Early investors in SpaceX are strongly backing the company to become the first firm valued at $10 trillion, claiming the market has misjudged its value.

Kraken parent company Payward has announced a major adjustment to how tokenized stocks participate in corporate governance. Previously, xStocks holders held no voting rights over their underlying equities; now, via a partnership with investor communications services giant Broadridge, qualified investors can submit proxy voting preferences. Payward Chief Commercial Officer Mark Greenberg stated: “The ultimate goal of tokenization has never been merely building faster, programmable capital markets—it’s about giving people worldwide all the rights that come with holding a company’s shares, including a voice in how the business is run.” Issued by Backed, xStocks is currently open to qualified investors outside the U.S. Broadridge provides digital asset infrastructure including proxy voting, post-trade services, wallets, and custody. Last month, Payward partnered with fintech infrastructure provider GTN to expand the xStocks product to Hong Kong-listed stocks, with plans to later cover international markets such as the U.K., Europe, and South Korea. Payward added that since xStocks launched last year, its cumulative trading volume has exceeded $25 billion.

Lido Finance has released a governance update, announcing that Lido DAO has officially opened on-chain voting for the NEST automated token buyback mechanism. The main voting window runs from August 5 to August 8 at 14:00 UTC. NEST is an automated, rule-based on-chain mechanism that directly ties the Lido Protocol’s performance to its native LDO token. The mechanism’s design and parameters were approved via Snapshot voting back in May. At its core, NEST uses protocol revenue or protocol-controlled liquidity to systematically repurchase LDO tokens on decentralized markets, enabling continuous capture of protocol value growth at the token level. The mechanism will be rolled out around the LDO/wstETH liquidity pair, with specific implementation details still being updated on community forums. Should the on-chain vote pass, Lido will transition from a periodic, governance-driven buyback model to a continuous, predictable automated value distribution framework.

Payward, parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, has announced a major adjustment to how tokenized equity holders participate in corporate governance. Previously, xStocks holders held no voting rights over the underlying stocks; through a partnership with Broadridge, a leading investor communications services provider, eligible investors can now submit proxy voting preferences. “The ultimate goal of tokenization has never just been to build faster, programmable capital markets—it’s to give people around the world all the rights that come with owning a company’s shares, including a voice in how that company is operated,” said Mark Greenberg, chief commercial officer at Payward. Issued by Backed, xStocks is currently open to eligible investors outside the U.S. Broadridge will provide digital asset infrastructure services including proxy voting, post-trade operations, wallets, and custody. Last month, Payward collaborated with financial technology infrastructure provider GTN to expand the xStocks product to cover Hong Kong-listed stocks, with plans to subsequently roll out to additional international markets including the U.K., Europe, and South Korea. Payward noted that xStocks has exceeded $25 billion in cumulative trading volume since its launch last year.

US Treasury Secretary Bessent noted that a key highlight during Fed Chair Walsh’s tenure is observing stenographers posing as journalists—such as The Wall Street Journal’s Nick Timiraos, dubbed the “Fed’s mouthpiece”—being reduced to reporting on behind-the-scenes Fed gossip, as they cannot produce genuine economic or monetary policy analysis without being provided with information.

Spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Iran and Oman have reached an agreement on the geographic routing of shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz. The Iran-Oman deal alone does not mean safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz is guaranteed. A joint statement is in the final drafting phase. No plans have been made for Iran’s foreign minister or speaker to visit Pakistan or Qatar. Per Bitget market data, U.S. and Brent crude oil continue to fall, with latest prices at $73.85 per barrel and $77.98 per barrel respectively. Spot gold has climbed to $4,250 per ounce, marking a 4.24% intraday gain.

The U.S. Southern District of New York Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced that Taj Tarsha, founder of NFT project Few and Far Limited, has been formally indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice on charges including securities fraud and wire fraud. Tarsha was arrested on June 6. The indictment alleges that since February 2022, he sold 95 million FAR tokens to at least 67 investors via Simple Agreements for Future Tokens (SAFTs), raising over $10 million, with promises that the funds would be used to develop a decentralized NFT marketplace and the FAR token. However, almost from the start of fundraising, Tarsha diverted investor funds to online casino gambling and speculative cryptocurrency purchases, and siphoned nearly $1 million in bonuses and high salaries—he himself admitted the compensation was unreasonable given the company had zero revenue and no product. After a 2023 audit exposed the fund misappropriation, Tarsha lied to investors, claiming the bonuses were tied to preset FAR token presale targets, all transactions served the company’s interests, and all investor funds remained dedicated to fulfilling the company’s mission. In reality, he had fired nearly all employees, only instructing remaining contractors to create an illusion of ongoing development. For at least a year afterward, he continued to use investor funds for personal expenses, including cryptocurrency purchases, a Miami apartment mortgage, interior design, and his DJ hobby. When the FAR token finally launched in May 2024, it was worthless and quickly stopped trading.