Crypto World
Who is buying every Pi dip? The 400M PI whale
One anonymous wallet has spent a year absorbing the supply that everyone else is selling. It is now the largest single holder of PI, nobody has claimed it, and at today’s price it is sitting on one of the worst trades in the token’s short history.
Summary
- A wallet tracked as GAS…ODM has accumulated more than 400 million PI, making it the largest single holder outside the Pi Foundation’s own reserves, built by pulling tokens off OKX, Gate.io, and MEXC over roughly a year.
- No party has claimed ownership. The two dominant theories are a Pi Core Team buyback wallet managing supply, or an exchange stockpiling inventory ahead of a listing.
- The accumulation is real support, but it has not worked: PI broke below $0.10 in July to a fresh all-time low near $0.071, down roughly 97% from its $2.99 peak.
- The uncomfortable arithmetic: a stake valued near $148.5 million when it was reported at 331 million tokens is worth a fraction of that today. Whoever the whale is, they are deeply underwater.
- The deeper story is concentration. Pi markets itself as the people’s cryptocurrency, yet 22 wallets hold over 10 million PI each and roughly 84% of accounts hold less than 10 PI.
Every crypto community has a wallet it watches. Pi Network has GAS…ODM, and the watching has become something closer to a devotional practice. For roughly a year, this single anonymous address has done the one thing almost nobody else in the Pi ecosystem has been willing to do: buy, relentlessly, into a collapsing price, pulling millions of tokens off exchanges week after week while daily unlocks poured fresh supply into a market that could not absorb it, a dynamic crypto.news examined in its coverage of the supply schedule the whale is fighting. It is now the largest single holder of PI outside the project’s own foundation wallets. Nobody knows who controls it. The community has variously called it a core team buyback, an exchange preparing a listing, and, with a straight face, the new Satoshi wallet. What the data actually shows is more interesting than any of those theories, and considerably less flattering.
What the wallet has actually done
The mechanics are unusually legible, because Pi’s block explorer makes them so. Tracking data from PiScan shows the address labelled GAS…ODM systematically withdrawing PI from centralized exchanges, principally OKX, Gate.io, and MEXC, in multimillion-token transfers over an extended period. By mid-2025 the wallet had amassed roughly 331 million PI, a position valued at approximately $148.5 million at the prices of the time. By late May 2026, on-chain data showed it had crossed 400 million tokens, with days on which it added more than 1.5 million PI in a single session, and a pattern of near-daily accumulation that had held through the spring.
Two features of the behavior distinguish it from ordinary trading. First, the direction is one-way. The wallet withdraws from exchanges into self-custody and does not send tokens back, which is the on-chain signature of an entity removing supply from circulation instead of flipping it. Second, the timing clusters around weakness. Inflows to the wallet intensified during price dips, with buying accelerating as PI slid toward support zones. That is a pattern rarely produced by a discretionary trader, because it requires either conviction that borders on indifference to drawdown, or a mandate that is not about profit at all.
The scale is what makes it consequential. At 331 million tokens the wallet was already the sixth-largest holder in the ecosystem, exceeding the balances held by exchange wallets at platforms like Bitget and MEXC. Crossing 400 million made it the largest single non-foundation holder. For context on how much supply that represents, daily unlocks currently add roughly 6.5 million PI to the float, which means the whale has absorbed something on the order of two months of continuous unlock supply in a market where finding a buyer for a single day’s worth has proven difficult.
The theories, and what each would mean
Two explanations dominate the community discussion, and they carry radically different implications. The first, and most widely held, is that GAS…ODM belongs to the Pi Core Team, functioning as a buyback wallet that repurchases tokens during unlock periods to stabilize price and manage supply. The circumstantial case is decent: the accumulation intensified exactly when supply pressure peaked, the behavior looks mandated rather than opportunistic, and a project sitting on a large treasury has both the means and the motive to defend its token during a distribution phase. The Core Team has never acknowledged any role.
The second theory holds that the wallet belongs to a major exchange quietly building inventory ahead of a listing. This gained traction because the accumulation coincided with persistent speculation about tier-one listings, and because exchanges genuinely do pre-position inventory before opening a market. The theory has weakened as time has passed, though. Kraken and OKX opened PI markets in 2026 and the accumulation continued regardless, while Binance and Coinbase have still not listed. No exchange has confirmed ownership of the address.
The implications diverge sharply. If it is the Core Team, then a substantial share of what looks like organic market demand for PI is the project buying its own token, which means the price signal is partly manufactured and would collapse further if the buying stopped. That is not illegal, and treasury management is common, but it is material information that holders do not have. If it is an exchange, the accumulation is inventory instead of conviction and says nothing about the token’s prospects. If it is neither, and the wallet belongs to a private entity making a long-horizon bet, then it is simply the largest and most patient position in the ecosystem. The honest answer is that nobody outside the wallet knows, and the ambiguity itself is the point: an unattributed entity controls a supply block large enough to move the market, and the ecosystem has decided to read that as reassurance.
The bull case: someone knows something
The optimistic interpretation, which dominates Pi community sentiment, treats the wallet as a vote of confidence expressed in the only language that cannot lie, which is money. Sustained accumulation through a brutal drawdown does suggest calculated intent instead of casual speculation. Whoever is behind it has watched PI fall through support level after support level and kept buying, which is either information or conviction, and the community has understandably preferred to believe it is the former.
