Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Circle’s USDC Flips Tether as Companies Replace Bank Wires With Stablecoins

How To Use Polymarket In The United States: Step-by-Step Guide

Stablecoins offer criminals a convenient tool for illicit transactions due to their price stability, speed, and wide acceptance across blockchain platforms. Global regulators are stepping up efforts to enforce stricter rules and improve transparency in stablecoin usage. Origin of Stablecoins Stablecoins made their debut in 2014. It aims to combine the steady value of fiat currencies with the openness and flexibility of blockchain technology. The first of its kind, BitUSD, was introduced in July 2014 as a credit-backed stablecoin on the BitShares platform.

Tether (USDT), which was based on fiat reserves and was pegged 1:1 to the USD, made its debut that same year. After that, the market diversified, with a focus on reserves and transparency in 2017 with MakerDAO’s DAI (crypto-backed) and in 2018 with USDC, TUSD, BUSD, and others.

Core Use Cases for Stablecoins People use stablecoins every day — to buy coffee, pay employees, send remittances, trade assets, and store value. Moreover, they are faster, less expensive, and more convenient across borders.

1. Daily P2P Remittances and Payments

Sending money to friends and family abroad has become easier and more affordable with peer-to-peer transfers.

Workers in the United States can send USDT directly to people in other countries, skipping the traditional banking system and saving on fees.

2. Acquiring Products and Services

E-commerce: Shopify and Overstock are two platforms that accept USDC or USDT, enabling customers to use cryptocurrency to buy both digital and physical goods. Paying in person: 

< Starbucks with USDC through the Bakkt app.

< Miami rent payments are made in USDT.

< Purchases made at the point of sale using stablecoin debit cards, such as WhiteBIT Nova. 

3. Financial Services and DeFi

Trading and Hedging: Traders often shift between volatile assets and stablecoins to secure their gains. It’s an easy way to take profits while still staying involved in crypto. DeFi Lending and Borrowing: Stablecoins like USDC, DAI, and USDT play a major role in it. Platforms such as Aave, Compound, and MakerDAO let users earn interest on their holdings or use them as collateral to take out loans. 4. Store-of-Value in Volatile Economies

In countries like Venezuela, Lebanon, Argentina, and several across Africa, many people are now turning to dollar-pegged stablecoins such as USDT and USDC. These digital assets offer a way to shield their savings from the impact of local currency crashes and ongoing economic turmoil.

5. Business and Institutional Uses

Payroll: Companies pay global freelancers and employees quickly with stablecoins—workers get funds almost instantly. Merchant Payments: Merchants are turning to crypto payment services like BitPay to accept stablecoins like USDC and USDT. These platforms offer faster settlements and lower transaction fees than traditional payment systems, making them a more attractive option for everyday business. Treasury Management: Companies are also starting to consider stablecoins as a smart way to manage their liquid reserves. They provide a quicker, more efficient method for moving funds, especially when dealing with transactions tied to tokenized real-world assets. Regulatory Adoption and Legality New regulations like MiCA in Europe and recent stablecoin laws in the U.S. are pushing stablecoins closer to everyday financial use. As more shops, businesses, and individuals begin to use them, stablecoins are gradually finding a firm place in the global economy, not just as a trend, but as a tool here to stay.

United States: Stablecoins are set to fall under new regulatory frameworks such as the STABLE Act and the GENIUS Act. To align with these upcoming rules, companies like Circle are actively pursuing national trust charters to make sure that they meet the necessary standards for operation.

European Union: Across the EU, the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation demands strict transparency and proper custodianship. Issuers who comply, such as Circle and BUSD, are permitted to operate within the region under clear and defined legal guidelines.

Japan treats cryptocurrencies as property. Also, the exchanges operating there must register and follow the rules under the Payment Services Act.

In Singapore, crypto isn’t considered legal tender, but licensed exchanges can operate under the same Act.

Australia and Canada both recognize crypto as taxable and regulated, and the use of stablecoins is permitted.

Brazil allows the use of crypto for payments, with oversight provided by the central bank.

In South Korea, exchanges must be registered, and the use of privacy-focused coins is limited or restricted.

India imposes taxes on crypto transactions, but still doesn’t have clear regulations specific to stablecoins.

Stablecoins Fall Into Four Main Classes Fiat-backed stablecoins like USDT and USDC are tied to traditional currencies, with redemption processes handled directly on-chain. Crypto-backed options such as DAI are supported by excess cryptocurrency collateral to maintain their value. Algorithmic stablecoins, like the now-defunct TerraUSD, use smart contracts to control supply and demand, but often carry significant risk. Finally, bank-issued or tokenized deposit stablecoins are digital assets backed by reserves held at regulated financial institutions. Illicit Use Cases Involving Stablecoins Several key illicit behaviours now prominently include stablecoins:

Money Laundering and Fraud Chainalysis reports that stablecoins accounted for 63% of illicit crypto transaction volume. Criminals favour stablecoins for their low volatility and ease of moving value without leaving exchanges. Moreover, UNODC flagged that Tether on TRON has become popular for cyber-fraud, darknet marketplaces, and crime. 

Sanctions Evasion and State-backed Misuse A stablecoin called A7A5, pegged to the Russian ruble, has been introduced in Kyrgyzstan. It’s reportedly being used to process cross-border transactions tied to efforts aimed at bypassing international sanctions on Russia.

In addition, the FATF emphasizes stablecoins as a major vehicle for money laundering, terrorist finance, and drug trafficking.

DPRK IT workers have been identified using USDC rails to receive illicit payments, yet issuers like Circle haven’t systematically blocked them.

Ransomware and Darknet Market Use Though Bitcoin once dominated ransomware payments, stablecoins now comprise the bulk of illicit flows. Over $649 billion in stablecoin transfers in 2024 moved through high-risk addresses, representing over 5% of total stablecoin volume.

How It Works Notably, criminals generally use stablecoins in illicit activities for a few key reasons:

Stable Value: Unlike other cryptocurrencies that swing wildly in price, stablecoins hold their value. This makes them ideal for preserving the power of purchasing.

Easy Transfers: Users can send it directly to one another without needing a traditional bank account. Also, it makes the peer-to-peer transactions simpler and discreet.

On-Chain Obfuscation: Mixers and chains complicate traceability.

Cross-border Utility: Ideal for smuggling large sums across borders quickly.

Issuer Freeze Power: Centralized issuers can freeze flagged accounts, but detection lags in real-time.

Restricting Illicit Use Mitigating misuse requires a combined strategy:

1. Regulatory Oversight

FATF urges AML/KYC rules for stablecoin issuers (VASPs), notably FATF Recommendation 15.

BIS warns that stablecoins—if unmanaged—may destabilize finance and recommends central bank-backed alternatives. 

2. Issuer Control

Examples include Tether freezing $225 million in USDT tied to scams.

Circle froze $57 million in USDC following a U.S. court order.

3. International Cooperation

Sanctions evasion schemes like A7A5 require cross-border financial cooperation. Also, FATF calls for shared intelligence and harmonized licensing.

4. Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs)

BIS supports maturing CBDC frameworks that preserve privacy while enabling granular oversight.

Types of Stablecoins: Current and Upcoming Current Varieties USDT, USDC, BUSD, TUSD – Dominant fiat-backed tokens 

DAI – Crypto assets back it, and a decentralized community governs it.

Algorithmic – TerraUSD collapsed and eroded trust in models.

