Crypto World
Securitize and Cantor Explore Tokenized IPOs for Public Trading
Securitize and Cantor Fitzgerald have announced a partnership aimed at enabling blockchain-based primary issuances and follow-on equity offerings for listed companies using tokenized securities. The initiative is designed to fit within existing regulatory pathways for public offerings, positioning tokenization as a potential upgrade to traditional IPO and secondary capital-raising workflows.
According to the companies, they are developing a framework that would allow issuers to raise capital through tokenized securities while maintaining compliance with the rules applicable to public offerings. The plan covers both initial public offerings and subsequent, or secondary, share sales by companies that are already publicly listed.
Key takeaways
- Securitize and Cantor Fitzgerald plan to build a regulated issuance and settlement framework for tokenized securities covering both IPOs and follow-on equity offerings.
- Securitize will provide the tokenization infrastructure, while its SEC-registered broker-dealer affiliate, Securitize Markets, is set to participate in offering and settlement.
- Cantor will contribute its equity capital markets experience and trading capabilities associated with public offerings.
- The move aligns with a broader shift toward tokenized stocks and real-world assets as institutional infrastructure efforts accelerate.
A framework designed for public-offering compliance
The partnership is structured around the mechanics required to issue and distribute digital securities in a way that can be administered under the current public-offering regulatory environment. The companies said the framework is intended to support both IPOs and follow-on offerings—where an already listed company issues additional shares to raise capital.
Under the agreement, Securitize is expected to handle the tokenization infrastructure that underpins issuance, distribution, and ongoing servicing of the digital securities. Its SEC-registered broker-dealer affiliate, Securitize Markets, will take part in the offering and settlement process, bridging the digital issuance layer with the traditional market structure.
Cantor Fitzgerald, for its part, will bring its equity capital markets and trading capabilities—capabilities that are typically central to underwriting, market execution, and the infrastructure surrounding public equity transactions.
Why this matters as tokenized equities gain momentum
The announcement arrives as tokenized securities continue to attract increasing attention from established finance. While tokenization has historically found early traction in areas such as private credit and tokenized U.S. Treasurys, the latest wave of interest is increasingly directed at public equity markets.
RWA.xyz data cited in the announcement indicates that tokenized stocks onchain have grown notably: the value of tokenized stocks is reported to have increased 16% over the last 30 days to nearly $1.9 billion. That rate of growth, according to the piece, outpaces much of the broader digital asset market—an important sign for investors watching where tokenization is scaling beyond niche use cases.
More significantly for traditional market participants, the narrative is shifting from isolated pilots to recurring questions about issuance, trading, custody, and settlement at institutional scale. Even when tokenized products are still being explored, the industry attention itself is a signal that infrastructure and compliance teams are beginning to treat tokenization as a serious operational track rather than an experimental technology.
Institutional infrastructure: DTCC’s plans and Wall Street pilots
Tokenized equities are also being pursued through mainstream market infrastructure efforts. Earlier coverage cited in the announcement points to moves by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC). In a report published Wednesday by The Wall Street Journal, DTCC said it plans to pilot tokenization of stocks and U.S. Treasurys with nearly 40 financial companies, including JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs.
The DTCC trial is described as following its May announcement that it aims to roll out tokenized trading services by October. If the timeline holds, it would represent another step toward standardizing how tokenized assets could be cleared and settled in ways that mirror current institutional workflows.
The WSJ report also notes that the assets targeted for tokenization include shares of Microsoft and Circle, as well as exchange-traded funds tracking major indexes such as the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100, alongside short-term U.S. Treasury bonds. The selection is notable because it spans both equity and high-liquidity fixed-income benchmarks—assets that tend to draw heavy institutional participation and could therefore stress-test infrastructure at scale.
For investors and market operators, the practical question is not whether tokenization can “work,” but whether it can interoperate with existing systems for corporate actions, settlement finality, and operational risk controls. Partnerships like Securitize and Cantor’s can be interpreted as one answer on the issuance side, while efforts like DTCC’s pilot focus on the post-trade and market structure layers.
