Nairobi Securities Exchange Teams With Tether to Test USDT Settlement Across $26.4B Market

As the window closes for passing a comprehensive crypto market structure bill before the Senate's month-long recess, two US senators from opposite political parties have reportedly sent revised ethics guidelines to the White House. Senators Thom Tillis and Ruben Gallego submitted a counteroffer addressing concerns about ethics provisions in the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, potentially clearing a major hurdle for cryptocurrency legislation in Congress.

The proposed changes would shift enforcement of bans on federal officials issuing or sponsoring tokens from the US Attorney General to state authorities, addressing key concerns raised by lawmakers about conflicts of interest and market integrity. Democrat Gallego previously emphasized the critical need to strengthen provisions around ethics, consumer protection, illicit finance, and market integrity, signaling bipartisan commitment to getting the crypto bill "over the finish line" despite political divides.

Samsung SDS, the technology arm of the South Korean conglomerate, has announced a strategic partnership with Dunamu, operator of the Upbit cryptocurrency exchange, to expand its presence in the stablecoin market. This alliance combines Samsung SDS's robust cloud, cybersecurity, and IT services with Dunamu's blockchain expertise, positioning both companies to capitalize on South Korea's emerging digital asset infrastructure market. The plan was unveiled by President and CEO Lee Jun-hee during Samsung SDS's second-quarter 2026 earnings call on July 29. This collaboration represents a significant move in consolidating South Korea's crypto ecosystem, where technology giants and blockchain specialists are joining forces to shape the future of digital finance. The partnership has the potential to accelerate stablecoin adoption and drive digital asset infrastructure development in the country.

Coinbase reported a net loss and lower-than-expected quarterly revenue as crypto trading activity slowed, missing analyst projections for Q2 earnings. Despite the disappointing performance in its core trading business, the exchange demonstrated resilience with continued growth in its subscription, stablecoin, and lending operations.

The decline in crypto trading activity directly impacted Coinbase's revenue, highlighting the crypto market's sensitivity to volatile conditions. Meanwhile, growth in alternative segments like subscriptions and stablecoins suggests a successful diversification strategy that may help the company navigate periods of low volatility and expand its user base beyond purely speculative trading.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup drove a staggering $20 billion in blockchain-based prediction market volume, with over 400,000 digital wallets placing crypto bets, according to Chainalysis report on World Cup betting trends. During the five-week tournament, bettors wagered approximately $5.7 billion, with World Cup-related markets accounting for 63% of all prediction market activity. Participants from every continent except Antarctica joined the action, with the United States and China generating the highest trading volumes, followed by Canada, Thailand, and the United Kingdom, highlighting the global adoption of blockchain in sports betting. The report also noted $24 million in digital collectible trades, demonstrating the expanding crypto ecosystem within the sports industry.

Coinbase reported mixed second-quarter results, missing Wall Street expectations on profitability. The exchange generated approximately $1.2 billion in net revenue, broadly in line with expectations but reported a GAAP net loss of $359 million, significantly wider than analysts' projected $122 million loss. Despite the losses, the company captured an all-time-high 10.3% share of global crypto trading volume.

Coinbase blamed weaker trading activity and low market volatility for the earnings miss while highlighting growth in derivatives, stablecoins and tokenized finance. As industry-wide trading activity weakened, the exchange managed to increase its market share from 9.1% in the first quarter to 10.3%, a record high. The performance underscores the challenges faced by crypto exchanges in a low-volatility market environment.