Crypto Industry News & Market Trends

OpenAI weighs 5% stake for US government amid Trump talks: FT

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has reportedly discussed giving the US government a 5% equity stake as artificial intelligence oversight in Washington intensifies.　　The company raised the idea in early discussions with the Trump administration as it seeks to navigate a tougher political environment ahead of a potential public listing, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.　　OpenAI CEO Sam Altman argued that giving the public a financial stake in the company would be the best way to share the economic benefits of the booming AI industry.　　The report comes weeks after OpenAI announced it had confidentially submitted an S-1 for a US initial public offering, joining Anthropic in preparing for a Wall Street debut this year. It also comes as the US government takes a more active role in overseeing advanced AI models.　　Proposal extends to other AI companies　　The proposal would see several leading US AI companies contribute a 5% equity stake to a public investment vehicle. However, it remains unclear whether companies such as Anthropic, Google and Meta would support the idea.　　The Financial Times reported that Altman modeled the proposal on Alaskas Permanent Fund, which invests the states oil revenue into stocks and pays dividends to residents.

07-02Industry

Yield-bearing stablecoin slowdown ends three-year run for crypto-native products

Yield-bearing stablecoin supply fell by more than $3.5 billion in the second quarter of 2026, reversing nearly three years of quarterly growth as crypto-native products contracted and Treasury-backed tokens expanded.　　Crypto exchange CEX.IO reported Thursday that the category declined by 15% during Q2. Ethena‘s sUSDe lost 52% of its supply, shedding nearly $2 billion, while Sky’s sUSDS declined by 16%.　　Treasury-backed products moved in the opposite direction. BlackRocks BUIDL grew by 2%, Circles USYC increased by nearly 16% and Ondo Finances USDY rose by over 66%, highlighting a widening divide between crypto-native yield assets and products backed by traditional assets.　　The divergence came as the broader stablecoin market recorded its first quarterly contraction since the third quarter of 2023, according to CEX.io. Total supply fell to $312 billion in Q2, while adjusted transaction volume declined by 5.5%.　　Supply growth per quarter, compiled by CEX.io. Source: CEX.io　　Stablecoin slowdown deepens after weaker Q1 signals　　The Q2 decline marks a sharp reversal from the start of 2026. In Q1, stablecoin supply increased by about $8 billion to a record $315 billion, with yield-bearing products among the main growth drivers.　　However, signs of weakening organic demand had already emerged early in the year. During the first quarter, retail-sized transfers fell

07-02Industry

Solana Foundation launches framework for protocol-level governance

The Solana Foundation, the Swiss organization that supports the Solana networks development, launched a new framework for protocol-level governance that enables proposing and voting on governance decisions for the Solana blockchain.　　The Solana Governance Proposals (SGPs) establish a standard that enables validators to submit core protocol proposals and vote onchain, with voting power based on their delegated Solana (SOL) stake, the Foundation announced in a Thursday X post.　　“An SGP captures a stake-weighted directional decision. It records what the community wants. It is not strictly focused on the technical detail of how to build the feature,” according to the GitHub repository, launched on Thursday.　　The new framework offers Solana a transparent, community-driven way to make major protocol decisions, reducing reliance on centralized coordination while keeping technical implementations, or Solana Improvement Documents (SIMDs), separate from community governance.　　Other blockchain networks with similar stake-weighted governance mechanisms include Polkadot, Cosmos, Cardano, Tezos and Avalanche.Source: Solana Foundation on X.com　　Proposals require minimum 15% support　　A proposal must receive endorsements from validators representing at least 15% of actively staked Solana tokens to qualify for a formal onchain vote, a measure that seeks to filter out low-quality proposals.　　Validators with at least 100,000 SOL delegated can open a new governance proposal via SGP.