Building on an existing relationship
The partnership is also not starting from zero. Securitize previously moved into public markets via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) backed by Cantor Fitzgerald, according to the announcement. That prior connection helps explain why the two firms are positioning themselves to collaborate on a more ambitious use case: applying tokenization infrastructure to new public-offering activity rather than limiting it to private markets or narrow asset classes.
Even so, key details about implementation and scope remain to be seen. The announcement emphasizes the intent to remain within existing regulatory frameworks, but readers should watch for additional specifics on how the framework will be executed in practice—such as which markets or jurisdictions it initially targets, what types of issuers it prioritizes, and how the settlement and servicing process will be operationalized for tokenized IPOs and follow-on sales.
As tokenized equities continue to attract both infrastructure investment and growing onchain activity, the next phase will likely hinge on regulatory clarity, market-structure integration, and whether pilot projects can graduate into repeatable issuance pipelines for mainstream public companies.
Researchers at Stanford University and Singapore Management University found that Polymarket’s five-minute Bitcoin prediction markets create incentives for traders to manipulate spot prices around settlement, allowing sophisticated participants to profit at the expense of retail traders.
The study examined contracts in which traders bet on whether Bitcoin’s price would end above or below a predetermined level after five minutes. Because the contracts settle using Chainlink price feeds based on Bitcoin’s price at the end of each trading window, traders have an incentive to influence the spot market immediately before settlement.
Analyzing trading activity before and after Polymarket introduced the contracts in July 2024, the researchers found sharp increases in Bitcoin spot-market order flow just before settlement, followed by rapid price reversals, which were consistent with settlement-price manipulation.
The study estimated that the behavior transferred about $1.28 million from ordinary traders to manipulators during the sample period. The researchers said extending contract durations from five minutes to 15 minutes largely eliminated the effect.
Related: SOL rallies as Solana memecoins, prediction market activity surge: Are bulls back?
The researchers said the results do not indicate prediction markets are inherently vulnerable to manipulation, arguing instead that settlement design can reduce the risk. They pointed to longer settlement windows and alternative pricing methods, such as time-weighted average prices, as potential solutions.
The findings could extend beyond crypto. The paper notes that traditional exchanges, including Nasdaq and Cboe, have proposed event contracts tied to asset prices, making contract design an increasingly important consideration as prediction markets expand into regulated financial markets.
World Cup fuels prediction market growth
Prediction markets posted record trading volumes in June as the expanded 2026 FIFA World Cup fueled activity across the sector. According to DefiLlama data, Kalshi processed about $9.4 billion in trading volume during the month, while Polymarket International handled roughly $4.3 billion.
The platforms’ World Cup winner markets have since generated more than $5.4 billion in combined trading volume, with Polymarket processing about $4.25 billion and Kalshi about $1.2 billion, according to data from the two platforms at the time of writing.
World Cup winner bets on Polymarket. Source: Polymarket
The sector’s growth has coincided with mounting legal scrutiny. Several US states have challenged companies, including Kalshi and Polymarket, this year, while the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has argued that federally regulated event contracts fall under its “exclusive jurisdiction” rather than state gambling laws.
The dispute is now moving through the federal courts, and legal observers have said conflicting appellate rulings could eventually prompt the US Supreme Court to decide whether states or the CFTC have primary authority over prediction markets.
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Bitcoin (BTC) saw three-week highs on Wednesday as US inflation data beat expectations for a second day.
Key points:
- Bitcoin sees copycat bullish price action as US inflation data cools for a second day running.
- Risk assets get a more positive outlook as Fed rate-cut odds drop.
- Traders stay conservative over Bitcoin’s ability to continue higher.
Bitcoin gains after “much better-than-expected” US PPI
Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD reaching $65,500 for the first time since June 22.
BTC/USD 12-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
The June print of the Producer Price Index (PPI) came in cool at 5.5% year-on-year after a 0.3% monthly decrease, per data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
“The June decline in the index for final demand can be attributed to prices for final demand goods, which fell 1.4 percent. In contrast, the index for final demand services moved up 0.2 percent,” an official news release stated.
