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According to CoinDesk, the European Union (EU) has expanded the scope of sanctions against Russia, targeting the A7 cross-border payment network and its newly established African affiliate, as well as the A7A5 stablecoin used to evade sanctions.The latest sanctions package expands the trading ban to 14 crypto-related platforms in countries such as Georgia, the UAE, and Panama, and introduces a tool that can be used to comprehensively prohibit crypto asset services used by Russia.In addition to digital asset measures, the EU has also implemented asset freezes and trading bans on 94 banks and major financial institutions, and expanded the trading ban to an additional 33 Russian credit and financial institutions.

According to market news, American defense technology company Anduril is in talks for financing, with a valuation of approximately $100 billion. No decisions have been made regarding future financing yet.It is reported that the company may ask investors to commit to participating in the subsequent second round of financing at a higher valuation.

The European Union has further tightened restrictions on cryptocurrency assets related to Belarus, prohibiting Belarusian citizens and residents from owning, controlling, or managing cryptocurrency service providers regulated by the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). According to the Council Decision (CFSP) 2026/1847 passed by the EU Council, this measure is an extension of the EU's sanctions framework against Belarus's involvement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.The new regulations will officially take effect on July 24, with the expanded restrictions on the cryptocurrency industry set to be implemented from August 25. According to MiCA, the affected services include operating cryptocurrency trading platforms, cryptocurrency exchanges, executing and transmitting customer orders, cryptocurrency issuance services, asset transfer services, investment consulting, and portfolio management.This restriction comes as the MiCA transition period ends on July 1. The EU had previously required unauthorized cryptocurrency businesses to cease related operations, or face regulatory enforcement. The EU stated that this expansion of restrictions is part of its efforts to combat the use of cryptocurrency platforms to evade sanctions against Russia. Previously, in the 21st round of sanctions against Russia, the EU had expanded the trading ban to 14 cryptocurrency-related service platforms outside the EU and established a mechanism to prohibit future transactions with any foreign cryptocurrency service providers identified as helping Russia evade sanctions. Market participants noted that as the MiCA regulatory framework is fully implemented, the EU is further strengthening its regulatory control over the cryptocurrency industry through licensing systems and sanction mechanisms.

Japanese regulatory authorities are advancing the adjustment of the legal framework for digital asset investment. A spot Bitcoin ETF may be approved for listing as early as 2028, but the timeline still depends on the progress of regulation, product review, and tax reform.On July 15, the Japanese Diet approved the transfer of Bitcoin and approximately 105 other crypto assets from the Payment Services Act framework to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, removing a major legal obstacle for related funds to be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Major Japanese financial groups such as SBI Holdings and Nomura are preparing digital asset products. Japan also plans to adjust the crypto asset tax system from a maximum miscellaneous income tax of 55% to a separate reporting tax system of approximately 20.315%.

A report jointly released by the Bitcoin collateral lending platform CoinRabbit and the computing power platform GoMining points out that managing Bitcoin is more important than mining it. As the block reward drops to 3.125 BTC and the overall network difficulty approaches historical highs, low electricity prices and high uptime only constitute a survival baseline. What truly differentiates mining companies is the method of handling Bitcoin after it is mined.The report suggests that mining companies are shifting from direct sales to collateralized lending to cover recurring expenses such as electricity, custody, and labor. This approach retains exposure to holding Bitcoin while generating cash flow, avoids taxable sales, and preserves the deduction space for operating expenses. The trade-off is that mining companies simultaneously bear the dual risks of price and liquidation when Bitcoin prices decline.Jeremy Dreier, Chief Business Development Officer of GoMining, stated that the miners who can succeed after the halving are those who operate efficiently and have set aside cash in advance for this purpose. The current decline in Bitcoin prices has actually lowered the cost of increasing computing power, creating a window of opportunity for investing in expanding mining machines.

Nasdaq-listed digital insurance product company Zhibao Technology announced that it has signed a non-binding term sheet with Joyertech and Information OPC, intending to sell shares through PIPE financing and receive approximately 3,500 bitcoins as consideration, valued at about $220 million at current prices. The transaction is still subject to final valuation, custody arrangements, audit verification, regulatory review, Nasdaq compliance, and the signing of a final agreement. The term sheet indicates that at the time of PIPE financing closing, the buyer is expected to designate a majority of the board members of Zhibao Technology, while the existing management team will continue to be responsible for daily operations. Zhibao Technology disclosed on July 15 that it received a deficiency notice from Nasdaq due to its stock price falling below $1 per share. The company has 180 calendar days to regain compliance with Nasdaq's minimum bid price requirement of $1 per share, with a deadline of January 6, 2027.

According to Specter monitoring, a long-inactive PancakeSwap liquidity provider (LP) lost approximately $2.96 million due to signing a malicious EIP-7702 authorization.It is reported that the attacker removed about $1.48 million in BSC-USD and $1.48 million in BUSD liquidity provided by the victim and exchanged BUSD for ETH. Currently, the attacker has deposited approximately $1.46 million in funds to Tornado Cash, while the remaining approximately $1.48 million in USDT is still held in the attacker's address.