There is a supply-side argument that has genuine force. Pi’s central problem is float: roughly 1.21 billion PI are scheduled to enter circulation across 2026, a daily drip averaging about 6.5 million coins, which at recent prices means the market must absorb tens of millions of dollars of new supply every month simply to hold price flat. Any entity permanently removing hundreds of millions of tokens from exchanges into self-custody is directly countering that mechanic. Tokens sitting in a cold wallet are not sell pressure. If the whale keeps buying and never sells, the effective float shrinks, and a smaller float is the precondition for any eventual repricing.
The wallet has also had a measurable psychological effect on the ecosystem, which matters for a project whose entire thesis rests on community. Sentiment tools turned positive on the accumulation narrative, and ecosystem activity has continued regardless of price: Pi App Studio brought thousands of applications online, Ecosystem Directory Staking has drawn tens of millions of PI from users spotlighting projects, and the Pi2Day product launches pushed fee-in-PI utility. A visible whale creates a feedback loop, where perceived smart-money confidence sustains builder enthusiasm, which sustains the ecosystem that any future demand would need. In that reading, GAS…ODM has been load-bearing for morale even when it failed to be load-bearing for price.
The bear case: it did not work
Now the arithmetic, and it is unkind. When the wallet’s position was reported at 331 million tokens, the stake carried a headline value near $148.5 million. PI has since broken below the $0.10 line that held through the spring, setting a fresh all-time low near $0.071 in July after a roughly 15% single-day plunge ahead of the next unlock wave. Against a peak of $2.99, the token is down roughly 97%. Run the same 400 million tokens at a price near $0.08 and the position is worth a small fraction of what it was when the accumulation made headlines. Whoever GAS…ODM is, it is one of the worst-performing large positions in the token’s history, and it is still adding.
That reframes the bull case considerably. The community reads persistent buying as insight, but persistent buying that coincides with a 97% drawdown is equally consistent with an entity that is trapped, mandated, or simply wrong. If the wallet is a Core Team buyback, then the defense has failed on its own terms: hundreds of millions of tokens were spent absorbing supply and the price broke to new lows regardless, which is the definition of an unsuccessful intervention. Buying every dip does not signal knowledge when every dip is followed by a deeper one.
The supply argument also has a rebuttal in the data. PiScan has shown tagged exchange wallets holding roughly 545 million PI in aggregate, with net inflows continuing, and inflows to exchanges typically precede selling instead of accumulation. The whale’s buying has not been enough to offset the broader movement of supply back toward trading venues. One wallet, however large, is fighting a structural release schedule that never pauses. A single buyer can absorb a discrete event. A continuous daily drip is a different opponent, because it does not stop for sentiment, news, or price, and it compounds.
The concentration problem nobody wants to discuss
The whale story points at something larger and more awkward than one address. Pi Network’s founding promise was democratic distribution: a currency anyone could mine from a phone, with no expensive hardware and no venture allocation. The on-chain reality of ownership looks nothing like that. PiScan data has shown just 22 wallets qualifying as whales holding at least 10 million PI each, alongside millions of accounts holding almost nothing. Roughly 84% of the more than 15.9 million accounts fall into the smallest category, holding less than 10 PI, worth pocket change. The Pi Foundation’s own top wallet has held tens of billions of coins.
Set that against the token’s marketing and the tension is obvious. A network built on the pitch of mass participation has produced an ownership structure where a handful of addresses, most of them associated with the foundation, dominate supply, and where the largest independent accumulator is an entity that will not identify itself. That is a decentralization question with real regulatory weight, given that market-structure legislation moving through Congress contemplates decentralization tests for classifying digital assets. Pi’s defenders point to millions of migrated wallets and a vast know-your-customer base as evidence of genuine distribution. The rich list points the other way.
None of this is unique to Pi, and every major token has concentration issues. But most of them never claimed otherwise. The gap between the people’s-cryptocurrency framing and a wallet map dominated by whales and microbes is the kind of thing that becomes a problem precisely when price stops going up, because that is when holders start reading the ledger instead of the roadmap. Fourteen million accounts holding less than four dollars each is not a distributed economy. It is a marketing funnel with a blockchain attached.
What a buyback would actually mean
It is worth taking the Core Team theory seriously for a moment and following it to its conclusion, because if it is true the implications reach well past one wallet. Token buybacks are ordinary corporate behavior in crypto. Projects with treasury reserves routinely purchase their own tokens to support price, absorb unlock supply, or retire float, and several of the largest names in the sector run formal buy-and-burn programs that they disclose openly. The mechanism is not the problem. Disclosure is.
Pi’s approach to supply management is unusual in a way that makes the whale theory more plausible. The project leans on halvings and a declining mining rate instead of burns, which means it has no mechanism for permanently destroying supply, a difference that matters when looking at why Pi has no burn valve for supply. Every coin ever mined eventually reaches circulation through migration and unlocks. A project in that position, watching roughly 6.5 million tokens hit the float daily with no burn valve to relieve pressure, has exactly one lever left if it wants to defend price, which is to buy the tokens back with treasury funds and sit on them. That is precisely the behavior GAS…ODM exhibits.
