RGB And UTEXO Enable Private Lightning Settlements

Tether, the company behind USDT, is preparing to issue the stablecoin natively on Bitcoin through the RGB protocol version v0.11.1. Deployed by the UTEXO software lab, USDT is set to return to the chain where it first launched in 2014 via the Omni-Mastercoin Layer. 

UTEXO, the company leading the commercial rollout, has positioned itself as the issuer and distributor of this Bitcoin-native USDT in partnership with Tether.  “Finally, after eight years of development—if not more—we are the company that is launching USDT over Bitcoin with strong support from Tether,” said Viktor Ihnatiuk, UTEXO co-founder, in an exclusive interview with Bitcoin Magazine. 

The RGB…

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‘Big Fan Of Crypto,’ Eyes Bitcoin For Trump Accounts

President Donald Trump said earlier today that Bitcoin could one day play a role in the new Trump Accounts savings program, telling reporters that “something could happen” when asked whether the accounts might hold the cryptocurrency.

Trump made the comments Monday during an Oval Office ceremony marking the launch of Trump Accounts. In a first-of-its-kind event, he rang the opening bells for both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq from the Oval Office, a joint bell-ringing that had never been conducted from the White House. 

He was joined by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins, leaders of the NYSE and Nasdaq, and…

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Russian-Sberbank Plans Crypto Wallet And Digital Depository By December

Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, intends to launch a cryptocurrency wallet and a digital depository once the country’s crypto legislation takes effect, a step that would put a state-controlled lender at the center of Russia’s emerging digital asset market.

Kirill Tsarev, First Deputy Chairman of Sberbank’s Management Board, announced the plan to RBC Investments at the Bank of Russia Financial Congress. He said the bank will offer authorized cryptocurrency transactions in the Sber and SberInvestments apps after lawmakers adopt the bill “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights.”

Vladimir Chistyukhin, First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank, said the law regulating the…

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Strive (ASST) Adds 17.76 Bitcoin As Falling Prices Boost Its Quarterly Yield

Strive, Inc. bought 17.76 bitcoin last week and now holds 19,882 coins, the company said in a Form 8-K filed earlier today. 

The firm purchased the coins between June 29 and July 2 at an average price near $59,850. Chief Executive Matt Cole disclosed the update in a post on X.

The purchase reads as a deliberate nod to the July 4 holiday. The figure of 17.76 points to 1776, the year the United States declared independence. The buys landed days before the nation’s 250th anniversary of that declaration. 

The weekly buy was small. The quarter behind it was not. Strive acquired 6,236 bitcoin during the three months ended June 30, at an average cost of $74,290 per coin. That haul lifted…

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Strategy (MSTR) Sells 3,588 Bitcoin, Raises $216 Million

Strategy sold 3,588 bitcoin for $216 million to fund dividends on its preferred securities, the company disclosed in a Form 8-K on July 6, 2026. The sale marks the largest bitcoin disposal in the company’s history and its most direct admission that its dividend obligations now shape its treasury.

Chairman Michael Saylor posted about the transaction on social media. As of July 5, the company held 843,775 bitcoin in its reserves and $2.55 billion in cash. Saylor said the proceeds covered second-quarter dividends on four preferred instruments and the full June payment on a fifth.

The disclosed sale funded quarterly dividends on STRF, STRE, STRK, and STRD. It also covered the…

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Bitcoin Exchange Flows Point To More Volatility: Report

CryptoQuant’s weekly report, “Incoming Volatility?”, makes a clean, data-backed case that something is about to break.

Bitcoin exchange inflows spiked to roughly 49,000 BTC on June 30 — an extreme reading seen only four other times in 2026. Ethereum inflows blew past 1.25 million ETH the same week. Altcoin deposit transactions hit nearly 45,000 a day, the highest in two months and the exact pattern that front-ran Bitcoin’s slide from $82K in early May to below $58K in late June. 

Every one of those signals has historically preceded a directional move, usually down.

And yet, as of Thursday morning, Bitcoin is trading around $61,600 — back above the $60K support…

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Wavespace Launches MiCA-Compliant Self-Custodial Bitcoin Debit Card Powered By Lightning And NWC

Wavespace, a Bitcoin neobank serving the Eurozone, has announced MiCA compliance of its ‘self-custodial’ debit card. The young fintech company is at the cutting edge of Bitcoin payments technology in Europe, with support for the Lightning Network, and auto DCA to self-custody. 

Debit cards in the Bitcoin and broader crypto industry have traditionally worked by preloading custodial accounts with bitcoin or stablecoins. The process of preloading was usually on-chain, taking time to settle and requiring manual input from the user to send from self-custody wallets or cold storage. If the preloaded balance ran out on the card, spending would not be possible. 

Wavespace’s…

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Bitget Bolsters Stock+ Platform With U.S. Stock Options Trading

Crypto exchange Bitget has launched US stock options, allowing users to trade options on US-listed companies. 

The company described itself in a note to Bitcoin Magazine as the world’s largest Universal Exchange and states that it is the only major crypto exchange offering US stock options alongside crypto and contract-for-difference markets in gold, forex, commodities and indices.

The initial release includes long call and long put strategies for eligible users. A call option lets a trader take a bullish position on a stock, while a put option allows a trader to express a bearish view or manage downside exposure. 

Risk for buyers is limited to the premium paid, and an…

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