A California pair has been indicted on allegations of running a darknet drug operation that prosecutors say generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency proceeds from fentanyl and methamphetamine sales.

According to a Wednesday statement from the U.S. Department of Justice, Nicholas Aguilar and Jessica Marcolina allegedly operated vendor accounts under the name “HotGirlzClub” across multiple darknet marketplaces and shipped more than 500 drug parcels across the United States during a seven-month period in 2025.

Federal prosecutors allege the pair laundered proceeds from those sales through cryptocurrency transactions intended to hide the origin of the funds before law enforcement identified the operation.

Searches of the suspects’ California residence uncovered drug packaging materials, a food processor containing suspected narcotics residue, firearms, and warning labels advising customers to “be safe until you know your tolerance for the product,” the Justice Department said.

Investigators also accused Aguilar and Marcolina of operating an illegal firearms manufacturing operation that produced ghost guns, suppressors, and upper and lower firearm receivers.

If convicted, each defendant faces up to life in prison on drug trafficking conspiracy charges and up to 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to the department.

Crypto remains part of anti-drug enforcement efforts

The indictment adds to a series of cases in which U.S. authorities have targeted cryptocurrency used to move or conceal proceeds from narcotics trafficking.

In May, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned more than a dozen individuals and entities that it said helped convert fentanyl cash proceeds into cryptocurrency on behalf of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel.

Earlier in March, a federal grand jury in Ohio indicted two Chinese pharmaceutical companies and six Chinese nationals on charges tied to trafficking fentanyl precursor chemicals and laundering proceeds through cryptocurrency, according to federal prosecutors.

Law enforcement agencies outside the United States have also expanded their use of blockchain analytics in drug investigations. In April, South Korean authorities extradited alleged drug trafficking leader Park Wang-yeol from the Philippines, and investigators used blockchain forensics to trace at least 6.8 billion won (about $5 million) in Bitcoin-linked drug proceeds.

Authorities have also demonstrated that older crypto holdings linked to drug crimes remain within reach of investigators. In March, Ireland’s Criminal Assets Bureau, with technical assistance from Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre, recovered access to and seized a wallet holding 500 Bitcoin that was tied to convicted drug dealer Clifton Collins after the assets had long been considered inaccessible.

The United States has also continued pursuing operators of crypto-enabled darknet marketplaces. In February, a federal court in New York sentenced the Taiwanese founder of the Incognito dark web marketplace to 30 years in prison after prosecutors said the platform facilitated illegal drug sales using cryptocurrency.

Crypto investigator ZachXBT criticized hardware wallets Thursday, calling them unreliable for signing transactions or storing meaningful funds.

In his view, all hardware wallet solutions present today fall short on security and usability, making them unsuitable for high-stakes operations.

He recommends using a dedicated iPhone solely as a signing device, stripped down for wallet purposes only. This approach, he said, offers better control and fewer vulnerabilities than traditional hardware wallets, though he added the tongue-in-cheek caveat: “Only do this if you are not low iq.”

The investigator singled out Ledger as the worst offender, pointing to frequent Ledger Live updates that unnecessarily overhaul the UI and apps, often breaking basic functions in the process. The post quickly sparked debate ion crypto social media, with users sharing their own experiences with hardware wallet frustrations.

Trump has stepped up efforts to advance the Senate’s crypto market structure bill by convening key Republican senators at the White House as lawmakers push to secure a floor vote before the August recess.

According to Politico, President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet several Republican senators at the White House on Thursday to discuss the Senate’s crypto market structure bill and the remaining steps needed to move it toward a vote.

Senator Bernie Moreno told the publication that lawmakers will brief Trump on the legislation and “its path to success,” while a Senate Republican aide confirmed that Senator Cynthia Lummis will also attend the meeting.

“We’ll be talking about the entirety of the bill. I mean, obviously the president’s been very engaged in this bill,” Moreno said. “He’s the one who’s really driven the innovation that I think will pay dividends.”

The White House meeting comes as Senate Republicans work to pass the legislation, known as the CLARITY Act, before lawmakers leave Washington for the August recess. Many lawmakers have described the current work period as the best opportunity to move the bill before campaigning for the midterm elections intensifies.

