Crypto World
AI microbusinesses may boost stablecoin use to $262B by 2033
Australian crypto exchange Swyftx says AI-enabled microbusinesses and freelancer work could meaningfully expand stablecoin usage over the next decade, particularly for cross-border payments that are often too slow or too expensive for traditional rails.
In a second-quarter industry report, Swyftx projected that the global gig and freelance payments market could grow to $2.1 trillion by 2033, with AI-native workers contributing $775 billion of that total. In its base-case scenario, Swyftx estimated that $262 billion of payments from the AI-native cohort could be settled using stablecoins, assuming an adoption rate of roughly 33%.
Key takeaways
- Swyftx forecasts gig and freelance payments could reach $2.1T by 2033, with AI-native workers accounting for $775B.
- Under a base-case adoption assumption (about 33%), Swyftx projects $262B of AI-native payment volume could be settled in stablecoins.
- Swyftx argues small firms (fewer than five employees) are moving quickly toward AI adoption, potentially expanding the addressable remittance-like use case for stablecoins.
- The exchange links stablecoin demand to fee savings and faster settlement compared with conventional cross-border payment systems.
- Swyftx estimates related “institutional settlement” services could generate up to $1.3B in revenue by 2033 if certain cost assumptions hold.
Why Swyftx thinks AI microbusinesses will push stablecoin volume
Swyftx’s thesis centers on a convergence: accelerating adoption of AI tools among smaller businesses and workers, alongside persistent friction in international payments. According to Pav Hundal, lead market analyst at Swyftx, the trend isn’t just about technology—stablecoin uptake depends on whether the incentives and operational conditions make it worthwhile.
“Adoption doesn’t happen just because the technology exists. It happens when the economics are compelling, and the rules are clear. For stablecoins, both of those conditions are now falling into place.”
The report frames stablecoins as a direct beneficiary of payment utility demand. Swyftx notes that stablecoin market capitalization has doubled over the past two years and that stablecoins reached a record $1.79 trillion in volume in June, citing this as evidence that use cases are expanding beyond speculation.
Small firms, solo founders, and cross-border invoices
A key part of Swyftx’s argument is that the “center of gravity” for AI adoption may be shifting. The exchange says the smallest firms—those with fewer than five employees—are among the fastest-moving participants in adopting AI. In its view, this shift has helped create a new class of solo entrepreneurs who can operate like microbusinesses while serving global clients.
Swyftx estimates solo workers number between six and 10 million today, with a projection that they could reach 17 million over the next decade. It argues these workers frequently invoice across borders and typically deal with payment sizes and timing patterns that are not well optimized by conventional banking and payment infrastructure.
Because these solo founders are likely to be particularly sensitive to remittance and transaction fees, Hundal described the market as “potentially chunky” for stablecoins—suggesting that small savings per transfer could compound into substantial aggregate demand.
Swyftx also suggests that if its stablecoin settlement projections materialize, the benefits may not stop at end users. It says the “institutional settlement layer” beneath these payments—over-the-counter liquidity, custody, and yield services for platforms routing payments—could capture a new revenue stream. In its scenario, that revenue opportunity could reach as much as $1.3 billion by 2033, contingent on the assumption that total transaction, liquidity, and custody costs sum to 0.5%.
Speed and cost: stablecoins versus traditional cross-border payments
Swyftx contrasts stablecoin transfers with what it describes as the shortcomings of traditional cross-border rails: high fees, settlement processes that can take multiple days, and limited availability in more than 50 countries.
To illustrate potential savings, Swyftx points to stablecoin transfers using Ethereum layer-2 networks. It claims such transfers can reduce fees by 80% to 90%, and it cites an example in which the average freelancer could save about 86% per year in transfer fees. The implication for investors and builders is straightforward: stablecoin adoption tends to be strongest where it meaningfully improves the cost-benefit equation of moving money internationally—especially for frequent or recurring small-to-mid size payments.
Separately, the report references the “agentic AI payment” narrative as another driver of stablecoin volume. The reasoning, as Swyftx frames it, is that AI agents will not have direct access to bank accounts, so they will likely rely on crypto-based rails to execute payments. While the report does not provide quantified forecasts specifically tied to autonomous agent payments, it treats the payments workflow gap as a structural reason stablecoins may be used more often.
