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A hacker exploited Ostium, a decentralized perpetuals exchange on Arbitrum, in a sophisticated oracle manipulation scheme that resulted in the loss of $18 million in USDC from the protocol’s liquidity vault.

Attacker exploited automated price-feed systemBlockchain security firm Blockaid first detected the exploit, which targeted a key component of Ostium’s price automation setup known as the PriceUpKeep forwarder. The attacker submitted falsified oracle reports featuring future-dated timestamps, effectively making losing trades appear as if they were profitable.

This manipulation enabled the attacker to trigger an $18 million payout from Ostium’s vault. Blockaid’s analysis shows that the exploit succeeded by leveraging the privileged role of automation components responsible for reporting on real-world asset prices.

The attacker used a registered PriceUpKeep forwarder to push manipulated price data with future timestamps, forcing the protocol to recognize fabricated profits and enabling an $18 million USDC withdrawal from the liquidity vault.

The exploit underscores persistent vulnerabilities across decentralized finance, particularly in the systems that automate and verify price reporting from real-world sources onto blockchains.

Mini dictionary: Ostium is a decentralized trading protocol on Arbitrum that enables users to trade perpetual contracts of real-world assets such as gold, foreign currencies, and equity indices, typically with high leverage and onchain settlement in stablecoins.

Pattern of DeFi oracle system vulnerabilitiesIncidents similar to the Ostium attack have plagued other decentralized protocols, with DeFi platforms frequently targeted through exploits involving oracle or keeper infrastructure. Just last week, $6 million was drained from Summer.fi in a comparable attack where privileged components manipulated the timing or content of price data.

Ostium’s system relies on a third-party network called Gelato to automate the delivery of real-world price data to its onchain contracts. The central PriceUpKeep contract writes the latest asset prices to Arbitrum whenever a user executes a trade. Attackers have increasingly targeted these automated update mechanisms, seeking out weaknesses in how and when price data is written to the blockchain.

By controlling or spoofing trusted automation components, bad actors can fabricate trading outcomes on paper and extract protocol funds by triggering illegitimate settlements.

PlatformDate of ExploitLoss AmountAttack VectorOstiumJune 2026$18 millionOracle manipulation via PriceUpKeepSummer.fiJune 2026$6 millionKeeper/oracle system breachOstium’s growth and funding backgroundBefore the exploit, Ostium had raised a total of $27.8 million, including a $24 million Series A co-led by venture investors General Catalyst and Jump Crypto in late 2025. The protocol had also reported over $50 billion in cumulative trading volume, reflecting strong user interest in onchain derivatives tied to real-world markets.

At the time of the incident, Ostium allowed traders to access commodities, forex pairs, and equity indices, offering up to 200x leverage and USDC-settled contracts.

Ongoing investigations are underway after security alerts surfaced, with the extent of the attacker’s identity and the possibility of recovering the drained funds currently unknown.

Incidents like Ostium’s highlight the risks associated with DeFi protocols’ increasing reliance on complex automation and oracle infrastructure, especially when these systems are entrusted with large amounts of investor capital.

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.

Ostium, a decentralized perpetuals exchange operating on the Arbitrum network, experienced a significant security breach on Wednesday that resulted in a loss of approximately $18 million in USDC. Attackers gained access to a critical oracle signer key and manipulated the platform’s price feed, leading to artificial trading profits and a major drain on assets.

Attack exploited price oracle via compromised keyBlockchain security firm Blockaid reported that the exploit was executed using a registered PriceUpKeep forwarder and future-dated oracle price reports. By submitting these manipulated inputs, the attackers were able to generate large, fake profits from trading activities. The resulting payouts were issued from Ostium’s liquidity vault directly in USDC, a widely used stablecoin issued by Circle.

Blockaid stated that nearly one-third of Ostium’s total liquidity, which amounted to about $63 million at the time of the breach, was drained in the attack. The manipulation targeted Ostium’s core mechanism for pricing assets, which relies on oracles—external data feeds that set current trading values.

Mini dictionary: Oracle signer key — A cryptographic key used by trusted entities to validate and submit price or data reports to blockchain networks. If compromised, it can enable attackers to falsify on-chain information, undermining protocol security.

Ostium posted on X, “We are aware of the issue with the OLP vault. We have paused all trading. The team is investigating.”

Vulnerability shakes decentralized finance sectorOstium functions as a decentralized exchange (DEX), enabling users to trade perpetual futures that track real-world assets such as stocks, commodities, foreign exchange markets, and indices. As a typical DEX, the platform allows users to retain custody of their funds and does not require personal identification.

This incident highlights persistent vulnerabilities in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector. More than $840 million has already been stolen from DeFi protocols in the first five months of 2026 alone, with notable attacks on KelpDAO, which lost $292 million, and Drift Protocol, which lost $285 million. In June, hackers also stole over $25 million from Resolv Labs.

ProtocolLoss AmountDateOstium$18 millionJune 2026KelpDAO$292 millionEarly 2026Drift Protocol$285 millionEarly 2026Resolv Labs$25 millionJune 2026Rising concern over AI-driven exploitsSecurity professionals are increasingly warning that advances in artificial intelligence are making it easier to discover vulnerabilities within smart contracts and blockchain infrastructure. Danny Jenkins, CEO and co-founder of cybersecurity firm ThreatLocker, noted that modern AI systems are outperforming humans in reviewing code and identifying weaknesses.

Jenkins explained, “AI is far better at reviewing code than most people and finding potential vulnerabilities in it,” and emphasized that newer models like Mythos could make the discovery process even more effective, signaling an imminent major challenge for security teams.

He added that it is only a matter of time before malicious actors leverage state-of-the-art AI tools to exploit these vulnerabilities at scale.

Recently, security researcher Taylor Hornby used Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.8 model to uncover a four-year-old counterfeiting bug in Zcash, demonstrating that advanced AI tools can now identify even complex and longstanding software flaws.

Mini dictionary: Zcash — A privacy-focused cryptocurrency that uses advanced cryptography to shield transaction details. Security vulnerabilities in such protocols can undermine privacy or allow unauthorized coin creation.

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.

Solana price has climbed to around $78 on July 15 after a 250 million USDC mint on the network, combined with softer U.S. inflation data, injected fresh buying momentum across crypto markets.

Summary

Solana price jumped toward $78 after a 250 million USDC mint boosted on-chain liquidity and risk appetite improved. Technical charts show a breakout above a descending channel, with $80 emerging as the next key resistance. Rising active addresses, institutional developments, and liquidation clusters support upside, while $70-$75 remains critical support. The move gathered pace after the USDC Treasury minted 250 million USDC on Solana, adding immediate liquidity to the ecosystem as traders returned to risk assets following the latest U.S. inflation print. Capital quickly rotated into Solana-based decentralized exchanges, helping SOL recover from recent weakness while the wider crypto market also moved higher.

Earlier selling pressure had left Solana trading well below its May highs as geopolitical tensions, institutional distributions and weaker on-chain activity weighed on sentiment.

Today’s rebound, however, arrives with stronger participation. Daily trading volume has climbed above $2.1 billion, suggesting buyers, rather than short-term speculation alone, have supported the advance.

