News linked to both this project and an event.
Institutional trading platform LMAX is working with advisors Morgan Stanley and KBW, the investment bank arm of Stifel, to evaluate strategic alternatives. According to sources familiar with the matter, options under consideration include a potential sale, a SPAC merger, or an IPO. London-based LMAX recently launched a 24/7 multi-asset exchange and secured a $150 million strategic investment from Ripple, which is related to institutional stablecoin adoption.
According to PRNewswire, stablecoin operator Notabene announced it has received strategic investment from Ripple; the specific investment amount has not been disclosed yet. The two parties will collaborate on enterprise-level stablecoin payments, including integrating Ripple's USD stablecoin RLUSD into the Notabene Flow B2B stablecoin payment platform. Both parties also plan to further expand the application of RLUSD in institutional payment networks to accelerate the adoption of compliant stablecoin infrastructure by banks, payment institutions, and fintech companies.
Ripple is advancing the addition of a lending infrastructure layer on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), enabling institutions to raise funds using on-chain tokenized assets as collateral. The protocol will automatically execute loan terms, while credit evaluation and lending decisions remain handled by off-chain institutions.According to disclosures, the proposal is named the XRPL Lending Protocol (corresponding to XLS-65 and XLS-66 standards). It is currently in the technical draft stage and will require approval through validator voting before launching on the mainnet, but developer testing has already been opened on the test network.The protocol’s design splits the lending process into two parts: on-chain management of liquidity pools, interest calculation, repayment execution, and default handling; while borrower credit assessment and loan term setting remain with traditional financial institutions to meet compliance requirements across different jurisdictions.Ripple states that the mechanism is primarily aimed at institutional short-term liquidity needs. For example, in cross-border payment scenarios, temporary financing through stablecoins or collateral assets can be obtained before settlement is completed, thereby improving capital efficiency.Analysts believe that while the plan attempts to introduce a “rule-enforced lending infrastructure” similar to traditional finance while maintaining XRPL's open network attributes, it will still face competition from established on-chain lending protocols such as Aave, Compound, and Maple. (CoinDesk)
According to data shared by Michael Saylor, as of June 28, 2026, Strategy holds 847,363 Bitcoin worth approximately $50.9 billion, with an average purchase price of $75,653 per coin from 113 buys.The StrategyTracker chart shows that Strategy has been continuously accumulating Bitcoin from 2024 to 2025, with Saylor also indicating an intention to continue buying. Strategy's stock price has declined recently, drawing market attention to its financing model and dividend obligations; Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has criticized this, while its dollar reserves are reportedly sufficient to cover approximately 10 months of dividend payments. (CoinDesk)
Odaily Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated in a recent CNBC interview that he remains long-term bullish on Bitcoin, while strongly criticizing Michael Saylor and his strategy of continuously purchasing Bitcoin by financing through preferred stock, arguing that this "financial engineering" approach is negatively impacting the crypto market.Garlinghouse pointed out that Strategy's reliance on issuing preferred stock (such as STRC) to raise funds for Bitcoin purchases essentially acts as a distraction in the market rather than creating long-term value. He emphasized: "Financial engineering does not create long-term value; the long-term value of digital assets comes from real utility." He specifically noted that STRC's stock price has fallen to a discount of approximately 25% from its par value, which he described as a "strong vote of no confidence" in that financing structure. Against the backdrop of market pressure this week, Strategy's common stock hit its lowest level since February 2024, and Bitcoin briefly fell below $59,000.On the market front, a CryptoQuant report indicated that if the dividend structure continues, Strategy's cash buffer has decreased from over seven years to approximately 14 months, suggesting a pause in Bitcoin purchases and a rebuilding of reserve funds. Currently, STRC trading below $100 has also rendered its "issue tokens—buy Bitcoin" funding flywheel temporarily ineffective. However, Benchmark-StoneX analyst Mark Palmer believes this model reflects more of a "decline in efficiency" rather than a systemic breakdown. Meanwhile, Ripple continues to adopt an industry-contrarian perspective, reiterating the distinct value path of its ecosystem asset XRP compared to Bitcoin. (CoinDesk)
Odaily Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse criticized Strategy and its Chairman Michael Saylor's Bitcoin purchasing funding model during a CNBC interview on Friday, stating that "financial engineering cannot create long-term value" and that the long-term value of digital assets should ultimately be driven by real-world utility.Garlinghouse said the Saylor team is not focused on the right direction and believes this approach has already harmed the overall crypto market. He also emphasized that he remains bullish on Bitcoin but opposes Strategy's strategy of continuously adding BTC positions through complex funding structures.His criticism was primarily directed at Strategy's model of issuing preferred stock to fund Bitcoin purchases. STRC is one of the preferred stocks issued by Strategy, carrying an annual dividend obligation of 11.5%. Recently, STRC traded at a discount of approximately 25% to 26% compared to its $100 face value. Garlinghouse described this performance as a "severely negative assessment" of Strategy's approach.