What to watch as the stablecoin use case evolves
For readers tracking where stablecoin demand could go next, Swyftx’s projections highlight two variables to monitor: how quickly smaller businesses and solo operators translate AI adoption into real payment workflows, and whether the economics of stablecoin settlement—fees, liquidity, custody, and routing—continue improving enough to sustain wider usage. The next question is not only whether AI becomes more common, but whether stablecoin infrastructure can meet the operational needs at scale.
Crypto World
ChatGPT adds Kalshi World Cup betting odds
OpenAI has begun surfacing prediction-market odds from Kalshi directly inside ChatGPT search results for FIFA World Cup matchups, according to a report from The New York Times. The integration provides fans with an at-a-glance view of each team’s implied probability of winning, sourced from live market pricing—without turning the chat interface into a betting channel.
The partnership was not publicly announced at the time of the report. Kalshi declined to comment to Cointelegraph, and OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment.
Key takeaways
- ChatGPT search results now display Kalshi-derived odds for specific World Cup matches, presented as implied win probabilities for each team.
- OpenAI’s guidance cited by The New York Times indicates the feature is informational only and does not enable bets through ChatGPT.
- The World Cup deployment underscores the broader shift of prediction-market data from trading venues into mainstream consumer and media products.
- Dune Analytics data shows Kalshi scaled to more than $33 billion in monthly notional volume in June 2026, outpacing Polymarket by about $22 billion in the same period.
Odds graphics appear inside ChatGPT search
As described by The New York Times, when users search for World Cup fixtures in ChatGPT, the interface can show market-based odds as graphics. These visuals break down each team’s implied chance of winning, reflecting how prediction-market participants price outcomes.
In one example cited in the report, a ChatGPT search for France versus Spain showed France at a 59% probability of victory. Another query—England versus Argentina—displayed England at a 55% chance, with the probabilities attributed to Kalshi’s market pricing.
Importantly, the feature is framed as data display rather than a trading mechanism. OpenAI’s guidance, as referenced by the report, indicates users cannot place wagers through ChatGPT; the Kalshi feed is intended for informational purposes only.
Why prediction-market data is attractive to AI products
Prediction markets are built on the idea that crowds of participants, acting on available information, can collectively form price-based forecasts for real-world events. Translating those prices into implied probabilities gives users a compact summary of what the market currently thinks is more likely.
For consumer AI experiences, this is a notable shift: instead of relying solely on curated editorial forecasts or static historical analytics, the AI interface can present live, outcome-relevant probabilities that update as the underlying market changes. In practice, that matters for users who want a “current best guess” rather than a delayed consensus.
The World Cup is a particularly test-friendly environment for this approach. Matchups are clear, outcomes are well-defined, and the timing is within a single tournament window—attributes that make it easier for users to compare predictions with results as they unfold.
Kalshi’s scale and the “mainstreaming” trend
Kalshi is a regulated prediction market platform where traders can buy and sell contracts tied to real-world events, including sports, economics, and politics. While prediction markets have existed for years, their gradual integration into major technology and media ecosystems has accelerated recently.
Dune Analytics data cited in the report indicates Kalshi recorded more than $33 billion in monthly notional volume in June 2026, roughly $22 billion ahead of Polymarket. That kind of volume signal is often read by the market as evidence of liquidity and participation—factors that can influence how useful price-derived odds are for observers.
Calendar effects likely play a role as well. A World Cup naturally concentrates attention and trading activity, which can pull these odds into the mainstream at the exact moment sports audiences are most engaged.
From TV and finance portals to search interfaces
The ChatGPT feature follows a broader pattern: prediction-market data increasingly appears inside high-visibility platforms rather than remaining confined to trading dashboards.
Kalshi has already established partnerships with major media outlets. According to Kalshi’s announcements, it entered an arrangement with CNN and another with CNBC in December 2025 to integrate its market data into coverage.
Rival platforms have pursued similar distribution deals. Bloomberg reported that Polymarket partnered with Dow Jones in January 2026 to bring prediction market data to products including The Wall Street Journal, extending market-based odds into traditional finance publishing.
Tech search products are also getting involved. Google reportedly integrated prediction-market information from both Kalshi and Polymarket into Google Finance and Search products in November 2025, positioning those odds within everyday discovery flows rather than requiring users to visit a trading website first.
Against that backdrop, OpenAI’s use of Kalshi odds in ChatGPT looks less like a one-off novelty and more like part of a wider supply-chain for “market intelligence” becoming a feature—rather than a separate destination.
