Headlines

▌U.S. Tech Bill Creates White House Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Adviser Role

A U.S. bill to boost computer chip manufacturing that’s heading to President Joe Biden’s desk will also establish a crypto advisory role inside his administration. The bipartisan legislation, which cleared both chambers of Congress after a House vote on Thursday, will establish a new adviser on blockchain and cryptocurrency issues who will work in the Office of Science and Technology Policy. “I am proud to foster the policy needed to ensure innovation continues to take shape in our government,” said Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.), a crypto supporter who is co-chair of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, in a statement. The White House’s science office was directed in the president’s executive order on crypto to analyze the effects digital assets are having on climate change and return later this year with a report. The office requested public input on that report in March.

Policies

▌Ex-CFTC Chairman: Europe’s MiCA Bill is a Threat to U.S. Crypto Industry

Former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chief Chris Giancarlo is worried that the European Union's fast-moving Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) bill could lead to the global export of European-style crypto regulation, hurting U.S. regulators’ ability to effectively create rules of their own. Giancarlo expressed, “We need to get our own framework out there, and our framework needs to make clear that for U.S. activities there will be U.S. regulation, not regulation coming out of Europe. I have great respect for Europe, but their markets are very different.”

▌Senate Member: Seeking Bipartisan Support for Stablecoin Oversight Effort

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), the ranking Republican on the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, is talking to Democrats to make his stablecoin oversight bill a bipartisan effort. Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) confirmed Thursday he’s been involved in the discussions. "The first place where we should be able to find common ground, and I actually think in many cases are close, is to chart a path forward for clear and sensible regulations on stablecoins," Toomey said at a Thursday committee hearing, mentioning his own push for oversight of the tokens. "I'm in discussion with several members to make this proposal a bipartisan one," said Toomey, who called his proposal a “starting point.”

Cryptocurrency

▌ U.S. SEC Chairman: Working with Cryptocurrency Exchanges to Regulate them like Stock Exchanges

Watcher.Guru tweeted on social media that Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, said the agency is working with cryptocurrency exchanges to regulate them the same way it regulates stock exchanges.

▌U.S. Senator Dick Durbin Criticizes Fidelity’s Plan to Include Bitcoin in 401(k) Plans

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin has joined the Labor Department and other Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) in expressing concerns over Fidelity’s plan to include bitcoin (BTC) as an investment option for its 401(k) managed account. The letter, addressed to Fidelity Investments CEO Abigail Johnson, criticizes the firm's decision to offer workers the option to invest in "an untested, highly volatile asset like Bitcoin." In April, the U.S.-based financial services company announced that it would allow investors to include bitcoin into 401(k) retirement plans later this year, with bitcoin holdings capped at 20% of the account value.

▌CZ: The Industry is Actually in Much Better Shape Now Than When Bitcoin and Altcoins Hit All-time Highs 9 Months Ago

In a recent interview, Binance CEO CZ believes that the industry is actually much better shape now than it was nine months ago, when bitcoin and top altcoins were trading at record highs. This is because the people who are building the actual applications are staying in the industry. CZ explained that cryptocurrencies are attracting a lot of non-believers into the crypto scene, who are most likely just speculators. This shouldn’t have happened on a large scale, therefore ongoing reforms were inevitable.

▌INX Announced U.S. Listing on OTCQB Exchange on August 2

INX Digital Company, a cryptocurrency trading platform, announced that its common shares will commence trading on the OTCQB in the United States on August 2, 2022, under the symbol "INXDF". Common shares of INX will continue to trade on the NEO Exchange (NEO) under the symbol "INXD", and the INX Tokens issued by INX’s subsidiary INX Limited, will continue to trade on INX Securities ATS under the symbol "INX". In addition, INX has received approval from the Depository Trust Company (DTC) to make INX's shares eligible for electronic clearing and settlement through DTC.

▌Foundry Digital Launches Logistics Division to Advance Standards in the Cryptocurrency Mining Industry

Foundry Digital LLC, a mining company and subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (DCG), announced the launch of Foundry Logistics to advance standards in the cryptocurrency mining industry. The company's newly formed division plans to "bridge the gap between hardware manufacturers and buyers by providing an all-in-one solution for the supply of mining hardware".

▌Ethereum market value returns to above $200 billion

On July 28, according to the latest data from Coingecko, the market value of Ethereum (ETH) has returned to above $200 billion as the price of ETH rose. The current price of ETH is $1,717.62, a 24-hour increase of more than 15%.

Key Economic Events

▌U.S. stocks closed with the three major stock indexes rebounded collectively

U.S. stocks closed with all three U. S. major indexes rebounded and closed higher on July 28 (Thursday). The Dow Jones index was up 329.27 points, or 1.02%, at 32526.86 points; the S&P 500 was up 48.54 points, or 1.21%, to 4072.15 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 130.17 points, or 1.08%, to 12162.59 points.