Author: James Wilson

South Korea has raised interest rates for the first time since January 2023, shifting monetary policy toward tighter conditions in one of the world’s most active retail crypto markets. Summary South Korea raised rates to 2.75%, marking its first monetary policy increase since January 2023. Tighter borrowing conditions could cool speculative crypto demand as local trading activity has already weakened. Strong growth, persistent inflation and won weakness may keep additional Bank of Korea hikes possible. The Bank of Korea raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points from 2.50% to 2.75% on July 16. All seven members of the Monetary…

The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved a nonbinding resolution opposing any federal clemency for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.  Summary Senators unanimously backed a resolution opposing any pardon, commutation or other federal clemency for Bankman-Fried. Bankman-Fried remains imprisoned for FTX fraud while his formal presidential pardon application continues seeking review. The resolution follows Trump’s earlier pardons of other prominent crypto figures, including Zhao and Ulbricht. Senators agreed to the measure by unanimous consent on July 15, meaning no senator objected when it was brought before the chamber. The resolution states that Bankman-Fried should “under no circumstances” receive executive clemency, including a…

Trump has stepped up efforts to advance the Senate’s crypto market structure bill by convening key Republican senators at the White House as lawmakers push to secure a floor vote before the August recess. Summary President Donald Trump is meeting senators as the Senate pushes to advance the CLARITY Act before the August recess. Senator Cynthia Lummis said a revised draft will be introduced within days with a floor vote expected next week. Prediction markets have raised the odds of a Senate vote before the recess even as debate over ethics provisions continues. According to Politico, President Donald Trump is…

Bitcoin has slipped below $65,000 after Iran rejected renewed prospects for peace talks with the United States, adding fresh pressure to risk assets as military operations continue. Summary Iran rejected U.S. peace talks despite Trump’s claim that Tehran wants a deal. Bitcoin fell below $65,000 as renewed U.S.-Iran tensions weighed on markets. Polymarket traders see only a 20% chance of peace talks resuming this month. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said there are currently no plans for negotiations with the United States, with the country’s immediate priority remaining its defense efforts. The statement came after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed during a…

Ostium has halted trading after an exploit tied to a compromised oracle signer key drained nearly $18 million USDC from its liquidity vault, according to blockchain security firm Blockaid. Summary Blockaid linked Ostium’s $18 million exploit to a compromised oracle signer key. The attacker drained up to 28% of the protocol’s $63 million liquidity vault. Ostium halted trading as investigators probe the oracle-based attack. Blockaid reported that the attacker gained control of an oracle signer private key, allowing them to bypass the protocol’s verification process and submit future-dated price reports that favored their trades. Using a registered PriceUpKeep forwarder, the…

Base creator Jesse Pollak has acknowledged that the network’s multi-year bet on onchain social products did not deliver the expected growth and has redirected Base toward trading, payments, and AI-powered financial infrastructure. Summary Jesse Pollak admitted Base’s onchain social strategy failed to drive expected crypto adoption. Base will prioritize trading, stablecoin payments, and AI agent infrastructure through 2026. JPMorgan warned growing USDC revenue sharing could pressure Coinbase and Circle profits. Base returns to infrastructure after social experiment falls short According to a post published by Jesse Pollak on Wednesday, the first quarter of 2026 became a turning point after Base…

Senate Democrats have intensified scrutiny of Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche during his confirmation hearing, accusing him of weakening crypto enforcement while President Donald Trump’s digital asset businesses have expanded. Summary Dick Durbin accused Todd Blanche of dismantling DOJ crypto enforcement to benefit Trump’s crypto businesses. Senate Democrats linked Blanche’s nomination to demands for stricter ethics rules in crypto legislation. Blanche defended the DOJ’s new approach while saying he would review the Binance pardon process if confirmed. According to proceedings from the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, Senator Dick Durbin used his opening remarks to argue that Blanche…

A new academic study has found that Polymarket’s five-minute Bitcoin prediction contracts have created incentives for sophisticated traders to manipulate spot prices and profit at the expense of ordinary participants. Summary Stanford researchers link Polymarket’s five-minute Bitcoin markets to settlement-price manipulation. The study estimates about $1.28 million shifted from retail traders to sophisticated participants. Researchers say longer settlement windows and improved pricing methods could reduce manipulation risk. According to researchers from Stanford University and Singapore Management University, the structure of Polymarket’s short-duration Bitcoin markets encourages traders to influence the cryptocurrency’s spot price shortly before contracts settle. Their paper concluded that…

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust has secured a major regulatory win after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved a fourfold increase in the ETF’s options position limit from 250,000 to 1 million contracts. Summary SEC has approved raising IBIT options limits from 250,000 to 1 million contracts. NYSE Arca says the higher cap matches strong trading demand and improves liquidity. The approval comes after BlackRock reported 31% year-over-year revenue growth in Q2. According to a notice published by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a rule change submitted by NYSE Arca has become effective immediately, allowing the exchange to raise…

XRP Ledger has entered the final two-week activation countdown for its fixCleanup3_2_0 amendment after validator support exceeded the network’s required 80% approval threshold. Summary XRP Ledger’s fixCleanup3_2_0 amendment has entered its two-week activation countdown. The upgrade bundles protocol fixes for lending, permissioned domains, and the Permissioned DEX. Activation is scheduled for July 29 if validator support stays above the 80% threshold. According to XRP Ledger governance data, the bundled maintenance amendment currently has 85.71% validator support, with 30 validators voting in favor and five against. Under the network’s governance rules, an amendment must maintain at least 80% support for two…