Today's News Tips:
1. The prosecution of Tornado Cash founder Roman Storm adjourned the court, and the defense started witness testimony
2. Vietnam launched the national blockchain platform NDAChain, including 49 verification nodes
3. Dragonfly responded to the US Department of Justice's allegations of its investment in Tornado Cash, and will defend its own rights if sued
4. Tyler Winklevoss: JPMorgan Chase suspended Gemini account opening due to previous public criticism of fees
5. Strategy increased the issuance size of STRC preferred shares from US$500 million to US$2.521 billion
6. Coinbase added ResearchCoin (RSC) to the coin listing roadmap
7. An investor in the Satoshi era used Galaxy Digital sold 80,000 bitcoins, worth about $9 billion
8.SharpLink received 145 million USDC from Circle wallet 30 minutes ago, and may continue to increase its holdings of ETH
Regulation/Macro
Tornado Cash founder Roman Storm case prosecution adjourned, defense started witness testimony
According to Crypto In America, the criminal trial of Tornado Cash founder Roman Storm was adjourned on Thursday after eight days of witness testimony. The defense immediately began to present evidence, and the first witness was Ethereum developer Preston Van Loon. Van Loon said that Tornado Cash is a tool built to meet privacy needs, designed to protect user identity and transaction security, although some users use it for illegal purposes. Over the next three days, the defense will continue to call multiple witnesses to refute the prosecution's allegations that Storm assisted and promoted money laundering. It is reported that if convicted, Storm faces up to 45 years in prison.
Vietnam launches national blockchain platform NDAChain, including 49 verification nodes
Vietnam has officially launched the national blockchain platform NDAChain, which will serve as the core infrastructure of the country's digital ecosystem. NDAChain was developed by the National Data Association (NDA) and operated by the Data Innovation and Development Center of the Ministry of Public Security. The platform adopts a hybrid data architecture, combining centralized and decentralized elements, aiming to improve data security, scalability and global integration capabilities. NDAChain will provide a "decentralized trust layer" for fields including e-government, finance, healthcare, logistics and education, and realize decentralized identity authentication and digital contract signing through NDA DID. The Ministry of Public Security, NDA and several well-known companies jointly operate 49 verification nodes to ensure network security and compliance. Officials said that the launch of NDAChain will provide key support for Vietnam's digital society and economic development.
The US Department of Justice may file Tornado Cash-related charges against Dragonfly employees
According to Aggr News, the US Department of Justice is weighing whether to file charges against Dragonfly employees for the Tornado Cash incident.
The U.S. Department of Justice is considering filing a lawsuit against Dragonfly, accusing it of investing in the Tornado Cash team in 2020. Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner of Dragonfly Capital, tweeted that Dragonfly invested in PepperSec, Inc., the developer of Tornado Cash, in August 2020. It made this investment because it firmly believed in the importance of open source privacy protection technology. Before the investment, an external legal opinion was obtained to confirm that Tornado Cash was built in compliance with legal regulations and in accordance with the guidelines issued by FinCEN in 2019. Dragonfly does not operate or control Tornado Cash, has not been associated with any malicious users, has always encouraged portfolio companies to comply with the law, and maintains that Tornado Cash itself has a legal right to exist. It would be unprecedented to charge a venture capital firm for alleged misconduct by a portfolio company, especially in the current circumstances.
In 2023, Dragonfly received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice and fully cooperated with the government's investigation into Tornado Cash. The Department of Justice has made it clear that Dragonfly itself is not a subject of its investigation. As with all investments, Dragonfly provided the same advice and support to PepperSec as it does to all portfolio companies. Dragonfly believes that the government's statements in court are primarily intended to undermine Tornado Cash's defense - making it more difficult for the defense to subpoena Tom to testify in court. Dragonfly does not believe that the Department of Justice will actually make such a ridiculous and unfounded accusation. But if they do, Dragonfly intends to defend itself vigorously.
Previous news, the U.S. Department of Justice may bring Tornado Cash-related charges against Dragonfly employees.
According to the official website of the U.S. Department of Justice, an Arizona woman (Christina Marie Chapman) was sentenced to 102 months in prison for participating in a fraud scheme. The program assisted North Korean information technology (IT) workers to impersonate U.S. citizens and residents and obtain remote IT positions in more than 300 U.S. companies. The program brought Chapman and North Korea more than $17 million in illegal income. In addition to the 102-month prison sentence, a U.S. District Court judge ordered Chapman to serve three years of supervised release, forfeit $284,555.92 that was to have been paid to North Koreans, and pay a $176,850 judgment.
