News linked to both this project and an event.
According to Bits.media, Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, stated that the second and third readings of the criminal liability bill targeting illegal cryptocurrency transactions will be postponed for deliberation by the new State Duma. This is because the Duma's spring session will end on July 27, August to September is the election recess, and Duma election voting will conclude on September 20, therefore deliberation will resume at the earliest during the autumn session. The bill completed its first reading in early July, stipulating a maximum prison term of 7 years for organizing illegal cryptocurrency circulation, with relevant penalty clauses scheduled to take effect officially from July 1, 2027. Under the current regulatory framework, Russian citizens can only buy and sell cryptocurrencies through institutions holding licenses from the Central Bank of Russia, while P2P and over-the-counter transactions may face criminal prosecution. Aksakov denied concerns that the bill would affect crypto exchangers and P2P users, calling such concerns "unfounded". Meanwhile, another Russian government law strengthening national control over cryptocurrencies, the "Law on Digital Currency and Digital Rights," has also been delayed, with the original schedules for effect in July and September both missed.
According to The Block, U.S. "Clarity Act" crypto legislation has entered a critical phase, with Representative William Timmons stating, "Legislation will definitely be completed; this is one of the president's priorities and also a bipartisan consensus." Senate Majority Leader John Thune hopes to complete the Senate vote before the recess on August 7, but even if passed by the Senate, the bill still needs to return to the House of Representatives for deliberation, and the overall timeline may extend into the coming months. The current main point of contention lies in the ethics clauses regarding how to restrict federal officials, such as the President, Vice President, and members of Congress, from benefiting from digital assets during their term. Trump, Republican Senators Bernie Moreno and Cynthia Lummis, along with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, held a meeting on Thursday afternoon regarding the ethics clauses, seeking Trump's endorsement. Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego stated that if the ethics clauses do not meet standards, Democrats will not vote in support. Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger is cautiously optimistic about the bill's prospects but warned that if prediction market-related amendments are included, they will become a "poison pill" and should be addressed through separate legislation.
: The South Korean Financial Services Commission has published a revision draft of the "Enforcement Decree of the Special Act on Prevention of Telecommunications-Based Financial Fraud and Refund of Damages." The plan includes transferring funds from phone scams that have been moved into crypto assets under the scope of victim compensation, and clarifies the standards for returning and valuing crypto assets. The relevant regulations are expected to take effect on October 1st.According to the new regulations, if the frozen assets are cryptocurrencies, victims will, in principle, receive compensation in the same type and quantity of assets. If the defrauded assets differ in form from the frozen assets, compensation will be made in the form of the assets actually existing at the time the account was frozen. In cases involving a mixture of cash and crypto assets, regulators will value the crypto assets based on the market price at the time of freezing to determine the final compensation amount. The South Korean Financial Services Commission stated that clarifying the asset form for return and the valuation time point will facilitate faster and fairer compensation in complex cases where funds from multiple victims are mixed. It is reported that the public consultation period for the revision draft will last until August 24th. (Etoday)
According to an announcement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, former Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) deputy Scott Allen Simpkins (34 years old) was sentenced by a federal court on July 13 to 18 months imprisonment and fined $10,000 for obstructing a judicial investigation. Simpkins was previously employed by a private security company under businessman Adam Iza, who claims to be the "godfather" of cryptocurrency. In August 2021, he witnessed Iza threaten party planner R.C. with bullets at his Bel Air mansion, forcing him to transfer $25,000. During the federal investigation in November 2024, Simpkins lied multiple times to the FBI and federal prosecutors, falsely claiming he did not witness the ammunition and financial transactions, thereby interfering with the criminal investigation into Iza. Iza has currently pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges, including conspiracy to violate rights, wire fraud, tax evasion, and suspected kidnapping and robbery involving Bitcoin, among others, and is awaiting sentencing. This case was jointly investigated by the FBI and the IRS Criminal Investigation Division.
