NEW YORK (AP) — Pressure from the U.S. bond market hit a new level on Wall Street Wednesday after a surprisingly strong report on the economy raised worries about inflation, while oil prices halted their slide. The squeeze caused U.S. stocks to sink.

The S&P 500 fell 0.8% after finishing the prior day just 0.4% below its record set last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 352 points, or 0.7%, while the Nasdaq composite sank 1.1% from its own all-time high.

Stocks wilted after the yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped to 5.10% from 4.96% late Tuesday, which is a considerable move for the bond market. High yields undercut prices for stocks and other investments, while also slowing the economy by making it more expensive for everyone to borrow money.

Wednesday’s jump briefly sent the 10-year yield near 5.14%, back to where it was in 2007 before the global financial crisis caused yields to crater. Yields have been climbing since bottoming out in the COVID pandemic, and they’ve accelerated recently because of worries about high inflation, the U.S. government’s heavy debt and other concerns.

Worries about inflation got a jolt Wednesday morning after a preliminary report suggested growth in U.S. business activity surged to its strongest level in more than five years. That’s an encouraging signal, to be sure, but it indicates the economy may have plenty of fuel for more inflation.

The report also suggested costs for businesses are leaping at the fastest rate in four years, in part because of more expensive oil, according to Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. That could mean businesses will pass those higher costs onto their customers in coming months.

Oil prices are high because of worries that the war with Iran will keep oil bottled up in the Middle East for a long time.

The price for a barrel of Brent oil to be delivered in November rose 3.9% to $103.08 on Wednesday. That reversed a decline for Brent, which had been falling since it neared $110 last week. Talks are continuing with mediators between U.S. and Iranian officials, but nothing concrete has come from it yet.

Brent oil to be delivered in December, where most of the trading in the market has moved, rose 2.8% to $98.12 per barrel.

Even with its recent decline, the price for a barrel of Brent remains much higher than the roughly $72 it cost before the war with Iran began.

Inflation has remained so stubbornly high that the Federal Reserve raised its short-term interest rate last week for the first time in three years in hopes of slowing down increases in the cost of living.

Fed Gov. Michael Barr said in a speech on Wednesday that further hikes “are likely to be needed” to get inflation to the Fed’s 2% target. Traders now see better than a 50% probability that the Fed will hike its federal funds rate at each of its next two meetings, in October and December, according to data from CME Group.

So far, strong growth in profits for U.S. companies has helped support the U.S. stock market despite higher interest rates and more expensive oil.

KB Home became the latest to deliver a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. But its stock nevertheless swung between losses and gains after the homebuilder’s executive chairman said conditions got even tougher for the industry over the last three months. It finished with a loss of 3%.

Potential customers are becoming more cautious because of higher mortgage rates caused by the rise in the 10-year Treasury yield. They also are feeling pressure from “geopolitical uncertainty and broader economic headwinds,” Jeffrey Mezger said.

General Mills likewise reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. But the company behind the Cheerios and Progresso brands said it also expects growth this fiscal year to fall below its historical track record “driven by a continued challenging consumer backdrop,” and it did not raise its forecast for profit over the full fiscal year.

Its stock flipped between gains and losses before rising 1%.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 58.61 points to 7,706.03. The Dow dropped 352.10 to 51,511.59, and the Nasdaq composite sank 308.24 to 26,936.04.

In stock markets abroad, indexes slipped across much of Europe and Asia.

Stock indexes fell 1% in Hong Kong and 0.4% in Shanghai ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington, which is kicking off Wednesday.

The leaders are expected to attempt to steady fragile ties in their third meeting since Trump returned to the White House. That is despite the world’s two largest economies seeking the upper hand on artificial-intelligence developments and trade, while pushing for leverage in persistent hot spots like Iran and Taiwan.

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AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Michelle Chapman contributed to this report.

An AI ad for crypto prediction market Kalshi stole a YouTube video by popular Asian content creator Elliot Choy and “turned him into a white dude.”

Choy shared a screenshot of Kalshi’s advert alongside his original New York apartment video yesterday. 

The content creator said, “I guess Kalshi saw this and thought they should steal my video, turn me into a white dude, and run it as an ad.”

Read more: Suspicious Kalshi bot shuts down amid wash trading claims

NPR correspondent Bobby Allyn confirmed that Kalshi’s advert was real and that the firm is now reviewing its relationship with its marketing agency. 

