Cloud PR Wire

Author: Chain Wire

  • Toss Brings 30 Million Users Into the AI Data Economy in Partnership With Poseidon

    Palo Alto, United States, June 26th, 2026, Chainwire

    Toss users can now contribute real-world data to train AI and get paid for it, in a first-of-its-kind model launching in Korea ahead of global expansion.

    Poseidon, the data infrastructure built to source and license real-world data for AI, today announced a partnership with Toss, the mobile financial platform operated by Viva Republica, to let everyday users contribute to AI training and be paid for what they provide. It is Toss’s first move into AI data, and it opens that market to its roughly 30 million users.

    Frontier AI has run out of internet to scrape. The next generation of models depends on real-world data, the kind that captures how people actually speak, move, and react, which does not exist on the open web and has never had a clean way to be sourced, licensed, or paid for. Poseidon is building the infrastructure to change that, and Toss brings the reach to do it at scale.

    Through the partnership, Poseidon’s contributor app, Numo, launches inside the Toss app. Toss users can help build Korean-language training data across voice, image, and video, and receive payment tied directly to what they contribute. Poseidon provides the infrastructure that tracks each contribution and its value, while Toss provides the user base and the financial experience that turns participation into payment. Together they offer a working answer to a question the AI industry has struggled with, which is how to compensate the people whose data makes models better.

    Every contribution made through Numo is registered on DATA, the AI data network that Poseidon refines data for. DATA gives each record a verifiable provenance trail through Trace, its public audit layer, so a buyer can see where a piece of training data came from and a contributor can see that their work was counted and paid. DATA Foundation, which launched this week from the rebrand of Story, is building this layer alongside integration partners including the human data marketplace Kled, and Poseidon is one of the largest sources of refined data flowing into it.

    What Numo collects is first-person data, recorded by real people in real environments, which is among the hardest and most valuable categories to obtain. It is the raw material for physical intelligence, the AI that has to operate in the physical world across robotics, autonomous vehicles, and other applications. Demand from global AI labs for this kind of data is climbing, and Korea is positioned to supply it, with its dense real-life data and Toss’s user base. Poseidon and Toss intend to prove the model in Korea, then expand to global markets.

    Changhoon Seo, Executive Director of New Business at Toss, said: “As the AI industry grows, demand for high-quality data is rising just as fast. Toss plans to build an environment where users can take part in the data economy more easily and naturally, and to expand a structure in which the value they contribute is rewarded transparently.”

    SY Lee, Chief Strategy Officer and Chairman of Poseidon, said: “Korea is one of the few markets where the strategic importance of AI data, a mature financial system, and world-class mobile experience all exist at once. Toss is the right partner to turn user-contributed AI data from an early idea into a standard the rest of the world can adopt.” Lee previously founded the web-novel platform Radish and sold it to Kakao Entertainment, co-founded Story, the IP infrastructure that recently rebranded as DATA Foundation, and was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum this year.

    About Poseidon

    Poseidon is the data infrastructure for AI, built to source, refine, and license the real-world data that frontier models need and the open internet cannot supply. Incubated by the team behind The DATA Network, Poseidon bridges the gap between data supply and AI demand by enabling access to high-quality, IP-safe, and composable training datasets. Poseidon raised a $15 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). Poseidon’s contributor app, Numo, has recorded more than 711,000 data registrations worldwide and is available and is now available on the Toss app.

    Contact

    HV
    henri.vies@piplabs.xyz

  • MEXC Reports 142% Volume Surge for MU Futures Following Record Micron Earnings Beat

    Victoria, Seychelles, June 26th, 2026, Chainwire

    MEXC, a pioneer in 0-fee digital asset trading, releases its observations on equity-related futures trading activity around Micron’s (MU) earnings report. Micron posted quarterly revenue of approximately $41.4 billion, significantly exceeding market expectations. Following the earnings release, capital concentrated into AI memory and storage, with notable increases in trading activity across related instruments.

    Micron was the most-traded stock and equity index futures instrument on MEXC, with trading volume up approximately 142% from the previous day. SanDisk, SK hynix, and DRAM ETF also recorded volume increases of approximately 83%, 28%, and 35%, respectively. Together, these four AI memory and storage instruments accounted for 44% of the day’s Top 10 equity-related futures volume, underscoring the market’s heightened focus on the sector.

    Beyond memory and storage, AI compute and semiconductor names such as NVIDIA and SOXL, as well as index futures including SPX500, NAS100, and US30, also maintained elevated trading activity. The momentum sparked by Micron’s earnings was not confined to AI memory and storage, but extended across compute, semiconductors, and broader U.S. equity indices.

    Ahead of the earnings release, thematic trading patterns were already visible on the MEXC platform. From June 22 to 24, AI memory and storage individual stocks (+28%), DRAM ETF (+92%), and SOXL (+51%) all recorded meaningful volume increases, while broad-based U.S. equity index futures declined approximately 55% over the same period. This indicates that capital was not indiscriminately going long on U.S. equities, but had already concentrated on the supply-constrained memory and storage segment ahead of the earnings announcement.

