Crypto payments giant MoonPay launched PayBox, a non-custodial wallet and payment vault that enables AI agents to securely transact across the open internet.
While the product introduced a new way to interact with crypto through ChatGPT and Claude, much of the community focused on something else. MoonPay rewarded early users with one-time $USDC allocations that ranged from a few dollars to as much as $1,000, according to reports shared across social media.
To qualify, users created a PayBox account, connected it to ChatGPT or Claude, created a wallet, linked their X account, and claimed rewards through a faucet.
Community members posted screenshots showing rewards of $5, $380, $500, $600, and even $1,000. Many also confirmed successful withdrawals before MoonPay temporarily paused the faucet, saying it would return at “an undisclosed time” on July 30 with "more surprises for PayBox users."
The campaign quickly became one of the most viral crypto marketing efforts in recent months. MoonPay later revealed that it had gained 35,000 new followers on X within a day of the launch.
Turning Conversations Into Transactions Beyond the giveaway, PayBox introduces a different way to interact with digital assets. Users connect the wallet to ChatGPT or Claude through a custom connector, then describe what they want in natural language.
Examples include onramping funds into stablecoins, swapping tokens on Solana, bridging assets across supported blockchains, maximizing DeFi yield, booking flights, making restaurant reservations, and shopping online. The AI prepares each transaction, while the user authorizes it with a passkey before funds move.
PayBox launches with support for Solana and several EVM-compatible networks, including Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Polygon, Hyperliquid, Tempo, and Robinhood Chain.
Privacy Concerns Sparked Debate The generous $USDC rewards also triggered debate within the community. Some participants viewed the campaign as a customer acquisition strategy rather than a traditional crypto airdrop, while others questioned whether connecting accounts created privacy risks.
MoonPay responded directly, stating that PayBox never accesses users' chat history or wallet private keys.
Neeraj Prasad, Chief Engineer of MoonPay Labs and founder of Dawn Labs, also explained that the wallet operates through embedded cryptographic infrastructure and that only tool call arguments pass through the connector, not conversation history.
A Non-Custodial Approach to AI Payments MoonPay designed PayBox so AI agents never take custody of user funds. The system stores wallet keys using multi-party computation and trusted execution environments, preventing any single party, including MoonPay or the AI assistant, from accessing the complete private key.
Users can choose between 2 permission models. "Always Ask" requires passkey approval for every transaction, while "Autonomous" lets AI operate within limits defined by the user. Every authorization applies to a single action and expires after use.
The infrastructure comes from Sodot, the cryptography company MoonPay acquired earlier this year, building on a broader wave of MoonPay AI initiatives including the acquisition of Entendre, the launch of MoonPay Agents and the acquisition of AI trading startup Dawn Labs founded by Prasad. According to MoonPay, that technology already secures more than $50 billion in assets across over 10 million wallets.
More Than a Crypto Wallet PayBox supports much more than token transfers. Users can create wallets, manage credentials, track portfolio balances, perform cross-chain swaps, sign blockchain transactions, retrieve stored secrets with approval, and monitor pending requests.
The platform also supports x402-powered commerce, allowing AI agents to pay for APIs, travel bookings, shopping, digital services, and other internet-based transactions. It also integrates World prediction markets, enabling users to browse events, review market data, trade positions, and redeem settled markets.
MoonPay plans to expand PayBox further into DeFi, adding support for perpetual futures, liquidity management, and additional AI platforms.
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Fabric Foundation (@FabricFND) has taken its RoboPay payment rail into physical hardware for the first time, demonstrating what a robot economy could look like in practice. The demo integrated x402 payment verification across three separate platforms: Deep Robotics' M20 Pro quadruped, the AGIBot X2 humanoid, and a DOBOT CR5V robotic arm.
The sequence is straightforward. A $USDC payment clears, RoboPay authorizes a bounded task, and the machine executes, whether that is a patrol run, a pick-and-place operation, or another defined action. The demonstration ran on @base's Sepolia testnet.
How x402 Powers the Payment Layer The x402 protocol sits at the heart of the integration. x402 is an HTTP-native payment protocol that lets AI agents pay per request with stablecoins, with no accounts or human approval needed. The protocol is designed to embed payment capabilities directly over HTTP, allowing autonomous AI agents, APIs, and applications to process financial transactions programmatically during standard web request-response cycles.
OpenMind and Circle previously announced a strategic partnership to launch what they described as the world's first payment infrastructure built specifically for autonomous agents and embodied AI. By integrating Circle's USDC stablecoin with OpenMind's x402 protocol module, the collaboration enables robots and AI agents to make direct, autonomous payments for energy, services, and data in the physical world.
Robots as Economic Actors Fabric Foundation represents a shift in the robotics sector, moving from closed-loop hardware toward an open, interoperable robot economy. By integrating a universal operating system with a blockchain-native coordination layer, the protocol addresses the critical scaling bottlenecks of machine identity and autonomous payments.
Robots are becoming economic actors, earning, building reputation, and transacting on-chain. RoboPay and its bounty marketplace give them the rail to do so. With x402 already handling payments between AI agents in digital environments, the hardware demo sketches out the logical next step: robots operating as paid, verifiable service providers in the physical world.
The broader x402 ecosystem has gained significant institutional backing, with forty global leaders launching the x402 Foundation as an open HTTP standard for autonomous AI agent payments, announced on 14 July 2026. The Linux Foundation acts as the parent non-profit organisation providing vendor-neutral governance.
Sources:
Fabric Foundation Unveils RoboPay Partners to Power Onchain Payments for AI Robots (Crypto Economy)
Fabric Foundation to Advance Robot Economy with OpenMind and Circle (KuCoin)
Linux Foundation Operationalises x402 Foundation for Automated Machine Payments (Open Source For You)
Coinbase shares fell about 5% in after hours trading after the exchange reported a second quarter loss and lower revenue despite reaching a record share of crypto trading activity.
The company reported revenue of approximately $1.2 billion, down from $1.5 billion a year earlier. Coinbase posted a loss of $1.36 per share compared with earnings of $5.14 per share during the same period last year.
Coinbase said its share of global crypto trading volume reached a record 10.3%, up from 9.1% during the first quarter. The result marked its third consecutive quarter of market share gains despite weaker conditions across the broader crypto market.
Derivatives trading remained close to the previous quarter’s record level even as overall market volume declined by double digits. Its related event contracts and revenue grew 106% from the previous quarter and surpassed a $100 million annualized revenue rate.
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Stablecoins were another source of growth. Average USDC held across Coinbase products reached a record $20 billion, representing more than 30% of the stablecoin’s circulating supply at the end of the quarter.
Coinbase said USDC and its partner stablecoins accounted for 79% of the more than $37 trillion in stablecoin transaction volume recorded this year. Stablecoin volume on the Base network increased sevenfold from a year earlier.
The company also continued reducing its dependence on Bitcoin trading fees. Revenue excluding Bitcoin spot trading represented 88% of net revenue during the quarter.
Subscription and services revenue reached $555 million, up from $6 million in the second quarter of 2020. The segment represented 48% of net revenue, compared with 29% in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Coinbase also reported its 14th consecutive quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA and lowered its projected adjusted expenses for the full year.
The company said wider use of artificial intelligence was improving engineering efficiency. The number of code changes processed per engineer increased 2.2 times from a year earlier, while integration test coverage across core services rose 2.5 times over six months.
Coinbase said the results showed that its business had become less dependent on Bitcoin prices and was generating a larger share of revenue from stablecoins, derivatives, subscriptions, payments and financial infrastructure.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
@Shopify has added $USDC payment support to its core payments stack, with @Arbitrum among the supported networks. The integration allows over 480 compatible digital wallets to execute retail transactions directly through Shopify Payments, positioning stablecoins as a practical alternative to traditional card networks for merchants worldwide.
How It Works at Checkout Shopify has wired USDC directly into its payments stack, allowing merchants to accept digital dollars at checkout without adding new providers or changing existing workflows. The feature sits inside Shopify Payments, meaning merchants can enable it alongside credit cards and other payment options.
Shopify Payments accepts $USDC on five networks: Base, Ethereum L1, Optimism, Polygon, and Arbitrum, with access through 480-plus supported crypto wallets and no gas fees charged to the buyer. Crucially, no foreign exchange fees apply either, removing two of the most common friction points for cross-border commerce.
Customers can pay with USDC on Ethereum, Base, or other chains, and funds bridge automatically, so the merchant does not need to think about which network the buyer used.
Settlement Options and Merchant Flexibility On the back end, merchants can choose whether to receive funds in traditional fiat payouts or settle in USDC on-chain. Shopify states that USDC payments convert to local currency by default, with no foreign exchange or multi-currency fees, and deposit to the connected bank account.
The integration is built in partnership with Stripe and Coinbase for wallet connectivity and transaction processing, with settlement occurring on Base and support for USDT planned.
The move reflects a broader shift in commerce infrastructure. Stablecoin payments reached $1.1 trillion in transaction volume in 2024, with Visa and Allium Labs confirming that stablecoins processed 2.5 times Visa's adjusted transfer volume that same year. For merchants processing high volumes of cross-border transactions, the economics are hard to ignore.
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Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
Visa Chief Executive Ryan McInerney said the payments company will remain neutral among stablecoins as Open USD prepares to enter a market led by Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC.
Summary
Visa says its stablecoin strategy will remain multi-coin and multi-chain rather than backing one winner. Open USD plans to launch later this year with more than 140 participating global companies. Visa’s stablecoin platform initially supports Open USD while retaining interoperability with existing settlement products worldwide. During Visa’s July 28 fiscal third-quarter earnings call, McInerney said the company would remain “multi-coin, multi-chain” and that its role was “not to pick winners.” Instead, Visa plans to help clients connect securely to whichever stablecoins, networks and infrastructure gain adoption.
Visa separates Open USD support from a single-token bet Visa is one of more than 140 companies supporting Open Standard, the independent consortium developing Open USD. Other participants include Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase, BlackRock, BNY, Google and several global banks.
However, McInerney’s comments show that Visa does not view its involvement as an exclusive commitment to OUSD. The company already supports several stablecoins and blockchains through settlement, card and money-movement products. Visa previously described its technical approach as a “multi-coin and multi-chain foundation.”
ARK Invest researcher Lorenzo Valente interpreted the response as evidence that partner support may be “closer to a soft LOI than a strategic bet.” That is an analyst’s view, not a disclosed Visa contract term. Neither Visa nor Open Standard has published commitments showing how much capital, distribution or balance-sheet support each partner must provide.
On @Visa earnings call, the company was asked whether OpenUSD would compete with @circle , @tether, and the established stablecoin players.
Visa’s response:
“Visa, going forward, will remain multi-coin, multi-chain. Our role is not to pick winners. Our role is to help clients…
— Lorenzo Valente (@LorenzoARK) July 28, 2026 Open Standard plans to launch Open USD later in 2026. Its website says businesses will be able to mint and redeem OUSD without fees or volume limits, while most revenue from the reserves will return to participants that adopt and distribute the token.
That model differs from the issuer-led structures used by USDT and USDC, where the issuing company controls reserve management and related economics. Open Standard says an independent management team and partner-led governance will oversee OUSD. These are planned product features, and the token has not yet launched.
Notably, Open USD’s launch raised questions about Circle’s reserve-income model. Circle shares fell 17.5% on June 30, although Russell index removals also contributed to that day’s decline, making it difficult to isolate OUSD’s effect.
Visa is building infrastructure across stablecoins Visa’s practical commitment is clearer in its own product releases. On July 16, the company introduced the Visa Stablecoin Platform for banks, fintechs and crypto companies. The platform initially provides access to Open USD, including minting, burning, storage and transfers through a Visa-managed environment.
The company said the platform will also connect with its existing stablecoin settlement, linked-card and money-movement services. In June, Visa reported that its stablecoin settlement activity had reached an annualized run rate of about $7 billion as of March 2026.
Additionally, Visa’s stablecoin platform was described as a route for institutions to use Open USD without building every wallet, security and treasury function internally. Visa’s broader structure could also allow it to serve clients choosing USDC, USDT or another regulated token.
Open USD’s launch will test partner commitment Open Standard has not announced an exact launch date, initial circulating supply or confirmed transaction volume. Because OUSD is not yet live, there is no verified on-chain activity or market capitalization to compare with USDT and USDC.
The next test will be whether partners integrate OUSD into real payment, settlement and trading products after launch. Visa has already built an initial access route through its platform, but McInerney’s comments indicate the company will continue supporting competing tokens and networks.
Therefore, Open USD may gain distribution through Visa without becoming Visa’s exclusive stablecoin. Adoption will depend on reserve arrangements, regulatory compliance, partner integrations and actual customer demand rather than the size of the consortium alone.
Ostium has concluded that its July exploit originated from compromised off-chain infrastructure rather than a flaw in its smart contracts, after an investigation found the attacker manipulated price reporting to drain 23.75 million USDC from the protocol’s liquidity vault.
