Circle Surges After Senate Vote

Circle Surges After Senate Vote

Circle’s stock surged 34% Wednesday, with an additional 6% boost in after-hours trading, following Senate approval of the GENIUS Act — a bill aimed at regulating fiat-backed stablecoins in the U.S. The legislation, which still needs approval from the House and President Trump, is seen as a major step toward integrating stablecoins into the U.S. financial system.

Since its June 5 debut, Circle (NYSE: CRCL) has skyrocketed over 540%, closing at $199.59 and hitting $211.87 after-hours. Trading volume exceeded 60 million shares, and the company’s market cap now stands above $48 billion.

The GENIUS Act defines payment stablecoins and seeks to bring crypto innovation back onshore. Analysts say it could position Circle as a central player in U.S. digital payments. CEO Jeremy Allaire hailed the bill as historic, while Trump called it a move to make America the “undisputed leader” in digital assets.

AI Talent War Intensifies Fast

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is deepening his AI hiring spree after investing $14.3 billion in Scale AI and bringing on founder Alexandr Wang. Now, he’s adding Daniel Gross, CEO of Safe Superintelligence, and Nat Friedman, former GitHub CEO. Sources say Meta initially tried to acquire Safe Superintelligence, but co-founder Ilya Sutskever rejected both the buyout and hiring offers. Instead, Zuckerberg pivoted to recruiting Gross, who co-runs the VC firm NFDG with Friedman. Both are joining Meta and will work under Wang, while Meta also gains a stake in NFDG.

This move intensifies the AI talent war between Meta, OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft, all racing toward AGI. OpenAI’s Sam Altman claims Meta has offered $100M bonuses to poach staff, so far unsuccessfully. Meta is determined to reshape its AI strategy through high-stakes hires and aggressive investments, betting on new leadership and infrastructure to catch up in the AGI race.

SpaceX Starship Explodes During Test

SpaceX’s Starship 36 exploded during a static fire test late Wednesday at the Starbase facility in Texas, marking another setback for Elon Musk’s ambitious Mars colonization plans. Cameron County officials reported a “catastrophic failure” just after 11:00 p.m., with video showing a fiery explosion moments after the test began. SpaceX confirmed the incident occurred during preparations for the rocket’s tenth flight test, citing a “major anomaly,” but stated no injuries occurred and surrounding communities are safe.

The 403-foot Starship is the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, designed to be fully reusable with a 150-ton payload. While this marks another failed test—following a May explosion over the Indian Ocean—SpaceX remains committed to its rapid development model: fail fast, learn fast. Despite setbacks, the FAA recently increased Starship’s annual launch limit from 5 to 25, and NASA continues to rely on SpaceX for critical missions to the International Space Station.

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