US regulators gave fresh guidelines for how banks can offer crypto custody services and not run afoul of rules. Banks that contemplate providing safekeeping for crypto-assets should consider the evolving nature of the crypto market, including the technology underlying the cryptoassets, regulators said. The Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said firms must also implement a risk-governance framework that appropriately adapts to relevant risks. The statement outlined key risk areas and warnings for banks to consider: Potential risks prior to offering crypto safekeeping; Being held liable for customers’ losses in cases of possible compromise or loss of cryptographic keys or other sensitive information; Crypto safekeeping relationships are subject to applicable Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering laws; Risks from contracting with a third-party; Appropriate audit coverage — especially assessing management and staff expertise.
AGII’s lightweight modules optimize the interaction between smart contracts and on-chain data, allowing AI-powered Web3 systems to react instantly to changing conditions and seamless integration between various components of dApps
AGII, a platform specializing in AI-driven Web3 infrastructure, has introduced a new suite of lightweight modules designed to enhance the responsiveness of smart contracts. The aim is to reduce latency and ensure reliable and accurate smart contract operations. The modules optimize the interaction between smart contracts and on-chain data, allowing decentralized systems to react instantly to changing conditions. This results in quicker transaction finality and shortened decision-making cycles, which are often bottlenecks in existing blockchain environments. The modules also promote a more seamless integration between various components of dApps, enhancing application responsiveness. AGII’s lightweight modules are particularly advantageous for developers looking to build or optimize applications within a decentralized framework. The company has embedded these modules directly into its AI-powered core infrastructure, facilitating a low-resource, real-time processing environment without compromising predictive intelligence or functional reliability. This streamlined architecture enables the deployment of more agile and adaptive smart contracts that can function efficiently across multiple blockchain networks. AGII’s lightweight module rollout aligns with its mission to provide scalable, intelligent infrastructure for decentralized operations.
BNY to act as the primary reserve custodian for Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin purpose-built for enterprise utility to support faster and low-cost cross-border payments
Blockchain company Ripple chose BNY for the primary custody of its stablecoin reserves. Via the partnership, BNY will act as the primary reserve custodian for Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin, using its “deep technology stack and expertise enabling the digital assets ecosystem. Unlike stablecoins geared primarily toward retail users, RLUSD has been purpose-built for enterprise utility, particularly in improving the speed, cost and efficiency of cross-border payments. In addition, BNY will provide its leading transaction banking services to underpin RLUSD’s operations and deliver integrated solutions. “Ripple USD addresses a critical gap in the market as a stablecoin developed for enterprise-grade financial use cases, designed to meet the rigorous standards of leading financial institutions,” said Jack McDonald, SVP of Stablecoins at Ripple. “BNY brings together demonstrable custody expertise and a strong commitment to financial innovation in this rapidly changing landscape, as well as a forward-thinking approach to digital asset infrastructure, making them the ideal partner for Ripple and RLUSD.”
Crypto app OKX’s partnership with Circle to allow users to more easily convert between U.S. dollars and USDC stablecoins and back on a one-to-one basis and simplify on- and off-ramping for use of stablecoins for trading and payments
The 60 million global users of OKX’s crypto app will soon be able to more easily convert between U.S. dollars and USDC stablecoins and back on a one-to-one basis. This enhanced capability will be enabled by a new partnership between OKX and Circle Internet Group, which issues USDC through a regulated affiliate. The partnership will deepen liquidity for USD-to-USDC and USDC-to-USD conversions, making these conversions easier across OKX products and services. It will also simplify on- and off-ramping via the companies’ mutual banking partners to facilitate OKX customers’ use of USDC for trading and payments. The companies will also collaborate to teach users about the benefits of USDC and other digital currencies via educational and community engagement programs. “By working together, we’re further improving the user experience across our platform while accelerating the adoption of stablecoins in everyday finance,” OKX Founder and CEO Star Xu said. Circle Co-founder, Chairman and CEO Jeremy Allaire said that there is growing demand for USDC from businesses and individuals.