Emerging and Proposed Retail stablecoins: Walmart and Amazon are exploring token launches for payments. 

Bank-issued tokens: NAB launched AUDN; the central banks may follow.

Commodity-backed: Pax Gold (PAXG) and others are paired with real assets.

Some of the early illicit uses are noted at around 2017–2018, where Tether grew from $10M to $2.8B in circulation. Further in 2022, TerraUSD collapsed and shifted focus to fiat-backed tokens.

Conclusion Stablecoins were designed to stabilize and expand the utility of crypto. In addition, the predictable value and accessibility serve countless legitimate use cases. Just because stablecoins are centralized, globally accessible, and programmable, they draw the attention of bad actors looking to exploit these features.

Looking forward, the crucial factor will be finding the right balance, bringing smart regulation. In addition, better blockchain tracking tools and accountability from stablecoin issuers. At the same time, it’s just as important to protect the unique benefits that digital finance offers. As stablecoins move from being a niche product to becoming a key to global finance, getting this balance is more important.

TLDR: Table of Contents

TLDR:Humanity Protocol Exploiter Moves Crypto Through USDC and KuCoinHumanity Protocol Breach Traced to Phishing Attack The Humanity Protocol exploiter converted part of the stolen assets into USDC before exchange deposits. Blockchain data shows funds moved through multiple wallets, exchanges, and stablecoin conversions. Investigators linked the $36 million breach to malware delivered through a phishing email attack. The attacker gained admin access, moved 141 million H tokens, and minted additional assets. The perpetrator of the Humanity Protocol exploit has started transferring some of the funds in the victim’s wallet around the crypto industry. The blockchain data indicates that some assets were converted to stablecoins before being sent to KuCoin. 

The transactions come weeks after a major security breach that compromised administrative controls and led to significant token losses. Recent on-chain activity provides new insight into how the attacker is handling the stolen assets.

Humanity Protocol Exploiter Moves Crypto Through USDC and KuCoin Lookonchain’s blockchain analytics service said wallets used by the Humanity Protocol exploiter recently switched a portion of the funds they had stolen into USDC. These money was then moved to KuCoin via public blockchain records.

The tracking data shows that the attacker had distributed assets in multiple wallets before transferring such. There were several ETH transactions that ranged from 10 ETHs to 50 ETHs in the transfers.

There was also a bigger move of around 500 ETH that has been seen in the wallet transfers.The transfers followed a pattern commonly observed after major crypto exploits.

Lookonchain noted that the exploiter conducted several token swaps before sending funds to the exchange. The transactions included conversions into USDC and USDT.

The movement of funds extended beyond direct wallet transfers. On-chain records showed activity involving decentralized exchanges such as Uniswap and PancakeSwap.

Those platforms allowed the attacker to exchange assets while retaining control of the funds. Routing transactions through multiple addresses also made blockchain tracking more complex.

The latest transactions indicate that at least part of the stolen crypto has entered a more liquid form. Stablecoin conversions often play a key role in post-exploit fund movements.

Humanity Protocol Breach Traced to Phishing Attack The Humanity Protocol exploit occurred on June 8. Reports indicate that a project director received a phishing email disguised as a message from a major South Korean crypto exchange.

The email contained a malicious attachment that installed malware on the recipient’s device. The software enabled the attacker to gain remote access and obtain sensitive credentials.

According to information surrounding the incident, the attacker extracted private keys and wallet data. That access opened a path to critical administrative accounts connected to Humanity Protocol.

After gaining control, the attacker upgraded smart contracts on Ethereum and moved approximately 141 million H tokens. The compromise also extended to a ProxyAdmin contract on BNB Smart Chain.

Control of that contract enabled unauthorized minting of additional H tokens. The newly created and stolen tokens were later sold through decentralized exchanges.

The selling activity increased pressure on the token market following the breach. Humanity Protocol subsequently froze its Ethereum contract and secured remaining assets through an unaffected multisignature wallet.

Recovery efforts remain focused on affected users and ecosystem participants. The BNB Smart Chain deployment continues to face challenges linked to the exploit.

What Chiliz’s Return to the Top 100 Says About Market Resilience in 2026

Fri 22 Aug 2025 ▪ 4 min read ▪ by Evans S.

Summarize this article with:

The announcement of the launch of mUSD, Metamask’s native stablecoin, marks a strategic milestone for the crypto ecosystem. Indeed, by partnering with Bridge, a Stripe subsidiary, and the decentralized infrastructure M0, Metamask is not just adding a feature: it is reshaping the contours of decentralized finance as we know it.

In brief Metamask launches its stablecoin mUSD, in partnership with Stripe’s Bridge and the decentralized infrastructure M0. mUSD is natively integrated into the wallet for DeFi and will be usable in the real world via Mastercard. Supported by a favorable regulatory framework, Metamask hopes to impose mUSD against the giants Tether and Circle. Metamask, long recognized as the world’s most used self-custody wallet, takes an unprecedented step by integrating a native stablecoin.

Named mUSD, it is not conceived as a simple dollar-pegged token, but rather as the cornerstone of transactions across Ethereum and the Layer 2 solution developed by Consensys.

Its goal is clear: to offer a stable unit of account to navigate the jungle of dApps and DeFi protocols.

Until now, users had to juggle between USDT, USDC or DAI. With mUSD, Metamask introduces a native asset, fully compatible with its own ecosystem, thus reducing dependence on third-party stablecoins.

As a result, this choice strengthens its position in a silent war where every player seeks to capture liquidity.

From a functional perspective, mUSD will be available directly within the Metamask app.
Indeed, deposits, swaps, cross-chain transfers or value bridging: the user will be able to manage all of this in a few clicks, without going through external services.

An integration designed for the real world: Mastercard in sight Beyond purely crypto use cases, Metamask plays the card of massive adoption. Moreover, the company plans to enable, by the end of 2025, spending mUSD in the physical world via the Metamask card, compatible with the Mastercard network.

Concretely, this means a user will be able to pay for purchases at millions of merchants without having to convert their funds into fiat currency beforehand.

This bridge to the real economy is far from trivial. Indeed, it brings the initial promise of stablecoins, the fluidity of global payments, closer to a concrete and tangible application.

Thus, by simplifying the user experience, Metamask hopes to transform mUSD into an exchange standard, both in DeFi and in everyday life.

With the backing of Stripe via Bridge, the initiative gains regulatory credibility and operational robustness.

Furthermore, Stripe is not a minor player: its expertise in global financial flows allows it to provide the compliance layer and reserve management essential to the project’s stability.

A launch that fits into a regulatory turning point The timing is no coincidence either. In the United States, the GENIUS law has finally established a clear federal framework, laying the regulatory foundations for payment stablecoins. This regulatory progress removes much of the uncertainty that hampered innovation and adoption.

Thus, Metamask takes advantage of this window to position itself ahead of the competition.
By combining compliance, decentralized infrastructure M0 and smooth experience, mUSD is now established as a key player in the stablecoin era.

In a market dominated by Tether and Circle, Metamask bets on the ecosystem: users, native integration, real gateway. Consequently, so many assets could turn mUSD into a credible and sustainable alternative.

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Evans S.

Fascinated by Bitcoin since 2017, Evariste has continuously researched the subject. While his initial interest was in trading, he now actively seeks to understand all advances centered on cryptocurrencies. As an editor, he strives to consistently deliver high-quality work that reflects the state of the sector as a whole.

DISCLAIMER

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.

