The digital asset market started the day on July 13 with a correction. Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at $62,687 at 07:35 Moscow time, showing a decline. Over the past 24 hours, the asset fluctuated between $62,616 and $64,340. Ether (ETH) also opened in the red zone, dropping to $1,780.
Performance of top capitalization leaders
Among the top 10 coins by market cap, the best daily and weekly performance was recorded by TRON (+0.15% and +0.45%, respectively). Hyperliquid was the laggard, losing 2.18% in 24 hours and 8.14% over the past seven days. In the top 100, DeXe stood out, gaining 23.99% in a day and 94.88% over the week. The largest drop was seen in Pi: -10.15% in 24 hours and -22.10% over the week.
Japan: Stablecoins enter retail
One of Japan's largest convenience store chains, Lawson, is launching a pilot project to accept stablecoins. Starting in early August, customers at the Takanawa Gateway City complex in Tokyo will be able to pay with the yen-pegged stablecoin JPYC. The experiment involves telecommunications giant KDDI and crypto operator HashPort. For context, Lawson is the third-largest chain in the country after Seven-Eleven and FamilyMart, with nearly 14,700 locations.
Thailand tightens control
The Bank of Thailand, together with the local Securities and Exchange Commission, is strengthening oversight of stablecoins. Special attention will be paid to USDT, cash transactions, and currency exchange. The regulator aims to combat money laundering and the shadow economy, which, according to central bank governor Vitaya Rattanakorn, is often linked to fraudulent call centers. These are not one-off measures but a comprehensive ongoing strategy.
Pakistan: Between blockchain and Sharia
The head of Pakistan's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), Bilal bin Saqib, called for continued dialogue on the status of digital assets under Islamic law. The occasion was a meeting with influential theologian Mufti Taqi Usmani, who supported a religious decree (fatwa) against purchases using cryptocurrency. According to the fatwa, signed by Usmani and five scholars from an authoritative madrasa in Karachi, digital tokens, including stablecoins, are not recognized as property or wealth under Sharia interpretation. Given that 96.35% of Pakistan's population is Muslim, this decision carries significant weight. Saqib, however, did not challenge the fatwa but proposed deepening the discussion by distinguishing between different categories of assets.
My comment
The integration of stablecoins into Japanese retail is a landmark step, demonstrating that digital currencies are gradually entering everyday life. But the parallel tightening of regulation in Thailand and religious disagreements in Pakistan remind us that the path to mass cryptocurrency adoption remains thorny and non-linear. The market is currently in a consolidation phase, and key macroeconomic factors will determine its further movement.