ADI Chain’s job is to turn those deals into blockchain tokens and handle payments using stablecoins (digital tokens pegged 1-to-1 to real currencies like the UAE dirham or the U.S. dollar), so money moves instantly without a traditional bank wire. For now, this is aimed at “qualified institutional participants,” or large, vetted investors, not everyday retail buyers.

Shipfinex CEO Capt. Vikas Pandey said the partnership would let the company “create a regulated digital route into this market, with every instrument tied to a real vessel, its economics and its legal structure.”

No maritime asset tokens have been issued yet and Shipfinex doesn’t yet have a green light to do so. Its regulatory clearance from Dubai’s Virtual Asseets Regulatory Authority is an “In-Principle Approval” — a preliminary thumbs-up confirming it has passed an initial background check, not a finished license to operate.

Nevertheless, Shipfinex has earmarked around 35 vessels worth about $500 million combined as candidates for tokenization, once the regulatory approval and deal structure are finalized. Each ship will eventually sit in its own separate legal entity, so if one ship runs into financial trouble, it doesn’t drag down investors in the others.

Buying a token, once one becomes available, could mean one of a few different things for the institutional investors, depending on how each deal ends up being structured. It could mean a loan backed by the ship (similar to earning interest on a loan), a share of the money the ship earns from shipping contracts, or a broader economic stake in the vessel’s value.

Payments platform Decta has integrated USDC into its internal treasury operations to settle company funds internationally through OpenPayd, without adding stablecoins to its customer-facing payment services.

Decta said Tuesday that company funds will be transferred into OpenPayd’s regulated infrastructure, where they can be converted into Circle’s USDC through the financial infrastructure provider’s over-the-counter services before being used for international operational settlements.

The arrangement is limited to Decta’s own money rather than funds handled for merchants or other clients, keeping the stablecoin component behind the company’s existing payments business.

Lux Thiagarajah, chief commercial officer at OpenPayd, told crypto media that the integration represents a proprietary treasury use case and does not introduce USDC into Decta’s customer payment flows.

Using this setup, Decta can move its own funds between international entities, convert fiat into USDC when required and use the stablecoin for settlement through OpenPayd’s infrastructure. The company said the arrangement will support liquidity management while simplifying transfers across its operations.

Decta uses USDC for internal treasury settlements

Decta CEO Scott Dawson said the company is using technology to make its financial operations faster, simpler and more resilient while retaining its existing controls and regulatory requirements.

Rather than allowing customers to pay merchants in stablecoins, Decta is using USDC as an operational settlement asset between parts of its business. Thiagarajah said OpenPayd handles the conversion through its OTC capabilities after Decta transfers its funds into the provider’s regulated infrastructure.

The distinction separates the arrangement from consumer-facing stablecoin payment products because Decta’s clients do not directly interact with USDC as part of the transaction process.

Decta, founded in London in 2015, provides payment processing, acquiring, card issuance, banking infrastructure and related services to businesses. According to the company’s announcement, it operates across 32 countries and serves hundreds of companies.

Its website describes the group as an end-to-end payments infrastructure provider covering acquiring, issuing and processing, with services including payment acquiring, BIN sponsorship, white-label card issuing, issuer and acquirer processing and digital banking infrastructure.

The USDC arrangement adds a blockchain-based settlement rail to Decta’s internal financial operations without requiring the company to change the payment products offered to its customers.

OpenPayd brings regulated USDC conversion into the process

OpenPayd’s role in the arrangement follows the company’s expansion of its regulated digital asset services in Europe.

In June 2026, OpenPayd received MiCA authorization, which allows the London-founded financial infrastructure provider to offer regulated crypto services across the European Economic Area under a single authorization.

The approval covers fiat-to-stablecoin conversions, custody, wallet infrastructure and stablecoin transfers across supported blockchain networks, according to OpenPayd. The company secured the authorization shortly before the European Union’s MiCA transition period ended on July 1.

OpenPayd was founded in London in 2018 and connects traditional fiat payment infrastructure with digital assets. Its client base includes Kraken, eToro, OKX and institutional crypto liquidity provider B2C2, according to the Decta announcement.

Its USDC infrastructure was developed before the MiCA approval. Back in 2025, OpenPayd partnered with Circle to allow clients to convert between fiat currencies and USDC while managing both forms of money through the company’s financial infrastructure.

At the time, the companies said the integration was designed for uses including payments, treasury management and digital asset services. OpenPayd said it processed more than €130 billion annually when the partnership was announced.

