IREN (IREN) shares rose more than 4% in pre-market trading on Wednesday after the company announced plans for an 800-megawatt data center campus in South Australia, marking its first major Australian data center project.

The agreement secures a high-voltage grid connection capable of supporting up to 800MW of power for the campus without requiring major network upgrades.

IREN said the project remains on track for initial energization beginning in 2028, subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions. The site will also benefit from submarine fiber connectivity linking it to key Asia-Pacific markets, including Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan.

Management highlighted strong regional demand for AI infrastructure, noting a widening gap between projected computing needs and available capacity across Asia-Pacific. South Australia’s push toward 100% net renewable energy by 2027 was also cited as a key competitive advantage for the development.

Co-Founder and Co-CEO Daniel Roberts said the project combines access to abundant renewable energy, international connectivity and a supportive policy environment. The campus is expected to create more than 500 construction jobs and over 200 permanent skilled positions once operational.

Recently, Daniel Roberts said the company’s long-term AI strategy is built on owning power, land and data centers.

Kraken’s parent company is bringing one of Wall Street’s most coveted opportunities to crypto investors: buying into IPOs at the same price as institutional investors.

Payward, the parent company of the crypto exchange, said Wednesday it will “soon” allow customers of Kraken and other members of its xStocks Alliance to participate in U.S.-listed initial public offerings through tokenized shares. The offering would give eligible investors a chance to receive allocations at the IPO price rather than purchasing shares after trading begins on public markets.

The first tokenized IPO offerings are expected to become available through Kraken and other xStocks Alliance members in the coming weeks, the firm said.

The launch comes as investors await a new crop of high-profile public offerings. SpaceX and AI startups Anthropic and OpenAI are among the companies widely viewed as potential IPO candidates in the coming months, fueling demand for access to deals that have traditionally been dominated by institutional investors, private banks and wealthy clients.

Under Payward’s model, investors would submit non-binding indications of interest before an IPO. The company would aggregate demand across participating exchanges and work with underwriting syndicates to secure allocations. Once a company lists, shares would be tokenized, backed one-for-one by the underlying stock held by a regulated custodian and distributed to investors through participating platforms.

The initiative is part of a broader push to use blockchain technology to expand access to capital markets.

Tokenization — the process of creating blockchain-based representations of traditional assets — has become one of the fastest-growing areas of digital assets. The sector has expanded beyond cryptocurrencies into Treasury funds, private credit, money-market products and, increasingly, equities.

Supporters argue tokenization can make assets easier to access, transfer and trade across jurisdictions. For equities, the technology could help remove some of the geographic and brokerage barriers that have historically limited access to IPOs and foreign-listed stocks.

Still, pre-IPO investing carries risks. IPO allocations are often oversubscribed and not guaranteed, offering prices can change during the book-building process and newly listed stocks frequently experience sharp price swings once public trading begins.

The firm will only offer IPOs where it has secured allocations for investors, a Payward spokesperson told CoinDesk.

Payward said its xStocks framework currently supports tokenized equities backed one-for-one by underlying shares held in custody. The company said the framework has processed more than $30 billion in transaction volume and over $6 billion in onchain settlements across more than 125,000 holders.

Chainalysis’ analysis shows more than 100 million agentic transactions on Coinbase’s Base network via the x402 protocol within roughly nine months of its launch, signaling that machine-to-machine payments are advancing from proof-of-concept to a functioning on-chain pattern.

In a report published this week, wallets interacting with x402 completed these transactions on Base, underscoring a shift toward autonomous payments where software agents can request resources and settle with stablecoins without human intervention.

Key takeaways

• Over 100 million agentic transactions on Base through the x402 protocol within nine months of launch, according to Chainalysis.
• The early growth was propelled by the PING memecoin experiment, which required users to transact via x402 to mint tokens.
• Value moved through x402 has shifted from micropayments toward higher-value transfers, rising from about 49% of total value above $1 in early 2025 to roughly 95% by early 2026.
• Weekly wallet retention for agentic payments on Base has been trending upward, suggesting durable usage beyond initial hype.
• Industry observers see AI agents as a potential driver of on-chain activity and stablecoin demand, with implications for developers, users, and investors.

Agentic payments take root on Base

The x402 protocol is designed to let software agents perform on-chain payments directly through web requests. When an agent seeks access to a resource—such as a data feed or an API—it can automatically complete a stablecoin transfer without awaiting human approval. This capability embodies a broader push toward autonomous, programmatic commerce on public networks and could redefine how apps interact with blockchain ecosystems.