Technical structure favors another test of $80 The daily chart shows Solana (SOL) price holding above a long-standing support area between $70 and $75 after repeatedly defending that range over recent weeks. Price now trades above the 20-day and 50-day moving averages near $73.3-$74 while remaining below the declining 100-day moving average around $80.3 and well beneath the 200-day moving average near $91. 

Solana daily price chart — July 15 | Source: crypto.news A sustained close above the 100-day average would expose the psychologically important $80 level before opening room toward the May swing high near $82.

The 4-hour chart adds another constructive development. SOL has broken above a descending channel that had contained price action since early July, while the RSI has recovered to roughly 52 after bouncing from oversold territory. 

Solana 4-hour price chart — July 15 | Source: crypto.news The Aroon Up reading near 93 also holds well above the Aroon Down line, suggesting buyers currently control short-term momentum, although resistance remains concentrated just below $80.

Derivatives positioning reinforces that technical picture. CoinGlass liquidation data shows dense short liquidation clusters stacked between $78.5 and $80, with another concentration extending toward $81.5.

Solana liquidation heatmap | Source: CoinGlass A decisive push through those levels could trigger forced buying from bearish positions, while the largest long liquidation pockets remain clustered around the $76-$76.5 region, making that zone an important area for bulls to defend.

Commenting on the latest setup, analyst Ali Martinez argued that Solana has regained a bullish structure after its SuperTrend indicator flipped positive for the first time since October. He wrote:

“If buying pressure continues to build, $SOL could rally toward $96 or even $121. However, $60 remains the key level to watch.”

Outside the charts, network fundamentals have also improved. Active addresses have climbed toward seven million, while anticipation continues to build ahead of the Alpenglow upgrade, which is expected to reduce transaction finality to around 150 milliseconds later this quarter. 

Solana has also strengthened its institutional footprint through its partnership with SBI Holdings to expand on-chain financial infrastructure in Japan, while tokenized real-world assets on the network have grown to roughly $3.3 billion.

A break below key support would weaken the bullish outlook Bullish momentum still faces several hurdles. The declining 100-day moving average around $80 represents the first major technical barrier, and failure to clear that level could keep SOL trapped inside its multi-week consolidation range.

A return below the 20-day and 50-day moving averages would shift attention back to the $75 support area, where leveraged long positions remain concentrated.

Macro risks also remain unresolved. Fresh geopolitical tensions, another rise in Treasury yields, or stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data could reduce expectations for monetary easing and pressure risk assets across the crypto market.

If selling accelerates and Solana loses the $70-$75 support zone, the bullish breakout thesis would weaken considerably, while Ali Martinez’s longer-term invalidation level near $60 would return to focus.

Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.

Nick Sawinyh on 15 Jul 2026

At 14:18 UTC on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, a single Arbitrum transaction bundled twenty calls into Ostium’s trading contracts and walked out with roughly $11.86 million in USDC. The recipient wallet had opened its first position minutes earlier with a rounding-error deposit. By the time most people saw the security alerts, the money was already moving out.

Ostium is one of the more credible names in on-chain real-world-asset trading: a perpetuals exchange for stocks, commodities, indices, and currencies, backed by General Catalyst and Jump Crypto. What makes it work is a custom price layer that decides what every trade settles at. That layer is exactly what got turned against it, and not on some exotic asset either.

This piece reflects what was verifiable on the afternoon of July 15, 2026, a few hours after the first transaction. The on-chain facts here (the transaction, the contracts, the amount that moved, the receiving wallet) are confirmed directly against block explorers and are cited below so you can check them yourself. What is not settled is the reconciled total loss and the exact authorization failure that made the attack possible; both await Ostium’s own accounting. Treat the confirmed transactions as bedrock and any single loss total as provisional until the team or an independent analyst publishes one.

What Is Ostium, and Why Does It Matter? Ostium is a decentralized perpetuals exchange on Arbitrum whose pitch is real-world assets: leveraged exposure to gold, oil, the S&P, EUR/USD, or individual equities, all from a self-custodial wallet, on markets that traditionally close at 4pm and gate retail behind brokers. It is one of the clearer product-market fits in the RWA narrative. It also lists the major crypto pairs, BTC and ETH among them, and that detail matters more than it looks.

The traction is real. Ostium was founded by Harvard alumni, raised a $3.5 million seed in 2023 led by General Catalyst and LocalGlobe (with SIG, DeFi Alliance, and Balaji Srinivasan among the backers), and in December 2025 added a $20 million Series A co-led by General Catalyst and Jump Crypto, bringing total funding to roughly $27.8 million. As of its December 2025 raise, Ostium had advertised more than $25 billion in cumulative trading volume, including around $5 billion in metals. On July 15, DefiLlama showed Ostium’s TVL near $63 million.

Traders’ collateral and the counterparty liquidity that pays out winning trades sit in Ostium’s vault, called the OLP (Ostium Liquidity Pool). Liquidity providers deposit USDC and, in effect, take the other side of the book. That vault is what an attacker wants to reach, and on July 15 someone found a path to it.

How Ostium Prices a Trade, and Where the Trust Sits To understand the exploit you have to understand how Ostium gets a price at all.

A crypto perp can read an on-chain price from deep DEX liquidity. Gold and Apple can’t be priced that way, because they don’t live on-chain. So Ostium built its own pull-based oracle system, with real-world-asset feeds operated by Stork Network and crypto feeds from Chainlink Data Streams. In a pull design, prices aren’t sitting on-chain continuously. Instead, a signed price report is delivered on-chain at the moment it’s needed: when a trade opens, when it closes, when a limit order or liquidation fires. Automated “keeper” or forwarder services carry those signed reports to the contract and trigger settlement.

This is a sensible architecture for assets that trade off-chain. It also concentrates enormous trust in one place. Whoever is authorized to submit a price report effectively decides the number your PnL is calculated against. If that authorization leaks, or if the check that a submitted price is fresh and legitimate is missing or weak, then the party feeding the price can trade against a number they chose. That is the failure surface, and it is a close cousin of the one that broke Resolv’s USR stablecoin in March, where a single privileged role could mint without on-chain limits.

The Exploit: What the Transaction Shows Here is what the chain shows for the primary transaction, 0x359f8c05…d4870e0, confirmed on both Arbiscan and Blockscout:

It succeeded at 14:18:48 UTC on July 15, 2026. It called executeBatch, running twenty calls that alternated between Ostium’s Trading contract (0x6D0bA1f9…7702411, which Arbiscan labels “Ostium: Trading”) and a contract named OstiumPrivatePriceUpKeep (0xB71ec9eB…3d36), the piece that delivers signed prices on-chain. USDC moved through Ostium’s Trading Storage, Trading Callbacks, and Vault contracts along the way. Every trade in the batch was on pairIndex 0. Ostium’s own subgraph maps pair 0 to BTC/USD, so this was not an exotic real-world-asset market. It was Bitcoin. The trade events show the position opened at a delivered price of exactly $5,000 and closed at roughly $60,000. Bitcoin does not move twelvefold inside one atomic transaction, so at least one of those prices was fabricated and delivered on demand; the exactly-round $5,000 open is the obvious tell. A single deposit of about 1,000 USDC went in. Roughly 11,861,520 USDC came back out to the attacker’s wallet. The same batch that opened and closed the trades also drove OstiumPrivatePriceUpKeep to deliver the $5,000 and $60,000 prices those trades settled against. Whoever sent it therefore held, or had usurped, the right to submit prices, and used it to stand on both sides at once: the price authority and the counterparty were the same operation. The batch came from 0xD1794196…85869 through an entry contract at 0xfE12F636…5bd2E; the trades and the payout belong to 0x321df194…bfd9.

