NFTgators

Quick take:

The latest purchase of 98,852 ether brings Bitmine’s ETH holdings to about 3.37% of the total ETH supply.

The company is now the number 1 Ethereum treasury and the second biggest 2 global crypto treasury, behind Michael Saylor’s Strategy Inc. (MSTR).

Bitmine counts the likes of ARK’s Cathie Wood, MOZAYYX, Founders Fund, Bill Miller III, Pantera, Kraken, DCG, and Galaxy Digital among its top backers.

Bitmine Immersion Technologies, Inc. (NYSE AMERICAN: BMNR), the world’s second biggest crypto treasury, last week acquired 98,852 ether, at about $300 million, bringing its total ETH holdings to 4,066,062. 

According to the press release on Monday, as of December 21, 2025, the Bitcoin and Ethereum treasury company held 4,066,062 ETH at $2,991 per ETH, 193 Bitcoins, $32 million stake in Eightco Holdings’s moonshots, and $1 billion in cash.

Backed by the likes of ARK’s Cathie Wood, MOZAYYX, Founders Fund, Bill Miller III, Pantera, Kraken, DCG, Galaxy Digital, and personal investor Thomas “Tom” Lee, Bitmine is now the number 1 Ethereum treasury and the second biggest 2 global crypto treasury with $13.2 billion in assets, behind Michael Saylor’s Strategy Inc. (MSTR), which has $59 billion in BTC.

Highlighting Bitmine’s goal and fast growth over the past five and a half months, Thomas “Tom” Lee of Fundstrat, Chairman of Bitmine, said in a statement: “We are making rapid progress towards the ‘alchemy of 5%’ and we are already seeing the synergies borne from our substantial ETH holdings. We are a key entity bridging Wall Street’s move onto the blockchain via tokenization. And we have been heavily engaged with the key entities driving cutting-edge development in the defi community.”

Stay on top of things:

Subscribe to our newsletter using this link – we won’t spam!

Follow us on X and Telegram.

The post Bitmine Reveals $300M ETH Purchase to Bring Total Treasury Holding to $13.2 Billion appeared first on NFTgators.

Quick take:

Both spot and derivatives trading are reportedly under consideration.

The report comes out amid JPMorgan’s increased activity around crypto as demand from clients increases amid evolving U.S. crypto regulations.

The company rolled out its JMP Coin to institutional clients in November and launched its first tokenized money market fund on December 15.

JPMorgan is reportedly considering launching crypto trading for institutional clients. A person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that the company is assessing what products and services its markets division could offer to expand its footprint in cryptocurrencies.

According to the report, both spot and derivatives trading are reportedly under consideration. The report comes out amid JPMorgan’s increased activity around crypto as demand from clients increases amid evolving U.S. crypto regulations, with large banks around the world also deepening their involvement in the industry.

If confirmed, the new service would expand JPMorgan’s presence in the industry, after launching its first tokenized money market fund, dubbed My OnChain Net Yield Fund (“MONY”). The fund is powered by Kinexys Digital Assets, JPMorgan’s institutional-grade, multi-chain asset tokenization solution.

In November, the company also rolled out the JMP Coin to institutional clients. The JPMD deposit token allows users to send and receive money via a blockchain, enabling fast payment processing 24/7.

As far as crypto trading is concerned, the plans are still in the early stages, and are seen as a response to rising interest from clients following changes in the US regulatory environment around digital assets, the person said.

Stay on top of things:

Subscribe to our newsletter using this link – we won’t spam!

Follow us on X and Telegram.

The post JPMorgan Reportedly Considering Launching Crypto Trading for Institutional Clients appeared first on NFTgators.

Quick take:

The combined company plans to begin construction at the start of 2026 to provide electricity for the AI industry.

Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, believes the new company will require a lot of investment and regulation to advance.

Devin Nunes, a former Republican congressman and CEO of Trump Media, will be co-CEO of the new company with TAE CEO Michl Binderbauer.

Trump Media & Technology Group Corp (NASDAQ: DJT), the parent organization of President Trump’s Truth Social platform, has announced a merger with TAE Technologies, a nuclear fusion energy company. The all-stock deal, which sees the Trump name paired with a futuristic clean energy venture, is valued at more than $6 billion, the companies said on Thursday.

The combined company plans to begin construction at the start of 2026 to provide electricity for the AI industry. Nuclear fusion, which generates electricity without leaving a carbon print, has proved to be one of the most complicated technologies to implement feasibly, at scale. 

Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, believes the new company will require a lot of investment and regulation to advance.

According to the announcement, Devin Nunes, a former Republican congressman who resigned in 2021 to become CEO of Trump Media, will be co-CEO of the new company with TAE CEO Michl Binderbauer.

Founded in 1998, TAE, which is backed by some of the biggest companies, including Google, Chevron, and Goldman Sachs, has been a private entity. Its merger with the publicly listed Trump Media & Technology Group makes the new combined company one of the first publicly traded nuclear fusion companies.

