Tether’s TON Integration Pushes USDT Deeper Into Telegram’s Crypto Economy is the kind of crypto story that looks simple at headline level but becomes more useful once you place it inside the wider market backdrop. Stablecoin adoption often becomes most meaningful when it is embedded in apps people already use, and TON’s link to Telegram gives this rollout a different distribution profile.

The reason it deserves attention today is not that one announcement or filing magically changes the whole market. It is that the update adds another data point to a sector still trying to work out where capital, users, and regulation are actually moving.

For more details, visit the official Tether platform.

TL;DR

• Tether expanded native USDT utility on TON-linked yield protocols.
• The move strengthens stablecoin activity inside the Telegram-connected TON ecosystem.
• USDT on TON is becoming a payments and app-utility story, not only a trading-pair story.

Stablecoins Keep Moving Into New Distribution Channels

Native USDT support on TON can reduce friction for payments, transfers, and app-level balances.

Tether’s incentive campaigns are aimed at making the network more attractive to builders and users.

Stablecoins remain one of crypto’s clearest product-market fits. They are used for trading, transfers, payments, treasury management, and increasingly application-level balances. That is why new integrations or regulatory wrappers can matter more than they first appear.

The Bigger Stablecoin Takeaway

The wider stablecoin market is increasingly about distribution channels, not just reserve size.

The market is also becoming more competitive. Issuers are no longer only fighting over supply; they are fighting over distribution, network placement, yield design, and compliance status.

For NewsBTC readers, the practical takeaway is to avoid treating this as an isolated headline. The stronger read is to connect it with the current market environment: liquidity is still selective, regulatory pressure has not disappeared, and the projects that keep shipping useful updates are the ones most likely to hold attention when the cycle gets noisy.

That does not mean the story should be stretched beyond what the source supports. The cleaner approach is to keep the facts tight, explain the mechanism, and show readers why it may matter if follow-up data confirms the same direction over the next few sessions.

In other words, this is a development to watch rather than a guaranteed turning point. Crypto moves quickly, but the useful signals are usually the ones that still make sense after the first reaction fades.

The important thing for readers is context. A single development rarely defines the market on its own, but a series of source-backed updates can show where momentum is building. That is why this article keeps the focus on the specific mechanism in play, the source behind it, and the reason traders or builders may care today.

This article is based on information from tether.to.

This article was written by the News Desk and edited by Samuel Rae.

Shares in Bitcoin treasury company Empery Digital rose on Friday after the firm disclosed it had sold nearly half its Bitcoin holdings to fund an AI data center project and pay down debt.

Empery Digital (EMPD) shares popped 4.2% to $3.95 within the first 35 minutes of trading on Friday after the company revealed that it sold 1,400 Bitcoin (BTC) at an average of $62,200 a coin for roughly $87.1 million over the past two months. 

Empery, which previously operated as an electric powersports vehicle manufacturer, said some of the proceeds funded its 25% stake in a Hunt Properties-affiliated venture, which is acquiring an industrial site to be converted into an AI data center. Another $10 million was also used to pay off outstanding debt.

While EMPD retraced to $3.86 — closing up 1.58% on the day — the initial pop suggests that investors viewed the Bitcoin sale favorably at a time when confidence in Bitcoin treasury strategies is fading and capital is flowing toward AI instead. 

EMPD’s change in share price over the last five trading days. Source: Google Finance

Empery’s Bitcoin sales follow months of pressure from Tice P. Brown, a near-10% shareholder in the company, who called on the firm to abandon its Bitcoin-buying strategy and demanded that the CEO and entire board resign. Empery had pivoted to a Bitcoin-centric treasury strategy in mid-2025 when Bitcoin was pushing towards its all-time high of $126,080 set in October.

The Bitcoin sales trimmed Empery’s holdings by 48% to 1,514 Bitcoin, worth $97 million at current prices.

Related: Bitcoin miners’ AI pivot faces investor scrutiny over insider sales 

Empery held a company-high 4,081 Bitcoin at its peak before offloading some of the holdings in March and April.

Strategy sold more BTC after STRC incident

Even Strategy — the largest corporate Bitcoin holder — sold 3,588 Bitcoin worth $216 million earlier this month, parting from its previous “never sell your Bitcoin” position in a move that actually saw shares in the company rise.

