Spot and Futures Linkage Sparks Controversy, VELVET Token Faces Significant Selling Pressure Following Short-Term Surge

According to Fortune, the Trump administration has deployed roughly $26.7 billion across around 30 equity or quasi-equity transactions. The largest holding is a 9.9% stake in chipmaker Intel, currently valued at approximately $42 billion. Other investments include a $400 million stake in rare earth miner MP Materials, a "golden share" retained when U.S. Steel was acquired by Japan’s Nippon Steel, and multiple equity positions in several quantum computing companies. The report states these holdings are spread across at least four U.S. agencies: the Department of Commerce (17 deals), the Department of Defense (7), the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC, 6), and the Department of Energy (2). Only the DFC holds explicit statutory authority for equity investments, a power Congress established in 2018 for overseas development projects. There is currently no unified public ledger for such government holdings; the most comprehensive public tracking is maintained by the Council on Foreign Relations. Some transactions are only in the process of signing agreements or nearing term sheets, especially the nine quantum computing-related deals announced by the Commerce Department within a single week.

In response to the shutdowns of BitMEX and BitMart, as well as shutdown rumors plaguing multiple centralized exchanges (CEXs), CZ remarked: "This is so brutal; hopefully this signals a bottom."

Aave founder Stani Kulechov posted on X that there is a greater need than ever for all industry stakeholders to align and do everything possible to advance the smooth passage of the U.S. CLARITY Act. Stani noted that while the CLARITY Act is not perfect and many details still need to be finalized by regulators, it will be the first piece of legislation addressing decentralized finance (DeFi), providing a clear legal framework and regulatory certainty for institutions, fintech firms, and banks to engage in on-chain finance. Once enacted, the CLARITY Act is expected to drive the on-chain finance ecosystem in a way similar to how the earlier GENIUS Act spurred growth in the stablecoin sector, attracting more investment and institutional capital to on-chain spaces. Stani added that over the past year, particularly in recent weeks and days, the Aave team has been in close communication with relevant policymakers in Washington, D.C. He noted that the effort to advance the bill has entered its "final mile," a critical phase.

According to comprehensive reports from Al Arabiya (Arab Satellite TV) and Saudi media outlet Al Hadath, Iran has informed Pakistani officials that it has not withdrawn from negotiations but only suspended them temporarily. Iran reiterated the necessity of resuming negotiations amid the current stalemate and stated its refusal to open new shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz. Additionally, Iran has confirmed to Pakistan that it is willing to continue negotiations with the US in Geneva, Qatar, or Islamabad, and has demanded that talks on the Strait of Hormuz issue be resumed first, followed by discussions on frozen assets, and finally the nuclear issue.

US Permanent Representative to the United Nations Mike Waltz stated that US President Trump is "leaving some room" for negotiations with Iran.

Bitcoin treasury company Strategy’s founder and executive chairman Michael Saylor has once again released updates related to its Bitcoin Tracker, captioned “We need another color.” Per its established pattern, Strategy typically discloses changes to its Bitcoin holdings the day after such announcements are made.