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Circle Stock Jumps 12%, Adds $2.2 Billion as U.S. Crypto Policy Optimism Returns

Albert Brown
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Circle Stock Jumps 12%, Adds $2.2 Billion as U.S. Crypto Policy Optimism Returns

Circle Internet Group stock surged more than 12% Wednesday as investors returned to crypto-linked equities amid renewed regulatory activity in Washington and a broader rebound across cryptocurrency markets.

CRCL traded at approximately $80.59 as of 12:18 p.m. ET, gaining $8.86 from Tuesday’s closing price. Using Circle’s approximately 253.9 million total shares outstanding, the advance added an estimated $2.25 billion to the company’s market value.

Circle’s implied capitalization increased from roughly $18.2 billion to approximately $20.5 billion. The calculation is based on an intraday price and will change as the stock moves.

Circle’s tokenized stock also followed the rally. CRCLB traded near $80.10, gaining 10.31% over 24 hours, with approximately $27 million in trading volume. The token remained around 0.6% below the underlying CRCL share price at the time of comparison.

Why Is Circle Stock Pumping?

The rally appears to reflect a combination of improving cryptocurrency prices and renewed optimism about US digital-asset regulation.

Senator Cynthia Lummis reportedly said she expects the Senate to vote on the CLARITY Act on September 15. The legislation would establish a broader federal market structure for digital assets and clarify how regulatory authority is divided between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

However, passage is not guaranteed. The legislation has already faced delays and unresolved negotiations, while Reuters described the broader congressional effort as stalled.

The SEC also proposed rules Tuesday that would exempt certain token offerings from existing securities requirements, potentially making it easier for cryptocurrency companies to issue tokens and raise capital.

President Donald Trump was also scheduled to address cryptocurrency and technology executives at the White House on Wednesday. SEC Chair Paul Atkins, CFTC Chair Mike Selig, crypto adviser Patrick Witt and representatives from major industry companies were expected to attend.

These developments placed digital-asset regulation back at the center of the market’s attention.

Broader Crypto Rally Also Supports CRCL

Circle’s advance should not be attributed exclusively to Washington.

Coinbase shares gained approximately 12.6%, while Strategy and Robinhood also rose sharply. Bitcoin traded near $66,470 during the session, representing an increase of approximately 2.8%.

The simultaneous gains across Bitcoin and crypto-linked equities indicate that investors were broadly increasing exposure to the sector.

Circle remains particularly sensitive to regulatory developments because its main business revolves around USDC, a dollar-backed stablecoin. Clearer federal rules could encourage banks, payment companies and other institutions to expand their use of stablecoins and blockchain-based settlement systems.

However, the CLARITY Act addresses the wider digital-asset market rather than functioning solely as stablecoin legislation. Its direct financial effect on Circle will depend on the final text and whether it receives enough support to pass the Senate.

Arc Mainnet Adds Company-Specific Momentum

Investors are also looking toward the September 16 public launch of Arc, Circle’s blockchain network for payments and institutional financial applications.

Circle recently named BlackRock, DTCC, Galaxy, Global Payments, ICE, Mastercard, MoneyGram, SBI Group, Standard Chartered, Sumitomo Corporation and Visa as Arc’s founding validators.

More than 100 institutional and ecosystem participants are already working on Arc’s private mainnet, according to Circle.

BlackRock expects to deploy its BUIDL institutional liquidity fund on Arc. Circle is also working with DTCC to support the tokenization of DTC-custodied assets on the network beginning in the second half of 2027.

Arc could eventually help Circle expand beyond its reliance on interest earned from USDC reserves by supporting payment services, asset tokenization and other potentially fee-generating products.

Nevertheless, Circle has not yet quantified how much revenue Arc could generate. The network remains a future commercial opportunity rather than a proven source of earnings.

Circle also did not announce a new partnership, acquisition or financial update Wednesday. The stock’s surge therefore appears to reflect regulatory optimism, the broader crypto rally and investor positioning ahead of Arc’s launch rather than one new company-specific announcement.

What CRCLB Traders Should Know

CRCLB provides tokenized economic exposure to Circle shares but is not identical to holding CRCL through a conventional brokerage account.

According to the product description, each CRCLB token is backed by corresponding underlying equity held through a US-regulated broker-dealer. Eligible users may also have conversion rights, subject to platform rules and applicable laws.

Because CRCLB trades outside regular US stock-market hours, its rolling 24-hour percentage change will not always match CRCL’s regular-session performance. Liquidity, spreads and different measurement periods can also produce temporary premiums or discounts.

The token’s approximately $74.5 million market capitalization represents the value of circulating CRCLB tokens—not Circle Internet Group’s corporate market value.

Outlook for CRCL and CRCLB

The near-term setup for Circle remains constructive, supported by rising cryptocurrency prices, renewed regulatory momentum and the approaching Arc launch.

However, Wednesday’s advance is largely event-driven. The rally could reverse if the CLARITY Act is delayed again, regulatory proposals become less favorable or investors take profits following the double-digit move.

For both CRCL and CRCLB, the next important tests will be whether Washington converts its proposals into enforceable rules and whether Arc’s institutional participation develops into measurable USDC adoption and additional revenue.

