Tag: CRYPTOS FoxBusiness

Barça Mobile, the telecom platform linked to FC Barcelona, is adding a digital wallet to its mobile app through partnerships with Wirex, Crossmint and the Stellar Development Foundation. New Era Visionary Group, the official telecom operator and partner of FC Barcelona, is working with the three companies to build the wallet infrastructure. The new feature will combine mobile services with payments, rewards, travel and other digital services for users worldwide.

Wirex will provide payment and card infrastructure for the wallet. Crossmint will provide wallet infrastructure and onboarding technology. Stellar will serve as the blockchain layer for the wallet. Its network will support digital transactions and cross-border value transfers, allowing Barça Mobile to build services for users in different markets.

The wallet will not operate as a separate product. Instead, it will become part of the existing Barça Mobile app. The initiative is part of Barça Mobile’s broader plan to develop a global connectivity platform. The company says the service is aimed at FC Barcelona fans, travelers, and mobile subscribers looking for access to telecom and digital services through a single interface.

Image: Magnific

Chiba Institute of Technology has joined Theta Network’s global academic network through a partnership with Theta EdgeCloud. The collaboration will give the university’s Takagi Laboratory and its Web3 club (which has more than 250 student members) access to decentralized computing resources for AI research, simulations, and student projects.

Theta Network is a decentralized computing network. Its EdgeCloud platform provides access to distributed GPU capacity through more than 30,000 edge nodes, offering an alternative to traditional cloud infrastructure.

The partnership includes Professor Toru Takagi and his laboratory, which researches systems using mathematical models that can be processed and simulated by computers. The lab also works on game theory, AI-based automated proving, and the modeling of cellular activity.

Image: Magnific

The cryptocurrency market has seen a surge in on-chain activity from large investors. Recent data indicates strong accumulation and selling activity in Hyperliquid’s native token, $HYPE, while also showing millions of dollars in transfers in Chainlink ($LINK)-connected wallets.

According to on-chain data, a crypto whale bought another 40,000 $HYPE from Coinbase today, worth approximately $2.3 million.

It was stated that the wallet in question increased its total $HYPE holdings to 260,000 tokens through purchases made from Coinbase, Bybit, and other sources over the past two months. At current prices, the whale’s $HYPE position is worth approximately $15.1 million.

Another Hype Whale Goes on Sale

Another major investor reportedly invested 60,000 $HYPE in Hyperliquid and has begun selling.

The whale has so far earned approximately $1.77 million in exchange for 31,560 $HYPE. Additionally, it’s noted that two TWAP orders for selling $HYPE are still active in the wallet.

It was reported that one of the active orders is worth approximately 40,000 $HYPE, or $2.1 million, and has about 15 hours left to be completed.

The same wallet also sent approximately 1.67 million USDC to Coinbase.

On the Chainlink side, a different whale movement was observed. A large investor transferred approximately 213,810 $LINK, worth $1.87 million, to their Gnosis Safe wallet.

The whale withdrew the aforementioned amount of $LINK from Binance approximately two weeks ago. The transfer of the tokens from the centralized exchange to a self-custody platform like Gnosis Safe could be interpreted as an indication that the assets are not being held for short-term sale on the exchange. However, wallet transfers alone do not provide a definitive signal regarding an investor’s future transactions.

*This is not investment advice.

Pools.fun, the token issuance platform developed jointly by decentralized exchange SushiSwap and automated trading agent Bankr, is preparing to launch its own protocol token. Bankr founder 0xDeployer revealed the plans on X, outlining a structure that includes token buybacks, burns, an airdrop, and a points program.

Tokenomics and Fee Allocation

According to 0xDeployer, 30% of protocol fees generated by Pools.fun will be allocated to token buybacks and burns. This mechanism is designed to reduce circulating supply over time, potentially benefiting long-term holders. The founder also confirmed that fees intended for buybacks are already being accumulated ahead of the token’s official launch.

The announcement detailed a points program that rewards user activity. Trading volume on the platform and the trading volume of tokens issued by users will both factor into the points system. While the exact conversion rate between points and token allocations has not been disclosed, the program is expected to play a role in the upcoming airdrop.

