News linked to both this project and an event.
Coinbase Ventures stated it has invested in Ethena by purchasing ENA tokens on the open market. Following the announcement, ENA rose approximately 6% over the past 24 hours.Ethena said the two parties will collaborate to advance on-chain finance and savings products. Coinbase also mentioned that they will establish closer cooperation, which involves Circle's stablecoin USDC.Ethena founder Guy Young stated that Ethena's products will be integrated with Coinbase's user base of over 100 million for the first time next week, to support its dollar savings products. The market is watching how the two parties will subsequently collaborate around USDC and Ethena's synthetic dollar, USDe. This move also comes as the US "Clarity Act" remains deadlocked in the legislative process. The bill concerns whether platforms like Coinbase can offer users rewards for holding stablecoins, while banking lobbying groups have consistently opposed similar stablecoin yield arrangements.
the decentralized contract trading platform Pingu Exchange has announced its permanent closure, with the platform set to go offline on July 31, 2026. Launched on Arbitrum in January 2024, Pingu started with approximately $270,000 in seed capital, achieving a cumulative trading volume of around $2.4 billion and distributing about $650,000 in ETH and USDC to stakers. The team subsequently migrated to the Monad mainnet, but over the roughly six months following the migration, the platform's trading volume reached only about $80 million. The team has not taken salaries since February to avoid depleting the treasury.
Binance has opened access to over 7,000 US stocks and ETFs for non-US users, supporting fractional shares with zero commission and a minimum investment of $5. Users can purchase these assets using cryptocurrencies such as USDC, USDT, and BNB. The trading is executed by brokerage Nest Trading, while custody, brokerage, and dividend distribution are managed by the New York-based company Alpaca.Binance also plans to launch "bStocks" based on the BNB Chain, allowing users to convert their held stocks into tokenized assets that can circulate on-chain. These assets can be used for instant settlement and potential DeFi scenarios (such as lending and liquidity provision), further bridging traditional equity and on-chain assets. (Fortune)
Blockaid disclosed on X that the Alephium TokenBridge Ethereum cross-chain bridge was attacked. The attacker compromised three out of four Guardian private keys, forged a Verified Action Approval (VAA) message, and executed the attack within approximately seven minutes, stealing roughly $815,000 worth of assets. During the attack, the attacker minted 13.76 million Wrapped ALPH tokens out of thin air—exceeding the pre-attack circulating supply by over 100%—and simultaneously unlocked and withdrew assets including USDT, USDC, WBTC, and WETH from the custody pool. As of now, the attacker’s address still holds approximately $815,000 in stolen assets and 13.76 million uncollateralized Wrapped ALPH tokens; the largest anomalous transaction involved the out-of-thin-air minting of 13.76 million Wrapped ALPH tokens.
Odaily Odaily founder Rand posted on platform X, stating that with the assistance of on-chain detective ZachXBT, the team has identified the root cause of the recent cUSDC freeze incident, which is unrelated to the Zama protocol itself or privacy technology. The incident originated when a wallet address associated with the Overnight Finance hack deposited over $12.5 million USDC into Zama's cUSDC wrapper contract. Since the address was not on any sanctions list at the time of deposit and was not flagged by KYT (Know Your Transaction) tools, the funds were able to enter the protocol.Rand stated that law enforcement agencies recently issued asset restriction orders against several wallets linked to the hacker. At that time, the cUSDC wrapper contract held relatively small funds, with over 99% coming from the aforementioned hacker address. Consequently, the court ordered the freezing of the entire wrapper contract to restrict the movement of the related funds. Rand emphasized that this measure is not a sanction against Zama or privacy protocols, but a common judicial freezing measure in the DeFi space.To cooperate with the investigation, Zama has suspended the operation of the cUSDC, cUSDT, and cWETH contracts until the investigation is complete, all involved addresses are identified, and corresponding measures are taken. Rand reiterated that Zama adheres to the principle of "compliant confidentiality" and will not tolerate any illegal activities. He also indicated that a more detailed post-mortem of the incident and a plan for handling similar requests in the future will be released subsequently.
Circle has released a post-quantum security white paper, proposing a phased upgrade plan covering Arc, USDC, smart contracts, and the validator system to address potential security risks posed by future quantum computing.
Circle has released a "Post-Quantum Security Whitepaper," proposing a phased post-quantum resilience roadmap centered on the long-term security of the Arc blockchain ecosystem.The roadmap covers multiple technical areas, including quantum-safe signatures, private execution environments, validator hardening, infrastructure migration, and account recovery, applicable to core components such as the Arc network, USDC, smart contracts, and validators.Circle stated that it plans to provide post-quantum signature support at the launch of the Arc mainnet (2026) to enhance the ecosystem's ability to withstand future quantum computing threats.
