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Amber International Holding (AMBR), a crypto trading firm Amber Group subsidiary, said it raised $25.5 million in a private placement to expand its $100 million Crypto Ecosystem Reserve, a fund designed to support strategic growth across blockchain networks.

The raise, announced Thursday, was priced at $10.45 per share, which is a 5% discount to the company’s three-day volume-weighted average trading price and drew participation from Pantera Capital, CMAG Funds, Kingkey Financial International, and others. The company issued over 12 million Class A shares, equal to about 2.44 million ADSs, on Nasdaq.

Amber International launched the reserve earlier this year to make long-term bets on blockchain infrastructure. Since then, the firm has allocated funds toward Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL), and it’s now extending coverage to Binance Coin (BNB), Ripple’s XRP, and Sui (SUI), according to the press release.

The firm said it is using the reserve to align itself with developers and protocols operating on these networks, offering them capital, liquidity, and potentially product support. Amber International pointed to growing demand among institutional clients for real-world asset tokenization and emerging applications like AgentFi, which uses smart contracts to automate financial services.

The move reflects a broader trend among crypto-native firms building treasury strategies to bolster their balance sheets and support ecosystem stability and long-term innovation, especially as venture capital retreats and funding cycles become more cautious.

Tokenization platform Ondo Finance ONDO and digital asset investment firm Pantera Capital have teamed up to invest $250 million in real-world asset (RWA) projects as the red-hot tokenization trend is accelerating.

The initiative, named Ondo Catalyst, aims to invest in protocols and infrastructure projects that enhance the development of tokenized finance and on-chain capital markets, according to a Thursday blog post by Ondo.

The initiative will do a mix of equity and token investments, a representative of Ondo told CoinDesk in a Telegram message.

"The financial system is undergoing a fundamental upgrade," Nathan Allman, founder and CEO of Ondo Finance, said in the blog post. "By supporting the infrastructure and applications that unlock real-world utility for tokenized assets, we're helping reshape how capital moves around the world."

Tokenization is one of the fastest-growing crypto use cases and has captivated big banks, fintechs, asset managers and crypto native firms alike. The process aims to bring traditional financial instruments such as bonds, stocks and real estate, often dubbed RWAs, onto blockchain rails, promising more efficient operations, faster and around-the-clock settlements, broader investor access and programmable transactions. For example, Robinhood, Bybit, Kraken and Gemini have recently introduced trading with tokenized versions of U.S. stocks, while BlackRock and Franklin Templeton issue tokenized money market funds backed by short-term U.S. Treasuries.

Ondo is one of the largest tokenized U.S. Treasury issuers, with its OUSG and USDY tokens having a combined market capitalization of nearly $1.4 billion, data by RWA.xyz shows. The firm is also developing a layer-1 blockchain network designed for tokenized RWAs.

The news of the partnership was first reported by Axios.

Read more: Real-World Asset Tokenization Market Has Grown Almost Fivefold in 3 Years

Ether (ETH) traded around $2,584.90 on July 3, registering a 0.55% gain over the past 24 hours as risk assets responded positively to robust U.S. labor market data, according to CoinDesk Research's technical analysis model. The broader crypto market, as gauged by the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), was up 0.08% during the same period.

According to a report published by CNBC, the latest nonfarm payrolls report showed 147,000 jobs were added in June, beating expectations of 110,000 and exceeding the upwardly revised 144,000 from May. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, defying forecasts for a rise to 4.3%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The strong data sent U.S. equities surging to fresh all-time highs, with the S&P 500 closing at 6,279.35 and the Nasdaq Composite finishing at 20,601.10 — both up more than 0.8% on the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also gained 344 points to settle at 44,828.53.

However, the strength of the labor market complicated the outlook for monetary policy. It now seems highly unlikely that the Fed will lower rates at its next meeting and traders are no longer even certain that there will be any rate cuts in the second half of this year.

Despite this, ether remained resilient, with traders encouraged by the broader risk-on sentiment that lifted crypto alongside equities.

