Learn the top 3 altcoins that one should accumulate in July 2026. Get to know how XRP, Solana (SOL), and Dogecoin (DOGE) stand out because of their institutional adoption, updates, and growth prospects.

Key Insights

• XRP is still reaping the benefits of increased institutional adoption, regulatory support, and ETF options.
• The Alpenglow update on Solana will increase the speed and efficiency of the network.
• Dogecoin will be sustained by its huge community, ETF expectations, and integration with X Payments.
• Market correction periods will offer excellent accumulation chances for long-term investors.

XRP: Institutional Interest Keeps Powering Up the Altcoin

XRP is still one of the dominant cryptocurrencies centered around cross-border payments and financial settlements. Ripple continues adding new banks, payment service providers, and financial firms to the list of its partners in several geographic locations, which keeps supporting XRP’s presence in the global payments space.

The regulatory picture has improved drastically. The SEC’s decision not to press its appeal was one of the biggest risks hanging above XRP. After that point, investor sentiment became much more positive because some XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have been approved in several foreign countries.

Institutional interest has kept growing, but not only through ETFs. The Central Bank of Singapore has tested the technology of financial settlement on the XRP Ledger, which shows increased confidence in blockchain-based payments infrastructure. All of these factors make XRP an interesting long-term investment because they add utility to the cryptocurrency rather than just speculation. Technically speaking, XRP stays close to significant exponential moving averages.

Solana (SOL): Alpenglow Upgrade Can Boost Network Development

The Solana platform has been proving itself to be a serious competitor to Ethereum with higher transaction speeds and reduced fees. The platform remains active in attracting various developers to create DeFi protocols, games, NFTs, and other consumer applications.

The largest driver of Solana network development can be seen in an upgrade known as Alpenglow, created by Anza, the Solana Labs spinoff. This consensus protocol upgrade will replace Proof of History and Tower BFT with two new solutions called Votor and Rotor.

In particular, Votor should finalize all transactions within 100–150 milliseconds, while Rotor will boost transmission of data across the network of validators. These innovations may positively affect network performance, scalability, and other parameters.

With more decentralized apps launched on the Solana network, there could appear additional activity that can lead to increasing demand for SOL tokens. Solana remains among the most watched and promising blockchain projects for 2026.

Dogecoin (DOGE): Community Strength And Emerging Catalysts

Dogecoin is still the biggest and best-known meme cryptocurrency in terms of market presence and community activity. Despite being created as a joke, DOGE has remained relevant for many cycles and still attracts attention from retail investors.

The recent macroeconomic environment has helped Dogecoin trade in a range amid market volatility. Market participants keep monitoring important levels and trying to understand what the next step will be.

There are also several catalysts that support a long-term positive outlook on DOGE. Investors expect the creation of ETF products related to Dogecoin, and speculation about integrating X Payments has raised the possibility of using Dogecoin as a daily payment method.

Together with one of the largest communities in the whole crypto industry, these factors help Dogecoin remain relevant from a long-term perspective.

Why Are These Altcoins Special This July

There is a unique investing story behind each of these cryptocurrencies. XRP benefits from growing adoption by institutions and improving regulation. Solana keeps developing with big technology updates and increased developer participation. The uniqueness of Dogecoin comes from a combination of its great community along with new factors like payments and ETF.

Despite volatility in cryptocurrency trading, people tend to use such moments to acquire assets with good fundamentals. Those who want exposure to different parts of the crypto space, such as payments, smart contracts, and community-based tokens, can focus on XRP, SOL, and DOGE as altcoins to watch this July.

The U.S. cryptocurrency industry directly employs about 34,000 people and supports an estimated 232,000 jobs across the broader economy, according to a new report commissioned by the National Cryptocurrency Association. 

The study also estimates that crypto-related activity will contribute more than $55 billion to U.S. gross domestic product in 2026.

Pragmatic Policy Group conducted the analysis for the NCA, which funded the research. The report separates direct jobs at crypto companies from jobs supported through suppliers and worker spending. It estimates that about $31 billion of the industry’s total economic contribution flows to workers as income.

The report places direct employment at crypto companies at 34,000 full-time equivalent jobs in 2026. Software, blockchain and data engineering form the largest direct job group, with about 10,100 roles. Compliance, finance and business operations account for another 5,450 positions, while executives and managers make up about 5,100.

