Ostium, an onchain perpetuals trading platform, said it has partnered with Nasdaq to use Nasdaq's U.S. equity market data to support its stock perpetual contracts. The company said the integration makes Ostium the first onchain venue to offer stock perpetuals backed by Nasdaq data. The platform said users can gain exposure to U.S. equities via onchain infrastructure while maintaining transparency, instant settlement and self-custody. Ostium focuses on leveraged onchain trading of traditional assets including stocks, indices, commodities, ETFs and foreign exchange. As of now, Ostium said cumulative trading volume has topped $50 billion, with more than 26,000 users. (Source: ChainCatcher)

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) has signed HF 3709 into law, allowing state-chartered banks and credit unions to offer virtual-currency custody services starting Aug. 1. Participation is optional, but institutions must provide the Minnesota Department of Commerce with 60 days’ written notice before launching the service. The statute permits the safekeeping and administration of digital assets in fiduciary, custodial, or nonfiduciary roles. It does not authorize banks to trade, invest, or lend the assets. The bill passed with broad bipartisan support, including a 119"6 vote in the House. Separately, Minnesota enacted a statewide ban on crypto ATMs the same week, citing scams targeting seniors. Operators have been directed to wind down by Aug. 1.

Zerohash Europe has obtained an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from the Dutch Central Bank, making it the first firm to hold both an EU MiCA crypto license and full EMI authorization. The company received its MiCA license from the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets in October 2025, allowing it to provide crypto-asset services across the EU. With the new EMI approval, Zerohash can also support traditional electronic money transactions, strengthening its ability to serve stablecoin payment and settlement needs. The European Banking Authority has previously noted that certain stablecoin-related cash flows may fall under electronic money activities and require EMI licensing. Zerohash said the dual-licensing structure positions it to offer compliant infrastructure to banks, broker-dealers, fintech companies, payment service providers, and enterprise platforms across Europe.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing a regulatory framework that could allow the trading of tokenized versions of stocks and other securities, Bloomberg reported.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (\u0022@GovTimWalz\u0022) has signed HF 3709 into law, allowing Minnesota state-chartered banks and credit unions to offer virtual-currency custody services beginning Aug. 1. Participation is optional, but institutions must provide the state Department of Commerce with 60 days\u0027 written notice before launching custody offerings. The measure permits the safekeeping and administration of digital assets in fiduciary, custodial, or nonfiduciary roles, but it does not authorize banks to trade, invest, or lend those assets. The bill cleared the legislature with broad bipartisan support, passing the House 130\u00274. In the same week, Minnesota enacted a separate law banning crypto ATMs statewide following reports of scams targeting seniors, directing operators to wind down operations by Aug. 1.

Citibank has published research suggesting progress in quantum computing is advancing faster than previously expected, potentially accelerating the window for real-world attacks on crypto assets, CoinDesk reported. The bank's analysts argue that Bitcoin carries greater exposure than Ethereum, driven not only by differences in cryptographic implementation but also by the pace and mechanics of protocol upgrades. Recent academic and industry work is also pulling forward estimates for "Q-Day"—the point at which quantum machines could break widely used cryptographic systems. Citi referenced Google research indicating that a system with roughly 500,000 qubits could, in theory, crack relevant encryption in minutes. Such hardware does not yet exist, but Citi said outside projections are steadily improving. Google has cited 2032 as a potential timeframe, while some researchers place the risk as early as 2030. The report highlighted a structural vulnerability in Bitcoin: once a user broadcasts a transaction, the sender's public key can be revealed on the network before confirmation. In that window, a sufficiently capable attacker could theoretically derive the private key and divert funds. Citi also emphasized that mitigating the threat would be harder for Bitcoin than for some other networks. Moving to quantum-resistant cryptography would likely require broad consensus, extensive testing and potentially a hard fork. The bank said Bitcoin's conservative, consensus-driven governance model supports credibility but can slow protocol changes. Citi estimated that about 6.7 million to 7 million BTC sit in dormant wallets with exposed public keys, creating a concentrated set of potential targets. The report noted the widely held view that roughly 1 million bitcoins mined by Satoshi Nakamoto in Bitcoin's early days have never moved and use an older address format. At current prices, that tranche is estimated at around $82 billion. By contrast, Citi said Ethereum and other proof-of-stake networks may be better positioned to respond because of more flexible governance and a consistent long-term cadence of upgrades. The bank cautioned that this does not make them immune. Analysts said that if attackers used quantum capabilities to obtain enough private keys, they could theoretically control about 33% of staked assets, potentially disrupting block finality or impairing network operations. For Bitcoin, Citigroup singled out BIP360 and BIP361 as proposals to watch for progress toward quantum resistance. Citi's central takeaway is that long-term resilience will depend less on today's design choices than on a network's ability to adapt quickly. The report echoes comments made last week by Fireblocks CEO Michael Shaulov at the Financial Times Digital Assets Summit in the UK. Shaulov said Bitcoin's quantum challenge is primarily a community-coordination issue, not only a technical one.

