US Crypto Bill Falters as Political Divisions Deepen

Prospects for the Clarity Act (CLARITY) are diminishing as the August recess deadline approaches, even with an ethics agreement involving President Donald Trump, a wealthy memecoin entrepreneur. The bill is facing significant headwinds despite securing support from financial giants like Goldman Sachs and Fidelity, as well as law enforcement organizations.

At the heart of the deadlock is a controversial ethics deal. The agreement would bar all U.S. officials from sponsoring or issuing digital assets. However, Democrats have raised alarms about provisions they see as a "get out of jail free" card for the President, particularly because the rules are set to expire on the day he is scheduled to leave office in 2029.

Further complicating matters is the enforcement mechanism. The provisions would be enforced by the Attorney General appointed by Trump. Democrats are pushing for state Attorney Generals to have enforcement power, a change Trump is unlikely to accept as it could empower numerous state officials to potentially prosecute him.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has expressed doubts that the act currently has enough votes to pass. He indicated, however, that he might call a vote regardless to "get Clarity started. We’ll see where the votes are."

The White House has touted the bill as the “most comprehensive and wide-ranging ethics provision in history.” In stark contrast, Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego dismissed it as a “piece of s---” and “not a serious effort.”

While negotiations are ongoing to find a workable compromise, the deep-seated lack of trust between the two sides presents a major challenge. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon acknowledged the bill is “not perfect” but has voiced his support, joining Fidelity and Charles Schwab, which each manage trillions in assets.

Law enforcement groups have also started to signal their approval. The National Fraternal Order of Police, which represents hundreds of thousands of members, stated that the most recent version of the BRCA, a clause protecting developers of decentralized protocols, would not hinder investigations into fraud and money laundering.

On the prediction market Polymarket, the odds of the bill passing this year stand at 38%.

Crypto Exchange Landscape Shifts as Pioneers Exit

BitMEX, a trailblazer in cryptocurrency derivatives, announced that it will cease its operations in September after an 11-year run. Launched in 2014, the exchange gained fame for introducing perpetual swaps with 100x leverage.

In recent years, however, BitMEX has seen its trading volumes collapse amid fierce competition from major exchanges like Binance and decentralized alternatives such as Hyperliquid. According to CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju, BitMEX's portion of the Bitcoin futures market has dwindled to a mere 0.08%, with daily trading volume around $84 million. “It was a great exchange that helped shape the industry, and now it is passing the torch to the next generation of exchanges it inspired,” Ju commented.

Following the shutdown announcement, the value of BitMEX’s utility token, BMEX, plummeted. On the same day, a class-action lawsuit emerged, accusing the platform of fraudulently engineering customer liquidations to confiscate traders' collateral. BitMEX has denied these allegations, stating it has successfully defended against similar claims before.

Roshan Dharia, a restructuring adviser, told Cointelegraph that the exchange's downfall is indicative of a consolidating industry. As if to prove his point, BitMart also announced shortly after that it too would be closing in the coming months.

New Institutional Benchmark Arrives Without Bitcoin or XRP

S&P Dow Jones Indices has collaborated with Pantera Capital to introduce a new digital asset index that tracks major crypto assets but notably excludes Bitcoin and XRP.

The S&P Pantera Digital Asset Index is positioned to become the primary crypto index for institutional investors. It employs a screening process that filters blockchains based on minimum thresholds for protocol revenue, liquidity, and market capitalization.

At its launch, the index comprises 18 constituents. Its five largest holdings are Ether (ETH), BNB (BNB), Solana (SOL), TRON (TRX), and Hyperliquid (HYPE). The two largest assets not included are Bitcoin (BTC) and XRP (XRP).

This new index is part of a wider industry movement to create institutional-grade benchmarks for digital assets. Other similar products include the Nasdaq Crypto Index US ETF, the Franklin Crypto Index ETF, and the Coinbase Store of Value Index.

Robinhood in Talks to Expand Prediction Markets

Robinhood is reportedly in discussions with the crypto exchange Crypto.com to broaden its offerings in prediction markets. According to The Wall Street Journal, these talks center on integrating yes-or-no event contracts provided by Crypto.com.

Robinhood first launched its prediction markets in March 2025, using services from Kalshi to meet regulatory requirements from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Last week, Bernstein analysts showed confidence in Robinhood's strategic direction, raising their price target for the company's stock (HOOD) from $130 to $160 per share. The upgrade was based on the firm's positive outlook for prediction markets and tokenized equities.