“We’re taking a big step forward toward a revolutionary technology that will cement America’s global energy dominance for generations,” Nunes said in a prepared statement.

The artificial intelligence industry requires lots of computing power to advance into the next phase of deployment, which in turn requires a lot of electric energy. Power has been highlighted as one of the potential bottlenecks to the advancement of AI.

Stay on top of things:

Subscribe to our newsletter using this link – we won’t spam!

Follow us on X and Telegram.

The post Trump Media Merges with Nuclear Fusion Company TAE Technologies appeared first on NFTgators.

Quick take:

The partnership allows Intuit to leverage Circle’s comprehensive stablecoin infrastructure and USDC across the Intuit platform.

The company sees stablecoins as the next logical step in its evolution as it continues to help consumers and businesses navigate taxes, credit, and cash flow at scale.

Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Circle, believes Intuit’s massive scale and industry leadership make it an ideal platform to scale USDC for everyday financial transactions.

Intuit, the global financial technology and services provider known for various business software, including Intuit TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp, on Thursday said it signed a multi-year, strategic partnership with Circle to accelerate next-generation financial services powered by stablecoin technology.

The partnership allows Intuit to leverage Circle’s comprehensive stablecoin infrastructure and USDC across the Intuit platform. After establishing itself as an innovator in global financial technology, Intuit sees stablecoins as the next logical step in its evolution as it continues to help consumers and businesses navigate taxes, credit, and cash flow at scale.

Commenting on the announcement, Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Circle, said in a statement: “Intuit’s massive scale and industry leadership make it an ideal platform to extend the speed, power, and efficiency of USDC for everyday financial transactions. Together, we bring a shared commitment to build a more efficient financial system that unlocks powerful new capabilities for people globally.”

Sasan Goodarzi, CEO of Intuit, commented: “Intuit is at the forefront of financial innovation to deliver faster, lower-cost, and programmable money movement to millions of consumers and businesses to fuel their success. Our partnership with Circle will expand our capabilities to layer stablecoins onto Intuit’s trusted platform as we put money at the center of everything we do, so money works harder and smarter for everyone.”

Intuit said stablecoins give it a programmable, 24/7, low-friction money rail that can be embedded across its platform to unlock new experiences in refunds, remittances, savings, and payments, which were not possible on legacy rails.

Stay on top of things:

Subscribe to our newsletter using this link – we won’t spam!

Follow us on X and Telegram.

The post Intuit Partners Circle to Embed the USDC Stablecoin Across its Platform appeared first on NFTgators.

Quick take:

SoFiUSD will enable SoFi to serve as a stablecoin infrastructure provider for banks, fintechs, and enterprise platforms.

By leveraging SoFi’s institutional-grade infrastructure, institutions and fintechs will be able to streamline their operations with faster and more efficient money movement.

Partners will not only be able to use SoFiUSD for crypto trading business, but also by card networks, retailers, or businesses that want safer, faster, and lower-cost 24/7 settlement.

SoFi Technologies, the leading digital financial services provider, has launched SoFiUSD, a fully reserved U.S. dollar stablecoin issued by SoFi Bank, N.A. According to the announcement on the SoFi website, SoFiUSD enables SoFi to serve as a stablecoin infrastructure provider for banks, fintechs, and enterprise platforms.

Partners will be able to leverage SoFi’s institutional-grade infrastructure to streamline their operations with faster and more efficient money movement, allowing them to manage liquidity with more confidence and deliver faster and more transparent services to their customers.

The SoFiUSD stablecoin is fully reserved 1:1 by cash for immediate redemption capability. And as a chartered bank, it is able to keep deposits in cash at its Federal bank account, thereby eliminating liquidity risk and credit risk.

Banks, fintechs, and enterprise partners will also be able to leverage SoFi’s regulatory, operational, and reserve framework to issue white-label stablecoins or integrate SoFiUSD into their settlement flows.

Commenting on the announcement, Anthony Noto, CEO of SoFi, said in a statement: With SoFiUSD, we’re using the infrastructure we’ve built over the last decade and applying it to real-world challenges in financial services. Companies today struggle with slow settlement, fragmented providers, and unverified reserve models. SoFi is helping address these gaps by combining our regulatory strength as a national bank with transparent, fully reserved on-chain technology to provide a safer and more efficient way for partners to move funds.“

Partners will not only be able to use SoFiUSD for crypto trading business, but also by card networks, retailers, or businesses that want safer, faster, and lower-cost 24/7 settlement, the company said.

The digital financial services company also plans to integrate SoFiUSD for international remittance and everyday consumer point-of-sale purchases.

Stay on top of things:

Subscribe to our newsletter using this link – we won’t spam!

Follow us on X and Telegram.

