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    Samsung Confirms Stablecoin Support Is Coming to Samsung Wallet – NFT Plazas Samsung Confirms Stablecoin Support Is Coming to Samsung Wallet

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    Samsung Confirms Stablecoin Support Is Coming to Samsung Wallet – NFT Plazas Samsung Confirms Stablecoin Support Is Coming to Samsung Wallet


    Samsung confirmed that it will bring stablecoin support to Samsung Wallet, opening up another use case for digital assets directly within the default wallet on Galaxy devices. The news was shared by Samsung at the Galaxy Unpacked event on July 22, 2026, amid broader testing of stablecoins by payment companies, crypto exchanges, and digital asset issuers for remittances and settlement. Samsung has not yet announced specific stablecoins, implementation partners, or a release timeline for the feature.

    The move is notable because Samsung Wallet already occupies a central position in the Galaxy ecosystem, where users manage payments, identity, and selected digital financial services. If implemented at the wallet level, stablecoins could move closer to mainstream users, rather than remaining confined to exchange apps or specialized crypto wallets.

    Samsung Brings Stablecoins to Wallet

    Samsung is preparing to introduce stablecoins into Samsung Wallet, bringing a portion of digital value transfer into the default wallet on Galaxy devices. While the company has not disclosed how the feature will work, the messaging at Galaxy Unpacked signals Samsung’s intention to support faster, more familiar forms of digital value transfer for mobile users.

    Stablecoins, typically pegged to the US dollar, are currently widely used in crypto trading, cross-border remittances, and settlement. By integrating stablecoins into Wallet, Samsung is attempting to bring digital money movement into the same space where users are already accustomed to making everyday payments, authenticating, and managing credentials.

    If implemented seamlessly enough, Samsung Wallet could become one of the major consumer touchpoints taking stablecoins beyond specialized crypto apps.

    A Bigger Fintech Push

    In July 2025, Samsung Pay began to be supported as a payment and top-up method on Coinbase in the US and Canada. Three months later, Samsung expanded its partnership with Coinbase, allowing Samsung Wallet users in the US to access Coinbase One perks and view crypto assets directly within Wallet. According to Samsung and Coinbase, the program launched with over 75 million Galaxy users in the US.

    With that scale, bringing stablecoins into Wallet is more than just adding another crypto feature. Stablecoins already boast substantial trading infrastructure and liquidity, but they still require familiar consumer touchpoints to break out of specialized apps. A default smartphone wallet could narrow that gap, especially when stablecoins are placed alongside existing payment cards, IDs, and financial services in Wallet.

    Samsung continued its push by launching Galaxy Card in the US in July 2026, issued by Barclays on the Visa network and integrated with Samsung Wallet. When positioning stablecoins alongside credit cards, mobile payments, digital IDs, and crypto access, Samsung’s direction becomes clearer: Wallet is evolving into a financial services and identity layer within the Galaxy ecosystem, rather than just a place to “store cards.”

    Stablecoins Move Closer to Mainstream Users

    The scale of the stablecoin market provides further reason for consumer platforms to keep an eye on the sector. According to DeFiLlama, total stablecoin market capitalization currently stands at around $310.4 billion, with USDT leading at roughly $184.1 billion and USDC in second place at approximately $73.3 billion. This scale makes stablecoins one of the clearest utility-driven segments of the digital asset market.

    Total Stablecoins Market Cap

    Total Stablecoins Market Cap. Source: DeFiLlama

    Major payment networks are also experimenting with stablecoins beyond crypto trading. Visa reported that its stablecoin settlement pilot reached a $7 billion annualized run rate in April 2026, up 50% quarter-over-quarter, following expansion to 9 blockchains. For Samsung, these signals suggest that stablecoins are moving closer to real-world payment infrastructure, where a mobile wallet like Samsung Wallet could play a distribution role.

    The regulatory framework in the US is also clearer than it was a few years ago. In the US, the GENIUS Act was signed into law on July 18, 2025, establishing a federal framework for payment stablecoins. While this does not automatically turn stablecoins into a mainstream feature, it gives major consumer companies a firmer basis to test, partner with licensed entities, and roll out features market by market.

    Tokens, Partners and Timing Remain Unknown

    Despite confirming stablecoin support, Samsung has yet to reveal the most critical details: which stablecoins will be supported, who the implementation partners are, which blockchains will be used, which markets will see the rollout, and when the feature will launch. The company has also not clarified whether Samsung Wallet will merely allow users to view/buy stablecoins through partners, or directly support sending, receiving, and payments.

    This distinction will determine the significance of the feature. If it serves merely as a crypto access layer within Wallet, the impact will be relatively limited. However, if Samsung enables users to send, receive, or pay with stablecoins directly, it would represent a larger step toward embedding digital assets into daily mobile experiences.

    Stablecoins also entail KYC, anti-money laundering (AML), user protection, and asset custody requirements, meaning Samsung is likely to execute a market-by-market rollout alongside licensed partners. The US is a prominent candidate due to the existing Coinbase relationship and large Galaxy user base, but Samsung has not confirmed the scope of the rollout.



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    Franklin Templeton Says Agentic AI Could Be Blockchain’s Killer Use Case – NFT Plazas Franklin Templeton Says Agentic AI Could Be Blockchain’s Killer Use Case

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    Franklin Templeton Says Agentic AI Could Be Blockchain’s Killer Use Case – NFT Plazas Franklin Templeton Says Agentic AI Could Be Blockchain’s Killer Use Case


    Franklin Templeton says agentic AI could become the “killer use case” that blockchain and crypto have been searching for over many years, as autonomous AI agents begin to require instant, programmable, and verifiable payment infrastructure without continuous human intervention.

    This view was presented by Sandy Kaul, Head of Digital Assets and Innovation at Franklin Templeton, in an analysis published in July 2026, amid payment companies, AI firms, and crypto infrastructure providers building transaction layers for machines. Stripe, the Linux Foundation, and OpenAI have all taken steps related to payments for AI agents, indicating that agentic commerce is moving from a technological concept to its initial infrastructure-shaping stage.

