The Federal Reserve has named Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Marc Andreessen to help lead a task force studying artificial intelligence, productivity and employment.

The Federal Reserve announced the appointment on July 9. The panel forms part of Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s broader review of how the central bank makes monetary policy decisions.

Andreessen will serve on the Productivity and Jobs task force with Stanford University economist Charles I. Jones and Microsoft executive Asha Sharma.

Jones is currently on leave from Stanford while working at AI company Anthropic. Sharma serves as Microsoft’s executive vice president and Xbox CEO. Their panel will assess how general-purpose technologies, including AI, affect economic output and jobs.

The group will receive support from Federal Reserve staff but operate independently. It will provide research and feedback to the Federal Open Market Committee, which sets U.S. interest rates.

Warsh said each panel would examine whether the Fed could improve its analytical tools and policy methods. 

“The goal is straightforward: to ensure the Fed is best positioned to achieve our objectives,” he said.

Andreessen co-founded a16z, a venture capital company that has invested heavily in artificial intelligence, crypto, fintech and software. His appointment gives a technology investor a formal role in the Fed’s review, although the panel will not set interest rates.

Five task forces review Fed policy

The Productivity and Jobs group is one of five task forces created under Warsh. The other panels will examine communication, balance-sheet policy, economic data and inflation frameworks.

The communications panel will study how the Fed explains decisions during uncertain economic periods. A separate balance-sheet team will assess the costs and benefits of the central bank’s current asset holdings.

Meanwhile, the data panel will study how the Fed can receive faster and more reliable economic signals. The inflation group will review how policymakers measure and respond to the causes of rising prices.

Warsh first announced the review after the Fed’s June meeting. As previously reported by crypto.news, he said the groups could begin work within weeks and provide early findings during the fall.

The Fed has not published a final deadline for the task forces. It said further details about their work would appear periodically.

Fed officials debate AI’s economic role

The review comes as policymakers assess whether AI will reduce inflation through higher productivity or raise prices through heavy infrastructure spending.

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook said in a May speech on AI and the economy that the technology could raise productivity and support stronger economic growth. However, she also warned that rapid investment and labor-market changes could create inflation risks.

Former Fed Chair Jerome Powell raised similar doubts in March. He said data center construction was putting pressure on goods and services and was “probably pushing inflation up at the margin.”

The two effects may occur at different times. Spending on chips, electricity and data centers can increase costs in the near term. Later productivity gains could allow companies to produce more with fewer resources.

As reported by crypto.news, Cathie Wood expects productivity growth to reduce inflation. She argued that stronger output per worker could lower unit labor costs even when the economy continues growing.

AI policy could matter for crypto markets

The task force does not have a direct crypto mandate. However, the Fed’s conclusions on productivity, inflation and employment could influence interest-rate decisions that affect Bitcoin and other risk assets.

Higher rates often increase demand for cash and government debt while reducing investor demand for volatile assets. Lower rates can improve liquidity conditions, although crypto prices also respond to regulation, market flows and wider economic risks.

Andreessen’s firm has backed several crypto companies through its a16z crypto division. Still, the Fed described his new position as part of a broad technology review rather than a role focused on digital assets.

Lawmakers have intensified calls for an investigation into President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency holdings as the Senate prepares to advance the CLARITY Act.

According to a joint statement from Democratic senators, ranking members from five Senate committees have asked Congress to hold hearings into the national security implications of President Trump’s crypto business interests, arguing that his financial disclosures raise new questions just as lawmakers finalize legislation that would reshape U.S. digital asset regulation.

The statement was signed by Senators Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, Gary Peters, Dick Durbin, and Ron Wyden. Citing Trump’s latest financial disclosure, the lawmakers said the president’s family crypto ventures generated roughly $1.4 billion in income and argued that unidentified third parties continue to hold stakes in the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial project.

They contended that these financial interests warrant closer scrutiny before Congress moves ahead with the CLARITY Act.

Democratic lawmakers also argued that the disclosures raise concerns over the administration’s support for crypto legislation while simultaneously pursuing regulatory changes affecting the industry. According to the senators, those concerns extend to efforts they say would exempt parts of the crypto sector from existing financial rules and weaken enforcement measures.

Ethics provisions remain a sticking point

Separately, Senator Elizabeth Warren renewed her call for ethics restrictions within the CLARITY Act. In a post on X, Warren argued that the legislation should prohibit the president, vice president, members of Congress, senior administration officials, and their immediate families from profiting from cryptocurrency ventures while serving in public office.

