Tokenized stock adoption nearly doubled over the past month as Robinhood attracted hundreds of thousands of retail holders, although Ondo continued to lead the sector by asset value.

Tokenized stock holders rise 92% in one month

Tokenized equity platforms reached 752,000 holders after their combined count increased 92% within 30 days, according to data shared by DWF Labs.

Perpetual futures have spent years as one of crypto’s most popular trading products, especially for investors outside the United States. Now that the contracts are entering regulated American markets, Wall Street is trying to decide whether they are a passing retail craze or a lasting threat to traditional futures.

The early numbers have been hard to ignore.

Kalshi’s perpetual futures topped $1 billion in trading volume within a week of launch in June, making them the company’s biggest product debut since prediction markets. The exchange has since sought regulatory approval to offer perpetual futures tied to gold and silver, a sign that the product may not stay confined to bitcoin (BTC) and other digital assets.

Perpetual futures, often called perps, resemble standard futures contracts but do not expire. Traders do not need to close or roll a position into a new contract each month or quarter. Instead, periodic funding payments help keep the contract’s price close to the underlying asset.

The product has become a core part of global crypto trading. Bank of America has estimated annual perpetual futures volume at about $90 trillion.

On May 29, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) cleared Kalshi to offer the contracts. Coinbase (COIN) also received approval to list regulated perpetual futures in the U.S.

Inside Wall Street, however, interest does not mean immediate adoption.

People familiar with discussions said perps are coming up more often, in part because U.S. regulators are allowing markets that once operated offshore to move onshore. Yet most large financial institutions are still studying the products rather than preparing major launches. The first movers are more likely to be proprietary trading firms, market makers and newer clearing firms.

Unlike large banks, prop shops trade their own capital. That gives them more freedom to test new venues, accept operational risk and withdraw if the economics stop working. Big banks face stricter capital rules, client obligations and reputational risk. For them, the profit available in a young market may not yet justify the cost of building compliance, clearing and risk systems around it.

That difference matters because the phrase “Wall Street” covers several groups moving at different speeds. Individual traders and smaller firms often arrive first. Market makers tend to follow once volume grows. Banks usually want years of data, clear regulatory treatment and stable infrastructure before committing large sums.

Still, the potential use cases extend beyond speculation. Perps could help traders manage weekend risk. Traditional futures markets close for part of the weekend, even though wars, elections and policy decisions do not. A trader holding options exposure on Friday may have to wait until Sunday night to hedge a sharp move.

A liquid 24-hour perpetual market could change that. Firms could adjust positions as events unfold, then use weekend prices to estimate where CME futures may reopen. Insiders said that could make perps useful as both a hedge and a source of price discovery.

“The demand has to be there, or the capital won’t be,” one industry insider said, arguing that firms won’t commit balance sheet until customer activity justifies it.

The problem is depth. A contract may trade around the clock, but that does not mean institutions can move large positions without shifting the market. Weekend liquidity remains thin, and collateral systems do not always move as quickly as the markets they support.

There is also a regulatory fight taking shape. One key question is whether some perpetual contracts should be treated as futures or swaps. That distinction affects margin rules, registration duties and who can provide liquidity. Industry insiders said those legal questions may become more important as exchanges push perps into commodities, equities and other traditional markets.

The debate is also becoming a competitive one. CME has challenged the CFTC’s treatment of Kalshi’s bitcoin perpetuals, arguing the contracts should be regulated differently. Similar disputes could emerge if exchanges seek to expand perpetuals into equities and other asset classes.

“A lot of this stuff… is more commercial than people are going to admit to out loud,” another industry insider said, suggesting some opposition reflects incumbent exchanges protecting existing businesses as much as concerns about market structure.

For now, Wall Street’s view is cautious rather than hostile. Trading firms see a product they understand, regulators see a market moving onshore and exchanges see a chance to capture new volume.

But the largest banks are unlikely to lead. They will wait for the rules, liquidity and infrastructure to catch up.

