News linked to both this project and an event.
Singapore-based asset management firm Psalion has announced the launch of a $50 million fund targeting early-stage blockchain startups. Psalion stated it will support Pre-seed and Seed stage companies in the fields of infrastructure, real-world assets, stablecoins, DeFi, and trade finance. (The Block)
Cordant, a stablecoin and digital asset financial infrastructure provider, has announced the completion of an $8 million seed funding round. Participating investors include Bankless VC, FJ Labs, SignalFire, Quona, Next Stage, Selah Ventures, Flatironx, Nascent Ventures, Silvercircle Ventures, and Generative Ventures. The new capital will support the company's introduction of new payment networks and AI automation tools. Cordant is collaborating with financial institutions on product development, covering banking, payments, embedded finance, cross-border transactions, stablecoins, and digital assets. Notably, Latin American digital asset and payment platform Bitso, as well as blockchain infrastructure company Paxos, have both invested and are serving as design partners. (Businesswire)
Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin stated that he has built a toy-level demo version on Aztec based on the concept of a "moderated anonymous bulletin board" via vibe-coded methods, and has published the related experimental project on GitHub. He noted that the project is still in an early stage, but it can already implement some "very interesting and not simple" features; he also added that the project is currently at Stage 2.
Bybit's goal difference settlement contracts continue to expand, with 18 new group stage contracts added, now open for pre-match trading. This round of listings covers all group stage fixtures, including several high-profile matchups: Ecuador vs Germany (June 26), Norway vs France (June 27), Spain vs Saudi Arabia (June 27), Jordan vs Argentina (June 28), as well as key group stage matches featuring strong teams like Brazil and Portugal.The contracts are benchmarked at 10. A price above 10 favors the home team, while a price below 10 favors the away team. Settlement occurs automatically 130 minutes after the match ends. Real-time trading is supported during the game, with up to 5x leverage and a minimum entry of 10 USDT.
according to Aztec Labs monitoring, the team is investigating a potential vulnerability affecting an Aztec payments product that was discontinued in 2021. Approximately $2 million was transferred from an immutable smart contract. This discontinued product is an immutable Stage 2 Rollup version that was deactivated in 2022. Aztec Labs does not hold the admin keys or any control over the system, and thus cannot pause or upgrade it. This incident is separate from the attack on the Aztec Connect product on June 14. The Aztec Foundation stated that the product affected by this attack is not associated with any smart contracts of the current network or the AZTEC ERC20 token.
BIT has released its latest weekly report, titled "Will the FIFA World Cup Be the End of the Bitcoin Bear Market?" The report suggests that the current bearish trend of Bitcoin is largely consistent with its early February 2026 outlook. The previously predicted A-B-C correction structure has entered its final phase: after Wave A declined to the $60,000 to $69,000 range, Bitcoin rebounded to the $80,000 to $90,000 range, peaking temporarily around $83,000, after which the rebound momentum gradually weakened.BIT points out that the current Fear and Greed Index has approached historically significant low levels, still showing some similarity to the bottom structure of the 2022 bear market. It maintains its previous view that the summer lull during the 2026 World Cup period could serve as the final stage of Bitcoin's current bear cycle.The report states that future focus will be on the key price range for the end of the bear market, macro catalysts for the next bull run, and trend reversal signals from cyclical indicators. If the relevant framework holds, this market bottom could become one of the low points in Bitcoin's history with a relatively concentrated time window and clearly defined triggering conditions.
According to official sources, OKX has officially launched a dedicated prediction event for the 2026 World Cup. Users can claim xp (event points) for free within the OKX App and directly place predictions on World Cup match outcomes. The event features six main sections: Championship Winner, Golden Boot Winner, Group Stage, Match Results, and others, with continuous markets available covering the entire tournament. The xp leaderboard is updated in real-time, and after the event concludes, the platform will distribute the 16.66 BTC prize pool based on the xp rankings, with rewards automatically credited to user accounts.It is reported that "Predictions" is a free points product launched by OKX, built as the first proprietary market based on the open protocol Exchange OS previously released by OKX. This event is independently organized by OKX, and terms such as "World Cup" and other tournament-related phrasing are used solely for descriptive purposes.
during a recent Senate Banking Committee hearing, substantial progress was achieved in advancing the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act). The bill passed with a 15-9 vote, moving to the full Senate for consideration.Several bipartisan lawmakers emphasized during the discussions that the United States urgently needs to establish a unified regulatory framework for digital assets, clarifying asset classification, trading platform oversight, and market structure rules to provide long-term certainty for the industry. Angela Alsobrooks pointed out from a family perspective that younger generations show a natural interest in digital assets, and the regulatory system should strike a balance between "opportunity and protection" to prevent technological development from escaping regulatory oversight. Tim Scott stressed the need to advance legislation from the standpoint of economic opportunity and the American Dream, while Cynthia Lummis noted that the legislative process has already demonstrated a clear foundation for bipartisan cooperation.Supporters argue that digital assets have become an irreversible trend, with approximately 68 million Americans currently holding related assets. However, a significant volume of transactions still occur on overseas platforms, underscoring the urgent need for the U.S. to establish a domestic regulatory framework to enhance market transparency and investor protection. Analysts point out that the CLARITY Act is seen as a crucial complement following stablecoin-related legislation (the GENIUS Act). Without supporting rules at the market structure level, the U.S. risks losing its dominant position in the competition for digital financial infrastructure.As the bill advances to the full Senate, observers are closely watching whether it can complete final legislation based on bipartisan consensus, thereby establishing the core rules of the U.S. digital asset regulatory framework. (CoinDesk)