Key Takeaways

• President Trump revealed $1.4 billion in cryptocurrency-related income during 2025 while serving in office
• Revenue sources included his Official Trump memecoin ($636M), World Liberty Financial ($594M), and stablecoin projects ($197M)
• In a CNBC interview, Trump maintained the earnings were entirely lawful and without impropriety
• Ethics watchdogs contend he’s monetizing the presidency while his government shapes cryptocurrency regulations
• Digital asset companies have poured $189 million into 2026 campaign financing to date

President Donald Trump stood by his cryptocurrency earnings following federal filings that revealed he generated no less than $1.4 billion from blockchain-based ventures throughout 2025. His remarks came during a Thursday White House conversation with CNBC reporters.

During the interview, Trump asserted there was “nothing wrong” or “nothing illegal” regarding the compensation. He further claimed incomplete knowledge of his portfolio’s full scope, stating to CNBC: “I could know about it. I didn’t.”

The financial disclosure originated from the US Office of Government Ethics. The figures positioned Trump as the highest-earning cryptocurrency participant in American governmental circles.

Revenue Stream Analysis

The financial breakdown revealed approximately $636 million connected to his Official Trump memecoin, which debuted one day prior to his inauguration. Nearly $594 million originated from World Liberty Financial, a digital currency enterprise he established alongside his sons. An additional stablecoin operation contributed almost $197 million to the total.

Trump transferred operational management of his commercial interests to his two adult sons upon assuming presidential duties. However, he retained ownership of these assets.

Altogether, Trump documented exceeding $2 billion in earnings from various business activities and investment portfolios in 2025. Cryptocurrency ventures represented the lion’s share of that amount.

Ethical Concerns Emerge

Watchdog organizations have characterized the income as exploitative profiteering. Their argument centers on Trump simultaneously influencing cryptocurrency policy frameworks while collecting substantial industry profits.

His current administration participates actively in deliberations surrounding the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. Proposed legislation prohibiting central bank digital currencies also awaits his executive approval.

Mary Trump, the president’s family member, remarked during a CNN appearance: “Donald is once again pushing the envelope and nobody is putting the brakes on it.”

She expressed concern that individuals who invested in Trump-affiliated projects may have experienced genuine monetary losses.

These revelations surface as Bitcoin has plummeted approximately 50% from its peak valuation exceeding $126,000 reached in October. The wider cryptocurrency marketplace experienced significant downward pressure during the initial months of 2026.

Industry’s Escalating Campaign Contributions

The cryptocurrency sector has significantly amplified its political expenditures. Following an estimated $170 million directed toward 2024 electoral contests, blockchain-affiliated organizations have donated $189 million toward 2026 races through June, based on Public Citizen consumer advocacy data.

That sum constitutes the majority of $294 million deployed by cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, technology corporations, and digital gambling enterprises during this electoral period.

The entire 435-member House of Representatives and 35 Senate positions face voters in 2026. Trump’s presidential tenure extends through January 2029.

Trump previously labeled Bitcoin a “scam” following his initial presidential term. He subsequently reversed this stance before the 2024 election, cultivating relationships with prominent cryptocurrency industry leaders.

“The existing AML registration process with the FCA, which is much narrower, is already incredibly demanding, with the FCA rejecting or forcing the withdrawal of over 85% of applications,” he said in an emailed comment. The new framework introduces substantially broader requirements covering Consumer Duty, prudential standards, operational resilience and senior management accountability.

Cattee also cautioned firms against delaying applications, pointing to MiCA’s rollout in Europe, where many firms waited until deadlines approached, creating licensing bottlenecks that left some businesses without authorization in time.

For institutional investors, however, the new framework represents more significant than just another crypto rulebook.

Sandy Jones, director of digital assets at Baillie Gifford, said regulation does not automatically make crypto safer but provides the legal certainty and standards of governance needed for traditional financial (TradFi) institutions to adopt blockchain-based infrastructure.

“The underlying technology is powerful, but it does not create a direct path into mainstream financial markets on its own,” Jones said. “You need legal clarity, operational resilience, proper governance and rules that investors and institutions can recognise.”

