News linked to both this project and an event.
According to Cointelegraph, Michael Saylor stated that Strategy has optimized and upgraded its Bitcoin metric system, launching a new measurement methodology covering Bitcoin, Digital Credit, and Digital Equity, further integrating Bitcoin into a systemic financial framework.
According to Cointelegraph, Cardano completed the van Rossem hard fork on Saturday, upgrading the mainnet to version 11. This upgrade is expected to reduce smart contract execution costs and lay the foundation for the subsequent Dijkstra era hard fork and Ouroboros Leios scaling upgrade. On-chain data shows that the network transitioned from protocol version 10 to version 11 at epoch 644. The report noted that this is also the first hard fork driven by the governance mechanism in Cardano's history.
According to Cointelegraph, blockchain company Consensys onboarded a software development consultant using the alias Tyler Knapp through a reputable third-party service provider earlier this year, and a subsequent investigation revealed ties to North Korea. The individual had access to certain company systems for approximately one month, and the incident led Consensys to temporarily halt product releases and launch an internal investigation.
Interactive Brokers has added 9 new cryptocurrency trading pairs and now supports users withdrawing stablecoins to external wallets via USDC, PYUSD, and RLUSD. (Cointelegraph)
: The U.S. Department of the Treasury and HM Treasury have released recommendations from the Transatlantic Future Markets Working Group, covering stablecoin activities and tokenized finance. Both sides suggest that relevant agencies consider establishing private sector-led groups to test cross-border use cases for tokenized assets, and that U.S. financial institutions work with the Bank of England to determine a common approach to regulating tokenized assets. The U.S. and UK also issued a joint statement on stablecoins, stating their intention to promote regulatory coordination and build cross-border dynamic stablecoin markets. The statement also indicates that stablecoins should be fully backed by high-quality liquid assets at a minimum 1:1 ratio. Additionally, according to a report by an industry working group supported by the UK government, if the UK becomes a leading jurisdiction for tokenization, tokenization expands globally, and domestic adoption increases, tokenization could add up to $44 billion to the UK's annual economic output by 2035. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily News: The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association stated on July 10 that it has submitted a letter to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee supporting the CLARITY Act, while calling for amendments to strengthen decentralized finance (DeFi) accountability and preserve investigators' existing powers. This bill has previously received support from the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, marking the second endorsement from a major U.S. law enforcement organization. (Cointelegraph).
A UK government-backed industry working group has stated that if the UK becomes a leader in tokenized financial markets, it could add up to £33 billion (approximately $44 billion) to annual economic output by 2035. The report proposes a 12-month plan to test the use of blockchain in financial transactions where securities are borrowed against cash, and calls for the UK to issue its first tokenized government bond before the first quarter of 2027. Ripple supports the initiative, stating that on-chain funds, bonds, and repurchase agreements have already proven to be cheaper, better, and faster than traditional counterparts. (Cointelegraph).
: Japanese convenience store operator Lawson plans to test yen-pegged stablecoin payments in August at its Lawson Takanawa Gateway City store in Tokyo. HashPort has signed agreements with Lawson and KDDI to conduct the pilot, where participants will use HashPort's non-custodial wallet. The store will process payments through the HashPort payment system, eliminating the need for merchants to open or manage crypto wallets. Japanese payment company Netstars has launched Stablecoin Pay, opening applications to merchants looking to accept multiple stablecoins. The service initially supports USDC, USDT, and the yen-pegged stablecoin JPYC on the Solana and Polygon networks. Supported wallets include MetaMask, and the merchant transaction fee rate is 0.98%. (Cointelegraph).
According to Cointelegraph, the European Parliament passed the "Chat Control 1.0" extension bill on July 10 local time, allowing tech companies to scan user messages to detect Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), with validity extended to 2028. Voting results showed 276 votes in favor and 314 against, but since blocking the bill required 361 votes, the bill was ultimately passed. Notably, the Parliament also passed an amendment explicitly excluding end-to-end encrypted communications from the scanning scope, seen as an interim victory for privacy advocates. The amended version of the bill will be submitted to the EU Council for deliberation, while negotiations on the permanent "Chat Control 2.0" bill are expected to restart in September.
According to Cointelegraph, crypto-friendly digital banking platform Revolut announced that it will cease support for USDT in the European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss markets by August 31, 2026, with other markets remaining unaffected. Revolut stated that this move stems from regular reviews of crypto services and risk considerations under the EU MiCA regulatory framework. Currently, Revolut has already removed USDT trading pairs for EEA users from its Revolut X trading platform. It is worth noting that Switzerland is not a member of the EU or EEA and is not directly bound by MiCA, yet Revolut has not provided an explanation for including Switzerland in the affected markets. This delisting decision aligns with the overall trend of crypto platforms in the EU—since Tether chose not to apply for authorization under the MiCA framework, multiple platforms have successively delisted USDT.
