News linked to both this project and an event.
Odaily News: Blockchain financial platform Theo has launched a tokenized silver product called thSLVR, with $40 million in active silver lease commitments. The token distributes lease fees paid by institutional borrowers to holders while maintaining exposure to silver.The product expands Theo's commodity financing business from gold to silver and will support its stablecoin thUSD. (CoinDesk)
According to CoinDesk, stablecoin payment infrastructure company Velocity announced the completion of an expansion round of its Series A financing, adding $10 million to bring the total round financing to $48 million, with a post-money valuation of $200 million. Investors in this expansion round include Visa Ventures, Circle Ventures, Ripple, Haun Ventures, Translink Capital, and Mirana Ventures, following the announcement of the initial Series A financing in July this year. Velocity is dedicated to providing stablecoin settlement, liquidity, and treasury management infrastructure to payment companies and banks, enabling them to integrate into blockchain payment networks without replacing existing systems. The head of Global Growth Products and Strategic Partnerships at Visa stated that stablecoins are reshaping how value flows within the Visa ecosystem, and Velocity is building the related infrastructure to drive the widespread adoption of stablecoin payments.
Odaily News: Digital asset trading platform Gate has released its August 2026 Transparency Report. The report shows that in August, multiple Gate business lines received recognition from institutional data providers including CoinDesk, CryptoQuant, CryptoRank, and DefiLlama. Among them, Gate's stock perpetual contract trading volume grew 308% month-over-month, maintaining triple-digit growth for three consecutive months; the RWA perpetual contract open interest (OI) market share reached 49.6%, ranking first globally among centralized trading platforms. Meanwhile, Gate's 24-hour spot and derivatives trading volume stood at approximately $9.5 billion, with open interest reaching $12.48 billion, both ranking among the global top three; 30-day net inflow reached $308.1 million, ranking second among mainstream trading platforms.In terms of traditional financial asset trading, Gate's CFD business continues to expand its asset coverage, now covering 680 trading pairs, spanning major TradFi assets including forex, metals, energy, indices, and stocks. In terms of overall TradFi product layout, Gate now covers over 1,000 TradFi assets, with stock derivatives covering more than 360 underlying assets, both ranking first globally, further enhancing its multi-asset trading matrix.As digital assets and traditional financial markets continue to converge, Gate is steadily expanding diverse trading scenarios including stocks, RWA, CFD, and derivatives. By enriching asset supply and trading tools, it is further improving its comprehensive trading infrastructure that connects digital assets with traditional financial markets.
According to CoinDesk, India’s Securities and Exchange Board (SEBI) officially launched the Demat 2.0 pilot program this week, enabling corporate bonds to be issued as digital tokens on a distributed ledger and settled via the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) wholesale Digital Rupee. To date, state-owned power lender REC, engineering and construction giant Larsen & Toubro, and non-banking financial institution IIFL Finance have all successfully secured financing through the system, raising a combined total of over 1 billion rupees (approximately $114 million).
According to CoinDesk, the IMF confirmed that all new Bitcoin accumulated by El Salvador since its first review in June 2025 came exclusively from private donations, without utilizing any public funds. El Salvador's official Bitcoin holdings have now reached 7,764.37 BTC. The balance had previously surged by more than 1,000 BTC in November alone, and has since been increasing at a pace of one BTC per day. The IMF did not disclose the identities of the donors or the specific donation amounts. Meanwhile, both parties reached a staff-level agreement on the second and third joint reviews of the $1.4 billion financing program. El Salvador is expected to receive approximately $140 million, pending IMF Executive Board approval for it to take effect.
According to Odaily, the yen has continued to strengthen recently, pushing the U.S. dollar index (DXY) lower and providing short-term support for dollar-denominated assets such as Bitcoin and gold. Data shows that the U.S. dollar against the yen (USD/JPY) fell 1.4% intraday to 156.40, after already declining 0.9% on Wednesday; the euro, pound, and Australian dollar all edged higher against the dollar. As a result, the DXY fell 0.4% to 99.22, approaching its 200-day moving average.Analysts believe this trend typically favors dollar-denominated assets like Bitcoin, while also helping to ease global financial conditions and boost market risk appetite. However, if the yen appreciates too rapidly, this logic could quickly reverse.Over the past decade-plus, many investors have used low-cost yen financing to invest in stocks, bonds, and even cryptocurrencies. If the yen appreciates sharply, yen carry trades could unwind, triggering a sell-off in risk assets. When yen carry trades were unwound in August 2024, Bitcoin fell roughly 20% within days.Market expectations are currently growing that the Bank of Japan will raise its policy rate from 1% to 1.25% on September 18, and the yen continues to face further appreciation pressure. Reports also indicate that officials from the U.S. and Japan have previously taken action to address "disorderly yen movements." Therefore, while a moderate yen appreciation is currently favorable for Bitcoin, if it evolves into a rapid, disorderly appreciation, it could instead become a risk factor for BTC. (CoinDesk)
Odaily Odaily News: Capital B, a Paris Euronext-listed company, has received a €7.6 million (approximately $8.8 million) investment from Blockstream CEO and early Bitcoin developer Adam Back. The company plans to use the funds to purchase up to 376 BTC.Capital B currently holds 3,145 BTC. If this increase is completed, its Bitcoin holdings will rise to 3,521 BTC, valued at approximately $269.5 million. According to Bitcoin Treasuries data, Capital B would then become the second-largest Bitcoin holder among European listed companies, trailing only Bitcoin Group SE, which holds 3,605 BTC. Adam Back's investment is part of Capital B's total €21 million fundraising round. (CoinDesk)
According to CoinDesk, DeFi protection protocol Firelight Protocol has announced an $8 million funding round led by Gumi Cryptos Capital, with participation from Maven 11, Metalayer, Joint Effects, and Tribe Capital. Incubated by DeFi infrastructure provider Sentora, which manages $2.4 billion in assets, Firelight is scheduled to officially launch this September.
