Chainlink’s [LINK] holder base accelerated sharply, reaching 892.8K non-empty wallets after adding more than 8,000 holders over the past five days. The growth unfolded while LINK remained below its local highs, highlighting continued user adoption despite lingering price weakness.
Fresh interest around real-world asset tokenization and institutional blockchain initiatives appeared to support the expanding wallet count. Rather than reflecting speculative activity alone, the steady rise in holders suggested broader participation across the network.
As a result, Chainlink strengthened its on-chain foundation even though price action remained under pressure.
Source: Santiment/X Why did exchange outflows remain dominant? Exchange activity continued favoring withdrawals despite LINK’s recent consolidation. At press time, CoinGlass data recorded a daily spot netflow of -$479.49K, showing that more tokens left exchanges than entered them.
Such outflows often reflected reduced immediate selling availability as investors shifted holdings into private wallets or long-term storage. However, price failed to respond with an immediate recovery because broader market sentiment remained cautious.
Selling pressure eased compared to previous periods of heavier exchange inflows, yet buyers had not generated enough conviction to reverse the prevailing trend. Even so, persistent negative netflows aligned with the expanding holder count, suggesting accumulation continued beneath the surface instead of aggressive distribution.
Source: CoinGlass Can buyers protect the demand zone? Chainlink continued trading inside a well-defined descending channel after failing to reclaim higher resistance levels.
Price repeatedly defended the $7.00 demand zone, preventing sellers from extending the broader decline despite several downside attempts. Buyers managed to stabilize the price above that support, although recovery lacked sufficient strength to challenge the channel’s upper boundary near $8.31.
Meanwhile, the RSI hovered around 34.6 as of writing, remaining below the neutral 50 level and reflecting weak buying participation rather than renewed bullish strength. Even so, the indicator stayed above deeply oversold territory, indicating selling pressure had moderated instead of accelerating.
Until LINK escapes the descending channel with stronger buying volume, the broader technical structure would likely remain cautious despite continued support around the current demand area.
Source: TradingView Long traders refused to abandon bullish conviction Derivatives positioning continued favoring buyers despite the prolonged corrective structure.
At press time, the OI-Weighted Funding Rate reached 0.0077%, remaining firmly in positive territory and showing that long traders still paid premiums to maintain leveraged exposure.
That positioning suggested participants continued expecting higher prices even while LINK traded inside its descending channel. However, optimistic funding alone had not delivered a decisive breakout because spot demand remained relatively restrained.
Even so, sustained positive funding reflected confidence that the current support region could eventually produce a stronger recovery. If leveraged sentiment stays constructive while on-chain accumulation continues expanding, derivatives positioning could reinforce buying interest once technical resistance levels start giving way.
Source: CoinGlass To sum up, Chainlink combined accelerating network growth, continued exchange outflows, and positive funding despite remaining inside a falling channel. Buyers successfully defended the $7.00 demand zone, but they had not reclaimed higher resistance yet.
If wallet growth continues and accumulation strengthens further, LINK could eventually challenge the prevailing downtrend once stronger spot demand returns.
Final Summary Chainlink adoption keeps expanding while exchange outflows suggest investors continue accumulating LINK. LINK holds key support despite weak RSI as bullish funding reflects trader confidence.
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.
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Tomorrow marks the end of USDT’s run on regulated European crypto platforms. July 1, 2026, is the hard deadline for the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, and Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin with a market capitalization between $175 billion and $186 billion, never bothered to apply for authorization.
MiCA requires stablecoin issuers to obtain e-money token authorization to operate within the European Economic Area. Without it, exchanges can’t legally offer the token to EEA clients.
Tether has not applied for MiCA authorization as of June 2026, a decision that aligns with its broader posture of focusing on markets outside Europe rather than complying with the bloc’s stringent bank reserve mandates.
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Coinbase Europe delisted USDT back in December 2024. Crypto.com followed in January 2025. Binance’s EEA entity restricted USDT trading pairs in March 2025. Major platforms have already started converting or limiting USDT balances for their European users in anticipation of the final deadline.
Tether also discontinued its euro-denominated stablecoin, EURT, back in 2024, walking away from the European market entirely.
Circle’s USDC and EURC tokens have secured MiCA compliance and remain available across EU-licensed platforms, making Circle’s products the default stablecoin option on regulated exchanges for European traders.
A retail investor using Binance’s European entity will need to switch to USDC or another authorized alternative. A DeFi user interacting directly with smart contracts through a self-custody wallet can keep using USDT, as the regulation targets service providers, not the token itself. No legal actions against Tether itself have been reported in connection with MiCA compliance.
USDT has long been the dominant trading pair denomination across crypto markets globally. When European platforms remove it, trading volumes on those platforms will shift to USDC-denominated pairs or other compliant alternatives.
Tether’s calculus appears to be that the cost of MiCA compliance, particularly the reserve requirements mandating funds be held in European banks, outweighs the revenue from European platform activity. Institutional players and regulated funds operating within the EEA don’t have the option of routing around compliance requirements by switching to non-custodial wallets, making USDC the only compliant option for that segment of the market.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Updated Jun 30, 2026, 3:03 p.m. Published Jun 30, 2026, 2:32 p.m.
3 min read
Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO, Circle Speaks at Hong Kong Fintech Week in 2024 (HK Fintech Week)Summary
Circle shares fell more than 12% Tuesday to a 4-month low after a consortium of more than 140 companies unveiled Open USD.Stripe, Coinbase, Mastercard, Visa and BlackRock are among the project's launch partners.The new stablecoin will let partners retain reserve earnings, striking at one of the key economics of today's stablecoin issuers.Circle (CRCL) shares tumbled more than 12% in Tuesday morning trading after a consortium backed by some of the biggest names in payments, banking and crypto unveiled Open USD, a new stablecoin designed to challenge incumbents such as USDC.
The new digital dollar is launched by Open Standard, an independent company whose founding partners include Stripe, Coinbase, Mastercard, Visa and BlackRock alongside more than 140 businesses spanning payments, banking, fintech and crypto.
The initiative is led by Zach Abrams, co-founder of stablecoin infrastructure firm Bridge, which Stripe acquired in 2024.
"Existing stablecoins have great strengths, but to use them at scale, businesses need something that’s open, low-cost, high-throughput, broadly accessible, and aligned to their interests," he said.
The announcement follows a CoinDesk report earlier this month that Stripe, Visa and Mastercard were among the companies backing a new stablecoin platform, with Coinbase also weighing participation.
Recently, CRCL shares traded $66, at its weakest price since late February.
Stablecoin consortiumThe launch comes as stablecoins move further into mainstream finance. Once used primarily by crypto traders, dollar-pegged tokens are increasingly powering cross-border payments, merchant settlements and corporate treasury operations. The market has grown to more than $300 billion and Citi projected it to grow to $4 trillion by 2030, attracting banks, payment companies and fintech firms eager to issue their own digital dollars.
With more institutions embracing stablecoins, the competition is increasingly shifting from issuing tokens to determining who controls the underlying infrastructure and network.
Unlike most existing stablecoins, Open USD will allow businesses to mint and redeem tokens without fees while returning reserve income to participating partners, less a management fee. Governance will also be shared among members rather than controlled by a single issuer.
The model targets one of the core economics of today's stablecoin market. Issuers such as Circle earn revenue by investing reserves backing their tokens in short-term U.S. Treasuries and retaining most of the interest generated by those assets. Open USD instead plans to distribute that yield to participating businesses.
The approach resembles the Global Dollar Network (USDG), a stablecoin consortium led by Paxos that shares reserve income with participating firms. That network is backed by companies including Robinhood, Kraken and Galaxy Digital, and was designed to encourage broader adoption by aligning incentives between the issuer and distribution partners.
In Europe, a group of banks and payment providers launched Qivalis, a venture to develop a euro-denominated stablecoin as financial institutions seek to build shared digital payment infrastructure.
The breadth of Open USD's backing reflects that shift. Beyond Stripe, Coinbase, Mastercard and Visa, launch partners include BNY, Standard Chartered, DBS, U.S. Bank, Shopify, Google, IBM, Mercado Pago, Fireblocks, Anchorage Digital, MetaMask, Aave, Solana, Polygon and Ripple.
Growing competition for CircleFor Circle, the announcement underscores how competition in stablecoins is evolving.
USDC, with a market capitalization of roughly $73 billion, has positioned itself as the regulated stablecoin for institutions, building partnerships with banks, payment firms and asset managers while securing regulatory approvals in jurisdictions including the U.S. and European Union.
By contrast, market leader Tether's USDT, with about $145 billion in circulation, has built its dominance largely through crypto trading and emerging-market payments.
Open USD takes aim at a different part of Circle's strategy. Rather than competing solely on distribution, it offers banks, payment companies and fintechs a share of the interest income generated on U.S Treasuries in reserve, a revenue stream that has become central to the business.
Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, downplayed Open USD's threat and pointed to the fast-growing stablecoin market.
"Stablecoins represent one of the largest market opportunities in the world as the internet transforms the infrastructure for storing and moving money," he said in an X post.
"We welcome continued innovation and competition in the space and look forward to remaining laser-focused on building the best stablecoin infrastructure possible and driving more customer and partner success," he added.
UPDATE (June 30, 15:00 UTC): Adds Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire's remark and updates CRCL share price performance.
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Building the Zcash Machine: Tachyon and Quantum Readiness
Building the Zcash Machine: Tachyon and Quantum Readiness
Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold.
8 hours ago
Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold.
Why it matters:
Zcash’s Tachyon upgrade aims to scale shielded payments, improve quantum readiness, and test whether its funding, security, and governance can hold.
Shares of Circle Internet Group (CRCL) fell on Tuesday after Open Standard unveiled Open USD (OUSD), a dollar stablecoin backed by more than 140 companies, including Visa, Mastercard, and Coinbase, that targets the market its USD Coin (USDC) token leads.
The launch puts payment networks, banks, and crypto firms behind a single token. It lands as Circle’s USDC and Tether’s USDT control most of the stablecoin market.
Circle (CRCL) Stock Performance. Source: TradingViewWhy Circle’s USDC Faces PressureOpen USD goes after the enterprise users that drive USDC adoption. Businesses can mint and redeem it for free, and partners keep the earnings on its reserves after a small fee.
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That model strikes at how Circle makes money. Reserve interest produced 99% of its revenue in 2024, its filing shows.
Circle paid Coinbase $908 million that year to distribute USDC. Now Coinbase has joined a rival that lets partners keep those reserve earnings.
Circle stock fell nearly 15% on the news, touching its lowest level of the session. It extended a weak run after Circle’s stock rally from $50 to $129 in six weeks earlier this year.
The bigger risk is distribution. Circle gained ground as USDC overtook Tether in corporate transfers. Yet Open USD’s backers include the networks that move most of that money.
Circle still holds advantages. Its USDC carries regulatory standing in the US and Europe and deep exchange liquidity.
A Consortium Stands Behind Open USDOpen Standard will run the token through an independent board of its partners. Zach Abrams leads the company on an interim basis. He co-founded Bridge, the stablecoin firm Stripe bought for $1.1 billion in 2025.
The backers span finance and technology, from BlackRock and BNY to Google and Shopify. Many already run their own stablecoins or build stablecoin infrastructure firms, echoing Mastercard’s recent stablecoin payment integrations.
Stripe tied its payments business directly to the token.
“Open USD will be the default stablecoin for businesses running on Stripe…” read an excerpt in the announcement, citing Will Gaybrick, president of technology and business at Stripe.
Circle, Tether, and PayPal all sat out the venture. Tether’s USDT leads at about $185 billion and Circle’s USDC follows near $74 billion.
Total Stablecoin Market Cap. Source: DefiLlamaAll these notwithstanding, the history is not encouraging for consortiums. Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe each backed Facebook’s Libra stablecoin in 2019, then abandoned it within months under regulatory pressure.
Open USD goes live later this year on Plasma and other chains built for stablecoin payments.
The timing matters for Circle, whose USDC revenue-sharing deal with Coinbase comes up for renewal in August.
Survey: 88% of enterprises plan to adopt stablecoins within the next year, with cross-border payment costs reduced by an average of 35%.
Payment infrastructure company Cybrid has released a new survey report indicating stablecoins are rapidly gaining traction in enterprise payment scenarios. The survey found that 42% of participating enterprises already use stablecoins for cross-border payments, while 88% said they are likely or very likely to adopt stablecoins within the next 12 months—only 2% of firms stated they will continue to rely entirely on traditional payment systems. According to the report, enterprises using stablecoins save an average of 35% on cross-border payment costs, with firms processing over $100 million in monthly payments achieving an average cost reduction of 47%. Payroll and contractor payments represent the most prominent use case, followed by supplier payments, customer payments, investment and revenue management, and treasury management, among others. Additionally, 71% of respondents identified a clear regulatory framework as the primary factor driving further mainstream adoption of stablecoins, outranking considerations such as infrastructure provider credibility and system integration. The survey was conducted from April to May this year, covering 468 senior executives from tech, financial services, and e-commerce sectors in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
2 hours ago
FalconX secures EU MiCA license, allowing it to offer compliant crypto services to institutional clients in Europe.
Institutional digital asset broker FalconX announced it has obtained the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license issued by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), enabling it to provide compliant digital asset trading, custody, liquidity and related institutional services across the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA). FalconX stated that this license allows it to operate across EU member states under a unified regulatory framework, eliminating the need for individual country-specific licenses. Currently, the firm serves over 2,000 institutional clients worldwide, including asset management firms, hedge funds, banks and family offices, with cumulative transaction volumes exceeding $2.5 trillion and over $8 billion in institutional financing disbursed. FalconX noted that as the MiCA regulatory framework is fully implemented, institutional clients’ demand for compliant trading, custody and liquidity services continues to grow, and regulatory credentials are becoming a key competitive advantage in Europe’s digital asset market.
2 hours ago
Guo Wengui sentenced to 30 years in prison in connection with a fraud case involving over $1 billion.
A US court has sentenced Miles Guo (also known as Ho Wan Kwok) to 30 years in prison. In 2024, a jury convicted Guo on multiple charges including racketeering, fraud, and money laundering, with his formal sentencing now issued. Prosecutors stated that Guo defrauded over $1 billion from global victims through a series of related scam schemes spanning five years. Notably, in 2021, he promoted the cryptocurrency project Himalaya Coin (H-Coin), claiming the tokens were backed by 20% gold reserves and promising to cover all investors’ losses, raising approximately $500 million in total. Additionally, the court previously ordered the forfeiture of nearly $900 million in Guo’s illegal proceeds, as well as his luxury mansion in New Jersey and multiple high-end vehicles. Guo had close ties to Steve Bannon, a former senior advisor to US President Donald Trump; Bannon was arrested in 2020 aboard Guo’s yacht.
2 hours ago
The first-half 2026 funding rankings have been released, with Kalshi and Polymarket raising a combined $1.8 billion.
According to statistics, the 14 largest global funding rounds in the first half of 2026 raised a total of $4.3 billion, with prediction markets, AI, and payment sectors drawing the most investor interest. Specifically, prediction market platform Kalshi topped the list with a $1.2 billion funding round, while Polymarket secured $600 million—together, the two raised $1.8 billion, accounting for over 40% of the total capital of the top 14 rounds. In the AI space, Replit, Exa AI, and OpenRouter closed funding rounds of $400 million, $250 million, and $113 million respectively. For blockchain projects, Canton Network, Arc, and Morpho raised $355 million, $222 million, and $175 million respectively. Meanwhile, payment, RWA, infrastructure, and compliance projects including Rain, Slash, Goldcom, Alpaca, and Elliptic also featured on the list.
2 hours ago
Open Standard launches stablecoin Open USD, with over 140 institutions including Visa, BlackRock, and Coinbase participating.
Open Standard has announced the launch of Open USD (OUSD), a new stablecoin for global fund flows, noting that over 140 enterprises have joined its ecosystem, including financial, payment, and crypto industry players such as Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, American Express, BlackRock, BNY, DBS, Coinbase, OKX, MetaMask, Aave, Ripple, Fireblocks, Solana, and Polygon. According to the introduction, Open USD follows three core design principles: supporting zero-cost, large-scale minting and redemption for enterprises; returning all reserve asset yields to partners after deducting a small management fee; and being governed by a board of directors composed of independent firm Open Standard and its partners, rather than controlled by a single issuer. Open Standard states that Open USD will officially launch later this year, with the goal of building an open, low-cost, high-throughput stablecoin infrastructure with a sharing economy mechanism to meet the needs of the internet economy and global enterprise-level payments.
2 hours ago
Pump.fun is discontinuing support for its tokenized agent issuance feature, stating it will focus on optimizing retail user trading experience.
Pump.fun announced it will immediately cease support for its Tokenized Agent token issuance feature. The feature will no longer be available for new token launches, though projects that have already activated it will remain unaffected. The platform noted that over recent months, consistent community feedback has pointed out that excessive issuance options have sparked unnecessary user vs. user (PVP) competition. Moving forward, Pump.fun will prioritize issuance models and product features that explicitly enhance retail trading experiences.
In brief More than 140 companies have teamed up and revealed Open USD, a new stablecoin run by an independent operator called Open Standard. It promises free, uncapped minting/redemption, reserve earnings shared with partner businesses (minus a small fee), and governance by a board of partner companies. Circle's stock price has plunged nearly 16% on the day following the announcement. Coinbase, Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, BlackRock, and more than 140 other companies have banded together to launch a new stablecoin called Open USD (OUSD), in a bid to create shared digital payments infrastructure that no single firm controls.
The news appears to have rocked the stock price of USDC stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL), with shares falling nearly 16% on the day to a recent price of $63.99, per Yahoo Finance. That’s pushed the firm’s plunge to 39% in the last month. Coinbase is a key ally of Circle, but has also thrown its weight behind Open USD.
The coin, unveiled Tuesday by a newly formed independent operator called Open Standard, is designed to address complaints that have dogged the stablecoin industry as it has grown: high fees for minting and redeeming tokens at scale, issuers that pocket the interest earned on reserves, and a lack of input from the businesses actually using the coins.
Open Standard—which is led by founding CEO Zach Abrams, who previously founded Stripe-acquired stablecoin company, Bridge—said that businesses will be able to mint and redeem Open USD for free with no volume caps. Partners, rather than the issuer alone, will collect the earnings on reserves, minus a management fee.
Governance will sit with a board drawn from Open USD's partner companies rather than a single corporate parent, an arrangement organizers describe as essential to winning broad adoption.
"Existing stablecoins have great strengths, but to use them at scale, businesses need something that's open, low-cost, high-throughput, broadly accessible, and aligned to their interests," said Abrams, in a statement.
The backer list spans payments giants such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, banks including BlackRock, BNY, and Standard Chartered, tech firms such as Google and Shopify, and crypto players like Coinbase and Ripple.
Executives framed the effort as an attempt to build neutral infrastructure akin to the early internet. BlackRock's Samara Cohen called it "a constructive step toward giving businesses more choice," while BNY projected the broader stablecoin market could swell to $1.5 trillion by 2030.
Open USD is expected to go live later this year.
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The decline reflects investor concerns that the new entrant could challenge the adoption and enterprise market share of Circle’s USD Coin (CRYPTO: USDC).
Open USD Launch Raises Competitive Pressure Open Standard said Tuesday that Open USD is designed for global money movement. Businesses can mint and redeem the stablecoin without fees or volume limits.
The organization said partners will receive reserve earnings after management fees. An independent board representing participating partners will oversee governance of the stablecoin.
Major Companies Back New StablecoinMore than 140 companies have committed to supporting Open USD, including Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc., Stripe, Shopify Inc. and Coinbase Global Inc.
“What sets Open USD apart is that it’s genuinely open,” said Andy Fang, co-founder of DoorDash Inc.
Visa Chief Product and Strategy Officer Jack Forestell added that Visa is applying its operational rigor to help build the trust layer for the stablecoin.
Circle Internet Group Already Facing Supply HeadwindsThe competitive launch comes as Circle was already facing pressure. Data released June 27 showed CRCL stock trading near its lowest level since February.