TL;DR

BA Labs has proposed doubling key LITE-PSM-USDC-A parameters in the Sky stablecoin system from 400 million to 800 million. The proposal says USDC reserves stand at 4.13 billion, up 108% since the last recalibration in October 2024. The change would raise daily refresh capacity to 1.6 billion and total serving capacity to 2.4 billion, according to the forum post. The update has been approved by the Core Facilitator team for an upcoming Executive Vote, but it still needs formal approval before going live. Sky governance is considering a major parameter increase for its LITE-PSM-USDC-A module, a move that would expand the system’s ability to handle large USDC-related stablecoin flows.

In a June 11 forum post, BA Labs, acting as Core Council Risk Advisor, proposed increasing both the pre-minted DAI buffer and the DC-IAM gap parameter from 400 million to 800 million. The proposal describes LITE-PSM-USDC-A as the dominant USDC-DAI trading venue in the Sky stablecoin system.

Sky Proposal Targets Bigger Stablecoin Flow Capacity The Peg Stability Module is a key piece of stablecoin plumbing. In simple terms, it helps absorb conversion flows between USDC and DAI or related Sky ecosystem assets, allowing the system to meet demand without creating unnecessary stress during periods of heavy activity.

BA Labs said USDC reserves currently stand at 4.13 billion. That is more than double the level seen at the last recalibration on October 7, 2024, with the proposal citing a 108% increase in reserves since then.

The recommended parameter change would double the buffer and gap to 800 million. According to the post, that would lift daily refresh capacity to 1.6 billion per day and serving capacity to 2.4 billion.

Why The Buffer Matters Large stablecoin systems can experience sudden flows when users rotate between assets, redeem liquidity or respond to market stress. If the module’s capacity is too small relative to user demand, the system may need more frequent parameter adjustments or face tighter liquidity conditions during heavy conversion days.

The proposal points to several major historical flow events. The heaviest single SellGem day cited by BA Labs drained 1.75 billion DAI on May 18, 2026. Other large days included 1.60 billion on June 20, 2025, 1.41 billion on October 21, 2025, 1.41 billion on March 5, 2026 and 1.31 billion on January 13, 2026.

Those figures explain why the proposed buffer is not just a technical governance detail. In a stablecoin system with billions in reserves, parameter limits can directly affect how smoothly large flows move through the protocol.

Still Awaiting Formal Approval The proposal notes that the Core Facilitator team approved the change for inclusion in an upcoming Executive Vote on June 12. That means the update has advanced procedurally, but it has not yet become active protocol policy.

For DeFi users, the important distinction is that this is a proposed risk and liquidity adjustment rather than an already executed change. If approved in an Executive Vote, the higher limits would give the Sky system more room to handle large USDC conversion flows without repeated manual recalibration.

The move also shows how stablecoin governance is increasingly focused on liquidity operations at very large scale. As reserves grow, the parameters that once looked sufficient can become too small for the system’s real transaction patterns.

For Sky, the question now is whether governance agrees that doubling the LITE-PSM-USDC-A buffer is the right response to that growth.

Tron, a blockchain-based decentralized platform just announced its partnership with a digital payment processing app called Metal Pay. 

The resulting collaboration will allow US citizens to instantly acquire Tron (TRX) through the Metal Pay app through credit or debit card payments, providing a fiat-to-crypto on-ramp to TRX in the United States. On the other hand, Metal Pay also has its own native token— Metal (MTL) which it offers as a reward token to users who transact on the platform. 

The development is one of a series of recent partnership efforts by the Tron Foundation and its CEO Justin Sun to improve TRX adoption in the US—helping to make cryptocurrencies more accessible to those without a detailed understanding of the industry. 

Significance of the Partnership

Tron and Metal Pay can be considered established, but growing platforms in the cryptocurrency space, since both projects were launched in 2017. 

Both Tron and Metal Pay launched in an industry dominated by major players that had been operating for several years already—as such, the odds were not in their favor to succeed. For example, Tron’s biggest competitors included blockchain giants like Ethereum, Cardano, Qtum and more, whereas Metal Pay was up against payment processing giants, including Square, Venmo and Payoneer. 

Few people know just how easy it is to send cryptocurrency to friends.

On Metal Pay, you never pay a fee for sending crypto to another Metal Pay user.
No need to type in a messy wallet address - just tap a contact and you’re good to go.

Crypto was always meant to be this easy.

— Metal Pay (@metalpaysme) March 14, 2020However, despite the competition, both Tron and Metal Pay have risen up to become successful platforms in their own rights, by offering a range of features that appeal to practically everyone. On one hand, Tron offers a free content sharing platform that can be leveraged by anyone, anywhere, while Metal Pay makes sending payments more rewarding by providing up to 5% rewards on eligible transactions. 

This partnership signifies the rising tide of blockchain-based projects and their entry into traditional finance, by allowing Metal Pay customers to easily purchase and sell TRX (and 26 other cryptocurrencies), and transfer it to their friends and family just as easily as sending a text message.

The Tron Foundation Presses Forward

As previously mentioned, this partnership is just one of many recent partnerships and collaborative efforts made by the Tron Foundation, the organization behind the development of the Tron ecosystem. 

In the last year alone, Tron has formed partnerships with several major projects and platforms—all with the goal of ushering in the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies, including TRX in particular. 

One of the most notable recent efforts made by Tron include its recent arrangement with Samsung, which saw TRX integrated into Samsung’s proprietary Blockchain Keystore wallet—thereby allowing Samsung users to easily store their TRX private keys within a secure vault-like environment on their mobile device. 

Another prominent partnership was announced by Poloniex back in November, a popular US-based crypto trading platform which recently listed TRX to its retail trading platform. This resulted in TRX being listed on the exchange against several other established cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC). Poloniex also acquired Tron’s decentralized exchange platform TRXMarkets after being spun out from parent company Circle. 

Tron has also been heavily featured by online gaming platforms and casinos such as Sportsbet and Bitcasino, courtesy of its partnership with the Coingaming Group. 

It was an honor meeting the legendary Woz, @Apple co-founder! Looking forward to our partnership! https://t.co/Y1faA9UCcy

— Justin Sun (@justinsuntron) January 22, 2020Although these achievements are already impressive enough, they might just be the tip of the iceberg compared to what comes next. According to a recent tweet by the CEO of Tron, a partnership with Steve Wozniak might be in the works. Widely regarded as one of the modern pioneers of personal computing, onboarding Wozniak or forming an arrangement with him could be a strong indicator of further success—after all, look how Apple turned out. 

All-in-all, the staggering rate at which Tron has made acquisitions, gotten listed on major exchanges and ramped up its presence in the US is a good part of the reason why it’s currently one of the largest blockchain platforms in existence, and the second most popular blockchain for decentralized application (dApps). 

Morgan Stanley raises Micron's price target to $1,200, maintains 'Overweight' rating.

Morgan Stanley released a report raising Micron Technology (MU.O)’s price target from $1,050 to $1,200, while maintaining an "Overweight" rating. The investment bank lifted its fiscal 2027 earnings per share (EPS) forecast for the chipmaker by roughly 40% to $168, and upgraded its free cash flow (FCF) projection from $104 billion to $140 billion. Aligning with Micron’s management, the bank holds that AI will push DRAM demand to consistently outpace supply significantly after 2027. Micron’s last fiscal quarter results matched this trend, with both its quarterly performance and outlook showing notable upside potential.

1 seconds ago

US officials: Israel has withdrawn troops from parts of the buffer zone in southern Lebanon.

