Author: James Wilson
Ethereum chatter has collapsed to 2020 levels while banks build on the chain and a nonprofit teaches institutions to buy it. The token trades as if neither audience exists. Three groups are pricing three different assets, and only one of them is right. Summary Retail attention on Ethereum has collapsed: tweet volume is at 12-month lows near 40,000 mentions, levels last seen in 2020, NFT activity has gone quiet, and daily active addresses have fallen from above 1.5 million in January toward 544,000. Institutional commitment is moving the opposite way: a dedicated nonprofit launched to onboard institutions, tokenization is a…
CoinShares has entered Europe’s €26.3 trillion UCITS fund market with the launch of a regulated Bitcoin mining ETF, opening its digital asset strategies to institutional investors whose mandates previously restricted access to its products. Summary CoinShares has launched a UCITS platform with a Bitcoin mining ETF listed on Deutsche Börse Xetra. The new structure opens access to pension funds, insurers, and private banks restricted by existing investment mandates. CoinShares said it plans to use the UCITS platform to launch more regulated digital asset investment funds. Digital asset investment firm CoinShares announced on Tuesday that it has launched a UCITS platform…
Ant International has completed a roughly $1.2 billion Series A funding round, securing backing from Ant Group, Alibaba, existing shareholders, and global investment firms to expand its international fintech business and AI capabilities. Summary Ant International has completed a roughly $1.2 billion Series A funding round backed by Ant Group, Alibaba, existing shareholders, and global investors. The company said the capital will expand its international business, increase AI investment, and strengthen cross border payment and global account services. The financing comes as Ant International continues building its blockchain payments network and advances stablecoin licensing plans across multiple markets. Chinese media…
South Korea’s first CBDC pilot has been conducted without any independent government security inspection, with participating banks relying mainly on their own pre-launch reviews before testing began. Summary South Korea’s first CBDC pilot proceeded without an independent government security inspection, with pre launch reviews relying partly on participating banks. Documents submitted by the Financial Supervisory Service show no separate security audit was conducted during or after the Bank of Korea’s pilot. The findings come as South Korea continues expanding work on CBDCs, deposit tokens and won backed stablecoins under its digital asset roadmap. South Korean newspaper Maeil Business, citing data…
The London Stock Exchange is preparing to launch a separate night-time trading venue in the first half of 2027, according to the Financial Times. Summary LSE plans overnight trading from 2027 as retail demand shifts toward always-open global market access. The separate venue will initially offer exchange-traded products linked to U.K. and U.S. stock markets. Tokenized equities are expanding rapidly, increasing pressure on traditional exchanges to extend market trading hours. The planned market would extend access well beyond London’s standard trading day as investors increasingly seek ways to trade financial products across time zones. The plan comes as crypto exchanges…
HashKey Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea’s Kbank and blockchain technology company BPMG Group to develop digital asset business models focused on payments and settlement. Summary HashKey, Kbank and BPMG will explore KRW stablecoins for cross-border payments and regional trade settlement. Kbank will review compliance and feasibility while BPMG builds stablecoin payment and settlement infrastructure systems. The partnership extends HashKey’s Asia Connect strategy as South Korea develops clearer rules for stablecoins. The agreement forms part of HashKey’s “Asia Connect” strategy and will examine the use of Korean won-backed stablecoins for cross-border payments and trade settlement. HashKey…
Tether Gold has gained commodity status in Abu Dhabi, as DefiLlama data shows XAUT’s locked value has climbed more than threefold to about $2.86 billion over the past year. Summary ADGM recognized Tether Gold as an Accepted Spot Commodity for approved regulated firms. XAUT’s locked value more than tripled over the past year to $2.86 billion. Tether is expanding across tokenized gold, US payroll payments and Latin American banking. Abu Dhabi Global Market has recognized XAUT as an Accepted Spot Commodity, allowing regulated firms in the international financial center to provide services involving the tokenized gold asset when they hold…
Coinbase has backed a tougher CLARITY Act after Senate Democrats added customer safeguards, even as its 2026 approval odds have fallen to 31% on Polymarket amid a dispute over ethics rules involving President Donald Trump. Summary Coinbase backs the revised CLARITY Act after Democrats secured stronger customer protections. White House resistance to crypto ethics rules threatens a Senate vote before August. Polymarket traders place the bill’s chance of becoming law in 2026 at 31%. Coinbase vice chair Ryan VanGrack told CNBC on Monday that Democrats had secured stronger consumer protections during closed-door negotiations over the bill’s final Senate text. He…
Exodus Movement has cut about 25% of its global workforce as the crypto wallet company reorganizes around a full-stack stablecoin payments platform. Summary Exodus has cut 25% of its global workforce, potentially affecting about 54 employees. The company expects $10 million to $13 million in annual savings by 2027. Exodus is integrating Monavate and Baanx to build its stablecoin payments and card platform. According to a July 17 company notice filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the reduction will align Exodus’s costs and staffing priorities with its card issuance and payments strategy. The company also cited current market…
Dogecoin price has held near $0.073 after whales accumulated 200 million DOGE and futures open interest climbed 3.74% to $1.08 billion. Summary Dogecoin whales accumulated 200 million DOGE worth roughly $14 million through Robinhood. Futures open interest rose 3.74% to $1.08 billion as derivatives volume jumped 114%. DOGE must clear $0.07539 and $0.07965 to confirm a stronger bullish reversal. CoinGlass’s three-day liquidation heatmap shows DOGE trading between large leveraged-position clusters near $0.074 and $0.071, leaving the meme coin exposed to volatility in either direction. At the time the charts were captured, Dogecoin traded near $0.0732 after gaining about 1% on…