The company has since built stablecoin functions that allow businesses to receive, hold, convert and send digital dollars alongside fiat balances. OpenPayd said in February that its infrastructure could also be embedded into existing treasury and payment workflows while supporting cross-border settlement.

Stablecoins are entering corporate treasury workflows

Decta is not the only company testing stablecoins primarily as a treasury tool rather than as a consumer payment method.

In July, Hyundai Motor’s U.S. and Mexican operations completed a $20,000 cross-border treasury transfer using USDT on Avalanche, with the transaction settling in about seven minutes, as previously covered by crypto.news.

Tether said Hyundai Motor America converted dollars into USDT and transferred the tokens to Hyundai Motor Mexico, where the stablecoin was converted back into dollars. Hyundai Card designed the remittance structure while Axiym supplied settlement infrastructure, and the companies kept their existing compliance, accounting and treasury controls in place during the test.

The Hyundai pilot also followed a separate integration between Circle and treasury software provider Kyriba. According to the companies, Kyriba’s corporate clients can manage USDC balances alongside cash positions and use the stablecoin for eligible cross-border and intercompany transactions while retaining existing treasury approval procedures.

Business use of stablecoins has also extended into liquidity management. Bitso Business said in July that stablecoin transaction volume on its platform had increased 81% year over year during the first half of 2026, attributing the increase to demand for real-time settlement, treasury management and cross-border liquidity services. More than 60% of its newly onboarded business clients during the period were financial institutions, including banks and licensed payment providers, the company said.

Decta’s implementation differs from some of those pilots because the company is integrating USDC into an active internal treasury process through an external regulated infrastructure provider rather than announcing a customer stablecoin product.

Decta has previously explored a MiCA stablecoin

The treasury integration follows Decta’s earlier work involving regulated stablecoins in Europe.

In August 2024, Decta Limited and France-based Next Generation said they were exploring the issuance of a euro-pegged stablecoin under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, subject to receiving the necessary regulatory approval.

MiCA introduced specific requirements for stablecoin issuers and crypto service providers across the European Union, while authorization in one member state can allow eligible firms to passport their services across the bloc. The regulatory transition for crypto-asset service providers ended on July 1, 2026.

USDC has remained available within the regulated European market because Circle obtained the required authorization for the stablecoin, while several platforms restricted non-compliant assets as the MiCA transition ended.

For its latest implementation, however, Decta is not issuing a stablecoin or offering one to customers. Its funds are instead sent to OpenPayd, converted into USDC through OpenPayd’s OTC infrastructure and used for Decta’s own international operational settlements before the company continues managing its customer payment services separately.

Bitcoin slipped below $64,000 on Aug. 11 as traders cut risk ahead of fresh U.S. inflation data and rising oil prices revived concerns about the Federal Reserve’s rate path. 

BTC traded near $63,855 at the time of writing, down about 1.6% over 24 hours after making several unsuccessful attempts to establish support above $65,000.

The pullback follows a short recovery that took Bitcoin above $65,300 on Monday. As covered in Monday’s CPI preview, weaker U.S. employment data had previously helped BTC recover as traders reduced expectations for tighter monetary policy. The focus has now shifted to inflation and energy prices.

Bitcoin has tested the $65,000 area for four consecutive days without sustaining a move above it. Downside levels remain relevant. Recent short term holder analysis placed the average acquisition price for newer holders at $67,523, meaning BTC remains below a level where some investors could seek to exit near breakeven. Support has recently formed around $63,000 to $64,000.

Ether and XRP lead losses as altcoins split

Large cap altcoins were mostly weaker alongside Bitcoin. Ether traded at about $1,871 at press time, down 2.8% over 24 hours. XRP traded near $1.00 after falling 3.1% and was down more than 6% over seven days. Solana declined about 1% to $75.78, while BNB slipped 1% to roughly $599.

Performance was not uniformly negative. Hyperliquid rose about 2.4% to $55.25, Chainlink gained 2% to $8.43, TRX advanced 0.5% to $0.33 and Dogecoin added roughly 0.5% around $0.07. Among the top 100 assets shown, Internet Computer gained 8.3%, Lighter rose 7% and Mantle added 5.8%. Bitway fell 8.1%, Canton declined 6.5% and Cardano lost 4.8%.

The split suggests traders are still willing to take selective altcoin exposure despite weakness in Bitcoin, Ether and XRP. However, the broad market has yet to show the synchronized strength typically associated with a sustained risk rally.

U.S. CPI and oil become the next macro test

Oil has returned as a major U.S. macro risk. Brent crude held around $87.81 on Tuesday after gaining more than 5% in the previous session as hopes for an agreement between Washington and Tehran weakened. Negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz remain unsettled, keeping energy supply risks elevated. Reuters provided the latest report.