A U.S. State Department official said Israel has withdrawn from parts of the buffer zone in southern Lebanon, describing the move as a "goodwill gesture" toward the Lebanese government.

1 seconds ago

CBRS trades below IPO price post-earnings: Erases all gains six weeks after listing, two smart money firms net $5.8 million from first-day IPO shorts.

According to Hyperinsight monitoring, Cerebras (CBRS), the AI chip firm previously dubbed "Nvidia’s strongest challenger", saw its stock price fall in stages after reporting its first quarterly results since going public, as negative guidance overshadowed better-than-expected performance. The stock has dropped roughly 22% since the earnings release and officially broke below its IPO price today. On-chain whales are overall bearish. CBRS trades at $184 on the Hyperliquid platform, down 7.7% in 24 hours. Large-scale short positions (million-dollar level) total around $11.62 million, 2.39 times the long positions ($4.87 million). Two major short positions were placed precisely at high levels as early as the IPO day or even before the IPO: - Whale 0xe0ff: Shorted at $284.51 on May 14 with a 3x leveraged position of $6.13 million, generating an unrealized profit of $3.24 million (+104%); - Whale 0x9996: Shorted at $275.92 on May 11 with a 5x leveraged position of $5.48 million, generating an unrealized profit of $2.64 million (+162%). It is learned that both addresses currently hold short positions in both CBRS and SPCX, and have recorded substantial unrealized profits, preferring to place short positions at high levels before or on the day of major stock listings. With the realization of negative earnings news in this round, the combined unrealized profit of the two positions is around $5.88 million. Currently, the average entry price of CBRS short whales is around $275, and the current price is over 30% lower than that. The nearest short liquidation line is at $200.13, about 7% away from the current price.

1 seconds ago

Multiple high-performing domestic public mutual fund products have tightened their purchase restrictions.

E Fund Management announced in its latest filing that the E Fund Information Industry Select Fund, managed by Zheng Xi, has cut its purchase limit to 10,000 yuan. The same purchase limit reduction to 10,000 yuan applies to another fund under his management, E Fund Information Industry Fund, while E Fund Global Growth Select Hybrid Fund (QDII) has lowered its purchase limit to 10 yuan. In addition, Guolianan Preferred Industry Fund, Harvest Tech Innovation Fund, and Principal Performance-Driven Fund have also announced purchase limits or adjustments to their limits recently. Jin Zicai, a fund manager closely watched by the market, imposed additional purchase limits on multiple public offering funds under his management, with the four funds involved cutting their purchase limits to 500 yuan starting June 23. Purchase limits on high-performing funds likely stem from multiple considerations: they can avoid return dilution caused by short-term concentrated subscriptions, and proactive limits during overheated market conditions also send risk warning signals to the market. As the first half of the year draws to a close, such moves have become increasingly frequent. Overall, Wind data shows that since June alone, 19 funds with year-to-date net asset value returns exceeding 90% have suspended large subscriptions or adjusted their purchase caps. (Source: Cailian Press)

1 seconds ago

The US stock market's optical communication sector rises across the board in pre-market trading, with Corning up 9.28%.

According to Bitget market data, the U.S. stock market's optical communication sector saw broad pre-market gains, with MRVL rising 4.99%, LITE up 3.24%, Nokia up 3.11%, Corning up 9.28%, and AXTI up 6.69%.

1 seconds ago

US-listed AI chip stocks saw mixed pre-market performance, with Qualcomm surging 13%.

According to Bitget market data, U.S. AI chip stocks posted mixed pre-market performance: Qualcomm (QCOM.O) surged 13%, Intel (INTC.O) rose nearly 6%, AMD (AMD.O) gained nearly 4%, and Google (GOOG.O) declined 1.4%.

1 seconds ago

Morgan Stanley raises Micron's price target to $1,200, maintains 'Overweight' rating.

Morgan Stanley released a report raising Micron Technology (MU.O)’s price target from $1,050 to $1,200, while maintaining an "Overweight" rating. The investment bank lifted its fiscal 2027 earnings per share (EPS) forecast for the chipmaker by roughly 40% to $168, and upgraded its free cash flow (FCF) projection from $104 billion to $140 billion. Aligning with Micron’s management, the bank holds that AI will push DRAM demand to consistently outpace supply significantly after 2027. Micron’s last fiscal quarter results matched this trend, with both its quarterly performance and outlook showing notable upside potential.

1 seconds ago

US officials: Israel has withdrawn troops from parts of the buffer zone in southern Lebanon.

A U.S. State Department official said Israel has withdrawn from parts of the buffer zone in southern Lebanon, describing the move as a "goodwill gesture" toward the Lebanese government.

1 seconds ago

CBRS trades below IPO price post-earnings: Erases all gains six weeks after listing, two smart money firms net $5.8 million from first-day IPO shorts.

According to Hyperinsight monitoring, Cerebras (CBRS), the AI chip firm previously dubbed "Nvidia’s strongest challenger", saw its stock price fall in stages after reporting its first quarterly results since going public, as negative guidance overshadowed better-than-expected performance. The stock has dropped roughly 22% since the earnings release and officially broke below its IPO price today. On-chain whales are overall bearish. CBRS trades at $184 on the Hyperliquid platform, down 7.7% in 24 hours. Large-scale short positions (million-dollar level) total around $11.62 million, 2.39 times the long positions ($4.87 million). Two major short positions were placed precisely at high levels as early as the IPO day or even before the IPO: - Whale 0xe0ff: Shorted at $284.51 on May 14 with a 3x leveraged position of $6.13 million, generating an unrealized profit of $3.24 million (+104%); - Whale 0x9996: Shorted at $275.92 on May 11 with a 5x leveraged position of $5.48 million, generating an unrealized profit of $2.64 million (+162%). It is learned that both addresses currently hold short positions in both CBRS and SPCX, and have recorded substantial unrealized profits, preferring to place short positions at high levels before or on the day of major stock listings. With the realization of negative earnings news in this round, the combined unrealized profit of the two positions is around $5.88 million. Currently, the average entry price of CBRS short whales is around $275, and the current price is over 30% lower than that. The nearest short liquidation line is at $200.13, about 7% away from the current price.

1 seconds ago

Multiple high-performing domestic public mutual fund products have tightened their purchase restrictions.

E Fund Management announced in its latest filing that the E Fund Information Industry Select Fund, managed by Zheng Xi, has cut its purchase limit to 10,000 yuan. The same purchase limit reduction to 10,000 yuan applies to another fund under his management, E Fund Information Industry Fund, while E Fund Global Growth Select Hybrid Fund (QDII) has lowered its purchase limit to 10 yuan. In addition, Guolianan Preferred Industry Fund, Harvest Tech Innovation Fund, and Principal Performance-Driven Fund have also announced purchase limits or adjustments to their limits recently. Jin Zicai, a fund manager closely watched by the market, imposed additional purchase limits on multiple public offering funds under his management, with the four funds involved cutting their purchase limits to 500 yuan starting June 23. Purchase limits on high-performing funds likely stem from multiple considerations: they can avoid return dilution caused by short-term concentrated subscriptions, and proactive limits during overheated market conditions also send risk warning signals to the market. As the first half of the year draws to a close, such moves have become increasingly frequent. Overall, Wind data shows that since June alone, 19 funds with year-to-date net asset value returns exceeding 90% have suspended large subscriptions or adjusted their purchase caps. (Source: Cailian Press)

1 seconds ago

The US stock market's optical communication sector rises across the board in pre-market trading, with Corning up 9.28%.

