Tornado Cash Co-Founder Gets Verdict

Hi! In today’s edition:

• 🧨 Roman Storm conviction rocks crypto devs

• 🚀 Solana’s Seeker phone is finally shipping

• 🔥 ETH is heating up — volumes at multi-year highs

• 🪙 China moves fast on stablecoins — via Hong Kong

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Tornado Cash Co-founder Roman Storm Found Guilty on One Count

Roman Storm, co-founder of crypto mixer Tornado Cash, has been found guilty by a U.S. jury on a single count of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.

The jury remained deadlocked on two more serious charges: conspiracy to commit money laundering, including laundering funds for North Korea’s Lazarus Group, and conspiracy to evade U.S. sanctions.

While those two charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison each, the charge Storm was found guilty on still carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

“While the jury couldn't agree on the serious charges, the conviction on operating an unlicensed money transmitter sends a concerning signal,” said Daniel Brunsdon, head of growth and product at decentralized identity protocol Holonym, in a statement shared with Unchained.

The wider crypto community seemed to echo those sentiments, with Blockchain Association noting that the verdict “sets a dangerous precedent for open-source software developers.”

Storm remains free on a $2 million bond, having not been taken into custody after the verdict. Sentencing by U.S. District Judge Katherine Failla is scheduled for a later date.

Storm’s legal team has indicated plans to appeal the conviction or seek its dismissal through post-trial motions.

Former federal prosecutor and Cahill attorney Sam Enzer joins Laura live today at 1:00 pm ET/10:00 am PT to discuss the trial, the partial verdict, and implications of the case for the industry.

Solana Begins Shipping Seeker Phone

Solana has started shipping over 150,000 pre-ordered Seeker smartphones, aimed at “power users” who regularly transact or interact with Solana decentralized applications (dapps).

Positioned as Solana Mobile’s second-generation crypto-centric device, Seeker is designed to address key criticisms of its predecessor, the Saga, especially around usability, portability, and daily crypto transaction workflows.

Seeker features one-click transaction approval with fingerprint verification, compared to Saga’s multi-step process. It also comes with a Seed Vault, meaning it can be used as a hardware wallet, and it features the native ability to stake SOL from the device via SOL Strategies’ compliant validator network.

The new device is priced at $450 and will generate a soulbound Genesis Token, unlocking early access to new apps and SKR token rewards later on.

Unlike the Saga launch, which had a high-profile BONK airdrop to device owners right away, the SKR airdrop will be part of an upcoming “Seeker Season” tied to ecosystem incentives.

Laura did a livestream on the Seeker yesterday, which you can watch on X. 

Ethereum Transaction Volumes Near 4-Year High

Transaction volumes on the Ethereum network are nearing a four-year high, with onchain volume exceeding $238 billion in July.

Last month’s transaction volume represents a 70% increase from June, and the highest monthly volume since December 2021, according to data from The Block. 

Daily transactions on Ethereum also soared to 1.88 million on Wednesday — the highest level since the record 1.96 million on January 14, 2024.

“The trend is clearly up in 2025, with daily transactions now up ~+50% since the beginning of the year,” said cryptohuntz, portfolio manager of onchain DeFi fund Alphaverse.

Cryptohuntz also noted that the total balance of ETH on centralized exchanges is currently at a level last seen on July 18, 2016 when ETH was trading at just $12.

“Supply shock x demand shock = the most important macro trade in the next decade,” said cryptohuntz.

China to Debut First Stablecoins: Report

China is set to allow the launch of its first stablecoins as part of a strategic effort to internationalize the renminbi and compete with the U.S. dollar in global markets, according to a report from the Financial Times.

The plan involves testing and issuing stablecoins through Hong Kong, which has enacted a new legal framework allowing licensed businesses to issue tokens backed by fiat currencies.

Hong Kong’s new Stablecoins Ordinance, effective from August 1, requires issuers to be licensed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and meet rigorous operational and financial standards.

The news comes after the enactment of the GENIUS Act – the first comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for stablecoins in the U.S.

Ahead of President Trump signing it into law, Wall Street giants Citibank and Morgan Stanley said there had been active discussions on the issuance of their own stablecoins.

“China needs to respond to the U.S.’s dominance in stablecoins, so we will see if it is too little or a quick catch-up move. Hong Kong is currently the testing ground for anything Web3,” said 0G Labs CEO Michael Heinrich, in a statement to Unchained.

• 🪙 Trump is reportedly preparing to sign an executive order today clearing the way for private equity, crypto, and real estate investments in 401(k) plans, potentially unlocking access to $12.5 trillion in retirement savings for alternative asset managers.

• 📈 Bitcoin ETFs broke a four-day outflow streak by pulling in $91.6 million on Wednesday, as traders began pricing in a likely interest rate cut following weak job data and Trump’s surprise firing of the U.S. labor chief.

• 📊 Pendle unveiled Boros, a new platform on Arbitrum that lets traders bet on or hedge against changing funding rates for Bitcoin and Ether perpetuals using novel yield tokens.

• ⚠️🇵🇭 The Philippines SEC warned users against unlicensed crypto exchanges like OKX and Kraken after new rules took effect, saying enforcement actions may follow.

• 💳 Crypto startup Payy launched a Visa card that hides stablecoin payments from blockchain surveillance using zero-knowledge cryptography and a custom-built settlement network.

• 📊 Decentralized ad platform Alkimi began running its full infrastructure on the Sui blockchain stack to bring ad delivery, payments, and data transparency fully on-chain, removing middlemen and enabling brands like AWS and TikTok to test blockchain-based advertising at scale.

• 🇯🇵 Bakkt struck a deal to acquire a major stake in Marusho Hotta, which will be rebranded as bitcoin.jp, while also appointing its own president as CEO and securing the matching domain.

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