Week 33, August 3–9, 2026 Politics and crypto market infrastructure are moving at different speeds. The U.S. Senate has suspended work on a key crypto bill until the fall. The U.S. Treasury Secretary’s adviser on digital assets has left the department. At the same time, the crypto industry is increasing investment in support of pro-crypto candidates in elections. While Washington drags its feet, Mastercard, BlackRock, and Coinbase are building bridges between traditional finance and crypto. Russia made two moves in opposite directions: launching exchange trading in cryptocurrencies and banning mining. U.S. crypto legislation is on hold until the fall. The Senate postponed the vote on the CLARITY Act until the end of the recess. Discussions continue around the future of Trump’s crypto projects. Under one scenario — a forced sale — Trump could receive tax benefits on the $1.4 billion he earned from crypto projects. Tyler Williams, adviser to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on digital assets, has left the Treasury. The odds of the bill passing in 2026 on Polymarket fell from 27% to 14%. Pro-crypto candidates won primaries in Michigan and Washington, and crypto companies’ campaign contributions exceeded $189 million. Traditional finance and cryptocurrency are drawing closer together. Mastercard acquired payment platform BVNK for $1.8 billion. The company plans to use its technology to enable settlement in stablecoins and tokenized assets for banks and merchants. Backed by JPMorgan’s Kinexys blockchain platform, BlackRock launched in Europe tokenized share classes of its $311 billion ICS money market funds, with 24/7 transfers across 15 markets. On August 6, Coinbase opened trading in 4,000 U.S. stocks to British users in 24/5 mode. Russia launched exchange trading for major crypto assets and banned mining. Starting September 1, 2026, retail investors can trade assets with a market cap above 5 trillion rubles ($61.4 billion) and a two-year average daily turnover above 1 trillion rubles ($12.3 billion). Only BTC, ETH, and USDT meet the criteria. Domestic crypto payments remain prohibited. The government banned mining in Moscow, the Moscow region, and parts of the Kursk region through the end of 2032. The Moscow region’s energy ministry claimed miners consume 1 GW without economic benefit. Industry disputes are increasingly being decided in court. The judicial system has become the main arena for crypto disputes. On August 7, a U.S. appeals court upheld Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF) conviction: three judges rejected his claim that FTX could cover any obligations. For the convicted founder, only a presidential pardon and the Supreme Court remain. Trump said he does not plan to grant a pardon. The mother of the late Ondo founder, Kathleen Allman, is seeking control of the company and the removal of CEO De Bode. According to rwa.xyz, $3.6 billion in RWA assets are circulating on the platform. Binance is demanding $473 million from payment company RedotPay for diverting 470,000 users. The exchange valued each client at $925.