⚖️ DOJ targets $26.4M in five crypto scam forfeiture cases
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed civil forfeiture actions targeting $26.4 million across five separate cryptocurrency scam cases, as part of an ongoing asset-first enforcement strategy.
The DOJ noted that cumulative crypto fraud recoveries have reached $800 million. The filings reflect a sequenced approach in which asset restraint, formal forfeiture, and victim repayment are treated as distinct legal stages rather than simultaneous actions.
The cases add to a broader federal push to claw back funds from crypto-related fraud, with civil forfeiture increasingly used as a tool to secure assets ahead of criminal proceedings or victim compensation.
⚖️ EU sanctions Russian crypto platforms for the first time
The European Union's 21st sanctions package against Russia, negotiated by ambassadors on July 22, includes direct targeting of crypto infrastructure for the first time in the bloc's sanctions history.
The package covers nearly 90 Russian banks and 11 crypto platforms allegedly linked to sanctions evasion. The move marks a significant escalation in EU efforts to close financial loopholes that allow Russia to circumvent existing restrictions through digital assets.
The inclusion of crypto platforms signals a broader regulatory shift — EU authorities are increasingly treating crypto infrastructure as a material component of sanctions enforcement, not a peripheral concern.
🟠 Bitcoin Long-Term Holder Supply Hits a New All-Time High
Bitcoin's long-term holder (LTH) supply reached a fresh all-time high on July 21, extending a sustained accumulation trend that has been building for over two and a half years.
The metric had already set a record at 16.64 million BTC — roughly 83% of circulating supply — a month prior, with the latest data pushing it higher still. Long-term holders are defined as wallets that have held bitcoin without moving it for an extended period, making the metric a gauge of conviction among seasoned market participants.
The sustained rise in LTH supply signals that a historically large share of circulating bitcoin is being held off exchanges and out of active circulation.
💵 Augustus Raises $180M to Build Stablecoin Clearing Bank
Augustus has closed a $180 million Series B round at a $1 billion valuation, positioning itself as a clearing bank for the AI and stablecoin era.
The company aims to replace legacy correspondent banking with always-on infrastructure that supports stablecoins alongside traditional payment rails including Swift, ACH, and SEPA — branding the vision as a "Global Dollar Bank."
🟠 Galaxy Digital commits $5M to quantum-proof Bitcoin
Galaxy Digital has pledged up to $5 million toward making Bitcoin resistant to quantum computing attacks, as industry experts and the U.S. government warn that "Q-Day" — the point at which quantum computers can break current encryption — could arrive as soon as 2030.
The concern is significant: an estimated 35% of the total Bitcoin supply is considered potentially vulnerable to quantum-capable adversaries, particularly coins held in older address formats that expose public keys. Galaxy's initiative aims to advance research and development of post-quantum cryptographic standards for the Bitcoin network.
The move follows growing urgency from researchers, exchanges, and regulators around quantum readiness across financial infrastructure, with Bitcoin's open and decentralized architecture making protocol-level upgrades a complex, consensus-dependent process.
🟠 $686M in Bitcoin exits Binance, Coinbase and Bybit in one day
Nearly $686 million worth of Bitcoin was withdrawn from major centralized exchanges on July 20, marking a notable single-day outflow event across the industry.
CryptoQuant contributor Amr Taha flagged the movement, noting simultaneous outflows from Binance, Coinbase and Bybit. Large-scale exchange withdrawals are typically associated with holders moving BTC into self-custody, reducing the supply available for immediate sale on spot markets.
Exchange outflow data is closely watched as an on-chain indicator of holder sentiment and potential shifts in near-term selling pressure.
Solana dominates on-chain tokenized equity trading, processing 95% of global volume in the sector as institutional and retail interest in real-world asset tokenization grows.
Analytics platform rwa.xyz has launched a dedicated dashboard tracking tokenized stocks, covering 2,613 equities with a combined value of $1.85 billion. The tool provides visibility into an asset class that has expanded rapidly across blockchains but remains heavily concentrated on Solana.
Tokenized stocks allow investors to gain exposure to traditional equities on-chain. The new dashboard marks a step toward standardized data infrastructure for the RWA sector.