Daily News: White House Targets Banks Discriminating Against Crypto, Lido to Lay Off 15% of Staff, Bullish Seeks $629M IPO, and More

White House to Issue Executive Order Punishing Banks Discriminating Against Crypto Companies and Conservatives

The White House is preparing to increase pressure on major banks, targeting alleged discrimination against conservatives and cryptocurrency companies. It plans to issue an executive order threatening fines for banks that refuse services to clients for political reasons.

A draft of the executive order will instruct banking regulators to investigate whether financial institutions have violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, antitrust laws, or consumer financial protection laws.

US CFTC Considers Allowing Futures Exchanges to Offer Cryptocurrency Spot Contracts

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is exploring the possibility of allowing registered futures exchanges to launch leveraged digital asset trading, including Ethereum and Bitcoin.

CFTC Acting Chair Caroline Pham stated that the agency could implement a clear and straightforward solution immediately. The CFTC has requested public comments on permitting cryptocurrency spot contract trading on CFTC-registered futures exchanges by August 18, 2025, UTC.

Goldman Sachs: Fed Expected to Cut Rates by 25 Basis Points Three Times Starting September

Goldman Sachs expects the Federal Reserve to initiate three consecutive rate cuts of 25 basis points starting in September. If the next report shows a further rise in unemployment, a 50 basis point rate cut may be possible.

CrediX Suffers Attack with $4.5 Million Loss

PeckShield monitored CrediX experienced a security breach today in which hackers exploited a multi-administrator account with extensive permissions. This account had control over functions such as fund pool management, cross-chain bridge operations, asset listing, and emergency handling.

The attackers primarily leveraged the cross-chain bridge (BRIDGE) permissions to execute their operations, resulting in the loss of approximately $4.5 million from the fund pool. This includes the minting of unsecured acUSDC tokens.

CrediX's official team has previously confirmed the security incident, stating that an investigation is underway and detailed information will be released soon.

Lido Co-Founder: Team Size to Be Reduced, Affecting Approximately 15% of Employees

Lido Co-Founder Vasiliy Shapovalov stated over the weekend: "As part of efforts to ensure long-term sustainability, Lido Labs, Lido Ecosystem, and Lido Alliance have made the hard decision to reduce the size of their contributor teams, impacting around 15% of the workforce. This decision was about costs — not performance.

While it may seem counterintuitive amid a market upswing, the move reflects a deliberate commitment to sustainable growth, operational focus, and alignment with the priorities of LDO tokenholders. Lido is building for the decades ahead — and this change helps reinforce that foundation."

Blockchain Lending Firm Figure Technology Files for IPO

Blockchain lending company Figure Technology has confidentially submitted an S-1 filing to the SEC as it prepares for public listing. Backed by major partnerships with institutions like Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and BlackRock, as well as a $2 billion liquidity commitment from Sixth Street, Figure aims to leverage its robust financial ecosystem for continued growth.

Bullish Files IPO Application with SEC, Aims to Raise $629 Million

Digital asset exchange Bullish, along with its subsidiary CoinDesk, has filed for IPO with the U.S. SEC. The filing reveals plans to issue 20.3 million shares priced between $28 and $31 per share, targeting a maximum fundraising amount of $629 million. This would value the company at approximately $4.2 billion.

Bullish operates across various digital asset services, including spot trading, leveraged trading, and derivatives trading, while also providing liquidity services for stablecoin issuers. Despite reporting $80.2 million in digital asset sales in Q1 2025, the company posted a net loss of $349 million during the same period. Notably, Bullish acquired cryptocurrency media platform CoinDesk in 2023 for $72.6 million, further expanding its ecosystem.

Barry Silbert Returns as Grayscale Chairman to Drive IPO Progress

Grayscale Investments has announced the return of its founder, Barry Silbert, as Chairman of the Board, replacing Mark Shifke, who will remain as a board member. This move comes as Grayscale advances its plans for a public listing, having confidentially filed IPO documents last month.

Silbert's return marks a significant development for the company, which has faced challenges in recent years. He stepped down as Chairman in late 2023 amid critical SEC reviews of Grayscale's proposal to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot Bitcoin ETF. Additionally, Grayscale's parent company, Digital Currency Group (DCG), faced legal troubles, including a lawsuit from the New York Attorney General over the Genesis bankruptcy and Gemini Earn project issues, with Silbert directly implicated.

DeFi Dev Acquires Over 110,000 SOL, Total Holdings Exceed 1.29 Million Tokens

DeFi Dev has announced the acquisition of 110,466 SOL tokens at an average purchase price of $166 per token, amounting to a total investment of $18.4 million. The developer's total holdings now stand at approximately 1,293,562 SOL, valued at around $209 million at current market rates. This significant accumulation highlights DeFi Dev's continued confidence in the Solana ecosystem.

The Ether Machine Acquires 10,605 ETH, Total Holdings Exceed 345,000 Tokens

The Ether Machine announced that its subsidiary, The Ether Reserve LLC, has acquired an additional 10,605 ETH at an average purchase price of $3,781 per token, totaling approximately $40 million. This acquisition is part of the company's long-term accumulation strategy, funded by proceeds from a recent $97 million private placement.

Since the beginning of this month, The Ether Machine's total purchased and committed ETH has reached 345,362 tokens. The company plans to leverage these assets through staking and re-staking mechanisms while providing Ethereum infrastructure services to institutional clients.

SharpLink Gaming Increases Ethereum Holdings by 18,680 ETH, Total Reserve Nears 500,000 Tokens

SharpLink Gaming (NASDAQ: SBET) has added 18,680 ETH to its holdings, valued at approximately $66.63 million. Following this latest acquisition, the company's total Ethereum reserve has grown to 498,884 ETH, with an estimated value of $1.8 billion. This move underscores SharpLink Gaming's strong commitment to expanding its cryptocurrency portfolio.