Kazakhstan has approved a sweeping new framework that ties large-scale Bitcoin mining to the buildup of a national crypto reserve. On July 23, the government adopted the "Rules for Implementing Strategic Crypto Mining," a policy that offers qualified mining firms fixed electricity pricing for as long as 10 years. In exchange, participating miners must transfer a share of newly mined Bitcoin to a state-linked fund that is targeting as much as $1 billion in crypto reserves. Under the rules, companies that clear the government's approval process receive capped electricity quotas, designed to stabilize power costs over the decade-long term. Their required contribution of mined digital assets goes to the Astana Hub Autonomous Cluster Fund, which is managed by the National Investment Company of Kazakhstan. The move builds on a multiyear policy push. Kazakhstan legalized mining operations in 2020 and introduced its Law on Digital Assets in 2023. In 2025, officials outlined plans for a national crypto reserve fund valued between $500 million and $1 billion, funded through seized assets and mining-related revenue. In March 2026, the central bank indicated it could allocate up to $350 million from existing gold and foreign exchange reserves to crypto-related investments. Kazakhstan joins a growing list of governments using mining to accumulate state-level Bitcoin holdings. Bhutan, El Salvador, the UAE, and Pakistan have all pursued similar strategies, and some researchers estimate as many as 13 governments may be involved. Bhutan is reported to hold roughly 6,000 BTC, supported by hydropower-based mining. El Salvador holds about 7,517 BTC, including approximately 474 BTC attributed to domestic mining. Kazakhstan's model is structured as a public-private partnership. Instead of operating state-run mines, the government is relying on private operators and taking a portion of the output. After China's 2021 crackdown on crypto mining, Kazakhstan briefly became the world's second-largest Bitcoin mining hub as miners moved in for lower power costs. The surge strained the electricity grid and fueled illegal mining that overwhelmed local infrastructure. The new rules aim to address those energy pressures while keeping the economic upside of industrial-scale mining.

ChainThink reported that Goldman Sachs, in its latest MarketFeed note dated July 23, said foreign investors are rotating back into South Korean equities. The KOSPI jumped 4.4% on Thursday to finish above 7,000, marking a fourth straight session of net foreign buying. Weekly foreign inflows totaled $3.8 billion, the largest weekly net purchase on record. Goldman Sachs said demand has been heavily concentrated in AI-related and storage names. Roughly 87% of foreign inflows went into the technology sector, and about 91% of the sector's nominal trading volume was concentrated in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The bank attributed the renewed interest in Korean assets to expectations that global AI capex will extend and deepen the memory upcycle. It added that the inflow comes after a meaningful deleveraging phase in the local market: the KOSPI is about 22% below its intrayear high, foreign ownership in South Korea's semiconductor sector has fallen to 50%—1.9 standard deviations below the post-2000 historical average—and margin loan balances have eased to $22 billion from a $25 billion peak. From a technical perspective, Goldman Sachs reiterated that 6,800 is the key 38.2% Fibonacci retracement support level. After stabilizing around that area and reclaiming 7,000, MACD turned higher, while RSI stood near 44.6, still below overbought territory. The next resistance is seen at 7,700, implying about 7.8% upside.

AFX Trade, a decentralized perpetuals exchange on Arbitrum, suffered a $24.15 million loss on July 22 after an attacker compromised validator signing keys tied to the platform's bridge. The hacker drained USDC from the protocol, bridged the funds to Ethereum, then swapped them into about 12,467 ETH at an average price near $1,937 per ETH. AFX Trade responded by publicly offering the attacker a deal: keep 30% of the stolen funds (about $7.2 million) if the remaining 70% is returned. The breach did not involve Arbitrum's native bridge infrastructure. According to the details shared, the attack targeted a third-party bridge operated by AFX Trade. Arbitrum itself was not compromised, and its core bridging mechanism remains intact. The vulnerability was in the additional layer AFX maintained, where access to validator signing keys effectively allowed unrestricted fund movement. The incident mirrors a familiar bridge-exploit pattern. A comparable method was used in the May 2026 attack on the Verus–Ethereum bridge. Security firm Blockaid grouped the AFX Trade incident into a broader cluster it labeled "Hackers Day," and said total hack losses in July 2026 have climbed to nearly $97 million. Offering a "30% bounty" to recover funds has become a common playbook in crypto exploits, reflecting the view that recovering 70% is preferable to a total loss and that on-chain traces can make large-scale laundering increasingly difficult. Bridge attacks continue to rank among the most profitable vectors in DeFi because bridges often custody large pools of locked assets and depend on validator sets or multisig designs that create concentrated points of failure. In this case, the weak link was a protocol-maintained third-party bridge rather than the underlying Layer 2 network. For investors and traders using perpetual DEXs on Layer 2 networks, the episode underscores the need to scrutinize the plumbing behind the interface. Even if the perps engine is sound, reliance on a bridge with centralized validator keys can turn into a single point of failure if those keys are compromised.

