TLDR:

• McLaren joins Hedera Council, expanding governance reach and fan-driven digital collectibles rollout
• Agent Lab enables no-code AI agents on Hedera, integrating LangChain and Stablecoin tools
• FRNT stablecoin and tokenized RWAs push enterprise adoption across regulated blockchain systems
• Hedera surpasses 70B transactions as institutional players expand usage across finance and AI stacks

---

The HBAR Hedera ecosystem has progressed notably across governance, AI development, and enterprise adoption during 2026.

The recent McLaren joining of the council, Agent Lab launches, and tokenization activity expand across regulated finance, stablecoins, and global enterprise infrastructure networks in the 2026 period

Governance Expansion and McLaren Entry

McLaren Racing joined the Hedera Governing Council in 2026, expanding governance participation across global enterprise members and reinforcing institutional coordination within the network.

McLaren introduced digital collectibles across Formula 1 and IndyCar race weekends during the 2026 season, linking fan engagement to on-chain interactions through simplified access systems.

Council membership includes firms such as Google, IBM, NVIDIA, Deutsche Telekom, and Standard Bank, expanding enterprise representation across governance decisions.

McLaren’s participation aligns with the network’s focus on consumer engagement, digital assets, and data integrity across enterprise-grade infrastructure. 

HederaCon 2026 is scheduled in Miami Beach alongside major industry events, including the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix and Consensus 2026 discussions.

Simplified onboarding through Web2 social sign-in systems allows users without blockchain wallets to interact with Hedera-based applications and collectibles. 

Sustained council expansion supports protocol governance, enterprise adoption, and integration of real-world applications across multiple sectors.

Network coordination continues through enterprise validators and governance participants who contribute to system reliability.

McLaren-branded collectibles expand consumer-facing blockchain interaction across seasonal racing events and digital ecosystems supported by Hedera infrastructure. 

Such sustained participation from global enterprises reinforces operational scalability across Hedera. This is as governance coordination maintains alignment between consumer applications, tokenization frameworks, and regulated digital asset infrastructure throughout the 2026 development network growth cycle

Agent Lab and Enterprise AI Stack

Agent Lab launched in March 2026 as a browser-based environment for building on-chain AI agents across simplified development modes.

It integrates frameworks such as LangChain and Vercel AI SDK, enabling developers to deploy AI agents with reduced technical complexity.

Agent Lab connects to Hedera Agent Kit, enabling streamlined deployment of AI-driven applications across blockchain infrastructure systems.

Planned updates introduce Stablecoin Studio plugins, supporting token swaps, lending operations, and automated financial workflows within enterprise systems. 

Verifiable Compute collaboration with NVIDIA and Deloitte enhances AI auditability, providing structured logs for regulated enterprise environments requiring transparency.

These developments align enterprise infrastructure with automation, compliance, and real-world asset interaction across financial and industrial use cases. 

Developer adoption increases through low-code interfaces that reduce complexity for blockchain application creation and integration workflows.

Enterprise participants use these tools to support scalable deployments across regulated environments and tokenized financial systems. 

Hedera-based infrastructure continues supporting interoperability across enterprise networks, enabling coordinated data processing, digital asset settlement, and AI-driven automation across multiple industry sectors. 

Integration between AI tooling and blockchain infrastructure strengthens enterprise workflows, while supporting verifiable computation, tokenized settlement processes, and scalable application deployment across regulated digital ecosystems within enterprise technology governance frameworks and systems

Riot Platforms (RIOT) shares jumped about 8% on Friday after Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) expanded its capacity at the company’s Rockdale, Texas campus, highlighting Riot’s continued pivot from bitcoin mining into AI and high-performance computing.

According to the Q1 financial results, AMD exercised an option to double its contracted capacity to 50 megawatts (MW), with the potential to upsize to 150MW. According to the earnings transcript, Riot said the agreement could generate roughly $636 million over a 10-year term.