If that is what is happening, holders are entitled to know, and the silence becomes the story. A disclosed buyback is a strategy that investors can price: they know the size, the mandate, the funding source, and the conditions under which it stops. An undisclosed one is something else entirely, because market participants are reading manufactured demand as organic conviction and making decisions on that basis. The community has spent a year interpreting the wallet as smart money validating the project. If the smart money turns out to be the project validating itself, every inference drawn from that accumulation collapses at once, and it collapses fastest for the people who bought because a whale was buying.
There is a harder question underneath. A buyback funded from treasury is a transfer: the project spends reserves that belong, in some diffuse sense, to the ecosystem in order to support a price that benefits current holders, including the largest ones. When it works, nobody objects. When it fails, and PI is at a record low after a year of it, the reserves are gone and the price went down anyway. That is the worst of both outcomes, and it is the scenario the on-chain data is most consistent with. Pi’s own venture fund history is instructive here: the project announced a $100 million fund and, more than a year later, has little disclosed deployment to show for it. A pattern of large announced commitments with thin subsequent disclosure is the context in which an unattributed nine-figure wallet should be read.
None of this is proven, and it should not be presented as though it were. The Core Team has never acknowledged the wallet, and the exchange-inventory theory remains live. But the range of explanations is narrow, and every one of them is more interesting than the reading the community has settled on. Either the project is quietly spending reserves to defend a line it has already lost, or an exchange has been sitting on inventory for a listing that has not come, or an unidentified party has made an enormous and enormously bad bet. Those are the options. None of them is a reason to buy.
What to watch
The useful signals from here are narrow and specific. The first is whether GAS…ODM keeps buying below $0.10. Accumulation through the previous drawdown was notable but occurred at higher prices; continued aggressive buying into a token trading at a fresh all-time low would tighten the case that the entity is mandated instead of opportunistic, because no discretionary buyer averages down through a 97% decline without a reason external to profit.
The second is attribution. Any confirmation of ownership, whether from the Core Team acknowledging a buyback program or an exchange claiming the address, would immediately reprice the narrative in one direction or the other. Silence has served the bullish reading well, because an unattributed whale can be whatever the community needs it to be. Clarity would remove that optionality.
The third is whether the supply math changes at all. Roughly 1.21 billion PI enter circulation across 2026, with the next tranche reported above 127 million tokens, up from about 103.7 million the previous month. Absorbing that requires demand the ecosystem has not yet produced, and the Pi2Day fee-in-PI products are the project’s first real attempt to create demand that exists independent of speculation. If those products show genuine usage measured in actual fees rather than announcements, the whale’s thesis, whatever it is, gets stronger. If they do not, then one wallet is holding a position that gets larger and less valuable every month, and the most-watched address in the Pi ecosystem will end up as a case study in how supply design shapes price and how much money it takes to fail to hold a line.
Frequently asked questions
What is the GAS…ODM wallet?
It is an address on the Pi Network blockchain, tracked via the PiScan explorer, that has accumulated more than 400 million PI by systematically withdrawing tokens from centralized exchanges including OKX, Gate.io, and MEXC. It is the largest single holder of PI outside the Pi Foundation’s own wallets, and no individual, company, or exchange has publicly claimed ownership of it.
Who is behind the Pi whale wallet?
Nobody knows. The two dominant theories are that it belongs to the Pi Core Team and operates as a buyback wallet to stabilize price during unlock periods, or that it belongs to a major exchange stockpiling inventory ahead of a listing. The Core Team has not acknowledged any role and no exchange has confirmed involvement. A third possibility is a private long-horizon investor.
How much is the whale’s position worth?
Far less than it was. When the stake was reported at 331 million tokens, it carried a headline value near $148.5 million. PI has since fallen to a fresh all-time low near $0.071 after breaking below $0.10, roughly 97% beneath its $2.99 peak. At current prices the same holdings are worth a fraction of the earlier figure, meaning the position is deeply underwater.
Does whale accumulation mean PI will recover?
It has not so far. The wallet bought persistently through a drawdown that took the token to successive record lows, which means accumulation alone has failed to hold price. Removing tokens from exchanges does reduce immediate sell pressure, but roughly 1.21 billion PI enter circulation across 2026 at about 6.5 million coins per day, and one buyer has not offset a continuous release schedule.
Why does the identity of the wallet matter?
Because the implications differ completely. If it is the Core Team, then some of what appears to be organic market demand is the project buying its own token, which is material information holders lack and which would reverse if buying stopped. If it is an exchange, the accumulation is inventory and says nothing about the token’s prospects. The ambiguity lets the community read it as confidence.
How concentrated is PI ownership?
Heavily. PiScan data has shown 22 wallets holding at least 10 million PI each, while roughly 84% of more than 15.9 million accounts hold less than 10 PI. The Pi Foundation’s top wallet alone has held tens of billions of coins. That distribution sits awkwardly against Pi’s marketing as a cryptocurrency anyone can mine and own from a phone.
Why does Pi keep falling despite ecosystem growth?
Supply. Migration, second migrations, and referral rewards all enlarge the tradable float, which means the project’s most celebrated milestones are, in pure supply terms, bearish for price in the short term. The same process that turns PI into a usable asset also releases the coins that weigh on it. Product launches aim to create fee-driven demand, but that demand has not yet matched the unlock schedule.
What would change the picture?
Three things. Confirmed attribution of the whale wallet, which would reprice the narrative immediately. Evidence that the fee-in-PI products generate real recurring demand measured in usage rather than announcements. And any structural change to the unlock schedule that slows the daily drip. Absent those, the token faces a continuous supply stream that a single large buyer has already failed to absorb.