ME News said that as of July 23 (UTC+8), SKHX on Hyperliquid was trading at $1,321, while SKHY stood at $176.09. With a 10:1 conversion ratio, 10 ADRs imply a value of $1,760.90, putting the ADR at a 33.3% premium to the Korean stock price. Since SKHY listed on July 10, the premium has remained elevated. Based on daily closing prices for the two contracts, it has ranged from 16.45% to 33.30% (low on July 11, high on July 17) and is now back near the top of that band. Hyperinsight data shows a large whale wallet (0x2ab3) positioned for premium convergence by going long the Korean stock and short the U.S. ADR. The combined position is currently worth about $29.058 million: - SKHX (10x long): 12,000 contracts, ~$15.852 million notional; average entry $1,280.70; unrealized profit ~$482,000; liquidation price $1,093.70. - SKHY (10x short): 75,000 contracts, ~$13.206 million notional; average entry $167.20; unrealized loss ~$660,000; liquidation price $208.90. Using the average entry prices, the ADR premium at inception was roughly 30.61%. The premium has since widened by 2.69 percentage points, pushing losses on the ADR short beyond gains on the Korean long and leaving an estimated net loss of about $177,600. Funding rates show both legs are in negative funding. If positions and rates hold, the total funding cost is about $716.53 per hour, or roughly $17,200 per day. The whale actively adjusted the spread on the day. From morning to noon, it closed about $16.0484 million of the paired position, with the API reporting a closedPnl loss of $180,800. In the afternoon, it reopened roughly $9.0121 million, including $4.5578 million in SKHX longs and $4.4543 million in SKHY shorts. At the time of the snapshot, there were no open orders. For context, SKHY's ADR premium is currently 33.49%, about 4.8 times TSMC's 6.96% premium. Historically, TSMC's ADR premium approached 90% during the dotcom bubble, and its June 2000 ADS issuance carried an issuance premium of 43%. (Source: BlockBeats)

The VerusEthereum Bridge has suffered a second major exploit in roughly two months, with about $7.54 million siphoned in an attack that appears to mirror May's breach. Blockchain security firm Blockaid said it detected the latest incident on July 23. The firm reported that the attacker abused the bridge's import process to unlock funds on Ethereum without posting matching assets on the source chain. On-chain data places the exploit at 03:45 UTC. Funds sent to an attacker-controlled wallet included around 1,137 Ethereum (ETH) as well as tBTC, USD Coin (USDC), Tether (USDT), EURC, Maker (MKR), and Savings crvUSD (scrvUSD). Etherscan valued the primary outflows at approximately $7.54 million at the time. Blockaid noted that while the attacker used a different wallet and transaction, the same bridge contract and entry path were targeted, pointing to a similar bug category to the May exploit. Blockaid traced the latest proceeds to 0xCFd0…2D54, saying the attacker again manipulated the import process to trigger payouts on Ethereum without equivalent backing. In May, an attacker reportedly bypassed a validation check via a forged cross-chain import, draining about $11.58 million. After Verus offered settlement terms, the attacker returned 4,052.4 ETH (then worth about $8.5 million) and kept 1,350 ETH as a bounty. Investigators believe both incidents involve the same contract, access route, and flaw type, though a full technical explanation has not yet been released. The Verus case came amid other reported bridge-related losses. On-chain tracker Lookonchain estimated that attacks affecting AFX Trade, Verus, and BSquared Network totaled about $35.55 million in losses. AFX Trade accounted for the largest hit at roughly $24.15 million in USDC, which was moved to Ethereum and swapped for 12,467 ETH. Lookonchain said Arbitrum's native bridge was not affected, as the issue originated from infrastructure managed by a third-party protocol. BSquared Network was also reported to have lost about $3.86 million. Final Summary: VerusEthereum Bridge lost around $7.54 million in a second major exploit within two months. The incident closely resembles May's $11.58 million breach, with the root cause still under investigation.

