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Crypto fell as AI stock fatigue and U.S.-Iran tensions weighed on sentiment, though a technical measure hints at oversold conditions heading into the weekend.
Brian Chesky regained control of his account and told any new crypto followers he would be a "disappointing follow".
Ether fell 4% to $1,850 on Friday, underperforming bitcoin, which dropped 2% to around $63,400, amid a broader sell-off triggered by steep declines in Asian semiconductor stocks like Japan’s Nikkei and Taiwan Semiconductor. Hyperliquid's HYPE token fell 10%, the worst among major cryptocurrencies, while other tokens such as Solana, XRP, and BNB also declined. Despite strong inflows of nearly $97 million into U.S. spot ether ETFs this week, primarily into BlackRock’s funds, the market showed signs of consolidation rather than a confirmed reversal. Meanwhile, oil prices surged 12% to around $85 a barrel due to escalating Middle East tensions, contrasting with the crypto and semiconductor market downturn.
The mega trade aims to profit from a potential surge in ether price turbulence.
Bitcoin Ordinals advocate Leonidas has proposed a new open-source Bitcoin client called “Bitcoin $DOG Mode” designed to remove existing transaction restrictions affecting Runes and Ordinals. The client would raise the maximum transaction size from 400,000 weight units (WU) to 3.9 million WU and lower the dust limit from 294–546 satoshis to just 1 satoshi. These changes aim to facilitate larger and more efficient transactions for Bitcoin’s fungible and non-fungible token-like inscriptions, which have faced criticism within the community for causing network "spam." Leonidas envisions $DOG Mode as an alternative to Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Knots, hoping it will pressure mainstream clients to relax their current rules.
Leonidas, a prominent advocate in the Bitcoin Ordinals and Runes community, has proposed a new open-source Bitcoin client called DOG Mode to bypass the stalled BIP 110 process, which aims to restrict non-financial data on Bitcoin. Unlike BIP 110, which requires majority miner approval and changes consensus rules, DOG Mode would alter relay policies to allow near–block-size transactions and reduce the dust limit to one satoshi, potentially freeing around $25 million currently locked in padding. The proposal requires no network-wide consent and could function with support from just one miner, but as of now, it exists only as an announced initiative without code or active development. DOG Mode represents an alternative approach to the ongoing debate on non-financial data on Bitcoin, contrasting with BIP 110's restrictive path.
Trump Media has launched a paid Truth API designed to provide Wall Street institutional clients, particularly high-frequency and algorithmic trading firms, with low-latency access to market-moving posts from influential Truth Social accounts, including those of former President Donald Trump. The API, available starting August 1, 2026, offers a real-time, licensed feed intended to replace unauthorized data scraping, which violates Truth Social's terms of service. Trump Media's interim CEO Kevin McGurn emphasized the move as both a strategy to monetize proprietary content and a way to ensure direct, compliant access to impactful posts that have historically influenced financial markets.
Gabriel Perez, President Donald Trump’s longtime teleprompter operator, is under federal investigation for allegedly using nonpublic information to profit over $100,000 by betting on Kalshi prediction markets linked to Trump’s speeches, ABC News reported. Perez reportedly placed wagers on more than a dozen markets based on specific words or phrases expected in the speeches and adjusted bets mid-speech when Trump deviated from prepared remarks. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is involved following detection by Kalshi’s surveillance systems, and the White House has placed Perez on unpaid leave, with Trump condemning the conduct as a "disgrace." This case adds to growing regulatory scrutiny of insider trading risks in prediction markets amid recent high-profile incidents.
Injective has filed for transfer agent registration with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to bring the record-keeping function of securities ownership onto blockchain infrastructure. Transfer agents traditionally maintain shareholder records, and Injective aims to offer a regulated onchain solution for issuing and managing tokenized securities in the US, potentially reducing delays and reconciliation among intermediaries. If approved, this would mark a shift from providing blockchain infrastructure to participating in legally recognized ownership systems. Injective has not disclosed details about the legal entity behind the filing, and the submission has not been independently verified.
