Donald Trump and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse held a joint live broadcast focused on “the future of XRP” and “Ripple transforming global finance.” The public, real-time event centered on XRP’s role in cross-border payments and financial infrastructure. No specific policy developments, regulatory breakthroughs, or technical upgrade details were disclosed. Trump’s participation as a former U.S. president and a key figure in the 2024 election made the XRP-focused discussion an unusually high-profile political endorsement event that amplified attention around the XRP narrative.

Intel Foundry said cybersecurity company Fortinet will be its first publicly named external customer, using the Intel 4 process to manufacture Fortinet’s next-generation SP6 security chip. Intel shares rose more than 8% on the day of the announcement, though the deal does not involve the 14A or 18A advanced nodes and external foundry revenue accounts for about 1.3% of total company revenue. The news came two days before Intel’s Q2 earnings release, with investors focused on whether outside foundry revenue is gaining traction and whether profitability is improving.

U.S. lean hog futures posted broad gains on Wednesday, with the October and December contracts up 22.5 cents and 57.5 cents, respectively. USDA’s national base hog cash price was $101.08 per cwt, up 86 cents from the prior day. The CME Lean Hog Index rose to $96.64 per cwt. Federally inspected hog slaughter for the week to date totaled 1.38 million head, down 17,913 head from the same week last year.

IBM cut its full-year revenue growth target to 4–5% after sales of its Z series mainframes fell 42% year on year in the second quarter. The company also lowered its annual software sales growth outlook to 6–8%. IBM said the weakness is entirely concentrated in its infrastructure unit and related software, while the rest of the business is performing strongly. Second-quarter revenue was roughly $17 billion, up about 1%, and adjusted earnings were nearly $3 per share.

European shares rose on Wednesday, with the Stoxx 600 up 0.58%, as weaker-than-expected UK inflation data and a run of upbeat corporate earnings lifted sentiment. The UK’s FTSE 100 gained 1.24%, while Germany’s DAX rose 0.58% and France’s CAC 40 added 0.89%. Oil prices climbed amid escalating U.S.-Iran tensions, but the move did not derail broader gains. Airbus, Gea Group and Fresnillo were among the stocks supported by company updates and results.

Golconda Gold (GGGOF) runs two producing gold mines and aims to double output within 2.5 years, while planning to spin off the Summit silver project in Q4 2026. The company’s $107 million market cap implies a steep discount to its projected net asset value of $375 million, equating to 0.3x P/NAV. Management expects operational upgrades, a self-funded expansion at Galaxy, and Summit’s silver ramp-up to support earnings and cash-flow growth.

Paladin Energy reported fourth-quarter U3O8 production of 1.3Mlb and sales of 1.4Mlb, both ahead of expectations, with closing inventory at 1.7Mlb. The company realised an average price of US$71/lb and ended the period with cash and investments of US$265m. Bell Potter kept a Buy rating and set a A$14.80 price target versus the current A$9.13, implying about 62% upside.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has released a draft crypto-asset regulatory framework known as CLARITY, aimed at clarifying how digital assets are assessed as securities. The proposal introduces a new “functional test” to replace the Howey test and sets out compliance obligations for exchanges, issuers and intermediaries. It remains in a public consultation stage, is not yet binding law, and does not name any specific tokens or projects. If adopted, it would affect token issuers and trading platforms operating in the U.S., while it does not change the direct legal status of major listed assets such as BTC and ETH.