Summer Mersinger, the CEO of the Blockchain Association and a former commissioner at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), anticipated a vote on a cryptocurrency market structure bill as soon as next week with the window closing for lawmakers before August state work periods. 

Speaking at the Injective Summit in Washington, DC, on Thursday, Mersinger said that US lawmakers working to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act in Congress had a “few little nits that they’re still working out” but were “very close on the main part of the language” around the bill. According to the Blockchain Association CEO, a vote in the Senate could come as early as next week, provided lawmakers reached an agreement on ethics.

“Ethics is the big elephant in the room,” said Mersinger on the crypto bill. “That’s what we hear from every office is that we’ve gotta figure out ethics. Today there’s a meeting at the White House with some Republican senators. We’re hopeful that an agreement comes out of that and that it’s something the Democrats will accept or that they can make some changes but get to an agreement.”

She added:

“For my members and what we are advocating for on the Hill… look, whatever you decide on ethics, that’s really not our concern. That is politics. That’s Congress. That’s elected officials. But please don’t let it kill all the hard work that we put in the rest of the bill.” 

Summer Mersinger speaking at Injective Summit on Thursday. Source: Injective

Mersinger’s comments on a White House meeting followed reports that US President Donald Trump planned to discuss CLARITY with a group of Republican senators on Thursday, potentially including his ties to the industry, after Senate Democrats held their own meeting on the bill on Wednesday. Trump disclosed in June that he had earned $1.4 billion from ventures related to digital assets, including his memecoin and his family’s business World Liberty Financial.

Related: US senator blasts AG pick for ‘dismantling’ crypto unit, Trump’s CZ pardon

A former CFTC commissioner, Mersinger departed the agency in 2025 to become the CEO of the Blockchain Association. The organization was involved in discussions with lawmakers over the market structure bill as it passed the Senate banking and agriculture committees.

CLARITY needs bipartisan support to become law, but some Democrats are opposed

On Tuesday, three Senate Democrats held a press conference saying that they would not support a crypto market structure bill without clear ethics provisions, citing Trump’s financial disclosures and the potential for corruption by lawmakers and the White House. Republicans hold a slim majority in the Senate and would need several Democrats to vote yay on the bill for it to pass.

At the time of publication, traders on prediction market Kalshi had a 75.1% chance on CLARITY going for a floor vote in the Senate before the August break, up from 47% on July 10.

Magazine: Crypto’s CLARITY Act faces partisan fight over ethics on Senate floor

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.

Bitcoin (BTC) cooled off with US stocks on Thursday as tech selling tempered gains from low inflation.

Key points:

• Bitcoin follows US stocks as they come off local highs sparked by bullish US inflation data.
• Tech sell pressure contributes to slowing momentum as retail investors take profits.
• The BTC price rebound is seen rejecting at overhead resistance.

Tech selling puts the brakes on crypto, risk-asset upside

Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD circling $64,500, down 1.5% from its three-week highs seen the day prior.

BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

These had accompanied two straight days of lower-than-expected US inflation data, with both the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) dropping in June.

While crypto and equities initially gained, tech stocks came under pressure on Thursday, with the closely-watched Micron Technologies down 15%.

“Micron is now down over -30% since its June 22nd record high,” trading resource The Kobeissi Letter commented in a response on X.

Micron Technologies one-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Kobeissi additionally noted profit-taking in action by retail tech-stock investors, with sales of Tesla and Apple hitting $200 million over the past two weeks.

“Meanwhile, the total retail turnover in single stocks rose to a record $370 billion, up from $220 billion at the start of 2026,” it continued. 

“Retail investors are locking in gains following a historic tech rally.”

Retail investor equity sales data. Source: The Kobeissi Letter/X

Earlier, Cointelegraph reported on Bitcoin speculators cashing in on the recent local highs.

“Rejection” becomes new BTC price keyword

Turning to BTC price action itself, the mood among market participants remained conservative on the day.