XRP Exchange Reserves Decline as Upbit Holds 6.4 Billion XRP Near Early-Summer Highs

Abdulkarim Abdulwahab
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XRP Exchange Reserves Decline as Upbit Holds 6.4 Billion XRP Near Early-Summer Highs

XRP reserves across three top crypto exchanges have declined by roughly 240 million XRP since late May and early June, according to CryptoQuant author Amr Taha.

Despite the decline, South Korean exchanges continue to account for the overwhelming majority of XRP held across the tracked platforms. Upbit is maintaining a dominant position.

Binance XRP Reserves Fall 3.7%

As of August 19, Upbit held approximately 6.40 billion XRP, down from 6.51 billion XRP on May 30. That represents a decline of roughly 110 million XRP, or 1.7%.

Bithumb’s XRP reserves also edged lower, falling from 1.85 billion XRP on June 2 to approximately 1.82 billion XRP. The decline amounts to around 30 million XRP, or 1.6%.

Meanwhile, Binance recorded the largest percentage decline among the three exchanges. Its XRP reserves fell from 2.72 billion XRP on June 2 to 2.62 billion XRP on August 19, a reduction of about 100 million XRP, or 3.7%.

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Upbit and Bithumb Hold Nearly 76%

Combined XRP reserves across Upbit, Binance and Bithumb currently stand at approximately 10.84 billion XRP, down from about 11.08 billion XRP in late May and early June.

That represents a decline of roughly 240 million XRP, or 2.2%.

Upbit remains by far the largest XRP holder among the three exchanges, with 6.40 billion XRP in reserves. Together, Upbit and Bithumb hold approximately 8.22 billion XRP, accounting for nearly 76% of the XRP reserves tracked across the three platforms.

What the Decline Means for XRP

The gradual reduction in exchange-held XRP reserves points to a shift in how much XRP sits on centralized trading platforms.

While the decline alone does not show whether investors are accumulating XRP or simply moving funds between venues and wallets, lower exchange balances reduce the immediately available supply on trading platforms.

The concentration of XRP reserves on South Korean exchanges is also notable, with Upbit and Bithumb continuing to represent the largest share of tracked exchange-held supply.

XRP Whales Are Back

Meanwhile, XRP whale activity has surged as the token trades about 73% below its July 2025 all-time high. According to Santiment data, XRP transactions worth more than $1 million jumped 280% this week, rising from 9.9 to more than 38 transactions.

XRP is currently around $1, down 9.22% over the past month. The coin is down roughly 47% year-to-date, suggesting its steep decline from the $3.66 peak may be attracting large investors.

The combination of rising whale transactions and stronger network activity, despite weak price performance, could signal that large investors are accumulating XRP at lower prices.

Broadcom Loses $87 Billion as Google Gives Marvell Bigger AI Chip Role

Albert Brown
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Broadcom Loses $87 Billion as Google Gives Marvell Bigger AI Chip Role

Broadcom shares fell nearly 5% on Wednesday after Google expanded its custom-silicon partnership with Marvell Technology, raising concerns that Broadcom could face greater competition for the technology giant’s future artificial intelligence chip spending.

AVGO traded at approximately $361.45 as of 9:53 a.m. ET, down 4.84% from Tuesday’s $379.83 close. Based on Broadcom’s approximately 4.76 billion outstanding shares, the decline erased an estimated $87.5 billion from its market capitalization.

Broadcom’s implied market value fell from roughly $1.81 trillion to approximately $1.72 trillion. These estimates will change as the stock moves during the session.

Meanwhile, Marvell shares climbed approximately 8% after gaining more than 11% in premarket trading.

Why Is Broadcom Stock Down Today?

The market is reacting to Google’s decision to give Marvell a substantially larger role across its custom AI infrastructure.

According to Marvell’s regulatory filing, the expanded partnership covers multiple semiconductor programs connected to Google’s Tensor Processing Unit ecosystem, including:

  • AI inference accelerators
  • Storage controllers
  • Network interface controllers
  • Memory interface controllers
  • Near-memory computing technology

This is broader than an isolated chip-design contract. It positions Marvell across several components responsible for processing, storing and transferring data inside Google’s AI infrastructure.

Google appears to be building a multi-supplier custom-chip ecosystem rather than depending primarily on one semiconductor partner. That could reduce Broadcom’s share of future orders and give Google greater leverage when negotiating prices and contract terms.

The broader US market was trading higher Wednesday, making Broadcom’s decline appear primarily company-specific rather than part of another widespread technology selloff.

Google’s Warrant Is Tied to $120 Billion in Purchases

Marvell issued Google a warrant to purchase as many as 58,970,907 shares at an exercise price of $206.58 each.

Exercising the entire warrant for cash would cost Google approximately $12.18 billion. However, that figure should not be described as the guaranteed value of Google’s potential stake. The shares’ actual market value would depend on Marvell’s stock price when the warrant is exercised.

Google also does not immediately receive the right to purchase all 58.97 million shares.

Approximately 1.36 million shares are subject to time based vesting during the first year. Most of the remaining warrant shares vest only when Google meets specified purchasing thresholds through Marvell’s fiscal 2033.

