Ethereum advanced past $1,820 for the first time in nine months, reigniting discussions among analysts about a potential market trend reversal. The move follows a prolonged period of lower lows and repeated failed recoveries, as traders watch for signals that could validate a stronger upward shift.
Key support and resistance levels come into focusOver recent sessions, Ethereum reclaimed two significant price levels: $1,750 and $1,820. Traders view these levels as essential markers for any upcoming market structure changes.
Daan Crypto Trades, a well-known cryptocurrency analyst, stated that ETH has flipped the $1,750 level from resistance back into support. He pointed out that a similar pattern occurred during Ethereum’s 2025 recovery phase, though he cautioned that current market conditions differ from that period.
Daan Crypto Trades highlighted that Ethereum has reclaimed a horizontal level that previously acted as resistance during its downtrend. He emphasized that this marks the first support-to-resistance reclaim since the beginning of the current bearish cycle, drawing a comparison to the 2025 rally but warning not to expect an identical scenario.
Turning prior resistance into support is a classic technical analysis signal often interpreted as a potential trend change. Traders are now closely monitoring whether ETH can solidify its position above these levels or if it will falter once again.
Support and resistance analysis is a fundamental approach in cryptocurrency trading. These levels act as psychological markers where buying or selling interest may increase, influencing price movement in either direction.
$1,820 reclaim stirs bottom formation debateMerlijn The Trader, another widely followed analyst, pointed to Ethereum’s ability to regain the $1,820 zone, which the asset lost in June. He noted that this is the first such move in nine months, making the current technical structure distinct from previous breakdowns, when Ethereum failed to reclaim lost lows during declines.
According to Merlijn The Trader, Ethereum had not previously reclaimed a lost low during the recent downtrend, yet did so for the first time in July, which he considered a significant shift from its typical bearish behavior since the last cycle peak.
In earlier periods of weakness, ETH broke through support and continued declining without quickly surmounting former breakdown zones. This time, regaining the $1,820 area has brought renewed speculation about whether a firmer bottom is in place for the asset.
Still, analysts cautioned that reclaiming a lost level does not necessarily confirm a broader turnaround. Sustained movement above the key $1,820 level on longer time frames is required for greater confidence among market participants.
$2,100 resistance remains the next major hurdleWith the $1,750 and $1,820 levels now acting as support, attention has shifted to Ethereum’s next major resistance zone at $2,100. Daan Crypto Trades identified this horizontal level as a key barrier through several previous market cycles.
A successful push above $2,100 could reinforce the case for continued recovery and potentially open the door to higher price targets. Alternatively, failure to clear this resistance may leave ETH range-bound or vulnerable to new selling pressure.
Risk thresholds remain well-defined. For Daan, a drop below $1,750 would threaten the bullish thesis, while Merlijn warned that a sustained three-day close under $1,820 would invalidate his outlook.
Support LevelResistance LevelBullish InvalidationAnalyst$1,750$2,100Drop below $1,750Daan Crypto Trades$1,820$2,1003-day close below $1,820Merlijn The TraderEthereum is an open-source, decentralized blockchain known for its smart contract capabilities, enabling a broad range of decentralized applications (dApps) and services worldwide. Its price trends are closely followed as a benchmark for the broader cryptocurrency market.
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.
This $28 million ether market bet aims to profit from pure market chaos. (Unsplash)Summary
A trader placed a roughly $28 million notional long straddle on ether, buying 7,500 calls and 7,500 puts at a $1,875 strike that expire July 24.The bet is a high-conviction wager on sharp ether price volatility in either direction, with profit driven by big moves rather than by a specific price target.The trader paid about $852,000 in premium, which is the maximum loss if ether stays range-bound.A massive bullish ether volatility bet hit the tape this week, designed to pay off handsomely from sharp price swings in either direction by July 24.
The trade, a monstrous 15,000-contract "long straddle," involved the simultaneous purchase of 7,500 calls and 7,500 puts at the $1,875 strike price level, expiring on July 24, according to data source Laevitas. It’s like buying two lottery tickets at once: One that pays out if prices explode higher, and another that pays if they collapse. So any massive move, either way, can make money.
The trade, therefore, represents a high-conviction bet that ether's price is likely to move rapidly in either direction over the next nine days. As of this writing, ether changed hands at $1,825, down 2% since midnight UTC, according to CoinDesk data. Prices recently hit highs above $1,900, having put in a low near $1,500 in late June.
Profit from volatility and not price directionThe straddle buyer is essentially saying, "I don't know where the price is going, but I know we aren't staying here, and there will be a big move in either direction."
It shows that major participants are not just "long-only" or "short-only" speculators; they are increasingly treating volatility as a separate asset class and using complex options Greeks, specifically vega (sensitivity to volatility) and gamma (sensitivity to price acceleration), to extract profit from market turbulence.
Inside the $28 million straddleNotional value represents the total market value of the underlying asset controlled by the trade, rather than the cash paid to enter it.
The straddle involved the purchase of 15,000 contracts, with each contract representing 1 ETH. The notional value, therefore, is calculated by multiplying 15,000 by the market price of ETH on the day of execution. That amount comes to roughly $28 million.
According to Laevitas, the trader paid a premium of $852,000 to establish this $28 million notional straddle. That premium represents the maximum amount at risk if ether remains range-bound or quiet through the July 24 expiry, leading to a "time-decay" in option value.
Now, turning to the maximum possible gain: it is theoretically unlimited. This stems from the fact that volatility itself has no upper bound, as asset prices can, in principle, move dramatically in either direction.
CaveatWhile the prospect of profiting from a move in either direction is enticing, the high cost of entry and the relentless decay of time value serve as a stark warning.
Without a professional-grade risk plan and a deep mastery of the "Greeks," an investor’s capital can evaporate just as quickly as the market’s volatility.
Former Ethereum Foundation researcher Francesco D’Amato has joined independent protocol research group Ethlabs, extending the movement of core Ethereum developers into organizations operating outside the Foundation.
Summary
Former Ethereum Foundation researcher Francesco D’Amato has joined Ethlabs after five years to continue Ethereum protocol research. D’Amato said he will keep working on faster Ethereum finality while helping Ethlabs expand its protocol research team. The move adds to a growing number of independent Ethereum organizations formed by former Foundation researchers following the Foundation’s restructuring. According to a statement shared by Ethereum Foundation researcher Francesco D’Amato on X, he has left the Ethereum Foundation after five years to join Ethlabs, a nonprofit protocol research organization established by former Foundation researchers to continue Ethereum core development.
Status update: I am moving from the Ethereum Foundation to Ethlabs @ethlabs_org, joining the team to accelerate protocol work in the age of Ethereum adoption.
In 5 years at EF Research, I have worked on research and specification of a wide range of Protocol R&D: mev, consensus,…
— Francesco (@fradamt) July 16, 2026 During his time at EF Research, D’Amato said he worked across several protocol research areas, including maximal extractable value (MEV), consensus mechanisms, data availability sampling, and execution layer pricing. He described the decision to leave as difficult but said the current period of change made it the right moment for “a new beginning.”
“Leaving that behind is hard, but after 5 years this time of great change seems right for a new beginning,” D’Amato wrote.
He added that, for the first time since beginning Ethereum protocol research, he believes there is “a credible shot” for core research to advance outside the Ethereum Foundation.
At Ethlabs, he said he will work alongside former EF colleagues to expand the organization’s protocol research efforts, bring new researchers into the ecosystem, and continue contributing to Ethereum’s long-term technical roadmap.
Among his priorities, D’Amato said he intends to keep working on reducing Ethereum’s transaction finality time, stating that he plans to focus much of his effort on helping Ethereum “finalize much faster, as soon as possible.”
Ethlabs expands its research team Ethlabs launched in June as an independent nonprofit research organization founded by former Ethereum Foundation researchers Ansgar Dietrichs, Barnabé Monnot, Caspar Schwarz Schilling, Josh Rudolf, and Julian Ma. The organization said its research spans settlement speed, network capacity, native asset issuance, cross-chain interoperability, and Ethereum’s monetary design.
Backed by Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, Bitmine, SharpLink, Anchorage, Octant, SNZ, and other Ethereum ecosystem participants, Ethlabs has said its research priorities are tied to growing institutional use of Ethereum for stablecoins, tokenized assets, investment products, and AI-driven commerce.
The group has also stated that research decisions remain independent despite corporate funding, with contributions managed through an external grants administrator.
When the organization launched, executive director Ansgar Dietrichs said Ethlabs was created to advance Ethereum’s core technology while providing a long-term home for protocol researchers outside the Ethereum Foundation. Lubin described the organization as another stewardship body working alongside the Foundation and other independent contributors to Ethereum’s development.
Ethereum development spreads beyond the Foundation D’Amato’s move comes as the Ethereum Foundation continues reshaping its internal structure and as more protocol work shifts to independent organizations.
Last month, the Foundation reduced its workforce by 54 positions, or about 20%, following a review of its staffing and long-term responsibilities. It later dissolved its Protocol Support team while reorganizing its remaining work into dedicated divisions covering protocol development, users, community, access, and institutional activity.
The restructuring has also led to the creation of new Ethereum-focused organizations. Earlier this month, former Foundation employees Mo Jalil, Oskar Thorén, and Aaryamann Challani launched EthSystems, a for-profit company building confidential infrastructure for regulated financial institutions on Ethereum with backing from Bitmine, SharpLink, and Lubin.
Robinhood Crypto has rapidly crossed 1 million active addresses on its newly launched Ethereum Layer 2 network, according to data from blockchain staking platform Everstake. The achievement marks a significant milestone for Robinhood, a widely used brokerage that recently entered the blockchain space by launching its own Layer 2 chain.
Active address milestone highlights rapid adoptionBlockchain analytics firm Everstake reported that Robinhood Crypto now counts over 1 million active addresses since the network’s launch. These active addresses represent unique wallets that have interacted with Robinhood Chain’s ecosystem in the initial weeks of its public availability.
Active address metrics are widely regarded as an indicator of real user engagement beyond simple wallet creation. Sustained growth in this metric often points to strong organic demand on a new network.
Weiss Crypto, a digital asset research firm, also noted Robinhood Chain’s quick rise among new blockchain projects. The platform highlighted that, within just two weeks, the network joined the ranks of the busiest launches in the Layer 2 segment.
Robinhood Chain has become one of the busiest new networks in the crypto industry, reaching more than 1 million addresses and processing over 38 million transactions within days of its launch.
This momentum suggests that the platform’s entry into the blockchain ecosystem has attracted considerable attention from users and developers alike.
Transaction volume and DEX activity surgeAccording to Everstake, Robinhood Crypto’s Ethereum Layer 2 chain has processed 68.7 million transactions since its launch. These transactions encompass transfers, swaps, and activity from decentralized applications built on the network.
Weiss Crypto previously identified more than 38 million transactions in just the first phase, indicating ongoing and growing usage over time. The continued uptick highlights consistent engagement rather than a short burst of early activity.
The latest data shows 68.7 million transactions completed, with decentralized exchange (DEX) volume climbing to $2.4 billion as users actively interact across the network.
This transaction volume translates into strong activity on decentralized exchanges, with reported DEX volume now totaling $2.4 billion. Higher DEX trading typically reflects greater liquidity and escalating user demand on the protocol.
The relationship between transaction count and DEX volume points to a network where users are not simply establishing wallets but are also participating in active trading and application use.
MetricReported ValueActive addresses1 million+Transactions68.7 millionDEX volume$2.4 billionLayer 2 networks drive Ethereum scalingEverstake described Robinhood Chain as a rising force among Ethereum Layer 2 solutions, which are designed to boost transaction throughput and reduce congestion on the Ethereum mainnet.
Layer 2 systems process transactions off the main Ethereum chain before ultimately settling them on the core blockchain, enabling faster and cheaper activity while expanding overall capacity.
Growth in user metrics like active addresses, transaction counts, and trading volumes are widely seen as positive signals for the broader Ethereum ecosystem, supporting greater scalability and adoption of decentralized finance applications.
Observers now turn to whether Robinhood Crypto can maintain its pace of new user growth and trading activity, potentially establishing itself as a central player in the evolving landscape of Layer 2 blockchain infrastructure.
Mini dictionary: Robinhood Crypto is the cryptocurrency division of Robinhood, a major U.S.-based brokerage known for commission-free stock trading. Its Layer 2 blockchain, Robinhood Chain, extends decentralized crypto services to users while reducing transaction fees and improving network efficiency by connecting to Ethereum.
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.
Ethereum News: BlackRock, JPMorgan Builds Make ETH a Wall Street Asset, Tom Lee Argues
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In the lastest Ethereum news, Fundstrat’s Tom Lee is arguing that Ethereum’s next major move has nothing to do with crypto-native speculation, and everything to do with institutional capital that is already deployed and building.
Writing in Bitmine’s July Chairman’s message, Lee pointed to BlackRock BUIDL, JPMorgan MONY, and Robinhood Chain as concrete evidence that Wall Street has moved from observation to construction on Ethereum’s rails. The ETH price currently sits near $1,880, about 60% below its 2025 peak near $5,000.
The gap between that peak and current levels is the central question Lee addresses. His read is that it reflects a regime change, not a structural ceiling, the first era of ICOs, NFTs, ETFs, and stablecoins has run its course, and the institutions now building on Ethereum represent a fundamentally different demand base with longer time horizons and larger capital pools.
Discover: The Best Token Presales
Ethereum News: BlackRock, JPMorgan, and the Tokenization Build-OutLee’s institutional case rests on names that move markets in traditional finance. BlackRock BUIDL, the asset manager’s tokenized Treasury fund, now holds roughly $2.6 billion and has earned Moody’s top money-market rating (Moody’s cited).
JPMorgan MONY extended the bank’s tokenization push that began with Onyx in 2020, adding another institutional-grade vehicle to the Ethereum ecosystem.
Electric Capital data cited by Lee puts nearly 6,000 developers on the EVM stack, ranking Ethereum first among all chains for new builders, a metric that matters more to institutions evaluating long-term platform risk than short-term price momentum.
🧵
1/
Bitmine released its July Chairman's Message titled
"ETH is the Cure for the Uncanny Valley of Wealth"
– Two exponential tailwinds for Ethereum
– The crypto headwinds of 2026 are ending
– Bitmine primed for next bull cycle
Linkhttps://t.co/RHYkprmhCD
— Bitmine (NYSE-BMNR) $ETH (@BitMNR) July 16, 2026 Wall Street is building on Ethereum, Lee argues in the Chairman’s message, contrasting 2022’s crypto bear-market backdrop with continued institution-led development.
In 2025 and 2026, institutional crypto infrastructure has continued to expand even as ETH price fell sharply from its cycle highs. That divergence between on-chain institutional activity and spot price is the core of his thesis. For more on how BlackRock’s ETF flows are reinforcing this dynamic, see this analysis of BlackRock ETF inflows and their ETH price implications.
Discover: The Best Crypto to Diversify Your Portfolio
Robinhood Chain: ETH as Settlement MoneyRobinhood Chain, launched July 1 on Arbitrum, handed Lee one of his more striking data points. Within two weeks of going live, it ranked third among all networks by DEX volume at about $811 million daily, briefly surpassing Ethereum itself according to DefiLlama. Ethereum has since reclaimed that position, and cumulative Robinhood Chain volume has crossed $1 billion.
In the Chairman’s message news, Lee argues that Robinhood Chain’s use of ETH (as described in his discussion of the network’s fees and how it settles) makes it a meaningful Ethereum use case.
Source: Robinhood Chain TVL / DefiLlamaThe counterargument is equally straightforward. Artemis CEO Jon Ma has noted that Robinhood Chain’s volume spike is predominantly meme coin-driven, not institutional flows.
And the fee economics cut against Lee’s framing, Robinhood Chain pays Ethereum’s base layer almost nothing in fees. High DEX volume on an Arbitrum-based chain does not translate 1-for-1 into ETH fee burn at the L1 level.
The Amazon Analogy, and the Conflict It CarriesLee frames the current ETH setup through an Amazon analogy: the stock traded near a split-adjusted $6 for 12 years before climbing to $241 as its total addressable market expanded beyond what early investors could model. He also describes the psychology around sellers at depressed prices.
He also concedes the bearish read directly. ETH has failed twice at the $5,000 level, and skeptics argue that the top of the range could limit upside this cycle.
Source: ETHUSD / TradingviewThe conflict of interest embedded in Lee’s thesis deserves direct acknowledgment. Bitmine’s latest weekly disclosure shows 5.77 million ETH, about 4.8% of the 120.7 million total supply. Lee is among the biggest beneficiaries if institutional adoption confirms his thesis.
That does not make his argument wrong, but it reframes every price target he issues as coming from a holder with an extraordinary financial stake in the outcome.
The institutional infrastructure Lee cites is real. BlackRock BUIDL’s Moody’s rating, JPMorgan’s MONY fund, and Robinhood Chain’s early volume numbers are all verifiable facts, not projections.
Whether they are sufficient to drive ETH from $1,880 back through $5,000 and beyond depends on whether institutional capital deepens from product launch into sustained secondary market demand, a step that none of these programs has yet demonstrated at scale.
Trades Ethereum, and Don’t Miss Out on Our $1,000 USDT Airdrop on ByBit
Crypto Winter Over?In his latest message to shareholders, Lee said that the “crypto spring is here.”
He cited the research of Tom DeMark, a popular technical analyst and Bitmine Immersion’s timing advisor for cryptocurrency acquisitions, who believes everything is set for a “market bottom” and that the “Ethereum risk-reward is to the upside.”
DeMark’s model sees Ethereum today as analogous to the S&P 500 in 1987, projecting around $2,200 for the cryptocurrency in August
Lee said Ethereum’s future market is primed for “exponential” growth, adding that it’s transitioning to its 2.0 phase.
“I think people are rage-quitting at the bottom for Ethereum here,” the Wall Street analyst said.
Lee said that, unlike the 2022 bear market, “Wall Street is now building on Ethereum” and accelerating tokenization efforts on the blockchain.
