Crypto Industry News & Market Trends

US House weighs sports-contract ban threatening Kalshi and Polymarket

The US House Agriculture Committee has scheduled a hearing on sports prediction markets as two gaming associations press Congress to prohibit sports contracts offered by platforms including Kalshi and Polymarket.　　According to a committee release, the Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development will examine customer protections and market integrity across prediction markets. Legal specialists and executives representing the American Gaming Association and Indian Gaming Association are expected to testify.　　The hearing comes as state authorities challenge whether sports event contracts qualify as federally regulated derivatives or unlicensed gambling products. Kalshi and Polymarket have faced claims from regulators that their sports markets resemble conventional betting services, despite operating within the prediction-market sector.　　At the federal level, prediction-market supporters maintain that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission already possesses enough authority to oversee event contracts. Gaming associations, however, want lawmakers to prevent regulated exchanges from offering contracts based on sporting events.　　Gaming groups want sports contracts prohibited　　Legal expert Daniel Wallach, who reviewed the witnesses‘ prepared testimony, noted that supporters of prediction markets are asking Congress not to pass new legislation clarifying the CFTC’s authority. According to Wallach, those witnesses believe the existing legal framework already allows the regulator to supervise platforms such as Polymarket.　　Robert

07-21Industry

Russia's First Comprehensive Crypto Law Is Two Votes Away From Passing

In briefThe State Dumas second and third readings of a pending crypto bill are scheduled for July 21; if approved, the law takes effect September 1.The bill explicitly permits crypto only for international trade, giving Russian companies a legal mechanism to route payments outside Western banking channels.Domestic crypto payments remain banned.　　Russias State Duma, the lower house of its legislative body, takes its final two votes on the countrys first comprehensive cryptocurrency law on Tuesday.　　The bill—titled “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights”—still needs Senate approval and Russian President Vladimir Putins signature after that, a process Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, expects to take another two weeks. The law would then take effect on September 1.　　The original target was July 1, but the delay came from coordination bottlenecks between government agencies, per reports by the Russian outlet Kommersant.　　What the bill creates　　The legislation sets up a licensing regime—a government-issued permit system—for crypto exchanges, brokers, and custodians (companies that store cryptocurrency on your behalf, the way a bank holds cash). The Bank of Russia becomes the authority issuing those permits and can bar any cryptocurrency it deems a threat to financial stability.　　Major financial institutions arent waiting: VTB and

07-21Industry

RBNZ Sectoral Factor Inflation Model holds steady at 2.7% YoY in Q2 2026

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) published its Sectoral Factor Model Inflation gauge for the second quarter of 2026, following the release of the official Consumer Price Index (CPI) by NZ Stats on Tuesday.　　The inflation gauge came in at 2.7% year-over-year (YoY) in Q2 2026 vs. 2.7% in Q1.　　The inflation measures are closely watched by the RBNZ, which has a monetary policy goal of achieving 1% to 3% inflation.　　Market reaction　　The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) faces some selling pressure on the RBNZs inflation data release. At the time of writing, NZD/USD is off the seven-week high of 0.5874, still up 0.36% on the day at 0.5858.　　About the RBNZ Sectoral Factor Model Inflation　　The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has a set of models that produce core inflation estimates. The sectoral factor model estimates a measure of core inflation based on co-movements – the extent to which individual price series move together. It takes a sectoral approach, estimating core inflation based on two sets of prices: prices of tradable items, which are those either imported or exposed to international competition, and prices of non-tradable items, which are those produced domestically and not facing competition from imports.　　Inflation FAQs　　Inflation measures the rise in the

