BlockchainReporter

For European fintech users, the buffer between traditional banking and permissionless stablecoins just got thinner. Revolut, the continent’s largest fintech by valuation, has begun notifying customers that it will delist Tether’s USDT — a move that turns the regulatory clock faster than many expected. The timeline, detailed in the original report from WuBlockchain, shows a phased wind-down that leaves users with a strict set of choices by the end of August.
The company will allow USDT purchases only until July 6. New deposits stop on July 30. Selling and withdrawals to external wallets remain open until August 31, when any lingering balances will be converted into fiat at the prevailing market rate. It is an abrupt off-ramp for an asset that sits at the core of crypto’s liquidity infrastructure.
The MiCA Shadow Over Stablecoin Offerings
Revolut’s timing is not accidental. The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation is in active enforcement, and its stablecoin provisions are forcing every regulated entity to reassess which assets can stay on the shelf. USDT has not registered as a compliant e-money token under the new framework, putting any licensed European platform that continues to list it at legal risk. Rather than wait for explicit enforcement action, Revolut is preemptively cutting ties.
This is not a pure compliance box-ticking exercise. MiCA’s stablecoin rules create a licensing gauntlet that some major issuers have chosen to bypass — or simply haven’t cleared yet — while others, like Circle’s USDC, have received the green light. The result is a split market where compliant stablecoins can plug into the EU’s regulated payment rails and non-compliant ones face a shrinking footprint on established platforms.
What the Revolut Timetable Tells Us About Market Structure
The phased approach — cut off purchases first, then deposits, then force a final conversion — is designed to prevent a liquidity scramble inside user accounts. But it also reveals an uncomfortable truth about how fintech platforms treat on-chain assets. When the deadline hits, the “conversion at prevailing exchange rate” clause means Revolut will act as a forced seller on behalf of its customers. For users who held USDT as a hedge or simply as a stable-value digital dollar, that automated fiat conversion removes a piece of agency that many in crypto consider non-negotiable.
Other European platforms have already faced similar decisions. Fintech integrations built around compliant assets are becoming a differentiating factor, as platforms that want to keep stablecoin access are moving toward MiCA-aligned alternatives. The Revolut move suggests that large, bank-adjacent fintechs will not tolerate regulatory ambiguity around a stablecoin that processes billions in daily volume — even if that stablecoin is the most liquid in the world.
What Comes Next for European Stablecoin Users
The immediate question is whether Revolut’s decision accelerates a broader retreat from USDT across European exchanges and neobanks. If platforms like Bitpanda, N26, or Trade Republic follow, the EU could see a two-tier stablecoin environment solidify: regulated venues stick to MiCA-compliant assets while unregulated DeFi and offshore exchanges continue to provide full USDT liquidity. That fragmentation could create pricing gaps and extra friction for institutions that trade across both realms.
There is also a longer-term question about user behavior. A significant portion of retail stablecoin demand comes from cross-border transfers and dollar exposure, not trading. If Revolut converts USDT to fiat automatically, those users may simply move to a non-custodial wallet where the delisting rule doesn’t apply — a shift that runs counter to the investor-protection goals MiCA is supposed to achieve. The growth of tokenized real-world assets shows that the line between traditional finance and on-chain instruments is blurring fast, and stablecoin rails are central to that convergence. Removing a major stablecoin option from a leading fintech app inevitably changes how that convergence plays out inside Europe.
For now, Revolut has drawn a clear line in the sand. The company isn’t forcing a panic — users have weeks to act — but it is forcing a decision. The broader stablecoin market, meanwhile, will be watching whether MiCA’s architecture proves to be a protective fence for European investors or an artificial partition that reshapes liquidity flows in ways regulators did not fully anticipate. As legislative battles on crypto reach high stakes elsewhere, the EU’s live experiment with mandatory stablecoin compliance is now moving from theory to hard deadlines inside users’ mobile banking apps.

The capital flow into decentralized lending infrastructure isn’t slowing, even as much of the market wrestles with regulatory ambiguity. Morpho, once known as a minimalist money market optimizer, has just pulled in $175 million from a syndicate that reads like a who’s who of crypto-native and traditional finance allocators. The Morpho Association, the entity coordinating the protocol’s development, disclosed the round in the latest Morpho Effect update. Paradigm, a16z crypto, and Ribbit Capital led the raise, with Apollo Funds, Circle Ventures, VanEck, Ledger, and Cathay Innovation all participating. This is not a venture bet on a fresh startup; it is a deliberate capital injection into a protocol seeking to redefine how credit flows between off-chain capital pools and onchain markets.
Investor Lineup Reflects a Convergence
The presence of Apollo Funds stands out. Apollo’s private credit operations sit at the center of a multi-trillion-dollar market. Having them alongside Paradigm and Ribbit suggests the round wasn’t purely a conviction play on the next DeFi primitive. It points toward a structured thesis: that a permissionless credit network can sit between institutional fixed-income allocations and blockchain-based lending demand. Circle’s equity in the round ties directly to USDC, already a dominant stablecoin in Morpho’s lending vaults. VanEck, known for its digital asset ETF filings and research, adds a public-markets perspective to the cap table.
Not every DeFi protocol raising growth capital gets Apollo to write a check. That detail alone gives this round a different weight. It signals that part of the institutional world no longer sees DeFi lending purely as a retail-leveraged experiment. They are positioning for a future where compliant onchain credit markets are just another venue for yield.
Open Credit Network, Not Just a Lending Protocol
Morpho’s statement in the update is specific: they are building an open credit network to connect traditional finance with onchain markets. That framing moves beyond the single-pool lending model that originally gave Morpho attention. The ambition is to create infrastructure where off-chain credit risk can be priced, fragmented, and distributed through onchain rails. In practice, that means interoperable lending markets where undercollateralized institutional borrowing becomes possible without sacrificing the efficiency of a blockchain-native settlement layer.
This vision aligns with the acceleration in real-world asset tokenization. Structures like BlackRock’s BUIDL and the recent live settlement between Ondo and JPMorgan are providing proof of concept that traditional instruments can settle onchain. As the tokenization roundup shows, onchain RWA value crossed $20 billion this year, and the growth has not been fueled by retail speculation but by institutional treasury operations. Morpho’s credit network thesis positions it as a market for pricing and moving that tokenized value once it exists onchain. The round could effectively fund the orchestration layer required to make that trading possible without a central intermediary.
Regulatory Uncertainty and Strategic Timing
No institutional DeFi raise lands without a view on the rulebook. The round arrived while Congress debates the most consequential crypto market structure bill in US history. The bill’s fate, and the banking lobby’s last-minute push to limit it, are being tracked closely. As detailed in coverage of the ongoing Senate bill drama, the outcome will determine how much latitude protocols have to interface with traditional financial institutions. For Morpho, the ability to onboard regulated credit originators and provide institutional access likely depends on whether final language provides a clear path for onchain lending without imposing bank-like compliance burdens.
Paradigm and a16z are not naive about this. Their legal teams and policy operations have been deeply engaged in Washington. A $175 million check into a credit network protocol that has not yet fully built out its institutional-facing layer is, in part, a statement about where they think the policy window is heading. If the bill creates safe harbor or workable registration paths, Morpho’s timing could look very different than if the Senate votes against the compromise.
What Remains Unsettled
Morpho’s technical design has always favored efficiency, but scaling an open credit network introduces risks that a pure overcollateralized money market does not face. Undercollateralized institutional lending, even with sophisticated risk segmentation, carries default risk that no oracle or liquidation engine can eliminate. The protocol’s governance and risk management structures will be tested when non-performing positions appear. The Association’s capital cushion, while substantial, is not an explicit backstop. How defaults get resolved in a permissionless environment without relying on legal recourse remains the core tension.
Another open question is whether the institutional side of the market wants exposure to a credit network where the underlying transparency cuts both ways. Traditional credit investors often prize discretion, while onchain ledgers are inherently public. Reconciling those information asymmetries will require design choices that Morpho has not yet specified. The round buys runway to answer those questions, but the capital alone doesn’t erase the structural challenge.
For now, the round puts Morpho in a small cohort of DeFi protocols that have secured not just funding but a cross-section of traditional and crypto investors that validate the open credit network thesis. The work ahead is translating capital into live institutional lending volume without losing the permissionless core that made the protocol relevant in the first place.

The crypto industry has poured $189 million into US midterm elections, but that loud political money is overshadowed by a much quieter structural shift now visible on-chain. Visa and BlackRock are backing the OUSD stablecoin, New York Life’s asset management arm has started a tokenized bond fund, and Strategy—the company formerly called MicroStrategy—is rolling out a Bitcoin monetization program designed to turn a corporate treasury into a liquid yield engine. These developments, flagged in a recent weekly report, show that institutions are moving past proof-of-concept and beginning to rewire their balance sheets.
The tokenization push is not isolated. As the weekly tokenization roundup noted, real-world assets on-chain have crossed $20 billion, with Bullish buying Equiniti for $4.2 billion and Ondo executing a live Treasury settlement with JPMorgan. When a century-old mutual insurer and the world’s largest asset manager decide to host bonds and dollars on distributed ledgers at the same time as a crypto-native exchange absorbs a legacy financial registrar, it’s no longer a pilot.
Tokenization Moves from Theory to Balance Sheets
BlackRock’s involvement with OUSD isn’t casual. The stablecoin, pegged to the dollar and backed by reserves that include BlackRock-managed money market funds, puts the firm’s brand behind an on-chain dollar instrument that competes directly with USDT and USDC. For markets still scarred by algorithmic stablecoin blowups, an asset manager of BlackRock’s size acting as a reserve partner changes the risk conversation. Separately, New York Life’s tokenized bond fund opens a regulated path for institutional investors to hold tradeable digital representations of fixed-income products without the settlement friction of traditional bond markets.
These moves follow years of controlled experiments. What’s different now is the cadence. A large asset servicer, a payments network, and a life insurer entering tokenization in the same cycle suggests the plumbing for real-world assets on public and permissioned blockchains is finally meeting compliance desks halfway. It also means the custody, audit, and legal wrappers are being built by the same institutions that critics said would never touch crypto infrastructure. The quiet effort to bring regulated bonds and stablecoins on-chain is moving faster than most public policy debates suggest, and that gap is becoming a story of its own.
Regulators Draw Lines While Politics Spend Big
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority finalized its crypto rules on the same day that the International Monetary Fund issued a stark warning: tokenization could reshape finance in ways that existing regulatory frameworks aren’t equipped to handle. The juxtaposition is not accidental. As the FCA creates a formal perimeter for stablecoins, trading venues, and custody, global bodies are racing to understand how tokenized assets blur the lines between banking, securities, and payments. In the US, the legislative picture remains uncertain. With a landmark crypto bill facing last-minute bank opposition just days before a Senate vote, as BlockchainReporter has covered, the tokenization push is happening inside a regulatory vacuum that might soon get filled—or fractured.
Meanwhile, crypto firms spent $189 million on US midterm races, injecting capital into a political system that will determine how those rules are written. Trump’s reported $1.4 billion in crypto income—whether from token ventures or licensing deals—adds another layer of symbolic weight. It’s a reminder that the political stakes are now measured in billions, not millions. The danger is that political spending buys influence at to shape rules, while the actual architecture of tokenized finance advances without coherent cross-border standards. The IMF’s caution about systemic risks from tokenization isn’t theoretical when a handful of large asset managers and stablecoin issuers are already setting de facto market standards.
Bitcoin’s New Role as Institutional Collateral
Strategy’s Bitcoin monetization plan marks a departure from its simple “buy and hold” legend. The company is now building programs to lend out portions of its massive BTC stash or use them as collateral in structured credit arrangements. For corporate treasuries watching from the sidelines, the signal is hard to ignore: holding Bitcoin can generate yield, not just market beta. Even if the immediate dollar amounts are modest relative to the firm’s total holdings, the operational and accounting infrastructure required to convert a volatile digital asset into institutional-grade collateral is significant. Doing so without triggering taxable events or tripping over existing bond covenants forces a level of financial engineering that many treasury departments lack—and that consulting firms are now racing to provide.
This isn’t just about Strategy. If a publicly traded company can credibly use Bitcoin as yield-generating collateral, it opens a lane for other deeply capitalized firms to treat BTC less like a long-duration option and more like a working asset. The next question is whether rating agencies and auditors will accept the associated risk models, especially during periods of market stress. That remains the unresolved practical challenge behind the Bitcoin treasury narrative.
What’s Still Unresolved
The speed at which tokenized funds and stablecoins are being launched obscures a set of unresolved coordination problems. Interoperability between different tokenization platforms, legal finality across jurisdictions, and the treatment of tokenized securities in bankruptcy cases are all unsettled. Regulators in the EU, UK, and US are moving at different tempos, and the IMF’s warning reads as an acknowledgement that the global financial plumbing is being upgraded faster than the oversight layer can adapt. Even the networks underpinning these instruments tell a double-sided story. While headlines focus on BlackRock and New York Life, the networks powering tokenized instruments are driven by developer communities that continue to iterate—Ethereum and BNB Chain still lead developer activity, as the latest weekly data shows. The infrastructure layer is battle-tested but the legal and governance layers lag, creating a situation where the rails are solid but the switching logic remains hand-built.
For users and investors, the immediate effect is a widening menu of on-chain products with institutional backers, but with underlying risks that aren’t yet fully priced or disclosed. The next phase will be shaped less by new product launches and more by how regulators respond when these instruments are stress-tested by a market event. The tokenization story is moving from adoption velocity to operational resilience, and that shift will determine whether this cycle of institutional entry lasts longer than the last one.

