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  • Stripe in Talks to Acquire AI Marketplace at $10 Billion Valuation

    Stripe in Talks to Acquire AI Marketplace at $10 Billion Valuation

    Stripe, the global payments infrastructure giant, is in discussions to acquire OpenRouter, a marketplace for AI models, at a valuation of approximately $10 billion, according to a report from Cointelegraph. The talks are ongoing, and sources familiar with the matter have indicated that no final decision has been reached.

    What OpenRouter Brings to the Table

    OpenRouter operates as a platform that aggregates access to various large language models and AI services, allowing developers to compare pricing, performance, and capabilities across providers. The marketplace simplifies the process of integrating AI into applications by offering a single API endpoint for multiple models. If the acquisition proceeds, it would mark a significant expansion of Stripe’s technological footprint beyond payment processing into the rapidly growing AI infrastructure sector.

    Strategic Implications for Stripe

    Stripe has been steadily increasing its investments in AI-related tools for developers. The company already offers Stripe Connect for platform payments and Stripe Billing for subscription management, both of which are widely used by AI startups. Acquiring OpenRouter would provide Stripe with a direct channel into the AI model distribution layer, potentially allowing it to bundle payment services with AI access. This move could create a more integrated ecosystem for developers building AI-powered applications, simplifying both their technical and financial operations.

    Market Context and Valuation

    The $10 billion valuation under discussion reflects the premium placed on AI infrastructure companies amid a broader technology industry shift. OpenRouter’s position as a neutral aggregator of AI models gives it strategic value, particularly as enterprises seek to avoid vendor lock-in with a single AI provider. For Stripe, which processes hundreds of billions of dollars in transactions annually, the acquisition would represent one of its largest deals to date, signaling a bet on the long-term convergence of payments and AI services.

    Uncertainty Remains

    It is important to note that the talks are preliminary and may not result in a finalized transaction. Regulatory scrutiny, valuation disagreements, or competing offers could alter the outcome. Neither Stripe nor OpenRouter has publicly confirmed the negotiations. The information currently available is based on sources close to the discussions, and further details may emerge as the process develops.

    Conclusion

    The potential acquisition of OpenRouter by Stripe underscores the growing intersection between financial technology and artificial intelligence. If completed, the deal would give Stripe a foothold in the AI model marketplace, offering developers a unified platform for both AI access and payment infrastructure. For now, the industry watches closely as these high-stakes negotiations continue.

    FAQs

    Q1: What is OpenRouter?
    OpenRouter is a marketplace that provides developers with access to multiple AI models through a single API, allowing them to compare and integrate different large language models without managing separate integrations.

    Q2: Why is Stripe interested in acquiring OpenRouter?
    Stripe likely sees OpenRouter as a strategic asset to expand its developer tools ecosystem, combining AI model access with its existing payment and subscription services to create a more comprehensive platform for AI-powered businesses.

    Q3: Is the deal finalized?
    No. The acquisition talks are ongoing, and no final agreement has been reached. The outcome remains uncertain, and the deal could still fall through.

  • Changpeng Zhao Ignored This One Market, Now It Is Worth Over $311 Billion

    Changpeng Zhao Ignored This One Market, Now It Is Worth Over $311 Billion

  • Goldman Sachs CEO Breaks With Wall Street to Back Crypto Clarity Act

    Goldman Sachs CEO Breaks With Wall Street to Back Crypto Clarity Act

    In brief

    • Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon told Politico he is “very supportive of moving the Clarity Act forward.”
    • His stance breaks with much of Wall Street, including JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon and a coalition of banking trade groups who want stronger language limiting stablecoin yield.
    • The endorsement lands as Republicans circulate updated bill text preserving the market framework while adding contested ethics provisions, leaving the Clarity Act’s Senate path uncertain ahead of a hoped-for vote before the August recess.

    Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO David Solomon has come out in favor of the Clarity Act, positioning one of Wall Street’s biggest banks apart from much of the industry as the crypto market-structure bill approaches a possible Senate floor vote.

    “I’m very supportive of moving the Clarity Act forward, so we can get some market structure in place and start to move the innovation process along,” Solomon said in an interview with Politico.

