IBM connects Digital Asset Haven to Swift blockchain ledger for tokenized deposit transactions theblock.co/news/business/20…

THE BLOCK: Ondo has launched onchain portfolio tokens based on investment strategies developed by BlackRock specifically for the firm. The products give eligible non-U.S. investors exposure to diversified portfolio allocations through single transferable tokens.

SoFi begins stablecoin settlement on Mastercard network for program expected to exceed $25 billion in annualized volume theblock.co/news/business/20…

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The Avalanche Summit is only 2 weeks out. We're happy to announce that we are the official media partners this year. September 16-17 in New York City!

THE BLOCK: Nomura subsidiary Laser Digital has secured Japan's first new crypto asset exchange service provider registration since 2022. The firm will initially provide liquidity to domestic crypto firms, with institutional digital asset trading services planned for the future.

UPDATE: MANTRA says it has identified the root cause of the incident and "contained the immediate threat," with no user funds exploited. The team said the issue was isolated to its Cosmos EVM module, with the chain potentially resuming within the day.

THE BLOCK: World Liberty co-founder Zach Witkoff disputed Justin Sun's account of a court hearing, saying the judge made no rulings but indicated many claims should go to arbitration. Sun earlier claimed a "major victory" in his lawsuit over the freezing of his ethereum:0xda5e1988097297dcdc1f90d4dfe7909e847cbef6 tokens, saying the judge ruled his individual claims would remain in open court.

THE BLOCK: Bitcoin's surge toward $80,000 points to a liquidity-driven momentum shift as spot ETF flows rebound, according to Bernstein. The analysts said the U.S. Treasury's move to increase longer-dated debt buybacks helped trigger the bitcoin:native rally.

THE BLOCK: Chainlink Labs Head of Institutional Andrew McCormick sees AI agents and robots increasingly using digital assets and blockchains to transact. "There's a lot of Star Wars vibes, but it's happening," he said. @SALTconference

THE BLOCK: Nasdaq-listed Eightco $ORBS has repurchased 14 million shares over the past two weeks, reporting total holdings of roughly $389 million. Its treasury includes nearly 302 million ethereum:0x163f8c2467924be0ae7b5347228cabf260318753, 16,278 ethereum:native, $90 million of indirect OpenAI exposure, and $18 million of Beast Industries equity.

THE BLOCK: Bitcoin bitcoin:native demand has turned positive across both spot and perpetual futures for the first time since its October 2025 all-time high, according to CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju. He said if the trend holds for another month, it would be reasonable to conclude that "the bear market is over and a new bull cycle has begun."

THE BLOCK: ripple:native treasury firm Evernorth is eyeing DeFi opportunities as proposed native lending moves through the XRP Ledger review process. Chief Business Officer Sagar Shah said native lending could reduce smart contract risks. @SALTConference