Summary
Ostium said its investigation found the July exploit originated from compromised off chain infrastructure rather than a flaw in its smart contracts. Fraudulent BTC USD price reports allowed the attacker to drain 23.75 million USDC from the protocol’s OLP liquidity vault. The protocol said automated monitoring detected the attack, trading resumed on July 23, and user collateral remained unaffected. A recovery plan for affected liquidity providers is being finalized and will be shared in a separate update. According to Ostium’s post-mortem published on Wednesday, the attacker gained unauthorized access to the protocol’s off-chain infrastructure and used it to submit fraudulent BTC-USD price reports.
The manipulated reports allowed the attacker to create artificial trading profits at the expense of the public OLP vault, while the protocol found no evidence that its smart contracts or governance multisigs had been compromised.
Ostium says exploit bypassed off-chain systems During its investigation, Ostium said the initial breach occurred outside the protocol’s on-chain infrastructure. The team stated that its findings did not identify any vulnerability in the protocol’s smart contract logic or any compromise involving the multisigs responsible for governing the protocol.
Instead, the attacker abused forwarder paths that the protocol already recognized as valid. Ostium explained that the exploit began with a small test transaction involving a 100 USDC position, producing roughly 897.8 USDC in artificial profit before the attacker expanded the operation.
Following the successful test, the attacker executed the primary batch of transactions, transferring about 11.9 million USDC to a beneficiary wallet. Ostium said six additional standalone exploit cycles followed, bringing the total loss from the OLP vault to 23.75 million USDC.
Earlier reporting from blockchain security firm Blockaid had attributed the incident to a compromised oracle signer private key, saying the attacker bypassed the protocol’s price verification process by submitting manipulated price reports through a registered PriceUpKeep forwarder. At the time, Blockaid estimated that between $11.86 million and $18 million USDC had been withdrawn during approximately 20 trading loops, based on the exploit activity visible on-chain while the attack was still unfolding.
Automated monitoring limited additional losses While the exploit succeeded in draining funds from the liquidity vault, Ostium said its automated monitoring systems detected the abnormal activity before additional withdrawals could take place. The protocol subsequently halted trading while its investigation continued and has since migrated to a new production environment with updated security controls.
Trading resumed on July 23 after the migration was completed.
Ostium also said trader collateral remained unaffected throughout the incident because user margin stayed inside the protocol’s trading contracts rather than the compromised liquidity pool.
The team added that it is still finalizing a separate recovery plan for liquidity providers whose funds were affected by the exploit. According to the protocol, further details will be released in a dedicated update.
Oracle infrastructure remained central to the attack Although Ostium’s latest report attributes the incident to unauthorized access to its off-chain infrastructure, its findings are consistent with the attack path previously outlined by Blockaid, which concluded that compromised signing credentials allowed fraudulent price reports to pass the protocol’s verification process.
According to Blockaid’s earlier analysis, the attacker repeatedly opened and closed positions through delegated actions after submitting favorable future-dated price reports. Because the manipulated reports appeared valid to the protocol, each trading cycle generated profits for the attacker while transferring losses to the OLP liquidity vault instead of relying on a vulnerability in the smart contract code itself.
The incident has drawn attention to the security of supporting infrastructure that decentralized finance protocols rely on for external market data. In Ostium’s case, both the protocol’s post-mortem and Blockaid’s earlier investigation concluded that the exploit did not originate from flaws in the core smart contracts.
Ostium exploit followed Nasdaq partnership The exploit occurred only weeks after Ostium expanded its institutional presence through a partnership with Nasdaq announced in May. At the time, the protocol said Nasdaq’s market data would support equity perpetual products listed on the platform.
Ostium also disclosed during that announcement that it had processed more than $50 billion in cumulative trading volume.
Before the exploit, the protocol had raised approximately $27.8 million from investors including General Catalyst, Jump Crypto, Coinbase Ventures, Wintermute and GSR, according to previous company disclosures.
Bitget Wallet will launch Assetback on Aug. 1, allowing eligible card users to convert purchase rewards automatically into Bitcoin, tokenized gold, U.S. equity tokens, an exchange-traded fund token or USDC.
Summary
Seven reward assets include Bitcoin, tokenized gold, three U.S. stocks, an ETF, and USDC options. Eligible cardholders receive 2% base rewards, while qualifying users can unlock 3% during booster periods. Rewards become redeemable seven days after transactions and require at least one USDC before withdrawal. The company said users can select one of seven assets: BTC, Tether Gold, tokenized Nvidia, Tesla and Alphabet shares, an S&P 500 product, or USDC. Rewards will be generated from qualifying purchases made with the Bitget Wallet Card.
Bitget Wallet replaces cash rewards with seven assets Assetback provides a 2% base reward for cardholders. New users and customers who meet a monthly spending threshold can receive up to 3% through a booster tier. Once unlocked, the higher rate applies during that calendar month and the next one.
Users may change their selected reward asset once each month. USDC rewards are credited to the card balance, while other rewards can be moved to a rewards account after reaching at least one USDC in accumulated value. Redemption becomes available seven days after the underlying transaction.
However, the advertised rate does not apply to every payment. Bitget Wallet says monthly caps, merchant-category exclusions and risk reviews apply. Refunded, reversed or cancelled transactions do not qualify. The model also replaces the card’s previous zero-fee rewards program, so users should review regional fees and limits.
Tokenized stocks provide exposure, not standard shares The stock and ETF rewards will use xStocks, which issues blockchain tokens backed by securities held in custody. Available choices include Nvidia, Tesla, Alphabet and an S&P 500-linked product. xStocks says each token is backed one-for-one by underlying securities.
However, tokenized equities are not identical to holding shares through a conventional brokerage account. Rights, redemption access, trading availability and investor protections depend on the issuer, platform and user’s location. Bitget Wallet also describes the rewards as available only to eligible users.
As previously reported, Bitget Wallet added more than 130 xStocks products in May, allowing users to access tokenized equities through its self-custodial application. In related coverage, crypto.news explained how tokenized stocks work, including issuer, custody, liquidity and regulatory risks.
Card access still depends on each user’s region Bitget Wallet says the card serves markets across Europe, Asia and Latin America, with availability also expanding in Africa. Its official card page states that cards may operate through Visa or Mastercard depending on the regional issuing partner. The product supports Apple Pay and Google Pay in eligible markets.
The card converts selected crypto assets to fiat when users pay merchants. Official terms state that customers must complete identity checks and live in supported jurisdictions. The terms also permit applicable conversion, foreign-exchange and other charges, meaning Assetback should not be treated as a guaranteed net return.
Bitget Wallet says it has more than 100 million users and that spending through its card nearly tripled during the first half of 2026. It also cited monthly crypto-card payment volume of $656 million in May, up from $271 million one year earlier. Those figures are company-provided and have not been independently audited.
The Aug. 1 rollout will test actual demand Users will need Bitget Wallet app version 9.5.3 or later to access the updated card. After selecting an asset, eligible cashback will be converted automatically, creating small recurring purchases rather than requiring a separate trade after every card payment.Bitget Wallet describes the process as applying “dollar-cost averaging” to routine spending. That is a company characterization, not a promise that the selected assets will gain value. Bitcoin, tokenized gold and equity-linked products can rise or fall after rewards are credited.
There is no verified market reaction because Bitget Wallet is not publicly traded and the announcement does not introduce a new token. The next measurable updates will be redemption activity, reward volumes and whether regional cardholders adopt non-cash rewards after Aug. 1.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
This is a general announcement. Products and services referred to here may not be available in your region. Fellow Binancians, Binance Square is pleased to introduce a new campaign. Using the Trading Sharing Card widget to share your bStocks and/or TradFi Futures trading on Binance Square, alongside with your trading insights, to grab a share of up to 20,000 USDC token voucher rewards! Activity Period: 2026-07-28 12:00 (UTC) - 2026-08-05 23:59 (UTC)Token Rewards Distribution: Before 2026-08-26 Unlock 20,000 USDC Rewards Today! How to Participate: Follow the steps below and share your bStocks and/or TradFi Futures trading on Binance Square with insights. Step 1: Open the Post Editor and tap [Add Trades].Step 2: Filter by Spot or Futures, select bStocks trade and/or TradFi Futures trade and tap [Confirm] to insert the trade into your post. To share bStocks buy/sell trades, select from the [Trade History] under [Spot]. To share TradFi Futures opened/closed positions, select either current or history positions under [Futures].Step 3: Add your trading insights with #ShareMyTradFi (≥ 50 characters) and tap [Post]. Notes: To make the content an eligible entry, the post and trade need to meet the following requirements:Include all 3 elements (i.e., bStocks or TradFi Futures trade sharing card, #ShareMyTradFi hashtag, and insights of ≥ 50 characters) in the content.The minimum qualified bStocks trading volume per trade-sharing post is 100 USD equivalent.The minimum qualified TradFi Futures trading volume per trade-sharing post is 200 USD equivalent.bStocks buy/sell transactions must be made between 2026-07-28 12:00 (UTC) and 2026-08-05 23:59 (UTC).TradFi Futures positions must be opened between 2026-07-28 12:00 (UTC) and 2026-08-05 23:59 (UTC). Only new TradFi positions opened/closed during the Activity Period are eligible. When sharing bStocks trades, make sure to toggle on the [Show Amount] button on the Trade Sharing Card.Trades shared with PNL hidden will not be counted as eligible entries.New order recognition in the Trade Sharing widget may take up to 5 - 10 minutes. Please wait a moment after trading before sharing your trade. Reward Structure: Dynamic Prize Pool: Number of Eligible ParticipantsTotal Prize Pool to Be Unlocked (in USDC)0 - 5,0005,000> 5,00010,000≥ 8,00020,000 Reward Structure: Rewards will be distributed based on the number of eligible trade-sharing posts published by eligible participants during the Activity Period. The more eligible trade-sharing posts published, the higher the user’s ranking, and the more rewards they can receive. Eligible Participants’ Rankings Based on the Number of Eligible Trade-Sharing Posted Published During the Activity PeriodReward Pool Allocation1st to 10th PlacesSplit 10% of the unlocked reward pool equally11th to 30th PlacesSplit 15% of the unlocked reward pool equally31st to 100th PlacesSplit 25% of the unlocked reward pool equallyAll Remaining Eligible ParticipantsSplit 50% of the unlocked reward pool equally, capped 10 USDC per participant Notes: The same KYC account can publish multiple bStocks and/or TradFi Futures trading sharing posts during the Activity Period, but the same bStocks buy/sell trade and/or TradFi Futures opened/closed position shared via eligible entries will only be recognized and calculated once.For TradFi Futures positions opened during the Activity Period, adding to or partially closing the position without fully closing, the updated TradFi positions will be reflected in the same Trade Sharing Card, thus eligible posts containing the same Trade Sharing Cards will be counted as the same entry in the calculation of trade-sharing posts. Tradings of all bStocks and TradFi Futures tokens listed on Binance before the end of the Activity Period are eligible to be shared via Trade Sharing Card on Binance Square. Users should share their genuine trading experience. Participants found engaging in suspected use of automated bots will be disqualified from the Activity. Binance reserves the right to disqualify trades that are deemed to be wash trades, illegal bulk account registrations, self-dealing, or display signs of market manipulation, etc. Unlock 20,000 USDC Rewards Today! About Binance Square: Binance Square aims to be the one-stop social platform for the latest trends in Web3. With a vast selection of content from renowned crypto experts, avid enthusiasts and trusted media sources, the platform serves as a bridge between content creators and their followers, customizing users’ feeds based on their respective engagement history. For More Information: What Is Binance Square and Frequently Asked QuestionsBinance Square Creator Academy Terms & Conditions: All eligible users are required to complete account verification (KYC).Verified project accounts on Binance Square are not eligible to participate.Illegally bulk-registered accounts or sub-accounts are not eligible to participate or receive any rewards. All verified regular users and all Binance VIP users can participate.Liquidity providers in the Binance Spot Liquidity Provider Program, Binance Futures Liquidity Provider Program, and Binance Brokers are not eligible to participate.Sub-accounts are not eligible to participate in this Activity. Grid trading and copy trading in TradFi Futures contracts will not be counted as eligible entries.Qualified posts under both the #TradFi晒单 and #ShareMyTradFi hashtags share the same prize pool when calculating valid post counts, rankings, and reward distribution.Minimum bStocks trading volume per trade-sharing post is calculated based on the [Total (USDT)] shown on the Trade Sharing Card.Minimum TradFi Futures trading volume per trading-sharing post is calculated based on the trading volume of executed buy and sell orders (open, add, and close) across eligible TradFi Futures contracts during the Activity Period. Participants found engaging in suspicious views, interactions, or suspected use of automated bots will be disqualified from the Activity.Published content must be original. Plagiarism or malicious spamming will result in disqualification.Only data from Binance Square posts will be taken into account for rewards calculation. This Activity is only available to users who are eligible for Binance bStocks and TradFi Futures trading and may not be available or may be restricted in certain jurisdictions or regions or to certain users, depending on legal and regulatory requirements. Users are responsible for informing themselves about and observing any restrictions and/or requirements imposed with respect to the access to and use of Binance bStocks and TradFi Futures trading services in each country/region from which the services are accessed. Binance reserves the right to change, modify or impose additional restrictions with respect to the access to and use of the Binance bStocks and TradFi Futures trading services from time to time in its sole discretion at any time without notification.Binance reserves the right to disqualify trades that are deemed to be wash trades, illegal bulk account registrations, self-dealing, or display signs of market manipulation, etc.Participants are required to keep their campaign-related posts published for a minimum of 30 days following the Activity end date. Deleting posts within this period is not permitted.Any posts found to violate Binance’s Community or Content Guidelines will be deemed ineligible for Activity rewards.Only participation via Binance master accounts will be eligible for rewards. Token rewards will be distributed before 2026-08-26. Users may check their voucher rewards via Profile > Rewards Hub.Binance reserves the right to cancel a user’s eligibility in this Activity if the account is involved in any behavior that breaches the Binance Square Community Management Guidelines or Binance Square Community Platform Terms and Conditions.Binance reserves the right to disqualify any participants who tamper with Binance program code, or interfere with the operation of Binance program code with other software.Binance reserves the right at any time in its sole and absolute discretion to determine and/or amend or vary these terms and conditions without prior notice, including but not limited to canceling, extending, terminating or suspending this activity, the eligibility terms and criteria, the selection and number of winners, and the timing of any act to be done, and all participants shall be bound by these amendments.Binance reserves the right of final interpretation of this Activity and other, including the spotlighting of specific content from time to time.Binance reserves the right to immediately disqualify any participants showing signs of fraudulent, dishonest, or abusive activities, including but not limited to wash trading, bulk account registrations, self-dealing, market manipulation, using the same or related IP addresses or devices, exhibiting fund linkage between accounts, posting low-quality content, relying on a fixed group of readers to trade across one or multiple settlement periods to earn rewards, and any other activities related to unlawful, fraudulent, or harmful purposes. Furthermore, Binance reserves the right to take appropriate measures against any attempted or confirmed fraudulent behavior, whether carried out manually or through technical means, including revoking rewards and participation eligibility.Binance reserves the right to disqualify any participants who, in its reasonable opinion, are acting fraudulently or not in accordance with any applicable terms and conditions.Additional promotion terms and conditions can be accessed here.In compliance with MiCA requirements, unauthorized stablecoins are subject to certain restrictions for EEA users. For more information, please click here.Any content published outside of Square must comply with the applicable policies and guidelines of the relevant social media platform(s). Where required by law, regulation, or platform rules, such content must be clearly and conspicuously disclosed as a paid collaboration (or equivalent disclosure). 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The crypto market may be drifting sideways, but a quieter signal suggests participants are not walking away. According to a Santiment update on July 28, Ethereum recently crossed 200 million non-empty wallets for the first time, XRP Ledger and USDC on Ethereum both moved past 8 million holders, and Chainlink surpassed 900,000. The on-chain intelligence platform noted the trend across a period of weak price action, framing it as evidence that adoption keeps building beneath flat markets.