Strategy said it used the Bitcoin sale to cover dividend payments for investors in its top perpetual preferred stock offering, Stretch (STRC), which broke below its $100 par value to below $75 last month, raising fears that its dividend model was unsustainable. 

Features: Bitcoin nearing late stages of bear market: Jamie Coutts, Real Vision 

TLDR

• MELI jumped 4% before cooling to $1,852.22, up 2.46% at close
• MercadoLibre announced a new distribution center in Nuevo León, Mexico, set to open in September
• The facility will create more than 2,000 jobs in the Areya Escobedo Industrial Park
• MELI has climbed 12.29% over the past month, outpacing the S&P 500’s 2.2% gain
• The stock carries a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell) and trades at a Forward P/E of 44.13

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MercadoLibre (MELI) stock popped 4% on Friday afternoon after the company announced plans to open a new distribution center in Nuevo León, Mexico. The stock pulled back slightly and closed at $1,852.22, a gain of 2.46% on the day.

MercadoLibre, Inc., MELI

The new facility will be located in the Areya Escobedo Industrial Park and is expected to start operations in September. It is set to create more than 2,000 jobs in the region.

The move is part of a broader push to expand MELI’s logistics network in northern Mexico, where e-commerce demand has been rising. Institutional shareholders also showed fresh activity around the announcement, adding to market interest.

Despite the Friday pop, MELI is still down 4.9% year-to-date and sits 25.3% below its 52-week high of $2,511, hit back in September 2025. Current price of $1,852.22 is a long way off that peak.

The stock has had 14 moves greater than 5% over the past year, so Friday’s move fits a pattern of frequent volatility. The market read the news as meaningful, but not a game-changer.

Strong Monthly Momentum

Over the past month, MELI is up 12.29%, comfortably beating the S&P 500’s 2.2% gain and the Retail-Wholesale sector’s 0.24% move in the same period.

The last major move before Friday came 16 days ago, when the stock rose 5.4%. That jump was driven by strong Prime Day sales data and a dip in Treasury yields, which lifted sentiment across digital platforms broadly.

Earnings on the Horizon

Investors will be watching MELI’s upcoming earnings release closely. The current consensus estimate calls for EPS of $8.69, which would represent a 15.71% drop compared to the same quarter last year.

Revenue is expected to come in at $9.77 billion for the quarter, a 43.9% jump year-over-year. For the full fiscal year, estimates point to earnings of $40.97 per share on revenue of $40.36 billion.

That full-year revenue figure would mark a 39.68% increase from the prior year. Earnings growth is projected at a more modest 3.98%.

Valuation remains a talking point. MELI trades at a Forward P/E of 44.13, well above its industry’s average of 16.81. Its PEG ratio sits at 1.11, just above the Internet-Commerce industry average of 1.05.

Despite the growth story, Zacks currently rates MELI a #5 (Strong Sell), and the Internet-Commerce industry ranks in the bottom 27% of all sectors tracked by Zacks.

The EPS estimate has been unchanged over the past 30 days, suggesting analysts are holding steady ahead of the print.

A key Ethereum indicator that foreshadowed previous price bottoms has flashed again, prompting attention for the second-largest cryptocurrency.

According to Ali, a crypto analyst, Ethereum might be oversold. This is because on-chain data reveals the ETH MVRV ratio has officially dropped below 0.8, a level associated with a deep accumulation zone.

Ali noted that historically, falling below the 0.8 MVRV level often signaled seller exhaustion for Ethereum, coinciding with aggregate market value falling significantly below total realized value. He noted that the last three times this setup occurred — December 2018, March 2020, and June 2022 — a particular trend was observed. Every single instance marked a bottom before a bullish reversal, Ali noted.

Traders continue to watch whether this particular instance of Ethereum’s MVRV entering grossly oversold levels will match previous instances when the price bottomed and subsequently recovered.

Ethereum short-term price action

At the time of writing, ETH was up 1.18% in the last 24 hours to $1,802 and up 1.78% weekly. ETH is outperforming Bitcoin as it looks to snap a trend of sequential lower highs and lower lows.

Ethereum surpassed the daily MA 50 at $1,767 for the first time since mid-May as its recovery from the July 8 low of $1,710 progressed.

Ethereum saw a rise at the start of July, reaching a high of $1,831 on July 6, where bulls met resistance. An attempt to surpass the daily MA 50 was also cut short as bulls could not advance.

