Options are derivative contracts used by traders to hedge price volatility risks. A call option offers asymmetric upside exposure in the underlying asset for a small upfront payment, much like a lottery ticket. A put option represents an insurance against price drops.

Exchanges typically follow a playbook when offering derivatives as a product. They start with futures to build a deep, liquid order book and tight spreads, and only once that core market is humming do they layer on options as a second wave of more complex, higher‑margin products.

A Binance representative shared volume figures for gold and silver perpetual futures that underscore their popularity. Gold perpetuals, according to the representative, have hit a peak daily volume of $7.77 billion, while silver perpetuals reached $7.27 billion. These peaks represented roughly 3–8% of COMEX gold volume and 9–20% of COMEX silver volume at that time.

“The volume growth suggests that when access to traditional market exposure becomes simpler and more integrated, user participation can ramp up quickly,” the representative said. “Liquidity can become relevant quickly.”

The new options are European-style and settled in USDT. The contracts reference a weighted average of prices drawn from multiple independent third-party data vendors that report the traditional gold and silver markets. This approach produces a robust, market-representative benchmark that does not rely on any single venue or token, according to Binance.

The CLARITY Act is facing another delay as US lawmakers prioritize federal nominations, a Russian sanctions package, and other legislative business ahead of its summer recess.

The development makes it increasingly likely the bill will not be deliberated upon during the ongoing session and will be discussed during the autumn session.

Clarity Act Faces Another Delay

The United States Senate has put the CLARITY Act on the back burner as it debates federal nominations, new sanctions against Russia, and other legislative business. According to a CoinDesk report, the bill is unlikely to be taken up by the Senate before its summer recess on August 8. Journalist Eleanor Terrett revealed that the Senate leadership is discussing deliberations beyond the planned recess if they can garner enough votes to invoke cloture and press ahead with the bill. Additionally, some senators also want a vote on the SAVE America Act and Russia-Iran sanctions.

Terrett stated on X,

“A must-read on the Senate math behind the Clarity Act without the hype. I reported this morning that Senate leadership has discussed potentially keeping members in Washington beyond the scheduled recess if they have the votes to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed.”

Democratic lawmakers remain hopeful of a compromise banning senior government officials, including President Donald Trump, from investing in crypto projects.

A Procedural Delay

However, the delay is not due to Republicans and Democrats failing to agree upon the way forward. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has prioritized discussion on the Russian sanctions package, and Senate rules outline that only one contested bill can be considered at a time. Additional Senate business has also reduced floor time. As a result, lawmakers have found it difficult to discuss the CLARITY Act during the ongoing session.

Meanwhile, SEC Chair Paul Atkins reiterated his belief that the Senate will pass the CLARITY Act. Atkins added that the SEC is ready to create rules to implement the bill once it becomes law. He added that it can also address market issues if Congress delays the bill. However, the SEC Chair stressed the importance of regulatory clarity to “future-proof” crypto in the US.

President Trump Can Reconvene Senate

According to legal analyst MetaLawman, Article II, Section 3 grants President Trump the authority to reconvene the Senate during the August recess, allowing lawmakers to vote on the CLARITY Act and other delayed bills.

“President Trump Has Legal Authority to CANCEL THE SENATE RECESS. The President has the Constitutional authority to call an “extraordinary session” of the Senate to vote on the SAVE AMERICA ACT and the CLARITY ACT.”

However, as things stand, a final Senate vote on the CLARITY Act looks unlikely before next week.

How The Delay Impacts Crypto

The CLARITY Act is a crucial piece of legislation for the cryptocurrency industry. If it fails to advance during the ongoing session, it could face a substantial delay as lawmakers focus on other priorities in upcoming sessions, including election-related legislation. The delay effectively leaves the industry in limbo, with only the GENIUS Act offering some regulatory clarity. For now, the industry will rely on SEC and CFTC oversight while waiting for the bill to pass.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

The dollar’s next move hinges on tonight’s Fed decision, and this time markets genuinely don’t know what to expect. While economists still lean toward a hold—with CME FedWatch odds sitting near 68.5% for no change—Kevin Warsh’s hawkish rhetoric on having “no tolerance” for inflation, paired with growing internal FOMC support for a hike, has pushed hike odds up sharply from just 18% two weeks ago to over 30% today. Complicating things further, Warsh has deliberately scaled back forward guidance, meaning tonight’s press conference may offer fewer clues than usual.

