Institutional Crypto Exchange EDX Markets Raises $76M Series C Led by SBI Holdings
Institutional crypto exchange EDX Markets has closed a $76 million Series C funding round led by SBI Holdings. The proceeds will be used to expand the firm's trading, clearing and settlement infrastructure, accelerate product development, and scale global operations. Earlier this year, EDX launched its crypto-as-a-service platform EDX FlowConnect and filed an application with the U.S. OCC to establish EDX Trust, a proposed national trust bank for regulated digital asset custody, clearing and settlement services. — link
Institutional crypto exchange EDX Markets has closed a $76 million Series C funding round led by SBI Holdings. The proceeds will be used to expand the firm's trading, clearing and settlement infrastructure, accelerate product development, and scale global operations. Earlier this year, EDX launched its crypto-as-a-service platform EDX FlowConnect and filed an application with the U.S. OCC to establish EDX Trust, a proposed national trust bank for regulated digital asset custody, clearing and settlement services. — link
Tether to Invest $20M in Brazil's Mercado Bitcoin
Tether announced a $20 million investment in Mercado Bitcoin’s strategic growth financing round. Mercado Bitcoin is a regulated Brazilian on-chain financial services platform with 4.5 million users, over R$2 billion in tokenized assets issued, and more than 10 licenses across Brazil and Europe. The funding will support its expansion in payments, tokenized investment products, lending, on-chain capital markets, and international growth. — link
Tether announced a $20 million investment in Mercado Bitcoin’s strategic growth financing round. Mercado Bitcoin is a regulated Brazilian on-chain financial services platform with 4.5 million users, over R$2 billion in tokenized assets issued, and more than 10 licenses across Brazil and Europe. The funding will support its expansion in payments, tokenized investment products, lending, on-chain capital markets, and international growth. — link
MiCA Register Shows 270+ CASPs but No ART Issuers Yet
Circle's EU Strategy and Policy Director Patrick Hansen said, citing ESMA’s interim MiCA register, that one week after MiCA became fully applicable across the EU, the number of MiCA-registered crypto-asset service providers has surpassed 270, while no asset-referenced token (ART) issuers have been authorized so far.
Under MiCA, EMTs are stablecoins that reference a single official currency, such as EUR or USD, while ARTs are tokens designed to maintain stable value by referencing other assets, rights, or a basket of assets and currencies. — link
Circle's EU Strategy and Policy Director Patrick Hansen said, citing ESMA’s interim MiCA register, that one week after MiCA became fully applicable across the EU, the number of MiCA-registered crypto-asset service providers has surpassed 270, while no asset-referenced token (ART) issuers have been authorized so far.
Under MiCA, EMTs are stablecoins that reference a single official currency, such as EUR or USD, while ARTs are tokens designed to maintain stable value by referencing other assets, rights, or a basket of assets and currencies. — link
TON Ventures- and Hack VC-Backed TAC Plunges Over 90% in 15 Minutes
Binance Alpha token TAC plunged more than 90% within 15 minutes, falling to around $0.0063. TAC was first listed on Binance Alpha and Binance Futures in July 2025. The project is backed by TON Ventures and investors including Hack VC, Animoca Ventures, Symbolic Capital and Spartan Group, and is building an EVM-compatible blockchain for the TON and Telegram ecosystem. — link
Binance Alpha token TAC plunged more than 90% within 15 minutes, falling to around $0.0063. TAC was first listed on Binance Alpha and Binance Futures in July 2025. The project is backed by TON Ventures and investors including Hack VC, Animoca Ventures, Symbolic Capital and Spartan Group, and is building an EVM-compatible blockchain for the TON and Telegram ecosystem. — link
SEC Plans Crypto Safe Harbor Proposal as Early as This Month