PPI one-month % change. Source: BLS
Reacting, economist Mohamed El-Erian was upbeat on the outlook for risk assets and Federal Reserve policy.
“These much better-than-expected figures are set to boost equities and further temper market expectations for upcoming interest rate hikes,” he wrote in a post on X.
PPI joined Tuesday’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) release, which surprised to the downside despite macro pressure from the US-Iran war and its impact on oil prices.
“Inflation expectations continue to decline,” trading resource The Kobeissi Letter added, referencing bets on a Fed interest-rate hike from users of prediction service Polymarket.
The latest data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool also showed change afoot in expectations for the Fed’s September decision, with a 0.25% hike no longer the most likely option.
Fed target rate probability comparison for September FOMC meeting (screenshot). Source: CME Group
BTC price momentum battles bear-market history
Assessing current BTC price action, market participants avoided overly bullish takes.
Related: Bitcoin gets new $80K August target: Watch these BTC price levels next
“Liquidity sitting above at the $65.6K mark and most importantly, the $67.2K mark,” trader Daan Crypto Trades wrote on X, referring to exchange order-book liquidity.
“Breaking above the latter would turn this into a bigger move and we can start targeting the $70K+ region again and truly position Bitcoin in the middle of its $60K-$80K range.”
BTC/USDT perpetual contract four-hour chart. Source: Daan Crypto Trades/X
Trader and analyst Rekt Capital noted that BTC was approaching its 50-month exponential moving average (EMA) — a level from which the price should be rejected if bear-market history were to repeat.
“If we follow the same statistical pattern seen over the past 12 months, BTC would likely derisk for the remainder of the month and push back down,” trader Killa added on the topic.
BTC chart. Source: Killa/X
A faulty oracle that caused a $9 million exploit over the weekend was patched on 11 chains in the days leading up to the attack, with the exploited Hedera deployment left vulnerable.
The affected protocol, Bonzo Lend, explained that the oracle accepted an extreme mispricing of the attacker’s collateral asset, which allowed them to borrow funds far in excess of the collateral’s true value.
A further $1 million was extracted by a white-hat hacker.
The vulnerable oracle was created by blockchain infrastructure developer Supra Network, which boasts oracles “live on 67 mainnets.”
Shortly after the exploit, Plasma’s Usmann Khan noted that Supra had upgraded many of its oracles in the days leading up to the exploit, but not the contract on Hedera, which Bonzo Lend used.
Read more: These crypto chains raised $500M but generate just $360 in daily fees
In an incident report published approximately 12 hours after the attack, Supra called the bug a “cryptographic edge case” and doesn’t mention having fixed deployments on other chains.
It simply states, “We have also reviewed every other Supra oracle deployment that shares this verifier pattern to confirm the same guards are in place.”
Supra’s co-founder and CEO Josh Tobkin blamed “AI-assisted hacking” for discovering “what human eyes had missed” for two years.
Patching the bug
However, following Khan’s post, HSuite founder Tomachi Anura analysed Supra’s on-chain activity.
Read more: Cap ‘stabledrop’ U-turn sees cUSD drop $23M, founder denies self dealing claims
Anura’s post details the firm’s “cross-chain fix rollout”, with proxy upgrades on 11 chains between June 29 (Base) and July 3 (Polygon), with a further two fixes (on Hedera and Fuse taking place post-exploit).
Anura insists that, while some upgrade addresses vary, “every one whose source is verified resolves to the same 17,354-char guarded SupraSValueFeedVerifier.”
It remains unclear why the fixes stopped on July 3, leaving the Hedera deployment vulnerable.
Protos has reached out to Supra for clarification, and will update this article should we hear back.
Read more: Oracle error adds to turmoil at DeFi giant Aave
Oracles’ costly misfires
Third-party oracles are used by many DeFi projects’ smart contracts to price assets, or for other external data feeds.
Oracle manipulation attacks are commonly used, like in this case, to inflate the value of a collateral asset and drain available borrow liquidity on DeFi lending platforms.