Non-empty wallets measure how many addresses hold a positive balance. They are not unique users—one person can control many wallets—but rising counts still map to more addresses holding value, interacting with decentralized applications, or maintaining a stake in the network. When that number climbs while token prices fail to break out, it can signal that market participants are accumulating or simply refusing to sell, rather than leaving the ecosystem.
Ethereum Leads, Stablecoin Growth Stands Out Ethereum’s jump past 200 million non-empty wallets is the most visible headline, but the movement in USDC on Ethereum and XRP Ledger adds texture. USDC’s expansion fits a stablecoin cycle where Circle has been expanding banking, custody, payments, and minting rails alongside major institutions. As a settlement asset, USDC remains one of the most used in crypto, and rising holder counts suggest it is circulating into more hands, not just sitting in exchange reserves.
XRP Ledger crossing 8 million non-empty wallets and Chainlink surpassing 900,000 show a similar pattern: user growth attached to platforms that are expanding their feature sets. Data from blockchain developer activity rankings continues to place Ethereum among the most active networks, reinforcing the idea that the networks seeing the most wallet additions are also those with significant technical development underway. The alignment of user growth and sustained building activity makes these trends harder to dismiss as noise.
Why the Signal Matters When Prices Don’t Move Market observers often look to on-chain metrics when price action decouples from fundamentals. Sustained wallet growth while markets are flat is not a timing tool. It does not predict the next leg up. But it does suggest that the base of participants is widening, not shrinking. That structural shift can matter later if liquidity returns or sentiment flips. For traders, it shifts the question from “is anyone still here?” to “who has been quietly positioning while the crowd was distracted.”
At the same time, holder counts offer no detail about distribution. Fresh wallets could belong to existing participants rotating funds, or a handful of institutions deploying capital. A rise in non-empty wallets does not automatically mean new retail adoption. Caution is warranted before drawing firm conclusions about user demographics from this single metric.
The broader adoption picture is also reflected in related market segments. Recent moves in real-world asset tokenization pushed total on-chain RWA value past $20 billion, demonstrating that institutional engagement with blockchain infrastructure is deepening across multiple fronts. When combined with wallet growth data, a consistent narrative emerges: more capital, more contracts, and more addresses, even when headline prices are idle.
What Comes Next For the networks highlighted in Santiment’s update, the immediate challenge is converting wallet growth into sustained network activity and fee generation. Rising holder counts without rising transaction volumes or active dapp usage can indicate passive holding rather than genuine utility. Still, the direction of travel matters. In a market where price charts offer little clarity, on-chain adoption patterns provide one of the few remaining anchors for gauging ecosystem health.
The coming weeks will show whether this accumulation trend continues or stalls if macro conditions shift. In the meantime, the data confirms that the quiet periods of the cycle are not necessarily empty ones.
AUTHOR
Max delves deep into the cryptocurrency realm, with a passion for altcoins and NFTs. Convinced of crypto's transformative potential, he envisions a decentralized financial future. Max's background in the financial sector grants him unique insights into global monetary systems. In his leisure, Max embraces the thrill of adventures and is an avid sports enthusiast, finding balance and rejuvenation away from work.
Dedicated Trust Center brings together BingX’s Proof of Reserves, $150 million Shield Fund, internationally certified security standards, and eight-year track record of operations.
BingX, a leading cryptocurrency exchange and Web3-AI company, has launched its dedicated Trust Center exhibiting the platform’s security framework, asset transparency, and long-term operational milestones. The initiative reflects BingX’s continued investment in building a resilient platform trusted by more than 40 million users worldwide.
As trust and transparency become increasingly important across the broader industry, BingX continues to strengthen the foundations that support its long-term growth. Over the past eight years, BingX has focused on building trust through consistent operations, transparent asset protection, robust risk management, and a user-first approach.
“Trust is not established overnight, but earned through consistent transparency, reliable operations, and an unwavering commitment to users,” said Pablo Monti, Spokesperson of BingX. “Every milestone, from Proof of Reserves and global compliance to strategic partnerships and product innovation, reflects our commitment to building a platform users can rely on for the long term.”
Building Trust Through Transparency and Security The platform’s trust framework includes 100% Proof of Reserves through monthly Merkle Tree snapshots. According to the latest reserve report on July 15, 2026, BingX maintains a BTC reserve ratio of 142.82%, an ETH reserve ratio of 126.48%, a USDT reserve ratio of 131.83%, and a USDC reserve ratio of 124.41%, demonstrating full backing of user assets.
BingX further strengthens user protection through a US$150 million Shield Fund, together with multi-layer asset protection, multi-signature authorization, tiered cold, warm and hot wallet architecture, real-time risk monitoring and 24/7 global customer support.
The platform has also achieved internationally recognized PCI DSS 4.0.1 and ISO/IEC 27001 certifications, validating its controls across information protection, risk management, operational resilience, and incident response. Regular third-party security assessments further reinforce BingX’s commitment to maintaining a secure trading environment.
Expanding Presence Through Compliance and Innovation Alongside its security framework, BingX continues to expand its global footprint through regulatory progress and product innovation.
The company has advanced its presence in Europe, where BingX EU has submitted an application for authorisation as a crypto-asset service provider on MiCAR, reinforcing its commitment to compliant growth.
BingX is also continuing its evolution into a leading multi-asset trading platform. Through BingX TradFi, eligible users can access traditional financial markets—including stocks, commodities, forex and indices—alongside cryptocurrencies, with products available subject to regional regulations and eligibility requirements.
Trusted by Global Partnerships BingX’s long-term commitment to trust extends beyond its platform through partnerships with globally recognized organizations, reinforcing its credibility and strengthening its presence across international markets.
Its partnership with Chelsea Football Club has continued to grow over the past two years, evolving from Official Sleeve Partner to Official Training Wear Partner and featuring global initiatives such as the “Trained on Greatness” campaign. In 2026, BingX also renewed the partnership, extending a collaboration founded on shared values of discipline, excellence, and continuous improvement.
In 2026, BingX also became Scuderia Ferrari HP’s first-ever crypto exchange partner. The multi-year partnership brings together two global brands built around performance, innovation, and delivering unique experiences to users around the world.
Responsibility Beyond Trading BingX believes trust is built not only through technology and security, but also through meaningful contributions to society.
Supported by a $10 million BingX Charity Fund, the company has contributed to humanitarian relief, education, environmental sustainability, and community development initiatives since 2022. Recent initiatives include a year-long partnership with Save the Children supporting vulnerable children in Bosnia and Herzegovina, disaster relief efforts across Asia, support for communities affected by the 2025 fires in Hong Kong and ongoing educational and environmental programs worldwide.
Through BingX Charity, the company translates its global reach into tangible support for people, communities, and environmental causes worldwide.
About BingX Founded in 2018, BingX is a leading crypto exchange and Web3-AI company, serving over 40 million users worldwide. Ranked among the top five global crypto derivatives exchanges and a pioneer of crypto copy trading, BingX addresses the evolving needs of users across all experience levels.
Powered by a comprehensive suite of AI-driven products and services, including futures, spot, copy trading, and TradFi offerings, BingX empowers users with innovative tools designed to enhance performance, confidence, and efficiency.
BingX has been the principal partner of Chelsea FC since 2024, and became the first official crypto exchange partner of Scuderia Ferrari HP in 2026.
For more information, please visit: https://bingx.com/
BNY is adding blockchain technology to its transfer agency business as the bank expands digital asset services beyond custody and stablecoin support.
BNY Moves Fund Records to Blockchain BNY is launching a digital transfer agency platform to process fund transactions and maintain shareholder records on-chain. The system will create a shared ownership ledger for tokenized funds while the bank keeps its traditional transfer agency in place.
The bank safeguards more than $59 trillion in client assets and services about $8.6 trillion through its transfer agency business. The new platform aims to reduce repeated checks between intermediaries that support fund administration.
BNY Chief Product and Innovation Officer Carolyn Weinberg said the bank is modernizing a function behind fund transactions by bringing the “books and records onchain.” The platform will give asset managers a digital record of ownership for tokenized products.
The bank expects traditional systems to remain active for years. BNY Global Head of Asset Servicing Emily Portney said “trillions and trillions of dollars” in funds will continue using existing rails.
Tokenized Fund Rollout Starts With Major Clients Baillie Gifford will become the first client to use the platform for a fully native U.K.-regulated tokenized fund. BNY’s Dreyfus division and BlackRock are also expected to use the same infrastructure for planned tokenized products.
The platform places BNY inside the growing market for tokenized funds. These products can hold traditional assets, while investor ownership is recorded through blockchain-based tokens.
BNY is also preparing tokenized U.S. Treasuries and pilot transactions on its private blockchain before the end of 2026. A client letter said the bank already executed after-hours Treasury transactions with stablecoin issuers earlier this year.
The bank expects blockchain records to support faster settlement and round-the-clock market operations. Shared records can also reduce manual reconciliation between banks, fund managers, custodians, and other service providers.
BNY Builds on BTC ETH and USDC Services BNY has been expanding digital asset services for several years. The bank created its Digital Assets unit in February 2021 to support multi-asset custody and related infrastructure.
The bank launched Bitcoin and Ethereum custody services in October 2022. That made BNY one of the first large custodian banks to support custody for both assets.
BNY also expanded its work with Circle in June 2026 to support minting and burning for USDC. The move connected the bank more closely with stablecoin settlement and reserve operations.
In May, BNY announced a strategic collaboration with Finstreet Limited and ADI Foundation to offer crypto custody in the Abu Dhabi Global Market. The agreement added another regulated market to BNY’s digital asset push.
BNY’s blockchain transfer agency platform extends that strategy into fund administration. The bank is not replacing its older systems but adding new rails for tokenized funds and blockchain-based ownership records.
