AI Financial, formerly known as Alt5 Sigma, is in talks to sell its core payments business to Tokyo-based blockchain firm Perpetuals.com. The Wall Street Journal reported that the deal could be worth up to $15 million.

The possible sale would cover Alt5 Sigma Canada, a payments subsidiary owned by AI Financial. Perpetuals.com said in a July 7 filing that it had signed a non-binding term sheet to explore the acquisition.

The filing said, “No decisions have been made,” while Perpetuals.com reviews the business. The company also said it is carrying out due diligence before any final agreement.The talks mark a sharp turn for AI Financial. Less than a year ago, the company became tied to World Liberty Financial, the Trump-linked crypto project behind the WLFI token and USD1 stablecoin.

WLFI deal weighs on AI Financial shares

AI Financial’s earlier deal with World Liberty made WLFI a central part of its balance sheet. crypto.news reported in August 2025 that World Liberty Financial invested 7.5% of the total WLFI token supply in ALT5 Sigma’s $1.5 billion capital raise.

The company later raised about $750 million to buy more WLFI tokens. After the transaction, WLFI fell about 70%, according to the WSJ report cited by Wu Blockchain.

AI Financial’s shares also dropped more than 90%, leaving the company with a market value near $80 million. The decline placed pressure on a company that had promoted its World Liberty link as part of a wider crypto payments plan.

The WSJ report said AI Financial also faced losses tied to the fall in WLFI holdings. The proposed sale would remove one of the company’s main operating businesses if the parties reach a final deal.

Trump-linked proceeds face renewed attention

World Liberty Financial remains closely tied to the Trump family. crypto.news reported that the project issues the WLFI governance token and the USD1 stablecoin, and that it made up a large share of Trump’s reported crypto income in 2025.

The WSJ report said the Trump family is entitled to 75% of proceeds from WLFI token sales. It also said AI Financial’s WLFI purchases generated about $540 million in cash for Trump-related entities.

crypto.news also reported that Trump’s 2025 financial disclosure showed more than $1.4 billion in crypto-related income. The report said crypto earnings outpaced income from real estate, golf and resort businesses that year.

The White House has denied conflict claims in earlier coverage. Critics, including Democratic lawmakers and public interest groups, have called for tighter rules around officeholders and crypto-linked businesses.

Perpetuals.com review keeps deal uncertain

Perpetuals.com has not agreed to a final purchase. The company said the term sheet is exploratory and that due diligence is still underway.

Its filing identified Alt5 Sigma Canada as a profitable AI Financial subsidiary. Perpetuals.com said the possible deal could fit its product roadmap, which includes AI-powered trading products and prediction markets.

Earlier report in June indicated that World Liberty was nearing possible OCC trust bank approval while facing conflict concerns. That report also noted public disclosures showing that 75% of WLFI token sale proceeds go to DT Marks DEFI LLC, an entity controlled by Trump.

For AI Financial, the sale talks place new focus on what remains of its business after the WLFI bet. Any final outcome will depend on price, due diligence, board approval and whether both companies sign binding terms.

Nexo launched the Nexo Card in Argentina, giving eligible users a way to spend digital assets or borrow against them through one product. The card supports debit mode for direct spending and credit mode for borrowing against crypto collateral without selling holdings.

• Nexo’s dual-mode card lets eligible Argentine users spend crypto or borrow against holdings without selling.
• Buenos Aires now anchors Nexo’s Latin America strategy after Buenbit acquisition and Argentina football partnership.
• Andres Ondarra’s appointment gives Nexo a local lead with finance, fintech and crypto experience depth.

The company said users can switch between both modes inside one interface. Nexo also said the card supports purchases in Argentine pesos and U.S. dollars, with cashback on eligible spending and interest on idle in-app balances.

Nexo said the product is available through its app and website for eligible clients in Argentina. The launch gives the company a local payments tool in a market where crypto use remains tied to saving, payments and access to dollar-linked assets.

Incoming Argentina general manager Andres Ondarra said, “Argentine clients have spent a decade making digital assets part of how they manage wealth.” He added that the card lets users spend, borrow and earn “without having to sell.”

