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Telegram plans Gram wallet for 1 billion users after Toncoin rebrand
Edgen Crypto·Jul 21 2026, 18:59Share to
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[1] Telegram Plans Gram Wallet for 1 Billion Users (https://cointelegraph.com/news/telegram-launc ...)[2] GRAM Jumps 10% as Pavel Durov Unveils New Product for Telegram Users (https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/crypto/arti ...)[3] Telegram Plans Non-Custodial GRAM Wallet for 1 Billion Users, Four Years After Promising the Same Thing (https://financefeeds.com/telegram-non-custodi ...)[4] Telegram plans 'largest rollout of a non-custodial crypto wallet in human history' - The Block (https://www.theblock.co/post/409099/telegram- ...)
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Jul 21 2026, 19:39
Ethereum dominance tops 10% as altcoin demand strengthens across crypto markets
**Ethereum's share of the crypto market climbed back above 10% on July 21, signaling a rotation toward altcoins as regulatory progress and improving sentiment lift the sector.** Ethereum's market dominance rose above 10% on July 21, the highest level in weeks, as the token gained 1.3% to $1,920.73 and outperformed most major cryptocurrencies, according to CoinMarketCap data. "The market appears increasingly balanced, with long-term conviction providing support while speculative participation remains contained," Glassnode said in a note. The on-chain analytics firm pointed to stabilizing holder behavior as a constructive signal for digital assets. The move coincided with reports that President Donald Trump agreed to a crucial ethics provision for the US Clarity Act, clearing a hurdle for the crypto market structure bill's progress through Congress. Asian semiconductor stocks also rebounded, fueling a broad risk rally that lifted bitcoin above $66,000 for the first time since June 17. Spot bitcoin ETFs attracted more than $700 million in investor money over five trading days, the longest streak of inflows since May, according to SoSoValue data. Ethereum's dominance crossing back above 10% carries significance because the threshold has historically acted as a technical level that attracts momentum traders. With ETH's market capitalization at $234.5 billion and bitcoin dominance near 59%, a sustained move above 10% could compress BTC's share further and drive capital into altcoins and DeFi tokens. The CoinDesk DeFi Select Index surged 9% on July 21, reflecting broad-based demand for Ethereum ecosystem tokens. Solana's tokenized asset volume reached a record $5.8 billion in the second quarter, marking a 114% quarter-over-quarter increase and a six-quarter growth streak driven by tokenized equities, according to network data. The broader tokenized real-world asset market, excluding stablecoins, has grown to more than $33 billion, nearly tripling from roughly $12 billion a year prior. Open interest in ether futures rose alongside the price move, with call options dominating 24-hour trading volumes on Deribit, signaling growing demand for upside exposure. Futures open interest also increased in tokens such as ADA, XLM and LINK, pointing to broad-based capital inflows across the altcoin market. The shift in market structure comes as traders watch for Ethereum to hold above the 10% dominance level in the coming sessions. A sustained break could trigger further capital rotation from bitcoin into altcoins, with the DeFi sector positioned as a primary beneficiary given Ethereum's role as the leading smart contract platform. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
Jul 21 2026, 19:29
Pakistan launches crypto crime unit as 3rd-largest adoption market
**Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency established a dedicated cryptocurrency investigation unit to police money laundering and terrorism financing conducted through digital assets.** Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency set up a dedicated cryptocurrency investigation unit inside its new National Command and Control Centre, targeting money laundering and terrorism financing routed through virtual currencies. "The unit will investigate the criminal use of crypto while PVARA remains responsible for regulating digital assets," Dr Muhammad Athar Waheed, director of the FIA's Counter-Terrorism Wing, told Dawn. He urged the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency and the Anti-Narcotics Force to build similar units to counter crypto's use in cybercrime and the drug trade. The NC3 centre consolidates the FIA's financial-crime tools on one platform, including anti-money laundering and virtual-currency investigation desks, an Interpol coordination point, and units for open-source intelligence, cyber patrolling and dark web investigation. New rules are being drafted to wrap up inquiries within fixed timeframes, Waheed said. The enforcement push gives Islamabad a policing arm to match its regulatory ambitions — even as the country's religious scholars debate whether crypto is permissible under Islamic law. PVARA chairman Bilal bin Saqib has asked the Jamia Darul Uloom Karachi seminary to distinguish between speculative tokens and asset-backed instruments such as fully reserved stablecoins and blockchain-recorded sukuk, telling Reuters that Pakistan could "lead the world in Shariah-compliant digital finance." **Regulatory push meets religious uncertainty** Pakistan ranked third in the Chainalysis 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index, and the government has moved aggressively to formalize the sector. Islamabad lifted an eight-year crypto banking ban, created