The performance-based portion is divided into 240 tranches, with each tranche linked to $500 million in qualifying custom product revenue. Consequently, fully vesting every performance tranche could require as much as $120 billion in cumulative purchases from Marvell.

That purchasing framework is more significant than the headline warrant value. It gives Marvell a potential path to capture a meaningful portion of Google’s long-term AI hardware budget rather than simply participating in a limited development project.

Reuters reported that a fully exercised warrant could make Google one of Marvell’s five largest shareholders.

Google Has Not Abandoned Broadcom

Wednesday’s decline does not mean Broadcom has lost Google as a customer.

Broadcom signed a separate long-term agreement in April to develop and supply future generations of Google’s custom AI processors and other components for next-generation AI racks through 2031. That agreement remains in place.

The immediate risk is therefore not the cancellation of Broadcom’s existing business. It is the possibility that Marvell captures a larger portion of Google’s future spending and weakens Broadcom’s pricing power.

Broadcom also has major custom silicon relationships outside Google.

Its expanded partnership with Meta covers several generations of Meta Training and Inference Accelerator chips through 2029, beginning with more than one gigawatt of computing capacity.

Broadcom is also working with OpenAI to develop and deploy 10 gigawatts of OpenAI-designed AI accelerators. Deployment is expected to begin during the second half of 2026 and continue through 2029.

These agreements reduce Broadcom’s dependence on any single customer, although Google remains strategically important to its custom-chip business.

Broadcom Stock Is Down Over the Past 90 Days

Wednesday’s decline extends Broadcom’s net loss over the past 90 calendar days.

AVGO closed at $414.57 on May 21. Compared with Wednesday’s early price of $361.45, the stock has declined approximately 12.8% over that period.

The performance has not been a continuous decline. Broadcom reached a record intraday high of $495 on June 3 before falling sharply following its quarterly results. The stock later recovered above $427 in early August before turning lower again.

AVGO is now approximately 27% below its June record. Historical prices therefore confirm a negative 90-day return, but the stock’s path has included several substantial rebounds rather than a consistent straight-line downtrend.

Broadcom Tokenized Stock Follows AVGO Lower

Broadcom Tokenized bStock, trading under AVGOB, followed the Nasdaq-listed shares lower.

At the time of reporting, CoinMarketCap showed AVGOB near $370.86, down approximately 3.66% over 24 hours. Reported trading volume reached about $1.54 million.

AVGOB provides tokenized economic exposure to Broadcom but is not identical to holding AVGO through a conventional brokerage account. Its price can temporarily differ from the underlying shares because of extended trading hours, liquidity, spreads and price-feed timing.

The token’s approximately $1.9 million market capitalization represents only the value of circulating AVGOB tokens. It should not be confused with Broadcom’s corporate market value of approximately $1.72 trillion.

What This Means for Broadcom Stock

Broadcom’s selloff reflects a reassessment of its competitive advantage in custom AI chips—not evidence that Google has terminated their existing relationship.

Marvell’s expanded role shows that Google wants additional suppliers, broader technical capabilities and potentially greater negotiating leverage as its AI infrastructure spending accelerates. That creates a genuine long-term competitive risk for Broadcom.

However, Broadcom remains connected to Google through 2031 and maintains substantial AI agreements with OpenAI, Meta and other customers.

The central question is not whether Broadcom will remain part of the AI infrastructure boom. It is how much of the expanding custom chip market the company can retain as Marvell becomes a stronger competitor.

Nebius Loses $4.3 Billion in Market Value as Convertible Offering Fuels Dilution Fears

Albert Brown
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Nebius Loses $4.3 Billion in Market Value as Convertible Offering Fuels Dilution Fears

Nebius Group shares fell sharply Wednesday after the AI infrastructure company proposed another multibillion dollar convertible note offering, raising concerns about future dilution, additional debt and hedge related selling.

NBIS dropped 6.35% to approximately $232.66 shortly after the Nasdaq opened, down from Tuesday’s $248.43 close. Using Nebius’s total reported Class A and Class B shares outstanding, the decline erased an estimated $4.29 billion from the company’s market value.

The company plans to offer $4.5 billion of convertible senior notes, subject to market and other conditions. The proposed sale includes $2.75 billion of notes due in 2030 and $1.75 billion due in 2034.

Initial purchasers would also receive options to acquire another $675 million of notes, potentially increasing the total principal amount to $5.175 billion. Nebius intends to use the proceeds to expand its data centers, computing capacity and broader AI infrastructure platform, according to Reuters.

Why Is Nebius Stock Down Today?

The immediate concern is not confirmed dilution but the possibility of dilution in the future.

Convertible notes begin as debt and may later be converted into shares if specified conditions are met. The eventual effect on shareholders will depend on the conversion price, conversion premium, settlement method and other terms established when the offering is priced.

The financing can also create immediate technical pressure. Convertible-bond investors frequently short the underlying stock to hedge their exposure while purchasing the notes a strategy known as convertible arbitrage. That activity can increase selling while an offering is marketed.

The notes would also add interest and repayment obligations if they are not converted. Final coupons and conversion prices had not been announced at the time of writing.

March Financing Makes Investors More Sensitive

The proposed offering comes only five months after Nebius completed another major convertible note sale.

