Cryptocurrency Roundup: BitMEX To Shut Down After 11 Years, Ledger Launches AI Agents While Crypto Industry Consolidates Amid Geopolitical Headwinds

Bitcoin is hovering around US$63,600 with sentiment stuck firmly in fear territory, as geopolitical tensions, regulatory uncertainty and a wave of exchange closures reshape the cryptocurrency landscape.

The flagship cryptocurrency neared US$67,000 earlier in the week before pulling back 2.6 per cent over seven days. Ethereum fell 1.2 per cent to trade around US$1,882, though spot Ether ETFs raised US$104 million last week – roughly three times the US$34 million raised by Bitcoin ETFs. The ETH/BTC ratio continues to improve, climbing 1.7 per cent for the week and 13 per cent over the past month.

The Crypto Fear and Greed Index sits at 30, marking the sixth consecutive week in fear. Despite this, Bitcoin has held above US$65,000, suggesting price resilience even as broader conviction remains absent.

Oil and geopolitics set the tone

Macro factors, not crypto-specific developments, have driven markets this week. Brent crude briefly climbed above US$100 a barrel as tensions between the United States and Iran escalated, before easing below US$97. Oil prices have risen 25 per cent on the back of the conflict, adding pressure to the inflation outlook and weighing on equities and crypto markets alike.

Polymarket data suggests a 72 per cent chance of a ceasefire by 31 August, but the damage to sentiment has already been done. A softer-than-expected reading on headline inflation and the producer price index last week had supported a disinflationary narrative, but the oil spike has complicated that picture.

The US Federal Reserve is expected to keep rates on hold at 3.5 to 3.75 per cent when it delivers its decision on Wednesday, shifting attention to Chair Kevin Warsh’s press conference and any shifts in policy language. A hawkish tone could put further pressure on risk assets, while a more balanced message may help stabilise sentiment.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs snapped a seven-session inflow streak worth close to US$1 billion when BlackRock’s IBIT led a US$225 million outflow on 23 July, followed by a second consecutive outflow day of US$240 million the following day. The week still closed net positive overall.

Across the broader altcoin market, XRP fell 4.4 per cent, Solana dropped 5 per cent, Hyperliquid lost 10.1 per cent and Dogecoin declined 2.3 per cent.

BitMEX to close by late September

One of the crypto industry’s longest-running derivatives exchanges is winding down. HDR Global Trading, the operator behind BitMEX, confirmed it will cease operations by late September after 11 years.

Founded by Arthur Hayes, BitMEX introduced perpetual futures in 2016 and popularised 100x leverage products. By 2019 the exchange had reached a trillion dollars in annual trading volume. Its key executives were charged with violating the US Bank Secrecy Act in 2020, pleaded guilty in 2022 and were later pardoned by former President Donald Trump.

Increased competition from centralised platforms and on-chain competitors such as Hyperliquid has seen BitMEX’s share of the futures market fall to just 0.08 per cent. BitMart has also confirmed it will cease trading by 26 August.

The closures are part of a broader consolidation trend. Nearly 100 crypto projects have shut down in 2026, with liquidity increasingly concentrated among a smaller set of established platforms.

CLARITY Act faces a tight deadline

Time is running out for the CLARITY Act, a bill that would represent the most significant US regulatory catalyst for crypto since the ETF approvals.

The legislation has passed the House and cleared the Senate Banking Committee, with Senate Republicans releasing an updated draft on 22 July. However, no floor vote has been scheduled and no cloture motion has been filed. The effective deadline is 10 August, before the Senate scatters for its state work period. After that, the bill would sit until mid-September, when midterm politics will crowd the calendar.

Passage requires 60 votes, meaning at least seven Democrats would need to join a united Republican caucus. Multiple sources indicate an initial vote could happen this week, but reporting from Punchbowl News suggests that even if it clears 60 votes to proceed, there is not enough time to complete 30 hours of debate and amendments plus a second cloture vote before the final vote.

The key sticking point is enforcement. Democrats do not trust the Trump-appointed Attorney General to enforce the act, while Trump does not want to hand enforcement powers to 50 state attorneys general, some of whom have already tied him up in court for years. Democrats and at least one Republican view the ethics rules as toothless, particularly as they expire on the day Trump leaves office.

The bill has support from Fidelity, Goldman Sachs, Charles Schwab, Franklin Templeton and BlackRock, as well as the National Fraternal Order of Police. Banks are reportedly still attempting to undermine the legislation.

Failure to pass would defer the bill into an election year and likely extend a period of regulatory uncertainty for crypto markets.

Samsung brings stablecoins to Galaxy phones

Samsung is preparing to bring stablecoins to Samsung Wallet. The Android smartphone manufacturer outlined plans during its annual Galaxy Unpacked showcase, describing the feature as a way to combine payments, rewards and digital assets within a single mobile experience.

Some reports suggest it could enable crypto payments for hundreds of millions of Galaxy users worldwide without requiring a separate crypto app or exchange wallet. Specific details and a timeline have not been confirmed.

South Korea cracks down on unlicensed exchanges

South Korean regulators have removed 29 unlicensed crypto exchange apps from the Google Play Store, including offerings from OKX, KuCoin, Gemini and Bybit.

