SpendNode Podcast: Crypto News & Analysis

The largest token launchpad on Robinhood Chain closed abruptly after collecting $12M in fees, reviving questions about governance and user protection on new chains. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/robinhood-chain-launchpad-shutdown-12m-fees-july-2026/

Consensys disclosed that a North Korea-linked developer contributed to MetaMask code before access was revoked, reviving concerns about DPRK infiltration of crypto teams. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/metamask-north-korea-developer-code-access-revoked-july-2026/

With $400M into Crypto.com and $200M already in Kraken, Citadel Securities holds stakes in two $20B rivals chasing the same tokenized-securities market. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/citadel-600m-two-rival-crypto-exchanges-kraken-crypto-com-july-2026/

Ripple Payments Europe joined ESMA's MiCA register alongside 13 other crypto firms on July 17, 2026, lifting the EU's total licensed providers to 294. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/ripple-payments-europe-mica-license-eu-register-294-providers-july-2026/

Citadel Securities invested $400M in Crypto.com, lifting the exchange to a $20B valuation in its first institutional funding round as Wall Street market makers move deeper into crypto. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/crypto-com-20b-valuation-citadel-securities-400m-july-2026/

An Argentine judge froze 25 crypto accounts and ordered six exchanges to identify the holders, a sharp escalation in how the country polices onchain money. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/argentina-judge-freezes-25-crypto-accounts-exchanges-identify-users-july-2026/

Injective has filed for SEC transfer agent registration, aiming to keep securities ownership records for tokenized assets and RWAs directly onchain. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/injective-sec-transfer-agent-registration-onchain-securities-july-2026/

Fintech platform Tradable plans to tokenize up to $1 billion in private credit assets on Stellar, one of the larger single commitments of real-world credit to a public chain. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/tradable-1b-private-credit-assets-stellar-july-2026/

T. Rowe Price debuts TKNZ, an actively managed multi-token crypto fund, marking the $1.6T asset manager's first hands-on crypto product as of July 2026. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/t-rowe-price-tknz-active-multi-token-crypto-fund-july-2026/

A WuBlockchain report says stablecoin trading in Venezuela over a month rivaled the value of the nation's oil exports, a sign of dollar demand in a broken economy. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/venezuela-usdt-trading-rivals-oil-exports-july-2026/

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev says the firm's new Robinhood Chain exists to make real-world assets programmable, globally portable, and always available. Here is what it means. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/robinhood-chain-tenev-tokenize-real-world-assets-july-2026/

SBI Holdings is partnering with Ondo Finance to tokenize Japanese equities on Ondo Global Markets, using SBI's JPYSC stablecoin for settlement and collateral. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/sbi-holdings-ondo-finance-tokenize-japanese-equities-july-2026/

Bitget says its Cash Plus stablecoin product crossed $50M in AUM five days after launch, a demand signal for yield on idle USDT and USDC that card users park on exchanges. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/bitget-cash-plus-50m-aum-five-days-stablecoin-yield-july-2026/

Oobit now lets users send Stellar (XLM) straight to a bank account without a swap, extending the app beyond card spending into direct crypto off-ramps. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/oobit-xlm-stellar-direct-bank-payouts-july-2026/

Crypto.com is closing its EEA deposit bonus of up to 10% on crypto deposits on July 22, 2026. Here is who it affects and what stays the same for cardholders. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/crypto-com-eea-deposit-bonus-ends-july-22-2026/

Phantom, Solana's most-used wallet, confirmed degraded performance on sends and swaps on July 12. The outage shows how much on-chain activity leans on one app. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/phantom-wallet-outage-solana-sends-swaps-degraded-july-2026/

Brazil's Federal Police launched Operation Veil of Maya against a laundering network that allegedly moved illegal betting and crypto funds through 87 shell companies. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/brazil-operation-veil-of-maya-crypto-laundering-87-shell-companies-july-2026/

Gate exchange logged $207M in net outflows over seven days after a user theft incident, per DeFiLlama data. Here is what the numbers show and why custody matters. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/gate-207m-outflows-security-breach-july-2026/

CoreWeave pulled in $20 billion for AI infrastructure while Bitcoin trades flat at $64,126. The raise is hard evidence of where institutional capital is going. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/coreweave-20b-funding-ai-over-bitcoin-liquidity-july-2026/

The wallet tied to a Hedera exploit now holds over $7M in ETH after swapping stolen funds. Here is what the address shows and what recovery looks like. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/hedera-exploiter-7m-eth-recovery-july-2026/

A ban on a US central bank digital currency became law through 2030 without Trump's signature. Here is what it means for stablecoins, crypto cards, and payments. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/us-cbdc-ban-law-through-2030-july-2026/

Bitcoin ETFs recorded their first positive weekly inflows since May, per Cointelegraph, ending a six-week outflow run as BTC holds near $64,100. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/btc-etfs-first-green-week-since-may-july-2026/

COCA says it paid over $100K in stablecoin cashback in one day and drew a line against points-based rewards. What the payout claim means for cardholders. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/coca-100k-cashback-real-money-payout-july-2026/

Sky Frontier Foundation says the rebranded MakerDAO now runs at a record $419M annualized gross revenue, driven by USDS demand and its lending book. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/sky-protocol-419m-record-revenue-run-rate-july-2026/

The DOJ has dropped charges against an alleged operator of the $722 million BitClub Network mining Ponzi. Here is what the scheme was and why the case matters. Read the full article: https://www.spendnode.io/blog/doj-drops-charges-bitclub-722m-ponzi-july-2026/