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 doesn’t 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.
Polymarket traders sharply raised the odds of the Clarity Act becoming law this year after reports that President Trump reportedly agreed to the ethics provision that had stalled the bill.
The market pricing whether the crypto market structure bill is signed into law in 2026 rose to about 43% on the predictons market on Monday, compared to 32% on Friday. This was its lowest level since the market started trading in January.
The jump tracked a series of reports that the final sticking point in months of negotiations had been cleared.
Democrats have not seen the bill text, a source familiar with the matter told CoinDesk, and no text has been publicly released. The White House and the offices of the senators involved had not commented.
Ethics has been the last major obstacle to the Clarity Act, which would create the first comprehensive federal framework for digital assets and split oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Lending protocol Morpho has launched Morpho Midnight on Base, adding fixed-rate, fixed-term loans to its onchain credit network alongside the variable-rate markets offered through Morpho Blue.
In an announcement sent to Cointelegraph, Morpho said the offer-driven protocol lets lenders and borrowers propose their own interest rates, maturities and other loan terms instead of relying on a protocol-defined utilization curve. Loans are issued as fixed obligations, with terms set through competing offers rather than algorithmic pool pricing.
Predictable rates and defined maturities are standard features of traditional credit markets. However, they remain uncommon in decentralized finance (DeFi), where borrowing costs generally fluctuate based on market utilization. Fixed terms could make onchain lending more attractive to institutions and businesses that need to manage funding costs, returns and risk exposure in advance.
A Morpho spokesperson told Cointelegraph that Midnight is live on the Base mainnet, initially supporting cbBTC and USDC across multiple maturity dates. The spokesperson said Morpho deliberately kept the launch contained as part of a progressive rollout that prioritizes security.
The spokesperson said crypto-native lenders, borrowers and curators already active on Morpho Blue had shown interest in Midnight. Several unidentified enterprises and institutions are also building products on the protocol in beta, with announcements expected as those products go live.
Morpho’s fixed-rate lending plans take shape
Morpho first outlined the fixed-rate system in 2025 under a broader “Morpho V2” roadmap. It described an intent-based, peer-to-peer marketplace where users could submit custom offers, price loans through market demand and keep capital earning variable yield until a fixed-rate offer was matched.
In April, Morpho named the fixed-rate protocol Midnight and clarified that it was not a replacement for Morpho Blue. While Blue provides open-ended, variable-rate lending pools, Midnight externalizes loan risk, interest rate and duration to market participants.
The protocol then released Midnight’s whitepaper and codebase in May, saying that its “offered capital” model was intended to avoid a recurring problem for fixed-rate DeFi protocols: liquidity being locked or fragmentation across maturity dates.
Related: Grayscale plans regular cash payouts from ETH, SOL staking rewards
Midnight’s launch follows Morpho’s $175 million funding round in June, led by Paradigm, Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z crypto and Ribbit Capital. At the time, Morpho said it planned to expand integrations with banks, asset managers and large platforms while adding features associated with traditional credit markets.
Morpho’s infrastructure already underpins variable-rate lending products distributed through major crypto platforms. In April, Coinbase launched Morpho-powered USDC loans for United Kingdom users, allowing them to borrow against Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and cbETH on Base.
The loans carried variable rates and no fixed repayment schedule, illustrating the open-ended borrowing model that Midnight intends to complement.
Magazine: Ethereum’s EEZ could pull other blockchains into its orbit
In attempting to modernize and better meet its customers’ needs, MoneyGram has partnered with the Stellar network, which has underpinned many of the company’s blockchain initiatives over the past five years. But the company has also started exploring other ecosystems: while Stellar remains a core partner, MoneyGram has also become a validator on Solana and Tempo. For MoneyGram, the immediate payoff isn’t speculative crypto activity, it’s replacing legacy financial rails.
Today’s cross-border settlement still largely depends on banking hours and weekday processing. Blockchain-based infrastructure, Soohoo argued, enables real-time settlement around the clock, reducing operational costs while improving the customer experience.
“We believe if we do it right, we can achieve all three,” he said, referring to helping customers save time, effort and money. Instant settlement also allows MoneyGram to lower back-office costs, savings the company hopes to eventually pass on through lower prices. Currently, MoneyGram’s fees start at $1.89 and vary depending on what country you send them to.
Soohoo doesn’t believe consumers need to understand the technology powering those improvements. He compared blockchain to the processors inside Apple’s iPhone.
