Three Democratic senators have opposed the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act unless lawmakers add stronger ethics rules covering senior officials and their families.

Senators Chris Murphy, Jeff Merkley and Chris Van Hollen raised their objections during a July 14 press conference organized with Americans for Financial Reform and Indivisible.

The lawmakers tied their opposition to President Donald Trump’s crypto businesses, including his memecoin and the World Liberty Financial project. Murphy claimed Trump earned $1.4 billion from crypto in 2025. Trump has rejected claims of wrongdoing involving his digital asset interests.

Senators demand conflict-of-interest protections

Murphy said Congress should not create a new crypto framework without rules that prevent officials from profiting from the industry they regulate. He said, “There is no reason to pass a new regulatory system for crypto if this system does not stop Trump’s corruption.”

Merkley called for restrictions covering the president, vice president, Cabinet officials, members of Congress and their families. Van Hollen also argued that the bill needs stronger consumer, anti-crime and conflict-of-interest provisions before he can support it.

The lawmakers did not reject digital asset regulation as a general goal. Their position centers on whether the final Senate text includes enforceable ethics language. Senator Elizabeth Warren has made a similar demand, calling for restrictions on crypto profits involving senior government officials.

Thune commits to vote before August recess

Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Bloomberg Government that the chamber will vote on the CLARITY Act during the current work period. He said leaders had not fixed the exact date and added that Democratic support remains the main question.

The press conference organizers listed July 20 as the expected vote date. However, Thune only committed to action before the recess and said the exact timing remained undecided.

The Senate’s official calendar starts its state work period on Aug. 10, leaving Aug. 7 as the final scheduled session day before the break. As of July 15, the public Senate floor schedule did not list a CLARITY Act vote, leaving the reported timing still subject to change.

The bill needs 60 votes, so Republicans cannot pass it without Democratic support. The House approved the CLARITY Act in July 2025 by a 294-134 vote. The measure would divide digital asset oversight between the SEC and CFTC while setting registration and custody rules for crypto firms.

Ethics dispute adds to unresolved policy fights

As previously reported, ethics rules are one of three disputes shaping the Senate negotiations. Lawmakers also remain divided over protections for non-custodial developers and whether crypto platforms may offer rewards tied to stablecoin balances.

The ethics debate has gained urgency as senators prepare a combined draft from the Banking and Agriculture committees. Supporters want a durable federal framework, while opponents say the bill should not move without clear limits on financial conflicts involving public officials.

Bill also gains law enforcement support

The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association have backed the bill. FLEOA also requested tighter DeFi accountability rules and language preserving federal investigative powers.

As reported by crypto.news, the two endorsements give supporters added backing before the Senate vote. However, the ethics opposition shows that the bill still lacks the bipartisan coalition needed for passage. The final wording and vote date remain unsettled.

The European Central Bank is moving the digital euro from planning into testing, with dozens of payment companies joining the next stage of the project.

The ECB selected 36 payment service providers (PSPs) to participate in a digital euro pilot, according to an official announcement published Tuesday.

The list of selected PSPs includes fintechs Stripe and Revolut alongside traditional banks including Deutsche Bank, UniCredit and BPCE. Revolut has recently adjusted some cryptocurrency services for EU users by phasing out support for Tether USDt.

The pilot comes as governments take different approaches to digital currencies. While Europe is expanding testing of its proposed central bank digital currency (CBDC), the US has moved to block the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC.

Italy tops list of digital euro pilot providers

The ECB began selecting providers from across the euro area for its digital euro pilot earlier this year, with the 12-month trial set to begin in the second half of 2027.

The central bank said it received more than 50 applications from payment companies after opening a call for interest in March 2026. The selected participants include traditional banks, payment processors and non-bank service providers.

Source: ECB

Italy has the largest number of selected participants, with seven companies joining the pilot, including UniCredit, Poste Italiane, Nexi Payments, Banca Sella, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Isybank and Numia.

