Coindesk

Figure, the blockchain-powered lender founded by SoFi co-founder Mike Cagney, has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering as the latest entrant in a growing crypto IPO wave.The company plans to list its Class A shares on the Nasdaq under the ticker FIGR, with Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, and BofA Securities serving as lead underwriters.Figure's path to public markets has been years in the making. In 2021, it launched a special purpose acquisition company, Figure Acquisition Corp. I, with a $250 million raise aimed at acquiring growth-stage businesses using Provenance as an efficiency layer, however in the end this SPAC did not bring Figure to market.A friendlier regulatory stance under the Trump administration and buoyant crypto...

Good Morning, Asia. Here's what's making news in the markets:Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk's Crypto Daybook Americas.As East Asia begins its trading day, BTC is trading at $116,263, down 1.1% on the day and 2% lower on the week, according to CoinDesk market data, while ETH sits at $4,322, off 3.8% in the last 24 hours but still up 2.6% weekly.The CoinDesk 20 (CD20), an index tracking the largest crypto assets, is down 2.4%.Polymarket odds suggest traders are bracing for weakness through the end of August. The most likely outcome for BTC is now...

KindlyMD (NAKA), the Nasdaq-listed firm that's recently merged with bitcoin (BTC) treasury firm Nakamoto closed a $200 million convertible note offering late Friday.The convertible notes bear no interest in the first two year, then they carry a 6% annual rate starting in year three until maturity in 2028. The firm intends to use the funds to buy additional bitcoin.The financing, arranged with Yorkville Advisors’ YA II PN fund, was structured with some unusual terms, CoinDesk senior analyst James Van Straten noted.Yorkville can convert the debt into equity at an initial price of $2.80 per share, raising concerns of dilution if the lender opts to convert into stock. Nakamoto/KindlyMD also needs to put up twice the size of the principal in...

The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), the organization supporting the Stellar (XLM) blockchain, invested in UK-based digital asset exchange and tokenization firm Archax as part of a broader partnership to boost tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), the firms said in a press release shared with CoinDesk.Archax has already started using Stellar, integrating the network into its in-house tokenization platform and launching a tokenized Aberdeen money market fund.The firms didn't disclose the size of the investment.The deal comes as tokenization of traditional financial instruments like bonds, funds and stocks, often dubbed real-world assets (RWA), is gathering speed. Global banks and asset managers are exploring this technology to cut settlement times, increase transparency and keep markets open around the clock. The tokenized RWA market...

Stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) has acquired Malachite, the consensus engine that is set to underpin payments-focused blockchain Arc, from software development firm Informal Systems, according to a Monday press release.Several people from Informal Systems will join Circle as part of the acquisition. The firms didn't reveal details about pricing.The deal comes as Circle, the company behind the $65 billion USDC (USDC) token, announced last week it's building its own layer-1 blockchain designed for stablecoin finances, a recent trend among asset issuers aiming to capitalize on the booming sector. Stablecoins, a set of cryptocurrencies with prices tied to an external asset like the U.S. dollar, are projected to become a trillion dollar market and disrupt cross-border payments.Malachite was built around the...