Oracle exploits have led to a further $3.5 million in losses in recent months. In one incident, the critical change to Moonwell’s “vibe-coded” oracle was co-authored by Claude.
While not strictly an exploit, a timestamp mismatch error in Chaos Labs’ Correlated Asset Price Oracle led to a staggering $27 million worth of erroneous wstETH liquidations on Aave’s Ethereum markets in March.
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Bitcoin has slipped below $65,000 after Iran rejected renewed prospects for peace talks with the United States, adding fresh pressure to risk assets as military operations continue.
Summary
- Iran rejected U.S. peace talks despite Trump’s claim that Tehran wants a deal.
- Bitcoin fell below $65,000 as renewed U.S.-Iran tensions weighed on markets.
- Polymarket traders see only a 20% chance of peace talks resuming this month.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said there are currently no plans for negotiations with the United States, with the country’s immediate priority remaining its defense efforts. The statement came after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed during a FOX interview that Iran had reached out earlier and wanted to make a deal, suggesting diplomatic contact could resume.
The conflicting messages have arrived as the U.S.-Iran conflict intensifies once again. Over recent days, both countries have continued exchanging strikes, while Trump has reinstated the Iranian blockade in the Strait of Hormuz and warned that Washington could expand military operations if Tehran does not return to negotiations.
According to data from crypto.news, Bitcoin (BTC) briefly gave up earlier gains and fell below the $65,000 level, changing hands at around $64,800, down less than 1% on the day. The decline interrupted a rally that had followed softer-than-expected U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) data earlier in the session.
Fresh military operations keep risk appetite under pressure
While inflation data initially supported cryptocurrencies, renewed military developments shifted investors’ attention back to geopolitical risks.
Earlier in the day, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on X that it had completed a 90-minute wave of strikes targeting coastal defense systems and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Greater Tunb Island. According to CENTCOM, the operation was intended to reduce Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Hours later, CENTCOM announced another escalation. In a separate post on X, the command said U.S. forces launched a second wave of strikes at 3 p.m. ET, targeting Iranian military capabilities used to threaten vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM described the waterway as vital to global commerce and said the operation was carried out under the direction of the U.S. Commander in Chief.
CENTCOM stated that the strikes further reduced Iran’s capability to threaten commercial shipping passing through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy trade routes. The latest operation follows several days of escalating military exchanges between Washington and Tehran, adding another layer of uncertainty for global financial markets.
crypto.news had earlier reported that cryptocurrencies strengthened after U.S. PPI inflation figures came in below economists’ expectations, reinforcing hopes that inflation pressures may continue easing. However, those gains faded as developments surrounding the U.S.-Iran conflict became the dominant market catalyst.
Prediction markets point to limited optimism for diplomacy
Beyond price action, prediction markets continue to indicate low expectations for a diplomatic breakthrough this month.
Data from crypto-based prediction platform Polymarket shows traders currently assign only a 25% probability that another round of U.S.-Iran peace talks will take place before the end of July. Although prediction markets do not guarantee future outcomes, they offer a real-time view of participant expectations based on active trading.
Attention is also turning toward Iran’s senior leadership for additional guidance on the country’s position. Mohammad Qalibaf, identified as Iran’s top negotiator in the referenced reports, is expected to issue a statement later today addressing the ongoing conflict and recent military developments.
For now, financial markets remain caught between improving U.S. inflation data and rising geopolitical uncertainty. While softer inflation initially supported demand for Bitcoin and other digital assets, Iran’s rejection of negotiations, continued U.S. military strikes, and uncertainty surrounding future diplomatic efforts have kept traders focused on geopolitical headlines as the next major driver of market sentiment.
UK-based financial company Revolut has received approval from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) of Dubai to offer crypto-related services in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In a Wednesday notice, Revolut said that, following a green light from the Central Bank of the UAE for payment activities, VARA gave in-principle approval for the company to offer broker-dealer, management and investment, and exchange services in the UAE. The company said its services via the app and the Revolut X exchange would allow UAE-based users to buy, sell and hold digital assets.
