Category: Business

Companies including Hut 8, Core Scientific (CORZ), Hive Digital (HIVE) and Bit Digital (BTBT) have repositioned portions of their power and infrastructure assets to serve AI workloads, betting that long-term contracts with hyperscale customers will generate steadier, higher-margin revenue than cryptocurrency mining alone.

Hut 8 has signed two 15-year, triple-net, take-or-pay leases covering 597 megawatts of IT capacity at its River Bend, Louisiana, and Beacon Point, Texas, campuses. According to Palmer, the agreements represent $16.8 billion in contracted base-term lease value and could rise to $42.8 billion if tenants exercise renewal options.

Palmer said the Beacon Point agreement was the primary driver behind the higher valuation. The broker estimated that the project’s first phase alone carries $9.8 billion in base-term contract value and about $655 million in average annual net operating income.

He also pointed to Hut 8’s financing strategy, noting the company recently completed $4.25 billion of investment-grade project financing for Beacon Point after raising $3.25 billion for River Bend. The deals validate management’s strategy of lowering its cost of capital by converting development assets into long-term contracted cash flows.

Beyond its existing projects, the report highlighted Hut 8’s development pipeline, which totals more than 9 gigawatts across projects under exclusivity, development, construction and management, providing what it called a long runway for future growth.

While the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin has been more stable in recent days, investor sentiment in the cryptocurrency market is reportedly on the rise again.

At this point, cryptocurrency data analysis platform Santiment noted that although overall investor sentiment in the market is rising, $XRP and Ethereum have recorded their highest “FOMO” (fear of missing out) levels in the last five weeks.

According to Santiment’s latest data, $ETH and $XRP investors have become significantly more optimistic. This has led to $ETH and $XRP reaching their highest FOMO levels in the last five weeks.

According to the data, $XRP reached its highest FOMO level with 3.02 bullish comments for every bearish comment, while Ethereum was in the mild FOMO zone with a ratio of 2.31. In contrast, Bitcoin’s ratio of 1.40 indicated a more balanced and neutral investor sentiment.

This shift in investor sentiment, at a time when prices are struggling to gain steady momentum, raises the possibility that the upward trend may have overtaken market performance.

At this point, Santiment analysts note that the cryptocurrency market is moving in the opposite direction of investor expectations. They emphasize that the increasing optimism for $ETH and $XRP could be a counter-signal for the price.

The analysis notes that historically, short-term corrections can occur during periods when investors have excessively bullish expectations, and suggests that high optimism in $XRP and Ethereum could increase downside risks or limit the pace of their rise in the short term.

In contrast, balanced and neutral investor sentiment in Bitcoin is seen as healthier in terms of price. This is because, according to Santiment analysts, strong rallies can occur when investors are not yet fully focused on bullish expectations.

*This is not investment advice.

South Korea’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, Upbit and Bithumb, have announced they will add the $DRV token to their trading lists. According to the announcements, $DRV will be listed on Upbit against South Korean won (KRW), Bitcoin ($BTC), and Tether ($USDT), while Bithumb will only offer the token in the KRW trading pair. The simultaneous listing decision by the two major exchanges is being closely watched by the market as it is expected to increase the project’s visibility and liquidity.

According to Upbit’s official announcement, the $DRV token will begin trading on the KRW, $BTC, and $USDT markets. Thanks to multi-pair support, users will be able to buy and sell $DRV across different assets. This is expected to increase the token’s trading volume and reach a wider investor base.

Bithumb also announced in an official statement that it will list $DRV on the Korean won market. The exchange stated that trading is scheduled to begin at 8:00 PM local time. Thus, South Korea’s two largest cryptocurrency platforms will offer $DRV to their users on the same day.

Listings on major exchanges in the cryptocurrency market can have a significant impact on the trading volume and visibility of the tokens in question. Listings on high-volume South Korean platforms like Upbit and Bithumb, in particular, can increase interest in the project from both local and global investors. However, experts point out that listing news can increase price volatility in the short term.

Investors are advised to carefully evaluate the project’s technical infrastructure, token economics, and risks before trading, due to the high volatility that can occur in newly listed tokens. Market analysts note that $DRV’s performance will be shaped not only by the listing effect but also by the project’s development process, adoption rate, and overall cryptocurrency market trends.