Average daily trading volume across South Korea’s five largest exchanges has plummeted 89 per cent compared to the same month in July 2025. The Financial Commission has indicated it will advance the Digital Asset Basic Act, which focuses on stablecoins and would remove the ban on corporate participation in crypto markets.

Separately, South Korea’s KB Kookmin Bank will launch a blockchain-based cross-border payment service for import and export businesses in August, using JPMorgan’s Kinexys blockchain.

SEC signals DeFi vaults may be securities

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce has indicated the agency believes crypto vaults and on-chain lending strategies may fall under federal US securities laws, depending on how they are structured and managed.

“Tokenised securities are still securities,” Peirce told an audience. “That principle holds for vaults.”

Offering yield via vaults has become a significant business, with US$8.6 billion in crypto distributed across 788 curated vaults, according to data from Vaults.fyi.

S&P launches crypto benchmark index

S&P Dow Jones Indices has partnered with Pantera Capital to launch the S&P Pantera Digital Asset Index, which aims to become a benchmark for institutional investors allocating to digital assets.

The index screens out blockchains based on minimum revenue thresholds and controversially excludes Bitcoin and XRP. Its five largest holdings are Ether, BNB, Solana, TRON and Hyperliquid.

Ledger launches AI agent toolkit

Hardware wallet maker Ledger has released the Ledger Agent Stack, an open-source toolkit that enables developers to build AI agents capable of reading and proposing payment operations, with every sensitive action requiring explicit human approval enforced via a Ledger signer.

The toolkit includes a Wallet CLI that gives agents programmable access to Ledger Wallet features including send, receive, swap and balance tracking. An Enterprise CLI exposes the same capabilities for institutional teams with HSM-anchored policy enforcement. A Device Management Kit Skills layer allows any LLM runtime to connect directly to Ledger hardware without rebuilding wallet logic from scratch.

“Now your agent is your trusted partner in operating these secure wallets,” explained Ian Rogers, Chief Human Agency Officer at Ledger. “Crypto wallets have protected billions on this standard for years. Ledger Agent Stack allows your agent to use these wallets just as easily as humans.”

The company cited figures suggesting human error is involved in approximately 60 per cent of all security breaches, while approximately 26.1 per cent of all agent skills contain at least one security vulnerability. By anchoring every signing decision in hardware, the toolkit is designed to ensure funds cannot move and sensitive information cannot be accessed without explicit human confirmation, even if an agent’s software environment is compromised.

Documentation and installation details are available at developers.ledger.com/agent-kit and examples are available on GitHub.

Prediction markets break records on World Cup

Blockchain-powered prediction markets processed more than US$5.8 billion in World Cup wagers during the tournament. Kalshi and Polymarket handled the combined volume, with the tournament winner market alone generating billions of dollars on Polymarket built entirely on blockchain-settled contracts rather than a traditional sportsbook ledger.

Singapore in the spotlight

The Monetary Authority of Singapore has increased the steepness of the Singapore dollar’s nominal effective exchange rate by 50 basis points, enabling the currency to strengthen at an estimated pace of 1 per cent per year.

The Singapore Police Force and the US FBI have signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen joint operations and intelligence-sharing on online scams, cyber fraud and money laundering, following a joint operation targeting cross-border crypto scams.

On-chain investigator Specter estimates that losses from a compromise of Singapore payments firm Triple-A’s hot wallets have reached approximately US$12 million. Triple-A indicated customer funds were not affected.

Network School expelled from Malaysia

Malaysia’s ambitions as a forward-looking digital technology hub have taken a hit after authorities revoked the business licence of former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan’s Network School.

The crypto-focused school, based on the Network States concept, had been at the centre of a controversy over Israeli attendees. The Network School has since signed an MOU with Kazakhstan to relocate there, as the Central Asian country positions itself as an emerging technology hub with plans for the region’s first crypto city in Alatau.

Exchanges warn of rising phishing threats

Amid the broader industry upheaval, Australian exchange BTC Markets has issued a warning about increasingly sophisticated phishing and impersonation scams targeting crypto users.

The exchange noted that AI tools have made it easier for scammers to create convincing emails, messages and websites that appear authentic at first glance. Common tactics include fake rewards emails promising free Bitcoin, impersonated support verification messages and account update emails designed to create urgency.

BTC Markets stressed it will never ask users to share passwords or one-time verification codes by email, SMS or messaging apps, request recovery phrases, ask users to move funds to another wallet for protection, or request the installation of remote access software.

Market data at a glance

US spot Bitcoin ETFs collectively hold 1.21 million BTC, worth approximately US$78 billion. The combined stablecoin market capitalisation stands at US$304 billion, representing around 13 per cent of the total crypto market. Strategy maintains its position as the largest corporate Bitcoin holder with 843,775 BTC. Crypto liquidations over the past 24 hours totalled US$91 million across approximately 50,600 traders, split relatively evenly between long and short positions.

OTC desk activity remains muted, with no clear directional signals within the current range. Some increased interest in stablecoin purchases has been observed as USDT continues to trade at a significant discount.

Last Updated on July 28, 2026 by Nick Ross