News linked to both this project and an event.
Odaily reports: Alex Taaffe, Chief Revenue Officer of digital asset trading firm GSR, stated that the on-chain issuance of real-world assets (RWAs) continues to increase, but investor demand has yet to match, and the growing number of issuers and blockchains has further fragmented liquidity in the tokenized market.Mike Silagadze, founder and CEO of ether.fi, said that stablecoins facilitate cross-border transfers, but broader adoption depends on whether they can be used for everyday spending; Yvonne Chia, Head of Communications at USDD, believes that issuers should prioritize improving user experience.The stablecoin market cap stands at $306 billion, up approximately 2% year-over-year and about 74% over the past 12 months. Ilya Podoynitsyn, co-founder and CEO of FinHarbor, pointed out that service providers still need to address regulatory requirements across different jurisdictions and adjust their infrastructure and compliance systems.Miguel Morel, founder and CEO of blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, said that on-chain data can be used to assess counterparty risk and the source of client deposits. Pulkit Gupta of Nomad Capital noted that crypto market liquidity has been relatively weak over the past three months, making it more difficult to exit altcoin investments. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily News: Venture investor Alex Lazarow wrote that over the past two years, Stripe, Mastercard, and Circle respectively acquired U.S. stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge, UK stablecoin infrastructure company BVNK, and Singapore-based cross-border payment platform Tazapay, with the three deals totaling over $3 billion in value. Stripe announced in 2024 that it would acquire Bridge for slightly more than $1 billion; Mastercard's acquisition of BVNK was valued at up to $1.8 billion, including $1.5 billion in base consideration and $300 million in contingent consideration; Circle agreed to acquire Tazapay for $400 million in stock, with the deal expected to close in 2027. Bridge, BVNK, and Tazapay were founded between 2020 and 2022 and had raised approximately $200 million in cumulative funding. Growing stablecoin adoption, an increasingly clear regulatory framework, and rising demand for real-time cross-border payments are the main factors driving the related M&A activity. In 2025, stablecoin adjusted transaction volume grew 91% year-over-year to $10.9 trillion, approaching Visa's $14.2 trillion; real-world payment volume more than doubled to approximately $390 billion.
The New York State Department of Financial Services has issued an order permanently banning Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky from participating in cryptocurrency business in the state. This ban is part of a settlement agreement related to his defrauding of investors and aims to completely sever his ties with the cryptocurrency industry.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James has reached a settlement with former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky. In connection with allegations that he defrauded investors, Mashinsky faces a conditional penalty of up to $35 million and has been permanently barred from the securities, commodities, and cryptocurrency industries. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) had previously issued similar industry bans against him.
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced on Friday a settlement regarding Celsius former CEO Alex Mashinsky's alleged fraud against investors, securing up to $35 million in contingent damages and requiring his permanent exclusion from the securities, commodities, and cryptocurrency industries.Previously, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) had also imposed industry bans on Mashinsky. Mashinsky is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence. Meanwhile, Celsius creditors have received over $3.4 billion in compensation through the company's bankruptcy proceedings.
Odaily reports: Cross-chain swap service Near Intents announced that the $3.8 million in funds stolen in a previous exploit has been fully returned, and the team has closed its investigation. Near Intents General Manager Alex Shevchenko had previously issued a 48-hour return deadline to the attacker, providing Bitcoin, BNB, Ethereum, and Solana addresses.The attacker acknowledged wrongdoing in an on-chain message, stating that all funds had been returned and urging others to report issues through the bug bounty program. The incident stemmed from a vulnerability in the interaction between its Omni deposit and withdrawal layer and the main smart contract. Near Intents had suspended services and promised full compensation to users. (Decrypt)
Alex Shevchenko, General Manager of NEAR Intents, stated that just hours after issuing a 48-hour return deadline to the identified attacker, the $3.8 million stolen from NEAR Intents has been fully refunded. The team has halted its investigation and is calling on security researchers to report issues through a bug bounty program in the future, rather than disrupting network services.
