Author: James Wilson

The U.S. House has announced July 14 will mark the beginning of a “Crypto Week” to advance key legislation on digital assets. The U.S. House of Representatives has officially designated the week of July 14 as “Crypto Week,” during which lawmakers will vote on three major pieces of digital asset legislation: the CLARITY Act, the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, and the Senate’s GENIUS Act. Led by Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill and Agriculture Committee Chairman GT Thompson, the initiative aims to establish a clear regulatory framework for digital assets, regulate dollar-backed stablecoins, and block the creation of U.S. central…

HSBC has teamed up with ADX and FAB to introduce the MENA region’s first digitally native bond on blockchain, adding to HSBC’s growing portfolio of digital bond issuances on its Orion platform. HSBC has partnered with Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and First Abu Dhabi Bank to launch the MENA region’s first digitally native bond using distributed ledger technology. As reported by Middle East Economy, ADX has already commenced the pricing process for the product. Issued by FAB, the bond will be launched through HSBC’s Orion platform — a blockchain-based digital asset infrastructure. Orion is operated via the Central Moneymarkets Unit…

Bitstamp by Robinhood has received a Major Payment Institution license from Singaporean financial authorities, following the deadline set for unlicensed crypto firms to cease operations in the region. According to a press release issued on July 3, Bitstamp by Robinhood has received an MPI license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Institutions that hold a major payment institution license are recognized and regulated by financial authorities in the region. License holders are granted permission to provide payment services without having to fulfill monetary thresholds to keep operating. These requirements include a minimum of 3 million SGD in monthly transaction volume…

Ondo Finance and Pantera Capital are committing $250 million to invest in real-world asset projects, deepening their efforts to bring traditional financial markets onto the blockchain.  In an exclusive shared with Axios on July 3, Ondo’s (ONDO) chief strategy officer Ian De Bode said the capital will be deployed through a new initiative called Ondo Catalyst. The new venture will acquire equity and token positions in emerging RWA projects. The investment, a joint effort between Ondo Finance and crypto venture firm Pantera Capital, comes as tokenized securities gain traction among institutions and exchanges. De Bode described the RWA tokenization space…

Polymarket, the crypto-based prediction market platform, is under fire over a high-stakes bet on whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wore a suit before July.  As the $58 million market nears final resolution, allegations of manipulation have shaken user confidence and exposed structural concerns in decentralized dispute systems. According to the official listing, the market titled “Will Zelenskyy wear a suit before July?” was to resolve as “Yes” if Zelenskyy was photographed or videotaped wearing a suit between May 22 and June 30, based on a consensus of credible reporting.  Zelenskyy showed up at a NATO summit in The Hague on…

The IMF has declined Pakistan’s bid for subsidised electricity for crypto mining, despite earlier plans to allocate 2,000 megawatts of surplus power to the sector. In a session with the Senate Standing Committee on Power, chaired by Senator Mohsin Aziz, Secretary of Power Dr. Fakhray Alam Irfan outlined the government’s recent efforts to negotiate subsidised electricity tariffs with the International Monetary Fund, as reported by Pakistan outlet Profit. Dr. Irfan explained that the proposal aimed to offer reduced electricity rates to energy-intensive sectors, particularly crypto mining and certain industrial operations, in hopes of spurring economic activity and utilising surplus power.…

Artificial intelligence company OpenAI has publicly denied any involvement with Robinhood’s tokenized equity campaign, warning that recently promoted stock tokens are not legitimate. In a July X statement by the Open AI Newsroom, the company clarified it had no role in the creation or distribution of the “OpenAI tokens” promoted by Robinhood, which were claimed to represent shares in the firm. “We did not partner with Robinhood, were not involved in this, and do not endorse it,” wrote the company. OpenAI’s statement came shortly after the trading platform’s co-founder and CEO Vlad Tenev announced at an event in Cannes that…

China’s leading tech giants JD.com and Ant Group are actively lobbying Chinese regulators as part of a push to counter the U.S. dollar’s growing digital dominance. Both companies have urged the People’s Bank of China to authorize the issuance of stablecoins based on the offshore yuan in Hong Kong, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. In private talks with the POBC, JD.com has emphasized that offshore yuan stablecoins are urgently necessary to advance the internationalization of the yuan, the sources explained. The same views have been expressed by others. “It would be a strategic risk if cross-border yuan payment…

DOGE price has bounced strongly from its recent low at $0.143, reclaiming key support and setting up for a potential move towards $0.26. Dogecoin (DOGE) has recently broke down from a descending triangle pattern, falling below the key horizontal support zone between $0.165 and $0.17, touching a low near $0.143 on June 22. After hitting that low, the price bounced back strongly, reclaiming that support zone and rising toward the $0.175 level intraday, which is within a demand zone that preceded a parabolic rally in May. The memecoin‘s price is now trading inside the horizontal range between ~$0.143 and ~$0.26,…

Bitcoin and most crypto tokens are rising today, potentially signaling the beginning of a new crypto bull run. Bitcoin (BTC) surged above the key resistance level of $110,000 for the first time in nearly a month. Similarly, most altcoins jumped, with Fartcoin (FARTCOIN), Dogwifhat (WIF), and Celestia (TIA) among the top performers. As a result, 24-hour trading volume across centralized and decentralized exchanges rose by over 30% to $133 billion, while the total market capitalization of all crypto assets increased by 3% to $3.4 trillion. Big Beautiful Bill hopes A likely catalyst for the rally is renewed optimism that the…