This article is for information and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. On-chain wallet attribution is speculative, ownership of the address discussed here is unconfirmed, and the theories described are community interpretations instead of verified facts. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any asset. Always do your own research. Prices and on-chain figures are accurate as of July 16, 2026, and move quickly.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 sank as much as 4.4% on Friday, July 17, leading a broad Asian tech selloff. Investors dumped chip stocks tied to the artificial intelligence boom. The index fell to 63,896.48, extending losses from earlier in the week.
Chip-equipment maker Advantest and tech investor SoftBank each lost around nine percent. Taiwan’s Taiex shed four percent as TSMC retreated more than three percent, even after posting record quarterly profit. However, the big story for Japanese stocks is Kioxia
Kioxia’s Reversal
Kioxia, the memory chipmaker plunged near 16% on Friday alone. That extends a slide that has erased 44% of its value in a single month.
A rally of more than 600% since January pushed Kioxia briefly past Toyota to become Japan’s most valuable company in mid-June. It has since dropped to fourth place. The slide has wiped out roughly ¥30 trillion, or $185 billion, in market value.
Daiwa Securities chief strategist Yugo Tsuboi said the chip sector remains prone to boom-bust cycles.
“The chip sector is vulnerable to the silicon cycle, and we’ve seen this pattern many times before.”
Tsuboi pointed to rising scrutiny of Chinese memory chipmakers as one factor. He also noted signs that global memory prices may be stabilizing, which makes further earnings upgrades harder to justify.
Cracks Beneath the Rally
Other factors are adding to the pressure that Kioxia has faced in the relative short term. Last week, Bain Capital exited its entire position in the memory chipmaker. Many investors saw that as a signal that the chip cycle is peaking. Japanese retail traders also hold heavy leveraged positions, which leaves the stock exposed if selling accelerates.
Kioxia only listed in 2024. Since then, its shares became the best performer on the MSCI World Index before this month’s reversal.
Despite the collapse, analysts still forecast roughly a 118% return for Kioxia over the next 12 months. The Topix index’s October reshuffle should also draw fresh passive fund inflows into the stock.
A Warning for the Wider AI Trade
Kioxia’s reversal mirrors a broader repricing across the sector. A Wall Street gauge of chip stocks slumped more than four percent Thursday and concerns over TSMC’s AI spending overshadowed an otherwise solid earnings outlook.
Traders have grown more skeptical of the AI trade in recent months. They are rotating out of richly valued chip names and into sectors that have lagged. The episode follows a similar pattern to Japan’s broader AI selloff earlier this month.
The Nikkei has shed trillions of yen in value over three weeks.
The post As Nikkei Bleeds, Kioxia’s Boom-to-Bust Highlights Dangers of This AI Cycle appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the company behind the Truth Social platform, says it is preparing to launch a paid API that will let institutional Wall Street users pull posts from selected high-impact Truth Social accounts in real time.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, TMTG states the “Truth API” is expected to be available to institutional customers starting Aug. 1, 2026. The service is designed for low-latency, machine-readable access—useful for high-frequency and algorithmic trading firms that want faster integration than manual browsing or slower data collection methods.
Key takeaways
- Trump Media is launching a paid Truth Social API aimed at institutional customers and market data workflows.
- Availability is targeted for Aug. 1, 2026, with a focus on real-time, licensed content from influential accounts.
- The API is intended for algorithmic and high-frequency trading that prioritizes low latency and machine readability.
- TMTG says scraping prior approaches violate its terms and that the company wants to increase friction for non-direct data collection.
- Truth Social posts have previously been cited as market-moving, including posts connected to U.S.–Iran developments.
A licensed, real-time feed for institutions
According to TMTG’s SEC filing, the Truth API is positioned as a direct, licensed channel for retrieving posts from Truth Social’s most “market-moving” accounts. The company is explicitly pitching the product to professional trading and market data users that need data in a format that systems can ingest quickly.
The filing emphasizes that the API is meant to deliver a real-time feed, tailored for scenarios where timing matters—especially for automated strategies. That framing matters to investors and market participants because it acknowledges a practical reality: social-media headlines and posts can influence how quickly traders react, and the gap between posting and data availability can affect execution.
Low latency and “friction” for scraping
In comments tied to the rollout, TMTG’s interim CEO Kevin McGurn said that Truth API provides a direct licensed stream of the platform’s “most market-moving Truths,” while also supporting the company’s goal of monetizing proprietary assets through recurring revenue.
The company also drew a line around how data should be obtained. In the filing, McGurn says companies have previously attempted to scrape Truth Social data, which he characterizes as a violation of the platform’s terms of service. He adds that Truth API is expected to “create a lot of friction” for those who do not come to the company directly.
For market participants, this shift is significant. Scraping-based approaches typically come with reliability and compliance risks—such as sudden changes in access patterns, blocking, or disputes over licensing. A formal API, by contrast, signals a more structured data pipeline that may be easier to incorporate into regulated or vendor-driven workflows.
Which accounts are in scope
TMTG’s announcement highlights that the API is intended to deliver posts from influential accounts, including Donald Trump (as President and as the operator of the Truth Social account named in the filing). The SEC documentation also references other major figures on the platform, including Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump, and FBI Director Kash Patel.