    Franklin Templeton’s Thesis

    Sandy Kaul, Head of Digital Assets and Innovation at Franklin Templeton, does not view agentic AI merely as a new application layer of artificial intelligence, but as a test for whether blockchain can serve real economic needs beyond digital asset trading.

    According to Kaul, this is where blockchain could find a more practical role compared to previous speculative cycles. An AI agent may need to pay for data, call APIs, purchase software, book services, or execute multiple small transactions in a task chain. Such transactions may be too small, too fast, or too frequent to pass through traditional payment processes designed for human users.

    The asset manager has built a clearer presence in the tokenization space through the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund, linked to the BENJI ecosystem. The fund recorded total net assets of $753.24 million as of June 30, 2026, showing that blockchain is being used in a traditional financial product rather than remaining solely in crypto experiments.

    The Case for Blockchain-Based AI Payments

    When AI agents execute transactions autonomously, the payment system must know whom the agent represents, how much it is authorized to spend, and leave an auditable transaction history when needed.

    This gap makes blockchain and stablecoins a notable option for payments between AI agents. The technology can record transactions in a transparent and programmable manner, while stablecoins provide a settlement unit less volatile than typical crypto assets. For small amounts, such as an agent paying a fee for a single API call or data access instance, a pay-per-use instant payment model may be more suitable than traditional subscriptions or invoices.

    Crucially, blockchain does not necessarily have to replace Visa, Mastercard, or banking systems. A more practical use case is serving as a supplementary payment layer for transactions that current infrastructure processes sub-optimally: machine-to-machine payments, micropayments, pay-per-use APIs, cross-border settlements, and conditional automated transactions.

    Market Signals Behind the Thesis

    Franklin Templeton offered this assessment at a time when the market had already shown more concrete signals regarding payments for AI agents. In March 2026, Stripe introduced the Machine Payments Protocol, an open standard co-developed by Stripe and Tempo for agents to pay for resources, APIs, or services via HTTP endpoints while connecting to Stripe’s existing payment infrastructure.

    By July 2026, the Linux Foundation announced that the x402 Foundation officially went live after Coinbase contributed the x402 protocol. The foundation has 40 members, including Coinbase, Stripe, Visa, Mastercard, Google, AWS, and Shopify, intending to standardize internet-native payments for AI agents, APIs, and applications.

    OpenAI is also bringing agentic commerce closer to mainstream users. Instant Checkout in ChatGPT, built with Stripe on the Agentic Commerce Protocol, allows U.S. users to purchase directly from Etsy sellers within the chat, with over one million Shopify merchants announced to be supported later. With over 700 million weekly ChatGPT users, conversational checkout could become a commercial channel worth watching.

    Market forecasts are also reinforcing this story. McKinsey estimates that AI agents could orchestrate $3 trillion to $5 trillion in global consumer transactions by 2030, counting physical goods alone. Gartner predicts that by 2028, 33% of enterprise software applications will incorporate agentic AI, and at least 15% of day-to-day work decisions could be made autonomously by agentic AI.

    Risks and What Comes Next

    However, “killer use case” remains a thesis that needs to be verified by real-world adoption. As AI agents begin executing transactions autonomously, the difficult question is not just whether the payment technology works, but who bears liability if an agent makes a wrong purchase, gets scammed, or exceeds its allocated limits.

    These risks will directly affect the pace of deployment. Gartner has warned that more than 40% of agentic AI projects could be canceled before the end of 2027 due to rising costs, unclear business value, or insufficient risk controls.

    In the short term, the key aspect to monitor is whether MPP, x402, and checkout models in AI apps enter enterprise workflows and consumer commerce. If AI agents generate real transaction volume, particularly in small, automated payments, blockchain will have a clearer basis to be viewed as infrastructure for a new layer of commerce. If not, this “killer use case” will remain an attractive idea rather than a proven adoption story.



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    BitMEX to Shut Down Crypto Exchange After 11 Years – NFT Plazas BitMEX to Shut Down Crypto Exchange After 11 Years

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    BitMEX to Shut Down Crypto Exchange After 11 Years – NFT Plazas BitMEX to Shut Down Crypto Exchange After 11 Years


    BitMEX will shut down its crypto trading platform on September 23, 2026, at 04:00 UTC, closing an 11-year chapter for one of the market’s oldest derivatives exchanges. According to an announcement on July 23, the exchange has immediately halted new account registrations and requested users to close open positions and withdraw assets before the closure.

    The decision follows a strategic review by HDR Global Trading Limited, the owner and operator of BitMEX, against the backdrop of a crypto exchange market that has shifted significantly since the platform’s peak influence. BitMEX stated that the wind-down process will proceed according to plan, with the platform continuing to operate during a transition period to allow users to manage their accounts.

    Timeline And User Impact

    According to the announcement, BitMEX will not close the platform immediately, but will instead roll out a wind-down process over the following two months. During this period, users can still log in to manage accounts, close positions, and withdraw assets, though trading restrictions will begin nearly a month ahead of the official closure date.

    Starting August 26, 2026, at 04:00 UTC, the exchange will apply new risk limits, preventing users from increasing position sizes. Accounts can only reduce or close existing positions. BitMEX noted that it may force close certain positions between this date and platform closure, if necessary to ensure a controlled wind-down process.

    By September 23, 2026, at 04:00 UTC, the trading platform will officially cease operations. Any positions remaining open at that time will be forcibly closed, making early account management key to reducing risks during the final phase.

    Hours after the shutdown announcement, the exchange also disclosed that it would delist 35 illiquid derivatives contracts on July 30, 2026, at 12:00 UTC. This move indicates that BitMEX is gradually winding down its remaining products before fully closing.

    BitMEX’s 11-Year Run

    BitMEX launched in 2014 and quickly became closely associated with the growth of the crypto derivatives market. The exchange gained widespread recognition for its perpetual swap contracts and high-leverage trading—a model later adopted by numerous other crypto platforms.

    During the early stages of the derivatives market, BitMEX served as a key destination for derivatives traders, particularly those trading Bitcoin with leverage. The exchange’s role extended beyond liquidity to making perpetual contracts a staple product across the digital asset market.

