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According to BBX data, last week the completion of the most significant contract for Bitcoin mining company AI transformation was announced, and data on the market performance of crypto-listed companies post-IPO further reveals the industry's valuation dilemma. The core dynamics are as follows:TeraWulf Inc. (NASDAQ: $WULF) disclosed last week through SEC 8-K that the company signed a 20-year AI infrastructure lease with AI leader Anthropic (privately held) ------ the lease subject is TeraWulf's Justified Data campus located in Hawesville, Kentucky, totaling approximately 401 megawatts of IT critical load, expected to generate about $19 billion in contract lease revenue during the initial 20-year lease term (supported by expected investment-grade credit), with the first capacity expected to be delivered in H2 2027, and full capacity of 401MW expected to reach production by early 2028. On the same day, TeraWulf sold its 50.1% stake in the AI data center JV in Abilene, Texas (168MW), with the buyer being a consortium of investors led by Fluidstack, for a total consideration of approximately $530 million (in three phases: $250 million down payment within 14 days, $150 million by the end of 2026, and about $130 million by the end of April 2027), realizing a premium on the original $450 million investment, with the proceeds reinvested into TeraWulf's wholly-owned AI infrastructure projects. CEO Paul Prager: "This milestone collaboration demonstrates our ability to provide large-scale, power-secure infrastructure for top AI clients." $WULF rose over 16% during the day, and after the announcement, several institutions raised their target prices: BofA (Buy, $34), Citi (Buy, $36), Needham (Buy, $33, up from $28), Rosenblatt (Buy, $30), with the average price from Wall Street analysts exceeding $33; the company's stock price has risen over 80% year-to-date, with Benzinga assessing the momentum score at 98.06 (extremely strong).According to INN data from July 8, BitGo Holdings (NYSE: $BTGO) has fallen about 77% since its listing at $22.43 in January 2026, becoming one of the worst performers in this round of crypto IPOs, marking a systemic downturn in the market for crypto asset companies post-IPO; during the same period, Bullish (NYSE: $BLSH) has dropped about 71% from its listing price of $90 in August 2025, eToro Group (NASDAQ: $ETOR) has fallen about 42% from its listing price in May 2025, Figure Technology Solutions (NASDAQ: $FIGR) has decreased about 14%, and only Circle Internet Group (NYSE: $CRCL) has dropped about 6% since its listing in June 2025, showing the smallest decline. The continued weak market performance has substantially frozen the pipeline for subsequent crypto IPOs: Kraken's parent company Payward suspended its listing process this spring, and Grayscale, Consensys, and Ledger have all postponed their IPO plans until market conditions improve.

Michael Selig, chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), stated that the cryptocurrency market structure bill, the Clarity Act, "is very close to being finalized," and urged Congress to complete its passage before the August recess.

According to TASS, the Russian Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Russia plan to finalize the draft law for cryptocurrency market regulation next week and submit it to the State Duma for a second reading.Deputy Minister of Finance Ivan Chebeskov announced this news to reporters during the "Russian Digital Financial System: Digital Currency, Tokenization, and Artificial Intelligence" conference.

According to Jinshi News, OpenAI has finalized a $10 billion joint venture agreement with a private equity giant.

Zhao Changpeng posted on Binance Square, "The (new book) is finally finalized, I hope so. It should be published soon.To avoid any potential leaks, the book title is as follows:English: Freedom of Money: A Memoir of Protecting Users, Resilience, and the Founding of BinanceChinese: Binance Life: A Memoir of Luck, Resilience, and Protecting Users"

According to CoinDesk, Tim Scott, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, stated at the Washington DC Blockchain Summit that the previously stalled cryptocurrency market structure bill is making substantial progress behind the scenes, with the first draft expected to include language related to stablecoin yields.Scott mentioned that the issue of stablecoin yields is the most publicly discussed topic in the bill, and currently, Democratic Senator Angela Alsobrooks, Republican Senator Thom Tillis, and White House official Patrick Witt are actively working to resolve this issue.On other pending topics, Scott revealed that several disagreements have entered the negotiation stage over the past month, including: ethical issues raised by former President Trump and his family's cryptocurrency projects, the quorum issue regarding bipartisan committee seats in major regulatory agencies, and DeFi regulation and anti-money laundering (AML) compliance requirements. Scott stated that these issues are all progressing, and the overall situation is improving.