Separately, the company points to prior instances where posts from Trump’s Truth Social account were associated with market attention. The article notes examples tied to the ongoing conflict between Iran and the U.S.—a reminder that Truth Social content is being watched not only as political commentary, but as a potential driver of market narratives.
Even with the API’s focus on “market-moving” accounts, investors should consider a key uncertainty: the SEC filing and the accompanying description do not spell out—within the provided text—exactly how “market-moving” is determined, how frequently the account set could change, or what latency benchmarks will be provided to customers.
Why an API matters for trading workflows
Social-media data has long been used in trading, but the quality of that data pipeline—particularly speed, structure, and licensing—often determines whether it can be reliably used for automation. By targeting low-latency delivery to institutional users, TMTG is effectively positioning Truth Social as a more integration-ready source of information for quantitative systems.
Just as importantly, the company’s approach frames the business model: rather than relying on incidental discovery or indirect data access, TMTG is attempting to convert platform influence into a recurring, licensed data service. The “high-margin, recurring revenue stream” language in McGurn’s statement suggests the API is intended to become a durable line of monetization, not a one-off product experiment.
As Aug. 1, 2026 approaches, market observers will likely watch for more operational details—especially how the API will handle access controls, content eligibility, and real-time performance expectations for institutional customers. Those specifics will determine whether Truth API becomes a practical component of algorithmic strategies or remains largely a compliance-first licensing alternative.
Netflix (NFLX) forecast third-quarter revenue of $12.86 billion, short of Wall Street’s $13 billion estimate. Shares sank nearly 9% in after-hours trading Thursday, July 16.
The guidance overshadowed second-quarter results that beat earnings estimates but fell just short on revenue. Investors are weighing slowing subscriber growth against a maturing streaming business heading into the back half of 2026.
Shares Slide Toward a Two-Year Low
Netflix shares closed Thursday’s regular session at $74.35, up 0.91%. The stock then fell 8.98% to $67.78 in after-hours trading once the guidance landed, per TradingView data.
The stock is down more than 21% year-to-date has fallen 41% over the past twelve months. It sits far from its all time high of around $133 set in June 2025.
The drop lands during a stretch of bank earnings season that has already tested investor patience. Fed Chair testimony on rates added to the volatility this week. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 have swung on similar earnings-driven volatility this cycle.
Analysts See a Maturing Growth Story
PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore described the outlook as “a naturally maturing growth profile.” He said this does not signal deterioration in the business, but added that Netflix now has less room for error given persistently high expectations.
Netflix also said it would cut its viewing-hours report to once a year, starting in January 2027. The company wants to keep the focus on revenue and operating profit.
The company reiterated plans to roughly double annual advertising revenue to $3 billion. Engagement also grew 2% in the first half of 2026.
Netflix reports third-quarter results on October 20. Investors will watch whether the advertising and live-events push can offset slowing subscriber gains.
The post Netflix Stock Sinks After Third-Quarter Revenue Guidance Misses Estimates appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Trump Media, the company that operates the Truth Social network, said Thursday it was launching a new paid-for API that gives Wall Street firms “the fastest” access to posts from the most influential Truth Social accounts, including US President Donald Trump.
The API is targeted to be available to institutional customers from Aug. 1, 2026, and is aimed at high-frequency and algorithmic trading firms that require a low-latency, machine-readable feed, said the company on Thursday.
“Markets already move on Truth Social posts,” said Kevin McGurn, interim CEO of TMTG in a statement. “Truth API delivers a direct, licensed, real-time feed of the platform’s most market-moving Truths while advancing our strategy to monetize proprietary assets through a high-margin, recurring revenue stream.”
Posts from Trump’s Truth Social account have moved markets, with the most recent examples being his posts relating to the ongoing conflict between Iran and the US. Other major accounts on Truth Social include Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump and FBI Director Kash Patel.
“Companies have previously tried to scrape data from Truth Social, which is in violation of its terms of service,” McGurn said, according to CNN.
“We’re going to create a lot of friction for those folks that aren’t coming to us directly,” he added.
Alphabet stock fell over 4% after the European Union ordered Google to open Search and Android data to rivals. The order adds to concerns over a delayed Gemini 3.5 Pro launch.
The pullback erased most of a rally sparked days earlier by Warren Buffett’s public endorsement of the stock. Shares changed hands near $353 on Thursday, down from above push toward $370 days earlier, per TradingView data.
Gemini Delay Meets a Costly AI Buildout
Alphabet is reportedly facing delays in launching Gemini 3.5 Pro, its next flagship AI model. CEO Sundar Pichai had signaled a June release. Engineers are said to still be working on coding performance and now, some researchers reportedly worry rival models now outperform Gemini on enterprise benchmarks.
The delay lands as Alphabet guides to $180 billion to $190 billion in capital spending this year alone. That buildout already forced the company into reversing its buyback strategy. It also drove an $80 billion equity raise that Berkshire helped anchor.
Wall Street expects Alphabet to post second-quarter earnings per share near $2.86, up nearly 24% year over year when it announces on July 22. Google Cloud grew 63% last quarter to nearly $20 billion. That figure is what investors will watch most closely for evidence AI spending is converting into revenue, after Alphabet’s stronger earnings reaction than rivals last quarter.
