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Good morning!
Here are today’s key updates:
- Major cryptocurrencies see slight gains as tensions with Iran ease; BTC up 1% to $62.7k
- ARB (+13%) and LIT (+10%) lead altcoin gains
- BNB announces plans for a new Layer 1 blockchain focused on AI agents and quantum technology
- Robinhood Chain surpasses $500M in DEX volume amid ongoing meme coin excitement
- Paradigm has successfully raised $1.2 billion for a new AI-focused fund
💸 Paradigm Secures $1.2 Billion Fund as Leading Crypto VC Ventures into AI
Paradigm has announced a $1.2 billion fund aimed at investing in what it describes as the "technical frontier," broadening its focus from solely crypto to include AI and robotics.
Established in 2018 by Matt Huang and Fred Ehrsam, a co-founder of Coinbase, Paradigm has gained recognition as one of the most significant investors in the cryptocurrency space, making this expansion noteworthy. The firm has already allocated funds to companies like drone delivery service Zipline, valued at $7.6 billion, and space defense startup True Anomaly, valued at $2.2 billion, both of which lie outside the crypto realm.
This shift is not entirely unexpected. Last quarter, AI startups attracted approximately 70% of global venture capital, while the number of crypto deals has significantly decreased, with Bitcoin down about 30% for the year. Alana Palmedo, managing partner, told Bloomberg that while crypto is still an exciting frontier, there are numerous other developments that cannot be overlooked.
Paradigm maintains that it is not abandoning crypto, and its actions support this claim. The firm co-led Morpho’s $175 million funding round in June, led a seed round for a tokenized-Treasuries startup this month, and retains investments in Kalshi and other prediction market companies. Huang has long maintained that crypto and AI do not represent a zero-sum game, and the firm is assessing AI investments with its existing technical team rather than creating a separate division. However, it seems that the distinction between crypto and AI is becoming increasingly blurred at the investor level…
🤖 BNB Chain Unveils Plans for a New Layer-1 Blockchain Designed for AI Agents
BNB Chain has revealed a roadmap for the second half of 2026 that includes the development of a new Layer-1 blockchain tailored for “agentic trading,” which involves autonomous AI agents capable of executing trades, managing portfolios, and providing liquidity independently.
The blockchain aims to achieve over 100,000 transactions per second, with pre-confirmation times of under 50 milliseconds and finality in less than one second, intending to rival the speed of centralized exchanges while maintaining self-custody. This would be the fourth network in the BNB ecosystem alongside BNB Smart Chain, opBNB, and Greenfield, with a testnet expected by late 2026 and a mainnet launch in early 2027.
The concept centers on infrastructure designed for machines rather than human users. To facilitate AI agents requiring rapid execution, the chain eliminates the public mempool, where pending transactions wait, and introduces a private flow to prevent front-running and sandwich attacks. The roadmap also incorporates native privacy features, account abstraction, AI-driven security, and research into post-quantum cryptography, utilizing a hybrid strategy that layers quantum-resistant protection atop existing cryptography without necessitating user address migration.
BNB Chain is entering a competitive landscape of high-throughput blockchains that already features Solana’s Firedancer, Monad, and MegaETH. The potential market for this technology is still emerging, as autonomous agents have completed only $73 million in transactions across 176 million blockchain transactions in the past year. Nevertheless, there is a strong belief that this is the direction the industry is heading, with companies like Google, Coinbase, and Visa developing agentic payment systems and McKinsey forecasting that retail agentic commerce could reach $5 trillion by the end of the decade.
The question remains whether BNB Chain can deliver a groundbreaking Layer-1 blockchain on schedule, but they are certainly making an effort…
🌎 Macro Crypto and Markets
- Major cryptocurrencies show slight gains; BTC +1% at $62.7k; ETH steady at $1,740; SOL steady at $77; HYPE -2% at $67
- Top movers include SKY (+7%), LIT (+6%), and AVAX (+4%)
- Oil remains steady at $74; Gold rises 1% to $4,110
- Stock futures are positive as oil prices stabilize and tensions with Iran decrease; DOW -0.1%, Nasdaq +0.5%
- The US has conducted strikes against Iran for the second consecutive night, targeting IRGC boats near the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran claims to have attacked 85 US installations, though Trump stated that Iran has expressed a desire to negotiate
- Bitwise’s Top 10 Crypto Index ETF has replaced DOT and AVAX with HYPE following its strong performance in the first half of the year
- Kraken leads all MiCA-regulated exchanges in terms of liquidity and market coverage
- Adam Back’s Bitcoin Standard Treasury has canceled its SPAC merger with Cantor and is pursuing a new deal
- Ripple has placed the XRP logo on Kansas Jayhawks jerseys in a multi-year sponsorship, furthering crypto’s presence in college sports
- Alfa-Bank, Russia's largest private bank, is planning to become a regulated crypto custodian and offer digital asset services once Russia's new crypto legislation is enacted, joining Sberbank and T-Bank in this initiative
Corporate Treasuries & ETFs
- The Bitcoin ETFs experienced $85M in net outflows on Wednesday, breaking a three-day inflow streak; the ETH ETFs saw $70M in inflows, significantly outperforming
Meme Coin Tracker
- Meme leaders showed slight gains; DOGE +1%, SHIB +1%, PEPE +1%, PENGU steady, TRUMP +1%, BONK +1%
- Robinhood chain memes cooled down after a strong Tuesday, but notable movers included VLAD (+120x), ARROW (+200%), and Tendies (+100%)
- ANSEM increased by 10% on Solana, with Cupsey rising 26% and manlet up 22%
📈 Myriad Market of the Day
💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker
- Zapper, the DeFi dashboard, is shutting down operations, with its website, apps, and API ceasing on Aug. 3 after failing to achieve its goal of promoting broader DeFi adoption
- Google has prohibited prediction market extensions from the Chrome Web Store, effective August 1
- Polymarket has launched a marketing campaign in the US, collaborating with influencers, major sports teams, MLB, and news outlets to restore its reputation after a four-year ban
🚚 What is happening in NFTs?
- NFT leaders remained mostly stable; Punks steady at 32.4 ETH, BAYC steady at 9.25 ETH, Pudgy down 2% at 4.44 ETH; Hypurr down 3% at 204 HYPE
- AI Art Is Not Art (+480%) and Unlimited (+28%)