News linked to both this project and an event.
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)
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)
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)
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.
Odaily News: According to market reports, Databricks has completed a $5 billion funding round, bringing its valuation to $190 billion.
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.
DoubleZero on the Solana platform integrates prediction market Kalshi's order book into its low-latency data feed system to meet institutional demand for Wall Street-style high-speed trading data.
: 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.
Odaily News: The "DeepSeek Harness (Tool Framework)" WeChat public account has been registered, with the account's verified entity being "Beijing DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Basic Technology Research Co., Ltd." (i.e., DeepSeek's Beijing branch). This move is believed to mark the first time DeepSeek has set up a dedicated official publication channel for its Harness business line, operating independently from DeepSeek Group's main official account.According to social media information and media reports, DeepSeek Harness was internally initiated in May 2026, with a dedicated core team for the Harness project established independently, led by Cui Tianyi. Cui Tianyi graduated from the Computer Science Department of Zhejiang University and previously worked at quantitative trading firm Jane Street for nine years before joining DeepSeek in March 2026. Recruitment information posted simultaneously on his LinkedIn and multiple social platforms indicates that Harness is a newly established department. (21st Century Business Herald)
According to CNBC, Nvidia has signed a memorandum of understanding with Apollo Global Management, Blackstone, BlackRock, Brookfield Asset Management, Goldman Sachs, and KKR to jointly establish a financing platform for Nvidia customers, aiming to mobilize over $500 billion in third-party capital for hyperscale data center construction and Nvidia hardware procurement. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang characterized this as the first time AI chips have become an "investable asset class," stating they possess revenue-generating capabilities, long service lives, and can be transferred across customers, while analogizing compute infrastructure to electricity and the internet. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink defined the project as the "next future of financial engineering" following the securitization of mortgages in the 1970s, and stated that more funds would be raised as soon as possible. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon revealed that this collaboration was initiated by Jensen Huang. Currently, some funds have already been raised; the parties will provide financing support for GPUs and data centers through institutional credit, insurance capital, and private capital, helping end users complete AI infrastructure construction without tapping their own balance sheets.
According to the latest trading data disclosed by Ark Invest, funds under Cathie Wood sold a total of 109,492 shares of Palantir (PLTR) on August 4 and 5, valued at approximately $17 million based on the latest closing price.Palantir previously reported second-quarter revenue of $1.94 billion, up 93% year-over-year, and raised its full-year guidance, driving the stock up nearly 30% in a single day after the earnings release. In addition, Cathie Wood has recently increased positions in Circle (CRCL), SpaceX (SPCX), and NVIDIA (NVDA), while reducing holdings in Shopify (SHOP) and Roblox (RBLX). (The Street)
According to Reuters, Australian AI infrastructure company Firmus completed a $2 billion equity financing, pushing its post-money valuation to over $10.5 billion, nearly doubling the $5.5 billion valuation from its previous funding round in April. The round saw continued participation from NVIDIA and Coatue Management, with funds under Blackstone and Jane Street also providing support.
Odaily News: Bank of America reiterated its "Buy" rating on SpaceX after its earnings report, maintaining a price target of $235, roughly 87.5% above the post-earnings reference price of $125.33. Bank of America believes its bullish thesis is no longer primarily based on the rocket launch business, but rather on the AI infrastructure business.Bank of America projects SpaceX's AI business revenue will approach $24.5 billion in 2026, accounting for more than half of the company's total revenue forecast. Meanwhile, revenue contributions from the partnership with Anthropic began in May this year, while the compute collaboration with Google is expected to commence in October this year. As a result, Bank of America has raised its financial forecasts for the coming years: the 2026 revenue estimate has been raised by approximately 15% to $46.9 billion; the 2027 revenue estimate has been raised by approximately 29% to $100.7 billion; and the 2028 revenue estimate has been raised by approximately 29% to $184.8 billion.However, Bank of America also expects that as capital expenditures continue to expand, SpaceX will maintain significantly negative free cash flow in the coming years. Its projections are: -$43.6 billion in free cash flow for 2026; -$45.4 billion for 2027; and -$37.4 billion for 2028. (The Street)
Odaily News: Cybersecurity company Cloudflare released its earnings report and raised its full-year profit outlook, projecting adjusted earnings per share of $1.25 to $1.26 for 2026, up from the previously estimated $1.19 to $1.20 and exceeding Wall Street analysts' expectations of $1.20.The company's second-quarter results also surpassed market expectations. Cloudflare stated that as AI applications expand rapidly, demand for network infrastructure and security services from enterprises continues to grow. CEO Matthew Prince noted that the internet is shifting toward AI answer engines and agent-driven business models, with machine-to-machine traffic reshaping the network ecosystem.In May this year, Cloudflare announced layoffs of approximately one-fifth of its workforce and advanced its AI agent-first strategy. The company's stock price has risen 44% year-to-date. (Bloomberg)
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."
According to sources familiar with the matter cited by Gelonghui, just days after his hedge fund was on the verge of collapse, former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner has returned to the investment arena, investing a hefty $400 million to back a private company. The investment, completed on Tuesday, is the first sign of how Aschenbrenner is managing the aftermath following the near-collapse of the Situational Awareness Fund last week amid a flurry of margin calls from multiple Wall Street lenders.
Odaily News - Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad stated on the X platform that the Wall Street Journal's (WSJ) criticism of the CLARITY Act is disappointing, arguing that it abandons principles of free markets and competition in favor of maintaining regulatory barriers, while echoing the views of banking associations.Shirzad stated that the CLARITY Act imposes multiple restrictions on stablecoin rewards and ties them to customer activity, adding that there is currently no evidence to support the "deposit flight" claim. He noted that three independent studies, including one from the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), have found no evidence that stablecoin growth leads to bank deposit outflows.Furthermore, Shirzad emphasized that the CLARITY Act does not provide exemptions for DeFi-related crimes. Instead, it distinguishes between code developers and financial intermediary operators, with fraud, sanctions violations, and money laundering remaining subject to legal prosecution.Shirzad urged the U.S. Senate to pass the CLARITY Act, stating that America needs to establish long-term, stable federal digital asset regulatory rules.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), the fourth-largest bank in the United States, announced it will launch tokenized deposit services for corporate and commercial clients this fall, becoming the latest major traditional bank to embrace blockchain technology. It is reported that the service will initially cover cross-border payment scenarios involving the US dollar and British pound. Customers can utilize digital tokens on the blockchain to enable 24/7 transfer, programmability, and real-time settlement of traditional funds, breaking through the time constraints of traditional financial systems.
During the 11th year of Ethereum, the Ethereum Foundation underwent organizational restructuring, including leadership departures, layoffs, the introduction of a new CROPS mandate, and the spin-off of EthLabs, Ethereum Systems, and Ethereum Institutional as independent entities. The Ethereum Foundation seeks to further decentralize its role within the ecosystem. Concurrently, Ethereum continued to advance its technology and institutional adoption, launching the Fusaka upgrade and attracting participation from Wall Street institutions such as BlackRock and JPMorgan; cumulative inflows into US spot Ethereum ETFs have exceeded $11.23 billion.
online brokerage Robinhood's Q2 adjusted earnings per share were $0.62, with revenue reaching $13.1 billion, surpassing Wall Street expectations and setting a record high; its share price fell 4% in after-hours trading. Robinhood's Q2 crypto trading revenue decreased by 38% year-over-year to $100 million, offset partially by increased activity in options, stocks, and prediction markets. The company has launched Robinhood Chain in Europe for tokenized US stocks and rolled out an Agentic Trading AI tool that automates investments while retaining user control.