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Bank of America has appointed Sonali Theisen and Kevin Milsom to lead its cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence businesses, respectively, Bloomberg reported. Theisen will oversee stablecoins, deposit tokens, custody and crypto payments, while Milsom will be responsible for applying AI across the bank’s markets business.

The three major U.S. stock indices closed lower today. - S&P 500: -1.01% - Nasdaq: -1.40% - Dow Jones: -0.77%

FTX plans to distribute about $900 million more to creditors later this month, Cointelegraph reported. Eligible recipients are expected to receive the funds within three business days.

Cardano developer Input Output announced it will transfer key infrastructure responsibilities to outside specialist teams as part of its decentralization push, CoinDesk reported. Input Output said it plans to reduce reliance on the in-house developer by handing control of core blockchain infrastructure to external teams, describing the move as the next stage of Cardano’s decentralization. The handoff includes the Haskell node, the Plutus smart contract platform, the Daedalus wallet, Hydra scaling technology and developer relations. Se7en Labs, a developer specializing in Solana blockchain infrastructure, and Teragone, a software development and research team leading work on Mithril, Cardano’s staking-based signature scheme, will take over the responsibilities. The transition is set to begin in August and continue through 2027.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has risen above $64,000. BTC is trading at $64,015.53 on the Binance USDT market.

Glassnode said sentiment in the Bitcoin options market is turning positive. The report said Bitcoin’s rebound pushed the volatility index DVOL down to 40 from 48, suggesting some of the fear premium built up during the sharp market selloff in June has eased. It added that volatility remains above the lows seen in May, indicating market uncertainty has moderated but has not fully disappeared. The BTC options put/call ratio by open interest also fell to around 0.59, the lowest level in the past six months, which Glassnode said suggests traders have sharply reduced downside hedging through put options and are rebuilding positions for further upside. Glassnode said the shifts signal options-market sentiment is improving in a bullish direction.

Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee said on a YouTube broadcast that Ethereum could rise to $250,000 over time, adding he was not specifically endorsing that exact price target but still sees substantial upside for the asset. Lee also cited the late former Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger’s view that major money is made through patience rather than buying and selling. He added many investors still underestimate cryptocurrency’s role in an AI-driven economy, and said Ethereum could serve as the payment layer for the future financial system. Lee said he believes crypto infrastructure will play a key role in supporting digital assets and AI-powered commerce.

Trezor CCO Danny Sanders pushed back on on-chain analyst ZachXBT’s claim that hardware wallets are useless, Cointelegraph reported. In an interview, Sanders said a dedicated iPhone setup may suit experienced users, but an iPhone has a broader attack surface. Because of that, Sanders emphasized hardware wallets offer a stronger form of self-custody for general users.

A wallet believed to be linked to Lombard Finance transferred 750 BTC worth about $47.8 million to Galaxy Digital, in what was described as likely being related to an OTC trade.

HSBC has become the first company to receive approval from the Bank of England to launch a digital asset platform within the digital securities sandbox, Cointelegraph reported. The approval allows HSBC to support the issuance and settlement of tokenized bonds.

U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, who is seen as crypto-friendly, said the CLARITY Act would provide regulatory certainty for developers, protections for investors and stability for the cryptocurrency market, Cointelegraph reported.

RWA perpetual trading volume reached a record $110 billion in June, up 28% from the previous month, Cointelegraph reported, citing CryptoRank data. Stock tokens were described as the fastest-growing segment in DeFi and as driving the surge.

An early Lido investor, or possibly an institution, transferred 4.3 million LDO worth $1.61 million to Kraken about one hour ago after holding the tokens for five and a half years, EmberCN reported. The address received an investment allocation of 5 million LDO in December 2020. Those tokens were once worth $30 million at the 2021 peak, but are now worth just $1.88 million. Still, the estimated purchase price was $0.0085 per token, suggesting a gain of more than 40x even at the current price.

Ether.fi, an on-chain digital asset management platform, announced the launch of a slashing coverage program with decentralized insurance protocol Nexus Mutual that provides up to 15,000 ETH in protection for validator losses from slashing, according to Decrypt. The company described it as the crypto industry’s largest ETH slashing insurance program. Ether.fi said it has continued to strengthen infrastructure, risk management, and operational security as institutional and retail users have grown rapidly, and added that it has established protections against extreme slashing risks as one of Ethereum’s largest validator operators. Ether.fi CEO Mike Silagadze said the company has continued investing in security and staking infrastructure based on its belief that the safest protocol will ultimately win. Nexus Mutual founder Hugh Karp called the slashing cover of up to 15,000 ETH a historic milestone.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said the trajectory of gold ETFs over the past 22 years may be the closest comparable case for gauging how spot Bitcoin ETFs could evolve. He explained that both gold and Bitcoin are stores of value that do not generate cash flow, meaning investor sentiment drives prices more than corporate earnings or interest rates, unlike stocks or bonds. Balchunas added that SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), a spot gold ETF, once became the world’s largest ETF before going through about eight years of weakness and later recovering. He said spot Bitcoin ETFs may likewise go through repeated sharp rallies and steep pullbacks that test investors’ patience, while noting that gold ETFs have gone on to surpass previous highs over successive cycles, suggesting spot Bitcoin ETFs could follow a similar long-term pattern.