According to CoinMarketCap, USDC’s market capitalization has fallen to $73.7 billion from a year-to-date high of $80 billion.
Circle’s business model relies on investing reserves into short-term government bonds, leaving it vulnerable to declining asset supplies and falling U.S. bond yields.
Technical Picture Remains WeakCircle continues to trade well below key moving averages. The stock sits 19.6% below its 20-day simple moving average, 34.1% below its 50-day average and 34.3% below its 200-day average.
The moving-average setup also remains bearish. The 20-day average is below the 50-day average, while the 50-day average moved below the 200-day average in June, forming a “death cross.” Technical analysts often view that pattern as a sign that selling pressure could persist.
Momentum indicators also remain negative. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator is below its signal line, suggesting bullish momentum continues to weaken.
The next key resistance level is around $77, where previous rebounds have struggled.
Circle Internet Group Price ActionCRCL Stock Price Activity: Circle Internet Group shares were down 16.30% at $63.57 at the time of publication on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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Key Takeaways Circle (CRCL) shares plummeted over 13% to approximately $65, reaching their lowest point in four months following the rival stablecoin announcement. More than 140 major corporations, including Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, BlackRock, and Coinbase, have unveiled Open USD, a new stablecoin project. Open Standard, the organization managing Open USD, is headed by Zach Abrams, who previously co-founded Bridge before its acquisition by Stripe in 2024. Open USD distinguishes itself from Circle’s USDC by offering zero-fee minting and redemption, plus shared reserve income distribution among consortium members. Circle’s CEO Jeremy Allaire dismissed concerns about the competition, asserting that USDC maintains its position as the most reliable stablecoin in the market. Shares of Circle Internet Group experienced a significant decline on Tuesday. The stock plummeted as much as 14% during trading before closing down approximately 13%, hovering around $65—marking its weakest performance since the end of February.
Circle Internet Group, CRCL
The sharp decline came after news emerged that a consortium exceeding 140 corporations intends to introduce a rival stablecoin. This new digital asset, dubbed Open USD, represents a direct challenge to Circle’s flagship USDC token.
Coinbase shares also experienced downward pressure from the announcement, declining roughly 6% to $142.37. This decline carries particular significance given that Coinbase partnered with Circle to create USDC and has historically shared in its revenue stream.
The Consortium Behind Open USD The alliance backing this initiative includes an impressive roster of industry leaders. Among the founding partners are payment giants Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe, alongside financial powerhouses BlackRock and Coinbase, plus banking institutions including BNY, Standard Chartered, and U.S. Bank.
Major technology corporations have also joined the effort. Google and IBM are both participants, along with prominent blockchain projects such as Ripple, Solana, Polygon, and Aave.
An independent entity named Open Standard oversees the project. Zach Abrams serves as its leader, bringing experience from co-founding Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure company that Stripe purchased in 2024.
Abrams positioned the initiative as addressing market needs, stating that while current stablecoins have merits, the business community requires a solution that’s open, affordable, and structured to serve their interests at enterprise scale.
Industry observers weren’t completely caught off guard. CoinDesk had previously reported earlier this month that Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard were developing a competing stablecoin platform, with indications that Coinbase might participate.
Open USD’s Competitive Advantages Over USDC The economic model represents the most significant challenge to Circle’s revenue stream. Open USD will allow businesses to create and redeem tokens without any associated fees.
The distribution of reserve income follows a similar collaborative approach. Rather than concentrating interest earnings from reserves within a single entity, Open USD intends to distribute yields among all participating partners following operational expense deductions.
This directly threatens Circle’s primary revenue source. Circle generates income by investing USDC reserves in short-duration Treasury securities and retaining the majority of interest generated—a model that Open USD explicitly aims to disrupt.
Governance authority will be distributed among consortium members instead of residing with a sole issuer. This approach resembles USDG, another consortium-based stablecoin supported by Paxos, Robinhood, Kraken, and Galaxy Digital.
USDC presently maintains approximately $73.6 billion in circulation, positioning it as the dominant U.S.-originated stablecoin. Tether’s USDT holds a larger global presence with roughly $145 billion in circulation, though it focuses primarily on cryptocurrency trading and developing economies.
The implications for Coinbase are substantial. Revenue connected to USDC accounted for 44% of Coinbase’s subscription and services division during the first quarter.
Circle’s CEO Jeremy Allaire took to X on Tuesday to defend his company’s position, characterizing USDC as “the most trusted, widely adopted, institutional-ready stablecoin in the world.” He emphasized that Circle collaborates with thousands of institutional partners.
A Coinbase representative maintained an optimistic perspective, suggesting that additional stablecoin issuers and applications ultimately expand the total addressable market, while affirming that USDC continues to be central to their platform strategy.
According to Open Standard’s official statement, Open USD is scheduled to debut later this year.
Google DeepMind just dropped a new family of image generation models with a name that sounds like it was coined during a late-night brainstorming session fueled by actual bananas. The Nano Banana 2 Lite, officially branded as Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Image, has landed at the fifth spot on text-to-image leaderboards with an Elo score of 1,255 in evaluations from Artificial Analysis.
It also placed ninth in Multi-Image Edit rankings. For a model designed to be the budget-friendly option in the lineup, that’s a surprisingly strong showing.
What the Nano Banana 2 series actually does The Nano Banana 2 family launched around February 26, 2026, and it comes in multiple variants. The Lite version is positioned as the fastest and most affordable option, aimed squarely at developers and businesses running high-volume image generation tasks.
The feature set across the series is genuinely comprehensive. Conversational multi-turn editing lets users refine images through back-and-forth dialogue rather than starting from scratch each time. Variable aspect ratios mean you’re not locked into square outputs. And upscaling goes all the way to 4K resolution, which puts it in the range of production-quality visual content.
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Text rendering, historically one of the weakest points for AI image generators, is listed among the supported capabilities. Anyone who has watched an AI model butcher the word “restaurant” on a storefront sign knows why this matters.
Every generated image gets an invisible SynthID watermark baked in. This is Google’s approach to the growing concern around AI-generated content being passed off as authentic photography or artwork.
On the pricing front, the main variant uses a token-based system. Generating a standard 1K output image requires approximately 1,120 tokens.
The competitive landscape in AI image generation The Pro version of Nano Banana 2 has also been appearing in the top five to seven positions on these same benchmarks, suggesting Google has managed to build a lineup where even the economy option punches above its weight.
The series also integrates real-world knowledge through web search functionalities, allowing the model to pull in contextual information from the web to improve how accurately it represents real-world subjects, landmarks, or concepts.
Subject consistency and instruction adherence were explicitly targeted for improvement in this generation.
And before anyone gets confused: no, this has nothing to do with the meme token called Nano-Banana (NANOBANANA) on the Solana blockchain. The naming overlap is purely coincidental.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin is under renewed scrutiny after blockchain investigator ZachXBT made new allegations. According to ZachXBT, some deposit addresses allegedly linked to KuCoin were used in a $250 thousand crypto theft tied to the malicious software, Atomic Stealer, on August 18, 2025.
Deposit addresses at the heart of the controversyIn research shared via Telegram, ZachXBT pinpointed one wallet involved in the theft and identified five deposit addresses he claims are tied to KuCoin. He suggested that purchased intermediary KYC (Know Your Customer) verification might have been used on these accounts, where personal identification was acquired from third parties. However, these claims have not been independently verified in court or acknowledged in any official KuCoin statement.
Mini glossary: KYC is the customer identification process required by financial platforms. AML refers to regulatory controls to prevent money laundering.
The documents shared by ZachXBT also include a message reportedly from KuCoin Customer Service and Support Team. The message stresses that users have the right to legal and regulatory recourse but warns that false or unlawful claims could themselves be subject to legal action.
The message attributed to KuCoin emphasizes respect for users’ right to legal recourse, yet cautions that unfounded or unlawful statements can trigger legal consequences.
The debate broadened after crypto community member DNBWIZARD posted screenshots about the case on the X platform. DNBWIZARD accused KuCoin of threatening legal action. KuCoin has not issued a public response, nor has it confirmed the authenticity of the circulated message.
KuCoin has long operated as a major global centralized crypto exchange. The company was already in headlines earlier in 2025 due to its involvement in a legal case in the United States.
Spotlight returns to US legal battlesThe US Department of Justice revealed in January 2025 that KuCoin admitted to unlicensed money transmission and agreed to pay penalties exceeding $297 million. Prosecutors allege KuCoin’s lack of robust AML and KYC controls enabled suspicious transactions to pass through its platform.
This emerged following criminal charges brought against KuCoin and two of its founders in March 2024. Authorities argued the exchange had processed billions of dollars in suspicious and illicit funds between 2017 and 2024.
IssueDateDetailsNew theft allegationAugust 18, 2025$250 thousand lost, 5 addresses allegedly linked to KuCoinUS settlementJanuary 2025Penalty exceeding $297 millionFirst wave of chargesMarch 2024Alleged suspicious fund flows from 2017 to 2024Echoes of earlier investigationsThe new claims draw parallels with previous cases, where stolen crypto assets have been traced through KuCoin deposit addresses. Earlier this year, ZachXBT revealed that a fake Ledger Live app was used to steal at least $9.5 million from over 50 victims, with more than 150 KuCoin deposit addresses cited in the laundering of those assets.
ZachXBT previously stated that in the fake Ledger Live app theft of at least $9.5 million, the funds were traced through over 150 KuCoin-linked deposit addresses.
In a separate probe, assets allegedly stolen by an entity identified as AudiA6 also ended up in KuCoin-associated addresses. According to ZachXBT, recovering such funds typically requires coordination between law enforcement and crypto exchanges.
At the close of 2025, KuCoin expanded its regulatory footprint in Europe by securing a MiCA license via its Austrian subsidiary. However, Austrian regulators later barred the subsidiary from onboarding new clients due to compliance staffing concerns.
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.
Survey: 88% of enterprises plan to adopt stablecoins within the next year, with cross-border payment costs reduced by an average of 35%.
Payment infrastructure company Cybrid has released a new survey report indicating stablecoins are rapidly gaining traction in enterprise payment scenarios. The survey found that 42% of participating enterprises already use stablecoins for cross-border payments, while 88% said they are likely or very likely to adopt stablecoins within the next 12 months—only 2% of firms stated they will continue to rely entirely on traditional payment systems. According to the report, enterprises using stablecoins save an average of 35% on cross-border payment costs, with firms processing over $100 million in monthly payments achieving an average cost reduction of 47%. Payroll and contractor payments represent the most prominent use case, followed by supplier payments, customer payments, investment and revenue management, and treasury management, among others. Additionally, 71% of respondents identified a clear regulatory framework as the primary factor driving further mainstream adoption of stablecoins, outranking considerations such as infrastructure provider credibility and system integration. The survey was conducted from April to May this year, covering 468 senior executives from tech, financial services, and e-commerce sectors in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
2 hours ago
FalconX secures EU MiCA license, allowing it to offer compliant crypto services to institutional clients in Europe.
Institutional digital asset broker FalconX announced it has obtained the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license issued by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), enabling it to provide compliant digital asset trading, custody, liquidity and related institutional services across the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA). FalconX stated that this license allows it to operate across EU member states under a unified regulatory framework, eliminating the need for individual country-specific licenses. Currently, the firm serves over 2,000 institutional clients worldwide, including asset management firms, hedge funds, banks and family offices, with cumulative transaction volumes exceeding $2.5 trillion and over $8 billion in institutional financing disbursed. FalconX noted that as the MiCA regulatory framework is fully implemented, institutional clients’ demand for compliant trading, custody and liquidity services continues to grow, and regulatory credentials are becoming a key competitive advantage in Europe’s digital asset market.
2 hours ago
Guo Wengui sentenced to 30 years in prison in connection with a fraud case involving over $1 billion.
A US court has sentenced Miles Guo (also known as Ho Wan Kwok) to 30 years in prison. In 2024, a jury convicted Guo on multiple charges including racketeering, fraud, and money laundering, with his formal sentencing now issued. Prosecutors stated that Guo defrauded over $1 billion from global victims through a series of related scam schemes spanning five years. Notably, in 2021, he promoted the cryptocurrency project Himalaya Coin (H-Coin), claiming the tokens were backed by 20% gold reserves and promising to cover all investors’ losses, raising approximately $500 million in total. Additionally, the court previously ordered the forfeiture of nearly $900 million in Guo’s illegal proceeds, as well as his luxury mansion in New Jersey and multiple high-end vehicles. Guo had close ties to Steve Bannon, a former senior advisor to US President Donald Trump; Bannon was arrested in 2020 aboard Guo’s yacht.
2 hours ago
The first-half 2026 funding rankings have been released, with Kalshi and Polymarket raising a combined $1.8 billion.
According to statistics, the 14 largest global funding rounds in the first half of 2026 raised a total of $4.3 billion, with prediction markets, AI, and payment sectors drawing the most investor interest. Specifically, prediction market platform Kalshi topped the list with a $1.2 billion funding round, while Polymarket secured $600 million—together, the two raised $1.8 billion, accounting for over 40% of the total capital of the top 14 rounds. In the AI space, Replit, Exa AI, and OpenRouter closed funding rounds of $400 million, $250 million, and $113 million respectively. For blockchain projects, Canton Network, Arc, and Morpho raised $355 million, $222 million, and $175 million respectively. Meanwhile, payment, RWA, infrastructure, and compliance projects including Rain, Slash, Goldcom, Alpaca, and Elliptic also featured on the list.
2 hours ago
Open Standard launches stablecoin Open USD, with over 140 institutions including Visa, BlackRock, and Coinbase participating.
Open Standard has announced the launch of Open USD (OUSD), a new stablecoin for global fund flows, noting that over 140 enterprises have joined its ecosystem, including financial, payment, and crypto industry players such as Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, American Express, BlackRock, BNY, DBS, Coinbase, OKX, MetaMask, Aave, Ripple, Fireblocks, Solana, and Polygon. According to the introduction, Open USD follows three core design principles: supporting zero-cost, large-scale minting and redemption for enterprises; returning all reserve asset yields to partners after deducting a small management fee; and being governed by a board of directors composed of independent firm Open Standard and its partners, rather than controlled by a single issuer. Open Standard states that Open USD will officially launch later this year, with the goal of building an open, low-cost, high-throughput stablecoin infrastructure with a sharing economy mechanism to meet the needs of the internet economy and global enterprise-level payments.
2 hours ago
Pump.fun is discontinuing support for its tokenized agent issuance feature, stating it will focus on optimizing retail user trading experience.
Pump.fun announced it will immediately cease support for its Tokenized Agent token issuance feature. The feature will no longer be available for new token launches, though projects that have already activated it will remain unaffected. The platform noted that over recent months, consistent community feedback has pointed out that excessive issuance options have sparked unnecessary user vs. user (PVP) competition. Moving forward, Pump.fun will prioritize issuance models and product features that explicitly enhance retail trading experiences.
THORChain Podcast #198: Live Monero Demo ft. jpthor & KentonC137 | May 14, 2026 | Watch the full episode on YouTube
By Raynalytics
TL;DRJP ran a live Monero demo on a 7-node THORChain chainnet with real funds, executing the first end-to-end decentralized $RUNE to $XMR swap with full vault auditability across signing and non-signing nodes.The implementation uses a deterministic view key (SHA-512 of "thorchain view key") plus on-chain key images and per-transaction signing keys to make every Monero inbound, outbound, and vault balance publicly auditable.Monero runs as a Rust sidecar alongside Bifrost, built on Luke Parker's Serai signing stack and the Monero Oxide wallet library, plumbed into THORChain by Boone.JP and Chad disagree on running multiple Asgard vaults versus a single vault for Monero, a question to be resolved before the mainnet rollout.The code is functional today, but mainnet is gated on more stress testing. When it ships, expect a guarded launch with small pools.Where things stand (June 2026): This recap revisits JP's live demo from May 14. In the weeks since, Chad Barraford confirmed on THORSday #209 that Monero now works end-to-end on the chainnet test environment, with real $XMR swaps, liquidity adds and removes, and churns all confirmed. A live $XMR launch is targeted for roughly a month after THORChain's trading restart, barring a bug that forces a v3.20 change, with Zcash ($ZEC) one to two weeks behind. Mainnet is not live yet.
IntroductionThis was not a typical podcast episode. JP joined Kenton and ran a fully live Monero implementation on a real-fund chainnet: seven nodes churning, two Asgard vaults, key gens, key signings, the works. By the end of the call, JP had executed the first end-to-end decentralized $RUNE to $XMR swap, audited the transaction with a key image and a signing key, and confirmed his receiving wallet got paid. This was THORChain producing the proof that years of Monero integration work actually delivers.
What follows is a recap of the architecture, the audit primitives, the live result, and the open questions still on the table before mainnet.
1. The Live Demo: Seven Nodes, Real Funds, Real SwapJP began by tearing down his existing chainnet and redeploying it from scratch. The deploy spooled up seven THORChain nodes and one genesis vault, then churned into a six-active-node, two-Asgard-vault configuration. He added 0.5 $XMR and 500 $RUNE to each active vault, waited for confirmations, then fired off a 100 $RUNE to $XMR swap back to his own Monero wallet.
It worked. The signing nodes generated the transaction, produced a key image and a transaction signing key, propagated those to the non-signing nodes for verification, then settled the outbound. JP pasted his recipient address and the transaction key into a Monero block explorer's proof-of-payment tool and confirmed receipt.
"Real money, real funds. I love it when a plan comes together." (JP)Across all seven nodes, signing, non-signing, and standby, the reported $XMR balance converged. The on-chain vault state matched the actual Monero wallet state, and gas accounting was correct. After the swap, the protocol began an unhalted churn, generating two new Asgard vaults and migrating funds in multiple rounds without breaking auditability.
2. How THORChain Audits Monero Without a Privacy BackdoorThe core challenge with Monero on a transparent chain is making the vault state verifiable, since Monero hides addresses and amounts by default. JP's solution rests on three primitives.
Deterministic view key. Every THORChain Monero vault uses the same private view key, derived from SHA-512("thorchain view key"). It is global and public, so anyone can see inbounds to any THORChain Monero vault and confirm the amounts. Standard Monero wallets never expose their view key. THORChain's vaults do, by design.
Key images. A view key alone does not reveal when outputs are spent. For every inbound, THORChain kicks off a key image ceremony, essentially a 2/3 threshold ceremony similar to a key signing ceremony. The resulting key image is stored on-chain. When that key image later appears as spent on the Monero blockchain, anyone can audit the vault's debits.
Transaction signing keys. For every outbound a signing subset produces, they also generate a transaction signing key and propagate it to the non-signing nodes. Plug the transaction key plus the recipient address into a Monero proof tool, and the destination and amount are verifiable. This is how the rest of the network confirms the signers did what they were supposed to, and did not reroute funds.
Put together, these three primitives let anyone audit every Monero inbound, every spent output, and every outbound on every THORChain vault, in real time. As Kenton summarized it on the call:
"THORChain doesn't become more private by adding Monero. THORChain is actually bringing more publicity to the Monero transactions that occur on THORChain. Anything private has to happen on the Monero chain itself." (Kenton)JP agreed:
"THORChain actually honestly doesn't know that Monero is a privacy chain. THORChain thinks Monero is just literally Bitcoin." (JP)The audit model is what makes the integration possible. Without it, JP noted, the nodes could just steal.
3. Architecture: A Rust Sidecar Built on Serai and Monero OxideMonero is the first chain client where THORChain runs a dedicated sidecar process alongside the Go-based Bifrost. The sidecar is written in Rust because it needs to host the FROST signing engine for Monero, and because the entire Rust Monero stack is more mature than any Go equivalent. Bifrost orchestrates: it tells the sidecar when to key gen, when to key sign, with what amount and to what address. The sidecar executes.
The foundation is Luke Parker's work. Luke, the lead developer of Serai, built both the modular FROST stack THORChain depends on for threshold key generation and signing, and Monero Oxide, the Rust-based Monero wallet library THORChain uses for everything from view key derivation to vault address generation to transaction construction, decoy selection, and fee computation.