Technical Analysis Highlights

• ETH traded within a $71.20 range between $2,558.89 and $2,629.88 over the July 2 18:00 to July 3 17:00 window.
• A breakout during the 13:00 UTC hour on July 3 pushed price to $2,625.10, the session high, on volume of 464,365 ETH.
• A pullback followed during the 15:00 hour with ETH touching $2,569.18 before finding solid support.
• The 17:16 UTC candle saw a sharp volume spike (5,308 ETH), lifting price to $2,580.75 before brief consolidation.
• In the final hour from 16:59 to 17:58 UTC, ETH gained $4.93 (0.19%), closing near $2,584 with a bullish structure of higher lows.
• Resistance remains near $2,630, with momentum favoring a potential retest if macro conditions remain supportive.

Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission likely halted the launch of the Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC) for administrative reasons, not political ones, multiple individuals familiar with the matter told CoinDesk.

The SEC approved GDLC to uplist as an exchange-traded fund (ETF) on Tuesday through staffers' delegated authority, meaning the regulator's commissioners did not have to vote on the application. Nevertheless, the regulator informed Grayscale and the New York Stock Exchange — GDLC's listing partner — on Wednesday that the SEC's commissioners will review the approval, pausing GDLC's go-live date in the meantime.

GDLC is based on CoinDesk Indices' CoinDesk 5 Index.

Halting the launch gives the SEC time to develop listing standards for other ETFs that would launch under the same mechanism, the individuals said.

There's also the fact that GDLC contains two digital assets — XRP XRP and Cardano ADA — that don't currently have their own individual ETFs. Two of the other assets in the basket, Bitcoin BTC and Ethereum ETH, have had their own ETFs since 2024, and the SEC has even previously okayed funds containing both of those assets. Solana SOL also saw its first ETF launch earlier this week, though applications for other ETFs tied to the asset remain under SEC review.

The SEC faces deadlines later this year for the XRP, ADA and SOL applications.

James Seyffart, Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst, told CoinDesk that the SEC’s pause was “not normal.” In a post on X, he wrote that there are two potential reasons behind the move.

“The SEC doesn't want to let anything to launch under the 19b-4 process until they officially approve or come up with some framework for digital assets in the ETF wrapper.” The other option, he wrote, is that the SEC wants to work on something in relation to a specific aspect of the fund itself, for example the structure.

In a statement, a Grayscale spokesperson said the SEC's pause "was unexpected" but "reflects the dynamic and evolving nature of the regulatory landscape surrounding a first-of-its-kind digital asset product like GDLC."

"Grayscale remains committed to pursuing the listing of GDLC as an ETP and we are working closely with key stakeholders to meet all necessary requirements. We will provide further updates as additional information becomes available," the spokesperson said.

An 8-K filing from Grayscale said the firm "remains committed to pursuing the listing of the Fund on NYSE Arca and continues to work closely with key stakeholders to obtain approval of the application."

Sui (SUI) is trading at $3, up about 4% in the past 24 hours, as the token continues to rally following an announcement by Lion Group Holding Ltd. (LGHL) that it intends to acquire SUI tokens as part of a broader $600 million crypto treasury strategy.

The strategy was announced on June 26, triggering a rally in the price of the token, which is currently up nearly 15% over the past 7 days.

SUI experienced a significant bullish breakout over the past 24 hour period, according to CoinDesk Research's technical analysis model. The token established a strong support level at $2.87 during early hours on Thursday, before surging dramatically with high volume.

Sui’s network has emerged as Solana’s (SOL) primary challenger in the Layer-1 blockchain space, recording remarkable 54% developer growth over two years while most crypto ecosystems face significant developer attrition, according to a report from Electric Capital.

The network’s token is outperforming the broader crypto market as measured by the CoinDesk 20 Index, which rose about 5% over the same period.

Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.

As an advisor to both TradFi and crypto native firms, one trend I’m excited about is the potential of blockchain and tokenization to help asset managers serve the next generation of investors.

