News linked to this event type.
USV announced that veteran venture capital firm Union Square Ventures (USV) has successfully raised a new $900 million fund to support startups positioned at the cusp of major market shifts. USV stated that AI infrastructure buildout is already fully underway. Just as the firm backed the internet revolution in 2004, it will apply the exact same logic to invest in the “age of intelligence.” The fund’s substantial increase from the previous $275 million is designed to address the realities of the AI era, which is characterized by larger funding rounds and higher valuations. Regarding investment focus, USV outlined three core themes: AI will reshape markets rather than merely automate them; unlocking previously inaccessible “edge data” (spanning robotics, manufacturing, sensor networks, etc.); and meeting the growing demand from consumers and enterprises for more robust intelligence and stronger trust alignment (categorized under the “Rebel Alliance” theme). Energy investments have also been integrated into the core fund.
According to Axios, Meanwhile, a Bitcoin life insurance company backed by Sam Altman, has raised $37.5 million in funding, bringing its latest valuation to $350 million. The company offers Bitcoin-denominated life insurance products, enabling clients to benefit from the appreciation of their cryptocurrency assets without paying high capital gains taxes.
Tom Lee, Chairman of Bitmine, stated that the core driver of this crypto bull market may be stronger than previous cycles, because the potential market size brought by tokenization far exceeds the retail narratives of the past.Tom Lee said that participants in the 2016 to 2017 bull market were mainly retail investors; the 2019 to 2021 cycle was mainly driven by NFTs and was likewise dominated by the retail market; while last year was a phase of rapid stablecoin development. He believes the greater driver now is real-world assets (RWA) and traditional financial assets moving on-chain. Global liquid assets total about $200 trillion, of which the three major asset classes—equities, bonds, and credit—amount to about $160 trillion. If 10% of these assets are brought on-chain, that would correspond to a market size of about $16 trillion.Tom Lee further stated that for every $1 of assets tokenized or locked in an L1 blockchain ecosystem, it typically creates about $1 of value for that blockchain.
Odaily News: The Cardano Foundation has announced the spin-off of its digital identity project Veridian into an independent company, with its shares tokenized based on CIP-0113, a newly launched programmable token standard on the Cardano blockchain.It is reported that Veridian becomes the first company to adopt Cardano's programmable token standard for equity tokenization. Frederik Gregaard, CEO of the Cardano Foundation and Chairman of Veridian, stated that the company has issued a total of 1 million shares, with the majority already tokenized. However, these tokenized shares are not currently available for public sale.Headquartered in Switzerland, Veridian aims to provide digital identity verification tools for governments, enterprises, and AI agents, helping users prove their identity and verify online behavior. The company is led by Thomas A. Mayfield, a blockchain engineer who previously oversaw decentralized trust and identity solutions at the Cardano Foundation, and plans to seek strategic investors in 2027. (CoinDesk)
Citrini Research has stated that the barriers between traditional finance and the crypto industry are gradually dissolving, and with the proliferation of AI Agents, blockchain may be approaching a true inflection point for adoption.Citrini Research suggests that in the future, personal AI agents may be able to manage all of a user's financial assets, including allocating idle funds, executing investment decisions, and finding loan solutions. However, the existing financial system is built on manual processes, intermediaries, and compliance frameworks, making it difficult to adapt to round-the-clock, automated machine interaction needs.The firm believes that AI agents require financial infrastructure that is programmable, operates in real time, and requires no human intervention. After more than a decade of development, blockchain happens to possess characteristics such as asset digitization, on-chain settlement, and open financial applications. Previously, the crypto industry faced issues such as a complex user experience and a lack of real asset applications, but with the advancement of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, traditional financial assets are gradually moving on-chain.Citrini Research points out that the development of tokenized equities, U.S. Treasuries, credit, and other assets, along with changes in the regulatory environment, is driving the convergence of traditional finance and crypto markets. The firm notes that recent developments — including Robinhood launching stock tokens, regulators exploring rules for tokenized assets, and on-chain markets such as Hyperliquid gaining attention from traditional finance — all indicate that the market is undergoing a shift.Citrini Research states that investors should focus not merely on whether assets will be tokenized, but rather on "who can capture the economic value in the tokenization wave." The firm believes that blockchain may ultimately become critical financial infrastructure in the AI agent era.
