A proposed three-way merger involving Tether-backed companies Twenty One Capital, Strike and Elektron Energy has been called off, leaving Strike to operate independently.

Jack Mallers will continue as chief executive of Strike but has stepped down from the equivalent role at Twenty One Capital. Discussions between Twenty One Capital and Elektron Energy are ongoing. Tether holds majority stakes in both entities.

Twenty One Capital shares showed little movement in Tuesday premarket trading.

The original plan, announced earlier this year, had envisioned combining Strike, Jack Mallers’ Bitcoin payments company, with Twenty One Capital before merging the entity with Bitcoin miner Elektron Energy. Tether had indicated support for the transaction.

Twenty One Capital was established in 2025 with investment from Tether, Cantor Fitzgerald and SoftBank. Tether later acquired SoftBank’s stake in the company.

The firm holds 43,514 Bitcoin, positioning it as the second-largest corporate holder of the cryptocurrency after MicroStrategy.

Robinhood’s newly launched blockchain has achieved substantial early trading activity, recording $570 million in daily volume on Uniswap shortly after debut, placing it second only to Ethereum.

The performance draws on the brokerage’s base of 27 million funded users. Activity has been concentrated in memecoins, contributing to the elevated figures during the initial launch period.

Observers are assessing whether the momentum can persist beyond the opening hype. The chain faces competition from established networks such as Solana.

Robinhood is positioning the development as part of a broader effort to build an integrated cryptocurrency platform that combines trading, payments and other services.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung directed financial authorities to review regulations governing single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds after criticism that the products excessively amplify market volatility.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Lee called for swift improvements to related rules and supporting measures to address the issues. He emphasized continued monitoring of market impacts and readiness to implement further steps if required.

The comments responded to debate surrounding leveraged products tied to shares of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

The Korea Financial Services Commission noted that the ETFs were introduced to curb capital outflows to overseas markets and to bring investor activity under domestic oversight. Regulators pointed out that similar leveraged products with two to three times exposure exist abroad.

Overseas leveraged product volumes have decreased, while net South Korean individual investment in foreign stocks dropped from about $40 billion last year to $2.8 billion in the first half of this year. Officials said the development has helped stabilize the local currency.

Market observers have nevertheless questioned the role of these domestic products in intensifying recent swings in semiconductor stocks.

South Korea has arranged crude oil shipments for July and August at levels exceeding 110 percent of the previous year’s average, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on July 21.

The ministry indicated that September arrivals are projected to reach at least 90 percent of last year’s volume. Officials expect no significant supply disruptions through the end of September.

Red Sea shipping traffic remains normal at present, with authorities monitoring the situation closely. In the event of disruptions, the government plans to pursue alternative routes, including the Suez Canal.

BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink stated that the leverage-driven selloff in cryptocurrencies has concluded and that Bitcoin is demonstrating greater stability at current price levels.

Fink offered the assessment during a July 15 television interview following the release of the asset manager’s record second-quarter results. He noted longstanding concerns regarding the use of leverage in Bitcoin and broader cryptocurrency markets but did not provide any specific price forecasts.

Exodus Movement, a cryptocurrency wallet provider based in Omaha, Nebraska, disclosed plans to cut approximately 25 percent of its global workforce as part of a strategic pivot toward a full-stack stablecoin payments platform.

The restructuring, detailed in a Monday regulatory filing, aims to support integration of recent acquisitions and generate annual cash operating expense savings of $10 million to $13 million, with full benefits expected in 2027. The company will incur one-time pre-tax restructuring charges of $2.5 million to $3.5 million, primarily related to severance.

The moves follow the acquisitions of Monavate, a European electronic money institution, and Baanx, a cryptocurrency payments firm. These deals provide regulatory licensing, card issuance capabilities and infrastructure to expand into payments services. The company intends to leverage its existing wallet user base as a distribution channel for the new offerings.

Shares of Exodus Movement rose 2.2 percent in early trading on the announcement. The stock remains down approximately 85 percent over the past year.

The workforce adjustments reflect a shift in required skills from blockchain development and user experience to compliance, banking relations and payments expertise. The changes are intended to align costs with the demands of building a vertically integrated payments business.

The South Korean won advanced against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday as foreign investors maintained net purchases of local stocks.

The currency traded at 1,474.3 won per dollar in late afternoon, 5 won firmer than the prior close. It opened at 1,477.6 won and reached an intraday high of 1,471.1 won per dollar, the strongest level since May 11.

SK Hynix contributed to the currency’s gains by converting portions of proceeds from its Nasdaq American depositary receipts offering into won. Foreign investors acquired a net 295 billion won, equivalent to $199 million, of South Korean equities.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 3.56 percent to close at 6,474.95 points.

Capital Economics has forecast further narrowing of the spread between 10-year and 2-year U.S. Treasury yields in coming months, with potential for full inversion driven by escalating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and higher interest rate projections.

The research firm anticipates the Federal Reserve will implement 75 basis points of rate increases over the next year, compared with the roughly 40 basis points currently priced into markets. Short-term yields have risen faster than longer-term ones, propelled by stronger-than-expected economic data and energy price pressures. The 10-year yield reached 4.59 percent on Monday.

Geopolitical risks in the Strait of Hormuz have contributed to higher oil prices, with Brent crude trading between $82 and $85 a barrel. This dynamic feeds into near-term inflation expectations, lifting two-year yields while 10-year yields remain more anchored by longer-term growth outlooks. Historically, yield curve inversion has served as a reliable precursor to U.S. recessions.

The firm attributes the flattening to diverging real rate expectations, with short-term rates responding more strongly to recent labor market resilience, consumer inflation expectations at 3.7 percent, and energy costs. Softer June payroll figures have not offset these pressures.

Capital Economics’ more hawkish outlook implies markets may be underestimating the extent of required monetary tightening. The next Federal Reserve meeting on July 28-29 will provide further guidance on policy direction amid these developments.

ZHIPU, traded on the Hyperliquid platform, rose sharply Tuesday, climbing 31.1 percent from its session low to a high of $149.52 before trading around $146.71.

The rebound inflicted losses on short sellers, including a leveraged position initiated at $127.50 and increased up to $143.20. The address maintains a 5 times isolated short position valued at approximately $198,700, with a liquidation price near $163.83 and an unrealized loss of about $14,100, representing a 38.1 percent decline in returns.

Seven additional short positions exceeding $50,000 were established during the rebound, with combined holdings of roughly $953,200 and collective unrealized losses around $70,800. Among larger long positions, one carries an average entry near $149.66, only slightly above current levels, while another at approximately $159.41 faces ongoing pressure.

The token had previously dropped about 50 percent from its placement price following the July 13 issuance of 19.78 million new H-shares. The decline accelerated after the July 17 release of an open-source artificial intelligence model before partially recovering on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks retreated Monday as early gains faded amid rising geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran, elevated oil prices and investor caution ahead of key corporate earnings reports.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian described the situation with the United States as a full-scale war, while Houthi rebels announced plans to blockade Saudi ports. Brent crude futures rose 1.3 percent to settle at $89.22 a barrel after briefly exceeding $90. U.S. gasoline prices climbed above $4 a gallon.

The S&P 500 lost 0.2 percent to close at 7,443. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6 percent to 51,839. The Nasdaq Composite declined less than 0.1 percent to 25,508.

Market participants remained uncertain whether upcoming technology company results would justify high valuations linked to artificial intelligence spending.