Demand for tokenized gold has surged this year as physical bullion climbed to record highs, but very little of the asset is being put to work in decentralized finance, highlighting a major adoption gap, according to a new report by RedStone.

Tokenized gold spot trading volume reached $90.7 billion in the first quarter as gold futures rallied above $5,600 per troy ounce. Yet only about $63 million worth of Tether Gold (XAUT) and PAX Gold (PAXG) is currently being used as collateral on Aave v3 and Morpho, RedStone said. That’s just 1.5% of the tokens’ combined $4.2 billion market capitalization.

Despite the limited adoption, tokenized gold has already weathered a meaningful market test, RedStone said.

On March 23, Aave processed its largest cluster of XAUT liquidations without disruption during a sharp sell-off in gold, demonstrating that tokenized bullion can function reliably as DeFi collateral under market stress.

The liquidation event came after gold fell 10% over the previous week — its worst weekly performance in more than four decades. JPMorgan precious metals strategist Greg Shearer described the sell-off as an “extremely brutal flush.”

Tokenized gold liquidations peaked in late March across Morpho and Aave. Source: RedStone.

Since peaking in January, gold futures have declined more than 26%, pressured by expectations of higher US interest rates, which reduced demand for non-yielding assets such as precious metals.

Related: Tokenized commodities market crosses $6B amid gold’s historic rally

Tokenized gold’s next hurdle could be DeFi adoption

RedStone’s findings suggest tokenized gold has proven resilient as DeFi collateral, but adoption remains limited. With only a small fraction of the market deployed in lending protocols, the data highlights a key infrastructure challenge as tokenized real-world assets (RWA) continue to scale.

Gold is part of a rapidly expanding tokenized RWA market that also includes private credit, US Treasurys with equities growing in import. In June, Token Terminal reported that the sector had topped $43 billion in value.

Meanwhile, centralized crypto exchanges are fast embracing tokenized assets as they push to bridge traditional finance and digital assets. According to a recent CoinGecko report, the emerging “crypto TradFi” market had grown to $6.6 billion as of June.

Related: Crypto Biz: Is the AI-to-crypto rotation underway?

Telegram founder Pavel Durov says Russian authorities have designated him a “terrorist” after he refused government demands for mass surveillance and censorship on the messaging platform. Durov posted his response publicly in a Telegram message published a day after Russia announced new criminal charges against him.

In that post, Durov claimed Russia also blocked him from “publishing information on the Internet,” adding that authorities appear to have “got confused about who can ban whom from the Internet.”

Key takeaways

• Durov’s latest statement follows Russia’s announcement of charges, after Russia’s security service accused him of facilitating terrorist activity.
• The Russian allegations center on Telegram’s alleged failure to remove channels tied to terrorist groups and Ukrainian intelligence services.
• Russia’s case builds on a criminal probe reportedly launched in February over alleged non-compliance with Russian rules on extremist and terrorism-related content.
• Durov is also facing separate legal scrutiny in France, and regulators in Australia have reportedly initiated court proceedings over terrorism-related content.

Russia escalates case with “terrorist” label

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) accused Durov of facilitating terrorist activity, according to earlier coverage from Cointelegraph. The claim is that Telegram did not remove certain channels used by terrorist organizations as well as channels linked to Ukrainian intelligence services.

Durov’s rebuttal came through his own Telegram account the day after Russia made the allegations public. In addition to responding to the charges, he framed the dispute as a conflict over Telegram’s stance toward government demands, particularly around surveillance and content restrictions.

The message also suggests a broader disagreement about control of online speech and information access—Durov saying Russian authorities barred him from publishing information on the internet, while disputing the legitimacy of who can impose such restrictions.

February investigation tied to alleged content non-removal

Russia’s current push does not appear out of nowhere. Cointelegraph previously reported that a criminal investigation in February followed regulatory accusations that Telegram left nearly 155,000 channels, chats, and bots accessible despite Telegram’s alleged violations of Russian laws relating to extremist material, terrorism, drug trafficking, and other illicit categories.

That earlier context matters because it indicates that the case is tied to a longer-running compliance argument—how Telegram moderates content and how it responds to removal requests. For investors and platform users watching the regulatory risk landscape, these developments reinforce that messaging platforms can face escalating consequences when regulators argue they are not acting quickly or thoroughly enough to meet local legal standards.