    The Clarity Act, if passed and signed into law, formally legalize most cryptocurrency activity in the United States, classifying most crypto assets as non-securities and outside the purview of the SEC. The bill also carries provisions that would protect decentralized software developers and addresses the practice of offering rewards on stablecoin balances.

    Solomon acknowledged the legislation is far from flawless, telling Politico that, “like all legislation,” the bill “is not perfect” and leaves plenty to debate. Its central value, he argued, lies in creating “a level playing field to enhance market stability and allow these markets to develop appropriately.” According to Politico, Solomon also suggested the framework could draw more institutional players into crypto markets—a stated priority for Goldman.

    That stance sets him apart from the broader banking sector, which has spent months fighting one provision in particular: language governing yield on stablecoins.

    Stablecoins are blockchain-based tokens that are designed to hold a steady value and are typically pegged one-to-one with the U.S. dollar. Traders use them to enter and exit positions without the need to access dollars directly, while market participants use them to make payments or send remittances overseas.

    Crypto companies such as Coinbase have for years offered rewards on certain stablecoin balances, like the Circle-issued USDC. Those rewards can range between 3-5% APY, which is significantly greater than what banks typically offer on a traditional savings account. This practice, now commonly referred to as stablecoin yield, was—in a roundabout way—essentially codified into law with the passage of the GENIUS Act last year.

    The banks and their lobbyists in Washington have been fighting to change it ever since, pouncing on the Clarity Act as their opportunity to close what they view as a loophole in the law.

    JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has been the loudest critic of stablecoin yield, arguing in a May appearance on Fox Business that letting crypto firms pay rewards on dollar-pegged tokens without bank-equivalent oversight would hand them an unfair edge. “The banks will not accept it that way,” he said at the time.

    The industry’s objections run deep. In May, a coalition of the nation’s top banking trade groups warned senators that a proposed compromise on stablecoin yield contained loopholes that would enable “evasion” of the intended limits, cautioning that such rewards could pull deposits away from traditional lenders. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has countered that banks are lobbying to kneecap stablecoin rewards precisely because they threaten deposit-based business models.

    Solomon’s endorsement of the Clarity Act lands at a pivotal moment. Republican senators this week circulated updated bill text that preserves the core market framework while adding new ethics provisions restricting officials—language Democrats have already blasted as insufficient to address President Donald Trump’s crypto dealings.

    With unresolved fights over stablecoins and ethics still in play, the bill’s path through the Senate remains uncertain ahead of a vote lawmakers hope to hold before the August recess.

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  • Senate leader casts doubt on Clarity Act passage before August recess: CoinDesk

    Senate leader casts doubt on Clarity Act passage before August recess: CoinDesk

    The US Senate may begin considering the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act before its summer recess, but completing the crypto market structure bill by the industry’s preferred August 7 deadline appears increasingly unlikely, according to a CoinDesk report.

    Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Thursday that he would like to at least begin the floor process.

    “I would like to at least get Clarity started,” Thune said. “We’ll see where the votes are.”

    Beginning consideration before the recess could preserve a path for the Senate to resume work when lawmakers return in September. The chamber is scheduled to begin its summer state work period on August 10 and return on September 14.

    The bill had not entered floor consideration as of Thursday, with the Senate instead working through judicial nominations, an Iran war powers resolution, and the annual defense authorization bill.

    Industry representatives and congressional negotiators had viewed August 7 as the practical deadline for passing the bill before lawmakers shift their attention toward the November midterm elections.

    The Senate will sit for only a limited period in September. Any amended version approved by senators would also need to return to the House before reaching President Donald Trump’s desk.

    The latest draft combines proposals from the Senate Banking and Agriculture committees and sets rules for digital asset exchanges, intermediaries, issuers, and federal oversight.

    Lawmakers remain divided over stablecoin rewards and ethics restrictions on senior government officials. Democrats have objected to giving the Justice Department responsibility for enforcing those rules, while some Republicans oppose the treatment of stablecoin rewards.

    The disputes could prevent the bill from securing the 60 votes needed to advance. Senator Cynthia Lummis said the most contentious provisions remain open to revision as negotiators seek Democratic support.

    The Clarity Act would define the roles of the SEC and CFTC in overseeing digital assets. The House approved its version in July 2025, while the Senate released a combined draft this week.