📣 NEW Crypto Research: The NCA’s Crypto at Work report is live.

For the first time, we’ve mapped the full economic footprint of crypto in America: jobs, wages, and impact across all 50 states.

232,000 American jobs. That’s how many the crypto industry supports today.

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Explore… pic.twitter.com/FSWZLDz3d7

— National Cryptocurrency Association (@NatCryptoAssoc) July 22, 2026

The study compares the direct crypto workforce with several traditional industries. It lists 28,400 jobs in coffee and tea manufacturing, 15,300 in cement manufacturing and 10,600 in tobacco manufacturing. Most benchmark figures come from 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics data, while the crypto estimate covers 2026. The report also puts the average annual wage across all supported jobs at $133,000, versus a $64,000 national median.

Within direct employment, the study also counts 2,470 sales and business development roles, 1,480 hardware and systems engineering jobs, and 1,160 legal and regulatory positions across the industry.

Most supported jobs sit outside crypto companies

The 232,000 total includes 75,000 jobs in supplier industries and another 123,000 jobs linked to worker spending. The report says every direct crypto job supports about six other jobs across the broader U.S. economy. These roles can include workers in cloud services, legal services, insurance, housing, transportation and restaurants.

The total therefore does not represent 232,000 people employed by crypto businesses. The report’s appendix says the figure reflects standard economic multiplier effects. It also estimates that crypto will contribute more than $55 billion to U.S. GDP in 2026, including about $31 billion in worker income. Securities, commodity contracts and investments form the largest sector in the model.

In addition, California accounts for an estimated 57,649 supported jobs, while New York accounts for 53,766. Together, the two states represent close to half of the national total. Texas follows with 26,536 jobs, while Washington has 15,097 and North Carolina has 9,524.

The report also estimates that the 12 states it defines as the Heartland support more than 17,000 jobs combined. Colorado accounts for about 5,797 supported jobs and $1.3 billion in economic contribution. These state figures include direct crypto employment, supplier jobs and positions supported through household spending rather than only payroll headcounts at blockchain companies.

Report lands amid mixed crypto hiring trends

The NCA released the study while employment trends inside individual crypto companies remain mixed. As crypto.news reported in March, Gemini, Crypto.com and Algorand were among several firms that announced workforce cuts in early 2026. More recently, Exodus cut about 25% of its workforce as it reorganized around stablecoin payments, while Polygon Labs also reduced staff during its Coinme integration.

Those company-level cuts do not directly contradict the NCA estimate because the study measures a broader economic footprint and relies on modeling rather than a live industry headcount. The model uses 2024 Bureau of Economic Analysis input-output tables, Bureau of Labor Statistics data and a $23.22 billion U.S. crypto industry revenue estimate sourced from Statista.

Because the Bureau of Economic Analysis does not classify crypto as a standalone industry, Pragmatic Policy Group mapped crypto businesses into existing sectors. The report says it allocated most financial-related crypto revenue to securities and commodity contracts, with a smaller share assigned to data processing and internet publishing. The model also assumes that 2024 production relationships remain in place.

The NCA funded the research, while Pragmatic Policy Group described the work as independent analysis. NCA President and Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty called the sector a “real, positive” contributor to American jobs, wages and economic growth. As crypto.news previously reported, a separate NCA survey estimated that more than 67 million U.S. adults now own crypto.

The report gives two different measures of the industry’s labor reach. The direct figure stands at 34,000 jobs. The broader 232,000 estimate adds supplier employment and jobs supported by worker spending across the economy.

Introduction

Crypto incentives have been one of the biggest drivers behind blockchain adoption. From the earliest days of Bitcoin mining to today’s sophisticated decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystems, incentive models have continuously evolved to attract users, secure networks, and fuel innovation.

However, the industry has learned an important lesson: rewarding participation is easy, but creating long-term value is much harder. As the crypto ecosystem matures, projects are shifting away from unsustainable token emissions and toward incentive mechanisms that prioritize real utility, community engagement, and economic sustainability.

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The First Generation: Mining Rewards

The earliest crypto incentives came through Proof-of-Work (PoW) mining.

Bitcoin introduced a revolutionary concept where participants received newly minted BTC for validating transactions and securing the network. This aligned economic incentives with network security and decentralized participation.

The model proved successful because miners were rewarded with an asset that appreciated alongside network adoption.