You do not need anyone’s alert to read this. The prices are right there in the trade events: open a Bitcoin long at $5,000, close it near $60,000, collect the difference from the vault, and a ~1,000 USDC deposit comes back as ~$11.86 million. That is not an inference from fund flows, it is in the price fields the contracts recorded. What the trace cannot tell you is how the attacker was allowed to deliver those prices at all, whether a signing key was compromised, a malicious price upkeep was registered, or a validation check on submitted prices was missing or weak. That distinction is the whole post-mortem, and only Ostium can close it.

Here is the part that should unsettle people most. The attacker did this on BTC/USD, the most liquid and most easily cross-checked market Ostium runs, not on gold, not on a thinly traded stock, not on an overnight forex cross. If the pricing layer will accept $5,000 for Bitcoin, the asset was never the point. The authorization to submit a price was.

The Cashout The receiving wallet, 0x321df194…bfd9, is a fresh externally owned account with no prior history and no Arbiscan label yet. It took in the $11.86 million from the primary transaction and additional USDC from several sibling batch transactions sent the same way.

The money did not stay. A few hours later, the wallet held no USDC at all, just about 99.6 ETH (gas-scale, a low six figures) and a spoofed lookalike “ETH” token of the kind that gets airdropped to any address in the news. Where the stablecoin went from there, whether swapped, split across wallets, or bridged off Arbitrum, I did not trace, and the balance snapshot may not be complete. What is clear is that it moved out fast, which is the entire point of moving before a protocol can react. It is the same race Resolv’s attacker ran in March, and the same reason “we’ve paused the protocol” statements so often land after the funds are already gone.

How Big Was the Hit? This is where the honest answer is a range, not a headline.

Figure Value Status Largest single transaction ~$11.86M USDC to the attacker Tx confirmed on-chain; amount read from explorer transfer logs Additional sibling transactions Several, same pattern Confirmed they exist; total not cleanly summed Ostium TVL on July 15 ~$63M (DefiLlama) Live figure; may lag the incident So the floor is real: at least the better part of $12 million left in the primary transaction, going by the explorer transfer logs, and the same wallet pulled more through several sibling batches I did not fully sum. Loss estimates circulating on launch day ran higher, into the high teens of millions, alongside a “$34 million vault, 35% drained” framing. I could not confirm those numbers, and note that a $34 million liquidity vault could sit inside the ~$63 million total TVL DefiLlama shows, so even those two are not necessarily in conflict. The honest position is a confirmed floor and an open total until Ostium or an independent analyst publishes a reconciled figure.

The Uncomfortable Questions How did an attacker become authorized to submit prices? Everything about this incident routes back to that question. A pull oracle only works if the set of parties allowed to deliver signed prices is tightly controlled and their reports are validated on arrival. Whether the attacker obtained a legitimate signer key, got a malicious forwarder registered, or exploited a gap in how reports are checked, the outcome is the same: they got to name the price that settled their own trades.

Where were the on-chain guardrails? The recurring lesson of 2026’s exploits is that off-chain trust needs on-chain limits behind it. Was there a bound on how far a settlement price could deviate from the last accepted one? A freshness or timestamp check strict enough to reject a “future-dated” report? A per-block or per-account cap on vault payouts? The batched, atomic nature of the theft suggests at least one of those checks was missing or bypassable.

What about the audits? This was not an unreviewed protocol. Zellic audited the contracts in early 2024 and returned 19 findings, two of them critical, with the price-upkeep and vault contracts in scope; it even raised upkeep-specific issues at the time, one titled “Chainlink feed ID not checked in upkeep.” Pashov Audit Group ran a further review in September 2025, and Ostium also lists a ThreeSigma audit, a Chaos Labs economic audit, and an Immunefi bug bounty. Two things stand out anyway. Zellic’s 2024 engagement expressly put “key custody” and “infrastructure relating to the project” out of scope, which is close to where the abuse of a registered PriceUpKeep would live. And the September 2025 review covered only the trading-engine contracts, not any price-upkeep or vault contract. The exact component the attacker used, OstiumPrivatePriceUpKeep, was either reviewed years ago on an older design or left out of the most recent pass entirely. Audits cut risk; they do not certify its absence, least of all for the price-authorization plumbing that sits at the very edge of what a contract audit covers.

The Asset Was Never the Point The intuitive worry about an RWA perp is the exotic feed. Gold, a single stock, an overnight forex cross: none of them have a deep on-chain market to check a submitted price against, so a bad number is harder to catch. That worry is legitimate and worth keeping. But it is not what happened here. The attack ran on Bitcoin, where a fabricated $5,000 print should have been the easiest thing in the world to reject. The weak point sat upstream of the asset, in whatever governs who may submit a price and whether the contracts bound-check it before paying out. An RWA venue carries that risk on top of the exotic-feed risk, not instead of it.

Ostium is not a fly-by-night project. It has real funding, real volume, and a design many people saw as one of the better expressions of the RWA thesis, this site’s coverage of onchain forex and tokenized metals included. That is exactly why the incident matters. A well-funded, name-backed team let its pricing layer accept $5,000 for the most-watched asset in crypto. The custom-oracle problem is not a rough edge on some immature protocol, and it is not confined to the exotic assets everyone was worried about. It is a category risk that the whole “bring global markets on-chain” movement has to solve before it asks users to post real size.

What Happens Next In the hours after the attack, Ostium had not posted an official statement or a loss figure. Expect the usual sequence: an acknowledgment, a pause of affected functions, a claim that the team is investigating and tracing funds, and eventually a post-mortem. The questions that post-mortem needs to answer are specific: how price-submission authorization was secured, what validation a submitted report had to pass, whether a key was compromised or a forwarder maliciously registered, and what caps or circuit breakers stood between a “profitable” trade and the vault.

For anyone with funds in Ostium, particularly OLP liquidity providers who sit on the counterparty side of every trade, the practical advice is the same it always is in the first hours of an incident: check your exposure directly, watch Ostium’s official channels rather than secondhand figures, and don’t assume a stated total is final.

And for everyone building or allocating in RWA land, file this next to Resolv. The mechanisms differ, but both trace back to the same weak point: a single privileged component, trusted off-chain, with too little standing between it and the money on-chain. RWA protocols are lining up to put a lot more of the world’s assets behind components exactly like that. This is what it looks like when one of them gives.

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.

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Kraken Launches Customized Crypto Vaults, Allowing Users to Earn Yields on Idle Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH) and Stablecoins

Kraken Institutional has announced a partnership with on-chain yield platform Upshift, allowing qualified institutional clients to earn returns on idle Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins and other crypto assets directly within Kraken’s compliant custody framework. Unlike traditional pooled vaults, Upshift will build dedicated, customized vaults for each client, fully tailored to their investment strategies, risk parameters, liquidity needs and asset portfolios. Assets will be allocated to these non-custodial vaults, then deployed to selected on-chain contracts, with clients’ segregated Kraken custody accounts receiving a receipt token.

2 minutes ago

SpaceX falls below its $135 IPO price for the first time; US-listed space-related stocks decline across the board.