"All the Monero stuff is based on Luke's work. We just kind of plumbed it into THORChain's semantics." (JP)Boone did the plumbing. JP credited Boone explicitly for taking Luke's libraries and adapting them to THORChain's Bifrost architecture.
THORChain also runs a fork of the Monero TS wallet library, published on the THORChain GitHub, which adds 255-byte TX extras. That is the change that lets THORChain memos ride alongside Monero transactions. Any wallet integrating Monero with THORChain needs roughly three lines of code to adopt the same pattern, and 255-byte memos are already valid on the Monero base layer, JP noted, which most integrators do not realize.
4. Handling Monero's QuirksMonero behaves differently from Bitcoin in ways the implementation has to absorb.
10-block lock per UTXO. Every Monero output is locked for 10 blocks after receipt, roughly 20 minutes. The signers track lock state per UTXO and refuse to sign until the spendable balance is available. THORChain does not see the lock directly; it just schedules the outbound and the signers say "talk to me in nine blocks." If one vault is fully locked, THORChain reschedules the transaction to the other active vault. Streaming swaps are not affected, JP confirmed, because Chad recently shipped a feature that begins the streaming swap clock as soon as the deposit kicks off confirmation counting.
Gas budget. Monero gas accounting is hard, so THORChain hardcodes a 120,000-unit budget per outbound, about 42 cents at current prices. Real transactions usually come in closer to 4 cents, so there is a roughly 10x buffer. Simple, predictable, slightly overpaid.
Zero-output change. Every Monero transaction must have two outputs (the real destination plus a dummy from a decoy ring). When THORChain does not actually need a change output, it produces a zero-amount second output and ignores it on the receiving side. This applies to consolidations, migrations, and any one-recipient outbound.
Consolidation strategy. JP proposes consolidating 10 UTXOs down to 5 at a time rather than larger batches. Gas scales linearly with UTXOs, and so does signing time. Keeping consolidations bounded keeps both manageable.
Birthday-based scanning. Each Monero vault saves its creation block height on-chain. Sidecars scan from that birthday forward rather than from Monero genesis. A rescan mode lets any node rebuild its sidecar inventory from scratch by pulling addresses, birthdays, key images, and the view key from THORChain itself. JP says he has tested it ad nauseam.
Old vault refunds. If someone sends Monero to a retired vault, THORChain cannot auto-refund because it cannot identify the sender address. The funds flow to the latest active vault instead, available for a manual treasury refund if the sender produces their transaction private key to prove ownership.
5. Single Vault or Multiple? An Open DebateThe most consequential open question from the episode: should THORChain run one Monero vault or many?
JP's position is to run multiple Asgard vaults, the same way Bitcoin and Ethereum work today. Multiple vaults give the network redundancy when 10-block UTXO locks tie up one vault's spendable balance, and they limit the impact of any single signer set going offline. The trade-off is more key gens, more key image ceremonies, and unproven scalability of FROST Monero across all 100 nodes simultaneously.
Chad's position is to run a single vault. With one vault, every node is a signer, which lets the implementation skip the multi-vault key image generation overhead and simplify the protocol surface area.
Kenton pushed back on the disconnect directly, telling JP that he and Chad clearly need to sort this out: Chad is saying one vault, JP is saying multiple. JP indicated multiple is more aligned with how the other chain clients already work, and that moving to a DKLS-based ECDSA TSS library could eventually make single-vault designs viable. He will continue the conversation with Chad before mainnet, and Kenton suggested running both configurations on mainnet for a few weeks each to observe behavior. The decision is open.
6. AI-Assisted Development, and the "Vibe Coded" QuestionJP addressed criticism that the Monero implementation is "vibe coded" head-on. His view: AI tooling (Claude, Codex, GPT 5.5) lets him work an order of magnitude faster than five years ago, when the team spent a year building the original Bitcoin Bifrost. Tasks that used to require hand-grepping logs across 100 nodes now take minutes when AI can crawl them.
But the workflow is not hands-off. JP described it as juggling, with constant supervision required: one slip and the whole thing crashes down. He uses separate AI conversations per stack component and trains each with project-specific skills.
"The code only works if it's correct. If it didn't work, then you would not see these correct numbers. Gas accounting would be wrong, the balances wouldn't match." (JP)Kenton's framing: it does not matter whether the code starts as vibe-coded or hand-written. What matters is whether it gets reviewed, tested, and verified to work. By that test, the Monero implementation is human-approved code regardless of how the first draft was produced.
7. Future-Proofing for FCMP++ and CarrotAn audience question raised the upcoming Monero hardfork, which introduces FCMP++ (Full-Chain Membership Proofs Plus Plus) and the Carrot addressing protocol. Carrot adds outgoing view keys, forward secrecy, and other privacy and usability features while maintaining backward compatibility with existing Monero addresses.
JP's expectation is that the upgrade should be plug-and-play for THORChain. Luke Parker's Serai and Monero Oxide stacks will absorb the changes upstream. When the hardfork ships, THORChain will pause Monero trading, upgrade its sidecar dependencies, and unpause, with no expected protocol-level rework on THORChain's side and no expected long downtime.
What to WatchMore stress testing on chainnet. JP planned to run automated scripts that throw every edge case at the implementation: bad memos, wrong gas, old vault refunds, mismatched routing. If solvency holds after sustained abuse, the path to mainnet is clear.JP and Chad converging on vault architecture. Single vault or multiple is unresolved and material. Watch for a follow-up between them.Chainnet to stagenet to mainnet rollout. The chainnet code is the mainnet code, and the deploy pattern is identical. Mainnet is a confidence question, not a code question.A guarded launch when live. Expect small pools and small trades at first. JP and Kenton both flagged that Monero could need several months on mainnet before it is fully battle-tested.FCMP++ and Carrot hardfork handling. Monero's hardfork is on the near-term horizon. The plan is a brief THORChain pause for sidecar upgrades, then resume."We could launch this on mainnet tomorrow. It just depends on how confident we are that we're not going to hit a bug." (JP)More THORChain data, check out raynalytics.net
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Key Takeaways Shares of Enphase Energy (ENPH) climbed 19.2% during pre-market hours after Northland Capital designated the company as its top solar investment choice. Analysts cite climbing summer electricity bills, projected to reach $778 monthly on average, as a catalyst for residential solar adoption. The stock experienced a 9.9% decline on June 23 following the IQ9N microinverter announcement, creating an oversold technical setup. Wall Street analysts are increasingly positioning Enphase’s new IQ Solid-State Transformer technology as a play on AI data center expansion. Recent insider purchases by CEO Badrinarayanan Kothandaraman and other executives signal confidence, while institutional investors control more than 72% of outstanding shares. Shares of Enphase Energy (ENPH) experienced a significant rally on Tuesday, climbing 19.2% during pre-market hours. The surge came after Northland Capital released research naming the solar technology company as its preferred investment in the renewable energy space.
Enphase Energy, Inc., ENPH
The rally brought shares to $57.61, marking a substantial recovery from recent trading levels. Despite the impressive gain, the stock remains below its 52-week peak of $73.74.
Northland’s bullish stance centers on escalating residential energy expenses. According to their analysis, typical American households face summer electricity bills averaging $778 monthly this season, representing an 8.5% year-over-year increase.
Such dramatic increases in utility expenses typically accelerate homeowner adoption of solar panels and energy storage systems. Northland’s research identifies this trend as a significant near-term catalyst for the industry, with Enphase specifically highlighted as the company most likely to benefit.
Technical factors also contributed to Tuesday’s explosive move. The stock had dropped 9.9% on June 23 following the company’s announcement of its IQ9N microinverter product.
This sharp decline created oversold conditions while the stock maintained elevated short interest. Tuesday’s advance appears to represent both a technical bounce and renewed fundamental interest combining to trigger a short squeeze.
Expanding Into AI Infrastructure Beyond residential solar, Enphase has been promoting a different growth narrative. The company’s IQ Solid-State Transformer technology represents a power management solution designed specifically for AI data centers rather than residential applications.
Multiple Wall Street firms, including TD Cowen and Barclays, have validated this opportunity as legitimate. Their projections suggest U.S. data center power requirements could surpass 11 GW before 2035.
Broader market strength provided additional support for Tuesday’s rally. The NASDAQ gained 2.1% while the S&P 500 advanced 1.2%, creating a favorable environment for volatile growth stocks like Enphase.
Executive Purchases and Street Sentiment Corporate executives have demonstrated confidence through recent stock purchases. On May 26, CEO Badrinarayanan Kothandaraman acquired 5,000 shares at $67.50 per share, representing a $337,500 investment.
Board member Shanker Trivedi followed with his own purchase on June 12, adding 1,000 shares at $53.91. Collectively, company insiders control approximately 2.9% of outstanding shares.
Institutional holdings dwarf insider ownership, comprising 72.12% of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System established a fresh position during Q1, purchasing 58,000 shares valued at approximately $2.19 million.
Major asset managers including Vanguard, Norges Bank, and Invesco have expanded their positions as well. Vanguard’s stake now exceeds 16 million shares with a market value above $523 million.
Analyst opinions on Enphase remain divided. Current coverage includes nine Buy ratings, twelve Hold recommendations, and four Sell calls.
The consensus price target stands at $46.57, suggesting potential downside from current levels. Glj Research maintains the most pessimistic outlook with a $21.70 target accompanied by a Sell rating.
Goldman Sachs takes a more optimistic view, having increased its target from $51 to $57 in May while maintaining a Buy recommendation. Oppenheimer reduced its target from $68 to $57 in April but retained its Outperform rating.
The company’s most recent quarterly results were announced on April 28. Enphase delivered earnings of $0.47 per share, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.43, on revenue totaling $282.9 million.
Revenue declined 20.6% compared to the prior-year period. Wall Street currently projects full-year earnings of $0.85 per share for Enphase.
Survey: 88% of enterprises plan to adopt stablecoins within the next year, with cross-border payment costs reduced by an average of 35%.
Payment infrastructure company Cybrid has released a new survey report indicating stablecoins are rapidly gaining traction in enterprise payment scenarios. The survey found that 42% of participating enterprises already use stablecoins for cross-border payments, while 88% said they are likely or very likely to adopt stablecoins within the next 12 months—only 2% of firms stated they will continue to rely entirely on traditional payment systems. According to the report, enterprises using stablecoins save an average of 35% on cross-border payment costs, with firms processing over $100 million in monthly payments achieving an average cost reduction of 47%. Payroll and contractor payments represent the most prominent use case, followed by supplier payments, customer payments, investment and revenue management, and treasury management, among others. Additionally, 71% of respondents identified a clear regulatory framework as the primary factor driving further mainstream adoption of stablecoins, outranking considerations such as infrastructure provider credibility and system integration. The survey was conducted from April to May this year, covering 468 senior executives from tech, financial services, and e-commerce sectors in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
2 hours ago
FalconX secures EU MiCA license, allowing it to offer compliant crypto services to institutional clients in Europe.
Institutional digital asset broker FalconX announced it has obtained the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license issued by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), enabling it to provide compliant digital asset trading, custody, liquidity and related institutional services across the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA). FalconX stated that this license allows it to operate across EU member states under a unified regulatory framework, eliminating the need for individual country-specific licenses. Currently, the firm serves over 2,000 institutional clients worldwide, including asset management firms, hedge funds, banks and family offices, with cumulative transaction volumes exceeding $2.5 trillion and over $8 billion in institutional financing disbursed. FalconX noted that as the MiCA regulatory framework is fully implemented, institutional clients’ demand for compliant trading, custody and liquidity services continues to grow, and regulatory credentials are becoming a key competitive advantage in Europe’s digital asset market.
2 hours ago
Guo Wengui sentenced to 30 years in prison in connection with a fraud case involving over $1 billion.
A US court has sentenced Miles Guo (also known as Ho Wan Kwok) to 30 years in prison. In 2024, a jury convicted Guo on multiple charges including racketeering, fraud, and money laundering, with his formal sentencing now issued. Prosecutors stated that Guo defrauded over $1 billion from global victims through a series of related scam schemes spanning five years. Notably, in 2021, he promoted the cryptocurrency project Himalaya Coin (H-Coin), claiming the tokens were backed by 20% gold reserves and promising to cover all investors’ losses, raising approximately $500 million in total. Additionally, the court previously ordered the forfeiture of nearly $900 million in Guo’s illegal proceeds, as well as his luxury mansion in New Jersey and multiple high-end vehicles. Guo had close ties to Steve Bannon, a former senior advisor to US President Donald Trump; Bannon was arrested in 2020 aboard Guo’s yacht.
2 hours ago
The first-half 2026 funding rankings have been released, with Kalshi and Polymarket raising a combined $1.8 billion.
According to statistics, the 14 largest global funding rounds in the first half of 2026 raised a total of $4.3 billion, with prediction markets, AI, and payment sectors drawing the most investor interest. Specifically, prediction market platform Kalshi topped the list with a $1.2 billion funding round, while Polymarket secured $600 million—together, the two raised $1.8 billion, accounting for over 40% of the total capital of the top 14 rounds. In the AI space, Replit, Exa AI, and OpenRouter closed funding rounds of $400 million, $250 million, and $113 million respectively. For blockchain projects, Canton Network, Arc, and Morpho raised $355 million, $222 million, and $175 million respectively. Meanwhile, payment, RWA, infrastructure, and compliance projects including Rain, Slash, Goldcom, Alpaca, and Elliptic also featured on the list.
2 hours ago
Open Standard launches stablecoin Open USD, with over 140 institutions including Visa, BlackRock, and Coinbase participating.
Open Standard has announced the launch of Open USD (OUSD), a new stablecoin for global fund flows, noting that over 140 enterprises have joined its ecosystem, including financial, payment, and crypto industry players such as Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, American Express, BlackRock, BNY, DBS, Coinbase, OKX, MetaMask, Aave, Ripple, Fireblocks, Solana, and Polygon. According to the introduction, Open USD follows three core design principles: supporting zero-cost, large-scale minting and redemption for enterprises; returning all reserve asset yields to partners after deducting a small management fee; and being governed by a board of directors composed of independent firm Open Standard and its partners, rather than controlled by a single issuer. Open Standard states that Open USD will officially launch later this year, with the goal of building an open, low-cost, high-throughput stablecoin infrastructure with a sharing economy mechanism to meet the needs of the internet economy and global enterprise-level payments.
2 hours ago
Pump.fun is discontinuing support for its tokenized agent issuance feature, stating it will focus on optimizing retail user trading experience.
Pump.fun announced it will immediately cease support for its Tokenized Agent token issuance feature. The feature will no longer be available for new token launches, though projects that have already activated it will remain unaffected. The platform noted that over recent months, consistent community feedback has pointed out that excessive issuance options have sparked unnecessary user vs. user (PVP) competition. Moving forward, Pump.fun will prioritize issuance models and product features that explicitly enhance retail trading experiences.
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.
Survey: 88% of enterprises plan to adopt stablecoins within the next year, with cross-border payment costs reduced by an average of 35%.
Payment infrastructure company Cybrid has released a new survey report indicating stablecoins are rapidly gaining traction in enterprise payment scenarios. The survey found that 42% of participating enterprises already use stablecoins for cross-border payments, while 88% said they are likely or very likely to adopt stablecoins within the next 12 months—only 2% of firms stated they will continue to rely entirely on traditional payment systems. According to the report, enterprises using stablecoins save an average of 35% on cross-border payment costs, with firms processing over $100 million in monthly payments achieving an average cost reduction of 47%. Payroll and contractor payments represent the most prominent use case, followed by supplier payments, customer payments, investment and revenue management, and treasury management, among others. Additionally, 71% of respondents identified a clear regulatory framework as the primary factor driving further mainstream adoption of stablecoins, outranking considerations such as infrastructure provider credibility and system integration. The survey was conducted from April to May this year, covering 468 senior executives from tech, financial services, and e-commerce sectors in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
2 hours ago
FalconX secures EU MiCA license, allowing it to offer compliant crypto services to institutional clients in Europe.
Institutional digital asset broker FalconX announced it has obtained the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license issued by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), enabling it to provide compliant digital asset trading, custody, liquidity and related institutional services across the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA). FalconX stated that this license allows it to operate across EU member states under a unified regulatory framework, eliminating the need for individual country-specific licenses. Currently, the firm serves over 2,000 institutional clients worldwide, including asset management firms, hedge funds, banks and family offices, with cumulative transaction volumes exceeding $2.5 trillion and over $8 billion in institutional financing disbursed. FalconX noted that as the MiCA regulatory framework is fully implemented, institutional clients’ demand for compliant trading, custody and liquidity services continues to grow, and regulatory credentials are becoming a key competitive advantage in Europe’s digital asset market.
2 hours ago
Guo Wengui sentenced to 30 years in prison in connection with a fraud case involving over $1 billion.
A US court has sentenced Miles Guo (also known as Ho Wan Kwok) to 30 years in prison. In 2024, a jury convicted Guo on multiple charges including racketeering, fraud, and money laundering, with his formal sentencing now issued. Prosecutors stated that Guo defrauded over $1 billion from global victims through a series of related scam schemes spanning five years. Notably, in 2021, he promoted the cryptocurrency project Himalaya Coin (H-Coin), claiming the tokens were backed by 20% gold reserves and promising to cover all investors’ losses, raising approximately $500 million in total. Additionally, the court previously ordered the forfeiture of nearly $900 million in Guo’s illegal proceeds, as well as his luxury mansion in New Jersey and multiple high-end vehicles. Guo had close ties to Steve Bannon, a former senior advisor to US President Donald Trump; Bannon was arrested in 2020 aboard Guo’s yacht.
2 hours ago
The first-half 2026 funding rankings have been released, with Kalshi and Polymarket raising a combined $1.8 billion.
According to statistics, the 14 largest global funding rounds in the first half of 2026 raised a total of $4.3 billion, with prediction markets, AI, and payment sectors drawing the most investor interest. Specifically, prediction market platform Kalshi topped the list with a $1.2 billion funding round, while Polymarket secured $600 million—together, the two raised $1.8 billion, accounting for over 40% of the total capital of the top 14 rounds. In the AI space, Replit, Exa AI, and OpenRouter closed funding rounds of $400 million, $250 million, and $113 million respectively. For blockchain projects, Canton Network, Arc, and Morpho raised $355 million, $222 million, and $175 million respectively. Meanwhile, payment, RWA, infrastructure, and compliance projects including Rain, Slash, Goldcom, Alpaca, and Elliptic also featured on the list.
2 hours ago
Open Standard launches stablecoin Open USD, with over 140 institutions including Visa, BlackRock, and Coinbase participating.
Open Standard has announced the launch of Open USD (OUSD), a new stablecoin for global fund flows, noting that over 140 enterprises have joined its ecosystem, including financial, payment, and crypto industry players such as Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, American Express, BlackRock, BNY, DBS, Coinbase, OKX, MetaMask, Aave, Ripple, Fireblocks, Solana, and Polygon. According to the introduction, Open USD follows three core design principles: supporting zero-cost, large-scale minting and redemption for enterprises; returning all reserve asset yields to partners after deducting a small management fee; and being governed by a board of directors composed of independent firm Open Standard and its partners, rather than controlled by a single issuer. Open Standard states that Open USD will officially launch later this year, with the goal of building an open, low-cost, high-throughput stablecoin infrastructure with a sharing economy mechanism to meet the needs of the internet economy and global enterprise-level payments.
2 hours ago
Pump.fun is discontinuing support for its tokenized agent issuance feature, stating it will focus on optimizing retail user trading experience.
Pump.fun announced it will immediately cease support for its Tokenized Agent token issuance feature. The feature will no longer be available for new token launches, though projects that have already activated it will remain unaffected. The platform noted that over recent months, consistent community feedback has pointed out that excessive issuance options have sparked unnecessary user vs. user (PVP) competition. Moving forward, Pump.fun will prioritize issuance models and product features that explicitly enhance retail trading experiences.
Crypto whales are repositioning for July, and on-chain flows tell the story. Even as several large tokens slipped over the past 24 hours, BeInCrypto analysts tracking big wallets found three altcoins for July drawing fresh accumulation.
The selection rests on whale balance shifts paired with hard protocol data, not price guesses.
