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Mezo, Thesis’ BitcoinFi Project, Completes $7.5M Strategic Round lead by Ledger Cathay Fund

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Ledger Cathay Fund’s investment on BitcoinFi with Mezo commits to supercharging the evolution of the global Bitcoin Finance ecosystem Strategic investment plus prior funding led by Pantera Capital brings Mezo’s total amount raised to $30M

NEW YORK, July 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Thesis, one of the longest-standing venture studios funding and building brands on Bitcoin, today announced its strategic funding round led by Ledger Cathay Fund, Ledger and Cathay Innovation’s early-stage venture fund, for Mezo, its permissionless Bitcoin Economic Layer. This brings total funding for Mezo to $30M following its launch in April 2024. Other investors in the strategic round include ArkStream, Aquarius Fund, Flowdesk, GSR, Origin Protocol and Bybit ecosystem project, Mantle’s EcoFund.

Mezo will use this investment to accelerate technology development and grow the BitcoinFi ecosystem. This includes focus on integrating other ecosystem partners, like the recently announced integration of yield protocol, Acre, and wallet partners to enable a fulsome BitcoinFi experience, like the recently announced ability for Mezo users to “log in” with Bitcoin using both hardware wallets and web wallets like Unisat, OKX, and Xverse. Ledger plans to integrate Mezo directly into its suite of products with further details on integrations to be disclosed in the near future.

Matt Luongo, CEO of Thesis & Founder of Mezo, commented on today’s news: “Ledger Cathay Fund’s support for Mezo is a strong testament that BitcoinFi is the future of ownership, that Mezo is the leader in building the technology behind this future. Today is a tremendous milestone in our work with investors and peers to expand the Bitcoin network, bringing on-chain a circular economy that empowers people worldwide to put BTC to work.”

Mezo, built by Thesis, amplifies Bitcoin‘s infrastructure by facilitating cheap, efficient transactions. In turn, it preserves the Bitcoin network’s foundational principles, including security, dedication to open-source development, and a BTC-first HODL mentality. Distinct from other Bitcoin L2s, Mezo provides users access to applications usable in the real world. Features include Thesis-built tBTC, which allows for trust-minimized bitcoin bridging to numerous ecosystems, plus staking with stBTC, supported by Acre, Thesis’ recently launched Bitcoin-in, Bitcoin-out staking platform.

Mezo serves as a venue for users to maximize Bitcoin‘s full potential beyond being a store of value. Users can leverage applications to transact securely with Bitcoin without roadblocks like fragmented user experience and high gas fees. To date, Mezo has $124.5M in total volume locked and 2,152 Bitcoin deposited in the protocol.

Thesis, one of the longest standing Bitcoin builders, founded in 2013, has supported multiple brand launches of projects within the Bitcoin ecosystem including Mezo, Acre, tBTC, and Fold – who recently announced its plans to go public as the first pureplay financial services company powered by Bitcoin.

Investor Quotes:

Pascal Gauthier, Chairman and CEO of Ledger: “At Ledger, we are Bitcoiners and we believe Bitcoin is the  event. But the landscape of Bitcoin is changing. People want to do more with their Bitcoin, and we need to not only support these new developments in Ledger products, but actively support the future of Bitcoin development. We are therefore thrilled to invest in Mezo, a groundbreaking Bitcoin project that we believe will significantly impact the Bitcoin ecosystem. This investment signals our confidence in Thesis and their project, Mezo, based on their long standing track record of building successful brands in the Bitcoin ecosystem.”

Marguerite de Tavernost, Investment Director at Ledger Cathay Fund: “We really believe in Mezo’s unique vision to supercharge Bitcoin to become an economic layer. Thanks to all the synergies created by their Thesis incubator, Mezo can be the core element of this ecosystem, and create network effects from their decentralized bridge with tBTC to their consumer app with Fold. We were truly impressed by this unique positioning, combined with the very impressive execution capabilities of the Mezo team.”

David Toh, Managing Partner of Mirana Ventures, Mantle EcoFund’s operator: “Investing in Mezo perfectly aligns with Mantle’s vision of supporting and scaling innovations in the Bitcoin ecosystem. We have confidence in Mezo and the synergistic projects led by the Thesis team. We look forward to fostering Mezo’s growth through potential strategic collaborations with projects within the Mantle ecosystem, such as Ignition ($FBTC) and Mantle LSP (Mantle’s Liquid Staking Protocol).”

About Ledger Cathay Fund:

Ledger Cathay Fund is an early-stage venture fund that provides capital to emerging startups in the Web3 ecosystem, while delivering at the same time unique value added to founders. The fund invests at Seed and Series A in companies across the globe  both in equity and tokens.

The fund is the alliance of market leader Ledger for digital assets custody and of global venture capital firm Cathay Innovation. This initiative provides founders with the benefits of the industry support of Ledger together with the long-term investment practice of Cathay Innovation.

