Author: James Wilson

The state is seeking at least $36 billion in damages from the prediction market platform it calls an unlicensed gambling operation, and has filed for a temporary restraining order to halt its contracts immediately. Summary New York Attorney General Letitia James and Governor Kathy Hochul sued KalshiEX on July 31, 2026, in New York Supreme Court, Manhattan, seeking at least $36 billion in compensatory damages, triple-gains penalties, and $100,000 per unauthorized sports wagering offer. The state simultaneously filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to halt Kalshi’s event contracts in New York immediately, citing ongoing harm to consumers including…

NEAR Protocol has launched a staking-based payment system for its AI platform, allowing users to access confidential inference and autonomous AI agents by locking NEAR tokens instead of paying with a credit card. Summary NEAR Protocol has launched staking based AI payments that convert locked NEAR into monthly compute credits for AI services. Users can access all 43 AI models on NEAR AI without a credit card, while retaining ownership of their staked tokens until they choose to unstake. NEAR said the system supports confidential AI inference and always on agents through an onchain staking mechanism. The launch adds a…

AFX has announced that it has prepared a goodwill plan for users affected by last week’s $24.15 million bridge exploit, with the recovery proposal scheduled for release on Aug. 3. Summary AFX will announce a goodwill plan for users affected by its $24.15 million bridge exploit on Aug. 3. The protocol said its investigation found the attack began with a social engineering campaign that compromised internal development infrastructure. AFX said the exploit targeted its own custody bridge and did not affect Arbitrum’s native bridge. The protocol has rebuilt key infrastructure and introduced additional security measures while recovery efforts continue. According…

Crypto’s next altseason may produce fewer winners as institutional investors direct more capital toward a limited group of tokens, according to Wintermute’s July 30 over-the-counter flow report. Summary 72% of Wintermute’s spot OTC flow came from institutions during the first half of 2026. Institutional token coverage rose 24%, while retail clients expanded their traded universe by 76% overall. Altcoin options notional rose roughly 3.4 times as institutions increasingly pursued yield strategies through derivatives. The market maker said institutional clients generated a record 72% of spot flow across all tokens on its OTC desk during the first half of 2026. Their…

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced the Anti-Corruption Bureau Creation Act on July 30, proposing a federal agency with authority to investigate and pursue executive-branch corruption.  Summary Seven Senate-confirmed members would lead the proposed bureau, with subpoena, enforcement and reporting powers nationwide. Trump’s certified disclosure entries totaled over $1.4 billion across crypto-related ventures during calendar year 2025. Four Democratic senators sponsor the bill; its launch materials named no Republican cosponsor on Friday. Senators Andy Kim, Alex Padilla and Jeff Merkley joined Schumer as original cosponsors.The bill cites President Donald Trump’s 2025 financial disclosure and says he received at least…

The Senate released 616 pages merging two committee drafts into one bill. Here is what the combined text actually does, section by section. Summary Senate Republicans released updated CLARITY Act text on July 22, 2026, merging the Banking and Agriculture committee drafts into a single 616-page bill with more than 70 pages of new language, including a government ethics title negotiated with the White House. The bill divides digital assets into three statutory categories: digital commodities overseen by the CFTC, investment contract assets under the SEC, and permitted payment stablecoins governed by the GENIUS Act, with a maturity certification process…

Strategy reported an $8.33 billion second-quarter operating loss after Bitcoin’s 27% decline this year drove a sharp reduction in the value of its digital asset portfolio. Summary Strategy recorded an $8.32 billion unrealized digital asset loss during the second quarter. Its 843,775 BTC were worth $54.77 billion, below their $63.69 billion acquisition cost. The company posted an $8.22 billion net loss, equal to $24.45 per diluted share. A $3.75 billion dollar reserve provides 2.1 years of preferred dividend coverage under Strategy’s policy. Strategy’s Bitcoin decline drives $8.33B loss Bitcoin traded near $64,700 following Strategy’s earnings announcement, down from approximately $88,400…

Coinbase shares fell in extended trading after the crypto exchange reported a second-quarter loss and lower revenue, overshadowing record market share and growth across stablecoins and derivatives. Summary Coinbase reported a loss of $1.36 per share, reversing earnings of $5.14 a year earlier. Quarterly revenue fell to about $1.2 billion from $1.5 billion in the prior-year period. Coinbase captured a record 10.3% of global crypto trading volume during the quarter. COIN faced immediate support near $152, with the next downside level around $140. Coinbase revenue falls as quarterly loss returns Coinbase generated approximately $1.2 billion in second-quarter revenue, down 20%…

MoonPay has launched PayBox, a noncustodial payment vault that lets users prepare and execute crypto transactions or online purchases through ChatGPT and Claude. Summary PayBox connects with ChatGPT and Claude through custom connectors and natural-language commands. Users can buy, swap, bridge or deposit crypto and complete travel, dining and retail purchases. Passkey approvals and user-defined spending limits control what connected AI assistants can execute. MoonPay supports Solana and several EVM networks, including Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum and Polygon. MoonPay PayBox turns AI conversations into transactions PayBox allows users to connect a payment vault to ChatGPT or Anthropic’s Claude and describe a…

Google is reportedly backing a proposed $15 billion financing package for an Anthropic-linked data center in Texas, extending an AI infrastructure boom that has also lifted Bitcoin miners expanding into high-performance computing. Summary Nexus is in advanced talks to raise $15 billion for its Hubbard, Texas, data-center campus. Google would guarantee parts of Anthropic’s leases and receive an estimated 20% project stake. The campus includes an on-site natural-gas plant capable of generating 1.6 gigawatts. AI-focused mining stocks rallied Thursday, with IREN, Hut 8 and CleanSpark gaining more than 20%. Google and Anthropic financing terms A group of banks led by…