    For high-profile macro or earnings events, MEXC futures trading enables users to extend trading opportunities across the full cycle of anticipation, realization, and follow-through — positioning ahead of earnings and responding or hedging immediately after results are released. MEXC offers more than a single-instrument entry point: within a unified account and USDT-margined system, users can flexibly adjust positions across single-stock futures, related supply-chain names, sector and thematic ETFs, and index futures as market themes evolve, without transferring capital between platforms. Combined with a 0-fee structure, the friction cost of switching across instruments is further reduced. Notably, the AI memory and storage sector itself spans three markets — Micron is U.S.-listed, SK hynix and Samsung are Korea-listed, and Kioxia is Japan-listed. MEXC currently covers futures across all three markets, enabling users to build positions across national markets along the same industry logic.

    Beyond earnings-driven secondary market trading, MEXC also extends asset discovery to the pre-IPO stage of technology companies. SpaceX (PRE), the first instrument on the platform’s Pre-IPO Launchpad, attracted cumulative subscription volume exceeding US$173 million across two rounds. Since SpaceX completed its IPO on June 12, secondary market prices reached as high as 217 USDT, approximately 67% above the subscription price. This demonstrates that from Pre-IPO subscription through secondary market trading, the entire process offers continuous and sufficient liquidity. Through MEXC, users can participate across different stages of a single core asset on one platform.

    As market trading demand becomes increasingly cross-asset and cross-regional, MEXC bridges Pre-IPO, secondary market, and futures trading, connecting globally sought-after instruments to offer users a one-stop U.S. equity trading platform. Going forward, MEXC will continue to identify high-quality assets, enabling global users to capture unlimited opportunities with minimal friction and maximum capital efficiency.

    About MEXC

    MEXC is the world’s fastest-growing cryptocurrency exchange, trusted by more than 40 million users across 170+ markets. Built on a user-first philosophy, MEXC offers industry-leading 0-fee trading and access to over 3,000 digital assets. As the Gateway to Infinite Opportunities, MEXC provides a single platform where users can easily trade cryptocurrencies alongside tokenized assets, including stocks, ETFs, commodities, and precious metals.

    MEXC Official Website｜ X ｜ Telegram ｜How to Sign Up on MEXC

    For media inquiries, please contact MEXC PR team: media@mexc.com

    Risk Disclaimer:

    This content does not constitute investment advice. Given the highly volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market, investors are encouraged to carefully assess market fluctuations, project fundamentals, and potential financial risks before making any trading decisions.

    Contact

    MEXC PR team
    media@mexc.com

  • The DATA Foundation Launches to Tackle AI’s Multi-Billion Dollar Training Data Bottleneck

    Palo Alto, United States, June 25th, 2026, Chainwire

    Story rebrands as The DATA Foundation, launches DATA Network with flagship Kled AI integration, registering 1.5 billion user-contributed records on the platform

    The Foundation also introduces Trace, the first public audit layer for consent, licensing, and data provenance at scale

    Today, Story announces a strategic transition to become The DATA Foundation (“DATA”) and launches Trace, an onchain registry for AI training data provenance and licensing. The launch includes a flagship integration with Kled, the world’s largest opt-in human data marketplace, registering 1.5 billion user-contributed records on the Network. Andrea Muttoni becomes CEO of The DATA Foundation, and Kled’s founder, Avi Patel, joins in an advisor position as the Chief Data Officer. 

    AI’s Training Data Has Hit a Bottleneck

    The shift to DATA reflects where the market is pulling hardest. AI training data has emerged as the most valuable and least solved category of IP. Frontier AI labs have hit a multi-billion-dollar data bottleneck, where the internet has been effectively exhausted for scraping. The remaining supply is either expensive and bespoke or legally undocumented, leaving labs without a way to source data at scale, prove its provenance, or guarantee its quality.

    The legal stakes are rising, as frontier labs stake out market-defining products on data sourced through opaque networks, often without clear records of consent or jurisdiction. Scraped and undocumented data is no longer an option for enterprise-grade AI.

    “The challenge in AI has shifted from compute and architecture to sourcing and provenance. As the scrapable web fractures, the question for labs now is who is keeping the receipts,” said Andrea Muttoni, CEO of The DATA Foundation. “With Kled, we combine full data transparency and auditability with the largest pool of AI training data on the planet.”

    Building the Infrastructure for Trusted AI Data

    DATA builds on the original mission to deliver a data and intellectual property (IP) layer for the internet, recognizing that the form of data and IP that is most critical in this era is AI training data. DATA Network brings essential infrastructure for training AI, anchored by a flagship integration with Kled. Starting today, Kled’s licensing rails and contributor receipts run on DATA Network with added support for stable coin payouts, which involves registering a staggering 1.5 billion user-contributed records with programmatic legal safeguards.

    “Frontier labs have exhausted the supply of high-quality, human-generated public text available on the open web. Suppliers showing data-sourcing provenance will win the next decade of deals, and that’s our bet,” said Avi Patel, CEO and founder of Kled and part-time advisory CDO of The DATA Foundation. “Instead of sourcing data blindly, Kled’s data marketplace and DATA’s auditable chain of custody converge on what labs actually need to license data with confidence and transparency.” 

    Trace Launches as the Public Audit Layer for AI Training Data

    Trace, The DATA Foundation’s public audit and search platform, also launches today alongside the Kled integration. Trace generates immutable, confidential receipts for every contribution, allowing labs to verify the legitimacy of datasets in seconds. For every single record uploaded by users worldwide, a receipt on DATA will be generated, enabling upstream compensation for contributors’ data and intellectual property. This addresses an urgent need for a verifiable and compliant AI training data market, which has become a legal and operational minefield.

