Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, Senate Republicans unveiled the CLARITY Act’s proposed ethics rules, which would temporarily bar US officials, including President Donald Trump, from issuing or sponsoring digital assets until 2029. Elsewhere, South Korea’s crypto trading volumes plunged as retail investors shifted toward stocks, while Balaji Srinivasan’s Network School turned to Kazakhstan after regulatory setbacks forced it to exit Malaysia.

CLARITY ethics rules would bar federal officials from issuing tokens through 2029

The Senate’s proposed CLARITY Act would temporarily prohibit US federal officials, including President Donald Trump, from issuing or sponsoring digital assets under new ethics rules aimed at addressing conflicts of interest.

The text of the 616-page market structure bill includes what the White House called its broadest ethics provisions to date, extending the restrictions to public officials, government employees and their spouses while also preventing crypto platforms from listing tokens issued or sponsored by federal officials.

According to Senator Cynthia Lummis, the language would apply to Trump’s crypto ventures, though the restrictions would expire on Jan. 20, 2029, when his second term ends.

The proposal assigns enforcement primarily to the Department of Justice, a provision that has already drawn criticism from some Democrats. With the Senate expected to vote on the legislation as early as next week, stronger ethics safeguards remain a key demand among Democrats whose support is needed to overcome the chamber’s 60-vote threshold.

South Korea crypto volumes shrink as retail investors shift to stocks

South Korea’s major crypto exchanges have seen their trading activity fall over the past year as the country’s stock market surged, suggesting retail speculative interest may be shifting toward equities, Cointelegraph analysis shows.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) benchmark more than doubled over the period, while volumes across the country’s largest won-based crypto platforms contracted.

Cointelegraph reviewed CoinGecko’s historical 24-hour volume readings for Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax, comparing seven-day periods in July 2025 and July 2026.

After calculating the average daily volume and year-over-year percentage change, Cointelegraph took the simple, unweighted average of the five declines, producing an average drop of about 77%. This gives each exchange equal weight regardless of trading volume. However, on a combined basis, average daily volume fell about 89%, to $305 million from $2.82 billion in the comparable July 2025 period. 

ZDNet Korea separately reported that daily volume across the five exchanges was down 88% year-on-year on Monday. It said weaker fee income had pushed some platforms to sell crypto holdings, including Korbit, which raised about 1.6 billion won (about $1 million) by selling 15 Bitcoin (BTC) and 60 Ether (ETH).

South Korea is one of crypto’s most active retail markets, with exchanges relying heavily on trading fees. A sustained preference for equities could weaken crypto liquidity and squeeze smaller platforms, reshaping how local investors allocate capital between speculative assets. 

Balaji’s Network School turns to Kazakhstan amid Malaysia setback

Balaji Srinivasan’s Network School, a community of “digital nomads,” is eyeing a new campus in Kazakhstan after its Forest City campus had its business license revoked over alleged premises-use violations. 

A memorandum of understanding was signed between Kazakhstan’s Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry Zhaslan Madiyev and Srinivasan to establish the first Network School campus in Kazakhstan, according to a statement from the ministry. 

The Kazakhstan agreement gives the Network School a potential new base after its Johor operation was ordered to cease operations effective Wednesday. Kazakhstan has been positioning itself as an emerging technology hub, including plans for Central Asia’s first “crypto city” in Alatau. 

“Ironically, this whole drama with Balaji literally validated the network state thesis,” said Dragonfly Capital managing partner Haseeb Qureshi. “The whole idea of a network state is taking a dense group of talent and capital, and collectively negotiating with states. The Malaysia drama set up Balaji to negotiate better terms with another state to copy and paste the network there.“