News linked to both this project and an event.
According to Bits.media, the Russian State Duma Committee on the Financial Market has recommended rejecting several loosening amendments to the government's cryptocurrency regulation bill, which is currently prepared for its second reading. The rejected amendments mainly include: increasing the annual limit for non-professional investors purchasing cryptocurrency through a single intermediary from 300,000 rubles to 600,000 rubles; expanding the scope of tradable cryptocurrencies to coins with a market cap exceeding 1 trillion rubles and average daily trading volume exceeding 100 billion rubles (the current draft requires a market cap of no less than 5 trillion rubles and trading volume of no less than 1 trillion rubles, effectively allowing only a very small number of coins such as BTC and ETH to be listed); allowing Russian citizens to use non-custodial crypto wallets; canceling the mandatory review power of digital custodians over every transaction; and postponing the bill's effective date to January 2027. The current version of the bill retains the power of digital custodians to review every transaction and freeze transactions. The bill completed its first reading in April this year and was originally planned to be passed before July 1, but has now been postponed to September 1, with the deliberation of the supporting criminal liability bill also scheduled no earlier than September.
Coinbase officially announced that the regulated derivatives clearing business of UK financial services group Marex has now formally supported the use of USDC as Initial Margin collateral. This marks the first entry of a stablecoin into the actual operational processes of traditional clearing infrastructure. The first transaction was completed by Prime Trading, LLC, with Coinbase providing the underlying infrastructure support, including custody services, 1:1 instant conversion between fiat currency and USDC, and a customized daily reporting system that meets clearing industry standards.The implementation of this business was made possible by a "No-Action Letter" issued by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in December 2025. This policy opens the door for Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) to accept stablecoins, Bitcoin, and Ethereum as client margin collateral.Coinbase stated that USDC, as a collateral asset, can provide round-the-clock liquidity, helping institutions break free from the limitations of traditional banking hours, allowing margin funds to be transferred in line with market operating hours. In this partnership, the core capabilities provided by Coinbase include:24/7 instant conversion between fiat currency and USDC: Institutional clients can convert between USD and USDC at any time, improving the efficiency of margin allocation;Customized reporting system: Meets the requirements of traditional clearing systems for asset recording, reconciliation, and regulatory reporting;NYDFS-compliant custody: Provides institutional-grade security for USDC collateral assets.
ARK Invest’s Head of Research, Lorenzo Valente, recently publicly refuted a16z Crypto’s assertion that “traditional finance needs blockchain, not DeFi,” arguing that financial institutions are more likely to be built on open DeFi infrastructure in the future. Public blockchains have already demonstrated their advantages over private blockchain solutions. The growth of tokenized assets on open networks like Ethereum highlights the stronger network effects and scalability potential of public blockchains.Lorenzo Valente pointed out that the builders of the next generation of financial infrastructure may not be traditional financial institutions, but rather crypto-native enterprises, such as Circle and Coinbase.Earlier, a16z Crypto presented a differing view, suggesting that traditional financial institutions are not truly embracing DeFi, but are selectively adopting blockchain technologies that meet their existing compliance, governance, and operational requirements. Banks and asset management firms will build “programmable financial infrastructure” in the future, leveraging core capabilities of blockchain like tokenization and atomic settlement, but while maintaining permissioned management and institutional control.Sentora co-founder Jesus Rodriguez also raised objections to a16z’s stance. He argued that financial institutions might eventually adopt the underlying DeFi infrastructure and layer compliance, custody, and enterprise-grade control mechanisms on top of it.With the rapid development of RWA tokenization, on-chain settlement, and institutional-grade financial applications, the debate over the future dominance of “open DeFi architecture” versus “permissioned blockchain systems” is intensifying. (Cointelegraph)
Kraken Institutional has announced a partnership with on-chain yield platform Upshift, allowing eligible institutional clients to earn yields on idle Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins, and other crypto assets directly within Kraken's compliant custody framework. Upshift will build dedicated customized vaults for each client, designed according to their investment strategies, risk parameters, liquidity requirements, and asset portfolios. Assets will be allocated to these non-custodial vaults and subsequently deployed to selected on-chain contracts, with clients' segregated Kraken custody accounts receiving receipt tokens.
Odaily News on July 14, Bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows of $181 million, and Ethereum ETFs recorded net inflows of $58.34 million. No outflows were observed for either Bitcoin or Ethereum ETFs on that day. BlackRock's IBIT saw net inflows of $139 million, Fidelity's FBTC posted net inflows of $21.07 million; all net inflows into Ethereum ETFs came from BlackRock's ETHA. HYPE, XRP, and Solana ETFs had no trading activity on the day. Morgan Stanley submitted a proposed amended filing for spot Ethereum and Solana ETFs, with the document covering service providers such as Coinbase Custody and staking provisions. Japanese policymakers are advancing reforms aimed at classifying crypto assets under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.