According to Bitget market data, the U.S. stock market's optical communication sector saw broad pre-market gains, with MRVL rising 4.99%, LITE up 3.24%, Nokia up 3.11%, Corning up 9.28%, and AXTI up 6.69%.

1 seconds ago

US-listed AI chip stocks saw mixed pre-market performance, with Qualcomm surging 13%.

According to Bitget market data, U.S. AI chip stocks posted mixed pre-market performance: Qualcomm (QCOM.O) surged 13%, Intel (INTC.O) rose nearly 6%, AMD (AMD.O) gained nearly 4%, and Google (GOOG.O) declined 1.4%.

1 seconds ago

Bitcoin Ranked As One Of The Worst Performers In Coingecko's Q1 2020 Performance Report

Binance Wealth Management now supports PAXG for dual-currency investments.

PANews reported on March 13th that, according to an official announcement, Binance Wealth Management will add PAX Gold (PAXG) to its dual-currency investment program starting at 14:00 (UTC+8) on March 12th, 2026. Users can now earn extra rewards through PAXG strategies. Supported trading pairs are PAXG-USDT and PAXG-USDC, with settlement dates at 16:00 (UTC+8) every business day, and an annualized return of 3.65% or higher.

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MakerDAO, the “decentralized” bank, went through a mass liquidity crisis. But Maker’s problems extend beyond a single shock⁠—centralization left them doomed from the start.

The 2008 DeFinancial Crisis Have you heard this story before:

Bank finances its investments with an asset, provided by customers. Bank uses those assets to back something else, based on people’s confidence in the collateral. Major turmoil grips the market and the underlying asset becomes unstable. Suddenly, people want their money back. Bank offers some other unbacked guarantee instead to fill the gap, allowing them to profit. Everyone loses, except the bank. The end. Does this sound like something from 2008?

Well, in fact, this story happened just last week. MakerDAO went through its own liquidity crisis. Simply swap ETH for mortgages, DAI for mortgage-backed securities, and USDC for credit default swaps.

Don’t believe me? Maker’s own advertising compares the platform to mortgage-backed loans:

Source: MakerDAO Financialization is a virulent mindset, and MakerDAO is sick with it. Take, for example, the growing evidence of the Maker Foundation’s participation in their own debt auctions. Even if they’re “priming the pump,” such behavior reeks of the same sort of share inflation seen on Wall Street.

The 1% Stands to Benefit from Maker It’s important to ask who benefits from Maker’s success to see where the incentives are. In reality, only a few lucky wallets will benefit from an increase in MKR’s value.

This is evident based on the major tokenholders. Between the MKR Development Fund and primary voting contracts, the top 25 wallet addresses own over 99% of all existing tokens. To make matters worse, the anonymous nature of blockchains makes it difficult to hold these parties accountable. 

Though, it is possible to piece together who holds the bags: Dragonfly Capital Partners and Paradigm have acquired a total $27.5 million in MKR⁠—5.5% of global supply. Polychain Capital, a16z and 1confirmation are a few of the other funds who funded MakerDAO.

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These funds would like to say they’re helping to build the future of DeFi, but their presence makes the decentralization of the platform questionable. Most crypto enthusiasts don’t have millions to throw around. And, for context, Bitcoin didn’t need venture capital.

Major investors, of course, want their millions protected. So, to stabilize DAI, Maker opened their vaults to USDC. Why is this problematic? USD Coin is a permissioned and censurable asset, which puts the platform at the mercy of governments. May as well back DAI with fiat.

Dai Only works, Until It Matters Maker’s promises are meaningless when USDC can be frozen at the discretion of Circle’s global blacklist. 

In the event that DeFi becomes a disruptive force, and financial statutes are enacted to outlaw it, would Maker⁠—and anyone else relying on them⁠—survive collapse? Or, maybe MakerDAO would get sucked into the vortex of traditional finance, making it no better than old institutions it originally sought to replace.

In short, MakerDAO’s “decentralized autonomous organization” is not decentralized, nor autonomous, nor organized. In their desperation to save their platform, its administrators have entirely abandoned the promises that originally drew crypto enthusiasts to their model.

The admins and their supporters would, of course, argue that what they’re doing works⁠. Of course it does. Traditional finance is already proven, and it works⁠—in the short term. 

However, in the long run, it’s only a matter of time before abuse takes over the system and brings things crashing down, just like in 2008.

MakerDAO Is Centralized Finance If it isn’t stopped, the same collusion and rampant abuse on Wall Street will pervade DeFi. 

By stabilizing their coin with fiat, MakerDAO has signified that they’ve given up. If people in DeFi wanted dollars they would have purchased Treasury Bonds.

Now, MakerDAO’s only innovation has been creating a “bank-on-the-blockchain.” And, as other traditional financial firms consider building their own networks, it stands to reason that Maker’s current path won’t lead to much success. 

In the end, people shouldn’t waste their time bailing out MakerDAO when more promising paths to decentralization still exist.

There Is Another Way to DeFi There are several examples of projects doing it right. Kava is a DeFi platform with similar lending facilities to MakerDAO, but it offers loans on a wide range of collateral, including Bitcoin, Binance Coin, and XRP. Notably, the Kava platform is a purpose-built blockchain designed to handle hyper-volatility and intense liquidity events, the same issues that are currently causing problems for MakerDAO.

Other self-stabilizing tokens are being built without the obfuscated centralization of DAI. AMPL, for example, with its internal inflation protocol, allows for an internally regulated economy with less risk of meddling from executives.

This kind of creativity is exactly what DeFi needs. The field will live and die by its tools, and shoddy imitations of current finance won’t do.

Banking, by definition, requires a certain level of administration. Banking is flawed because human discretion is flawed. The boom and bust cycle won’t end until the human component is mitigated.

DeFi allows for this kind of future. More creative, self-governing code can change the face of finance. Players from Facebook to Goldman Sachs understand this. Unfortunately, they’re attempting to pollute the space with “x-on-the-blockchain” projects instead of tapping into the transformative promise of blockchain technology.

In all, MakerDAO’s thinly veiled attempt to make a “bank-on-the-blockchain” is just another vacuum of the imagination. There is another way. Instead of letting this define DeFi, people should make one simple demand: No banks and no gatekeepers.

This time, we don’t have to wait for another collapse and another bail out. It’s possible to use technology to create something entirely new, the world is simply waiting for the right people to make it happen.

This sponsored guest post was brought to you by Ampleforth, Crypto Briefing’s preferred DeFi partner. Recognition due to co-author Andrew Prensky, with contributions from Richy Qiao.

Disclosure: This is sponsored content. It does not represent Crypto Briefing's editorial views. For more information, see our Editorial Policy.

Stellar Assets Now Accessible Across 40-Plus BlockchainsStellar and SushiSwap have enabled cross-chain swaps for $XLM and USDC, connecting Stellar's asset ecosystem to SushiSwap's multichain infrastructure. According to data from Sushi(.)com, cross-chain swaps for Stellar Development Foundation assets are now live on SushiSwap, allowing users to swap XLM and USDC across more than 40 blockchains without any intermediary or bridging process.

The move marks a meaningful expansion of Stellar's reach into decentralized finance. Stellar has established itself as one of the more practical blockchain networks for real-world payments, supporting low-cost transfers, remittances, and stablecoin transactions globally. Adding SushiSwap's routing layer gives XLM and USDC holders access to a far broader set of decentralized liquidity pools and trading routes.

