Author: James Wilson
Bitcoin has fallen more than 50% from its $125,000 cycle peak, but Grayscale’s Zach Pandl has argued that the cryptocurrency may have already reached its bottom if the Federal Reserve stops raising interest rates. Summary Zach Pandl says Bitcoin may have bottomed if the Fed ends rate hikes and economic growth remains stable. Grayscale sees the CLARITY Act, Fed policy, and Strategy’s finances as key factors for Bitcoin. Strategy’s $216 million Bitcoin sale strengthened its cash reserve and reduced concerns about forced selling. Grayscale Research has presented two competing views of when the current Bitcoin bear market could end, with…
Polymarket has announced a French court challenge five days after regulators ordered internet providers to block the platform over gambling-loss and market-manipulation concerns. Summary Polymarket will challenge France’s decision to block its website through the country’s courts. French regulators cited gambling losses, contract manipulation and suspected use of insider information. U.S. authorities are separately examining sports contracts, customer protection and prediction-market integrity. Reuters reported on July 22 that the crypto-based prediction market intends to contest the National Gambling Authority’s decision through France’s legal system. “We are disappointed by the French gaming authority’s (ANJ’s) sudden decision to unilaterally block our website…
Bitcoin price has fallen more than 1% below $66,000 as renewed U.S.-Iran threats have lifted oil prices and increased expectations for another Federal Reserve rate hike this year. Summary Bitcoin price slipped below $66,000 as Trump’s latest Iran threat pressured risk assets. Rising oil prices pushed traders to increase bets on another Fed rate hike. BTC faces resistance near $67,300, while support sits between $64,500 and $65,500. According to data from crypto.news, Bitcoin (BTC) price was trading near $65,700 on July 22 after reaching an intraday high of roughly $66,886, leaving the cryptocurrency under pressure as traders weighed another escalation…
The merged CLARITY Act runs on one invented term: the ancillary asset, a token sold with a securities offering that is not itself a security. Here is where the concept came from, exactly how it works, why a16z tried to kill it, and what it means for every token you hold. Summary An ancillary asset is the CLARITY framework’s central category: an intangible, commercially fungible asset, distributed in connection with the purchase and sale of a security through an investment-contract arrangement, that is not itself a security. The definitional cut is what the token does not give you: no debt…
Two developers went to prison-facing trials over four words in a 1970s-era framework: what counts as transmitting money. The answer decides whether writing DeFi code is a regulated financial business or protected publishing, and Section 604 of the CLARITY Act is Congress’s attempt to settle it. Summary A money transmitter is a business that accepts currency or value from one person and transmits it to another person or location. Under the Bank Secrecy Act, transmitters are regulated financial institutions with anti-money-laundering duties, and operating one without licenses is a federal crime under Section 1960. The definition was built for Western…
Bitcoin price has pulled back toward $65,700 after approaching $67,000, as caution before Alphabet’s earnings and a sharp oil rally pushed traders away from risk assets. Summary Bitcoin price pulled back below $66,000 as tech earnings uncertainty and rising oil prices weighed on sentiment. ETF inflows remained positive, while BTC faced a key market structure test near $66,950. Losing $64,992 could expose deeper support, while a breakout may trigger liquidations toward $68,000. According to data from crypto.news, Bitcoin (BTC) price traded near $65,970 at press time, down about 1.5% on the daily chart after reaching an intraday high of $66,886.…
The lobby representing JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup has retained counsel to challenge the regulator that approved crypto’s bank charters. No suit has been filed. The threat is doing the work, and the fight underneath it decides who gets to be a bank in America. Summary The Bank Policy Institute, whose board includes the CEOs of JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup, has retained outside counsel and is weighing a lawsuit against the OCC over national trust bank charters granted to crypto firms. The trigger was December’s batch of conditional approvals, Ripple, Circle, Paxos, BitGo, and Fidelity Digital Assets in a…
Uphold has launched U.S. stock and exchange-traded fund trading inside its crypto platform, giving eligible U.S. customers access to more than 4,000 listed securities. Summary Uphold now lets U.S. customers trade directly between supported cryptocurrencies and over 4,000 listed securities. Crypto-funded stock purchases convert assets into dollars before securities trades execute through Uphold’s registered broker-dealer. The platform plans extended 24/5 trading as crypto companies increasingly compete across traditional financial markets. Users can move from supported cryptocurrencies into stocks or ETFs through one transaction flow inside the app.The trade does not move directly from cryptocurrency into shares at the settlement level.…
The Digital Chamber has challenged Illinois’ new 0.2% digital asset transaction tax in court, arguing that the law unfairly targets blockchain-based commerce and violates constitutional protections. Summary The Digital Chamber has sued Illinois to block its 0.2% tax on digital asset transactions before it takes effect in 2027. The trade group argues the law unfairly taxes blockchain based transactions differently from similar financial activity. The lawsuit adds to growing industry opposition after crypto firms and federal officials criticized the Illinois tax. According to a complaint filed Tuesday in an Illinois circuit court, crypto trade association The Digital Chamber (TDC) is…
Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency has created a dedicated cryptocurrency investigation unit as the country builds a broader system for regulating and policing digital assets. Summary Pakistan’s FIA created a specialist crypto unit to investigate money laundering and terrorism financing cases. The new unit will operate alongside PVARA as Pakistan expands oversight of licensed digital assets. Officials also want cybercrime and anti-narcotics agencies to build dedicated teams for crypto-linked criminal investigations. The new unit sits within the FIA’s National Command and Control Centre, or NC3, and will investigate the suspected use of cryptocurrencies in money laundering, terrorism financing and other crimes,…