PIP Labs unveiled $80 million in Series B funding Wednesday to flesh out Story Protocol, a layer-1 network for licensing and maintaining intellectual property in the digital era.
If crypto’s pioneers sought to cut out financial intermediaries from online transactions, then Story has taken aim at a common source of friction for creatives: lawyers. Empowering artists is one of PIP Labs’ biggest priorities, but the firm also seeks to address issues around artificial intelligence, as companies scrape the internet for heaps of data to train models.
PIP Labs’ Series B funding round was led by VC giant Andreessen Horowitz with participation from Polychain, also drawing investment from the likes of Walt Disney Imagineering executive Scott Trowbridge and the pseudonymous Cozomo de' Medici, an influential collector in the NFT space.
Lifting PIP Labs’ total fundraising figure to $140 million, the latest round follows the project’s announcement last year with backing from Samsung Next and Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media. Andreessen Horowitz also led the previous round.
“PIP Labs is building the necessary infrastructure for a new covenant in the AI age,” Andreessen Horowitz Managing Partner Chris Dixon said in a press release. “Blockchains are perfectly suited for large-scale economic coordination, and Story's platform ensures creators are compensated.”
Story’s public testnet launches next week, providing a first look at the technology where users can register IP and access others’ work, while also setting parameters for licensing and monetization. When it comes to handiwork, such as viral memes, PIP Labs’ co-founder and chief product officer Jason Zhao told Decrypt that Story Protocol could provide a more lucrative alternative than traditional IP models.
“Your pen and paper lawyers, that’s just a medieval, antiquated system,” he said. “But a blockchain-based IP system can actually scale and maybe capture some of that value.”
Within the crypto industry, decentralized finance (DeFi) has flourished as developers look to create programmable systems for trading and lending assets. Dubbed IPfi, Zhao envisions a similar ecosystem, but intellectual property assets trade hands instead. With Story, IP assets will eventually be represented by NFTs, while licenses take the form of fungible tokens.
“Can I trade the rights or the license to Thanos?” Zhao asked. “Can we actually tokenize the world's creativity and [...] create new sorts of markets and financing structures?”
Using memes as collateral for loans would perhaps represent new ground for financial markets. Still, PIP Labs recognizes that a blockchain-based protocol can’t fully replace lawyers yet.
Creatives will have access to a so-called Programmable IP License, Zhao explained, if someone is leveraging their work outside the network. Effectively, the network has a system in place for accessing legal documents associated with registered IP, so creatives can take up legal action or strike deals in the real world.
Zhao worked for two years at Google DeepMind, a research lab and subsidiary of the tech giant. As a result, a large part of Story’s push is centered around AI. Using Story, Zhao said large language models can become registered as IP too, letting developers mix and match parts.
Story would also provide tech companies with data free of legal concerns, while simultaneously rewarding creatives. The New York Times sued OpenAI last year, for example, alleging the tech firm trained its AI model using the publication’s copyrighted work.
“They're just taking it for free, and then they're charging people to use their service,” Zhao said of user-generated content on the internet, from Yelp reviews to Reddit posts. “If this continues, basically what happens is there's no incentive for creators to do anything.”
Edited by Andrew Hayward
Daily Debrief NewsletterStart every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
PIP Labs, the core contributor to layer-1 network Story Protocol, has raised $80 million to build an ecosystem where creators can “grow their IP in the age of AI.”
Programmable IP Labs, the mastermind behind the blockchain startup Story Protocol, has attracted $80 million in a series B funding round, bringing the total value raised to $140 million.
PIP Labs wants to tokenize the “multi-trillion-dollar asset class of intellectual property” as more than “200 teams, totaling more than 20 million addressable IPs, are already building on Story across various sectors.”
In an X announcement on Aug. 21, the firm said the funding was led by a16z crypto and participated in by Polychain Capital, Hashed, and Foresight Ventures, among others. According to reports, Story’s valuation soared to $2.25 billion following the latest funding.
“We hope for a future in which AI systems and creative people can happily co-exist. For this to work, creators need a modern way to ensure they get compensated for their work.”
a16z crypto in a press release
Story set to launch mainnet in Q4 2024 Although still in development, the funding is expected to assist PIP Labs in ensuring a smooth launch of Story Protocol’s mainnet, which is anticipated later this year. It remains unclear, though, if the startup plans to introduce a governance token for project management.