Higher energy prices can feed into inflation expectations and affect the outlook for U.S. interest rates. The Bureau of Labor Statistics schedule confirms that July CPI will be released Wednesday, Aug. 12, at 8:30 a.m. ET. The release gives traders a fresh reading on inflation after softer June data had eased some pressure on risk assets.

U.S. Treasury markets are already reflecting some of that caution. The benchmark 10 year yield rose toward 4.7% alongside oil on Monday. Higher yields generally raise the return available on lower risk assets, creating another hurdle for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies ahead of the CPI release.

What happens next for Bitcoin and ETF flows

Institutional flows offer a mixed signal. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded five consecutive positive sessions from Aug. 3 through Aug. 7, attracting $865.3 million according to Farside Investors. That streak ended Monday with $144.6 million in net withdrawals, including $53.6 million from BlackRock’s IBIT and $52 million from Grayscale’s GBTC. Farside’s latest data replaces earlier provisional estimates of Monday’s outflow.

The strong preceding week was examined in recent ETF inflow coverage, although that report used SoSoValue figures and therefore produced a slightly different weekly total. Both datasets showed the same broad pattern: five positive sessions followed by renewed withdrawals on Monday.

Washington also remains part of the market backdrop. The Senate pushed its CLARITY Act vote into September after lawmakers failed to resolve disagreements before the August recess, as detailed in earlier CLARITY Act coverage. That removed an anticipated August policy event while leaving market structure legislation unresolved.

Wednesday’s CPI release is now the nearest fixed catalyst. Bitcoin first needs to reclaim $65,000 before the $67,500 to $70,000 region becomes relevant again. 

A move below the recent $63,000 area would instead put the market’s latest recovery under greater pressure. Neither direction has been confirmed, leaving inflation, Treasury yields and ETF flows as the clearest near term signals to watch.

XRP ETF inflows collapsed 93% in a single week while the token tests $1.00 support. But whales are accumulating more than 10 million XRP per day, RLUSD has reached $1.6 billion in market cap, and the CLARITY Act vote is 35 days away. Recovery is not impossible. It is conditional.

XRP is caught between two stories that cannot both be true at the same time. The first story says the token is dying: price down 65% from January, ETF inflows in freefall, the CLARITY Act stalled, and a stablecoin that is growing faster than the token it was supposed to support. The second story says smart money is quietly loading up: whales are pulling more than 10 million XRP per day off exchanges, on chain accumulation signals are at multi year highs, and the legal clarity that no other major token possesses gives XRP a structural advantage that the market has not yet priced.

Both stories have evidence. Neither is complete. What determines which one wins comes down to three specific conditions, each of which is observable and each of which has a timeline. If all three are met, the recovery case is strong. If two fail, the current price may be the beginning of a longer decline rather than a floor.

Condition one: the CLARITY Act must pass or an equivalent catalyst must replace it

The single most important variable for XRP in the second half of 2026 is whether the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act becomes law. The bill would classify XRP as a digital commodity under CFTC jurisdiction, resolving the remaining ambiguity left by the Ripple v. SEC settlement.

That settlement, finalized in 2025, produced a split decision. Institutional sales of XRP were deemed securities transactions. Programmatic sales on exchanges were not. Ripple paid a $125 million civil penalty, and the SEC withdrew its appeal. The legal case is closed. But the regulatory framework that would tell institutional allocators exactly how to treat XRP in a portfolio does not yet exist.

The CLARITY Act would provide that framework. Under its provisions, tokens meeting decentralization criteria move to CFTC oversight, a lighter regulatory regime that institutional compliance departments are comfortable with. XRP, having survived the most significant enforcement action in crypto history and emerged with a court ruling that its exchange sales are not securities, is positioned to benefit more than almost any other token from this classification.

The problem is that the CLARITY Act may not pass. Senate Majority Leader Thune filed cloture before the August recess, setting up a procedural vote as early as September 15. But the bill needs 60 votes to clear the filibuster, and Polymarket traders assign only 16% odds of passage in 2026. The core obstacle is an ethics provision targeting presidential involvement in crypto that Democrats and Republicans cannot agree on.

If the CLARITY Act fails, XRP loses its most potent near term catalyst. The token would remain in a regulatory gray zone where the SEC case is resolved but the broader framework is not. Institutional allocators who cite regulatory clarity as a prerequisite for increasing exposure, 65% of them according to a 2026 survey, would continue to wait.