The post SoFi Technologies Launches SoFiUSD to Serve as a Stablecoin Infrastructure Provider for Banks appeared first on NFTgators.

Quick take:

The announcement follows DTC’s recent receipt of a No-Action Letter from the SEC to implement and operate a new service to tokenize real-world, DTC-custodied assets.

The partnership allows DTCC to enable a subset of U.S. Treasury securities custodied at DTC to be minted on the Canton Network.

The companies plan to launch an MVP in a controlled production environment by the first half of 2026, with a bigger rollout set to follow in the months after, depending on client interest.

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has announced a partnership with Digital Asset Holdings (Digital Asset) and the privacy-focused blockchain, Canton Network, to enhance U.S. Treasury Securities tokenization. 

The partnership allows DTCC to enable a subset of U.S. Treasury securities custodied at Depository Trust Company (DTC) to be minted on the Canton Network. The announcement follows DTC’s recent receipt of a No-Action Letter from the SEC to implement and operate a new service to tokenize real-world, DTC-custodied assets.

According to the press release seen by NFTgators, the companies plan to launch an MVP in a controlled production environment by the first half of 2026, with a bigger rollout set to follow in the months after, depending on client interest. The phased approach has been chosen to help ensure flexibility and adaptability.

Commenting on the announcement, Frank La Salla, CEO of DTCC, called his company’s partnership with Canton Network a step forward as the two companies collaborate across the industry to build a digital infrastructure that seamlessly bridges the traditional and digital financial ecosystems and provides unmatched scalability and safety.

“This collaboration creates a roadmap to bring real-world, high-value tokenization use cases to market, starting with U.S. Treasury securities and eventually expanding to a broad spectrum of DTC-eligible assets across network providers,” he said.

Yuval Rooz, Co-Founder and CEO of Digital Asset, commented: “This partnership reflects the collective ambition of leading market participants to create future-proof, interoperable financial ecosystems. DTCC’s leadership in this space not only accelerates industry adoption but establishes a foundation for meaningful innovation, unlocking new liquidity opportunities, products, and operational improvements.”

Stay on top of things:

Subscribe to our newsletter using this link – we won’t spam!

Follow us on X and Telegram.

The post DTCC Taps Canton Network to Enhance US Treasury Securities Tokenization appeared first on NFTgators.

Quick take:

The company said the fresh capital provides the foundation needed to turn Blockspace into a real, programmable financial market that’s capable of making every transaction instant, invisible, and budgetable.

ETHGas aims to eliminate volatility from gas fees and provide developers with the tools to create consistent user experiences, as part of Ethereum’s next phase of development.

The company also debuted Ethereum’s blockspace market with $800 million in commitments from leading validators, builders, and wholesale network participants.

ETHGas, the Ethereum Blockspace infrastructure developer trying to eliminate volatility from gas fees, has raised $12 million in a funding round led by Polychain Capital. The fundraising also attracted participation from Stake Capital, BlueYard Capital, SIG DT, and Amber Group, the company wrote in a blog post on Wednesday.

According to ETHGas, the fresh capital provides the foundation needed to turn Blockspace into a real, programmable financial market that’s capable of making every transaction instant, invisible, and budgetable.

The company believes that Ethereum’s next phase will require a reimagination of the way blockspace is allocated on the network, quoting the Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.

ETHGas aims to eliminate volatility from gas fees and provide developers with the tools to create consistent user experiences, as part of Ethereum’s next phase of development.

Alongside the funding announcement, the company also debuted Ethereum’s blockspace market with $800 million in commitments from leading validators, builders, and wholesale network participants.

According to the announcement, the market transforms blockspace into a liquid, tradeable asset that institutions, applications, and users can buy, sell forward, hedge, and allocate with precision.

The infrastructure integrates directly across validators, block builders, and relays, enabling improved staking yields, reduced pipeline risk, and the ability for applications to remove gas price volatility entirely from their end-users’ experience.

Stay on top of things:

Subscribe to our newsletter using this link – we won’t spam!

Follow us on X and Telegram.

The post Polychain Leads $12M Funding for Ethereum Blockspace Infrastructure Developer ETHGas appeared first on NFTgators.

Quick take:

Built on the Bitcoin Lightning Network, Speed offers global payment rails powered by stablecoins.

The platform processes more than $1.5 billion in annual payment volume across consumers, creators, platforms, and enterprise merchants.

Speed’s flagship products, Speed Wallet and Speed Merchant, serve 1.2 million users and businesses, offering instant payments, native BTC, and USDT settlement.

Speed1 Inc., “Speed”, has secured $8 million in a strategic investment led by Tether and with participation from Ego Death Capital. 

Tether said its investment in the stablecoin infrastructure development company aligns with its broader strategy to strengthen Bitcoin-aligned financial infrastructure and expand USDT’s utility in real-world payment environments.