Founded in 2022, Story uses tokenization and a universal licensing agreement to onramp IP to the blockchain. Per the project’s official website, Story wants to bridge real-world assets to smart contracts by leveraging the Programmable IP License, a “license agreement template” that bridges real-world IP with its on-chain tokenization, the firm says. With the template, PIP Labs wants to provide a backstop to the on-chain asset, allowing it to onramp intellectual property to the blockchain.
In 2023, Story raised $25 million in a series A round backed by a16z crypto, Insignia Ventures Partners, DeFi Alliance, LLC, Foresight Ventures Investments, and Endeavor Group Holdings, among others, per data from Crunchbase.
Venture capitalists firm, a16z has backed PIP Labs in a new $80 million funding round that drew participants from top companies. The round brings the firm’s valuation above $2 billion as it records increased momentum. Crypto VC investments record upticks this year on the heels of growing adoption.
a16z Leads $80 Million Funding Round Andreessen Horowitz has backed the developer behind Story Protocol in a new $80 million funding round. According to Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter who refused to be named, the company’s valuation soared to $2.25 billion. S.Y Lee, the CEO of PIP Labs highlighted the importance of Intellectual Property representation in all forms of art including music and other creatives.
“We are building the programmable intellectual property layer for the age of generative AI. Every single IP is a massive asset class. It can be your voice, characters, music pieces, it can be anything that’s represented as creative, outdoor intellectual output that can be an IP.”
The funds raised will be spent on developers and research towards IP creators. The company has raised $140 million so far. A major selling point for the platform is its utility to allow creators to establish ownership of their IP. This reduced copyright infringement in sectors including memes, music, and other forms of art. The funding round attracted firms to the project including Polychain Capital and top executives like Scott Throwbridge, Stability AI’s Vice President, Adrian Cheng, K11 founder, and Cozomo de’ Medici.
Crypto VC Investment Surges VC firms have increased funding in the crypto market this year as adoption and transactions surge. Particularly, a16z has invested in several platforms with the firm continuing its bullish stance in the market. Recently, the firm announced a move to open a Japanese office to fund start-ups. The move towards the industry from institutions comes as its mainstream traction ignited amid the U.S. elections.
This year, Bitcoin price soared above $73,000 tapping a new all-time high alongside other altcoins. Bitcoin price stands at $59,487, a slight 0.4% gain in the last 24 hours.
Venture capital (VC) funds invested $634 million in crypto startups in August — up 15% from July, based on DefiLlama data.
Projects focusing on blockchain infrastructure secured nearly $460 million in funding, accounting for 72% of the total raised by crypto startups last month.
PIP Labs conducted the most successful funding round among infrastructure projects, receiving $80 million to develop its intellectual property-focused blockchain network Story. The Series B round was led by a16z, with the participation of Polychain Capital and digital artist Cozomo de' Medici.
Bridge, a platform for stablecoin issuance and transactions, raised roughly $58 million in a private round led by Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, Index Ventures, and Haun Ventures.
DeFiThe DeFi sector received nearly $129 million for its projects, roughly 50% more than the amount of capital received in July.
This significant increase was mainly driven by Morpho Labs, which secured $50 million from investors such as Ribbit Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Variant Fund, and Pantera Capital. Morpho is a decentralized cross-chain lending application compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
Duelnow, a decentralized sports-betting platform, raised $11 million in the second-largest DeFi-related funding round to foster its growth in the Arbitrum ecosystem.
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GamingThe web3 gaming ecosystem saw VC money flow more than double between July and August, with more than $43 million raised last month.
Gameplay Galaxy, the developer of the biking game Trial Xtreme, raised $11 million in a Seed+ round last month. This is the most relevant blockchain gaming funding round of the period, with Blockchain Capital and Merit Circle participating.
The gamer-focused ecosystem Moonveil also captured considerable investment in the blockchain gaming ecosystem last month. Players such as HashKey Capital, The Spartan Group, and Animoca Ventures invested $9 million in the project.
Rubio: US and Iran to continue technical consultations at the end of this month
Multiple foreign media outlets reported on the 24th that US Secretary of State Rubio said technical teams from the United States and Iran will hold further talks in Switzerland by the end of June. (Xinhua News Agency)
7 hours ago
Over the past 24 hours, total crypto market liquidations hit $606 million, with more than 130,000 traders liquidated.