Advantages included:

• Strong network security
• Open participation
• Predictable issuance schedule
• Transparent monetary policy

However, mining eventually became capital intensive, requiring specialized hardware and significant energy consumption.

---

The Rise of Staking

To improve efficiency, many blockchain networks adopted Proof-of-Stake (PoS).

Instead of purchasing expensive mining equipment, users could stake tokens to help validate transactions and earn rewards.

This dramatically lowered participation barriers while reducing energy consumption.

Projects such as Ethereum’s transition to PoS demonstrated how staking could become a core incentive mechanism for securing blockchain infrastructure.

Staking also introduced new concepts:

• Validator rewards
• Delegated staking
• Liquid staking
• Restaking ecosystems

Although effective, staking incentives often relied heavily on token inflation.

---

The DeFi Liquidity Mining Boom

The summer of 2020 marked the explosion of liquidity mining.

Protocols rewarded users for supplying assets into decentralized exchanges, lending markets, and liquidity pools.

The strategy rapidly attracted billions of dollars in Total Value Locked (TVL).

Popular incentives included:

• Governance token distributions
• Yield farming
• Bonus multipliers
• Referral rewards

While this accelerated adoption, many protocols experienced short-lived growth.

Users frequently chased the highest Annual Percentage Yield (APY), moving liquidity from one protocol to another once rewards declined.

This phenomenon became known as mercenary capital.

---

Play-to-Earn and Learn-to-Earn

Crypto incentives soon expanded beyond finance.

Projects introduced new economic models including:

• Play-to-Earn (P2E)
• Learn-to-Earn
• Move-to-Earn
• Create-to-Earn
• Social-to-Earn

These systems rewarded users for contributing time, knowledge, creativity, or physical activity.

Although many early projects struggled with inflationary reward systems, they proved that blockchain incentives could extend far beyond trading and investing.

---

Why Inflation Alone Doesn’t Work

One of the industry’s biggest discoveries has been that simply printing more tokens cannot sustain an ecosystem forever.

If rewards exceed genuine demand, several problems emerge:

• Declining token prices
• Selling pressure
• Unsustainable emissions
• Reduced treasury reserves
• User churn

Eventually, incentives lose effectiveness because participants join primarily to extract value rather than contribute to long-term growth.

This has encouraged projects to rethink tokenomics from the ground up.

---

The Shift Toward Revenue-Based Incentives

Modern protocols increasingly tie rewards to real economic activity instead of inflation.

Examples include:

• Trading fee sharing
• Lending revenue distribution
• Protocol buybacks
• Real yield
• Tokenized business income
• On-chain subscription models

Instead of relying solely on newly issued tokens, participants earn rewards generated by actual protocol usage.

This creates stronger alignment between users and the platform’s success.

---

Incentives Powered by Utility

Today’s strongest crypto ecosystems increasingly reward meaningful participation rather than passive speculation.

Users may earn incentives by:

• Providing liquidity
• Creating educational content
• Developing applications
• Running infrastructure
• Participating in governance
• Contributing code
• Referring active users
• Improving protocol security

These contributions directly strengthen network effects while building healthier communities.

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AI Is Creating Smarter Incentive Systems

Artificial intelligence is beginning to reshape crypto incentive design.

AI-powered systems can evaluate:

• Content quality
• Community engagement
• Sybil resistance
• User reputation
• On-chain behavior
• Contribution consistency

Instead of rewarding simple activity counts, future protocols can allocate incentives based on measurable value creation.

This reduces abuse while improving fairness across ecosystems.

---

Reputation Will Become a Valuable Asset

Many Web3 ecosystems are moving toward reputation-based incentives.

Future users may build portable on-chain identities that reflect:

• Governance participation
• Development contributions
• Educational achievements
• Security audits
• Community leadership
• Historical reliability

High-reputation participants could receive better staking opportunities, governance influence, lower borrowing costs, and exclusive ecosystem benefits.

---

Cross-Chain Incentives

As blockchain interoperability improves, incentives are becoming ecosystem-wide rather than chain-specific.

Users may soon earn rewards that span:

• Multiple Layer 1 networks
• Layer 2 ecosystems
• Cross-chain liquidity
• Omnichain applications
• Shared security networks

Rather than competing for isolated liquidity, protocols increasingly collaborate to grow interconnected ecosystems.