At the same time, much remains uncertain: public allegations do not automatically translate into immediate changes on the ground, and the specifics of what was or wasn’t removed—and under what procedural thresholds—are not detailed in the statements referenced here.

Legal pressure extends beyond Russia

Durov’s legal situation has been international. Cointelegraph reported that he was arrested in France in August 2024 and has remained the subject of a judicial investigation over allegations that Telegram facilitated criminal activity, including by allegedly failing to moderate illegal content adequately and respond to law enforcement requests.

According to earlier coverage, Durov has denied wrongdoing, arguing that French authorities did not follow due process when seeking information from Telegram. His arrest was followed by a TON Community-backed campaign that collected more than 9 million signatures on an open letter urging French authorities to release him.

There have also been reported changes in travel conditions: French authorities initially allowed Durov to return temporarily to Dubai in March 2025 before lifting travel restrictions entirely later that year, as noted by Cointelegraph. The implication is that while legal pressure can be intense, authorities may adjust constraints over time depending on the status of the proceedings.

Meanwhile, Cointelegraph also reported that Australia has moved toward court proceedings, with regulators alleging Telegram failed to remove terrorism-related content. The platform’s exposure in multiple jurisdictions highlights a recurring regulatory theme worldwide: governments increasingly expect major communication platforms to take meaningful action against content they deem illegal, even when the platforms frame enforcement as complex, global, and constrained by legal standards.

Privacy, surveillance, and the EU debate

Beyond the courtroom, Durov has publicly positioned himself around digital privacy and free speech. In April, he warned that a proposed European Union age-verification app could open the door to broader online surveillance, according to Cointelegraph. The argument—tying age verification to a wider data-collection trajectory—signals how Durov views regulatory measures as potentially expanding monitoring rather than simply improving safety.

In the same period, Cointelegraph reported that Durov blamed alleged tax data leaks for an increase in crypto-related kidnappings in France. He said Telegram would leave the country rather than grant authorities access to users’ private messages, tying the debate back to the line between lawful access and what he frames as unacceptable intrusion into private communications.

Taken together with the Russia and France allegations, these public remarks suggest that Durov is consistent in his framing: that enforcement actions aimed at removing content or complying with requests can also become mechanisms for surveillance or compelled access to private data.

What to watch next is how each jurisdiction’s process unfolds—whether courts compel specific operational changes, whether regulators escalate further, and how Telegram responds in practice. For users, the key question is whether enforcement will lead to tangible moderation shifts; for the broader industry, it will be whether these cases set precedents for how governments can pressure encryption-adjacent communication platforms to cooperate with investigations.

Google is reportedly backing a proposed $15 billion financing package for an Anthropic-linked data center in Texas, extending an AI infrastructure boom that has also lifted Bitcoin miners expanding into high-performance computing.

Google and Anthropic financing terms

A group of banks led by Morgan Stanley is discussing a financing package for Nexus Data Centers’ planned campus in Hubbard, Texas, according to a Wall Street Journal report cited by Reuters.

The proposed package includes a $14 billion bridge loan and a revolving credit facility. The report did not disclose the size of the revolving facility or identify the other lenders involved in the talks.

Google has reportedly agreed to guarantee billions of dollars in lease and power-payment obligations if Anthropic defaults. Its backing would apply to four data-center leases signed by the AI developer and related agreements to purchase electricity from an on-site power plant.

The guarantees remain limited to the minimum amount lenders require to complete the financing, according to the report. In exchange, Google is expected to receive an equity stake of around 20% in the combined data-center and power project.

Neither Nexus nor the banks have announced a completed transaction.

Texas campus includes a 1.6 GW power plant

Nexus plans to pair the data-center campus with a natural-gas-fired power plant capable of producing 1.6 GW of electricity. The on-site facility would allow the project to secure a large power supply without relying entirely on additional capacity from the Texas grid.

Access to electricity has become one of the main constraints on new US data centers. AI facilities require large and continuous power supplies, while new transmission lines, generation assets and grid connections can take years to approve and construct.

