Crypto news, week of July 20, 2026

Machine summary Hut 8 shares surged 10% after the company announced a $9.8 billion artificial intelligence data center lease, according to The Motley Fool. Geopolitical tensions pressured the wider market, and the S&P 500 fell 0.19% to 7,443, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.05% to 25,508 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.59% to 51,839.

1. Hut 8 surged 10% after announcing a $9.8 billion AI data center lease, according to The Motley Fool.
2. The S&P 500 slipped 0.19% to 7,443, according to The Motley Fool.
3. The Nasdaq Composite edged 0.05% lower to 25,508, according to The Motley Fool.
4. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.59% to 51,839, according to The Motley Fool.
5. The Motley Fool reported that, at the close of the U.S. market, gold prices rose 0.10% to $4,008.09.

Reported by nasdaq.com and fool.com.

• Hut 8

Machine summary Strategy holds 843,775 BTC after raising $263.5 million through MSTR stock sales.

1. Strategy sold 2,732,318 MSTR shares during the week of July 13-19, generating net proceeds of approximately $263.5 million.
2. No Bitcoin was purchased for the reporting period; the company holds 843,775 BTC, with the last acquisition reported on June 22, 2026.
3. The USD reserve reached $3.225 billion as of July 19, 2026, earmarked for preferred stock dividends and interest payments on outstanding debt.
4. Approximately $23.53 billion remains available under the at-the-market equity program, along with additional capacity in preferred-stock offerings (STRF, STRC, STRK, STRD).
5. The company did not sell any preferred stock or execute share-repurchase programs during the period.

Reported by cointelegraph.com and Bitcoin News.

• Bitcoin
• Strategy
• Michael Saylor
• STRC

Machine summary Wellgistics Health announced a revised record date for distributing its Dream Bowl 2026 meme coin to stockholders, tennesseedaily.com reports.

Reported by tennesseedaily.com (Big News Network), nashvilleherald.com (Big News Network) and clevelandstar.com (Big News Network).

• Wellgistics Health
• Dream Bowl 2026 Meme Coin

Machine summary Binance lowers its VIP 3 asset entry from $3M to $1M and now counts OTC volumes at 4x toward tier progression up to VIP 9.

1. Binance reduced the VIP 3 wallet asset threshold from $3,000,000 to $1,000,000, effective July 21, 2026 at 08:00 UTC, enabling more holders to access VIP 3 benefits.
2. For VIP tier qualification, OTC Spot Trading Volume will now have a 4x multiplier applied to its contribution to Spot Trading Volume; $1M of OTC volume therefore equals $4M of Spot volume.
3. The previous cap limiting OTC-related VIP qualification to VIP 4 has been removed, allowing eligible users to progress through the full framework up to VIP 9.
4. These changes rest upon a March 2026 update to the VIP Program, which cut other thresholds and added new pathways so high-value users can be recognized sooner.
5. Catherine Chen, Head of VIP and Institutional at Binance, stated the updates are designed to reflect how users engage across the platform and create a more flexible path to VIP status.

Reported by australiannews.net (Big News Network) and The Hindu - Business Line.

• Binance
• BNB

Machine summary The Financial Action Task Force flagged rising misuse of decentralised finance by criminals and urged countries to strengthen oversight, according to reports.

1. The FATF flagged rising misuse of decentralised finance by criminals, according to reports.
2. The FATF urged countries to strengthen oversight, according to reports.

Reported by africaleader.com (Big News Network), news.webindia123.com and Aninews.

• Financial Action Task Force

Machine summary The companies said the deployment would bring Digital Motion's institutional infrastructure for tokenized securities to the network.

Reported by financialpost.com and thestarphoenix.com.

• Digital Motion Corporation
• Krown Network

Machine summary OwlTing Group (NASDAQ:OWLS) is holding a RedChip investor webinar on OwlPay as an enterprise gateway for stablecoin and fiat payments. The pitch emphasizes multi-jurisdiction compliance and integrations with Visa Direct and Circle Payments Network.

1. RedChip Companies announced it will host an OwlTing investor webinar on July 23, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. ET featuring CEO Darren Wang.
2. OBOOK Holdings Inc., which is a global fintech company, has OwlTing Group (NASDAQ:OWLS) as its operating brand.
3. The platform brings together compliance that is integrated, connectivity across multiple chains, an architecture built API-first, and regulatory licensing spanning multiple jurisdictions.
4. OwlTing highlights strategic collaborations with Visa Direct and the Circle Payments Network.

Reported by finanznachrichten.de and hawaiitelegraph.com (Big News Network).

• Visa Direct
• RedChip Companies
• Circle Payments Network
• OwlPay
• OBOOK Holdings Inc.
• OwlTing Group

Machine summary Crypto markets fell sharply on July 23, 2026, with Bitcoin dropping to $64,953 and over $250 million in liquidations as the US-Iran conflict escalated into its 13th day. Ethereum, XRP, and Dogecoin also posted losses, while crypto stocks like MSTR plunged.

1. Bitcoin dropped 1.51% to $64,953.64, while Ethereum fell 3.13% to $1,871.30 on July 23, 2026, amid the 13th day of US strikes on Iran.
2. Over $250 million in total crypto liquidations occurred in 24 hours, with $188 million in long positions wiped out, according to Coinglass data.
3. Bitcoin open interest declined 2.85%.
4. Dogecoin suffered the heaviest loss among majors, plunging 5.02% to $0.06921, while Solana fell 2.87% to $75.89.
5. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 506.93 points (0.97%), the S&P 500 slid 1.21%, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.15% in the same risk-off session.

Reported by Yahoo Finance UK and Benzinga.

• Bitcoin
• Ethereum
• XRP
• Solana
• Dogecoin

Machine summary Researchers at cybersecurity company Group-IB discovered a malicious script called ClickLock on VirusTotal, according to Fox News.

1. Fox News reported that one component installs a persistent backdoor that can allow an attacker to access a Mac remotely.

Reported by Fox News, Google News and Democratic Accent.

• Group-IB
• VirusTotal
• ClickLock