The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has warned that many prediction market contracts may already fall under existing restrictions on binary options, saying companies cannot avoid financial regulations simply by marketing them as “event contracts.”

In a public statement on Friday, the regulator reminded companies that event contracts meeting the definition of financial instruments are already prohibited from being marketed, distributed or sold to retail investors under national measures implementing ESMA’s 2018 binary options restrictions.

ESMA said the assessment depends on a contract’s characteristics rather than how it is marketed, adding that event contracts with binary outcomes and fixed payouts are likely to qualify as financial instruments subject to the restrictions.

The regulator also told companies that offering qualifying event contracts to professional or institutional clients still requires authorization under the EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, or MiFID II, regardless of whether retail investors are excluded.

Excerpt from ESMA’s July statement on event contracts. Source: ESMA

The statement does not introduce new restrictions. ESMA said it issued the reminder after observing increased offerings of event contracts and the rapid growth of prediction markets, noting that qualifying binary options have already been subject to national restrictions across the EU since 2018.

Related: StanChart joins ESMA’s first MiCA register update since deadline

US prediction markets face growing legal battle

In the United States, a regulatory battle over prediction markets is unfolding, pitting state gaming regulators against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over whether event contracts should be treated as gambling or federally regulated derivatives.

By March, authorities in 11 states had taken legal or regulatory action against platforms including Kalshi and Polymarket. Nevada became the first state to temporarily block Kalshi’s operations, while Arizona brought criminal charges alleging the company was operating an illegal gambling business.

The following month, the CFTC asserted “exclusive jurisdiction” over prediction markets, saying Congress had entrusted the agency with sole authority to regulate commodity derivatives markets, including event contracts. The regulator also said it had sued several states and filed court briefs supporting platforms, including Kalshi.

The CFTC’s April announcement defending its authority over prediction markets. Source: CFTC.gov

The legal battle has continued to escalate. On June 30, a Massachusetts judge allowed state authorities to file an amended complaint against Kalshi in an ongoing lawsuit alleging that the company’s sports-event contracts constitute illegal gambling under state law.

The dispute has also prompted calls for congressional action. Last month, the Indian Gaming Association and American Gaming Association, joined by tribal and labor groups, urged lawmakers to amend the CLARITY Act to explicitly prohibit sports-related event contracts on prediction market platforms, arguing they fall outside the CFTC’s authority and should remain subject to state gambling laws.

Some legal experts believe the growing conflict between federal and state regulators over prediction markets could ultimately be decided by the US Supreme Court.

Magazine: Bitcoin slides to $58K, XRP hits $1 but onchain data promising: Market Moves

Everyone who bought Nvidia in 2023 remembers why it felt like a leap of faith at the time. The AI story was still new, the chart hadn’t caught up yet, and most people waited for proof before buying in. That proof arrived, and the trade that followed became one of the biggest of the decade. Stargate LLM‘s presale sits in that same early window right now. Batch 1 just opened at $0.0005 per token, well ahead of any launch or listing.

Bittensor and Render, two of the AI sector’s most established names, show what that same trade looks like once the proof has already arrived. TAO trades near $250 with a market cap close to $3 billion. TAO trades near $250 as of late June 2026, ranked around #27 to #37 with a market cap close to $3 billion. And Render is holding through a broader market pullback this week.

Stargate LLM: Getting In Before the Chart Exists

Global AI spending is on track to grow from roughly $391 billion in 2025 to more than $1.2 trillion by 2030. That kind of growth tends to reward the people who position early, and Stargate LLM is built to be one of the platforms through which growth flows. It’s not a wrapper riding on top of someone else’s model. It’s a full AI platform in its own right, offering conversational chat, image generation, video generation, private search, and its own agent marketplace, built to stand alongside names like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude rather than orbit around them.

The presale is structured in 10 batches, with the price stepping up at each stage. Batch 1 is open right now at $0.0005 per token, a 50x discount to the confirmed $0.025 launch price. The earlier a batch is bought into, the larger the theoretical multiple to launch, and Batch 1 alone carries a 50x path to listing, 9 batches ahead of where the presale eventually closes. That structure mirrors exactly what early infrastructure investors couldn’t get in 2023: a seat at the table before the breakout moment, not after it.