07-21Industry

Ethereum Could Lead the Next Bull Market: Is Hayes Preparing with More Buys？

Arthur Hayes bought another 1,332.5 ETH ($2.53 million) today, according to on-chain tracking data shared on X.The purchase extends a buying streak from the BitMEX co-founder. It also renews attention on Ethereums institutional demand story.　　Hayes sold 6,000 ETH at a roughly $606,000 loss in June. He then reversed course with a series of buybacks in July as some discuss Ethereums role in the next bull run for crypto.　　Hayes Extends a Pattern of ETH Accumulation　　The latest purchase follows Hayes return to Ethereum earlier this month. He acquired roughly 1,939 ETH then across two OTC-style transactions. That reversal came weeks after his June exit.　　Critics have flagged Hayes record of praising tokens like HYPE, ZEC, and WLD before quietly exiting those positions. Ether trades at $1,906, up 1.74% over 24 hours, with a market capitalization over $230 billion.　　Ethereum has been climbing over the past month. Image Source: BeInCryptoSome See Institutional Demand Driving the Next Cycle　　With some larger accumulation and whale movement around ETH, some are noting a broader shift in Ethereum‘s bull case toward institutions. Bitmine Immersion Technologies Chairman Tom Lee argues that Wall Street adoption now drives Ethereum’s growth, not crypto-native speculation. He points to BlackRock‘s tokenized BUIDL fund and Robinhood Chain’s

07-21Industry

WETH Whale Activity Hits Highest Since 2021 As ETF And DeFi Demand Converge

Wrapped Ethereum‘s whale transaction count has just breached a level untouched for half a decade. According to the Santiment update, the WETH network recorded 113,000 transactions exceeding $100,000 in the past seven days—the highest since May 2021. The number is not just a statistical curiosity. WETH functions as the plumbing for Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem, and a spike of this magnitude suggests serious capital is moving through trading, lending, and liquidity rails, not parking idly in cold storage.　　The market backdrop makes the signal even harder to dismiss. U.S. spot Ether ETFs have been absorbing accelerated inflows, with BlackRocks ETH products among the beneficiaries. Over on the L2 frontier, Robinhood Chain launched on July 1 and has been processing substantial DEX volume, using ETH for gas fees. That kind of utility-driven consumption feeds directly into WETH demand, since the wrapped asset is the standard for most DeFi interactions. It is a different kind of demand than the retail-driven mania of 2021.　　Institutional and Treasury Activity Aligns　　Corporates are adding their own weight. Bitmine lifted its Ethereum stack to around 5.8 million ETH, a figure that places it among the protocols largest known holders. Bitmine, SharpLink, and Joe Lubin also threw their support behind Ethlabs,

07-21Industry

Bitcoin treasury company discovers buying own stock adds 24% more BTC per share than buying Bitcoin

When a Bitcoin treasury trades for less than the Bitcoin it holds, the cheapest way to increase gross Bitcoin exposure per share may be to buy back its own stock.　　UK-listed B HODL Plc tested that inversion during its first week of repurchases. It paid about £37,985 before fees to retire 823,400 shares, generating about 24% more gross sats-per-share accretion per pound than using the same cash to buy Bitcoin at the comparison price.　　That 24% edge is before fees, and the numbers stop short of showing a full NAV-per-share gain.　　B HODLs official dashboard on July 19 showed 166.487 BTC, a 5.25 pence share price and a £7.385 million market capitalization. At the displayed Bitcoin price of £48,237, the holdings were worth about £8.031 million, leaving a roughly £646,000 gap.　　Applying the latest announced post-cancellation share count at the same stock price puts the equity value at about £7.378 million, roughly £652,000 or 8.1% below the Bitcoin value. Both sides of the comparison move continuously.　　Why buying shares beat buying Bitcoin　　B HODLs £100,000 buyback authorization took effect July 9. Disclosures covering purchases on July 9, July 10, July 13, July 15, and July 16 total 823,400 shares at a calculated weighted average of 4.613

07-21Industry

Cardano Triggers Hard Fork With First Community-Voted Upgrade

In briefCardano activated the Van Rossem hard fork on July 18, reaching protocol version 11 with zero downtime.Its the networks first major upgrade ratified entirely through on-chain community governance, without any centralized company directing the process.The fork lowers Plutus smart contract execution costs and bundles five technical improvements, including new cryptographic tools and a security fix requiring every stake pool to use a unique cryptographic key.　　Cardano has hard forked, implementing the Van Rossem upgrade over the weekend and transitioning the network to protocol version 11.　　It‘s not the first time Cardano has executed a hard fork—but it is the first time it’s done so without the intervention of the blockchains founding development company, Input Output. That makes how it happened at least as important as what the upgrade does.　　A hard fork—a permanent, mandatory update to a blockchains core rules, applied simultaneously across every computer running the network—is a pretty serious deal. Throughout Cardano‘s history, it’s been Input Output thats decided on these kinds of network changes.　　Van Rossem, which sets the stage for improved scalability and lower costs on the network, is the first major Cardano upgrade ratified entirely through on-chain governance, meaning elected community members, server operators, and an oversight committee

