Coinbase has launched two major product expansions for UK users: 24/5 trading of nearly 4,000 U.S. stocks with zero commissions and fractional shares, plus over 170 crypto derivatives contracts with up to 50x leverage for professional investors.
The U.S. Senate postponed a vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act until September after Democrats withheld consent needed to bring the crypto market structure bill to the floor before the August recess. Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed a motion to proceed, setting up a procedural vote when Congress returns.
Coinbase will consolidate its International Exchange institutional derivatives operations onto Deribit on September 9, 2026, following its $2.9 billion acquisition of the platform. The migration will force-settle existing positions and require clients to update APIs and close margin loans ahead of the transition.
Prediction market platform Polymarket is in talks to raise approximately $1 billion at a valuation exceeding $20 billion, more than double its $9 billion valuation from October 2025. The fundraising comes months after the company closed an earlier round with investment from hedge fund D.E. Shaw & Co.
Coinbase is suspending six non-USD trading pairs including CRO/USDT and MINA/EUR effective August 6, while Binance is removing four spot trading pairs (QNT/BTC, RPL/USDC, SIGN/BNB, SKL/USDC) on August 7 and delisting six tokens (ACX, HFT, PIVX, PYR, VANRY, VIC) later in August, citing low trading liquidity and volume.
The Senate's cryptocurrency market structure legislation, known as the CLARITY Act, faces a tight timeline for a vote before the August recess, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune indicating an initial vote is expected but the bill reportedly remains seven votes short of the 60 needed for passage. The White House is reviewing the latest draft as bipartisan negotiations intensify.
Switzerland's SRO (Self-Regulatory Organization) system, which allows crypto firms to join private supervisory bodies for anti-money laundering compliance, is being highlighted as a model for enabling faster market entry while maintaining regulatory oversight.
The FTX Recovery Trust has begun its fifth round of creditor repayments, distributing approximately $900 million to eligible creditors on July 31, 2026. This brings total distributions since the cryptocurrency exchange's 2022 bankruptcy to nearly $10 billion.
Major cryptocurrencies including Ethereum, XRP, MemeToro and HYPE are attracting investor capital in July 2026 while smaller tokens face liquidity challenges amid increased regulatory enforcement actions and payment-access restrictions.
Institutional investors represented a record 72% of spot trading volume on Wintermute's OTC desk during the first half of 2026, signaling Wall Street's growing presence in cryptocurrency markets and contributing to reduced market volatility.
Traders using perpetual futures contracts—the dominant price discovery mechanism for bitcoin and ether—applied the same tools to value SpaceX as a private company, producing a more accurate valuation for what became the biggest IPO in history than traditional Wall Street estimates, though the stock subsequently diverged from their pricing.
Traders using perpetual futures contracts—the dominant price discovery mechanism for bitcoin and ether—applied the same tools to value SpaceX as a private company, producing a more accurate valuation for what became the biggest IPO in history than traditional Wall Street estimates, though the stock subsequently diverged from their pricing.
The Bank of Russia has published draft regulations to establish organized cryptocurrency markets by extending existing securities market rules to digital assets, a move that follows fresh Western sanctions against the country.
Voluntary Chapter 11 filed July 26, 2026 (Case No. 5:26-bk-00512, Northern District of West Virginia) by decentralized cloud storage provider Storj Labs to restructure legacy liabilities; parent company Inveniam supports the process while management proposes an equity conversion framework for STORJ token holders.
Institutional crypto and FX trading platform LMAX Group is exploring strategic alternatives including a potential sale, IPO, or SPAC merger, with Morgan Stanley and KBW serving as advisors. The London-based firm, which reported $8.2 trillion in trading volume, could seek a valuation of up to $5 billion, with Nasdaq reportedly the preferred listing venue.
BitMEX, the pioneering cryptocurrency derivatives exchange that introduced 100x leverage perpetual swaps, announced it will permanently shut down on September 23, 2026, following a strategic review by parent company HDR Global Trading Limited. The platform has already halted new account registrations.
S&P Dow Jones Indices and Pantera Capital have launched the S&P Pantera Digital Asset Index, an 18-constituent benchmark that screens digital assets based on protocol revenue, market size, and liquidity. The index notably excludes Bitcoin, which does not generate protocol revenue, and includes Ethereum, BNB, Solana, Tron, and Hyperliquid as major holdings.
Polygon Labs announced another round of staff cuts as it transitions from a blockchain foundation to a payments-focused company, coinciding with its $250 million acquisition of crypto exchange Coinme and wallet platform Sequence. CEO Marc Boiron said the restructuring reflects the shift toward commercial priorities and profitability targets for 2027.
President Donald Trump held a meeting with senators on Thursday, July 16, 2026, to address the ethics provision in the Clarity Act that would limit officials' personal involvement in cryptocurrency business—the last major obstacle to passing sweeping crypto market structure legislation. The provision has drawn scrutiny given Trump's reported $1.4 billion in crypto holdings.
CEO Stephen Gregory outlined plans to recapture 20% of the U.S. crypto exchange market through 0% maker fees, 0.02% taker fees, and expansion into derivatives and prediction markets, following a two-year regulatory disruption that included an SEC civil lawsuit and loss of banking relationships.
Polymarket's affiliated entity filed with the National Futures Association on July 3 to offer margin trading in the US, though activation still requires CFTC approval. The move would allow users to open positions with a fraction of capital required upfront.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is developing an 'innovation exemption' policy that would permit crypto companies to offer blockchain-based versions of publicly traded stocks without full traditional broker licensing requirements. The move could enable 24/7 trading of tokenized equities and represents a potential major shift in U.S. equity markets.
White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are urging the Senate to pass the Clarity Act crypto market structure bill, while 160 former law enforcement and national security officials signed a letter supporting the legislation. The bill faces a tight congressional calendar as the Senate resumes floor negotiations.
Paxos Securities Settlement Company received SEC registration as a clearing agency under Section 17A, marking the first blockchain-native firm to achieve this status after seven years of engagement with regulators beginning with a 2019 no-action letter.
Bitcoin Depot Inc., once the largest Bitcoin ATM operator in the US, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and shut down its entire kiosk network. The company's stock had lost over 40% in the week before the Monday announcement.
The Senate Banking Committee has publicly released the full text of the Clarity Act, a digital asset market structure bill that will establish a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. The committee is scheduled to vote on the legislation on Thursday.
Stablecoin issuer Tether posted over $1 billion in Q1 profit and reached a record $8.23 billion reserve buffer, while announcing that its first full audit has begun. The company holds approximately $141 billion in U.S. Treasuries.
More than 100 cryptocurrency companies and industry organizations sent a letter to the US Senate Banking Committee urging action on the CLARITY Act market structure bill. The legislation faces mounting delays over stablecoin yield provisions, with limited floor time remaining in 2026.
