Category: Business

ARK Invest stated that despite Bitcoin losing approximately 14% of its value in the second quarter of 2026, on-chain data is signaling the end of selling pressure. The company considered the record-high amount of Bitcoin held by long-term investors as a significant indicator pointing to a potential market bottom.

According to ARK Invest’s second-quarter Bitcoin report, $BTC closed June at approximately $58,544. During this period, the Bitcoin price fell below the short-term investor realization price of around $70,327, the 200-day moving average of $75,371, and the on-chain average of around $76,660.

The report stated that Bitcoin remaining below all three key moving averages is historically linked to bearish market conditions. Therefore, it argued that the technical outlook has not yet significantly improved.

However, on-chain indicators suggest that the sell-off may be nearing its final stages. For the first time in this cycle, the percentage of Bitcoin supply at a loss has surpassed the percentage at a profit, reaching approximately 54%. The percentage of Bitcoin at a profit, meanwhile, has fallen to 46%.

ARK Invest noted that the supply of shares in losses exceeding the supply of shares in profits has generally been observed in past market cycles near bottom levels. The fact that the rate of realized losses briefly surpassed the rate of realized profits, and that the ratio fell to 0.82, was also considered a sign of exhaustion in selling pressure.

Another key finding in the report was the amount of Bitcoin held by long-term investors. The supply of Bitcoin held by long-term investors increased by approximately 313,000 $BTC in the second quarter, reaching an all-time high of 14.85 million $BTC.

According to ARK Invest, long-term investors with high levels of conviction continued to accumulate Bitcoin distributed in the market during the price decline. The company noted that the increase in the supply from long-term investors during the price drop constituted a positive divergence in terms of the fundamental outlook of the market.

However, the report noted that Bitcoin has not yet fallen back to its historically low on-chain cost levels. It stated that Bitcoin’s current price is approximately $53,000, while its investor price is around $49,000.

ARK Invest stated that the downside risks have not completely disappeared, as Bitcoin has not yet tested this cost range between $49,000 and $53,000. According to the company, the process of returning to the average, which has accompanied global market lows in the past, has not yet occurred.

The report also stated that outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs traded in the US increased pressure on the market. The funds recorded net outflows for seven consecutive weeks towards the end of the quarter, losing approximately 71,000 $BTC in assets throughout the second quarter.

During the worst week of late June, approximately 30,000 $BTC were withdrawn from ETFs. ARK Invest stated that the weakening spot ETF demand indicates that one of the most important marginal demand sources supporting the Bitcoin price has lost strength.

Signs of stress were also seen in the funding conditions of Bitcoin treasury companies. Strategy’s STRC preferred stock, codenamed “Stretch,” fell from its nominal value of $100 to as low as $74.57 during the quarter. STRC finished the second quarter at approximately $84.86.

ARK Invest stated that STRC trading below its face value could indicate an increase in the cost of capital for leveraged companies building Bitcoin treasuries.

Bitcoin’s three-month futures base rate remained low but positive at an average of 2.3% throughout the quarter. The fact that the rate occasionally approached backwardation indicated that demand for leveraged long positions and speculative appetite were limited.

ARK Invest evaluated technical and on-chain indicators as well as the macroeconomic environment. The report argued that technology-driven productivity increases limited inflationary pressures.

It was stated that although unit labor costs increased by 0.5 percent, productivity rose by 2.8 percent, and core consumer inflation remained at around 2.9 percent despite the increase in oil prices.

The company also argued that the flattening of the yield curve reflected deflationary trends rather than recession. It stated that artificial intelligence, energy infrastructure, deregulation, and regulations allowing investments to be expensed directly supported capital expenditures.

According to ARK Invest, new orders for core capital goods hitting a record high and surpassing a 25-year resistance level indicates the formation of a sustained growth cycle driven by technology and energy investments.

*This is not investment advice.

The bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX has announced it will launch its fifth round of creditor payments on July 31, 2026, as part of its restructuring plan. This distribution is expected to amount to approximately $900 million in total.