If you want global financial firms to protect assets and meet rules, institutional crypto custody solutions are essential.
Bernstein cut its price target on Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) to $140 from $190 Wednesday but kept its Outperform rating, saying the Open USD consortium threat that hammered the stock will fade.
Why Bernstein Cut The Target But Kept The Bull Case?Analyst Gautam Chhugani said in the note cited by The Block that Circle’s second quarter came in broadly flat, with USDC supply ending Q2 at roughly $73 billion, down from $77 billion in Q1.
Bernstein slashed its end-of-2026 USDC supply estimate by 37% to $83 billion and its 2028 figure by 40% to roughly $170 billion, cutting its 2026 adjusted EBITDA forecast by 12% to $602 million.
At current prices, the $140 target still implies roughly 118% upside. Bernstein kept its 10-year USDC supply growth rate at 32%, with total stablecoin supply expected to reach $4 trillion by 2035 and Circle holding roughly a 30% share.
Why Bernstein Says The Open USD Threat Is Overstated?Bernstein pushed back, noting Circle has been signing memorandums of understanding with the same entities named in the alliance.
A Samsung official said there were no formal consultations on Open USD and the company did not know what role it would play, a comment Bernstein read as evidence the consortium lacks real cohesion.
Visa management said on its latest earnings call it would remain multi-coin and multi-chain rather than backing a single stablecoin.
The Hyperliquid Deal Is The Clearest Drag On RevenueCircle and Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) agreed in May to redirect roughly 90% of reserve income earned on USDC held on Hyperliquid back to the exchange, according to the note.
USDC balances on Hyperliquid climbed from $5 billion to more than $6 billion, with roughly $190 million in annual reserve income flowing to the exchange. The full margin impact hits in Q3.
Why Good News Has Not Helped CRCL?Circle has had two major positive developments in two weeks that the stock ignored. Circle’s national trust bank approval on July 15 sent CRCL down 4.8% that day, as Benzinga reported.
Recent IBM patent acquisition, which made Circle the largest blockchain patent holder in the US, produced a similar non-reaction.
Two milestones in two weeks and CRCL is still pressing into its last support zone before the post-IPO base breaks entirely.
Where Does CRCL Stand Ahead Of Earnings?CRCL drops to $62.75 Wednesday, pressing into the $60 to $62 demand zone, the last meaningful support before the stock loses its post-IPO base entirely.
All four major EMAs sit overhead as resistance: 20-day at $66.48, 50-day at $76.18, 100-day at $84.91, and 200-day at $100.40.
Key levels for CRCL: $66.48 — 20-day EMA, first resistance above $76.18 — 50-day EMA, next ceiling $60 to $62 — demand zone that must hold into earnings Image: Shutterstock
Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Ethereum, XRP, USDC, and Chainlink have recorded a surge in the number of non-empty wallets, signaling robust network participation and adoption despite the broader crypto market’s sideways price action. Data from Santiment Intelligence revealed that several leading blockchain networks are seeing consistent growth in address activity as total wallet counts break new records.
Key blockchain networks exceed major wallet milestonesOver the past two weeks, Ethereum surpassed 200 million non-empty wallets for the first time in its history. During the same timeframe, the XRP Ledger and USDC on Ethereum each crossed the 8 million mark for funded addresses, while Chainlink exceeded 900,000 active wallets holding LINK tokens.
Analysts view rising non-empty wallet counts as a straightforward metric demonstrating sustained user engagement and broader adoption. Non-empty wallets often reflect users and institutions that continue to store assets, interact with decentralized applications, or participate in various blockchain ecosystems instead of retreating during periods with minimal price movement.
Ethereum’s expanding base of active wallets underlines its dominant role as a leading smart contract and decentralized finance platform. The network remains a backbone for applications in NFTs, tokenized real-world assets, stablecoins, and enterprise blockchain deployments across the industry.
USDC, XRP, and Chainlink holders rise amid new use casesUSDC’s rapid holder growth is attributed to its expanding real-world utility beyond speculative purpose. As Circle broadens its global banking partnerships and payment infrastructure, USDC has emerged as a widely adopted stablecoin for cross-border transactions, settlements, and within DeFi protocols. The trend indicates a shift as more users hold the token for routine activities.
XRP Ledger continues to expand, mirrored by the steady rise in non-empty wallets. The increased adoption coincides with ongoing developments in cross-border payments, tokenization projects, and enterprise blockchain integrations. Hong Kong recently launched its first licensed retail XRP trading platform, granting retail investors regulated access to XRP and advancing the city’s goal to become a prominent digital asset hub in Asia.
In addition to payments, the XRP ecosystem is diversifying with tokenized shares of major companies, AI-powered payment systems utilizing XRP and RLUSD, fresh partnerships with Mastercard, and new developer grants intended to spur further ecosystem expansion.
Chainlink’s growing adoption also reflects the expanding need for reliable decentralized oracles within blockchain environments. As more projects integrate Chainlink’s services to facilitate tokenization, cross-chain operations, and institutional blockchain use, the utility demand for LINK tokens has increased steadily.
Santiment Intelligence highlighted that rising holder counts across Ethereum, the XRP Ledger, USDC, and Chainlink indicate broader adoption, an expanding user base, and the formation of a strong foundation for future market growth cycles despite flat prices.
Tools for tracking and responding to crypto adoptionAs technical indicators highlight continued expansion in non-empty wallets—often used to monitor network health and growth—investors and market participants are placing greater emphasis on platforms that provide real-time data and investment management. CryptoAppsy, which requires no account creation hassle, combines your crypto investments with real-time prices, detailed charts, and multi-currency portfolio management on a single screen. With this all-in-one financial assistant, users can instantly seize opportunities by setting up smart price alerts, filter news specific to selected coins, discover newly listed altcoins as they launch, and monitor critical macroeconomic events such as Fed interest rates to stay ahead of the market.
Altogether, while market prices may remain stable, the consistent increase in non-empty wallets for top blockchain networks illustrates continued growth in user activity and adoption across the crypto sector.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.
Circle’s Senior Director of EU Strategy and Policy Patrick Hansen (@paddi_hansen) published an article noting that since the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation took effect, roughly 35 electronic money tokens (EMTs) from 21 institutions have secured compliance certifications. Banks and e-money institutions are entering the space, with strong local issuance momentum. However, among the world’s top 50 stablecoins, only three—USDC, USDG, and EURC—currently meet MiCA requirements, while the rest operate outside the regulatory framework, leaving EU users facing a dual dilemma: either insufficient protection or forced access restrictions. Hansen argues that for MiCA to truly serve as a global regulatory benchmark, two goals must be achieved in parallel: first, drive local EMTs to go global via a competitive regulatory regime; second, establish a recognition mechanism for overseas compliant stablecoins to attract global issuers to join the MiCA framework, rather than making local issuance the sole entry path.
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Out of the 50 largest stablecoins by market capitalization, exactly three have cleared Europe’s MiCA regulatory hurdle. Circle says those three are USDC, EURC, and USDG, a tally that should make every other stablecoin issuer operating in the EU a little uncomfortable.
The MiCA compliance landscape is remarkably thin Fewer than 15 stablecoins currently hold active MiCA authorization as e-money tokens. When you narrow the lens to the top 50 by market cap, that number drops to just three.
Circle leads the pack. The company secured its MiCA authorization in July 2024, becoming the first global stablecoin issuer to receive a French e-money license from the ACPR. That license covers both USDC, its dollar-pegged flagship, and EURC, its euro-denominated counterpart, across the entire European Economic Area.
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The third member of this exclusive club is USDG, issued by Paxos. USDG received its MiCA authorization through FIN-FSA in Finland in November 2024, with its EU market launch following by July 2025.
What MiCA actually demands MiCA requires issuers to prove their tokens are fully backed, publish detailed white papers, maintain transparent reserve structures, and submit to ongoing regulatory oversight.
Circle conducts monthly attestations of its reserves and updated its MiCA-compliant white papers for both USDC and EURC in December 2025. Those updates aligned the documents with the final technical regulatory standards established by the EU.
The broader authorized landscape includes a handful of smaller euro-pegged stablecoins like EURI. But none of these smaller tokens rank among the top 50 by market cap.
Why this matters for the market For the compliant tokens, MiCA authorization functions as something close to a regulatory moat. When a European bank, asset manager, or payment processor wants to integrate stablecoins into their operations, the field narrows to USDC, EURC, and USDG, giving Circle and Paxos a structural advantage in the EU market.
For Tether’s USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin, the absence from this compliant list is particularly notable. Whether Tether pursues MiCA authorization, or cedes the European market to competitors, will be one of the more consequential strategic decisions in the stablecoin space.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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Bitget has rolled out an interest-free lending plan for USDGO holdings under its unified account, offering a maximum interest-free limit of 10 million USDT.
According to official announcements, Bitget’s Unified Trading Account (UTA) has launched an interest-free lending program for USDGO holdings. The event runs from 15:00 UTC+8 on July 29 to 15:00 UTC+8 on August 29. During the period, users holding USDGO who borrow USDT via their UTA will receive an interest-free lending quota equivalent to 30% of their USDGO holdings’ value, with a per-user cap of 10 million USDT. Relevant benefits will automatically take effect during the event, no manual registration or application required. For more details, please refer to Bitget’s official platform.
3 minutes ago
Attorneys General of 44 U.S. states sent a joint letter to the CFTC, questioning whether it has the authority to regulate sports prediction markets.
Attorneys general from 44 U.S. states have jointly sent a letter to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), arguing that the CFTC lacks jurisdiction over sports event prediction markets, and urging it to withdraw its current proposed rules and draft new regulations that comply with the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and the U.S. Constitution. The letter notes that sports betting has long been regulated by individual U.S. states, while the CFTC’s proposed rules would significantly expand federal regulatory authority beyond its statutory mandate. Recently, the CFTC has been embroiled in legal disputes in multiple states over regulatory authority for sports event contracts with prediction market platforms including Kalshi and Polymarket. Currently, U.S. state courts have taken inconsistent stances on the issue. A Minnesota state court this week temporarily blocked the enforcement of a local prediction market ban, allowing Kalshi and Polymarket to continue operating during the litigation period; while a New York state court again refused to halt the application of local gambling-related laws to Kalshi, and Michigan and Washington states have also successively restricted Kalshi’s provision of sports event prediction contracts.
3 minutes ago
U.S. pre-market semiconductor stocks extended their recent downward trend, with SK Hynix down 1.9%.
According to market data from BIT (Bit.com), semiconductor stocks in US pre-market trading extended their recent downward trend: SK Hynix (SKHY.O) fell 1.9%, Micron Technology (MU.O) dropped 1.6%, SanDisk (SNDK.O) declined 2.3%, and NVIDIA (NVDA.O) edged down 0.3%.
3 minutes ago
Altura: $21.88 million held in its bank accounts has been temporarily frozen, halting its plan to purchase USDT.
On-chain yield platform Altura announced that its plan to purchase USDT using fiat funds from its bank account via an over-the-counter (OTC) partner has been blocked, as the account holding the funds was temporarily frozen by the bank. A screenshot shows the frozen amount is approximately ￡16.446 million, equivalent to around $21.88 million. Altura said it has communicated with the bank on the matter, which has asked the project to wait for the completion of its review, noting it will reach out if additional materials are needed. The situation is entirely out of Altura’s control, and the project is awaiting further updates from the bank. Altura also announced it will suspend community chat functions due to limited team resources, to focus on addressing the current issue. The project pledged to share timely updates on developments via its official X account, Telegram channel, and Discord, while urging the community to avoid speculation until official confirmation is received. Earlier reports noted that Altura announced on June 22 it would orderly close its Altura vault due to a surge in withdrawals, with plans to convert the funds to USDT via an OTC partner before reopening redemptions.
The three-month campaign runs through Merkl across 80+ 1INCH markets, with BNB Chain named as the first co-incentive partner.
1inch launched its Aqua liquidity protocol to the public on July 28, backing the release with a rewards program funded with 10 million 1INCH from the 1inch Foundation and 500,000 USDC from the 1inch DAO, the company said.
The program, called 1inch Network Incentives, is delivered through incentive platform Merkl and led by Degensoft Ltd, a British Virgin Islands entity. It is designed to drive liquidity and swap activity across supported pairs on Aqua, which went live on 13 EVM chains including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, BNB Chain and Robinhood Chain, following a developer-only launch in November 2025.
Shared Liquidity LayerAqua is a self-custodial shared liquidity layer: instead of depositing tokens into pools, a liquidity provider approves a wallet balance that multiple positions can quote against. When a swap order matches a position, the protocol pulls the tokens from the wallet and pushes back the received tokens and fees in one atomic transaction. Until that moment, the tokens stay in the provider's wallet.
The design lets the same balance back several quotes at once — $100,000 in a wallet can support three positions collectively quoting $300,000, with execution capped by what the wallet actually holds. Positions can be full range, concentrated or pegged, with no lock-ups.
