NYSE-Listed Marygold Launches the USCF Oil Plus Bitcoin Strategy Fund (WTIB), Combining Exposure To Crude Oil and Bitcoin
USCF Investments has introduced a new exchange-traded fund that brings together two very different markets under one ticker. On December 15, 2025, the firm launched the USCF Oil Plus Bitcoin Strategy Fund (NYSE Arca: WTIB), marking its first crypto-focused ETF and a notable step for investors seeking diversified exposure beyond traditional equities and bonds. WTIB is designed to seek total return by providing broad exposure to both crude oil and bitcoin through futures contracts and pooled investment vehicles such as exchange-traded products. Rather than tracking a single commodity or digital asset, the fund allocates exposure across oil markets and bitcoin markets, which have historically shown limited correlation. According to USCF, this structure offers investors a way to gain access to two distinct asset classes within a single ETF. As John Love, President and CEO of USCF, explained in the announcement: “Most leveraged ETFs magnify the risk of a single asset or futures contract. WTIB provides 100% exposure to two uncorrelated markets. Rather than choosing between oil and bitcoin, you can have both for the same dollar. It’s an efficient way to slice-up your portfolio, or to take tactical short-term positions.” A Hybrid Approach to Oil and Bitcoin Exposure WTIB’s strategy is built around futures-based exposure rather than direct ownership of physical oil or spot bitcoin. The oil component reflects movements in crude oil markets, while the bitcoin component tracks bitcoin’s price action through regulated futures instruments and related investment products. Bitcoin, unlike traditional financial assets, operates on a decentralized network without a central administrator or clearing agency. Ownership and transaction validation are maintained by network participants, and new bitcoin enters circulation through mining or market transactions. By using futures and exchange-traded vehicles, WTIB allows investors to gain exposure to bitcoin’s price performance without directly holding the asset. USCF positions the fund as a tool for traders and investors who are constructive on both energy markets and digital assets. Love emphasized this dual-market appeal, stating: “WTIB offers a unique way for traders bullish on both markets to express their views. USCF’s ETFs make it simple for investors to participate in non-traditional markets. We are excited to include Bitcoin as part of those offerings, and to introduce WTIB to our ETF lineup.” Marygold’s First Step Into Crypto ETFs The launch of WTIB represents a milestone for The Marygold Companies, Inc. (NYSE American: MGLD), the parent company of USCF Investments. While USCF has a long history in commodity-based exchange-traded products, including the United States Oil Fund (USO) launched in 2006, WTIB is its first ETF to incorporate cryptocurrency exposure. USCF Investments is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Marygold Companies, and the fund is managed by USCF Advisers, LLC. Collectively, USCF and its affiliates oversee more than $3 billion in assets, with operations based in Walnut Creek, California. Nicholas Gerber, Chief Executive Officer of The Marygold Companies, described the fund as a reflection of the group’s broader ambitions in financial services: “WTIB underscores our ongoing commitment to expanding The Marygold Companies’ footprint in the financial services industry. Through our subsidiaries, we offer exchange-traded products and funds in the U.S., along with investment advisory services in the U.K., and recently introduced a cutting-edge mobile fintech app in the U.K.” Positioning in a Growing ETF Market WTIB enters the market at a time when investor interest in both bitcoin-linked products and commodity-based strategies remains strong. By combining oil and bitcoin in a single ETF, USCF is offering an alternative to single-asset funds that concentrate risk in one market cycle. The fund’s listing on NYSE Arca also places it alongside a growing lineup of futures-based crypto products that have gained regulatory approval in the U.S. While WTIB does not replace spot bitcoin ETFs or traditional oil funds, it introduces a hybrid structure aimed at investors seeking diversified exposure to inflation-sensitive and non-traditional assets. For USCF, the launch reinforces its reputation as an innovator in the exchange-traded product space. For the broader market, WTIB adds a new option for investors tracking bitcoin market news while maintaining exposure to global energy dynamics.
