Digital Asset, the development firm behind the Canton Network (CC) blockchain used by major banks and trading firms, said Thursday it closed a $355 million fundraising round to back its efforts to bring capital markets onchain.

The investment was led by a16z, with the participation of global institutions including ABN Amro, Apollo Funds, BNP Paribas, Citadel Securities, HSBC, SBI Group and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority through a subsidiary.

The amount raised beat the target of $300 million at a $2 billion valuation that was reported last month.

The investment comes as traditional financial firms increasingly back blockchain infrastructure built specifically for regulated markets. Tempo, the payments chain developed by Stripe and Paradigm, reportedly raised $500 million last year at a $5 billion valuation. Circle Internet (CRCL), the stablecoin issuer behind USDC, raised $222 million for its Arc blockchain at a $3 billion valuation, drawing backing from BlackRock, Apollo Funds, a16z crypto and ARK Invest.

GameStop no longer owns the keys to the bitcoin (BTC) that its shareholders celebrate as one of its coolest and most valuable assets.

According to its latest quarterly SEC filing, CEO Ryan Cohen has pledged all 4,709 BTC to Coinbase Credit.

Workers employed by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, not Cohen, now have rights to “rehypothecate, commingle, or unilaterally sell the pledged BTC” worth approximately $300 million at current prices.

GameStop, the videogame retailer-turned-meme stock and digital asset treasury company, bought 4,710 BTC for $500 million in mid-2025, at an average cost above $106,000 per coin.

For context, BTC was trading at $62,000 today.

As its BTC holdings declined in value by hundreds of millions of dollars, GameStop got creative. 

In late 2025, the company pledged all 4,709 of those coins to Coinbase Credit as collateral for a covered-call options strategy. It was a way to squeeze out some premium income out of an otherwise idle treasury asset.

The catch to selling a call, however, is that you sell the right to call away your collateral, as the name suggests quite obviously.

Even worse than a typical covered call

Although a typical stockholder retains stock in their brokerage account after selling an out-of-the-money covered call, Coinbase’s terms are far more aggressive. GameStop has already transferred its BTC to Coinbase’s subsidiary.

BTC, unlike a stock, is a strict bearer asset. Whoever possesses private keys controls the coins outright.

Therefore, in the fine print, Coinbase now has the right to reuse, mix, or sell the pledged coins at will, with GameStop legally disclosing that “control of the pledged BTC transferred to the counterparty.” 

Accounting rules then forced the company to wipe the BTC off its books and replace it with a digital assets “receivable,” a contractual IOU for an equivalent amount of BTC in the future.

Quick Summary

• SpaceX prepares for potential IPO with approximately $1.75 trillion valuation, possibly becoming history’s largest market debut
• Oracle (ORCL) shares tumbled following announcement of substantial AI infrastructure investments and financing plans
• Headline inflation in the United States surged past 4%, primarily fueled by escalating energy costs
• Crude oil prices climbed amid escalating geopolitical tensions with Iran, intensifying inflation worries
• OpenAI submitted confidential IPO paperwork, potentially transforming investor access to artificial intelligence companies

Today delivered multiple significant developments that forced investors to reassess positions across AI infrastructure, inflation trends, and upcoming public offerings.

SpaceX Pursues Unprecedented Public Offering

The SpaceX initial public offering has become the focal point of financial discussions. Market watchers anticipate the aerospace giant will debut with an approximate $1.75 trillion price tag, positioning it as the most valuable IPO ever executed.

Investor appetite appears robust. Reports indicate some retail traders have liquidated holdings specifically to allocate capital toward this anticipated listing.

Skepticism exists, however. Certain market observers are raising red flags regarding potential insider transactions and whether the astronomical valuation already incorporates multiple years of projected expansion.

Previous high-profile technology IPOs have frequently underperformed following initial trading sessions. The SpaceX market entry is poised to become a landmark financial moment in 2026, though post-listing trajectory remains uncertain.

Oracle (ORCL) Shares Tumble Despite Strong Contract Wins

Oracle delivered impressive operational results and secured significant artificial intelligence partnerships. Nevertheless, shares experienced a substantial decline.

The culprit: ambitious capital expenditure plans. Oracle disclosed intentions to deploy tens of billions toward AI infrastructure buildout. The company also announced plans to secure considerable debt and equity financing for these initiatives.

Market participants responded unfavorably. While artificial intelligence enthusiasm persists, mounting pressure exists for corporations to demonstrate that substantial capital outlays will translate into meaningful profitability.

Oracle’s stock decline signals that Wall Street is increasingly scrutinizing AI investment returns rather than merely celebrating contract announcements.

