Crypto World
Kraken Secures $22M Arbitration Award Over Former Auditor Mazars
Kraken’s parent company, Payward, says it has secured a $22 million arbitration award against its former auditor, Mazars USA, and has moved to have the award entered as a judgment in Delaware’s Court of Chancery. The update comes via a letter published Tuesday by Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi.
Payward’s filing characterizes the dispute as compensation for financial harm tied to what Sethi described as pressure campaigns aimed at lawful crypto firms—an issue that has remained central to broader debates over banking access for the digital-asset industry.
Key takeaways
- Payward says it won a $22 million arbitration award against Mazars USA and is seeking court judgment to formalize it.
- Payward claims Mazars withdrew from Kraken’s nearly completed 2022 audit despite stating it found no fraud or issues with management integrity.
- Sethi links the auditor departure to “Operation Chokepoint 2.0”—a wider alleged effort to pressure banks and service providers away from crypto.
- The letter points to 2023 U.S. regulatory developments and banking network collapses to support the broader narrative.
- Kraken executives continue to frame auditor access as vital, while U.S. regulators work on “debanking” supervision concerns.
Payward pursues judgment in Delaware after arbitration win
In Sethi’s Tuesday letter, Payward stated that it has won an arbitration award totaling $22 million against Mazars USA. Payward then asked the Delaware Court of Chancery to enter judgment on the award, according to the co-CEO’s publication.
Payward’s account emphasizes the context of the nearly completed 2022 audit. The company said Mazars withdrew from the engagement even though it had purportedly concluded there was no fraud, raised no concerns about management’s integrity, and reported no disagreements with Payward.
Sethi used the moment to underscore what he described as the practical importance of independent auditing. “An audit is not a favor. It is oxygen,” he wrote, arguing that audits are often required to maintain the trust and documentation banks and regulators expect—particularly for obtaining banking services, licenses, and other business relationships.
Why Payward says the auditor exit matters
For crypto businesses, an auditor is more than a compliance checkbox. Audited financial statements can influence how banks assess risk, how counterparties evaluate legitimacy, and how regulators gauge transparency. Payward’s narrative therefore turns a specific arbitration dispute into a broader case study about how access to traditional financial rails can hinge on third-party relationships.
Sethi further argued that Mazars’ withdrawal was connected to “Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” which he described as a campaign that pressured banks, auditors, and other institutions to cut ties with crypto companies despite their lawful status.
In support of that claim, the letter cited a range of 2023 developments. These included:
- Joint guidance from U.S. banking regulators.
- The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121, which Payward noted has since been rescinded.
- The collapse of crypto-focused banking networks including Silvergate SEN and Signature’s Signet.
While Payward’s letter uses these events to bolster its framing, the key factual point for readers is Payward’s assertion that the auditor’s departure occurred even after Mazars found no fraud and did not flag integrity or reporting concerns. The implication is that the exit was not driven by a conventional audit-based failure—at least as Payward describes it—making the arbitration outcome and the court step to enter judgment particularly significant to the company.
Kraken executives connect the case to broader “debanking” concerns
Payward’s leadership also addressed the arbitration win publicly. Kraken co-CEO Dave Ripley posted on X that the story is “worth surfacing” despite being “PTSD-inducing,” arguing that only “a fraction of the stories from that era have ever been told.”
Ripley described the $22 million award as compensation for financial harm he linked to what he called a coordinated campaign against the crypto industry. Payward’s executives thus position the arbitration award not just as a private dispute resolution, but as an example of how crypto firms can face structural obstacles from the traditional institutions they rely on.
At the same time, regulators in the U.S. have continued to confront complaints about “debanking”—the risk that banks terminate or restrict accounts for reputational reasons rather than concrete misconduct. According to earlier coverage, in February the Federal Reserve sought public feedback on a proposal to formally remove “reputation risk” from bank supervision. The move was described as following a 2025 directive to stop pressuring banks to close customer accounts over reputational concerns, and critics argued the change could help bring an end to Operation Chokepoint 2.0.
For crypto stakeholders, the practical question is whether regulatory supervision adjustments translate into measurable improvements in banking access—especially for firms that need auditors, custodians, and intermediaries to operate at scale.
What else the company has been signaling: IPO plans and timing uncertainty
Beyond the arbitration, Payward and Kraken have continued to discuss broader corporate milestones. Kraken, founded in 2011, has been widely expected to pursue an initial public offering.
In November 2025, Kraken said it had confidentially submitted a draft Form S-1 registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. However, reporting in May suggested the timeline for a public debut may extend to 2027, citing weaker crypto market conditions and the exchange’s ongoing cost-cutting efforts.
While the auditor dispute is a separate development, it fits into the same investor-relevant theme: how traditional finance gatekeepers—auditors, banks, and regulators—can shape the cost of doing business and the path to market participation. If Payward’s framing is accurate, arbitration outcomes may serve not only as recovery for past harm but also as leverage in future negotiations with institutional counterparties.
As Payward seeks Delaware court confirmation, readers should watch whether the judgment process proceeds smoothly and whether the dispute’s narrative—no fraud found, yet audit withdrawal occurred—finds echoes in other similar cases. In parallel, attention will likely remain on how U.S. banking regulators handle “reputation risk” and whether that guidance meaningfully reduces the operational friction crypto companies report when trying to retain or replace auditors and banking relationships.
Crypto World
DDSC Brings Regulated Dirham Stablecoin to UAE Exchanges
Stablecoins are, undoubtedly, the main operating assets in digital finance. Visa’s stablecoin analytics dashboard showed more than $51 trillion in total transaction volume over the past 12 months.
