Grayscale’s chief financial officer Edward McGee has stepped down after seven years at the crypto asset manager, becoming the latest senior executive to leave the company, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.

McGee resigned effective July 2 for personal reasons and not because of “any disagreement with the company or its operations, policies or practices,” the filing said.

The company has named Kathryn Masci and Daniel Plourde as interim co-chief financial officers. Masci will also serve as principal financial and accounting officer and join the board of managers.

Masci joined Grayscale in 2020 and most recently served as senior vice president of finance.

Before that, she held finance and accounting roles at Garrison Capital, Pzena Investment Management and Ernst & Young. Plourde joined Grayscale in 2022 after senior positions at Gabelli Asset Management and State Street Global Advisors. He has also served as assistant treasurer of the Grayscale Funds Trust.

The leadership change follows another recent executive departure. Just weeks ago, managing director and head of distribution and partnerships John Hoffman left Grayscale to join tokenized asset platform Ondo Finance.

OpenAI has launched GPT-5.6 across ChatGPT, Codex, and its API, introducing GPT-5.6 Sol with a four-agent reasoning system and two lower-cost models as the rollout begins worldwide.

According to OpenAI, the GPT-5.6 family introduces a new three-tier lineup consisting of Sol, Terra, and Luna, replacing its previous naming approach with capability-based tiers that separate model generation from intelligence, speed, and pricing.

The company said availability is expanding across consumer, enterprise, and developer products, with global deployment expected to reach full availability within 24 hours.

Built as the flagship model, GPT-5.6 Sol is designed for coding, scientific research, cybersecurity, and complex knowledge work. OpenAI said the model completes more successful tasks while using fewer tokens and delivering lower estimated costs than its previous frontier models. Sol can also inspect intermediate results, coordinate external tools, and revise its own work before returning a final response, according to the company.

Four-agent reasoning expands advanced workflows

For users handling more demanding workloads, OpenAI has added two higher-compute operating modes. The company said Max gives GPT-5.6 additional time to reason through problems and verify answers before producing results.

Ultra extends that process further by coordinating multiple AI agents simultaneously. OpenAI described the default Ultra configuration as four agents working independently on separate tasks before combining their findings into a single output. The company said this approach is intended for complex projects that benefit from parallel reasoning instead of a single sequential workflow.

Developers also receive new workflow tools through Programmatic Tool Calling. According to OpenAI, the feature allows GPT-5.6 to write and execute lightweight programs in memory, filter intermediate information, and determine follow-up actions without sending every processing step back through the language model.

Coding performance remains one of the launch’s central themes. OpenAI said GPT-5.6 Sol achieved the highest score on the Artificial Analysis Coding Agent Index while also improving results on Terminal Bench 2.1 and DeepSWE, two benchmarks that measure command-line execution and long-duration software engineering tasks.

The company added that Terra exceeded Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 on selected coding agent benchmarks, while Luna delivered stronger performance than Claude Opus 4.8 at a lower estimated operating cost.

Enterprise features and safety remain central

OpenAI said GPT-5.6 is designed to work across business software including documents, spreadsheets, presentations, Slack, Notion, Microsoft 365, and Google Drive. When users provide templates or reference files, the company said Sol produces higher-quality editable presentations, financial models, spreadsheets, and written documents.

Alongside the productivity features, OpenAI released updated safety information covering the new models. According to the company’s system card, GPT-5.6 Sol is classified as High capability in cybersecurity, while Terra and Luna also reach the High capability threshold despite offering lower overall performance than Sol.

OpenAI said testing found GPT-5.6 to be more capable in cybersecurity and biology than earlier systems, although the models remain below the company’s Critical threshold in both areas. To manage higher-risk capabilities, the company said it combines model training with real-time safety checks, monitoring, account-level enforcement, and access controls while continuing to support legitimate defensive work such as secure code reviews, vulnerability validation, threat modeling, and software patching.

API pricing starts at $5 per one million input tokens and $30 per one million output tokens for Sol. Terra costs $2.50 for input and $15 for output, while Luna is priced at $1 for input and $6 for output. OpenAI also introduced more predictable prompt caching, including explicit cache breakpoints and a minimum cache lifetime of 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, competition in advanced AI models continues to intensify. Separately, Elon Musk confirmed that SpaceXAI will publicly release Grok 4.5 on Thursday after completing beta testing. Musk described the model as an Opus-class system that is faster, more token-efficient, and lower cost, placing its launch alongside OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 rollout during a week of major AI product releases.