“This approval lays the foundation for Revolut to introduce its trusted virtual asset services within a regulated environment,” said Revolut’s head of digital assets in the UAE free zone establishment, Joseph Khair.
The UAE regulatory approval followed Revolut receiving a UK banking license in March. The company still has similar applications pending for a US banking charter and licensing in Peru as part of its expansion plans.
Related: ECB picks 36 payment providers to test digital euro ahead of 2027 pilot
At the time of publication, VARA listed 51 companies licensed to offer crypto-related services in the UAE, with 22 entities granted in-principle approval. In May, the regulator preliminarily approved cryptocurrency exchange Kraken’s parent company, Payward. The company is expected to fully launch in the region soon.
Revolut to delist USDT next month amid regulatory concerns
Last week, a Revolut spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the company planned to delist the Tether USDt (USDT) stablecoin starting in August for the European Economic Area and Switzerland. The move followed a review of Revolut’s crypto services and risk considerations under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, which required companies offering digital asset services to be licensed by July 1.
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Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche faced backlash Wednesday over the Justice Department’s (DoJ) enforcement of crypto-related crimes and other actions as President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney appeared before a Senate hearing considering his nomination to lead the agency.
The ranking Democrat, Senator Dick Durbin, used part of his opening statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to criticize Trump’s AG pick for what he described as “dismantling DoJ’s enforcement team and shutting down ongoing criminal investigations of the crypto industry.”
Blanche was reportedly behind the disbanding of the Justice Department’s crypto enforcement unit in April 2025 as deputy attorney general.
Todd Blanche speaking at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Source: Associated Press
The Illinois lawmaker said that Blanche’s order dismantling the DoJ’s crypto unit enable Trump to earn $1.4 billion from his ties to the industry, including his family’s business World Liberty Financial.
He also accused former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao of “broker[ing] a deal to channel $2 billion” into World Liberty, which led to a presidential pardon. The former CEO agreed in 2023 to plead guilty to one felony charge related to the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regime at the exchange.
“Every smarmy, suspect deal in this administration has cryptocurrency behind the curtain,” said Durbin.
Senate Republicans need a simple majority of lawmakers present to confirm Blanche as AG should his nomination advance in the judiciary panel. With Senator Mitch McConnell still hospitalized after what his team described as a fall that led to pneumonia, the party has a slim 52-47 margin to confirm Blanche, who faces pushback over the DoJ’s actions on immigration and its crypto policies, claims that he would facilitate Trump’s attacks on perceived enemies and the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Related: Three US senators oppose CLARITY Act on ethics grounds with vote expected soon
Blanche also faced crypto-related questions from Republican Senator Thom Tillis who said he was “concerned that the Binance CEO got pardoned.” Blanche said that he would review the pardon process if confirmed.
Blanche signals DoJ shift on pursuing coders
The Trump AG pick was behind a 2025 memo “ending regulation by prosecution” in the crypto industry and previously held at least $159,000 worth of digital asset-related investments before divesting them to his children and grandchildren.
He has been serving as acting US Attorney General since Pamela Bondi’s firing in April, telling crypto holders shortly after his appointment that officials would not pursue cases into blockchain developers who were not responsible for illicit activity on platforms.
”[I]f you are developing software, if you are a coder, if you are part of that process and you are not the third-party user, and you are not helping and knowing the third party is using what you developed to commit crimes, you are not going to be investigated and not going to be charged,” Blanche said at the Bitcoin 2026 conference.
The department still has ongoing cases against developers behind platforms allegedly used for illegal activities. Federal prosecutors are expected to retry Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm later this year after a jury failed to reach a verdict on two charges in 2025.
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June’s inflation slowdown came largely from one source: cheaper fuel. Gasoline prices fell 12% during the month, helping pull both producer and consumer prices lower. But that relief may already be fading. Brent crude has risen 18% in one week since the Strait of Hormuz blockade returned.
The producer price index fell 0.3% in June, while consumer prices dropped 0.4%. Both figures benefited heavily from lower energy costs, which renewed fighting between the US and Iran is now reversing.