Ondarra takes over Argentina operations

The card launch came with Nexo’s appointment of Andres Ondarra as General Manager of Nexo Argentina. Ondarra will oversee local operations from Aug. 1, according to the company.

Bitcoin held above $62,000 on Thursday while the assets that are supposed to absorb a war premium moved in opposite directions.

Brent crude climbed 1% to $78.80 a barrel, a third consecutive session of gains, after the U.S. military completed another round of strikes against Iran and both sides raised the prospect of closing the Strait of Hormuz.

Gold extended its slide to a fourth day at around $4,060 an ounce. Government bonds in Japan, Australia and New Zealand fell, extending Wednesday’s global selloff, with two-year Treasury yields pushing toward their 2026 high.

Bitcoin traded at $62,009, down 1.2% over 24 hours and up 1.6% on the week. Ether was at $1,730, also off 1.2% on the day but up 5.7% over seven sessions. Solana was the laggard at $77.25, shedding 1.8% and 1.7% on the week. XRP slipped 0.7% to $1.09, TRON added 4% over seven days, and hyperliquid’s HYPE gained 5.9% on the week despite a 1.2% daily dip.

The escalation reignited inflation concerns and pulled forward rate expectations.

Federal Reserve officials were divided last month on whether to raise interest rates or keep them steady, as meeting minutes released Wednesday pointed to accelerating demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure as a factor sustaining inflation.

The minutes cover the first Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting under Chair Kevin Warsh and highlight how strong AI-driven spending may keep prices elevated for certain technology inputs—especially chips—and for electricity used to power data centers.

Key takeaways

• FOMC meeting minutes cited “ongoing strong demand for AI infrastructure” as likely to sustain upward pressure on prices for technology products and electricity.
• Officials expected inflation to stay “elevated in the near term,” with risks still “tilted to the upside.”
• Projections implied a hawkish path: the “dot plot” showed hikes, not cuts, with many members expecting at least one increase before the end of 2026.
• The Fed’s year-end PCE inflation projection rose, reinforcing the view that policy may remain restrictive for longer.

AI demand enters the Fed’s inflation discussion

According to the minutes, many participants argued that demand for AI infrastructure is acting as an inflation support rather than a one-time impulse. They specifically noted that continued demand for technology products and electricity could keep price pressures from fading quickly.

In practice, the minutes’ logic points to the economics of AI buildouts: higher demand for semiconductors used by data centers, combined with competition for energy, can lift consumer prices across a wide range of electronic goods, devices, and power-related costs. This process is often described in policy and financial circles as “chipflation.”

For crypto and other risk-sensitive assets, the implication is straightforward: higher inflation tends to reduce liquidity and spending power while supporting higher interest rates—conditions that can weigh on speculative exposure.

Near-term inflation expected to remain sticky

Fed participants anticipated inflation would remain “elevated in the near term.” They also discussed the possibility that disinflation could improve if the Middle East conflict eases, but they judged that the overall balance of risks to inflation was still skewed upward.

AI played a dual role in these deliberations. The minutes state that strong AI-related investment can lift growth above potential output, which can in turn contribute to more persistent inflationary pressure—essentially keeping demand strong while costs remain elevated for critical inputs.

“Most participants remarked that growth in economic activity that exceeded that of potential output, owing in part to strong AI business investment, could contribute to more persistent inflationary pressures.”

Dot plot and projections reinforce “higher for longer”

While the minutes reflect a split among officials, the broader policy signal leaned hawkish. The Fed’s dot plot, as cited in the report, suggested rate increases rather than cuts. Nine of 18 voting members projected at least one rate hike before the end of 2026, while six expected two 25-basis-point increases.

Inflation expectations also moved in the minutes’ framing: the central bank’s PCE inflation projection for year-end increased from 2.7% to 3.6%. Together, those changes point to an outlook where the Fed may need to tolerate a longer period of restrictive policy to bring inflation back toward target.