What to watch next
For readers, the key question is whether this remains a World Cup-specific display or expands into other event categories and geographies. If OpenAI continues to surface market-based forecasts beyond sports—and if more platforms treat those odds as an everyday reference point—the practical impact will be felt less in trading volumes alone and more in how quickly prediction-market consensus becomes embedded in routine decision-making.
Crypto World
Ethereum (ETH) Foundation spinout EthSystems targets banks with blockchain privacy technology
A team of former Ethereum Foundation researchers focused on institutional privacy has launched EthSystems, a new for-profit company aimed at building confidentiality infrastructure for financial institutions using Ethereum.
The startup emerged from the Ethereum Foundation, which spent the past year developing privacy technologies for enterprise use cases while engaging with central banks, regulators, global banks and asset managers.
The spinout comes amid one of the biggest organizational shakeups in the Ethereum Foundation in years. Following months of criticism over leadership, strategy and the foundation’s role in supporting Ethereum’s increasingly institutional user base, several teams have recently been spun out into independent organizations.
Among them are EthLabs, a nonprofit focused on advancing Ethereum protocol research and scaling, and Ethereum Institutional, a separate nonprofit designed to coordinate institutional adoption and engagement with large financial firms. Together, the organizations represent an effort to distribute responsibilities previously housed within the foundation across more specialized entities.
EthSystems said it plans to commercialize work it began inside the foundation, including confidential stablecoin transfers, private bond issuance, cross-chain settlement systems and open-source protocol specifications.
Crypto World
78 Banking Groups Push Senate to Rewrite CLARITY Act Section 404
The American Bankers Association, the Independent Community Bankers of America, and 76 state associations sent Senate leaders a set of targeted revisions to the CLARITY Act, which is pending before the Senate.
The July 13 letter went to Majority Leader John Thune and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. It focuses on Section 404.
The Targeted Edits Banks Want in The CLARITY Act
Section 404 of the CLARITY Act targets stablecoin yield. It bars covered parties from paying returns solely for holding payment stablecoins or for providing a yield equivalent to bank deposit interest. It preserves activity-based rewards tied to transactions or platform use.
The signers propose narrow changes to the section, plus a printed markup of the amended text. They want lawmakers to:
- Remove the word “solely” from subsection (1)(A).
- Cut the phrases “on a payment stablecoin balance” and “on an interest-bearing bank deposit” from (1)(B).
- Replace the “economically or functionally equivalent” test with a “substantially similar” standard, wherever it appears in Section 404.
- Delete subsection (3)(B)in its entirety.
The bankers say these would stop firms from engineering incentives that dodge the ban. They also argue that the rewards subsection works against the prohibition it sits beside.
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Banks Warn of Deposit Flight Risk
The groups said that they back responsible innovation and a well-regulated digital asset marketplace but want firmer guardrails. In the letter, the bankers expressed concerns regarding the current language in Section 404.
“In particular, we remain concerned that ambiguities within the bill could encourage stablecoin arrangements to effectively function as substitutes for deposits, despite Congress’s longstanding and clearly stated intent that payment stablecoins should serve as transaction tools rather than store-of-value products,” the association said.
The banking groups say the risk of deposit flight is concrete, not hypothetical. When local deposits shrink, so does the money banks recycle into their own towns.
Those deposits fund home loans, small-business credit, and financing for farmers. The letter frames that lending is the engine behind local growth.
Five US banking lobbies made similar arguments in an earlier letter this year. This round sharpens the specific statutory fixes.
The stablecoin yield is one of three key disputes stalling the bill. Lawmakers remain split over Section 604 developer protections and ethics rules.
President Trump has pushed senators to move quickly. At the same time, two groups, NOBLE and a federal law enforcement association, have backed the bill despite the open fights.
The Senate faces a narrow window before the August recess. Whether leaders can settle the stablecoin, developer, and ethics disputes in that window remains unclear.
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The post 78 Banking Groups Push Senate to Rewrite CLARITY Act Section 404 appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Crypto World
June CPI Beat Sparks Bitcoin Surge, but the Fed’s September Hike Looms
June CPI fell a seasonally adjusted 0.4% month-over-month, the steepest monthly drop since April 2020, pulling the annual inflation rate to 3.5% against a Dow Jones consensus of 3.8%, and Bitcoin responded with an immediate push higher after the print. The data beat is real.