Germany follows with five selected providers, while Portugal and Greece each have three. The ECB said the mix of countries is designed to create a broad testing environment, with selected providers able to offer pilot services outside their home markets.

Strong interest in digital euro pilot

ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone, who chairs the high-level task force on a digital euro, said the level of participation shows private-sector interest in helping develop it, adding that the Central Bank expects deeper cooperation with payment providers during the pilot.

“We look forward to deeper engagement as we work with and learn alongside European payment service providers in developing a secure, efficient and inclusive digital euro,” Cipollone said.

Related: South Korea to test tokenized government bonds with CBDC in 2027

The pilot will involve the ECB and the central banks of 19 bloc-members, including Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands, alongside payment companies and merchants testing the system before any potential token issuance.

Selected providers will have different responsibilities during the trial, with some focused on supporting user access to beta digital euro services and others helping merchants accept payments. Several companies will take on both roles, the ECB said.

Magazine: The 5 types of real world assets being tokenized fastest onchain

Reed Smith has launched an automated MiCA compliance platform as crypto firms across the European Union have entered full regulatory supervision following the end of the bloc’s transition period.

According to global law firm Reed Smith, the new platform, called Aquarius, automates key compliance tasks under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, including crypto-asset classification, regulatory white paper generation, due diligence and environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures.

Designed for companies entering the European market or expanding existing crypto services, the platform combines automated compliance workflows with legal support to simplify MiCA requirements. Reed Smith said future versions will also support crypto compliance regimes in the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

The launch comes shortly after the European Union’s MiCA transition period ended on July 1, when crypto companies could no longer rely on temporary national exemptions in member states that adopted the full grandfathering period. The framework now requires crypto-asset service providers to meet common licensing, consumer protection, and operational standards across all 27 EU member states.

Reed Smith has continued expanding its digital asset practice through its “On Chain” initiative. The firm acted as legal counsel to the placement agents in Trump Media’s $2.5 billion Bitcoin treasury financing and also advised Nakamoto Holdings on its merger with KindlyMD to establish a Bitcoin treasury company.

Focus moves from licensing to supervision

Recent regulatory activity indicates that European authorities are now concentrating on how licensed firms operate after receiving approval.

Last week, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) began a Common Supervisory Action covering selected MiCA-authorized crypto-asset service providers. According to ESMA, the review examines custody operations, including private key management, transaction controls, incident response procedures and reliance on third-party technology providers.

Sebastien Dessimoz, co-founder and managing partner of digital asset infrastructure provider Taurus, previously said obtaining a MiCA licence is only the starting point for custodians because regulators now expect firms to demonstrate that their operational controls can withstand real-world risks. He added that supervision increasingly focuses on cybersecurity, governance and protection of client assets rather than licensing alone.

Institutional expectations have also increased. Jody Mettler, chief operating officer of BitGo and president of BitGo Trust, previously said clients are paying closer attention to how custodians segregate customer assets, control access, respond to security incidents and maintain business continuity during periods of market stress.

Meanwhile, European policymakers continue discussing possible changes to MiCA after its rollout. According to a Euronews report, officials are considering future revisions to stablecoin rules, including the treatment of non-euro-denominated stablecoins, following the passage of the United States’ GENIUS Act.

The European Parliament has also asked the European Commission to examine whether decentralized finance, staking, crypto lending and borrowing, non-fungible tokens and tokenized financial assets should receive more specific treatment under the EU’s crypto framework. Parliament’s position does not change the law but provides political support for further reviews, while any expansion of MiCA would still require separate legislative proposals.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the US government ordered the freezing of more than $130 million in cryptocurrency held in wallets linked to Iran on Tuesday, as hostilities ramped up in the Middle East. 

Earlier on Tuesday, blockchain investigator Specter pointed to onchain data showing Tether froze four Tron wallets holding $131 million worth of USDt (USDT). Bessent confirmed on X that the wallets were tied to the Central Bank of Iran. 

