What you need to know

• OnePlus launches AI PlayLab for user-driven feature testing and feedback
• New AI features YumSee and Party Up enhance user experience with translations and animated photos
• Early testers gain exclusive access to upcoming features and influence OnePlus’s AI development

OnePlus has been making some power moves lately that is making some heads turn. From ditching its long term camera partner, to now opening up its AI space to users.

In a recent community post, the company says that it’s now launching its first ever OnePlus AI PlayLab, that essentially allows people to ” test, explore, and shape the future of AI features” in the OnePlus ecosystem.

Which means if you can come up with a fun AI feature that could help users at large do things quicker or with ease, “from generating summaries of articles and audio to creating unique social media content, the possibilities are vast, and your feedback will directly guide what comes next,” OnePlus added.

It doesn’t just end there, OnePlus users who sign up by filling out quick questionnaire also get dibs on checking out new features ahead of launch. Additionally “Early testers” can also give feedback to help OnePlus fine tune or even change certain AI features to help it function better.

New AI features on the way!

Additionally, OnePlus also showed a preview of two new AI features that is currently being tested: YumSee and Party Up. Yumsee is a text translation AI feature that translates menus on the go. Imagine you’re on vacation and are having trouble understanding the cuisine.

YumSee comes into play. All you have to do is upload or take a photo of the menu, then select your preferred language and currency. YumSee uses its AI to clean and translate the text, and basically recreate the restaurant’s menu in the language you understand. Pretty cool, eh?

As of Party Up, it basically brings still photos to life, turning them into “live party-themed” videos. OnePlus adds that Party Up uses AI to animate static photos, to “gain movement, music, and magical effects.” Instead of manually editing, you can use one of its templates to turn images into short-form videos.

“We built tasteful, vibe-driven templates based on the most common celebration moments,” the post stated.

Begin by choosing an image, select the template that matches your vibe, such as “Party Dance,” “Party Cheers,” or “Birthday Party.” The AI will then detect subjects, apply natural motion, and layer in effects to create a video, which can be shared on different platforms. Users can give both these features a go via OnePlus’ AI PlayLab.

Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) closed a deal with Crypto.com to acquire 684.4 million Cronos (CRO) tokens, marking one of the largest corporate commitments to the digital asset so far.

The transaction, valued at roughly $178 million at current prices, was structured as a 50% stock and 50% cash exchange, according to the Sept. 5 announcement.

TMTG said it paid about $0.15 per token for the assets, which represent roughly 2% of CRO’s circulating supply.

Strategic partnership

The agreement expands a partnership designed to integrate CRO into Trump Media’s Truth Social and Truth+ platforms. The token will be used in a rewards system powered by Crypto.com’s wallet infrastructure.

The company said the arrangement also strengthens plans for its newly formed subsidiary, Trump Media Group CRO Strategy Inc., which has a pending merger with Yorkville Acquisition Corp. to create a digital asset treasury business focused on accumulating CRO.

Crypto.com will provide custody for the tokens under its institutional-grade storage program. Both the CRO tokens and Trump Media shares involved in the swap are subject to a lockup period.

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Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek said:

“This is the first of many steps to driving utility and value for CRO and the Cronos blockchain.”

Market and political backdrop

The purchase comes as Trump-linked ventures accelerate their push into digital assets.

Earlier this week, Trump-backed American Bitcoin began trading on the Nasdaq, while World Liberty Financial tokens made their public debut. Meanwhile, another affiliated firm, Thumzup, has outlined plans to acquire thousands of Dogecoin mining rigs.

Despite the fanfare, markets had a muted reaction to the development. DJT shares fell 1.5% to $16.51, while CRO dropped about the same percentage to $0.26.

The deal, first reported in August, could ultimately grow to $6.4 billion if Trump Media draws down additional capital from its credit line. If fully executed, it would create the largest CRO-focused treasury firm to date.

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On August 1, 2025, we will add 64 new eligible spot trading pairs to the Kraken Pro manufacturer fee incentive structure. It launched in late June to encourage deeper liquidity and improve market efficiency. We are pleased to announce today that we are expanding the amount of eligible pairs.

