The shared sorter network Astria announced the completion of a $12.5 million financing round, led by dba and Placeholder VC, with participation from RockawayX, Maven11, 1kx, Bankless Ventures, Figment Capital and Batu, as well as angel investors Yuki, DCBuilder, Hasu, Will Price and Jason Yanowitz. These funds will be used to continue building the Astria sorting layer and Astria Stack, allowing anyone to deploy permissionless aggregation without relying on centralized sorters.

Ethereum interoperability protocol Omni Network announced that OMNI Genesis Stakers need to be prepared to claim ETHFI and ALT airdrops.

Robinhood Markets Inc. has agreed to acquire the artificial intelligence research platform Pluto Capital Inc. in order to bring tailored investment strategies and analysis to its users. Pluto, founded by 24-year-old Jacob Sansbury, is known for its AI-driven personalized investment advice and real-time analysis, and the terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Bitcoin mining company Bitfarms Ltd. has provided its monthly production report. The mining business produced 189 BTC in June, compared to 156 BTC in May, an increase of 21% month-on-month and a decrease of 51% year-on-year.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) issued a warning to indebted countries on Sunday, stating that market confidence could suddenly be lost, confirming long-standing concerns about the cryptocurrency market. According to some cryptocurrency experts, both Bitcoin and gold are signaling a financial crisis for the United States and other developed countries. This year, so-called zero-yield assets have risen 48% and 13%, respectively, reportedly due to safe-haven demand. Although cryptocurrency supporters believe that BTC is the opposite of fiat currency, this type of cryptocurrency often falls along with other risky assets during times of pressure. The consensus in the cryptocurrency market is that debt concerns will force the Federal Reserve and other central banks to cut interest rates, thereby stimulating more investors to flow into alternative assets such as Bitcoin. The FedWatch tool at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange shows that traders expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates twice this year, each time by 25 basis points. The Bank for International Settlements also added that fiscal consolidation will ultimately reduce the need to maintain high interest rates. "For fiscal policy, fiscal consolidation is an absolute priority. In the short term, this will help alleviate inflationary pressures, reduce the need to maintain high interest rates, and help maintain financial stability."

Starknet Foundation announced on X platform that DeFi Spring 2.0 has been released. The Starknet Foundation will allocate an additional 50 million STRK to the project, bringing the total budget to 90 million STRK. DeFi protocols can apply to join DeFi Spring and increase their liquidity to earn additional income.

The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) has warned heavily indebted nations of the risk of a sudden loss of market confidence, cautioning against premature easing of monetary policy. The BIS did not single out any nation in particular but cautioned advanced economies from running fiscal deficits larger than 1% of the gross domestic product (GDP) this year. The warning comes as public debt as a ratio to GDP has soared worldwide since 2020, a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic that compelled governments to increase spending significantly while facing dwindling revenues. The consensus in the crypto market is that mounting debt concerns will force the Fed and other central banks to cut rates, spurring more investor inflows into alternative assets like bitcoin.

Lido announced that the Community Staking Module (CSM) testnet has gone live. Users who qualify for early adoption can now join CSM, and CSM will be open to all node operators in mid-July. CSM is an initiative of Lido DAO aimed at enhancing decentralization and democratizing access to Ethereum staking. It will allow any node operator (especially community stakers) to enter without permission and enable them to run validators using the Lido protocol.

Tether has launched a new cryptocurrency payment option for the Filipino people, allowing them to use USDT to pay for the Social Security System (SSS) funds. In the Philippines, the Social Security System (SSS) is a government-run social insurance program that provides services to employees in the official, informal, and private sectors. Tether has partnered with Web3 shopping and infrastructure company Uquid to allow Filipino citizens to use USDT to pay for social security funds on the TON blockchain.

Bitfinex Securities will launch two new tokenized bonds as part of the issuance plan with Mikro Kapital. The target amount for this USDT issuance is up to $10 million, with a minimum investment of $125,000. The issuance plan is part of the Alternative securitization fund being carried out with Mikro Kapital, a small-scale credit group based in Luxembourg, on the Liquid Network sidechain.