Record 1.47% of All XRP Now Unavailable Due to ETF Rally; Grayscale Rejects 4-Year Cycle Theory for Bitcoin; Crypto Protocols Lose $35.56 Million in Three Back-to-Back Exploits - Morning Crypto Report

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XRP leaves exchanges for ETF vaults ahead of decisive Senate vote Why Grayscale no longer believes in Bitcoin halving cycles 'Black Thursday' for DeFi: Three crypto protocols hacked for $35.56 million Crypto market outlook: Bitcoin ETF inflow streak reaches $1 billion amid sovereign reserve formation and expansion in Asia Advertisement TL;DR U.S. spot XRP ETFs now hold a record 1.47% of total supply worth $1.04 billion, with institutions front-running the CLARITY Act's Senate deadline ahead of the Aug. 7 recess Grayscale's Zach Pandl says Bitcoin has outgrown its four-year halving cycle, pointing instead to the Fed's July 28–29 meeting as the market's next real catalyst AFX Trade, Verus Bridge and B² Network lost a combined $35.56 million in three separate DeFi exploits , with Verus hit twice in three months by the same unresolved bug U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs logged a seven-day, $1 billion inflow streak as Kazakhstan launches state-backed mining and Circle brings USDC to 20 million Kakao and Toss users in Korea XRP leaves exchanges for ETF vaults ahead of decisive Senate vote U.S. spot ETFs have removed a record 1.47% of XRP's total supply from market circulation. According to the latest SoSoValue data as of July 23, 2026, the funds now hold 977.41 million tokens worth a combined $1.04 billion. Institutional accumulation is accelerating as the deadline for the CLARITY Act approaches in the U.S. Senate. Lawmakers have about two weeks left to reach a consensus on digital asset oversight rules before Congress leaves for its traditional August recess, which begins on Aug. 7. HOT Stories Ripple CEO Urges Congress to Pass Clarity Act Hyperliquid (HYPE), Near Protocol (NEAR), Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE) Price Analysis for July 23: Bulls Reclaim the Steering Wheel Expectations of long-awaited regulatory clarity are prompting funds to methodically purchase the underlying asset on the spot market and isolate it in custodial wallets, completely removing those coins from exchange circulation. Advertisement The price context only underscores the confidence of major players. XRP is currently trapped inside a descending channel near $1.1338, hovering around local support at $1.1158 with a neutral RSI reading of 54.82. Total inflows in US Spot XRP ETFs since the start of Q3 2026, Source: SoSoValue The gap between the total amount historically invested in the ETFs, $1.49 billion, and their current net asset value of $1.04 billion clearly shows that the funds are sitting on unrealized losses. Nevertheless, institutional holders are not cutting their losses and continue to maintain positions primarily through Bitwise, which has recorded $501 million in net inflows, and Franklin Templeton, with $416 million. Although daily activity within the ETFs remains moderate at around $10.9 million in trading volume, the removal of nearly 1.5% of the XRP supply is reducing the depth of exchange order books. If the Senate manages to pass the CLARITY Act before the Aug. 7 recess, a surge in buyers will encounter an obvious shortage of liquidity on the spot market. Advertisement Why Grayscale no longer believes in Bitcoin halving cycles The leading cryptocurrency has outgrown the training wheels of the halving cycle and now lives by the adult rules of Wall Street, according to Grayscale Research head Zach Pandl , who has urged investors to erase Bitcoin's "four-year cycle" charts from their boards. In his view, crypto has finally transformed into a mature macroeconomic asset that listens to the Federal Reserve rather than the miners' calendar. At this point in the cycle, crypto skeptics would usually expect a deep plunge. The traditional theory predicted that Bitcoin would fall below $25,000 by autumn following last year's record high of $126,000. Instead, the coin is currently holding firmly near $65,800, down a relatively modest 48% from its peak by crypto-winter standards. Bitcoin macro correlation chart (2012–2026), Source: Grayscale Pandl therefore believes that, provided the U.S. economy remains resilient, the market bottom may already be behind us. The foundation of this shift can be seen in macroeconomic charts from Bloomberg and Coin Metrics. Since 2014, Bitcoin's price bottoms have closely coincided not with supply reduction dates, but with declines in the ISM Manufacturing Index and peaks in U.S. two-year Treasury real yields. The main event of the week is now the Federal Reserve meeting scheduled for July 28–29. Interest rates are currently being held at 3.50%–3.75%. If the regulator officially confirms a pause and rules out further increases, Bitcoin will receive a clear path toward growth, further cementing its status as the leading barometer of global liquidity. 