Meanwhile, the CFTC, which is positioning itself as the main regulator for prediction markets, issued a warning to platform providers last week, demanding more specificity regarding their event contract certifications. During a House Agriculture Committee hearing, Carl Kennedy, a partner at the law firm Katten Muchin, suggested that the CLARITY Act could bolster the CFTC's ability to oversee the "explosive growth of prediction markets.”

Network School Relocates to Kazakhstan

Balaji Srinivasan’s Network School, a community of "digital nomads," is preparing to establish a new campus in Kazakhstan. The move comes after its campus in Forest City, Malaysia, had its business license revoked due to alleged violations of premises use.

A memorandum of understanding has been signed between Srinivasan and Zhaslan Madiyev, Kazakhstan’s relevant Minister, to create the first Network School campus in the country. The initiative is part of Kazakhstan's larger goal to become a digital hub.

The school was compelled to leave its Johor location in Malaysia following a controversy over permitting Israeli dual citizens to enroll. Malaysia, a Muslim-majority nation, does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. Although an investigation cleared the school of any visa violations, it was ordered to shut down on a different pretext.

Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly Capital, commented that the entire episode has served to validate Balaji’s Network State thesis.

Physical Crypto Thefts and Bridge Hacks Surge

A new report from blockchain security firm CertiK reveals a disturbing trend: home invasions became the most prevalent form of "wrench attack" against crypto holders in the first half of 2026. The number of publicly reported incidents surged to 20, up from just one during the same period a year earlier.

On Thursday, CertiK confirmed it had verified 52 wrench attacks globally in the first six months of 2026, a 33.3% increase from the 39 incidents recorded in the first half of 2025. Kidnappings also rose, from 12 to 16, while robberies fell from five to just one.

The financial toll of these physical attacks reached approximately $124.1 million, a massive jump from the $10.5 million reported a year prior. CertiK noted that the rise in home invasions indicates criminals are increasingly opting to bypass digital security by physically coercing crypto owners and their families.

In separate incidents, hackers exploited two crypto bridges just hours apart, stealing over $31.6 million. According to Blockaid, the first attack on Wednesday targeted a cross-chain bridge operated by AFX, a decentralized perpetual exchange on Arbitrum, resulting in a loss of $24.15 million. Hours later, Blockaid detected another exploit on the Verus Ethereum Bridge, where about $7.5 million in crypto was stolen.

Onchain investigator TheCrypticWolf commented on X, “Another bridge, another exploit. Bridges will always be a weak link, until security is upgraded.”

Weekly Market and Investment Flow Analysis

At the week's end, market data from CoinMarketCap showed Bitcoin (BTC) trading at $65,395, Ether (ETH) at $1,958, and XRP (XRP) at $1.11. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.24 trillion.

Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, the week's biggest altcoin gainers were:

• Audiera (BEAT), up 53%
• Shinba Inu (SHIB), up 29%
• Venice Token (VVV), up 19%

The top three losers for the week were:

• DeXe (DEXE), down 89%
• Midnight (NIGHT), down 26%
• Pyth Network (PYTH), down 10%

According to Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise, Bitcoin is “finally showing signs of a bottom.” He predicts that upcoming integrations with traditional finance (TradFi), especially through platforms like Hyperliquid and Robinhood, will ignite the next crypto bull market. This rising tide, he suggested, should “lift” major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ether. Hougan highlighted the benefits crypto brings to conventional markets, such as 24/7 trading, and pointed out that today “nearly half the volume on Hyperliquid is in conventional assets like oil, silver, and the S&P 500 [and] it’s expanding into spot commodities, prediction markets, and options.” Data from Bitwise also indicates that apparent demand for BTC is showing signs of a reversal, a metric that compares newly-mined BTC to the supply that has been inactive for at least a year.

Turning to investment flows, U.S.-listed spot Ethereum ETFs experienced $70.62 million in net outflows on Friday, breaking a five-day inflow streak. Data from SoSoValue shows that these funds had attracted $211.25 million in net inflows over the five sessions starting July 17. For the week ending Friday, they still recorded $103.9 million in net inflows, marking their third consecutive week of positive flows and bringing their total for July to $337.74 million. In contrast, Bitcoin ETFs reversed earlier gains to finish the week with $33.9 million in inflows.