Meanwhile, TRM Labs estimated stablecoins at 30% of all on-chain crypto transaction volume in 2025. This one asset category carried almost one-third of tracked crypto value movement, while Bitcoin and all other altcoins together accounted for the remaining share.
Almost every blockchain activity today runs through these dollar-pegged assets, whether it’s trading, treasury movement, or cross-border settlement.
So, stablecoins are arguably the most explosive asset class in terms of growth. What’s the next phase? As with any financial product, its adoption. And that can only happen through local-currency settlement, regulated access, and payment use cases tied to national economies.
In the UAE, this is already happening.
UAE’s Financial Future is Running on Stablecoins
Chainalysis estimated more than $56 billion in crypto value received by the country during its 2024 to 2025 reporting window, up 33% year over year, with institutional transfers driving a large share of activity and merchant services expanding across smaller retail transaction sizes.
On July 3, 2026, DDSC, the UAE dirham-backed stablecoin developed by International Holding Company, First Abu Dhabi Bank, and Sirius International Holding, received approval from the Central Bank of the UAE to partner with selected exchange platforms regulated by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.
The approval gives DDSC a regulated route from institutional settlement into wider market access, allowing users to access, buy, and redeem a dirham-backed stablecoin through compliant exchange channels.
A Dirham Stablecoin for a Dollar-Dominated Market
Most stablecoin liquidity today remains tied to the US dollar. This gives global crypto markets deep liquidity and a familiar settlement currency, while domestic payment use cases still depend on conversion, exchange access, and banking relationships.
DDSC brings a local-currency option into the UAE’s own monetary environment. Pegged 1:1 to the UAE dirham and settled on ADI Chain, the token gives users a digital asset denominated in AED instead of forcing local commerce into dollar units.
This distinction is important for payment adoption because UAE shoppers, merchants, suppliers, and treasury teams all price everyday obligations in dirhams.
A stable asset in AED can keep pricing and settlement aligned while adding blockchain settlement speed, programmable payments, and 24/7 availability.
The UAE has already built much of the regulatory base around this category:
- The Central Bank’s Payment Token Services Regulation created a framework for stablecoin-related services, including issuance, conversion, custody and transfer.
- VARA maintains a public register of licensed Virtual Asset Service Providers in Dubai, including platforms authorized for exchange services.
DDSC connects these two regulatory channels. Central Bank approval covers the payment-token side, while access through selected VARA-regulated platforms gives users a familiar exchange route into the asset.
From Treasury Flows to Everyday Payments
DDSC entered the market with an institutional focus. Since launch, IHC says it has processed more than AED 150 million in transactions. In May 2026, IHC executed an AED 110 million DDSC transaction on ADI Chain, presented as one of the region’s largest disclosed stablecoin transactions.
DDSC is more than able to support high-value settlement. The new approval, therefore, adds distribution, giving individuals, merchants, and businesses a route to acquire and redeem the asset through regulated exchange platforms.
DDSC is left with a more complete adoption path. Large transactions can prove settlement capacity, while exchange availability can bring the asset into daily commercial use. The first phase demonstrated settlement readiness, and the next phase focuses on availability through licensed venues.
VARA-Regulated Platforms and Compliance Control
The approval applies to selected exchange platforms regulated by VARA, giving DDSC a controlled rollout through licensed channels and keeping access aligned with the UAE’s compliance framework.
For context, VARA oversees virtual asset activity in and from Dubai, excluding the Dubai International Financial Centre. Its public register lists licensed Virtual Asset Service Providers and the activities each provider is authorized to offer, including exchange services, broker-dealer services, custody, lending and investment management.
Indeed, stablecoin payments touch redemption confidence, merchant settlement, AML controls, custody, user access, and financial institution requirements. Exchange access through regulated platforms helps combine these requirements within a market structure users already understand.
DDSC’s rollout also shows how the UAE is separating regulated payment tokens from general crypto assets. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and volatile tokens continue to serve trading and investment use cases, while stablecoins such as DDSC are designed around payment value, redemption, and settlement.
This gives businesses a more suitable instrument for pricing, invoices, supplier transfers and customer payments.
A View Toward Merchant and Business Payments
IHC said the stablecoin can support everyday payments once available through selected regulated platforms, including shoppers paying merchants, businesses settling with suppliers and transfers between people.
Retail customers want fast payments, merchants want predictable settlement, and businesses want lower operational friction across invoices, treasury, and cross-border counterparties. There is no doubt that stablecoins can support these flows when they combine price stability, reliable redemption, and regulatory acceptance.
DDSC’s AED designation gives it a local advantage. A UAE merchant accepting a dollar stablecoin still faces accounting and FX conversion work. A dirham-backed token fits local pricing more naturally, while on-chain settlement can reduce delays linked to banking hours and intermediary processing.
A Local Currency Asset for the UAE Digital Economy
The UAE has spent years building a regulated digital asset environment across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and federal authorities. DDSC adds a local-currency payment asset to this environment, backed by major UAE institutions and aligned with the Central Bank’s payment-token framework.
DDSC’s growth ultimately depends on platform availability, merchant acceptance, redemption experience and business integration.
Even so, its Central Bank approval to partner with selected VARA-regulated exchange platforms brings the UAE dirham further into on-chain finance and gives the country’s digital asset market a regulated payment token built for domestic use and future regional settlement.
The post DDSC Brings Regulated Dirham Stablecoin to UAE Exchanges appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Crypto World
Rezolve Ai (RZLV) Stock Dips as Company Unveils Auditable AI for Enhanced Commerce Transparency
Key Highlights
- RZLV declined 1.34% following the introduction of Auditable AI technology.