NEW: Circle To Acquire the Interop Labs Team and Its Intellectual Property
Circle has signed an agreement to acquire the Interop Labs team and its proprietary intellectual property, marking a significant move in the race to build reliable, secure, and scalable blockchain interoperability infrastructure. The transaction, expected to close in early 2026, brings one of the most influential engineering teams in crosschain technology directly into Circle, the company behind USDC and a growing suite of onchain financial infrastructure. The deal is focused exclusively on talent and proprietary technology. Interop Labs’ open-source contributions, including its role in developing Axelar, will remain open and community governed. Axelar Network, the Axelar Foundation, and the AXL token are not part of the acquisition and will continue to operate independently. This distinction is central to understanding the announcement. Circle is not buying Axelar; it is bringing the architects who helped build its crosschain foundations into its own organization to accelerate internal products such as Arc and Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP). Strengthening Circle’s Interoperability Strategy Circle has spent the past several years positioning itself as more than a stablecoin issuer. While USDC remains its flagship product, the company has steadily expanded into payments, compliance tooling, developer APIs, and crosschain infrastructure. Interoperability sits at the center of that strategy. By acquiring the Interop Labs team, Circle aims to shorten the path toward seamless asset movement across general-purpose blockchains, sovereign chains, and permissioned networks. This includes environments used by enterprises and financial institutions, where compliance, reliability, and predictable settlement are non-negotiable. Interop Labs has been widely recognized for its work on secure crosschain messaging and token transfers. Its engineers were early contributors to Axelar, a framework that allows applications to communicate across multiple blockchains without relying on centralized custodians. Circle now plans to integrate that expertise directly into its product roadmap. According to Circle, the acquisition will support three immediate priorities: expanding interoperability for assets issued on Arc, improving developer tooling and SDKs for multichain applications, and accelerating first-party application development within Circle’s ecosystem. Arc and CCTP Take Center Stage Two products stand to benefit most from the acquisition: Arc and CCTP. Arc is Circle’s open Layer-1 blockchain, designed to serve as an economic operating system for internet-native finance. While details around Arc are still emerging, Circle has framed it as an enterprise-grade network built for programmable money, regulated assets, and large-scale financial applications. Interoperability is not a feature add-on for Arc; it is a requirement. CCTP, on the other hand, already plays a key role in how USDC moves across chains today. Unlike traditional bridge designs, CCTP allows USDC to be burned on one chain and minted on another, reducing the attack surface associated with wrapped assets. Bringing Interop Labs’ technology and engineering depth into Circle is expected to strengthen this model and extend it to additional networks and use cases. Nikhil Chandhok, Circle’s Chief Product and Technology Officer, described the acquisition as a catalyst for these efforts: “Our goal is to make blockchain connectivity seamless, and bringing the Interop Labs team into Circle will accelerate the Arc and CCTP roadmaps toward building the hub for multichain internet finance.” He added that Circle remains committed to supporting a wide range of onchain networks, consistent with its approach to USDC, CCTP, Gateway, and other infrastructure products. What This Means for Axelar A major concern following the announcement was whether Axelar would be affected by the transition. Circle and Interop Labs were explicit on this point: Axelar remains independent. The Axelar Network, its foundation, and the AXL token will continue under community governance, and all open-source intellectual property remains open. Interop Labs’ departure does not signal a retreat from Axelar’s mission; instead, stewardship responsibilities are shifting. Common Prefix, a long-time contributor to Axelar, will assume many of the activities previously handled by Interop Labs. The team is not new to complex blockchain systems. Beyond Axelar, Common Prefix has contributed to projects such as Ripple’s XRP Ledger, Sui, Flashbots, Babylon, and Build on Bitcoin. This continuity is intended to ensure that Axelar’s development and support remain stable following the acquisition’s completion. A Milestone