She described Trump’s crypto business interests as corruption and said Congress has a responsibility to prevent conflicts of interest through the legislation.

Trump has previously dismissed criticism surrounding the disclosures, saying he was unaware of the reported crypto income and maintaining that there was nothing illegal about the earnings.

The ethics debate has emerged as Senate negotiators prepare an updated version of the CLARITY Act that combines proposals from the Senate Banking and Agriculture committees. According to earlier reporting, the consolidated draft is expected to exceed 70 pages and include stronger consumer protection provisions alongside changes negotiated in recent weeks. 

The Senate is targeting floor consideration during the week of July 20, leaving lawmakers with limited time before the chamber’s August recess.

Senate negotiations continue amid regulatory disputes

At the same time, negotiations over the legislation continue beyond ethics provisions. Law enforcement organizations have argued that language governing decentralized finance could make investigations into illicit finance more difficult, adding another issue for senators to resolve before any floor vote.

Senator Ron Wyden has also urged Senate leaders to preserve Section 604, known as the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, arguing in a letter to Majority Leader John Thune and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer that legal protections for non-custodial blockchain developers should remain in the final bill.

Meanwhile, the White House has rejected accusations that it is refusing to nominate Democratic commissioners to the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

In a letter to Thune and Schumer, the administration said it had requested qualified Democratic nominees for both agencies but had not received any names, responding to criticism over vacant seats at regulators expected to oversee large portions of the crypto market if the CLARITY Act becomes law.

Another development came from the private sector, where Coinbase announced that Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal will step down on July 31. His departure comes only days before the Senate is expected to resume work on the CLARITY Act, placing one of the crypto industry’s most prominent legal leadership changes alongside a pivotal period for U.S. digital asset legislation.

Bitcoin has climbed back above $64,000 after Standard Chartered reaffirmed its $100,000 year-end 2026 price target and argued that recent selling linked to Strategy has not weakened Bitcoin’s long-term outlook.

Standard Chartered said the recent decline in Bitcoin was driven more by uncertainty over Strategy’s changing treasury approach than by any deterioration in the cryptocurrency’s fundamentals.

In a research note, the bank maintained that the latest pullback should not be viewed as a sign that the longer-term bull case has changed.

Strategy’s treasury changes remain at the center of investor attention

According to Standard Chartered’s Global Head of Digital Assets Research, Geoff Kendrick, investors have largely misunderstood Strategy’s evolving use of its Bitcoin holdings. Rather than continuing to rely mainly on debt and equity issuance to accumulate Bitcoin, the company is increasingly using its treasury to support credit-focused products, including its perpetual preferred stock, STRC.

Standard Chartered said this development has altered how some investors interpret Strategy’s role in the Bitcoin market. The bank added that clearer communication around the company’s treasury plans could help reduce concerns over future Bitcoin sales.

In its report, Standard Chartered compared the importance of credible corporate commitments with the way central banks use consistent policy signals to build market confidence.

Earlier this year, Strategy’s Bitcoin sale triggered a sharp market reaction after investors questioned whether the company might continue reducing its holdings. According to the report, the announcement contributed to Bitcoin falling from around $80,000 to nearly $60,000, while Strategy shares and STRC also declined as investor confidence weakened.

Even during that period, however, Standard Chartered kept its forecast that Bitcoin could reach $100,000 by the end of 2026, arguing that the market had overreacted to uncertainty surrounding Strategy rather than changes in Bitcoin itself.

Institutional positioning continues to evolve

As Bitcoin recovered to trade near $64,500, institutional investors also adjusted their exposure to Strategy and crypto investment products.

As previously reported by crypto.news, Wells Fargo disclosed in its latest filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it increased its holding in Strategy by 125%, lifting its position to nearly 726,000 shares after adding about $41.5 million in exposure.

The same filing also showed that Wells Fargo reduced its position in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust by 75,102 shares compared with the previous quarter.

At the same time, the bank opened a new IBIT call position and expanded its put exposure during a period of elevated market uncertainty tied to the U.S.-Iran conflict, indicating a more balanced options strategy instead of relying solely on spot ETF holdings.

Beyond Bitcoin-related investments, the SEC filing showed that Wells Fargo also increased its exposure to Ethereum- and Solana-linked products, suggesting continued institutional participation across multiple digital asset markets despite recent volatility.

