Crypto

SBI Crypto will shut down its Bitcoin mining pool on July 31 after more than five years, ranking 12th globally with about 2.2% of hashrate share. SBI Crypto, a cryptocurrency-focused division of Japanese financial conglomerate SBI, is shutting down its Bitcoin mining pool after a five-year run. The company announced Wednesday that it will end mining pool operations on July 31 and will stop accepting mining shares at the same time. It did not provide its rationale for closing the pool. SBI Crypto said miners should keep directing hashrate to the pool until the cutoff so final payouts can be calculated correctly before operations end. “We would sincerely appreciate your continued support by mining with us until the final day of operation,” it said. Read more

Bitcoin rose after Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said inflation risks had eased. A 7.9% drop in South Korea's Kospi on renewed AI chip worries did little to dent the bid.

Yield-bearing stablecoin supply fell 15% in Q2 as sUSDe and sUSDS contracted, while Treasury-backed products including BUIDL, USYC and USDY continued to grow. Yield-bearing stablecoin supply fell by more than $3.5 billion in the second quarter of 2026, reversing nearly three years of quarterly growth as crypto-native products contracted and Treasury-backed tokens expanded.  Crypto exchange CEX.IO reported Thursday that the category declined by 15% during Q2. Ethena’s sUSDe lost 52% of its supply, shedding nearly $2 billion, while Sky’s sUSDS declined by 16%. Treasury-backed products moved in the opposite direction. BlackRock’s BUIDL grew by 2%, Circle's USYC increased by nearly 16% and Ondo Finance's USDY rose by over 66%, highlighting a widening divide between crypto-native yield assets and products backed by traditional assets.  Read more

OFAC added 134 crypto wallet addresses linked to ISIS-K to its sanctions list, including 131 Tron addresses that received more than $1.4 million in crypto donations, according to Chainalysis. The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 134 cryptocurrency wallet addresses identified as belonging to ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K), which has been a Specially Designated Global Terrorist since September 2015. The wallet addresses were added to the OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list on Wednesday, which includes individuals, entities and digital asset addresses linked to terrorism, narcotics trafficking and other illicit activity. Stablecoin issuer Tether has frozen the balances associated with 131 Tron addresses, while the remaining three sanctioned addresses were on the Monero network, blockchain forensics company Chainalysis said in a Wednesday report. Read more

The proposal aims to give the American public a financial stake in AI while easing political scrutiny of the industry.

The filing ties a full BTC liquidation to debt repayment, collateral language, Nasdaq pressure and an AI pivot. The post A US Bitcoin treasury company sold every BTC because debt and Nasdaq pressure just closed in appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The teenager allegedly helped to breach a luxury jeweler and demand $8 million in crypto, as part of a crew tied to $100 million in ransoms.

Bitcoin price just reclaimed $60,000 after a 21-month low of $58K, and the Ethereum price tagged $1,600 in the bounce as OUSD launches. The post Crypto News, July 2: Circle USDC Hit by Blackrock and Ripple XRP Backed OUSD, Bitcoin and Ethereum Price Recovering appeared first on Cryptonews.

Bitcoin managed to bounce from yesterday's lows, while the majority of large-cap altcoins also turned green despite continued ETF outflow concerns. 

Taiko restored bridge transfers after replenishing asset backing and completing security fixes following an 11-day network disruption. Ethereum layer-2 blockchain Taiko reopened its bridge and restored full operations after a June exploit drained up to $1.7 million.  On Thursday, Taiko announced that users could once again move funds to and from the network after completing the final stage of its four-step recovery plan. The project said it had made all victimized users whole and that any remaining withdrawal limits are temporary safeguards that do not affect normal usage.  The reopening ends an 11-day disruption following the implementation of security fixes and the restoration of the bridge's 1:1 backing. Read more

The Japanese firm, now the world's third largest publicly traded bitcoin holder, reported stronger Bitcoin Income Generation revenue.

Victoria, Seychelles Islands, 2nd July 2026, Chainwire

Metaplanet bought 2,823 Bitcoin during the second quarter, reducing its average acquisition cost to $106,500 per BTC, and reported $10.9 million in revenue from its income generation strategy. Japanese investment company Metaplanet acquired 2,823 Bitcoin during the second quarter at a price below its average purchase price, as its holdings surpassed 43,000 BTC. The company acquired its latest trove at an average price of about 12.71 million yen ($78,850 at current exchange rates), reducing its average acquisition cost to about $95,117 per BTC from $96,258, according to a Thursday announcement. Metaplanet now holds 43,000 Bitcoin acquired for about $4.1 billion. It also reported about $10.95 million in revenue from its Bitcoin income generation strategy in the quarter, which earns premiums by selling cash-secured options and employing other Bitcoin-related yield strategies. Read more

The protocol completed a multi-stage recovery that included an independent security review. The TAIKO token has surged as much as 136% in recent trading.

OpenAI has reportedly discussed giving the US government a 5% equity stake in early Trump administration talks as Washington tightens AI model oversight. OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has reportedly discussed giving the US government a 5% equity stake as artificial intelligence oversight in Washington intensifies. The company raised the idea in early discussions with the Trump administration as it seeks to navigate a tougher political environment ahead of a potential public listing, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman argued that giving the public a financial stake in the company would be the best way to share the economic benefits of the booming AI industry. Read more

The Tokyo-listed company expanded its Bitcoin treasury to 43,000 BTC even as its shares remain down nearly 49% this year.

The stablecoin market has long rewarded the companies that issue digital dollars. They take in customer cash, hold reserves in short-term government securities, and earn the yield. Now, the companies that distribute those tokens want more of the economics. That tension is at the center of Open USD (OUSD), a planned stablecoin backed by more […] The post Coinbase helped build USDC – Why is it now backing the stablecoin trying to replace it, Open USD? appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Johannesburg, South Africa, 2nd July 2026, Chainwire

Validators and the people who stake with them can now formally signal where the network should go through a new system called Solana Governance Proposals. Any validator with 100,000 SOL behind it can open one, and stakers can overrule how their validator votes.