White House officials have pushed back against concerns from Senate Democrats about vacancies at two key US financial regulators, saying the administration has already been soliciting Democratic names for open seats at both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

In a Thursday letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, administration officials responded to a June 10 request from 12 Senate Democrats that raised staffing and oversight worries at federal agencies, including the SEC and CFTC. The letter argues that, despite the leadership gaps, the normal nomination process has been pursued with Senate Democratic leadership.

Key takeaways

• White House officials say they have already sought Democratic nominee names for both the SEC and CFTC vacancies, countering Senate Democrats’ earlier claims.
• The SEC currently has two vacant Democratic seats, while the CFTC chair and sole commissioner is Republican Michael Selig.
• Democratic lawmakers have linked understaffing concerns to delays in crypto market structure legislation, including the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act.
• CFTC chair Michael Selig has argued in a recent interview that regulators may be forced to “write all the rules” on digital assets without new legislation.

White House response to Senate Democrats over regulator vacancies

The latest dispute centers on whether the White House has followed a customary, bipartisan approach to identifying Democratic candidates for independent agency vacancies. In June, the 12 Democratic senators warned that the White House was leaving many important posts open indefinitely rather than engaging with Senate Democratic leadership through the “normal process” of selecting nominees.

That request cited understaffing across federal agencies and pointed specifically to the SEC and CFTC. The letter also noted that while President Donald Trump has submitted some Democratic nominees for other agencies—including the National Labor Relations Board and the International Trade Commission—financial regulators have allegedly remained stuck without full bipartisan representation.

The Thursday response attempts to close that gap by asserting that the administration had already solicited names from Senate Democrats for the SEC and CFTC. According to the filing, the SEC and CFTC are both operating with incomplete leadership slates, with only Republican commissioners currently nominated and confirmed by the Senate.

SEC and CFTC staffing status and what it means for policy

As of Thursday, the SEC had two vacant Democratic seats alongside three Republican commissioners. One of the commissioners, Hester Peirce, was reported to be expected to leave the role by November, leaving open the prospect of further turnover during an already politically charged period for financial regulation.

At the CFTC, Michael Selig serves as chair and the only commissioner. His position has come with an assertive stance on jurisdictional control, particularly in relation to prediction market companies. Over the past several months, he has been outspoken about defending what he described as the agency’s “exclusive jurisdiction” in that area.

For market participants, regulator staffing is not just a governance issue—it directly affects how quickly and confidently agencies can move on rulemaking priorities, interpret complex market structures, and coordinate with Congress. When leadership teams are incomplete, policy timelines can become harder to predict and enforcement priorities can face more scrutiny.

Crypto legislation remains stalled amid bipartisan arithmetic

The staffing argument has run alongside a broader policy fight: the delay and partial progress of crypto market structure legislation in the Senate. With the Senate in state work periods through Monday, reports indicate discussions continue over the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, and Republicans have reportedly been preparing for a July vote.

However, the bill’s path has not been straightforward. The digital asset market structure legislation first passed the House of Representatives in July 2025, but it has faced significant delays since then, including government shutdowns and debates over ethics provisions. Even as Senate committees advanced versions of the bill earlier this year, the proposal still requires Democratic support to reach the 60-vote threshold needed for Senate passage.

That gap matters because the practical impact of legislation—on how markets are classified, overseen, and supervised—can determine whether regulators have clear mandates or must rely primarily on existing statutory authorities and enforcement discretion.

Selig warns of “all the rules” risk without legislation

In a Wednesday interview with Fox Business, CFTC chair Michael Selig argued that the CLARITY Act is being derailed by ethics and other “extraneous issues,” reducing the chances of a bipartisan outcome. He suggested that if the bill does not move forward, regulators like him could end up setting most of the regulatory framework themselves.

According to Selig’s comments, the problem is not merely delay but the likelihood that the final policy shape would be less collaborative and less bipartisan than intended. In his framing, the longer Congress takes, the more rulemaking power shifts toward regulators—an approach that can be politically contentious, especially for fast-moving crypto markets.

