Crypto Industry News & Market Trends

Spotlight On Circle Stock As Ark Invest And Cathie Wood Turn Bullish

Key Insights:Cathie Woods Ark Invest injects capital into Circle (CRCL) stock through its ARKK and ARKW ETFs.The CRCL stock flashes accumulation signs near $60 support.Circle makes inroads into South Korea courtesy of its strategic business agreement with Kakao for a local stablecoin pegged to the Korean Won.　　Circle stock has recently been on investors radar for multiple reasons. It stands out as one of the top crypto stocks, especially as the world embraces stablecoins, and its price has recently been heavily discounted. Moreover, some recent developments have been laying the groundwork for potential long-term growth.　　Even some of the top institutional investors have been taking note of Circle stock price potential. This includes Cathie Woods Ark Invest, which has a reputation for building up a solid portfolio that includes crypto investments.　　Interestingly, Ark Invest tracker observed that the company has been expanding its exposure to the stock. Data from Ark Invest ETFs noted that the Ark Innovation ETF acquired 92,352 CRCL shares worth over $5 million on Thursday.　　Ark Invest Bets on Circle (CRCL) Stock | Source: Ark Invest　　According to Ark Invest tracker, Cathie Woods company also acquired 28,272 shares worth over $1.6 million through its Ark Next Generation Internet ETF.　　However, its worth noting

07-25Industry

US Launches Freedom Tech Program With Bitcoin Policy Institute

State Department launches Freedom Tech Excellence Program with Bitcoin Policy Institute as a founding partner for digital freedom.　　The U.S. Department of State has launched a new initiative to bring private sector expertise into its digital freedom work. The Freedom Tech Excellence Program pairs government officials with specialists from technology firms and civil society groups.　　Bitcoin Policy Institute confirmed its role as a founding partner in the effort.　　The program covers online expression, privacy tools, digital surveillance, and AI governance. Officials frame it as a way to strengthen American diplomacy on censorship and authoritarian control abroad.　　What the Freedom Tech Excellence Program Covers　　FTEP allows private sector organizations to send employees into the State Department for limited-term assignments.　　Participants keep their existing jobs while working alongside senior officials on live diplomatic issues. The program targets areas where the department says it lacks sufficient in-house expertise.　　Listed priorities include First Amendment protections in digital spaces and countering unlawful surveillance. Privacy-enhancing technologies such as encryption and VPNs also fall under the programs scope.　　Responsible governance of emerging technologies, including AI, rounds out the stated goals. Child safety online is included as well.　　The department describes the arrangement as a two-way exchange. Private sector participants gain direct insight into foreign policy and

07-25Industry

[Copy] NYT ‘Connections’ Hints And Answers For Sunday, July 19

Todays Connections　　Credit: NYT Erik Kain　　Welcome back, Connectioneers! If you‘re looking for help with today’s puzzling NYT Connections puzzle, Im here to offer my assistance with some extra clues and the solutions to the Yellow, Blue, Green and Purple groups.　　Alright, alright, alright. Sunday Connectioneers, I hope you‘re not working too hard. It’s a day designed by the celestial powers that be for sitting around and soaking up the sun. Head to the beach, but bring your NYT Games App with you and let‘s solve today’s Connections!　　Also be sure to check out my weekend streaming guide for all the best TV shows and movies to watch this weekend. Theres some great new stuff out, both at home and in theaters.　　ForbesWhat To Watch This Weekend: New Shows And Movies To Stream On Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Apple TV And MoreBy Erik Kain　　Lets do this!　　If you‘re looking for Saturday’s Connections guide, its right here.　　Play Puzzles & Games on Forbes　　How To Play Connections　　Connections is the second-most popular NYT Games puzzle game outside of the main crossword itself, and an extremely fun, free offering that will get your brain moving every day. Play it right here.　　The goal is to take a group of 16 words and