Square ropes in NBA star Jimmy Butler for bringing BIGFACE coffee to San Francisco through an exclusive pop-up at its Corner Store to promote neighborhood locals and small businesses
Square announced that Golden State Warriors star and Square seller Jimmy Butler will bring BIGFACE to San Francisco through an exclusive pop-up at Square’s Corner Store in the Mission District. The two-week pop-up, running from July 10 to 27, marks Butler’s first local business venture since joining the Warriors, connecting his entrepreneurial passion with his new home and community in the Bay Area. With a commitment to excellence and a focus on sustainably sourcing the finest specialty coffees on the planet, BIGFACE coffee not only tastes remarkable, but also supports the people and ecosystems behind each cup. BIGFACE is designing SF-exclusive merch for the pop-up, which pays homage to the location’s legacy as the former home of beloved Lucca Ravioli, and is only available at the Corner Store. Customers paying with a Cash App Card will receive 15% off all purchases at the pop-up. The BIGFACE pop-up follows the Corner Store’s successful June programming that celebrated San Francisco’s small business community through workshops, networking events, and educational sessions. More than 2,000 neighborhood locals and businesses have been served by the Corner Store so far. Following the BIGFACE pop-up, Square will partner with local nonprofit SF New Deal to bring a local business operator into residency at the Corner Store through the remainder of the year, continuing both organizations’ missions to support and showcase small and local businesses. SF New Deal strengthens neighborhoods by making it easier for under-resourced small business owners to succeed.
FortePay’s integration with Sequence payments infra platform to offer end-to-end, multi-chain payment solution with integrated local payments and currency options and dynamic compliance tools to power web3 monetization
Forte and its wholly-owned subsidiary LemmaX has announced a strategic alliance with Sequence to integrate FortePay as a central component of the Sequence platform infrastructure. This collaboration equips developers with an end-to-end, multi-chain payment solution that enables compliant web3 payment processing and seamless value transfer, advancing the shared vision of creating safe, user-friendly applications with versatile monetization pathways in the web3 ecosystem. Through this partnership, FortePay will serve as Sequence’s foundational payments infrastructure layer, providing global card payment network coverage with integrated local payments and currency options. The solution incorporates dynamic compliance tools featuring graduated KYC flows and asset-based ID verification, resulting in faster, more efficient purchase flows. Sequence users will be able to seamlessly buy and convert between crypto and fiat currencies, purchase NFTs using fiat or cryptocurrency, and transact with custom tokens through the platform’s comprehensive capabilities. “Integrating FortePay into Sequence’s core infrastructure unlocks a new level of flexibility and compliance tools for developers building web3 applications,” said Taylan Pince, CTO of Sequence. “This partnership enables seamless, secure, and scalable payment flows, whether in fiat or crypto, without compromising on user experience. It brings us one step closer to a future where web3 monetization is as intuitive and robust as any traditional platform.”
SIFMA is concerned about SEC’s exemptive orders for trading tokenized securities on digital asset platforms and wants a rulemaking process which allows for public notice and comment, oversight, and broad industry engagement
The CEO of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) has written to the SEC expressing concerns relating to tokenized securities. SIFMA members have read press reports implying that digital asset firms might receive SEC no action letters or exemptive orders for trading tokenized traditional securities on digital asset platforms. In other words, the digital asset firms won’t have to comply with the same securities rules that SIFMA members adhere to. Given this could have far reaching consequences for capital markets, SIFMA would prefer to see the process follow the SEC rulemaking process “which allows for public notice and comment, oversight, and broad industry engagement.” SIFMA raised similar issues in a longer letter last month responding to SEC requests for information. An example given by SIFMA was Coinbase looking to trade tokenized securities in the United States. The potential ripple effects become clear when examining Coinbase’s proposals, which represent very substantial changes to market structure, although they expect that parts may be implemented via rulemaking. One potentially controversial example is the best execution rule requiring that a broker shouldn’t execute an order when there’s a better price displayed on another venue. Coinbase argues that this only accounts for price rather than the size of the order or the ability to meet demand at that price. It claims that bitcoin and ether have “better market quality measures” than the vast majority of stocks. “To this end, the Commission should give markets an opportunity to operate without the cumbersome artifice of legacy order routing requirements until and unless markets do not develop in a way that demonstrates they cannot or chose not to provide high execution quality,” Coinbase argued.