The energy index slumped 5.7% in June, with gasoline and fuel oil both falling more than 9%, accounting for the bulk of the monthly swing. Strip that out, and the picture is considerably less clean: core CPI, which excludes food and energy, printed flat on the month at a 2.6% annual rate versus a 2.9% forecast. Services ex-energy were flat; shelter rose 0.1%; transportation services declined 0.3%.
The distinction is directly relevant to Federal Reserve policy because policymakers target core and services inflation as the longer-run signal. A gasoline-driven headline miss does not move that needle, and the market’s own rate pricing reflects that.
As of now, the Fed is widely expected to hold at its July 28–29 FOMC meeting and then deliver a 25 basis point hike in September, keeping the overnight rate at 3.5%–3.75% for now before moving it higher.
That tone reinforces what the rate market is already pricing. The interest rates path remains higher-for-longer until core and services data show a convincing trend, not a one-month energy artifact.
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CPI Positioning and the Bitcoin ETF Flow Backdrop
Bitcoin entered Tuesday’s print with strong recent momentum, with traders watching whether inflation data could shift the Fed’s path quickly enough to keep risk appetite intact.
Bitcoin and crypto market commentary ahead of the CPI release pointed to ETF-flow and on-chain developments as supportive backdrops for the move. Pre-CPI analysis also suggested that bullish positioning could be vulnerable if macro expectations changed.
The caution flag comes from the derivatives view: positioning can unwind quickly when macro expectations reprice, even if the headline print looks constructive for crypto in the moment.
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Key Levels and the Forward Case for Bulls and Bears
Traders are focused on nearby resistance around $64,000, while technical desks are watching a sequence of higher targets if momentum holds after the CPI-driven pop.
On the downside, $62,000 is a key reference point for risk. Below that, traders expect attention to shift to prior supports, including around $60,000. Altcoins have their own closely watched levels as well, with ETH’s recent resistance area around $1,800 in focus after the June selloff.
Thomas Perfumo, chief economist at Kraken, framed the macro read accurately:
“Today’s print, read carefully, is more a reason for cautious optimism than alarm,” adding that “a broader inflationary impulse is shrinking.” Forward scenario he described, inflation continuing to decelerate in the second half of 2026, preserving “policy optionality for central banks” is the bull case for risk assets.
But that scenario requires several more months of data confirming the trend. Exchange reserve data and on-chain metrics support the structural setup, but a single energy-driven CPI print does not resolve the Fed’s September calculus.
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For pension funds, tokenization’s real play is balance sheet management, not just 24/7 liquidity, Fidelity’s Lai says
Tokenized products already exist, though mainly for investing. The most popular category is tokenized money market funds, primarily backed by U.S. Treasuries. The largest, BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), debuted in March 2024.
This category now has more than $15 billion of assets under management (AUM), with the broader onchain real-world asset market (excluding stablecoins) surpassing $31 billion in value. Casting a wider net to include assets such as alternative investments and tokenized financial infrastructures, the global asset tokenization market is valued at roughly $2.1 trillion.
According to forecasts by Grand View Research, the sector is projected to hit $24.5 trillion by 2033, with some industry estimates suggesting tokenized markets could reach as much as $88 trillion by 2035.
The key advantage they offer is instant execution around the clock and fractional ownership, which allows traders to buy small portions at any time, with all stages of the transaction — including purchase, sale and final processing — completed immediately.
Faster, cheaper
That’s not the focal point for institutional investors, who are more interested in the properties of the tokenized assets than their ease of trading.
“Generally speaking, they are not asking for tokens,” Lai said. “They are asking for what tokens can do more compared to the existing wrappers they already have.”
Crypto World
OpenAI Adds Kalshi World Cup Odds to ChatGPT Search
Sam Altman’s OpenAI is bringing prediction market data to ChatGPT, giving World Cup fans a new way to track match predictions.
OpenAI has started displaying Kalshi’s prediction market odds for FIFA World Cup matches in ChatGPT search results, according to a report by The New York Times.
The integration had not been publicly announced at the time of publication. Kalshi declined to comment to Cointelegraph, while OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The move reportedly marks OpenAI’s first known partnership with a prediction market platform, highlighting the growing interest among technology companies in incorporating market-based forecasts into consumer products.
Market odds enter AI search experience
According to the report, ChatGPT displays Kalshi-based market odds when users search for World Cup matchups. The results appear as graphics showing each team’s implied chance of winning based on Kalshi’s prediction markets.
