institutions accounted for 72% of over-the-counter spot trading flow in the first half of 2026, according to Wintermute data. This represents a record share and indicates a significant shift in cryptocurrency market structure toward institutional participation.
SEC Commissioner Hester ‘Crypto Mom’ Peirce Optimistic About Clarity Act
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce expressed optimism that the Clarity Act, a long-awaited crypto market structure bill, will pass. Peirce is hopeful the legislation will provide regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency sector.
Asset Manager 3iQ to Manage Bhutan’s Bitcoin Reserves
Canadian digital asset manager 3iQ will manage 10,000 Bitcoins pledged for Bhutan's Gelephu Mindfulness City project. 3iQ will manage the reserves while also investing in local talent and establishing a physical presence in the region.
US, UK reaffirm support for stablecoins, tokenization in joint financial regulation talks
US and UK regulators met on July 8 to discuss stablecoins and tokenization as part of their joint financial regulation framework. The meeting emphasized implementation of the GENIUS Act, payment modernization efforts, and cross-border cooperation between the two countries.
Western Union and Rain Launch Stablecoin Card in 37 Markets
Western Union and Rain launched a stablecoin card accepting USDPT, an Anchorage-issued Solana token, across 37 markets. The card holds remittances in USDPT and enables spending at Visa merchants, with the stablecoin currently having $7.4 million in circulation.
CLARITY Act Senate Vote Locked In, But 60-Vote Hurdle Looms Large
A Senate floor vote on the CLARITY Act is scheduled before August recess, though three unresolved disputes threaten the 60-vote majority needed for passage. The crypto reform bill faces a significant procedural hurdle requiring supermajority support to advance.
Bitmine stakes $278M in Ethereum, pushing total past 5 million staked ETH
Bitmine staked $278 million in Ethereum, bringing the company's total staked ETH past 5 million. This large concentration of staking power in a single entity raises concerns about Ethereum network centralization.
DeFi Protocol Aave Plans Orderly Exit from Low-Activity Markets and Chains, Potentially Impacting Nearly $100M in Assets
Aave plans to phase out support for underused asset reserves and exit several smaller blockchain networks, potentially affecting nearly $100 million in assets. The orderly exit initiative was announced by founder Stani Kulechov as part of a broader strategy.
SEC Maintains Hold on Nasdaq Bitcoin Options Amid CME Jurisdictional Challenge
The SEC granted CME Group's petition to review its previous conditional approval of Nasdaq PHLX's cash-settled Bitcoin index options, keeping that approval stayed. The review challenges the jurisdictional authority that permitted Nasdaq to proceed with listing these Bitcoin derivative contracts.
XRP News: xrpld 3.2.1 Hotfix Patches Manifest Flood Draining XRPL Node Resources
A validator manifest flood attack threatened to drain XRPL node resources, prompting the xrpld 3.2.1 hotfix release that caps manifest handling. Node operators must complete a two-step upgrade process to implement the security patch.
Ethereum Network Earns $1.79Bn in App Fees, But Captures Less Than 5%
Ethereum's layer-one network captured only 4.9% of application fees despite earning $1.79 billion, while rollups processed 41 times more activity. The discrepancy reveals how value distribution has shifted away from the base layer toward secondary scaling solutions.
Wall Street just ran its first live trades on blockchain, and the biggest names showed up
Live trades on blockchain were executed on Wall Street with participation from major financial institutions. The transaction represents integration of blockchain technology into traditional financial market infrastructure.
Hackers exploit Coldcard firmware flaw, stealing $89 million in Bitcoin from thousands of wallets
A firmware flaw in Coldcard hardware wallets allowed hackers to steal $89 million in Bitcoin from thousands of users. The vulnerability exposed the need for stronger security measures in hardware wallet firmware protection.
ADA Price Jumps 10% While Cardano Turns Toward Its Next Big Upgrade Era
ADA's price increased nearly 10% in 24 hours to $0.189 as Cardano completed the van Rossem upgrade and shifted focus to the upcoming Dijkstra era. Investors appear to be pricing in anticipated scalability improvements from the next upgrade phase rather than gains from the recently delivered upgrade.
XRP Ledger Prepares to Restore Key Features Previously Shelved Over Security Concerns
The XRP Ledger will release version 3.3.0 this week, introducing five proposed amendments that expand support for tokenized assets, institutional operations, and privacy protections. Network validators will vote on these amendments, which include previously shelved features that were removed due to security concerns.
Ethereum Cross-Chain Bridge of Verus Protocol Exploited, $7.44 Million Drained via Notarization Mismatch
An attacker drained $7.44 million from the Verus Protocol's Ethereum cross-chain bridge on July 23, 2026, stealing ETH, tBTC, stablecoins, and MKR through a notarization mismatch vulnerability. The exploit targeted a fundamental difference in the bridge's security mechanism.
Unlike the FTX collapse, the $89 million Coldcard exploit has investors sending bitcoin back to exchanges
A Coldcard vulnerability exploited for $89 million prompted smaller bitcoin holders to move funds onto exchanges rather than keeping them in cold storage. This behavior contrasts with post-FTX collapse trends, when investors withdrew assets from exchanges onto personal wallets.
DeFI Exploits : Crypto Hacker Spends $4M to Drain $20M from BonkDAO’s Treasury, No Smart Contract Failed
A crypto attacker spent $4 million to acquire voting power in BonkDAO and passed a malicious governance proposal, draining $20 million from the treasury. No smart contract vulnerability was exploited; instead, the attack relied on low participation levels during the governance voting period.
Digital Assets ETFs Market Cap Tops $184 Billion
Digital assets ETFs reached a market capitalization exceeding $184 billion. The expansion has occurred steadily over the past three years.