Additionally, new pairs listed on Kraken Pro after August 1, 2025 will be subject to a new manufacturer fee schedule with the aim of jumping liquidity in the newly listed pairs and tightening the spread.

New pairs added

Quick summary: What is the incentive structure for manufacturer fees?

This promotion introduces lower manufacturer fees across all manufacturer fee tiers due to the selected number of low liquidity pairs. Users in the $10 million + 30d volume pricing tier are also eligible to win manufacturer fees.

New fees apply Only manufacturer transactions Above Target spot pair. If eligible, you will receive an instant rebate upon trade execution based on a 30-day Kraken Spot Trading volume. Taker’s trade fees remain unchanged.

Click here for a complete list of currently eligible pairs.

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In an announcement yesterday, Nasdaq-listed software company GameSquare Holdings revealed that it had purchased $5 million worth of Ethereum (ETH) as part of its $100 million ETH-focused treasury strategy. With this move, GameSquare joins a growing number of companies diversifying their corporate treasuries by investing in digital assets.

GameSquare Embraces Ethereum As Part Of Treasury Strategy

As the cryptocurrency market regains bullish momentum – highlighted by Bitcoin (BTC) reaching successive all-time highs (ATHs) over the past few days – mainstream interest in digital assets is once again surging. In this context, Ethereum continues to see rising adoption.

The Texas-based firm recently completed its initial ETH purchase, acquiring 1,818.84 ETH at a weighted average price of $2,749, totalling $5 million. This marks the first step in GameSquare’s broader plan to deploy $100 million into Ethereum and related digital assets.

The company’s strategy focuses on building a crypto-native treasury framework designed to generate sustainable, risk-adjusted yield through decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and the broader Ethereum ecosystem. Commenting on the development, Justin Kenna, CEO of GameSquare said:

In partnership with Dialectic and Ryan Zurrer, we are leveraging Medici, Dialectic’s proprietary platform that combines machine learning, automated optimization, and multi-layered risk controls, to target best-in-class risk-adjusted yields of 8-14%, well above current staking benchmarks of 3-4%.

Unlike traditional treasury strategies focused around Bitcoin, GameSquare’s ETH allocation seeks to actively generate yield by engaging with DeFi infrastructure, rather than simply holding the asset. This signals a novel growing trend of companies favoring ETH over BTC for treasury diversification.

While pursuing higher returns typically involves increased risk, Medici’s reputation for advanced risk management and performance tracking offers a layer of confidence. As more companies embrace ETH-based yield strategies, DeFi protocols are likely to attract deeper liquidity over time.

Smart Money Accumulating ETH

Despite currently trading about 40% below its ATH of $4,878  – set back in November 2021 – Ethereum is seeing increased accumulation by large investors, often referred to as “smart money.”

For instance, recent on-chain data shows that ETH whales – wallets holding between 10,000 to 100,000 ETH – added heavily to their holdings earlier this month, scooping as much as 200,000 ETH.

Simultaneously, Ethereum-based spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are gaining traction. Data from SoSoValue indicates nine consecutive weeks of positive inflows as of July 10, reinforcing broader investor interest in ETH.

That said, some caution remains warranted, as not all ETH-focused treasury strategies have yielded favorable results historically. At press time, ETH trades at $2,993, up an impressive 7.4% in the past 24 hours.

Featured image from Unsplash.com, charts from SoSoValue and TradingView.com

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Greek authorities carried out the country’s first-ever crypto seizure after tracing funds linked to the record-breaking $1.4 billion hack of crypto exchange Bybit earlier this year.

The Hellenic Anti-Money Laundering Authority issued a freezing order on a suspect wallet following a months-long investigation aided by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

The operation targeted funds allegedly stolen in February’s Bybit breach, which has been widely attributed to North Korea’s Lazarus Group.

The Bybit hack, which ranks among the largest crypto exchange breaches in history, saw attackers exploit vulnerabilities in the platform’s private key management systems to drain roughly $1.4 billion worth of Ethereum (ETH).