“US Treasury is committed to disrupting and degrading Iran’s illicit financial activities, including its abuse of digital assets,” Bessent said Tuesday. “We will continue to aggressively follow the money and deny the Iranian regime access to the proceeds of its illicit revenue schemes.”

The asset freeze comes amid a collapse in the ceasefire between the US and Iran. The US said it has renewed its blockade of Iranian ports, while the US military’s Central Command announced a new wave of strikes on Iran. Meanwhile, Iran’s military claimed on Tuesday that it carried out drone strikes against US military facilities at Jordan’s Al Azraq Air Base. 

Source: Scott Bessent

The move follows a similar freeze in April, when stablecoin issuer Tether confirmed it had frozen more than $344 million in USDT at the request of US authorities. 

In May, Bessent said the US has seized around $1 billion in Iranian crypto assets as part of the US financial pressure campaign against Iran known as Operation Economic Fury, which launched in March 2025. 

Related: Iran-linked entities moved $3.8B through CoinEx, TRM says 

“Through Economic Fury, the Treasury Department is disrupting the foreign procurement networks that support the Iranian military’s efforts to acquire weapons,” Bessent said in a statement in June.  

“Treasury has frozen the Iranian regime’s assets, severely disrupted its economy, and dismantled the Iranian war machine. Treasury will not tolerate any support of the Iranian military.” 

Magazine: Thai scammer’s $122M wallet, Japan embraces crypto credit: Asia Express

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Confirmo has launched a stablecoin subscription payment service that supports automated recurring billing across more than 700 self-custody wallets and exchange accounts.

According to a July 14 press release shared with crypto.news, Subscribe allows enterprise businesses such as SaaS providers, trading platforms, and subscription services to add recurring stablecoin payments to their existing payment systems without developing the infrastructure internally.

The product has arrived as the global subscription economy is projected to reach $1.2 trillion by 2030, while Confirmo said more than 700 million people, or about 8.5% of the global population, now hold digital assets.

Built on Solana and Polygon, Subscribe initially supports Circle-issued USDC and Paxos-issued USDG. Paxos also serves as Confirmo’s US infrastructure partner, with the companies working together on stablecoin infrastructure and market access.

Subscribe supports wallets and exchange accounts

Unlike services limited to self-custody wallets, Subscribe accepts payments from both wallets and exchange accounts. WalletConnect integration gives customers access through more than 700 supported wallets, according to Confirmo.

Once a customer approves a subscription, the system automatically pulls stablecoins from the selected wallet or account on each billing date. Every payment is recorded from the outset, allowing merchants to monitor completed and scheduled transactions.

Existing Confirmo clients can view subscription activity through the same dashboard used for their other stablecoin payment products. The combined view removes the need to manage recurring transactions through a separate system.

Subscription plans are priced in US dollars to limit exposure to digital asset price changes. Confirmo said stablecoin settlement can also lower cross-border costs and reduce unexpected charges for customers.

Card declines and failed billing attempts can cause subscribers to lose access to a service without choosing to cancel. The company said wallet-based pull payments remove some of those failure points by collecting funds automatically after the customer grants approval.

Anna Kratky Strebl, Group CEO at Confirmo, said the service was developed around the payment needs of the company’s business customers.

“Built in collaboration with our long-term customers, it gives merchants a more transparent, cost-effective way to manage subscription and recurring revenue models, while making it easier for consumers worldwide to pay with the wallets and accounts they already use,” Strebl said.

She added that Confirmo would continue adapting its services as stablecoins become part of mainstream financial infrastructure and businesses seek new digital payment models.

FTMO helped design the payment system

Confirmo developed Subscribe with proprietary trading firm FTMO, which served as the product’s design partner. The collaboration allowed the infrastructure provider to test the system against the operational requirements of an existing merchant before launch.

Milan Flosman, Head of Finance Operations at FTMO, said the service would allow the company to introduce automated stablecoin billing without building its own payment system.

“Subscribe will give us something that didn’t exist before, a way to run automated, recurring stablecoin billing without building it ourselves,” Flosman said.

