The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) on Thursday issued new requirements for phishing-resistant authentication methods for virtual asset trading platforms (VATPs) and online brokers in the special administrative region.

The new standards require stronger phishing-resistant authentication methods and device binding while prohibiting the use of one-time passwords through SMS, email or app-based logins. Platforms must implement the changes within the next 12 months.

The requirements outlined stronger alternatives such as passkeys, registered devices with cryptographic verification and hardware security keys, which the SFC described as phishing-resistant solutions.

The measures raise Hong Kong’s cybersecurity standards as the global crypto industry saw an increase in phishing attacks and social engineering scams in the first quarter of 2026. Those types of incidents accounted for $306 million of the industry’s total losses of $482 million in the period. 

Counterfeiting and fraud attacks accounted for 57% of the security incidents reported to the Hong Kong Cyber Security Accident Coordination Center in 2025, according to announcement.

“To protect customer accounts from increasingly complex and changing counterfeiting and fraud attacks, comprehensive measures must be implemented in conjunction with prevention, detection, response and education,” said Dr. Ye Zhiheng, executive director of the Intermediaries Department of the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

SFC issues new anti-phishing requirements for crypto platforms and online brokers. Source: apps.sfc.hk 

Phishing attacks threaten crypto investor holdings

Phishing attacks and social engineering scams are a pressing global concern for the cryptocurrency industry.

On Wednesday, a crypto investor lost nearly $1 million after signing a malicious phishing token approval transaction on Ethereum, the latest reported incident of phishing scam-related crypto industry losses that totaled $366 million in the first half of 2026.

Earlier this month, a wallet holder reportedly lost $1.65 million after connecting to a fake exchange and signing a malicious contract in a similar incident, which enabled attackers to gain unlimited access to the funds, researcher Ryan Coleman said on Friday. 

Related: Belgian police arrest suspected phishing gang leader tied to $572K theft

On May 25, onchain analyst “b-block” warned that scammers used Google to deploy malicious phishing ads impersonating decentralized exchange Uniswap, reportedly stealing more than $400,000 from victims.

Leading crypto industry figures, including Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao, have previously called for better wallet security measures to avoid phishing scams, after an investor lost $50 million in an address poisoning scam in December 2025. 

In May 2024, one victim lost $71 million to an address poisoning scam in an unusual case that ended with the attacker returning the full amount two weeks later. The reversal followed mounting pressure from investigators who claimed to have tracked the scammer’s potential IP address.

Magazine: Dubai tops Asian crypto hubs, Taiwan passes crypto laws: Asia Express

Sony Financial Group has taken a meaningful step toward entering the US stablecoin market through a newly planned, regulated banking subsidiary. Sony Bank said it received preliminary approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to form a US national trust bank subsidiary that will be able to issue US dollar-denominated stablecoins.

According to an announcement from Sony Financial Group, the unit—Connectia Trust, National Association—would be fully owned by Sony Bank. Sony Financial Group also said the effort is backed by $40 million in starting capital and is intended to serve as a building block for a longer-term digital asset business foundation.

Key takeaways

• Sony Bank received preliminary approval from the OCC on July 2 to establish Connectia Trust, National Association.
• The planned subsidiary is designed to issue and manage US dollar-denominated stablecoins, but no activity can begin until final authorizations are obtained.
• Sony said it expects to launch the new stablecoin banking subsidiary later this month, subject to the remaining approvals.
• The move reflects a broader push by major banks to integrate stablecoin rails even as US legislation remains unsettled.
• Meanwhile, regulatory efforts around stablecoins—including the CLARITY Act—face political and industry friction that may affect how banks expand.

OCC preliminary nod for a Sony-controlled trust bank

Connectia Trust, National Association is the specific entity Sony Bank intends to create, with the company describing it as a US national trust bank subsidiary. The OCC preliminary approval is the first major regulatory milestone, but Sony emphasized that it will not conduct any business activities—including stablecoin issuance—until all required approvals and authorizations are secured, including the OCC’s final approval.

