The XRP community is marking July 13 as “XRP Victory Day,” three years after Judge Analisa Torres issued a split summary judgment in the SEC’s case against Ripple. 

The 2023 order rejected the regulator’s claim that every XRP transaction followed the same legal pattern. It also gave public exchange sales a different outcome from direct institutional deals. The SEC had accused Ripple and two executives of conducting unregistered securities offerings through years of XRP sales and distributions across several channels.

The court did not issue a blanket ruling that every future XRP sale falls outside securities law. Torres wrote that XRP, as a token, was not “in and of itself” an investment contract. She then examined how Ripple offered and sold the asset in separate transaction categories under the Howey test.

Exchange and institutional sales received different outcomes

Ripple’s programmatic sales on exchanges did not qualify as investment contracts, the court found. Those trades used blind bid-and-ask systems. Buyers did not know whether Ripple or another holder sold the XRP. The record therefore failed to show that those buyers reasonably expected profits from Ripple’s work.

The decision went the other way for about $728.9 million in institutional sales. Ripple sold those tokens through written agreements to sophisticated buyers. The court found that the contracts, marketing and use of proceeds created an expectation that Ripple’s work could raise XRP’s value. It ruled that those sales violated registration rules.

Ripple says the lawsuit nearly forced a shutdown

Recent comments from Ripple executives have added new detail about the pressure surrounding the case. Chief executive Brad Garlinghouse said the company “almost decided to shut down” after the SEC filed its complaint in December 2020. He described the government’s resources as a major concern during internal talks.

Ripple co-founder David Schwartz said some lawyers considered the company “unsavable” and advised executives to seek personal settlements. Those comments describe private discussions and legal advice; they do not prove the SEC intended to close Ripple. As crypto.news reported, Ripple instead continued operating and spent about $150 million on its defense.

Final judgment stayed in place after appeals ended

The July 2023 order did not end the lawsuit. The court later imposed a $125.04 million civil penalty and a permanent injunction tied to future unregistered institutional sales. That amount was far below the SEC’s requested remedies, but it confirmed that Ripple had violated federal securities law in one part of its XRP business.

Ripple and the SEC tried to reduce the penalty to $50 million and remove the injunction in 2025. Torres rejected their joint request, saying they had not shown grounds to change the final judgment. Both sides later dismissed their appeals, and the case formally ended in August 2025.

As previously reported, the final outcome left a transaction-based framework. Public exchange sales received more favorable treatment, while direct institutional sales remained restricted. The decision also removed the pending personal claims against Garlinghouse and executive chairman Chris Larsen after the SEC dismissed them in 2023.

Solana price has remained below the $80 psychological barrier after renewed macro pressure and weakening risk appetite pushed buyers into a wait-and-see mode despite an emerging bullish chart pattern.

According to data from crypto.news, Solana (SOL) price traded near $76.3 on July 13 after slipping almost 1% over the previous 24 hours. The token has spent the past several sessions consolidating as rising U.S. Treasury yields and persistent expectations that interest rates could stay higher for longer continued to pressure high-beta crypto assets.

Bitcoin held close to $64,000 during the same period, but institutional demand remained concentrated in larger-cap assets, limiting Solana’s ability to reclaim the $80 level.

Network activity has nevertheless remained resilient. Active addresses have stayed near yearly highs while transaction throughput continues to benefit from speculative meme coin trading and recent network upgrades. Yet those on-chain gains have not translated into sustained price appreciation as capital has largely circulated within the ecosystem instead of attracting fresh external inflows.

Combined with softer institutional appetite following a difficult second quarter for digital asset investment products, the imbalance has left SOL struggling to establish a fresh uptrend.

Commenting on the latest price structure, analyst Eliz argued that the recent pullback should not necessarily be viewed as bearish.

“$SOL is showing an orderly bearish consolidation following the rally. This type of price action is often a positive sign: the market is shaking off excesses without compromising the bullish structure.”

The analyst added that, “As long as the outlook remains unchanged, I continue to expect the upward trend to continue.”

Falling wedge keeps breakout hopes alive despite weakening momentum

The 4-hour chart shows Solana carving out a falling wedge after rejecting the early July high above $83. The pattern has compressed price action between descending trendlines, with support holding near the Fibonacci 100% retracement around $75.4 while resistance has gradually fallen toward $78.5.