The Nexus structure resembles other AI projects using financially stronger technology companies to support the obligations of private AI developers. Google’s guarantee would improve the project’s credit profile and could help Nexus obtain financing on better terms than Anthropic could secure independently.

Anthropic plans to use tensor processing units co-designed by Google and Broadcom at the site. The chips would be financed separately under a vendor agreement between Anthropic and Broadcom, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Google’s participation would therefore cover several parts of the project: chips, credit guarantees and an expected equity position. The arrangement also gives Google a larger role in Anthropic’s infrastructure even as the AI developer buys processors from competing suppliers.

Bitcoin miners secure similar AI agreements

Nexus is competing for capital and AI tenants during a month marked by several multibillion-dollar agreements involving Bitcoin mining companies.

TeraWulf signed a 20-year lease with Anthropic on July 6 for its Justified Data campus in Hawesville, Kentucky. The contract covers about 401 MW of critical IT capacity and is expected to generate approximately $19 billion in revenue over its initial term.

CleanSpark followed with a $6.6 billion lease for its Sandersville campus in Georgia. The 20-year agreement covers 175 MW and could rise to $11.6 billion if the unidentified technology customer exercises its extension options.

Hut 8 signed a second 352 MW lease at its Beacon Point campus in Texas on July 20. The $9.8 billion contract brought the property’s total base-term lease value to $19.6 billion. Renewal options could increase the figure to $50.2 billion.

IREN announced $2.8 billion in multi-year AI cloud contracts on the same day. It raised its year-end annualized AI cloud revenue target above $4 billion, with about 85% of the target under contract.

Core Scientific then signed an agreement giving AMD access to up to 2.5 GW of data-center capacity. The initial phase will provide 500 MW of AI-ready infrastructure in 2027, although the companies did not disclose the contract’s value.

These companies accumulated power agreements and industrial sites for Bitcoin mining before AI demand raised the potential value of those assets. Their existing grid access can shorten development timelines, although AI facilities require more advanced cooling, networking and backup systems than mining operations.

AI-focused mining stocks rally

Shares of several miners with AI infrastructure exposure rose sharply on July 30, although the broader rally cannot be attributed solely to the Nexus report.

IREN closed approximately 30.7% higher at $38.26, while Hut 8 advanced 22.7% to $108.27. CleanSpark rose 21.1%, Core Scientific added 20.4% and TeraWulf gained 18.1%.

The moves extended an earlier market response to July’s AI contracts. Hut 8 had risen as much as 17% when it announced its second Beacon Point lease, while IREN climbed as much as 19% following its cloud-contract update.

Alphabet shares moved in the opposite direction Thursday, falling about 0.9% to $333.66. The decline came as investors continued assessing the cost of Google’s AI infrastructure expansion rather than signaling a clear response to the uncompleted Nexus financing.

What comes next for the Nexus project

The immediate catalyst will be whether Morgan Stanley and the other banks finalize the $15 billion package and disclose its maturity, interest costs and guarantee structure.

Confirmation of Google’s expected 20% stake would also clarify how much direct exposure the company is taking to Anthropic’s infrastructure obligations. Until financing closes, the loan, guarantees and equity arrangement remain proposed terms reported by people familiar with the discussions.

For US-listed miners, completion would provide another valuation benchmark for large power-backed AI campuses. It would also add a conventional data-center developer to the competition for the same tenants, lenders, chips and power supplies now driving miners’ expansion beyond Bitcoin.

Coinbase shares fell in extended trading after the crypto exchange reported a second-quarter loss and lower revenue, overshadowing record market share and growth across stablecoins and derivatives.

Coinbase revenue falls as quarterly loss returns

Coinbase generated approximately $1.2 billion in second-quarter revenue, down 20% from $1.5 billion during the same period last year. The company posted a loss of $1.36 per share, compared with earnings of $5.14 per share a year earlier.

Shares initially closed regular trading at $163.58, up 2.18% for the session. However, the earnings report reversed that gain, sending the stock lower in after-hours trading.

The chart showed an extended-market price near $152, implying a decline of about 7% from the regular close. Earlier after-hours readings placed the drop closer to 5%, suggesting the stock remained volatile as investors assessed the report.

