Tether has invested $20 million in Mercado Bitcoin to support the Brazilian company’s expansion across tokenized assets, blockchain payments, lending, and on-chain capital markets.

According to a July 7 announcement from Tether on Tuesday, the investment forms part of a strategic growth financing round for Mercado Bitcoin, one of Latin America’s largest digital asset platforms.

The stablecoin issuer said it is backing companies that combine regulatory approvals with large-scale blockchain infrastructure, as demand for tokenized financial services continues to grow across the region.

Founded in São Paulo in 2013, Mercado Bitcoin has evolved beyond cryptocurrency trading into an on-chain financial services provider. The company said it now serves 4.5 million users and has issued more than 2 billion Brazilian reais worth of tokenized assets.

It also holds more than 10 regulatory licenses across Brazil and Europe, including a payment institution license from the Central Bank of Brazil, while operating brokerage, securitization and asset management businesses.

The funding will expand blockchain-based financial services

Mercado Bitcoin said the fresh capital will be used to strengthen its payments infrastructure, increase the availability of tokenized investment products for retail and institutional clients, expand lending and credit operations, develop on-chain capital markets, and support international growth.

Commenting on the investment, Tether Chief Executive Paolo Ardoino said:

“Mercado Bitcoin has built exactly that, a regulated, full-stack on-chain financial platform serving millions of users across one of the world’s most dynamic financial markets.”

Ardoino added that the company’s combination of licensing, tokenization infrastructure and integrated financial services stands out across the region.

Roberto Dagnoni, chairman and chief executive of Mercado Bitcoin, said financial services are increasingly moving onto blockchain networks, with tokenization, stablecoins, payments and capital markets becoming the next stage of industry development.

According to Dagnoni, Tether’s investment will help accelerate the company’s expansion of on-chain financial services in Brazil and overseas markets.

Tether continues investing beyond its stablecoin business

As banks and consumers increasingly adopt blockchain-based payment systems, Tether pointed to Brazil’s financial ecosystem as an important market because of its digital adoption, regulatory progress and the success of Pix, the country’s instant payment network developed by the central bank. The company said these conditions have supported faster adoption of blockchain-based financial products.

The investment adds to a series of recent deals completed by Tether. In June, the company announced it would lead a funding round of up to $1.4 billion for German robotics company NEURA Robotics.

During the same month, Tether signed a memorandum of understanding with the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre to collaborate on tokenization initiatives and blockchain education. It also announced plans to discontinue Alloy by Tether and its aUSDT token after reviewing market demand and platform usage.

Separately, as previously reported by crypto.news, Tether has confirmed that USDT will return to Bitcoin as a native asset through the RGB protocol. According to an exclusive interview published by Bitcoin Magazine, the rollout is being developed with software company UTEXO, which will commercially issue and distribute Bitcoin-native USDT in partnership with Tether.

The launch is expected within weeks using RGB protocol version v0.11.1, bringing USDT back to the Bitcoin network where it originally debuted through the Omni Layer in 2014.

Neither Tether nor Mercado Bitcoin disclosed the valuation of the financing round or its total size. Tether described its participation as a long-term strategic investment supporting Mercado Bitcoin’s next phase of development as the company expands blockchain-based financial services across Latin America and international markets.

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust has recorded its strongest inflow in weeks, helping lift total U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF demand to $265.7 million and adding fresh support to Bitcoin’s latest recovery.

According to data from Farside Investors, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) attracted $209.4 million in net inflows on July 7, ending a prolonged period of muted activity and intermittent outflows.

The renewed demand helped total net inflows across U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds reach $265.7 million, extending the market’s positive streak to a second consecutive trading day.

The broader ETF market also posted gains. Fidelity’s FBTC added $9.7 million, Bitwise’s BITB brought in $4.8 million, ARK 21Shares’ ARKB recorded $33 million, and Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust received $42.3 million. Grayscale’s GBTC, however, continued to lose assets with $44.5 million in net outflows, according to Farside Investors.

The latest figures follow a difficult stretch in late June and early July when spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced mixed or negative daily flows. Even after the first positive session last week, IBIT still posted a $40.4 million daily outflow, making Monday’s rebound the fund’s first notable inflow after several weeks of weak momentum.

Institutional demand has returned to Bitcoin ETFs

Growing ETF demand arrived as Bitcoin traded between $61,275 and $64,597 during the day. Trading volume climbed more than 90% over the previous 24 hours, suggesting stronger participation from market participants as prices recovered.