A decisive move above the upper boundary would expose the 61.8% Fibonacci level near $78.6, followed by $79.6, before bringing the key $80 psychological barrier back into focus. A successful breakout could then open the path toward $81.8 and the recent swing high near $83.7.

Momentum indicators, however, remain mixed. The 4-hour RSI sits just below the neutral 50 level at around 40, leaving buyers without clear momentum. Meanwhile, the MACD remains below its signal line with only a modest improvement in histogram bars, suggesting bearish momentum has slowed but has not yet reversed.

The daily chart presents a similar picture. SOL continues to trade above the major Murrey Math support level at $75 while Chaikin Money Flow has recovered into positive territory near 0.10, showing that capital has continued to enter the asset despite the recent consolidation.

Still, the market has repeatedly rejected advances toward the 5/8 Murrey resistance near $81.25, reinforcing the importance of the $80-$81 region.

Derivatives positioning also identifies nearby trigger zones. CoinGlass liquidation data shows one of the largest short liquidation clusters sitting around $79.5-$80, with another concentration extending above $81.

A strong breakout through those levels could force leveraged short positions to close, adding fuel to an upside move. On the downside, notable long liquidation pockets have accumulated around $75 and just below $74.5, making those areas important support if selling pressure intensifies.

Macro headwinds continue to threaten the bullish setup

Any bullish breakout remains dependent on improving macro conditions. Rising Treasury yields have increased the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets, prompting institutions to reduce exposure to more volatile layer-1 tokens such as Solana. Upcoming U.S. inflation data and Federal Reserve policy expectations are therefore likely to remain major catalysts for the crypto market over the coming weeks.

The bullish wedge thesis would weaken if SOL closes decisively below the $75 support zone, as that would invalidate the current pattern and expose the Murrey support near $68.75. A deeper correction could then bring the $62.5 pivot region back into play.

Conversely, sustained buying above $80 would break both the falling wedge and a multi-session resistance zone, increasing the probability of a move toward $83-$84 where the next significant supply cluster awaits.

Japanese retail and payments firms are taking the next step toward real-world stablecoin usage, with two separate developments aimed at easing the gap between crypto rails and everyday checkout flows.

Lawson will test yen-denominated stablecoin payments at a convenience-store location in Tokyo in August, while Netstars has launched a merchant service that lets businesses accept multiple stablecoins and settle in yen using existing terminals in many cases.

Key takeaways

• Lawson’s August trial with HashPort and KDDI targets in-store stablecoin checkout—designed to limit merchant operational burden.
• HashPort will provide a non-custodial wallet, with the store handling payment processing through its point-of-sale system.
• Netstars’ new Stablecoin Pay supports USDC, USDT, and JPYC initially, operating on Solana and Polygon with MetaMask.
• Netstars sets its merchant fee at 0.98% and says the service helps businesses settle in yen without managing exchange-rate complexity.

Lawson and HashPort set up a stablecoin trial inside Japan’s convenience-store flow

HashPort said on Monday that it has signed an agreement with Lawson and telecom group KDDI to run a pilot at the Lawson Takanawa Gateway City store in Tokyo. The test will evaluate whether stablecoin payments can be integrated into a typical convenience-store checkout workflow.

According to HashPort, participants will use the company’s non-custodial wallet. At the same time, the store will process transactions through HashPort’s point-of-sale integration, with the intent of avoiding the need for the merchant to open or manage crypto wallets directly.

The stated goal of the pilot is practical: to examine the requirements for integration, how the checkout process behaves under real retail conditions, payment processing time, and whether the wallet experience is usable for participants.

For investors and builders, the emphasis on checkout operations matters. Many stablecoin pilots fail to progress because merchants see payment acceptance as adding new staff workflows, extra systems to manage, or operational uncertainty around settlement and verification. By focusing on how stablecoin payments behave at a standard POS checkout, the companies are effectively testing whether stablecoin payments can fit within existing retail infrastructure rather than replacing it.

Netstars launches Stablecoin Pay for merchants accepting multiple stablecoins

In a separate push, Netstars launched Stablecoin Pay on Monday and opened applications for merchants that want to offer stablecoins as payment options. Netstars positions the service as a way to broaden stablecoin acceptance beyond single-asset pilots and toward ongoing merchant operations.

Per Netstars, the initial rollout supports three stablecoins: USDC, USDT, and JPYC. The service will run over both the Solana and Polygon networks, and MetaMask is listed as the supported wallet for the payment flow.

Netstars set the merchant payment fee at 0.98% and said it plans to expand wallet and blockchain support over time.

