The Defiant

SKY JUNE FINANCIALS SHOW RECORD ANNUALIZED GROSS REVENUE @SkyEcosystem hits $419M revenue run-rate in June as sUSDS yield payouts exceed $250M. Grove launches GROVE token and Fixed Yield product reaches $44.1M TVL. Read more here: thedefiant.io/news/defi/sky-…

🦄 Uniswap's fee switch is coming for v4 @Uniswap Labs proposed activating protocol fees on select v4 pools, as UNI burn ramps up. Supporters say the mechanism scales well. One LP-side critic says it "risks killing the protocol." Snapshot vote is live: thedefiant.io/news/defi/unis…

South Korea fintech with 30M users to run $KRW stablecoin pilot on @Optimism Read more here: thedefiant.io/news/blockchai…

@jerallaire Our coverage here: thedefiant.io/news/cefi/circ…

Today is a historic day for Circle, and I think symbolic of a much bigger evolution in the architecture of the emerging internet financial system. Circle has received final approval from the OCC to operate as a national trust bank. We have been granted a charter for First National Digital Currency Bank, NA. Over 10 years ago, as we were forging the concepts of Circle, we believed a new kind of national bank would ultimately be needed to issue full-reserve dollar digital currency. This was before USDC even existed. The vision was clear: a new base layer of money on the internet would be necessary, and for it to reach widespread use, it needed to operate under national banking supervision. Years later, after launching USDC and achieving strong product-market fit, I wrote that we sought a charter for a full-reserve digital currency bank. Then, through a half-decade of work with policymakers and regulators, we saw the GENIUS Act codify into federal banking law a framework for these safe, efficient, and technologically superior digital dollars. Launching and operating as Circle National Trust, we will offer custodial services for digital assets, including stablecoins and other tokenized assets, held to the highest standards afforded under Federal national trust bank supervision. As the GENIUS Act approaches full implementation in early 2027, we are now poised not only to be supervised by the OCC, as required by law, but to bring critical components of USDC's operation and reserves into this structure. This is all part of building a new fundamental money layer for the internet. A layer that can scale from an AI agent paying another AI agent in fractions of a second for fractions of a cent, to retail transactions, to investments, trading and lending, to the largest wholesale transactions between global systemically important institutions. All of this needs a form of money and regulated infrastructure that can support the entirety of this new internet-native economic system. A new architecture for money on the internet has arrived. It is now being hardened into an edifice the world can trust and build on. We are thrilled to be the first of a new cohort of firms establishing this kind of banking infrastructure. Jeremy

BREAKING: CIRCLE WINS REGULATORY APPROVAL TO ESTABLISH A NATIONAL BANK TRUST @circle wins OCC charter for First National Digital Currency Bank, enabling direct federal custody of digital assets and USDC reserves. $CRCL shares are up +7% Read more here: thedefiant.io/news/cefi/circ…

JUST IN: @HSBC said it issued its first onchain structured product, with Marketnode as its tokenization agent. Read more here: thedefiant.io/converge/tradf…

After 6 years I’m leaving @Coinbase. I’ll be transitioning to an advisory role at the end of the month and continue my service on the Board of Coinbase National Trust Company. I will be a Coinbase ally for life and am grateful to @brian_armstrong, @emilemc and the Coinbase board for the opportunity of a lifetime. ⬇️

Hyperliquid, Phantom Ask CFTC to Exempt DeFi From Broker Rules @HyperliquidX and @phantom filed jointly with the @CFTC seeking to formalize exemptions for non-custodial wallet providers from broker rules, building on Phantom's March no-action relief. Read more here: thedefiant.io/news/regulatio…

Robinhood Chain, just over one week in: 🔹 More than 17M transactions 🔹 Nearly 350k total addresses 🔹 Nearly $250M Protocol TVL 🔹 $1B+ in DEX volume Thank you to every builder already shipping on the chain. We're just getting started. @RobinhoodApp @RobinhoodCrypto

ROBINHOOD CHAIN METRICS SURGE DAYS AFTER MAINNET LAUNCH @RobinhoodApp chain active addresses, txs, DEX vol, TVL are all soaring. Most are pointing to memes and @Pumpfun , but @Morpho and @ethena are doing some heavy lifting too. Read more here: thedefiant.io/news/blockchai…

"Two years ago, if someone that I knew asked me 'Hey, how do I use the thing you're building?' I would say, 'Don't bother, just stay away." "But now I can say, go to Kraken, and you have these amazing products." ft @sunandr_ on @DefiantNews

Aave @aave Labs launches Stable Vaults to convert variable lending rates into fixed yields for wallets, exchanges and payment apps to offer users. The product is "now available to businesses looking to offer stablecoin yield to their users," @StaniKulechov said. Read more here: thedefiant.io/news/defi/aave…

AscendEX has ceased operations effective July 1, 2026. The exchange is moving all withdrawal requests to manual review starting July 6, according to a notice to retail account holders. Read more here: thedefiant.io/news/cefi/asce…

S&P 2.0 on @HyperliquidX, live now 👇

Perps, HIP-3, and the fight for on-chain derivatives Discussing this and more with @tahathinks, founder of @tradeparagon, the team letting you long or short crypto with index perps built on @HyperliquidX. LIVE at 12pm ET 👇 x.com/i/broadcasts/1…

@Pumpfun We covered here: thedefiant.io/news/tokens/pu…

Robinhood tokens are now available to trade on the Pumpfun app! - No bridging - Trade seamlessly in SOL - Trade every trending Robinhood token Never miss out again, no matter the meta. Only on the Pumpfun app.

BREAKING: @Pumpfun now routes trades to Robinhood Chain without bridging, a day after @vladtenev touted the blockchain for meme coins. Robinhood chain's biggest hit so far is CASHCAT, a memecoin named after its old mascot, up ~900% this week. Are memecoins back?? Read more here: thedefiant.io/news/tokens/pu…