According to CoinDesk, cryptocurrency platform Bullish will provide $100 million in stablecoin debt financing to USD.AI to support loans collateralized by GPUs and other high-performance computing assets, advancing AI infrastructure development.
According to CoinDesk, insiders revealed that crypto custodian Copper is attracting interest from potential buyers, but current acquisition offers of two or three are approximately $200 million, significantly below the roughly $500 million valuation that investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald was seeking for the company in May this year.
According to CoinDesk, newly established stablecoin bank Fasset has secured $68 million in funding led by SBI Group, achieving a valuation of $1 billion. The company reports an annualized trading volume exceeding $40 billion across 125 countries, with year-over-year revenue growth of approximately sixfold, and has been profitable for 12 consecutive months. Built on Arbitrum, Fasset operates its proprietary Layer 2 network, OWN, delivering stablecoin-settled cross-border payment services for institutional and individual clients. Additionally, it has partnered with SBI Remit to integrate with its remittance network spanning 200 countries.
According to CoinDesk, Ethena has reached a $1 billion credit partnership with digital asset prime broker FalconX, deploying USDe synthetic dollar collateral assets into the institutional credit sector. According to the announcement, the financing will be used to fund over-collateralized loans originated by FalconX, with use cases including trading strategies, corporate treasury management, and payments. The loan collateral will be custodied by third-party custodians, and Ethena holds first-priority security interests.
Odaily News: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) abruptly canceled a meeting originally scheduled for last Friday. The meeting was intended to advance crypto regulatory rulemaking and unveil repeatedly delayed innovation exemption arrangements. The pause may be related to the Clarity Act. Earlier last week, the SEC announced it would hold a public meeting where commissioners would discuss the Reg Crypto proposal, covering how companies can raise funds through tokens and eventually exit SEC oversight after issuing their own digital assets. The SEC had also planned to unveil at least some innovation exemption arrangements regarding how securities-token issuers handle underlying securities. Neither of these initiatives moved forward as scheduled. (CoinDesk)
Crypto startups completed USD 11.2 billion in funding in the first half of 2026, with all disclosed capital flowing to regulated, licensed enterprises. Payments and stablecoins, prediction markets, exchanges, and trading platforms received the most funding. Major backers include Wall Street and large global financial institutions, whose investment focus is on licensed and compliant companies. Investors and founders increasingly view regulatory licenses as scarce and defensive assets, while retail investors still primarily trade on unlicensed or alternative platforms. (CoinDesk)
Odaily Planet Daily: Crypto asset trading platform Bullish has announced its financial results for Q2 2026. The company stated that as global securities markets gradually migrate to public blockchains, Bullish is planning to build a comprehensive issuer-supported tokenized securities service system covering issuance, listing, trading, and tracking.Bullish CEO Tom Farley stated that the global securities market, valued at nearly $300 trillion, is transitioning to public blockchains, and Bullish aims to work with issuers to drive this process. Upon completion of the proposed acquisition of Equiniti, the company will form an integrated platform covering tokenized securities issuance, listing, trading, and tracking.Financial data shows that Bullish's Q2 digital asset sales reached $32.6 billion, down from $58.6 billion in the same period last year; the net loss was $280 million, compared to a net profit of $108.3 million in the same period last year, corresponding to a diluted loss per share of $1.78.However, the company's core business performance improved. Q2 adjusted revenue (non-IFRS) reached $92.6 million, up 62% year-over-year from $57 million in the same period last year; among which subscription, services, and other revenue hit a record $62.7 million. Adjusted trading revenue was $29.9 million, up 24% year-over-year; adjusted EBITDA was $29.5 million, compared to $8.1 million in the same period last year; adjusted net profit was $14.3 million, compared to a loss of $6 million in the same period last year.In terms of business progress, Bullish stated that the acquisition of UK fintech company Equiniti is progressing and is expected to be completed in early 2027, subject to customary conditions including regulatory approvals. Additionally, Bullish's CoinDesk indices continue to gain institutional adoption. Morgan Stanley has launched Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana-related trading products based on CoinDesk benchmark indices, attracting over $400 million in inflows during Q2.On the regulatory front, Bullish has received approval from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) to provide secondary trading services for tokenized securities, becoming one of the first regulated platforms to offer issuer-supported tokenized securities trading.The company has also raised and refined its full-year 2026 guidance, projecting subscription, services, and other revenue (non-IFRS) of $225 million to $245 million, adjusted operating expenses of $225 million to $230 million, and financing costs of $52 million to $60 million. (Globenewswire)
