Cryptoccino — Friday 31 July 2026

Strategy absorbs an $8.2 billion Q2 loss while buying more bitcoin. The firm reported the loss as bitcoin prices were more than 40% lower at the end of Q2 compared to the same quarter in 2025, yet it still grew its BTC holdings by roughly 11% over the period. Michael Saylor framed the quarter as vindication of the accumulation strategy, citing Berkshire Hathaway as the benchmark to beat. The mark-to-market accounting rules introduced under ASC 820 make the headline loss look larger than a cash-flow read would. theblock coindesk cryptobriefing

Coinbase misses Q2 revenue estimates, shares fall 5%. Weaker spot trading dragged headline numbers below analyst forecasts, though the exchange noted 88% of net revenue now comes from non-BTC-spot sources, including prediction markets, stablecoins, and lending. Trading market share hit a record high globally, which suggests the miss is more about overall market volume than Coinbase-specific weakness. coindesk theblock decrypt

Bitcoin hovers near $65,000 as leverage gets repriced hard. A sharp whipsaw session liquidated roughly $286 million in leveraged positions across BTC and ETH even as 24-hour prices remained broadly flat. Spot volume is near multi-year lows, and Treasury yields are now out-yielding the BTC carry trade for only the second time on record, giving patient cash holders a genuine alternative to holding exposure. coindesk theblock

BlackRock clients rotate $60M out of IBIT and into ETHA. The shift is one of the more concrete data points suggesting some institutional accounts are repositioning rather than exiting crypto altogether. Bitcoin ETFs as a category are on track for their smallest monthly net inflows since launch. The IBIT-to-ETHA move may reflect views on Ethereum’s relative value at current levels rather than a structural preference shift. cryptobriefing coindesk

Ondo Finance is eyeing an acquisition worth up to $500 million. Details on the target are thin, but the size signals Ondo is using its RWA-market position to consolidate rather than build organically. At this valuation range, the deal would be one of the larger M&A moves in the tokenised-assets space. coindesk

Aave proposes cutting six low-revenue chain deployments and 75 individual reserves. The affected deployments collectively account for a small fraction of Aave’s total value locked but carry $98.1 million in supplied assets and $15.6 million in outstanding debt that would need to be unwound or migrated. The proposal is framed as pure capital efficiency: chains that generate negligible protocol revenue do not justify ongoing smart-contract risk and operational overhead. theblock coindesk

BIS pilots tokenised money for cross-border payments with global bank participation. The $1 million pilot, small by design, tests whether tokenised commercial-bank money can settle cross-border transactions faster and more cheaply than correspondent banking rails. BIS-led experiments typically feed directly into regulatory guidance, so the methodology matters more than the headline size. coindesk

Luno cuts a fifth of its global headcount, citing automation and a retail trading slump. CEO James Lanigan said the exchange is pivoting toward institutional infrastructure, where margins are thinner but stickier. The layoffs follow a broader pattern of mid-tier exchanges restructuring as retail volume migrates to larger platforms or simply stays on the sidelines. decrypt coindesk

Coldcard Mk3 hardware wallet vulnerability — see lead above. Full breakdown in the lead. Short version: 594 BTC reported stolen, RNG weakness suspected, migrate funds now. theblock

Ostium confirms $24 million exploit came from an off-chain breach, not a smart-contract flaw. The perpetual DEX said trader collateral was ring-fenced and unaffected, but liquidity providers took the hit. A recovery plan is promised but not yet published, which is the number to watch. theblock

Fake Flare Network staking site drained $8.5 million in XRP from dozens of victims. Seoul police say the ring built a convincing front complete with planted Wikipedia articles, blog posts, and YouTube videos before vanishing with the funds. The operation mimicked FXRP mechanics closely enough to fool experienced users. decrypt coindesk

IRS warns crypto holders of a physical mail scam impersonating agency correspondence. Fraudsters are sending fake IRS letters targeting crypto holders, attempting to extract either digital assets or account data. The agency noted that crypto-related IRS correspondence has become familiar enough to give the scam unusual credibility. theblock

Clarity Act hangs by a thread as Senate recess approaches. Senators Tillis and Gallego sent a revised ethics compromise to the White House in a last attempt to secure presidential sign-off before the month-long August recess closes the window. JPMorgan analysts said the fading passage odds are a concrete headwind for institutional crypto adoption, and Treasury Secretary Bessent publicly invoked Satoshi Nakamoto urging an immediate Senate vote. theblock cointelegraph_regulation theblock decrypt coindesk

Senator Schumer proposes a new agency to scrutinise presidential crypto conflicts of interest. The draft legislation specifically cites Trump’s disclosure of billions in crypto earnings in 2025 and his family’s business ties to foreign governments. It is more of a political marker than imminent legislation, but it signals the opposition’s framing heading into the regulatory debate. cointelegraph_regulation

South Korea moves toward a 2027 crypto capital gains tax with a roughly $1,740 exemption threshold. The long-delayed levy is now heading to parliamentary debate, with a separate policy report recommending interim stablecoin licensing rules be introduced before the broader Digital Asset Basic Act takes effect. The combination of new taxes and stablecoin-specific guidance suggests Seoul is accelerating its regulatory timeline. coindesk cointelegraph_regulation

CME’s Terry Duffy flags a tax ambiguity that could kneecap US perpetual futures before they launch. Duffy warned that existing US tax treatment of perps is unresolved and could classify gains in ways that disadvantage American traders relative to offshore venues. With regulated perps products in development at multiple venues, the question needs a legislative or IRS answer before products can be priced competitively. coindesk

What else is grinding?

• BitMEX’s shutdown is being cited as the latest casualty of crypto’s boom-and-bust exchange cycle, with Bloomberg noting how recurring market cycles continue to reshape even once-dominant platforms. bloomberg_crypto
• BitRiver founder Igor Runets has been detained in Russia on fraud charges tied to a $12.5 million mining equipment deal involving billionaire Oleg Deripaska’s En+ conglomerate. theblock coindesk
• The 2026 World Cup generated $20 billion in on-chain prediction market volume and $24 million in digital collectible trades, per a new Chainalysis breakdown. chainalysis
• Tokenised gold held its peg through gold’s sharp sell-off, according to a RedStone report, though less than 2% of tokenised bullion is actually deployed as DeFi collateral. cointelegraph_defi
• Ethereum turns ten this week, entering its second decade under a reconstituted foundation and a markedly different competitive landscape than the one it helped define. coindesk
• Novig became MLB’s first prediction market sponsor, partnering with the New York Mets as regulated prediction markets push further into mainstream sports infrastructure. cryptobriefing

Last sip. The Clarity Act ethics language is at the White House, the Senate clock is running, and nobody is confirming a deal.