According to the New York Post, sources revealed that on Thursday local time, after meeting with former Federal Reserve Governor and Stanford University professor Walsh, President Trump called Walsh again to ask if he would be willing to accept the position------and he ultimately agreed.Reportedly, BlackRock executive Rick Reed was also a strong candidate for the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, but sources close to him indicated that Reed was informed on Thursday that he would not receive the appointment.

According to South Korean media reports, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea has finalized the name of its bill aimed at regulating the virtual asset market as the "Basic Law on Digital Assets," and plans to submit it before the New Year holiday.They also agreed to set the minimum legal capital requirement for stablecoin issuers at 5 billion won (approximately 3.5 million USD). However, sensitive issues such as the scope of the central bank's authority and major shareholder ownership restrictions will be finalized after further coordination with the policy committee.

Senators are trying to resolve key points of contention in the regulatory cryptocurrency industry legislation during the last few working days of the year, in hopes of pushing the bill out of committee after months of negotiations. Although Democratic colleagues are still seeking to amend the draft text, and with only a few days left before lawmakers head out for the holidays, Republicans are still pushing to review and amend the cryptocurrency market structure legislation next week.A person familiar with the market structure legislative process stated, "Time is of the essence. Realistically, there are only about 48 hours to determine whether this bill can move forward next week." The main proponent of cryptocurrency legislation, Senator Cynthia Lummis (Republican from Wyoming), stated on Tuesday that her goal is to release an updated draft that she believes is "our best result so far" by the end of this week, and to review and amend the bill next week.She said at the Blockchain Association policy summit, "I think we are at a stage now where it is best to put forth a proposal, review and amend it next week, and then let everyone take a breather over the Christmas holiday."

According to Jinshi reports, White House National Economic Council Director Hassett stated that President Trump will finalize the next Federal Reserve Chair nominee within the next week or two. Hassett is a leading candidate for the next Federal Reserve Chair, and in an interview with Fox News, he pointed out that based on "stronger economic data," "it is certainly possible to cut rates by 50 basis points, or even more."

U.S. President Trump: I know who I want to be the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and I will announce it soon.

ChainCatcher news, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong posted on the X platform stating that despite the ongoing government shutdown in the United States, the momentum for clarifying the market structure bill is unprecedented. He has been in communication with Senate Democrats and Republicans who hope to complete this work, and the bill is 90% finalized, with all parties working to determine the final 10%, and they are close to the goal.Brian Armstrong added that Coinbase will advocate for clear rules to protect innovation in the DeFi space and the rights of users to earn rewards in stablecoins. He is optimistic that the bill can be passed by the end of the year and hopes it can be submitted for review before Thanksgiving.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the long-dormant Bitcoin Improvement Proposal OP_CHECKTEMPLATEVERIFY (referred to as CTV or BIP-119) is currently gaining attention, supported by well-known Bitcoin developers and companies. If ultimately approved, it will enhance Bitcoin's scalability, security, and usability, particularly by introducing features like "covenants" and "vaults."These features are expected to improve the user self-custody experience and give rise to safer and smarter second-layer applications, such as the Lightning Network and Ark.