About Ledger:

Celebrating its 10 year anniversary in 2024, Ledger is the world leader in Digital Asset security for consumers and enterprises. Ledger offers connected devices and platforms, with more than 6M devices sold to consumers in 180 countries and 10+ languages, 100+ financial institutions and commercial brands. Over 20% of the world’s crypto assets are secured by Ledger.

Ledger is the digital asset solution secure by design. The world’s most internationally respected offensive security team, Ledger Donjon, is relied upon as a crucial resource for securing the world of Digital Assets. With over 14 billion dollars hacked, scammed or mismanaged in 2023 alone, Ledger’s security brings peace of mind and uncompromising self-custody to its community.

Don’t buy “a hardware wallet.” Buy a LEDGER™ device.

LEDGER™, LEDGER LIVE™, LEDGER RECOVER™, LEDGER STAX™, LEDGER FLEX™ and LEDGER FREE FROM COMPROMISE™ are trademarks owned by Ledger SAS

Bluetooth® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Ledger is under license. E Ink® is a registered trademark of E Ink Corporation.

About Mezo: 

The market has been dominated by technology-first approaches that often overlook the economic needs of users. As the world’s first Bitcoin Economic Layer, Mezo introduces a pivotal shift, designed to amplify Bitcoin‘s infrastructure while adhering to its foundational principles to serve its holders. Mezo is Bitcoin native, facilitating cheap and fast transactions for a variety of relevant use cases. This not only enhances the network’s resilience but also ensures it serves the broader economic ambitions of Bitcoin holders. Mezo is the place where we can unlock the full potential of Bitcoin. This is your invitation to create your own economy. Learn more about Mezo’s initiatives and unique features on their blog here.

About Thesis:

Thesis is a venture production studio, funding and building brands on Bitcoin. Thesis has supported multiple successful brands including the launch of Mezo — a new leading Bitcoin L2 — as well as Acre, tBTC, Fold, among others. Thesis has also garnered investments from leading Venture Capital firms including a16z, Polychain Capital, ParaFi, Fenbushi and more. To learn more, please visit: https://thesis.co/

Media contact: thesis@mgroupsc.com 

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SOURCE Thesis

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SiriusXM Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend

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NEW YORK, July 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — SiriusXM (NASDAQ: SIRI) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.27 per share of common stock. This regular quarterly dividend is payable in cash on August 26, 2026, to stockholders of record at the close of business on August 10, 2026.

About Sirius XM Holdings Inc.
SiriusXM is the leading audio entertainment company in North America with a portfolio of audio businesses including its flagship subscription entertainment service SiriusXM; the ad-supported and premium music streaming services of Pandora; an expansive podcast network; and a suite of business and advertising solutions. Together, SiriusXM reaches a combined monthly audience of approximately 255 million listeners. SiriusXM offers a broad range of content for listeners everywhere they tune in with a diverse mix of live, on-demand, and curated programming across music, talk, news, and sports. For more about SiriusXM, please go to: www.siriusxm.com.

Source: SiriusXM

Investor contacts:
Jennifer DiGrazia
investor.relations@siriusxm.com 

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SOURCE Sirius XM Holdings Inc.

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Shutterstock Announces Capital Allocation Update

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NEW YORK, July 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE: SSTK) (the “Company”), a family of brands delivering scalable creative and GenAI solutions to help customers fuel great work, today announced that at a meeting held on July 20, 2026 its Board of Directors (the “Board”) resolved to suspend the Company’s future quarterly cash dividend.

The Board’s determination reflects its ongoing review of the Company’s capital-allocation priorities and its focus on deploying capital to support long-term value creation for shareholders, including reducing debt, minimizing related interest expense and strengthening financial flexibility.

The Board will continue to evaluate the Company’s capital allocation priorities as part of its regular governance process. Any future declaration and payment of dividends, and the amount thereof, will remain subject to the discretion of the Board and will depend upon the Company’s results of operations, financial condition, capital requirements, contractual restrictions, applicable law, and such other factors as the Board deems relevant.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may discuss intentions and expectations as to future plans, trends, events, results of operations or financial condition, or otherwise. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and should not be relied upon as predictions of future events, as there can be no assurance that the events or circumstances reflected in these statements will occur. Forward-looking statements can often, but not always, be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology including “believes,” “could,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “ongoing,” “plans,” “seeks,” “should,” “will,”  or the negative of these words and phrases, other variations of these words and phrases or comparable terminology, but not all forward-looking statements include such identifying words. Forward-looking statements are based upon current plans, estimates and expectations that are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may differ materially from those indicated or anticipated by such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release relate to, among other things, the Company’s capital allocation strategy, the suspension of the Company’s quarterly cash dividend, the Company’s plans with respect to debt reduction, interest expense management and financial flexibility, and any future declaration and payment of dividends. For a discussion of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by forward-looking statements, see the sections captioned “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, the Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and the Company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. While those factors are considered representative, no list of risk factors should be considered a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. Unlisted factors may present significant additional obstacles to the realization of forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements, and the Company disclaims any such obligation, except as may be required by law.

