Crypto Industry News & Market Trends

Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Dips as Company Announces Major Mistral AI Partnership in Europe

Key TakeawaysMicrosoft has forged a multibillion-dollar agreement to deepen its collaboration with French artificial intelligence firm Mistral AIThe tech giant will leverage Mistrals GPU infrastructure across Europe, featuring thousands of NVIDIA Vera Rubin processing unitsMistrals Medium 3.5 and OCR 4 AI models have been deployed on Microsoft Foundry and Copilot Studio platformsThe partnership specifically targets highly regulated European sectors such as finance, healthcare, and manufacturingMSFT shares are currently trading near $402, approximately 28.8% under GuruFocuss calculated intrinsic value of $565.15　　In a significant move to strengthen its European presence, Microsoft (MSFT) has entered into a multibillion-dollar agreement with French AI innovator Mistral AI, focusing on expanding artificial intelligence infrastructure throughout the continent. At the time of the announcement, MSFT shares were hovering around $402, experiencing a modest decline of approximately 0.67%.　　Microsoft Corporation, MSFT　　The agreement enables Microsoft to access Mistral‘s extensive European GPU computing resources, comprising thousands of NVIDIA Vera Rubin graphics processing units. This strategic move aims to enhance capabilities for artificial intelligence development while supporting the distribution of Microsoft’s cloud computing and AI offerings.　　Additionally, the collaboration incorporates Mistral‘s AI models into Microsoft’s technological framework. Both Mistral Medium 3.5 and OCR 4 have been made accessible through Microsoft Foundry, with Mistral

07-21Industry

Wall Street analyst sets SNDK stock price target for 12 months

Although Sandisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) stock price has plunged over 30% during the past 30 days, Mark Newman, a Wall Street analyst from Bernstein, has reiterated a bullish outlook over the next 12 months.　　Newman reaffirmed a Buy rating for the SNDK stock, according to a note sent to clients on July 21. The analyst further maintained a 12-month price target for SNDK stock at $3,000, thereby projecting a 115.68% upside.　　Late last month, Newman raised the firm‘s 12-month price target for Sandisk Corp. stock from $1,700 to $3,000. The Outperform rating for Sandisk stock was based on long-term agreements (LTAs), which provide structural pricing protection and reduce the company’s earnings volatility.　　Bernstein estimates that the memory makers fiscal 2030 earnings per share (EPS) would still reach $214 with 60% of volumes covered by LTAs. As such, the firm increased its base-case estimates to $243 and $272 for fiscal year 2027 and 2028, respectively.　　SNDK stock forecast and performance　　Following Newmans affirmed SNDK stock forecast for 12 months, 17 Wall Street analysts surveyed by TipRanks have set an average price target of $2,041.88, suggesting a potential 36.76% upside.　　SNDK stock forecast. Source: TipRanks　　These Wall Street analysts have issued a Strong Buy rating for SanDisk Corp. stock

07-21Industry

OKX hires the architect of the BitLicense it never won

Yesterday, crypto exchange OKX appointed to its board Andrew Cuomo — the New York governor whose administration created the BitLicense that OKX never received.　　Maybe thats what it takes to finally get that state license.　　Cuomo and his administration created the BitLicense back in 2014, and OKX, the worlds fourth largest crypto exchange, has been chasing one ever since.　　However, despite having well over a decade to apply, OKX still doesnt appear on the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) register. Somewhat embarrassingly,competitors, including Coinbase, Gemini, Mastercard, MoonPay, and other crypto companies, do.　　With yesterdays news, however, the path for OKX to win its approval might finally have opened up.　　Tough to get, even for the worlds fourth largest crypto exchange　　The license is famously difficult to obtain.　　Kraken, facing the same daunting application in 2015, called the BitLicense “a creature so foul, so cruel that not even Kraken possesses the courage or strength to face its nasty, big, pointy teeth” and left the state.　　Fortune, for context, reported that the BitLicenses first three years of availability produced just four licensees.　　OKX founder Star Xu boasted that Cuomo‘s new board seat will help him build “the world’s most trustworthy large digital asset exchange.” This is something that could

07-21Industry

Stablecoin bank Augustus raises $180 million to build a clearing bank for the AI era