One example cited by the report involved a ChatGPT search for France versus Spain showing France with a 59% chance of victory, while a query about England versus Argentina displayed a 55% chance for England, with the Kalshi as the source for the forecast (see below).

Source: Cointelegraph via ChatGPT
The integration does not allow users to place bets through ChatGPT, according to OpenAI’s guidance cited by the report, with Kalshi data intended for informational purposes only.
Prediction markets move into mainstream platforms
Founded as a regulated prediction market platform, Kalshi allows users to trade contracts tied to real-world events, including economic indicators, politics and sports.
The platform has grown into one of the largest prediction market venues, with Dune Analytics data showing Kalshi recorded more than $33 billion in monthly notional volume in June 2026, about $22 billion ahead of Polymarket.
Related: Kalshi June trading volume tops $9B as World Cup fuels prediction markets

Source: Dune
Use of prediction market data has gained traction across major media and technology platforms, with Kalshi entering partnerships with CNN and CNBC in December 2025 to integrate its market data into their coverage. Rival Polymarket partnered with Dow Jones in January 2026 to bring its prediction market data to products including The Wall Street Journal.
Google also integrated prediction market data from Kalshi and Polymarket into Google Finance and Search products in November 2025.
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Crypto World
As AI Platforms Move Away From Unlimited, Sogni AI Launches a $20 Fair-Use Unlimited Plan on Community GPUs
[PRESS RELEASE – Singapore, Singapore, July 14th, 2026]
New plans cover image, video, music, language models and agent workflows while allocating 51% of net subscription revenue to participating GPU operators.
Sogni AI today announced Sogni Unlimited, a fair-use subscription providing credit-free generation across the open-source and open-weight image, video, music and language models hosted on its creative AI platform. The plan costs $20 per month or $199 per year and runs on the Sogni Supernet, a decentralized network of independently operated GPUs. It is available today on the web and in Sogni’s Mac, iOS and Android applications.
The launch comes one year after the Supernet’s public mainnet debut. The network has powered more than 158 million creations since its 2024 testnet launch, with rendering performed by participating operators on consumer-grade GPUs.
Several centralized AI platforms have reduced, capped or discontinued unlimited-generation offerings since late 2024. Sogni designed its network around a different cost structure: participating GPU operators accrue 51% of net subscription revenue — calculated after payment fees, taxes and refunds — in proportion to the rendering work they complete each month. Compute expense therefore scales with subscription revenue rather than with a fixed cloud bill, and the revenue share is intended to attract additional operators as demand grows.
“Unlimited creative AI has been difficult to sustain because generation costs rise directly with usage,” said Mauvis Ledford, CEO and co-founder of Sogni AI. “Sogni was designed the other way around: independent operators provide the infrastructure and are paid the majority of net subscription revenue for the work completed on the network. Fair-use unlimited is not a promotion — it is what this architecture was built to do.”
Sogni Unlimited covers more than 100 open-source and open-weight models hosted on the network, including Krea 2 Turbo, Z-Image Turbo, Chroma, Qwen Image Edit 2511, LTX-2.3 video, WAN 2.2 animation and ACE-Step 1.5 music generation, together with LLM chat, the Sogni Creative Agent, and SDK and API access across all Sogni applications. Newly released open-weight models are added as they become available on the network. Subscriptions are paid by card, and no wallet or crypto knowledge is required.
“Open models are improving quickly and run well on consumer hardware,” said Mark Ledford, CTO and co-founder of Sogni AI. “The network is built to bring them to creators quickly after release and to pay operators a fixed share of the revenue for that work.”
Covered renders spend no credits. Fair-use scheduling may queue exceptionally heavy sustained workloads during periods of peak demand, under published per-tier concurrency rules: up to four concurrent image jobs and one video job on Unlimited, and up to 16 image jobs and four video jobs on Unlimited Pro ($50 per month or $498 per year), which also carries larger queues and higher priority. Three frontier partner models with per-render licensing costs — GPT Image 2, Seedance 2.0 and HappyHorse 1.1 — remain pay-as-you-go, with a 5% discount for Unlimited subscribers and 10% for Unlimited Pro.
Eligible new subscribers receive a three-day trial at https://www.sogni.ai/unlimited. Subscription benefits apply across Sogni applications and through the Sogni SDK and API. App Store and Google Play pricing may differ from web pricing due to platform fees.
