DeFi Development, a company vying to be the MicroStrategy of Solana, is expanding internationally through a franchise model.

The company plans to partner with others looking to operate their own Solana treasuries with DeFi’s support. In return, DeFi Development will retain an equity stake in each regional vehicle. The initiative will be branded DFDV Treasury Accelerator.

“Most crypto treasury vehicles today are following the MicroStrategy model. What excites us about DFDV is that they’re not just copying the playbook. They’re evolving it,” said Cosmo Jiang, general partner at investor Pantera Capital. “By combining validator infrastructure, capital markets innovation, and now international expansion via a global franchising model, DFDV is building something structurally different and ahead of the curve.”

Pantera was also an anchor investor in Bitmine Immersion Technologies, an ether treasury firm backed by Peter Thiel and chaired by Fundstrat’s Tom Lee. Kraken, Arrington, RK Capital and Borderless Capital may also support the franchise initiative through a potential investment and treasury and fundraising guidance, as well as infrastructure – which could include validator and custody solutions.

The move comes amid an explosion in companies pursuing crypto treasury strategies or merging with public entities to be able to emulate MicroStrategy’s success investing in bitcoin. In addition to Bitmine, the publicly listed betting platform SharpLink Gaming in May initiated an ether treasury strategy and appointed Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin as chairman of its board. Bit Digital recently exited bitcoin mining to focus on its ETH treasury and staking plans.

Solana is a five-year-old public blockchain platform that promises to provide fast transaction speeds as well as low fees for developers and users. Solana’s value is up 7% over the past year, with a nearly 10% gain within the past month, according to Coin Metrics.

In addition to accumulating Solana tokens, the company will acquire validators (the computers that help run the Solana network by verifying transactions) that can be used to “stake” the tokens. Through staking, users earn rewards for locking up SOL tokens on the network.

DeFi Development this week introduced its first SOL per share guidance, saying it plans to reach 1 SOL per share by 2028. With 857,749 SOL held currently and 18.8 million shares outstanding, its SOL per share stands at 0.0457, it said.

Roblox announced the start of age-verification technology Thursday for users who want to chat more freely on the social-gaming platform as part of its new “trusted connections” feature.

Roblox Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman said that the company felt it was the right time to implement age-estimation software to coincide with “features that we really believe are something that should be limited to an older audience — 13 and over.”

The company’s use of age-screening tech, provided by the identity verification company Persona, comes as several states, like Utah, have established age-verification laws requiring app store owners like Apple and Google to verify the age of their users.

Social media companies like Meta, X and Snap contend that app store operators should be tasked with verifying people’s ages, while Apple and Google have argued otherwise.

Roblox’s use of age-estimation tech will help the company “confirm the age of our users and give them more tailored and age-appropriate features,” said Ryan Ebanks, a Roblox principal product manager for social products.

Users over 13 years old will be prompted to use the facial-analysis software to estimate their age and determine whether they can access the new “trusted connections” feature that allows them to engage in private, unfiltered chats with other age-screened users, Ebanks said.

What used to be known as a Roblox user’s “friends” will now be called “connections,” said Ebanks.  

A Roblox user’s “trusted connections” are essentially a subset of their connections that they “know and trust” and can communicate with on the platform without experiencing certain content filters that proactively screen for offensive language deemed inappropriate for children, Ebanks explained.

Teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 must use a QR scan or Roblox’s contact importer tool to add other users they know in real life who are over the age of 18 as trusted connections, the company said.

Kaufman said that up until now, all private messages have been filtered to block profanity and things that are “inappropriate for a platform of all ages.”

Roblox believes that by implementing age-screening to access unfiltered chats, the company can “create an opportunity for teens and adults to stay on Roblox and have their open communications happening here rather than going to other platforms,” Kaufman said.  

The company will continue to proactively monitor all conversations on the platform for “critical harms,” he said.

If Roblox users have previously used their ID documentation to verify their age in order to access certain mature games on the platform, they will not have to use the age-estimation technology, Roblox said in a blog post. The the age-estimation software is “optional,” and users “over 13 can still verify their age using a government-issued ID instead, and, in the future, verified parental consent,” the blog post said.

The company also debuted new privacy and well-being tools that will let users see how much time they spend on Roblox, set daily time limits, activate a “do not disturb” mode, and access online status control features.

Roblox said that parents, with their teens’ permission, will also be able to set up linked Roblox accounts allowing them to view their teens’ connections and trusted connections, how much time they spend on Roblox and its various games, and insights on their transactions and spending.

In February, Roblox and Discord were sued over allegations that their respective platforms let online predators discover and connect with underage victims.

Reddit this week also began using age-verification technology from Persona to ensure that its United Kingdom users under the age of 18 would be prevented from viewing certain kinds of mature content to comply with the country’s Online Safety Act.

WATCH: Crypto bills stumble on key procedural hurdle in House of Representatives.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company on Thursday reported a near 61% year-on-year rise in second-quarter profit, beating estimates, as demand for artificial intelligence chips stays strong. 

Here are TSMC’s first-quarter results versus LSEG SmartEstimates:

• Revenue: 933.80 billion New Taiwan dollars ($31.7 billion), vs. NT$931.24 billion expected
• Net income: NT$398.27 billion, vs. NT$377.86 billion 

Second-quarter net profit hit a record high, according to Reuters.

TSMC’s net revenue in the June quarter rose 38.65% from a year ago to NT$933.80 billion, also beating estimates.

Advanced chips, with sizes 7-nanometer or smaller, accounted for 74% of TSMC’s total wafer revenue in the quarter. In semiconductor technology, smaller nanometer sizes signify more compact transistor designs, which lead to greater processing power and efficiency.

TSMC, the world’s largest contract chip manufacturer, has benefited from the megatrend towards AI as it gains from producing advanced processors for clients including Nvidia and Apple.

However, the company faces potential headwinds from the trade policy of the U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened steep “reciprocal tariffs” on Taiwan.

Taiwan faces 32% tariffs announced in April and is in the midst of trade talks with the U.S., according to local media reports. Trump earlier this month also warned of potential additional tariffs on semiconductors.

U.S. export controls have also restricted TSMC’s business with China, as well that of its key clients such as Nvidia and AMD. However, amid a thawing of trade relations between Beijing and Washington, Nvidia and AMD said earlier this week that they had received government assurances allowing them to ship products to China.