    A Wider Contributor Network

    DATA’s thesis was validated by Poseidon, the AI data processing project incubated by Story, which cleans, normalizes, and scores raw human data for authenticity and quality, ensuring every record that reaches a buyer is model-ready. Poseidon’s early traction with frontier labs proved the AI training data opportunity. Backed by a16z and now running entirely on DATA, its contributor app Numo is live today, bringing thousands of contributors into the AI economy in exchange for real-time payouts. 

    “We started Story to build an IP layer for the internet, and the most important IP of this era is the data you can’t scrape: how a surgeon’s hands move, how a robot grips, how people speak, drive, and work in the real world,” said SY Lee, CEO of PIP Labs and strategic adviser to The DATA Foundation. “DATA is where that conviction goes next: an end-to-end network that proves real-world data’s origin, licenses it, and pays the people who made it. “

    Token Migration and Ecosystem Continuity

    The $IP token migrates to $DATA one-to-one with no action required from existing holders. Migration guidance, exchange timing, and an FAQ are available here.

    About The DATA Foundation

    Data is the biggest bottleneck in frontier AI. The data models need most either sits siloed with people and companies, or doesn’t exist yet, and won’t, until incentives are aligned to create it. DATA Network is the world’s AI audit rails built to answer the three questions every lab asks: can you source data at scale, prove where it came from, and guarantee its quality? Contributor apps including Numo and Kled supply opt-in human data; Trace gives every record a public, tamper-proof receipt; Poseidon turns it into model-ready datasets, so frontier AI can keep advancing on a foundation it can trust. $IP is now $DATA. More information available at datafdn.org. 

    Contact

    HV
    henri.vies@piplabs.xyz

  • Solstice and Tensorx to Buy $1 Billion in AI Infrastructure to Support EU Sovereign AI Demand

    London, United Arab Emirates, June 25th, 2026, Chainwire

    Solstice to launch aiUSX, a yield-bearing asset that lets companies help finance the buildout with the capital they already hold for AI.

    TensorX and Solstice today announced a partnership to finance European sovereign AI infrastructure. TensorX and Solstice will work together to create a facility with up to $1 billion in capacity to finance AI hardware and data-center build-out to meet rising demand for sovereign compute across the EU. Solstice will provide the onchain financing for that buildout and will launch aiUSX, a potential yield asset that opens the same infrastructure lending to companies holding capital for AI.

    TensorX owns and operates a fleet of NVIDIA GPUs and delivers AI models in EU data centres with zero data retention, predictable pricing with best-in-class performance. The company works with AI startups and enterprises across the EU block with plans to expand into other global jurisdictions.

    “Europe wants AI that can run on its own terms, on its own soil, without handing its data to someone else’s cloud on the world stage,” said Tim Grant, Executive Chairman of TensorX. “Meeting that accelerating demand takes hardware, and a lot of it. The billion dollars going into GPUs and data center capacity is the first step, and we expect to keep buying as demand grows. Solstice gives us a financing partner that can keep pace with this incredibly fast moving market.”

    aiUSX: Financing the AI Buildout With Capital Companies Already Hold

    Companies hold growing piles of cash and stable assets for their AI spend while inference bills climb. These two pools sit apart, and the cash earns nothing while it waits. aiUSX closes that gap. The capital a company sets aside for AI goes into aiUSX, which opens access to the AI-infrastructure lending Solstice finances, the same deals large institutions fund. The company takes the position of an infrastructure lender without becoming one or underwriting anything itself; for example, USD.ai has brought capital to AI hardware across the wider buildout. At launch, aiUSX will be capped at $5 million, with yield generated by the lending it gives access to. The capital stays liquid and redeemable, and what it earns goes toward the cost of inference later.

    “Every company is turning into an AI company, and every one of them watches its inference bill climb,” said Ben Nadareski, CEO of Solstice. “aiUSX puts the money they set aside for AI to work in the meantime. They get access to the kind of AI-infrastructure lending that used to sit with large institutions, the capital stays liquid, and what it earns goes toward inference later. It is treasury management for the AI era.”

    “Sovereign AI is one of the biggest infrastructure buildouts of this decade, and it runs on capital as much as it runs on chips,” said Stuart Connolly, CIO of Deus X Capital. “TensorX builds the compute, Solstice brings the financing, and aiUSX lets more companies take part in funding it. Both companies are in the Deus X Capital ecosystem, which is why we’re uniquely positioned to deliver this to the market.”

    About Solstice

    Solstice is an onchain settlement and yield protocol and part of the Deus X Capital ecosystem. Its dollar-denominated asset, USX, and its treasury products provide institutions and businesses with capital that remains liquid and productive. Solstice has a three-year audited track record and more than $500 million in total value locked.

    https://solstice.finance/

    About TensorX

    TensorX is a sovereign AI infrastructure company based in Dublin. It buys and operates AI hardware and data-center capacity across the EU, connects clients to private compute, and keeps prompts and data on European infrastructure with full data residency and zero retention.

    https://tensorx.ai/ 

    Contact

    Laura
    Conquista Ventures
    laura@conquista.co

  • Request Network Introduces One-Click Cross-Chain Mass Payouts and Expands Wallet Screening With Merkle Science

    Zug, Switzerland, June 25th, 2026, Chainwire

    Anyone can now execute mass payouts across EVM chains and Tron from a single platform and can choose between multiple wallet screening providers.