Standard Chartered argued that if Strategy succeeds in explaining how its treasury model is changing, concerns about additional Bitcoin sales could ease further. With Bitcoin trading back above the $64,000 level while the bank maintains its long-term forecast, the report said investor confidence could continue improving as uncertainty around Strategy’s financing strategy fades.

Vitalik Buterin has called on Elon Musk to reshape X into a platform where ordinary users can help coordinate global AI governance instead of leaving key decisions to governments and large institutions.

According to a July 11 thread published by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin on X, the social media platform could become a place where people participate in major AI policy discussions through open coordination rather than relying solely on governments, major AI laboratories, or nonprofit organizations.

X could become a coordination layer for AI policy

In the thread, Buterin argued that X is well positioned to help people negotiate what he described as “grand win-win deals” on AI governance. Addressing Musk directly, he wrote that if he were running the platform, he would redesign it to help identify agreements that give more people influence over decisions instead of concentrating power among governments, technology companies, and leading institutions.

The proposal builds on ideas Buterin has discussed before. In earlier posts, he praised X’s Community Notes system and prediction markets as two of the most important social technologies for improving public knowledge.

At the same time, he has also warned that the platform could become a tool for coordinated harassment if its incentives move in the wrong direction, making governance changes increasingly important in his view.

Buterin’s proposal comes as the AI race accelerates after SpaceXAI released Grok 4.5 and OpenAI rolled out GPT-5.6. Ahead of Grok 4.5’s public launch, Musk described it on X as an “Opus-class model” that is faster, more token-efficient, and lower cost following positive beta feedback.

Crypto tools could benefit if X adopts the model

Beyond proposing changes to X, Buterin outlined what he sees as the biggest disagreement in the AI debate. According to his post, one group believes artificial superintelligence could emerge around 2040 unless development slows dramatically, while another treats AI as a continuation of previous technological progress and dismisses warnings about existential risks and centralized control.

Although Buterin said he remains uncertain about AI timelines, he argued in favor of establishing predefined conditions that could temporarily slow AI development. His examples included the emergence of super-pandemics, unemployment rising above 25%, or autonomous lethal drones becoming widely deployed.

Those proposals are consistent with Buterin’s defensive acceleration, or d/acc, framework, which prioritizes technologies such as cryptography, formal verification, secure open hardware, pandemic preparedness, and stronger public information systems. The same philosophy has also influenced Ethereum’s technical roadmap, where Buterin has repeatedly supported privacy-focused infrastructure through what has become known as the Lean Ethereum vision.

For crypto markets, Buterin’s proposal points toward a larger role for decentralized infrastructure if X evolves into a coordination platform. Prediction markets could be used to verify whether agreed AI trigger events have occurred, while zero-knowledge technologies and on-chain governance systems could receive additional attention if institutions adopt more transparent decision-making processes.

Even so, Buterin stopped short of calling for new AI regulation. Instead, his thread argued for coordination between participants with different views, presenting a framework that attempts to balance open participation with safeguards against high-risk AI outcomes.

The stablecoin market has lost about $10 billion since reaching a record high in May 2026. Total supply fell by $7.7 billion during June to about $312 billion, marking the largest monthly decline in dollar terms since the TerraUSD collapse in May 2022. The decrease equaled roughly 2.4% for June and about 3% from the May peak. 

Current DefiLlama data places the market near $312.23 billion. The dashboard shows Tether’s USDT at about $184.15 billion and Circle’s USDC at roughly $73.41 billion. USDT still controls close to 59% of the market, leaving the sector heavily dependent on its two largest dollar-backed tokens.

USDT and USDC lead the supply reduction

USDT fell from about $190 billion in May, cutting roughly $6 billion from its circulating value. USDC declined from a March peak near $80 billion, losing almost $7 billion over four months. Together, those changes account for most of the retreat, although smaller regulated issuers continued expanding during the same period. 

Paul Howard, senior director at trading firm Wincent, described the decline as “a relatively small pullback in what we believe is a long-term growth market.” The current drawdown remains far below the 26% stablecoin contraction recorded across the 2022 bear market. That earlier decline followed the Terra failure, lender collapses, and the failure of FTX.