According to Cointelegraph, Alex Shevchenko, General Manager of NEAR Intents, stated that the team has identified the hackers behind the previous security incident and given them a 48-hour deadline to return the stolen funds through a "responsible disclosure." NEAR Intents previously suspended its services due to a vulnerability in the interaction between the Omni deposit and withdrawal infrastructure and its smart contracts. Initial investigations revealed that approximately $3.8 million in user funds were stolen in the incident, and the team has committed to fully compensating affected users. On-chain detective ZachXBT stated that the stolen funds were subsequently transferred to KuCoin and cross-chain converted into Bitcoin.
Odaily News Tech reporter Alex Heath said that OpenAI recently showcased Astra to VIP clients at a closed-door preview event.OpenAI researchers demonstrated Astra coordinating multiple agents to jointly complete mathematical proofs, operating desktop software at what Sam Altman described as "superhuman, extremely fast" speeds, and generating presentation slides (PPT), financial review reports, and analyses of messy data. Astra is designed to work continuously for days or even weeks, capable of remembering human corrections, collaborating with other agents and humans, and executing operations across multiple software tools.Sam Altman also said at the event: "I expect that Astra will be the first model that can truly invent new things in a substantive way."
Bloomberg reported that Barclays' equity strategy team stated that the ongoing expansion of AI infrastructure is sparking a bipartisan voter backlash in the U.S., and markets may be underestimating related political risks ahead of this November's midterm elections. Strategists Jenny Yang and Alex Altmann noted that voter concerns over AI build-outs could trigger stricter regulatory scrutiny, with policy pressure expected to focus primarily on the regulation of data center construction and operations. This could introduce uncertainty into the heavily favored AI investment theme.
: Galaxy's Head of Research posted on X, stating that on August 18, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed the "Regulation Crypto Assets," abbreviated as Reg Crypto. The proposal aims to establish a legal pathway for certain tokens to be offered to the U.S. public and to set up a mechanism for terminating investment contracts. Its applicability is limited to crypto assets that are not themselves securities but were previously issued or sold as part of an investment contract; tokenized stocks, bonds, and arrangements bundling tokens with equity or other securities are not covered by the framework.The proposal sets out four stages: offering, disclosure, build-out, and exit. A one-time startup exemption allows issuers to raise up to $5 million over a maximum of four years; a higher-threshold exemption modeled on Regulation A permits raising $20 million or $75 million within 12 months. Such offerings must pass SEC qualification review and involve ongoing disclosure, with non-accredited investors capped at 10% of the higher of their annual income or net worth. Issuers are also required to disclose token supply and unlock schedules, minting and burning mechanisms, governance and smart contract permissions, source code, as well as project construction commitments and progress.Once an issuer completes or permanently ceases the relevant build-out obligations, makes no new construction commitments, and submits a transition report, the related investment contract will be deemed terminated, and the crypto asset will no longer be subject to securities laws under that investment contract. Issuers that did not use the above offering exemptions may also use this safe harbor. The SEC estimates that approximately 475 issuers per year would use the investment contract safe harbor, and about 130 issuers would use the two new exemptions. Offerings that qualify would not be considered restricted securities and could be resold immediately without contractual restrictions.The proposal also excludes covered initial offerings and certain secondary transactions from state registration and qualification requirements, but it does not address exchanges, brokers, dealers, or custody, nor is it a standalone innovative exemption for tokenized securities and on-chain transactions. The comment period is 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and Commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda all issued statements of support. The article was written by Alex Thorn.