Token supply is fixed at 150 billion, with no additional minting planned after launch, and only 1% of that supply is set aside for the team. The rest flows to presale participants and to the community that will actually use the platform once it’s live. It’s the kind of allocation that signals a project built around its users first. This is exactly the kind of early window people are searching for when they look for the next 1000x AI crypto, a token priced before the market has had any real chance to weigh in.

Bittensor: A Mature Project Built Around Scarcity

Bittensor has spent the past year building its case around supply. The network capped its total token count at 21 million and completed its first halving in December 2025, cutting new token issuance in half. Bittensor ran its first halving on Dec. 12, 2025, cutting daily emissions from 7,200 to 3,600 TAO against a fixed 21 million cap, the same hard-cap design Bitcoin uses.

TAO daily price chart — June 30 | Source: crypto.news

Roughly 70% of the circulating supply is staked, locking away a large share of the tokens in circulation. It’s a well-established, actively used decentralized machine learning network, and TAO remains one of the most recognized names in AI crypto. Like most projects with a multi-year track record, its price today reflects a market that has already had time to study it closely. 

Render: Real Infrastructure, Growing By the Week

Render connects people who need computing power for AI and rendering work with people who have GPUs sitting idle. The network recently expanded its capacity significantly, adding roughly 60,000 GPUs through a new partnership with Salad Technologies, approved through the project’s own governance process. It’s a genuine, functioning piece of AI infrastructure with real usage behind it.

Prices across the AI token sector dipped together this week amid a broader market pullback. A detailed market piece describes native DeFi, AI, and privacy tokens, including FET, TAO, RENDER, ZEC, and XMR, all falling as risk appetite faded across the board. which is normal for an established asset trading through short-term market cycles. 

The Bottom Line

Bittensor and Render are two of the strongest, most established names building AI infrastructure on-chain today, and both are worth understanding on their own terms. Stargate LLM offers something different: a chance to get positioned at the very start of a project’s story, at Batch 1 pricing, before the market has set the price at all.

For anyone comparing the two paths, established infrastructure with a known track record or an early presale window still ahead of its own chart, both are real ways to be part of the AI crypto trade. They’re just at different points on the same road, and Stargate LLM is at the very beginning of its own.

Explore Stargate LLM:

Website: stargate.org

Buy: own.stargate.com

Telegram: https://t.me/StargatellmOfficial

Twitter/X: https://x.com/stargatellm

Disclaimer: This is a Press Release provided by a third party who is responsible for the content. Please conduct your own research before taking any action based on the content.

Key Highlights

• PEG stock advanced 1.68% amid PSE&G’s weekend storm preparations.
• PSE&G deployed crews and equipment ahead of heat wave and thunderstorm threats.
• Extreme heat warning remained in effect as severe weather loomed over New Jersey.
• Residents advised to prepare emergency supplies and stay away from fallen power lines.
• Elevated air conditioning demand highlighted grid reliability concerns for PSE&G.

Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG) moved higher as its utility subsidiary PSE&G mobilized resources ahead of extreme heat and potential weekend storms. PEG advanced 1.68% to close at $81.62 during the trading session. The uptick followed the utility’s announcement regarding outage preparedness and anticipated surges in power consumption.

Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated, PEG

PSE&G Mobilizes Resources Ahead of Weather Threats

PSE&G announced enhanced staffing levels throughout its service area as the holiday weekend approached. The company strategically deployed crews and stockpiled repair materials for rapid response capabilities. The operational strategy prioritized both heat-related strain and potential storm-induced infrastructure damage.

The National Weather Service maintained an Extreme Heat Warning through Saturday evening while simultaneously issuing storm alerts for Friday through Sunday. High winds accompanying thunderstorms posed significant risks to trees and electrical infrastructure across the region.

PSE&G indicated that repair teams would evaluate damage systematically and prioritize restoration efforts. The utility’s strategy focuses on repairing infrastructure that restores electricity to the greatest number of customers initially. Concurrently, customer service operations prepared for increased call volumes.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Advances on Operational Readiness

Public Service Enterprise Group equity appreciated as investors responded favorably to the utility’s proactive weather response strategy. The stock movement signaled market confidence in the company’s operational preparedness during peak summer electricity demand periods. Nevertheless, shares retreated modestly in after-hours trading.

