Author: John Smith

The U.S. Senate confirmed former Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Jay Clayton as Director of National Intelligence on July 28 in a 51-47 party-line vote.  Summary 51 senators confirmed Jay Clayton as intelligence director, while 47 opposed his nomination Tuesday evening. Clayton chaired the SEC when the agency filed its 2020 enforcement action against Ripple Labs. Ripple and the SEC dismissed their appeals in 2025, leaving the $125 million judgment intact. The appointment brings the official who led the SEC when it sued Ripple Labs in 2020 into a role coordinating the country’s 18 intelligence agencies. Clayton will replace acting…

Gate US joined BitGo’s Go Network Off-Exchange Settlement service on July 28, giving eligible institutional clients access to the exchange’s U.S. liquidity while their assets remain in custody at BitGo Bank & Trust, National Association. Summary Gate US clients can trade while assets remain segregated inside BitGo Bank and Trust custody. Ten named venues now appear on BitGo’s OES list after Gate US joins the network. BitGo Bank operates under an OCC national trust charter completed and effective in December 2025. The integration extends a broader partnership announced five days earlier. Gate US said BitGo would provide institutional custody, wallet…

Tether and the Nairobi Securities Exchange signed a memorandum of understanding on July 28 to explore tokenized securities, blockchain-based market infrastructure and digital asset education in Kenya.  Summary Tether and NSE will explore tokenized securities, fractional access, instant settlement, and digital asset education. Kenya’s 2025 law assigns tokenization oversight to CMA and stablecoin issuance oversight to CBK separately. RWA.xyz tracks $36.9 billion in tokenized assets excluding stablecoins, showing the sector’s expanding institutional scale. The parties will also assess whether USDT could serve as a settlement infrastructure layer where Kenyan rules permit it. The announcement does not approve a tokenized security,…

Open interest in perpetual contracts tied to stocks, metals and oil has doubled since late May as major crypto exchanges expand beyond digital assets, CryptoQuant reported. Summary TradFi perpetual open interest has more than doubled to over $2 billion since late May. Binance, Bybit and Gate control about 70% of the emerging derivatives segment. Crypto perpetual open interest stands near $65 billion, around 20% below its previous peaks. TradFi perpetual open interest climbs above $2B TradFi perpetual contracts have become one of the fastest-growing areas of the crypto exchange market, according to CryptoQuant’s report. The products give traders continuous exposure…

Regional mediators are reportedly close to a proposal that could restart the US-Iran memorandum of understanding, although Tehran continues to deny seeking renewed talks with Washington. Summary Pakistan, Egypt and Qatar are reportedly pushing a plan to revive the US-Iran MoU. Iran and Oman have reportedly accepted a proposal addressing disputes over the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran denies requesting negotiations and wants greater control over shipping routes through the strait. Brent crude fell 4.8% to $84.09 as markets responded to reduced hostilities. Mediators push US-Iran MoU revival Pakistan, Egypt and Qatar have stepped up efforts to revive the US-Iran framework…

Florida Rep. Mike Haridopolos has renewed his push for the CLARITY Act as Senate delays narrow the bill’s path to passage before the August recess. Summary Haridopolos warned that continued delays could push US crypto businesses and investment overseas. Senate leaders prioritized 74 federal nominees and a Russia sanctions bill over the CLARITY Act. The bill needs at least eight Democratic votes to overcome the Senate’s procedural threshold. Haridopolos warns US crypto leadership is at risk Haridopolos, a Republican member of the House Financial Services Committee, defended the CLARITY Act during a July 28 appearance on Fox Business’ Mornings with…

JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo are developing a shared tokenized deposit network that could bring round-the-clock blockchain payments to the regulated US banking system. Summary Four major US banks are jointly developing an interbank tokenized deposit network. The Clearing House is targeting a launch in the first half of 2027. Multinational companies will initially receive access to programmable treasury and cross-border payment tools. Banking groups are separately seeking tighter stablecoin reward rules under the CLARITY Act. Four US banks move tokenized deposits onto one network The Clearing House, a payments company jointly owned by major commercial…

Elon Musk has set an early August target for Grok 4.6 and disclosed plans for a larger Grok 4.7 model as SpaceXAI steps up its competition with OpenAI, Anthropic, and China’s Moonshot AI. Summary Grok 4.6 is scheduled for around Aug. 7, according to Musk. The upcoming model will have 1.5 trillion parameters and improved post-training. Grok 4.7 could arrive weeks later with 2.1 trillion parameters. Grok 4.5 ranked first for cybersecurity price-performance in a Vercel assessment. Grok 4.6 targets an Aug. 7 release Musk disclosed the timeline in a July 28 post on X, saying Grok 4.6 would be…

SBI Holdings has restructured a wholly owned subsidiary around the Canton Network, extending its institutional blockchain strategy beyond Ripple and the XRP Ledger. Summary SBI Digital Practice will build financial infrastructure and applications on the Canton Network. SBI said Canton connects more than 600 institutions and supports over $6 trillion in assets. The restructuring adds Canton to SBI’s work across XRP Ledger, Solana, stablecoins, and tokenized securities. Canton’s link to tokenized U.S. Treasuries gives the Japanese expansion a direct U.S. market connection. SBI creates dedicated Canton Network business SBI Holdings announced on July 28 that SBI Security Solutions had changed…

AmericanFortress has proposed a post-quantum security scheme designed to protect existing Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana wallet addresses without requiring holders to move funds or rotate their keys. Summary ZK-PoSP keeps existing wallet addresses while replacing conventional transaction authorization with zero-knowledge proofs. AmericanFortress says the scheme requires no fund migration, key rotation, or new address format. The approach remains a proposal and would require node-level upgrades before any blockchain could enforce it. Its post-quantum security remains conjectural, according to the technical paper, rather than proven against a working attack. ZK-PoSP uses wallet seeds to authorize transactions AmericanFortress released the technical paper…