---

The Future: Incentives That Reward Value Creation

The next generation of crypto incentives will likely focus on sustainability instead of short-term growth.

Future models may combine:

• Real revenue sharing
• Reputation systems
• AI-assisted contribution scoring
• Dynamic reward allocation
• Governance participation
• Tokenized ownership
• Long-term ecosystem alignment

Projects that reward genuine value creation rather than speculative behavior are more likely to build resilient communities and sustainable economies.

---

Conclusion

The evolution of crypto incentives reflects the industry’s growing maturity. What began with mining rewards and token emissions has expanded into sophisticated systems that recognize liquidity provision, governance, education, infrastructure, creativity, and real economic contribution.

As blockchain technology continues to evolve, the most successful ecosystems will not be those offering the highest temporary yields, but those that create lasting value for participants. Sustainable incentives, real utility, and aligned economic interests are shaping the next chapter of Web3—one where rewards are earned through meaningful participation and shared growth rather than inflation alone.

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Senate Republicans have published the full text of the proposed Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, a 616-page bill that pairs market-structure provisions with a sweeping ethics package aimed at conflicts involving public officials and the digital-asset ecosystem.

In the draft released Wednesday, the ethics language would bar U.S. federal officials—and their spouses—from issuing or sponsoring digital assets and would also prevent crypto platforms from listing assets that are issued or sponsored by those officials. The restriction is framed as temporary, set to expire on Jan. 20, 2029.

Key takeaways

• The CLARITY Act draft includes an ethics ban covering federal officials (and their spouses) who would be prohibited from issuing or sponsoring digital assets.
• The draft also extends the restriction to crypto platforms, blocking listings of assets issued or sponsored by covered federal officials.
• Senator Cynthia Lummis says the ethics provisions are intended to apply to President Donald Trump and would be enforced largely by the U.S. Department of Justice.
• Democratic support remains uncertain: multiple Democrats have indicated they will not vote for the bill without strong ethics language tied to alleged “crypto corruption.”
• The bill still needs to clear a 60-vote threshold in the Senate, and it is not yet clear the chamber has enough votes before it recesses.

What the CLARITY ethics provisions would do

The ethics section in the CLARITY Act draft is described by the White House as “the most comprehensive and wide-ranging ethics provision in history.” According to the bill text released by Senate Republicans, the ban would apply to all public officials and employees, as well as their spouses. Covered individuals would be prohibited from “issuing or sponsoring” digital assets.

The draft goes further by attempting to control downstream market behavior: crypto platforms would be blocked from listing assets that are “issued or sponsored” by federal officials within the scope of the restriction.

Senator Cynthia Lummis, a leading advocate for the measure, said the provisions are meant to apply to President Trump as well. In explaining the intent behind the language, Lummis pointed to enforcement and penalties and referenced the president’s financial situation as lawmakers continue to scrutinize his crypto involvement.

Lummis also tied the ethics package to a timeline: the ban on public officials would be temporary and would end on Jan. 20, 2029.

Enforcement hinges on the Justice Department

Rather than relying primarily on state authorities, the draft assigns significant enforcement responsibility to the U.S. Attorney General and the Department of Justice.

As of the day the text was published, Todd Blanche—Trump’s former personal attorney and acting Attorney General—was reportedly awaiting Senate confirmation to lead the Justice Department permanently. That matters because, under the CLARITY draft, DOJ would play a central role in making the ethics restrictions operational.

The enforcement design is also part of the political debate over whether Democrats will support the bill. Senator Angela Alsobrooks, in remarks reported by Politico, indicated she would want agreement on the bill’s enforcement architecture. She told Politico that she “wouldn’t support the bill” if DOJ enforcement language were as proposed, but said negotiations could still bring a version that “holds us all accountable.”

Democratic math: ethics language may determine the vote

Even if Senate Republicans move quickly, passage is not guaranteed. The CLARITY Act requires at least 60 votes in the Senate to advance, meaning it likely needs backing from some Democrats to meet the threshold. The bill would then return to the House of Representatives and, if approved, would go to President Trump for signature.

Democrats have already telegraphed conditional support. Multiple Democrats have said they will not vote for any version of a crypto bill unless it includes strong ethics language aimed at the conflict-of-interest concerns raised around the president.