07-25Industry

XRP Ledger Adds Mastercard Verifiable Intent for AI Payments

AI Agent Payments on XRP Ledger Gain Enterprise-Grade Trust With Mastercard 　　The XRP Ledger is advancing its push into enterprise-grade AI payments. According to t54, the company behind the XRPL x402 Facilitator, AI agent payments on XRPL now support Mastercards Verifiable Intent (VI) standard, introducing cryptographic authorization and pre-settlement risk checks for autonomous blockchain transactions.　　The integration enables developers to attach verifiable proof of authorization to AI-initiated payments. Beyond a standard wallet signature, each transaction can now prove who approved it, the spending limits attached to it, and the exact purchase it is authorized to complete.　　These credentials are processed through the x402 Facilitator, which routes them to Trustlines risk engine before settlement. Payments are evaluated against predefined authorization rules, adding an extra layer of security before funds move on-chain.　　The system is built on Mastercards Verifiable Intent framework, part of its Agentic Commerce initiative. It uses a three-tier chain of Selective Disclosure JSON Web Token (SD-JWT) credentials, L1, L2, and L3, to verify three critical elements: who authorized the payment, what limits or conditions apply, and which transaction is being approved. This gives AI agents machine-verifiable authorization instead of relying solely on wallet ownership.　　Mastercards Verifiable Intent Adds Trust Layer to XRPL AI

07-25Industry

Bitcoin Faces $7B Liquidity Trap: Will $62K or $65K Break First？

Bitcoin sits between $62K support and $65K resistance zones as traders brace for Mondays Senate vote on the CLARITY Act outcomes.　　Bitcoin dropped from $66,300 to $64,077 in a single session, according to Smart Money Crypto on X. Eighty-four percent of liquidated futures positions in the following 24 hours were longs.　　The pullback pushed price into a tight range between two liquidation clusters. One sits below the market, one sits above it. Traders are now watching which zone breaks first.　　Bitcoin Liquidation Map Shows Two Key Price Zones　　The heavier cluster sits between $61,400 and $62,600, according to data shared by Smart Money Crypto.　　More than seven billion dollars in leveraged positions sit stacked in that range. It marks the densest liquidity pocket on the entire chart. The zone thins out sharply once price drops another thousand dollars below it.　　#Bitcoin ist gestern von $66.300 auf $64.077 durchgereicht worden. In den 24 Stunden danach entfielen 84 Prozent aller liquidierten Futures-Positionen auf Longs.　　Rechnen wir die Karte durch, die um diesen Kurs herum liegt. Liquidität verteilt sich nicht gleichmäßig über die…　　A lighter cluster sits above current price, between $65,000 and $65,400. About five billion dollars in leveraged exposure sits there.　　Bitcoin was trading inside that zone before yesterdays drop.

07-25Industry

Two Ethereum bridges lose $31.7M within hours as third protocol halts staking

AFX and the Verus-Ethereum bridge suffered about $31.69 million in combined losses within hours of each other, while B² Network separately suspended token staking after unauthorized access to a contract upgrade authority.　　Blockaid said it detected the AFX exploit at about 21:30 UTC on July 22. An Arbitrum transaction recorded 24.15 million USDC leaving the bridge operated by AFX, a decentralized trading protocol on Arbitrum.　　AFX suspended its USDC custody bridge and said the incident was isolated from its trading infrastructure, mainnet, and the Arbitrum network. The affected component was a third-party bridge, not Arbitrums native bridge.　　In preliminary findings published July 24, AFX attributed the incident to coordinated social engineering and infrastructure compromise. The protocol said access appeared to begin in a development environment before escalating into internal build infrastructure and validator systems.　　AFX said it was verifying balances, pursuing fund recovery and preparing remediation. As of July 24, it had not announced a completed return of funds or a finalized compensation plan.　　Hours after the AFX incident, an Ethereum transaction showed the Verus bridge releasing 1,137.4528 ETH and seven token transfers. Blockaid valued the unbacked payouts at about $7.54 million.　　SlowMists analysis said the bridge approved eight withdrawals without proving that matching assets backed

07-25Industry

Russias largest bank Sberbank plans crypto trading infrastructure by December

Russias largest bank, Sberbank, plans to build cryptocurrency trading infrastructure and launch a digital depository by Dec. 1 as Russia moves to bring crypto trading, custody and settlement into its regulated financial system.　　The depository, according to Interfax, will record clients ownership of cryptocurrency and process most transactions outside the underlying blockchain. Sberbank will operate active wallets for client-initiated deposits, withdrawals and transfers.　　The plan follows the Federation Councils approval of a law regulating cryptocurrency trading through licensed brokers, exchanges, asset managers and depositories.　　The framework is set to take effect Sept. 1, though rules requiring transactions to pass through licensed intermediaries will apply from July 2027.　　Public exchange trading will be limited to cryptocurrencies that meet Bank of Russia liquidity thresholds, including an average market capitalization above 5 trillion rubles ($64 billion) and an average daily volume above 1 trillion rubles ($12.8 billion) over 2 years.　　Qualified investors will be able to access a broader range of assets. Crypto payments for goods and services inside Russia remain prohibited.　　Sberbank started offering qualified investors structured bonds tied to bitcoin last year, and completed a bitcoin-backed lending pilot with miner Intelion Data in December.