Lower revenue and the return to a quarterly loss weighed on sentiment despite several operating improvements. Coinbase also completed its 14th consecutive quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA and reduced its forecast for full-year adjusted expenses.

Coinbase reaches record 10.3% trading share

Weak financial results contrasted with Coinbase’s expanding presence in the global crypto market. Its share of worldwide crypto trading volume rose to a record 10.3% from 9.1% in the first quarter.

That marked the third consecutive quarter in which the US exchange increased its market share. The gain came even as overall crypto market volume declined by double digits.

Derivatives activity remained close to the record level reached during the previous quarter. Revenue and contracts tied to event markets increased 106% quarter over quarter, pushing the business above a $100 million annualized revenue rate.

Coinbase also continued reducing its reliance on Bitcoin spot trading fees. Revenue excluding Bitcoin spot activity accounted for 88% of net revenue, reflecting a broader shift toward subscriptions, stablecoins, payments and financial infrastructure.

Subscription and services revenue reached $555 million, compared with just $6 million in the second quarter of 2020. The segment generated 48% of net revenue, up from 29% in the fourth quarter of 2024.

USDC and Base activity support diversification

Stablecoins provided another area of growth. Average USDC balances held across Coinbase products reached a record $20 billion, representing more than 30% of the stablecoin’s circulating supply at quarter-end.

Coinbase reported that USDC and its partner stablecoins accounted for 79% of the more than $37 trillion in stablecoin transaction volume recorded during the year. Stablecoin volume on Base, the exchange’s Layer 2 network, increased sevenfold from a year earlier.

The figures show how Coinbase is expanding beyond transaction fees tied directly to crypto price cycles. This diversification could provide more recurring revenue, although the quarterly loss shows that growth in newer business lines has not fully offset weaker overall conditions.

For US investors, the results offer mixed signals. Coinbase remains a major publicly traded proxy for the domestic crypto industry, but its earnings continue to reflect trading activity, digital asset prices and regulatory conditions.

The company also reported gains from using artificial intelligence in its engineering work. Code changes processed per engineer increased 2.2 times year over year, while integration test coverage across core services rose 2.5 times over six months.

COIN price tests $152 support after earnings

COIN’s after-hours decline pushed the stock below several closely watched technical levels. The regular-session close of $163.58 sat just above the 20-day simple moving average at $162.97 but below the 50-day average at $165.29.

A move toward $152 would place the stock at immediate chart support. Failure to hold that level could expose the late-June low near $140.

On the upside, COIN must reclaim the 50-day average before testing the 100-day SMA near $178.43. The 200-day average at $213.49 remains a larger long-term resistance level.

The average directional index stood at 10.11 before the earnings reaction. A reading this low indicates weak trend strength, matching the stock’s recent sideways movement around the $160 region. The post-earnings gap may provide a stronger directional signal if trading volume remains elevated during the next regular session.

Then the regulator stepped in. On June 22, the CFTC opened a request for comment on extending perpetual contracts to physically-delivered crude oil; 67 questions on reference prices, liquidity, position limits, and customer protection. And when the CME tried to self-certify its 24/7 oil contract in July, the CFTC stayed it, blocking the fast track and forcing a full review first.

This story – the market sprinting toward round-the-clock leveraged access to everything, and the rule-writers trying to decide how fast is safe – will keep repeating as the U.S. works to onshore derivatives flow and exchanges push for a level playing field with their offshore counterparts. When the biggest U.S. derivatives exchange is shrinking oil contracts for 24/7 retail access, and the U.S. derivatives regulator is drafting the rules for perpetual oil, you can stop debating whether the model won. It won.

So the interesting conversation isn’t “are perps spreading.” It’s three sharper questions: which asset classes get perpetuals next, where the leverage actually concentrates, and what breaks along the way.

On what’s next, follow the friction. Perps are most valuable precisely where the traditional market is most annoying, where it closes at night, gates you by geography, demands accreditation, or settles at a crawl. That’s why commodities, pre-IPO equities, and hard-to-reach foreign stocks got perpetuals first: enormous latent demand, hopelessly constrained access. The same logic points straight at private credit, carbon, freight, and the long tail of real-world assets coming onchain. Anything with a reference price and a frustrated audience is a candidate. The underlying almost doesn’t matter; the demand to trade it freely does.