KuCoin’s cloud mining subsidiary KuMining has rolled out Zcash mining contracts, marking an expansion beyond Bitcoin into one of the few proof-of-work altcoins still drawing sustained market attention. The timing is sharp. ZEC has quietly become a top performer in the altcoin space, according to recent market data included in a weekly gainers roundup that placed it among the biggest risers with a 58.24% weekly jump.
The launch was detailed in the original report, where KuMining framed the move as bringing institutional-grade mining infrastructure to a broader user base. That phrase matters because cloud mining has a checkered reputation in crypto. Many retail miners have been burned by opaque providers, hidden fees, and exaggerated returns. KuMining, backed by a regulated exchange, is trying to differentiate itself by offering transparent contract terms and infrastructure that large-scale miners would use.
Why Zcash Cloud Mining Now
The altcoin mining landscape shifted dramatically after Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake. Many GPU miners moved on, but Zcash, with its ASIC-dominated Equihash algorithm, remained a bastion for professional mining operations. KuMining’s entry into ZEC cloud mining signals that the platform sees enough demand to make new contract types viable. The 58% weekly surge in ZEC’s price makes the economics more attractive for potential buyers, but the real question is durability. Proof-of-work altcoins that survive multiple cycles tend to do so because of entrenched mining communities and consistent exchange support rather than hype.
By offering Zcash contracts, KuMining is effectively betting that retail miners want exposure to something beyond Bitcoin without navigating hardware purchases, electricity costs, and pool configurations. That convenience always comes at a premium, and contract profitability math doesn’t always favor the buyer when network difficulty climbs.
The Credibility Problem in Cloud Mining
Cloud mining has long been a magnet for fraud. Countless platforms launched during the 2017 and 2021 bull markets, only to vanish when mining yields dried up. KuMining’s survival since 2021 and its connection to a major exchange—KuCoin handles billions in daily volume—set it apart from purely anonymous operations. Still, no exchange affiliation automatically guarantees profitability. Users buying ZEC mining contracts are still betting on network difficulty staying manageable and Zcash’s price holding its recent levels.
The platform says it uses institutional-grade infrastructure, but that claim is difficult for retail buyers to verify. What matters more is the contract structure: fees, duration, and the point at which the contract becomes unprofitable. If difficulty spikes and ZEC gives back some of its recent gains, even a well-structured contract can turn negative fast. KuMining’s reputation will depend on how it communicates those risks, not just on the brand name behind it.
What Retail Miners Should Watch
Zcash’s supply dynamics matter here. The network has no imminent halving—its emission schedule follows a steady decay curve similar to Bitcoin’s later stages. That means block rewards won’t drop sharply overnight, but profitability is sensitive to the ZEC/USD rate. Regulatory pressure on privacy coins also lurks as a constant risk. Exchanges have delisted privacy-focused tokens in the past under regulatory heat, though Zcash has so far managed to stay listed on major platforms including KuCoin. For cloud mining contract buyers, any change in exchange support could quickly erode the value of mined coins.
KuMining’s ZEC rollout is a bet that retail miners are still hungry for easy exposure to proof-of-work assets beyond Bitcoin—but the bet works only if Zcash’s market momentum holds. The contracts may attract buyers in the short term, but the real test is whether they can deliver positive returns over the duration of a typical mining plan, especially if the broader altcoin market enters another cooling phase.

XRP holders are nursing losses that have no precedent in the token’s twelve-year trading history. Both short-term speculators and long-term believers are deeply underwater at the same time, a condition that on-chain analysts say could be setting up a sharp relief rally. According to the Santiment update, XRP’s 30-day MVRV has collapsed to -45% while its 365-day MVRV sits at -47%, the lowest combined average return reading the XRP Ledger has ever registered.
Pain Across Every Timeframe
MVRV, or market value to realized value, measures the average profit or loss of all tokens that moved within a given period. A deeply negative reading signals that the overwhelming majority of traders who acquired XRP over the past month and year are holding at a loss. It is unusual for both the 30-day and 365-day windows to print such extreme negative numbers together. The metric strips out short-term noise and shows that even those who bought a year ago, typically considered a patient cohort, are now trapped. In dollar terms, the average price at which XRP last moved is far above current spot, meaning the market has been repricing risk aggressively. That simultaneous distress creates a rare setup—one where selling pressure tends to exhaust itself because few participants have unrealized gains left to protect.
What The On-Chain Signal Means For Traders
Santiment’s intelligence suggests that historically, the best risk-reward opportunities emerge when fear and frustration peak, not when confidence runs high. When the crowd is feeling maximum pain, both on-chain and in sentiment data, the probability of a mean reversion trade rises. That does not guarantee an immediate price floor. The crypto market remains sensitive to macro headwinds, and XRP could still drift lower if broader selling intensifies. But the data argues that a significant portion of the downside has already been absorbed by those who are now deep in the red. For traders considering a position, the note points out that the risk of further heavy distribution is lower than usual. When the average holder is sitting on losses of this magnitude, the pool of motivated sellers shrinks, often paving the way for a relief bounce. Still, timing remains uncertain, and the signal alone is not a trading trigger; it is a condition worth monitoring alongside volume trends and exchange flow data. Historically, XRP has staged multi-week rallies after hitting such depressed MVRV levels, but each instance depends on broader market support.
Broader Market Risks Remain
The XRP Ledger does not trade in isolation. Any fresh regulatory shock or a continuation of weak sentiment across major digital assets could delay the recovery. The signal is a statistical outlier, but outliers can persist longer than traders expect. What makes this instance notable is not just the depth of the drawdown but the fact that it spans both short-term traders and long-term holders simultaneously—a condition that has historically aligned with meaningful local bottoms. Sustained low MVRV can also mark the beginning of an accumulation zone, where patient buyers step in, but a genuine trend reversal still requires a catalyst. Whether the market rewards that setup now depends on whether liquidity and narrative shift in XRP’s favor in the coming weeks.

Not everyone is heading for the exit. In June, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs hemorrhaged a record $4 billion, marking the worst month of institutional outflows since the products launched. Over that same stretch, however, a quieter force was building: large holders absorbed $16.7 billion worth of bitcoin in just two weeks, according to the original report. The split between ETF sellers and wallet-class accumulators is now one of the market’s most pointed signals.
The data paints two completely different pictures of conviction. For ETF investors, June was a capitulation event, driven by macroeconomic recalibration and a sharp drop in risk appetite across U.S. equities. For wallets holding more than 1,000 BTC — a crude but durable proxy for whales — the sell-off was a buying window. Their combined purchases over two weeks erased any notion that the market had turned uniformly bearish.
A Tale of Two Markets
The $4 billion monthly outflow from spot ETFs wasn’t just large. It was unprecedented. Even during previous drawdowns, the combined withdrawals had never reached that intensity. Most of the pressure came from accelerated redemptions at two dominant issuers, suggesting that retail and institutional flows were moving together in the same direction — away from Bitcoin. But outside the ETF wrapper, on-chain data showed a different rhythm. The largest addresses added aggressively at levels where leveraged longs were being flushed and ETF shareholders were cutting exposure.
That asymmetry is important because it highlights how the market has fragmented since the ETF approvals. The ETF crowd is dominated by a mix of short-term traders, RIAs, and registered funds that follow quarterly performance benchmarks. The whale category is more opaque: it includes exchanges, custodians, sovereign vehicles, and early-cycle capital that tends to weather the volatility. When these cohorts diverge this sharply, the market narrative often gets rewritten within a few months.
Institutional Exodus vs. Whale Strategy
What made institutional selling so pronounced wasn’t just the Federal Reserve’s posture or the strength of the dollar index. June’s outflows were also amplified by regulatory whiplash, as lawmakers scrambled over key legislation that could decide the licensing and custody framework for digital assets. With the future of U.S. crypto banking rules in flux, risk managers at ETF issuers and market makers likely reduced their Bitcoin exposure to control balance-sheet volatility.
At the same time, a different type of institutional money was finding its way into crypto infrastructure, just not through Bitcoin ETFs. The tokenization sector crossed $20 billion in on-chain value in recent weeks, pulling capital toward real-world asset platforms and settlement networks. Meanwhile, staking strategies on newer layer-1s attracted fresh allocations, as shown by a recent 18% surge in SUI tied to institutional staking demand and fintech integrations. The pattern suggests that large investors were not abandoning crypto — they were rotating away from the most liquid and most scrutinized product into niches where they could extract yield or own infrastructure directly.
What History Suggests About the Divergence
Divergences between ETF flows and whale accumulation have appeared before — and they haven’t been random. In the months leading up to the 2023 rally, when the spot ETF narrative was still a regulatory debate, wallets with substantial balances reloaded while Grayscale’s trust traded at a deep discount and sentiment was in the gutter. The recent move doesn’t guarantee a repeat, but the silhouette is similar. Whales with no mandate to file daily holdings reports are operating with a longer time horizon.
The $16.7 billion absorbed over 14 days dwarfs the monthly redemption figure, meaning the market absorbed the selling pressure without breaking. That kind of absorption doesn’t come from passive HODLing alone. It requires active bids, often routed through OTC desks, where large blocks trade without hitting spot order books. If that buying continues into July, it could shift liquidity dynamics quickly. Exchange balances, which had been rising during the ETF sell-off, are one metric to watch: a reversal would signal that accumulation is translating into off-exchange custody, a classic supply-squeeze precursor.
Uncertainty Lingers
What’s missing is clarity on the source of the whale demand. It could be a single large entity — a fund, a sovereign, a corporate treasury — or a dispersed cohort of high-net-worth individuals reacting to the same discount. Without identity, the signal is softer than it looks. And while the divergence has historically preceded market bottoms, it can also persist for weeks in a sideways chop before directionality emerges.
For now, the split leaves traders watching two gauges. ETF flows remain the most visible barometer of institutional sentiment, but whale wallets are providing a conflicting read that is harder to dismiss. When $4 billion leaves one door and $16.7 billion enters another, the market isn’t just moving — it’s transferring from weak hands to strong ones. The only question is how long that transfer takes before price responds.