PSE&G functions as the state’s premier electric and gas distribution utility serving New Jersey. Public Service Enterprise Group, its parent entity, maintains close ties to grid dependability and energy consumption patterns. Consequently, severe weather developments frequently influence operational performance metrics.

The company has committed substantial capital to electric infrastructure enhancements over recent months. These investments target improved reliability during extreme weather events including storms and prolonged heat episodes. Additionally, the utility maintains that system modernization enables faster crew response following service interruptions.

Residents Advised to Ready Households for Power Disruptions

PSE&G encouraged customers to fully charge mobile phones, essential medical equipment and backup power sources before storm systems arrive. The utility recommended securing patio furniture and loose objects outdoors. Furthermore, it suggested keeping flashlights and fresh batteries readily accessible.

The utility emphasized that all downed electrical wires must be presumed energized. Residents should maintain a minimum distance of 30 feet from any fallen conductor. They should immediately report hazardous conditions to PSE&G while contacting emergency services when imminent danger exists.

PSE&G cautioned against operating gasoline-powered generators indoors, within garages or any confined areas. The company stressed that incorrect generator operation creates serious carbon monoxide poisoning risks. Customers relying on electrically-powered medical devices should enroll in PSE&G’s registry and maintain alternative contingency arrangements.

Heat Wave Intensifies Concerns Over Electricity Consumption

Prolonged extreme heat forces air conditioning systems to operate continuously, substantially increasing electrical draw. PSE&G recommended that customers adjust thermostats to higher settings during absences from residences. The utility also suggested utilizing ceiling fans, closing window coverings, and maintaining clean HVAC filters.

The company directed customers toward available energy conservation programs and consumption monitoring resources. The MyMeter platform enables customers to monitor electricity usage via online accounts or smartphone applications. Accordingly, households can modify consumption patterns before receiving elevated utility statements.

The impending weekend storm threat compounds challenges for an already taxed electrical grid infrastructure. However, PSE&G affirmed that personnel and equipment remain positioned for forecasted conditions. The announcement maintained emphasis on service reliability, public safety, and seasonal power demand management.

Quick Overview

• Tesla activates robotaxi operations in Miami following delays past initial timeline.

• TSLA shares gain momentum in after-hours trading following Miami announcement.

• Miami marks the first of several postponed 2026 robotaxi cities to go live.

• Waymo’s existing Miami presence intensifies competitive dynamics for Tesla.

• Cybercab development continues as cornerstone of Tesla’s autonomous strategy beyond Model Y.

Tesla (TSLA) activated its autonomous ride-hailing service in Miami on Friday, refocusing attention on the company’s postponed geographic expansion strategy. This deployment extends Tesla’s robotaxi footprint into Florida following setbacks in meeting previously announced schedules. TSLA shares finished Friday’s session at $393.45, down 7.49%, before climbing modestly to $394.40 in extended trading.

Tesla, Inc., TSLA

Miami Deployment Highlights Schedule Challenges

Tesla confirmed the Miami service activation via its dedicated robotaxi social media channel, releasing details of the operational boundaries. The designated coverage zone encompasses sections of western Miami-Dade County, including West Miami, Doral, and Coral Gables. Notably absent from initial coverage are downtown Miami and Miami Beach.

This Florida entry represents Tesla’s inaugural robotaxi deployment beyond Texas and California’s San Francisco Bay Area. Miami also becomes the first among five cities that missed the company’s original first-half 2026 launch window. While the activation demonstrates forward momentum, it simultaneously highlights execution challenges.

Tesla’s announced first-half 2026 expansion list included Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. Only Dallas and Houston met that timeframe, leaving the remaining cities behind schedule. Miami’s activation now breaks through that logjam as the first delayed location to commence operations.

Rollout Timeline Shows Significant Gaps

Tesla initiated its autonomous ride service in Austin on June 22, 2025, deploying modified Model Y vehicles for passenger transport. Operations subsequently grew throughout Austin before extending into Dallas and Houston. The company has progressively removed safety personnel from certain trips as confidence in system performance increased.

California operations follow a distinct model because state regulations mandate specific permits for fully autonomous commercial rides. Tesla has not pursued these authorizations, resulting in Bay Area service that relies on human operators. Florida thus offers Tesla a more direct pathway for driverless commercial expansion.

