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Gate Stock Market Development Lead: Crypto and Stocks Are Accelerating Convergence, Ushering in a Multi-Asset Investment Wave
Odaily News In a recent interview on Cointelegraph's program Chain Reaction, Lucas Sum, Head of Stock Market Development at Gate, stated that crypto and stocks are quietly converging and increasingly becoming part of the same macro trade. He pointed out that the correlation between the crypto market and the Nasdaq index is currently higher than the five-year average, with the correlation coefficient once exceeding 0.8. Market sentiment is generally cautious at present, with more funds staying in low-risk assets such as stablecoins, as investors await clearer catalysts.Lucas Sum believes that the core narrative of the next market cycle may no longer be "crypto vs. Wall Street," but rather traditional financial assets accelerating their entry into the digital financial system through on-chain infrastructure. The scale of RWA has grown from approximately $12 billion a year ago to over $30 billion, while the scale of tokenized U.S. Treasury bonds has also reached approximately $15 billion, indicating that on-chain financial infrastructure continues to expand. Meanwhile, macro liquidity, real yields, and regulatory clarity remain key factors influencing the performance of risk assets. Against this backdrop, investors' focus is shifting from single-asset allocation to coordinated allocation across multiple asset classes. Lucas Sum noted that Gate is continuously expanding its stock business, currently covering U.S., Hong Kong, and Korean stock markets, with plans to extend further into more global markets to provide the necessary infrastructure for multi-asset investment.
Stripe has finalized a deal to acquire OpenRouter for over $7 billion
Odaily News, according to people familiar with the matter, Stripe has finalized a deal to acquire AI model aggregation platform OpenRouter for more than $7 billion, though the final transaction price could still change. Notably, OpenRouter raised funds at a $1.3 billion valuation just a few months ago. People familiar with the matter said the final acquisition price could still change. A Stripe spokesperson said the company does not comment on rumors or speculation, while OpenRouter declined to comment.The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Stripe was in talks to acquire OpenRouter for approximately $10 billion. (Bloomberg)
112 billion USD in funding flowed into regulated crypto enterprises, with payments and stablecoins among the sectors receiving the most investment
Crypto startups completed USD 11.2 billion in funding in the first half of 2026, with all disclosed capital flowing to regulated, licensed enterprises. Payments and stablecoins, prediction markets, exchanges, and trading platforms received the most funding. Major backers include Wall Street and large global financial institutions, whose investment focus is on licensed and compliant companies. Investors and founders increasingly view regulatory licenses as scarce and defensive assets, while retail investors still primarily trade on unlicensed or alternative platforms. (CoinDesk)
CryptoQuant: Gate's Crypto Stock Perpetual Contracts Fastest Growing in the Industry in July, Up 308% Month-over-Month
According to Odaily, CryptoQuant's latest report, "Wall Street, Always On," shows that in July 2026, trading volume for traditional financial stock perpetual contracts on crypto exchanges reached approximately $250 billion, up about 17 times from April. Among them, Gate's related trading volume in July was approximately $15 billion, up about 26 times from April, representing a 308% month-over-month increase, making it the fastest-growing exchange among the platforms covered in the report.The report notes that Gate's perpetual contract trading has maintained steady triple-digit growth for three consecutive months, with May, June, and July seeing month-over-month increases of approximately 131%, 177%, and 308%, respectively, showing an accelerating trend. CryptoQuant stated that compared to the episodic growth seen on some platforms, Gate's sustained growth better reflects the continuous penetration of traditional financial asset trading demand into crypto trading infrastructure, "which makes Gate an exchange worth watching in the crypto-stock race."CryptoQuant indicated that crypto trading platforms are gradually becoming 24/7 trading gateways connecting Crypto and Wall Street, with trading demand from traditional stock markets accelerating its extension into crypto infrastructure. As Gate continues to expand its diversified asset services, including stocks and ETFs, CFDs, Pre-IPOs, direct IPOs, and tokenized securities like gStocks, the platform is further strengthening the connection between traditional financial assets and digital asset trading ecosystems, providing global users with a more flexible and efficient multi-asset trading experience.
Databricks completes $5 billion funding round, valuation reaches $190 billion
Odaily News: According to market reports, Databricks has completed a $5 billion funding round, bringing its valuation to $190 billion.