How Gasoline Drove June’s Price Decline
Gasoline’s 12% drop accounted for almost two-thirds of the 1.4% fall in prices for final demand goods. Without cheaper fuel, producer prices would have increased slightly.
The decline spread further through the supply chain. Prices for processed goods used by businesses fell 1.2%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unprocessed materials dropped 4.1%.
Services remained more resistant to price declines. Trade margins rose 0.4%, while core producer prices increased 0.2% from the previous month.
Much of the energy relief followed the Islamabad Memorandum, a June 17 ceasefire that paused the US-Iran war. Brent crude had surged 63% during the first month of the conflict and reached $118 in late March.
By July 1, it had fallen back to $70, wiping out its wartime gains. The latest escalation is now pushing prices higher again.
Follow us on X to get the latest news as it happens
The Hormuz Blockade Rewrites the Energy Math
That foundation cracked on July 8, when the truce collapsed after Iran allegedly struck commercial ships. President Donald Trump then announced a reinstated naval blockade on Monday.
US Central Command said the blockade took effect at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Brent rose 9.6% on Monday alone and traded above $85 by Wednesday.
The strait carries roughly a fifth of the world’s oil. MarineTraffic recorded 57 transits from Friday through Sunday, down more than 50% from the prior week. Before the war began in February, Hormuz handled roughly 130 transits a day.
Washington disputes the shortage story. The Department of Energy said 8.5 million barrels crossed the strait on Sunday with military assistance, matching typical flows.
However, the usual shock absorber is missing this time. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve sits at its lowest level since 1983. Sparta Commodities analyst June Goh warns the remaining buffer is nearly empty.
“The mini-glut of oil has now evaporated, with a fresh eye of a potential of disruptions from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait if Houthis are joining the attacks,” she noted.
Governments have few cushions left. A G7 discussion earlier this year weighed releasing up to 400 million barrels during a previous spike. Meanwhile, TD Securities strategist Bart Melek sees $100 oil as possible if physical shortage risks become real.
What It Means for the Fed
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, in office since May, told Congress this week that he will not tolerate persistently elevated inflation. Markets currently price an 87.7% chance of a July 29 hold.
A renewed oil shock could revive the Fed hike bets that faded after this week’s soft data. The base effect cuts the same way. Gasoline remains nearly 43% higher than a year ago, so June’s relief came off an elevated base.
“There’s no near-term pressure on the Fed, but oil is in the driver’s seat over the longer term. Energy saved the day in June, but that might become ancient history if the Strait of Hormuz doesn’t open soon,” said David Russell, global head of market strategy at TradeStation, via AP
The July prints will settle the question. If Hormuz stays closed, the disinflation that crushed hike odds may prove a truce artifact, not a trend.
The post US Inflation Fell on Cheap Gas, But That Relief is Already Fading appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Nasdaq has suspended trading in BNB Plus, a digital asset treasury (DAT) company that burned shareholders on the dream of making money on Binance’s blockchain.
The stock closed its final session at $0.16, down 99.99% on a split-adjusted basis in three years.
Its reinvention from a biotech stock to a BNB-holding DAT lasted less than 10 months and cost common shareholders nearly everything.
Shares are now downlisted onto OTC Markets Group’s venture tier, under the same ticker symbol. It plans to appeal the delisting via Nasdaq’s Listing and Hearing Review Council, but the suspension is immediate while that appeal is underway.
Not embarrassed, BNB Plus’s delisting announcement stubbornly describes its continued intention to pursue “sophisticated DeFi yield generation with Binance-native opportunities, unlocking access to high-performance digital assets.”
The opportunities that its operations are excluded from now includes the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Read more: After crashing 99.9%, this BTC treasury stock crashed 99.9% — again
‘Innovation is in our DNA’
BNB Plus was formerly known as Applied DNA Sciences. It spent years selling DNA tags that authenticated textiles and other products in supply chains.
James Hayward, its chief executive of two decades, retired in June 2025 with a $450,000 separation payment. Days later, the company cut 27% of its workforce.
