MetaMask, one of the major cryptocurrency wallets, has rolled out MetaMask Agent Wallet, a non-custodial wallet that enables AI agents to autonomously execute DeFi activities such as swaps, perpetuals trading, prediction markets, and liquidity provisioning.

 

 

According to the MetaMask team, the new wallet is designed for crypto native traders, automators, and builders who already understand on-chain workflows and want these tasks executed by agents. Because the wallet supports multiple agentic platforms, users are not required to adopt a single framework. Compatible platforms include OpenClaw, OpenAI Codex, Claude Code, Nous Research Hermes Agent, and Cursor.

 

"The next great expansion of the on-chain economy will not be driven by humans alone. Machine intelligences will increasingly transact, coordinate, and verify one another on crypto rails because crypto protocols are uniquely well designed for autonomous actors," Consensys co-founder Joseph Lubin said in a statement.

 

"Agents will manage real capital and make real financial decisions, and the infrastructure underneath has to be worthy of that. MetaMask Agent Wallet is the first agent wallet built with comprehensive full-stack security for that world, one where agents act with autonomy, security is mandatory, and the person behind the agent stays in control."

 

To maintain a high level of wallet security, MetaMask has implemented several security mechanisms, including a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) that protects users' private keys.

 

The MetaMask team has also implemented Transaction Simulation, which allows users to preview the outcome of a transaction before it is sent on chain; Transaction Shield Threat Scanning, powered by Blockaid, which detects potential threats before execution; Smart Transactions MEV Protection, which scans transactions for potential Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) exploitation; and Transaction Protection Coverage, which provides coverage of up to $10,000 per month. These mechanisms are designed to ensure that AI agents operate within defined security constraints while maintaining a degree of autonomy.

 

The MetaMask Agent Wallet will initially be available to a limited group of traders and developers through an early access program. The program will provide access to two operating modes: Guard Mode, the default with stricter controls, and Beast Mode, with fewer restrictions.

 

The launch of the new self-custodial wallet comes shortly after MetaMask co-founder Dan Finlay announced his departure from the company, citing a desire to spend more time with his family. Consensys, MetaMask's parent company, also recently partnered with SG FORGE, a subsidiary of French banking group Société Générale, to integrate the USDCV stablecoin into the MetaMask wallet.

 

 

Mastercard is expanding its stablecoin settlement capabilities to support intraday, weekend, and holiday settlements using both fiat currencies and on-chain card settlements.

 

 

According to Mastercard, the expansion is aimed at providing users across the company's global payments network with greater flexibility, allowing them to better manage liquidity and gain greater control over how their money moves. The expansion is also expected to facilitate transactions that depend on timing and transparency, including cross-border payments, treasury operations, and payouts.

 

"The next phase of stablecoin adoption is about real-world utility, especially in settlement, where timing and liquidity matter most," said Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president of Blockchain & Digital Assets at Mastercard.

 

"By introducing intraday and weekend settlement options across our global network, we're expanding how partners manage liquidity and operate in an always-on digital economy while maintaining the trust, resilience, and safeguards they expect from Mastercard."

 

With this expansion, Mastercard will support additional stablecoins, including Paxos's PYUSD, USDG, and USDP; Ripple's RLUSD; and SoFi's SoFiUSD, in addition to Circle's USDC, which it already supports. These stablecoins will be supported across multiple blockchain networks, including Arbitrum, Base, Canton, Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, Tempo, and XRPL.

 

ARQ (formerly known as DolarApp), CBW Bank, Cross River, Lead Bank, and Nuvei will be among the first companies in the United States and Latin America to support Mastercard's stablecoin settlement options, with further expansion expected throughout the year.

 

Mastercard's addition of more settlement options comes shortly after the payments giant acquired BVNK, a leading stablecoin infrastructure company, in March. The acquisition is part of Mastercard's broader strategy to connect on-chain payment rails with traditional fiat rails.

 

Mastercard is currently one of the world's largest payment processing networks, with more than 150 million merchant locations across 210 countries and territories. The company processed approximately $10.6 trillion in gross dollar volume (GDV) and reported net revenue of about $8.4 billion in the first quarter of this year.

 

 

Solayer, a hardware-accelerated Layer 1 blockchain and Solana’s first restaking platform, has launched the mainnet of Margin Trade, its new on-chain perpetual trading platform

 

Margin Trade is a Solana native, on-chain perpetuals trading platform that aims to bridge crypto native on chain trading with traditional finance (TradFi) instruments in a unified environment, making it possible for users to trade different asset classes, including cryptocurrencies, commodities such as silver and gold, and synthetic equity indices, all in one place.