Context and Platform Background

Pools.fun emerged from a collaboration between SushiSwap, one of the oldest decentralized exchanges in the DeFi space, and Bankr, an automated trading agent focused on on-chain strategies. The platform aims to simplify token issuance, allowing users to create and trade tokens with built-in liquidity mechanisms. Its positioning draws comparisons to other issuance platforms like pump.fun, but with a distinct emphasis on automated trading integration.

The decision to launch a protocol token follows a broader trend in DeFi where platforms introduce native tokens to incentivize usage and align stakeholder interests. However, such launches also carry risks, including regulatory scrutiny and market volatility.

Implications for Users and the DeFi Ecosystem

For active users of Pools.fun, the points program and airdrop could provide tangible rewards for early participation. The buyback-and-burn mechanism may also create a deflationary pressure on the token’s supply, which some investors view positively. Yet, the success of such initiatives depends on sustained platform activity and market conditions.

Industry observers note that token launches of this nature often generate short-term speculation. Long-term value will hinge on the platform’s ability to attract and retain users beyond initial incentives. The integration with Bankr’s automated trading tools could offer a unique utility, potentially distinguishing Pools.fun from competitors.

Conclusion

Pools.fun’s protocol token launch represents a significant step for the SushiSwap-Bankr collaboration. With a clear fee allocation strategy and user-centric incentives, the platform is positioning itself to reward early adopters. However, as with any emerging DeFi project, potential participants should conduct thorough research and remain mindful of market risks.

GSR shifted its Core3 model toward Solana on Aug. 12, raising $SOL to 43.6% of the portfolio and making it the model’s largest allocation.

Ether fell to 39.5%, while Bitcoin dropped to 16.9%, the smallest weight among the three assets.The firm said the change reflected a move in its relative alpha signals toward Solana as $SOL showed stronger near term price momentum. GSR’s written commentary lists the Solana weight at 43.7%, while the accompanying allocation table shows 43.6%. This article uses the table figure.

Solana allocation jumps 7.1 points in one week

The latest allocation marks a sharp reversal from the prior week. On Aug. 5, GSR assigned 36.5% to Solana, 44.1% to Ether and 19.3% to Bitcoin. Solana therefore gained 7.1 percentage points in the model within seven days, while Ether lost 4.6 points and Bitcoin lost 2.4 points.

As crypto.news previously reported, the prior weekly allocation tilted toward Bitcoin as trading activity weakened and volatility eased. The Aug. 12 update reversed part of that move. GSR said its latest positioning reflected proprietary relative signals rather than a simple ranking of recent returns.

The distinction matters because Core3 is not presented as a live investment recommendation. GSR says the weekly publication is a model framework intended for professional investors and does not constitute advice or a recommendation to allocate to the three assets.

Solana leads weekly returns while Ether leads the month

Solana delivered the strongest seven day return in GSR’s latest table, gaining 2.98%. Bitcoin declined 1.02% over the same period, while Ether slipped 0.20%. Over 30 days, however, Ether remained ahead with a 7.88% gain, compared with 3.19% for Bitcoin and 2.44% for Solana.

The Core3 model itself returned 0.85% over one week and 5.30% over one month, ahead of the equal weight basket at 0.59% and 4.68%, respectively. Longer periods remain weaker. Core3 was down 35.58% year to date and 70.28% over one year, compared with losses of 32.22% and 63.44% for the equal weight basket.

Volatility also remained relatively subdued. GSR put 30 day volatility at 26.82% for Bitcoin, 39.75% for Ether and 35.26% for Solana. The firm said Solana trading volume had softened over both seven and 30 day periods, meaning its larger model weight did not coincide with stronger volume across those windows.

U.S. Solana access expands as GSR favors $SOL

The model shift comes as U.S. investors gain more exchange traded routes to Solana exposure. Morgan Stanley Investment Management announced on July 28 that it had launched the Morgan Stanley Solana Trust, MSOL, on NYSE Arca alongside an Ether product. The release said MSOL carries a 0.14% expense ratio and seeks to track $SOL while staking a portion of its holdings.

