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Members of the UK's Labour Party are pushing to amend a major bill to permanently ban political donations made with cryptocurrency, according to The Block. The lawmakers are reportedly gathering support to have the amendment included in legislation scheduled for debate in the House of Commons on July 21. If passed, the measure would permanently prohibit political contributions via crypto in the UK.

Gate.io has announced it will reinvestigate a Chinese user's claim of a $1.7 million hack and has issued a full apology for its initial handling of the matter. The exchange stated that it contacted the user immediately after receiving feedback and is responding in real-time. It added that an internal group has been formed to manage the situation and is assisting the user with efforts to freeze and recover the funds. The issue began when a Chinese user, @jheioff on X, claimed their account was hacked, resulting in a loss of $1.7 million. The user stated that the account, which they use on iOS and Mac, was protected by real-name verification, as well as phone, Google, and email authentication. They asserted that they had not changed their password but received a notification that it had been altered, along with other security settings, and demanded an investigation and compensation from Gate.io. The exchange initially drew criticism for its response, in which it appeared to dismiss the victim's claims and insisted there were no vulnerabilities in its security systems.

Cryptocurrency venture capital firm Pantera Capital has released a new research report, "Crypto on the Clock," utilizing the data infrastructure of crypto-focused AI intelligence platform Surf. The research analyzes the structure, trading volume, fee economics, and participant behavior of "near-term crypto prediction markets," with a focus on platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi. It sheds light on the microstructure of crypto prediction markets that settle on a minute-by-minute and hour-by-hour basis. Pantera Capital previously led a $15 million funding round for Surf AI, which also saw participation from major institutions such as Coinbase Ventures and Digital Currency Group (DCG).

Russian authorities are pushing to grant Rosfinmonotoring, the country's financial transaction watchdog, the power to supervise all cryptocurrency-related transactions, Bits.media reported. Under the proposed legislation, domestic digital custodians and foreign financial institutions would be required to submit detailed information for transactions exceeding 60,000 rubles (around $800). This includes the payer and payee's full name, wallet address, physical address, date of birth, and personal taxpayer number. For transactions below this threshold, only the name and wallet address would be required. The bill is expected to take effect on Sept. 1, alongside other cryptocurrency legislation. Russia is simultaneously pursuing laws that would recognize cryptocurrency as property while also strengthening government control over the sector.

U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs recorded a net outflow of $52.2 million on July 9, snapping a five-day streak of net inflows, according to data from Farside Investors. - BlackRock's ETHA: -$12.7 million - BlackRock's ETHB: -$2.7 million - Fidelity's FETH: -$34 million - Bitwise's ETHW: -$2.8 million

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded approximately $95.3 million (143.8 billion won) in net outflows on July 9, marking the second consecutive trading day of withdrawals, according to data from Farside Investors. - Fidelity's FBTC: -$63.3 million - Ark Invest's ARKB: -$39.9 million

The 24-hour trading volume on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) built on Robinhood Chain has surpassed that of Hyperliquid, Cointelegraph reported. Over the past 24 hours, DEX volume on Robinhood Chain reached approximately $375.14 million, compared to $170.58 million on the Hyperliquid L1. Robinhood Chain is a Layer 2 blockchain recently launched by the U.S. stock and cryptocurrency trading app Robinhood (Nasdaq: HOOD).

Cardano (ADA) founder Charles Hoskinson took to X to address rumors of his departure from the project, calling them "absolutely not true" and "completely false and fabricated." Hoskinson explained that the speculation spread due to edited, out-of-context video clips and subsequent reaction videos. He clarified that he never described Cardano as a "failed project" and that rumors of his retirement are also baseless.

Privacy-focused browser Brave announced its Basic Attention Token (BAT) Roadmap 4.0 on its official blog on July 9. The company said the roadmap aims to expand BAT's utility into everyday payments and establish a creator compensation system for the age of AI. Key initiatives include: - Support for AI agent payments based on x402 and the Machine Payments Protocol (MPP) - A new Brave Wallet integrating credit cards, cryptocurrencies, and Brave Rewards - A stablecoin payment protocol called BravePay - A stablecoin-based Brave Rewards card - A protocol to reward creators when their content is used by AI

The Zcash Ironwood mainnet upgrade is set to activate at 12:00 p.m. UTC on July 28, at block height 3,428,143, according to Zcash core developer Sean Bowe. This upgrade will focus on eliminating a vulnerability in the Orchard pool that could have potentially allowed an attacker to infinitely mint counterfeit ZEC.

Vadim, a former core developer for the Layer 1 blockchain Near Protocol (NEAR), announced on X that the version 2.13.0 upgrade has been deployed to the mainnet. He added that the update includes features such as quantum-resistant signatures, dynamic resharding, and gas keys. According to Vadim, the upgrade incorporates functionalities that most blockchains would typically pursue over a 10-year roadmap.