Inflation Surges Past 4% Threshold

U.S. headline inflation jumped beyond 4%, surprising market participants.

Energy price increases drove the acceleration. This development suggests interest rates may remain at elevated levels longer than previously anticipated by investors.

This carries implications for equities, particularly technology and growth-oriented companies, which demonstrate heightened sensitivity to rate trajectory expectations. Inflation data has emerged as a critical variable influencing market movements on a weekly basis.

Crude Prices Jump on Geopolitical Uncertainty

Escalating geopolitical tensions centered on Iran propelled oil prices upward during trading. Climbing energy expenses compound inflationary pressures while generating broader economic growth concerns.

Energy sector equities benefited from the price movement. Conversely, industries with significant fuel dependencies, including transportation and manufacturing, confront challenges if elevated pricing persists.

Sustained oil price strength could influence Federal Reserve monetary policy deliberations.

OpenAI Submits Confidential IPO Documentation

News surfaced today that OpenAI has filed confidential paperwork for a public offering. Anthropic may pursue a comparable strategy.

Combined, these public listings could provide investors with direct artificial intelligence company exposure for the first time, eliminating reliance on indirect investments through Nvidia, Microsoft, or Alphabet.

Certain analysts anticipate this development could spark sector rotation within technology, with investment capital shifting from established AI stocks toward newly public entities.

An OpenAI IPO would rank among the most substantial technology market debuts in history should it proceed.

SpaceX (SPCX) shares will begin trading on Solana the same day the company is expected to list on Nasdaq, according to Sunrise, a tokenization infrastructure provider, and Backpack Securities, a regulated brokerage and crypto trading platform, which are launching a tokenized version of the stock called SPCX.

The token, issued by Backpack, represents ownership of underlying SpaceX shares and can be redeemed for those shares through Backpack’s brokerage platform. The firms say eligible shares can also be converted back into tokens, creating a bridge between traditional brokerage accounts and blockchain-based markets.

The launch attempts to bring newly listed U.S. equities onchain from day one. Backpack says SPCX holders will have a direct redemption path to the underlying security.

SPCX will trade on Solana around the clock, including outside traditional market hours. The token can be held in self-custody wallets and traded across supported Solana-based venues.

The announcement comes as interest in tokenized real-world assets continues to grow across the crypto industry. Stablecoins have become one of blockchain’s most successful use cases, and several firms are now betting that equities could follow a similar path if tokenized shares can be made accessible to a global investor base.

Banks are focusing on pulling stablecoins and tokenized forms of more traditional financial instruments into one integrated package to meet growing institutional demand for multi-asset flexibility.

Rather than waiting for a single winner to emerge, large asset managers and corporate treasuries are demanding a multi-instrument setup in which stablecoins, tokenized bank deposits and tokenized money market funds all run on the same infrastructure.

“The demand from institutional clients is consistent: they are not waiting for any single instrument to prevail,” Thomas Eichenberger, chief strategy officer and deputy group CEO at Swiss-based digital asset bank Sygnum, told CoinDesk on Thursday in an email.

“They are asking how tokenized deposits, regulated stablecoins, and tokenized money market funds can be combined and made interoperable, so a treasury function can move between them — permissioned settlement, 24/7 cross-border flows, yield with on-demand liquidity — under one regulatory framework they already trust,” he added.

Sygnum, which describes itself as the world’s first digital assets bank, partnered late last year with Swiss banking powerhouse UBS and PostFinance, a subsidiary company of the state-owned Swiss Post, to test blockchain payments between institutions on Ethereum.

Hong Kong-based fintech Reap has partnered with identity verification and anti-fraud platform Sumsub to strengthen its onboarding and compliance infrastructure as the company expands into new international markets.

The collaboration will allow Reap to automate Know Your Customer (KYC) and verification processes for both business clients and end cardholders, helping the company maintain regulatory compliance while delivering a seamless user experience across jurisdictions.

Reap, which specializes in stablecoin-powered cards, cross-border payments, and financial infrastructure for businesses, has been rapidly expanding beyond the Asia-Pacific region. As regulatory requirements continue to evolve across different markets, the company is seeking scalable compliance solutions that can support global growth.

According to Reap’s Head of Legal, Risk and Compliance, Darryl Wan, onboarding plays a critical role in customer experience and must remain both efficient and compliant regardless of where users are located.

Through Sumsub’s API-first compliance platform, Reap can configure onboarding workflows based on customer type, geographic location, and risk profile. The system enables localized verification requirements while maintaining consistent compliance standards across all markets.

One of the key components of the partnership is Sumsub’s Reusable KYC technology. The feature allows users who have previously completed verification through Sumsub to avoid repeating the same identity checks and document submissions when onboarding with new services using the platform.