Polymarket odds of Anthropic hitting $1.5 trillion valuation this year rise to 76%, up 13% in 24 hours
According to monitoring by the PPP Prediction Market Tool, in the Polymarket prediction event "Anthropic valuation hits target this year," the probability of reaching $1.5 trillion this year has risen to 76%, up 13% in 24 hours. The probability of reaching $1.25 trillion has risen to 92%, up 8% in 24 hours.According to the settlement rules, this market primarily relies on the private market valuation of Anthropic as published by Nasdaq Private Market (NPM). If Anthropic completes an IPO or direct listing during this period, the valuation corresponding to the official offering price and the public market capitalization after listing will also be included in the settlement basis. Currently, NPM data cited on the Polymarket page shows a valuation of approximately $1.13 trillion.Previously, according to The Wall Street Journal, Anthropic plans to go public in September or early October, though the specific offering price and timeline have not yet been announced. If successfully listed, it could become one of the largest IPOs in history.Join the PPP Signal Push Community to stay ahead of the curve and seize opportunities first.
Cantor Fitzgerald opens Kalshi prediction market to hedge funds
Odaily News: Cantor Fitzgerald has announced that it will open access to the prediction market platform Kalshi for institutional investors, providing event contract trading services to its approximately 3,000 institutional clients, including family offices and hedge funds.According to The Wall Street Journal, Cantor Fitzgerald will act as a broker arranging block trades for institutional clients, enabling them to participate in "yes/no" contract trading based on real-world event outcomes offered by Kalshi. The trading instruments cover multiple areas, including weather forecasts, commodity price trends, and corporate performance.This partnership marks the further entry of traditional financial institutions into the prediction market space. Kalshi is an event trading platform regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), where users can bet via contracts on whether specific events will occur, such as economic data releases, policy changes, weather conditions, and business events.In recent years, prediction markets have drawn attention from investors, with proponents arguing that they can reflect collective expectations through market prices and provide risk hedging tools for businesses and investment institutions. However, regulators and some market participants have also continued to scrutinize the boundary between these markets and gambling. (WSJ)
Gate Stock Market Development Lead: Crypto and Stocks Are Accelerating Convergence, Ushering in a Multi-Asset Investment Wave
Odaily News In a recent interview on Cointelegraph's program Chain Reaction, Lucas Sum, Head of Stock Market Development at Gate, stated that crypto and stocks are quietly converging and increasingly becoming part of the same macro trade. He pointed out that the correlation between the crypto market and the Nasdaq index is currently higher than the five-year average, with the correlation coefficient once exceeding 0.8. Market sentiment is generally cautious at present, with more funds staying in low-risk assets such as stablecoins, as investors await clearer catalysts.Lucas Sum believes that the core narrative of the next market cycle may no longer be "crypto vs. Wall Street," but rather traditional financial assets accelerating their entry into the digital financial system through on-chain infrastructure. The scale of RWA has grown from approximately $12 billion a year ago to over $30 billion, while the scale of tokenized U.S. Treasury bonds has also reached approximately $15 billion, indicating that on-chain financial infrastructure continues to expand. Meanwhile, macro liquidity, real yields, and regulatory clarity remain key factors influencing the performance of risk assets. Against this backdrop, investors' focus is shifting from single-asset allocation to coordinated allocation across multiple asset classes. Lucas Sum noted that Gate is continuously expanding its stock business, currently covering U.S., Hong Kong, and Korean stock markets, with plans to extend further into more global markets to provide the necessary infrastructure for multi-asset investment.
Analysis: The Era of "Bitcoin vs. Banks" Is Ending, Trillion-Dollar Financial Institutions Accelerate Crypto Adoption
Odaily News: As Wall Street and global financial institutions accelerate their entry into the digital asset space, the boundaries between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi) are gradually blurring. Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley stated that the era of "going long Bitcoin and short bankers" is over, and financial institutions are pivoting to the other side of the crypto industry, driving digital asset adoption.Hunter Horsley noted that this summer, two financial institutions, each managing over $1 trillion in assets, approved the launch of crypto products in a bear market environment, showing that large institutions are expanding client access to digital assets. "Everyone put on the crypto jersey this year. Now, everyone is working for the crypto industry," Horsley said. He pointed out that these institutions, managing over a trillion dollars in client assets, would not have opened such services during the 2022 crypto market downturn, but are now actively embracing this sector.Fabian Dori, Chief Investment Officer at Sygnum, also believes the relationship between banks and the crypto industry has undergone a structural shift. "The trade of 'going long Bitcoin and short bankers' is over. Banks have moved from resisting digital assets to building, supporting, and distributing them through custody, tokenization, and compliant trading," a change driven primarily by growing client demand and gradually clarifying regulatory rules, rather than short-term market cycles.Nathan McCauley, CEO of Anchorage Digital, said that over the past two years, its client base has increasingly reflected the convergence of traditional and crypto finance. Large financial institutions typically choose to partner with specialized crypto infrastructure companies rather than building their own technology systems.In recent years, a growing number of financial institutions have entered the crypto space, including Swissquote, DBS Bank, BBVA, BNY Mellon, Credit Suisse-affiliated entities, as well as Morgan Stanley and Charles Schwab. (CoinDesk)