Galaxy Digital Head of Research Alex Thorn stated that based on new victim reports received following the incident, the number of attackers exploiting the Coldcard vulnerability has reached at least 15.Thorn noted that information provided by victims helped the research team uncover previously unidentified attack activity. Unlike thefts from centralized exchanges, correlations between the attackers in this vulnerability exploit require confirmation through on-chain analysis and victim feedback.He added that a single victim reporting less than 1 BTC stolen helped the team discover a previously unknown attack, which siphoned approximately 12 BTC from 126 addresses.According to Galaxy Research's earlier estimates, the Coldcard vulnerability has led to at least three rounds of attacks, with losses amounting to approximately $100 million in BTC. Additionally, Galaxy has identified a suspected fourth round of attacks, which could bring total losses to approximately $130 million.Meanwhile, the incident has also sparked discussions regarding the security of Bitcoin self-custody. Dragonfly Managing Partner Haseeb Qureshi stated that "AI security hardening costing around $2" could potentially have prevented this vulnerability, and noted that some AI models were able to rediscover related vulnerabilities within a relatively short timeframe. However, industry insiders pointed out that current claims about the speed of AI discovering vulnerabilities lack rigorous blind testing and verification.Researchers believe that as AI model capabilities improve, the costs of vulnerability discovery and attacks in the crypto industry may continue to decline, requiring wallet developers to further strengthen code audits and security protections. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily News: U.S. Democratic Senator Alex Padilla plans to introduce new legislation that would prohibit presidents from offering paid services that provide users with early access to their public statements or social media posts. The bill targets a recently launched paid service by Trump Media & Technology Group that allows users to receive real-time alerts on posts from Trump and other figures on social platforms, some of which may involve information affecting financial markets.Alex Padilla stated that Trump's public remarks should not be sold as an "early trading advantage" to specific paid users. He believes that if market participants can gain faster notifications of presidential statements through payment, it could create an unfair information gap. As of now, Trump Media & Technology Group has not responded to the legislative proposal.
Odaily News, Galaxy Research Head Alex Thorn posted on X platform, stating that the attack targeting wallet addresses with weak random numbers generated by Coldcard is still ongoing. Users who still hold funds in Coldcard single-signature wallets should immediately migrate to secure addresses. New victim addresses and attacker addresses are continuously being added to the investigation database, and Galaxy Research plans to release updated statistics on the number of affected addresses.He noted that the previously identified waves 1, 2, and 3 of the attack exhibit clear programmatic characteristics, and the stolen BTC currently remains in the attacker's addresses without any transfers. However, in recent times, smaller-scale attackers have begun exploiting the vulnerability to steal funds and move them through peeling chains, cross-chain services, and other methods. It is certain that single-signature wallet addresses generated by Coldcard after the March 2021 firmware upgrade are all potentially at risk, and users should migrate funds as soon as possible.Previously reported, Galaxy Research has disclosed that the Coldcard vulnerability attack has affected approximately 1,367.05 BTC (approximately $88.6 million), involving around 4,585 addresses.
据 Cointelegraph 报道，美国参议院少数党领袖查克·舒默（Chuck Schumer）于 7月 31 日正式提出《反腐败局创建法案》（Anti-Corruption Bureau Creation Act），拟设立一个专职处理联邦层面腐败问题的新政府机构。 该法案明确点名特朗普，援引其 2025 年披露的逾 20 亿美元投资收益（其中加密相关收益达 14 亿美元），以及其家族持有与外国政府挂钩的逾 10 亿美元加密基金。拟设机构将由 7 名两党成员组成，经参议院确认后就任，具备调查、执法及预防行政腐败的"实质权力"，并将联邦选举委员会、政府伦理办公室及特别顾问办公室整合至同一屋檐下。参议员 Andy Kim、Alex Padilla 和 Jeff Merkley 联署共同提案。 白宫副新闻秘书 Anna Kelly 对此回应称，特朗普的投资"由独立第三方金融机构管理的全权委托账户持有，不存在利益冲突"。
on July 28 that U.S. Senator Jon Husted publicly supported the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, stating that if the United States wants to maintain its leading position in the digital asset field, it needs a clear, enforceable regulatory framework that supports innovation and employment.The CLARITY Act aims to establish the first comprehensive federal framework for crypto regulation in the U.S., dividing jurisdiction between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The bill classifies tokens into three categories, granting the CFTC exclusive regulatory authority over the spot market for digital commodities, while the SEC continues to oversee assets that still resemble securities.Galaxy Research has lowered the probability of the CLARITY Act becoming law by 2026 from 50% to 30%. Alex Thorn, the firm's Head of Research, stated that the 60-vote threshold in the Senate is the main obstacle, and supporters may not yet hold a simple majority.The revised version of the bill proposes to prohibit the President, Vice President, members of Congress, federal judges, and their spouses from receiving compensation through the issuance or sponsorship of digital assets during their term in office until January 2029. It also requires relevant officials to sell their cryptocurrency holdings or place them in a blind trust.