Jones also welcomed the FCA’s recent refinements to its stablecoin regime, arguing they create robust settlement infrastructure without imposing unnecessary operational friction.

The industry’s responses suggest the FCA has deliberately positioned the U.K. as a commercially pragmatic alternative to Europe’s MiCA regime. But whether that translates into firms choosing Britain over other jurisdictions will depend less on the framework’s ambition than on how predictably it is implemented over the coming months.

Revolut, the UK-headquartered digital banking platform, has informed some users that it will delist the Tether USDt (USDT) stablecoin starting in July, with the full removal scheduled for Aug. 31, 2026. The company says the decision is driven by “regulatory and risk considerations,” highlighting how stablecoin access is being reshaped across mainstream financial apps as rules tighten.

According to a customer notice reviewed by Cointelegraph, users will stop being able to buy USDT beginning July 6, 2026. Revolut will continue to support USDT until the end of August, but any USDT not sold or withdrawn by then will be automatically converted into the user’s base currency using that day’s exchange rate.

Key takeaways

• Revolut will block USDT purchases from July 6, 2026, followed by full delisting on Aug. 31, 2026.
• USDT deposits will no longer be supported after July 30, 2026, with incoming transfers rejected.
• Users who still hold USDT at the end of August will be converted into base currency at the applicable exchange rate.
• Revolut cited only broad “regulatory and risk considerations,” without specifying which framework applies.
• The move fits a wider European pattern of stablecoin delistings tied to the EU’s MiCA regime.

Timeline for Revolut users

Revolut’s notice lays out a phased exit for USDT within its platform. The first restriction comes earlier than the final delisting: users will no longer be able to buy USDT starting July 6, 2026. That effectively limits new exposure to USDT well ahead of the end date, giving holders time to decide whether to sell or withdraw.

Support for deposits ends later, on July 30, 2026. From that point, any attempted USDT transfer into Revolut’s system will be rejected, narrowing the options for users who might have planned to move stablecoins into their accounts after the purchase restriction begins.

If users do not act before the end of August, Revolut says it will automatically convert remaining USDT holdings into the user’s base currency on the day’s exchange rate. That detail matters for anyone using USDT as a temporary parking asset or settlement tool inside a broader workflow, because it removes the ability to hold stablecoins through the delisting date without triggering conversion.

Revolut’s regulatory rationale remains vague

While Revolut attributes the delisting to “regulatory and risk considerations,” it does not spell out which specific rules or jurisdictions are behind the decision. The notice also does not clarify whether the changes apply globally or only to certain markets where Revolut operates under particular regulatory constraints.

For readers trying to understand the practical impact, the lack of jurisdictional clarity leaves an open question: whether the delisting is limited to particular European locations, or whether the company is preparing a broader policy that could affect users beyond the EU. Cointelegraph reported that it contacted Revolut for comment on affected jurisdictions and the scope of its crypto offering but did not receive a response by publication.

What is clear from public regulatory records is that Revolut received a Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license as a crypto asset service provider (CASP in November 2025. The authorization was issued by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), according to the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) MiCA register. You can review ESMA’s MiCA information through its official page: ESMA’s MiCA overview.

Why Europe’s stablecoin delistings keep accelerating

Revolut’s decision follows a broader European trend in which exchanges and crypto service providers have reduced or removed access to USDT as they adjust to MiCA compliance expectations. Earlier coverage from Cointelegraph noted that exchanges began delisting USDT in Europe in 2024 to align with MiCA requirements, including Coinbase’s preparations to delist USDT in Europe: Cointelegraph report on Coinbase’s move.

The key tension is that MiCA does not only regulate how crypto services are delivered; it also imposes obligations on stablecoin issuers and the stablecoin ecosystem, which in turn affects whether specific products can continue being offered by regulated platforms. In practice, CASPs can decide that the compliance burden—or the perceived regulatory risk—does not justify continuing a stablecoin listing.

