Mastercard Launches AI Agent Pay Protocol
On June 10th, Mastercard announced the launch of Agent Pay for AI, a new protocol that allows AI agents to make payments to each other and process micropayments—for instance, when an AI automatically pays for data as it streams through a website segment.
The permissions humans grant these AI agents are stored on the blockchain; the initial implementation uses the Polygon network to ensure transparency and verifiability, so all parties can confirm the agent acted as instructed. Companies including Adyen, Coinbase, and Cloudflare are collaborating with Mastercard to develop the protocol.
Jorn Lambert, Mastercard’s chief product officer, stated that the protocol will not be a major revenue source in the near term, but he expects it to evolve into a meaningful new market over the next five years. Industry giants like Visa, Stripe, Coinbase, and Google are also working on AI payment protocols, collectively driving the future of machine-to-machine payments and AI chatbots leading e-com
8 minutes ago
Barclays expects the S&P 500 to experience a cumulative pullback of around 6 to 7%, as leveraged ETF passive rebalancing is triggering a feedback loop of volatility.
June 10. Alex Altmann, Barclays’ Global Equities Tactical Strategy Director, told a podcast he’s shifting to short-term tactical caution on U.S. stocks.
Altmann has been a consistent contrarian since last September—staying bullish even amid March’s Iran conflict, and both of those prior calls ultimately held up. His latest pivot stems from a cluster of signals piling up over the past two weeks: a sharp rise in funding costs pushing real yields higher, crimping stock valuation multiples; retail investor exuberance in some areas is now even hotter than levels seen back in 2021 (when real interest rates were deeply negative, compared to today’s positive rate environment); and institutional investors are holding almost no short positions at all. Altmann noted that when exuberance hits this peak, the S&P 500’s expected return curve stops looking attractive.
He’s particularly focused on leveraged ETFs right now. These products rebalance positions daily, which can drive outsized stock t
8 minutes ago
A certain whale went long on BTC with 5x leverage, with a position worth $49.55 million.
June 10 — According to monitoring data from OnchainLens, the crypto whale with the address "0xebe" — who previously incurred a loss of more than $3.4 million on a Bitcoin long position — has opened a new 5x leveraged long position today. The position amounts to 812.46 BTC, worth $49.55 million, and is currently facing an unrealized loss of over $260,000.
8 minutes ago
a16z Interpretation of Why We Invested in Morpho: On-chain Lending as the Next Frontier of Credit, a Key Technological Node on the Pathway to Human Flourishing
On June 10, a16z Crypto published an article outlining its role as co-lead in a $175 million funding round for decentralized lending protocol Morpho, alongside partners Paradigm and Ribbit.
a16z frames on-chain lending as "the next frontier of credit" and a key technological milestone toward human flourishing, arguing that a blockchain-based open credit network can lower infrastructure costs, create a more competitive credit market, and expand broader access to capital and revenue streams.
When a16z first connected with the Morpho team in 2022, founder Paul Frambot was still in university, yet had already built a team of some of France’s top blockchain talent. The group’s innovative on-chain lending optimizer coordinates peer-to-peer loans on top of underlying AMM protocols, delivering a Pareto improvement in interest rates—a development that signals a transformative shift for the global financial system.
In 2024, Morpho launched the Morpho Blue protocol, focused on floating-rate, v
8 minutes ago
The US and Israel to Jointly Confront Iran, US Stock Futures Extend Pre-market Losses, Oil Prices Experience Short-term Spike
As of June 10, market sources indicate Israel is preparing to launch another strike on Iran.
During a recent Fox News appearance, former President Donald Trump said he would order strikes targeting Iranian power plants and bridges.
Bitget’s market data shows both oil prices surged more than 1.4% in the short term. Ahead of the U.S. market opening, U.S. stock index futures extended their losses: Nasdaq 100 futures fell over 1.5%, while S&P 500 futures dropped more than 1%.
8 minutes ago