US-listed Super League surges over 20% in pre-market trading, as the company secures a 2,100 Bitcoin capital injection from Metaplanet.

According to market data from BIT (Bit.com), U.S. metaverse firm Super League’s stock opened more than 126% higher, lifting its market capitalization to $11.6 million. On the news front, Metaplanet will inject 2,100 BTC (valued at roughly $132 million) plus an additional $2.5 million in cash into Nasdaq-listed Super League (SLE). Super League will be renamed "Superplanet", with its stock ticker set to change to SUPA. Upon completion of the transaction, Metaplanet is expected to hold around 95.7% of Superplanet’s shares, creating a U.S.-listed Bitcoin treasury platform to raise capital through U.S. capital markets.

U.S. President Trump stated that no negotiations or dialogues with Iran are currently underway or scheduled. The naval blockade remains fully effective. The Strait of Hormuz is open and functioning normally. All mines have been either removed or detonated.

Citigroup plans to launch Bitcoin custody services later this year, enabling institutional clients to hold BTC alongside traditional assets such as stocks and bonds via its newly unveiled Custody+ platform. The exact launch date remains unannounced. The bank stated that Custody+ is designed to boost the efficiency of services including custody, settlement, foreign exchange, and cash management, with initial support for Bitcoin. Citigroup’s custody business currently spans over 100 markets, with a proprietary custody network in 62 of those regions. Once BTC custody is rolled out, institutional clients will no longer need separate independent crypto custody providers, as they can manage both traditional assets and Bitcoin uniformly through Citigroup. The firm added that its new system has already achieved real-time processing for more than 80% of relevant custody events, cutting processing time by up to 92%, with 96% of such events completed within two hours. As the U.S. regulatory landscape improves, large financial institutions are accelerating their entry into the crypto asset custody sector. The Bank of New York Mellon launched crypto asset custody services for some U.S. clients in 2022, while firms including Fidelity Digital Assets and Coinbase have also deployed institutional-grade digital asset custody offerings.

Global Settlement Network (GSN) CEO Ryan Kirkley said the crypto industry is undergoing a large-scale purge, with projects that are overvalued, have weak business models, and lack sustainable revenue exiting the market one after another. Since 2026, over 100 crypto projects have shut down, filed for bankruptcy, or effectively vanished. Kirkley attributes this wave of failures largely to the aftermath of the 2020-2021 funding boom, when many projects secured huge funding rounds at inflated valuations but lacked real revenue and profitable paths, eventually being forced to rely on continuous financing to stay operational. Galaxy Research data shows that in the first quarter of 2026, venture capital investment in crypto and blockchain totaled approximately $4 billion across 355 deals. Funding volume fell by roughly half compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, while the number of deals dropped by only 16%, indicating the capital contraction is driven primarily by a decline in very large financing rounds. Kirkley believes stablecoins, digital banks, and institutional-focused wallets and settlement infrastructure could emerge as the winners following the industry purge, while social tokens, meme coins, and some Web3 gaming projects will face tougher tests. For Bitcoin, Kirkley noted the current market is in a "mild bear market," with $61,000 as a key support level. A break below this level could trigger forced selling by leveraged funds, further paving the way for a drop to $41,000. Meanwhile, Kirkley added that he has met with government representatives from seven countries over the past month. Institutions and governments are growing more interested in blockchain technology, but their focus is centered on applications such as reducing financial costs, tokenized assets, and cross-border settlements, rather than the decentralized financial systems emphasized by the traditional crypto industry.

Since Yi Lihua, founder of Liquid Capital (formerly LD Capital), first expressed optimism about Axe Compute (NASDAQ: AGPU) on July 27, the company’s stock price has risen more than 50%, pushing its market capitalization to $123 million. Yi Lihua initially argued, “The most certain alpha opportunities in the computing power track often lie in extreme valuation gaps! U.S.-listed AGPU has recently secured over $1.6 billion in contracts, with its forward annual recurring revenue (ARR) reaching $384 million, yet its market cap is under $100 million, translating to a P/ARR ratio of just 0.2x! Compared to CRWV (market cap of $500 billion), which is asset-heavy, cash-burning and mired in losses, AGPU’s 'asset-light access + dedicated build' hybrid model is a clear dimensionality reduction strike.” He later published another article today, stating that the company is severely undervalued and its Q2 financial report delivers four major positive catalysts.

US stocks opened lower: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%, the S&P 500 declined 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.1%. The storage sector saw broad losses, with SanDisk (SNDK.O) down 5% and Micron Technology (MU.O) falling 4.6%. Most major tech stocks retreated: Meta Platforms (META.O) slipped 1.9% as the company faces a trial for an astronomical damages lawsuit on Tuesday. Baidu (BIDU.O) fell 9% following its earnings release.