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France's gambling regulator ANJ has blocked Polymarket access for French users, part of a crackdown spanning over 33 countries on unlicensed prediction
The post France blocks access to Polymarket website due to gambling concerns appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Ukrainian strikes disrupt Russian energy and grain exports, raising concerns over fuel costs. Recapture of Crimea by December 31, 2026 at 8.5% YES.
The post Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy disrupt grain exports, fuel costs soar appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
LS Power states the US power market is insulated from rising global oil prices due to reliance on natural gas. Crude oil reaching a new all-time high by Decembe.
The post US power market shielded from global oil price surge amid Iran War: LS Power appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Ukrainian drone strikes disrupt Russian oil production, causing critical fuel shortages. Crude oil reaching a new all-time high by December 31 at 12.5% YES.
The post Ukrainian drone strikes cause critical fuel shortage in Russia appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Aston Villa secures club-record signing of Swiss World Cup star Johan Manzambi from SC Freiburg for up to 70 million, beating Newcastle to the deal.
The post Aston Villa signs Swiss World Cup breakout star Johan Manzambi in record deal appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Bitcoin Magazine
Bitcoin Magazine
Bitcoin Sentiment Is Turning Bullish — But It’s Too Early to Celebrate: Report
The Bitcoin bottom may be in — but don’t get your hopes up: It might struggle to go up anytime soon, according to one investment firm.
A Friday report from European asset management firm CoinShares said that investors last week threw fresh cash at Bitcoin — and other crypto — exchange-traded products, indicating a change in sentiment.
But other factors may hold digital asset markets from going higher, James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, wrote.
“We have said for some time that Bitcoin has probably reached, or is close to, its floor,” the report read. “But we see no significant upside potential from here.”
The report added that current macroeconomic headwinds, such as the US bombing Iran and rising oil prices, could see inflation go up again.
Bitcoin’s price was up earlier this week, hitting a seven-day high of $65,501 on news that inflation in the US was softer than expected. It has since erased those gains and was recently trading for $64,010.
The price of Bitcoin has typically done well on news that inflation is coming down because investors expect interest rates to come down. But Butterfill said that “a rate cut does not look probable at this stage.”
Bitcoin’s worst run on record
CoinShares’ data showed that investors pulled a total of $8 billion out of funds giving crypto exposure — “the worst run on record.”
Last week, though, things reversed when $287 million hit crypto funds, CoinShares said, with the data so far showing that this week looks likely to be another positive streak.
The price of Bitcoin has typically done well when US investors — previously excluded from crypto investing — have bought shares in exchange-traded funds approved in 2024.
The products — handled by the likes of BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale — allow more traditional investors or Wall Street institutions to buy positions in Bitcoin via shares that trade on stock exchanges.
Since BTC’s October all-time high of $126,080, crypto markets have faced a battering as those investors have fast cashed out of the funds. Bitcoin has struggled to make gains, especially after the US and Israel started bombing Iran, leading to a surge in the price of oil.
The leading cryptocurrency is now nearly 50% below its record.
“The dominant picture is that the current setup is prompting interest in adding positions, but caution prevails while sentiment remains broadly negative,” CoinShares added.
This post Bitcoin Sentiment Is Turning Bullish — But It’s Too Early to Celebrate: Report first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.
Bitcoin Magazine
Ocean Mining VP Jason Hughes: BIP-110 on Track to Fail as Miner Signaling Stays Below 1%
BIP-110 – My Notes to Miners
This is a guest post by Jason Hughes, VP of Development and Engineering at Ocean Mining. Opinions expressed are entirely his own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine. The article originally appeared on X.com and has been published with the permission of the author.
Let me start off by saying I’m not pro BIP110, and I’m not anti-BIP110. If it actually succeeds as something that gains true consensus within the network and ends up being enforced by a majority of the network… cool. If so, then we’ll go with it because the network has spoken and accepted it, and all nodes, including non-BIP110 nodes, will be pulled along for the ride. Unfortunately for proponents of the proposal, that simply isn’t currently the case by any measurable metric, nor does it appear to have a trajectory suggesting that will change, either.
There’s been a lot of misleading information about this whole thing, especially in the context of mining. A few quick key bullet points to briefly counter some hyperbole from proponents: BIP110 is NOT inevitable. It CAN fail. BIP110 can and will cause a chain split/fork in a minority hashrate situation. BIP110 is NOT without risk to miners choosing to adopt it. Miners not supporting BIP110 are not suddenly mining “invalid” blocks just because a proposal that isn’t yet adopted simply exists. You’re not a bad person or evil simply because you don’t like or support BIP110. (The fact that I feel the need to point out that last part is actually kind of sad…)
I was going to write a long post to help keep miners informed about things they need to remain aware of as this all plays out… before realizing I already did so months ago, as a document I authored that I had hoped could be put out as a miner education piece at OCEAN. Sadly, it never got published. So I went ahead and updated it, and well, here it is.
Again, keep in mind this was written months ago, intended to be as agnostic as possible in an effort to make it acceptable as a corporate post. That effort failed, so I’m posting it as a personal document today instead. As a miner making important decisions about your operations, you need to be aware of all of this without the sugarcoating and, frankly, outright misleading information coming from some of the BIP110 proponents. You must be vigilant and decide what’s right for you.
While there is certainly some misleading information from the opposition as well, nothing I’ve seen is nearly as egregious as the extremely premature claims of victory and accompanying hyperbole pushed by the BIP110 side. Summarizing my doc a bit, my personal suggestion to miners is this: Signal if you support BIP110. Do not signal if you don’t support BIP110 or don’t care. Either way, monitor the network on/around/before block 961632.
If you continue to see non-signaling blocks from major pools, you can be reasonably certain they’re not going to suddenly decide later to throw away millions of dollars’ worth of revenue to backtrack and signal for BIP110. If they do, by some chance, start to signal for BIP110, you should monitor that and consider switching as required to stay on the heaviest chain. The key point is that, realistically, only one side can win. It’s either BIP110 succeeds, and miners not on the BIP110 side fail, or BIP110 fails, and miners on the non-BIP110 side succeed.
Moving on, let’s dive into a small fraction of my rationale.
QUICK FACT: Between 7 and 15% of Bitcoin Nodes are signaling support for BIP110.
Depending on which centralized crawler you look at… no way to know for sure [how many BIP110 nodes are signaling support]. My personal private crawler puts this number much lower, but that’s a discussion for another day. Suffice it to say, I think it’s logical and correct to say that even 15% is not a majority.
“But Jason! UASF got Segwit activated with fewer nodes!”
Yep, because many miners, merchants, users, etc., all actually wanted Segwit. There was tremendous economic and community weight behind it. Without rehashing that whole thing, as plenty of resources on the topic from before BIP110 are worth a read, suffice it to say that BIP110 and Segwit activations are not quite comparable, as many have already pointed out. Segwit, for example, went into its UASF territory with around 1/3rd of the network’s hashrate already signaling support. With that kind of backing, the UASF to help push the MASF over the tipping point made a lot of sense. It doesn’t make sense here for BIP110.
QUICK FACT: 0.6% of blocks over the past 60 days have signaled support for BIP110.
[0.6% is a] pretty stark contrast to even Segwit’s low baseline support. Yes, I know it’s increased slightly in the past couple of weeks, but no new entrants. Just more clearly rented hashrate from one of the same small proponents.
Something to keep in mind is that mining BIP110 signaling blocks via DATUM on OCEAN carries virtually no risk to the miner up until the fork point at block 961632. The cost is negligible, as you’re effectively guaranteed to recoup rental costs, etc.
It’s awesome that the ability to do so exists, and I wouldn’t have it any other way… but just something to keep in mind when weighing signaling from such blocks in the grand scheme of things from a risk-reward, money-on-the-table perspective.
“But Jason! Miners have no incentive to signal until the last minute!”
I also see no evidence to suggest that this could be the case. Subjectively, I disagree with the premise, as it’s not in a mining pool’s best interest to destabilize the network in such a way. Part of the reason for early signaling and lock-in periods is to help coordinate upgrades in a smooth fashion. Waiting until the last minute negates that benefit entirely. I see no compelling rationale or upside to doing so.
Continuing on this, as part of my personal node monitoring setup, I specifically monitor nodes known to belong to various entities, such as other mining pools, exchanges, large lightning nodes, merchants, etc. A supermajority of which are monitored with explicit permission and confirmation/coordination.
QUICK FACT: All major mining pools I monitor are currently running some variant of Bitcoin Core v30 or v31 (except OCEAN).
Expanding on that, most [mining pools] have updated their nodes since the proliferation of BIP110’s release, even since the release of Knots 29.3. Additionally, it is known that many mining pools run modified versions of their node software to facilitate various requirements of their specific infrastructure. Such changes would need to be ported to a BIP110-compatible client, tested, evaluated, and deployed ahead of time. I currently see no evidence that this is the case currently.
As far as I can tell, the pools are aware but ignoring.
“But Jason! Miners don’t determine consensus! Nodes do! Otherwise, they’ll just cancel halvings!”
This is one of the funniest and most ridiculous arguments I’ve heard from the pro-BIP110 crowd. Comparing a consensus change that can be unilaterally enforced upon the network by miners and accepted by 100% of existing nodes (a soft fork), with a hard fork which no existing node will accept… is disingenuous at best. T
ightening rules (like BIP110): Soft fork, can be enforced by miners if they choose to do so. Loosening rules (like canceling a halving): Hard fork, can not be enforced by miners without effectively 100% buy-in from the entire network… which isn’t likely to happen. Comparing the two is, bluntly, just stupid.
“But Jason! If you don’t upgrade to the latest consensus rules, you’re insecure! You’ll lose funds! You’ll mine invalid blocks! You’ll [insert additional hyperbole here]!”
This would be true of a consensus change that has, well, consensus. While BIP110 has made a valiant effort to gain that consensus, it has yet to have any measurable majority at what is now arguably the 11th hour. Not in nodes, not in hashrate, not in the social layers (consensus.health has a cool visual there where you’ll find me in the middle).
If somehow BIP110 gains 51%+ of the network hashrate on/before block 961632… then, alright. It’s enforced, since as a soft fork a majority of miners can unilaterally enforce it in the absence of a fully adopted URSF (effectively a misnomer, as this would kind of be a hard fork).
“But Jason! It can’t gain consensus by already having consensus! You have to give it a chance!”
Firstly… no I don’t, even though I have. Second, it’s a rushed proposal that never had the time to even try and gain real consensus. It’s been 7 months since the release of the first BIP110 client. There’s ~3 weeks to go before “mandatory” signaling starts as of now (less by the time you read this). 90% of the time available has passed with no change in overall sentiment from any relevant players. If it hasn’t gained sufficient adoption in the past 7 months, it’s not likely to do so in the next 3 weeks.
“But Jason! CSAM! CSAM! Pedophiles! CSAM!”
I’ll be the first to say, even I personally overstated the risk here early on when Core proposed its OP_RETURN change. I personally expected something particularly egregious to hit the chain almost immediately, and to the best of my knowledge, that’s not yet happened. Could it still happen? Yeah, I suppose.
But considering from a technical perspective, byte-for-byte the same contiguous arbitrary data can provably end up stored in the current chain or the BIP-110 chain without much issue… this particular argument for BIP-110 falls pretty flat to me at this point.
Do I want CSAM in the chain? Of course not. Am I a pedophile if I don’t support BIP110? Also not.
Concluding Thoughts
I could continue to go on and on and on, but I’ll stop here. I’ve wasted enough time on this. I’m sure I’ve done plenty to annoy both sides of the BIP110 debate at this point, as I don’t adopt either stance. I’m sure I’ll catch flak from all angles simply for daring to speak my mind on it.