 

By leveraging Solayer’s low-latency InfiniSVM infrastructure, Margin Trade delivers high-performance on-chain trading, enabling traders to benefit from real-time trade execution, high throughput, low fees, full transparency, and self-custody of their assets.

 

“Most perpetual futures trading infrastructure today remains siloed across separate markets and fragmented collateral account structures,” said Joshua Sum, Solayer’s Chief Product Officer.

 

“Margin Trade is designed to bring capital efficiency, real-time execution, and multi-asset exposure into a unified environment that feels closer to the vision of truly global financial markets than traditional trading platforms.”

 

Margin Trade is being developed by a team of professionals, including former traders from leading financial institutions and crypto exchanges such as Citadel and Kraken. The platform combines the speed and efficiency of centralized exchanges with the transparency, permissionless nature, and self-custody principles of decentralized finance (DeFi).

 

About Solayer 

Solayer, also known as Solayer Labs, is a blockchain infrastructure company building a next-generation execution layer for real-time financial applications. Its goal is to create on-chain infrastructure that matches or exceeds the speed and performance of traditional financial systems.

 

Since its launch in 2023, the Solayer team has raised $12 million in funding. The company has also launched InfiniSVM, a hardware-accelerated Layer 1 blockchain built on the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM). According to the company, the network is capable of achieving up to 1,000,000 transactions per second and throughput exceeding 100 Gbps.

 

Margie Feng, Solayer’s Head of Marketing, is also scheduled to speak at the upcoming Rare Evo 2026 conference, which will be held from July 28 to July 31 this year.

 

 

Binance is winding down its centralized non-fungible token (NFT) platform and has instructed users to move their NFT assets before July 3, 2026.

 

Although the shutdown was framed as an "upgrade" by the exchange, users have been urged to transfer their NFT assets from the Binance NFT marketplace to the Binance Wallet, which the exchange says will now support NFT custody.

 

 

Users holding transferable NFT assets have been given one month's notice, until July 3, 2026, to move their NFTs to either their Binance Wallet or any other compatible wallet of their choice, or risk losing access to any NFTs that remain unwithdrawn.

 

As for users holding non-transferable NFTs, those assets will neither be withdrawable nor transferable because they were originally coded to prevent withdrawal and transfer. However, Binance said through Binance Academy that it will issue PDF certificates to users who have completed courses on the Binance Academy platform.

 

To facilitate the prompt withdrawal of NFTs from its marketplace, Binance said it will reimburse 1 USDC to up to 100,000 users withdrawing general NFTs from the platform. The 1 USDC reimbursement represents the estimated cost of withdrawing a single NFT. For users holding CR7-themed NFTs, Binance said it will refund the full withdrawal fees.

 

Declining NFT Market

The NFT market has experienced a dramatic decline in recent years, falling sharply from its 2021 and 2022 peaks. At its height, the market was valued at an estimated $17 billion to $24 billion, with monthly trading volume surpassing $4 billion.

 

However, market conditions have changed significantly, and the sector has fallen to historic lows. The global NFT market is currently valued at approximately $1.5 billion, representing a decline of more than 90% from its 2022 peak. Monthly trading volume has also dropped substantially and now ranges between roughly $400 million and $720 million, well below the peak level of more than $4 billion recorded in 2022.

 

Several NFT platforms, including Magic Eden, X2Y2, Zora, and Nifty Gateway, have either scaled back parts of their operations, significantly reduced their activity, or shifted their focus away from the NFT market, citing the sector's prolonged downturn.

 

Radiant Capital, a decentralized omnichain money market protocol built on LayerZero, has announced plans to shut down after failing to recover from an exploit it suffered more than a year ago.

 

The decision to cease operations stems from the protocol's inability to recover from losses of more than $50 million due to a security exploit in 2024. According to the team, the DAO no longer has a viable path forward, as there has been no meaningful recovery of funds and no new capital raised since the incident.

 

"Over the past months, contributors and the community continued to operate under increasingly difficult conditions, working to support users, maintain the protocol, and pursue recovery. That effort was real. And it was consistent. But effort alone is not enough without recovery, capital, or growth," the team wrote in a post on X.

 

Although the decision to wind down operations has already been made, the Radiant team said the shutdown will not happen immediately. The protocol's front end will remain live, smart contracts will remain accessible on chain, and users will continue to be able to withdraw funds, repay loans, and manage their positions.

 

The protocol will transition into maintenance mode, with no further development, upgrades, or expansion planned. Borrow caps will be set to zero, and RDNT token emissions will be discontinued.