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has updated its 2026 rulemaking agenda and plans to release its long-awaited crypto regulatory proposal for public comment as early as this month. The proposal aims to establish a safe harbor framework, providing broad exemptions and regulatory protections for certain on-chain financial activities, including tokenized securities and DeFi, to reduce the risk of enforcement actions against participants. — link
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has updated its 2026 rulemaking agenda and plans to release its long-awaited crypto regulatory proposal for public comment as early as this month. The proposal aims to establish a safe harbor framework, providing broad exemptions and regulatory protections for certain on-chain financial activities, including tokenized securities and DeFi, to reduce the risk of enforcement actions against participants. — link
VanEck: Strategy’s $135M BTC Sale Did Not Count Toward Its $1.25B Monetization Program
VanEck Head of Digital Assets Research Matthew Sigel said Strategy’s roughly $135 million Bitcoin sale last week did not count against its previously announced $1.25 billion BTC Monetization Program. According to Strategy’s latest Form 8-K, the program applies only to Bitcoin sales used to fund its USD Reserve, and the full $1.25 billion remained available as of July 5. Sigel said last week’s sale was used to pay preferred stock dividends and therefore fell outside the program, suggesting Strategy’s actual Bitcoin selling capacity may be greater than the $1.25 billion widely assumed by the market. — link
VanEck Head of Digital Assets Research Matthew Sigel said Strategy’s roughly $135 million Bitcoin sale last week did not count against its previously announced $1.25 billion BTC Monetization Program. According to Strategy’s latest Form 8-K, the program applies only to Bitcoin sales used to fund its USD Reserve, and the full $1.25 billion remained available as of July 5. Sigel said last week’s sale was used to pay preferred stock dividends and therefore fell outside the program, suggesting Strategy’s actual Bitcoin selling capacity may be greater than the $1.25 billion widely assumed by the market. — link
Polymarket Integrates Spark for Instant Bitcoin Lightning Deposits
According to BitcoinMagazine, Polymarket has officially enabled instant deposits via the Bitcoin Lightning Network, powered by the Spark payment protocol. Unlike the previous model, which required 10–60 minutes for on-chain confirmations, Spark-powered Lightning deposits use zero-confirmation (zero-conf) technology, allowing funds to be verified and credited immediately once the transaction is broadcast. — link
According to BitcoinMagazine, Polymarket has officially enabled instant deposits via the Bitcoin Lightning Network, powered by the Spark payment protocol. Unlike the previous model, which required 10–60 minutes for on-chain confirmations, Spark-powered Lightning deposits use zero-confirmation (zero-conf) technology, allowing funds to be verified and credited immediately once the transaction is broadcast. — link
Dune: USDT wins payments, USDC wins DeFi as stablecoins diverge
According to Cointelegraph, Dune Analytics data show that USDT processed approximately $95 billion in commercial payment settlements in the first half of 2026, far exceeding USDC’s $14 billion. In B2B payments, USDT accounted for 92% of the market. On Tron, USDT’s largest network, about 93% of the token supply is held in regular wallets.
By contrast, USDC maintains a strong lead in DeFi: in June, it processed about $2.6 trillion in transfer volume on Base and $1.6 trillion on Ethereum. Together, USDT and USDC account for 83% of the stablecoin market’s roughly $315 billion total market capitalization. — link
According to Cointelegraph, Dune Analytics data show that USDT processed approximately $95 billion in commercial payment settlements in the first half of 2026, far exceeding USDC’s $14 billion. In B2B payments, USDT accounted for 92% of the market. On Tron, USDT’s largest network, about 93% of the token supply is held in regular wallets.