Aave (AAVE)Aave anchors this list of altcoins for July because its on-chain base keeps expanding. The whale bid here comes from mid-sized holders, not one large address.
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The 10,000 to 100,000 AAVE wallet cohort, the smaller whales, lifted holdings from 4.09 million to 4.27 million over the past 48 hours. That is roughly 180,000 AAVE added, worth about $16 million. The move reads as broad crypto whale accumulation rather than a single outlier trade.
AAVE Whale Cohort Accumulation: SantimentThis buying makes more sense alongside the protocol numbers. Aave TVL, or Total Value Locked, the value of assets deposited in a protocol, sits near $13.04 billion, with borrowers drawing about $10.25 billion in active loans, according to DeFiLlama. That activity throws off roughly $937 million in annualized fees. Set against AAVE’s market value near $1.4 billion, the protocol generates fees worth about two-thirds of the token’s entire market cap each year.
Aave Value Vs Market Cap: DeFiLlamaFor DeFi tokens, that cash base is what turns the smaller-whale bid into a fundamental call rather than a momentum guess.
AAVE eased about 1.6% over 24 hours to $90.49. Yet the soft session did not stop mid-tier whale wallets from adding. Their willingness to accumulate into weakness suggests they treated the dip as an entry rather than a warning, keeping AAVE among the firmer setups for July.
Uniswap (UNI)Uniswap earns a place among these altcoins for July, though the whale signal is steadier than aggressive. Large holders are adding, but only at the margin.
Supply held by whales, with exchanges excluded, edged up from 778.56 million to 778.94 million UNI just hours ago. The addition is modest, near 380,000 UNI, so this looks like careful on-chain whale activity rather than a rush to load up.
UNI Whale Supply: SantimentThe patient stance makes sense once the fee switch is followed through. Heavy Uniswap trading volume, near $2.2 billion a day on-chain in June, now feeds a mechanism that buys back and burns UNI.
Uniswap DEX Volume: DuneThat sink pulled roughly $22.5 million of UNI out of supply in H1 2026, according to DeFiLlama. So the float tightens as whales add. Their marginal buying lands on a shrinking supply, and that consequence gives the bid weight.
Uniswap Fee Switch UNI Burn: DeFiLlamaUNI slipped about 2.4% over 24 hours to $2.87 and has traded flat for weeks. With whales adding cautiously rather than chasing, the token sits among altcoins to watch where conviction is building slowly. For now the steady flows and heavy volume matter more than the quiet price, leaving UNI a slower-burn name for July.
Ethena (ENA)Ethena delivers the boldest whale move among these altcoins for July, and it arrives against a falling price. That tension makes it the most interesting setup in the group.
Over the past 24 hours, ENA whale balances jumped about 3,166%, climbing from near 0.63 million to 20.63 million ENA. That means whales scooped up roughly 20 million ENA in a single day, worth about $1.5 million. The one-day surge marks the most aggressive accumulation in this group, and it landed while broader sentiment stayed soft.
ENA Whale Accumulation: NansenThe timing tracks Ethena’s recovery. USDe supply on Ethereum, the protocol’s synthetic dollar in circulation, has climbed about 19% off its late-April deleveraging low and held near $4.5 billion for six weeks, according to Dune Analytics. Because USDe is Ethena’s fee base, a rebuilding supply points to returning yield demand and fees accruing to ENA. For whales, a stabilizing stablecoin signals the unwind has passed.
USDe Supply Recovery: DuneHere the signals clash. ENA fell about 4.4% over 24 hours, yet whales expanded holdings sharply. The split suggests large holders are buying the dip while price lags behind on-chain demand. When aggressive accumulation meets a soft tape, the gap usually resolves one way or the other, and for July the whale bid is the stronger signal on this token.
Survey: 88% of enterprises plan to adopt stablecoins within the next year, with cross-border payment costs reduced by an average of 35%.
Payment infrastructure company Cybrid has released a new survey report indicating stablecoins are rapidly gaining traction in enterprise payment scenarios. The survey found that 42% of participating enterprises already use stablecoins for cross-border payments, while 88% said they are likely or very likely to adopt stablecoins within the next 12 months—only 2% of firms stated they will continue to rely entirely on traditional payment systems. According to the report, enterprises using stablecoins save an average of 35% on cross-border payment costs, with firms processing over $100 million in monthly payments achieving an average cost reduction of 47%. Payroll and contractor payments represent the most prominent use case, followed by supplier payments, customer payments, investment and revenue management, and treasury management, among others. Additionally, 71% of respondents identified a clear regulatory framework as the primary factor driving further mainstream adoption of stablecoins, outranking considerations such as infrastructure provider credibility and system integration. The survey was conducted from April to May this year, covering 468 senior executives from tech, financial services, and e-commerce sectors in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
2 hours ago
FalconX secures EU MiCA license, allowing it to offer compliant crypto services to institutional clients in Europe.
Institutional digital asset broker FalconX announced it has obtained the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license issued by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), enabling it to provide compliant digital asset trading, custody, liquidity and related institutional services across the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA). FalconX stated that this license allows it to operate across EU member states under a unified regulatory framework, eliminating the need for individual country-specific licenses. Currently, the firm serves over 2,000 institutional clients worldwide, including asset management firms, hedge funds, banks and family offices, with cumulative transaction volumes exceeding $2.5 trillion and over $8 billion in institutional financing disbursed. FalconX noted that as the MiCA regulatory framework is fully implemented, institutional clients’ demand for compliant trading, custody and liquidity services continues to grow, and regulatory credentials are becoming a key competitive advantage in Europe’s digital asset market.
2 hours ago
Guo Wengui sentenced to 30 years in prison in connection with a fraud case involving over $1 billion.
A US court has sentenced Miles Guo (also known as Ho Wan Kwok) to 30 years in prison. In 2024, a jury convicted Guo on multiple charges including racketeering, fraud, and money laundering, with his formal sentencing now issued. Prosecutors stated that Guo defrauded over $1 billion from global victims through a series of related scam schemes spanning five years. Notably, in 2021, he promoted the cryptocurrency project Himalaya Coin (H-Coin), claiming the tokens were backed by 20% gold reserves and promising to cover all investors’ losses, raising approximately $500 million in total. Additionally, the court previously ordered the forfeiture of nearly $900 million in Guo’s illegal proceeds, as well as his luxury mansion in New Jersey and multiple high-end vehicles. Guo had close ties to Steve Bannon, a former senior advisor to US President Donald Trump; Bannon was arrested in 2020 aboard Guo’s yacht.
2 hours ago
The first-half 2026 funding rankings have been released, with Kalshi and Polymarket raising a combined $1.8 billion.
According to statistics, the 14 largest global funding rounds in the first half of 2026 raised a total of $4.3 billion, with prediction markets, AI, and payment sectors drawing the most investor interest. Specifically, prediction market platform Kalshi topped the list with a $1.2 billion funding round, while Polymarket secured $600 million—together, the two raised $1.8 billion, accounting for over 40% of the total capital of the top 14 rounds. In the AI space, Replit, Exa AI, and OpenRouter closed funding rounds of $400 million, $250 million, and $113 million respectively. For blockchain projects, Canton Network, Arc, and Morpho raised $355 million, $222 million, and $175 million respectively. Meanwhile, payment, RWA, infrastructure, and compliance projects including Rain, Slash, Goldcom, Alpaca, and Elliptic also featured on the list.
2 hours ago
Open Standard launches stablecoin Open USD, with over 140 institutions including Visa, BlackRock, and Coinbase participating.
Open Standard has announced the launch of Open USD (OUSD), a new stablecoin for global fund flows, noting that over 140 enterprises have joined its ecosystem, including financial, payment, and crypto industry players such as Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, American Express, BlackRock, BNY, DBS, Coinbase, OKX, MetaMask, Aave, Ripple, Fireblocks, Solana, and Polygon. According to the introduction, Open USD follows three core design principles: supporting zero-cost, large-scale minting and redemption for enterprises; returning all reserve asset yields to partners after deducting a small management fee; and being governed by a board of directors composed of independent firm Open Standard and its partners, rather than controlled by a single issuer. Open Standard states that Open USD will officially launch later this year, with the goal of building an open, low-cost, high-throughput stablecoin infrastructure with a sharing economy mechanism to meet the needs of the internet economy and global enterprise-level payments.
2 hours ago
Pump.fun is discontinuing support for its tokenized agent issuance feature, stating it will focus on optimizing retail user trading experience.
Pump.fun announced it will immediately cease support for its Tokenized Agent token issuance feature. The feature will no longer be available for new token launches, though projects that have already activated it will remain unaffected. The platform noted that over recent months, consistent community feedback has pointed out that excessive issuance options have sparked unnecessary user vs. user (PVP) competition. Moving forward, Pump.fun will prioritize issuance models and product features that explicitly enhance retail trading experiences.
Ondo Finance Brings 430+ Tokenized Equities to Uniswap@OndoFinance has officially integrated more than 430 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs into the @Uniswap ecosystem, making the assets accessible directly through the Uniswap frontend on both @Ethereum and @BNBChain. The move connects two of DeFi's most prominent platforms and opens up round-the-clock on-chain access to some of the world's most traded equities for eligible non-U.S. participants.
Ondo Finance expanded its Global Markets offering by adding 173 tokenized stocks and ETFs earlier this month, bringing the platform's total catalog to more than 430 assets spanning Ethereum, Solana, and BNB Chain. The Uniswap integration now routes those assets through the broader decentralized liquidity network.
Uniswap has integrated tokenized securities from issuers including Ondo, xStocks, and Backed, allowing users to trade on-chain versions of assets like SpaceX, Apple, Tesla, and NVIDIA that track underlying stock prices through the Uniswap web app, wallet, and API. The integration uses Uniswap v4 hooks for compliance features such as KYC and allowlists.
UniswapX Routing and 24/7 On-Chain TradingThe assets are routable through the UniswapX API, enabling efficient order execution and deep liquidity for continuous on-chain equity trading. This is a meaningful step beyond traditional market hours: Ondo is live with 24/7 instant minting and redemption on tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs, including on weekends, now across Ethereum and BNB Chain, with Solana coming soon.
Ondo Global Markets gives non-U.S. investors on-chain access to publicly traded U.S. stocks and ETFs, with each token backed 1:1 by the underlying security, purchased and held in custody by a U.S.-registered broker-dealer. The tokens provide holders with economic exposure to the value of the underlying publicly traded assets, including dividends, but are not themselves stocks or ETFs and do not provide rights to hold or receive the underlying assets.
Tokenized stocks have emerged as the fastest-growing asset class on Ethereum in 2026, with Ondo and xStocks leading the sector, according to Token Terminal data. Ondo Global Markets is also the primary issuer behind BNB Chain overtaking Solana in cumulative tokenized stock trading volume. The Uniswap integration adds another layer of distribution and liquidity to a product category that is growing rapidly across decentralized finance.
Sources:
Ondo Finance: Ondo Global Markets
The Defiant: Ondo Finance Adds 173 Tokenized Stocks and ETFs
BNB Chain Blog: Ondo Global Markets on BNB Chain
Ondo Finance (ONDO) is facing a pivotal moment as it attempts to hold above the $0.30 short-term support level on Tuesday. Since early June, ONDO has declined by more than 30%, putting significant pressure on the technical setup and reducing the probability of a sustained bullish reversal.
Uniswap lists Ondo Finance tokenized stocks and ETFsOndo Finance announced on Tuesday that more than 430 tokenized stocks and Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) are now available for trading on the decentralized exchange (DEX) Uniswap.
Qualified participants on Ethereum (ETH) and BNB Chain can now gain exposure to leading equities such as SpaceX (SPCX), Tesla (TSLA), Nvidia (NVDA), and Apple (AAPL), along with major ETFs like QQQ and SPY, all seamlessly via the Uniswap platform.
Ondo Finance stated in the press release that protocols, wallets, or applications that have integrated UniswapX can link their users to Ondo tokenized stocks and ETFs without additional integration work.
Ondo Finance is a leading real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platform, with a self-reported Total Value Locked (TVL) of $1.02 billion. The protocol boasts over 77,000 unique holders spread across over 430 assets.
Ondo Finance stats | Source: Ondo FinancePrice analysis: Ondo under pressure as bearish signals persistONDO trades around $0.31 as bulls aggressively defend the psychological $0.30 support level. Meanwhile, the token upholds a bearish bias, sitting decisively below the short and long-term Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs).
Momentum conditions reinforce the cautious tone, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) hovering near 39 in weak territory on the daily chart and the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) histogram still negative, hinting at persistent downside pressure despite mild stabilization.
HYPE/USDT daily chartInitial resistance aligns with the 100-day EMA at $0.34, followed closely by the 50-day EMA at $0.34, forming a compact supply zone that bulls would need to reclaim to ease the current bearish structure. Above these barriers, the 200-day EMA at $0.39 marks a more significant hurdle within the broader downtrend, while the longer-term descending trendline, referenced around $0.52, defines the upper boundary. Looking down, ONDO bulls hold firmly to the immediate support at $0.30, where a deeper sell-off will likely open the door to losses targeting the demand area at $0.25.
(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool.)
Bitcoin, altcoins, stablecoins FAQs Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, a virtual currency designed to serve as money. This form of payment cannot be controlled by any one person, group, or entity, which eliminates the need for third-party participation during financial transactions.
Altcoins are any cryptocurrency apart from Bitcoin, but some also regard Ethereum as a non-altcoin because it is from these two cryptocurrencies that forking happens. If this is true, then Litecoin is the first altcoin, forked from the Bitcoin protocol and, therefore, an “improved” version of it.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to have a stable price, with their value backed by a reserve of the asset it represents. To achieve this, the value of any one stablecoin is pegged to a commodity or financial instrument, such as the US Dollar (USD), with its supply regulated by an algorithm or demand. The main goal of stablecoins is to provide an on/off-ramp for investors willing to trade and invest in cryptocurrencies. Stablecoins also allow investors to store value since cryptocurrencies, in general, are subject to volatility.
Bitcoin dominance is the ratio of Bitcoin's market capitalization to the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies combined. It provides a clear picture of Bitcoin’s interest among investors. A high BTC dominance typically happens before and during a bull run, in which investors resort to investing in relatively stable and high market capitalization cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. A drop in BTC dominance usually means that investors are moving their capital and/or profits to altcoins in a quest for higher returns, which usually triggers an explosion of altcoin rallies.
Not financial or tax advice. Bankless content is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This newsletter is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
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How to Move from a Centralized Exchange to PancakeSwap
Ecosystem
Product
2026-06-30
Moving from a centralized exchange (CEX) to a decentralized exchange (DEX) doesn’t need to feel complicated. This guide is the quick version: get a wallet, add funds, connect to PancakeSwap, and make your first onchain swap with ease.
If you already know how to buy, sell, and withdraw on a centralized exchange (CEX), you're closer to using PancakeSwap than you think. The whole move comes down to four steps: get a wallet, send your funds over, connect, and swap. This guide walks through each one, plus what's worth knowing before you start.
Why Bother Moving at All
On a CEX, the exchange holds your crypto for you. That's simple, but it also means you're trusting someone else to hold your funds, follow your withdrawal request, and more.
On PancakeSwap, a DEX, you hold your own funds in your own wallet. You connect your wallet directly and trade, earn, or explore new tokens with nothing in between you and the chain. This is self-custody: you hold the keys, you hold the funds, and you hold the responsibility that comes with that.
Step 1: Set up a self custody wallet
Install a trusted wallet, create or import your wallet, and store your recovery phrase somewhere secure. PancakeSwap currently supports all the industry-leading wallets, includingMetaMask, Trust Wallet, Binance Wallet, Coinbase Wallet, OKX Wallet, and more so you can use what you already have or grab a new one in a couple of taps.
Your wallet is what you’ll use to hold funds and connect to PancakeSwap.
Step 2: Move funds from your CEX
Go to your exchange's Withdraw page, paste your wallet address, and select the matching network (e.g. BNB Smart Chain / BEP-20). Start with a small test transfer if you're new to moving funds onchain. Withdrawals usually land within a few minutes once the network confirms.
Always double check the network and the first few characters of your address before sending. Onchain transfers can't be reversed.
Step 3: Connect to PancakeSwap
Head to PancakeSwap (pancakeswap.finance), connect your wallet, and choose the network where your funds arrived. Once connected, you can swap tokens directly from your wallet - no account, no sign-up, no waiting
Step 4: Explore DeFi at your own pace
Once you're set up, there's a lot more than swapping on offer at PancakeSwap
Swap thousands of tokens directly onchain, with MEV protection available to guard your trades Earn by staking CAKE or providing liquidity to earn a share of trading fees and extra incentives Explore the wider menu - perpetuals, tokenized equities and new launches on CAKE.PAD A few habits worth keeping Self-custody puts you in control, and it's worth protecting that control with a few simple habits: never share your recovery phrase with anyone, reach PancakeSwap through the official address, or a saved a bookmark, or by typing the URL yourself rather than clicking links from DMs or ads, and test new addresses or apps with a small amount before committing more.
*A note for EU users: Under the EU’s MiCA framework, some centralized platforms are adjusting or pausing certain services for users in the region. As a non-custodial DEX, PancakeSwap lets you keep trading onchain from your own wallet — no regional account needed. The steps below work the same wherever you are.
Note: This guide is for educational purposes only and is not financial advice. Onchain activity carries risk, always do your own research. You are responsible for verifying every link, address, and contract you interact with.*
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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.
Survey: 88% of enterprises plan to adopt stablecoins within the next year, with cross-border payment costs reduced by an average of 35%.
Payment infrastructure company Cybrid has released a new survey report indicating stablecoins are rapidly gaining traction in enterprise payment scenarios. The survey found that 42% of participating enterprises already use stablecoins for cross-border payments, while 88% said they are likely or very likely to adopt stablecoins within the next 12 months—only 2% of firms stated they will continue to rely entirely on traditional payment systems. According to the report, enterprises using stablecoins save an average of 35% on cross-border payment costs, with firms processing over $100 million in monthly payments achieving an average cost reduction of 47%. Payroll and contractor payments represent the most prominent use case, followed by supplier payments, customer payments, investment and revenue management, and treasury management, among others. Additionally, 71% of respondents identified a clear regulatory framework as the primary factor driving further mainstream adoption of stablecoins, outranking considerations such as infrastructure provider credibility and system integration. The survey was conducted from April to May this year, covering 468 senior executives from tech, financial services, and e-commerce sectors in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
2 hours ago
FalconX secures EU MiCA license, allowing it to offer compliant crypto services to institutional clients in Europe.
Institutional digital asset broker FalconX announced it has obtained the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license issued by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), enabling it to provide compliant digital asset trading, custody, liquidity and related institutional services across the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA). FalconX stated that this license allows it to operate across EU member states under a unified regulatory framework, eliminating the need for individual country-specific licenses. Currently, the firm serves over 2,000 institutional clients worldwide, including asset management firms, hedge funds, banks and family offices, with cumulative transaction volumes exceeding $2.5 trillion and over $8 billion in institutional financing disbursed. FalconX noted that as the MiCA regulatory framework is fully implemented, institutional clients’ demand for compliant trading, custody and liquidity services continues to grow, and regulatory credentials are becoming a key competitive advantage in Europe’s digital asset market.
2 hours ago
Guo Wengui sentenced to 30 years in prison in connection with a fraud case involving over $1 billion.
A US court has sentenced Miles Guo (also known as Ho Wan Kwok) to 30 years in prison. In 2024, a jury convicted Guo on multiple charges including racketeering, fraud, and money laundering, with his formal sentencing now issued. Prosecutors stated that Guo defrauded over $1 billion from global victims through a series of related scam schemes spanning five years. Notably, in 2021, he promoted the cryptocurrency project Himalaya Coin (H-Coin), claiming the tokens were backed by 20% gold reserves and promising to cover all investors’ losses, raising approximately $500 million in total. Additionally, the court previously ordered the forfeiture of nearly $900 million in Guo’s illegal proceeds, as well as his luxury mansion in New Jersey and multiple high-end vehicles. Guo had close ties to Steve Bannon, a former senior advisor to US President Donald Trump; Bannon was arrested in 2020 aboard Guo’s yacht.