- The new platform feature provides clear explanations for product recommendations.
- Rezolve targets enhanced enterprise trust in AI-powered commerce systems.
- The solution offers visibility into customer data and operational business logic.
- Company research indicates a 3.7x enhancement in transparency metrics.
Resolve AI PLC (RZLV) closed at $2.7328, declining 1.34% after pulling back from intraday highs to settle near the day’s lower range. The organization unveiled a new AI-driven feature designed to enhance transparency within commerce technology. This development extends its enterprise offerings and seeks to bolster trust in AI-powered product suggestions.
Platform expansion introduces transparent recommendation engine for enterprise users
Rezolve Ai unveiled Auditable AI as an integrated component of its enterprise commerce infrastructure. This innovation clarifies each product suggestion by referencing shopper preferences, transaction histories, product specifications, and operational guidelines. Through this approach, companies gain enhanced understanding of how recommendation algorithms arrive at specific conclusions.
The organization developed this solution to overcome transparency obstacles that have historically hindered enterprise AI implementation. Numerous current AI frameworks produce suggestions without revealing underlying logic. In response, this new functionality delivers human-readable explanations accessible to both businesses and end users.
Rezolve emphasized that this feature bolsters enterprise trust while encouraging wider commercial integration. The system additionally provides organizations with improved visibility throughout recommendation workflows during consumer engagements. As such, merchants can more effectively verify results and strengthen internal governance throughout digital commerce channels.
Enhanced platform capabilities reinforce commitment to reliable AI infrastructure
This recent introduction continues Rezolve’s ongoing platform enhancements centered on enterprise dependability. The organization previously tackled recommendation precision through specialized architecture that minimized erroneous AI outputs. Subsequently, it broadened supervision functionalities by launching monitoring solutions for autonomous AI behaviors.
Through this latest enhancement, Rezolve now delivers precision, responsibility, and clarity within a consolidated enterprise system. This comprehensive methodology supports organizations pursuing explainable artificial intelligence for business applications. Furthermore, the infrastructure aims to enhance confidence without compromising operational performance.
The organization also engineered the framework to function across various artificial intelligence architectures. Accordingly, enterprises can uphold uniform transparency benchmarks while deploying different AI technologies. This adaptability accommodates businesses managing varied technology ecosystems throughout retail and commerce operations.
Supporting studies demonstrate commercial advantages and wider sector applicability
Rezolve indicated that transparent recommendations can enhance consumer confidence throughout buying journeys. Shoppers can comprehend recommendation rationale through explanations derived from their documented preferences and prior behavior. Subsequently, retailers may deepen customer relationships while minimizing uncertainty during transactions.
The infrastructure also detects ambiguous customer signals before finalizing recommendation workflows. Rather than producing vague suggestions, the framework solicits supplementary information when required. This approach enables businesses to obtain more dependable recommendation results while minimizing unsuitable product pairings.
Based on company-sponsored studies, the technology achieved a 3.7-fold enhancement in transparency relative to traditional large language model frameworks. The supporting investigation also earned acceptance for presentation at the International Conference on Social Robotics 2026 in London. Concurrently, Rezolve intends to incorporate this technology throughout its Brain Suite platform as part of its ongoing enterprise commerce initiative.
Crypto World
Elon Musk Grok AI Predicts Incredible XRP Price Target by End of 2026
Elon Musk Grok AI just published what might be the most partnership-heavy XRP price prediction in this entire series. The model predicts $5 to $8 by the end of 2026, a 4 to 7 times return from where XRP sits today.
The bull case reads like a who’s who of global finance quietly building on the XRP Ledger while the price stays depressed. XRP trades near $1.15 today, and the thesis rests on the SEC lawsuit being fully resolved in August 2025, formally confirming XRP as a non-security on exchanges and removing the single biggest legal cloud that has held back serious institutional money for years.
Live US spot XRP ETFs have already pulled in over $1.5 billion in cumulative inflows and are actively locking up meaningful supply.
RLUSD stablecoin circulation has scaled past $1.5 to $1.7 billion with strong XRPL dominance. The partnership list is genuinely impressive by any measure.

SBI Japan is rolling out RLUSD, JPMorgan is using the XRPL for tokenized settlements, Mastercard named Ripple a partner in its AI payments network, Flutterwave is covering Africa, and Bitso is handling Latin America.
The XRPL itself keeps maturing with real world assets, automated market makers, and lending protocols all going live. Together the model frames XRP as completing a transition from regulatory overhang to proven institutional utility as the fast, low cost bridge asset for cross border payments.
The pending CLARITY Act would permanently codify its commodity status and unlock even broader institutional capital on top of everything already in motion. In a favorable macro environment with accelerating ETF inflows, rising RLUSD and on demand liquidity volume, and supply tailwinds from ETF accumulation, the model calls that $5 to $8 range a confident bull surge target.
The bear case is relatively contained. If CLARITY Act passage slips into 2027 or enterprise adoption grows slower than expected amid macro volatility, XRP could consolidate between $2 and $3 without achieving a full breakout. That would still represent a meaningful return from current levels, which tells you how skewed the model views the risk reward at $1.15.
XRP Price Prediction: XRP Finally Lifts Off The $1.00 Floor After Months Of Testing It
The daily chart shows XRP at $1.15532 after a long decline from highs above $3.65 set back in early August of last year. That entire move lower has been one extended downtrend, interrupted by a brief bounce toward $2.40 in November before sellers resumed complete control.
