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The Big Story
Strategy And BlackRock Launch Bitcoin Quantum Security Consortium
BlackRock, Strategy, Coinbase, Fidelity Digital Assets, and five other firms have pledged $15 million over three years to fund Bitcoin security research, launching the Bitcoin Security Consortium (BSC)—one of the first coordinated industry efforts to support open-source developers who maintain the network. Founding members include Strategy, BlackRock, Fidelity Digital Assets, Coinbase, Riot Platforms, Galaxy Digital, Exodus, Anchorage Digital, and Magma. The consortium will direct capital toward protocol security research, focusing on quantum resistance and long-term cryptographic hardening as computational threats evolve, marking a rare moment of institutional alignment around core infrastructure rather than product development.
Breaking News
EU Blacklists 14 Crypto Platforms Over Russian Sanction Evasion: The European Union approved its 21st sanctions package against Russia, targeting 14 crypto service platforms and 94 banks and financial institutions across six jurisdictions.
Circle Mints $250M USDC to Fuel Solana Liquidity Surge: Circle minted another $250 million USDC on Solana, expanding the chain's stablecoin supply as onchain activity continues to climb.
ETH Whale Loses $10.8 Million After Eight Months of Dormancy: An Ethereum wallet identified as 0x446B executed a full liquidation of its ETH holdings on July 24, offloading 8,010 ETH worth $15.11 million into open market liquidity at a steep realized loss.
Robinhood CEO X Account Hacked To Push Fake Vlad Memecoin: Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev's X account was compromised Thursday in a scheme to promote a fraudulent memecoin called Vladhood ($VLAD) as the official Robinhood Chain mascot.
Top Stories
Sen. Thune Vows CLARITY Act Vote Next Week, With Or Without Democrats
Senate Majority Leader John Thune stated Wednesday he intends to bring the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act to a full Senate floor vote next week, whether or not Democrats sign on. The updated bill text introduces ethics guardrails prohibiting the president, vice president, members of Congress, federal judges, and other covered officials from issuing or sponsoring digital assets while in office. Sen. Gallego, however, criticized the Republican ethics draft, calling it a "piece of s**t" and dismissing it as "not a serious effort," escalating a partisan dispute that continues to cloud the bill's trajectory.
Ondo Brings Tokenized Stocks To The US
Ondo Finance cleared a major regulatory milestone in bringing tokenized securities to American investors. Its SEC-registered broker-dealer subsidiary, Oasis Pro Markets, received U.S. regulatory authorization to offer compliant tokenized corporate equities and funds to domestic financial institutions and retail investors. The approval gives Ondo a direct path to market regulated digital securities onchain without relying on offshore structures or unregistered issuance frameworks.
Ripple Launches Ripple Mint for Institutional RLUSD Operations
Ripple introduced Ripple Mint, a unified platform providing institutions with a single interface to mint, redeem, and manage $RLUSD across multiple blockchains. The platform supports web console access and direct API integrations for exchanges, payment providers, fintech firms, market makers, and enterprise clients. Ripple Mint streamlines multi-chain liquidity workflows and offers institutional users programmatic control over stablecoin reserves.
Deep Dive of the Week
Is Circle Planning to Launch a Korean Won Stablecoin?
Circle's X feed published a series of handshake emojis on July 23, signaling a memorandum of understanding that may indicate the company's next major fiat-backed stablecoin expansion. This breakdown examines Circle's Korean partnerships, the strategic importance of the KRW market for stablecoin adoption, and whether the agreement precedes regulated local currency issuance.
By the Numbers
$15 million: Total pledged by BlackRock, Strategy, Fidelity, and five other firms over three years to fund Bitcoin protocol security research through the new Bitcoin Security Consortium.
14 platforms: Number of crypto exchanges blacklisted by the European Union in its 21st Russia sanctions package, covering six jurisdictions.
$250 million: Fresh USDC minted by Circle on Solana as liquidity and onchain activity continue to expand across the network.
$300 million: Total value locked in Robinhood Chain DeFi protocols, reaching the milestone three weeks after the network's July 1 launch.
$10.8 million: Realized loss taken by Ethereum whale 0x446B after liquidating 8,010 ETH following eight months of dormancy.
6 consecutive days: US spot Bitcoin ETF inflow streak, pulling in roughly $930 million since July 14 as BTC reclaimed $66,000.
On Our Radar
Coinbase enables AI agent payments: Coinbase Business users can now accept $USDC payments directly from AI agents via the X402 protocol, positioning autonomous software at the core of digital commerce.
BitMEX shutting down: BitMEX will permanently cease cryptocurrency exchange operations on September 23, 2026, concluding over 11 years of operations following a strategic review by HDR Global Trading Limited.
Oil tops $100: Brent crude broke above $100 a barrel for the first time in nearly two months as escalating Red Sea shipping attacks heighten concerns over Middle East supply chain disruptions.
Ethiopia doubles down on crypto ban: Ethiopia's National Bank issued a formal notice confirming its prohibition covers all digital assets, even as national industrial operations continue mining Bitcoin at scale.
Until Monday.