Blockchain & Digital Assets

April 26, 2026 @ 2:05 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Dutch digital banking provider bunq has announced a key milestone in its cryptocurrency services, exceeding (a very modest) €100 million in total trading volume within one year of launch. The achievement, revealed on the anniversary of bunq Crypto’s debut in April 2025, highlights the moderate… Read More

April 26, 2026 @ 12:04 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Elliptic noted that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has issued its inaugural pair of stablecoin issuer licenses. The approvals, announced on April 10, 2026, came just eight months after the territory’s Stablecoins Ordinance officially launched on August 1, 2025. The two recipients—global banking leaders… Read More

April 25, 2026 @ 4:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Brazilian authorities have blocked access to leading prediction market platforms, including Kalshi and Polymarket. The move forms part of a larger enforcement effort targeting unlicensed betting-style services, with officials emphasizing the need to shield everyday investors from unregulated risks. Finance Minister Dario Durigan announced the… Read More

April 25, 2026 @ 4:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

PitchBook’s Q1 2026 Fintech VC Trends update indicated that venture capital investment in the fintech sector reached $11.5 billion across 563 deals. While this marked a 24 percent sequential decline from the previous quarter, it represented a steady 46.3 percent increase year-over-year, signaling sustained momentum… Read More

April 25, 2026 @ 4:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Ethereum Foundation has reportedly finalized an over-the-counter transaction involving 10,000 ETH tokens that were sold directly to BitMine Immersion Technologies (NYSE: BMNR). The publicly traded firm, chaired by crypto analyst Tom Lee, acquired the assets at an average price of $2,387 per token, resulting in… Read More

April 25, 2026 @ 11:11 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Speculation about hidden alliances and undisclosed breakthroughs frequently fuels community discussions. David Schwartz, a co-creator of the XRP Ledger and former chief technology officer at Ripple, recently stepped forward on social media to confront persistent rumors suggesting secretive government connections or large-scale undisclosed plans involving… Read More

April 25, 2026 @ 10:32 am By Omar Faridi  |  

TRM Labs noted that on April 24, 2026, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took a significant step in digital asset enforcement by blacklisting two cryptocurrency wallets directly tied to Iran’s Central Bank. The move, which also highlighted connections to the… Read More

April 25, 2026 @ 10:26 am By Omar Faridi  |  

JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) has outlined a measured yet optimistic outlook on tokenization’s role in reshaping the asset management landscape. According to the banking services provider, converting traditional financial assets into digital tokens on blockchain networks holds the potential to fundamentally alter operations across the entire… Read More

April 24, 2026 @ 5:26 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

This week’s Web3 Thoughts of the Week tackles DoorDash and stablecoins, spot Bitcoin ETFs, and DeFi’s tattered image. DoorDash stablecoin use “It hasn’t ever been about DoorDash adopting crypto. It’s about the fact that money is finally starting to behave like the Internet. “Stablecoins are… Read More

April 24, 2026 @ 5:12 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Chainalysis noted that on April 18, 2026, cybercriminals believed to be tied to North Korea’s Lazarus Group executed one of the largest DeFi heists of the year, siphoning approximately $292 million (116,500 rsETH) from KelpDAO’s LayerZero-powered bridge. Unlike typical smart-contract vulnerabilities, this breach targeted off-chain… Read More

April 24, 2026 @ 3:19 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Bridgetower has integrated Chainlink’s institutional-grade infrastructure to digitize securities tied to the DOM X Arizona Copper-Gold Project. Valued at $11 billion, this U.S.-based natural resource initiative marks the initial phase of Bridgetower’s plan to bring more than $25 billion in assets across natural resources, energy,… Read More

April 24, 2026 @ 11:14 am By JD Alois  |  

The DeFi Education Fund has sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission requesting rulemaking regarding DeFi (Decentralized Finance). The DeFi Education Fund is a non-profit that advocates for regulatory clarity and research on the DeFi sector. The group was established in 2021 through… Read More

April 24, 2026 @ 9:03 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs has released its latest Global Crypto Adoption Index for the first quarter of 2026, revealing a tempered but uneven landscape for retail cryptocurrency activity worldwide. According to the report, total retail crypto transaction volumes reached $979 billion during the period,… Read More

April 24, 2026 @ 8:06 am By Omar Faridi  |  

A concerning case is highlighting the emerging risks that are now seemingly at the c0mplex intersection of US national security and online wagering. US federal prosecutors have charged a U.S. Army soldier with misusing highly sensitive government data to generate substantial profits through prediction markets…. Read More

April 24, 2026 @ 7:44 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Mantle network has put forward a draft proposal to extend a substantial credit line to DeFi protocol Aave. The initiative aims to help the leading lending protocol manage substantial uncollectible positions stemming from a recent high-profile security breach involving Kelp DAO’s restaked Ethereum token…. Read More

April 24, 2026 @ 5:59 am By Omar Faridi  |  

MetaMask’s latest crypto market report indicates that there is now mounting tension and opportunity in digital assets. The analysis from the crypto focused service provider flags a convergence of futures expirations, whale positioning, institutional flows, and overlapping macro and policy events that could drive sharp… Read More

April 24, 2026 @ 4:02 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) has introduced a specialized government money market fund engineered to support the reserve requirements of stablecoin issuers, marking another step in the growing convergence between digital assets and conventional banking. The new vehicle, dubbed the MSILF Stablecoin Reserves Portfolio and trading under… Read More

April 23, 2026 @ 4:02 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Club for Growth chimed in today to add its voice in support of the CLARITY Act, crypto market infrastructure legislation that will outline the regulatory ecosystem for digital assets while fueling innovation across the entire financial services sector. The legislation remains parked in the Senate Banking… Read More

April 23, 2026 @ 12:25 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital asset exchange Gemini has introduced a new AI tool designed to revolutionize how it handles system alerts and engineering efficiency. Announced on April 20, 2026, the “First Responder” is an always-on AI agent that automatically investigates monitoring alerts, analyzes logs, reviews code, and determines… Read More

April 23, 2026 @ 11:12 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital asset exchange Kraken revealed it issued more than 56 million Form 1099-DA tax documents to the IRS for the 2025 tax year. The vast majority of these filings—nearly one-third for transactions under $1, over half for $10 or less, and three-quarters below $50—highlight how… Read More