07-02Industry

FBI Director Kash Patel disclosed six-figure Strategy stock purchase months after trade: report

Quick TakeFBI Director Kash Patel disclosed a $100,001 to $250,000 purchase of Strategy stock about six months after buying the shares, according to a NOTUS report.　　FBI Director Kash Patel disclosed a six-figure purchase of Strategy (MSTR) stock roughly six months after executing the trade, according to a NOTUS report citing federal ethics records.　　Patel acquired between $100,001 and $250,000 of Strategy common shares on Nov. 21, 2025, but did not disclose the transaction until filing an amended ethics report on May 26 this year, the report said.　　The late disclosure stemmed from what Patel described in the filings as an “inadvertent omission.” According to records cited by NOTUS, Deputy Assistant Attorney General William Taylor said the omission resulted from a miscommunication and that Patel remained in compliance with applicable conflict-of-interest rules. The FBI said in response to inquiries that the corrected paperwork had been submitted and approved.　　Under the STOCK Act, covered executive branch officials generally must disclose securities transactions above $1,000 within 30 days of notification and no later than 45 days after the transaction. First-time violators are subject to a $200 fine, though no fine has been issued in Patels case, according to an FBI official familiar with the matter.　　The purchase

07-02Industry

Dubai crypto market hits 50 licensed firms after new VARA approval

The Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Dubais crypto regulator, has granted its 50th virtual asset service provider (VASP) license.　　On Thursday, VARA said its latest approval went to tokenized assets platform Tribe Tokenisation FZE.　　The milestone provides one measure of the growth of Dubais crypto licensing regime, though license totals alone do not show how many firms are operational or the level of business they generate.　　A VARA spokesperson told Cointelegraph that holding an active license does not necessarily mean a firm has completed its commercial launch. Newly licensed companies may go through a controlled operationalization period before offering services or onboarding customers.　　At the end of 2025, VARA classified 39 licensed VASPs as fully operational. The spokesperson said the regulator is validating an updated figure for 2026.　　Dubais bid to attract crypto firms　　Dubai has spent the past several years positioning itself as a global hub for digital asset businesses. As part of that effort, the emirate established VARA in March 2022 as a dedicated crypto regulator and has sought to attract crypto businesses through a standalone licensing framework.　　Against that backdrop, Dubais 50 licensed VASPs exceed the totals reported in Hong Kong and Singapore, two other jurisdictions competing to attract regulated crypto businesses. Each jurisdiction

07-02Industry

Metaplanet buys 2,823 BTC, surpasses 43,000 in Bitcoin holdings

Japanese investment company Metaplanet acquired 2,823 Bitcoin during the second quarter at a price below its average purchase price, as its holdings surpassed 43,000 BTC.　　The company acquired its latest trove at an average price of about 12.71 million yen ($78,850 at current exchange rates), reducing its average acquisition cost to about $95,117 per BTC from $96,258, according to a Thursday announcement.　　Metaplanet now holds 43,000 Bitcoin acquired for about $4.1 billion. It also reported about $10.95 million in revenue from its Bitcoin income generation strategy in the quarter, which earns premiums by selling cash-secured options and employing other Bitcoin-related yield strategies.　　The purchase extends Metaplanets aggressive accumulation strategy, which has made the company one of the worlds largest corporate Bitcoin holders. The acquisition comes days after Michael Saylors Strategy, the worlds largest corporate Bitcoin holder, skipped its usual weekly Bitcoin purchase while unveiling a new capital framework designed to support dividends and expand its cash reserves.Metaplanet Notice of Additional Bitcoin Purchase. Source: Metaplanet　　Metaplanet shares closed 3.5% higher on Thursday but remain down 48% year-to-date, underperforming Bitcoin, which has fallen 31% over the same period.　　K Wave latest company to exit Bitcoin treasury strategy　　While companies such as Metaplanet continue buying more Bitcoin, a handful

07-02Industry

Alleged Scattered Spider Hacker Extradited to US for $8 Million Crypto Ransom Demand

In briefA 19-year-old alleged Scattered Spider member, Peter Stokes, has been extradited from Finland to the U.S. to face charges of conspiracy, cyber intrusion, and fraud.Prosecutors say he helped breach a luxury jewelry retailer in May 2025 and demand about $8 million in cryptocurrency, though the company refused to pay.The group has been tied to over 100 intrusions and $100 million in crypto ransoms.　　An alleged member of Scattered Spider, the prolific hacking crew behind some of the biggest corporate breaches of the past few years, has been extradited from Finland to face U.S. charges over an $8 million cryptocurrency ransom demand.　　Peter Stokes, 19, a dual U.S. and Estonian citizen, appeared in Chicago federal court on Tuesday on conspiracy, cyber intrusion, and fraud charges, according to a statement by the Justice Department. Finnish police arrested him in April on an Interpol Red Notice, and he was extradited last week and ordered held pending trial.　　Alleged Member of Criminal Cyber Hacking Group “Scattered Spider” Arrested in Finland and Extradited to United States @FBIChicago @DOJCrimDiv https://t.co/DWs2d9fns0　　— U.S. Attorneys Office (NDIL) (@NDILnews) July 1, 2026　　The complaint centers on a May 2025 breach of an unnamed luxury jewelry retailer. According to the indictment, Stokes and alleged