Kalshi told Allyn it was an old advert, and that it no longer uses AI-generated ads. 

Despite this claim, the advert was promoted this week on YouTube and spotted by Choy.

Another Kalshi ad branded ‘insane’

Another AI-generated Kalshi ad is also being ridiculed by users online. 

Made in the style of a Pixar animation, it depicts a couple in financial trouble and features cheating as its main theme.

By the end of the video, one partner reveals she isn’t cheating, and that she’s actually gambling egg prices on Kalshi using her knowledge of running a bakery.

Users have described the spot as “cringe,” “out of touch,” and “insane.”

The slow-motion liquidity crisis in private credit has rolled into its third quarter, with Apollo gating another three months of withdrawal requests from its flagship retail private credit fund.

On Tuesday, the fund disappointed investors who had asked to cash out 14.7% of their shares. 

It will honor about two thirds less at just 5%, and has gated withdrawals for at least nine months.

The rationed exit is supposed to prevent a stampede for the exits that gating during the first and second quarters was supposed to alleviate.

Stock prices across the private credit market continue to crater. Apollo’s own common stock closed down 14% year-to-date, far underperforming the S&P 500 at +12% YTD.

Private credit peers are also underperforming their benchmarks year-to-date: Blackstone has lost 22%, Ares is down 24%, KKR is down 23%, Carlyle is down 33%, and Blue Owl has declined 36%.

Apollo Debt Solutions BDC, a private credit fund, is a retail vehicle holding a $25.9 billion portfolio of senior secured loans.

Investors wanted to redeem 11.2% of shares in the first quarter but were told to expect about 45 cents per dollar worth of requests.

In the second quarter, they asked for 16.8% of shares back, yet received just 5%.

Apollo has even titled its quarterly 5% limitation using corporate jargon. It prefers another name for denials of its customers’ full withdrawal requests: “Quarterly Liquidity: Considered & Intentional.”

Stablecoin infrastructure company HIFI has raised $37 million in a Series A funding round led by Left Lane Capital as the use of stablecoins for payments and cross-border transfers continues to grow despite weakness in the broader crypto market.

Cross-border stablecoin flows rose 77.5% to $220.3 billion in the 12 months ending June 2026, even as the wider crypto market shrank by more than a third over the same period, according to Chainalysis.

HIFI CEO Zach Walsh told Cointelegraph that the Series A is the company’s first priced funding round. The company did not disclose its valuation. “HIFI is processing approximately $7 billion in annualized volume directly through its platform,” Walsh said.

The funding comes as more payments and financial assets move onto blockchains, increasing demand for infrastructure connecting those networks to the banking system. 

Firms such as Visa and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) have been rolling out or testing blockchain-based financial infrastructure. 

HIFI expands into tokenized capital markets

HIFI’s infrastructure allows customers to move dollars into and out of stablecoins, send payouts through US banking rails and cards, and settle the cash side of tokenized repo and Treasury transactions in US dollars.

“This financing will support the scaling of HIFI’s tokenized capital markets infrastructure and the expansion of its broader product suite, including stablecoin payments products,” Walsh told Cointelegraph.

In July, DTCC conducted production trades using tokenized securities across several market functions, including US Treasury and repo settlement, equity transactions, securities lending and collateral workflows. HIFI was among more than 30 firms that participated, alongside BlackRock, Goldman Sachs and Nasdaq.

The transactions included US Treasury and repo delivery-versus-payment trades, equity transactions, securities lending and collateral workflows using assets held at the Depository Trust Company that had been converted into tokenized representations. DTCC plans to launch its Tokenization Service in October.

Related: US stablecoin adoption could surge with bank-like protections: Visa survey

HIFI has also expanded into card-based payouts through Visa Direct. Its platform allows customers to convert USDC and send the proceeds to eligible Visa debit and credit cards globally, according to the company’s website.

The expansion comes as Visa reports growing use of stablecoins across its payments network. On Sept. 9, the company said more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs were live globally during its fiscal second quarter, with payment volume through those programs rising nearly 200% year over year. 

Visa also said its stablecoin settlement volume had surpassed a $20 billion annualized run rate, more than 15 times its level a year earlier.

Magazine: Winners and losers of the SEC’s new tokenized stocks rules

Mint.io has opened its Web3 player economy across its full web platform, connecting games, XP, leaderboards and rewards ahead of the planned activation of its MNTD token.