for the Interop Labs Team For Interop Labs, the agreement represents a transition rather than an exit. The team’s work on Axelar helped define modern standards for programmable, non-custodial interoperability, and Circle’s acquisition positions that expertise at the heart of a large, regulated crypto infrastructure company. Sergey Gorbunov, CEO and co-founder of Interop Labs, emphasized both pride in Axelar’s progress and optimism about the next phase: “We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve built with Axelar and excited to see our team and technology become a core part of Circle’s interoperability strategy. Together, we will lay the groundwork for the next era of crosschain finance.” He also confirmed that Interop Labs is working closely with Common Prefix to support a smooth handover of responsibilities within the Axelar ecosystem. Strategic Implications for the Crypto Industry This acquisition highlights a broader shift underway in crypto infrastructure. As institutional participation grows, the market is placing greater value on interoperability that is secure, transparent, and compatible with regulatory frameworks. Ad hoc bridges and isolated chains are no longer sufficient for large-scale financial activity. Circle’s move suggests that interoperability is becoming a first-class concern for infrastructure providers, not a peripheral integration. By internalizing a specialized team rather than relying solely on external protocols, Circle gains tighter control over performance, security assumptions, and long-term roadmap alignment. At the same time, the decision to leave Axelar independent underscores the importance of open-source collaboration in this space. Rather than consolidating everything under one corporate umbrella, Circle appears to be betting on a hybrid model: internal expertise combined with open, community-driven networks. Looking Ahead The acquisition is expected to close in early 2026, leaving ample time for integration planning and coordination with the broader developer community. Until then, Interop Labs continues to support Axelar alongside Common Prefix, while Circle prepares to onboard the team and its proprietary technology. For Circle, the deal reinforces its ambition to become a foundational layer for onchain finance, spanning payments, programmable money,
Leverage Trading: Everything You Need to Know
Imagine this, you put just $1,000 into a trade. With the click of a button, your broker gives you access to $10,000 worth of buying power. Within an hour, the market moves slightly in your favor, and she’s up a quick $800. Exciting, right? But the very next day, the same small market swing works against you and instead of losing a little, you wipes out your $1,000 entirely. In recent years, leverage has become popular in markets like forex, stocks, crypto, and CFDs, giving traders more flexibility and opportunity. It is one of the most powerful tools available to traders but also one of the riskiest. It allows you to borrow money from a broker to control larger trade sizes with less of your own capital. With leverage, even small price movements can lead to big gains or steep losses. Think of it like using a loan to boost your trading power. For example, with 10x leverage, you can open a $10,000 trade with just $1,000 of your own money. That means higher profit potential, but also a greater chance of losing more than you invested. Key Takeaway “Leverage trading gives you the power to control bigger trades with smaller capital, but it also exposes you to bigger risks.” What is Leverage Trading? Leverage is a tool that allows you to control a large position in the market using a relatively small amount of money. Think of it like using a lever to lift something heavy with less effort, you can do more. In trading, leverage lets you borrow funds from your broker to increase the size of your trade. For example, if you have $100 and use 10x leverage, you can open a $1,000 position. It multiplies both potential profits and losses. To use leverage, you need a margin account, which is like a special trading account that allows borrowing. Here margin is the money you put down as a “security deposit” to open a leveraged position. Your collateral (cash or securities) backs up the loan. If the market moves against you and your losses approach the margin you put down, the broker may issue a margin call, asking you to deposit more funds or close the trade. Margin trading isn’t free, it often comes with fees or interest on the borrowed amount. In simple terms margin is what you stake, borrowed funds are what you borrow and leverage is the relationship between the two. Types of Leverage Instruments & Markets Leverage is used in various markets, each with its own tools and