Hardware wallet maker Ledger has sponsored the San Antonio Spurs basketball team
The sponsorship deal will see the San Antonio Spurs’ players wear jerseys with a Ledger-branded patch
Ledger will also help the team boost its community presence in France
Crypto hardware wallet maker Ledger has entered into a multi-year sponsorship deal with the Texas-based San Antonio Spurs basketball team. The deal will see the team’s players wear jerseys with a Ledger-branded patch, and Ledger, a French company, will help popularize the San Antonio Spurs in France. Ledger said the collaboration “brings together two internationally-focused organizations with shared values,” adding that it represents its ongoing commitment to “educating new communities on the importance of self-custody and true ownership.”
Coin market cap The France-Texas Bridge
In an announcement, Ledger said the sponsorship bridges its roots in France with the team’s Texas home. According to Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier, the partnership will help the wallet maker to “onboard the next generation of sovereign individuals,” adding that most Ledger users are in the U.S.
Ledger was founded in 2014, the same year the @spurs raised their fifth championship banner.
We’re proud to partner with such a world-class organization, uniting global leadership and a relentless commitment to excellence.
Apart from being the official San Antonio Spurs jersey patch sponsor, the two will also collaborate to educate the masses. The NBA team, for instance, has committed $15 million to local “STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education, mental support, and facility access.”
On its part, Ledger will support the team’s upcoming “Play Paris” initiative that focuses on a youth development framework in France. Ledger also noted that the collaboration brings it closer “to the heart of Texas’ growing crypto ecosystem.”
Coin market cap Ledger Committed To Easing Crypto Access
The Ledger-San Antonio Spurs sponsorship deal comes as the wallet maker continues to improve its product offerings to ease access to crypto. A day ago, for example, it announced an offline “Recovery Key” card for its Stax and Flex hardware wallet users.
In April, Ledger introduced stablecoin yields through its Ledger Live app. Last year, it partnered with Uphold to enhance crypto purchases. The sponsorship deal also comes at a time when crypto platforms are increasing their links with the sporting world.
With Ledger sponsoring the San Antonio Spurs, it’s to be seen whether Trezor, another crypto hardware wallet maker, will follow the same path.
Memecoins With ETH’s bulls eyeing a breakout to $3K, Obol’s Head of Marketing & Ecosystem says that distributed validators are now critical infrastructure as Wall Street takes interest.
Jun 29, 2025, 11:43 p.m.
Memecoins Good Morning, Asia. Here’s what’s making news in the markets:
Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk’s Crypto Daybook Americas.
As Asia begins a new trading week, ETH is trading close to $2500, up 11% in the seven days, according to CoinDesk market data, outperforming BTC.
Market observers have attributed ETH’s outperformance versus bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies to a string of bullish headlines in the past few weeks. Stablecoins have regulatory clarity thanks to the GENIUS Act – and Ethereum is home to the most stablecoin deposits; ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continue to see sizable flow.
Technical analysis by CoinDesk’s analyst Omkar Godbole indicates a potential bullish case is forming on-chain, with traders increasingly viewing $ 3,000 ETH as a possibility in the near future.
But behind the scenes, something more fundamental is happening.
Ethereum’s validator architecture, the backbone of its proof-of-stake security model, is undergoing a quiet transformation that could cement ETH’s role as Wall Street’s favorite programmable asset.
At the center of that shift is distributed validator technology, or DVT, a system that allows Ethereum validators to be split across multiple operators and machines, making them far more resilient, secure, and decentralized. Obol Labs is one of the leading teams behind the technology.
“Ethereum is coming back in favor because it’s the most secure and battle-tested blockchain,” said Anthony Bertolino, head of ecosystem at Obol Labs. “And security comes from validators. The most advanced and secure ones now are distributed validators.”
Obol’s technology eliminates a long-standing problem in Ethereum staking: single points of failure. Traditional validators rely on a single node to propose and attest to blocks.
If that node goes offline or is misconfigured, the validator is penalized, or slashed in Ethereum parlance. Obol’s system uses threshold cryptography and an “active-active” architecture so that even if some nodes fail, the validator keeps running without interruption.
This upgrade is not just a technical improvement. It is an institutional requirement. As Ethereum sees inflows from ETFs, funds, and structured finance products, staking infrastructure needs to meet the standards of traditional capital allocators.
Blockdaemon, for instance, recently announced that it is integrating Obol’s distributed validator technology into its staking infrastructure. Blockdaemon is a $100 billion name for institutional crypto.
“Historically, institutions had to choose between performance and security,” Bertolino said. “Now they get both.”
A new governance proposal would allow these operators to use either Obol or SSV in intra-operator setups, and eventually expand usage across thousands of validators.
This move builds on the success of Lido’s Simple DVT Module, which has already deployed over 9,600 DVT-powered validators with a 97.5 percent effectiveness score, outperforming the network average.
“These clusters are already showing better uptime, higher effectiveness, and similar yields to conventional setups,” Bertolino said. “This is the infrastructure shift that makes Ethereum staking enterprise-grade.”
For Ethereum, the implications go beyond validator design. DVT mitigates one of the network’s core criticisms, that its staking layer is increasingly centralized, and helps fulfill the vision of Ethereum to be neutral, distributed infrastructure.
“Institutions are thinking about two things. How do I secure the assets, and how do I generate attractive yield? Historically, you had to choose one. DVT gives you both,” Bertolino said.
And Wall Street continues to pay attention.
