STONfi has added support for Avalanche and Arbitrum on its cross-chain network for stablecoin swaps. The integration enables in-app swaps across TON, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Base, Ethereum, BNB Chain and Polygon for supported stablecoins including USDT and USDC, without switching interfaces. At launch, swap volume is temporarily limited to $1,000 per transaction. Execution is powered by Omniston, which offers zero-slippage pricing by either delivering the exact amount shown or returning funds in full.

Hermes’ AI agent platform said it has added cross-chain crypto transaction support through its AgentKit plugin, with compatibility spanning Ethereum mainnet, Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, BNB Chain, Berachain and Metis. The company said users can connect wallet and payment functions to an AI agent in a few clicks, enabling on-chain actions such as transfers and contract calls. Hermes said the update is an infrastructure-level expansion and does not involve a new token issuance or fundraising event. The upgrade strengthens the feasibility of deploying AI agents in areas including DeFi, RWA and on-chain automation.

eToro led a $12.5 million investment into the on-chain perpetuals platform Extended in July 2026 and said it plans to integrate Extended’s perp engine into its self-custody wallet, Zengo. Extended says it had processed more than $245 billion in cumulative trading volume as of June 2026 and supports over 100 perpetual markets. The tie-up signals broker platforms are beginning to steer retail distribution toward on-chain derivatives infrastructure. The announcement did not involve any token issuance or changes to token economics, and it did not reference symbols such as A, B, or L.

Coinbase is buying veAERO on the open market at full retail price, aiming to control Aerodrome’s liquidity emissions on Base. Aerodrome currently processes 51% of Base DEX volume, with annual volume above $70b and about $400m in TVL. The AERO-Velodrome merger is set to complete this month, extending governance to Ethereum mainnet and Circle’s Arc chain and creating unified liquidity governance across three chains. All veAERO locked for four years permanently removes the corresponding circulating supply.

StandX has launched the SIP-4 protocol on BNB Chain, introducing DeFi’s first native American-style options on perpetuals and generating more than $40M in on-chain notional volume. The project’s DUSD stablecoin has a supply of $94M, with more than 19,000 holders. StandX said it is built entirely on BNB Chain’s native infrastructure rather than a fork or copy. The team plans to follow with SIP-5, a universal markets protocol.

Market chatter suggests a spot XRP ETF could face a key approval milestone on July 13, 2026. If it happens, it would signal a substantive shift in how U.S. regulators treat XRP’s legal status and could help break the long-running dispute over whether it is a security. Ripple has spent years preparing, including adjusting token distribution, strengthening compliance, and connecting with traditional financial infrastructure. The date remains unconfirmed by the SEC or exchanges, and any outcome would depend on regulatory discretion.

CFTC Chair Michael Selig on July 2, 2026 criticized Illinois lawmakers for approving a 0.2% levy on blockchain transfers, calling it a “sin tax” that treats economically identical transactions differently based solely on technology. He argued the law could apply even when users record no economic gain, including basic on-chain transfers such as moving assets between wallets. Selig said the policy violates technology-neutral treatment and warned it could undermine Chicago’s position as a financial center.

Symbiosis Finance said its quarterly trading volume, transaction count and number of unique wallet addresses on BNB Chain rose by nearly two times or more, according to an official post on X. The statement did not provide specific figures or a precise time window beyond “one quarter,” and it did not cite a year-on-year baseline. No third-party data was offered to verify the figures.