Riot also secured improved terms on its $200 million bitcoin-backed credit facility with Coinbase, lowering the rate to a fixed 6.15% from 8.3% and releasing 1,544 of pledged collateral bitcoin, signaling growing lender confidence in its expanding data center business.

Together with the AMD deal and improved credit terms, investors are paying a premium for the stock. “Market pricing in lower cost of capital as the expanded AMD deal drives lender confidence,” said Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck.

Riot was one of the last few ‘pure play’ mining companies left that didn’t get into hosting AI computing, while others opened up their data centers to move away from mining. Until recently, activist investor Starboard started to urge the management to accelerate its transition from bitcoin mining to an AI infrastructure provider.

The move to expand its data center business to host AI computers appears to be paying off for the Castle Rock, Colorado-based company.

The firm reported total revenue of $167.2 million for the quarter ended March 31, up from $161.4 million a year earlier, supported by $33.2 million in initial data center revenue. However, bitcoin mining revenue fell to $111.9 million from $142.9 million, mainly due to lower bitcoin prices and increased mining competition. The mining company’s shares are up about 147% over the last 12 months, while bitcoin fell nearly 17%.

The company, which previously held onto all its mined bitcoin, is also accelerating its bitcoin sales. According to Bitcoin Treasuries data, the company sold 3,688 BTC during Q1. The company ended March with 15,679 BTC and $282.5 million in cash.

Read more: The bitcoin treasury boom is unwinding as some companies and governments sell holdings

TLDR:

• Bitcoin holds near $78.4K as ETF inflows return, signaling stabilizing institutional demand.
• BlackRock and Fidelity lead Bitcoin ETF inflows while smaller funds see mixed outflow pressure.
• Ethereum ETF outflows persist for four days, reflecting weaker institutional risk appetite.
• Bitcoin ETF inflow rebound follows prior outflows, reinforcing selective institutional accumulation.

---

Bitcoin trades at $78,423.77 as of writing with $38,674,613,465 in 24-hour volume, rising 2.75% daily and 1.05% weekly amid ETF flow shifts.

Spot Bitcoin ETF net inflow of $23.5M signals renewed institutional demand. In the meantime, Ethereum ETFs have extended outflows, reinforcing divergence and supporting cautious accumulation trends around Bitcoin.

Bitcoin ETF Flow Reversal After Outflow Streak

According to SosoValue, Bitcoin spot ETF flows reversed after three days of outflows, recording a $23.5 million net inflow across issuers on April 30.

BlackRock IBIT and Fidelity FBTC led inflows, offsetting weaker performance from smaller competing ETF products and alternative providers.

Grayscale continued outflows due to higher fees, while Bitcoin price remained stable near key trading support levels during the session today. Trading data also showed concentrated activity among large asset managers during the rebound session.

Institutional participation increased modestly as ETF trading volumes rose alongside improved sentiment following Bitcoin price stabilization near support.

Macro expectations around interest rates also influenced ETF allocation decisions across regulated crypto investment products globally. 

Market analysts noted ETF flows remain sensitive to short-term volatility, especially during uncertain geopolitical and economic conditions. ETF inflow patterns continue correlating with broader crypto market stabilization signals across trading venues.

Recent ETF flow behavior suggests selective accumulation of Bitcoin during consolidation phases across the market cycle.

Investor positioning data shows sustained interest in Bitcoin ETFs despite short-term volatility and mixed macro signals. 

This pattern reinforces Bitcoin’s role as the primary digital asset exposure within regulated ETF investment frameworks globally. Such allocation behavior reflects ongoing preference for established liquidity pools within crypto ETF structures.

Ethereum ETF Outflows Signal Diverging Sentiment

Ethereum spot ETFs recorded four consecutive days of net outflows across major issuers, reflecting weaker institutional demand.

Investor rotation toward Bitcoin continued as Ethereum faced reduced near-term catalysts and weaker risk appetite exposure. 

This divergence between Bitcoin inflows and Ethereum outflows widened across ETF markets during recent trading sessions. Liquidity concentration remains highest across top-tier Bitcoin ETF issuers in current market conditions.