According to market data from BIT (bit.com), during U.S. stock intraday trading, SpaceX (SPCX) fell below its IPO price of $135 for the first time, currently trading at $133.6. U.S. space-related stocks declined across the board: AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) dropped 5.26%, Rocket Lab (RKLB) fell 3.4%, and Redwire (RDW) declined 3.4%.

2 minutes ago

A certain address profited 23.75 million USDC via the Ostium exploit, then exchanged the funds for 12,085 ETH.

According to EmberCN’s monitoring, an hour and a half ago, the DeBank address under the username musti_akrep exploited a vulnerability on Perp DEX Ostium to gain 23.75 million USDC, transferred the funds to the Arbitrum blockchain, and immediately converted the USDC into 12,085 ETH at a purchase price of $1,965.

2 minutes ago

Summer.fi to Gradually Cease Operations Following $6.1 Million Hack Loss

Summer.fi has released an announcement stating that following the July 6 attack on its Lazy Summer protocol, the team assessed there was no viable path to continue operations, so it will gradually wind down its business. The attack directly resulted in approximately $6.1 million in losses, and a significant portion of the team’s own assets were held in the targeted vaults, further depleting the operating capital needed for reconstruction. Per the announcement, the Summer.fi application will remain accessible until August 31, while the future of the Lazy Summer protocol will be determined by the Lazy Summer DAO. The DAO is currently working to restore withdrawal and redemption processes for all vaults, including the two previously impacted ones.

2 minutes ago

Iran: No negotiation plans at present, focusing on defense.

According to Iran's Tasnim News Agency, a spokesperson for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the country's armed forces have made clear that any aggression against Iranian territory will inevitably be met with an equivalent response. There are currently no plans for negotiations, and Iran is focusing on defense. A memorandum of understanding is a set of mutual commitments; if the other party violates it, Iran will cease fulfilling its obligations, a principle that will be followed moving forward.

2 minutes ago

Aster DEX launches SKHYB "Hold-to-Use" campaign: Hold SKHYB tokens to serve as collateral for perpetual contract trading, with participants sharing a $15,000 prize pool.

Decentralized perpetual contract trading platform Aster DEX has announced the launch of its "Hold & Share" reward program for SKHYB, the SK Hynix token under Binance’s tokenized US stock product line bStocks, with a total prize pool of SKHYB worth $15,000. The program’s core mechanism is "Hold & Trade": after users deposit SKHYB into their Aster perpetual contract accounts and enable multi-asset mode, SKHYB can be used as collateral, with a maximum collateral value of 90% of its market value. This allows users to trade any perpetual contract market without selling their SKHYB holdings. Aster also announced that SKHYB spot trading is now live, enabling users to "hold stocks while trading with stocks". The program runs from 10:00 UTC on July 15 to 10:00 UTC on July 22, spanning 7 days. To participate, users must meet three requirements simultaneously: enable multi-asset mode, hold at least $100 worth of SKHYB in their perpetual contract accounts, and execute at least $1,000 in trades across any perpetual contract market during the program period. Rewards are distributed proportionally based on individual scores, calculated as SKHYB balance multiplied by holding hours (full hours only). The maximum individual reward is capped at 3% of the total prize pool, and rewards below $1 will not be issued.

2 minutes ago

Mizuho has downgraded Circle Internet Group from Neutral to Underperform and cut its price target from $85 to $50, citing competition from Open USD.

Summary

Mizuho cut Circle’s price target to $50, warning Open USD could further squeeze stablecoin margins. Open USD shares reserve earnings with partners, challenging Circle’s existing distribution economics around USDC globally. Circle also faces margin pressure from Hyperliquid revenue-sharing terms despite recent federal banking approval milestone. The Japanese investment bank said the stablecoin model could pressure the economics behind Circle’s USDC business.

According to a CoinDesk report, analysts led by Dan Dolev said Open USD “could fundamentally alter CRCL’s business model” by changing how reserve income flows to distributors. Circle shares traded at $62.63 when the report was published.

Mizuho cuts Circle’s 2027 earnings outlook Mizuho raised its estimate for Circle’s distribution and transaction expense ratio in 2027 from 64% to 73%. The bank also lowered its adjusted EBITDA forecast from $1.09 billion to $699 million, about 25% below the analyst consensus cited in the report.

The bank said higher interest rates could support reserve income but may not fully offset pressure from changing stablecoin economics. Its concern centers on how much yield Circle can retain after paying distribution partners, including companies that help USDC reach users and financial platforms.

Open USD challenges the existing stablecoin model Open USD was announced on June 30 by Open Standard, with more than 140 companies participating in its ecosystem. Partners include Coinbase, Mastercard, Stripe and BlackRock. The project says businesses will be able to mint and redeem the stablecoin without fees or artificial volume limits.

Under the model, partners receive reserve earnings after a small management fee covers operating costs. That differs from Circle’s structure, where reserve income is generated before revenue-sharing payments to major distribution partners. As previously reported, Open USD’s announcement raised questions over whether Circle’s own partners could support a rival while continuing to distribute USDC.

Coinbase relationship adds another pressure point Mizuho also pointed to Circle’s revenue-sharing relationship with Coinbase. The bank said the agreement is expected to come up for renegotiation in August, and Coinbase’s participation in Open USD could give it more leverage in future talks.

A separate warning came from JPMorgan. As reported by crypto.news, the bank cut earnings forecasts for Circle and Coinbase after a new USDC revenue-sharing arrangement with Hyperliquid. JPMorgan said the deal could reduce reserve income retained by both companies even if USDC usage grows.

Circle continues to expand USDC infrastructure The downgrade comes as Circle expands its regulatory and payments footprint.Circle data showed USDC circulation at about $73 billion as of July 13, down from $77 billion at the end of the first quarter.

Circle also recently received final approval to establish Circle National Trust. The federally regulated entity will initially focus on digital asset custody for Circle and its affiliates, with possible future services for selected institutional clients.

The company is also expanding USDC use in Asia. JCB and Circle announced a pilot covering cross-border treasury transfers and possible merchant payments in Japan. The project will start with JCB’s internal transfers before the companies assess wider retail payment uses.

Mizuho’s downgrade focuses on Circle’s ability to protect margins as stablecoin competition changes how reserve income is shared. Open USD has not proved it can match USDC’s distribution or liquidity, but its partner-led model creates a new pricing benchmark. Circle’s earnings path will depend partly on USDC supply, interest rates and future revenue-sharing agreements.

Fintech

15 July 2026 | 10:12 Interactive Brokers has added nine cryptocurrencies to its trading platform and enabled clients to move dollar value out of their brokerage accounts through stablecoins, extending a service that previously focused on inbound funding.

According to the company’s July 14 announcement, eligible clients can now convert U.S. dollars held at Interactive Brokers into USDC, PayPal USD (PYUSD) or Ripple USD (RLUSD) and send the tokens to an external wallet. Transfers are processed around the clock, including weekends and holidays.

Nine Tokens Join the Trading Platform AAVE, UNI and PAXG are also available through Paxos Trust Company. PAXG differs from the other additions because each token represents ownership of allocated physical gold held in professional vaults, giving brokerage clients tokenized commodity exposure alongside conventional cryptocurrencies.

