Category: Business

L2Beat, an analytics platform that tracks Ethereum layer-2 networks, announced that it has excluded approximately $7 billion worth of non-circulating tokens held in multi-signature wallets controlled by the $RAIN team from Arbitrum’s Total Guaranteed Value (TVS) calculation.

Despite the adjustment, the value of $RAIN tokens within TVS on Arbitrum remains at approximately $2.6 billion. This figure makes $RAIN the largest asset on Arbitrum, surpassing USDC and Ethereum (ETH).

L2Beat researchers described the resulting picture as “clearly illogical,” arguing that they believe the $RAIN token has been “heavily manipulated.” The platform noted that a more comprehensive investigation into the token’s valuation and Arbitrum’s impact on the TVS metric is underway.

The TVS metric is used to measure the total value of assets secured by a blockchain or layer-2 network. However, including tokens that are not in circulation and are held in wallets controlled by the project team can make the network’s true economic size appear higher than it actually is.

Developed on the Arbitrum platform, $RAIN operates as a protocol focused on prediction markets. In May, the project announced a $100 million liquidity commitment, briefly becoming one of the top three prediction market protocols by valuation.

L2Beat’s review raised new questions about $RAIN’s market capitalization, as well as the transparency of the team-controlled token supply and Arbitrum’s impact on TVS data.

Staking has become one of the most popular ways for crypto investors to earn passive rewards while continuing to hold their assets. However, staking opportunities vary widely depending on the platform. Some focus on network security, while others use staking to support ecosystem growth or reduce circulating supply.

MemeToro ($MT) has entered that conversation by introducing a staking model alongside its AI-powered ecosystem. Here’s how it compares with some of the leading staking platforms in 2026.

5 Staking Platforms Investors Are Watching

The staking landscape is much broader than Ethereum alone.

Lido continues leading liquid staking for Ethereum by allowing users to earn rewards while receiving liquid staking tokens that remain usable across decentralized finance applications.

Rocket Pool follows a similar approach but emphasizes decentralization through community-operated validator nodes. It remains popular among Ethereum users who prefer a more distributed staking model.

Binance Earn continues attracting both retail and institutional investors through its simple staking interface. Users can stake supported cryptocurrencies without managing validator infrastructure themselves.

Maxi Doge has taken a different approach. Its presale staking pool currently offers up to 76% APY (which is not trusted yet), with almost 10 billion tokens already locked. The high yield encourages holders to reduce circulating supply before public trading begins.

Finally, MemeToro introduces staking as part of a larger Web3 ecosystem rather than as a standalone yield product.

How MemeToro’s 35% $APR Works

Unlike traditional proof-of-stake networks, MemeToro ($MT) uses staking to encourage long-term participation across its platform.

Eligible holders can lock their $MT tokens into the platform’s staking contracts and earn rewards of up to 35% $APR. The objective is not only to reward long-term holders but also to strengthen ecosystem participation before additional products become available.

The staking model is closely connected to the wider platform.

As prediction markets, AI-powered token launches, and SocialFi products expand, staking becomes one of several ways users interact with the ecosystem rather than the platform’s only utility.

That creates a different experience from networks where staking exists purely to validate blockchain transactions.

MemeToro Tokenomics Support Long-Term Participation

Staking works best when it is supported by balanced tokenomics.

MemeToro ($MT) has a fixed maximum supply of 1.2 billion $MT tokens, with approximately 71% allocated to the public sale. Marketing and partnership allocations remain subject to a 24-month vesting schedule, while the project’s smart contracts have completed an independent Coinsult audit.

The Presale Continues Through Stage 4

Investors interested in staking first need access to the native utility token. MemeToro is currently progressing through Stage 4 of its public presale.

The project has already raised $66,670.37, filling 82.52% of the current $80,785.59 allocation target. The token is currently priced at $0.00171, with the next presale stage increasing automatically to $0.00190.

Early participants can secure their allocation before the scheduled price adjustment while positioning themselves for future staking participation after launch.

Staking Now Means More Than Passive Income

Crypto staking has evolved well beyond simply locking tokens for rewards. Today, investors can choose between liquid staking providers like Lido and Rocket Pool, exchange-based services such as Binance Earn, or ecosystem-driven models offered by projects like Maxi Doge and MemeToro.

Each platform serves a different purpose. MemeToro ($MT) distinguishes itself by making staking one component of a broader AI-powered ecosystem that also includes token launches, prediction markets, and SocialFi tools.

As investors continue comparing passive income opportunities across Web3, staking is increasingly becoming part of a much larger platform experience rather than a standalone feature.

More Information on MemeToro ($MT) Presale Here:

Website: https://memetoro.com/

X: https://x.com/memetoro_mt

Telegram: https://t.me/memetoro_mt

The ethics provision is among the final sections of the Clarity Act that need to be ironed out if the bill is to advance to a Senate floor vote. The clock is running out on getting the legislation approved, and industry insiders are anxiously awaiting the latest draft of Clarity, which they expect in the next couple of days. But it isn’t expected to have completed language on this section and a couple of other points also still being debated.

Earlier, bipartisan discussions had covered the possibilities of extending ethics implementation to a later period that might not impose immediate disruptions on Trump’s extended crypto-related holdings, and that the limits would be on the government officials and not beyond them. But people briefed on the negotiations have said that they’d hit a recent wall, despite the dwindling available calendar for action in the Senate before the summer recess and the shift in focus to the midterm elections.

The Senate is back to work this week and has just a few weeks remaining before its major break. Senate Majority Leader John Thune had suggested that he’d press forward with a Clarity vote this month, whatever shape the bill is in. The talks now have the element of Trump’s recent financial disclosures to contend with, in which he pocketed massive profits from sales of crypto assets and related income streams from the sector.