Data indicate Ethereum ETFs are experiencing sustained redemption pressure compared with Bitcoin, which shows stabilizing capital inflows. Fee structures and liquidity depth continue influencing investor allocation across competing spot ETF products in crypto markets. 

Market participants remain cautious as Ethereum flows suggest reduced conviction relative to Bitcoin dominance trends. Market observers continue monitoring Ethereum ETF performance for signs of sustained capital recovery.

Ongoing Ethereum ETF outflows reflect cautious positioning among institutional investors awaiting stronger ecosystem catalysts. Reduced allocation may indicate rotation toward assets with deeper liquidity and stronger historical ETF demand profiles. 

ETF data continues to show divergence between Ethereum and Bitcoin allocation trends across regulated markets. These patterns continue shaping short-term allocation strategies among institutional crypto investors.

TLDR:

• LINK trades at $9.20, gaining 1.13% daily despite a 1.75% weekly pullback in a weak market structure
• Whale activity shows phased redistribution of LINK holdings, signaling steady supply rotation
• 24-hour volume near $179M reflects active participation amid ongoing consolidation phase
• Market structure remains range-bound as liquidity shifts between exchanges and private wallets

---

Chainlink (LINK) trades at $9.20 with $179,867,749 in 24-hour volume, reflecting a 1.13% daily gain despite a -1.75% weekly decline.

Chainlink whale activity continues to shape market structure as large holders redistribute millions of tokens during consolidation. 

This mix of price recovery and ongoing supply shifts keeps liquidity dynamics tightly watched across the market.

Staggered Redistribution Across Whale Wallets

On-chain data tracking Chainlink whale activity indicates a gradual reduction in large wallet balances as nearly 18.94 million LINK moved across addresses over recent weeks during a structured redistribution phase.

Unlike abrupt sell-offs, the movement appears phased, suggesting deliberate liquidity release rather than panic-driven exits from major holders. Market observers note that such patterns often emerge during consolidation cycles.

This is where price direction remains range-bound while liquidity deepens across exchanges and OTC desks. It allows whales to distribute holdings in stages without causing sharp volatility spikes across the broader market structure over time. It also helps maintain steady liquidity conditions across the overall structure.

Recent exchange flows reinforce the view of redistribution within Chainlink whale activity as wallets linked to Binance recorded significant LINK withdrawals.

These transfers reduce exchange supply and shift tokens into private custody or long-term storage, lowering immediate sell pressure in spot markets. 

On-chain trackers show accumulation behavior despite muted price action, indicating positioning ahead of ecosystem expansion and broader adoption across decentralized financial networks within the current market cycle phase.

Consolidation Phase and Shifting Supply Structure

Chainlink price action remains confined within a narrow consolidation range, with LINK trading near $9 after extended sideways movement between $8 and $10.

Despite subdued volatility, on-chain metrics indicate steady network engagement. This includes rising total value locked across Chainlink-enabled protocols and growing infrastructure usage.

Market participants continue monitoring the divergence between flat price movement and sustained ecosystem activity.

The ongoing development across data feeds, interoperability tools, and real-world asset integrations is linked to Chainlink’s infrastructure role in decentralized markets. 

These conditions are aligned with reduced exchange supply and continued whale repositioning across market cycles. This is without immediate directional price expansion signals emerging.

Large wallet behavior continues to show gradual accumulation and redistribution patterns, reflecting strategic positioning among Chainlink whale participants.

These movements often coincide with extended consolidation phases where liquidity conditions remain stable, and exchange order books absorb distributed supply over time. 

Tracking data suggests ongoing wallet dispersion across multiple addresses among top holders, indicating a gradual redistribution within the broader Chainlink ecosystem structure phase.

Market structure has remained influenced by reduced exchange balances and continued off-exchange movement of LINK.

Participants are observing wallet-level shifts across both retail and institutional segments as consolidation persists across broader crypto markets.