07-25Industry

CLARITY Act faces Senate vote despite 60-vote gap

Senate Majority Leader John Thune plans to push the CLARITY Act toward a floor vote before the August recess, potentially forcing senators to publicly declare their positions even if the crypto market structure bill cannot overcome a filibuster.　　Thune wants senators on record over CLARITY Act　　Thune wants the Senate to begin considering the legislation before lawmakers leave Washington for their summer break, according to Punchbowl News.　　“I would like to at least get Clarity started. Well see where the votes are,” Thune said.　　A floor vote would test whether months of negotiations have produced enough bipartisan support for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, formally known as H.R. 3633. It would also identify the senators responsible if the bill fails to advance.　　The House passed the CLARITY Act in July 2025 with bipartisan support. The Senate Banking Committee later advanced its section of the legislation in a 15-9 vote in May 2026.　　Senator Cynthia Lummis released an updated version on July 22 that combines proposals previously approved by the Senate Banking and Agriculture committees. The Senate is scheduled to remain in Washington until Aug. 7, leaving lawmakers with a narrow period to debate amendments and hold procedural votes. Lummis‘ office confirmed that the new text

07-25Industry

Ethereum ETFs close week in red, end 5-day inflow streak

US-listed spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) logged $70.62 million in net outflows on Friday, ending a five-day inflow streak.　　Ethereum funds saw $211.25 million in net inflows over the previous five sessions from July 17 to Thursday, according to SoSoValue data. They still posted $103.9 million in net inflows for the week ended Friday.　　Despite the outflows, Ethereum ETFs extended their weekly inflow streak to three straight and have attracted $337.74 million in net inflows so far in July.　　Spot crypto ETF flows have become one of the markets most closely watched gauges of demand for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) through traditional investment products.　　Although other jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, have launched similar funds, US-listed ETFs account for the vast majority of assets and trading volumes.Daily spot Ethereum ETF net flows from July 17 to July 24. Source: SoSoValue　　Bitcoin ETFs also end week with outflows　　The reversal followed a similar pattern in Bitcoin ETFs, which ended a seven-day inflow streak on Thursday and recorded another $240.08 million in net outflows on Friday.　　Bitcoin ETFs also extended their net inflow streak to three consecutive weeks, adding $103.90 million during the week ended Friday and $233.96 million so far in July. They followed a record June, when

07-25Industry

SK Group Partners With NVIDIA To Advance AI Infrastructure Via $500B Investment

SK Group, a leading firm in semiconductors, telecommunications, and more, is driving its partnership with NVIDIA, a notable tech platform for GPUs and AI. The expansion of the partnership takes into account an investment of over $500B.　　As SK Group revealed in its official press release, the contract is set to fortify the worldwide artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure along with advancing cutting-edge AI memory technologies. Additionally, both platforms will merge their expertise for AI workloads.　　SK Group and NVIDIAs Partnership for Asia-Pacific Expansion with Over $500B Investment　　SK Group and NVIDIAs partnership is moving forward with a staggering $500B investment. The partnership also takes into account the development of wide-ranging AI factories driven by the next-gen computing technologies of NVIDIA. Together, both companies attempt to reaffirm the AI network within South Korea as well as the wider Asia-Pacific zone. The platforms formalized the inclusive contract by signing Letters of Intent.　　Thus, the partnership reflects the rising interest in high-performance computing functionalities to back large language models, agentic AI, physical AI mechanisms, and enterprise AI apps. A crucial feature of the development takes into account SK Telecom‘s endeavors to develop a 1-gigawatt AI Cloud within South Korea. The initiative will use the DSX AI Factory

07-25Industry

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