Crypto: 15th July 2025

• Bitcoin surged past $122,000 ahead of US 'crypto week' with legislative discussions on digital asset regulations, driven by institutional buying and corporate interest, though experts warn of an unstable 'crisis mode' rally fueled by government spending and ETF inflows.

• Key fintech trends for 2025 include the rise of decentralized finance (DeFi) alongside embedded finance, enhanced cybersecurity, and regulatory changes influencing the digital financial landscape.

• Jack Dorsey launched Bitchat, a decentralized offline messaging app leveraging Bluetooth for secure peer-to-peer communication without internet access, demonstrating continued innovation in decentralized communication technologies.

• Germany led European VC investment in Q2 2025 with $2.8B, with significant evolution noted in AI, defense tech, and fintech sectors across the region.

The Future of Ecosystem Development at the EF (blog​.ethereum​.org). Ethereum Foundation expands Ecosystem Development efforts, focusing on acceleration, amplification, and support to enhance real-world adoption and community engagement

Here’s why Stellar’s XLM price has gone parabolic (cosmicmeta​.io). Stellar’s XLM price surged over 75% in July 2025 due to the Protocol 23 upgrade, investor interest, and a bullish technical outlook

State of the Network’s Q2 Wrap Up (coinmetrics​.io). Crypto market cap hits $3.3T in Q2 2025, with Ethereum's Pectra upgrade and rise of stablecoins signaling significant developments

Automating Policy Enforcement With Smart Contracts (blog​.chain​.link). Smart contracts and Chainlink's Automated Compliance Engine enable efficient policy enforcement, enhancing compliance and mitigating risks across financial institutions globally

Taikolights: Community Update Q2 2025 (taiko​.mirror​.xyz). Taiko's Q2 2025 highlights: Pacaya hardfork, pre-confirmations, DAO launch, Binance listing, partnerships with Fabric and Nethermind, boosting community engagement and network activity

Computer Scientists Figure Out How To Prove Lies (quantamagazine​.org). Research reveals vulnerabilities in the Fiat-Shamir transformation, jeopardizing the security of blockchains, cryptocurrencies, and proof systems reliant on hash functions

Security researchers disclose exploit that put over $10 million across multiple protocols at risk (web3isgoinggreat​.com). VennBuild researchers disclose a backdoor in smart contracts, risking over $10 million, likely created by North Korean hacking group Lazarus

Kinto token crashes; community claims rug pull, Kinto claims hack (web3isgoinggreat​.com). Kinto's $K token plummets 90% as accusations of rug pull arise; Kinto attributes the crash to a hack confirmed by VennBuild

“OmegaPro”: Anatomy of a $650 Million Crypto Scam and the Psychology of Deception (mariobekes​.com​.au). OmegaPro’s $650 million crypto scam used social engineering, false promises, and digital manipulation, impacting 2 million victims across 175 countries

FOKS: Federated Open Key Service (foks​.pub). FOKS provides federated, end-to-end post-quantum encrypted Git hosting and key-value storage, emphasizing security, team management, and open-source accessibility

No title (markjgsmith​.com). Jack Dorsey explores Bitchat, a decentralized messaging tool enabling communication without the internet, potentially popular at events like Glastonbury

“Split Signing Algorithms for COSE” and “ARKG” updated in preparation for IETF 123 (self-issued​.info). Updates on 'Split Signing Algorithms for COSE' and 'ARKG' specifications in preparation for IETF 123, addressing feedback and alignment for upcoming discussions

Major updates to JSON Web Proof specifications in preparation for IETF 123 (self-issued​.info). Major updates to JSON Web Proof specifications by Mike Jones and David Waite, including JSON Proof Algorithms, for IETF 123 discussions in Madrid

Be My Guest at DSN 2025 (mina86​.com). Paper presents a method for integrating Solana with the IBC network to overcome interoperability challenges using a guest blockchain approach

Attention isn’t all we need; we need ownership too (stackoverflow​.blog). Illia Polosukhin discusses Transformers, AI ownership, decentralized systems, and blockchain at NEAR, emphasizing user control in AI development

Where is Web3? (idiallo​.com). Web3's promise of decentralized solutions falters, overshadowed by crypto speculation, lacking practical applications, while AI demonstrates immediate, tangible benefits for users

Issue 88 – The stockchain (citationneeded​.news). Crypto firms aim to tokenize equities, lobbying for regulatory leniency while Congress navigates surveillance bills and the legacy of financial crises

Big Crypto's Assault on Democracy (thenerdreich​.com). Crypto billionaires weaponize digital currency to capture U.S. political power, influencing Congress and regulators amidst concerns over democratic integrity

Arbitrage on Decentralized Exchanges (arxiv:q-fin). Study of gas-fee competition in decentralized exchanges reveals arbitrage strategies and impacts of opportunity and liquidity on trading behavior

Hedge Funds on a Swamp: Analyzing Patterns, Vulnerabilities, and Defense Measures in Blockchain Bridges [Experiment, Analysis & Benchmark] (arxiv:cs). Analyzing blockchain bridge vulnerabilities, attack vectors, and defense mechanisms; proposing layered validation and circuit breakers to enhance cross-chain infrastructure security

The Trust Fabric: Decentralized Interoperability and Economic Coordination for the Agentic Web (arxiv:cs). Nanda Unified Architecture enhances AI interoperability through DID-based discovery, semantic agent cards, dynamic trust layer, and economic coordination with X42/H42 micropayments

Programmable Governance for Group-Controlled Decentralized Identifiers (arxiv:cs). Explores trustless governance mechanisms for group-controlled decentralized identifiers, enabling secure DDO updates in a ledger-agnostic way

Central Bank Digital Currencies: A Survey (arxiv:econ). Survey on Central Bank Digital Currencies: system design, ledger tech, consensus mechanisms, cross-border payments, and recommendations for future research

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