A key part of Netstars’ pitch is how merchants handle pricing and records. The company says merchants can use existing payment terminals in most cases and manage product pricing, sales records, and settlement in yen even if customers pay with dollar-denominated stablecoins. Netstars also claims this reduces the need for merchants to hold crypto or actively manage exchange-rate mechanics.

From pilots to merchant services under Japan’s regulated stablecoin framework

Netstars’ product launch follows earlier trials carried out in Japan. The company previously tested in-store USDC payments at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport from January to February, and later conducted trials at a trading-card store in Himeji starting in April. The move from limited testing environments to a merchant-facing service suggests Netstars believes operational learnings from those pilots are now mature enough to support broader commercial deployment.

These developments arrive as Japan’s stablecoin ecosystem continues to take shape under a dedicated regulatory approach. On June 1, 2023, Japan introduced a specific framework for stablecoins after amendments to the Payment Services Act and related laws took effect. The framework created regulatory categories for fiat-linked stablecoins and requires intermediaries to register with the Financial Services Agency.

The regulatory pathway has continued to expand: Cointelegraph previously reported regulatory approval for USDC distribution in March 2025. Separately, Cointelegraph noted JPYC’s registration as a fund transfer service provider in August of the same year—before JPYC launched in October, according to the reporting.

Against that backdrop, Lawson’s planned yen-stablecoin payment trial and Netstars’ multi-stablecoin merchant service reflect a broader pattern: Japanese firms are not only experimenting with stablecoin payments, but also aligning them with existing retail systems and the compliance expectations created by Japan’s framework.

What to watch next

In the near term, the most important details will be how smoothly each trial handles real checkout conditions—especially payment processing time, the usability of non-custodial wallets in a retail setting, and whether merchants can keep yen settlement workflows simple as stablecoins diversify. Readers should also watch how Netstars expands wallet and network support after the initial USDC, USDT, and JPYC rollout.

HashPort announcement on the Lawson-KDDI stablecoin trial

Netstars announcement on Stablecoin Pay

Japan Financial Services Agency: stablecoin framework introduction (June 1, 2023)

Related Cointelegraph coverage (as referenced in the source)

Bitcoin is hovering near $63,000 after falling more than 1% since midnight UTC amid a wider wave of risk-off sentiment following the U.S. and Iran mutual airstrikes over the weekend.

Brent crude futures rose more than 3% to approach $79 a barrel as the renewed fighting raised concerns over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil passageway. Higher energy prices add inflationary pressure and reduce the scope for easier monetary policy, a link that weighed on bitcoin during earlier oil shocks.

“This week, crypto markets will experience a ‘tug-of-war’ between macro and geopolitics,” Taran Dhillon, head of digital assets at Kula, told CoinDesk.

U.S. inflation data coming this week will shape interest-rate expectations, Dhillon said.

Still, spot bitcoin and ether ETFs just broke eight-week streaks of outflows, a sign of growing demand for the two largest cryptocurrencies.

Regulatory clarity may add further tailwinds, Dhillon noted, as the Clarity Act advances. While ethics provisions are still being discussed, “even incremental progress matters,” he said.

OKX will temporarily suspend USDC deposits and withdrawals on the Solana network on July 14 while it completes scheduled wallet maintenance. 

The pause will begin at 14:30 UTC+8, equal to 06:30 UTC and 09:30 East Africa Time. OKX published the notice on July 13 and did not provide a fixed completion time. The exchange said it will restore the two services after the work ends.

The change applies only to deposits and withdrawals of USDC through Solana. OKX said users who already hold the token in their accounts do not need to take action. Trading for related assets will continue during the maintenance period. Other supported USDC networks were not included in the notice, so the announcement does not describe a platform-wide USDC suspension.

OKX also advised traders to consider risks in margin and derivatives markets and add margin early where needed. That guidance matters for users who move USDC through Solana to fund positions. The notice does not promise that deposit networks will remain available in every region, so customers should rely on the options shown in their accounts.

Users should avoid transfers during the pause

OKX asked customers not to send or withdraw Solana-based USDC after the maintenance window opens. The exchange warned that transfers made during the pause could create a risk of lost funds. Users should check the selected network before confirming any transaction, because USDC exists on several blockchains and each network uses a different deposit route.

Users should allow time for blockchain confirmations before the cutoff, since a transfer initiated earlier may arrive after the suspension begins.