T. Rowe Price, a $1.9 trillion asset manager, launched its first actively managed multi-token spot crypto ETF, named TKNZ, offering a diversified portfolio including bitcoin, ether, BNB, XRP, solana, and Hyperliquid. Unlike passive ETFs that track fixed indexes, TKNZ’s managers can adjust holdings based on market conditions and research to capture shifts in market momentum. The fund carries a 0.75% management fee through May 2027, rising to 0.90% thereafter, and is led by digital assets head Blue Macellari. This move reflects the firm's broader entry into digital assets amid increasing industry efforts to expand beyond single-token crypto products.
Summer Mersinger, CEO of the Blockchain Association and former CFTC commissioner, indicated that the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act was close to a Senate vote, contingent on resolving disagreements around ethics provisions. While ethics remain a contentious issue, particularly among some Senate Democrats concerned about potential conflicts tied to figures like former President Donald Trump, Mersinger emphasized that the Blockchain Association is focused on advancing the bill’s broader market structure reforms rather than the political ethics debate. A White House meeting with Republican senators aimed to forge an agreement on ethics, which is seen as crucial for securing bipartisan support needed for the bill’s passage before the August state work period.
Alpaca, a crypto brokerage infrastructure firm, raised $135 million in equity funding led by Peak XV to expand its infrastructure for tokenized U.S. stocks, adding to prior financing that brought its total to $435 million. The company currently clears or custodies about 94% of tokenized U.S. equities, with over $1.5 billion in underlying stocks backing these tokenized shares via partners including Binance and Ondo. Despite the blockchain integration, Alpaca highlighted the ongoing need for regulated firms to hold the actual shares and manage corporate actions, reflecting a key limitation in the tokenized stock market. Their Instant Tokenization Network facilitates 24/7 minting and redemption of tokenized stocks linked to the traditional equity market.
Users spent a record $324 million on onchain gacha in June, even as Bitcoin hit a 21-month low. The thrill of scoring a top Pokemon card from a random pack is becoming big business
Galaxy Digital has launched institutional vault products on the decentralized lending protocol Morpho, accessible through Fireblocks Earn to help institutions earn yield on idle stablecoins using curated DeFi strategies. The offering features two vaults: a Quality Vault focused on capital preservation with blue-chip collateral, and an Enhanced Vault targeting higher yields through riskier assets like liquid restaking tokens and Pendle principal tokens. Galaxy applies its institutional risk framework, including collateral standards and exposure limits, while allowing clients to retain control of assets at the protocol level. This move positions Galaxy amid increasing competition as firms race to provide institutional-grade onchain investment products.
The most popular bitcoin call option strike price has shifted from $80,000 to $70,000, with open interest in the $70,000 calls now exceeding $1.6 billion, signaling a lowered ceiling for bitcoin’s price range. The $60,000 put remains the most popular downside bet, suggesting this level continues to serve as a potential floor. According to Imran Lakha of Options Insights, dealers’ net long gamma exposure above $70,000 may pressure bitcoin to trade sideways near this level, as dealers hedge by selling into strength. This dynamic could slow bitcoin’s rise beyond $70,000 compared to other cryptocurrencies like ether.
The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution opposing any presidential clemency for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who was convicted in 2023 on seven counts related to the collapse of FTX and the loss of over $8 billion in customer funds. Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ruben Gallego led the bipartisan effort, emphasizing that Bankman-Fried should "under no circumstances" receive a pardon or commutation. Bankman-Fried, whose fraudulent practices involving FTX and Alameda Research were exposed in 2022, is not eligible for release until around 2044. Former President Donald Trump had previously stated he did not intend to pardon him.
US President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with senators, including Bernie Moreno and Cynthia Lummis, on Thursday to discuss the CLARITY Act, a crypto market structure bill aiming for passage before the Senate's August recess. Lawmakers are awaiting a revised draft expected soon, with Senator Thom Tillis emphasizing the importance of reaching an agreement this week to move the bill forward. Prediction markets show a 79% chance the bill will be voted on before the recess, though the likelihood of it becoming law this year remains lower, at around 36-39%.