Sony Bank also indicated that it plans to launch the subsidiary this month. For investors and market participants, the practical takeaway is that Sony is positioning itself to operate within the US regulatory perimeter, rather than relying on offshore issuance models or non-bank pathways. Still, the timeline remains contingent on final OCC clearance, so readers should treat “this month” as conditional.

A regulated stablecoin plan—and the open question of product shape

The announcement frames the stablecoin initiative as part of Sony’s broader digital asset groundwork. The subsidiary would support the issuance and management of US dollar-denominated stablecoins, backed by Sony Bank and funded with $40 million in initial capital.

The company’s documentation did not, in the provided text, spell out whether Sony plans to launch a proprietary stablecoin or rely on existing stablecoin infrastructure. Cointelegraph reached out to Sony Bank for additional details on the business plan and whether a Sony-issued token would be involved, but did not receive a response by publication time.

That uncertainty matters: the regulatory and operational complexity can differ depending on whether a bank is issuing its own stablecoin versus integrating minting, redemption, and compliance workflows around a third-party token. What is clear is the direction—Sony is seeking an institutional role in US dollar stablecoin issuance through a trust bank structure.

Banks keep building stablecoin rails as US rules lag

Sony’s move lands in a moment when large financial institutions are increasingly experimenting with stablecoin-based settlement and onboarding—even as US regulatory clarity remains incomplete. Earlier coverage highlighted that Standard Chartered and Circle said they developed a system allowing institutions to mint and redeem USDC through a bank-led onboarding process. In their described model, clients can mint and redeem the US dollar-backed stablecoin via the bank’s platform rather than establishing separate accounts with Circle.

While the Sony plan concerns US dollar-denominated stablecoins more broadly, the parallel is instructive: banks appear willing to pursue stablecoin integration, provided they can align with supervisory expectations and operational controls. The key difference is that Sony is planning to issue and manage stablecoins itself through a regulated entity, which may require more internal infrastructure and governance than distribution-only integration models.

CLARITY Act uncertainty continues to shape timelines

Regulatory momentum in the US is still uneven. The CLARITY Act—one of the best-known efforts aimed at establishing a framework for certain digital asset activities—remains stalled. In the provided reporting, the bill is described as having cleared the Senate Banking Committee in May, but facing pushback from many Democrats and the banking industry.

Critics have raised concerns that the proposal could allow crypto firms to offer yields on stablecoins without subjecting them to the same requirements as traditional financial institutions. That tension has practical implications for how quickly banks and regulated issuers can expand certain revenue models around stablecoins.

Congressional scheduling also adds friction. The bill was set for a House of Representatives hearing on July 17, but Galaxy Digital’s head of research, Alex Thorn, warned that there may not be enough floor time before the Senate’s traditional four-week recess beginning Aug. 8. In a separate update referenced in the text, Galaxy cut its odds of the bill becoming law in 2026 to 50%.

Industry groups remain engaged. More than 200 crypto companies and related organizations urged the Senate to pass the CLARITY Act in a letter shared by Stand With Crypto. Separately, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, speaking to Fox Business in May, said banks will continue to “fight” the current version of the CLARITY Act and argued that firms wanting to offer yield-bearing products “should apply for banking charters.”

Taken together, the bank-led push to integrate stablecoins and the legislative gridlock point to a shared reality: institutions may be able to move forward faster where they can operate within existing banking frameworks, even while broader digital asset rules remain contested.

What to watch next

For Sony and the wider market, the next milestone is straightforward but crucial: final OCC approval for Connectia Trust, National Association and confirmation of what Sony intends to issue—whether a proprietary stablecoin or a narrower role in issuance and management. With the CLARITY Act still uncertain, the market will likely look to how banks translate regulatory permission into practical stablecoin products that can scale within US supervision.

More than $7.2 billion in cross-chain and wrapped assets have migrated from LayerZero to Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) since May, with Mantle becoming the latest project to replace LayerZero for high-value token transfers.

Mantle said it is migrating its Super Portal, which it co-developed with Bybit, from LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) standard to Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Token (CCT) standard.

LayerZero and Chainlink CCIP both let token holders move assets between blockchains, a basic requirement as crypto markets spread across competing networks.

The infrastructure matters because bridges between different blockchains have become one of crypto’s largest security risks, with a single failure able to expose hundreds of millions of dollars in user assets.

