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Tether becomes top Treasury buyer as foreign governments dump $39T debt
Edgen Crypto·Jul 24 2026, 15:13Share to
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[1] America's $39 trillion debt problem has an unlikely new backstop: Tether (https://cryptobriefing.com/us-debt-tether-tre ...)[2] How Tether Benefited as Trump Insiders Shaped First US Crypto Law (https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2026-howar ...)[3] US Treasury freezes $130M crypto wallet tied to Iran's IRGC (https://cryptobriefing.com/us-treasury-freeze ...)[4] Bitcoin treasury companies sell up, repay debt, pivot to AI as share prices collapse (https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/07/24/b ...)[5] My trading game plan revealed - 03/25/2026: S&P 500 head and shoulders warning as oil collapse sparks multi-week bounce (https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/top-stocks/my ...)
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Jul 24 2026, 15:29
World Foundation raises $52.5M to expand World ID as AI verification demand grows
World Foundation raised $52.5 million through a sale of locked WLD tokens to strategic investors, the nonprofit steward of Sam Altman's World protocol said Friday, as demand for human verification tools grows alongside the proliferation of AI-generated content online. Pantera Capital led the funding round, with Bain Capital Crypto, Eightco Holdings, Selini Capital and Susquehanna Crypto also participating, according to a statement shared with Cointelegraph. All WLD tokens sold in the raise are subject to a 12-month lockup. "The need for Proof of Human is becoming acutely clear with the acceleration of AI development," Cosmo Jiang, general partner at Pantera Capital, said in the statement. The funds will go toward expanding World ID, a biometric identity system that uses a spherical device called the Orb to scan a person's iris and generate a unique digital credential stored on their phone. The system lets users prove they are a unique human without revealing their identity. World, rebranded from Worldcoin in 2024, was co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to build a global proof-of-personhood layer for the internet. More than 39 million people have joined the World Network, with 18 million verified in person via an Orb and 475 million World ID proofs processed since launch, the foundation said. The technology is being integrated this year with platforms including Zoom, Docusign, Okta, Vercel and Tinder, alongside a new enterprise release, World ID 4.0, that lets outside developers build their own credentials into the system. The raise coincides with the project's third anniversary and marks a shift from building the network to scaling its utility, World said. WLD traded at roughly $0.37 with a market capitalization of just over $1.3 billion, according to CoinGecko data. World's iris-scanning model has drawn regulatory pushback across multiple jurisdictions. Hong Kong ordered it to cease operations in 2024, a Kenyan court ordered it to delete users' biometric data, and Brazil banned the project from paying people for iris scans. Spain moved to halt its data collection, and South Korea fined the project $830,000 for privacy violations. Institutional interest has continued to grow despite the scrutiny. Eightco Holdings, one of Friday's investors, built the first corporate WLD treasury last year, and Grayscale filed for the first US exchange-traded fund tied to the token this week. The World Network previously raised $135 million in a private token sale to a16z and Bain Capital Crypto in May 2025. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
Jul 24 2026, 15:25
Bloomberg probe ties Tether to GENIUS Act with 3 favorable provisions
A Bloomberg investigation published July 24 alleges that Tether Holdings Ltd. shaped three provisions of the GENIUS Act through lobbying by Trump administration aides Howard Lutnick and Bo Hines, who later received financial benefits from the stablecoin issuer. "Had this been the law before Trump started his crypto activities, the only thing this ethics provision would do is create some mild paperwork burdens," Corey Frayer with the Consumer Federation of America told the American Prospect, describing the broader conflict-of-interest concerns surrounding crypto legislation. The investigation, based on interviews with current and former US officials, court filings, and financial disclosures, details how Tether secured what critics call a "regulatory equivalence loophole" — allowing the Treasury secretary to deem El Salvador's oversight sufficient for USDT to operate in the US market. The final bill also includes a three-year compliance grace period for foreign issuers and exempts stablecoin companies from liability for token misuse in secondary decentralized finance markets. **The Lutnick-Tether Pipeline** Howard Lutnick, now Commerce secretary, was chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald when the Wall Street bank began managing Tether's reserve assets in 2021. In April 2024, Cantor purchased $600 million in convertible notes granting an option to acquire 5% of Tether — a stake valued at roughly $6 billion based on Tether's $13 billion net profit that year, according to Bloomberg. Tether Chairman Giancarlo Devasini described the deal as "ridiculously cheap" to associates, court filings show. Throughout 2024, Lutnick acted as Tether's de facto representative in Washington, lobbying lawmakers against bills the company opposed and publicly defending its reserves on Bloomberg TV at the Davos forum in January 2024. "They have the reserves they claim to have," Lutnick said at the time. After Trump's election, Lutnick was appointed co-chair of the presidential transition committee. **Bo Hines and the 'Non-Negotiable' Red Line** Bo Hines, a 29-year-old White House aide appointed executive director of the President's Digital Asset Advisory Council, told negotiating parties that retaining the three-year compliance transition