Regulators Add to the Pressure
The European Commission ordered Google on Thursday, July 16 to open 11 Android features to rival AI assistants. It also ordered Google to share anonymized Search data with competitors, including OpenAI, under the Digital Markets Act. The Android changes take effect with the next major Android version in July 2027. Search data sharing begins in January 2027.
Google objected to the order in a statement.
“Europeans’ private searches would be exposed to unfamiliar companies, without adequate anonymization of the data and without user knowledge or consent. This would weaken citizens’ privacy, risk business trade secrets, and endanger national security,” he said in a statement.
Separately, The EU could issue Google a fine next week in a related Digital Markets Act investigation. That would mark a second, distinct regulatory action within days. US antitrust litigation over Google’s search dominance is also drawing fresh institutional attention.
Buffett’s Vote of Confidence
Against this backdrop, Buffett’s endorsement stands out. Speaking with CNBC’s Becky Quick, the Berkshire Hathaway chairman confirmed he built the position. Successor Greg Abel did not initiate the trade, he said.
Berkshire’s stake now tops $31 billion, ranking behind only Apple and American Express among its holdings. Buffett tempered the praise, though. He said Alphabet is not among his four or five favorite Berkshire-owned businesses.
He also flagged the same capital intensity worrying the broader market. Buffett called the AI spending race “real money.” His comments in his CNBC interview echoed the same caution about chasing near-term results over real returns.
The post Alphabet Stock Slips on Gemini Delay and EU Order Despite Buffett Bet appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Trump Media & Technology Group has launched a paid data feed called Truth API. It gives banks and trading firms faster access to Donald Trump’s market-moving Truth Social posts.
The service goes live August 1 and already has signed customers, the company said.
Why Speed On Trump’s Posts Matters
Trump’s Truth Social posts have repeatedly jolted global markets. Recent examples include his “Liberation Day” tariff announcements and trade threats against China.
On April 9, 2025, Trump said he would pause many new tariffs for 90 days. US stocks turned sharply higher within minutes of the post.
Truth API will cover the 10 most influential Truth Social accounts and archive posts back to 2022. The platform’s most-followed users include Trump himself, his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and allies like Dan Bongino and Sean Hannity.
TMTG’s interim CEO, Kevin McGurn, said the feed targets firms with the most to lose from delayed information.
“We’re going to create a lot of friction for those folks that aren’t coming to us directly.”
— Kevin McGurn, Reuters
Conflict Of Interest Questions
The Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust holds roughly 41% of TMTG stock. Trump’s children oversee that trust, which manages his investments. The presidents close ties to the company, and his immense influence, puts him in a position of power to move markets with his social account.
Senator Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, criticized the launch. He has also previously criticized the ‘Trump Family Greed‘ in relation to crypto profit disclosures. Wyden said of the new API that it would enrich the Trump family and “make Wall Street traders rich.”
Despite the criticism, and the apprent conflict of interest, Dynamis law firm partner Robert Frenchman said tiering access does not break federal securities law. However, he noted the practice still creates uneven odds for smaller traders.
“It certainly does not seem fair, but yes, a tech platform can tier its distribution of information without violating federal securities laws,” Frenchman said.
TMTG has accused unnamed firms of scraping Truth Social data for months. It calls that a breach of its terms of service. The company has previously batted down other Truth Social monetization rumors, including talk of a meme coin.
The launch adds to a pattern of Trump-linked market moves drawing scrutiny over who profits from information timing. Regulators have not said whether tiered access to a president’s posts raises new disclosure concerns.
The post Trump’s Truth Social Posts Will Hit Wall Street First, Giving a Financial Edge appeared first on BeInCrypto.
Network School founder Balaji Srinivasan says he is seeking a memorandum of understanding with Malaysia after Malaysian authorities probed his Forest City tech community over allegations that it may have hosted Israeli citizens using second passports. Malaysia’s Home Affairs Ministry said it is investigating the start-up community in Johor following claims that Israelis were present in violation of immigration rules.
The situation underscores a challenge for crypto-adjacent “digital utopia” projects: even when communities aim to build their own institutions and economies, they still rely on conventional nation-states for legal certainty. Srinivasan has linked the next phase of his Malaysia expansion plans to getting that assurance.
Key takeaways
- Malaysia’s Home Affairs Ministry is investigating Network School in Johor after allegations of Israeli nationals using second passports.
- Authorities’ initial checks reportedly found that 266 foreign residents held valid documents.
- Srinivasan is asking Malaysia for written assurances—possibly a memorandum of understanding or changes tied to a special economic zone.
- He says further investment in Malaysia, including a $122 million expansion plan, is on hold pending “sufficient assurance” that issues won’t repeat.
Malaysia investigation follows immigration-related claims
Malaysia’s Home Affairs Ministry said Tuesday that it is investigating Network School’s operations in Johor after claims surfaced alleging that the community included Israelis who may have breached immigration laws. In an early review, the ministry said it found no immediate documentary irregularities—reportedly confirming that 266 foreigners under the initiative had valid documents.
According to the ministry’s statement, the probe is tied to specific allegations rather than a blanket rejection of the project. Still, the inquiry puts Network School’s continued ability to attract and house foreign participants under closer scrutiny.
Srinivasan pushes for written legal certainty
Srinivasan said the reason for pursuing an agreement with Malaysia is to provide Network School with “legal certainty” that would allow it to continue investing and operating in the country. Without such a document, he suggested, the community could redirect its capital elsewhere.
