Crypto Industry News & Market Trends

BlackRock, Coinbase, Strategy back $15M Bitcoin Security Consortium

Some of the world‘s largest financial institutions and Bitcoin-focused companies have launched the Bitcoin Security Consortium, pledging a combined $15 millionover the next three years to support Bitcoin’s long-term security and resilience.　　The founding members include BlackRock, Coinbase, Fidelity Digital Assets, Strategy, ARK Invest, Anchorage Digital, Block, Blockstream, and Galaxy.　　The group said it will help fund Bitcoin developers and researchers, with a particular focus on long-term security initiatives such as post-quantum cryptography.　　Consortium pledges $15M to strengthen Bitcoin security　　The consortium said each member will independently direct funding to the developers, researchers, and organizations it chooses, rather than pooling funds under a central body.　　Its day-to-day activities will be coordinated by Mike Schmidt, executive director of Bitcoin development non-profit Brink, who will serve in a volunteer capacity.　　According to the announcement, the initiative is designed to support the developers already maintaining Bitcoin while providing investors, the public, and the media with reliable information about the networks long-term security efforts.　　“As long-term holders, we have every incentive to see Bitcoin remain secure for generations,” Strategy CEO Phong Le said. “Funding the people who do this work, and helping inform the conversation around it, is a natural way for us to contribute.”　　The consortium stressed that it will not

07-23Industry

SecondFi to wind down after $2.6M ADA theft linked to wallet flaw

Cardano-based wallet SecondFi is preparing to shut down after a security breach exposed issues around wallet security and left hundreds of users awaiting recovery options.　　SecondFi said it will wind down SecondFi and Yoroi wallet services after attackers stole about 16.1 million ADA, worth roughly $2.6 million, due to a cryptographic flaw in its wallet software, according to an update published on Wednesday.　　The platform said an independent investigation by blockchain intelligence provider Groom Lake identified a sophisticated external actor behind the attack and found indicators potentially linked to North Koreas Lazarus Group, although no attribution has been confirmed. It added that the breach hit 374 wallets.　　The update came nearly a month after SecondFi first disclosed the exploit in late June, with victims still waiting for recovery tools and migration options that the company says are now targeted for release in August.　　SecondFi plans recovery tools as users await next steps　　SecondFi said it is developing a recovery tool based on zero-knowledge proofs to help exploited users recover assets while limiting the information they need to share.　　The tool is still undergoing testing and will be reviewed by a third-party auditor before its planned release in August.　　The platform is also preparing wallet export functionality that

07-23Industry

Bipartisan support 'critical' as Democrats push back on GOP crypto bill on ethics grounds

Quick TakeDemocrats are pushing back over the latest Clarity Act draft‘s ethics provisions, calling them too weak to address President Trump’s crypto interests and warning they wont support the legislation without stronger guardrails.The crypto industry praised the bill for providing regulatory clarity, while major banks opposed it, arguing it doesnt do enough to protect deposits from competition by stablecoin rewards.　　Senate Republicans on Wednesday released a 616-page version of the so-called Clarity Act cryptocurrency regulation bill, the first major legislative effort to oversee the digital asset industry. While crypto advocates welcomed the measure, Democrats quickly signaled opposition over what they called weak ethics provisions tied to President Trump‘s crypto holdings, raising doubts about the bill’s path forward in the Senate.　　The legislation, which combines earlier versions passed by the Senate Banking and Agriculture committees, drew strong support from the crypto industry. Advocates praised the retention of software developer protections and said the bill would deliver long-sought regulatory clarity to help the U.S. lead in digital assets.　　Crypto Council for Innovation CEO Ji Hun Kim called bipartisan support “critical,” while Solana Policy Institute CEO Miller Whitehouse-Levine urged Congress to “seize the moment.” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the lack of a federal framework had