For investors and builders, that raises a key question: will digital asset market regulation arrive through a comprehensive legislative package, or will it instead emerge through fragmented agency actions and interpretations? Until Congress resolves the bipartisan vote challenge, market participants may need to plan for continuing regulatory uncertainty.

What to watch next

The immediate question is whether the Senate’s return and any July scheduling will translate into real movement on the CLARITY Act, and whether regulator staffing disputes cool down as nominations continue. Market stakeholders should also watch how the SEC’s leadership changes—particularly around Hester Peirce’s expected departure—interact with ongoing legislative negotiations and agency rulemaking priorities.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has ordered licensed crypto trading platforms and online brokers to replace SMS-based authentication with phishing-resistant login methods within the next 12 months.

According to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), virtual asset trading platforms (VATPs) and online brokers must stop relying on one-time passwords delivered through SMS, email, or app-generated codes and instead adopt stronger authentication systems that are harder for attackers to compromise.

The regulator announced the new cybersecurity requirements on Thursday as part of updated standards for customer account protection.

Under the new framework, firms will be required to introduce phishing-resistant authentication methods together with device binding. The SFC identified passkeys, registered devices secured through cryptographic verification, and hardware security keys as acceptable alternatives. All licensed platforms must complete the transition within one year.

Hong Kong tightens security standards for crypto firms

The latest rules come as Hong Kong continues to expand its regulated digital asset market while raising operational standards for licensed businesses. Earlier this week, the SFC also announced changes to the Certified Virtual Asset Platform Practitioner programme after discussions with industry representatives.

The regulator committed to separating the certification examination from its mandatory course, lowering assessment fees, and improving study materials.

Administered by the Hong Kong Securities and Investment Institute (HKSI) under SFC standards, the Certification Programme for Virtual Asset Professionals serves as Hong Kong’s professional qualification for the digital asset sector. The programme covers blockchain fundamentals, digital asset products, and anti-money laundering compliance.

Recent regulatory activity has extended beyond licensing and professional standards. Last month, Hong Kong confirmed that its first regulated stablecoins are expected to enter circulation between the middle and second half of 2026 after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority granted issuer licenses to two bank-backed institutions in April.

According to the HKMA, the rollout schedule follows the institutions’ existing business plans, while the licensing framework is intended to support financial innovation, protect users, and preserve monetary and financial stability.

Returning to the cybersecurity measures, the SFC said the stronger authentication requirements respond to growing phishing and fraud risks affecting financial platforms. Data cited by the regulator showed that counterfeiting and fraud accounted for 57% of security incidents reported to the Hong Kong Cyber Security Accident Coordination Center during 2025.

Dr. Ye Zhiheng, executive director of the Intermediaries Department of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said financial institutions need coordinated prevention, detection, response, and education measures to protect customer accounts from increasingly sophisticated fraud attacks.

Phishing scams continue to drain crypto investors

The SFC’s decision follows another period of heavy losses linked to phishing and social engineering attacks across the cryptocurrency industry.

Industry data showed phishing attacks and social engineering scams accounted for $306 million of the crypto sector’s $482 million in total security losses during the first quarter of 2026.

More recently, a crypto investor reportedly lost nearly $1 million after approving a malicious phishing token transaction on Ethereum, contributing to phishing-related losses that reached $366 million during the first half of 2026.

Separate incidents have continued throughout the year. Researcher Ryan Coleman reported that a wallet holder lost about $1.65 million after connecting to a fake cryptocurrency exchange and signing a malicious contract that granted attackers unlimited access to the wallet.

Earlier, on May 25, on-chain analyst b-block warned that scammers had used Google advertisements to impersonate decentralized exchange Uniswap, with the campaign reportedly stealing more than $400,000 from victims.

Calls for stronger wallet security have also come from within the industry. Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao previously urged users to adopt better security practices after an investor lost $50 million in an address poisoning scam in December 2025.

CME Group has faced a regulatory setback after the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission delayed the immediate launch of its planned 24/7 crude oil futures trading.

According to a press release issued by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the agency invoked its authority under existing regulations to temporarily halt the listing process for CME Group’s proposed around-the-clock crude oil futures contract.