112 billion USD in funding flowed into regulated crypto enterprises, with payments and stablecoins among the sectors receiving the most investment
Crypto startups completed USD 11.2 billion in funding in the first half of 2026, with all disclosed capital flowing to regulated, licensed enterprises. Payments and stablecoins, prediction markets, exchanges, and trading platforms received the most funding. Major backers include Wall Street and large global financial institutions, whose investment focus is on licensed and compliant companies. Investors and founders increasingly view regulatory licenses as scarce and defensive assets, while retail investors still primarily trade on unlicensed or alternative platforms. (CoinDesk)
Wall Street's Next Crypto Competition: Goldman Sachs Challenges BlackRock in Bitcoin Yield Product Market
Odaily News: Goldman Sachs has disclosed the acquisition of ETF management firm NEOS Investments in a deal valued at up to $2.25 billion, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027 pending regulatory approval. The market views this move as a way for Goldman Sachs to quickly enter the Bitcoin yield ETF space, potentially putting it ahead of BlackRock in the Wall Street crypto asset competition.NEOS currently manages approximately $30 billion in assets, with its most notable product being the Bitcoin yield ETF BTCI (NEOS Bitcoin High Income ETF), which holds about $1.1 billion in assets. The fund generates monthly income for investors by holding Bitcoin-related ETFs and selling call options, currently offering a distribution yield of approximately 27%.Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas stated that by acquiring NEOS, Goldman Sachs gains BTCI, effectively bypassing the need to build a similar product from scratch and "beating" BlackRock's previously launched Bitcoin yield ETF product, BITA.Goldman Sachs' deal is seen by the market as a new phase in Wall Street's crypto asset positioning. Industry insiders believe that Bitcoin spot ETFs represent the "first phase," while active management products based on Bitcoin, such as yield enhancement and options strategies, will become the focus of competition in the next phase.However, BTCI's high yield comes with risks. The product does not directly hold Bitcoin but instead generates returns by selling call options on Bitcoin-related ETFs, potentially sacrificing some upside when the market rallies. Analysts note that BTCI's net asset value has fallen approximately 43% over the past year, and part of its high distribution yield may come from return of capital.BlackRock has already launched a competing product, BITA, but its current scale is approximately $59 million, significantly lower than BTCI's roughly $1.1 billion in assets. The market is watching whether Goldman Sachs will maintain BTCI's existing structure after the acquisition is completed and further expand its competitive advantage in the Bitcoin yield product market. (Forbes)
Blockchain Association Supports Custodia Bank's Application to Supreme Court for Federal Reserve Master Account Access
According to The Block, the Blockchain Association filed an amicus curiae brief on August 13 supporting Custodia Bank's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, requesting a review of the legality of the Federal Reserve Bank's refusal of its master account application. The Blockchain Association pointed out that this case concerns whether legitimate digital asset enterprises can compete in a fair environment, and warned that the lower court ruling provides a precedent for federal regulators "to debank unpopular industries in the future without the intervention of state regulators." Custodia Bank was founded by Wall Street veteran Caitlin Long, applied for a Fed master account in October 2020, was rejected by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in January 2023 on the grounds that the crypto business model posed risks, subsequently lost twice in the district court and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and was denied rehearing by the full court in a 7 to 3 vote in March 2026. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City must respond to the Supreme Court application by September 11.
Wall Street's "Fear Index" Hits Year-to-Date Low, Raising Risks of an Autumn Selloff in U.S. Stocks
Odaily News: Despite the S&P 500's strong gains this year and continued capital inflows, historic seasonal selling periods, escalating geopolitical conflicts, and emerging consumer weakness are prompting Wall Street strategists to issue密集 risk warnings.The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index (VIX) fell sharply to 14.2 last Friday, marking its lowest level since 2026. The index, which measures expected market volatility over the next 30 days by tracking S&P 500 option prices, typically signals that market sentiment has settled into absolute calm when it declines. Jonathan Krinsky, Managing Director and Chief Market Technical Analyst at BTIG, noted that the performance of U.S. stocks in 2026 could be described as "unusual." Since last October, the market has not experienced an extreme single-day selloff where declining stocks accounted for as much as 80% of total volume.Quantitative trading giant Susquehanna described the current volatility reset as a "substantial" decline. The firm pointed out that cross-asset and geopolitical risks remain active, with two-month implied volatility slightly rebounding to 13.5%, approaching levels seen before the outbreak of the Iran conflict.Wall Street institutions generally view mid-August to mid-October as a historically turbulent period for the market. According to BTIG's statistical model, in every midterm election year since 1990, the equal-weighted S&P 500 has experienced at least a 7% drawdown from its average high on August 18 through mid-October.