A stablecoin alliance that advertised Samsung Electronics, Dunamu, KakaoBank, Hyundai Card, KB Kookmin Card, and Samsung Card as members ran into a wall of denials this week, with nearly all of the named Korean companies saying they never held formal discussions about joining. The confusion, first reported by Chosun Biz and surfaced by the original report, lands at a delicate moment for stablecoin projects that are trying to convert corporate brand names into market credibility.
Samsung Electronics stated it had no formal talks with the Open USD (OUSD) issuer and remained unclear about what role it was supposed to play. Dunamu and K Bank told local media that Open Standard, the entity behind OUSD, had merely asked whether they might be interested in participating. Another company representative said they learned they were included in the alliance list only by reading Korean news outlets. The gap between the public roster and what the companies themselves acknowledge is not just a marketing slip; it points to the brittle foundations on which some stablecoin legitimacy claims are being built.
A Roster Built on Assumptions
What makes the episode more than a routine partnership dispute is the scale of the names involved. Samsung alone carries industrial heft that any crypto project would want to attach itself to. When an alliance list includes a flagship Korean conglomerate, a major exchange operator, a digital bank, and multiple card issuers, the signal sent to retail users and potential investors is that the stablecoin has institutional anchoring. But if those names were never formally signed on, the signal is false.
The OUSD project, like many newer stablecoin initiatives, appears to be wading into a crowded field that already includes Circle, Tether, and a range of regulatory-conscious alternatives. Differentiating itself requires more than technical design; it demands trust. The way that trust is assembled—through actual partnership agreements, not assumption-laden outreach—determines whether the stablecoin can survive scrutiny from regulators and exchanges.
Why Credibility Matters for Stablecoin Alliances
Stablecoin alliances are not new. Networks of issuers, custodians, banks, and fintech platforms have formed around USDC, around tokenized deposit schemes, and around the broader tokenization of real-world assets. In each case, the credibility of the network directly influences liquidity adoption and the willingness of trading venues to list the asset. A stablecoin that cannot accurately report who is in its alliance faces a harder climb: market makers might steer clear, and exchanges could delay or deny listings.
Korean regulators, who have been tightening stablecoin and crypto rules in sync with global standards, are not likely to ignore exaggerated partnership claims that could mislead consumers. Already, legislative battles in other major jurisdictions show how seriously authorities view any distortion of institutional backing. The latest push to shape crypto legislation in the US, for example, has focused heavily on disclosure and accountability for stablecoin issuers.
The OUSD denials raise a practical question: if this many companies were listed without consent, how many other alliances in the digital asset space are papering over similar gaps? It is one thing to approach a firm with an invitation; it is another to publicly name that firm as a member before anything is signed. In a market where users rely on alliance lists to gauge legitimacy, that difference is not trivial.
The Path Forward for OUSD and Look-Alike Alliances
What remains unknown is whether Open Standard will revise the list, issue a public clarification, or face pressure from the companies that now say they were misrepresented. The listed firms have not announced any legal steps, but the reputational cost for them is clear: association with a stablecoin project that cannot keep its partnership claims straight creates an unnecessary distraction. For OUSD, the immediate challenge is to demonstrate that its core partnership base is real and that the public messaging will be cleaned up.
Market participants watching this unfold are likely to treat similar alliance announcements with more skepticism going forward. The longer-term lesson is that the race to assemble stablecoin consortiums cannot outpace the basic work of securing agreements. Without that, what looks like a broad industry coalition on paper may turn out to be little more than a collection of unanswered emails.

Crypto prices rarely move in a straight line, and this week is no exception. Some assets climb on fresh announcements, others ride short bursts of trading volume, and a few see both happen together. That mix is exactly what’s playing out right now among the top crypto gainers today, a list currently featuring BlockDAG, Solana, Audiera, and TAC Protocol.
Each one is drawing attention for its own reasons, shaped by different corners of the market moving at the same time. None of this happens in isolation, since broader sentiment still decides how far any single move can travel before it cools off. The sections below take a closer look at what’s behind each of these four coins.
1. BlockDAG Gains Attention With Launch of BDAG AI Model
Discussions around the top crypto gainers today often extend beyond daily price performance to include projects introducing significant ecosystem upgrades. BlockDAG is drawing attention through a series of announcements that combine technical development, product expansion, and promotional incentives within a relatively short period.
The recent launch of BDAG AI marks the project’s latest ecosystem milestone and was accompanied by an announced $500 million increase in valuation. At the infrastructure level, BlockDAG currently processes 5,500 transactions per second using its DAG-based architecture, which enables multiple transaction chains to operate simultaneously. A planned network upgrade over the coming days is expected to increase throughput to 7,000 TPS, further enhancing scalability.
Looking ahead, the project has also scheduled the release of its Futures & Spot Exchange and companion application in approximately two weeks. This upcoming platform is intended to broaden ecosystem utility while giving users additional ways to engage with the network.
Running alongside these developments is the World Cup Bonus campaign. Buyers can purchase BDAG at the advertised price of $0.00000066 and receive 100% extra BDAG through the promotion. The campaign also highlights direct coin delivery and participation in the announced $0.03 buyback program.
With AI integration, higher transaction speeds, an upcoming exchange launch, and promotional incentives arriving together, BlockDAG (BDAG) is building momentum across multiple areas. These ongoing developments explain why it is increasingly appearing in conversations surrounding the top crypto gainers today and projects attracting broader market attention.
2. Solana: A Leading Large-Cap Layer One Blockchain
Solana operates as a high-performance Layer 1 blockchain processing thousands of transactions per second with sub-second finality. It serves as the native ecosystem for various DeFi protocols, stablecoins, and AI tokens, boosted by a live staked spot ETF in the US.
Currently, SOL trades around $65–$75, benefiting from structural institutional inflows that elevate its market presence. Whenever risk-on rotation returns to altcoins following Bitcoin consolidation, SOL consistently emerges among the first large-caps to move, showcasing one of the cleanest technical setups available.
This makes it an ideal option for traders seeking meaningful percentage moves with deep liquidity. Consequently, SOL frequently positions itself among the top crypto gainers today for investors targeting balanced, large-cap risk-reward profiles.
3. Audiera: Web3 Music Gaming Driven By AI
Audiera is an innovative BNB Chain platform pioneering an “agent-native participation economy” where humans and autonomous AI agents interact equally within a Web3 music and rhythm gaming ecosystem. Driven by the BEAT token, users and AI agents create music, fight rhythm battles, and trade unique NFT assets.
After surging 1,500% in June 2026 to an all-time high above $11, BEAT consolidated within the $2–$4 range. An aggressive token burn mechanism linked to platform activity fuels organic demand, while a World Cup campaign alongside FanForce acts as a major near-term catalyst. It represents a prime target for high-risk momentum traders handling heavy volatility, routinely flashing on lists featuring the top crypto gainers today.
4. TAC Protocol: EVM Compatibility For Telegram Users
TAC Protocol stands as the first EVM-compatible blockchain purpose-built for the TON ecosystem and Telegram, enabling Ethereum DeFi applications to run natively without separate wallets.
Notably, it powered the infrastructure behind Telegram Wallet’s Yield Vaults in early 2026, opening decentralized finance access to millions of active users. The asset spiked 30%+ in late June 2026, pushing its market cap to roughly $110 million as pre-deployed protocols like Curve went live.
When Telegram-related news hits, TAC moves rapidly, presenting clean technical setups for agile swing traders. Capturing massive volume injections during ecosystem expansions, this asset frequently captures market attention, cementing its position among the highly watched top crypto gainers today.
Conclusion
Markets rarely hand out matching stories, and this week each coin wrote its own chapter instead of copying a trend. Solana kept leaning on institutional flow, Audiera stayed volatile on community energy, and TAC Protocol moved with Telegram-driven news.
BlockDAG, though, carried more weight, launching BDAG AI, lifting throughput toward 7,000 TPS, and confirming its Futures & Spot Exchange within two weeks. Priced at $0.00000066 during the World Cup Bonus, buyers currently receive 100% extra BDAG plus access to the $0.03 buyback, pointing to real ROI potential. For anyone tracking BlockDAG price movement, this presale window stands out clearly.
This article is not intended as financial advice. Educational purposes only.

The cryptocurrency market is entering a mature phase of development, characterized by steady structural enhancements and increasing institutional alignment. Instead of relying solely on short-term price momentum, participants are analyzing the core architecture and real-world utility that various networks provide to the global economic system.
Evaluating these technological milestones helps identify the best crypto to buy among prominent networks like BlockDAG, VeChain, Stellar, and XRP, each offering distinct solutions for scalability, supply chains, and international finance.
This steady foundational progress indicates a healthy, expanding digital asset ecosystem where long-term value creation takes priority over temporary market noise. Dive into the detailed analysis of these four distinct platforms to understand how their latest upgrades are defining the future of decentralized technology.
1. BlockDAG Bonus Offer Climbs to 100% Extra BDAG
Choosing the best crypto to buy often involves looking beyond price movements and focusing on projects that continue delivering measurable milestones. BlockDAG has recently introduced several developments that are designed to strengthen both its technology and ecosystem. Following the launch of BDAG AI, the project announced a $500 million increase in valuation while continuing to expand its blockchain infrastructure.
One of the most notable technical updates is the planned network upgrade from 5,500 TPS to 7,000 transactions per second. Powered by its DAG-based architecture, BlockDAG can process multiple transaction paths simultaneously, supporting greater scalability as ecosystem activity grows.
The project is also building toward another major release with its upcoming Futures & Spot Exchange and accompanying application, currently scheduled to launch in roughly two weeks. This addition aims to provide users with expanded trading functionality while increasing accessibility across the broader ecosystem.
Meanwhile, the active World Cup Bonus campaign offers buyers 100% extra BDAG when purchasing at the advertised price of $0.00000066. Participants are also promised direct coin delivery along with access to the announced $0.03 buyback initiative, adding further attention to the promotion.
Rather than highlighting a single announcement, BlockDAG is presenting several ecosystem upgrades at once, including AI integration, higher transaction capacity, exchange development, and promotional incentives. For those researching the best crypto to buy, this combination of expanding infrastructure, new products, and ongoing ecosystem growth places BlockDAG (BDAG) among the projects attracting increased attention.
2. VeChain (VET): Enterprise Blockchain for Supply Chain Tracking
VeChain stands out as a top layer-1 blockchain utilized by global enterprise giants. By employing a dual-token system, VET for transferring value and VTHO for gas, the platform tracks and authenticates physical goods across complex international supply chains. Its Renaissance roadmap introduced EVM compatibility and a delegated proof-of-stake model, delivering high throughput with minimal energy use.
Despite securing massive partnerships with Walmart China, BMW, and DNV GL, the token trades 98% below its peak. VeChain continues shipping its roadmap, introducing advanced AI-agent integrations through VeBetterDAO. Because it delivers measurable enterprise utility rather than speculative hype, many investors consider VET the best crypto to buy for long-term industrial adoption.
3. Stellar (XLM): Cross-Border Payments & Tokenized Asset Network
Stellar is a payments-focused blockchain network designed to facilitate rapid, low-cost cross-border value transfers. Co-founded by Jed McCaleb and championed by the Stellar Development Foundation, the platform features a built-in decentralized exchange. This allows diverse assets like fiat, gold, and tokens to trade on a single ledger.
XLM maintains a strong ecosystem as Circle expanded native USDC liquidity, while MoneyGram and Franklin Templeton continue expanding integrations. Furthermore, a BaFin-authorized euro stablecoin runs natively on the network.
An upcoming protocol upgrade introduces zero-knowledge proof capabilities, offering major corporations institutional privacy paired with regulatory compliance. This bridging of traditional banking makes XLM a premier candidate for the best crypto to buy.
4. XRP: Fast Global Payments and Institutional Settlement Network
The XRP Ledger is celebrated for delivering nearly instantaneous, low-cost global financial settlements, offering an edge over archaic traditional banking rails. Following exhaustive courtroom battles, Ripple and the SEC reached a conclusive final settlement.
The case concluded with absolute legal confirmation that XRP sold on secondary retail markets does not constitute a security, opening the floodgates for mainstream institutional adoption. The newfound regulatory clarity paved the way for spot XRP ETF launches, attracting over a billion dollars in net inflows.
With institutional custody expanding, legal friction eliminated, and potential integration into strategic digital asset reserves, XRP represents a uniquely de-risked asset class, making it widely regarded as the best crypto to buy for banking.
Conclusion
As blockchain architecture orchestrates a quiet revolution across global economic systems, selecting the ideal digital asset requires a thorough evaluation of project milestones. While VeChain, Stellar, and XRP strengthen enterprise supply chains and cross-border bank settlements, BlockDAG establishes itself as the best crypto to buy through rapid ecosystem evolution.
The project integrated advanced AI, engineered a network upgrade to 7,000 TPS, and scheduled its Futures & Spot Exchange launch. Furthermore, its World Cup Bonus offers a 100% match at the current $0.00000066 price, positioning participants for the projected $0.03 buyback initiative to deliver an exceptional long-term ROI and financial growth.
This article is not intended as financial advice. Educational purposes only.