 

Despite its decision to wind down, the Radiant team said it will continue efforts to recover the stolen funds. To support this process, the protocol's remediation portal will remain active to ensure that any recovered funds are returned to affected users.

 

The Radiant Capital Exploit

On October 16, 2024, Radiant Capital was hit by a sophisticated social engineering and malware attack. The attackers, reportedly linked to North Korean threat actors, deployed the malware via a fake Telegram message impersonating a former Radiant team member.

 

When members of the Radiant engineering team attempted to sign what appeared to be legitimate transactions in the protocol's Gnosis Safe wallet, the malware intercepted the requests and replaced them with malicious transactions in the background.

 

After gaining control of the protocol's 3-of-11 multisignature wallet, the attackers upgraded the pool provider contract and drained roughly $53 million from the protocol's lending pools on Arbitrum and BNB Chain. The exploit triggered a sharp decline in the protocol's total value locked (TVL), which fell from more than $300 million before the attack to approximately $75 million afterward.

 

 

Robinhood Markets, Inc. has completed the acquisition of WonderFi, a formerly publicly traded Canadian fintech company focused on cryptocurrency and digital assets.

 

The acquisition, valued at $180 million, now allows Robinhood to fully enter the Canadian crypto market, with WonderFi subsidiaries Bitbuy, a crypto trading platform, and Coinsquare, a regulated crypto exchange, becoming part of the Robinhood brand.

 

“WonderFi has extensive experience operating regulated crypto platforms that serve beginner and advanced crypto users alike, making it an ideal partner to accelerate Robinhood’s mission in Canada,” said Johann Kerbrat, SVP and General Manager of Robinhood Crypto & International.

 

“We’re pleased to have closed our acquisition and look forward to delivering innovative, user-centric investing products to Canadian customers,” he added.

 

With this acquisition, WonderFi employees will join more than 240 Robinhood employees based in Canada, collectively serving more than 1 million Robinhood customers internationally and 300,000 existing WonderFi customers.

 

About Robinhood 

Robinhood Markets, Inc. is a Nasdaq-listed American financial technology company with a presence in the United Kingdom, the European Union (EU), and now Canada.

 

Established in February 2018, Robinhood operates a dual trading platform across mobile and web that is designed to make access to different asset classes easier, particularly for newer investors. Its mission is simple: to democratize finance for all.

 

Since its launch, Robinhood has achieved several milestones, including pioneering commission-free trading in the United States, a move that prompted many brokerage firms to eliminate commission fees. Over the years, Robinhood has also completed a number of acquisitions, including X1, a financial technology company; TradePMR; Bitstamp, a cryptocurrency exchange; and Pluto Capital.

 

Like Robinhood, several other companies have completed acquisitions this year to expand into new areas of finance and cryptocurrency. Bullish, a cryptocurrency exchange, recently acquired Equiniti for approximately $4.2 billion as part of its effort to enter the tokenized securities sector. Other companies, including Mastercard, Polygon Labs, and OKX, have also pursued strategic acquisitions to expand their market presence.

 

 

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has launched access to more than 7,000 U.S. stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for traders outside the United States.

 

The launch, announced on Monday, will give non-U.S. traders access to a range of U.S.-listed stocks, including major companies such as Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia, all within the Binance app.

 

 

To make investing more accessible, Binance has enabled users to purchase fractional shares with as little as $5. Traders will also be able to buy and sell U.S. stocks and ETFs with zero commissions, subject to a minimum platform fee of $0.35 per order or 10 basis points on orders above $350.

 

According to Binance, stock trading on the platform will be available 24 hours a day, five days a week. Because the service is integrated into the Binance app, users will no longer need to switch between platforms to manage different asset classes. Both stock and cryptocurrency holdings will be accessible through a single account.

 

The launch of U.S. stocks and ETFs for non-U.S. traders marks a significant step in Binance's effort to become a multi-asset financial super app.

 

"We have set out to reach the next 3 billion users, and to do that, we need to make it simpler for users to access opportunities across asset classes, diversify their portfolios, and move more easily between traditional investing and on-chain finance," said Yi He, a co-founder of Binance. "That is what a multi-asset financial super app should help people do," she added.

 

As part of the rollout, Binance said it will soon launch bStocks, tokenized securities that represent selected U.S. stocks and ETFs. Users will be able to convert their bStocks holdings into on-chain assets. The launch is expected in the coming weeks, with Binance saying additional details will be released at a later date.

 

The launch follows Binance's recent introduction of a wallet-lockdown feature designed to help prevent wrench attacks. Meanwhile, Steve Gregory, chief executive officer of Binance.US, is scheduled to speak at the upcoming Rare Evo 2026, which will take place from July 28 to July 31, 2026.