Lower supply points to thinner crypto liquidity

Traders use stablecoins as settlement assets and quote currencies across exchanges and decentralized markets. A falling supply can show that users redeemed tokens for bank dollars or moved capital outside crypto. It can also reduce the amount of dollar-linked buying power available for Bitcoin, Ether, and other digital assets.

The reduction arrived during a weak month for crypto investment products.Crypto.news reported that U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds lost more than $4 billion in June, their worst monthly outflow since launch. The parallel declines show that institutional fund demand and on-chain dollar liquidity both weakened as digital asset prices remained under pressure.

Activity did not fall at the same pace as supply. The adjusted stablecoin transaction volume reached a record $1.78 trillion in June. USDC processed about $1.21 trillion, while USDT handled $573 billion. USDT still recorded more individual transfers, showing that fewer tokens can continue supporting heavy payment and trading activity.

Tokenized assets grow while stablecoins retreat

Tokenized real-world assets moved in the opposite direction. However, their on-chain value crossed $30 billion during 2026, led by tokenized Treasury products, funds, and private credit. CoinDesk Research also recorded a 145% rise in tokenized equity volume during June to a record $3.86 billion.

Regulation and new issuers continue reshaping the stablecoin market. The U.S. GENIUS Act created a federal framework for payment stablecoins, while regulators are drafting customer identification, sanctions, and reserve rules. Crypto.news has also tracked new reserve products from Fidelity and State Street designed for regulated issuers.

The latest supply figures point to a pause in market expansion rather than a Terra-style collapse. USDT and USDC remain near their dollar pegs, transaction activity remains high, and the total market retains most of its recent growth. Further monthly contractions would provide clearer evidence that crypto liquidity is leaving the system rather than moving between issuers or on-chain products.

Investors will now watch July issuance, redemption data, exchange volumes, and ETF flows for signs that demand is returning or weakening further.

Empery has sold 1,400 Bitcoin for about $87.1 million since May, using the proceeds to reduce debt, fund acquisitions, cover legal costs, and strengthen its cash position while scaling back part of its Bitcoin treasury.

Bitcoin sales have strengthened Empery’s balance sheet

According to Empery, the Nasdaq-listed company sold the 1,400 BTC between May 7 and July 10 at an average price of $62,200 per Bitcoin. The transactions generated approximately $87.1 million in gross proceeds, leaving the company with 1,514 BTC and roughly $73.9 million in cash as of July 10.

Company filings show the proceeds are being allocated across several financial obligations rather than additional Bitcoin purchases. Empery said the funds are being used to repay debt, finance a previously announced property acquisition, cover legal expenses related to ongoing stockholder litigation and support general operations.

As part of those efforts, Empery disclosed that it repaid $10 million of outstanding debt on July 7. Even after that payment, the company said about $45 million remains outstanding under its debt facility.

The latest disposal follows an earlier round of Bitcoin sales this year. In its annual report, Empery disclosed that it sold 722 BTC for approximately $50 million between Jan. 1 and March 25, 2026, while also warning investors that future Bitcoin sales could affect both its financial results and overall financial condition.

Earlier treasury expansion has given way to liquidity needs

The latest sales stand in contrast with the company’s Bitcoin accumulation strategy announced last year. In August 2025, when the company still operated under the Volcon name, Empery said it held more than 4,018 BTC and described its strategy as becoming a low-cost, capital-efficient Bitcoin aggregator.

Recent treasury decisions by other publicly traded Bitcoin holders show that companies are taking different approaches depending on their balance sheet needs. As previously reported by crypto.news, Nakamoto Inc. reduced outstanding debt by about $45 million after selling roughly 600 BTC and using Bitcoin-related derivative positions, generating around $48 million in net proceeds.

The company also refinanced most of its remaining borrowings into 2027, lowered financing costs, and retained approximately 4,467 BTC worth more than $280 million, according to company figures.

Capital B has moved in the opposite direction by seeking additional funding to expand its Bitcoin holdings rather than selling existing reserves. As previously reported by crypto.news, shareholders approved a financing framework in June authorizing up to €5 billion in new equity issuance and €100 billion in credit instruments. 

According to Alexandre Laizet, Capital B’s board director of Bitcoin Strategy, the proposal would allow the French Bitcoin treasury company to issue up to 125 billion new shares at their current nominal value alongside a substantial pool of debt and credit instruments to finance further Bitcoin purchases.