According to a statement by FTX Trading Ltd. and FTX Recovery Trust, payments will cover creditors with approved receivables in the Convenience and Non-Convenience classes under the restructuring plan who completed the necessary pre-distribution processes by the June 16 registration deadline.

Creditors who are entitled to receive payments are expected to collect the funds through their previously chosen service providers: BitGo, Kraken, or Payoneer. The distribution service providers are scheduled to transfer payments to accounts within one to three business days after July 31.

FTX also informed eligible preferred shareholders that a second payment round would be made on the same date.

As part of the fifth distribution, Class 5A credit holders representing Dotcom customer receivables will receive an additional 9% payment. This will bring the cumulative distribution rate for this class to 105%.

Class 5B, which covers US customer receivables, will receive a 5% payout, resulting in a total payout rate of 105%. Class 6A, which includes general unsecured receivables, and Class 6B, which includes digital asset loan receivables, will each receive a 3% payout. The total payout rate across these classes will reach 103%.

The cumulative distribution to claimants in the Class 7 Convenience Claims group, which includes smaller claims, will reach 120 percent.

FTX stated that customers and other payees who wish to participate in the distribution on future payment dates must complete the identity verification process, submit the necessary tax forms, and register with one of the BitGo, Kraken, or Payoneer platforms before the registration date.

The company stated that subsequent registration and payment dates will be announced at a later date.

*This is not investment advice.

The president of France’s National Gambling Authority instructed the country’s internet service providers to block access to Polymarket on July 16, according to a statement issued by the authority on Friday.

The order escalates France’s November 2024 action, when regulators barred financial transactions from French accounts to the site. Even that did not stop traffic. According to the ANJ, Polymarket drew 578,751 visits and 205,057 unique visitors from France in June, French media reported.

Advertising, by any means whatsoever, in favour of an unauthorised betting or gambling site is a criminal offence, with fines reaching €100,000 ($114,000).

– ANJ

France targets Polymarket at the network level

The move pushes French law enforcement from the transactional level to the network level. According to the order issued in November 2024, the French banks had to block any transactions to Polymarket, but people would still be able to access the website and see the odds. That reading pattern is what the ANJ now classifies as illegal advertising, per the regulator’s statement.

The novel legal theory here is that the mere display of market prices in real-time to French citizens constitutes solicitation for participation in an illegal gambling market. According to this theory, mere accessibility becomes the crime. The regulator said the site would remain blocked “for as long as authorities considered the platform noncompliant with the country’s gambling regulations.”

As of last month, Polymarket has generated over $1 billion in annualized revenue through activities predominantly based outside of the 33+ jurisdictions that have banned it.

One French whale case became a wider traffic problem

The France crackdown started with a single French trader who placed roughly $30 million in bets on the 2024 US presidential election. As Cryptopolitan earlier reported, the ANJ opened its formal investigation in November 2024, and Polymarket responded by implementing IP-based geo-blocking that displays a restricted-jurisdiction notice to French users. Bettors kept accessing the platform through VPNs.

France’s national weather agency Meteo-France filed a criminal complaint in April 2026 after one of its weather probes was hacked in an attempt to manipulate weather-related bets on Polymarket.

Similar concerns are running through parallel enforcement in the US, where a soldier was recently charged with using classified information about the January operation to capture former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro to place bets on prediction markets, allegedly netting more than $400,000.

The White House said Thursday it suspended a teleprompter operator over allegations of placing prediction market bets.

US regulators protect Kalshi as Europe blocks Polymarket

France’s escalation occurs three days after the CFTC used its emergency powers to trump a decision by a Michigan state court to void the executed trades of Kalshi. The two sets of regulatory approaches to prediction markets have officially diverged.

France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, and Japan have moved to block or restrict access, per Cryptopolitan’s June coverage of the FIFA World Cup crackdown.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has moved the opposite direction, defending federally registered prediction platforms from state-level enforcement while writing new rules to expand event-contract trading.

Polymarket finds itself on that dividing line.

The legal jurisdiction of Polymarket is getting narrower, but at the same time, its profits are growing. It was this very contradiction that French regulators found to be unreasonable in the Friday ruling: the website was still making money and attracting French users without using French payment systems.