The question is whether an alternative catalyst could fill the gap. Two candidates exist. First, the SEC could issue formal guidance classifying XRP as a commodity without legislation, using the Ripple ruling as precedent. This is possible but unlikely given the current commission’s preference for case by case enforcement. Second, sustained ETF inflows at scale could signal that the market has effectively made the classification decision regardless of what Washington does. That leads to the second condition.

Riot Platforms has signed a 20 year data center agreement worth an expected $9.1 billion for 191 megawatts of computing capacity at its Rockdale campus in Texas, marking another major step away from relying solely on Bitcoin mining. 

Riot described the customer in its Aug. 10 SEC filing only as a leading frontier AI lab.

Bloomberg subsequently identified the tenant as Anthropic, developer of the Claude artificial intelligence models, citing people familiar with the transaction. Neither company publicly confirmed Anthropic’s identity when Bloomberg contacted them. Riot declined to comment, while Anthropic did not respond. The distinction means the contract itself is confirmed, but the customer’s identity currently rests on Bloomberg’s reporting.

Riot Platforms turns Rockdale power toward AI

Riot’s official release says the agreement covers 191 MW of critical IT capacity at Rockdale. The first 96 MW is scheduled for December 2027, followed by another 95 MW by June 2028. The initial contract runs through June 2048.

The company says the agreement is “expected to generate approximately $9.1 billion” over its initial term. That figure is a company forecast rather than revenue already earned. Two optional five year extensions, exercisable by the tenant, could raise potential contract revenue to about $16.1 billion. Riot estimates cumulative net operating income of $7.3 billion to $8.2 billion during the base term, another forward looking projection dependent on construction and operating performance.

Rockdale was built around large scale Bitcoin mining. The Texas campus has 700 MW of developed, energized power capacity, along with existing fiber and electrical infrastructure that Riot says can be repurposed for high density computing. The company has said it intends to convert the site’s full gross capacity toward data center tenants over time.

The shift builds on a trend covered in earlier Riot coverage, when activist investor Starboard Value pushed the miner to accelerate its AI data center strategy. Starboard argued that Riot’s large U.S. power portfolio could command greater value when leased to computing customers.

Anthropic deal follows Riot’s AMD expansion

Riot already has another major technology tenant at Rockdale. AMD initially signed for 25 MW in January and exercised an additional 25 MW option in April. Riot completed delivery of the first 25 MW during the second quarter and expects another 10 MW in November 2026 and 15 MW in May 2027.

Combined with the newly announced 191 MW contract, Riot now has 241 MW of critical IT capacity under signed leases at Rockdale. Its earnings deck puts total expected contracted revenue from the two tenants at about $9.8 billion. AMD retains options that could expand its footprint further.

As crypto.news reported in previous earnings coverage, Riot began generating meaningful data center revenue this year as its AMD deployment moved online. Q2 data center revenue reached $23.2 million, including $4.9 million from operating leases and $18.3 million from tenant fit out services.

The broader strategy reflects how Bitcoin miners are monetizing access to scarce U.S. power infrastructure. In related industry coverage, Riot and several other miners were identified as potential beneficiaries because their existing grid connections can shorten development timelines compared with entirely new data center projects.

Bitcoin remains important as Riot funds the buildout

Riot has not exited Bitcoin mining. It produced 1,587 BTC during Q2, up from 1,426 BTC a year earlier. However, mining revenue fell to $113.7 million from $140.9 million as average Bitcoin prices declined and global network hash rate increased. Riot’s cost to mine one Bitcoin, excluding depreciation, was $49,912.

The company’s Bitcoin holdings are also helping finance its AI expansion. Riot ended June with 11,380 BTC valued at about $666 million, including 5,821 BTC held as collateral, alongside $548.9 million in cash. Its investor presentation explicitly says continued Bitcoin inventory sales are being used as a primary funding source for the equity portion of its data center spending.

That strategy follows earlier sales and transfers documented in recent Bitcoin reserve coverage. The company has increasingly treated its Bitcoin balance as a source of capital while maintaining an active mining operation.

Morgan Stanley backs construction as Riot targets 2028

Building the 191 MW project will require far more capital than Riot’s earlier AMD deployment. Management estimates construction spending of about $2.1 billion to $2.3 billion. Morgan Stanley has provided a $573 million interim financing facility to cover early development costs while an investment grade credit backstop is finalized.

Riot expects debt to fund 80% to 90% of the project’s costs, leaving an estimated equity requirement of $210 million to $460 million before capital recycled from its AMD financing. Those estimates remain subject to financing terms and construction costs.