The most recent leg of this decline pushed XRP below $1.00 multiple times in June before buyers finally stepped in with enough conviction to push price back above that level and hold it.
That recovery off the $1.00 floor is the most meaningful chart development in months, given how many times that level was tested and how significant it is psychologically for an asset that spent years trying to sustain above $1.00 during the pre ETF era.
Resistance sits first near $1.20, the level price approached on today’s candle high of $1.16 and has not yet cleanly cleared, then a heavier ceiling near $1.60 where multiple rejections accumulated earlier this year.
Support now holds at $1.00, the exact floor that just got defended after several tests. The broader structure still shows a series of lower highs stretching back to August, so no confirmed reversal has appeared on this chart yet despite the encouraging bounce.
Momentum on the daily candles looks more constructive than at any point in the past several months, with larger green candles showing up more frequently and the $1.00 level holding on multiple tests rather than giving way.
If XRP can close convincingly above $1.20 and sustain that level through the coming sessions, the institutional accumulation story Grok is describing finally starts to show up in the price action rather than just the fundamentals.
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Discover: The best crypto to diversify your portfolio with
Here is What Grok AI Predicts For LiquidChain Near Future, Very Bullish
Sitting at resistance waiting for a breakout is not positioning. It is standing in line.
Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP have been pressing against the same ceilings for weeks. The catalyst that unlocks the next leg is perpetually one data print away.
The institutional inflows are perpetually next quarter. Every large-cap trader waiting for a breakout is waiting on a decision that belongs to someone else’s balance sheet.
Early-stage infrastructure plays by completely different rules, Copilot AI predicts. Capital that would vanish as statistical noise at Bitcoin’s scale moves a small undiscovered project by multiples.
The asymmetric return lives in one place only: the gap between what something is genuinely worth and what the market currently thinks it is worth. That gap exists because the project has not been found yet. The moment it gets found, the gap is gone.
Cross-chain fragmentation has been extracting value from DeFi participants since the first bridge went live and nobody has eliminated it. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana were engineered as independent systems with no shared architecture and no intent to interoperate.
Every transaction that crosses those boundaries pays the price of that design in fees, slippage, and execution failures. Bridges were supposed to be the solution. They became the mechanism through which the problem collects its fee.
LiquidChain eliminates the fee entirely. Three networks inside a single execution layer. One deployment reaches all of them. No cross-chain tax on any interaction anywhere.
Grok AI flagged it as worth watching. The presale is at $0.01454 with just over $860,000 raised.
Execution is unproven. Adoption is unknown. Established assets offer a predictable ride toward a ceiling that is already fully visible. LiquidChain is an entry point that disappears once the market finds it.
The post Elon Musk Grok AI Predicts Incredible XRP Price Target by End of 2026 appeared first on Cryptonews.
Crypto World
Was It a Hack or Governance? BONK’s $21M Treasury Vote Divides Crypto
An anonymous wallet spent $4.4 million buying BONK tokens over two days, then used that stash to push through a governance vote that allowed it to drain $21.2 million from the BonkDAO treasury.
The incident, which saw the attacker walk away with a $16.8 million profit, has split the crypto community between those calling it a theft and those insisting the DAO did exactly what it was built to do.
How the Vote Went Through
According to blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain, preparations for the theft started on June 30 when the attacker filed a proposal asking BonkDAO to move 4.426 trillion BONK, worth about $21.2 million, to a wallet they controlled. To pass, the proposal had to be supported by at least 1% of the BONK supply, which, per data from CoinGecko, stands at just under 88 trillion tokens.
Then, from around July 4, they bought 882.285 billion BONK on Bybit and Binance, an amount that was just enough to clear the 1% requirement (879.95 billion) to make a quorum that could vote on the proposal they’d made at the end of June. They then proceeded to vote “yes” with all 882.285 billion BONK, passing the proposal, after which 4.426 trillion tokens were transferred to their wallet.
Another company that follows on-chain movements, Chainalysis, corroborated Lookonchain’s account of the incident, saying the attacker acquired their tokens between July 4 and 5, buying some from the mainstream exchanges and borrowing others through DeFi platforms.
About 9 hours after voting their way to the $21 million stash, Chainalysis says the attacker sent $188,000 to OKX (Peckshield puts that figure at $148,000) while putting the rest in a new DAO, “BONK 2.0,” that they created to govern the stolen funds. According to the analytics firm, the new DAO is controlled by the malicious voter, the exploiter wallet, and a third wallet said to have financial ties to the voter wallet.
BonkDAO confirmed the treasury loss in a statement posted on X, saying it had identified the exchange wallets that had been used to acquire the voting tokens before the proposal succeeded and that it had notified law enforcement while also coordinating with exchanges, bridges, and the Solana Foundation to “manage the situation.”
Following news of the theft, the BONK token lost some of its value, with CoinGecko showing it trading around $0.00000438 at the time of writing, a 7.4% drop in 24 hours but still up nearly 5% on the week.
A Working DAO or Fraud?
The event continues a streak reported recently by CryptoRank that has seen DeFi platforms lose nearly $1 billion to bad actors so far this year.
But not everyone agrees that a crime took place, including World Liberty Financial advisor Ogle, who questioned why law enforcement had become involved in what looked like a normal DAO function.
“Someone legitimately bought a lot of tokens, proposed a DAO vote, the vote passed with almost no opposition, and the proposal was executed,” they wrote on X.
The crypto maxi later added that reports claiming the voting website was inaccessible during the voting period, if true, would raise separate concerns but did not necessarily make the on-chain vote illegal.