The approach is designed to reduce friction while preserving compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing regulations.

Sumsub’s infrastructure supports verification of more than 14,000 identity document types from over 220 countries and territories. Combined with its liveness detection technology, the platform enables identity verification within seconds, helping businesses streamline onboarding without sacrificing security.

Penny Chai, Vice President APAC at Sumsub, said the partnership reflects the growing need for trusted digital identity solutions capable of operating across fragmented regulatory environments.

As Reap continues expanding its stablecoin-based financial services globally, the company plans to further automate onboarding and verification processes, ensuring its compliance framework can support long-term growth and new product launches.

Founded in Hong Kong, Reap employs approximately 300 people worldwide and focuses on bridging traditional finance and digital assets through stablecoin-native financial infrastructure. The company reported processing billions of dollars in stablecoin-funded transaction volume during 2025.

The partnership highlights the increasing importance of scalable identity verification and compliance technologies as stablecoin-powered financial services continue to gain traction globally.

During today’s Asian trading session, Ethereum opened at $1628.

The opening price was at lower levels before the channel turned and traced an upward trend of highs and lows. This opening price has made market participants weigh in on the next targets as exchange supply hits low levels.

Ethereum price jumps 2.87% as late rally lifts price to $1,680

Tracking the ongoing price trend at the time of press, CoinMarketCap data reveals that Ethereum traded at $1,680.01, posting a 2.87% gain over the past 24 hours. The chart showed a volatile session that developed into a broader upward trend. Price activity remained under pressure during the early hours, with Ethereum falling below the $1,620 region before finding support and stabilizing. After that decline, the market gradually recovered and reclaimed lost ground through a steady sequence of higher moves.

Source: CoinMarketCap

Momentum strengthened during the morning period as Ethereum pushed above $1,640 and continued climbing. The advance extended through several intraday swings, with price maintaining a generally positive structure despite short pullbacks. By midday, Ethereum price traded near the $1,660 area and held most of its gains. The trend remained constructive throughout the afternoon, although price movements became more uneven and ranged within a relatively narrow band.

Later in the session, the Ethereum price briefly retreated from local highs and moved lower toward the mid-$1,630s. The decline proved temporary as the market reversed sharply near the end of the period. A strong late-session rally lifted the Ethereum price above previous intraday levels and drove a rapid breakout toward $1,690. Price then eased slightly from that peak and settled around $1,680, ending the session near its highest levels of the day.

Ethereum exchange supply drops to a record low at 14.5 million ETH

The ongoing Ethereum price trend comes at a time when Ethereum exchange reserves have fallen to a record low of 14.5 million ETH, according to CryptoQuant data. The decline began around July 2025 and has continued without a sustained recovery. The drop came as investors moved coins into staking contracts and private wallets. CryptoQuant data shows exchange balances stayed near 20 million ETH through most of 2024. 

However, withdrawals accelerated in July 2025 and pushed reserves lower. CryptoQuant commentary stated that “exchange reserves continue to decline at a fast pace.” The metric tracks ETH held on trading platforms and available for immediate trading. Data shows outflows from major platforms, including Binance and Coinbase. As a result, the visible supply on exchanges dropped to its lowest recorded level. 

Investors also moved more ETH into staking contracts during the same period. These locked balances remain outside immediate trading activity. Therefore, staking reduced the amount of Ethereum available on exchanges. Corporate treasury activity added to the decline in exchange holdings. BitMine expanded its ETH position after a $250 million capital raise in 2025. Market reports show BitMine holds over 5.5 million ETH. SharpLink also holds 868,699 ETH in its treasury structure.

eToro has expanded its AI capabilities by integrating real-time market sentiment from X into its AI investing companion, Tori, through a partnership with xAI and Grok.

According to an announcement published by xAI on June 10, Tori can now access real-time information from X, allowing the AI assistant to monitor market sentiment, identify emerging trends and analyze investor reactions as they happen.

The move represents another step in eToro’s broader strategy to bring artificial intelligence deeper into the investing experience, giving users access to live market intelligence directly within the platform.

Bringing Real-Time Market Intelligence to Investors

Markets increasingly react to information shared across social media platforms before it reaches traditional news outlets. Through the integration with Grok, Tori can analyze conversations, sentiment shifts and breaking developments occurring on X in real time.

According to xAI, Tori can now “read market moods as they shift, track live signals and analyze information” using the company’s latest AI models.

The capability aims to simplify market research by allowing investors to ask questions about specific assets, trends or news events and receive insights based on real-time discussions happening across X.

Part of eToro’s AI-First Strategy

While the latest announcement from xAI focuses on real-time sentiment analysis, the integration builds on a broader relaunch of Tori that eToro unveiled earlier this year.