In March, the company raised approximately $4.34 billion through 1.25% notes due in 2031 and 2.625% notes due in 2033.

Those notes carried initial conversion prices of approximately $183.22 and $180.31 per share, respectively both below Wednesday’s early trading price. That does not mean conversion is immediate or guaranteed because conversion rights remain subject to contractual conditions. However, it makes the potential share-count impact of Nebius’s previous financing more relevant to investors.

Nebius said the March proceeds would fund data-center construction, GPU purchases and expansion of its full-stack AI cloud.

Nebius Loses Approximately $4.3 Billion in Market Value

Nebius closed Tuesday at $248.43 and traded near $232.66 at approximately 9:32 a.m. ET Wednesday.

The company reported 238,400,165 Class A shares and 33,455,053 Class B shares outstanding as of June 30, for a combined total of 271,855,218 shares.

Using that total:

($248.43 − $232.66) × 271,855,218 = approximately $4.29 billion

That calculation reduces Nebius’s implied equity value from roughly $67.54 billion to $63.25 billion.

At Wednesday’s early intraday low of $229.70, the estimated market-value decline temporarily reached approximately $5.09 billion. These figures are estimates and will fluctuate with the share price.

The Decline Is Not a New Earnings Warning

Nebius did not announce an earnings deterioration or guidance reduction alongside the proposed financing.

The company recently reported second-quarter revenue of $582.3 million, representing 454% year-over-year growth. Adjusted EBITDA improved to a positive $236.2 million, compared with a $21 million loss one year earlier.

However, that growth requires substantial investment. Nebius reported approximately $5.66 billion in purchases of property, equipment and intangible assets during the quarter.

The new financing could accelerate the company’s capacity expansion, but it also highlights how much outside capital is required to compete in AI cloud infrastructure.

Nebius Tokenized Stock Also Falls

Nebius’s tokenized bStock, NBISB, followed the underlying shares lower.

At the time of review, CoinGecko showed NBISB near $238.39, down approximately 11.9% over 24 hours. Its circulating token market capitalization was approximately $8.8 million, with about $4.6 million in reported 24-hour trading volume.

The token’s market capitalization represents only the value of circulating NBISB tokens. It should not be confused with Nebius Group’s corporate equity value.

NBISB can also temporarily trade above or below Nasdaq-listed NBIS because cryptocurrency venues operate different order books and use rolling 24-hour performance calculations.

What Comes Next for NBIS?

The immediate pressure on Nebius stock is tied primarily to financing risk rather than evidence of weakening AI demand.

Investors will now focus on the notes’ final interest rates, conversion prices, conversion premiums and settlement provisions. A high conversion premium could reduce perceived dilution risk, while unfavorable pricing or additional capital raises could keep the shares volatile.

Nebius is raising money to support rapid expansion. Wednesday’s reaction shows that investors are increasingly scrutinizing not only how quickly the company can grow, but also how much that growth could cost existing shareholders.

Bloom Energy Stock Adds $2.4 Billion as Power Connect Promises 40% Faster Installations

Albert Brown
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Bloom Energy Stock Adds $2.4 Billion as Power Connect Promises 40% Faster Installations

Bloom Energy stock gained 3.8% in premarket trading Wednesday after the company introduced Power Connect, a factory-built system designed to accelerate the installation of onsite electricity infrastructure.

NYSE-listed BE rose to approximately $217.01 from Tuesday’s closing price of $209.01. Based on Bloom’s 294.53 million outstanding shares, the $8 increase added approximately $2.36 billion to its implied market value.

That lifted Bloom Energy’s estimated capitalization from $61.56 billion to approximately $63.92 billion, assuming the premarket gain holds after the opening bell. The increase represents a change in market valuation not cash received by the company.

Power Connect Targets the Installation Bottleneck

Power Connect does not introduce a new fuel-cell chemistry. Instead, it changes how Bloom prepares electrical infrastructure for deployment.

The system moves a substantial portion of electrical integration work from construction sites into a controlled factory environment. Equipment arrives pre-connected, pre-wired, tested and ready for installation.

Bloom says Power Connect can reduce onsite power-installation time by more than 40%, while lowering construction complexity, improving consistency and accelerating commissioning.

The company also argues that factory integration allows skilled electricians to concentrate on the parts of a project that still require onsite expertise. That could become increasingly valuable as shortages of qualified electrical workers constrain data-center and industrial construction. Bloom Energy announcement

The 40% figure is a company claim. Bloom did not publish project-level data, customer case studies or third-party testing that independently verifies the reduction.

Why Faster Installation Matters for AI Data Centers

Power availability has become one of the most important constraints facing AI infrastructure developers.

Building a data center is not enough. Operators must also secure generation capacity, construct electrical equipment and connect that infrastructure before servers can begin producing revenue.

Bloom’s solid-oxide fuel cells generate electricity onsite, potentially allowing customers to avoid lengthy waits for major grid upgrades. Power Connect is intended to shorten the next part of that process: installing and commissioning the equipment after a project has been approved.

Although Bloom markets its systems to data centers, manufacturers, utilities, hospitals and other customers, the timing is particularly relevant to AI companies racing to deploy new computing capacity.

Oracle Shows Why Deployment Speed Matters

Bloom has already demonstrated rapid execution through its relationship with Oracle.