There is also a potential flashpoint in how the draft defines the scope of the restrictions. The ethics ban, as described in coverage of the bill text, did not appear to include children of public officials in its temporary ban. That omission becomes salient given public reporting that members of Trump’s family are involved in crypto-related businesses, including World Liberty Financial and a Bitcoin mining company.

Lummis defended the approach as applying “one ethics standard to everyone,” saying the bill “backs it up with real enforcement, real penalties, and a Department of Justice mandate to act.”

Beyond ethics: disclosure, illicit finance provisions, and market structure

The CLARITY Act is not solely an ethics measure. One analyst reaction quoted in coverage emphasized that the Senate draft adds multiple components beyond conflict-of-interest rules, including a disclosure regime, an illicit finance section, and improved regulation for spot markets.

Kirstin Smith, president of the Solana Policy Institute, said the Senate has a “real chance” to pass durable, bipartisan market-structure legislation—framing CLARITY as a broader attempt at statutory clarity rather than a single-issue bill.

That distinction may be important for investors and builders watching the policy process: market structure rules can affect how digital assets are categorized, how exchanges and intermediaries comply with U.S. requirements, and how enforcement priorities are expected to shift under a new framework.

What happens next

With Senate Majority Leader John Thune reportedly planning to bring CLARITY to the floor next week, the central question for lawmakers—and for the industry—is whether the ethics provisions can attract enough Democratic support to reach the 60-vote threshold. The bill’s success may ultimately come down to whether negotiations around DOJ enforcement and the ethics scope leave enough lawmakers satisfied to back the measure before the Senate’s window to vote narrows.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission agreed to pay $150,000 in legal fees to settle a Coinbase lawsuit seeking internal records from the agency at the height of the Biden-era SEC crackdown on crypto. 

The agreement, filed on Wednesday, ends a two-year lawsuit between the SEC and Coinbase, in which the crypto exchange sought internal documents from the regulator to uncover evidence of “crypto by enforcement.” An internal report in 2025 revealed the SEC had deleted nearly a year of former SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s texts due to “avoidable” errors. 

“The agency tasked with policing corporate record-keeping somehow lost reams of its own text messages between Mr. Gensler and other officials during the most intense period of the anti-crypto campaign,” said Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal in an op-ed published by the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, adding that the SEC will pay a $150,000 “award” and has fixed its record retention policies. 

The settlement marks another legal victory for Coinbase under the Trump administration. The SEC, under the leadership of Paul Atkins, has taken a more crypto-friendly approach and dropped several high-profile enforcement actions against crypto companies, including Coinbase, in 2025.

Related: Coinbase chief legal officer to transition to advisory role on July 31 

In February, Coinbase reached a settlement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, with the FDIC agreeing to pay $188,440 in legal fees and revising aspects of its transparency practices after a federal court found it had violated the Freedom of Information Act. 

“The years of litigation were worth it. We successfully uncovered dozens of crypto ‘pause letters’—indisputable proof of OCP2.0 and the coordinated effort to sideline the industry,” Grewal said in an X post in February. 

Grewal to transition from chief legal officer

Paul Grewal, who has served as Coinbase’s chief legal officer since 2020, is set to transition to an advisory role at the exchange starting on July 31, with Coinbase legal vice presidents Molly Abraham and Ryan VanGrack set to become general counsel and vice chair, respectively.

 Magazine: Will the crypto lobby’s $189M campaign get CLARITY over the line?

Cointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

A crypto-backed political action committee has spent nearly $1 million in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District Democratic primary as the industry continues directing money toward candidates it views as supportive of digital asset policy.

Protect Progress, an affiliate of the Fairshake network, reported more than $986,000 in spending tied to Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar and his challenger, Michigan state Rep. Donavan McKinney, according to Federal Election Commission filings published this week. The primary is scheduled for Aug. 4.

The spending includes advertising supporting Thanedar and opposing McKinney. Protect Progress took a similar approach during the 2024 election, when it spent more than $1 million supporting Thanedar before he won the Democratic primary with 54.9% of the vote. He later won the general election with 68.6%.

Thanedar has supported several crypto-related measures in Congress, including the CLARITY Act and the GENIUS Act. He also backed legislation aimed at promoting blockchain development. His voting record has placed him among lawmakers receiving support from crypto-aligned political groups.