In April, eToro announced three major upgrades for its AI investing companion:

• Real-time market sentiment from X powered by Grok 4.2
• Persistent memory across conversations
• AI-powered Agent Portfolios that can be managed through natural language interactions

The platform says Tori can remember user preferences, portfolio information and previous interactions, allowing the assistant to provide increasingly personalized insights over time.

From Research to Execution

One of the most notable additions introduced by eToro is the concept of Agent Portfolios, dedicated sub-portfolios designed specifically for AI-driven investing strategies.

Users can allocate capital to a separate portfolio, define operating rules and allow AI agents to execute strategies within those predefined limits while keeping their primary portfolio under direct control.

According to eToro CEO and co-founder Yoni Assia, the objective is not to replace investors but to enhance their capabilities through intelligent automation and real-time analysis.

Growing Role of AI in Investing

The partnership between eToro and xAI highlights a broader trend across the financial industry, where AI tools are increasingly being used to process large volumes of market data, social sentiment and news flow in real time.

With more than 40 million registered users across 75 countries, eToro is among the largest retail investing platforms adopting AI-powered market intelligence at scale.

As competition intensifies among AI providers and fintech platforms, the integration of Grok’s real-time awareness of X conversations into Tori could offer investors faster access to market sentiment and emerging narratives that often influence asset prices before traditional analysis catches up.

Whether real-time social sentiment ultimately translates into better investment outcomes remains to be seen, but eToro’s latest move demonstrates how AI is rapidly becoming a core component of the modern investing experience.

About eToro

Founded in 2007, eToro is a global trading and investing platform offering access to stocks, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, commodities and other financial assets. The company serves more than 40 million registered users worldwide and has been actively expanding its AI capabilities through Tori, its proprietary investing assistant.

MassPay has partnered with Coinbase to integrate stablecoin funding and settlement into its cross-border payout network, giving enterprise customers access to USDC-based payments across 180 countries.

According to the companies’ announcement, eligible MassPay clients can send USDC globally, manage treasury operations through Coinbase Prime custody, and settle transactions on-chain instead of relying on traditional international payment rails.

The integration brings Coinbase’s payment infrastructure directly into MassPay’s platform. Coinbase said its payment APIs will provide wallet services, custody, payment orchestration, and payout functionality, allowing businesses to access stablecoin payments without building their own crypto infrastructure.

MassPay and Coinbase stated that the arrangement is designed to address longstanding challenges in cross-border payments, where companies often need to prefund accounts across multiple markets, tying up working capital and delaying settlements.

Stablecoin funding is integrated into payout operations

Under the integration, corporate customers can fund transactions in U.S. dollars and convert those funds into USDC through Coinbase. According to the announcement, businesses can then distribute funds through a single payment flow to recipients receiving USDC, other digital assets, or local fiat currencies.

Coinbase said the system removes the need for businesses to assemble separate crypto on-ramps, custody providers, wallet infrastructure, liquidity sources, and compliance solutions before using stablecoins for international payments.

At the operational level, Coinbase will provide custody services, wallet infrastructure, settlement capabilities, and regulatory coverage through its licensing framework. MassPay will continue handling payout delivery to recipients through its existing network.

According to the companies, eliminating prefunding requirements allows capital to remain available for business operations instead of sitting idle across payment corridors while awaiting settlement.

Coinbase expands its payments infrastructure strategy

The partnership adds another payments-focused initiative to Coinbase’s growing stablecoin business. In the announcement, Coinbase described itself as offering an end-to-end crypto payments stack that includes the Base blockchain network, USDC and other stablecoins, wallet services, payment tools, on-ramps, off-ramps, and payout infrastructure.

Coinbase also highlighted its position as a major USDC distributor. The company said USDC was co-created alongside Circle and noted that nearly $20 billion of the stablecoin is held on its platform.

Institutional infrastructure remains another focus. Coinbase stated that it serves as a primary custodian for leading spot crypto ETF issuers while maintaining what it described as one of the industry’s largest regulatory licensing footprints.

The latest payment partnership comes as Coinbase continues expanding services beyond exchange trading. Recently, the company received regulatory approval to offer access to global crypto perpetual futures for U.S. users, with Coinbase Chief Executive Brian Armstrong stating that the development would connect American traders to global perpetual futures liquidity through a regulated domestic platform.

At the same time, Coinbase has been advocating for stablecoin-friendly regulations in Washington. The company recently urged U.S. lawmakers to remove capital gains tax requirements on stablecoin payments and exempt small crypto transactions from certain reporting obligations, arguing that such changes could reduce friction for digital payment adoption.