ChainCatcher news, Lido protocol developer pshe.eth tweeted that the RFC draft of the Lido V3 white paper has been released. Lido contributors have been dedicated to a completely new architectural direction for the protocol, focusing on stVaults, which are isolated staking positions that can decouple Ethereum's staking methods (such as node operators, fees, risk preferences, Sidecar modules, etc.) from the liquidity layer. stVaults are expected to become highly composable foundational components that can serve as the core building blocks for creating strategies, protocols, and institutional staking products.pshe.eth stated that this draft currently covers a wide range of design aspects and is expected to be continuously optimized in the coming weeks, with the goal of finalizing the white paper before mid-summer this year.

ChainCatcher news, according to Finance Magnates, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has released the "Final Guidelines on the Regulation of Market Abuse in Crypto Assets," which will be fully implemented within three months after its publication as part of the MiCA regulatory framework.The guidelines require the regulatory authorities of the 27 EU member states to establish a unified market monitoring system, focusing on preventing three types of violations: insider trading, illegal information disclosure, and market manipulation, with a particular emphasis on strengthening the regulation of false information dissemination on social media, blogs, and other online platforms.The document mandates that Professional Trading Firms (PPAETs) must deploy automated monitoring tools and establish a tiered processing mechanism for Suspicious Transaction Reports (STORs).For cross-border regulation, ESMA explicitly requires national regulatory authorities to share regulatory cases involving non-EU crypto firms and to regularly report to ESMA on cross-border cooperation obstacles. It is noteworthy that the guideline development process did not include a public consultation.ESMA explains that, since Article 125 of the MiCA regulation has already provided clear authorization, and the guidelines are aimed solely at regulatory authorities rather than market participants. National regulatory authorities must submit a compliance commitment letter to ESMA within two months, and if they choose partial exemptions, they must specify the details.

ChainCatcher news, according to Globenewswire, the Trump Media Technology Group (DJT.O) has signed a binding agreement with the cryptocurrency trading platform Crypto.com and the asset management company Yorkville America Digital to launch a series of ETFs under the Truth.Fi brand.This agreement was reached following a non-binding agreement signed by the companies in March of this year. The law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP will provide consulting services to the parties regarding product development and launch. These ETFs will be offered through Crypto.com's brokerage subsidiary Foris Capital US LLC and are expected to include digital assets as well as securities from diversified industries, including energy, featuring "Made in America." Following regulatory approval, these funds are expected to launch later this year and will be widely available in international markets, including the U.S., Europe, and Asia, covering existing platforms and brokers.These ETFs are planned to be launched alongside a series of Truth.Fi separately managed accounts (SMA). TMTG plans to invest in these ETFs and SMAs using its own cash reserves, which is part of TMTG's financial services and fintech strategy, utilizing up to $250 million in funds, to be custodied by Charles Schwab.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the Argentine National Securities Commission (CNV) has finalized regulatory rules for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP).The new regulations cover registration obligations, cybersecurity, asset custody, anti-money laundering, and risk disclosure, requiring mandatory separation of company and client funds, annual audits, and monthly reports to the CNV. Starting in 2024, VASPs operating in Argentina must register with the Virtual Asset Service Provider Registry (PSAV), and violators may have their registration revoked.CNV Chairman Roberto E. Silva stated that institutions failing to comply with the regulations will not be able to operate in Argentina.

ChainCatcher news, Galaxy's Vice President of Research Christine Kim published a summary of the 151st Ethereum Core Developers Consensus (ACDC) call. During the meeting, developers discussed the client teams' readiness for the Pectra upgrade on the Holesky testnet and the follow-up work on PeerDAS Devnet 5. Developers also agreed to finalize EIP 7872, the maximum blob flag for local builders, and EIP 7870, hardware and bandwidth recommendations for validators and full nodes.

ChainCatcher news, Upbit's operator Dunamu responded to rumors about business suspension penalties. The company stated that the penalty decision by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has not been finalized and will be defended through subsequent procedures such as the sanctions review committee.Dunamu emphasized that even if the penalty takes effect, it will not affect the trading functions of existing and new users. The core content of the penalty is limited to restricting new users from transferring cryptocurrency assets outside the exchange within a specific period.