BitMart said it will wind down exchange operations in stages, while the latest draft of the U.S. Senate’s Clarity bill adds a provision to reward white-hat hackers for reporting security flaws.
Senate Clarity draft includes white-hat incentive language
The latest Senate draft of the Clarity bill includes a clause aimed at encouraging responsible disclosure of cybersecurity vulnerabilities by white-hat hackers. The proposal would authorize rewards for individuals who identify and report security issues before they can be exploited maliciously, with the stated goal of strengthening protections for digital asset infrastructure.
The provision adopts input from former Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair J. Christopher Giancarlo.
BitMart sets shutdown timetable
BitMart said it will gradually stop platform operations. Starting at 09:30 UTC+8 on July 26, it will begin halting new user registration, suspend all crypto and fiat deposit services, and gradually stop automated products such as copy trading and grid trading.
From 09:00 UTC+8 on Aug. 26, the exchange will stop all spot, futures and other trading services. It plans to cease trading platform operations entirely at 23:59 UTC+8 on Jan. 31, 2027.
Global CEO says he was not informed in advance
BitMart global CEO Nenter Chow issued a statement saying he had no prior knowledge of the shutdown and only learned of it when the public announcement was released. He said he did not participate in the decision.
Chow said he was informed on July 24 that his role as global CEO would be terminated and that the departure process began immediately. He added that he has not yet received confirmation of his final departure date. Since July 24, he said, he has not taken part in company management or decision-making and has not been consulted on operations.
He said his main concern is for BitMart users and employees, and urged users to rely only on official channels for account-related matters, read the company’s notices immediately and follow the guidance provided there. He added that he would make no further comment.
MSX founder says he wants to buy BitMart
After BitMart announced its shutdown plan, MSX founder Bruce J said in a post that he is interested in acquiring the exchange and has already been in contact with the BitMart team.
If a deal goes through, he said, the first step would be the transfer process, after which spot and futures trading fees would be cut to zero. Bruce J said crypto exchange fees are too high.
BMX drop and withdrawal complaints
Market data in the roundup showed that BitMart’s platform token BMX fell 53.2% over 24 hours after the exchange announced it was closing its exchange business.
Crypto KOL Jia Mi Wu Wei said BMX had at one point fallen by more than 60% the previous day. Community users reported that withdrawal reviews were taking much longer, and some said withdrawals worth several hundred U submitted in the morning had still not arrived.
BitMart had not published a public explanation for the reported withdrawal delays at the time of the report.
Binance Square to crack down on false content and traffic manipulation
Binance Square said it will target accounts that issue trade calls without holdings or trading data, as well as engagement bait, traffic farming, low-quality posts and false content.
Such content will be downgraded, with recommendation traffic reduced in the short term. Repeat violations will affect account health, and over a longer period could leave accounts with almost no traffic.
Monad co-founder responds to Phantom support removal
Monad co-founder Keone Hon responded after Phantom said it would remove support for Monad, saying the wallet is focusing on its core business but that the move is a step backward for Monad.
He said Phantom differs from other wallets because users cannot add networks on their own. Time, he said, will show which strategy is better for EVM. He also suggested that Phantom users move to MetaMask, Backpack, Rabby, Rainbow, InfinEx, and Ambire.
Lido says missed oracle report lowered daily APR
Lido said it is investigating an issue tied to that day’s stETH rebase. According to the protocol’s accounting oracle report, the rebase annual percentage rate was 2.04%, below the expected 2.15%.
Lido said the gap was caused by an omitted in-progress validator deposit of 32 ETH in the oracle report. It said there is no risk to funds and users do not need to take any action. Once fixed, the next rebase will include the previously undercounted balance.
ChatGPT and Codex see broad service disruption
The roundup also noted a widespread outage affecting OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Codex.
DeepSeek reportedly pauses second funding round
In fundraising news, people familiar with the matter said Chinese AI company DeepSeek has told potential investors that its second funding round is currently on hold.
One reason, according to the report, is that founder Liang Wenfeng was unhappy that private conversations with investors during the first round were reported by the media. DeepSeek completed its first round in June, raising $7 billion from investors including Tencent, CATL, and the state AI fund.
The second round had been planned to raise at least 10 billion yuan, with a target pre-money valuation of 480 billion yuan. The company has also started preparing for an IPO and could file as early as this year. Talks are still ongoing, and the fundraising could still restart.
BlueNoroff accused of using fake meetings to scan crypto wallets
The analysis section said the North Korea-linked hacking group BlueNoroff has been using fake Zoom and Microsoft Teams meetings to profile crypto users and deliver malware.
The method described involves first taking over accounts belonging to trusted crypto industry contacts, then sending seemingly normal meeting links through tools such as Calendly that lead to spoofed domains. Once users enter the fake meeting page, the site scans browser wallets and decides whether to continue the attack based on wallet value.
In the fake meeting, users are asked to “update Zoom/Teams” or run commands. The result is malware installation that can steal browser keys, system data and Telegram sessions.
Analyst says long-term holder losses are near FTX and 2018 bear-market levels
Analyst Killa said 80% of peak indicators from the last bull cycle were never triggered, and future bottom indicators may show a similar pattern, meaning historical signals should not be relied on to call a market bottom.
He said long-term holder loss supply has moved above FTX-period levels and is close to 2018 levels. Bitcoin’s realized price is about $50,000, and in past cycles the market tested the long-term holder realized price each time. A return to that area remains possible, he said, but should not be treated as certain.
Killa added that the current degree of losses in the market is comparable to the FTX event and the 2018 bear market.
RootData counts 99 dead crypto projects in 2026
According to RootData’s compiled data, 99 crypto projects have been classified as “dead” in 2026, meaning they stopped operating, went bankrupt, or had websites that were inaccessible for a long period during the year.
The list includes centralized exchanges BitMart and BitMEX, wallet project Family, and DeFi project Zapper.
On-chain and platform data
One whale accumulated 1.58 million LINK over the past week, worth about $13.2 million, through multiple transfers from Binance, according to the roundup.
Hyperliquid collected $1.4 million in fees in the past day and burned 206,400 HYPE worth $1.2 million. Cumulative burns have reached 47.27 million HYPE, worth $2.76 billion, equal to 4.73% of the token’s 1 billion maximum supply.
Macro calendar and earnings next week
PANews also highlighted a heavy macro week ahead. Investors have become more worried about inflation again after a jump in energy prices, new U.S. tariffs and rising AI capital spending. The Nasdaq led U.S. equities lower this week, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 5% on Friday.
The schedule to watch includes U.S. ADP employment data on Tuesday; on Thursday, the Federal Reserve rate decision and Chair Wosh’s press conference, eurozone GDP and unemployment data, the Bank of England rate decision and Governor Bailey’s press conference, along with U.S. initial jobless claims, core PCE inflation and GDP data; and on Friday, eurozone CPI, U.S. Chicago PMI and the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index.
Big tech earnings are also due, including reports from Apple, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and Qualcomm.