Crypto Breaking

Circle’s euro-pegged stablecoin EURC is showing the strongest uptake in Spain for retail payments, according to Brighty’s platform data analyzed by Cointelegraph. In 2025 and through the first quarter of 2026, Spain accounted for about 36% of EURC transactions and 25% of EURC’s total on Brighty, signaling a distinctly retail-oriented pattern for euro-stablecoins on the continent.

“For Spanish users, EURC functions essentially as a standard euro on a card with no exchange rate friction when transacting against USDC,” Brighty co-founder Nick Denisenko told Cointelegraph. The comments underscore a broader trend: euro-stablecoins may see meaningful adoption in Europe’s consumer payments as MiCA-era rails and local banking partnerships mature.

The Brighty data offer an early glimpse into how euro-denominated tokens could fit into everyday European commerce, even as euro-stablecoins remain smaller than their US dollar counterparts in overall market share.

Key takeaways

Spain is the leading market for EURC on Brighty, generating roughly 36% of EURC transactions and 25% of EURC’s volume in 2025 and the first quarter of 2026.

Retail-style spending dominates Spain’s EURC activity, with an average payment size around 49 euros and notable engagement with yield features.

In Europe, Italy accounts for about 15.5% of EURC transactions and 18% of volume, while Germany handles roughly 13% of transactions and 19% of volume, with average payments near 105 euros. France shows higher average transactions around 171 euros, suggesting larger-value usage in that market.

CoinGecko data place EURC as the leading euro-pegged stablecoin by market share, accounting for about 49% of the euro-stablecoin market cap (roughly $887 million) across the sector.

The Spanish pattern—early adoption, retail-oriented usage, and integration with bank familiarity—fits into a broader European push toward MiCA-aligned euro stablecoins and institutional-grade rails.

Spain’s retail EURC footprint solidifies

Brighty’s breakdown shows Spain as the clearest example of a retail-first EURC footprint within Europe. The relatively modest average payment size—roughly 49 euros—and the platform’s observation of widespread small-value use point to EURC functioning as a practical euro substitute for everyday purchases and peer-to-peer transfers.

Denisenko noted that Spanish users have also been active with stablecoin-based yield features on Brighty, reinforcing that euro-token activity there extends beyond simple payments toward broader financial utilities within crypto-enabled wallets and services.

Country profiles illuminate diverse euro-stablecoin patterns

Italy ranks second in EURC activity on Brighty, representing about 15.5% of transactions and 18% of volume. Germany sits close behind with roughly 13% of transactions and 19% of volume, where the average payment is around 105 euros. France, by contrast, shows a markedly different usage profile, with an average EURC transaction of about 171 euros, more than three times Spain’s level, suggesting greater involvement in larger transfers rather than daily retail spend.

These patterns point to divergent adoption curves across major European markets. While Spain emphasizes everyday, small-value payments, France’s higher average ticket hints at usage tied to more substantial transfers or business-related activity. Italy and Germany straddle the line, reflecting a mix of retail and higher-value usage that aligns with broader consumer and business adoption trends in those economies.

Why Spain stands out in the MiCA era

According to Denisenko, the Spanish market’s distinctive retail focus aligns with a wider European narrative: crypto familiarity and institutional readiness appear to be higher in Spain relative to some peers. “When we engage with counterparts at major Spanish banks, we consistently observe a remarkably high degree of competence even among frontline staff — which is not something one takes for granted elsewhere,” he said. This environment, he suggested, may help explain why EURC has found traction in everyday spending in Spain and why it’s drawing attention as a potential pattern for other European economies under MiCA regulation.

Related coverage in Cointelegraph has noted that European banks are actively pursuing MiCA-compliant euro-stablecoin rails, underscoring the regulatory and infrastructural context in which EURC operates. In particular, industry participants have highlighted efforts by institutions to integrate euro-stablecoins into existing payment rails, settlement workflows, and wallet ecosystems as Europe positions itself for broader stablecoin adoption.

The Spanish momentum also echoes a broader market signal: euro-stablecoins could play a meaningful role in European retail, provided there is robust interoperability with banks, card networks, and consumer wallets under the MiCA framework. The data from Brighty suggest that where retail adoption is strongest, euro tokens can become a practical fiat proxy, reducing friction in cross-border or cross-currency spending when paired with widely used stablecoins like USDC or other euro-denominated equivalents.

For Circle and EURC, the Spain-driven retail pattern offers a concrete case study of how euro-stablecoins might scale in Europe’s consumer economy. It also raises questions about how other markets will respond as MiCA’s regulatory provisions come into sharper effect and as banks continue to explore compliant, euro-focused stablecoin solutions.

As European markets digest these developments, observers will be watching how retail merchants, banks, and wallet providers harmonize EURC usage with consumer protections, fee structures, and merchant acceptance. The next set of Brighty data, alongside MiCA implementation milestones, could shed further light on whether Spain’s early adoption translates into a broader continental shift toward euro-stablecoins in everyday finance.

For readers seeking a broader regulatory backdrop, recent coverage highlighted ongoing moves by European banks toward MiCA-compliant euro stablecoins, illustrating the sector-wide effort to standardize euro token usage across payments, settlements, and value transfers.

Watch next for Brighty’s continued quarterly findings and for regulatory updates that could either accelerate or reframe euro-stablecoin adoption across Europe as institutions test, adopt, and scale euro-denominated digital currencies in real-world commerce.

This article was originally published as Spain Leads Europe in EURC Retail Market, Brighty Data Shows on Crypto Breaking News – your trusted source for crypto news, Bitcoin news, and blockchain updates.

Kast, the stablecoin payments platform, has appointed Stephanie Allen, a former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) communications official, to lead corporate and policy communications. The move arrives as Kast accelerates its licensing and policy-building efforts in the wake of an $80 million funding round that reportedly valued the company at $600 million. Allen will work with Kast’s senior leadership to shape policy engagement and communications as the company prepares to launch Kast Business and expand across North America, Latin America, and the Middle East.

In making the announcement, Kast noted that Allen’s background includes serving as acting director of the SEC’s Office of Public Affairs and roles in media relations and speechwriting at the agency. The company said she also advised the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, though the SEC’s public biography of Allen does not list that specific advisory role. Kast described the hire as part of its next growth phase and regulatory engagement strategy.

Brad Jaffe, Kast’s chief corporate affairs officer, framed the hire as a key piece of the firm’s broader expansion plan. “We’re excited to welcome Stephanie to the Kast team. Her knowledge of the policy and regulatory landscape stemming from her leadership position at the SEC and deep U.S. public and private sector experience will help drive Kast’s momentum,” he said. The timing of the appointment aligns with Kast’s push into business accounts, cross-border payments, and other growth markets that carry heightened regulatory considerations.

The leadership move comes shortly after Kast completed an $80 million funding round to scale its payments infrastructure, a round that contributed to a reported valuation of $600 million. Kast’s ecosystem today emphasizes US dollar-denominated accounts and card offerings available to users in more than 150 countries, with public plans to roll out savings and remittance products under its neobank interface.

The company has positioned itself as a bridge between stablecoins and broader financial services, aiming to push deeper into regulated, enterprise-grade use cases while expanding geographically. Kast’s leadership stresses that policy and licensing clarity is central to unlocking cross-border use cases and serving business customers that demand compliant, scalable payments rails.

Related coverage: Kast’s $80 million round and valuation have been reported in industry outlets, highlighting the market’s appetite for regulated, infrastructure-focused stablecoin platforms as they approach larger-scale business adoption.

Key takeaways

Kast hires Stephanie Allen, a former SEC communications leader, to helm corporate and policy communications as it scales licensing and regulatory engagement.

The appointment signals a broader industry trend: stablecoin-focused firms strengthening policy and communications capabilities to pursue regulated growth across multiple regions.

Kast’s funding round, disclosed as $80 million, accompanies a stated goal to expand Kast Business and extend operations into North America, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Market context shows a mixed picture for stablecoins: on-chain activity cooled while supply rose, suggesting growth in dollar-denominated stablecoins does not always translate into higher transfer volumes.

Industry signals from Fidelity and data providers indicate robust on-chain activity related to stablecoins for payments and settlement, despite a subdued broader crypto sentiment.

Kast’s regulatory push and growth trajectory

Allen’s appointment is less about headline changes and more about building the underpinnings of a compliant, scalable payments platform as Kast moves toward a broader rollout of Kast Business. Her SEC tenure, particularly in communications around policy shifts and regulatory priorities, is positioned to help Kast navigate licensing regimes and interoperability requirements across jurisdictions. The company’s stated objective is to accelerate its business-focused offerings—cross-border payments, corporate accounts, and payment rails that can accommodate regulated activities—while maintaining a front-end user experience that mirrors a neobank interface.

Kast has described its platform as a global payments solution for stablecoins, with card programs and USD-denominated accounts that can serve clients across more than 150 countries. The emphasis on regulated growth suggests the company expects to encounter a mosaic of licensing standards, consumer protections, and AML/CFT requirements as it expands. Allen’s role will likely involve coordinating policy communications with product and compliance teams to align Kast’s deployment with regional rules while communicating its regulatory posture to customers and partners.

The strategic timing of this hire—after a high-profile funding round—highlights how players in the stablecoin and crypto payments space are treating regulatory engagement as a core growth lever. As more firms pursue business accounts, merchant acceptance, and cross-border settlement capabilities, the ability to articulate policy positions clearly and to demonstrate regulatory readiness becomes a competitive differentiator. Kast’s leadership contends that policy clarity enables faster go-to-market timelines and reduces friction with financial institutions and regulators alike.

Stablecoins in flux: momentum versus on-chain activity

The broader market backdrop for stablecoins remains nuanced. Recent data indicates that stablecoin transfer volume has cooled, with a 19% month-over-month drop to about $8.31 trillion, even as the overall stablecoin market capitalization rose roughly 2% to around $305 billion. Data from RWA.xyz, cited by Cointelegraph, suggests that higher supply does not necessarily translate into higher on-chain transfer activity. The divergence between growing stablecoin stock and shrinking transfer flows points to a period of shifting usage patterns—potentially reflecting a mix of resting balances, off-chain settlements, and selective on-chain deployments among institutions and users.

Nevertheless, institutional and market-watchers remain attentive to signs of real-world usage. Fidelity’s Q2 Signals Report highlighted that Ethereum’s stablecoin transfer value has recently surpassed historical norms, with total transfer value on the network over the previous 12 months exceeding $18 trillion. Fidelity frames this activity as reflecting ongoing use of stablecoins for payments, settlement, and on-chain dollar access, even as sentiment in the broader crypto market remains fragile.

On a separate data point, Allium reported that stablecoin transfer volume reached a record $1.8 trillion in February, underscoring the enduring importance of stablecoins as a payments and settlement tool amidst evolving market dynamics. Taken together, these signals paint a picture of a sector where growing liquidity and on-chain access coexist with measured activity and regulatory scrutiny—the kind of environment where policy leadership can help firms scale responsibly.

For Kast and other issuers and providers, the implications are clear: policy clarity reduces uncertainty around product launches and cross-border operations, while robust compliance controls can unlock partnerships with banks, exchanges, and enterprise clients that demand rigorous regulatory alignment. In a market where sentiment swings can be abrupt, the ability to communicate policy positions and demonstrate concrete licensing progress becomes a meaningful competitive edge.

What this means for users and the market going forward

For end users and business clients, Kast’s emphasis on policy capability signals a push toward stable, regulated access to dollar-denominated financial services powered by crypto rails. If Kast Business delivers on its promises—coupled with broad licensing progress and cross-border capability—the platform could offer a more deterministic path to using stablecoins for everyday payments, payroll, and cross-border remittances without sacrificing compliance or security.

From an investor and builder perspective, the trajectory underscores a broader industry shift: the most credible players are marrying product expansion with formal regulatory engagement. In practice, this means closer collaboration with financial partners, clearer disclosures about risk controls, and a more transparent approach to how stablecoins are used in enterprise-grade payments and settlements. Observers will want to see how Kast navigates specific licensing milestones in its key markets and how Allen’s communications leadership translates into clearer regulatory dialogues with policymakers and industry stakeholders.

As the sector continues to balance rapid innovation with the realities of financial regulation, all eyes will be on Kast’s next moves—the rollout of Kast Business, progress in licensing across multiple regions, and how the company translates policy engagement into tangible growth metrics for its enterprise customers.

Readers should watch for updates on Kast’s licensing milestones, new product features for business clients, and any further strategic hires that sharpen its policy and compliance capabilities. The coming quarters will reveal how effectively the company can translate policy leadership into scalable, regulated growth across its global footprint.

This article was originally published as Kast taps ex-SEC adviser to steer US crypto policy on Crypto Breaking News – your trusted source for crypto news, Bitcoin news, and blockchain updates.

The United Kingdom’s financial regulator has published PS26/7, a policy statement that formalizes new rules and guidance to enable tokenized funds to operate within the existing fund regime rather than in separate experimental structures. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) frames tokenization and distributed ledger technology (DLT) as tools to improve efficiency and governance in asset management and describes the move as part of a broader digital assets roadmap announced in a January 2025 letter to the prime minister. According to Cointelegraph, the stance signals a deliberate effort to bring tokenized finance under the regulatory perimeter, ensuring oversight and consistency with established fund protections.

The policy statement presents a clearer path for asset managers to integrate blockchain into regulated fund operations while preserving investor protections. It reflects a cautious, structured approach to modernization that seeks to modernize market infrastructure without relaxing the safeguards that underpin regulated funds such as UCITS. The FCA emphasizes that the changes are designed to support innovation in the UK asset management sector while maintaining a stable, transparent regulatory framework.