'Black Thursday' for DeFi: Three crypto protocols hacked for $35.56 million It was a truly stormy morning for the decentralized finance market, as three projects were targeted by hackers one after another. AFX Trade, Verus Bridge and B² Network found themselves at the center of the exploits, with total losses reaching $35.56 million . The hackers ruthlessly targeted the industry's main weak points: cross-chain bridge vulnerabilities and compromised administrative keys. The largest blow hit the AFX Trade protocol on Arbitrum, where attackers drained $24.15 million in USDC stablecoins from its custodial bridge. The project team responded immediately by suspending operations, bringing cybersecurity heavyweights SlowMist and Zellic into the investigation and offering the hacker a deal. The attacker will be allowed to keep 30% of the stolen amount as a legitimate bounty if the remaining 70% is returned. On-chain message from AFX Trade to the hacker, Source: Arbiscan Meanwhile, the Verus–Ethereum cross-chain bridge has fallen into the same trap again, turning its exploits into an ongoing series. The hacker used an old repeated-import vulnerability, withdrew 3,816 ETH worth around $7.55 million and is already laundering the funds through the Tornado Cash mixer. The irony is that the project was already exploited through a similar method in May. In July, the team triumphantly returned the recovered funds to the liquidity pools, only to suffer another identical exploit by July 23 after failing to fix the critical bug in the code. This appears related to the previous Verus Ethereum Bridge incident in May 2026: same bridge contract, same entry path, and same bug class. However, this is a new tx with a different attacker and loot wallet. https://t.co/FWGcnHJbzP — Blockaid (@blockaid_) July 23, 2026 The L2 project B² Network on BNB Chain suffered the smallest loss of the three, although it was still substantial. Its staking contract was targeted, allowing attackers to steal $3.86 million before developers closed the vulnerability. To the team's credit, it quickly contained the problem and immediately promised to fully compensate affected users from its own reserve funds. While B² Network prepares the repayments and AFX waits for the hacker's response, the day has once again demonstrated that bridges remain the weakest link in crypto. Hackers have again proved that taking millions out of code is easier than attracting those millions in the first place, while users have once more been reminded who usually pays to close such holes. Crypto market outlook: Bitcoin ETF inflow streak reaches $1 billion amid sovereign reserve formation and expansion in Asia Institutional capital is stabilizing the market, as a seven-day inflow streak into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs has brought in $1 billion, offsetting recent selling pressure. While Bitcoin remains in a range just below the key technical barrier at $65,500, the long-term trend is shifting toward the nationalization of mining and the deeper integration of stablecoins into Asian payment ecosystems. Key checkpoints: ETF momentum accelerates: After a prolonged period of outflows, U.S. spot Bitcoin funds have recorded a seven-day green streak , bringing around $1 billion into the market, while BlackRock and Fidelity remained the traditional leaders. Bitcoin tests a technical reversal: The leading cryptocurrency is being squeezed into a narrowing range, trading at $65,495 after encountering a long-term descending trend line. The nearest support has formed at $63,800, while a break above the $67,433 point-of-control level is required to trigger an aggressive bullish scenario. BIP-110 faces rejection from miners: The controversial proposal to temporarily restrict the Ordinals and Runes protocols by imposing an 83-byte limit on the OP_RETURN field is losing its chances of success. Despite developers' attempts to clear blocks of spam, only 1.1% of miners have expressed support for the update, effectively eliminating the risk of a hard fork. State-backed mining takes root: Kazakhstan has officially introduced fixed electricity tariffs for licensed miners for 10 years in exchange for transferring part of the mined BTC to the central bank's national reserve. The country has joined El Salvador and Bhutan in pursuing a strategy of sovereign cryptocurrency accumulation. USDC enters Korean super apps: Stablecoin issuer Circle has signed agreements with technology giants Kakao Group and Toss to deploy blockchain-based settlements. The integration will provide more than 20 million active users in South Korea with legal access to digital assets. End of an era for a legendary derivatives exchange: BitMEX, which helped pioneer leveraged cryptocurrency trading in 2014, will completely cease operations on Sept. 23, 2026. The phased closure of positions will begin on Aug. 26. You Might Also Like Thu, 07/23/2026 - 00:01 Hyperliquid (HYPE), Near Protocol (NEAR), Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE) Price Analysis for July 23: Bulls Reclaim the Steering Wheel By Arman Shirinyan #XRP #Bitcoin #Ripple News #Bitcoin News #Hack News