TownSquare, an infrastructure provider for institutional yields and cross-chain lending brokerage services, has partnered with Native, a non-custodial automated trading infrastructure, to launch a $10 million yield-generating vault on the Monad L1. This vault will support assets including USD1, USDC, cbBTC, and MON, offering higher yields than conventional lending through trading-based yield generation. This marks TownSquare’s first collaboration with a trading-based yield manager. The partnership aims to bring real-world asset (RWA) and stablecoin institutional yields to a broader user base. Native is a close partner of Binance Wallet and Buidlpad, having previously launched vaults for BNB and wETH on BNB Chain and Ethereum—demonstrating its stability, scalability, and ability to generate yields for liquidity providers (LPs) managing tens of millions of dollars. This initiative also represents the first trading-yield vault on the Monad chain. Native already operates credit pools across multiple EVM chains with over $35 million in liquidity, achieving daily trading volumes of $50–100 million and cumulative trading volume exceeding $25 billion. Its Proactive Market Making (PMM) structure enables retail users to access institutional-grade trading yields. TownSquare previously launched a $100 million USD1 liquidity program and has raised over $16 million to date—including funding from this collaboration.
Cash App, the payment application from Block, now allows users to send and receive Circle-issued USDC stablecoins on Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, and Arbitrum. These transfers are currently fee-free. USDC stablecoins received via Cash App are automatically converted into U.S. dollar balances. This feature is not yet available to customers in New York State. Users must complete identity verification and are subject to transaction limits. Block has previously focused primarily on Bitcoin, including the development of mining hardware and the self-custody wallet BitKey. Earlier this year, Jack Dorsey described stablecoins as “moving from one gatekeeper to another,” while acknowledging the growing customer demand.
Block's Cash App is gradually rolling out stablecoin payment functionality to its nearly 60 million users. According to sources familiar with the matter, the feature currently covers approximately 25% of users and is expected to reach full 100% availability within this week.The core functionality supports users in depositing and withdrawing via USDC, allowing free transfers of funds between external wallets and Cash App balances, and using stablecoins as a settlement tool for payments rather than as investment products. It currently supports transactions across four blockchain networks, including Solana, Ethereum, Polygon, and Arbitrum. Due to the irreversible nature of on-chain transactions, incorrect addresses or unsupported network transfers may result in permanent loss of funds.Block CEO Jack Dorsey previously stated that despite his longstanding preference for Bitcoin, user demand for stablecoins has prompted the company to adjust its strategy. (CoinDesk)
decentralized derivatives platform Hyperliquid has launched a pre-listing perpetual contract for SpaceX (SPCX-USDC) via Trade.xyz, sparking controversy over a global regulatory gap. The contract provides leveraged trading without requiring users to hold any SpaceX stock or authorization from the company. Initially priced at $150, corresponding to an implied valuation of approximately $1.78 trillion, the contract surged to $216 shortly after launch.According to reports, the contract is settled in USDC, with prices derived from market oracles and not linked to SpaceX's actual financials or equity structure. SpaceX itself has neither authorized nor participated in this market, yet its valuation is being priced and traded in real-time on-chain, raising concerns that "decentralized derivatives are taking over price discovery for private companies." This market originates from Hyperliquid's HIP-3 mechanism, suggesting that private company valuations may increasingly be re-priced by on-chain derivatives, while regulatory frameworks have yet to establish corresponding standards. (Forbes)
: Circle Internet Group's affiliate, Circle Technology Services, and Nium, a global real-time cross-border payment infrastructure provider, today announced a strategic partnership to deeply integrate Circle's USDC stablecoin settlement capabilities with Nium's global distribution network, which covers over 190 countries and 100+ local currencies.According to the agreement, Nium has officially joined the Circle Payment Network (CPN) as a global payment partner. Financial institutions within the CPN can directly access Nium's global payment infrastructure through a single integration entry point, enabling a complete closed-loop process: from USDC on-chain settlement to Nium's real-time currency exchange, and finally to local currency deposit. Funds can be directly routed to bank accounts, e-wallets, and payment cards worldwide, simplifying cross-border capital flows, reducing prepaid fund commitments and currency exchange risks for Circle. (Prnewswire)
According to The Block, Circle Technology Services, a subsidiary of Circle, has announced a partnership with Nium, a global real-time cross-border payments platform. Nium has joined the Circle Payments Network (CPN), providing financial institutions within the network with access to payment infrastructure spanning over 190 countries and more than 100 currencies—enabling fund disbursement to bank accounts, digital wallets, and debit cards. Financial institutions can complete the entire process—from USDC settlement to local-currency cash-out—via a single integration, eliminating the need to pre-fund across multiple channels.
yesterday, YC official posted on X platform that the prediction market derivative layer Totalis has officially launched. The market allows users to conduct parlay trades on any subject, combining multiple event markets (such as politics, cryptocurrency, stocks, sports, weather, and macro) into a single trade. Starting with parlay bets, it will expand to structured products.Previously, Totalis completed a $500,000 seed round in April, with Y Combinator participating. It is also the first enterprise to receive Y Combinator investment entirely in USDC, with the funds settled via the Solana network and custodied by Ramp.