AI fund Situational Awareness drawdown drags on Jane Street, with July losses reaching $15 billion
Odaily News: Wall Street quantitative trading giant Jane Street suffered losses of approximately $15 billion in the July market selloff due to its investments in AI-focused hedge fund Situational Awareness and other tech stocks.Sources familiar with the matter revealed that despite the significant drawdown in July, Jane Street's trading revenue this year has already exceeded $40 billion, far surpassing global major banks and other market makers, and exceeding its full-year 2025 trading revenue of $39.6 billion.In an internal memo to employees, Jane Street confirmed that July was a "rough month" for the firm. The company stated that its investment in AI-focused hedge fund Situational Awareness, which had expanded positions due to strong performance in the first half of the year, experienced a sharp drawdown during the AI stock selloff, bringing returns on the related investment back to roughly breakeven for the year, though it remains profitable relative to the initial investment.Situational Awareness, founded by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner, had drawn market attention for its heavy positions in AI-related stocks. After the sharp correction in the AI sector in July, the fund sold most of its stock positions to Citadel, owned by billionaire Ken Griffin, after triggering margin requirements.Jane Street noted that the losses also stemmed from its long positions in Asian non-AI stocks, which had performed strongly earlier this year. The company said many large memory and semiconductor stocks fell approximately 50% in July, causing drawdowns in its previously well-performing trading portfolio. (Reuters)
112 billion USD in funding flowed into regulated crypto enterprises, with payments and stablecoins among the sectors receiving the most investment
Crypto startups completed USD 11.2 billion in funding in the first half of 2026, with all disclosed capital flowing to regulated, licensed enterprises. Payments and stablecoins, prediction markets, exchanges, and trading platforms received the most funding. Major backers include Wall Street and large global financial institutions, whose investment focus is on licensed and compliant companies. Investors and founders increasingly view regulatory licenses as scarce and defensive assets, while retail investors still primarily trade on unlicensed or alternative platforms. (CoinDesk)
Wall Street's Next Crypto Competition: Goldman Sachs Challenges BlackRock in Bitcoin Yield Product Market
Odaily News: Goldman Sachs has disclosed the acquisition of ETF management firm NEOS Investments in a deal valued at up to $2.25 billion, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027 pending regulatory approval. The market views this move as a way for Goldman Sachs to quickly enter the Bitcoin yield ETF space, potentially putting it ahead of BlackRock in the Wall Street crypto asset competition.NEOS currently manages approximately $30 billion in assets, with its most notable product being the Bitcoin yield ETF BTCI (NEOS Bitcoin High Income ETF), which holds about $1.1 billion in assets. The fund generates monthly income for investors by holding Bitcoin-related ETFs and selling call options, currently offering a distribution yield of approximately 27%.Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas stated that by acquiring NEOS, Goldman Sachs gains BTCI, effectively bypassing the need to build a similar product from scratch and "beating" BlackRock's previously launched Bitcoin yield ETF product, BITA.Goldman Sachs' deal is seen by the market as a new phase in Wall Street's crypto asset positioning. Industry insiders believe that Bitcoin spot ETFs represent the "first phase," while active management products based on Bitcoin, such as yield enhancement and options strategies, will become the focus of competition in the next phase.However, BTCI's high yield comes with risks. The product does not directly hold Bitcoin but instead generates returns by selling call options on Bitcoin-related ETFs, potentially sacrificing some upside when the market rallies. Analysts note that BTCI's net asset value has fallen approximately 43% over the past year, and part of its high distribution yield may come from return of capital.BlackRock has already launched a competing product, BITA, but its current scale is approximately $59 million, significantly lower than BTCI's roughly $1.1 billion in assets. The market is watching whether Goldman Sachs will maintain BTCI's existing structure after the acquisition is completed and further expand its competitive advantage in the Bitcoin yield product market. (Forbes)
Retail bearish sentiment hits a multi-year record, and under this gloomy backdrop, new opportunities may emerge in U.S. stocks
: Retail bearish sentiment has hit a new multi-year record, while institutional positioning lags even further behind. As U.S. equities face an unprecedented disconnect between fundamentals and capital flows, analysts predict a rare "Wall Street expectation gap" is now underway. Last week, the S&P 500 index posted a cumulative gain of 22% since late March and broke through the 7,700-point mark for the first time in history. As investors digested the latest batch of earnings reports, the benchmark index closed roughly flat on Monday.Strategists at 22V Research have observed a notable divergence between the AAII Bull-Bear Spread and the firm's proprietary economic data index, which tracks a range of U.S. macro data releases. According to the firm's model, the current valuation deviation implies that the S&P 500 will rise by 1.6%, 5.1%, and 7.8% over the next one, three, and six months, respectively.Dennis DeBusschere, President and Chief Market Strategist at 22V Research, wrote in a note to clients: "The current reading of investor sentiment relative to economic data suggests market returns will be above normal levels."Alastair Pinder, Global Equity Strategist at HSBC, also noted that the many macro concerns that have emerged over the past few weeks have indeed given investors ample reason to question the current stock market rally.
