Web3 Industry Weekly Report: Highlights from Week 1 of July 2026
Tech Headlines
1. Robinhood Chain Mainnet Goes Live, Building Dedicated Chain Infrastructure for Tokenized Assets Based on Arbitrum
https://blog.arbitrum.io/robinhood-chain-mainnet/
On July 1, 2026, the official Arbitrum announcement stated that Robinhood Chain has gone live on mainnet. Built on Arbitrum Platform, it joins an ecosystem of more than 30 dedicated blockchains. Robinhood previously launched tokenized stock products in Europe, first validating the use case on Arbitrum One before migrating to a customized dedicated chain environment. The chain adopts configurable block times, preconfirmations, dynamic pricing, and a high-throughput design, aiming to meet the requirements of financial products in terms of low latency, predictable costs, performance, and compliance control. This case demonstrates the extension of L2 technology into application scenarios such as enterprise dedicated chains.
2. Chainlink Adjusts Build Ecosystem Program, Shifting Toward a Strategic Project Partnership Model
https://chain.link/blog/build-program-evolution
At the end of June 2026, oracle network Chainlink released an announcement on the evolution of the Build Program, stating that its ecosystem growth initiative is shifting from a general token reward model toward a more strategically aligned project partnership approach. The announcement says the most recent quarter of Chainlink Rewards will serve as the final phase of Build-related token rewards, with claims available through July 7, 2026. This change means Chainlink is placing greater emphasis in ecosystem incentives on projects that align with infrastructure, institutional applications, and long-term network needs, rather than broad-based distribution incentives.
3. Ethereum Foundation Releases Ethereum Neutral Infrastructure Guide for Governments and Institutions
https://blog.ethereum.org/2026/07/01/ethereum-for-institutions
On July 1, 2026, the Ethereum Foundation's Global Policy Strategy team published the introduction article and guide "Ethereum for Governments and Institutions," aimed at public sector and institutional decision-makers to explain Ethereum's governance, operating mechanisms, deployable use cases, and comparisons with other solutions. The article emphasizes that, amid the global restructuring of digital infrastructure, a public, programmable network that does not rely on a single centralized entity can serve as a neutral infrastructure option. This guide is not a protocol upgrade announcement, but rather a non-technical document for policy and institutional adoption scenarios, reflecting how the Ethereum ecosystem is strengthening its engagement with discussions involving governments, financial institutions, and public infrastructure.
4. Circle Announces USDC, EURC, and Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol CCTP Go Live on Cronos
https://www.circle.com/blog/now-available-usdc-eurc-and-cctp-on-cronos
On June 29, 2026, Circle's official blog indicated that USDC, EURC, and the cross-chain transfer protocol CCTP have gone live on Cronos. Circle stated that this integration can support use cases such as payments, trading, agent-driven applications, and DeFi, while providing the Cronos ecosystem with dollar and euro stablecoin liquidity. CCTP enables USDC transfers between different chains through a native burn-and-mint mechanism, reducing the liquidity fragmentation and wrapped-asset risks associated with traditional bridging assets. This event continues the technical approach of stablecoin issuers expanding settlement networks through multi-chain native deployments and cross-chain transfer tools.
Industry Dynamics
1. Taiwan's "Virtual Asset Service Act" Passes Third Reading, VASPs Shift to an Ex Ante Licensing Regime with a Dedicated Stablecoin Chapter
On June 30, 2026, Taiwan's legislature passed the "Virtual Asset Service Act" in its third reading, making it Taiwan's first dedicated law for virtual assets. The new law upgrades VASPs from the registration regime under the Money Laundering Control Act to a comprehensive "ex ante licensing regime." Business activities are divided into categories such as exchange, trading platforms, transfer, custody, underwriting, and lending, and operators must meet minimum thresholds including capital requirements, operating guarantees, and internal control and audit systems. The dedicated law includes a stablecoin chapter requiring issuers to obtain approval from the FSC in consultation with the central bank before licensing, keep reserve assets in domestic financial institutions under separate custody, allow redemption at par at any time, and absolutely prohibit interest payments; initially, financial institutions will be prioritized as issuers. Penalties have been significantly increased: operating without authorization may result in up to 7 years imprisonment and a fine of up to NT$100 million.