The portal enables transfers of the MNT token between Ethereum and Solana, with support for additional blockchain networks planned.

The migration includes MNT, the native token of Mantle’s network, which has more than $2.5 billion in value locked. Mantle’s move pushes the total value of announced migrations from LayerZero to Chainlink CCIP above $7.24 billion.

Key takeaways

• Arbitrum (ARB) rebounded above $0.081 after recovering losses from earlier in the week.
• Offchain Labs co-founder Steven Goldfeder announced that 10% of fees generated by Robinhood Chain and other Arbitrum Layer 2 networks will flow back into the Arbitrum ecosystem.
• The revenue-sharing model is expected to strengthen the DAO treasury, fund development, and enhance ARB’s long-term value.

Arbitrum (ARB) extended its recovery on Thursday, climbing above $0.081 after erasing losses recorded earlier in the week. 

The rally followed a major announcement from Offchain Labs co-founder Steven Goldfeder, who revealed that a portion of transaction fees generated by Robinhood Chain and other Arbitrum Layer 2 (L2) networks will be redirected to the broader Arbitrum ecosystem.

The announcement has boosted investor confidence by highlighting a sustainable revenue model that could strengthen the network’s long-term fundamentals, while improving technical indicators suggest ARB may have room for further gains.

Robinhood Chain revenue-sharing strengthens Arbitrum ecosystem

In a post on X, Offchain Labs co-founder and Arbitrum developer Steven Goldfeder disclosed that 10% of fees collected by Robinhood Chain and every other Arbitrum Layer 2 chain are allocated back to the Arbitrum ecosystem.

As enterprise adoption is heating up, Arbitrum is well positioned to capture revenue.

10% of fees collected on Robinhood Chain (and every other Arbitrum L2) go to the Arbitrum ecosystem — 8% to the tokenholder controlled treasury and 2% to fund development.

And of course 100%…

— Steven Goldfeder (@sgoldfed) July 8, 2026

According to Goldfeder, 8% of those fees are directed to the tokenholder-controlled Arbitrum DAO treasury, while the remaining 2% is used to support ongoing network development.

He also noted that 100% of fees generated on Arbitrum One continue to flow directly into the Arbitrum treasury, further reinforcing the ecosystem’s long-term funding model.

The fee-sharing mechanism is viewed as a positive development for Arbitrum because it creates an ongoing source of revenue for governance, ecosystem expansion, and developer incentives. As enterprise adoption of Layer 2 networks accelerates, the model could significantly increase the value captured by the Arbitrum ecosystem over time.

Investors responded positively to the announcement, sending ARB more than 7% higher during Thursday’s trading session.

Technical outlook improves, but key resistance remains

ARB has recovered above $0.085, reversing the losses recorded over the previous three sessions. 

However, the token still trades below several important moving averages, suggesting the broader trend has yet to turn decisively bullish.

The 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) remains well above the current price at $0.1409, underscoring the longer-term bearish structure.

Meanwhile, momentum indicators are beginning to stabilize. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) is showing signs of improving momentum, while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is hovering near 50, indicating that selling pressure is easing without confirming a full bullish reversal.

The first major resistance zone sits between $0.0878 and $0.0891, where several technical barriers converge.

This area includes the 50-day EMA at $0.0878, a horizontal resistance level at $0.0883, and the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level at $0.0891.

A successful breakout above this cluster could shift momentum further in favor of buyers and open the path toward the next resistance levels.

On the downside, the key support remains around $0.0705, which marks both the previous swing low and the primary Fibonacci support level.

Holding above this area would preserve the recent recovery. However, a daily close below $0.0705 could invalidate the current rebound and expose ARB to another leg lower despite improving momentum indicators.

For now, traders will be watching whether growing ecosystem revenues and stronger investor sentiment can help ARB break above the critical $0.09 resistance zone and build a more sustained recovery.

For years, decentralized finance (DeFi) has relied on a familiar playbook: launch a governance token, distribute generous rewards to liquidity providers, and watch capital pour in. The strategy fueled the explosive growth of DeFi during the 2020-2022 boom, creating billions of dollars in Total Value Locked (TVL) almost overnight.