07-21Industry

Bola Tinubu targets crypto loopholes with sweeping Nigeria order

Nigerias President Bola Tinubu has signed an executive order targeting regulatory gaps in a crypto market that received about $59 billion in inflows between July 2023 and June 2024, according to the International Monetary Fund.　　SummaryTinubus executive order coordinates crypto oversight without creating a new regulator.Nigeria will tighten registration, tax reporting and supervision of virtual asset firms.IMF data shows Nigeria received $59 billion in crypto inflows within one year.　　Tinubu‘s office said the order will coordinate digital asset oversight across Nigeria’s financial, tax and capital market agencies while preserving the legal powers of each regulator.　　Signed on Friday, the directive creates a common framework for virtual asset regulation and seeks closer cooperation among agencies responsible for supervising Nigerias financial system. Presidential special adviser Bayo Onanuga said the framework will also protect users from fraud, support responsible innovation and preserve financial stability.　　Rather than forming another watchdog, the order creates a virtual asset council led by senior financial regulators. According to Onanuga, the council will guide policy and help agencies address regulatory gaps that previously allowed some unregistered businesses to operate without oversight.　　“Each institution retains its full statutory mandate and independence, and the framework coordinates their work rather than replacing it.”　　You might also like:　　SEC targets

07-21Industry

AI-assisted hacking is outpacing traditional code reviews, NEAR co-founder says

Quick TakeNEAR co-founder Polosukhin called formal verification a necessary shift for securing blockchain code from AI hacking.AI has cut some mathematical proof-generation work from years to weeks.　　Artificial intelligence is supercharging hackers ability to find software vulnerabilities faster than traditional security can patch them, according to NEAR Protocol co-founder Illia Polosukhin, who argues that developers should be turning to mathematical proofs to secure their code.　　“I would actually say last October — I think Balancer was the first one — thats when AI-assisted hacking started,” Polosukhin said Monday in an interview with Gareth Jenkinson on The Blocks The Starting Block podcast.　　Polosukhin said cybersecurity up to this point has mostly involved “smart people” reviewing code and hoping that no one smarter finds something they missed. That mindset was already imperfect before the rise of AI, he said, but newer and more capable models are making it even less sustainable.　　“We need a different way of thinking,” Polosukhin said. “It‘s not like, Oh, we’re going to review everything with a better model and hope that the next better model is not going to find it.”　　His proposed solution is formal verification that mathematically proves code “does what it says it does.” This process has been historically

07-21Industry

Robert Kiyosaki Reveals What He Would Do With $10,000 If He Lost Everything

Key TakeawaysRobert Kiyosaki would use the hypothetical $10,000 for financial education, mentorship, and income-producing skills before purchasing assets.Kiyosaki says the central mistake is rushing into investments without first understanding how money and deals work.His strategy relies on finding fundable opportunities while preventing fear and greed from controlling financial decisions.　　Why Would Robert Kiyosaki Refuse to Invest the $10,000？　　During a July 18 episode of The Rich Dad Radio Show, Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki outlined a hypothetical financial reset at age 79. He said that if he lost everything, including his businesses, real estate, and gold, and was left with $10,000 to start over, he would not invest any of it.　　The famous author said:　　“Im 79 years old. If I lost everything today, every business, every property, every ounce of gold, and someone handed me $10,000, I would not invest it. Not $1.”　　His refusal is central to the scenario, as he believes money produces different results depending on the knowledge of the person controlling it.　　The position contrasts with Kiyosaki‘s broader investment message. He has repeatedly recommended gold, silver and bitcoin as protection against what he calls “fake money,” warning that rising U.S. debt and flawed financial policies will erode fiat currencies.

07-21Industry

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