    Just three weeks after releasing major upgrades for crypto payment collection, the Request Network Foundation today announced another expansion of its stablecoin payment platform. The release introduces one-click mass payouts on both EVM and Tron, alongside built-in bridging and token swapping across EVM chains. The update also expands compliance capabilities through the integration of Merkle Science as an additional wallet screening provider.

    Together, these capabilities reinforce Request Network’s vision of providing businesses with a simpler, more scalable, and more resilient way to operate stablecoin payments globally.

    Users Can Now Disburse at Scale in One Click From a Single Wallet Without Bridging or Swapping

    Stablecoins are already widely used to disburse salaries, commissions, affiliate rewards, bug bounties, supplier payments, and customer refunds or withdrawals across the world. While settlements are now faster and cheaper in stablecoins compared to fiat, the operational processes needed to send funds remain complex as recipients usually require payments on multiple chains and in multiple currencies. This has forced finance teams to initiate multiple transactions in separate currencies and from multiple wallets.

    Request Network now abstracts away this fragmentation, allowing anyone to initiate mass payouts from a single wallet in a single currency to pay recipients across the top 6 EVM chains (Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, and BNB Chain) in USDC and USDT.

    Through a single signature, a mass payout can now be initiated even if the individual transactions need to be bridged and swapped to reach their recipient. Request Network protocol automatically retrieves and batches bridge and swap quotes in order to funnel every payment of a batch to its correct destination in just one approval.

    To simplify the process further, Request Network also allows any recipient to set and update their payment preferences so payments are always routed to where they should go.

    This represents one of the biggest breakthroughs in cross-chain and swapping abstraction, bringing payers and recipients closer than ever before, regardless of the blockchain or currency they trust.

    Mass Payouts Now Available on Tron

    Alongside EVM mass payouts, Request Network also announced the support of mass payouts on Tron, becoming the first protocol to combine both capabilities.

    Thanks to this release, anyone can now send USDT to multiple recipients on Tron in a single transaction, unlocking large-scale payouts on one of the most used chains in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America.

    With this release, anyone can now manage all stablecoin payouts globally from the Request Network protocol.

    More Choice for Wallet Screening

    Alongside mass payouts, Request Network also announced a partnership with Merkle Science to offer additional wallet screening providers on the protocol.

    As a reminder, Request Network offers built-in wallet screening to protect its users from high-risk wallet interactions. When enabled, this feature allows payments to be executed only if the payer or recipient satisfies the preset screening policies, helping businesses to avoid exposure to high-risk wallets which may lead to asset freezing or difficulties off-ramping to fiat.

    By expanding its integration of Merkle Science, Request Network just became one of the safest ways to receive crypto onchain, while accommodating for recipients’ preferences.

    Tristan Wallaert, CEO of the Request Network Foundation, said: “Stablecoins allowed money to move globally without the usual fiat constraints, but executing payments at scale remains a bottleneck and is forcing users to rely on payment service providers. Anyone should be able to pay by himself hundreds of payments across chains in just a single operation.High risk wallets exposure has tarnished the crypto reputation recently, if we want to provide the best protection to blockchain users they need to be able to use the best screening providers. Sending and receiving payments must become intuitive and safe if we want stablecoins to be a real alternative to fiat.”

    Mriganka Pattnaik, CEO of Merkle Science, said: “As stablecoin payments become more global and cross-chain, compliance needs to become just as seamless as the payment experience itself. Our integration with Request Network helps businesses screen wallets with greater confidence, reduce exposure to high-risk activity, and scale onchain payments without compromising trust or operational efficiency”.

    About Request Network

    Since 2017, Request Network has developed, educated about, and promoted the use of open-source, decentralized and permissionless protocols that provide infrastructure for on-chain payments and related financial flows.

    Request Network allows anyone to send and receive crypto at scale, across chains, without custodial intermediaries. The protocol is developed by a community-funded foundation whose mission is to make crypto payments accessible while protecting its participants.

    To date, more than $2 billion has moved thanks to Request Network technology.

    Press kit

    About Merkle Science

    Merkle Science provides blockchain analytics and crypto compliance solutions that help businesses detect, investigate, and prevent financial crime across digital assets. Its platform supports wallet screening, transaction monitoring, risk intelligence, and investigations, enabling crypto platforms, financial institutions, and payment providers to manage onchain risk and meet compliance requirements at scale.

    Contacts

    CEO
    Tristan Wallaert
    Request Network Foundation
    press@request.network
    Director of Business Operations
    Álvaro García
    alvaro.garcia@merklescience.com

  • S&P Upgrades Ratings on Freedom Holding Corp. Subsidiaries to “BB-”

    New York, United States, June 24th, 2026, FinanceWire

    S&P Global Ratings has upgraded ratings on several subsidiaries of Freedom Holding Corp., a Nasdaq-listed international investment and technology group. The ratings on Freedom Finance JSC, Freedom Finance Europe Ltd., Freedom Finance Global PLC, and Freedom Bank Kazakhstan JSC were raised to “BB-” with stable outlooks.