San Francisco, U.S.A., March 17, 2026 — AI and blockchain infrastructure company Gency AI today announced it has raised $20 million in a new funding round. The round saw participation from several institutions, including Y&ZC Capital, MTmetaworld Holdings, Riverpark, ArkStream, MH Ventures, ViaBTC and Basics Capital.

The fresh capital is earmarked for scaling Gency AI’s decentralized advertising execution and settlement network, hardening its privacy-preserving computing stack, and accelerating product deployment and ecosystem partnerships across North America, Asia, and Europe.

Building verifiable infrastructure for the advertising economy

The global digital advertising market continues to grow rapidly, but many execution and settlement processes still rely on centralized platforms. Industry participants have highlighted ongoing challenges related to attribution transparency, data ownership, and reconciliation cycles between advertisers, publishers, and agencies.

Gency AI aims to shift the industry from a model of “platform trust” to “protocol trust” by introducing on-chain verifiable credentials and automated revenue distribution mechanisms. Leveraging smart contracts and privacy-preserving computing technologies, ad impressions, conversion outcomes, and revenue allocation can be independently verified and settled automatically.

According to the company, the system is designed to automate reconciliation processes through smart contracts, with the goal of reducing settlement times and improving transparency in cross-border advertising transactions.

AI and blockchain–integrated technical architecture

Gency AI’s network architecture is built around four core modules:

Policy identity

Creates on-chain permission identities and usage boundaries for data, enabling transparent and traceable data authorization management.

ESQ privacy computing layer

Integrates technologies such as TEE, PSI, and MPC to support encrypted computation and privacy-preserving processing of advertising data.

PSG clearing and settlement protocol

Converts advertising actions and conversion outcomes into on-chain verifiable credentials and automatically executes revenue distribution through smart contracts.

AI optimization engine

Operates in an anonymous and encrypted environment to power advertising strategy prediction, audience matching, and campaign optimization. It also enables model training and attribution analysis without exposing raw user data, balancing privacy protection with operational efficiency.

Investor perspectives

Investors participating in the round said the convergence of AI automation and verifiable computing has the potential to reshape the core infrastructure of digital advertising, gradually shifting the industry from a model driven by closed data platforms to one powered by open protocols.

They also noted that as global privacy regulations tighten and demand for AI-powered automated advertising continues to grow, building a trusted, verifiable, and autonomously operating advertising network is likely to become a key direction for the industry.

About Gency AI

Gency AI is a sovereign advertising network purpose-built for the agentic economy — an environment where data ownership, permissions, execution, and settlement are designed to be programmable, verifiable, and controlled by users by default.

Unlike traditional adtech systems that depend on opaque data aggregation and trust-based reporting, Gency AI reimagines advertising as a verifiable coordination system. By combining cryptographic guarantees, on-chain policy enforcement, and measurable outcomes, it enables coordinated interactions among advertisers, publishers, AI agents, and users.

Media contact:

This publication is provided by the client. The text below is a paid press release that is not part of Cointelegraph.com independent editorial content. The text has undergone editorial review to ensure quality and relevance, it may not reflect the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.com. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research before taking any actions related to the company. Disclosure.

XRP’s (XRP) sentiment on social media has risen sharply over the last few days, but overhead resistance at $1.40 kept the price in consolidation.

Key takeaways:

• XRP’s social media sentiment has risen 240% over the last 30 days to a two-year high.
• XRP price recovery may face resistance at $1.40, with a prolonged consolidation likely.

.

XRP sentiment jumps on integration with Rakuten Pay 

News of XRP’s integration with the Japanese payment platform, Rakuten Wallet, has sparked renewed optimism among investors. 

Related: XRP set for ‘strongest’ 2026 monthly ETF inflows as bulls target $2

This integration allows Rakuten’s over 44 million users to convert their loyalty points (worth over $23 billion) directly into XRP, trade it in-app, and spend it at over 5 million merchant locations via the Rakuten Pay app. 

This marks “one of the largest retail deployments of $XRP as a payment method to date,” bridging loyalty programs, payments, and crypto utility in a major world economy, Ripple said in an X post on Thursday.

