The euro and British pound are trading cautiously against the US dollar as markets await the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting. At its July meeting, the Fed left interest rates unchanged and reiterated that future decisions would depend on incoming economic data.

Investors will pay particular attention to how FOMC members assessed inflation risks, labour-market conditions and the outlook for interest rates. Following softer inflation data and signs of a cooling labour market, a more dovish tone in the minutes could strengthen expectations of monetary easing and weigh on the dollar. Conversely, a continued emphasis on inflation risks and a restrictive policy stance could provide additional support for the US currency.

For sterling, today’s UK inflation figures will provide an additional catalyst. The data will be closely assessed for clues about the Bank of England’s next policy steps. Persistent price pressures could reduce the scope for further monetary easing and support the pound, while a more pronounced slowdown in inflation could reinforce expectations of lower interest rates.

With few major domestic catalysts for the euro, EUR/USD is likely to remain particularly sensitive to movements in the US dollar. As a result, the FOMC minutes could become a key driver of the pair’s next move.

EUR/USD

EUR/USD tested the June highs near 1.1600 yesterday. From a technical perspective, the pair could extend its advance towards 1.1660–1.1680 if the previous session’s high is successfully turned into a support level.

Failure to establish a firm foothold above the current levels, however, could trigger a corrective move and bring the pair back towards the 1.1500 support area.

Key events for EUR/USD:

• today at 12:30 (GMT+3): German 10-year Bund auction;
• today at 17:30 (GMT+3): US crude oil inventories;
• today at 21:00 (GMT+3): release of the FOMC minutes.

GBP/USD

GBP/USD buyers have managed to push the pair above the important 1.3500 resistance level over the past few sessions. If the pair can maintain its position above this threshold, the next upside targets could be found around 1.3600–1.3640.

A decisive move back below 1.3500, on the other hand, could signal the start of a bearish correction towards the 1.3430–1.3470 area.

Key events for GBP/USD:

• today at 09:00 (GMT+3): UK Consumer Price Index (CPI);
• today at 11:30 (GMT+3): UK house price index;
• tomorrow at 15:30 (GMT+3): US Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index.

EUR/USD and GBP/USD are both holding close to important technical levels, leaving the next directional move dependent on fresh fundamental signals. UK inflation will be the first major catalyst for sterling, while the FOMC minutes represent the main event for both currency pairs.

A more dovish message from the Federal Reserve could put renewed pressure on the dollar and support further gains in the euro and pound. Conversely, a persistently hawkish stance could strengthen the US currency and trigger corrective declines in both EUR/USD and GBP/USD.

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Interstice Digital has launched a non-custodial cross-chain swap engine with FalconX that connects the Canton Network with Ethereum, Solana, and Robinhood Chain while using FalconX to supply liquidity.

Interstice Digital said in an Aug. 18 announcement that the engine lets users swap assets across the four networks without the company taking custody of funds or executing transactions on their behalf. The company also said the product has been named a Featured App on Canton.

The system is designed to give users a route between tokenized assets issued or traded through Canton and liquidity available on public blockchain networks. FalconX, which provides digital asset prime brokerage services to institutional investors, is supplying liquidity for the engine.

Interstice Digital links Canton with three public-chain markets

Under the new setup, Interstice is connecting Canton’s institution-focused infrastructure with Ethereum, Solana and Robinhood Chain, three networks that provide access to different parts of the digital asset market.

Interstice described Canton as a public, permissionless blockchain built for capital markets, with privacy and permissioning controls intended for regulated transactions. The network is used by financial institutions working with tokenized securities, collateral, and blockchain-based settlement.

For the public-chain side of the connection, Interstice cited the scale of the networks involved. The company said Robinhood has 28 million funded accounts and $369 billion in total platform assets, while Robinhood Chain reached 100 million transactions faster than any other EVM network.

Solana recorded 167 million monthly active addresses in April 2026 and handled $650 billion of stablecoin transaction volume in February, according to figures cited by Interstice. The company described Ethereum as the industry’s deepest developer ecosystem and noted that Robinhood Chain uses Ethereum technology as its base.