Cointelegraph’s reporting also describes the issuer side of this story: Tether has refused to comply with MiCA, and CASPs have gradually delisted USDT across Europe since late 2024. In earlier coverage, Cointelegraph pointed to Tether’s stance, including the issuer’s critique of aspects of the MiCA framework—such as reserve requirements for certain stablecoin issuers and the stipulation that part of reserves be held with EU credit institutions. See Cointelegraph’s related reporting: Tether’s refusal to comply with MiCA.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has publicly argued that the legislation is poorly designed. Cointelegraph previously noted Ardoino’s comments to the outlet, including criticism of the EU rules, as well as his concerns about reserve-related provisions and how they apply. According to Cointelegraph, Ardoino told the publication that MiCA is “very not well thought legislation.”

Market stakes: USDT’s size vs. platform constraints

Even as USDT’s presence shrinks on some regulated platforms, it remains one of the largest stablecoins in the market. Cointelegraph reported that USDT is currently the third-largest crypto asset by market capitalization after Bitcoin and Ether, with a market value of $184 billion at the time of publication. It also cited CoinGecko data indicating that USDC—Circle’s stablecoin—has a $73 billion market cap and ranks as the fifth-largest crypto asset.

This mismatch—USDT’s scale versus the willingness (or ability) of platforms to keep listing it—illustrates how stablecoin distribution increasingly depends on regulatory alignment, not just liquidity or demand. For users, that can translate into operational friction: stablecoin rails that once felt “always available” can change under compliance reviews, leaving customers with forced exits or automated conversions like the one Revolut describes.

It also underlines an important practical point for traders and builders: stablecoin availability on on-ramps and app-based finance is becoming a policy issue. Even when a stablecoin remains liquid in broader markets, individual providers may reduce access based on issuer compliance positions, platform risk assessments, or specific interpretations of regulatory expectations.

For now, USDT’s delisting path on Revolut is scheduled in clear steps, but the broader question is still unsettled—whether Revolut’s actions will remain local to certain jurisdictions or expand across its entire user base. As more CASPs adapt their stablecoin listings to MiCA, market participants should watch for additional platform announcements, potential switches in preferred stablecoins, and whether issuer compliance disputes continue to narrow access on mainstream financial apps.

Bitcoin investors have entered an average unrealized loss of about 20%, while a key on-chain cost basis indicator has climbed to roughly $76,700, creating a resistance level that analysts say is weighing on the market.

According to CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost, Bitcoin’s True Market Mean (TMM) currently stands near $76,700, a level that represents the average acquisition cost of active Bitcoin holders rather than the entire supply. The indicator excludes long-dormant and partially lost coins, making it a measure of the cost basis for actively traded Bitcoin.

Darkfost said the TMM has become an important resistance level because a similar situation played out in May, when Bitcoin approached the same price area, and many investors chose to sell at break-even instead of continuing to hold.

At the same time, Bitcoin (BTC) traded at $62,596 at press time on July 4, up 1.67% over the previous 24 hours but still well below the TMM level, leaving much of the active investor base underwater.

Active holder cost basis remains above market price

Alongside the TMM, Darkfost examined the Active Value to Investor Value (AVIV) ratio, which compares Bitcoin’s market value with the cost basis of active holders. According to the analyst, the ratio is hovering around 0.8, placing Bitcoin in what he described as a valuation discount zone.

Based on the AVIV reading, Darkfost estimated that active Bitcoin investors are currently carrying an average unrealized loss of around 20%.

Historical data shared by the analyst shows that previous bear-market bottoms pushed the AVIV ratio down to roughly 0.5–0.6, levels associated with average investor losses of 40% to 50%. Although current conditions indicate widespread losses, Darkfost said the market has not yet reached those historical extremes.

Even so, the analyst argued that Bitcoin may not need to revisit such deeply discounted levels before recovering, particularly because the asset has attracted much stronger adoption during the current market cycle.

He added, however, that institutional participation has not changed Bitcoin’s long-term cyclical behavior and said investors should remain cautious despite continued capital inflows over recent years.

Institutional demand faces new test

The on-chain assessment comes as CryptoQuant separately reported that Bitcoin’s next major rally could require more than $1 trillion in additional capital because of the cryptocurrency’s much larger market value.

