Today’s crypto headlines were dominated by fallout from a major bridge exploit, a notable expansion of a stablecoin’s funding strategy into tokenised equities, and new disclosures linking political figures to crypto-related investments.
KelpDAO sues LayerZero over $292 million exploit
Evercrest Technologies, the company behind KelpDAO, has filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of British Columbia against LayerZero and co-founder Bryan Pellegrino over the $292 million exploit in April. The complaint alleges LayerZero provided written approval for the bridge’s "1-of-1" configuration, which the suit says LayerZero later blamed when the project was attacked. According to the filing, the attacker used malware on a LayerZero developer's computer six weeks before the exploit, leading to the unauthorized minting of 116,500 rsETH. Evercrest is seeking damages for negligence and defamation. Pellegrino has dismissed the lawsuit as baseless.
KelpDAO has already migrated its rsETH to Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), a messaging and token transfer system that uses multiple independent validators rather than a single-signature configuration. The legal action underscores continuing disputes over where liability rests when cross-chain bridges are compromised.
Ethena expands USDe funding to tokenised equities with Binance
Ethena said it is broadening the basis trade that funds USDe, its dollar-pegged product, to incorporate tokenised equities as spot collateral alongside equity perpetual futures as the hedge. Ethena will use Binance’s bStocks for spot collateral, while relying on equity perpetuals for hedging exposure. Perpetual futures are derivative contracts without expiry commonly used to gain leveraged exposure or hedge positions.
Binance’s open interest in equity perpetuals exceeds $2.9 billion, and Ethena founder Guy Young described the move as the most significant expansion of the USDe funding mechanism since it launched. USDe’s supply is about $4.9 billion. Following the announcement, Ethena’s governance token ENA rose between 16% and 19%.
Trump reports purchasing Strategy amid MicroStrategy links
A filing with the Office of Government Ethics by President Trump disclosed a purchase of Strategy shares valued between $50,001 and $100,000 on July 27, following a smaller purchase of up to $15,000 three days earlier. The filing also recorded a purchase of Coinbase shares and the sale of shares in crypto miners MARA Holdings and CleanSpark.
The White House said the portfolio in question is managed independently by a third-party financial institution without involvement from the President or his family. These moves come alongside wider public connections between politics and prominent Bitcoin advocates, underscored by MicroStrategy chairman Michael Saylor’s recent essay.
Michael Saylor calls for a Digital Bill of Rights
Michael Saylor, chairman of MicroStrategy, published an essay titled "Prescriptions for Prosperity in the Digital Economy" advocating for a "Digital Bill of Rights." He proposes five freedoms for individuals and companies, creating, issuing, custodying, transferring, and using digital assets, with the stated aim of enabling "10 million new companies to raise capital." Saylor also argued that digital dollars must compete on performance and move "at the speed of light."
What this day’s headlines mean
The stories reflect three ongoing themes in crypto: legal battles over bridge security and responsibility, continued innovation in how dollar-pegged instruments are collateralised and hedged, and the growing intersection of crypto, corporate actors and political figures. As litigation progresses and new funding strategies are rolled out, industry participants and regulators will be watching closely.