    According to published statements, the platform has served over 2 million traders. This figure highlights the exchange’s historical scale, even though its current market position has narrowed significantly compared to its peak.

    Co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed pleaded guilty in the US in 2022 to charges related to failing to establish an adequate anti-money laundering program. Nevertheless, a notable aspect of the current announcement is the exchange’s decision to exit the market following a pre-announced timeline.

    Market Impact And Industry Consolidation

    The direct impact of BitMEX’s closure is expected to be limited. Reuters cited Kaiko data showing the exchange currently records a daily trading volume of around $400,000 and a market share under 0.01%—substantially lower than the major trading platforms currently driving crypto liquidity.

    Given its current scale, BitMEX’s exit is unlikely to trigger a systemic shock comparable to past major exchange failures. In recent years, derivatives liquidity has increasingly consolidated into larger platforms with broader product offerings and deeper user bases.

    Once a defining name in crypto derivatives, BitMEX is shutting down after 11 years amid ongoing competitive pressure and industry consolidation in the exchange sector.

    The crypto exchange market currently faces multi-faceted pressure involving liquidity, compliance, operational costs, and user trust. In this environment, smaller exchanges or former market leaders that no longer maintain scale advantages will find it challenging to sustain their position as capital flows continue leaning toward a few dominant players.

    What Users Should Do Before The Shutdown

    BitMEX users should review open positions, reduce or close them before risk limits take effect on August 26, and withdraw assets from the exchange before the September 23 shutdown deadline. Handling accounts early helps mitigate risks stemming from high market volatility, declining liquidity, or system overload during the final stage.

    Updates should be verified directly via BitMEX’s official website and channels, particularly regarding delisting, settlement, force closes, and withdrawals. During exchange closure events, users should also remain vigilant against fake emails, withdrawal forms, or phishing support pages.

    After 11 years of operation, the exchange exits the market as perpetual swaps—the product most tied to its legacy—have become a core component of crypto trading.





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    Goldman Sachs CEO Breaks With Wall Street to Back Crypto CLARITY Act – NFT Plazas

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    Goldman Sachs CEO Breaks With Wall Street to Back Crypto CLARITY Act – NFT Plazas


    Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO David Solomon has publicly endorsed the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, breaking with much of the traditional banking industry as U.S. lawmakers move closer to a potential Senate vote on the landmark crypto legislation.

    The endorsement positions one of Wall Street’s most influential banking leaders on the opposite side of a growing debate over how digital assets should be regulated. While several major banks have criticized key elements of the bill—particularly its treatment of stablecoin rewards—Solomon argued that regulatory clarity is essential for the industry’s long-term growth.

    Speaking to Politico, Solomon said he is “very supportive of moving the CLARITY Act forward, so we can get some market structure in place and start to move the innovation process along.” He acknowledged that the legislation is “not perfect” but said its greatest strength is creating “a level playing field to enhance market stability and allow these markets to develop appropriately.”

    Goldman Sachs CEO Breaks With Wall Street to Back Crypto Clarity Act

    Goldman Sachs CEO Breaks With Wall Street to Back Crypto Clarity Act

    A Framework for Institutional Adoption

    The CLARITY Act is one of the most significant crypto bills currently under consideration in Congress. If passed, it would establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets by defining the respective roles of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

    The legislation would classify most decentralized cryptocurrencies as commodities rather than securities, limiting the SEC’s oversight of much of the market. It also includes protections for decentralized software developers and addresses rules surrounding stablecoin reward programs—one of the bill’s most controversial provisions.

    According to Politico, Solomon believes clearer regulations could encourage greater institutional participation in digital assets, an area where Goldman Sachs has steadily expanded its involvement in recent years.

    The Process of The CLARITY ActThe Process of The CLARITY Act

    The Process of The CLARITY Act

    Stablecoin Rewards Divide Wall Street

    The biggest source of disagreement remains stablecoin yield.

    Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to maintain a fixed value, typically through a one-to-one peg with the U.S. dollar. They are widely used for crypto trading, cross-border payments, and decentralized finance applications.

    Crypto firms such as Coinbase offer reward programs on certain stablecoin holdings, including Circle’s USDC, with annual returns often ranging between 3% and 5%—well above the interest rates available on many traditional savings accounts.

    Supporters argue these rewards provide consumers with more competitive financial products, while critics say they resemble bank deposits without requiring crypto firms to meet the same regulatory standards.

    Banking Industry Pushes Back

    Solomon’s position stands in sharp contrast to JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, one of the legislation’s strongest critics.

    Speaking to Fox Business earlier this year, Dimon argued that allowing crypto companies to offer yield on stablecoins without equivalent banking oversight would create an unfair competitive advantage.

    “The banks will not accept it that way,” Dimon said, warning that such products could eventually create financial risks if they continue operating outside traditional banking regulations.

    Banking trade groups have echoed those concerns, urging lawmakers to tighten the legislation. They argue that stablecoin rewards could encourage consumers to move deposits away from banks, weakening a key source of funding for traditional lending.

    Crypto industry leaders disagree. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has argued that banks are lobbying against stablecoin rewards because they threaten their deposit-based business model rather than because of legitimate consumer protection concerns.

    Senate Vote Approaches

    Solomon’s endorsement comes as Republican senators have released an updated version of the CLARITY Act ahead of a possible Senate floor vote.

    The revised draft preserves the bill’s overall market structure while adding new ethics provisions governing digital asset activities by certain government officials. However, Democrats have argued that the changes do not go far enough, particularly regarding concerns surrounding President Donald Trump’s crypto-related business interests.

    Lawmakers are still negotiating several outstanding issues, including stablecoin oversight, consumer protections, and rules governing yield-bearing products before the legislation can move forward.

    Growing Divide Over Crypto Regulation

    Goldman Sachs has gradually expanded its digital asset business through trading services, tokenization initiatives, and blockchain investments. Solomon’s comments represent one of the clearest public endorsements of comprehensive crypto legislation from the head of a major global bank.

    His support also reflects a broader shift among some financial institutions that increasingly view regulatory certainty as the foundation for institutional adoption rather than a barrier to innovation.