According to the firm’s research, roughly $697 billion has entered Bitcoin since 2022, producing gains of about 689%, a smaller return than earlier market cycles despite the substantial inflows.

Institutional demand has also softened in recent weeks as U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded sustained net outflows, raising questions about whether fresh capital can return quickly enough to support another strong advance.

Corporate adoption, however, continues to expand. Strategy, the largest publicly traded corporate Bitcoin holder with more than 847,000 BTC, is evaluating ways to generate liquidity from its holdings without selling them. Galaxy Digital said the company could potentially earn recurring income through conservative lending or options-based strategies while preserving its long-term Bitcoin position.

Beyond corporate treasuries, blockchain infrastructure is also drawing attention from companies developing artificial intelligence systems. Industry participants have argued that autonomous AI agents will likely require programmable payment networks, with blockchain-based payment systems and stablecoins emerging as possible foundations for machine-to-machine transactions even though large-scale adoption is still expected to take several years.

President Donald Trump’s memecoin has generated a reported $636 million payout for him while nearly 1 million buyers have collectively lost $3.81 billion, according to newly analyzed blockchain data and financial disclosures.

According to a report by The New York Times, citing blockchain analytics firm Nansen, 988,905 wallets that bought the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin had recorded cumulative losses of $3.81 billion through the end of June. Nansen said the figure includes both realized losses and paper losses held by investors who have not yet sold their tokens.

The analysis followed the release of Trump’s 2025 financial disclosure, which showed he received a $636 million payout tied to the TRUMP memecoin. The filing also disclosed at least $1.4 billion in crypto-related income during the reporting period, largely connected to licensing agreements linked to the memecoin and token sales by Trump-backed World Liberty Financial (WLFI).

Unlike retail buyers, Trump benefited from trading activity regardless of whether the token price rose or fell because the venture generated revenue from transactions, The New York Times reported. During the token’s launch, Trump repeatedly promoted the memecoin on Truth Social, encouraging supporters to purchase it.

Three days before his January inauguration, Trump introduced the TRUMP memecoin, describing it on social media as a way for supporters to join his community. Since then, the token has fallen sharply from its peak. Nansen said the memecoin traded at about $1.76 on Friday, roughly 97% below its all-time high of $75.35.

Retail investors absorbed most of the losses

According to Nansen, roughly two out of every three wallets that purchased the TRUMP token have lost money. The firm also found that fewer than 500,000 wallets generated about $4 billion in combined profits, with gains concentrated among a relatively small group of early participants who entered before the price surged.

The report said automated traders and experienced crypto investors typically capitalize on the rapid price swings common in memecoins by buying early and selling into retail demand. Nansen concluded that most profits were captured by this smaller group, while later buyers accounted for the majority of losses.

One investor interviewed by The New York Times, Nicholas Pinto, said he invested roughly $500,000 in the TRUMP token after supporting Trump in the 2024 election and estimated he had lost about half of that investment. Pinto argued that Trump’s public position encouraged confidence among buyers and described the project as “almost a legal scam.”

Responding to criticism, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told The New York Times that Trump had made the United States the “crypto capital of the world” and said his actions were taken in the interests of the American people.

Crypto earnings continue to draw political scrutiny

In a recent CNBC interview, Trump said he was unaware that his crypto ventures had generated at least $1.4 billion, adding that he could know the exact amount if he wanted to and insisting there was nothing improper about earning money from digital assets. He also said he had no plans to distance himself or his family from their crypto businesses.

World Liberty Financial has also faced losses among investors. According to Nansen, 85% of the 26,663 WLFI wallets it tracked were underwater, recording combined losses of about $83 million compared with roughly $23 million in profits. The firm noted that the actual losses are likely much larger because many secondary-market transactions on exchanges cannot be traced publicly.

The financial disclosure has also intensified political debate in Washington. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand recently renewed her call for ethics rules that would prohibit government officials and their spouses from creating or promoting crypto memecoins while Congress considers the CLARITY Act.