the US CPI fell 0.4% month-on-month in June, the largest monthly decline since April 2020; the annual rate dropped to 3.5% from 4.2% in May, below the expected 3.8%. Core CPI fell to 2.6%, below expectations, and was flat month-on-month. Major crypto assets rose after the data release, with BTC rising from approximately $62,000 to $64,900, ETH gaining 7% to $1,884, and about $300 million in short positions liquidated. Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh stated during congressional testimony that the Fed has "zero tolerance" for persistently high inflation; if policy is correct, the inflation surge of the past five years will become a thing of the past. When asked about the CPI data, he said he does not share the view that the "mission is accomplished" and did not provide guidance on the next policy steps.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart (@JSeyff) disclosed that Morgan Stanley has submitted the latest application filings for an Ethereum ETF (ticker: $MSSE) and a Solana ETF (ticker: $MSOL) to regulators, with management fees set at 0.14% for both, and both products will include staking (Staking) features; the official listing of the products is expected to be imminent.
EthSystems announces its official establishment. The company was founded by the original team of the Ethereum Foundation's "Institutional Privacy Working Group" and has received support from Bitmine, Sharplink, Joe Lubin, and others. It primarily develops Ethereum-based privacy and compliance technology for regulated entities such as banks and asset management institutions, aiming to support institutions in conducting on-chain financial activities without disclosing sensitive information such as transaction details and client identities.
EthSystems, an institutional privacy technology company for Ethereum, has officially launched, securing strategic funding from ecosystem supporters including Bitmine, Sharplink Gaming, and Joe Lubin.EthSystems focuses on developing privacy technologies tailored for banks, asset management firms, and other regulated institutions, enabling them to execute financial transactions at scale on the Ethereum network while protecting sensitive information such as transaction details and client identities. The company was founded by the core team of the Ethereum Foundation's Institutional Privacy Task Force (IPTF). The team had previously conducted a year-long open-source research and development effort on the EthSystems official website and established collaborations with multiple central banks, regulatory bodies, large banks, and asset management institutions.EthSystems stated that while institutions have begun exploring stablecoins, tokenized assets, and Ethereum-based settlement solutions, widespread adoption still faces privacy and compliance challenges. Financial institutions require more than just access to the blockchain network; they need a complete infrastructure that meets the requirements for protecting trade secrets, complying with regulations, and ensuring compatibility with existing financial systems. The goal is to build a "selective disclosure" privacy architecture, allowing transaction participants to view only the information they are authorized to access, while preserving Ethereum's core advantages of decentralization, security, and openness, and complementing two other organizations:Ethlabs: Focused on core Ethereum protocol and infrastructure research and development;Ethereum Institutional: Responsible for institutional collaboration, education, market research, and ecosystem coordination;EthSystems: Concentrated on application-layer technology, translating institutional needs into operational privacy protocols and financial systems.
According to Odaily Planet Daily, Ethereum ZK Layer2 Starknet has officially launched the compliant privacy framework STRK20, providing native privacy transaction capabilities for various digital assets on-chain. The framework operates based on a privacy pool mechanism. Once user assets are deposited into the privacy pool, all transactions are encrypted, with details such as transfer addresses and amounts being invisible to the outside. Developers can quickly integrate this privacy system using the accompanying SDK and wallet API, catering to the private transfer needs of various ERC-20 assets. STRK20 incorporates a complete compliance process: users must undergo pre-screening before entering the privacy pool; only upon receiving a legally effective formal query request and after an independent assessment, will the platform selectively disclose specific users, corresponding time periods, or designated transfer records, without revealing the private data of unrelated users.
According to CoinPost, Fundstrat Co-Founder and Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee stated in a special keynote speech at WebX 2026 that Ethereum is on the eve of a "Chapter 2" breakout. He pointed out that the pressure on the crypto market this year stems from four headwinds: a Federal Reserve policy shift, uncertain prospects for the U.S. Clarity Act, AI attracting large amounts of venture capital funds (accounting for 86% of U.S. VC investment), and sluggish stock prices in the financial sector. Technically, Tom DeMark analysis shows ETH trends are highly correlated with the 1987 S&P 500 (correlation reaching 89.81%), with a rebound expected in August; if it breaks through the $1,846-$1,876 resistance level, the next target price is $2,200 (up approximately 30% from the current ~$1,700). Strategically, Bitmine, founded only 12 months ago, has completed 95% of its 5% holding target, currently holding 5.76 million ETH (accounting for 4.8% of total supply), of which approximately 85% has been staked; its staking business MAVAN has become the world's largest single staking operator, with assets under management reaching $13-14 billion. Tom Lee also warned that AI wealth accumulation may threaten human economic autonomy, and blockchain is the best line of defense against AI control.