XRP integrates with Rakuten Pay. Source: Ripple

As a result, XRP saw its “2nd highest bullish sentiment across social media in the past 2 years,” Santiment said in a Thursday post on X. 

Santiment’s Positive/Negative sentiment indicator, which measures the ratio of positive to negative social media mentions for a cryptoasset, shows XRP has a score of 3.9, levels last seen in early 2024.

This was more than 240% higher than the 1.135 value recorded on March 29, following a 20% price drop over two weeks. 

Traders are showing excitement over the fact that XRP is “seeing further adoption,” the onchain data provider said, adding:

“As far as price goes, these events don’t often instantly lead to major price outbreaks. It is usually after the initial wave of euphoria, after FOMO calms down, that the impact of this kind of news sees the bullish outcome.”

XRP’s Positive/Negative sentiment metric. source: Santiment

“Buy $XRP with points. Spend it across millions of merchants in Japan,” analyst John Squire said in reaction to the development, adding:

“This is what mass adoption looks like.”

Following this news, XRP/USD jumped 2% over the last 24 hours, but remains 62% below its $3.66 multi-year high reached in July 2025. 

XRP faces stiff resistance above $1.40

XRP’s recent 18% rally from its local low at $1.27 reached on April 5 was stopped at $1.48, coinciding with the upper boundary of a symmetrical triangle. 

This trend line has suppressed the price since early February, as shown in the chart below. 

Bulls must push the price above the $1.40-$1.45 resistance zone to confirm a bullish breakout from the triangle. This area is also where the 50-day exponential moving average, the 100-day simple moving average and the upper trend line of the triangle sit, reinforcing the significance of this resistance zone.

XRP/USD daily chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

According to XRP’s cost-basis distribution data, investors hold approximately 2 billion XRP at an average cost of $1.40-$1.45, creating a potential resistance zone. This concentration suggests many investors may sell at break-even, potentially stalling XRP’s upward momentum.

XRP cost basis distribution chart. Source: Glassnode

A break above this supply area could open the way for a rally toward the measured target of the triangle at $2.10, about 50% above the current price. 

In a Friday post on X, analyst ChartNerd said a big move was brewing for XRP price once resistance above $1.40 is “cleared.”

As Cointelegraph reported, the XRP/USD pair was required to hold the $1.27 support and rise above the moving averages around $1.40 to signal a trend change. 

This article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investments and trades carry risk; readers are encouraged to conduct independent research.

TLDR:

• Consensys argues the OCC’s yield ban wrongly extends to third-party distributors beyond what Congress intended.
  
• The firm says DeFi lending on platforms like Aave is an active user choice, not issuer-paid yield on stablecoins.
  
• Consensys recommends disclosure and pool segregation over outright prohibition on multi-brand stablecoin issuance.
  
• The rules, if left unchanged, could favor large institutions and put OCC-supervised issuers at a competitive disadvantage.

---

Consensys submitted a formal comment letter to the U.S. Treasury Department regarding the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s proposed stablecoin rules.

The letter responds to the OCC’s framework implementing the GENIUS Act’s payment stablecoin provisions. While Consensys acknowledged the OCC’s effort, it identified three areas needing revision.

These areas relate to yield restrictions, DeFi access, and multi-brand stablecoin issuance. The outcome of these rules will shape how the U.S. stablecoin market develops.

Yield Restrictions and the Role of Distributors

The GENIUS Act prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying interest or yield to holders. Congress wanted to prevent stablecoins from competing with bank deposits through passive returns. Consensys confirmed it recognizes this concern and accepts Congress’s position on the matter.

However, the OCC extended the prohibition to cover “related third parties.” This broader category sweeps in independent distribution partners that co-brand or white-label a stablecoin product.

Consensys argued that a distributor using its own commercial fee to offer user incentives is not acting as an issuer.

Consensys explained in the letter that such a distributor is “a business competing for customers with its own money, as every business does.”

This is standard commercial practice and not the conduct Congress sought to restrict. Congress also rejected two separate amendments that would have extended the yield ban to non-issuers.