Historically, inflows into BlackRock’s ETF have coincided with periods of price support during market weakness. The latest buying also came despite software intelligence firm Strategy selling approximately $216 million worth of Bitcoin, indicating that institutional demand through ETFs has continued to offset some selling pressure.

BlackRock has remained the largest player in the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF market, with cumulative inflows exceeding $60 billion. Beyond Bitcoin products, the asset manager has also expanded its presence in tokenized finance. Last week, Ondo Finance completed the first live on-chain deployment of tokenized U.S. securities backed by BlackRock’s iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV).

According to Ondo Finance, the underlying ETF shares remain with regulated U.S. custodians while Oasis Pro issues Ethereum-based tokens backed one-to-one by those securities under a structure designed to align with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff guidance issued in January 2025.

Several catalysts continue supporting market sentiment

Market research firm BIT, formerly known as Matrixport, said Bitcoin has entered July with historically favorable seasonal conditions. The firm also pointed to supportive comments from U.S. President Donald Trump about the country’s position in the crypto industry as another factor lifting investor sentiment.

Alongside those developments, BIT said market attention has increasingly turned to the CLARITY Act, which faces an Aug. 7 deadline before the U.S. Senate begins its summer recess. According to the firm, progress on the legislation could remain an important catalyst for digital asset markets in the coming weeks.

BIT also projected that Bitcoin’s first major resistance level sits at $65,955. With spot Bitcoin ETFs now posting back-to-back inflow days after weeks of weak demand, investors will be watching whether sustained institutional buying is enough to push the cryptocurrency above that level.

Grayscale Research has argued that Strategy’s recent $216 million Bitcoin sale has improved the company’s financial position while helping create conditions for a more stable Bitcoin price.

According to a July 6 report from Grayscale Research, the market reaction to Strategy’s decision to sell part of its Bitcoin holdings has overlooked what the firm sees as a strengthening of the company’s balance sheet rather than a sign of financial stress.

The report comes after Michael Saylor’s company faced criticism when Bitcoin briefly fell to the $61,000 area following the announcement before recovering above $63,000.

Grayscale Head of Research Zach Pandl wrote that Strategy’s financing structure remains well supported despite concerns raised by some market participants.

Strategy, the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, owns 843,775 BTC valued at nearly $53 billion while carrying almost $7 billion in debt. According to Grayscale, the company’s annual preferred equity dividend obligations remain below $2 billion, leaving it with sufficient financial capacity to meet both debt and dividend commitments.

Higher cash reserves strengthen Strategy’s financial position

Grayscale said the $216 million Bitcoin sale increased Strategy’s U.S. dollar reserves to roughly $2.55 billion, enough to cover nearly 17 months of dividend payments under current obligations. According to the research note, maintaining a larger cash buffer lowers financing risk and could improve investor confidence in the company’s capital structure.

Alongside the sale, Strategy introduced a treasury framework stating it may issue shares or sell Bitcoin whenever necessary to maintain adequate U.S. dollar reserves for dividend payments. Grayscale argued that this policy gives the company greater flexibility during periods of market volatility without forcing emergency financing measures.

Pandl also said in the report that reducing financing pressure may benefit Bitcoin itself. Rather than viewing the sale as bearish, Grayscale argued the transaction could help Bitcoin establish a more durable price bottom by easing concerns surrounding Strategy’s balance sheet and funding needs.

Investors have continued backing the company

Trading activity has suggested investors remain comfortable with Strategy’s latest decision. STRC shares finished Monday 0.81% higher at $88.58 before adding another 0.51% to around $89 in premarket trading on Tuesday.

At the same time, Binance launched trading for STRC tokenized stock, allowing users to gain exposure to the company’s shares without using traditional brokerage accounts.

Meanwhile, MSTR also rose 0.45% to $101.22 during Tuesday’s trading session after recovering from an early intraday dip. The stock remains nearly 18% higher over the past week. Separately, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated its buy rating on MSTR and maintained a 12-month price target of $212, indicating the firm remains optimistic despite recent market volatility.

Bitcoin has also recovered from the initial selloff that followed the announcement. The cryptocurrency traded near $64,000 after touching a 24-hour low of $61,275 and reaching a high of $64,597. The rebound coincided with a 77% increase in trading volume over the past day.

Recent market sentiment has also improved following the return of net inflows into BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF after several weeks of outflows. Combined with seasonal market strength, those inflows have helped support Bitcoin’s recovery even as investors continue assessing the impact of Strategy’s updated treasury policy.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has secured fresh buy ratings from several major Wall Street banks, with Morgan Stanley assigning a base-case price target of $300 as the stock prepares to join the Nasdaq-100 Index.