According to Mint, the platform was built with token mechanics from the start and uses a multi chain infrastructure layer to connect progression and rewards across supported games. Technology for the platform is supplied by Hero Gaming Group, an iGaming business founded in 2013.

Players can collect XP through eligible activity, move through different tiers and compete for prize pools without their progression being limited to a single title. Mint said onchain verification is used for core reward flows, while AI assisted models are used to manage token emissions and balance the player economy as activity changes.

A free to play Telegram Mini App sits alongside the main web platform, giving users another route into the progression system.

MNTD allocations will draw from pre launch activity

Players who participated before the MNTD launch will have their accumulated leaderboard standings converted into token allocations when the asset is activated, according to Mint.

Eligible activity has carried a 200% XP boost during the run up to the launch. Progress recorded through both the main web platform and Mint’s free to play Telegram Mini App will count toward the allocation process.

The system builds on ranks, seasons and XP already available to users, with each eligible session contributing to a player’s position on the platform. Mint has not disclosed the conversion rate between leaderboard progress and MNTD allocations.

Mint said emissions will be capped and linked to platform revenue. Reward limits are part of the same structure, while controls have been introduced to deal with promotional abuse and attempts to exploit the progression system.

Under the model described by the company, token distribution is connected to eligible platform activity instead of relying solely on rewards distributed around the launch itself. Mint said the setup is intended to keep emissions manageable during periods of higher volume as well as slower market conditions.

Its existing reward system already links eligible activity to progression. Mint’s help center says real mode gameplay uses supported cryptocurrency balances, with qualifying activity able to contribute to XP or other rewards depending on the applicable rules. Demo play, where available, does not generate XP or real money rewards.

Web platform connects progression across supported games

Mint’s infrastructure connects supported games to a common progression layer, allowing XP, ranks and rewards to carry across the platform instead of operating separately within each title.

AI assisted systems are used in two parts of the platform. Incentive modeling helps manage token emissions as participation changes, while Mint said its content pipeline can produce themed experiences with token utility in roughly 10 days.

Core reward flows use onchain verification. A free to play Telegram Mini App provides another entry point into the ecosystem, with eligible progress there contributing to the same MNTD allocation process used by the main web platform.

Telegram Mini Apps have become one route for Web3 gaming projects to reach users inside the messaging platform. Crypto.news previously covered the Telegram gaming ecosystem as developers experimented with social games that could be accessed without a separate application.

Mint’s Telegram product complements its main web platform, where supported cryptocurrency balances can be used for real mode gameplay. Qualifying activity can contribute to XP and other rewards depending on the applicable rules, while demo play does not generate XP or real money rewards.

Mint caps token emissions based on platform revenue

MNTD emissions will be hard capped and linked to revenue generated by the platform, Mint said.

Reward limits will determine how much can enter circulation through the player economy, while controls against exploitation are intended to restrict abuse of promotional and progression systems. Eligible platform activity will determine participation in the reward structure.

Mint said the model was designed to operate through changes in player volume and weaker market conditions without depending on unrestricted token distribution. The company has not provided projections for MNTD’s market value or the monetary value of allocations earned during the current campaign.

More games and leaderboard seasons are planned

Mint plans to bring more titles onto its shared infrastructure after the MNTD launch, with future games expected to use the same XP, ranking and reward framework.

Additional leaderboard seasons with token denominated prize pools are planned, while the company intends to continue using its AI assisted pipeline to produce new themed experiences. Mint has not disclosed how many games will be added or provided a timetable for individual integrations.

Mint.io is operated by Sage Shark Ltd under Anjouan gaming license No. ALSI-202507035-FI2. Its web platform and Telegram Mini App are already operational, with qualifying leaderboard standings accumulated during the pre launch period set to convert into MNTD allocations at token activation.

Senate Banking Committee Democrats have written a letter urging committee chair Tim Scott to hold a congressional hearing on prediction markets.

The demand came the same day Scott and Senate Banking Committee Republicans held a private meeting with Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour.

Democrats Push For Congressional Hearing

Senate Banking Committee Democrats wrote a letter to Scott stating that the panel has a critical role in overseeing prediction markets and platforms like Kalshi. Several Democratic Senators, including Elizabeth Warren, Catherine Cortez Masto, Jack Reed, Mark Warner, Raphael Warnock, Ruben Gallego, and Angela Alsobrooks, signed the letter.