A sustained rise above the daily MA 50 will be beneficial for Ethereum’s recovery in the short term, with the potential to surpass $2,000, reaching the daily MA 200 currently at $2,214.

The crypto derivatives market is showing signs of stabilization, with speculation easing and longer-term positioning increasing.

In separate news, a new report from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) stated that Ethereum now consumes about 7.87 GWh of electricity annually following The Merge, a decline of more than 99.9% from its pre-Merge level.

TLDR

• Moderna stock fell 10.7% on July 10, 2026, dropping $8.17 to close at $68.39
• Insiders sold $6.2 million worth of stock in the past three months, with zero buying
• Q1 EPS came in at -$3.40, missing estimates of -$3.02, though revenue of $389M beat forecasts of $236.37M
• Wall Street’s average rating is “Reduce” with a consensus price target of $38.27
• QRG Capital Management opened a new position, buying 13,666 shares worth ~$694,000

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Moderna stock took a sharp hit on July 10, 2026, falling 10.7% — a drop of $8.17 — to close at $68.39. The move adds to a broader pattern of pressure on the biotech.

Moderna, Inc., MRNA

The stock opened that day at $76.56. Moderna’s 52-week range runs from $22.28 to $85.60, so the current price sits in the upper half of that band — but the recent slide suggests the air up there is getting thin.

The most recent earnings report, released May 1, didn’t do the stock any favors. Moderna posted a loss of $3.40 per share, worse than the -$3.02 analysts had expected. That’s a miss, and the market tends to remember those.

Revenue was a different story. The company brought in $389 million for the quarter, blowing past the $236.37 million consensus estimate. That’s a 260.2% jump compared to the same period last year.

Still, a revenue beat can only go so far when profitability remains elusive. Moderna carries a negative net margin of 143.55% and a negative return on equity of 26.64%.

Insider Selling Adds to the Pressure

Insiders have been heading for the exit. Over the past three months, they sold $6.2 million worth of stock — and bought none.

Director Noubar Afeyan sold 9,263 shares on May 21 at an average price of $46.84, cutting his position by 70.24%. President Stephen Hoge sold 53,336 shares on June 15 at $51.37 per share, a transaction totaling roughly $2.74 million.

Those sales were made under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans, which are scheduled in advance. But the sheer volume of selling tends to catch investor attention.

Insiders collectively own 10.80% of the stock. Institutional investors hold 75.33%.

Wall Street Stays Cautious

Analyst sentiment isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement right now. Of the 18 analysts covering Moderna, two rate it a Buy, eleven say Hold, and five say Sell. The average rating works out to “Reduce.”

The consensus price target sits at $38.27 — well below where the stock is currently trading.

Morgan Stanley recently raised its price target from $33 to $39 with an “equal weight” rating. Goldman Sachs moved its target from $43 to $49 with a “neutral.” Bank of America bumped its target from $34 to $38 but kept an “underperform” rating.

Weiss Ratings maintained a “sell (d-)” on June 12.

On the institutional side, QRG Capital Management opened a new position in Q1, picking up 13,666 shares worth about $694,000. A handful of other smaller funds also added positions, though the amounts were modest.

Moderna’s GF Score stands at 58 out of 100. Financial Strength rates 7/10, Growth 7/10, but Profitability comes in at just 3/10.

The 50-day moving average is $55.75. The 200-day moving average is $49.53. Sell-side analysts as a group expect Moderna to post -$6.51 EPS for the full year.

Grayscale’s Tokenization Outlook Depends on Which Ownership Model Wins

Crypto asset manager Grayscale published research on July 9 outlining three phases of equity tokenization. Head of Research Zach Pandl said Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, Avalanche, and Canton Network are best positioned to benefit as ownership models evolve.

The first phase involves third-party wrappers, which account for more than 70% of tokenized stocks by market capitalization, according to Grayscale. Under this model, traditional shares are placed into a special-purpose vehicle (SPV), and investors receive tokens representing claims on that vehicle rather than direct ownership.

These wrapped assets operate on Ethereum, Solana, and BNB Chain, where they can be traded and integrated into decentralized finance applications. Pandl said each phase of tokenization could benefit different blockchain infrastructure.