Loss of approximately $130 million: Coldcard firmware vulnerability leads to the theft of around 2,000 BTC
Odaily News: Part of hardware wallet manufacturer Coldcard's firmware had a random number generation vulnerability in 2021, causing some mnemonic phrases generated by the devices to carry predictable risks. The vulnerability was only discovered years later, and by then approximately 5,200 addresses and around 2,000 BTC had been stolen, with losses totaling about $130 million. Following the incident, some investors turned to Wall Street custody products. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net inflows of approximately $626 million within days of the event. ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted that security incidents like this could further drive capital flows into ETFs. The Bitcoin core community continues to uphold the principle of self-custody. Casa co-founder Jameson Lopp said recent events should not weaken user confidence in self-custody, as third-party custody carries risks as well. Early Bitcoin Core developer Peter Todd stated that self-custody has a better long-term security track record than centralized institutions. Michael Tanguma, co-founder of Bitcoin custody platform Onramp, said both approaches have flaws: concentrating large amounts of assets in a single institution creates a "honey pot," while hardware wallets face risks related to supply chains, firmware, and random number generation. Michael Tanguma proposed a "multi-institution custody" approach, in which multiple regulated institutions each hold keys through a multi-signature mechanism, and any transaction requires joint signing by multiple institutions to reduce the risk of single points of failure. Critics argue that while multi-institution custody improves security, it also introduces permissioned management, which conflicts with the decentralized ideals Bitcoin originally pursued. As Bitcoin enters pension funds, trusts, and institutional asset allocation, the industry is seeking custody solutions suitable for long-term wealth management. How to strike a balance among security, decentralization, and usability remains a challenge facing the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Loss of approximately $130 million: Coldcard firmware vulnerability leads to the theft of around 2,000 BTC
Odaily News: Part of hardware wallet manufacturer Coldcard's firmware had a random number generation vulnerability in 2021, causing some mnemonic phrases generated by the devices to carry predictable risks. The vulnerability was only discovered years later, and by then approximately 5,200 addresses and around 2,000 BTC had been stolen, with losses totaling about $130 million. Following the incident, some investors turned to Wall Street custody products. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net inflows of approximately $626 million within days of the event. ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted that security incidents like this could further drive capital flows into ETFs. The Bitcoin core community continues to uphold the principle of self-custody. Casa co-founder Jameson Lopp said recent events should not weaken user confidence in self-custody, as third-party custody carries risks as well. Early Bitcoin Core developer Peter Todd stated that self-custody has a better long-term security track record than centralized institutions. Michael Tanguma, co-founder of Bitcoin custody platform Onramp, said both approaches have flaws: concentrating large amounts of assets in a single institution creates a "honey pot," while hardware wallets face risks related to supply chains, firmware, and random number generation. Michael Tanguma proposed a "multi-institution custody" approach, in which multiple regulated institutions each hold keys through a multi-signature mechanism, and any transaction requires joint signing by multiple institutions to reduce the risk of single points of failure. Critics argue that while multi-institution custody improves security, it also introduces permissioned management, which conflicts with the decentralized ideals Bitcoin originally pursued. As Bitcoin enters pension funds, trusts, and institutional asset allocation, the industry is seeking custody solutions suitable for long-term wealth management. How to strike a balance among security, decentralization, and usability remains a challenge facing the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Blockchain Association Refutes Wall Street Journal: Clarity Act Is Pro-Innovation Legislation Promoting Competition, Not A Regulatory Loophole
Mersinger pointed out that the bill explicitly prohibits the portion of stablecoin holding rewards equivalent to bank deposit interest, but allows reward mechanisms based on user activity, consistent with the credit card points model; regarding DeFi regulation, Section 10301 of the bill requires the SEC to establish rules for protocols that are "nominally decentralized, substantially controllable," rather than exempting them, while Section 10201 has incorporated digital commodity brokers into the full reporting obligations under the "Bank Secrecy Act" and allocated $3 billion to support state-level enforcement, contrary to the "Wall Street Journal"'s claim of "inadequate regulation of illicit finance."