According to a report by businesswire, Empery Digital Inc. (NASDAQ: EMPD), a publicly traded company in the U.S. that adopts a Bitcoin fund management strategy, announced that it has completed a $20 million preferred stock investment in Cardinal Data Power, Inc. (referred to as "CDP") on July 20, 2026, holding approximately 8% of its equity.CDP is a subsidiary of Hunt Properties, focusing on the construction of power-driven data center parks, dedicated to providing power and construction for next-generation gigawatt-level data center parks in West Texas and West Virginia.This investment is part of CDP's approximately $70 million Series A financing, aimed at supporting its first park project located in West Texas, which covers over 3,500 acres. The first phase of the project is scheduled to go into production in 2027, with a total installed capacity expected to reach about 1 gigawatt by 2029, and future plans to expand to over 5 gigawatts. The Series A financing is led by Hood River Capital Management.

According to Jinshi News, Changxin Technology stated that the company's stock will be listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's Sci-Tech Innovation Board on July 27, 2026.

Recently, market risk appetite has cooled, and high-valuation technology chip sectors are under significant pressure; in contrast, supported by expectations in infrastructure, manufacturing, and cyclical demand, industrial machinery-related assets have shown relative resilience. According to Gate platform data, ARM/USDT (Arm) is currently priced at $284.29, down 1.13% in the last 24 hours; CATG/USDT (Caterpillar) is currently priced at $892.11, up 0.16% in the last 24 hours; GEG/USDT (General Electric) is currently priced at $341.55, down 0.61% in the last 24 hours. In terms of performance, Caterpillar-related trading pairs have slightly strengthened, while Arm and General Electric-related trading pairs have fluctuated downwards, overall still showing a divergent pattern.

According to the official announcement, the UK-listed company The Smarter Web Company has repaid the Smarter Convert convertible notes two weeks early, paying approximately $11.6985 million to the TOBAM Group by selling 177.89 bitcoins (average price $65,762) to complete the repayment.The company's CEO stated that although they had previously recognized the flexibility of the structure, they currently do not consider it a suitable capital solution. After the repayment, the company holds 2,700 bitcoins. The related potential share issuance has been canceled.

According to Gelonghui, Atoms, a robotics company founded by Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick, has completed a $1.7 billion financing round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with Ben Horowitz joining the board. The equity investors in this round include Bain Capital, Fifth Wall, Chemistry, A*, K5 Global, Abstract, SV Angel, Alpha Square Group, and Uber.Horowitz focused the logic of this investment on specialized robots rather than humanoid robots. He pointed out that in heavy industry, specialized robots are much more suitable for completing most tasks than humanoid robots.

Hong Kong, July 23, 2026 - PhotonPay, a next-generation global financial operating system built on a stablecoin-native architecture, has been recognized in the CNBC 2026 World's Top Fintech Companies rankings, Payments category. The list, compiled jointly by CNBC and Statista, covers 500 leading fintech companies worldwide. PhotonPay supports unified fiat and stablecoin transactions with real-time settlement, serving tens of thousands of enterprises globally. Customers have reduced fund transfer costs by over 75% and improved finance team efficiency by 60% (as of December 2025).

The parent company of Kraken, Payward, has partnered with financial technology infrastructure provider GTN to promote the expansion of xStocks tokenization business into more overseas markets. The announcement stated that the two parties will first advance the tokenization of Hong Kong stocks, followed by expansion to the UK, Europe, South Korea, and other international markets, gradually covering more asset classes.According to the cooperation arrangement, GTN will provide execution, custody, and bookkeeping infrastructure covering over 90 markets, and will advance the necessary license applications in various locations. Once the relevant licenses are approved, tokenized xStocks will be opened to GTN's institutional clients.

Finance Minister Scott Bessent posted on the X platform, expressing support for open-source AI and the innovations it brings, but stated that open-source is not an excuse to arbitrarily infringe on U.S. intellectual property rights.If Chinese companies engage in secret, industrial-scale extraction attacks and cross the line into intellectual property theft, sanctions will be considered, and they will be placed on the entity list.

Artificial intelligence company World Labs, founded by Fei-Fei Li, announced the acquisition of robotics company SceniX, with the specific acquisition amount not disclosed. World Labs stated that robots are an important carrier for the implementation of spatial intelligence in the real world, and future robotic systems need to possess environmental perception, spatial understanding, behavioral reasoning, and reliable execution capabilities.After this acquisition, SceniX will be integrated into the World Labs team, and both parties plan to combine their respective strengths in spatial modeling and robotics technology to promote more application scenarios.

According to the Nikkei, Japan's revised Financial Instruments and Exchange Act was passed by a vote in the full session of the House of Councillors on July 15, officially bringing crypto assets (virtual currencies) under the regulatory framework for financial products.While the new law strengthens user protection, it requires exchanges to pay a liability reserve, and the industry generally expects this move to become an important catalyst for industry elimination and consolidation. Saito Masahiko, head of the Financial Services Agency's Market Division, clearly stated that the agency does not endorse crypto asset trading and makes no recommendations.