Built on the Bitcoin Lightning Network, Speed offers global payment rails powered by stablecoins. Speed’s flagship products, Speed Wallet and Speed Merchant, serve 1.2 million users and businesses, offering instant payments, native BTC, and USDT settlement.

According to the press release by Tether, Speed processes more than $1.5 billion in annual payment volume across consumers, creators, platforms, and enterprise merchants.

Speed’s architecture demonstrates how Lightning and stablecoins can operate together to move money at high scale with low fees, strong compliance, and global reach, Tether wrote in the announcement.

Commenting on his company’s investment, Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, said in a statement: “We support teams building practical infrastructure that reduces friction in payments and expands access to reliable settlement rails. Speed’s execution and adoption signal that Bitcoin-rooted networks are ready for mainstream commerce.”

Niraj Patel, CEO of Speed1, Inc., commented: “Crypto has lived in the world of speculation for too long. Speed is making it usable – instantly, globally, and at scale. Lightning gives us speed; stablecoins give us universal access; our infrastructure brings it all together for consumers, creators, and merchants.”

Stay on top of things:

Subscribe to our newsletter using this link – we won’t spam!

Follow us on X and Telegram.

The post Tether Leads $8M Strategic Investment in Stablecoin Payments Infrastructure Speed appeared first on NFTgators.

Quick take:

The fundraising also attracted participation from Pantera Capital, Blockchain Capital, Circle Ventures, HSG, and others.

RedotPay has now raised $194 million in 2025, following a $47 million strategic investment announcement in September and $40 million Series A announced in March.

The company said the number of registered users surpassed 6 million in November, with annualized payment volume also crossing $10 billion.

RedotPay, the Hong Kong-based stablecoin payments service provider, has raised $107 million in a Series B round led by Goodwater Capital. The fundraising also attracted participation from Pantera Capital, Blockchain Capital, Circle Ventures, HSG, and others, according to a blog post on its website.

RedotPay integrates blockchain solutions with traditional banking and finance infrastructures around the world to spend and send digital assets faster and securely. The company plans to use the fresh capital to accelerate product innovation and expand global reach.

According to the announcement, RedotPay has now raised $194 million in 2025, following a $47 million strategic investment announcement in September and $40 million Series A announced in March.

The company said the number of registered users surpassed 6 million in November, with annualized payment volume also crossing $10 billion.

Commenting on the announcement, Michael Gao, Co-Founder and CEO of RedotPay, said in a statement: “With our latest funding, we plan to accelerate product innovation and expand our global reach. Beyond capital, our investors provide the expertise and resources to enable us to scale responsibly while remaining compliance-focused and delivering outstanding user experiences.”

Jin Oh, Partner at Goodwater Capital, commented: “RedotPay is improving financial access globally with remarkable traction for its stablecoin-driven solutions across major markets. We’re excited to support the company through its next phase of global growth as it expands stablecoin utility and continues to accelerate adoption and drive innovation across its payment products.”

Stay on top of things:

Subscribe to our newsletter using this link – we won’t spam!

Follow us on X and Telegram.

The post Crypto Payments Company RedotPay Secures $107M Series B Led by Goodwater Capital appeared first on NFTgators.

Quick take:

MONY provides qualified investors the opportunity to earn U.S. dollar yields by subscribing through Morgan Money,  the firm’s open architecture trading and analytics platform for liquidity management.

The fund invests only in traditional U.S. Treasury securities and repurchase agreements fully collateralized by U.S. Treasury securities.

Investors receive tokens at their crypto wallets and will earn blockchain-based yield on tokens held.

JPMorgan, America’s second-largest bank with about $4 trillion in assets, has launched its first tokenized money market fund, My OnChain Net Yield Fund (“MONY”). The fund is powered by Kinexys Digital Assets, JPMorgan’s institutional-grade, multi-chain asset tokenization solution, and is available on Ethereum’s public blockchain.

According to the press release seen by NFTgators on Monday, MONY provides qualified investors the opportunity to earn U.S. dollar yields by subscribing through Morgan Money,  the firm’s open architecture trading and analytics platform for liquidity management.

Qualified investors can access MONY exclusively through the Morgan Money platform, receiving tokens at their blockchain addresses and earning blockchain-based yield on tokens held.

MONY invests only in traditional U.S. Treasury securities and repurchase agreements fully collateralized by U.S. Treasury securities. The fund also offers daily dividends, and investors can subscribe and redeem using cash or stablecoins through the Morgan Money platform.

Commenting on the announcement, George Gatch, CEO of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, said in a statement: “Active management and innovation are at the heart of how we deliver new solutions for investors navigating today’s financial landscape. By harnessing technology alongside our deep expertise in active management, we’re able to provide clients with advanced, innovative, and cost-effective capabilities that help them achieve their investment goals.”

JPMorgan is joining a growing list of US financial institutions and asset managers that have launched tokenized money market funds, including BlackRock’s with BUIDL and Franklin Templeton with FOBXX.

