The Daily: Google Cloud’s blockchain for payments, Bitcoin’s downside risk amid leverage build-up and ‘huge’ Ethereum rotation, plus more

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Happy Wednesday! I'm back in the newsletter hot seat again after a little traveling. While I was away, The Block OG Yogita Khatri stepped in — and she also writes The Funding, a biweekly rundown of crypto VC trends. The latest edition looks at why raising a crypto VC fund remains tough, even in a bull market. It's well worth a read — and just like The Daily, it's free to subscribe!

In today's newsletter, Google Cloud is developing its own blockchain, K33 warns Bitcoin's price risks further decline amid surging leverage and rotation to Ethereum, Aave Labs launches a new stablecoin borrowing platform for institutions, and more.

Meanwhile, Founders Fund-backed Avail acquires Arcana, offering XAR token holders a 4:1 swap into AVAIL.

Let's get started.

Google Cloud is developing its own blockchain for payments

Google Cloud is building a blockchain called Universal Ledger (GCUL) to serve financial institutions with programmable payments and asset management, according to its Web3 Head of Strategy Rich Widmann.

• The platform supports Python-based smart contracts and aims to provide a "performant, credibly neutral" layer for any financial player to use, unlike competing fintech blockchains.
• "Tether won't use Circle's blockchain — and Adyen probably won't use Stripe's blockchain. But any financial institution can build with GCUL," Widmann wrote on LinkedIn.
• GCUL is currently in private testnet and designed as a permissioned and compliance-focused "Layer 1" network.
• Despite being called a Layer 1, GCUL's private, permissioned design has sparked debate over whether it qualifies as a decentralized blockchain.
• Google Cloud previously partnered with CME Group in March to pilot GCUL for wholesale payments and tokenization use cases.

Bitcoin at risk of further decline amid leverage peak and 'huge' Ethereum rotation

Bitcoin's recent price weakness may not be over yet, according to K33, with a leverage surge and significant rotations into Ethereum leaving the foremost cryptocurrency vulnerable to further downside in the near term.

• Bitcoin perp open interest has surged to a two-year high above 310,000 BTC ($34 billion), raising the risk of long-side liquidations, K33 Head of Research Vetle Lunde warned in a new report.
• Meanwhile, a long-term whale rotated 22,400 BTC into ETH last week, helping drive Ethereum to a new all-time high of $4,956 and flipping market momentum, with the ETH/BTC ratio jumping above 0.04 for the first time this year — fueling end-of-cycle concerns.
• However, "while the relationship between former ETH ATHs and BTC is concerning, we've yet to reach a situation that significantly points toward broad altcoin froth," Lunde reassured participants.

Aave Labs launches Horizon, offering institutional borrowing against tokenized RWAs

Aave Labs has launched Horizon, a platform enabling institutions to borrow stablecoins like USDC, RLUSD, and GHO against tokenized U.S. Treasurys and other real-world assets.

• Built on a permissioned instance of Aave V3, Horizon is designed to offer capital-efficient, 24/7 borrowing infrastructure that meets institutional compliance standards while helping to unlock over $25 billion in tokenized RWA liquidity.
• Regulatory compliance is enforced at the token level via issuer permissioning, while Horizon's stablecoin markets remain permissionless to preserve DeFi composability, the team said.
• The platform's initial launch partners include Centrifuge, Superstate, Circle, RLUSD, Ant Digital Technologies, Ethena, KAIO, OpenEden, Securitize, VanEck, Hamilton Lane, WisdomTree, and Chainlink.

Nasdaq-listed KindlyMD plans $5 billion equity offering for bitcoin treasury push

KindlyMD filed a shelf registration statement with the SEC for an at-the-market equity offering program of up to $5 billion to fund its bitcoin treasury and corporate operations.

• The move follows its recent merger with David Bailey's Nakamoto Holdings and an initial 5,744 BTC purchase as part of a newly launched bitcoin strategy.
• The company plans to issue and sell shares gradually at prevailing market prices via sales agents, including TD Securities and Cantor Fitzgerald, giving it flexible capital-raising capacity over time.
• KindlyMD joins a wave of public firms adopting corporate crypto treasuries, echoing Strategy's bitcoin model amid growing altcoin diversification elsewhere.

US to publish economic data on blockchain, starting with GDP

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the U.S. will start publishing economic data like GDP on blockchain technology to boost transparency and government-wide access.

• Lutnick framed the move as part of President Trump's pro-crypto agenda, calling blockchain-based statistics a foundational step for tech-driven economic leadership.
• However, implementation details, including the timeline and specific blockchain to be utilized, remain unclear.

In the next 24 hours

• U.S. jobless claims and GDP data are released at 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday.
• U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller will speak at 4 p.m.
• Artificial Superintelligence Alliance and Jupiter are set for token unlocks.
• Bitcoin Asia kicks off in Hong Kong.

Never miss a beat with The Block's daily digest of the most influential events happening across the digital asset ecosystem.

Disclaimer: This article was produced with the assistance of OpenAI’s ChatGPT 3.5/4 and reviewed and edited by our editorial team.

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