Hackers Recently Attack Wall Street Institutions, Asset Management Giants Including Two Sigma, Citadel, and Point72 Become Targets
According to insiders, a recent wave of sophisticated cyberattacks has targeted multiple large asset management institutions on Wall Street, with attackers attempting to infiltrate the companies' information systems. Several major global hedge funds have become targets of the attacks, including Two Sigma Investments, Citadel, and Point72 Asset Management. In addition, multiple private equity firms have also been attacked.It is currently unclear who the attackers are, how the attacks were carried out, or whether sensitive data has been compromised. The insiders requested anonymity as the matter involves non-public information.This incident has once again drawn market attention to cybersecurity risks facing financial institutions. As asset management companies increasingly rely on complex information systems, algorithmic trading, and cloud infrastructure, the financial industry is becoming a key focus for cyber attackers. (Bloomberg)
Bank of America CEO joins ranks of banking leaders warning about 'Mythos' AI risk
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan has joined a group of Wall Street leaders in expressing serious concerns about artificial intelligence models such as "Mythos" developed by Anthropic. "This marks a significant shift in workload, as well as the speed at which these tools can impact system vulnerabilities, and how quickly we must respond," Moynihan stated. In recent months, the rapid evolution of AI models has prompted the financial industry and the U.S. government to begin assessing potential threats.Anthropic claims that the Mythos model, launched earlier this year, has demonstrated excellent performance in identifying system vulnerabilities. Bank of America is among the Wall Street institutions authorized to use Mythos, employing the model to test its own systems and share information with peers. Currently, the model has not been made available to the public; JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned earlier this week that broadly opening the system to the public would be as dangerous as "giving a ballistic missile to an individual." (Bloomberg)
DeFi asset management and risk analysis company Gauntlet secures $125 million financing from Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings
According to Fortune, DeFi asset management and risk analysis company Gauntlet completed a $125 million financing round, exclusively invested by Japanese financial group SBI Holdings. The financing was completed in June this year, and the specific valuation was not disclosed. This is Gauntlet's largest financing round since its establishment in 2018, far exceeding its $24 million Series B round in 2022 led by Ribbit Capital at a $1 billion valuation. Gauntlet was founded by former Wall Street quantitative trader Tarun Chitra. It initially focused on providing stress testing and vulnerability analysis services for DeFi protocols. Later, as the DAO governance model waned, it gradually transitioned to a "treasury curation" business—assessing yield strategy risks through quantitative analysis to help institutional investors manage digital asset allocation. Currently, its clients include asset management giant Apollo, Coinbase, and stablecoin issuer Circle.
CoinEx Emerges as Key Hub for Iran Sanctions Evasion, Involving Over $3.8 Billion in Funds
According to The Wall Street Journal, blockchain public-chain data analysis shows that Iranian entities have conducted over $3.84 billion in transactions via the cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx to circumvent U.S. economic sanctions. Investigators traced funds linked to two digital wallets controlled by the Central Bank of Iran and found connections to the $1.5 billion stolen by North Korean hackers from the Bybit exchange. After flowing through complex, multi-layered transaction paths, these funds ultimately entered CoinEx—making it one of the central channels through which Iran uses cryptocurrencies to bypass sanctions.