Circle Internet Group has acquired more than 680 IBM patent families containing nearly 1,000 issued patents worldwide. 

The portfolio covers blockchain infrastructure, banking, payments, insurance, enterprise systems, supply-chain verification and secure cloud operations. Circle announced the transaction on July 27 but did not disclose its price or other financial terms.

In its official announcement, Circle said the deal made it the “leader in blockchain patent holdings in the United States.” That remains the company’s claim. Circle did not publish a full patent list, ranking method or independent comparison with other U.S. holders.

Patent portfolio broadens Circle’s infrastructure position

A patent family groups related filings that protect one invention across different countries. Therefore, 680 families and nearly 1,000 issued patents do not represent 1,000 separate technologies. The acquired rights still give Circle a larger intellectual-property base across several areas used in digital finance.

Circle did not identify which patents directly apply to stablecoin issuance, cross-border settlement or blockchain networks. It also did not explain whether IBM retained licences, regional rights or other permissions connected to the portfolio.

Circle general counsel Sarah Wilson said intellectual property was “critical” to the company’s mission and its effort to expand onchain infrastructure. The statement describes Circle’s intended use, but patents alone do not confirm that a product will gain users, pass regulatory checks or generate revenue.

Deal supports USDC, CPN and Arc strategy

Circle said the portfolio will support USDC, Circle Payments Network, Arc and its onchain products. CPN connects participating financial institutions so they can communicate and settle payments directly, while Circle provides the network’s technology layer.

Arc forms another part of that strategy. Circle designed the blockchain for stablecoin payments, foreign exchange, treasury activity and capital markets. As crypto.news previously reported, Arc uses stablecoins for transaction fees and targets faster settlement with features built for financial institutions.

Circle’s 2026 product roadmap places Arc, USDC, developer tools and CPN inside one platform. The company plans to use Arc as a coordination layer for payments, foreign exchange and capital flows. The IBM patents could help Circle protect parts of that stack or negotiate licences.

However, Circle has not said whether the acquisition will change any current product, reduce development costs or produce licensing income. It has also not announced legal action against other blockchain companies.

Agentic finance adds another use case

Circle also linked the patent purchase to its agentic finance tools. In May, the company launched Circle Agent Stack, a set of services for software agents that can hold funds, follow spending rules and pay for digital resources.

The stack includes agent wallets, a service marketplace, command-line tools and USDC nanopayments. Circle says the system can process transfers as small as $0.000001 through Circle Gateway. It also supports standards such as x402, allowing software to pay for data, computing or online services without manual checkout.

As crypto.news reported, Circle has tied Arc and USDC to AI-focused payment infrastructure. That coverage said Arc’s testnet had processed more than 244 million transactions by May, while Circle continued building wallets and payment tools for automated applications.

The IBM portfolio includes patents tied to secure cloud operations and enterprise infrastructure, which may overlap with systems used by autonomous financial software. Circle has not named the relevant patents or explained how they will fit into Agent Stack.

IBM deal adds protection as competition grows

Circle faces competition across stablecoins, payment networks and purpose-built blockchains. Banks, fintech companies and crypto firms are developing their own tokens, settlement systems and machine-payment products. As crypto.news reported in July, more than 140 companies backed Open USD, a model that shares stablecoin economics with network participants.

Circle can use patents defensively against infringement claims or in cross-licensing talks. It could also license the patents to other companies. The announcement did not commit to either approach or state whether Circle expects direct income.

IBM and Circle plan to explore further commercial opportunities after the transfer. Neither company described those possible projects. The statement also did not say whether IBM will use Circle products, join CPN or build on Arc.

The deal also shows Circle buying mature enterprise research instead of developing every technical component internally, although the company did not explain its integration schedule.

The acquisition gives Circle ownership of a broad set of issued patents as it expands beyond stablecoin issuance. The next details may come through product integrations, licensing agreements or company filings. Until then, the portfolio’s commercial value remains unreported.

