News linked to both this project and an event.
Odaily Report: PhotonPay has announced the completion of a $40 million Series C funding round, led by Blockchain Capital, with new investor SBI Group participating, and IDG Capital, GL Ventures, and Lightspeed Faction also joining. The project is a Hong Kong-based fintech company dedicated to developing a stablecoin-centric financial operating system, offering multi-asset wallets, global card issuance, and local clearing services, while advancing a financial execution layer for AI agents. As of August 2026, PhotonPay's annualized transaction volume reached $65 billion, and it has obtained 34 payment and financial licenses or authorizations across the Americas, Europe, and Asia, serving more than 200,000 enterprise clients with operations covering over 200 countries and regions.
As reported by Bloomberg, AI data center developer Nscale, which has transitioned from a Bitcoin mining company, will proceed with its planned IPO on schedule, targeting a $30 billion valuation. However, Nscale's listing comes amid strain in the AI infrastructure sector. While the company claims to have secured $103 billion in contracts, it has only delivered 55 megawatts of capacity as of August 2026, compared to a potential contract demand requiring 10 gigawatts. Additionally, Nscale's data center projects face delays, safety violations, and operational challenges, with Microsoft recently withdrawing from one of its data center projects in the UK.
Bank of America strategist Michael Hartnett stated in his latest client report that current global market risk-aversion sentiment may persist until mid-November. Until uncertainties regarding AI financing risks, pressure in the French bond market, and the US midterm elections are alleviated, the bank remains tactically cautious toward risk assets. On the liquidity front, although investors are beginning to shift toward defensive positioning, tech stock holdings remain crowded. EPFR Global data shows that tech equity funds recorded the largest capital inflows since July over the past week, and BofA’s October fund manager survey also indicates that global investors’ allocation to tech stocks has reached its highest level since August 2020. Hartnett noted that if credit spreads related to AI super cloud vendors peak, it could serve as an important signal of improved risk appetite.
According to CNBC, OpenAI is nearing the completion of a financing round of up to $30 billion, with a pre-money valuation of $1.25 trillion, excluding funds raised in this round. Insiders said this round is led by investors from the UAE and Coatue, and has been positioned as an "opportunistic" transitional financing ahead of an IPO. On Thursday, OpenAI told investors that it aims to secure executed documents before next weekend, although the final financing amount is still being finalized. Meanwhile, OpenAI is negotiating a commercial agreement to obtain more compute capacity from the UAE. In February, the company told investors that its goal is to invest approximately $600 billion cumulatively in compute infrastructure by 2030. OpenAI filed a draft prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on a confidential basis in June, but has not yet disclosed a listing date. Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar stated in August that the company "will become a publicly traded company in 2027," while CEO Sam Altman remarked in September that it would not be wise to go public at this time.
Odaily — Gate has released its "Q3 2026 Report," showing continued growth in its trading business and a significant expansion of its multi-asset trading product matrix in Q3 2026. According to CoinDesk data, Gate's derivatives trading volume reached $396 billion in September, up 38.2% quarter-over-quarter, ranking among the global top three centralized derivatives exchanges with market share rising to 10.1%. Over the same period, spot trading volume reached $48.8 billion, up 21.9% quarter-over-quarter, while its RWA perpetual contract market share reached 9.1%, ranking third globally.On the TradFi side, Gate's stock and ETF coverage increased to over 12,800 instruments, spanning U.S., Hong Kong, Korean, and Japanese equities, providing users with a rich selection of global asset allocation options. Its tokenized stock business gStocks continued to expand its tradable instruments, with monthly trading volume exceeding 2.5 billion USDT in August, and its comprehensive competitiveness in stock spot trading ranking among the global top two. Gate ETF quarterly trading volume approached 60 billion USDT, with ETF trading pairs supported by the platform increasing to 424; options quarterly trading volume grew 23.8% quarter-over-quarter, and the number of new trading users rose 52.1%, as U.S. stock options continue to broaden traditional financial asset trading scenarios. The launch of stock copy trading further connects stock and ETF trading across multiple markets, enriching the ways users can participate in global financial markets.From crypto asset trading to global stocks, ETFs, CFDs, and multi-asset derivatives, Gate continues to broaden its product coverage and trading scenarios, driving the accelerated integration of digital assets and traditional financial markets while refining its one-stop multi-asset trading service system.