    S&P also upgraded the long-term Kazakhstan national scale ratings on Freedom Finance JSC and Freedom Bank Kazakhstan JSC to “kzA-.” Earlier, the agency affirmed Kazakhstan’s sovereign credit ratings at “kzAAA” on the national scale and “BBB-” with a positive outlook. Freedom Holding Corp.’s rating remained at “B-” with a stable outlook.

    According to S&P, Freedom has shown positive momentum in risk management both within the holding company itself and across the group’s subsidiaries. S&P said this should allow the group to more closely monitor and control risks within its growing business, including sanctions compliance, cybersecurity, reputational, regulatory and cryptocurrency risks.

    The agency expects the group to maintain strong capitalization metrics over the next 12–24 months, despite ongoing investments in telecommunications and consumer lifestyle businesses. According to S&P, Freedom’s earnings metrics remain strong, with a three-year average operating profit-to-risk-weighted-assets ratio of approximately 2.2% for the period from March 2024 to March 2026, which remains high in an international context.

    S&P also said the development of Freedom’s financial and non-financial businesses is not expected to place significant pressure on Freedom Holding Corp.’s capitalization.

    The agency also highlighted Freedom’s position as one of Kazakhstan’s leading digital fintech ecosystems, noting the group’s SuperApp mobile application. Monthly active users of the app stood at approximately 2.6 million in March 2026.

    In its rating update, S&P took into account Freedom Holding Corp.’s annual report for fiscal year 2026. The company reported record revenue of $2.19 billion and a twofold increase in net income to $153.3 million. Freedom also significantly expanded its client base across key business segments. The number of users of the bank’s services doubled over the year to 5.03 million, while the brokerage client base grew by 26% to 858,000 clients. In the insurance and other segments, Freedom serves around 2.2 million people. Overall, the client base of the company’s digital ecosystem across all operating markets exceeded 14 million people by the end of fiscal year 2026.

    “The expansion of our digital ecosystem beyond our home region, where we built an effective business model in a relatively short period of time, is a key element of our long-term development strategy,” said Timur Turlov, CEO of Freedom Holding Corp. “We are already seeing strong growth in Europe, are close to obtaining banking and brokerage licenses in Turkey, and are actively developing our business in the United States and the Middle East. In Kazakhstan, we have built the experience, expertise and resources needed to compete for global leadership.”

    As of May 1, 2026, Freedom’s European brokerage business had reached 453,000 clients. Freedom has also announced plans to expand its banking and digital ecosystem operations in several international markets. In early June, the company said it had applied for a banking license in France and planned to invest €500 million in developing its digital ecosystem there. Freedom also expects to invest $300 million in expanding its Turkish operations and has announced the acquisition of 99.32% of the shares of Turkish Bank. The company’s digital banking subsidiary has been operating in Tajikistan since October 2025, and in November 2025, Kazakhstan’s financial regulator granted Freedom permission to open a bank in Georgia.

    About Freedom Holding Corp.

    Freedom Holding Corp. provides financial services in 22 countries, including Kazakhstan, the United States, Cyprus, Poland, Spain, Uzbekistan, and Armenia. The Company’s principal executive office is located in New York City. In Kazakhstan, Freedom is actively developing its financial and digital ecosystem, which includes Freedom Bank, Freedom Broker, the insurance companies Freedom Life and Freedom insurance, as well as a lifestyle segment that features Arbuz.kz, Freedom Ticketon, and Aviata. Freedom Holding Corp. shares are traded on the U.S. technology exchange NASDAQ, the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), and the Astana International Exchange (AIX) under the ticker symbol FRHC. Freedom Holding Corp. is regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the common stock is included in Russell 3000 Index.

    Contact

    Head of Public Relations
    Natalia Kharlashina
    Freedom Holding Corp.
    prglobal@ffin.kz
    +77013641454

  • Virell Trade Launches Stabliq Wallet for Stablecoin Management on Ethereum and TRON

    Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, June 24th, 2026, FinanceWire

    Fintech developer Virell Trade has officially announced the launch of Stabliq Wallet, a secure, non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet engineered specifically for the management of stablecoins across the Ethereum and TRON networks. Designed to enhance digital asset security and accessibility, the application provides comprehensive storage, transfer, and exchange capabilities for major stablecoins, including USDT and USDC.

    To mitigate the complexities typically associated with decentralized finance (DeFi), Stabliq Wallet introduces a specialized architectural design that appeals to both institutional digital asset managers and retail users entering the Web3 ecosystem.

    Key Infrastructure and Technical Features Include:

    • Gasless Ethereum Token Swaps: The wallet features native in-app token exchange capabilities on the Ethereum network, incorporating advanced transaction routing that eliminates the standard requirement for users to hold native Ether (ETH) to cover network gas fees.
    • Non-Custodial Security Framework: Built on a strict zero-trust, non-custodial architecture, the platform ensures users retain exclusive ownership of their private keys. Local security protocols are reinforced by biometrics (Face ID), password protection, and standardized seed phrase recovery mechanisms.
    • Multi-Account and Multi-Network Integration: Users can manage multiple distinct accounts, import existing wallets via standard seed phrases, and track cross-network digital assets seamlessly within a unified interface.
    • Operational Workflow Optimization: The application streamlines daily transactions through an integrated address book, comprehensive transaction historical ledgers, custom token import support, and quick-response (QR) code transfer protocols.