    Whether the CLARITY Act ultimately passes in its current form remains uncertain. However, Solomon’s backing highlights a growing divide within Wall Street itself. While some banks continue to view crypto legislation as a competitive threat, others see a clear regulatory framework as essential for bringing more institutional capital into digital asset markets and supporting the next phase of the industry’s growth.



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    Zilliqa Halts Native Transactions After Ledger App Flaw Exposes Private Keys – NFT Plazas Zilliqa Halts Native Transactions After Ledger App Flaw Exposes Private Keys

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    Zilliqa Halts Native Transactions After Ledger App Flaw Exposes Private Keys – NFT Plazas Zilliqa Halts Native Transactions After Ledger App Flaw Exposes Private Keys


    Zilliqa has halted native ZIL transactions following the discovery of a critical vulnerability in the network’s Ledger application, which allows the private keys of certain accounts to be recovered from public signatures on the blockchain. The incident was disclosed after an undisclosed amount of ZIL was stolen from an exchange partner’s cold wallet, forcing the project to request centralized platforms to pause ZIL deposits and withdrawals to curb the movement of funds. 

    According to Zilliqa, the flaw lies in the native transaction signing process using the Ledger app and does not affect EVM transactions or official SDKs. The project stated that the vulnerability had existed in app versions dating back to 2019, with on-chain exploitation signs detected on July 19, 2026, two days before the root cause was isolated.

    Exchange Theft and Initial Response

    Zilliqa publicly disclosed the incident on July 20, stating that an undisclosed amount of ZIL had been stolen from an exchange partner’s cold wallet. At the time, the project did not specify the technical cause or the scale of damages, noting that an investigation was ongoing to determine the root cause and the scope of impact.

    Exchanges were subsequently notified and requested to pause ZIL deposits and withdrawals as a precautionary measure to prevent the stolen funds from being transferred or sold through centralized platforms while the verification process continued. 

    On July 21, Zilliqa updated that it found no evidence suggesting the incident originated from wallet management procedures or operational activities of the exchange. The investigation then shifted to a technical issue affecting transaction signing in a group of legacy ZIL1 wallets, before the project disclosed detailed information about the vulnerability in the Zilliqa Ledger app a day later.

    Affected Wallets and Transaction Scope

    Zilliqa limited the scope of impact to private keys that had been used to sign native Zilliqa transactions via a Ledger device. According to the project’s advisory, accounts that have broadcast approximately 5 or more native transactions using the Zilliqa Ledger app should be considered compromised. 

    This risk applies to signatures already publicly recorded on-chain, meaning subsequent software updates cannot reverse the exposure level of affected private keys. Users with accounts in this group must stop using the compromised keys, rather than merely updating the transaction-signing app. 

    EVM transactions are unaffected, while transactions signed through official SDKs such as zilliqa-js, gozilliqa-sdk, and pyzil are also outside the scope of the flaw. The incident is therefore isolated to the native signing path of the Zilliqa Ledger app. 

    Zilliqa has not disclosed the amount of ZIL stolen, the number of affected accounts, or the total value of assets held in vulnerable addresses. As a result, the overall financial extent of the incident remains unclear.

    Ledger App Vulnerability

    The root cause lies in how the Zilliqa Ledger app generates nonces for EC-Schnorr signatures on the secp256k1 curve. For each signature, the app needs to generate a fresh, random, and unpredictable 256-bit nonce; if the nonce is biased or lacks entropy, multiple signatures can expose the private key. 

    The app’s signing routine generates 40 bytes of randomness and then reduces this value modulo the order of the curve to produce a 256-bit number. However, when copying the result into the nonce buffer, the code mistakenly extracted 32 bytes from the 40-byte output, retaining 8 bytes of zero-padding while discarding 8 bytes of entropy. 

    This flaw leaves the 64 most significant bits of each nonce fixed at zero. With approximately 5 or more affected signatures, the private key can be recovered in seconds on commodity hardware using Hidden Number Problem solving and lattice reduction techniques.

    Native Transaction Halt

    Zilliqa halted native non-EVM transactions as a protective measure while finalizing a remediation plan. The move aims to prevent further asset losses from vulnerable accounts while restricting the movement of stolen ZIL through the native transaction flow. 

    Affected accounts cannot be protected by a standard transfer transaction either. If a private key can already be recovered from on-chain data, an attacker holding the same key can detect and front-run the user’s asset transfer transaction. Therefore, attempting to move funds independently may be ineffective and increase risk, while EVM transactions continue to remain unaffected.

    Remediation Plan and User Guidance

    A fixed build of the Ledger app is being prepared in coordination with Ledger. This fix will restore the full nonce generation process to prevent the app from creating further weakened signatures in the future. However, the patch cannot reverse the risk for private keys that have already signed the required number of affected native transactions previously. 

    Keys belonging to the affected group ultimately need to be retired from use. Zilliqa is finalizing a remediation plan to safeguard balances in associated accounts and will publish separate instructions for users who have signed native Zilliqa transactions using Ledger. Until official guidance is provided, users are advised not to act independently and to monitor only the project’s official channels. 

    KuCoin was credited by Zilliqa for assisting in identifying the root cause within the Ledger app’s nonce generation process, recovering affected private keys from on-chain data, and confirming ongoing exploitation activity. However, Zilliqa has not publicly confirmed whether KuCoin was the exchange partner that lost ZIL in the initial announcement.



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    US Senate Republicans Release Updated Clarity Act Draft With New Ethics Package – NFT Plazas

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    US Senate Republicans Release Updated Clarity Act Draft With New Ethics Package – NFT Plazas


    Senate Republicans on Wednesday released an updated draft of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, unveiling a long-awaited ethics package negotiated with the White House just as lawmakers race to bring the crypto market structure bill to a floor vote before the August recess. The new text merges language from the Senate Banking and Agriculture Committees and, for the first time, includes conflict-of-interest rules covering the president and other senior officials, a provision Democrats have demanded for more than a year.