Odaily reports: Crypto wallet backup company Vault12 submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday, stating that the SEC's proposed token safe harbor framework fails to adequately address centralized exchanges' listing concerns, and trading platforms still worry they may face retroactive challenges from the SEC regarding the legal status of tokens in the future.Vault12 raised $17.45 million from 38 investors in 2018 through a future token agreement. Its issued Vault Guardian Token (VGT) has not yet been listed on any centralized exchange. The project has fulfilled or formally abandoned all commitments in its white paper, but exchanges it previously approached still require confirmation that the SEC will not determine in the future that VGT remains subject to the original investment contract.The SEC's "Regulation Crypto Assets" proposal introduced in August this year aims to provide exemptions for token fundraising and allow eligible projects to terminate the association between tokens and original investment contracts through a safe harbor mechanism. Vault12 recommends adding a 60-day objection period; if the SEC does not raise objections within the deadline, qualifying filings should have final effect on the agency, except in cases of fraud or material misrepresentation. (CoinDesk)
Odaily reports: Crypto researcher Stacy Muur has compiled a list of 82 digital asset projects and protocols said to have shut down in 2026, including Balancer, Radiant Capital, Neon EVM, Step Finance, and others, spanning DeFi, blockchain infrastructure, and Web3 gaming.The shutdowns were driven by declining revenue, exhausted funding, and security incidents. Earlier this year, Bitcoin's price briefly fell below $60,000, retreating from an all-time high of over $126,000 in October 2025, adding financial pressure on projects.When Ethereum Layer 2 network Blast announced its shutdown, it stated that the project had no "credible path to economic viability." Step Finance shut down following a major treasury exploit, while Radiant Capital announced the end of operations after failing to recover from a 2024 exploit.An August study by DeFiLlama showed that 100 crypto projects had announced shutdowns in 2026, 40 of which occurred in the preceding 90 days; the most common reason was product-market mismatch, followed by exhausted funding, insufficient revenue, and pivots to other products. The projects involved raised a combined total of approximately $1 billion and generated $250 million in cumulative fees, with 9 individual projects each raising over $50 million. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily News: AI data center developer Nscale plans to raise up to $3 billion through an IPO as early as this month, but has been revealed to be facing challenges including construction delays, equipment failures, regulatory issues, and employee complaints. Its flagship project—originally planned to build a 30-megawatt data center—is approximately 6 months behind schedule overall, and to accelerate construction, the company arranged for hundreds of construction workers to stay in a floating hotel. Additionally, the project has experienced liquid cooling system leaks and transformer fires. Local safety inspections also identified 10 violations, including ungrounded exposed components in high-voltage systems.Nscale was spun off from crypto mining company Arkon Energy in 2024. It has secured over $103 billion in contracts but has almost no data centers in operation. As of August, its actually built target compute capacity was less than 1% of its overall plan, relying heavily on leased capacity from other data center operators to fulfill contracts. The company's IPO filings show that Microsoft and Anthropic account for approximately 85% of its contract scale; Anthropic has committed to spending approximately $44.6 billion on dedicated AI chip infrastructure for the Monarch campus in West Virginia, but Nscale has yet to secure the financing and long-term chip supply agreements needed to fulfill that contract.Meanwhile, Nscale is seeking an IPO valuation of up to $35 billion. CEO Josh Payne previously summarized its model as "owning land, power, data centers, chips, and software," but multiple projects have yet to achieve this vertically integrated model, with power supply, grid connection, construction progress, and customer delivery all constituting potential bottlenecks. (Bloomberg)
Odaily News: Publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies are expected to need approximately $50 billion to complete their planned AI infrastructure projects, with IREN, Riot Platforms, and HIVE Digital facing funding gaps of approximately $21.1 billion, $7.2 billion, and $4.6 billion, respectively.As Bitcoin mining companies expand into AI and high-performance computing, borrowing costs vary depending on clients, contracts, and project completion pathways. IREN secured $3.65 billion in GPU financing in June at a blended interest rate of 6%; in August, it obtained an additional $2.4 billion in fixed-rate financing at a 9% interest rate.Financing arrangements may also include costs beyond interest. In one Cipher Digital deal, Google agreed to backstop $1.4 billion in lease obligations and received warrants representing 5.4% equity in Cipher; if the warrants are exercised, existing shareholders' ownership stakes could be diluted.According to VanEck data, at the Bitcoin bull market peak last October, mining companies' debt had grown by approximately 500% compared to the second quarter of 2024. Despite a weakening Bitcoin market, capital demand continues to rise as mining companies pivot to AI businesses. (Cointelegraph)
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.
