Robinhood faces EU scrutiny as Trump extends reprieve from reciprocal tariffs

Headline

▌Robinhood tokenized stocks face EU scrutiny, Lithuanian central bank asks for clarification

After OpenAI issued a warning, Robinhood stock tokens faced EU scrutiny. The Central Bank of Lithuania said that it had contacted Robinhood and was waiting for clarification on the structure of its OpenAI and SpaceX stock tokens. Robinhood has not yet commented on this. Giedrius Šniukas, a spokesman for the Bank of Lithuania, said that the legality and compliance of these specific instruments can only be evaluated after receiving and evaluating this information, and the information provided to investors must be clear, fair and not misleading.

▌Trump officially extends the suspension period of "reciprocal tariffs" to August 1

On the 7th local time, US President Trump signed an executive order to extend the suspension period of the so-called "reciprocal tariffs", postponing the implementation time from July 9 to August 1. Trump announced the imposition of so-called "reciprocal tariffs" on April 2, triggering a sharp drop in US financial markets. Under pressure from multiple parties, Trump announced on April 9 that he would suspend the imposition of high "reciprocal tariffs" on some trading partners for 90 days, but maintain the 10% "base tariff".

Market

As of press time, according to CoinGecko data:

BTC price is $108,198, up or down -0.8% in 24 hours;

ETH price is $2,541.47, up or down -0.9% in 24 hours;

BNB price is $660.87, up or down -0.3% in 24 hours;

SOL price is 148.59 US dollars, 24 hours up and down -2.0%;

DOGE price is 0.1675 US dollars, 24 hours up and down -2.4%;

XRP price is 2.28 US dollars, 24 hours up and down +0.4%.

TRX price is 0.2866 US dollars, 24 hours up and down -0.2%.

Policy

▌Trump Administration Digital Asset Task Force to Submit First Major Cryptocurrency Policy Report on July 22

The Trump Administration Digital Asset Task Force is gearing up to submit its first major cryptocurrency policy report by July 22. The report is the result of months of collaboration between task force leaders David Sacks and Bo Hines and senior officials from the Treasury, Commerce, SEC, CFTC and other departments to implement President Trump's January executive order to strengthen the United States' leadership in the cryptocurrency sector. The report is expected to include regulatory and legislative recommendations, but the specifics are not yet clear. The task force was originally scheduled to develop a federal digital asset framework covering stablecoins (Congress has already initiated the relevant process) and explore whether to establish a national digital asset reserve (Trump established it in March). Although the details of the report have not yet been disclosed, industry insiders speculate that it may include: a strategic Bitcoin reserve funding plan that does not increase the burden on taxpayers, and suggestions to ensure that crypto companies have fair access to banking services from institutions such as the Federal Reserve - the Federal Reserve has historically refused to allow crypto companies to directly access its payment system.

▌Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission holds the second digital asset consultation group meeting

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) held the second digital asset consultation group meeting. This meeting with licensed virtual asset trading platforms covered a wide range of issues related to market and regulatory developments in the digital asset field in Hong Kong, especially the relevant measures of Pillar A (Access) and Pillar P (Products) in the SFC's ASPIRe roadmap, including the proposed introduction of a regulatory regime for virtual asset trading services and custody service providers, as well as measures for market participation and product supply.

Blockchain Applications

▌Vitalik Buterin: Although I have always supported permissive licenses, I am now more concerned about Copyleft

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin wrote an article titled "Why I used to prefer permissive licenses and now favor copyleft", in which he pointed out that he has always supported permissive licenses and hopes to maximize the adoption and dissemination of works, and publishing with permissive licenses will help achieve this, because permissive licenses clearly state that if anyone wants to develop based on my work, there is no need to worry about any problems. In addition, from a philosophical point of view, I don’t like copyright, but appreciate the copyright left-wing concept of "using copyright against itself". However, this idea has changed now, and I have begun to pay more attention to Copyleft, because open source has become mainstream, and it is more feasible to push companies to open source. Companies such as Google, Microsoft and Huawei are embracing open source. Secondly, the competition in the field of cryptocurrency is becoming more and more fierce, and profit is the only thing.

▌Guojin Securities: Guojin Securities (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. is preparing to apply for virtual asset-related trading licenses

Guojin Securities said on the interactive platform on July 7 that Guojin Securities (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the company, is preparing to apply for virtual asset-related trading licenses, and has had multiple contacts with relevant institutions with rich experience in the international and Hong Kong regions on this matter. The specific application matters will be actively promoted in the future. Guojin Securities (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. holds business licenses issued by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, including: No. 1: Securities Trading; No. 2: Futures Contract Trading; No. 4: Providing Opinions on Securities; No. 6: Providing Opinions on Institutional Financing; No. 9: Providing Asset Management. The company will continue to increase its active expansion of overseas business, and by leveraging the advantages of its Hong Kong subsidiary with a complete range of licenses No. 1, 2, 4, 6, and 9, it has achieved efficient business collaboration and provided the company's overseas customers with relatively complete financing and investment services. The above-mentioned application for virtual asset-related trading licenses still needs to be approved by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission.

▌TON Foundation announces recruitment of vice president of marketing, previously controversial due to UAE "golden visa"

Due to the controversy caused by the launch of the 10-year UAE "golden visa" plan for TON pledgers, the TON Foundation announced the recruitment of a vice president of marketing, responsible for formulating global promotion strategies to attract new users. Previously, the plan required investors to pledge $100,000 TON for three years and pay a $35,000 handling fee. It was originally claimed that visas and pledge income could be obtained, but the UAE government clarified that it had not authorized or cooperated.