Odaily — RWA platform Ondo's Ondo Private Markets has announced that the OpenAI Private Markets Note is now listed on the Ondo Perps spot order book, allowing users to trade on-chain 24/7.The product is designed to provide accredited investors with economic exposure tied to OpenAI's private market valuation performance, tracking the per-share realized value of the reference company's common stock through a tokenized note. Users can gain exposure to the relevant market without waiting for OpenAI to go public.Ondo stated that the note offers three key features: first, it supports round-the-clock trading, allowing users to buy and sell on the Ondo Perps spot order book; second, it supports self-custody, enabling users to store tokens in personal wallets and transfer them among accredited investors; third, it is built on Ondo's existing tokenized asset infrastructure, with the platform currently holding approximately $3.9 billion in TVL and more than 1 million holders.Ondo emphasized that the note does not represent OpenAI shares or equity, and holders do not enjoy OpenAI shareholder rights. Ondo has no affiliation, partnership, or endorsement relationship with OpenAI.
Odaily News: Blockchain privacy infrastructure company Soda Labs has announced the completion of a $3 million seed round led by NextBlock, covering the company's full fundraising target. Soda Labs is dedicated to providing programmable privacy infrastructure for financial activities on public chains. Over the past two and a half years, the company has developed a cryptographic privacy solution combining Garbled Circuits and Multi-Party Computation (MPC) that can run on standard cloud CPUs without requiring specialized hardware, while maintaining compatibility with existing public chain ecosystems.
Odaily reports: Members of the European Parliament are calling on the European Commission to include corruption risks related to crypto assets, opaque ownership structures, and digital tools in its upcoming anti-corruption strategy. The European Parliament passed a non-binding resolution on Thursday outlining policy priorities for the strategy.Lawmakers also called for strengthened tracking, freezing, confiscation, and recovery of criminal proceeds, as well as improved rules on public procurement, conflicts of interest, lobbying, and political financing, along with enhanced protections for whistleblowers and investigative journalists.The European Commission plans to adopt its first anti-corruption strategy by the end of 2026. The strategy will complement the EU Anti-Corruption Directive that took effect in May, which harmonized the definition of corruption offenses and minimum penalty standards across member states. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily report: Sources familiar with the matter say Tencent Holdings is considering issuing offshore bonds to raise approximately $5 billion to meet the funding needs of its artificial intelligence business expansion. It is reported that the issuance may be denominated in both US dollars and offshore renminbi, and could launch as early as this month. Analysts note that as demand for AI infrastructure construction and computing power investment continues to rise, global tech companies are increasingly turning to bond financing to raise capital. The fundraising plan is still in the discussion stage, and the final issuance size and timing have not yet been finalized. (Bloomberg)
According to pulse2, AI-native security platform Rein Security has closed a $25 million Series A round, bringing its total funding to $35 million. The round was co-led by Glilot Capital and Sienna Venture Capital, with participation from Corner Ventures, Atlacle, and RNP Capital Advisors.
Four.Meme, a Meme issuance platform in the BNB Chain ecosystem, has announced an upgrade to its Stock Meme feature, adding 76 new bStock assets that can be used as pool assets and optimizing its token issuance mechanism.It is reported that Four.Meme will abolish the previous model of setting fixed amounts for different bStocks. All bStock pools will now adopt a unified fundraising target of $10,000 equivalent, regardless of the underlying stock asset. Meanwhile, the platform will support more stock-type assets as the basis for creating Stock Memes. Popular stocks will be displayed by default, and users can also view all supported bStocks through the search function.In addition, Four.Meme has lowered the fundraising threshold for BNB, USDT, USD1, and UUSD to $10,000, aiming to provide Stock Meme creators with more asset options and a more flexible issuance method.