2 hours ago
The first-half 2026 funding rankings have been released, with Kalshi and Polymarket raising a combined $1.8 billion.
According to statistics, the 14 largest global funding rounds in the first half of 2026 raised a total of $4.3 billion, with prediction markets, AI, and payment sectors drawing the most investor interest. Specifically, prediction market platform Kalshi topped the list with a $1.2 billion funding round, while Polymarket secured $600 million—together, the two raised $1.8 billion, accounting for over 40% of the total capital of the top 14 rounds. In the AI space, Replit, Exa AI, and OpenRouter closed funding rounds of $400 million, $250 million, and $113 million respectively. For blockchain projects, Canton Network, Arc, and Morpho raised $355 million, $222 million, and $175 million respectively. Meanwhile, payment, RWA, infrastructure, and compliance projects including Rain, Slash, Goldcom, Alpaca, and Elliptic also featured on the list.
2 hours ago
Open Standard launches stablecoin Open USD, with over 140 institutions including Visa, BlackRock, and Coinbase participating.
Open Standard has announced the launch of Open USD (OUSD), a new stablecoin for global fund flows, noting that over 140 enterprises have joined its ecosystem, including financial, payment, and crypto industry players such as Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, American Express, BlackRock, BNY, DBS, Coinbase, OKX, MetaMask, Aave, Ripple, Fireblocks, Solana, and Polygon. According to the introduction, Open USD follows three core design principles: supporting zero-cost, large-scale minting and redemption for enterprises; returning all reserve asset yields to partners after deducting a small management fee; and being governed by a board of directors composed of independent firm Open Standard and its partners, rather than controlled by a single issuer. Open Standard states that Open USD will officially launch later this year, with the goal of building an open, low-cost, high-throughput stablecoin infrastructure with a sharing economy mechanism to meet the needs of the internet economy and global enterprise-level payments.
2 hours ago
Pump.fun is discontinuing support for its tokenized agent issuance feature, stating it will focus on optimizing retail user trading experience.
Pump.fun announced it will immediately cease support for its Tokenized Agent token issuance feature. The feature will no longer be available for new token launches, though projects that have already activated it will remain unaffected. The platform noted that over recent months, consistent community feedback has pointed out that excessive issuance options have sparked unnecessary user vs. user (PVP) competition. Moving forward, Pump.fun will prioritize issuance models and product features that explicitly enhance retail trading experiences.
Nasdaq-listed crypto treasury firm Solana Company has signed a significant cooperation agreement to aid the development of Alatau City, Kazakhstan’s planned, digital-focused megacity. The partnership was unveiled during the Alatau City Roadshow held this June in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, highlighting Solana Company’s ambition to support the region’s expansive digital infrastructure plans.
Agreement scope definedUnder the memorandum of understanding, both parties will work to advise on establishing blockchain and cryptocurrency infrastructure for Alatau City. The roadshow events in China also resulted in a total of 30 partnership agreements with a combined investment potential exceeding $6 billion.
Joseph Chee, Chairman and CEO of Solana Company, expressed his expectations to deepen the partnership and expand the Solana ecosystem’s presence across the region.
The collaboration between Solana Company and Alatau City will cover four main areas: digital asset treasury solutions, blockchain infrastructure deployment, accelerating institutional adoption of blockchain technology, and developing robust digital platforms for the city.
Alisher Abdykadyrov, CEO of the Alatau City Authority, specified that the agreement also includes Solana Company’s participation in the Alatau Crypto Cluster. This cluster is envisioned as a designated pilot zone and economic area within the new city, where the use of cryptocurrencies for daily transactions will be permitted.
Ties between Kazakhstan and Solana deepenThe agreement marks the latest move strengthening Kazakhstan’s relationship with the broader Solana ecosystem. Notably, last year saw the launch of Central Asia’s inaugural Solana Economic Zone in the nation’s capital of Astana, established in partnership with the Solana Foundation.
Just last week, the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) introduced its first Solana ETF, providing investors access to regulated investment instruments linked to SOL price movements—making Central Asia’s major exchanges more accessible to digital asset investors.
Mini Glossary: An ETF is an exchange-traded fund tracking the performance of an asset or index. A Solana ETF allows investors regulated access to SOL’s price moves without direct token custody.
During the same roadshow, the Solana Foundation also signed a separate memorandum of understanding with Alatau City, pledging support to expand the city’s blockchain capacity and infrastructure.
Alatau City’s ambitious vision faces cautious realitiesKazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev introduced the Alatau City project to the international community in May 2024. However, despite its global unveiling, the project remains in the early stages of planning and development, with many fundamentals still under consideration.
Plans envision Alatau City as an integrated smart city from the outset, anchored on artificial intelligence, digital identity, and blockchain technology. The project also foresees the use of low-altitude aerial vehicles, robotaxis, and autonomous drones for transportation and logistics, while proposing that the city’s economy be powered by hydrogen energy.
Nonetheless, the initiative faces significant hurdles. Independent assessment reports released in March highlighted concerns from both the National Bank of Kazakhstan and the Agency for Financial Monitoring about the potential need for constitutional amendments to support a crypto-based economy.
Additional independent sources have pointed to ongoing fundamental infrastructure issues in Alatau City’s designated region, such as continued challenges in accessing basic utilities like natural gas, water, electricity, and internet. While the project’s vision remains compelling for the future, these obstacles suggest considerable implementation timelines ahead.
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.
Bitcoin is trading at $59,101 on June 30, 2026 — the final day of the worst month of the current correction cycle — as the Fear & Greed Index reads 15, a marginal recovery from yesterday’s absolute cycle low of 12. Total crypto market cap holds near $2.07 trillion. The defining story of the day is the sharp divergence within the top 10: Solana and Hyperliquid are posting strong weekly gains while Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, BNB, and Dogecoin all remain in negative territory for the week, with Dogecoin down a brutal 9.43%.
Key Takeaways Bitcoin at $59,101, down 0.26% on the day and 5.33% on the week, closing out June’s worst monthly performance of the cycle Fear & Greed Index at 15 — up slightly from yesterday’s cycle-low 12, but still firmly in Extreme Fear; last month was 28 (Fear) Solana is the standout performer: +6.19% weekly, the only top-10 asset with strong positive momentum across both 24h and 7d Hyperliquid (+4.35% weekly) is the second-best performer, both assets benefiting from idiosyncratic strength rather than broad market recovery Dogecoin down 9.43% weekly — the worst performer in the top 10 by a wide margin Ethereum down just 0.46% on the day despite Foundation restructuring and ETF outflow headlines XRP down 6.27% weekly as CLARITY Act odds fell to 42% and Senate entered recess until July 13 TRON’s defensive characteristics weakened into month-end, down 3.74% weekly — still better than BTC, ETH, XRP, BNB AssetPrice24h7dMarket CapVolume (24h)Bitcoin (BTC)$59,101.69–0.26%–5.33%$1.18T$31.35BEthereum (ETH)$1,575.63–0.46%–4.98%$190.15B$11.72BTether (USDT)$0.9984–0.01%–0.03%$184.7B$70.52BBNB$547.09–0.29%–4.54%$73.73B$1.15BUSDC$0.99960.00%0.00%$73.61B$13.24BXRP$1.03–0.30%–6.27%$64.61B$1.58BSolana (SOL)$73.39–0.26%+6.19%$42.63B$3.85BTRON (TRX)$0.3171–0.10%–3.74%$30.08B$638.95MHyperliquid (HYPE)$65.83–0.12%+4.35%$16.65B$659.81MDogecoin (DOGE)$0.07192–0.67%–9.43%$12.26B$638.58M Fear & Greed at 15: Recovering From the Cycle’s Darkest Reading The Fear & Greed Index printed 15 on June 30, an improvement from yesterday’s reading of 12 — the deepest Extreme Fear of the entire 2026 correction cycle. The four-day trajectory tells the story: last month was 28 (Fear), last week 23 (Extreme Fear), yesterday 12 (cycle low), today 15. The slight uptick from 12 to 15 is the first sentiment improvement seen in over a week, though the index remains firmly in Extreme Fear territory.
This sentiment pattern — sustained readings below 20 for multiple consecutive days, including the deepest point of the entire cycle — has historically been associated with periods that precede meaningful relief rallies, though the timing and magnitude of any recovery remain uncertain. The next update arrives within 24 hours and will be the first reading of July, providing an early signal of whether the marginal improvement continues into the new month.
Bitcoin: Closing Out the Worst Month of the Cycle Bitcoin is trading at $59,101.69, down 0.26% on the day and 5.33% over the past week — a decline that caps what has been confirmed as the worst monthly performance of the entire 2026 correction. The 1-week chart shows BTC opened above $62,200 on June 24, dropped sharply to test the $59,000s through a volatile mid-week stretch, and has spent the final days of June grinding in a narrow range near $59,000–$60,000.
Volume at $31.35 billion is elevated (+44.14% versus the prior session per CoinMarketCap data), consistent with month-end institutional rebalancing rather than a fresh directional catalyst. With June closing near $59,000, the monthly candle confirms BTC’s deepest drawdown test of the year, though the price has avoided a clean breach of the May cycle low on a sustained closing basis. For the full BTC breakdown, see our Bitcoin news today page.
Solana: The Standout Performer of the Week Solana is the clear leader among major assets, up 6.19% over the past week to $73.39 even as it dipped slightly (–0.26%) on the day itself. The 1-week chart shows a powerful recovery structure: SOL bottomed near $66 around June 25–26 alongside the broader market selloff, then staged a sustained climb through $68, $70, and finally above $73 by June 30 — outperforming every other top-10 asset by a wide margin on the weekly timeframe.
Volume surged 54.41% to $3.85 billion, confirming institutional participation behind the move rather than thin, low-conviction trading. SOL’s relative strength reflects its faster recovery from the June 26 capitulation low compared to Bitcoin and Ethereum, combined with the ongoing Alpenglow upgrade narrative and continued real-world adoption momentum from partnerships announced earlier in the month.
Ethereum: Resilient Despite Foundation Restructuring Headlines Ethereum is down just 0.46% on the day to $1,575.63, holding up reasonably well despite a difficult news cycle that included the Ethereum Foundation’s confirmed 20% staff reduction and persistent spot ETF outflows. The 7-day loss of 4.98% is actually milder than Bitcoin’s 5.33% weekly decline — a notable shift after ETH had underperformed BTC for most of June.
Volume jumped 47.47% to $11.72 billion, the second-highest percentage volume increase in the top 10 after Solana. The relative stability suggests that the worst of the Foundation restructuring and ETF outflow narrative may already be priced in, with the market shifting attention toward whether ETH can build a base above $1,550 heading into July. For daily ETH coverage, see our Ethereum news today tracker.
XRP: Weakest Major Asset as CLARITY Act Odds Slide XRP is the weakest major asset on a weekly basis among BTC, ETH, BNB, and TRX, down 6.27% to $1.03 as CLARITY Act passage odds fell to 42% and the Senate entered recess until July 13. The 1-week chart shows the same pattern as Bitcoin and Ethereum — a sharp drop around June 25–26 followed by a choppy, directionless recovery attempt that has failed to reclaim the $1.06–$1.08 zone on a sustained basis.
Despite the price weakness, on-chain accumulation by large holders has continued throughout the drawdown, and some technical analysts have flagged early bullish reversal signals on the daily chart. Whether those signals translate into price action will likely depend heavily on developments around the CLARITY Act when the Senate returns from recess on July 13.
TRON: Defensive Edge Erodes Into Month-End TRON’s typically defensive profile weakened in the final week of June, with TRX down 3.74% to $0.3171 — still outperforming BTC, ETH, XRP, and BNB on the weekly timeframe, but a notably larger decline than the sub-1% losses TRX posted during earlier capitulation events in June. Volume rose 14.03% to $638.95 million.
The erosion in TRON’s relative strength suggests that sustained multi-week macro pressure is beginning to weigh on even utility-driven assets, though TRX’s structural demand base from USDT settlement remains intact heading into the MiCA enforcement window that opened July 1.
Hyperliquid: Quietly the Second-Best Performer Hyperliquid is up 4.35% over the past week to $65.83, the second-strongest performer in the top 10 after Solana. The 1-week chart shows a steady, low-volatility climb from the low $60s to nearly $66, with volume surging 72.35% to $659.69 million — the largest percentage volume increase of any asset in the top 10. HYPE’s continued strength reflects sustained demand for its on-chain perpetuals exchange, which has maintained robust trading volumes even as broader sentiment remained deeply negative.
Dogecoin: Worst Performer in the Top 10 Dogecoin is down 9.43% over the past week to $0.07192 — by far the weakest performer among major assets and nearly double the percentage decline of the next-worst performer, XRP. With no underlying utility catalyst, DOGE remains the purest sentiment proxy in the top 10, and its outsized weekly loss reflects just how compressed risk appetite has become during the depths of Extreme Fear.
What July Inherits From June June 2026 closes as the worst monthly stretch of the current crypto correction cycle, with Bitcoin down over 5% on the week and Ethereum facing both technical damage and structural organizational news from the Foundation restructuring. Yet the month also closes with two clear bright spots — Solana and Hyperliquid — both demonstrating that idiosyncratic strength is possible even within a broadly bearish macro environment.
The Fear & Greed Index’s modest recovery from 12 to 15 is the first sentiment improvement in over a week, and the path into July will be shaped by three factors: whether the CLARITY Act sees any progress when the Senate returns from recess on July 13, whether Bitcoin can hold the $59,000 zone on a sustained basis, and whether Ethereum’s relative stability this week marks a genuine bottoming process or merely a pause before further downside.
As Solana nears a critical resistance zone, market participants remain divided on the cryptocurrency’s next direction. While SOL has hovered between $75.50 and $75.66, some analysts suggest this could mark the start of a broader recovery, while others warn it may pose a risky trap for latecomers jumping in after the rally.
$78 emerges as a pivotal levelTechnical charts indicate that the $77 to $78 zone represents a key short-term area to watch. This band aligns with the lower boundary of the range where Solana traded in previous months. After a sharp pullback, SOL’s movement back up toward this level has brought the possibility of a new bottom into focus for traders.
According to Mercury, a stronger bullish signal would require SOL to reclaim its long-term trendline and re-enter the previous four-month trading range. Such a move could frame the recent plunge as a temporary deviation rather than a sign of deeper weakness.
Mercury emphasizes that regaining the $77 to $78 range is technically critical. If SOL sustains levels above this band, the odds for a robust recovery increase considerably.
If buyers manage to push the price decisively above $78, analysts believe bullish control could strengthen. In this scenario, the next major resistance would stand at $95. If upward momentum persists, the $122 level could also become a significant resistance to watch over a longer horizon.
Failure to break could increase pullback riskOn the other hand, market observers note that Solana’s current setup is still in its early stages. Over recent sessions, SOL has tested the upper boundary of its short-term $75 to $76 range and climbed beyond previous local highs. This movement suggests that liquidity above the range may have been absorbed.
TraderJqrit notes that this action might have drawn in investors chasing the breakout, but warns that if the price can’t sustain higher levels, late buyers could be at risk for rapid reversals. In such a case, momentum might shift back to the downside.
TraderJqrit anticipates that if the breakout fails to hold, late buyers could get trapped, exposing SOL to renewed declines toward the bottom of its recent range.
In the event of a downturn, market attention may also turn to Bitcoin’s short-term price action, which could impact Solana’s outlook. TraderJqrit suggests that a shift in Bitcoin’s lower timeframes could support a rebound in SOL, but highlights $63.33 as a major support level to watch closely on the charts.
Solana is known as a blockchain network focused on delivering high-speed, low-cost transactions. As a result, technical breakouts in its native token SOL are closely monitored not just for short-term trading, but also as a barometer of overall market appetite.
Currently, the market’s focus remains fixed on whether SOL can reclaim the crucial $77 to $78 zone and transform it into a sustainable rally. Failure to do so would leave open the risk of a renewed decline toward the $63 region.
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.
@Kucoincom has officially listed the $ANSEM token in its Alpha Zone, adding an ANSEM/USDT trading pair and opening a new centralized liquidity gateway for the Solana-based asset.
The listing arrives against a backdrop of sharp price momentum. KOL Ansem distributed 67.38 million tokens, worth approximately $9.43 million, to more than 700 addresses on June 30, pushing the market cap above $140 million and driving gains of over 20%. Over the prior seven days, $ANSEM posted a price increase of more than 26,000%, outperforming the broader cryptocurrency market.
What Is KuCoin Alpha?KuCoin Alpha is a platform within KuCoin Exchange designed to spotlight early-stage projects with growth potential across the Web3 ecosystem. Tokens highlighted there may be considered for full listings on KuCoin Exchange in the future, and are selected based on factors such as strong community interest, market traction, and observed trends.
By bridging the convenience of a centralized exchange with the opportunities of on-chain trading, KuCoin Alpha allows users to explore and trade promising Web3 assets within a secure infrastructure. Supported networks include Solana and Binance Smart Chain.
KuCoin Alpha is a dedicated zone for early-stage, high-volatility projects that are often community-driven or experimental, while the main market is reserved for established projects with proven utility, higher market caps, and deeper liquidity.
Risk ConsiderationsTokens listed on KuCoin Alpha may carry higher risks, including significant price volatility and potential loss of capital. KuCoin advises users to conduct independent research and ensure they fully understand the risks involved. KuCoin may continuously review and assess the development of KuCoin Alpha projects, and if a token no longer meets listing standards, KuCoin may, at its sole discretion, suspend or delist the token.
$ANSEM currently holds a market capitalization of approximately $56 million, with around 410 million tokens in circulation. According to Rugcheck.xyz, there is a risk of market manipulation due to a large concentration of tokens held in unidentified wallets, and traders are advised to exercise caution.
Sources:
KuCoin Alpha Zone, KuCoin
KuCoin Alpha Launch Announcement, PR Newswire
The Black Bull (ANSEM) Price and Market Data, CoinGecko
A community takeover, or CTO, is when the holders of an abandoned token band together and run it themselves after the original developer walks away. It is one of the defining rituals of Solana memecoin culture. Here is how a CTO works, why most fail, and what separates the rare survivor from the rest.
Summary
A community takeover (CTO) is when the holders or broader community of a token take over running it, marketing, socials, and coordination, after the original developers abandon the project, walk away, or lose credibility. CTOs are most common with Solana memecoins, where tokens are fully liquid from launch, so the token keeps trading on a decentralized exchange even after the creator leaves. The mechanics involve the community seizing the social accounts, organizing on Telegram and X, sometimes getting listing trackers to relabel the token as a CTO, and rallying new marketing and momentum. The appeal is an underdog, level-playing-field narrative: with the original developer gone and no insider advantage, holders feel they finally own the project outright. The hard reality is that most CTOs fail and the token stays near zero, because a new logo and a Telegram group do not create real demand, and the same speculative dynamics that sank the project remain. Table of Contents
What a CTO is and why it is possibleHow a CTO unfoldsWhy CTOs happen so often on SolanaA worked exampleWhat separates a rare success from the many failuresThe hard truth about CTOs and how to think about the riskFrequently Asked Questions A community takeover, almost always shortened to CTO, is what happens when the people who hold a token decide to take over and run the project themselves after its original developers abandon it, walk away, or lose the community’s trust. It is one of the most distinctive rituals of memecoin culture, particularly on Solana, where the fast, cheap, fully liquid nature of token launches makes both abandonment and revival routine events. In a typical CTO, the founding developer of a memecoin disappears, sells their holdings, or is exposed as untrustworthy, and the token, which would normally just collapse to nothing, instead gets a second life when a group of remaining holders bands together to keep it alive.
They take over the project’s social media accounts, organize themselves in group chats, raise money for marketing, and try to generate fresh momentum around a token that technically has no team behind it anymore. The contract on the blockchain stays the same; what changes is who is steering the narrative and the community around it. The holders, in effect, seize the wheel of a car the driver has jumped out of.