Unlike Capital B’s capital-raising strategy or Nakamoto’s refinancing plan, Empery’s latest disclosures show that the company is relying on Bitcoin sales to meet immediate financial obligations while maintaining a smaller digital asset treasury on its balance sheet.

Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor has renewed speculation about the company’s next Bitcoin transaction. In a July 12 post, he shared Strategy’s familiar acquisition chart and wrote, “Orange dots tell only part of the story.” The chart marks past Bitcoin purchases, but the message did not say whether Strategy had bought, sold, or taken no action during the latest reporting period.

Saylor has often posted the chart before Strategy publishes a Monday filing. Traders once treated those posts as signals of another purchase. That pattern became less reliable after the company began selling Bitcoin in 2026. The latest message therefore leaves two possible readings: Strategy may have resumed accumulation, or Saylor may be pointing to a wider capital plan that now includes selective sales.

Strategy has not confirmed any transaction for the week ending July 12. Its public tracker still shows 843,775 BTC as the latest reported balance. The company generally discloses treasury activity through SEC filings, so social posts alone do not establish that a trade occurred or reveal its actual direction.

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Strategy’s recent sale changes the signal

Strategy disclosed on July 6 that it sold 3,588 BTC for about $216 million between June 29 and July 5. The company sold 1,363 BTC at an average price of $59,256, then sold another 2,225 BTC at an average price of $60,773. The transactions reduced its holdings to 843,775 BTC, acquired for an average price of $75,476. The details appear in Strategy’s July 6 filing.

The filing said Strategy used the proceeds to fund preferred stock distributions and restore money taken from its dollar reserve. That reserve stood at $2.55 billion on July 5. Strategy also said its separate Bitcoin monetization program still had capacity to raise up to $1.25 billion. The company reported no common stock sales or share repurchases during the same week.

Crypto.news tracks a broader capital shift

Crypto.news described the July disposal as the end of Strategy’s simple “never sell” era. The report said the company now treats Bitcoin as part of a larger capital structure that includes preferred shares, dividends, debt, cash reserves, and possible buybacks. Strategy’s first 2026 sale involved only 32 BTC and was later described by chief executive Phong Le as a systems test.

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The later 3,588 BTC sale carried more weight because Strategy used the funds for recurring financial duties. Another report cited Grayscale research warning that weak STRC and MSTR prices could raise dividend pressure and reduce Strategy’s ability to finance fresh Bitcoin purchases. Other analysts still expect the company to resume buying when market and funding conditions improve.

MSTR chart remains under pressure

MSTR closed near $94.64 after forming lower highs and lower lows since its July 2025 peak near $450. The stock remains below the $126.55 area, which now acts as resistance. Its relative strength index sits near 30.5, showing strong negative momentum and near-oversold conditions. That reading can support a short rebound but does not confirm a trend reversal.

Source: TradingView

The MACD line remains below its signal line and both sit under zero, keeping the broader setup bearish. Immediate support lies around $90 to $95. A break below that area would weaken the structure further. Recovery would require a move above $125 to $130, followed by stronger momentum. Strategy’s next filing should clarify whether Saylor’s orange dots marked a purchase, another sale, or a different balance-sheet move.

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Hedera’s native token HBAR has fallen more than 2% after blockchain security researchers reported that a suspected exploit had moved more than $5.8 million in assets from the Hedera network to Ethereum.

According to blockchain security researcher Specter, the suspected attacker had already bridged more than $3.7 million worth of assets from Hedera to Ethereum before continuing to move additional funds.

Specter said the stolen assets were being swapped from Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) into Ether (ETH) after crossing chains through LayerZero. The researcher also published two wallet addresses believed to be linked to the incident.

At the time of writing, CryptoBull360 reported that the wallet’s estimated value had increased to roughly $5.8 million, indicating that more assets had reached Ethereum after the initial transfers. The shared wallet data showed holdings of about 3,203 ETH, representing nearly 80% of the portfolio, alongside roughly 20% in WBTC.

According to data from crypto.news, Hedera (HBAR) price traded around $0.069, down more than 2% following the reports of the suspected exploit.

Cross-chain transfers have continued after the initial breach

As additional transactions appeared on-chain, blockchain security firm PeckShield said the suspected exploit had already transferred approximately $5.25 million from the Hedera mainnet to Ethereum. The firm added that the wallet held around 2,360 ETH, valued at roughly $4.25 million, and 15.58 WBTC, worth about $1 million, at the time of its analysis.