HSBC’s Affluent Investor Snapshot 2026 found that global high-net-worth investors now allocate an average of 6% of their portfolios to crypto assets, down 1 percentage point from 2025. The survey covered nearly 10,000 investors and points to a shift in portfolio mix rather than a broad exit from crypto. According to the report, 45% of respondents said they plan to increase their crypto exposure over the next 12 months, while 40% expect to keep allocations unchanged. Only 15% said they intend to reduce their holdings. The report also said cash allocations fell to 19%, with capital moving mainly into equities, gold and alternative investments. HSBC highlighted stable crypto allocation levels in Southeast Asia, with Singapore at 5% and Malaysia at 6%, both unchanged from a year earlier. Looking at a longer timeline, the bank’s 2024 survey had shown average crypto allocation at 12%, meaning the figure has halved over two years. The report measures crypto as a share of total portfolio allocation rather than whether investors hold the asset class at all, a distinction that affects how the 6% average should be read.

HSBC said in its "Affluent Investor Snapshot 2026" report that a survey of nearly 10,000 high-net-worth investors worldwide found the average allocation to crypto assets stood at 6% in 2026, down 1 percentage point from a year earlier. The decline in current exposure did not erase interest in the sector: 45% of respondents said they plan to increase their crypto allocation over the next 12 months, while 40% said they expect to keep it unchanged. In Southeast Asia, allocations were stable. Investors in Singapore held 5% of their portfolios in crypto assets, and those in Malaysia held 6%, both unchanged from the previous year. The report also showed that global cash allocations fell to 19% over the same period, with capital continuing to move into equities, gold and alternative investments. The findings point to a pullback in present crypto weightings alongside steady forward-looking demand among affluent investors.

Lido has rolled out Curated Module v2, a major upgrade to its core Ethereum staking system that requires professional node operators to post their own capital as backing for the stake they manage. The release marks Lido’s biggest protocol change since Lido V2 in May 2023 and starts the migration of more than 265,000 validators with over 8 million staked ETH to Ethereum’s high-balance validator model. Lido said the shift is expected to reduce the network’s validator count from about 880,000 to roughly 628,000 and cut attestation messages by around 29% per epoch. The upgrade also introduces a bond and penalty framework for curated operators, adds new operator classifications tied to incentives, and arrives alongside broader Lido Core changes including Community Staking Module v3 and Staking Router v3. Governance approval came through onchain vote #203 in mid-July, after earlier Snapshot support for LIP-35. Contracts were deployed to Ethereum mainnet on July 7 following audits by Certora, Statemind, MixBytes, and Composable Security.

Federal prosecutors have accused 21-year-old Zyaire Wilkins of helping fund a scheme that placed crypto-stealing malware inside eight games distributed on Steam, according to a 15-page criminal complaint cited by BlockTempo. Wilkins was arrested in Florida on July 14. Investigators say the campaign ran from May 2024 to February 2026, infected about 8,000 devices, opened roughly 80 crypto wallets, and caused at least $220,000 in confirmed losses. The case stands out because investigators did not break Monero’s privacy model to identify the suspect. Instead, the FBI followed a trail that moved from stolen-wallet bitcoin to Bitrefill gift cards, then to more than 500 Uber Eats orders worth over $9,000 sent to three addresses. The complaint also says agents connected browser cookies, email accounts carrying Wilkins’ initials, T-Mobile subscriber data, a Snapchat account that had used his real name, and a family residence in North Lauderdale, Florida. When agents executed a search warrant on July 8, they seized a laptop, a phone, and three wallet seed phrases, including one for a Monero wallet. According to the report, that wallet exposed activity across eight addresses totaling 1,233 XMR, valued at about $382,000 at current prices. Prosecutors have charged Wilkins with one count of conspiracy to obtain information from a protected computer for private financial gain. He is presumed innocent unless convicted.

The UK government plans to ban under-16s from major social media platforms and restrict access to certain AI chatbots, with the measures potentially taking effect in spring 2027.

Strive said it bought 2,500 BTC for about $185.2 million between May 23 and June 1, bringing total holdings to 19,000 BTC. The company also raised about $175 million through preferred stock issuance.

Interlink Labs said the airdrop snapshot is now live, shifting queue movement to activity-based ranking. The project also shared compliance rules, reward details, and payment-chain updates, but has yet to confirm any TGE, listing, or mainnet date.

Rollblock completed its presale raising $12.32M; RBLK now trades on Uniswap with thin liquidity. Community eyes CEX listings; Gate.io, MEXC and KuCoin emerge as top candidates.