The Daily: Dormant Bitcoin wallets wake after 14 years to move billions of dollars in BTC, House GOP declares 'Crypto Week,' and more

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter,  The Daily , which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Happy Friday! It's Independence Day in the U.S., but crypto never sleeps — so we're still here to keep you up to date with the latest.

In today's newsletter, several bitcoin wallets move billions of dollars worth of BTC after 14 years of dormancy, House leadership designates mid-July as "Crypto Week" to consider digital asset legislation, FTX says payouts may be forfeited in "restricted" jurisdictions, and more.

Meanwhile, U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs approach $50 billion in total net inflows after a $1 billion rebound over two days.

Let's get started.

Dormant Bitcoin wallets wake up after 14 years to move billions of dollars in BTC

Several dormant Bitcoin wallets holding 10,000 BTC each woke up after 14 years on Thursday and Friday to move the funds now worth over $1 billion.

• Two of the wallets originally received 10,000 BTC each from a single transaction on April 3, 2011 — when bitcoin was worth just $0.78.
• The value of the 10,000 BTC rose from $7,800 in 2011 to $1.1 billion today — a mind-boggling 140,000x increase.
• Both wallets transferred their bitcoin to new addresses within 30 minutes of each other, cycling from legacy addresses to more modern, lower-fee formats, and have not moved the funds since.
• Lookonchain later suggested the same entity controlled both addresses, as well as six other addresses that also received 10,000 BTC each on May 4, 2011, when the price of bitcoin had risen to $3.37.
• Those other addresses also subsequently transferred their 10,000 BTC later on Friday.

House GOP declares 'Crypto Week' for mid-July

House Republicans will designate the week starting July 14 as "Crypto Week" to advance stablecoin, market structure, and anti-CBDC bills central to President Trump's digital asset agenda.

• Lawmakers plan to prioritize the Senate-passed GENIUS Act stablecoin bill over their own STABLE Act version to meet Trump's August deadline.
• The Clarity Act aims to define SEC and CFTC roles in regulating digital assets while requiring firms to provide retail financial disclosures and segregate corporate and customer funds.
• A third bill, led by Majority Whip Tom Emmer, seeks to block the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency directly to Americans.

FTX says payouts may be forfeited in 'restricted' jurisdictions like China and Russia

The FTX Recovery Trust proposed a plan to assess and potentially block payouts to creditors in 49 "restricted" jurisdictions like China, Russia, and Pakistan.

• The trust said in a filing that it will hire lawyers to determine if distributions in each jurisdiction comply with local laws before proceeding.
• Claims in the 49 jurisdictions represent 5% of the estimated $16 billion total, and 82% of the value in potentially restricted regions comes from China, the filing noted.
• If compliance cannot be confirmed, creditors in those regions will have 45 days to object before their claims are forfeited and redistributed.
• A court hearing on the proposal is set for July 22, as some affected creditors voiced outrage and vowed to contest the plan.

Options traders brace for 'big July' in Bitcoin and Ethereum after volatility drop in June

Options traders on the onchain platform Derive.xyz piled into July contracts after Bitcoin and Ethereum volatility sank in June , anticipating a sharp breakout this month, Head of Research Sean Dawson said.

• BTC and ETH weathered Middle East war scare in June with muted volatility, as traders correctly bet hostilities would stay contained, he noted.
• Dawson sees ETH showing stronger bullish momentum, fueled by Robinhood's tokenized stock plans and heavy call interest above $3,000.
• Meanwhile, BTC's options market shows split bets between a breakout above $130,000 and a hawkish Fed-driven drop below $100,000.

Chinese tech giants urge central bank to approve offshore yuan stablecoins

JD.com and Ant Group are pressuring China's central bank to approve offshore yuan-backed stablecoins in Hong Kong to boost the fiat currency's global role, Reuters reported.

• The push comes ahead of Hong Kong's stablecoin licensing regime launching Aug. 1, as the city positions itself as a key offshore crypto hub.
• Both firms plan to apply for licenses in Hong Kong and other jurisdictions as the global stablecoin race heats up.

Looking ahead over the next 7 days

• The latest U.S. FOMC meeting minutes are scheduled for release on Wednesday. U.S. jobless claims data are out on Thursday. UK GDP numbers are due on Friday.
• U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller and FOMC member Mary Daly will speak on Thursday.
• Ethena, 1inch, EigenLayer, Movement, Optimism, and Axie Infinity are among the crypto projects set for token unlocks .

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