He added that Confirmo understood FTMO’s setup through the companies’ existing relationship and built the service to integrate with its operations.

“We’re not just looking to accept a new payment method; we’re preparing to launch a new payment model entirely,” Flosman said.

Stablecoin payments continue expanding beyond trading

The launch comes as businesses continue adopting stablecoins for commercial payments instead of limiting their use to crypto trading.

As previously reported by crypto.news, stablecoin cross-border payments were priced below interbank foreign exchange rates throughout the second quarter of 2026, Borderless.xyz highlighted in its Q2 2026 benchmark.

The firm tracked 260 payment corridors across 108 countries using nearly three million exchange rate observations and found stablecoin transfers maintained predictable pricing while provider selection became the largest factor affecting payment costs.

Borderless.xyz also reported that real-world stablecoin payment volume doubled to about $400 billion in 2025 as business-to-business payments, payroll and cross-border settlement gained traction. 

The report said payment providers have continued expanding stablecoin services across new markets, with companies including dLocal and SBI Remit increasing support for international payment corridors.

XRP traded near $1.07 on July 14 after losing about 1% over 24 hours. 

The token moved between $1.06 and $1.08, with daily volume near $955 million and market capitalization around $66.7 billion. Ripple’s native token remained the sixth-largest cryptocurrency.

The price has fallen nearly 6% over seven days and about 7% over one month. It also sits more than 70% below its July 2025 record of $3.65. The latest data shows weak price action near a support area defended several times since late June, while buyers still lack a clear breakout signal.

XRP price remains below key resistance

The XRP/USDT daily chart shows a broader decline from the $1.40 to $1.50 region. Price has stabilized between $1.05 and $1.10, but buyers have not reclaimed the recent recovery zone near $1.15 to $1.20. Analyst Cryptorphic said lower levels remain possible “as long as $1.08 remains resistance.”

$XRP is slowly moving toward the short-term downside target after losing the rising trendline support.
For now, lower levels seem likely as long as $1.08 remains resistance.

This short setup is looking interesting here, and the current structure favors sellers while price stays… pic.twitter.com/Fy9N9NVATm

— Cryptorphic (@Cryptorphic1) July 14, 2026

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The nearest downside level sits around $1.05. A daily close below that area could expose the psychological $1.00 mark. A recovery above $1.08 would ease immediate pressure, while a move through $1.10 could open another test of $1.14 and $1.18.

The relative strength index stood near 40.30, below its signal average of 45.68. The MACD histogram turned slightly positive, but the MACD and signal lines stayed below zero. That setup points to minor stabilization rather than a confirmed trend change, because both momentum lines remain in negative territory.

Binance order flow continues to favor sellers

A CryptoQuant analysis by Arab Chain found that XRP’s Binance Cumulative Volume Delta remained negative at about 6.93 million. CVD measures the difference between market buy and sell orders. A negative reading means sellers executed more volume than buyers.

The 30-day Price-CVD Confirmation Score held near 0.84. The analyst said the reading confirms that price and order flow continue to move together, but does not show enough buying demand for a reversal. A sustained move in CVD above zero, with a rising score, would offer clearer evidence that buyers have returned.

The data supports the short-term chart structure. The token has stayed close to $1.07 while spot sellers limit rebounds. Binance remains one of the largest XRP markets, making its order flow useful for judging whether price moves have support from spot demand.

Bullish social sentiment creates a mixed signal

Santiment said XRP recorded 3.02 bullish comments for every bearish comment on Monday. Ether followed at 2.31, while Bitcoin posted a more balanced ratio of 1.40. XRP therefore carried the strongest level of optimism among the three assets.

Santiment warned that crowded optimism can work against prices when markets already trade lower. “Crypto typically moves opposite to what the crowd is loudly expecting,” the firm wrote. It said strong bullish discussion around XRP and Ether could slow a rebound or create short-term downside risk.