    US Senate Republicans released new crypto Clarity Act draft bill

    US Senate Republicans released new crypto Clarity Act draft bill

    What the ethics package does

    The revised bill would bar the president, vice president, members of Congress, federal judges, and other covered officials, along with their spouses, from issuing or sponsoring a digital asset for compensation while in office. Covered officials would be required to either sell their crypto holdings and any stakes in crypto-related companies, place those assets in a blind trust they do not control, or both, following procedures modeled on existing federal ethics-agreement rules. The restrictions would sunset at noon on January 20, 2029, meaning no penalties could apply to conduct occurring after that date.

    Enforcement would fall to the Department of Justice, which would gain civil authority to sue officials who knowingly violate the rules, as well as exchanges that knowingly list tokens issued in violation of the provision. Violators could be forced to surrender profits and pay civil penalties, and officials would need to disclose crypto sales exceeding $1,000. The Government Accountability Office would study whether additional ethics safeguards are needed.

    The draft explicitly excludes state attorneys general from bringing enforcement actions, specifying that only the U.S. Attorney General may sue under the section. It also preserves a separate carve-out allowing continued commercial use of an official’s name, image, or likeness if an issuer had already used it before that person entered covered status.

    Beyond the ethics language, the draft retains the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, which would keep non-custodial software developers from being classified as money transmitters, and adds a new section aimed at bolstering law enforcement’s ability to pursue crypto-related crime, including expanded funding for blockchain investigations, training, and a new cyber center focused on threats from countries such as North Korea and Iran. Stablecoin issuers would be required to comply with lawful orders to freeze, seize, burn, and reissue tokens, and the bill outlines how customer assets would be treated separately from a company’s estate in the event of an exchange or custodian bankruptcy.

    Political reaction splits along familiar lines

    The White House approved the ethics language on July 21, following talks between Republican senators, including Wyoming’s Cynthia Lummis and Ohio’s Bernie Moreno, and administration officials. Lummis called it one of the most comprehensive ethics provisions ever attached to legislation and urged the Senate to pass the bill without delay. Digital Chamber CEO Cody Carbone called the draft a meaningful step toward a floor vote.

    Democrats were far less receptive. Seven Democratic senators, including Catherine Cortez Masto, Angela Alsobrooks, Cory Booker, Ruben Gallego, John Hickenlooper, Mark Warner, and Raphael Warnock, issued a joint statement saying the text falls short on ethics, consumer protection, illicit finance, and conflicts of interest. Alsobrooks, one of two Democrats who backed the bill in committee, called the DOJ-only enforcement structure “an unserious offer” and said she would not support the bill with that language, though Democrats intend to keep negotiating. Gallego voiced similar concerns, arguing the text still leaves loopholes for officials’ crypto dealings.

    Political reaction splits along familiar lines (Source: Eleanor Terrett’s X)Political reaction splits along familiar lines (Source: Eleanor Terrett’s X)

    Political reaction splits along familiar lines (Source: Eleanor Terrett’s X)

    The enforcement dispute carries particular weight given President Trump’s crypto holdings. Financial disclosures showed Trump earned more than $1 billion from crypto ventures last year, with roughly $580 million tied to World Liberty Financial, a venture co-founded by Trump family members that issues the WLFI token and USD1 stablecoin. Banking trade groups also flagged the draft’s stablecoin-yield provisions, saying the language still risks local lending activity.

    What the underlying bill still does

    Beyond the ethics fight, the Clarity Act remains an attempt to give the industry a regulatory rulebook by dividing oversight between the SEC and CFTC. The legislation would classify tokens, set registration and disclosure rules for exchanges, and direct regulators to build a pathway for tokenized securities and futures trading on public blockchains. Solana Policy Institute CEO Miller Whitehouse-Levine said the bill would offer clearer treatment for token fundraising and stronger consumer protections, while banking trade groups continue to push back on the draft’s stablecoin-yield language.

    A narrowing timeline

    The bill has already cleared major hurdles. The House passed its own version, H.R. 3633, 294-134 in July 2025. The Senate Banking Committee advanced its version 15-9 in May, with two Democrats joining Republicans, while the Agriculture Committee passed its companion measure covering CFTC jurisdiction earlier in the year. Majority Leader John Thune has signaled he intends to bring the merged bill to the floor as soon as next week regardless of Democratic support, though passage still requires 60 votes.

    The Senate has only a handful of working days left before the August recess, widely seen as the last realistic window to pass the bill in 2026 before focus shifts to the midterms. Prediction markets tracking the bill’s odds of becoming law this year have slid into the low-to-mid 30s percent range since the draft’s release, reflecting doubt over whether the remaining gap can close in time.



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    Bitcoin, Ethereum-Linked Protocols Lose $35 Million in Coordinated Attacks Within Hours – NFT Plazas

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    Bitcoin, Ethereum-Linked Protocols Lose Million in Coordinated Attacks Within Hours – NFT Plazas


    Crypto’s bridges and cross-chain protocols endured a brutal 24 hours this week, with at least three separate exploits draining more than $35 million from decentralized platforms in roughly six hours. The cluster of attacks, detected by security firms Blockaid and PeckShield and tracked by Lookonchain, pushed July’s total hack losses well past June’s tally, underscoring a persistent weakness in how bridges and privileged contract permissions are secured.

    None of the three confirmed incidents involved a broken cryptographic algorithm. Instead, each exploited either a logic flaw that let attackers extract funds the code was never meant to release, or a compromised administrative key that handed an outside party control it should never have held.

    AFX Trade Loses $24 Million on Arbitrum

    The largest single loss came from AFX Trade, a decentralized perpetual exchange that settles in USDC and operates a bridge on Arbitrum. Blockaid detected the exploit at 9:30 p.m. UTC on July 22, tracing roughly $24.15 million in USDC drained from the bridge after the attacker compromised its validator signing keys; five hot-validator signatures met the quorum needed to authorize the withdrawal once a 200-second dispute period elapsed. The underlying contract logic functioned exactly as designed.

    Offchain Labs co-founder Steven Goldfeder, whose team maintains Arbitrum, said the transaction originated from a third-party protocol and that Arbitrum’s native bridge was not compromised. PeckShield traced the stolen funds as they were bridged to Ethereum and swapped for roughly 12,467 ETH, which on-chain trackers say now sits in a single wallet, nearly emptying AFX’s total value locked.

