Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, Robinhood's newly launched layer-2 saw more than $70 million in ETH bridged in its first week, investors are increasingly scrutinizing insider stock sales at Bitcoin miners that pivoted to AI infrastructure, and Swift said its blockchain-based ledger is ready for initial use.

Robinhood Chain sees over $70M in ETH bridged in first week

The amount of Ether bridged to Robinhood’s new layer-2 blockchain exceeded $70 million in just the first week, according to Token Terminal. 

Robinhood Chain, an EVM-compatible Arbitrum-based layer-2 network that uses ETH as its native gas token, launched on July 1 with the company describing it as “AI-native and purpose-built for real-world assets.” 

“If adoption continues, the chain could become a meaningful new source of demand for ETH,” said Token Terminal on Thursday. 

Robinhood has also offered tokenized stocks to customers in more than 120 countries, responding to a surging demand for tokenized US equities. Ethereum and its layer-2 scaling networks have been a popular choice for tokenized real-world assets (RWA) with more than 50% market share, according to RWA.xyz, and this move could cement that position even further. 

ETH bridged to Robinhood Chain tops $70 million. Source: Token Terminal 

Bitcoin miners' AI pivot draws investor scrutiny over insider stock sales

Investors are increasingly scrutinizing insider stock sales at publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies that pivoted toward AI infrastructure after the sector's rally lost momentum, according to the latest Miner Weekly newsletter from Blocksbridge Consulting.

The research firm said the AI narrative helped drive sharp valuation gains for miners repositioning around data centers and hyperscaler partnerships. But with AI-related stocks retreating in recent weeks, attention has shifted to executives and major shareholders who sold stock during the rally, including insiders at TeraWulf, Cipher Digital, Riot Platforms and Core Scientific. Stablecoin issuer Tether also reduced its stake in Bitdeer after the company's AI-driven rebound.

Blocksbridge noted that many of the transactions were conducted under prearranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, a common mechanism for insider sales. Even so, the firm said investors are increasingly focused on governance and whether the benefits of miners' AI expansion will ultimately accrue to public shareholders.

The report comes as Bitcoin miners continue investing heavily in AI infrastructure to diversify beyond cryptocurrency mining, despite growing questions about whether those investments will generate meaningful long-term returns.

Swift launches blockchain ledger with 17-bank tokenized deposit pilot

The world's largest financial messaging network, Swift, said its blockchain-based ledger is ready for initial use after nine months of development.

Seventeen major banks, including HSBC, Citi, BNP Paribas, UBS, ANZ, DBS and Standard Chartered, are preparing to pilot cross-border payments using tokenized bank deposits on the new ledger, Swift announced on Thursday. 

The ledger will enable participating banks to support 24/7 cross-border payments, including overnight and weekend transactions, while maintaining existing compliance, credit, risk and control standards embedded in current payment processing.

The launch marks another step in banks' efforts to use tokenized deposits within regulated financial infrastructure while extending payment availability beyond traditional banking hours.

Swift said it plans to expand the ledger's functionality and availability after the initial controlled go-live phase.

Swift's interbank messaging network connects over 11,500 banks and financial institutions across more than 200 countries and territories. Swift said 75% of payments on its existing network already reach beneficiary banks within 10 minutes, often in seconds.