Stay on top of things:

Subscribe to our newsletter using this link – we won’t spam!

Follow us on X and Telegram.

The post JPMorgan Launches Its First Tokenized Money Market Fund on Ethereum appeared first on NFTgators.

Quick take:

The latest funding brings the total funding to $24 million, including seed funding.

The cross-chain yield optimization protocol plans to expand to more blockchains and upgrade its core infrastructure.

YO optimizes yield by targeting the best risk-adjusted returns across several assets and chains, including USD, EUR, BTC, ETH, as well as gold.

YO Labs, the team behind the cross-chain yield optimization platform, YO Protocol, has raised $10 million in a Series A round led by Foundation Capital. The fundraising also attracted participation from Coinbase Ventures, Scribble Ventures, and Launchpad Capital. 

YO Labs has now raised $24 million in total, including a $14 million seed round announced in October 2022, before its rebranding from Exponential to YO Labs. Paradigm led the seed round with participation from Haun Ventures, FTX Ventures, Polygon, and Solana Ventures, among others.

YO Labs offers a yield optimization solution that targets the best risk-adjusted returns across several assets and chains, including USD, EUR, BTC, ETH, as well as gold.

The company plans to use the fresh capital to scale its platform, including expanding to more blockchains and upgrading its core infrastructure.

Commenting on the announcement, YO Labs co-founder and CIO, Mehdi Lebbar, told CoinDesk that the platform’s core innovation lies in the way it calculates risk-adjusted yield. Rather than targeting the highest yield, YO Protocol incorporates multiple risk factors, including the protocol’s age and its code audit history, in the model to determine the probability of default.

The protocol has also adopted a unique architecture dubbed “embassies” and described as independent vaults holding native assets on each blockchain, to minimize reliance on bridges, thus reducing the risks associated with moving assets across bridges.

“If you bridge a pool, you have exposure to the risk of the bridge. We needed to create these ’embassies’ across multiple planets, these vaults across multiple chains that hold native assets,” Lebbar told CoinDesk. “If you have USDC on Arbitrum, that is the same USDC as on Ethereum, and you no longer have the bridge in the middle, that’s much safer.”

Stay on top of things:

Subscribe to our newsletter using this link – we won’t spam!

Follow us on X and Telegram.

The post YO Labs Secures $10M Series A Round Led By Foundation Capital appeared first on NFTgators.

Quick take:

The company said it tried all efforts to adapt and pivot, but in the end couldn’t make it work.

Aether Games pointed out the token-generation event time as when things started to go south.

The team believes that too many KOLs, partners, and advisory deals were made in bad faith, specifically blaming KOLs for draining liquidity and disappearing immediately after launch.

Video Games developer Aether Games has shut down, citing challenges with reaching the required player base to keep going. Renowned for developing “The Wheel of Time” crypto card game, the company said in a post shared on its X account that, for a long time, it has been trying to keep Aether alive after going all-in on the card game.

“We tried to adapt and pivot, and we made a real effort to find a sustainable path forward, but we could not make it work,” a post on the X platform reads.

“The simple truth is that we never reached the player base we needed to survive. We kept building, kept pushing, kept trying to catch momentum, but too often we arrived late, without the scale required to turn effort into long-term stability.”

According to Aether, things started to “go south” after the token generation event in February 2024, which allocated 12.5% of its total AEG token supply to strategic investors (partners) and 15% to seed investors (initial backers). 

“Too many KOL, partner, and advisory deals were made in bad faith, and they cost us heavily,” Tether wrote in the announcement. “If we could redo it all, we would do things differently, and we want to say this clearly.”

The company encourages projects to target fair launches rather than using KOLs, who it blames for draining liquidity and disappearing immediately after the launch.

Aether also said the state of CEX agreements, which tend to shift a lot after listing, leading to potential delisting, did not make things easier. “We also need to address the token reality directly. Very recently, we received notices of delisting risk from major exchanges, including KuCoin and Gate, and earlier this year, Bybit.”

In May 2023, Aether Games announced that it raised $5 million in seed and equity funding backed by the likes of Mysten Labs, Polygon, Magic Eden, Polkastarter, Cogitent, Ultra, GSR, EMURGO, Master Ventures, and Eclipse.

Stay on top of things:

Subscribe to our newsletter using this link – we won’t spam!

Follow us on X and Telegram.

The post Video Games Company Aether Games Shuts Down, Encourages Projects Not to Use KOLs appeared first on NFTgators.

Quick take:

The OCC said each application was carefully reviewed based on its individual merits, consistent with applicable statutory and regulatory factors.

Ripple was conditionally approved de novo (as a brand new) National Trust Bank, while BitGo, Fidelity, and Paxos received conditional approvals for conversion into National Banks.

The five new institutions are joining approximately 60 other national trust banks currently supervised by the OCC.