These financial institutions pride themselves on navigating complexity and pursuing innovative strategies. They manage trillions across private equity, credit, venture, and real assets. But for all their sophistication in portfolio construction, many still rely on infrastructure better suited for the fax machine era.

Investor records are kept in spreadsheets. Capital calls go out over email. Waterfall calculations are done manually. LPs get quarterly PDFs and little else. The technology stack underneath these firms is fragile, opaque, and overdue for a serious upgrade.

Blockchain isn’t a speculative detour; it’s a modern financial operating system. And for asset managers, it offers not just an opportunity to modernize fund administration and operations, but also to unlock new frontiers in product offerings to better serve their existing and future client base.

Modernizing Fund Infrastructure

The average investment firm still relies on a tangle of administrators, custodians, and transfer agents, each working from their own systems and reconciling records by hand during each stage of a fund’s lifecycle: inception, setup, fundraising and onboarding, operations, trading and liquidity, and closing. Because much of this process is manual and bespoke, mistakes happen, delays are common, and transparency is low, while the cost of compliance and administration continues to rise.

Blockchain and tokenization solves for these inefficiencies by standardizing workflows across multiple participants. A permissioned ledger, shared between GPs, LPs, fund admins, transfer agents, auditors, and more, can become the single source of truth for investor accounts, capital flows, and transaction history. Instead of fragmented systems, siloed information, and weekly reconciliations, everyone operates from the same data, updated and visible in real time.

Smart contracts can automate capital calls, distributions, and even complex waterfall logic, ensuring that the correct payments go to the correct counterparties, instantly and transparently. And the tokenization and interoperability of different asset types can enable automated, instantaneous settlement. No PDFs, wire delays, and human error.

These aren’t gimmicks – they’re operational upgrades. Investors can hold digital fund shares, settle redemptions in stablecoins, and track yield accrual in real time. For cash management, it’s a game-changer. For operational teams, it means fewer bottlenecks and cleaner audit trails.

Blockchain and tokenization aren’t just about liquidity, but an opportunity to replace a clunky patchwork of systems with a streamlined, programmable foundation for fund operations.

The Next Generation of Investment Vehicles

If blockchain is already modernizing fund infrastructure, the next frontier is even more exciting: using the technology to build products that couldn’t exist before.

Start with tokenized private credit. Just look at Apollo’s tokenized private credit fund, which has moved more than $100 million on-chain and exists simultaneously on multiple blockchains, making it interoperable with digital custody systems. Or, Franklin Templeton’s Benji platform, where tokenized money market funds live across numerous blockchains, allowing its investors to transfer shares peer‑to‑peer with stablecoins, earn intraday yield down to the second, and access tokenized money‑market liquidity. Meanwhile, BlackRock’s tokenized institutional money market fund has already surpassed $2.5 billion AUM a year after its launch.

These products offer more than operational improvements; they allow fractional ownership, secondary liquidity, and a radically more accessible wrapper for investors who want exposure to these products without the commitment of a traditional LP structure.

The most forward-looking firms are going even further: building entirely new kinds of on-chain products. Take on-chain yield vaults, a relatively new primitive in crypto, which are like a self-executing investment strategy.

Companies like Veda Labs are pioneering smart contracts that stake tokenized assets, sell covered calls, lend to protocols, or arbitrage rates across DeFi, allowing institutions like asset managers to offer white-labeled, branded investment strategies that automate execution while embedding compliance and fee logic directly into the protocol. No spreadsheets or intermediaries, just composable, auditable investment products built for digital-native allocators. Instead of relying on opaque NAV calculations, returns can be verified on-chain.

Put simply: this is a new category of investment product. More transparent than an ETF, more automated than a hedge fund, and infinitely more programmable than any legacy wrapper.

The Time to Build Is Now

Asset managers don’t need to abandon what they’re good at. But they do need to modernize how and what they deliver.

Blockchain isn’t a threat to private markets; it’s the upgrade private markets have been waiting for. A way to clean up back-office complexity, lower operational risk, and serve clients with products that are faster, smarter, and more productive.