“We built the cross-chain swap engine to help connect Solana, Ethereum, and Robinhood Chain to the growing Canton ecosystem where over $9T in tokenized RWA flow monthly,” Interstice Digital CEO Janine Yorio said.

Interstice did not disclose which assets are supported at launch or provide transaction-volume figures for the engine. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Everyrealm and is backed by investors including a16z Crypto, Coinbase Ventures, Galaxy and Brevan Howard.

FalconX supplies liquidity without Interstice holding user assets

FalconX’s role centers on liquidity for swaps routed through the engine. Interstice said its non-custodial structure means it does not hold customer assets or act as the party executing transactions for users.

FalconX Head of Trading Strategy Hassan Bassiri said institutional demand for digital assets is increasing and argued that firms will need infrastructure capable of moving capital between different ecosystems.

“The cross-chain swap engine we’ve developed with Interstice Digital is exactly the kind of infrastructure this market needs,” Bassiri said, after describing cross-ecosystem capital movement as an important requirement for institutional firms.

Canton is also being used for live and trial transactions involving government securities, stablecoins and institutional collateral.

Earlier in August, four Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group companies launched a proof of concept to test Japanese government bond repo transactions on Canton, as crypto.news reported on Aug. 13. MUFG, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking and MUFG Bank are working with Digital Asset and Progmat on the project.

The participants plan to test automated processing and real-time settlement available around the clock. The trial forms part of Japan’s Financial Services Agency-backed Payment Innovation Project and includes work on whether blockchain infrastructure can improve funding and capital use in repo markets.

An earlier Japanese trial involving Japan Securities Clearing Corporation, Mizuho Financial Group, Nomura Holdings and Digital Asset tested whether rights linked to Japanese government bonds and updates to book-entry records could be handled through Canton while remaining within Japan’s existing legal framework.

Canton has expanded tokenized settlement activity

Canton has also been used in transactions involving tokenized U.S. government securities. In July, Tradeweb said it executed an onchain U.S. Treasury trade in which Franklin Templeton transferred a tokenized Treasury security to Virtu Financial in exchange for tokenized cash.

Tradeweb provided execution and price discovery, while Canton synchronized settlement between the two assets in real time, according to the companies involved. Tradeweb described the transaction as the first real-time purchase and sale of a tokenized U.S. Treasury settled against USDCx, a USDC-backed stablecoin issued on Canton.

Societe Generale, Digital Asset and Blockdaemon also participated in the transaction. Societe Generale has separately deployed euro- and dollar-denominated stablecoins on Canton for uses including tokenized collateral, repo financing and institutional settlement.

Payment companies are testing the network as well. Visa tested private stablecoin settlement using Brale’s SBC token on Canton in June and has since included Canton among the blockchains supported by its stablecoin settlement program. A July report on Visa’s program said the settlement pilot supported nine blockchains and had reached a $7 billion annualized run rate by March.

Visa joined Canton as a Super Validator in March before adding the network to its stablecoin settlement work. The company received approval for its validator application that month and later added Canton to its stablecoin settlement pilot.

Digital Asset has raised capital for Canton expansion

Institutional funding has accompanied the increase in activity around the network. Digital Asset, the company behind Canton, raised $355 million in June in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z crypto fund.

A16z crypto contributed $100 million to the round, while other participants included Citadel Securities, Apollo, BNP Paribas, CME Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, HSBC, Optiver and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Digital Asset said the capital would support partnerships, acquisitions and expansion of the Canton ecosystem.

The funding followed a $135 million strategic round involving Goldman Sachs, Citadel Securities, DTCC, BNP Paribas and Tradeweb Markets. Digital Asset has positioned Canton for financial applications that require transaction privacy while allowing different institutions and applications to coordinate settlement.

Canton’s use in government-bond markets has continued in Asia. The MUFG repo proof of concept is examining Japanese government bonds in short-term financing transactions, while a separate Progmat working group has been studying tokenized JGBs, stablecoin settlement, T+0 processing and 24-hour access.

S&P Dow Jones Indices and Kaiko have also placed the iBoxx U.S. Treasuries index on Canton through smart-contract infrastructure, according to the Aug. 13 MUFG report. The index project sits alongside other Canton-based work involving tokenized Treasury products and institutional collateral.