Earlier this week, Lee said that Ethereum is “grossly undervalued” compared to Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), gold and stocks.
BitMine Records Unrealized LossesBitmine holds 5.77 million ETH worth $10.2 billion, the largest ETH treasury in the world and the second-largest cryptocurrency treasury overall behind Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR).
The company posted $46.5 million in revenue for the quarter ended May 31, a 22x jump from a year earlier. On the other hand, it reported a $9 billion loss as falling ETH prices hit the value of its holdings on paper.
Price Action: At the time of writing, ETH was exchanging hands at $1,828.40, down 4.72% over the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro. The coin has gained 3.22% over the week, but is down nearly 40% year-to-date.
BitMine shares were down 5.92% in Friday’s pre-market trading after closing 2.22% lower at $23.02 during Thursday’s regular session.
The BMNR stock exhibited weaker short-, medium-, and long-term price trends, according to Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings
Photo courtesy: Zakharchuk on Shutterstock
Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
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.
Dogecoin (DOGE) price is down by 3.17% today, July 17, to trade at $0.071 at the time of writing. The drop comes despite T.Rowe launching an active crypto ETF on July 16 that offers exposure to multiple cryptocurrencies, including Dogecoin.
While this will be the fourth ETF for the biggest meme coin by market cap, SoSoValue data shows that institutions are not impressed, with DOGE ETFs recording zero inflows since June 17.
T.Rowe Debuts DOGE ETF With 2.6M Allocation T.Rowe, an asset manager with $1.8 trillion in assets under management, launched the first active crypto ETF on July 16. That ETF holds Dogecoin among other crypto assets.
This crypto ETF launched with $15 million in seed capital from T.Rowe, with Dogecoin getting a weighting of 1.28%. That means the ETF holds 2.6 million DOGE tokens valued at $192,000.
According to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, T.Rowe is a “legacy stock picker” and the addition of Dogecoin to this ETF alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum suggests the meme coin is getting some credibility from Wall Street.
Still, SoSoValue shows that there have been no inflows to Dogecoin ETFs for one month between June 17 and July 17.
In fact, Dogecoin ETFs have recorded $871,000 in outflows in July, with these outflows coinciding with a $1.2 billion sell-off in the meme coin market.
The lack of retail and institutional demand comes as the price of Dogecoin drops by 54% from its January high of $0.156 to trade at $0.071 on July 17.
Dogecoin Price Signals a Bullish Divergence as Bears Test Crucial Support Dogecoin has printed a bullish divergence on the daily chart because the AO bars that are negative are shrinking despite the price dropping.
These green AO bars support a bullish long-term Dogecoin price forecast because they show that bears are losing their grip.
But the volume bars that have been red for three straight days also show that the selling pressure is still higher than the buying pressure.
This selling pressure could pull the price of Dogecoin below the support of $0.070 to $0.060.
However, if Dogecoin remains above $0.070, it will confirm a double-bottom pattern, that could cause a 10% gain to the July 4 high of $0.079.
DOGE/USDT: 1-day Chart (Source: TradingView) The ADX line that is dropping also suggests that the trend around Dogecoin is weak and the price might hover near this support of $0.070 unless either buyers or sellers return.
Futures Data Signals Weak Demand for Dogecoin Data from Coinglass shows that futures volumes for Dogecoin have dropped by 18% today, July 17, to $775 million at the time of writing. The open interest has also dropped by 11% to $1.01 billion.
Dogecoin Futures Volumes (Source: Coinglass) These drops suggest that futures traders are reducing their positions on Dogecoin as they become less confident about where the price is heading
This drop could be coming from long buyers who are either closing their positions or being wiped out through liquidations.
The exiting long buyers have led to short sellers dominating most of the futures positions in Dogecoin, with the long/short ratio dropping to 0.81.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
This is a general announcement. Products and services referred to here may not be available in your region. Fellow Binancians, Starting at approximately 2026-07-18 20:44 (UTC), Binance will suspend the deposits and withdrawals of token(s) on the Cardano (ADA) network to support its network upgrade and hard fork to ensure the best user experience. The network upgrade and hard fork will take place at approximately 2026-07-18 21:44 (UTC). Please note: The trading of token(s) on the aforementioned network will not be impacted.Binance will handle all technical requirements involved for all users.Deposits and withdrawals for token(s) on the aforementioned network will be reopened once the upgraded network is deemed to be stable. No further announcement will be posted.There may be discrepancies between this original content in English and any translated versions. Please refer to the original English version for the most accurate information, in case any discrepancies arise. For more information, please refer to the announcement from the project team. Thank you for your support! Binance Team 2026-07-17
The @Cardano Foundation has confirmed that Plutus smart contracts can now verify thousands of cryptographic signatures natively on-chain, using BLS12-381 elliptic curve cryptography. The change lowers the cost of large-scale signature checks while keeping execution costs predictable.
How It Works BLS12-381 is a pairing-friendly elliptic curve that allows multiple signatures to be compressed into a single proof. According to Cardano's own improvement proposals, this technology compresses multiple signatures into a single proof, reducing computational expense and eliminating reliance on off-chain verification. Previously, running such checks off-chain added transaction overhead and placed extra computational burden on the party constructing the transaction.
Pairing-friendly curves enable a large number of cryptographic primitives that are essential for the scalability of Cardano. The BLS12-381 support in Plutus was formalised through CIP-0381, which extended the Plutus language with basic operations over the curve. A further proposal, CIP-0133, adds multi-scalar multiplication (MSM) as a built-in, a key operation for verifying pairing-based proofs at scale. Incorporating this function directly is expected to streamline cryptographic operations, reduce transaction costs, and maintain the integrity of existing tools.
What It Means in Practice The upgrade is part of Protocol Version 11 and is expected to benefit multi-signature custody platforms, cross-chain bridges, and governance-heavy DeFi protocols. By handling signature aggregation natively within the Plutus runtime, developers no longer need to rely on external computation or accept the higher fees that come with larger transaction sizes when off-chain workarounds are used.
Public key aggregation in the BLS multi-signature scheme is one direct beneficiary. It is a popular scheme that allows many signatures to be aggregated into a common message, so that verifying the short multi-signature is fast. That property is particularly useful for cross-chain bridge designs and on-chain governance systems where large validator sets must co-sign transactions.
The practical impact will ultimately depend on how quickly developers integrate the new primitives into production applications. Wider adoption across the Cardano ecosystem will determine whether the cryptographic upgrade translates into measurable gains in throughput and user costs.
Sources
CIP-0381: Plutus Support for Pairings over BLS12-381, Cardano Foundation
CIP-0133: Plutus Support for Multi-Scalar Multiplication over BLS12-381, Cardano Foundation
Unlocking More Opportunities with Plutus V3, Input Output
Key Takeaways Cardano is currently trading in the $0.161–$0.163 range, experiencing slight downward pressure as short positions dominate market sentiment Large holders controlling 100,000–100 million ADA tokens have amassed 25.65 billion ADA, marking the highest accumulation rate since February 2023 Network upgrade Van Rossem is slated for July 18 activation, introducing reduced transaction fees and enhanced smart contract capabilities Derivatives market shows futures open interest climbing to $421–$445 million, while the long-to-short ratio of 0.58 indicates bearish sentiment Critical liquidity zones at $0.160 and $0.170 represent pivotal levels that may determine ADA’s upcoming price trajectory Cardano (ADA) is currently hovering between $0.161 and $0.163 as of July 16–17, reflecting a modest decline of approximately 1.39% amid bearish positioning by short sellers in anticipation of an upcoming network enhancement.
Cardano (ADA) Price On July 16, ADA experienced price action ranging from a session low of $0.1611 to a peak of $0.1664, representing a retreat from early July’s high near the $0.195 mark.
However, beneath the surface of this price decline, institutional-scale investors are actively accumulating. Wallet addresses containing between 100,000 and 100 million ADA tokens have expanded their holdings to 25.65 billion ADA — a threshold not witnessed since February 2023.
Source: Santiment Retail participants present a contrasting narrative. Wallets holding fewer than 100 ADA own approximately 0.7% less compared to four months prior, revealing a divergence between institutional and retail investor behavior.
Futures market indicators suggest near-term bearish positioning. According to CoinGlass, ADA’s weighted funding rate registered at -0.0067%, indicating short holders were compensating long position traders. The long-to-short ratio measured 0.58, while open interest experienced a 4% uptick to approximately $421–$445 million.
Van Rossem Hard Fork: What’s Coming The Van Rossem hard fork, which received approval from Cardano’s governance structure on July 13, is scheduled to go live on July 18. Intersect, the member-driven organization governing the Cardano ecosystem, has advised all infrastructure operators to implement software updates prior to the transition.
UPDATE
CARDANO RATIFIES THE VAN ROSSEM HARD FORK 😱😱😱@Cardano has officially ratified the Van Rossem hard fork, with activation scheduled for July 18, 2026, at 21:45 UTC following approval from DReps, SPOs, and the Constitutional Committee.
The upgrade enhances Plutus smart… pic.twitter.com/0BFWoVY35X
— Mintern (@MinswapIntern) July 16, 2026
Van Rossem will deliver enhanced Plutus capabilities and reduced execution expenses, resulting in more cost-effective transactions and decentralized applications on the Cardano network. The upgrade also establishes the foundation for Leios, a throughput enhancement targeted for deployment before the conclusion of 2026 designed to expand transaction processing capacity.
From a technical perspective, ADA is positioned beneath the Murrey Math resistance threshold at $0.1709 on daily timeframes. The Relative Strength Index registers between 44–46.92, indicating momentum remains in neutral-to-moderately-bearish territory. The MACD indicator displays minimal positive momentum.
Key Price Levels to Watch Resistance barriers are positioned at $0.173 (23.6% Fibonacci retracement level), $0.179 (50-day EMA), and a more concentrated zone spanning $0.195 to $0.207. Support infrastructure exists near $0.150, with the June 25 bottom at $0.1382 positioned further below.
CoinGlass’s liquidation heatmap reveals a concentrated liquidity pool between $0.160 and $0.161, positioned immediately below the current trading range. An additional substantial cluster appears around $0.170. A breakdown below $0.160 may catalyze long position liquidations and drive ADA toward $0.1465. Conversely, a breakout above $0.170 could compel short sellers to exit positions and facilitate a price recovery.
Market analyst Celal Kucuker shared on X that he anticipates Cardano will achieve a new all-time high of $5, referencing a bullish divergence on the weekly RSI and characterizing the present zone as a bottom formation. He projected a parabolic rally initiating from current price levels.
Cardano will hit a new ATH at $5.
I expect the parabolic rally to begin.
We’re in the bottom zone.
There’s a bullish divergence on the weekly RSI.$ADA 🚀 pic.twitter.com/gpFvsLL7P5
— Celal Kucuker (@CelalKucuker) July 13, 2026
ADA continues trading beneath its 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day EMAs positioned at $0.179, $0.208, and $0.276 respectively, confirming the overarching downtrend persists ahead of the July 18 fork implementation.
Cardano (ADA) is currently trading between $0.161 and $0.163, reflecting a slight decline of around 1.4% as short positions drive market sentiment ahead of a major network upgrade set for July 18.
Institutional accumulation contrasts retail behaviorADA traded in a range between $0.1611 and $0.1664 during the latest session, pulling back from early July’s high near $0.195. However, notable accumulation is taking place among large holders. Wallets holding between 100,000 and 100 million ADA have increased their combined balance to 25.65 billion ADA, a level last seen in February 2023. This cohort of investors, often considered “whales,” appears to be taking advantage of the current price dip to expand their positions.
In contrast, retail investors are demonstrating less interest in accumulation. Data shows that wallets with fewer than 100 ADA now own approximately 0.7% less than they did four months ago. This suggests a divergence between institutional and smaller holders regarding the outlook for Cardano.
Large Cardano investors controlling 100,000 to 100 million ADA have now amassed 25.65 billion ADA, marking the highest accumulation rate since February 2023, while retail participation continues to decline.
On the derivatives side, CoinGlass reports show ADA’s weighted funding rate at -0.0067%, indicating that short sellers are paying long traders. The long-to-short ratio stands at 0.58, signaling bearish sentiment, while open interest in ADA futures has risen by about 4% to between $421 million and $445 million.
Van Rossem upgrade scheduled for July 18The next significant event for the Cardano network is the activation of the Van Rossem hard fork, which was formally approved on July 13. Intersect, the Cardano ecosystem’s member-based governance body, has directed all infrastructure operators to complete necessary software updates before the scheduled upgrade. The Van Rossem update is set to go live at 21:45 UTC on July 18.
Van Rossem will bring reduced transaction fees and upgraded Plutus smart contract features. These improvements are designed to make decentralized applications and network transactions more efficient and affordable. In addition, the upgrade sets the groundwork for a future performance enhancement known as Leios, aimed at boosting Cardano’s transaction processing capacity by the end of 2026.
Mini dictionary: Intersect, established in 2023, is a member-driven governance organization designed to provide decentralized and collaborative oversight for Cardano network operations and upgrades.
The Van Rossem hard fork will introduce enhancements to the Plutus smart contract platform and lower execution costs, paving the way for more scalable applications on Cardano in the future.
Key technical levels and analyst perspectivesADA is currently trading just below the Murrey Math resistance level at $0.1709 on the daily chart. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is in the range of 44.0 to 46.9, reflecting neutral to moderately bearish momentum. The MACD also indicates minimal positive movement at this stage.
Critical resistance areas lie at $0.173 (23.6% Fibonacci retracement), $0.179 (50-day EMA), and a higher band between $0.195 and $0.207. Nearest support stands at $0.150, with a previous cycle low at $0.1382 from June 25. A concentrated liquidity pool is visible in the $0.160–$0.161 range, with substantial interest also clustered near $0.170. Prices falling below $0.160 could trigger long position liquidations, pushing ADA to around $0.1465. A move above $0.170 may lead to a short squeeze and a potential price recovery.
LevelTypePriceImmediate ResistanceMurrey Math$0.1709ResistanceFibonacci (23.6%)$0.173Resistance50-day EMA$0.179ResistanceRange High$0.195 – $0.207SupportNearest Support$0.150SupportJune Low$0.1382Market analyst Celal Kucuker recently shared his outlook on X, stating that he believes Cardano could reach a new all-time high of $5, pointing to a bullish divergence visible on the weekly RSI. He views the present price zone as a potential bottom and expects a strong rally to begin from current levels.
Despite these optimistic projections, ADA remains below its 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day exponential moving averages, located at $0.179, $0.208, and $0.276 respectively, indicating that the wider downtrend is still intact ahead of the Van Rossem upgrade.
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.
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has reassured the community that a major announcement involving Midnight is still on the way.
His comments came after rumors emerged that the highly anticipated Japanese partnership he teased in June had collapsed following a partnership between Japanese financial giant SBI Group and the Solana Foundation.
SBI-Solana Partnership Sparks Speculation As previously reported, SBI Group partnered with the Solana Foundation as part of efforts to position Japan as a leading hub for institutional on-chain finance in Asia. Consequently, some Cardano community members questioned whether SBI was the same company Hoskinson had referenced several weeks earlier.
One community member suggested that the newly announced SBI–Solana partnership could have been the deal Hoskinson had previously hinted at, arguing that the agreement may have fallen through before SBI ultimately chose Solana.
The speculation quickly gained traction because Hoskinson had earlier revealed that Midnight was close to securing a significant partnership in Japan.
Hoskinson Separates SBI Partnership From Midnight Deal However, Hoskinson swiftly dismissed the rumors and made it clear that the SBI–Solana partnership is unrelated to Midnight.
According to the Cardano founder, the SBI collaboration had “nothing to do” with the agreement he has been discussing. He also stressed that the anticipated announcement is “still pending,” indicating that the rollout remains ongoing rather than being canceled.
Notably, his clarification reassures the Cardano community that the previously teased Japanese initiative has neither been replaced nor abandoned.
This had nothing to do with that deal. ANN still pending
— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) July 14, 2026
Initial Midnight Teaser Hoskinson’s latest remarks refer back to comments he made in June, when he revealed that Midnight secured a significant partnership with a major Japanese company.
At the time, he admitted he was surprised that Cardano had managed to attract such a prominent partner. Although he declined to identify the company, he disclosed that the initiative revolves around NIGHT liquidity in Japan.
Following his latest clarification, the Cardano community continues to await the long-promised announcement.
Why the Midnight Partnership Matters Midnight remains one of the most significant technological developments within the Cardano ecosystem. Designed as a complementary privacy-focused blockchain, it enables organizations to process sensitive financial, enterprise, and regulatory data while preserving the security and transparency of Cardano’s public ledger.
Since its launch, Midnight has already attracted several high-profile partners, including Google and Telegram-related AlphaTON Capital. Consequently, a successful partnership with a major Japanese company could further strengthen Midnight’s institutional credibility and expand its presence in one of Asia’s most important financial markets.
DisClamier: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author's personal opinions and do not reflect The Crypto Basic opinion. Readers are encouraged to do thorough research before making any investment decisions. The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.
Cardano News: Cardano’s Van Rossem Hard Fork Activates Tomorrow, And Whales Are Buying While Traders Go Short
Ahmed Barakat
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Ahmed Barakat is a journalist and copywriter based in Georgia with a growing focus on blockchain technology, DeFi, AI, privacy, digital assets, and fintech innovation.
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In the latest Cardano News, Cardano is trading at $0.158, down 1.39% on July 17, while derivatives traders push the long-to-short ratio to 0.58 and open interest climbs 4% to $421 million in the 48 hours before the Van Rossem hard fork activates.
The structural tension is sharp: the same wallets flooding short books are being offset by whale accumulation that has reached its highest level since 2023, creating a setup where the next directional move is likely to be violent in whichever direction it resolves.
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Cardano News: Van Rossem Governance Approval Sets July 18 ActivationThe Van Rossem hard fork cleared governance on July 13, ratified by SPOs and DReps, with activation scheduled for July 18 at 21:44:51 UTC at Slot 192,844,800.
