Odaily Planet Daily reports that prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket handled more than $44 billion in combined trading volume in 2025. As of April 2026, their combined monthly volume climbed to $24 billion, exceeding the average monthly wagering volume seen on regulated U.S. sports-betting platforms. Kalshi generated $263.5 million in fee revenue last year, and its annualized revenue rate has now surpassed $1.5 billion. Prediction markets typically run a binary contract exchange model: the platform matches buyers and sellers but does not place bets itself, hold directional positions, or take event-outcome risk. Revenue is primarily driven by transaction fees, with additional contributions from data licensing, API access for institutional traders, and market-creation fees on some venues. In the U.S., Kalshi operates as a designated contract market (DCM) registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Polymarket returned to the U.S. market at the end of 2025 after acquiring QCEX, a CFTC-regulated entity, for $1.12 billion. Some states still treat prediction-market contracts as gambling, and related federal and state litigation remains ongoing. In the EU, the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) does not explicitly define the legal status of prediction-market contracts, resulting in different classifications across member states. Platforms that use crypto settlement and offer custody or transfer services to EU users must obtain a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) license.

Crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX will fully wind down and cease operations on September 23, 2026, ending a run that began in 2014. New account registrations have already been suspended, and the platform is urging customers to withdraw funds as soon as possible. HDR Global Trading Limited’s board made the decision after a strategic review of the business and broader crypto market conditions. The company said the choice was difficult. In its announcement, BitMEX pointed to its early role in the sector, saying it launched in 2014 with the goal of broadening access to professional-grade crypto derivatives and that it created the 100x-leverage perpetual swap, a product that became one of the industry’s most actively traded. BitMEX also stated that, across more than a decade of operations, it has never lost user funds due to a hack. Wind-down timeline - New accounts: registration is no longer available. - Starting August 26: users will be unable to open new positions and may only reduce existing positions. - Through the shutdown date: BitMEX will progressively force-close open positions to ensure an orderly end to trading. - At the moment operations cease: any remaining open positions will be force-closed. After September 23, trading will be disabled. Users will still be able to log in, review transaction history, and withdraw funds. Custody fee after closure for KYC’d users BitMEX warned that users who have completed KYC but do not withdraw by the closure date will be charged a custody fee, billed monthly, equal to $50 or 1% per year, whichever is higher. Scam warning The exchange cautioned clients about phishing attempts and scam messages claiming to offer "expedited withdrawals," saying there are no special withdrawal procedures. BitMEX closed its statement by thanking users for their support over the years and encouraging them to continue trading on other platforms. The shutdown announcement came the same week Movement Labs filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. following last year’s scandal involving the MOVE token.

PANews, July 23 — CertiK's report, "Hack3D: Wrench Attacks in the First Half of 2026," shows a sharp rise in so-called wrench attacks. The firm confirmed 52 incidents in the first half of 2026, up 33.3% from 39 over the same period in 2025. Recorded financial losses tied to these attacks totaled about $124.1 million, compared with $10.5 million a year earlier. The geographic distribution was heavily concentrated in Europe. Of the 52 confirmed cases, 39 occurred in Europe, including 33 in France, making it the most prominent country in the dataset. CertiK also highlighted a notable strategic shift: crypto-related burglaries surged from one publicly reported case in H1 2025 to 20 cases in H1 2026.

According to Huo Xing Cai Jing, Pendle cofounder TN and Head of Growth Dan used a July 23 community meeting to recap the protocol's performance in the first half of 2026 and outline priorities for the remainder of the year. The team said H1 efforts centered on building fixed-income infrastructure. Pendle V2 continued to strengthen its position as a leading onchain fixed-income protocol, while Boros made early headway in onchain interest-rate derivatives. Pendle V2 posted an average daily TVL of about $1.3 billion in H1. Of the platform's 11 core markets, nine now support real-world assets (RWA) as collateral, which the team said points to sustained institutional inflows into the RWA segment. Pendle also launched on the Monad network and, in less than a month, ranked among the network's top five protocols by TVL, with roughly $150 million locked. On the product and tokenomics front, Pendle completed the migration from vePENDLE to sPENDLE. About 36% of PENDLE is currently staked, and 93% of stakers have not unstaked. The protocol has repurchased around 2 million PENDLE using revenue and cut weekly liquidity incentives from roughly 90,000 PENDLE to 21,000 PENDLE to improve capital efficiency. Pendle also rolled out an in-app one-click Loop feature aimed at simplifying leveraged yield strategies. Boros, another core product, has surpassed $14 billion in cumulative trading volume in under a year, with users up 50% since the start of 2026. To better serve professional traders, the team added tools including four-leg arbitrage strategies, bulk order acceptance, and a funding-rate dashboard. For H2 2026, Pendle plans to prioritize curation infrastructure so external teams can create PT/YT markets and integrate PT assets as collateral within lending protocols. It also intends to launch Pendle-branded yield vaults with partners including Morpho to broaden distribution for fixed-income products. Institutional expansion will focus on collaborating with multiple New York-based RWA issuers to list tokenized ETFs, single bonds, and other onchain yield products. Pendle said the goal is to build an institutional-grade RWA yield discovery and distribution platform. Boros will shift its strategy toward cross-platform funding-rate arbitrage, with a focus on institutional arbitrageurs. Planned additions include peer-to-peer acceptance markets, funding-rate visualization tools, and one-click strategy products for retail users, aimed at further developing the onchain interest-rate derivatives ecosystem.

