💵 Augustus Raises $180M to Build Stablecoin Clearing Bank
Augustus has closed a $180 million Series B round at a $1 billion valuation, positioning itself as a clearing bank for the AI and stablecoin era.
The company aims to replace legacy correspondent banking with always-on infrastructure that supports stablecoins alongside traditional payment rails including Swift, ACH, and SEPA — branding the vision as a "Global Dollar Bank."
🟠 Galaxy Digital commits $5M to quantum-proof Bitcoin
Galaxy Digital has pledged up to $5 million toward making Bitcoin resistant to quantum computing attacks, as industry experts and the U.S. government warn that "Q-Day" — the point at which quantum computers can break current encryption — could arrive as soon as 2030.
The concern is significant: an estimated 35% of the total Bitcoin supply is considered potentially vulnerable to quantum-capable adversaries, particularly coins held in older address formats that expose public keys. Galaxy's initiative aims to advance research and development of post-quantum cryptographic standards for the Bitcoin network.
The move follows growing urgency from researchers, exchanges, and regulators around quantum readiness across financial infrastructure, with Bitcoin's open and decentralized architecture making protocol-level upgrades a complex, consensus-dependent process.
🟠 $686M in Bitcoin exits Binance, Coinbase and Bybit in one day
Nearly $686 million worth of Bitcoin was withdrawn from major centralized exchanges on July 20, marking a notable single-day outflow event across the industry.
CryptoQuant contributor Amr Taha flagged the movement, noting simultaneous outflows from Binance, Coinbase and Bybit. Large-scale exchange withdrawals are typically associated with holders moving BTC into self-custody, reducing the supply available for immediate sale on spot markets.
Exchange outflow data is closely watched as an on-chain indicator of holder sentiment and potential shifts in near-term selling pressure.
Solana dominates on-chain tokenized equity trading, processing 95% of global volume in the sector as institutional and retail interest in real-world asset tokenization grows.
Analytics platform rwa.xyz has launched a dedicated dashboard tracking tokenized stocks, covering 2,613 equities with a combined value of $1.85 billion. The tool provides visibility into an asset class that has expanded rapidly across blockchains but remains heavily concentrated on Solana.
Tokenized stocks allow investors to gain exposure to traditional equities on-chain. The new dashboard marks a step toward standardized data infrastructure for the RWA sector.
🌐 Hut 8 Signs $9.8B Texas AI Lease, Doubling Campus to 704MW
Bitcoin miner-turned-AI infrastructure company Hut 8 has signed a $9.8 billion, 15-year lease at its Beacon Point campus in Texas, adding 352MW of capacity and doubling the site to 704MW total.
The deal brings Hut 8's total contracted capacity across its portfolio to 949MW. Shares of HUT surged more than 30% following the announcement, reflecting investor confidence in the company's pivot away from Bitcoin mining toward AI data center infrastructure.
💵 South Korea unveils won stablecoin legal framework
South Korea has released a roadmap to make the Korean won a freely convertible currency, combining foreign exchange reforms with a legal framework for won-backed stablecoins and new digital payment infrastructure.
The plan pairs currency liberalization measures with formal rules governing won-denominated stablecoins, signaling the government's intent to integrate digital assets into the country's broader financial architecture. The announcement was reported on July 19.
South Korea has been among the more active regulators in Asia on crypto policy, having previously introduced licensing frameworks for virtual asset service providers.