President Donald Trump has refused to sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, even as the bill containing a provision blocking a U.S. central bank digital currency through 2031 has remained on course to become law.

According to a Truth Social post by President Trump, he decided not to sign the housing bill because the Senate has yet to pass the Save America Act, which he has repeatedly urged lawmakers to approve.

Congress passed the housing legislation last month and sent it to the White House, but Trump argued that he would withhold his signature until the voting bill advances.

Last month, crypto.news reported that Trump had already delayed signing the legislation for the same reason. At the time, he described the Save America Act as “desperately needed” and said he would not approve the housing package until Congress acted on the separate proposal.

CBDC restriction remains on track despite Trump’s decision

Although Trump has declined to sign the legislation, the housing bill is still expected to become law because he has not issued a formal veto. A White House official confirmed that the president does not intend to veto the measure, allowing it to take effect automatically after the constitutional review period expires without his signature.

For the crypto industry, one section of the legislation has attracted particular attention because it would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency until 2031.

The restriction would extend the administration’s earlier position after Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies not to take steps toward creating a U.S. CBDC.

Unlike a pocket veto, which can permanently block legislation under specific congressional timing conditions, the current situation allows the bill to become law automatically because Congress remains in session and the president has not exercised his veto authority.

Save America Act remains Trump’s priority

In his Truth Social statement, Trump argued that the Senate’s failure to pass the Save America Act is unacceptable despite what he described as overwhelming support among Republican voters. The legislation would require voters to present photo identification in federal elections, a measure the president has continued to promote as an election integrity safeguard.

Separately, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized Trump’s decision in a post on X, arguing that refusing to sign the housing legislation delayed action on a bill designed to address housing affordability. Warren also stated that the legislation would become law regardless because the president had chosen not to veto it.

The latest dispute comes as lawmakers continue debating other crypto legislation on Capitol Hill. Warren has previously joined other Democratic senators in calling for hearings into Trump’s cryptocurrency holdings, while the Senate is also considering the CLARITY Act, a separate bill intended to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets.

Taken together, the developments leave the housing bill on track to take effect despite the absence of Trump’s signature, while the dispute over the Save America Act and broader crypto legislation continues to shape debate in Washington. 

Bitcoin has climbed above the $64,000 level after U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that the United States has agreed to continue talks with Iran following a new request from Tehran.

According to a post by President Trump on Truth Social, Iran asked to resume discussions with the United States, and Washington agreed to continue negotiations. At the same time, Trump stated that the ceasefire was over, indicating that diplomatic engagement would continue despite the end of the truce.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue “talks.” We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!”

The cryptocurrency market reacted positively to the development. Bitcoin (BTC) rose to around $64,100, gaining nearly 2% from an intraday low near $62,000. The move extended the recovery that began after heavy selling earlier this week, when renewed military exchanges between the U.S. and Iran pushed Bitcoin below the $62,000 mark.

crypto.news had previously reported that technical discussions between U.S. and Iranian officials were expected to continue. Trump’s latest statement publicly confirmed that negotiations remain active even as military tensions have yet to fully ease. Alongside Bitcoin, several major cryptocurrencies also traded higher following the announcement.

Bitcoin recovers as diplomatic contacts continue

Market sentiment improved after Trump’s latest comments suggested that both sides remain engaged in negotiations despite recent hostilities. Earlier, the president had also stated that Iran wanted to make a deal “so badly,” adding to expectations that diplomatic channels had not completely broken down.

Even with Bitcoin reclaiming the psychological $64,000 level, traders continue to monitor geopolitical developments closely because recent market swings have been closely tied to headlines surrounding the conflict. This week’s decline below $62,000 came shortly after both countries exchanged strikes and Trump declared that the ceasefire had ended.

The recovery also follows several sessions of elevated volatility across digital assets, with investors reacting quickly to changes in geopolitical risk. Although Bitcoin has regained lost ground, price movements remain sensitive to further developments from Washington and Tehran.