Breaking: Cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX said it will shut down all operations.

Crypto derivatives venue BitMEX will cease operations after HDR Global Trading Limited, its owner and operator, completed a strategic review of the business. The company said trading will end on Sept. 23, 2026, and urged customers to close open positions and withdraw funds ahead of the shutdown. BitMEX said client assets will remain secure and accessible throughout the wind-down. Founded in 2014 by Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo and Samuel Reed, BitMEX became one of the most influential early platforms in crypto derivatives and helped popularize leveraged trading. In May 2016, it introduced the XBTUSD perpetual swap, enabling traders to take leveraged exposure to Bitcoin without managing a contract expiry. Perpetual swaps later became one of the most actively traded instruments in crypto markets. BitMEX also pointed to its security track record, saying no customer cryptocurrency was lost to hacking over its 11-year run. The exchange's history was also marked by regulatory scrutiny. In 2021, BitMEX entities agreed to pay a $100 million civil penalty to settle charges from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. HDR Global Trading was fined an additional $100 million in January 2025 after pleading guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act for failing to maintain an adequate anti-money-laundering program. Customers now have roughly two months to settle accounts, close positions and transfer remaining assets off the platform.

Negotiations over the CLARITY Act's ethics language have stalled as the White House and Senate Democrats clash on two core issues. Democrats want state Attorneys General (AGs) to help enforce the bill's ethics provisions. A White House-backed proposal instead would give the Department of Justice (DoJ) sole enforcement authority in ethics-related matters. A second sticking point is Democrats' push to hold U.S. President Donald Trump accountable for past crypto activity. Trump reportedly made more than $1.4B in crypto profits in 2025, while holders of his memecoins and tokens suffered losses. The White House has rejected that approach, with Chief Crypto Advisor Patrick Witt calling it "blatantly unconstitutional" in a statement. Criticism of the proposed ethics framework has also come from Democratic-aligned voices. Former SEC Chief of Staff Amanda Fischer described the deal as "laughable," arguing it leaves significant gaps: it reportedly gives the president a one-year window to place crypto ventures into a blind trust, does not prohibit interest income, and caps penalties for ethics violations at $500K. Fischer said it "doesn't change much at all" about Trump's existing crypto dealings, adds no divestment requirement, and would rely on Trump's personal attorney Todd Blanche for enforcement. She also pointed to an amnesty provision taking effect once a new president is inaugurated. The proposal bars the president, administration officials, and members of Congress from certain activities but does not cover their children. Senate Democrats including Angela Alsobrooks, Ruben Gallego, and five others have opposed the current ethics language along with other CLARITY Act provisions. In a joint critique, they said the Republican text "falls short" and called for stronger rules around ethics for elected officials, consumer protection, illicit finance, conflicts of interest, and market integrity. Alsobrooks and Gallego were the only Democrats to back the bill during committee markup. With Republicans needing roughly 7–10 Democrats to reach the 60-vote threshold on the Senate floor, Democratic holdouts could prove decisive. The legislative uncertainty has coincided with a modest pullback in crypto markets. Bitcoin (BTC) eased to about $65.7K after climbing to nearly $67K earlier in the week, highlighting how closely near-term sentiment is tied to progress on the bill. Key Takeaways • Senate Democrats are rejecting the White House-backed ethics deal and pressing for broader changes to the CLARITY Act. • The White House appears unwilling to accept Democrats' demands on ethics enforcement and accountability provisions.

BitMEX will stop operating at 04:00 UTC on Sept. 23 after its owner, HDR Global Trading, decided to close the exchange following a strategic review. The platform has urged users to wind down any open positions and withdraw funds as soon as possible. BitMEX was an early leader in crypto derivatives, known for introducing the 100x perpetual swap—a product that has since become the most actively traded derivatives instrument in the digital-asset market.

Kakao Group and Circle have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore the development of a Korean won stablecoin and blockchain-based payment infrastructure in South Korea.