About Shutterstock
Shutterstock is in the business of turning ideas into impact. Powered by a global network of millions of creators and our cutting-edge technology, we provide businesses, creatives, and brand leaders with the essential, universal ingredients to make their work more effective. Shutterstock offers access to one of the world’s largest and most diverse collections of high-quality licensable assets, specialized training datasets, evaluation tools, and end-to-end strategic partnerships for the full model training lifecycle, as well as advertising and distribution solutions, exclusive editorial content, and full-service studio production—delivering unparalleled resources to fuel great work.

Discover our impact at www.shutterstock.com and connect with us on LinkedIn, Instagram, X, Facebook and YouTube.

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SOURCE Shutterstock, Inc.

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ICI Welcomes Bipartisan Sponsors of Bill to Stop States from Seizing Long-Term Investors’ Savings

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WASHINGTON, July 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Investment Company Institute released the following Viewpoints blog. To learn more about why this issue matters and how the SAFER Act would help protect American investors, watch our video on LinkedIn.

Millions of American investors have adopted the advice given by financial advisors to invest for the long term and then leave those savings alone. In some states, however, following this guidance can get your account seized. That was the warning sounded at an event featuring the sponsors of the bipartisan SAFER Act, Representatives Sam Liccardo (D-CA) and Mike Lawler (R-NY), who joined ICI leaders to make the case for a federal solution to the problem of state unclaimed property laws that can treat buy-and-hold investors as though they have disappeared. 

ICI President and CEO Eric Pan opened the event by outlining the nature of this growing threat. More than 128 million Americans invest in regulated funds, many with the intention of holding them for years, following the advice of many financial educators to “stay in the market, invest for the long term.” They put their money away and go about their lives, confident that the savings will be there when they need it. But under some states’ laws, an account that shows no activity can be declared abandoned and taken into state custody through a process called escheatment.

Pan walked through what seizure means in practice. When a state escheats an investment account, it typically liquidates the holdings — so even an investor who eventually recovers the money gets back only what the account was worth at seizure, with no credit for years of market gains. For retirement accounts, the forced liquidation can also trigger unforeseen tax consequences. And recovering the money at all can take years of paperwork and persistence. Meanwhile, some states are moving in the wrong direction, loosening their rules to make it easier to capture assets. 

“This is where the leadership of Congressmen Lawler and Liccardo is so important,” Pan said. “They’ve introduced the SAFER Act, a federal solution to a problem that exists across the United States. This patchwork of different legal standards, and the fact that the legal standards change constantly, creates a lot of confusion and creates this risk and harm that we’re so worried about.” 

In a panel discussion, the two lawmakers described the issue as an obvious place for Democrats and Republicans to find common ground, given Americans’ widespread use of investment accounts for saving.

“We are, for the most part, a group of Americans who sit on our investments, which is more or less the right strategy,” Liccardo said, noting that this is exactly the approach that inactivity standards put at risk. 

Liccardo pointed to the widely reported case of Walter Schramm, an investor who bought Amazon shares in the late 1990s and then did what many long-term investors do: leave the account be. Delaware deemed the account abandoned and liquidated the shares in 2008, when they worth about $8,000. By the time Schramm discovered what happened years later, the position would have been worth roughly $100,000.

The financial incentives driving state behavior are a concern, Liccardo noted. Unclaimed property has become one of Delaware’s largest sources of revenue, bringing in more than half a billion dollars a year — a powerful reason for states to loosen their standards rather than tighten them. 

Lawler contrasted legitimate unclaimed property programs and what some states are doing now. “It’s one thing to get an asset because it’s truly abandoned,” he said. “It’s another to basically target a group of investors who have a long-term strategy of just not touching the asset and being passive.”

The right standard, Lawler argued, is the obvious one: before seizing investment assets, a state should have to prove the owner is actually deceased. He posited that most Americans would be shocked to learn how little protection they have. “You think you have ownership of this asset, but the state, under current law, can just take it.”

The SAFER Act would establish federal guardrails ensuring that inactivity alone cannot be the basis for escheatment and that states confirm the death of an owner and that no estate or beneficiary has claimed the assets before escheating investment accounts. It would also require states to leave unclaimed investments in place, rather than liquidating them, until they can prove abandonment.

Both lawmakers said the path to fixing the problem is through public awareness of the threat some state laws pose to Americans financial security. “Ultimately the American people will rise up,” Liccardo said. “It may take a little while. We just have to get the information to them.”

Contact: media@ici.org 

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SOURCE Investment Company Institute

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