At the Fed’s June meeting, rates were held steady at 3.5% to 3.75%. In parallel, CME futures markets indicated a roughly 70% probability that rates would remain unchanged at the next meeting scheduled for July 29, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Why AI infrastructure may complicate monetary policy

One notable theme in the discussion was how AI infrastructure buildout can produce near-term inflation pressure even while promising longer-term productivity improvements. Nick Ruck, director of LVRG Research, told Cointelegraph that the Fed’s recent meeting underscores this tension: massive AI infrastructure expansion can lift inflation through surging demand for semiconductors, energy, and data centers, even as it sets the stage for productivity gains over time.

That mix matters because it challenges a common policy assumption that technological investment uniformly improves efficiency quickly enough to ease inflation. If the cost of deploying AI systems remains concentrated in specific supply chains and energy systems, the benefit to productivity may arrive later than the price pressure created by demand for the underlying infrastructure.

Ruck’s comments also framed the issue as one that may require solutions beyond traditional monetary tools—particularly approaches that improve how resources are allocated and reduce bottlenecks in the digital economy. While the minutes focused on conventional price dynamics, the investor takeaway is that AI-driven inflation can interact with monetary policy in ways that are harder to neutralize quickly.

What it could mean for crypto market conditions

In general, elevated inflation and restrictive rate expectations tend to tighten financial conditions, which can reduce risk appetite and liquidity. The minutes’ emphasis on technology and electricity price pressures strengthens the case that inflation may not fall as quickly as some investors might hope, especially if AI-related capex continues expanding.

At the same time, investors are also watching for how the Fed’s approach could evolve if inflation pressures prove to be structural rather than transitory. That question is likely to remain central for markets, including crypto, where broader liquidity conditions often play an outsized role in determining price behavior.

Readers should watch the next phase of Fed communication for signs that officials see AI-related inflation as temporary supply bottlenecks or as a more persistent feature of the pricing environment—because that distinction could shape how long “higher for longer” expectations last and, by extension, how supportive macro conditions remain for risk assets.

Offchain Labs co-founder Steven Goldfeder said fees from Robinhood Chain and other Arbitrum Layer 2 networks will send 10% of net protocol revenue back to the Arbitrum ecosystem. He said the split sends 8% to the tokenholder-controlled Arbitrum DAO treasury and 2% to development funding.

Goldfeder said, “as enterprise adoption accelerates, Arbitrum is ready to capture revenue.” He also said 100% of fees collected on Arbitrum One will go to the Arbitrum treasury. The update gives Arbitrum a clear revenue route from external chains that use its technology stack.

The Arbitrum DAO factsheet describes the fee base as protocol net revenue. That wording shows the model focuses on revenue after network costs, rather than a simple share of every user payment. The split applies to chains deployed outside Arbitrum One under the Arbitrum Expansion Program. Such reporting may also help the DAO compare revenue across partner chains.

Robinhood Chain goes live in Wallet

Robinhood Chain is now live in Robinhood Wallet, according to the update shared by Wu Blockchain. Users can bridge assets from Solana, Ethereum, Arbitrum and other networks to Robinhood Chain, then make swaps inside the app.

The rollout follows Robinhood’s public mainnet launch earlier this month. crypto.news reported that Robinhood Chain is an Ethereum Layer 2 network built with Arbitrum technology and designed for tokenized stocks, real-world assets and DeFi tools.

The network moved from testnet to mainnet after months of development. crypto.news previously reported that the first testnet week processed more than 4 million transactions, as developers tested tokenized stock assets and finance tools before the public rollout.

Tokenized stocks anchor the new network

Robinhood has made tokenized stocks a central product on its new chain. The company said eligible users in more than 120 countries can trade tokenized equities through Robinhood Wallet and supported decentralized exchanges.

crypto.news reported that Robinhood also launched perpetual futures tied to commodities, ETFs and currencies for eligible European users. The same rollout included Stock Tokens, Robinhood Earn and plans for AI-linked trading accounts.

Those products give Robinhood Chain early activity across trading, lending and liquidity venues. Uniswap supports a dedicated automated market maker, while other infrastructure partners support data, custody and on-chain routing.

Revenue model may shape Arbitrum’s next phase

The Arbitrum DAO factsheet said Robinhood Chain went live on July 1 as a dedicated Arbitrum chain that settles to Ethereum. It said the chain returns 10% of protocol net revenue under the Arbitrum Expansion Program license.