Overall, I mostly think it was silly to approach addressing a real problem (the OP_RETURN default change in Bitcoin Core) with the maximum anti-spam manifesto based soft fork proposal… which provably cannot stop spam, arbitrary data, etc. 
(Yes, I know, proponents will claim it’s not about spam… and will also make semantic arguments that it does stop data as well… neither of which appears to be correct.)
I’ll close with the concession that I could be wrong. I’m not Nostradamus, and I can’t accurately predict the outcome with 100% certainty. I can only go by what the data tells me, and so I give BIP110’s success less than a 5% chance of actually succeeding… and I consider that generous. You can take my opinions on this however you wish, but I highly recommend you don’t discount the actual data points, remain vigilant, and do what’s best for you and your mining revenue. Don’t be gaslit by either side of the debate, and make your own decisions.
Here’s a link to the same document linked above for ease of access.
This post Ocean Mining VP Jason Hughes: BIP-110 on Track to Fail as Miner Signaling Stays Below 1% first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Jason Hughes.
Bitcoin Magazine
SBI Holdings Takes Majority Stake in Singapore’s Coinhako After MAS Approval
SBI Holdings has completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Coinhako, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency platform, after securing approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
The Japanese financial group made the purchase through its subsidiary SBI Ventures Asset Pte. Ltd., which injected capital into Coinhako parent Holdbuild Pte. Ltd. and bought shares from existing shareholders. The transaction closed July 16, making Coinhako a consolidated subsidiary.
Coinhako operates through Hako Technology Pte. Ltd., holder of a Major Payment Institution license from MAS, and Alpha Hako Ltd., a crypto asset service provider registered with the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission.
The platform spent a decade building a customer base across Southeast Asia, a region SBI now positions as a base for its digital asset strategy.
SBI plans to combine Coinhako’s customer base, operational expertise, and regional network with its own financial services, technology, and global footprint. The company intends to expand a digital asset corridor that starts with Japan and Southeast Asia, and to develop services tied to its JPYSC yen-denominated stablecoin. SBI also flagged opportunities in tokenization, on-chain finance, and cross-border trading.
“Our group aims to create a global corridor for digital assets by connecting exchanges around the world, enabling investors worldwide to make optimal investments without being hindered by national borders or currency barriers,” Chairman Yoshitaka Kitao said. He described Singapore as a crucial region because its digital asset regulations are ahead of the curve.
Coinhako co-founder and CEO Yusho Liu called the deal a natural step. “For the past 10 years, we have built from the ground up Southeast Asia’s most trusted and legally compliant cryptocurrency platform in the world’s most advanced regulatory environment,” he said, adding that SBI’s backing gives the firm a stronger foundation.
SBI Holding’s crypto moves
The acquisition caps a run of crypto moves by the conglomerate, which holds more than 14 million users and $308 billion in assets under custody. In the past month, SBI led EDX Markets’ $76 million Series C, backed risk manager Gauntlet, launched JPYSC, and partnered with the Solana Foundation on an on-chain financial market in Japan.
In June, the group agreed to buy Tokyo exchange Bitbank for about $289 million, and this week it teamed with Ondo Finance to tokenize Japanese equities.
One limit remains: JPYSC does not yet support withdrawals to external wallets, which confines its use to SBI’s own platform.
This post SBI Holdings Takes Majority Stake in Singapore’s Coinhako After MAS Approval first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.
Bitcoin Magazine
Bitcoin Mining Giant Foundry Asks Miners To Vote on BIP-110 Soft Fork
Foundry Digital, the world’s leading Bitcoin mining pool operator, has said it will allow mining clients how the pool should signal on the BIP-110.
The Rochester, New York-based firm said Friday in an email to miners that they will be able to vote by using their hashrate — literally computing power — to vote either for or against the proposal.
BIP-110, or the Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 110, is a proposal aimed at temporarily restricting spam on the blockchain. If it goes through, a soft fork — a backward-compatible rule change — would take effect, restricting the amount of non-monetary data on the network.
“As miners, it’s important for you to have a voice and participate in the governance of the network,” Foundry said in its announcement.
“It’s one of the more actively debated proposals in Bitcoin right now, and miners play a direct role in whether it activates,” the company added.
Also known as the “reduced data temporary soft fork,” the proposal would cap the amount of arbitrary, non-monetary data that transactions can carry.
Its rules limit most new outputs to 34 bytes, restore an 83-byte limit on OP_RETURN outputs, and reject data pushes above 256 bytes.
Those for the proposal say that the soft fork would allow Bitcoin to function as pure peer-to-peer money.
But opponents, including Strategy founder Michael Saylor and Blockstream co-founder Adam Back, argue it converts a policy dispute into a consensus change that could invalidate fee-paying transactions.
Foundry’s process
Under Foundry’s process, each vote carries weight based on an account’s average 10-day hashrate on the pool between July 6 and July 15. Foundry said it will signal based on the majority of hashrate-weighted votes across the signaling period, which it expects to run through early August at block 961,632.
The company’s starting position is no. It said that until “Yes” votes cross 51% of voting hashrate, Foundry signals “No” with all of its blocks. A crossing of that threshold switches the pool to “Yes” with all of its blocks.
Foundry controls about a third of network hashrate, a share that makes its position consequential for the outcome. Analysts at BGeometrics identified decisions by Foundry and Antpool as capable of moving daily signaling into a meaningful range. A mandatory signaling window near block 961,632, projected for early August, will force the question before the activation timeline closes.
Accounts that do not respond count as “No” votes. Foundry said owners can change their choice while the window remains open, and that individual votes stay confidential, though aggregate results may be shared.
This post Bitcoin Mining Giant Foundry Asks Miners To Vote on BIP-110 Soft Fork first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo and Micah Zimmerman.
Bitcoin Magazine
Bitcoin Price Falls Under $63,000 on U.S.-Iran Strikes and Trump’s China Charge, but Onchain Data Points to Buyers
Bitcoin price fell below $63,000 on Friday, as a fresh wave of U.S. airstrikes on Iran and a new political dispute between Washington and Beijing pushed investors out of risk assets.
Bitcoin price traded near $62,800, an extension of Thursday’s 1.4% slide from $65,000, according to Bitcoin Magazine Pro data. The token slipped under its 50-day simple moving average, a gauge of near-term momentum that many traders watch.
The bitcoin price retreat tracked a broad decline across global markets. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 4% and entered a correction, a fall of more than 10% from its June 25 peak, as memory-chip maker Kioxia lost 16.1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 2%, while the Shanghai Composite fell 3.1% to an 11-month low.
Futures tied to the Nasdaq pointed to a decline of 1.6%, an echo of Thursday’s drop on Wall Street, where chip shares from Nvidia, Micron, Broadcom and Qualcomm came under pressure on fears that the AI rally has run past its earnings.
Bitcoin price, Iran escalations, and uncertainty in Washington
Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency, citing the Hormozgan province governorate, said U.S. airstrikes hit five bridges in the southern province.
A separate missile strike damaged the maritime control tower at Iran’s Chabahar port. WTI crude climbed near $79 a barrel, a rise close to 15% across five sessions, a move that revived concern about inflation and the path of interest rates.
A second front of uncertainty opened in Washington. President Donald Trump declassified intelligence reports that allege Chinese interference in U.S. elections and claimed Beijing obtained 220 million voter records, a threat he cast as a danger to democracy. China’s embassy denied the allegations.
The dispute itself carries little market weight, though traders fear it could strain ties before Trump’s September meeting with Xi Jinping. The Australian dollar, a proxy for China-linked trade, weakened against the greenback.
Bitcoin price market dynamics
Against that backdrop, some analysts argue the sell-off masks a market whose core drivers have changed little. Nicolai Sondergaard, a research analyst at Nansen, said the bitcoin price tape reflects macro data more than a geopolitical hedge.
“The inflation and liquidity channel is doing more work here than the geopolitical hedge narrative,” Sondergaard said. He pointed to the June CPI report released July 14, which showed headline inflation of 3.5% against a 3.8% forecast and a core reading of 2.6% against 2.9%. The dollar index sank to near 100.77, a multi-month low, and the 10-year Treasury yield eased to 4.57%.
The softer print reset Fed expectations. Odds of a rate hike at the July 28-29 meeting fell from above 40% to the low teens, according to CME FedWatch data.
“The FOMC meeting on July 28 to 29 is the actual binary,” Sondergaard said. “If the CPI data holds and the Fed signals a credible pivot path, the conditions for sustained ETF inflows are back in place.”
Onchain flows support his read. Spot bitcoin ETFs drew $510 million across three sessions this month, an end to a $2.73 billion outflow streak, with BlackRock’s IBIT in the lead. Nansen’s data shows large wallets held their ground through the strike.
“Net outflows hit -18.3 BTC in the strike hour, then reverted to a post-shock average of +0.67 BTC per hour, meaning buyers returned within the same session,” Sondergaard said.
Sondergaard framed positioning as constructive rather than fragile. Funding rates sat near zero, a sign that leveraged longs are not crowded, and smart-money long/short ratios ran at 1.58 with no rotation into stablecoins. Retail traders held a ratio of 1.79, a step ahead of the pros but in the same direction. Seven-day inflows concentrated in liquid staking, DeFi lending and decentralized exchanges, a risk-on allocation.
Sondergaard said the sequence rhymes with past shocks. “Prior Middle East escalations produced the same pattern: short-duration flush, accumulation resumes,” he said.
“MVRV sits at 1.205 with realized price at roughly $53,000 and the long-term holder cost basis around $49,900, which defines the structural floor,” Sondergaard said. “That is not the profile of a market running on geopolitical sentiment.”
At the time of writing, the bitcoin price is $62, 836.
This post Bitcoin Price Falls Under $63,000 on U.S.-Iran Strikes and Trump’s China Charge, but Onchain Data Points to Buyers first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.
CryptoSlate
Citadel Securities, the Wall Street market maker, now has $600 million in announced strategic investments across two rival crypto exchanges, each valued at $20 billion.
Crypto.com announced its $400 million deal on July 16, 2026. Previously, on Nov. 18, 2025, Kraken disclosed an executed agreement for a $200 million investment at the same valuation. Together, the investments give Citadel economic exposure to both venues as they expand beyond crypto trading.
Crypto.com called the deal its first institutional funding round in a decade. It said the capital is expected to accelerate expansion across asset classes, including tokenized securities and derivatives, while connecting digital-asset and traditional markets.
Its ambition reaches beyond its existing crypto exchange business toward a broader platform for financial products.
Kraken’s historical financing pointed in the same direction. The exchange said the 2025 raise was to accelerate its strategy to bring traditional financial products on-chain and broaden its offerings beyond crypto. Its disclosed collaboration with Citadel includes differentiated liquidity provision, risk management expertise, and market structure insights.
The identical $20 billion valuations give Citadel exposure to two rivals chasing much the same multi-asset market.
If tokenized assets and derivatives continue to move through crypto infrastructure, the market maker could gain from that shift without relying on a single exchange.
Citadel’s investments do not give it control over either exchange. Neither announcement reveals its ownership stake, board seats, voting rights, or any exclusive commercial terms. Crypto.com also describes no hands-on role matching the liquidity and market-structure work Kraken outlined.
The Crypto.com deal is consistent with earlier reported interest. In February 2025, CryptoSlate reported that Citadel was preparing, subject to exchange approvals, to provide liquidity on Crypto.com and other major exchanges. That report showed plans involving the venue before the investment, not a confirmed bilateral relationship at the time.
Crypto.com’s subsequent disclosures will determine whether the two-deal pattern remains a capital allocation or develops into parallel market-structure roles. A defined liquidity, risk-management, or market-structure mandate would make the operational link clearer and move the relationship closer to the one Kraken described.