    By focusing on the dual infrastructure of Ethereum and TRON — the two largest networks for stablecoin volume — Stabliq Wallet directly addresses the market’s demand for high-throughput, secure, and cost-effective digital asset management.

    • Representative of Virell Trade: «Stabliq Wallet uses a non-custodial architecture, meaning users have full control over their private keys. Security features include Face ID, password protection, and seed phrase backup», said the company.

    About Virell Trade

    Virell Trade is a digital asset technology company based in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE. The firm specializes in developing secure Web3 infrastructure, decentralized financial applications, and consumer-focused blockchain tools designed to enhance efficiency and security in the global digital economy. For more information, users can visit the official Stabliq Wallet platform.

    Contact

    Stabliq Wallet
    dev@virell.io

  • STARTRADER Lists SpaceX (SPCX) CFD Days After Historic Nasdaq Debut

    Dubai, UAE, June 24th, 2026, FinanceWire

    Rapid addition of the largest IPO in market history underscores the broker’s commitment to meeting trader demand in real time

    STARTRADER has added SPCX CFD (Space Exploration Technologies Corp.) to its trading platform, making the instrument available on MT5 from 15 June 2026 and on the STARTRADER App from 18 June 2026. The listing comes just three days after SpaceX’s Nasdaq debut on 12 June, one of the fastest turnarounds in the broker’s instrument launch history.

    SpaceX’s IPO was the largest in U.S. market history, raising $85 billion through the sale of more than 555 million shares at an offer price of $135. The stock closed its first session at $160.95, up 19%, with trading volume exceeding 500 million shares. The scale of investor interest made rapid platform availability a priority for brokers serving active retail traders.

    For STARTRADER, the decision to list SPCX CFD within days of its public debut reflects a broader principle that has guided the company’s growth: when traders want access, the platform delivers. Expanding the US equities offering with one of the most in-demand instruments on the market is a direct response to the trading community’s expectations, and a measure of the operational readiness required to act on them.

    That speed carries a trust signal. Listing a newly public stock at this scale requires coordination across compliance, platform integration, and risk management. Doing it within days of the IPO, with 5x leverage and extended trading hours (Monday to Friday, 16:30-23:00), subject to applicable entity conditions, demonstrates the infrastructure and responsiveness that STARTRADER’s clients have come to rely on.

    “When the largest IPO in history enters the public market, demand for timely access can be significant. Listing SPCX CFD within days of its Nasdaq debut reflects our focus on providing timely access to newly available instruments.” Peter Karsten, Chief Executive Officer, STARTRADER

    The addition of SPCX CFD is part of STARTRADER’s continued expansion across asset classes, driven by client demand and a commitment to keeping the platform aligned with where markets are moving. With several high-profile technology companies that market participants have been watching closely, the infrastructure and processes behind this listing are designed to support future product launches as they become available.

    About STARTRADER 

    STARTRADER is a global multi-asset broker empowering retail and institutional partners to access global markets through a range of platforms, including MetaTrader, STAR-APP, and STAR-COPY. Regulated and licensed through entities across five jurisdictions (CMA, ASIC, FSCA, FSA, and FSC), STARTRADER operates in accordance with the permissions granted to each respective entity and combines strong governance with a client-first approach, serving both retail clients and partners with a commitment to transparency, reliability, and long-term growth.

    Disclaimer: The content is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice, an offer, or solicitation to buy or sell any financial instruments. Services may not be available in all jurisdictions and are subject to local regulatory restrictions. Trading in financial instruments, including CFDs, involves risk and may not be suitable for all investors. You may lose more than your initial investment.

    Contact

    Janna Magabilen
    STARTRADER
    Janna.magabilen@startrader.com

  • Borderless.xyz Adds alfred to Its Stablecoin Network, Deepening Latin America Coverage Across 11 Countries

    New York, New York, June 23rd, 2026, FinanceWire

    This integration brings LatAm last-mile rail depth to the Borderless.xyz network

    Borderless.xyz, the global stablecoin orchestration and liquidity network, today announced that alfred has joined its network as a Participating Financial Institution (PFI), expanding stablecoin on/off-ramp coverage across Latin America. The partnership adds depth in corridors and rail types that Borderless.xyz customers have been actively requesting, available immediately through their existing API integration.

    alfred is LatAm last-mile payments infrastructure that bridges stablecoins and local banking systems across 11 countries and 13 payment rails. Their Penny API provides a single interface for KYC/KYB onboarding, fiat-stablecoin conversion, on/off-ramp transactions, virtual accounts, and fiat-to-fiat transfers. Alfred’s network includes Colombia’s leading digital wallet rails, named virtual accounts in Argentina, and live coverage across markets like the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, and El Salvador where most providers fall short.