According to Coinglass data, the global cryptocurrency market recorded $606 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, including $542 million in long-position liquidations and $68.22 million in short-position liquidations. A total of 135,785 traders worldwide were liquidated in the same period, with the largest single liquidation order occurring on Binance’s BTCUSDT trading pair, valued at $12.0111 million.
7 hours ago
Bitcoin falls below $60,000
According to HTX market data, Bitcoin has fallen below $60,000, with a 4.3% drop in the past 24 hours.
7 hours ago
US Treasury Secretary: AI boom may boost productivity and help curb inflation.
US Treasury Secretary Bessent told CNBC in an interview that he hopes the Federal Reserve will remain "open-minded" about the inflation pattern after the reversal of Iran-related energy price hikes. Bessent noted that the U.S. could enter an economic environment marked by high GDP growth without a corresponding rise in traditional inflation. He cited that in the 1990s, Alan Greenspan foresaw that office modernization and the internet could drive non-inflationary growth, and allowed the economy to keep expanding. Bessent believes the U.S. has a strong chance of seeing a similar scenario again. When asked whether the Fed still needs to worry about potential inflation and whether interest rate cuts are possible this year or next, Bessent declined to comment. However, he argued that it is necessary to stay open-minded about the price or inflation impacts from the Iran conflict, and monitor inflation performance after those effects subside. Bessent also said an open mind is needed, as the AI boom could boost productivity and deliver disinflationary effects, helping inflation return to the Fed’s target level. He added that he believes Kevin Warsh will choose the optimal path that meets both the Fed’s inflation and growth mandates. Bessent also noted that Warsh previously took a hawkish stance on inflation.
7 hours ago
US stocks' intraday storage sector sees broad declines, with Western Digital and Seagate Technology both falling over 4%.
According to Bitget data, during U.S. stock trading hours, the storage sector saw broad declines: Western Digital (WDC) fell 4.47%, Seagate Technology (STX) dropped 4.17%, SanDisk (SNDK) declined 2.31%, and Micron Technology (MU) edged down 0.96%. Most optical communication concept stocks rose, with Corning (GLW) leading the gains at 9.75%, followed by Ciena (CIEN) up 3.24%, Coherent (COHR) rising 2.93%, Lumentum (LITE) gaining 2.61%, and Nokia (NOK) advancing 1.82%. Additionally, Marvell Technology (MRVL) fell 2.59% and Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) declined 1.90%.
7 hours ago
During intraday trading in U.S. stocks, crypto-related concept stocks fell broadly, with MSTR dropping more than 7%.
According to Bitget market data, the three major U.S. stock indexes rose broadly: the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.94%, the S&P 500 increased 0.60%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.63%. Crypto-related stocks fell across the board, with declines as follows: Strategy (MSTR) down 7.33%; Circle (CRCL) down 4.35%; Bitmine (BMNR) down 3.97%; Coinbase (COIN) down 3.73%; Robinhood (HOOD) down 3.70%; Gemini (GEMI) down 3.27%; Bullish (BLSH) down 3.25%; Sharplink (SBET) down 3.19%.
PANews reported on January 15th that the Polygon Foundation announced the official launch of PIP-69. Validator share tokens are now mapped 1:1 to dPOL, improving wallet visibility and expanding the uses of staking POL. The implementation of PIP-69 fully enables dPOL to be ERC-20 compliant, simplifies the creation of POL Liquidity Staking Tokens (LSTs), and enhances their composability in the DeFi space. For users already staking POL, these tokens will automatically appear in their wallets. However, depending on the wallet, the token name may be displayed as dPOL, dPOL1, or dPOLa4. The Polygon Foundation specifically reminds users that this is not an airdrop.
In brief Story Protocol developer PIP Labs has let go of several employees and contractors. The reductions come as the firm explores opportunities associated with AI. The company unveiled an $80 million Series B funding round in 2024. PIP Labs, the company behind Story Protocol, a layer-1 network for licensing and maintaining intellectual property, has let go of several employees as it explores opportunities associated with artificial intelligence.
The reductions include five full-time employees and three contractors, representing around 10% of staff contributing to Story across various entities, the company told Decrypt. That includes the Story Foundation and infrastructure layer Poseidon, according to Story Chief Protocol Officer Andrea Muttoni.