Intersect has urged all infrastructure providers to update their software before the network crosses the hard fork boundary, a standard precaution, but one that signals the upgrade is proceeding on schedule without last-minute complications.
Van Rossem just got ratified! Cardano’s next big upgrade goes live July 18th at 21:45 UTC, making smart contracts faster and cheaper. Big step for eUTXO.
— Kelly A. Kline MBA (@Web3WondersUS) July 17, 2026 According to some news, the upgrade is expected to lower execution costs on Cardano, making transactions and dApp operations materially cheaper to run.
More consequentially for medium-term traders, Van Rossem lays the technical groundwork for Leios, a later scaling upgrade targeting a dramatic increase in transaction throughput before the end of 2026.
That roadmap context matters: this fork is not a standalone event but a dependency in a longer delivery chain, which is part of why whale positioning ahead of it carries more weight than typical upgrade speculation.
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$0.160 and $0.170 Are the Levels That Decide the Next MoveThe CoinGlass three-day liquidation heatmap places the nearest dense liquidity pool between $0.160 and $0.165, sitting directly above ADA’s current market price.
A larger concentration appears around $0.167, closely matching the Murrey Math resistance at $0.1709 visible on the daily TradingView chart.
These two clusters define the near-term binary: a drop through $0.160 triggers long liquidations and opens a path toward the $0.1465 Murrey Math support; a break above $0.170 forces short sellers to close positions and hands momentum to the recovery attempt as Van Rossem goes live.
Source: ADAUSD / CoinglassThe 4-hour chart shows ADA has crossed above a descending trendline drawn from its early-July peak near $0.195, but the move failed to produce a sustained rally.
The RSI on the 4-hour sits at 46.92, below its moving average of 50.95, bearish-neutral territory, not oversold. That reading matters because it means there is no technical floor from extreme pessimism; price is simply drifting, waiting for a catalyst to define direction.
Source: ADAUSD / TradingviewThe predecessor to Van Rossem, the Vasil hard fork in September 2022, improved Cardano’s smart-contract efficiency and block utilization.
Van Rossem’s mandate is different, cost reduction and Leios preparation, but the governance process that delivered it, now running through Intersect with formal DRep and SPO ratification, represents a more mature and transparent upgrade mechanism than Cardano operated in 2022.
Whether that institutional credibility translates into sustained buying pressure post-fork, or whether short sellers use any pop to add to positions, is the question traders need an answer to before the July 18 activation window closes.
The liquidation heatmap at $0.167 is the cleanest signal: a daily close above that level removes the ambiguity. For context on how derivatives positioning and institutional vs. retail behavior interact during catalyst events, the pattern is consistent across major crypto assets; the side that controls spot supply usually wins the futures battle by attrition.
Trade ADA on Bybit and Get a Chance to Win Our $1,000 USDT Airdrop
Venezuela, a country sitting on the world’s largest proven oil reserves, now has a parallel financial system powered by a token pegged to the US dollar. USDT trading volume in the country reached roughly 75% of monthly oil exports during the period from June 11 to July 13, a figure that would have sounded absurd even two years ago.
How Tether became Venezuela’s shadow dollar PDVSA, Venezuela’s state oil company, began requiring USDT prepayments for oil sales as early as 2023-2024. By Q1 2024, many deals demanded half the cargo value upfront in Tether’s stablecoin.
According to economist Asdrúbal Oliveros, as cited by the Wall Street Journal, an estimated 80% of Venezuela’s oil revenue is expected to be settled in USDT by late 2025 or early 2026.
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Venezuela’s total crypto transaction volume tells an even bigger story. Chainalysis data shows the country recorded $44.6 billion in crypto transactions in the 12 months ending June 2025.
The sanctions squeeze and stablecoin escape valve US sanctions on Venezuela have progressively tightened over the past several years, targeting PDVSA specifically and making it nearly impossible for the company to access the global financial system through normal channels. USDT offers something the bolívar cannot: stability. Venezuela’s local currency has been ravaged by hyperinflation for years, making it essentially useless as a store of value.
Tether reportedly froze at least 41 wallets linked to Venezuelan sanctions evasion attempts by mid-2024. Then in January 2026, Tether executed a larger freeze totaling $182 million.
Why this matters beyond Venezuela For the broader crypto market, Venezuela’s USDT adoption creates a tension: it validates that stablecoins serve a genuine economic function in real commerce and commodity settlement, while handing ammunition to regulators who have argued that crypto enables sanctions evasion.
Traditional oil market intelligence, built on tracking tanker movements and banking flows, becomes less reliable when settlement happens on-chain through layered wallets. Circle’s USDC has positioned itself as the compliance-first alternative to Tether, but USDT’s dominance in emerging and sanctioned markets gives it a usage moat that is hard to replicate.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Tether is adding new wallets at a pace that would make most fintech companies weep into their pitch decks. CEO Paolo Ardoino says the company’s USDT stablecoin is onboarding more than 30 million new wallets every single quarter, a growth clip that has pushed the total user base to approximately 500 million wallets.
The quarterly additions aren’t just a rough estimate Ardoino throws around at conferences. In Q3 2024, Tether recorded 36.25 million new USDT wallets, representing an average quarterly growth rate of about 9%.
By November 2025, Ardoino pegged the total at around 500 million wallets concentrated heavily in emerging markets. Projections suggest that figure could stretch past 530 million by early 2026 if the current pace holds.
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Over 100 million users reportedly hold USDT on centralized exchanges, meaning the actual footprint of Tether’s stablecoin extends well beyond what blockchain explorers can count.
On the supply side, Tether’s attestation covering the first three quarters of 2025 showed 174.4 billion USDT in circulation, backed by what Tether says is a robust portfolio of US Treasuries.
In countries where the local currency loses purchasing power faster than you can spend it, a dollar-pegged digital token isn’t a novelty. It’s a financial lifeline. Ardoino has consistently framed USDT’s expansion as a financial inclusion play, and the wallet data from emerging markets supports that narrative. People use it for remittances, savings, and everyday transactions in places where traditional banking infrastructure is either expensive, unreliable, or simply absent.
For context, PayPal took roughly two decades to hit 400 million active accounts globally.
Circle’s USDC has made meaningful inroads with institutional clients and regulatory compliance, but Tether’s grassroots adoption in emerging markets is a fundamentally different competitive moat.
USDT serves as the primary quote currency on most major exchanges outside the US. When Tether’s supply grows, it typically signals fresh capital entering the crypto ecosystem, either through direct minting by institutional counterparties or organic demand from users converting fiat into stablecoins.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Venezuela’s USDT market is handling volumes that now rival one of the country’s largest sources of foreign currency.
Summary
Venezuela’s Binance P2P market handled 1.389 billion USDT between June 11 and July 13 alone. Ecoanalítica estimated the volume equaled 75% of Venezuela’s monthly oil export value during the period. USDT traded near 840 bolivars, around 15.5% above Venezuela’s official exchange rate in mid-July 2026. Ecoanalítica estimated that 1.389 billion USDT changed hands on Binance’s peer-to-peer market between June 11 and July 13, equal to about 44 million USDT per day.
The research firm estimated that the volume represented about 75% of Venezuela’s monthly oil export value. However, a separate calculation using June crude exports and the average price of Merey crude places the ratio closer to 52%, showing that the comparison depends on the method and reference period used.
Binance P2P becomes a major foreign-currency channel Ecoanalítica developed a method to estimate the size of Binance’s P2P market in Venezuela. According to the firm, the results show how the platform has moved from a small alternative market into a major channel for buying and selling dollar-linked value outside the traditional banking system.
The 1.389 billion USDT volume also equaled about 64.2% of the $2.163 billion in foreign currency supplied by the Central Bank of Venezuela during June, based on figures cited by CriptoNoticias.
USDT Trading in Venezuela Now Rivals the Country's Oil Exports
Between June 11 and July 13, about 1.389 billion USDT was traded on Binance’s peer-to-peer market in Venezuela, averaging roughly USD 44 million a day. Ecoanalítica, a Venezuelan economic research firm, estimated…
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) July 17, 2026 The central bank increased its supply by 36% from May as it sought to reduce pressure on the bolivar. Ecoanalítica placed the comparison at 88%, although it did not publish enough detail to verify the difference.
USDT trades at a premium to Venezuela’s official dollar rate Meanwhile, USDT traded around 840 bolivars on local P2P markets, about 15.5% above the official exchange rate of 727 bolivars per U.S. dollar on July 16. The spread remained narrower than earlier in 2026, when the difference between official and alternative rates stood near 30%.
Ecoanalítica director Alejandro Grisanti said Binance had gone “from being a marginal market to becoming one of the main channels for buying and selling foreign currency.” He also said P2P activity could slow if formal banks regain more capacity to supply foreign currency. As a result, users could shift some transactions back to traditional financial platforms.
Oil figures leave the 75% estimate open to question Venezuela exported about 1.2 million barrels of crude per day in June, while the average price of Merey crude fell to $71.13 per barrel from $82.77 in May. Using those figures, monthly crude export value would stand near $2.56 billion, putting the reported USDT volume at roughly 52% rather than 75%.
The difference may reflect another export price, reference period, or method used by Ecoanalítica. However, Grisanti did not provide the full calculation behind the 75% figure. Therefore, the oil comparison remains an estimate, while the reported Binance P2P volume stands at 1.389 billion USDT for the period.
Stablecoins remain tied to Venezuela’s oil and dollar market The latest figures add to a longer shift toward stablecoins in Venezuela. As crypto.news previously reported, state oil company PDVSA had been gradually moving some crude and fuel sales toward USDT as U.S. sanctions made conventional payment channels harder to use. That development connected the country’s oil trade with the same dollar-linked token now widely traded in its domestic P2P market.
More recently, as crypto.news reported in April, Tether said it had frozen more than $344 million in USDT linked to sanctions evasion and criminal networks in cooperation with U.S. authorities. The report also noted earlier concerns about PDVSA’s use of USDT. The latest P2P estimates now place stablecoin trading at a scale comparable with major official and export-related foreign-currency flows.
Tether’s USDT stablecoin user base expanded by 30 million wallets in the second quarter of 2026, maintaining a strong trend of quarterly growth. This increase follows several quarters of rising adoption and highlights continuing demand for stablecoins among users seeking payment, remittance, trading, and savings solutions.
Consistent Growth and User MilestonesTether reported that its USDT wallet count surpassed 534 million in early 2026, continuing a pattern of rapid expansion. In the fourth quarter of 2025, Tether recorded about 35 million new wallets. CEO Paolo Ardoino emphasized that USDT continues to onboard more than 30 million wallets each quarter, reflecting consistent user growth.
Paolo Ardoino noted that USDT’s user base expands by over 30 million wallets every quarter, underscoring the stablecoin’s appeal across various markets.
Earlier data from Tether showed that in the third quarter of 2024, 36.25 million wallets were added, indicating average quarterly growth close to 9%. By the end of 2025, Ardoino suggested that the total number of USDT users had reached about 500 million, and projections put the number above 530 million in early 2026.
QuarterWallets AddedTotal WalletsQ3 202436.25 millionNot specifiedQ4 202535 million500 million+Q2 202630 million534 million+Expansion Across Blockchain NetworksUSDT operates on multiple blockchain platforms, such as Ethereum, Tron, TON, and several layer-2 solutions. Its presence on these networks has enabled adoption in diverse global markets, especially for cross-border payments, day-to-day transactions, and as a store of value amid local currency volatility.
Tether’s prominence extends beyond blockchain statistics. More than 100 million people interact with USDT wallets via centralized exchanges, according to market data. As USDT remains the main trading pair on numerous international exchanges, its growing user base has contributed to higher overall market liquidity.
Mini dictionary: TON (The Open Network) is a decentralized blockchain originally developed by Telegram’s team. After the project’s handover, it evolved into a community-driven network supporting smart contracts, NFTs, and decentralized applications.
The widespread use of USDT has established it as an essential asset in digital finance, both for individuals in developed countries and users in emerging economies aiming to safeguard savings from depreciating local currencies.
Stablecoin Market and Financial BackingTether’s financial disclosures reveal that, in the first three quarters of 2025, around 174.4 billion USDT tokens were in circulation. These stablecoins are predominantly backed by US Treasury securities, forming the core of Tether’s reserves.
Rival stablecoin USDC continues to experience growth by focusing on regulatory compliance and institutional adoption. Meanwhile, Tether has secured its position as the leading stablecoin among a broad base of grassroots users in regions with limited access to dollar-pegged assets.
The expanding reach and volume of stablecoins underscore their growing significance in global digital finance, providing more than just trading pairs for crypto markets.
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.
The semiconductor sector has been hit by sell-offs, with Kimi K3 sparking concerns over AI valuations and chip spending.
The semiconductor sector is under pressure, and investors are reassessing AI-related trades. Moonshot AI claims its Kimi K3 model can compete with models from OpenAI and Anthropic, sparking renewed market concerns over AI firms' valuations and the outlook for chip spending. Despite the sell-off in chip stocks, the overall market breadth remains healthy; the recent moves are more likely a reflection of capital rotating out of the semiconductor sector rather than a broad market pullback.
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Amid the closure of South Korean stock markets, SK Hynix’s ADR premium narrowed by 4 percentage points, and a crypto whale’s convergence portfolio swung to a profit of $340,000.
According to Hyperinsight monitoring, after the South Korean stock market closed, SK Hynix (SKHY) ADR (US-listed) on Hyperliquid continued to decline, currently trading at $148.5, with a 24-hour drop of around 10.5%; during the same period, South Korean-listed SK Hynix (SKHX) traded at 1,134 won, down about 8.9%. Calculated based on the ratio of 0.1 underlying Korean shares per SKHY ADS, the current ADR premium is around 30.8%, narrowing by roughly 4 percentage points from yesterday. The steeper decline of SKHY compared to SKHX has further narrowed the spread between the two. The previously tracked whale wallet 0x257 still maintains a convergence trade of "long SKHX, short SKHY", with total bilateral positions of around $7.893 million and a net floating profit of approximately $343,000: SKHX: 2,903 long positions with 10x isolated leverage, position value of about $3.288 million, average entry price of $1,196, floating loss of around $186,000, return rate of roughly -53.4%; SKHY: 31,014 short positions with 10x isolated leverage, position value of about $4.605 million, average entry price of $165.5, floating profit of around $529,000, return rate of approximately 103.0%. The funding fee structure remains bilateral. The hourly funding rate for SKHX is around -0.00303%, while for SKHY it is approximately 0.00185%; under the current portfolio, both the SKHX long position and SKHY short position are funding fee recipients, meaning the whale is expected to collect a total net of around $185 per hour.
3 minutes ago
SK Group Chairman responds to SK Hynix's stock price plunge: Avoid frequent trading and hold for the long term.
SK Group Chairman and Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Choi Tae-won responded to the sharp plunge in SK Hynix’s stock price, saying that while he cannot predict SK Hynix’s share price movement next month, investors should avoid frequent trading, as long-term holding may be more conducive to preserving assets. Choi believes that as the AI industry develops, demand for memory will continue to expand. He noted that AI is currently like a "4-year-old child," and as it matures into a full-fledged industry, it will inevitably require more memory, with related demand potentially growing exponentially. He also pointed out that SK Hynix’s stock had risen rapidly earlier, leading to a sharp pullback when market expectations shifted, adding that prices that surge too quickly sometimes need adjustments to align with reality. When discussing South Korea’s AI industry strategy, Choi stated that South Korea cannot compete with China on cost nor surpass the U.S. in model quality, so it should build infrastructure, develop applications suited to domestic needs, and explore niche markets, with a long-term shift from exporting memory chips to exporting computing power and "intelligence."
3 minutes ago
Institutions: U.S. corporate executives are offloading stocks at a nearly record pace.
US corporate executives are offloading stocks at the second-fastest pace in over two decades. For some investors, this is a classic warning sign, as it signals that those with the deepest insight into a company’s operations are taking a cautious stance on the current market. Data from EPFR Global Market Intelligence shows that in the first half of 2026, US corporate insiders collectively sold $776 billion worth of stocks, a 20% increase from the same period last year. Over the past 20+ years, only 2021 saw larger sell-offs, when the market was fueled by massive pandemic-era stimulus funds. EPFR analysts including Winston Chua wrote in a report: “Insider trading activity indicates that at current valuation levels, corporate executives have no strong willingness to increase their stock holdings.” Additionally, insider buying activity remains sluggish. In the first half of 2026, insiders purchased just $69 billion worth of company stock, barely above the seven-year low of $67 billion set in the same period last year. (Jin10)
3 minutes ago
US semiconductor, storage, and optical communication stocks extended their pre-market losses, with SanDisk and Applied Materials both falling more than 6%.
According to BIT (bit.com) market data, US semiconductor stocks were broadly lower in pre-market trading. Applied Materials fell 6.10%, Lam Research dropped 5.46%, TSMC declined 4.70%, KLA slipped 4.68%, Arm and Intel both fell 4.52%, AMD dropped 4.42%, Micron Technology fell 4.24%, and Nvidia was down 2.95%. The storage sector led losses: SanDisk fell 6.10%, Western Digital dropped 5.75%, Seagate Technology declined 5.63%, Micron Technology slipped 4.24%, and SK Hynix fell 3.49%. Optical communication concept stocks plunged collectively: Coherent fell 6.26%, Applied Optoelectronics dropped 6.00%, Credo declined 5.76%, Corning slipped 5.51%, Ciena fell 5.17%, and Astera Labs was down 5.08%.
3 minutes ago
The "Big Short" Michael Burry: Now an excellent time to bottom-fish Hong Kong stocks
The Big Short protagonist Michael Burry said today that with the appeal of South Korean and Japanese markets and the SOXX semiconductor sector waning, now is an ideal time to turn to the Hong Kong market to seek undervalued stocks. He believes some low-valued Hong Kong stocks are poised to perform well once capital flows shift away from South Korea, Japan and the semiconductor sector.