*This is not investment advice.

The US government just staged its seized crypto for an exchange, and it took an extra hop to get there.

Wallets tied to the government moved about $288 million in seized bitcoin and ether onto Coinbase Prime over roughly half a day on Monday, blockchain data from Arkham shows. The ether went direct, while the bitcoin took a detour through fresh intermediary wallets first.

The movements are despite an executive order in March 2025 by President Donald Trump, which designated seized bitcoin for the country’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and said it should not be sold.

A government wallet tied to Ryan Farace, the “xanaxman” case, sent 2,875 $BTC worth roughly $178 million to a new address, which forwarded the full 2,875 $BTC to a Coinbase Prime deposit wallet minutes later.

A second wallet linked to defunct exchange $BTC-e sent 925.512 $BTC worth $57 million through the same pattern, in from the seizure address, straight out to Coinbase Prime. Both intermediary wallets were emptied out.

The ether skipped the middle step, however. A wallet connected to Brian Krewson, the Oracle employee named in a $54 million laundering scheme, sent 30,007 $ETH worth $53.09 million directly to a Coinbase Prime deposit address.

While institutional investors continue to show interest in the cryptocurrency market, there has been a noticeable decline in individual investor engagement on social media. According to recent data, the volume of posts using the keywords “Bitcoin” and “Ethereum” on X (formerly Twitter) has fallen to its lowest level in the last 12 months.

Daily posts about Bitcoin have dropped to around 130,000, while posts about Ethereum have fallen to around 40,000. These levels represent the lowest social media activity seen since 2020, when institutional interest was just beginning to emerge.

Tweet volume is considered one of the key indicators measuring the level of interest of individual investors in the market. This metric reveals not the amount of capital entering the market, but how much investors are talking about specific assets. The current situation is noteworthy because, despite social media interest falling back to 2020 levels, institutional investors’ interest in cryptocurrencies is conversely accelerating.

In 2020, Bitcoin and Ethereum hadn’t yet fully entered Wall Street’s radar, spot ETFs hadn’t been approved, and holding crypto assets on corporate balance sheets wasn’t widespread. Today, the picture has changed dramatically. Spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs manage billions of dollars in funds, and asset tokenization holds a significant place on the agenda of traditional finance conferences and major financial institutions.

Analysts believe this development could signal that institutional adoption may now be able to progress independently of individual investor interest. However, historical data shows that low levels of social media engagement often coincide with periods when prices are trading sideways or pulling back.

According to experts, as the crypto ecosystem matures, price movements and infrastructure investments may not require as much intense individual investor interest as in past bull cycles.

However, the renewed increase in individual investor participation remains a crucial factor in strengthening both trading volumes and market momentum. Therefore, social media data continues to be closely monitored as an indicator of market sentiment.

*This is not investment advice.

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act has secured support from a second law enforcement organization before a Senate push.

The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association said it supports H.R. 3633 but wants lawmakers to revise several provisions before passage.

In a July 10 statement, FLEOA said the bill “represents meaningful progress” toward balancing digital asset development with public safety. The group represents more than 34,000 active and retired federal officers across over 65 agencies.

FLEOA backs the bill but seeks DeFi changes

FLEOA asked the Senate Banking Committee to make accountability clearer in decentralized finance, or DeFi. It also wants language that prevents companies from avoiding regulation by presenting controlled services as decentralized. The association urged senators to replace the bill’s “specific intent” test with an existing knowledge standard.

The group also asked Congress to state clearly that the legislation does not reduce current federal investigative powers or block lawful court processes. FLEOA said agencies must retain authority covering criminal cases, anti-money laundering rules, sanctions and counterterrorism financing. National President Mathew Silverman said officers need tools to investigate complex financial crimes.

Endorsement adds to a divided law enforcement debate

The support follows the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives’ endorsement earlier in July. As previously reported, NOBLE became the first major law enforcement group to publicly back the bill.

Ji Kim, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, said FLEOA’s position showed the measure was strong on consumer protection and law enforcement.