据 Fortune 报道，专注于为普通投资者构建人工智能（AI）交易代理的初创公司 Catalyst 完成 3000 万 美元种子轮融资，红杉资本（Sequoia）领投，Jump Trading、PeakXV、Lux Capital、AntiFund、Coinbase 以及 Premji Invest 参投。
Odaily News: Ripple's Ripple Prime has begun providing funds with leveraged exposure to equities and indices through total return swaps, charging financing fees. After Ripple acquired multi-asset prime broker Hidden Road for $1.25 billion in 2025, it gained the business capabilities to clear trades, finance investment positions, and process transactions in equities, bonds, foreign exchange, and digital assets. The Tradr 2X Long SNDK Daily ETF pays Ripple a fee of the overnight bank funding rate plus 4 percentage points, translating to an annualized financing cost of approximately 8% at current rates.
According to Chaoxiang Research, Goldman Sachs' October 6, 2026 research report indicates that Constellation Energy has signed a combined approximately 3.6 GW nuclear power purchase agreement with Google. The agreement includes an 890 MW nuclear capacity upgrade for a 20-year term, and 2,700 MW of existing nuclear capacity for a 15-year term, totaling approximately 3.59 GW. Constellation Energy has committed to investing more than $4.3 billion. The agreement increases the company's contracted nuclear capacity share from 13% to 28%. Goldman Sachs estimates that pre-growth free cash flow will rise from approximately $449 million to $1.167 billion, representing 5% to 14% of its estimated 2030 baseline. Goldman Sachs maintains a neutral rating with a $305 target price, versus the current stock price of $267.62. Goldman Sachs views the agreement as positive for both the company and the industry, and believes investor skepticism regarding PJM's ability to secure PPAs may now shift. Goldman Sachs also notes that Constellation Energy offers relatively lower valuation attractiveness compared to other independent power producers. Whether the revaluation trend persists will depend on whether PJM policy developments yield adverse outcomes, including the IRAS ruling expected by October 12 and the pending RBP process.
Isomorphic Labs, an AI drug discovery company under Alphabet and led by Demis Hassabis, is in early-stage negotiations for a new round of financing, with a valuation of at least $40 billion and potentially reaching $50 billion. The company previously closed a $2.1 billion Series B funding round in May this year. Reports also indicate that the application of AI in the biopharmaceutical sector remains in its early stages, and more work is still needed before clinical trials and product launches can take place. These talks are still preliminary, with specific terms and investor details undisclosed.
According to CoinDesk, Ripple Prime, the prime brokerage division under Ripple, has begun providing financing services for leveraged equity ETFs, charging financing fees to funds through total return swaps. This market was previously dominated by large banks and securities firms. In October 2025, Ripple acquired multi-asset brokerage Hidden Road for $1.25 billion, entering the clearing, financing, and cross-asset trading businesses. In August 2026, Ripple launched its Delta One business, offering total return swap products linked to U.S. equities, market indices, and digital assets, while maintaining over $1 billion in regulatory net capital and completing a $275 million senior notes issuance.
On October 8, Butterfly Effect, the parent company of Manus, officially announced that it has recently completed a new funding round of over $500 million. This round was led by Boyu Capital and IDG Capital, with continued participation from existing shareholders Tencent, Sequoia China, and ZhenFund.
Odaily News: First Digital is a Hong Kong-based digital asset company and the issuer of FDUSD. The company has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Nasdaq-listed CSLM Digital Asset Acquisition Corp III, with a pre-transaction valuation of $250 million. Upon completion of the transaction, the two parties are expected to form a new holding company and list on Nasdaq, with completion anticipated in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions. As of June 30, 2026, FDUSD's cumulative trading volume has exceeded $4.7 trillion. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, First Digital generated approximately $87 million in revenue. First Digital stated that FDUSD's reserve assets consist of cash and cash equivalents held in segregated accounts, with monthly attestations conducted by independent firms. The company's Finance District platform has launched 4 products to date but has not yet generated significant revenue.
Solana ecosystem projects Orca and Loopscale have announced the completion of their merger, aiming to provide financing support for the AI, robotics, and defense sectors.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Broadcom is developing custom AI chips for OpenAI and seeking over $50 billion in financing for the project.