News linked to both this project and an event.
The U.S. Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act) failed to seize a critical advancement window before the Senate's summer recess, and the market is now focusing on whether the U.S. crypto industry can continue to develop even if the bill ultimately fails.Analysts believe that if the CLARITY Act fails to pass, it would be a significant setback for the crypto industry, but not a fatal blow. The bill was designed to clarify the boundaries between securities, commodities, and other categories of digital assets, determine the agencies responsible for overseeing related businesses, and grant the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) clearer regulatory authority over crypto commodity trading.Currently, the bill's progress has stalled, and the likelihood of comprehensive crypto market structure legislation being enacted before the end of the year is declining. This means the U.S. may still lack a clear digital asset regulatory framework, particularly regarding oversight of trading in major crypto assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), where jurisdictional gaps remain between the CFTC and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).However, industry insiders point out that even if the CLARITY Act fails, the SEC and CFTC are still likely to continue advancing industry development through policy statements, regulatory guidance, and existing enforcement authority.In recent years, both agencies have issued multiple pieces of guidance clarifying the regulatory boundaries of business models such as crypto mining, Meme coins, and staking rewards. One of the most significant measures among these is the digital asset taxonomy framework, which seeks to establish standardized regulatory classifications for different types of digital assets. (CoinDesk)
Odaily News Stablecoin issuer Tether has announced that its asset tokenization platform Hadron will provide real estate asset tokenization technology for institutional investors in Saudi Arabia, bringing traditional real estate assets on-chain.Tether stated that it will collaborate with local Saudi partner First Data and fintech company BKN301 to provide institutional clients with infrastructure support for the issuance, management, and digitalization of real estate assets. In the future, this model could expand to other real-world asset (RWA) sectors such as energy and infrastructure financing.This move is Tether's latest initiative to expand from its stablecoin business into the real-world asset tokenization space. Tether launched the Hadron platform in 2024 to streamline the asset tokenization process, and is currently one of the world's largest issuers of tokenized gold assets, with its gold token XAUT reaching approximately $2.6 billion in size.In recent years, banks and asset management institutions have been exploring the tokenization of traditional assets such as money market funds, private credit, real estate, and equities on blockchain to improve settlement efficiency, broaden investor reach, and optimize capital utilization. Citigroup previously forecast that the tokenized securities market could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030.Saudi Arabia is actively exploring the application of blockchain technology in financial services, government, and supply chains as part of its economic diversification strategy under Vision 2030.Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that with the digital transformation opportunities brought by Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is an ideal market to demonstrate the value of the Hadron platform. (CoinDesk)
Odaily News U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren stated that she supports advancing cryptocurrency-related legislation, but does not back the current CLARITY Act, arguing that the bill fails to adequately address key issues such as corruption, consumer protection, national security, and economic risks.Warren noted that the crypto industry needs a clear regulatory framework, but any regulatory approach must ensure investor protection and the safety of the financial system. She believes the CLARITY Act falls short in preventing conflicts of interest, safeguarding consumers, and mitigating potential systemic risks.The CLARITY Act aims to further clarify the division of regulatory responsibilities for U.S. digital asset markets, establishing a clearer legal framework for crypto asset trading, issuance, and market participants. Supporters argue that the bill would enhance industry certainty and drive innovation.However, some Democratic lawmakers, including Warren, have previously expressed concerns about crypto regulation legislation, arguing that certain proposals could weaken regulatory authority and create regulatory arbitrage opportunities for large crypto firms.Warren has long maintained a cautious stance on crypto assets, focusing on consumer protection, financial stability, and risks related to illicit activities in the crypto market. Her latest remarks indicate that U.S. crypto regulation legislation continues to face contention between the two parties and various interest groups. (CoinDesk)
According to CoinDesk, Ondo Finance announced the appointment of former Blockchain.com Chief Financial Officer Adam Schlisman as Chief Financial Officer. Schlisman previously also served at Monashee Investment Management. Ondo stated that this appointment aims to support the expansion of its tokenized assets and on-chain capital markets business. The company was founded by former Goldman Sachs executives and is currently one of the larger real-world asset tokenization platforms, with products covering blockchain-based US Treasury bonds and stocks.
According to CoinDesk, U.S. Senator Hagerty publicly called on the Senate to pass the CLARITY Act as soon as possible, emphasizing that "the U.S. must not fall behind in the digital asset space." Supporters argue that regulatory clarity is key to retaining builders and capital in the crypto industry; otherwise, there will continue to be a risk of talent and capital outflow to other jurisdictions. The next Senate vote is regarded as a critical milestone for the crypto industry.
