Bittam Exchange Exposed: Why This Broker Is a High-Risk Platform
With a dangerously low WikiBit score of 3.06 out of 10 and serious questions surrounding its regulatory claims, Bittam Exchange has emerged as a high-risk platform that traders cannot afford to overlook.
FTX to distribute $900M to creditors in fifth payment round
The FTX Recovery Trust announced the next distribution of about $900 million to creditors, starting July 31, as part of the fifth round of repayments since the exchange's 2022 bankruptcy. Eligible claimants using BitGo, Kraken, or Payoneer will receive funds within one to three business days. Convenience claims under $50,000 get 120% reimbursement, while others receive 103–105%. The trust has paid roughly $10 billion to date. Meanwhile, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried remains in prison after a 25-year sentence; his appeal was denied, and his request for a presidential pardon faces bipartisan Senate opposition. Law firm Fenwick & West paid $54 million to settle a class action suit over its role advising FTX.
Crypto institutions look beyond audits as trust signals falter: Hacken
Institutional investors are shifting focus beyond smart contract audits after traditional trust signals failed to predict crypto exploits, according to Hacken‘s Q2 2026 report. Only 9% of 1,427 tracked projects had third-party monitoring, and compromised keys, signers, and infrastructure accounted for 88.3% of roughly $764 million stolen. Projects lacking ongoing operational security evidence face higher risk perception and reduced investment. Abraxas Capital noted that inadequate security relative to capital at risk often leads to rejection, while Moody’s Ratings cited operational resilience as the practical evaluation lens. Due diligence now includes signer-set changes, timelocks, and incident-response readiness. Fourteen exploited projects had prior audits, but most losses stemmed from areas beyond conventional smart contract reviews.
Saylor joins Bitcoins BIP-110 fight as miners get one last chance to avoid forced signaling
Michael Saylor has entered the BIP-110 debate with a 110-point case against the temporary soft fork, arguing that its mandatory-signaling path and rejection of currently valid transactions pose a greater danger than the data-storage abuse it aims to curb. With live monitoring showing 0.89% signaling and the current difficulty period mathematically unable to reach the proposal's early-lock threshold, the next 2,016-block period is the final chance for ordinary lock-in. Failure could lead to a chain split if enforcing nodes reject blocks others accept, forcing miners, exchanges, and wallet developers to choose sides. Saylor‘s institutional weight raises the dispute’s profile but grants no special authority over Bitcoin consensus.
ADI Chain brings Tangem hardware wallet to Virgin Megastores across the UAE
ADI Chain has launched a co-branded Tangem hardware wallet at Virgin Megastores across the UAE, bringing offline crypto self-custody for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and ADI Chain ecosystem tokens to physical retail shelves. The NFC-enabled card stores private keys on a secure embedded chip, requiring a physical tap to authorize transactions via the Tangem mobile app. This retail partnership expands Tangem‘s distribution beyond online channels, following its earlier expansion into over 200 Best Buy stores in the U.S. Tangem’s hardware has shipped over six million devices with no security compromises since 2017, and the wallet supports assets across more than 80 blockchain networks. ADI Chain describes its infrastructure as built for institutional users, while this retail rollout extends those security standards to individual consumers through mainstream retail.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin 'vibe-codes' anonymous billboard demo with onchain moderation on Aztec
Vitalik Buterin has released a working demo of an anonymous message board on Aztec, allowing users to deposit ETH on Ethereum's base layer, post messages on Layer 2 with no sender address revealed, and later withdraw funds. The system includes a censor role that flags posts as "immoral," with a local LLM daemon reading an onchain moderation policy to auto-flag violations. Posting is rate-limited, with larger deposits enabling more frequent posts. The project includes formal verification with 70 proven theorems covering rate limits, censorship, privacy, and deposit safety. Buterin described it as a "vibe-coded" toy version of a concept he outlined in 2022. The code is publicly available on GitHub but is noted as early and incomplete.
Bitcoin ETF inflows return, but $2.3 billion stablecoin liquidity drain leaves $57,000 exposed
Bitcoin has stabilized near $64,000 after two consecutive weeks of ETF inflows ended an eight-week investor retreat, but the recovery remains fragile as stablecoin reserves on major exchanges have fallen by nearly $2.3 billion, limiting available capital for a breakout. Meanwhile, rising oil prices above $91 a barrel due to U.S.-Iran conflict disrupting Strait of Hormuz shipping threaten to revive inflation concerns, counteracting recent relief from softer U.S. price data. The market also faces structural risk from dense leveraged long positions clustered near $57,000; a break below support could trigger forced liquidations. Though sentiment indicators show tentative improvement, the cryptocurrencys trajectory depends on sustaining institutional flows and holding the $62,000–$65,000 supply zone to avoid a test of lower liquidation pools.
Bitcoin ETF inflows extend to second week, but recovery lacks momentum
US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $75.7 million in net inflows for the week ending July 17, marking a second consecutive week of positive flows, though July's total of $200.2 million remains modest compared to June's $4.5 billion in outflows. Analysts said the inflows suggest selling pressure is easing but are too limited to confirm a broader uptrend, with Bitcoin needing to decisively break above the $65,000–$65,500 range. Citigroup's recent revision of its 12-month ETF inflow forecast from $10 billion to zero and its lowered Bitcoin price target to $82,000 reflect ongoing concerns about institutional demand. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas compared Bitcoin ETFs' trajectory to gold ETFs, noting a pattern of rapid adoption followed by weaker performance, with potential for higher highs over time.
TD Cowen cuts Smarter Web Company price target 36% on revised bitcoin outlook
TD Cowen lowered its price target on The Smarter Web Company to £0.64 from £1 while maintaining a Buy rating, implying roughly 123% upside from the current share price of £0.287. Analysts led by Lance Vitanza cited updated bitcoin forecast assumptions, treasury activity, and dilution projections, assigning £63 million to treasury operations and valuing projected year-end 2026 bitcoin holdings at £229 million. After net debt of £18 million, they derived a target equity value of £274 million, or £0.64 per share. The firm views Smarter Web as a leading UK public bitcoin treasury company, expecting it to increase bitcoin per fully diluted share and outperform spot bitcoin ETPs, with a base case assuming bitcoin reaches about $140,000 by December 2026.
Ethereum bridge users have 24 hours to exit before chain shuts down after just 5 week warning
Powerloom, a blockchain network for decentralized data infrastructure, will permanently halt at 6:00 AM UTC on July 21, giving users under 24 hours to move transferable POWER or other assets to Ethereum via the official bridge. Only liquid on-chain balances already available for transfer can be recovered; unclaimed rewards, staked POWER, and node-slot funds were lost when the dashboard went offline on July 16. After the deadline, the chain will stop producing blocks, the Arbitrum-based bridge will cease functioning, and remaining balances will become stranded with the inaccessible network state. Ethereum-held POWER remains unaffected, as its ERC-20 contract is immutable and accessible on-chain. Powerlooms founders cited a lack of sustainable operating model and ecosystem demand as reasons for the wind-down.