Key takeaways

The Blueprint model allows on-chain investor records to serve as the primary register for unit deals, without requiring a full off-chain duplicate, provided appropriate resiliency plans are in place.

The Blueprint framework has already been used to authorize the first tokenized UK undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS). Authorized funds may maintain their register on public distributed ledger networks if controls meet FCA standards, including issuing units across multiple blockchains so long as investor rights and charges remain consistent.

The main policy shift introduces an optional Direct-to-Fund (D2F) dealing model, where the fund or its depositary, rather than the manager, acts as counterparty to investor trades, enabling a streamlined, near‑on‑chain settlement process.

The FCA outlines a pathway from today’s tokenized funds toward tokenized assets and eventually tokenized cash flows, including models in which investors hold tokenized assets in digital wallets and managers use smart contracts to administer them.

The regulator remains open to waivers enabling the use of digital cash and stablecoins for settlement and certain expenses; it will seek further views in 2026 on broader use of DLT in wholesale markets.

Regulatory framing: Integrating tokenized funds into the UK regime

PS26/7 formalizes how tokenized funds can operate within the UK’s established regulatory architecture. By accommodating tokenization inside the current fund regime, the FCA aims to preserve investor protections while removing unnecessary frictions that could push tokenized structures into parallel or off-regulatory channels. The policy aligns with the broader objective—initially articulated in the January 2025 letter—to create a coherent digital assets roadmap that guides innovation without eroding discipline on market integrity, transparency, and consumer protection. The directive signals to asset managers that blockchain-enabled fund operations can be designed to stay within the FCA’s risk controls and reporting standards, rather than evolving in standalone, unregulated environments.

In practice, the PS26/7 framework seeks to harmonize tokenization with existing disclosure, valuation, governance, and custody requirements. It emphasizes that on-chain processes must be supported by robust governance, risk management, and contingency planning, ensuring that tokenized funds remain subject to the same accountability and oversight as conventional funds. The policy’s emphasis on regulatory perimeter reflects a broader policy trend across major markets toward integrating tokenized finance into established regulatory structures rather than permitting unregulated experimentation.

Implementation mechanics: Blueprint and Direct-to-Fund in practice

The core technical innovation under PS26/7 is the Blueprint model, which permits on-chain records to function as the primary ledger for unit deals, thereby reducing reliance on traditional off-chain registries where appropriate. Crucially, this approach requires “appropriate resiliency plans” to address continuity, data integrity, and disaster recovery. If those controls are met, on-chain records can underpin the fund’s official investor register, advancing settlement efficiency and alignment with on-chain or hybrid settlement flows.

Alongside the Blueprint, the policy introduces a Direct-to-Fund (D2F) dealing model as an optional mechanism to simplify investor interactions. Under D2F, the fund or its depositary acts as the counterparty to investor trades, rather than the fund manager. Transactions would clear in a single step, with units issued or canceled directly against cash movements between investors and the fund. The FCA describes D2F as a pathway to more efficient fund operations and a more straightforward alignment with on-chain settlement, while maintaining the standard investor protections and oversight that govern regulated funds.

These mechanics illustrate a careful balance: enabling practical, technology-enabled operations without compromising valuation, recordkeeping, or governance standards. The policy also notes that the first tokenized UCITS have already been authorized under the Blueprint approach and that funds may operate registers on public DLT networks if they satisfy FCA controls. Multi-blockchain issuance is permissible, provided investor rights and charges stay consistent, signaling a pragmatic view of evolving settlement ecosystems while preserving core protections.

Pathway to tokenized assets and cash flows: Roadmap and implications

Beyond tokenized funds, the FCA sketches a longer-term trajectory toward tokenized assets and tokenized cash flows. In this vision, investors could hold tokenized assets in digital wallets, with managers leveraging smart contracts to administer ownership, distributions, and related rights. This progression points to a more integrated, programmable asset framework in which on-chain mechanisms support governance, valuation, and settlement processes in a more automated and auditable manner.

The policy acknowledges the potential use of digital cash and stablecoins for settlement and related expenses, subject to waivers. While the current framework accepts controlled experimentation, the FCA signals a broader review in 2026 on the wider application of DLT in wholesale markets. This approach reflects a measured pace toward broader tokenization across the financial system, balanced against risk management, custody capabilities, liquidity considerations, and cross-border regulatory coordination.

In the UK context, the PS26/7 update complements the ongoing crypto asset regime developments, including a separate consultation on guidance for stablecoins, custody, and staking, and ongoing efforts to align with international standards. The regulator remains attentive to licensure, supervision, and interoperability requirements as tokenized products interact with banking, custody, and market infrastructure partners, underscoring the regulatory intent to integrate innovation within a robust compliance environment.

Compliance, oversight, and market-structure implications

For asset managers, custodians, and institutional investors, the PS26/7 framework clarifies how tokenization fits within existing regulatory responsibilities. By enabling on-chain registers and optional D2F dealing, the FCA provides a path for innovative fund structures to maintain compliance with disclosure, valuation, investor rights, and fee governance while pursuing efficiency gains from blockchain technologies. The emphasis on resiliency, cross-chain compatibility, and consistent rights and charges is designed to prevent fragmentation of investor protections as funds experiment with new settlement and recordkeeping models.

From a regulatory perspective, the move reinforces the UK’s intent to regulate tokenized finance rather than permit it to operate in parallel, unregulated ecosystems. This has implications for license applicants, intermediaries, and service providers that support tokenized funds, as they must demonstrate adherence to FCA standards for governance, risk management, custody, and information security. The policy also situates the UK within a broader international discussion on how to harmonize tokenization with frameworks such as the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and other cross-border regulatory regimes, acknowledging that firms with UK operations may have to navigate multiple jurisdictions as tokenized products scale globally.

As part of the ongoing policy dialogue, the FCA’s 2026 views on wholesale market DLT use will be closely watched by exchanges, banks, and asset managers seeking predictable paths to connect traditional financial infrastructure with on-chain processes. The evolution of licensing, supervisory expectations, and cross-border cooperation will shape how quickly and widely tokenized fund and asset structures are adopted beyond the UK market.

Closing perspective

The FCA’s PS26/7 represents a pragmatic step toward embedding tokenized finance in the UK’s regulated fund regime, balancing innovation with risk controls and investor protections. As market participants adapt to the Blueprint and D2F models, the key questions will center on governance robustness, cross-chain interoperability, and the pace of broader regulatory alignment with international standards. The coming years will reveal how the UK coalesces tokenization into its market structure, with ongoing policy work, waivers, and consultations shaping the path forward for asset managers and their counterparties.

This article was originally published as FCA Approves Tokenized Funds Rules, Expanding UK Crypto Compliance on Crypto Breaking News – your trusted source for crypto news, Bitcoin news, and blockchain updates.

The press release announces Incrypted Conference 2026, Ukraine’s largest crypto event, returning to Kyiv on June 13. The two-stage program will be staged at the Parkovy venue, with the entire third floor used and a VIP zone, reflecting an expanded scale. The gathering aims to bring together more than 3,000 participants, over 50 speakers, and representatives from international companies to discuss the future of Web3 and the synergy between artificial intelligence and decentralized technologies. With support from major industry partners and a broad global lineup, the event continues a tradition of crypto-focused dialogue in Ukraine and the wider region.

Key points

Date: June 13, 2026

Location: Parkovy, Kyiv

Program features: two parallel stages (Main Stage and Workshop Stage) and a VIP zone on the third floor

Speakers and participants: more than 50 speakers, over 3,000 participants

Partnerships: 50+ partners, including BingX, OKX, MEXC, TrustWallet, and Bitget

Why it matters

By expanding the venue, widening the speaker pool, and focusing on Web3 alongside AI, the conference underscores Ukraine’s ongoing role as a crypto hub and a venue for international collaboration. The orchestration of multiple sessions, a VIP zone, and a large partner network suggests a structured environment for knowledge exchange, industry networking, and potential partnerships at a moment of rapid innovation in decentralized tech.

What to watch

Updates to the speaker lineup and session timings will be announced as the event approaches

Ticket sales and information updates will be posted on the conference site

Additional partner announcements or sponsorships may be disclosed

Disclosure: The content below is a press release provided by the company or its PR representative. It is published for informational purposes.

Incrypted Conference 2026:

Ukraine’s Premier Crypto Event Returns to Kyiv this June

Kyiv is set to host the fourth Incrypted Conference 2026, the largest crypto event in Ukraine and Eastern Europe. It will also traditionally become the central event of Ukrainian Blockchain Week.

The conference will take place on June 13 and will bring together over 3,000 participants, leading industry experts, and representatives of international companies to discuss the future of the Web3 industry. Additionally, this year the event will actively discuss the artificial intelligence and its synergy with decentralized technologies.

This year, the event is significantly expanding its scale: the entire third floor of the “Parkovy” is being utilized, including a VIP zone with exclusive activities. The program will unfold on two parallel stages — the Main Stage for key discussions and the Workshop Stage for practical sessions.

More than 50 speakers will perform at Incrypted Conference 2026. Featured experts include Yaroslav Zheleznyak (MP of Ukraine), Anton Dziuba (DOUBLETOP), Cryptomannn, Nik Smogorzhevskyi (Solus Group), Andriy Hnatyuk (Superteam Ukraine) and many other influential industry figures.

The event was supported by market leaders, including BingX, OKX, MEXC, TrustWallet, and Bitget. In total, more than 50 world-class partners are participating in the conference.

“We are continuing the tradition of hosting large-scale crypto events in Ukraine, despite all challenges. This year, the Incrypted Conference will be even more impactful thanks to the practical Workshop Stage and a wider range of speakers and topics. Our goal is to create a platform where new ideas and strategic partnerships are born,” — Ivan Pavlovskyi, CEO of Incrypted.

Last year, the conference gathered such iconic figures as Peter Todd, Danylo Hetmantsev, Ruslan Magomedov, and other speakers on one stage, confirming its status as the main platform for dialogue between the crypto community, business, and regulators.

Date: June 13, 2026

Location: “Parkovy”, Kyiv, Parkova Road, 16a

Tickets & Information: https://incryptedconference.com/.

Incrypted is the leading Ukrainian media specializing in crypto and blockchain, organizer of the largest industry conferences, and builder of the ecosystem for the development of the Web3 community in Ukraine and beyond.

This article was originally published as Incrypted Conference 2026: Ukraine’s Crypto Event Returns to Kyiv on Crypto Breaking News – your trusted source for crypto news, Bitcoin news, and blockchain updates.

Meta is expanding its use of USD Coin (USDC) payouts to creators on Facebook and Instagram in Colombia and the Philippines, with plans to broaden the program to additional markets. Creators who opt into the service will receive payments directly into crypto wallets on the Solana and Polygon blockchains. However, Meta’s payout system does not include a built-in fiat conversion option, so recipients must use an external exchange to convert USDC into cash.

The rollout is currently limited to select creators in Colombia and the Philippines, but Polygon indicated on Wednesday that the stablecoin payout feature will extend to more jurisdictions soon. “Live in Colombia and the Philippines, with 160+ markets coming, users now get faster settlement with USDC while gaining access to dollar-denominated assets,” Polygon said. This marks a notable step in broadening on-platform monetization through crypto rails.

The payout flow requires creators to connect a third-party crypto wallet to Meta’s payout platform. Meta noted it reserves the right to pay in an alternate method in the event of technical difficulties or unforeseen circumstances. The broader aim is to give creators faster settlement and access to dollar-denominated assets through stablecoins.

Meta’s creator ecosystem spans Influencers, educators, and entertainers who monetize content across Facebook and Instagram. The company disclosed that creators earned nearly $3 billion in 2025, a roughly 35% year-over-year increase, underscoring the scale at which creators rely on platform payouts and monetization tools.

In the broader stablecoin landscape, Circle’s USDC remains the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, with a value exceeding $77.3 billion as of this week, according to data from DefiLlama. Tether’s USDt remains the market leader, with a substantially larger cap. The deployment of USDC for creator payouts aligns with growing institutional and consumer use cases for dollar-denominated digital assets.

Key takeaways

Meta launches USDC-based payouts for creators in Colombia and the Philippines, with plans to expand to 160+ markets.

Payouts flow to wallets on Solana and Polygon; no built-in fiat conversion, requiring external exchanges to cash out.

The program is currently limited to select creators; broader access will come as Meta and its partners scale the rollout.

Creator earnings on Meta remain substantial, with near $3 billion paid in 2025, reflecting the large monetization ecosystem on Facebook and Instagram.

USDC’s growing role in crypto payments mirrors broader adoption of stablecoins in the creator economy and institutional use cases.

Meta’s rails, wallets, and the creator economy

Under the new framework, creators who opt into the USDC payout service can link a third-party crypto wallet to Meta’s payout platform. The arrangement emphasizes speed and dollar-denominated exposure for creators who transact across borders, a potential benefit for global audiences and sponsors. Yet the absence of an on-platform fiat conversion tool means users must navigate external exchanges or aggregator services to realize fiat value from USDC withdrawals.

Meta emphasized that it can switch payout methods if technical problems arise, a reminder that crypto payout initiatives frequently hinge on cross-border compliance, liquidity, and network reliability. The approach signals Meta’s willingness to experiment with crypto-native payment rails, even as it avoids committing to a full-fledged stablecoin wallet within its core app ecosystem.

Broader context: USDC adoption and the creator economy

Stablecoins have increasingly emerged as practical on/off ramps for digital-asset payments. Industry observers have noted that stablecoins can shorten settlement times and reduce FX frictions for cross-border transactions, a point Polygon’s statement implicitly reinforces with this rollout. In parallel, traditional financial rails remain a hurdle for many creators who earn revenues across international audiences and need to convert earnings into local currencies.

