OpenAI Blasts Robinhood Over Stock Tokens

Hi! In today’s edition:

• 🚫 OpenAI disowns “fake equity” tokens on Robinhood

• 📊 Solana ETF with staking sees $12M debut

• 🏦 Ripple wants OCC approval for national bank charter

• 🔥 Judge says Celsius can go after Tether for $4B

A Polymarket bet on whether Zelenskyy wore a suit to a NATO summit has split traders, as users clash over ambiguous definitions despite widespread media describing his attire as a suit, raising concerns about subjective outcomes on the platform.

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OpenAI Says Robinhood’s Stock Tokens Are Not Equity 

OpenAI took aim at retail brokerage Robinhood, publicly condemning the "OpenAI tokens" offered by the platform, stating that they do not represent equity in the company. 

In a post on X, OpenAI clarified that it does not endorse or support Robinhood's sale of these tokens, was not involved in the initiative, and did not approve any transfer of its equity. 

“Any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval—we did not approve any transfer,” said the OpenAI newsroom account on X.

“Please be careful,” the firm warned.

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev noted on X that it is true that “they aren’t technically ´equity,´ they effectively give retail investors exposure to these private assets.”

A spokesperson for Robinhood told TechCrunch that the tokens were part of a limited giveaway for retail investors to gain exposure through Robinhood’s ownership stake in a special purpose vehicle (SPV).

A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) is a separate legal entity created for a specific, limited objective, often to isolate financial risk from a parent company or group of investors. 

“If you’ve ever invested in a startup, you are either on the cap table or have exposure via an SPV which is directly buying shares of the company,” explained tech commentator @amitinvesting on X.

Ripple Seeks US National Bank Charter

XRP issuer Ripple has formally applied for a U.S. national banking license with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse confirmed on Wednesday.

The application aims to allow Ripple to operate as a federally regulated bank, which would place it under the supervision of federal authorities such as the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). In addition, Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin is already overseen by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), a state regulator, giving the company regulatory exposure at both the state and federal levels.

The license would enable Ripple to custody its own reserves, offer both crypto-based and traditional banking services, and bring its RLUSD stablecoin under OCC regulation.

With a national bank charter, Ripple could access the Federal Reserve directly, pending approval of a Fed master account for its subsidiary, Standard Custody. 

It follows a similar application from Circle earlier this week and comes amid new U.S. legislation advancing through Congress, such as the GENIUS Act, requiring stablecoin issuers to meet federal standards.

First Spot Solana Staking ETF Records $33 Million in First-Day Trading Volume

The REX-Osprey SOL + Staking ETF, the first U.S. spot Solana exchange-traded fund featuring staking, saw approximately $33 million in trading volume and $12 million in net inflows on its first day of trading.

About 80% of the fund's assets are allocated to spot SOL, with over half of that staked to generate onchain yield. 

Besides directly held and staked SOL, the ETF also invests in other Solana exchange-traded products and a small portion in liquid staking tokens like JitoSOL.

“$SSK (...) blows away the Solana futures ETF and XRP futures ETFs (or the [average] ETF launch) but it is much lower than the Bitcoin and Ether spot ETFs,” noted Senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas on X.

Celsius $4B Bitcoin Lawsuit Against Tether Moves Forward

U.S. bankruptcy judge Martin Glenn has ruled that Celsius Network’s $4 billion lawsuit against stablecoin giant Tether can proceed, rejecting major portions of Tether’s motion to dismiss the case.

The lawsuit centers on allegations that Tether improperly liquidated over 39,500 BTC held as collateral for Celsius loans during the crypto market crash in June 2022.

Celsius alleged that Tether breached their lending agreement by selling the BTC collateral before a contractually required 10-hour waiting period had elapsed, and at an average price of $20,656, below prevailing market rates. 

Meanwhile, Tether’s case for dismissal was built on the fact that both companies are based offshore and the transactions were international. But the judge found sufficient ties to the U.S., including U.S.-based accounts and systems, to allow the case to proceed. 

Last August, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino labelled the lawsuit “baseless” and claimed that Tether was acting on Celsius' instructions to liquidate the BTC and return it to Celsius. 

In the first half of 2024, Tether’s profits surged to around $5.2 billion, largely from interest income on its reserve assets, mainly U.S. government debt, which had grown to nearly $98 billion by mid-2024 and approached $120 billion by early 2025.

• 📈 BlackRock’s bitcoin ETF, IBIT, now brings in more fee revenue than its flagship S&P 500 tracker despite having one-eighth the assets, driven by $52 billion in inflows and strong investor demand.

• 📑 A major Wall Street trade group urged the SEC to reject no-action requests from crypto firms seeking to offer tokenized stocks, calling instead for a transparent rulemaking process with public input.

• ⏸️ The SEC granted preliminary approval for Grayscale’s multi-asset GDLC ETF but immediately froze the order, signaling it may be waiting to finalize broader crypto ETF guidelines.

• 🏦 Tech billionaires including Peter Thiel and Palmer Luckey filed to launch Erebor, a bank for crypto, AI, and defense startups, aiming to replace SVB’s role in serving high-risk tech sectors.

• 🇮🇹 Italy’s Banca Sella launched a summer trial for in-house crypto custody using Fireblocks tech, signaling a cautious move toward digital assets as European banks embrace evolving crypto regulations.

• 🌱 JPMorgan’s Kinexys unit began working with three registries to test tokenized carbon credits, aiming to assess blockchain’s potential for tracking ownership and boosting trust in global emissions markets.

• 🧩 Coinbase deepened its push into token infrastructure by acquiring Liquifi, a startup that helps major Web3 firms manage token distribution and tax compliance, marking its fourth acquisition this year.

• 🛍️ Bitcoin venture studio Thesis acquired rewards platform Lolli to fold it into its ecosystem, aiming to turn everyday purchases into a gateway for earning and using bitcoin across its apps.

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