Former Ethereum Foundation Team Launches EthSystems for Institutional Privacy
A team of former Ethereum Foundation researchers has launched EthSystems, a new company focused on building confidential infrastructure for institutional Ethereum adoption.
Founded by Mo Jalil, Oskar Thorén, and Aaryamann Challani, EthSystems will operate as a for-profit company providing protocol research, architecture design, and production systems, while continuing to open-source its technical work for the Ethereum ecosystem.
A team of former Ethereum Foundation researchers has launched EthSystems, a new company focused on building confidential infrastructure for institutional Ethereum adoption.
The startup will help financial institutions deploy privacy-preserving solutions for stablecoins, tokenization, settlement, and payments, combining technologies such as zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) and fully homomorphic encryption (FHE).
Founded by Mo Jalil, Oskar Thorén, and Aaryamann Challani, EthSystems will operate as a for-profit company providing protocol research, architecture design, and production systems, while continuing to open-source its technical work for the Ethereum ecosystem.
The world's 10 biggest asset managers run ~$60 trillion. In crypto? Basically two of them
BlackRock hit a record $15.3T in AUM this week (+22% YoY). But its crypto products, $48.8B, were the one segment that shrank, losing $3.1B in Q2 while everything else hit records.
Zoom out and it's starker: only BlackRock and Fidelity (~$12B) hold meaningful crypto. Vanguard, the #2 manager at $11.6T, holds exactly $0 and has no plans to change that.
Crypto is 0.3% of BlackRock's book. For TradFi's giants, it's still a rounding error.
BlackRock hit a record $15.3T in AUM this week (+22% YoY). But its crypto products, $48.8B, were the one segment that shrank, losing $3.1B in Q2 while everything else hit records.
Zoom out and it's starker: only BlackRock and Fidelity (~$12B) hold meaningful crypto. Vanguard, the #2 manager at $11.6T, holds exactly $0 and has no plans to change that.
Crypto is 0.3% of BlackRock's book. For TradFi's giants, it's still a rounding error.
Crypto's Biggest Upgrades Still Ahead in 2026
Before 2026 is out, eight different chains ship their biggest upgrades in years — and the first lands this week. Zcash's Ironwood goes live July 28 (new shielded pool, quantum-recoverable funds).
Before 2026 is out, eight different chains ship their biggest upgrades in years — and the first lands this week. Zcash's Ironwood goes live July 28 (new shielded pool, quantum-recoverable funds).
Zcash update is followed by Ethereum's Glamsterdam, Solana's Alpenglow, Polkadot's JAM, and Cardano's largest upgrade ever. Chainlink is bringing Wall Street's DTCC settlement on-chain, while Polygon and BNB Chain race toward 100k and 10k+ TPS.
Emirates Launches Crypto com Pay for UAE Flight Bookings
Emirates has officially integrated Crypto com Pay, allowing eligible UAE customers to book flights using cryptocurrency through the airline's website and mobile app.
The rollout follows a partnership announced in 2025 and is powered by Crypto com's Dubai entity, the first Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE to operate under the country's Stored Value Facilities framework.
The integration supports the Dubai Cashless Strategy, which aims for 90% of all financial transactions across the public and private sectors to be digital by the end of 2026, further strengthening the UAE's position as a global fintech and digital asset hub.
Emirates has officially integrated Crypto com Pay, allowing eligible UAE customers to book flights using cryptocurrency through the airline's website and mobile app.
Users can now select Crypto com Pay at checkout, approve the transaction via the Crypto com app or by scanning a QR code, with payments securely settled in UAE Dirhams (AED) in compliance with local regulations.
The rollout follows a partnership announced in 2025 and is powered by Crypto com's Dubai entity, the first Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE to operate under the country's Stored Value Facilities framework.
The integration supports the Dubai Cashless Strategy, which aims for 90% of all financial transactions across the public and private sectors to be digital by the end of 2026, further strengthening the UAE's position as a global fintech and digital asset hub.
MoonPay Launches PayBox, an AI Shopping Wallet
MoonPay launched PayBox, a self-custodial wallet that lets an AI assistant like ChatGPT or Claude pay for real goods and services on your behalf.
You add PayBox to the assistant, fund it from a bank or with crypto, then just ask it in plain English to buy something or book a table. The agent pays from your own wallet, staying inside limits you set, such as capping purchases or requiring your approval first.
MoonPay launched PayBox, a self-custodial wallet that lets an AI assistant like ChatGPT or Claude pay for real goods and services on your behalf.
You add PayBox to the assistant, fund it from a bank or with crypto, then just ask it in plain English to buy something or book a table. The agent pays from your own wallet, staying inside limits you set, such as capping purchases or requiring your approval first.
PayBox runs on the open x402 payment standard, so it is not locked to MoonPay or any single merchant. Early uses include Amazon orders, Resy reservations and Brij flight bookings. MoonPay pitches it as an open-rails alternative to the walled AI-payment tools from Robinhood, Coinbase and Visa. MoonPay itself has no token.
Spot trading volume on Ethereum has returned to October 2023 level
In July, the total monthly spot trading volume on Ethereum DEXs fell to $29B, which is 76% below the ATH of $122B set in August 2025.
Trading volume has been declining by an average of 12.5% per month. If this pace continues, it will take another ~3 months to reach the 5-year low of $21.2B.
In July, the total monthly spot trading volume on Ethereum DEXs fell to $29B, which is 76% below the ATH of $122B set in August 2025.
Trading volume has been declining by an average of 12.5% per month. If this pace continues, it will take another ~3 months to reach the 5-year low of $21.2B.
$247M Stolen in July: Crypto’s Second-Worst Month of 2026
In July, losses from cryptocurrency hacks reached $247M, making it the second-largest monthly total since the beginning of the year. One of the main contributors was the incident involving Coldcard hardware wallets.
As the investigation progressed, estimated losses linked to Coldcard rose from around $70M to more than $100M.
July showed that even cold storage does not eliminate technological risks, which can put thousands of wallets at risk simultaneously.
In July, losses from cryptocurrency hacks reached $247M, making it the second-largest monthly total since the beginning of the year. One of the main contributors was the incident involving Coldcard hardware wallets.
As the investigation progressed, estimated losses linked to Coldcard rose from around $70M to more than $100M.
July showed that even cold storage does not eliminate technological risks, which can put thousands of wallets at risk simultaneously.
Bybit Sues North Korea Over the $1.5B Hack
Bybit has filed suit against North Korea, its Lazarus Group and the Reconnaissance General Bureau over the record $1.5B hack of the exchange, and has already secured a court order freezing stolen assets.
The February 21, 2025 theft of over 400,000 ETH and stETH was the largest hack in crypto history and made up the bulk of the roughly $2B North Korea stole that year, part of an estimated $6.75B Pyongyang-linked crews have taken to date.
Bybit has filed suit against North Korea, its Lazarus Group and the Reconnaissance General Bureau over the record $1.5B hack of the exchange, and has already secured a court order freezing stolen assets.
The case, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, won a preliminary injunction freezing the identified stolen digital assets while the litigation continues. It is a rare, direct legal move against a nation-state hacking operation. CEO Ben Zhou framed it plainly: 'Our focus has never changed: protect our users first, recover what we can, and make sure the people behind these attacks are held accountable.'
The February 21, 2025 theft of over 400,000 ETH and stETH was the largest hack in crypto history and made up the bulk of the roughly $2B North Korea stole that year, part of an estimated $6.75B Pyongyang-linked crews have taken to date.