Pump.fun transferred another 81,712 $SOL, worth roughly $6.15 million, to crypto exchange Kraken on July 18, 2026, according to on-chain analyst EmberCN. On its own, the move is just another wallet transfer. But in the context of slowing memecoin activity and weakening Solana network revenue, it offers another glimpse into how one of crypto’s biggest success stories is changing.

Amidst the memecoin trend, Pump.fun emerged as one of the most popular apps on Solana, turning over millions in fees as users created and traded tokens. As trading opportunity slows down, however, the application continues to convert part of its revenue into cash through transfers to Kraken.

As estimated by EmberCN, Pump.fun has reportedly sold approximately 4.81 million $SOL tokens in the period between January 2024 and July 18, 2026. This translates to sales of around $812 million, with each token being sold at an average cost of $168.70. Together with this milestone, Pump.fun is now reputed to be among the top players in the field of long-term $SOL selling in the current walking stick.

What was sold, and how much has left

The latest transaction is part of an emerging pattern, not an isolated incident. According to its X account, Pump.fun launched in January 2024, charging a trading fee of 1% for the swap of tokens. This business strategy has proved to be highly successful in the heyday of the memecoin boom.

According to CoinMarketCap, Pump.fun has generated more than $1 billion in cumulative revenue since its launch, including approximately $664 million in 2025 alone. The platform also produced about $124.7 million in revenue during the first quarter of 2026, underscoring the success of its 1% fee-based business model despite a broader cooling of the memecoin market.

Why do the numbers look different?

When examined closely, the figure put out by EmberCN is much lower than that provided by DefiLlama. This difference is due to the fact that they measure different aspects.

• EmberCN’s figure ($812 million as of July 18, 2026) is simply the estimated number of $SOL coins (around 4.81 million) that Pump.fun is believed to have sent to Kraken and supposedly sold.
• DefiLlama’s figures (as of July 18, 2026) indicate a cumulative fee of around $1.86 billion, while cumulative revenue from the protocol stands at over $1.2 billion, representing all fees earned from Pump.fun‘s products.

In other terms, both sets of figures show different information. EmberCN sees the figures of actual sales of $SOL, while DefiLlama evaluates the total fee income and revenue of the protocol.

The drag on Solana

Pump.fun‘s slowdown is also becoming visible at the network level.

According to an article published on June 16, 2026, by The Block, the platform suffered 80% decline in activity over the past three months. Average revenue per day in June dropped to around $800,000 compared to approximately $4.8 million six months before. Furthermore, only 0.26% of the newly issued tokens managed to reach the market capitalization sufficient to reach other exchanges.

The downturn is about more than merely a reduced interest in memecoins. Traders have been switching to perpetual futures protocols such as Hyperliquid, leading to a reduced amount of on-chain activity that had once made Solana one of the most active networks in crypto. Whenever there is one application that leads to a significant portion of blockchain activity, a slowdown in its usage will also affect the economics of the blockchain.

A business past its peak

As per The Block, the price of PUMP has reduced by nearly 40% over past six months and DefiLlama has suggested that as of July 18, 2026, the token is priced at nearly $0.0016, considerably lesser than its peak value of $0.0088. The total market cap of the token is around $655 million.

The difference is quite striking when we consider how quickly the interest of investors in the project increased. According to CoinMarketCap, Pump.fun managed to raise $600 million in an ICO that was finished in just 12 minutes.

The overall concept of Pump.fun has come under fire as well. According to STORM Partners, Pump.fun is the center of the memecoin boom of 2024-2025, with estimates suggesting the platform is responsible for releasing approximately 11 million tokens by mid-2025. However, in the end, just under 1% of released tokens actually make it to exchanges, such as Raydium. During spikes of activity, this constant stream of new tokens translates to significant profits. However, now that the trading activity has eased up, the same model has become reliant on decreasing activity levels.

What to watch next

The question that follows is whether or not Pump.fun is going to continue selling $SOL at this rate even as protocol revenue slows down and whether Solana’s network activity starts picking up steady pace.