According to CoinDesk, BNY Mellon (The Bank of New York Mellon) announced a partnership with crypto financial services company Galaxy (GLXY), planning to add staking functionality to its digital asset custody platform. Institutional clients will be able to stake digital assets in custody directly through the BNY platform without needing to transfer tokens to third-party service providers. The service is pending regulatory approval before officially launching. Galaxy will be responsible for providing staking infrastructure and will participate in platform expansion as a design partner.
According to CoinDesk, Strategy founder Michael Saylor announced that the company has launched the Bitcoin 200-week moving average (200W MA) and its premium/discount tracking feature on its official website. Saylor stated that since the 200W MA data became available, Bitcoin has traded above this line 92% of the time, and the current price is almost exactly near this line.
According to CoinDesk, Project Agorá, led by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), recently completed a cross-border payment test with real funds. Participants included 28 commercial banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, UBS, Deutsche Bank, and Standard Chartered, as well as five central banks. The test processed approximately $1 million (about 800,000 Swiss francs) in real transactions, covering six currencies: the US dollar, euro, pound sterling, Japanese yen, Swiss franc, and South Korean won. The test utilized tokenized central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits, settling funds on a shared ledger with an average settlement time of about 80 seconds. Unlike traditional cross-border payments that require intermediation by multiple correspondent banks, the platform achieved shared single ownership records and supports synchronized settlement of bilateral foreign exchange, effectively reducing principal risk. The BIS stated that the platform can operate in parallel with existing payment systems, rather than replacing them.
According to CoinDesk, Swiss digital asset bank AMINA is partnering with Wall Street firm Cantor to evaluate potential listing options. Sources familiar with the matter said the company had explored paths such as mergers with special purpose acquisition companies, but currently favors entering the public market through a reverse acquisition by a digital asset treasury company. However, AMINA stated that relevant discussions are still ongoing and no final decision has been made; the core goal at this stage is to raise capital to support strategic growth, rather than pushing for a rapid listing.
According to CoinDesk, Lido has launched its largest upgrade since V2, planning to integrate more than 8 million staked ETH, valued at approximately $16.5 billion, into the new validator architecture following the Ethereum Pectra upgrade.
According to CoinDesk, the new draft of the CLARITY Act has been officially released. This draft merges the two versions from the Senate Banking Committee and the Agriculture Committee and includes ethics provisions for the first time. Voting procedures are expected to commence this Monday or Tuesday, with the formal vote potentially taking place as early as the week of August 3.
According to CoinDesk, Eddy Zervigon, CEO of quantum computing security infrastructure company Quantum Xchange, stated that cryptocurrencies, due to their decentralized nature, will become the "canary in the coal mine" for quantum computing attacks—that is, the area where vulnerabilities will be exposed first. Latest assessments by Google researchers show that the number of physical qubits required to break Bitcoin's elliptic curve encryption has decreased 20-fold compared to previous estimates, and multiple institutions have brought forward the expected date of "Q-Day" (the day quantum computers can break existing encryption systems) to 2029. Deutsche Digital Assets pointed out that the real risk lies not in the encryption technology itself, but in the speed of governance—Bitcoin upgrades require 90% miner consensus, which has historically triggered hard forks (such as the 2017 SegWit upgrade leading to the birth of Bitcoin Cash), whereas traditional financial institutions only need a board resolution to complete encryption infrastructure migration. Additionally, experts caution that the quantum threat is not a binary event that "arrives suddenly on a certain day"; even if quantum computers require months to crack data, as long as the cracking is completed while the data is still valuable, the threat is established.