The decision came after CME chose to self-certify the product while the regulator was still reviewing the implications of continuous futures trading across U.S. markets.

CFTC has paused CME’s crude futures rollout

Earlier this year, the CFTC opened a public comment period to examine whether 24/7 futures trading is compatible with current market rules and regulatory safeguards.

CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig said the agency is evaluating whether continuously operating futures markets satisfy core regulatory principles and added that different asset classes require separate regulatory consideration rather than a single approach.

The regulator also said exchanges planning significant structural changes should work with the CFTC before introducing new products. According to the agency, CME’s filing requires additional review because of potential legal and market-related concerns tied to uninterrupted crude oil futures trading.

The latest decision adds to a series of disagreements between CME Group and the regulator. Outgoing CME Chief Executive Officer Terry Duffy previously confirmed that the exchange was considering legal action after the CFTC approved crypto perpetual futures products for prediction market operator Kalshi.

CME has argued that those perpetual contracts should have been regulated as swaps rather than futures under the framework established by the Dodd-Frank Act.

As crypto.news previously reported, Jake Chervinsky, chief executive of the Hyperliquid Policy Center, criticized CME’s lawsuit against the CFTC in a June 19 post on X.

Chervinsky described the legal action as “a shocking miscalculation” and “an unforced error,” arguing that the exchange had exposed resistance to increasing competition in derivatives markets. He also claimed CME controls roughly 92% of exchange-traded derivatives volume in the United States, according to his assessment.

Treasury Link remains on schedule pending approval

While the crude oil futures proposal has been delayed, CME continues preparing another major product launch. The exchange plans to introduce Treasury Link in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approval.

According to CME, Treasury Link will connect U.S. Treasury futures with the cash Treasury market, allowing traders to execute Treasury futures and cash Treasury spreads through a single transaction. The company has positioned the platform as a tool designed to simplify execution across both markets.

Separately, Kalshi has expanded its own ambitions beyond crypto derivatives. The prediction market platform has announced plans to introduce additional derivatives products, although those offerings remain subject to regulatory approval.

For now, the CFTC’s decision leaves CME’s 24/7 crude oil futures proposal on hold while the agency continues reviewing the legal and operational implications of continuous derivatives trading. At the same time, Treasury Link remains on CME’s launch calendar, with its planned fourth-quarter rollout still dependent on receiving regulatory clearance.

XRP price has climbed about 1.6% after SWIFT announced a blockchain payments pilot involving 17 banks, including several with Ripple ties.

According to SWIFT, the pilot will evaluate whether distributed ledger technology can support international payments across participating financial institutions. Among the banks involved are Standard Chartered and UBS, both of which have existing business ties with Ripple through crypto custody services or cross-border payment infrastructure built on the XRP Ledger.

The announcement follows Ripple Treasury’s entry into the SWIFT Certified Partner Program in April 2026, a step that strengthened the company’s relationship with the global payments network. Even so, the announcement has also sparked debate over whether the project has any direct implications for XRP itself.

An analyst on X argued that the pilot should not automatically be viewed as bullish for the token because SWIFT’s proposed settlement model relies on tokenized bank deposits rather than XRP. The analyst stated that the blockchain network would use tokenized deposits as the bridge asset instead of a layer-1 gas token, suggesting the initiative does not create direct demand for XRP.

Despite those reservations, XRP (XRP) traded around $1.09 at the time of writing, posting modest daily gains as traders reacted to the banking partnership news.

Institutional demand has weakened despite the price bounce

At the same time, institutional positioning has moved in the opposite direction. Data from SoSoValue shows that spot XRP exchange-traded funds recorded $7.29 million in net outflows on July 8, the largest single-day withdrawal since March 2026.

The outflows indicate that institutional investors have reduced exposure even as XRP attempts to stabilize above the $1 level. If buying interest continues to soften, the psychological $1 support could come back into focus during the next leg lower.

Derivatives markets also paint a cautious picture. CoinGlass data shows XRP’s long-to-short ratio has slipped to 0.96, meaning bearish positions now slightly outnumber bullish bets. Open interest has also fallen from $2.58 billion on July 5 to $2.33 billion on July 9, suggesting speculative traders have been closing positions instead of opening new ones.

