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Crypto startups completed USD 11.2 billion in funding in the first half of 2026, with all disclosed capital flowing to regulated, licensed enterprises. Payments and stablecoins, prediction markets, exchanges, and trading platforms received the most funding. Major backers include Wall Street and large global financial institutions, whose investment focus is on licensed and compliant companies. Investors and founders increasingly view regulatory licenses as scarce and defensive assets, while retail investors still primarily trade on unlicensed or alternative platforms. (CoinDesk)
Odaily Planet Daily: Crypto asset trading platform Bullish has announced its financial results for Q2 2026. The company stated that as global securities markets gradually migrate to public blockchains, Bullish is planning to build a comprehensive issuer-supported tokenized securities service system covering issuance, listing, trading, and tracking.Bullish CEO Tom Farley stated that the global securities market, valued at nearly $300 trillion, is transitioning to public blockchains, and Bullish aims to work with issuers to drive this process. Upon completion of the proposed acquisition of Equiniti, the company will form an integrated platform covering tokenized securities issuance, listing, trading, and tracking.Financial data shows that Bullish's Q2 digital asset sales reached $32.6 billion, down from $58.6 billion in the same period last year; the net loss was $280 million, compared to a net profit of $108.3 million in the same period last year, corresponding to a diluted loss per share of $1.78.However, the company's core business performance improved. Q2 adjusted revenue (non-IFRS) reached $92.6 million, up 62% year-over-year from $57 million in the same period last year; among which subscription, services, and other revenue hit a record $62.7 million. Adjusted trading revenue was $29.9 million, up 24% year-over-year; adjusted EBITDA was $29.5 million, compared to $8.1 million in the same period last year; adjusted net profit was $14.3 million, compared to a loss of $6 million in the same period last year.In terms of business progress, Bullish stated that the acquisition of UK fintech company Equiniti is progressing and is expected to be completed in early 2027, subject to customary conditions including regulatory approvals. Additionally, Bullish's CoinDesk indices continue to gain institutional adoption. Morgan Stanley has launched Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana-related trading products based on CoinDesk benchmark indices, attracting over $400 million in inflows during Q2.On the regulatory front, Bullish has received approval from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) to provide secondary trading services for tokenized securities, becoming one of the first regulated platforms to offer issuer-supported tokenized securities trading.The company has also raised and refined its full-year 2026 guidance, projecting subscription, services, and other revenue (non-IFRS) of $225 million to $245 million, adjusted operating expenses of $225 million to $230 million, and financing costs of $52 million to $60 million. (Globenewswire)
Odaily News: Flight data company FlightAware has withdrawn its lawsuit against prediction market platform Kalshi. The lawsuit was filed only one day prior, with FlightAware alleging that Kalshi used its flight data and trademarks without authorization to support bets related to flight cancellations. This withdrawal does not affect the possibility of FlightAware refiling the lawsuit. The case comes amid growing scrutiny on social media over Kalshi's aviation-related contracts, with questions raised about potential incentives for malicious interference with flights, alongside relatively low retail participation. Neither company has publicly commented on the case. The lawsuit had raised questions about whether prediction markets can use third-party data and trademarks without a commercial agreement, while Kalshi continues to face other regulatory and legal challenges in multiple states. (CoinDesk)
Odaily News: The Central Bank of Russia (Bank of Russia) will restrict retail investors from trading cryptocurrencies on regulated exchanges starting September 1, with trading limited to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT only. Non-qualified investors will have an annual purchase limit of 300,000 rubles (approximately $3,600) through a single intermediary, while qualified investors will not be subject to any upper limit. These rules further clarify the legislation passed in July, but cryptocurrency payments remain prohibited under current laws in Russia. (CoinDesk)
Odaily News: The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that it has required prediction market operator Kalshi to continue operating in New York. Previously, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against the company in late July, seeking to shut down the platform. The CFTC stated that after Kalshi sought assistance, the regulator invoked its "emergency powers" to require the company to continue operations. This action has intensified the rift between federal commodity regulators and state regulators over prediction markets. States argue that at least sports-related prediction markets constitute gambling platforms and violate state regulations; CFTC Chairman Mike Selig stated that Congress did not intend for derivatives exchanges to be subject to a regulatory framework composed of state gambling laws. (CoinDesk)
Odaily News: Itaú, the largest bank in Latin America by asset size, is partnering with OpenAssets to participate in an industry-led pilot of tokenized fixed income and investment funds. Brazil has become a testing ground for placing bonds, credit, and other financial assets on blockchain under a regulatory framework. (CoinDesk)
According to CoinDesk, Australia's financial crime regulator AUSTRAC has suspended Cryptolink Pty Ltd's registration for three months, causing its 96 cryptocurrency ATMs within Australia to cease service.