“It is critical that Congress examine prediction markets on a bipartisan basis in a public hearing—not behind closed doors in a Republican-only, industry-friendly roundtable.”

News of the meeting between Senate Banking Committee Republicans and Mansour was first reported by Punchbowl News. Scott confirmed the meeting in a separate statement sent to The Block. The Banking Committee Chair said the committee’s Republican members and Kalshi officials met to “better understand the opportunities and challenges presented by securities-linked products.” The statement read,

“We discussed the importance of bringing innovation onshore, how investors use these products, ways to protect retail investors, and the regulatory questions Congress should address. My goal is to ensure that America leads in financial innovation while protecting investors and providing the regulatory clarity these emerging markets need.”

Who Regulates Prediction Markets

There remains substantial confusion about which body has oversight of prediction markets like Kalshi. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has stepped in to regulate prediction markets. However, it has faced pushback from states such as New York and Arizona that argue they have the authority to regulate event contracts. State and federal regulators have repeatedly clashed over who should regulate prediction markets, with lawmakers mulling whether Congress should step in to break the deadlock.

Lawmakers have raised doubts about whether existing laws and the CFTC’s limited resources are enough to oversee the rapidly growing sector. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., stated during a House Agriculture Committee digital assets subcommittee hearing,

“As with many emerging technologies, our laws are being asked to answer questions that we had never really contemplated when we wrote the laws years ago.”

The House Agriculture Committee and Senate Agriculture Committee have primary jurisdiction over the CFTC. On the other hand, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) falls under the Senate Banking Committee’s jurisdiction. Senate Democrats have argued that prediction market products offer bets tied to company performance indicators, thus falling under the SEC’s regulatory purview.

Cboe Global Markets has also asked the SEC for the green light to list “all-or-nothing options” tied to the earnings results of companies. Senate committee Democrats cited Cboe’s request in their letter, stating,

“As industry participants request SEC approval for options tied to corporate earnings, the full Senate Banking Committee has a critical oversight role to play.”

Meanwhile, prediction markets remain trapped in a high-stakes tug-of-war between federal and state regulators.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Bitwise’s first Institutional Crypto Adoption Report, based on interviews with 15 asset owners conducted in late March and April, suggests that the institutions that hold crypto were far more resilient during a major drawdown than many might expect. According to Bitwise, none of the surveyed organizations cut their crypto allocations during an approximately 50% market decline that began in October 2025—though several said they added.

Across the group, Bitcoin (BTC) was the core holding. Every institution in the sample that owned crypto held BTC, typically as its largest and longest-standing position. Ether (ETH) and Solana (SOL) were present too, but generally in smaller allocations tied to clearer conditions for when (and whether) those positions should be maintained.

Key takeaways

• During a roughly 50% drawdown, none of the 15 interviewed institutions reported reducing crypto allocations, and some increased exposure.
• Bitcoin remains the anchor asset for institutional conviction, with ETH and SOL viewed as more conditional and shorter-horizon bets.
• Asked what would trigger selling, institutions pointed to fundamental and credibility risks—not price declines such as regulatory reversals or thesis failure.
• Most allocations for these investors were structured via spot crypto ETFs, or ETF usage was planned; some investors shifted from direct custody or private placements.
• ETH and SOL are being judged on token value accrual, with some institutions willing to exit if network growth does not translate to benefits for token holders.

Hold through drawdowns: what institutions said they would change

Bitwise’s report is grounded in interviews conducted as markets were still adjusting to a decline that started in October 2025. While the report does not name every participant, it describes the types of organizations involved, including endowments, foundations, public pensions, sovereign wealth funds, multi-family offices, investment consultants, and public companies.

One of the most notable findings is what did not drive behavior. When Bitwise asked respondents about potential reasons to sell, none cited falling prices as the deciding factor. Instead, institutions highlighted scenarios such as regulatory reversals, an industry-wide credibility problem, or a clear failure of their investment thesis.

That framing matters because it positions the drawdown not as a near-term test of price tolerance, but as a stress test of whether each institution’s original rationale still holds. Investors that treat crypto exposure as a long-term mandate—rather than a trading position—tend to be less likely to make allocation changes based on volatility alone, and Bitwise’s interview results appear to align with that approach.

BTC at the center; ETH and SOL under a “prove it” standard

The report’s asset-level breakdown reinforces a common pattern in institutional crypto adoption: BTC is the default core, while other networks are evaluated with more scrutiny.