UK manufacturers are still stuck in a rut. The Confederation of British Industry's Industrial Trends Survey for July showed the total order books balance at -45, unchanged from June and weaker than the market consensus of -40. It ranks among the softest readings since September 2020. The CBI surveys around 250 manufacturers each month, asking whether order books are above or below what firms consider normal. A zero reading would indicate an even split; a negative balance means more firms report below-normal demand. At -45, the gap remains wide, and the lack of improvement from June points to persistent weakness rather than a one-off dip. Export order books also remained below normal, signalling that demand is not only cooling at home but also from overseas customers. Historically, balances in the -30 to -40 range have tended to align with subdued growth and, at times, recession-style conditions; July's -45 keeps the indicator firmly in that territory. For macro and crypto investors, the data matters through the policy channel. Prolonged softness in manufacturing can raise expectations that the Bank of England will loosen financial conditions. Rate cuts — or even rising odds of cuts — typically weigh on sterling, shifting the math for UK-based investors allocating to dollar-denominated assets, including Bitcoin and other digital assets. Sterling has been sensitive to domestic releases through 2026, and disappointments in closely watched surveys like the CBI's can trigger immediate selling pressure. For traders monitoring FX-crypto linkages, a weaker pound versus the dollar can provide near-term support for BTC/GBP even if BTC/USD is relatively steady. Attention now turns to the Bank of England's next policy meeting, where markets will scrutinize the statement for any sign that the committee is reassessing the rate outlook in response to stubbornly weak manufacturing conditions.

Markets welcomed the June CPI report after oil prices fell about 30%, helping push inflation lower than expected. The setup for July is shifting fast. Oil has already climbed roughly 30% this month, moving back above $90 a barrel. If crude reaches $100 by month end, that would mark a 43% jump for July. That kind of move could make the July CPI reading an unpleasant surprise.

BitMEX said it will permanently shut down its cryptocurrency exchange on September 23, 2026, bringing more than 11 years of operations to an end. The company said the decision follows a strategic review of its business and the broader crypto market. All exchange services will stop at 04:00 UTC on September 23, 2026. BitMEX has already halted new account registrations and is urging existing customers to close positions and withdraw funds ahead of the deadline. In an official statement, BitMEX said its parent company, HDR Global Trading Limited, made the decision after completing the review. The firm said the move was difficult and "has not been taken lightly." Founded in 2014 by Arthur Hayes, BitMEX became an early leader in crypto derivatives. At its peak from 2018 to 2020, it processed roughly $3 billion to $5 billion in daily trading volume, and annual volume often exceeded $1 trillion during strong bull markets. The company did not point to financial distress or a specific regulatory trigger as the reason for closing, describing the outcome as the result of a broader strategic assessment. The exchange has steadily lost market share as larger competitors expanded. BitMEX has also faced U.S. scrutiny: the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) accused it of operating an illegal, unregistered derivatives platform, a backdrop that has made it harder to reclaim its prior standing. On customer safety, BitMEX said client funds remain fully protected, noting its assets exceed liabilities and stating it has never lost customer funds to hacks. "We want to reassure you that your assets remain fully safe and under your control during this transition period," the exchange said. The company added that multiple attempts to sell the business were unsuccessful before the board opted to wind down. BitMEX outlined the following user timeline: - July 23: New account registrations have already stopped. - August 26: Users will no longer be able to open new positions; only position reductions will be permitted. - September 23 at 04:00 UTC: The exchange will shut down permanently, and any remaining open positions will be automatically closed. The company also said all previously staked BMEX tokens have already been unstaked and credited back to user accounts. BitMEX warned that customers who complete KYC but leave assets on the platform after the closure date will be charged an ongoing custody fee. The monthly charge will be the higher of $50 (or equivalent) or 1% per year on the remaining balance, assessed monthly. The exchange said the fee could rise in the future if funds remain on the platform. BitMEX also cautioned that withdrawals may slow as shutdown approaches due to higher request volumes and additional security checks. It added that blockchain confirmation times—particularly on Bitcoin—could contribute to delays, while reiterating that customer assets remain fully backed via its proof of reserves and liabilities.

CoinDesk reports that three notable crypto exploits have led to combined losses of $35.55 million, with attacks focused on bridge and crosschain infrastructure. The Verus Ethereum bridge was among the hardest hit, losing $7.54 million after attackers exploited weaknesses in the bridge's import path to trigger unauthorized payouts. The B² Network staking contract was also affected. The incidents highlight persistent security challenges across crosschain bridge design and smart-contract operations. Markets appear to be taking the news cautiously, with attention centered on potential spillovers to Bitcoin sentiment. Prediction-market pricing still implies strong confidence that Bitcoin will remain above $54,000 through the end of July 23, though recent volatility could pressure conviction. Key takeaways - Recent exploits totaling $35.55 million point to elevated risk in crosschain infrastructure. - Pricing signals a cautious tone, with possible implications for broader Bitcoin sentiment. - Despite the headlines, markets still indicate high confidence in Bitcoin staying above $54,000 today. What to watch Further security updates could sway sentiment quickly. Actions by major Bitcoin market participants, including ETF managers and institutional investors, may help stabilize or shift near-term trends. Statements from leading crypto security firms or regulators could also reshape perceptions of crosschain security. As the session develops, traders will focus on whether Bitcoin can hold current levels amid the fallout. Get live prediction market analysis, powered by Vera. Sign up for Vera.