From memecoin surge to sustained activity

The initial surge in activity was tied to PING, a memecoin experiment that incentivized users to pay via x402 to mint new tokens. That burst attracted large user participation and a rapid uptick in transaction volume. Once the frenzy subsided, activity did not collapse; usage persisted, and the total value moved through the protocol continued to climb, signaling a transition from novelty to practical utility in agentic payments.

Value moves up the chain: from micropayments to larger transfers

Chainalysis highlights a notable evolution in the types of transfers. In early 2025, payments valued at more than $1 accounted for approximately 49% of the total value moved through x402. By early 2026, that share had risen to about 95%, indicating a shift toward more substantial on-chain value being processed through agentic payments.

Observers have pointed to the broader implications of this trend. The growth of higher-value transactions suggests that AI-driven, automated payments are finding practical use cases beyond microtransactions, potentially expanding the scope of what autonomous on-chain interactions can support.

The underlying data and trendlines are drawn from Chainalysis’ ongoing monitoring of the Base ecosystem’s agentic activity. For readers seeking the upstream data, Chainalysis’ analysis on x402 is available in their report on agentic payments adoption.

Industry voices and what to watch

As AI tooling becomes more capable, leaders in the crypto space have framed agentic payments as a possible accelerant for on-chain activity. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has suggested that AI agents could soon account for a meaningful share of on-chain transactions, while Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire has articulated a similar optimistic view about automated payments in crypto networks. Earlier coverage highlighted Changpeng Zhao’s assertion that crypto could serve as the native currency for AI agents, underscoring a cross-pollination between AI and blockchain ecosystems.

Beyond the Base/X402 narrative, the concept has gained attention in related tech and payments circles. A Forrester report highlighted Stripe’s Machine Payments Protocol as a potential catalyst for reviving micropayments through AI agents, while Bernstein analysts have noted that AI agents could boost demand for stablecoins—an outcome that would reinforce the role of ecosystems like x402 in automating on-chain value transfers.

Industry data points to an expanding landscape for agentic payments, including on-demand resources in decentralized computing and data marketplaces where automated transactions enable seamless access to services and data. The interplay between AI-driven automation and programmable money is likely to be a central theme as ecosystems test how far autonomous on-chain payments can scale.

As this space evolves, market participants will be watching not only for continued growth in transaction counts but for durability in value flows, ecosystem incentives, and how regulators respond to automated, recurring payments on public blockchains. Weekly wallet retention metrics cited by Chainalysis offer a first glimpse that interest is translating into repeated use rather than a one-off spike.

Related reading and ongoing coverage explore how AI agents intersect with prediction markets, arbitrage opportunities, and broader DeFi security considerations. For background on the AI-agent theme across crypto media, see coverage of how AI agents could reshape arbitrage and other on-chain activity, as well as discussions around Stripe’s and other providers’ approaches to automated payments.

What remains uncertain is how quickly larger value transfers will stabilize across diverse networks, how developers will optimize agentic payment flows, and how regulators will approach automated, programmatic payments in a cross-border, cross-application context. Keep an eye on Base’s evolving ecosystem, new agentic-use cases, and any regulatory signals that could shape the path of autonomous on-chain commerce.

TLDR:

• Variant Fund has closed a $222M fourth vehicle targeting early-stage crypto and AI startups globally.
• The firm’s thesis has evolved from digital ownership to a broader focus on user autonomy and agency.
• Recent portfolio bets include agentic memory, cryptographic location proofs, and AI artifact ownership.
• Crypto VC activity is rebounding, with a16z and Haun Ventures also closing large funds in 2026.

Variant Fund has raised a new $222 million vehicle targeting early-stage crypto and AI startups. The fund, announced on Wednesday, marks the firm’s fourth vehicle and reflects an evolved investment thesis centered on “autonomy.”

Founder Jesse Walden said the firm will lead at the earliest possible stage while participating in liquid and growth investments as projects mature.

The raise arrives amid a broader uptick in crypto venture activity, with The Block Pro data showing $1.63 billion in VC investments so far in Q2 2026.

Variant Reframes Its Thesis Around Autonomy

Variant’s updated thesis represents a natural extension of its founding principles. Since its inception, the firm has gravitated toward permissionless markets, open-source software, composability, and decentralization.

By 2020, those themes had coalesced into a focus on digital ownership — covering money, identity, data, and everyday products.

The firm now frames digital ownership as one pillar within a broader concept: autonomy. Walden described it as fundamentally about human agency — the degree to which users control their lives, assets, and identities.

“Autonomy is fundamentally about human agency: the degree to which users are in control of their lives, assets, and identities,” he wrote in an X post announcing the fund.

Walden was also careful to separate autonomy from mere automation. He noted that intelligent automation is a major technological frontier, but whether it enhances agency depends on who it ultimately serves.