The tools are ready. The infrastructure is live. And the first movers have already shown what’s possible. Asset managers who ignore this innovation risk getting left behind – because while others are still sending capital calls by email, the next generation of investment platforms is already being built: on-chain, in real time, and at scale.

Solana's on-chain fundamentals gained a major vote of confidence on Thursday as Florida-based DeFi Development Corp (DFDV) announced it had expanded its SOL SOL treasury by acquiring 17,760 additional tokens. The purchase, valued at approximately $2.72 million, was executed at an average price of $153.10 per token. This move aligns with the company’s stated long-term strategy of compounding SOL holdings and staking rewards.

Following this acquisition, DeFi Dev Corp's total holdings reached 640,585 SOL and SOL equivalents, representing a U.S. dollar value of around $98.1 million. Based on the company’s last reported total of 14,740,779 shares outstanding, the current SOL-per-share (SPS) stands at 0.042, or roughly $6.65 per share using the day’s price data.

All newly acquired SOL will be staked with a variety of validators, including DeFi Dev Corp’s own infrastructure on the Solana network. This approach enables the company to earn native yield through staking rewards and validator fees, while directly contributing to Solana’s decentralization and operational resilience.

DeFi Dev Corp has positioned itself as the first public company to make Solana the centerpiece of its treasury strategy. In addition to accumulating and staking SOL, it is also actively engaged in decentralized finance (DeFi) opportunities and ecosystem participation. The company’s treasury strategy offers shareholders direct economic exposure to the token while supporting Solana’s application-layer development.

At the time of writing, SOL was trading at around $150.75, down 1.6% in the past 24-hour period, according to CoinDesk Research's technical analysis model. Meanwhile, the broader crypto market, as gauged by the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), is up 0.13% in the same period.

Technical Analysis Highlights

• SOL ranged from $156.28 to $150.04 between July 2 17:00 and July 3 16:00, reflecting 4.15% volatility.
• Strong resistance formed at $156 during early trading hours, with above-average volume triggering a reversal.
• Price dropped below key support at $152 during the 12:00–15:00 period, settling at $150.44.
• In the final hour (15:16–16:15 UTC), SOL declined 0.63% from $151.85 to $150.89.
• A sharp selloff occurred at 15:35 UTC, with price dropping to $150.44 on high volume (213.6K).
• Support emerged at $150.35 with increasing buy-side activity and a modest recovery in the final minutes.

Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.

Bitmine Immersion (BMNR), the ether treasury strategy firm helmed by Fundstrat's Thomas Lee, is the latest red-hot crypto proxy play in town.

The company's shares more than doubled on Thursday topping $140, now rallying over 3,000% in less than a week since the firm announced the raising of $250 million by selling shares to acquire ETH.

The private placement offering, priced at $4.50 per share and due to close today, attracted institutional investors including Founders Fund, Pantera, FalconX, Kraken, Galaxy Digital, DCG.

At its core, Bitmine is positioning itself as a publicly traded proxy for ether exposure, similar to how Michael Saylor's Strategy (MSTR) became a leveraged bitcoin bet. The approach has gained traction recently as investors look for new ways to access crypto through public equities.

The firm originally focused on crypto mining using immersion cooling and held $16 million in bitcoin prior to the fundraising.

Sharplink déjà vu

But a similar crypto treasury stock's rapid rise and fall may offer a cautionary tale.

The parabolic rise in BMNR mirrors the trading behavior of Sharplink Gaming (SBET), another public company that repositioned itself as an ETH treasury firm last month under the leadership of Consensys co-founder Joseph Lubin.

Sharplink soared as much as 4,000% in days following its $450 million fundraising announcement. Shares since plunged over 90% from peak as the firm closed its ETH acquisition and early investors in the private placement sold stock locking in their profits.

Bitmine’s valuation, with a market capitalization over $800 million at current prices, already prices in aggressive assumptions about the firm's future ETH gains.