Crypto custody and infrastructure players have highlighted institutional interest in stablecoins as a bridge between crypto and fiat. Lamine Brahimi, who co-founded Taurus, noted that European banks and corporates are actively seeking infrastructure partners to enable stablecoin adoption—context that underscores why major platforms like Meta are exploring USDC as a payout instrument for creators.

Meta’s foray into stablecoin payouts is not unique in itself, but it underscores a broader shift in the creator economy toward crypto-enabled monetization. It also builds on Meta’s prior experiments in digital currencies. The company previously pursued an open-source stablecoin project, Diem, but scrapped the initiative in 2022 after regulatory pushback and privacy concerns. At the time, Meta/Mail Diem assets were sold to Silvergate Capital, marking a pivot away from a native stablecoin vision toward partner-led, fiat-anchored crypto payments.

Related coverage from the broader payments and crypto ecosystem has tracked parallel developments, including Visa’s recent stance on stablecoin settlement that leverages Polygon and Base to scale issuance and settlement rails. The evolving landscape shows how traditional payment networks are intersecting with stablecoins to streamline cross-border monetization for users and developers alike.

Circle’s USDC remains the second-largest stablecoin by market cap, trailing only USDt from Tether. As of this week, USDC sits above $77 billion in circulating supply according to DefiLlama, highlighting its growing footprint in both consumer applications and institutional workflows. The ongoing expansion of stablecoin-based payouts by Meta adds a real-world use case that could influence how creators and platforms think about liquidity and cross-border compensation in the near term.

Meta’s creator program remains dynamic, and this latest move could set a precedent for other social platforms to experiment with crypto payouts. As widespread adoption hinges on regulatory clarity and user-friendly tooling, watchers should monitor how this rollout interacts with local fintech ecosystems, KYC requirements, and currency controls in the countries where the service lands next.

Meta’s first foray into a stablecoin project, Diem, serves as a reminder of the regulatory headwinds and privacy concerns that accompany large-scale crypto ambitions from major tech platforms. The Diem episode underscored the tension between ambitious, regulated fintech products and the evolving crypto policy landscape—a backdrop that remains relevant as Meta pilots USDC payouts with creators around the world.

In sum, the current rollouts in Colombia and the Philippines mark a meaningful step in mainstreaming crypto-native payout methods for the creator economy. As Meta, Polygon, and Circle optimize the mechanics and expand the geographic scope, investors and creators alike will be watching how this experiment translates into liquidity, ease of use, and long-term viability across a rapidly changing regulatory and technological environment.

For further context on related coverage, see coverage noting payments and stablecoin integration across traditional and crypto rails in the broader market.

This article was originally published as Meta’s Stablecoin Move Enables USDC Payouts to Selected Creators on Crypto Breaking News – your trusted source for crypto news, Bitcoin news, and blockchain updates.

Crypto has risen to the top of X’s muted-topic list since the platform rolled out its snooze feature, signaling that moderation tools are reshaping how crypto discourse unfolds on the social network. The move comes amid renewed scrutiny of crypto content and the broader challenge of distinguishing legitimate discussion from AI-generated spam.

According to X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, crypto has become the most-muted topic, surpassing politics, the Iran conflict, sports, and business and finance. The snooze tool, launched on April 22 for Premium subscribers, lets users hide topics from their For You feed for 24 hours, a function Bier described as a way to “crank up or turn down the slop.”

That shift comes against a backdrop of heightened efforts to curb low-quality crypto content and bot-driven noise on the platform. In January, X adjusted its API policies to cut off apps that paid users to post, a move aimed at curbing AI-generated spam flooding crypto feeds through so-called “InfoFi” apps that monetize engagement. Separately, X has sought to keep crypto discourse more anchored by introducing features like Smart Cashtags, which began rolling out on April 15 and provide real-time price charts for major crypto assets and select stocks within the app for U.S. and Canadian users.

These changes sit at the intersection of product design, content integrity, and market sentiment — a dynamic that continues to define Crypto Twitter’s relevance as a live information channel for investors, traders, and builders.

Key takeaways

Crypto became the most-muted topic on X after the snooze feature’s launch on April 22, ahead of politics and other high-profile subjects.

The snooze tool allows Premium users to hide topics for 24 hours, reflecting an effort to dampen “slop” in the feed and improve signal quality.

X’s policy shift in January to curb paid-post apps targets AI-generated spam and low-quality crypto content tied to InfoFi apps, shaping how crypto feeds are populated.

Crypto-sentiment indicators remain subdued, with the Fear & Greed Index at 29 and global interest in crypto trending lower from early-2026 peaks, according to Google Trends data.

Strategic product moves, including Smart Cashtags, accompany leadership actions at X, such as Nikita Bier’s appointment as head of product in mid-2025 and his prior Solana Foundation advisory role.

Crypto discourse under the spotlight: moderation, spam, and community response

Beir’s contemporaries on Crypto Twitter have taken note of the shifting landscape. Earlier this year, Beir suggested that Crypto Twitter’s visibility issues were largely self-inflicted, arguing that overposting and a flood of low-value replies can crowd out substantive content. The crypto community pushed back, with Ki Young Ju, founder of CryptoQuant, contending that the real problem is a flood of AI-generated spam that the platform’s algorithms struggle to distinguish from legitimate accounts — a critique that underscores tensions between moderation and open discussion on a platform central to market narratives.

Beir joined X as head of product in June 2025, after an advisory stint at the Solana Foundation in March, where he focused on helping consumer-facing apps on the Solana network scale and reach mainstream mobile audiences. His leadership role has coincided with X’s broader push to reinvent crypto presentation within the app, including the cashtag feature that integrates live price information into users’ feeds without forcing them off the platform.

From casual chats to streams of data: the market context

Market sentiment around crypto remains cautious. The Fear & Greed Index sits in the “Fear” zone at 29, a modest improvement from last month’s Extreme Fear reading but a reminder that risk appetite for digital assets has yet to regain momentum. On the search front, Google Trends data shows worldwide interest in crypto, cryptocurrency, and Bitcoin trending lower since a peak in early 2026, suggesting that broad consumer curiosity has cooled even as institutional and sector-specific developments march forward.

Against that backdrop, X’s attempts to refine crypto discourse — through snooze, policy adjustments, and new features like Smart Cashtags — gain added significance. The goal appears to be twofold: reduce clutter and bot-driven content while preserving a channel for authentic, timely crypto updates. Whether these changes improve signal-to-noise for investors and developers remains a key question for the weeks ahead.

Smart Cashtags, which rolled out to iPhone users in the U.S. and Canada, enable real-time price charts for major assets and prominent stocks directly within the app. The feature arrived shortly after Bier hinted that X would “launch something to fix” crypto’s rough year, signaling a push to re-center crypto within X’s broader content ecosystem.

As the platform courts a more disciplined crypto narrative, observers will watch not only how muting affects the visibility of crypto projects and narratives but also how advertisers, creators, and researchers adapt to a feed that prioritizes signal over noise. The tension between moderation and open discussion remains at the heart of whether X can sustain Crypto Twitter as a viable, real-time information hub.

Looking ahead, readers should watch for how these tools evolve — whether the snooze feature becomes a standard tool for users seeking to tailor their exposure, and whether improved bot detection and refined content policies restore trust in crypto discussions without sacrificing breadth and vitality on the platform. The next phase may reveal whether X can strike a balance between curbing spam and preserving a lively, informative community for crypto users and builders alike.

This article was originally published as Crypto Tops X’s Most-Muted List, AI-Generated Spam Suspected Cause on Crypto Breaking News – your trusted source for crypto news, Bitcoin news, and blockchain updates.

The governance proposal around World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a project linked to the Trump family, has moved into a formal community vote after triggering a visible crypto-market reaction. The measure would lock more than 62 billion WLFI tokens held by early investors and insiders for two years, followed by a staged release over a subsequent two to three years. The vote opened on Wednesday and is set to run through May 7, with early data showing overwhelming support but sparking a heated debate within the community about long-term tokenomics and governance control.

According to the proposal, 62,282,252,205 WLFI tokens would be subjected to a multi-year vesting schedule designed to keep a large portion of supply off the market for an extended period. The structure calls for a two-year cliff for early holders, after which a two-year linear vesting would release tokens gradually. For insiders such as founders, team members and advisers, the plan envisions a two-year cliff followed by a three-year linear vest. The intention, as described by World Liberty Financial, is to ensure token holders remain committed to the project’s long-term trajectory and to provide a more bounded picture of governance preferences.

As voting commenced, WLFI supporters appeared to outnumber critics by a wide margin. At the time of reporting, the tally showed about 6 billion votes in favor versus roughly 3.2 million against, with the voting quorum of 1 billion WLFI tokens already met. World Liberty Financial highlighted the governance move as a pivotal moment in the project’s history, asserting that none of the locked tokens would touch the market for at least two years if the proposal passes. The stance was echoed on the project’s official X (formerly Twitter) account.

Key takeaways

Locking 62.28 billion WLFI tokens held by early investors and insiders under a two-year cliff, then releasing over two to three years.

Insiders face a two-year cliff with a three-year linear vest; early investors face a two-year cliff with a two-year linear vest.

The live vote shows overwhelming support (about 6 billion in favor vs. 3.2 million against) with the quorum already reached; voting continues through May 7.

WLFI price activity reflects market skepticism around multi-year vesting, with the token trading around $0.06367 and showing a notable decline in recent days.

Governance mechanics and tokenomics at stake

The proposed schedule targets a gradualized unlock that shifts the token’s liquidity dynamic away from immediate market exposure. Proponents argue the structure helps align governance incentives with long-term project success, ensuring that those with a material stake remain vested in WLFI’s ongoing development. The two-year cliff for all participants, followed by staged releases, is meant to produce a predictable supply trajectory rather than the abrupt changes typical of abrupt unlock events.

Critics, however, have raised questions about both the underlying logic and practical effects. Observers have pointed to the length of the vesting windows and the potential for a prolonged liquidity constraint to distort price discovery or constrain market-making activity. The broader governance conversation also touches on whether the mechanism adequately captures the diverse interests of holders who may not participate in voting yet would be affected by the lockup.

The debate has been fueled by comments from notable crypto figures. Earlier coverage highlighted commentary from Moonrock Capital founder Simon Dedic, who described the proposal as akin to a rug pull and questioned the alignment of a two-year unlock with political timelines. Justin Sun, a WLFI stakeholder and founder of the Tron network, labeled the proposal among the most “absurd” he has seen. Those criticisms were echoed in the public replies to World Liberty Financial’s vote announcement, where many community members criticized the structure and its perceived centralization of control.

World Liberty Financial has defended the plan as a way to promote clear governance preferences and to keep token ownership among those genuinely committed to the project’s long-term success. In posts accompanying the vote launch, the team framed the mechanism as a deliberate attempt to reduce speculative activity and to anchor decision-making among core supporters rather than transient participants.

Market reception and investor considerations

Market reaction to the unfolding governance vote has been prominent. Data from CoinGecko at the time of writing places WLFI around $0.06367, reflecting a roughly 13.6% drop in the previous 24 hours and a broader decline of about 72.8% from its open-market level. The price action underscores the sensitivity of WLFI to news around tokenomics and governance, where a major change to supply and vesting can influence short-term sentiment as investors reassess risk and liquidity implications.

Those tracking WLFI’s trajectory will be watching how the market prices in the implications of a long-term token lock. If the proposal passes, the restricted supply could support a longer-duration price stabilization argument, though actual liquidity will depend on secondary-market dynamics, the pace of vesting, and how quickly counterbalancing investor activity returns to the market. If the proposal fails, WLFI could face renewed questions about governance efficacy and the distribution of control among early holders, insiders, and broader token holders.

Cointelegraph has reached out to World Liberty Financial for comment on the current vote and the broader governance framework. The initiative also reflects a wider conversation in the crypto space about how to balance founder and investor incentives with open, inclusive governance that can withstand scrutiny from a diverse set of stakeholders.

For readers seeking more context, related coverage has explored how other major industry players are navigating governance and token unlocks, and how these decisions impact investor confidence and platform adoption. The broader narrative around regulatory clarity, governance design, and long-horizon token economics continues to shape sentiment across communities tracking WLFI and similar projects.

As the vote unfolds, observers should monitor not only the final tally but also how the WLFI community discusses and interprets the proposed constraints on liquidity and the implications for future governance proposals. The outcome could influence how WLFI approaches future token economics and whether similar governance structures become a template for other projects seeking to anchor long-term commitment among core stakeholders.

Source: World Liberty Financial via its X post and the coverage from Cointelegraph. The live voting and related details are documented in the project’s governance portal and official communications noted in the cited coverage.

Readers are encouraged to verify developments as the May 7 voting deadline approaches and to consider how such governance models may shape investor risk, participation incentives, and the broader market’s appetite for long-term, locked-token strategies.

This article was originally published as WLFI Price Dips 14% as Controversial Unlock Proposal Heads to Vote on Crypto Breaking News – your trusted source for crypto news, Bitcoin news, and blockchain updates.

The stalled crypto market structure legislation in the United States is edging toward a mark-up, with Senator Thom Tillis signaling that he will push the Senate Banking Committee to schedule a formal session on the bill when lawmakers return to Washington. Tillis, a leading Republican on the panel, told reporters that the committee should move forward with a markup to prevent further protraction, arguing that the text has progressed sufficiently to merit a formal vote.

The legislation would define how the U.S.’ two flagship market regulators — the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission — oversee crypto markets. The House has already passed its version, the CLARITY Act, but the Senate version has faced delays as negotiators and stakeholders sought to refine provisions. The path forward gained complexity after the committee postponed a markup in January when Coinbase pulled its support over a stipulation banning crypto exchanges from paying yields on stablecoins.

