David Solomon, chief executive of Goldman Sachs, has expressed support for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act now under consideration in the US Senate. He described the legislation as imperfect yet necessary to establish a consistent regulatory framework that supports market stability and the orderly development of digital asset markets.

Republican senators released the bill text on Wednesday. A vote is expected in the near term, although Senate leaders had not set a date as of Thursday. The measure would require bipartisan backing to reach the 60-vote threshold for passage.

Solomon’s position distinguishes him among leaders of major traditional financial institutions. Many of his peers have opposed elements of the bill, particularly provisions that would permit crypto firms to offer yields on stablecoins outside the regulatory requirements applied to banks. The head of JPMorgan Chase has previously stated that such arrangements lack the safeguards banks would insist upon.

Ethics language in the draft has drawn criticism from Democrats. They contend the provisions fall short, in part because enforcement would rest with the Justice Department rather than state authorities, and argue the text inadequately addresses potential conflicts linked to presidential crypto holdings. Some have described the overall package as insufficient to protect investors, the financial system and national security, asserting it should not advance.

The X account of Robinhood chief executive Vlad Tenev was compromised on Thursday when a post appeared promoting a fabricated memecoin named VLAD and displaying what appeared to be a malicious token contract address. The message accumulated more than 175,000 views within 20 minutes before users identified it as fraudulent and cautioned against interaction.

Robinhood confirmed the breach through its official communications channel and stated that it was cooperating with the platform to regain control. The post has been removed. The blockchain explorer associated with Robinhood’s chain has marked the token contract address as a scam.

On-chain monitoring indicated that the perpetrators extracted approximately 650 ether, valued at between $1.2 million and $1.3 million. Separate analysis of wallet activity suggested a related address spent $126.81 to acquire 47.2 million of the tokens, generating an estimated unrealized gain of roughly $159,000 at prevailing prices.

Incidents of account compromise and fraudulent token promotions continue to affect the digital asset sector. Attackers have increasingly favored phishing methods even as the overall value extracted through such schemes has moderated in recent months.

The planned shutdown of BitMEX is prompting assessments that the cryptocurrency industry is entering a phase of faster consolidation. Analysts cite growing concentration of market share, higher regulatory compliance costs and a migration of activity toward licensed trading venues as factors placing pressure on smaller platforms.

BitMEX, founded in 2014, will cease trading on September 23 following a strategic review by its parent company. The exchange was among the earliest providers of perpetual swap contracts that later became a standard product in digital asset derivatives. Its daily Bitcoin futures volume began a sustained decline around May 2021 and did not return to the 2020 peak range of $1 billion to $5 billion.

The announcement triggered a decline of more than 90 percent in the platform’s utility token. Market share data show the exchange ranked ninth among derivatives platforms in August 2023 with a 0.9 percent volume share. By 2025 it had fallen outside the leading group even as overall perpetual trading volume across major platforms rose 47.4 percent to a record $86.2 trillion.

Structural pressures are described as affecting mid-sized centralized exchanges. Liquidity has concentrated among the largest operators, with the top five platforms estimated to control about 80 percent of global spot volume. Mid-tier and regional venues face narrowing margins and limited routes to expansion.

Regulated competitors have expanded offerings of similar products. In the United States, one major exchange introduced perpetual-style futures through a Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated venue in May after receiving regulatory relief. The commission also approved Bitcoin perpetual futures for another platform. A further exchange followed in June with regulated perpetual futures for eligible domestic traders. Outside the United States, the same major firm obtained a United Kingdom investment services license this month, enabling expansion of its derivatives activities ahead of that country’s updated crypto rules.

Research estimates that the cryptocurrency industry will contribute $55 billion to the United States economy in 2026 through salaries, worker spending and output. The same analysis projects that the sector will support 232,000 jobs across the broader economy, either directly or indirectly.

Approximately 34,000 individuals are employed directly by crypto companies. That figure exceeds direct employment in the coffee and tea manufacturing sector as well as the aerospace industry. Among sectors receiving the largest economic benefits, securities and commodity contracts account for $9.7 billion, while housing and real estate together total $4.8 billion.

Texas, Washington, North Carolina, California and New York rank as the states with the highest numbers of industry-related jobs. Colorado is identified as an expanding blockchain center on the basis of supportive regulatory policies. North Dakota is described as developing into an energy-linked digital infrastructure location, aided by tax provisions favorable to crypto mining and policies on flare gas.

The industry association behind the research was established in March 2025 as a nonprofit focused on consumer education in digital assets. It received $50 million in initial support and is led by a senior legal executive from a major blockchain firm.

Several digital asset projects have announced closures during 2026. A New York-based startup ended operations in January after four years. A Singapore-based decentralized email platform began winding down in May, citing costs for bandwidth, storage and computing. Two additional platforms focused on decentralized governance and related services also closed in March, pointing to scaling challenges and market conditions.

Bitcoin declined below $65,000 on Thursday, reaching a three-day low of $64,799, as escalating tensions between the United States and Iran weighed on risk assets. US equities retreated, with the S&P 500 falling 1.2 percent and the Nasdaq Composite declining 2.2 percent. Brent crude oil rose above $100 a barrel, its highest level since early June.

President Donald Trump stated that he would hold Iran responsible for recent Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabian commercial vessels and expressed disappointment over the strikes, citing earlier incidents involving US ships. The developments contributed to sharper increases in inflation expectations and interest rates. Market pricing of the Federal Reserve’s next policy decision showed the probability of a 0.25 percentage point rate increase approaching 40 percent, up from roughly 12 percent a week earlier. US 10-year Treasury yields reached 18-month highs.