former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti pointed out that the SEC's crypto asset FAQ, published on September 25 and updated on September 28, is merely non-binding staff guidance that can serve as a reference but is not a "protective charm." The FAQ, issued by the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance, addresses topics including staking receipt tokens, decentralized network buyback programs, and how marketing communications fit into the Howey test, but it does not name any specific assets or protocols and only provides principle-based statements. Mariotti stated that the FAQ only reflects the views of SEC staff, has not been formally approved by the Commission, and carries no legal force; since the rule proposed on August 18 has not yet been finalized and the Clarity Act is stalled in Congress, industry participants still need to rely on staff commentary to make their own judgments regarding disclosure and token design.
According to GlobalNewswire, DeFi Development (DFDV), a Nasdaq-listed Solana treasury company, disclosed that it added approximately 26,203 SOL to its holdings last week, bringing its total position to roughly 2.5642 million SOL, valued at approximately $302 million. DFDV also revealed that its SOL and equivalent asset holdings have grown by approximately 11% since reporting its second-quarter results on August 12. Additionally, it completed the initial dividend distribution for its CHAD Variable Rate Preferred Shares on October 1. This instrument is designed to generate returns through SOL staking and validator node operations to fund dividend payments and act as a financing mechanism for further SOL accumulation.
Odaily News: Robinhood Ventures Fund I (NYSE: RVI) announced that it purchased approximately $25 million in preferred shares in AI infrastructure company Crusoe's $3.9 billion Series F funding round. The round valued Crusoe at $30.9 billion, and the related transaction was completed on August 31.Sarah Pinto, President of Robinhood Ventures Fund I, stated that Crusoe is building vertically integrated AI infrastructure, supporting AI computing through energy, AI data centers, and cloud platforms.
Arthur Hayes stated that amid high government debt, Federal Reserve interest rate hikes could have a stimulative effect: rising interest on bank reserves and US Treasury yields will increase income for banks and asset holders, driving consumption and the allocation of financial assets. Although the Fed ended related asset purchases in mid-August, the expansion of bank balance sheets has still driven growth in total assets across the Federal Reserve and the banking system, thereby increasing the money supply.
Odaily reports: Arthur Hayes posted on the X platform that raising interest rates when government debt levels are high has a stimulative effect: bank reserve earnings increase, and the returns for holders of short-term Treasury bonds also increase, which overall will drive more consumption, especially consumption of financial assets.He stated that although the Federal Reserve stopped RMP purchases in mid-August, when accounting for bank balance sheet expansion, the combined assets of the Federal Reserve and banks are still growing and creating money. As the quantity of money increases, even if its price rises, financial assets will continue to appreciate.
According to Decrypt, Solana treasury company DeFi Development Corp (DFDV) announced the acquisition of an additional 55,491 SOL tokens (approximately $5.78 million), bringing its total SOL holdings to approximately 2.389 million, representing a roughly 2% increase from August 27. Meanwhile, the company announced the launch of a $300 million ATM program for CHAD variable-rate Series C perpetual preferred shares, with New York broker R.F. Lafferty & Co. acting as the sole sales agent, and the proceeds intended primarily to further increase SOL holdings. The company noted that issuance will only occur when the price is at or above a $10 par value per share, with no mandatory selling requirements. CHAD's first issuance was completed on September 8, raising approximately $11 million, with Fundstrat founder Tom Lee participating in the subscription. As CHAD comprises non-convertible preferred shares, any subsequent issuances will not dilute the equity of common shareholders.
