Category: crypto

Industry leaders at the Global Blockchain Summit in Shanghai are calling for greater collaboration between Hong Kong and mainland China to advance Asia’s crypto and fintech sectors. Despite China’s crypto trading ban, interest in stablecoins and joint initiatives suggest potential closer cooperation between the two regions, aiming to elevate Asia’s financial technology sector.

USBC, Uphold, and Vast Bank are partnering to introduce the world’s first retail tokenized U.S. dollar deposits. This innovative offering combines traditional banking security with blockchain speed. Customers worldwide, including enterprises and institutions, can open accounts and manage tokenized funds on Uphold’s platform starting in 2026.

Crypto widgets are being used by businesses for customer onboarding, offering features like fiat-to-crypto conversion, trading, and user verification. Platforms like ChangeNOW, CoinMarketCap, Transak, CoinStats, and Switchere provide customizable and easy-to-integrate widgets. These tools improve user experience, trust, and revenue opportunities for businesses in the crypto space.

JPMorgan plans to allow institutional clients to use Bitcoin and Ethereum as loan collateral by the end of the year, reflecting a growing trend of mainstream banks embracing crypto assets. This move could increase liquidity in the market and provide flexible financing options for investors. JPMorgan’s CEO has previously been skeptical of cryptocurrency but appears…

Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood purchased $21.3 million worth of Robinhood shares, boosting the stock by 6%. This investment follows Ark’s recent focus on crypto, including filings for Bitcoin ETFs and holdings in Coinbase, Bullish, and BitMine. Robinhood’s expansion into crypto likely influenced Ark’s decision to increase its stake in the company.

WSPN has launched Checkout, allowing e-commerce platforms to accept and settle major stablecoins in real time. The product aims to address cross-border payment delays and high fees by integrating stablecoin rails into merchant infrastructure. WSPN plans to standardize stablecoins in various financial products and has gained significant support from investors and industry experts.

Tether’s QVAC division has launched Genesis I, a large synthetic dataset with 41 billion tokens for training AI models in scientific reasoning. They aim to challenge Big Tech’s control over AI intelligence. QVAC Workbench allows users to run AI models locally. Tether believes in democratizing access to high-quality AI training data.

Telegram has partnered with Affluent to allow users to earn DeFi yield through its in-app self-custodial wallet. The integration will enable users to earn yield on their USDT balances. This is a step towards making DeFi more accessible to over 100 million active users of Telegram’s wallet.

Crypto.com has applied for a National Trust Bank Charter to gain federal oversight and focus on institutional custody strategy. CEO Kris Marszalek views this move as a strategic escalation of regulated offerings. Other major firms in the digital asset industry, such as Ripple and Coinbase, are also pursuing federal charters.

Ripple has completed the acquisition of prime brokerage firm Hidden Road and renamed it Ripple Prime. This acquisition is part of Ripple’s strategy to further XRP and Ripple USD adoption. Ripple plans to integrate digital assets and traditional finance assets into the platform, and Hidden Road’s founder will work alongside Ripple’s team. Ripple has made…