[News Brief] Jul 17, morning | U.S. Treasury Adds Crypto Wallets Linked to Iran’s Central Bank to Sanctions List

The U.S. Treasury has added four cryptocurrency wallets linked to the Central Bank of Iran to its sanctions list, according to Odaily.

Tether subsequently froze $131 million worth of USDT held in those wallets.

With this action, the total amount frozen in the related wallets has risen to approximately $475 million.

The Iranian military said it had launched a drone attack on a U.S. troop deployment and logistics support center in Kuwait.

According to Odaily, the Iranian military claimed it carried out the unmanned aerial vehicle attack targeting the facility. The announcement came amid escalating military tensions in the Middle East.

The Russian government is expected to add a provision to the final version of its cryptocurrency regulation bill that would ban non-professional investors from purchasing foreign stablecoins, PANews reported, citing Bits.media.

According to the report, the bill newly introduces the concepts of ‘foreign digital instruments’ and ‘non-deliverable foreign digital instruments,’ with collateralized stablecoins classified under the latter. Qualified investors would be allowed to buy foreign digital instruments, while non-qualified investors would only be able to purchase assets separately designated by the central bank.

Earlier, in late June, the Russian central bank released a draft stablecoin regulation framework requiring all transactions to be processed through state-controlled exchanges or licensed exchange offices. Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina had previously taken a cautious stance on foreign stablecoins, noting that issuers can freeze assets in users’ wallets.

E*TRADE, the online investment platform under Morgan Stanley, has officially launched spot cryptocurrency trading services.

According to Business Wire, eligible E*TRADE customers can now directly buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL) on the platform. Spot trading fees have been set at 50 basis points.

Asset transfer functionality is expected to be introduced later this year. E*TRADE has previously enhanced its retirement planning tools, fractional share trading, IPO center, and features for active traders.

U.S. spot XRP ETFs recorded $6.7847 million in net inflows on July 16 Eastern Time, led by products from Bitwise and Franklin.

PANews, citing SoSoValue data, reported that the Bitwise XRP ETF (XRP) recorded net inflows of $4.406 million. Its cumulative net inflows now stand at $498 million.

The Franklin XRP ETF (XRPZ) posted net inflows of $2.3787 million during the same period. Its cumulative net inflows were tallied at $416 million.

As of the time of writing, total net assets of spot XRP ETFs stood at $997 million, with an XRP net asset ratio of 1.45%, while cumulative net inflows reached $1.486 billion.

U.S. spot SOL ETFs recorded $1.6553 million in net inflows on July 16 Eastern Time.

According to PANews, citing SoSoValue data, the day’s inflows came solely from the Grayscale Solana Trust (GSOL). GSOL’s cumulative net inflows reached $109 million.

At the time of reporting, total net assets of spot SOL ETFs stood at $879 million, with a SOL net asset ratio of 1.99%. Cumulative net inflows for spot SOL ETFs totaled $1.137 billion.

BlackRock withdrew approximately $87.29 million worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum from Coinbase Prime, according to Odaily.

Odaily reported that BlackRock moved 1,246 BTC (about $80.6 million) and 3,542 ETH (about $6.69 million) from Coinbase Prime. The specific purpose of the withdrawal was not disclosed.

The U.S. crypto market structure bill is unlikely to be enacted into law this year.

According to Watcher.Guru, President Trump met with senators that day in an effort to advance the legislation, but the likelihood of the bill being signed into law within the year was viewed as low. The bill is intended to clarify regulatory standards for digital assets in the United States.

All three major U.S. stock indexes closed lower, and most crypto-related stocks also fell, with Coinbase and Robinhood showing weakness.

According to Bybit market data, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.20%, the Nasdaq fell 1.62%, and the S&P 500 fell 0.50%. Coinbase dropped 4.04%, while Robinhood declined 8.27%.

According to Odaily, BTC fell below $64,000 based on OKX market data.

BTC is currently trading at $63,985.1, down 1.43% over the past 24 hours.