07-23Industry

UK Treasury races to solve cash barrier before tokenized bond debut

The UK Treasury has set Q1 2027 for its first tokenized sovereign bond transaction, but the project has remained dependent on finding a workable method to settle its cash leg on-chain.　　CoinDesk reported that the missing payment mechanism has held back institutional use of digital bonds for almost seven years, even as governments and financial firms have built platforms for issuing tokenized securities.　　Known as the Digital Gilt Instrument, or DIGIT, the pilot will test whether distributed ledger technology can reduce costs and improve the operation of UK capital markets. HM Treasury first announced the project in 2024 before selecting HSBCs Orion platform through a competitive process in February 2026.　　According to a July 16 Treasury update, HSBC received Gate 2 approval under the Digital Securities Sandbox on July 13. The decision made HSBC the first sandbox participant cleared to provide live digital securities depository services.　　The first DIGIT transaction will take place on HSBC Orion by the end of the first quarter of 2027, subject to the pilot meeting its remaining conditions. Chancellor Rachel Reeves also instructed the Treasury to prepare for possible additional issuances if the initial transaction succeeds.　　HSBCs platform had supported more than $3.5 billion of digital bond issuance across sovereign,

07-23Industry

Bitcoin ETFs extend inflow streak to 6 days with $203M added

US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded their sixth consecutive day of net inflows on Tuesday, adding $203.1 million.　　The Bitcoin ETFs attracted about $930 million over the six-session streak, their longest run of consecutive inflows since April, according to SoSoValue data.　　The inflows came as Bitcoin traded above $65,000 and briefly climbed to $66,700 on Tuesday. At publication, Bitcoin traded at $65,802, up about 2% over the previous 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.　　Broader crypto market sentiment also improved on Wednesday, with the Crypto Fear & Greed Index rising to “fear” from “extreme fear.”　　The recovery comes as analysts said Bitcoin needs to break above and hold the $65,000 to $65,500 range to strengthen the case for a sustained uptrend.　　The funds have accumulated $51.8 billion in cumulative net inflows since launch, while total net assets reached $80.9 billion. US spot Bitcoin ETFs remain at about $4.84 billion in net outflows year-to-date.

07-23Industry

Polymarket takes France to court after regulators block website

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.　　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 — we intend to challenge this decision through the legal process in France,” Polymarket stated.　　ANJ President Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin issued the order on July 16, directing French internet service providers to restrict access to Polymarket. According to ANJs statement cited by Reuters, the website attracted a large French audience while offering gambling and betting services that the regulator considers illegal under national law.　　A spokesperson for ANJ told Reuters that the block would remain until the regulator considers Polymarket compliant with France‘s gambling rules. Polymarket’s planned case will now test whether the authority can continue restricting the website under its current classification of the platform.　　Unlike conventional sportsbooks, Polymarket lets users trade contracts tied to outcomes in politics, economics, sports, weather and armed conflicts. Traders buy positions representing possible results, with contract prices changing as market expectations move.　　French regulator focuses on losses and manipulation　　ANJ

07-23Industry

Senate Republicans Push CLARITY Act With 15 Days Left as Bitcoin Struggles Near $66K

Bitcoin struggled to hold $66,000 on Wednesday, trading near $66,200 after bouncing between a low of $65,536 and a peak of $66,921.　　Key TakeawaysBitcoin slid below $66,000 on Wednesday before steadying near $66,200 as market momentum stalled.The CLARITY Act update includes ethics rules for U.S. officials and $164 million in crypto liquidations.Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan noted that passing the Senate bill before the August recess ends crypto winter.　　Intra-Day Volatility and Price Movement　　Bitcoin, which came within a whisker of breaching $67,000 on July 21, struggled to hold $66,000 on Wednesday amid slow progress on the CLARITY Act in the U.S. Senate. Market data show the top cryptocurrency plummeted from its 24-hour peak of $66,921 to $65,727 during a seven-hour sell-off that lasted into the early hours of Wednesday.　　A subsequent relief rally saw bitcoin reclaim $66,000, but momentum stalled, triggering a period of intense volatility that subsided shortly before 8 a.m. EST. Bitcoin then plunged to an intraday low of $65,536, quickly erased the losses, and then dropped back near $65,500.　　At the time of writing (12:52 p.m. EST), the top cryptocurrency was trading just under $66,200, down 0.4% over 24 hours. Reclaiming the $66,000 threshold lifted Bitcoins market capitalization to just over $1.32