Morgan Stanley expanded its crypto ETP lineup after launching a Bitcoin product earlier in 2026. An SEC prospectus says the Solana trust may stake up to 100% of its $SOL under normal market circumstances, subject to liquidity needs and legal or regulatory considerations. The filing also details risks tied to staking, custody and concentration in one digital asset.

Competition among U.S. products has also increased. A 21Shares filing dated July 27 said the issuer would waive TSOL’s 0.21% sponsor fee for one year beginning July 28. The company said the product can capture staking rewards, while warning that rewards can fluctuate and staking creates operational and liquidity risks.

Those product developments do not prove that U.S. investors share GSR’s preference for Solana. They do show that regulated U.S. exchange traded access to $SOL has broadened and become more competitive while the Core3 model has shifted exposure away from Bitcoin and Ether.

What traders will watch next

GSR publishes the Core3 model weekly, making the next allocation an immediate test of whether the Solana overweight persists or reverses. Recent updates show how quickly the weights can move. Bitcoin rose from 9.2% on July 15 to 19.3% on Aug. 5 before falling back to 16.9% in the Aug. 12 model.

Volume, relative momentum and volatility will therefore remain useful measures to watch alongside the next model update. GSR has already cautioned that its opinions and estimates can change without notice as market conditions change.

The firm also warns against treating Core3 results as returns available from a live strategy. Its published figures are hypothetical, gross of transaction and management fees and exclude staking rewards. GSR further states that it may trade the assets for its own account and may hold positions that differ from the views expressed in its commentary.

“If these processes can become faster and more efficient, U.K. businesses could unlock working capital sooner and make it easier to finance international trade,” Jacobsson said in an interview over LinkedIn.

The BOE named NOBO Finance, Dun & Bradstreet, a global provider of business decisioning data, analytics, and credit-rating services, and Polygon Labs, a software and blockchain company, as participants in its Digital Pound Lab.

The project will be the first time the Digital Pound Lab tests how public stablecoins and central-bank money work in a single payment flow alongside a portable credit identity for small businesses. The lab uses no real customers or money and does not signal any decision to issue a digital pound.

NOBO, a U.K.-based fintech building digital trade finance infrastructure that helps small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) become visible, verifiable, and bankable, was already involved in Phase 1. During the first phase, NOBO helped demonstrate conditional business-to-business escrow payments relevant to trade finance workflows.

A first workstream will build an SME “bankable profile.” NOBO, Dun & Bradstreet and Polygon plan to combine wallet transaction data, open-finance information and business intelligence to create a reusable credit assessment. Polygon will provide smart contracts intended to record the verified outcome and manage consent.

Alameda Research, the cryptocurrency arm of the bankrupt FTX, has moved a significant amount of Solana ($SOL) holdings again after nearly five years. According to information reported by the on-chain data platform Onchain Lens, Alameda unlocked 201,740 $SOL, removing it from its staking position, and then transferred a total of 201,780 $SOL to a BitGo-owned custodial wallet.

The transfer has reinforced expectations that Alameda is preparing to divest its long-dormant $SOL holdings. On-chain data suggests the transaction may have been conducted for over-the-counter (OTC) sale via BitGo, rather than a direct sale of the tokens on exchanges.

OTC transactions stand out as a preferred method, especially for selling large amounts of crypto assets. Since conducting large-scale transactions directly in open markets can create sudden selling pressure on prices, institutional investors and large portfolio owners often utilize OTC markets.

Alameda’s release of $SOL assets that had been staked for approximately five years also increases the significance of the transfer. Releasing assets locked in staking transactions allows their owners to reuse or sell them.

While it’s stated that the transfer doesn’t necessarily mean a sale, the movement to BitGo’s custodial wallet is being closely watched in the crypto market. The liquidation of assets in the Alameda and FTX bankruptcy proceedings continues to be a significant topic in the crypto market in recent years.

Large $SOL transfers, in particular, can be interpreted by market participants as an indicator of potential selling pressure. Whether Alameda will actually sell these assets via OTC is yet to be confirmed.

