Alphabet’s self-driving unit Waymo has won approval from California regulators to significantly expand service across 18 counties around Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, more than tripling its coverage. Waymo’s driverless fleet has logged more than 220 million miles without a safety driver. Company data show its vehicles are involved in an estimated 94% fewer collisions that cause serious injuries than human drivers. Tesla, by contrast, continues to face safety and operational issues in robotaxis.

Tether said it has completed its first full financial audit conducted by KPMG, one of the Big Four accounting firms. The audit found the company’s reserves exceeded its liabilities by $6.8 billion, supporting claims that USDT is fully backed. The update was shared by Tether Chief Technology Officer Paolo Ardoino and echoed by industry figure Samson Mow. The $6.8 billion cushion has become a focal point for the market as observers assess Tether’s solvency.

13F filings show Nvidia held 122.76 million Class A shares of SpaceX (SPCX) worth about $21 billion as of June 30, while Alphabet reported 551.2 million shares valued at $94.2 billion. AMD disclosed nearly 3.3 million SPCX shares worth more than $565 million. Nvidia’s position stems from a $2 billion investment in Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI that SpaceX absorbed in early 2026, and Alphabet’s stake traces back to a $900 million investment made more than a decade ago. A university endowment fund also reported holding $2.2 billion of SpaceX shares.

World Liberty Financial has received preliminary approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), clearing an early hurdle toward obtaining a bank charter. The company plans to set up a trust company to assume issuance, redemption and reserve management for the USD1 stablecoin, replacing BitGo. The move marks a step by a Trump-linked crypto project toward compliant banking services.

Coinbase said it has fully rolled out its first production smart contract on the Solana network. The company said the launch follows its acquisition of Vector, which brought in an experienced Solana development team focused on improving the DEX trading experience. Coinbase said it deployed a lightweight aggregator that enables routing for 99.9% of Solana DEX tokens and cut quote errors by 80%. The team said more optimizations are planned for later this year.

Corn futures posted gains of 5 to 11.25 cents on Friday and finished the week higher, drawing spillover support from a sharp wheat rally tied to rising Black Sea tensions. CFTC data showed managed money trimmed its net long position by 15,176 contracts to 166,770, as new short interest entered. Old-crop export sales reached 104% of the USDA target with shipments at 95%, while new-crop sales were down 23.5% from the same period last year. The national average cash corn price rose to $4.30.

Cotton futures rebounded on Friday, with the front-month contract closing up 116 to 130 points, while the December contract was up 40 points on the week. Managed money lifted its net long by 10,591 contracts to 78,870, the largest in more than two years. Accumulated 2025/26 export sales reached 11.977 million RB, or 107% of the USDA export projection, and new-crop business at 4.026 million RB was 25% above the same period last year. The Cotlook A Index held at 94.95 cents, ICE certified stocks fell 1,779 bales, and the Adjusted World Price rose 190 points to 68.19 cents/lb, with higher crude oil and a weaker U.S. dollar adding support.

A $106 billion investment firm tied to billionaire Paul Tudor Jones disclosed that it holds $22.9 million worth of BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF. The filing underscores that traditional finance players are gaining crypto exposure through regulated products. BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF is being used by institutions as a more accessible entry point. Jones has previously voiced support for bitcoin, and the position aligns with that stance.