According to Gillibrand, Senate negotiations are also examining stablecoin yields, anti-money laundering safeguards, and ethics provisions before lawmakers move the legislation forward.

Revolut, a crypto-friendly digital banking platform headquartered in the United Kingdom, notified some users it will delist Tether USDt (USDT) stablecoin in August, citing regulatory and risk concerns.

In a Friday customer notice seen by Cointelegraph, Revolut said users will no longer be able to buy USDT starting July 6, with full delisting scheduled for Aug. 31, 2026.

If users do not sell or withdraw their USDT by the end of August, Revolut will automatically convert any remaining USDT holdings into users’ base currency at the day’s exchange rate, the company said.

USDT deposits will no longer be supported after July 30, 2026, after which any incoming USDT transfers will be rejected, it said.

The move highlights how major fintech companies are adjusting stablecoin access in response to shifting regulatory frameworks. It also raises questions about timing, as exchanges such as Coinbase began delisting USDT in Europe in 2024 to align with EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) requirements.

Revolut does not cite exact framework for delisting

Revolut has not clarified whether the USDT delisting will apply globally or only in specific jurisdictions.

Addressing the reasons for delisting USDT, Revolut cited “regulatory and risk considerations” without expanding what regulations specifically have triggered the move.

Source: Cointelegraph

The company was granted a MiCA license as a crypto asset service provider (CASP) in November 2025, according to the official register by European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). The license was issued by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).

Related: EU crypto rulebook faces enforcement challenge as MiCA transition ends

Cointelegraph approached Revolut for comment on the affected jurisdictions and the scope of its crypto offering but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Tether refused to comply with MiCA

Tether’s USDT has been gradually delisted by CASPs in Europe since late 2024 as the stablecoin’s issuer refused to comply with the EU’s MiCA regulation.

The company’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, has repeatedly criticized perceived flaws in MiCA, including reserve requirements that apply to certain stablecoin issuers and require part of their reserves to be held with EU credit institutions.

Source: Cointelegraph

“I think it’s a very not well thought legislation,” Ardoino told Cointelegraph in an interview last year.

At the time of publication, USDT is the third-largest crypto asset by market capitalization after Bitcoin and Ether, with a market value of $184 billion. Its largest competitor, Circle’s USDC, has a $73 billion market cap and ranks as the fifth-largest crypto asset, according to CoinGecko.

Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight

India has opened an investigation after reports alleged that Indian nationals were trafficked into Myanmar and forced to carry out crypto fraud operations inside cyber scam compounds.

According to police in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, authorities have registered a criminal case after the wife of a 24-year-old man reported that her husband had been taken to a cyber scam compound near the Thailand-Myanmar border instead of the job he had accepted in Bangkok. Because the case involves an overseas trafficking network, India’s Ministry of External Affairs has been informed, while central agencies are assisting the investigation.

Police said the victim responded to a social media advertisement offering a graphic design and data entry job in Thailand with a monthly salary of Rs 70,000 (about $815) before travelling there in early June.

Investigators alleged that after arriving in Thailand, he was moved to a compound near the Myanmar border, where his passport and travel documents were confiscated.

Reports link victims to forced crypto scams

According to police, the victim managed to contact his family before losing communication and alleged that captives were forced to work 16-18 hours a day in cyber fraud operations, while those refusing orders faced electric shocks and other abuse.

Police also said he claimed that hundreds of Indians were being held in similar compounds, although those allegations have not been independently verified.

Meanwhile, regional outlets reported another case involving a Maharashtra resident who allegedly remains trapped in a similar compound after travelling to Thailand for what was advertised as a call centre job offering pay similar to the earlier job advertisement.

According to the reports, victims said they were later taken into Myanmar and forced to run online investment and cryptocurrency scams, including creating fake social media profiles to lure people into fraudulent investment schemes.

One family also alleged that captors demanded Rs 8 lakh (about $9,300) to secure their relative’s release, while state authorities said efforts to bring those trapped home are underway.

The reports have added to concerns over organised criminal networks operating from Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and neighbouring countries. According to the reports, these groups allegedly recruit people through fake overseas job advertisements for positions in IT, customer support, digital marketing and data entry before confiscating their passports and forcing them into online fraud operations after they arrive in Southeast Asia.

