CFTC Greenlights Spot Crypto?

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Hi! In today’s edition:

• 🛠️ CFTC wants spot crypto trading ASAP

• 🪙 Saylor stacks 21K more BTC

• 🧊 BTC volatility hits snooze

• 🐂 Bullish targets $4.2B IPO valuation

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CFTC is ‘Full Speed Ahead’ to Enable Spot Crypto Trading on Federally Registered Exchanges

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is looking to enable spot crypto trading on federally registered exchanges.

The effort is part of a new initiative dubbed "Crypto Sprint,” where the commodities regulator will work on implementing recommendations from President Donald Trump’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets.

Acting CFTC Chairman Caroline D. Pham said that the CFTC “is full speed ahead on enabling immediate trading of digital assets at the federal level in coordination with the SEC’s Project Crypto.”

Enabling spot crypto trading on CFTC-registered exchanges would leverage federal regulatory frameworks to allow spot contracts – those settled in actual crypto assets rather than cash equivalents – on regulated U.S. trading venues for the first time.

The CFTC is now seeking public input on how to list and regulate spot crypto contracts on these exchanges, with a feedback window open until August 18.

Bitcoin 90-Day Volatility Falls to Record Low

U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) might have been the driving force behind a sharp drop in bitcoin’s volatility.

“The 90-day rolling vol is below 40 for the first time- it was over 60 when the ETFs launched,” said Eric Balchunas, Senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg.

“Since BlackRock filing Bitcoin is up like 250% with much less volatility and no vomit-inducing drawdowns,” he noted in another X post last week, adding that the flip side of that would be the unlikelihood of another “god candle.”

ETFs have brought steady inflows from large institutional investors, leading to more consistent demand and creating a stable price floor that diminishes dramatic price swings.

Data from Bybit last month showed that bitcoin’s implied volatility also dropped as low as 28% in June, while realized volatility ranged between 22% and 25% – levels not seen in almost two years.

Even if bitcoin’s risk profile is changing, the same isn’t true for the wider crypto market. Ether’s volatility has remained significantly higher, even after the launch of spot ETH ETFs, suggesting that the effect is strongest where institutional ETF flows are largest.

Michael Saylor’s Strategy Makes Third-Largest Bitcoin Purchase

Michael Saylor's company Strategy made its third-largest bitcoin purchase ever, acquiring $2.46 billion in BTC between July 28 and August 3.

The latest purchase was for 21,021 BTC at an average price of about $117,526 per coin, the second-highest average price the company has ever paid.

Strategy funded this purchase through a combination of common stock and preferred stock, including the latest addition of Stretch Preferred Stock (STRC).

STRC offers a variable dividend, and is overcollateralized by bitcoin at about a 5:1 ratio, meaning each dollar of STRC is backed by about five dollars worth of bitcoin.

Bitcoin financial services firm Swan explained that some investors treat STRC as a “Bitcoin-backed Treasury bill” because of the mechanics behind its issuance, which mimics a stablecoin peg.

Strategy's total bitcoin holdings have reached 628,791 tokens, valued at over $71 billion at current prices. More than 60% of that stash was acquired after Donald Trump’s election victory.

Peter Thiel-Backed Bullish Seeks $4.2 Billion Valuation for IPO

Bullish, a crypto exchange backed by prominent venture investor Peter Thiel, is seeking a $4.23 billion valuation at its proposed U.S. initial public offering (IPO).

The firm revealed its valuation target in an amended F-1 filing on Monday, sharing plans to raise $629.3 million by offering 20.3 million shares priced between $28 and $31 each.

This is Bullish's second attempt to go public, after a 2021 IPO attempt targeting a $9 billion valuation was withdrawn in 2022 due to regulatory hurdles and market conditions.

The company also plans to convert a significant portion of the IPO proceeds into U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoins, which could support stablecoin issuers.

Bullish’s filing comes amid growing regulatory clarity and improved market conditions for crypto exchanges in the U.S., following developments such as the GENIUS Act and other crypto-positive legislation.

• 🏛️💥 The White House is preparing an executive order to punish banks that allegedly cut off conservatives or crypto firms for political reasons, directing regulators to probe such practices and enforce penalties under credit and antitrust laws.

• 🛠️🕒 Coinbase’s Base network suffered its first major outage since 2023, halting transactions and block production for 29 minutes due to a technical glitch called an “unsafe head delay.”

• 👔 Barry Silbert returned as chairman of Grayscale’s board after stepping down during a legal dispute, as the company expands its crypto ETF offerings and reshuffles its top leadership.

• 🔒 Hyperliquid saw its July trading volume jump 47% to a record $320 billion while holding over 75% of the decentralized futures market, even as its activity rose to nearly 12% of Binance’s perps volume.

• 📉🐶 Solana-based memecoin platform Pump.fun saw its July revenue crash to $25 million—an 80% drop from January highs—as the memecoin craze cooled and trading volumes sharply declined across the sector.

• 🛑 Hackers stole around $4.5 million from DeFi lender Credix by minting fake tokens via a hijacked admin wallet, prompting the platform to shut down its website and promise full user reimbursement.

• 📘 The SEC issued new guidance suggesting that USD-backed stablecoins could be treated as cash equivalents—if they offer guaranteed redemption—marking a step toward integrating crypto into traditional accounting standards.

• ⚛️ France’s far-right Rassemblement National party reversed its anti-crypto stance by backing a bill to mine Bitcoin using unused nuclear energy from EDF plants, framing it as an efficient use of surplus power for national economic gain.

• 📊 Crypto wallet Phantom acquired Solana analytics platform Solsniper to level up its trading tools for memecoins and advanced users, signaling a push toward becoming a full-featured finance platform.

• 🤖 OpenMind raised $20 million in a round led by Pantera Capital to develop a universal, decentralized robot OS called FABRIC, which lets AI-powered machines cooperate regardless of who made them or where they are.

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