But there was one major problem.

Much of that liquidity wasn’t loyal—it was rented.

As soon as rewards declined or another protocol offered higher yields, capital quickly migrated elsewhere. This phenomenon, often called “mercenary capital,” exposed a harsh reality: many DeFi protocols weren’t attracting users because of their products—they were attracting them by paying them.

Now, as the industry matures, a new question is taking center stage:

Can DeFi survive without token incentives?

The answer could determine which protocols become lasting financial infrastructure—and which fade away when emissions dry up.

The Emissions Era

Liquidity mining changed crypto forever.

Protocols like Compound, Aave, SushiSwap, Curve, and dozens of others rewarded users with newly minted governance tokens simply for supplying liquidity or borrowing assets.

The model worked because:

• TVL increased rapidly.
• Higher TVL attracted more users.
• More users increased visibility.
• Token prices often appreciate.
• Everyone appeared to win.

But underneath the surface, the economy was fragile.

Every reward distributed represented dilution.

Unless a protocol generated enough revenue to offset emissions, value slowly leaked from existing token holders to short-term farmers.

Eventually, many protocols entered a familiar cycle:

High APY → Liquidity Flood → Rewards End → Liquidity Leaves.

This became one of DeFi’s biggest structural weaknesses.

Liquidity Is Not Product-Market Fit

One of crypto’s biggest misconceptions is equating TVL with success.

A protocol can have billions locked while generating very little real economic activity.

Conversely, a protocol with modest TVL but strong revenue may have a healthier long-term business model.

True product-market fit means users stay because the protocol solves a real problem—not because they’re temporarily subsidized.

Examples include:

• Traders seeking the best execution.
• Businesses need stablecoin liquidity.
• Institutions require transparent settlement.
• Developers are integrating reliable infrastructure.
• Users pay for convenience, security, or privacy.

In these cases, demand exists independently of token rewards.

That’s a much stronger foundation.

Revenue Is Becoming More Important Than Emissions

Increasingly, investors are evaluating protocols less by TVL and more by revenue generation.

Questions are shifting toward:

• Does the protocol generate sustainable fees?
• Are users willing to pay for the product?
• Can revenue cover operational costs?
• Is token value linked to real cash flow?

These metrics resemble traditional business analysis more than speculative token investing.

The market is slowly rewarding protocols that operate like businesses rather than perpetual incentive machines.

Protocols Built Around Real Demand

Several categories of DeFi already demonstrate that sustainable demand can exist without relying entirely on emissions.

Decentralized Exchanges

Users trade because they need liquidity.

Trading fees—not inflation—become the primary economic engine.

Higher trading volume naturally increases protocol revenue.

Lending Markets

Borrowers care about capital access.

Lenders care about stable returns.

Neither necessarily depends on governance token rewards if interest rates remain competitive.

Stablecoin Infrastructure

Payments, settlements, payroll, and treasury management create recurring demand.

These activities happen because they’re useful—not because someone is farming incentives.

Cross-Chain Infrastructure

Bridges, interoperability layers, and messaging protocols generate demand whenever users move assets across ecosystems.

The service itself provides value.

Privacy Infrastructure

Privacy-focused protocols solve real user needs, including financial confidentiality, business privacy, and secure transactions.

As regulatory frameworks evolve, privacy solutions with legitimate compliance features may see increasing demand from both individuals and institutions.

The Difference Between Subsidized Growth and Organic Growth

Imagine opening two coffee shops.

The first gives every customer $20 just for walking in.

The second simply serves excellent coffee.

Initially, the first shop will appear far busier.

But once the giveaways stop, many customers disappear.

The second shop may grow more slowly, but its customers return because they genuinely value the product.

Many DeFi protocols have resembled the first coffee shop.

The next generation aims to become the second.

Organic demand compounds over time.

Subsidized demand disappears when the subsidies end.

Incentives Are Not the Enemy

This doesn’t mean token incentives are inherently bad.

Incentives can be extremely effective when used strategically.

They can:

• Bootstrap early liquidity.
• Reward long-term contributors.
• Encourage ecosystem development.
• Align community participation.