Thom Tillis speaking with reporters this week on the legislative process.

The discussions unfold amid a broader policy dialogue on how to regulate digital assets in a manner consistent with traditional financial markets while addressing innovation, consumer protection, and anti‑money‑laundering objectives. The Senate bill’s fate hinges on several contentious provisions, including the treatment of stablecoins, the rights of software developers, and the ethics framework governing government officials’ engagement with crypto policies. Tillis has suggested that the committee should advance the bill unless meaningful changes are obstructing the process, while indicating willingness to incorporate additional good-faith concessions from stakeholders.

According to Cointelegraph, Tillis indicated that he intends to publicly release the legislative text at least four days before the markup to give crypto and banking participants a preview and meaningful time to prepare comments and compliance adjustments. He stressed that early visibility would help inform a constructive, transparent negotiation process as lawmakers weigh the balance between oversight, innovation, and enforcement.

Beyond the procedural questions, the bill contains a suite of provisions that have drawn intense lobbying from both sides of the aisle and from industry groups. One central flashpoint is a clause related to stablecoins and yield payments. Some industry participants argue that prohibiting third parties from paying yield on stablecoins closes a perceived loophole in the GENIUS Act, which already restricts stablecoin issuers from paying yield. Bank lobbyists have pressed to retain portions of this provision, framing it as a necessary safeguard against yield-based incentives that could complicate consumer protections and market integrity.

Key takeaways

The Senate Banking Committee plans to schedule a markup on the stalled crypto market structure bill upon lawmakers’ return, signaling renewed momentum toward finalizing legislation that would clarify regulator oversight for crypto markets.

The House-passed CLARITY Act contrasts with the Senate version; the latter remains under negotiation, with progress attributed to recent deliberations but lingering points of contention.

A January markup delay followed Coinbase’s withdrawal of support over a stablecoin yield provision, highlighting how issuer-liability and yield practices influence legislative support and stakeholder engagement.

Ethics language and protections for software developers are high-priority items; lawmakers have pressed to ensure that provisions governing officials’ use and promotion of crypto are robust before passage.

Law enforcement considerations are under scrutiny, with reports that a provision protecting developers from prosecution for illicit activity on platforms requires further refinement, a point of debate among legislators and industry participants.

Legislative trajectory and timing

The core aim of the Senate bill is to delineate how the United States will regulate crypto markets by assigning authority and responsibilities to the country’s main financial-market regulators. While the House version, the CLARITY Act, has cleared the chamber, the Senate counterpart has struggled with a series of edits that reflect ongoing negotiations between lawmakers and industry stakeholders. The January postponement of the markup, prompted by Coinbase’s decision to withdraw its backing, underscored the sensitivity of some provisions to corporate risk assessments and compliance considerations.

Senator Tillis indicated that progress has been made and that the committee will consider moving forward with a markup when the Senate reconvenes in May. He signaled a preference for advancing the bill rather than allowing it to languish as a function of ongoing negotiation on a few disputed points. He also emphasized the importance of timely disclosure of the legislative text to enable stakeholders to review. The goal, as described by Tillis, is to ensure the process remains productive and capable of delivering a final, enforceable framework that can withstand regulatory scrutiny.

In parallel, the policy conversation includes ethics provisions related to how government officials engage with crypto policy and the need for heightened governance standards to prevent conflicts of interest or improper use of regulatory influence. Tillis aligned with a broader Democratic call for ethics language, arguing that the bill must include robust restrictions on official conduct before it can advance, else he would oppose it.

There is also attention on how the bill addresses law enforcement concerns around potential protections for developers. Reports have indicated that this area remains unsettled, with lawmakers seeking a balance between encouraging innovation in software development and preserving accountability for illicit activity conducted on crypto platforms. Senator Cynthia Lummis has been cited as making progress on this provision, but the ultimate language remains a subject of intense negotiation.

Looking ahead, Tillis’s stated plan to publish the text several days before markup aims to facilitate constructive scrutiny from crypto firms, exchanges, and financial institutions that would be subject to the final framework. The timing could be critical for compliance teams to align internal risk controls, AML/KYC processes, and licensing considerations with any policy shifts emerging from the markup process.

Politico reported that lawmakers will need to address law enforcement concerns surrounding the provision that would shield developers from prosecution for illegal activity carried out on their platforms. This reflects the broader tension between fostering technological innovation and ensuring accountable liability frameworks — a central question for regulators as they seek to reduce systemic risk while preserving the incentives for responsible innovation. Tillis has described himself as generally supportive of Lummis’s progress on this area, signaling a pragmatic approach to achieving consensus without compromising core governance objectives.

Contested provisions: stablecoins, ethics, and enforcement

At the heart of the contention is a tension between avoiding regulatory gaps that could permit opaque or risky activity and preserving a conducive environment for legitimate innovation in digital assets and related technologies. The GENIUS Act’s approach to stablecoin yields has become a focal point for both supporters and skeptics of the current drafting. Proponents of allowing yield connections argue that comprehensive clarity about payment models and custodial arrangements is essential for market integrity and consumer protection, while opponents contend that yield-bearing schemes present potential misalignment with traditional securities or banking laws. The resulting debate has direct implications for stablecoin issuers, exchanges, and financial partners engaged in cross-border settlements and liquidity provisioning.

On ethics, the bill’s proposed language would set boundaries around the use and promotion of crypto within official capacities, a topic that gained prominence as lawmakers sought to ensure that policy development remains insulated from improper influence. The insistence on explicit ethics provisions reflects a broader regulatory trend toward heightened governance standards in financial technology policy making, which could influence how agencies collaborate with private actors and how enforcement priorities are framed.

Enforcement considerations, particularly around protections for software developers, raise important questions about liability and accountability in a rapidly evolving ecosystem. While supporters argue for a form of safe harbor that accelerates innovation and clarifies developer responsibilities, critics warn that insufficient safeguards could impede enforcement against illicit activity or obscure gatekeeping signals in high-risk segments of the market. The evolving text seeks a balance that would satisfy consumer protection and anti‑fraud objectives without stifling legitimate development and deployment of crypto software.

Regulatory implications for institutions and markets

For exchanges, wallets, and other crypto market participants, a Senate-passed framework would provide much-needed regulatory clarity on jurisdiction and supervisory expectations. The prospect of formal oversight by both the SEC and CFTC could influence licensing regimes, registration requirements, and ongoing compliance burdens. Institutions that operate cross-border activities would also need to assess how the U.S. framework interacts with international standards and regional rules such as the European Union’s MiCA regime, highlighting the importance of harmonization in areas like disclosure, custody, and consumer protections.

From a compliance perspective, the anticipated text release four days before markup would be a critical milestone. Firms would use that window to assess the impact on AML/KYC workflows, reporting requirements, and governance procedures. The policy alignment with anti‑money‑laundering rules and financing of terrorism controls would influence how exchanges handle customer due diligence, suspicious activity monitoring, and cross-border transaction screening. In parallel, licensing and oversight expectations could affect banking relationships and access to payment rails, given ongoing regulatory scrutiny over crypto exposure in mainstream financial systems.

For policymakers, the bill signals a deliberate attempt to define a stable coordination between innovation incentives and market safeguards. The interlocking debates over stablecoin economics, developer protections, and ethics language illustrate how regulatory design choices can shape the pace of industry growth, the resilience of market infrastructure, and the ability of the United States to compete globally in crypto finance while maintaining robust risk controls. The degree to which the bill can reconcile these objectives will influence not only domestic market structure but also cross-border policy conversations and the trajectory of crypto-enabled financial services.

As the majority of these issues remain under negotiation, observers should monitor the committee’s calendar for a markup date, the timing of the public release of the legislative text, and the reactions from major industry groups and financial institutions. The outcome will likely set the tone for U.S. crypto regulation in the near term and could shape regulatory expectations for exchanges, stablecoin issuers, and developers operating within the ecosystem.

In sum, the Senate’s approach to the crypto market structure bill reflects a careful attempt to codify regulatory oversight while preserving the capacity for innovation. The coming weeks will reveal whether negotiators can bridge divergences on yield provisions, enforcement protections for developers, and ethics standards, paving the way for a vote that could redefine the regulatory landscape for digital assets in the United States.

Closing perspective: The next phase hinges on the markup schedule, the availability of a finalized text for review, and the capacity of lawmakers to reconcile core policy tensions. Stakeholders should stay attuned to committee proceedings and statements from key legislators, as the balance between enforcement, innovation, and consumer protection will continue to shape the trajectory of crypto regulation in the United States.

This article was originally published as Tillis to Push Senate Banking Markup on Crypto Regulation on Crypto Breaking News – your trusted source for crypto news, Bitcoin news, and blockchain updates.

A three‑way merger proposal from Tether sent shares of Twenty One Capital climbing in after‑hours trading on Wednesday, as the Bitcoin‑focused firm eyes a strategic consolidation with Strike and Elektron Energy. Tether said it intends to vote in favor of a plan that would first merge Twenty One Capital with Strike, a Bitcoin payments company, and then combine the resulting entity with Elektron Energy, a Bitcoin mining operation.

Tether described the aim as building a vertically integrated platform that blends financial services, Bitcoin mining, and capital markets execution. Strike would bring a profitable financial services platform, broad distribution, and regulatory infrastructure, while Elektron would supply large‑scale Bitcoin mining capacity, operational depth, and proven execution capabilities. The terms of the merger and the timeline for completion were not disclosed in the statement.

In after‑hours trading, Twenty One Capital’s stock dipped 1.7% to $7.83 in regular session trading, but rallied after the bell, hitting as high as $9.28 before settling around $8.35, a gain of about 6.6% for the session’s close.

Twenty One Capital sits high among public companies for Bitcoin holdings, with about 43,514 coins. That places it behind Strategy, Inc., which holds the largest publicly disclosed bitcoin treasury with 818,334 coins. Twenty One Capital publicly listed in December following a merger with Cantor Equity Partners and started with a notable Bitcoin position, aiming to grow its Bitcoin per share through ongoing accumulation.

Tether did not release the terms of the proposed mergers or a precise timetable. The plan includes leadership assignments: Elektron Energy founder and CEO Raphael Zagury would serve as president of the new, merged company, while Jack Mallers—founder and CEO of Strike and co‑founder and CEO of Twenty One Capital—would also hold an executive role. Tether framed the leadership alignment as designed to fuse Mallers’ product, brand, and consumer Bitcoin leadership with Zagury’s capital markets, operating, and execution experience.

Key takeaways

Tether proposes a staged three‑way merger: Twenty One Capital → Strike → Elektron Energy, aiming to integrate payments, mining, and Bitcoin treasury management.

Strike would contribute a regulated financial services platform with global distribution; Elektron Energy would add large‑scale mining infrastructure and execution depth.

Terms and closing timetable remain undisclosed, creating a wait‑and‑watch period for investors and observers.

Twenty One Capital holds about 43,514 Bitcoin, ranking it among the top public holders, though it trails Strategy, Inc.’s 818,334 coins.

Leadership for the merged entity would feature Raphael Zagury as president and Jack Mallers in an executive role, signaling a blend of capital markets experience with consumer‑facing Bitcoin leadership.

What the merger could unlock—and what it might test

The proposal signals an attempt to move Twenty One Capital beyond a pure treasury play toward an operating platform with recurring revenue opportunities tied to Bitcoin infrastructure. By combining with Strike, the venture gains a payments and financial services backbone that already operates in the Bitcoin ecosystem, potentially expanding access to users and merchants who want integrated on‑ramps for Bitcoin payments and related services. The addition of Elektron Energy would bring mining scale, which could help the merged entity pursue a more dynamic Bitcoin accumulation strategy, leveraging mining operations as a strategic asset rather than a mere balance‑sheet hedge.

From an investor perspective, the move could diversify exposure within a single platform: users gain access to payments, mining, and capital markets execution under a unified brand. Yet the structure remains uncertain, as the terms are not disclosed and regulatory approvals would be required. In an environment where regulatory clarity around crypto‑native consolidations remains variable across jurisdictions, the speed and likelihood of a successful integration will hinge on governance, anti‑trust considerations, and how the new entity would align with existing compliance frameworks for payments and mining operations.

Leadership, governance, and strategic implications

The leadership plan frames a clear mandate: leverage Zagury’s capital markets and execution track record to steer the combined group, while Mallers anchors product strategy, brand power, and consumer Bitcoin leadership. This pairing could, in theory, yield a platform that is more than the sum of its parts—melding consumer‑facing Bitcoin services with heavy‑duty mining operations and sophisticated financial infrastructure. Still, leadership transitions in cross‑industry mergers can introduce execution risk if cultural and operational priorities diverge. Stakeholders will want to see how governance would be structured, how conflicts of interest would be managed, and what milestones would indicate progress toward integration.

For Strike and Strike’s ecosystem, the deal could extend strategic reach beyond payments into a broader Bitcoin stack, potentially enhancing user adoption and cross‑selling opportunities. Elektron Energy, meanwhile, would gain access to a wider corporate platform that could help monetize mining through financial products, services, and partnerships that leverage the company’s mining capacity. The eventual alignment of these diverse activities will be a focal point for investors watching the path to a closing date—and possible synergies—across the three businesses.

Market backdrop and what to watch next

Public market participants have already been in a mood to evaluate Bitcoin‑centric strategies that combine treasury management with operational capability. Twenty One Capital’s Bitcoin holdings—already among the largest among publicly traded crypto‑related entities—offer a strategic asset that could be amplified by a unified platform that also addresses payments and mining. The success of such a three‑way merger would depend on the terms, financing structure, regulatory approvals, and the speed with which the combined organization can integrate disparate functions from consumer product design to large‑scale mining operations.