TRON (TRX) is maintaining a critical support zone, with market observers highlighting the potential for a bullish reversal if buyer momentum persists. Tron Inc., the company behind the TRON blockchain, recently increased its TRX holdings, citing confidence in long-term ecosystem growth and asset value.
Price action and key support levelsTRX is currently trading at $0.3231, recording a 24-hour trading volume of $414.65 million and holding a market capitalization of $30.65 billion. The coin has shown relative stability over the last day, with a price structure that some analysts interpret as a precursor to upward movement if support zones remain intact.
Crypto analyst Umair Orakzai stated that TRX is approaching a critical support area within its established range, offering opportunities for buyers to retain influence over price action. The price has been consolidating in a channel between $0.314 and $0.335.
A move above this range could accelerate bullish momentum, potentially targeting $0.364 as the next resistance level. On the other hand, a breakdown below the lower boundary would prompt TRX to test its previous support, with traders watching for possible reversal signals. Should further declines persist, analysts expect the token to reach what is referred to as the ‘Golden Pocket,’ often seen as a robust area for a price reaction.
Mini dictionary: Golden Pocket, a term used in technical analysis describing a price range, typically between the 0.618 and 0.65 Fibonacci retracement levels, where strong support or resistance is expected.
Analyst Umair Orakzai has pointed out that if buyers hold the $0.314 to $0.335 range, a breakout could drive TRX towards its next target near $0.364, cementing bullish sentiment in the market.
Price ZoneRole$0.314-$0.335Support/Trading Range$0.364Next Resistance TargetTron Inc. increases TRX holdingsTron Inc. has confirmed that it recently acquired an additional 151,976 TRX tokens at an average price of $0.3290 per token, bringing the firm’s total TRX reserves above 705.3 million tokens. The company has stated that growing its treasury in TRON Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) remains a key objective, aiming to deliver future value for shareholders through the accumulation of strategic assets aligned with the TRON ecosystem.
Mini dictionary: Tron Inc., developer and operator of the TRON blockchain ecosystem, is known for its focus on decentralized applications, smart contracts, and digital asset management, serving as the central entity for project governance and development.
According to the company, ongoing accumulation reflects its positive outlook for the TRON network’s long-term prospects. Institutional confidence through such purchases is often interpreted as a vote of support for the stability and future growth of an ecosystem.
Tron Inc. emphasized that increasing their holdings in the Tron Digital Asset Treasury is a key strategy intended to generate value for shareholders and demonstrate trust in the network.
Market trend and outlookDespite the accumulation by Tron Inc. and positive price predictions, the broader market trend remains a headwind for TRX. A sideways movement in the price of Bitcoin has tempered gains across most altcoins, including TRON.
TRX traders are closely monitoring the support zone to gauge near-term direction. Should buyers maintain this level, the price could challenge the $0.364 resistance with renewed bullish pressure. However, a drop below support may trigger significant selling as technical traders adjust their positions.
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.
Amid the closure of South Korean stock markets, SK Hynix’s ADR premium narrowed by 4 percentage points, and a crypto whale’s convergence portfolio swung to a profit of $340,000.
According to Hyperinsight monitoring, after the South Korean stock market closed, SK Hynix (SKHY) ADR (US-listed) on Hyperliquid continued to decline, currently trading at $148.5, with a 24-hour drop of around 10.5%; during the same period, South Korean-listed SK Hynix (SKHX) traded at 1,134 won, down about 8.9%. Calculated based on the ratio of 0.1 underlying Korean shares per SKHY ADS, the current ADR premium is around 30.8%, narrowing by roughly 4 percentage points from yesterday. The steeper decline of SKHY compared to SKHX has further narrowed the spread between the two. The previously tracked whale wallet 0x257 still maintains a convergence trade of "long SKHX, short SKHY", with total bilateral positions of around $7.893 million and a net floating profit of approximately $343,000: SKHX: 2,903 long positions with 10x isolated leverage, position value of about $3.288 million, average entry price of $1,196, floating loss of around $186,000, return rate of roughly -53.4%; SKHY: 31,014 short positions with 10x isolated leverage, position value of about $4.605 million, average entry price of $165.5, floating profit of around $529,000, return rate of approximately 103.0%. The funding fee structure remains bilateral. The hourly funding rate for SKHX is around -0.00303%, while for SKHY it is approximately 0.00185%; under the current portfolio, both the SKHX long position and SKHY short position are funding fee recipients, meaning the whale is expected to collect a total net of around $185 per hour.
4 minutes ago
SK Group Chairman responds to SK Hynix's stock price plunge: Avoid frequent trading and hold for the long term.
SK Group Chairman and Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Choi Tae-won responded to the sharp plunge in SK Hynix’s stock price, saying that while he cannot predict SK Hynix’s share price movement next month, investors should avoid frequent trading, as long-term holding may be more conducive to preserving assets. Choi believes that as the AI industry develops, demand for memory will continue to expand. He noted that AI is currently like a "4-year-old child," and as it matures into a full-fledged industry, it will inevitably require more memory, with related demand potentially growing exponentially. He also pointed out that SK Hynix’s stock had risen rapidly earlier, leading to a sharp pullback when market expectations shifted, adding that prices that surge too quickly sometimes need adjustments to align with reality. When discussing South Korea’s AI industry strategy, Choi stated that South Korea cannot compete with China on cost nor surpass the U.S. in model quality, so it should build infrastructure, develop applications suited to domestic needs, and explore niche markets, with a long-term shift from exporting memory chips to exporting computing power and "intelligence."
4 minutes ago
Institutions: U.S. corporate executives are offloading stocks at a nearly record pace.
US corporate executives are offloading stocks at the second-fastest pace in over two decades. For some investors, this is a classic warning sign, as it signals that those with the deepest insight into a company’s operations are taking a cautious stance on the current market. Data from EPFR Global Market Intelligence shows that in the first half of 2026, US corporate insiders collectively sold $776 billion worth of stocks, a 20% increase from the same period last year. Over the past 20+ years, only 2021 saw larger sell-offs, when the market was fueled by massive pandemic-era stimulus funds. EPFR analysts including Winston Chua wrote in a report: “Insider trading activity indicates that at current valuation levels, corporate executives have no strong willingness to increase their stock holdings.” Additionally, insider buying activity remains sluggish. In the first half of 2026, insiders purchased just $69 billion worth of company stock, barely above the seven-year low of $67 billion set in the same period last year. (Jin10)
4 minutes ago
US semiconductor, storage, and optical communication stocks extended their pre-market losses, with SanDisk and Applied Materials both falling more than 6%.
According to BIT (bit.com) market data, US semiconductor stocks were broadly lower in pre-market trading. Applied Materials fell 6.10%, Lam Research dropped 5.46%, TSMC declined 4.70%, KLA slipped 4.68%, Arm and Intel both fell 4.52%, AMD dropped 4.42%, Micron Technology fell 4.24%, and Nvidia was down 2.95%. The storage sector led losses: SanDisk fell 6.10%, Western Digital dropped 5.75%, Seagate Technology declined 5.63%, Micron Technology slipped 4.24%, and SK Hynix fell 3.49%. Optical communication concept stocks plunged collectively: Coherent fell 6.26%, Applied Optoelectronics dropped 6.00%, Credo declined 5.76%, Corning slipped 5.51%, Ciena fell 5.17%, and Astera Labs was down 5.08%.
4 minutes ago
The "Big Short" Michael Burry: Now an excellent time to bottom-fish Hong Kong stocks
The Big Short protagonist Michael Burry said today that with the appeal of South Korean and Japanese markets and the SOXX semiconductor sector waning, now is an ideal time to turn to the Hong Kong market to seek undervalued stocks. He believes some low-valued Hong Kong stocks are poised to perform well once capital flows shift away from South Korea, Japan and the semiconductor sector.
4 minutes ago
US stock futures fall, with intensified selling pressure on semiconductor stocks driving investors to shift to other sectors.
U.S. stock index futures fell, with selling pressure on semiconductor stocks intensifying, prompting investors to seek investment opportunities in other market segments. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped more than 2%, while S&P 500 futures fell over 1%. Nvidia (NVDA.O) led losses among the "Magnificent Seven" in pre-market trading, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is nearing a bear market and set to extend Thursday’s declines. However, even though the S&P 500 closed 0.5% lower on Thursday, 369 of its constituent stocks advanced and 132 declined, indicating the market’s overall breadth remains healthy. Barclays strategist Venu Krishna stated, "Enthusiasm for AI capital expenditure is starting to cool, but the semiconductor sector still significantly outperforms the broader market in stock price performance, while software stocks continue to lag. This shows recent market rotation is gradual rather than decisive." (Jinshi)
TLDR BNB currently hovers around $577 with critical resistance between $589 and $590 Technical analysis reveals an inverse head-and-shoulders formation with a $647 price objective Binance completed its largest quarterly burn, eliminating 1.61 million BNB tokens valued at approximately $932M Circulating supply has declined to roughly 133.17 million tokens Ecosystem growth includes 21M+ merchants on Binance Pay and $100M bStocks volume in two weeks Binance Coin is currently positioned at approximately $577, developing a promising technical formation that analysts believe could drive the price toward $647. Market participants are closely monitoring a critical resistance barrier while recent token burn data strengthens the bullish narrative.
BNB Price Chart analysis on the 12-hour timeframe reveals an inverse head-and-shoulders formation taking shape. This classic technical pattern frequently indicates a potential trend reversal following a downward move. The crucial neckline resistance is positioned between $589 and $590, with a successful breakthrough establishing a measured objective of $647.29 — representing approximately 12% upside from present levels.
Throughout the last trading session, BNB fluctuated within a confined corridor spanning $574.69 to $584.24. This compressed price action suggests market equilibrium, with neither buying nor selling pressure achieving dominance.
Below current levels, the $550 zone represents significant support, coinciding with the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement level and the Value Area Low. Should the price decline beneath $537, the current bullish technical thesis would be invalidated.
Latest Quarterly Token Burn Reduces Circulating Supply BNB Chain executed its 36th quarterly Auto-Burn mechanism, permanently eliminating 1,615,827 BNB tokens from the available supply. Based on prevailing market prices, this burn event represented approximately $931.7 million in value destruction.
According to an official announcement, BNB Chain has completed its 36th quarterly BNB token burn, destroying 1,615,827.795 BNB worth approximately $932 million at the time of the burn. Following the burn, BNB’s total… pic.twitter.com/qZDtlBdus2
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) July 15, 2026
The total token supply has now contracted to approximately 133.17 million BNB. Binance’s long-term deflationary model aims to decrease the total supply from the initial 200 million issuance down to a final 100 million. The quarterly burn calculation employs an algorithmic formula incorporating BNB’s market price and block generation metrics on BNB Smart Chain.
Source: TradingView Market analyst BATMAN discussed the developing price structure on X, emphasizing that BNB successfully breached a descending trendline before completing a textbook retest. According to his analysis, a higher high formation “should be imminent,” referencing the well-defined technical configuration currently developing.
The Relative Strength Index has encountered repeated rejection at the 59 threshold, experiencing five unsuccessful breakthrough attempts recently. This resistance makes the $580 area a formidable barrier in the near term.
Leverage liquidation statistics from Coinglass indicate balanced positioning, with $14.83 million in both long and short positions concentrated around the $570–$580 range, reflecting ongoing market indecision between bullish and bearish forces.
Network Expansion Drives BNB Utility BNB Chain recently implemented a temporary gas fee elimination program extending through July’s conclusion. Reduced transaction costs may stimulate increased trading activity and blockchain interaction.
Stablecoin capitalization on BNB Chain has surpassed $17.8 billion. The network’s total value locked (TVL) has climbed to approximately $5 billion.
Binance Pay’s merchant network has expanded beyond 21 million partners globally. The platform’s bStocks tokenized securities product generated $100 million in trading volume during its first fifteen days, with 47% of transactions occurring when US markets were closed.
BNB functions as the core utility token throughout the BNB ecosystem, including BNB Smart Chain, opBNB, and BNB Greenfield, powering transaction fees, staking rewards, governance participation, and decentralized application functionality.
Binance Coin (BNB) traded near $577 after Binance executed its most substantial quarterly token burn to date, reducing the circulating supply by 1.61 million BNB—an event valued at approximately $932 million. Technical analysts observed a bullish reversal pattern forming on the charts, setting a potential price objective of $647 if key resistance levels are breached.
Technical outlook points to $647 price targetOn the 12-hour chart, BNB displays an inverse head-and-shoulders pattern, a technical configuration suggesting the potential for an upward reversal. Analysts identified primary resistance at $589 to $590, with a confirmed breakout possibly leading to a price rally toward $647, representing about a 12% gain from current levels.
During the most recent trading session, BNB fluctuated within a narrow band from $574.69 to $584.24. This tight range reflected a balanced market, with buying and selling forces in equilibrium.
Key support sits at $550, aligning with the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement and the Value Area Low, while a sustained drop below $537 could overturn the prevailing bullish case.
LevelTypePrice/RangeSupportMajor$550ResistanceCritical$589-$590InvalidationBullish BiasBelow $537TargetMeasured Objective$647 On X, analyst BATMAN emphasized the recent technical breakout, highlighting that BNB moved above a long-standing bearish trendline and retested it, preparing for what he described as an imminent higher high in the price structure.
The Relative Strength Index continually met resistance near the 59 level, falling short on five consecutive occasions, which reinforced the importance of the $580 zone in the immediate term.
Leverage liquidation data from Coinglass showed equal concentrations of long and short positions, totaling about $14.8 million near the $570–$580 area, reflecting heightened trader uncertainty regarding the next significant price direction.
Record quarterly burn and supply reductionBinance recently conducted its 36th quarterly BNB burn, permanently removing 1,615,827 tokens from circulation. At then-prevailing market prices, this event equated to roughly $932 million. The burn was facilitated by an automated algorithm, which factors in BNB’s market value and block production on its native blockchain, the BNB Smart Chain.
Following this burn, BNB’s total circulating supply decreased to about 133.17 million tokens. Binance has committed to a long-term supply reduction target of 100 million BNB, down from its original issuance of 200 million, supporting a deflationary model for the platform’s ecosystem.
Mini dictionary: BNB Smart Chain, a blockchain network developed by Binance, supports smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps), using BNB as its native token for transaction fees and network governance.
The official Binance announcement stated that the 36th BNB quarterly burn permanently destroyed over 1.6 million tokens, resulting in a decrease of the circulating supply to roughly 133 million.
Network ecosystem expansion and adoptionIn parallel with technical signals and supply contraction, ecosystem growth contributed to BNB’s utility. Binance eliminated gas fees on its blockchain temporarily through the end of July, an initiative expected to spur further network activity and trading.
Stablecoin assets on BNB Chain surpassed $17.8 billion, while total value locked (TVL) rose to approximately $5 billion. Binance Pay, the global payment solution provided by Binance, now supports over 21 million merchants worldwide, indicating extensive adoption among businesses.
Binance’s bStocks, a tokenized securities service integrated into the exchange, reported $100 million in trading volume within just two weeks of launch; strikingly, 47% of these trades occurred outside of US market hours.
BNB serves as the central utility token for Binance’s ecosystem, enabling transaction payments, staking, governance participation, and powering decentralized applications across BNB Smart Chain and related networks.
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.
Cover image via depositphotos.com Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.
Stellar has just produced a golden cross, one of the most crucial technical signals that traders look for. A possible change in momentum following months of weakness was indicated by the bullish crossover, which happened when the shorter-term moving average crossed over the longer-term trend indicator.
XLM buyers are yet to catch upEven though the golden cross is technically bullish, the current price action of XLM indicates that buyers still have work to do before a more significant breakout can occur. XLM is currently trading close to $0.183. The asset is still below its 50-day EMA at $0.187 on the daily chart and near the 20-day EMA at $0.190. More significantly, the majority of June and the first part of July saw Stellar trade above the 200-day moving average, which is currently close to $0.197.
XLM/USDT Chart by TradingViewWhen compared to the protracted decline that dominated the first half of the year, that behavior represented a notable improvement. Bulls are having trouble because the market hasn't been able to maintain rallies above the $0.20-$0.21 range. Over the past six weeks, every attempt at a breakout has drawn aggressive profit-taking, which has led to steep pullbacks back toward the $0.18 region.
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This struggle is even clearer in the four-hour chart. All of the major moving averages were compressed between $0.186 and $0.191 as XLM entered a tight consolidation range after the golden cross. The most recent candles show sellers gaining a slight advantage after rejecting another attempt to regain the $0.19 resistance zone, although such compression typically precedes a larger move.
Volumes don't catch up with Golden CrossAdditionally, volume has significantly decreased in comparison to the explosive activity of the June rally. This suggests that neither bears nor bulls have enough conviction to compel a clear directional change at this time. The Relative Strength Index stays neutral. The RSI is close to 45 on a daily basis, but the four-hour reading is now closer to 42. These numbers indicate that momentum has decreased without becoming oversold.
XLM/USDT Chart by TradingViewThe crucial level for Stellar is still $0.20. The path toward $0.22 and possibly $0.25 would be opened by a clear close above that barrier, which would probably result in fresh buying pressure.
On the other hand, XLM could be vulnerable to a move toward $0.17 if support around $0.18 is lost, invalidating much of the recent bullish progress. Although the golden cross is a long-term positive indicator, price confirmation is still required. The market is still in a consolidation phase rather than a verified uptrend until XLM breaks above resistance.
The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), the non-profit organization that supports the development and growth of Stellar, the blockchain network built to run regulated finance, today announced that MoneyGram, Figure Markets, and Range will operate Tier 1 validators on the Stellar network. The addition of these three organizations, spanning capital markets, global money movement, and blockchain security infrastructure, marks a significant step in expanding the decentralization and resilience of the network’s core infrastructure.