HSBC announced on July 10 that it has issued its first "Digitally Native" structured product in Hong Kong. The product, a U.S. dollar-based structured note, was issued directly on a blockchain from the point of issuance. Specific details, including the issuance size, underlying asset, maturity date, number of investors, and the blockchain platform used, were not disclosed. HSBC has been expanding its tokenization business, primarily in the Hong Kong market, and previously launched a gold token for retail investors.

The Ethereum Foundation's Protocol Support team announced its dissolution on July 9 via its official X account. The team was launched last year as part of a reorganization to coordinate Ethereum protocol development, manage hard fork schedules, support protocol governance, and nurture new core developers. The move follows a broader reorganization last month in which the foundation reduced its workforce by 54 employees, representing about 20% of its staff. Going forward, the foundation will operate with five core departments—Protocol, Access, User, Community, and Institutional—alongside operations and management support teams.

According to CoinNess market monitoring, BTC has risen above $64,000. BTC is trading at $64,000 on the Binance USDT market.

The cryptocurrency market has declined for three consecutive quarters, marking its longest slump since 2022, according to asset manager Bitwise. The firm, which issues a spot Bitcoin ETF, noted that its Bitwise 10 Large Cap Crypto Index fell by 15.4% in the second quarter compared to the previous quarter, with eight of its 10 constituent assets posting losses. Additionally, spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced their largest-ever quarterly net outflow. Despite the downturn, Bitwise highlighted that fundamentals across the crypto market continue to improve. During the same period, Ethereum (ETH) trading activity surged approximately 13-fold, and the total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (DeFi) grew by over 60%. The assets under management (AUM) for stablecoins have also doubled from their levels during the 2022 bear market.

The U.S. state of North Carolina will introduce a 6% tax on prediction market platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, Bitcoin.com reported. Governor Josh Stein signed a $34 billion fiscal year budget on July 7. The budget immediately raises the tax rate on online sports betting from 18% to 23%, with the 6% tax on prediction market revenue set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2027. However, North Carolina will not subject prediction market operators to separate state gambling regulations. Gaming industry analyst Dustin Gouker noted that this is the first instance of a state recognizing a U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-registered prediction market as federally legal without imposing its own licensing or regulatory requirements.

OKX has announced that it will list SLX for spot trading at 1:00 p.m. UTC on July 10.

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb has announced that it will temporarily suspend deposits and withdrawals for Flare (FLR) starting at 8:00 a.m. UTC on July 14 due to a network upgrade.

South Korean crypto exchange Upbit announced it will temporarily suspend deposits and withdrawals for Near Protocol (NEAR) starting at 2:00 p.m. UTC on July 19 to support an upcoming network upgrade.

Bitmine, a firm known for accumulating Ethereum (ETH), is suspected of purchasing an additional 20,500 ETH, worth $35.92 million, according to a report from Lookonchain. The transaction, a withdrawal from Galaxy Digital, occurred approximately six hours ago. This follows a disclosure from Bitmine last week, in which the company announced it held 5.74 million ETH after another purchase of 42,000 ETH.

An anonymous whale address starting with 0x410 deposited 7,863 ETH ($13.69 million) to Binance about an hour ago, according to data from ai_9684xtpa. Deposits to exchanges are typically interpreted as a precursor to selling. The same address also deposited 6,860 ETH ($10.8 million) to an exchange a week ago and previously netted a $3.5 million profit from short positions on 16 altcoins.

Lookonchain reported that an anonymous whale address starting with 0x2684 has purchased 9,882 ETH ($17.27 million) over the past six hours. Over the past 10 days, the same address has withdrawn a total of 34,577 ETH ($57.53 million) and 250 wBTC ($15.66 million) from Binance.

The Lab (LAB) team has burned 10 million LAB tokens, worth $11.3 million, according to Lookonchain. The token surged last month to over $24 but has been in a steep decline since July 6, now trading around $1.3. The global cryptocurrency community has consistently raised allegations of price manipulation regarding LAB.

Erik Voorhees, founder of the cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift, has staked 341,690 VVV, worth $3.98 million, on Venice, according to Onchain Lens. This action took place approximately nine hours after he claimed staking rewards of 3,630 VVV ($42,320).

Prediction market platform Polymarket is seeking regulatory approval in the U.S. to offer margin trading services, Bloomberg reported. This system, often used by institutional investors, allows users to open leveraged positions without committing their full capital. While efficient, it amplifies potential profits and losses and carries the risk of forced liquidation. Another platform, Kalshi, obtained a license this year and began supporting perpetual futures. However, Polymarket's use of blockchain to ensure anonymity conflicts with U.S. regulations, which require identity verification for margin trading on prediction market platforms.