2. SEC Opens 60-Day Public Comment Period on "Novel ETFs," Covering Crypto Assets and Prediction Market ETFs
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a public comment request for "novel ETFs" (Release No. 33-11426), opening a 60-day public consultation on ETFs that invest in innovative asset classes or use novel investment strategies, with a focus on crypto asset funds and prediction-market-related products. SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the move aims to establish a "consistent, transparent, and efficient" ETF regulatory framework. This consultation follows Atkins' statement in May that more than twenty pending ETF applications would be put on hold, and marks the SEC's first systematic, institutionalized public consultation on ETF categories related to crypto and prediction markets.
3. Strike Secures Full EU MiCA Authorization, Enabled to Offer Bitcoin Services Across All 27 Countries
https://cryptobriefing.com/strike-mica-authorization-europe/
Strike's European subsidiary, Zap (Strike) Europe Limited, has received full MiCA Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) authorization from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), allowing it to operate across all 27 EU countries with a single license. The authorization came one day before the MiCA transition period expired on July 1, after which entities without MiCA authorization are required to stop operating within the EU. To date, among more than 1,200 registered entities in the EU, only about 230–244 have obtained full MiCA authorization, a success rate of roughly 20%, with Coinbase, Kraken, Crypto.com, and Robinhood among them. Following MiCA's full implementation, USDT has been systematically delisted by compliant exchanges for not obtaining EMT issuance authorization, privacy coins such as XMR and ZEC have been broadly removed due to Travel Rule requirements, and derivatives leverage has been capped at 10x.
4. California's Digital Financial Assets Law Takes Effect on July 1, Requiring Firms to Be Licensed or Have Submitted an Application
https://dfpi.ca.gov/regulated-industries/digital-financial-assets/
The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) page shows that the Digital Financial Assets Law (DFAL) entered a key licensing milestone on July 1, 2026. Starting from that date, firms conducting digital financial asset business with California residents must obtain a DFPI license, or have already submitted a complete application, in order to continue operating. DFAL brings activities such as exchanging, storing, and transferring digital financial assets under regulatory oversight, and grants DFPI licensing, supervisory, and enforcement authority. The law also imposes transaction limits, disclosure requirements, and fee restrictions on cryptocurrency kiosk operators. This framework makes California a representative U.S. state jurisdiction with a relatively comprehensive licensing regime for crypto businesses.
In-Depth Analysis
1. OpenUSD (OUSD): A Consortium Stablecoin Jointly Launched by 140+ Institutions Including Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock, Stripe, and Coinbase
https://fortune.com/2026/06/30/stripe-visa-stablecoin-rival-ousd-tether-circle/
The Open USD (OUSD) stablecoin project, led by the independent entity Open Standard and jointly initiated by more than 140 institutions, has launched. Participants span payments (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Stripe, Discover), banking and asset management (BlackRock, BNY, Standard Chartered, BBVA, DBS, Mizuho), technology (Google, Shopify, DoorDash, Samsung, IBM), and crypto-native companies (Coinbase, Ripple, Solana Labs, Aave, MetaMask, Morpho). OUSD is designed around three core principles: founding partners can mint and redeem for free and without limits; after a small management fee is deducted, nearly all reserve yield is distributed to participants; and governance is collectively handled by a board composed of partner company representatives, rather than by a single issuer. Stripe will make OUSD the default stablecoin in its commercial ecosystem, and Coinbase has confirmed that OUSD will be listed on Base and other chains, with an official launch expected later in 2026.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this document is based on publicly available market data and industry trends, and is for reference only. Please note that this information does not constitute any form of investment advice or recommendation, nor should it be considered as the basis for buying or selling any financial products or services. In case of any translation errors in English, inaccuracies, or situations requiring further clarification, please contact us through 'Contact Us' so that we can verify and make necessary corrections in a timely manner.
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