Tesla has secured a UK Supreme Court victory that revives its legal challenge over the licensing terms for patents needed to launch 5G-enabled vehicles in Britain.

Tesla revives UK lawsuit over 5G patents

Britain’s Supreme Court ruled in Tesla’s favor on July 27, overturning earlier decisions that had blocked part of the automaker’s lawsuit against InterDigital and Avanci.

Tesla brought the case in London’s High Court in 2023 as it prepared to introduce 5G-enabled vehicles in the UK. The company wants an English court to determine the fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory, or FRAND, terms under which it can license standard-essential patents used in connected vehicles.

InterDigital owns some of the patents available through Avanci’s 5G licensing platform. Avanci combines intellectual property from multiple patent owners and offers licences primarily to vehicle manufacturers.

According to the UK Supreme Court’s case summary, the platform licence cost $32 per vehicle when Tesla filed its claim. Tesla argued that the rate was not FRAND.

The Supreme Court concluded that patent owners cannot avoid their FRAND commitments by placing their patents into a pool or licensing platform. The ruling allows Tesla’s claim to return to the High Court for further proceedings.

Why Tesla challenged Avanci’s licensing model

The High Court rejected Tesla’s request for a FRAND determination in 2024 after InterDigital and Avanci sought to have that part of the lawsuit dismissed. However, it allowed Tesla to continue separate claims challenging the validity of three InterDigital patents.

Tesla then appealed the FRAND decision. A majority of the Court of Appeal upheld the lower court’s ruling, prompting the electric vehicle maker to take the dispute to the Supreme Court.

Organizations including the Computer & Communications Industry Association and the Motion Picture Association intervened in support of the appeal.

The Supreme Court’s decision does not establish the final licence rate Tesla must pay. Instead, it revives the company’s attempt to have the English courts consider whether the platform’s licensing terms meet FRAND obligations.

“We respectfully disagree with today’s decision and continue to believe Tesla’s claims are without merit,” Avanci Vehicle President Laurie Fitzgerald said in a statement reported by Reuters.

Tesla stock erases early premarket gain

Tesla shares initially gained about 0.98% to $316.10 in premarket trading following the ruling, Yahoo Finance shows. However, that recovery did not hold after the opening bell.

TSLA was trading near $309.10 later on July 27, down about 1.2% from its previous close. The stock moved between an intraday low of $304.28 and a high of $317.

The patent ruling removes one procedural obstacle for Tesla, but the case could take more time to resolve after returning to the High Court. The final outcome may affect the terms under which Tesla uses 5G technology in vehicles sold in Britain.

For US investors, the dispute also matters because both Tesla and InterDigital are American companies. However, the ruling applies to proceedings in England and Wales and does not directly alter US patent law.

Tesla keeps Bitcoin as Dogecoin payments stay limited

Tesla’s crypto position remains separate from the UK patent dispute. As crypto.news reported last week, the company held its reserve of 11,509 BTC unchanged throughout the second quarter.

Tesla neither bought nor sold Bitcoin during the three months ended June 30, extending the holding pattern that followed its large BTC sale in 2022. Falling crypto prices generated a $112 million after-tax loss on the company’s digital assets during the quarter.

Bitcoin traded near $83,000 at the beginning of the period before falling as low as $58,000 in late June. The decline reduced the reported value of Tesla’s remaining crypto holdings without prompting the company to sell.

Beyond holding Bitcoin on its balance sheet, Tesla has also explored a wider role for cryptocurrency in its business. Tesla CEO Elon Musk suggested in 2024 that the automaker could eventually accept Dogecoin for vehicle purchases, although it has yet to introduce the payment option for its cars.

Tesla currently allows customers to use DOGE only for eligible merchandise sold through the Tesla Shop. Consequently, the UK ruling advances Tesla’s connected-car plans but does not change its current Bitcoin holdings or Dogecoin payment policy.

Tether’s gold-backed token XAUt has secured Shariah certification from Amanah Advisors, a development that Tether says could make its tokenized gold product more accessible to Islamic financial institutions and investors seeking Shariah-compliant exposure to physical gold.