In a video addressed to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Srinivasan said he wants more than general statements welcoming tech; he wants personal, written confirmation that Network School will be considered welcome. He also indicated he is open to different legal mechanisms, including a memorandum of understanding or modifications tied to a special economic zone provision.
While Srinivasan did not lay out specific terms publicly, his messaging focused on predictability: investors and community operators need clarity about the legal status of participants, not just broad political signals.
He also said he is pausing any further investment in Malaysia, including a planned $122 million expansion, until he receives “sufficient assurance” that the immigration issues raised during this episode do not recur.
How the allegations surfaced
Claims that Network School was harboring Israeli citizens were traced back to an Instagram post from “Malaysian Protest 4 Palestine,” an activist group that accused the school of becoming a “gathering place for Israeli entrepreneurs.” In its course of action, the post helped spur immigration scrutiny that then moved to the Malaysian Home Affairs Ministry.
Malaysian policy on entry for Israeli passport holders is central to the dispute. The article notes that Israeli passport holders are forbidden from entering Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country, without written permission from the Malaysian Ministry of Home Affairs—reflecting Malaysia’s lack of diplomatic relations with Israel and its stated position of not recognizing Israel.
Importantly, while the investigation is ongoing, the ministry’s initial checks reportedly did not find immediate evidence—at least at the documentation level—that foreign residents lacked valid paperwork. That creates a key uncertainty going forward: authorities may still need to determine whether the allegations relate to residency status, identity verification, the use of alternate travel documents, or other aspects not covered by “valid documents” alone.
Why this matters for crypto-linked community models
Beyond the specifics of one tech community, the episode reflects a recurring tension for crypto-leaning projects that describe themselves as building new social and economic systems. Such initiatives often emphasize borderless or community-driven norms, but they still require host governments to provide stable, enforceable rules—especially when the project involves foreign nationals and long-term operations.
For investors and participants, the difference between informal tolerance and formal assurance can determine where capital goes next. Srinivasan’s decision to pause a large expansion plan suggests Network School is treating immigration uncertainty as a material risk to its business continuity, not a temporary public-relations issue.
If Malaysia provides the kind of written clarity Srinivasan is requesting, the project could regain confidence for future fundraising and staffing. If not, the story hints at a broader pattern: even when “build-first” communities develop successfully, compliance and policy certainty may become the bottleneck.
Readers should watch for what Malaysia’s Home Affairs Ministry concludes in the investigation, and whether any formal agreement—such as a memorandum of understanding or changes tied to existing special economic zone rules—emerges that addresses the specific compliance concerns raised in this case.
Network School founder Balaji Srinivasan is seeking a memorandum of understanding with Malaysia after authorities probed his Forest City tech community over allegations it was hosting Israeli citizens using second passports.
Malaysia’s Home Affairs Ministry said Tuesday it was investigating Srinivasan’s start-up community in Johor following claims it included Israelis in violation of immigration laws. Initial checks found all 266 foreigners held valid documents.
Srinivasan said the agreement would give Network School legal certainty to continue investing in Malaysia. Without it, he said, the community could take its capital to countries that are more welcoming.
“I’d like to have a document which says not just abstractly that tech is welcome … but rather that we’re personally welcome,” Srinivasan said in a video directed at Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday.
The episode highlights a tension faced by many crypto utopias, which aspire to build digital-native communities with their own institutions and economies, but still depend on conventional states for legal certainty.
Balaji, the former chief technology officer of Coinbase, launched his Network School in August 2024 in Johor’s Forest City, which is located about an hour from Singapore. It is marketed as a physical community of tech builders, creators and founders.
Srinivasan did not give the specifics of what a deal with Malaysia could include, but suggested it could be a memorandum of understanding or a modification of a special economic zone provision.
Related: Balaji calls for more ‘crypto tools’ for refugees amid Middle East tensions
“If not, then we will readily go somewhere else because I don’t want to be where we’re not welcome,” he said.
Srinivasan also announced that he is putting any further investment in Malaysia, including a $122 million plan to expand its community, on hold until it gets “sufficient assurance” that such issues don’t recur.
Instagram post led to immigration probe
Claims that the Network School was harboring Israeli citizens have been traced back to a social media post on Friday from activist group “Malaysian Protest 4 Palestine,” which accused the school of becoming a “gathering place for Israeli entrepreneurs.”
Israeli passport holders are forbidden from entering Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country, without written permission from the Malaysian Ministry of Home Affairs, as Malaysia does not recognize Israel and does not have any diplomatic relations with the country.
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South Korea has raised interest rates for the first time since January 2023, shifting monetary policy toward tighter conditions in one of the world’s most active retail crypto markets.
Summary
- South Korea raised rates to 2.75%, marking its first monetary policy increase since January 2023.
- Tighter borrowing conditions could cool speculative crypto demand as local trading activity has already weakened.
- Strong growth, persistent inflation and won weakness may keep additional Bank of Korea hikes possible.
The Bank of Korea raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points from 2.50% to 2.75% on July 16. All seven members of the Monetary Policy Board supported the decision. The central bank also said further increases may be needed depending on inflation, growth and financial stability conditions.
Bank of Korea shifts toward tighter monetary policy
The rate increase was widely expected. A Reuters poll found that 36 of 37 economists expected the central bank to raise its policy rate to 2.75%.