“PIP Labs is sharpening focus [through] a small workforce adjustment,” he said in a statement to Decrypt, noting that the company has begun leaning into IP infrastructure for AI, with a focus on AI trading data and the emergence of AI agents.
In a Telegram message reviewed by Decrypt, a former employee said the layoffs pertained to 15% of the staff behind Story Protocol, including staff that worked on events.
When Story unveiled an $80 million Series B funding round in 2024, PIP Labs positioned the network as a new way to reduce friction for creatives, by allowing them license and remix IP without the need of rent-seeking lawyers. Through programmable licensing, Story is designed to automate royalty payments.
The funding round valued PIP Labs at $2 billion and was led by venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz, drawing participation from individuals including Walt Disney Imagineering executive Scott Trowbridge and pseudonymous NFT collector Cozomo de' Medici.
The network debuted last February alongside its native IP token, which has fallen 86% to about $0.80 over the past year, according to CoinGecko. In September, the token reached an all-time high of $14.78, equating to a market cap of nearly $3.4 billion.
That month, a Story-based meme coin modeled on “Baby Shark” creator Pinkfong collapsed after a dispute emerged over IP from the South Korean firm behind the viral YouTube hit. On X, Story apologized for the confusion, noting that it wasn’t involved in licensing matters between IP World, a platform for IP-backed meme coins, and other entities.
Muttoni said Story remains focused on IP, whether that touches industries like media or biotech, but its latest round of layoffs suggests the company has grown increasingly interested in machine-based users as opposed to humans. The shift comes as companies including Coinbase race to bring crypto wallets for agents to market.
Last year, Poseidon, a company incubated by Story, raised $15 million in a seed funding round also led by Andreessen Horowitz. The startup allows AI developers to access legally cleared training data, and Muttoni said Poseidon’s recent “traction is shaping where Story will double down.”
In January, Poseidon introduced a dataset containing 33,000 hours of audio across 17 languages. On X, Poseidon Chief Scientist Sandeep Chinchali said audio represents a limiting factor for AI because it is becoming a primary interface between humans and AI.
PIP Labs’ layoffs follow a series of staff reductions among crypto industry firms this year. Earlier this week, the team behind Ethereum layer-2 network Optimism let go of 20 employees. And last month, Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc. let go of 4,000 employees—roughly 40% of its workforce—attributing the move to its pivot towards AI alongside PIP Labs.
Editor's note: This story was updated after publication to correct attribution for a quote.
Daily Debrief NewsletterStart every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
In brief Story Protocol developer PIP Labs has let go of several employees and contractors. The reductions come as the firm explores opportunities associated with AI. The company unveiled an $80 million Series B funding round in 2024. PIP Labs, the company behind Story Protocol, a layer-1 network for licensing and maintaining intellectual property, has let go of several employees as it explores opportunities associated with artificial intelligence.
The reductions include five full-time employees and three contractors, representing around 10% of staff contributing to Story across various entities, the company told Decrypt. That includes the Story Foundation and infrastructure layer Poseidon, according to Story Chief Protocol Officer Andrea Muttoni.
“PIP Labs is sharpening focus [through] a small workforce adjustment,” he said in a statement to Decrypt, noting that the company has begun leaning into IP infrastructure for AI, with a focus on AI trading data and the emergence of AI agents.
In a Telegram message reviewed by Decrypt, a former employee said the layoffs pertained to 15% of the staff behind Story Protocol, including staff that worked on events.
When Story unveiled an $80 million Series B funding round in 2024, PIP Labs positioned the network as a new way to reduce friction for creatives, by allowing them license and remix IP without the need of rent-seeking lawyers. Through programmable licensing, Story is designed to automate royalty payments.
The funding round valued PIP Labs at $2 billion and was led by venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz, drawing participation from individuals including Walt Disney Imagineering executive Scott Trowbridge and pseudonymous NFT collector Cozomo de' Medici.
The network debuted last February alongside its native IP token, which has fallen 86% to about $0.80 over the past year, according to CoinGecko. In September, the token reached an all-time high of $14.78, equating to a market cap of nearly $3.4 billion.
That month, a Story-based meme coin modeled on “Baby Shark” creator Pinkfong collapsed after a dispute emerged over IP from the South Korean firm behind the viral YouTube hit. On X, Story apologized for the confusion, noting that it wasn’t involved in licensing matters between IP World, a platform for IP-backed meme coins, and other entities.