Nuclear agreement expectations remain limited

Despite the renewed talks, prediction markets continue to show limited confidence that the two countries will finalize a nuclear agreement this year. According to Polymarket data, the probability of the United States and Iran reaching a deal by Dec. 31 stands at about 38%.

The nuclear program remains the central issue separating both sides. President Trump has repeatedly maintained that Iran cannot possess a nuclear weapon, while negotiations continue alongside ongoing military and political tensions.

Energy markets remain another source of uncertainty for investors. Iran has maintained that it plans to impose tolls on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a route that carries a significant share of global oil shipments. The possibility of higher transportation costs has kept traders focused on potential disruptions to crude supplies.

Earlier this week, oil prices climbed after Iran attacked three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, escalating the conflict and adding fresh inflation concerns. Higher energy prices can increase inflationary pressure, a factor that financial markets often watch because persistent inflation may reduce expectations for easier monetary policy, which can weigh on risk assets such as Bitcoin.

For now, Bitcoin’s move above $64,000 suggests investors welcomed signs that diplomatic contacts remain open. Even so, the market continues to balance improving sentiment from renewed negotiations against the unresolved issues surrounding Iran’s nuclear program and the ongoing risks to global energy supplies.

Robinhood has introduced plans to let eligible U.S. customers authorize AI agents to execute cryptocurrency trades on their behalf, extending automated investing beyond stocks and options.

Robinhood said during a Friday presentation that the upcoming feature will allow eligible U.S.-based crypto users to connect third-party AI agents capable of managing trades within user-defined limits. The company did not announce a launch date for the crypto version but said customers in the United Kingdom will receive access after the U.S. rollout.

A Robinhood executive said users will be able to build trading strategies with predefined guardrails instead of watching their accounts continuously. According to the company, the feature is designed to let customers automate decisions while keeping control over the rules that AI agents must follow.

Robinhood expands AI automation beyond stocks

The crypto rollout follows Robinhood’s beta launch of AI-powered agentic accounts for equities and options traders in late May. During the same presentation, Robinhood said more than 70,000 agentic accounts have already been created through that program, indicating early demand for automated investing tools.

Robinhood also said the service works with AI models from third-party providers, including Anthropic, OpenAI and SpaceX’s Grok. Beyond investing, the company is extending the same technology to consumer finance by allowing eligible customers to authorize AI agents to complete credit card purchases on their behalf.

During the presentation, a Robinhood executive said automated agents could help retail investors act on information they might otherwise overlook, giving them access to capabilities that have historically been more common among institutional investors.

Outside Robinhood, several crypto executives have made similar predictions about AI-powered financial activity. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire have both said they expect AI agents to become major users of blockchain-based payment systems over the next few years.

Robinhood Chain gains traction alongside AI rollout

The automation announcement comes as Robinhood continues expanding its blockchain infrastructure. The company has centered recent crypto development on tokenized real-world assets and Robinhood Chain, its Ethereum layer-2 network built on Arbitrum.

Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood’s senior vice president and general manager of crypto, said the network processed 17 million transactions from nearly 350,000 wallet addresses during its first week after launching on July 1.

DeFiLlama data also shows Robinhood Chain’s total value locked climbed above $115 million after increasing 23% in 24 hours, while cumulative addresses approached 200,000. The same data places the network behind only Ethereum mainnet in 24-hour Uniswap trading volume after daily activity reached about $500 million on July 8, following more than $250 million in cumulative trading volume during its first week.

Separately, Token Terminal data shows Robinhood Chain attracted more than $70 million worth of bridged Ether within its first week. The analytics platform said continued growth could turn the network into “a meaningful new source of demand for ETH.”

AI-driven blockchain payments are also beginning to appear outside Robinhood. In May, Amazon Web Services integrated Coinbase’s x402 payments protocol into Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, allowing AI agents to settle transactions using USDC. Earlier, in April, crypto wallet startup Oobit introduced a Visa-backed virtual card that enables AI agents to make business purchases using USDT.

Even so, blockchain payment activity from AI agents remains limited. Artemis data shows the AI agent-enabled x402 protocol processed about $2 million in transaction volume during June, suggesting adoption is still in its early stages despite a growing number of product launches.