The company delivered a fully operational fuel-cell system to Oracle in 55 days, completing the project 35 days ahead of its anticipated 90-day deployment schedule.

Oracle subsequently agreed to procure as much as 2.8 gigawatts of Bloom fuel-cell capacity under a master services agreement. The initial 1.2 GW has been contracted, with deployment underway across Oracle projects in the United States.

If Power Connect makes such deployments more standardized and repeatable, Bloom could potentially complete additional installations without proportionally increasing its field workforce.

That could improve project throughput and support faster revenue recognition. However, Bloom has not disclosed the system’s pricing, manufacturing cost or expected effect on gross margins.

Financial Growth Supports Bloom’s Expansion

Power Connect arrives as Bloom is already recording rapid financial growth.

Second-quarter revenue reached a record $1.07 billion, rising 166% from the previous year. Operating income increased to $182.2 million from a $3.5 million loss, while non-GAAP diluted earnings climbed to $0.78 per share.

Bloom also raised its full-year 2026 revenue forecast to between $3.9 billion and $4.2 billion (Bloom Energy’s second-quarter results).

These results demonstrate that demand is already translating into revenue. Nevertheless, Bloom’s valuation above $60 billion assumes that the company can continue converting its AI power pipeline into profitable deployments.

BEon Has Not Followed BE Higher Yet

BEon, Ondo Finance’s tokenized version of Bloom Energy stock, had not matched the underlying equity’s premarket advance at the time of reporting.

CoinMarketCap showed BEon near $203.80, down approximately 10.7% over 24 hours. The token traded between $203.63 and $228.79 during the period, with reported volume of roughly $368,000.

That left BEon below both Bloom Energy’s $209.01 closing price and its $217.01 premarket quote.

The divergence does not necessarily represent a separate bearish judgment on Bloom. BEon’s percentage change uses a rolling 24-hour window, while premarket BE performance is measured from the previous NYSE close. Different liquidity, trading venues and data-update times can also produce temporary price gaps.

BEon gives eligible investors outside the United States economic exposure similar to holding BE, including the effect of reinvested dividends after applicable withholding taxes. It is not a conventional NYSE share held directly in a brokerage account.

Ondo generally supports minting and redemption 24 hours a day, five days a week, while the tokens remain transferable onchain subject to platform and jurisdictional restrictions.

Verdict for BE and BEon

Power Connect is strategically positive because it targets the installation work that can delay power projects even after generation equipment has been secured.

However, Wednesday’s announcement did not include a new customer contract, revenue commitment or independently verified deployment results. The commercial importance of Power Connect will depend on customer adoption and whether faster installations improve revenue timing, margins and workforce productivity.

For BEon holders, the immediate issue is whether the token closes its current gap with Bloom’s premarket valuation once traditional trading and token-market liquidity become more closely aligned.

XRP Ledger Total Transactions Hit 222M in Q2 2026, the Second-Largest in History

Mark Brennan
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XRP Ledger Total Transactions Hit 222M in Q2 2026, the Second-Largest in History

The XRP Ledger recorded over 222 million transactions in Q2 2026, marking the second-highest quarterly transaction total in its history.

This impressive record came as XRP remained under pressure from the downtrend that began in Q4 2025. Although activity slipped from the previous quarter, it stayed close to the record level set in Q1.

XRP Total Transactions Spike in Q2 2026

According to Blockwork’s latest “State of XRP” quarterly report, Q2’s transaction count stood at 222.4 million, representing only a 6.5% drop from Q1’s record 238.0 million. Further data confirmed that the network processed an average of 2.44 million transactions each day. 

However, failed transactions rose to 54.6 million, accounting for 24.5% of total transactions, compared with 19.0% in Q1. Meanwhile, average daily active addresses fell to about 16,800, down 10.7% QoQ and 24.5% YoY.

XRP Ledger Network Overview | Source: Blockworks
XRP Ledger Network Overview | Source: Blockworks

The decline in user activity was more noticeable among new addresses. XRPL recorded an average of about 2,380 new addresses per day, down 22% QoQ. Returning addresses averaged about 14,380 per day, a smaller 8.4% QoQ decline. This suggests that existing users remained more active than new users during the quarter.

The network also maintained a notable pattern in address activity. Notably, active receiver addresses exceeded active sender addresses for seven straight quarters through Q1.

Native DEX Trading Drops as Issued Assets Grow 

Trading on XRPL’s native decentralized exchange weakened during the quarter. Specifically, DEX volume dropped 35.9% QoQ to $482.9 million. Of that total, the central limit order book (CLOB) handled $419.1 million, while automated market maker (AMM) pools recorded $63.8 million.

CLOB trading continued to take a larger share of the market, reaching 86.8% for the quarter. This marked the fourth straight quarter in which its share increased. By comparison, the AMM share fell from 29.5% one year earlier to 13.2%.

However, the market value of issued currencies on XRPL increased during Q2. This metric rose 21.0% QoQ and 67.9% YoY, reaching $980.4 million at the end of the quarter. The figure covered approximately 1,100 tokens on the network.