According to the official announcement, the ICON network will permanently shut down on December 31, 2026. At that time, on-chain transactions will cease, and only a read-only archive will remain for historical queries. The final deadline for the ICX → SODA token migration is also December 31, 2026; no migrations will be possible after this date. Starting September 30, 2026, two-way migration will terminate, and only one-way ICX → SODA conversion will be supported. Launched in 2017, the ICON network has operated for nine years. As industry demand has shifted from cross-chain settlement to liquidity and execution efficiency, the project team has decided to concentrate all resources on SODAX. SODAX is now integrated with 18 blockchain networks and has launched cross-network trading, lending, SDK v2, and money market functionalities. It has also been accepted into the Circle Consortium and added to Kraken’s listing roadmap.
crypto asset trading platform Gate has officially announced support for USDCx deposit and withdrawal services on the Canton Network. Users can now utilize USDCx in scenarios such as trading and asset management on the platform. To coincide with the launch of this feature, Gate is rolling out multiple activities including CandyDrop, the USDCx Deposit Challenge, and the Yu Bi Bao wealth management product, with total rewards amounting to $150,000 worth of Canton ecosystem tokens, CC.According to public information, USDCx is a stablecoin natively issued on the Canton Network, backed 1:1 by USDC. Its reserves are held in the Circle xReserve smart contract and comply with the CIP-56 standard. It offers interoperability and full composability across different applications and asset scenarios, while also addressing privacy requirements.Gate's launch of USDCx, accompanied by multi-dimensional incentives, helps enhance the liquidity and user coverage of the Canton ecosystem. It also reflects the platform's ongoing commitment to integrating emerging public chain ecosystems, expanding interoperable digital asset infrastructure, and supporting the evolution of institutional-grade on-chain finance. Looking ahead, Gate will continue to expand high-quality on-chain assets and ecosystem partnerships, driving more innovative assets and application scenarios to global users.
a report released by FalconX shows that the crypto derivatives platform Hyperliquid is expanding from perpetual contracts to pre-IPO trading, prediction contracts, and tokenized real-world assets, beginning to compete with traditional exchanges and prediction market operators. The report indicates that Hyperliquid's HIP-3 market allows users to trade stocks, commodities, forex, and pre-IPO contracts 24/7, with traders already using it for pre-IPO speculation on companies such as Cerebras, Anthropic, and SpaceX. The HIP-4 outcome market allows traders to place binary bets on political, economic, and crypto events.In terms of capital inflows, the HYPE spot ETFs launched by 21Shares and Bitwise have attracted a combined $53 million in inflows within just a few trading days. Hyperliquid's USDC partnership with Coinbase and Circle is expected to generate up to $160 million in annual protocol revenue. FalconX warns that CME and ICE have expressed concerns to regulators about potential market manipulation risks on the Hyperliquid market. Nevertheless, Hyperliquid continues to lead the decentralized perpetual contract market in terms of trading volume, revenue, and total value locked. (CoinDesk)
MoonPay has launched a dedicated app on the ChatGPT Apps platform, enabling users to generate checkout links and purchase cryptocurrencies—including Bitcoin, XRP, Solana, and USDC—without leaving ChatGPT. This integration makes MoonPay one of the first apps within ChatGPT to offer direct cryptocurrency purchasing functionality. Previously, crypto-related apps in the ChatGPT App Store primarily focused on blockchain data and price queries; other such apps include Kraken, OKX, CryptoAudit, and RealOpen.
payment infrastructure company MoonPay has launched a dedicated application on ChatGPT Apps, allowing users to generate purchase links within OpenAI's chatbot for buying digital assets such as Bitcoin, XRP, Solana, and USDC. When users specify a purchase amount in ChatGPT, they receive a MoonPay checkout link and are redirected to the MoonPay website to complete KYC, checkout procedures, and connect their wallet. Users who have already completed KYC for their MoonPay account can log in directly via their existing account, use their most recent payment method, and send assets to a designated address. This application is part of MoonPay's push to advance AI-driven crypto tools. Earlier this month, MoonPay acquired AI trading startup Dawn Labs and launched Dawn CLI; the company also recently introduced the MoonAgents Card, a virtual Mastercard that allows AI agents to pay online merchants directly with stablecoins from crypto wallets. (Decrypt)
: According to official sources, Aave, MetaMask, and Mastercard are advancing the MetaMask debit card feature, allowing users to directly use yield-bearing assets on Aave, such as mUSD, USDC, wETH, USDT, and other tokens, for everyday spending.This debit card is powered by instant settlement support through Consensys' Ethereum Layer 2 network, Linea. After users deposit mUSD into Aave to receive receipt tokens, the card automatically converts the required amount of yield-bearing assets into fiat currency the moment a transaction is made. During this process, users' unspent balances continue to earn interest through Aave until the exact moment of the transaction, enabling instant spending of yield-bearing assets while maintaining continuous yield. The debit card is currently being rolled out in Europe.