Robinhood is preparing to expand its “agentic trading” features into the company’s US crypto product, allowing eligible customers to connect third-party AI agents that can execute trades on their behalf. The move follows a similar rollout to equities and options traders, launched in a beta form in late May.

Robinhood’s leadership said customers will be able to design strategies with guardrails through AI agents, reducing the need for constant account monitoring. While the firm did not announce a specific rollout date for US crypto users, it indicated that UK customers will be next to gain access.

Key takeaways

• Robinhood will extend third-party AI agent integrations to eligible US crypto traders, enabling automated crypto trade execution under user-defined guardrails.
• The company previously introduced agentic trading for equities and options via a beta in late May, and more than 70,000 agentic accounts have been created since then.
• Robinhood did not set a US crypto launch date, but said UK customers will be next.
• Robinhood’s broader crypto agenda includes its Ethereum layer 2, Robinhood Chain, which processed 17 million transactions in its first week, according to company executives.
• Despite multiple AI-agent payment integrations across the industry, on-chain AI-agent activity remains modest—Artemis data cited only about $2 million in June volume tied to x402-enabled activity.

Agentic trading moves from equities to crypto

At a presentation on Friday, a Robinhood executive said the goal of the AI agent integration is to let users work with an agent to create strategies with specific guardrails—without requiring constant supervision of their accounts. The executive framed this as a way to help retail traders act on information they might otherwise miss.

Robinhood did not provide a calendar date for when the crypto feature will roll out to eligible US customers. However, the company noted that its UK users would receive access first, signaling that the next phase of expansion will begin outside the US before wider coverage is announced.

Earlier in the process, Robinhood offered agentic accounts to equities traders. In the equities and options market beta, Robinhood reported that over 70,000 agentic accounts were created by traders since late May—an internal adoption milestone that suggests the company expects its agentic framework to translate across asset classes.

Why Robinhood says it matters for retail traders

Robinhood positioned agentic trading as a competitive equalizer for retail investors, pointing to the ability to base trades on data and conditions that could be difficult to track manually. In the company’s view, this would bring retail users closer to the workflow advantage typically enjoyed by institutions.

The product is delivered through agentic accounts connected to third-party AI providers. Robinhood said these integrations include companies such as Anthropic, OpenAI, and Grok (via SpaceX), alongside additional AI infrastructure support through its platform.

Beyond trade automation, Robinhood also said eligible users can have credit card purchases made on their behalf by AI agents, indicating that the agentic approach is meant to expand beyond crypto order execution into broader transaction workflows.

Robinhood Chain and the company’s wider crypto push

Robinhood’s AI agent trading expansion lands within a broader crypto strategy. The company has focused on tokenization and its Ethereum layer 2 network, Robinhood Chain, which launched earlier this month.

Robinhood’s senior vice president and general manager of crypto, Johann Kerbrat, said Robinhood Chain processed 17 million transactions from nearly 350,000 wallet addresses in its first week. That network activity figure provides context for how Robinhood is building capacity for crypto rails that can support new user experiences, including automation.

For investors and traders, the implication is that Robinhood is treating agentic trading as a product layer that needs underlying infrastructure—both for transaction handling and for integrating payment and settlement flows across user-controlled on-chain actions.

Industry integrations expand—yet adoption remains limited

Robinhood’s update comes amid a broader push across the crypto industry to enable AI agents to spend stablecoins and perform transactions. Several integration announcements in recent months highlighted how AI agent systems are being connected to blockchain payment rails.

One prominent example referenced in earlier reporting is Amazon Web Services’ May integration, in which AWS connected Coinbase’s x402 payments protocol into Amazon Bedrock AgentCore. That setup enables agents to transact in USDC (USDC). In April, wallet startup Oobit also rolled out Visa-supported virtual cards designed for AI agents to spend USDt (USDT) on behalf of businesses.

Despite the growing list of integrations, the article’s cited data suggests real usage is still early. Artemis data indicated that only about $2 million in transaction volume was facilitated through the AI agent-supported x402 protocol in June. This points to a gap between infrastructure readiness and widespread agent-driven on-chain behavior.