McKinney has responded by making the outside spending part of his campaign message. He has not built a public record centered on digital asset policy, but he criticized the industry’s financial support for his opponent.

The crypto lobby just dumped $1.2 million into our race to try to stop our movement. They’re running attack ads against me to pay Shri back for the votes he took allowing Trump to make over $1b off crypto.

Detroit, we need to show Shri & his crypto cronies we can’t be bought. pic.twitter.com/4POkIXIFya

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— Donavan McKinney (@DonavanMI13) July 21, 2026

McKinney also accused Thanedar of supporting legislation backed by President Donald Trump and the crypto industry. The comments came as Fairshake-linked groups continued spending in Democratic and Republican congressional contests across the country.

Crypto PAC spending grows across 2026 elections

The Michigan spending forms part of a wider campaign by crypto-backed PACs during the 2026 election cycle. As crypto.news previously reported, Public Citizen estimated in June that the crypto industry had contributed about $189 million to the election cycle, exceeding its spending during the 2024 campaign.

Fairshake and its affiliated groups, Protect Progress and Defend American Jobs, have targeted candidates from both major parties based largely on their approach to digital asset policy. Recent reports put the network’s available funds at roughly $191 million, giving the groups resources to enter additional races before the November midterms.

Fairshake-linked PACs spent more than $8 million across congressional primary contests in Maryland, New York and Utah in June. Protect Progress directed $5.5 million toward Maryland Democrat Adrian Boafo and more than $1.4 million toward New York Rep. Ritchie Torres.

Boafo later won his Democratic primary. Crypto.news reported that his victory added to a series of wins by candidates supported by crypto-funded political groups during the 2026 primary season.

Michigan race draws wider political attention

The Michigan contest has also attracted attention beyond crypto policy. Thanedar faces one of the toughest primary challenges of his congressional career, while McKinney has received support from progressive figures including Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Rashida Tlaib.

Thanedar, meanwhile, recently received endorsements from House Democratic leaders. Axios reported on July 22 that lawmakers in the party were paying close attention to the race, although some did not view a possible Thanedar defeat with the same concern seen in other contests involving progressive challengers.

Crypto-linked spending has added another issue to the campaign. Thanedar’s campaign also reportedly invested about $3.7 million in crypto-related companies and recorded losses exceeding $600,000 during the second quarter of 2026. The reported investments have received more scrutiny as Protect Progress increases its support for his reelection effort.

Fairshake affiliates target more congressional races

Protect Progress has also expanded its activity beyond Michigan. Reports citing FEC filings show the PAC spent more than $100,000 supporting Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton in Arizona’s 4th District. Stanton, who supported the CLARITY and GENIUS bills, won his July 21 Democratic primary against progressive challenger Kai Newkirk.

Meanwhile, Defend American Jobs has spent more than $65,000 supporting Republican Amanda McKinney in Washington’s 4th Congressional District, where voters will also hold their primary on Aug. 4. The seat is open after Rep. Dan Newhouse announced he would not seek reelection.

With my background in banking, I understand the importance of financial freedom and innovation. I support crypto because an America First economy must keep innovation, investment, and opportunity right here in the U.S. approx. 1 in 5 Americans own cryptocurrency. Digital assets…

— Amanda McKinney for Washington (@_AmandaMcKinney) May 14, 2026

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The latest spending comes as opposition to crypto-funded political activity also grows. Sanders recently pledged to challenge the political influence of the crypto industry while campaigning in Minnesota. His comments focused on campaign spending rather than digital assets themselves.

AFX suffered a $24.15 million USDC loss after an attacker targeted a cross-chain bridge linked to the trading protocol on July 22.

The incident triggered an investigation by Blockaid and the Arbitrum team, while on-chain trackers followed the stolen funds to Ethereum.

The attack did not affect Arbitrum’s native bridge. AFX operates its own sovereign Layer 1 for perpetual trading but accepts USDC deposits through Arbitrum. The affected infrastructure was a third-party bridge operated by AFX rather than Arbitrum’s core bridge.

AFX bridge loses $24.15 million USDC

Blockaid said it detected the exploit at 9:30 p.m. UTC on July 22. The firm said the attack targeted a bridge operated by AFX and drained about 24.15 million USDC. An Arbiscan record shows a successful transfer of 24,150,000 USDC from the bridge contract to the recipient address at 9:30:25 p.m. UTC.