Related: Bitcoin $107K buyers providing ‘early signals’ of 2026 bear-market bottom: Glassnode

Commentator Exitpump flagged anchored volume-weighted average price (AVWAP) as measured from Bitcoin’s run to $82,000 in early May, as the level to end the current rebound.

“Price is finally going to retest the AVWAP from 82K top that lead to strong local downtrend. To me such retest should cap the upside and give stronger rejection,” they told X followers.

BTC/USD four-hour chart. Source: Exitpump/X

Trader and analyst Rekt Capital argued that BTC/USD was “showing initial signs of rejection” from its 50-month exponential moving average (EMA) at $65,900.

Rekt Capital reiterated the concept of current price behavior copying the 2022 bear market, having already warned that the next macro bottom would not come until later in the year.

Pi Network’s PI token has held above $0.073 after a prolonged decline, with its July 22 Protocol v25 upgrade offering buyers a possible recovery catalyst.

According to data from crypto.news, Pi Network (PI) price traded near $0.0765 on Thursday after moving between an intraday low of $0.0723 and a high of $0.0839. The token remains under pressure on the daily chart, but its 4-hour structure shows price compression that could precede a larger move.

Pi Network announced on July 15 that Protocol v25 will focus on network stability, reliability, and more efficient privacy-focused smart contracts. The upgrade will reach the network on July 22, giving traders a dated catalyst as PI attempts to stabilize near its recent lows.

On July 22, Pi is scheduled to upgrade to Protocol v25, which primarily focuses on improving network stability and reliability, and supports new capabilities for more efficient, privacy-preserving smart contracts.

Go to the Pi mining app to learn more! pic.twitter.com/Btg8aEFAFh

— Pi Network (@PiCoreTeam) July 15, 2026

Bitcoin’s consolidation near $64,000 and a 1.67% decline in the total crypto market have limited demand for smaller tokens. PI has faced the same weak risk appetite while trying to recover from a steep multi-week decline.

Protocol v25 gives buyers a fresh catalyst

Pi Network’s announcement states that Protocol v25 will introduce BN254 cryptography and Poseidon hashing. Developers can use these tools to build zero-knowledge applications that process sensitive information without placing the underlying data on public records.

“On July 22, Pi is scheduled to upgrade to Protocol v25, which primarily focuses on improving network stability and reliability, and supports new capabilities for more efficient, privacy-preserving smart contracts,” the Pi Core Team wrote on X.

By supporting private contract execution, the upgrade could expand the types of applications developers can build on Pi Network, according to the project. Pi Core Team also expects the release to improve contract efficiency as the ecosystem adds new applications and services.

Protocol v25’s effect on PI demand will depend on developer participation, application growth, and network performance after activation. The announcement has created a fresh event for traders to watch, though the price charts have not yet confirmed a sustained reversal.

PI needs $0.080 to confirm its recovery

On the 4-hour TradingView chart, PI has formed a symmetrical triangle after falling from about $0.10 earlier in July. Its descending resistance line now meets an ascending support line, leaving the token close to the pattern’s narrowing end.

A 4-hour close above the upper trendline and $0.080 would confirm a bullish breakout from the triangle, according to the chart structure. Such a move would expose $0.085, which matches the daily Murrey Math oversold level at $0.08545, before traders turn toward $0.097 and the psychological $0.10 barrier.

Momentum has not yet confirmed that outcome. The 4-hour Aroon indicator shows Aroon Up at 28.57% and Aroon Down at 0%, signaling weak trend strength even as selling momentum eases.

Daily capital flows remain another obstacle. TradingView’s Chaikin Money Flow reading stands near -0.20, indicating that outflows continue to outweigh inflows despite buyers defending the latest support area.

On the downside, $0.07324 represents the daily Murrey Math extreme-oversold level and sits close to the triangle’s rising boundary. A clear break below that zone would weaken the rebound setup and expose $0.070, while continued selling could bring the Murrey Math bullish-reversal level near $0.061 into focus.