The stolen funds were rapidly laundered through an intricate web of blockchain transactions designed to obscure their origins, making recovery efforts challenging for global authorities.

The Greek seizure marked a milestone for local law enforcement in digital crime prevention. It was made possible by the Authority’s strategic investment in Chainalysis Reactor in 2023, a blockchain tracing platform procured through regional partner Performance Technologies.

The local technology provider also provided analysts with training and operational support ahead of the case. Using Reactor, Greek investigators tracked suspicious crypto transactions that ultimately linked a suspect wallet to the original Bybit theft.

Officials then froze the assets, removing control from illicit actors and transferring the case to prosecuting authorities for further legal action.

Kyriakos Pierrakakis, Greece’s Minister of Economy and Finance, hailed the seizure as a demonstration of modern tools strengthening anti-financial crime efforts.

Analysts said the successful seizure underlines how blockchain’s public ledger can aid global law enforcement despite sophisticated laundering tactics employed by groups like Lazarus, which has targeted crypto exchanges worldwide to fund North Korea’s weapons programs.

Chainalysis described the case as proof that combining technology, training, and international cooperation can erode criminal anonymity and bolster trust in digital asset markets.

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Tim Alper

Author

Tim Alper

About Author

Tim Alper is a British journalist and features writer who has worked at Cryptonews.com since 2018. He has written for media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He has also worked…

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July 2, 2025

The South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb is set to launch a spinoff company as it pushes ahead with an initial public offering (IPO) bid.

The trading platform has indicated that it is still on track to debut on the KOSDAQ exchange in the first half of 2026.

However, South Korean market insiders are reportedly wary about lingering ownership questions ahead of the potential launch.

Meanwhile, more domestic banks are joining a stablecoin alliance with a view to co-launching KRW-pegged tokens.

Bithumb Spinoff Gets Green Light

The South Korean media outlet News Tomato reported that Bithumb’s IPO process has now begun in earnest following a Supreme Court ruling that absolved the former Bithumb Holdings Chairman Lee Jung-hoon of fraud charges in March this year.

After the ruling, Bithumb asked the regulatory Financial Services Commission (FSC) to approve its spinoff plans in April.

The FSC was not fully satisfied with the initial application, but Bithumb has since amended its application twice.

At the end of June, the FSC finally gave its approval for a plan that will see Bithumb continue operating its existing exchange platform under its current name.

New Firm Will Act as Holding Company

The newly established corporation, tentatively named Bithumb A, will act as a holding company. It will also spearhead new Bithumb-related business investments.

Bithumb has chosen Samsung Securities as its lead manager for the KOSDAQ listing. The company is currently completing due diligence protocols.

Bithumb explained that its “restructuring” would help optimize growth strategies for each of its business arms “by separating their functions.”

The move will help Bithumb “secure agility in new business avenues,” the exchange claimed.

However, the media outlet said that the market is “still cautious” about an “opaque governance structure” that “could undermine investor confidence.”

Currently, Bithumb is owned by Bithumb Holdings, with the firms DAA, Vidente, and BTHMB all owning sizeable stakes. Other shareholders hold a 25.1% stake in the firm.

However, the media outlet wrote that the “actual control structure” between these parties “has not been clearly revealed.”

An unnamed domestic securities industry insider said that a “complex and opaque governance structure cannot help but promote anxiety among investors.”

The insider said that if it wants to attract capital from external investors, Bithumb will need to demonstrate a “high level of transparency and social responsibility.”

Busan Bank Joins Stablecoin Union

Meanwhile, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that BNK Busan Bank announced on June 2 that it has officially joined the Stablecoin Division at the Open Blockchain/DID Association (OBDIA).

The bank added that it has also begun conducting broad joint research projects focusing on stablecoins.

OBDIA launched as a blockchain-focused non-profit organization in 2018. However, in April this year, the group experienced a new lease of life when it added a stablecoin subgroup.

A slew of major banks have joined the division, including the high street heavyweights Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, Nonghyup, and IBK Industrial Bank.

The neobank K Bank has also joined OBDIA, with its online rival Toss Bank also reportedly keen on becoming a member.