BBVA Spain rolls out cryptocurrency trading and custody services to retail customers that lets them buy, sell, and hold bitcoin and ether directly via the mobile app
BBVA Spain has started offering cryptocurrency trading and custody services to regular customers. This is a big step towards making digital assets more common. The service lets you safely access Bitcoin and Ether directly through BBVA’s regulated banking platform. After filing the relevant disclosure with the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), the bank has been gradually rolling out the service in recent weeks. Customers can now use this service to trade in bitcoin and ether directly through the BBVA app, all within a fully integrated environment that also includes the bank’s other financial services. Right now, BBVA retail customers in Spain can buy, sell, and hold bitcoin and ether directly via the mobile app, as a further show of the bank’s firm commitment to offering a seamless, fully digital experience. The initiative is aligned with the European Regulation on Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA), which governs the issuance and provision of crypto-asset services within the European Union and provides additional safeguards and protection for investors. The bank will not provide investment advice on these assets, and access to the service will be exclusively customer-initiated through the app. This move makes BBVA Spain one of the first big banks in the area to offer crypto services to regular customers. With its crypto rollout, BBVA Spain aims to meet the growing need for reliable digital asset services while staying fully compliant with the law.
Tether invests in blockchain analytics firm Crystal Intelligence that provides risk monitoring, fraud detection and regulatory intelligence solutions to combat illicit stablecoin use through real-time tracking of funds
Digital asset company Tether has invested in blockchain analytics firm Crystal Intelligence, saying the move will support Tether’s efforts to combat illicit stablecoin use. Crystal Intelligence provides risk monitoring, fraud detection and regulatory intelligence solutions, and Tether’s investment will strengthen the investigative tools used by enforcement agencies, regulators and institutions worldwide. With these tools, Tether will enhance its ability to help authorities trace the movement of funds in real time, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said. “Tether has already contributed to freezing billions in unlawful funds and has supported investigations across dozens of jurisdictions,” Ardoino said. “This strategic investment will strengthen our capacity to collaborate more effectively and reinforce a clear message: USDT is the digital dollar for the people, bad actors will be stopped.” The company’s support of law enforcement officials and investigations into criminals abusing stablecoin technology has included assisting more than 255 law enforcement agencies in 55 jurisdictions and freezing $2.7 billion USDT tied to illicit activity. In addition, both Tether and Crystal Intelligence have supported the development of a public-facing platform called Scam Alert that flags wallet addresses associated with scams and other abuses in real time.
Vertically integrated DeFi chain Katana focuses on real yield generation for institutions by deploying bridged assets like ETH and USDC on Ethereum and redirecting sequencer fees back into the network
Katana, a vertically integrated DeFi chain, has launched its mainnet with over $240 million in “productive TVL,” capital that is actively deployed into lending and trading strategies. Incubated by Polygon Labs and GSR, Katana is designed to concentrate liquidity, generate real yield, and route value back to users. The blockchain functions more like a coordinated financial venue than an open playground, avoiding liquidity fragmentation that has plagued DeFi for years. Katana is positioning itself to solve structural liquidity challenges that have long limited institutional participation in DeFi. By concentrating liquidity across chains and protocols into fewer, more accessible pools, Katana can support high-volume, capital-efficient transactions. Institutional appeal is central to Katana’s strategy, with features like real-time rewards, transparent APY breakdowns, and sequencer fee recycling designed to meet the demands of firms that need yield, efficiency, and accountability. At the core of this system is VaultBridge, a mechanism that deploys bridged assets like ETH, USDC, and wBTC into yield-generating strategies on Ethereum. Alongside VaultBridge, Katana introduces chain-owned liquidity, a system that redirects sequencer fees back into the network. This creates a self-reinforcing loop: as activity on the chain increases, so does the pool of capital available to users, which in turn improves trading execution, reduces slippage, and boosts overall yield. Katana’s token design reflects a broader shift in how DeFi infrastructure is being built. It is centered on turning every layer of infrastructure into a yield engine, focusing on transparency yield sources, sustainable incentives, and a clear link between usage and revenue. Katana is built using Polygon’s CDK framework and the OP Stack, with finality provided by Succinct’s SP1 zk prover. However, the long-term test will be whether the ecosystem can continue delivering competitive yields without overrelying on emissions.