Augustus, a startup building a federally chartered clearing bank for fintechs and financial institutions, said it raised $180 million to expand its dollar payment infrastructure as stablecoins reshape global finance.　　The fundraising valued the company at $1 billion, with Tiger Global leading the round and investors such as Hummingbird, QED and the founders of Nubank, Ramp, Circle and Deel participating, the company said in a Tuesday press release.　　The investment comes as banks, fintechs and crypto firms are racing to modernize the infrastructure behind cross-border payments. While much of the attention has centered on stablecoin issuers, Augustus is targeting a less visible but crucial part of the financial system: correspondent banking.　　“We think distribution breaks at the clearing bank layer,” CEO Ferdinand Dabitz told CoinDesk in an interview. Legacy clearing systems are “slow, unavailable, take two days to settle and close on the weekends,” he argued.　　Taking on correspondent banking　　The firm is building what Dabitz described as an “AI-native” clearing bank designed around stablecoins, programmable money and always-on settlement.　　Augustus doesnt plan to issue its own stablecoin, Dabitz said. Instead, it wants to provide the banking infrastructure that lets financial institutions move money across traditional payment systems and blockchain networks.

07-21Industry

Galaxy Launches Bitcoin Quantum Defense Fund

Galaxy has launched a new initiative aimed at preparing Bitcoin for the potential threat posed by quantum computing.　　The firm, which is spearheaded by cryptocurrency bull Mike Novogratz, has $5 million in grants to fund those developers who are specifically focused on post-quantum security solutions.　　The Galaxy Bitcoin Quantum Readiness Initiative will support efforts to develop new signature schemes, Bitcoin upgrade proposals, wallet migration solutions, and so on.　　Bitcoin Quantum Discount Deepens to 30%; XRP Exits ‘Fear Buy’ Zone on MVRV Chart; New Shiba Inu (SHIB) Whale Flees Coinbase With $2.76 Million Fortune – Morning Crypto Report　　Ripple Veteran on Selling XRP: ‘I Wish I Hadn’t　　The firm has noted that no quantum computer today can break Bitcoins security, but that could change “faster than expected,” and the Bitcoin community is too conservative to implement a fix fast.　　The initiative will be built around developer funding, ongoing research through Galaxy Research, and a Quantum Advisory Council composed of experts in quantum computing and cryptography.　　You Might Also Like　　“Theres a gap between the quantum computing world, which is moving fast, and the Bitcoin development world, which is just beginning to engage with post-quantum cryptography in earnest,” Alex Thorn, the head of research at Galaxy Digital, said in a

07-21Industry

Bitcoin Price Closes In On $67,000, Lifting Strategy And Other Crypto Stocks

Bitcoin‘s price jumped Tuesday to its highest in over one month, bringing crypto stocks like Bitcoin treasury’s Strategy with it.　　The Bitcoin price was recently priced at $66,886, up nearly 3% in 24 hours. Over the past seven days, the leading cryptocurrency has risen by close to 6%.　　Its rise comes as stocks also trade higher — despite tensions in the Middle East flaring up again.　　Nasdaq-listed Strategy (MSTR), formerly MicroStrategy, also jumped above $100 per share on Tuesday.　　The price jump comes even as the Bitcoin juggernaut on Monday revealed it did not make its usual crypto buy, instead reporting the sale of a $225 million in MSTR shares, which it used for its dollar reserve.　　Strategy stock plunged with the price of Bitcoin last year, and is currently well below its November 2024 peak of $473.83.　　The software company, which started buying Bitcoin in 2020 as an inflation hedge, holds at 843,775 BTC, a position worth around $56.2 billion at current prices.　　Other Nasdaq-listed crypto stocks, including Americas biggest crypto exchange, Coinbase (COIN) and Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital (MARA), also surged on Tuesday. COIN at the time of writing was up 11% and MARA was trading over 6% higher.　　Middle East flare up　　Bitcoins price has taken