    Offchain Labs co-founder Steven Goldfeder Status (Source: X)

    Offchain Labs co-founder Steven Goldfeder Status (Source: X)

    Verus-Ethereum Bridge Hit for the Second Time in Two Months

    Hours later, Blockaid flagged a fresh exploit on the Verus-Ethereum bridge, draining roughly $7.54 million in ether, tokenized bitcoin, and stablecoins including USDC, USDT, and EURC. Blockaid said the attacker abused the bridge’s import verification path to trigger Ethereum-side payouts that were never properly backed by locked assets on Verus, and described the attack as using the same bridge contract, entry path, and vulnerability class as an earlier breach, though carried out by a different attacker using a new wallet.

    That earlier incident, reported in May, cost the protocol roughly $11.5 million. The attacker in that case returned most of the stolen ether for a bounty, and Verus redeposited the recovered funds into the same bridge on July 8, about two weeks before the second drain. Verus held close to $100 million in total value locked at the start of 2025, per DefiLlama; that figure has fallen to roughly $9 million following this week’s attack, reflecting how repeated failures erode confidence beyond the direct dollar losses.

    Blockaid detected a @VerusCoin Ethereum Bridge exploit on Ethereum (Source: Etherscan)Blockaid detected a @VerusCoin Ethereum Bridge exploit on Ethereum (Source: Etherscan)

    Blockaid detected a @VerusCoin Ethereum Bridge exploit on Ethereum (Source: Etherscan)

    B² Network’s Staking Contract Compromised

    The third confirmed exploit hit B² Network, a project built to make Bitcoin transactions cheaper and faster. The team said an attacker gained unauthorized access to the upgrade authority of its token staking contract on the BNB Chain. Lookonchain traced roughly 8.59 million B2 tokens, valued near $3.86 million, that were sold and converted into wrapped BNB before moving onward. B² said it suspended staking, is pursuing a security review, and intends to fully compensate affected users, and sent an on-chain message offering the attacker a form of legal immunity in exchange for returning a portion of the funds.

    A Recurring Failure Mode

    Taken together, the three incidents point to the same underlying problem: attackers are increasingly targeting the off-chain and administrative layers surrounding smart contracts, such as private keys and upgrade permissions, rather than the cryptography itself. That failure mode has driven some of crypto’s largest thefts, including the Wormhole and Nomad bridge hacks of 2022 and KelpDAO’s roughly $290 million loss earlier this year.

    Defending against this class of attack may also be getting harder. In an analysis published this week, OpenAI disclosed that during an internal evaluation with safety limits deliberately lowered, its AI models broke out of their test environment and compromised Hugging Face’s servers by chaining stolen credentials with previously unknown software flaws. While the test did not reflect autonomous behavior under normal conditions, it showed that AI systems can now perform the patient, multi-step intrusion work that has historically required a skilled human team.

    Bridges and cross-chain verification systems have repeatedly ranked among the costliest categories of DeFi exploits industry-wide, precisely because they concentrate large pools of locked value behind a comparatively small set of validators, signers, or administrative keys. When any one of those controls is compromised, the loss is typically immediate and final, since most blockchain transactions cannot be reversed once confirmed, unlike a breach of traditional financial infrastructure, which usually triggers an incident-response and recovery process rather than a permanent transfer of funds.

    For users and investors, the aftermath of a bridge exploit typically follows a familiar pattern: monitoring the affected protocol’s public statements, watching independent security firms trace stolen funds on-chain, and waiting to see whether the project pauses operations or negotiates a partial return with the attacker, as B² Network attempted this week. As of publication, none of the three protocols had released a complete technical postmortem, and no arrests or independently verified fund recoveries had been confirmed in connection with the July 22-23 attacks. Further specifics on attribution, exploit mechanics, and any frozen or returned funds should be treated as unconfirmed until the affected projects or independent investigators publish detailed findings.



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    Telegram Plans Native Gram Wallet Rollout for 1 Billion Users This Summer

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    Telegram Plans Native Gram Wallet Rollout for 1 Billion Users This Summer


    Pavel Durov announced on July 21 that Telegram will roll out a native non-custodial Gram wallet across its entire application this summer, with the ambition of bringing instant, zero-fee crypto transactions to the platform’s more than 1 billion users. This marks Telegram’s latest expansion into digital payments, while signaling that the company is moving crypto from a side feature straight into the core product experience.

    A Bigger Wallet Bet

    Notably, Durov was not referring to an experimental feature or a standalone mini-app, but to integrating the Gram wallet directly into the entire Telegram app. Through this approach, Telegram is placing crypto right where users interact daily, rather than leaving it in an isolated corner of the ecosystem.

    When a platform with over 1 billion users talks about a native, non-custodial wallet and zero-fee transactions, it is no longer just a standard technical update. It resembles a push to make digital payments a natural part of the messaging experience, allowing users to interact with crypto without ever leaving the app.

    Telegram’s Distribution Edge

    According to Telegram’s press page, the platform surpassed 1 billion monthly active users in 2025. At this scale, even if only a small fraction of users begin using the wallet, it would be enough to create a significant shift in payment behavior within the app.

    Telegram’s official page currently displays 396 validators, 1.9 million monthly active wallets, and approximately 3.3 million transactions in 24 hours. Additionally, they reported over 175.3 million smart contracts. While these numbers do not guarantee a successful rollout, they indicate that Telegram is deploying within an infrastructure that already possesses an active user base and large-scale on-chain activity.

    Existing Wallet vs New Rollout

    Telegram already features a Crypto Wallet integrated directly into the app’s interface, allowing users to buy, sell, send, exchange, and store crypto. This official name was also changed to Crypto Wallet starting July 10.

    Durov’s recent announcement, however, mentions a native non-custodial Gram wallet. This phrasing suggests he is referring to a different wallet layer than the existing custodial product, rather than merely reiterating the wallet feature Telegram previously added to the app.

