News linked to this event type.
Interactive Brokers announced on Tuesday an expansion of its digital asset business, adding trading tokens such as Aave, Aptos, Canton, Lido DAO, Monad, NEAR Protocol, Plasma, Pax Gold, and Uniswap, and supporting 24/7 stablecoin wallet transfers via USDC, PYUSD, and RLUSD. As of mid-2026, Interactive Brokers manages approximately $930.3 billion in client assets. Crypto trading commissions start at 0.12% to 0.18% of the total transaction amount, with a minimum of $1.75 per order, and no additional spreads, markups, or custody fees are charged. The company stated that two-way stablecoin deposits are not available for UK and Irish accounts, and clients of the Irish affiliate company will not have access to the newly listed crypto assets. (Bitcoin.com News).
Odaily Planet Daily reported that HyperliquidNews posted on platform X, stating that the new HIP-3 ticker CXMT was acquired for 500 HYPE, valued at $32,625. The ticker is for Chinese storage chip manufacturer CXMT, which plans to list on IPOP ahead of its anticipated IPO on July 27.
Odaily Odaily reports, according to Onchain Lens monitoring, Noxa Fi's X account appears to have been compromised. Users are advised not to connect their wallets, sign any transactions, or interact with any links posted by this account. There have already been reports of users whose wallet assets were stolen after interacting with the account.
according to an official announcement, Coinbase will discontinue cbETH deposit and withdrawal support on the Arbitrum, Optimism, and Polygon networks on August 17, 2026. cbETH will remain fully available on the Ethereum and Base networks.
Interactive Brokers has announced the addition of support for trading 12 new cryptocurrency tokens via Zero Hash and Paxos. With this expansion, its users can now trade a wider range of digital assets. The platform has also launched a stablecoin withdrawal feature, allowing clients to convert their U.S. dollar balances into stablecoins and withdraw USDC, PYUSD, and RLUSD to external wallets. This functionality means users can not only hold digital assets in their traditional brokerage accounts but also transfer stablecoins to on-chain wallets, further bridging the gap between traditional financial accounts and the crypto ecosystem. (The Block)
Tony Welch of SignatureFD stated that the market has overestimated the likelihood of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. After the weak June CPI inflation data, futures markets reflected a lower probability of a rate hike this month, but data from the CME Group indicated that at least one rate hike this year remains possible. Welch said that regardless of fluctuations in fuel prices, inflation is trending downward. He noted that currently, there is no wage growth that could sustain broad-based inflation across the entire economy. Welch expects Fed Chair Powell to attempt to keep inflation expectations near the Fed's 2% target and use rhetoric to help set and stabilize those expectations.
Odaily Benchmark has raised its price target for Hut 8 (HUT) from $85 to $165, citing the company's accelerated commercialization of its AI data center business and a total of $16.8 billion in long-term contracts for AI infrastructure. Analyst Mark Palmer stated that the commercialization progress of Hut 8's Beacon Point AI data center campus in Texas "has changed the company's valuation logic," significantly increasing the project's value.Currently, Hut 8's stock price is approximately $97, meaning Benchmark's new target implies roughly 69% upside. The stock had previously fallen nearly 30% over the past six weeks.According to Benchmark's estimates, the redesigned first phase of the Beacon Point campus will support 352MW of IT capacity, a 57% increase from the original 224MW plan. The base term value of the lease for this initial phase is approximately $9.8 billion, with an estimated annualized net operating income of around $655 million.Additionally, the lease agreement for Hut 8's River Bend data center, signed with Fluidstack and supported by Google, is valued at approximately $7 billion. The combined base term value of the two contracts reaches $16.8 billion. If tenants exercise the included 5-year renewal options, the potential total value could rise to $42.8 billion. (The Block)
: The UK's HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has confirmed that depositing crypto assets into DeFi lending protocols and liquidity pools will no longer be treated as a taxable disposal, and capital gains tax will be deferred until the investor makes an actual economic disposal of the assets. Announced on Monday, this measure will take effect on April 6, 2027, and will amend the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992. HMRC estimates that the measure will affect approximately 700,000 individuals and trustees using crypto loans and liquidity pools. Aave founder Stani Kulechov stated that this move is a "step in the right direction." (Decrypt).
according to feedback from community users, the Coinbase platform has opened registration for Chinese users.
Odaily, OpenAI founder Sam Altman-backed drone company Brinc has announced the completion of a $125 million funding round, led by existing investor Motorola Solutions, with participation from Index Ventures and previous investors such as Dylan Field. The company focuses on applying AI-based drone technology in the field of public safety, including replacing certain high-risk manual response tasks. (Bloomberg)
EthSystems announces its official establishment. The company was founded by the original team of the Ethereum Foundation's "Institutional Privacy Working Group" and has received support from Bitmine, Sharplink, Joe Lubin, and others. It primarily develops Ethereum-based privacy and compliance technology for regulated entities such as banks and asset management institutions, aiming to support institutions in conducting on-chain financial activities without disclosing sensitive information such as transaction details and client identities.