    Missing the August window would leave the bill with less floor time and greater political pressure ahead of the midterm elections.

  • There’s a Sharpe Ratio Signal for Bitcoin—An Analyst Makes a Breaking Claim

    There’s a Sharpe Ratio Signal for Bitcoin—An Analyst Makes a Breaking Claim

    Crypto analyst Ali Martinez said that the sharp decline in Bitcoin’s Sharpe ratio, a risk-return indicator, could signal a favorable period for long-term buying in the spot market.

    According to data shared by Martinez, Bitcoin’s Sharpe ratio has fallen to minus 23. The Sharpe ratio, which measures the return an investment provides in relation to the risk or volatility undertaken, indicates strong returns relative to risk when it is positive, while negative values point to periods where investors face significant losses.

    The analyst noted that a reading of -23 doesn’t necessarily mean the decline in Bitcoin will continue indefinitely; rather, it suggests that sellers may have largely exhausted their options. According to Martinez, this creates an asymmetrical entry opportunity for long-term Bitcoin investors, where the risk is more limited compared to the potential gain.

    Related News Experts Say 80 Percent of the Bitcoin Bear Market Is Over—Here’s What You Need to Know

    Martinez stated that past data also revealed a similar picture, recalling that the Sharpe ratio had fallen to similar levels during the lows of the 2015, 2019, and 2022 bear markets. He noted that these periods coincided with the final capitulation and intense selling phases in the market.

    On the other hand, according to on-chain data, Bitcoin has formed a strong support zone between $63,111 and $61,840. URPD data shows that more than 1.3 million $BTC changed hands within this price range.

    Martinez noted that as long as this support zone is maintained, Bitcoin does not face a significant supply wall up to $84,569. Approximately 582,000 $BTC have traded at this level previously. Therefore, the analyst added, maintaining the region between $61,840 and $63,111 is critical for Bitcoin’s medium-term outlook.

    *This is not investment advice.

  • CryptoQuant Warns: Ethereum is Historically Cheap, But It’s Still Too Early for the Bottom! Here’s Why

    CryptoQuant Warns: Ethereum is Historically Cheap, But It’s Still Too Early for the Bottom! Here’s Why

    Bitcoin and altcoins have experienced sharp declines since last October. With $BTC falling to $57,000 and Ethereum to $1,400, investors are now eagerly awaiting an upward trend.

    At this point, as investors closely monitor the data, CryptoQuant analysts have shared their latest analysis for Ethereum.

    According to a recent report from the on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant, Ethereum is cheap, but the data suggests the bottom hasn’t been reached yet.

    According to CryptoQuant analysts, $ETH has fallen to more attractive valuation levels compared to Bitcoin. However, the analysts note that despite the price drop, a classic “capitulation” (complete surrender) has not yet occurred in the market, and therefore it is too early to say that the bottom formation is complete.

    The report states that Ethereum’s valuation ratios against Bitcoin have fallen to historically low levels, which could present a significant opportunity for long-term investors. However, on-chain data suggests that Ethereum has not yet bottomed out.

    The report initially stated that $ETH was trading below its cost basis. At this point, $ETH is trading around $1,900. This is approximately 17% below the actual price of $2,304, placing it in the lower half of the current price range.

    According to analysts, this region has historically been associated with market lows and asymmetric rallies.

    Secondly, $ETH has undergone a shift from an overvalued position relative to Bitcoin to a generally neutral one. The $ETH/$BTC MVRV ratio peaked around 0.95 in August 2025 and has since fallen to approximately 0.65.

    However, the MVRV ratio remains above the ~0.45 threshold relative to Bitcoin, marking previous $ETH lows.

    Thirdly, relative selling pressure is decreasing. The $ETH/$BTC inflow rate has fallen from above 1.5 in August 2025 to approximately 0.8, reducing downside risk. However, it still remains below the ~0.4 low selling pressure zone seen at previous lows.

    Fourth, institutional demand is reversing direction for the first time in a year. The $ETH/$BTC ETF asset ratio fell from ~0.20 in August 2025 to ~0.115 in June 2026. During this period, institutional investors preferred Bitcoin over Ethereum. However, from the end of June, the ratio rose to 0.13. This data shows that institutional investors’ interest in Ethereum is starting to increase again. However, it is still at a low level in terms of supporting $ETH’s rise.