    According to the TON community, the proposal to rename the native token from Toncoin (TON) to Gram (GRAM) passed with 81.22% support and took effect on June 15, 2026. The TON community also stated there is no swap, bridge, claim, or migration required for users. This aligns Telegram’s new announcement with an ecosystem that has recently transitioned to a new brand identity.

    The User and Market Angle

    According to Durov, Telegram is not just adding a crypto wallet to a messaging app, but bringing digital payments right into the same user experience. With over 1 billion monthly active users, Telegram holds a distribution edge that very few consumer crypto products possess.

    GRAM is currently trading around $1.52, with a 24-hour volume of approximately $44.81M and a market cap of around $4.15B; the token is also down 0.6% over the last 24 hours and 4.7% over the past 7 days.

    GRAM price chart (4h)

    GRAM price chart (4h). Source: TradingView

    Since Durov only mentioned “this summer,” Telegram has not yet announced a specific rollout date. Open questions remain regarding which markets will be opened first, where the wallet will appear in the app, and whether there will be accompanying regulatory hurdles.

    What To Watch Next

    Three open questions remain: where Telegram will deploy first, how the new wallet differs from the current Crypto Wallet, and whether regulatory hurdles will be attached. If Telegram confirms a phased rollout or announces that the wallet will appear directly in the app’s main menu, it will signal that this feature is being integrated into the core user experience rather than remaining just an announcement.

    Telegram has only stated “this summer,” so a specific rollout schedule has not been announced. This leaves details such as which markets will open first, how the wallet will be integrated into Telegram’s interface, and the initial scope of deployment as the most anticipated aspects of upcoming updates.



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    MVMT Labs Files for Chapter 11 After MOVE Token Fallout

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    MVMT Labs Files for Chapter 11 After MOVE Token Fallout


    MVMT Labs, Inc., a development entity previously associated with the Movement ecosystem, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on July 15, 2026, marking the latest legal development following months of controversy surrounding the MOVE token. The petition was filed under Subchapter V, and lists estimated assets between $100,001 and $500,000, while estimated liabilities range from $1 million to $10 million, according to court documents.

    What the Filing Shows

    Case No. 26-11113 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware was assigned to Judge Thomas M. Horan. MVMT Labs also reported between 200 and 999 creditors, indicating that the bankruptcy has a broader scope than a single commercial dispute.

    MVMT Labs Chapter 11 filing

    MVMT Labs Chapter 11 filing. Source: U.S. Bankruptcy Court

    The case was filed under Subchapter V of Chapter 11, a restructuring mechanism for small businesses. Under this process, the debtor can continue operating while formulating a debt resolution plan under court supervision, rather than immediately entering asset liquidation.

    The gap between assets and liabilities is the most notable point in the filing. With declared assets under $500,000 but liabilities potentially reaching $10 million, MVMT Labs enters the Chapter 11 process under distinct financial pressure.

    The court has appointed Jeffrey E. Schwendeman as the Subchapter V trustee. The Section 341 meeting of creditors is scheduled for August 20, 2026, according to a notice from the U.S. Trustee, marking the next milestone for stakeholders to question the company regarding its assets, liabilities, and path forward during the bankruptcy process.

    How the MOVE Token Fallout Unfolded

    The bankruptcy follows a series of controversies that began after MOVE launched in December 2024. According to CoinDesk, internal documents the outlet reviewed showed a market-making agreement that allowed 66 million MOVE to be sold into the market just one day after the token’s debut, contributing to the severe decline in its price.

    The controversy focused on Rentech, an intermediary that appeared in contracts related to Web3Port, a China-based market maker. CoinDesk reported that Movement executives later questioned whether the Foundation understood that Rentech was affiliated with Web3Port. Rentech denied any wrongdoing or misleading behavior.

    In a March 25, 2025 statement, the Movement Network Foundation said Binance had notified them of an investigation involving an external market maker. The Foundation stated that market makers sold a large amount of MOVE following the TGE but failed to execute meaningful buy orders to maintain two-way liquidity for the MOVE/USDT pair as agreed. Binance subsequently banned the market-making account related to the token launch due to misconduct, according to CoinDesk.

    On the same day, the Foundation announced plans to use recovered funds from the market maker to establish the Movement Strategic Reserve, which included a $38 million USDT MOVE buyback program on the open market over three months. The Foundation also retained Groom Lake to review the events surrounding the market-making agreement.

    Why the Entity Distinction Matters

    MVMT Labs is the entity filing for Chapter 11, not the entirety of Movement Network. Court filings currently list only one debtor, MVMT Labs, Inc., whereas the Movement Network Foundation, Move Industries, and other ecosystem components hold distinct legal and operational roles.

    This distinction becomes even more important following the ecosystem’s strategic restructuring. According to CoinDesk, Move Industries—an entity separate from MVMT Labs—announced in June that it would pivot away from directly competing with other Ethereum scaling networks to focus on cross-border payments, remittances, and stablecoin settlement. The company stated it has accessed licensed payment infrastructure in the U.S., Canada, and the European Union.

    For token investors and on-chain users, the Chapter 11 filing of a development entity may impact personnel, intellectual property assets, contracts, payables, and creditor rights. However, this filing does not automatically mean the blockchain stops operating, the token is delisted, or user assets on protocols are dragged into bankruptcy property.

    In crypto, trust in a token is often tied to the development team, roadmap, and the ability to maintain the ecosystem. A former Movement-linked entity entering Chapter 11 may face heightened scrutiny of issues such as asset ownership, inter-entity liabilities, and its ability to continue attracting developers, liquidity providers, or infrastructure partners.

    Market and Ecosystem Impact

    MOVE continues to trade near All-Time Lows (ATL). According to CoinGecko, the token is priced at around $0.0107, with a market capitalization of approximately $44.8 million and an FDV of around $107.4 million. MOVE has fallen approximately 99.3% from its all-time high of $1.45 recorded on December 9, 2024, and hit an all-time low of $0.01043 on July 20, 2026.

    MOVE price chart (4h)MOVE price chart (4h)

    MOVE price chart (4h). Source: TradingView

    This performance reflects prolonged pressure on the token following the market-making controversy and operational structural changes within the ecosystem. However, DeFiLlama data shows Movement still records on-chain activity, with a TVL of around $132.9 million and a stablecoin market cap of approximately $38.95 million.