RLUSD made up 69.0% of the issued-currency value at quarter-end, a sharp increase from 23.4% at the end of Q1. The growth in RLUSD supply helped make up for declines among smaller non-stablecoin assets. As a result, RLUSD took a much larger share of the issued-asset market during Q2.

NFT Market Recovers Amid Stablecoin Market Growth

Also, NFT activity on XRPL improved from its weak Q1 performance. Trading volume reached $3.69 million in Q2, more than twice the $1.56 million recorded in Q1. Average daily traders rose 7.4% to 529, while daily sales increased 9.4% to about 1,750.

However, the NFT market remained below its level from a year earlier. Q2 volume was 36% lower than the prior-year quarter and stood at roughly 1/130 of DEX volume. NFT mints rose to about 153,000 from 129,000 in Q1, but remained way below the 3.5 million recorded a year earlier.

Impressively, stablecoins recorded one of the biggest gains on XRPL during Q2. Native stablecoin supply climbed 195.4% QoQ to $825.5 million at the end of the quarter, up from $279.5 million in Q1. The figure also marked an increase of more than 1,100% from the $66.1 million recorded a year earlier.

XRP Ledger Stablecoin Supply | Source: Blockworks
XRP Ledger Stablecoin Supply | Source: Blockworks

RLUSD accounted for $676.9 million, or 82.0% of total stablecoin supply at the end of Q2. USDB followed with $119.8 million, representing 14.5% of the total. Meanwhile, Braza’s BBRL and Société Générale’s EURCV had shares of $12.5 million and $11.4 million.

XRP Price Remains Under Pressure

The growth in network activity came as XRP continued to struggle in the market. Notably, XRP began Q2 with a price of around $1.31, surged to a peak of $1.48 by May 14, but then corrected to close the quarter at around $1.04.

The Q2 closing price marked a 19.9% decline from Q1 and stood 53.5% below the $2.23 close recorded a year earlier. XRP’s market cap ended the quarter at $65.80 billion, down 18.9% QoQ and 49.5% YoY.

Market capitalization fell less than XRP’s price because growth in circulating supply from escrow releases partly offset the impact of the lower token price.

Moderna Stock Doubles, Adding $26.4 Billion After Cancer Vaccine Meets Both Phase 3 Goals

Albert Brown
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Moderna Stock Doubles, Adding $26.4 Billion After Cancer Vaccine Meets Both Phase 3 Goals

Moderna stock more than doubled at its premarket peak Wednesday after the company’s personalized mRNA cancer treatment, developed with Merck, succeeded in a pivotal Phase 3 melanoma trial.

MRNA rose by approximately 105% from Tuesday’s $62.96 closing price, reaching an estimated peak near $129.07. The stock later traded around $122.19, representing a gain of 94.08%.

Merck shares also advanced approximately 7.5% as investors assessed the commercial implications for Keytruda, the company’s blockbuster cancer treatment.

The rally pushed Moderna shares to their highest level in roughly two years and represented one of the company’s largest price moves since the COVID-19 pandemic. Premarket gains differed slightly across market-data providers because the stock remained highly volatile.

Moderna Temporarily Adds $26.4 Billion in Market Value

Moderna had approximately 399.24 million outstanding shares and a market capitalization of $25.14 billion before the trial announcement.

At the estimated $129.07 premarket peak, each share had gained approximately $66.11. Multiplying that increase by the outstanding share count indicates that Moderna temporarily added about $26.4 billion to its market value.

That placed its implied capitalization near $51.5 billion.

At the later price of $122.19, the increase was approximately $23.6 billion, giving Moderna an implied market value of roughly $48.8 billion.

These calculations represent changes in stock-market valuation—not cash received by Moderna. The totals can also change considerably as the stock moves during premarket and regular trading.

Cancer Treatment Meets Both Major Phase 3 Goals

The ongoing Phase 3 INTerpath-001 trial evaluated Moderna’s intismeran autogene, also known as V940 or mRNA-4157, in combination with Merck’s Keytruda.

The study included 1,137 patients whose high-risk stage IIB-IV melanoma had been surgically removed.

Intismeran is not a conventional preventive vaccine. It is an experimental individualized neoantigen treatment manufactured using mutations identified within each patient’s tumor. The therapy is intended to train the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells carrying those mutations.

Patients received either intismeran plus Keytruda or Keytruda alone. An interim analysis found that the combination produced statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in:

  • Recurrence-free survival, which measures how long patients remain alive without their cancer returning.
  • Distant metastasis-free survival, which measures how long patients avoid the cancer spreading to distant parts of the body.

The companies reported no new safety signals. They plan to present detailed results at a medical conference and discuss potential regulatory submissions with health authorities.

Overall-survival monitoring is continuing. Therefore, the announcement does not yet prove that the combination helps patients live longer than Keytruda alone.

Phase 3 Effect Sizes Have Not Been Disclosed

Moderna and Merck have not released the Phase 3 hazard ratios, complete numerical results or detailed safety data.

The frequently reported 49% reduction in the risk of recurrence or death and 59% reduction in distant metastasis or death came from the smaller Phase 2b study, not the new Phase 3 trial.

Those earlier figures should not be presented as Phase 3 results. The magnitude of the benefit observed in the larger study will remain unknown until the companies release the complete data.