Without such a disclosure, the simpler conclusion stands: Citadel has invested in two competitors pursuing the same bridge between crypto and traditional markets.
The post Citadel backs two rival crypto exchanges with $600 million as both chase the same Wall Street prize appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Summary: The fourth round of JST's buyback and burn has concluded with higher-than-expected results. A total of over 355 million JST tokens—valued at more than $34.59 million—were burned in this round, marking the highest single-round burn by value to date.
On July 17, JST—the native token of TRON's decentralized finance (DeFi) infrastructure JUST—completed its fourth large-scale buyback and burn round.
A total of over 355 million JST tokens were burned in this round, accounting for 3.59% of the total supply. This translates to more than $34.59 million in value, which not only shattered previous single-round records but also far exceeded the community's expectations.
The unprecedented scale of this burn was driven by a dual-engine initiative: the routine Q2 2026 buyback and burn, paired with a separate burn of historical USDJ stability fees. The combination of these two streams propelled the actual burn volume to historic heights—surpassing prior market estimates while delivering unexpected benefits to JST holders worldwide.
Notably, 100% of the funds deployed for the standard Q2 buyback came from JustLend DAO's organic protocol revenues. With a fully transparent capital pipeline, the ecosystem demonstrates a highly sustainable economic model that relies entirely on its core business operations to drive value.
A Historic Milestone: 355M+ JST Burned in Routine Q2 Buyback and Special USDJ Fee Burn
Unlike the previous three rounds which adhered strictly to standard quarterly schedules, this round introduced a dual-engine structure: the standard seasonal burn plus an additional, independent burn of historical USDJ stability fees. This strategic move drove the single-round burn volume to a record-breaking peak.
According to the official Announcement on Completion of the Fourth JST Buyback and Burn released on July 17, a total of 355,021,530.97 JST(representing 3.59% of total supply) was permanently removed from circulation, with the total transaction value reaching $34.59 million
While previous rounds typically deployed around $20 million, this round's total value surged past $34 million—a 70%+ increase over the third round and a significant outperformance of general market forecasts.
The expansion of this round's burn size was powered by two independent funding components:
- Q2 2026 Quarterly Buyback and Burn: A total of 248,357,799 JST (est. $24.20million) was burned, using $20.6 million from protocol revenue.
- Historical USDJ Stability Fee Burn: 106,663,731.97 JST was burned separately, carrying a current estimated value of $10.39million.
While the Q2 burn aligns with the ecosystem's quarterly burning schedule, the USDJ historical stability fee burn represents a completely independent, one-time capital injection. This effectively provides an unexpected ecosystem bonus directly to global JST holders on top of routine value returns. As a result, the combined initiatives removed more tokens from circulation than any single previous round.
With the successful conclusion of this fourth major initiative, JST is accelerating along its deflationary trajectory. As of July 15, across four completed rounds, the ecosystem has burned a cumulative total of 1,711,249,863 JST, wiping out 17.29% of the total supply from circulation.
That means in just nine months since the buyback program kicked off in October 2025, nearly one-fifth of all JST tokens have been permanently burned and taken out of the market. With the circulating supply steadily tightening, the token's scarcity is climbing.
According to CoinGecko, JST broke through the $0.1 barrier on July 10, hitting an intraday high of $0.1045—its strongest level since December 2021. Over the past year, the token has surged more than 178%, pushing its market cap to roughly $874 million and landing it a spot among the top 70 cryptocurrencies globally. This dual momentum in price and valuation provides clear secondary-market validation of the deflationary loop: strategic buybacks constrict supply, which in turn drives organic price appreciation.
JustLend DAO's Steady Earnings Underpin JST's Long-Term Deflationary Value
The engine behind JST's sustained buyback program has always been JustLend DAO. On top of the USDJ fee burn added in this latest round, all funds used in the previous regular buyback rounds came exclusively from the DAO's operating revenue, making the entire funding process fully transparent and traceable.
The $20.6 million deployed for the Q2 2026 buyback was sourced entirely from JustLend DAO's organic revenue, broken down as follows:
- Net income growth (growth engine): ~$10.28 million in Q2 net income.
- Historical reserves (base stock): ~$10.34 million in accumulated earnings from prior periods.
By combining these two streams—past reserves as a foundation and fresh quarterly earnings as fuel—the DAO built a complete funding pool for Q2. On top of this, the new USDJ stability fee burn acts as an accelerator outside the regular quarterly budget, further intensifying JST's deflationary momentum. Notably, JustLend DAO has consistently generated eight-figure quarterly profits, underscoring the strength of its revenue engine.
On top of its stable core business, JustLend DAO has been actively sharpening its product edge and expanding its mainstream reach over the past two months, setting the stage for significant future growth:
On June 16, the platform rolled out SBM V2, an upgrade to its lending market that introduces an isolated-collateral lending protocol. The new design improves capital efficiency and raises the protocol's long-term earnings ceiling at the infrastructure layer.
On July 6, JustLend DAO integrated with Binance Wallet's DeFi section, opening up its core liquidity pools to one of the largest Web3 traffic gateways. To mark Binance's ninth anniversary, the two parties co-launched TRON DeFi Summer, a campaign with a total prize pool of $4.5 million. Season 1 is now live, featuring an exclusive $2.15 million reward pool. Users can participate by supplying TRX, USDD, JST, SUN, and other assets on JustLend DAO. These initiatives are set to funnel fresh liquidity and a wave of new users into the ecosystem, unlocking new growth avenues for future earnings.
Backed by solid operating profits, an evolving product suite, and a growing partner network, JustLend DAO remains firmly on an upward trajectory—providing a steady, recurring flow of funds for JST's ongoing buybacks and reinforcing its deflationary value proposition.
Meanwhile, the broader DeFi space is going through a brutal shakeout. Many projects are struggling with falling revenues and tighter cash flow, forcing them to cut back—some once-prominent names have even shut down entirely. Against this grim backdrop, the JUST ecosystem stands out by bucking the trend. Far from pulling back on buybacks, it has proactively tapped new revenue sources (including USDJ stability fees) to add extra burns beyond its regular quarterly schedule, turning its long-term deflation strategy into tangible value for holders.
This sustained, above-consensus execution underscores the JUST ecosystem's strong track record, strategic discipline, sound fundamentals, and durable cashgenerating ability.
The post JST Hits Record Deflationary Milestone: Over 355M Tokens Burned as JustLend DAO Revenue Fuels Value Appreciation appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Swedish Bitcoin treasury firm B Treasury Capital AB expects its new BTC PREF preference share to start trading on the Spotlight Stock Market on Monday, July 20. Investors left 47.7% of the rights offer unfilled, so the market will soon reveal what buyers are willing to pay for a new route to funding further Bitcoin purchases.
Investors subscribed for 102,025 of 195,078 shares, or 52% of the offer, according to the issuer's July 2 result. The issue produced about SEK 12.2 million ($1.26 million) gross and SEK 11.9 million ($1.23 million) net, compared with a maximum of roughly SEK 23.4 million ($2.42 million) gross.
The 10% issue yield faces a price test
BTC PREF pays SEK 1 per month, totaling SEK 12 per year on the SEK 120 subscription price. If paid as scheduled, the official terms indicate an annual cash yield of 10% at issue.
The same scheduled payment produces a different indicated cash yield at each market price. At SEK 100, SEK 12 represents 12%; at SEK 90, it represents about 13.3%. Dividends may be deferred, however, and unpaid shortfalls accumulate without interest ahead of dividends on Class B common shares. The calculations are therefore neither guaranteed returns nor total returns.
A drop well below SEK 120 would suggest investors want a richer payout than BTC AB offered. Sparse trading would raise a different concern, since a single small trade can move the quoted price without demonstrating real demand from income investors.
BTC AB describes BTC PREF as preferred equity intended to add balance-sheet capital without debt or large repayment obligations. The issuer says the structure is intended to limit common-share dilution, with proceeds directed primarily to Bitcoin purchases and a liquidity reserve for preference dividends.
The financing avoids a debt maturity but still creates a preferential dividend burden. After the partial take-up, BTC AB has not disclosed the final allocation of proceeds or the resulting reserve balance, leaving dividend coverage as one of the signals investors must assess.
Strategy provides the obvious benchmark for scale. AB. As of May 25, Strategy provides the obvious benchmark for scale. It reports $15.46 billion of preferred stock and a $3 billion USD reserve, equivalent to 20.4 months of dividend coverage. Strategy also adopted a policy requiring the reserve to cover at least 12 months of expected preferred dividends and debt interest. BTC AB now has to establish credibility in price, liquidity, and reserves on its own terms.
A sustained discount would lift BTC PREF's indicated cash yield above 10% and could make another offer on the same SEK 120 price and SEK 12 scheduled dividend harder.
Thin trading would leave the market signal inconclusive.
Either would constrain BTC AB's ability to treat preferred equity as a repeat financing channel, while trading near the issue price with meaningful volume would provide evidence, not proof, of demand outside the United States.
The post Bitcoin treasury company offers 10% income and still can’t sell nearly half its shares appeared first on CryptoSlate.
The White House placed longtime teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez on unpaid administrative leave on July 16 after ABC News reported allegations that he used advance access to President Donald Trump's prepared remarks to earn more than $100,000 on Kalshi.
Sources told the network that the alleged trading covered more than a dozen speeches over roughly three months and that Perez is discussing a potential settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The CFTC declined to comment.
Kalshi said its surveillance team promptly flagged, investigated, and referred the trades to the CFTC. NPR separately reported, citing unnamed sources, that the exchange froze about $90,000 and banned Perez from the platform.
Detection without a public clock
Kalshi’s system appears to have caught something unusual, investigated the account, and sent evidence to the federal regulator. The missing piece is when each step happened.
ABC News, The Associated Press, and NPR do not say when Kalshi first flagged the account, when trading was restricted, or when the referral occurred relative to the alleged series of more than a dozen speeches. Without those timestamps, it's impossible to tell whether Kalshi restricted the account before any further alleged trading took place.
The governing framework is clear, though it has not been publicly applied to Perez. A February CFTC advisory said misappropriating confidential information in breach of a duty can violate Commodity Exchange Act Section 6(c)(1) and Regulation 180.1.
It also said designated contract markets have an independent duty to maintain audit trails, surveil trading, and enforce their rules. Kalshi's rulebook bars members with material nonpublic information or influence over an outcome from trading the relevant contract, and requires that unusual activity be reviewed and, where appropriate, investigated.
The Perez allegations escalate a pattern reflected in the CFTC's general prediction-market warning and a separate Special Forces and Polymarket case CryptoSlate covered earlier this year. This time, the claimed edge came from access to White House speeches, and the trades ran through a federally regulated exchange's mention markets.
The timing also coincides with Trump Media's July 16 announcement of Truth API, a paid data feed designed to deliver posts from Truth Social's most influential accounts, including Trump, to institutional customers in milliseconds. The company said the service, scheduled to begin Aug. 1, is aimed partly at high-frequency and algorithmic trading firms for which even brief information delays carry a cost.
Unlike the Perez allegations, the API concerns faster access to information after publication rather than to nonpublic remarks in advance. Still, the two developments expose adjacent markets built around the same commodity: receiving Trump's potentially market-moving words before slower participants can react.
Kalshi announced new integrity measures on June 9, including market risk scores and employment screening before users can enter certain heightened-risk markets. Those measures came after the reported December-to-March period during which Perez allegedly traded. Kalshi has not disclosed whether those safeguards reached presidential-mention markets after the rollout or whether similar checks were already in place.
For now, the answer is split. Surveillance appears to have worked well enough to generate a referral and reported freeze and ban, but the repeated alleged trading and missing timestamps leave the speed and deterrent effect of the response in this case unproven.