Technical indicators continue to favor sellers

Price action on XRP’s charts remains mixed despite the latest recovery. On the 4-hour chart, XRP is trading below the Supertrend indicator while repeatedly failing to reclaim a descending trendline. The token is also struggling near the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement level around $1.094, which has become immediate resistance after the recent selloff.

Additional resistance levels sit near the 61.8% and 50% Fibonacci retracement zones at roughly $1.114 and $1.127. A sustained move above those levels would be needed to weaken the current bearish structure.

The daily chart also suggests buyers have yet to regain control. Although the MACD remains above its signal line, the histogram has started to fade, indicating bullish momentum is slowing. At the same time, the Chaikin Money Flow has turned only slightly positive, pointing to limited capital inflows rather than strong accumulation.

Taken together, the technical setup aligns with the latest derivatives and ETF data. While the SWIFT announcement has helped lift sentiment in the short term, XRP still faces resistance from weakening speculative demand, institutional outflows, and a chart structure that continues to favor sellers unless key resistance levels are reclaimed.

TLDR:

• The CLARITY Act faces a fresh political hurdle as White House officials and Senate Democrats dispute vacant SEC and CFTC seats.
• The CFTC vacancies matter since the crypto bill could give the agency broad authority over spot digital commodity markets.
• White House officials said they requested Democratic nominee names for SEC and CFTC seats but had not received a response.
• Senate talks now include nominations, ethics language, DeFi rules, and the timeline for passing the wider crypto bill.

The CLARITY Act has moved into a new Senate pressure point as the White House and Democrats trade claims over vacant SEC and CFTC seats. White House officials told Senate leaders that the administration sought Democratic names for both agencies but had not received them.

Democrats have argued that missing commissioners weaken the agencies expected to shape digital asset rules. The dispute now lands ahead of a possible vote on the crypto bill. The CFTC issue carries extra weight since the agency could receive broad spot crypto market authority under the proposal.

CLARITY Act Enters Senate Talks With CFTC Vacancies

The staffing clash centers on the CFTC, a five-member agency now operating with only Chair Michael Selig in place. Lawmakers have pressed the White House to submit a full slate of nominees before the Senate moves further on the crypto bill.

The White House letter, sent to John Thune and Chuck Schumer, rejected Democratic claims that the administration has blocked minority-party nominees. Officials said Democrats had not supplied names despite earlier requests. They also cited other Democratic nominations to argue that the administration had not shut out opposition-party picks.

The fight has become part of a broader negotiation over the CLARITY Act. Senate Democrats still want changes tied to ethics rules, DeFi oversight, and agency staffing. Those issues matter since the bill likely needs Democratic votes to clear the Senate filibuster threshold.

CFTC vacancies also give Democrats a practical argument. A full commission could make future crypto rules look more durable and bipartisan. A single-commissioner agency may move faster, but opponents could challenge the process once rules hit courts.

Officials also pointed to Trump v. Slaughter, a recent Supreme Court ruling tied to presidential authority over independent agencies. That reference adds constitutional weight to a dispute already shaped by Senate procedure.

CLARITY Act Rulemaking Timeline Raises Agency Risk

The CLARITY Act would divide digital asset oversight between the SEC and CFTC. The CFTC would oversee spot markets for digital commodities, while the SEC would handle assets and sales that fall under securities law. That split is central to the crypto bill.

The proposal would also put regulators on a deadline. The agencies would need to write rules covering exchange registration, custody, disclosures, and market boundaries. That workload could test the CFTC if vacancies persist.

Selig has said the agency can move without a full commission. Supporters of faster rulemaking say the crypto market needs federal standards after years of enforcement-driven policy. For exchanges and token issuers, the main question is whether Congress can pass rules before another election cycle shifts priorities.

Opponents see a different risk. If the CLARITY Act hands major authority to an understaffed CFTC, the first rulebook could face political and legal attacks. That would reduce the certainty the bill aims to create.

The White House and Democrats are now arguing over who must move first. The administration says it needs Democratic names. Democrats say the president must fill the agencies that would enforce any new crypto law. The nomination fight now sits beside the Senate calendar, with the August recess approaching and the crypto bill still waiting for floor action.