Yonhap reported that Busan Bank plans to build a “digital currency model” that can be used on the South Korean market.

The bank says that its experience of operating the blockchain-powered local stablecoin Dongbaekjeon will prove of great importance. A Busan Bank spokesperson explained:

“Since stablecoin-related regulations are still in progress, we need to develop capabilities that let us respond to various scenarios with flexibility. We want to play a meaningful role [once the government] institutionalizes [stablecoins].”

Lawmakers are pressing ahead with work on a bill that seeks to lay the groundwork for the issuance of private-sector stablecoins.

The move will partially reverse a ban on all forms of token issuance that has been in place since 2019.

The following is a guest post and analysis from Shane Neagle, Editor In Chief fromThe Tokenist.

On June 13th, Charles Hoskinson, the co-founder of Ethereum (ETH) and founder of Cardano (ADA), made a bold proposition. In order to put Cardano on the decentralized finance (DeFi) map, the blockchain ecosystem should establish a sovereign wealth fund.

Specifically, to convert 5–10% of the ADA treasury (~$1.2 billion) into harder assets such as Bitcoin or tokenized dollars in the form of stablecoins. Let’s examine the implications of this proposal for Cardano and the wider crypto market.

The Point of a Sovereign Wealth Fund

Sovereign wealth funds are typically associated with governments. Case in point: oil-rich Norway has the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), from which the government draws an amount equal to ~20% of the nation’s budget. Although oil and gas production was the baseline for the fund’s growth, this sector now accounts for less than half of the fund’s total value.

Instead, the fund grows from stock exposure—around 9,000 companies across the world—alongside exposure to fixed income such as bonds (debt issued by governments), real estate, and renewable infrastructure. From 2019 to 2024, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund doubled in value, from $996 billion to nearly $2 trillion.

Therefore, GPFG consistently captures gains from broad market returns, but also from the government’s need to keep spending through debt. Hoskinson hopes to make similar gains through exposure to Bitcoin/stablecoins, and then use those proceeds to acquire more ADA, which would boost ADA’s price.

This strategy is sound for two reasons:

• First, it is a certainty that the U.S. government will spend beyond its means, which will further erode people’s purchasing power with USD. Already institutionalized through spot-traded ETFs, this means that Bitcoin will continue to serve as a wealth-safeguard asset due to its fixed scarcity and proof-of-work security. Likewise, outside of Bitcoin mining companies potentially erecting sell pressure, Bitcoin is not an asset concerned with earnings, unlike stocks.
• Second, exposure to stablecoins is exposure to USG’s sovereignty itself. Both Circle (USDC) and Tether (USDT) have massive exposure to U.S. Treasuries. While Tether is nearing $120 billion in U.S. Treasuries, delivering Q1 profit over $1 billion, Circle Reserve Fund has 49.64% in U.S. Treasury debt and 50.36% in U.S. Treasury repurchase agreements.

Owing to such exposure, these top two stablecoin companies are now significant generators of demand for U.S. debt. And as they earn yield, USG is happy because stablecoins extend financial hegemony into the digital sphere. Moreover, this keeps the yield on U.S. Treasuries at a manageable level.

The present U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, had already made this clear in April 2024, when he was the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald:

“Dollar hegemony is fundamental to the United States of America. It matters to us, to our economy…That’s why I’m a fan of properly backed stablecoins. I’m a fan of Tether. I’m a fan of Circle.”

Cardano’s exposure to stablecoins would also be timely because it is the first blockchain asset likely to receive comprehensive regulation.

What About Cardano (ADA) Performance?

Year-to-date, ADA is down nearly 35% but up 56% over a one-year period. Out of its maximum supply of 45 billion ADA, Cardano has 35.36 billion ADA in circulation, leaving plenty of tokens yet to enter circulation and potentially drop ADA’s price if the demand is not there. Cardano’s annual inflation rate is ~2%, which is incidentally the Federal Reserve’s target inflation rate.

ADA’s treasury allocation is nearly 31%, from which 5–10% would be converted into either Bitcoin or stablecoins. As a proof-of-stake blockchain, Cardano gives 80% of staking rewards to validators, while 20% are reserved for the treasury.