According to Bitwise, every institution that owned crypto held Bitcoin, often as its first, largest, and longest-held position. For many of these organizations, BTC was described as a store of value—frequently compared alongside gold.

By contrast, Bitwise reports that conviction around ETH and SOL varied more. Institutions were less uniform about how long they expected those holdings to remain part of a portfolio. Several respondents told Bitwise they could exit ETH or SOL over the next few years if growth in network activity—such as stablecoins, decentralized finance, and tokenization—failed to translate into value accruing to the tokens themselves.

Bitwise also highlights a specific example from the interview set: one institution that held neither Ether nor Solana had used decentralized finance applications but saw no clear path for that activity to benefit the underlying tokens.

This “token value accrual” focus is important because it clarifies what institutions appear to be underwriting. Rather than treating network usage as sufficient on its own, the interviews suggest investors are looking for more direct economic linkage between adoption and tokenholder outcomes. The next question for market participants is whether ongoing growth in DeFi, tokenization, and stablecoin ecosystems will increasingly be presented in a way that demonstrates measurable benefits for ETH and SOL holders.

ETFs are becoming the default implementation path

Bitwise’s report also sheds light on how institutions are gaining or managing crypto exposure. Among the interviewed organizations with crypto exposure, allocations ranged from 0.5% to 13% of investable assets, with most sitting between 1% and 2%.

Nearly every institution in the sample either used spot crypto exchange-traded funds or planned to. Bitwise further said some investors were shifting from private placements or direct custody toward ETF structures. The shift matters for institutions because it often reduces operational complexity and can align crypto exposure with established portfolio management workflows.

The ETF implementation angle also connects to broader investor positioning trends. CoinShares data published in June, cited by Bitwise, found that professional investors’ reported spot Bitcoin ETF exposure fell by 17% in the first quarter. CoinShares attributed the reduction primarily to hedge funds and brokerages, which accounted for roughly 96% of the decrease, while banks added exposure.

Put together, these details suggest that institutional participation is not simply expanding in a straight line. Instead, exposure can migrate between investor categories and vehicles—sometimes reducing holdings in aggregate for certain groups while increasing for others. For readers, that implies that tracking ETF flows by investor segment may be as important as watching headline totals.

What could trigger selling—beyond market volatility

Perhaps the clearest throughline of the Bitwise interviews is that allocation decisions were tied to durability of the investment rationale rather than to interim price performance. When asked what might prompt selling, respondents referenced three broad categories: regulatory reversal, credibility issues across the crypto industry, and failure of their investment thesis.

In practical terms, this means the “risk calendar” for these institutions is shaped more by policy and structural legitimacy than by day-to-day market moves. Regulatory uncertainty can quickly alter the perceived long-term viability of crypto products, custody frameworks, and market access—so it is unsurprising that institutions prioritize it.

At the same time, the report signals a meaningful split between how investors view BTC versus other major tokens. Even with BTC serving as the anchor asset, ETH and SOL appear to be held with clearer conditions: if token-linked value does not materialize as networks scale, those positions may not survive the next investment review cycles.

Going forward, investors will likely watch two things closely: whether institutional ETF usage continues to deepen across different investor types, and whether Ethereum– and Solana-linked economic models can convincingly demonstrate how growth converts into tokenholder value—since that is the standard several institutions say would determine their next decisions.

The Hashgraph Group has put its Hedera-based IDTrust identity platform on IBM Cloud Catalog under a partnership announced Sept. 23, giving enterprise customers a route to deploy verifiable identities for AI agents.

The Hashgraph Group said IDTrust has been validated and listed as a SaaS offering on IBM’s marketplace, while the companies have signed an Embedded Solution Agreement covering IBM cloud and AI technology. THG described the product as “among the first” commercial Hedera-based enterprise applications available directly through a major cloud marketplace, a claim made by the company rather than an independently established market ranking.

IBM’s live catalog independently confirms that IDTrust is listed as a third-party blockchain product from The Hashgraph Group. The catalog describes it as a self-sovereign identity platform for AI agents, smart devices and humans.

Hedera IDTrust gives AI agents verifiable credentials

IDTrust assigns decentralized identifiers and verifiable credentials to people, machines and AI agents. THG says each actor can receive a unique did:hedera identifier registered through Hedera Consensus Service, while credentials are cryptographically signed and recorded through an auditable identity process.