"The liquidity provisioning space is broken, but you only see how broken once there's an alternative," said 1inch co-founder Sergej Kunz in the announcement. "With Aqua, liquidity providers no longer have to accept the inefficient pool structure they've put up with for years."
Case Against Pools1inch is aiming the launch at what it says is widespread waste in DEX liquidity. Per onchain research by Dune commissioned by 1inch, 85% of concentrated liquidity across major DEXs sat underutilized in the first half of 2026 — roughly $1.6 billion of the $1.84 billion tracked — including about $542 million fully out of range in an average week, for an estimated $150 million in foregone fees per year.
Aqua has been through eight independent audits, by OpenZeppelin, Bailsec, Hashlock, Hexens, MixBytes, Nethermind, Theori and Decurity. Providers still bear market and smart-contract risk, and swap fees are not guaranteed; the design bounds exposure to tokens actually held, and single-owner positions remove the shared fee event that just-in-time liquidity bots exploit in pooled AMMs.
Incentives ProgramsIncentive programs funded in native tokens are DeFi's standard playbook for bootstrapping liquidity, and they tend to buy volume only as long as emissions last. The more consequential test is whether Aqua's registry model — quoting from wallets rather than locking capital in pools — retains providers once the 10 million 1INCH runs out. If capital efficiency claims hold, professional market makers get pool-level reach without custody handoff, which is the audience 1inch needs to win over from established AMMs.
Seagate rose more than 5% in after-hours trading, with Q4 revenue and adjusted earnings per share both beating expectations.
Storage technology company Seagate Technology announced its fourth-quarter fiscal results, reporting revenue of $3.63 billion, which exceeded market expectations of $3.49 billion. Its adjusted earnings per share (EPS) reached $5.71, also beating the market forecast of $5.08. Seagate’s stock fell 8.53% during regular U.S. trading on Tuesday, and rose 5.44% in after-hours trading.
25 minutes ago
SpaceX rose more than 3% against the market trend, with its market capitalization rebounding to $1.54 trillion.
According to market data from BIT (bit.com), SpaceX rose more than 3% against the market trend, briefly approaching $118, and has now pulled back to near the $117 level, with its market capitalization rebounding to $1.54 trillion.
25 minutes ago
Trump plans to waive environmental reviews for space companies to accelerate commercial launch approvals, with U.S. space stocks likely to benefit.
According to a WSJ report, the Trump administration is advancing a proposal that would exempt space companies from certain environmental review processes to speed up approval for commercial rocket launches. The report notes that as U.S. commercial space launch activity continues to grow, annual commercial launch numbers are projected to exceed 500 in the coming years, with the administration aiming to boost industry growth by streamlining regulatory procedures. The proposal is expected to benefit multiple commercial space firms including SpaceX, Rocket Lab, Blue Origin, and Stoke Space. If the policy is enacted, the approval timeline for future launch missions at these companies could be further shortened.
25 minutes ago
Jensen Huang reiterated his support for open-weight AI models.
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang stated that open-weight AI models are critical to advancing the still-nascent AI industry. Following a meeting with U.S. lawmakers in Washington on Tuesday, Huang emphasized that open-weight models are essential to ensuring AI is deployed safely and reliably across the economy. In a brief comment to reporters, Huang said: “For U.S. industries, we need open weights to safeguard safety, and also to guarantee its safety and reliability. Additionally, this is vital for maintaining the vibrancy of the entire sector.” (Jinshi)
25 minutes ago
US stocks close: Sandisk plummeted over 14%, halving from its peak; Micron and SK Hynix dropped around 9%.
U.S. stocks closed on Tuesday: the Dow Jones Industrial Average initially rose 1%, the S&P 500 gained 0.2%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.2%. Storage-related concept stocks plunged again, with SK Hynix (SKHY.O) down 8.98%, Micron Technology (MU.O) falling 8.85%, and SanDisk (SNDK.O) dropping 14%. SanDisk’s share price is now more than 50% lower than the all-time high it hit a month ago.
25 minutes ago
Fish Audio completes $52 million seed round, launches next-generation voice model S2.1 Pro
According to official announcements, AI voice company Fish Audio has closed a $52 million seed round, with investors undisclosed at this time. The firm also officially launched its next-generation voice generation model, S2.1 Pro. Fish Audio stated that S2.1 Pro can clone voices using just a 5-second audio sample, generates audio roughly twice as fast as Cartesia, and costs approximately one-sixth of ElevenLabs’ pricing. The model supports fine-grained control over word-level emotion, intonation, and speech rate, and is hailed as one of the most expressive voice models currently available. Multiple AI companies including HeyGen, LiveKit, Retell, Sanas, and OpenArt are already deploying Fish Audio’s models in production environments. The company offers a cost guarantee: if enterprises adopt its voice AI services and fail to reduce their costs by at least 50%, they will receive one full year of free Fish Audio services. To celebrate its first anniversary, Fish Audio also announced that it is granting users one month of free access to experience S2.1 Pro.
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Core Scientific increases its Bitcoin holdings by 301, bringing its total BTC holdings to 848.
AI data center service provider Core Scientific disclosed that it has recently added 301 Bitcoin to its holdings, bringing its total Bitcoin holdings to 848.
9 minutes ago
US storage sector plummets, SanDisk drops over 16%
According to market data from BIT (bit.com), the U.S. stock storage sector has plummeted, with individual stocks recording the following declines: Seagate Technology (STX) down 13.34%; Western Digital (WDC) down 14.58%; SanDisk (SNDK) down 16.76%; Micron Technology (MU) down 11.83%; SK Hynix ADR down 9.37%.
9 minutes ago
Dell Technologies plunged 13.5%
According to market data from BIT (bit.com), Dell Technologies (DELL.N) is on track to record its largest single-day drop since April 2025, currently down 13.5%.
9 minutes ago
AI voice startup Fish Audio closes $50 million seed round.
According to TechCrunch, Fish Audio announced Tuesday that it has closed a $50 million seed funding round. The round was led by Coreline Ventures and Capital Today, with participation from investors including 359 Capital, Parable, Play Time, Alphalist Partners, Bayhouse Ventures, Carya Venture Partners, and HF0. Fish Audio originated as a small project launched by Shijia Liao, a former NVIDIA researcher. Dissatisfied with the lack of high-performing synthetic speech technology in the market, Liao trained a speech generation model using a single GPU and open-sourced it. Today, the Fish Speech project repository has earned over 31,000 stars on GitHub, and is widely used by independent developers, game designers, and content creators. Over the past year, Fish Audio has rolled out 5 models: 4 speech generation models and 1 speech-to-text model. The company has open-sourced 3 of the speech generation models, while its latest S2.1 Pro model is currently only accessible via a paid API. Since its launch last year, the startup’s open-source and hosted model versions have attracted over 8 million users, with annual recurring revenue (ARR) hitting $21 million.
9 minutes ago
The S&P 500 Insurance Index rose 2.3%, hitting a record high.
According to BIT (bit.com) market data, the S&P 500 Insurance Index rose 2.3%, hitting a new all-time high.
9 minutes ago
The US semiconductor sector declined, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index falling more than 5% intraday.
According to BIT (bit.com) market data, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index of US stocks fell more than 5% intraday to a two-month low. Micron Technology (MU.O) dropped nearly 9%, SanDisk (SNDK.O) and Western Digital (WDC.O) fell over 12%. NVIDIA (NVDA.O) fell more than 1%, AMD (AMD.O) dropped over 8%, Intel (INTC.O) fell more than 6%, and Broadcom (AVGO.O) declined 2.8%.
The stablecoin issuer acquired more than 680 patent families from IBM for an undisclosed sum, strengthening its IP position across USDC, Arc, and AI-agent payments.
Original Image Credits: Thrive Studios ID / Shutterstock.com
Posted July 28, 2026 at 6:32 am EST.
Circle (CRCL) has acquired close to 1,000 issued blockchain patents from IBM, a purchase the stablecoin issuer says makes it the biggest holder of blockchain patents in the United States. The deal deepens Circle’s intellectual property position as it expands its onchain financial infrastructure.
The patent portfolio comprises more than 680 patent families spanning foundational blockchain technology, banking, financial services, insurance, enterprise infrastructure, supply-chain verification, and cloud security, according to Circle. The financial terms were not disclosed. Circle also did not say how many of the patents were issued in the U.S. or whether IBM retained any licensing rights.
This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter.
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A large patent estate strengthens Circle’s claim over core technology as competitors crowd into stablecoins and onchain payments. Circle said the IP would support USDC, the Circle Payments Network, its Arc blockchain, and financial tools designed for AI agents.
Circle received its first patent in December 2023 and had joined the LOT Network to protect its products from patent-assertion firms. Circle and IBM said they plan to explore additional commercial opportunities together.
This month Circle won final federal approval to establish a national trust bank, Circle National Trust. Circle is set to report second-quarter results on August 5.
Related Listen: The Chopping Block: Visa, Mastercard & 140 Firms Take On Circle, Saylor’s Digital Credit Reset & the DAO Reckoning
AI-assisted content: This article was produced with the assistance of AI tools and was reviewed, edited, and fact-checked by a member of the Unchained editorial team before publication.
To what extent does your yield come from genuine economic activity, including actual business paying actual interest on an actual loan?
I worked on that question longer than my expectation. I got the information about the total APR on each of the positions in my wallet. I was also informed about the pool recompensing in emissions as well as the one rewarding in fees. However, I couldn’t always find the information about the actual activity of my capital.
This included questions like: what was my capital funding? What occurred while it was earning? And who was on the opposite side? A large amount of DeFi yield, when traced back, turns out to be circular. It includes capital enabling additional capital to deal with more DeFi activities.
Though it is not bad, I didn’t think I was joining such a setup when I began investing in this sector. That was the reason I came across crowdlending, and at last 8lends. At first, crowdlending appeared to be a niche Web2 market. I thought it was a legacy class that was not related to crypto. Then, I focused on the actual participants behind it, finding out that the assumption was not correct.
What Crowdlending Actually Is Exactly as the title implies, crowdlending includes a group of investors who pool capital for funding loans, rather than a banking entity performing it solely. The role of the investor is straightforward, as you’re not making an equity buyout, lending money straight to a borrower pool or a single borrower for interest, or staking any of the governance tokens.
On the other hand, the most suitable analogy for those knowing about DeFi is that it is like a bond. However, the issuer is a small business rather than a corporation or a government. Additionally, yield is recompensed because someone is really utilizing your capital to carry out their operations, and not because some protocol is releasing tokens to get liquidity.
Particularly, there are a couple of wider categories of this, with one being peer-to-peer (P2P) crowdlending. It funds personal loans and individuals, typically without any collateral, with 10% to 14% yields and significantly limited recovery in the case of something going wrong. However, peer-to-business (P2B) crowdlending funds medium- and small-sized businesses.
It seems structurally different, as loans get support from real assets such as real estate, vehicles, or equipment. Additionally, this category has annual 19-25% yields in $USDC. Apart from that, the P2B model has the least connection to crypto cycles. So, this warehouse of equipment does not care about the performance of Bitcoin ($BTC).
8lends runs a P2B model, which I want to explore here. The most surprising thing about this model was not its mechanics but the scale. The crowdlending market has been operating since the year 2005, working wholly autonomously of the crypto sector for nearly 20 years. One of the biggest platforms in this landscape is Mintos, which has facilitated over €12.8 billion in loans since 2015 across hundreds of thousands of investors
Since the month of November 2023, the ECSPR model of the EU has required mandatory and unified regulation across all crowdlending entities working in the bloc. For context, most of today’s DeFi lending infrastructure was built in roughly that same window. Nonetheless, crowdlending enjoys a 20-year head start in the case of solving many of the issues that DeFi is currently working through, including collateral, borrower verification, and credit risk.
So, the actual question, once one knows that, is not about the legitimacy of crowdlending, but what happens after its merger with seamless crypto rails. 8lend is the platform that tries to answer the respective question.
Introduction to 8lends: A Popular Crowdlending Platform The reason I started using 8lends is not a crypto-based team that experiments with lending services for the first time. Rather, it is a developed lending business that brings an already-proven mechanism on-chain.
8lends works as a blockchain-powered investment entity that permits people to invest in medium- and small-sized businesses across the globe. Maclear AG and the team backing it built 8lends, which went live in 2025. Additionally, Maclear had reportedly processed over $89M in terms of investments across over 32,000 investors in more than 5 years even before 8lends.
Additionally, Maclear operated as and is still operating in the form of a Web2 business. The euro-denominated project moved money through SEPA transfers, open only to investors in Europe. It operated, but it was organically shut off from a worldwide crypto audience.
Keeping this in view, 8lends follows the same lending framework as well as redevelops the distribution area to deal with Web3. For this purpose, it focuses on $USDC in comparison with euros. Additionally, it settles on an open network — Base, Coinbase’s L2 — rather than a closed system or a bank’s internal ledger you have to take on trust.