▌US Court of Appeals dismissed Coin Center's appeal against the Treasury Department's sanctions on Tornado Cash

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit dismissed Coin Center's appeal against the Treasury Department's sanctions on Tornado Cash, ending the legal dispute between the two parties. Previously, the Treasury Department included multiple Tornado Cash wallet addresses on the sanctions list, triggering Coin Center's accusation that it exceeded its authority.

▌CoreWeave: will acquire Core Scientific in an all-stock transaction

CoreWeave: will acquire digital infrastructure company Core Scientific in an all-stock transaction. The transaction is valued at $20.40 per share. The agreed exchange ratio means the company is valued at approximately $9 billion.

Cryptocurrency

▌The U.S. SEC urges issuers to revise and resubmit spot Solana ETF applications by the end of July

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is urging issuers to revise and resubmit spot Solana ETF applications by the end of July, suggesting that approval will be faster than expected. Previously, the REX-Osprey SOL and Staking ETFs were automatically approved and began trading last week under different regulatory rules, which means that the spot Solana ETF will join the ranks of Bitcoin and Ethereum as the only approved spot cryptocurrency funds in the United States, while applications for XRP, Dogecoin and Litecoin are still pending.

▌Strategy Announces $4.2 Billion STRD Preferred Stock Issuance Plan

Strategy announced on July 7 that it had signed a sales agreement to issue 10.00% Series A Perpetual Stride Preferred Stock (STRD Stock) with a total value of up to $4.2 billion. The company plans to sell these shares in an orderly manner based on market trading prices and trading volumes over a longer period of time. Strategy said it would use the proceeds primarily for Bitcoin acquisitions, operating funds, and dividend payments to existing preferred stock holders. The company has made Bitcoin its primary reserve asset while continuing to provide AI-driven enterprise analytics software business.

▌The U.S. SEC confirms receipt of the spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF applications submitted by Truth Social

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has confirmed receipt of the spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF applications submitted by Truth Social.

▌The U.S. SEC postpones approval of Fidelity's spot Solana ETF

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed approval of Fidelity's spot Solana ETF.

▌Bit Digital converts BTC to ETH, holding more than 100,000 ETH

Cryptocurrency company Bit Digital has accumulated 100,603 ETH and plans to actively increase its holdings. Bit Digital has converted 280 BTC it holds into ETH and raised an additional approximately $172 million to purchase ETH.

▌Real estate company Murano signs $500 million equity agreement to build Bitcoin reserves

Nasdaq-listed Murano Global Investments announced that it will invest in Bitcoin through an equity purchase agreement of up to $500 million and explore the introduction of BTC into its hotel payment and membership reward system. The company has purchased 21 BTC as reserves and joined the "Bitcoin for Corporations" industry alliance initiated by Michael Saylor. Murano Chairman said Bitcoin can bring long-term growth potential and resist inflation and systemic risks.

Important Economic Dynamics

▌Fed Chairman Hot Candidate Warsh: Interest Rates Should Be Cut to Lower Levels

Fed Chairman Hot Candidate and Former Fed Governor Warsh: The Fed's Practice of Keeping Monetary Policy Rates Unchanged Has Frustrated the US President, and I Deeply Sympathize with This. Interest rates should be cut to lower levels. Trump's tariffs will not cause inflation.

▌Goldman Sachs: The Fed May Cut Interest Rates in September

Goldman Sachs: The Fed May Cut Interest Rates in September. Due to the weakening impact of tariffs and the decline in inflation, the Fed may cut interest rates ahead of schedule. The Fed's terminal interest rate range is expected to be 3.00-3.25%, compared with the previous expectation of 3.50%-3.75%.

▌Federal Reserve Research Report Warns: Economic Outlook Unclear or Zero Interest Rate Risk Reappears

The latest research report jointly released by the New York Fed and the San Francisco Fed pointed out that although the current short-term borrowing costs are relatively high, the possibility of the Fed's short-term interest rate target approaching zero again in the next few years still exists. The report, co-authored by New York Fed President Williams, shows that the medium- and long-term risks of the Fed's interest rate target returning to an ultra-low level "are currently at the lower end of the observation range over the past fifteen years." However, researchers added that due to the recent increase in uncertainty, the possibility of returning to near-zero interest rates in the medium to long term "remains significant."

Golden Encyclopedia

▌How does the trade war affect the stock and crypto markets?

Tariffs have increased the cost of imported goods and squeezed the profit margins of companies that rely on international supply chains. When an automaker or electronics brand has to pay higher costs for parts, those costs can either eat into profits or be passed on to consumers. In either case, that's bad news for earnings, which is what determines stock valuations. There's also the fear factor. The trade war has injected a huge amount of uncertainty into the economy. Will more tariffs be imposed next? Will other countries retaliate? This unpredictability can cause companies to delay investments and hiring, while consumers may start spending less. This manifests itself as increased market volatility. The tariffs also hit cryptocurrencies, but the market recovered after a few days, reflecting the volatile and responsive nature of cryptocurrencies during times of global uncertainty. When uncertainty rises — such as a sudden escalation in global trade tensions — investors tend to play it safe. That means investors pull out of more volatile assets, including cryptocurrencies, and move into assets that are seen as safer, such as cash or bonds. It's a classic "risk-off" strategy. But cryptocurrencies won't stay down for long. For many investors, despite their volatility, cryptocurrencies are also increasingly seen as a valuable hedge that isn't affected by any government or policy decisions.