Odaily News: The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has suspended the registration of cryptocurrency ATM operator Cryptolink for a three-month period, resulting in the shutdown of 96 cryptocurrency ATMs it operates across Australia. AUSTRAC stated that Cryptolink failed to submit transaction reports and did not respond to the regulator's requests for information. The agency noted that cash-to-cryptocurrency conversion services may pose money laundering risks and has intensified its scrutiny of cryptocurrency ATMs. (CoinDesk)
According to Odaily, Randi Abernethy, Head of Clearing and Group Risk at Bullish, stated that the U.S. Senate's failure to pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act) does not mean the digital asset market will stop developing; rather, it highlights the necessity of establishing a federal regulatory framework.Abernethy noted that during the Senate's consideration of the CLARITY Act, traditional U.S. financial institutions have continued to accelerate their entry into the on-chain market. JPMorgan Chase has explored tokenized ETF holdings through a production pilot with the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), and more than 50 institutions (including BlackRock and Goldman Sachs) are also participating in the development of tokenized stock and Treasury bond infrastructure. The current regulatory discussion is no longer just a "crypto industry issue," but one that concerns the future infrastructure of the entire financial system.Abernethy cited the 2008 financial crisis as an example, noting that financial risk spreads along shared infrastructure, and even institutions not directly involved in related assets can be affected. Today, the stablecoin market size has exceeded $100 billion, with a large portion of stablecoin reserves invested in U.S. Treasuries. If a major stablecoin were to face a crisis, it could impact liquidity in traditional financial markets. She stated that supporters of the CLARITY Act believe the bill could establish a unified regulatory framework for the digital asset market, including core investor protection mechanisms such as customer asset segregation, conflict of interest management, capital requirements, and information disclosure. (CoinDesk)
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 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, Bitcoin's 30-day implied volatility has fallen to the 36% long-term support bottom, with prices trading in a narrow range below $65,000. Adam Haeems, Head of Asset Management at Tesseract Group, warned that in a low-volatility environment, declining trading costs actually attract traders to establish large-scale directional bets and hedge positions. Once the market breaks through key levels, market makers' passive hedging will accelerate price volatility, leading to a mean-reverting rebound in volatility. Regarding market sentiment, Paul Howard, Senior Director at Wincent, pointed out that current demand for put options has significantly weakened, but call option buying is also absent—Glassnode describes this as "no one is paying for upside, and no one is paying for downside," believing this is typically a signal that the market is approaching a cycle bottom. The divergence in price trends between DOGE and BTC also confirms the continued absence of speculative sentiment. Howard stated that the next significant catalyst could be institutional ETF fund inflows driven by positive regulatory developments such as the Clarity Act, while a breakdown in Strait of Hormuz negotiations and inflation shocks constitute major downside risks.
According to CoinDesk, the S&P 500 index has risen 3.12% this month, adding approximately $2.1 trillion in market value (equivalent to the total market cap of the entire crypto market), reaching a record high total market cap of $70.5 trillion, but Bitcoin has only risen about 2% this month, hovering near $64,600. Analysts point out that this round of stock market rise is mainly driven by AI and semiconductor individual stock narratives, rather than a broad-based recovery in risk appetite at the macro level, and Bitcoin lacks direct beneficial exposure to this. Meanwhile, the crypto market also faces multiple internal pressures: the Coldcard platform suffered a $120 million exploit, the prospects of the "Clarity Act" remain uncertain, MicroStrategy has reduced its BTC holdings for three consecutive months, and stablecoin supply continues to shrink—USDT's market cap dropped from $190 billion in April to $183 billion, and USDC's dropped from $79.5 billion to $72 billion.
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, the 30-day implied volatility index BVIV, which measures expected volatility in the Bitcoin options market, has continued to decline, now falling to 36%, the lowest level since May 31, significantly down from the high near 60% in early June. Recent influencing factors include the Coldcard wallet attack incident involving tens of millions of dollars, weak institutional demand, and uncertainty in the regulatory and macroeconomic environment, but there are no obvious signs of panic in the market. However, volatility has mean-reverting characteristics. When the indicator falls to historical lows, a rebound often follows. Currently, BVIV has approached levels that have previously formed support multiple times. If volatility rebounds quickly in the future, it may be accompanied by a significant directional move in Bitcoin; whether up or down, traders need to remain vigilant.
据 CoinDesk 报道，Robinhood 英国子公司已于 7 月 31 日被列入英国金融行为监管局（FCA）注册加密资产公司名单，意味着其符合监管机构在反洗钱（AML）方面的要求。该注册体系自 2020 年生效以来，已有超 50 家公司获批，包括 Ripple、Kraken 及 BlackRock、BNY 等传统金融巨头。 此次获批正值英国更全面的加密监管框架即将启动之际，新框架的授权申请将于 9 月底开放，次年 2 月底截止，完整监管制度将于 10 月正式生效。已在现行体系下完成注册的公司，意味着为后续申请提前完成了大量准备工作。
According to CoinDesk, Coinbase Canada's new CEO Eric Richmond stated at the Toronto Blockchain Futurist Conference that Coinbase aims to become Canada's "all-in-one exchange," fully introducing products such as derivatives, decentralized finance (DeFi), and tokenized assets into the Canadian market to achieve "24/7, seamless, frictionless" one-stop financial services.
According to CoinDesk, the world's largest custodian bank, The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY), announced it will migrate its transfer agent core bookkeeping business to the blockchain, involving approximately $8.6 trillion in assets and 7.6 million accounts, aiming to establish a single on-chain ownership ledger and reduce reliance on multi-layer intermediaries. BNY client Baillie Gifford (managing over $261 billion) will be the first to use the service, launching the UK's first fully locally regulated tokenized fund, while BlackRock and its money market business Dreyfus also plan to follow suit. BNY stated that existing traditional systems will continue to run in parallel, with trillions of dollars in funds remaining on the traditional track in the short term.
According to CoinDesk, U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Minnesota Katherine Menendez ruled on July 28 local time that the Minnesota state law criminalizing the operation of prediction markets likely violates the federal Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), and granted a preliminary injunction to Kalshi, Polymarket, and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to suspend the enforcement of the state law. The judge held that prediction market contracts structurally fall under 'swap' products within the CFTC's regulatory scope, federal law takes precedence over state law, and the three plaintiffs are 'likely to prevail in the formal trial'. Additionally, the judge noted that failing to suspend the enforcement of the law would cause 'irreparable harm' to Kalshi and Polymarket. The preliminary injunction will remain in effect until the final judgment of the case is issued.