Investors initially reacted strongly to Bloomberg’s identification of Anthropic. Riot shares jumped about 25% to $24.40 in late trading following the report. The move came after Riot reported Q2 revenue of $174.2 million, up 14% year over year, although the company also posted a $237.2 million quarterly net loss.

The next fixed milestones are the planned 96 MW delivery in December 2027 and full 191 MW deployment in June 2028. Riot must also finish the longer term financing package. Separately, its SEC filing says the company has a nonbinding letter of intent involving its Corsicana, Texas campus, giving Riot another potential route for converting former Bitcoin focused power infrastructure into U.S. AI capacity.

South Korea will expand its crypto Travel Rule to all transfers between registered virtual asset service providers (VASPs), removing the current 1 million won (about $700) threshold.

The country’s Cabinet approved amendments to the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information on Tuesday.

Under the changes, the Travel Rule will apply to all transfers between registered crypto service providers regardless of value. Receiving platforms will also be required to obtain sender and recipient information and may request missing information or reject transactions when required data is unavailable.

Removing the threshold is intended to prevent users from circumventing the rule by splitting transfers into smaller amounts, according to the Financial Intelligence Unit. 

It cited one case in which a user bought Tether USDt (USDT) after depositing about 200 million won into a crypto exchange and then made 216 withdrawals, each worth less than 1 million won.

Related: South Korea plans stablecoin rules as opposition pushes crypto tax repeal

South Korea tightens rules for overseas exchanges, personal wallets

The amendments also introduce new Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements for transfers involving overseas crypto exchanges and personal wallets.

Registered local VASPs will be required to determine which transfers they allow based on the risk posed by the counterparty. Transfers to low-risk overseas exchanges will be permitted, while transfers involving other foreign exchanges and personal wallets will generally be allowed when the sender and recipient are the same person.

However, transactions involving counterparties deemed high risk will be prohibited.

Crypto platforms will also have to establish their own suspicious transaction monitoring systems for transfers worth at least 10 million won involving foreign exchanges or personal wallets.

South Korean authorities said suspected money laundering involving overseas exchanges and personal wallets has increased as gaps in existing AML rules governing such transfers have been exploited.

The decree also strengthens registration requirements for crypto service providers, including financial health, internal controls, staffing and infrastructure standards, while expanding scrutiny of major shareholders.

The VASP registration provisions will take effect on Aug. 20, although existing providers will have an additional year to comply with some financial, staffing, infrastructure and internal control requirements. The expanded Travel Rule and other transfer-related AML requirements will take effect six months after the decree is promulgated.

Asia Express: Thailand’s 0% crypto tax. Bitcoin Red Team forced to use Chinese AI

Payments platform Decta will use USDC to settle its own funds internationally, bringing stablecoins into its back-end treasury operations.

Decta said Tuesday that it will use OpenPayd, a financial infrastructure company, to convert company funds into USDC for international settlement, according to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph.

“This is a proprietary treasury use case rather than a customer-facing payments flow,” Lux Thiagarajah, chief commercial officer at OpenPayd, told Cointelegraph.

“Decta transfers its own funds into OpenPayd’s regulated infrastructure, where they are converted into USDC via OpenPayd’s over-the-counter capabilities to support international operational settlements,” he added.

The integration shows how stablecoins are moving into traditional payments infrastructure as a tool for internal treasury and liquidity management, without making stablecoins part of its customer-facing payment services.

Stablecoins move into payments firms’ treasury operations

Decta said the integration will help it move funds between its entities internationally, manage liquidity and streamline treasury operations.

Scott Dawson, CEO of Decta UK, said the company wants technology to make its financial operations faster, simpler and more resilient while maintaining its existing controls and regulatory discipline.

Founded in 2015 in London, Decta is a payments platform that provides payment processing, acquiring, card issuing, banking and other financial infrastructure to businesses. The company operates across 32 countries and serves hundreds of companies, according to its announcement.

Related: Circle Q2 revenue falls short of Wall Street estimates

Decta has also explored stablecoin issuance in the past. In August 2024, Decta Limited and France-based Next Generation said they were exploring a potential euro-pegged stablecoin that Decta could issue under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), subject to regulatory approval.

OpenPayd, founded in London in 2018, provides financial infrastructure connecting fiat and digital assets. The company secured authorization under MiCA in June, allowing it to provide crypto services across the European Economic Area, including fiat-to-stablecoin on- and off-ramps. It counts Kraken, eToro, OKX and B2C2 among its clients.

Magazine: BIP-110 ends with a whimper, CLARITY vote punted: Hodler’s Digest, Aug. 9