According to Crypto in America, White House Chief Crypto Advisor Patrick Witt will depart for the Georgia Army National Guard to participate in JAG (Judge Advocate General) training starting July 27, and is expected to conclude his work at the White House by next Friday. The timing of this departure is sensitive, coinciding with Senate Republicans accelerating the crypto market structure legislation, the CLARITY Act, striving to complete legislation before Congress's August recess; otherwise, this session of Congress may miss the window for passage. Witt had previously postponed the training originally scheduled to start in April to continue leading the CLARITY Act negotiations, including coordinating core controversies such as stablecoin yields, ethics clauses, and law enforcement agency concerns, but a second postponement is no longer possible. During his absence, Deputy Director Harry Jung will take over related responsibilities. Witt previously also led important policy issues such as the implementation of the strategic Bitcoin reserve and the enactment of the GENIUS Act; whether he will return after the training ends remains unclear.
: Industry insiders indicate that after the US Senate reconvenes, it will enter a critical window of approximately four weeks, determining whether the Clarity Act can pass this year. The bill needs to complete the finalized text, Senate debate, and voting before the August recess, and secure at least 60 votes of support in the Senate. Current negotiation focuses include whether to retain the exemption clause for non-custodial developers within the "Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act," and establishing an "ethics framework" for official conflicts of interest regarding President Trump's cryptocurrency business interests. Meanwhile, the passing of Senator Lindsey Graham and the absence of Mitch McConnell have weakened Republican voting power, increasing the importance of securing support from Democratic senators.
According to CoinPost, Fundstrat Co-Founder and Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee stated in a special keynote speech at WebX 2026 that Ethereum is on the eve of a "Chapter 2" breakout. He pointed out that the pressure on the crypto market this year stems from four headwinds: a Federal Reserve policy shift, uncertain prospects for the U.S. Clarity Act, AI attracting large amounts of venture capital funds (accounting for 86% of U.S. VC investment), and sluggish stock prices in the financial sector. Technically, Tom DeMark analysis shows ETH trends are highly correlated with the 1987 S&P 500 (correlation reaching 89.81%), with a rebound expected in August; if it breaks through the $1,846-$1,876 resistance level, the next target price is $2,200 (up approximately 30% from the current ~$1,700). Strategically, Bitmine, founded only 12 months ago, has completed 95% of its 5% holding target, currently holding 5.76 million ETH (accounting for 4.8% of total supply), of which approximately 85% has been staked; its staking business MAVAN has become the world's largest single staking operator, with assets under management reaching $13-14 billion. Tom Lee also warned that AI wealth accumulation may threaten human economic autonomy, and blockchain is the best line of defense against AI control.
According to The Hill, the U.S. Crypto Market Structure Bill, the CLARITY Act, is facing a critical advancement milestone before the August congressional recess. Senate Majority Leader John Thune plans to push the bill to the Senate floor for consideration during the week of July 20, but it still requires support from at least seven Democratic senators.
According to Odaily, Bitcoin is set to undergo two fork events in 2026. Developer Paul Sztorc plans to launch an intentional hard fork called eCash, expected to activate around August 21 at block height 964,000. Another controversial soft fork proposal, BIP-110, has the potential to inadvertently cause a chain split during the August signaling window. A Bitcoin chain split replicates the UTXO set, giving holders 1:1 assets on both ledgers. The usability of a forked coin depends on replay protection, mining difficulty, and market conditions. Self-custodial holders, who control their private keys at the time of the snapshot, can typically sign transactions on either chain; custodial holdings, where private keys are controlled by exchanges at the time of the snapshot, mean users' eligibility for the forked coin depends on the platform's policy. (Bitcoin.com News)
According to CoinDesk, informed sources revealed that the latest consolidated draft of the U.S. "Digital Asset Market Transparency Act" (Clarity Act) may be released as early as next week, and the Senate is expected to advance deliberations during the week of July 20. The consolidated draft was jointly negotiated by the Senate Banking Committee and the Agriculture Committee, adding over 70 pages of content and strengthening consumer protection provisions. However, the bill still faces multiple obstacles: Democrats insist on restricting business ties between senior government officials (including the President) and the crypto industry, and the parties have not yet reached a compromise on this ethics provision; additionally, issues such as federal preemption and SEC and CFTC commissioner nominations remain unresolved, and the White House has not participated in the latest negotiations. For the bill to pass in the Senate, it must reach the 60-vote threshold, and the time window is extremely limited—with only about four weeks of agenda remaining for the Senate in July and early August, and continued infighting among House Republicans further increases legislative uncertainty.