As with any proposed consolidation in the crypto space, the next steps will hinge on formal filings, board approvals, and any potential antitrust or securities oversight reviews. Investors should monitor updates from Twenty One Capital, Strike, Elektron Energy, and, crucially, any statements from Tether detailing conditions or contingencies tied to the merger. The broader market will also be watching for how this strategy aligns with evolving regulatory environments and whether it signals a trend toward more vertically integrated, crypto‑native platforms rather than dispersed, standalone businesses.

Earlier coverage around Tether’s broader infrastructure initiatives—such as open‑source mining frameworks designed to unify Bitcoin infrastructure—helps contextualize the current proposal as part of a wider push to knit together Bitcoin’s core pillars: payments, mining, and treasury management. Whether this three‑way plan materializes into a lasting, value‑creating enterprise remains to be seen, but it underscores the industry’s ongoing interest in material, multi‑faceted approaches to Bitcoin exposure and ecosystem development.

Readers should watch official updates from the involved companies for terms, timing, and governance details, as well as any regulatory commentary that could influence a potential close. In the near term, the market’s reaction to any new disclosures will shed light on whether investors view this as a meaningful structural shift or a speculative move tied to leadership talent and branding growth within the Bitcoin sector.

Twenty One Capital, Strike, and Elektron Energy have not disclosed a timeline for closing the merger or the precise financial mechanics, but the plan signals a willingness to pursue a high‑impact, cross‑vertical Bitcoin platform if approved.

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This article was originally published as 21Shares Gains as Tether Proposes Three-Way Merger on Crypto Breaking News – your trusted source for crypto news, Bitcoin news, and blockchain updates.

A Dubai-led international crackdown on scam rings tied to fake crypto investment platforms resulted in 276 arrests last week, authorities said. The operation, conducted with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and China’s Ministry of Public Security, culminated in 275 arrests in Dubai and one additional arrest by the Royal Thai Police. Six individuals have been charged in the United States in connection with the scam centers, with four defendants and two fugitive co-conspirators facing federal fraud and money laundering counts in San Diego. If convicted, the offenses carry substantial penalties, including potential prison terms of up to 20 years per count.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the charges reflect a concerted, cross-border effort to dismantle networks that run “scam centers” built around fake crypto investment platforms and coercive recruitment. U.S. Assistant Attorney General Andrew Tysen Duva emphasized that fraud is borderless in today’s world, and so too must be law enforcement’s response in rooting out these operations. Separately, the FBI reported that Americans’ losses from crypto and artificial intelligence–related scams in 2025 surpassed $11 billion, with investment scams among the most damaging modalities.

Key takeaways

Global operation led by Dubai police, with the FBI and China’s Ministry of Public Security, resulting in 276 arrests; 275 in Dubai and one in Thailand.

Six individuals charged in the United States over fake crypto investment platforms promoted by the scam centers; penalties could reach up to 20 years per count if convicted.

Separately, European authorities shut down a vast call-center network in the Balkans, with 10 arrests tied to three centers in Tirana and Albania, aided by Europol and Eurojust.

Europol characterized the Albanian-Balkan operation as highly organized, noting a workforce of up to 450 employees spanning customer acquisition, conversion, retention, and back-office roles.

The crackdown aligns with a broader warning: fraud in crypto spaces remains widespread, and enforcement actions are increasingly coordinated across continents.

Dubai crackdown: dismantling the alleged scam-center ecosystem

In the Dubai phase of the operation, authorities say the six defendants operated across three companies that ran scam centers leveraging fake crypto investment platforms. Victims were drawn in through seemingly legitimate online investment offerings advertised on social media, then steered into deposits that funded the networks’ activities. FBI investigators have identified millions of dollars in losses attributed to the network, underscoring the scale of the deception.

The U.S. DOJ’s announcement made clear that the charges include fraud and money laundering tied to the operation. The case highlights how organized groups can disguise their wrongdoing behind professional-looking platforms and structured recruitment strategies, aiming to extract funds from investors well beyond national borders. The DOJ’s statement, anchored by the collaboration with international partners, signals a sustained push to disrupt financial fraud that operates on a global stage.

European action: a highly organized, multinational scam operation

In a separate development, Austrian and Albanian authorities—supported by Europol and Eurojust—arrested ten individuals in relation to three scam centers operating in Tirana and surrounding areas. Europol described the operation as a stark example of how modern scam centers operate with a “scale and professionalism” that extends beyond a single country. The organization reportedly employed up to 450 people across functions such as customer acquisition, conversion, and retention, plus dedicated back-office teams handling finance, IT, human resources, and other support roles.

Victims in the European operation were lured through online platforms that promised lucrative investments, with losses estimated at more than €50 million ($58 million) globally. The case underscores how perpetrators blend the appearance of legitimate financial opportunity with aggressive sales tactics to extract funds from a broad swath of international victims.

The Europol briefing also emphasized that the structure of these operations—comprising many departments and specialized roles—facilitated a seamless flow from marketing to onboarding and ongoing customer engagement. This level of organization is a reminder to regulators and security professionals that crypto-adjacent scams can resemble legitimate financial services in their execution, even as the underlying claims remain fraudulent.

Why these actions matter for the crypto ecosystem

From a market and ecosystem perspective, the coordinated seizures reinforce several ongoing themes. First, cross-border enforcement remains a central tool in combatting sophisticated scam networks that weaponize crypto narratives to deceive investors. Second, the profitability of clearly fake investment schemes—bolstered by glossy marketing and social-media reach—raises the stakes for consumer protection and due diligence in the crypto space. Third, the parallel European crackdown demonstrates that scam centers can scale to hundreds of staff and a continent-spanning footprint, complicating traditional notions of jurisdiction and accountability.

Industry observers note that the most damaging scams often combine persuasive online marketing with pressure-filled sales tactics. Victims are steered into platforms that promise outsized returns, then pressured into escalating investments. The results are frequently heavy losses for individuals and a reputational drag for legitimate crypto ventures that operate within regulatory boundaries. The recent actions serve as a sobering reminder for investors to scrutinize investment platforms, verify licensing where applicable, and be wary of aggressive recruitment messages that blur the line between opportunity and fraud.

For builders and exchanges, the episodes underline the ongoing importance of robust know-your-customer and anti-fraud controls, transparent product disclosures, and rapid response mechanisms to suspicious activity. Regulators are increasingly calling for stronger interoperability among agencies and clearer cooperation with international partners to locate, disrupt, and prosecute scam networks before they can monetize new rounds of fundraising.

As the regulatory and enforcement landscape continues to evolve, market participants should watch for further disclosures from the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI, Europol, and national authorities about ongoing prosecutions and follow-on actions. The combined message from these actions is clear: illicit operators relying on crypto-enabled deception face growing, coordinated consequences across jurisdictions.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division; FBI; Europol

This article was originally published as Global crackdown nets 276 arrests; nine crypto-scam hubs shut down on Crypto Breaking News – your trusted source for crypto news, Bitcoin news, and blockchain updates.

MoonPay is establishing a dedicated institutional unit by acquiring Sodot, an Israeli provider of crypto security infrastructure, and plans to use Sodot’s key-management technology as the backbone for services tailored to banks, asset managers, trading firms, and exchanges entering digital asset markets.

In a press release, MoonPay said the move will extend its network beyond consumer crypto payments into enterprise-grade infrastructure. Bloomberg reported that the deal closed in April in an all-stock transaction valued at around $100 million, though MoonPay did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph for comment on the specifics.

“We built MoonPay to be the world’s leading crypto payments network,” MoonPay co-founder and CEO Ivan Soto-Wright said in a press release, adding that its institutional arm is the next stage for the company.

Key takeaways

MoonPay is launching an institutional division by acquiring Sodot, leveraging its key-management technology to serve traditional finance players entering crypto markets.

The deal, disclosed as an all-stock transaction valued at about $100 million, reportedly closed in April, according to Bloomberg.

Caroline D. Pham will lead the new unit, bringing regulatory and capital markets acumen to shepherd institutional adoption.

The move underscores a broader trend of custody and wallet infrastructure becoming central to crypto adoption by institutions.

MoonPay’s institutional push takes shape

The newly formed MoonPay Institutional unit is designed to cater to major traditional financial firms across several domains, including trading, tokenized securities, payments, wallet management, and stablecoin issuance. The strategy signals a shift from MoonPay’s established retail-payments footprint toward essential infrastructure that incumbents require to operate in digital asset markets at scale.

Caroline Pham will helm the division, having joined MoonPay as chief legal officer and chief administrative officer in December after serving as acting chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. MoonPay’s leadership highlighted her regulatory experience and capital markets background as a critical asset for navigating complex crypto markets at an institutional level. “There is no one better suited to lead this business than Caroline, who brings decades of experience at the highest levels of financial regulation and capital markets,” Soto-Wright said.

Pham’s leadership appointment and the strategic focus on institutional clients come as the industry sees a growing appetite among banks, asset managers, and trading desks for robust custody, secure wallet technology, and compliant on-ramps into digital asset markets. The new unit will pursue relationships that require high assurance around key management, secure settlement rails, and scalable custody solutions—areas that have historically been the preserve of specialized custody providers, but are increasingly embedded in mainstream financial workflows.

Key technology: MPC and Sodot’s security framework

Sodot, founded in 2023, specializes in crypto key management infrastructure and is known for its self-hosted multi-party computation (MPC) approach. MPC is a cryptographic method that splits a private key into multiple shares distributed across independent parties, enabling signatures and access controls without exposing a single point of failure. This architecture is particularly attractive to institutions that demand stringent controls and resilience for large digital asset holdings.

By integrating Sodot’s MPC-based framework, MoonPay aims to offer enterprise-grade custody and wallet-management capabilities that can be deployed within traditional financial environments. The emphasis on secure key management aligns with a broader market push toward formalizing crypto custody as a core service for institutions, rather than a niche feature for crypto-native players.

Industry context and implications for institutional crypto adoption

The MoonPay-Sodot move sits within a broader industry trajectory in which custody and security infrastructure are increasingly essential to institutional participation. In recent weeks, major exchanges have accelerated their own institutional onboarding through partnerships and off-exchange settlement arrangements with custody providers. For example, OKX recently integrated off-exchange settlement via BitGo, a publicly traded digital asset custodian, underscoring demand for regulated, secure settlement rails as institutions enter crypto markets.

Cross-industry collaborations between trading venues and custody specialists have become a recurring theme. Earlier, BitMEX announced a partnership with Zodia Custody to enable institutional crypto derivatives trading with collateral held in segregated custody off-exchange. These developments illustrate how the market is maturing from consumer-focused payments to a suite of reliability-focused services that institutions require to operate confidently in digital assets.

The MoonPay–Sodot announcement also highlights the ongoing competition to deliver secure, scalable infrastructure that can support not just custody, but also tokenized securities, regulated wallet services, and compliant stablecoin ecosystems. As traditional finance players seek to extend their footprint in digital assets, the emphasis on robust key management, governance, and regulatory alignment will be a key differentiator among service providers.

Looking ahead, investors and market participants will want to watch several dimensions: how MoonPay’s institutional unit signs its first major clients and which product lines prove most compelling for different segments (trading desks vs. asset managers), how smoothly Carline Pham’s regulatory expertise translates into practical governance and compliance outcomes, and how the partnership with Sodot scales in real-world deployments across jurisdictions with varying regulatory regimes.

MoonPay’s latest move reflects a broader shift in the crypto ecosystem—from retail-focused payments to institutional-grade infrastructure that enables secure, regulated participation. As the market continues to evolve, the integration of advanced key-management tech and formalized custody offerings will likely become a baseline expectation for any platform seeking to attract and retain institutional users.

Readers should stay tuned for updates on client onboarding milestones, product rollouts, and any financial or strategic details the company elects to disclose as the institutional arm begins its first full operating cycle.

This article was originally published as MoonPay Establishes Institutional Arm Following Sodot Acquisition on Crypto Breaking News – your trusted source for crypto news, Bitcoin news, and blockchain updates.

Hong Kong’s nascent stablecoin regime faced a fresh test as scammers impersonated the two newly licensed issuers ahead of their official product launches. Warnings issued by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), HSBC, and Anchorpoint Financial stated that tokens bearing the tickers HKDAP and HSBC have appeared on the market but are not connected to the licensed issuers.

Hong Kong began its stablecoin licensing regime in August 2025. Last month, the HKMA granted its first stablecoin issuer licenses, approving Anchorpoint Financial and HSBC under the new framework. The episode underscores the growing pains that accompany a regulated rollout of fiat-backed digital currencies in a major financial hub.

The HKMA emphasized that, at present, neither licensed issuer has published any regulated stablecoins. The authority’s warning was echoed by HSBC and Anchorpoint, who stressed that no stablecoins have been issued by either institution under the HKMA framework.

HSBC said in a statement that it “has not yet issued any stablecoins in Hong Kong,” adding that its planned Hong Kong dollar stablecoin will be available only through PayMe and the HSBC HK Mobile App when it launches in the second half of 2026. Anchorpoint likewise clarified that since receiving its license from the HKMA on April 10, it has not issued any tokens or products under the HKDAP name, and urged the public to verify information through official channels and to use regulated avenues when acquiring or using stablecoins.

The guidelines governing fiat-backed stablecoins in Hong Kong require issuers to obtain an HKMA license and adhere to rules around reserve backing, redemption rights, governance, and anti-money-laundering controls. The HKMA maintains enforcement powers that include fines, suspensions, and license revocations to ensure compliance with the regime.