International action targets scam networks

The latest allegations come as governments increase action against cyber scam networks in the region. As previously reported by crypto.news, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a Myanmar militia, its leader and senior members in May over allegations that they facilitated cyber scam syndicates, cryptocurrency-related fraud, human trafficking and cross-border smuggling.

According to the Treasury Department, U.S. victims lost more than $2 billion to cryptocurrency-related fraud in 2022 and more than $3.5 billion in 2023.

Meanwhile, Myanmar’s military published a draft Anti-Online Scam Bill in May proposing prison terms ranging from 10 years to life for people convicted of operating online scam centres or committing digital currency fraud.

The draft legislation also allows capital punishment for operators who use violence, torture, unlawful detention or cruel treatment to force people into carrying out online scams.

The FBI has separately reported that cryptocurrency-related fraud caused $11.4 billion in losses in its latest Internet Crime Report, with more than half of all internet crime losses linked to crypto schemes. The agency said many of the networks behind those frauds operate from compounds across Southeast Asia.

India has conducted rescue operations in similar cases before. Earlier this year, more than 120 Indian nationals were repatriated from cyber scam centres in Myanmar, following additional rescue efforts carried out during the previous year.

Strategy, the corporate vehicle behind Michael Saylor’s long-running “Bitcoin treasury” approach, has moved further into real-world capital management. The company authorized up to $1.25 billion in Bitcoin sales under a newly defined capital framework—an acknowledgment that even highly committed holders must plan for liquidity, shareholder payouts, and balance-sheet flexibility.

Meanwhile, the crypto industry’s business priorities are widening beyond price narratives: a new coalition is pushing a US dollar stablecoin designed to capture reserve yield, Fidelity is defending Bitcoin’s security model post-halving, and political spending is ramping up ahead of the 2026 US midterms.

Key takeaways

• Strategy authorized up to $1.25 billion in Bitcoin sales to support dividends, cash reserves, and repurchases while maintaining its long-term Bitcoin exposure.
• Strategy raised its STRC preferred dividend rate to 12% and says it has built a dedicated cash reserve of $2.55 billion to cover about 17 months of payments.
• A group of over 140 firms—including Visa, Mastercard, Coinbase, Ripple, OKX, and Bybit—plans an “Open USD” stablecoin that is structured to return reserve earnings to users.
• Fidelity argues Bitcoin’s security is not solely dependent on block subsidies, citing higher daily miner revenue over time.
• Public Citizen reports crypto-linked political spending totaled about $189 million in the 2026 election cycle, with PACs again central to the industry’s influence.

Strategy formalizes Bitcoin monetization and funding priorities

Strategy has adopted a new capital plan that explicitly authorizes Bitcoin sales of up to $1.25 billion. According to Cointelegraph’s reporting, the “Digital Credit Capital Framework” is intended to fund shareholder dividends, reinforce cash reserves, and support stock repurchases while still aiming to preserve the company’s long-term Bitcoin strategy.

Under the framework, the annual dividend on Strategy’s STRC preferred stock rises from 11.5% to 12%. The plan also introduces a structured Bitcoin monetization program and expands capital-return mechanisms that include buybacks of preferred securities and MSTR shares.

Strategy also disclosed that its dedicated cash reserve has grown to $2.55 billion. The company says this level is sufficient to cover roughly 17 months of preferred dividends and interest payments, effectively reducing the need to sell Bitcoin on short notice.

Crucially for investors watching Strategy’s “never sell” messaging, the framework marks a shift from pure accumulation rhetoric to a defined approach for generating liquidity. Strategy previously disclosed its first-ever Bitcoin sale, including the offload of 32 BTC in June, and Cointelegraph notes that the company did not purchase Bitcoin in the prior week referenced in the article.

Strategy’s holdings were reported as unchanged at 847,363 BTC, indicating the recent change is about authorization and planning rather than immediate acceleration of liquidation.