Therefore, the OCC’s proposed rule oversteps the statutory line Congress deliberately drew. Consensys called on the OCC to revise this provision to align with legislative intent and respect the boundaries Congress set.

DeFi Access and the Multi-Brand Stablecoin Issue

On the DeFi question, Consensys pointed to how MetaMask users interact with protocols like Aave or Morpho. When a user deposits stablecoins into such platforms, they make an active investment decision. They accept protocol risk and earn yield from borrowers in that specific market.

Consensys clarified that this activity is not “the issuer paying them to hold a stablecoin.” The GENIUS Act itself excludes non-custodial software interfaces from regulated intermediary status. Consensys argued the final rule should confirm that DeFi access falls under this same carve-out.

Regarding multi-brand stablecoins, the OCC is considering prohibiting a single licensed issuer from supporting multiple co-branded products.

Consensys stated that “disclosure is the right instrument here, not prohibition.” Requiring issuers to identify themselves and explain reserve structures would address transparency concerns directly.

If disclosure alone proves insufficient, Consensys suggested pool segregation as a proportionate remedy. A full prohibition “forecloses the distribution model entirely rather than managing the risk it presents.”

It also places OCC-supervised issuers at a disadvantage compared to FDIC-supervised issuers facing no equivalent restriction.

137 Ventures has raised over $700m across two new funds, lifting AUM above $15b as it doubles down on AI agents, robotics, advanced industry and a $10b‑plus SpaceX stake.

San Francisco–based 137 Ventures has raised over $700 million for two new investment vehicles, according to TechFundingNews and a separate press release.

New funds push 137 Ventures past $15b AUM

The closings bring the firm’s total assets under management to more than $15 billion as of March 2026, cementing its status as one of the larger specialist growth funds backing late‑stage technology companies.

137 Ventures, founded in 2010 by Justin Fishner‑Wolfson and S. Alexander Jacobson after their time at Founders Fund, focuses on “generational technology companies” and often provides liquidity solutions to founders and early employees alongside primary capital.

Betting on AI agents, robotics, and propulsion

In its announcement, 137 Ventures said the new funds will back companies “operating at the frontier of AI, defense, and advanced industrial systems,” highlighting categories such as AI agents, robotics, and novel aerospace propulsion as key focus areas.

Recent disclosed portfolio additions include Cognition, Impulse Space, Hadrian, and Physical Intelligence—startups working on AI copilots, in‑space logistics, automated precision manufacturing, and embodied AI, respectively.

Over the past 12 months, the firm has deployed more than $1.7 billion, concentrating capital into a relatively small number of high‑conviction positions rather than spreading bets across hundreds of smaller seed deals.

That strategy fits with a broader venture shift toward fewer, larger rounds in companies seen as core infrastructure for AI and space, even as overall VC volumes in crypto and tech have cooled.

A $10b‑plus SpaceX stake ahead of a trillion‑dollar IPO

137 Ventures’ biggest swing remains its position in SpaceX, where it has invested across roughly two dozen rounds since 2010.

Firm founder Justin Fishner‑Wolfson told Bloomberg that “at this point we own well over I think $10 billion dollars” of SpaceX shares, adding that the stake represents “more than 1%” of the company.

That exposure could become one of the biggest single‑position wins in modern venture history if SpaceX proceeds with a long‑discussed IPO at a valuation north of $1 trillion, as some bankers and secondary‑market indications suggest.

Beyond SpaceX, 137 Ventures has backed names like Anduril, Gusto, and Ramp, reflecting a thesis that AI‑enabled defense, fintech, and enterprise infrastructure will generate outsized returns as automation and autonomy reshape both digital and physical industries.

For founders building AI agents, robotics platforms, or space‑adjacent businesses, the new funds mean 137 Ventures will be an even more active late‑stage counterparty—especially for teams looking for investors comfortable underwriting capital‑intensive, long‑duration bets.

