[Weekly Crypto] 2026.07.13

1️⃣ Circle Wins Final OCC Approval to Open a National Trust Bank

On July 10 Circle, the issuer of USDC, received final approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a federally supervised national trust bank, to operate as Circle National Trust. The bank will provide fiduciary digital-asset custody for Circle and its affiliates and could later serve institutional clients, while opening a path for Circle to manage USDC reserves under OCC supervision. Circle's shares jumped roughly 14% in pre-market trading on the news.

[Decrypt]

2️⃣ SBI Holdings and Solana Foundation Partner to Build Japan's On-Chain Financial Market

On July 13 SBI Holdings and the Solana Foundation announced a strategic collaboration to build a Japan-based on-chain financial market, with SBI R3 Japan set to rebrand as SBI Solana Global. Backed by SBI and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, the venture will support yen-pegged stablecoins such as JPYSC, tokenize real-world assets like corporate bonds and real estate, and develop payment infrastructure for AI agents — aiming to make Japan a core hub for on-chain finance in Asia.

[BeInCrypto]

3️⃣ DTCC Moves Tokenized Securities Into Live Production Trading

On July 15 DTCC processed live production trades of tokenized stocks, ETFs and U.S. Treasuries in its largest tokenization initiative to date, using assets already held at its central securities depository. JPMorgan, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs and Citadel Securities took part — JPMorgan tokenized Invesco QQQ holdings to post collateral against CME margin — marking a milestone ahead of DTCC's broader tokenization service launch planned for October.

[CoinDesk]

4️⃣ South Korea Advances Digital Asset Basic Act and Won-Pegged Stablecoin

On July 15 South Korea's Ministry of Economy and Finance unveiled its economic strategy for the second half of 2026, reaffirming plans to expand the blockchain and digital-asset sector. Authorities are advancing the Digital Asset Basic Act — a comprehensive framework setting authorization, reserve and capital standards for won-pegged stablecoin issuers — while reviewing Capital Markets Act amendments to enable the country's first spot crypto ETFs.

[The Block]

5️⃣ US Bitcoin and Ether ETFs Snap Eight-Week Outflow Streak

US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded about $197 million of net inflows for the week, snapping an eight-week outflow streak dating back to May, led by BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust. Spot Ether ETFs likewise broke their eight-week losing run with roughly $84 million of inflows, led by BlackRock and Fidelity — a sign institutional demand is recovering amid growing optimism around the CLARITY Act.

[Cointelegraph]