Tier 1 validators are the backbone of the Stellar network. These organizations run multiple geographically distributed full validators that participate in the Stellar Consensus Protocol, a consensus model in which each validator chooses which others it trusts — its quorum set — to agree on the state of the ledger. They are publicly identifiable and maintain the highest standards of uptime, running this infrastructure not for financial return but to safeguard the safety and liveness of the entire network.
"What sets Stellar apart is that the controls regulated institutions depend on, like approving, revoking, and freezing assets are enforced by the protocol itself. The Stellar network's proof-of-agreement consensus lets any institution run a publicly identifiable validator and choose exactly whom to trust, giving risk teams a vetted set of recognizable peers and a multi-year uptime record. Adding world-class institutions and community members like MoneyGram, Figure Markets and Range as validators makes Stellar an even better network for regulated finance to run on," said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, President & Chief Growth Officer at the Stellar Development Foundation.
Expanding the set of Tier 1 organizations increases the network’s fault tolerance, meaning the network can continue operating seamlessly even if multiple organizations experience simultaneous outages. Each new Tier 1 organization also broadens the diversity of industries, geographies, and infrastructures underpinning consensus.
“The organizations stepping up to run Tier 1 validators are not passive participants, they are companies that have built real businesses on Stellar and have a direct stake in the network’s long-term security and neutrality. That’s exactly what you want from the infrastructure layer of a global financial network” said Justin Rice, Vice President of Ecosystem Growth at the Stellar Development Foundation.
Three Organizations, Three Vantage Points on the NetworkMoneyGram has partnered with Stellar since 2021 to deliver some of the industry's most impactful real-world blockchain use cases. Stellar was the first blockchain to support the MoneyGram Ramps infrastructure, enabling seamless cash on and off-ramps for digital assets at scale. Stellar also serves as the exclusive blockchain powering MoneyGram's consumer balance feature, which provides customers with a stable digital dollar balance connected to one of the world's largest global money movement and cash access networks.
"MoneyGram and Stellar are building the next generation of money movement,” said Luke Tuttle, MoneyGram Chief Product and Technology Officer. “Together, we’re combining MoneyGram’s trusted global brand, payments expertise and compliance leadership with Stellar’s fast, low-cost settlement network. Becoming a Stellar validator deepens our commitment to the ecosystem and reinforces our belief that the future of payments will be built on open, interoperable infrastructure.”
Figure Markets, the blockchain-native exchange and marketplace founded by the team behind Figure Technology Solutions, brings deep capital markets and regulated financial products expertise to network operations.
"Stellar is a tight-knit ecosystem, one where regulated asset and stablecoin issuers have found measured success,” said Karl Samsen, Principal, $YLDS at Figure. “Figure has an important role to play among all market participants on Stellar. Issuing $YLDS and serving as a T1 Validator are key steps toward solidifying our position as one of the network's major contributors."
Range - the platform for companies operating across stablecoins, digital assets and fiat rails - runs real-time monitoring and pre-execution compliance controls across more than 200 blockchain networks, securing over $30B in assets for its customers. As a validator operator, Range adds a security-focused perspective to the organizations anchoring Stellar consensus.
“Range spends every day securing the infrastructure that moves stablecoins and fiat for our customers, so helping secure Stellar itself is a natural next step,” said Andres Monteoliva, CEO at Range. “Running Tier 1 validators lets us bring that security and monitoring expertise directly to the consensus layer of a network built for regulated finance. The institutions settling real money on Stellar should know the organizations underpinning it have a direct stake in keeping it safe.”
What This Means for the NetworkTo qualify as Tier 1, each organization must:
Run three geographically dispersed full validators that publish complete history archivesMaintain sustained uptime of 99.9% or higherComplete SEP-1 and SEP-20 self-verification so the network can transparently identify their nodesCoordinate actively with the existing Tier 1 community on network upgrades and operationsThe validators are expected to be fully integrated into the network’s quorum configuration by mid-August.
Stellar (XLM) recently formed a golden cross, a technical development that often signals a shift toward bullish momentum. This event occurred when the asset’s shorter-term moving average moved above a longer-term trend indicator, typically viewed as a positive sign by technical traders. Despite this, recent price activity suggests buyers have not yet driven XLM into a confirmed upward trend.
XLM struggles despite bullish technicalsAt the time of writing, XLM trades near $0.183, remaining below its 50-day exponential moving average (EMA) at $0.187 and scarcely above the 20-day EMA near $0.190. Stellar spent most of June and early July trading higher, even hovering above its 200-day moving average, which now sits at approximately $0.197. This marked a significant shift from the sustained downtrend that defined XLM’s performance in the first half of the year.
While these technical indicators suggest potential for a trend reversal, XLM has struggled to maintain rallies. The market has repeatedly failed to close above resistance in the $0.20 to $0.21 range. Each breakout attempt in the past six weeks has resulted in traders taking profits, causing sharp pullbacks that push XLM back toward the $0.18 region.
Even with the technical formation of a golden cross, buyers in XLM need to see further follow-through in price action before a substantial upward move can occur, as rallies continue to face strong resistance and profit-taking near $0.20.
Volume and momentum signalsAnalysis of the four-hour chart shows that XLM has been in a narrow consolidation band, with major moving averages clustered between $0.186 and $0.191. The latest price movements reveal sellers gaining modest control after another failed attempt to reclaim the $0.19 resistance area. Technical analysts often interpret such periods of compressed trading ranges as likely to precede a volatile move in either direction.
Trading volume has also declined sharply compared to the active trading seen during June’s rally. This decrease suggests a lack of strong conviction from both buyers and sellers. The Relative Strength Index (RSI), a momentum indicator, has stayed neutral. On the daily chart, the RSI hovers near 45, while the four-hour reading stands closer to 42. These levels signal that XLM is consolidating, neither oversold nor exhibiting renewed upside power.
$0.20 as the key resistance levelFor Stellar, the $0.20 barrier remains the most critical level. A decisive close above this resistance would likely encourage additional buying and could clear the path toward higher targets at $0.22 and potentially $0.25. Until this occurs, however, upward momentum remains unconfirmed.
Conversely, if XLM fails to hold support around $0.18, the asset could become vulnerable to further declines toward $0.17. Such a drop would negate much of the positive momentum built up since the golden cross. While the golden cross itself is generally seen as a long-term bullish indicator, technical analysts caution that confirmation from the price remains essential. XLM’s continued consolidation reflects a market waiting for clearer direction.
Indicator/LevelCurrent ValueSignificance50-day EMA$0.187Short-term trend indicator20-day EMA$0.190Recent momentum200-day MA$0.197Long-term support/resistanceKey resistance$0.20–$0.21Breakout zoneSupport$0.18Breakdown riskTarget above resistance$0.22–$0.25Potential upside if breakout succeedsRSI (daily/four-hour)45 / 42Neutral momentumMini dictionary: Golden cross, a bullish technical signal in which a short-term moving average crosses above a long-term moving average, often interpreted as a sign of potential upward momentum in an asset’s price.
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.
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USDT and USDC are stablecoins pegged one-to-one to the U.S. dollar, each backed by reserves covering every token in circulation. Tether's USDT is the largest stablecoin, with the deepest liquidity across global exchanges. Circle's USDC is the second-largest, with Circle staking its reputation on being a publicly traded company, with frequent audits, U.S. and E.U. licenses, and institutional partnerships.
In this article, we’ll cover the history, use cases, and growth of these two leading stablecoins.
USDT vs USDC: A Side by Side Both USDT and USDC are centralized stablecoins, meaning they are issued and managed by a central company. The firms behind USDT and USDC are Tether and Circle, respectively. Both coins are backed by asset reserves and are redeemable for one dollar per token. For most purposes, both are identical substitutes that can be swapped for the other at negligible cost.
However, the two assets diverge when it comes to their reserve policies and regulatory standing.
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USDT USDT is the biggest stablecoin in the world, and has held that spot for years. It first appeared in 2014 on a layer built on top of bitcoin. Today it runs on more than 15 blockchains, with most of the supply and volume coming from the Tron and Ethereum blockchains.
The company behind USDT is Tether, a privately held company that was originally incorporated in the British Virgin Islands but moved its main operating entity to El Salvador in January 2025. Paolo Ardoino runs the company as chief executive.
Tether's Q1 2026 report had its total reserves valued at ~$191.8 billion. Roughly $141 billion of that sits in short-term U.S. Treasuries, ranking Tether among the largest holders of U.S. government debt in the world. The remainder of the reserves are spread across physical gold, bitcoin, secured loans, and a bucket of other investments.
Profits for the company have been outsized lately, with around $1 billion in net income for the first quarter of 2026 alone. These are primarily generated through interest on its reserve assets.
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USDC USDC is the second-largest stablecoin in the world. It was launched in 2018 through Centre, a joint venture between Circle and Coinbase. After that collaboration wound down in 2023, Circle is now the sole issuer.
Circle is based in New York, with Jeremy Allaire as chief executive. It is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange after having IPO’d in June 2025 under the ticker CRCL. Being a listed company, Circle files audited financial statements, and anyone can buy the stock to get exposure to its business.
USDC's reserves are held in the “Circle Reserve Fund”: a government money market fund managed by BlackRock, alongside cash reserves held in various banks. Circle’s reserves are mostly assets such as short-dated U.S. Treasuries, overnight repurchase agreements, and cash. These are reviewed by Deloitte on a monthly basis.
Similar to Tether, Circle's revenue comes almost entirely from the interest its reserves generate. However, they hand a large portion of that income to distribution partners, with Coinbase among the largest beneficiaries. In the first quarter of 2026, those distribution costs came close to 60% of Circle's total revenue.
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USDT vs USDC: Which is More Transparent? In terms of transparency, Circle’s USDC is the more transparent of the two, and that gap has been Circle's main selling point for years. Circle publishes monthly attestations from Deloitte and files audited financials with the SEC.
On the other hand, Tether publishes quarterly attestations. An attestation means an accountant has confirmed that on one particular date, the reported reserves matched the amount of tokens outstanding. However, it does not check whether reserves were borrowed or shuffled around in other periods of time.
A full audit, on the other hand, covers a whole reporting window, which Tether has never done before. However, it does ostensibly plan on doing so: in early 2026, the company engaged a Big Four firm, reported to be KPMG, for its first full independent audit. Completion of the audit is still unclear as of July 2026.
The skepticism behind USDT’s reserves is not baseless. In 2021, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) fined Tether $41 million for claiming that USDT was fully backed by dollars between 2016 and 2019, when at times it was not. The New York Attorney General settled a separate case for $18.5 million the same year.
USDT vs USDC: Which is More Regulatory Compliant? Regulation is the aspect in which the two differ most. Circle became the first global stablecoin issuer to comply with the European Union's MiCA regulatory framework in 2024. In July 2026, the company was also granted approval to run a national trust bank in the United States, operating as Circle National Trust, which puts USDC custody under federal supervision.
USDT’s regulatory footing in the U.S. is far less solid. From July 2025 onwards, the GENIUS Act restricted payment stablecoins to U.S.-domiciled issuers. Tether, being headquartered in El Salvador, failed to qualify. In response, Tether launched a separate stablecoin called USAT in January 2026, issued by Anchorage Digital Bank with Cantor Fitzgerald as custodian. This separate stablecoin is aimed solely at the American market.
USDT failed to qualify under Europe’s MiCA as well, which led to exchanges, including Binance, Kraken, and Coinbase removing or restricting the stablecoin for E.U. users.
USDT vs USDC: Which is Safer? In terms of safety, neither token has ever failed to return to a dollar after momentary de-pegs, which have happened several times in the past.
USDC's worst de-peg was in March 2023, when Silicon Valley Bank collapsed with $3.3 billion of Circle's cash reserves (about 8% of Circle’s total reserves at the time). In reaction to this, USDC fell to roughly 87 cents over the weekend of the news before a federal backstop guaranteed SVB's deposits and Circle reopened redemptions, at which point the peg snapped back.
USDT's worst de-pegging event occurred in May 2022, when the collapse of TerraUSD led to mass panic in the market, causing USDT to briefly trade near 95 cents before recovering within hours.
How to Choose Between USDT and USDC There is no right or wrong answer in terms of choosing between the two stablecoins. For most everyday people, the difference is negligible: the decision often comes down to whichever stablecoin is the most easily accessible. However, for anything that involves U.S. or European regulated finance, institutional treasury work, or retail users who prioritize a clear regulatory standing, USDC is the better choice.
It is worth noting that many firms who utilize stablecoins don't even choose at all. Exchanges and trading desks routinely hold both and swap between them depending on the corridor, the counterparty, and the compliance box that needs ticking.
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Frequently Asked Questions 1. Is USDC safer than USDT?
Though both stablecoins are relatively low risk. However, USDC is often considered the lower-risk option because Circle is a publicly traded company and its reserves are reviewed monthly by Deloitte.
2. Which is bigger, USDT or USDC?
USDT. As of July 2026, it had around $184 billion in circulation, close to 60% of the stablecoin market, against about $73 billion for USDC, or roughly a quarter of the market.
3. Can USDT or USDC lose its dollar peg?
Both have momentarily lost their pegs in the past. USDC did so during the March 2023 banking crisis, and USDT during the May 2022 TerraUSD collapse. In both cases, both stablecoins restored their dollar peg within days.
4. Are USDT and USDC regulated under the GENIUS Act?
USDC is fully regulated under the GENIUS Act. USDT does not qualify under the GENIUS Act because Tether isn't a US-domiciled issuer.
5. Do USDT or USDC pay interest?
No. Holders of USDT and USDC do not earn interest for simply holding the stablecoins. Some exchanges and DeFi platforms offer yield on stablecoin deposits, but that yield comes from the platform's own lending or rewards, not from Tether or Circle.
6. Can I swap between USDT and USDC?
Yes. Major exchanges have both USDT and USDC listed. Since the two are essentially one dollar, converting between them typically costs very little.
7. What backs USDT and USDC?
Both USDT and USDC are backed by short-term U.S. Treasuries, overnight repo, and cash. However, USDT’s reserves also include assets such as gold, bitcoin, secured loans, and other investments.
Disclaimer: This article was produced with the assistance of OpenAI’s ChatGPT/xAI’s Grok and reviewed and edited by our editorial team.
Circle, the creator of the popular stablecoin USDC, and Fireblocks, a leading provider of digital asset custody and management solutions, are collaborating to advance the adoption of stablecoins in institutional finance. Their joint efforts aim to address major challenges hindering the use of blockchain-based settlements among businesses and financial institutions, particularly in areas like compliance, governance, and international security standards.
Stablecoin transaction volume increases rapidlyRecent figures show that stablecoin activity in global payments has climbed sharply. In 2025, stablecoins recorded $33 trillion in transaction volume, reflecting a 72% year-over-year increase. For the first time in early 2026, stablecoin settlements on a monthly basis outpaced ACH transactions, signaling a significant shift in the financial sector toward blockchain-based payments.
Fireblocks reported that stablecoins have become the predominant digital assets on its platform, making up 69% of all digital asset trades processed. USDC, developed by Circle and pegged to the US dollar, emerged as the most transacted stablecoin within the Fireblocks network this year, overtaking industry giant USDT in popularity among institutional users.
Stablecoins now represent nearly 70% of digital asset trades on Fireblocks, with USDC becoming the top choice for institutional transfers and settlements across multiple blockchains.
Despite the rise in adoption, many companies face operational hurdles when integrating stablecoins into their treasury and payment workflows. Key challenges include managing liquidity, securing funds for gas expenses on various blockchains, performing reconciliations, and complying with regulatory screening processes.
While stablecoins allow payment providers to reduce their reliance on traditional correspondent banking systems, organizations still need to address requirements such as sanctions compliance during cross-border transfers.
Mini dictionary: Fireblocks, a digital asset custody and transfer platform, offers secure infrastructure for businesses and institutions to move, store, and manage digital assets across multiple blockchains.
Circle Gateway offers multi-chain USDC managementAddressing these operational complexities, Circle has launched the Circle Gateway, now integrated with Fireblocks. This solution enables businesses to hold and manage their USDC balances across all supported blockchains in a single virtual wallet, instead of juggling multiple liquidity pools on different networks.
With Gateway, companies consolidate USDC operations, eliminating the need for individual gas fees on destination chains and removing dependencies on external liquidity bridges. This innovation simplifies internal processes and reduces operational risks and costs.
Through the Circle Payments Network (CPN), companies can achieve near-instant settlement of USDC into various fiat currencies, supporting payments in over 50 countries. The network connects banks, payment processors, and virtual asset providers, streamlining global payments and reducing bottlenecks associated with the legacy correspondent banking system.
FeatureTraditional Correspondent BankingCircle Gateway + CPNSettlement SpeedSeveral hours to daysAlmost instantCurrency CoverageLimited, slower onboarding50+ countries supportedLiquidity ComplexityMultiple liquidity poolsSingle virtual walletGas Fee DependencyNot applicableEliminatedSanctions ComplianceIntegrated but slowerFully supportedGrowing demand for enterprise-scale stablecoin solutionsIndustry analysts suggest that the future of stablecoins will focus on expanding scalability and integrating robust security and compliance guardrails. As more enterprises adopt on-chain payment and treasury systems, they are increasingly seeking solutions that combine the speed and transparency of blockchain with the risk controls demanded by the corporate sector.
The current integration between Circle and Fireblocks signals a broader shift: stablecoins are evolving from basic trading tools to critical financial infrastructure. Their ongoing development is expected to further drive adoption among traditional institutions, provided that compliance requirements and operational efficiency continue to improve.
Stablecoins are no longer limited to trading—they are becoming core components of global payment systems and treasury operations for institutions.
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.
SK Group Chairman responds to SK Hynix's stock price plunge: Avoid frequent trading and hold for the long term.