The post Trump aide allegedly made $100K betting on 12 speeches before anyone knew – then Kalshi stepped in appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Dutch crypto exchange Knaken's operating company and its affiliated payments foundation entered court-controlled bankruptcy on July 16 after the Rotterdam District Court found that the exchange could not repay customers in full.
The court said customers were locked out, payments had stopped, and a substantial coverage deficit had not been disclosed.
The Dutch Public Prosecution Service told the court that about €7 million was missing from customer balances. The order confirms that management will not control the wind-down. Trustee C.F.W.A. Hamm now has authority over both Knaken Cryptohandel B.V. and Stichting Knaken Payments.
Court control replaces Knaken’s payout plan
Knaken argued that bankruptcy was unnecessary. It said criminal asset seizures, the service shutdown, and its custody structure already protected customers, and proposed an independent verification process followed by its own distribution protocol. The court rejected that route and put an outside trustee in charge.
The public-interest petition took an unusual route. Prosecutors stepped in after blocked accounts and poor disclosure left customers unable to determine where they stood or to file a meaningful bankruptcy petition. Court control gave them a process outside the exchange’s own books and proposed payout system.
The Dutch bankruptcy trustee works for the collective body of creditors under a supervising judge. The trustee inventories assets and claims, examines records and possible irregularities, protects and liquidates the estate, and proposes distributions according to claim priority, as set out in Dutch judiciary guidance and the Bankruptcy Act.
For Knaken, that mandate supports reconciling platform ledgers with wallets, access controls, bank accounts, and other property across the company and the foundation. It also establishes which entity owes each customer and whether property described as a customer asset was actually held outside the exchange's own estate. The appointment provides independent verification, but it neither fills the deficit nor determines a recovery percentage on its own.
The Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service, known as the FIOD, was examining possible criminal conduct and carried out searches on June 29, according to prosecutors. Investigators seized digital data carriers and company assets, and no arrests had been made as of the June 30 statement.
Separate teams handled the civil petition and criminal investigation, and neither the investigation nor the seizures amount to a finding of guilt. The legal treatment of seized property and its coordination with the bankruptcy estates remain to be clarified through the two processes.
Custody protection depends on assets being there
The bankruptcy of Stichting Knaken Payments makes the custody structure central to customer recovery. A separate foundation creates legal distance between an operating company and client property, but does not prove that sufficient assets were held, correctly recorded, or available for return when the platform failed.
The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets says Dutch law has no automatic statutory segregation regime for custodied crypto comparable to the protections for securities held by banks and investment firms. Crypto providers therefore often use a separate entity, usually a foundation, to create legal separation.
Effective protection still requires the provider to hold client crypto and client funds, keep accurate position records, use separate client and proprietary wallets, maintain appropriate recovery-key controls, confine the foundation's activities to client custody interests, and operate a workable return procedure.
Neither the court nor prosecutors have disclosed which Knaken assets remain, where they are held, whether the platform ledger matches the foundation's records, or whether each balance was legally and operationally separated. Because both entities are bankrupt, the trustee must first establish those facts before an account entry can be connected to identifiable property or an accepted claim.
Knaken had not obtained the required AFM authorization, according to prosecutors. The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, or MiCA, is now the benchmark for the safeguards that an authorized custody provider should operate under.
MiCA Article 70 requires authorized providers holding client crypto or access means to safeguard client ownership rights, especially in insolvency. Subject to institutional exceptions, eligible client funds must generally be placed in a separately identifiable account at a credit institution or central bank by the next business day.
MiCA Article 75 requires custody providers to maintain per-client position records, a custody policy, and return procedures. Client holdings must be legally and operationally separate from the provider's own holdings so that properly custodied crypto remains beyond the reach of the provider's creditors in the event of insolvency. The regulation's official text describes preventive custody controls, not a mechanism for replacing assets that are no longer there.
The European Securities and Markets Authority, or ESMA, told unauthorized providers in June to stop onboarding clients, restrict remaining activity to an orderly exit, safeguard client interests, and explain how assets would be handled.
The operational risk has appeared in other MiCA exits: recent CryptoSlate reporting described AscendEX warning that some withdrawals might not be processed. Knaken is in a distinct and more advanced legal position because a court has found a coverage deficit and imposed bankruptcy control.
De Nederlandsche Bank says crypto-assets and crypto service providers fall outside the Dutch investor compensation scheme, while its deposit-guarantee guidance excludes crypto such as Bitcoin. Any treatment of cash actually held at a bank would depend on account ownership and structure, which have not been established for Knaken.
What customers should watch next
The first decisive signal will be a reconciled inventory: crypto, cash, and other property that the trustee can control or recover, matched against the two entities' records. A displayed customer balance is evidence of what the platform said it owed, but recovery depends on whether corresponding property can be found and linked to a legal right.
The foundation may have held some assets for customers, while the operating company may owe other obligations. The bankruptcy process must determine whether identifiable client property is outside a general creditor pool, whether shortfalls become claims against either estate, and how accepted claims rank under Dutch insolvency rules.
Investigators may hold property or information relevant to the estate, but the court announcement does not establish what was seized, who owns it, or how it will be treated. Coordination between the trustee and criminal authorities will affect the evidence and assets available to the bankruptcy process without turning the insolvency case into a judgment on criminal liability.
Only after those questions are answered can the trustee produce a defensible estimate of what customers may receive and when.
For locked-out users, court control provides an independent way to distinguish an account balance from property that can actually be traced and returned. It replaces Knaken’s proposed payout process with supervised accounting and a collective claims procedure.
The post Dutch crypto exchange collapses exposing customer balances’ true value amid multi-million-euro hole appeared first on CryptoSlate.
CryptoTicker.io
XRP is trading around $1.09, grinding against a descending trendline that has capped every rally since spring. The two-hour chart tells a tidy story: a lower-highs ceiling running down from the $1.30 zone, a hard floor at $1.00, and price boxed in the middle with RSI near 46 — momentum that is committed to neither a breakout nor a breakdown. So the real question for investors isn't just where $XRP goes next week. It's whether, at these levels, Ripple's token is actually worth buying in 2026.
Where is XRP right now?
The structure is a textbook squeeze. Since the June sell-off that dragged $XRP from roughly $1.30 down toward $1.00, price has carved out a consolidation range between $1.00 support and $1.15–$1.20 resistance, all of it underneath that yellow descending trendline.
The key levels to watch are clear:
- $1.00 — the psychological floor and the line separating a bounce from a deeper flush. A daily close below it opens an air pocket toward $0.80.
- **1.15–$1.20** — the overhead band XRP must reclaim and hold to argue the year-long downtrend is over.
- The descending trendline — currently the immediate lid on price. A clean break above it is the first technical signal bulls actually need.
RSI near 46 confirms the stalemate: buyers and sellers are balanced, volatility is compressed, and the market is waiting for a catalyst rather than trending on its own.
What could move the XRP price?
The chart is coiled, but the trigger is fundamental, not technical. The single biggest swing factor remains the CLARITY Act — the U.S. bill that would lock $XRP's status as a commodity into federal law and, in theory, unlock the institutional demand that ETFs and on-chain accumulation have been quietly building toward.
The catch is timing. The bill has cleared the House and the Senate Banking Committee, but it missed its July 4 target and now sits on the Senate calendar with a narrow window before the August recess. Prediction markets have been skeptical, and a slip past recess risks pushing the whole question toward 2027 as midterm politics take over.
On the numbers, forecasts cluster around a few scenarios:
- Bullish (CLARITY passes in the window): a re-rating toward $1.45–$2.20, with some analysts eyeing higher if ETF inflows reaccelerate and the Fed softens.
- Base case (consolidation): continued chop between $1.00 and $1.20 while the market waits.
- Bearish (vote stalls, BTC weak): a break of $1.00 exposing the $0.80 zone, with deeper levels below.
It's worth remembering that Standard Chartered cut its year-end 2026 target from $8.00 to $2.80 earlier this year — a reminder that even long-term bulls have reset expectations.
Is there still hope for XRP in 2026?
Yes — but hope here is conditional, not automatic. The bullish case rests on a genuine disconnect: while price has been flat-to-down, the fundamentals underneath have quietly improved. XRP ETFs pulled in well over $1 billion across a multi-week inflow streak, whale accumulation and XRPL wallet growth hit multi-month highs, and Ripple secured full MiCA authorization in Luxembourg, giving it a regulated foothold across the EEA.
Seasonality adds a small tailwind — July has historically been one of $XRP's stronger months. But that edge is far less reliable this year, because $XRP's price has become tightly correlated to the broader crypto tape. As several analysts have put it, no amount of good Ripple news has been able to override overall market mood — the token trades on Bitcoin's floor and the Fed's next move as much as its own story.
So the hope is real, but it lives or dies on two switches flipping: regulatory clarity arriving, and the broader market steadying. Fundamentals are loading the spring; they just haven't released it yet.
So, is XRP a good investment?
That depends entirely on your risk tolerance and time horizon — and this isn't financial advice. What the setup offers is a relatively defined risk/reward: a well-established $1.00 floor beneath current price, and a binary catalyst (CLARITY) that could re-rate the token sharply higher if it lands. For a risk-tolerant investor, that asymmetry is the appeal.
The counterweight is equally clear. The catalyst is genuinely uncertain — legislative outcomes are binary and can stall, weaken, or slip past their window entirely. Below $1.00 there is little technical support until the $0.80 area, and $XRP remains deeply correlated to a fragile broader market. Anyone treating this as a guaranteed rebound is ignoring how many things have to go right.
The honest summary: $XRP in 2026 is a catalyst trade wrapped around a strong support level. If you believe clarity is coming and the market steadies, the current range looks like accumulation. If you don't, you're paying for a bet that keeps getting delayed. Position size accordingly, and never risk more than you can afford to lose.
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Wall Street opened deep in the red as fresh escalation in the US–Iran conflict sent investors fleeing risk assets, with roughly $1 trillion in market value evaporating in the opening stretch of trading. The trigger: Iran responded to a fresh wave of US strikes by launching an attack on American military bases across several Gulf states.
This is now the sixth straight day of open hostilities. The US and Iran have intensified attacks beyond military targets, raising fears of a return to full war with no agreement reached over the Strait of Hormuz. Overnight, US forces struck southern Iran, hitting six road bridges according to Iranian state media, with separate reports of attacks near Bushehr — home to the country's only nuclear power plant — and Lorestan province.
The market reaction has been textbook risk-off: equities down hard, oil sharply higher, and safe havens bid.
Why did $1 trillion vanish at the open?
Two things spooked traders simultaneously — direct attacks on US bases and the threat to global energy supply. Kuwait activated its air defenses against missile and drone threats, Qatar said it intercepted a missile attack after booms were heard in Doha, and air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain after Iran claimed it targeted US aircraft at Sakhir Air Base.
The energy angle is the real accelerant. The Strait of Hormuz, located between Oman and Iran, is one of the world's most critical energy choke points, typically handling around 20% of global oil traffic. With Tehran asserting control over the waterway, any disruption feeds straight into inflation fears — and that's what's dragging equity valuations down.
What is happening to oil prices?
Crude is climbing fast as the blockade standoff drags on. Brent crude futures advanced 2.8% to trade around $78.14 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate rose 2.5% to $73.24. Higher oil means higher input costs, stickier inflation, and less room for rate cuts — a toxic mix for both stocks and risk assets like crypto.
Is crypto going to be affected?
It already is. As the image from CoinMarketCap shows, the major coins are flashing red across the 24-hour and 7-day windows. $BTC is trading around $63,407, down 1.78% on the day and 1.24% on the week. $ETH sits near $1,830, off 3.03% in 24 hours. $BNB (-2.93%), $XRP (-2.35%), and $SOL (-2.55%) are all lower.
