Russia on Track for Digital Ruble Rollout on Sept. 1: Central Bank Governor

Russia’s central bank governor, Elvira Nabiullina, confirmed that the country was prepared to roll out its central bank digital currency (CBDC) in two months, following the timeline it laid out last year.  According to a Thursday report from Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti, Nabiullina said that “everyone is ready” for a Sept. 1 digital…

Bitwise Says Strategy Now Less Important Figure in Bitcoin

Strategy’s era as the dominant Bitcoin buyer may have come to an end following last week’s STRC turmoil, which cast doubt on the company’s Bitcoin-buying strategy and sent the cryptocurrency to a nearly two-year low, according to Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan. “For years, Strategy has been the most dominant Bitcoin buyer in the…

Vitalik Buterin Unveils New ‘Lean Ethereum” Strawmap

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has named quantum resistance, scalability and privacy as three of Ethereum’s top priorities under a new “Lean Ethereum” strawmap, which lays out the network’s technical direction for the remainder of the decade.  In a post to X on Saturday, Buterin said the collection of upgrades will roll out over the next…

BTC price news: Bitcoin retakes $63,000, reversing end-June losses

Bitcoin climbed above $63,000 in U.S. morning hours Saturday, up 1.4% over 24 hours and 3.6% on the week, per CoinDesk data, its highest in two weeks and a full reversal of the losses that closed out June. XRP led the day’s majors, up 5.3% to $1.18 and nearly 10% on the week, a move…

ESMA’s First Post-Deadline MiCA Update Adds Standard Chartered

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published the first update to its register of crypto companies under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) after the transitional period ended Wednesday. Friday’s update to the register added 37 licensed crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), including global banking group Standard Chartered, which secured MiCA authorization…

Defendant Files to Dismiss New York Lawsuit Seeking Ownership of 39,069 Bitcoin Wallets

A pseudonymous defendant has moved to dismiss a New York lawsuit seeking ownership of 39,069 dormant Bitcoin addresses, arguing that Bitcoin addresses are merely data strings that cannot be sued. The defendant, identifying themselves as “John Doe 33,” filed a notice of appearance and motion to dismiss on Thursday, claiming they control one of the…

Moonbeam Pivots From Polkadot to Base to Build AI Agents

Polkadot-based interoperability protocol Moonbeam said it is pivoting to Ethereum layer 2 Base to launch an AI agent communication and settlement network, aimed at capturing a share of the emerging market.  “This is a pivot to the most exciting frontier in crypto: autonomous AI agents that find each other, negotiate work, and pay each other…

ESMA Says Many Prediction Market Contracts Fall Under Existing EU Rules

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has warned that many prediction market contracts may already fall under existing restrictions on binary options, saying companies cannot avoid financial regulations simply by marketing them as “event contracts.” In a public statement on Friday, the regulator reminded companies that event contracts meeting the definition of financial instruments are…

Tim Draper Denies Moving BTC After Coinbase Transfer Claim

Billionaire investor and longtime Bitcoin bull Tim Draper has denied moving his Bitcoin after blockchain analysts linked him to a large BTC transfer to Coinbase Prime. “Haven’t touched my BTC,” Draper told Cointelegraph on Friday, adding that he still expects Bitcoin to reach $250,000 within one year. The statement came after blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain…

Tokenization’s next use case is personalized portfolios, NYLIM executive says

NYLIM was the latest entrant to the list of asset management giants making moves in tokenization, teaming up with Centrifuge (CFG) to bring one of its high-yield corporate bond strategies onchain. For NYLIM, tokenization is less about launching blockchain versions of existing funds than improving how portfolios are assembled. Sy said customized investment strategies often…