Market participants displayed diverging views on the near-term path for Bitcoin. Some analysis pointed to the end of a recent relief rally, with resistance near $65,000 and a preference for reduced long exposure on a break lower. Other assessments described ongoing progress and the potential for a move toward $70,000 once local resistance clears. A key technical level cited was the 21-day moving average near $64,073, with a possible advance toward $73,000 contingent on a sustained break above the $68,000 zone.

Coinbase has introduced functionality that allows businesses to receive USDC payments from autonomous artificial intelligence agents. The feature forms part of a wider expansion of the exchange’s payment, trading and developer tools aimed at supporting financial activity conducted by AI systems.

Business users can now process the stablecoin payments through a protocol first released by the company in May 2025. That standard was designed to facilitate stablecoin transfers over standard web protocols for agents, applications and interfaces. In parallel, the exchange launched trading tools that permit users to monitor orders, obtain real-time market information and carry out transactions according to preset conditions. A software development kit was also released for builders of applications powered by AI agents.

The products are intended to equip an emerging environment in which AI agents handle payments, manage financial accounts and perform related tasks on behalf of users. Agent-driven traffic exceeded human traffic on the company’s Base documentation pages for the first time last month. The firm observed that existing internet financial systems were constructed around the assumption of direct human interaction, leaving a gap in tools suited to autonomous agents.

The initiative coincides with a broader industry move by exchanges and payment providers to position stablecoins and blockchain-based settlement as core infrastructure for AI-driven commerce.

Gemini Trust Company transferred $10 million in Bitcoin to a super political action committee supporting President Donald Trump on June 19, as a federal court prepares to consider whether to reverse a $5 million settlement between the exchange and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The contribution consisted of two separate Bitcoin donations each exceeding $5 million.

The transfers occurred roughly three weeks after the agency and Gemini filed a joint motion in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking to undo the January 2025 settlement. That agreement had resolved allegations that the exchange made false or misleading statements. Agency leadership has described earlier enforcement actions under the prior administration as politically motivated. Both parties have indicated that the $5 million penalty would not be returned to Gemini if the court grants the motion. No ruling has yet appeared on the public docket.

The Winklevoss brothers, who co-founded Gemini, had previously each contributed $1 million to the president’s 2024 campaign. They later attended the signing of stablecoin legislation, supported a crypto mining venture associated with the president’s sons, and directed $21 million in Bitcoin to another political action committee focused on digital asset policy.

Senator Elizabeth Warren has described the joint motion and related developments as raising concerns that the agency may be subject to political pressures and the interests of wealthy participants rather than investor protection and market integrity. As of June 30 the recipient super political action committee had reported total receipts exceeding $397 million.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission currently operates with a single commissioner. The chair, confirmed in December 2025, remains the sole member of an agency that typically comprises five bipartisan commissioners. No additional nominations have been announced even as Congress advances market structure legislation that would expand the agency’s authority over digital assets.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission will convene a public roundtable on September 17 to examine the shift toward continuous trading in American equity markets. The session will take place at the agency’s headquarters in Washington and will address preparations for overnight sessions as well as operational and resilience requirements in a 24-hour environment.

Commission leadership indicated that US equity markets are advancing toward extended trading periods that include nighttime hours. The goal is closer alignment with jurisdictions that already operate continuous sessions.

The discussion occurs as several major exchanges expand or prepare longer trading windows. Nasdaq began discussions with US regulators in March on offering five-day-a-week, 24-hour trading, with a target launch in the second half of 2026 subject to regulatory clearance. The London Stock Exchange is preparing a nighttime trading venue for early 2027. Other platforms, including Cboe, are likewise advancing plans for extended hours, a development that would give retail participants access previously limited largely to cryptocurrency markets.

BitMEX is set to remove 65 derivative contracts and trading pairs in July, a sharp increase from the 19 delistings recorded across the first six months of the year. The exchange cited insufficient trading interest as the primary factor, in tandem with its decision to wind down operations.

In early July the platform delisted 21 derivative contracts. Two weeks later it removed nine spot pairs for the same reason. On Thursday it placed an additional 35 derivative contracts in the delisting queue, bringing the monthly total to 65.

The firm stated that the contracts were being removed because of limited trading interest and the forthcoming closure of the exchange. On Thursday BitMEX confirmed that it would end all exchange services on September 23 at 4:00 a.m. UTC. The decision followed a strategic review of the business and the broader cryptocurrency industry, without further elaboration on specific causes.

A restructuring adviser noted that the closure illustrates broader pressures confronting mid-sized centralized exchanges. Liquidity has increasingly concentrated among the largest market participants, while regulatory compliance costs continue to rise.

Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego said on Thursday that ethics language in the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act draft released by Senate Republicans on Wednesday falls short and does not represent a serious effort. He indicated he would collaborate with Republican colleagues on alternative wording.

The proposed text includes provisions that would prohibit all US federal officials, including the president, from issuing or sponsoring any digital asset. Democrats have described the ethics section as insufficient. Gallego stated that the draft failed to reflect months of prior bipartisan work and announced plans to submit revised language in coordination with Senator Thom Tillis and other Republicans. He affirmed that discussions remain active.

Senate Republicans have rejected characterizations of the ethics measures as weak. Senator Bernie Moreno described the draft as containing the strongest ethics language in US history.