So far the hit is modest — a small dip, not a capitulation. But that's exactly the point of caution. In every prior leg of this conflict, crypto has traded as a high-beta risk asset, selling off in sympathy with equities rather than acting as a safe haven. If Wall Street's $1 trillion opening loss deepens into a sustained selloff, crypto historically follows — and often amplifies — the move. Leverage in the system means a sharp equity leg down can trigger cascading liquidations across BTC and altcoins.
The warning is simple: the current crypto dip looks small, but it is directly correlated to a rapidly escalating geopolitical event with no resolution in sight. A single headline — a closed Strait, a US casualty, a broader Gulf entanglement — could turn today's modest red into something far steeper. Traders holding leveraged positions should be especially alert to overnight gap risk while headlines are moving this fast.
What should traders watch next?
Three triggers matter most from here: any confirmation of US casualties (which historically drives the sharpest volatility spikes), developments at the Strait of Hormuz, and whether oil breaks decisively above prior highs. Each would deepen the risk-off tone and put additional pressure on crypto.
Every bull run mints a hundred "Ethereum killers" and a thousand DeFi protocols promising 40,000% APY. Every bear market buries most of them. So the real question in 2026 isn't "what's the hottest new farm?" — it's "which platforms actually survived the exploits, the depegs, the regulatory squeeze, and the liquidity flight, and are still here holding real money?"
The answer is surprisingly short. A handful of protocols now anchor the entire ecosystem, and DefiLlama tracks DeFi TVL in the hundreds of billions across thousands of protocols — but the top ten capture the overwhelming majority of that capital. Below are the five that best combine size, staying power, and a business model that still works when the incentives dry up.
Why did most DeFi platforms die — and these didn't?
Before the list, it's worth understanding the filter. Surviving in DeFi means clearing four hurdles that killed everyone else. First, security: DeFi hacks have drained billions, and one bad oracle design or unaudited contract ends a protocol overnight. Second, sticky TVL: plenty of projects juiced their numbers with token emissions, then watched liquidity evaporate the moment rewards fell. Third, real revenue: a protocol that doesn't earn fees is just a subsidy program with a countdown timer. Fourth, regulatory endurance: with MiCA now shaping how Europeans access crypto, protocols that couldn't adapt got squeezed out of major markets.
The five below cleared all four. Here's who they are.
1. Lido — the liquid staking giant that refuses to shrink
Lido is the closest thing DeFi has to infrastructure. As a liquid staking protocol, it lets you stake ETH (and assets on several other chains) while handing you a liquid token — stETH — that you can then deploy across the rest of DeFi. Stake, stay liquid, keep earning. It's the killer feature that solved one of crypto's oldest problems: locked capital.
That utility has kept Lido perennially at or near the top of the TVL rankings, with the protocol still commanding well into the double-digit billions in 2026. The trade-off is concentration risk — Lido controls a large slice of all staked ETH, which raises legitimate governance and decentralization concerns. But its audits are battle-tested (with a public bug bounty running into the millions), and its 10% fee on staking rewards gives it one of the most durable revenue streams in the space. Lido didn't survive by hype. It survived by being useful every single day.
2. Aave — the lending blue-chip that keeps compounding
If Lido is DeFi's savings account, Aave is its bank. It pioneered the modern lending market: deposit assets to earn interest, or post collateral to borrow against it, all through smart contracts with no middleman. Aave also invented "flash loans" — uncollateralized loans that must be borrowed and repaid inside a single transaction — which became an industry-standard primitive.
In 2026, Aave remains the undisputed leader of DeFi lending, holding well over ten billion in TVL and consistently ranking as the single largest lending protocol, capturing a dominant share of the entire category. Crucially, it earns real money: borrow interest, liquidation fees, and flash-loan fees all feed the treasury, and since 2025 Aave has been buying back its own token with that revenue. Deep liquidity, wide multi-chain support (Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Polygon, Avalanche and more), and the ongoing V4 upgrade keep it firmly in the "too important to fail" category.
3. Uniswap — the DEX that outlasted every "Uniswap killer"
Countless projects launched to dethrone Uniswap. None did. What began as a simple automated market maker is now a multi-chain trading powerhouse that routinely processes more volume than many centralized exchanges. Its V3 concentrated-liquidity model gave liquidity providers dramatically better capital efficiency, and UniswapX brought intent-based, MEV-protected, cross-chain swaps.
Uniswap's TVL — in the low-single-digit billions — looks modest next to the lending and staking giants, but that misreads how a DEX works. The right yardstick is volume and fees, and on that measure Uniswap sits at the very top of the DEX stack with meaningful annualized revenue. It launched V4 only after nine separate audits and a multi-million-dollar bug bounty. When people say "just swap it on-chain," they almost always mean Uniswap. That default-choice status is exactly why it's still here.
💡 Trading beyond DeFi? If you also want regulated access to stocks, ETFs, and crypto in one place, XTB is a solid multi-asset broker to have alongside your on-chain wallet. And if you're choosing where to on-ramp, compare the MiCA-regulated exchanges here to stay compliant in the EU.
4. Morpho — the efficiency layer that became a lending powerhouse
Morpho is the newest name on this list, and its survival story is different: it out-engineered the incumbents. It started as an optimization layer sitting on top of Aave and Compound to squeeze better rates out of them, then evolved into Morpho Blue — a minimal, flexible base layer where anyone can spin up an isolated lending market with its own risk parameters.
That architecture has propelled Morpho into the multi-billion-dollar TVL tier and made it one of the top lending venues in all of DeFi. It functions less like a fee-hungry treasury and more like neutral lending "rails," with curator-managed markets (run by risk specialists like Gauntlet) tuning parameters per market. It's audited, formally verified, contest-tested, and runs a live bug bounty. Morpho proves that in 2026 you can still break into the top tier — but only by being genuinely better infrastructure, not by paying people to show up.
5. Sky (formerly MakerDAO) — the original stablecoin machine
The protocol once known as MakerDAO — now rebranded as Sky — is the grandfather of decentralized stablecoins, and it's arguably the best pure business on this entire list. It issues a crypto-backed stablecoin against overcollateralized deposits, and its Sky Savings Rate gives holders a native yield that ripples across the ecosystem (its lending arm, Spark, tracks that rate directly).
Sky sits above six billion in TVL, but the headline number undersells it: its annualized revenue is far higher than most names here, making it a genuine cash machine rather than an incentive-fueled mirage. It runs one of the largest public bug-bounty programs in DeFi. More than a decade after its launch, Sky is still doing the same fundamental thing — turning volatile collateral into a stable, yield-bearing dollar — and still doing it profitably. That's what survival looks like.
Which DeFi platform is right for you in 2026?
There's a clear logic to these five. Want yield on ETH without locking it up? Lido. Want to lend, borrow, or leverage? Aave for depth and safety, Morpho for efficiency and higher rates. Want to trade or provide liquidity? Uniswap. Want a stablecoin backbone with real savings yield? Sky. Between them they cover staking, lending, trading, and stablecoins — the four load-bearing pillars of the entire on-chain economy.
A word of caution, though: TVL rankings move daily, and even blue-chips carry smart-contract, oracle, liquidation, and governance risk. Always verify live figures on DefiLlama before deploying capital, size your positions for the possibility of an exploit, and never chase a headline APY you can't explain. DeFi in 2026 is more mature than ever — but "mature" is not the same as "risk-free."
Trump Backs a Transatlantic Stablecoin Deal — Why Now?
The biggest crypto story of the last 24 hours isn't a price candle — it's a political one. President Trump has strengthened support for a new UK-US stablecoin framework as the Senate races to advance the CLARITY Act despite growing opposition from banking groups over its stablecoin provisions.
The framework itself came out of a body called the Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future. Created in September 2025, the taskforce described stablecoins as "an important vehicle for innovation in digital money," and both governments agree that properly regulated stablecoins can improve cross-border payments, financial market infrastructure, and competition while giving businesses more consistent regulatory treatment across both jurisdictions.
The technical bar the two sides set is the important part. Regulated stablecoins should be backed one-to-one with clearly defined, high-quality liquid reserve assets under each country's legal framework. And crucially for anyone holding these tokens: during insolvency or restructuring, stablecoin holders should have legally protected claims over reserve assets ahead of other creditors, subject to domestic insolvency laws.
Trump's motive isn't subtle. He has repeatedly linked crypto legislation to his goal of making the United States the "crypto capital of the world" and has continued pushing the Senate to pass the CLARITY Act before the August recess.
What Is the CLARITY Act — and Why Is It Stuck?
If you've lost track of this bill, you're not alone — it's been grinding through Washington for over a year. The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is a federal market-structure bill that would divide digital-asset oversight between the SEC and CFTC, set intermediary rules, address self-custody and BSA coverage, and add anti-CBDC provisions. It cleared the House with bipartisan support back in July 2025.
Since then it's been trapped in the Senate over one issue above all others. The bill has been bogged down over a highly contentious provision regarding stablecoins and whether digital asset firms can offer yield to customers.
Why Are US Banks Revolting Against It?
This is where the fight gets real. Banks don't hate crypto abstractly here — they're worried about their own deposit base. Banking groups have argued that several provisions remain too unclear and could encourage consumers and businesses to move money from traditional bank accounts into stablecoins. They've warned that sustained deposit outflows could place additional pressure on community and regional banks that depend heavily on customer deposits for lending, and have called on lawmakers to tighten the bill's wording before it moves forward.
The numbers behind that fear are eye-watering. Standard Chartered analysts previously estimated that a yield provision, if enacted, could redirect up to $1 trillion in deposits away from traditional banks toward stablecoin products by 2028. That's the entire ballgame for why the American Bankers Association has fought this line by line.
Interestingly, even parts of the crypto industry aren't fully on board with the current draft. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong withdrew support for the CLARITY Act shortly before a Senate Banking Committee review, calling the draft "materially worse than the current status quo" — a reminder that "bad crypto law" worries both sides for very different reasons.
How Does This Tie Into Europe and MiCA?
For EU readers, the transatlantic angle matters. Europe already has its rulebook — MiCA — live and enforced, with fully-backed reserve and redemption requirements that look a lot like what the US and UK just agreed to in principle. The direction of travel globally is now clearly toward one-to-one backed, legally ring-fenced stablecoins. If you're choosing where to hold or trade them, using a MiCA-regulated exchange is the safest bet as these frameworks harden.
Want a MiCA-compliant home for your crypto? We've compared the leading MiCA-regulated exchanges on fees, supported stablecoins and security. [ See the full comparison → ]
Bitcoin Price Analysis: Cooling Inflation Meets Political Tailwinds
While the regulatory drama plays out, the market got its own jolt from macro data. $Bitcoin hit a three-week high above $65K after US inflation data showed the Consumer Price Index fell 0.4% in June — the largest monthly drop since April 2020, with annual inflation slowing to 3.5%, below analyst forecasts. Core inflation, stripping out food and energy, eased to 2.6% from 2.9%.
That reset rate-hike expectations almost instantly. Odds of a Fed rate hike this month fell from 43% to just 13% right after the data came out. Not everyone is convinced it lasts, though. The inflation drop was largely driven by lower oil prices in June amid a US-Iran ceasefire — but with fighting resumed, Brent crude has climbed back toward $80, which could show up in July's CPI data.
As of writing, momentum has cooled slightly. Bitcoin is still around 3% higher over 24 hours but slipped about 0.5% since midnight, with Ether up 4.7% in 24 hours before a similar pullback. The levels to watch: traders are eyeing $64,800 resistance closely, with some warning of a possible lower high, while a sell wall sits at $65,000. A clean break above there opens the door toward the June high near $67,250. Sentiment is still fragile, though — the Crypto Fear and Greed Index rose to 25 but remains in "extreme fear" territory.