According to the wallet tracking by EmberCN, as far as July 18, 2026, Pump.fun still sends $SOL to Kraken from time to time. Such transfers will surely continue being an essential indicator, but they are just part of the total situation. It is DefiLlama’s revenue stats and Solana’s network fee metrics that will tell us better whether user activity stops slowing down and whether the memecoin boom that helped the blockchain achieve astonishing growth is still continuing to fade away.

Russia is preparing to tighten oversight of foreign stablecoins through a new cryptocurrency regulation bill that would limit who can purchase the assets. The government’s final draft introduces a separate legal framework for stablecoins, separating them from traditional cryptocurrencies and restricting access for most retail investors.

The proposal comes in addition to a separate initiative from the Central Bank of Russia to place all stablecoin transactions under state supervision.

Final Bill Separates Stablecoins From Cryptocurrencies

The current version of Bill No. 1194918-8, titled On Digital Currencies and Digital Rights, changes how stablecoins are classified under Russian law.

Earlier drafts treated stablecoins the same as cryptocurrencies, allowing qualified retail investors to purchase them after completing the required testing. The updated proposal, however, identifies stablecoins as a separate category since they are issued by identifiable entities and include redemption obligations to token holders.

According to the draft, a stablecoin holder has the right to request that the issuer redeem the token at its face value in cash. The legislation states that this characteristic sets apart stablecoins from decentralized cryptocurrencies, which generally have no issuer or contractual obligation to investors.

New Categories Introduced for Foreign Digital Assets

The new bill outlines two additional legal concepts for foreign digital financial products. The first category covers foreign digital instruments, defined as rights issued under foreign law through foreign information systems, including tokenized assets.

The second introduces non-deliverable foreign digital instruments that certify monetary claims and enable financial settlements without transferring the underlying asset.

Under the proposed framework, only professional or qualified investors would be allowed to purchase foreign digital instruments. Retail investors would instead be limited to products specifically approved and listed by the Bank of Russia.

Central Bank Proposes State Supervision of Stablecoin Transactions

The legislative changes follow separate proposals released by the Central Bank of Russia at the end of June outlining how stablecoins could operate under regulatory oversight.

The regulator proposed that all stablecoin transactions be conducted under state supervision through licensed exchanges or authorized cryptocurrency exchange offices. Under the proposal, operators of information systems would ease transactions involving Russian-issued digital tokens, while licensed crypto exchangers would handle transactions involving foreign stablecoins.

Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina also stated that the regulator remains concerned about foreign stablecoins because their issuers have the ability to freeze assets held in users’ wallets.

Related: Russia Moves to Monitor Every Crypto Transaction Above 60,000 Rubles

Prominent angel investor and early Uber backer Jason Calacanis has argued that Bitcoin’s biggest challenge is no longer the asset itself, but the growing influence of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) and its outspoken co-founder Michael Saylor.

“The challenge for $BTC is that one person is causing chaos ($MSTR), while retail is more interested in bets on world-changing products (SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic),” Calacanis wrote on X.

A major problem

Calacanis has become one of the most vocal critics of Strategy’s Bitcoin-centric corporate model. His argument is not that Bitcoin itself is fundamentally flawed, but that Strategy has become so dominant that it distorts the market narrative.

The company has transformed itself into what it calls a “Bitcoin treasury company,” financing ever-larger $BTC purchases through repeated equity offerings, convertible debt, and preferred stock issuance. As a result, Strategy has become the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder, and its stock is widely viewed as a leveraged proxy for Bitcoin.

Strategy increasingly dominates institutional discussions about Bitcoin. Meanwhile, MSTR often attracts speculative capital that might otherwise flow directly into spot $BTC or Bitcoin ETFs.

Calacanis has long been skeptical

Calacanis has expressed doubts about Bitcoin for years, despite investing early in numerous technology companies.

In 2022, following the collapse of FTX, he argued that much of the crypto industry had become dominated by speculation and poor governance, calling for stronger regulation while distinguishing between blockchain technology and speculative tokens.