However, others disagreed. Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz argued that using voting control over a shared treasury for personal gain could amount to fraud because governance participants owe a fiduciary duty to other stakeholders. Further, he stated that BonkDAO’s lack of a formal legal wrapper could expose participants to partnership-style liabilities in some jurisdictions.
The post Was It a Hack or Governance? BONK’s $21M Treasury Vote Divides Crypto appeared first on CryptoPotato.
Crypto World
Traders on Kalshi think the Nasdaq-100 will end 2026 above 30,000
Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange on June 29, 2026.
NYSE
The Nasdaq-100 is up about 18% in 2026, but traders on prediction market platform Kalshi don’t think the index will move much higher in the second half of 2026.
Speculators place about 50-50 odds that the tech-heavy index will close 2026 above 30,000, a level it first crossed in late May. As of midday trading Tuesday, the index was also only about 1% below 30,000.
On Kalshi, the contracts asks speculators to place “yes” or “no” trades endorsing or opposing whether the Nasdaq-100 will end the year within a certain point range. The contracts will resolve based on prices for the index on Dec. 31, as provided by Google Finance.
The Nasdaq-100’s big run up in 2026 came after the U.S. stock market hit its Iran war-induced lows on March 30. Between then and June 2, the index, comprised of the 100 largest non-financial stocks on Nasdaq, surged more than 33% amid renewed confidence in the artificial intelligence trade.
Fading confidence
But traders today appear to think that the bull run doesn’t have much steam left.
Another contract shows 40% odds that the Nasdaq-100’s high for 2026 will end up above 32,000. The intraday high for the year thus far is 30,762, reached on June 3.
Nasdaq-100 year-to-date.
Traders only assign about a 27% chance that the Nasdaq-100 will climb above 33,000 by the end of the year.
In a report out Tuesday, UBS note said it expects the broader market rally to continue in the second-half of 2026, with the possibility that technology is no longer the leader. That could weigh on the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100, which just welcomed SpaceX as its newest member on Tuesday.
“Following the strong rally in semiconductor stocks in the second quarter of this year, investors are increasingly looking beyond tech and toward other sectors as they reassess the next phase of the AI trade,” wrote UBS chief investment officer for the Americas Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi. “While we remain confident in AI’s growth story … we have also highlighted that the next leg of equity gains is likely to be marked by a broadening of market leadership.”
Disclosure: CNBC and Kalshi have a commercial relationship that includes customer acquisition and a minority investment.
Crypto World
EU Lawmakers Lock in Digital-Asset Policy as MiCA Transition Ends
European Parliament lawmakers have adopted a formal policy position on digital assets, urging the European Commission to examine whether key areas of the crypto ecosystem should be brought more clearly within the EU’s regulatory framework following the rollout of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regime.
The Parliament’s stance, approved Tuesday in a vote on the report “Digital assets – challenges for the competitiveness and integrity of the European Union’s financial system,” does not itself amend MiCA or impose new direct legal duties on market participants. Instead, it signals the direction EU legislators want regulators and the Commission to consider as MiCA’s initial implementation period concludes.
Key takeaways
- Parliament calls for clearer regulatory coverage of activities such as DeFi, crypto lending and borrowing, staking, and NFTs, subject to an EU-wide review.
- Lawmakers stress the need for consistent MiCA application across member states to avoid fragmented rules for the digital asset market.
- The vote turns the report into the Parliament’s official policy position, without directly changing MiCA legislation.
- MiCA’s transitional period for covered providers ended on July 1, increasing the importance of how regulators treat activities outside the current framework.
Policy position after MiCA’s rollout
MiCA provides a licensing and conduct framework for crypto-asset service providers and issuers of certain token types. However, the Parliament report reflects an ongoing debate in Brussels about how the EU should approach parts of the sector that are not fully addressed under the current scope of MiCA.
In particular, lawmakers asked the European Commission to assess whether activities including decentralized finance (DeFi), crypto lending and borrowing, staking, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) should be brought more explicitly into the EU’s regulatory perimeter. The report also raises the question of how tokenized financial assets fit within the broader regulatory architecture.
Beyond expanding the regulatory gaze, the paper warns against the emergence of national rules that could break the EU’s single market for digital assets into separate regimes. That point matters for companies operating cross-border: inconsistent interpretations across member states could complicate compliance planning and product rollout, even where MiCA is formally meant to harmonize rules.
DeFi, staking, lending and NFTs remain central questions
Although MiCA established baseline requirements for certain crypto actors, policymakers have continued to discuss how to regulate or classify decentralized and hybrid models—especially where services are offered through protocols rather than clearly identifiable intermediaries. The Parliament’s push to examine DeFi, staking, and crypto lending suggests lawmakers want a more structured approach to these activities as market participation grows.
The report also signals that NFTs and other tokenized forms of digital assets remain politically salient. While tokenized assets can span everything from collectibles to financial representations, the Parliament’s call for an assessment indicates that legislators want clarity on when existing rules adequately protect users and when regulatory gaps remain.
Commission review and the stability-stablecoin debate
The European Commission has already been exploring whether MiCA should be adapted. In May, the Commission opened a public consultation on potential changes to the framework, including whether additional crypto activities should fall within scope. The consultation also covered whether restrictions on interest-bearing stablecoins should be revisited.
By adopting Tuesday’s position paper, Parliament effectively adds legislative weight to that review. The report’s emphasis on expanding the regulatory perimeter where needed—and keeping implementation consistent—fits the broader narrative that MiCA is both a foundation and a starting point rather than a final endpoint.
Lawmakers also framed the discussion in terms of EU competitiveness. The Parliament’s report takes a more supportive tone toward tokenization and euro-denominated stablecoins, arguing that well-regulated digital assets could strengthen the competitiveness of EU financial markets if rules are applied consistently across the bloc.
