KEYTAKEAWAYS
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BNB Chain led cross-chain bridge inflows with $1.008B, driven by low fees, high speed, and Binance ecosystem support.
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Trump warned countries aligning with BRICS “anti-American” policies will face 10% tariffs, escalating global trade tensions.
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Robinhood clarified its OpenAI token represents indirect exposure via an SPV, not a direct partnership with OpenAI.
CONTENT
OVER THE PAST WEEK, BSC CROSS-CHAIN BRIDGE RECORDED $1.008 BILLION IN NET INFLOWS
July 7 — According to data from DefiLlama, BNB Chain’s cross-chain bridges recorded a net inflow of $1.008 billion in the past week, ranking first among all public blockchains.
Following BNB Chain were Optimism and Mantle, with net inflows of $28.72 million and $13.33 million, respectively.
In contrast, Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Flare experienced net outflows of $983 million, $161 million, and $15.96 million, respectively.
Analysis:
Cross-chain bridges are essential infrastructure in the DeFi ecosystem, enabling asset transfers between different blockchains and enhancing interoperability and liquidity.
According to DefiLlama, the global cross-chain bridge transaction volume has surpassed $500 billion in 2025.
BNB Chain has emerged as a popular choice for capital inflows due to its low transaction fees (averaging $0.10 per transaction) and high throughput (over 2,000 TPS).
Additional drivers include Binance’s strong ecosystem brand, as well as rich DeFi applications such as PancakeSwap and Venus.
Binance’s recent integration of Web3 wallets and the BNB Chain upgrade on March 20, 2025—which improved transaction speed by 30%—further boosted the chain’s attractiveness to users and liquidity.
TRUMP: COUNTRIES ALIGNING WITH BRICS ANTI-U.S. POLICY WILL FACE ADDITIONAL 10% TARIFFS
July 7 — U.S. President Donald Trump stated on the Truth Social platform:
“Any country aligning with BRICS anti-American policies will face an additional 10% tariff. There will be no exceptions.”
However, he did not define or elaborate on what constitutes “anti-American policy” in the post.
Analysis:
Trump’s 10% additional tariff threat appears to be a direct response to the BRICS Summit joint statement, which criticized U.S. tariff practices. This move is intended to protect U.S. dollar hegemony and control over market access via economic coercion.
The BRICS declaration, made at the Rio Summit, reaffirmed opposition to unilateral tariffs and advocated for fair trade under WTO rules—signaling collective resistance to Trump’s approach.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the use of tariffs as a coercive tool, while Brazil tried to ease tensions by clarifying it has no intention to push for a unified BRICS currency.
Nonetheless, efforts led by Russia and China to de-dollarize—such as promoting the CIPS system and the e-CNY digital currency—may accelerate in response to Trump’s tariff threats.
ROBINHOOD SPOKESPERSON: INDIRECT OPENAI HOLDING VIA SPV
July 7 — In response to OpenAI’s urgent denial of any authorized partnership with Robinhood or involvement with any so-called “OpenAI token,” a Robinhood spokesperson clarified:
“The OpenAI token provides investors with indirect exposure to OpenAI through Robinhood’s stake in an SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle). Robinhood does not directly own shares of OpenAI.”
This means the OpenAI token is pegged to the value of OpenAI equity held by the SPV, not to OpenAI itself.
Analysis:
On June 30, Robinhood launched “OpenAI Token” and “SpaceX Token” in the European market, using SPV structures to give retail investors access to unicorn companies.
The OpenAI token is an ERC-20 token on Arbitrum, available only within Robinhood’s EU crypto app.
Although the SPV holds a small portion of OpenAI shares, OpenAI has reiterated that it has no affiliation with Robinhood and has issued a warning about the risks of such investments.