rules. It’s important to understand the instruments that make leverage possible and how they differ irrespective of the type of trading you are engaging in: Margin Trading (Stocks & CFDs) When trading traditional stocks, leverage is usually more limited than in other markets. In the U.S., Regulation T (by the Federal Reserve) allows you to borrow up to 50% of a stock’s purchase price. That’s a 2:1 leverage ratio, meaning you can buy $2,000 worth of stock with only $1,000 of your own money. If for example you deposit $1,000, your broker lets you buy $2,000 worth of Apple shares. If the stock rises 10%, you make $200 (20% return on your $1,000). But if the stock drops 10%, you lose $200 double the loss you’d take without leverage. Contracts for Difference (CFDs) are a popular leveraged product especially outside the U.S. With CFDs, you’re not buying the actual asset (like a stock or commodity), but speculating on its price movement. CFDs gained popularity in the 1990s in the UK and quickly became a favorite among retail traders. However, due to the high risk, many regulators now limit leverage for retail clients (e.g., ESMA in the EU caps leverage at 5:1 for stock CFDs). Forex LeverageTypical Ratios (50:1 to 100:1) The foreign exchange (forex) market is known for its high leverage. It’s not uncommon to see brokers offer 50:1, 100:1, or even 500:1 leverage in some countries. In the U.S., the maximum is 50:1 for major currency pairs and in some offshore jurisdictions, it can go as high as 1000:1 but that comes with extreme risk. Forex traders often use leverage for short-term trades (scalping or day trading). They engage in risk management tools like stop-loss orders. Most traders use moderate leverage (10:1 or 20:1) to balance opportunity and risk. A typical example is if you have $100 and use 100:1 leverage, you can control a $10,000 forex position. If the currency pair moves just 1% in your favor, you make $100 a 100% return. But if it moves 1% against you, you could lose your entire capital. Futures & Options Futures are contracts to buy or sell an asset at a future date, at a fixed price. They are naturally leveraged because you only need to put up a fraction of the total contract value (called the initial margin). You might trade a crude oil futures contract worth $50,000, but only need $5,000 upfront. That’s 10:1 leverage. These contracts are widely used in commodities, indexes, and crypto and are favored by professional traders and institutions. Options are another leveraged instrument. A call option gives you the right (but not the obligation) to buy an asset, while a put option lets you sell. Your maximum loss is limited to the premium you paid, making options a powerful and sometimes safer leverage tool when used wisely. Leveraged ETFs & Structured Products Leveraged ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds) aim to amplify the daily returns of an index commonly 2x or 3x. For example if the S&P 500 goes up 1%, a 3x ETF should go up 3%, but if the market drops 1%, it could drop 3%. They achieve this using derivatives and debt, automatically rebalanced daily. Common examples are TQQQ (3x NASDAQ-100) and SPXL (3x S&P 500). You must note that it is not ideal for long-term holding. Due to daily compounding and volatility decay, returns can diverge sharply from expectations over time. Mechanics of Leverage Trading
Somnium Space: The Metaverse Where You Own the World
Picture this: you slip on your VR headset and spawn into a massive open playground buzzing with energy. Here, you’re not just a player, but you also interact with other players. Welcome to Somnium Space, one of the most exciting gaming metaverse platforms out there. As digital lives blend more with reality, Somnium Space stands out by combining virtual reality, blockchain, and social interaction. It’s much more than just a game or a chat room; it’s a virtual space where you own what you create, making your digital experiences as valuable as real life. If you’re a VR fan, a digital artist, a crypto enthusiast, or just curious about gaming interactions, Somnium Space is just the right drive for you. Key Takeaway What Is Somnium Space? Somnium Space is a virtual reality (VR) metaverse built on Blockchain technology. It’s a fully immersive 3D digital world where you can interact and socialize. Think of it as a virtual city, where you can buy land, create experiences, and interact with other people in real time using avatars. But unlike regular video games or apps, Somnium Space is built on blockchain technology, meaning users truly own the digital items. Everything from your virtual house to your avatar is an NFT (non-fungible token) that you can trade, sell, or customize. Origins & Background of Somnium Space Somnium Space was founded