    Analysts also added that on-chain data showed that investor panic selling was not as intense as in past bear markets.

    Finally, it’s important to remember that whether Ethereum bottoms out isn’t solely influenced by on-chain data; macroeconomic developments can also play a significant role. Factors such as the Fed’s interest rate policy, dollar liquidity, and ETF inflows also have a major impact on the price.

    *This is not investment advice.

  • Attention XRP Investors: Ripple Announced a Major and Strategic Investment Today!

    Attention XRP Investors: Ripple Announced a Major and Strategic Investment Today!

    As partnership and investment news continues to emerge in the cryptocurrency market, the latest news comes from Ripple (XRP), one of the most important names in the market.

    Accordingly, Ripple has made a strategic investment in the on-chain service provider Notabene.

    Notabene, a provider of compliance-focused on-chain transaction services, announced in an official statement that it has received a strategic investment from Ripple. However, the amount of the investment was not disclosed.

    “Notabene received a strategic investment from Ripple.”

    By integrating $RLUSD into Notabene Flow and exploring how trusted payment authorization can complement Ripple Payments, we will collaborate to expand institutional stablecoin payments.

    According to the announcement, Ripple’s dollar-backed stablecoin, $RLUSD, will be integrated into Notabene’s institutional payment platform, Notabene Flow. The parties also aim to combine Ripple Payments infrastructure with Notabene’s transaction verification and payment authorization technologies to enable financial institutions to conduct regulated stablecoin transfers more securely and efficiently.

    Notabene currently operates an open network connecting more than 2,300 financial institutions across over 100 jurisdictions, processing over $2 trillion in network transaction volume annually. The two companies also plan to work together to expand the use of $RLUSD.

    Jack McDonald, Senior Vice President of Ripple Stablecoins, said the following about the investment: “Stablecoins are rapidly becoming part of mainstream financial infrastructure, but institutional adoption isn’t solely dependent on efficient payment systems. Trusted identity, compliance, and transaction authorization are needed before value can move. Notabene’s network addresses one of the key hurdles to institutional adoption, and together, we are helping to build the compliant infrastructure that institutions need to transfer value globally and expand the use case of $RLUSD.”

    Notabene CEO Pelle Braendgaard stated that financial institutions have moved beyond the question of “should we use stablecoins?”, and the real issue is how to use them securely and in compliance with regulations. According to Braendgaard, the combination of Ripple’s global payment network and Notabene’s trust infrastructure will accelerate the widespread adoption of corporate stablecoin payments.

    *This is not investment advice.

  • Crypto for Advisors: It’s time for tokenization to get to work

    Crypto for Advisors: It’s time for tokenization to get to work

    Regulation is why the mood changed from last year. The $GENIUS Act gave payment stablecoins legitimacy, and speakers repeatedly pointed to the CLARITY Act, still working through the Senate, as the bigger unlock. RedStone co-founder Marcin Kazmierczak framed it bluntly: CLARITY could be a 10x or even 100x moment relative to $GENIUS, because it opens the door to the full range of asset classes.

    Where’s the traction? Cash and collateral are the beachheads

    Collateral is where tokenization earns its keep first. On the repo panel, Broadridge’s Robert Krugman said his firm now moves around $370 billion of tokenized repo a day on the Canton network. That is a sliver of the $12 trillion US repo market, but a real one, and the programmability pitch is simple.

    “If you want to borrow for five minutes, you pay for five minutes [instead of a full day]. It’s a no-brainer,” said Ami Ben-David, CEO at Ownera.

    Asset managers echoed utility over novelty. A recurring principle was that if you tokenize a product, it has to be a net better product than the one it replaces. Apollo’s Christine Moy said the firm’s tokenized private credit fund has confirmed what she calls the “superpowers” of onchain assets: secondary liquidity for otherwise illiquid products, and the ability to post private credit as collateral in DeFi protocols like Aave and Morpho.

