Visa, Mastercard and Ripple back x402 as agent payments average 32 cents
Every major card network has signed on to a payment standard built so that software can pay software without a human involved.
Crypto
Cathie Wood’s ARK buys another 220K Circle shares despite sell-off
Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest added $13.9 million worth of Circle shares on Tuesday, extending its July buying spree to 725,517 shares amid a steep stock decline.
US freezes $131M in Iran-linked crypto as Middle East tensions rise
“US Treasury is committed to disrupting and degrading Iran’s illicit financial activities, including its abuse of digital assets,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday.
Kalshi says CFTC, Michigan orders leave it in ‘impossible position’
“We are disappointed by this decision and believe it is unfair to Kalshi,” the company’s legal counsel said on X.
Bitcoin nears $65,000 as cooling U.S. inflation guts the Fed rate-hike trade
Bitcoin climbed to near $64,800 on Wednesday, its best session in weeks, after U.S. inflation cooled by more than economists expected and traders abandoned bets that the Federal Reserve would raise rates this month.
Over 95% of Coinbase’s code is now written with help of AI
Coinbase’s Rob Witoff said the company is leaning more on AI to help with execution, but still needs high-agency humans for judgment and strategy.
Three US senators oppose CLARITY Act on ethics grounds with vote expected soon
Senate Majority Leader John Thune reportedly said the chamber will consider a vote on the crypto market structure bill before Aug. 10, though it’s unclear whether it has enough Democratic support to pass.
Bitmine generated $46M from Ethereum staking last quarter
Ethereum staking generated 98% of Bitmine’s revenue last quarter as the company’s pivot from Bitcoin mining gained momentum following its March validator launch.
U.S. CFTC moves to stop Kalshi from canceling trades as ordered by Michigan court
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission threw itself in between Michigan courts and prediction market firm Kalshi on Tuesday, issuing an order to disallow the company from meeting a local court demand that it canc…
US, UK treasuries to align transatlantic rules on tokenization and stablecoins
The US Department of the Treasury and HM Treasury released a set of recommendations as part of the Transatlantic Taskforce for the Markets of the Future, which included stablecoin activity and tokenized finance.
UK government defers capital gains on certain crypto with ‘no gain, no loss’ approach
The UK’s tax authority announced that it planned to treat “certain disposals” related to cryptocurrency lending and liquidity pools as transactions that would effectively defer the country’s capital gains requirements.
Some U.S. Senate Democrats come out against Clarity Act, calling it a 'corrupt' bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Three Democrats from the U.S. Senate argued there are "lots of reasons" to oppose the currency crypto legislative effort even as advocates of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act seek to craft a versi…
DeepMind CEO Says AGI Will Be Bigger Than Electricity or Fire
For the second time this year, Demis Hassabis predicted that artificial general intelligence would arrive before the end of the decade. This time, however, he said it won't simply be another technological breakthrough—i…
JCB signs Circle MOU to test stablecoin payments in Japan
The companies will explore using USDC for JCB’s cross-border treasury operations and merchant payments in Japan as regulated stablecoin adoption gains momentum.
Velocity raises $38M to build stablecoin treasury infrastructure for enterprises
Backed by Dragonfly, FirstMark and Coinbase Ventures, the startup is expanding software that helps businesses integrate stablecoins into treasury and payment workflows.
JPMorgan says Hyperliquid's rise threatens Circle's USDC economics
JPMorgan (JPM) lowered its forecasts for Circle Internet (CRCL) and Coinbase (COIN), saying their revamped agreement with Hyperliquid weakens the economics of Circle's USDC and posed a bigger long-term threat to the sta…
Bitcoin jumps on lowest US CPI since 2020 as traders stay wary of $64K failure
Bitcoin (BTC) spiked past $64,000 into Tuesday’s Wall Street open as US inflation saw a surprise sudden downturn.
Binance bets on becoming a crypto 'super app' as stablecoins reshape growth
Binance believes its next phase of growth will come from payments and financial services rather than cryptocurrency trading alone, as stablecoins reshape how people use digital assets, according to Shunyet Jan, the exch…
OpenAI quietly adds Kalshi World Cup odds to ChatGPT: Report
OpenAI’s ChatGPT now displays Kalshi’s World Cup prediction market odds in search results, marking the AI firm’s first reported deal with a prediction market platform.
Humanity Protocol to prioritize operational security following $36M hack
Humanity Protocol’s founder said they will refocus on operational security, as malicious actors are switching from smart contract vulnerabilities to exploiting human behavior.
CleanSpark shares jump 22% after $6.6B Georgia data center lease
The Bitcoin miner’s Georgia agreement with an undisclosed investment-grade technology company expands its footprint in AI and high-performance computing infrastructure.
Anchorage Digital expands Tron support with institutional TRX staking
Institutions can now stake Tron's native token directly from Anchorage's custody platform as the company expands support for one of the largest USDT settlement networks.
Bitcoin Ticks Up to $64K Following Largest Inflation Slowdown in Six Years
Bitcoin ticked above $64,000 Tuesday morning, after a widely watched inflation gauge showed consumer prices cooling more than expected in June—bolstering expectations that the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates u…
Strategy became a symbol of the dot-com crash: Could history repeat?
MicroStrategy blew up during the dot-com era, before Michael Saylor transformed it into the world's largest corporate Bitcoin holder. Did he learn his lesson?