The U.S. State Department announced the Freedom Tech Excellence Program (FTEP) on July 24, 2026, a new initiative bringing private-sector talent to advance digital freedom and national security. Founding partners include the Bitcoin Policy Institute, Palantir Technologies, Anduril Industries, and the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, disclosed that the U.S. military is actively running a Bitcoin node and testing the protocol's cryptographic architecture as a tool for network security and power projection, though not mining BTC.
The Kingdom of Bhutan transferred another 319 BTC to new wallets, continuing a selling streak that has reduced its sovereign Bitcoin holdings from 13,000 BTC to 3,774 BTC. Funds were routed through wallets previously used for sales via Galaxy Digital and OKX.
Iranian officials announced plans to charge oil tankers Bitcoin-denominated transit fees of up to $2 million per ship to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, citing sanctions evasion as rationale, following the US-Iran ceasefire agreement.
Senators Bill Cassidy and Cynthia Lummis introduced legislation aimed at reshoring Bitcoin mining equipment manufacturing and codifying the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, addressing the fact that 97% of mining machines are made by Chinese companies despite the US hosting 38% of global hashrate.