Upcoming Events to Watch
- CLARITY Act Senate action — Trump wants it passed before the August recess; watch for a floor vote and any last-minute yield-provision compromise.
- US PPI & PCE data — Producer prices are due imminently, with PCE near month-end; both feed the Fed's next read on inflation.
- July FOMC meeting (July 28–29) — the rate decision that all the CPI positioning is really about.
- Oil / Strait of Hormuz — the wildcard that could reignite inflation and drag on risk assets.
Japan has taken one of its most significant steps toward integrating cryptocurrencies into the traditional financial system.
The Japanese parliament has passed an amendment formally designating cryptocurrencies as “financial assets.” Until now, crypto assets in Japan were primarily regulated under the country’s Payment Services Act. The new classification brings them closer to financial products such as stocks, bonds and investment funds.
The decision could eventually lead to lower taxes, stronger investor protections and the introduction of regulated cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds in Japan.
However, the reform does not mean that Japanese Bitcoin ETFs are already trading or that every crypto investor will immediately benefit from a 20% tax rate. Further regulatory and tax implementation measures will still be required.
What changes under Japan’s new crypto law?
By bringing crypto assets under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, Japan is shifting its regulatory focus from payments toward investment and market oversight.
Crypto exchanges and other financial institutions could face rules similar to those applied to traditional securities companies. These may include stricter disclosure obligations, enhanced consumer protections and controls against insider trading and market manipulation.
Earlier proposals from Japan’s Financial Services Agency suggested applying the new framework to more than 100 cryptocurrencies available through approved Japanese exchanges, including Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The legislation could therefore make Japan’s crypto market more regulated, but also more accessible to traditional financial institutions.
Will Japan reduce crypto taxes to 20%?
Japan currently treats many cryptocurrency profits as miscellaneous income. Depending on an investor’s total income, the combined tax rate can reach approximately 55%.
This has long been criticized by Japanese crypto companies and investors. Traditional stock gains, by comparison, are generally taxed separately at around 20%.
The new financial-asset classification establishes the legal foundation for Japan to move eligible crypto gains toward a similar separate taxation system. Reports indicate that lawmakers are targeting an effective rate of approximately 20%, although the tax reduction is expected to require separate implementation and may not take effect until 2028.
Reducing the rate from as much as 55% to around 20% could encourage Japanese investors to keep their trading activity inside regulated domestic platforms rather than moving funds abroad.
It could also make Bitcoin and Ethereum more attractive as long-term investment assets.
Does the law approve Bitcoin ETFs?
The law does not appear to provide immediate approval for a Japanese spot Bitcoin ETF.
Instead, classifying cryptocurrencies as financial products removes one of the most important legal barriers preventing crypto assets from being included in conventional investment products.
Japan’s regulators could now develop rules allowing investment trusts and exchange-traded funds to hold Bitcoin, Ethereum or other approved crypto assets.
Previous reports said the reform was designed partly to open the door to products such as crypto ETFs. The timing will depend on detailed regulations, product applications and approval from Japanese financial authorities.
Therefore, the most accurate interpretation is that Japan has created a potential pathway for Bitcoin ETFs—not that such funds have already been approved.
Could Japanese Bitcoin ETFs move the crypto market?
Japan is one of the world’s largest economies and has a substantial household savings market.
Japanese investors held more than 5 trillion yen in crypto assets in mid-2025, equivalent to roughly $33 billion at the time. The amount had increased by approximately 25% within one month, demonstrating growing domestic interest in digital assets.
A regulated Bitcoin ETF could give pension funds, asset managers, banks and cautious retail investors a more familiar way to gain crypto exposure.
The immediate market impact would depend on the size of the products and the amount of capital they attract. Japan’s decision alone does not guarantee large Bitcoin purchases.
Nevertheless, the combination of lower taxation and regulated ETFs could gradually unlock a new source of demand for Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Why Japan’s decision matters globally
Japan was among the first major countries to establish a formal licensing system for cryptocurrency exchanges following several high-profile industry failures.
The new legislation represents the next stage of that approach. Instead of treating crypto mainly as a speculative payment technology, Japan is recognizing it as part of the broader investment market.
The shift also reflects a wider international trend. Governments are increasingly moving from debating whether crypto should exist toward deciding how it should be regulated, taxed and integrated into financial markets.
Japan’s decision could place additional pressure on other Asian economies to create competitive tax and investment frameworks.
What happens next?
Investors should now watch for three major developments:
First, Japan must publish detailed regulations explaining which crypto assets and companies will fall under the new financial framework.
Second, lawmakers must finalize the proposed tax changes, including the eligibility requirements and implementation date for the approximately 20% rate.
Third, Japanese asset managers may begin preparing applications for Bitcoin or Ethereum investment products once regulators establish an ETF framework.
The law is therefore an important milestone, but it is the beginning of Japan’s next crypto phase rather than the final step.
Japan crypto outlook
Recognizing cryptocurrencies as financial assets could fundamentally reshape Japan’s digital-asset market.
Lower taxes may encourage more domestic participation, while regulated ETFs could provide access to investors who currently avoid cryptocurrency exchanges. Stronger market rules could also improve institutional confidence.
For Bitcoin, the long-term impact may be more important than the immediate price reaction.
Japan has not simply announced support for crypto. It has started building the legal infrastructure required to place digital assets alongside traditional investments—and that could eventually bring a new wave of capital into the market.
Decrypt
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U.Today - IT, AI and Fintech Daily News for You Today
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Blockonomi
TLDR:
- The CLARITY Act revised text is now expected next week after a White House meeting failed to resolve the disputed ethics provisions.
- Polymarket approval odds briefly fell to a record 31% before recovering to 35%, compared with a 73% probability during May.
- Senate Democrats want stronger conflict-of-interest rules before providing the bipartisan votes needed to move the legislation forward.
- The New York House hearing supports the case for crypto regulation but does not advance the bill or alter its Senate voting timetable.
The CLARITY Act has suffered a fresh setback after lawmakers failed to release revised Senate text following a White House meeting. Industry sources now expect the document next week, extending uncertainty around the crypto market structure bill. Polymarket briefly priced the legislation’s 2026 approval odds near 31% before they recovered to 35% on Friday.
The sharp fall from 73% in May reflects doubt that negotiators can settle the ethics dispute and secure enough Democratic votes. A House field hearing in New York may support the policy case, but it does not change the Senate timetable or advance the bill directly.
CLARITY Act Text Delay Deepens the Senate Ethics Standoff
President Donald Trump met Republican senators on Thursday to discuss the ethics provisions holding up the legislation. The meeting did not produce the promised updated draft. Journalist Eleanor Terrett reported that industry leaders now expect the text to slip into next week.
The delay matters as Senate leaders have little time to build a bipartisan coalition before the August recess. The measure needs 60 votes to advance. That requirement leaves the bill dependent on Democratic senators seeking stronger conflict-of-interest rules.
Senator Ruben Gallego has described the Republican ethics language as too weak. Democrats want tighter restrictions covering the president, vice president, senior officials and members of Congress with crypto interests. Trump’s 2025 financial disclosure, which reported more than $1 billion in crypto-related gains, has intensified the dispute.
Senator Cory Booker has kept negotiations open but says the legislation requires a bipartisan pathway. Releasing text without Democratic support could harden opposition before negotiators settle the most contested language.
The legislation previously carried bipartisan momentum. The Senate Banking Committee advanced H.R. 3633 by a 15-9 vote on May 14. It was reported to the Senate on June 1 and placed on the legislative calendar as Calendar No. 423. No floor vote has been scheduled.
Approval Odds Fall as the Hearing Offers No Senate Fix
The House Financial Services Committee held its New York field hearing at 10 a.m. ET on Friday. The session examined how the CLARITY Act could support digital asset innovation and establish clearer federal oversight.
Witnesses included representatives from Nova Labs, Bullish, WisdomTree and Coin Center. Their testimony covered digital commodity rules, market infrastructure, consumer safeguards and protections for software developers. However, the hearing carried no authority over the Senate process.
Prediction markets reacted to the weaker timeline. Polymarket’s contract for the CLARITY Act becoming law in 2026 traded near 31% during Friday’s session. It later showed 35%, compared with 73% on May 11 and about 47% in early June.
The market requires H.R. 3633 to pass both chambers and receive the president’s signature by December 31, 2026. A Senate vote alone would not settle the contract. Lawmakers would still need to resolve differences between the Senate amendment and the House-approved version.
The CLARITY Act would create a federal framework for digital commodities and define oversight roles for the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Its rules could affect token issuers, exchanges, brokers, custodians, and non-custodial developers.
The delayed draft leaves compliance teams without final language on registration, disclosures, custody, developer liability, and ethics restrictions. Those details will determine whether Democrats rejoin the coalition that moved the legislation through committee in May.
The post CLARITY Act Approval Odds Hit Low as Senate Text Faces Delay appeared first on Blockonomi.
Key Takeaways
- TSMC delivered exceptional AI-powered results, yet shares declined as sky-high investor expectations went unmet
- Semiconductor selloff extended across Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom, ASML, Micron and Arm Holdings
- Netflix shares fell following disappointing forward guidance for the upcoming quarter
- SpaceX stock continued its decline below IPO levels amid launch postponements and lock-up period concerns
- Crude oil surged past $81 per barrel, reigniting inflation fears across financial markets
TSMC’s Exceptional Performance Falls Flat With Investors
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing unveiled blockbuster quarterly earnings and revenue figures, propelled by surging demand for artificial intelligence processors from major clients like Nvidia, Apple, AMD and Broadcom. Management also announced an increase in capital expenditure projections through 2027.
Yet the positive financial data couldn’t lift the stock. Market participants have elevated expectations for AI-related companies to such heights that even outstanding quarterly reports fail to satisfy investor appetite for growth.
Semiconductor Sector Faces Broad Weakness
The downturn in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing rapidly cascaded throughout the wider semiconductor industry. Leading chipmakers including Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom, ASML, Micron and Arm Holdings all experienced declines during the trading session.
Market experts emphasize that the selloff doesn’t signal deteriorating AI demand fundamentals. Instead, many believe investors are securing gains following substantial valuation increases, while questioning whether present prices have already priced in anticipated future expansion.
Major cloud service providers and technology corporations continue allocating billions toward data center infrastructure and computing equipment. The critical question facing market participants is whether this correction represents a temporary consolidation or signals the beginning of an extended downturn.
Netflix Tumbles on Disappointing Forward Outlook
Netflix delivered quarterly figures that aligned with analyst projections but lacked the wow factor investors sought. The primary concern centered on forward-looking projections. Company executives indicated a more conservative outlook for the next quarter and announced plans to reduce transparency around certain user activity metrics.
Subscription additions remained robust and the advertising-supported membership tier showed continued momentum. Expenditures in live sporting events and entertainment programming are also increasing. However, these positives couldn’t counterbalance management’s cautious forward-looking commentary.
The decline in Netflix valuation served as another illustration that forward guidance carries equal weight to actual results during the current earnings reporting period.
SpaceX Shares Continue Post-IPO Descent
SpaceX equity continued its downward trajectory beneath the company’s initial public offering valuation. Postponed Starship launch schedules, impending insider share lock-up expirations and widespread weakness in growth-oriented equities have all contributed to negative sentiment.
Industry analysts maintain their view of SpaceX as among the most valuable aerospace enterprises globally, supported by its satellite operations and government service agreements. However, market participants appear to be adopting a wait-and-see approach, demanding concrete financial performance before reestablishing positions.