The euro, meanwhile, has already had its say: the ECB held rates steady at 2.25% last Thursday, as expected, with Lagarde reaffirming the 2% target while flagging that energy-driven inflation risks from the Middle East conflict have yet to fully play out. Eurozone inflation cooled to 2.8% in June, but sticky services inflation near 3.5–4% keeps the door only cautiously open for a September move in either direction.

With EUR/USD trading near 1.1408, tonight’s Fed decision—not the ECB—is what will likely determine the pair’s next major direction.

EUR/USD Technical Analysis

As the EUR/USD chart shows, the pair has been consolidating within a defined range since late June, squeezed between an ascending trendline and a descending trendline, both converging around the current price near 1.1400. The 200-period EMA continues to slope lower above price, reinforcing a cautious backdrop ahead of tonight’s Fed decision.

Bullish Scenario

Should the dollar weaken on a dovish Fed outcome, price would need to break above the converging trendlines and reclaim the 0.382 Fibonacci retracement near 1.1420, with the 200-period EMA just above acting as the next key test. A confirmed break above the EMA would open the path towards the 0.5 and 0.618 retracements near 1.1480–1.1500, where stronger resistance has capped rallies since late June.

Bearish Scenario

Conversely, a hawkish surprise—or even a hike—could send the euro sharply lower, breaking both the ascending trendline and the psychological 1.1360 support level. A confirmed break here would expose the 1.1320 zone, the 0.0 Fibonacci level marking the origin of the entire recovery move, with further downside risk towards fresh multi-week lows if selling pressure accelerates.

With price coiled right at the intersection of both trendlines and the Fed decision just hours away, EUR/USD looks primed for a decisive move. Will the dollar reassert its dominance, or will the euro finally break free of this range?

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Hungary is rolling back strict crypto rules as CoinCash prepares to resume services after receiving authorization under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation.

The Hungarian parliament voted to repeal the country’s crypto validator requirement, removing mandatory third-party approval for certain crypto transactions, the Hungarian tax and legal publication Ado.hu reported on Tuesday.

Finance Minister Kármán András said the government removed the validation requirement after the previous rules disrupted Hungary’s crypto market, prompting some service providers to halt operations in the country.

“Due to the negative and market-shaking regulations so far, many players have terminated their services related to cryptocurrencies in Hungary, but the market is now showing signs of recovery,” he wrote in a Tuesday Facebook post.

The development marks a significant shift in Hungary’s crypto sector, removing an additional approval step while leaving broader licensing and compliance requirements in place.

How Hungary’s crypto checks worked

Hungary introduced the requirement through its 2024 crypto assets law, creating a separate validation process for certain crypto conversions.

The rules, which took effect on July 1, 2025, required a licensed validator to verify details including the origin of crypto assets, wallet ownership and customer information before issuing a compliance declaration.

Related: Hungary to reverse crypto trading crackdown after EU scrutiny

The system added another transaction-level approval step alongside MiCA. Hungary also applied a shortened MiCA transition period for crypto asset service providers (CASPs), requiring compliance by July 1, 2025, compared with the EU’s maximum transition deadline of July 1, 2026.

The stricter regulatory environment prompted some crypto platforms to suspend services in Hungary, including Budapest-based crypto platform CoinCash, which voluntarily paused operations in December 2025 while pursuing MiCA authorization.

CoinCash receives Hungary’s first MiCA license

The National Bank of Hungary (MNB) granted CoinCash operator Tiwala Solutions authorization under the EU’s MiCA regulation on July 20, according to a company announcement reviewed by Cointelegraph.

“We’re the first and only Hungarian company authorised directly by the National Bank under the EU framework,” CoinCash co-founder said in a LinkedIn post on Friday.

Related: Unauthorized crypto trading now carries 2 years of prison in Hungary

The authorization covers custody, crypto-to-fiat and crypto-to-crypto exchange, transfers, investment advice and portfolio management.

CoinCash said it completed a months-long compliance review before receiving approval and paused operations while preparing to meet the requirements. The company plans to gradually resume services and expand beyond trading into additional MiCA-regulated offerings.

Magazine: The real reason DeFi projects that survived 2022 crash are shutting down now

Coinbase appointed Rob Witoff as chief technology officer on July 28, bringing an early company engineer into the role as the U.S. crypto exchange expands AI-assisted product development. 

