Laws move slower than markets. But they hit harder. This is issue #66 of The Bitcoin Act — your Tuesday and Sunday briefing on the legal and regulatory moves that actually shape Bitcoin.

Now for today’s top stories:

⚖️ CLARITY Act on the clock 
Sen. McCormick warns that failing to pass the CLARITY Act hands jobs and financial leadership offshore.

🧾 Fifty states, fifty tolls 
The Illinois Bitcoin Council urges Congress to block states from taxing crypto transactions before a patchwork of state levies spreads.

🎣 Olympian denies scam charges 
Sprinter CJ Ujah pleaded not guilty to cryptocurrency fraud — one of ten accused of impersonating police and crypto firms to drain victims' wallets.

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Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) warns that failing to pass the CLARITY Act — federal rules for digital-asset markets — cedes American jobs, investment, and financial leadership to overseas competitors.

David Zell (Co-Founder and President, Bitcoin Policy Institute) says his think tank joined the State Department's Freedom Tech Excellence Program to advance free expression, privacy tools, and counter digital surveillance.

Alex Thorn (Head of Research, Galaxy Digital) cut his odds of the CLARITY Act passing this year from 50% to 30%, warning the calendar "is now the enemy."

Cory Klippsten (CEO, Swan Bitcoin) alleges in court filings that Cantor Fitzgerald's discounted Tether stake was "implicit compensation" for Howard Lutnick advocating Tether's interests in Washington and the media.

Fidelity Public Policy (public-policy arm of Fidelity Investments) urged the Senate to pass the CLARITY Act, framing federal digital-asset rules as necessary for investor confidence and U.S. financial leadership.

Patrick Yoes (National President, Fraternal Order of Police) endorsed the revised CLARITY Act after lawmakers added protections for criminal investigations, suspicious-transaction holds, and asset seizures, calling his concerns "satisfactorily addressed."

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) dismissed Republicans' White House-approved ethics provision in the CLARITY Act as a "piece of s---," vowing Democrats will send back stronger anti-corruption language.

Illinois Bitcoin Council argues Congress should bar states from taxing digital-asset transactions (Illinois will levy a tax of 0.2%) mirroring the 1998 federal law that blocked a patchwork of state internet taxes.

TFTC (Bitcoin media outlet) highlighted that the CLARITY Act quietly protects self-custody — your Bitcoin can't be ruled "abandoned" or seized by a state simply for sitting dormant on-chain.

CJ Ujah (British Olympic sprinter) pleaded not guilty to cryptocurrency fraud, one of ten people accused of an organized scam impersonating police and crypto firms to drain victims' wallets.

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🚫 14 – The European Union just adopted a new round of penalties against Russia, and part of it bars everyone in the EU from doing business with 14 crypto platforms, including the large exchange HTX, starting in August. The Block

⚖️ 622.66 BTC – Two former customers are suing BitMEX and its founders, claiming it traded against its own users and froze its servers during wild price swings to force liquidations. They're demanding 622.66 BTC back in actual coins. The Block

📵 29 – In South Korea, Google Play has removed 29 of the 50 biggest foreign crypto exchange apps, OKX, Bybit, and others, from new downloads, because they aren't registered with local regulators. Le Journal du Coin

🎣 ~A$74,690 – Australian police are warning that criminals now use AI to build entire fake investment worlds and one woman lost nearly A$74,690 this way, starting with a tiny US$174 deposit before being talked into handing over her retirement savings. Bitcoin.com

⛏️ 10% – Kazakhstan will hand approved miners cheap, capped-price electricity but in exchange they must give the state 10% of what they mine each month (after power costs) to fill a government-run crypto reserve. Bitcoin Magazine

🇺🇸 July 27 → now Aug 26 — CFTC comment deadline extended (Washington) — The July 27 deadline is outdated; on July 23 the CFTC pushed it 30 days to Aug 26. It covers 24/7 trading and energy "perpetual" (no-expiry) futures, with Bitcoin as backdrop.

🎰 July 28–30, 2026 — Rare Evo 2026 (ARIA Resort, Las Vegas) — A multi-chain Web3 conference — not Bitcoin-focused — where Senator Bernie Moreno (R-OH) speaks. Worth knowing who's shaping policy, but this is broad crypto, not a Bitcoin event.

🇲🇾 July 29–30, 2026 — Malaysia Blockchain Week 2026 (World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur) — A regional Web3 conference on adoption and policy across Asia — broad multi-chain crypto, not Bitcoin-specific. Low direct relevance to a US self-custody stacker, but on the global calendar.

🇳🇬 July 30, 2026 — Nigeria Fintech Forum 2026 (Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos) — A one-day African fintech summit with a crypto track and regulators present — payments, banking, and adoption. Broad fintech, not Bitcoin-specific, but signals where African policy is heading.

🏛️ Week of July 27 — CLARITY Act Senate push (Washington) — This coming week is the final floor window before the Senate's ~Aug 7 August recess for the bill setting federal rules for crypto markets, which carries Bitcoin self-custody protections. Lummis warns a miss could stall it for years.

🇩🇪 In recess next week — 2027 federal budget stalled (Berlin) — Germany's Bundestag (parliament) sits in summer recess through Sept 7, so the proposed 2027 budget that would scrap the tax-free sale of crypto — Bitcoin included — held over a year can't advance; nothing moves.

🇪🇺 Open now — MiCA review consultation live (European Commission) — The EU's consultation on reviewing MiCA — its Markets in Crypto-Assets rulebook governing exchanges and custody — is open and running next week. Broad crypto, not Bitcoin-only, but it sets the template others copy.

🇬🇧 Happening now — HMRC crypto-tax crackdown live (UK) — HMRC is actively chasing unpaid crypto tax — sending "nudge" letters and pulling exchange data on holders' identities and transactions under CARF (a global tax-sharing rule).

"In proportion as you give the state power to do things for you, you give it power to do things to you." — Albert Jay Nock

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