cryptocurrency

According to Deribit data, a nominal value of 10.3 billion dollars in cryptocurrency options will expire tomorrow.Among them: BTC options have a nominal value of 9.5 billion dollars, with a put/call ratio of 0.28 and a maximum pain point of 64,000 dollars; ETH options have a nominal value of 819 million dollars, with a put/call ratio of 0.59 and a maximum pain point of 1,800 dollars.

According to Digital Asset, on July 28, 15 members of South Korea's People Power Party, including Kim Sang-hoon, proposed an amendment to the Specific Financial Information Act, allowing financial authorities to request the suspension of payments for virtual asset accounts suspected of being used for illegal asset transfers.The amendment defines "account" as a unique identification number provided by exchanges to users. The Financial Intelligence Analysis Institute can request a suspension of payments for 30 days when an account is deemed suspicious, which can be extended once. Those who do not comply may face fines of up to 100 million won. The bill will take effect six months after its announcement.

According to Decrypt, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated that if Congress fails to pass the Clear Act, the SEC is "ready at any time" to establish its own cryptocurrency market rules. Atkins emphasized that legislation is the only way to prevent the regulatory framework from changing with each new administration and expressed optimism about the bill's eventual passage.Currently, the Clear Act passed the House of Representatives last July with a vote of 294-134 and was approved by the Senate Banking Committee this May with a vote of 15-9, but it has not yet been voted on by the full Senate (which requires 60 votes to pass). Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recently hinted that the bill may not be completed before the August recess. If passed, the bill would transfer the regulatory authority over the spot market for most tokens to the CFTC, removing it from SEC jurisdiction. The SEC has already made preparations, and the "Project Crypto" regulatory framework promoted by Atkins has been included in the 2026 agenda, covering aspects such as token registration exemptions, safe harbors, and broker custody, and is seen as a transitional plan for the Clear Act.

According to official news, Japanese gaming giant Gumi, through its subsidiary gC Labs, will launch the "SBI Crypto Fund I" cryptocurrency investment fund in collaboration with SBI Financial Services on August 1. The fund has a scale of approximately 3 billion yen (about 18.3 million USD), with a duration of three years, adopting a private placement structure, and several institutions including Daiwa Securities Group are participating in the investment.The fund will primarily invest in Bitcoin and mainstream altcoins, utilizing a combination of staking, rebalancing, and hedging strategies. The fund aims to serve as a bridge between the cryptocurrency asset market and Japanese enterprises, accumulating performance for the future development of financial products such as cryptocurrency ETFs. Currently, Japan has not yet approved cryptocurrency ETFs, and the launch of this fund is seen as an attempt to integrate traditional finance with digital assets.

The Hawkins County Commissioners in Tennessee, USA, passed a ban with 12 votes in favor and 0 votes against, prohibiting the establishment, construction, installation, expansion, and operation of cryptocurrency mining facilities and data centers in the county's unincorporated areas.The commission had previously passed a similar ban in September 2025 to prevent the digital asset company ExoticRidge from conducting mining operations locally, and in January confirmed its related authority through a resolution. ExoticRidge proposed a settlement with Hawkins County officials in January, allowing the company to build and operate facilities under noise restrictions. The proposed terms require that the A-weighted decibel noise at the property boundary must not exceed 80 decibels for more than 30 minutes within any 4-hour period.A law signed in Tennessee in April has stipulated that, starting July 1, the use and installation of cryptocurrency ATMs and kiosks will be illegal, with the restrictions aimed at incidents of residents transferring money to scammers using the devices.

According to The Block, the Solana Policy Institute in the United States has sent a letter to the bipartisan leaders of the Senate, urging them to push the Clarity Act digital asset bill into the voting process before the congressional legislative window closes in early August. The bill aims to provide regulatory clarity for U.S. crypto developers, institutions, and consumers, and establish a "non-money transmission" safe harbor for non-custodial software developers through the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act.The latest Republican version also adds ethical provisions that prohibit federal officials and their spouses from issuing or sponsoring digital assets, with the relevant provisions set to expire on January 20, 2029. SPI stated that the bill helps prevent "overreach" of regulation and criminal enforcement against software developers, maintaining the momentum for domestic construction in the United States.

According to Cryptopolitan, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has released a draft of regulatory rules for the cryptocurrency market, covering the registration and operational requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges, digital custodians, and token issuers. The draft stipulates that the minimum net assets for digital custodians must be between 50 million and 250 million rubles (approximately 600,000 to 3 million USD), with the specific amount depending on the nature of the business.These rules will complement the "Digital Currency and Digital Rights Law" passed by the State Duma of Russia earlier this month, which is expected to officially take effect on September 1, 2026. Under the new framework, non-qualified investors can only purchase mainstream assets such as BTC, ETH, and USDT up to a limit of 4,000 USD per year; industry participants will have a transition period until March 1, 2027, to complete compliance and approval procedures.