Significant. @FLEOAORG expressing support for CLARITY and confirming what many of us know–this bill is strong on consumer protection and law enforcement. The time is now to pass CLARITY to ensure the U.S. has these strong guardrails in place. https://t.co/DOBfOKjz0X

— Ji Kim (@_jikim) July 13, 2026

Other organizations have raised concerns about Section 604. The provision would protect some software developers and non-custodial service providers from being treated as money transmitters when they do not control customer funds. As reported by crypto.news, four law enforcement groups warned that broad protections could make some crypto crime investigations harder.

In addition, the Department of Justice later challenged parts of those claims.The agency viewed some warnings about lost enforcement powers as inaccurate. The Major County Sheriffs of America also moved from opposition to a neutral position after further talks over Section 604.

Senate faces a narrowing August window

The Senate’s published 2026 schedule places its August state work period from Aug. 10 through Sept. 11. That leaves Aug. 7 as the final scheduled session day before the break. As of July 14, the Senate’s public floor schedule did not list a vote on the CLARITY Act.

President Donald Trump urged the Senate to pass the measure on July 13, linking the appeal to the late Senator Lindsey Graham.The request came as negotiators worked to complete a merged draft before recess.

Senator Cynthia Lummis said on July 8, “This is likely our last chance to get real legislation for digital assets on the books before 2030.” She warned that other countries could set the rules if Congress fails to act.

This is likely our last chance to get real legislation for digital assets on the books before 2030. If we fail to pass the Clarity Act, we are ensuring another country will write the rules for digital assets and we spend the next decade catching up.

— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) July 8, 2026

Senate staff still need to align Banking and Agriculture Committee language before a final floor vote. The bill also needs bipartisan support to clear the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.

FLEOA’s endorsement gives supporters another law enforcement voice during negotiations. Its requested revisions show that questions over DeFi accountability, developer protections and investigative authority remain active before the scheduled summer break.

Binance has released its 44th proof-of-reserves report, showing that customer Bitcoin holdings increased during June while Ethereum and Tether balances declined.

The report used a snapshot taken on July 1 and compared the figures with customer balances recorded on June 1.

Customer Bitcoin holdings rose 1.22% to about 640,000 $BTC, an increase of 7,715 $BTC. Ethereum holdings fell 1.41% to around 4.08 million $ETH, a decline of 58,591 $ETH. Customer Tether holdings dropped 1.51% to about 33.7 billion $USDT, falling by roughly 510 million $USDT.

Binance customer Bitcoin holdings continue rising

The July figures extend the rise in customer Bitcoin balances reported one month earlier. Binance users added 25,838 $BTC in May, lifting their total holdings by 4.26% to about 630,000 $BTC in the exchange’s 43rd proof-of-reserves report.

The latest increase was smaller than the previous month’s gain, but it kept customer $BTC balances moving higher. The report does not show whether the change came from purchases, deposits, transfers between Binance services, or movements from other assets. It records balances at one point in time rather than individual customer activity.

Ethereum and $USDT balances decline

Ethereum moved in the opposite direction after recording a strong increase in the previous report. Customer $ETH holdings had risen 10.17% in May to about 4.14 million $ETH. The July snapshot showed that the total fell by 58,591 $ETH during June.

$USDT balances also declined for a second monthly report. Binance users held about 34.3 billion $USDT in the June 1 snapshot after balances fell by roughly 460 million tokens in May. The latest decrease brought the total to about 33.7 billion $USDT. Lower stablecoin balances do not confirm that users converted $USDT into Bitcoin or withdrew funds.

A similar pattern recently appeared at other major exchanges. As reported by crypto.news, Bybit and OKX recorded higher customer Bitcoin holdings while $USDT balances fell in their latest reserve snapshots. However, the reports did not identify the reasons behind the balance changes.

Binance says customer assets remain backed

Binance states on its proof-of-reserves page that it holds customer assets on a 1:1 basis, along with additional reserves. The exchange uses Merkle Trees and zero-knowledge proofs to let customers check whether their account balances were included in the total liabilities covered by each report.

A proof-of-reserves report can show whether listed wallets hold assets linked to customer balances at the time of a snapshot. However, it does not provide a complete financial audit or explain every off-chain liability. A recent proof-of-reserves explainer noted that useful disclosures should remain recent, frequent and matched against customer liabilities.

The figures should therefore be read as a record of asset backing and customer balances on a specific date. They do not show the exchange’s complete financial position or the reasons customers moved assets between accounts, platforms or private wallets.