The problem arises when incentives become the product rather than supporting it.

Healthy protocols eventually reduce dependence on emissions as natural demand grows.

The Next Competitive Advantage

As DeFi becomes more efficient, protocols may increasingly compete on:

• Better user experience
• Lower transaction costs
• Faster execution
• Higher security
• Regulatory readiness
• Reliable revenue generation
• Strong developer ecosystems

These are advantages that cannot be easily copied by simply increasing APYs.

A More Sustainable Future

The industry’s focus is gradually shifting from “How high is the yield?” to “Where does the yield actually come from?”

That’s an important evolution.

Protocols that earn revenue through genuine usage are more likely to weather bear markets, attract institutional participants, and build durable ecosystems.

Liquidity earned through utility tends to last longer than liquidity rented through emissions.

Final Introspections

Token incentives played a critical role in bootstrapping DeFi, helping transform a niche experiment into a global financial ecosystem. However, long-term sustainability will depend less on how many tokens a protocol distributes and more on whether people genuinely need the services it provides.

The next generation of DeFi winners may not be the protocols offering the highest APYs—they may be the ones delivering products users are willing to pay for, even when rewards disappear.

In the end, sustainable finance isn’t built on endless emissions. It’s built on creating real value that keeps users coming back long after the incentives are gone.

REQUEST AN ARTICLE

GoPro, the action camera maker once worth more than $10 billion, just announced that founder Nicholas Woodman will extend $20 million in financing to keep his company afloat.

That’s the Nicholas Woodman who previously made over $284 million in a single 12-month span, making him the highest paid chief executive in the US that year.

Still a billionaire today, thanks to years of GoPro stock and compensation, Woodman is slowly becoming its lender of last resort.

As a condolence for presiding over a 99% stock decline from the company’s peak, he’s returning a fraction of the fortune he made to keep things running.

Through entities affiliated with Woodman, he’s agreed to hold $20 million in senior secured notes plus warrants to purchase Class B shares, the class that already gives him majority voting control.

Woodman framed it as a vote of confidence. “My financing reflects my enthusiasm for GoPro and its several go-forward opportunities,” he said in the announcement, adding that an independent board committee had reviewed a range of financing options and concluded the structure offered the most favorable terms for GoPro and its shareholders.

GoPro was trading above $98 per share on October 7, 2014. It closed yesterday at $0.73, a decline of 99%.

From highest-paid CEO to lender of last resort

Even by 2014 standards, Woodman’s executive compensation package was extraordinary. 

Woodman received 4.5 million restricted stock units three weeks before GoPro’s June 2014 initial public offering (IPO), a grant worth $284 million by the end of that year and enough for him to rank #1 on Bloomberg’s Pay Index. 

His personal fortune tracked the hype for affordable cameras for sports and outdoor content creators, peaking near $3.9 billion per the 2014 edition of the Forbes 400.

The delta between then and now, however, defines that story. 

GoPro shareholders made Woodman a billionaire. Now, those same shareholders are relying on him to fund operations.

By 2018, GoPro had already cut Woodman’s salary to $1. The gesture was supposed to look humble and sacrificial, except for people who remembered that his GoPro stock and compensation would keep him a billionaire.

Key takeaways

• Hyperliquid (HYPE) has fallen for four straight days as retail demand weakens amid broader crypto market uncertainty.
• Futures open interest and trading volume have declined, signaling lower speculative activity.
• Institutional interest remains strong, with HYPE ETFs attracting $16.08 million in weekly inflows.

Hyperliquid (HYPE) remains under pressure for the fourth consecutive trading session as retail traders reduce exposure amid growing geopolitical uncertainty and a broader risk-off mood across the cryptocurrency market.

While short-term sentiment has cooled, institutional investors continue to accumulate exposure, and activity within Hyperliquid’s Real World Asset (RWA) ecosystem remains robust. These factors continue to support the token’s longer-term bullish outlook.

Technical indicators also suggest that a decisive breakout above the $75-$77 resistance area could reignite buying momentum and potentially push HYPE toward the psychological $100 level.

Retail traders step back as market sentiment weakens

Retail participation in Hyperliquid has softened as investors become increasingly cautious amid renewed tensions in the Middle East, which have dampened appetite for risk assets.