The same factsheet said 8% flows to the Arbitrum DAO treasury and 2% goes to the Arbitrum Developer Guild. That structure gives tokenholders and builders a share of fees from chains built outside Arbitrum One.

Crypto.new  reported that Robinhood Chain forms part of a wider corporate chain trend, alongside Base and other branded networks. The report said Robinhood uses its own tokenized equity business as the anchor for the chain.

For Arbitrum, the fee plan links enterprise adoption to ecosystem funding. The next test will be real usage. If Robinhood Chain handles steady trading, swaps and lending activity, the Arbitrum treasury and developer funds may receive a recurring revenue stream from the network.

• Volume during that move reached 688,000 XRP, about 120% above the session average, before momentum faded.

• Earlier selling took XRP to a session low near $1.0742 after volume rose to 80.2 million, about 83% above the 24-hour average.

Technical Analysis

• The key development is that XRP continues to defend the $1.00-$1.05 support zone, which analysts say aligns with longer-term moving average and trendline support.

• The near-term chart remains weak despite the small bounce. Lower highs at $1.1133, $1.0993 and $1.0932 show sellers are still capping recovery attempts.

• XRP needs to hold above $1.088-$1.091 to build a cleaner move toward $1.093-$1.095.

• The larger setup remains a compression trade rather than a breakout. Monthly wedge and channel patterns may point to higher targets, but confirmation requires a sustained move above nearer resistance first.

• Relative weakness against bitcoin remains a risk, with the XRPBTC pair testing support near 1,700 sats.

What traders should watch

• $1.00-$1.05 remains the key support zone. Losing it would put $0.90 and then $0.80 back in focus.

• $1.088-$1.091 is the immediate resistance area after capping the latest breakout attempt.

• $1.20-$1.25 is the next major zone, where candle resistance and the 100-day moving average sit.

• A move above $1.40 would be the first stronger sign that XRP is breaking out of its broader compression.

Bitcoin remains in deep value territory after trading below two major on-chain cost-basis levels for about five months, according to Glassnode. The firm said BTC is still below the True Market Mean near $76,600 and the short-term holder cost basis near $72,200.

These levels matter because they track the average price paid by active investors and recent buyers. When Bitcoin trades below both, many market participants hold coins at a loss. Glassnode said this phase can support long-term accumulation, but it has not yet confirmed a market bottom.

Bitcoin recently bounced from about $58,300 to $64,400. The move showed short-term strength, but it did not bring BTC back above the main recovery levels. Glassnode said, “The evidence suggests this process is approaching its later stages,” but it also warned that the realized price near $53,000 cannot be ruled out.

The setup keeps the focus on whether Bitcoin price can reclaim the $72,200 and $76,600 areas. Until then, BTC remains exposed to selling pressure and weak risk appetite.

Long-term holders are still realizing losses

Glassnode data shows that long-term holder loss realization has increased sharply since February. The share of total realized value from long-term holder losses rose from 15% in early February to 43%.

This group includes investors who bought near cycle highs and held through months of drawdown. Some are now exiting as the bear market lasts longer than expected. Glassnode said these sellers have become a major force stopping Bitcoin from reclaiming higher levels.

Daily long-term holder realized losses recently reached about $280 million. That was the highest level since December 2022. The firm said this pressure has not yet cooled enough to confirm that sellers are exhausted.

The next few weeks may be key for this metric. A steady drop in realized losses would show that long-term holders are selling less. Without that change, Bitcoin’s recovery may remain limited.

ETF outflows keep institutional demand weak

Bitcoin ETF flows remain another weak point. Glassnode said the 30-day average of spot Bitcoin ETF netflows has improved from about $193 million in daily outflows to $88.9 million. Still, flows remain negative.

crypto.news reported that U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded about $4.5 billion in net outflows in June. The same report said June became the worst month for the products since their January 2024 launch.

There has been some relief since then. crypto.news reported that spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $221.7 million in net inflows on July 2, ending a 10-day outflow streak. That followed nearly $2.7 billion in withdrawals during the prior 10 trading sessions.

However, Glassnode said ETF trading volume remains weak. Daily ETF trading volume sits between $650 million and $950 million, about 80% below the October 2025 peak. This shows that institutional demand has not fully stabilized.