the race for the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) is coming to an end, but the real challenges for companies are just beginning. The high cost of maintaining ongoing compliance systems may reshape the European crypto landscape. The future competitive focus in the industry is likely to shift from "who can obtain a license" to "who can afford the regulatory costs," driving companies towards scaling through mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, or partnerships with banks. As MiCA is gradually implemented and the UK's crypto regulatory framework takes shape, the European crypto industry is entering a new phase of consolidation. Insiders believe that high-standard regulatory requirements could fuel a new wave of M&A, and cooperation between crypto-native companies and traditional financial institutions will deepen further.This trend may be even more pronounced in the UK market. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is developing a new regulatory framework for crypto assets, which is expected to bring crypto businesses under the existing financial services regulatory system, subjecting them to capital, operational, and customer asset protection requirements similar to those for traditional investment firms. Steven Lightstone, a partner at Morgan Lewis in London and co-head of the global fintech team, stated that while the FCA aims to promote market competition and support new entrants, its regulatory standards will be very strict when it comes to consumer protection. Unlike the EU's standalone MiCA framework, the UK's approach will directly leverage the existing financial regulatory system to manage crypto firms.Meanwhile, increased regulatory certainty is accelerating the entry of European banks into the digital asset space. Simon Schneider, CEO of Sygnum Europe, noted that currently fewer than 20% of banks in Europe offer crypto-related services, indicating a significant market gap. The greatest value of MiCA is not just creating a new licensing system but providing legal certainty for financial institutions to enter the digital asset market. Citing Switzerland as an example, he pointed out that after the introduction of distributed ledger technology regulations, most major Swiss banks have begun offering digital asset services, a path that other parts of Europe may follow in the future. Banks are unlikely to replace crypto-native companies altogether; instead, they are more likely to rely on specialized infrastructure providers and collaborate in areas such as custody, brokerage, staking, and asset tokenization.As companies that fail to secure MiCA licenses gradually exit the European market, assets may become further concentrated among regulated entities. However, Schneider believes that self-custody models and institutional custody models will continue to coexist for the long term.Industry insiders suggest that the European crypto industry is entering a "regulatory-driven consolidation cycle." For crypto startups that previously
Goldman Sachs Group CEO David Solomon stated that while the CLARITY Act is not perfect, he supports its advancement, believing it will establish a clearer and fairer regulatory framework for the digital asset market, enhance market stability, and promote innovation.Solomon said the most significant implication of the CLARITY Act is "creating a level playing field, allowing the market to develop healthily." This stance contrasts sharply with that of some banking executives, such as JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon. They argue that the bill, by allowing crypto companies to offer stablecoin products similar to interest-bearing deposits without assuming the same regulatory requirements as banks, could weaken the competitiveness of traditional banks.Currently, Republican senators in the U.S. have released a revised text of the CLARITY Act, which could be submitted to the Senate for a vote as early as next week. The bill aims to clarify the division of responsibilities between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in regulating digital assets, and will continue negotiations on terms related to stablecoin issuance, consumer protection, and yield-bearing stablecoins. (CoinDesk)
According to CoinDesk, the UK government plans to complete the first tokenized sovereign bond issuance tests through HSBC and the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) in early 2027, but industry experts point out that on-chain cash settlement issues remain the core obstacle hindering the implementation of the plan. Varun Paul, Global Head of Central Banks and Market Infrastructure at Fireblocks, stated that the project has secured sufficient institutional support, and a change in government (UK Prime Minister changing from Keir Starmer to Andy Burnham) is unlikely to reverse it, and tokenized government bonds are expected to boost market demand given the UK's current debt scale of nearly 3 trillion pounds (approximately 4 trillion USD). Jannah Patchay, Founder of Markets Evolution, pointed out that tokenized bond technology has been validated for nearly seven years since Santander Bank issued the first tokenized sterling corporate bond in 2019, but the absence of on-chain counterparty risk-free settlement assets has remained unresolved. She called on regulators to promote the use of compliant sterling stablecoins to provide an on-chain settlement mechanism. Currently, the global stablecoin market size reaches $300 billion, but TGBP, the largest pound stablecoin by market capitalization, is only worth about $34.2 million, accounting for a negligible proportion.
According to CoinDesk, the Cardano wallet SecondFi was attacked due to a vulnerability in its transaction signing software. A total of 16.1 million ADA (approximately $2.4 million) across 374 wallets was stolen, and the platform has announced permanent closure. The vulnerability allowed attackers to derive private keys from transaction data visible on-chain. The Cardano network itself was not affected, nor were hardware wallet users. An investigation by Groom Lake, a blockchain intelligence company hired by EMURGO, revealed that the primary attackers were sophisticated and well-funded. Some indications point to North Korea's Lazarus Group, but this has not yet been officially confirmed. SecondFi plans to release a wallet export tool in early August and launch a zero-knowledge recovery portal later in the month. EMURGO has established an asset recovery wallet, with the specific distribution time to be determined.
According to CoinDesk, Kraken's parent company Payward announced it will expand its tokenized stock platform xStocks to markets outside the United States, planning to partner with investment infrastructure provider GTN to bring listed stocks from Hong Kong, the UK, Europe, and South Korea on-chain, with further expansion to other asset classes subject to regulatory approval. Currently, xStocks supports over 500 tokenized securities, with cumulative trading volume exceeding $35 billion and nearly 200,000 holders, but the product is not currently open to US investors.