(CoinDesk)
Memecoins News Recap: Short COIN, Long BTC as Coinbase Nears Overvaluation, Says 10x Research
Coinbase shares have surged 84% in the past two months, far outpacing bitcoin’s 14% gain and raising red flags about overvaluation, according to 10x Research, covered late last week by CoinDesk.
In a Friday note, Head of Research Markus Thielen recommended a short COIN/long BTC trade, arguing that Coinbase’s fundamentals—mainly trading volumes—don’t justify the rally. “While Coinbase hasn’t quite breached the +30% overvaluation threshold, it’s approaching fast,” Thielen wrote, suggesting options strategies or pair trades to exploit the potential reversal.
10x’s model finds 75% of COIN’s price action is tied to bitcoin’s price and volumes, meaning recent gains likely reflect excessive speculation. The report notes other bullish catalysts, including Circle’s IPO and U.S. stablecoin legislation, are likely priced in, while Korean investor momentum is fading. “This rare deviation suggests Coinbase’s valuation is extended and vulnerable to mean reversion,” Thielen said, warning that COIN could soon follow other overheated crypto stocks lower.
Memecoins Market Movements:
BTC: Bitcoin is trading above $108K as Asia opens its trading week, but analyst Michaël van de Poppe says it must break $109K resistance to sustain momentum, with the rally fueled more by leveraged futures than spot demand.
ETH: Ethereum broke above $2,440 with strong volume support, signaling bullish momentum amid new U.S. stock market highs, improving global liquidity, and easing geopolitical tensions.
Gold: Gold is trading at $3,248.26, down slightly, as Australia cuts its commodity export earnings forecast due to weak iron ore and gas prices despite surging gold.
Nikkei 225: Nikkei 225 futures are trending higher with an expectation that the White House will reach trade deals with Japan and other export-heavy Asian economies.
Memecoins Elsewhere in Crypto:
Bitcoin Alkanes: The Next Big BTC Innovation After Ordinals and Runes? (Decrypt)
Why is XRP Up Today? Trio of Catalysts Sees Token Outperform Wider Crypto Market (CoinDesk)
Vitalik Buterin Warns Worldcoin May Still Pose Risks Despite Zero-Knowledge Protections (Vitalik Buterin blog)
Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.
Sam Reynolds is a senior reporter based in Asia. Sam was part of the CoinDesk team that won the 2023 Gerald Loeb award in the breaking news category for coverage of FTX’s collapse. Prior to CoinDesk, he was a reporter with Blockworks and a semiconductor analyst with IDC.
“AI Boost” indicates a generative text tool, typically an AI chatbot, contributed to the article. In each and every case, the article was edited, fact-checked and published by a human. Read more about CoinDesk’s AI Policy.
SOL Strategies announced the acquisition of 52,181 JTO tokens as part of its newly launched Strategic Ecosystem Reserve (SER).
The move is part of the company’s commitment to supporting key projects within the Solana ecosystem, starting with Jito Network.
Despite this bullish news, Jito’s price has experienced a decline of 2% over the past 24 hours, trading around $1.93 as of writing.
Jito (JTO) tokens trade near $1.93 on Friday as their decline in recent weeks extends despite top news from SOL Strategies, a publicly traded Solana infrastructure company.
According to market data, JTO price is down 2.2% in the past 24 hours and -13% in the past week.
This downturn suggests that market sentiment may be influenced by broader market trends, with top coins consolidating at key levels following recent gains.
Several altcoins are also down amid specific catalysts, an example being Across Protocol.
Memecoin SOL Strategies announces ecosystem reserve to support Solana projects
SOL Strategies, formerly Cypherpunk Holdings Inc., has its eyes on bolstering the Solana ecosystem.
In a blog post on Thursday, the company revealed its playbook – a Strategic Ecosystem Reserve (SER) for top Solana ecosystem projects.
The SER is an initiative funded through a portion of the company’s validator revenue and aimed at acquiring and supporting foundational projects.
Initial support is for Jito, the Solana maximal extractable value (MEV) infrastructure and liquid staking protocol.
Per SOL Strategies, 52,181 JTO tokens are the first to make up the SER, a move that could boost the $2.6 billion total value locked Jito Network.
Announcing our Strategic Ecosystem Reserve (SER) with the initial acquisition of 52,181 JTO tokens!
As infrastructure builders deeply embedded in Solana, we’re investing in the foundational projects driving the ecosystem forward. @JitoNetwork’s MEV infrastructure is critical to… pic.twitter.com/2MTedyy7oZ
— SOL Strategies (CSE: HODL | OTCQB: CYFRF) (@solstrategies_) June 26, 2025
Leah Wald, CEO of SOL Strategies, emphasized that this reserve is not merely a token accumulation strategy but a deliberate effort to back projects critical to Solana’s growth.
“As a technology company focused on building the future of decentralized finance infrastructure, partnerships with foundational providers like Jito align perfectly with our vision. We’re not just investing in tokens — we’re investing in the infrastructure that is driving transaction processing for millions of Solana users while backing a team that is instrumental in driving forward innovation within the ecosystem,” Wald said.
Memecoin Jito price outlook
While Jito’s price has dipped despite the positive news from SOL Strategies, the strategic acquisition points to institutional investor confidence.
SOL Strategies bets on the fact that Jito is a key player in the Solana ecosystem.
In this case, further support may provide buying pressure for the JTO price.
However, the short-term outlook has the technical indicators – the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) – signaling bearish continuation.
If the technical picture strengthens, bears might extend their dominance and push prices lower.
Support levels lie around $1.58. On the upside, primary resistance could be around $2.10-$2.30.
Coin market cap President Trump’s recent comments on establishing a strategic crypto reserve have sparked a debate within and outside the crypto community. Key...