Tether has invested in cross-border financial platform LemFi, a move aimed at deepening USDT's use in everyday payment flows, CoinDesk reported. The companies said the funding will support LemFi's integration of USDT-based settlement across multiple remittance corridors, facilitating transfers between Africa, Asia, and markets including the UK, US, Canada, and Europe. LemFi focuses on users sending money across borders, particularly between developed economies and emerging markets in Africa and Asia. Under the partnership, USDT would be used as a settlement rail in relevant payment channels to shorten transfer times and reduce costs. Tether said it wants to replace traditional cross-border processes that can take several days through SWIFT with near-real-time stablecoin settlement. The firms added that USDT's use is expected to expand over time to a wider range of LemFi products. The investment comes as stablecoins gain traction in real-world payment scenarios. With U.S. regulatory debates around stablecoins ongoing, major issuers are increasingly pushing beyond trading and DeFi into payments, remittances, and settlement services. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the deal fits the company's long-term strategy of using blockchain infrastructure to improve cross-border fund flows. LemFi CEO and co-founder Ridwan Olalere said the investment validates the company's long-term direction. Africa and Asia have become key battlegrounds for stablecoin payments, driven by strong remittance demand, high friction in legacy payment systems, and limited access to banking services in parts of the regions. For Tether, the partnership is positioned as a step toward extending USDT beyond crypto trading and into cross-border payment infrastructure, as payment and settlement capabilities emerge as a new competitive front for the stablecoin sector.

The number of wallets holding at least 100 Bitcoin has reached 20,229, marking an 11.2% increase from 18,191 a year ago. At current prices, 100 BTC is roughly $7.7 million, a threshold commonly associated with whales, major investors, institutions, and well-capitalized long-term holders. Despite pronounced Bitcoin volatility over the past 12 months, these large holders have continued to accumulate, with the count of 100+ BTC wallets rising steadily rather than contracting. Historically, an expanding whale wallet base is often interpreted as a signal of sustained confidence in Bitcoin's long-term value and scarcity. The trend has persisted even during stretches when retail traders have frequently displayed fear, impatience, or skepticism. Track the daily number of 100+ $BTC wallets via this Santiment chart:

Electric Solidus, Inc., which operates as Swan Bitcoin, has been named as a defendant in a newly filed case in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court that seeks to claw back nearly $1 billion in cryptocurrency tied to Prime Trust's 2023 collapse, according to CoinDesk. The complaint was brought by the PCT Litigation Trust, an entity created to distribute assets connected to Prime Core Technologies and to pursue litigation. It alleges Swan avoided major losses by using "unparalleled insider information" to move both fiat and crypto out of Prime Trust before the firm was forced to shut down and later enter bankruptcy proceedings. The lawsuit, first reported by Blockspace, claims Swan transferred assets worth close to $1 billion at current prices, including 11,992 bitcoins now valued at about $917 million, which the filing says should be treated as property of Prime's debtors. Prime Trust was ordered to cease operations by Nevada regulators in June 2023 after the firm was found to be insolvent and unable to serve customers, with a trustee taking control. In August 2023, the trustee sought Chapter 11 protection as financial pressures mounted. Early regulatory filings indicated Prime Trust owed customers up to $82 million in missing fiat deposits. While transfers made shortly before a bankruptcy filing can often be recovered under the standard 90-day "preference" lookback period, the lawsuit alleges Swan took steps intended to reduce the chances of recovery. The complaint says Swan concluded that exiting its Prime Trust relationship could expose it to significant priority-claim liability and acted to limit that risk. The filing also points to a relationship involving a "senior executive" at Prime who allegedly served as a paid external consultant to Swan. Court documents allege the executive's role provided access to internal, nonpublic information and that the individual conducted encrypted communications with Swan CEO Cory Klippstein ahead of interactions with Nevada regulators. The complaint states that on May 25, 2023, during those communications and a day before Prime met with the Nevada FID, Swan informed Prime it wanted to transfer all of its business away from the firm. The lawsuit lists exposure that includes about $22.4 million in U.S. dollars, $5 million in U.S. dollar stablecoins, and 91,444 XRP tokens, described as roughly $126,000 worth of Ripple tokens. A Swan Bitcoin representative told Blockspace that Prime Trust holds customer assets in individual trust accounts and argued the bankruptcy trustee is attempting to seize assets held by a party that never received them. The representative said customer assets held in trust are not subject to claims by general unsecured creditors and said the company expects the court to reach the same conclusion. Swan has not responded to Decrypt's request for comment.