Odaily Odaily News The Cardano network completed the Van Rossem hard fork upgrade on July 18, upgrading the mainnet protocol version to 11 (Protocol Version 11). This upgrade not only brings smart contract performance optimizations but also marks the first time Cardano has completed a protocol upgrade led by its community governance system, rather than being directly driven by the founding team.Previously, Cardano hard forks were mainly coordinated by core organizations such as the engineering firm Input Output (IOG), which is responsible for development. In contrast, the Van Rossem upgrade was fully facilitated through Cardano's on-chain governance system for proposal, discussion, and voting, becoming the first major upgrade autonomously approved by network participants since Cardano entered the Voltaire governance era.According to on-chain data, the Cardano mainnet upgraded from version 10 in epoch 643 to version 11 in epoch 644, officially activating on July 18 at 21:44 UTC. The upgrade received final approval on July 13, requiring consensus from the representative bodies, the Constitutional Committee, and stake pool operators.Among them, DReps (Delegated Representatives), who vote on behalf of ADA holders in governance, approved the proposal with a 78.97% support rate, exceeding the 60% requirement; all seven members of the Cardano Constitutional Committee confirmed the upgrade complies with constitutional requirements; and stake pool operators, responsible for running the network's infrastructure, approved the upgrade with a 53.02% support rate.The Van Rossem upgrade primarily includes technical improvements such as optimizing the Plutus smart contract platform, reducing smart contract execution costs, and enhancing ledger validation rules. This upgrade also paves the way for the future Dijkstra-era hard fork and the Ouroboros Leios scaling solution.Ouroboros Leios aims to enhance the processing capacity of Cardano’s proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. It is expected to launch in 2026, potentially significantly increasing the network's transaction throughput while maintaining security.For ordinary ADA users, this upgrade does not bring significant operational changes; wallets do not need updating, and transfer methods and fees remain the same. However, in the long run, Plutus optimizations could lower the operational costs of decentralized applications (DeFi, NFTs, etc.), providing lower-cost infrastructure for ecosystem development.Cardano stated that the greatest significance of Van Rossem is not merely the technical upgrade, but the shift in governance model—the future direction of the network will be determined by community votes, rather than being entirely controlled by the founding team. This means ADA holders now truly possess governance rights to participate in protocol evolution for the first time. (CoinDesk)
According to CoinDesk, Zcash has released the full node software Zakura 1.0.0, a new client refactored based on Zebra that supports pruning, snapshot synchronization, and compatibility mode with the legacy zcashd, capable of reducing new node startup time to within two minutes. The project is maintained by Zcash zero-knowledge cryptography founding member Sean Bowe and Valar Group head Dev Ojha, aiming to lay the foundation for Zcash's subsequent scaling to throughput capabilities approaching those of Visa and Mastercard.
Robinhood is betting on the decentralized finance (DeFi) market by building its own blockchain, Robinhood Chain, aiming to bring over 10 million active users into the on-chain ecosystem. However, current trading activity on the network is still primarily driven by meme coin speculation, while the initial vision of tokenizing real-world assets (RWA) has yet to gain traction.Trading volume on Robinhood Chain has seen rapid growth recently. On July 12, the chain’s 24-hour DEX trading volume reached approximately $878 million, briefly surpassing Coinbase’s Base and Ethereum to rank among the top in decentralized trading volume, sparking interest in the crypto community. However, Robinhood Chain is still in its early stages. Data shows:1. On July 13, the chain’s perpetual contract trading volume was only about $5.9 million, while leading on-chain derivatives platform Hyperliquid recorded a trading volume of $8.9 billion during the same period;2. Robinhood Chain’s bridged TVL is reported at around $734 million, but the actual on-chain total value locked (TVL) is approximately $211 million, with some assets remaining in wallets and not entering lending or yield protocols;3. The market capitalization of tokenized RWA assets currently stands at just about $12.66 million.Currently, most of the trading activity on Robinhood Chain comes from meme coins. The CASHCAT token, recently launched on the chain, surged over 2,100% in one week, reaching a market cap of $156 million at one point—12 times the size of the entire RWA market on the chain.Robinhood stated that early on-chain activity is meeting expectations, with developers building out the ecosystem and users actively engaging with the network. The company emphasized that the long-term goal remains to bring real-world assets like stocks and ETFs on-chain, enabling services such as 24/7 trading and on-chain lending.Analysts believe Robinhood Chain’s development trajectory mirrors the early stages of some new public chains: gaining initial traction through speculative trading before proving whether it can convert this into long-term users, a developer ecosystem, and real financial applications. The key going forward will be whether Robinhood can leverage its massive retail user base to transform the short-term meme coin frenzy into a sustainable on-chain financial ecosystem. (CoinDesk)