Odaily reports, as the value of the artificial intelligence industry rapidly increases, political and tech circles in the United States have begun discussing how to share the immense wealth generated by AI with the public. A series of proposals all point in the same direction: having the government or public institutions hold equity in AI companies.Recently, Sam Altman discussed the possibility of granting the U.S. government or other public entities partial ownership in OpenAI. Meanwhile, the U.S. government already holds approximately 10% of Intel's shares, and it has indicated it may receive a certain percentage of revenue from NVIDIA's chip sales to China.U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders proposed that major AI laboratories contribute half of their shares to a new sovereign wealth fund, allowing the public to share in the growth dividends of the AI industry.Observers suggest that these plans essentially aim to redistribute some of the economic benefits from AI development back to society. However, critics point out that most current proposals boil down to one model: having the government hold equity in AI companies.Supporters argue that AI could become the most significant productivity transformation in the coming decades, and involving the government in revenue distribution could alleviate wealth concentration. Opponents, however, worry that direct government ownership of stakes in tech companies could impact market competition, corporate governance, and innovation incentives.As the valuation of the AI industry continues to rise, how to distribute the economic benefits generated by artificial intelligence is becoming a core topic of debate among U.S. policymakers and the tech industry. (The Information)
Odaily Planet Daily reported that Anthropic announced it will invest CAD 10 million (approximately USD 7.3 million) into Canadian AI research institutions to support next-generation AI research, safety technology, and the development of responsible AI applications. Anthropic stated that Canada has played a significant role in the modern history of AI development. Institutions such as the University of Toronto, Université de Montréal, and the University of Alberta have driven key breakthroughs in neural networks, deep learning, and reinforcement learning, laying the foundation for the current AI wave. This funding will support several top-tier AI research institutions in Canada, including:Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii): Supporting research in reinforcement learning, AI trustworthiness, and safety, while promoting the application of AI within key Canadian industries;Mila - Quebec AI Institute: For research in responsible AI, healthcare, sustainability, multi-agent systems, and robotics;Vector Institute: Advancing research in AI safety, health sciences, and the societal applications of AI;CHEO, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH): Exploring the application of AI in pediatric healthcare, mental health, and clinical research;Université Laval, University of Toronto, University of Saskatchewan: Supporting research in areas such as large language models, life sciences, food safety, quantum computing, and public services.Additionally, Anthropic will include Amii, Mila, and Vector in its startup support program, providing Claude API credits to hundreds of Canadian AI startups, with each receiving at least USD 5,000 in support.
the European Central Bank (ECB) has selected 36 banks and payment companies to participate in the digital euro pilot project, preparing for the potential issuance of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) possibly in 2029. Selected institutions include Deutsche Bank, Revolut, Adyen, SumUp, UniCredit, and Worldline. The list was selected from 50 applicant institutions.The digital euro pilot program is scheduled to launch in the second half of next year, lasting for 12 months. It will test the Beta version of the digital euro across various payment scenarios, including: online person-to-person transfers, offline payments, in-store payments, and e-commerce payments. The pilot scope will cover the ECB and the central banks of 19 eurozone countries. ECB employees and staff from national central banks will participate as users, while some restaurants, cafes, and online merchants will support digital euro payments.Although the digital euro currently lacks legal tender status, its design will closely align with the relevant legislative framework being developed by the European Union. The ECB stated that the final decision on whether to issue a digital euro will await the passage of relevant regulations and a decision by the ECB's Governing Council.One of the key reasons for the ECB's push for a digital euro is concern that the development of private dollar-pegged stablecoins could impact Europe's monetary sovereignty. In recent years, dollar-backed stablecoins like Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC have grown rapidly in global payment volumes, drawing the attention of European regulators to financial autonomy.However, the CBDC project still faces privacy controversies. Some privacy advocacy groups worry that a central bank digital currency could lead to transaction tracking or even pose a risk of restricted account access. In contrast, the United States has recently passed laws restricting the Federal Reserve System from issuing a digital dollar before the end of 2030.Currently, Europe's digital euro project is entering its practical testing phase, while EU legislative bodies are advancing the relevant legal framework. If the regulatory process proceeds smoothly, the digital euro could potentially be officially launched as early as 2029. (CoinDesk)
EthSystems, an institutional privacy technology company for Ethereum, has officially launched, securing strategic funding from ecosystem supporters including Bitmine, Sharplink Gaming, and Joe Lubin.EthSystems focuses on developing privacy technologies tailored for banks, asset management firms, and other regulated institutions, enabling them to execute financial transactions at scale on the Ethereum network while protecting sensitive information such as transaction details and client identities. The company was founded by the core team of the Ethereum Foundation's Institutional Privacy Task Force (IPTF). The team had previously conducted a year-long open-source research and development effort on the EthSystems official website and established collaborations with multiple central banks, regulatory bodies, large banks, and asset management institutions.EthSystems stated that while institutions have begun exploring stablecoins, tokenized assets, and Ethereum-based settlement solutions, widespread adoption still faces privacy and compliance challenges. Financial institutions require more than just access to the blockchain network; they need a complete infrastructure that meets the requirements for protecting trade secrets, complying with regulations, and ensuring compatibility with existing financial systems. The goal is to build a "selective disclosure" privacy architecture, allowing transaction participants to view only the information they are authorized to access, while preserving Ethereum's core advantages of decentralization, security, and openness, and complementing two other organizations:Ethlabs: Focused on core Ethereum protocol and infrastructure research and development;Ethereum Institutional: Responsible for institutional collaboration, education, market research, and ecosystem coordination;EthSystems: Concentrated on application-layer technology, translating institutional needs into operational privacy protocols and financial systems.