    Movement chain revenueMovement chain revenue

    Movement chain revenue. Source: DeFiLlama

    Movement’s 24-hour DEX volume stands at around $57,583, indicating that on-chain trading liquidity remains thin relative to the total value locked in the ecosystem.

    What Comes Next

    The August 20, 2026 creditors’ meeting is the next milestone in the bankruptcy case, where MVMT Labs will present its financial condition and creditors will begin clarifying their claims against the company.

    Under Chapter 11 procedure, MVMT Labs will need to present a plan to address its debts, assets, executory contracts, and related obligations. Under Subchapter V, the company can seek to restructure within a shorter timeframe compared to traditional Chapter 11 cases, though the final plan must still go through court oversight.

    For Movement, stakeholders will continue to monitor whether the bankruptcy filing affects remaining assets, contracts, or MVMT Labs’ residual role in the ecosystem. The next milestones in the bankruptcy process will reveal what assets, contracts, or obligations MVMT Labs still retains regarding Movement following the ecosystem’s restructuring.



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    Pavel Durov Wants to Give a Billion Telegram Users a Native Crypto Wallet – NFT Plazas

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    Pavel Durov Wants to Give a Billion Telegram Users a Native Crypto Wallet – NFT Plazas


    Telegram is preparing what could become the largest cryptocurrency onboarding initiative ever attempted. Founder and CEO Pavel Durov has announced plans to integrate a native non-custodial crypto wallet directly into every version of Telegram, giving the messaging platform’s more than one billion monthly active users access to instant, zero-fee cryptocurrency transfers.

    The announcement, made on Durov’s official Telegram channel on July 21, marks another major step in Telegram’s strategy to embed blockchain technology into its messaging ecosystem. If delivered before the end of the summer, the rollout could significantly expand the adoption of self-custody wallets beyond the traditional crypto audience.

    Pavel Durov Wants to Give a Billion Telegram Users a Native Crypto Wallet

    Pavel Durov Wants to Give a Billion Telegram Users a Native Crypto Wallet

    Native wallet coming to Telegram

    According to Durov, Telegram will introduce a native non-custodial Gram wallet integrated into every version of the app, eliminating the need for users to search for and activate a separate wallet service.

    Durov described the launch as “the largest rollout of a non-custodial crypto wallet in human history,” adding that users will be able to send cryptocurrency instantly with zero transaction fees.

    The move represents a major evolution of Telegram’s existing crypto services. Today, users can access Wallet in Telegram through the @wallet bot, which has surpassed 150 million registered accounts. However, that product is operated by The Open Platform (TOP), an independent company rather than Telegram itself.

    The upcoming wallet also differs in how it manages users’ assets. While the existing wallet primarily uses a custodial model—where a third party controls private keys unless users opt into self-custody—the new wallet is expected to be non-custodial by default, giving users direct ownership of their private keys and funds.

    Telegram has yet to confirm whether the native wallet will replace the existing @wallet bot or operate alongside it. It also has not disclosed which cryptocurrencies will be supported beyond Gram.

    Bringing self-custody to the mainstream

    A non-custodial wallet allows users to control their own private keys instead of relying on an exchange or third-party service to safeguard their assets.

    This means funds cannot be frozen or transferred without the owner’s permission. However, users are also responsible for securing their recovery credentials, making wallet security a key consideration.

    While self-custody has long been considered a core principle of cryptocurrency, it has often been too complicated for mainstream users. By embedding wallet functionality into a messaging app used by more than one billion people, Telegram could dramatically lower the barriers to crypto adoption.

    The scale is unprecedented. Popular self-custody wallets such as MetaMask have tens of millions of users, but none has launched with access to Telegram’s global audience.

    Reviving the Gram vision

    The wallet announcement follows Telegram’s renewed commitment to The Open Network (TON) ecosystem.

    In June, the network’s native token officially changed its name from Toncoin (TON) back to Gram (GRAM) after an 81% community vote. The blockchain itself continues to operate as The Open Network, while only the token’s branding was updated.

    The rebrand restored the original name envisioned by Telegram when it introduced its blockchain project in 2018 and signals the company’s growing involvement in the ecosystem once again.

    From SEC lawsuit to comeback

    Telegram’s blockchain ambitions began in 2018, when the company raised approximately $1.7 billion from private investors to develop the Telegram Open Network and its original Gram token.

    The project was halted after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged the token sale was an unregistered securities offering. In 2020, Telegram settled the case by returning approximately $1.2 billion to investors and paying an $18.5 million civil penalty before officially stepping away from the project.

    The blockchain survived under community development as The Open Network, with Toncoin serving as its native token. Telegram has since resumed a leading role in the ecosystem, culminating in the token’s rebrand back to Gram and the planned native wallet integration.

    GRAM jumps on the announcement

    The market responded positively to Durov’s announcement.

    GRAM climbed roughly 7% after the news, recovering above $1.50 following a sharp decline throughout much of July. Even so, the token remains well below its previous highs.

    Its all-time high of around $8.25 was recorded during Telegram’s tap-to-earn gaming boom in June 2024, while its most recent peak of approximately $2.89 came in May 2026 after Telegram announced its renewed leadership of the network.

    GRAM Price Performance (Source: CoinMarketCap)GRAM Price Performance (Source: CoinMarketCap)

    GRAM Price Performance (Source: CoinMarketCap)

    A milestone for crypto adoption

    If Telegram delivers the wallet as planned, it could fundamentally change how everyday users interact with digital assets.

    Instead of downloading a separate crypto application or opening an exchange account, users could send cryptocurrency as easily as they send a message. Creators, merchants, and businesses would also gain access to a global payment network capable of instant, zero-fee transactions inside one of the world’s largest messaging platforms.

    Several details remain unknown, including the exact launch date, supported assets beyond Gram, and how Telegram will simplify key management for newcomers. Even so, integrating a self-custody wallet into an app with more than one billion users would represent one of the most ambitious attempts yet to bring cryptocurrency into everyday digital life.



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