“I can’t tell you what processor is inside my iPhone,” he said. “I just know it’s faster.” In the same way, he argued, remittance customers care about whether money arrives quickly and reliably, not whether it traveled over a blockchain.
Tether-controlled Twenty One Capital (XXI) named Raphael Zagury as CEO, replacing Jack Mallers, and dropped Strike from a proposed three-way merger, the companies said.
Mallers stepped down effective July 20 to focus on Strike, the bitcoin payments firm he founded. Strike will remain independent and is no longer being considered for a business combination with Twenty One, according to a press release.
Tether, Twenty One’s controlling shareholder, confirmed the changes in a separate announcement.
Tether proposed combining Twenty One, Strike and Elektron in April, seeking to place bitcoin treasury, financial services and mining under one listed company.
Twenty One’s revised strategy will focus on acquiring operating businesses, expanding capital markets capabilities and developing bitcoin-backed lending.
XXI is little changed in pre-market trading.
CoinDesk has reached out to all three companies, but hasn’t heard back at the time of writing.
Crypto companies already licensed under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) could still exit the market as compliance costs mount, according to Gate Europe’s CEO.
Giovanni Cunti told Cointelegraph’s Chain Reaction on Monday that stricter regulatory requirements have made it increasingly difficult for new entrants to compete and that some licensed firms could ultimately be unable to absorb the ongoing costs of operating under the framework.
“I think there are going to be quite a few more of the ones that acquire MiCA license that will not be capable to sustain the cost and the resources that are needed to carry on this business in the long term,” Cunti said.
MiCA is the EU’s regulatory framework for crypto assets. The bloc’s 18-month transition period ended on July 1, requiring crypto firms serving EU customers to operate under authorization or cease offering regulated services.
The deadline prompted several exchanges to restrict or withdraw services in parts of Europe while licensed firms began operating under the new regime. Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, was not able to secure a MiCA license before the deadline.
Compliance costs reshape Europe’s crypto market
Cunti also warned that MiCA’s stricter regulatory requirements could drive some crypto startups and projects outside Europe. While the framework has strengthened investor protections, he said it leaves less room for innovation than jurisdictions with lighter rules.
He said some projects may choose to launch in jurisdictions with less restrictive regulatory requirements instead of navigating the bloc’s compliance regime.
“We may need to be prepared that some projects, possibly some important projects, may be looking at other jurisdictions with different guidelines,” he said.
Related: ESMA MiCA warning puts Binance EU service changes under scrutiny
To be sure, the number of companies authorized under MiCA continues to grow, albeit at a slower pace.
On Friday, the European Securities and Markets Authority added 14 crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) to its register, bringing the total to 294 after adding 37 firms in ESMA’s first update following the July 1 transition deadline.
Cunti said the higher regulatory burden is reshaping Europe’s competitive landscape, but the shrunken market also presents an opportunity for those remaining crypto service providers.
“There was a market with thousands of operators, and now there is a market with only hundreds,” Cunti said.
“So definitely there is a big opportunity for all of us. There is an ongoing migration because customers do not want to lose access to this market,” he added.
Magazine: The British Virgin Islands are a top crypto hub no one ever talks about: Here’s why
“Large Bitcoin whales have been building up their positions over the last two months, while medium-sized wallets have been selling. This divergence in behaviour could be a ‘constructive signal’ for BTC in the medium term, according to CryptoQuant [data],” Alex Kuptsikevich, the chief market analyst at FxPro, said in an email.
Blockchain analysis firm Glassnode noted that the market looks much more balanced now than it did a month ago.
“Overall, the market appears increasingly balanced, with long-term conviction providing support while speculative participation remains contained,” it said.
There are also signs of growing participation in BTC futures and options. Recently, a trader (or group of traders) purchased large bull call spreads in bitcoin, targeting $72,000 by month-end.
In short, the buyer profile right now appears diverse
Risks, however, remain. The most important near-term headwind is U.S. Treasury bond issuances, which could drain liquidity from the system and weigh on risk assets.
“Treasury bill settlements are expected to result in net new issuance of $56 billion, followed by an additional $37 billion on Thursday and a smaller coupon settlement of $13 billion on Friday. Treasury bill issuance will likely remain heavy until Labor Day, creating a headwind for risk assets as we move through the summer,” Mott Capital Management’s Founder Michael Kramer said in a blog post.
Coinbase Vice Chair Ryan VanGrack said the Clarity Act has gained “tremendous momentum” in the Senate, in a CNBC “Squawk Box” appearance that made the case for a federal crypto framework and touched on bitcoin, blockchain, and the industry’s uneasy truce with Wall Street.