The company described the work only as “wallet maintenance.” It did not report a hack, a Solana network outage, or a problem with USDC. OKX also said “trading will not be affected,” although that statement covers exchange trading rather than external transfers. The exchange did not explain whether pending transactions submitted before the cutoff could face delays.

Solana remains a major USDC settlement network

USDC on Solana is a native version of Circle’s dollar-backed stablecoin rather than a wrapped token issued by another bridge provider. Circle lists Solana among the networks where it directly issues USDC. Its cross-chain tools can also burn native USDC on one supported network and mint the same amount on another, without using wrapped copies or outside liquidity pools.

As crypto.news reported earlier in 2026, Circle minted more than $10.5 billion in USDC on Solana within roughly one month. The same coverage cited about $650 billion in Solana stablecoin settlement volume during February. Those figures show the network’s large role in dollar-denominated transfers, but they do not indicate that OKX’s maintenance pause resulted from higher usage.

Exchange notice does not signal a Solana shutdown

Solana has also attracted more payment and financial infrastructure. As previously reported, the Solana Foundation launched an institutional developer platform with Mastercard, Western Union and Worldpay as early users. The tools cover stablecoin issuance, payments and trading services. That expansion increases the need for exchanges and custodians to maintain reliable wallet systems as transaction routes grow.

The OKX notice remains an exchange-level service update, not a suspension of USDC on the Solana blockchain. Users can still trade supported assets inside OKX, but they should avoid Solana USDC deposits and withdrawals until the exchange restores access. 

OKX said it may resume the services without another announcement, making the platform’s deposit page and status tools the main places to check before sending funds.

• Hyperliquid price holds above key support as traders watch the $61.92 level.
• Bitcoin’s move around $63,000 could shape HYPE’s next direction.
• Hyperliquid’s total open interest has climbed to nearly $11 billion.

Hyperliquid (HYPE) has entered a crucial phase after retreating from its recent record high, with traders closely watching whether the token can stabilise above key support levels.

The latest pullback comes as broader cryptocurrency markets react to rising geopolitical tensions, leaving Bitcoin’s next move at the centre of attention.

However, while HYPE has lost momentum over the past week, the network continues to post strong trading activity, creating an interesting contrast between short-term price action and underlying platform growth.

Hyperliquid price tests support after weekly decline

HYPE is trading around $65, down 7.0% over the past seven days after reaching an all-time high of $76.87 on June 16.

The correction has pushed the token toward an important support area between $64 and $65, where buyers have started defending prices.

The next few trading sessions could prove decisive.

If the Hyperliquid price manages to reclaim $67 with stronger buying volume, the token could make another attempt at the $70 level.

However, a failure to hold the current support zone would shift attention to $61.92, which has emerged as the next major technical floor.

A break below $61.92 could expose the token to additional downside, with $60 becoming the next area traders are likely to monitor.

Bitcoin remains one of the biggest external factors influencing that outlook.

The broader market has been under pressure following renewed geopolitical uncertainty, and Bitcoin’s ability to remain above $63,000 is viewed as an important signal for risk assets across the cryptocurrency market.

If Bitcoin maintains above $63,000, it could provide enough stability for HYPE to consolidate. A move below it, on the other hand, could trigger another wave of selling across altcoins.

Technical indicators point to mixed short-term momentum

The latest technical indicators suggest that HYPE has not yet established a clear directional trend despite the recent correction.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) currently stands at 47.99, placing it in neutral territory.

This indicates that the token is neither overbought nor oversold, leaving room for either buyers or sellers to take control depending on broader market conditions.

Exponential moving averages paint a more constructive picture over a longer timeframe.

HYPE continues to trade above its 50-day, 100-day and 200-day exponential moving averages (EMAs), signalling that the broader uptrend remains intact despite the recent decline.

At the same time, the token has dropped below its 10-day and 20-day EMAs, showing that short-term resistance remains in place before momentum can fully recover.

This combination of indicators suggests that while the long-term forecast remains positive, the near-term direction will depend on whether buyers can regain control around current price levels.

Hyperliquid platform activity continues to expand

Although HYPE has pulled back from its recent highs, activity on the Hyperliquid ecosystem continues to grow.

The protocol’s total value locked (TVL) stands at approximately $6.013 billion, reflecting continued capital committed to the platform.

At the same time, 24-hour trading volume remains close to $296 million, highlighting sustained market participation despite recent volatility.

