Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he still expects the Senate to hold a vote this week on the crypto Clarity Act before the chamber breaks for recess. The timing keeps the bill on the near term legislative calendar as lawmakers weigh the next steps for crypto market rules.

Sphere 3D, a U.S.-listed Bitcoin mining company, is preparing an at-the-market (ATM) equity program to shore up liquidity, with plans to issue up to 4.383 million common shares. The maximum issuance would equal 50.9% of the company's current basic shares outstanding and is expected to raise about $10.3 million, or roughly $9.9 million in net proceeds. The program is set out in a prospectus supplement updated on July 31 and assumes an offering price of $2.35 per share. Sphere 3D also reiterated that it may sell self-mined Bitcoin to supplement working capital or fund growth initiatives. The move does not involve a direct crypto-asset issuance or any regulatory change, but the company's funding pressure may add to investor concern over the sector's financial health and the risk of incremental selling pressure tied to miners' balance sheets.

Boss Energy (ONUS) released an operations update showing its Alta Mesa project produced 362,000 pounds of uranium in FY2024 Q4, up 79% quarter-on-quarter, allowing the company to meet its full-year production guidance. On a single-asset basis, Alta Mesa delivered 45,000 pounds (100% interest), around 78% below market consensus. The shortfall was attributed to permitting approval delays that prevented new wellfields from coming online. The stock remains rated ACCUMULATE, while the price target is cut to A$1.40 from A$1.55.

The EU has begun enforcing AI Act transparency rules requiring chatbots, voice assistants, and AI agents to disclose they are machines from the first interaction, and to clearly label deepfakes and AI generated media. Violations can draw fines up to €35 million or 7% of global turnover, applying to any company serving EU users.

MicroStrategy disclosed that it sold 1,638 Bitcoin for $104.7 million late last month, directing the bulk of proceeds to strengthen liquidity and support its perpetual preferred stock STRC, according to an SEC filing and updates from executives. The company sold the Bitcoin between July 27 and Sunday at an average price of $63,957 per BTC. Of the $104.7 million raised, $52.4 million went to fund dividends on STRC, while $52.3 million was used to repurchase STRC shares. Following the sale, MicroStrategy said its Bitcoin reserve totals 842,138 BTC, purchased for an aggregate cost of about $63.5 billion. Over the same period, the company also sold $290.6 million of MSTR common stock. It allocated $250 million to its U.S. dollar reserve, used $28.9 million for additional STRC buybacks, and added $11.7 million to cash on hand. Executive chairman Michael Saylor wrote on X that MicroStrategy repurchased $81.2 million of STRC during the period and extended its U.S. dollar funding runway by 57 days to roughly 2.3 years. He said the firm now holds ₿842,138 in its BTC reserve and about $4.0 billion in its USD reserve. The transactions follow a capital framework introduced at the end of June that explicitly allows Bitcoin sales to cover preferred dividends, service debt, execute approved buybacks, and build the USD reserve. MicroStrategy previously sold 3,588 BTC for about $216 million on July 6 and disposed of 32 BTC in early June, marking its first Bitcoin sales since a 2022 tax-related transaction. On the July 31 Q2 earnings call, management signaled a shift in capital allocation: the company will no longer deploy every available dollar into Bitcoin. CEO Phong Le said MicroStrategy will pause additional Bitcoin purchases while STRC trades below its $100 stated value, with the board prioritizing larger cash buffers. STRC remains central to the company's fundraising strategy, making its market price important for future capital raises. As of Monday premarket, STRC traded around $89.40, roughly 10.6% below par, while MSTR shares were modestly lower. MicroStrategy kept STRC's annual dividend rate at 12% for August despite the discount. A policy change dated June 29 shifts dividend decisions to consider market price, competing yields, Bitcoin volatility, credit spreads, and cash reserve coverage, rather than automatically raising payouts whenever STRC trades under par. Management has increasingly leaned on repurchasing STRC at discounted prices instead of repeatedly lifting dividends. Filings show about $25 million in STRC repurchases between July 20–26, with nearly $1 billion still available under the existing buyback authorization. The company's recent moves—selling some BTC, raising cash through MSTR share sales, building a roughly $4 billion USD reserve, and buying back discounted STRC—are aimed at improving liquidity and preserving financing flexibility. Executives have said restoring STRC closer to its $100 stated value is a priority before resuming more aggressive Bitcoin accumulation. The pivot comes amid outside calls for MicroStrategy to slow purchases and rebuild cash cushions. CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju said on X that the company should "pause Bitcoin purchases, rebuild cash reserves, and adopt a systematic framework," warning that dividend coverage had tightened. MicroStrategy reported an $8.22 billion net loss in Q2, largely reflecting an $8.32 billion unrealized accounting loss on its Bitcoin holdings under fair-value rules. Management said the accounting impact does not change its long-term Bitcoin strategy. Benchmark and H.C. Wainwright maintained buy ratings after the quarter, though Benchmark reduced its price target. Both firms pointed to the larger cash reserve, preferred buybacks, and strengthened financing posture as potential positives for future capital raising, while noting the outlook remains closely tied to Bitcoin prices and investor demand for STRC. MicroStrategy's bottom line: the company is temporarily reducing Bitcoin exposure to support preferred dividends, repurchase discounted STRC, and expand its dollar reserve—a deliberate shift toward liquidity and financing stability that it says could improve fundraising capacity and enable future Bitcoin purchases once STRC recovers and funding flexibility improves.