Why Moderna Stock Reacted So Sharply

The result represents a major late-stage validation of an individualized mRNA cancer treatment and provides evidence that Moderna’s technology could produce commercially important products beyond respiratory vaccines.

The Financial Times described the result as the first success of its kind in a late-stage trial for an mRNA cancer therapy. However, regulatory approval has not yet been granted.

Barclays previously estimated that intismeran could generate approximately $3 billion in annual melanoma sales by 2035. The potential market could become larger if ongoing studies establish benefits in lung, bladder, kidney and other cancers.

Short covering may also have amplified the rally. Published data showed that approximately 52.4 million Moderna shares, representing about 14.8% of its public float, were sold short as of July 15.

A sudden doubling in the stock can force bearish traders to buy shares to close their positions. However, real-time short-position data are unavailable, so it is impossible to determine how much of Wednesday’s rally resulted from short covering.

MRNAon Surges With Moderna Stock

MRNAon, Ondo Finance’s tokenized version of Moderna stock, also surged following the Phase 3 announcement.

CoinMarketCap showed MRNAon trading near $118.80, up approximately 87.2% over 24 hours. The token reached a record high of $124.39, while reported trading volume climbed to approximately $230,000.

MRNAon had a circulating supply of only about 842 tokens and a token market capitalization near $100,000. That figure represents the value of circulating MRNAon tokens—not Moderna’s corporate market capitalization.

The token’s limited supply and liquidity mean its price can temporarily differ from Nasdaq-listed MRNA, particularly during periods of extreme volatility.

Verdict for MRNA and MRNAon

The Phase 3 success substantially reduces the scientific risk surrounding Moderna’s cancer platform and confirms that the promising Phase 2b results were not confined to a small study.

Nevertheless, several uncertainties remain. Moderna and Merck must disclose the size of the Phase 3 benefit, complete safety findings and eventually overall-survival data. Regulatory approval, commercial pricing and the challenge of manufacturing individualized treatments at scale also remain important.

The result is potentially transformative for Moderna. However, a stock gain exceeding 100% means investors have already priced in considerable confidence that intismeran will secure approval and become a multibillion-dollar cancer treatment.

Cardano Founder Says Another Bull Cycle Is Coming, Highlights Key Catalysts

Lele Jima
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0
Cardano Founder Says Another Bull Cycle Is Coming, Highlights Key Catalysts

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson believes the current crypto downturn is temporary and expects the market to enter another bull cycle eventually.

Speaking at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium (WBS), Hoskinson delivered a confident message about the future of cryptocurrencies. He assured investors that the bear market will eventually end and emphasized that another period of market expansion will follow.

However, Hoskinson believes a stronger value proposition must drive the next bull market. In his view, simply attracting speculative capital will not be enough to bring billions of new users into the crypto ecosystem.

Crypto Must Embrace a New Narrative 

According to him, the industry must embrace a new generation and narrative if it hopes to attract $10 trillion in capital and billions of people.

To achieve this goal, he emphasized usability. Rather than expecting mainstream users to understand complex blockchain infrastructure, developers should create products that make everyday activities simpler, safer, more private, and easier.

This approach represents a shift from viewing cryptocurrency primarily as a financial asset to treating blockchain technology as infrastructure capable of solving practical problems.

Cardano Faces Significant Market Pressure, But Hoskinson Remains Bullish on ADA’s Future

Hoskinson’s comments come as the crypto market continues to face severe weakness, with Cardano among the hardest-hit major assets. ADA has fallen 47.3% year-to-date to around $0.1753 and has slipped out of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

Meanwhile, the downturn has contributed to project shutdowns and governance disputes across the Cardano ecosystem. Cardano’s decentralized finance sector has also suffered a major decline in total value locked (TVL), which has plunged 85% from its peak of $437 million to $65 million. 

Nevertheless, Hoskinson remains optimistic about Cardano’s long-term prospects. He predicted that ADA will return to the top 10 cryptocurrencies by the end of the year and could potentially become a “rocket ship” next year. 

Catalysts Fueling Hoskinson’s Optimism for Cardano 

His optimism partly stems from ongoing efforts to strengthen Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem through Bitcoin DeFi and AlphaGrowth’s PRIME initiative. At the same time, the development team also plans to deploy upgrades such as Leios and Hydra to improve the network’s throughput and scalability.

Cardano is also preparing for the RealFi mainnet launch later this year. The initiative aims to connect blockchain-based capital with real-world credit and microfinance markets. If successful, RealFi could expand access to financial services by connecting underserved populations with new sources of capital while bringing more users into the Cardano ecosystem. 

XRP Records $4B+ in Stablecoin Transfer Volume as Holders Spike 36% to 82,000+

Sam Wisdom Raphael
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XRP Records $4B+ in Stablecoin Transfer Volume as Holders Spike 36% to 82,000+

The XRP ecosystem has recorded over $4 billion in stablecoin transfer volume amid a recent surge despite current price struggles.

XRP has continued to face market pressures, with the token down 45.47% this year. However, the weakness in price performance has not stopped activity across the XRP ecosystem from growing.

XRP Ecosystem Sees Rise in Stablecoin Volume and Holders

Data on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization shows that stablecoin activity on the XRP Ledger has picked up, with transfer volume and the number of stablecoin holders both recording strong gains.

