Blockchain

Crypto’s wave of failures is exposing projects that raised aggressively at inflated valuations without building durable revenue. Market participants say the reset is separating speculative token narratives from blockchain infrastructure with real institutional demand.

Figure Technology Solutions reported a sharp second-quarter expansion, with net revenue rising to $226 million and Consumer Loan Marketplace volume reaching $4.3 billion. FIGR shares climbed in premarket trading as investors weighed stronger income, broader partner growth and rising activity across its blockchain-based lending platform.

A bitcoin wallet linked to the Coldcard hacker is receiving small deposits carrying permanent on-chain messages, ranging from pleas for refunds to opportunistic pitches. The activity highlights how Bitcoin’s OP_RETURN function can turn a theft address into a public, immutable message board.

Polymarket is reportedly pursuing a new funding round at a $20 billion valuation, months after closing capital at a $15 billion valuation. The move comes as prediction markets draw deeper interest from crypto platforms, brokerages and regulated competitors.

BNY is adding blockchain rails to its transfer agency business, creating an on chain ownership record for tokenized funds while maintaining existing infrastructure. Clients including Baillie Gifford, BlackRock and BNY’s Dreyfus unit are expected to use the service for tokenized fund products.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong pushed back on crypto companies that abandon blockchain branding to reposition around artificial intelligence. He argued that crypto infrastructure could become a key foundation for autonomous software agents, while critics warn that machine-speed money still needs stronger safeguards.

MoneyGram is deepening its blockchain strategy as it works to make cross-border payments faster, cheaper and more transparent. The company is leaning on Stellar, validator roles on Solana and Tempo, and its MGUSD stablecoin to build payments infrastructure that customers may never need to see.

Autonomous AI agents are intensifying the internet’s trust crisis as synthetic media, opaque decision-making and machine-speed transactions outpace traditional oversight. Zero-knowledge proofs are gaining attention as a cryptographic way to verify identity, provenance and authorization without exposing private data.

Cantor Fitzgerald and Securitize are collaborating to modernize initial public offerings through tokenization and blockchain infrastructure. The initiative is designed to let public companies raise capital and issue securities onchain while remaining within established public offering frameworks.

Zcash is testing a decisive resistance zone near $525 after gaining 25% over the past 30 days despite a recent drop of more than 6%. Social activity, shielded supply trends, and chart structure point to a pivotal moment for ZEC, with traders watching for either a breakout toward recent highs or a slide toward $390.

Swift is preparing live transaction tests for a blockchain-based shared ledger with 17 major banks, including HSBC, UBS, Wells Fargo and Citi. The platform is designed to support tokenized deposits and regulated digital money while keeping final settlement connected to existing payment rails.

Paradigm has raised a $1.2 billion venture fund aimed at artificial intelligence and robotics, broadening its investment mandate beyond digital assets. The firm has already backed companies including Zipline International and True Anomaly while maintaining that crypto remains central to its strategy.

Vanguard is seeking a head of digital assets to build a multi-year roadmap across tokenization, stablecoins, custody and blockchain infrastructure. The move points to a measured evolution in the asset manager’s crypto posture after it began allowing clients to trade crypto ETFs and mutual funds.

Thomas Sy of New York Life Investment Management says blockchain could help asset managers build customized portfolios at scale. The view comes as stablecoin adoption pushes institutions toward tokenized investment products that can provide yield.

The IMF says tokenization can make trading and settlement faster by moving assets onto blockchain rails. But it warns the same efficiency could remove crucial buffers and amplify systemic risks without updated rules.

eToro has joined a $12.5 million funding round for Extended, an onchain derivatives platform led by Revolut’s former crypto chief. The broker also plans to bring perpetual futures into Zengo wallet as it broadens its DeFi strategy.

Robinhood has launched the public mainnet for Robinhood Chain, its Layer 2 blockchain, opening tokenized stock trading to users in more than 120 countries. The move also introduces Robinhood Earn, a decentralized lending product offering an estimated 7% yield on USDG.

Roughly $16.69 billion has been lost to crypto hacks, and investigators say stolen private keys account for about 40% of that total. The industry is now leaning on multi-party computation, account abstraction, and tighter operational controls to reduce single-point failure risk.

Invesco has filed with the SEC to launch a tokenized vehicle designed to hold cash and short-term U.S. Treasuries for stablecoin reserves. The move intensifies a growing race among major asset managers to capture a share of the fast-expanding stablecoin market.

Ethereum entered a volatile week marked by the launch of EthLabs and layoffs at the Ethereum Foundation. The developments have intensified debate over the network's direction and long-term momentum.

Leading U.S. crypto advocacy groups are urging the House tax committee to move forward with a bill that would clarify how mined assets and staking rewards are taxed. The push comes as industry tax policy becomes a second major lobbying front alongside market structure legislation.

Ripple has joined Flutterwave’s latest funding round, valuing the African fintech at $3.2 billion. The partnership will bring RLUSD and the XRP Ledger into its payments network to streamline cross-border transfers.

Coinbase is preparing to launch tokenized stocks backed one-for-one by U.S. equities, giving investors blockchain-based ownership with dividend payments. The move adds fresh momentum to the push to bring traditional securities onchain.

A Bitcoin wallet inactive since 2013 has transferred $40 million worth of BTC to a new address, fueling speculation about whether the long-dormant whale plans to sell.