What MiCA transition ending changes for compliance
One practical driver behind the timing is MiCA’s implementation timetable. According to Cointelegraph’s earlier coverage, MiCA’s transitional period ended on July 1, meaning crypto-asset service providers covered by MiCA can no longer rely on the transition to continue operations across the EU without authorization under the new licensing framework.
This matters in the policy debate because authorization processes and conduct rules already create immediate compliance obligations for covered providers. At the same time, activities that sit outside MiCA’s current scope—such as parts of the DeFi stack or certain token types—can become more controversial as regulated entities seek clarity and as market participants test the boundaries of existing rules.
Parliament’s warning about fragmented national approaches therefore lands with particular force as companies navigate both the MiCA licensing regime and unresolved questions about how the framework will treat broader categories of crypto activity.
Over the coming months, market participants should watch for how the European Commission responds to the consultation process and to Parliament’s newly adopted position—especially around whether DeFi, staking, lending, and NFTs move closer to MiCA’s regulatory perimeter, and how Brussels plans to maintain consistent application across member states as providers transition fully to the authorization model.
Crypto World
Vanguard Expands Digital Asset Strategy with New Executive Role
Vanguard is hiring a head of digital assets to lead the asset manager’s strategy on tokenization, stablecoins, blockchain infrastructure and client-facing digital asset products, signaling a broader push into the sector after years of resisting crypto investment offerings.
According to the job description on Vanguard’s website, the executive will be responsible for determining how Vanguard participates in digital assets, including evaluating client-facing products, tokenization, stablecoins, custody models, blockchain-based settlement and digital asset operating infrastructure. The role will also represent Vanguard in discussions with regulators, clients and industry groups.

Hiring announcement for Vanguard head of digital assets. Source: Vanguardjobs.com
The move marks a notable shift for the asset manager, which has long resisted crypto investment products. In August 2024, CEO Salim Ramji said the company would not launch crypto exchange-traded funds, arguing Vanguard would not “copy competitors” despite the rapid adoption of spot Bitcoin ETFs.
ETF analyst Nate Geraci highlighted the contrast in an X post on Tuesday, noting Vanguard had previously blocked customers from purchasing spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs through its brokerage platform. “Life moves pretty fast,” he wrote.
Founded in 1975, Vanguard manages approximately $12.5 trillion in global assets, according to the company.
Related: Broadridge rolls out crypto, tokenized asset platform for Canada wealth managers
Asset managers expand into tokenized finance
Vanguard’s hiring comes as asset managers push deeper into tokenization. According to RWA.xyz data, the tokenized real-world asset market has grown to $33.5 billion, including $14.9 billion in tokenized US Treasury products.
Franklin Templeton manages about $2.5 billion in tokenized assets, BlackRock oversees roughly $2.3 billion and WisdomTree’s tokenized Treasury fund has grown to more than $700 million.

Top tokenized treasury managers. Source: RWA.xyz
In March, Franklin Templeton partnered with Ondo Finance to offer tokenized versions of its ETFs accessible through crypto wallets, and then launched a dedicated cryptocurrency investment division following its acquisition of crypto asset manager 250 Digital.
JPMorgan and State Street have also entered the market for tokenized cash products. JPMorgan filed in May to launch a tokenized money market fund for stablecoin issuers, while State Street introduced a government money market fund for stablecoin reserves and a tokenized liquidity product the following month.
Also in May, Fidelity launched a blockchain-based liquidity fund, which received its first crypto-native investment last month after Theo allocated $20 million to the product.
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Crypto World
Analysts Say Bitcoin’s Cycle Bottom Is Still Unconfirmed
Bitcoin is trading near $64,000 and is still down sharply from its most recent cycle high above $126,000 reached in October 2025. The drawdown is less dramatic than in earlier cycles, but the rally that followed the 2025 post-halving momentum and exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows has clearly cooled—leaving analysts to debate not only where the market will go next, but what “a cycle bottom” even means in a market increasingly shaped by traditional finance.
As bearish and bullish camps clash, the common thread is that Bitcoin’s current moves are harder to interpret using old playbooks. Several analysts argue that liquidity and macro conditions are still driving outcomes, while others say ETF-linked institutional demand has shifted the dynamics enough that standard cycle signals may not fully reset. Meanwhile, one view increasingly framed the question as an issue of global capital allocation—whether crypto can again attract marginal risk capital versus AI and equities.
Key takeaways
- Bitcoin’s decline from the October 2025 peak has not triggered a clear consensus on whether a durable bottom is already in.
- One camp links downside risk to macro liquidity and expected retests of lower ranges, rather than crypto-native cycle indicators.
- Another camp points to sell-side exhaustion signals and suggests downside may be limited, even if the final bottom remains unconfirmed.
- A structural perspective argues that ETFs and the growing role of derivatives mean Bitcoin may build a broader base rather than print a sharp V-shaped low.
Why bulls and bears disagree on the meaning of “bottom”
In the run-up to the October 2025 high, Bitcoin’s strength was tied to a mix of post-halving momentum and renewed institutional demand, with spot Bitcoin ETF flows playing a prominent role. Since then, price action has turned downward, but the magnitude of the pullback—roughly half from the cycle peak—has been enough to keep both sides engaged.
Standard Chartered and other bullish institutional desks have suggested Bitcoin may have already found a cycle bottom, citing improving long-term capital flows and structural ETF-related demand. In contrast, Galaxy Research argued in June that traditional cycle signals may not have fully reset, meaning investors should not assume the worst is over simply because the market has declined materially.
