Weekly Rollup - July 21, 2026

Market highlights

• A bitcoin wallet dormant for over 8.5 years transferred 5,907 BTC worth US$383 million.
• Senate Democrats intensified opposition to the Clarity Act, arguing it lacks ethics provisions.
• New Hampshire enacted the Blockchain Basic Laws, strengthening crypto legal protections.
• U.S. and UK issued non-binding recommendations to align stablecoin and tokenisation rules.
• The Visa Stablecoin Platform launched, enabling firms to issue, hold and transfer stablecoins.
• BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and others working with DTCC on tokenised stocks.

Macro market overview

Risk assets sold off this week due to declines in semiconductor stocks and escalating Middle East tensions. Iran says the 14-point memorandum of understanding signed in June, which brought about the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, is now effectively over. Oil prices increased to around US$85 as a result, re-awakening inflation concerns and the potential need for interest rate hikes.

In economic data, the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) for June came in at 3.5%, below the forecast 3.8% and the largest inflation slowdown in six years. The development eased imminent interest rate hike fears, though the evolving situation in the Middle East could rapidly change the outlook. Also this week, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh testified before congress. His testimony echoed his June press conference, reiterating the Fed is focused on ensuring "the inflation surge of the last five years will be a thing of the past". CME Group's FedWatch tool puts the likelihood of rates staying on hold at its July 29 meeting at 84.5%.

Heading into the new week, market participants will presumably be monitoring tensions in the Middle East, earnings from Alphabet, Tesla and Intel, and the European Central Bank's interest rate decision.

Weekly performance: S&P 500 +1.6%, Dow Jones -0.9%, Nasdaq -2.9%.

Looking ahead:

• European Central Bank interest rate decision - Thursday, July 23

Crypto Market Performance

Market Cap: $2.23T (+1%)

Sector performance was mixed this week. AI and financials saw the steepest declines, presumably due to risk-off sentiment across AI and semiconductor TradFi assets. Like last week, the broader crypto market was relatively quiet, with some currencies making minor gains, while others saw minor losses. The crypto fear and greed index remains in fear territory at 36.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

Bitcoin (BTC)

• Opened the week at US$63,744, gained to a weekly high of US$65,518 on Wednesday, July 15 due to the cool U.S. CPI print, and traded around US$64,700 for the remainder of the week. Bitcoin gained slightly throughout the weekend, now trading around US$65,100 (+5.3% 7D).
• BTC dominance ranged between 58.7% and 59.3% this week.
• Bitcoin investment products saw inflows of US$87.2 million.

Bitcoin slipped toward $63,000 over the weekend as broader risk-off sentiment, driven by escalating tensions in the Middle East, weighed on markets in the second half of the week. More than 65% of coins sent to exchanges came from long-term holders selling at a loss, a pattern typical of bear markets. Analysts say exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows are recovering and sell pressure may be nearing exhaustion.

A bitcoin wallet dormant for over 8.5 years transferred 5,907 BTC worth US$383 million to a new address. The move appears to be an internal wallet upgrade rather than a sale, with no exchange deposits detected. The holdings have gained roughly 291% since being acquired in 2017.

Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 110 (BIP-110), a network proposal introduced in December 2025, would restrict how bitcoin transactions embed non-payment data, limiting output sizes, OP_RETURN data, witness elements and some Taproot inscription features. Supporters want to curb blockchain data use, while critics say it threatens censorship resistance and protocol predictability. Miner support remains minimal ahead of mandatory voting, which begins in August.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

Ethereum (ETH)

• Opened the week at US$1,805, gained to a weekly high of US$1,944 on Wednesday, July 15 and declined throughout the week's end. Ethereum is now trading around US$1,890 (+8% 7D).
• Ethereum dominance ranged between 10% and 10.5% this week.
• Ethereum-focused funds saw inflows of US$105.5 million.

The team behind the Ethereum Foundation's Institutional Privacy Task Force, launched EthSystems, a for-profit company building privacy infrastructure for institutions on Ethereum. Backed by Joe Lubin, Bitmine and SharpLink, it aims to help banks adopt tokenised assets and stablecoins without exposing sensitive transaction data on public blockchains.