Galaxy Digital 研究主管 Alex Thorn 表示，已将《CLARITY 法案》在 2026 年成为法律的概率预期下调至 30%。他同时指出，该法案有助于完善监管框架、加强投资者保护、推动创新，并促进美国相关产业发展。Alex Thorn 认为，当前已不适合继续进行渐进式谈判，呼吁通过更有力的推动和政策领导力促成立法。
Galaxy 研究主管 Alex Thorn在 X 平台发文披露，围绕“Noah Doe”试图通过法律程序获得中本聪比特币所有权的遗弃比特币案件迎来重大进展，比特币政策研究所（BPI）已正式申请作为被告介入此案并寻求推动法院驳回全部诉讼。据悉，由律师事务所 White & Case 代理的 BPI 此次不仅申请介入案件，还提交了拟答辩文件、15 项积极抗辩理由并计划提出撤诉动议。 Alex Thorn 透露，BPI 称其具备介入资格，因为该机构长期自托管一部分计划无限期持有的比特币储备，而原告所主张的“长期未动用即构成遗弃”的理论，恰恰可能将类似资产纳入未来诉讼范围。如果本案的法律逻辑最终获得法院支持，未来可能成为剥夺长期自托管用户资产所有权的先例，所以这场诉讼不仅关乎中本聪相关资产，也关系到整个比特币自托管生态的法律基础。
Odaily News: U.S. Senator Ron Wyden has sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, urging that any version of the "Digital Asset Market Clarity Act" considered by the Senate retain Section 604 to protect non-custodial blockchain developers who do not control user assets. Ron Wyden stated that developers should not be considered money transmitters simply because they create or publish software that allows users to manage their own digital assets. Coin Center Executive Director Peter Van Valkenburgh, the DeFi Education Fund, and Galaxy Digital Head of Research Alex Thorn have expressed support for this stance. Alex Thorn also noted that supporting developer protections does not mean Ron Wyden will endorse the entire CLARITY Act. Ron Wyden further stated that the provision does not protect developers involved in illegal activities and can direct law enforcement resources toward criminals and unlicensed money transmission businesses, rather than neutral software developers. (Bitcoin.com News).
Odaily Planet Daily reported that Alex Thorn, Head of Research at Galaxy Digital, stated in a research report on July 3rd that Strategy should explore generating income from its BTC holdings rather than directly selling spot BTC. Strategy previously launched the five-part Digital Credit Capital Framework, which includes a dollar reserve policy, a revised STRC dividend policy, a $1 billion preferred stock repurchase authorization, a $1 billion MSTR stock repurchase authorization, and a BTC monetization plan, while raising the annual STRC dividend rate from 11.5% to 12%. Strategy currently holds 847,363 BTC and has raised over $1 billion through common stock sales, extending its cash coverage period to approximately 17 months. Thorn stated that Strategy could allocate a small portion of its BTC for conservative lending or options strategies, generating income while retaining most of the upside exposure. Strategy still faces preferred stock obligations and $6.7 billion in outstanding convertible debt maturing between 2027 and 2028. (Bitcoin.com News).