Digital asset and AI infrastructure company Galaxy Digital has signed a 15-year naming rights agreement with Texas Tech, renaming the university’s football stadium Galaxy Stadium beginning with the 2026 season.The partnership also makes Galaxy the official data center and digital assets partner of Texas Tech Athletics, with the companies planning to collaborate on student-athlete name, image and likeness opportunities, artificial intelligence initiatives and workforce development programs.According to Friday’s announcement, the stadium will debut under its new name on Sept. 5, when Texas Tech opens its season against Abilene Christian. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.The deal expands Galaxy’s footprint in West Texas, where it operates the Helios data center campus in nearby Dickens County, about 60 miles east of Lubbock. The site has 1.6 gigawatts of approved capacity for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (HPC).Related: Bitdeer stock jumps 14% as company expands US mining hardware productionTexas strengthens its crypto industry footprintThe partnership comes as Texas strengthens its position as a hub for the crypto industry, combining major Bitcoin mining investment with growing political influence and pro-crypto legislation.The state is already home to some of the industry’s largest Bitcoin (BTC) miners and digital infrastructure operators, including Riot Platforms, Cipher Mining, Core Scientific, CleanSpark, IREN and Hut 8.In February, Bitcoin mining hardware maker Canaan acquired a 49% stake in three operating Texas mining facilities from Cipher Mining for nearly $40 million, while earlier this month, MARA Holdings announced plans to acquire a 2-gigawatt powered site in Texas to develop a digital infrastructure campus supporting both HPC and Bitcoin mining.Recently, Texas has become a focal point for crypto-backed political spending. In May, industry-affiliated political action committees spent more than $10 million supporting candidates in Texas congressional primary runoffs, with all six backed candidates winning.The state has also backed the industry through public policy. Last year, Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation creating the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. In May, state officials began transitioning the reserve’s holdings from a spot Bitcoin ETF to directly custodied bitcoin.Texas Senate Bill 21 established the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Source: Texas LegislatureMagazine: Gambling on random Pokémon cards: Onchain gagcha hits record high as crypto sinks

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Stablecoins have long been pitched as a faster way to move dollars across borders. In Bolivia, they’re increasingly becoming a way to access dollars in the first place. The country’s recent proposal to recognize Tether’s USDt (USDT) for payments underscores how economic instability is driving adoption in many emerging markets. Elsewhere, Bitcoin miners are discovering that pivoting to AI infrastructure may unlock new revenue streams, but it doesn’t shield them from investor scrutiny.Bolivia weighs recognizing USDT amid dollar shortageBolivia is considering a regulatory framework that would recognize Tether’s USDT as a payment currency, marking another step in the country’s push to integrate digital assets into its financial system.Economy and Public Finance Minister Jose Gabriel Espinoza said the proposal would allow USDT to circulate alongside the boliviano and the US dollar for payments and savings. The framework remains under review and would include anti-money laundering safeguards, as Bolivia is still on the Financial Action Task Force’s gray list. The initiative follows the lifting of the country’s crypto ban in 2024 and the new administration’s pledge to expand access to digital asset services.The proposal comes as Bolivia struggles with a prolonged shortage of US dollars after pressure on foreign exchange reserves forced the government to abandon its long-standing currency peg earlier this year. The resulting gap between the official and parallel exchange rates has increased demand for dollar-denominated alternatives such as USDT, which has become an increasingly popular payment tool in the country.Source: EL DEBERBitcoin miners’ AI pivot draws scrutiny over insider stock salesInvestors are increasingly scrutinizing insider stock sales at Bitcoin miners pursuing AI infrastructure strategies as enthusiasm for the sector cools and governance concerns take center stage.According to Blocksbridge Consulting, executives at TeraWulf, Cipher Digital, Riot Platforms and Core Scientific have disclosed stock sales in recent months, many of them made under prearranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plans. Strategic investors have also trimmed their holdings — including Tether — which reduced its stake in Bitdeer following the company’s AI-driven rally. The shift comes as the TEM AI Infrastructure Growth Index has fallen 16% over the past month.Blocksbridge said investors are increasingly looking beyond the AI growth story to assess whether the benefits of miners’ strategic pivots will flow to public shareholders.Most stocks in the 20-company TEM AI Infrastructure Growth