SK Group Chairman and Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Choi Tae-won responded to the sharp plunge in SK Hynix’s stock price, saying that while he cannot predict SK Hynix’s share price movement next month, investors should avoid frequent trading, as long-term holding may be more conducive to preserving assets. Choi believes that as the AI industry develops, demand for memory will continue to expand. He noted that AI is currently like a "4-year-old child," and as it matures into a full-fledged industry, it will inevitably require more memory, with related demand potentially growing exponentially. He also pointed out that SK Hynix’s stock had risen rapidly earlier, leading to a sharp pullback when market expectations shifted, adding that prices that surge too quickly sometimes need adjustments to align with reality. When discussing South Korea’s AI industry strategy, Choi stated that South Korea cannot compete with China on cost nor surpass the U.S. in model quality, so it should build infrastructure, develop applications suited to domestic needs, and explore niche markets, with a long-term shift from exporting memory chips to exporting computing power and "intelligence."
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Institutions: U.S. corporate executives are offloading stocks at a nearly record pace.
US corporate executives are offloading stocks at the second-fastest pace in over two decades. For some investors, this is a classic warning sign, as it signals that those with the deepest insight into a company’s operations are taking a cautious stance on the current market. Data from EPFR Global Market Intelligence shows that in the first half of 2026, US corporate insiders collectively sold $776 billion worth of stocks, a 20% increase from the same period last year. Over the past 20+ years, only 2021 saw larger sell-offs, when the market was fueled by massive pandemic-era stimulus funds. EPFR analysts including Winston Chua wrote in a report: “Insider trading activity indicates that at current valuation levels, corporate executives have no strong willingness to increase their stock holdings.” Additionally, insider buying activity remains sluggish. In the first half of 2026, insiders purchased just $69 billion worth of company stock, barely above the seven-year low of $67 billion set in the same period last year. (Jin10)
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US semiconductor, storage, and optical communication stocks extended their pre-market losses, with SanDisk and Applied Materials both falling more than 6%.
According to BIT (bit.com) market data, US semiconductor stocks were broadly lower in pre-market trading. Applied Materials fell 6.10%, Lam Research dropped 5.46%, TSMC declined 4.70%, KLA slipped 4.68%, Arm and Intel both fell 4.52%, AMD dropped 4.42%, Micron Technology fell 4.24%, and Nvidia was down 2.95%. The storage sector led losses: SanDisk fell 6.10%, Western Digital dropped 5.75%, Seagate Technology declined 5.63%, Micron Technology slipped 4.24%, and SK Hynix fell 3.49%. Optical communication concept stocks plunged collectively: Coherent fell 6.26%, Applied Optoelectronics dropped 6.00%, Credo declined 5.76%, Corning slipped 5.51%, Ciena fell 5.17%, and Astera Labs was down 5.08%.
19 minutes ago
The "Big Short" Michael Burry: Now an excellent time to bottom-fish Hong Kong stocks
The Big Short protagonist Michael Burry said today that with the appeal of South Korean and Japanese markets and the SOXX semiconductor sector waning, now is an ideal time to turn to the Hong Kong market to seek undervalued stocks. He believes some low-valued Hong Kong stocks are poised to perform well once capital flows shift away from South Korea, Japan and the semiconductor sector.
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US stock futures fall, with intensified selling pressure on semiconductor stocks driving investors to shift to other sectors.
U.S. stock index futures fell, with selling pressure on semiconductor stocks intensifying, prompting investors to seek investment opportunities in other market segments. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped more than 2%, while S&P 500 futures fell over 1%. Nvidia (NVDA.O) led losses among the "Magnificent Seven" in pre-market trading, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is nearing a bear market and set to extend Thursday’s declines. However, even though the S&P 500 closed 0.5% lower on Thursday, 369 of its constituent stocks advanced and 132 declined, indicating the market’s overall breadth remains healthy. Barclays strategist Venu Krishna stated, "Enthusiasm for AI capital expenditure is starting to cool, but the semiconductor sector still significantly outperforms the broader market in stock price performance, while software stocks continue to lag. This shows recent market rotation is gradual rather than decisive." (Jinshi)
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OKX.AI Genesis Hackathon Extended to July 28
Official announcement: The OKX.AI Genesis Hackathon has seen rising developer enthusiasm since its launch. To give builders more time to refine and deploy Agent Service Providers (ASP), the submission deadline has been extended to July 28 at 7:59 (UTC+8). Participants can continue to submit their works via the OKX.AI official website and post project introductions on X. OKX.AI is an economic system built specifically for Agents. The Genesis Hackathon features a total prize pool of $100,000, aiming to encourage developers to build ASP that solve real-world needs and drive the implementation of the Agent economy.
Circle has integrated its Gateway and Circle Payments Network with Fireblocks, giving institutional customers new ways to manage USDC across blockchains and settle cross-border payments.
Summary
Circle and Fireblocks integrate Gateway and CPN, giving institutions USDC settlement across multiple blockchain networks. Fireblocks customers can use unified USDC balances and send local fiat payouts across 50-plus countries. Stablecoins account for 69% of Fireblocks transaction volume, showing growing institutional demand for digital settlement. The services are now available directly through Fireblocks’ existing infrastructure, including its transaction controls, approval systems and audit records.
The integration targets trading firms, neobanks and payments companies that use stablecoins for treasury operations and international settlement. According to Fireblocks, stablecoins accounted for 69% of all digital asset transaction volume on its platform during the second quarter of 2026. The company also said USDC became its leading stablecoin earlier this year.
Circle Gateway allows institutions to maintain one virtual USDC balance across supported networks instead of keeping separate pools on each blockchain. Funds can move to supported chains when required, while incoming USDC can automatically return to the unified balance. Fireblocks said the system also reduces the need to hold separate gas tokens for destination networks.
Circle Payments Network connects USDC with local fiat payouts The second part of the integration brings Circle Payments Network, or CPN, into the Fireblocks Network for Payments. Customers can send USDC and route payments to recipients who receive local fiat currency through supported providers in more than 50 countries. The companies said settlement can take minutes rather than relying on multi-day correspondent banking processes.
Circle 🤝 @FireblocksHQ
Gateway and Circle Payments Network are now accessible through Fireblocks, helping institutions manage USDC operations with the policy controls, approvals, and audit trails they already use.
→ Unified USDC balances across supported chains with Gateway… pic.twitter.com/JPEZoF9Hdd
— Circle (@circle) July 16, 2026 Meanwhile, Fireblocks will apply its existing policy controls to Gateway transfers and CPN payouts. These include transaction approvals, counterparty lists, sanctions screening and Travel Rule processes. The aim is to let institutions use stablecoin payment rails without building a separate control system for each network or payment corridor.
The rollout builds on a partnership Circle and Fireblocks announced in September 2025. At the time, the companies said Fireblocks customers would gain access to Circle products, including Gateway and CPN, as financial institutions increased their use of stablecoins for payments and treasury operations.
As crypto.news previously reported, Circle expanded CPN in April with Managed Payments, a service designed to let banks and fintech companies use USDC-based settlement without directly managing digital assets or blockchain infrastructure. That service handles parts of the stablecoin process while participating institutions continue sending and receiving fiat currency.
Moreover, Circle added Nium to CPN in May, connecting USDC settlement with payout infrastructure spanning more than 190 countries and 100 currencies. The Fireblocks integration now adds another institutional access point to the network.
Fireblocks said stablecoin transaction volume reached $33 trillion across the wider market in 2025, up 72% year over year. With Gateway and CPN now available inside its platform, customers can manage cross-chain USDC liquidity and fiat payouts under the same operating and compliance controls they already use for other digital asset transactions.
Visa has launched an enterprise stablecoin platform that allows banks, fintech companies and payment providers to manage digital dollars through a single system.
Summary
Visa launches an enterprise stablecoin platform with Open USD as its first supported digital asset. Banks and fintechs can mint, store, transfer and redeem stablecoins through one Visa-managed operating system. Open USD’s shared revenue model adds pressure on Circle as competition for institutional stablecoin flows grows. The Visa Stablecoin Platform, or VSP, will initially support Open USD, the stablecoin introduced by Open Standard in June.
The platform gives institutions access to tools for minting, redeeming, storing and transferring Open USD. Visa has also added Wallet-as-a-Service infrastructure, blockchain connectivity and its existing risk and security systems. The company said clients can use the service alongside its traditional payments network rather than replacing their current infrastructure.
Visa Chief Product and Strategy Officer Jack Forestell said “the hard part isn’t the concept, it’s the operational reality” when institutions adopt stablecoins. He said VSP gives clients one place to manage stablecoin operations while using controls and network infrastructure already provided by Visa.
Open USD adds another challenge to Circle’s USDC model The launch gives Open USD a direct route into Visa’s institutional customer base. The token uses a different economic structure from established stablecoins such as Circle’s USDC. Open Standard plans to offer fee-free minting and redemption while sharing most reserve income with participating partners after operating costs.
More than 140 companies backed the Open USD initiative when it was announced on June 30. The group includes Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock, Coinbase and several other companies across finance, technology and crypto. Visa had already reported a stablecoin settlement run rate of about $7 billion as of March 2026.
The new platform arrives as investors continue to assess how Open USD could affect Circle’s business. As crypto.news reported, Circle shares fell after Open USD was announced, as markets reacted to a model that could return more reserve income to companies distributing the stablecoin.
Pressure increased this week when Mizuho downgraded Circle and cut its price target from $85 to $50. As previously reported by crypto.news, the bank said Open USD could put more pressure on Circle’s margins by changing how stablecoin reserve income flows to distribution partners. However, Open USD still needs to build the liquidity, regulatory reach and market adoption that USDC has developed over several years.
Visa’s launch moves Open USD from a consortium-backed stablecoin proposal toward institutional payment infrastructure. Banks and fintechs using VSP can access Open USD through Visa-managed tools while connecting stablecoin operations with existing payment products.
For Circle, the competition is now expanding beyond stablecoin issuance. Open USD has gained distribution partners, while Visa is building the systems institutions can use to manage the token directly. The next test will be whether financial companies adopt those tools at enough scale to challenge USDC’s established position in regulated digital-dollar payments.
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.
Zcash (ZEC) is up over 2% on Friday, recovering from an 8% decline the previous day. The privacy coin maintains its retail strength with a rising funding rate despite a minor contraction in ZEC futures Open Interest. Technically, ZEC retains a structural upward trend above its crucial moving averages with an upside toward $690.
Retail support holds amid minor pullbackCoinGlass data shows the ZEC futures Open Interest (OI) dropped over 5% in the last 24 hours to $1.10 billion, reflecting a contraction in active perpetual contracts, which aligns with Thursday’s pullback. However, the surge in funding rate to 0.0228%, from 0.0100% the previous day, reflects a buy-the-dip approach among traders.
Zcash derivatives data. Source: CoinGlassZcash holds a bullish near-term bias above its 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $476 and the 200-day EMA at $390. At the time of writing, ZEC is up 2% on Friday from its 78.6% Fibonacci retracement level at $520, measured over the $690 to $184 downswing, which reinforces a supported trend structure.
A steady upward trend could target the previous swing high of $690, and a breakout could extend the rally to the 127.2% Fibonacci extension at $987.
Momentum is constructive, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) hovering near 58 with more upside before reaching the overbought levels. At the same time, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) is rising into positive territory alongside its signal line, suggesting that buyers retain control.
ZEC/USDT daily price chart.On the downside, initial support is aligned with the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement at $520, where a deeper pullback could attract dip-buying interest near the 50-day EMA at $476.
(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool. Know more.)
Cronos, an EVM-compatible L1 chain, launched $EURC, $USDC, and the Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) of the U.S.-based fintech entity Circle. The rollout denotes a notable landmark for the network as it readies for the Cronos app’s upcoming debut. As Cronos disclosed in its official announcement, it is the earliest blockchain ecosystem to unveil all 3 Circle-backed products at the same time. The respective integration is poised to deliver consumers, institutions, and developers with seamless access to fully compliant stablecoin infrastructure.
Cronos Natively Incorporates $USDC and CCTP to Bolster Infrastructure The launch of $EURC, $USDC, and the CCTP protocol of Circle on the Cronos network highlights a key move. The integration is set to provide institutions, developers, and consumers with streamlined access to compliant stablecoin infrastructure. Additionally, the move focuses on simplifying transfers across chains and supporting a wider range of notable financial apps across the ecosystem.
Simultaneously, the launch is associated with the Cronos app’s development. It is a mobile-first trading entity developed through the Cronos blockchain with notable support from Crypto.com. Specifically, the application is anticipated to permit consumers to efficiently trade their tokenized stocks, prediction market assets, and cryptocurrencies from one account. Additionally, the platform is poised to provide almost 10x buying power, availability in over 183 jurisdictions, and round-the-clock market reach.
Apart from that, native $USDC is set to play the role of a central settlement asset operating in the Cronos app. Following the launch of the platform, consumers will get the capability to deposit their $USDC tokens and use an inclusive balance for the trading of diverse asset classes. Each of the transfers on the platform will witness its settlement in $USDC, marked by redeemability for U.S. dollars on a 1:1 ratio.
Accelerating Worldwide Stablecoin Adoption According to Cronos, a critical element of this development is the inclusion of the Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) of Circle. The protocol allows consumers to shift $USDC between compatible blockchain ecosystems without depending on 3rd-party bridges or wrapped tokens. With this mechanism, consumers will get the ability to transact $USDC from over 20 compatible chains to Cronos. Additionally, $EURC’s integration further broadens the platform’s stablecoin offerings. Overall, with the merger of native $EURC, $USDC, and CCTP integration, Cronos focuses on elevating its position as a prominent blockchain ecosystem for compliant digital asset operations and worldwide financial innovation.
AUTHOR
Umair Younas is a cryptocurrency-related content writer linked with this work since 2019. Here, at Blockchainreporter, he serves as a news and article writer. He is a crypto, blockchain, NFTs, DeFi, and FinTech enthusiast. He has strong command over writing authentic reviews about brokers and exchanges and he has collaborated with our education team to write educational content as well. He has a dream to raise awareness among people about digital currencies. His works are well-researched and brimmed with information hence they provide fresh insights. Stay tuned to his posts if you want to stay up-to-date with the crypto-verse.
Key Takeaways A unanimous Senate resolution opposes presidential clemency for Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced FTX founder Every single senator supported the measure — zero objections were recorded The bipartisan initiative was spearheaded by Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ruben Gallego Bankman-Fried received a conviction in November 2023 across seven charges related to FTX’s $8 billion implosion While President Trump granted pardons to crypto personalities like Changpeng Zhao and Ross Ulbricht, he has refused to extend mercy to Bankman-Fried On July 16, the United States Senate delivered a striking unanimous verdict: no pardon or sentence reduction should be granted to Sam Bankman-Fried, the architect behind the spectacular FTX cryptocurrency exchange failure.
U.S. Senate Unanimously Opposes Clemency for FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried
The U.S. Senate unanimously approved a nonbinding resolution stating that FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried should not receive a presidential pardon, sentence commutation or any other form of federal clemency… pic.twitter.com/u9yO9gHhVw
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) July 16, 2026
Identified as S. Res. 772, the resolution sailed through without opposition under unanimous consent rules. In practical terms, this means zero senators stepped forward to contest it.
The initiative originated on June 17 through a collaborative effort between Senator Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming Republican, and Senator Ruben Gallego, Arizona Democrat. Both legislators chair opposite ends of the Senate Banking Committee’s cryptocurrency subcommittee.
“He received fair judicial proceedings,” Lummis stated during the resolution’s introduction. Gallego delivered a more direct assessment: “Keep him locked up.”
While the resolution carries symbolic weight rather than legal authority to prevent a presidential pardon, it transmits an unmistakable political message to the executive branch.
Understanding the FTX Disaster and Bankman-Fried’s Legal Downfall Bankman-Fried faced judgment in November 2023, resulting in convictions on seven criminal counts connected to FTX’s catastrophic failure. Federal prosecutors characterized the scheme as among the most significant financial crimes in American history.
U.S. customers suffered losses exceeding $8 billion. Bankman-Fried remains incarcerated with an anticipated release date around 2044.
The fraud’s core involved redirecting billions in FTX customer funds to Alameda Research, Bankman-Fried’s proprietary trading operation. These misappropriated funds financed speculative trades, startup investments, campaign contributions, and luxury properties in the Bahamas.
The operation collapsed in November 2022 following CoinDesk’s publication of Alameda’s financial records, which exposed that the company’s asset base consisted predominantly of FTT, FTX’s proprietary digital token.
Within days, Binance announced plans to liquidate its FTT position. This announcement precipitated a token value crash, massive customer withdrawals, and FTX’s bankruptcy declaration on November 11, 2022.
Contrasting Trump’s Treatment of Other Cryptocurrency Cases President Trump has extended executive clemency to other prominent cryptocurrency personalities. This year witnessed pardons for Binance’s founder Changpeng Zhao and Ross Ulbricht, who created Silk Road.
These clemency grants sparked widespread conjecture that Bankman-Fried might receive similar treatment. His relatives actively pursued White House advocacy on his behalf.
However, the administration clarified in January that pardoning Bankman-Fried was not under consideration. The Senate’s universal support for the resolution solidifies this stance.
Bankman-Fried’s legal challenge to reverse his conviction also failed in appellate court, making presidential clemency his sole remaining avenue.
The Senate’s action demonstrates that while cryptocurrency regulatory matters may receive lenient consideration, massive fraud targeting customers remains unforgivable.
Someone just walked into BonkDAO, spent roughly $4.4 million on tokens, and walked out with approximately $20 million from the treasury. Not by hacking smart contracts. Not by finding a zero-day exploit. By simply showing up to vote when nobody else did.
Welcome to the era of the “apathy attack,” a term coined by Dr. NickA (Nick Almond), Head of Governance at Jito Foundation, to describe a governance exploit pattern that has now hit DAOs from Compound to BonkDAO. The vulnerability isn’t in the code. It’s in the community.
How the BonkDAO attack unfolded On July 6, 2026, an attacker acquired enough BONK tokens to surpass the DAO’s 1% quorum requirement. Only about 2.9% of total participants actively voted on the malicious proposal, spread across just 7 wallets. The proposal passed and drained roughly 4.43 trillion BONK tokens, valued at approximately $20 million, from the treasury.
