The term “paradigm shift” is often applied casually to what may simply be rapid rotations between fashionable assets, the latest example being the AI-driven semiconductor boom.

Hyperscalers such as Amazon (AMZ) and Google (GOOG) are spending heavily on data centres containing thousands of AI accelerators. These systems require enormous quantities of high-bandwidth memory for processing and NAND flash for storage, tightening supply and lifting chip prices.

Micron Technology (MU) produces DRAM, NAND and other memory products, while Sandisk (SNDK) specialises in NAND flash and solid-state storage. Micron rose roughly 700% year over year, and Sandisk gained more than 4,000%. Both have subsequently retreated from their peaks, illustrating how quickly enthusiasm can reverse.

The excitement created the largest U.S. IPO of all-time in SpaceX (SPCX), while SK Hynix (00060), a leading supplier of high-bandwidth memory, raised $26.5 billion through the largest-ever U.S. listing by a foreign company. Its ADRs initially surged, but subsequent volatility exposed the risks of buying into peak optimism with SK Hynix down 15% during Asia market hours.

Speaking at the University of Kansas School of Business this week, Ripple chief executive Brad Garlinghouse told a story the company kept to itself for more than five years. 

In December 2020, days after the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Ripple and named Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen personally, the two men seriously weighed a plan to end the fight before it began: wind the company down, distribute Ripple’s enormous XRP holdings to shareholders on a pro rata basis, and inform the regulator that the entity it was suing no longer existed and no longer held the asset in question. In Garlinghouse’s words, the government had infinite power and resources, and shutting down was the easier path. What tipped the decision the other way was not confidence in winning. It was that dissolution would have put hundreds of employees out of work.

The disclosure landed with corroboration and a correction. David Schwartz, Ripple’s longtime chief technology officer, said outside lawyers advised leadership in that period that the company was done, unsavable, and that the executives should cut a deal to save themselves, and he argued the SEC named Garlinghouse and Larsen personally as a calculated pressure tactic, since suing two men concentrates the incentive to fold in a way that suing a corporation does not. When outlets amplified the story into capitulation headlines, Schwartz pushed back, saying his earlier comments were being stretched and that he never claimed the shutdown was on the verge of happening. Garlinghouse, for his part, attached a number to the road actually taken: roughly 150 million dollars in legal fees over four years, disclosed publicly for the first time.

A confession this old is not news about the past. It is a lens on the present, because the plan Ripple shelved in December 2020 is a nearly perfect thought experiment about what XRP is. Every question that hangs over the token in 2026, whether it is a claim on Ripple’s success, what the company’s supply overhang means, and why the price ignores the company’s triumphs, gets sharper when run through the world where the giveaway happened. This feature takes the confession seriously as history, then uses it as the analytical instrument it accidentally is.

Japanese convenience-store operator Lawson plans to test yen-denominated stablecoin payments at a Tokyo location in August, examining whether stablecoin payments can work inside a standard convenience store checkout flow.

On Monday, blockchain company HashPort said it had signed an agreement with Lawson and telecom group KDDI to conduct the trial at the Lawson Takanawa Gateway City store. Participants will use HashPort’s non-custodial wallet, while the store will process payments through the company’s point-of-sale system without needing to open or manage crypto wallets. 

The pilot aims to explore how stablecoin payments can be integrated into Japan’s existing retail infrastructure while shielding merchants from much of the operational complexity associated with accepting digital assets.

The companies plan to assess integration requirements, checkout operations, payment processing times and wallet usability before considering broader applications.

Netstars launches multi-stablecoin merchant service

Separately, Japanese payments company Netstars launched Stablecoin Pay on Monday, opening applications from merchants seeking to accept multiple stablecoins as payment options. 

The service initially supports USDC, USDT and the yen-denominated JPYC through the Solana and Polygon networks, with MetaMask as the supported wallet. Netstars set the merchant payment fee at 0.98% and said it plans to add more wallets and blockchains. 