According to research notes released by Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and other investment banks, analysts expect further gains for SpaceX despite the stock pulling back after its recent rally.

The latest recommendations come just before the company enters the Nasdaq-100, an event that JPMorgan estimates could trigger about $4.3 billion in automatic purchases by passive investment funds.

Morgan Stanley sees Starship and Starlink driving long-term value

Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of SpaceX with an Overweight rating. Analyst Adam Jonas set a $300 base-case price target and a $600 bull-case target, implying substantial upside from the stock’s latest trading price.

According to Jonas, SpaceX’s investment case is supported by the economics of the Starship launch program, the expansion of Starlink’s satellite network, and the company’s role in building infrastructure for space-based artificial intelligence.

Goldman Sachs also started coverage with a Buy rating and a $205 price target. Analyst Eric Sheridan wrote that SpaceX is well positioned across the space, connectivity, and artificial intelligence industries, adding that each of those markets has the potential to become “multiple trillion-dollar opportunities over a 5+ year time horizon.”

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SpaceX $SPCX initiated with a Buy at Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of SpaceX with a Buy rating and $205 price target.

The firm sees the company being well positioned to scale its differentiated advantages across space, connectivity and AI, adding that each of… pic.twitter.com/9MZjXVfA3q

— TipRanks (@TipRanks) July 7, 2026

Bullish coverage extended beyond those firms. Citigroup assigned a Buy rating with a 12-month price target of $200, while UBS and Wells Fargo also initiated coverage with positive recommendations, adding to growing institutional support for the newly listed company.

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Nasdaq-100 entry could drive billions in passive fund buying

Attention has also turned to SpaceX’s scheduled inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 Index on July 7. 

According to a Nasdaq announcement, the company qualified under updated index rules that allow certain large newly listed companies to enter the benchmark after just 15 trading days following their public debut.

JPMorgan estimates that exchange-traded funds and index funds tracking the Nasdaq-100 will need to purchase about $4.3 billion worth of SpaceX shares once the rebalancing takes effect.

The bank said the buying is expected to occur around the July 6 market close and July 7 opening, as passive funds such as the Invesco QQQ Trust are required to match the revised index regardless of their view on the company’s valuation. SpaceX is expected to enter the benchmark with an index weighting below 1%.

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Despite the wave of bullish analyst ratings, SpaceX shares came under selling pressure. The stock closed Monday down 0.98% at $160.42, trimming its weekly gain to just over 2% after profit-taking. By early Tuesday afternoon, however, the stock had fallen 5.31% to $151.90 after the market opened, extending losses even as investors digested its Nasdaq-100 inclusion.

Derivatives trading also pointed to cautious sentiment. SPCX USDC perpetual contracts on Hyperliquid traded about 3.15% lower at $159.17, with trading volume reaching roughly $284 million at press time.

Meanwhile, the crypto market remained firm alongside developments surrounding SpaceX. 

Bitcoin held above its 200-week moving average at $62,865 and traded near $63,300 after reaching a 24-hour high of $64,597. Trading volume stayed more than 70% higher as Grayscale argued that Strategy’s recent Bitcoin sales could help establish a market bottom.

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Key takeaways:

• BitMine’s aggressive ETH accumulation has reinforced the $1,500 support despite $8B unrealized losses.
• Glamsterdam upgrade and Robinhood Chain launch signal stronger TradFi focus for Ethereum’s base layer.

Ether (ETH) price rallied 15% in five days, distancing itself from the $1,500 low hit on June 26. Part of the improvement in investor sentiment can be pinned to the final tests on Ethereum’s Glamsterdam upgrade, targeted for later in 2026. Moreover, BitMine Immersion Technologies’ continued Ether accumulation helped strengthen the support level. Will $2,000 come next?

Total crypto capitalization/USD (left) vs. ETH/USD (right). Source: TradingView

Ether outperformed the total crypto market capitalization by 7% over the past 30 days. Some excitement came from optimism about the passage of the Digital Assets CLARITY Act, a bill that has faced several hurdles advancing in Congress after pushback from the banking sector on stablecoin regulation and potential rewards to its holders.

ETH options 25% delta skew (put-call) at Deribit. Source: Laevitas

Ether’s recent rally toward $1,800 was enough to instill some confidence in ETH options markets as the skew (put-call) metric exited the fear levels that prevailed until Friday. The current 9% premium in put (sell) options relative to equivalent call (buy) instruments is far from bullish, but it distances itself from the 15% mark from the prior week. Levels above 12% typically indicate extreme fear.