After delving into the tagline “real lending, rebuilt for Web3,” I think it is the real description instead of marketing copy. Simultaneously, 8lends has collected over $10M across over 1,600 investors following its launch. The average yearly returns of the project stand between 19 and 25% in terms of $USDC, while the minimum investment amount accounts for 100 $USDC.
Additionally, it operates on Base, with $USDC being used for the denomination of everything. Along with that, Cyberscope and Certik provide services to audit smart contracts. Moving on, Maclear AG keeps offering services in the form of a Swiss legal platform and a Collateral Agent.
Actual Working of the Model At the start, you invest, beginning at the $100 USDC spot, into a particular business operating within a validated collateral backing it. The smart contract is then locked in for the duration, collateral terms, and rate, while none of the respective factors can be changed in the mid-term. Additionally, the business recompenses interest in $USDC on a monthly basis at the fixed rate at the time of investment.
The agreement deals with what is revealed, not a company’s token, $USDC, or a variable rate. Following that, your principal amount, at maturity, returns in a complete one-bullet repayment. My loan term ran for 4-16 months in total. Below that, the part in which I spent significant time was the validation of investor funds within a smart contract that does not have any direct access to the platform.
The Base blockchain records every single payment, letting you pull up a block explorer while also seeing the transfer yourself. For this purpose, there is no requirement for login or trust on the dashboard. Additionally, the code is open, and Cyberscope and Certik have audited it, and you can read their reports.
I myself did a 10-minute version by opening the explorer and found a transfer. Then, it validated that it matched what was said by the dashboard. So, that is a notably different experience in comparison with most of the DeFi products, where the purpose of “verified” focuses on the trust in the UI.
Where Your Capital Goes? This is the section that differentiates 8lends from the majority of the operations I came across before. In the majority of cases, in a staking position or a liquidity pool, I really couldn’t figure out the productive operation my funds were backing. However, on 8lends, each of the project cards presents a certain story, a named entity, an industry, a country. It also includes what the purpose of the loan is, the pledging of physical assets in the form of collateral, the autonomous credit assessment, and the core financial metrics. Thus, you are clearly funding a firm rather than a protocol.
A thing that led me to a halt included the interest rates as the 19-25% APR in USDC rate felt notably high to be counted as a red flag, but that wasn’t the case. In Western Europe, the usual bank rates regarding SMBs run between 4% and 6% annually, and there is fierce competition for valuable clients. At the same time, loans are severely made against capital flow instead of hard collateral. Authorization can take 2-4 weeks for crowdlending, while a bank requires 2-6 months.
On the other hand, in Eastern Europe, the area accounting for several 8lends borrowers, bank rates work between 7% and 10% while credit access remains restricted by a few dominant banks. Additionally, there is a need for hard collateral such as real estate, and authorization timelines expand even longer. The increased rate does not indicate desperation, as it underscores the market price of more accessible and faster capital for diverse businesses. These businesses possess real revenue and real assets but cannot afford to wait for months for the bank’s decision.
Each of the projects also displays a risk-scoring block, while I’ve begun dealing with it in the way I would deal with a credit memo. So, loan-to-value (LTV) underscores the loan amount that is divided by the value of the collateral. A lower amount highlights more buffer in case more liquidation is ever needed. In this respect, my filter includes anything lower than 70%. Debt-to-equity divides total debt by owner equity; below 2 is comfortable, and 2–2.5 is acceptable depending on the sector.
Along with that, credit history focuses on the evaluation of the repayment portfolio of the borrower by the compliance team. Additionally, Total Risk Score is responsible for the aggregation of all this via a AAA-through-D rating. It is mostly leveraged for the diversification across risk tiers in comparison with picking individual contracts.
And, at the back of all this is Maclear AG in the form of Collateral Agent, which is a Swiss-based legal platform that holds the collateral of every borrower on behalf of the investors. It also initiates foreclosure in the case of a default occurrence, with the proportional distribution of the proceeds. That serves as a legally binding operation within Swiss financial law rather than a platform promise.
How Are Earnings Made? The center of the return takes into account fixed interest that is recompensed between 19% and 25% on an annual basis in $USDC. It is fixed within the smart contract when you invest. Then it is recompensed on a monthly basis, with zero entry, holding, or exit fees. Therefore, it is worth noting what I was engaged in ahead of finding 8lends. Specifically, staking yield is generated from protocol or token emissions, usually between 3 and 12% APR. It is then recompensed via a protocol token without any impermanent loss.
However, it has straight correlation to the wider market and usually has low rate predictability. Emissions and fees generate LP pool yield that ranges between 5% and 80% APY. It carries real, usually noteworthy impermanent loss on the market correlation’s top. DeFi lending yield, coming from different crypto-collateralized borrowers, normally runs 2-10% APY, with increased market correlation and medium predictability.
The P2B model of 8lends gains yield from substantial interest that a real business pays, providing a 19-25% APR via $USDC. It does not have any impermanent loss, with high predictability and the least market correlation, as the rate remains fixed since the time you invest. Honestly, in my opinion, the comparison of 19-25% APR through $USDC with strict and fixed terms appears structurally distinct. Hence, it is dissimilar to the identical headline figure tied to a token that could possibly be worth 50% as much when you intend to exit.
It doesn’t mean that one is comparatively better; rather, they are not the same instruments and carry distinct risks. When it comes to my active position, a P2B loan is given to a logistics firm with a 21% APR. Up till now, each of the monthly payments has landed on time in $USDC, as mentioned in the contract. That is the detail that I would intend to see ahead of trusting any platform with additional capital. Normally, such details are missing from most of the reviews.
Additionally, each investment earns a 6% bonus in $8LNDS via the Proof of Loan mechanic. The reward contract buys $8LNDS on the open market, burns the tokens, and mints an equivalent amount to the investor, keeping circulating supply stable rather than inflationary.
The respective 6% rate is reportedly fixed at the moment of launch and may lower gradually parallel to the platform’s scaling. It also rests at up to 2.5% each week over up to ten months without requiring any claiming. Nonetheless, as campaign terms may change over time, you should check the present status if reading at a time well after this publication.
What Safeguards Your Funds In my opinion, “regulated” and “audited” are not the magic words after which a conversation concerning risk ends. Therefore, here is the solid version of the actual funds protection that an investor is provided with on 8lends.
The 1st layer is a smart-contract custody where your capital stands in a contract that cannot be accessed by the platform. Its code is public and audited by Cyberscope and Certik. Each of the payments is autonomously verifiable through Base without the platform login. Following that, the 2nd layer includes the role of Maclear AG in the form of a Collateral Agent. It is a Swiss legal platform that holds borrower collateral within a legally binding setup.
When it comes to a borrower default, in one scenario, an autonomous partner purchases back the position for the total principal amount and interest. In the other case, the collateral faces liquidation. There is one written default in the history of Maclear, and the complete principal was finally recovered for each investor in that certain project. The legal procedure took time as such procedures do, but the outcome took place. That is governed under Swiss financial regulation, not a whitepaper.
Subsequently, the 3rd layer includes the borrower screening, taking into account a 40-point validation procedure. Nearly ninety percent of applications are rejected following this compliance review. Specifically, financial statements undergo analysis, and collateral experiences autonomous valuation. Particularly, one can see all this on the project card ahead of committing a dollar.
As a result, this is a clear difference to remember if you have a DeFi background. On Compound or Aave, collateral denotes a crypto asset with auto-liquidation at the time its price slumps below a threshold. Nevertheless, here, collateral works as a physical business asset, including vehicle fleet, real estate, or equipment. Its value is not influenced by Bitcoin’s ($BTC) performance.
Taking the First Step Signing up was more rapid than I anticipated. The 8lends.io registration includes just an email and password. KYC operates via Sumsub, which is a verification platform utilized broadly across compliant financial products. For me, it took just 12 minutes with document uploading and a selfie. From that point, you link a Web3 wallet. I connected MetaMask, although Coinbase Wallet and several other compatible options are also working. There is no point where the platform requires a seed phrase.
The marketplace is just like a financial terminal instead of a usual DeFi dashboard. It presents the firm name, industry, country, credit rating, which ranges between AAA and D, term for the project, and APR. Every card expands into collateral valuation, borrower documents, risk-scoring block, and financial metrics. Thus, the information revealed about an 8lends borrower surpasses what the majority of DeFi protocols display about their internal mechanics.
My Honest Opinion on the Token In my straightforward opinion, I think readers can clearly identify when a writer endeavors to hype a token that they don’t trust. $8LNDS is an incentive and marketing asset operating within the 8lends network. It does not act as a governance token or a revenue-share tool, or even an equity. The purpose that it serves is just to facilitate active investors with rewards. Its distribution is wholly on-chain via smart contract encoding.
My approach is to assess 8lends in line with the $USDC yield coming from the core loans first. Then, I’ll separately focus on the $8LNDS component, with different conservative assumptions. Any increase denotes an added benefit. But if it is not the case, the core investment still makes complete sense on its own. Thus, $8LNDS works as an incentive layer, with its future value being genuinely uncertain. Nobody, even the team, actually knows about its future worth.
A Brief Description of the Bonus Program A real bonus structure works on the top, as is the case with every promotional program. As the eligibility and terms can change, you should confirm the exclusive status ahead of depending on any of this. Latest investors receive a welcome bonus of $30 on an initial investment of up to $ 100 USDC at minimum. Proof of Loan, mentioned above, adds nearly 6% in $8LNDS tokens to each investment.
Additionally, a time-limited RetroDrop pays 0.001 $USD in $8LNDS for each of the invested $USDC. The distribution occurs automatically every week. At the same time, the referral program project pays six percent of investments carried out via your link, through $USDC. Moreover, when Galxe or Zealy community programs are active, the top ten participants get 5,000 $8LNDS, and each of the next hundred earns 2,222 $8LNDS.
Strengths and Weaknesses Strengths · High fixed returns: Earn up to 25% APR in USDC, with rates locked in at the time of investment.
· Real-world asset backing: Loans are secured by physical assets rather than crypto collateral.
· Regulated framework: Operates under Maclear AG, a Swiss-regulated collateral agent with AML, GDPR, and KYC compliance.
· Strong track record: One recorded default in five years, with full principal recovered for every investor.
· Independent security audits: Smart contracts have been audited by Cyberscope and CertiK.
· Low entry requirement: Start investing with as little as 100 USDC.
· No investor fees: No entry, holding, or exit fees are charged.
· On-chain transparency: Every payment can be independently verified on the blockchain.
· Bonus incentives: New users receive a $30 welcome bonus, while the referral program offers 6% USDC rewards.
Weaknesses · Limited platform history: Although backed by Maclear’s experience, 8lends itself launched in 2025, giving it a relatively short operating history.
· Capital lock-up: Investments remained locked for the full loan term, typically 4–16 months.
· Requires Web3 knowledge: Users need a compatible crypto wallet and a basic understanding of DeFi.
· USDC only: No direct fiat deposits or bank transfer support.
· Uncertain token value: The long-term value of the $8LNDS reward token is not guaranteed.
· Lengthy default resolution: If collateral liquidation becomes necessary, recovering funds may take several months depending on the legal process.
Risks Involved In my opinion, no review earns credibility if its risk section includes just 3 lines at the end. Thus, here is a complete version as any investment includes a list of risks related to capital loss. 8lends provides instruments to adequately manage that risk.
Credit risk includes the possibility that a particular borrower just doesn’t repay. The respective risk is linked to an individual borrower rather than market-wide volatility. Though a 40-point screening procedure triggered the bar notably, it does not make any defaults impractical. The one written default in the history of Maclear is where the complete principal was ultimately recovered. It is a positive point but not a guarantee of the same resolution next time.
Collateral realization pattern matters if a default surges to liquidation. That leads to a legal process, and can take months to more than a year based on the asset type and jurisdiction. Capital may return, but it won’t return rapidly.
Liquidity risk comes after the lock-up. Mine funds were committed between 4 and 16 months. This is not a spot for capital you might require on short notice.
Smart contract risk remains real irrespective of the Cyberscope and Certik audits, as no auditing amount can guarantee that a Web3 contract has become completely exploit-proof.
Collateral market valuation keeps changing according to schedule. Real estate markets shift, and equipment depreciates. That is the reason behind LTV’s importance. A decreased LTV provides more space for a price drop ahead of an actual loss.
Concentration Risk is structural rather than being optional. You should spread funds across geographies, industries, and borrowers and deal with crowdlending allocation just like a bond portfolio, without any position above almost 10-15% of the cumulative.
The protection structure, including the borrower screening, the smart-contract custody, and the Collateral Agent, minimizes the above-mentioned scenario to a notable extent. Nonetheless, it does not eliminate the risk by 100%, so knowing about the actual working of the mechanism carries more weight in comparison with a single number that a project card carries.