With the service, merchants can use existing payment terminals in most cases and handle product pricing, sales records and settlement in yen, even when customers pay with dollar-denominated stablecoins. Netstars said this removes the need to hold crypto or manage exchange rates.

The commercial launch follows Netstars trials involving USDC payments at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport from January to February and at a trading-card store in Himeji from April.

Related: Japanese lender launches Bitcoin-backed loans of up to $6.2M

The move from limited pilots to a merchant-facing service comes as Japanese companies build more consumer-facing products around the country’s regulated stablecoin market. On June 1, 2023, Japan introduced a dedicated framework for stablecoins when amendments to the Payment Services Act and related laws took effect. 

The rules created regulatory categories for fiat-linked stablecoins and require businesses acting as intermediaries to register with the Financial Services Agency.

The framework was followed by regulatory approval for USDC distribution in March 2025 and by JPYC’s registration as a fund transfer service provider that August, before the stablecoin was launched in October. 

Magazine: Has Bitcoin bottomed for this cycle? Analysts say ‘not yet’

After several strongly positive weeks, USD/CAD has stalled over the past few sessions, entering a phase of uncertainty.

On the dollar side, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh has struck a firm tone, reaffirming the 2% inflation target and pushing back against political pressure to cut rates, while sticky PCE inflation near 4% keeps hike odds alive for September. Yet June payrolls came in softer and speculative USD positioning looks stretched, raising doubts on how much further the rally can extend. Markets will also watch upcoming US CPI and PPI releases closely, as either gauge could reinforce the Fed hike case or, if softer, cap dollar strength.

The loonie’s story is similarly mixed. Canada’s June jobs report beat expectations, reducing the odds of a BoC cut, yet the currency remains capped by falling oil prices, subdued inflation, and unresolved CUSMA trade uncertainty. Two currencies face both genuine support and headwinds, leaving USD/CAD hostage to this week’s BoC decision and incoming US data—a backdrop that aligns well with what the chart itself is showing.

USD/CAD Technical analysis

As the 4H chart shows, USD/CAD has traded within a well-defined ascending channel since May’s lows, and is now consolidating just below recent swing highs. The Fibonacci retracement drawn from that low to the July high offers a useful reference for the levels ahead.

Bullish Scenario

As long as price holds above the ascending trendline and defends the former resistance, now turned support, in the 1.4100 area, the broader uptrend structure remains firmly intact, and this pause looks far more like healthy consolidation than an early reversal signal. A confirmed bounce off the trendline, followed by a decisive push back above the recent swing high near the 1.4250 area, would validate continued bullish control and open the way for USD/CAD to extend its rally into fresh highs for the move, keeping the dollar’s medium-term strength against the loonie firmly in place.

Bearish Scenario

A clean, sustained break below the ascending trendline would mark the first real technical warning sign, shifting near-term momentum decisively lower. In that case, the 0.382 and 0.5 Fibonacci retracement levels would become the first meaningful support tests, coinciding with the psychological 1.3900-1.4000 range. Losing these levels could expose a deeper slide towards the 0.618 retracement—an area that would confirm a genuine correction of the entire May-to-July rally rather than a simple pullback, and would put the pair’s medium-term bullish structure into serious question.

With price sitting right on the ascending trendline, the coming sessions could prove decisive in determining where USD/CAD heads next.

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Thailand’s central bank is intensifying oversight of stablecoin activity, aiming to reduce the use of digital assets in money laundering, illicit finance, and cash-linked “gray money.” The Bank of Thailand said it is working alongside the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission to audit high-volume stablecoin transfers, with a particular focus on USDT (USDT), cash movements, and currency exchange flows.

The effort is part of a broader anti-financial-crime push that targets suspicious funds that may originate from scams and other criminal operations. Bank of Thailand Governor Vitai Ratanakorn told local media outlet The Nation that the changes are not meant to be a quick fix, but rather a continuous program requiring multiple parallel approaches.