BitGo has received approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to convert into the National Trust Bank. The crypto company joins Anchorage Digital, the first federally regulated digital asset bank in a rapidly growing segment of the cryptocurrency industry. 

BitGo received conditional approval to convert into a National Bank alongside Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos Trust Company,  while Ripple National Trust Bank’s Charter was issued as de novo (brand new), alongside First National Digital Currency Bank.

According to the announcement on Friday, each application was carefully reviewed based on its individual merits, consistent with applicable statutory and regulatory factors. The five new institutions are joining approximately 60 other national trust banks currently supervised by the OCC.

Commenting on the announcement, Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould said: “New entrants into the federal banking sector are good for consumers, the banking industry, and the economy. They provide access to new products, services, and sources of credit to consumers, and ensure a dynamic, competitive, and diverse banking system. The OCC will continue to provide a path for both traditional and innovative approaches to financial services to ensure the federal banking system keeps pace with the evolution of finance and supports a modern economy.”

Anchorage Digital was the first federally regulated banking institution focused on digital assets, receiving its approval in 2021. CEO and Co-Founder Nathan McCauley told Seeking Alpha that his institution never wanted to be the last. “This is long overdue. We welcome the new conditional charters as a validation of our original vision: federal banking regulation strengthens the digital asset ecosystem.”

Stay on top of things:

Subscribe to our newsletter using this link – we won’t spam!

Follow us on X and Telegram.

The post BitGo Among Five Digital Asset Firms to Receive National Bank Charters appeared first on NFTgators.

Quick take:

Users will be able to place their predictions using Solana tokens or Cash, creating a frictionless trading experience.

They will also be able to follow live events, prices, odds, scores, and updates as they unfold, with notifications delivered when markets and positions settle.

The crypto wallet provider is also adding a social element to Phantom Prediction Market, allowing users to chat, share ideas, and track sentiment on various events.

Phantom, a leading crypto wallet service provider, has announced a partnership with the prediction markets platform Kalshi to bring prediction market trading to its users. 

According to the press release seen by NFTgator, the integration will enable Phantom’s more than 20 million users to predict outcomes of various real-world events, including politics, sports, and culture, as well as crypto assets.

Phantom Prediction Markets allows users to place their trades using Solana tokens or Cash, which the company says removes the friction of depositing funds or creating additional accounts.

Users will be able to track their positions by following live events, prices, odds, scores, and updates as they unfold, with notifications delivered when markets and positions settle. Phantom is also adding a social element to Phantom Prediction Market, allowing users to chat, share ideas, and track sentiment on various events.

Commenting on the announcement, Brandon Millman, CEO of Phantom, said in a statement: “We built Phantom to make crypto feel intuitive for everyone, and now we are bringing that same simplicity to prediction markets. By integrating a layer of tokenized positions referencing Kalshi’s regulated event markets with Phantom, users can trade what they care about in real time alongside the same community where they already explore DeFi, perps, stablecoins, and more.”

The announcement comes just over two months after news that MetaMask, another leading crypto wallet service provider, would be integrating Polymarket’s prediction market services.

Tarek Mansour, CEO of Kalshi, commented: “Phantom opens a major new channel for growth by bringing our markets to millions of crypto-native users who want to express opinions on real-world events. At Kalshi, we’re looking to be a leader on-chain like we are off-chain, and partnering with Phantom is a significant step in helping us achieve that goal.”

Stay on top of things:

Subscribe to our newsletter using this link – we won’t spam!

Follow us on X and Telegram.

The post Phantom Taps Kalshi to Integrate Predictions Markets into Its Wallet Service appeared first on NFTgators.

Quick take:

LI.FI offers a toolkit that enables developers to build on-chain swaps and cross-chain bridging within their applications.

The company plans to use the fresh capital to expand its operations and launch new product development pipelines.

The company has partnered with some of the biggest players in crypto, including the likes of Binance, Kraken, MetaMask, Phantom, Ledger, Hyperliquid, and Circle.

LI.FI, a cross-chain bridging protocol that enables developers to build on-chain swaps and cross-chain bridging within their applications, has raised $29 million in an extended Series A round led by Multicoin Capital and CoinFund.

The fundraising brings the total raised to $51.7 million, according to a press release seen by NFTgators. LI.FI said it will use the fresh capital to expand its operations and fund the development of an infrastructure for AI agents and stablecoins, as well as the planned launch of an open intent and solver marketplace in Q1 of 2026.

Some of the company’s notable partners include Binance, Kraken, MetaMask, Phantom, Ledger, Hyperliquid, and Circle. LI.FI also serves non-crypto-native companies looking to integrate Web3 payments and other elements of crypto in their systems, including the likes of AliPay and Robinhood, in a growing list of more than 800 partners.

According to information on its website, the company claims to have processed over $60 billion in total transfer volume from over 80 million transfers. According to the announcement on Thursday, its monthly volume grew by 595%, from $1.15 billion in October 2024 to $8 billion in October 2025.