*This is not investment advice.

Not Swaps, and Not Preempted Even If They Were

U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver’s ruling rests on a threshold point rather than preemption: for the CFTC’s exclusive jurisdiction to attach, a contract must be a swap traded on a designated contract market. Oliver held it is the judiciary’s role, not the agency’s, to decide what counts as a swap, rejecting Kalshi’s argument that any such challenge must be brought against the CFTC itself.

On the statute, Oliver read “the occurrence, nonoccurrence, or the extent of the occurrence of an event” to concern whether an event happens and to what degree, not its outcomes. He adopted the reasoning of the District of Nevada in a case brought by a Crypto.com-owned exchange – which found that dictionaries treat “event” as meaning “outcome” only in an archaic sense. A boxing match can occur, not occur, or run three rounds; who wins is an outcome of the event, not a separate event. Oliver expressly declined to decide whether contracts on whether a game reaches overtime or a series reaches a seventh game would fare differently, since neither was in the record.

His second ground was the requirement that the event be associated with a potential financial, economic, or commercial consequence. That connection must be embedded in the event itself, Oliver held, not created by endorsement contracts, bonus provisions, side wagers, or other downstream arrangements made by independent actors. A sporting event has consequences built in through ticket sales, broadcast rights, and advertising; who wins it does not. He also noted Kalshi’s own concession in earlier litigation before the D.C. Circuit that contracts on games are unlikely to serve any commercial or hedging interest.

Between 80% and 90% of the contracts listed on Kalshi’s exchange were sports-event contracts, responsible for a similar portion of company revenue. The CFTC has not subjected a single one to review under the special rule, let alone prohibited any. Kalshi was valued at roughly $11 billion at February’s hearing and has about 24,000 Connecticut users.

Oliver reached preemption anyway and rejected it on both theories. The special rule at § 7a-2(c)(5)(C), which lets the CFTC bar contracts involving gaming or activity unlawful under state law, reflects an intent to preserve state authority rather than displace it. Federal impartial-access rules bar discriminatory access criteria; they do not require a DCM to offer contracts nationwide. And he was unwilling to read Dodd-Frank as handing exclusive authority over sports betting to a financial regulator with no history in the field, noting that Congress has never appropriated funds to the CFTC for that purpose.

Kalshi also lost on irreparable harm. Its asserted injuries were largely monetary, and to a significant extent self-inflicted, given that it kept listing the contracts through repeated regulatory warnings and adverse rulings. Because Kalshi is already building geofencing for other states, Oliver found Connecticut compliance unlikely to add much cost. He noted Kalshi has issued no warnings to users while advertising itself as the first app for legal sports betting in all 50 states.

The crypto exposure runs through a separate five-page order. Coinbase Financial Markets began offering Kalshi’s contracts through its platform in January 2026 as a futures commission merchant rather than a DCM, and Connecticut never directed any enforcement at it. Oliver denied the motion “largely in line with” the Kalshi order and attached that opinion as an exhibit. Connecticut’s December sweep had also named Robinhood Derivatives and Crypto.com: DCP announced all three orders on Dec. 3, with Gaming Director Kris Gilman saying a prediction market wager is not an investment, and Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli saying the platforms would violate other state laws even if licensed, including by taking wagers from people under 21.

Oliver’s order counted 14 suits Kalshi has filed against states, with federal courts split and every state court to rule so far ruling against it. He cited KalshiEX LLC v. Cox, decided in Utah on Aug. 4, and went further than Minnesota’s judge, who blocked that state’s ban while treating a World Cup winner contract as likely a swap. Massachusetts, Nevada, and Michigan state courts have all ordered geofencing; Kalshi pledged to implement it in Nevada by Aug. 12 and faces the same date in Michigan.

A Kalshi spokesperson told Sports Betting Dime (a Sportradar subsidiary) the company respectfully disagrees with the decision and is considering all legal options. Oliver ordered the parties to file their Rule 26(f) report by Aug. 24, with Connecticut’s response to the complaint due Aug. 31.