The convenience comes with a custody trade-off. Interactive Brokers states that it neither executes nor custodies the digital assets: positions are held with Paxos or Zero Hash and fall outside SIPC protection. SEC staff has noted that non-security crypto assets may not be covered by a specific insolvency framework, leaving recovery dependent on the custodian’s account structure and applicable bankruptcy law. IBKR still receives part of each trading commission as a referral fee while its partners retain the custody exposure.

Stablecoins Become a Two-Way Brokerage Rail Interactive Brokers began allowing clients to fund accounts with stablecoins earlier in 2026. The latest update completes the opposite side of that process: cash can now leave an IBKR account as a supported digital dollar and arrive in a custodial or self-custody wallet.

The change makes stablecoins more than a deposit method. Clients can move capital between blockchain wallets and a brokerage account without waiting for traditional banking hours, then use the converted funds to access stocks, bonds, options, futures and other products available through IBKR.

“We believe digital assets should be integrated into a client’s broader financial experience, not treated separately,” Interactive Brokers CEO Milan Galik said.

Eligible clients can also transfer supported cryptocurrencies directly between external wallets and their IBKR-linked Paxos or Zero Hash accounts instead of selling the assets before moving platforms.

IBKR Is Opening Its Brokerage Ledger to Onchain Liquidity The nine listings expand the trading menu, but bidirectional transfers change the platform’s underlying function. Stablecoin deposits previously allowed clients to move onchain dollars into an IBKR account, where they were converted into cash. The new withdrawal route reverses that flow, allowing brokerage balances to leave as USDC, PYUSD or RLUSD without first passing through a bank wire.

This effectively turns Interactive Brokers into a bridge between traditional securities and external blockchain markets. A client could sell an asset inside the brokerage account, convert the resulting dollars into a stablecoin and transfer that value to a self-custody wallet outside banking hours. The funding rail operates continuously, although the stocks, bonds and other instruments available through IBKR remain subject to their respective market hours.

Interactive Brokers is not taking direct custody risk to provide that connection. Its official disclosures state that Paxos or Zero Hash execute the trades and hold each client’s digital assets in a separate account outside IBKR. The brokerage receives part of the trading commission as a referral fee, giving it a way to monetize crypto access without building its own exchange and custody infrastructure.

External-wallet support also should not be confused with unrestricted transfers. Zero Hash screens wallet addresses against sanctions and internal risk lists before processing movements, and incoming assets linked to high-risk addresses may be placed in quarantine rather than credited immediately. The service therefore combines self-custody access with the compliance controls of a regulated intermediary.

Trading Fees and Regional Restrictions Crypto commissions range from 0.12% to 0.18% of transaction value, depending on monthly volume. Each order carries a $1.75 minimum, capped at 1% of the trade value, with no added spreads or markups. Although IBKR advertises no custody fee, clients maintaining an open Paxos account may incur a $0.15 monthly charge passed through by the broker.

The rollout is not universal. Bidirectional stablecoin funding is unavailable to clients of Interactive Brokers U.K. and Interactive Brokers Ireland, while Irish accounts are also excluded from the newly listed tokens. Availability elsewhere depends on the client’s country of residence and the Interactive Brokers entity serving the account.

The information provided in this article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or trading advice.

Author

Kosta has reported on cryptocurrency markets and blockchain infrastructure since 2020, bringing over six years of hands-on experience in the crypto industry built through daily tracking of markets, trends, and emerging blockchain developments. Specializing in Bitcoin on-chain analysis, institutional ETF flows, and digital asset price action, his work at Coindoo has been cited by other news agencies and consistently covers market developments with a focus on data-driven reporting across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. Over the years, Kosta has contributed to multiple crypto media outlets in different regions, authoring over 6,000 articles across the sector. His reporting spans cryptocurrency markets and the broader fintech industry, tracking not only price action but also the technological and regulatory forces shaping the ecosystem. To support his analysis, Kosta actively leverages on-chain data and metrics from leading platforms such as Santiment, Glassnode, and CryptoQuant, enabling deeper, evidence-based market insights. He believes in the power of transparency and the data that underpins the blockchain ecosystem. His academic background in Marketing Management from Denmark further complements his analytical approach, adding a strong understanding of communication strategy and content positioning to his work.

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.

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TLDR: Mizuho downgraded Circle to Underperform, cutting its price target from $85 to $50. OpenUSD’s revenue-sharing model threatens Circle’s core USDC business economics. Mizuho slashed 2027 adjusted EBITDA forecast to $699 million from $1.09 billion. Circle’s August Coinbase renegotiation looms as a key risk to distribution costs. Mizuho, a major Japanese investment bank, has downgraded Circle from Neutral to Underperform. The bank also slashed its price target on the stablecoin issuer sharply.

Circle’s target price dropped from $85 to just $50 per share. Analysts cited emerging competitive threats that could weigh heavily on future earnings.

Mizuho Cites Growing Threat From Rival Stablecoin Model The downgrade stems largely from concerns over OpenUSD, a newly launched stablecoin. Analysts led by Dan Dolev outlined the threat in a Tuesday research note.

The team warned that OpenUSD “could fundamentally alter CRCL’s business model, which relies on retaining a large portion of the treasury yield to drive revenues.” That assessment forms the basis for Mizuho’s sharply lowered outlook.

OpenUSD was unveiled on June 30 by the Open Standard consortium. This group already counts more than 140 partners across major financial sectors.

Notable backers include Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase, and BlackRock among others. Their involvement gives OpenUSD substantial credibility and reach within the industry.

Circle’s existing USDC model captures most reserve income before sharing with partners. OpenUSD instead charges a small fee and passes most income along.

This structural difference could force Circle to share more revenue eventually. Distribution partners may push for larger cuts as OpenUSD gains traction.

The timing is notable given Circle’s upcoming negotiation with Coinbase in August. Coinbase remains Circle’s largest and most important distribution partner currently.

Coinbase has already shown support for the OpenUSD initiative publicly. Mizuho’s note suggests this backing could strengthen Coinbase’s position in talks.

Revised Estimates Reflect Deeper Margin Concerns Mizuho adjusted several key financial estimates to reflect these emerging pressures. The bank raised its 2027 distribution and transaction expense ratio forecast.

That figure now sits at 73%, up notably from a prior 64% estimate. Higher costs directly reduce the amount of profit Circle can retain.

Adjusted EBITDA projections fell as a result of these revised assumptions. Mizuho now forecasts $699 million, down from $1.09 billion previously.

This updated figure lands roughly 25% below current Wall Street consensus estimates. Consensus estimates currently sit near $941 million for the same period.

Mizuho noted that higher interest rates alone will not offset the damage. Even improved reserve yields cannot fully counter mounting distribution cost pressures.

Circle shares reacted to the news, slipping about 0.6% in trading. Shares were last seen near $62.63 at the time of publication.

Beyond OpenUSD, Circle faces additional headwinds from other market participants. JPMorgan flagged separate concerns tied to Circle’s partnership with Hyperliquid.

That bank described the arrangement as creating a prisoner’s dilemma dynamic. Together, these reports paint a more cautious picture for Circle’s near-term outlook.

The broader stablecoin sector has also cooled somewhat in recent months. USDC’s circulating supply dropped to roughly $73 billion from March highs.

Total stablecoin market value has shrunk close to $10 billion since May. Softer trading volumes and rising competition both contributed to that decline.

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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.

