Standard Chartered | Spot Bitcoin Trading for Institutions

Standard Chartered has made history by becoming the first global systemically important bank (G-SIB) to launch deliverable spot trading for bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH), a major milestone in the adoption of digital assets by traditional finance.

The UK-based bank announced that the new trading service will allow institutional clients—corporates, asset managers, and other large investors—to trade bitcoin and ethereum directly through its UK branch.

The trades will be settled with actual digital assets, not just derivatives or exposure through funds.

This puts Standard Chartered at the forefront of regulated bitcoin trading, offering a secure, compliant platform for…

Read more on bitcoinnews

JPMorgan’s Plan To Impose Fees On Data Aggregators Could ‘Cripple’ The Crypto Industry, Say Execs: ‘This Would Put Everyone Out Of Business’ – Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD), Affirm Holdings (NASDAQ:AFRM)

JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s JPM plan to introduce fees for transactions involving cryptocurrencies and third-party services could significantly cripple the fintech industry, say experts.

What Happened: JPMorgan Chase is considering charging data aggregators, such as Plaid and MX, every time a customer transfers funds from their JPMorgan Chase account to a crypto account or a third-party service like Robinhood HOOD.

Crypto firms and fintechs commonly use these aggregators to access customer accounts held at major financial institutions such as JPMorgan Chase.

Check out the current price of JPM stock here.

Anonymous industry executives have expressed concerns that this could make it…

Read more on Benzinga

LATEST: Canadian Public Firm Matador Aims For 6K Bitcoin Treasury By 2027

Bitcoin solutions firm Matador Technologies has revealed plans to buy up to 6,000 BTC by 2027. The Canadian company currently holds 77.4 BTC valued at around $9 million and has set a near-term goal of acquiring 1,000 BTC by 2026. Matador aims to become one of the top 20 corporate Bitcoin holders globally.

The company has filed a CA$900 million ($656 million) shelf prospectus to fund its Bitcoin strategy over the next 25 months. It will use various funding tools including equity offerings Bitcoin-backed credit and strategic acquisitions. TSX Venture Exchange approved its shift to a hybrid technology and investment firm.

Matador’s compounding flywheel strategy focuses on growing Bitcoin per share creating Bitcoin-based revenue and partnering with crypto infrastructure projects. Despite the news the company’s stock dropped 4.65% on Wednesday but remains up 37% in 2025. Corporate treasuries now hold 1.15 million BTC worth $136 billion or nearly 6% of total supply.

Source

Trump-Backed Crypto Bills Stalled Again In House Of Representatives, Marjorie Taylor Greene Holds Out On CBDC Ban: ‘Will Not Vote For This’

House Republican leaders faced another setback Wednesday in their efforts to move key cryptocurrency bills, due to disagreements among GOP lawmakers.

What Happened: The faction, consisting of far-right Republicans, agreed to merge the market-structure-focused CLARITY Act with a separate bill banning a central bank digital currency, Politico reported. However, this decision has been met with resistance from committee members who fear that this merger could risk both bills.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had discussions with members of the Financial Services and Agriculture panels, as well as the opposing faction, the report said.

Interestingly, the roadblock comes after…

Read more on Benzinga

BAY Miner Launches Zero-Fee Bitcoin Cloud Mining for All Users—Empowering Global Access to Passive Crypto Income

Boston, Massachusetts, July 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As Bitcoin maintains momentum above $118,000 and decentralized finance sees increasing institutional support, BAY Miner is once again transforming the landscape of crypto participation. Today, the company officially launched its Zero-Fee Mining Program, a game-changing initiative allowing users worldwide to mine Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies without incurring any service fees—ensuring users retain 100% of their crypto earnings.

This move further solidifies BAY Miner’s position as a global leader in accessible and sustainable cloud mining. Built on AI-powered optimization and green energy infrastructure, BAY Miner enables…

Read more on Benzinga

The Cost Of Self Custody: TANSTAAFL

Last week I touched on the nuances and complexities of “Trustodial” systems, systems that can’t be fully categorized as non-custodial or custodial, and how this causes issues when it relates to us categorizing different tools in this space. This is not the only issue being oversimplified in general conversation as it relates to categorizing ways of using Bitcoin. 

Another major factor, with its own bag of complexity and nuances, is the cost of self custody. 

I laid out these two core requirements for something to be considered self-custodial in the last article: 

A user has unilateral control over their funds, or the ability to regain it. 

No other party (or… Read more on BitcoinMagazine

RISC Zero launches Boundless testnet on Base

This is a segment from the 0xResearch newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.

The incentivized testnet (mainnet beta) of RISC Zero’s Boundless network went live on Base yesterday.

Boundless is not a new blockchain. Boundless is a marketplace for zero-knowledge virtual-machine (zkVM) proofs — sometimes called a proof market — that can deploy to any network and settle proofs anywhere.

Who needs it? Any chain or application that wants to process heavy computation onchain, but whose existing virtual environment is ill-suited to leverage zk technology. 

Boundless lets teams do so without making radical changes to their architecture. Just like how Chainlink…

Read more on Blockworks

Bitcoin political winds shifted as Facebook’s crypto crumbled

This is a segment from the Supply Shock newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.

Six years is certainly a long time in crypto. But Libra (later Diem) might’ve felt right at home in the current agreeable atmosphere in the US.

Back then, Meta (still Facebook) had its own blockchain subsidiary, Calibra, that was pushing to launch a new type of cryptocurrency pegged to a basket of various fiat with a floating value.

The Calibra wallet was meant to be integrated with WhatsApp and Messenger and promised to let users send money to each other with practically zero fees. Libra, the token, was also intended to be used for e-commerce on Facebook.

Libra was mostly styled as a…

Read more on Blockworks

Forget Dogecoin, Shiba Inu: Here’s Which Coin The ‘Memecoin Supercycle’ Analyst Is Betting On Instead

Prominent meme coin advocate Murad Mahmudov has elaborated on his “meme coin supercycle thesis” and pointed out which meme coin he sees particularly well-suited to capture possible upside.

What Happened: On an episode of The Block podcast in July 16, Mahmudov broke down the meme coin landscape, distinguishing between two diverging trends:

“Hyper-gambling” coins that revolve around short-term, high-risk trading

“Cult” or belief coins built on strong community and long-term conviction

Murad warned that the hyper-gambling segment, powered by pro traders and AI tools, is getting more competitive and less rewarding, with hold times dropping to just 40 seconds among top…

Read more on Benzinga