 

 

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster has signed a new pro-crypto bill into law that establishes a comprehensive regulatory framework for the use of cryptocurrencies.

 

The bill, known as Senate Bill S.163, was passed this week and creates a crypto-friendly environment for crypto use. According to the new law, individuals and businesses are no longer prohibited from accepting digital assets as payment or from using self-hosted or hardware wallets to store their crypto holdings.

 

By passing this pro-crypto law, the South Carolina government enhances the real-world utility of cryptocurrencies, especially in payment finance, and removes regulatory uncertainty associated with their use in commercial activities.

 

Since the newly enacted law exempts cryptocurrencies used for payment from any additional tax or government-imposed charges, it prevents merchants and businesses from discriminating against crypto transactions or against converting crypto into a tax-disadvantaged payment method. The result is that crypto moves further into the mainstream and its adoption increases.

 

The Anti-CBDC Portion of the Bill

Another important aspect of the newly enacted law is the anti-CBDC provision, which rejects the use of a government-controlled digital asset.

 

Under the new legislation, no state-level government parastatal, including agencies, boards, commissions, and departments, may accept or require payments in central bank digital currency (CBDC). The law also prevents these state-level entities from participating in any “digital asset” test conducted by the Federal Reserve.

 

The law also strongly supports crypto mining, prohibiting local governments from restricting mining in industrial zones or imposing any additional limits on mining companies beyond general noise pollution regulations.

 

South Carolina Becomes Latest Crypto-Friendly State

With these pro-crypto bills passed, South Carolina has joined other crypto-friendly states, such as Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Louisiana, and Arizona, that have enacted similar laws.

 

In March of last year, Kentucky passed a pro-crypto bill, HB 701, into law. Just like South Carolina's new laws, the law allowed users to hold and use digital assets in self-hosted wallets or hardware wallets. The law also exempted digital asset mining companies from the requirement to obtain a money transmitter license or comply with securities regulations before operating in the state.

 

 

Minnesota has enacted a law that allows banks and credit unions in the state to offer cryptocurrency custody services, with the law expected to take effect on Aug. 1, 2026.

 

The bill, HF 3709, was signed into law on Friday by Minnesota state governor Tim Walz, with the state legislature’s website stating that cryptocurrency custody services may now be offered and performed in the state.

 

While this is a significant milestone for crypto adoption in the state, the law also requires banks and credit unions interested in offering crypto custody services to submit a written notice detailing their risk management frameworks to the Minnesota Commissioner of Commerce at least 60 days before commencing such services.

 

The Minnesota Commissioner of Commerce will serve as the primary regulator, overseeing crypto custody services offered by banks and credit unions in the state.

 

Banks and credit unions interested in offering crypto custody services are also required to maintain a comprehensive written policy covering their internal controls, security, risk management, and compliance frameworks, while also segregating their clients’ assets from institutionally owned assets.

 

According to Representative Bernie Perryman, one of the primary sponsors of HF 3709, the legislation aims to establish a trustworthy framework that enables financial institutions to work with and safeguard Minnesotans' crypto assets, especially as crypto becomes more mainstream.

 

“House File 3709 is about ensuring that Minnesota-based financial institutions are allowed to evolve alongside their customers and members rather than forcing Minnesotans to rely on unregulated, out-of-state or offshore providers for services that are already in use today,” Perryman said in a March press release.

 

The passage of HF 3709 comes just a few weeks after the Minnesota governor banned the use and ownership of crypto kiosks and ATMs across the state, citing their growing use in fraud.

 

With the passage of this bill, Minnesota now joins Wyoming, New York, and Virginia, which have passed similar bills that allow banks and credit unions to offer crypto custody services.

 

 

Lawmakers in the lower house of the Polish parliament, the Sejm, have passed a bill implementing the European Union Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA), amid a probe into the collapse of Zondacrypto, the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

 

The passage of the bill marks a third attempt after the president vetoed earlier versions proposed by lawmakers. Following the latest parliamentary approval, the bill now awaits the president’s decision before it can become law.

 

The Polish government has until July 1, 2026, the end of the transitional period, to implement the MiCA framework. If the deadline is missed, virtual asset service providers risk having their licenses expire. Without valid authorization, crypto firms in Poland would no longer be permitted to provide crypto asset services to clients in Poland or across the European Union.

 

As a result, affected companies may be forced to shut down their operations in Poland or relocate to another EU member state in order to obtain a crypto asset service provider license, which is generally more costly and time-consuming. This requirement applies primarily to domestic crypto entities, while foreign crypto companies operating in Poland are expected to remain unaffected by this policy.