Commenting on the news, Philipp Zentner, Co-Founder & CEO of LI.FI said in a statement: “Over the past year, we’ve significantly expanded our product suite to strengthen our position in the market and provide a more seamless experience for both B2B partners and their users. This growth allows LI.FI to continue laying the foundation for the next generation of crypto applications, enabling developers and companies to access liquidity across all blockchain ecosystems in ways that were previously overly complex or inaccessible.”

Stay on top of things:

Subscribe to our newsletter using this link – we won’t spam!

Follow us on X and Telegram.

The post Multicoin and CoinFund Co-Lead $29M Funding for Blockchain Bridging Protocol LI.FI appeared first on NFTgators.

Quick take:

The crypto discovery app allows users to send peer-to-peer crypto payments, access dApps, and explore Web3 products without downloading crypto-specific software.

As part of the expanded partnership between the two companies, Sei plans to roll out stablecoin payments for Xiaomi’s 20,000-plus retail stores, starting with Hong Kong and the EU.

Sei Labs Co-Founder Jay Jog said the network aims to build “a decentralized NASDAQ”, bringing the financial ecosystem on-chain.

 Sei Blockchain has collaborated with Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi to embed its crypto wallet in millions of smartphones globally. According to the announcement on Wednesday, starting in 2026, all Xiaomi smartphones sold outside Mainland China and the United States will come pre-installed with a wallet and crypto discovery app developed by Sei Labs.

The crypto discovery app allows users to send peer-to-peer crypto payments, access dApps, and explore Web3 products without downloading crypto-specific software.

As part of the expanded partnership between the two companies, Sei plans to roll out stablecoin payments for Xiaomi’s 20,000-plus retail stores, starting with Hong Kong and the EU.

Sei Labs aims to build “a decentralized NASDAQ”, according to co-founder Jay Jog, who sees the future of the financial ecosystem on-chain. Jog expects the platform to reach top speeds of up to 200,000 transactions per second.

“The collaboration will provide millions of people with their first entry point into crypto, especially in countries where Xiaomi dominates the smartphone landscape, like Greece (36.9%) and India (24.2%),” the company wrote in a press release.

Stay on top of things:

Subscribe to our newsletter using this link – we won’t spam!

Follow us on X and Telegram.

The post Sei Taps Xiaomi to Embed Its Crypto Wallet in Millions of Smartphones appeared first on NFTgators.

Quick take:

The fundraising also attracted participation from Coinbase Ventures and Digital Currency Group.

Launched in July as an invite-only service, Surf was made open to the public in September and has since attracted more than 300,000 users, who generated over a million research reports.

The company claims to have already generated $2 million in revenue from subscription fees and targets to reach $10 million by the end of 2026.

Surf, an AI startup specializing in crypto services, has raised $15 million in a funding round led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Coinbase Ventures and Digital Currency Group.

Launched in July 2025 as an invite-only service, Surf offers specialized search services focused on the crypto industry. According to co-founder and CEO Ryan Li, Surf is something the founders were building for themselves that the market fell in love with, Fortune reported.

“I think Surf is the best model for crypto, and we want to make sure people trust Surf instead of relying on hallucinations from other models.”

Unlike ChatGPT, Perplexity AI, and Grok, which offer more “generalized answers,” Surf is taylormade for the crypto industry, providing more detail and depth in research reports.

“ChatGPT is a really good generalist, but it doesn’t know the crypto industry enough,” Li said. “Surf is like that expert that worked in the industry for a long time by us training the model just for crypto.” 

Surf was made open to the public in September and has since attracted more than 300,000 users, who generated over a million research reports, Li said.

The company also claims to have already generated $2 million in revenue from subscription fees and targets to reach $10 million by the end of 2026.

Explaining how Surf works in a blog post on Wednesday, the company wrote: “Surf was built around a simple thesis: crypto is too complex and unique for general-purpose AI. LLMs are powerful, but they hallucinate frequently and struggle with specialized workflows.”

The platform is designed to feel less like a chatbot and more like having a personal crypto analyst on call, the company said.

Stay on top of things:

Subscribe to our newsletter using this link – we won’t spam!

Follow us on X and Telegram.

The post Crypto AI Startup Surf Secures $15M Funding Led by Pantera Capital appeared first on NFTgators.

Quick take:

Some of the companies involved in the designing and development stage of the blockchain include Anthropic, Deutsche Bank, DoorDash, Lead Bank, Mercury, OpenAI, Revolut, Shopify, Standard Chartered, and Visa.

Others that joined since the announcement in September include Brex, Coastal, Cross River, Deel, Faire, Figure, Gusto, Kalshi, Klarna, Mastercard, Payoneer, Persona, Ramp, and UBS.

Tempo offers a dedicated payment lane, guaranteeing blockspace for payments at the protocol level.