Crypto markets are pulling in competing directions as major industrial shifts unfold beneath the surface. A leading mining operator is reimagining its business model around artificial intelligence infrastructure, even as another miner doubles down on Ether holdings despite sizeable paper losses. At the same time, stablecoins are swelling in supply while on-chain activity cools, hinting at capital staying put rather than deploying. On the institutional front, tokenized Treasurys are moving closer to mainstream use as collateral, with OKX linking arms with BlackRock and Standard Chartered to offer regulated, yield-bearing assets as margin. The week’s developments sketch a market that is fragmenting into distinct narratives about risk, opportunity and the deployment of crypto capital.

Analysts are watching a shift in how crypto-native companies generate growth, with Bernstein highlighting a potential pivot from traditional mining toward AI-focused data-center capacity. In a new report, Bernstein argues that IREN’s access to large-scale energy infrastructure could position the company to support high-performance computing workloads tied to artificial intelligence, suggesting the AI cloud business could become a dominant revenue driver over time. The analysis frames IREN’s path as a broader industry reallocation from cycle-driven mining profits to diversified workloads that align with compute demand in AI and data processing. The report estimates a potential multibillion-dollar trajectory for IREN’s AI cloud segment, with a valuation around $3.7 billion in the scenario outlined by Bernstein. This shift accompanies IREN’s ongoing data-center expansion and financing activity aimed at sustaining the transition beyond crypto mining.

Key takeaways

• Bernstein envisions IREN pivoting from Bitcoin mining to a dedicated AI cloud business, leveraging large-scale energy infrastructure to support AI compute workloads, with a potential $3.7 billion valuation for the new segment.
• BitMine has added another 101,000 ETH to its balance sheet, bringing total exposure to roughly $17.6 billion and reinforcing its position as the largest corporate holder of Ether, even as unrealized losses exceed $6.5 billion.
• Stablecoins show a paradox: supply surpasses $305 billion while transfer activity declines about 19% to around $8.3 trillion; inflows into USDT and USDC dominate, with some outflows from USDe and PYUSD.
• Institutional collateral innovation progresses as OKX integrates BlackRock’s tokenized US Treasuries fund, BUIDL, into a framework with Standard Chartered, enabling posting as margin while assets remain in custody.
• The market mood remains bifurcated: capital seems to be accumulating in select assets, while uncertainty about the next macro and regulatory catalyst keeps deployment cautious.

IREN’s AI cloud ambition gains traction amid shifting mining economics

In a market where four-year mining cycles have conditioned investor expectations, IREN’s strategic reorientation toward AI-focused infrastructure illustrates a broader industry recalibration. Bernstein’s new assessment highlights the advantage of owning and operating energy-intensive data-center assets that can host AI training and inference workloads. The argument is simple: as compute demand grows, the economic appeal of owning scalable, energy-proximate capacity increases, potentially unlocking a new growth engine that sits alongside or even supersedes traditional crypto mining profits. The report suggests that IREN’s AI cloud business could evolve into a multibillion-dollar venture, supported by its ongoing expansion of data-center capacity and access to large-scale energy infrastructure. While mining remains part of the portfolio, the emphasis appears to be on sustaining long-run compute demand through AI workloads, a trend the report frames as increasingly relevant for miners seeking resilience amid cyclical volatility. For readers seeking the Bernstein framing, see the summary here: Bernstein sees IREN pivoting from Bitcoin mining to a $3.7B AI cloud business.

What this matters for investors and builders is twofold. First, it highlights how the crypto ecosystem is intersecting with the broader AI infrastructure boom, potentially reshaping the competitive landscape for data-center operators and energy buyers. Second, it signals that a successful transition will hinge on financing orchestration and the ability to scale infrastructure in a way that supports compute-intensive workloads while managing energy costs and grid considerations. If IREN can translate its energy-scale advantages into reliable AI compute capacity, the company could redefine its valuation and strategic position in a market that has historically rewarded mining-specific metrics.