Key takeaways

• The Bank of Thailand and the SEC will audit high-volume stablecoin transactions, prioritizing USDT-related activity alongside cash and foreign exchange behavior.
• New compliance expectations will extend beyond crypto—covering cash networks, currency exchanges, and gold bullion trading—where suspicious patterns may be linked to illicit flows.
• Thailand plans tighter reporting rules for large cash transactions, including source-of-funds declarations and scrutiny of suspicious banknote exchanges.
• Regulators are also seeking to address “gray money,” a category closely associated in the reporting with scam-linked proceeds.
• The crackdown arrives after prior steps that reportedly affected a wider set of bank customers than intended, highlighting execution risks.

Why the stablecoin spotlight is widening

Stablecoins have become a common bridge for moving value quickly across borders, and Thai authorities are now treating that speed as a potential vulnerability when paired with illicit funding sources. According to the report, the central bank’s focus includes high-volume stablecoin transactions and the routes they may connect to—including exchanges between cash and different currencies.

Thailand is also emphasizing “gray economy” activity. While the article notes there are no reliable figures for the size of the gray economy, it cites a reported $3.4 billion in 2025 scam losses alongside 173 million scam calls and texts. Against that backdrop, regulators appear to be building out monitoring capabilities designed to detect suspicious transaction structures rather than relying solely on post-incident enforcement.

What regulators plan to monitor in practice

In addition to stablecoin transfers, the proposed surveillance program is described as expanding commercial bank compliance responsibilities across several channels. These include cash networks, currency exchanges, and gold bullion trading, alongside “suspicious stablecoin transactions.” The objective, as presented in the reporting, is to reduce the likelihood that regulated intermediaries help facilitate corruption or shadow-economy behavior.

The measures also include reporting requirements for cash activity. For example, the article says high-value cash transactions will require a source-of-funds declaration. It also notes that exchanging large volumes of big banknotes for smaller denominations without a clear business purpose will be monitored, suggesting authorities want to identify patterns consistent with laundering workflows.

The report further states that cash deposits above 5 million baht (about $150,000) will require full disclosure. For market participants, that signals a compliance posture that treats large cash movements as higher-risk, even when those funds never touch an on-chain wallet—an important point for Thai businesses operating between traditional finance and crypto-linked payment rails.

Crypto rules remain layered: legal trading, tighter stablecoin scrutiny

Thailand is often portrayed as relatively open to digital assets, but the central bank’s stance on payment uses remains restrictive. The article reiterates that stablecoin and digital asset payments are outlawed by the central bank, while crypto trading remains legal in the country. That creates a policy tension: while trading is permitted, authorities are still trying to prevent certain transaction uses that can support illicit behavior.

According to the report, Thailand’s largest exchange, Bitkub, handles roughly $26 million in daily volume. CoinGecko data cited in the article indicates that nearly 40% of that activity is tied to forex, with the USDT/THB pair noted as the most popular. This matters because stablecoins can function as a practical liquidity tool for currency-related trading—meaning monitoring efforts could intersect with everyday market operations even if the underlying business is legitimate.

Thailand’s regulatory tightening has not been a one-off. The article points to ongoing rule changes around crypto funding and compliance expectations for crypto businesses, suggesting the stablecoin surveillance push is part of a longer shift toward stronger enforcement rather than a sudden reversal.

Past enforcement backlash is shaping the risk calculus

The stablecoin monitoring initiative comes after a broader banking crackdown on suspicious accounts. The article says Thai banks restricted or froze accounts in 2025 as part of efforts to target mule accounts, gray capital, and other forms of suspicious activity, with reporting that three million bank accounts were frozen.

However, the same reporting notes that thousands of individuals and legitimate businesses were reportedly caught in the dragnet. Local coverage described the earlier campaign as a “scammer crackdown gone wrong,” indicating that the challenge for regulators is not only identifying illicit activity, but doing so without overreach that harms lawful users.