in 2017 by Artur Sychov, a tech entrepreneur and futurist passionate about virtual reality and decentralization. His vision was clear: build a persistent, open VR space where users, not corporations, own their experiences and assets. Unlike other virtual platforms that are centrally controlled, Somnium empowers users through blockchain ownership. Artur wanted to ensure that people could truly own their virtual identity, land, and creations, and not just rent space on someone else’s server. Company Structure and Global Presence Somnium Space is operated by Somnium Space Ltd, a privately held company. Though its origins are European, the platform and its community are global. Developers, creators, investors, and users from around the world participate in building out the virtual world. The company works closely with blockchain partners like Ethereum and Polygon, and collaborates with VR hardware companies and digital artists to keep pushing the limits of what’s possible in immersive technology. Key facts about the company: Access Options: Web, Desktop, Steam, PCVR, Oculus Quest Whether you have a high-end VR headset or just a laptop, Somnium Space offers multiple ways to access the platform, so anyone can participate. Here are the main options: Web Browser (2D Access) The simplest way to access Somnium is through your web browser. No downloads or VR gear needed, just click a link and walk around the virtual world. Desktop Client Available for Windows, this version gives you higher performance and access to full features, including events and creator tools. Ideal for creators, landowners, and serious explorers. Steam Somnium is available on Steam, the world’s largest game distribution platform. Just download and launch like any other game. PCVR (Virtual Reality on PC) For the full immersive experience, connect your VR headset to a VR-ready PC and explore in real time. Supported headsets include: Oculus Quest (Standalone) You can also access Somnium Space on Meta (Oculus) Quest headsets by sideloading the app. It’s slightly more technical to set up, but once installed, you can explore without needing a PC. SDK & Builder Tools Overview Creating your own experience in Somnium Space is not just for coders or developers; it’s designed for everyone, including artists, event planners, and casual users. Here’s how you can build in Somnium: Somnium Builder (Drag & Drop): SDK (Software Development Kit): Web Tools + Blockchain Integration: In short, you can build almost anything in Somnium Space, from a virtual gallery to an entire amusement park. Key Features in Somnium Space Somnium Space is more than just a cool VR experience; it’s a functioning virtual world with its own land, economy, currency, and creative tools. Let’s break down what makes this metaverse so unique. Virtual Land (PARCELs) In Somnium Space, real estate is everything. These virtual plots of land are called PARCELs, and they’re the foundation of the world, just like real-world property. You don’t need to own land to enjoy Somnium Space, but if you’re interested in investing, here’s what you should know: Each land parcel is a unique NFT (non-fungible token), just like real-world land. You can buy or sell land anytime through the OpenSea Marketplace, and all transactions are securely recorded on the Ethereum blockchain, ensuring you truly own your land. The value of land is influenced by its location, views, size, and proximity to popular spots. Some parcels are close enough to connect to larger estates, allowing for taller builds. Somnium Space also offered special tokens that let you build higher, though availability is uncertain. If you’re looking to start small, you can rent land from other users for a minimal investment. Once you own a parcel, you can turn it into anything you want: You can even monetize your land by charging entry fees to events, renting it to other users or hosting branded experiences or ads. Build Building in Somnium Space is as easy as you can imagine if you own LAND, no coding needed. Simply download the software from Steam and get started. Once you’re logged in, select ‘2D’ to access the user-friendly drag-and-drop editor and even run your designs in test mode. What sets this builder apart is its easy integration of video and audio options, making your scenes come alive. Avatar Your Somnium Space avatar is your virtual representation in the metaverse, similar to having a username on any website. It’s the 3D version of you. Now, you can create and upload your own custom avatar using the Somnium Space Avatar SDK, allowing for unique expressions beyond just a standard look. You can buy and sell avatars on the marketplace. You own full rights to your avatar; nobody can take it away or duplicate it. What makes Somnium’s avatars