By late September, the company announced $27 million in financing to amass a BNB treasury. Investors paid in cash, stablecoins, and trust units in exchange for new shares and warrants.
SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci signed on as an advisor. Multi-year service deals promised asset manager Cypress LLC fees on BNB Plus’s assets and a cut of its assets, while a second deal handed Cypress Management LLC stock warrants over nearly a tenth of the company.
New CEO Clay Shorrock said at the time, “We’re proud to integrate our digital asset treasury strategy with our best-in-class PCR-based nucleic acid production solutions to accelerate growth and deliver long-term shareholder value.”
Needless to say, those two businesses failed to complement one another. Surprising no one, BNB has almost nothing to do with DNA.
The BNB treasury strategy was obviously an attempt to capitalize on a momentary fad for DATs that peaked in early summer 2025.
For a brief moment, investors were bullish about the bizarre pivot. Shares surged more than 50% the day before the formal announcement in late September 2025, then jumped another 70% once the press release landed.
Late to the party, its stock price soon settled back near where it started and then continued its downward slide.
Five reverse splits couldn’t prevent a Nasdaq delisting
After its BNB-focused financing placement closed in October, the company assembled about 15,500 BNB in tokens and trust units.
It swapped its ticker from APDN to BNBX in October, putting BNB front and center. It renamed to BNB Plus Corp by November. By December, it deployed an additional $3 million into BNB.
The price drifted lower. By March, BNBX had spent weeks below $1, and Nasdaq issued a deficiency notice, per the company’s own disclosure.
The fall below $1 was in spite of years of efforts by the company to manufacture a share price above $1. In fact, Applied DNA has reverse split five times: 1:60 in 2014, 1:40 in 2019, 1:20 in 2024, 1:50 in March 2025, and 1:15 in June 2025.
Even after all those adjustments, it last traded below $0.15 anyway.
BNB Plus’s mNAV: 0.09x
DAT companies grade themselves on a so-called multiple-to-Net Asset Value or “mNAV,” the ratio of their market capitalization to the value of their crypto holdings.
At an mNAV above 1x, investors are paying a premium for the company relative to its treasury. Below 1x, they are bearish on the company’s ability to grow.
BNB Plus’s own dashboard shows roughly 18,700 BNB and $3.9 million in cash against a market cap near $814,000, grading itself an embarrassing mNAV of 0.09x.
In April 2026, its board launched a strategic review contemplating another pivot to AI. In May, the company secured commitments for $4.1 million of convertible preferred financing to keep the lights on while it decides.
The company’s X account has been silent since January 5. Its bio still promises that “$BNBX is built to outperform simple BNB buy-and-hold strategies, delivering investors more BNB tokens over time.”
Got a tip? Send us an email securely via Protos Leaks. For more informed news and investigations, follow us on X, Bluesky, and Google News, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Ostium, a decentralized perpetual futures exchange, has been hacked on the Arbitrum network via a suspected private key compromise of its oracle signer.
A number of crypto security firms flagged suspicious outflows, with estimates loss estimates ranging from $18 to over $23 million.
Ostium’s official X account confirmed an “issue” with its OLP vault shortly thereafter.
Read more: Supra patched oracle on 11 other chains before $9M Hedera exploit
Ostium allows for trading perpetual futures of stocks, commodities, and forex, and held approximately $63 million of assets, pre-hack, according to DeFiLlama data.
Its OLP vault acts as the protocol’s settlement layer, into which users deposit USDC to open trades on the platform.
Decurity, highlighting an example transaction, explained that “the attacker fed self-signed favorable prices to open and immediately close trades at a profit, draining ~11.86M USDC from the OstiumVault.”
Read more: Cap ‘stabledrop’ U-turn sees cUSD drop $23M, founder denies self dealing claims
DeFi dangers
The loss comes just four days after $9 million was lost from Bonzo Finance on the Hedera network, also due to an exposed price oracle.
Supra, the firm behind the vulnerable oracle had previously patched deployments on 11 other chains in the days leading up to the exploit.
Last week, Summer Finance was hacked, also via a price manipulation attack, losing $6 million. It’s announced today that it will not be able to recover from the incident and will be winding down.