By contrast, USDC maintains a strong lead in DeFi: in June, it processed about $2.6 trillion in transfer volume on Base and $1.6 trillion on Ethereum. Together, USDT and USDC account for 83% of the stablecoin market’s roughly $315 billion total market capitalization. — link
Spot Bitcoin ETFs Recorded $21.435 Million in Net Inflows on July 7
According to SoSoValue data, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $21.435 million in net inflows on July 7 (ET), extending their net inflow streak to three consecutive days. Spot Ethereum ETFs recorded $26.925 million in net inflows, marking four consecutive days of net inflows. — link
According to SoSoValue data, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $21.435 million in net inflows on July 7 (ET), extending their net inflow streak to three consecutive days. Spot Ethereum ETFs recorded $26.925 million in net inflows, marking four consecutive days of net inflows. — link
CryptoQuant: Tether Burns $2.5 Billion USDT on Ethereum, Largest Since February
According to CryptoQuant, Tether burned $2.5 billion worth of USDT on the Ethereum network on July 7, marking its largest single burn since February 2026. Meanwhile, Binance’s USDT balance on the Tron network fell to about $806 million, the lowest level since December 29, 2025, and below the $1 billion mark. Analysts noted that while Tether burns are typically related to treasury management and cross-chain rebalancing, the combination of a sharp Ethereum supply reduction and declining Tron liquidity on Binance warrants attention. — link
According to CryptoQuant, Tether burned $2.5 billion worth of USDT on the Ethereum network on July 7, marking its largest single burn since February 2026. Meanwhile, Binance’s USDT balance on the Tron network fell to about $806 million, the lowest level since December 29, 2025, and below the $1 billion mark. Analysts noted that while Tether burns are typically related to treasury management and cross-chain rebalancing, the combination of a sharp Ethereum supply reduction and declining Tron liquidity on Binance warrants attention. — link
Coinbase Launches Trading Competition for Indian Users with a 33 Million INR Prize Pool
Coinbase has officially launched the Champions Cup Trading Competition, featuring a massive ₹3.3 Crore prize pool exclusive to users in India. The event includes three separate leaderboards based on total trading volume, highest P&L, and highest percentage P&L, offering rewards based on participants' performance across these metrics. — link
Coinbase has officially launched the Champions Cup Trading Competition, featuring a massive ₹3.3 Crore prize pool exclusive to users in India. The event includes three separate leaderboards based on total trading volume, highest P&L, and highest percentage P&L, offering rewards based on participants' performance across these metrics. — link
Michael Saylor: BTC Annualized Appreciation Above 3.3% Would Allow Strategy to Support STRC Dividends Indefinitely
Strategy Founder Michael Saylor said on X that MSTR’s core metric, “BTC Breakeven ARR,” is often misunderstood. Saylor said the metric means that if Bitcoin’s long-term annualized appreciation exceeds 3.3%, the company can indefinitely support STRC dividends through Bitcoin capital gains. According to the chart he shared, even if BTC rises 0% annually, Strategy would still have 31 years of dividend funding. — link
Strategy Founder Michael Saylor said on X that MSTR’s core metric, “BTC Breakeven ARR,” is often misunderstood. Saylor said the metric means that if Bitcoin’s long-term annualized appreciation exceeds 3.3%, the company can indefinitely support STRC dividends through Bitcoin capital gains. According to the chart he shared, even if BTC rises 0% annually, Strategy would still have 31 years of dividend funding. — link
Zcash Co-Founder Suggests Bitcoin Move Away From Fixed 21M Supply Cap and Grow 4% Annually
Zcash co-founder Eli Ben-Sasson said on X that he questions the rationale behind Bitcoin’s fixed 21 million supply cap. He argued that private keys will continue to be lost over time and that, in the long run, all private keys will eventually be lost. Ben-Sasson said he supports a monetary policy with an “absolute cap,” but suggested adjusting the strategy, such as setting a fixed maximum issuance rate, for example 4% per year, to keep circulating supply aligned with human growth and ensure sufficient liquidity. — link
Zcash co-founder Eli Ben-Sasson said on X that he questions the rationale behind Bitcoin’s fixed 21 million supply cap. He argued that private keys will continue to be lost over time and that, in the long run, all private keys will eventually be lost. Ben-Sasson said he supports a monetary policy with an “absolute cap,” but suggested adjusting the strategy, such as setting a fixed maximum issuance rate, for example 4% per year, to keep circulating supply aligned with human growth and ensure sufficient liquidity. — link
