[CRYPTO]

Alcoa Corp. is in advanced negotiations to sell a dormant smelter site in upstate New York to Bitcoin mining firm NYDIG. The deal marks another shift of industrial real estate toward cryptocurrency operations.

Charles Schwab has unveiled Schwab Crypto, its long-awaited cryptocurrency investing platform. The product launches in the coming weeks with a 0.75% fee on trades.

Drift Protocol secured $147.5 million in funding, with Tether contributing $127.5 million, following a $270 million exploit linked to North Korean hackers. The protocol plans to relaunch using Tether's USDT stablecoin as its settlement layer.

Polymarket has launched an audit of startups it backed through a support program after discovering they were facilitating insider trading on the platform. The move comes as the prediction market faces mounting pressure to address illicit trading activity.

Deutsche Börse, operator of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, has acquired a 1.5% stake in Kraken through a $200 million strategic investment. The deal values the cryptocurrency exchange at $13.3 billion.

Iranians are increasingly turning to cryptocurrency to circumvent financial sanctions and maintain economic stability amid ongoing conflict. Bloomberg Crypto explored the trend with experts from TRM Labs, Castle Island Management, Jito Labs, and Dragonfly.

The CLARITY Act passed the House in July 2025 but stalled in the Senate, leaving the most significant U.S. crypto market-structure reform in legislative limbo. Rebecca Rettig, CLO and COO at Jito Labs, expressed optimism about the bill's prospects.

The US crypto industry has advanced significantly over the past year, but key regulatory gaps and an incomplete rulebook are limiting further growth. Other regions are moving ahead with clearer frameworks.

Kraken has confidentially filed for a US initial public offering, co-CEO Arjun Sethi announced Tuesday. The crypto exchange is currently valued at $13.3 billion, down from a $20 billion peak in late 2025.

Polymarket is auditing its Builders Program, which distributes up to $2.5M in grants to startups, following concerns that some participants may be facilitating insider trading on the prediction market platform.

Frankfurt stock exchange operator Deutsche Börse has invested $200 million in Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, acquiring a 1.5% fully diluted stake. The investment values Kraken at $13.3 billion.

Jeffrey Yan's crypto exchange Hyperliquid reached a $10 billion valuation while rejecting venture capital and generating over $900 million in profit during 2025 with just 11 employees.

World Liberty Financial, the Trump family's cryptocurrency platform, is experiencing significant investor backlash. Billionaire Justin Sun has accused the company of building a potential "backdoor" mechanism that could be used to blacklist investors.

An international law enforcement operation led by the U.K.'s National Crime Agency has identified over 20,000 cryptocurrency fraud victims across Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Hong Kong has approved HSBC and a Standard Chartered-led consortium to issue stablecoins pegged to the Hong Kong dollar, marking the city's first regulatory authorization for crypto token issuance.