Michael Saylor argues bitcoin’s four-year cycle is losing dominance as the crypto asset becomes embedded in global finance. He says halving-driven narratives are giving way to institutional capital flows that now shape demand and price direction.

France has emerged as the clear favorite to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup, according to betting activity on Polymarket and Kalshi, two prediction market platforms that have processed billions of dollars in wagers on the tournament outcome.

Michael Saylor posted a fresh orange dot bitcoin chart Sunday, putting attention back on whether Strategy will announce another bitcoin purchase. The post follows last week’s $2.55 billion reserve shield and bitcoin monetization plan.

This editorial is from this week’s edition of the newsletter Week in Review, sent to subscribers on Friday. Subscribe to the newsletter to get this weekly editorial the second it’s finished. The newsletter also includes the biggest stories of the week with a comment on each story.

Welcome to Latam Insights, a compilation of the most relevant crypto news from Latin America over the past week. In this edition, Brazil moves VASPs to the same regulatory class as traditional brokerages, OKX launches an earthquake relief campaign for Venezuelans, and Bolivia abandons fixed dollar exchange rate.

Nearly 1 million investors, or roughly two-thirds of investors who purchased President Donald Trump’s branded TRUMP memecoin have lost a combined $3.81 billion through the end of June.

The operation, named “Exchange,” involved the participation of over 50 officers who executed 13 search and seizure warrants and 11 temporary arrest warrants in the state of Sao Paulo. The organization used crypto to launder illicit funds tied to Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC).

Elvira Nabiullina, Governor of the Central Bank of Russia, stressed that the main banks and large retail businesses were “ready for the widespread use of the digital ruble. The rollout of Russia’s CBDC is programmed for next September.

A Queensland mother learned she’d won 1.6 million Australian dollars, about $1.1 million, in the June 6 Saturday Gold Lotto after spotting a Facebook post from the Lott Members Club about a winning ticket sold near her. Because the ticket wasn’t registered, the couple only confirmed the jackpot after checking the numbers, and they plan to put it toward a home and their kids’ future.

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has published its guidance on the taxation of crypto assets to standardize compliance for an estimated 6 million local users.

Crypto exchange VALR is introducing perps, a new derivatives product offering over 200 cross-asset perpetual futures markets.

A wide-ranging product recap showed how Coinbase has advanced its “every asset, every market, one platform” strategy across trading, payments, artificial intelligence, stablecoins, and on-chain infrastructure.

Ripple joined America250’s Giving 4th campaign on July 4 with a pledge to match donations in XRP supporting the Call of Duty Endowment. The effort links Independence Day charitable giving with programs helping veterans move into civilian jobs.

Grayscale says Solana’s growing application ecosystem is driving major on-chain activity, with the network averaging more than 100 million daily transactions year-to-date and supporting more than 1,000 decentralized applications.

Central banks added a net 41 tonnes of gold to official reserves in May, World Gold Council data published July 2 shows, extending a buying wave that has averaged 1,000 tonnes a year over the past four years. A record 45% of reserve managers expect their own institutions to add more within the next 12 months.