Circle received final approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish a federally regulated national trust bank. The charter allows the USDC issuer to custody its own reserves and hold digital assets for institutional clients, although it does not permit traditional deposit-taking or lending. Circle said the new entity will operate under direct OCC oversight, bringing part of its stablecoin infrastructure more firmly into the regulated financial system. The approval marks another step toward closer integration between stablecoins, tokenized assets and traditional financial institutions.

Bitcoin Rebounds as Sentiment Remains in Extreme Fear

Bitcoin climbed to nearly $64,000 on July 10, recovering from a drop below $62,000 and finishing the seven-day period in positive territory. Ethereum also advanced, while most large cryptocurrencies recovered part of their recent losses despite geopolitical tensions, an oil shock and volatility in global bond markets. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index rose to 23, up from 22 the previous day, 21 last week and 9 last month, but remained in “Extreme Fear.” The figures suggest sentiment is gradually improving from June’s lows, although investors remain cautious and the rebound has not yet produced a broader return to risk-taking.

Swift Launches Blockchain Ledger With 17 Banks

Swift launched a blockchain-based shared ledger with 17 banks, including Citi, HSBC, UBS, BNY, Standard Chartered and Wells Fargo. The system is designed to let banks move tokenized funds around the clock, including during weekends, while retaining the compliance and operational controls required by regulators. Swift said the ledger will help separate bank-operated tokenized-payment systems communicate with one another, addressing fragmentation as institutions develop their own digital-asset infrastructure. The initiative also positions the global messaging network to compete with stablecoins and support future uses such as programmable payments and automated agent-led commerce.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs opened Monday with $265.7 million in net inflows, led by BlackRock’s IBIT at $209.4 million, while Grayscale’s GBTC recorded $44.5 million in outflows. Tuesday remained positive at $21.5 million as IBIT’s $54.8 million inflow outweighed withdrawals from Fidelity’s FBTC and ARK 21Shares’ ARKB. Wednesday reversed to $84.9 million in net outflows, followed by the week’s weakest session on Thursday at negative $95.3 million, driven mainly by $63.3 million leaving FBTC and $39.9 million leaving ARKB. Overall, the funds recorded approximately $107 million in net inflows across the four completed sessions, with Monday’s strong demand keeping the period positive.

U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs began Monday with $20.7 million in net inflows, led by BlackRock’s ETHA at $23.3 million despite a small withdrawal from ETHV. Tuesday added another $26.9 million, entirely through ETHA. Wednesday was the strongest session at $70.5 million, driven by $69.2 million for Fidelity’s FETH and $1.3 million for ETHV, before Thursday reversed to $52.2 million in net outflows led by FETH and ETHA. Overall, the funds attracted approximately $65.9 million across the four completed sessions, with the midweek inflow more than offsetting Thursday’s reversal.

Bitcoin was the strongest performer among the tracked Metal Pay assets, gaining 3.2% over seven days as it rebounded toward $64,000. Ethereum followed closely at 3.0%, while Litecoin and XPR Network gained 2.5% and 2.3%, respectively. The remaining assets finished lower, although Metal Blockchain and Loan Protocol limited their declines to 0.3% and 1.6%. Overall, larger assets held up better as the market recovered late in the week, while several altcoins remained below their previous-week levels.