Understanding the CTO is essential to understanding how the memecoin trenches actually work, because abandonment and revival are not edge cases there but core features of the landscape. This guide explains what a community takeover is and why it is possible at all, the mechanics of how a CTO unfolds step by step, why these takeovers happen so often on Solana specifically, a worked example tracing a typical CTO from abandonment to revival attempt, what separates the rare CTO that succeeds from the many that fail, and an honest look at why most CTOs go to zero and how to think about the risks.
The aim is to give you a clear and unromantic picture of a phenomenon that memecoin culture often wraps in heroic, underdog language, because the narrative of a community heroically rescuing an abandoned token is emotionally powerful and frequently used to draw in buyers, and the reality is far more sobering than the story.
This is educational material, not investment advice, and the memecoin environment it describes is among the riskiest corners of crypto.
What a CTO is and why it is possible Start with why a community takeover can happen at all, because the answer reveals something fundamental about how memecoins are structured. When a memecoin launches on a platform like those common on Solana, the token is created with its liquidity placed in a pool on a decentralized exchange, which means the token can be bought and sold by anyone the moment it exists, with no central party required to keep the market running. The developer who launched it does not control the trading; the market lives on-chain, in a liquidity pool that functions independently of whether the creator is still involved.
This is the structural fact that makes a CTO possible. Even if the original developer completely abandons the project, sells everything, and deletes the social accounts, the token itself keeps existing on the blockchain and keeps trading on the exchange, because the liquidity pool and the contract do not depend on the creator’s presence. The project as a social and marketing entity may be dead, but the token as a tradable asset survives.
This separation between the token and its creator is what gives the community something to take over. In traditional contexts, if a company’s founders walk away, the company often simply ceases to function. But a memecoin is not a company; it is a freely trading token with a community attached, and the community can continue even when the founder does not. A community takeover is the act of that community formally adopting the orphaned token, declaring that they will now run the things the developer used to run, the social media presence, the marketing, the coordination, the narrative, and attempting to carry the project forward on collective effort alone.
Crucially, a CTO does not change the underlying token or its contract; the holders cannot rewrite the code or mint themselves new control. What they take over is everything around the token: the story, the channels, the momentum. The token is the same; the stewardship is new. This is why a CTO is sometimes described as the community inheriting a project rather than acquiring it, they take possession of an asset that was left behind, with all its existing properties intact, good and bad.
How a CTO unfolds The mechanics of a community takeover follow a recognizable sequence, even though the details vary from case to case. It begins with the trigger: the original developer abandons the project. This can take several forms. The developer might pull the liquidity or sell their entire holding in a rug pull, crashing the price and signaling they have given up; they might quietly disappear, going silent on social media and ceasing all activity; or they might be exposed as having acted in bad faith, destroying the community’s trust even if they have not formally left. Whatever the form, the result is a token with no active team, a collapsed or collapsing price, and a community of holders sitting on losses and a decision: walk away, or try to save it.
If enough holders choose to try, the takeover organizes itself. A core group, often the most committed remaining holders, coordinates through group chats on Telegram and through posts on X, rallying the community around the idea of continuing without the developer. They take over or recreate the social media accounts, establishing new official channels under community control, since the original accounts may have been deleted or abandoned.
They frequently seek to have the token’s listing on price-tracking sites relabeled to reflect the takeover, since major trackers have processes for marking a token as community-run when the original team is gone, which updates the project’s public information to point at the new community channels. The community then tries to do the work a team would normally do: organizing marketing pushes, raising funds for promotion, sometimes coordinating to provide or lock liquidity, and generating social momentum to attract new buyers.
In the best cases, the community also pushes for transparency about who is now leading and takes steps to reassure potential buyers, such as confirming that the liquidity is locked or burned so it cannot be pulled again. The whole effort is a bet that collective enthusiasm can substitute for a founding team and breathe new life into a token the market had written off.
Why CTOs happen so often on Solana Community takeovers are not unique to Solana, but they are far more common there than anywhere else, and the reasons are structural to how the Solana memecoin ecosystem works. The first reason is the sheer volume of memecoin launches. Solana’s low fees and fast transactions, combined with launch platforms that make creating a token nearly effortless, have produced an enormous number of memecoins, far more than could ever succeed, which means abandonment is constant and the raw material for CTOs, orphaned tokens, is abundant.
Where thousands of tokens launch and the overwhelming majority fail or are abandoned, there is a steady supply of projects a community could potentially take over. The second reason is that Solana memecoins are fully liquid from day one, trading freely on decentralized exchanges, so an abandoned token does not vanish; it keeps trading, which is the precondition for any takeover.
The third reason is cultural and narrative. The Solana memecoin scene has developed a powerful underdog mythology around the CTO, in which a community rescuing a token abandoned by a faithless developer is framed as a triumph of the people over insiders. This narrative has real emotional force in a market where traders are acutely aware that many tokens are stacked in favor of developers and early insiders. When the developer leaves, the community feels it is finally operating on a level playing field, with no insider dumping on them and no hidden team allocation, just the holders and the token.
That underdog framing, the sense of a genuine community reclaiming something and proving the doubters wrong, turns a failed launch into a movement, at least in the storytelling, and movements attract attention and buyers. The combination of constant abandonment, full liquidity, and a culture that celebrates the takeover as a heroic act makes Solana uniquely fertile ground for CTOs. It is worth being clear-eyed that this same narrative is also a marketing device, deployed precisely because it is effective at drawing in new money, which is part of why the romance of the CTO deserves scrutiny rather than acceptance.
A worked example Trace a representative case to see how a CTO actually plays out, using an illustrative example rather than any specific real token. Picture a memecoin that launches with an appealing theme and a charismatic developer who builds an early community. The token runs up quickly as buyers pile in, reaching a meaningful market value within days. Then the developer, having accumulated a large position at launch, sells their entire holding into the buying, crashing the price by most of its value in minutes, and goes silent, deleting the project’s social accounts. The remaining holders are left with a token that has lost the vast majority of its value, no team, and no official channels. By the normal logic of memecoins, this token is dead, and most would simply go to zero from here.
But a group of holders decides to attempt a community takeover. They form a new Telegram group, recreate the project’s presence on X under community control, and begin coordinating. They publicize that the original developer is gone and frame the situation as an opportunity: the insider who was dumping on everyone has left, the liquidity that remains is now locked so it cannot be pulled again, and the token is in the hands of the community. They petition the major price-tracking sites to relabel the token as a community takeover, updating its public listing to point at the new channels.
They organize a marketing push, pooling funds to pay for promotion and rallying members to post about the revival. For a while, this can work: the CTO narrative attracts fresh attention, new buyers come in drawn by the underdog story and the apparent absence of an insider threat, and the token’s price recovers some ground on the renewed momentum. Whether this recovery lasts is the crucial question, and in the great majority of cases it does not, because, as the next section explains, enthusiasm and a new logo do not generate the durable demand a token needs to hold value. The example shows the mechanism clearly; it does not imply the mechanism usually succeeds.
What separates a rare success from the many failures Among the flood of community takeovers, a small number achieve a real and lasting revival while most fade, and the differences between them, though they do not guarantee anything, are instructive. The first factor is transparent and credible new leadership. A CTO led by identifiable, communicative people who articulate a clear plan and follow through tends to fare better than one run anonymously with vague promises, because trust is the scarce resource in a project that has already betrayed its community once.
The second factor is the state of the liquidity. A takeover where the remaining liquidity is verifiably locked or burned, so it cannot be pulled out from under buyers again, removes one of the biggest risks and gives new participants a reason to believe the rug cannot happen twice. Checking whether liquidity-provider tokens have been burned or locked is one of the most important pieces of due diligence in any CTO.
The third factor is the distribution of holdings. A CTO where the token supply is spread across many holders is healthier than one where a few large wallets dominate, because concentrated holdings mean a small number of people can crash the price by selling, recreating the very dynamic the takeover was supposed to escape. A diversified holder base gives a revival a more stable foundation. The fourth factor, the hardest and least common, is genuine sustained effort and some reason for the token to attract ongoing attention, real marketing, real community activity, sometimes an attempt to build something beyond pure speculation.
Even with all of these factors present, success is rare, and it is essential to understand that these are markers that improve the odds at the margin, not formulas that produce a winner. The base rate is failure. The point of knowing the success factors is not to identify guaranteed revivals, which do not exist, but to recognize the warning signs in their absence: anonymous leadership, unlocked liquidity, and concentrated holdings are signals that a CTO is especially likely to fail, and their presence should make anyone considering participation far more cautious. The factors are a filter for avoiding the worst, not a recipe for finding the best.
The hard truth about CTOs and how to think about the risk The unromantic reality, which the heroic CTO narrative tends to obscure, is that the overwhelming majority of community takeovers fail, and the token settles at or near zero regardless of the community’s effort. This is not a cynical exaggeration but the base rate of the phenomenon, and understanding why is essential. A community takeover changes the stewardship of a token, but it does not change the fundamental problem that sank the project in the first place: a memecoin has no inherent product, revenue, or utility, and its price depends entirely on continued speculative demand.
A new Telegram group, a recovered social account, and a wave of marketing can generate a burst of renewed attention, but attention is not the same as durable demand, and once the initial CTO excitement fades, the token is left exactly where it was, a speculative asset with nothing underneath it, now without even the novelty of a fresh launch. The community can work tirelessly and still fail, because the thing they are trying to revive never had a foundation to stand on.
Compounding this, the same dynamics that make memecoins dangerous in the first place persist through a takeover. The people coordinating a CTO are often the same speculators who bought in originally, with the same incentives to sell into any strength, so a price recovery driven by the CTO narrative can itself become an exit opportunity for early holders at the expense of the new buyers the narrative attracted. The underdog story that draws fresh money into a CTO is, viewed coldly, sometimes a mechanism for transferring losses from the people who held through the crash to the people who buy the revival. There are also coordination and trust problems inherent in running anything by committee with anonymous participants and no formal structure.
For anyone weighing involvement in a CTO, the honest framework is this: treat it as among the highest-risk activities in crypto, assume the base rate is failure, do the specific due diligence that can at least rule out the worst cases, checking that liquidity is locked or burned, researching who is now leading, examining whether holdings are concentrated, and never commit money you cannot afford to lose entirely, because losing it entirely is the most common outcome. The CTO is a real and fascinating feature of memecoin culture, and it occasionally produces a genuine revival, but it is a casino bet dressed in the language of community heroism, and seeing it clearly means holding both the appeal and the brutal odds in view at once.
Frequently Asked Questions What does CTO mean in crypto? CTO stands for community takeover. It refers to a situation where the holders or broader community of a token take over running the project after its original developers abandon it, walk away, or lose the community’s trust. The community assumes the roles a team would normally fill, controlling the social media accounts, organizing marketing, coordinating through group chats, and trying to generate fresh momentum, even though there is no longer an official team behind the token. CTOs are most common with memecoins, especially on Solana, where tokens trade freely on decentralized exchanges and so keep existing even after the creator leaves. A CTO changes who steers the project’s narrative and community, but it does not change the underlying token or its contract.
How does a community takeover work? It usually starts when the original developer abandons the project, by selling out in a rug pull, going silent, or being exposed as untrustworthy, leaving a token with a collapsed price and no team. A core group of committed holders then coordinates, typically through Telegram and X, to keep the token alive. They take over or recreate the social accounts under community control, often get price-tracking sites to relabel the token as a community takeover, and organize marketing and fundraising to attract new attention. They may also confirm that the remaining liquidity is locked or burned to reassure buyers. The goal is to substitute collective community effort for the missing team and revive a token the market had written off. The token’s code itself does not change.
Why do community takeovers happen on Solana? Three structural reasons. First, Solana’s low fees and easy launch platforms have produced an enormous volume of memecoins, the vast majority of which fail or are abandoned, creating a constant supply of orphaned tokens that communities could take over. Second, Solana memecoins are fully liquid from launch, trading on decentralized exchanges, so an abandoned token keeps trading instead of vanishing, which is the precondition for any takeover. Third, the culture has built a powerful underdog narrative around the CTO, framing a community rescuing an abandoned token as a triumph over faithless insiders, which has emotional force and attracts attention. The combination of abundant abandonment, full liquidity, and a celebratory culture makes Solana uniquely fertile ground for community takeovers.
Do community takeovers succeed? Rarely. The overwhelming majority of CTOs fail, and the token settles at or near zero despite the community’s effort. The reason is that a takeover changes who runs the project but not the underlying problem: a memecoin has no inherent product, revenue, or utility, and depends entirely on speculative demand. A new social account and a marketing push can create a burst of attention, but attention is not durable demand, and once the excitement fades the token is left as a speculative asset with nothing underneath it. A small number of CTOs do achieve real revivals, usually those with transparent leadership, locked or burned liquidity, and a diversified holder base, but these are exceptions. The base rate is failure.
How can I tell if a CTO is legitimate? There is no way to be certain, but several checks can rule out the worst cases. First, examine the new leadership: transparent, identifiable, communicative people with a clear plan are a better sign than anonymous accounts making vague promises, because the project has already betrayed its community once. Second, verify the liquidity: check whether the liquidity-provider tokens have been burned or locked, which prevents another rug pull and is one of the most important pieces of due diligence. Third, look at the holder distribution: a supply spread across many wallets is healthier than one where a few large holders could crash the price. These checks improve your odds of avoiding disasters, but they cannot identify a guaranteed winner, because most CTOs fail regardless.
Is buying into a CTO a good investment? It is among the highest-risk activities in crypto, and this is not investment advice. The honest framework is to assume the base rate is failure, because most community takeovers end with the token near zero. The underdog narrative that draws money into a CTO can itself be a mechanism for early holders to exit at the expense of new buyers, transferring losses to the people the story attracted. The same speculative dynamics and trust problems that sank the original project usually persist. If you choose to participate anyway, do the due diligence that can rule out the worst cases, locked or burned liquidity, transparent leadership, diversified holdings, and never commit money you cannot afford to lose entirely, because total loss is the most common outcome.
This article is educational information, not financial or investment advice. Memecoins and community takeovers are among the highest-risk activities in crypto, and most result in total loss. Examples are illustrative and not references to specific tokens. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or participate in any project. Do your own research and never risk money you cannot afford to lose.
Kamino Finance just rolled out a new vault product that signals where Solana’s DeFi ecosystem is headed: toward the suits. The Hyperithm USDC Apex Vault, which went live on June 30, pairs Kamino’s lending infrastructure with yield strategies curated by Hyperithm, a regulated digital asset manager with roots in Tokyo and Seoul.
The vault is currently delivering approximately 6.77% yield on USDC deposits, with around $200K in total value locked. Those numbers are modest by DeFi standards, but the product itself tells a bigger story about institutional capital slowly finding its way onto Solana.
What the vault actually does Think of an Apex Vault as a managed fund that lives on-chain. Instead of depositors manually hunting for the best USDC lending rates across different pools, the vault’s curator, in this case Hyperithm, automatically allocates capital to optimize returns.
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Kamino has categorized this particular vault as “Balanced” risk. That sits somewhere between the conservative options that prioritize capital preservation and the aggressive strategies that chase higher returns with correspondingly higher exposure. Historically, Kamino’s USDC strategies have offered yields ranging from 4% to 9% APY, which puts the Hyperithm vault’s 6.77% right in the middle of the pack.
Who is Hyperithm Hyperithm isn’t some anonymous DeFi team with cartoon animal profile pictures. Founded in 2018 with offices in Tokyo and Seoul, the firm focuses on quantitative trading and venture investments in digital assets. The “regulated” part matters: operating across Japan and South Korea means navigating two of Asia’s more stringent crypto regulatory environments.
This isn’t Hyperithm’s first vault rodeo, either. The firm has been running similar USDC Apex vaults on Morpho, an Ethereum-based lending protocol, since around late October 2025. Those Ethereum vaults have attracted significantly more capital, pulling in millions in TVL. The strategies there focus on integrating collateral for high borrower yields while maintaining risk controls.
The bigger picture for Solana DeFi Kamino operates as Solana’s largest lending and liquidity protocol, with a multi-billion dollar TVL across its various markets. The platform has been actively pursuing a curator-led product strategy since 2025, essentially inviting professional asset managers to build structured yield products on top of Kamino’s infrastructure.
The risk side deserves honest discussion, though. Vaults like these carry multiple layers of exposure: smart contract risk on Kamino’s protocol, strategy risk from Hyperithm’s allocation decisions, and the ever-present systemic risks that come with DeFi composability. The “Balanced” risk label is Kamino’s own categorization, not an independent rating.
Investors watching this space should pay attention to whether Hyperithm’s Solana vault can replicate the traction its Ethereum counterpart achieved on Morpho. If the TVL grows meaningfully from its current $200K base, it validates the thesis that institutional-grade products can find product-market fit on Solana.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Survey: 88% of enterprises plan to adopt stablecoins within the next year, with cross-border payment costs reduced by an average of 35%.
Payment infrastructure company Cybrid has released a new survey report indicating stablecoins are rapidly gaining traction in enterprise payment scenarios. The survey found that 42% of participating enterprises already use stablecoins for cross-border payments, while 88% said they are likely or very likely to adopt stablecoins within the next 12 months—only 2% of firms stated they will continue to rely entirely on traditional payment systems. According to the report, enterprises using stablecoins save an average of 35% on cross-border payment costs, with firms processing over $100 million in monthly payments achieving an average cost reduction of 47%. Payroll and contractor payments represent the most prominent use case, followed by supplier payments, customer payments, investment and revenue management, and treasury management, among others. Additionally, 71% of respondents identified a clear regulatory framework as the primary factor driving further mainstream adoption of stablecoins, outranking considerations such as infrastructure provider credibility and system integration. The survey was conducted from April to May this year, covering 468 senior executives from tech, financial services, and e-commerce sectors in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
2 hours ago
FalconX secures EU MiCA license, allowing it to offer compliant crypto services to institutional clients in Europe.
Institutional digital asset broker FalconX announced it has obtained the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license issued by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), enabling it to provide compliant digital asset trading, custody, liquidity and related institutional services across the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA). FalconX stated that this license allows it to operate across EU member states under a unified regulatory framework, eliminating the need for individual country-specific licenses. Currently, the firm serves over 2,000 institutional clients worldwide, including asset management firms, hedge funds, banks and family offices, with cumulative transaction volumes exceeding $2.5 trillion and over $8 billion in institutional financing disbursed. FalconX noted that as the MiCA regulatory framework is fully implemented, institutional clients’ demand for compliant trading, custody and liquidity services continues to grow, and regulatory credentials are becoming a key competitive advantage in Europe’s digital asset market.
2 hours ago
Guo Wengui sentenced to 30 years in prison in connection with a fraud case involving over $1 billion.
A US court has sentenced Miles Guo (also known as Ho Wan Kwok) to 30 years in prison. In 2024, a jury convicted Guo on multiple charges including racketeering, fraud, and money laundering, with his formal sentencing now issued. Prosecutors stated that Guo defrauded over $1 billion from global victims through a series of related scam schemes spanning five years. Notably, in 2021, he promoted the cryptocurrency project Himalaya Coin (H-Coin), claiming the tokens were backed by 20% gold reserves and promising to cover all investors’ losses, raising approximately $500 million in total. Additionally, the court previously ordered the forfeiture of nearly $900 million in Guo’s illegal proceeds, as well as his luxury mansion in New Jersey and multiple high-end vehicles. Guo had close ties to Steve Bannon, a former senior advisor to US President Donald Trump; Bannon was arrested in 2020 aboard Guo’s yacht.
2 hours ago
The first-half 2026 funding rankings have been released, with Kalshi and Polymarket raising a combined $1.8 billion.
According to statistics, the 14 largest global funding rounds in the first half of 2026 raised a total of $4.3 billion, with prediction markets, AI, and payment sectors drawing the most investor interest. Specifically, prediction market platform Kalshi topped the list with a $1.2 billion funding round, while Polymarket secured $600 million—together, the two raised $1.8 billion, accounting for over 40% of the total capital of the top 14 rounds. In the AI space, Replit, Exa AI, and OpenRouter closed funding rounds of $400 million, $250 million, and $113 million respectively. For blockchain projects, Canton Network, Arc, and Morpho raised $355 million, $222 million, and $175 million respectively. Meanwhile, payment, RWA, infrastructure, and compliance projects including Rain, Slash, Goldcom, Alpaca, and Elliptic also featured on the list.
