Lawmakers are expected to break in a matter of days, but there are still items on the legislative agenda to address, including two crypto bills passed by the House. US Republican lawmakers and President Donald Trump were able to overcome inter-party disputes to get three crypto bills passed through the House of Representatives last week, but some of the legislation still has a ways to go before it becomes law. After two long sessions in the House last week, on Thursday all but 12 Republicans and more than 100 Democrats voted yay on the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, a bill to regulate payment stablecoins, which Trump signed into law about 24 hours later. The other two bills, the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act and the Anti-CBDC (central bank digital currency) Surveillance State Act, will head to the Senate for consideration as both chambers prepare to break for an August recess. Read more
Block’s inclusion in the S&P 500 could indirectly increase equity investors' exposure to Bitcoin and the asset’s mainstream acceptance. Jack Dorsey's technology company Block joined the Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) index on Wednesday, marking the third public company with Bitcoin holdings to join the global benchmark. Block holds 8,584 Bitcoin (BTC) worth approximately $1 billion, according to BitcoinTreasuries.NET. That stash makes Block the 13th-largest corporate holder of BTC. The company's shares on the NYSE exchange have jumped nearly 14% over the past five days since the company announced it would join the S&P 500. Read more
XRP’s tight range trading resolved to the downside, but lower levels are expected to attract buyers. Key point: XRP’s drop below $3.40 opens the gate for a decline to $3. Would a solid bounce off $3 lead to aggressive buying from bulls? XRP (XRP) rose to a multi-year high above $3.66 on Friday, indicating aggressive buying by the bulls. That helped XRP’s market capitalization exceed that of the global fast-food giant McDonald’s on Monday. However, the failure to sustain the momentum may have tempted short-term buyers to book profits after the sharp run-up. Read more