That context is important for investors and businesses because it raises the question of how authorities will balance enforcement intensity with precision. When surveillance expands across cash, forex, and stablecoin rails, false positives can become a recurring operational risk—particularly for firms and customers that frequently move between cash and digital currency due to normal commercial activity.

Thailand’s next signals will likely come from how the audit process is implemented in practice—especially whether regulators publish clearer thresholds, how they define “suspicious” stablecoin transactions, and what remedies are available when compliance actions mistakenly affect legitimate customers. For market participants, the key watch item is how USDT-related flows, cash reporting requirements, and banking compliance obligations converge during enforcement and audits.

U.S. inflation data and financial-sector earnings are set to steer crypto markets in the week ahead, with investors looking for fresh signals on interest rates, economic growth and risk appetite.

June’s consumer price index lands Tuesday, followed by producer prices on Wednesday, giving markets two opportunities to consider the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate policy path.

Markus Levin, co-founder of XYO, told CoinDesk that softer CPI and PPI readings could strengthen the case for easier monetary policy, which has historically supported bitcoin BTC$63,078.83 and the broader crypto market. A stronger-than-expected inflation print, however, could push out rate-cut expectations and potentially send bitcoin below $60,000, he said.

“Investors will also be watching earnings from major U.S. banks, including JPMorgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo, as their results often provide one of the clearest snapshots of the health of the U.S. economy,” Levin said.

”Strong loan demand, healthy consumer spending and stable credit quality would reinforce the view that economic growth remains resilient, supporting broader risk appetite.”

Renewed U.S.-Iran tensions and the risk of disruption around the Strait of Hormuz are also likely to influence events, injecting further volatility through oil prices and other risk markets.

What to Watch

(All times ET)

• Crypto
  • July 13: Ethereum developers to review progress on testing the planned Glamsterdam upgrade.
  • July 14: Jito’s expected to make self-custody Solana trading app, JTX, accessible for early users.
• Macro
  • July 14, 08:30 a.m.: U.S. Core Inflation Rate MoM for June est. 0.2% (Prev. 0.3%)
  • July 14, 08:30 a.m.: U.S. Core Consumer Price Index YoY for June est. 2.9% (Prev. 2.9%); MoM est. 0.3% (Prev. 0.2%)
  • July 14, 08:30 a.m.: U.S. Consumer Price Index YoY for June (Prev. 4.2%); MoM est. -0.1% (Prev. 0.5%)
  • July 14, 10 a.m.: U.S. Fed Chair Warsh presents semiannual monetary policy report to Congress.
  • July 14, 10 p.m.: China GDP Growth Rate YoY for Q2 est. 4.4% (Prev. 5%)
  • July 15, 8:45 a.m.: U.S. Fed Williams speech titled “The Future of Market Liquidity and Functioning”
  • July 15, 9:45 a.m.: Bank of Canada Interest Rate Decision (Prev. 2.25%)
  • July 16, 08:30 a.m.: U.S. Initial Jobless Claims for period ending July 11 (Prev. 215K)
  • July 17, 5 a.m.: Eurozone Consumer Price Index YoY Final for June est. 2.8% (Prev.3.2%)
  • July 17, 10 a.m.: U.S. Michigan Consumer Sentiment Prel for July (Prev. 49.5)
• Earnings
  • July 15: BlackRock (BLK), pre-market, $12.55

