Crypto World
SEC Invites Public Feedback on Emerging ETF Products and Prediction Market Instruments
-
The SEC has launched a consultation process for innovative ETF structures and forecasting market instruments.
-
Regulators are examining whether emerging fund strategies comply with current securities legislation.
-
Applications for prediction market ETFs from prominent investment firms await regulatory decisions.
-
The agency is considering modifications to listing requirements, transparency standards, and registration procedures.
-
Broader cryptocurrency regulatory assessments proceed concurrently with legal enforcement initiatives.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has initiated a comprehensive public feedback mechanism regarding innovative exchange-traded funds and prediction market investment vehicles, launching an extensive examination of rapidly evolving financial products. This regulatory action focuses on investment instruments connected to emerging asset categories and trading approaches that fall outside conventional ETF frameworks. The timing coincides with several outstanding applications for prediction market ETFs awaiting agency determination.
Regulatory Agency Examines Framework for Innovative Fund Structures
The commission has invited industry stakeholders to provide input regarding the alignment of innovative ETF products with established regulatory requirements. The consultation encompasses investment vehicles that hold assets beyond conventional securities marketplaces. Additionally, it scrutinizes funds employing methodologies that diverge from typical index-tracking or commodity-based offerings.
Regulators are seeking perspectives on whether specific fund structures meet the criteria for investment companies under prevailing legislation. This determination carries significant weight as certain products may contain assets that existing securities regulations do not explicitly address. Consequently, the commission is soliciting opinions on whether these vehicles should undergo registration under the Investment Company Act.
The consultation further evaluates the analytical framework employed to categorize investment companies. The SEC acknowledged that ambiguity persists regarding funds predominantly concentrated in non-securities assets. As such, the agency requires more definitive feedback before implementing changes to registration protocols and evaluation criteria.
Forecasting Market Fund Applications Await Regulatory Determination
This regulatory inquiry emerges while the commission assesses prediction market ETF proposals submitted by Roundhill, Bitwise, and GraniteShares. These prospective investment vehicles would monitor contracts associated with platforms like Polymarket. Regulators must still determine whether prevailing ETF regulations can accommodate these financial instruments.
Forecasting market funds present distinctive regulatory challenges because their foundational contracts vary substantially from conventional equities, fixed-income securities, or raw materials. They may also rely on marketplace infrastructures operating beyond standard securities trading venues. Accordingly, the SEC is requesting commentary on whether current listing frameworks can adequately support these offerings.
The commission has also questioned the 75-day assessment timeline for particular ETF submissions. Present regulations can permit certain registration documents to take effect following that interval. However, unconventional strategies may necessitate more thorough examination, enhanced disclosure requirements, and reinforced market protections.
Commission Evaluates Registration Procedures and Industry Behavior
The regulatory body has also expressed apprehension regarding rivalry among ETF issuers pursuing first-to-market advantages. The agency noted that accelerated submission timelines can generate urgency before products undergo comprehensive legal and operational assessment. Such pressure may result in hastily prepared documentation, insufficient disclosures, or funds that ultimately fail to materialize.
To mitigate this concern, the SEC inquired whether establishing a baseline registration charge would be appropriate. The fee could subsequently apply toward redemptions should the product successfully launch. The agency additionally questioned whether confidential submission intervals might discourage imitative applications.
This examination forms part of a broader digital asset policy initiative at the commission. The agency has simultaneously solicited feedback with the CFTC regarding cryptocurrency perpetual futures regulations. In parallel, it has postponed tokenized securities guidance while enforcement proceedings advance through federal courts.
Crypto World
Autheo Introduces the Internet Operating System: A Decentralized Coordination Layer for Web, Blockchain, & AI
[PRESS RELEASE – Sheridan, USA / Wyoming, June 30th, 2026]
Five years in the making, Autheo is launching its decentralized operating system on Mainnet — after public testnet adoption surpassed 1.8 million wallets, nearly 1 million smart contracts, and 8.8 million transactions.
Autheo today formally introduced its decentralized operating system to the public: a coordination layer designed to let the traditional Web, blockchain networks, and AI agents interoperate natively as a single system. The company is now launching its Mainnet — the production environment for the network — after more than a year of public testnet activity.
THE COORDINATION LAYER THE INTERNET NEVER HAD
The networking wars of the 1980s and early 1990s settled a principle that has shaped the Internet ever since: interoperability comes from pragmatic, openly deployed protocols, not top-down frameworks. The standards that won — TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP, TLS — succeeded by being practical and deployable, and the modern Internet still rests on them. The blockchain era took a different path: each network optimized for its own internal consistency — its own security model, consensus mechanism, APIs, SDKs, and developer tooling — and the result has been a fragmented landscape of largely siloed chains. The rapid rise of AI agents now amplifies that fragmentation, as a growing population of autonomous actors needs to transact across Web, blockchain, and AI systems that were never designed to coordinate with one another.
Protocols such as IBC, LayerZero, CCIP, Wormhole, and Axelar have made meaningful progress on chain-to-chain messaging and asset transfer — but those efforts operate at the bridging layer. Autheo addresses the problem from a different angle: a shared substrate where Web services, blockchain networks, and AI agents coordinate natively on a common identity, communications, execution, and infrastructure layer, rather than relying on bridges that pass messages between otherwise disconnected systems.
At the same time, approximately three-quarters of business applications today are delivered as SaaS, and identity, storage, compute, payments, and messaging already run as distributed services across the Web. The Internet, in other words, has quietly taken on many of the functions of an operating system. What it has lacked is the layer that lets those services — together with blockchain networks and AI agents — interoperate by default, rather than through one-off, brittle integrations built per partner, per protocol, and per chain.
