Crypto

FARTCOIN surges 23% in 24H, breaks resistance at $1.53 as volume, whale activity, and OI hit record highs.

Bhutan’s unique naming culture and values of sovereignty make it a strong candidate for adopting blockchain-based identity systems. Opinion by: Ezra Reguerra, journalist at Cointelegraph The Kingdom of Bhutan’s openness to dive into Web3 technology creates an opportunity to build a blockchain-based identity infrastructure and modernize the nation’s approach to digital identity.  Bhutan is a Himalayan country where modernization is paced and driven by its culture and values. Its Gross National Happiness (GNH) development philosophy pushes the country to take a cautious approach to tourism and technology. Because of this, Bhutan has historically chosen sovereignty over scale.  Read more

What does Crypto Week in Congress, and the drama that ensued Wednesday, have to do with the Jeffrey Epstein scandal? More than you might think, according to D.C. policy insiders.

Aplus and SBI VC Trade launch Japan’s first point-to-crypto program, letting users earn XRP, BTC and ETH from everyday spending. On July 8, 2025, Aplus, a credit card and financial services company under Japan’s Shinsei Bank Group, collaborated with SBI VC Trade, the cryptocurrency exchange division of SBI Holdings, to introduce a pioneering rewards program.  For the first time, cryptocurrencies have been incorporated as redeemable assets within the Aplus Points program. If you are an Aplus credit cardholder, you can now convert your reward points into cryptocurrencies, including XRP (XRP), Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). This makes Aplus the first major Japanese loyalty program to enable direct conversion of points to cryptocurrencies.  Read more

Over 70 of the top 100 cryptocurrencies are in the green since this time yesterday—and notably, Bitcoin isn't one of them. 

ETH continues its “up only rally” after breaking $3,000, as an Ethereum trader says the price could top between $7,000 and $10,000 this cycle. Key takeaways: Ether price has climbed to a six-month high, driven by record ETF inflows and rising network activity.  The RSI buy signal at 40 in April, historically tied to major ETH price rallies, suggests a potential price target of $7,000-$10,000 in 2025. Read more

AI-controlled “slaughterbot” drones likely within 12 months in Ukraine, new research suggests AI agents are 70% useless, and more: AI Eye. A few years ago, arms control groups warned of a dystopian future where swarms of AI drones called Slaughterbots would lay waste to humanity. That reality has edged closer thanks to the drone arms race between Ukraine and Russia. Each side jams the radio frequencies the other uses to remotely pilot drones, so last year they switched to drones that unspool up to 20 kilometres of fiber-optic cable behind them, allowing them to be piloted via a wired connection. Now, a Ukrainian drone startup called the Fourth Law says AI-piloted drones are likely to emerge in the next six months. They wont be tiny like in the film, but they will be lethal. When were talking about full autonomy, I think were definitely going to see singular demos by the end of this year, founder Yaroslav Azhnyuk told the Kyiv Independent. Read more

Tether’s USDt stablecoin has surpassed $160 billion market cap, confirming its place as the digital dollar, as Tron leads in blockchain supply. The market cap of Tether’s USDt, the world’s largest stablecoin, has surpassed $160 billion for the first time, a “new mind-blowing milestone,” according to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino. In a Thursday post on X, Ardoino called the achievement a testament to USDt’s growing role as the digital dollar for “billions of people living in emerging markets and developing countries.” USDt crossed $150 billion in May. Ardoino has said that USDt (USDT) is used by more than 400 million people worldwide, expanding by 35 million wallets each quarter, especially in emerging markets where it serves as a reliable dollar substitute. Read more

Pump.fun has become a hotbed for world record attempts, with the latest dev gunning to tattoo the Solana launchpad’s name 700 times.

Boosty Labs founder and CEO Viktor Ihnatiuk told Cointelegraph that Tether’s USDT will be RGB’s first real-world use case for stablecoin transfers on Bitcoin. Smart contract and asset issuance system RGB Protocol said it had launched on the Bitcoin mainnet, enabling tokenized assets like stablecoins, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and custom tokens within the Bitcoin ecosystem.  On Thursday, the protocol announced that tokenization tools allowing users to create, send and manage digital assets on Bitcoin and the Lightning Network were available.  The protocol said it enables new tokenization functions on top of the network, while preserving its principles of decentralization, privacy and self-custody.  Read more

BTCFi TVL soared from $304 million to $7 billion in 2024 — driven by new protocols and institutional inflows — but trust, risks, and infrastructure hurdles still hinder adoption. Bitcoin-based decentralized finance (DeFi), often referred to as BTCFi, is experiencing significant growth but still faces challenges. According to DefiLlama data, Bitcoin-based (BTC) DeFi protocols’ total value locked (TVL) went from $304.66 million on Jan. 1, 2024, to $6.5 billion by Dec. 31, 2024. As of publication, DefiLlama data shows that BTCFi has a TVL of $7.05 billion. This translates to an increase of more than 22 times. A report shared by Bitcoin smart contract layer Arch Network suggests that “this surge was fueled by new protocol launches, emerging token standards, institutional inflows, a major price rally pushing BTC to an all-time high, and the rise of liquid restaking.” Read more