“We distinguish autonomy from mere automation,” he wrote, adding that this distinction remains a guiding principle in evaluating which projects the firm pursues.

Past investments already reflect this principle. The portfolio has consistently backed projects where users hold meaningful control over the systems they participate in.

This includes category leaders in public blockchains, developer infrastructure, and consumer-facing applications such as Phantom and World Network.

Agentic and Permissionless Finance in Focus

Among the firm’s newest portfolio companies are several projects at the intersection of AI and blockchain. Walden outlined three in his announcement: “These include Honcho, a solution for self-custodial agentic memory; Octet, which lets applications cryptographically verify a user’s physical location as a building block of digital identity; and here.now, a ‘cloud for agents’ that enables ownership and composability of generated artifacts.”

Octet expands what users can verify about themselves on-chain, functioning as a building block for decentralized identity systems. here.now, meanwhile, targets the growing agentic computing space by giving users ownership over the outputs their AI agents generate.

Both projects align with Variant’s broader argument that the next phase of the internet will shift agency back toward users.

Walden summarized this outlook directly: “It’s likely that agentic intelligence and open, global financial rails will transform the structure of the internet: from one where users are often the product to one where they have unprecedented agency.”

The fundraise arrives alongside a broader resurgence in crypto venture capital. Competitor a16z recently announced a new $2.2 billion crypto fund, its fifth, while Haun Ventures closed a $1 billion vehicle targeting blockchain and AI projects.

Despite crypto VC activity remaining below the peak levels seen in 2022, recent quarters have shown a clear uptick in both deal volume and capital deployed.

CoinDesk Indices presents its daily market update, highlighting the performance of leaders and laggards in the CoinDesk 20 Index.

The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 1862.4, down 0.6% (-11.0) since 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Fifteen of the 20 assets are trading higher.

Leaders: NEAR (+15.1%) and XLM (+5.7%).

Laggards: BCH (-10.7%) and BNB (-3.4%).

The CoinDesk 20 is a broad-based index traded on multiple platforms in several regions globally.

Another crypto-focused political action committee, the Defend Developers PAC, has joined the field of campaign-funding operations that have in recent years put the industry on the political map.

The new entrant won’t rival the sector’s leading super PAC, Fairshake, nor is it expected to jump to the scale of the mid-level committees that include the Fellowship PAC linked to Tether and the Digital Freedom Fund tied to Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss at Gemini. But it’s approaching the political field differently than others, by backing incumbent lawmakers who’ve already proven to be allies to its cause: the legal protection of crypto developers and creators of decentralized finance (DeFi) projects.

“We plan to raise and contribute more than six figures across dozens of key races in the midterms, because crypto technologists deserve champions in Congress who will go to bat for them,” said Gavin Zavatone, the PAC’s founder, in a Wednesday statement announcing the effort. Zavatone is also the policy lead at the DeFi Education Fund, a trade association that lobbies for DeFi-friendly policymaking.

Defend Developers — federally registered last month — is what’s known as a hybrid PAC, meaning it can make direct contributions to candidates that follow the Federal Election Commission limits as well as channeling unlimited corporate contributions into independent ads. The bulk of the crypto sector’s high-profile political intervention has been through super PACs that have no monetary limits, though another new PAC, the Blockchain Leadership Fund established by Anchorage Digital and Chainlink, is also a hybrid.

“As a hybrid PAC, we’re building the political infrastructure to ensure the United States remains the best place in the world to build blockchain technology freely — and we’re doing it the right way, powered by individual contributions raised directly from the founders, builders, and CEOs who have the most at stake,” Zavatone said. The board of directors behind him include members from Uniswap Labs, DEF and the Solana Policy Institute, though no dollar amounts have yet been disclosed about its initial funding.

Without the tens of millions deployed by Fairshake and its affiliates, a new crypto PAC isn’t likely to make major waves. Fairshake is coming away with its latest primary election wins this week, having backed nine Democratic U.S. House of Representatives candidates in California, one in New Jersey and Republican U.S. Senate Mike Rounds in South Dakota. All of them won their primaries on Tuesday, maintaining a high win record for crypto-supporting politicians that Fairshake bought independent ads for, though the PAC didn’t expend more than $476,000 (for U.S. Representative George Whitsides) on this week’s races.

Fairshake had expended $6.5 million in its successful effort to make sure veteran House lawmaker and crypto critic Al Green lost out to Christian Menefee in their Texas primary last week. However, the super PAC — one of the largest in U.S. politics — has also seen a few misfires, such as in Illinois.

The general election in November brings extremely high stakes, with the potential to shift the party majority to Democrats in at least one chamber of Congress.

Read More: The crypto industry’s massive political war chest is starting to lean Republican ahead of midterms