The US Treasury Department Meets with Three Crypto Companies to Discuss Bitcoin Reserve Custody Solution

According to market data from BIT (bit.com), U.S. software stocks rose in early U.S. trading: Salesforce (CRM.N) gained over 3%, Oracle (ORCL.N) climbed around 5%, and ServiceNow (NOW.N) advanced nearly 4%.

According to market data from BIT (bit.com), SpaceX (ticker: SPCX.O) shares have hit their lowest level since listing, currently down approximately 4% at $110.3.

According to a report by The Information, citing sources familiar with the matter, a company backed by Chinese state-owned capital has started mass-producing domestically developed DUV (deep ultraviolet) lithography equipment, a key milestone in China’s semiconductor industry’s push for local substitution. The company plans to produce around 5 DUV lithography systems in 2026, scaling up to approximately 20 units in 2027. While there remains a gap in production capacity compared to Dutch lithography giant ASML, which delivered 131 immersion DUV lithography systems last year, the mass production breakthrough of domestic DUV equipment marks a further step toward self-reliance and controllability in China’s chip manufacturing supply chain. Sources said the domestically developed DUV lithography systems are scheduled to be delivered to major Chinese chipmakers, including SMIC, Hua Hong Semiconductor, and DRAM chip maker Changxin Memory Technologies. As a representative of China’s DRAM industry, Changxin Memory is expected to be a key adopter of domestic advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment. If domestic DUV equipment can operate stably in production lines of firms like Changxin Memory, it will further reduce China’s memory chip industry’s reliance on overseas key equipment.

Stablecoin issuer Circle announced it has acquired nearly 1,000 licensed blockchain-related patents from IBM, a deal that will make Circle one of the largest blockchain patent holders in the U.S. The acquisition covers over 680 patent families spanning blockchain technology, banking, financial services, insurance, enterprise infrastructure, supply chain verification, and cloud security. Details including the transaction value and whether IBM retains related patent licenses have not been disclosed. Circle said the intellectual property assets will support the development of USDC, Circle Payments Network, the Arc blockchain, and financial tools for AI agents. The two parties also plan to further explore business collaboration opportunities. Sarah Wilson, Circle’s general counsel, noted that intellectual property is critical to advancing on-chain infrastructure development and scaling its applications. IBM has long ranked among the top blockchain patent holders in the U.S. Data from patent analytics firm PatSnap shows that as of the end of 2025, IBM held around 790 blockchain patents. Circle obtained its first blockchain patent in December 2023 and had previously joined the LOT Network to mitigate patent litigation risks. Following this acquisition, Circle has further strengthened its technical reserves in the blockchain infrastructure sector.

Futu Clearing, the U.S. clearing arm of Futu Securities, and TradeUP, the U.S. brokerage entity under Interactive Brokers, have provided information on over 310 accounts suspected of option insider trading to the lawsuit’s plaintiffs. The number of involved accounts was previously around 100, and has now risen to 310. While the account count is high, illegal gains are highly concentrated: preliminary analysis shows just 8 traders made more than $80 million from the trades, accounting for nearly 60% of the plaintiffs’ estimated total illegal gains of $137 million. These traders are accused of purchasing large volumes of short-term options linked to Futu and Tiger Securities before regulators issued rectification notices for the brokerages, after which the relevant accounts were frozen. Not all account holders have been formally named as defendants, and involvement in the trades does not equal a finding of insider trading. The case remains under ongoing investigation and litigation.

Strategy founder Michael Saylor announced that the company has repurchased 288,930 STRC preferred shares, with a total transaction value of approximately $25 million, at an average repurchase price of $86.52 per share. Saylor stated that Strategy plans to remain a "regular and disciplined buyer" of STRC, continuing repurchases when the security trades below $100. The company will increase its buying volume when STRC’s price is far from $100, while reducing repurchase size as it approaches the $100 threshold. Currently, Strategy still has about $975 million available for preferred share repurchases. Saylor added that funds for STRC repurchases will not be sourced from USD reserves, but will be raised via methods including selling MSTR stock and Bitcoin (BTC) based on market conditions. The company aims to keep STRC’s price stable around $100, while maintaining high liquidity, low volatility, and healthy, sustainable independent market demand. He emphasized that Strategy will not issue new STRC shares when the price is below $100.