Ethereum network upgrade, Robinhood Chain behind ETH price rally

One of Ethereum’s main criticisms lies in its scalability using layer-2 rollups facilitated by data packages (blobs) that drastically reduced transaction fees but triggered fierce debates over long-term data censorship and centralization. Base layer network fees took a hit, which in turn reduced ETH burning and ultimately led to inflationary supply dynamics.

Ethereum base layer monthly network revenue, USD. Source: DefiLlama

The Ethereum Glamsterdam upgrade, currently in the testing phase, should improve network processing speeds by allowing more transactions to be processed in parallel. The proposal will also expand capacity for Ethereum to handle more data at higher throughput and reduce database bloat. One goal is providing institutional-grade infrastructure for financial use cases.

BitMine (BMNR US) ETH holdings and shares outstanding. Source: bmnr.rocks

The continued accumulation by the US-listed company BitMine Immersion has likely helped strengthen the $1,500 support. The company increased its holdings by 325,000 ETH over the past month, boosting its reserves to 5.74 million ETH. Regardless of the current $8 billion in unrealized losses on its ETH holdings, BitMine continues its path toward acquiring 5% of the existing supply.

Related: Vitalik Buterin shares priorities for new ‘Lean Ethereum’ strawmap

The launch of Robinhood Chain on July 2, an EVM-compatible Ethereum layer-2 built using Arbitrum technology, helped consolidate the ecosystem with the traditional finance industry. More importantly, Robinhood rolled out tokenized stock trading in more than 120 countries along with major decentralized finance (DeFi) integrations, including Uniswap, 1inch and Morpho.

While Ethereum onchain and derivatives metrics paint a somewhat bearish picture with low network fees and low conviction in options markets, Ether’s upside comes from real-world traditional finance use case growth and network upgrades capable of significantly expanding base layer capacity. Overall, the path to ETH at $2,000 appears entirely viable in the near term.

$PULT Early Public Round drew $2.3 million on its first day, at a token price of $0.06, representing roughly 80% of the round’s target. It follows an invite-only whitelist round that sold out within a minute of opening.

Catapult Trade is a trading platform that combines the model of a token launchpad with iGaming mechanics. Its core product, Turbo, drops the order book entirely: prices are generated by a mathematical model designed to simulate real market conditions while remaining statistically neutral. Each chart’s full price path is committed to a public cryptographic hash before trading and disclosed afterward, so anyone can confirm it was not altered. Because the path is fixed in advance, neither the team nor anyone else can move a chart once it is live: fully provably fair, with the engine audited by Halborn and Hashlock.

The project has attracted a broad group of backers over the past year. KuCoin Ventures led the investment, alongside Oddiyana Ventures and IBC Group, with angels from trading and infrastructure backgrounds. Claire “Cookie” Dang, previously in growth roles at Binance, KuCoin, and Crypto.com, joined as co-founder and VP of growth. In June, the project integrated with Binance Wallet, putting the app in front of that wallet’s users. It also ran joint reward campaigns with exchanges including Gate.

According to the company, part of protocol revenue is used to buy $PULT on the open market and permanently remove it from circulation, tying supply reduction to platform activity rather than scheduled emissions.

The token generation event is planned for the third quarter of 2026. The team says it has agreements to list $PULT on eight centralized exchanges on day one, backed by established market makers, and that the token will launch as a multichain asset, including Ethereum and Solana. Before that, a smaller public sale will run on outside launchpad platforms at a higher price, for buyers who missed the early round.

A second product, Catapult Hyper, which extends the platform into real markets, is also due for a wider release in the quarter. Its fees are expected to begin contributing to the buy-and-burn model shortly after launch.

Alongside the public sale, the project continues running a points program. According to the team, participants will receive token allocations at TGE and through a later reverse airdrop. Allocation and vesting details have not yet been disclosed.

The XRP Ledger has moved closer to activating its xrpld v3.2.0 upgrade after more than 55% of trusted validators adopted the latest software version.

According to XRP Ledger Explorer data, 84 trusted validators, or 55.63% of the validator set, are now running xrpld v3.2.0. The latest software has also been installed on 353 network nodes, accounting for 42.12% of all nodes. By comparison, version 3.1.3 remains active on 58 validators, representing 38.41% of the validator set, and on 440 nodes, or 52.51% of the network.

