The biggest crypto bill in Washington just hit the wall. After Thursday’s feel-good field hearing at Federal Hall, Senate negotiations on the Clarity Act stalled over the weekend — and the clock to the August recess is now very loud.
Clarity Act stalls in the Senate
Democratic senators rejected the latest Republican framework, citing unresolved ethics provisions and disagreements over DeFi rules, per Coin Gabbar. Senator Elizabeth Warren has formally requested President Trump voluntarily disclose his crypto-related earnings through 15 July, with a 23 July deadline — his 2025 disclosure showed roughly US$1.4 billion in crypto income. House Digital Assets Subcommittee chair Bryan Steil still reckons the Senate could pass it “as soon as next week”.
Why it matters: the bill needs 60 votes, so neither party can move alone. Whether the US lands market-structure rules this year feeds directly into how hard Canberra pushes its own Digital Assets Framework — under which ASIC has already extended licensing relief while platforms line up for DAP licences.
FTX’s fifth distribution: ~US$900M lands 31 July
FTX confirmed its fifth creditor distribution of roughly US$900 million begins 31 July for approved claims, with payments arriving one to three business days later, per Crypto Integrated and Coin Gabbar.
Why it matters: plenty of Australians are still in the FTX creditor queue. If you’re one of them, only trust comms from the official claims portal — every distribution window brings a fresh wave of phishing emails impersonating it.
Market: steadying, but still in extreme fear
At time of writing, Independent Reserve has BTC at A$93,091 (~US$65,000), up 1.4% over 24 hours, and ETH at A$2,677 (~US$1,870), up 1.5% — both clawing back Friday’s Iran-driven dip as Hormuz stays effectively shut. The Fear & Greed Index slipped to 25 (extreme fear), and the Coinbase Bitcoin Premium Index has now been negative a record 60 straight days, per Coin Gabbar. Glassnode notes BTC is testing key resistance as the macro picture evolves.
Why it matters: price is recovering while sentiment keeps falling — and that persistent negative Coinbase premium says US institutions still aren’t the ones buying. Thin conviction either way; geopolitics remains the driver.
Bank of England green-lights HSBC’s digital gilt platform
HSBC’s Orion platform won Bank of England approval to operate in the UK’s Digital Securities Sandbox, paving the way for Britain’s planned blockchain-based government bond issuance, per Coin Gabbar.
Why it matters: add it to the pile with DTCC’s live tokenised securities, Visa’s stablecoin platform and the SWIFT/ANZ pilot — sovereign bonds on-chain is exactly the territory the RBA’s Project Acacia is probing here. The tokenisation race between central banks is properly on.
Uniswap moves to switch on fees — and burn them
Uniswap governance received proposals to enable protocol fees across Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Robinhood Chain and others, with the proceeds feeding the existing UNI burn mechanism, per Coin Gabbar.
Why it matters: the long-dormant “fee switch” is the perennial UNI tokenomics question. If it passes, one of DeFi’s biggest tokens finally links protocol revenue to holders — worth understanding before you weigh up any DEX token listed on Aussie exchanges.
What to watch
Warren’s 23 July disclosure deadline and any Clarity Act compromise before the August recess; AUSTRAC’s VASP registration window closing 29 July; the Fed’s 28–29 July meeting; FTX distributions from 31 July; and oil/Hormuz headlines steering the majors.
Quiet weekends in extreme fear are historically when patient folk do their homework — if that’s you, our guide to Australian crypto exchanges compares the local options, and CoinSpot remains our pick for beginners.
This is general information, not financial advice. Crypto is volatile — do your own research and talk to a licensed professional before acting. Some links above are affiliate links; if you sign up through them we may earn a commission at no cost to you.