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Japan’s largest domestic payment network, JCB, has entered a memorandum of understanding with Circle to explore the use of USDC for cross-border payments and merchant transactions. The initiative will begin with a joint proof of concept focusing on internal cross-border fund transfers using USDC, as well as testing stablecoin payments at Japanese merchants catering to international visitors.

Stablecoin pilot and interoperabilityThe two companies plan to assess the technology required to support stablecoin transactions on JCB’s networks, including interoperability across multiple blockchain ecosystems. In addition to serving JCB’s internal cross-border needs, the proof of concept will also evaluate the practicalities of enabling stablecoin-based payments at brick-and-mortar merchants in Japan.

JCB and Circle emphasized a goal of developing new applications for stablecoin infrastructure in cross-border payments and merchant services, though specifics regarding commercial rollout remain unannounced.

JCB, established in 1961, is a leading Japanese payment brand widely accepted across Asia, with a large domestic merchant network and a presence in over 190 countries and territories.

Circle, which issues USDC, is a global financial technology firm specializing in digital currency solutions for payments and treasury operations. The company’s stablecoin, USDC, ranks as the world’s second-largest stablecoin, with a circulating supply of approximately $73 billion, according to DefiLlama data. Tether’s USDT leads the market with a circulating supply of about $184 billion.

StablecoinCirculating supplyIssuerUSDT$184 billionTetherUSDC$73 billionCircleExpanding stablecoin payments in JapanThe Circle partnership follows a separate JCB initiative with Digital Garage and Resona Holdings, launched in January, to trial stablecoin payments at physical stores in Japan. That effort is aimed at identifying both technical and operational challenges as stablecoin technology enters daily commerce.

Additionally, Japan’s stablecoin payment pilots have gathered momentum in 2024. In June, Circle and Nomura, the country’s largest investment bank, were reported to be working on a stablecoin-based foreign exchange settlement service. This service would enable Japanese companies to convert yen into USDC for cross-border transactions with near-instant settlement.

Japanese retail and payments firms are also moving forward. On Monday, Lawson announced plans to pilot yen-based stablecoin payments at a Tokyo store starting in August. Meanwhile, payments firm Netstars launched a merchant payment service supporting USDC, USDT, and JPYC, distributed across the Solana and Polygon blockchains.

Mini dictionary: Netstars – A Japanese payments company offering payment gateway and merchant payment solutions, enabling transaction support for both traditional and digital currencies.

Japan’s regulatory and digital asset landscapeJapan has played a pioneering role in stablecoin regulation. The country created a legal framework allowing banks, trust companies, and licensed money transfer providers to issue fiat-backed tokens. Amendments to the Payment Services Act, which took effect in 2023, underpin this framework.

The country continues to advance broader digital asset reforms. In June, Japan’s Lower House passed legislation that classifies crypto assets as financial instruments. This reclassification opens the potential for crypto exchange-traded funds and could bring Japan’s crypto sector in line with stricter market regulations facing traditional financial instruments.

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.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., the largest bank in the world by market capitalization, has sounded the alarm about Coinbase and Circle’s USDC-based revenue in their partnership with Hyperliquid.

USDC alliance expected to slash Coinbase and Circle earningsAccording to the bank’s July 2026 report, the partnership among the three crypto players creates a prisoner’s dilemma. Essentially, Coinbase and Circle are competing for the distribution of the stablecoin to increase their revenue.

“We think the change in the Hyperliquid relationship showcases the challenge for Circle and Coinbase partnership agreements because it can create ‘a prisoner’s dilemma’ that drives Coinbase and Circle to compete with each other when promoting USDC distribution,” analysts led by Kenneth Worthington said in the Tuesday report.

Hyperliquid is currently the largest decentralized exchange, boasting over $150 billion in processed transactions this July. In the same month, the Hyperliquid-Binance volume ratio officially surpassed the 11.89% milestone, following a 47% month-over-month surge in Hyperliquid’s trading volume. At present, Hyperliquid holds about $6 billion in USDC, or about 8% of the stablecoin’s circulating supply.

Two months ago, the trio entered into an agreement in which Coinbase became the official USDC liquidity manager on Hyperliquid. Meanwhile, Circle managed cross-chain infrastructure and minting to reduce third-party risk. 

In return, Coinbase would route 90% of the stablecoin yield back to Hyperliquid. The exchange then uses these funds to conduct regular HYPE token buybacks, thereby boosting the token’s value. This arrangement overturned a previous contract in which Coinbase split nearly all of the stablecoin’s revenue evenly with Circle.

More reasons for lower returnsWeaker crypto markets have also cut stablecoin yields, with USDC supply now down to $73 billion from around $80 billion in March. Even more, the crypto industry is continuously incorporating regulated stablecoins, chipping away at Circle’s USDC’s previous dominance. 

Japanese investment bank Mizuho notes that while Circle’s approval to open a bank is positive, investors may be overvaluing it.

Whether JPMorgan’s warnings hold any weight remains to be seen once Coinbase and Circle release their Q2 earnings reports on July 30 and August 11, respectively.

Story Ends Here

Trust with CoinPedia:CoinPedia has been delivering accurate and timely cryptocurrency and blockchain updates since 2017. All content is created by our expert panel of analysts and journalists, following strict Editorial Guidelines based on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). Every article is fact-checked against reputable sources to ensure accuracy, transparency, and reliability. Our review policy guarantees unbiased evaluations when recommending exchanges, platforms, or tools. We strive to provide timely updates about everything crypto & blockchain, right from startups to industry majors.

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What Did JPMorgan Actually Say?Analysts led by Kenneth Worthington said the Hyperliquid deal created a structural problem for the Circle-Coinbase partnership. 

Under the new arrangement, Coinbase classifies USDC held on Hyperliquid as “on-platform,” collects the reserve income, and pays 90% of it directly to Hyperliquid.

Previously, Coinbase split nearly all of that revenue evenly with Circle.

“We think the change in the Hyperliquid relationship showcases the challenge for Circle and Coinbase partnership agreements because it can create a prisoner’s dilemma that drives Coinbase and Circle to compete with each other when promoting USDC distribution,” Worthington wrote.

The problem is structural. Every time Coinbase chases a major distribution partner by offering better revenue terms, it cuts into Circle’s share. 

Every time Circle tries to protect its economics, it risks losing distribution. Both sides are now incentivized to undercut each other to secure the next Hyperliquid-scale deal.

Why Does Hyperliquid Make This A Bigger Deal Than It Looks?Hyperliquid has grown into one of crypto’s largest trading venues, processing more than $150 billion in trading volume in July alone. 

Its volume relative to Binance climbed to 11.5%, and USDC balances on the platform have swelled to roughly $6 billion, representing about 8% of the entire circulating USDC supply.

That scale makes Hyperliquid an increasingly important distribution channel, which is exactly why Coinbase was willing to offer 90% of reserve yields to secure it. 

The more platforms of this size emerge, the more pressure Circle and Coinbase face to keep offering similar terms elsewhere.

How Much Has USDC Already Lost?USDC’s circulating supply has fallen from nearly $80 billion in March to around $73 billion, part of a broader $10 billion contraction in the stablecoin market since May. 

Crypto trading activity cooled while new regulated rivals chipped away at both USDC and Tether’s USDT dominance.