My Final Take APR was not what attracted me, as I’ve witnessed higher numbers several times, normally associated to something that cannot be explained. I could really trace each dollar to a certain business, or a particular asset. Furthermore, I could trace a particular legal structure standing behind the respective projects and validate the majority of that without depending on a dashboard.
What I would still want to see developing is a longer autonomous track record covering 8lends, particularly distinct from Maclear’s. Additionally, there should be more transparency concerning the sustainability of the potential value of $8LNDS parallel to the advancement of the incentive program.
In my portfolio, I’m not using this as an alternative to DeFi positions. I treat it as a separate type of exposure. It is adequate for a person who seeks real-world-backed yield. Additionally, it is also suitable for the one who is comfortable locking funds for months, while also willing to utilize time actually examining project cards rather than chasing the top number. Nevertheless, it is not adequate for the one who requires liquidity at any time, or anyone who is not ready to accept that “regulated” and “audited” decrease risk without eliminating it.
Keeping this in view, if you are willing to delve into it, begin with a small amount, carefully examine the project cards, and categorize it as a distinct sleeve within your portfolio. Sign up via this referral link to get a welcome bonus of $30 on your initial investment.
Not investment advice. The $8LNDS token works as an incentive layer in the network rather than a guaranteed return or an equity. Just like any investment, a capital loss risk remains. So, make your decisions autonomously in line with your risk tolerance and analysis.
My Rating: 4.6 / 5 Returns: 4.7/5. (19-25%) APR through $USDC and static at entry is actually differentiated. It is not 5 just because the own history of the platform is short.
Security: 5/5. A Swiss-regulated Collateral Agent that has a clear track record, dual audits, and smart-contract custody.
Transparency: 5/5. Public audit reports, transparent borrower documentation, and on-chain verification raise the bar.
Ease of Use: 4.6/5. KYC, investing, and registration were all smooth; the wallet/DeFi prerequisites are the things that lower it from a perfect rating in the case of less experienced consumers.
What Did Circle Actually Buy?According to a press release, the portfolio covers more than 680 patent families and nearly 1,000 issued patents spanning foundational blockchain technology, banking, financial services, insurance, enterprise infrastructure, supply chain verification, and secure cloud operations.
However, financial terms were not disclosed.
Circle said the patents directly support its USDC (CRYPTO: USDC) stablecoin, Circle Payments Network, Arc platform, and a growing suite of on-chain products and agentic financial tools.
The two companies also plan to explore additional commercial opportunities.
“IBM has been a pioneer in technological innovation, and this acquisition expands Circle’s ability to advance the infrastructure that powers global, internet-native finance,” said Sarah Wilson, Circle’s General Counsel.
Why Scott Melker Says IBM Just CapitulatedCrypto analyst Scott Melker said on X that IBM spent years developing enterprise blockchain technology and then walked away from it entirely, with Circle picking up the entire IP position at what he called a massive exit.
“IBM just capitulated,” Melker said, adding that the acquisition is really about building a moat as stablecoin competition accelerates and every major institution races to launch tokenized asset products.
His read is that Circle now holds the patent protection needed to build across payments, RWA, and stablecoin infrastructure without facing the same level of competitive pressure from new entrants who would otherwise build on similar foundational technology.
CRCL Price Analysis: Key Levels To Watch After IBM DealCRCL trades 2.9% below its 20-day SMA at $64.90 and remains well below its 50-day SMA at $81.78 and 200-day SMA at $91.28, down 64.57% over the past 12 months.
The death cross formed in June keeps the longer-term structure bearish.
MACD sits above its signal line with a positive histogram, pointing to easing downside pressure even as the bigger trend stays in repair mode.
Key levels for CRCL: $73 — resistance where rebounds have stalled $58.50 — support near a recent pivot zone above the 52-week low of $49.90 Photo via Shutterstock
Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Circle Internet Group announced on July 27, 2026, that it has acquired more than 680 patent families and nearly 1,000 issued blockchain patents worldwide from IBM in a single transaction, making Circle the largest blockchain patent holder in the United States.
The portfolio directly underpins Circle’s core products: USDC, the Circle Payments Network (CPN), and Arc, the company’s enterprise-grade blockchain infrastructure.
CRCL, the publicly traded stock of Circle, is trading at $65.67, up about +5% in the past 24 hours as investors digest this major news. The market cap for CRCL is $17.5Bn.
$CRCL is acquiring $IBM blockchain patent portfolio adding nearly 1,000 issued patents across more than 680 patent families worldwide.
The deal significantly expands Circle’s intellectual property base as it builds out its stablecoin and payments infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/2U0A6PvIdI
— Shay Boloor (@StockSavvyShay) July 27, 2026
What Circle Just Bought and Why It Matters The IBM blockchain patent portfolio spans foundational distributed-ledger technology, banking and financial services workflows, insurance infrastructure, supply-chain verification, and secure cloud operations. That breadth signals Circle is not just defending its stablecoin business; it is staking a claim across the full stack of institutional and enterprise onchain finance.
IBM built much of this IP over a decade of enterprise blockchain R&D, including work tied to Hyperledger Fabric, an open-source permissioned ledger framework, and partnerships with major corporates in shipping and food traceability, according to background research. With this IP acquisition, that foundational layer now belongs outright to Circle rather than sitting inside a legacy technology conglomerate.
Deal terms and purchase price were not disclosed. Circle and IBM also stated they plan to explore additional commercial opportunities beyond the sale, leaving the door open for technical collaborations or further licensing arrangements.
Strategic Value: Defense First, Then the Offense Owning a large patent portfolio outright, as an asset purchase rather than a license, gives Circle three distinct levers: a litigation shield against infringement claims targeting USDC or CPN, the freedom to build new products without stepping around third-party IP, and potential cross-licensing leverage with banks and fintechs entering the onchain payments space.
Analysts covering the deal characterize the near-term priority as defensive, protecting Circle’s existing infrastructure from IP disputes as institutional adoption of stablecoins accelerates. The scale of blockchain adoption by major financial institutions has intensified precisely the kind of IP competition this portfolio is designed to neutralize.
Sarah Wilson, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Circle, said the acquisition expands Circle’s ability to advance the infrastructure that powers global, internet-native finance, calling IBM a pioneer in technological innovation whose IP now strengthens Circle’s onchain mission.
What This Means for Circle’s Product Roadmap
(SOURCE: Yahoo Finance)
Circle explicitly ties the newly acquired IP to USDC, the Circle Payments Network, and Arc, its enterprise blockchain described as the Economic OS for the internet, as well as a growing suite of agentic financial tools.
Market watchers are now looking for concrete deployments: new compliance features, settlement mechanisms, or supply-chain verification capabilities inside Arc and CPN that demonstrate how the patents reshape Circle’s product roadmap in practice.
The deal also reflects a broader shift in blockchain IP ownership, with foundational enterprise patents moving from legacy tech firms toward crypto-native financial platforms.
For the financial services and securities infrastructure now being built on blockchain rails, the question of who controls foundational IP is increasingly consequential, and Circle just answered it emphatically in its own favor.
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Native USDC deposits and withdrawals on Injective are now live on Kraken, one of the world’s largest crypto platforms.
Kraken clients can now move USDC directly between the platform and Injective without having to withdraw to another blockchain or completing a separate crosschain transfer. The integration creates a direct onramping path into Injective’s onchain markets, tokenization infrastructure, payment rails and applications.
Direct Exchange Access to Native USDCUSDC on Injective is issued natively by Circle. It gives users and institutions a 1:1 dollar-denominated asset for trading, settlement, payments and onchain capital allocation.
When an exchange does not support Injective directly, moving USDC onto the network requires users to withdraw on another chain and complete a separate crosschain transfer.
Injective USDC support on Kraken removes that extra network hop. Kraken clients can withdraw USDC directly to an Injective address, put the asset to work onchain and deposit it back to Kraken through the same network.
That matters for any financial system built around active capital. Every added transfer, interface and network selection creates friction. Direct deposits and withdrawals reduce those steps with a clear route into Injective.
Once on Injective, native USDC can move across an onchain financial system built for fast execution and near-zero fees. Users can access spot and derivatives markets, interact with tokenized assets, settle payments and use applications built around programmable dollars.
From INJ Trading to Network SecurityKraken listed INJ for trading in August 2021. The listing gave Kraken clients access to the native asset used for transaction fees, staking, governance and network security across Injective.
Kraken also operates an institutional validator on Injective, giving institutions another way to participate in non-custodial staking and help secure the network.
In 2025, Pineapple used Kraken’s validator as one of the major nodes supporting its $100 million INJ Digital Asset Treasury. Kraken helped connect that institutional capital to Injective’s proof of stake network.
Native USDC support adds another layer. The relationship now spans INJ trading, staking, validator infrastructure, institutional treasury support and direct stablecoin movement.
Kraken Brings Scale to Injective’s Dollar RailsKraken has operated since 2011 and is one of the world’s largest digital asset platforms. It is trusted by millions worldwide and reported $2.0 trillion in total platform transaction volume for 2025.
Today’s news means clients can now use Kraken to access USDC natively on the first blockchain purpose-built for finance. Injective USDC support on Kraken both expands access to the native dollar liquidity used across the ecosystem and provides clients with a direct route to using USDC on Injective for onchain trading,tokenization, payments and programmable financial applications.
Get StartedOn Kraken, select USDC and choose either Deposit or Withdraw. Select Injective as the network and verify the destination address before confirming the transfer.
Only send USDC through a network supported by Kraken.
Get started with Kraken
About InjectiveInjective is the first blockchain purpose-built for finance, enabling users, institutions, and AI agents to trade, tokenize, and transact at scale. Proudly made in America, Injective provides foundational blockchain infrastructure for global markets, with embedded financial primitives spanning stablecoins, real-world assets, payments, and programmable perpetuals through a unified onchain engine. Injective is used by Fortune 500 companies, banks, fintechs, and governments to power an open economy where any asset can be accessed anytime, from anywhere. Builders can deploy across multiple virtual machines like WASM and EVM, connect to native financial modules, and launch markets with deep liquidity from day one. INJ is the native token powering the rapidly growing Injective ecosystem and the new internet economy.
Coinbase Markets is putting its newly launched USDC-BRL trading pair through an auction phase, a controlled price-discovery process the exchange uses when onboarding new pairs. The auction will run for a minimum of 10 minutes, during which traders can place limit orders but no transactions will actually match until a closing price is established.
How the auction works During the auction window, the order book accepts only limit orders. Market orders are not allowed.
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As orders accumulate, the system displays an indicative opening price. This gives participants visibility into where the market is likely to settle without anyone actually getting filled yet.
All iceberg orders and certain bracket orders get canceled when the pair transitions into auction mode. Once the minimum 10-minute window closes and the auction price is set, matched orders execute at that single clearing price. After that, the pair moves into normal continuous trading where bids and asks match in real time.
Brazil is the play Coinbase introduced direct USDC-BRL trading for Brazilian users around July 24, just a few days before the auction announcement on July 28. The rollout is being phased across Coinbase’s various interfaces, including the main Coinbase app and Advanced Trade.
The auction mechanism itself is not new territory for Coinbase. The exchange has been running similar auctions since at least 2021, deploying them for pairs like tGBP-USDC and TURBO-USD.
What this means for investors No immediate volume data or market impact figures have been reported yet. The real test will be whether USDC-BRL trading volumes grow meaningfully over the coming weeks, which would validate Coinbase’s thesis that Brazil deserves dedicated stablecoin infrastructure rather than just dollar-denominated workarounds.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
Bithumb will suspend deposit and withdrawal services for NEO and GAS to support the NEO N3 network upgrade.
According to an official announcement, to support the NEO network upgrade and maintain stable deposit and withdrawal services, deposit and withdrawal functions for NEO (NEO) and GAS (GAS) assets will be temporarily suspended. The suspension covers NEO and GAS on the NEO N3 network. The relevant deposit and withdrawal services are expected to be suspended at 18:00 KST on July 31, 2026, and will resume after network stability is confirmed; the specific resumption time will be notified via subsequent announcements. The suspension is to support the NEO network upgrade and Bithumb’s node server update. The NEO network upgrade is scheduled to take place at 01:00 KST on August 1, 2026, targeting block height 12,020,000. During the upgrade, trading functions for the relevant assets remain unaffected, though users should note potential market fluctuations during network maintenance. Pending deposit and withdrawal requests submitted earlier will be processed in sequence after system confirmation.
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ZuriQ completes $25.5 million seed round to advance development of its novel quantum chip architecture.
ETH Zurich spin-off startup ZuriQ has announced the completion of a $25.5 million seed round. The company is dedicated to developing a novel quantum chip architecture, which is claimed to offer stronger scalability than existing solutions, and is expected to accelerate the large-scale development of the quantum computing sector.
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South Korea's sluggish stock market has driven retail investors to shift to the US stock market, with net purchases exceeding 5 trillion won this month.