T. Rowe Price, which manages nearly $2 trillion, has launched an actively managed crypto ETF holding nine digital assets, led by Bitcoin at almost 41%.

According to a July 16 press release from T. Rowe Price, the Active Crypto ETF began trading on NYSE Arca under the ticker TKNZ. The asset manager described the product as the market’s first actively managed multi-token spot exchange-traded product.

Unlike funds built around a single coin or a fixed index, TKNZ gives its managers room to adjust the portfolio as market conditions change. T. Rowe Price said its team will use research, valuation data, momentum signals, and risk controls when choosing allocations.

Bitcoin holds the largest position at nearly 41% of the portfolio, according to the firm’s published holdings. Ethereum accounts for about 18%, while BNB represents approximately 11%.

T. Rowe Price’s holdings data also shows exposure to Solana, XRP, Hyperliquid, Dogecoin, Stellar’s XLM, and the USDC stablecoin. The allocations place established crypto assets alongside newer tokens and a dollar-pegged asset within one actively managed product.

Active management separates TKNZ from passive crypto funds

T. Rowe Price said TKNZ is designed to capture market trends, momentum-led rallies, and rotations between crypto assets. Rather than maintaining fixed weights, the management team can change its positions when its models identify different opportunities or risks.

Blue Macellari, who has led T. Rowe Price’s digital asset work since 2022, serves as the fund’s portfolio manager, according to the company’s release. Four co-portfolio managers, notably Stefan Hubrich, David Kroger, Sean McWilliams, and Dante Pearson, support the strategy.

The fund’s structure also lets the team select assets from a larger approved pool. An updated filing listed 17 eligible tokens, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, Cardano, Avalanche, Litecoin, Polkadot, Dogecoin, Hedera, Bitcoin Cash, Chainlink, Stellar, Shiba Inu, Sui, Hyperliquid, and BNB.

TKNZ carries a management fee of 0.75%, according to T. Rowe Price. The firm has introduced a net fee waiver that will remain in place until May 31, 2027, although the management fee will continue to apply during that period.

The fund also uses Anchorage Digital Bank as its crypto custodian, according to TKNZ market information published by The Block. T. Rowe Price Sponsor LLC serves as the sponsor, while T. Rowe Price Associates acts as administrator.

Balchunas sees calculated timing after the selloff

Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas linked the launch schedule to the market correction that followed T. Rowe Price’s original filing in October 2025. The Securities and Exchange Commission later approved NYSE Arca’s proposal to list the fund in June 2026.

Commenting on the timing in an X post, Balchunas wrote:

“I think they were smart with the timing—waiting till the Oct selloff dust settled a bit.”

T Rowe Price’s Active Crypto ETF $TKNZ is ready for launch. Any day now, I’d guess Thursday. I think they were smart with the timing- waiting till the Oct selloff dust settled a bit. pic.twitter.com/5LZO5WHrqn

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) July 14, 2026

Balchunas had previously called the filing notable because T. Rowe Price was “by far the biggest active manager” to bring its portfolio-management experience into crypto. The firm managed roughly $1.9 trillion when the product secured regulatory clearance, according to reports covering the approval.

TKNZ enters a U.S. market that already includes several single-asset crypto ETFs, while new products tied to Ethereum, Solana, and Hyperliquid have continued to reach regulators. T. Rowe Price’s release positions active allocation, rather than exposure to one token, as the fund’s central difference.

US President Donald Trump’s longtime teleprompter operator is in talks with federal regulators to settle allegations that he used nonpublic information to profit from bets on Kalshi markets tied to the president’s speeches, ABC News reported Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

According to the report, Gabriel Perez, a technical assistant who has operated Trump’s teleprompter since 2016, allegedly placed bets on more than a dozen markets tied to Trump’s speeches, generating more than $100,000 in profits.