Blockaid detected an exploit at 2026-07-22 21:30 UTC targeting @AFX_XYZ, a protocol on @arbitrum. The exploit was specific to a bridge that AFX operates. Approximately 24.15M USDC has been drained thus far from the protocol.

Our team has been working with the incredible folks on… https://t.co/0Qd9ve5gPB

— Blockaid (@blockaid_) July 22, 2026

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The security firm said it was working with the Arbitrum team to respond, contact the affected protocol and help contain the stolen funds. Based on the public updates reviewed at publication time, no recovery had been confirmed. 

AFX had also not published a verified technical postmortem explaining how the attacker gained authorization to withdraw the funds. The protocol had not announced a recovery plan.

Offchain Labs co-founder Steven Goldfeder confirmed that the suspicious transaction came from a third-party protocol. He also separated the AFX incident from Arbitrum’s own bridge infrastructure.

“We’re aware of a report of a bridge hack on Arbitrum and are investigating. We can confirm that the transaction in question originated from a third-party protocol, and the Arbitrum native bridge has not been hacked or exploited in any way,” Goldfeder said. 

He added that the team would coordinate with the third-party protocol and share more details when available.

AFX uses Arbitrum as a route for USDC deposits while running its trading system on a dedicated Layer 1. AFX describes itself as a decentralized derivatives platform built around a sovereign execution environment. A recent protocol post also said users could deposit USDC from Arbitrum before accessing its perpetual markets.

Exploiter converts stolen USDC into ETH

PeckShield said the attacker moved the stolen USDC from Arbitrum to Ethereum and converted the proceeds into 12,467.5 ETH. Lookonchain separately reported that the exploiter bought about 12,467 ETH at an average price near $1,937 per ETH after moving the funds.

The conversion moved the stolen value from a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin into Ether, exposing the holdings to ETH price movements. Security teams continued tracing the funds after the swap. At publication time, the reviewed sources did not confirm that Circle had frozen the USDC before conversion or that any of the ETH had been recovered.

The attack adds to several bridge-related security incidents this year. As crypto.news previously reported, Stake DAO closed its vsdCRV bridge after an unauthorized mint on Arbitrum in May. The project said it secured the token’s mainnet backing and contained the incident to the affected bridge.

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Earlier in April, a larger exploit hit Kelp DAO’s LayerZero-powered bridge. Attackers drained roughly 116,500 rsETH worth about $292 million. Arbitrum later froze more than 30,000 ETH linked to that attacker after the funds moved onto Arbitrum One.

Investigation focuses on AFX-operated infrastructure

The investigation now centers on the AFX-operated bridge and the authorization process behind the 24.15 million USDC withdrawal. The confirmed transaction shows that the bridge contract finalized the transfer, but public statements do not yet establish the verified root cause. A full postmortem may determine whether the incident involved compromised validator credentials, faulty access controls or another weakness.

The main confirmed point is that the exploit affected infrastructure operated by AFX rather than Arbitrum’s native bridge. Blockaid and Offchain Labs both made that separation clear in their initial responses. The Arbitrum network continued operating, and reviewed reports showed no loss from its native bridge.

The incident also places attention on AFX’s deposit infrastructure. The protocol has promoted USDC deposits from Arbitrum as an entry route into its trading platform. Any changes to deposits, withdrawals or bridge operations will depend on the protocol’s response and the ongoing investigation.

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The case remains developing. The confirmed loss stands at about $24.15 million in USDC, while on-chain trackers have traced the stolen value into roughly 12,467 ETH on Ethereum. Further updates are expected from AFX, Blockaid and the Arbitrum team as they review the breach and track the attacker’s funds.

BitGo and OTC Markets Group have announced a proposed partnership aimed at bringing digital asset trading and custody capabilities into the broker-dealer workflow used in US over-the-counter markets. The plan is designed to let broker-dealers leverage the same electronic infrastructure for quoting, trading, and settling “digital asset securities” that they already use for conventional OTC and US equity activity.

According to the companies, the alliance would initially serve more than 150 broker-dealers connected to OTC Link ATS, an SEC-regulated alternative trading system. If the framework is implemented, participating firms would be able to route tokenized securities through familiar market channels—while BitGo would handle custody and settlement functions within the proposed operating model.