Tempo, a stablecoin-native blockchain launched by the Web3 venture firm Paradigm and digital payments company, Stripe, has announced the launch of its public testnet. 

Announced first in September, the payments-first blockchain is now a functioning network being tested by many of the world’s leading companies. During the development stage, Tempo partnered with the likes of Anthropic, Deutsche Bank, DoorDash, Lead Bank, Mercury, OpenAI, Revolut, Shopify, Standard Chartered, and Visa.

Since its announcement in September, the payments-first blockchain has also teamed up with Brex, Coastal, Cross River, Deel, Faire, Figure, Gusto, Kalshi, Klarna, Mastercard, Payoneer, Persona, Ramp, and UBS as design partners.

Tempo’s layer-1 blockchain provides a dedicated layer for payments, guaranteeing blockspace at the protocol level.

“Payments have guaranteed blockspace reserved at the protocol level. They don’t compete with other traffic like NFT mints, liquidations, or high-frequency contract calls. Fees stay low and stable even when other network activity spikes, with a target of one-tenth of a cent per payment transaction. For payment processors, that means no “downtime” from congestion, and predictable economics for high-volume flows,” the company wrote in a blog post on Tuesday.

Transaction fees can be paid using USD-pegged stablecoins, regardless of the type of asset being transferred, thus removing the need to hold a balance of new cryptoassets.

Stay on top of things:

Subscribe to our newsletter using this link – we won’t spam!

Follow us on X and Telegram.

The post Stablecoin Blockchain Tempo Goes Live on Public Testnet with Multiple Partners appeared first on NFTgators.

Quick take:

The fundraising also attracted participation from Solana Labs, Nascent, and Gemini.

Pye Finance said the platform targets Solana’s $75 billion worth of staked SOL pool.

The company aims to give validators and stakers more flexibility over terms and reward flows.

Pye Finance has announced a $5 million seed round led by Variant and Coinbase Ventures. The fundraising also attracted participation from Solana Labs, Nascent, and Gemini, the company said in a press release on Monday.

Pye plans to use the capital to accelerate the development of its platform, which lets users trade locked Solana staking positions on-chain. According to the announcement, Pye is targeting Solana’s $75 billion worth of staked SOL pool, giving validators and stakers more flexibility over terms and reward flows.

According to information on the Pye website, the platform is currently averaging 5.5% APY for staked SOL locked in for six months, while a 12-month lock-in is averaging 6.5% and the 24-month equivalent 7.5%.

Commenting about giving stakers of the $75 billion locked SOL more flexibility, Pye said, “These positions typically can’t be customized or traded once locked, limiting how validators compete for stake and how stakers manage liquidity.”

“Validators have become the underbanked layer of Web3,” said Erik Ashdown, co-founder of Pye, in the release. “We’re building the financial infrastructure that lets them operate like asset managers — offering structured products, predictable returns, and better transparency for stakers.”

Stay on top of things:

Subscribe to our newsletter using this link – we won’t spam!

Follow us on X and Telegram.

The post SOL Staking Platform Pye Secures $5M Seed Round Led by Variant and Coinabse Ventures appeared first on NFTgators.

Quick take:

MoneyGram claims that more than 50 million people rely on its services each year to move money across borders quickly, affordably, and securely.

To meet the needs of so many people, the company navigates complex regulatory requirements in every market.

Fireblocks’ secure crypto infrastructure facilitates more than $5 trillion in annual digital asset transfers.

MoneyGram, the global payment network, has announced a partnership with the crypto payments infrastructure provider, Fireblocks, to accelerate global payments. 

According to the press release seen by NFTgators, the collaboration will also advance MoneyGram’s stablecoin-based settlement and multi-asset treasury operations across its retail and digital footprint, enabling faster, lower-cost payments and real-time treasury operations throughout its network.

MoneyGram’s network connects over 200 countries and territories and is available in nearly half a million retail locations and billions of digital endpoints. The company also claims that more than 50 million people rely on its services each year to move money across borders.

Fireblocks has established itself as a leading crypto payments infrastructure provider, collaborating with some of the biggest banks and crypto companies to secure digital asset transfers. The company claims to facilitate more than $5 trillion in annual digital asset transfers.

With MoneyGram’s compliant payments network and Fireblock’s secure infrastructure, the two companies’ goal is to provide a secure, stablecoin infrastructure and a programmable settlement layer that enhances global payment flows.

“We are leading the next era of money movement by enabling money to move instantly across any channel – fiat or stablecoin,” said Anthony Soohoo, Chairman and CEO of MoneyGram. “Fireblocks accelerates this vision by giving us the secure, programmable infrastructure to transform global payments at scale.”

Stay on top of things:

Subscribe to our newsletter using this link – we won’t spam!

Follow us on X and Telegram.

The post MoneyGram Taps Fireblocks to Enable Real-Time Global Payments Using Stablecoins appeared first on NFTgators.