Read more: DeFi platform Summer Finance loses $6M in vault exploit
In the first half of 2026, the DeFi sector has seen over $900 million lost in 87 incidents, with over 80% of the losses caused by compromised private keys or bridge hacks.
Of these, two incidents make up the majority, Drift Protocol and LayerZero/KelpDAO. Following the latter, the contagion threat led Arbitrum’s Security Council to step in and freeze over $70 million of stolen funds.
It remains to be seen whether Ostium’s loss warrants a similar reaction.
Got a tip? Send us an email securely via Protos Leaks. For more informed news and investigations, follow us on X, Bluesky, and Google News, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.
The Ethereum (ETH) price broke out of a descending trendline that had capped it since the all-time high, while futures open interest climbed to $19.8 billion. ETH trades near $1,928, up 5.2% in the last 24 hours.
Derivatives positioning, liquidation data, and long-term chart structure now point in the same bullish direction. However, one missing ingredient still keeps the breakout unconfirmed.
Futures Traders Return as Open Interest Nears $20 Billion
Glassnode data shows Ethereum futures open interest across all exchanges spiked to $19.8 billion on July 14. That is the highest reading since June 3, when a market-wide deleveraging event reset positioning.
Open interest measures the total value of outstanding futures contracts. Rising open interest alongside a rising price suggests new capital is entering the market rather than shorts simply covering.
The metric had collapsed to approximately $15.5 billion in late June. Its sharp recovery indicates traders are returning to ETH derivatives with conviction. Elevated positive funding on Ethereum supports the same reading.
Whale trader Machi Big Brother reportedly opened a $24.3 million ETH long at 25x leverage, with liquidation set at $1,833.
A drop back below the June range would flip this signal and suggest the new positioning was short-lived.
Long Liquidations at a Yearly Low of 4% Point to a Short Squeeze
The composition of recent liquidations strengthens the bullish case. Ethereum futures long liquidations dominance fell to 4%, its lowest level in a year, according to Glassnode.
In plain terms, only 4% of liquidated positions were longs. The remaining 96% were short traders forced out as the price pushed higher.
Still, squeeze-driven rallies carry a caveat. Forced short covering can exaggerate upside moves, as the June 3 liquidations cascaded to exaggerate the downside. Spot demand must follow for the move to hold.
A return of dominance above 50% would indicate that longs are absorbing damage again and would weaken the momentum signal.
Ethereum Price Holds the Trendline From the 2022 Bottom
The weekly chart shows why the current level matters so much. An ascending trendline drawn from the June 2022 bottom, respected throughout the previous bull market, held near $1,600 once again.
The bounce also occurred inside a long-term green demand zone that has served as support four times since early 2023. Moreover, the area coincides with the 0.786 Fibonacci retracement of the entire cycle at $1,754.
This triple confluence of trendline, horizontal support, and Fibonacci level makes the zone a structural line in the sand. The next major resistance sits far above, at the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement of $2,438.
ETH Price Prediction as the $2,000 Test Looms
On the daily chart, Monday’s 6.5% green candle broke above a descending trendline in place since the all-time high. That line had rejected the ETH price five times before this breakout.
The daily Relative Strength Index (RSI) confirms the shift in momentum. It broke out of its own descending trendline, drawn from July 2025, and now sits just below 65.
One warning sign remains. Volume has been declining during the recovery, so the breakout lacks confirmation from participation. Analysts watching the ETH/BTC ratio see early signs of a broader Ethereum comeback that could fill the missing demand.
Immediate resistance lies between $1,900 and $2,000. A confirmed daily close above that zone on rising volume could open the way toward $2,438, nearly 30% above the current price.
On the downside, $1,754 is the critical support. Losing it would expose the trendline near $1,600, and a weekly close below that level would invalidate the bullish structure entirely.
Either volume arrives to validate the breakout, or ETH returns to the zone that has saved it four times already.
The post Ethereum Breaks Key Resistance Toward $2,000: How Far Will ETH Rally? appeared first on BeInCrypto.
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