According to Fortune, New York-based payments company Fin.com has announced the closing of a $20 million seed round, completed in August and led by Expa and Uber co-founder Garrett Camp, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Tenet Fund, the founder of Figure, Mesh founder Bam Azizi, Second Sight Ventures, and Gulf and African sovereign and royal family offices. Founded by Bangladeshi founder Nabeel Alamgir and Pakistani founder Mustafa Dar, Fin.com aims to solve the "last mile" challenge of converting stablecoins into local bank accounts or digital wallets, providing white-label payment infrastructure to financial institutions, consumer platforms, and prediction markets. Its client platforms collectively serve over 800 million users. The company focuses on the South Asian, African, and Middle Eastern markets, and currently maintains offices in New York, Las Vegas, Dubai, Dhaka, Bangalore, and Lahore.
Odaily News: According to Gate Ventures' latest weekly report, last week's escalation of geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East combined with U.S. core inflation exceeding expectations significantly heightened global market volatility. Brent crude and WTI crude surged 8.33% and 9.36% respectively, returning above $100 per barrel; U.S. August core CPI rose 0.29% month-over-month, higher than expected, pushing the 10-year Treasury yield to 4.97%, with market-implied probability of a September rate hike rising to approximately 86%; spot gold fell 1.82% to $4,349.42 per ounce. U.S. stock indices — the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones — declined 0.80%, 0.66%, and 1.57% respectively; the crypto market weakened in tandem, with BTC and ETH dropping 4.4% and 1.5% respectively. Spot BTC ETFs saw net outflows of $462.7 million, while ETH ETFs recorded net inflows of $197.1 million. The fear index dropped from 71 to 57, indicating a cooling of market sentiment.On the industry front, India launched a $107 million tokenized corporate bond pilot program, further advancing institutional-grade RWA tokenization; Gemini obtained a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, further expanding its regulatory footprint in the Asia-Pacific region; and the Philippine central bank plans to suspend new payment system operator registrations for 12 months, tightening oversight of VASP-related payment activities.On the funding side, a total of 9 financing deals were completed last week, with disclosed total funding reaching $158.4 million, down 88% quarter-over-quarter. Overall, energy prices and inflation expectations remain the core variables driving short-term market trends, while interest in tokenized assets and institutional-grade crypto infrastructure development remains undiminished.
Odaily News: Amid pressure from AI giants calling for a slowdown, sticky inflation, and the looming threat of rate hikes, US stocks plunged across the board on Monday, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plummeting nearly 6%. Yet JPMorgan reaffirmed its bullish stance against the tide, warning that blind pessimism can easily lead to missing out on gains.Mislav Matejka, JPMorgan's Head of Global and European Equity Strategy, also once again issued a warning to aggressively bearish investors: while surging oil prices do suppress valuations, blindly betting against US stocks is extremely dangerous before the overall earnings expansion of American companies has been disproven. Once US President Trump subsequently attempts to cool tensions in the Middle East through diplomacy, or if third-quarter earnings exceed expectations, the forces of excessive shorting may face a fierce backlash from returning capital.On this basis, JPMorgan as early as August had already raised its year-end target for the S&P 500 Index from 7,800 points to 8,000 points against the tide, and expects earnings per share of its constituent stocks to surge 29% year-over-year to $350.
According to an official announcement from DeFi Development Corp., Nasdaq-listed company DFDV announced that its total SOL treasury holdings have increased to approximately 2.389 million SOL (up by roughly 55,000 SOL from August 27, representing a month-over-month growth of approximately 2%). The company also announced a $300 million at-the-market (ATM) offering plan for CHAD (Variable Rate Series C Perpetual Preferred Stock), with proceeds primarily intended for continued SOL acquisitions. The company stated that the CHAD issuance price will not fall below the $10 par value per share, with R.F. Lafferty & Co. appointed as the exclusive sales agent. Year-to-date, SOL has outperformed the Nasdaq 100 index by 39%, while DFDV’s returns have been double that of SOL. CEO Joseph Onorati stated that the launch of the CHAD ATM will further advance the company’s “fundraising — coin accumulation — yield generation — compounding” capital flywheel strategy.