DTCC Pilot and Issuer-Sponsored Shares Could Reshape Blockchain Roles

Grayscale identifies the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC)’s planned pilot as the second phase of tokenized equity development. Noting that Canton Network will be the first blockchain used in DTCC’s tokenization pilot, Pandl wrote:

“We see the tokenization of equity markets progressing in three phases, with each phase driving value to different types of blockchain infrastructure.”

DTCC plans to bring existing eligible securities onchain through regulated post-trade infrastructure rather than issue replacement versions. Grayscale describes this approach as the entitlement model, which differs from wrapper-based systems that create claims through separate vehicles.

The research says the pilot may help define Canton Network’s role alongside public blockchains supporting tokenized assets.

Could Companies Eventually Issue Shares Directly on Blockchain Networks?

Grayscale describes issuer-sponsored tokenization as the third phase, where companies issue securities natively onchain. The report says Securitize became the first public company to tokenize its own common stock at the time of its New York Stock Exchange listing.

The crypto asset manager believes this model has the greatest long-term potential and could favor Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche. Wider adoption still requires additional regulatory clarity.

The head of research stated:

“The blockchain networks best positioned to capitalize on the growth in tokenization include, in our view, Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, Avalanche, and Canton Network.”

Grayscale expects wrappers, DTCC’s entitlement model, and issuer-sponsored issuance to coexist for years. The long-term distribution of activity among Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, Avalanche, and Canton Network remains uncertain. Regulatory developments, issuer adoption, and successful implementation will determine which networks capture the greatest role in digital securities markets.

Chainlink CCIP Comes To Arbitrum Orbit as Layer-3 Builders Chase Safer Messaging is the kind of crypto story that looks simple at headline level but becomes more useful once you place it inside the wider market backdrop. As networks become more modular, cross-chain messaging stops being a side feature and becomes basic infrastructure.

The reason it deserves attention today is not that one announcement or filing magically changes the whole market. It is that the update adds another data point to a sector still trying to work out where capital, users, and regulation are actually moving.

For more details, visit the official Chainlink platform.

TL;DR

• Chainlink integrated CCIP with Arbitrum Orbit.
• The move gives dedicated layer-3 networks a cross-chain messaging and data-access option.
• It reinforces Chainlink’s role as infrastructure for increasingly modular blockchain stacks.

The Technical Detail Traders Should Not Ignore

Arbitrum Orbit lets teams build dedicated chains around the Arbitrum stack.

CCIP is designed to provide a more standardized way to move messages and value across networks.

Protocol updates rarely arrive with the drama of a courtroom ruling or an ETF filing, but they are often more important over time. They decide how networks handle scale, incentives, cross-chain activity, and user cost. For builders, those details are not optional.

Why Builders Care About The Update

The integration matters most for developers building app-specific environments that still need secure external connectivity.

The market tends to reward finished products, but those products depend on this kind of maintenance. A chain that keeps improving its technical base gives developers more reasons to stay.

For NewsBTC readers, the practical takeaway is to avoid treating this as an isolated headline. The stronger read is to connect it with the current market environment: liquidity is still selective, regulatory pressure has not disappeared, and the projects that keep shipping useful updates are the ones most likely to hold attention when the cycle gets noisy.

That does not mean the story should be stretched beyond what the source supports. The cleaner approach is to keep the facts tight, explain the mechanism, and show readers why it may matter if follow-up data confirms the same direction over the next few sessions.

In other words, this is a development to watch rather than a guaranteed turning point. Crypto moves quickly, but the useful signals are usually the ones that still make sense after the first reaction fades.

The important thing for readers is context. A single development rarely defines the market on its own, but a series of source-backed updates can show where momentum is building. That is why this article keeps the focus on the specific mechanism in play, the source behind it, and the reason traders or builders may care today.

This article is based on information from chain.link.

This article was written by the News Desk and edited by Samuel Rae.

Ether (ETH) price gained 3% between Thursday and Friday, outperforming the broader crypto market. The move ties to growing tokenization, Robinhood Chain’s success, and ongoing corporate treasury purchases. However, ETH failed to break above $1,800 amid weak onchain and derivatives metrics. Is Ether price bound to retest $1,700?

Key takeaways:

• Ethereum leads RWA tokenization while Robinhood Chain drives fresh ETH inflows and ecosystem growth.
• Mixed signals persist as BitMine accumulates heavily, yet stagnant onchain metrics signal caution.