Dessislava Ianeva, an analyst at Nexo, made a similar point in an email to CoinDesk.

“ETF flows confirm it from another angle. The past ten days split between inflow and outflow, netting slightly positive,” Ianeva said.

“Glassnode data shows spot selling pressure has faded. June’s net selling averaged nearly 2,000 $BTC a day; July’s has slowed to just 53 $BTC a day, the calmest month of 2026 outside April.”

The relative calm, however, may not indicate a rapid turnaround.

The price recovery from the year’s low of $57,700, hit earlier this month, is largely driven by derivatives traders and not spot buyers, according to Alex Kuptsikevich, FxPro’s chief market analyst.

“Demand for Bitcoin is recovering rapidly, though the growth is currently being driven mainly by retail traders in the speculative futures market. At the same time, the situation in the spot market remains less positive,” he said.

Without a strong return of buy-side liquidity, prices could remain in a sideways trend for months to come, he said.

Caution is understandable ahead of macroeconomic data that may influence interest-rate decisions and the appetite for risk.

U.S. CPI for June is scheduled for release Tuesday and Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s first Congressional testimony is due this week. These events could influence the market trajectory and make, or break, the recovery.

Uncertainty continues in the Clarity Act process, one of the most important legislative bills aimed at regulating cryptocurrencies in the US.

At this point, the passage of the Clarity Act, also known as the Transparency Act, is eagerly awaited, and US President Donald Trump has also called for its enactment.

At this point, Donald Trump, in a post on Truth Social, pointed out that many countries, including China, were trying to get their hands on this “important financial event.”

He added that the US is currently in a leading position, but it should not allow China to win in either the AI or cryptocurrency sectors.

“…China and many other countries want to completely and entirely seize control of these major financial phenomena and artificial intelligence.”

We are currently ahead in artificial intelligence, but they are also competing fiercely.

Don’t let China win in both areas.”

With Trump making a critical call regarding the CLARITY Act, according to CryptoInAmerica host Eleanor Terrett, the next four weeks, coinciding with the reconvening of the US Senate, are seen as a critical turning point for the passage of the CLARITY Act this year.

Terrett stated that the market views the period before the August congressional recess as the last realistic opportunity this year to pass the cryptocurrency market structure bill.

However, the bill needs 60 votes to pass the entire Senate, making the cooperation of the Democrats essential.

In this context, a revised version of the bill incorporating the proposals of the Senate Banking and Agriculture Committees is expected to be released this week. According to Terrett, this will determine the progress of negotiations and how to proceed on the remaining points of contention.

The biggest problem remains the ethical issue, as the White House has yet to reach an agreement on conflict of interest measures regarding President Trump’s cryptocurrency businesses. Democrats and some Republicans are demanding stricter ethical guidelines for the president’s crypto ventures.

*This is not investment advice.

Jito has published JIP-38, a governance proposal that would formally designate the protocol as a token-centric network, under which all major network revenues will flow to the DAO and be governed by $JTO token holders.

The only exception is 20% of JTX platform fees, which will continue to be reinvested in JTX development, according to the proposal posted on July 13.

JIP-38 is now live.

Value should live with the Network. This proposal formally establishes Jito as a token-centric network, committing 100% of the Jito DAO’s revenue share from @JTX_trade to programmatic buyback and burns of $JTO for at least 1 year from JTX launch.

— Jito (@jito_sol) July 13, 2026

The plan would commit 100% of the DAO’s JTX revenue share to open-market $JTO buybacks and permanent token burns for a minimum of one year through Q4 2027.

As noted, buybacks would be executed automatically through a Rev Splitter mechanism overseen by the Dev Council, while governance documentation would be updated to reflect the network’s token-centric policy.

JIP-38 also outlines governance and implementation measures including updating official governance documentation to reflect Jito’s token-centric model, progressively automating the Rev Splitter, and completing existing revenue allocation mandates before conducting a comprehensive review of all protocol fee streams in Q4 2027.

That review will evaluate the effectiveness of buybacks, growth incentives, and other capital deployment strategies, after which $JTO holders will determine the network’s next long-term revenue allocation framework through governance voting.

According to the proposal, this framework is intended to ensure that the value generated by the network accrues to the token rather than external corporate entities.

$JTO surged as much as 8% shortly after the team unveiled JIP-38, per CoinGecko.

“I’d encourage the Commission not to dismiss third-party stock tokens, but to treat them as what they are — a different class of financial instrument, with clear separation from real stocks.”

Not everyone agrees

Some market participants, however, say the STA’s proposal risks grouping together fundamentally different tokenization models.

“The key is whether the tokens represent true stock ownership or just economic exposure,” Dinari CEO Gabe Otte told CoinDesk.

He said many of the STA’s concerns are valid but apply primarily to synthetic tokenized products. He pointed to the SEC’s January statement, which distinguishes custodial tokenized securities from synthetic structures, arguing that regulated custodial models should be evaluated separately.

“Both issuer-sponsored and custodial models offer true stock ownership and these should be distinguished from synthetic models for the benefit of the end investor,” Otte said.

Alan Konevsky, CEO of digital securities platform tZERO, agreed that issuer-sponsored tokenization offers important advantages by preserving the direct relationship between companies and investors. But he argued the market is likely to support multiple compliant approaches.

“Innovation is accelerating, and we expect multiple compliant, non-misleading, economically and technologically meaningful models to emerge as the market matures,” Konevsky said.

Eli Cohen, chief legal officer at tokenization platform Centrifuge that focuses on bringing funds onchain, said the letter reflects transfer agents’ concerns that issuer-sponsored tokenization could lose ground if third-party models become more widely adopted.