Despite the rising DEX-to-CEX ratio, centralized exchanges still lead in the crypto spot market, posting $3.9 trillion in trading volume, compared to $877 billion for DEXs. Cryptocurrency traders have been moving away from centralized exchanges (CEXs) in favor of decentralized exchanges (DEXs), pushing the CEX-to-DEX ratio to a new all-time high. Spot trading volume on DEXs surged at least 25% in the second quarter of 2025 over the previous quarter, while CEXs volumes plunged almost 28%, according to the latest quarterly industry report by the crypto data aggregator CoinGecko. This shift drove the DEX-to-CEX ratio to a record high in Q2, rising from 0.13 in the previous quarter to 0.23, the report noted. Read more

This episode of the Clear Crypto Podcast uncovers how Bitcoin is shedding its passive role and becoming a usable financial tool through wrapped assets, bridges and new DeFi use cases. For years, Bitcoin (BTC) has remained in digital hibernation, meaning it is held tightly in wallets and admired as “digital gold,” though rarely used. According to StarkWare’s Bitcoin lead Ilia Volokh, that era may be ending. On the latest episode of The Clear Crypto Podcast, hosts Nathan Jeffay and Gareth Jenkinson dig into what it means for Bitcoin to evolve from a static store of value to a dynamic financial instrument.  The conversation centers on how innovations like wrapped Bitcoin and trustless bridges may unlock new uses for the world’s most well-known cryptocurrency. Read more

The US SEC has extended its decision deadline on whether to allow in-kind redemptions for Bitwise’s spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs on NYSE Arca. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) extended its deadline for ruling on in-kind redemptions for two separate crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs). According to a Wednesday SEC filing, the regulator will take more time to decide whether to allow in-kind redemptions on NYSE Arca for Bitwise’s Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) spot ETFs. The time limit for the decision was extended, but the underlying limit remains “45 days, extendable to no more than 90.” “The Commission finds it appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change, and the issues raised therein,” the announcement read. Read more

The region is emerging as a focal point in the global surge of crypto-related theft and laundering, according to a new report.

There have already been 35 reported physical attacks on Bitcoiners in just the first seven months of 2025. Bitcoin “wrench attacks” — a violent form of cryptocurrency theft — could see its worst year in 2025, with criminals spurred on by Bitcoin’s soaring market value, according to Chainalysis. “Wrench attacks” refer to a situation where physical force or intimidation is used to force a victim to give up their crypto holdings, and Chainalysis said that with 35 attacks already recorded as of July, the numbers are on track to “have potentially twice as many physical attacks as the next highest year on record.”  The last bull market peak in 2021 was the worst year on record, with a total of 36 recorded attacks against crypto holders, according to a list compiled by Jameson Lopp, a cypherpunk and co-founder of self-custodial firm Casa on GitHub.  Read more

BitMEX said the PUMP token defied the odds, with its funding rates trending positively despite a large initial float. Almost 60% of presale participants in Pump.fun’s initial coin offering (ICO) have already sold or transferred their tokens to centralized exchanges (CEXs) or other wallets, according to data shared by BitMEX.  Citing onchain data, the crypto exchange said that of the 10,145 ICO participants in the PUMP presale, 6,042 wallets (59.6%) had already sold or transferred their tokens to CEXs.  Meanwhile, 3,791 wallets (37.4%) continued to hold their tokens, while a small group of 312 wallets (3%) had increased their holdings a week after the token launch.  Read more

XRP’s market cap could surge past $250 billion, backed by historical fractals and Fibonacci targets after a key breakout pattern. Key takeaways: XRP is about to pass $200 billion in market capitalization for the first time. XRP price is up 35% against Bitcoin in July. Read more

Crypto firms must prepare for stricter rules by 2026 as AUSTRAC targets sector-wide financial crime vulnerabilities.

ETH, DOGE lead crypto majors higher. ETH ETF inflows now 50-90% BTC inflows. BTC inflows to exchanges hit $9.4bn after CPI. House fails to advance crypto bills, next vote today. 11 reps who voted against crypto acts will flip: Trump. DeFi leaders opposed part of crypto bill. Cantor nears $4b SPAC deal to acquire BTC. BTC entering more sustainable stage: DB. Sharplink hits $30, on increasing ETH holdings. COIN stock hits ATH, passes $100b market cap. Thiel takes 9% stake in ETH treasury company BMNR. DoJ ends Polymarket probe. BigONE exchange loses $27m in hack. DEA seizes $10m crypto from Sinaloa cartel. UK to make DLT, tokenisation push