Odaily News: Fortitude Mining, a Zcash mining-focused subsidiary under Digital Currency Group (DCG), has announced the appointment of Jaime Leverton, former CEO of Nasdaq-listed mining company Hut 8, as its new CEO to accelerate its reverse merger with Nasdaq medical technology company HeartSciences as part of a backdoor listing process.Leverton will officially take office on September 21 and will lead the newly listed company upon completion of the merger, while former CEO Andrea Childs will transition to CEO. The all-stock merger transaction was announced in June of this year, and the combined entity plans to rename itself Fortitude and trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol TUDE, with DCG expected to hold approximately 95% of the shares. Fortitude was spun off from Foundry's proprietary mining division in January 2025 and produced a cumulative 72,696 ZEC in the first half of 2026. (The Miner Mag)

Odaily News: According to market reports, Grayscale has submitted the fourth amended registration statement for the Grayscale Zcash Trust (ZEC) to the U.S. SEC. The trust is expected to be renamed upon the registration statement becoming effective and will list on NYSE Arca under the ticker "ZCSH." Additionally, DCG International Investments L, a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (DCG), is in discussions with the sponsor to subscribe for approximately 200,000 ZEC worth of trust shares. However, the arrangement has not yet formed a binding agreement, and the final subscription amount may change or be canceled.

Odaily News, Strategy founder Michael Saylor has proposed the concept of the "Digital Assets Monetary Spectrum," categorizing different types of digital assets based on volatility, return potential, and transactional functionality.Saylor stated that the digital asset system can be divided into four tiers:Bitcoin (BTC): Digital CapitalSTRC: Digital CreditSR-strcUSX: Digital MoneyUSDT: Digital CurrencyHe believes that, moving from left to right, asset volatility and return potential gradually decline, while stability and transactional utility continue to increase.Saylor noted that Bitcoin is the "ultimate store-of-value asset," possessing high volatility, high potential returns, and digital asset characteristics that require no third-party credit endorsement. Stablecoins, on the other hand, serve as the "ultimate medium of exchange," emphasizing stability and payment functionality.Between the two, digital credit and digital money serve as the bridge connecting capital and currency. Among these, Saylor defines STRC as "digital credit," characterized by relative stability, high fixed returns, and certain store-of-value attributes.He further explained that digital money combines the technological aspects of digital currency with the economic attributes of digital capital, offering stability, yield capability, transactional convenience, and store-of-value functionality.Saylor stated that digital capital qualifies as a bearer asset, while assets such as digital credit, digital money, and digital cash are created and managed by digital finance companies, with their ownership layer corresponding to "Digital Equity." Together, these components constitute the future "Digital Finance Stack."

Odaily reports that Fortitude Mining, a mining company under Digital Currency Group (DCG), has signed a procurement agreement worth approximately $45 million. The deal involves mining hardware and infrastructure in Nebraska, aimed at advancing the vertical integration of Zcash mining. The expansion includes a $31.5 million commitment for miner purchases, along with two acquisitions totaling $13.9 million covering power contracts, land, buildings, and mining equipment. Fortitude stated that its controlled data center capacity has increased to over 60 megawatts in 2026. Fortitude is proceeding with a proposed merger with HeartSciences Inc., a Nasdaq-listed company. If completed, the DCG subsidiary will gain a public listing status. In the first quarter of 2026, Zcash accounted for 61% of Fortitude's mining revenue, while Bitcoin's share fell to 36%.

Odaily reported that cryptocurrency exchange Luno announced on July 28 that it will cut 20% of its global workforce and restructure its operations into three business units. The company did not disclose the total number of affected employees, with South African staff also included in the layoffs. Luno is headquartered in London, with operations spanning Africa and Asia, and is owned by US-based Digital Currency Group. CEO James Lanigan stated that the cyclical decline in retail crypto trading activity and the adoption of automation tools are the main reasons for this restructuring. Luno previously cut 35% of its staff in January 2023, when its total workforce was approximately 960 employees. Following this restructuring, the company will integrate its consumer platform and B2B API services, and establish a local currency stablecoin solutions unit along with an institutional business unit. Luno has notified users in certain markets that related services will be discontinued on September 1, 2026. Account deposit and purchase functions were already closed on June 1, and users are required to liquidate their holdings and withdraw funds to local bank accounts by August 31.

