Strategy Fuels BTC Strategy With $2.5B Raise While PayPal Rolls Out 100+ Crypto Payment Option

Solana Co-Founder Slams Memecoins as “Digital Slop” Despite $776M Boom From Meme Launchpad Pump.fun

Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko reignited debate over the value of meme coins and NFTs, calling them “digital slop” with no intrinsic worth. In a Twitter exchange with Base creator Jesse Pollak, Yakovenko likened them to loot boxes in free-to-play games, arguing they rely on viral hype rather than fundamentals. This stance comes even as Solana benefits heavily from meme-fueled activity via platforms like Pump.fun, which has launched nearly 12 million tokens and generated over $776 million in revenue. Critics warn that dismissing meme culture could strip Solana of the energy that revived its ecosystem, while others argue that long-term sustainability depends on deeper value creation beyond viral trends.

Interactive Brokers Weighs Stablecoin Launch as Customer Accounts Surge 32% and Shares Jump 47%

Interactive Brokers is exploring the launch of its own stablecoin, joining major financial firms betting on blockchain amid easing U.S. crypto regulation. Billionaire founder Thomas Peterffy said the firm is still deciding how a stablecoin would be implemented but is already working on enabling 24/7 stablecoin funding and crypto asset transfers. While expressing skepticism over crypto’s intrinsic value, Peterffy acknowledged growing user demand. Interactive Brokers currently partners with Paxos and Zero Hash to offer crypto services and may also allow clients to fund accounts with stablecoins from other credible issuers. The firm has seen customer accounts climb to 3.87 million, up 32% year-over-year, and its stock has gained 47% in 2025, outperforming its sector.

Strategy Pauses Bitcoin Buys at 607,770 BTC, Prepares $2.5B IPO to Fuel Next Round of Accumulation

Bitcoin treasury giant Strategy made no new BTC purchases for the week ending July 27, holding steady at 607,770 BTC with a total cost basis of $43.61 billion, or $71,756 per coin. The pause follows the firm’s upsized $2.5 billion raise through its Series A Perpetual Stretch preferred stock offering, priced at $90 per share and set to settle July 29. Proceeds will fund future Bitcoin acquisitions and general operations. Strategy also reported no stock sales under its ATM programs last week, preserving over $43.5 billion in available capacity. The firm touts its STRC listing as the largest U.S. IPO of 2025 and continues to use capital markets to expand its BTC position, a strategy TD Cowen analysts support as a sustainable equity-to-Bitcoin flywheel. Strategy remains the largest public holder of Bitcoin, with 160 other firms collectively owning nearly 753,000 BTC.

PayPal Now Lets U.S. Merchants Accept Over 100 Cryptocurrencies, Including Trump Coin and Fartcoin

PayPal has launched a new payment option allowing U.S. merchants to accept over 100 cryptocurrencies, from Bitcoin and Ethereum to more niche tokens like Trump’s memecoin and Fartcoin. The service is available to all U.S. businesses using PayPal’s payment platform, with a promotional 0.99% transaction fee for the first year, rising to 1.5% after that—still below the average 1.57% fee paid to credit card processors in 2024. Customers will be able to pay using their crypto wallets, with PayPal converting the tokens into its own stablecoin PYUSD, and then into U.S. dollars for merchants. This move marks PayPal’s latest expansion into digital assets, following the 2023 launch of PYUSD, which has grown to $850 million in market cap. While global merchant rollout is planned, no timeline has been announced.