JPMorgan cut earnings estimates for both Circle and Coinbase citing the Hyperliquid agreement alongside weaker crypto markets, though the bank noted higher interest rates provide some support for USDC-related revenue over the longer term.

Mizuho said last week that Circle’s approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish First National Digital Currency Bank is a positive milestone, but warned investors may be overestimating how much it moves the needle on USDC growth given the competitive pressures now in place.

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JPMorgan has lowered its earnings forecasts for Circle and Coinbase after a new USDC revenue-sharing agreement with Hyperliquid changed how income from the stablecoin’s reserves will be divided.

Summary

JPMorgan cut earnings forecasts for Circle and Coinbase after the Hyperliquid USDC deal. The bank warned new revenue-sharing terms could pressure stablecoin profit margins. Analysts remain divided as higher interest rates may still support USDC earnings growth. According to a JPMorgan research note, the revised agreement could reduce the long-term profitability of the USDC business for both companies, even as they continue pursuing higher adoption of the dollar-backed stablecoin.

JPMorgan Cuts Circle and Coinbase Forecasts Over Hyperliquid Deal

JPMorgan downgraded earnings estimates for Circle and Coinbase, stating their new agreement with Hyperliquid weakens USDC economics. Coinbase will now pay 90% of USDC reserve yields on the platform to Hyperliquid,… pic.twitter.com/tnRhp5uG7M

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) July 14, 2026 The bank argued that competition among distribution partners may force issuers to give away a larger share of reserve income to secure market share.

New revenue-sharing terms reduce reserve income Under the arrangement highlighted by JPMorgan, Coinbase will classify USDC held on Hyperliquid as “on-platform” balances. As a result, Coinbase will receive the reserve income generated by those deposits but will return 90% of that revenue to Hyperliquid instead of splitting the proceeds with Circle under the companies’ existing economic arrangement.

JPMorgan estimated that Hyperliquid currently holds about $6 billion worth of USDC, representing roughly 8% of the stablecoin’s circulating supply. Because of the platform’s growing role in the USDC ecosystem, the bank believes the revised economics could have a noticeable effect on future earnings for both Circle and Coinbase.

Describing the competitive dynamic, JPMorgan said both companies face pressure to increase USDC usage even if doing so requires surrendering a larger portion of reserve revenue to distribution partners. The bank characterized the situation as one in which efforts to expand adoption could come at the cost of lower profitability.

The revenue-sharing concerns follow an announcement made on May 14, when Circle and Coinbase revealed a partnership with Hyperliquid to deepen USDC integration across the crypto trading platform. Hyperliquid operates both a Layer-1 blockchain and a decentralized exchange offering spot and perpetual futures markets.

Since June 11, USDC has become Hyperliquid’s preferred stablecoin, strengthening the platform’s importance within Circle’s distribution network. JPMorgan said the commercial terms supporting that expansion, rather than the growth in usage itself, have become the main issue for investors evaluating future earnings.

Wall Street remains divided on Circle’s outlook Elsewhere on Wall Street, analysts have reached different conclusions about Circle’s long-term prospects. Mizuho has also taken a more cautious stance on the company, downgrading the stock as concerns grow over whether expanding USDC adoption will continue to generate attractive economics.

By contrast, Bernstein and William Blair have maintained positive ratings on Circle, indicating they still expect the stablecoin issuer to benefit from continued growth in digital dollar usage despite increasing competition for distribution partnerships.

Even after cutting its earnings estimates, JPMorgan said it continues to forecast growth in USDC-related earnings through 2027. The bank attributed that expectation to its interest-rate outlook, which now includes a 25-basis-point Federal Reserve rate increase at the October 2026 meeting.

Higher rates generally increase the income earned on the cash and Treasury reserves backing USDC, providing an offset to the revenue-sharing concessions outlined in the Hyperliquid agreement.

For investors, the latest debate has shifted attention away from USDC’s circulating supply alone and toward how reserve income is divided among issuers, exchanges, and distribution partners. JPMorgan’s analysis suggests that while adoption can continue rising, the financial value retained by Circle and Coinbase may come under increasing pressure as more platforms negotiate similar commercial terms.

Tether has announced a $7 million Series A investment in Pact Labs, a fintech infrastructure provider, as part of a strategic move to advance its USA₮ stablecoin in the US market. Blockchange Ventures and Lasagna also participated in the funding round. The investment aims to make USA₮, a dollar-backed stablecoin dedicated to the United States, more widely available for use in payroll, earned wage access, lending, and daily payment transactions.

Tether’s expansion into US payroll systemsTether seeks to move beyond its traditional role in crypto trading by integrating its stablecoin with mainstream financial services. The company intends to bridge the gap between digital currencies and everyday monetary operations in the US labor market.

The American payroll sector handles more than $11 trillion annually, yet most payment systems operate on outdated batch processing technology. This often requires employees to wait several days before receiving wages they have already earned. Through the partnership, Tether and Pact Labs aim to streamline payroll processing and enable real-time payments using the USA₮ stablecoin.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that the demand for dollar-denominated settlement is deeply connected to wage distribution challenges. Ardoino also noted that workers in emerging markets have relied on stablecoins to address payroll delays, and expressed optimism about replicating these solutions in the US.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino explained that years of transaction data reveal a growing demand for dollar-backed settlements linked to wages and payroll. He underscored the company’s ambition to bring the benefits of stablecoins to the US workforce.

Pact Labs: infrastructure for blockchain-enabled paymentsPact Labs provides technical infrastructure allowing fintech companies to utilize blockchain-based payment networks without requiring their customers to engage directly with cryptocurrencies. The company indicated it has handled over $2 billion in on-chain loan volume and has originated more than $1 billion in loans and related services to upwards of 500,000 users through seven different fintech partners.

The platform is compatible with blockchain networks such as Aptos and Celo, facilitating digital wallets, instantaneous payments, and blockchain-powered lending operations for financial products.

Mini dictionary: Pact Labs is a US-based fintech infrastructure startup that provides technology for institutions seeking to connect traditional finance with blockchain networks, supporting payment, lending, and other services while abstracting away direct crypto exposure from the end customer.

Tether made a $100 million investment earlier this year in Anchorage Digital Bank, which distributes USA₮ through its platform. The ongoing partnership with Pact Labs further supports Tether’s initiative to secure a stronger foothold in the United States market.

Competitive landscape in the stablecoin sectorCompetition in the US stablecoin market is intensifying. Circle is pushing USDC into institutional settings and PayPal is expanding its PYUSD digital dollar offering. Against this backdrop, Tether is focusing on payroll and everyday business payments to carve out a unique position for USA₮ in the regulated US stablecoin ecosystem.

CompanyProductMain US StrategyTetherUSA₮Payroll and business paymentsCircleUSDCInstitutional expansionPayPalPYUSDConsumer transactionsThe effectiveness of Tether’s approach will depend on the adoption rate of USA₮ by Pact Labs’ existing fintech partners and integration into real-world payments infrastructure. If successful, this move could offer Tether a significant competitive edge as regulations around stablecoins become increasingly important in the US.

This investment positions Tether to compete more directly with rivals like Circle and PayPal, highlighting the evolving role of stablecoins in core financial services beyond 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.

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.