Crude Oil Breaks Through $81 as Markets React
Crude oil prices climbed beyond $81 per barrel following escalating geopolitical tensions across the Middle East that heightened supply disruption fears. Elevated energy expenses create headwinds for consumer spending and complicate central bank efforts to maintain price stability.
This price movement follows closely behind encouraging US inflation statistics that had previously boosted market optimism. Should oil prices maintain their upward trajectory, market participants may need to recalibrate Federal Reserve interest rate reduction expectations for the latter portion of the year.
The post Market Turbulence: AI Chip Stocks Plunge Despite TSMC’s Record Earnings, Netflix Guidance Disappoints appeared first on Blockonomi.
Key Takeaways
- SPCX shares declined approximately 4.8% Friday, dropping beneath $125 — now trading below its initial public offering price
- The 13th Starship test flight was canceled after two Raptor engines experienced ignition failures
- Elon Musk announced engine replacements are planned, with a rescheduled launch expected in the coming days
- Market capitalization has declined by more than $1 trillion from its June high of $2.64 trillion
- Industry experts emphasize the importance of a successful Flight 13 before SpaceX’s inaugural earnings report in August
Shares of SpaceX tumbled nearly 4.8% during Friday’s trading session, reaching a new post-listing low beneath the $125 threshold. The stock now trades approximately $10 under its debut price from the previous month, officially marking it as a broken initial public offering.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., SPCX
The decline came after the company postponed Starship’s thirteenth test mission, which was called off moments before scheduled liftoff from its Texas facility on Thursday evening.
A pair of Raptor engines mounted on the Super Heavy booster experienced ignition failures, activating an automated safety abort sequence. CEO Elon Musk addressed the situation via social media, indicating that replacement engines would be installed.
“To be confident of a good flight, 2 Raptors will be removed and replaced,” Musk shared online. “Most probable launch timing is early next week.”
This canceled launch represents SpaceX’s first significant challenge since completing its June public offering. The aerospace manufacturer’s valuation has plummeted from its June 16 zenith of $2.64 trillion to approximately $1.65 trillion at Friday’s market opening — representing nearly $1 trillion in erased value.
Notably, the twelfth Starship test mission conducted in May similarly encountered propulsion complications and prompted a Federal Aviation Administration review. Propulsion system dependability continues to emerge as a recurring challenge.
The Strategic Importance of Starship
Starship represents a cornerstone of multiple critical objectives for SpaceX’s future operations. The vehicle stands as the only rocket presently designed to transport Musk’s advanced V2 Mobile and V3 Starlink satellites into orbital deployment.
Additionally, NASA has designated Starship as the lunar landing system for transporting astronauts back to the moon’s surface through the Artemis program’s Human Landing System initiative.
Market Analyst Perspectives
Myles Walton from Wolfe Research indicated that a successful thirteenth flight would strengthen investor sentiment before SpaceX conducts its maiden earnings presentation, anticipated in early August.
Walton also highlighted upcoming liquidity concerns. Approximately 1.2 billion additional shares are projected to become tradeable in August.
“Getting a clean Flight 13 will be important to have into that potential supply influx, particularly given the persistent stock fade in recent weeks,” Walton stated.
The equity has experienced consistent pressure since reaching its post-IPO peak, sliding beneath its offering price earlier in the week before Friday’s session amplified those declines.
Despite the negative price action, certain market observers suggest the selloff may be excessive. A brief postponement to swap out engines represents standard procedure in aerospace development — and potentially demonstrates prudent safety protocols rather than launching with malfunctioning components.
Shares were changing hands around $124.80 during midday Friday trading, within a 52-week trading range spanning $122.14 to $225.64.
The post SpaceX (SPCX) Stock Plunges Below IPO Price After Starship Engine Failure appeared first on Blockonomi.
Key Takeaways
- Tesla’s Q2 2026 earnings announcement scheduled for Wednesday, July 22, following market closure
- Options market indicates potential volatility of approximately 7% post-earnings
- Wall Street consensus projects Q2 revenue at ~$26.54B (18% year-over-year growth) with EPS of $0.55
- Morgan Stanley increased price target to $417, emphasizing long-term AI initiatives over quarterly metrics
- TSLA shares have declined over 13% year-to-date, maintaining a consensus Hold with average price target near $405–$408
As Tesla approaches Wednesday’s quarterly earnings announcement, the electric vehicle manufacturer faces heightened uncertainty — and market volatility indicators reflect it.
Options traders are forecasting potential price movement of approximately 7% in either direction by week’s end following the Q2 disclosure. This positions the stock in a potential range from roughly $365 on the lower end to $416 on the upper end based on Thursday’s closing price. Year-to-date, TSLA shares have shed more than 13%.
With shares hovering around the $380 mark, these projected movements represent significant value shifts that market participants are monitoring intently.
Tesla, Inc., TSLA
Analyst consensus calls for Q2 revenue approaching $26.54 billion, representing an 18% increase compared to the prior-year period. Adjusted earnings per share are anticipated at $0.55, reflecting a 15-cent improvement over last year’s corresponding quarter. Alternative projections from TipRanks suggest EPS of $0.52 on revenue of $25.99 billion.
Earlier in July, Tesla exceeded delivery projections, signaling momentum improvement during the initial half of 2026 following two consecutive years of sales declines. This performance provides encouraging context ahead of the earnings release.
However, the quarterly figures themselves aren’t generating the primary discussion.
The Real Focus for Investors
Morgan Stanley upgraded its Tesla price objective to $417 from $415 recently. Their analysts characterized Q2 performance as potentially strong, yet emphasized that the “key investor debate remains unchanged: can Robotaxi and Optimus progress quickly enough to justify an accelerating AI investment cycle?”
Put simply, the quarterly performance may be secondary. Developments regarding Tesla’s self-driving vehicle initiatives and its Optimus humanoid robot platform are anticipated to influence market response more significantly than traditional financial metrics.
Tesla has been strategically rebranding itself as an artificial intelligence and robotics enterprise rather than exclusively an electric vehicle manufacturer. Any substantive advancement — or absence thereof — on these strategic fronts will probably establish market sentiment trajectory through the remainder of 2026.
Ownership Structure
Regarding ownership composition, Elon Musk maintains the dominant individual position at 29.91%. Vanguard represents the next significant holder with 5.97%. Public corporations and retail investors together control 33.42% of TSLA, establishing retail sentiment as a meaningful element in stock movement surrounding major announcements.
Exchange-traded fund holdings are substantial as well — the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF maintains 2.38% exposure while the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF holds 1.95%.
Wall Street opinion remains divided. TipRanks data reveals 10 Buy ratings, 16 Hold ratings, and 3 Sell ratings issued over the past three months. The mean price target stands at $405.42, suggesting approximately 6.75% appreciation potential from present levels.
Visible Alpha monitors 11 analysts — six neutral, four buy recommendations, one sell — with price targets spanning from $130 to $600.
That substantial $470 spread between the floor and ceiling price targets underscores just how polarizing this equity remains among professional analysts.
Tesla is scheduled to publish its Q2 2026 financial results on Wednesday, July 22, following the market close.
The post Tesla (TSLA) Earnings Preview: 7% Swing Expected as Wall Street Eyes Robotaxi Updates appeared first on Blockonomi.
Key Highlights
- Q1 2026 revenues reached $193.4M, representing a 94% increase year-over-year
- Major multiyear agreement with OpenAI valued above $20B includes deployment of 750MW inference infrastructure
- Strategic AWS collaboration expands Cerebras inference access to Amazon cloud users
- 2026 core revenue projections stand at $855M–$865M, indicating approximately 69% annual expansion
- Gross profit margins between 38%–41% remain below Nvidia’s mid-70% range, with ongoing operational losses
When Cerebras Systems debuted on public markets, it captured significant attention as a high-profile AI semiconductor offering. Following an initial surge, shares have retreated, leaving market participants to debate whether the current valuation presents an attractive entry point or signals deeper concerns.
Cerebras Systems Inc., CBRS
Let’s examine what the financial data reveals.
For the first quarter of fiscal 2026, Cerebras delivered $193.4 million in total revenue, marking a substantial 94% expansion compared to the prior-year quarter. Equipment sales climbed 59% to reach $110.6 million, while cloud-based and service offerings demonstrated even more impressive momentum, surging 178% to $82.8 million.
The accelerating cloud segment deserves attention. Subscription-based compute revenue offers better economics than traditional hardware transactions, and its rapid expansion indicates customers are increasingly committed to the platform ecosystem.
For the complete fiscal year, leadership projects core revenues landing between $855 million and $865 million, translating to roughly 69% growth at the midpoint. This represents robust expansion for a newly public enterprise navigating competitive AI infrastructure markets.
Strategic Partnership with OpenAI
The most significant development centers on a long-term arrangement with OpenAI exceeding $20 billion in value. This collaboration calls for OpenAI to implement 750 megawatts of Cerebras-powered inference infrastructure across multiple years.
This represents substantial validation from an industry-leading artificial intelligence organization.
Additionally, Cerebras has formed an alliance with Amazon to deliver its inference capabilities via AWS infrastructure. This strategic distribution approach provides access to countless startups and established companies without requiring individual customer acquisition efforts.
The counterbalance to these achievements involves customer concentration risk. Much of the company’s immediate trajectory hinges on a limited number of major clients executing extremely large-scale commitments.
Profitability Challenges Persist
Cerebras continues operating in the red. The organization reported a $14 million GAAP net loss during Q1 2026 and anticipates adjusted operating margins ranging from negative 28% to negative 32% across the full year.
Projected adjusted gross margins fall between 38%–41% for 2026. This trails significantly behind Nvidia’s mid-70% margins and AMD’s mid-50% performance. Wafer-scale processor technology presents substantial manufacturing complexity, while establishing data center capacity requires considerable capital investment.
The company secured billions through its public offering and subsequent funding rounds, providing sufficient resources for near-term execution. However, stakeholders should anticipate continued losses throughout the scaling phase.
Analyst sentiment leans cautiously positive. MarketBeat data reflects a Moderate Buy consensus among 12 analysts, comprising one Strong Buy recommendation, nine Buy ratings, and two Hold positions. The mean 12-month price objective stands at $299.30, with individual targets spanning from $273 to $340.
Given the company’s recent public debut, analyst projections will likely evolve as additional quarterly reports become available.
The latest financial update shows Q1 2026 revenue of $193.4 million exceeding expectations, with management reaffirming full-year guidance of $855M–$865M.
The post Is Cerebras Systems (CBRS) Stock a Buy Following Its IPO Pullback? appeared first on Blockonomi.
CryptoPotato
Bitcoin recovered most of the losses seen during the day after dipping to $62,400 and is now back above $64,000. What’s intriguing about this rebound is that it came after some unfavorable reports for risk-on assets.
The first one focused on more threatening developments on the US/Israel-Iran war front, while the second was on the continuously growing US margin debt.
Two Major Signals
The tension in the Middle East skyrocketed a couple of weeks ago when the US and Iran broke the ceasefire with new attacks. There’s been little to no reporting on potential peace talks since then. In contrast, Trump’s new attack plan was recently leaked, while a new report from Axios outlined the next possible steps.
The Trump Administration has reportedly conveyed to Israel that it will send ‘dozens more’ refueling planes ahead of a potential ‘massive offense’ against Iran. Some of the more threatening details include possible bombing against key Iranian infrastructure like power plants and nuclear sites.
The report added that the POTUS is expected to order the escalation ‘in the coming days.’ As expected, oil prices reacted with an immediate increase, as USOIL is up by over 20% since the war restarted.