According to Bloomberg, African fintech company Flutterwave has sold a stake in the company to blockchain firm Ripple, valuing the company at $3.3 billion post-transaction.
According to the Central Bank of Russia’s “Financial Stability Review,” Russian private investors currently hold approximately 3.8 billion rubles in cryptocurrency-linked financial instruments—a figure nearly unchanged from 3.7 billion rubles six months earlier—indicating stagnation in market interest growth. Of this amount, 1.7 billion rubles flowed into crypto-linked corporate bonds; 5,600 investors collectively held cryptocurrency futures positions worth 1.7 billion rubles; and roughly 3,800 investors allocated 354 million rubles to digital financial assets pegged to Bitcoin and Ethereum. Major issuers include large banks such as Sber and VTB. Meanwhile, the Moscow Exchange has progressively launched Bitcoin and Ethereum futures, along with related ETFs, and will introduce Solana, Ripple, and TRON futures in May 2026.
According to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, Ripple is pursuing a SPAC merger to raise at least $1 billion to create a publicly listed treasury company focused on XRP. If completed, the deal would become the largest XRP treasury vehicle to date.
According to The Block, cross-chain infrastructure platform Squid has raised $6 million in strategic funding, led by North Island Ventures, with participation from Ripple, Dialectic, and Borderless. The funds will be used to launch a new consumer-facing product. Fig, co-founder of Squid, stated that the product will leverage Squid’s routing and settlement infrastructure to enhance the experience of accessing and managing crypto assets. Squid said that since its launch in 2023, the platform has processed over $6 billion in transaction volume and more than 4 million transactions across more than 100 blockchain networks, serving over 1 million users.
OdailyOdaily reports that Squid, a cross-chain infrastructure platform, has completed a $6 million strategic funding round led by North Island Ventures, with participation from Ripple, Dialectic, Borderless, and others.It is reported that Squid was initially incubated within the Axelar ecosystem before developing into an independent platform. Since its launch in 2023, Squid claims to have processed over $6 billion in cross-chain transaction volume, covering more than 100 blockchains, with over 4 million cumulative transactions and over 1 million users.Following this funding round, Squid's total cumulative funding has reached $13.5 million. The company plans to use the new funds to launch new consumer-facing products, further streamlining the process for users to access, manage, and use crypto assets across different chains.
According to Bloomberg, Ripple’s prime brokerage division secured up to $200 million in asset-backed debt financing through Neuberger Berman’s specialized financial team. The funds will be used to expand margin capacity for institutional investors across multi-market trading—including equities, fixed income, and cryptocurrencies—with the actual available credit line dynamically adjusted based on institutional clients’ borrowing needs.
: Certifyde, an AI application platform, announced the completion of a $2 million seed funding round, with participation from K5 Global, Flamingo Capital, as well as multiple angel investors including Honey co-founder George Ruan, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and Nutra co-founder Roland Peralta. (Techfundingnews)