Senate negotiations continue ahead of expected floor vote

Speaking to Politico, Senator Thom Tillis said he hopes lawmakers can resolve the remaining issues by the end of the week so the legislation can reach the Senate floor before the recess.

“I’m hoping that we can come up with some agreement by the end of this week,” Tillis said. “I think it’s critical if we’re going to try and get this across the floor before August recess.”

Attention has also turned to a revised draft of the bill. In an interview with Fox Business on Wednesday, Lummis said an updated version will be introduced within the next few days and said she expects the legislation to reach the Senate floor next week.

The Senate measure has been under negotiation for months, with lawmakers still discussing conflict-of-interest provisions, protections for non-custodial software developers, and rules governing stablecoin-related rewards. Senate Majority Leader John Thune previously said the chamber would vote on the CLARITY Act before the August recess, although he did not commit to a specific date.

The legislation requires 60 votes to pass, meaning Republicans will need Democratic support after the House approved its version of the bill last year.

Meanwhile, several Democratic senators have continued pressing for stronger ethics safeguards before backing the legislation. Senators Chris Murphy, Jeff Merkley, and Chris Van Hollen have argued that the final bill should explicitly prevent the president, vice president, members of Congress, senior executive officials, and their immediate families from profiting from crypto businesses that could be affected by future regulation.

Murphy said during a July 14 press conference that “there is no reason to pass a new regulatory system for crypto if this system does not stop Trump’s corruption,” linking his criticism to President Trump’s reported financial interests in World Liberty Financial and other crypto ventures. Trump has denied wrongdoing related to his digital asset businesses.

Prediction markets see better odds of Senate action

Away from Capitol Hill, prediction market traders have become more confident that the legislation will receive a Senate vote before lawmakers leave for the August recess.

On Kalshi, traders have raised the probability of a Senate vote before the recess to 79%, up from 68.8% a day earlier.

Confidence about the bill becoming law remains more restrained. Kalshi’s roughly $3 million market assigns a 36% chance that the CLARITY Act will become law this year and a 62% chance that it will be enacted before the end of 2027.

On Polymarket, traders currently place a 39% probability on the CLARITY Act being signed into law during 2026.

U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with several senators at the White House on Thursday to hear updates on the federal crypto market structure bill currently under negotiation in Washington. The discussion is expected to focus on progress toward passing the legislation, known as the CLARITY Act.

According to Politico, Senator Bernie Moreno said a group of senators will brief the president on the bill and outline “its path to success.” Senator Cynthia Lummis is also expected to attend, based on a Senate Republican aide’s account. Moreno said Trump has been closely engaged with the effort, framing the president as a key driver of legislative momentum.

Key takeaways

• Trump will meet with senators on Thursday to receive an update on the CLARITY Act and its prospects for passage.
• Lawmakers are aiming to advance the bill before the Senate’s August recess, with some calling the window a final realistic chance before midterm elections.
• Senator Thom Tillis told Politico that he is seeking agreement by the end of the week on unresolved parts of the bill.
• Prediction markets show relatively high odds of a Senate vote before the August recess, but lower odds that the bill becomes law in the same timeframe.

White House meeting signals push to move the CLARITY Act

The Thursday meeting comes as lawmakers race to finalize the CLARITY Act ahead of the Senate’s August recess. Politico reports that many legislators view the current legislative stretch as the last realistic opportunity to pass the measure before the midterm election cycle.

Moreno said senators will discuss the “entirety of the bill,” adding that Trump has been actively involved in the initiative. The remarks underscore how the effort is being framed not just as a committee process, but as a broader, top-level political priority meant to reach a decisive procedural outcome in the Senate.

Senator Thom Tillis, who has been working on specific “unresolved provisions” tied to the CLARITY Act, told Politico he hopes lawmakers can reach agreement by the end of this week. He emphasized the urgency of moving the legislation “across the floor” before the August recess.

What lawmakers are waiting for: a revised draft

Lawmakers are currently awaiting a revised version of the CLARITY Act. In an interview with Fox Business on Wednesday, Lummis said a new draft would be introduced within days and that she expects it to be placed on the Senate floor next week.

The timing matters because the CLARITY Act is still contingent on resolving outstanding elements. With the Senate calendar approaching recess, the revised draft functions as a gating factor: without language that can clear remaining objections, the bill may stall procedurally even if broad support exists among key legislators.