Another notable development is the rapid growth in derivatives activity. Total open interest has climbed to roughly $11 billion, while real-world asset (RWA) perpetual contracts account for approximately $3.6  billion of that figure.

Real-world asset (RWA) open interest on Hyperliquid reached a new ATH of $3.6B

Total OI reached a new high for 2026 of $11B pic.twitter.com/FJyeuUq0ya

— Hyperliquid (@HyperliquidX) July 13, 2026

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The increase shows that traders are expanding beyond crypto-native products into tokenised exposure linked to traditional financial assets.

The growth in RWA trading has become one of the defining trends for Hyperliquid during 2026, helping the platform attract additional trading activity even as digital asset prices experience short-term swings.

Key HYPE price levels to watch

The coming days are likely to be shaped by both technical price levels and broader market sentiment.

The first area to watch remains $64-$65, where buyers have so far attempted to defend support. If that zone holds and HYPE reclaims $67 on stronger volume, attention could quickly shift back toward $70.

On the downside, $61.92 has become the most important technical support. A sustained move below that level would increase the probability of a deeper correction toward $60, particularly if Bitcoin also loses support at $63,000.

For now, the Hyperliquid price finds itself at a pivotal point.

Short-term momentum has weakened following a 7% weekly decline, yet the broader technical structure remains constructive, while platform activity continues to reach new milestones.

Whether the token resumes its broader uptrend or extends its correction is likely to depend on Bitcoin’s next move and how traders respond around these key technical levels.

The crypto market pulled back during Asian and European hours on Monday, with bitcoin BTC$62,886.70 falling to $63,100 from above $64,300 at the weekly close at midnight UTC.

That’s a decline of about 1%. Steeper losses hit the altcoin market. Lighter (LIT) led the downside cascade, sliding 8% in its first major selloff since rallying by more than 200% over the past two months.

The exit from riskier assets was felt across equity markets, too. South Korea’s Kospi index lost 9.2% as SK Hynix, the memory-chip maker that went public in the U.S. on Friday, slumped 15%. Japan’s Nikkei and China’s SSE both fell more than 2%.

The drops reflected reignited tensions in the Middle East as Iran and the U.S. fought over control of the Strait of Hormuz, with both nations firing airstrikes against each other.

U.S. equities are also indicated to open lower, with Nasdaq 100 index futures and S&P 500 futures losing 0.9% and 0.25% since midnight, respectively.

It’s worth noting that going into the weekend bitcoin and the broader crypto market enjoyed a period of bullish price action, steering itself away from immediate danger, and Monday’s selloff could also be attributed to profit-taking.

Derivatives positioning

• Bitcoin derivatives positioning held steady this week. Open interest (OI) was steady at $17 billion, while the three-month annualized basis held at 3.8%.
• Funding rates were little changed to positive across multiple venues, with Bybit the notable exception at roughly -13% annualized on BTC perps. Stable OI alongside a firm basis and constructive funding suggests the market is holding its positioning without meaningful new leverage being added in either direction
• Options positioning has tilted bullish. The 24-hour put/call ratio sits at 64/36 in favor of calls, and while the one-week delta skew remains elevated at 16%, it has narrowed from 26% a week ago, suggesting call demand is easing off rather than building.
• The at-the-money term structure remains in contango, with the front end around 34%-35% and the long end at ~43% out to mid-2027, which implies traders see a calm longer-term volatility environment
• Coinglass data shows $253 million in 24-hour liquidations, with a 76-24 split between longs and shorts. BTC ($70 million) and ETH ($60 million) led in terms of notional liquidations.
• The Binance liquidation heatmap indicates $62,000 as a core liquidation level to monitor, in case of a price drop.

Token talk

• AI tokens FET and NEAR showed strength, rising by around 1.5% apiece despite the rest of the market suffering losses.
• Hyperliquid (HYPE) followed rival LIT down, dropping by around 3.3% to $65.1, its lowest point since July 2.
• CoinMarketCap’s “Altcoin Season” indicator reflects the recent volatility. The measure is reading 56/100 after rising from last week’s average of 50. This implies more risk-on sentiment from investors following months of heavy losses.
• One of the most volatile tokens of late has been ADA$0.1596, which suffered a grueling 39% downturn in June before bouncing by more than 40% at the start of July. It has since retraced that upshift, losing 19% since July 4.
• Solana-based decentralized exchange jupiter (JUP) has also struggled of late, losing more than 15% over the past week as daily trading volume dwindled to just $17 million, down from 2025 when it regularly topped $500 million.