The platform lets enterprises define credentials for particular purposes and revoke them through its management tools. THG says AI-agent identities are non-transferable and can be approved by humans, while revocation registries are anchored on Hedera. Its current product page lists financial services, telecoms, healthcare, education and device identity among supported use cases.

IDTrust uses W3C Verifiable Credentials and decentralized identifier standards. The W3C formally published its Verifiable Credentials 2.0 family as Recommendations in May 2025, defining standards for cryptographically secure and machine-verifiable digital credentials.

THG said the platform includes MCP servers that can connect AI agents with IBM watsonx Orchestrate, allowing an agent to obtain identity credentials and leave an auditable trail for authorized activity. The integration details come from THG’s announcement and have not been accompanied by a separate technical deployment report from IBM.

IBM partnership gives THG another enterprise channel

The agreement extends beyond the catalog listing. THG said it signed a global Embedded Solution Agreement with IBM covering cloud and AI technology, which allows it to incorporate IBM technology into products sold under its own offering.

IBM’s Partner Plus directory currently lists The Hashgraph Group as an Independent Software Vendor and Managed Service Provider and displays a Silver Partner badge. The same page identifies IDTrust among THG’s available solutions. IBM notes, however, that company and solution information in the directory is supplied by partners and is not validated by IBM unless stated otherwise.

The companies already share a connection through Hedera governance. IBM joined the Hedera Governing Council in August 2019 alongside Tata Communications, becoming one of the organizations involved in overseeing the network. Hedera’s historical records confirm IBM’s membership.

In related coverage, crypto.news previously reported on THG’s BrandBoost enterprise platform built on Hedera. That product combines loyalty tools with IDTrust identity functions and is part of the same Hashgraph for Enterprise product suite.

THG previously introduced TransAct, a managed gateway that lets businesses execute Hedera transactions without directly holding HBAR or handling crypto wallets. Crypto.news reported on THG’s TransAct enterprise gateway launch in September 2025.

Know Your Agent identity is becoming an enterprise focus

The IBM listing arrives as several technology and payments companies develop identity frameworks for autonomous software. Gartner projected that task-specific AI agents could appear in 40% of enterprise applications by the end of 2026, compared with less than 5% in 2025. The figure is a Gartner forecast, not an observed adoption rate.

Governance remains part of that forecast. In May, Gartner predicted that “40% of enterprises will demote or decommission autonomous AI agents” by 2027 because of governance gaps discovered after deployment. The firm said access levels and agent autonomy require different controls instead of one uniform governance model.

Other companies are developing similar identity concepts. Akamai introduced an agentic security framework in June that links agent identity, authorization and human attribution. Its partners include Visa, Experian and Skyfire.

Akamai describes its Know Your Agent framework as a method for agents to declare their identity, origin and intent while linking them to the platforms and people they represent. Visa’s Trusted Agent Protocol addresses authorization and identity for automated payments, while Experian contributes identity and risk tools.

THG is using the same KYA terminology for IDTrust, but the approaches are separate products and frameworks. No common industry-wide KYA standard has been established by the announcements reviewed for this report.

IDTrust extends THG’s use of Hedera beyond identity

THG has expanded its Hedera enterprise portfolio during 2026. Its current product suite includes identity, transaction, loyalty, traceability and environmental-market tools, while IDTrust specifically covers credential issuance and verification.

The company announced work with Merck in September on cocoa traceability and digital product passports, following other projects involving carbon-market infrastructure and cross-border logistics. THG lists the IBM agreement as its latest enterprise announcement.

Hedera has separately continued adding enterprise organizations to its governance structure. IBM has participated since 2019, while the current network history records its role among the organizations that joined during the council’s early expansion.

THG CEO Stefan Deiss said enterprises increasingly need to verify whether autonomous software is authorized to act on their behalf. He said IDTrust is intended to answer the question, “how do I know this agent is authorised to act on my behalf?”

Naemi Benz, vice president of IBM Partner Ecosystem DACH, said making IDTrust available through IBM Cloud Catalog gives clients access to THG’s decentralized identity technology through IBM’s partner ecosystem. Her comments appear in THG’s release announcing the agreement.

As of Sept. 24, IBM Cloud Catalog lists IDTrust as an available third-party blockchain product, while THG’s product site offers enterprise access through its managed platform, SDK or API.