Stablecoin competition heats up with reserve-yield design

The next phase of stablecoin competition appears to be less about simply pegging to the dollar and more about who captures the yield generated by reserves. More than 140 financial and crypto companies have joined to launch a new US dollar-backed stablecoin that is designed to let participants retain the yield from reserves.

Cointelegraph reports the project—Open USD (OUSD)—is backed by major payments players including Visa and Mastercard, as well as crypto firms such as Coinbase, Ripple, OKX, and Bybit. The coalition’s structure differentiates OUSD from traditional stablecoin models: supporters say businesses will be able to mint tokens without fees or volume limits while keeping the reserve earnings.

That model is positioned as a competitive alternative to incumbent issuers, specifically Tether’s USDt (USDT) and Circle’s USDC. If it performs as intended, the ability to keep reserve yield could reduce the effective cost of using stablecoins for businesses and encourage greater adoption—especially in payment and settlement workflows where stablecoin balances function like working capital.

Timing also matters. According to Cointelegraph, Open Standard plans to roll out OUSD later this year. The push arrives as US policy has moved in a more favorable direction following passage of the GENIUS Act, which Cointelegraph links as a key development in stablecoin regulation.

With the article citing a market already worth more than $300 billion and analysts expecting further growth through the rest of the decade, OUSD’s success will likely depend on execution—particularly around reserve management transparency, minting/burning mechanics, and the practical user experience for businesses seeking reserve yield.

Fidelity challenges the “halving weakens security” narrative

Bitcoin’s halving cycle tends to reignite a long-running debate: if block subsidies decline, do miners eventually lose enough economic incentive to keep the network secure? Fidelity Digital Assets is pushing back against that conclusion.

In a research report highlighted by Cointelegraph, Fidelity argues that Bitcoin’s long-term security is not dependent solely on block subsidies. The firm’s framing suggests that other incentives—such as transaction fees, broader market dynamics, and price appreciation—can sustain miner participation even as issuance declines.

Cointelegraph’s summary points to Fidelity research analyst Daniel Gray, who noted a sharp change in the scale of miner revenue over time. Fidelity claims that average daily miner revenue grew from $1.3 million during 2012–2016 to $40.2 million today, despite declining block rewards. The underlying message is that miner economics have evolved beyond the subsidy component.

The report lands as miners face additional pressure following the latest halving. As Cointelegraph notes, many publicly traded mining companies have sought diversification—pivoting into areas such as AI and high-performance computing—while Fidelity maintains that these shifts don’t undermine Bitcoin’s long-term security assumptions.

For readers, the practical question is what happens if transaction fee demand fails to offset subsidy declines. Fidelity’s argument addresses incentive structure, but the real test will come from observing miner revenue composition over time: how much comes from fees versus price-driven valuation, and whether that remains sufficient to sustain hashrate participation through future cycles.

Crypto political spending climbs ahead of 2026 midterms

The business side of crypto is also increasingly visible in US politics. According to a new report by consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, crypto companies have contributed roughly $189 million to the 2026 election cycle so far—estimated at 37% of all corporate political spending during the period covered.

Cointelegraph reports that political action committees are again the main vehicle for the industry’s influence. Fairshake has spent more than $82 million this cycle, while the pro-Trump MAGA Inc. Super PAC—heavily backed by Crypto.com—has spent more than $56 million.

Public Citizen also said the strategy mirrors 2024 tactics by backing candidates from both major parties who align with the industry’s policy agenda. It further notes that crypto spending has already surpassed the roughly $170 million deployed during the 2024 election cycle, even with more than four months remaining before November’s elections.

For market participants, political spending is not just a headline metric. It can shape how regulators define stablecoins, exchange operations, custody standards, and market surveillance expectations—areas that directly affect compliance costs and product design.

What to watch next

Over the coming weeks, investors and builders should track three closely related developments: whether Strategy’s authorized Bitcoin sales translate into actual, more frequent monetization—or remain primarily a liquidity backstop; how OUSD’s reserve-yield mechanics perform against USDT and USDC in real usage; and whether Fidelity’s security thesis holds up in miner economics as fees and market incentives evolve through subsequent halving periods.