In crypto, you are your own bank, and that cuts both ways. There is no fraud department to call, no chargeback, and no password reset if your coins are stolen. The good news: the vast majority of crypto losses come from a handful of preventable mistakes, not sophisticated hacks. This guide covers how to store crypto safely, the scams actually draining wallets right now, and a practical checklist you can apply today.
The one rule everything else follows from
Crypto security comes down to a single fact: whoever controls the private keys controls the coins. Your wallet does not “hold” crypto; it holds the keys that control it on the blockchain. Protect the keys, and you are protected. Expose them, and nothing else matters.
That is also the meaning of the most repeated phrase in crypto: “not your keys, not your coins.” Coins left on an exchange are controlled by the exchange’s keys, not yours. History, from Mt. Gox to FTX, shows why that distinction matters.
Hot wallets vs cold wallets: where should your crypto live?
The core storage decision is between convenience and security, and the right answer for most people is both, in layers.
A hot wallet is connected to the internet: a mobile or browser wallet like the ones used for DeFi and daily transactions. It is convenient and fine for small, active amounts, but its internet connection makes it the most exposed to malware and phishing.
A cold wallet keeps keys offline, most commonly a hardware wallet, a small physical device that signs transactions without exposing keys to the internet. For meaningful long-term holdings, a hardware wallet from a reputable manufacturer, bought new and directly from the maker, is the standard recommendation.
An exchange account is technically custody, not a wallet: the platform holds the keys. Reputable exchanges are reasonable for buying and active trading, but concentration of large, long-term holdings on any exchange carries counterparty risk you cannot control.
The sensible structure for most holders: an exchange for buying, a hot wallet with small amounts for activity, and a cold wallet for savings, the same way you carry some cash but keep savings in a safer place.
Seed phrase rules: the part people get wrong
Your seed phrase, the 12 to 24 words backing up your wallet, is the master key to everything. Most catastrophic losses trace back to mishandling it, so the rules are strict and worth following literally.
Write it on paper or stamp it in metal, and store it offline in a secure place. Never photograph it, never type it into a computer or phone, never store it in cloud notes, email, or a password manager’s synced vault, because anything digital can be exfiltrated by malware. Never share it with anyone, for any reason: no legitimate wallet, exchange, or support agent will ever ask for your seed phrase, and every request for it is a scam by definition. Consider a second copy in a separate secure location, because fire and loss are also risks. And if a phrase is ever exposed, move the funds to a fresh wallet immediately.
The scams actually draining wallets in 2026
Sophisticated exchange hacks make headlines, but everyday losses come from social engineering. These are the patterns to recognize.
Phishing remains the king: fake versions of wallet sites, exchanges, and dApps that capture your login or seed phrase. Always type URLs directly or use bookmarks, and treat links from search ads, DMs, and emails as hostile until proven otherwise.
Fake support is phishing’s twin: scammers posing as wallet or exchange staff in social media replies and DMs, “helping” you recover an issue by asking for your seed phrase. Real support never DMs first and never asks for keys.
Approval drains target DeFi users: a malicious site gets you to sign a token approval that lets it empty your wallet later. Sign only on sites you trust, read what you are approving, and periodically revoke old token approvals with a reputable revocation tool.
Address poisoning exploits copy-paste habits: scammers send dust transactions from addresses that visually resemble yours so you copy the wrong one from history. Always verify the full address, or at minimum the first and last several characters, before sending.
Giveaway and impersonation scams promise doubled coins from fake celebrity or exchange accounts. Nobody legitimate doubles your crypto. Ever.
Pig-butchering is the long con: a stranger builds rapport over weeks, then introduces a fraudulent investment platform showing fake profits until you try to withdraw. Any investment opportunity arriving through an unsolicited relationship is the scam itself.
Account hygiene: the unglamorous layer that works
Beyond wallets and scams, basic hygiene closes most remaining doors. Use a unique, strong password per exchange, with two-factor authentication from an authenticator app or hardware security key, never SMS, since SIM-swap attacks specifically target crypto holders. Add a withdrawal allowlist and anti-phishing code where your exchange offers them. Keep your devices updated, avoid installing random browser extensions (a major drainer vector), and never manage significant funds on public Wi-Fi. And practice discretion: publicly advertising your holdings makes you a target for everything above, including, in rare cases, physical threats.
A practical checklist
Sending crypto: verify the address character by character, send a small test amount first for large transfers, and remember transactions cannot be reversed. Storing crypto: hardware wallet for savings, hot wallet for pocket money, seed phrases offline on paper or metal, never digital. Interacting: bookmark your sites, distrust DMs and ads, read every signature request, revoke stale approvals. Accounts: unique passwords, app-based 2FA, withdrawal allowlists. Mindset: if something is urgent, too good to be true, or asks for your seed phrase, it is a scam.
Bottom line
Storing crypto safely is not about paranoia or technical genius; it is about a few habits applied consistently. Control your own keys for meaningful holdings, keep your seed phrase offline and secret, layer hot and cold storage by amount, harden your accounts with real 2FA, and treat every unsolicited message, link, and “opportunity” as hostile by default. The overwhelming majority of crypto theft exploits human shortcuts, not blockchain flaws, which means the overwhelming majority of it is preventable. Set it up once, and your future self will thank you.
FAQ
What is the safest way to store crypto? For meaningful long-term holdings, a hardware (cold) wallet bought new from a reputable manufacturer, with the seed phrase stored offline on paper or metal. Use a hot wallet only for small active amounts and exchanges mainly for buying and trading.
Should I keep crypto on an exchange? Exchanges are reasonable for buying and active trading, but they hold the keys to your coins, creating counterparty risk, as failures like FTX showed. The standard advice is “not your keys, not your coins”: move significant long-term holdings to self-custody.
How should I store my seed phrase? Write it on paper or stamp it in metal and keep it offline in a secure location, ideally with a backup copy elsewhere. Never photograph it, store it digitally, or share it. No legitimate service will ever ask for your seed phrase.
What are the most common crypto scams? Phishing sites, fake support agents asking for seed phrases, malicious token approvals that drain DeFi wallets, address poisoning, fake giveaways promising to double your coins, and long-con “pig-butchering” investment scams. Nearly all rely on social engineering rather than hacking.
Is SMS two-factor authentication safe for crypto? No. SIM-swap attacks specifically target crypto holders to intercept SMS codes. Use an authenticator app or a hardware security key for exchange accounts, and enable withdrawal allowlists where available.
Can stolen crypto be recovered? Almost never. Blockchain transactions are irreversible, and there is no fraud department to reverse them. That is why prevention, key control, seed phrase discipline, and scam awareness, is the entire game. Be wary of “recovery services,” which are usually a second scam.
This is not investment advice. Cryptocurrency is highly volatile and self-custody carries its own responsibilities. Always do your own research.

AI has produced one of the biggest wealth events in history, and most people who built that value never got a share of it. OpenAI moved from a research lab to an $852 billion valuation, and Anthropic crossed $965 billion. Elon Musk merged xAI, the company behind Grok, into SpaceX in February 2026, creating a combined entity valued at $1.25 trillion, with SpaceX now targeting a Nasdaq debut that could raise over $75 billion.
None of that growth reached the users who wrote the prompts and paid the subscriptions. Stargate was built to change that setup, giving its community a real ownership stake instead of just another monthly subscription bill.
The Chip Makers Cashed In Too
This story is not limited to the AI labs themselves. Nvidia turned a $1,000 investment into roughly $12,000 in five years, a gain of about 1,300%, as the company supplying the chips behind the AI buildout. Broadcom is up around 840% on accelerator revenue. AMD is up around 289% over the same period. The semiconductor industry as a whole has more than quadrupled in market cap since 2023, moving from $2.2 trillion to $9.4 trillion. Every one of these numbers points to the same outcome.
AI did not just create value, it created fortunes, and almost none of them were genuinely shared with the public that made the growth possible in the first place. The people running prompts, testing tools, and paying monthly fees were the fuel behind these numbers, yet they were never once given a real way to hold a piece of the outcome they helped build together.
This Buildout Is Still Early
None of this activity looks like it is close to finished. Global AI spending crossed $1.5 trillion in 2025, and infrastructure spending alone is projected to reach $3 to $4 trillion a year by 2030. Nvidia leadership has pointed to more than $1 trillion in forward demand visibility running through 2027, meaning orders are already booked years ahead of delivery. These are not projections built on hope.
They come from data centers already under construction, chip orders already placed, and government and corporate budgets already approved. The numbers suggest this buildout is still in its early stages rather than nearing a top. If spending scales the way these figures suggest, the next few years of AI growth could be larger than everything that has happened since ChatGPT launched. That timing matters, because it means the biggest opportunity to take part in this cycle may still be ahead rather than behind.
What Stargate Actually Built
Stargate was built around one idea: the platforms people already use should not be the only ones closed to them. It runs its own large language model, trained and operated by Stargate, rather than a version of an existing open-source model with new branding. It is also built to be private and crypto-first from the start, which means:
Wallet-based login instead of an identity-linked account
No query logging tied to a personal profile
Crypto-only payments with no bank account or credit card required
Access is designed for the roughly 560 million people who hold cryptocurrency worldwide
This approach targets users that mainstream AI platforms have largely ignored. Most major tools still require an email, a phone number, and a linked payment method before a person can even start a conversation. Stargate removes that requirement, giving people a private way to use AI tools without tying their identity to every question they ask.
A Real Stake for the Community
The part that separates Stargate from every other AI platform is ownership. Stargate is built so its community can hold a real stake in the platform rather than just paying into someone else’s valuation every month. Holders can participate through staking and earn rewards tied to platform usage as the service grows, a structure ChatGPT and Claude have never offered their users and are not built to offer, since neither one has a token or a public ownership layer attached to daily use.
That difference is the whole point. The billions in value captured by Nvidia, Broadcom, AMD, and the AI labs went to people who were positioned before the public had any access. Stargate takes that upside and opens it to anyone with a wallet from day one, instead of reserving it for a small group of early insiders the way every major AI company before it has done.
The Gap Stargate Is Closing
The past three years showed what happens when an entire industry grows without letting its users take part in the outcome. OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia, Broadcom, and AMD all built value, and almost none of it reached the people who used their products every day. Global AI spending is still rising, and most forecasts point to a bigger buildout ahead rather than a smaller one. Stargate was designed with that gap in mind, giving its community wallet-based access, real privacy, and a stake in the platform through staking and usage rewards, a different model where the people using an AI platform are also the ones who genuinely benefit as it grows.
This article is not intended as financial advice. Educational purposes only.

