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📰 TOP NEWS
MiCA's final transition period ends, reshaping Europe's crypto landscape as Binance misses deadline
Europe's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation reached a landmark milestone as its final transition period expired, replacing a patchwork of national regimes with a single framework governing crypto exchanges, custodians, and brokers across the EU. The most significant immediate casualty is Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, which entered July without MiCA authorization after withdrawing its Greek license application last week, a move founder Changpeng Zhao attributed to unspecified political interference despite claiming the application was fully compliant and near approval. Exchanges that secured authorization, including Kraken, OKX, Coinbase, and Crypto.com, can now passport services across the EU's 30 EEA countries, and data from Kaiko suggests the impact on trading volumes may be limited, with licensed exchanges already accounting for roughly 83% of European crypto trading volume as of June 2026. The authorization landscape has been uneven, however, with Germany leading on 57 approvals, followed by France and the Netherlands with 26 each, while Greece, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, and Romania had no authorized CASPs listed. Industry observers expect a wave of consolidation, with Parfin CEO Marcos Viriato predicting that some unlicensed firms "will likely be put up for sale, while others may exit the market." For users, the transition will mean an experience closer to dealing with regulated financial institutions, with Trezor CCO Danny Sanders noting they "will start feeling like a bank for many people."
US spot bitcoin ETFs break 10-day outflow streak with $221.7 million in net inflows
US spot bitcoin ETFs recorded $221.7 million in net inflows on July 2, ending a 10-day negative streak that had wiped more than $2.7 billion from the funds, with Fidelity's FBTC leading the way at $166 million followed by Ark Invest and 21Shares' ARKB at $91.8 million. The return of inflows comes after June marked the worst month for bitcoin ETFs since their 2024 launch, with $4.5 billion in net outflows over the period. BlackRock's IBIT was the sole fund to report outflows on the day, shedding $40.4 million in what is now its 11th consecutive day of net outflows, during which roughly $2.2 billion has left the fund across eight straight weeks of weekly outflows. Analysts noted that IBIT's continued losses may reflect rotation toward smaller or lower-fee products rather than outright bearishness, with LVRG Research director Nick Ruck describing it as "a maturing market where capital is becoming more discerning across issuers." Bitcoin itself has shown signs of recovery, rising from around $58,000 on July 1 to about $61,730, while Glassnode analyst Chris Beamish noted that long-term holders have returned to accumulation across wallet cohorts, with a bid-heavy Coinbase orderbook and supportive dealer gamma positioning pointing to stabilizing market structure.
CFTC Chair blasts Illinois crypto transaction tax as threat to innovation and federal regulatory alignment
CFTC Chair Michael Selig sharply criticized Illinois' decision to enact a 0.2% tax on crypto transactions, warning the state risks falling behind on technological progress and diverging from Washington's pro-innovation regulatory direction. Signed into law by Governor JB Pritzker last month as part of the state's FY2027 budget, the Digital Asset Tax Act is scheduled to take effect in January 2027 and has been called the "most punitive digital asset tax in the country" by industry groups. "Just as the internet revolutionized the transfer of information, blockchains will revolutionize the transfer of value," Selig wrote in a Washington Times op-ed. "Illinois lawmakers seeking to plan the state's economy from an ivory tower have placed their constituents at a significant disadvantage." Selig's criticism comes as Congress works to finalize sweeping crypto market structure legislation and federal regulators move to clarify their stance on digital assets, with the CFTC Chair arguing that Illinois lawmakers "decided they know better than the federal lawmakers who have been working on delivering clarity to crypto asset markets for years." Industry groups have also raised questions about how the law will be implemented in practice.
Trump crypto disclosure reignites bipartisan push for ethics provisions in Clarity Act
President Trump's 927-page financial disclosure, revealing hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto-related income including earnings tied to the Trump family's decentralized finance company World Liberty Financial, has added fresh urgency to bipartisan efforts to embed ethics restrictions into the Clarity Act. Democrats renewed calls for ethics language immediately after the filing became public, with Sen. Angela Alsobrooks calling Trump and his family "the most corrupt we've ever seen in the White House" and Sen. Elizabeth Warren warning that without such provisions the Clarity Act will "turbocharge Donald Trump's brazen crypto corruption." Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said work is continuing on "rigorous, bipartisan ethics reform" that would ban presidents, vice presidents, and lawmakers from using crypto for personal profit. On the Republican side, Sen. Cynthia Lummis, one of Congress' most vocal crypto advocates, said ethics provisions are already being negotiated in good faith with the White House and Democrats, urging colleagues to "work with us to pass this bill" rather than use the issue as a reason to delay. Trump responded to the concerns by telling reporters his personal finances are held in a "blind account" managed by third-party institutions. The disclosure also revealed $6 million in NFT income from First Lady Melania Trump, up sharply from just over $216,000 the prior year.
🎟️ EVENT OF THE WEEK
RAISE Summit 2026
RAISE Summit 2026 is an international conference focused on artificial intelligence, bringing together founders, builders, and senior executives shaping the next phase of AI development. The event is hosted annually at the Louvre in Paris and convenes a global audience spanning large technology platforms, emerging startups, venture capital, and enterprise buyers.
Date Jul 8-9 2026
💬 EXPERT OPINION
The main advantage of blockchain technology is supposed to be that it's more secure, but new technologies are generally hard for people to trust, and this paradox can't really be avoided.”
📊 METRIC OF THE WEEK
Our researchers designed this metric with ❤️
GLOSSARY CORNER MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) is a comprehensive regulatory framework introduced by the European Union that establishes standardized rules for the issuance, trading, and oversight of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins across all EU member states, providing legal clarity and consumer protection for the crypto industry in Europe. | EDITOR’S CHOICE |
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