The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved orders allowing authorized participants to create and redeem shares of spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) exchange‑traded products (ETP) in kind.

According to a July 29 statement, the agency framed the move as aligning crypto funds with standard practice in commodity‑based ETPs. Additionally, it said the change should reduce costs and improve market efficiency.

Chairman Paul Atkins said in a statement:

“It’s a new day at the SEC, and a key priority of my chairmanship is developing a fit‑for‑purpose regulatory framework for crypto asset markets. Investors will benefit from these approvals, as they will make these products less costly and more efficient.” 

Jamie Selway, who leads the Division of Trading and Markets, called the decision “an important development” that adds flexibility for issuers and authorized participants.

The Commission also advanced a broader slate of measures by approving exchange applications to list a mixed spot Bitcoin‑and‑Ether ETP, options on certain spot Bitcoin ETPs, FLEX options on shares of some BTC‑based ETPs, and an increase in position limits up to the generic 250,000‑contract cap for listed options on certain BTC ETPs. 

In addition, the SEC issued scheduling orders seeking comment regarding delegated approvals for two large‑cap crypto‑based ETPs.

The move follows Cboe amendments to these products on July 22, deemed by ETF analysts as a positive sign.

What in‑kind means

Under the new orders, authorized participants (APs) can deliver or receive BTC or ETH when creating or redeeming ETF shares. APs are typically large trading firms and banks. 

For most investors, trading will look the same, as the shares will still change hands on exchanges and track net asset value closely. As a result, the shift is structural, allowing APs to move crypto directly rather than sourcing or unwinding large cash positions. 

This enables funds to lower frictions, tighten spreads, and manage baskets more efficiently, especially in volatile markets.

Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas wrote on X that the agency “just approved in‑kind creation/redemption for all spot bitcoin and ether ETFs,” adding that an “order granting accelerated approval” signals more decisions to come, potentially by early fall. 

James Seyffart predicted future altcoin ETFs would likely launch with in‑kind from the start, which he called “more movement in the right direction.”

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Trump Media and Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, revealed it has amassed roughly $2 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) and related digital assets, expanding on an investment strategy disclosed earlier this year.

The company’s July 21 filing comes days after the U.S. House of Representatives advanced a trio of crypto bills, including a stablecoin framework signed into law by President Donald Trump.

The media firm said it began acquiring Bitcoin using proceeds from $2.5 billion in recent fundraising, including $1.5 billion in equity sales and $1 billion in bond offerings.

The disclosure signals a more assertive approach by Trump-aligned businesses in capitalizing on favorable crypto policy momentum. The firm stated that it may continue purchasing Bitcoin and similar assets depending on broader market conditions.

The announcement followed what Republicans dubbed “crypto week” in Congress. While the new law establishes rules for U.S. dollar-pegged digital tokens, additional proposals covering crypto trading infrastructure and central bank-issued digital currencies await Senate review.

Bitcoin briefly traded above $123,000 earlier in the week before retreating to about $116,600 as of press time. The token’s recent rally has been accompanied by increased activity in digital assets tied to Trump’s personal brand.

World Liberty Financial, a stablecoin platform with connections to the Trump family, saw its governance token WLFI more than double in value over the past week following a vote enabling secondary market trading.

Trump issued the landmark executive order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, a federal stockpile of digital assets, in March.

While early analysis suggested the reserve might consist of crypto seized by law enforcement, recent statements from senior officials have hinted at broader approaches, including monetizing dormant government-held assets.

With legislative backing and market signals aligning, the media firm’s Bitcoin bet reflects a broader push from Trump-linked entities to position themselves at the forefront of the digital asset economy.

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Sujha Sundararajan

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Sujha Sundararajan

About Author

Sujha has been recognised as Women In Crypto 2024 by BeInCrypto for her leadership in crypto journalism.

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July 2, 2025

The European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council, on Tuesday, approved a two-track plan that will utilise central bank money for distributed ledger technology (DLT) transactions.

The first short-term track approach, dubbed “Pontes”, will connect DLT platforms with Eurosystem TARGET services, to be launched by 2026. The track will ensure the free flow of cash, securities and collateral across Europe.