Reuters: India’s Central Bank Says It “Leans Toward Prohibiting” Crypto
According to Reuters, India’s central bank reiterated in government documents that cryptocurrency policy may need to “lean toward prohibition,” and recommended barring banks and financial institutions from holding, trading or gaining exposure to crypto assets and privately issued stablecoins to limit risk spillover. India’s tax department warned that transactions through offshore exchanges and private wallets make it difficult to track beneficial owners and recover taxes, while rupee-denominated peer-to-peer trades make taxable income harder to trace. — link
According to Reuters, India’s central bank reiterated in government documents that cryptocurrency policy may need to “lean toward prohibition,” and recommended barring banks and financial institutions from holding, trading or gaining exposure to crypto assets and privately issued stablecoins to limit risk spillover. India’s tax department warned that transactions through offshore exchanges and private wallets make it difficult to track beneficial owners and recover taxes, while rupee-denominated peer-to-peer trades make taxable income harder to trace. — link
BNB Chain Plans New Layer 1 for Agentic Trading, Targets 2027 Mainnet
According to official information, BNB Chain is building a new Layer 1 blockchain designed for agentic trading, with a testnet planned for late 2026 and mainnet deployment in early 2027. The chain will run alongside the existing BNB Chain stack and targets sub-50ms transaction preconfirmation, no public mempool, over 100,000 TPS and sub-one-second finality to help mitigate front-running and sandwich attacks. BNB Chain CTO David Z said the new chain aims to offer a CEX-like execution experience while preserving self-custody and onchain transparency. — link
According to official information, BNB Chain is building a new Layer 1 blockchain designed for agentic trading, with a testnet planned for late 2026 and mainnet deployment in early 2027. The chain will run alongside the existing BNB Chain stack and targets sub-50ms transaction preconfirmation, no public mempool, over 100,000 TPS and sub-one-second finality to help mitigate front-running and sandwich attacks. BNB Chain CTO David Z said the new chain aims to offer a CEX-like execution experience while preserving self-custody and onchain transparency. — link
Google Bans Prediction Market Extensions From Chrome Web Store Under Updated Policies
Google has updated its Chrome Web Store Developer Program Policies to classify prediction markets as prohibited products. Under the new rules, Chrome extensions that facilitate or support real-money trading based on prediction outcomes will no longer be allowed on the Chrome Web Store. The policy update also introduces stricter privacy and data collection requirements and will take effect on August 1, 2026. — link
Google has updated its Chrome Web Store Developer Program Policies to classify prediction markets as prohibited products. Under the new rules, Chrome extensions that facilitate or support real-money trading based on prediction outcomes will no longer be allowed on the Chrome Web Store. The policy update also introduces stricter privacy and data collection requirements and will take effect on August 1, 2026. — link
ZachXBT Warning Followed by AscendEX Shutdown Announcement
Centralized crypto exchange AscendEX said it ceased operations on July 1, 2026, with accounts remaining available only for limited exit purposes. All withdrawal requests now require manual review and may be delayed, require additional information, or fail to be processed. ZachXBT had previously warned that AscendEX was facing multiple reports of delayed or unprocessed withdrawals, and said its public hot wallets appeared to lack major assets such as ETH, USDT and SOL.
Once a Top-10 CEX Backed by Polychain and Hack VC
Formerly known as BitMax, AscendEX was founded in 2018 by George Cao and Ariel Ling, and was once a top-10 centralized exchange by trading volume. Public information shows Cao holds a PhD in computer science from the University of Chicago. AscendEX raised a $50 million Series B round in 2021 led by Polychain Capital and Hack VC, and was also reported to have suffered a $78 million Lazarus Group-linked hack in December 2021. — link
Centralized crypto exchange AscendEX said it ceased operations on July 1, 2026, with accounts remaining available only for limited exit purposes. All withdrawal requests now require manual review and may be delayed, require additional information, or fail to be processed. ZachXBT had previously warned that AscendEX was facing multiple reports of delayed or unprocessed withdrawals, and said its public hot wallets appeared to lack major assets such as ETH, USDT and SOL.