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According to a Financial Times report, newly unsealed court documents show that stablecoin issuer Circle blocked Tether-backed crypto fund Heka Funds at the end of 2023, suspecting it of manipulating markets via large-scale arbitrage operations and helping Tether expand its market share. The documents note that during the 2023 Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) crisis, USDC briefly broke below its $1 peg. Heka continuously purchased large amounts of discounted USDC and redeemed it for U.S. dollars from Circle. Circle deemed Heka’s redemption volume far exceeded that of other market participants, and suspected the funds ultimately flowed to Tether to help grow USDT’s market size. Arbitration documents also disclose that Tether invested approximately $800 million in Heka, accounting for around 75% of the fund’s assets, and waived stablecoin minting fees. Arbitrators found that Heka failed to truthfully disclose Tether’s backing relationship and knew the information would raise concerns at Circle. In 2024, Heka filed an arbitration claim after its account was blocked, seeking around $49 million in lost profits. In February this year, arbitrators rejected all of Heka’s claims, ruling it had engaged in malicious conduct and ordered it to pay Circle approximately $166,000 in legal and expert fees. Heka denied market manipulation and stated it had never faced regulatory investigations over the matter. Circle declined to comment, while Tether did not respond to media requests for comment.

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Prominent crypto KOL Ansem stated on social media that meme coins continue to be a market favorite because they align more closely with ordinary users’ internet behavior habits. Compared to spending hours daily on social platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and X, most people only spend a few minutes each day using banking apps, making memes and internet culture inherently more engaging for users. Ansem noted that Dogecoin’s success stems precisely from attracting a group of users who would never buy stocks but are willing to purchase meme coins tied to familiar figures and internet culture. Once its asset size grows large enough, it further draws institutional capital into trading, creating a positive feedback loop. He believes many traditional investors underestimate younger generations’ affinity for memes, internet culture, and content, while the crypto industry offers a unique way to bet on these sociocultural trends via tokenization. The key to the industry’s future lies in converting the traffic and attention from retail investors into an ecosystem that generates long-term value, rather than relying solely on meme hype.

1 minutes ago

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Binance continues holding deep stablecoin liquidity, yet its reserve mix has shifted noticeably in recent months. USD Coin [USDC] reserves dropped 40.3% from $7.7 billion to $4.6 billion as of writing, reversing most gains recorded during early 2026.

Meanwhile, Tether [USDT] reserves remained steady at $38.5 billion, widening the gap between both assets to nearly $33.9 billion. Such a divergence suggests that users prefer USDT over USDC for exchange balances, rather than signaling broad liquidity contraction.

Source: CryptoQuant More importantly, Binance still controls roughly $53 billion, or 57% of the $93 billion held across exchange stablecoin reserves. Since early 2025, the dominant exchange stablecoin reserves have surged by 61%, adding $35 billion as Binance strengthened its market share.

Source: X That preference strengthens Binance’s overall stablecoin base while concentrating liquidity in one dominant asset. If this trend persists, USDT could further reinforce its role as Binance’s primary settlement and trading stablecoin, while USDC risks losing relative market influence.

Stablecoin supply shifts beyond whale wallets Still, that shift toward USDT has altered the way that stablecoin liquidity is distributed throughout the entire market. Over the last three months, the top 100 USDT wallets have reduced their portion of the total USDT supply by 0.6%.

Additionally, the largest USDC wallets reduce their portion of total USDC supply by 4.7%. Rather than concentrating liquidity among a handful of large holders, stablecoin reserves are spreading across exchanges, institutions, protocols, and retail participants.

Source: Santiment This suggests capital is becoming more broadly available instead of remaining idle in whale wallets. As institutional adoption continues expanding, wider distribution could improve market resilience by reducing reliance on a few dominant holders.

Such a strong liquidity foundation could support healthier, more sustainable crypto market advances.

Can stablecoin liquidity drive the next rally? The attention is now shifting from stablecoin liquidity to stablecoin participation. Rather than remaining just held by a few whale accounts, liquidity is increasingly spreading across a wider range of users.

This creates a better base of liquidity. However, just having broader ownership does not necessarily mean there will be a sustained bull run. Instead, active addresses, new wallet creation, and daily transactions must continue expanding to convert available capital into persistent demand.

Meanwhile, stablecoin supply remains near $312 billion, although risk asset accumulation has yet to fully accelerate. ETF flows and exchange balances also present mixed signals, suggesting much of that liquidity remains sidelined.

Therefore, the next advance in this market depends on investors’ willingness to utilize the available capital rather than how much capital is available.

Final Summary Tether [USDT] continues strengthening its dominance as stablecoin liquidity becomes more broadly distributed. USD Coin [USDC] and USDT now need stronger participation to drive the next market rally.

According to monitoring by Onchain Lens, the U.S. government has once again transferred seized cryptocurrency assets. A government wallet previously linked to Alameda Research/FTX has been emptied, with its assets dispersed to eight new addresses. The transferred holdings include: 4,110 AXS (worth approximately $4,100), 5.37 YFI (about $11,400), 1,230 COMP (around $21,100), 311,600 MANA (roughly $21,800), 0.533 WBTC (approximately $34,400), 4,050 NMR (about $39,900), 138,950 RLC (around $40,700), and 209.18 ETH (valued at roughly $391,000). On-chain data confirms the original wallet’s balance is now zero. The prior day, the U.S. government also moved approximately $12.34 million in assets seized from the Bitfinex hack, including 2.9671 million USDT sent to Coinbase Prime, 901,000 USDC transferred to a new wallet, and roughly 5,940 ETH (worth about $11.14 million) sent to Coinbase Prime. It remains unclear if these asset transfers are tied to a sale plan. The on-chain analytics firm will continue tracking future movements of crypto assets seized by the U.S. government.

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South Korean securities firms discuss raising minimum deposit requirements for chip stock leveraged ETFs.

The Korea Financial Investment Association (KFIA) announced that CEOs of 10 major South Korean asset management firms have discussed investor protection measures for individual stock leveraged ETFs, including raising minimum deposit requirements and staggering rebalancing trading times. Per the association’s statement, attendees agreed it is necessary to lift the minimum deposit threshold for investing in such leveraged products from the current 10 million won (US$6,714). They also emphasized the need to strengthen the market stabilizer function of liquidity providers. Citing data from the Korea Capital Market Institute, the KFIA noted that since the launch of related leveraged ETFs, daily stock trading volume required for rebalancing is estimated at between 700 billion won and 2.1 trillion won.

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Ansem: Meme coins are a core entry point for the crypto industry to continuously attract retail investors, and the next key step is to build long-term value.

Prominent crypto KOL Ansem stated on social media that meme coins continue to be a market favorite because they align more closely with ordinary users’ internet behavior habits. Compared to spending hours daily on social platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and X, most people only spend a few minutes each day using banking apps, making memes and internet culture inherently more engaging for users. Ansem noted that Dogecoin’s success stems precisely from attracting a group of users who would never buy stocks but are willing to purchase meme coins tied to familiar figures and internet culture. Once its asset size grows large enough, it further draws institutional capital into trading, creating a positive feedback loop. He believes many traditional investors underestimate younger generations’ affinity for memes, internet culture, and content, while the crypto industry offers a unique way to bet on these sociocultural trends via tokenization. The key to the industry’s future lies in converting the traffic and attention from retail investors into an ecosystem that generates long-term value, rather than relying solely on meme hype.

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