Post-attack, the stolen tokens were reportedly moved into a newly established “BONK 2.0” multisig DAO controlled by the attacker and their associates.
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The irony is thick: BonkDAO specifically set its quorum at 1% as a measure to deter apathy by making governance participation easy. Instead, the low threshold made governance capture trivially cheap.
Compound’s earlier warning shot Compound, one of DeFi’s most established lending protocols, faced its own governance crisis back in July 2024. Declining voter participation created the conditions for a similar exploit pattern, where proposals could be pushed through without meaningful community consensus. The incident was serious enough that Compound established the Compound Governance Working Group specifically to boost engagement and prevent future attacks.
Dr. NickA has drawn a direct line between these incidents, framing them as part of the same systemic vulnerability. The attack vector doesn’t target code. It targets disengagement. Historical data on DAO voter participation paints a grim picture. Turnout across token-weighted DAOs can dip below 10%, and in some cases falls as low as 0.1% to 3%.
The governance paradox The BonkDAO attack is especially instructive because the $4.4 million spent to acquire tokens yielded roughly $20 million in stolen assets. That’s nearly a 5x return on a governance exploit.
Some protocols have experimented with alternative models. Quadratic voting, conviction voting, and delegate systems all attempt to solve different aspects of the participation problem. But none have achieved widespread adoption, and the dominant model remains one-token-one-vote with fixed quorum thresholds.
What this means for investors Traders and investors evaluating DAO-governed protocols should be paying close attention to governance participation metrics. A protocol with consistently low voter turnout and a large treasury is essentially advertising its vulnerability. The ratio of treasury size to quorum cost becomes a rough measure of exploit profitability.
The emergence of “BONK 2.0” as an attacker-controlled entity adds another wrinkle. If stolen governance tokens can be reorganized into new structures that claim legitimacy, the attack doesn’t just drain a treasury. It fragments a community. Recovery becomes a legal, social, and technical challenge all at once.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
Robinhood’s blockchain experiment is no longer an experiment. The company’s Ethereum Layer 2 network, built on the Arbitrum stack, has crossed $400 million in total value locked, a milestone that puts it ahead of several chains that have been around for years.
For a network that launched on July 1, the speed of capital accumulation is striking. Robinhood Chain sat at roughly $39 million just three days after going live, cracked $100 million within its first week, and blew past $379 million by mid-July.
Where the money is flowing Morpho, a lending market, accounts for roughly $133 million of the total, making it the single largest contributor to Robinhood Chain’s TVL. Uniswap follows with approximately $55 million. Those two alone represent a significant chunk of the ecosystem’s DeFi activity, which DefiLlama pegs at around $207 million.
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Cumulative decentralized exchange volumes on the chain surpassed $650 million within a 24-hour window shortly after launch.
The stablecoin market cap within the ecosystem sits near $357 million, predominantly featuring USDG.
The network has processed over 52 million transactions and supports nearly 1 million addresses.
The TradFi-to-DeFi bridge play The network supports Stock Tokens linked to major equities like NVDA, AAPL, and TSLA, essentially creating tokenized versions of blue-chip stocks that can exist on-chain. Partnerships include Uniswap for liquidity infrastructure and Chainlink for oracle services.
What this means for investors Robinhood’s brokerage app has tens of millions of users who are already comfortable trading stocks and crypto. The $400 million TVL milestone also puts Robinhood Chain in a tier where it starts showing up on institutional radar.
Rapid TVL growth in new ecosystems is sometimes fueled by token incentives or yield farming programs that create artificially high returns. When those incentives dry up, capital tends to leave as quickly as it arrived.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
The first half of 2026 was about building and shipping. We brought real-world assets (RWAs) onchain at scale, put AI into the DeFi experience, launched a brand-new Perpetuals with an orderbook engine, and kept CAKE deflationary for a 34th consecutive month.
This mid-year Kitchen Report: PancakeSwap crossed $4.2 trillion in cumulative trading volume, surpassed 190 million all-time users, and landed at #6 on Fortune's inaugural Crypto 100, while becoming one of the largest onchain venues for real-world assets anywhere.
Let's get into it.
Tokenized Real-World Assets on PancakeSwap We've now built a Tokenized Stock Terminal — stocks, ETFs, bonds, gold, dividend-bearing stablecoins, and even pre-IPO exposure — trading around the clock, with zero trading fees, MEV protection, and best-execution routing. Our new Stock page lets you trade all 500+ tokenized assets 24/7 onchain in one place, while serving up the fundamentals of each underlying asset — revenue, EPS, market cap, next earnings and 52-week range.
bStocks bStocks, from Binance, are 1:1-backed tokenized U.S. securities — real shares held in custody, tradable onchain 24/7 with zero fees. They went live on PancakeSwap, on BNB Chain and have grown to 35+ assets, including NVIDIA, Tesla, Circle, Microsoft and Meta, each verifiable 1:1. And they don't just trade — they earn: the SPCXB–USDT farm lets you add liquidity and stack rewards on top of your tokenized-SpaceX exposure.
Ondo Ondo Finance anchors the catalogue with 440+ tokenized U.S. stocks, ETFs and bonds via Ondo Global Markets. Flagship names like SPYon (S&P 500), QQQon (Nasdaq 100), NVDAon and TSLAon trade 24/7 — weekends and holidays included.
xStocks xStocks widens the menu with 130+ tokenized stocks and ETFs — from blue chips to major ETFs. All trade across BNB Chain and Ethereum, gasless and MEV-protected through PancakeSwap X.
Robinhood Robinhood stock tokens round out the lineup, live on Robinhood Chain. 95 tokenized assets are now tradable onchain through PancakeSwap, bringing one of TradFi's most recognizable retail brands into the mix.
More Than Stocks Beyond equities: gold went onchain via XGLD–XAUt (BNB Chain, with Unitas Labs) and USDC–XGLD (Base); dividend-bearing stablecoins apxUSD and apyUSD — the first backed by Digital Asset Treasury preferred equity, via Apyx, launched on Base; and pre-IPO exposure went live via Colb.
Powered by PancakeSwap X PancakeSwap X is the engine under the RWA offerings — gasless, MEV-protected execution with best-price routing. It powers tokenized assets across BNB Chain and Ethereum, and to date has handled $834M+ in volume across 102,000+ trades from 33,500+ swappers.
Altogether, tokenized assets, spanning bStocks, Ondo, xStocks and Robinhood across PancakeSwap X and the AMM, crossed $100M+ in cumulative volume by mid-year, with 31,000+ users and 200,000+ trades.
The AI Kitchen: Agents, Skills & Copilots We put AI across the PancakeSwap ecosystem with rails for autonomous agents, and an assistant in the products where decisions get made.
AI Skills: a modular toolkit that lets AI agents plan DeFi strategies across multiple chains, including Swap, Liquidity and Farming Planners at launch, grown to seven Skills. It works with any LLM agent that reads Markdown, including Claude, Cursor and Copilot.
BNB Agent Studio: PancakeSwap is a launch partner in BNB Chain's Agent Studio, which lets anyone deploy an autonomous onchain agent in minutes, with PancakeSwap as the deep, live venue those agents trade on.
AI where you trade: Chef AI answers anything across the ecosystem, and an AI Copilot on Perps reads the market and pre-fills your direction, size and stops.
A Brand-New Perpetuals Engine We rebuilt PancakeSwap Perps — simple enough for a first trade, powerful enough for your best one. Powered by Aster's order-book infrastructure, the new Perps deliver pro-grade execution with a full order book, up to 200x leverage, and one-tap trades in Simple Mode (it’s a piece of cake), all fully onchain and non-custodial. An AI Copilot makes it smarter still, and a new Portfolio page tracks tokens, Perps positions, and LP history in one view.
PancakeSwap on Base On Base, PancakeSwap has become a default venue for traders and LPs.
The DEX mini-app went live inside the Base App — swap, earn and explore without leaving the experience, with the Base CAKE.PAD mini-app alongside it, meeting millions of users where they already are.
Base on PancakeSwap crossed $100B in cumulative volume and now sits at $113B+, across 3.7M+ traders and 185M+ transactions, powered by top-volume pairs like cbBTC–WETH, WETH–USDC and cbBTC–USDC.
The Deflation Engine: CAKE Tokenomics The first half of 2026 extended PancakeSwap's streak to 34 consecutive months of net supply reduction (every month since September 2023) with cumulative burns now past 56 million CAKE. CAKE's total supply now stands at 335M, well below the 400M hard cap.
You can track every burn live on the Burn Dashboard.
Milestones & Recognition $4.2 trillion in cumulative trading volume across the ecosystem — 190M+ users and 10+ chains, led by BNB Chain, Base, and Arbitrum. $4 trillion on BNB Chain — cementing it as PancakeSwap's anchor chain and one of the most-used DeFi venues globally. Base crossed $100B — with 3.7M+ traders and 185M+ transactions. PancakeSwap Infinity crossed $100 billion in cumulative volume and marked its first full year with 350M+ transactions, 60K+ hooked pools #6 on Fortune's inaugural Crypto 100 — among the highest-ranked DeFi names, with Fortune noting PancakeSwap's significant share of the DEX market in 2025. CAKE added to Binance Proof of Reserves — letting anyone verify 1:1 backing of user assets. Community PancakeSwap took DeFi offline with five meetups across five markets, 600+ attendees, 1,300+ sign-ups:
→ Ho Chi Minh City: with @base_vietnam — DeFi builders, IRL.
→ São Paulo: with @SuperteamBR, @ParaBuilders & @Tangem — talks, giveaways, & merch.
→ Hong Kong: we turned a real pancake house into the @cnBaseCommunity embassy — plus a booth at the @BNBCHAIN Super Meetup and the HK Web3 Festival floor. Five days, thousands of people.
→ Seoul: South Korea's first @base Agent Hackathon, built on PancakeSwap AI Skills and Chef Philip judging.
→ Jakarta: with @baseindo — crypto × AI on Base, DeFi, and goodies.
→ Bandung: a packed house with @BinanceAcademy Indonesia — DeFi sessions, merch, USDT prizes.
New ambassadors joined from Japan and South Korea, Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand, and 3 new Telegram communities launched for Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. PancakeSwap also hit the stage at Consensus Hong Kong and the HK Web3 Festival.
What's Cooking Next PancakeSwap is now set to be the liquidity hub for onchain trading. The deep, reliable hub where any asset can be traded onchain, and where liquidity is dense enough that traders get the best price in DeFi.
The throughline is that all of it stays onchain: self-custodied, transparent, and permissionless. Deeper liquidity, more assets, smarter tools, one onchain home for trading.
DeFi infrastructure just got a new building block. PancakeSwap has open-sourced a reference AI agent designed for ERC-8183 order and intent settlement, deploying it through BNB Chain’s newly launched Agent Studio platform.
The timing matters: BNB Agent Studio went live on July 1, 2026, and PancakeSwap is one of its first major protocol integrations.
What the ERC-8183 agent actually does Think of ERC-8183 as the instruction layer for AI agents operating on-chain. When a user submits a swap intent, the agent intercepts it, routes it through PancakeSwap’s aggregation layer, and delivers output tokens directly to the client’s wallet.
The implementation is not a casual proof-of-concept. Execution controls include slippage limits, atomic transaction requirements, meaning the swap either completes fully or reverts entirely, and execution deadlines capped at five minutes. The agent also operates against a predefined token safelist, so it cannot be coerced into routing through arbitrary or unvetted assets.
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Stablecoins fund the agent’s own operating costs through the x402 payment process, which handles agent self-funding without requiring manual top-ups.
All swap routing runs exclusively through PancakeSwap’s aggregation layer. That is a deliberate architectural choice, not a limitation. It gives the agent a consistent, auditable execution path rather than exposing it to unpredictable third-party routing logic.
BNB Agent Studio: the infrastructure behind the agent BNB Agent Studio is the platform making all of this deployable at speed. Using AWS Bedrock as the underlying compute layer, the studio is designed to get an AI agent from prompt to production in roughly 15 minutes.
On-chain identity management runs through ERC-8004, a separate standard that handles agent identification and credentialing. Combined with ERC-8183 for task execution, the two standards form the backbone of BNB Chain’s emerging agent framework.
The BNBAgent SDK, which supports the entire framework, reached testnet in March 2026 and moved to mainnet by May 2026. The July 1 Agent Studio launch was the public-facing layer built on top of that foundation.
Automated wallet provisioning is built into the studio, so developers do not need to manually configure signing infrastructure before deploying an agent. The interface accepts single-prompt inputs in environments like Cursor or Claude Code, lowering the barrier for developers who are not blockchain specialists.
Why this matters for DeFi traders and investors PancakeSwap’s open-sourced reference implementation gives developers a production-ready template that handles swap intents, manages execution risk, and routes trades through its aggregation layer.
The practical use cases the integration is designed to enable include range rebalancing and yield optimization. An agent that can handle atomic swaps with sub-five-minute deadlines and hardcoded slippage controls is suited for those tasks. For liquidity providers on PancakeSwap’s V3 pools, automated range rebalancing means positions can stay in-range without constant manual intervention.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Not financial or tax advice. PANews content is strictly educational and informational and is not investment advice, financial advice, tax advice, legal advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any digital asset, security, or financial product. Do your own research and consult qualified advisers.
Disclosure. PANews may publish sponsored content, partner content, advertisements, affiliate links, event promotions, and market commentary involving Web3 projects, service providers, or financial products. PANews personnel, contributors, or affiliates may hold digital assets or other interests related to covered topics. See our Terms of Service.
The "Big Short" Michael Burry: Now an excellent time to bottom-fish Hong Kong stocks
The Big Short protagonist Michael Burry said today that with the appeal of South Korean and Japanese markets and the SOXX semiconductor sector waning, now is an ideal time to turn to the Hong Kong market to seek undervalued stocks. He believes some low-valued Hong Kong stocks are poised to perform well once capital flows shift away from South Korea, Japan and the semiconductor sector.
15 minutes ago
US stock futures fall, with intensified selling pressure on semiconductor stocks driving investors to shift to other sectors.
U.S. stock index futures fell, with selling pressure on semiconductor stocks intensifying, prompting investors to seek investment opportunities in other market segments. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped more than 2%, while S&P 500 futures fell over 1%. Nvidia (NVDA.O) led losses among the "Magnificent Seven" in pre-market trading, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is nearing a bear market and set to extend Thursday’s declines. However, even though the S&P 500 closed 0.5% lower on Thursday, 369 of its constituent stocks advanced and 132 declined, indicating the market’s overall breadth remains healthy. Barclays strategist Venu Krishna stated, "Enthusiasm for AI capital expenditure is starting to cool, but the semiconductor sector still significantly outperforms the broader market in stock price performance, while software stocks continue to lag. This shows recent market rotation is gradual rather than decisive." (Jinshi)
15 minutes ago
OKX.AI Genesis Hackathon Extended to July 28
Official announcement: The OKX.AI Genesis Hackathon has seen rising developer enthusiasm since its launch. To give builders more time to refine and deploy Agent Service Providers (ASP), the submission deadline has been extended to July 28 at 7:59 (UTC+8). Participants can continue to submit their works via the OKX.AI official website and post project introductions on X. OKX.AI is an economic system built specifically for Agents. The Genesis Hackathon features a total prize pool of $100,000, aiming to encourage developers to build ASP that solve real-world needs and drive the implementation of the Agent economy.
15 minutes ago
Binance to list SPCXUSD1 perpetual contract
According to an official announcement, Binance will launch the SPCXUSD1 perpetual contract at 17:00 (GMT+8) on July 20, 2026, with a maximum leverage of 25x.
15 minutes ago
Nasdaq 100 Index futures decline widened to 2%
According to market data from BIT (bit.com), Nasdaq 100 index futures extended their decline to 2%, and S&P 500 index futures fell 1%. (Jinshi Data)
15 minutes ago
A crypto whale has accumulated another 20,000 HYPE tokens, bringing its total HYPE holdings to 220,000 since June 11.
According to on-chain analyst Ai Yi (Twitter handle @ai_9684xtpa), the whale/entity with wallet address 0x008…E295f — which had accumulated a total of 200,000 HYPE tokens in June — has withdrawn 20,000 HYPE tokens from an exchange again after a 4-week interval, worth roughly $1.18 million. Since June 11, this address has withdrawn a total of 220,000 HYPE tokens from exchanges, totaling around $14.85 million, at an average withdrawal price of $67.51, and currently holds an unrealized loss of approximately $1.945 million.
Solana Foundation and Google Cloud are teaming up for a hackathon in Korea focused on building AI agents that can make autonomous payments. The collaboration sits at the intersection of AI and stablecoins, backed by enterprise infrastructure from both organizations.
The event builds on an increasingly tight relationship between the two organizations, one that recently produced Pay.sh, an API proxy designed to let AI agents autonomously pay for Google Cloud services using stablecoin micropayments on the Solana blockchain.
What Pay.sh actually does Pay.sh sits between AI agents and Google Cloud’s suite of services, including Gemini, BigQuery, and Cloud Run, letting those agents discover, authenticate, and transact for API access without a human ever stepping in.
In English: an AI agent needs to run a query on BigQuery. Instead of requiring someone to log in, enter a credit card, and approve the charge, Pay.sh lets the agent pay for exactly what it uses with USDC on Solana. Pay as you go, no human middleman required.
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The system leverages Solana’s high throughput and low transaction costs, which makes micropayments economically viable in a way they simply aren’t on slower, more expensive chains. A fraction-of-a-cent payment for a single API call doesn’t work if the transaction fee costs more than the service itself.
The hackathon ecosystem The Korean hackathon carries the theme “Build the Future of Agentic Commerce,” and it’s part of a broader push by both organizations to seed developer interest in autonomous agent infrastructure.
It’s not the first time Solana has targeted Korea specifically. In April 2025, Solana Super Team Korea collaborated with Google Cloud for the Seoul Lana Hackathon, establishing a regional footprint that this latest event builds upon.