According to CoinDesk, the Bank of England (BOE) announced that its digital pound project has officially entered the second phase, focusing on testing whether public stablecoins and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) can interoperate within a single payment stream to promote the modernization of cross-border trade finance. This experiment focuses on SME trade finance scenarios: exporters receive advance financing through stablecoin technology, while UK importers complete final settlement using the digital pound. Participants include UK fintech company NOBO Finance, global business data analytics firm Dun & Bradstreet, and blockchain company Polygon Labs. The three parties will integrate wallet transaction data, open finance information, and business intelligence to build reusable credit assessment profiles for SMEs. Polygon will provide stablecoin settlement infrastructure through its Open Money Stack, encompassing fiat currency exchange, wallet, and smart contract functionalities. The BOE emphasized that the laboratory does not involve real customers or funds, does not represent a decision to officially issue the digital pound, and the experimental results will serve as a reference for the joint assessment of the digital pound by the Bank of England and the Treasury later this year.
Odaily News: The Bank of England's (BOE) digital pound project has entered its second phase, testing whether publicly issued stablecoins and central bank currency can operate together in a single payment process for trade finance. The BOE will collaborate with NOBO Finance, Dun & Bradstreet, and Polygon Labs in its Digital Pound Lab to explore building reusable credit profiles for small businesses and research the use of stablecoins alongside a potential digital pound in invoice factoring. The experiments do not involve real customers or funds and are designed to provide a reference for the BOE and the UK Treasury in evaluating the interoperability of different forms of digital currency. (CoinDesk)
Odaily News: Itaú, the largest bank in Latin America by asset size, is partnering with OpenAssets to participate in an industry-led pilot of tokenized fixed income and investment funds. Brazil has become a testing ground for placing bonds, credit, and other financial assets on blockchain under a regulatory framework. (CoinDesk)
Odaily News: Crypto-friendly bank Erebor Bank is in talks to raise $1.5 billion at a target valuation of $9.5 billion. The funds will be used to meet the 12% mandatory leverage ratio requirement and support loan business expansion, including a $200 million credit facility to Valar Atomics. Erebor Bank's total deposits grew from $1.1 billion in March to $4.6 billion in July, with customer growth primarily coming from the crypto, AI, and defense sectors. (CoinDesk)
Odaily News The inside story behind stablecoin infrastructure company BVNK's acquisition by Mastercard for $1.8 billion has recently come to light. According to Concentric, an early investor in BVNK, during the bidding process, US crypto exchange Coinbase once held an advantageous position and reportedly submitted a bid as high as $2.5 billion, but ultimately withdrew from the competition due to insufficient strategic and cultural alignment between the two parties.Kjartan Rist, founding partner of Concentric, stated that BVNK's founding team did not focus solely on the offer price when selecting an acquirer, but placed greater emphasis on long-term partnership and corporate culture fit. "Coinbase may have offered a higher price, but the chemistry between the two sides was not ideal." In contrast, Mastercard, as a traditional financial services company, is more likely to create synergies with BVNK in payment infrastructure and stablecoin applications.It is understood that Mastercard participated in acquisition discussions with BVNK at an early stage, and after Coinbase failed to advance the deal, Mastercard re-emerged as the primary buyer, ultimately completing the acquisition for $1.8 billion.Visa also participated in the competition. Having previously invested in BVNK and holding a board observer seat, Visa once had an advantage. However, Visa ultimately chose not to pursue a direct acquisition, instead adopting an open strategy of partnering with multiple stablecoin companies.Founded in 2018, BVNK provides enterprises with stablecoin payment, cross-border settlement, and treasury management infrastructure. Its early investor Concentric invested in the company at a valuation of $4 million in 2019, and this transaction has generated substantial returns.The acquisition also reflects a new round of competition between traditional payment giants and crypto companies over stablecoin infrastructure. Previously, Stripe acquired stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge for $1.1 billion, prompting payment giants such as Visa and Mastercard to accelerate their expansion into the stablecoin sector.Currently, the global stablecoin market size has approached $300 billion. As enterprise payments, cross-border settlements, and treasury management use cases grow rapidly, stablecoin infrastructure is becoming a critical gateway for traditional financial institutions to capture. (CoinDesk)