Kalshi detected the activity through its surveillance systems and referred the trades to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the outlet said. The contracts were part of the platform’s “Mentions” markets, which allow users to bet on whether particular words, phrases or topics will appear in public speeches.

According to ABC’s sources, Perez sometimes exited positions mid-speech when Trump skipped prepared passages containing words he had wagered would be mentioned. Regulators reportedly uncovered bets tied to more than a dozen speeches over roughly three months, including the State of the Union and remarks at the World Economic Forum.

The White House placed Perez on unpaid administrative leave after the report, according to press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said Trump called the alleged conduct a “disgrace.”

Related: Prediction markets defy crypto downturn with record Q2 volume: CoinGecko

Prediction markets confront insider trading scrutiny

Prediction markets have faced increasing scrutiny over potential insider trading as trading volumes have surged in recent months.

In March, six Polymarket traders earned roughly $1 million after correctly betting the United States would strike Iran before the end of February, prompting questions about possible access to nonpublic information. Bloomberg, citing analytics firm Bubblemaps, reported several wallets placed bets only hours before explosions were first reported in Tehran.

In a seperate incident, wallets earned more than $1.2 million betting on an onchain investigation into DeFi platform Axiom shortly before blockchain investigator ZachXBT published allegations of insider trading involving an employee.

Another trader also made about $400,000 by correctly wagering on the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro shortly before the news became public.

The incidents have prompted greater attention from lawmakers and regulators. Last month, Republican Representative Bryan Steil, who chairs the House subcommittee on digital assets, introduced legislation that would prohibit members of Congress and their immediate families from trading prediction market contracts tied to public policy and political outcomes. 

Magazine: Gambling on random Pokémon cards: Onchain gagcha hits record high as crypto sinks

Injective says it has filed for transfer agent registration with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), aiming to bring a core securities-market record-keeping function onto blockchain infrastructure.

Transfer agents are responsible for maintaining shareholder records and tracking changes in securities ownership in the United States. Injective, a layer-1 blockchain focused on decentralized finance and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), argues that moving this ownership-management workflow onchain could provide a more regulated way to issue and administer tokenized assets—if the SEC approves the filing.

Key takeaways

• Injective filed with the SEC to register as a transfer agent, targeting blockchain-based shareholder record management.
• Transfer agents sit at the center of legal securities ownership tracking in the US market structure.
• Injective says an onchain approach could reduce delays and reconciliation burdens between intermediaries.
• The company did not specify the legal entity behind the application, and Cointelegraph reported it could not independently verify the submission at publication time.

Why transfer agents matter for tokenized securities

In traditional capital markets, transfer agents help ensure that the right parties are recorded as legal owners of securities and that ownership changes are reflected accurately over time. For tokenized securities, the same problem persists—only the “who owns what” question becomes more complex when issuance, settlement, and record updates are expected to occur digitally.

Injective’s pitch is that blockchain infrastructure can support compliant ownership records, while leveraging faster settlement characteristics associated with its network. In a post on X, Injective said tokenized securities and RWAs require “compliant ownership records on infrastructure that settles in less than a second,” and that it intends to provide the capability at scale within the United States.

If the SEC registration is approved, Injective would move from building blockchain infrastructure for tokenized assets toward operating within the regulated systems that determine legal securities ownership.

What Injective has (and hasn’t) disclosed

Injective’s announcement did not include details that investors typically look for when assessing regulatory filings. The company did not identify the specific legal entity behind the application, and it did not provide a public SEC filing for readers to review directly.

Cointelegraph also noted it was unable to independently verify the submission at the time of publication. That uncertainty matters: regulatory outcomes, the scope of approval, and operational requirements often depend on how filings are structured and which entity is responsible for the regulated activity.

For market participants watching this space, the next signal will likely be whether the SEC confirms receipt and provides additional context, and whether Injective clarifies its role, responsibilities, and the exact mechanics of how ownership records would be maintained onchain.

