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E*TRADE launches Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana trading at 50 bps fee
Edgen Crypto·Jul 16 2026, 17:00Share to
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[1] Morgan Stanley's E*Trade launches Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana trading (https://cryptobriefing.com/morgan-stanleys-et ...)[2] E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley Completes Rollout of Crypto Spot Trading (https://www.aol.com/articles/e-trade-morgan-s ...)[3] Morgan Stanley’s E*TRADE launches spot crypto trading through Zero Hash (https://cointelegraph.com/news/morgan-stanley ...)[4] Bitcoin holds $65,000 as crypto sentiment improves, Ethereum outshines XRP, Dogecoin (https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/bitco ...)[5] Trump signs landmark crypto bill. Here’s what it could mean for Black Americans (https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/trump ...)
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Jul 16 2026, 19:08
Alpaca raises $135M to expand tokenized stock exchange rails
Crypto brokerage infrastructure firm Alpaca raised $135 million in equity funding led by Peak XV to expand the rails used by exchanges and tokenization platforms offering U.S. stocks onchain, with debt financing from Kraken parent Payward and BMO bringing the total package to $435 million. "The support from our investors reflects confidence in Alpaca's execution and the market opportunity ahead," Yoshi Yokokawa, co-founder and chief executive officer of Alpaca, said in a statement. "As tokenization reshapes access to global markets and AI accelerates the creation of new financial applications and market participants, demand is growing for regulated infrastructure built for this paradigm shift." The raise follows a $150 million Series D in January that valued the company at $1.15 billion. Peak XV led the equity round with participation from Elefund, BNP Paribas' Opera Tech Ventures and Unbound. Alpaca clears or custodies roughly 94% of tokenized U.S. equities, including products connected to Binance, Ondo and Dinari, and holds more than $1.5 billion of underlying stocks backing tokenized equities through its infrastructure, according to the company. The funding underscores a central constraint facing tokenized equities: putting a stock onchain does not remove the need for a regulated firm to hold the underlying shares, process corporate actions and connect blockchain transactions to traditional markets. Alpaca's Instant Tokenization Network allows market participants to mint and redeem tokenized stocks against underlying shares around the clock, pairing blockchain-based stock exposure with stablecoin funding or redemption. **Revenue growth and user expansion** Alpaca has doubled revenue year over year for three consecutive years, the company said. Monthly active API users increased nearly fourfold in the six months before the announcement, supported partly by growing interest in agentic AI applications. The platform now supports more than 10 million brokerage accounts across hundreds of financial technology companies and institutions in over 40 countries. The company has expanded its international regulatory presence through acquisitions in India's GIFT City, the United Kingdom and Europe, and has passported across all 30 countries in the European Economic Area. Alpaca also began offering access to European equities, broadening beyond U.S. securities. **Competitive landscape heats up** Tokenized equities grew nearly 3,000% in 2025, reaching roughly $963 million in market value by January, according to CoinDesk research. Competition has since expanded as Coinbase, Kraken and other crypto firms move further into onchain stocks. Alpaca's infrastructure positions it as a backend provider for these platforms rather than a direct competitor, handling the regulated brokerage layer that tokenization issuers require. The company did not disclose a new valuation in the announcement. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
Jul 16 2026, 19:07
DeFiTuna loses $580K in exploit, leaving USDC pool in deficit
DeFiTuna, a Solana-based lending protocol, lost $580,000 in an exploit on July 16, creating a deficit in its USDC lending pool. The team said it identified and patched the attack vector hours after the incident, though it has not disclosed how affected depositors will be made whole. "Recovery efforts and a deeper investigation into the exploit are underway," the protocol said. The attacker drained funds from DeFiTuna's lending pools, leaving liabilities in the USDC pool exceeding assets by the full $580,000 amount. DeFiTuna operates as an automated market maker with native lending, concentrated liquidity, and leveraged position support on Solana. Users deposit assets into pools that others borrow against, earning variable APY based on utilization rates. The protocol's native token, $TUNA, is used for staking and revenue sharing, giving holders a claim on ecosystem fees. For depositors, the immediate question is whether the deficit will be covered through treasury funds, socialized across all pool participants, or recovered from the attacker. The protocol previously returned investments from Kelsier Ventures in February 2025 after a scandal involving that firm. The team's next public communication — expected to include a detailed post-mortem explaining the exploit mechanism and a concrete plan for addressing the USDC deficit — will be critical for restoring user trust. User reactions on social media have centered on two questions: whether depositors will absorb the loss and why the exploit was not caught during audits. The incident adds to a growing list of DeFi security breaches in 2026, highlighting persistent risks in decentralized lending markets where smart contract vulnerabilities can produce immediate, irreversible losses. For DeFiTuna, the path to recovery depends on transparency and the speed of remediation. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
Jul 16 2026, 19:03
Marex accepts USDC as margin collateral after CFTC's 2025 greenlight
Marex Group Ltd. began accepting USDC as initial margin collateral in its regulated derivatives clearing business, enabling clients to post the stablecoin for margin requirements through Coinbase's custody infrastructure. "The future of finance is unfolding before our eyes," Stephen Hood, Head of Clearing, Americas at Marex, said. "With regulatory clarity helping to shape the future of USDC and other stablecoins, the speed and accessibility of blockchain technology is transforming clearing globally." The service follows a December 2025 no-action letter from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission permitting Futures Commission Merchants to accept non-securities digital assets including USDC, Bitcoin and Ethereum as customer margin collateral, subject to strict conditions. Prime Trading LLC executed the first transaction, with Coinbase providing NYDFS-qualified custody, 1:1 instant fiat-to-USDC conversion and bespoke daily reporting aligned with CME requirements. The integration marks a shift toward 24/7 collateral mobility in derivatives markets, where risk moves in real time but settlement has traditionally relied on banking rails constrained by operating hours and multi-day settlement cycles. Marex, which clears crypto derivatives on CME, Cboe, SGX, Coinbase Derivatives Exchange and Bitnomial, said the capability sets the stage for broader adoption of tokenized collateral across clearinghouses. The announcement comes as a wave of stablecoin infrastructure developments reshapes the market. On July 10, Circle received OCC approval to operate a national trust bank under the name First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A., allowing it to manage its own USDC reserves under a single federal regulator. Separately, Visa launched its Stablecoin Platform on July 16, enabling banks and fintechs to issue, store and transfer Open USD stablecoins through its payment network — a move that sent Circle shares down about 5 percent as competition intensified. "Stablecoin collateral is moving from concept to production," Liz Martin, Coinbase VP of Markets and Head of Derivatives, said. "The same infrastructure that safeguards assets for the majority of US spot crypto ETFs is now powering collateral workflows in regulated derivatives clearing." Joe Balcarcel, Chief Administrative Officer at Prime Trading, said the partnership "represents an important step forward for the trading industry, as blockchain-based collateral solutions have the potential to enhance capital efficiency." The CFTC's no-action letter effectively permits FCMs to treat non-securities digital assets in certain risk calculations. Coinbase supports Marex's implementation through NYDFS-qualified custody and reporting infrastructure. The ability to post USDC as margin empowers clients to manage risk in near real time, moving collateral at internet speed to keep pace with always-on markets. Over time, as tokenized collateral becomes more prevalent, its real-time mobility and transparency could help reduce systemic risk across clearinghouses. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.