About Sogni AI
Sogni AI is a Singapore-based creative AI platform and decentralized inference network founded by former CoinMarketCap executives. Its applications provide image, video, music and language workflows through community-operated GPU infrastructure. More information is available at https://www.sogni.ai/ and https://docs.sogni.ai/.
Media contact: Mauvis Ledford, CEO, Sogni AI — press@sogni.ai
Press and brand kit: https://www.sogni.ai/brand
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Crypto World
Ripple, Coinbase, Circle Join Linux x402 Foundation to Help Shape AI Payments
Ripple, alongside a range of other cryptocurrency-oriented firms, has joined the newly operational x402 Foundation as a premier member.
Hosted by the Linux Foundation, the organization is designed to oversee x402 – an open protocol contributed by Coinbase that embeds payments directly into standard web interactions.
The main purpose of the technology is to let AI-based agents, applications, and APIs send and receive money as easily as they exchange data.
Ripple is proud to join the x402 Foundation as a Premier Member.
As AI agents begin to take on more of the transaction lifecycle, they’ll need a way to pay that’s as fast and reliable as the way they already exchange data. We’ve been helping build that future on the XRP Ledger… https://t.co/eSzTyXBQFm
— Ripple (@Ripple) July 14, 2026
The protocol could become increasingly important as AI agents move from making recommendations to actually purchasing services, accessing paid APIs, and completing transactions entirely on their own. Through open, vendor-neutral governance, the foundation aims to ensure that this emerging payment infrastructure supports various networks and payment methods without being controlled by a single company.
Speaking on the matter was Markus Infranger, senior vice president of RippleX, who said:
“Open standards like x402 help lay the foundation for trusted, interoperable machine-to-machine payments.”
He also added that Ripple has already developed XRP Ledger infrastructure, which supports x402. This should enable AI agents to transact using XRP and the company’s RLUSD stablecoin.
The post Ripple, Coinbase, Circle Join Linux x402 Foundation to Help Shape AI Payments appeared first on CryptoPotato.
Crypto World
Solana Community Lead Tacks UK By-Election With On-Chain Transparency Pitch
Stephen “Cap” Newnham, a prominent figure in the Solana community through the UK-based group Superteam UK, says he will run as an independent candidate in the Aug. 13 parliamentary by-election in Clacton. The move puts a blockchain-leaning platform into a race already defined by controversy surrounding Reform UK leader Nigel Farage’s finances and parliamentary disclosures.
Newnham announced on July 9 that he would stand independently and later laid out five campaign pledges. They include support for local entrepreneurs, education focused on digital and artificial intelligence skills, financial literacy initiatives, and—most notably—an onchain-style transparency agenda alongside a promise that pension holders should be able to choose where their retirement funds are held.
Key takeaways
- Solana community leader Stephen “Cap” Newnham will contest the Aug. 13 Clacton by-election as an independent, following his July 9 announcement.
- His platform includes “onchain political transparency” and publishing donations and meetings “in plain English and onchain,” though it does not outline pension-law changes.
- Newnham’s pension pledge focuses on existing options—such as SIPPs and small self-administered schemes—rather than proposing blockchain management of pension assets.
- The by-election is closely watched due to scrutiny of Farage’s decision to trigger a new vote after parliamentary standards concerns about alleged undeclared crypto-linked gifts.
- A national Ipsos poll showed 33% prefer satirical candidate Count Binface over 21% for Farage, but it did not measure views among Clacton residents specifically.
Newnham’s pledges: transparency and pension self-direction
In posts shared to X on Tuesday, Newnham described five campaign pledges for the Clacton contest. According to the same series of announcements, the independent candidate also said his campaign would publish donations and meetings in “plain English” and onchain.
One pledge—“You should own your pension”—argues that savers should have control over where retirement assets are held. The campaign’s framing points to existing UK pension structures, including self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs) and small self-administered schemes, which allow individuals to direct investments rather than leaving asset allocation entirely to a provider.
However, the campaign materials provided so far do not specify a role for blockchain technology in the day-to-day management of pension assets, nor do they propose any legislative changes to pension rules. A blockchain-based record system could potentially make published information harder to tamper with after the fact, but it would not automatically guarantee that every political donation or meeting has been fully disclosed in the first place.
Cointelegraph said it reached out to Newnham for additional detail on the proposals but had not received a response by publication.