Muttoni said Story remains focused on IP, whether that touches industries like media or biotech, but its latest round of layoffs suggests the company has grown increasingly interested in machine-based users as opposed to humans. The shift comes as companies including Coinbase race to bring crypto wallets for agents to market.
Last year, Poseidon, a company incubated by Story, raised $15 million in a seed funding round also led by Andreessen Horowitz. The startup allows AI developers to access legally cleared training data, and Muttoni said Poseidon’s recent “traction is shaping where Story will double down.”
In January, Poseidon introduced a dataset containing 33,000 hours of audio across 17 languages. On X, Poseidon Chief Scientist Sandeep Chinchali said audio represents a limiting factor for AI because it is becoming a primary interface between humans and AI.
PIP Labs’ layoffs follow a series of staff reductions among crypto industry firms this year. Earlier this week, the team behind Ethereum layer-2 network Optimism let go of 20 employees. And last month, Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc. let go of 4,000 employees—roughly 40% of its workforce—attributing the move to its pivot towards AI alongside PIP Labs.
Editor's note: This story was updated after publication to correct attribution for a quote.
Daily Debrief NewsletterStart every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
Rubio: US and Iran to continue technical consultations at the end of this month
Multiple foreign media outlets reported on the 24th that US Secretary of State Rubio said technical teams from the United States and Iran will hold further talks in Switzerland by the end of June. (Xinhua News Agency)
7 hours ago
Over the past 24 hours, total crypto market liquidations hit $606 million, with more than 130,000 traders liquidated.
According to Coinglass data, the global cryptocurrency market recorded $606 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, including $542 million in long-position liquidations and $68.22 million in short-position liquidations. A total of 135,785 traders worldwide were liquidated in the same period, with the largest single liquidation order occurring on Binance’s BTCUSDT trading pair, valued at $12.0111 million.
7 hours ago
Bitcoin falls below $60,000
According to HTX market data, Bitcoin has fallen below $60,000, with a 4.3% drop in the past 24 hours.
7 hours ago
US Treasury Secretary: AI boom may boost productivity and help curb inflation.
US Treasury Secretary Bessent told CNBC in an interview that he hopes the Federal Reserve will remain "open-minded" about the inflation pattern after the reversal of Iran-related energy price hikes. Bessent noted that the U.S. could enter an economic environment marked by high GDP growth without a corresponding rise in traditional inflation. He cited that in the 1990s, Alan Greenspan foresaw that office modernization and the internet could drive non-inflationary growth, and allowed the economy to keep expanding. Bessent believes the U.S. has a strong chance of seeing a similar scenario again. When asked whether the Fed still needs to worry about potential inflation and whether interest rate cuts are possible this year or next, Bessent declined to comment. However, he argued that it is necessary to stay open-minded about the price or inflation impacts from the Iran conflict, and monitor inflation performance after those effects subside. Bessent also said an open mind is needed, as the AI boom could boost productivity and deliver disinflationary effects, helping inflation return to the Fed’s target level. He added that he believes Kevin Warsh will choose the optimal path that meets both the Fed’s inflation and growth mandates. Bessent also noted that Warsh previously took a hawkish stance on inflation.
7 hours ago
US stocks' intraday storage sector sees broad declines, with Western Digital and Seagate Technology both falling over 4%.
According to Bitget data, during U.S. stock trading hours, the storage sector saw broad declines: Western Digital (WDC) fell 4.47%, Seagate Technology (STX) dropped 4.17%, SanDisk (SNDK) declined 2.31%, and Micron Technology (MU) edged down 0.96%. Most optical communication concept stocks rose, with Corning (GLW) leading the gains at 9.75%, followed by Ciena (CIEN) up 3.24%, Coherent (COHR) rising 2.93%, Lumentum (LITE) gaining 2.61%, and Nokia (NOK) advancing 1.82%. Additionally, Marvell Technology (MRVL) fell 2.59% and Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) declined 1.90%.
7 hours ago
During intraday trading in U.S. stocks, crypto-related concept stocks fell broadly, with MSTR dropping more than 7%.