07-02Industry

Metaplanet adds 2,823 bitcoin to holdings in Q2, bringing total to 43,000 BTC

Quick TakeMetaplanet disclosed that it bought 2,823 BTC during the second quarter.The latest quarterly amount of bitcoin acquisition was notably smaller than those in previous quarters.　　Metaplanet announced on Thursday that it acquired 2,823 bitcoin during the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to 43,000 BTC.　　According to its July 2 disclosure, Metaplanet spent roughly 35.9 billion Japanese yen ($222 million) on purchasing bitcoin over the past three months, which translates into 12.7 million yen ($78,608) per bitcoin.　　The total purchase cost of its bitcoin treasury stood at 659.2 billion yen ($4.07 billion), representing an average cost of 15.3 million yen ($94,792) per bitcoin.　　During the second quarter, Metaplanet also generated $10.95 million worth of revenue from its Bitcoin Income Generation program, which involves the use of bitcoin options for additional returns.　　The Japanese firms latest disclosure shows that its pace of acquisition has slowed — it bought 17,473 BTC in Q3 2025, 4,279 BTC in Q4 and 5,075 BTC in Q1 2026. It aims to accumulate 100,000 BTC by the end of this year, and 210,000 BTC by the end of 2027.　　Bitcoin and the wider cryptocurrency market faced significant downside pressure during the second quarter. The worlds largest cryptocurrency fell to $58,558 at the

07-02Industry

Bitcoin bear market ‘dead’ after first TD9 reversal signal since July 2022 fires

Bitcoin (BTC) has delivered a key trend change setup in the latest sign that the macro downtrend could soon reverse.　　Key points:Bitcoin is seeing its first “perfected” TD9 indicator downtrend setup on monthly time frames since mid-2022.While not a “buy signal” on its own, the move marks a key inflection phase in the bear market, analysis suggests.RSI divergences continue to gain sway among those eyeing the final stages of the 2026 market downturn.　　BTC price “perfected” TD9 setup echoes final bear-market stages　　In an X post on Tuesday, analyst Tony Severino flagged a “perfected” buy signal on the TD9 indicator.　　TD9 is a derivative of the Tom DeMark Sequential market timing indicator, which alerts traders to potential trend changes. Here, price triggers a notable signal when nine candles in a row close higher (in an uptrend) or lower (in a downtrend) than the closing price four candles prior.　　“Bitcoin has ‘perfected’ a TD9 buy setup on the monthly,” Severino commented alongside data from TradingView.　　BTC/USD one-month chart with TD9 indicator data. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView　　The setup is Bitcoins first in several years on monthly time frames, with the last TD9 downtrend signal coming in July 2022.　　At the time, BTC/USD spent another five months ironing out its bear-market bottom,

07-02Industry

Ethereum backers launch nonprofit to lead institutional adoption efforts

An Ethereum founder and some of its biggest treasury holders are behind a new independent nonprofit launched to coordinate the blockchains institutional outreach, underscoring the ecosystems push to attract more banks, asset managers and financial institutions as competition from rival blockchains intensifies.　　The nonprofit, Ethereum Institutional, was introduced on Wednesday with backing from Ether (ETH) treasury companies BitMine Immersion Technologies and SharpLink, as well as blockchain co-founder Joe Lubin and other contributors. It plans to expand beyond New York, London, Hong Kong and Singapore into additional financial hubs while offering education, standards development, industry research and institutional events.　　In a social media post announcing the launch, Ethereum Institutional said the ecosystem has lacked “a credible, independent front door” for engaging financial institutions, arguing that such a role is needed to accelerate institutional adoption.Source: Ethereum Institutional on X.com　　The launch comes as Ethereum continues to dominate the markets for stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), even as rival blockchains step up efforts to attract institutional users. According to Token Terminal, Ethereum hosts nearly 58% of the tokenized RWA market. Data from DeFiLlama also shows the network accounts for roughly half of the $311 billion stablecoin market.　　Although competition is intensifying, Ethereum remains the dominant blockchain

07-02Industry

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