According to CoinGlass data, HYPE futures open interest declined to $2.68 billion, indicating a modest reduction in leveraged positions. 

Meanwhile, derivatives trading volume dropped 29% over the past 24 hours to $1.99 billion, highlighting weaker short-term market participation.

Despite the slowdown, bullish positioning has not disappeared entirely. The funding rate eased slightly to 0.0065% from 0.0078% a day earlier, remaining in positive territory. 

Positive funding rates generally indicate that long-position holders are still willing to pay a premium, suggesting optimism persists despite the recent pullback.

Overall, derivatives data points to a cautious market where traders are waiting for greater clarity before making aggressive directional bets.

While retail demand has cooled, institutional investors continue to show confidence in Hyperliquid.

HYPE-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs) attracted $3.33 million in fresh inflows on Wednesday, bringing total weekly inflows to $16.08 million. 

The steady capital inflows suggest larger investors remain optimistic about the project’s long-term growth prospects.

At the same time, Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 ecosystem—which supports perpetual contracts tied to tokenized Real World Assets (RWAs)—continues to gain momentum.

Open interest across HIP-3 products climbed to $3.10 billion, while trading volume increased 40% over the past 24 hours and 28% over the past month. 

Revenue has also remained stable at roughly $10 million over the past four weeks, reflecting sustained user activity and growing demand for RWA-based trading products.

These metrics reinforce the view that institutional adoption and expanding utility remain key drivers behind Hyperliquid’s long-term bullish narrative.

Technical analysis: $75-$77 remains the key breakout zone

From a technical standpoint, Hyperliquid is undergoing a healthy correction while preserving its broader uptrend.

The token is approaching a rising support trendline near $66.54, an area that continues to underpin the current market structure. 

More importantly, HYPE remains comfortably above both its 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $62.53 and the 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $48.33.

Holding above these major moving averages indicates that buyers still maintain control of the longer-term trend.

The primary resistance lies between $75.76—the June 1 swing high—and the R1 Pivot level at $77.09. Together, these levels form the upper boundary of an ascending triangle, a chart pattern that often precedes bullish breakouts.

A successful move above this resistance zone could open the door to the next upside targets: R2 Pivot at $89.14, and the R3 Pivot: $101.35

If bullish momentum accelerates, the psychological $100 level could become a realistic near-term objective.

Technical momentum indicators continue to favor the bulls despite the recent correction. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) remains above its signal line, indicating that bullish momentum has not been fully lost.

Meanwhile, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) sits around 42, just below the neutral zone. This suggests there is still room for additional upside if buying pressure returns.

Together, these indicators reflect neutral-to-positive momentum rather than a shift toward a bearish trend.

Although the broader outlook remains constructive, traders should monitor downside support levels closely.

If HYPE loses the 50-day EMA at $62.53, sellers could push prices toward the S1 Pivot level at $52.83.

A deeper correction could eventually test the 200-day EMA at $48.33, which continues to represent the foundation of Hyperliquid’s longer-term bullish market structure.

As long as HYPE remains above these critical support levels, the broader uptrend remains intact despite ongoing short-term volatility.

Singapore’s state-owned investment firm, Temasek Holdings, said it will prioritize AI investments over crypto due to regulatory uncertainty and the lingering impact of a $275 million write-off from the collapse of crypto exchange FTX in 2022.

The firm, with an investment portfolio valued around 518 billion Singapore dollars ($400 billion), plans to increase its AI exposure from 6% of its portfolio in the first quarter of 2026 to 15% by 2031, Nagi Hamiyeh, president of Temasek Global Investments, told CNBC on Wednesday The AI investment cycle has just begun and will continue for decades, he said, while cautioning that valuations in some parts of the industry have run ahead of fundamentals.

Temasek, the state’s largest investment vehicle after GIC Private Ltd., is still dealing with the hit it took following the collapse of FTX. That implosion and other failures exposed weak consumer protections in Singapore, prompting the central bank, the Monetary Authority (MAS), to swing toward stricter supervision, a move that resulted in higher compliance costs and slower licensing, among other challenges.