Author: John Smith

The crypto market fell 2.5% on Friday to $2.45 trillion as hopes of an end to the ongoing U.S. Iran war faded. Summary Crypto market cap fell 2.5% to $2.45 trillion as geopolitical tensions rose after Iran rejected a U.S. proposal to end the conflict. Bitcoin dropped to $69,445 while Ethereum slid 4.4%, triggering over $193 million in long liquidations across derivatives markets. Rising oil prices and sustained Fed rate expectations weighed on risk sentiment, pressuring cryptocurrencies and global equities. According to data from crypto.news, Bitcoin (BTC) price dropped 2.5% on the day to $69,445 at the time of writing…

The Reserve Bank of Australia has moved closer to backing real-world asset tokenization as part of its future market strategy.  Summary RBA estimates tokenized assets could add 24 billion dollars annually to Australia’s financial system. Project Acacia explores how tokenization can improve wholesale markets and financial infrastructure efficiency nationwide. RBA plans sandbox to test tokenized assets CBDC and integration with existing payment systems. The shift follows new Project Acacia findings that tokenized finance and related infrastructure could add about 24 billion Australian dollars, or $16.7 billion, to the economy each year. Assistant Governor Brad Jones said the debate has moved…

Coinbase is publishing its order book, spot and futures data on-chain through Chainlink DataLink, widening access to institutional-grade feeds for DeFi derivatives and tokenized assets. Summary Coinbase has integrated Chainlink’s DataLink service to publish its exchange market data on-chain for the first time, covering order books, spot prices, and perpetual futures data from Coinbase International Exchange and Coinbase Derivatives Exchange. The datasets — which underpin billions of dollars in institutional trading activity — are now accessible to DeFi protocols building derivatives, tokenized real-world assets, structured products, and next-generation lending risk engines. The integration follows Chainlink’s existing role as Coinbase’s exclusive…

Payy raised $6m led by FirstMark to build a zero-knowledge L2 and wallet that make USDC payments private by default, targeting enterprise stablecoin flows that avoid fully transparent chains. Summary Payy, a New York-based stablecoin startup, closed a $6 million seed round led by FirstMark Capital in December 2025, bringing its total funding to $8 million. The company is building a privacy-focused payments network using zero-knowledge proofs, arguing that public blockchain transparency is a fundamental blocker to enterprise stablecoin adoption. Payy already has 100,000+ users across 120 countries and processes around $130 million in annualized transaction volume, with a mainnet…

Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only. Stablecoins gain ground as global payment tools bridging blockchain and traditional finance. Summary Stablecoins power faster payments, but infrastructure providers bridge fiat, compliance, and blockchain access for users. Fintech apps rely on stablecoin APIs to enable fast, compliant payments without building complex global infrastructure. Stablecoin adoption grows as providers handle fiat conversion, KYC, and payments behind the scenes for apps. Stablecoins are quickly becoming part of the global payments stack. Fintech apps use them to settle transactions faster. Remittance…

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan says Circle’s 22% post-CLARITY Act selloff is “excessive,” arguing USDC’s payments moat and a $1.9t stablecoin market by 2030 justify a $75b valuation target. Summary Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan called Circle’s post-regulatory selloff “excessive,” projecting the stablecoin issuer could be worth $75 billion by 2030. Hougan cited Citigroup’s revised forecast that the global stablecoin market could reach $1.9 trillion by 2030, arguing the fundamental growth thesis remains intact. William Blair analysts added that Circle’s cross-border B2B payments utility is undiminished, even as regulatory uncertainty persists around profit-sharing rules. Bitwise Asset Management pushed back Wednesday against the…

The CFTC’s first no-action letter for a self-custodial wallet and a joint SEC-CFTC move classifying XRP as a digital commodity give non-custodial XRP infrastructure a clearer path into regulated derivatives. Summary The CFTC issued its first-ever no-action letter for a self-custodial crypto wallet provider on March 17, granting Phantom Technologies regulatory relief without requiring broker registration. XRP treasury firm Evernorth flagged the move as a pivotal moment for XRP, noting the ruling’s core principle — that non-custodial platforms are not financial intermediaries — aligns directly with XRP’s design architecture. XRP was simultaneously classified as a “digital commodity” in a joint…

Franklin Templeton and Ondo are launching tokenized ETFs that trade 24/7 directly in crypto wallets, giving non-U.S. investors round-the-clock access to U.S. stocks, bonds and gold. Summary Franklin Templeton and Ondo Finance announced tokenized ETFs on March 25 that can be traded directly inside crypto wallets around the clock, bypassing traditional brokerage accounts. The product suite spans U.S. equities, fixed income, and gold, with an initial rollout across Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Latin America. A U.S. launch remains contingent on regulatory clarity around on-chain distribution of registered funds. Franklin Templeton is partnering with Ondo Finance to offer tokenized versions of…

Interactive Brokers now lets clients transfer supported crypto from external wallets into IBKR accounts without selling first, extending its low-fee, multi-asset platform push. Summary Interactive Brokers (NASDAQ: IBKR) announced on March 25 that clients can transfer supported cryptocurrencies from external wallets directly into their IBKR-linked crypto accounts without first liquidating their positions. The feature covers Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and other supported assets, with custody handled through Paxos or zerohash, and commissions ranging from 0.12% to 0.18% of trade value — significantly below the industry norm of up to 2.00%. The move follows IBKR’s January launch of 24/7 stablecoin account funding…

Virtuals Protocol is integrating its Agent Commerce Protocol with Arbitrum, aiming to make AI agents native DeFi users on a high-liquidity L2 just as its VIRTUAL token battles an 86% drawdown. Summary Virtuals Protocol (@virtuals_io) announced on March 24 that it is building “the commerce layer for agents to transact natively on Arbitrum.” The original Virtuals Protocol post drew 41,400 views. Virtuals Protocol’s native token VIRTUAL is currently trading at approximately $0.724 with a market capitalization of roughly $475 million — down 86% from its all-time high. Virtuals Protocol and Arbitrum announced a significant integration on March 24 that positions the AI agent platform…