Options data shows caution despite reduced shorts

Derivatives data gives a mixed picture. Glassnode said the options open-interest put/call ratio has dropped to 0.56, its lowest level of 2026. This means traders are holding far fewer puts than calls.

That shift suggests short demand has eased. It also shows that traders have reduced some defensive positions after Bitcoin’s recent bounce. Still, the options market continues to price demand for downside protection.

crypto.news reported that BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF flow drought recently eased while Bitcoin flashed a fresh rally signal. The update added to signs that parts of the market are trying to stabilize after heavy selling.

Glassnode said Bitcoin may be in the later stage of a bear-market bottoming process. But it said confirmation still needs three conditions: lower long-term holder selling, stable ETF flows, and a recovery above key cost-basis levels. Until those signals appear together, Bitcoin’s bottom remains unconfirmed.

Kraken leads MiCA-regulated crypto exchanges in liquidity, according to DefiLlama’s MiCA exchange dashboard. The data cited by Wu Blockchain showed Kraken with $399.71 million in spot liquidity and $206.90 million in perpetual liquidity, placing it first in both categories.

DefiLlama’s live MiCA-regulated exchanges dashboard later showed Kraken still ahead, with more than $400 million in spot liquidity and more than $220 million in perpetual liquidity. The live figures may change because liquidity data moves with market depth, prices and exchange activity.

Coinbase ranked second in the figures cited by Wu Blockchain, with $305.23 million in spot liquidity and $167.39 million in perpetual liquidity. DefiLlama’s live page still placed Coinbase among the top regulated venues, but behind Kraken in the main liquidity table.

The gap matters for traders who need deeper order books. Higher liquidity can help reduce slippage when users place larger orders. It can also make an exchange more useful for active traders, market makers and institutional clients.

Coinbase and Crypto.com remain close rivals

Coinbase remains Kraken’s closest large rival among MiCA-regulated exchanges. The exchange has built its European base in Luxembourg, where it uses a MiCA license to serve users across the bloc.

crypto.news reported that Coinbase opened its Luxembourg MiCA hub as the EU deadline approached. The exchange said Luxembourg became its MiCA home for all 27 EU member states.

Crypto.com also ranked among the larger MiCA exchange venues by spot liquidity. Wu Blockchain cited $130.84 million in spot liquidity for Crypto.com, while DefiLlama’s live dashboard showed a similar range.

Bitstamp, Bybit, OKX, Gate and Backpack showed smaller liquidity pools. Bitstamp and Bybit stood near $50 million in spot liquidity in the cited data. OKX, Gate and Backpack were lower in spot liquidity, though Backpack and OKX had recorded perpetual liquidity.

Market coverage gives Kraken another lead

Kraken also leads the listed exchanges in market coverage. Wu Blockchain cited 1,704 markets for Kraken, followed by Coinbase with 1,074 markets and Crypto.com with 883 markets.

Market coverage shows how many trading pairs and products a platform supports. It does not guarantee better prices by itself, but it gives users more routes to trade assets under one regulated platform.

Gate, Bitstamp, Bybit, Backpack and OKX showed smaller market counts. The cited data listed Gate at 303 markets, Bitstamp at 298, Bybit at 133, Backpack at 125 and OKX at 65.

For European users, the mix of liquidity and market coverage may shape where activity moves after MiCA. Exchanges with deeper liquidity and more markets may attract users who left platforms without full authorization.

MiCA changes Europe’s exchange race

MiCA has changed how crypto exchanges operate in Europe. The framework requires crypto asset service providers to hold approval if they want to serve users under the bloc’s unified rules.

crypto.news reported that Kraken secured its MiCA license from the Central Bank of Ireland in June 2025. The license allows Kraken to offer regulated services across the European Economic Area.

Other exchanges also moved before the July 1 deadline. crypto.news reported that OKX expanded services across 28 EEA markets after securing MiCA approval through Malta.

The new data shows that licensing alone does not decide the race. Liquidity, trading products and market coverage now separate regulated exchanges from each other. Kraken currently leads those metrics among the listed MiCA platforms, while Coinbase, Crypto.com and other venues continue to compete for European users.