According to Cointelegraph, crypto-friendly digital banking platform Revolut announced that it will cease support for USDT in the European Economic Area (EEA) and Swiss markets by August 31, 2026, with other markets remaining unaffected. Revolut stated that this move stems from regular reviews of crypto services and risk considerations under the EU MiCA regulatory framework. Currently, Revolut has already removed USDT trading pairs for EEA users from its Revolut X trading platform. It is worth noting that Switzerland is not a member of the EU or EEA and is not directly bound by MiCA, yet Revolut has not provided an explanation for including Switzerland in the affected markets. This delisting decision aligns with the overall trend of crypto platforms in the EU—since Tether chose not to apply for authorization under the MiCA framework, multiple platforms have successively delisted USDT.
美国商品期货交易委员会（CFTC）主席迈克尔·塞利格表示，加密市场结构法案 Clarity Act “已非常接近达成”，并敦促国会在 8 月休会前完成通过。
Google has updated its Chrome Web Store developer policy, explicitly listing Prediction Markets as a prohibited product. According to the new regulations, any Chrome extension that promotes or supports real-money transactions based on predicted outcomes is not allowed for publication on the Chrome Web Store. This update also strengthens requirements for transparency in user data collection and privacy protection. The new policy will officially take effect on August 1, 2026.
BIT released a daily report stating that Bitcoin performed steadily in early July, continuing its historically relatively strong seasonal performance. US President Trump's statements, such as "the US is taking over cryptocurrency," boosted market sentiment, and investors' attention also turned to the CLARITY Act, which needs to make progress before the Senate enters summer recess on August 7.
White House advisor Patrick Witt stated in May that he hoped the Clarity Act would be signed into law on July 4th, but the bill did not meet this deadline. CoinDesk reports that the biggest risk now actually comes from the House of Representatives. Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives has faced resistance in advancing multiple agendas, including important bills like the budget proposal. Market concerns are growing that declining legislative efficiency could further slow down the progress of the CLARITY Act.Additionally, the market believes that August 7th (the last working day before the Senate's summer recess) will become an important time window for advancing the bill. (CoinDesk).
the South African Revenue Service (SARS) released a draft guideline on crypto asset taxation on July 1, 2026, aiming to establish compliance rules for approximately 5.8 to 6 million cryptocurrency users in South Africa. The public comment period is open until August 31, 2026. According to the updated framework, crypto assets are classified as intangible assets, not as foreign currency or traditional money. Taxpayers holding these assets are not required to pay tax on unrealized gains or losses. Tax obligations arise upon the disposal of the asset. If an individual’s crypto activities are deemed to resemble business operations or short-term day trading, the profits will be classified as gross income and taxed at marginal rates ranging from 18% to 45%. If crypto assets are held as long-term investments, gains from disposal are subject to capital gains tax, with effective personal tax rates ranging from 18% to 36%. The draft also treats exchanges between different crypto assets as barter transactions, with tax consequences arising immediately at the time of the exchange based on local market value. SARS stated that it has deployed a Crypto Revenue Augmentation Unit to track and audit digital wallets and urged taxpayers who have not previously disclosed their crypto earnings to complete their filings through a voluntary disclosure program to avoid administrative penalties following stricter enforcement after the August deadline. (Bitcoin.com News).