Autheo’s purpose is to provide that coordination and execution layer. The Autheo OS exposes the standard functions one would expect of an operating system—identity, scheduling, messaging, state, compute, storage, and execution—as open, programmable services that any application, protocol, or agent can call. The objective is an integration substrate on which Web2 systems, Web3 protocols, and AI agents can transact and collaborate without needing to know which environment the counterparty is in. For autonomous AI agents specifically, Autheo is built around an on-chain, quantum-resistant trust and identity layer — designed so agents can hold credentials, sign transactions, and invoke services without depending on external systems or exposing private keys. The two design imperatives behind the project are simple: integration and interoperability.
“We didn’t set out to build just another network,” said Scott Bayless, Managing Director and co-founder of Autheo. “We set out to find the right relation between the ones we already have. A body has many parts. A city is many trades. The Internet today is many systems — each doing its work, none of them moving as one. With Mainnet now live, Autheo is the layer where the web, the chain, and the agent can finally work together.”
FOUNDED BY LONG-TIME COLLABORATORS
Autheo was founded in July 2021 by Todd Mortenson and Scott Bayless, long-time collaborators who have built and operated multiple ventures together over the past two decades.
The founders shared a simple thesis: the next phase of the Internet will be defined less by any single technology — and more by the coordination layer that enables the traditional Web, blockchain networks, and AI to operate as a single system. Much of what ultimately matters in technology tends to begin far from the loudest places — quietly, slowly, by those who would not have been the obvious choices.
Guided by that vision, the founders and engineering leadership spent the project’s first several years researching networks, ecosystems, protocol design, digital identity, post-quantum security, and decentralized coordination before building Autheo from the ground up around four distinct architectural foundations: TheoID — Autheo’s W3C-compliant Decentralized Identifier (DID) implementation — as the native identity primitive for users, services, and AI agents; PQCNet, Autheo’s post-quantum communications and identity framework, built upon NIST-standardized post-quantum cryptography, including ML-KEM (FIPS 203), ML-DSA (FIPS 204), and SLH-DSA (FIPS 205); a sovereign Cosmos SDK Layer 0 with native IBC interoperability; and an integrated EVM-compatible Layer 1 execution environment, operating as a Proof-of-Stake network with delegated staking and licensed validator eligibility, secured by CometBFT block finality (“Proof of Autheo”).
Solidity smart contracts can be deployed natively on Autheo or migrated from existing EVM-compatible chains, providing developers with a familiar development environment while benefiting from native IBC interoperability across the broader blockchain ecosystem.
The research and development underlying the platform has also resulted in an expanding portfolio of patent families covering core architectural innovations, reflecting the team’s long-term intellectual property strategy surrounding decentralized operating systems, digital identity, interoperability, post-quantum security, and related technologies.
Network engineering and Autheo’s post-quantum security architecture are led by Chief Engineering Officer Kenneth Harper, who has overseen the design, architecture, and implementation of the platform through public testnet and into Mainnet launch. Supporting those efforts is a multidisciplinary organization spanning engineering, product, project management, quality assurance, infrastructure, operations, ecosystem development, developer support, business development, partnerships, marketing, global channels, finance, legal, compliance, and intellectual property. Autheo’s broader contributor base spans approximately 100 people across 25 countries — blockchain pioneers, Fortune 500 operators, and researchers from institutions including MIT, Harvard, Stanford, and Caltech. Independent security audits have been completed by Halborn (testnet) and CertiK (Mainnet).
Autheo collaborates with leading infrastructure, security, and ecosystem partners — including Zeeve, InfStones, Hydrex, Halborn, CertiK, TrustSwap, Team.Finance, Utila, Ape Bond, Antier, EVU, among others — across validator and node operations, security audits, custody, token services, and ecosystem development.
TESTNET ADOPTION HAS COMPOUNDED
Autheo’s public testnet went live in 2025 and, over its first twelve months, attracted approximately 350,000 wallets and 60,000 smart contracts as developers stress-tested the network. Following the May 12, 2026, announcement of Mainnet Phase 1, adoption accelerated. In the roughly 45 days since, cumulative wallet addresses have grown more than 5x and smart contracts have grown more than 15x. As of today, cumulative testnet totals stand at:
- 1,812,088 wallet addresses
- 968,502 smart contracts
(Figures per Autheo network data, June 24, 2026. Independently verifiable on the public testnet explorer: testnet-explorer.autheo.com · verified contracts.)
Daily activity over the past month has averaged approximately 30,000 new wallet addresses and 20,000 new smart contracts. The Autheo testnet is now onboarding more wallets and deploying more contracts in a single day than it did across full months of its first year. Contract density at this stage is unusual for a Layer-1 testnet and reflects the breadth of developer use cases the team has supported across the build-out.
“Mainnet is live,” said Todd Mortenson, Managing Director and co-founder of Autheo. “The industry will be racing to retrofit post-quantum security ahead of NIST’s timeline — our developers won’t have to. We built PQC in from the ground up. One interface for Web services, on-chain protocols, and AI agents. One million human developers on-chain within three years. And the AI agents building alongside them? Orders of magnitude more. The coordination layer for that future is live today.”
WHAT’S NEXT
With the testnet validating the architecture and the Mainnet now launching, Autheo’s near-term focus is on expanding partnerships across the Web2, Web3, and AI communities and supporting builders deploying applications, agents, and protocols on the platform.
Developer Access (Mainnet, Live Today):
- Docs: docs.autheo.com
- Mainnet block explorer: evm-explorer.autheo.com
- Chain ID: 2127 (0x84f)
- Public RPC endpoints: rpc1.autheo.com · rpc2.autheo.com · rpc3.autheo.com
- API documentation: evm-explorer.autheo.com/api-docs
- GitHub: Public open-source release is in progress; commercial components remain in compartmentalized private repositories.
