Jul 18 — ETF flows, Circle's bank charter, and Japan's crypto law

QuantAlpha Digital Asset Update · Jul 17, 2026 · 3m

• Bitcoin ETF cumulative outflows have exceeded $10B since last October's peak, while Morgan Stanley filed for both BTC and SOL ETFs — sustained redemptions suppress price even as new entrants expand the distribution base. • Circle won OCC approval for a national trust bank, and a housing bill banning a US central bank digital currency became law without Trump's signature — private stablecoins are now the de facto US digital dollar by default. • Japan reclassified crypto as a financial product with a new tax framework arriving around January 2028 — the change opens the door to Japanese crypto…