On the XRP Ledger, trusted validators are responsible for approving protocol changes, while regular nodes follow the decisions made by the trusted validator list. Under the network’s governance rules, a protocol amendment requires support from more than 80% of trusted validators for two consecutive weeks before it can be activated.

Based on the current figures, roughly another quarter of the validator set must migrate to v3.2.0 before the upgrade can move toward activation.

Latest release introduces infrastructure and security changes

Released as xrpld v3.2.0, the software package includes infrastructure updates, developer improvements, and bug fixes across the XRP Ledger. One of its most notable changes is the official renaming of the network’s main server software from rippled to xrpld, following the XLS-0095 proposal.

Beginning June 15, the upgrade changed configuration paths, server metadata, database directory locations, and version naming conventions. As a result, validator operators and node administrators are required to update deployment scripts and server configurations before completing the migration.

Alongside the software release, developers also introduced the fixCleanup3_2_0 amendment. According to the release documentation, the amendment contains security-related fixes covering Single Asset Vaults, the Lending Protocol, permissioned decentralized exchanges, Multi-Purpose Tokens (MPTs) and permissioned domains.

The proposal also adds new invariant checks designed to prevent deleted accounts from leaving residual ledger data, improving ledger consistency. In addition, the update allows developers and users to access XRP Ledger protocol information and server definitions without operating a full server, a change intended to simplify integrations for wallets, APIs, blockchain explorers and other automated services.

Amendment voting still has ground to cover

Even as validator adoption of the software continues to climb, support for the attached fixCleanup3_2_0 amendment remains well below the activation threshold. Current network data shows the amendment has secured roughly 40% support, leaving it far short of the supermajority required for approval.

Ripple has publicly supported the amendment, helping strengthen confidence around the proposed changes. Separately, the XRP Ledger Lending Protocol recently passed an independent security audit, adding another layer of reassurance for the lending-related fixes included in the amendment.

At the same time, developers continue to monitor issues reported during validator migrations. A GitHub issue tracked under report #7581 describes a case where the service log displayed the correct new validator public key while the running server continued using the older public key stored in the wallet database.

The report attributes the discrepancy to validator migration behavior rather than the protocol itself, highlighting an operational issue that node operators may need to address as adoption of xrpld v3.2.0 continues to expand. 

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced proposed rule changes that its chair said would “help clarify the regulatory framework for crypto assets and provide greater certainty to the market” as part of its annual agenda.

In a Tuesday notice, SEC Chair Paul Atkins said that the agency’s 2026 agenda was intended to align with the Trump administration’s policy goals on crypto, which included clarification on tokenized securities and capital raising with digital assets. The agenda included three proposed rule changes addressing crypto broker-dealers, digital assets on alternative trading systems and national securities exchanges, and potential exemptions and safe harbors for digital assets.

“The proposed rules may provide greater certainty to the market, facilitate capital formation, and accommodate innovation within the crypto asset markets while, at the same time, ensuring that investors are adequately protected and provided with the information they need to make informed investment decisions,” said the SEC on one of the proposed rules “relating to the offer and sale of crypto assets.”

The proposed rules came as the US Congress is debating provisions in a crypto market structure bill expected to shift much of the oversight and enforcement of the industry from the SEC to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In March, Atkins said that the SEC would move forward with an agency “bridge” to clarify crypto regulation, but signaled that he would defer to legislation if it was passed by Congress.

Related: Warren claims SEC’s Atkins likely misled Congress over enforcement data

The SEC’s approach to crypto under US President Donald Trump and Atkins has many critics accusing the administration of a “pay-to-play scheme.” Democratic lawmakers said in a January letter that Trump and those associated with him had financially benefited from companies that had previously been subject to enforcement actions or potential regulatory entanglements, including Binance, Coinbase, Ripple Labs and Kraken, that were later dropped.

“The SEC’s decision to let those who violated the securities laws go without consequences, together with recent statements by Chair Atkins that ‘most crypto tokens are not securities,’ despite holdings by federal district courts that at least some tokens are securities, has left a vacuum whereby securities violations by crypto firms are not enforced and US investors are not protected,” three Democratic House members said in a January letter to Atkins.

Trump says he partly promoted crypto ‘for politics’

Answering questions from reporters on Monday, Trump said that he “got involved in [crypto] a little bit for politics” after calling Bitcoin (BTC) a “scam” following his first term. He initially said that he was “not a fan” of cryptocurrencies, but in the lead-up to the 2024 election, began speaking with industry leaders and promoting the technology in public appearances.

Related: AI is banking the unbanked in Africa… faster than crypto