Testnet explorer (with verified-contract source): testnet-explorer.autheo.com
For developers seeking an early path into the Mainnet ecosystem, the Core Node and Prime Node tiers remain available at commerce.autheo.com (settlement via ETH on Arbitrum). These programs provide eligibility for long-term THEO token emissions, enabling developers to begin accumulating THEO for building, deploying, and participating in the network as the ecosystem expands. The Sovereign Validator Node program (399 nodes total) has its first 275 slots fully subscribed; the remaining 124 are reserved for enterprise partners and ecosystem customers. A dedicated builder portal at autheolabs.com is anticipated to launch, providing additional THEO token and validator allocations for projects deploying on the network.
THEO is anticipated to become available on Hydrex.fi in early July 2026, with additional exchange access expected to follow.
Additional documentation ecosystem, security, infrastructure, and listing announcements are expected over the coming weeks.
ABOUT AUTHEO
Autheo is building the Internet operating system — a decentralized coordination and execution layer that enables the traditional Web, blockchain networks, and AI agents to interoperate as a single system. The platform utilizes W3C Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) as its native identity framework and is anchored by PQCNet, Autheo’s quantum-resistant communications and identity infrastructure built upon NIST-standardized post-quantum cryptography, including ML-KEM (FIPS 203), ML-DSA (FIPS 204), and SLH-DSA (FIPS 205). Operating alongside Autheo’s sovereign Cosmos-based Layer 0 and EVM-compatible Layer 1, PQCNet is designed to provide next-generation security for digital identity, communications, authentication, encryption, and trusted interactions across Web, blockchain, and AI ecosystems.
Autheo integrates a sovereign Cosmos SDK Layer 0 with native IBC interoperability and an EVM-compatible Layer 1 execution environment, allowing developers to deploy Solidity smart contracts natively or migrate existing applications from other EVM-compatible networks. Founded in July 2021 by Scott Bayless and Todd Mortenson, Autheo opened its public Testnet in 2025 and launched Mainnet in 2026.
For more information, visit the official website.
The post Autheo Introduces the Internet Operating System: A Decentralized Coordination Layer for Web, Blockchain, & AI appeared first on CryptoPotato.
Crypto World
Binance Expands bStocks Offering and Adds Microsoft, Meta and More
Binance just expanded its bStocks offering, its tokenized versions of selected US stocks. The exchange now supports Microsoft, Meta, Palantir, Lumentum, and the Invesco QQQ Trust as tokenized 1:1 US securities.
The move arrives as bStocks crossed $100 million in assets only two weeks after launch. The push reshapes how global crypto users access frontier tech equities around the clock.
What the New Binance bStocks Additions Bring
A bStock is a tokenized 1:1 US security issued on Binance through Binance Group affiliate BTech Holdings. The tokens track the price of their underlying stocks. Furthermore, holders can trade them 24/7 and convert them instantly into direct stock positions at no cost.
The latest expansion added five new tickers on June 30. These include Microsoft (MSFTB), Meta (METAB), Palantir (PLTRB), Lumentum (LITEB), and the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQB). Moreover, all five trade against USDT pairs and unlock new tech and ETF exposure for global users.
Trading on the LITEB/USDT, METAB/USDT, MSFTB/USDT, PLTRB/USDT, and QQQB/USDT pairs went live on June 30 at 13:30 UTC.
Also, Binance is waiving maker fees on all five pairs through August 31 at 23:59 UTC, giving early users a window of zero-cost entry across the new lineup.
Follow us on X to get the latest news as it happens.
The lineup now spans some of the most followed names on Wall Street. Existing bStocks already include Tesla, NVIDIA, Strategy, SpaceX, Sandisk, Micron, Circle, and an iShares MSCI South Korea ETF. As a result, Binance is rapidly closing the gap with traditional equity brokerages.
The product structure carries important caveats. bStocks do not grant direct ownership, voting rights, or cash dividends from underlying companies. However, dividends are automatically reinvested into additional bStock exposure.
Users also assume full credit and operational risk of the issuer.
bStocks Surges Past $100 Million in Assets Under Management
bStocks growth growth has been explosive. Assets under management crossed $100 million within just 15 days of launch. This marks an 18x jump from 5.6 million on Day 1.
Moreover, cumulative trading volume reached $458 million across the first two weeks.
User behavior tells the deeper story. Around 47% of all trading volume happens outside traditional US stock market hours. Furthermore, 58% of activity came from emerging markets across the first 15 days. Over 80% of all trades are fractional, confirming retail-driven flow.
The numbers behind activity are striking. bStocks turn over 4 to 21x faster than their underlying stocks.
As a result, the tokenized format is unlocking a new pool of demand that traditional markets never effectively reached, especially among crypto-native users worldwide.
The broader context matters enormously. The real-world asset derivatives market now exceeds $347 billion in volume. Moreover, Binance commands 55.7% of global RWA derivatives trading.
Adding Microsoft, Meta, and Palantir reinforces the platform’s lead in the quickly growing tokenized equity sector.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch leaders and journalists provide expert insights.
The post Binance Expands bStocks Offering and Adds Microsoft, Meta and More appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Crypto World
Cardone Capital Tops 2,700 BTC as Bitcoin Holds Near $59K
TLDR
- Cardone Capital increased its Bitcoin holdings to over 2,700 BTC during the recent price decline near $59,000.
- The firm funded its Bitcoin purchases using rental income from its real estate portfolio.
- Cardone Capital added 282 BTC earlier this month, valued at roughly $18 million at the time.
- The company holds about $200 million in Bitcoin alongside thousands of residential units and office properties.
- Grant Cardone stated the firm buys more Bitcoin as prices fall and focuses on consistent accumulation.