SushiSwap's Multichain Reach Drives the IntegrationSushiSwap is a multichain decentralized exchange and aggregator that enables users to swap tokens across more than 40 blockchains, combining an automated market maker with an aggregator to find the best prices. Its SushiXSwap product enables cross-chain swaps without the need to use separate bridges.

The Stellar integration is part of a broader expansion for both protocols. SushiSwap launched on Stellar on February 10, 2026. Stellar's Q1 2026 showed growth across the network's most important metrics, with its real-world asset market cap rising 91% quarter-on-quarter to reach $1.52 billion at quarter end. Enabling direct cross-chain swap access to XLM and USDC through SushiSwap adds another layer of DeFi utility to a network that has traditionally been focused on payments and settlements.

For users, the practical benefit is straightforward: Stellar assets can now be traded into and out of tokens on dozens of other networks directly through the familiar Sushi interface, without wrapping assets or relying on third-party bridges.

Sources:
TronWeekly: SushiSwap Launches Cross-Chain Swaps for Stellar Assets
Messari: State of Stellar Q1 2026
SushiSwap: Cross-Chain Swap

New Cryptocurrency Act In Congress Classifies Assets Into Three Distinct Groups

Bitcoin and ETH Deposits to Yield Higher Interests on BlockFi

PANews reported on October 13th that official data showed that Gate Launchpool launched 21 projects in September, achieving an annualized yield of 1,037.37% and a total staked value of approximately $2.936 billion. Furthermore, Launchpool now allows users to stake Gemini Dollar (GUSD), allowing them to convert USDT or USDC into GUSD at a 1:1 ratio. During the same period, Gate's HODLer Airdrop launched 19 projects. These two flagship products attracted over 600,000 participants, distributing nearly $1 million in airdrops.

Gate Launchpool, an innovative staking and airdrop platform, supports staking a variety of tokens, including GT, BTC, ETH, USDT, and GUSD. It distributes new coin airdrops every hour, offering low barriers to entry and high annualized returns, helping users seize market opportunities. Furthermore, after staking and redeeming, users can transfer their assets to Yubibao's 7-day fixed-term product to receive additional airdrop rewards of up to 116.6% on top of their original staking returns.

Gate HODLer Airdrop is dedicated to discovering high-quality potential projects and reducing investment risk to zero through the airdrop mechanism. Users only need to hold 1 GT to easily participate in the free airdrop.

PancakeSwap is rolling out USDC incentives for bridged SOL and jitoSOL tokens on its Base deployment, a move designed to pull Solana-native liquidity into the broader cross-chain DeFi ecosystem. The targeted liquidity pairs include SOL-jitoSOL and SOL-USDC, with tokens bridged via the Coinbase bridge.

The initiative is a team effort. Base, Jito, Merkl, and Gauntlet are all involved in structuring and distributing the incentives to liquidity providers. BeefyFinance is running a parallel campaign it’s calling “summer incentives,” offering auto-compounding vaults for SOL-cbBTC, SOL-USDC, and jitoSOL-SOL pairs on Base.

What’s actually on the table Earlier promotional rounds for SOL-jitoSOL pools on PancakeSwap featured APRs exceeding 100%. The new USDC incentive structure targets the same general liquidity territory. By denominating rewards in USDC rather than a governance token or volatile asset, PancakeSwap is offering something more predictable. Stablecoin incentives reduce the risk that your farming rewards evaporate the moment you try to harvest them.

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For the uninitiated, jitoSOL is Jito’s liquid staking token on Solana. You stake your SOL through Jito’s protocol, and in return you get jitoSOL, a token that accrues staking rewards plus MEV tips over time.

The Coinbase bridge serves as the pipeline. Users bridge their SOL or jitoSOL from Solana to Base (chain ID 8453), then deposit into PancakeSwap’s liquidity pools or BeefyFinance’s vaults. The vault option on BeefyFinance auto-compounds returns, meaning you don’t have to manually claim and re-deposit rewards.

Why Base, and why now PancakeSwap’s collaboration with Gauntlet, a risk management and optimization firm, suggests the incentive distribution isn’t purely spray-and-pray. Gauntlet typically models optimal incentive allocation to maximize liquidity depth relative to spend. Merkl handles the actual distribution mechanics for reward campaigns across DeFi protocols.

The BeefyFinance integration adds another layer. Beefy is a yield optimizer that sits on top of DEXs like PancakeSwap, automatically harvesting and reinvesting farming rewards. The SOL-cbBTC vault pairs bridged Solana with cbBTC, Coinbase’s wrapped Bitcoin product, on Base, auto-compounded by BeefyFinance.

What this means for investors For liquidity providers weighing whether to participate, the risk calculus involves several layers. There’s bridge risk (moving assets between chains always introduces smart contract exposure), impermanent loss (especially in volatile pairs like SOL-USDC), and the opportunity cost of parking capital in these pools versus alternatives on native Solana DeFi.

The USDC denomination of rewards does mitigate one common concern. When farming rewards are paid in a protocol’s native governance token, you’re essentially betting that token holds value. USDC rewards are worth a dollar.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Summary

The Graph has enabled x402 payments in its Graph Gateway, letting developers and AI agents buy on-chain data per request using USDC. The feature removes the need for API keys and accounts, instead using HTTP 402 “Payment Required” responses and on-chain payments on Base as authentication. The rollout plugs The Graph directly into the emerging x402 machine-payments stack pushed by Coinbase, Circle and major web infrastructure providers. The Graph has activated x402 payments inside its Graph Gateway, allowing developers and AI agents to purchase on-chain data queries on a pay-per-request basis using USDC, according to an announcement from the project’s official X account. The team said that “Graph Gateway now officially supports x402 Payments,” meaning clients can access indexed blockchain data “without the need for an API key, account, or backend panel” by paying directly over HTTP with stablecoins on Base.

The Graph turns HTTP 402 into a USDC paywall for Subgraphs The Graph’s network currently indexes data from multiple chains, spanning token information, DEX trading pairs, governance events, NFT metadata and protocol activity, exposing it through Subgraphs that power thousands of DeFi and Web3 applications. Until now, developers typically had to register with Subgraph Studio and obtain an API key to query this data at scale, but the project said x402 “changes this access model” by letting any agent that speaks HTTP and holds USDC pay for queries on demand.

Under the new flow, when an agent or program hits the x402-enabled endpoint, the server responds with an HTTP 402 status that includes pricing information in the headers, mirroring the standard described in Coinbase’s x402 documentation. The client then signs and broadcasts a USDC payment on the Base mainnet (or Base Sepolia for testing) and retries the request, at which point the Graph Gateway returns the requested data, with “the payment itself serv[ing] as authentication,” the team explained.

The update adds a new /api/x402/ interface, a payments SDK, support for any tools compatible with the x402 protocol, and USDC payments on both Base mainnet and Base Sepolia, while leaving the existing API key model unchanged, The Graph said. “Subgraph data is now directly accessible by any program or Agent that supports HTTP and holds USDC,” the announcement noted, positioning the network as a native data feed for AI agents, bots and machine-to-machine workflows.

x402 itself is an emerging open standard developed by Coinbase to revive the long-reserved HTTP 402 “Payment Required” code as a built-in payment step for web resources, including APIs and model context calls. Coinbase describes x402 as “a new open payment protocol … that enables instant, automatic stablecoin payments directly over HTTP,” with agents receiving a 402, paying in USDC, and then getting the resource, turning monetization into infrastructure rather than separate billing flows.

