Bit Mining’s stock price surged 350% in pre-market trading after announcing a strategic pivot into the Solana ecosystem. Bitcoin mining firm Bit Mining is making a strategic shift into the Solana ecosystem, with plans to raise up to $300 million to support the move. The company said on Thursday it plans to raise between $200 million and $300 million in different phases to build a sizable Solana (SOL) token treasury. The capital will also be used to expand its capabilities within the network and acquire more tokens. As part of the plan, Bit Mining said it will convert some of its existing crypto holdings into SOL and adopt a long-term holding strategy. It did not specify how much of its reserves would be converted initially. Read more
Ant Group is reportedly working with Circle to integrate USDC into its blockchain platform once the stablecoin achieves regulatory compliance. Jack Ma-backed Ant Group is reportedly working with USDC issuer Circle to bring the stablecoin to its blockchain, according to a Bloomberg report published Thursday, citing anonymous sources. The report said Ant Group plans to incorporate USDC (USDC) into its blockchain after the stablecoin becomes compliant in the US. The timeline for the integration is unknown. The news follows recent reports that Circle has applied to establish a national trust bank in the US that, among other responsibilities, would oversee the firm’s USDC reserve on behalf of its US issuer. The US Senate also passed the stablecoin regulation bill, the GENIUS Act, in mid-June, which would provide legal clarity for stablecoin issuers. Read more
Agora, founded by Nick van Eck, aims to boost adoption of its white-label stablecoin platform with $50 million from Paradigm and Dragonfly. Stablecoin issuer Agora raised $50 million in a Series A funding round led by crypto venture firm Paradigm. The investment sets the stage for Agora to expand its white-label stablecoin offering, AUSD, amid growing interest in dollar-backed digital assets. Agora enables companies to launch their own branded stablecoins using AUSD’s underlying infrastructure, benefiting from shared liquidity and interoperability. The project is founded by Nick van Eck, son of VanEck CEO Jan van Eck, alongside crypto veterans Drake Evans and Joe McGrady. “What we wanted to do is really something novel, which is start by building the network,” van Eck told Fortune. “We always had the view that we were going to do white-labeled issuance in a different way to how existing peers had done it.” Read more