More recently, he has repeatedly criticized Strategy’s financing model. During previous market selloffs, he urged investors to “sell MSTR and buy bitcoin directly,” describing the company’s structure as resembling a “stunning pyramid scheme.”

In a recent tweet, the Ethereum Foundation highlighted that the network is secured by $76 billion worth of $ETH staked. This substantial amount significantly outstrips the staking values of other layer 1 networks reviewed in the OpenZeppelin Report. This level of economic security is crucial as it reflects both the confidence in Ethereum’s infrastructure and its position in the broader cryptocurrency landscape.

The Latest

Ethereum’s staking dynamics present a compelling narrative in the current market context. With $76 billion staked, Ethereum demonstrates robust economic security, which could enhance investor confidence during a period of volatility in the crypto market. The recent focus on staking ratios indicates that market participants are increasingly aware of how these figures can influence Ethereum’s price action and overall market sentiment. Observers note that Ethereum’s strong staking position may play a pivotal role in supporting the network’s price stability amidst ongoing fluctuations across major assets.

Quick Take

• Ethereum Foundation, highlighted economic security, $76B worth of $ETH staked, significantly larger than other layer 1s.

What the Data Shows

The current market environment shows mixed signals, with Ethereum’s strong staking ratio being a vital point of focus for traders. As the crypto market grapples with uncertainty, Ethereum’s substantial staking amount may act as a stabilizing factor. Analysts are closely monitoring Ethereum’s staking dynamics as they assess potential price movements and market confidence.

Ethereum, as a leading smart contract platform, has seen significant growth and adoption since its inception. Its staking mechanism, particularly after the transition to Ethereum 2.0, has attracted a large amount of capital, making it a critical player in the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. The $76 billion staked not only enhances its economic security but also positions it favorably against competing networks.

Eyes on These Levels

Traders are now watching how Ethereum’s staking dynamics will influence its price trajectory in the coming weeks. The strong staking support could act as a buffer against selling pressure, especially as market participants assess key levels of support and resistance. Analysts suggest that Ethereum’s ability to maintain its staking numbers may be indicative of its resilience in a challenging market environment.

Cryptocurrency investments are subject to high market risks. Readers should conduct their own research before making investment decisions.

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), a prominent backbone for managing over $114 trillion in securities, has embarked on a groundbreaking journey to modernize financial markets. As of July 15, DTCC has commenced initial trading operations for tokenized securities, marking a pivotal step in financial evolution. Key participants include the likes of Ripple Prime, which plays a significant role in laying the foundations for this new frontier in trade.

Is Ripple Prime Leading the Charge?

Indeed, Ripple Prime has cemented its involvement by joining DTCC’s exclusive Industry Working Group, alongside financial powerhouses such as Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and BlackRock. With an eye on full-scale deployment by October 2026, this consortium aims to establish robust standards that will redefine the settlement and clearing of tokenized assets.

What Makes $XRP a Key Player?

$XRP‘s potential in the rapidly advancing tokenization sector is underscored by advocates within the cryptocurrency community. According to CharuSan, a notable analyst, higher $XRP prices may be pivotal for efficiently managing institutional liquidity demands. A surge in $XRP price could dramatically reduce the number of tokens required for vast financial transfers, optimizing liquidity pools for international settlements.

The logic behind larger transactions using fewer tokens at higher prices has caught the attention of prominent figures, including Ripple’s CTO Emeritus, advocating for the token‘s widespread capability in sustaining large-scale financial operations.

• DTCC initiates initial phases of tokenized securities trading, indicating forward momentum in finance.
• Ripple Prime’s alliance with major financial institutions exemplifies progress in blockchain innovation.
• The CLARITY Act’s possible passage could be a catalyst for digital assets like $XRP, enhancing regulatory frameworks.

The impending regulatory discussions on the CLARITY Act mark a pivotal moment for the digital asset landscape. It proposes a stabilized framework that could stimulate broader acceptance and integration of digital currencies like $XRP into mainstream financial systems. With DTCC’s project already in flight and Ripple Prime actively engaged, the political environment holds significant implications for the future of tokenized finance.