the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority in July 2025, began advancing licenses for exchanges including Binance and HTX, and explored tokenizing state assets. The country has also woven crypto into its diplomacy with Washington, striking a deal with an affiliate of World Liberty Financial — the Trump family's crypto venture — to explore using its USD1 stablecoin for cross-border payments. That embrace hit a snag in June, when the influential Jamia Darul Uloom Karachi seminary ruled that cryptocurrency is not "wealth" under Islamic law and therefore not a valid means of payment. The fatwa cast doubt on the government's plans, though Saqib has argued that asset-backed tokens such as fully reserved stablecoins should be treated differently from purely speculative instruments. **Dual-track enforcement model** The FIA unit gives Pakistan an enforcement framework alongside its licensing regime — a dual-track approach that mirrors strategies in jurisdictions such as Singapore and the UAE, where regulators have built both promotional and policing functions in parallel. With the unit now operational and PVARA issuing exchange licenses, Pakistan is building out both sides of its crypto regulatory architecture even as the question of whether digital assets are permissible under Islamic law remains unresolved. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
Jul 21 2026, 19:07
XRP Ledger nears 10 million agentic payments after x402 Foundation entry
**The XRP Ledger has processed more than 1 million agentic payments in roughly four weeks and is on track to hit 10 million, as Ripple takes a governance seat alongside Visa and Mastercard in the standard that lets AI agents pay each other.** XRP Ledger agentic transactions are approaching 10 million after surpassing 1 million in roughly four weeks, each costing a fixed $0.0002. "The x402 Foundation brings together 40 major organizations to build an open payment standard for AI agents, and Ripple's membership puts XRP and RLUSD inside that standard from day one," a Ripple spokesperson said. Ripple joined the x402 Foundation as a Premier Member on July 14, the same day the Linux Foundation formally launched the nonprofit to govern the protocol. The membership caps months of infrastructure work, including the June release of the XRPL AI Starter Kit — a developer toolkit that gives AI agents wallets and lets them pay in XRP or RLUSD without human approval. Mastercard also named Ripple as one of more than 30 launch partners for its own agent-payments network in the same period. The competitive backdrop matters. Coinbase's Base network has processed more than 119 million x402 payments, and Solana about 35 million, both with a year's head start and most volume settled in USDC. XRPL's 1 million transactions are early-stage by comparison, but the foundation is network-neutral — meaning XRP competes alongside USDC under the same protocol. Foundation membership gives Ripple a governance role in how the standard evolves, which matters more at this stage than raw transaction counts. ## What Ripple Brought Before the Membership The foundation membership follows deliberate infrastructure work rather than arriving as a standalone announcement. In June, Ripple released the XRPL AI Starter Kit, including an MCP documentation server, an agent wallet skill, and a payment tutorial that guides developers from initial setup to a confirmed XRPL transaction supporting x402 payments in XRP and RLUSD. Ripple-backed t54.ai followed with the XRPL AI Hub, providing resources for developers building AI-powered applications on the ledger. The XRPL's technical characteristics suit the use case. Transactions achieve deterministic finality in three to five seconds. Fees are predictable and fixed at approximately $0.0002. Agents can operate non-custodial wallets funded with XRP or RLUSD, paying for APIs, storage, and cloud computing without relying on banks, and can retain XRP earned from completed tasks to fund future operations. ## Where XRP Sits Against USDC in the x402 Race The x402 Foundation's broader membership underscores how seriously the largest technology and payments companies are treating the machine-economy payment layer. AWS, American Express, Cloudflare, Fiserv, Shopify, the Solana Foundation, and the Stellar Development Foundation are all Premier Members. The standard the foundation governs will likely become the default payment infrastructure for AI agents across the internet within this decade. Where XRP and RLUSD land in that standard's adoption curve depends on whether Ripple can convert its governance position and developer toolkit into the kind of institutional-grade transaction volume that USDC currently holds on Base. RLUSD, Ripple's dollar-backed stablecoin with a $1.26 billion market cap, gives agents a steady dollar to price things in, while XRP is the native asset the whole ledger runs on. Every payment uses a small amount of XRP in fees, agent wallets must hold XRP in reserve to function, and XRP can move liquidity between currencies when an agent needs it. The more agents transact on the ledger, the more of that activity runs through XRP. If AI agents become mainstream users of blockchain infrastructure, demand for assets that can settle payments quickly and cheaply could increase. XRP's low fees and three-to-five-second settlement time make it technically competitive, but sustained growth will depend on whether Ripple can convert its governance role, developer tools, and institutional partnerships into meaningful transaction volume rather than announcements alone. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.