Separately, the Kobeissi Letter noted that the US margin debt has risen by over $86 billion in June to a new record of $1.5 trillion. This marked the third monthly increase in a row. Moreover, the margin debt has skyrocketed by nearly $500 billion in the past year.
The analysts concluded that “US investors have never been more leveraged,” as the broader measure of such positions is up to approximately 1.4% of the S&P’s total market cap. This is close to the 2018 peak and far exceeds the 2000 Dot-Com bubble of 1.1%.
BTC Rebounds
The primary cryptocurrency tends to slip following similar reports, especially escalations in the Middle East. However, the past few hours have shown a very different reaction. The asset had fallen to a multi-day low of $62,400 before the bulls took charge and helped it recover nearly $2,000.
Nevertheless, bitcoin remains below the recent local peak of $65,600 reached after the US CPI numbers for June came out on Tuesday. The market is still in a fragile place, and it’s unlikely that new attacks between the US and Iran will have a longer-term beneficial effect.
The post Bitcoin’s Surprising Reaction to Trump’s Iran Threats and Rising US Margin Debt appeared first on CryptoPotato.
Earlier in July, the cat-themed meme coin defied the ongoing bear market by posting a whopping 2,000% weekly increase. Its ascent was primarily driven by the token’s affiliation with the official Robinhood platform, which recently introduced its own blockchain, as well as backing from Binance.
However, the uptrend came to an abrupt end, and over the past seven days, CASHCAT has crashed by more than 65%, raising the question of whether the hype is over.
The Traders’ Experience
CASHCAT, which exploded to $0.22 on July 12, is now worth roughly $0.05 (per CoinGecko), and some market observers have started speculating that it will hardly reclaim its previous peaks and instead collapse even lower.
Meanwhile, savvy traders have taken advantage of the meme coin’s decline. According to the analytics platform Lookonchain, one individual began shorting CASHCAT two days ago and is now sitting on over $500,000 in unrealized profits. Of course, this has prompted allegations of insider information that the rest of the market participants were unaware of.
However, not all benefited from the token’s wild trajectory. One trader made a paper loss of $460,000 due to CASHCAT’s meltdown, while another sold prematurely, turning a $69 position into $711. This is indeed 10x, but Lookonchain pointed out that if they had waited a bit more, they could have retired.
Is It Really Game Over?
Certain X users have been baffled by CASHCAT’s sudden move south, trying to figure out what triggered it. Fluffy asked their 125,000 followers for an explanation, and most of the responses weren’t exactly flattering to the meme coin.
Many of the people commenting on the post described the cat-themed token as a scam, claiming that “anybody that bought at these high valuations got played.”
It is true that CASHCAT resembles many other meme coins whose explosive rallies relied entirely on hype and speculation rather than fundamentals or real utility. Examples include Siren (SIREN) and MemeCore (M). The former was at the forefront of gains in June, yet it crashed by 96% in a single day after its controller supposedly sold roughly 94% of the supply.
Comebacks are not out of the question, and a renewed influx of speculative traders could help lift CASHCAT and similar tokens. Nonetheless, one should remain mindful of the risks and severe volatility, conduct proper due diligence before entering the ecosystem, and invest only what they can afford to lose.
The post CASHCAT Plummets 65% in a Week: The Doom of Another Meme Coin or New Pump Loading? appeared first on CryptoPotato.
Bitcoin’s slide to around $57,700 at the end of June may have completed the worst phase of its 2026 bear market, according to a new market update published by BIT on July 17.
After correctly anticipating much of BTC’s decline in the last few months, the crypto investment firm now says traders should assess whether that low marked the end of the correction or was merely a pause before another leg down.
Market Has Largely Followed Earlier Roadmap
BIT’s latest report builds on research it published on June 12, when it argued that Bitcoin had entered the final stage of its bear market. At the time, the firm outlined an Elliott Wave A-B-C correction pattern running from October 2025 that showed an initial selloff into the $60,000 to $69,000 range and a rebound toward $80,000 to $90,000, followed by a final Wave C drop during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is due to end on July 19.
That forecast has mostly played out, with BTC first plunging from around $97,000 to $62,900 in February this year before it recovered to about $82,000 in May, an event that was described in the report as a “counter-trend rally within a bear market.” It then went lower and eventually hit $57,700 at the end of June after geopolitical tensions and changing expectations for US monetary policy weighed heavily on risk assets.
In the July 17 update, BIT acknowledged that it underestimated the impact of the conflict between the United States and Iran, which pushed inflation higher than expected, and the hawkish stance adopted by the new Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Warsh. Even so, the firm said that the broader price structure closely matched its original outlook.
The earlier report had also pointed to several technical signals supporting the possibility of a market bottom, including historically depressed sentiment and oversold stochastic readings. Furthermore, at the time, BTC had been trading well below its weekly moving average. The new update has now shifted attention to the 21-week moving average, which it described as an important gauge for determining whether the market has transitioned back into a longer-term uptrend.
Not Everyone Thinks the Same
However, not everyone reading the charts sees a bottom forming. Take, for instance, CryptoQuant contributor IT Tech, who wrote in a note aptly titled “You really think the bottom is already in?” that spot Bitcoin ETF flows, which were one of the biggest drivers behind the OG crypto’s rally in the last two years, have dropped notably in 2026.
In 2024, cumulative net inflows were more than 500,000 BTC, with 2025 recording similarly strong inflows of about 250,000 BTC. However, 2026 has seen the funds bleed out roughly 120,000 BTC, leading the analyst to ask:
“If ETF demand drove the rally up, how can you be bullish while that demand reversed completely?”
According to them, what the market is seeing is a headwind and not a tailwind.
Earlier this week, Bitcoin found itself above the $65,000 level after US CPI numbers came back much lower than the market had anticipated, but those gains were quickly taken away by sellers, and at the time of writing, the asset was trading near $63,000, down almost 3% in 24 hours and about 2% across one week. Furthermore, it’s over 50% below its all-time high.
The post Is the Worst Over for Bitcoin? New Analysis Examines Whether $57.7K Marked the Bottom appeared first on CryptoPotato.
The second-largest meme coin boosted its worldwide popularity thanks to a major initiative from Japan. However, the SHIB Army was left disappointed after previously expecting a global money manager would launch a SHIB exchange-traded fund (ETF).
The token’s price has been sliding sharply over the past several months, and certain factors suggest that the sell-off may intensify in the near future.
The Latest Developments
Earlier this week, Rakuten Wallet (a crypto exchange run by the Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Group) officially added a physical SHIB coin to its “Real Coin” series. Shiba Inu’s official X account celebrated the effort, saying:
“The fifth release in the collection and the first to feature a premium blast finish.”
Nonetheless, that’s about it with the good news surrounding the meme coin. T. Rowe Price’s crypto ETF has just gone live, yet despite expectations that SHIB would be among the underlying assets, the meme coin was ultimately excluded.
Another development comes from the United States. Arkham revealed that the American government recently transferred $250,000 worth of Shiba Inu seized from FTX and Alameda Research.
“This SHIB will be held by the US government and presumably used to repay creditos in the FTX case,” the post reads.
Total Ecosystem Setback
Shiba Inu has been going through a rough period lately; interest from traders and investors has dropped significantly, while overall ecosystem activity is barely visible.
The layer-2 scaling solution Shibarium, for instance, which once processed millions of daily transactions, is now in a much weaker condition. The figure has dropped to the mere hundreds, reflecting waning activity and interest among users.
Shiba Inu’s burning program is another worrying factor, with the rate down 54% over the past week, signaling a notable decline in network participation.
SHIB Price Outlook
As of press time, SHIB is worth roughly $0.000004078 (per CoinGecko), a 17% decline on a monthly scale and a colossal 95% collapse from the all-time high registered in late 2021.
The token’s market capitalization has slipped below $2.5 billion, and at one point this year Shiba Inu even fell to the third-biggest meme coin, overtaken by MemeCore (M). Shortly after, it reclaimed the second position, but only thanks to the double-digit collapse that MemeCore (M) experienced.
Despite the negative environment and multiple bearish factors, the community continues to grow. As CryptoPotato reported, the total number of SHIB wallets recently surged to a fresh peak of nearly 1.7 million after an explosive one-day influx of around 75,000 new holders.
The post Shiba Inu (SHIB) News Today: July 17th appeared first on CryptoPotato.
Bitcoin dipped on a couple of occasions below $62,000 during the previous business week, prompted by Strategy’s largest sale to date and the renewed attacks in the Middle East. However, it recovered a lot of ground by the weekend and spent it trading sideways at around $64,000.
Monday began with another nosedive to under the aforementioned level as the market priced in the new attacks between the US and Iran from Saturday and Sunday. Nevertheless, the bulls showed strong conviction and managed to defend that level.
All eyes turned to the US CPI data for June, which went live on Tuesday. Most market experts believed there would be a significant reduction from the May multi-year record, from 4.2% to somewhere around 3.8%-3.9%. However, the actual data was even more promising, showing a drop to 3.5%.
The primary cryptocurrency reacted immediately to the seemingly slowing inflation, rocketing to $64,000 within hours and up to $65,500 on Wednesday. The latter became its highest price tag in approximately three weeks.
However, BTC’s rally came to a halt at that point. The cryptocurrency started a gradual decrease, which pushed it south to $62,400 earlier today. Although it has recovered about a grand since then, it’s still down by more than 2% weekly. Many altcoins have shown even more profound losses, with HYPE leading this adverse trend.
Hyperliquid’s native token has plunged by more than 12% since this time last Friday, followed by SOL’s 6.5% drop and ADA’s near 6% decrease. In contrast, ONDO has jumped by almost 12%, while ZEC is up by 3.7%.
Market Data
Market Cap: $2.254T | 24H Vol: $61B | BTC Dominance: 56.5%
BTC: $63,210 (-2.45%) | ETH: $1,825 (+0.74%) | XRP: $1.08 (-3.2%)
This Week’s Crypto Headlines You Can’t Miss
Trump’s New Iran Strategy Revealed: Will Bitcoin Pay the Price Again? After the ceasefire breakdown, reports emerged during the past week outlining Trump’s new strategy against Iran. The new wave of attacks will reportedly involve strikes with a wider scope than the previous ones, which increases the pressure on risk-on assets like BTC.
CRO Surges as Crypto.com Secures $400M in Citadel Securities-Led Funding. In its first-ever institutional funding round, the popular crypto exchange secured a $400 million investment from Citadel Securities. Its native token jumped immediately by 25%, but it was quickly halted and returned to its starting point.
Ripple (XRP) Peaked at $3.65 Exactly a Year Ago: What Went Wrong? It was a year ago today that the cross-border token flew to $3.65 to set a new all-time high. The following 12 months, though, have been quite painful, with the asset dumping by 70%. Nevertheless, the company behind it continues to make major moves. Here are many of them.
Jesse Pollak Leaves Base Leadership After Failed Social Strategy. Base creator Jesse Pollak admitted to adopting the wrong strategy when developing the network, focusing mainly on the social side of the market. Consequently, he decided to step down from his leadership position.
Peter Schiff: Bitcoin Holders Will Soon Regret Not Selling at Current Levels. The full-time BTC critic did in the past week what he has been doing for many years. He used the opportunity to urge bitcoin investors to offload their positions at current levels, as they might regret not doing so soon.
Saylor’s Strategy Boosts USD Reserves by $450M Without Selling BTC: Here’s How. Mondays have become quite intriguing lately due to Strategy’s pivot. After the previous week’s sale, investors expected new controversial announcements from the largest corporate holder of bitcoin. Instead, the firm simply boosted its USD reserve and refrained from making any BTC-related moves.
The post Bitcoin, Ethereum Reverse CPI-Fueled Gains as Strategy Stays Quiet: Your Weekly Crypto Recap appeared first on CryptoPotato.