AI Agent Economic Settlement Agreement AEON has announced its expansion into the South Asian market of Bangladesh and successfully integrated with the two major local mobile payment wallets, bKash and Nagad. Local consumers can directly use mainstream cryptocurrencies and mainstream Web3 wallets for offline retail and online consumption. The AEON payment network will automatically convert and settle local currency with local merchants in the backend.AEON has covered over 50 million merchants and more than 10,000 brands globally, accelerating the construction of a localized digital financial fiat settlement network across multiple countries, paving the way for the implementation of the agent economy in high-frequency payments in the real world.

According to Cointelegraph, the Hungarian Parliament voted to abolish the previously mandated cryptocurrency asset verification requirements that were set to take effect on July 1, 2025. This requirement mandated that specific cryptocurrency conversions must be verified by a licensed third party regarding the source of assets, wallet ownership, and customer information before execution. Finance Minister Kármán András stated that the previously stringent regulatory requirements had led to several service providers exiting the Hungarian market, and the market is currently showing signs of recovery.Meanwhile, the Hungarian National Bank (MNB) officially granted the first local license under the EU MiCA framework to Budapest-based cryptocurrency platform CoinCash operator Tiwala Solutions on July 20, authorizing a range of services including custody, cryptocurrency exchange for fiat, cryptocurrency swaps, transfers, investment advice, and portfolio management.

According to Edaily, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea plans to jointly draft a unified government bill for the "Basic Law on Digital Assets" with the ruling Democratic Party, covering the issuance and circulation of stablecoins, business rules for digital assets, exchange admission requirements, information disclosure, internal control, and system resilience standards. Currently, there are 10 related bills pending review in the National Assembly, but there has not yet been consensus on core disputes such as whether the issuers of won-pegged stablecoins must be bank holding companies and whether to impose shareholding restrictions on major exchanges. The FSC has not yet determined the submission date for the bill.Meanwhile, the opposition party's People Power Party lawmaker Song Yeon-sik submitted a proposal to abolish the cryptocurrency income tax amendment to the National Assembly's Finance and Economy Planning Committee for review on Wednesday. Additionally, a tax abolition petition supported by over 50,000 people is also expected to be submitted to the petition subcommittee. According to the current plan, starting from January 1, 2027, cryptocurrency transfers or lending income exceeding 2.5 million won per year will face a 20% income tax plus a 2% local tax. The government and the ruling party support the timely implementation, while the opposition party believes it is unfair to tax cryptocurrencies when most ordinary stock investors remain tax-exempt.

According to Cointelegraph, Uzbekistan has officially launched its first tax-free cryptocurrency mining zone, Besqala Mining Valley, where miners can enjoy tax exemptions until 2035, while needing to pay a 1% revenue fee and double the electricity price. The relevant bill was signed in April.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) of India dismantled the dark web drug network Team Kalki. Binance and the Data Security Council of India (DSCI) provided blockchain analysis and wallet tracking to assist investigators in tracing cryptocurrency flows, identifying associated wallets, and freezing relevant crypto assets.Investigators stated that Team Kalki used the encrypted communication platform Session, the dark web forum Dread, and "dead drop" delivery methods to distribute drugs from international suppliers. Law enforcement seized thousands of drugs from domestic and international packages associated with the network. S.B. Seker, head of Binance Asia Pacific, stated that the transparent infrastructure of blockchain enables law enforcement to more effectively track and investigate illegal transactions. Binance CEO Richard Teng posted on X that Binance and DSCI are assisting the NCB in combating this dark web drug network by tracking on-chain fund flows.

Justin Ryan Schmidt, the founder of the cryptocurrency investment fund Translunar Crypto LP, has been sentenced to 37 months in prison by a U.S. court for tax evasion. The U.S. Department of Justice stated that the 46-year-old Schmidt pleaded guilty this year in federal court in Austin, Texas, where he was accused of underreporting income, declaring less than $5,000 in income from 2020 to 2022, while prosecutors claimed he actually earned over $7 million through fund operations from 2019 to 2022.It is reported that Schmidt founded Translunar in 2017, primarily investing in blockchain startups, with funding mainly coming from investors in the Austin area of Texas and Aspen, Colorado. He was arrested by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division on February 23, 2026, and has been in custody since then.