July marked a recovery in digital assets from the deep decline in June, with Bitcoin appreciating from approximately US$58,760 (A$84,810) on 30 June to approximately US$62.630 (A$89,200) on 31 July. This represented a 7% gain in USD terms and a 5% gain in AUD terms, contrasting with a marginal 0.1% decline in the S&P 500 and a 1.73% decline in gold over the same period. US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) returned to net inflows of US$172.4 million after two consecutive months of redemptions. Macroeconomic indicators remained stable as the U.S. Federal Reserve held the federal funds rate at 3.50-3.75%, supported by June’s CPI of 3.5% year-on-year.
July delivered regulatory milestones across several jurisdictions. In Australia, AUSTRAC’s Tranche 2 anti-money laundering obligations and the Travel Rule commenced on 1 July for newly regulated virtual asset service providers. These legislative updates strengthen institutional confidence, enhance market transparency and further align Australia with international regulatory standards. Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation entered full application on 1 July, establishing a unified EU market with legal certainty, investor protections, and passporting rights. As the world’s first comprehensive crypto rulebook, MiCA enhances institutional trust and positions Europe as a competitive global crypto hub. In the United States, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted Circle final national trust bank approval, marking a pivotal step for integrating blockchain and digital assets into the U.S. financial system. Senator Cynthia Lummis released a merged Digital Asset Market Clarity Act text. In Japan, the House of Councillors passed its Financial Instruments and Exchange Act amendment, moving digital assets under securities law.
Institutional activity centred on tokenisation and market infrastructure. Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) processed its first production trades using tokenised securities in July through its ComposerX platform, with more than 30 firms transacting across tokenised Russell 1000 equities, ETFs and US Treasuries ahead of a full commercial launch in October. The UK government convened a tokenisation taskforce of 54 firms, including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley.
Digital asset treasury companies continued to face pressure. Strategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) sold 2,225 BTC for US$135.2 million at an average of US$60,773 in early July to fund preferred stock distributions and replenish its US dollar reserve. It rebuilt the reserve to US$3.75 billion through common equity issuance and repurchased 288,930 STRC preferred shares for US$25.0 million. It held 843,775 BTC as at 30 July. DigitalX (ASX: DCC) announced on-market share buy-back of 120,362,388 shares, representing approximately 10% of shares on issue. Satsuma Technology (LSE: SATS) shareholders approved a full liquidation of its Bitcoin holdings and a London delisting. On the other hand, Strive (Nasdaq: ASST) continued modest but consistent accumulation with multiple small weekly buys, increasing its BTC holding from 19,864 BTC at the end of June to 20,020 at the end of July.
On the state and sovereign Bitcoin holdings front, Kazakhstan, a major global hub for Bitcoin mining, introduced new regulations designed to support the development of its state-backed digital asset reserve. Under these rules, miners are granted access to regulated electricity tariffs in exchange for allocating a portion of their mined cryptocurrency to a government-supported technology cluster. These regulatory changes reinforce Kazakhstan’s ongoing initiatives to establish a state-backed digital asset infrastructure.
July returned Bitcoin to a monthly gain for the first time since April. The structural developments were substantial with Australia’s anti-money laundering obligations for virtual asset service providers taking effect, Europe’s MiCA framework reaching full application and Japan moving digital assets under its securities law. Institutional infrastructure advanced in parallel, with the first production trades settling on DTCC’s tokenisation platform. Entering August, sentiment remains cautious while the regulatory and institutional foundations of the asset class continue to broaden.