According to South Korea's Seoul Economic Daily, amid the continued downturn in the South Korean stock market, domestic investors have once again shifted to US equities, with net purchases exceeding 5 trillion won this month. Data from Seibro, the securities information portal of the Korea Securities Depository & Clearing Corporation, shows that between the 1st and 27th of this month, South Korean investors' net purchases of US stocks totaled $3.58999 billion, roughly 5.5 times the net purchases for the entire month of June. As of the 23rd, net purchases stood at only $2.53026 billion, but rose by $1.05973 billion in the subsequent two trading days. Retail investor funds are mainly concentrated in semiconductor and technology stocks. The most purchased product this month is the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF, which tracks the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, with net purchases reaching $1.75919 billion. SK Hynix ADRs have also remained highly sought-after, with net purchases climbing to $812.38 million as of the 27th.
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Yesterday, Bitcoin spot ETFs posted a net outflow of $11.6 million, while Ethereum spot ETFs saw a net inflow of $11.7 million.
According to data from Farside Investors, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a total net outflow of $11.6 million yesterday. BlackRock’s IBIT recorded a net outflow of $8.8 million, while Fidelity’s FBTC posted a $2.8 million net outflow; all other Bitcoin ETFs had zero net flows for the day. U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs, meanwhile, saw a total net inflow of $11.7 million yesterday. BlackRock’s ETHA accounted for the full $11.7 million daily net inflow, with all other Ethereum ETFs registering zero net flows for the day.
4 minutes ago
SOON has completed its security incident review, confirming that neither the protocol nor user assets were affected, and its mainnet RPC has been restored.
Solana Optimistic Network (SOON) announced that the security incident detected on July 12 has been fully investigated and resolved. The incident did not involve vulnerabilities in the SOON protocol, sequencer, or user-facing smart contracts, and no user funds were lost. SOON noted the root cause was a security issue in its off-chain operational environment. According to third-party security firm BlockSec, external attackers gained unauthorized access via a misconfigured service, then penetrated parts of the internal environment due to insufficient access controls. The incident was limited to certain operational infrastructure and related processes, with no impact on on-chain user assets, user smart contracts, or SOON network security. Post-incident, SOON suspended its sequencer and some services and launched a full security review. During this period, functions including NFT minting, token claiming, and on-chain withdrawals were temporarily disabled. SOON restored NFT minting and token claiming on July 21, and resumed mainnet RPC services and block production on July 27. The network has now returned to normal operation.
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Binance Flash Swap will undergo regular system maintenance on August 2, expected to be completed within one hour.
According to an official announcement, Binance’s Flash Swap will undergo scheduled system maintenance at 07:30 (GMT+8, East Eight Zone Time) on August 2, 2026. During the maintenance window, users will be unable to place new Flash Swap orders or limit orders. Existing recurring investment orders may be skipped due to the system upgrade, and the maintenance is expected to be completed within one hour.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
The stablecoin market contracted in June 2026 even as transaction activity reached a record.
Summary
$7.7 billion left stablecoins in June, cutting total market capitalization to approximately $312 billion overall. $1.79 trillion in adjusted June transfers marked a record, rising 63% from May levels overall. USDC processed about $1.21 trillion, while USDT handled roughly $576 billion in June’s adjusted dataset. CoinDesk Data reported on July 6 that market capitalization fell 2.39%, or about $7.7 billion, to $312 billion. It was the first month-end decline in five months and the largest monthly dollar reduction since the Terra-Luna collapse in May 2022.
The supply decline did not produce a matching fall in on-chain activity. Visa’s Allium-powered dashboard recorded $1.79 trillion in adjusted transaction volume for June, up 63% from May and 125% from June 2025. USDC accounted for about $1.21 trillion, compared with roughly $576 billion for USDT.
As previously reported, the market had fallen roughly $10 billion below its May peak by mid-July. DefiLlama’s stablecoin dashboard placed total capitalization at about $309.9 billion on July 28, down 0.79% over 30 days. USDT remained the largest token at roughly $183.9 billion, while USDC stood near $73.7 billion.
The stablecoin market decline was modest, not Terra-like The phrase “biggest drop since Terra” describes the dollar amount of the June decline, not the severity of the event. A 2.39% monthly contraction was far smaller than the 2022 collapse. CoinGecko found that the leading stablecoins lost $33.9 billion, or almost one-fifth of their value, during the second quarter of 2022 as UST failed and wider crypto credit markets broke down.
June 2026 also lacked the defining feature of the Terra crisis: a major market-wide depeg. DefiLlama showed both USDT and USDC trading close to $1 on July 28. The contraction occurred through lower circulating supply rather than a comparable collapse in token prices.
Data providers report different totals because they track different assets and apply different classification rules. CoinDesk Data measured the market at $312 billion at the end of June. CoinGecko’s Q2 industry report put the quarter-end total at $305.1 billion and reported a $4.8 billion, or 1.6%, quarterly decline. CoinGecko described it as the first quarterly contraction since Q3 2023.
That distinction makes the claim that the market shrank “for the first time in four years” too broad. CoinDesk Data recorded the first monthly decline in five months, while CoinGecko recorded the first quarterly decline since Q3 2023. Both datasets show a pullback, but neither supports treating June as the first contraction of any kind since Terra.
Record volume shows faster turnover, not only payments Visa’s adjusted transaction figure is more useful than raw blockchain volume, but it is not a pure payments measure. The dashboard removes known bot activity, intra-exchange transfers, redundant smart-contract movements and wallets that cross high-frequency or high-volume thresholds. It also counts only the largest stablecoin amount transferred within a complex transaction.
However, Visa’s adjusted categories still include exchange deposits and withdrawals, decentralized exchange trades, lending, investment funds, minting and burning, and on- and off-ramp activity. The $1.79 trillion total therefore measures filtered economic movement. It should not be described as $1.79 trillion of purchases, remittances or merchant settlement.
The June data still show a clear divergence between supply and usage. USDC moved about $1.21 trillion despite having less than half USDT’s circulating supply. USDT handled roughly $576 billion while remaining the larger token by market capitalization. As previously reported, USDC has built a sustained lead over USDT in adjusted transfer value.
A smaller float can support greater volume when each token changes hands more often. June’s record, combined with lower supply, is consistent with rising turnover. It does not identify who sent the money, why it moved or whether the activity generated payment revenue.
A separate McKinsey and Artemis analysis shows the measurement gap. The firms estimated identifiable stablecoin payments at about $390 billion during 2025, or roughly 0.02% of global payment volume. B2B payments accounted for about $226 billion, while much of the wider on-chain total came from trading, internal transfers and automated activity. Stablecoin usage is growing, but filtered blockchain movement and real-world payments remain different datasets.
Yield products may explain only part of the shift The expansion of tokenized Treasury products offers a plausible destination for some capital leaving non-yielding stablecoins. RWA.xyz placed tokenized U.S. Treasury value at about $16.2 billion in late July. DefiLlama listed Circle’s USYC near $3 billion and BlackRock’s BUIDL near $2.64 billion on July 28.
The rotation argument has an economic basis. Payment stablecoins aim to maintain a fixed value and generally do not pass reserve income directly to holders. Tokenized Treasury funds can provide exposure to short-term government debt while remaining on-chain. Treasurers may therefore hold idle balances in yield products and convert into stablecoins nearer to settlement.
Still, public data do not prove that the full $7.7 billion decline moved into tokenized funds. Aggregate growth cannot trace every subscription. Capital may also have returned to bank deposits, funded crypto sales, moved between excluded categories or left digital-asset markets.
CoinDesk Data found that total tokenized asset capitalization rose 1.75% to $30.1 billion in June while stablecoin supply fell. That supports a broader shift toward tokenized financial products, but it does not establish a direct one-for-one transfer.
CoinGecko also found that some yield-linked crypto dollars contracted during Q2. USDS fell 16.4%, while USDe declined 24.4%. CoinGecko attributed the reductions partly to yields falling below the risk-free rate and users unstaking related products. The evidence points to selective rotation rather than a uniform move into yield.
U.S. rules and July issuance will shape the next move The regulatory backdrop remains unfinished. The GENIUS Act was enacted on July 18, 2025 and created a federal framework for payment stablecoin issuers. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s proposed rules cover reserves, redemption, risk management, reporting, custody and supervision.
The law is scheduled to take effect on January 18, 2027, or 120 days after federal regulators issue final implementing rules, whichever comes first. Regulators had not completed the full rulebook by July 28. As crypto.news reported, the one-year rulemaking deadline passed with multiple proposals awaiting final action.
One live deadline concerns customer identification. A joint federal proposal would require permitted payment stablecoin issuers to establish risk-based procedures for identifying and verifying customers. Comments are due by August 21, 2026.
The FDIC also issued proposed reporting forms on July 17, with comments due 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. These filings would establish regular financial and operational reporting for payment stablecoin issuers under FDIC supervision.
These rules may change where stablecoins are issued and held. They can also affect competition between U.S.-oriented products such as USDC and offshore-focused products such as USDT. In related coverage, industry groups disputed whether proposed rules extend yield restrictions too far toward third-party reward programmes.
The next evidence will come from issuer mint-and-burn data, month-end supply, peg stability and adjusted transaction volume. A return to net issuance would support the view that June was temporary. Continued redemptions would point to a longer contraction in on-chain dollar liquidity.
June supports two conclusions at once. Stablecoin supply weakened, but the remaining tokens moved at a record adjusted rate. Market capitalization measures the size of the float, while adjusted volume measures how actively it circulates. Neither metric can replace the other.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
Circle just dropped another half-billion dollars worth of USDC onto Solana, and at this point it’s starting to feel like a recurring calendar event. The stablecoin issuer minted $500 million in new USDC on the Solana blockchain in July, executed in two neat tranches of $250 million each.
Here’s the thing: this isn’t a one-off. It’s the latest chapter in what’s become a sustained liquidity migration toward Solana that’s been building throughout 2026, with Circle simultaneously burning USDC on other chains, notably Ethereum.
The numbers behind the shift The $500 million mint, flagged by on-chain monitoring services like Whale Alert and Onchain Lens, pushed even more dollar-denominated liquidity into Solana’s trading and DeFi infrastructure. A similar $500 million single-day mint occurred earlier on June 8, suggesting Circle has found a comfortable cadence for these large-scale issuances.
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By mid-July, cumulative USDC minting on Solana had exceeded $66 billion in gross issuance. That’s not net supply, mind you. It’s the total volume of USDC that Circle has created on the network over time, which includes tokens that have since been burned or bridged elsewhere.
Solana’s share of the global USDC supply has briefly climbed above 10% during peak periods in 2026. For a network that only received native USDC issuance starting in late 2020, that’s a remarkable trajectory.
Why Circle keeps choosing Solana Circle’s minting decisions are demand-driven. When traders and institutions need more USDC on a particular chain, Circle mints to meet that demand. The fact that these $250 million tranches keep landing on Solana tells you where the activity is migrating.
The relationship between Circle and Solana dates back to a formal partnership with the Solana Foundation that enabled native USDC issuance on the platform. Since then, Circle has progressively increased its minting allocation to Solana, especially as the network’s DeFi ecosystem matured and attracted more institutional capital.
What this means for traders and the broader market More stablecoins on a network generally translates to deeper liquidity pools, tighter spreads, and better execution for traders. When $500 million in fresh USDC hits Solana’s DeFi protocols, it flows into automated market makers, lending platforms, and perpetual futures venues that form the backbone of on-chain trading.
For now, the arrows point firmly toward Solana continuing to absorb a growing share of the global stablecoin supply, with each $500 million mint reinforcing the network’s position as a primary venue for dollar-denominated on-chain activity.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, has acquired IBM’s blockchain patent portfolio in a move designed to fortify its enterprise blockchain capabilities and protect its growing digital asset ecosystem.
What Circle is getting IBM has been one of the most aggressive blockchain patent filers in the world. During its peak years of 2018 and 2019, the tech giant filed over 500 blockchain-related patents, building a massive intellectual property fortress that spanned everything from consensus mechanisms to enterprise supply chain solutions.
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That portfolio now belongs to Circle. The financial terms of the acquisition haven’t been publicly disclosed.
Circle was already moving in this direction. The company was granted its own patent for parallel block processing back in December 2023, a technology designed to improve transaction throughput by processing multiple blocks simultaneously.
The patent protection play Circle has been acutely aware of patent litigation threat. The company joined the LOT Network, a collaborative defensive patent initiative, in both 2023 and 2025. The LOT Network now encompasses more than 3.8 million patents across over 2,800 members. Both Circle and IBM are members.
The network works like a mutual defense pact. If any member’s patents end up in the hands of a patent troll, other members automatically receive a license to those patents.
IBM’s evolving blockchain strategy One notable example is IBM’s partnership with IPwe, which launched in early 2021. That collaboration explored tokenizing corporate patents as NFTs on blockchain networks, essentially turning intellectual property into tradeable digital assets.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