Cointelegraph reached out to Senator Lummis for comment, but the meeting and the drafting schedule suggest lawmakers are working toward a near-term floor push rather than a prolonged revision cycle.

Prediction market odds diverge between “vote” and “become law”

Market-based odds tracked by traders indicate a split between the likelihood of a Senate vote and the likelihood of the bill ultimately becoming law.

On Kalshi, traders assigned a 79% chance to the proposition that the Senate will vote on the CLARITY Act before the August recess. That figure is reportedly up from 68.8% the previous day. The shift suggests that traders see improving odds of procedural progress, likely tied to expectations around the revised draft arriving soon and a potential floor schedule.

However, traders were less confident about the bill’s path to enactment within the current year. According to the Kalshi market data cited in the report, a $3 million prediction market gave the CLARITY Act a 36% chance of becoming law in 2026, and a 62% chance of doing so before the end of 2027.

Polymarket traders were similarly cautious about timing: the cited Polymarket figure put the chance that the CLARITY Act is signed into law this year at 39%. The difference between “vote” odds and “signed into law” odds reflects a common dynamic in legislative forecasting—procedural movement can occur faster than the final legislative, executive, and implementation steps needed for a bill to become law.

Why the next few days could be decisive

The immediate pressure point is not only whether senators can agree on remaining provisions, but whether that agreement can be translated into a revised draft capable of reaching the Senate floor in time for votes before the August recess. Tillis’s comments to Politico indicate that negotiations over unresolved terms are actively ongoing, and Lummis’s timeline for introducing a new draft within days points to a short, high-stakes window for consolidation.

For market participants, the key distinction is between near-term legislative scheduling and longer-term enactment probabilities. Kalshi’s relatively high odds for a Senate vote contrast with lower odds for the bill becoming law in 2026 and with Polymarket’s comparatively modest estimate for signing in the current year. Traders appear to be pricing in the possibility of floor action, while still discounting hurdles beyond the Senate’s vote.

As lawmakers await the revised draft and push toward next week’s potential floor timetable, readers will likely want to watch two things closely: whether unresolved provisions get settled quickly enough to maintain vote momentum, and how quickly prediction market odds shift for “signed into law” once the revised text is officially introduced.

A bitcoin address that had not spent a coin in eight years moved 5,908 BTC worth about $383 million on Thursday, data shows.

The wallet took in the coins when bitcoin traded at around $16,000, a level the market saw in December 2017 and early January 2018, within weeks of a cycle peak near $20,000.

The stack cost roughly $100 million then and is worth about $383 million now, a gain of about 284%. It was worth $726 million at bitcoin’s lifetime in October 2025.

The entry date is what makes the holding unusual. Bitcoin fell about 80% through 2018 to near $3,200. It recovered to $69,000 in 2021, then collapsed to about $15,500 in November 2022, which briefly put this position underwater five years after it was built.

The wallet stayed shut then, and again last year when bitcoin cleared $122,000, roughly seven times the entry price. It is opening now, with bitcoin near $64,800 and about half the 2025 high behind it.

Bitcoin’s funds are still lurching, however. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs shed $424 million on July 13, then took back $181 million the next day. Money leaving and returning inside 48 hours is not indicative of an allocator building a position.

As such, the ether bid is narrower. Of the $53.8 million that came in on Wednesday, BlackRock’s ETHA absorbed $45.3 million and its smaller ETHB fund took $4 million, leaving the other eight products to split less than $5 million between them.

Grayscale’s original ether trust, which charges 2.5% against BlackRock’s 0.25%, has now bled $5.3 billion since launch.

Ether also picked up a demand source that did not exist three weeks ago. Robinhood Chain, the layer-2 network the brokerage switched on July 1, pays gas in ether and settles to Ethereum, and it has been clearing more than $800 million in daily decentralized exchange volume, most of it memecoin trading.

Bitcoin is steadier than its ETF flows suggest, however. Nansen data shows exchange outflows holding through the escalation in the Middle East, with no meaningful rotation into stablecoins, the move that usually marks wallets stepping back.

Funding rates are near zero, which is suggestive of the overleveraged longs that fuelled June’s liquidation cascades have already been cleared out. Bitcoin dominance is 58.3%.