Gambling on random Pokémon cards: Onchain gagcha hits record high as crypto sinks
Users spent a record $324 million on onchain gacha in June, even as Bitcoin hit a 21-month low. The thrill of scoring a top Pokemon card from a random pack is becoming big business
Alpaca raises $135M to fund tokenized agent-first infrastructure
The BNP-backed brokerage infrastructure provider is expanding into tokenized markets and AI-native financial services as both DeFi and TradFi companies pursue onchain business.
MoonPay buys Glide to bolster crypto deposits infrastructure
MoonPay acquired Glide, a crypto infrastructure startup founded by former Robinhood Wallet engineers, to expand cross-chain crypto deposit infrastructure.
FATF urges faster crypto AML enforcement as stablecoin crime increases
The global task force said criminal networks are using stablecoins and developing proprietary tokens to evade asset freezes as countries struggle to enforce crypto AML rules.
Tokenized stocks market cap gains to record $2.3B
The market capitalization of tokenized stocks rose to a record $2.3 billion, as investors sought exposure to the growing list of tokenized equity products launched by cryptocurrency exchanges.
ARK pushes back against a16z’s ‘TradFi wants blockchain, not DeFi’ claim
ARK Invest’s director of research disputed a16z crypto’s thesis that traditional finance will adopt permissioned blockchain infrastructure instead of decentralized finance, saying institutions will increasingly rely on DeFi rails.
Autonomous AI agent economy faces infrastructure gaps: Visa, Artemis
Visa and Artemis found that infrastructure bottlenecks are preventing broader commercial adoption of the autonomous AI agent economy.
US Senate unanimously adopts resolution opposing clemency for SBF
The Senate approved a resolution opposing clemency for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried as prediction markets put the odds of a Trump pardon by July 31 below 1%.
Bitcoin $107K buyers providing ‘early signals’ of 2026 bear-market bottom: Glassnode
Bitcoin realized losses appeared to be copying a reversal structure that marked previous bear-market bottoms, with $69,000 a new BTC price battleground.
Tether invests $20M into Argentine neobank Ualá
Tether reportedly invested $20 million into Ualá, as part of the Argentine neobank’s $197 million funding round announced earlier in March.