A timeline of the Ethereum Foundation's ongoing shakeup
Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk’s tech newsletter covering the most important stories in blockchain. I’m Margaux Nijkerk, a reporter at CoinDesk.
Crypto
Crypto steadies as Middle East tensions counter U.S. inflation report boost
Bitcoin held near a three-week high and ether steadied around its highest since June 3 as U.S.-Iran hostilities capped gains from a softer-than-expected U.S. inflation report on Tuesday.
Team Behind Ethereum's Institutional Privacy Push Spins Out For-Profit Firm EthSystems
The group that spent the past year running the Ethereum Foundation's institutional privacy work has spun out to start its own company. EthSystems launched Tuesday as an independent, for-profit firm building privacy and …
Stripe, Advent offer $53B to acquire PayPal: Report
Stripe and Advent reportedly offered to buy PayPal for $53 billion, at a 28% premium compared to the company’s Tuesday closing price.
Japan passes crypto overhaul to bring digital assets under financial rules
Japan’s revised Financial Instruments and Exchange Act introduces crypto insider trading rules, tougher penalties and new oversight requirements for crypto businesses.
South Korea to bring digital assets under new state asset management system
South Korea’s Economy Ministry plans to include digital assets and intellectual property under the country’s new state-asset management framework.
US, UK Outline Recommendations to Align Stablecoin and Tokenization Rules
The U.S. and UK have laid out a joint roadmap for aligning how they regulate stablecoins, tokenized assets, and digital money, a coordinated push by two of the world's largest financial centres to let blockchain-based f…
Stripe mounts blockbuster $53 billion bid to buy PayPal
Payments giant Stripe offered to buy PayPal (PYPL) in a deal worth $53 billion, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
Coinbase Says AI Now Assists Nearly All of Its Code Development
Coinbase’s Head of Platform, Rob Witoff, said 95% to 100% of the company’s code is now written by or with the assistance of AI, up from about 40% in February, according to a Cointelegraph interview. He said nearly all e…
Cathie Wood’s ARK buys another 220K Circle shares despite sell-off
Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest added $13.9 million worth of Circle shares on Tuesday, extending its July buying spree to 725,517 shares amid a steep stock decline.
Czech Republic tells ISPs to block Polymarket after gambling blacklisting
The Czech Finance Ministry added Polymarket to its blacklist of unauthorized online gambling websites, requiring internet providers to block access within 15 days.
US freezes $131M in Iran-linked crypto as Middle East tensions rise
“US Treasury is committed to disrupting and degrading Iran’s illicit financial activities, including its abuse of digital assets,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday.
Visa, Mastercard and Ripple back x402 as agent payments average 32 cents
Every major card network has signed on to a payment standard built so that software can pay software without a human involved.
Kalshi says CFTC, Michigan orders leave it in ‘impossible position’
“We are disappointed by this decision and believe it is unfair to Kalshi,” the company’s legal counsel said on X.
Bitcoin nears $65,000 as cooling U.S. inflation guts the Fed rate-hike trade
Bitcoin climbed to near $64,800 on Wednesday, its best session in weeks, after U.S. inflation cooled by more than economists expected and traders abandoned bets that the Federal Reserve would raise rates this month.
Bitmine generated $46M from Ethereum staking last quarter
Ethereum staking generated 98% of Bitmine’s revenue last quarter as the company’s pivot from Bitcoin mining gained momentum following its March validator launch.
Three US senators oppose CLARITY Act on ethics grounds with vote expected soon
Senate Majority Leader John Thune reportedly said the chamber will consider a vote on the crypto market structure bill before Aug. 10, though it’s unclear whether it has enough Democratic support to pass.
Velocity raises $38M to build stablecoin treasury infrastructure for enterprises
Backed by Dragonfly, FirstMark and Coinbase Ventures, the startup is expanding software that helps businesses integrate stablecoins into treasury and payment workflows.
Some U.S. Senate Democrats come out against Clarity Act, calling it a 'corrupt' bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Three Democrats from the U.S. Senate argued there are "lots of reasons" to oppose the currency crypto legislative effort even as advocates of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act seek to craft a versi…
Over 95% of Coinbase’s code is now written with help of AI
Coinbase’s Rob Witoff said the company is leaning more on AI to help with execution, but still needs high-agency humans for judgment and strategy.
Binance bets on becoming a crypto 'super app' as stablecoins reshape growth
Binance believes its next phase of growth will come from payments and financial services rather than cryptocurrency trading alone, as stablecoins reshape how people use digital assets, according to Shunyet Jan, the exch…
DeepMind CEO Says AGI Will Be Bigger Than Electricity or Fire
For the second time this year, Demis Hassabis predicted that artificial general intelligence would arrive before the end of the decade. This time, however, he said it won't simply be another technological breakthrough—i…
US, UK treasuries to align transatlantic rules on tokenization and stablecoins
The US Department of the Treasury and HM Treasury released a set of recommendations as part of the Transatlantic Taskforce for the Markets of the Future, which included stablecoin activity and tokenized finance.
JCB signs Circle MOU to test stablecoin payments in Japan
The companies will explore using USDC for JCB’s cross-border treasury operations and merchant payments in Japan as regulated stablecoin adoption gains momentum.