Grant Cardone accelerated Bitcoin purchases as prices hovered near $59,000, reinforcing his hybrid investment strategy. Cardone Capital increased its holdings beyond 2,700 BTC during the recent downturn. The firm continues to fund acquisitions using rental income from real estate assets.
Cardone Capital Expands Bitcoin Holdings During Market Weakness
Cardone Capital increased its bitcoin exposure as prices declined, and it maintained a steady accumulation pace. The firm added 282 BTC earlier this month, and it valued the purchase near $18 million. Cardone Capital now holds about $200 million in bitcoin alongside a large property portfolio.
Grant Cardone described the approach as disciplined and consistent, and he emphasized buying during price weakness. He said, “We improve property cash flow and buy more bitcoin as it drops.” Cardone Capital uses rental income instead of debt, and it keeps purchases steady across market cycles.
The firm integrates real estate and bitcoin within one LLC structure, and it targets returns between 22% and 32%. Cardone Capital channels recurring rental income into bitcoin purchases, and it avoids equity dilution. This model differs from corporate treasury strategies that rely on capital markets funding.
Hybrid Model Links Property Income With Bitcoin Strategy
Cardone Capital combines income-producing assets with digital assets, and it focuses on long-term accumulation. The firm directs apartment rental cash flow into bitcoin purchases, and it maintains a fixed buying schedule. This method reduces timing risk and supports consistent portfolio growth.
Grant Cardone aims to expand holdings to 3,000 BTC this year, and he targets 10,000 BTC over time. He also plans a publicly traded bitcoin-focused real estate company, and he maintains a 2026 price target. Cardone said bitcoin could reach $189,425, and he linked growth to continued accumulation.
Cardone Capital argues that its structure can outperform traditional REITs, and it highlights steady income flows. The firm avoids reliance on debt maturities, and it reduces exposure to share issuance pressures. Cardone Capital positions rental income as a stable funding source for bitcoin accumulation.
Market Risks Persist Despite Continued Accumulation Strategy
Cardone Capital remains exposed to bitcoin volatility, and price swings continue to affect treasury valuations. Bitcoin recently tested levels near $59,000, and it pressured firms with higher entry points. However, Cardone Capital treats price declines as accumulation opportunities and continues its strategy.
The firm also faces risks from real estate performance, and weaker cash flow could slow bitcoin purchases. Property value declines may impact funding capacity, and broader market conditions could influence outcomes. Cardone Capital continues operations within these constraints and maintains its accumulation model.
Grant Cardone reiterated confidence in the strategy, and he stressed consistent execution during downturns. He said the firm focuses on cash flow strength and long-term asset growth. Cardone Capital continues aligning real estate income with bitcoin purchases and sustains its hybrid investment approach.
Crypto World
Circle Stock Drops as Open USD Stablecoin Challenges USDC
TLDR
- Circle stock dropped more than 16% after Open USD was announced.
- Open USD is backed by major firms including Visa, Mastercard, and BlackRock.
- The project introduces a revenue-sharing model that differs from USDC.
- Circle and Coinbase currently earn income from USDC reserve assets.
- Open USD allows users to mint and redeem tokens without fees.
Circle stock declined sharply after a new stablecoin initiative raised competitive pressure on USDC. The market reacted quickly as Open USD entered the sector with strong institutional backing. Consequently, Circle stock faced selling pressure while Coinbase shares also moved lower.
Open USD Aims to Challenge USDC Dominance
Circle stock dropped more than 16% as investors reacted to the Open USD announcement. The new stablecoin project introduced a competing model with broad industry support. As a result, Circle stock reflected concerns about possible market share erosion.
Open Standard leads the Open USD initiative alongside major financial and technology companies. The coalition includes Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, BlackRock, and Bank of New York Mellon. It also includes Coinbase, Google, IBM, and several global banks and crypto firms.
However, Circle, Tether, and PayPal did not join the consortium behind Open USD. This absence highlighted a direct competitive line between existing issuers and the new network. Therefore, Circle stock faced additional pressure as markets assessed this divide.
Open Standard confirmed Open USD will launch later this year with over 140 participating businesses. The project allows users to mint and redeem tokens without fees. Moreover, the model distributes most reserve income to network participants instead of retaining it.
Circle Stock Reacts to Shifting Revenue Dynamics
Circle stock declined as investors evaluated changes to stablecoin revenue structures. Open USD introduces a shared income model that differs from traditional issuer-controlled profits. Consequently, Circle stock reflected concerns about future earnings stability.
USDC currently holds about $73.6 billion in circulation and remains a major stablecoin. Circle and Coinbase share revenue generated from USDC reserve assets. Therefore, Circle stock links closely to stablecoin performance and associated income streams.
Coinbase relies heavily on USDC-related revenue within its subscription and services segment. This segment accounted for 44% of total first-quarter revenue. As a result, Circle stock movements aligned with broader concerns affecting Coinbase.
Circle Chief Executive Jeremy Allaire addressed market concerns following the announcement. He stated, “USDC remains the most trusted, widely adopted stablecoin globally.” He also added that the company welcomes competition in the sector.
Regulation and Institutional Backing Reshape Competition
Circle stock also reflected broader changes in the regulatory landscape supporting new entrants. Lawmakers continue advancing stablecoin legislation to define reserve and licensing requirements. Therefore, Circle stock faced pressure from both competition and policy developments.
The CLARITY Act is progressing toward a Senate vote while the GENIUS Act sets federal standards. These rules favor large institutions with strong compliance systems. Consequently, Circle stock reacted as markets priced in new competitive advantages.
Government officials also supported the Open USD initiative as regulation becomes clearer. Patrick Witt said the launch shows how clear rules unlock value in digital assets. He added that upcoming legislation will expand opportunities across the crypto sector.