Meanwhile, before the launch of the Pontes pilot in Q3 2026, the ECB will consider DLT-based trial and experiment requests.

Piero Cipollone, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, believes that although DLT and tokenization are relatively nascent, they “are likely to offer new ways of improving the settlement of financial transactions.”

“The decision is in line with the Eurosystem’s commitment to supporting innovation without compromising on safety and efficiency in financial market infrastructures,” the release read.

Long-Term ‘Global Level’ Approach

The ECB has laid out its long-term track plan, “Appia,” which will facilitate operations at the global level. The bank noted that this approach will analyse more DLT-based solutions and collaborate with public and private stakeholders.

“This will also include international operations, such as foreign exchange settlement, and engagement in international initiatives,” the ECB noted in a report outlining the results of the exploratory work.

The ECB is yet to define the precise approach to be followed in the long-term, it added. However, the central bank will focus on “improving the efficiency and competitiveness of current financial markets for securities and payments, without compromising on safety.”

ECB Aims to Finish Digital Euro Prep Phase by October

Cipollone said last year that the bank is looking to finish the preparation phase of the digital euro by October 2025.

However, lawmakers are hesitant to trust the central bank, raising doubts about whether a digital euro could debut. The ambiguity came after an outage that occurred with the TARGET 2 (T2) payment system early this year. Big transactions are held in the T2 payment platform.

The bank already conducted exploratory work on new techs like DLT between May and November 2024. During the trial, 64 participants conducted over 50 experiments.

Piero Cipollone added that Pontes and Appia approaches will be built on these technologies, given their recent developments and how they have sparked growing interest across the financial sector.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved $126,000,000 in refunds to be sent to 969,173 Fortnite players as part of a settlement over allegations that Epic Games tricked users into making unwanted purchases.

At the same time, the agency has reopened the claims portal for eligible Fortnite players to submit refund claims, which will be examined for the third round of refunds.

This latest development marks the second phase of the settlement the FTC reached with Epic Games in December 2022, in which the company agreed to pay $520 million to settle allegations of violating children’s privacy laws and using dark patterns to trick millions into making unintentional in-game purchases.

These so-called patterns included:

• Displaying confusing purchase prompts
• Promoting misleading offers
• Allowing underage account holders to make purchases without parental consent
• Charging players unintentionally by waking the game from sleep mode, during the loading screen, or while they attempted to preview an in-game items

These charges occurred without additional confirmation, and those attempting to dispute and reverse them had to go through a complex process that made it likely for them to give up prematurely.

In some cases, these users were blocked from accessing their very accounts before the payment was reversed.

The first round of refunds occurred in December 2024, during which $72,000,000 was distributed among 629,344 eligible Fortnite players.

The average reimbursement in the first round was $114, while in the second, the figure has been raised to $130.

As previously happened, consumers whose reimbursement claims have been approved will be given 90 days to cash their checks or 30 days if they opt to use PayPal as the redemption method.

A dedicated phone line and support email were also set up by Rust Consulting Inc., which handles the refund process.

If you have performed Fortnite purchases between January 2017 and September 2022 that fall into the category of ‘dark patterns’ as those were defined by the FTC, you are invited to submit a claim through this portal until July 9, 2025.

Claimants must be at least 18 years old to complete a claim form. However, parents or guardians can do it on their behalf.

More information about FTC refunds in general is available on this FAQ page.

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper is a British journalist and features writer who has worked at Cryptonews.com since 2018. He has written for media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He has also worked…

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June 7, 2025

The Japanese Senate, the House of Councilors, has approved a legal amendment that will give crypto brokerage firms more freedom to operate in the country.

Per the Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun, senators approved several revisions to the Payment Services Act on June 6.

Japanese Crypto Brokerages: Deregulation on The Way

The revised act contains several crypto-related clauses. But arguably the most significant of these pertains to brokerages.

Currently, brokerages need to apply to the regulatory Financial Services Agency (FSA) for operating permits. These permits are the same, highly restrictive, stringent licences required by crypto exchanges and wallet operators.

The new amendment, however, creates a new legal category in the crypto sector called “intermediary businesses.”