The episode arrives as banks and other traditional financial players increasingly pivot toward stablecoins. In a notable move last week, Morgan Stanley’s investment management arm launched a “Stablecoin Reserves Portfolio,” allowing stablecoin issuers to park reserve funds in one of the bank’s money market funds and earn interest. Separately, Western Union has signaled a May rollout for its USD-backed stablecoin, USDPT, which will be built on Solana and issued by Anchorage Digital Bank. These developments illustrate growing institutional interest in reserve management and settlement rails for fiat-backed digital currencies.

Key takeaways

Fake tokens with tickers HKDAP and HSBC appeared in the market, but neither is issued by the HKMA-licensed stablecoin issuers Anchorpoint Financial or HSBC.

The HKMA, HSBC, and Anchorpoint Financial confirm that no regulated stablecoins have been issued to date; real launches are expected later, including HSBC’s HKD stablecoin planned for H2 2026.

Hong Kong’s licensing regime requires reserve backing, redemption rights, governance, and AML controls, with the HKMA empowered to fine, suspend, or revoke licenses for non-compliance.

Traditional banks are increasingly engaging with stablecoins, exemplified by Morgan Stanley’s reserve portfolio product and Western Union’s USDPT rollout plans with Anchorage Digital Bank.

Regulatory framework and the road ahead

The HKMA’s stance reflects a balancing act between fostering innovation and maintaining stringent oversight. The newly licensed issuers must meet a set of governance and reserve standards designed to ensure that each stablecoin is fully backed and redeemable under orderly conditions. The enforcement toolkit—ranging from fines to license revocation—signals that regulators intend to act decisively against misrepresentation or mismanagement in the stablecoin space.

For market participants, the latest warnings serve as a reminder to rely on official channels for information and to verify any claims about regulated products. Investors and users should monitor both issuers’ adherence to the HKMA framework and the public rollouts of the actual stablecoins when they become available via licensed channels.

Beyond Hong Kong, the momentum around stablecoins continues to attract traditional finance players. Morgan Stanley’s new reserve portfolio approach provides a pathway for issuers to optimize cash management, while Western Union’s USDPT project points to a broader trend of fiat-backed digital currencies integrating with existing payment rails. As the regulatory regime matures and real products begin to surface, observers will watch how reserve strategies, custody arrangements, and redemption mechanics evolve in practice.

Readers should stay tuned for updates on when the HKD stablecoin will actually launch in Hong Kong, how the public markets will verify legitimacy, and what additional licensing actions the HKMA may take as the regime scales.

Note: This reporting reflects information available from official statements and linked industry reports. Readers are encouraged to consult the cited sources for the most current developments.

Related coverage and sources: Hong Kong’s first stablecoin licenses issued, HSBC warns against fraudulent stablecoins, Anchorpoint alert on HKDAP, Morgan Stanley launches money-market fund for stablecoin issuers, Western Union targets May for USDPT rollout.

This article was originally published as Hong Kong Alerts: Fake Stablecoins Impersonating HSBC, Anchorpoint on Crypto Breaking News – your trusted source for crypto news, Bitcoin news, and blockchain updates.

Prediction markets are emerging as one of the most active on-chain applications, driven by a surge in retail participation even as broader crypto markets stay muted. A joint report by Bitget Wallet and Polymarket shows March trading volumes in on-chain prediction markets at $25.7 billion, with more than 80% of users categorized as retail—defined as those trading less than $10,000.

<pThese figures align with data from Dune Analytics, which pegged March trading volume at $23.7 billion, up from $1.9 billion a year earlier. More telling than the raw totals is a shift in user behavior: instead of chasing single, high-profile events, traders are returning more frequently and crossing multiple categories. Average active days per user nearly quadrupled in Q1, rising from 2.5 to 9.9, suggesting deeper and more consistent participation.

Key takeaways

March on-chain prediction market volume reached $25.7 billion, with retail users comprising over 80% of participants.

Dune Analytics tracks March volume at $23.7 billion, marking a sharp year-over-year increase from $1.9 billion.

User engagement is increasing: average active days per user rose from 2.5 to 9.9 in the first quarter.

Sports markets led activity at $10.1 billion in the quarter, while political markets accounted for about $5 billion.

Industry projections point to rapid growth, with potential volumes of $240 billion annually in 2024 and longer-term upside toward trillions, supported by capital inflows to major platforms.

From episodic bets to a continuous forecast engine

The new findings depict prediction markets evolving beyond event-driven bets into an ongoing system for tracking real-world developments. This transition appears tightly correlated with how crypto wallets serve as primary access points for users, lowering barriers to entry and enabling broader participation across multiple market segments.

Sports betting, in particular, has become a cornerstone of activity. With a steady stream of global events, the sports category generated $10.1 billion in trading volume for the quarter. Political markets also sustained momentum, contributing $5 billion in the same period. The data imply a demand not just for gambling-style bets but for continuous hedging and information discovery tied to real-world outcomes.

Platform dynamics and access: Polygon, wallets, and the centralized-versus-decentralized debate

Among the leading platforms, Polymarket operates directly on-chain via the Polygon network, enabling users to place bets on real-world outcomes without intermediaries. This on-chain approach contrasts with centralized marketplaces such as Kalshi, highlighting a broader spectrum of architectures shaping the space. Polymarket’s Polygon-based model emphasizes user sovereignty and on-chain settlement, aligning with growing demand for transparent, auditable markets.

The sector’s governance and integrity frameworks have also come into sharper focus. Polymarket has recently updated its governance framework to address risks related to insider trading and market manipulation, reflecting a push toward stronger market integrity as the community scales. Regulatory dynamics, particularly growing acceptance from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, have contributed to this momentum and are expected to influence how other platforms approach compliance and risk controls.

Regulatory momentum, capital inflows, and the race to scale

Regulatory clarity appears to be a meaningful tailwind for on-chain prediction markets. As authorities increasingly engage with the sector, platforms are pursuing stronger governance and transparency measures to align with potential safeguards around market integrity. In parallel, major players in the space have attracted substantial investment. Polymarket and Kalshi, two of the sector’s largest platforms, are reportedly raising significant capital at valuations exceeding $20 billion, underscoring confidence in the long-run viability of prediction markets as a crypto-native financial infrastructure.

The growth narrative is supported by projections from industry observers, who anticipate volumes reaching hundreds of billions annually in the near term. If the trajectory continues, prediction markets could become a persistent engine for on-chain activity, with wallets serving as the primary gateways for a broad user base that engages across sports, politics, economics, and beyond.

Implications for traders, builders, and the broader market

The reported shift toward higher-frequency participation has several practical implications. For traders, the expanding array of accessible, on-chain markets could improve liquidity and price discovery across more event categories. For developers and platform builders, the emphasis on governance and anti-manipulation mechanisms will shape product design, risk controls, and incentive structures as the market matures.

<pFor investors, the growing demand for on-chain prediction markets may reflect a broader appetite for crypto-native information markets that combine financial payoff with real-world data. The sustained activity in sports and political markets suggests that the ecosystem is expanding beyond novelty use cases, potentially attracting new cohorts of users who perceive these markets as information tools as well as speculative venues.

Looking ahead, observers will be watching regulatory developments, platform governance enhancements, and continued evidence of user growth across more geographies and event types. The sector’s next milestones could include broader regulatory clarity, new funding rounds for leading platforms, and the emergence of additional use cases that leverage the on-chain trust model to deliver real-world forecasting insights.

Sources: Bitget Wallet and Polymarket joint report; Dune Analytics data on March trading volumes; platform governance updates and market coverage on Polymarket and Kalshi; regulatory context from the U.S. CFTC.

This article was originally published as Prediction Markets Top $25.7B Monthly Volume, New Report Finds on Crypto Breaking News – your trusted source for crypto news, Bitcoin news, and blockchain updates.

Gibraltar is moving to codify the use of tokenized fund shares within its financial framework, authorizing certain regulated funds to issue shares on distributed ledger technology (DLT) while preserving investor rights. The Protected Cell Companies (Amendment) Bill 2026 would recognize a share token holder as a shareholder with the same rights and obligations as holders of traditional cell shares, linking ownership to asset pools within protected cell companies.

According to Cointelegraph, the proposal would require approval from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission and targets protected cell companies operating as experienced investor funds. It contemplates blockchain-based share registers for recording ownership, with tokenized shares legally equivalent to conventional share certificates.

Source: Gibraltarlaws.gov.gi

The framework imposes strict custody and transfer controls, restricting access to verified investors and allow-listed wallet addresses, while mandating disclosures on technology risks, cybersecurity, and recovery procedures. Companies would retain control over the underlying infrastructure, keeping the system within a regulated environment rather than an open, permissionless market.

Under the proposal, tokenized shares could be issued and transferred via smart contracts and cryptographic signatures, with blockchain records recognized as valid instruments for ownership, transfer, and recordkeeping under existing company law. The bill must advance through Gibraltar’s legislative process before it can take effect.

Related developments in the digital-asset regulation space have been highlighted by industry coverage, underscoring a broader shift toward integrating tokenized assets into regulated markets.

Source: Gibraltarlaws.gov.gi

Key takeaways

The Protected Cell Companies (Amendment) Bill 2026 would permit tokenized fund shares to be issued on distributed ledger technology, with token holders treated as shareholders under existing rights and obligations.

Approval from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission is required, and the measure targets PCCs operating as experienced investor funds.

Ownership records would be maintained on blockchain-based share registers, with tokenized shares legally equivalent to traditional share certificates.

Custody and transfer rules would restrict activity to verified investors and allow-listed wallet addresses, alongside mandatory disclosures on technology risk, cybersecurity, and recovery procedures.

Gibraltar’s tokenization framework in context

The bill envisions tokenized shares that are issued and transferred using smart contracts and cryptographic signatures, with blockchain records recognized as valid under current company law. By keeping the underlying infrastructure within a regulated environment, the approach aims to balance innovation with supervisory oversight and investor protection. The measure would not create a permissionless market; rather, it anchors tokenized equity in a governance and custody framework that aligns with established fiduciary and regulatory norms.

As the legislative process advances, the emphasis on verified investor access and technology risk disclosures points to heightened KYC/AML compliance requirements for PCCs leveraging tokenized instruments. The Gibraltar FSC’s involvement signals a tailored, risk-based approach to tokenized fund governance that could influence similar regimes in other jurisdictions contemplating regulated token markets.

Global momentum: tokenized assets in regulated markets

Gibraltar’s contemplated framework sits within a growing global trend of tokenized assets moving from pilot programs to regulated market infrastructure. Several jurisdictions have advanced tokenized securities under robust legal and supervisory regimes:

Switzerland: The regulator (FINMA) approved a crypto fund in 2021 for qualified investors and, in 2025, licensed its first distributed ledger technology trading facility to enable tokenized securities to be traded and settled on regulated infrastructure.

Singapore: Project Guardian, initiated in 2022, tested tokenized assets in wholesale markets as part of a broader exploration of DLT-enabled capital markets.

Hong Kong: Tokenized government bonds have been issued and expanded since 2023, reflecting active public-sector participation in tokenized finance.

Global settlement infrastructure: In 2024, the World Bank issued a Swiss franc digital bond on Switzerland’s SIX Digital Exchange with settlement conducted via central bank digital currency, illustrating central-bank–aligned settlement for tokenized debt instruments.

Canada: In March, a pilot successfully issued and settled its first tokenized bond on distributed ledger infrastructure, marking a notable cross-border development in tokenized sovereign-like debt instruments.

These cases collectively illustrate a shift toward regulated environments for tokenized securities and bonds, combining governance frameworks, custody controls, and supervisory oversight to mitigate risk while expanding access to digital-asset markets. Industry observers have highlighted the importance of aligning tokenized offerings with existing corporate and securities law, AML/KYC standards, and cross-border regulatory harmonization. The European Union’s MiCA framework and parallel U.S. regulatory conversations continue to shape how tokenized assets are treated across jurisdictions, with particular emphasis on licensing, disclosure, and custody arrangements intended to preserve financial stability and investor protection.

In the broader policy context, the ongoing evolution of tokenized asset markets is being tracked for potential implications on licensing regimes, banking integration, and cross-border settlement infrastructure. As Gibraltar demonstrates, regulators appear inclined to integrate tokenized instruments within familiar legal constructs, rather than create entirely new regimes for each innovation, thereby facilitating compliance, audits, and enforcement activities for market participants.

Closing perspective: As tokenization moves deeper into regulated markets, ongoing oversight and international coordination will be critical to address unresolved issues in custody, cyber risk, and cross-border transfer of tokenized assets.

This article was originally published as Gibraltar Proposes Tokenized Funds Regulation to Bolster Compliance on Crypto Breaking News – your trusted source for crypto news, Bitcoin news, and blockchain updates.

Tokenized Treasuries Expand Rapidly on XRPL

The XRP Ledger has experienced a sharp increase in tokenized U.S. Treasury assets over the past year. Data shows the total value has climbed from nearly $50 million to over $418 million. This shift reflects an eightfold increase within a relatively short period.

Rising Activity Signals Stronger Network Utility

Transaction data highlights a notable increase in activity compared to earlier periods. Transfer volumes have surged significantly from roughly $70 million recorded in previous comparable timelines. This increase demonstrates a faster pace of adoption and usage.

At the same time, asset issuers continue to expand their presence on the XRP Ledger. More institutions now tokenise traditional financial products using blockchain rails. This shift enhances efficiency and reduces operational friction.

Furthermore, consistent activity suggests that tokenised assets are not remaining idle on the network. Instead, users actively transfer and utilise these instruments across different applications. This trend supports the argument for sustained network relevance.

Growth in Real-World Assets Strengthens XRPL Position

The broader real-world asset sector on XRPL has also expanded alongside treasury tokenisation. Several platforms now contribute significantly to the ecosystem’s total value. These platforms help diversify offerings and increase overall network participation.