The case is one of the largest North Korean IT worker frauds ever charged by the Justice Department, with 68 U.S. victims’ identities stolen and 309 U.S. and two international businesses defrauded. According to court documents, North Korea has sent thousands of highly skilled IT workers around the world, including the United States, to work remotely using fake, stolen or borrowed U.S. identities. To circumvent controls that U.S. companies have put in place to prevent the illegal hiring of IT workers overseas, North Korean IT workers would seek help from collaborators in the United States. Chapman helped North Korean IT workers get jobs at 309 U.S. companies, including Fortune 500 companies. Affected companies include a major top five television network, a Silicon Valley technology company, an aerospace manufacturer, a U.S. automaker, a luxury retailer, and a U.S. media and entertainment company.
Views
Bitwise CIO: The four-year cycle is dead, long-term positive for cryptocurrencies
Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan wrote that the four-year cycle that once dominated the crypto market is no longer applicable. Hougan pointed out that the halving effect is gradually weakening, the interest rate cycle has turned positive for cryptocurrencies, and regulatory improvements and institutionalization have reduced explosive risks. At the same time, larger trends such as asset inflows into ETFs, widespread institutional adoption, regulatory progress, and continued investment from Wall Street are dominating the market. He believes that these long-term positive factors will overwhelm the traditional four-year cycle, and 2026 is expected to be a bumper year for the crypto market, but also reminds that the market will experience significant volatility, and it is more likely to be a "sustained and stable prosperity" rather than a super cycle.
Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss tweeted that JPMorgan Chase informed him this week that it had suspended Gemini account opening services due to his public criticism of the bank's fees for fintech companies last week. JPMorgan Chase had previously closed Gemini during Operation Choke Point 2.0. Tyler Winklevoss added: "They want us to keep silent while quietly trying to deprive you of your free access to bank data. We will continue to condemn this anti-competitive rent-seeking behavior."
Cathie Wood: The surge in demand for Ethereum pledge redemption may be due to Robinhood's 2% reward
In response to questions in the community about the "sudden surge in demand for Ethereum pledge redemption", ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood replied: "Robinhood offers a 2% matching reward for cryptocurrency transfers, and venture capitalists and other investors transfer pledged ETH to Treasury companies (DATs) in order to double their funds after the lock-up period ends. Similar to $MSTR and $BMNR, Treasury company stocks are a way for brokerage advisors to provide clients with BTC and ETH investment opportunities."
Project News
Binance Wallet will launch the 32nd exclusive TGE: Delabs Games (DELABS)
According to Binance Wallet, the 32nd exclusive TGE event will be held on Binance Wallet through PancakeSwap from 8:00 to 10:00 (UTC) on July 28, 2025, and the project is Delabs Games (DELABS). Eligible users need to use Binance Alpha Points to participate. The official will also provide an additional 120 million DELABS for the upcoming event, and more details and event entrances will be announced soon.
Binance will launch ZORAUSDT and TAGUSDT perpetual contracts
According to Binance’s announcement, Binance Futures will launch ZORAUSDT perpetual contracts at 19:00 on July 25, 2025, Beijing time, and TAGUSDT perpetual contracts at 19:15, both supporting up to 50x leverage. ZORA and TAG are now available on Binance Alpha Market.
Strategy increases the size of STRC preferred stock issuance from $500 million to $2.521 billion
According to Strategy's official announcement, the company completed the pricing of 28,011,111 variable-rate Class A perpetual preferred shares ($STRC) on July 24, 2025, with an issue price of $90 per share. It is expected to be delivered on July 29, and after deducting expenses, it is expected to raise approximately $2.474 billion. The funds raised will be used for general corporate purposes, including increasing Bitcoin holdings. STRC's initial annualized monthly dividend rate is 9%, and can be adjusted by the company depending on the market.
Coinbase adds ResearchCoin (RSC) to the coin listing roadmap
According to the official announcement, Coinbase added ResearchCoin (RSC) to the coin listing roadmap. In response, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong tweeted that although he is the co-founder of ResearchHub, all assets listed on Coinbase must be reviewed by the Digital Asset Support Group (DASG). DASG will review all assets listed on Coinbase from the perspective of legal, compliance and network security. Individuals are not members of DASG and therefore have no voting rights to decide which assets are approved for listing. The relationship between individuals and ResearchHub has been disclosed to the Coinbase board of directors.
Binance: Hold at least 200 Binance Alpha points to claim 750 PHY tokens airdrop
According to Binance's official announcement, DePHY Network (PHY) trading will start at 16:00 (UTC+8) on July 26. Users who hold at least 200 Binance Alpha points can claim 750 PHY tokens airdrop. First come, first served. If the event is not over, the score threshold will automatically decrease by 15 points every hour. Claiming the airdrop will consume 15 Binance Alpha points. Users must confirm the claim within 24 hours on the Alpha event page, otherwise it will be deemed to have given up the airdrop.
