According to a new global survey by financial infrastructure provider BVNK, a growing share of workers receive salaries, pay bills, and make routine purchases using digital dollars. The BVNK findings reflect broader trends in which crypto forms of fiat currencies, including stablecoins like USDT and USDC, which are pegged to the US dollar, are increasingly integrated into commercial and consumer products. According to the BVNK survey, a good number of respondents reported using stablecoins for routine economic life. In addition to payroll use cases, stablecoin adoption is growing for digital commerce and peer-to-peer transactions. Users from the survey cited ease of use on mobile wallets, near-instant settlement, and compatibility with global payment networks as key advantages over traditional bank transfers or remittance services. While the prevalence of stablecoin usage varies globally, businesses operating in frontier and emerging markets have been early adopters of crypto-denominated payroll and payment systems. Some tech firms, freelancers, and remote workers now negotiate contracts and compensation in digital dollars, viewing them as a more flexible medium of exchange across borders. Beyond individual usage, BVNK's data indicates that stablecoin payment volume tied to actual purchasing and spending is increasing faster than only trading activity on exchanges. Stablecoins allow senders to avoid high fees and slow settlement times characteristic of traditional remittance providers, especially when moving funds between emerging markets and developed economies. However, the BVNK report highlights that while stablecoins are gaining ground as digital money, confidence in the space hinges on transparency of reserves and issuer practices. Education and user experience are additional variables that could affect the pace of adoption. Many potential users still lack a basic understanding of wallet security, how blockchain works, and on-chain risk management. These could slow stablecoins' transition into broader commercial usage without supportive infrastructure and onboarding tools.

COO Marshall Beard, CFO Dan Chen and CLO Tyler Meade are all leaving effective immediately, according to the filing. The stock fell more than 10% in early Tuesday trading, underperforming most of its peers. Gemini said it does not plan to appoint a successor COO at this time. Instead, co-founder Cameron Winklevoss will assume many of Beard's responsibilities, including revenue-generating duties, in addition to his existing role. The board appointed Danijela Stojanovic, Gemini's chief accounting officer since May 2025, as interim CFO, and named Kate Freedman, currently associate general counsel and corporate secretary, as interim general counsel, effective Tuesday. At least one other higher-level staff member attached to Gemini's APAC division was let go on Tuesday as well, according to a person familiar with the matter. Gemini did not immediately respond to a CoinDesk request for comment. Bitcoin treasury company Nakamoto to acquire BTC Inc and UTXO in $107 million all-stock deal Disclosure & Polices: CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is part of Bullish (NYSE:BLSH), an institutionally focused global digital asset platform that provides market infrastructure and information services.

The number of IRS staff assigned to oversee anti-money laundering practices at the firms dropped to its lowest level in nearly decade. “The reduction in supervisory staff at the IRS matches a trend we've seen across [anti-money laundering] enforcement agencies,” said Erica Hanichak, deputy director at the FACT Coalition, a Washington-based nonprofit group that advocates for strong safeguards against illicit financial flows. The IRS did not respond to requests for comment. Last November, ICIJ collaborated with 37 media partners in 35 countries to publish The Coin Laundry, an investigation into dirty money in the cryptocurrency industry. The investigation revealed that as recently as July 2025, Huione Group, a Cambodian financial institution flagged by US authorities in May as a “primary money laundering concern,” sent large sums of cryptocurrency to accounts at some of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance and OKX. These fund flows continued even after US authorities found major problems relating to the firms' anti-money laundering protocols. U.S. regulators classify crypto exchanges in the same category as so-called money services businesses (MSBs) like Western Union. Even before last year's cuts, the IRS office tasked with overseeing these businesses struggled to adequately supervise cryptocurrency operations, according to the agency's inspector general. In 2021, then-IRS commissioner Charles Rettig told Congress in a letter that the agency needed more staff to address the “rapidly evolving and expanding” cryptocurrency industry. That year, the IRS had 193 agents tasked with examining the anti-money laundering protocols of crypto exchanges and other MSBs, significantly more than in 2025, according to federal data. “Conducting MSB examinations is an inherently laborious activity,” Rettig said in the letter. “[Examiners] need reinforcements to conduct more examinations of both traditional and digital asset MSBs, especially money transmitter principals. In April, the new administration also disbanded a Justice Department unit that investigated crypto-related crimes. Cryptocurrency oversight is a very loosely knitted-together safety net. In 2025, the number of IRS investigators assigned to oversee the dirty money defenses of crypto firms and other money transmitters fell 33 percent to 139 agents, down from 208 in 2024. The falling numbers do not necessarily equate to layoffs, but rather the number of agents assigned to examine anti-money laundering practices in so-called nonbank financial institutions, which include cryptocurrency exchanges and other MSBs. ICIJ obtained the data through a public records request. Some U.S. states also supervise anti-money laundering practices at MSBs. Christina Rea, a compliance specialist who advises crypto firms on IRS anti-money laundering examinations, says the agency appears to be struggling to keep pace with overseeing dirty money safeguards in cryptocurrency. Rea says a small and dwindling group of IRS agents who possess deep virtual currency experience are tasked with overseeing a booming and highly complex new financial sector. “What's notable is that this contraction appears to be happening while the regulated crypto and fintech ecosystem has grown dramatically in scale, transaction volume, product complexity and risk exposure,” Rea told ICIJ. Alison Jimenez, an anti-money laundering expert, told ICIJ that, compared with the federal overseers of big banks, the IRS's lighter oversight of nonbank financial institutions results in action being taken rarely, even when agents unearth significant problems. “They are larger than a lot of banks but they are not getting the frequency of examinations or the in-depth examinations that banks get. Jimenez said that fewer examiners overseeing crypto exchanges and other money transmitters could mean more problems with anti-money laundering safeguards will go undetected for longer and could eventually balloon into larger scandals that hurt consumers and damage the broader industry. “Cryptocurrency oversight is a very loosely knitted-together safety net,” Jimenez said.