According to Bitget market data, the three major U.S. stock indexes rose broadly: the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.94%, the S&P 500 increased 0.60%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.63%. Crypto-related stocks fell across the board, with declines as follows: Strategy (MSTR) down 7.33%; Circle (CRCL) down 4.35%; Bitmine (BMNR) down 3.97%; Coinbase (COIN) down 3.73%; Robinhood (HOOD) down 3.70%; Gemini (GEMI) down 3.27%; Bullish (BLSH) down 3.25%; Sharplink (SBET) down 3.19%.
PANews reported on March 14th that, according to Decrypt, Story Protocol developer PIP Labs has laid off some employees and contractors, affecting 5 full-time employees and 3 contractors, approximately 10% of the total workforce involved in Story Protocol-related entities. Affected teams include the Story Foundation and the infrastructure project Poseidon. Andrea Muttoni, Chief Protocol Officer at Story, stated that this personnel adjustment aims to further focus on core areas, and the company is increasing its investment in AI intellectual property infrastructure, with a focus on AI training data and AI agent-related applications.
Publicly available information shows that Story Protocol aims to automate intellectual property licensing and royalty processes through a programmable licensing mechanism. The company behind the project completed an $80 million Series B funding round in 2024, valuing the company at approximately $2 billion, led by Andreessen Horowitz.
PANews reported on March 27th that, according to Cryptopolitan, Ethereum Layer 2 network Polygon has proposed a new fee model, PIP-85, aimed at reversing the over 60% drop in its native token POL's price over the past year and addressing competition from Base and Arbitrum. The proposal would redistribute 50% of priority fee revenue to network validators and delegators, and adjust validator reward distribution from being based on staking size to being based on contribution performance. Of the remaining validator pool, 75% would be allocated based on contribution rather than staking size, while 25% would remain allocated according to existing staking weights. The authors stated in the proposal that implementing this proposal requires no direct on-chain changes.
Rubio: US and Iran to continue technical consultations at the end of this month
Multiple foreign media outlets reported on the 24th that US Secretary of State Rubio said technical teams from the United States and Iran will hold further talks in Switzerland by the end of June. (Xinhua News Agency)
7 hours ago
Over the past 24 hours, total crypto market liquidations hit $606 million, with more than 130,000 traders liquidated.
According to Coinglass data, the global cryptocurrency market recorded $606 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, including $542 million in long-position liquidations and $68.22 million in short-position liquidations. A total of 135,785 traders worldwide were liquidated in the same period, with the largest single liquidation order occurring on Binance’s BTCUSDT trading pair, valued at $12.0111 million.
7 hours ago
Bitcoin falls below $60,000
According to HTX market data, Bitcoin has fallen below $60,000, with a 4.3% drop in the past 24 hours.
7 hours ago
US Treasury Secretary: AI boom may boost productivity and help curb inflation.
US Treasury Secretary Bessent told CNBC in an interview that he hopes the Federal Reserve will remain "open-minded" about the inflation pattern after the reversal of Iran-related energy price hikes. Bessent noted that the U.S. could enter an economic environment marked by high GDP growth without a corresponding rise in traditional inflation. He cited that in the 1990s, Alan Greenspan foresaw that office modernization and the internet could drive non-inflationary growth, and allowed the economy to keep expanding. Bessent believes the U.S. has a strong chance of seeing a similar scenario again. When asked whether the Fed still needs to worry about potential inflation and whether interest rate cuts are possible this year or next, Bessent declined to comment. However, he argued that it is necessary to stay open-minded about the price or inflation impacts from the Iran conflict, and monitor inflation performance after those effects subside. Bessent also said an open mind is needed, as the AI boom could boost productivity and deliver disinflationary effects, helping inflation return to the Fed’s target level. He added that he believes Kevin Warsh will choose the optimal path that meets both the Fed’s inflation and growth mandates. Bessent also noted that Warsh previously took a hawkish stance on inflation.
7 hours ago
US stocks' intraday storage sector sees broad declines, with Western Digital and Seagate Technology both falling over 4%.
According to Bitget data, during U.S. stock trading hours, the storage sector saw broad declines: Western Digital (WDC) fell 4.47%, Seagate Technology (STX) dropped 4.17%, SanDisk (SNDK) declined 2.31%, and Micron Technology (MU) edged down 0.96%. Most optical communication concept stocks rose, with Corning (GLW) leading the gains at 9.75%, followed by Ciena (CIEN) up 3.24%, Coherent (COHR) rising 2.93%, Lumentum (LITE) gaining 2.61%, and Nokia (NOK) advancing 1.82%. Additionally, Marvell Technology (MRVL) fell 2.59% and Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) declined 1.90%.
