[News Brief] Jul 12, morning | U.S. Senate Republicans push for floor debate on the CLARITY Act on July 20

Leveraged long liquidations concentrated in the $49,000-$56,000 BTC range

According to Odaily, analyst Killer said on X that liquidations of 3x, 5x, and 10x leveraged BTC long positions are currently concentrated in the $49,000-$56,000 range.

He added that if a final capitulation-style plunge occurs within the next one to two months, a move into that range could serve as a signal of bottom formation.

U.S. Senate Republicans push for floor debate on the CLARITY Act on July 20

Odaily reported that Republican leadership in the U.S. Senate is pushing to bring the CLARITY Act, a digital asset regulatory bill, to the Senate floor on July 20.

According to the report, the two parties have not yet reached agreement on key issues including ethics rules for government officials and measures to combat illicit finance. Observers say that if the bill does not make progress before the August recess, the legislative calendar ahead of the midterm elections could become effectively too tight.

The CLARITY Act is designed to establish a regulatory framework for the digital asset industry. Republican leadership is aiming for floor consideration, but at least seven Democratic senators are needed to support passage.

BTC falls below $64,000

BTC dropped below $64,000.

According to OKX market data, BTC was trading at $63,970.90, down 0.11% on the day.

Coinbase Bitcoin premium index remains negative for 55 consecutive days

Odaily reported that the Coinbase Bitcoin premium index has remained in negative territory for 55 consecutive days since May 19. The latest reading was -0.0072%.

The index had previously stayed negative for 40 consecutive days from Jan. 16 to Feb. 24. The current streak is the longest since the indicator was launched and exceeds the roughly 30-day negative streak seen during the "1011 crash."

Grayscale names ETH, SOL, BNB Chain, AVAX, and Canton as beneficiaries of stock tokenization

According to Odaily, Grayscale said in a July 9 report that stock tokenization will develop in three stages and that Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, Avalanche, and the Canton Network are likely to benefit from changes in ownership structure.

Grayscale explained that more than 70% of the current market capitalization of tokenized stocks uses a third-party wrapped token model. Under this structure, traditional shares are placed into a special purpose vehicle, and investors receive tokens representing rights to that vehicle rather than direct ownership of the shares.

These wrapped assets are issued on Ethereum, Solana, and BNB Chain and can be traded in connection with decentralized finance applications. Grayscale identified DTCC's tokenization pilot as the second stage and said the Canton Network will be the first blockchain used in that pilot.

The third stage is direct on-chain securities issuance by the issuer. Securitize previously became the first listed company to tokenize its common stock as part of its New York Stock Exchange listing process. Grayscale expects wrapped tokens, DTCC rights models, and issuer-led tokenization to coexist over the coming years.

Asian countries discuss crypto ETFs, KRW stablecoins, and digital asset institutionalization

On July 12, Wu Blockchain highlighted major weekly crypto developments across Asia, including Japan's push for crypto ETFs, discussions in South Korea on a bank-led institutional framework for KRW stablecoins, and Kazakhstan's expanded adoption of digital assets and stablecoins.

It also reported that Malaysia seized more than 75,000 illegal crypto mining machines, while India's central bank reaffirmed its preference for a ban on cryptocurrencies.

These developments show that Asian countries are simultaneously moving toward both digital asset institutionalization and tighter regulation.

Standard Chartered maintains its $100,000 Bitcoin forecast for end-2026

Standard Chartered maintained its forecast that Bitcoin will reach $100,000 by the end of 2026.

According to Odaily, Geoffrey Kendrick, Global Head of Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered, said the recent selling pressure reflects market confusion over Michael Saylor's adjustments to Strategy's Bitcoin approach rather than any change in Bitcoin's long-term outlook.

Kendrick said Strategy is shifting Bitcoin from being simply a reserve asset accumulation target to a collateral asset backing STRC preferred shares. He assessed the STRC preferred share structure as being heavily overcollateralized by Bitcoin.

At the time of the report, BTC was trading at $64,322.89, while Strategy shares MSTR closed Friday at $94.64. STRC's outstanding notional value was reported at around $10 billion.

Empery Digital sold 1,400 BTC over the past two months

According to Odaily, Bitcoin-holding company Empery Digital sold 1,400 BTC over the past two months at an average price of $62,200, raising about $87.1 million.

The funds were used for investment in an AI data center project and debt repayment. The company used part of the proceeds to acquire a 25% stake in an AI data center project, while $10 million was used to repay outstanding debt.

Following the sale, Empery Digital's BTC holdings fell 48% to 1,514 BTC. At current prices, those holdings are worth about $97 million. EMPD shares rose 4.2% early in the session before closing up 1.58%.

Two hacker addresses buy 6,454.7 ETH with 11.718 million DAI

Odaily reported, citing on-chain analyst Yu Jin, that two hacker-linked addresses bought a total of 6,454.7 ETH on July 12 using 11.718 million DAI.

An address said to have stolen funds from Coinbase users spent 7.378 million DAI early that morning to buy 4,049.7 ETH at a purchase price of $1,822.

Another address that received ETH from Tornado Cash in November last year had previously swapped 4,978 ETH for 16.294 million DAI, then used 4.34 million DAI two hours earlier that day to buy back 2,405 ETH at $1,804.

$190.91 million USDC moves from Aave to anonymous whale wallet

According to Whale Alert, 190,880,654 USDC, worth about $190.91 million, was transferred from Aave to an anonymous whale wallet.

The transaction was a large on-chain transfer, and the specific identity of the receiving wallet and the purpose of the movement were not confirmed.