USDC and USDT currently dominate about 80% of the global stablecoin market. However, Open USD represents a major coordinated effort to challenge this dominance. As a result, Circle stock continues to reflect shifting expectations across the stablecoin ecosystem.
Crypto World
Financial Firms Cooperate on USD Stablecoin, Protect Reserve Earnings
Open Standard has announced the launch of Open USD (OUSD), a US dollar-pegged stablecoin designed to redirect reserve earnings back to token holders and participating businesses. The project is backed by a broad mix of established payments and major crypto firms, positioning it as a direct competitive bet against the two dominant stablecoins by market value: Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC.
In its announcement, Open Standard said more than 140 companies have joined the effort and that OUSD will allow businesses to mint the token “at no cost and with no artificial limits on volume,” while keeping earnings generated by its reserves. Open Standard also stated that OUSD is planned to launch “later this year.”
Key takeaways
- Open USD (OUSD) is structured around reserve earnings: Open Standard says holders and participants receive “all of the earnings” from token reserves.
- High-profile backers signal serious distribution ambitions: Visa, Mastercard, and crypto firms including Coinbase, Ripple, OKX, and Bybit are cited as supporters.
- Potential competitive pressure on USDT and USDC: the project is framed as having a chance to take market share from Tether and Circle’s stablecoins.
- Launch timing ties into a more stable US regulatory outlook: the broader industry expects implementation momentum as US stablecoin rules advance under the GENIUS Act framework.
Why reserve-revenue mechanics matter in stablecoins
The central design point in Open Standard’s Open USD pitch is economics rather than branding. By allowing participants to “receive all of the earnings” from OUSD reserves, the project aims to make stablecoin holding and usage more attractive to businesses that depend on dollar settlement, cross-border payments, or tokenized value transfer.
That matters because stablecoin users do not only care about price stability; they also care about incentives and who captures the value generated by reserve assets. Open Standard’s approach is intended to align reserve revenue with those who mint or hold the coin—an incentive that could differentiate OUSD in a market often perceived as dominated by a small number of issuers.
In commentary attached to the launch, Rhino.fi co-founder and CEO Will Harborne described the model as a potential route to “win share” from USDT and USDC, while also warning that the same incentive can drive fragmentation at scale.
Who’s behind Open USD, and what it signals
Open Standard’s notice lists support from major players across traditional payments and crypto markets. The backing includes financial-services companies such as Visa and Mastercard, alongside crypto firms including Coinbase, Ripple, OKX, and Bybit.
According to Open Standard, this coalition will make it easier for businesses to mint OUSD without costs and without “artificial limits on volume.” The stated goal is not just to launch a new token, but to build an ecosystem where businesses can integrate issuance and access reserve earnings incentives.
Investors and market participants will likely watch whether these partnerships translate into measurable adoption—particularly the volume of OUSD minted and held, and whether regulated on- and off-ramps support frictionless usage across major venues. In stablecoins, distribution often determines survivability as much as technical design.
USDT vs. USDC vs. OUSD: where the competitive pressure could land
Open Standard’s launch announcement explicitly positions OUSD as a challenger. The two leading stablecoins by market capitalization—USDT and USDC—have long served as primary on-ramps for dollar exposure in crypto markets.
The news also landed during a period of sensitivity around issuer performance. The article notes that Circle’s share price reportedly dropped by more than 16% on Tuesday to $63.63, reflecting how investors may react to perceived competitive threats or strategic shifts in the stablecoin landscape.
Circle’s CEO Jeremy Allaire addressed the competitive framing in an X post after the announcement, saying the company welcomed “continued innovation and competition in the space.” Allaire also stated that Circle would soon expand support for dollar-pegged and non-US dollar stablecoins—an acknowledgment that issuers are likely to keep broadening product offerings beyond a single US-dollar token.
Market-watchers should note that new stablecoin initiatives face a high bar: they need trust in reserve transparency and stability, liquidity across exchanges, and operational support for minting and redemption at scale. Open USD’s “reserve earnings” concept provides a clear incentive narrative, but adoption will ultimately depend on how quickly integrations broaden and whether regulatory requirements are met in practice.
Regulation and market growth expectations in the background
Open Standard’s planned rollout is arriving amid a more constructive regulatory backdrop in the United States. The article points to the GENIUS Act—signed into law by President Donald Trump last year—which aims to create a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins. Many experts expect that the legislation will help clarify the path for implementation, potentially making it easier for companies to issue and accept digital assets tied to payments.
Industry growth projections underline why issuers are racing to secure positioning. DefiLlama data cited in the report estimates the stablecoin market at more than $312 billion today, with projections reaching up to $4 trillion by 2030. Those figures suggest that even incremental share gains from USDT and USDC—if OUSD achieves meaningful adoption—could represent material impact.
Still, OUSD’s effectiveness will depend on how regulatory implementation affects minting, custody, disclosures, and compliance processes for reserve-backed tokens. The more the framework supports stablecoin issuance and payment use cases, the more likely it is that initiatives like Open USD can convert partnerships into real-world usage.
For now, the key question for readers is straightforward: will Open USD’s reserve-revenue model and coalition backing translate into sustained minting and liquidity as the “later this year” launch approaches, and how quickly will US regulations and partner integrations enable broad, compliant deployment?
Crypto World
Ethereum Price Prediction: Tom Lee Blames ETH Decline on Q2 Window Dressing
Ethereum is trading at just under $1,580 after falling about 6% over the past week. Despite the price weakness, Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee believes that the decline stems from quarter-end positioning and not changing the company’s Ethereum prediction.
Lee said in his recent interview that the recent weakness resembles classic quarter-end window dressing. According to him, fund managers often trim underperforming assets before reporting periods to improve portfolio appearances. He believes that process, rather than deteriorating fundamentals, has weighed on Ethereum in recent weeks.