Projects such as Justoken, RLUSD, and VERT Capital have added substantial value to the ledger. Their combined contributions highlight the scale of institutional involvement in tokenised finance. Other initiatives continue to join and expand the ecosystem.

Additionally, recent asset tokenisation efforts include high-value projects such as diamond-backed digital assets. These developments show that XRPL supports various asset classes beyond government securities. This diversity strengthens its appeal to issuers and users.

Strategic Developments Support Continued Expansion

The growth follows ongoing developments tied to Ripple and its expanding partnerships. Collaborations with financial institutions continue to improve infrastructure and adoption pathways. These efforts contribute to broader usage of the XRP Ledger.

At the same time, validators and network participants report steady increases in asset issuance across categories. The network benefits from integrations that improve accessibility and distribution. These factors enhance XRPL’s position as a viable financial platform.

Meanwhile, the steady rise in tokenised assets reflects shifting preferences within financial markets. Institutions now explore blockchain solutions for efficiency and transparency. As this trend continues, XRPL appears positioned for further growth in digital finance.

This article was originally published as XRP Ledger Sees Tokenized US Treasuries Surge Past $418M Mark on Crypto Breaking News – your trusted source for crypto news, Bitcoin news, and blockchain updates.

This editorial note previews a high-stakes earnings week in which Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft and Apple report results as the market weighs the returns from AI investments. The companies together account for roughly a quarter of the S&P 500, placing their earnings guidance and cash flow signals in the spotlight for investors. The release frames AI spending as a central growth driver, with cloud, advertising and consumer devices shaping the revenue trajectory. Key themes include Amazon’s AI-enabled AWS growth, Meta’s ad monetization, Alphabet’s cloud demand, Microsoft’s Copilot and Azure, and Apple’s Siri upgrade as an early AI test.

Key points

Five major tech firms—Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft and Apple—report this week, collectively accounting for about a quarter of the S&P 500.

AI-related capex is expected to run near US$700 billion this year, shifting investor focus toward returns in growth, margins and cash flow.

Amazon: AWS growth is seen re-accelerating in Q1; 2026 capex outlook of US$200 billion; AI revenue run rate in AWS around US$15 billion.

Meta: Q1 revenue around US$56 billion, up about 33% YoY, with AI-enhanced monetization; capex near US$126 billion.

Alphabet: Google Cloud ~50% growth in Q1; Anthropic multi-year deal; total revenue around US$107 billion; margins under pressure from a capital-intensive model.

Why it matters

These earnings will test whether AI investments translate into real returns and cash flow, shaping how investors value AI-driven growth. The results may indicate whether capital discipline is returning as AI scales, and how cloud, advertising, and platform initiatives contribute to near-term profitability.

What to watch

Returns signals: observe margins and cash flow trends as AI-related spending continues.

Cloud platform performance: AWS, Google Cloud and Azure growth rates and demand patterns, including strategic partnerships.

AI monetization progress: Meta’s ad targeting and Alphabet’s compute demand supporting AI infrastructure.

Apple progress on AI milestones: Siri upgrade timing as an early test of its AI roadmap.

Disclosure: The content below is a press release provided by the company or its PR representative. It is published for informational purposes.

Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft and Apple Face AI Test in High-Stakes Earnings Week

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – April 29, 2026: This week marks one of the most consequential earnings periods of the year, with Amazon, Meta, Alphabet and Microsoft reporting on Thursday, followed by Apple on Friday. Together, these five companies account for nearly a quarter of the S&P 500, positioning their results as a key driver of broader market direction.

At the centre of attention is artificial intelligence. Collectively, these companies are expected to spend close to US$700 billion this year to fuel growth, but investor focus is shifting decisively from the scale of investment to the returns it can generate. This earnings cycle represents the first meaningful test of whether the AI trade can continue to justify elevated valuations.

Amazon remains a focal point, having outperformed peers year-to-date. AWS growth is expected to re-accelerate to around 28% in the first quarter, with full-year growth potentially approaching 36% as additional capacity comes online. The company has already flagged a US$15 billion AI revenue run rate within AWS, reinforcing confidence in demand.

However, capital expenditure remains the key risk. Amazon is expected to reiterate its US$200 billion capex outlook for 2026 — the largest in corporate history. While the business remains relatively efficient compared to other hyperscalers, rising investment has weighed on free cash flow. Any signs of stabilisation or improvement will be critical in shifting sentiment towards capital discipline.

Josh Gilbert Market Analyst At Etoro

Josh Gilbert, Market Analyst at eToro, commented: “This is the first real stress test for the AI trade. Markets have been willing to support massive investment, but now investors want to see clear returns. Growth, margins and cash flow all need to start moving in the right direction.”

Meta’s investment case is more straightforward, with its core advertising business continuing to fund its AI expansion. First-quarter revenue is expected to rise approximately 33% year-on-year to US$56 billion, with forward guidance pointing to continued strength. AI is already contributing to monetisation, improving both ad targeting and content ranking.

Recent results underline this trend, with Family of Apps ad revenue rising 24% year-on-year, supported by higher ad impressions and pricing. With capital expenditure expected to increase roughly 70% to US$126 billion this year, investors will be looking for continued evidence that AI-driven gains are scaling alongside spend.

Alphabet’s results will offer further insight into the balance between investment and returns. Google Cloud is expected to grow around 50% in the first quarter, supported by strong demand for AI infrastructure and key partnerships, including its multi-year agreement with Anthropic. This deal is emerging as a significant driver of compute demand.

Total revenue is forecast at US$107 billion, with Search remaining a core contributor. However, margin pressure remains a concern as Alphabet transitions towards a more capital-intensive model. The extent to which cloud growth offsets this pressure will be central to market reaction.

Microsoft enters the week under greater scrutiny following recent share price weakness. Azure growth is expected to remain robust at around 38%, while total revenue is forecast at US$81 billion. As an early leader in AI through its partnership with OpenAI, Microsoft now faces increasing competition, prompting a reassessment of its positioning.

Investor focus will centre on Azure performance and enterprise adoption of Copilot. Strong execution in these areas could reinforce confidence in its AI strategy, while any disappointment may amplify concerns around rising costs and competitive pressures.

Apple stands apart from its peers, with less immediate exposure to the current AI investment cycle. However, it continues to deliver strong underlying performance. Revenue for the quarter is expected to reach US$109.7 billion, driven by sustained iPhone demand, particularly in China, alongside continued growth in Services.

The company’s substantial cash generation provides flexibility to invest in AI at its own pace. Attention will turn to the upcoming Siri upgrade, which represents an early test of its AI roadmap. Execution here could set the tone ahead of its next iPhone cycle, while any delays may extend investor uncertainty around its long-term AI strategy.

Media Contact:
PR@etoro.com

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This article was originally published as Big Tech AI Investment Faces Real-World Test in Earnings Week on Crypto Breaking News – your trusted source for crypto news, Bitcoin news, and blockchain updates.

Bullish is expanding its institutional reach by extending its integration with Ripple Prime to offer direct access to Bitcoin options trading. The move adds BTC options to the existing connectivity Ripple Prime provides for spot, perpetual and futures through its prime brokerage network.

The upgrade links Ripple Prime’s users to Bullish’s regulated Bitcoin options markets, with trades funded through existing sub-accounts and eligible collateral supported in stablecoins such as Ripple USD (RLUSD).

RLUSD is a USD-pegged stablecoin designed for payments, settlement and use as collateral in digital asset markets. Its market capitalization sits around $1.57 billion, according to DeFiLlama.

The two firms said they plan to introduce cross-venue margin access, enabling institutions to manage collateral across exchanges and over-the-counter desks from a single account to boost capital efficiency.

Ripple Prime operates as the company’s institutional prime brokerage platform, formed after its $1.25 billion acquisition of crypto prime broker Hidden Road in 2025. It offers multi-asset brokerage, clearing and financing services and reported clearing more than $3 trillion in volume in 2025.

Bullish notes that its Bitcoin options venue ranks among the largest by open interest for crypto-settled contracts. The integration is live, allowing Ripple Prime clients to begin accessing the options markets immediately.

Reflecting the broader market backdrop, Bullish’s share price has trended lower over the past year, retreating more than 60% from its September peak and trading around $36.58 as of this writing. Early in the session, the stock was down roughly 8% according to Yahoo Finance data.

Key takeaways

Institutional access: Ripple Prime users can trade Bullish’s BTC options directly, leveraging existing sub-accounts without new onboarding.

Collateral in RLUSD: Trades can be funded and collateralized with RLUSD, a USD-pegged stablecoin with a market cap near $1.57 billion (DefiLlama).

Cross-venue margin on the roadmap: The partners plan cross-venue margin access to improve capital efficiency by consolidating collateral across venues and OTC desks.

Ripple Prime’s scale: The platform, built after the Hidden Road acquisition, reported more than $3 trillion in volume cleared in 2025, underscoring institutional demand for prime brokerage services.

Industry context: BTC options activity remains sizable, with Deribit dominating the space alongside CME, OKX, Binance and Bybit, and Coinbase having completed the Deribit acquisition in 2025 to consolidate a leading options venue.

Industrial momentum: BTC options deepen institutional risk management

Bitcoin options trading has gained traction as institutions increasingly use derivatives to hedge volatility and manage downside risk. Options give traders the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell BTC at a specified price, providing a tool to navigate sudden price swings while preserving capital.

Industry context is evolving rapidly. In August 2025, Coinbase finalized its acquisition of Deribit, consolidating the largest crypto options venue under a single platform and accelerating access to spot, futures and options in a unified ecosystem.

On the corporate treasury front, momentum persists as Bitcoin-focused firms explore more active derivatives programs. For example, Nakamoto disclosed an actively managed derivatives program in 2026, employing BTC as collateral for options-based strategies intended to generate income from volatility while hedging downside risk.

Over the past year, BTC options markets have remained robust. Total open interest stood at about $32.8 billion as of late April 2026, up from roughly $30.8 billion a year earlier, with occasional peaks above $50 billion during periods of heightened activity, according to CoinGlass. While Deribit remains the dominant venue by open interest, liquidity is spread across CME Group, OKX, Binance and Bybit in varying shares.

These dynamics highlight how the market’s infrastructure—spanning major venues, prime brokers and stablecoin collateral—still shapes liquidity and access for institutional players. The Bullish–Ripple Prime integration fits within a broader trend of consolidating professional-grade crypto derivatives within multi-venue ecosystems, aiming to simplify risk management and optimize capital efficiency for large holders and institutions.

What to watch next

Looking ahead, investors and traders should monitor how quickly cross-venue margin access is implemented and adopted in practice, as well as how collateral flows evolve across Ripple Prime, Bullish and other venues. The convergence of prime brokerage services, BTC options liquidity and stablecoin collateral will likely influence both hedging behavior and the appetite for long-tail derivatives in institutional portfolios.

This article was originally published as Ripple Prime Opens Bitcoin Options to Clients Amid Bullish Market on Crypto Breaking News – your trusted source for crypto news, Bitcoin news, and blockchain updates.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has reached a settlement with Celsius Network founder Alexander Mashinsky that imposes a permanent ban on promoting asset-related products and requires a $10 million payment tied to a larger, largely suspended civil judgment of $4.72 billion. The stipulated order was entered by Judge Denise L. Cote in the Southern District of New York this week, marking another milestone in the regulatory fallout from Celsius’s 2022 collapse.

The order states that Mashinsky is “permanently restrained and enjoined” from advertising, marketing, promoting, offering or distributing any product or service that can be used to “deposit, exchange, invest, or withdraw assets.” It also preserves the FTC’s ability to pursue the full monetary judgment if Mashinsky misstates or omits assets in disclosures related to the case, keeping open the potential for additional consumer redress or enforcement if new material misstatements emerge.

The $4.72 billion monetary judgment in favor of the FTC remains largely suspended, with Mashinsky required to pay $10 million to the FTC. The order also provides for a potential alternative payment path: the $10 million obligation could be satisfied by delivering at least that amount to the U.S. Department of Justice under the forfeiture order in Mashinsky’s criminal case. This structure is designed to balance immediate consumer redress with ongoing enforcement leverage should disputes over asset disclosures arise.

The settlement extends the legal consequences stemming from Celsius’s 2022 failure, even as Mashinsky faces broader penalties from other proceedings. In May 2025, Mashinsky was sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to commodities fraud and securities fraud, with prosecutors contending that he misled Celsius customers about the company’s profitability, investment risks, and the safety of customer funds.

Excerpt from the court filing. Source Court Listener

Suspended judgment can be revived

The order clarifies that while the majority of the judgment remains suspended, the suspension is conditional. The Federal Trade Commission can seek to lift the suspension if it proves that Mashinsky failed to disclose a material asset, misstated the value of an asset, or made another material misstatement or omission in his financial disclosures. If the suspension is lifted, the full $4.72 billion judgment would become immediately due, subject to credits for payments already made under the FTC order, amounts paid to consumers through the DOJ forfeiture order in the criminal case, or payments demonstrated by Mashinsky to consumers via other defendants, including through the Celsius bankruptcy process.

The arrangement is notable for its attempt to preserve a broad consumer-redress milestone while avoiding an immediate, large liquidity demand on Mashinsky. It also signals a persistent regulatory emphasis on ensuring that asset-related advertising and fundraising activity by figures associated with failed crypto ventures remains under close scrutiny.

Regulatory and policy implications for the crypto sector

From a regulatory perspective, the case underscores the escalating use of civil enforcement tools to address consumer harms tied to asset-related claims in the crypto space. The FTC’s settlement with Mashinsky complements existing criminal and civil proceedings, illustrating how monetary, injunctive, and forfeiture pathways can be combined to deter misleading representations and to constrain the promotion of financial products tied to digital assets.