Report follows braoder changes at Binance

The latest reserve report arrived after a month of active derivatives trading. Binance recorded about $1.63 trillion in futures trading volume during June, its highest monthly total of 2026, according to CryptoQuant data.

Binance also introduced service changes for some European users when the European Union’s MiCA transition ended on July 1. As previously reported, the exchange said affected users could continue using options already communicated to them, including withdrawals where available. The date matched the snapshot used for the latest reserve report.

Earlier reserve rankings placed Binance ahead of other major exchanges. As reported by crypto.news, CoinMarketCap data ranked the platform first in January 2026 with about $155.6 billion in proof-of-reserve assets. The July report adds a new monthly view of customer balances, with $BTC rising while $ETH and $USDT moved lower.

Long-time crypto trader Ogle warned on July 13 that small meme coins with limited liquidity can collapse within minutes when a few large holders decide to sell.

Pointing to recent losses around the latest sensation in the space, $CASHCAT, the market watcher reiterated the risks in chasing fast-moving tokens, where paper gains can disappear really fast when leverage, thin markets, and concentrated ownership collide.

Why a Few Wallets Can Move the Whole Market

In a post on X, Ogle made a basic observation about this market: that a lot of people are sitting on hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions of dollars in gains that they have not actually cashed out. According to him, if even two or three of these traders were to sell, it would trigger a major price drop, especially for smaller meme coins.

“When a ton of people have made hundreds of $k or $m in a token, unrealized, in this type of market, it only takes 2-3 of them to sell (if the token is small, especially a meme with little liquidity) for everything to collapse quickly,” he wrote.

The analyst explained that the problem became even worse if the token was listed on perpetual futures exchanges, where traders often borrowed funds to place large bets.

He gave an example of $CASHCAT, the meme coin built on the Robinhood Chain, that jumped more than 3,200% over the past week and briefly pushed its market cap to around $226 million about a day ago when its price hit an all-time high ($ATH) of $0.2288 per CoinGecko data.

According to Lookonchain, that rally saw a few winners, including one trader who bought 15 million $CASHCAT tokens for about $838 and turned that into a profit of over $1 million. However, had they waited a few more days, they would have walked away with nearly $2.9 million. Another trader spent $69 and sold for $711, which, while a tidy 10x on their investment, would have been worth $2.7 million had they also waited.

However, things may have also gone south for those traders since, as Ogle noted, the asset experienced some pretty big liquidations, which came right after the launch of a perpetual contract on Hyperliquid.

You may also like:

• Scammer Makes $135K After Hijacking SpaceX, Starlink Accounts to Shill Meme Coin
• ZachXBT Turns Unwanted Meme Coin Donations Into $41K for Venezuela Relief
• New Federal Data Reveals Donald Trump Holds $50 Million in Bitcoin in Cold Wallet

Data from CoinGecko shows $CASHCAT’s value crashed by approximately 60% with about 90% of long positions liquidated, intensifying selling pressure and volatility. At the time of writing, the meme coin had made some recovery and was trading just below $0.16, although that price still represented an over 18% dip in 24 hours, pushing the coin more than 30% below its $ATH.

Utility Tokens vs. Short-Term Meme Bets

In his X post, Ogle, who’s an advisor for the Trump family-backed World Liberty Financial, said that while meme coins can produce quick returns, his trading experience had seen him make the biggest gains from utility-focused assets such as Solana, BNB, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin.

According to him, those investments are slower plays that require patience, and many traders often lose interest before the assets can deliver larger returns.

A hacker made off with over $135,000 after hijacking the X accounts of SpaceX and Starlink to promote a meme coin.

The profiles were used to shill a Robinhood-based token that briefly hit a $2 million market cap before crashing to almost zero.

SpaceX and Starlink Fall Victim to Compromise

Screenshots circulating on social media show both accounts reposting content from the token’s profile, with the posts featuring a Sam Altman (SCATMAN) meme coin and tags claiming they were associated with SpaceX.

On-chain data shows the hacker created 10 trillion tokens and sold the entire stash, converting it into 59 Ether ($ETH) worth around $108,000 shortly after the posts went live.

According to Lookonchain, a separate wallet linked to the attacker made another sale of 59.28 million SCATMAN tokens for 14.7 $ETH, valued at approximately $27,000, bringing the total profit to roughly $135,000. The on-chain analytics platform also identified the two addresses used by the hacker.