07-21Industry

Tesla to post first cash burn in two years as AI spending climbs

Automobile manufacturer Tesla is expected to report its first quarterly cash burn in over two years when it releases Q2 results after the close on Wednesday, a warning sign for investors who have bet that the companys spending on robots and self-driving cars will pay off.　　LSEG data puts the company‘s second-quarter free cash flow at minus $3.3 billion. This is a direct opposite to the positive $1.4 billion cash flow in the first quarter, and it lands just as Tesla’s core car business is finally recovering. Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja told investors in April that the company would run negative free cash flow for the rest of 2026.　　Tesla‘s capital budget has pushed past $25 billion for the year, up from about $20 billion three months earlier. Almost $20 billion of this capital budget is aimed at AI, covering Dojo compute, a data center expansion, the Cybercab, and the Optimus humanoid robot. Reports claim capital expenditure is expected to reach $6.7 billion in the quarter alone. A year ago, Tesla’s free cash flow was at about $5.6 billion.　　Automobile business not the issue　　Tesla delivered over 480,126 vehicles in the quarter, up about 25% from a year earlier and above the 397,000

07-21Industry

Bank of Korea CBDC pilot skipped independent security audit, report says

South Koreas first CBDC pilot has been conducted without any independent government security inspection, with participating banks relying mainly on their own pre-launch reviews before testing began.　　South Korean newspaper Maeil Business, citing data submitted by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) to People Power Party lawmaker Lee Heon-seung, reported that financial authorities did not carry out separate security inspections during the first phase of the Bank of Koreas central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot, which ran from April to June last year.　　Instead, the only security work completed before the pilot started consisted of an IT security review and vulnerability assessment carried out in February. According to the report, those reviews relied partly on self-inspection teams from participating lenders Woori Bank and NongHyup Bank alongside the Financial Security Institute and cybersecurity firm SK Shields.　　The arrangement has raised questions because institutions taking part in the pilot also helped assess the security of the systems being tested. According to the documents reviewed by Maeil Business, no evidence was provided that an independent government inspection or external audit took place after the pilot concluded.　　Report raises questions over independent oversight　　The report said the Bank of Korea later addressed security concerns in its published report on the

07-21Industry

Palantir Stock Extends Recovery on Strong AI Software Demand

TLDRPalantir stock advanced as demand for artificial intelligence software supported strong revenue growth.First-quarter revenue increased 85% year over year to $1.63 billion.New contract value reached $2.41 billion, while remaining deal value rose 98% to $11.8 billion.United States commercial demand strengthened as more customers adopted Palantirs Artificial Intelligence Platform.Palantir will release second-quarter results on August 3, with revenue growth and updated guidance in focus.　　Palantir stock (NASDAQ: PLTR) advanced as demand for artificial intelligence software supported another period of strong revenue growth. The company will report second-quarter results on August 3 after posting 85% annual revenue growth during the first quarter. Recent share gains also followed renewed interest in software companies that use AI to improve customer operations.　　Palantir Technologies Inc., PLTR　　AI demand strengthens Palantirs commercial business　　Palantir stock has recovered from its June low as buyers returned to selected software companies. The rebound followed improved sentiment toward businesses that integrate AI tools into existing products and customer workflows. Palantir has benefited because its platforms connect company data with operational decisions across commercial and government environments.　　The company generated first-quarter revenue of $1.63 billion, an increase of 85% from one year earlier. United States commercial revenue rose sharply, while demand also strengthened across the company‘s

07-21Industry

Japanese Yen: Japans fiscal pivot and GPIF flows reshape rates – BNY

BNY‘s Geoff Yu highlights Japan’s new fiscal guidelines under Prime Minister Takaichi, which prioritize proactive spending and long-term investment over near-term consolidation. The plan targets large public-private outlays and abandons the single-year primary surplus goal, while GPIF and insurers increase domestic and super-long JGB exposure, influencing USD/JPY and Japanese Yen (JPY) rate dynamics.　　Proactive spending and JGB demand in focus　　“Japans Cabinet approved its first economic and fiscal policy guidelines under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, marking a clear shift toward aggressive, strategic fiscal spending with no explicit call for fiscal consolidation. The blueprint treats the next fiscal year from April as the first year of ”responsible and proactive“ spending and targets ¥370tn of combined public-private investment by fiscal 2040, with a focus on 17 areas, especially semiconductors.”　　“It also introduces a new budget allotment from fiscal 2027 and ends the traditional push for a single-year primary surplus, instead seeking to steadily lower the debt-to-GDP ratio over time. The government aims for real growth above 1% and nominal growth above 3% and plans to decide on a possible food tax cut by early August. It reiterated that monetary policy remains the Bank of Japans (BoJ) responsibility.”　　“Japanese insurers bought the most super-long JGBs in three

07-21Industry

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