Token Events

• Governance Votes & Calls
  • Aave DAO is voting to adopt a standardized technical asset listing framework to ensure consistent, transparent safety baselines for assets across Aave V3, V4 and Horizon. Voting ends on July 13.
  • Ssv.network DAO is voting to reduce the floor price for its incentivized mainnet program (IMP) rewards from $10 to $8 per SSV. Voting ends on July 14.
  • Threshold Network DAO is voting to reorganize its committee, split multisig responsibilities, and eliminate contributor compensation to save $649,000. Voting ends July 15.
  • Cratos DAO is voting to extend the current mobile app token reward standard deadline from July 31 to Aug. 31, delaying the planned halving until Sept. 1 to help sustain user acquisition. Voting ends on July 16.
  • ENS DAO is voting to allocate $1.69 million to fund the SPP3 infrastructure cohort and compensate the selection committee. Voting ends on July 16.
  • Arbitrum DAO is voting on the election of members for the Oversight and Transparency Committee (OAT). Delegates can freely allocate their voting power among the 13 eligible candidates using a weighted voting system. Voting ends on July 17.
• Unlocks
  • July 15: Connex (CONX) to unlock 1.45% of its circulating supply worth $28.67 million.
  • July 16: Arbitrum (ARB) to unlock 1.46% of its circulating supply worth $8.62 million.
  • July 17: DeBridge (DBR) to unlock 11.43% of its circulating supply worth $10.13 million.
• Token Launches
  • July 13 – Credible (CRED) community sale opens on MetaDAO. The raise targets $2 million in community demand.

Conferences

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi renewed the government’s support for startups and Web3 during a video address at WebX 2026 in Tokyo. 

She described the conference as a meeting place for founders, investors and companies seeking practical uses for blockchain. Organizers expect about 15,000 participants, placing the event among Asia’s largest Web3 gatherings. Takaichi said public policy and industry events could help create new business partnerships.

Takaichi presented Web3 as part of Japan’s wider innovation program rather than a separate crypto plan. She praised WebX for giving startups access to investors and allowing participants to discuss future services.

“The conference provides a platform to create business collaboration,” she said, according to CoinPost. 

However, the address did not announce a new Web3 fund, a dedicated grant total or immediate regulatory changes for crypto companies.

Government plans more capital and regulatory relief

The prime minister pointed to Japan’s Comprehensive Startup Support Package, which the government prepared in May 2025. The package strengthens the Five-Year Startup Development Plan adopted in 2022. 

It calls for more capital from government-backed funds and financial institutions. It also includes regulatory changes designed to help young companies grow, hire staff and reach larger markets. Takaichi did not give a timetable for each measure.

Japan’s five-year plan aims to raise annual startup investment to about 10 trillion yen by fiscal 2027. The government also wants Japan to become a leading Asian startup center. Official documents set longer-term targets of 100 unicorns and 100,000 startups. The package covers funding, founder networks and partnerships between startups and established companies, but results will depend on investment activity and the rollout of each policy measure.

Crypto reforms move alongside startup support

Japan is also revising rules for digital assets. As crypto.news reported in June, lawmakers were advancing a bill that could apply a 20% tax rate to crypto gains and create a route for domestic crypto exchange-traded funds. The planned tax treatment would place crypto closer to stocks and bonds. The changes are not yet fully in force, and the report said the tax provisions could start in 2028.

Private programs have added another source of support. Ripple and Web3 Salon launched grants of up to $200,000 for selected Japanese teams building on the XRP Ledger. 

The program targets payments, tokenized assets and decentralized finance projects. Web3 Salon receives support from the Japan External Trade Organization. These grants operate separately from Takaichi’s package, but they show how public agencies and private companies now work with startup founders.

Web3 support continues across administrations

Takaichi’s message followed appearances by previous prime ministers at the same conference. Fumio Kishida addressed WebX by video in 2024 and linked blockchain to social and economic policy. 

Shigeru Ishiba appeared in person in 2025 and backed investment support and rule changes for Web3 and artificial intelligence. The repeated participation gives the industry access to senior officials, though speeches do not guarantee new laws or funding.

Takaichi said government measures and WebX could jointly encourage people to launch new projects. “Japan’s innovation ecosystem will develop further,” she said. The statement sets a broad policy direction, but it leaves details to ministries, regulators and financial institutions. 

Japan’s next steps will include carrying out the startup package, completing crypto legislation and measuring whether new funding reaches early-stage companies and supports products used outside conference venues. Ministries and financial regulators will handle the detailed rules and funding programs.