Millions of people pay for AI every month through ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity, and that money flows in one direction. The platforms grow, and the people using them own none of that growth. Stargate LLM was built to change that equation, and its presale just opened Batch 1 at $0.0005 per token.
That same question, who actually shares in the value a platform creates, applies just as much inside crypto as it does in mainstream AI. NEAR Protocol and Internet Computer are two of the strongest AI-adjacent blockchains on the market today, each with real technology and real usage behind them, NEAR trading near $1.88, and ICP holding near $2.14.
Stargate LLM: Built So Users Earn, Not Just the Team
Every major AI platform runs on the same basic model: users pay, the company grows, and the upside stays with the people who built it. Stargate LLM flips that structure from the ground up. Half of its entire 150 billion token supply, 75 billion tokens, is set aside specifically as Proof of Usage rewards, meaning the people using its chat, image, video, and private search tools are the ones the system is designed to pay first.
Vault staking, referral rewards, and usage-based rewards sit at the center of how the token works, not as extras layered on later. Stake STARGATE in the Vault and earn rewards tied to platform revenue. Refer active users and earn ongoing rewards as they stay engaged. Use the platform itself, and rewards flow back automatically. Using Stargate LLM and earning from it become the same action, which is a meaningfully different relationship than the one most people have with the AI tools they already pay for.
This is a platform built with real ambition behind it, spanning chat, image generation, video generation, private search, and its own agent marketplace. This can become the next ChatGPT. The difference is what happens after you sign up. ChatGPT doesn’t offer its users any ownership in the company behind it, no matter how long they’ve paid for it or how much they’ve used it. Stargate LLM does. Holding STARGATE gives users an actual stake in the platform’s growth, not just access to it, through Proof of Usage rewards, Vault staking, and revenue sharing voted on by the community that holds the token.
Batch 1 is open now at $0.0005 per token, the lowest point across the entire 9-batch presale, sitting well below both the batches that follow and the eventual $0.025 launch price. As more people join and use the platform, the reward pool built specifically for them grows right alongside it, since it draws directly from the 50% of total supply reserved for usage-based rewards. That’s the kind of setup people are searching for when they look for an AI crypto with 500x potential, a token designed from day one to share what it earns with the people actually using it, not just the people who bought in early and walked away.
NEAR Protocol: Infrastructure Built for an AI-Driven Future
NEAR has spent 2026 rolling out dynamic resharding, an upgrade that lets the network automatically scale itself as demand grows, without needing a manual protocol vote every time. It’s exactly the kind of groundwork that AI-driven, agent-heavy blockchains will need as usage increases.
NEAR Price Change | Source: changelly.com
The token has moved through an active stretch recently, currently trading near $1.88 after a pullback over the past week.NEAR Protocol has fallen by almost 16.09% in the last 7 days. NEAR remains one of the more credible AI-focused Layer 1 networks by developer activity, and its price today reflects a project that’s already been through a full market cycle.
Internet Computer: Positioning Itself as an Alternative to the Cloud Giants
Internet Computer’s pitch is straightforward: build a blockchain that can host full applications on-chain, at a fraction of the cost of traditional cloud providers. The network leads most blockchains in monthly transaction volume and has been expanding its tools for AI-driven applications.
A mid-June rally tied to renewed interest in decentralized AI gave the token a lift before it settled back near current levels. It’s a technically ambitious project with real usage, and like most established tokens, its price today reflects years of market cycles already priced in.
The Bottom Line
NEAR and Internet Computer are both genuine, working pieces of AI infrastructure, and holding either one means owning a stake in real blockchain technology. Stargate LLM takes a different approach to the same broader trend: instead of asking users to simply hold a token and wait, it’s built so that using the platform and earning from it are part of the same action, starting at Batch 1 pricing before the presale moves to its next stage. Different paths, same growing market, and each one is worth understanding for what it actually offers.
This article is not intended as financial advice. Educational purposes only.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | 30 June 2026: VAP Group announced the launch of VAP Ventures, its dedicated investment arm, marking a significant milestone in the company’s evolution from building global platforms for innovation to directly supporting the founders shaping the future of technology.
The announcement was made at the Global AI Show, Global Games Show, and Global Blockchain Show Riyadh 2026, from 29-30 June, where thousands of global industry leaders, innovators, investors and decision-makers have gathered to explore the technologies defining the next decade. The introduction of VAP Ventures represents one of the flagship announcements of this year’s Riyadh editions.
For years, VAP Group’s global stages have brought together founders, enterprises, governments and investors across AI, Web3, blockchain, gaming and emerging technologies. Through VAP Ventures, the company is taking the next step moving beyond creating opportunities for conversations to building the next generation of high-impact startups..
Over the next five years, VAP Ventures will back 100 startups by 2030 building across AI, Web3 & Blockchain, and Digital Games. The initiative reflects VAP Group’s long-term commitment to strengthening the global innovation economy through an integrated ecosystem that combines investment with market access and strategic growth support. Unlike traditional investment models, VAP Ventures is designed to provide more than funding. Each selected startup will receive a blended support with direct capital alongside access to VAP Group’s media ecosystem, marketing capabilities, talent network and globally recognised event platforms. The objective is to help founders move from early-stage ideas to scalable businesses with the resources needed beyond investment alone.
VAP Ventures will focus on technologies shaping the future of the digital economy, including enterprise AI, Web3 infrastructure, blockchain innovation and next-generation gaming ecosystems. The initiative is strategically aligned with the Kingdom’s vision of fostering innovation, entrepreneurship and knowledge-based industries while supporting globally ambitious founders.
Key Highlights
100 startups to be backed by 2030
Launching from Riyadh, KSA
Focus sectors: Artificial Intelligence, Web3 & Blockchain, and Digital Games
Support extending beyond capital to include media, marketing, talent and global stage access
“We gave founders a stage for years. Now we’re backing them. VAP Ventures will invest in more than 100 startups across AI, Web3, and gaming over five years in capital, media, talent, and reach, all under one roof. This is visibility turning into vital support” Vishal Parmar, Founder & CEO, VAP Group.
The launch of VAP Ventures reinforces VAP Group’s broader mission to strengthen the global innovation economy by bringing together capital, media, talent and international platforms under one roof. By expanding from convening innovators to backing them, the company aims to create lasting impact across the startup ecosystem while enabling the next generation of technology companies to grow from the region onto the global stage.
Startups interested in applying to VAP Ventures will be able to submit their details through the dedicated application platform, including company information and pitch materials, as the initiative begins building its inaugural cohort.
About VAP Group
With 13+ years of expertise, VAP Group is a premier global consulting and media powerhouse driving the next wave of technology-led growth.
Through its media ecosystem and flagship events, including the Global AI Show, Global Games Show, and Global Blockchain Show, VAP Group connects policymakers, enterprises, and innovators worldwide, enabling strategic communications, ecosystem-building, and talent solutions.
For more information: https://www.vapgroup.co/vap-ventures/
Media Enquiries:
media@vapgroup.com
This article is not intended as financial advice. Educational purposes only.

Crypto has its own language, and it can feel like a wall when you are starting out. What does HODL mean? What is a gas fee? Why is everyone talking about whales? This glossary explains more than 60 essential crypto terms and slang expressions in plain English, organized by category so you can actually learn them, not just look them up. Bookmark it, because the jargon is not going anywhere.
The absolute basics
Cryptocurrency. Digital money secured by cryptography and recorded on a blockchain, operating without a central bank. Bitcoin was the first.
Blockchain. A shared digital ledger that records transactions in linked “blocks,” maintained by a network of computers rather than one company. Once recorded, entries are extremely hard to alter.
Bitcoin (BTC). The first and largest cryptocurrency, created in 2009 by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, with a fixed supply of 21 million coins.
Altcoin. Any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin, from Ethereum down to the smallest tokens.
Token vs coin. A coin runs on its own blockchain (Bitcoin, Ethereum); a token is built on top of another blockchain (most DeFi and meme tokens live on networks like Ethereum or Solana).
Wallet. Software or a physical device that stores the keys controlling your crypto. The crypto itself lives on the blockchain; the wallet holds your access to it.
Private key. The secret code that controls your crypto. Whoever holds it controls the funds, which is why you never share it.
Seed phrase. A list of 12 to 24 words that backs up your wallet. Anyone with your seed phrase can take everything, and no legitimate service will ever ask for it.
Exchange. A platform for buying, selling, and trading crypto. Centralized exchanges (CEX) are run by companies; decentralized exchanges (DEX) run on smart contracts.
Fiat. Government-issued currency like dollars or euros, the “normal money” crypto is traded against.
Market and trading terms
Market cap. A coin’s price multiplied by its circulating supply, the standard measure of a cryptocurrency’s size.
Volume. The total value traded over a period, usually 24 hours. High volume means an active, liquid market.
Liquidity. How easily an asset can be bought or sold without moving its price. Low liquidity means wild swings.
Bull market. A sustained period of rising prices and optimism. A “bull” is someone who expects prices to rise.
Bear market. A sustained period of falling prices and pessimism, typically a drop of 20% or more from highs. A “bear” expects prices to fall.
All-time high (ATH). The highest price an asset has ever reached. Its opposite is the all-time low (ATL).
Correction. A price decline, usually of 10% or more, within a broader trend.
Volatility. How dramatically a price moves. Crypto is famously volatile in both directions.
Support and resistance. Price levels where an asset historically stops falling (support) or stops rising (resistance), the backbone of technical analysis.
Leverage. Borrowed money used to amplify a trade. It multiplies gains and losses alike, and is the fuel behind most liquidation cascades.
Liquidation. The forced closure of a leveraged position when the market moves against it, one of the main accelerants of crypto crashes.
Limit order / market order. A limit order buys or sells at a price you set; a market order executes immediately at the current price.
Dollar-cost averaging (DCA). Investing a fixed amount at regular intervals regardless of price, a strategy to reduce timing risk.
Bitcoin dominance. Bitcoin’s share of the total crypto market cap. Rising dominance usually means capital hiding in the safest asset; falling dominance often accompanies altcoin rallies.
Altseason. A period when altcoins broadly outperform Bitcoin, typically after Bitcoin dominance peaks.
ETF. An exchange-traded fund. Spot crypto ETFs let investors gain exposure to coins like Bitcoin through a regular brokerage account.
Culture and slang
HODL. Holding your crypto through volatility rather than selling. Born from a famous 2013 forum typo of “hold,” now backronymed to “hold on for dear life.”
FOMO. Fear of missing out, the urge to buy because prices are rising and everyone seems to be profiting. A leading cause of buying tops.
FUD. Fear, uncertainty, and doubt, used to describe negative news or rumors, sometimes legitimate, sometimes spread to push prices down.
DYOR. “Do your own research,” the standard disclaimer and genuinely good advice.
Whale. A holder large enough to move markets with a single trade. Whale wallets are tracked obsessively for signals.
Diamond hands. Holding through extreme volatility without selling. The opposite, selling quickly under pressure, is paper hands.
To the moon / mooning. A price rising dramatically. A “moonshot” is a bet on a huge rally.
Rekt. Slang for suffering catastrophic losses, usually from leverage.
Bagholder. Someone left holding a coin after its price has collapsed.
Pump and dump. A scheme where promoters inflate a coin’s price (“pump”) and sell into the hype (“dump”), leaving buyers with losses. Illegal in regulated markets, common in unregulated corners of crypto.
Rug pull. A scam where developers abandon a project and drain its funds, “pulling the rug” from under investors.
Shill. To promote a coin, often with an undisclosed financial interest.
Paper gains. Unrealized profits that exist only until you sell, as many discovered in every bear market.
NGMI / WAGMI. “Not gonna make it” and “we’re all gonna make it,” the pessimist and optimist chants of crypto social media.
Technology and DeFi terms
Mining. Validating transactions on proof-of-work blockchains like Bitcoin using computing power, rewarded with new coins.
Proof of Work (PoW). A consensus system where miners compete with computing power to secure the network. Bitcoin uses it.
Proof of Stake (PoS). A consensus system where validators lock up coins as collateral to secure the network. Ethereum and Solana use it.
Staking. Locking up crypto to help secure a proof-of-stake network and earning rewards in return, typically a few percent annually.
Validator. A participant in a proof-of-stake network that confirms transactions, analogous to a miner in proof of work.
Smart contract. A program on a blockchain that executes automatically when conditions are met, the building block of DeFi and NFTs.
DeFi. Decentralized finance: lending, borrowing, and trading services built from smart contracts instead of banks.
dApp. A decentralized application, an app built on a blockchain rather than company servers.
Gas fee. The fee paid to execute a transaction on a blockchain, most associated with Ethereum. Fees rise when the network is busy.
Layer 1 / Layer 2. A Layer 1 is a base blockchain (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana); a Layer 2 is a network built on top of one to make transactions faster and cheaper.
Stablecoin. A cryptocurrency pegged to a stable asset, usually the US dollar, used for trading and payments without volatility.
NFT. A non-fungible token, a unique blockchain asset representing ownership of a specific item like digital art.
DAO. A decentralized autonomous organization, a group governed by token-holder votes and smart contracts rather than executives.
Airdrop. Free tokens distributed to users, often to reward early adopters or promote a new project.
Fork. A change to a blockchain’s rules. A hard fork can split a chain into two, as when Bitcoin Cash split from Bitcoin.
Halving. Bitcoin’s programmed event, roughly every four years, that cuts the reward for mining new blocks in half, historically a major cycle driver.
Cold wallet / hot wallet. A cold wallet stores keys offline (like a hardware device) for maximum security; a hot wallet is connected to the internet for convenience.
Self-custody. Holding your own keys rather than leaving coins on an exchange, summarized by the mantra “not your keys, not your coins.”
KYC. “Know your customer,” the identity verification regulated exchanges require.
On-chain. Activity recorded directly on a blockchain, and by extension the analysis of that data (“on-chain analytics”).
Tokenomics. The economics of a token: its supply, issuance, burns, and incentives. Bad tokenomics sink good ideas.
Burn. Permanently removing tokens from circulation to reduce supply, as BNB does quarterly.
Memecoin. A cryptocurrency born from a joke or meme, like Dogecoin, driven by community and sentiment more than utility.
Fear and Greed Index. A popular sentiment gauge from 0 (extreme fear) to 100 (extreme greed), often read as a contrarian signal.
Bottom line
Crypto’s jargon exists for a reason: the industry invented genuinely new things, and the culture around it invented the rest. You do not need all 60 terms on day one. Start with the basics (wallet, private key, seed phrase, exchange), learn the market terms as you follow prices, and absorb the slang as you go. And whenever someone promises you a guaranteed moonshot, remember the two most important terms of all: DYOR, and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
FAQ
What does HODL mean in crypto? HODL means holding your cryptocurrency through volatility instead of selling. It originated from a misspelling of “hold” in a 2013 forum post and is now read as “hold on for dear life.”
What is FOMO and FUD in crypto? FOMO is the fear of missing out, the urge to buy because prices are rising. FUD is fear, uncertainty, and doubt, negative news or rumors that push prices down. Both describe emotion-driven market behavior.
What is a whale in crypto? A whale is a holder with enough cryptocurrency to move the market with a single trade. Traders track whale wallets closely because large movements can signal upcoming buying or selling pressure.
What is a gas fee? A gas fee is the payment required to execute a transaction on a blockchain, most commonly associated with Ethereum. Fees rise when the network is congested and fall when it is quiet.
What is the difference between a coin and a token? A coin runs on its own blockchain, like Bitcoin or Ethereum. A token is built on top of an existing blockchain, like most DeFi and meme tokens on Ethereum or Solana.
What crypto terms should a beginner learn first? Start with wallet, private key, seed phrase, exchange, and market cap, the terms that protect your money and help you read the market. Then add staking, gas fees, and stablecoins as you explore further.
This is not investment advice. Cryptocurrency is highly volatile. Always do your own research and never invest more than you can afford to lose.

Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – The Global AI Show Riyadh held from 29-30th June,2026 cementing its status as the definitive anchor for the Kingdom’s newly designated “Year of Artificial Intelligence.”
Defying the challenges of the prevailing geopolitical landscape, organized by VAP Group and powered by Times Of AI, the event emerged as a resounding success. Co-located with Global Blockchain Show Riyadh and Global Games Show Riyadh, the two-day summit attracted 15,000+ registrations, welcomed 6,723 attendees, featured 100+ global speakers and 100 exhibitors, and convened a 70% CXO-level delegation from 80+ countries. The unprecedented international participation reinforced Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s growing role as a global AI powerhouse while marking a decisive shift from experimental AI pilots to centralized, nation-scale AI deployment.
As a forward-looking platform, the Global AI Show served as an example of how to create an environment for collaboration, constructive dialogue, and ultimately action, connecting the newest technologies with large-scale, real-world applications across multiple sectors and government entities. The event also witnessed the announcement of VAP Group’s most ambitious initiative yet- The launch of VAP Ventures, a strategic initiative to back 100 startups by 2030 and accelerate the next chapter of the global innovation ecosystem.
The 2026 edition highlighted the “Human-AI Interaction” framework. Keynote tracks focused heavily on workforce planning, AI-driven recruitment, and upskilling programs designed to equip the next generation of Saudi talent with the tools required to steer autonomous digital agents.
A Worldwide Convergence of Thought Leaders and Visionaries
The Global AI Show welcomed attendees from all over the world, including AI enthusiasts, developers, and government officials. This diverse mix of attendees highlights that AI isn’t just a concept anymore; it’s being adopted across industries as a key component for optimizing workflows.
The first day of the Global AI Show witnessed an opening keynote by Dr. Mohammed Nasser Alshahrani, Executive Advisor to the Minister, Council of Economic and Development Affairs,Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on why data quality will define the winners of the AI era and how trustworthy, transparent AI systems can drive real-world impact.
Day 2 opened with the keynote speech by Nezar Al Turki, Chief Information Officer, Ministry of National Guard, outlining the shift from digital transformation to AI transformation and the leadership, governance, and workforce foundations required to scale AI-driven enterprises.
Actionable Insights Arise At The Global AI Show Riyadh
The two-day summit featured panel discussions, keynote speeches, informal discussions, and industry-relevant sessions. The discussions on the agenda included practical examples and opportunities for incorporating AI further into modern-day industries.
The summit explored the next frontier of artificial intelligence through discussions on agentic AI, sovereign AI infrastructure, enterprise AI transformation, responsible governance, AI-powered healthcare, financial services innovation, cybersecurity, workforce development, and the future of human-AI collaboration. Michael Lints, Founding Partner MENA, Golden Gate Ventures remarked, “The AI era is reshaping venture capital. Today’s founders need more than funding, they need access to infrastructure, strategic partnerships and global networks that help them move from breakthrough ideas to scalable businesses faster than ever before!”
The sessions also examined scalable AI deployment, investment opportunities, digital public infrastructure, intelligent automation, and the role of AI in accelerating Saudi Vision 2030 while strengthening cross-border innovation and economic collaboration
Few Notable Speakers Included:
Dr. Ibraheem Sheerah – Chief Transformation Officer, Digital Transformation & Technology, Saudi Arabian Airlines Holding (Saudia Group)
Eng. Layla AlSalehi – Director General, Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Paul Pacifico – Chief Executive Officer, Saudi Music Commission, Ministry of Culture
Nate Busa – Executive Director, AI & Emerging Technologies, NEOM
Amal Dokhan – Managing Partner, 500 Global MENA
Kalyana Sivagnanam – Group Chief Executive Officer, Petromin Corporation
Ayman Alhabib – Chief Data & AI Officer, D360 Bank
Abdulrahman Alonaizan – Head of Data & Artificial Intelligence, Arab National Bank (ANB)
Alyn Bailey – Chief Human Resources Officer, Albawani Holding
Abdulaziz Al-Ghufaili – AI & Digital Transformation Leader, Saudi Aramco
Abdullah Alshargi – AI & Innovation Executive, Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence (SDAIA)
Aamir Khalid Pirzada – Chief Technology Officer, Mozn
Dr. Mohamed Alhussein – Artificial Intelligence Advisor & Digital Transformation Leader
Global AI founders, policymakers, investors, researchers, and enterprise technology leaders representing 80+ countries, driving discussions on the future of agentic AI, enterprise transformation, and sovereign AI ecosystems.
Innovation and Exhibition Spotlight
The exhibition floor emerged as a vibrant hub of innovation, bringing together a diverse lineup of leading technology companies, AI pioneers, startups, and solution providers showcasing cutting-edge advancements shaping the future of artificial intelligence. From enterprise AI platforms and cybersecurity to HR technology, observability, autonomous systems, and intelligent infrastructure, exhibitors and sponsors demonstrated real-world solutions that fostered meaningful collaborations, sparked investment conversations, and accelerated technology adoption across industries.
Few Notable Exhibitors:
Zen HR
Netskope
Nournet
Magna AI
Sarj Digital Information Technology CO.
Edarat Group
NTT Data
Dynatrace
Scale AI
AQUIVIO Inc.
Takween
SAS
Thethinkthankx
ait
Emotii
OPM UAE
Fanruan Software
ManageEngine
Wakeb Data Company
Kamsora
Sigmix Inc.
Cloud Wave Telecommunications and Information Technology Company LLC
Spark.ai
Open
Sirma Group Holding
Wafra Greentech
AI Moves From Being An Afterthought To A Key Driver of Innovation
It’s not a surprise to see AI transforming how industries operate these days. From simply generating reports to optimizing workflows in critical areas like healthcare, the technology has made almost every aspect of work more efficient. The Global AI Show united innovators, regulators, and policymakers under one roof to ensure AI is scaled and incorporated into systems responsibly.
“What we’ve built with the Global AI Show goes far beyond a conference into a catalyst for global innovation. Seeing thousands of innovators, decision-makers, and entrepreneurs come together in Riyadh has been incredibly inspiring.Our vision has always been to create a platform where conversations lead to collaboration and collaboration leads to action. VAP Ventures is the natural next step in that journey, empowering founders who will shape the future of global innovation.” — Vishal Parmar, Founder & CEO, VAP Group
The momentum established at this summit will carry forward to the next Global AI Show set for Abu Dhabi on 12-13 November, 2026. This creates a perfect window for the discussions at Riyadh to materialize into something tangible and distribution-ready for the Abu Dhabi edition.
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About Global AI Show
The Global AI Show is the definitive international stage where the future of artificial intelligence is forged. Hosted by VAP Group, this premier AI summit and conference unites global CXOs, visionary policymakers, and tech pioneers to move beyond the hype and address the real-world impact of AI.
About VAP Group
With 13+ years of expertise, VAP Group is a premier global consulting and media powerhouse driving the next wave of technology-led growth.
Through its media ecosystem and flagship events, including the Global AI Show, Global Games Show, and Global Blockchain Show, VAP Group connects policymakers, enterprises, and innovators worldwide, enabling strategic communications, ecosystem-building, and talent solutions.
Media Enquiries: media@globalaishow.com
This article is not intended as financial advice. Educational purposes only.

Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – Riyadh cemented its status as the world’s most vibrant sandbox for interactive media as the Global Games Show Riyadh held from 29-30th June, concluded its highly anticipated two-day B2B run. Shifting focus away from traditional console lifecycles, the event leaned heavily into technological innovations that transformed the back end of game development, including cloud gaming, AR/VR, and automated AI game design. It also focused on an emerging gaming platform: mobile phones.
Defying the challenges of the prevailing geopolitical landscape, organized by VAP Group and powered by Times Of Games, the event emerged as a resounding success. Co-located with Global AI Show Riyadh and Global Blockchain Show Riyadh, the two-day summit attracted 15,000+ registrations, welcomed 6,723 attendees, featured 100+ global speakers and 100 exhibitors, and convened a 70% CXO-level delegation from 80+ countries. Bringing together game developers, publishers, Web3 gaming pioneers, esports leaders, investors, content creators, technology providers, and policymakers, the event showcased how gaming is rapidly evolving into a multi-billion-dollar global ecosystem at the intersection of artificial intelligence, blockchain, immersive technologies, digital ownership, and entertainment. The event also witnessed the announcement of VAP Group’s most ambitious initiative yet- The launch of VAP Ventures, a strategic initiative to back 100 startups by 2030 and accelerate the next chapter of the global innovation ecosystem.
The Global Intersection For Entertainment And Digital Entertainment
The Global Games Show opened with a keynote by Johnson Yeh, Founder & CEO of Ambrus Studio, who explored the future of immersive gaming, highlighting how emerging technologies are redefining player experiences beyond traditional screens.
Also, a keynote by Virginia Villar Arribas, Director of the Private Sector Partnerships Service at the UN World Food Programme, who demonstrated how gaming and play can drive social impact by advancing global awareness, education, and humanitarian initiatives.
The Global Games Show Riyadh attracted game studios, publishers, Web3 gaming, esports, investment, technology providers, and game communities from across the globe. The event highlighted the fact that the world of gaming and digital entertainment has evolved at an unprecedented rate. Mobile-centric ecosystems took the center stage, and the discussions at the event have established this new platform as a key economic engine.
In this context, Charity Joy, CEO, Mirai said, “The future of gaming will be defined by immersive experiences, meaningful communities and the incredible talent building them. What excites us most about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the ambition, creativity and passion of its young developers. They aren’t just participating in the future of gaming, they’re helping create it!”
Mobile gaming has also altered the competitive landscape, with discussions highlighting that expensive PCs and consoles aren’t a requirement to get into esports. Games like PUBG and Mobile Legends Bang Bang set the ball rolling, and other games are following suit all over the world.
Visionaries in Gaming Defined the Next Generation of Gaming
Over the course of the event, key visionaries and thought leaders discussed key aspects of gaming and esports. These themes and agendas included:
Few Notable Speakers Included:
Johnson Yeh – Founder & CEO, Ambrus Studio
Nayef BinHumaid – Chairman of the Board, Saudi Baseball and Softball Federation
Nadeem Bakhsh – Chief Executive Officer, webook.com
Virginia Villar Arribas – Director, Private Sector Partnerships Service, UN World Food Programme (WFP)
Hassan Yusuf – Head of Partnerships, Real Madrid Foundation – Education Football Program powered by Riyadh Schools
Kanessa Muluneh – Chief Executive Officer, Rise of Fearless
Yasmina Kazitani – President, Blockchain Game Alliance
Few Notable Exhibitors:
ClubMOS Technologies LLC
Cropr Digital Limited
Plotdex
JPYR
Arkonix
TorusChain Association
Smartflow
The Loopcraft
EGS
Setup Master the Art of Gaming
Venn Studio
Mobile Gaming and Digital Ownership At the Core of Digital Entertainment
As mobile gaming and digital ownership rapidly evolve, their combination is redefining how digital entertainment is perceived and consumed worldwide. The agenda featured deep dives into how decentralized architectures enable new avenues for player ownership, monetization, and community engagement, rewriting the traditional dynamic between developers and their audience. Furthermore, esports pioneers and gaming founders addressed the maturity of the mobile esports ecosystem across the MENA region, Asia, and LATAM, examining the next generation of tournament structures and revenue-generation models.
“The future of gaming belongs to those who can bring together technology, creativity, and community. Global Games Show is where those conversations begin, and we’re excited to see the ideas born in Riyadh evolve into the next generation of global gaming experiences.” – Vishal Parmar, Founder & CEO, VAP Group
Building the Future of Gaming By Addressing the Foundational Pillars of Gaming
The conclusion of Global Games Show Riyadh 2026 set the foundation for the evolution of interactive gaming and digital entertainment. The positive momentum generated by attendees, exhibitors, and speakers at this event will inform the decisions that will shape the discussions at the Global Games Show 2026 Abu Dhabi.
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About Global Games Show
The Global Games Show is the ultimate B2B gaming event for the next evolution of interactive entertainment. This elite event series is dedicated to uniting major industry titans, visionary developers, and investors to map out the future of gaming.
About VAP Group
With 13+ years of expertise, VAP Group is a premier global consulting and media powerhouse driving the next wave of technology-led growth.
Through its media ecosystem and flagship events, including the Global AI Show, Global Games Show, and Global Blockchain Show, VAP Group connects policymakers, enterprises, and innovators worldwide, enabling strategic communications, ecosystem-building, and talent solutions.
Media Enquiries: media@globalgamesshow.com
This article is not intended as financial advice. Educational purposes only.

Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — The Global Blockchain Show Riyadh held from 29-30th June,2026 successfully wrapped up its exclusive two-day B2B run, charting an evolutionary path where decentralized networks, AI, and immersive digital platforms converge. The summit heavily prioritized structural tech innovations altering the back end of Web3, including chain abstraction and the massive data infrastructure needed to support future-ready enterprise tech.
Defying the challenges of the prevailing geopolitical landscape, organized by VAP Group and powered by Times Of Blockchain, the event emerged as a resounding success. Co-located with Global AI Show Riyadh and Global Games Show Riyadh, the two-day summit attracted 15,000+ registrations, welcomed 6,723 attendees, featured 100+ global speakers and 100 exhibitors, and convened a 70% CXO-level delegation from 80+ countries. The event leveraged Riyadh’s fast-growing position as a technological sandbox to accelerate deals between early-stage Web3 creators, enterprise infrastructure providers, and global financial backers. The event also witnessed the announcement of VAP Group’s most ambitious initiative yet- The launch of VAP Ventures, a strategic initiative to back 100 startups by 2030 and accelerate the next chapter of the global innovation ecosystem.
Rewriting Global Investment with Enterprise Protocols
Main-stage sessions in Riyadh delivered an overwhelming consensus: the blockchain ecosystem has definitively decoupled from pure speculation, maturing into a friction-free, parallel economic layer. Discussions highlighted how scalable architecture and interoperable networks are modernizing global commerce, allowing enterprises to bypass cumbersome legacy systems. The panel discussions reinforced blockchain’s transition from emerging technology to critical infrastructure, enabling secure digital finance, tokenized assets, and faster cross-border commerce.
A central theme of the summit was the push toward “invisible blockchain.” Experts detailed how gasless transactions and streamlined onboarding abstract away complex technical barriers, enabling corporations to secure digital identities and automate monetization on a multi-billion-dollar scale.
The Global Blockchain Show opened with a spotlight session by Meow, Co-Founder of Jupiter where he mentioned, “Decentralized finance has demonstrated that financial systems can be transparent, programmable and globally accessible. The next phase isn’t about replacing traditional finance, it’s about combining the strengths of both to create a more inclusive and resilient financial ecosystem.”
The summit also featured a keynote by Shabir Momin, President & Founder of TorusChain, who shared his vision for the future of blockchain, emphasizing innovation, enterprise adoption, and the technologies shaping the next generation of decentralized ecosystems.
Shaping the Decentralized Horizon
The summit explored the future of decentralized technologies through discussions on digital banking, decentralized finance (DeFi), AI and blockchain convergence, Web3 infrastructure, cybersecurity, tokenized ecosystems, digital identity, blockchain-powered enterprise transformation, and the evolution of decentralized infrastructure. Sessions also examined blockchain’s role in enabling secure digital economies, intelligent automation, cross-industry innovation, and advancing Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s vision as a global hub for emerging technologies.
The event featured 100+ distinguished global speakers from government, enterprise, academia, Web3, fintech, and global blockchain organizations.
Few Notable Speakers Included:
Meow – Co-Founder, Jupiter
Morrad Irsane – CEO & Co-Founder, Takadao
Dr. Mohammed Abdur Rahman – Full Professor & Chairman, Department of Cyber Security & Forensic Computing, University of Prince Mugrin
Ryan Turner – Founder & CEO, Arkonix
Alona Shevtsova – Chief Executive Officer, Sends
Mr. Ulysses Demos – Chief Global Data Officer, Red Sea Global
Nishanth Kumar Pathi – Director, Cybersecurity & Governance, Gulf Air Group
Billal Yamak – Chairman & Co-Founder, Web3 Alliance of Saudi Arabia (WASA)
Mostafa Abusamra – CEO & Co-Founder, HealthyGaming of Saudi Arabia
Talal Al Hammad – Editor-in-Chief, entArabi
Shabir Momin – President & Founder, TorusChain
Alongside leading blockchain founders, Web3 innovators, cybersecurity experts, fintech executives, enterprise leaders, and policymakers from across the global digital asset ecosystem, discussions centered on the future of decentralized infrastructure, intelligent finance, and the convergence of AI and blockchain technologies.
The Intersect of Tokenization, Entertainment, and Intelligent Networks
A primary pillar of the 2026 agenda was the powerful convergence of Artificial Intelligence, advanced gaming models, and secure blockchain networks. Industry leaders outlined how tokenization and decentralized finance (DeFi) are transforming global investment models through enhanced accessibility and digital ownership. Deep dives highlighted how these decentralized architectures create secure data provenance for both regional corporate ecosystems and global entertainment networks.
The exhibition floor brought together a dynamic mix of global blockchain innovators, Web3 pioneers, infrastructure providers, and enterprise technology leaders, creating a vibrant marketplace for collaboration, investment, and next-generation digital innovation.
Leading sponsors and exhibitors and other prominent Web3 ecosystem partners showcased cutting-edge solutions spanning decentralized finance, digital identity, enterprise blockchain, cybersecurity, tokenization, and intelligent infrastructure, reinforcing the event’s role as a catalyst for blockchain adoption in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and beyond.
Few Notable Exhibitors:
ClubMOS Technologies LLC
Cropr Digital Limited
Plotdex
JPYR
Arkonix
TorusChain Association
Smartflow
The Loopcraft
EGS
Setup Master the Art of Gaming
Venn Studio
Destination Abu Dhabi: Continuing the Web3 Momentum
“The conversations in Riyadh reaffirmed that the future of blockchain will be built through collaboration, not competition. Our commitment is to keep creating platforms where visionary founders, enterprises, and investors come together to build what’s next.” — Vishal Parmar, Founder & CEO, VAP Group.
The close of the Riyadh edition signals a massive leap forward for the regional digital ecosystem. The strategic discussions and corporate partnerships established here will directly inform the agenda for the upcoming Global Blockchain Show Abu Dhabi.
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About Global Blockchain Show
The Global Blockchain Show is the premier global conference for the decentralized ecosystem. Structured as a high-stakes business platform, it bridges the gap between the trailblazing builders architecture-ing the decentralized economy and institutional investors looking for the next breakout project.
About VAP Group
With 13+ years of expertise, VAP Group is a premier global consulting and media powerhouse driving the next wave of technology-led growth.
Through its media ecosystem and flagship events, including the Global AI Show, Global Games Show, and Global Blockchain Show, VAP Group connects policymakers, enterprises, and innovators worldwide, enabling strategic communications, ecosystem-building, and talent solutions.
Media Enquiries: media@globalblockchainshow.com
This article is not intended as financial advice. Educational purposes only.