Odaily Planet Daily reports that digital bank and fintech platform Revolut has notified some users that it will officially delist the dollar stablecoin Tether (USDT) after August 31, 2026, and will automatically convert users' remaining holdings into their base fiat currency at the exchange rate of that day.According to the official notice, Revolut will suspend USDT purchase services starting July 6, and will halt USDT deposits after July 30, at which point any incoming USDT transfers will be directly rejected.If users have not sold or withdrawn their USDT by the end of August, their holdings will be automatically converted by the system into the account's base currency. The company attributes this adjustment to "regulatory and risk-related considerations," but has not specified the exact regulatory framework triggering the move.This move reflects the trend of fintech platforms continuously tightening the scope of access to related assets amid the changing global regulatory environment for stablecoins. Previously, trading platforms including Coinbase have delisted USDT in the European market to comply with the EU's MiCA regulatory framework.Currently, Revolut has not clarified whether this policy applies to all regions, but the company has obtained an EU Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) license, indicating it is strengthening its compliance-oriented product structure adjustments. (Cointelegraph)
According to the latest report from investment bank Jefferies, the U.S. "Clarity Act," although having passed a bipartisan 15:9 vote in the Senate Banking Committee, still faces significant hurdles in the subsequent legislative process. Political uncertainty may exacerbate crypto market volatility in the coming weeks. The bill aims to clarify the regulatory boundary for digital assets between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and is considered a core legislative framework for the U.S. crypto market structure. Jefferies pointed out that passage would significantly boost institutional participation, while delays would prolong regulatory uncertainty.Currently, Polymarket data shows that the probability of the bill passing before the end of 2026 has dropped to 48%, a significant decline from 70% in mid-May, primarily due to disputes over ethical clauses, anti-money-laundering reviews, and a tight Senate agenda. Analysts note that with approximately only 20 legislative days remaining before Congress adjourns in August, it must complete the reconciliation of House and Senate versions, procedural votes, and submission to the President for signature. If it fails to advance before the recess, it may be delayed until next year, or even further postponed due to changes in the election cycle.Jefferies believes that if the bill is enacted, it will drive the expansion of businesses such as tokenized assets, custody, staking, lending, and crypto ETFs, benefiting the development of markets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). However, if delayed, it could suppress institutional investment in on-chain infrastructure and crypto-related IPOs.Additionally, the market expects policy uncertainty to continue affecting the stock performance of crypto-related public companies such as Circle, Coinbase, and Bullish. Jefferies added that even as regulations gradually clarify, intensified competition in the stablecoin space could become a long-term source of pressure for companies like Circle. (CoinDesk)
the core US crypto regulatory bill, the "Digital Asset Market Clarity Act" (Clarity Act), has entered a critical two-week negotiation cycle for legislation. The Senate will be in recess until July 13. During the recess, bipartisan staff, the White House, and representatives from the crypto industry will continue to negotiate outstanding differences in the bill, focusing on resolving disputes over topics such as the integration of the two bill versions from the Senate Banking Committee and the Agriculture Committee, ethics clauses, and anti-money laundering rules.If all parties successfully reach a unified compromise version, the bill could be submitted for a full Senate vote as early as late July to early August. The market generally believes that the period before the August congressional recess is the only window for the bill to be passed this year. If the vote is not completed during this phase, the probability of the bill being enacted into law within 2026 will significantly decrease. (Crypto in America)
the Ethereum Layer 2 network Base mainnet experienced a "major failure," leading to unstable production of new blocks. According to the Base status page, the issue began around 16:03 UTC.Base resumed operations after approximately two hours of downtime. This failure previously halted block production and transaction processing.The Base team stated that an invalid block triggered the related issue. They are currently investigating the root cause and recommend that node operators restart their nodes. This incident marks another network interruption for Base following its previous downtime in August 2025.