Bitmine reinforced that view by maintaining its large Ethereum position instead of reducing exposure. SharpLink Gaming also accumulated ETH during the decline, showing that some institutional investors viewed the selloff as a buying opportunity.
Ethereum is down 22% over the past month, slightly underperforming Bitcoin during the same period. Whether that weakness was driven mainly by quarter-end flows or reflects a deeper trend will likely become clearer as third-quarter trading gets underway.
Discover: The Best Crypto to Diversify Your Portfolio
Ethereum Price Prediction: Reclaim $1,800 and Trigger a Q3 Recovery?
Ethereum is testing a key resistance zone between $1,600 and $1,610, where recent rallies have repeatedly lost momentum. A daily close above $1,610 would strengthen the recovery and could send ETH toward $1,700. If buying pressure accelerates, $1,800 becomes the next upside target.
Initial support sits near $1,560, which has attracted buyers during recent pullbacks. If that level breaks, ETH could revisit $1,500, while $1,450 marks the next major demand zone. A sustained move below $1,500 would weaken the current bullish outlook.
Don’t Miss Out on Our $1,000 USDT Airdrop on ByBit
The most likely scenario is continued consolidation after quarter-end positioning eases. ETH may trade between $1,560 and $1,610 before making a decisive move. A breakout above resistance would favor buyers, while losing support could shift momentum back to sellers.
Meanwhile, Tom Lee continues to view Ethereum as undervalued over the long term. He has projected potential targets between $7,000 and $9,000, with higher valuations tied to tokenization and stablecoin adoption. Those projections remain speculative, although institutional accumulation continues to support the long-term thesis.
Discover: The Best Token Presales
LiquidChain Targets Early Mover Upside as Ethereum Tests Key Levels
ETH’s choppy price action into Q3 highlights a persistent structural problem: liquidity fragmentation across Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana ecosystems means capital gets stranded at the chain level, and cross-chain execution remains clunky. That friction is exactly the problem a presale-stage L3 project is being built to eliminate.
Given ETH’s near-term technical uncertainty, some rotation toward earlier-stage infrastructure plays with asymmetric upside is worth examining.
LiquidChain is a Layer 3 infrastructure project positioning itself as a unified cross-chain liquidity layer, fusing BTC, ETH, and SOL liquidity into a single execution environment. The architecture centers on four components: a Unified Liquidity Layer, Single-Step Execution, Verifiable Settlement, and a Deploy-Once Architecture that lets developers build once and access all three ecosystems.
The presale is currently priced at $0.01475 with $880K raised to date. That’s a meaningful early-stage figure, but still well below a $1M threshold that typically signals institutional attention at the seed level. If the cross-chain thesis plays out as ETH and SOL ecosystems deepen their institutional footprint, an L3 aggregation layer captures value at the infrastructure level regardless of which chain wins individual market share.
Dig deeper and research LiquidChain before the raise closes.
The post Ethereum Price Prediction: Tom Lee Blames ETH Decline on Q2 Window Dressing appeared first on Cryptonews.
Crypto World
Companies spending the most on AI are growing jobs, Ramp study finds
The researchers caution that AI adopters are not representative of the broader economy. Companies adopting AI were already larger, faster-growing, more technical and more likely to be venture-backed before deploying the technology, making simple comparisons with non-adopters misleading. To account for that, the study compares early adopters with similar firms that had not yet adopted AI rather than firms that never adopted it.
The report also found AI adoption remains concentrated in knowledge-intensive industries. Information companies posted the highest adoption rates, followed by finance and professional services, while sectors such as hospitality, arts and healthcare lagged significantly behind.
Ramp said its research is among the first to combine observed corporate AI spending with firm-level workforce records, allowing researchers to measure AI adoption based on actual purchases rather than surveys or occupational exposure estimates. The company defines adoption as three consecutive months of at least $100 in AI vendor spending, with adoption intensity measured by AI spend per employee during the first three months after deployment.
The authors say the results should not be interpreted as proof that AI causes hiring, but rather as evidence that firms making substantial, sustained AI investments are currently growing faster than comparable companies. They argue the findings suggest AI’s early economic impact may be less about replacing workers and more about enabling expansion at companies able to integrate the technology effectively.
Crypto World
Google Gemini AI Predicts Jaw-Dropping Sandisk Stock Price by End of 2026
Google Gemini AI just attached a number to Sandisk that treats one of the wildest charts and price prediction of the entire AI boom as still having real room left to run. The model predicts $2,650 by the end of 2026, a fresh high for a stock that has already turned heads across Wall Street this year.
The bull case is built around a genuine business transformation rather than just speculative momentum. Sandisk has positioned itself as the premier AI breakout of the year, continuing to track that way ever since its historic spinoff from Western Digital.
The company has capitalized aggressively on unprecedented, structural AI infrastructure demand, positioning its high-margin flash and enterprise memory solutions as indispensable hardware sitting right alongside leading GPUs in the broader AI buildout.

That positioning matters because memory has shifted from a commoditized afterthought into a genuine bottleneck constraining how fast AI infrastructure can actually scale.
If structural supply deficits persist the way they have throughout this year, and if a software-like multiyear subscription model takes hold across Sandisk’s customer base, the model sees valuation multiples expanding even further from here, pushing price toward that $2,650 target.
The bear case is grounded in something every momentum stock eventually has to answer for. The stock remains technically overbought at a normalized price to earnings ratio of roughly 66 times, leaving it highly vulnerable to downside if cyclical memory supply eventually catches up to demand the way it always has in past memory cycles.
A cooling macroeconomic environment that triggers capital expenditure cuts among the hyperscalers driving so much of this AI infrastructure spending would also hit Sandisk particularly hard, given how concentrated its growth story has become around that exact customer base. Under that scenario, the model sees a much more modest $1,750 target instead.
