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The insider information about the acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure company BVNK by Mastercard for $1.8 billion has recently been revealed. BVNK's early investment firm Concentric disclosed that during the acquisition bidding process, the U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase once held an advantage and reportedly made a top bid of $2.5 billion, but ultimately withdrew from the competition due to insufficient strategic and cultural fit between the two parties.Kjartan Rist, founding partner of Concentric, stated that the founding team of BVNK did not only focus on the bid amount when choosing an acquirer, but placed more importance on long-term partnerships and cultural alignment. "Although Coinbase may have offered a higher price, the chemistry between the two parties was not ideal." In contrast, Mastercard, as a traditional financial services company, found it easier to form synergies with BVNK in the areas of payment infrastructure and stablecoin applications.It is reported that Mastercard was involved in the acquisition discussions for BVNK early on, and after Coinbase failed to advance the deal, Mastercard re-emerged as the primary buyer, ultimately completing the acquisition for $1.8 billion.Visa also participated in the competition. Having previously invested in BVNK and holding a board observer seat, Visa once had an advantage. However, Visa ultimately chose not to pursue a direct acquisition, opting instead for an open strategy of collaborating with multiple stablecoin companies.BVNK was founded in 2018 and primarily provides stablecoin payment, cross-border settlement, and fund management infrastructure for enterprises. Its early investor Concentric invested in the company at a valuation of $4 million in 2019, and this transaction has resulted in significant returns.

According to token unlocking data from the crypto asset data platform RootData, Aster (ASTER) will unlock approximately 16.467 million tokens at 0:00 Beijing time on August 17, worth about 101 million USD.

According to Catcher Predict monitoring, the event "Dota 2: Amaru Gaming vs Team Jenz (BO3) - EPL Masters Group A" is currently the most traded on the prediction market Polymarket, with a total pool size reaching $2,126,800. The option with the highest consensus in the current market is "Game 1 Winner," with an associated win rate of approximately 50.5%.

Global Stablecoin Arrangement and Liquidity Network Borderless.xyz announced a partnership with Mastercard to launch a pilot program exploring how to enhance trust and compliance in cross-border stablecoin payments through Mastercard Crypto Credential.The pilot will utilize the standardized framework of Mastercard Crypto Credential to provide verifiable trust signals for stablecoin payment processes, helping participants optimize approval, compliance, and risk management. Participants in the pilot include Infinia, Walapay, and Koywe from the Borderless.xyz network.

According to Cointelegraph, payment giant Mastercard has announced a pilot project with the stablecoin infrastructure network Borderless to explore the use of the Mastercard Crypto Credential standard framework to provide more reliable identity verification and compliance support for cross-border stablecoin payments.Both parties stated that the pilot will test how to provide "trust signals" that can be used for approval, compliance review, and risk management for transaction participants through a standardized certification mechanism, reducing compliance friction in cross-border stablecoin payments.The Mastercard Crypto Credential framework provides identity confirmation and credibility assurance for blockchain transactions through unified standards and verification mechanisms. Kevin Lehtiniitty, co-founder and CEO of Borderless, stated that compliance has always been a major barrier to the scalable development of stablecoin payments, and Mastercard is attempting to apply the compliance trust model from traditional finance to the digital asset payment space. He pointed out that the Mastercard Crypto Credential will serve as a governance and verification layer in this pilot, but Mastercard will not directly handle or settle funds. This collaboration is the latest move in Mastercard's ongoing strategy in the stablecoin space.Previously, Mastercard had just completed the acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure company BVNK for approximately $1.8 billion, further strengthening its infrastructure layout in the digital asset payment field. In June of this year, Mastercard also announced plans to expand its settlement capabilities to support round-the-clock card payment settlements using stablecoins, including USDC issued by Circle, PYUSD, USDG, USDP issued by Paxos, and RLUSD issued by Ripple.The market believes that as stablecoins gradually enter cross-border payment scenarios, identity authentication, compliance verification, and risk control infrastructure will become important factors driving institutional adoption.

According to the ranking data from RootData stock derivatives exchanges, as of the time of writing, the top three exchanges with the largest spreads among the Top 20 are BingX, OrangeX, and Aster, with spreads of 0.299%, 0.281%, and 0.182%, respectively.In addition, KuCoin has a spread of 0.133% and Phemex has a spread of 0.142%, both exceeding 0.1%.It is reported that this spread is the weighted average spread based on the 24-hour trading volume, and a higher value usually indicates higher trading costs.

According to official news, Mastercard has announced the completion of its acquisition of the stablecoin infrastructure company BVNK to enhance its global stablecoin service capabilities. Mastercard's Chief Product Officer stated that in a multi-currency world where various values coexist, including fiat currencies, stablecoins, and tokenized deposits, the next generation of payment models will be determined by the efficiency of connections across different rails. BVNK's on-chain infrastructure and stablecoin-native technology will help financial institutions, fintechs, and enterprises expand stablecoin application scenarios such as cross-border B2B payments, remittances, settlements, and cash flows.Previously, in March, it was reported that Mastercard planned to acquire BVNK for up to $1.8 billion.

According to monitoring by Lookonchain, a former BNB Chain employee deployed a new token ASTEROID and used 4 newly created wallets to purchase 796.7 million ASTEROID for $10,000 (accounting for 79.67% of the total supply).The employee has since sold 718.8 million ASTEROID, exchanging it for 1,103 BNB (approximately $638,000), making a profit of $628,000.ChainCatcher previously reported that the BNB Chain officials stated that a former employee was unauthorized to use the original official test wallet to issue the new Meme token (referring to ASTEROID) and legal action has been taken.