2 hours ago
Open Standard launches stablecoin Open USD, with over 140 institutions including Visa, BlackRock, and Coinbase participating.
Open Standard has announced the launch of Open USD (OUSD), a new stablecoin for global fund flows, noting that over 140 enterprises have joined its ecosystem, including financial, payment, and crypto industry players such as Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, American Express, BlackRock, BNY, DBS, Coinbase, OKX, MetaMask, Aave, Ripple, Fireblocks, Solana, and Polygon. According to the introduction, Open USD follows three core design principles: supporting zero-cost, large-scale minting and redemption for enterprises; returning all reserve asset yields to partners after deducting a small management fee; and being governed by a board of directors composed of independent firm Open Standard and its partners, rather than controlled by a single issuer. Open Standard states that Open USD will officially launch later this year, with the goal of building an open, low-cost, high-throughput stablecoin infrastructure with a sharing economy mechanism to meet the needs of the internet economy and global enterprise-level payments.
2 hours ago
Pump.fun is discontinuing support for its tokenized agent issuance feature, stating it will focus on optimizing retail user trading experience.
Pump.fun announced it will immediately cease support for its Tokenized Agent token issuance feature. The feature will no longer be available for new token launches, though projects that have already activated it will remain unaffected. The platform noted that over recent months, consistent community feedback has pointed out that excessive issuance options have sparked unnecessary user vs. user (PVP) competition. Moving forward, Pump.fun will prioritize issuance models and product features that explicitly enhance retail trading experiences.
July 2026 features one of the largest token unlock schedules the Solana ecosystem has seen this year, led by a major vesting event for memecoin launchpad pump.fun and several sizeable releases across leading DeFi, infrastructure, and consumer-facing protocols.
Here is a breakdown of the most notable Solana ecosystem token unlocks scheduled for July 2026:
$PUMP Pump.fun is scheduled to unlock 86.65 billion $PUMP tokens in July, valued at approximately $123.65 million. The release represents 21.35% of the token's circulating supply and 10.14% of the total supply, making it the largest unlock of the month.
The majority of this release is due to the expiration of the project's original 12-month vesting cliff. 23% of the total $PUMP supply was allocated to team members and existing investors under a vesting schedule consisting of a 12-month cliff followed by 36 months of linear vesting. With that initial cliff now complete, approximately 82.5 billion $PUMP tokens will unlock immediately, while the remainder of the allocation will continue to vest over the following 36 months.
The unlock follows a period of aggressive supply reduction. Yesterday, June 29, pump.fun surpassed $400 million in cumulative $PUMP buybacks and burns, with a total of 146 billion $PUMP permanently removed from circulation. Those burns have effectively offset approximately 41.1% of the token's circulating supply.
The project previously committed to continuing programmatic buybacks for another year in April, allocating 50% of protocol revenue toward repurchasing $PUMP. As a result, July's vesting event coincides with an active supply-reduction strategy that market participants will do well to monitor closely. This will also serve as the first real price test for $PUMP since its TGE and will reveal how effective the buybacks are at absorbing selling pressure from the unlocks.
$JTO Jito will unlock 18.59 million $JTO tokens during July through linear vesting. The release is valued at approximately $14.11 million, representing 3.80% of the circulating supply and 1.85% of the total supply.
Beyond the monthly vesting schedule, July also marks an important milestone for the protocol's broader ecosystem. Jito recently teased the launch of JTX, its new trading app, in July.
Jito already generates revenue from several sources. JTX will introduce an additional revenue stream, with 80% of platform revenue accruing to $JTO holders, while the remaining 20% will support continued platform growth.
$GRASS Grass is scheduled to unlock 21.73 million $GRASS tokens through linear vesting during July. The release carries an estimated value of $10.25 million, representing 3.56% of circulating supply and 2.17% of total supply.
The unlock coincides with several anticipated ecosystem developments. Grass has announced that it will launch an in-app non-custodial wallet in July.
The wallet launch also carries additional significance for token holders. During the project's first Token Holder and Network Participant Call in November 2025, the team stated that full details regarding the second $GRASS airdrop would become available once the wallet goes live.
The upcoming Token Holder and Network Participant Call scheduled for July 7 is expected to provide further updates.
$ARX Arcium will unlock 5.86 million $ARX tokens on July 22, valued at approximately $1.53 million. The release represents 2.81% of circulating supply and 0.58% of total supply.
The unlock follows the launch of $ARX on June 22. Under the project's tokenomics, 185.2 million $ARX, or 18.5% of the total supply, was allocated to the community. At launch, 54.7% of that allocation became immediately available. The July 22 release unlocks an additional 3.164% of the community allocation, equivalent to 5.86 million tokens.
The remaining community allocation remains subject to a 12-month cliff followed by 42 months of linear vesting.
What to Watch July's schedule is dominated by the expiration of pump.fun's early investor and team vesting cliff. The release of more than 86 billion $PUMP tokens represents the largest unlock of the month by a considerable margin. Beyond $PUMP, projects such as $TRUMP and $DBR will introduce sizeable increases in circulating supply.
As always, token unlocks do not guarantee price movement. However, they remain an important metric for evaluating changing supply dynamics, liquidity conditions, and potential shifts in short-term market behavior across the Solana ecosystem.
Disclaimer: Solanafloor is a subsidiary of Jito Network.
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Celebrity-linked meme coin launches on Solana are drawing attention again after new tokens reached multimillion-dollar market caps.Solana’s low fees and fast settlement make it a natural home for rapid retail token launches.The same conditions that make these tokens move quickly also make them extremely risky. Solana’s meme coin machine appears to be waking up again. New celebrity-linked tokens have reportedly reached market caps in the millions after launching through Solana’s fast-moving retail token ecosystem, pushing traders back into a corner of the market that can feel euphoric one hour and brutal the next.
The activity can be tracked through public Solana infrastructure such as Solscan, where token creation, holder activity, transfers, and liquidity movements are visible on-chain. That transparency is useful, but it should not be confused with safety. In meme coin markets, seeing the activity does not mean the activity is healthy.
Why Solana Keeps Attracting These Launches There is a reason this keeps happening on Solana. The network is fast, cheap to use, and deeply wired into crypto’s retail trading culture. A new token can appear, pick up attention, migrate into a liquidity pool, and become the centre of a social-media trading rush before most people have even checked who controls the supply.
That speed is part of the appeal. For traders, Solana meme coins offer the possibility of early access, wild volatility, and a simple narrative that does not require reading a protocol whitepaper. For creators and promoters, the launch path is accessible and the attention cycle is immediate. Once a celebrity name, meme, or cultural reference catches on, liquidity can arrive very quickly.
The latest wave reportedly includes tokens reaching market caps around $13 million and $8 million during the early launch cycle. Those numbers are large enough to attract attention, but they are not proof of durable value. In this market segment, market capitalization can expand rapidly when liquidity is thin and early buying pressure is concentrated.
The Risk Is Not A Footnote Celebrity tokens have history, and much of it is ugly. The previous cycle produced launches that looked unstoppable for a few days, then faded as attention moved elsewhere. Some tokens lost the bulk of their value from peak levels, leaving late buyers holding assets that had very little support once the promotional moment passed.
That is the uncomfortable truth behind the current Solana resurgence. Traders may be watching for the next explosive move, but the same mechanics that create a sudden 10x can also create a collapse. Liquidity can disappear. Early wallets can sell. Narratives can expire. And celebrity association, even when genuine, does not automatically create a sustainable crypto project.
There is also a regulatory backdrop. U.S. regulators have repeatedly warned about celebrity promotion and speculative token marketing. Even where a token launch is presented as entertainment or community culture, traders should still ask who benefits, what disclosures exist, and whether the token has any purpose beyond being traded.
Solana will probably remain the leading venue for this kind of activity because the network fits the behaviour perfectly. It is quick, inexpensive, and culturally aligned with retail experimentation. But that is not the same as saying every trend built on top of it deserves trust.
The better read is this: Solana meme coin risk appetite is alive again. That may create opportunities for fast-moving traders, but it also increases the chance of painful exits for anyone confusing market-cap screenshots with fundamentals.
This article was written by the News Desk and edited by Samuel Rae.
Solana is now processing roughly 100 million non-vote transactions per day, sustaining real-time throughput between 1,200 and 1,900 TPS, and pulling in $100 million in fees.
By June 2026, daily non-vote transactions averaged 102.7 million. Daily active addresses have ranged between 2 and 5 million throughout 2026, with peaks surpassing 4 million users on a single day.
What the numbers actually mean TPS figures can be misleading in crypto. Most chains inflate throughput by counting validator votes alongside real user transactions. Solana separates the two, which makes the 100 million daily non-vote figure the honest version of network activity.
The sustained TPS range sits between 1,000 and 4,000, with real-time snapshots consistently landing in the 1,200 to 1,900 band.
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Applications built on top of Solana generated $2.39 billion in revenue during 2025, a 46% year-over-year increase. Seven individual applications each crossed the $100 million revenue threshold.
The infrastructure behind the activity Solana’s development team has been incrementally raising block compute limits, with proposals targeting around 100 million compute units per block.
The demand driving these upgrades is not coming from one source. DeFi protocols, stablecoin transfers, and payment applications are all contributing to baseline network load.
The network has also weathered a broader industry-wide compression in fee revenue that hit most Layer-1 chains. Solana maintained $100 million in fees during a period when competitors were watching their fee income shrink.
What investors should be watching Seven Solana-based applications each generating over $100 million in revenue individually is the kind of ecosystem depth that took Ethereum years to develop.
The daily active address range of 2 to 5 million creates a volatile but high floor for network engagement. Sustained activity above 4 million daily addresses would signal the high-end numbers are becoming the baseline.
Solana has kept fees low by design, which drives adoption but also caps per-transaction revenue. The network’s ability to compensate through raw volume, 100 million transactions daily, is currently working.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
More than 140 companies—among them Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, American Express, Coinbase, Ripple, Bybit, and Solana—have joined forces to launch a new stablecoin called Open USD. Scheduled for native rollout on the Solana network in 2026, this collaborative project brings together leading payment networks, crypto exchanges, and blockchain developers for what could become a major development in the stablecoin arena.
According to the announcement on Tuesday, Open USD will be owned and operated collectively through an independent entity named Open Standard. This structure is designed to move away from a single issuer, enabling a broader, more inclusive management framework that opens the door for wide industry participation.
Zach Abrams, founding CEO of Open Standard, noted several fundamental challenges with current stablecoins at an enterprise level. He pointed out that companies today encounter various fees when minting and redeeming tokens, have restricted access to reserve yields, and rely heavily on the decisions of a single issuer when it comes to product direction.
Zach Abrams, CEO of Open Standard, highlighted that while existing stablecoins bring certain strengths, enterprise users need an open, low-cost, high-capacity, accessible solution with interests aligned across participants for large-scale adoption.
With the Open USD model, member companies will be able to mint and redeem tokens without paying any fees, and there will be no artificial volume caps. Moreover, all income derived from the Open USD reserves will be distributed among the partners rather than kept by a central entity.
Mini glossary: Reserve yield refers to the income generated through the management of cash and similar assets backing a stablecoin. In centralized models, this yield usually stays on one company’s balance sheet, whereas collaborative approaches distribute it among the participants.
Stripe’s backing draws industry attentionAmong the boldest demonstrations of support comes from Stripe, which plans to make Open USD its default stablecoin for businesses operating within its system. As a top-tier global digital payment infrastructure provider, Stripe’s endorsement signals a powerful use case for real-world payment applications.
Will Gaybrick, Head of Technology and Business at Stripe, remarked that companies require a stablecoin capable of operating at global and industrial scale, which is why Open USD will become the default stablecoin for businesses on the Stripe platform.
Gaybrick also emphasized that this need extends beyond today’s transaction volume, reflecting future growth in digital payment flows. This vision positions Open USD not merely as a payment tool but as a foundational infrastructure offering for enterprises worldwide.
The stablecoin market keeps expandingThe Open USD announcement comes at a time of rapid growth in the global stablecoin market. According to data from Messari, the total market capitalization of stablecoins has surged to 298 billion dollars.
Carolyn Weinberg, Director of Product and Innovation at BNY, forecasts that the stablecoin market could reach 1.5 trillion dollars by 2030. She argues that Open USD’s neutral governance and shared economics could unlock a new phase of growth for digital assets if the model succeeds.
CategoryDataNumber of participating companiesMore than 140NetworkSolanaPlanned launch year2026Stablecoin market cap298 billion dollars2030 projection1.5 trillion dollarsDisclaimer: 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.
Survey: 88% of enterprises plan to adopt stablecoins within the next year, with cross-border payment costs reduced by an average of 35%.
Payment infrastructure company Cybrid has released a new survey report indicating stablecoins are rapidly gaining traction in enterprise payment scenarios. The survey found that 42% of participating enterprises already use stablecoins for cross-border payments, while 88% said they are likely or very likely to adopt stablecoins within the next 12 months—only 2% of firms stated they will continue to rely entirely on traditional payment systems. According to the report, enterprises using stablecoins save an average of 35% on cross-border payment costs, with firms processing over $100 million in monthly payments achieving an average cost reduction of 47%. Payroll and contractor payments represent the most prominent use case, followed by supplier payments, customer payments, investment and revenue management, and treasury management, among others. Additionally, 71% of respondents identified a clear regulatory framework as the primary factor driving further mainstream adoption of stablecoins, outranking considerations such as infrastructure provider credibility and system integration. The survey was conducted from April to May this year, covering 468 senior executives from tech, financial services, and e-commerce sectors in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
2 hours ago
FalconX secures EU MiCA license, allowing it to offer compliant crypto services to institutional clients in Europe.
Institutional digital asset broker FalconX announced it has obtained the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license issued by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), enabling it to provide compliant digital asset trading, custody, liquidity and related institutional services across the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA). FalconX stated that this license allows it to operate across EU member states under a unified regulatory framework, eliminating the need for individual country-specific licenses. Currently, the firm serves over 2,000 institutional clients worldwide, including asset management firms, hedge funds, banks and family offices, with cumulative transaction volumes exceeding $2.5 trillion and over $8 billion in institutional financing disbursed. FalconX noted that as the MiCA regulatory framework is fully implemented, institutional clients’ demand for compliant trading, custody and liquidity services continues to grow, and regulatory credentials are becoming a key competitive advantage in Europe’s digital asset market.
2 hours ago
Guo Wengui sentenced to 30 years in prison in connection with a fraud case involving over $1 billion.
A US court has sentenced Miles Guo (also known as Ho Wan Kwok) to 30 years in prison. In 2024, a jury convicted Guo on multiple charges including racketeering, fraud, and money laundering, with his formal sentencing now issued. Prosecutors stated that Guo defrauded over $1 billion from global victims through a series of related scam schemes spanning five years. Notably, in 2021, he promoted the cryptocurrency project Himalaya Coin (H-Coin), claiming the tokens were backed by 20% gold reserves and promising to cover all investors’ losses, raising approximately $500 million in total. Additionally, the court previously ordered the forfeiture of nearly $900 million in Guo’s illegal proceeds, as well as his luxury mansion in New Jersey and multiple high-end vehicles. Guo had close ties to Steve Bannon, a former senior advisor to US President Donald Trump; Bannon was arrested in 2020 aboard Guo’s yacht.
2 hours ago
The first-half 2026 funding rankings have been released, with Kalshi and Polymarket raising a combined $1.8 billion.
According to statistics, the 14 largest global funding rounds in the first half of 2026 raised a total of $4.3 billion, with prediction markets, AI, and payment sectors drawing the most investor interest. Specifically, prediction market platform Kalshi topped the list with a $1.2 billion funding round, while Polymarket secured $600 million—together, the two raised $1.8 billion, accounting for over 40% of the total capital of the top 14 rounds. In the AI space, Replit, Exa AI, and OpenRouter closed funding rounds of $400 million, $250 million, and $113 million respectively. For blockchain projects, Canton Network, Arc, and Morpho raised $355 million, $222 million, and $175 million respectively. Meanwhile, payment, RWA, infrastructure, and compliance projects including Rain, Slash, Goldcom, Alpaca, and Elliptic also featured on the list.
2 hours ago
Pump.fun is discontinuing support for its tokenized agent issuance feature, stating it will focus on optimizing retail user trading experience.
Pump.fun announced it will immediately cease support for its Tokenized Agent token issuance feature. The feature will no longer be available for new token launches, though projects that have already activated it will remain unaffected. The platform noted that over recent months, consistent community feedback has pointed out that excessive issuance options have sparked unnecessary user vs. user (PVP) competition. Moving forward, Pump.fun will prioritize issuance models and product features that explicitly enhance retail trading experiences.
2 hours ago
Circle CEO: USDC remains the world's most trusted stablecoin, will continue to expand its ecosystem and welcome market competition.
Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire stated that as the internet continues to reshape the global infrastructure for storing and transferring value, stablecoins will emerge as one of the world’s largest market opportunities — a core reason Circle was founded and has since built the world’s largest compliant stablecoin network. Allaire noted that USDC remains the world’s most trusted, widely adopted, and institutional-grade stablecoin, with thousands of partners across sectors including banking, payments, capital markets, and enterprises. Circle will continue expanding the USDC ecosystem, including supporting more blockchain networks, enhancing cross-chain interoperability, and enabling more partners to participate in the economic value generated by the USDC network. Additionally, Allaire said Circle welcomes ongoing innovation and competition in the stablecoin space, and will expand support for more U.S. dollar and non-U.S. dollar stablecoins across its products: Arc, CCTP, StableFX, Circle Wallets, and CPN, to advance the development of a stablecoin-centric internet financial system.
A recent analysis from CoinGecko reveals just how fleeting most meme coins launched on Pump.fun really are. The Solana-based platform has lowered the barrier to token creation dramatically, enabling anyone to mint a coin with minimal cost or technical skill. Since January 2024, this has resulted in a massive wave of launches, but the research findings from CoinGecko show the overwhelming majority fail to maintain any trading activity for long.
Researchers reviewed on-chain data for roughly 18.67 million tokens created between January 14, 2024, and June 18, 2026.
They measured lifespan as the number of calendar days from a token’s creation until its final trade on Pump.fun’s bonding curve.
Tokens with no trading activity at all were excluded from the study. The numbers paint a clear picture of rapid decline.
Nearly 68.7% of tokens — more than 12.8 million — recorded their last trade on the exact day they launched.
Adding those that survived only one additional day brings the total to over 80% that effectively disappeared within the first 48 hours.
Survival drops steeply from there: just 4.1% lasted two to three days, 3.4% made it four to seven days, and the percentages continue to shrink for longer periods.
Only 4.55% of tokens remained active beyond 90 days.
This steep drop-off means the average lifespan across the entire dataset falls well under a single day.
While a small percentage of tokens eventually “graduate” to external decentralized exchanges such as Raydium (roughly 1% of launches), the core finding holds: most projects never build lasting momentum.
The CoinGecko team links this extreme transience directly to the platform’s dynamics.
The same-day failure rate, they observe, reflects a pattern where creators launch large numbers of tokens in quick succession and move on to newer projects as soon as initial interest fades.
Low creation costs and easy access to trending feeds encourage this behavior, turning token launches into a high-volume, low-commitment activity driven primarily by short-term attention rather than any underlying utility or
In practice, this creates an environment saturated with speculative fervor.
Tokens often spike on initial hype from social media buzz or influencer mentions, only to lose liquidity and interest almost immediately if they fail to sustain that early momentum.
The data underscores how little substance many of these projects possess once the first wave of buyers exits.
For traders and investors, the report serves as a data-backed caution.
While a handful of meme coins achieve significant market caps and longevity, the vast majority do not.
The research findings illustrate a market segment where excessive enthusiasm frequently outpaces any realistic prospects for sustained value.
Most tokens are essentially experiments in attention economics — quick to appear, quick to be forgotten, and rarely justified by fundamentals.
CoinGecko’s analysis provides one of the clearest quantitative views yet of Pump.fun’s ecosystem.