That concept is quickly spreading across the web stack: Circle has framed x402 as a backbone for “machine-to-machine micropayments with Gateway and USDC,” while Stripe, CoinGecko and others have rolled out x402-powered pay-per-use APIs for data and AI agent access, as reported by crypto.news. By wiring The Graph’s Subgraph data directly into that ecosystem, the new x402 integration effectively turns indexed on-chain data into a first-class commodity for AI-native commerce, gated not by human signups and API dashboards, but by HTTP status codes and USDC balances in autonomous wallets.

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SwissBorg has stated that its Meta-Exchange will be upgraded significantly so that customers will be able to access native USDC and ETH within the Base network. The update will represent another move towards the goal of SwissBorg of simplifying the use of crypto, as well as transforming traditional finance and integrating it into onchain ecosystems. The platform encourages native assets as opposed to wrapped versions of the same, thus improving the security and efficiency of users who visit Base.

🟦 You can now access native $USDC and $ETH directly in the Meta-Exchange.

SwissBorg isn’t just the one-tap gateway to an expanding Marketplace of @Base tokens.

We’re the seamless bridge from 15 fiat currencies, Apple Pay, or Google Pay straight to Base, ready for swaps, apps,… pic.twitter.com/q4MuxEnOMN

— SwissBorg (@swissborg) January 16, 2026 Such an integration makes SwissBorg a simple access point to users who want exposure to Base-based applications, tokens, and decentralized services without having to play a full game on elaborate bridges and a variety of platforms.

At the heart of the SwissBorg product offering is the Meta-Exchange, which pools centralized and decentralized liquidity in a single application. Since Base now supports both native USDC and ETH, users now have direct access to one of the most rapidly expanding Layer 2 ecosystems on Ethereum.

The shift will facilitate smooth exchanges between centralized exchange liquidity and opportunities of decentralized finance with a single turn of the tap. SwissBorg stresses that the absence of this nuisance does not contradict its overarching objective of ensuring sophisticated crypto tools for both inexperienced and seasoned users.

A Direct Bridge From Fiat to Base Among the best aspects of this update is the increased fiat onramp features available to SwissBorg. The Base ecosystem supports 15 fiat currencies that users can transfer money to using the well-recognized payment systems like Apple Pay and Google Pay. This erases the conventional process with multiple steps that can discourage people to go window shopping through onchain applications.

Simplify the trip between fiat and Base SwissBorg is removing the barriers to entry, increasing the adoption rates of the decentralized apps, swaps, and valuable applications of onchain to more widespread applications.

Powering the Growing Base Economy Base is still available in the Ethereum ecosystem and it has continued to draw developers and users who require scalability, reduced fees, and high uncompromised security. The support of native USDC and ETH by SwissBorg is in line with this expansion, where users have access to key assets utilized throughout the Base economy.

The Meta-Exchange by SwissBorg offers a single layer of access as Base applications proliferate through DeFi, gaming, consumer applications and other applications. Users are able to communicate with Base tokens, allocate capital effectively, and discover some new opportunities without switching between apps.

One App, One Tap Vision SwissBorg writes that the update represents a manifestation of its one app, one tap philosophy. As opposed to dividing the user experience between wallets, bridges, and exchanges, the platform will strive to make everything one smooth experience.

Being a multi-chain and cross-chain access gateway, supporting native assets, offering cross-chain access and fiat options, SwissBorg is placed at the stage of crypto adoption. The Base integration serves to support that vision as it directly links traditional finance to an onchain ecosystem that is growing.

Looking Ahead The introduction of native USDC and ETH on Base underlines the fact that SwissBorg remains interoperable and user-centered. Of course, with faster onchain and increased prominence of Layer 2 networks, platforms that help ease access may be a necessity.

The latest SwissBorg update is an indication of a more widespread direction at seamless finance, where users can easily pass between fiat, centralized exchanges, and decentralized networks all in a single interface.

AUTHOR

With over five years of experience in crypto, blockchain, and tech content, Ishtiyaq makes complex topics easy to understand. He simplifies blockchain and digital currency concepts for a wide audience, ensuring that beginners and experts alike can grasp key ideas. His clear and engaging writing helps readers stay informed about the latest trends, developments, and innovations in the crypto space. Whether explaining blockchain technology, digital assets, or DeFi, Ishtiyaq breaks down complicated ideas into simple, digestible content. His goal is to help people navigate the fast-changing world of cryptocurrency with confidence, clarity, and a deeper understanding.

GENIUS ACT and Beyond: Kaia Explains Asian Perspective

PANews, June 21 – MEV bot developer JaredFromSubway.eth posted that his MEV bot was hacked and drained of approximately $15 million in assets. He publicly offered a $1 million bounty for the full return of the funds, promising complete confidentiality and a secure return, emphasizing that this is a legitimate and time-sensitive bounty, and calling on the hacker to contact him privately.

Security firm Blockaid stated that the attacker constructed fake token wrappers and liquidity pools, tricking the automated MEV execution system into granting token approvals to attacker-controlled contracts. The attacker then exploited the unrevoked approvals to transfer out assets such as WETH, USDC, and USDT held by the bot via transferFrom. Blockaid noted that this incident was neither a traditional phishing attack nor a smart contract vulnerability in the victim contract itself; rather, the attacker exploited a flaw in the bot’s mechanism for automatically identifying arbitrage opportunities and generating approvals.

Jefferies: Samsung is likely to follow SK Hynix’s example to list in the US via ADRs.

Jeff Kim, Head of Research at Jefferies, said Samsung is likely to follow SK Hynix in listing on the U.S. market via American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), which will boost the share price of the South Korean chipmaker whose valuation lags behind Micron. "Chip stocks are at a turning point. ADRs will serve as an important catalyst to drive their valuations," he added.

8 minutes ago

UBS and TD Cowen sharply raise Arm’s target price, betting on a revaluation of Arm’s AI data center CPU value.

Arm’s stock price pulled back this week alongside the high-valuation AI sector, though some Wall Street analysts say the correction does not alter the company’s long-term standing in AI data centers. UBS sharply raised Arm’s price target from $260 to $470, retaining its Buy rating; TD Cowen lifted its target from $265 to $475, also keeping a Buy recommendation. Both firms share the view that as agentic AI evolves, CPUs could gain greater importance in data center architectures, rather than GPUs continuing to monopolize the investment narrative. TD Cowen believes that over the long term, CPUs could hold a more strategic position in certain AI workloads. UBS, meanwhile, emphasizes that the real debate in the market centers on the revenue potential of Arm’s self-developed or independent CPU business. The bank projects Arm’s CPU-related revenue could reach around $14 billion by 2030, though the company itself has stated this business will not have a material impact on its finances until fiscal 2028. Arm’s strengths lie in low latency and energy efficiency—metrics that major cloud providers are increasingly prioritizing as they expand AI infrastructure. Even with its stock pulling back from recent highs in the short term, analysts still view Arm as one of the key beneficiaries of the server CPU upgrade cycle.

8 minutes ago

Crypto whale who profited over $23.77 million from BAT ICO liquidates 27,586 ETH

According to monitoring by Yu Jing, a whale that earned $23.77 million from participating in the BAT ICO sold 15,000 ETH (valued at roughly $24.29 million) two hours ago. The whale has now fully liquidated all 27,586 ETH it received from selling 35 million BAT on-chain over the past day and a half, converting the proceeds into 44.836 million USDS at an average selling price of $1,625.