Coinbase’s official leadership page now lists Witoff as CTO.

Chief Executive Brian Armstrong announced the appointment on X and credited Witoff with helping turn Coinbase into “one of the most AI-enabled companies in the world.” That description is Armstrong’s assessment rather than an independently measured ranking.

Rob Witoff returns to a role shaped by Coinbase’s early years

Witoff first joined Coinbase in 2014 and worked there until 2017. Coinbase said he led security and infrastructure, became chief architect and helped build some of the exchange’s earliest systems. He later founded institutional crypto custody company Unit 410, which Coinbase acquired.

Witoff said his interest in Bitcoin began in 2009. He recalled that Coinbase initially supported one cryptocurrency, used a single codebase and ran with a small engineering team. The account provides historical context from the incoming executive, although Coinbase has not independently detailed every technical claim in the July 27 post.

The company brought him back in December 2024 as head of platform and a member of the executive team. Witoff said his latest “tour of duty” began with a goal of making Coinbase “the best place in the world to build.” That remains a forward-looking management objective.

Coinbase CTO appointment comes during an AI overhaul

The promotion follows a broad change in how Coinbase develops software and organises teams. In May, the company announced plans to reduce its workforce by about 14%, or roughly 700 roles, while flattening management and building smaller teams around AI tools.

Armstrong said AI allowed engineers to complete work in days that previously took teams weeks. He also outlined experiments with “one person teams” combining engineering, product and design work. Those plans describe Coinbase’s intended operating model; their long-term effect on output, costs and staff workloads is not yet established.

Coinbase later said nearly all newly merged code had become AI-generated and human-reviewed. Its July engineering report said the share rose from 5.7% in the first quarter of 2025 to roughly 100% by mid-2026, while maintaining human review and compliance controls.

Witoff inherits reliability and security responsibilities

The CTO will oversee technology while Coinbase expands derivatives, stablecoin payments, prediction markets and services for AI agents. Each product increases the need for dependable infrastructure, security controls and fast incident response.

Coinbase experienced a roughly 50-minute service disruption on July 14 after a routine configuration update affected a shared production cluster. Transfers, card payments and some onchain services were interrupted. The company said customer funds were not at risk and later announced new deployment safeguards and recovery procedures.

Witoff’s background in security, architecture and platform engineering gives him direct experience with those areas. However, Coinbase has not published new performance targets, budget commitments or a separate technology roadmap tied to his appointment.

Leadership changes continue across Coinbase

The CTO appointment follows another executive transition. Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal notified Coinbase on July 8 that he would leave his post on July 31. Molly Abraham is expected to become general counsel and corporate secretary, while Grewal will serve as an adviser through October.

As crypto.news previously reported, Coinbase’s May restructuring placed AI-native development at the centre of its operating plan. In related coverage, crypto.news reported that Coinbase had launched tools allowing authorised AI agents to trade, make payments and perform financial tasks.

Coinbase plans quarterly reviews of its AI-focused engineering interview process and 45-day and 90-day assessments for new hires. The next test for Witoff will be whether the company can keep releasing products quickly while maintaining security, reliability and regulatory controls.

It raised $400 million in June through a private placement of convertible preferred shares and warrants. The preferred shares, priced at $53 each, converted into common stock upon completion of the listing. Investors agreed not to transfer the securities below $70 until six months after the listing, according to the filing.

Ionic decommissioned bitcoin mining at its Ward County, Texas, site in December and committed its 234 MW of capacity to Nscale under a 126-month lease carrying $1.95 billion in contracted revenue, according to the registration statement.

The company said it expects as much as $195 million in revenue this year, with more than 90% coming from infrastructure leasing. It held 2,815.6 bitcoin worth $192.1 million and had no debt as of March 31.

Uzbekistan has established a special crypto mining zone across Karakalpakstan, introducing tax incentives, expanded power options, and a dedicated regulatory framework to attract licensed mining companies.

Under a presidential resolution that took effect on April 20, Uzbekistan has designated the entire Republic of Karakalpakstan as the Beshkala Mining Valley, creating a regulated environment for cryptocurrency mining while linking the initiative to the region’s economic development plans.