Capital markets’ broader push toward onchain infrastructure

Injective’s move reflects a wider trend: major financial players are experimenting with blockchain not only for tokenized assets, but also for the “pipes” that connect issuance, trading, and post-trade processes.

Nasdaq, for instance, has pursued onchain distribution of market data. Last month, it partnered with onchain financial data network Pyth to distribute its TotalView market data to blockchain applications. Earlier in the year, Nasdaq also partnered with Kraken and tokenization firm Backed to develop infrastructure intended to link traditional equities to blockchain networks.

Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, has similarly expanded its tokenization efforts through a partnership with Securitize. That work is aimed at supporting onchain stocks and exchange-traded funds with goals that include 24/7 trading and instant settlement.

Meanwhile, DTCC—described as a primary post-trade infrastructure provider for US securities markets—is preparing a tokenized platform called the Collateral AppChain. Cointelegraph reported that the initiative is designed to automate collateral management and settlement across financial markets, using blockchain-focused infrastructure to streamline parts of the post-trade lifecycle.

What changes if transfer-agent functions become blockchain-native

If Injective’s registration advances, it could add another building block for tokenized securities: a regulated record-keeping layer that helps tie token ownership representations to legal ownership tracking. Injective claims this could reduce delays and reconciliation between intermediaries—an issue that often shows up when multiple parties, systems, and time windows are involved in updating ownership records.

Even so, the path to real-world impact depends on execution details that were not provided in the announcement: what data is recorded, how changes are validated, and how the onchain record relates to established legal and operational requirements. Readers should therefore watch for follow-up disclosures, regulatory feedback from the SEC, and evidence of how the system would integrate with existing custody and settlement workflows.

For now, Injective’s SEC transfer-agent filing signals that tokenized securities infrastructure is moving beyond experimentation into regulated operational questions—leaving the biggest unknowns centered on how the SEC frames approval and how Injective plans to operationalize compliant ownership records at scale.

Injective said Thursday it has filed a transfer agent registration with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, seeking to bring one of the core record-keeping functions of securities markets onto blockchain infrastructure.

Transfer agents are a core part of US market infrastructure, maintaining shareholder records and tracking changes in securities ownership. Injective, a layer-1 blockchain focused on decentralized finance and tokenized real-world assets, said bringing that function onchain would create a regulated pathway for issuing and managing tokenized assets.

Source: Injective

If approved, the registration would move Injective beyond blockchain infrastructure for tokenized assets and into the regulated systems that determine who legally owns a security. Injective said the approach could reduce delays and reconciliation between intermediaries.

“Tokenized securities and RWAs need compliant ownership records on infrastructure that settles in less than a second,” Injective wrote in an X post, adding that it aims to offer the capability at scale in the United States.

Injective did not identify the legal entity behind the application or provide a public SEC filing, and Cointelegraph could not independently verify the submission at the time of publication.

Related: Hackers tried to backdoor Injective NPM package to steal wallet keys

Capital markets infrastructure moves onchain

Traditional financial institutions have increasingly turned to blockchain to modernize the infrastructure underpinning capital markets. Beyond tokenizing assets, exchanges and market operators are applying the technology to market data distribution, securities issuance, settlement and other post-trade functions.

Nasdaq has been among the most active. Last month, the exchange partnered with onchain financial data network Pyth to distribute its proprietary TotalView market data to blockchain applications. Earlier this year, Nasdaq also partnered with Kraken and tokenization firm Backed to develop infrastructure linking traditional equities to blockchain networks.

Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, has also expanded its tokenization strategy through a partnership with Securitize to develop infrastructure for onchain stocks and exchange-traded funds designed to support 24/7 trading and instant settlement.

Meanwhile, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, the primary post-trade infrastructure provider for US securities markets, is preparing to launch its tokenized Collateral AppChain platform to automate collateral management and settlement across financial markets.

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