7 hours ago
During intraday trading in U.S. stocks, crypto-related concept stocks fell broadly, with MSTR dropping more than 7%.
According to Bitget market data, the three major U.S. stock indexes rose broadly: the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.94%, the S&P 500 increased 0.60%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.63%. Crypto-related stocks fell across the board, with declines as follows: Strategy (MSTR) down 7.33%; Circle (CRCL) down 4.35%; Bitmine (BMNR) down 3.97%; Coinbase (COIN) down 3.73%; Robinhood (HOOD) down 3.70%; Gemini (GEMI) down 3.27%; Bullish (BLSH) down 3.25%; Sharplink (SBET) down 3.19%.
Rubio: US and Iran to continue technical consultations at the end of this month
Multiple foreign media outlets reported on the 24th that US Secretary of State Rubio said technical teams from the United States and Iran will hold further talks in Switzerland by the end of June. (Xinhua News Agency)
7 hours ago
Over the past 24 hours, total crypto market liquidations hit $606 million, with more than 130,000 traders liquidated.
According to Coinglass data, the global cryptocurrency market recorded $606 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, including $542 million in long-position liquidations and $68.22 million in short-position liquidations. A total of 135,785 traders worldwide were liquidated in the same period, with the largest single liquidation order occurring on Binance’s BTCUSDT trading pair, valued at $12.0111 million.
7 hours ago
Bitcoin falls below $60,000
According to HTX market data, Bitcoin has fallen below $60,000, with a 4.3% drop in the past 24 hours.
7 hours ago
US Treasury Secretary: AI boom may boost productivity and help curb inflation.
US Treasury Secretary Bessent told CNBC in an interview that he hopes the Federal Reserve will remain "open-minded" about the inflation pattern after the reversal of Iran-related energy price hikes. Bessent noted that the U.S. could enter an economic environment marked by high GDP growth without a corresponding rise in traditional inflation. He cited that in the 1990s, Alan Greenspan foresaw that office modernization and the internet could drive non-inflationary growth, and allowed the economy to keep expanding. Bessent believes the U.S. has a strong chance of seeing a similar scenario again. When asked whether the Fed still needs to worry about potential inflation and whether interest rate cuts are possible this year or next, Bessent declined to comment. However, he argued that it is necessary to stay open-minded about the price or inflation impacts from the Iran conflict, and monitor inflation performance after those effects subside. Bessent also said an open mind is needed, as the AI boom could boost productivity and deliver disinflationary effects, helping inflation return to the Fed’s target level. He added that he believes Kevin Warsh will choose the optimal path that meets both the Fed’s inflation and growth mandates. Bessent also noted that Warsh previously took a hawkish stance on inflation.
7 hours ago
US stocks' intraday storage sector sees broad declines, with Western Digital and Seagate Technology both falling over 4%.
According to Bitget data, during U.S. stock trading hours, the storage sector saw broad declines: Western Digital (WDC) fell 4.47%, Seagate Technology (STX) dropped 4.17%, SanDisk (SNDK) declined 2.31%, and Micron Technology (MU) edged down 0.96%. Most optical communication concept stocks rose, with Corning (GLW) leading the gains at 9.75%, followed by Ciena (CIEN) up 3.24%, Coherent (COHR) rising 2.93%, Lumentum (LITE) gaining 2.61%, and Nokia (NOK) advancing 1.82%. Additionally, Marvell Technology (MRVL) fell 2.59% and Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) declined 1.90%.
7 hours ago
During intraday trading in U.S. stocks, crypto-related concept stocks fell broadly, with MSTR dropping more than 7%.
According to Bitget market data, the three major U.S. stock indexes rose broadly: the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.94%, the S&P 500 increased 0.60%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.63%. Crypto-related stocks fell across the board, with declines as follows: Strategy (MSTR) down 7.33%; Circle (CRCL) down 4.35%; Bitmine (BMNR) down 3.97%; Coinbase (COIN) down 3.73%; Robinhood (HOOD) down 3.70%; Gemini (GEMI) down 3.27%; Bullish (BLSH) down 3.25%; Sharplink (SBET) down 3.19%.