For exchanges, wallets, and other market participants, the decision reinforces the expectation of robust disclosure controls and clear boundaries around endorsing or promoting products that touch on deposits, exchanges, investments, or withdrawals of assets. Institutions operating in the U.S. market—ranging from fintechs to traditional banks engaging with crypto custody or liquidity facilities—may find themselves reinforcing AML/KYC diligence, asset disclosures, and governance practices to align with evolving enforcement expectations. The case also sits within a broader policy landscape that includes ongoing debates about licensing frameworks, consumer protection standards, and cross-border coordination in crypto regulation.

Although the action originates in the United States, commentators and policymakers frequently view it within a global context of converging standards. The Celsius matter intersects with discussions around compliance obligations for asset-backed activities, the delineation of security versus non-security crypto offerings, and the balance between enforcement jurisdiction and international cooperation. In parallel, regulators continue to refine rules around stablecoins, banking access, and the treatment of customer funds in insolvency and bankruptcy scenarios, all of which influence how firms plan product design, disclosures, and risk management.

Notably, the case is tied to a broader enforcement trajectory involving Celsius and its executives, including the criminal charges and the related DOJ forfeiture framework. For research and compliance teams, the evolving posture of the FTC, DOJ, and SEC (where applicable) highlights the importance of risk-based monitoring for asset-related promotions, disclosures, and marketing claims across corporate entities associated with crypto platforms.

Closing perspective

As authorities maintain a multimodal enforcement approach, the Mashinsky settlement serves as a reference point for risk assessment, governance, and compliance in the crypto ecosystem. Analysts and compliance officers will be watching for any revival of the suspended judgment and for further actions linked to asset disclosures or other material misstatements, signaling how regulators calibrate redress against ongoing penalties in high-profile industry cases.

This article was originally published as FTC Settlement with Celsius Founder Mashinsky Highlights Compliance Risk on Crypto Breaking News – your trusted source for crypto news, Bitcoin news, and blockchain updates.

Visa has broadened its stablecoin settlement pilot to incorporate Polygon and four additional blockchain networks, signaling a continued push into crypto-native settlement rails for traditional payments. The program, launched in 2023, allows partners to settle transactions using stablecoins instead of conventional banking rails. The newly added networks are Polygon, Base, the Canton Network, Arc and Tempo, joining existing supported chains such as Ethereum, Solana, Stellar and Avalanche.

Visa says the pilot is aimed at evaluating whether stablecoins can offer faster settlement, round-the-clock availability, and efficiencies in cross-border payments. The company disclosed in a press release that the initiative has reached an annualized settlement run rate of roughly $7 billion, up about 50% quarter over quarter. While that growth is meaningful, Visa notes that the volume remains a smaller portion of its broader payments business.

Key takeaways

Visa expands its stablecoin settlement pilot to five new networks—Polygon, Base, Canton Network, Arc and Tempo—in addition to Ethereum, Solana, Stellar and Avalanche already supported.

The pilot’s annualized settlement run rate is approximately $7 billion, representing about 50% quarter-over-quarter growth, according to Visa.

The expansion underscores a deliberate exploration of faster, 24/7 settlement and efficiency gains in cross-border transactions as part of Visa’s broader stablecoin strategy, including related partnerships.

Industry momentum is rising, with Mastercard enabling stablecoin-linked card spending in the United States and fintechs accelerating blockchain-based settlement workflows, such as Modern Treasury’s Polygon integration.

Regulatory clarity around stablecoins is evolving in parallel, with legislation like the GENIUS Act shaping the environment for payment stablecoins and on-chain settlement.

Expanding the pilot and what changes

The expansion broadens the scope of Visa’s attempt to validate stablecoin settlement as a practical bridge for traditional finance to move faster and operate more continuously. By adding Polygon, Base, the Canton Network, Arc and Tempo to the existing lineup, Visa is testing a wider array of Layer 2s and cross-chain options that could influence how institutions approach on-chain liquidity and interbank settlement rails. Visa characterizes the pilot as a structured exploration rather than a mass rollout, aiming to quantify potential improvements in settlement speed, reliability, and cost.

As part of its ongoing push into blockchain-based infrastructure, Visa highlighted the broader strategic value of stablecoin settlement. The firm’s comments frame stablecoins as a potential enabler of around-the-clock settlement and cross-border efficiency, which could translate into material benefits for partners that operate at a global scale. The latest numbers—roughly $7 billion in annualized settlement—illustrate tangible progress, even as the pilot remains a small slice of Visa’s total payments landscape.

In March, Visa expanded its collaboration with Bridge, a Stripe subsidiary, to support a global card program that enables stablecoin-linked payments. The development signals a broader appetite for bridging stablecoins and traditional consumer-facing payment experiences, where on-chain settlement could reduce friction for merchants and users alike. That move complements the ongoing pilot by linking stablecoin settlement to card-based spend, a critical channel for mainstream adoption.

Industry momentum and regulatory environment

The steady growth of stablecoin settlement efforts reflects a broader industry pattern as major payments firms experiment with on-chain settlement layers. Mastercard has been active in this space as well, enabling stablecoin-linked card spending in the United States through wallet integrations, marking a parallel track in the push to normalize crypto-based settlement within everyday commerce.

Beyond card programs, fintechs are integrating blockchain-enabled settlement into their workflow. Modern Treasury, a payments software provider, announced its integration with Polygon to help businesses move stablecoin payments more quickly, a move that adds to the ecosystem’s momentum toward on-chain settlement. The U.S. regulatory landscape is also shifting gradually; the GENIUS Act provides clearer standards for payment stablecoins, a development shaping both policy and market participants’ risk and compliance planning. The balance of evolving regulation with rapid fintech innovation will influence how much-scale adoption of stablecoin settlement ultimately achieves.

On the broader market front, stablecoins continue to grow. DeFiLlama data indicates that the total value of stablecoins in circulation has surpassed $320 billion, up roughly 150% since early 2024. That expansion underscores both the demand for stable value on-chain and the potential liquidity that could underpin new settlement rails as financial institutions test and deploy cross-chain flows.

What to watch next

Investors and builders should monitor whether the expanded network support translates into measurable improvements in settlement speed, cost, and reliability for partner programs, as well as how institutional participants respond to the evolving regulatory backdrop. The coming quarters will reveal whether Visa’s pilot can scale beyond pilots and become a meaningful component of the broader payments infrastructure, alongside rising activity from competitors and fintechs pursuing similar goals.

For readers tracking the ecosystem, the ongoing integration work—both in corporate pilots like Visa’s and in third-party workflows such as Modern Treasury’s Polygon collaboration—will indicate where on-chain settlement might become a normalized option in enterprise payments. As policy clarity improves and liquidity expands, the next phase of stablecoin settlement could reveal its true potential for cross-border efficiency and around-the-clock operations.

Source: Visa press materials and industry reporting, with additional context from market coverage tracked by Cointelegraph and industry data aggregators.

This article was originally published as Visa Expands Stablecoin Pilot to Polygon, Base; Settlements Hit $7B on Crypto Breaking News – your trusted source for crypto news, Bitcoin news, and blockchain updates.

Polymarket is pursuing a regulatory pathway to reopen its main prediction markets platform to users in the United States, according to Bloomberg, which cited people familiar with the matter. The development would signal a broader US re-entry for the firm, following a limited return last year via a regulated QCEX-based setup that still blocks American users from the main exchange.

The contemplated relaunch hinges on obtaining approval from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to lift the long-standing prohibition on US-based customers. A full reinstatement would require a formal CFTC commission vote. Bloomberg noted that the process could be facilitated by four vacant commissioner seats, potentially reducing the number of votes needed to advance the matter.

The move comes against a backdrop of heightened regulatory scrutiny of prediction markets in the United States, where rivals such as Kalshi have established a stronger domestic footprint even as the sector faces ongoing enforcement and legal questions at both state and federal levels. Polymarket’s potential US comeback would, if successful, intensify competition in a market that regulators closely monitor for compliance with registration, licensing, and consumer-protection standards.

Polymarket declined to comment to Cointelegraph about the Bloomberg report.

Key takeaways

Polymarket is seeking CFTC clearance to restore full US access to its main prediction markets platform, a move that would require a formal vote by the agency’s commissioners.

The bid follows the 2022 CFTC settlement, which forced Polymarket to block US users and imposed a $1.4 million civil penalty for unregistered event contracts.

A complete US relaunch would contribute to competition with Kalshi, which has gained traction domestically and holds relationships with major crypto platforms such as Coinbase.

US enforcement activity and state actions remain a material risk for Polymarket and other prediction platforms, including ongoing lawsuits and investigations into the use of event contracts for gambling or illegal betting.

Polymarket’s US operations have progressed only gradually, with a late-2025 comeback that began with a waitlist-based app focused on sports contracts, followed by broader market ambitions.

Regulatory backdrop and potential implications for US operations

The regulatory framework governing prediction markets in the United States rests primarily with the CFTC, which regulates commodity and derivative instruments and enforces registration and anti-fraud provisions. Polymarket’s 2022 settlement underscores the risk profile for platforms offering event-based contracts to US residents without appropriate registration or oversight. A formal CFTC vote to lift the ban would represent a significant legal milestone that could determine whether Polymarket can operate its core exchange in the United States on par with international platforms.

The transition would also intersect with broader policy considerations around digital markets, consumer protection, and financial innovation. While MiCA governs EU-based crypto-asset activities and has implications for cross-border services, the US approach remains characterized by federal agency actions and state-level enforcement. For market participants, the outcome could influence licensing strategies, KYC/AML controls, and compliance architectures required to service US customers at scale.

As regulators continue to scrutinize prediction markets, any relaunch would be weighed against enforcement history and ongoing legal challenges. Reports indicate that Wisconsin’s top law enforcement official filed a lawsuit on April 23 against Kalshi and Polymarket, alongside other firms such as Coinbase, Robinhood, and Crypto.com, alleging that these platforms facilitate illegal sports betting through event contracts. Separately, federal authorities—the CFTC and the Department of Justice—have pursued cases related to the use of event contracts in ways that may contravene US restrictions, including allegations tied to a US service member using non-public information to place bets on Polymarket’s international exchange via VPN access. These actions illustrate the current enforcement environment that any relaunch would navigate.

In practice, a successful US relaunch would necessitate robust licensing frameworks, rigorous consumer protections, and clear delineations of which markets fall under securities, commodities, or other regulatory categories. The interagency dynamics—encompassing the CFTC, the DOJ, and state authorities—would shape the pace and scope of any permitted activities. For exchanges and banks evaluating partnerships or custody arrangements, the decision to re-enter the US market would hinge on the ability to demonstrate compliant operations across borders and to manage enforcement risk effectively.

Market dynamics, performance, and enforcement risk in the US landscape

Polymarket’s position in the US prediction-market landscape has evolved alongside regulatory pressure. The platform previously accounted for the majority of activity in the field, but its dominance has come under pressure from a growing competitor base and heightened scrutiny. A Dune-derived assessment cited on Datadashboards suggested Polymarket once captured a substantial share of notional volume, though subsequent scrutiny of volume reporting has prompted questions about measurement and methodology. Meanwhile, Kalshi has expanded its domestic footprint and secured integration with major platforms, contributing to a more competitive environment for compliant prediction-market operators.

Despite higher visibility for Kalshi, Polymarket remains entangled in enforcement scrutiny that spans both federal and state channels. The Wisconsin action is indicative of a broader regulatory push against “event contracts” that resemble sports betting, highlighting the risk of civil actions that could affect platform viability and investor confidence. In parallel, ongoing investigations into cross-border activity—coupled with combatting unregistered contracts—underscore the regulatory challenges that accompany any attempt to relaunch the main US exchange at scale.

From a compliance perspective, the reintroduction of Polymarket into the US market would demand rigorous AML/KYC controls, transparent disclosures regarding contract types and settlement mechanisms, and robust risk-management measures to monitor for potential abuse or manipulation. For institutional observers, the development raises questions about licensing pathways, the consistency of state-by-state enforcement, and the potential for harmonized standards across multiple jurisdictions as digital prediction markets continue to mature.

Historical context and what a US relaunch would entail

Polymarket’s US trajectory has long been conditioned by regulatory decisions. The 2022 settlement setting a cap on the company’s US operations was a pivotal turning point, creating a permanent constraint that any broader US return must address. The company’s late-2025 comeback, characterized by a limited, waitlisted US app rolled out with sports-focused contracts, represented a cautious, incremental approach—intended to test compliance readiness while rebuilding user trust and infrastructure. A broader relaunch would require not only regulatory clearance but also scalable compliance programs, clear product classifications, and a plan to align with evolving enforcement expectations.

Against this backdrop, competition with Kalshi—already a domestic market leader and a recognized provider for major crypto exchange Coinbase—takes on strategic significance. A successful US relaunch for Polymarket could expand the range of state- and federally regulated offerings available to institutions seeking hedging tools or research data, while simultaneously increasing the regulatory and operational complexity for market participants who rely on these platforms for legitimate, compliant risk assessment.

Closing perspective

Any decision to lift the US ban and authorize Polymarket’s main exchange would represent a meaningful inflection point for the prediction-market ecosystem, with broad implications for licensing, cross-border operations, and enforcement alignment. As regulators, industry players, and market participants monitor evolving developments, the path forward will hinge on clear regulatory clarity, robust compliance infrastructure, and demonstrated adherence to applicable laws and standards. The coming months will clarify whether a formal CFTC vote materializes and how policymakers balance innovation with consumer protection and market integrity.

This article was originally published as Polymarket Pursues Full U.S. Return Through CFTC Approval Talks on Crypto Breaking News – your trusted source for crypto news, Bitcoin news, and blockchain updates.