  • Southeast Asian Scam Networks Cost Victims Up to $114B in a Year: UN

    Southeast Asian Scam Networks Cost Victims Up to $114B in a Year: UN

    In brief

    • The UN Office on Drugs and Crime says Southeast Asia’s once-fragmented crime syndicates have merged into a single, tech-driven economy built on shared fraud and laundering infrastructure.
    • Scam operations across the wider region drove an estimated $88.3 billion to $114.1 billion in losses in 2025, much of it crypto investment fraud run from industrial-scale compounds.
    • The agency urged regional police to get specialized crypto training to trace and seize proceeds, warning that disruption-focused strategies are not working.

    Southeast Asia’s scam industry has hardened into a single, interconnected criminal economy whose losses now rival the output of entire countries, the United Nations said in a report published Tuesday.

    The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) described a “fundamental” restructuring of the region’s underworld. Locally rooted syndicates that once stuck to one territory and one specialty have fused into a transnational network in which groups sell services—money laundering, fraud, human trafficking, data harvesting—to one another over shared infrastructure, the report said.

    Delphine Schantz, UNODC Regional Representative for South-East Asia and the Pacific, likened the model to “corporate franchising,” in a statement, pointing to specialized departments for money laundering, human trafficking and data harvesting that plug into the same service-based network.

    Combined losses from scam offences across East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand reached an estimated $88.3 billion to $114.1 billion in 2025 alone—a figure that UNODC noted “outstrips the GDP of several countries in the region.” Much of that money moves through crypto: the compounds run investment- and romance-scam operations, often called “pig butchering,” whose proceeds are laundered on-chain. UNODC warned that police in the region still lack the training to follow the money in “the new crypto context,” with Schantz adding that seizing proceeds is now essential because “disruption alone does not work.”

    Rather than smuggling physical contraband, groups increasingly sell cyber-enabled fraud, criminal infrastructure, and platform-based financial settlements that leave little trace and are hard to attribute. Feeding the machine is forced labor on a global scale, with people from at least 80 countries identified inside scam compounds. Scam networks are now attempting to widen their recruitment pool, the report added, with advertisements targeting individuals with European and North American language skills.

    The report flags generative AI, deepfakes, and near-automated fraud, alongside “malvertising”—the hijacking of legitimate ad networks to spread malware—which it said rose 42% year-on-year in 2025. Criminal operations have been “decoupled” from local telecommunications infrastructure by satellite internet such as Elon Musk’s Starlink, the report said, enabling them to operate in remote locations.

    Beyond scams, the report breaks ground on other fast-growing markets. It identifies the Sulu and Celebes Seas—the maritime triangle between Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines—as a rising smuggling corridor, and it warns that criminals are gamifying online gambling to draw in younger users.

    UNODC Executive Director Monica Juma said the networks are “flexible, persistent and adaptable,” able to shift across borders and resume operations after law-enforcement crackdowns, making international cooperation essential to dismantling them.

    Law enforcement bodies around the world are escalating their response to the threat. U.S. prosecutors last week seized more than $25 million in crypto tied to investment and romance scams routed through the region, and Interpol has labeled the compound networks a global threat. The human toll is also coming into focus, with Amnesty International documenting a humanitarian crisis as workers flee Cambodia’s compounds—the same country where alleged Prince Group boss Chen Zhi was arrested pending extradition to China, in a case that included one of the largest-ever Bitcoin seizures.

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  • Bulls face a test unlike anything in bitcoin’s 17-year history

    Bulls face a test unlike anything in bitcoin’s 17-year history

    The bitcoin BTC$65,543.28 market is facing a macro environment unlike any it has encountered in its 17-year existence.

    That’s tied to inflation-adjusted returns on bonds. The 30-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Security (TIPS) is now offering a yield of close to 3%, the highest in 17 years, according to TreasuryBonds.com.

    “This is one of the greatest wealth preservation opportunities in decades. Investors can lock in nearly 3% annual returns above inflation for the next three decades, backed by the U.S. government,” the site noted.

    In traditional markets, bonds are considered safe havens. When a haven asset offers a 3% return in excess of inflation, it raises the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding or riskier assets like gold and bitcoin. But for many, especially in the crypto community, bitcoin’s decentralized and censorship-resistant nature makes it a superior store of value and safe haven – and that argument is not without merit. Housing prices measured in bitcoin, for instance, appear significantly cheaper than when measured in dollars.