It is one of the most asked questions in crypto: can quantum computers break Bitcoin? The short answer today is no, not even close. The longer answer is that 2026 changed the conversation, with new research cutting the estimated resources needed by roughly 20 times and Bitcoin developers formally starting the defense. This guide explains the real threat, the real timeline, which coins are actually at risk, and what is being done, without the doomsday hype or the dismissive hand-waving.
The short answer
No quantum computer today can break Bitcoin (live BTC price on CoinGecko). Breaking the elliptic curve cryptography that secures Bitcoin signatures would require on the order of 1,200 to 2,330 stable “logical” qubits, while 2026’s best machines manage at most around a hundred, built on roughly 1,000 to 1,200 noisy physical qubits. Even against the most aggressive estimates, the hardware gap is about 400 to 500 times, on top of fault-tolerant engineering that does not yet exist.
For perspective on where public capability actually stands: in April 2026, a researcher won a 1 Bitcoin bounty from quantum security firm Project Eleven for breaking a 15-bit elliptic curve key on public quantum hardware. That was a 512-fold improvement over the previous public record, and still nowhere near Bitcoin’s 256-bit keys. The gap is enormous.
So why is everyone suddenly talking about this? Because the timeline just got shorter.
What changed in 2026
Three research developments compressed the threat timeline this year, and they are worth understanding.
The big one came in March 2026, when Google’s Quantum AI team, with co-authors including Ethereum researcher Justin Drake and Stanford cryptographer Dan Boneh, published a paper showing Bitcoin’s elliptic curve cryptography could theoretically be broken with fewer than 500,000 physical qubits in a runtime measured in minutes. The previous best estimate required roughly 9 million qubits, so this was about a 20-fold reduction in the required resources. Caltech researchers separately argued a useful fault-tolerant machine could arrive by the end of the decade.
The reaction was telling. Drake put the odds that a quantum computer recovers a Bitcoin private key from an exposed public key by 2032 at “at least 10%.” Governments moved too: 2026 was designated the “Year of Quantum Security,” Google set itself a 2029 internal deadline to migrate to post-quantum cryptography, and NIST’s roadmap calls for deprecating current encryption by 2030. None of this means Bitcoin breaks tomorrow. It means the comfortable “decades away” assumption is no longer the consensus, though respected skeptics like Blockstream’s Adam Back still argue the real threat is 20 to 40 years out. The honest summary: expert timelines now range from the early 2030s to mid-century, and they keep compressing.
What “Q-Day” would actually threaten
Q-Day is the nickname for the moment a quantum computer can break current cryptography. Two clarifications matter, because most coverage gets them wrong.
First, the threat is to signatures, not mining. A quantum computer running Shor’s algorithm could derive a private key from an exposed public key, letting an attacker steal coins. It would not “take over” Bitcoin mining or rewrite the blockchain.
Second, not all wallets are equally exposed. The vulnerable coins are those whose public keys are already visible on-chain: old legacy addresses (the kind starting with “1” or “3”) and any address that has been reused after sending a transaction. Researchers estimate over $700 billion in Bitcoin sits in such quantum-vulnerable wallets, including coins attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto. Modern practice, using fresh addresses and newer formats, keeps public keys hidden until spending, which dramatically narrows the attack window.
There is also the “harvest now, decrypt later” problem: adversaries can record exposed keys today and wait for the hardware. That is why preparation cannot wait for Q-Day itself.
How Bitcoin is preparing
The defense formally began this year, and it is further along than most people realize.
In February 2026, BIP-360 was merged into Bitcoin’s code repository. It introduces a new quantum-resistant address type (pay-to-merkle-root, with “bc1z” addresses) that removes the quantum-vulnerable spending path, protecting newly stored coins. Its companion proposal, BIP-361 from Jameson Lopp and co-authors, goes further: a phased migration that would eventually block transfers to legacy addresses, sunset old signatures, and offer a zero-knowledge-proof recovery path for holders with their seed phrases. It is aggressive and controversial, because it could freeze coins that never migrate, but it shows the community is planning seriously.
Ethereum is moving too, forming a dedicated Post-Quantum Security team in January 2026 built around hash-based signatures and account abstraction, and newer chains are building quantum resistance in from the start. The NIST post-quantum standards the whole industry will migrate to already exist. The technology is not the bottleneck; coordinating a decentralized migration is, and analysts note a full Bitcoin migration could take five to seven years, which is exactly why it is starting now.
So should you worry?
The balanced take: quantum computing is a real, bounded, and mitigable threat, not a reason to panic and not a reason to dismiss. No machine capable of attacking Bitcoin exists, the hardware gap remains hundreds of times, and the defense is underway. At the same time, the 2026 research genuinely shortened the timeline, and the migration will take years, so the race is real.
For individual holders, the practical steps are simple: avoid reusing addresses, prefer modern address formats, and if you hold coins on very old legacy addresses, plan to migrate them as quantum-resistant options mature. The risk to a careful holder today is effectively zero; the risk of industry complacency over the next decade is the real story.
Bottom line
Quantum computers cannot break Bitcoin today, and the gap between current hardware and the required capability remains enormous. But 2026’s research, led by Google’s 20-fold reduction in resource estimates, compressed the timeline from “someday” to “plausibly within a decade or two,” and Bitcoin’s defense has formally begun with BIP-360 merged and a migration debate underway. The threat targets exposed public keys, not mining, and over $700 billion in old wallets is the real exposure. Watch the quantum hardware milestones and Bitcoin’s post-quantum upgrade progress. This is a marathon both sides have now openly started running.
FAQ
Can quantum computers break Bitcoin today? No. Breaking Bitcoin’s cryptography would require thousands of stable logical qubits, while today’s best machines manage about a hundred at most. The hardware gap is roughly 400 to 500 times even against aggressive estimates, and the fault-tolerant systems needed do not yet exist.
What is Q-Day? Q-Day is the hypothetical moment a quantum computer becomes powerful enough to break current cryptography, including the signatures securing Bitcoin. Expert estimates range from the early 2030s to several decades away, with 2026 research compressing the timeline.
Which Bitcoin wallets are vulnerable to quantum computers? Wallets whose public keys are exposed on-chain: legacy addresses starting with “1” or “3” and any reused addresses. Researchers estimate over $700 billion sits in such wallets. Modern single-use addresses keep public keys hidden, greatly reducing exposure.
What changed in 2026? A Google Quantum AI paper cut the estimated resources to break Bitcoin’s cryptography by about 20 times, a researcher broke a 15-bit key for a Project Eleven bounty, and Bitcoin merged BIP-360, its first quantum-resistant address proposal. The timeline debate shifted from “decades” to “possibly within one.”
Is Bitcoin doing anything about the quantum threat? Yes. BIP-360, merged in February 2026, introduces quantum-resistant addresses, and the BIP-361 proposal outlines a phased migration away from vulnerable ones. Ethereum formed a post-quantum team in January 2026. NIST post-quantum standards already exist for the industry to adopt.
Would a quantum computer take over Bitcoin mining? No. The quantum threat targets signatures via Shor’s algorithm, meaning theft from exposed public keys. Mining relies on hashing, which is far more quantum-resistant, so a quantum computer could not rewrite the blockchain or seize the network.
This is not investment advice. Cryptocurrency is highly volatile. Always do your own research.

UQUID, a decentralized Web3 shopping platform and payment gateway, has introduced a new method of crypto payment through the launch of the Cursor Artificial Intelligence (AI) Payment Card. This Card permits users to purchase Cursor Pro subscriptions instead of a traditional bank card. The hidden purpose of this launch is to reduce dependence on traditional banking cards.
🚀 ANNOUNCEMENT: The Cursor AI Payment Card is now available on Uquid. Unlock Cursor Pro with USDT, USDC, and other cryptocurrencies—making it easier than ever to access one of the most powerful AI coding tools without relying on a traditional bank card. Instant delivery for YOU… pic.twitter.com/VjBemtu4ha
— UQUID | Digital Commerce Infrastructure (@uquidcard) July 2, 2026
This Cursor Pro card opens trading in many cryptocurrencies like USDT, USDC, and many others, making it easier to access powerful AI coding tools instead of depending on a traditional bank card. This Cursor Pro allows users to enjoy limit-free access to advanced AI models, higher AI usage, Cloud agents, and powerful coding help for writing. UQUID has shared this news through its official social media X account.
UQUID and Cursor Pro Simplify AI Tool Access with Crypto Payments
The unification of Cursor Pro and UQUID is no less than a wonder because UQUID is known for its expertise in Web3 shopping and also acts as an opening pathway for different payments. Cursor Pro is the premium version of Cursor, which provides developers with AI-assisted coding, debugging, refactoring, and code generation, and faster software development workflows.
In this digital world, where there is a complex network of interconnected payment methods along with lots of facilities, there is a need for advancement in every aspect of life. Therefore, this payment method is linked with different cryptocurrencies like USDT, USDC, and many other supported digital assets.
UQUID Simplifies Cryptocurrency Payments with Cursor Pro Card
UQUID is bringing a very impactful and beneficial development for the entire world in terms of improving its payment method while living in an advanced world. Through this Cursor Pro Card, users will be able to receive the digital payment card immediately, enabling quick activation of their Cursor Pro subscription for every payment transaction.
This advancement is very meaningful and worthy for various people, especially for traders, regarding purchasing and dealing. In other words, it is the opening of multiple doors for smooth cryptocurrency payments at any stage of life. This is the need of the hour to adopt with constantly changing world.

The XRP Ledger is flashing one of the most extreme on-chain readings in its 12-year history. Short-term and long-term traders are sitting on losses that have never been deeper on a combined basis, according to the Santiment update. The 30-day Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) ratio hit -45%, while the 365-day MVRV slumped to -47%. Both cohorts are deeply underwater at the same time, a setup that historically preceded at least a temporary bounce.
The MVRV metric measures the average profit or loss of all coins currently in circulation. A reading far below zero means most XRP holders are holding positions that are worth less than when they were acquired. When both short-term speculators and long-term believers are this red, panic selling usually exhausts itself. Santiment’s data suggests XRP has never posted lower average returns across these two timeframes simultaneously. Yet even with this signal, the on-chain platform notes that prices can still dip further if the broader crypto market continues to struggle.
Risk-Reward Shifts at Extremes
Extreme MVRV compression doesn’t guarantee an immediate reversal, but it does alter the risk calculus. When most of the selling has already been absorbed, incremental downside tends to be shallower. The -45% and -47% readings mean that a large chunk of the potential losses have already been realized by those who exited earlier. New buyers entering at these levels are effectively stepping in after the damage, not before.
This is the kind of setup that contrarian traders watch closely. In previous XRP cycles, multi-month lows in the combined MVRV preceded aggressive relief rallies, often when on-chain sentiment hit its worst point. The logic is straightforward: with so many holders underwater, the urge to sell fades, and any positive catalyst can trigger a squeeze. Still, the signal is not a standalone buy trigger. It works better as a contextual filter for assessing whether a position has become overly crowded on the downside.
Regulatory Overhang and Altcoin Divergence
One reason the pain has persisted this long is the lingering regulatory uncertainty hanging over XRP and the wider altcoin market. Even as some tokens see sharp moves—recent weekly gainers like TON and SIREN for instance—XRP remains stuck in a downtrend, partly because the legal playbook for US-based crypto projects is still being rewritten. Banks are actively trying to derail the biggest crypto bill in US history just days before a critical Senate vote, adding to the climate of uncertainty. For an asset like XRP that has historically been tied to regulatory headlines, the floor may not be found solely by on-chain metrics.
The divergence among altcoins is also notable. While XRP prints historic MVRV lows, a handful of niche tokens are posting outsized weekly gains, suggesting capital is flowing toward momentum plays rather than value-oriented entries. That rotation could change quickly if XRP’s extreme undervaluation signal begins to align with a shift in risk appetite. For now, the on-chain pain point is laid bare, and the market will decide whether this is the bottom or just one more stop on the way lower.