It shows a landscape defined by high turnover and fleeting speculation, where the promise of overnight success rarely survives beyond the first trading session.
In such conditions, participants chasing the next viral launch face odds heavily stacked against long-term survival for the tokens they buy into. The research report from CoinGecko ultimately highlights why so much of the excitement around these coins remains rooted in temporary hype rather than enduring merit.
The cryptocurrency sector is observing a new phase of activity around Solana, as its network records unprecedented levels of use. The blockchain attracts more users thanks to the growth of decentralized exchanges and the arrival of digital financial assets. This dynamic follows a sharp increase in the token, driven by significant volumes and visible growth of its ecosystem. Recent data shows a change in usage, with a strengthened position in decentralized financial infrastructure. This evolution draws the attention of global market players amid current transformation.
In brief Solana gains 7% and exceeds 75 dollars thanks to record network activity. DEX volumes reach 7.2 billion dollars, surpassing several centralized platforms. Tokenized assets exceed 10 billion dollars, reinforcing institutional usage. Solana’s market capitalization reaches 44 billion dollars, confirming its place among major cryptos. Traders watch the 78-82 dollars resistance against upcoming market developments. Solana Benefits From Record Network Activity and Gains Ground Against Traditional Platforms The recent rise of Solana mainly rests on the intensification of transactions and exchanges carried out on its network. The weekly volume of operations, excluding validators’ votes, has reached an unprecedented level, confirming a larger participation of active users. This dynamic reflects a broader adoption of the ecosystem and a growing use of decentralized applications.
Here are the main indicators of this progress showing the extent of the recorded activity on the network:
Decentralized exchange (DEX) volume: 7.2 billion dollars recorded on Solana-based platforms. Market capitalization: 44 billion dollars after the token’s progress on the crypto market. The price of SOL jumped about 7% to cross the 75 $ mark. Technical resistance zone: 78 to 82 dollars, monitored by investors. Weekly transaction volume: a historic record reached excluding validators’ votes. This rise strengthens Solana’s position among the main blockchain infrastructures on the market. Decentralized exchanges now hold a more significant place in the digital ecosystem, while investors closely follow the network’s upcoming developments. Current technical levels remain a key element to assess the blockchain’s ability to maintain this momentum.
Tokenized Assets Strengthen the Utility of the Solana Blockchain Beyond traditional exchanges, the arrival of real-world assets represents a central element of this new dynamic. Tokenized stocks and traditional shares linked to the network have exceeded 10 billion dollars in cumulative volume. This growth shows increasing interest in the digital representation of existing financial assets. It also indicates that the blockchain is developing uses related to a broader financial infrastructure.
In this context, Solana benefits from the expansion of applications seeking to connect traditional finance to decentralized technologies. Institutions are observing the opportunities offered by asset tokenization. This trend changes the perception of blockchain networks, often associated with digital tokens. Now, decentralized infrastructures also host financial instruments linked to the real economy.
However, market players are also monitoring risks related to rapid price movements. Technical analysts identify several levels likely to trigger profit-taking. The coming months will allow to assess this growth.
Market Prospects Remain Linked to Technical Signals and Adoption Retail investors’ interest has also evolved thanks to analyses shared by some sector observers. The trader known under the pseudonym ” Ansem ” published technical charts accompanied by a long-term projection. This forecast mentions a price target that could reach 1,000 dollars for the digital asset.
On their side, quantitative traders maintain a more cautious approach to current movements. Order book data shows resistance located between 78 and 82 dollars. This zone could temporarily limit progress if sellers increase their presence. Markets analyze several indicators before anticipating a new stage.
Finally, the Solana network will need to maintain its activity pace to confirm lasting interest around its ecosystem. Decentralized exchange volumes, tokenization and daily usage will remain essential elements. The next evolution will depend on the balance between technical adoption and investors. The market will follow these indicators to measure this dynamic.
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Ghiles A.
Journaliste et rédacteur web passionné par l’univers des cryptomonnaies et des technologies Web3. J’y traite les dernières tendances et actualités afin de proposer un contenu de haute qualité à un large public du secteur.
DISCLAIMER
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.
Solana climbed nearly 18% over the past week, rising from a local low near $64 on June 25 to an intraday high of $75.80 on June 30. The rally came as tokenized stock activity on the network hit a record $1.36 billion in weekly volume, accounting for roughly 96% of all on-chain equity trading during the period.
SOL outperformed most large-cap tokens while Bitcoin remained below $60,000 following another failed breakout attempt.
Tokenized Assets and ETF Flows Fuel Demand The surge in real-world asset activity increased on-chain transactions and demand for SOL as the network’s native gas token, adding an organic source of spot buying beyond speculative trading. Spot Solana exchange-traded funds managed by firms including Bitwise and Fidelity surpassed $1.06 billion in combined assets under management.
Unlike spot Bitcoin ETFs, several Solana products distribute staking rewards to shareholders, giving investors an additional yield component alongside price exposure. Institutional participation continued to deepen beyond ETF flows.
MoneyGram joined the network as a validator, while Toss Bank expanded its use of Solana infrastructure for cross-border stablecoin remittances. These additions provide long-term network participation rather than short-term speculative interest, reinforcing the chain’s growing role in traditional financial services infrastructure.
Technical Indicators Show Momentum Shift The daily chart showed SOL reclaiming the 20-day simple moving average around $70.90 after defending support near $64. The Chaikin Money Flow indicator climbed back into positive territory at 0.17, suggesting capital returned to the token after weeks of persistent selling pressure.
Traders are watching resistance between $76 and $80, where liquidation clusters from leveraged positions could amplify price moves in either direction. A sustained close above $76 would mark the first higher high since SOL began declining from its 2026 range.
Analysis: Real-World Usage Now Drives Sol More Than Speculation Solana’s rally stands out because it coincides with verifiable on-chain activity rather than purely speculative flows. Processing 96% of all tokenized equity trading gives the network a functional revenue stream through gas fees that did not exist in prior market cycles.
The $1.06 billion ETF milestone also signals institutional capital entering through regulated vehicles rather than spot exchanges alone.
This combination of real usage, institutional access and staking yield represents a structural shift from the memecoin-driven rallies that previously defined Solana price action. The risk is that tokenized stock volumes prove cyclical rather than durable, leaving SOL exposed if activity normalizes.
Macro Headwinds Persist Despite the rally, macroeconomic uncertainty continues to weigh on the broader crypto market. Bitcoin’s inability to reclaim $60,000 limits risk appetite across altcoins.
Fading confidence that the CLARITY Act will pass before the U.S. midterm elections adds regulatory uncertainty that could further pressure risk assets. Weaker support levels below $64 remain a concern if broader selling pressure returns across the sector.
What’s Next? Traders are focused on whether SOL can sustain a breakout above $80 resistance on continued volume. Ongoing tokenized asset activity and ETF inflows could support further upside, while a broader crypto selloff tied to legislative uncertainty would test the $64 support that held this week.
Quant hedge funds are having a rough start to 2026. The first two weeks of January produced the worst 10-day stretch for systematic long-short equity managers since October 2025, driven not by a broader market meltdown but by crowded trades blowing up: their own crowded trades blowing up in their faces.
UBS estimated that US-focused quant funds dropped approximately 2.8% in the first two weeks of January 2026. Goldman Sachs prime brokerage data put the average loss for systematic managers at around 1% over the worst 10-day window, but individual firm numbers tell a sharper story.
## Who got hit, and how hard
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Renaissance Technologies reported a loss of approximately 4% in the early days of January. Schonfeld’s quant strategies fell roughly 3.9%. Cubist was down around 2%. Qube, Man Group’s AHL division, Two Sigma, and Engineers Gate all felt the same headwinds.
The culprit was not a market-wide crash. The S&P 500 remained relatively buoyant during this period. What actually drove the losses was a combination of crowded positioning and a short squeeze in lower-quality stocks. Lower-quality, highly shorted equities surged, forcing funds that were short those positions to cover. That covering pressure drove prices even higher, which forced more covering.
## Context: 2025 was already a bruising year for systematic strategies
Quant funds spent much of 2025 underperforming, with a slow bleed of approximately 4.2% from June through July last year. October 2025 then delivered a sharper shock, particularly for Renaissance’s publicly available funds. When early January 2026 produced the worst 10-day performance since that October episode, it landed with added weight.
## What this means for investors watching systematic strategies
The core tension is that quant funds are most useful to institutional portfolios when they are uncorrelated to traditional equity beta. When quant funds lose money in a period when the S&P 500 is stable or rising, that uncorrelation argument gets harder to sustain. Crowded factor exposure is effectively a hidden beta: it looks like alpha until a lot of funds hit the exit simultaneously, at which point it behaves like a leveraged momentum trade that went wrong.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
For many crypto companies operating in Europe, the July 1 deadline is about licensing, market access and whether they can keep serving EU users.
How often has a crypto project operating in Europe had to ask the same question: are we actually compliant?
MiCA - the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation - is meant to make that answer clearer. It creates a common framework for stablecoins, exchanges, custodians and other crypto service providers across Europe.
July 1 is a key transition point. In jurisdictions that used the maximum grace period, existing crypto-asset service providers may need MiCA authorization to continue operating in the EU market after that date, depending on their specific activities and business model.
For centralized crypto companies, this creates a clearer path. For DeFi, the picture is less complete: MiCA is built around identifiable intermediaries, not decentralized protocols. That makes July 1 less of an endpoint and more of a starting point for Europe’s next crypto phase.
What MiCA is trying to doMiCA is the EU’s attempt to create a single crypto rulebook across member states.
Before MiCA, crypto regulation in Europe was fragmented. One country could have a licensing regime for custody. Another could rely mainly on anti-money laundering registration. A third could take a different approach again. That made life complicated for crypto businesses and users.
MiCA changes that by setting common rules for crypto-asset issuers and centralized service providers across the EU. The goal is to create legal clarity, improve consumer protection and make it easier for authorized companies to operate across the single market.
In practice, MiCA affects several groups:
crypto exchanges;custodians;brokers and trading platforms;crypto asset issuers;stablecoin issuers;companies providing crypto transfer, execution or advisory services.For crypto projects, the message is clear: if you want regulated access to the EU market as an identifiable service provider, understanding where you fit under MiCA is an important starting point.".
For DeFi projects, the message is more complicated. MiCA can affect teams, interfaces and service providers around DeFi, but it does not yet give decentralized infrastructure a dedicated rulebook that reflects how DeFi actually works.
Why July 1 mattersMiCA did not hit the whole industry at once. Rules for asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, including stablecoins, began applying earlier. The broader rules for crypto-asset service providers - CASPs - became applicable later, with transition periods for companies that were already operating under national regimes.
Some EU member states allowed existing providers to keep operating during a transition period while they applied for MiCA authorization. In several jurisdictions, the maximum transition period runs until July 1, 2026. That is why the date matters.
It is the point where the old patchwork model gives way to the new MiCA framework for many centralized providers. If a company has relied on national registration or a temporary permission, it may no longer be enough.
For users, that could mean changes in available platforms, assets or services. For crypto companies, it means market access becomes more closely tied to licensing status. For DeFi, however, July 1 does not resolve the central question: how should regulation apply to systems that are not built around a single intermediary?
The biggest change is that compliance becomes part of product strategy. Under MiCA, crypto projects can no longer treat EU access as an afterthought. If they serve European users, list assets for European customers or provide crypto services in the EU, they need to understand whether they are acting as a regulated provider. That can affect several areas.
LicensingCrypto-asset service providers need authorization to operate under MiCA.
This applies to activities such as custody, exchange, execution, placement, transfer services and operating a trading platform. The exact implications depend on the business model, but the direction is clear: many centralized service providers now need a license, not just a registration.
Once authorized, a CASP can use MiCA's passporting mechanism to offer services across the EU, subject to applicable notification procedures. That is one of the main benefits of the framework. The cost is higher compliance. The reward is broader regulated market access.
For centralized players, this is the part MiCA gets right. It offers a clearer route into the regulated European market.
For decentralized systems, the route is less clear. DeFi protocols do not always fit neatly into categories built for intermediaries that custody assets, operate platforms or provide services through a legal entity.
Stablecoin supportStablecoins have been one of the most sensitive areas under MiCA.
For exchanges, wallets and apps, this raises a practical question: which stablecoins can be offered to EU users?
MiCA creates stricter rules for issuers of e-money tokens and asset-referenced tokens. That means platforms may need to review stablecoin listings, issuer status, redemption arrangements and user access.
This does not make stablecoins less important. If anything, it makes compliant stablecoin infrastructure more important. Stablecoins remain one of the clearest bridges between traditional finance and crypto, but their role in Europe is becoming more regulated.
Token listingsMiCA also affects how crypto assets are offered and marketed.
Projects may need clearer white papers, risk disclosures and information for users. Trading platforms may need listing procedures and more structured controls around the assets they make available.
This matters especially for new tokens, RWAs and emerging asset categories.
The market is moving toward more documentation, more due diligence and more accountability.
For centralized platforms, that can be a workable path.
For DeFi, the question is how to protect users without forcing decentralized protocols into rules designed for centralized gatekeepers.
Operations and governanceMiCA is not only about getting a license. It also pushes crypto companies toward stronger operational standards. That can include governance, complaints handling, conflict management, custody safeguards, outsourcing controls and business continuity.
For younger crypto projects, this can feel heavy. But for institutional adoption, it can also be useful. Banks, asset managers and fintechs are more likely to work with crypto infrastructure when rules are clearer.
The challenge is to make sure the next stage of regulation also fits DeFi, where users interact with protocols, wallets, smart contracts and liquidity networks in a very different way.
A stronger market, but a tougher oneMiCA creates costs. Licensing takes time. Legal reviews become more important. Some projects may stop serving EU users if the compliance burden is too high. Smaller players may struggle more than larger platforms.
But MiCA also creates opportunity. A single EU framework can make the market easier to scale for companies that meet the requirements. Instead of navigating 27 different national approaches, authorized providers can build with a clearer route to cross-border operations.
For institutions, that matters. Banks and asset managers are unlikely to adopt crypto infrastructure at scale if the rules are unclear. MiCA does not solve every problem, but it gives European crypto markets a more defined regulatory foundation.
That can help bring more serious builders into the space. Still, the market will only be stronger if the next phase includes DeFi. Centralized crypto services now have a clearer path. DeFi still needs one.
The next phase: rules for DeFi“MiCA goes fully live on July 1st - and it gets one half of crypto right,” commented Orest Gavryliak, 1inch Chief Legal Officer. “Centralized players finally have a clearer way to operate inside a regulated framework, which the market has been waiting for. But MiCA is built around identifiable intermediaries. In its current form it wasn't designed for DeFi, and it doesn't work for it.”
“We see July as the start of Europe's crypto journey - not the end - and we're hopeful Europe follows the direction the US is taking with the CLARITY Act, giving DeFi a framework it can actually operate within,” he added. “We want to help build that next stage: working with regulators on the rules that actually apply to DeFi, for the users, the projects and the regulators themselves.”
Building a compliant solution? Consider APIs available on 1inch Business.
Disclaimer: This content is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, tax or investment advice.
Survey: 88% of enterprises plan to adopt stablecoins within the next year, with cross-border payment costs reduced by an average of 35%.
Payment infrastructure company Cybrid has released a new survey report indicating stablecoins are rapidly gaining traction in enterprise payment scenarios. The survey found that 42% of participating enterprises already use stablecoins for cross-border payments, while 88% said they are likely or very likely to adopt stablecoins within the next 12 months—only 2% of firms stated they will continue to rely entirely on traditional payment systems. According to the report, enterprises using stablecoins save an average of 35% on cross-border payment costs, with firms processing over $100 million in monthly payments achieving an average cost reduction of 47%. Payroll and contractor payments represent the most prominent use case, followed by supplier payments, customer payments, investment and revenue management, and treasury management, among others. Additionally, 71% of respondents identified a clear regulatory framework as the primary factor driving further mainstream adoption of stablecoins, outranking considerations such as infrastructure provider credibility and system integration. The survey was conducted from April to May this year, covering 468 senior executives from tech, financial services, and e-commerce sectors in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
53 minutes ago
FalconX secures EU MiCA license, allowing it to offer compliant crypto services to institutional clients in Europe.
Institutional digital asset broker FalconX announced it has obtained the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license issued by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), enabling it to provide compliant digital asset trading, custody, liquidity and related institutional services across the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA). FalconX stated that this license allows it to operate across EU member states under a unified regulatory framework, eliminating the need for individual country-specific licenses. Currently, the firm serves over 2,000 institutional clients worldwide, including asset management firms, hedge funds, banks and family offices, with cumulative transaction volumes exceeding $2.5 trillion and over $8 billion in institutional financing disbursed. FalconX noted that as the MiCA regulatory framework is fully implemented, institutional clients’ demand for compliant trading, custody and liquidity services continues to grow, and regulatory credentials are becoming a key competitive advantage in Europe’s digital asset market.
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Guo Wengui sentenced to 30 years in prison in connection with a fraud case involving over $1 billion.
A US court has sentenced Miles Guo (also known as Ho Wan Kwok) to 30 years in prison. In 2024, a jury convicted Guo on multiple charges including racketeering, fraud, and money laundering, with his formal sentencing now issued. Prosecutors stated that Guo defrauded over $1 billion from global victims through a series of related scam schemes spanning five years. Notably, in 2021, he promoted the cryptocurrency project Himalaya Coin (H-Coin), claiming the tokens were backed by 20% gold reserves and promising to cover all investors’ losses, raising approximately $500 million in total. Additionally, the court previously ordered the forfeiture of nearly $900 million in Guo’s illegal proceeds, as well as his luxury mansion in New Jersey and multiple high-end vehicles. Guo had close ties to Steve Bannon, a former senior advisor to US President Donald Trump; Bannon was arrested in 2020 aboard Guo’s yacht.
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The first-half 2026 funding rankings have been released, with Kalshi and Polymarket raising a combined $1.8 billion.
According to statistics, the 14 largest global funding rounds in the first half of 2026 raised a total of $4.3 billion, with prediction markets, AI, and payment sectors drawing the most investor interest. Specifically, prediction market platform Kalshi topped the list with a $1.2 billion funding round, while Polymarket secured $600 million—together, the two raised $1.8 billion, accounting for over 40% of the total capital of the top 14 rounds. In the AI space, Replit, Exa AI, and OpenRouter closed funding rounds of $400 million, $250 million, and $113 million respectively. For blockchain projects, Canton Network, Arc, and Morpho raised $355 million, $222 million, and $175 million respectively. Meanwhile, payment, RWA, infrastructure, and compliance projects including Rain, Slash, Goldcom, Alpaca, and Elliptic also featured on the list.
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Open Standard launches stablecoin Open USD, with over 140 institutions including Visa, BlackRock, and Coinbase participating.
Open Standard has announced the launch of Open USD (OUSD), a new stablecoin for global fund flows, noting that over 140 enterprises have joined its ecosystem, including financial, payment, and crypto industry players such as Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, American Express, BlackRock, BNY, DBS, Coinbase, OKX, MetaMask, Aave, Ripple, Fireblocks, Solana, and Polygon. According to the introduction, Open USD follows three core design principles: supporting zero-cost, large-scale minting and redemption for enterprises; returning all reserve asset yields to partners after deducting a small management fee; and being governed by a board of directors composed of independent firm Open Standard and its partners, rather than controlled by a single issuer. Open Standard states that Open USD will officially launch later this year, with the goal of building an open, low-cost, high-throughput stablecoin infrastructure with a sharing economy mechanism to meet the needs of the internet economy and global enterprise-level payments.
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Pump.fun is discontinuing support for its tokenized agent issuance feature, stating it will focus on optimizing retail user trading experience.
Pump.fun announced it will immediately cease support for its Tokenized Agent token issuance feature. The feature will no longer be available for new token launches, though projects that have already activated it will remain unaffected. The platform noted that over recent months, consistent community feedback has pointed out that excessive issuance options have sparked unnecessary user vs. user (PVP) competition. Moving forward, Pump.fun will prioritize issuance models and product features that explicitly enhance retail trading experiences.