period was a non-negotiable red line set by the White House, three sources told Bloomberg. One month after Trump signed the GENIUS Act on July 18, 2025, Hines was hired as an executive at Tether. The GENIUS Act, which Trump called a "major advance in cementing America's dominance in global finance and crypto technology," established the first federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins. Tether, which controls about 60% of the global stablecoin market, has since expanded its operations from its new headquarters in El Salvador. **Illicit Finance Concerns Persist** Despite Tether's stated cooperation with 340 law enforcement agencies across 67 jurisdictions, blockchain analytics firm Elliptic tracked more than $40 billion in USDT circulating in fraud-related black markets in 2025. Data shows $507 million in USDT was purchased by Iran's sanctioned central bank, and $2.5 billion flowed to wallets linked to Russian sanctions-evasion networks in July 2025 alone — the month the GENIUS Act was signed. Since July 2025, federal prosecutors have filed dozens of lawsuits seeking to seize at least $172 million in USDT tied to criminal activity, court records show. Timothy Massad, former US Commodity Futures Trading Commission chairman under the Obama administration, warned that the regulatory equivalence provision creates unfair competition. "If we want the dollar to maintain its central global reserve currency status, we cannot allow terrorists, sanctioned individuals, and criminals to anonymously transfer dollar funds," Massad told Bloomberg. Tether denied any improper conduct in its lobbying activities, stating it has engaged in "legal and transparent communication with regulators, lawmakers, and law enforcement." A Commerce Department spokesperson said Lutnick adhered to his ethics agreement, divested all assets including those related to Tether, and "did not participate in any work on the stablecoin provisions of the GENIUS Act." The White House declined to comment. The investigation raises questions about whether the GENIUS Act's framework — particularly the regulatory equivalence provision still being drafted by the Treasury — will allow Tether's core USDT token to permanently escape direct US oversight, even as it remains the most widely used stablecoin for both legitimate and illicit transactions globally. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
Jul 24 2026, 15:16
Morgan Stanley wins approval for 2 crypto ETFs on NYSE Arca
NYSE Arca approved Morgan Stanley's spot Solana and Ethereum exchange-traded funds on July 24, clearing the way for the $10 trillion asset manager to offer direct crypto exposure through two ETFs with management fees of 0.14 percent each. "The approval of these ETFs marks a significant step in bringing regulated crypto investment products to mainstream investors," said a Morgan Stanley spokesperson, confirming the filings had become auto-effective under Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act. The Ethereum ETF will trade under the ticker MSSE and the Solana ETF under MSOL. Morgan Stanley plans to stake 50 percent to 80 percent of Ethereum holdings through Figment, Galaxy Blockchain and Coinbase Canada, with staking service providers receiving only 5 percent of rewards — the remainder accruing to investors. For Solana, the issuer intends to stake up to 100 percent of holdings through the same providers. The Bank of New York Mellon and Coinbase Custody will serve as custodians for both funds. Morgan Stanley's existing Bitcoin ETF, MSBT, holds over $391 million in total assets and recorded $5 million in inflows during the latest session. The approvals come as the broader crypto market faces headwinds. Bitcoin traded at $64,988, down 0.95 percent, while Ethereum fell 2.36 percent to $1,880 after failing to break above the $2,000 resistance level. Solana dropped 2.83 percent, testing the $78 support zone. Total liquidations reached $282 million across the market, with $192 million in long positions wiped out, according to Coinglass data. The Fear and Greed Index stood at 28, signaling extreme fear among traders. **Institutional Gateway Opens for Altcoin ETFs** The dual approval establishes a regulatory template for altcoin ETFs on a major US exchange. Morgan Stanley's brokerage arm E*TRADE recently completed the rollout of spot Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana trading, allowing clients to buy, sell and hold crypto through a linked Zerohash account. The integration suggests the firm is building a full-service crypto offering spanning trading, custody and now ETF products. Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $255.18 million in outflows on July 23, their first day of net withdrawals in seven days, even as Ethereum ETFs posted $26 million in inflows. The divergence highlights shifting institutional preferences as the SEC-approved Ethereum and Solana products expand the menu of regulated crypto investment vehicles beyond Bitcoin. **What the Approvals Mean for Market Structure** The listing of Solana and Ethereum ETFs on NYSE Arca could accelerate capital rotation from Bitcoin-only exposure into diversified crypto portfolios. With management fees set at 0.14 percent — below the industry average for crypto ETFs — Morgan Stanley is positioning the funds as low-cost vehicles for institutional and retail investors alike. The staking component adds a yield-generating layer absent from most existing crypto ETFs. For Ethereum, the planned 50 percent to 80 percent staking allocation could generate annual yields of 3 percent to 5 percent based on current network staking rates, according to StakingRewards data. Solana's staking yield potential is higher, with current rates near 7 percent, though the protocol's volatility introduces additional risk. The next milestone for both ETFs is the CERT filing, which will specify the official trading commencement date. Market participants expect trading to begin within weeks, pending final administrative steps. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.