Waymo’s established paid autonomous service in Miami amplifies competitive pressure on Tesla’s deployment speed. Tesla conducted Model Y testing in Miami starting August 2025. However, fare-paying passenger service only materialized after the company’s self-imposed first-half deadline had passed.

Cybercab Development Central to Investment Thesis

Tesla’s strategic robotaxi vision centers on Cybercab, a vehicle engineered specifically for autonomous operation. The design eliminates traditional steering wheels and pedals, making full autonomy a functional requirement rather than an option. Tesla currently operates its commercial robotaxi network exclusively with adapted Model Y vehicles.

Production began at Giga Texas in February when the first Cybercab exited the assembly line. Tesla has initiated public road validation in Austin using production-spec Cybercabs. Nevertheless, no jurisdiction has yet authorized the vehicle for commercial driverless passenger transport.

The Miami activation provides Tesla with momentum following notable TSLA stock weakness. However, substantial challenges remain including fleet expansion, geographic penetration, and regulatory clearances. Orlando, Tampa, Phoenix, and Las Vegas now represent critical milestones for validating the broader 2026 expansion blueprint.

BTSE Group has launched BTSE Indonesia, marking its official entry into Indonesia’s regulated crypto market. The platform began operations after the rebranding of NVX, a local digital asset exchange, into BTSE Indonesia.

The company announced the launch on July 3 through a joint venture with PT Aset Kripto Internasional. Under the arrangement, BTSE Group provides the exchange technology, trading engine, and liquidity, while the Indonesian entity manages local growth, partnerships, marketing, and sales.

BTSE Indonesia Enters Regulated Market

BTSE Indonesia operates under a license from Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority, known as OJK. The license allows the platform to act as a Digital Financial Assets and Crypto Assets Trading Operator, or PAKD, in the country.

That approval permits BTSE Indonesia to offer regulated crypto trading services while following anti-money laundering rules and customer asset protection standards. It also places the exchange among the approved platforms allowed to serve Indonesian crypto users under local supervision.

The license also allows the platform to work with Indonesian banks and payment gateways. As a result, users can access Indonesian rupiah deposits, withdrawals, conversions, and IDR-denominated trading pairs.

Joint Venture Combines Global Technology and Local Operations

BTSE Group said it will support the platform with trading infrastructure, liquidity, and technical systems. Meanwhile, BTSE Indonesia will use its domestic market knowledge to expand customer access and build business relationships.

Jeff Mei, Chief Operating Officer of BTSE Group, said Indonesia has the population, demand, and regulatory framework needed to become a major crypto hub in Asia. He added that the joint venture brings together global infrastructure and local expertise.

Stephanie Kusnadi, Chief Strategy Officer of BTSE Indonesia, said the integration with BTSE gives the platform access to global exchange technology while keeping its focus on local compliance and Indonesian users.

Indonesia Tightens Crypto Oversight

The launch comes as Indonesia continues to expand its rules for digital assets. In June, OJK issued Financial Services Authority Regulation No. 6 of 2026, which introduced new requirements for crypto promotion.

Under the rule, social media influencers who recommend crypto assets must obtain competency certification unless they already hold another qualifying license. They may also promote only assets listed on authorized exchanges.

The regulation also requires promotional campaigns to run through licensed financial services businesses. These businesses remain responsible for the content. For BTSE Indonesia, the launch places the platform inside a market where regulatory compliance now plays a central role in crypto expansion.

Find the original press release here.

While the market argues about XRP price levels, the ledger underneath it is assembling something more ambitious: a full stack of compliance-native DeFi rails aimed at banks, funds, and treasury desks. Here is what is already live, what is in validator voting right now, and why the whole bet could still fail.

The XRP Ledger has spent most of its fourteen-year life being described as a payments chain. Fast, cheap, boring. The description was accurate for a long time, and it also missed what has been happening on the ledger over the past eighteen months. Piece by piece, amendment by amendment, XRPL contributors and Ripple have been laying down infrastructure for something the rest of the industry mostly talks about in conference keynotes: DeFi that regulated institutions can actually use.