That tension has become more pronounced because Bitcoin’s trading environment is now different. ETFs increase off-chain participation, macro liquidity affects risk appetite more directly, and the way derivatives markets feed into day-to-day pricing can blur the signals that historically defined cycle turning points.
Downside scenarios: Bitcoin still tied to macro liquidity
On the more cautious end, Russell Thomson, chief investment officer at Hilbert Capital, told Cointelegraph that Bitcoin remains in a downcycle and could break below recent lows before forming what he considers a durable base.
Thomson’s path is explicit: he expects Bitcoin to first revisit the $56,000 to $52,000 area, which corresponds to summer 2024 lows. If that range does not stabilize the market, he pointed to a further extension toward approximately $40,000 to $45,000, which he associates with prior consolidation phases early in 2024.
He also framed timing in terms of the broader cycle rhythm, suggesting a potential low around October 2026, while emphasizing that macro policy changes could move that timeframe earlier. Thomson singled out Fed rate cuts and the potential passage of the CLARITY Act as examples of developments that could bring the bottom forward.
Importantly, his argument is not that Bitcoin is insulated by institutional participation—it is that institutional capital may have increased Bitcoin’s sensitivity to global liquidity. In his characterization, Bitcoin behaves less like a detached, crypto-native asset and more like a “high-beta macro instrument.”
That framing aligns with research coverage from Citibank. Reuters reported on July 1 that Citi cut its 12-month Bitcoin price target to $82,000 from $112,000, citing ETF flows turning negative and broader market dynamics. Reuters also emphasized that the growing integration of Bitcoin into traditional markets may have strengthened correlations with risk assets and macro liquidity rather than reducing volatility.
Late-stage bear market view: exhaustion signals, but confirmation lacking
André Dragosch, head of research (Europe) at Bitwise, offers a middle position: he sees the environment as consistent with a late-stage bear market, where multiple indicators already point to downside exhaustion.
Dragosch told Cointelegraph that sentiment deterioration has reached levels last seen after the collapse of FTX in 2022, a period often associated with seller fatigue. However, he stopped short of declaring that the cycle bottom is definitively in place, saying he does not believe the final bottom has been confirmed—though the market is probably “very close.”
He also cautioned against treating any single indicator as definitive for identifying a cycle bottom, especially as the market structure evolves. With ETFs and institutional participation increasing off-chain trading, Dragosch argued that some historical cycle indicators may be less reliable than they were in prior cycles.
Even with that uncertainty, he suggested that risks may be increasingly limited at current levels. He added that Bitcoin could potentially outperform artificial intelligence equities over the coming months if macro conditions stabilize—an observation that reinforces the broader theme: the next stage may depend less on internal crypto metrics and more on whether the macro backdrop shifts in favor of risk assets.
Galaxy Research’s base-case scenario, referenced in the same discussion, similarly points to the possibility of further downside—projecting a range of roughly $40,000 to $46,000—depending on how liquidity and macro conditions evolve.
Structural shift: derivatives and ETF-era competition complicate cycle calls
Dean Chen, an analyst at Bitunix Exchange, approached the debate from a structural angle. He told Cointelegraph that Bitcoin remains in a downcycle, but that the decline is increasingly defined by global liquidity competition rather than internal crypto market structure.
Chen argued that the approval of US spot Bitcoin ETFs in 2024 created a structural capital base that supports Bitcoin’s valuation range, even if price is still trending downward. In his view, ETFs have made institutional demand more persistent, but they have also placed Bitcoin into direct competition with other major global narratives for incremental liquidity—particularly artificial intelligence and equities.
This is a key distinction. If Bitcoin is competing for marginal capital rather than acting as a self-contained asset within crypto-specific cycles, then “bottom calling” may need to shift. Chen said the more important question is not simply when Bitcoin bottoms, but when crypto once again becomes the most attractive destination for global risk capital.
He further noted that derivatives markets play a larger role in price discovery now than in previous cycles. With funding rates and open interest increasingly influencing short-term volatility, Chen argued that Bitcoin may not print a sharp, single-moment V-shaped bottom. Instead, he suggested it could spend a prolonged period building a structural base.
A cycle that may not fit the old template
Taken together, the competing views highlight a deeper disagreement than just where prices might land. Thomson emphasizes macro-driven downcycle risk and expects additional retests before a durable base. Dragosch points to late-stage bear market characteristics and seller fatigue signals, but stresses that the final bottom still isn’t confirmed. Chen argues that ETF-era structure, derivatives-driven volatility, and competition for liquidity make historical “cycle bottom” frameworks increasingly incomplete.
In this cycle, the dispute appears to be shifting from “what price is the bottom?” to “whether a bottom still behaves like a single, discrete event.”
For investors and traders, the next signals to watch may be less about finding a precise turning-point label and more about whether macro liquidity conditions improve, how ETF-linked flows behave, and whether derivatives positioning stabilizes. Until those forces align, the question of a confirmed bottom is likely to remain open—even if downside exhaustion is already visible in sentiment.
Crypto World
Ripple CLO Stuart Alderoty: 67 Million Crypto Owners Are Not a ‘Rounding Error’
Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty has criticized Politico over its interpretation of a recent opinion poll, where the publication framed support for crypto legislation as “only 27%,” arguing that the figure actually represents 67 million American adults who already own digital assets.
According to him, that same percentage cited as a sign of weak public backing for crypto regulation reflects one of the country’s biggest voter groups, therefore challenging the idea that crypto supporters are a niche audience.