Given Cardano’s relatively high inflation rate of 2% (Bitcoin has 0.82%), converting more ADA into Bitcoin/stablecoin would pose significant selling pressure that would depress ADA’s price. However, Hoskinson believes this could be mitigated.

Specifically, if 140 million ADA is converted into BTC/stablecoins, such purchases would be spread out over a week via over-the-counter (OTC) exchange desks utilizing a time-weighted average price (TWAP) strategy. TWAP relies on customized time-in-force settings to control execution timing and minimize market disruption.

Notably, Michael Saylor uses this strategy for Strategy’s BTC accumulation. After all, because MSTR stock price is a proxy exposure to Bitcoin, it is in Saylor’s interest to go under the radar during the order execution. Similarly, Hoskinson would have to maintain ADA’s average market price to avoid spooking the market.

Long-term, if gains from BTC and stablecoin exposure lead to repurchasing ADA—similar to stock buybacks—Hoskinson could gain the same benefit as Saylor does with MSTR stock, which regularly outperforms Bitcoin itself due to Saylor’s favorable access to credit markets.

What About Cardano’s Core Demand?

As Ethereum’s dissenting original co-founder, Hoskinson launched Cardano as a robust alternative that is more profit-oriented. To become a blockchain-based ecosystem for DeFi, Cardano first had to complete its smart contract functionality. This was made possible with the completion of the Goguen era, consisting of Allegra, Mary, and Alonzo hard forks in September 2021.

Still in the Basho scaling stage before the Voltaire governance era, Cardano’s blockchain performance is significantly behind the top 10 performers, headed by Solana. According to ChainSpect, Cardano is ranked 34th in real-time transactions per second (TPS) at 0.26 tx/s against its maximum theoretical TPS of 18.02 tx/s.

This gives the chain a finality of 2 minutes against Solana’s 12.8 seconds. Suffice it to say, until Basho is completed, in particular the Hydra layer-2 solution, this is not a competitive position. It is also not confidence-boosting that Cardano is three years older than Solana.

Combined with the fragmentation of the crypto market, and a devastating string of bankruptcies during 2022 culminating in the FTX collapse, Cardano holds only $267.5 million in its DeFi apps compared to $8.3 billion in Solana, or $62.7 billion locked in Ethereum’s dApps.

Moreover, stablecoins only account for $31.44 million in Cardano.

Considering the dwindling gains in the wider altcoin market, as more launched tokens dilute capital, it is now more important than ever to have a stablecoin price anchor. This would make lending and borrowing on dApps less risky with more predictable interest payments.

Likewise, stablecoins on decentralized exchanges (DEXes) offer less slippage and reduced impermanent loss, providing stable yield farming in the process. An inflow of stablecoin liquidity (~$100 million) would likely increase Cardano’s dApp activity. After all, it would be a much safer exposure than gambling on largely fraudulent memecoins.

Already, Cardano’s top dApp by unique active wallets (UAW) is a DEX aggregator called DexHunter, while borrowing and lending dApp Lenfi holds the most value at $11.62 million. Of course, these figures pale in comparison to dApp activity on the top 10 blockchains, which is why Hoskinson’s push is much needed.

The Bottom Line

In late May, the Ethereum Foundation borrowed $2 million in stablecoins from Aave with wrapped ETH (wETH) as the collateral. This dynamic, in which there was no need to sell ETH, points to a more mature DeFi ecosystem that Cardano is yet to approach.

Yet, to reach such maturity, Cardano has to start making bold moves. Allocating some portion of the ADA treasury into Bitcoin and stablecoins is a trajectory in the right direction. At a glance, it may seem that Hoskinson gives preference to BTC over ADA with this move, but it is a conflation of categories.

It is widely understood that Bitcoin acts as a store of value rather than a general-purpose smart contract blockchain like Cardano. Lastly, the current Trump administration clearly signaled that stablecoins will be a sufficient alternative to a cancelled CBDC. It is in this period that Cardano has to stimulate activity, without waiting on the completion of its scalability era.

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