According to GMGN data, the market capitalization of BSC Meme coin Asteroid has exceeded 9 million USD, with an intraday increase of over 130 times, currently reported at 6.7 million USD.According to community information, one of the biggest beneficiaries of TST, Sm0kEy, stated that the TST token deployer is not a Binance employee and has never been a Binance employee. Their previous participation in TST trading was only due to discovering the opportunity early, and there is no connection with the project party. Meme coin prices are highly volatile, and investors should pay attention to liquidity and short-term trading risks.

According to Jinshi reports, Mastercard (MA.N) stock price rose by 3%, and its second-quarter profit exceeded market expectations.

The decentralized exchange Aster announced the launch of Korean RWA Season 1: Taker Showdown trading event, which will take place from July 30 to August 6, lasting for 7 days. The designated trading pairs are SKHYNIXUSDT and SAMSUNGUSDT, with a total prize pool of 10,000 USDT, divided into three parts: Taker Trading Volume Leaderboard (4,000 USDT), Profit and Loss Leaderboard (4,000 USDT), and Participation Prize Pool (2,000 USDT). The event is open to all new and existing users (excluding market makers), and only Taker trading volume during the event period will be counted. Rewards will be distributed in USDT within 14 working days after the event ends. Aster stated that more trading pairs may be added later based on market conditions.

According to Jinshi reports, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the Russian army has taken control of Svitly and Novosych in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian President Zelensky mentioned that there are reports indicating Russia plans to launch a large-scale attack and has requested Trump to provide 300 "Patriot" interceptors before winter.The Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that multiple Russian facilities were attacked, including the Ryazan oil refinery and the Black Sea Fleet's ship base. An advisor from the Ministry of Internal Affairs pointed out that Russia is launching a large-scale attack on Ukraine, and cruise missiles are expected to be imminent.

According to Jinshi reports, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the Russian army has taken control of the Svitly and Novasych regions in eastern Ukraine.

According to monitoring by Catcher Predict, in the market prediction on Polymarket for the event "Dota 2: Team Syntax vs. Nemiga Gaming - EPL Masters Group A," the "Yes" option in the sub-market "Ends During the Day" has experienced a dramatic fluctuation in win rate, soaring from 50% an hour ago to the current 90.5% (a fluctuation of 40.5%). Please note the impact of relevant breaking news.

OneBullEx officially launched the OneBullEx Mastercard in July, further expanding the application of digital assets in everyday payment scenarios. Users can convert USD T in their accounts to USD balance on the card and make online and offline purchases in over 100 countries and regions that support Mastercard, while also supporting quick card issuance in minutes.With the product launch, OneBullEx simultaneously introduced a limited-time benefit event. From July 27 at 18:00 to August 23 at 18:00, users who recharge more than 100 USDT (excluding card issuance fees) within 7 days after opening the card and complete their first valid transaction can participate in the launch event.By launching the OneBullEx Mastercard, OneBullEx is further connecting AI smart trading, digital asset management, and global payment scenarios, promoting the extension of digital assets from trading tools to everyday financial applications, providing users with a more convenient and efficient digital asset usage experience.

According to Arkham monitoring, 84 million BANK tokens have been transferred from the suspected BANK Foundation Wallet (0xEde6...3B11a) to a new address (0x5721...22Bd8), and then the address transferred the related tokens to the Aster deposit address (0x1284...87974).Market data shows: The price of BANK tokens has surged significantly in the past few days, increasing more than 3 times, currently reported at approximately $0.16.

According to monitoring by Lookonchain, a mysterious giant whale created 3 new wallets, deposited 3 million USDT into Aster DEX, and opened a total of 4.73 billion AKE long positions, worth 3.37 million dollars.

According to official news, the decentralized derivatives trading platform Aster has announced the launch of spot trading for tokenized stock $SKHYB, and today it has started a week-long position and trading activity, sharing a prize pool of $15,000 in $SKHYB.According to the activity announcement, the Aster platform now supports bStocks assets as collateral for perpetual contracts. After enabling multi-asset mode, users can convert the deposited $SKHYB into collateral assets at up to 90% of market value. This means users can participate in trading in any perpetual contract market without having to sell the underlying stocks, aiming to leverage the advantages of multi-asset margin to effectively enhance users' capital utilization efficiency.It is reported that bStocks are tokenized securities issued by BTECH Holdings, which achieve a 1:1 peg with the underlying stock assets held by regulated custodians.

According to The Block, the Linux Foundation has officially established the x402 Foundation, governed by a structure of 40 member companies, with Coinbase having completed its contribution to the protocol. Founding members include Ripple, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Stripe, Adyen, Fiserv, Shopify, Google, AWS, Cloudflare, as well as Circle, MoonPay, the Solana Foundation, and the Stellar Foundation.The protocol allows servers to respond to requests with a 402 response and pricing, while clients sign stablecoin transfers (usually USDC) and resend requests for data, without the need for accounts, credit cards, or prior relationships between the parties, making it inherently adaptable for AI agent applications. Previously in April, it was reported that the neutral internet payment protocol x402, incubated by Coinbase, would migrate under the Linux Foundation and operate in the form of an independent foundation called the "x402 Foundation."