Celestia Buys Back $62M in TIA Tokens From Polychain

Hi! In today’s edition:

• 🪙 Celestia buys $62M in TIA from Polychain

• 💵 Ethena’s USDtb goes U.S.-compliant via Anchorage

• 🖼️ GameSquare drops $5.15M on rare CryptoPunk

• 🔐 WOO X loses $14M in hack, promises full refunds

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Celestia Foundation Acquires Polychain’s $62 Million in TIA Stake

Crypto venture firm Polychain Capital has sold its entire remaining stake in Celestia’s native TIA tokens, valued at $62.5 million, to the Celestia Foundation.

The transaction marks Polychain's exit as a significant TIA holder, with the Foundation acquiring 43,451,616.09 TIA tokens that will be redistributed to new investors through a phased unlock schedule between August and November.

Polychain, which initially invested about $20 million during Celestia’s early funding rounds, has realized significant profits via staking rewards.

The transfer shifts governance authority and liquidity from a single early-stage investor to the Foundation, which plans to distribute tokens to a broader range of investors, potentially altering the governance dynamics of the blockchain.

It also comes ahead of a major update to Celestia’s network, dubbed “Lotus,” which includes major changes to staking rewards. 

The updated staking rules will lock rewards in sync with vesting, cut inflation by 33%, and cap validator commissions at 25%.

Ethena Taps Anchorage to Issue $1.5 Billion USDtb Stablecoin in U.S. Under GENIUS Act

Ethena Labs has partnered with Anchorage Digital, the first federally chartered crypto bank in the U.S., to bring Ethena’s stablecoin USDtb to the North American market as the first stablecoin compliant with the new GENIUS Act. 

USDtb, previously only available offshore, will now be available in the U.S. through Anchorage Digital’s regulated bank platform. USDtb has a token supply of $1.45 billion on the Ethereum blockchain, as per data from RWA.xyz.

The partnership leverages Anchorage’s new stablecoin issuance platform, designed as a turnkey solution for other institutions seeking to launch regulated, U.S. dollar-backed digital assets.

Both Ethena and Anchorage hailed the GENIUS Act’s passage as pivotal for the move.

Ethena’s native token ENA rallied 18% to an intraday high of $0.56 on Friday following the news. The token has been on a tear in recent weeks, gaining 70% in the last month alone. 

GameSquare Buys Rare CryptoPunk NFT From Robert Leshner for $5.15 Million

Nasdaq-listed digital media firm GameSquare acquired a rare CryptoPunk NFT known as Cowboy Ape #5577 from Compound founder Robert Leshner for $5.15 million in preferred stock convertible into common shares.

This deal marks GameSquare's first direct investment in NFTs and is part of its broader blockchain treasury strategy to generate returns through digital assets.

“We also added $10M of ETH to our treasury, bringing total Ethereum treasury holdings to over $52 million,” said GameSquare on X.

Cowboy Ape #5577 is part of a CryptoPunk collection, which consists of 10,000 pixelated characters, with only 24 being “Ape” Punks.

Market interest and trading volume for NFTs have slowed considerably in the last few years. The floor price of CryptoPunks fell around 67% from a peak of 125 ETH in 2021 to around 49 ETH as of July 2025.

Leshner acquired the Cowboy Ape #5577 in 2022 for $7.7 million. 

Hackers Steal $14 Million From WOO X

Taiwan-based crypto exchange WOO X halted withdrawals after a $14 million hack that affected nine user accounts with unauthorized withdrawals.

The WOO X team said the breach was detected quickly, and the exchange had already contacted affected users and blocked a number of suspicious withdrawal attempts.

“As we continue with the investigation, we can confirm losses of $14m from the affected accounts. These users will have all funds covered,” said the WOO X team.

“We are working with external security teams and other exchanges to halt the flow of funds.”

Blockchain security firm Cyvers found that the hackers moved funds across multiple blockchain networks, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, and Arbitrum. They swapped around $1 million in USDT for ETH, and transferred $7.3 million worth of tokens to new wallets.

• 🏦 Binance will now accept Circle’s yield-sharing stablecoin USYC as trading collateral for institutions, offering faster settlement than traditional securities and signaling deeper ties between crypto and legacy finance.

• 🦾 BitMine, which recently pivoted from Bitcoin to Ethereum, now holds over $2.1 billion worth of ETH—more than any other corporation—after using a $250 million private raise to grow its on-chain reserves.

• 🔗 EigenLayer will now let third-party apps secured by staked ETH operate across multiple blockchains, not just Ethereum, helping developers cut costs and reach users on faster, cheaper networks like Base.

• 🇳🇬 Nigeria’s top securities official invited stablecoin startups to operate under new rules, signaling a major policy shift just over a year after the government detained a Binance executive and cracked down on crypto exchanges.

• 🇬🇭 Ghana’s central bank plans to introduce licenses for crypto companies by September to better track digital asset activity, boost tax revenue, and reduce the impact of volatile foreign currency use in a country where around 3 million adults already use crypto.

• 🏠 Christie’s real estate arm opened $1 billion in luxury homes to crypto-only offers and launched a dedicated crypto sales division, betting digital assets will power a major share of future high-end property deals.

• 🌍 OSL Group raised $300 million to grow its crypto operations globally, as Hong Kong prepares for new stablecoin laws and international investors ramp up bets on regulated digital finance.

• 💼💰 Draper Associates, led by longtime Bitcoin supporter Tim Draper, raised $200 million for its latest fund, its largest since 2022.

• 🏢 The TON Foundation is working with Kingsway Capital to raise at least $400 million for a public company that would hold Toncoin, joining the wave of crypto groups using stock market deals to gain institutional exposure.

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