MARA Holdings pledged 18,750 BTC valued at about $1.2 billion to secure $600 million in new financing from Coinbase Credit and Two Prime Lending. The funds will support MARA's expansion into energy acquisitions, Bitcoin mining, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing infrastructure, including its $1.5 billion acquisition of Long Ridge Energy & Power. The loans carry interest rates around 7.5%, with potential $56.7 million annual interest if the full $750 million principal remains outstanding. However, the Bitcoin-backed loans expose MARA to risks of margin calls and possible liquidation of pledged BTC if Bitcoin prices fall sharply.
Oil prices increased as talks between the US and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz remain stalled. Iranian officials deny direct negotiations are ongoing, while the US claims a deal is near. Iran demands compensation and sets conditions including a...
The UK Treasury has involved Ripple in its Wholesale Digital Markets Taskforce to explore blockchain infrastructure for tokenising wholesale financial markets, focusing initially on the £33 billion repo market. This initiative aims to modernise marke...
Dollar-backed stablecoins USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT) have become the leading payment methods for crypto cards, making up about 84% of total card spending as of mid-2026. This marks a significant shift from early 2024 when euro-backed stablecoi...
The Virtus InfraCap US Preferred Stock ETF (PFFA) is recommended as a buy, especially as a defensive investment ahead of a possible recession. It offers a high yield of around 10%, benefiting from preferred stocks' seniority and sector diversificatio...
Japan's four largest life insurers reported $96 billion in unrealized losses on government bonds due to rising yields as the Bank of Japan normalizes interest rates. These losses reflect falling bond prices from years of near-zero rates but are mostl...