Running in parallel is the Solana X402 Hackathon, a remote event scheduled from October 28 to November 11, 2025, with a prize pool of $135,000. Participants can earn up to $20,000 per track for projects that support x402 integrations, which is the payment protocol underpinning how agents discover and pay for services autonomously.
Previous Solana hackathons have featured tracks for DeFi agents and token tooling, with total prizes exceeding $250,000 across events.
Why this matters for the stablecoin economy The real story isn’t the hackathon itself. It’s what the hackathon is designed to produce: a developer ecosystem around machine-to-machine stablecoin payments.
If AI agents start autonomously consuming cloud services and paying in USDC on Solana, that’s a new source of persistent, programmatic stablecoin velocity. Not speculative trading volume, not one-off remittances, but ongoing commercial activity baked into software architectures.
Solana is positioning itself as the default settlement layer for this economy. Sub-second finality and transaction costs measured in fractions of a penny make it practical for the kind of micropayments that agent commerce requires.
The Google Cloud partnership adds enterprise legitimacy. When a company that controls roughly a third of the global cloud infrastructure market co-signs your payment protocol, it sends a signal to CTOs and procurement teams that this isn’t a science experiment.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Solana (SOL) continues to show signs of bullish momentum, with technical analysts closely monitoring a potential breakout above an important resistance zone. The blockchain’s growing prominence in the tokenized real-world asset (RWA) sector is also fueling optimism over its long-term ecosystem development.
Technical analysis and key levelsAt the time of reporting, SOL is valued at $76.05 with a 24-hour trading volume of $2.12 billion and a market capitalization of $44.3 billion. While the token registered a 1.85% decline in the past day, several market observers highlight that its technical structure remains positive, pointing toward possible reversal signals if key levels are surpassed.
Crypto analyst ANBESSA emphasized that SOL is consolidating above the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement level, a zone often regarded as a crucial area for buyers to defend and potentially launch a new upward move.
Analysts describe the recent price movement as healthy consolidation following earlier gains, suggesting that the technical outlook stays constructive as the market awaits its next decisive move.
Traders are keeping a close eye on resistance between $84 and $86. A breakout and close above this range could confirm a higher high pattern, boosting market sentiment and potentially attracting new buyers.
A successful conversion of resistance into support at these levels would likely add strength to the bullish case, as new market participants might be drawn to the token’s recovery story.
MetricCurrent ValuePrice$76.0524h Trading Volume$2.12 billionMarket Capitalization$44.3 billionKey Resistance$84−$86Recent Change (24h)-1.85%Solana’s position in real-world asset tokenizationRecent data show that Solana has become a leading blockchain platform for RWA tokenization, with notable expansion in on-chain financial products and rising investor activity. This development comes as part of a broader industry trend toward integrating real-world assets into blockchain infrastructure, a movement that offers new opportunities for institutional and retail users.
Network supporters point to the wide range of tokenized physical assets available on Solana as a key factor in its growing appeal. As more asset types and users join the ecosystem, the competitive advantage of the Solana platform is expected to strengthen, encouraging increased participation.
The trend toward broader adoption supports the narrative of long-term ecosystem growth for Solana beyond short-term price fluctuations.
Mini dictionary: Real-world asset (RWA) tokenization refers to the process of representing physical or traditional financial assets, such as real estate, commodities, or bonds, as blockchain-based digital tokens, allowing these assets to be traded and managed more efficiently.
Near-term price outlookDespite the positive sentiment around Solana and its role in the growing RWA sector, SOL’s price remains subject to broader market conditions. The token continues to move on a downward trajectory in the short term, influenced in part by Bitcoin’s sideways trading activity.
Market participants regard the coming period as crucial for Solana. If SOL breaks above the $84 to $86 resistance zone and sustains those gains, it could provide renewed upside momentum. Conversely, failure to do so may result in further consolidation.
Continued growth in real-world asset activity and ongoing market interest may support future price advances, but if resistance holds firm, traders are likely to see an extended consolidation phase.
The next move for Solana will likely be determined by both technical factors and investor response to its expanding role in tokenizing real-world assets.
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.
Crypto influencer Ansem, known online as @blknoiz06 and widely called "The Solana Guy," argues that the memecoin market has a structural flaw that $ANSEM is designed to address: tokens are good at pulling in retail traders but terrible at keeping them.
The pattern is familiar. A token launches, social momentum spikes, and liquidity rotates to the next opportunity before any community takes root. Ansem says the ANSEM token, nicknamed The Black Bull, is built around a different model.
Creator Fees as Community IncentiveAnsem has framed the initiative as a redistribution of his Pump.fun creator fees rather than a traditional token launch, with those fees funding ongoing airdrops to holders. Creator fee income is estimated to distribute roughly $200,000 in weekly rewards, with cumulative earnings reportedly reaching around $378,210 since the project launched in late June 2026.
The plan goes further than airdrops alone. Ansem will add SOL to the liquidity pool from ANSEM creator fees to absorb early selling pressure, with SOL airdrops targeting active community members and ANSEM airdrops tied to market cap growth. Long-term holders and content creators will also be rewarded, and Ansem plans to publicly disclose his team wallet to ensure transparency. He says the model draws inspiration from both $BONK and Hyperliquid $HYPE, two projects that built lasting communities through broad token distribution and aligned incentives.
Reach, Risk, and ConcentrationAnsem says the token gives his more than one million followers a way to participate in his long-term growth while helping protocols onboard users. He has airdropped roughly $7 million worth of tokens to more than 700 wallets and has set a target of growing the holder base from around 25,000 wallets to 1 million.
The model has attracted genuine interest but also pointed questions. The token has no product, revenue, or roadmap, and its value rests almost entirely on the attention of the influencer whose name it carries. Ansem controls about 60% of the total supply, meaning one entity holds the theoretical ability to move the price sharply at any time. Analysts have also flagged that multiple tokens share the ANSEM name on Solana, increasing the risk of buyers interacting with the wrong contract.
Whether the token proves to be a durable experiment or follows the familiar arc of influencer coins will depend largely on whether the creator-fee mechanic sustains participation after the initial excitement fades. That is precisely the problem Ansem says he is trying to solve.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
Sources
The Defiant: Ansem Airdrops $7M of ANSEM Memecoin in Bid to Reach 1M Holders
CoinDCX: ANSEM Price Surges as Creator Fee Airdrop Sparks Solana Meme Coin Rally
KuCoin: Ansem Updates ANSEM Meme Coin Promotion Plan
Key Highlights Real-world asset inflows on Solana exceeded $900 million in the last 30 days, outpacing competing blockchain platforms Crypto analyst Ali Martinez identified SOL’s first SuperTrend buy indicator since mid-October, targeting $96 and $121 as critical upside levels Robinhood Chain’s entry into tokenized assets creates distinction from Solana’s comprehensive ecosystem approach, according to market observers SOL faces pressure at the $78 threshold while experiencing $700K in ETF withdrawals during the current week Blockchain metrics indicate accelerating wallet activity, with the 30-day moving average for daily addresses surpassing the 50-day average Solana has captured over $900 million in net real-world asset (RWA) capital during the most recent 30-day window, based on statistics from RWA.xyz. This performance positions SOL at the forefront among major blockchain platforms throughout this timeframe.
🚨SOLANA DOMINATES RWA INFLOWS, OVER $900M IN 30 DAYS!
Solana has seen over $900 million in net RWA inflows in the past 30 days, outpacing nearly every other chain combined, according to on-chain analytics from https://t.co/YYu1rOWLXm.
This underscores Solana’s strong momentum… pic.twitter.com/EBGTRLQs55
— Crypto Banter (@crypto_banter) July 16, 2026
Crypto Banter brought attention to these numbers, emphasizing robust appetite for tokenized real-world assets within the Solana ecosystem. The tokenization of traditional assets represents one of cryptocurrency’s most rapidly expanding sectors at present.
The Solana network currently maintains over $3 billion in real-world assets and has facilitated more than $10 billion in tokenized equity trading volume. Its infrastructure enables decentralized financial services, stablecoin transactions, payment systems, and consumer-facing applications within a single Layer 1 architecture.
Solana (SOL) Price Market analyst CryptosBatman offered his perspective on SOL’s chart behavior via X, stating the asset “is looking very solid here.” He highlighted that the price level has successfully retested former resistance cleanly while breaking through a bullish falling wedge formation, concluding it “should continue higher from here.”
$SOL is looking very solid here.
Not only has price retested its previous resistance cleanly, but it has also broken out of a bullish falling wedge pattern.
Should continue higher from here. pic.twitter.com/ajP6O2DSdS
— BATMAN ⚡ (@CryptosBatman) July 16, 2026
Robinhood’s Blockchain Launch Creates Market Discussion Robinhood unveiled Robinhood Chain recently, a blockchain platform dedicated to tokenized equities and financial instruments. This development triggered conversations regarding potential competition with Solana.
According to Solana Daily, these platforms serve different purposes rather than directly competing. Robinhood’s advantage lies in its extensive retail investor network, whereas Solana offers a comprehensive public blockchain infrastructure featuring substantial on-chain liquidity and a vibrant developer ecosystem.
Technical Barriers Emerge at $78 for SOL Despite positive RWA momentum, SOL continues struggling against the $78 price barrier. The digital asset has declined approximately 2% over the previous 24-hour period, while trading volume decreased from $4 billion on July 2 to roughly $2 billion currently.
Solana ETF activity has shifted negative during the present week, recording $700,000 in outflows. This reverses the previous week’s inflows exceeding $1.1 million.
Analyst Ali Martinez observed that the ATR trailing stop indicator has positioned itself beneath current market pricing — marking SOL’s initial SuperTrend buy indication since October 10. He identified $96 as the subsequent resistance target, with $121 following if momentum persists.
SOLANA TURNED BULLISH
The ATR trailing stop has flipped below price, marking the first SuperTrend buy signal since October 10.
If buying pressure continues to build, $SOL could rally toward $96 or even $121. However, $60 remains the key level to watch.
A break below that… https://t.co/Femtlawn2r pic.twitter.com/pJSFngWZiN
— Ali Charts (@alicharts) July 15, 2026
Blockchain analytics from Santiment reveal the 30-day moving average for active daily addresses has crossed upward through the 50-day MA. The expanding distance between these indicators suggests wallet activation is accelerating.
A crucial trend line support level exists at $74. Should this threshold fail, market watchers anticipate a possible decline toward $64. Conversely, breaking above $78 resistance could unlock movement toward $90.
Key Highlights TKNZ represents T. Rowe Price’s inaugural actively managed spot cryptocurrency ETF, now trading on NYSE Arca Initial assets total approximately $15 million, distributed across Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, Solana, XRP, and Hyperliquid Portfolio composition features Bitcoin as the largest holding at 40.75%, while Hyperliquid comprises 6.45% Expense ratio stands at 0.75% until May 2027, subsequently increasing to 0.90% Active management strategy allows portfolio adjustments based on ongoing market analysis and research insights Baltimore-headquartered investment powerhouse T. Rowe Price, which manages $1.9 trillion in client portfolios, made its official debut in the cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund space Thursday by introducing TKNZ — positioned as the market’s inaugural actively managed multi-asset digital currency ETF.
🚨JUST IN: T. Rowe Price’s TKNZ Active Crypto ETF began trading TODAY with about $15 million in assets.
The fund debuted with about 41% allocated to BTC, 18.4% to ETH, and sizeable positions in BNB, SOL, and XRP.
Hyperliquid’s HYPE accounted for nearly 6.5% of the portfolio. https://t.co/zTh1kq8ATD pic.twitter.com/YNcMtRQbD1
— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) July 16, 2026
Trading commenced on NYSE Arca following a nearly nine-month approval process after the company submitted its initial application in October 2025. The fund opened with roughly $15 million in starting capital.
Distinct from single-asset offerings such as standalone Bitcoin or Ethereum ETFs, TKNZ provides exposure through a diversified cryptocurrency portfolio. The initial allocation breakdown showed Bitcoin commanding 40.75%, Ethereum at 18.42%, BNB representing 11.01%, Solana accounting for 9.44%, XRP at 9.37%, and Hyperliquid comprising 6.45%.
Additional holdings feature Stellar Lumen at 3%, Dogecoin at 1.28%, along with a modest cash reserve.
Dynamic Portfolio Management Defines Strategy TKNZ’s distinguishing characteristic lies in its active management framework. Fund managers possess the flexibility to rebalance holdings according to evolving market dynamics, proprietary analysis, and risk evaluation rather than adhering to a predetermined index structure.
According to T. Rowe Price, this methodology aims to capitalize on shifting momentum patterns as capital flows between various digital assets throughout market cycles.
Blue Macellari, who has directed T. Rowe Price’s digital asset division since 2022, manages the fund with support from four additional co-portfolio managers. The organization developed proprietary digital asset trading systems and established partnerships with institutional service providers ahead of the product launch.
Bloomberg Intelligence Senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas observed that the opening portfolio composition appeared to underweight Bitcoin while maintaining heavier positions in alternative assets, especially Hyperliquid.
Hyperliquid Allocation Generates Market Interest The 6.45% allocation to Hyperliquid has captured attention considering the token’s recent market trajectory. Hyperliquid reached a peak price around $74.50 in the previous month and presently trades near $65.60, representing approximately 38% appreciation over the trailing twelve months. Bitcoin, conversely, has declined roughly 45% during the identical timeframe.
According to fund documentation, the ETF will not implement staking for any proof-of-stake assets initially, though staking participation may be incorporated down the line.
The expense structure is set at 0.75% through May 2027 via a provisional fee waiver, before escalating to 0.90%. Detractors of actively managed investment vehicles typically cite elevated fees as a disadvantage relative to passive index alternatives.
T. Rowe Price’s entrance follows BlackRock’s recent introduction of a Bitcoin income ETF earlier this month, demonstrating that major asset management firms continue diversifying and refining their cryptocurrency product portfolios.
With nearly 90 years of asset management history, TKNZ represents T. Rowe Price’s maiden direct exposure vehicle in the digital currency sector.
Key Takeaways Over the last 30 days, Solana has attracted more than $900 million in net real-world asset inflows, surpassing major competing networks Crypto analyst Ali Martinez identified SOL’s first SuperTrend buy indicator since October 10, targeting $96 and $121 as critical upside levels Robinhood Chain’s launch into tokenized assets presents a different value proposition compared to Solana’s comprehensive ecosystem approach SOL faces selling pressure at the $78 threshold, while ETF products recorded $700K in net outflows this week Network activity metrics reveal the 30-day moving average for active addresses has surged past the 50-day MA According to RWA.xyz tracking data, Solana has absorbed over $900 million in net capital directed toward real-world assets throughout the previous month. This performance positions the network at the forefront among major blockchain platforms during this timeframe.
🚨SOLANA DOMINATES RWA INFLOWS, OVER $900M IN 30 DAYS!
Solana has seen over $900 million in net RWA inflows in the past 30 days, outpacing nearly every other chain combined, according to on-chain analytics from https://t.co/YYu1rOWLXm.
This underscores Solana’s strong momentum… pic.twitter.com/EBGTRLQs55
— Crypto Banter (@crypto_banter) July 16, 2026
Crypto Banter brought attention to these statistics, emphasizing robust appetite for tokenized real-world assets within Solana’s infrastructure. The tokenization of traditional assets represents one of crypto’s most rapidly expanding sectors currently.
With a total RWA footprint exceeding $3 billion and cumulative tokenized equity trading volume surpassing $10 billion, Solana delivers integrated support for DeFi protocols, stablecoin infrastructure, payment systems, and consumer-facing applications through a unified Layer 1 architecture.
Solana (SOL) Price Market commentator CryptosBatman offered his technical perspective on SOL via X, characterizing the asset as “looking very solid here.” His analysis highlighted a clean retest of former resistance alongside a breakout from a bullish falling wedge formation, concluding the token “should continue higher from here.”
$SOL is looking very solid here.
Not only has price retested its previous resistance cleanly, but it has also broken out of a bullish falling wedge pattern.
Should continue higher from here. pic.twitter.com/ajP6O2DSdS
— BATMAN ⚡ (@CryptosBatman) July 16, 2026
Robinhood Chain Makes Its Debut Robinhood’s recent introduction of Robinhood Chain—a blockchain infrastructure designed for tokenized equities and financial instruments—has generated discussion around potential competitive dynamics with Solana.
Solana Daily clarified that these platforms occupy distinct market positions. Robinhood’s competitive advantage lies in its extensive retail investor network, whereas Solana offers a comprehensive public blockchain environment featuring substantial on-chain liquidity pools and a vibrant developer ecosystem.
Price Action Stalls Below $78 Barrier Notwithstanding the positive RWA momentum, SOL continues encountering resistance near the $78 price point. The digital asset has declined approximately 2% over the previous 24-hour period, while daily trading activity has contracted from $4 billion on July 2 to roughly $2 billion presently.
Solana exchange-traded fund flows have reversed to negative territory during the current week, registering $700,000 in outflows. This contrasts with inflows exceeding $1.1 million during the preceding week.
Technical analyst Ali Martinez observed that the ATR trailing stop indicator has shifted below current market pricing—marking SOL’s initial SuperTrend buy configuration since October 10. His outlook identifies $96 as the immediate resistance barrier, with $121 representing the subsequent target should momentum persist.
SOLANA TURNED BULLISH
The ATR trailing stop has flipped below price, marking the first SuperTrend buy signal since October 10.
If buying pressure continues to build, $SOL could rally toward $96 or even $121. However, $60 remains the key level to watch.
A break below that… https://t.co/Femtlawn2r pic.twitter.com/pJSFngWZiN
— Ali Charts (@alicharts) July 15, 2026
Blockchain analytics from Santiment reveal the 30-day moving average tracking daily active wallet addresses has intersected above the 50-day MA. The expanding divergence between these indicators implies accelerating wallet activation rates across the network.
A critical support trendline exists at $74. A breach of this level would potentially expose SOL to a decline toward $64. Conversely, sustained movement above $78 resistance could establish a pathway toward the $90 zone.