Odaily reported that Digital Currency Group's cryptocurrency exchange Luno plans to cut around 20% of its global workforce as part of a business restructuring and cost-control initiative. Luno CEO James Lanigan stated that the company will expand its B2B operations and continue investing in institutional clients, core infrastructure, compliance, and retail products. Luno currently serves approximately 16 million users in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. It is opening up its liquidity, wallet, and compliance capabilities to banks, fintech companies, and telecom firms, enabling partners to offer crypto services under their own brands. The company also plans to advance non-USD stablecoin infrastructure in emerging markets.

Odaily Odaily Planet Daily News: Zcash mining company Fortitude has launched its 12 MW facility in Grand Island, Nebraska, completing its first greenfield data center construction and expanding its self-owned power portfolio to over 60 MW across seven sites. Fortitude stated that the facility has completed construction and electrical testing and is ready for commercial operations. This milestone comes ahead of Fortitude's planned public listing through a business combination with HeartSciences (Nasdaq: HSCS), a listed medical technology company. Fortitude expects that, with successful miner deployment and stable power, network, and market conditions, the facility will reduce the direct cash cost of mining Zcash from approximately $70 per coin to around $40 per coin. The company attributes the cost reduction to lower-cost self-owned power and more efficient next-generation mining hardware. The facility is expected to procure power at approximately $0.045 per kilowatt-hour. It is located between two solar power generation facilities and adjacent to a substation with spare capacity. Fortitude was spun off from the Foundry mining division of Digital Currency Group in January 2025, with operations including mining Bitcoin and other proof-of-work cryptocurrencies.

According to Odaily, as of June 23, 2026, Foundry Digital, AntPool, ViaBTC, and F2Pool collectively control over 70% of the Bitcoin network's hashrate, with shares of approximately 31%, 18%, 13%, and 10% respectively. Foundry Digital is a US-based mining pool backed by Digital Currency Group, primarily serving large institutions and publicly listed mining companies. In the first half of 2026, D-Central reported a Nakamoto coefficient of 3, meaning that just three mining pools would be enough to produce more than half of the blocks. ViaBTC faced stricter regulatory scrutiny in 2026, prompting some miners to shift to alternative pools like EMCD.

Odaily A federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut has revived common law fraud claims in the Genesis Yield lawsuit against Digital Currency Group founder Barry Silbert, DCG, and other defendants, while allowing federal securities law claims in the case to proceed.The ruling amends a prior decision by the court from February of this year. The plaintiffs had argued that the court has jurisdiction to hear their state law claims under the Class Action Fairness Act. Judge Stefan Underhill accepted this argument and reopened the relevant state law claims.The case revolves around the defunct Genesis Yield lending program, which allowed users to deposit crypto assets and earn interest. Investors allege that Silbert, DCG, and other defendants misled customers about the company's financial health and risk controls before Genesis suspended withdrawals and filed for bankruptcy in early 2023.However, not all state law claims were revived. The court dismissed consumer protection claims from four states and stayed related claims from three others. Overall, the ruling re-centers the dispute regarding fraud liability for DCG and Silbert as a focal point of the case. (The Block)

Odaily reports that Fortitude Mining, a Zcash mining firm under Digital Currency Group, has announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement with HeartSciences Inc., a Nasdaq-listed small-cap medical technology company, to combine the two entities. Following the announcement, HeartSciences’ stock price rose approximately 60% during intraday trading on Tuesday, closing with a gain of about 55% at $2.70.Fortitude primarily engages in Zcash mining operations. Despite ZEC's recent weak performance, DCG founder and CEO Barry Silbert stated that Zcash remains one of the most attractive opportunities in the digital asset space.Fortitude CEO Andrea Childs noted that the merger is not based on business synergies, but rather aimed at gaining access to public capital markets, thereby securing more flexible financing channels to accelerate its core strategy. This includes a Zcash-focused "venture mining" platform and continued expansion into high-return opportunities within its power asset portfolio.Both parties expect the transaction to be completed in the second half of this year. The deal also indicates that some crypto mining firms are attempting to access capital markets through mergers with publicly listed companies to support their future expansion.