    “Our customers come to us because they need LatAm coverage that actually works at depth, not just the major corridors. Alfred fills the gaps we’ve been hearing about most consistently, from Colombia’s digital wallet ecosystem to the Dominican Republic to named virtual accounts in Argentina. Adding them to the network means our customers get that coverage through the same integration they’re already on.” – Kevin Lehtiniitty, CEO of Borderless.xyz

    “We’re big fans of Kevin, Alex and the whole Borderless team and we’re proud to support the Borderless.xyz network with the infrastructure businesses need to move funds reliably across key LATAM markets and payment rails throughout the region.” – Luis Miller, Head of Partnerships at alfred. 

    alfred’s corridors are available to all existing Borderless.xyz customers immediately, with no additional onboarding, contract negotiation, or API integration required. New customers can access Alfred’s coverage as part of the Borderless.xyz network starting today. Borderless.xyz‘s network currently connects wallet infrastructure to 14+ locally-licensed stablecoin providers across 94+ countries and 63+ fiat currencies.

    About alfred

    Alfred is a Miami-based fintech company that provides a payments infrastructure platform to bridge legacy payment systems with digital and crypto-based infrastructures across Latin America. Founded in 2022 by Diego Yanez, Matias Plano, Luis Miller, Marino A Marrero B, and Ronald Johnson, the company was born from firsthand experience with the complexities of cross-border payments. To learn more, users can visit the website: alfredpay.io

    About Borderless.xyz

    Borderless.xyz is a global stablecoin orchestration and liquidity network. Its single API connects wallet infrastructure to 14+ licensed stablecoin providers across 94+ countries and 63+ fiat currencies, giving businesses the speed of an aggregator with the economics of going direct. Borderless.xyz is SOC 2 Type II certified and headquartered in New York. To learn more, users can visit the website: borderless.xyz.

    Contact

    Sarah Cohen
    SJC PR
    sarah@sjc-pr.com

  • ACTIVIST SHAREHOLDER FILES SCHEDULE 13D IN EQUUS TOTAL RETURN, INC.

    Lake Forest, Illions, June 23rd, 2026, FinanceWire

    ACTIVIST SHAREHOLDER FILES SCHEDULE 13D IN EQUUS TOTAL RETURN, INC. 

    Calls for Immediate Board Accountability and Strategic Review 

    Issues Open Letter Ahead of June 30 Annual Meeting

    A beneficial owner of approximately 5.61% of the outstanding common stock of Equus Total Return, Inc. (NYSE: EQS) has filed a Schedule 13D with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and issued the following open letter to the Company’s Board of Directors and fellow shareholders. The filing represents the first public challenge to the Board’s stewardship during the Company’s fifteen-year tenure under current management. Shareholders are encouraged to review the Company’s proxy materials carefully and form their own views regarding the matters set forth below. 

    — Open Letter to the Board of Directors and Shareholders of Equus Total Return, Inc. — 

    A Record That Warrants Scrutiny

    Since the current chief executive assumed control in 2011, the fund has faced persistent challenges in generating sustained value for its shareholders. The Company has reported five consecutive years of net investment losses, has paid no dividend since 2009, and last year saw its stock price fall below the NYSE minimum listing threshold. Every figure cited below is drawn directly from the Company’s own filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. My opinions, conclusions, and calls for corporate action are also based on these filings.

    Net asset value per share declined to $1.19 as of December 31, 2025, down from $3.55 just two years prior and from $2.17 at year-end 2024. In absolute dollars, total net asset value of the fund — calculated as NAV per share multiplied by shares outstanding as reported in each year’s Form 10-K — dropped from approximately $48.2 million at year-end 2023 to approximately $16.6 million at year-end 2025, a loss of roughly $31.6 million in aggregate fund value, or 65%, in just two years.

    The Company recorded a net investment loss of $3.7 million in 2025, its fifth consecutive year of net investment losses, including three straight years with losses exceeding $3 million. Total operating expenses for the year were $5.1 million — at a company that ended 2025 with only $133,000 in cash. The Company’s independent registered public accounting firm included a going-concern explanatory paragraph in its audit report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025. No dividends have been paid since 2009, meaning shareholders have waited seventeen years without any return of capital. In 2025, the Company’s stock fell below $1.00 per share, triggering a formal NYSE non-compliance notice and a near-delisting proceeding.

    The portfolio today consists of two primary positions. The first is Morgan E&P, a private oil and gas company in which Equus holds a majority interest and which management values entirely on its own judgment. Morgan E&P represented 60.8% of total investments and 63.4% of net asset value as of December 31, 2025, yet generated only $177,000 in revenue during the year while recording a net loss of $7.0 million. The second is a publicly traded stake in CitroTech, Inc. (NYSE American: CITR), a developer of fire suppression products. Equus acquired its CitroTech position through a convertible note that it converted into 664,041 shares during 2025. As of December 31, 2025, the combined value of the Company’s CitroTech shares and warrants was approximately $6.8 million, making it the Company’s second-largest holding and its only meaningful source of liquidity.

    Taken together, these two positions account for nearly the entirety of the Company’s portfolio. It is clear to me that Equus is not a diversified investment firm. I view it as a concentrated holding vehicle for one illiquid private energy asset and one publicly traded fire suppression company, and it charges shareholders $5.1 million per year in operating expenses for that arrangement.