Index were down over the past month through July 8. Source: Miner WeeklyCleanSpark stock jumps on $6.6 billion data center lease as AI pivot acceleratesCleanSpark shares rallied as much as 22% after the Bitcoin miner signed a 20-year data center lease in Georgia that could generate up to $6.6 billion in contracted revenue, underscoring its push into AI and high-performance computing infrastructure.The agreement covers a 175-megawatt data center at the company’s Sandersville, Georgia, campus and was signed with an undisclosed investment-grade global technology company. The tenant will install its computing equipment at the site, with phased deliveries expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2027. If the customer exercises two five-year extension options, the contract’s total value could reach $11.6 billion.The deal reflects a broader trend among Bitcoin miners seeking new revenue streams as post-halving mining economics remain under pressure. While many publicly traded miners have reduced their Bitcoin holdings to shore up liquidity, CleanSpark has largely remained a net accumulator despite selling some BTC earlier this year to fund operations. CleanSpark remains a net accumulator of Bitcoin. Source: BitcoinTreasuries.NET Bitmine generated $46 million from Ethereum staking last quarterBitmine Immersion Technologies generated $45.7 million in revenue from Ethereum staking and validation last quarter, demonstrating the strength of its business even as ETH prices remained under pressure. Ethereum staking accounted for 98% of the company’s revenue for the three months ended May 31, compared with $624,000 from self-mining Bitcoin and $168,000 from consulting services. The results follow the March launch of MAVAN, Bitmine’s institutional Ethereum staking platform, which was built on the acquisition of validator operator Pier Two Holdings. The company said it has staked roughly 85% of its Ether holdings, or about 4.9 million ETH.Chairman Tom Lee said Bitmine now stakes more Ether than any other entity and projects annualized staking rewards of $284 million once its holdings of the token are fully staked through MAVAN and its partners. Crypto Biz is your weekly pulse on the business behind blockchain and crypto, delivered directly to your inbox every Thursday.

OKX Europe has launched a one-way conversion feature allowing customers to deposit USDT and convert it into USDC, offering a regulated migration path as the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) rules limit support for the world’s largest stablecoin.According to a company announcement shared with Cointelegraph, the feature lets customers deposit Tether’s USDt (USDT) into their OKX Europe account and convert the tokens into USDC (USDC), one of the largest stablecoins available under the European Union’s MiCA framework. Tether has not obtained authorization to issue USDT under MiCA, prompting many European platforms to restrict deposits, delist trading pairs or convert customer balances into compliant alternatives as the European Union completed the framework’s rollout on July 1.OKX Europe said the feature is designed for customers whose existing platforms no longer accept USDT or plan to migrate their balances automatically. The exchange said conversions can be completed at the customer’s discretion rather than through a platform-imposed deadline.The move comes even as USDT remains the dominant stablecoin globally. According to DefiLlama, Tether accounts for about 59% of the nearly $310 billion stablecoin market, with a market capitalization of roughly $184 billion, compared with about $73 billion for Circle’s USDC.OKX Europe serves customers across 30 EU and European Economic Area countries under its MiCA license.Source: DefiLlama Related: ESMA adds 14 new CASPs to MiCA register as licensing slowsWhy did Tether reject MiCA?Tether has defended its decision not to seek MiCA authorization for USDT, even as the move prompted many European crypto platforms to delist or restrict the stablecoin. Since the EU’s regulatory framework began taking effect in late 2024, exchanges across the region have been shifting users toward MiCA-compliant alternatives.Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has repeatedly criticized MiCA, arguing its reserve requirements create unnecessary risks for stablecoin issuers by requiring a portion of reserves to be held with European credit institutions. In a May 2025 interview with Cointelegraph, Ardoino described the framework as “very dangerous when it comes to stablecoins,” saying Tether chose not to pursue authorization despite the likelihood that USDT would lose support on European exchanges.The company has shown little sign of changing course. In a July 2025 post on X, Ardoino said Tether would reconsider seeking MiCA authorization only “when MiCA becomes safer for consumers and stablecoin issuers.”Source: Paolo Ardoino Recently, digital banking platform Revolut said it will stop supporting USDT for customers in the European Economic Area and Switzerland, giving users until Aug. 31 to sell or withdraw their holdings before automatically converting any remaining balances into their base currency.Magazine: The British Virgin Islands are a top crypto hub no one ever talks about: Here’s why