According to BlockBeats, on July 24, the World Foundation, the non-profit organization behind the World Protocol, announced that it has raised $52.5 million in new funds through a strategic sale of WLD tokens, all of which will be locked for one year.

The initial token sale was led by Pantera Capital, with other investors including Bain Capital Crypto, WLD's fund management company Eightco Holdings, Selini Capital, and Susquehanna Crypto. It remains unclear whether the foundation plans to conduct further token sales following the initial sale.

The foundation stated that the WLD tokens sold in this transaction "are intended for internal use within World Network and do not represent any investment interest, profit, or return rights." A spokesperson explained that this means the WLD purchased by investors does not represent their equity in Tools for Humanity, the for-profit company behind World Network.

According to BlockBeats, on July 24, Iranian Foreign Minister Araqchi stated in an interview that there is no issue of "lack of mediators" between Iran and the United States; the crux of the problem lies in the policies and practices of the United States.

Araghchi emphasized that Iran will not succumb to US pressure, nor will it accept threats, pressure, or coercion, and will continue to safeguard the interests of the Iranian people and their interests in the Strait of Hormuz. He stated that Iran will continue to take action until the legitimate goals and demands of the Iranian people are achieved. (CCTV)

According to BlockBeats, on July 24, data showed that the 30-day correlation between major U.S. capital expenditure companies and the semiconductor index (SOX) has fallen to near zero, the lowest level in at least 4.5 years, a sharp decline from +0.78 in April and far below the average of +0.60 since 2022.

Since early June, semiconductor stocks have risen while the share prices of AI infrastructure spending giants have fallen, indicating that investors no longer see chipmakers and hyperscale data center builders as the same business, with chipmakers benefiting from AI demand while spenders face questions about their returns.

Analysts believe that the next phase of AI trading will be determined by profitability rather than investment scale, and hyperscalers will need to prove that their huge expenditures will generate sufficient returns.

According to BlockBeats, on July 24th, institutional crypto trading platform LMAX Group is collaborating with Morgan Stanley and Stifel's investment bank KBW to evaluate strategic options, including a sale, a SPAC merger, or a listing in the US or Europe, with a potential valuation of up to $5 billion. Sources familiar with the matter revealed that a Nasdaq listing is currently the preferred option, but the company is in no hurry to proceed, as its core forex business can offset the impact of the current crypto market downturn.

LMAX, headquartered in London and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), provides institutional trading venues for foreign exchange and digital assets for banks, brokers, hedge funds, and asset managers. In 2021, private equity firm JC Flowers acquired a 30% stake for $300 million, valuing the company at approximately $1 billion at the time. In January of this year, Ripple made a strategic investment of $150 million in LMAX to promote institutional adoption of its stablecoin, RLUSD. (CoinDesk)