Former U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, a Republican, said the CLARITY Act, a virtual asset market structure bill, could carry historical significance comparable to the Telecommunications Act of 1996, according to an opinion piece published by U.S. venture capital firm a16z. McHenry said the United States is at a crossroads over whether it will retain its position as a global technology and financial hub or cede leadership to rival countries. He said the CLARITY Act aims to establish a framework that supports innovation in new technologies alongside consumer protection and has bipartisan backing. He argued U.S. financial regulation after the 2008 financial crisis focused on responding to past crises while showing less urgency in building systems for future technological innovation. In that context, McHenry said the CLARITY Act could become the first major financial reform in about 30 years aimed at building the financial system of the future. McHenry added the industry is not rejecting regulation but wants clear rules. If passed, the bill would provide regulatory clarity for the digital asset industry while strengthening investor protection and the ability to combat crime, he said. He also said the CLARITY Act is needed to help preserve U.S. technological competitiveness, as capital and innovation move to countries with clear regulations.

Galaxy Digital (Nasdaq: GLXY), a crypto financial services firm focused on institutions, announced a 15-year official partnership with Texas Tech University in the data center and digital asset sectors. Under the agreement, the home stadium of Texas Tech’s Red Raiders football team will be renamed Galaxy Stadium. Galaxy said Texas Tech is a key partner in West Texas and an important source of talent, adding that Texas Tech graduates are already working at Helios, its data center. The two sides said they plan to use the partnership as a starting point to jointly review academic and commercial AI projects and pursue strategic cooperation on research, talent development, and expanded investment in the West Texas economy to support digital innovation.

The three major U.S. stock indices opened lower today. - S&P 500: -1.17% - Nasdaq: -1.72% - Dow Jones: -1.01%

ARK Invest said in a quarterly report that although Bitcoin fell about 14% in the second quarter, on-chain indicators showed signs that selling pressure was being exhausted. The firm said the amount of BTC held at a loss had surpassed the amount held at a profit, adding this pattern has mainly appeared near the bottom of past market cycles. ARK Invest said coins sold during the price correction were absorbed by long-term holders, with long-term holder, or LTH, BTC holdings rising to a record of about 14.85 million BTC. At the same time, the firm assessed corporate Bitcoin treasury strategies and the ETF market as weak. It said outflows from U.S. spot BTC ETFs have continued, slowing institutional buying, while continued accumulation by long-term holders suggests a redistribution of supply is underway in the market.

A district court in Rotterdam has declared crypto trading platform Knaken Cryptohandel BV and an affiliated foundation bankrupt, saying insolvency proceedings are needed to liquidate the company’s assets in an orderly manner after Knaken halted platform operations and restricted user access to accounts. The court added that the company’s current assets are unlikely to be enough to fully repay customer funds, while users also lack sufficient information to assess their legal rights. Knaken, a Dutch crypto trading platform founded in 2017, halted operations in June.

European Central Bank Executive Board member Piero Cipollone warned that the spread of stablecoins could weaken commercial banks’ retail deposit base and alter competition in the traditional banking system. As digital payments expand, banks are already facing lower payment-fee income and greater exposure of transaction data, and Cipollone said broader use of stablecoins and other digital-asset payment tools could further increase pressure from deposit outflows. Cipollone also added that Europe’s payment infrastructure is becoming more dependent on non-European companies. Cipollone stressed that a digital euro would help preserve the role of public money and support banks in maintaining a central role in the payments ecosystem. The ECB recently selected 36 institutions, including banks, fintech firms and payment companies, to participate in its digital euro pilot program, which is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2027. The ECB has previously said it could officially introduce the digital euro in 2029 if related legislation and testing proceed smoothly.

According to on-chain data, Abraxas Capital has accumulated an additional 12,477 ETH, worth approximately $22.88 million, over the past three hours. Over the past week, the firm has withdrawn a total of 45,996 ETH, valued at around $84.39 million, from Binance, Bybit, and Bitfinex.

A filing with the UK's Companies House suggests that Nvidia's venture capital arm, NVentures, has invested approximately $196 million in the crypto-friendly neobank Revolut, TechFundingNews reported. The document indicates that a shareholder, presumed to be NVentures LLC, holds about 141,834 shares in Revolut. Based on the issue price from that funding round, the stake is valued at around $195.9 million. Neither Nvidia nor Revolut has officially disclosed the size of the investment or the corresponding equity stake. Revolut is a UK-based fintech company that provides services including payments, foreign exchange, investments, and virtual assets. Market observers interpret the move as part of Nvidia's broader strategy to expand its investments in the AI and digital finance ecosystems.

Solana-based DeFi protocol DeFiTuna lost 569,601 USDC in an exploit on July 16, according to an analysis by blockchain security firm CertiK. The attacker initiated the exploit by creating a TUNA/USDC pool with extremely low liquidity. They then swapped borrowed USDC through Jupiter routing within this pool, receiving a negligible amount of TUNA in return. This action triggered a rounding error in the protocol's asset valuation process, causing the total asset value to be calculated as zero and thereby bypassing its solvency checks. The attacker subsequently withdrew the USDC through a liquidity position under their control, and the stolen funds have since been distributed to multiple intermediate addresses. CertiK identified the root cause as a flaw in the solvency check logic, which incorrectly validated a position as normal even when its asset value was calculated as zero under extreme conditions.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has added 14 new Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs) to its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) registry, bringing the total to 294, Cointelegraph reported. The new additions include Ripple's European payments subsidiary, Ripple Payments Europe, as well as Portugal's Bison Bank, Croatia's state-owned Hrvatska poštanska banka (HPB), and several German cooperative banks. ESMA stated this shows the continued entry of traditional financial institutions into the MiCA market. Meanwhile, the number of registered E-Money Token (EMT) issuers stands at 21, with no Asset-Referenced Token (ART) issuers yet approved. ESMA also added two non-compliant firms to a separate list following action by Italy's financial authority (CONSOB), increasing the total on that list to 164.