Per GeckoTerminal data, SCATMAN’s market cap surged to over $2 million before being immediately rug-pulled. Meanwhile, both companies have since deleted the fake posts and regained control of their accounts.

Rug Pulls Remain Common in Crypto Space

Prominent social media account takeovers have become common in the crypto space, many of which have been used to pump and dump low-cap cryptocurrencies.

You may also like:

• Was It a Hack or Governance? BONK’s $21M Treasury Vote Divides Crypto
• ZachXBT Turns Unwanted Meme Coin Donations Into $41K for Venezuela Relief
• New Federal Data Reveals Donald Trump Holds $50 Million in Bitcoin in Cold Wallet

For instance, Scroll co-founder Ye Chen’s X account was hijacked in January 2026, with attackers impersonating platform staff and sending phishing messages about copyright violations that tricked crypto leaders into clicking malicious links.

A couple of months later, Pepe creator Matt Furie’s account was used to promote a scam token. Around the same time, WinRAR’s official account was also compromised to push a fake Solana meme coin to its followers.

The most notable breach came in May when Keith Gill, popularly known as Roaring Kitty, had his dormant account breached. In this case, hackers launched Red Kitten Crew (RKC) on Solana and walked away with more than $600,000 in half an hour.

Each case followed a pattern seen in crypto several times, where influencers create hype, developers cash out, and retail traders are left dealing with losses.

Jito has proposed a governance overhaul that would direct 100% of the DAO’s JTX revenue share toward open-market $JTO buybacks and permanent token burns through at least Q4 2027.

According to a governance proposal published by Jito on July 13, the protocol has introduced JIP-38, which would formally classify Jito as a token-centric network where nearly all major network revenue flows to the decentralized autonomous organization and remains under the control of $JTO token holders.

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 proposal triggered an immediate market reaction, with Jito ($JTO) climbing as much as 8% shortly after its release, according to data from crypto.news.

Revenue would be redirected to $JTO holders

Under JIP-38, Jito proposes using the DAO’s entire share of JTX revenue to buy $JTO tokens on the open market before permanently removing those tokens from circulation. According to the proposal, this arrangement would remain in place for at least one year, extending through the fourth quarter of 2027.

One exception remains in the framework. The proposal states that 20% of JTX platform fees would continue to be reinvested into JTX development rather than being allocated to buybacks and burns. Jito said the remaining major revenue streams would continue flowing through the DAO under governance controlled by $JTO holders.

To carry out the program, the proposal calls for buybacks to be executed automatically through a Rev Splitter mechanism overseen by the project’s Dev Council. Alongside the automation process, Jito plans to update its governance documentation so the protocol’s operating model formally recognizes the token-centric structure.

According to JIP-38, existing revenue allocation commitments would be completed before a comprehensive review of protocol fee streams takes place in Q4 2027.

During that review, governance participants would evaluate the performance of token buybacks, ecosystem incentives, and other capital allocation methods before $JTO holders vote on the network’s next long-term revenue framework.

Governance changes extend beyond token burns

Beyond the buyback program, JIP-38 outlines several operational changes intended to support the new revenue structure. According to the proposal, the Rev Splitter would become progressively more automated while governance records would be updated to match the revised economic model.

Jito also stated in the proposal that the framework is designed so value generated across the network accrues to the $JTO token instead of external corporate entities. Any future changes to revenue allocation after Q4 2027 would require approval through governance voting by $JTO holders.

The proposal arrives as Jito continues expanding its presence across the Solana ecosystem. Earlier this year, as previously reported by crypto.news, 21Shares launched the 21Shares Jito Staked SOL ETP (JSOL) on Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Paris.

The issuer said the product provides regulated exchange-traded exposure to Solana through JitoSOL while embedding staking rewards, allowing investors to access the asset through traditional brokers and banks without managing wallets or staking infrastructure.

Institutional support for the protocol has also grown over the past year. As previously reported by crypto.news, Andreessen Horowitz’s (a16z) crypto division invested $50 million in Jito to help expand the Solana staking protocol’s ecosystem.

The investment included an allocation of $JTO tokens to the venture firm, adding another high-profile backer as the protocol seeks approval for its latest governance proposal.