Crypto

A wave of blockbuster AI listings is drawing billions of dollars from global investors, reinforcing a rotation away from crypto.

The two Thai arrests were part of Operation First Light, a 97-country sweep that logged 5,811 arrests and intercepted $293 million.

The Bank of Korea reiterated its call for bank-led won stablecoin issuance while advancing deposit token pilots, as issuer rules remain a sticking point in South Korea’s digital asset bill. The Bank of Korea (BOK) has doubled down on its stance that won-denominated stablecoins should first be issued through bank-led consortiums. According to local reports from Digital Asset and EDaily, the central bank made the comments in materials submitted on Thursday to the National Assembly's finance committee. Local outlets reported that the BOK called for safeguards, including priority issuance by bank-led consortiums and a statutory policy body involving relevant agencies. The latest comments reinforce the BOK's months-long push to keep won stablecoin issuance under bank-led structures. The central bank's stance has divided policymakers and industry groups and contributed to delays in South Korea's digital asset bill. Read more

SWIFT launched its new blockchain ledger that will host a tokenized bank deposit pilot for 17 major banks seeking faster cross-border payments. The world's largest financial messaging network, SWIFT, said its blockchain-based ledger is ready for initial use after nine months of development. Seventeen major banks, including HSBC, Citi, BNP Paribas, UBS, ANZ, DBS and Standard Chartered, are preparing to pilot cross-border payments using tokenized bank deposits on the new ledger, SWIFT announced on Thursday.  The ledger will enable participating banks to support 24/7 cross-border payments, including overnight and weekend transactions, while maintaining existing compliance, credit, risk and control standards embedded in current payment processing. Read more

Fresh Iran news sent us scrambling last night, but the panic did not last. Bitcoin and Ethereum price reversed within hours. Why? The post Crypto News, July 9: Iran Market Fears Fade as Bitcoin and Ethereum Price Shrug Off Another Panic appeared first on Cryptonews.

Santiment reported that bitcoin supply is at its lowest since 2017 and ether since 2015, adding that it doesn’t guarantee prices will move higher but helps set up crypto’s next bull cycle.

Binance is exploring new licensing paths into Europe while continuing to expand its regulatory footprint in Asia, says co-CEO Richard Teng. Binance is in talks with regulators that have invited the exchange to apply for crypto licenses following its withdrawal from the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) application in Greece, according to co-CEO Richard Teng. Teng said at the Reuters NEXT Asia conference in Singapore on Thursday that the discussions are still “premature” and declined to identify the jurisdictions.  MiCA created a single licensing framework for crypto firms across the European Union. After the bloc's transition period expired on July 1, the European Securities and Markets Authority said crypto firms must serve EU clients through a MiCA-authorized entity, with limited exceptions for unsolicited cross-border business. Read more

Alfa-Bank is testing cryptocurrency trading for qualified investors as Russia moves toward regulating digital assets and banks prepare new crypto services. Russia’s largest private bank, Alfa-Bank, is reportedly preparing to offer cryptocurrency services as the country continues developing a legal framework for the digital asset market. Dmitry Vitman, chief operating officer of Alfa-Bank’s corporate and investment banking division, said the bank plans to roll out a suite of crypto services once the relevant digital asset legislation takes effect, Russian publication RBC reported on Wednesday. The announcement comes as Russia’s largest banks prepare for a regulated crypto market, with Sber, VTB and T-Bank also outlining crypto plans amid progress on the country's digital asset legislation. Read more

In contrast, ARB and SKY are today's top performers, gaining around 9% each.

Bitcoin traders face a crucial test as $63,000 remains the barrier bulls must overcome before further upside.

U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs lost a net $84 million on Wednesday, ending a three-day inflow run that had pulled in roughly $509 million

Former BOJ official issues interest-rate warning as yen continues to slide against the dollar.

Robinhood's blockchain went live on July 1 to move stocks onchain. Its first breakout hit is a memecoin named after the mascot the company abandoned.

We will also take a look at PI's latest price performance in this article, which has been quite underwhelming.

Senator Ron Wyden has called on Senate leaders to ensure the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act remains in the CLARITY Act when it is brought to the floor. US Democratic Senator Ron Wyden has urged Senate leaders to ensure that crypto developer protections stay in the crypto market structure legislation that lawmakers are looking to pass ahead of the midterms. Wyden told Senate Minority Leader John Thune and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer to preserve a section of the CLARITY Act known as the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA), according to a letter shared by Crypto in America podcast co-founder Eleanor Terrett on Wednesday. “Developers who make and release software that allows people to manage their own digital assets — and, critically, where the developer does not control user assets — should not be treated as money transmitters solely because they create or publish software,” Wyden wrote. Read more

Onchain scammers netted more than $14 billion last year, and approval phishing remains a primary attack vector. A crypto user lost nearly $1 million on Wednesday after signing a phishing token approval on Ethereum, according to onchain data. It comes as the industry recorded $366 million in phishing losses in the first half of the year.  A Scam Sniffer alert on Thursday revealed a victim lost 999,999 USDt (USDT) to an Ethereum phishing token approval scam. Scammers first tried draining a rounded $1 million via multicalls but failed due to insufficient funds, then succeeded seconds later by pulling the exact remaining balance in follow-up transfers. “The script recalculated and pulled the exact remaining balance,” Scam Sniffer said. Read more

Hackers have also been exploiting the codebases of defunct decentralized finance protocols, draining millions of dollars in customer funds. Blockchain security experts are urging crypto protocols to reaudit their smart contracts as AI tooling is making it easier for hackers to identify vulnerabilities more quickly than ever before.  “Our data argues for continuous review rather than a one-time audit,” TRM Labs head of policy Ari Redbord told Cointelegraph, adding that “attack techniques are moving faster than a single audit from launch day can account for.” CertiK reported Monday that hackers stole another $1.32 billion in the first half of 2026 and have adopted increasingly sophisticated strategies in response to strengthened security measures across the industry. Read more

Ethereum advocates are confident that the fundamentals are bullish, but investors in the asset remain extremely bearish. 

XRP defended the $1.00-$1.05 support zone, but the near-term chart remains capped below resistance as analysts track larger wedge and channel patterns.

Oil climbed for a third day and gold fell for a fourth while bitcoin is up 1.6% on the week.