Last week, funds have flowed into #Bitcoin, #Ethereum, and #Hyperliquid.

Goldman Sachs analyst James Schneider maintained a Neutral rating on Intel following its second-quarter earnings release, with a $150 per share price target. The analyst noted Intel’s stock is expected to climb on the back of its strong quarterly results and forward guidance, driven by better-than-expected performance from its data center and client segments, a sharp improvement in gross margin, and positive remarks on supply agreements and capital expenditures. Goldman Sachs added that investors had already taken constructive positions ahead of the quarter, supported by recent strong server CPU performance, ongoing momentum in advanced packaging technology, and signs of progress in advanced fab nodes.

Crypto market maker B2C2, 90% owned by SBI Holdings, has held acquisition talks with multiple potential buyers over the past 18 months, though negotiations have been hampered by valuation disagreements. B2C2 is seeking a transaction price of over $1 billion, though a source familiar with the matter noted such a valuation is difficult to achieve amid the current crypto market environment. Founded in 2015, B2C2 provides deep liquidity for spot, derivatives, structured products and over-the-counter (OTC) trades to clients including banks, exchanges, brokers, hedge funds and asset management firms. SBI acquired a 90% stake in B2C2 in 2020. The firm’s financial data is not disclosed separately and is included in SBI’s crypto business segment. (CoinDesk)

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang and Axios co-founder Mike Allen held an extensive, in-depth discussion on the current state of artificial intelligence. Huang noted that despite the long-standing boom-and-bust cycles in the chip industry, "this time it’s different." Even when accounting for the sector’s historically extreme cyclical fluctuations, the current boom still has room to grow. When asked if the industry is on the verge of a downturn, Huang responded: "No, that won’t happen for a while. This time it’s different because this isn’t demand-driven. For a long time, consumer demand has been the main driver of this industry. But the current AI boom is industry-driven, meaning core computing technologies are undergoing transformation. We need to build an entirely new layer of infrastructure globally. We already have energy, the internet, roads, and railways; now we need to construct an AI 'intelligence layer'—an additional infrastructure layer built on top of these foundations. And this infrastructure layer relies on chips. I believe our semiconductor industry may need to be five to ten times larger than its current size... The industry’s current scale is far too small. All shortages stem not from cyclical issues or consumer demand, but from fundamental, infrastructure-related factors."

USDC issuer Circle minted an additional 250 million USDC on the Solana network two hours ago.

According to Kyodo News, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will consider a cabinet reshuffle.

According to official announcements, Ripple has launched Ripple Mint, a unified platform for institutional users to access, mint, redeem, and manage RLUSD. The platform offers both user interface (UI) and application programming interface (API) access, enabling institutions to automate stablecoin operations, integrate RLUSD into their existing systems, and manage cross-chain digital U.S. dollar liquidity. The service is now open to existing RLUSD users.