Bitcoin prices neared $65,000 following softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data for June, which eased concerns over Federal Reserve rate hikes. However, two groups of investors—long-term holders who bought near last year's highs and short-term holders who bought near recent lows—are actively selling into this price rise, potentially dampening further gains. Long-term holders are realizing losses rather than waiting for recoveries, indicating weak confidence in sustaining the rally, while short-term holders are taking profits at levels last seen during May's peak. Analysts remain cautious about the bounce's durability due to geopolitical tensions and the recent reversal in oil prices, which contributed to the inflation slowdown.
Jesse Pollak, creator of the Base blockchain, is stepping back from leading the Base App after admitting his bet on social experiences driving crypto adoption was “definitively wrong.” He acknowledged that Base fell behind competitors in critical areas like prediction markets and perpetual futures, with Base-native platforms Limitless and Avantis trailing significantly in volume. This shift aligns with Base’s strategic pivot from social products toward financial applications focused on trading, payments, and AI agents. Pollak will focus on the Base blockchain while leadership of the app returns to Coinbase under Jordan Fish, coinciding with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’s recent acknowledgment that content-focused crypto strategies had failed.
Jesse Pollak, formerly leading the Base app at Coinbase, is stepping back from that role after admitting his strategy focused on onchain social applications and creator coins failed to drive crypto adoption. Pollak acknowledged that Base fell behind competitors in key areas like trading, payments, and tokenization due to its social-first approach. Leadership of the Base app will now be handed to Jordan Fish, aka ‘Cobie,’ who will work on expanding the app beyond the Base ecosystem. Pollak will concentrate on developing Base’s blockchain as infrastructure for global finance, marking a strategic pivot away from social apps toward trading, payments, and AI-powered applications.
A Stanford and Singapore Management University study found that Polymarket’s five-minute Bitcoin prediction markets incentivize traders to manipulate spot prices around settlement, transferring about $1.28 million from retail traders to sophisticated participants. The manipulation is linked to contracts settling via Chainlink price feeds at the end of short trading windows, prompting sharp pre-settlement price moves followed by reversals. Extending the contracts’ duration to 15 minutes largely mitigated this effect. The researchers emphasized that settlement design, such as longer windows or alternative pricing methods, can reduce manipulation risks and noted implications for both crypto and traditional financial markets as prediction markets grow.
London-based fintech company Revolut has received in-principle approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) to offer broker-dealer, management, investment, and exchange crypto services in the UAE. This follows earlier approval from the Central Bank of the UAE for payment activities and comes after Revolut obtained a UK banking license in March. The approval will allow UAE users to buy, sell, and hold digital assets through Revolut’s app and Revolut X exchange. VARA currently lists 51 licensed crypto firms, with 22 granted in-principle approval, including Kraken’s parent company, Payward.
Ostium, a decentralized perpetuals trading protocol on Arbitrum, has paused trading after blockchain security firms Blockaid and CertiK reported an exploit of its OLP liquidity vault involving its oracle system, causing estimated losses of $18 million to $22 million. The protocol has advised users to revoke contract approvals temporarily while investigating the incident. This attack reflects a broader trend of DeFi exploits targeting offchain infrastructure such as oracles, contributing to substantial losses in the sector and raising concerns about DeFi’s security and its readiness for institutional adoption.
The U.S. House passed the Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act in June 2026 to protect minors online, but critics warn the bill's reliance on identity verification systems risks expanding surveillance and data breaches, as seen with AU10TIX and Discord incidents exposing government IDs. While KIDS does not explicitly mandate age verification, platform liability encourages companies to verify users’ ages, often leading to broad data collection. The Cardano Foundation CEO Frederik Gregaard highlights privacy-preserving alternatives like Utah’s Veridian system, which proves age without revealing full identities. The debate continues in the Senate, with calls to prioritize data minimization and privacy in online child protection measures.