The phrase itself, institutional DeFi, tends to produce eye rolls among crypto natives. It sounds like a contradiction, a way of saying decentralized finance with the decentralization filed off. But the buildout on XRPL is concrete enough, and far enough along, that it deserves a serious look. As of this week, the two amendments that would bring native fixed-term lending to the ledger, XLS-65 and XLS-66, are in active validator voting following the Rippled v3.1.0 release in late January. Tokenized real-world assets on XRPL have passed $3 billion. Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD crossed $1 billion in supply and ranks among the fastest-growing stablecoins in the market. A permissioned exchange layer with protocol-level compliance controls has gone live. None of this made much noise. That is partly the point.

The core bet: compliance at the protocol layer

Every major smart contract chain has tried to court institutions, and almost all of them have run into the same wall. Banks and asset managers cannot deploy client capital into open pools where the counterparty might be a sanctioned entity, a mixer, or a teenager with a hardware wallet. The standard industry answer has been to bolt compliance on afterward: whitelisted front ends, wrapped permissioned versions of open protocols, off-chain legal agreements draped over on-chain positions.

Key Takeaways

• Sandisk shares fell 14.13% even as manufacturing milestone was achieved.

• Kioxia partnership launches 10th-generation 3D Flash at Japanese production site.

• K2 manufacturing facility increases cutting-edge NAND production for AI applications.

• Partnership extension through 2034 provides sustained NAND development framework.

• After-hours recovery modest following significant intraday selling pressure.

Sandisk Corporation (SNDK) experienced a steep 14.13% decline, closing at 1,745.00, even as the company achieved significant progress with its Kioxia NAND manufacturing collaboration. After-hours trading saw a modest recovery to 1,762.07, representing a 0.98% gain. Nevertheless, the trading session revealed substantial downward pressure that overshadowed positive manufacturing developments.

Sandisk Corporation, SNDK

Next-Generation 3D Flash Manufacturing Commences at K2 Plant

Kioxia Corporation and Sandisk have initiated manufacturing operations for their 10th-generation 3D Flash memory technology at the Fab2 location in Japan. This manufacturing site operates within the Kitakami Plant complex located in Iwate Prefecture. The production achievement represents a significant expansion in their capacity to deliver advanced NAND solutions for data-intensive use cases.

The K2 manufacturing complex began operations in September 2025, initially focusing on eighth-generation 3D flash memory products. The partners are now implementing their latest 10th-generation technology at the same location. This strategic move aligns with their objective of achieving sustained bit volume expansion over time.

Both technology generations incorporate CBA architecture, which creates direct bonds between CMOS logic and memory arrays. This innovative design delivers enhanced storage density, superior operational speed, and reduced energy consumption. Consequently, these products address the growing requirements of artificial intelligence and data storage sectors.

Enhanced Manufacturing Infrastructure at K2 Location

The Fab2 production site incorporates seismic isolation technology, ensuring consistent manufacturing operations in earthquake-prone regions of Japan. The facility also deploys energy-efficient production systems throughout critical manufacturing stages. As such, the location aligns with the partners’ commitment to sustainable chip fabrication.

Kioxia and Sandisk have integrated artificial intelligence systems throughout the facility to optimize production workflows. The facility architecture maximizes clean-room capacity for manufacturing equipment installation. This strategic layout enables the partners to increase production volume while utilizing available infrastructure efficiently.

The collaboration partners recently renewed their joint venture agreement, extending it through December 2034. This extension reinforces a strategic alliance that has driven NAND innovation for over a quarter century. The agreement provides both organizations with an extended timeframe for coordinated capital deployment.

NAND Capacity Growth Continues Amid Share Price Volatility

Sandisk and Kioxia have constructed their NAND collaboration through synchronized technology development and pooled manufacturing investments. This strategic partnership continues to serve as the foundation for their capacity to manufacture sophisticated flash memory at commercial scale. The alliance also ensures consistent supply availability for clients across multiple technology sectors.

This production launch arrives as artificial intelligence infrastructure drives increased requirements for high-performance storage solutions. Flash memory technology enables rapid data retrieval, expanded storage volumes, and reduced energy demands. State-of-the-art NAND products remain critical for cloud infrastructure, consumer devices, and enterprise computing environments.

Despite these developments, Sandisk shares experienced significant downward movement throughout the trading day. The price action indicated that the manufacturing achievement failed to counterbalance wider market pressures. Nonetheless, the K2 facility expansion positions Sandisk and Kioxia with enhanced manufacturing capabilities for upcoming NAND production cycles.