According to Odaily Planet Daily, Ethereum ZK Layer2 Starknet has officially launched the compliant privacy framework STRK20, providing native privacy transaction capabilities for various digital assets on-chain. The framework operates based on a privacy pool mechanism. Once user assets are deposited into the privacy pool, all transactions are encrypted, with details such as transfer addresses and amounts being invisible to the outside. Developers can quickly integrate this privacy system using the accompanying SDK and wallet API, catering to the private transfer needs of various ERC-20 assets. STRK20 incorporates a complete compliance process: users must undergo pre-screening before entering the privacy pool; only upon receiving a legally effective formal query request and after an independent assessment, will the platform selectively disclose specific users, corresponding time periods, or designated transfer records, without revealing the private data of unrelated users.
cloud computing service provider Nebius Group has announced an agreement with AI model development company Reflection AI to sell it computing power worth over $1 billion. According to a joint statement, the agreement is valid until 2029, and Reflection AI will gain access to computing resources powered by NVIDIA GB300 AI chips to support its artificial intelligence model research and development. (Bloomberg)
a16z Crypto has released an analysis stating that traditional finance (TradFi) is not merging with decentralized finance (DeFi), but is instead selectively adopting blockchain technologies that meet its own needs. A long-standing narrative within the crypto industry has been that DeFi and TradFi will eventually merge, combining open liquidity with institutional distribution to form a new system superior to traditional finance. However, the reality may be different.The core driver for traditional finance's adoption of blockchain is not the concept of decentralization, but commercial efficiency. As long as blockchain can help institutions reduce costs, improve settlement efficiency, expand distribution channels, and enhance customer relationships, they will adopt the relevant technology. “TradFi is not entering DeFi; it is utilizing the parts of DeFi that fit its own operational models and reshaping these technologies according to institutional requirements.”a16z Crypto stated that a new category of financial infrastructure may emerge in the future—"programmable financial infrastructure" based on a blockchain foundation but optimized for institutional constraints. The blockchain technologies currently being adopted by institutions mainly include:Atomic Settlement: Reduces counterparty risk and decreases tied-up collateral capital;Shared Ledger: Lowers the cost of back-office reconciliation;Programmable Money: Automates interest payments, margin management, and corporate actions;Automated Market Makers (AMM): Being repurposed for on-chain foreign exchange and tokenized asset pricing.
the South Korean government has announced the "2026 H2 Economic Growth Strategy," declaring it will accelerate three major "super projects" in semiconductors, AI data centers, and embodied AI. It also plans to enhance industrial competitiveness through blockchain and digital asset ecosystem development. According to the plan, South Korea aims to double its memory chip production capacity over the next five years and launch an AI chatbot for all citizens and a unified AI education platform in the second half of this year.Notably, the South Korean government proposed advancing large-scale demonstration projects for the blockchain and digital asset ecosystem in the second half of this year. It also intends to launch a blockchain-based pilot for tokenizing government bonds, exploring linkages with the Bank of Korea's institutional CBDC to drive financial infrastructure upgrades. Additionally, South Korea plans to establish strategic investment accounts and a national growth fund to expand long-term capital support for strategic industries such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology, security, and blockchain. (Etoday)
BIP-110 aims to temporarily restrict certain types of transaction data on the Bitcoin blockchain. The proposal has sparked discussions on whether Bitcoin should distinguish between "benign" and "malicious" uses. Currently, the proposal has limited support from miners and the broader industry, making it seem unlikely to be activated. (CoinDesk).