Topic: #finance
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Banks Race to Become Stablecoin Gateways as Volumes Surge
Standard Chartered and BNY Mellon have announced direct institutional access to stablecoin minting and redemption, signaling a fundamental shift in how global systemically important banks view digital assets. Chainalysis projects stablecoin settlement volumes could reach a quadrillion dollars annually by 2030.
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A7A5 Russian stablecoin claims $34.4B volume, but analysts say it's inflated
A7A5, a sanctioned Russian ruble stablecoin, claims $34.4 billion in processing volume since January, but blockchain analysts say the token's actual activity is far lower and falling sharply, with circular transactions artificially inflating the figures.
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Robinhood Chain launches on Arbitrum for tokenized assets and DeFi
Robinhood officially launched the public mainnet for Robinhood Chain, a layer-2 blockchain built on Arbitrum, and rolled out new crypto products including decentralized lending and AI-powered trading tools.
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Heavy AI investors expand payrolls, Ramp study finds—not cutting jobs
A Ramp and Revelio Labs study of 21,559 U.S. companies found firms making the largest AI investments increased headcount by roughly 10% and entry-level hiring by 12%, contradicting widespread fears that generative AI is already driving white-collar layoffs.
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J.P. Morgan Expands Kinexys to Eight Currencies Across Asia-Pacific
J.P. Morgan added five Asia-Pacific currencies to its Kinexys blockchain settlement network, enabling institutional clients to move funds and manage foreign exchange 24/7 without relying on traditional banking hours or cryptocurrency infrastructure.
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Framework Ventures launches $400M fund for AI, robotics financing via blockchain
Framework Ventures, a crypto venture firm, announced a $400 million fund targeting blockchain-based financing for capital-intensive industries like AI and robotics, signaling a shift from crypto-native speculation toward real-world infrastructure funding.
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U.S. IPO market rebounds to $120B in 2026, but lacks dot-com excess
U.S. IPO issuance has rebounded sharply in 2026, with roughly 50 companies going public and $120 billion in deal value by midyear, but Goldman Sachs says the current surge lacks the speculative excess of the dot-com era. Crypto companies including Kraken parent Payward and Consensys have paused listings.
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Alchemy's AgentCard gains Visa network access for AI transactions
Alchemy's AgentCard integration with Visa Intelligent Commerce enables AI agents built on any model—including OpenAI or Anthropic—to make purchases on behalf of consumers while preserving card rewards and credit lines.
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Coinbase Launches Tokenized Stocks With Onchain Ownership and Dividends
Coinbase announced plans to introduce tokenized stocks backed one-for-one by underlying U.S. equities, allowing users to own and trade securities onchain while automatically receiving dividends. The move positions the exchange in a rapidly growing market that includes competitors Kraken and Robinhood.
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Perpetual futures poised to replicate spot Bitcoin ETF adoption surge in U.S.
Kraken's derivatives head John Palmer predicts perpetual futures will follow the same adoption curve as spot Bitcoin ETFs, starting with sophisticated traders and gradually moving to institutional asset managers. Kraken plans to launch perps on Kraken Pro within weeks.
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Citi launches blockchain product to tokenize private company shares
Citigroup unveiled Digital Depositary Receipts, a blockchain product that lets investors access private company equity through digital tokens recorded on Swiss market operator SIX's infrastructure.
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Stand With Crypto UK mobilizes 286K members against bank crypto blocks
The Coinbase-backed advocacy group Stand With Crypto UK is mobilizing its 286,000 members to lodge formal complaints against British retail banks that impose blanket restrictions on crypto transactions, citing FCA data showing 40% of domestic transfers are blocked or delayed.
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Ledger CTO: MiCA compliance costs lock out Web3 startups
Charles Guillemet, CTO at Ledger, warned that the EU's MiCA regulation has created a two-tier market where only well-funded firms can afford compliance, leaving early-stage innovators locked out and handing competitive advantage to legacy financial institutions.
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Goldman Sachs, Apex, Archax launch tokenized real estate fund
Goldman Sachs partnered with Apex Group, Archax, Ownera, and LRC Group to launch a blockchain-native real estate fund using the bank's GS DAP platform, combining tokenized issuance with traditional fund structures.
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Symbiotic launches Liquid Lane for instant RWA redemptions
Symbiotic rolled out Liquid Lane, a liquidity network that lets investors redeem tokenized funds and real-world assets for stablecoins almost instantly instead of waiting up to 180 days, addressing a major friction point in the $33 billion RWA market.
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Moomoo brings institutional-grade crypto tools to 30M retail traders
Moomoo, a global trading platform with 30 million users and $156 billion in client assets, is positioning itself as the bridge between retail access and institutional-quality tools for crypto and traditional markets.
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U.S. seizes $1 billion in Iranian cryptocurrency under Operation Economic Fury
The United States seized approximately $1 billion in cryptocurrency tied to Iran as part of Operation Economic Fury, a Treasury-led campaign to restrict Tehran's access to overseas revenue, banking networks, and digital assets. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the action is contributing to worsening economic conditions in Iran, including military payment failures and inflation exceeding 200 percent.
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AI agents settle $73M on crypto rails, Keyrock report shows
A Keyrock report shows AI agents settled $73 million across blockchain rails in the past year, with stablecoins becoming the preferred settlement layer as traditional card networks struggle with micropayments.