For readers, the key question is whether products like Robinhood’s crypto agent trading will meaningfully increase the volume of AI-assisted transactions—or whether agentic features will initially remain concentrated among smaller, tech-forward user segments.

As Robinhood prepares to roll out agentic trading for eligible crypto users—starting with the UK—watch for whether the company sets a timeline for broader US access and whether adoption metrics begin to move beyond the low on-chain volumes seen in earlier x402-focused activity.

The U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly preparing to drop federal charges against Matthew Goettsche, the founder of BitClub Network, in a case that accused him of running a crypto mining “passive income” scheme that allegedly defrauded investors of $722 million between 2014 and 2019.

According to a report from Bloomberg Law, the DOJ’s deputy attorney general’s office ordered the New Jersey attorney general’s office to dismiss the case “with prejudice.” Shortly afterward, a court filing in New Jersey indicated the parties have reached “an agreement in principle” to resolve the pending charges, though additional time is needed to finalize the terms.

Key takeaways

• DOJ is reportedly seeking to dismiss charges against BitClub Network founder Matthew Goettsche after an “agreement in principle” outlined in a New Jersey court filing.
• Bloomberg Law reported the decision follows direction from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s office to end a DOJ approach described as “regulation by prosecution.”
• The original indictment dates to December 2019 and alleged wire fraud and unregistered securities offenses tied to BitClub’s investor “mining pool” pitch.
• Several former BitClub associates—Silviu Balaci, Joseph Abel, and Gordon Beckstead—have already pleaded guilty, making the case outcome a notable shift in enforcement trajectory.
• Investors and legal watchers will be looking for whether any dismissal is fully implemented and whether the broader DOJ pivot affects other ongoing crypto prosecutions.

A case built on a “mining pool” promise

Goettsche was indicted in December 2019 and, at the time, was scheduled to go to trial in October on charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and the sale of unregistered securities. Prosecutors alleged that BitClub operated from April 2014 to December 2019 as a Bitcoin mining pool where investors could purchase shares and earn passive returns.

In filings and allegations cited in coverage of the matter, BitClub’s model was said to rely on falsified earnings and fabricated mining data—claims that prosecutors and other court materials have treated as central to convincing investors to join and continue funding the scheme.

Earlier court submissions also reflected Goettsche’s description of the business as one built “on the backs of idiots,” according to court material referenced in previous reporting.

How the DOJ pivot appears to factor in

The reported change arrives against the backdrop of an April 2025 memo issued by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. As described in that memorandum, it directed DOJ to end what was characterized as “regulation by prosecution” in relation to the digital asset industry—an approach that some critics argued had been too broad and blurred the line between criminal enforcement and broader market regulation.

Bloomberg Law reported on Friday that the deputy attorney general’s office in Washington ordered the New Jersey attorney general’s office to dismiss the Goettsche case with prejudice. The same reporting cited two sources familiar with the matter.

In a subsequent filing, Goettsche’s attorneys told U.S. District Judge Claire Cecchi that the parties “reached an agreement in principle” to resolve the charges, but that they need time to finalize the terms—language consistent with a DOJ-led shift that is moving from policy direction toward case-level resolution.

The DOJ did not provide immediate comment when Cointelegraph reached out, according to the account in the source article.

Why this outcome stands out in U.S. crypto enforcement

If the dismissal proceeds, it would represent one of the more prominent reversals in U.S. crypto enforcement history—especially because the Goettsche matter has already produced guilty pleas from several alleged co-conspirators.

Three former BitClub Network figures—Silviu Balaci, Joseph Abel, and Gordon Beckstead—have pleaded guilty in connection with their involvement in the scheme, according to the details summarized in the source reporting. A dismissal of the lead founder’s charges, therefore, would not simply end a single prosecution; it could reshape how observers interpret the effect of DOJ’s policy changes on pending or future digital asset cases.

For market participants, this distinction matters. Many crypto investors follow enforcement not only to understand individual risk, but also to infer whether agencies are recalibrating what conduct they believe is best handled through prosecution versus through other regulatory or administrative channels.