Cointelegraph posted on X platform, stating that the market is weighing AI chip optimism against escalating Iranian war risks, with oil prices rising nearly 10% in three days. Investors are increasingly pricing in the possibility of further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
According to Cointelegraph, Telegram founder Pavel Durov was questioned by French investigators for more than six hours due to an ongoing criminal investigation. His lawyer stated that authorities do not yet possess evidence supporting the relevant charges.
According to Cointelegraph, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) has released draft guidelines on crypto asset taxation, clarifying relevant tax treatment based on the current Income Tax Act and capital gains tax rules. The draft points out that most crypto activities such as trading, exchanging, and spending are regarded as "disposal events," which may trigger tax events; crypto assets are classified as intangible assets, rather than legal tender or foreign currency; and the donations tax rate is 20%-25%. Taxpayer intent is the key basis for determining whether they are classified as traders or long-term investors. According to SARS 2024 data, at least 5.8 million residents in South Africa hold crypto assets. The draft is now open for public comment, with a deadline of August 31.
Kraken has begun allowing eligible users to use select tokenized stocks and ETFs as collateral for futures and margin trading, enabling them to open leveraged positions without selling their existing holdings.The initial offering includes 10 tokenized stocks and ETFs, featuring Apple, Nvidia, Tesla, Strategy, SPDR S&P 500 ETF, and Invesco QQQ Trust. This feature is currently only available to eligible users outside the United States.Kraken has also set collateral limits for different assets, with a maximum collateral value of $1 million for large-cap ETFs, $250,000 for most individual stocks, and $100,000 for tokenized gold and Circle stock. The platform stated that collateral limits and haircut rates will be reviewed periodically and may be adjusted based on market conditions. (Cointelegraph)
zero-knowledge scaling company StarkWare has released a Starknet quantum resistance roadmap, stating that the roadmap is divided into three phases to address the risk of future quantum computing attacks. StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson stated that Starknet can leverage its architectural advantages to achieve quantum resistance, as its underlying cryptography is based on zero-knowledge STARK proofs. According to reports, the first phase of the roadmap includes replacing part of the existing secure mathematical mechanism, Pedersen hash, with a quantum-resistant version, and adding quantum-resistant signatures; the second phase focuses on migration tools, upgrading existing smart contracts without requiring developers to manually rebuild applications; the third phase involves dependencies that Starknet cannot solve alone, primarily relying on Ethereum's quantum upgrade roadmap. Circle, Ethereum, Solana, Tezos, and Algorand have all proposed quantum resistance roadmaps. (Cointelegraph)
According to Cointelegraph, the NASDAQ-listed Solana Company has signed a memorandum of understanding with Alatau City, Kazakhstan, to provide support for local digital asset finance, blockchain infrastructure, institutional adoption, and platform development. Alatau City plans to build a digital-first smart city and establish pilot zones allowing daily cryptocurrency payments.
Galaxy Research Director stated on platform X that due to a shortened legislative calendar and increased competition for floor time from other matters, they have once again lowered the probability of the CLARITY Act passing in 2026. They still believe a vote will take place in July and hope the bill receives 60 supportive votes, but the outcome remains uncertain at this time. (Cointelegraph)
According to Cointelegraph, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced it has extended the temporary regulatory relief period for digital asset businesses applying for an Australian Financial Services (AFS) license to 30 September 2026—three months beyond the previous deadline of 30 June. This extension also broadens the scope of the relief, now covering digital asset businesses operating via authorized representatives or through intermediary arrangements with licensed firms. ASIC stated that since updating its digital asset regulatory guidance in October 2025, it has received approximately 30 license applications. Notably, this extension is independent of Australia’s Digital Asset Framework, which passed Parliament in April this year and is scheduled to take effect on 9 April 2027. ASIC warned that businesses licensed under the current guidance may still require additional authorizations once the new framework comes into force.
According to Cointelegraph, Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) issued Regulation No. 6, requiring individuals who recommend cryptocurrencies and other digital financial assets on social media platforms to obtain relevant competency certification—except for those already subject to other licensing requirements. The new regulation also stipulates that recommended assets must be listed exclusively on authorized exchanges, and all service providers involved must hold valid licenses.
Chainlink has launched Project Pangea in collaboration with FairSquareLab, a South Korean digital asset infrastructure company, UniKA, a coalition of over a dozen South Korean commercial banks, and Qivalis, a euro stablecoin alliance backed by 37 European banks.The project aims to bring together financial institutions from Europe and South Korea to assess the feasibility of direct atomic swap settlements using euro- and won-denominated stablecoins, leveraging Chainlink’s data infrastructure and FairSquareLab’s on-chain foreign exchange settlement technology. Currently operating as a working group, the project has not yet announced an implementation timeline for production deployment. Separately, fintech startup OpenFX recently raised $94 million to expand its stablecoin-based payment network. (Cointelegraph)