Sandisk Price Prediction: SNDK Tests Whether Gravity Finally Catches Up To The Year’s Wildest Chart
The daily chart shows Sandisk at $2,050.39 after one of the most extreme runs covered anywhere in this entire series, climbing from roughly $200 last October to an intraday high above $2,300 just this week.
That kind of vertical acceleration, especially the steep climb visible from April onward, is about as textbook parabolic as a chart gets.
Price recently pulled back from that all time high near $2,354 down to current levels, which looks like normal profit taking after an extraordinary run rather than any real change in trend.

The chart shows support building near $2,000, a round-number level that the price has tested multiple times over the past several sessions. Resistance now sits at the recent high near $2,354, with the broader trendline from this entire 2026 move continuing to point sharply upward despite the pullback.
Given the size and speed of this rally, momentum on the daily candles still looks firmly bullish overall, even with this short stretch of consolidation factored into the picture.
The pullback from the highs reflects digestion after a blowout earnings report and a wave of price target hikes from major banks, not any sign that the underlying trend has actually reversed.
If Sandisk can hold $2,000 and push back toward its recent highs, the climb toward that $2,650 target looks like a continuation of the same supply-constrained story that has defined this stock’s entire year rather than a reach into uncharted territory.
Bitcoin Hyper: Building the Layer Bitcoin Was Always Missing, Here is Why Gemini AI Predicts Its The Next Big Thing
The largest returns in crypto rarely go to the people who wait for confirmation. They go to early supporters who back the infrastructure before the rest of the market catches on.
Bitcoin Hyper is positioned for exactly that. The project brings Solana-grade smart contracts and execution speed directly to Bitcoin, without touching the security model that makes Bitcoin the most trusted network in crypto.
Lower fees, higher throughput, full programmability, all running on top of Bitcoin rather than competing with it.
Inside the ecosystem, users can stake for rewards, swap assets, and interact with smart contracts while their funds stay secured within the Bitcoin network itself.
The presale has already raised $32.8 million, pulling attention from major investors and prominent crypto platforms. That momentum has made $HYPER one of the most talked-about presales this year.
The price is still fixed at early-stage levels. To participate, head to the official Bitcoin Hyper website and connect a supported wallet such as Best Wallet. Credit and debit card purchases are also accepted directly on the site.
The post Google Gemini AI Predicts Jaw-Dropping Sandisk Stock Price by End of 2026 appeared first on Cryptonews.
Crypto World
Robert Kiyosaki revives $95K Ethereum call as ETH tests support
Ethereum has remained under pressure near $1,560 as Robert Kiyosaki’s long-term $95,000 price forecast has returned to focus while the cryptocurrency continues testing a key support zone.
Summary
- Robert Kiyosaki’s $95,000 Ethereum forecast has resurfaced as ETH trades near key support around $1,560.
- Bitmine and SharpLink continued buying Ethereum despite the token remaining on track for a historic third straight quarterly loss.
- Technical indicators keep favoring sellers, with analysts watching the $1,500 level for the next major move.
According to data from crypto.news, Ethereum (ETH) traded around $1,560 on June 30, down about 1% over the past day as selling returned across the crypto market. The total crypto market capitalization slipped 1% to $2.11 trillion, while Bitcoin fell 1.6% amid continued outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs. XRP, Dogecoin, and Cardano also traded lower during the session.
The weakness comes despite renewed attention around comments made by Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki, whose March prediction that Ethereum could reach $95,000 by mid-2027 has resurfaced across crypto social media.
Kiyosaki argued that a major global financial crisis would trigger a sharp repricing of alternative assets, adding that Ethereum could climb to $95,000 within a year of such an event.
His outlook extended beyond Ethereum. Kiyosaki also projected Bitcoin could reach $750,000 after the same financial reset, while forecasting gold at $35,000 per ounce and silver at $200. Those projections have renewed debate over Ethereum’s long-term valuation even as its current market performance remains weak.
Institutional buying continues despite weak price action
Corporate treasury activity has continued to favor Ethereum even as the token struggles to recover.
Bitmine disclosed that it purchased another 27,084 ETH during the past week, increasing its holdings to roughly 5.7 million ETH valued at nearly $9 billion. According to the company, that represents approximately 4.7% of Ethereum’s circulating supply, with most of those holdings remaining staked.
SharpLink also expanded its position by acquiring another 10,000 ETH at an average purchase price of about $1,611. The company said its total holdings have reached 886,725 ETH after the purchase. During the same period, SharpLink repurchased 2.13 million shares and raised $75 million.
Even with treasury firms continuing to accumulate Ethereum, the token has failed to build sustained upside momentum. At current prices, ETH is down roughly 25% for the quarter and remains on track to record its third consecutive quarterly decline, which would be the first such streak in the asset’s history if the quarter closes at current levels.
Technical levels leave Ethereum at a critical support zone
Technical indicators continue to favor sellers despite Ethereum stabilizing around the $1,500-$1,560 range.
As crypto.news reported earlier, ETH remains below a descending trendline that has capped rallies since mid-May while also trading beneath the Supertrend indicator. Any recovery would first require a break above that trendline before buyers could challenge Supertrend resistance near $1,650, followed by Fibonacci resistance levels around $1,680 and $1,720. A move through those barriers would bring the $1,750 level into view.
Offering a shorter-term outlook, analysts at Unknown.Ai said Ethereum recently rebounded after sweeping liquidity around the $1,550 support zone before rallying into the $1,630-$1,640 resistance area.
According to the analyst, ETH has since pulled back toward support, and buyers now need to reclaim the $1,580-$1,590 region, where the 1-hour and 4-hour EMA20 indicators sit, to reopen the path toward $1,630-$1,640 and potentially $1,660.