Retail investors chasing the momentum should tread carefully.

Read more: Ethereum Treasury Firm SharpLink Gaming Plunges 70% – But There May Be a Twist

Cardano's native token (ADA) rose more than 6% over the past 24 hours as trading volume spiked overnight amidst a broader crypto rally.

Market analysts remain divided on ADA's short-term prospects. While some point to a potential bullish reversal with targets around $0.70-$0.72, others note bearish on-chain metrics, including declining active wallets and substantial exchange outflows.

The broader economic landscape continues to influence crypto markets, with President Trump's firm stance on tariffs creating additional uncertainty. As July unfolds, investors are closely monitoring both technical indicators and macroeconomic developments that could determine whether ADA's recent volatility represents the beginning of a recovery or merely a temporary bounce.

Technical analysis highlights

• The asset established a strong uptrend, reaching a peak of $0.611 at 08:00 UTC, marking a 5.69% increase from the period's opening price of $0.578, according to CoinDesk Research's technical analysis data.
• High volume support emerged around the $0.590 level during the 05:00 UTC hour when buying pressure propelled ADA upward on above-average volume of 48 million.
• The subsequent pullback found resistance at $0.609 during the 12:00 hour with elevated volume of 81.6M, suggesting profit-taking after the rally.
• During the 60-minute period from July 3, 14:50 to 15:49 UTC, ADA experienced significant downward pressure, declining from $0.599 to $0.589, representing a 1.7% loss.
• A sharp sell-off occurred at 15:35 when the price plummeted to $0.589, accompanied by an extraordinary volume of 7.5M, establishing a clear support zone.
• The asset attempted recovery between 15:36 and 15:42 UTC, forming a minor consolidation pattern around $0.591, but failed to sustain momentum as selling pressure resumed.
• The final minutes showed signs of potential reversal with price bouncing from the session low of $0.588 to close at $0.589, suggesting possible exhaustion of short-term bearish momentum.

Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.

As bitcoin (BTC) hovers near a fresh all-time high, the Solana-based memecoin, BONK (BONK), is leading the major altcoin rally.

The surge coincides with renewed optimism in risk assets following bitcoin's recovery above $110,000, which has triggered widespread gains across established cryptocurrencies.

BONK's momentum appears sustainable as numerous crypto analysts express bullish sentiment, citing significant upside potential remaining.

Adding to BONK's bullish case, the BONK foundation's token launchpad, LetsBONK.fun, recently surpassed competitor Pump.fun in daily volume with a 126% increase. This development benefits BONK holders as 50% of the platform's revenue is allocated to buying and burning BONK tokens, creating additional positive price pressure in a market already anticipating the upcoming 1 trillion token burn when the project reaches 1 million holders.

Meanwhile, Tuttle Capital Management confirmed July 16 as the earliest possible launch date for its suite of leveraged crypto ETFs, including a 2× BONK ETF, fueling bullish sentiment.

Technical analysis highlights

• The BONK-USD pair experienced increased buying pressure during the last 24 hours, from July 2, 16:00 UTC, to July 3, 15:00 UTC. It surged from $0.0000147 to a peak of $0.0000175, representing a 10.4% range, according to CoinDesk Research's technical analysis model.
• A significant volume spike to 2.9 trillion at midnight on July 3 established strong support at the $0.0000157 level, while high-volume buying at the $0.0000168 level during the 05:00 UTC hour propelled prices higher despite late session profit-taking, the model showed.
• However, during the last 60 minutes from July 3 at 14:50 to 15:49 UTC, BONK-USD experienced significant volatility, dropping from $0.00001666 to a low of $0.00001619 before recovering to $0.00001624.
• A notable volume spike of 86.9 trillion at 15:35 coincided with the price bottoming at $0.00001619, establishing a key support level. The subsequent recovery formed an ascending trendline with increasing volumes, particularly at 15:49, where 22.5 trillion in volume pushed prices up by 2.7% from the session low, according to the model.

Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.