    Management Compensates Itself Regardless of Results

    In my judgment, the executive compensation structure at Equus is the defining feature of this governance failure. In 2025, while shareholders received no dividends and watched net asset value fall by more than a dollar per share, the three named executive officers collected a combined $1,872,271 in total compensation. The chief executive received $896,943, including a base salary of $561,401. That salary is contractually required to escalate annually by the greater of five percent or the Canadian Consumer Price Index — regardless of performance — plus stock awards valued at $335,542. The secretary and chief compliance officer received $625,515, including a salary of $457,744 subject to a similar automatic escalator tied to the U.S. Consumer Price Index, plus $167,771 in restricted stock. The chief financial officer received $349,813 in total compensation under a separate fixed-base agreement. This combined executive pay is equivalent to roughly twenty-two percent of the Company’s entire non-affiliate market capitalization of approximately $8.6 million.

    In September 2025, the Board granted 200,523 fully-vested restricted shares to executives and approved a new equity incentive plan reserving an additional 2,793,339 shares for future awards. Shareholders were separately asked to authorize share issuances below net asset value. In my view, these actions represent a transfer of value from shareholders to insiders at a company that has produced no positive investment income in five years. It is notable that at the most recent annual meeting, approximately 23.5% of shareholder votes were cast against executive compensation — a level of dissent that the Compensation Committee described in its own proxy as confirmation “that the Company’s shareholders support the Company’s executive compensation policies and decisions.”

    Independent Directors With No Meaningful Stake in the Outcome

    The three independent directors on the Equus board have, in my view, no meaningful skin in the game. Per the Company’s own proxy beneficial ownership table, Fraser Atkinson holds 45,591 shares, Henry W. Hankinson holds 19,500 shares, and John J. May holds no shares at all — a combined independent director stake of approximately 65,091 shares, or less than 0.47% of shares outstanding. These are the individuals responsible for setting executive compensation, approving share issuances below net asset value, and overseeing a portfolio that has lost more than two-thirds of its value since 2023. In my judgment, they bear virtually no personal financial consequence from any of those decisions.

    The secretary and chief compliance officer — who received $625,515 in compensation in 2025 and holds 332,595 shares of the Company’s common stock — also sits on the board. Directors and executive officers as a group control approximately 30.5% of the outstanding shares, concentrated overwhelmingly in the chief executive. The three shareholders disclosing ownership above five percent are the chief executive (27.65%), a second major holder (22.71%), and the undersigned (5.61%). Non-affiliated shareholders hold the remainder yet have no meaningful representation at the table.

    In my opinion, a governance structure in which independent directors hold less than one-half of one percent of shares outstanding, in which compensation escalates by contract regardless of results, and in which the chief executive controls the majority of the insider bloc, is not independent oversight. Rather, I believe it is an arrangement designed to perpetuate itself.

    A Path Forward

    The Annual Meeting of Stockholders is scheduled for June 30, 2026, eight calendar days from today. Equus holds real assets — a controlling interest in an energy company with identified acreage and a publicly traded position in a growing fire suppression business. The question I present is not whether value exists but whether management will unlock it or continue to extract it.

    The Board should suspend all automatic base salary escalators for the chief executive and the secretary and chief compliance officer pending an independent compensation review. There is, in my opinion, no basis for contractually guaranteed annual raises — indexed to the Canadian CPI for the chief executive and the U.S. CPI for the secretary — at a company that has not generated positive investment income in five consecutive years. 

    Most critically, I believe the Board must engage an independent financial advisor to evaluate a recharacterization of the business through a merger with or acquisition by an operating company. The Company’s portfolio — one controlling interest in a private energy asset and one publicly traded minority stake — is not, in my judgment, a viable long-term structure for a listed investment vehicle carrying $5.1 million in annual overhead. A transaction that introduces an operating business, an active management team, and a credible growth strategy would serve shareholders far better than the current arrangement. The fair value of the primary private investment is currently determined by management with no independent validation; a third-party appraisal must be completed and publicly disclosed before any such transaction is contemplated. The Board should also commit to issuing no further shares below net asset value and making no awards under the 2025 Equity Incentive Plan until a strategic review is concluded.

    Conclusion 

    Equus Total Return holds real assets and real value — value that, in my opinion, has been insufficiently protected under the current governance structure, which features excessive compensation, limited board independence, and directors with negligible personal stakes in the outcome. Shareholders should carefully review the Company’s proxy materials and make their own determination regarding all matters to be voted upon. I believe the assets of this Company can generate real returns under proper stewardship, and I respectfully urge the Board to take the steps outlined above in the interest of those who own the Company.

    Respectfully submitted, 

    Howard Todd Horberg 

    Beneficial Owner — 783,000 shares (5.61%) of Equus Total Return, Inc. (NYSE: EQS) 

    Schedule 13D Filed: June 23, 2026

     

    Important Notice: This release is issued concurrently with the filing of a Schedule 13D with the SEC. This communication is not a solicitation of proxies within the meaning of SEC Rule 14a-1(l) and is not being made on behalf of any group seeking to solicit proxies. Nothing herein constitutes investment advice or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. Statements of opinion are identified as such and reflect the personal views of the undersigned. All factual figures are derived from publicly available SEC filings of Equus Total Return, Inc., including the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, the Definitive Proxy Statement (DEF 14A) filed April 30, 2026, and the Form 10-Q and related press release for the quarter ended March 31, 2026. Shareholders should consult their own legal, financial, and tax advisors.

    Contact

    Howard Todd Horberg
    Horberg Enterprises
    thorbyen@aol.com