Anthropic-backed enterprise AI venture Ode acquires AI consulting firm to accelerate Claude's enterprise adoption
Odaily News: Ode, an enterprise AI services company co-founded by Anthropic and Wall Street investment institutions, announced its first acquisition since inception, acquiring AI consulting firm Casper Studios to drive the adoption of Anthropic's AI model Claude in the enterprise market. Established in 2026, Ode is backed by Anthropic, Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman, and other investment institutions, positioning itself as a service platform that helps enterprises deploy cutting-edge AI technology into real-world business processes.The acquisition of Casper Studios aims to strengthen Ode's capabilities in designing and deploying AI applications for enterprise clients. As more companies explore generative AI applications, Ode hopes to help enterprises move from AI experimentation to large-scale implementation through professional consulting, engineering execution, and customized solutions. (The Information)
Cantor Fitzgerald opens Kalshi prediction market to hedge funds
Odaily News: Cantor Fitzgerald has announced that it will open access to the prediction market platform Kalshi for institutional investors, providing event contract trading services to its approximately 3,000 institutional clients, including family offices and hedge funds.According to The Wall Street Journal, Cantor Fitzgerald will act as a broker arranging block trades for institutional clients, enabling them to participate in "yes/no" contract trading based on real-world event outcomes offered by Kalshi. The trading instruments cover multiple areas, including weather forecasts, commodity price trends, and corporate performance.This partnership marks the further entry of traditional financial institutions into the prediction market space. Kalshi is an event trading platform regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), where users can bet via contracts on whether specific events will occur, such as economic data releases, policy changes, weather conditions, and business events.In recent years, prediction markets have drawn attention from investors, with proponents arguing that they can reflect collective expectations through market prices and provide risk hedging tools for businesses and investment institutions. However, regulators and some market participants have also continued to scrutinize the boundary between these markets and gambling. (WSJ)
Analysis: The Era of "Bitcoin vs. Banks" Is Ending, Trillion-Dollar Financial Institutions Accelerate Crypto Adoption
Odaily News: As Wall Street and global financial institutions accelerate their entry into the digital asset space, the boundaries between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi) are gradually blurring. Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley stated that the era of "going long Bitcoin and short bankers" is over, and financial institutions are pivoting to the other side of the crypto industry, driving digital asset adoption.Hunter Horsley noted that this summer, two financial institutions, each managing over $1 trillion in assets, approved the launch of crypto products in a bear market environment, showing that large institutions are expanding client access to digital assets. "Everyone put on the crypto jersey this year. Now, everyone is working for the crypto industry," Horsley said. He pointed out that these institutions, managing over a trillion dollars in client assets, would not have opened such services during the 2022 crypto market downturn, but are now actively embracing this sector.Fabian Dori, Chief Investment Officer at Sygnum, also believes the relationship between banks and the crypto industry has undergone a structural shift. "The trade of 'going long Bitcoin and short bankers' is over. Banks have moved from resisting digital assets to building, supporting, and distributing them through custody, tokenization, and compliant trading," a change driven primarily by growing client demand and gradually clarifying regulatory rules, rather than short-term market cycles.Nathan McCauley, CEO of Anchorage Digital, said that over the past two years, its client base has increasingly reflected the convergence of traditional and crypto finance. Large financial institutions typically choose to partner with specialized crypto infrastructure companies rather than building their own technology systems.In recent years, a growing number of financial institutions have entered the crypto space, including Swissquote, DBS Bank, BBVA, BNY Mellon, Credit Suisse-affiliated entities, as well as Morgan Stanley and Charles Schwab. (CoinDesk)
CryptoQuant: Gate's Crypto Stock Perpetual Contracts Fastest Growing in the Industry in July, Up 308% Month-over-Month
According to Odaily, CryptoQuant's latest report, "Wall Street, Always On," shows that in July 2026, trading volume for traditional financial stock perpetual contracts on crypto exchanges reached approximately $250 billion, up about 17 times from April. Among them, Gate's related trading volume in July was approximately $15 billion, up about 26 times from April, representing a 308% month-over-month increase, making it the fastest-growing exchange among the platforms covered in the report.The report notes that Gate's perpetual contract trading has maintained steady triple-digit growth for three consecutive months, with May, June, and July seeing month-over-month increases of approximately 131%, 177%, and 308%, respectively, showing an accelerating trend. CryptoQuant stated that compared to the episodic growth seen on some platforms, Gate's sustained growth better reflects the continuous penetration of traditional financial asset trading demand into crypto trading infrastructure, "which makes Gate an exchange worth watching in the crypto-stock race."CryptoQuant indicated that crypto trading platforms are gradually becoming 24/7 trading gateways connecting Crypto and Wall Street, with trading demand from traditional stock markets accelerating its extension into crypto infrastructure. As Gate continues to expand its diversified asset services, including stocks and ETFs, CFDs, Pre-IPOs, direct IPOs, and tokenized securities like gStocks, the platform is further strengthening the connection between traditional financial assets and digital asset trading ecosystems, providing global users with a more flexible and efficient multi-asset trading experience.
Databricks completes $5 billion funding round, valuation reaches $190 billion
Odaily News: According to market reports, Databricks has completed a $5 billion funding round, bringing its valuation to $190 billion.
Blockchain Association Supports Custodia Bank's Application to Supreme Court for Federal Reserve Master Account Access
According to The Block, the Blockchain Association filed an amicus curiae brief on August 13 supporting Custodia Bank's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, requesting a review of the legality of the Federal Reserve Bank's refusal of its master account application. The Blockchain Association pointed out that this case concerns whether legitimate digital asset enterprises can compete in a fair environment, and warned that the lower court ruling provides a precedent for federal regulators "to debank unpopular industries in the future without the intervention of state regulators." Custodia Bank was founded by Wall Street veteran Caitlin Long, applied for a Fed master account in October 2020, was rejected by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in January 2023 on the grounds that the crypto business model posed risks, subsequently lost twice in the district court and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and was denied rehearing by the full court in a 7 to 3 vote in March 2026. The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City must respond to the Supreme Court application by September 11.