According to Tether, the certification concludes that XAUt’s design aligns with core Islamic finance requirements: the token is fully backed by physical gold, it does not involve interest-based mechanics, avoids leverage, and maintains transparent reserves disclosures. Tether states that each XAUt token corresponds to one troy ounce of physical gold held in Swiss vaults.

Key takeaways

• XAUt has received Shariah certification from Amanah Advisors, positioning it for wider use by Shariah-focused institutions.
• Tether says the token is fully backed by one troy ounce of physical gold per XAUt, stored in Swiss vaults.
• The company highlights compliance features commonly required in Islamic finance, including no interest and no leverage.
• Reserve reporting shows XAUt is already one of the more established tokenized gold offerings, with backing exceeding 707,000 troy ounces as of March 31.
• Onchain metrics compiled by RWA.xyz indicate XAUt’s asset value has risen sharply since mid-2025.

Why Shariah certification matters for tokenized gold

For investors and institutions operating under Shariah principles, the challenge is often less about whether gold is permitted, and more about how a financial product is structured. Islamic finance typically emphasizes restrictions around interest, excessive uncertainty, and speculative leverage—conditions that can affect whether certain tokenized products are considered acceptable.

Tether’s certification directly targets that gatekeeping issue. By obtaining formal Shariah certification for XAUt’s structure, Tether is signaling that its tokenized-gold model is designed to meet the expectations of Shariah-governed decision makers—potentially reducing friction in markets where Shariah compliance is not optional.

In its announcement, Tether said it expects the certification to support adoption in regions where Islamic finance is widely used, including the Gulf Cooperation Council, South Asia, and parts of Africa.

XAUt’s backing and growth in tokenized gold

Tokenized gold only becomes practically useful to mainstream users if the underlying asset is credibly secured and consistently disclosed. Tether points to reserve reports published on its website as evidence of ongoing backing and transparency.

In Tether’s most recent reserves reporting, the company said XAUt was backed by more than 707,000 troy ounces of physical gold, worth over $3.3 billion, as of March 31. That matters because Shariah certification alone does not address the operational question of whether there is sufficient physical backing behind token issuance.

Beyond reserve disclosures, market interest in the product appears to be growing onchain. Data cited from RWA.xyz shows XAUt’s onchain asset value rose from roughly $700 million in July 2025 to around $2.5 billion. While onchain valuations do not replace physical reserve verification, they do offer a window into how widely a tokenized asset is being held and used across blockchain-based venues.

Shariah-compliant digital assets move from niche to organized offerings

Crypto has long faced questions from Islamic scholars about whether certain digital assets can comply with Shariah principles. The debate has often focused on whether participation in the asset introduces prohibited elements such as interest, excessive uncertainty, or speculation.

In recent years, however, more structured products have emerged that attempt to address those issues directly rather than leaving compliance to interpretation. The broader trend appears to be an industry shift toward token designs that emphasize asset backing, transparent reserve models, and reduced exposure to interest-like returns.

Earlier coverage from Cointelegraph noted that Shariah-compliant approaches have been pursued in different ways. For example, a Bahrain-based group, AlAbraaj Restaurants Group, adopted a Bitcoin treasury strategy and said it planned to develop Shariah-compliant financial instruments to broaden access to Bitcoin across the Islamic world.

More recently, Palm Azgar Finance expanded its Shariah-compliant PUSD stablecoin to ADI Chain, positioning the product for participation in what it described as the $3 trillion Islamic finance market. PUSD is designed to allow transactions to settle using either a dollar-linked asset or a dirham-denominated token on the same infrastructure.

Alongside individual product efforts, regulatory clarity has also been a factor in regional expansion. Dubai has been highlighted as a leading crypto hub in the Middle East, continuing to grow its regulated digital asset framework. Cointelegraph previously reported that Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) issued its 50th virtual asset service provider license earlier this month, surpassing the number of licensed crypto firms in Hong Kong and Singapore.

