Weekly Recap | BTC Negative Premium, RBI Crypto Ban, Echobit Futures Competition
2026.07.13
Last Week in Review (July 6 – July 12)
Last week, the crypto market came under pressure as escalating geopolitical tensions and rising expectations of further Federal Reserve rate hikes triggered broad-based selling. Bitcoin briefly fell below its critical 200-week moving average. Despite the bearish sentiment, institutional flows showed early signs of recovery, with spot Bitcoin ETFs returning to net inflows.
Looking ahead, the market continues to consolidate around the $60,000 level. On-chain data revealed activity from a whale wallet that had been dormant for seven years, while investors are closely watching this week's U.S. inflation data and Federal Reserve policy updates. A stronger-than-expected June CPI reading could reinforce expectations of additional rate hikes, potentially putting further downside pressure on Bitcoin.
In this edition, we'll recap the key crypto developments from the past week and highlight the major events to watch in the week ahead.
Market Pulse
- SK Hynix plans to raise KRW 43 trillion through an American Depositary Receipt (ADR) listing.
- Russia's largest bank, Sberbank, plans to launch compliant crypto wallet and custody services this year.
- Coinbase's Bitcoin Premium Index recorded 50 consecutive days of negative premium, the longest streak on record.
- Sony received conditional approval from the U.S. OCC to launch a stablecoin trust bank in 2027.
- Tether Treasury minted 1 billion USDT on the Tron network.
- New Hampshire rejected a proposed $100 million state-backed Bitcoin bond program.
- The Ethereum Foundation dissolved its Protocol Support Team.
- HSBC issued native digital structured products in Hong Kong.
Funding & M&A
Last week saw 9 funding rounds totaling over $200 million, with infrastructure and DeFi continuing to attract the most capital.
- DeFi risk management firm Gauntlet raised $125 million from SBI Holdings.
- Post-quantum cybersecurity platform QIZ Security secured $17 million in seed funding.
- TrueDAO completed a strategic funding round exceeding $10 million to accelerate AI-powered financial infrastructure.
- On-chain settlement platform KOR Protocol raised $7.5 million in Series A funding.
- Tether invested $20 million in Brazil's Mercado Bitcoin to expand on-chain financial services.
- Mirae Asset Group received approval to acquire a 92.06% stake in Korbit for KRW 133.4 billion.
Policy & Compliance
- South Korea will introduce civil asset seizure rules for crypto assets starting October 1.
- The Reserve Bank of India reaffirmed its support for a cryptocurrency ban, while tax authorities warned of tax evasion risks.
- The European Parliament called for a review of DeFi and NFT regulation as the next phase of MiCA takes shape.
- Russia's State Duma approved the final version of its crypto regulation bill, removing mandatory wallet address disclosure requirements.
- The European Union launched a consultation on expanding MiCA to cover tokenized assets and non-EU stablecoins through September 30.
- Russia's financial watchdog will be granted authority to monitor all crypto transactions.
Echobit Highlights
- Echobit officially launched the July Futures Trading Competition.
- The World Cup Prediction Carnival continued to engage users worldwide.
- The VIP Activity Zone remained open with exclusive rewards.
- Echobit partnered with Bee Network for a World Cup campaign.
- The Chart Prediction Challenge officially launched.
- The Star Clutch Challenge went live, bringing World Cup-themed community engagement.
- Roll The Dice interactive event was launched.
- The Coin of the Week Challenge continued to spotlight trending crypto assets.
- The Emoji Football Star Challenge went live, adding fun World Cup-themed interactions.
- Echobit Labs continued publishing industry insights covering market trends and Web3 developments.
- Echobit rolled out another round of product upgrades to enhance the trading experience.
- Echobit participated in Meta Earth DevConnect Japan, strengthening its presence and ecosystem partnerships in the Japanese market.
Next Week Preview (July 13 – July 19)
- The UK will begin regulating its first group of critical third-party service providers on July 13.
- The UK's FCA consultation on allowing authorized funds to allocate up to 10% to crypto ETNs closes on July 13.
- WebX 2026 will be held from July 13–14.
- The U.S. will release June CPI inflation data.
- Strategy's first STRC dividend payment under its new distribution mechanism will be issued on July 15.
- The U.S. will release weekly initial jobless claims.
- A dedicated hearing on the CLARITY Act will take place in New York on July 17.
Echobit will continue tracking global crypto developments, delivering timely insights into market trends, regulatory updates, and investment opportunities to help you stay ahead in every market cycle.