07-23Industry

US targets $26.4 million in five crypto scam cases as DOJ says $800 million recovered

U.S. prosecutors filed five civil-forfeiture complaints on July 21 seeking roughly $26.4 million in cryptocurrency traced through separate international fraud investigations.　　Investigators can freeze suspected criminal proceeds before they know who is behind the scheme. They can then seek forfeiture while the search for suspects continues, with any final seizure and repayment to victims decided later.　　The U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia said one investigation traced more than 270 suspected victim transactions involving fraudulent investment platforms. Another involved more than 200 romance-scam victims and hundreds of intermediary addresses used to commingle funds.　　Across all five cases, DOJ said launderers were predominantly located in Southeast Asia, with associated IP addresses in China, Malaysia, and Cambodia.　　The fifth and smallest case shows the danger of repeat victimization. A person who had already lost money to an unrelated fraud was then contacted by scammers claiming they had recovered the stolen funds.　　The victim paid a fee and sent a series of transactions before investigators traced some of those transactions. The complaint seeks about $285,000, and efforts to recover additional funds are continuing.　　From restraint to restitution　　A freeze is intended to prevent identified cryptocurrency from moving. A civil-forfeiture complaint starts the next legal step by asking a

07-23Industry

AI models escaped OpenAIs sandbox and hit Hugging Face. Crypto is where that gets dangerous

OpenAI caught the anomaly internally, while Hugging Faces team detected and contained it. It called the incident unprecedented, and said extensive security steps will be put in place to prevent untoward incidents that may impact public systems or services.　　“We are implementing strict controls in infrastructure configuration at the cost of research velocity while the vulnerabilities are patched,” the team said in its blog post. “Were improving and adding stronger protections around future training and evaluations.”　　A simple explainer on how the model broke out to cheat. (Shaurya Malwa/CoinDesk)Crypto beware　　Much of a crypto attack happens before funds move. Attackers scan code, test passwords, search for exposed credentials, analyze signing setups and look for a path into an administrator account.　　OpenAIs models carried out several parts of that process during the Hugging Face incident, moving from one weakness to another until they reached live production servers.　　And the crypto market has plenty of places for that approach to work, as several attacks from earlier this year have shown. The weak point may be a smart contract, but it may also be a developer laptop, a poisoned software package, a bridge validator or or one signer in a multisig wallet.　　Drifts $285 million attack from earlier this

07-23Industry

Celsius founders face permanent crypto bans that could cost more than their $16.5M obligations

The co-founders of Celsius, the bankrupt crypto lender, are now subject to permanent court orders that bar them from broad parts of the crypto and asset-services business.　　The FTC put the founders‘ combined obligations at $16.5 million, though Goldstein’s entered order lists $2.014 million.　　Alexander Mashinsky and Shlomi Daniel Leon may not advertise, market, promote, offer or distribute products or services used to deposit, exchange, invest or withdraw assets, or assist in those activities.　　Mashinskys order covers assets generally, while Leons expressly covers cryptocurrency, banking and financial assets. Both bans apply whether they act directly or through an intermediary.　　Goldsteins order focuses on retail crypto. He may not advertise, market, promote, or offer for sale retail products or services used to buy, sell, deposit, withdraw, distribute, or trade cryptocurrency, or assist in those sales and marketing activities.　　All three orders also prohibit material misrepresentations about products and services. They bar obtaining or attempting to obtain customer information of a financial institution through false, fictitious, or fraudulent representations, including bank-account details, login credentials, private keys, and wallet information.　　Mashinsky and Leon additionally must obtain express informed consent before disclosing consumers nonpublic personal information.　　Those restrictions track the conduct alleged in the FTCs 2023 complaint. The agency alleged Celsius

07-22Industry

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