Solana Policy Institute CEO Miller Whitehouse-Levine said on Aug. 18 that the CLARITY Act has only a 10% chance of becoming law before the November midterm elections.

Speaking at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium, Whitehouse-Levine described the digital asset market structure bill as being in “August recess purgatory.” He said the narrowing congressional calendar and unresolved industry disputes had made passage increasingly difficult.

His percentage is a personal assessment, not an official forecast. The Senate has taken one procedural step that preserves a September path, but several votes and further negotiations would still be required.

CLARITY Act faces a Sept. 15 procedural test

Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3633 before senators left Washington. The chamber resumes normal business on Sept. 14.

The official Senate schedule says the cloture motion will ripen at 2:15 p.m. on Sept. 15. Approval would allow the Senate to begin considering the legislation.

The vote is not final passage. Senators would still need to debate the measure, consider amendments and approve the resulting text. Any Senate changes could also require further House action before the bill reaches the president.

As crypto.news previously explained, the September procedural vote will test whether supporters have enough bipartisan backing to overcome the Senate’s 60 vote cloture threshold.

Prediction markets remain more optimistic

Polymarket’s live market placed the chance of the CLARITY Act becoming law in 2026 at approximately 20% on Aug. 19. Trading volume had passed $7.2 million.

Kalshi traders placed the probability near 23% on Aug. 18, down from roughly 50% less than a month earlier. Prediction market prices can move quickly and do not guarantee legislative outcomes.

The comparison with Whitehouse-Levine’s 10% estimate requires caution. His prediction covered passage before the November midterms, while the Polymarket contract allows the bill to become law through Dec. 31.

The market therefore includes a possible post election session. That wider deadline partly explains why traders may assign higher odds than Whitehouse-Levine did.

Stablecoin and ethics disputes narrow the path

Whitehouse-Levine said participation by banks, securities companies and derivatives firms had added competing demands to negotiations. Banks remain concerned about provisions involving stablecoin rewards, while other financial firms are focused on sections affecting their existing businesses.

Democratic lawmakers have also sought ethics restrictions covering government officials’ digital asset interests. Those disputes add to negotiations over SEC and CFTC jurisdiction, decentralized finance and customer protection.

Whitehouse-Levine called himself “hopeful, but realistic about its odds.” He also warned that failure would discard more than a year of work by congressional lawmakers and staff.

In earlier coverage, crypto.news mapped how the limited Senate calendar leaves little time for debate and amendments before election politics consume the floor.

SEC moves while Congress remains stalled

The SEC proposed Regulation Crypto Assets on Aug. 18, creating a separate regulatory track while Congress debates the broader market structure bill.

The agency’s proposal includes two exemptions for certain investment contracts involving crypto assets. One would cover offerings of up to $5 million during four years. Another would cover up to $75 million during each 12 month period.

The rules remain proposals and cannot replace every provision in the CLARITY Act. Agency rules also carry less permanence than federal legislation and remain subject to statutory limits and court review.

Whitehouse-Levine said regulators should move because the industry “can’t afford to keep waiting for Congress.” His organization plans to focus on token fundraising pathways and rules allowing more securities and derivatives activity to occur onchain.

The next confirmed event is the Sept. 15 cloture vote. Failure to proceed would sharply reduce the bill’s remaining 2026 path. Success would keep it alive but leave amendments, final passage and possible House coordination unresolved.

Maya Protocol has halted its cross-chain network after an attacker exploited six linked software flaws to steal an estimated $1.7 million in Bitcoin and other crypto assets.

Maya Protocol pseudonymous co-founder Aalux said on Wednesday that the attacker took about 20 Bitcoin, worth roughly $1.4 million, alongside another $300,000 in assets before the protocol activated a global halt to stop further losses.

Kraken’s consumer app Krak has rolled out a multi-asset debit card in the United States, giving customers a way to pay with crypto and fiat while earning cashback denominated in either US dollars or Bitcoin (BTC). The launch adds to a broader push by crypto exchanges to move beyond trading and into everyday financial services.

According to Krak’s announcement, the card supports more than 600 currencies and assets. At the point of sale, users’ holdings are converted into US dollars, and a single purchase can draw from multiple balances depending on the spending order the customer sets.

