BitMEX Shuts Down, Senate Clarity Act Odds Plunge as Democrats Push Back

BitMEX, the crypto derivatives pioneer, is shutting down after 12 years, stunning the industry. In Washington, the Senate's Clarity Act faces a sudden collapse in support as Democrats balk at the updated text, sending passage odds to just 38%. On-chain, Bitcoin's long-term holder supply hit a record 16.64 million BTC, while over $35 million was drained from DeFi bridges in coordinated attacks.

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BitMEX Announces Permanent Closure After 12 Years of Operation The exchange, known for inventing the 100x leverage perpetual swap, said it will sunset on September 23 following a strategic review of the business and broader crypto industry. New account registrations have been halted immediately. 1

Senate Democrats Balk at Updated Clarity Act as Passage Odds Crash to 38% Republicans released an updated bill banning federal officials from issuing digital assets, but key Democrats say the draft 'falls short' and object to DOJ enforcement. The pushback has thrown the bill's path to 60 votes into serious doubt ahead of the August recess. 2 3 4

Over $35 Million Drained from Crypto Bridges in Coordinated Hacks The Verus-Ethereum bridge, B² Network, and perpetuals exchange AFX were exploited within a six-hour window for a combined $35 million. The attacks exploited logic flaws and compromised keys, not underlying cryptography. 5

Bitcoin Long-Term Holder Supply Hits Record as ETF Inflows Top $900 Million On-chain data shows 83% of Bitcoin's circulating supply hasn't moved in over 155 days, reaching a record 16.64 million BTC. This conviction is mirrored by strong institutional demand, with spot Bitcoin ETFs seeing $900M in weekly inflows and spot Ethereum ETFs extending their inflow streak to three days. 6 7 8 9

SEC's Peirce Warns DeFi Vaults and Lending Strategies May Be Securities Commissioner Hester Peirce signaled that the $8.6 billion vault sector could fall under securities laws depending on how products are structured. The warning hit Morpho's token hardest, dropping roughly 5% as the market priced in greater regulatory scrutiny. 10

Swiss Bank Offers Crypto Trading as Korean Firms Kakao and Toss Partner with Circle BancaStato now enables trading of Bitcoin, ETH, Solana and Litecoin through Sygnum and Avaloq. Separately, South Korea's Kakao and Toss signed MOUs with Circle to explore won-based stablecoins and digital payment infrastructure. 11 12

Bitcoin Wilts Near $66k as Oil, Yields Surge and Geopolitical Tensions Rise Bitcoin fell to $65,500 as WTI crude hit $88.60 and the 2-year Treasury yield climbed to its highest since February 2025. Despite spot weakness, options traders piled into calls, with Deribit showing a heavily bullish 65:34 call-to-put open interest ratio targeting $72k and $80k. 4 13