BitMine’s ETH accumulation continues to diverge from profitability metrics

BitMine’s latest balance-sheet maneuver reinforces the ongoing tension between aggressive asset accumulation and the reality of market prices. The company added another 101,000 Ether to its holdings, solidifying its status as the single largest corporate holder of ETH and underscoring a strategy of prolonged accumulation despite a challenging price backdrop. In total, BitMine’s ETH position is now valued at roughly $17.6 billion, a scale of exposure that emphasizes the company’s long-duration bet on Ether’s upside potential. However, the position is significantly underwater from an unrealized-loss perspective, with estimates exceeding $6.5 billion. DropsTab data indicate BitMine bought ETH at an average price around $2,248.55, versus the current price near $3,621.34, illustrating how timing and price volatility compound the drawdown on a large, behind-the-scenes treasury strategy.

The implications extend beyond BitMine’s balance sheet. Corporate treasuries concentrated in a single asset—ETH in this case—underscore risk considerations for balance-sheet management in crypto-native firms. While the trend points to confidence in Ether’s long-term value proposition, it also raises questions about diversification, liquidity planning, and risk controls when large positions are held as long-term strategic bets. As the crypto ecosystem evolves, investors and counterparties will parse how such concentration impacts funding flexibility, collateral dynamics, and the resilience of corporate treasuries during downturns.

Stablecoins expand in supply as on-chain activity slows

Stablecoins continue to accumulate on balance sheets, with total supply surpassing $305 billion as the on-chain velocity of transfers retreats. Data from RWA.xyz show total stablecoin transfer volume slipping about 19% in the past month, totaling roughly $8.3 trillion even as the market broadly expanded. The juxtaposition suggests a growing pool of liquidity held in stablecoins that is not being rapidly deployed across chains, effectively creating a cushion of capital that can be mobilized when timing and catalysts align. On a currency-by-currency basis, inflows leaned toward USD-backed tokens, with Tether’s USDT leading with roughly $3.6 billion in net inflows, followed by USDC; some stablecoins such as USDe and PayPal’s PYUSD recorded outflows. The dynamic points to a “hold and wait” phase among users and institutions, rather than immediate deployment into new protocols or assets.

For market watchers, the takeaway is that stablecoins remain a large liquidity reservoir, even as activity cools. If macro conditions improve or new on-chain use cases emerge, those idle dollars could swing into action, potentially catalyzing liquidity and turnover across DeFi and cross-chain ecosystems. The resilience of stablecoins as a funding layer is undeniable, but the pace of actual utilization remains a key variable to watch.

OKX expands collateral capabilities with tokenized Treasurys

On the institutional collateral front, OKX has integrated BlackRock’s tokenized US Treasuries fund, BUIDL, into its trading framework. The arrangement, developed in collaboration with Standard Chartered, enables clients to post this yield-bearing Treasury asset as margin while the fund remains in regulated custody with the bank. The setup represents a substantial shift in how collateral can function on crypto exchanges: rather than immobilized cash or idle stablecoins, institutions can leverage a Treasury-backed asset that generates yield while supporting trading activity. In practice, the treasury collateral may stay under off-exchange custody with Standard Chartered, while OKX mirrors the exposure for on-exchange trading, a structure designed to reduce counterparty risk without interrupting execution. The move signals growing interoperability between traditional finance and crypto markets, as regulated custody and risk controls are integrated into exchange-level margin facilities.

The trend toward tokenized Treasuries as collateral aligns with a broader push to bridge DeFi and TradFi, enabling more capital-efficient financing while preserving regulatory guardrails. As more traditional institutions participate in crypto markets through regulated instruments and custody arrangements, readers should monitor how such structures evolve in terms of liquidity, risk management, and the potential for broader adoption across other exchanges and asset classes.

Crypto Biz is your weekly pulse on the business behind blockchain and crypto, delivering market-driven analysis and developments to readers who want a clearer view of what’s new and why it matters.

Notes: This article synthesizes reporting and data from Bernstein, DropsTab, RWA.xyz, and industry coverage of OKX’s collaboration with BlackRock and Standard Chartered. All figures are those cited by the cited sources and reflect published estimates and data points available at the time of writing.