8 minutes ago

Sources: Iraqi officials once considered withdrawing from OPEC, but current plans are to remain a member and pursue a higher quota.

A senior Iraqi oil ministry official said that if OPEC quotas are not significantly increased, Iraq will be forced to consider all available options. Sources said Iraqi officials had considered withdrawing from OPEC, but the current plan is to remain a member and push for higher quotas. (Jinshi)

8 minutes ago

Kepler Cheuvreux raises ASML’s European share price target from €1,460 to €1,830.

Kepler Cheuvreux has raised the target price for ASML’s European shares from €1,460 to €1,830.

8 minutes ago

Stifel: U.S. economy in "overheated expansion" as AI investment cycle outweighs consumer pressure

U.S. large diversified financial services holding company Stifel has raised its year-end S&P 500 target and rolled out a stock allocation framework for a "high-growth, high-inflation" environment. The firm lifted its year-end S&P 500 target to 7,800 points, noting the U.S. economy is entering a "running hot" state—where economic growth is strengthening alongside mounting inflationary pressure. Stifel’s models show U.S. growth momentum is picking up while inflation momentum is clearly overheating, a trend that will reshape the market’s leading sector structure in the second half of the year. Instead of traditional consumer sectors, Stifel’s top picks are investment-led cyclical industries, including banks, transportation, materials, energy, semiconductors, software and equipment. The firm adds that fixed-asset investment in AI remains on the rise: large tech firms including Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Google are projected to combine for roughly $725 billion in total capital expenditures in 2026, some $100 billion higher than prior estimates. This means the AI investment chain is likely to continue outperforming the consumption chain squeezed by inflation. Stifel advises investors to reduce exposure to discretionary consumer, consumer staples, communication services and some financial services sectors, as these areas see weaker earnings revisions. Conversely, the firm favors cyclical value stocks and hedges with defensive value sectors such as insurance, autos, energy and banks.

8 minutes ago

Jun 21, 2026, 7:12 a.m.

3 min read

Summary

An attacker drained more than $7.5 million from the notorious Ethereum MEV bot jaredfromsubway.eth by exploiting its automated trading logic rather than a traditional contract bug or phishing scam.Over several weeks, the attacker lured the bot into approving malicious helper contracts via fake tokens and liquidity pools that mimicked assets like WETH, USDC and USDT, then used those open approvals to pull funds and route some through Tornado Cash.The incident underscores both the scale and risks of industrialized sandwich-bot activity—jaredfromsubway.eth has been responsible for roughly 70% of Ethereum sandwich attacks, which cost traders about $60 million a year—by showing how machine-speed, pattern-based systems can themselves be turned into victims.Jaredfromsubway.eth, one of Ethereum’s most infamous MEV bots, has been drained for more than $7.5 million after an attacker turned the bot’s own automated trading logic against it.

The bot is known for sandwich attacks, a form of maximal extractable value, or MEV, in which an automated trader spots a pending transaction, buys ahead of it, lets the victim trade at a worse price, then sells immediately after.

The result is a small hidden tax on users that can add up across thousands of trades.

Sandwich attackers aren’t typically a form of exploit but are looked upon in crypto circles as a type of predatory behavior, which skims value from users, leads to a spike in gas fees and doesn’t benefit either the network or the user.

Security firm Blockaid said Saturday’s incident was not a normal phishing attack and not a simple bug in the victim contract. The attacker instead targeted the bot’s decision-making system.

The setup was built over several weeks, where the attacker deployed dozens of fake token contracts and fake liquidity pools - a term for a pile of tokens locked on a decentralized exchange - that looked like profitable trades. Some mimicked familiar assets such as wrapped ether (WETH), and dollar-pegged stablecoins USDC and USDT.

That bait did what it was supposed to do. Jaredfromsubway.eth’s bot saw what looked like MEV opportunities and generated approvals for attacker-controlled helper contracts to spend tokens on its behalf. Those approvals were used immediately as part of the trade in earlier tests, but later, the attacker created routes where the approvals stayed open.

This left the attacker with standing permission to pull funds. And they used those open approvals to transfer WETH, USDC and USDT out of Jaredfromsubway.eth’s contracts, draining more than $7.5 million.

Some of the stolen funds were later sent to Tornado Cash, onchain data reveiwed by CoinDesk showed.

The irony was hard to miss, meanwhile.

Jaredfromsubway.eth has long been one of the most visible symbols of toxic MEV on Ethereum. Sandwich attacks cost Ethereum traders about $60 million a year, with 60,000 to 90,000 attacks per month between November 2024 and October 2025.

Roughly 70% of those attacks were associated with Jaredfromsubway.eth, who has been active since early 2023.

CoinDesk reported in May that the same bot had even sandwiched a small swap by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. It put up $1.14 million to frontrun Buterin's trade to make just $4 (after fees, the bot a few dollars money on this particular trade).

The trade was worth only a few dollars, and the loss was tiny, but it showed how industrialized the bot had become. It was scanning the mempool for nearly anything it could insert itself around.

While Saturday's incident does not make sandwich attacks less harmful, but it does show the risk of running systems that approve transactions at machine speed based on pattern recognition and profit signals.

Jaredfromsubway.eth spent years profiting from traders who did not see the bot coming. But on Saturday, the bot did not see the trade coming either.

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OORT’s decentralized AI Layer1 blockchain, Olympus Protocol, has officially integrated Circle-issued stablecoin, USDC. By doing so, Olympus bridges DeAI with real-world utility.

Olympus Protocol becomes the first decentralized AI-based ecosystem to integrate the USDC (USDC) stablecoin, opening the door for real-world use cases and establishing a practical and functional infrastructure with ample liquidity and financial stability for evolving DeAI projects.

By integrating USDC into the Olympus ecosystem, businesses will be able to process AI-driven transactions securely and efficiently using the Circle-issued stablecoin. Moreover, AI companies that use the Olympus Protocol for storage and compute power can make USDC transactions. Thus, developers can use USDC to pay for decentralized cloud computing services via Olympus.

While there have been other Layer 1 chains before Olympus which have USDC integrated into their ecosystems, Olympus Protocol’s specialization in the DeAI sector offers unique access to the emerging AI sector that is making its way through the decentralized crypto space.

Since 2024, many traders have started relying on AI Agents in trading as more AI-based technology has made innovative strides in the decentralized finance spaces. At press time, AI tokens have accumulated a market cap of more than $22 billion, according to CoinGecko.

Through USDC, Developers will be able to unlock a stable and liquid infrastructure for projects in multiple sectors, including DeFi, Enterprise AI, Data Monetization, AI-powered Identity and Reputation Systems, and more.

This is because Olympus Protocol’s environment offers a myriad of projects and dApps with unique functionalities for AI development. These projects encompass data collection and labeling, data storage, and computing. By merging the stability of USDC with DeAI, Olympus Protocol gears up to drive exponential growth and cutting-edge advancements in the sector.

Not only that, the USDC stablecoin could also facilitate AI-powered trading, lending, and staking projects built on Olympus.

Powered by the Olympus Protocol, OORT offers trustless infrastructure built on AI for enterprises and individuals. Some of their products include OORT Storage, OORT DataHub (for B2C and B2B), as well as the upcoming OORT Compute.

Previously, OORT raised $10 million from several major investors including Taisu Venture, Red Beard Venture, Sanctor Capital, and has received grants from Microsoft and Google.