VanGrack, a former SEC official, framed the Clarity Act as an overdue set of rules rather than a giveaway. “It’s not about no regulation,” he said. “This is about imposing regulation on the industry for the first time.” He described a “win-win-win” for American investors, innovators, and standards should the measure pass, and said a bipartisan group of senators has kept up work “even in the last few weeks and days.”
Clarity Act updates
The House passed its version of the Clarity Act last year, and attention has shifted to the Senate, where the path to 60 votes remains the central hurdle.
The Senate Banking Committee advanced the bill in a 15-9 vote this spring, with two Democrats crossing over, and House members have urged the Senate to act before the August recess. The measure sits in a narrow window as negotiators work out remaining terms.
President Trump added his voice last week, posting on Truth Social in support of Senator Lindsey Graham and calling on the Senate to pass the bill. Trump framed the stakes in terms of competition with China, a message he has repeated as he presses the chamber to move.
VanGrack said Democrats have won concessions that strengthen the bill’s consumer protections.
JUST IN: 🇺🇸 Coinbase Vice Chair talks CLARITY ACT on CNBC
“The Democrats have obtained meaningful concessions to make what was already a strong consumer protection bill, THAT much stronger” 👏 pic.twitter.com/y3n04dKdRi
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) July 20, 2026
He pointed to an illicit-finance framework, an “FTX loophole” that the text would close, insider-trading safeguards, and added disclosures.
“Across the board, the Democrats have obtained meaningful concessions to make what was already a strong consumer protection bill that much stronger,” he said.
He said the bill would not change how crypto is classified as a commodity or a security in a fundamental sense, and would preserve the registration, examination, and surveillance structure from the House version.
Asked how the industry reconciles with skeptics like JPMorgan chief Jamie Dimon, VanGrack pointed to a wave of bank and institutional deals.
“Not a week goes by,” he said, where a firm fails to announce a new crypto project or investment. He predicted an “inevitable convergence,” a point at which the market stops separating traditional finance from crypto and treats each as a modern financial institution.
That convergence has played out in public, and in conflict. JPMorgan and Coinbase announced a partnership to widen crypto access, and the bank has moved to accept bitcoin as loan collateral and to let clients trade it.
Dimon, for his part, has declared war on the Clarity Act and aimed a crude insult at Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, a reminder that the détente carries friction.
Is bitcoin real?
The interview turned to a sharper question from CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin: whether blockchain is real but bitcoin is not. VanGrack called it “a fair question” and said the technology’s benefits stand on their own — faster settlement, more transparency, and round-the-clock transactions.
He argued that no one building a financial system today would recreate the infrastructure of the past century. He cited Citadel Securities, which he said made another large investment in the crypto economy last week, as a sign that major institutions are trending the same course.
Sorkin pressed the harder edge of the design: the technology aims to remove the counterparty a customer might call when something goes wrong. VanGrack conceded the point as fair, then countered with the costs of the current system — days to reconcile trades and the counterparty risk that delay creates.
“I’m not here to tell you it’s the wrong technology,” he said. He acknowledged open questions, including whether crypto accounts should carry interest or loyalty rewards, a debate that bankers have raised and that the law will settle as “a blunt instrument.”
He closed on the case for Clarity Act passage. “In the absence of clarity, you do not have a federal oversight and framework,” he said. “So whether you love crypto or hate crypto, you should want” the Clarity Act.
U.K. politicians want to know the extent to which the country’s banks have choked-off cryptocurrency firms by refusing them bank accounts and introducing restrictions on crypto-related payments in a cross-party inquiry kicked off on Tuesday.
The Crypto and Digital Assets All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) is chaired by Ed Vaizey, a former Minister for the Digital Economy and a member of the House of Lords, and Gurinder Singh Josan, a Labour MP, according to a press release.
Ever since crypto came into being, difficulties around attaining banking relationships have made life hard for players in the space, with a systematic debanking of firms and individuals, particularly in the U.S. being referred to as “Operation Chokepoint 2.0.”
Several major U.K. banks have also introduced restrictions on crypto-related payments, the APPG said in a statement. As such, the inquiry will focus on a dearth of bank accounts for crypto businesses, including associated professional services such as insurance.
Cointelegraph is committed to providing independent, high-quality journalism across the crypto, blockchain, AI, and fintech industries.
All news, reviews, and analyses are produced with full journalistic independence and integrity. For more details on our standards and processes, please read our Editorial Policy.