UniSat Wallet updates BRC-20 upgrade progress
UniSat Wallet tweeted an update on the BRC-20 upgrade progress. The BRC-20 single-step transfer function will be officially enabled on Fractal Bitcoin at block height 930930 (approximately 2 am on July 29, UTC time). This important new feature allows users to create a TRANSFER inscription directly to the target address, simplifying the BRC-20 asset transfer to a single operation, eliminating the previous two-step process of creating a transfer inscription. In addition, the BRC-20 Swap module cancels the deposit/withdrawal requirements, and users can directly exchange assets without depositing and withdrawing steps. UniSat infrastructure will support BRC-20, and plans to expand support for programmable modules in UniSat Wallet, UniScan Browser, and UniSat API Platform. New features such as UniHexa, USDT/USDC integration, and Bitcoin Asia will be launched in the future.
Important data
Bitcoin mining company Cango mined 147 new BTC this week, and the total holdings have reached 4387.1
New York Stock Exchange-listed Bitcoin mining company Cango tweeted that the company mined 147 new Bitcoins this week, and the current total Bitcoin holdings increased to 4,387.1. Cango said it has fully entered HODL mode and announced that the new leadership team is in place, ushering in a new era of company development.
An investor from the Satoshi era sold 80,000 Bitcoins through Galaxy Digital, worth about $9 billion
An early Bitcoin investor sold 80,000 Bitcoins through Galaxy Digital, worth about $9 billion. Galaxy called it one of the largest notional transactions in the history of cryptocurrency, but the specific date and transaction price have not been disclosed. Galaxy Digital did not disclose the identity of the client, but said the transaction was part of the investor's broader estate planning strategy.
According to the on-chain analyst Yu Jin, the largest $PUMP institutional private placement address transferred the last 8 billion $PUMP (US$20.11 million) to FalconX 8 hours ago, completing the sale of all his private $PUMP and making a profit of $8.2 million.
This address used 100 million USDC to participate in the institutional round of pump. fun private placement and obtained 25 billion PUMP (the price is the same as the public offering for retail investors, and it is also not locked), which is the largest institutional private placement address. Starting from the 16th, it gradually transferred PUMP to FalconX and cleared it out in the early hours of this morning. The average transfer price was about US$0.0043. Achieved a profit of $8.2 million.
Analysis: 9 wallets hoarded 614,000 ETH in half a month, worth more than $2.1 billion
According to the on-chain analyst Yu Jin, since July 10, multiple newly created wallets have hoarded a large amount of ETH through channels such as Kraken, FalconX, Galaxy Digital, and Binance. Only the 9 wallets that he personally paid attention to have hoarded up to 614,000 ETH in the past half month, worth more than $2.1 billion. And the hoarding of some addresses is still continuing. These whales/institutions, together with ETH spot ETFs, known ETH reserve companies, etc., have helped push ETH from $2,700 to $3,700 in the past half month.
Funding/Acquisition
Mega Matrix Inc. (NYSE American: MPU) announced that it has completed $16 million in private placement financing, providing a solid capital foundation for its strategic entry into the stablecoin field. The investors in this private placement are mainly crypto funds and industry professionals, showing the market's high recognition and confidence in the company's expansion strategy. The company plans to use the financing funds mainly to build a stablecoin asset allocation system and on-chain income mechanism, and will focus on developing corporate treasury strategies based on stablecoins and governance tokens. At present, Mega Matrix has negotiated with many leading global stablecoin issuers and will start the configuration of mainstream stablecoins and governance tokens.
Institutional holdings
Australia Monochrome Spot Bitcoin ETF holdings increased to 956 BTC
Australia Monochrome Spot Bitcoin ETF (IBTC) disclosed that as of July 24, 2025, it held 956 bitcoins and had an asset management scale (AUM) of 171 million Australian dollars.
According to the monitoring of on-chain analyst Ember, SharpLink wallet received 145 million USDC from Circle wallet 30 minutes ago. SharpLink may continue to sell stocks to raise funds to increase its holdings of ETH. Currently, SharpLink holds 360,900 ETH (US$1.34 billion).
Nasdaq-listed company Bit Digital has issued a shareholder letter announcing that it plans to hold a shareholders' meeting on September 10, 2025, at which time it will adopt a resolution to increase the company's authorized share capital from 340,000,000 common shares with a par value of US$0.01 per share and 10,000,000 preferred shares with a par value of US$0.01 per share (valued at a total of approximately US$3.5 million) to 1,000,000,000 common shares with a par value of US$0.01 per share and 10,000,000 preferred shares with a par value of US$0.01 per share (valued at a total of approximately US$10.1 million). The funds raised from the increase in share capital will be used to continue to increase its holdings of ETH.
Strategy plans to increase the scale of funds raised for the purchase of Bitcoin to US$2 billion
According to Zoomer, Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) plans to increase the scale of funds raised for the purchase of Bitcoin from US$500 million to US$2 billion.