The programmability of crypto does not equate to it being money; it represents value in diverse ways. Mert Mumtaz is the co-founder and CEO of Helius, a Solana developer infrastructure platform providing RPCs, webhooks, and APIs. He previously worked as a software engineer at Coinbase, where he researched blockchains and built NFT bots for Solana in his spare time. He co-founded Helius in June 2022 to support developers building scalable applications on Solana. I really like bitcoin's approach of not doing anything that seems much better to me… that's a much better use case for that as the store of value argument. The programmable element of money doesn't make it money itself… we can think of it as value but it doesn't have to be money. It's like saying you know why would you invest in robinhood when you've invested in gold it's like they're just completely different asset types with completely different theses on basically everything. If I take that playground that let's say foundation then I can build structures on top of it that I know will stick because they obeyed the laws of physics and so that is to say all the problems that solana had in 2021 were soluble engineering problems. I think we can become 10 x faster a 100 times cheaper and at least two times more usable for developers to then build applications for. NFTs can actually do… they're a technology that's not just about you know jpegs. The programmability of crypto does not equate to it being money; it represents value in diverse ways. Mert Mumtaz is the co-founder and CEO of Helius, a Solana developer infrastructure platform providing RPCs, webhooks, and APIs. He previously worked as a software engineer at Coinbase, where he researched blockchains and built NFT bots for Solana in his spare time. He co-founded Helius in June 2022 to support developers building scalable applications on Solana. I really like bitcoin's approach of not doing anything that seems much better to me… that's a much better use case for that as the store of value argument. The programmable element of money doesn't make it money itself… we can think of it as value but it doesn't have to be money. It's like saying you know why would you invest in robinhood when you've invested in gold it's like they're just completely different asset types with completely different theses on basically everything. If I take that playground that let's say foundation then I can build structures on top of it that I know will stick because they obeyed the laws of physics and so that is to say all the problems that solana had in 2021 were soluble engineering problems. I think we can become 10 x faster a 100 times cheaper and at least two times more usable for developers to then build applications for. NFTs can actually do… they're a technology that's not just about you know jpegs.