According to RWA.xyz, a leading provider of real-world asset data, 30-day stablecoin transfer volume on the XRP Ledger has increased 10% to $4.32 billion. 

XRP Ledger Stablecoin Market Activity
XRP Ledger Stablecoin Market Activity

The rise indicates stronger stablecoin activity on the network and suggests that users continue to make greater use of the XRPL ecosystem despite XRP’s poor price performance.

In addition, over the past 30 days, the number of stablecoin holders on the XRP Ledger has jumped 36.7% to 82,110. The XRP Ledger Foundation recently highlighted the figure in a post on X, citing data from the RWA Foundation.

XRP Ledger Stablecoin Market Cap Drops

Despite the rise in transfer activity and holders, the total value of stablecoins on the XRP Ledger has declined slightly over the past month. The XRP Ledger stablecoin market cap fell 3.07% over the last 30 days to $954.79 million.

Still, the monthly decline looks less significant when compared with the network’s growth since January. The XRP Ledger began the year with a stablecoin market cap of $291.4 million. At $954.79 million, the current market cap represents a 227% increase this year.

Ripple’s RLUSD remains the dominant stablecoin on the XRP Ledger. It currently has an $898.8 million market cap, which gives it a 94% share of the network’s total stablecoin market cap.

RLUSD also represents 62.41% of the total distributed RWA market on the XRP Ledger. Its large share means that much of the network’s stablecoin growth currently centers on Ripple’s dollar-pegged asset. As a result, changes in RLUSD’s supply and activity can have a noticeable effect on the wider XRPL stablecoin market.

Broader RWA Market Sees Mixed Activity

Meanwhile, the wider RWA market on the XRP Ledger has produced a less consistent picture over the past 30 days. While the number of holders has continued to rise, the value of some RWA assets and their transfer activity has declined.

Specifically, distributed asset value, excluding stablecoins, dropped 1.90% over the last 30 days to $485.25 million. Also, represented asset value fell 0.30% to $4.05 billion. 

The biggest drop came from RWA transfer activity. Notably, RWA transfer volume plunged 96.25% over the past 30 days to $10.14 million.

Despite the drop in RWA transfer volume, the number of RWA holders has continued to grow in recent times. For context, RWA holders on the XRP Ledger increased 27% over the past 30 days to 221.

This suggests that more participants now hold RWA assets on the XRP Ledger, but they have not generated the same level of transfer activity seen previously. Essentially, market participation is growing, but trading or movement of these assets has slowed.

Analyst Turns Bullish on Cardano, Eyes 14% ADA Rally Toward $0.20

Lele Jima
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0
Analyst Turns Bullish on Cardano, Eyes 14% ADA Rally Toward $0.20

Popular crypto analyst Ali Martinez has turned bullish on Cardano after ADA reached his previously identified downside target of $0.17.

Martinez’s latest outlook marks a notable shift from his earlier bearish warning that ADA could face further losses. At the time, he highlighted declining whale holdings as one of the warning signs. Specifically, the number of wallets holding between 1 million and 10 million ADA fell from 2,370 to 2,340, suggesting reduced participation among large holders.

Additionally, Martinez highlighted a bearish development in Cardano’s MVRV ratio, which formed a death cross against its seven-day simple moving average (SMA). Meanwhile, he also warned that the TD Sequential had also flashed a sell signal on ADA’s daily chart. 

TD Sequential Flashes Buy Signal as ADA Targets $0.20

However, the technical picture changed after ADA reached the $0.17 target.

Martinez now says the daily TD Sequential has produced a buy signal, suggesting that the recent downturn could be nearing exhaustion. Notably, his earlier bearish outlook also relied partly on the same indicator. Therefore, the shift from a sell signal to a buy signal could indicate a potential change in ADA’s short-term trend.

With ADA reaching his $0.17 downside target, Martinez has set $0.20 as his next price target. Reaching that level would represent a 14.28% increase from the $0.1750 area. 

ImageIn Martinez’s view, a move toward $0.20 could indicate that buyers are beginning to regain control. So far, ADA has shown early signs of recovery following his latest forecast. The token climbed to around $0.1750, gaining 1.02% over the previous 24 hours.

Nonetheless, spot trading volume declined by 15.39% to $168.85 million, suggesting that the recovery has yet to attract stronger spot-market participation.

Cardano DeFi Activity Shows Signs of Recovery

Meanwhile, activity across Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem has provided some encouraging signals.

On-chain DEX volume has reached $90 million over the past 30 days, representing a 37.5% increase from the previous period, according to DeFiLlama data. Derivatives and perpetual trading activity has also strengthened, reaching approximately $131.5 million.

However, not every Cardano metric points to a recovery. Cardano’s total value locked (TVL) has continued to decline, falling to $65.1 million. This figure stands significantly below the network’s 13-month peak of $437.2 million recorded in August 2025. Specifically, Cardano’s TVL has dropped by approximately 85% from that previous high, according to data from DeFiLlama.

Therefore, while improving trading activity and the latest TD Sequential buy signal offer some optimism, the sharp decline in TVL remains a key challenge for ADA and its broader DeFi ecosystem. 

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