The analyst added that a four-hour close below $1,550 would invalidate that bullish setup and increase the probability of a decline toward $1,500. Separately, analyst Ted identified the $1,500 area as a key demand zone and said holding that level could support a relief rally next month.
Macro conditions continue to weigh on sentiment. Sticky U.S. inflation has reduced expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts, keeping Treasury yields elevated and limiting liquidity flowing into risk assets. Bitcoin’s move below $60,000 has also drawn capital toward the largest cryptocurrency instead of major altcoins.
If Ethereum loses the $1,500 support that has held throughout the latest consolidation, then another wave of selling could follow as leveraged long positions unwind and bearish momentum accelerates.
Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.
Crypto World
Nasdaq brings Wall Street order book data to blockchain through Pyth
Nasdaq has expanded its blockchain strategy by making its TotalView order book data available to blockchain applications through the Pyth Network.
Summary
- Nasdaq has started distributing its TotalView order book data to blockchain applications through the Pyth Network.
- The integration gives developers access to first-party market data for trading platforms, exchanges, and prediction markets.
- The partnership adds to Nasdaq’s growing crypto strategy alongside tokenization, derivatives, and digital asset market initiatives.
According to Pyth, the collaboration gives blockchain applications and software platforms access to Nasdaq’s proprietary market data through a single integration, starting with the exchange’s TotalView feed.
The company said the service is designed for blockchain applications, digital asset exchanges, prediction markets, trading systems, and other software platforms that require direct access to institutional-grade market information.
Nasdaq TotalView provides full depth-of-book data by displaying every visible buy and sell order across all price levels, along with order imbalance information published around the opening and closing auctions. The feed is widely used by professional traders because it offers a detailed view of market liquidity beyond standard market quotes by exposing the complete order book.
What market data is becoming available onchain?
With Nasdaq joining the network, Pyth has added another traditional financial data publisher to its marketplace. According to Pyth, developers can now access first-party market data from multiple providers through a single connection instead of integrating each source separately.
Nasdaq joins several organizations already distributing data through Pyth, including Euronext, OTC Markets, Tradeweb, Kalshi, Exchange Data International, Singapore Exchange’s SGX FX, and the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The announcement adds another step to Nasdaq’s ongoing involvement in digital assets. Earlier this year, the exchange partnered with crypto exchange Kraken and tokenization infrastructure provider Backed to develop infrastructure connecting traditional equities with blockchain networks, continuing its work around tokenized financial assets.
Regulatory progress has also supported Nasdaq’s crypto product lineup. In April, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved Nasdaq’s proposal to list Bitcoin index options linked to the Nasdaq Bitcoin Index, although trading still requires approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Nasdaq also partnered with CME Group to introduce cryptocurrency index futures tracking seven digital assets, including Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, and XRP.
How are traditional exchanges expanding into crypto?
Other exchange operators have also continued building products that combine traditional finance with digital assets. In May, Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, partnered with crypto exchange OKX to introduce perpetual futures tied to its Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate oil benchmarks. According to the companies, the contracts were the first products announced under their broader partnership.
Later, ICE Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Sprecher urged regulators to allow traditional exchanges to offer 24/7 onchain perpetual futures, arguing that regulated venues should be permitted to compete with crypto-native platforms already providing similar products.
Nasdaq has also remained active across other digital asset initiatives. As previously reported by crypto.news, Celsius-linked Ionic Digital recently applied for a direct listing on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker IOND.
According to the company’s SEC filing, existing registered shareholders may sell up to 10.8 million shares once the registration statement becomes effective, while Ionic will not receive any proceeds. The filing also showed the company is expanding beyond Bitcoin mining into high-performance computing and AI data center infrastructure.
-
Fashion4 days agoWeekend Open Thread: Staud – Corporette.com
-
Politics5 days agoThe House | Manchesterism won’t survive the painful trade-offs unless it gets citizens on board
-
Crypto World19 hours agoStrategy authorizes up to $1.25B in Bitcoin sales under new capital plan
-
Politics5 days agoPotential 2028er World Cup attendee leaderboard
-
Business5 days agoAsia stock markets slide as tech shares slump
-
News Videos2 days agoMAJOR BITCOIN & MARKET UPDATE!!!! (MUST WATCH ASAP!!!)
-
Tech5 days agoA Look At A Gaggle Of Transputer Boards
-
Crypto World7 days agoSecuritize Wraps Roubini's SEC-Registered ETF as Dubai VARA Digital Security
-
Crypto World7 days ago
Bitcoin (BTC) Dips Below $62K, Ethereum (ETH) Plunges 6% Daily: Market Watch
-
Crypto World5 days ago
Dell (DELL) Shares Tumble Over 5% Following Analyst Downgrade to Hold
-
Crypto World3 days agoCoinbase, Circle Deepen Crypto Stock Losses Despite Resilient S&P 500
-
Business7 days ago
Entergy settles forward sale agreements, raises $672 million in cash proceeds
-
Crypto World4 days agoKraken's xStocks Opens Bending Spoons IPO Registration to EEA Retail
-
Business18 hours agoAustralia treasurer says alleged access of prime minister’s bank data ’incredibly concerning’
-
Sports4 days agoFIH Pro League: India defeat Pakistan 7-1, register biggest win of campaign | Other Sports News
-
Crypto World5 days agoBitcoin Sparks $600M Hourly Liquidations With $65,000 Set To Become Resistance
-
Tech3 days agoBluekit phishing kit adopts browser-in-the-middle for login theft
-
Tech3 days agoRussian hackers now target Signal backup recovery keys
-
Crypto World4 days agoHyperliquid Named on Singapore MAS Investor Alert Register
-
Crypto World6 days agoRipple and SBI launch RLUSD in Japan after JFSA approval



You must be logged in to post a comment Login