At the same time, it is not yet clear what the final disposition will look like—dismissal “with prejudice” is reported as the direction, but the court filing emphasizes that the parties still need time to finalize terms. Readers should therefore treat the development as a process in motion rather than a final resolution until the court enters an order.

DOJ enforcement remains active elsewhere

The reported BitClub shift does not appear to represent an overall retreat from crypto crime cases. Other DOJ actions in recent months have continued to target fraud and theft.

In April, a California man, Evan Tageman, was sentenced to 70 months in prison for his alleged role in a criminal enterprise that stole about $263 million worth of crypto from victims through social engineering scams and burglary, according to the source article’s summary of earlier coverage.

The DOJ has also continued to freeze large pools of crypto tied to alleged investment scammers who targeted Americans, with the source article citing efforts that resulted in freezing more than $700 million in April. It further references a separate seizure of nearly $580 million in crypto connected to a criminal scam group operating in Southeast Asia earlier in the year.

Taken together, these actions suggest that while DOJ may be adjusting its strategic stance toward parts of the industry—particularly where it believes prosecution has functioned as a substitute for regulation—the department remains willing to pursue serious criminal conduct involving fraud and coercive tactics.

That tension—between a policy shift away from “regulation by prosecution” and continued case-by-case criminal enforcement—could become a key lens for the next wave of courtroom outcomes.

For now, investors and legal observers should watch for whether the New Jersey court formally dismisses the case as reported, what conditions—if any—are included in the final terms, and whether similar DOJ adjustments surface in other pending crypto prosecutions.

The US Federal Reserve named Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) co-founder Marc Andreessen to help lead a task force studying how artificial intelligence and other new technologies could affect productivity and jobs.

Andreessen will serve on the Fed’s Productivity and Jobs task force alongside Charles I. Jones, a Stanford University economics professor currently on leave at Anthropic, and Asha Sharma, Microsoft’s executive vice president and Xbox CEO.

The new task force will assess how general-purpose technologies such as AI will affect employment and productivity to better inform the central bank’s policymaking, the Fed said in a Thursday press release.

The group is one of five task forces launched under new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, each responsible for examining important areas of monetary policy conduct. The other task forces will focus on the Fed’s policy communication, balance sheet policy, data quality and inflation frameworks.

Andreessen co-founded Andreessen Horowitz, which has become one of Silicon Valley’s most influential venture capital firms and a major backer of crypto and AI startups.

Andreessen and Warsh’s ties date back to the early 1990s at Stanford University. During a 2025 interview with CNBC, Warsh said that both Andreessen and Palantir’s Peter Thiel “have been friends from my days in college.” 

Andreessen publicly supported Warsh’s appointment as Fed chairman. “I’ve known Kevin for 30 years; he combines great insight in economics and finance with keen understanding of technology and business,” he wrote in a Jan. 30 X post following US President Donald Trump’s nomination.

Source: Marc Andreessen

Warsh launches Fed task forces

Warsh revealed the leadership-driven overhaul and the creation of the five new task forces during a press conference on June 17.

“These subjects are timely, consequential, and, in my view, worthy of a fresh look,” said Warsh during the press conference, adding that each of these will be independently led by “some of the very best minds—both inside and outside the economics profession.” 

Warsh also said that the central bank will strive to publish policy statements and guidance in shorter, clearer language.

Related: Hyperliquid shows how onchain perps could challenge Wall Street: Pantera

FOMC divided over AI’s economic impact

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is sharply divided over the economic impact of AI and whether it is an inflationary or disinflationary technology. Some view AI as a long-term disinflationary productivity booster, while others argue that the current spending on AI infrastructure is actively increasing inflation.

During a May 27 speech, Governor Lisa Cook said that she expects AI to further “boost productivity growth, contributing to my expectation that GDP will grow robustly,” but added that it presents the risk of “higher inflation.” 

In former Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s statements from March 2026, he said that data center spending is “putting pressure on all kinds of goods and services” and is “probably pushing inflation up at the margin.” 

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