Key takeaways

• BitGo and OTC Markets Group plan to integrate digital asset securities into OTC Link ATS, allowing broker-dealers to use established trading and settlement infrastructure.
• BitGo Bank & Trust is intended to act as the qualified custodian, with settlement facilitated through BitGo’s Go Network.
• The initial scope is digital asset securities, with room for expansion toward tokenized assets and commodities as relevant regulatory guidance evolves.
• The announcement arrives amid accelerating industry focus on tokenized real-world assets and growing regulatory efforts to clarify rules for digital assets in the US.
• OTC Markets Group shares rose about 2.7% to roughly $53.50 by midday Wednesday, reflecting market attention on the proposal.

A bridge between crypto infrastructure and broker-dealer rails

The core idea behind the BitGo–OTC Markets Group proposal is operational fit. Broker-dealers already operate under mature securities market rules and processes; according to the companies, the partnership would connect digital asset securities to the electronic trading ecosystem broker-dealers use today.

OTC Markets Group operates OTC Link ATS, an alternative trading system regulated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Under the plan, broker-dealers using that venue would be able to quote and execute trades in digital asset securities using the same general infrastructure environment already in place for OTC and US equity trading and settlement.

For investors and market participants, that approach matters because it targets one of the most common friction points in institutional crypto adoption: integration complexity. Instead of requiring broker-dealers to move entirely to “crypto-native” systems, the framework aims to plug tokenized securities functionality into established brokerage workflows—potentially lowering onboarding costs and reducing the scope of operational change.

How the custody and settlement model would work

The companies outlined a two-part operational structure. Under the proposal, BitGo Bank & Trust would serve as the qualified custodian. Settlement, meanwhile, would be handled through BitGo’s Go Network.

The partnership’s initial intent is focused on digital asset securities, but the companies also indicated the framework could be expanded to support tokenized assets and commodities as regulatory frameworks develop. That conditional language is important: while tokenization is a rapidly progressing theme, the specific asset classes and the precise regulatory pathway can vary materially depending on how regulators treat different instruments.

BitGo’s role as a qualified custodian is reinforced by its recent US banking milestone. In December, BitGo received final approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to operate as a federally chartered national trust bank. That approval positions the firm to provide qualified custody services under federal banking oversight—an element that may be attractive to broker-dealers and other institutional participants seeking clearer custody governance.

Why broker-dealers are central to tokenization’s next phase

Broker-dealers could become a major conduit for tokenized securities because they sit at the intersection of regulation, market access, and capital formation. The BitGo–OTC Markets Group plan effectively tries to transform tokenization from a largely experimental pipeline into something more compatible with existing market plumbing.

The rationale aligns with broader market forecasts. Bernstein analysts have projected that the value of tokenized real-world assets could reach up to $4 trillion by 2030, citing expansion across equities, commodities, and other financial assets. Earlier coverage from Cointelegraph also highlighted how tokenization efforts are increasingly tied to exchange and broker distribution networks.

That context matters because tokenization is not just about issuing tokens—it’s also about where they can be traded and settled. The BitGo–OTC Markets Group proposal suggests a pathway to move tokenized instruments into venues where broker-dealers already operate, rather than relying solely on separate systems.

It also follows similar initiatives aimed at bringing tokenization closer to mainstream capital markets. Cointelegraph previously reported on efforts by companies such as Securitize and Cantor Fitzgerald to pursue tokenized IPOs and follow-on equity offerings, pointing to an industry push to adapt tokenization to established issuance and trading channels.

What to watch: implementation details and regulatory compatibility

While the announcement outlines an operating framework, the most significant uncertainties for market participants are whether and how quickly the partnership can move from proposal to execution, and what the operational scope will be at each stage. The companies’ statement that the approach is “initially intended” to support digital asset securities implies a phased rollout tied to asset-class readiness and regulatory clarity.

Investors and broker-dealers watching this story should focus on three practical questions: how OTC Link ATS would be configured for tokenized securities, what operational requirements are placed on participating broker-dealers, and how BitGo’s custody and settlement services are integrated for actual trade flows. The answers will determine whether tokenized securities become meaningfully accessible through existing institutional pathways—or remain a limited pilot concept.

For now, the proposal reinforces a broader shift in the industry: tokenization is moving from isolated experimentation toward integration with regulated market infrastructure, where broker-dealer connectivity could be a decisive factor in scaling adoption.