Robinhood Chain and tokenization growth boost ETH price

The successful launch of the layer-2 network Robinhood Chain has boosted Ether investors’ sentiment. The newly launched blockchain uses ETH as its native gas token and has netted $106 million in bridge deposits. The TradFi trading platform Robinhood offers tokenized stocks to customers in 120 countries, further strengthening the EVM-compatible ecosystem.

Distributed tokenized assets value per chain, USD. Source: rwa.xyz

Ethereum dominates the RWA (real-world assets) market with a 47% market share, according to Rwa.xyz data. Excluding stablecoins, notable highlights include SKY’s Tether Gold (XAUT), Ondo US Dollar Yield (USDY), and Franklin Templeton’s government bonds (iBENJI). Leaders among tokenized stocks include Strategy’s PP variable (STRCx) from xStocks and Circle Group (CRCLon) from Ondo.

Source: X/LeonWaidmann

Leon Waidmann, head of Research at Lisk, noted that for the first time in history, the Total Value Locked (TVL) on Ethereum at $260 billion surpassed the market cap of Ether, currently at $210 billion. According to Waidmann, this distortion signals that “ETH is underpriced,” as the current relative valuation is lower than in the 2022 bear market.

Weak onchain and derivatives metrics limit Ether’s upside

Regardless of the growing adoption of Ethereum’s layer-2 solutions and the institutional inflows, onchain metrics point to overall stagnation. The 2026 bear market has hurt blockchain demand, while competing blockchains gained ground in specific sectors, including synthetic perpetual futures and automated yield vaults.

Ethereum weekly DApps revenue, USD (left) vs. active addresses (right). Source: DefiLlama

Decentralized applications (DApps) on Ethereum generated $11 million in weekly revenue, down from $20 million in the first quarter of 2026. Notable mentions include Sky at $3.1 million, Titan Builder with $2.4 million, and Chalink’s $1.1 million. Similarly, active addresses dropped to 3.2 million from 5.4 million in the first quarter, according to DefiLlama.

ETH perpetual futures annualized funding rate. Source: Laevitas

Meanwhile, ETH’s perpetual futures annualized funding rate dropped to 3% on Saturday, below the 6% neutral threshold signaling weak demand for bullish positions. Current data contrasts with the peak 12% levels from Friday, suggesting that bulls lack confidence. However, institutional inflows likely explain the latest price gains.

Source: X/Arkham

Arkham Intelligence flagged an ETH 20,500 withdrawal on Thursday worth $36 million from Galaxy Digital to a new wallet, a pattern that matches previous Tom Lee’s BitMine Immersion (BMNR US) purchases. BitMine added ETH 198,370 in the past 30 days alone, while the treasury company now holds $10.3 billion in reserves.

Ultimately, mixed signals from strong fundamentals and weak onchain metrics do not justify a retest of the $1,700 level, especially when considering BitMine’s impressive accumulation pace.

XRP continues to trade without a clear fundamental catalyst, still moving sideways near $1.10. At the time of writing, XRP was up 1.22% in the last 24 hours to $1.11 but down 4.93% in the last seven days.

Traders are now watching if XRP’s quiet range is setting up a larger breakout; a close above the daily MA 50 at $1.16 will be watched ahead of the daily MA 200 at $1.45. A move above $1.40 would be the first stronger sign that XRP might be breaking out of its broader range.

Buyers continue to defend the $1.00–$1.05 range, highlighting it as support in case price declines.

Short-term golden cross appears

A golden cross signal has appeared on the XRP four-hour chart, with the timing attracting attention as the token continues to trade in a range, with traders waiting for a catalyst to drive the next move.

The MA 50 has crossed above the MA 200, indicating a golden cross. The short-term signal comes as XRP Ledger activity hits rare lows. Citing active addresses and network growth, Santiment noted that the XRP Ledger has just seen one of its lowest on-chain days in recent memory.

According to Santiment, XRP Ledger activity has gone unusually quiet as price stayed in a range below $1.10. The XRPL network just saw only 25,350 active wallets, its 2nd-lowest day of 2026, while new wallet creation fell to 2,130, the lowest since November 2024.

After late June saw a rise in dip-buying, Santiment indicated that traders might have now resorted to waiting for a real catalyst before buying again due to a small bounce.