 

Zondacrypto Collapse

The passage of the bill adopting MiCA comes as Polish prosecutors have launched an investigation into the collapse of Zondacrypto, the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

 

Zondacrypto has halted withdrawals for thousands of users since December 2025, leaving many unable to access their funds. According to Polish authorities, about 30,000 users have been affected, with estimated losses exceeding 350 million zlotys ($95.93 million).

 

Amid Zondacrypto’s financial struggles and its admission that it lost access to a cold wallet holding about 4,500 BTC, allegedly linked to its former CEO, who has been missing since 2022, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has alleged that the exchange’s collapse is linked to fraud and its existing ties with Russian mafia groups.

 

According to Tusk, Zondacrypto’s success comes from “Russian money linked to the so-called Bratva Mafia group and Russian intelligence agencies.” Describing its roots as sinister, Tusk accused Zondacrypto of sponsoring right-wing opposition politicians. By advancing the bill supporting MiCA, Tusk aims to reduce the ease with which cryptocurrencies are used to finance sabotage activities in the country.

 

 

THORChain, the decentralized cross-chain liquidity protocol that enables asset swaps between blockchains, has paused trading on its platform following reports by security researchers, including ZachXBT and PeckShield, that the platform was exploited for more than $10 million.

 

 

Following alerts from security researchers, THORChain halted all trading activities, citing abnormal and suspicious behavior it had detected. According to the team, one of its six Asgard vaults was compromised, resulting in a loss of approximately $10 million.

 

However, the team said in a post on X that user funds were safe and that only protocol-owned funds were affected.

 

 

“Investigation is still ongoing to determine the root cause. Contributors are actively working on the issue and we will report updates as we progress toward a solution,” the team said.

 

“We are asking all node operators to immediately review their infrastructure, hosts, key management systems, and operational security for any signs of compromise or abnormal behavior, and to report anything suspicious in Discord.”

 

Following the team's confirmation of the exploit, RUNE, the native crypto asset of THORChain, fell by nearly 15%, wiping out more than $27 million in market capitalization. Its market capitalization dropped to around $182 million. At the time of writing, RUNE was trading at $0.50, down 13.8% from its pre-hack price of $0.58.

 

Latest of Several Attacks

This is not the first time THORChain has been exploited by attackers. In 2021, it suffered three separate exploits, resulting in losses of over $16 million.

 

In the first exploit, it lost approximately $350,000 due to a vulnerability in the way the protocol handled ERC-20 deposits. In the second exploit, which occurred just one month after the first, THORChain suffered losses of between $4.9 million and $8 million. In the third exploit, the protocol lost about $8 million due to a refund logic vulnerability.

 

The THORChain exploits are among the latest and largest of the 11 decentralized finance exploits recorded this month. Exploits in decentralized finance remain widespread, with the previous quarter recording more incidents than the first quarter of 2025.

 

 

Charles Schwab, the United States based brokerage and banking firm, has launched Schwab Crypto, a spot crypto trading platform that provides direct access to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) trading, along with educational content and support from experienced professionals for users.

 

 

“We know our clients want to conduct more of their financial lives at Schwab. With Schwab Crypto, clients who want direct access to the asset class can trade it alongside their other investments, while benefiting from the service, education, and research they expect from us,” said Jonathan Craig, Head of Retail Investing at Charles Schwab.

 

The spot trading platform will provide direct trading in BTC and ETH, with more cryptocurrencies to be added in the future as the platform expands. Traders will also be able to view and trade both crypto and non crypto products across all of Schwab’s platforms, including its website, Schwab Mobile, its mobile app, and thinkorswim, its advanced trading platform, with 24/7 professional support available to traders.

 

Through Schwab Coaching, its educational program, Charles Schwab will provide in depth digital assets education and resources, including insights and commentary from the Schwab Center for Financial Research and crypto focused content, all aimed at helping investors understand the digital assets market and how digital assets fit into a broader investing strategy.

 

How Schwab Crypto Works 

Through Charles Schwab Premier Bank (CSPB), Schwab clients will be given a separate crypto account for the purpose of trading on Schwab Crypto, the retail trading platform. However, this account will remain linked to the clients main brokerage accounts, with CSPB serving as the primary custodian of all client digital assets.

 

Paxos, a leading blockchain infrastructure company regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, will be responsible for handling all trade execution and subcustody services.

 

Regarding Paxos’s role, Joe Vietri, Managing Director and Head of Digital Assets at Charles Schwab, said, “Paxos is a strong partner for blockchain infrastructure. Their regulatory standing and digital asset expertise will help us deliver the seamless, integrated experience our clients expect from Schwab.”