Ongoing Rise of Retail Investor Participation
It was reported that individual investors put a record net $27.9 billion into the U.S. stock market in June, the highest monthly amount since 2014.

Crypto Regulation
SEC Chair Gensler told lawmakers that investor protection rules should apply to crypto exchanges. CFTC Commissioner Dan Berkovitz further noted that he saw concern about when a shadow financial system is developing, and that “should be a question or all regulators.”

CyberSecurity
Amid reports of up to 1500 businesses attacked by ransomware attacks, attention on cyber-security issues continued. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) is working on draft legislation to require reporting of cybersecurity incidents within 24 hours.

ESG Investing
SEC Chair Gensler noted that he is prioritizing ESG as an agenda item, and that he has asked staff to research climate and workplace-related metrics to understand which are the most critical metrics for investors.

Bitcoin ETF
Uncertainty continued over the timing of a bitcoin ETF approval, following a request for comment from the SEC on how investor protections brought by regulated bitcoin ETFs should be balanced against concerns regarding potential manipulation.