From Solana ecosystem to UK election stage
Newnham’s candidacy is rooted in the Solana ecosystem through his work with Superteam UK. The linked Superteam UK description says the group was established to help retain technical talent in Britain by supporting founders and developers building on Solana, arguing that some entrepreneurs leave the country for better funding and startup opportunities abroad.
His LinkedIn profile, referenced in the article, states that he studied economics at the University of Edinburgh before joining the Solana ecosystem. It also notes that he leads Superteam UK and co-authored a report on blockchain and the future of work with Coinbase’s “Stand With Crypto” campaign and the DLT Science Foundation.
While the election entry brings crypto-adjacent themes into mainstream politics, the platform as described emphasizes public-facing transparency and financial education more than direct technical policy claims. Investors and users who follow blockchain projects may still view the pledges as an attempt to translate crypto concepts—particularly auditability and record-keeping—into political disclosure norms.
Farage’s scrutiny remains the race’s central storyline
Newnham’s candidacy lands in a by-election triggered after Farage resigned from Parliament on Wednesday and chose to contest the Clacton seat again. The renewed race is tied to a parliamentary standards investigation into whether Farage should have declared a £5 million personal gift, reported to have been made by crypto investor Christopher Harborne.
Farage has said he was not required to declare the gift because it was received before he entered Parliament. Still, the broader narrative includes additional allegations and scrutiny—according to earlier coverage referenced by Cointelegraph—over reported financial support from crypto entrepreneur George Cottrell and claims that financial relationships overlapped with Farage’s digital asset advocacy. Farage has denied wrongdoing and said he complied with parliamentary rules.
This matters beyond politics: when disclosures involving crypto-connected figures become part of public accountability debates, it can shape how regulators, lawmakers, and donors view compliance expectations around digital assets. For the crypto sector, the practical question is whether disclosure norms will be tightened, clarified, or interpreted differently in response to ongoing challenges to transparency.
Poll signals unusual voter attention, but local preferences remain unknown
The contest has attracted an eclectic mix. At the time of writing, Democracy Club lists 11 prospective candidates for the Clacton by-election, including Newnham, Farage, and the satirical candidate Count Binface. The council is not expected to confirm the official field until July 17.
A Friday Ipsos survey of 1,000 British adults found that 33% would prefer Count Binface to win, compared with 21% for Farage. The same survey also suggests that the by-election’s attention extends beyond typical party competition. But the poll did not measure voting intentions specifically among Clacton residents.
For analysts and campaign teams, that distinction is crucial. National sentiment can be influenced by awareness, media coverage, and novelty—especially in a contest where satire and controversy coexist—without necessarily predicting turnout or preferences in the constituency itself.
Democracy Club’s candidate listing is available here: https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/elections/parl.clacton.by.2026-08-13/. Ipsos’ findings were reported here: https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/british-public-more-likely-prefer-count-binface-wins-clacton-election-nigel-farage.
With the candidate list still pending confirmation and scrutiny around Farage’s disclosures continuing to frame the narrative, the next key developments to watch are whether Newnham provides further specifics on how his onchain transparency pledge would work in practice, and how voters in Clacton respond once the official field is finalized and local campaigning intensifies.
Crypto World
Benchmark nearly doubles Hut 8 price target to $165 on Beacon Point AI data center deal
Companies including Hut 8, Core Scientific (CORZ), Hive Digital (HIVE) and Bit Digital (BTBT) have repositioned portions of their power and infrastructure assets to serve AI workloads, betting that long-term contracts with hyperscale customers will generate steadier, higher-margin revenue than cryptocurrency mining alone.
Hut 8 has signed two 15-year, triple-net, take-or-pay leases covering 597 megawatts of IT capacity at its River Bend, Louisiana, and Beacon Point, Texas, campuses. According to Palmer, the agreements represent $16.8 billion in contracted base-term lease value and could rise to $42.8 billion if tenants exercise renewal options.
Palmer said the Beacon Point agreement was the primary driver behind the higher valuation. The broker estimated that the project’s first phase alone carries $9.8 billion in base-term contract value and about $655 million in average annual net operating income.
He also pointed to Hut 8’s financing strategy, noting the company recently completed $4.25 billion of investment-grade project financing for Beacon Point after raising $3.25 billion for River Bend. The deals validate management’s strategy of lowering its cost of capital by converting development assets into long-term contracted cash flows.
Beyond its existing projects, the report highlighted Hut 8’s development pipeline, which totals more than 9 gigawatts across projects under exclusivity, development, construction and management, providing what it called a long runway for future growth.
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