researchers from the Ethereum Foundation Protocol Security team said in a blog post on Thursday that they have deployed a series of AI agents to test the software relied upon by Ethereum, searching for vulnerabilities in encryption systems, protocol code, and smart contracts. The vulnerabilities discovered by the AI agents include a remotely triggerable panic issue in the libp2p gossipsub peer-to-peer layer used by Ethereum consensus clients. The issue has been fixed and disclosed on Github as CVE-2026-34219. Researchers stated that the AI agents are organized into specialized roles such as reconnaissance, search, patching, and verification, used to find potential attack paths, reproduce faults, and verify their applicability to production code. The Ethereum Foundation stated that AI has not replaced security researchers but has changed the way they work, enabling the team to cover far more scope than manual review. However, it requires researchers to exercise more careful judgment when evaluating a large number of seemingly credible conclusions. (Decrypt)
According to The Block, JPMorgan analysts pointed out in their latest report that although Strategy's Bitcoin selling plan has triggered market attention, it is not the core risk facing Bitcoin. The real structural threat lies in the fact that blockchain applications such as tokenization, payments, and settlements are increasingly occurring on permissioned chains (Permissioned Blockchain), rather than on public chains such as Ethereum. If this trend continues, the public chain ecosystem will face issues such as declining liquidity and weakened capital inflows, ultimately dragging down Bitcoin valuations. The analysts also warned that the proliferation of bank-built blockchain infrastructure and tokenized deposits could undermine the position of stablecoins in institutional payments; regulated alternatives such as SWIFT's blockchain plan, the digital euro, and the digital yuan also constitute competitive pressure. However, the analysts also pointed out that if hybrid public-private chain models emerge, stablecoin regulation becomes clearer, or Bitcoin continues to be held as "digital gold", the aforementioned risks may be mitigated.
肯尼亚资本市场管理局计划采购区块链分析平台，监控 Bitcoin、Ethereum 等至少 20 条链上的可疑交易，以落实 2025 年新通过的虚拟资产监管法规。
the Central Bank of Brazil stated during a hearing at the Congressional Economic Development Committee that stablecoins should be treated as electronic currency instruments, not digital assets. Fábio Araújo, an advisor to the Financial System Regulation Department of the Central Bank of Brazil, stated that digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum possess characteristics such as scarcity, transferability, and verifiability. Stablecoins, however, are different and should be understood as monetary instruments when they exhibit features of a means of payment. The Brazilian Congress is preparing to deliberate Bill No. 4308/2024, proposed by Congressman Aureo Ribeiro in 2024, to clarify rules for stablecoins. The Brazilian crypto economy association Abcripto opposes this classification. Its members include Binance, Coinbase, Fireblocks, Visa, Tether, OKX, and Ripio. Abcripto stated that this classification will lead to regulatory conflicts, affect stablecoin adoption among both institutional and retail users in Brazil, and hinder virtual asset service providers. The Central Bank of Brazil also recently issued a new resolution, elevating its supervision of virtual asset service providers to the same level as securities institutions. (Bitcoin.com News).
Decentralized privacy protocol Hinkal Protocol announced that it has detected abnormal activity involving USDC on the Ethereum network within its system. Currently, only the Ethereum blockchain is affected, while other chains remain unaffected. As a precautionary measure, the affected smart contracts have been paused, and a comprehensive investigation and analysis of relevant on-chain transactions and activities is currently underway. The investigation is still ongoing, and updates will be released once information is confirmed.
On the eve of the U.S. Independence Day holiday, sentiment in the crypto market is gradually stabilizing. Bitcoin is holding above $61,000, and Ethereum has climbed above $1,700, continuing the rebound from the previous day. The unexpectedly weak U.S. non-farm payroll data earlier had cooled market expectations for further tightening by the Federal Reserve, rekindling demand for risk assets. Volatility in the options market has notably declined, with short-term implied volatility falling from recent highs into the low 30s range, as market sentiment shifts from panic hedging to relative calm. However, some institutions believe the data is not a one-sided "dovish signal." Accelerating wages and resilient consumer spending still support the Fed in maintaining a hawkish stance. The divergence between U.S. Treasury yields and stock market performance further indicates lingering disagreement over the policy path. (The Block)
Crypto bank Anchorage Digital has announced its integration with Lido, the largest liquid staking protocol on Ethereum, offering institutional clients direct access to its derivative asset, wstETH. Institutional users can now mint and redeem wstETH, earning Ethereum staking yields while benefiting from Anchorage’s custody and governance compliance framework. (The Block)
Ondo Finance has announced the launch of a third-party custodial tokenized securities solution in the United States, designed to comply with local regulatory frameworks. The underlying assets are issued on the Ethereum blockchain, and the company has partnered with financial infrastructure service provider Broadridge to offer tokenized stock holders comprehensive shareholder governance and proxy voting services.The solution adopts a two-tier compliance architecture: the underlying stocks remain held within the US licensed traditional custody system; Ondo’s registered transfer agent mints tokens on a 1:1 basis and deploys them on the Ethereum public chain, while the underlying physical securities are simultaneously held by a compliant custodian for safekeeping. (Prnewswire)
: Ondo Finance announced the launch of a third-party custodied tokenized securities solution operating within the current regulatory framework in the United States. The company has partnered with Broadridge Financial Solutions to provide complete shareholder governance and voting rights support for tokenized stock holders. According to the mechanism design, the underlying stocks remain within the traditional regulated custody system in the U.S., with tokens minted at a 1:1 ratio by Ondo's registered transfer agent and issued on the Ethereum blockchain, while the underlying assets are held by compliant custodians.