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U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces ended a seven-day airstrike campaign on Iran at 9:30 p.m. on July 17. The operation struck reconnaissance outposts, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage sites, and maritime targets, with fighter jets, drones, and warships deployed. The command said it is continuing to hold Iran accountable under orders from the commander in chief while fully enforcing a maritime blockade of Iranian ports. It added that more than 50,000 U.S. troops are currently operating in the Middle East and remain on alert for an immediate response.

U.S. federal prosecutors have charged 21-year-old Florida resident Zyaire Wilkins with allegedly stealing cryptocurrency by embedding malware in Steam games. Prosecutors said Wilkins inserted malware into at least eight games from May 2024 to February 2026, infecting about 8,000 devices and stealing more than $220,000 from about 80 cryptocurrency wallets. The games named in the case were BlockBlasters, Chemia, Dashverse, DashFPS, Lampy, Lunara, PirateFi and Tokenova. Some of the games had already been removed from Steam over security concerns. Investigators said Wilkins promoted the games through Discord, Telegram, X and LinkedIn to encourage downloads, then used the malware to steal personal information and assets from crypto wallets. The FBI said it identified the suspect by analyzing on-chain fund flows and digital payment records. In particular, investigators traced purchases of more than 150 gift cards on crypto gift card platform Bitrefill from a wallet allegedly linked to Wilkins, which helped them confirm a phone number and address. The case has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

Pump.fun, a Solana-based memecoin issuance platform, transferred 81,712 SOL worth about $6.15 million to Kraken to cash out fee revenue, according to EmberCN. On-chain data suggests Pump.fun has sold a total of 4.812 million SOL, worth about $812 million, from fee revenue since early 2024 at an estimated average price of $168.7.

A whale wallet that amassed $290 million worth of Bitcoin through Galaxy Digital last year has bought an additional 1,001 BTC, worth about $64 million, according to Onchain Lens.

CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index rose three points from yesterday to 52. The index compares the price performance of Bitcoin with that of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding stablecoins and wrapped coins. An altcoin season is identified when 75% of those top 100 coins outperform Bitcoin over the past 90 days, while the opposite is considered a Bitcoin season. A reading closer to 100 indicates a stronger altcoin season.

Consensys, the developer of MetaMask, said a North Korean developer using a false identity was involved in MetaMask development for about a month, according to BeInCrypto. Hired as an external contractor under the alias Tyler Knapp, the developer worked on core MetaMask code from March to April and was also involved in code tied to crypto-to-fiat conversion features. After detecting suspicious signs, Consensys said it immediately revoked the developer’s access and launched an investigation. The company said it found no asset or data theft and no malicious code insertion, notified law enforcement, and is reviewing its contractor screening procedures. Matt Corva, Consensys’ chief legal officer, said a comprehensive investigation found no asset or data leaks, no malicious code deployment, and no impact on user security.

France’s National Gaming Authority, or ANJ, announced it will block domestic access to the Polymarket website, The Straits Times reported. The move follows France’s ban on French accounts using the platform in November 2024. ANJ said Polymarket’s continued provision of services to French users amounts to advertising for an unlicensed gambling site. The authority said advertising for unlicensed gambling sites is a criminal offense and can carry fines of up to €100,000. While France allows sports betting, it restricts access to online prediction market platforms such as Polymarket along with Germany, Italy and Spain.

CoinMarketCap’s in-house crypto fear and greed index came in at 33, unchanged from yesterday, indicating that fear persisted. The index signals extreme fear as it moves closer to zero and extreme optimism as it approaches 100. CoinMarketCap calculates the index based on price moves among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, market volatility, derivatives-market indicators such as the put-to-call ratio, the stablecoin supply ratio, and CoinMarketCap’s own search data.

Stablecoin issuer Paxos announced it has joined the Governance Council of Robinhood Chain. Paxos said, "institutional-grade digital asset infrastructure starts with trusted governance," and added it was pleased to take part as a member of Robinhood Chain's Governance Council.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu signed an executive order to regulate the virtual asset industry and crack down on unregistered operators, establishing a central bank-led Virtual Asset Council that took effect immediately. The government said the move is intended to unify a fragmented regulatory system and prevent fraud, money laundering and terrorist financing. The Virtual Asset Council will oversee policymaking and inter-agency coordination, while the Virtual Asset Office within the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will handle working-level operations. Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (NSEC) will oversee security-type virtual assets, while the CBN will have jurisdiction over payment, settlement and custody services for non-security virtual assets. The central bank also plans to introduce a regulatory sandbox for virtual asset and blockchain services, and the tax authority plans to develop virtual asset tax policy. The government directed the Virtual Asset Council to prepare detailed implementation measures within 30 days.

According to CME FedWatch, the probability that the Federal Reserve will leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged at the July Federal Open Market Committee meeting stands at 85.6%, while the probability of a 25-basis-point hike is 14.4%.

An anonymous whale beginning with 0x8Fa4E sold 30,000 ETH, worth about $55 million, through Galaxy Digital OTC, according to Onchain Lens. The address then swapped the 30,000 ETH for 55 million USDC and deposited the full amount to Coinbase.

Numerai announced it bought an additional $1.2 million worth of its NMR token on the market, bringing its cumulative NMR buybacks over the past year to $3.2 million. The company said the latest buyback is aimed at strengthening the NMR staking ecosystem and improving the performance of the platform’s AI-based prediction models. Numerai added that the number of active accounts has more than doubled since it first announced a buyback in July last year, while assets under management have risen to around $700 million from about $560 million at the end of last year.

Listed company Farmhouse (ticker: FMHS) said it bought an additional one Bitcoin, bringing its total Bitcoin holdings to 12.209 BTC.

Silicon Valley angel investor Jason Calacanis said Bitcoin has a strategic problem, arguing its biggest challenge is not the asset itself but the growing influence of Strategy and Michael Saylor, which he said is creating confusion, according to U.Today.

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.