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Anthropic-backed enterprise AI venture Ode acquires AI consulting firm to accelerate Claude's enterprise adoption
Odaily News: Ode, an enterprise AI services company co-founded by Anthropic and Wall Street investment institutions, announced its first acquisition since inception, acquiring AI consulting firm Casper Studios to drive the adoption of Anthropic's AI model Claude in the enterprise market. Established in 2026, Ode is backed by Anthropic, Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman, and other investment institutions, positioning itself as a service platform that helps enterprises deploy cutting-edge AI technology into real-world business processes.The acquisition of Casper Studios aims to strengthen Ode's capabilities in designing and deploying AI applications for enterprise clients. As more companies explore generative AI applications, Ode hopes to help enterprises move from AI experimentation to large-scale implementation through professional consulting, engineering execution, and customized solutions. (The Information)
Franklin Templeton Completes First $1.5 Billion Mortgage Fund Debt Offering
Franklin Templeton announced the completion of its first Collateralized Fund Obligation (CFO), Franklin Templeton Structured Solutions 2026, L.P., raising $1.5 billion from global investors. The offering is designed to provide institutional investors with diversified exposure to its private markets strategies, covering private equity secondaries and continuation funds managed by Lexington Partners, as well as U.S. middle-market direct lending managed by Benefit Street Partners.
Former Spirit Airlines Flight Attendants Oppose Google Data Acquisition, Cite Concerns Over Inadequate Employee Privacy Protections
According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court has delayed approving Google's $10 million acquisition of data from Spirit Airlines. A union representing thousands of former Spirit Airlines flight attendants has objected, warning that the deal could lead to employee confidential information being used for artificial intelligence model training, posing privacy risks. The union has demanded that the transaction agreement explicitly exclude all flight attendant confidential information, or at minimum afford it the same level of protection as consumer information.
Hudson River Trading Q2 trading revenue hits record $11.4 billion
Odaily News Quantitative trading firm Hudson River Trading (HRT) recorded record trading revenue of $11.4 billion in the second quarter, up more than threefold year-over-year; net profit for the same period reached $7.4 billion, with adjusted EBITDA of approximately $8 billion, a more than 350% increase from $1.75 billion in the same period last year.Additionally, HRT remained profitable during the July AI stock sell-off and held no direct exposure to Situational Awareness. During the same period, Jane Street posted a $15 billion loss in July, impacted by factors including investments in Situational Awareness, marking its first monthly loss in a decade. (Bloomberg)
Bitcoin approaches $70,000, driving crypto-related stocks sharply higher; Strategy surges over 12%
Odaily News As Bitcoin approaches $70,000 and triggers a large-scale short squeeze, crypto-related stocks on U.S. exchanges are rallying across the board. Strategy (MSTR) rose 12.68% to $104.25, Coinbase (COIN) climbed 9.05% to $159.47, Circle (CRCL) gained 9.56% to $78.59, and BitMine (BMNR) advanced 10.72% to $20.24.During the same period, Bitcoin's short-squeeze rally led to over $1 billion in short positions being liquidated within an hour. Additionally, the U.S. Treasury announced it would at least double the scale of its long-term Treasury buyback program starting in September, pushing risk assets broadly higher. Strategy and Coinbase are particularly noteworthy, as both are among the large-cap stocks heavily shorted on Wall Street. Coinbase is currently the fifth-most-shorted stock in the financial sector. As such, this rally not only squeezed shorts in the crypto derivatives market but may also force U.S. equity investors shorting MSTR and COIN to cover their positions. (Decrypt)
Cantor Fitzgerald opens Kalshi prediction market to hedge funds
Odaily News: Cantor Fitzgerald has announced that it will open access to the prediction market platform Kalshi for institutional investors, providing event contract trading services to its approximately 3,000 institutional clients, including family offices and hedge funds.According to The Wall Street Journal, Cantor Fitzgerald will act as a broker arranging block trades for institutional clients, enabling them to participate in "yes/no" contract trading based on real-world event outcomes offered by Kalshi. The trading instruments cover multiple areas, including weather forecasts, commodity price trends, and corporate performance.This partnership marks the further entry of traditional financial institutions into the prediction market space. Kalshi is an event trading platform regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), where users can bet via contracts on whether specific events will occur, such as economic data releases, policy changes, weather conditions, and business events.In recent years, prediction markets have drawn attention from investors, with proponents arguing that they can reflect collective expectations through market prices and provide risk hedging tools for businesses and investment institutions. However, regulators and some market participants have also continued to scrutinize the boundary between these markets and gambling. (WSJ)