Google Cloud Unveils Layer-1 Blockchain for Financial Institutions, Nvidia Q2 Revenue $46.7B Beats Estimates

Nvidia Q2 Revenue $46.7B, EPS $1.08 Beats Estimates, Confirms Zero H20 Sales to China Amid Export Rules

Nvidia reported Q2 FY2026 revenue of $46.7 billion, up 56% YoY, and net income of $26.4 billion, beating Wall Street expectations. GAAP EPS was $1.08 and non-GAAP EPS $1.05, with a profit margin of 72.4%. Shares fell 3.3% in after-hours trading. The company confirmed zero sales of its H20 processor to China in Q2 due to prior U.S. export restrictions, though the Trump administration has since allowed H20 exports to resume with 15% of revenue going to the U.S. government. Nvidia remains the leading AI and computing chip manufacturer with a market cap over $4.4 trillion.

The Clearing Company Raises $15M Seed to Launch On-Chain Prediction Market Competing With Polymarket and Kalshi

The Clearing Company, a prediction market startup founded by former Polymarket and Kalshi staff, raised $15 million in a seed round led by Union Square Ventures, with participation from Haun Ventures, Variant, Coinbase Ventures, and others. The company plans to build an on-chain, permissionless, and regulated prediction market. The platform will compete with Polymarket and Kalshi, which have recently made high-profile moves, including Donald Trump Jr. joining Polymarket’s advisory board and Kalshi hiring crypto influencer John Wang. Polymarket recently hit 286,000 active traders in July, its highest since April. Some critics, including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, have noted that major prediction markets lack interest incentives, limiting hedging appeal.

Google Cloud Details Universal Ledger Blockchain, Pilots Tokenized Settlement With CME Ahead of 2026 Launch

Google Cloud revealed new details on its in-development layer-1 blockchain, the Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL). Designed as a credibly neutral, Python-compatible network, GCUL aims to provide open financial infrastructure for institutions. Rich Widmann, head of Web3 strategy, said neutrality could drive adoption compared to competitors like Circle’s Arc and Stripe’s Tempo. A pilot with CME Group is already underway to test tokenized settlement and payments, with broader trials set for 2026. Google’s blockchain push, which began in 2018, has accelerated through partnerships with Coinbase, Polygon, and Solana.

Hyperliquid XPL Pre-Launch Market Surges 2.5x, $17M Liquidated, Protocol Rolls Out New Safeguards

Hyperliquid’s pre-launch XPL perpetual market experienced a 2.5x price spike driven by whale-driven sweeps, triggering over $17 million in liquidations, mostly on short positions. Four addresses reportedly profited $46 million. The platform quickly switched from standard liquidations to auto-deleveraging, with no technical issues reported. Hyperliquid confirmed that only XPL positions were affected and the protocol incurred no bad debt. In response, the platform plans a network upgrade introducing a 10x mark price cap and incorporation of external perpetual market data to improve price signal robustness. XPL’s native token rose over 10% in 24 hours, reaching $51.

CRO Hits Three-Year High After Trump Media Announces $6.4B Cronos Treasury, Plans Staking and Utility Use Across Truth Social

CRO, the native coin of the Cronos network, surged to a three-year high after Trump Media and Technology Group announced plans to build a $6.4 billion CRO treasury with Crypto.com. The move includes seeding the treasury with 6.3 billion CRO tokens, $200 million in cash, $220 million in warrants, and a $5 billion equity line of credit for future purchases. CRO jumped 26% in 24 hours to over $0.26 and 83% over the past week, peaking near $0.29. The tokens will be staked via Crypto.com’s custody platform, and CRO will serve as a utility token within Trump Media’s Truth Social and Truth+ platforms.