✍️ TL;DR: 5-week high FOMO appears for XRP and Ethereum
📊 Metrics Used: Positive vs. Negative Commentary Ratio
🔗 Live Chart: https://t.co/icmgnCJiFT

📊 Sentiment is no longer fearful across the big three, but it’s also not evenly balanced. On Monday, $XRP is showing the most… pic.twitter.com/3SgH7R1MUG

— Santiment Intelligence (@SantimentData) July 13, 2026

The reading follows an earlier rise in XRP network growth and social interest near the $1 support region. New activity can attract buyers, but sentiment alone does not confirm demand. The split between positive commentary and negative Binance order flow keeps attention on both price and liquidity.

$50 XRP scenario depends on a $100 trillion crypto market

Crypto commentator Moon Lambo calculated that XRP could reach $50.10 if the total cryptocurrency market grew to $100 trillion and XRP retained a 3.13% share. That outcome would assign about $3.13 trillion in value to XRP, based on its circulating supply.

Moon Lambo stated, “I’m not making a prediction.” The calculation only shows price under fixed assumptions. At a 1% share of a $100 trillion market, XRP would trade near $16.01. A 5% share would place it around $80.08, while 10% would imply about $160.15.

Those figures do not describe XRP’s current market setup. The global crypto market would need to expand many times, while XRP would need to retain or increase its share. Supply changes, adoption, regulation and market structure would also affect future valuation.

XRP entered July between support around $1.00 to $1.06 and resistance near $1.18 to $1.20. Spot XRP exchange-traded funds also recorded $7.29 million in net outflows on July 8, their largest daily withdrawal since March.

A former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after admitting he lied to federal investigators about threats made by a cryptocurrency businessman during a 2021 extortion incident.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson also imposed a $10,000 fine on Scott Allen Simpkins, who pleaded guilty on March 17 to one count of obstruction of justice. Simpkins resigned from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Enforcement Bureau after entering his felony plea, according to the office.

Federal prosecutors said Simpkins falsely denied witnessing cryptocurrency businessman Adam Iza threaten a victim with live ammunition during an incident at Iza’s Bel Air home in 2021.

Court records cited by the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Simpkins was working private security at the residence with fellow former LASD deputy Christopher Michael Cadman. Both men were employed by Saavedra & Associates, a private security company owned by then-LASD Deputy Eric Chase Saavedra.

According to prosecutors, Iza placed four or five live 9mm rounds on his desk, spun one of the bullets while threatening the victim, and demanded a $25,000 transfer before Simpkins and Cadman escorted the victim off the property.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the two deputies received $1,400 each for their work that day. After helping Saavedra & Associates secure a longer-term security contract with Iza, the company paid each of them about 10% of its profits from the contract’s first month, prosecutors added.

Iza still awaits sentencing

Separate federal cases against Iza have continued to move forward.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Iza has remained in federal custody since September 2024 after pleading guilty in California in January 2025 to conspiracy against rights, wire fraud, and tax evasion. He has not yet been sentenced in that case.

In a separate prosecution, the U.S. Department of Justice announced in June that Iza also pleaded guilty in federal court in Connecticut to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery. The charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

According to the Justice Department, the Connecticut case involved a 2024 kidnapping plot targeting the parents of Veer Chetal, a man accused of participating in the theft of about 4,100 bitcoin. Prosecutors said Iza and his brother, Saif Faiq, organised the scheme in an attempt to extort cryptocurrency.

As pre DOJ records, Faiq pleaded guilty on June 9, when he admitted recruiting six men from Florida, arranging their travel to Connecticut, and coordinating surveillance before the attack in Danbury. Prosecutors said the group allegedly forced Sushil and Radhika Chetal from their vehicle after staging a collision, assaulted them, and briefly held them captive. The six alleged attackers later pleaded guilty to kidnapping and carjacking offences, according to the department.

Federal records cited by the DOJ show Veer Chetal separately pleaded guilty in November 2025 to charges connected to the theft of approximately 4,100 bitcoin and is awaiting sentencing.