Polls Tell A Different Story Than That Suggested By Headlines
In a July 6 opinion piece on RealClearMarkets, Alderoty argued that the 27% from the Politico survey was about the same number as that quoted in the National Cryptocurrency Association’s 2026 State of Crypto Holders Report of 1 in 4 adults who own crypto in the country. That translates to about 67 million people.
“The framing of ‘only 27 percent’ treats a quarter of the American adult population as a rounding error,” Alderoty wrote. “That is a mistake. Sixty-seven million people are not asking Washington to do them a favor. They are asking their government to do its job.”
He pointed out that the number that had joined crypto in the past year, about 12 million per the NCA’s report, was as big as the combined populations of New York City and Los Angeles, moving the ratio from last year’s 1 in 5 to the current 1 in 4.
He also noted the demographic changes stated in the 2026 industry study, saying 42% of new holders are women, which pushed female ownership up by 10% year over year. That growth alone, in his opinion, makes it difficult to dismiss the industry as politically insignificant.
According to Politico, 45% of Americans believe digital currencies are not worth the risk, while 25% considered it worthwhile. Only 9% of respondents said they would trust a crypto platform over traditional banks with their money, compared to 47% who were in support of the traditional financial institutions.
But Alderoty claimed that those findings did not suffice as evidence of public rejection.
“A majority of Americans think the stock market is risky…Risk aversion is not the same as rejection,” he explained, adding that “69% of holders say they trust crypto, a higher share than the 65% who say the same of traditional banking.”
CLARITY Act Talks Continue
The debate comes as the CLARITY Act missed the White House’s July 4 signing target, leaving lawmakers with limited time before the August recess to complete work on the crypto market structure legislation.
As CryptoPotato reported previously, the Senate Banking Committee approved the measure in a 15-9 vote on May 14, but the bill still requires a full Senate vote and must be reconciled with a separate legislation advanced by the Senate Agricultural Committee before any version can move to the House and finally reach President Donald Trump’s desk.
The post Ripple CLO Stuart Alderoty: 67 Million Crypto Owners Are Not a ‘Rounding Error’ appeared first on CryptoPotato.
Crypto World
eToro (ETOR) Stock: AI-Powered Tori Agent Transforms Trading Experience
Key Highlights
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eToro introduces Tori AI assistant for real-time portfolio analysis and market alerts.
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ETOR stock declines 0.46% following the company’s comprehensive platform overhaul.
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Sub-account feature enables traders to compartmentalize investment strategies and objectives.
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eToro Edge platform delivers professional-grade desktop trading capabilities.
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Self-custody wallet integration strengthens eToro’s cryptocurrency and DeFi offerings.
Shares of eToro Group Ltd. (ETOR) closed at $41.12, declining 0.46%, following the firm’s announcement of a comprehensive platform transformation centered around its new AI assistant, Tori. The rollout represents eToro’s ambitious effort to integrate artificial intelligence, enhanced account management, and cryptocurrency self-custody into its trading ecosystem. This strategic initiative positions the company as a more competitive player in the evolving retail investment landscape.
Tori AI Assistant Powers Redesigned Mobile Platform
During its Intelligence in Motion conference held in London, eToro presented its completely redesigned mobile application. The refreshed platform prioritizes speed, intuitive navigation, enhanced portfolio visualization, and comprehensive asset information pages. Additionally, traders now have access to sophisticated charting capabilities and customizable interface options tailored to individual preferences.
At the heart of this transformation sits Tori, an intelligent AI assistant engineered to proactively deliver portfolio analytics and market trend notifications. The system interprets significant price fluctuations and presents contextual explanations in real time. Consequently, traders receive actionable intelligence without actively searching for updates.
Beyond the primary mobile application, eToro intends to extend Tori’s availability across multiple platforms. The firm confirmed that traders will soon interact with Tori via WhatsApp messaging and Apple Watch integration. This multi-platform approach enables position monitoring and rapid response to market developments from virtually anywhere.
Multiple Account Framework and Professional Desktop Solution
eToro rolled out a sub-account infrastructure designed for investors pursuing multiple financial objectives simultaneously. These segregated accounts accommodate distinct strategies for home purchases, retirement planning, education funding, and other long-term aspirations. The framework enables parallel management of diverse investment portfolios within a single platform.
The company simultaneously launched eToro Edge, a comprehensive desktop solution targeting sophisticated traders. This platform delivers institutional-quality charting tools and analytical capabilities suited for high-volume trading operations. It addresses the requirements of users demanding granular market analysis and execution tools.
As part of the platform evolution, eToro introduced AI-driven portfolio management features. Traders can now construct original AI trading strategies or replicate existing ones within dedicated sub-accounts. Meanwhile, Tori maintains organizational oversight while preserving user autonomy over investment decisions.
Developer Marketplace and Cryptocurrency Custody Solutions
eToro simultaneously enhanced its App Store ecosystem, which hosts third-party trading tools and analytical applications. Through the newly established Builders’ Portal, external developers, quantitative analysts, partners, and community members can create custom applications. This gateway provides standardized API access and comprehensive development documentation.
The company integrated seamless self-custody wallet creation directly through the Tori interface. This feature leverages Zengo’s technology, which eToro recently acquired. The wallet solution grants users complete control over digital assets while facilitating participation in decentralized finance protocols.
This comprehensive platform transformation arrives amid intensifying competition among trading platforms emphasizing automation, data intelligence, and cryptocurrency integration. eToro established its market presence through social trading features before expanding into digital assets. The company now leverages Tori to unify social trading insights, portfolio management capabilities, and AI-enhanced trading functionality into a cohesive ecosystem.
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