Key takeaways

• Krak’s US debit card lets users spend from a wallet containing both crypto and fiat, with point-of-sale conversion into USD for purchases.
• Cashback can be earned in dollars or Bitcoin, with rates tied to average assets held across Krak, Kraken, and Kraken Pro.
• The card is issued by Lead Bank on Visa’s network and uses Stripe Issuing for program infrastructure, with physical and virtual options available to eligible customers.
• Krak positions the card as a rewards alternative to credit cards, aiming to appeal to customers wary of carrying monthly balances.
• Kraken and its parent Payward continue expanding into financial services beyond crypto trading, including payments and broader market products.

A multi-asset card designed for everyday spending

The Krak debit card is built around a simple promise: users can spend using a range of crypto and fiat holdings without having to manually select which asset to use for each transaction. Instead, the app allows cardholders to configure an asset-spend order, and the card will then pull from multiple balances as needed for a purchase.

Cashback is described as a key part of the value proposition. Krak said customers can receive up to 2% cashback, with the payout available in either US dollars or BTC. The company also noted that the specific cashback rate is dependent on the average assets held across Krak, Kraken, and Kraken Pro—meaning rewards are designed to scale with longer-term engagement rather than a one-off balance.

For US cardholders, the program includes both physical and virtual cards, with issuance routed through Visa’s network via Lead Bank. Krak said the rollout is powered by Stripe Issuing, an arrangement that signals how payment infrastructure is being leveraged to bring crypto-linked benefits into mainstream checkout flows.

Why Krak is leaning on “no-debt” rewards

Krak is framing the card as a counterweight to credit-card rewards programs. To support that positioning, the company commissioned a Morning Consult survey of 2,001 US adults.

The survey found that 42% of credit card holders worry about paying off their monthly balance. It also reported that 60% of respondents said they would switch to a debit card offering rewards without taking on debt.

In practical terms, that message targets a common friction point for rewards programs: the possibility that benefits come with a cost if consumers carry balances. By centering the product around debit spending—rather than credit limits—Krak is attempting to fit crypto rewards into behavior patterns that resemble traditional consumer debit programs, while still offering exposure to digital assets through BTC-denominated cashback.

From payments to broader financial services

Kraken’s consumer card launch lands within a wider strategy for Payward, the company behind Kraken and its apps. Co-CEO Arjun Sethi discussed broader expansion during remarks Tuesday at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium, according to coverage of his comments.

Sethi said that expanding into multiple asset classes can reduce exposure to any single market. He also described tokenization as “a large part” of Payward’s effort to widen its financial offerings, and he argued the company must build products and services that are “not too different to a JP Morgan or a financial institution.”

The framing highlights the direction many major exchanges have taken in recent years: using regulated infrastructure and institutional know-how to develop more than trading platforms. When exchanges move into banking-related services and asset tokenization themes, the emphasis often shifts from pure price speculation to product distribution—placing crypto-linked capabilities closer to how consumers already spend, invest, or move money.

Kraken’s card rollout also aligns with a broader industry pattern. Coinbase and other large platforms have been expanding into additional product categories beyond spot trading, including areas such as equities, derivatives, prediction markets, tokenized assets, and pre-IPO products.

Kraken’s US expansion doesn’t stop at payments

In parallel with the debit card announcement, Kraken said it launched stock trading for customers in the European Economic Area (EEA) for more than 7,000 US-listed stocks. The company’s decision to widen trading access to traditional markets underscores that its consumer growth strategy is not limited to payments.

Taken together, the card and the stock expansion show how crypto platforms are working to broaden their customer base and deepen engagement. A debit card can drive day-to-day usage, while expanded market offerings can capture users looking to trade across asset classes within a single ecosystem.

For investors and users, the key question is how these product lines will reinforce each other over time. Cashback incentives tied to average holdings across apps could encourage users to maintain balances within the Kraken ecosystem, potentially improving retention. At the same time, regulators and payment networks will remain central to whether these offerings can scale smoothly and sustainably.

Looking ahead, readers should watch how Krak’s cashback terms perform in practice—especially how average-holding calculations are applied—and whether Kraken continues to add card-linked features or expand into more mainstream financial services categories beyond crypto payments.