What to watch next after Amanah Advisors’ certification

With Shariah certification in place, the next question is adoption: whether Islamic banks, funds, and Shariah-governed investors will translate compliance approval into measurable purchasing and integrations for XAUt. Readers should watch for subsequent announcements from Tether or ecosystem partners describing where XAUt will be offered, how it will be distributed through compliant channels, and whether reserve reporting continues to meet the transparency expectations that underpin Shariah assessments.

Armstrong and others say autonomous software agents will eventually execute far more daily transactions than humans. Because digital programs cannot open bank accounts or wait days for wire transfers, real-time crypto and blockchain represent the only alternative.

In his post, Armstrong said Coinbase plans to anchor this ecosystem, which he dubbed Agentic Finance (AiFi). The crypto trading platform is using the x402 protocol, which it developed and is now governed by the x402 Foundation, along with its Base blockchain and Circle Internet’s USDC stablecoin to power these automated payments. Coinbase deployed AI agent accounts that can trade and spend in June. Last week, it said Coinbase Business users would be able to accept AI agent payments via x402.

However, industry builders note that moving money at machine speed requires fixing structural bottlenecks across the entire tech stack.

“Agents don’t just need money, but they need money that moves at machine speed,” said Tory Green, CEO of decentralized network io.net, on Monday in a comment on Armstrong’s post. “Our whole financial stack has evolved for the human interface. Money’s just the first rail that has to catch up. Same story coming for compute, data, all of it.”

Other developers warn that giving unvetted code direct access to financial assets exposes it to massive counterparty risk.

Securitize expanded its regulated US platform after its capital subsidiary registered with the SEC, while SECZ shares fell nearly 10% on Monday.

Securitize Capital becomes an SEC-registered adviser

Securitize said Monday that its subsidiary, Securitize Capital LLC, has registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser.

The registration became effective on July 22, according to the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure database. The Miami-based business had operated as an exempt reporting adviser in Florida since March 2023.

That earlier status generally restricted the unit to advising venture capital funds or private funds with less than $150 million in US assets under management. Full registration removes those limits but brings additional disclosure, compliance, recordkeeping and examination duties under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

“Becoming an SEC-registered investment adviser is an important step in the continued expansion of Securitize’s platform,” co-founder and CEO Carlos Domingo said.

“Asset managers and institutional investors want to work with partners that understand both the opportunity of tokenization and the obligations that come with operating in regulated markets.”

The company noted that registration does not represent an SEC endorsement or indicate a particular level of skill or training.

SEC status expands Securitize’s US regulatory stack

Securitize Capital’s registration completes a broader group of regulated services covering the issuance, management and trading of tokenized securities.

Securitize Markets operates as an SEC-registered broker-dealer and runs an SEC-regulated alternative trading system. Other affiliates provide transfer-agent and fund-administration services. FINRA also approved Securitize Markets in May to custody tokenized securities and support atomic settlement.

The expanded structure could allow Securitize to work more closely with asset managers building onchain vaults, lending products and other portfolio strategies. The company reported more than $5 billion in assets under management as of July across products linked to BlackRock, Apollo, BNY, Hamilton Lane, KKR and VanEck.

BlackRock’s BUIDL tokenized Treasury fund accounts for about $2.6 billion of that total.

The registration follows SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce’s July 22 warning that managing certain vaults and lending strategies may create investment adviser obligations. Peirce urged businesses operating within the securities market to engage with the regulator while developing compliant onchain products.

SECZ falls despite Citi’s bullish price target

SECZ shares fell over 10% during Monday trading to about $6.76, giving Securitize a market capitalization of slightly under $1 billion per data from Yahoo Finance. The decline extended the stock’s losses since its New York Stock Exchange debut earlier in July.

Citi analyst Peter Christiansen separately initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $10 price target. The target represented about 34% upside from Friday’s closing price of $7.47.