South Africa has released a draft Crypto Asset Manual that would channel most cross-border crypto transfers through authorized intermediaries and require reporting to the central bank, extending the country's foreign-exchange control framework to digital assets. National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) say the draft sets out when a crypto transaction becomes a regulated cross-border event and how it must be handled under updated capital-flow rules. Reporting to SARB's Financial Surveillance Department (FinSurv) would be triggered when crypto is transferred from a locally authorized Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) to an offshore CASP, or when funds are moved into a privately controlled, noncustodial wallet. The proposal would require individuals sending crypto abroad to use an authorized provider rather than unregulated channels, giving FinSurv visibility into transaction data for FX monitoring. Under the draft, trades conducted domestically in South African rand through a local authorized provider would not be treated as cross-border events and would not trigger reporting. At this stage, only individuals would be permitted to move crypto offshore, and only within existing foreign-currency allowances. SARB reiterated that crypto is not legal tender and said it is not yet differentiating among categories of digital assets while research continues. The manual operationalizes parts of the April Draft Capital Flow Management Regulations, which proposed classifying crypto as capital moving across borders and bringing it into South Africa's FX control system. Authorities say the reporting framework is intended to deter the use of crypto to bypass financial controls, improve traceability, identify illicit flows, and align oversight with FATF and OECD recommendations. The draft arrives as crypto activity expands in South Africa. Reuters, citing Chainalysis, reports the country already has hundreds of licensed virtual asset service providers, and several major banks are developing crypto offerings for institutional clients. The April package introduced the concepts of authorized CASPs, transaction reporting, declaration requirements and administrative penalties for noncompliance. The Crypto Asset Manual clarifies how those principles would apply by defining when financial surveillance requirements are triggered. Tax and reporting rules are also evolving. In July, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) issued draft guidance treating crypto as intangible assets, not legal tender or foreign currency, and outlined potential income tax and capital gains tax treatment for activities including trading, swaps, staking, mining, DeFi participation and payments. South Africa is also implementing the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), which will require crypto service providers to collect and report customer and transaction data to SARS. The first CARF reporting period runs from March 1, 2026 to Feb. 28, 2027. Treasury and SARB are accepting public comments on the draft Crypto Asset Manual through Sept. 30. If adopted, the rules would tighten oversight of outbound crypto flows in one of Africa's largest digital-asset markets, affecting users, service providers and institutions that facilitate cross-border transfers.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (@LeaderJohnThune) said Monday he still expects the Senate to hold an initial vote on the Clarity Act before lawmakers break for this week's recess. Speaking to reporters, Thune said, "I think market structure we'll get a vote on," while noting the chamber faces a tight schedule. The planned procedural vote would take place without the bill's central dispute resolved. The White House has not responded to a bipartisan ethics counterproposal from Sens. Thom Tillis and Ruben Gallego that was sent last Thursday, leaving the crypto market-structure framework under time pressure as the calendar heads into August.

U.S. equities surged on the day, adding about $1.5 trillion in market capitalization. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished above 53,100, marking its first-ever close at that level.

Altcoin trading volume on Binance has climbed above 60%, while Bitcoin's share has dropped to 22% and Ethereum's to 18%, underscoring a notable shift from May when $BTC dominated activity. CryptoQuant analyst @Darkfost_Coc said subdued BTC spot volumes and an extended period of range-bound price action are pushing traders toward beaten-down altcoins in search of volatility.