Once a Top-10 CEX Backed by Polychain and Hack VC
Formerly known as BitMax, AscendEX was founded in 2018 by George Cao and Ariel Ling, and was once a top-10 centralized exchange by trading volume. Public information shows Cao holds a PhD in computer science from the University of Chicago. AscendEX raised a $50 million Series B round in 2021 led by Polychain Capital and Hack VC, and was also reported to have suffered a $78 million Lazarus Group-linked hack in December 2021. — link
JUST IN: ESMA launches first coordinated crypto custody review after MiCA enters full enforcement
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has launched its first Common Supervisory Action (CSA) on crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) since MiCA entered full enforcement, focusing on the digital operational resilience of crypto custody services. National regulators will assess governance, key management, transaction controls, incident response, smart contract risks, and third-party dependencies through risk-based reviews running into 2027. — link
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has launched its first Common Supervisory Action (CSA) on crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) since MiCA entered full enforcement, focusing on the digital operational resilience of crypto custody services. National regulators will assess governance, key management, transaction controls, incident response, smart contract risks, and third-party dependencies through risk-based reviews running into 2027. — link
WSJ: Trump Family Crypto Project-Linked AI Financial in Talks to Sell Core Business for Up to $15M
According to The Wall Street Journal, AI Financial, formerly Alt5 Sigma, is in talks to sell its core payments business to Tokyo-based blockchain company Perpetuals com for up to $15 million. The company had previously come under the control of Trump family crypto project World Liberty Financial through WLFI tokens, and later raised $750 million to buy more WLFI. After the deal, WLFI fell 70%, while AI Financial’s shares dropped more than 90%, leaving its market value at about $80 million. WSJ said the Trump family is entitled to 75% of proceeds from WLFI token sales, and AI Financial’s WLFI purchases generated about $540 million in cash for Trump-related entities. — link
According to The Wall Street Journal, AI Financial, formerly Alt5 Sigma, is in talks to sell its core payments business to Tokyo-based blockchain company Perpetuals com for up to $15 million. The company had previously come under the control of Trump family crypto project World Liberty Financial through WLFI tokens, and later raised $750 million to buy more WLFI. After the deal, WLFI fell 70%, while AI Financial’s shares dropped more than 90%, leaving its market value at about $80 million. WSJ said the Trump family is entitled to 75% of proceeds from WLFI token sales, and AI Financial’s WLFI purchases generated about $540 million in cash for Trump-related entities. — link
Nexo Launches Crypto Card for Spending and Borrowing in Argentina
Nexo launched the Nexo Card in Argentina, allowing eligible users to either spend digital assets in debit mode or borrow against their holdings in credit mode without selling them. The card lets users switch between the two modes in one interface, with cashback on eligible purchases and interest available on idle in-app balances.
The launch coincides with the appointment of Andres Ondarra as General Manager of Nexo Argentina. Ondarra, who has more than 25 years of experience across traditional finance, fintech and crypto, will oversee the company’s operations in the country starting Aug. 1.
According to Nexo, Argentina is one of its key growth markets, with Buenos Aires serving as the company’s regional hub for Latin America. The firm said the card is designed to provide users with greater utility for their digital assets by enabling payments, borrowing and yield generation without requiring the sale of crypto holdings. — link
Nexo launched the Nexo Card in Argentina, allowing eligible users to either spend digital assets in debit mode or borrow against their holdings in credit mode without selling them. The card lets users switch between the two modes in one interface, with cashback on eligible purchases and interest available on idle in-app balances.
The launch coincides with the appointment of Andres Ondarra as General Manager of Nexo Argentina. Ondarra, who has more than 25 years of experience across traditional finance, fintech and crypto, will oversee the company’s operations in the country starting Aug. 1.
According to Nexo, Argentina is one of its key growth markets, with Buenos Aires serving as the company’s regional hub for Latin America. The firm said the card is designed to provide users with greater utility for their digital assets by enabling payments, borrowing and yield generation without requiring the sale of crypto holdings. — link