Christiansen described Securitize as important infrastructure for real-world asset tokenization but identified several risks. These included the company’s reliance on BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, exposure to interest-rate changes and uncertainty over the development of higher-margin transaction revenue.

Securitize pushes IPOs and public stocks onchain

Securitize entered public markets on July 2 through a merger with Cantor Equity Partners II that generated about $400 million in gross proceeds. It also tokenized its own SECZ shares on the listing date.

Cantor and Securitize later announced a July 15 partnership designed to incorporate blockchain infrastructure into IPOs and follow-on stock offerings. Cantor will provide capital-markets and trading services, while Securitize will manage the issuance, distribution and servicing of tokenized securities.

Unlike products that create blockchain representations of stocks already trading on exchanges, the arrangement would place onchain infrastructure within the original securities issuance process.

Hanwha Group has also emerged as Securitize’s largest shareholder. SEC filings show that the South Korean conglomerate controls 15.69 million shares through affiliated entities and investment vehicles, equal to a 9.6% stake.

Securitize is also working with the NYSE on infrastructure for the exchange’s planned tokenized securities platform. The adviser registration gives the company another regulated US entity as it expands from issuing tokenized funds into portfolio management and public-market settlement.

Bitcoin’s BTC$64,979.79 options market has turned notably less defensive over the past month, unwinding the downside protection traders built up in June just as the Federal Reserve prepares to meet.

The put/call ratio on open interest, which measures how much of the market is positioned in puts, contracts that pay off when the price falls, against calls, which pay off when it rises, has dropped to roughly 0.52 from about 0.76 in late June, according to Glassnode.

Calls are gaining share, the pattern of traders stepping back from hedging rather than adding to it. Recently, large traders have been accumulating $70,000 strike calls and bull call spreads, signaling expectations of upside in the spot price.

The 25-delta skew, the premium traders pay for downside protection relative to equivalent upside exposure, has fallen to around 4% at the one-week tenor while three- and six-month contracts hold at 11% to 12%. That indicates traders are still paying for insurance against something going wrong later this year, but have largely stopped paying for it this week.

On Friday, a clever startup manufactured a viral media story about a Brazilian rancher securing a $19,600 loan by tokenizing 10 cows.

However, omitted from the subsequent wall-to-wall media coverage was some very inconvenient context, such as the rancher’s seat on the board of a state-backed ranching fund, his massive herd, and plentiful access to traditional, real estate-based financing.

When the story hit social media on Friday, crypto influencers applauded blockchain technologies extending credit to a farmer in need.

Unfortunately, this feel-good story falls apart under the slightest scrutiny.

Firstly, the rancher’s expansive, multi-generational real estate exceeds 1.3 square miles, and as of the most recent estimates, had over 500 cows alongside other operations.

Even if the herd size hasn’t grown, the 10 animals in Friday’s announcement represent a mere 4% of the dairy’s more than 240 lactating cows.

Secondly, trade press profiles identify the operator of the farm, Fazenda Engenho Velho, as civil engineer João Guilherme Brenner whose family has owned the land for generations.

Unlike many farmers and ranchers who rent their land, his family owns its land outright and, as such, has access to conventional, real estate-based financing.

A president, director, and seven-figure rancher

In 2022, a magazine interview documented the rancher’s election as president of Paraná’s Holstein breeders association and his appointment to the board of directors of the Brazilian state’s livestock development fund.

His 10 Holstein cows in Imbituva, Paraná secured a credit note this week, worth roughly $19,700.

Despite that loan of 1% the value of his dairy’s land, press outlets gushed about “one of Brazil’s first uses of tokenized livestock as loan collateral.”

Press coverage soared past a million views through posts about tokenization ostensibly allowing farmers to access financial lifelines.

For context, Paraná’s agriculture department prices farmland of the Imbituva municipality at 23,200 to 126,900 Brazilian reais (BRL) per hectare across every soil classification except its worst.

Anywhere within that price range, Guilherme Brenner’s 360 hectares are worth millions of US dollars.