Blockchain is struggling to hold on to its original purpose: Aztec co-founder

Blockchain can still serve its purpose while catering to institutional finance needs through privacy technology, says Aztec Labs’ Zac Williamson

Blockchain is being pulled between traditional finance and its decentralized ethos as the industry shifts to serve institutional products.

Texas Buys $5M in BTC ETF as States Edge Toward First Government Crypto Reserves

The effort is starting small, but Texas made an opening foray into a state-based crypto reserve — getting closer to the first government stockpile in the U.S.

• It’s not technically the start of a direct state-based bitcoin reserve, but Texas has picked up $5 million in a bitcoin ETF, which a spokesman said is a placeholder for the first direct state-funds investment.
• The state is working on its reserve, having put out an information request that expired last month, and it had already appropriated $10 million earlier this year for that purpose.
• Other states have previously put state pension funds into such ETFs on behalf of retirees, but advocates are still awaiting a state to start its own stockpile.

Stock market today: S&P 500 shrugs off Nvidia slip to close higher

The S&P 500 closed higher Tuesday, as a jump in health care and consumer stocks offset an Nvidia-led dip in tech.