The regulatory barriers for this category will be much easier to overcome. And firms falling into this category will not have to adhere to the same level of regulatory compliance.

The FSA and the government approved the new measures in March this year, submitting the amendments to the National Diet the same month.

The bill passed the lower house without major opposition. Following its approval by the House of Councilors, the bill is now set to promulgate in June 2026.

Bill Will Create New Customer Safeguards, MPs Claim

Lawmakers said the amendment was a response to the rapid rise of digital finance. They also said the bill would help boost customer protection and promote innovation throughout the country.

Japanese media outlets claim that major businesses think the measures will significantly lower the barriers for gaming firms looking to move into the web3 and crypto spaces.

The bill also allows the Prime Minister’s office to order individual crypto exchange operators to hold a portion of their assets in Japan.

The exact amount may be specified by a Cabinet Order. This clause is a response to the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX in 2022.

At the time of its bankruptcy, FTX operated the FTX Japan subsidiary, which was unable to access its overseas funds. This left users unable to withdraw their coins from the FTX Japan platform after the collapse.

The new rules will also prevent overseas operators or subsidiaries from sending their funds overseas if they go bankrupt.

In bankruptcy cases, the government will instead have the power to force crypto operators to issue customer refunds via approved guarantor companies like trust banks.

Bitcoin has made a dramatic return to six-figure territory and reclaimed its $100k milestone for the first time since January 2025. On 8 May 2025, BTC surged 4.2% from an intraday low of $95,967. As optimism returns to the crypto landscape, Bitcoin’s recent push towards $100k can be credited to bullish macroeconomic signals, including a landmark US-UK trade agreement announced by US President Donald Trump. Importantly, US state Arizona approved a landmark crypto reserve law for state-managed Bitcoin fund.

Arizona officially enacted House Bill 2749 on Thursday, 8 May 2025. While Arizona is now committed to building a Bitcoin reserve, Texas is expected to follow closely.

Man isn’t winning sweet—-so many nay-sayers, just days ago, whining, criticizing like little bitches and days later, we have one clean decision by NH, then reversal from Arizona Gov, next is Texas who hasn’t done anything Big since Big Oil and Gas!

Is Texas coming into the… https://t.co/O4xoPwydAv

— Gary Cardone (@GaryCardone) May 8, 2025

Furthermore, despite pressure for cuts, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady. This gave a fair boost to Bitcoin, which has been showing strength for weeks now. Although the Fed didn’t cut rates, economists expect a rate drop in June 2025. Meanwhile Trump urged Jerome Powell and the FOMC to lower rates, citing cooling inflation and reduced need for high borrowing costs.

Notably, Bitcoin first breached the $100k mark in December of last year, alongside Trump’s victory. BTC went all the way up to $109k before its trajectory was interrupted by factors including Trump’s tariffs and the global trade war. 

Beyond immediate events, ongoing progress in the US and global crypto regulation and the emergence of strategic Bitcoin reserve initiatives are seen as supportive of long-term growth. Is $110k next for BTC?

“$BTC will NEVER hit $100K again” — some guy in 2022
Meanwhile in 2025:

When do YOU think Bitcoin breaks $100K again?
Drop your guess + reasoning
Let’s see who’s got the alpha#BTC #Crypto #Endless #meme pic.twitter.com/7sTATFaVfK

— Endless (@EndlessProtocol) May 8, 2025

However, while Bitcoin enjoys renewed dominance, the broader altcoin market has struggled to keep pace.

DISCOVER: Top 20 Crypto to Buy in May 2025

Trump’s Trade Deal With UK: Major Catalyst For Bitcoin?

On 8 May 2025, a Reuters report confirmed the US-UK trade deal, where Trump and the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a “breakthrough deal” on trade.

Cutting down the infamous Trump’s tariffs, the trade deal includes a 10% tariff on goods imported from the UK while Britain agreed to lower its tariffs to 1.8% from 5.1% and provide greater access to US goods.

“It opens up a tremendous market for us,” Trump said. Meanwhile, commenting on the trade deal Starmer said, “This is a really fantastic, historic day.”

Bitcoin Breaches $100K As US-UK Sign Trade Deal And Arizona Approves Crypto Reserve Law