In Ethereum buying news:

• BitMine bought 7,430 ETH (US$14 million), as the firm directed its resources to buying back 5.5 million shares at an average price of US$15.62 per share. The company now holds almost 5.8 million ETH, or around 4.8% of supply.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

Altcoins

The altcoin season index is currently 50, which is leaning toward altcoin season, although not the conditions of a broad-based rally.

Lido gains

• LidoDao gained 23.3%. The Ethereum liquid staking protocol gained on news that Interactive Brokers added the cryptocurrency to its platform, increasing access for retail and institutional investors.

ether.fi x Nexus Mutual

• ether.fi gained 20.1%. The onchain neobank for digital assets gained on its announcement it has selected Nexus Mutual to provide the largest ETH slashing cover in the industry. The cover protects validators for up to 15,000 ETH in slashing penalties.

ADA's hard fork

• Cardano gained 8.6%. The layer-1 network gained when it activated the Van Rossem hard fork, its first major protocol upgrade approved entirely through on-chain community governance rather than its founding company. The update lowers smart contract costs, adds security and cryptographic improvements, and enables future scalability upgrades.

Crypto ETF News

Digital asset investment products saw inflows of US$203 million as crypto continued with minor gains and sideways trade throughout the week. Most days saw modest inflows, presumably due to decreased concerns about the Fed implementing imminent interest rate hikes.

In altcoins, Solana and XRP saw inflows of US$3.6 million and US$6.8 million, respectively. HYPE saw outflows of US$7.3 million.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

Other crypto news

• Senate Democrats are intensifying opposition to the Clarity Act, arguing it lacks ethics provisions preventing President Trump and his family from profiting from crypto. With Congress nearing its August recess, which runs from August 8 to September 14, the bill faces a shrinking window for passage, requiring bipartisan support and at least seven Democrat's votes to clear the Senate.
• The U.S. Government transferred US$288 million in seized bitcoin and Ethereum to Coinbase Prime, prompting speculation about a potential sale. However, Coinbase Prime also serves as the government's custodian, so the move may simply reflect asset consolidation. The bitcoin came from active criminal cases and is not part of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
• New Hampshire enacted the Blockchain Basic Laws, strengthening legal protections for cryptocurrency users, self-custody, blockchain developers, miners and validators. The legislation follows the state's landmark bitcoin reserve law, reinforcing its pro-crypto stance and establishing a dedicated court process for blockchain-related disputes, while positioning the state as a U.S. blockchain innovation hub.
• The U.S. and UK issued 10 non-binding recommendations to align stablecoin, tokenisation and capital markets rules. Proposals include testing cross-border tokenisation, supporting fully backed payment stablecoins and examining digital assets as clearing-house collateral. However, mutual recognition remains absent, meaning firms must still satisfy each country's separate regulatory requirements.
• The UK will defer Capital Gains Tax on crypto deposited into qualifying DeFi lending protocols and liquidity pools from 6 April 2027. New "no gain, no loss" rules mean tax is only triggered upon a genuine economic disposal, reducing compliance burdens and aligning tax treatment with the underlying economic activity.
• Morgan Stanley launched spot bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana trading for eligible E*TRADE customers through crypto infrastructure provider Zero Hash. Clients can view crypto alongside traditional investments, with custody handled externally. The rollout advances the firm's digital asset strategy, following recent ETF, tokenisation and stablecoin initiatives.
• BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and dozens of other firms are working with the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) on a new initiative to develop standards for tokenised stocks, aiming to improve interoperability across blockchain networks. The collaboration seeks to accelerate institutional adoption by creating consistent infrastructure, reducing fragmentation and making tokenised securities easier to issue, trade and settle.
• Visa launched the Visa Stablecoin Platform, enabling banks, fintechs and payment providers to issue, hold and transfer stablecoins without building their own infrastructure. Launching with support for Open USD (OUSD) alongside USDC and USDG, the platform is entering beta before a broader rollout, streamlining payments, treasury and settlement operations.
• The U.S. Treasury sanctioned 22 cryptocurrency addresses linked to an Iranian network accused of laundering US$131 million in digital assets to evade sanctions. Authorities say the funds supported procurement and financial operations tied to Iran's military, expanding efforts to disrupt illicit crypto activity and sanctions evasion.