The resolution allows licensed mining companies operating within the zone to use electricity from the national grid, renewable energy sources such as solar power, and hydrogen-based power generation. It also creates a legal pathway for miners to sell their digital assets through Uzbekistan’s licensed crypto exchanges, foreign trading platforms, direct agreements, or by converting them into other liquid crypto assets.

Companies participating in the program must transfer revenue from crypto asset sales to bank accounts held in Uzbekistan, a requirement intended to keep transactions within the country’s regulated financial system while maintaining oversight of mining-related income.

Uzbekistan has expanded the crypto mining framework

Only legal entities registered in Karakalpakstan will qualify for resident status within the Beshkala Mining Valley. Businesses seeking to operate there must first obtain resident status through the zone’s directorate before applying for a crypto mining license issued under the supervision of the National Agency for Perspective Projects, the authority responsible for regulating the sector.

A dedicated directorate will oversee the management of the mining valley and process applications from prospective operators. Besides regulating mining activity, the administration will supervise implementation of the project’s development policies across the region.

Mining companies will also be permitted to reuse excess heat generated by their equipment for greenhouse farming on agricultural land, creating an additional use for energy produced during mining operations.

The resolution exempts income earned from mining activities from taxes and mandatory payments until Jan. 1, 2035, providing one of the main financial incentives for companies considering investment in the zone.

Crypto miners can use more than solar power

The latest framework also changes part of Uzbekistan’s previous mining policy.

Earlier licensing rules introduced in October 2023 required miners to obtain official authorization before operating and largely limited mining activities to electricity generated from solar power, except where legislation provided otherwise.

Under the new framework for the Beshkala Mining Valley, approved residents can instead draw power from the unified electricity grid alongside renewable energy and hydrogen-based generation. The updated approach gives operators more flexibility while preserving the country’s licensing requirements for crypto mining businesses.

Uzbek law continues to define crypto mining as the computational process used to maintain distributed ledgers by validating blocks and preserving network integrity. The activity remains restricted to legal entities rather than individual miners.

Mining revenue will remain inside Uzbekistan

Alongside operational rules, the government has tightened financial requirements governing proceeds from crypto mining.

Residents of the mining valley may sell mined digital assets through domestic exchanges, overseas trading platforms, direct contracts, or by exchanging them for other liquid crypto assets. Regardless of where the assets are sold, proceeds must ultimately be transferred to bank accounts located in Uzbekistan.

The framework is intended to keep mining-related revenue within the domestic banking system while allowing companies to access international cryptocurrency markets.

According to an earlier presidential decree signed on April 17 and effective from April 20, residents of the mining zone are also required to pay a monthly fee equal to 1% of mining income to the zone’s directorate, even as they benefit from tax exemptions running through the beginning of 2035.

Karakalpakstan remains central to investment plans

Creation of the Beshkala Mining Valley forms part of Uzbekistan’s ongoing efforts to attract investment into Karakalpakstan, a region that has remained a priority for economic development initiatives.

Government plans have linked the mining zone with improvements in regional living standards while encouraging more efficient use of renewable energy resources through regulated crypto mining projects.

The mining initiative follows another technology-focused program launched for Karakalpakstan in 2025, when Uzbekistan approved a separate tax-free zone for artificial intelligence and data center projects. That program offered discounted electricity prices and tax incentives to foreign investors, with reports stating that investments of at least $100 million could qualify for exemptions from taxes and customs duties until 2040.

Officials said the AI and data center project was designed to attract more than $1 billion in foreign investment by 2030, placing the new crypto mining zone within a series of long-term development initiatives targeting the region.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with aiding terrorist activity and placed him on an international wanted list, the agency said Wednesday.

The FSB accused Telegram of failing to remove channels, chats and bots allegedly used by Ukrainian intelligence and extremist groups to coordinate sabotage, attacks and cyber fraud inside Russia, according to Interfax.

Durov charges carry a sentence that could lead to life imprisonment. The FSB did not say whether Russia had requested an Interpol Red Notice, which would not, in itself, constitute an international arrest warrant.

The case escalates an investigation opened in February after Russia began restricting Telegram’s operations. The platform has been fined more than 100 million rubles ($1.25 million) this year, primarily for failing to remove content prohibited under Russian law, Interfax reported.

Telegram is one of crypto’s largest distribution platforms, hosting project communities, trading groups, bots and blockchain-based Mini Apps.