The Bank of Korea cited stronger exports and investment, persistent inflation and risks to financial stability. June consumer inflation reached 3.2%, while the central bank expects economic growth to exceed its previous 2.6% forecast by a wide margin.
Governor Hyun Song Shin said developments in growth, inflation and financial stability all supported a rate increase. The bank also said monetary policy may need to remain on a tightening path, with future decisions depending on economic data.
Higher interest rates generally raise borrowing costs and can reduce demand for speculative assets. For crypto markets, the direct effect may depend on whether tighter local financial conditions reduce the amount of won available for trading.
South Korea remains a major retail crypto market
South Korea continues to play an important role in global cryptocurrency trading. Local exchanges such as Upbit and Bithumb regularly generate large volumes in won-denominated markets, especially for altcoins.
As previously reported by crypto.news, XRP briefly became the most traded asset on Upbit in May, recording about $110.9 million in daily volume compared with $88.6 million for Bitcoin and $67 million for Ethereum. That trading pattern showed the continued influence of Korean retail traders on individual crypto markets.
Recent listings also show that crypto exchanges continue to target Korean traders. As reported by crypto.news, Upbit added Derive’s DRV token to its KRW, BTC and USDT markets on July 14, while Bithumb also introduced a won trading pair.
Crypto demand had already weakened before the rate hike
The rate increase comes after local crypto activity had already fallen from earlier peaks. However, cryptocurrency holdings among South Korean investors dropped from about $83.3 billion in January 2025 to $41.4 billion by February 2026.
Daily trading volume across five major domestic exchanges also declined from about $11.6 billion in December 2024 to roughly $3 billion in February. Won deposits held at exchanges fell from 10.7 trillion won to 7.8 trillion won, pointing to weaker cash demand for crypto trading.
Higher rates could add another restraint on speculative activity if households choose deposits, bonds or other yield-bearing assets over cryptocurrencies. However, crypto prices also depend heavily on global monetary policy, institutional flows and broader market conditions.
Further rate hikes could keep liquidity under pressure
The Bank of Korea has left the door open to additional tightening. Reuters reported that many economists expect at least one more increase this year, potentially taking the benchmark rate to 3.00%.
For South Korea’s crypto market, the policy shift comes as local retail participation has already cooled from previous highs. Further increases could keep domestic liquidity tighter, while stronger global institutional demand may become more important in supporting broader crypto risk appetite.
Cantor and Securitize have formed a partnership to bring blockchain infrastructure directly into initial public offerings and follow-on stock sales, creating a pathway for companies to raise capital and issue securities onchain.
Summary
- Cantor and Securitize will combine capital markets expertise with regulated infrastructure for blockchain-based public offerings.
- The partnership targets IPOs and follow-on offerings while keeping issuers within existing capital market frameworks.
- Securitize previously tokenized its own NYSE shares, providing an early model for issuer-sponsored digital securities.
Under the agreement announced on July 15, Cantor will provide its equity capital markets and trading capabilities. Securitize will handle the infrastructure used to issue, distribute and service the tokenized securities. Its SEC-registered broker-dealer affiliate, Securitize Markets, will also participate in the offering and settlement process.
Partnership takes tokenization into primary markets
The collaboration differs from many existing tokenized stock products because it brings blockchain technology into the original issuance process. Companies could conduct IPOs or later share offerings using onchain infrastructure while remaining within the established framework for regulated public offerings.
The companies said the approach could modernize ownership records, distribution and settlement. Carlos Domingo, co-founder and CEO of Securitize, said “public companies shouldn’t have to choose” between traditional capital markets and blockchain infrastructure. The partnership does not yet name a company planning to use the new model or provide a date for its first offering.
Securitize builds on its own tokenized public shares
The agreement follows Securitize’s own move into public markets. The company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the SECZ ticker on July 2 and simultaneously issued tokenized versions of its common shares on Solana and Avalanche.
Those blockchain-based shares represent the same SECZ common stock rather than a separate share class or synthetic product. Securitize had entered public markets through a business combination with Cantor Equity Partners II, a deal expected to deliver about $400 million in gross proceeds before expenses.
Wall Street expands its tokenization efforts
The Cantor partnership arrives as large financial institutions move more traditional securities onto blockchain networks. As reported by crypto.news, DTCC recently launched a tokenization initiative involving BlackRock, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Vanguard and other major financial firms.
The New York Stock Exchange has also taken steps toward blockchain-based securities. As previously reported, the exchange proposed allowing eligible tokenized shares to trade alongside traditional securities while retaining the same rights, ticker and other ownership features. Securitize has separately worked with the NYSE on its planned tokenized securities platform.
Issuer-sponsored model keeps the actual security onchain
The Cantor-Securitize model centers on issuer-sponsored tokenization. Under the structure described by the companies, the blockchain token would represent the actual security rather than a wrapper, special-purpose vehicle or synthetic exposure linked to a stock.
Cantor Co-CEO and Global Head of Equities Pascal Bandelier said “tokenization is becoming part of mainstream capital markets.” The partnership now aims to apply that technology directly to capital raising rather than limiting it to funds or secondary-market trading.
Securitize has already expanded across institutional tokenization, including work with major asset managers and more than 650 funds, according to earlier crypto.news coverage. The new Cantor partnership extends that strategy into IPOs and follow-on offerings, although the companies have not yet announced the first issuer that will use the platform.
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