Cryptocurrency prices fell 36 percent in the first half of this year, while listed crypto-related companies moved in the opposite direction, posting double-digit returns, a report showed. The Bitwise Crypto Innovators 30 Index gained 23 percent over the same period, Bitwise said. The firm cited shifts within the industry, including bitcoin miners benefiting from data-centre demand tied to AI infrastructure, and growth in stablecoins, real-world asset tokenisation and prediction markets.

Aave Labs has launched a new infrastructure product, Stable Vault, aimed at helping institutions integrate predictable stablecoin yield into their products. The service allows fintech firms, wallets, exchanges and payments apps to add stablecoin yield features without building and operating complex DeFi infrastructure. Stable Vault allocates user deposits across several strategies, including Aave V3 and V4 markets, SavingsGHO vaults and customised ERC-4626 tokenised vaults, and passes returns to customers.