Bitmine recently closed on initial $200 million investment into Beast Industries Bitmine leads crypto treasury peers by both the velocity of raising crypto NAV per share and by the high trading liquidity of BMNR stock Bitmine remains supported by a premier group of institutional investors including ARK's Cathie Wood, MOZAYYX, Founders Fund, Bill Miller III, Pantera, Kraken, DCG, Galaxy Digital and personal investor Thomas "Tom" Lee to support Bitmine's goal of acquiring 5% of ETH LAS VEGAS, Feb. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- (NYSE AMERICAN: BMNR) Bitmine Immersion Technologies, Inc. ("Bitmine" or the "Company") a Bitcoin and Ethereum Network company with a focus on the accumulation of crypto for long term investment, today announced Bitmine crypto + total cash + "moonshots" holdings totaling $9.6 billion. As of February 16th, 2026 at 5:00pm ET, the Company's crypto holdings are comprised of 4,371,497 ETH at $1,998 per ETH (NASDAQ: COIN), 193 Bitcoin (BTC), $200 million stake in Beast Industries, $17 million stake in Eightco Holdings (NASDAQ: ORBS) ("moonshots") and total cash of $670 million. "After spending the past week at Consensus Hong Kong, one of the largest global gatherings in crypto, we came away with a growing conviction that 2026 will be a defining year for Ethereum. We see strengthening product-market fit emerging on the back of three long-duration secular drivers: (i) Wall Street via tokenization/privacy on Ethereum; (ii) AI and AI-agents using Ethereum for both collecting payments as well as verification and (iii) creators leaning towards 'proof of human' and other standards running on Ethereum L2 (Worldchain, etc). Mr. Lee's latest Chairman's message is his keynote given at Consensus HK, and he speaks about these 3 future growth drivers for ETH usage as well as the drivers for Bitmine growth initiatives. During 2018 and 2022, there were many high profile failures of large players (FTX, 3 arrows in 2022) while 2025-2026 has not seen such large-scale debacles. Rather, it seems like crypto has remained weak since the 'price shock' and massive deleveraging seen on October 10th. Hence, we continue to buy ETH even as crypto moves through this 'mini-winter,'" said Lee. "In the past week, we acquired 45,759 ETH," continued Lee. "Bitmine has staked more ETH than other entities in the world. At scale (when Bitmine's ETH is fully staked by MAVAN and its staking partners), the ETH staking rewards is $252 million annually (using 2.89% 7-day BMNR yield)," stated Lee. We continue to make progress on our staking solution known as The Made in America VAlidator Network (MAVAN). Bitmine is currently working with 3 staking providers as the Company moves towards unveiling MAVAN in 2026," continued Lee. Bitmine crypto holding reigns as the #1 Ethereum treasury and #2 global treasury, behind Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ: MSTR), which owns 714,644 BTC valued at $49 billion. According to data from Fundstrat, the stock has traded average daily dollar volume of $0.9 billion (5-day average, as of February 13, 2026), ranking #158 in the US, behind KKR (rank #157) and ahead of CBRE (rank #159) among 5,704 US-listed stocks (statista.com and Fundstrat research). About BitmineBitmine (NYSE AMERICAN: BMNR) is the leading Ethereum Treasury company in the world, implementing an innovative digital asset strategy for institutional investors and public market participants. Guided by its philosophy of "the alchemy of 5%," the Company is committed to ETH as its primary treasury reserve asset, leveraging native protocol-level activities including staking and decentralized finance mechanisms. The Company will launch MAVAN (Made-in America VAlidator Network), a dedicated staking infrastructure for Bitmine assets, in Q1 of 2026. In evaluating these forward-looking statements, you should consider various factors, including Bitmine's ability to keep pace with new technology and changing market needs; Bitmine's ability to finance its current business, Ethereum treasury operations and proposed future business; the competitive environment of Bitmine's business; and the future value of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Actual future performance outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond Bitmine's control, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of Bitmine's Form 10-K filed with the SEC on November 21, 2025, as well as all other SEC filings, as amended or updated from time to time. Bitmine undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law. (NYSE AMERICAN: BMNR) Bitmine Immersion Technologies, Inc. ("Bitmine" or the "Company") a Bitcoin and Ethereum Network Company with a focus on the...

A contract with his former employer, hedge fund GoldenTree, obliged him to refrain from working for six months, so Hadick prepared to lean into forced leisure time in the country. His plans for a relaxed stay soon came undone. Shortly after his arrival, the crypto market went into free fall following the implosion of a notorious stablecoin project called Terra Luna. Hadick remembers scrolling through Twitter as the contagion spread. His wife called to ask if he was relaxing. “I don't think you understand what's happening to our net worth,” he responded. But Hadick never rethought his decision to go all in on crypto. “I was scared about what was happening to the industry,” he recently told Fortune from Dragonfly's offices near New York City's Union Square. Now, as crypto enters yet another winter, with token prices plummeting and excitement washed out by AI hype, Dragonfly is announcing its fourth fund, a $650 million vehicle. “It's bizarre to see us now become one of the incumbents,” said Qureshi. Qureshi started playing poker professionally at 16 years old, mostly sticking to online games because he wasn't allowed in casinos. He made a bet with a friend that if he ever played another hand of professional poker, Qureshi would have to pay him $100,000. “That was my way of sealing off the decision for myself,” he told Fortune. Qureshi says that his early years at the digital card table prepared him for a pivot into crypto investing. Just as friends told him he was crazy for becoming a teenage poker shark, his decision to join the crypto industry elicited widespread doubt, not least because Qureshi had made a name for himself as a Silicon Valley software engineer. He left a lucrative job at Airbnb to go start a stablecoin startup in 2017, long before stablecoins were all the rage, eventually finding his way to a (then) $500 million venture fund called MetaStable. But Qureshi didn't start at Dragonfly until a few months after it began, joining in 2019 as the crypto industry was stuck in one of its regular prolonged downturns. That early Dragonfly is unrecognizable from its current form. The firm began as a partnership between Alex Pack, a young VC leading crypto deals at Bain Capital Ventures, and Bo Feng, who had made a name as one of the top investors in China's burgeoning internet ecosystem. He joined forces with Pack to make bets both in the U.S. and Asia. According to an early article in Bitcoin Magazine, Dragonfly's first $100 million fund was backed by some of the largest names in Asian tech, including Sequoia China's Neil Shen. Dragonfly built its reputation with investments into crypto companies like the exchange Bybit and the financial services firm Matrixport, as well as investing into other crypto venture firms as a fund of funds. “In his words, he threw the car keys to me…and that was the birth of modern Dragonfly.” One of Qureshi's first moves was to bring on Schmidt, then the head of product at a decentralized exchange called 0x, as a junior investor. “It ultimately led to us just having totally different visions for what fund two and beyond was supposed to look like for Dragonfly,” he said. Pack told Fortune that his first fund with Feng was a “tremendous success,” but realized they were “very different culturally.” By 2020, when Pack left the firm, Dragonfly had bigger problems. According to Schmidt, who speaks Chinese and had chosen to intern at a Chinese company during college instead of accepting an early offer from Coinbase, Dragonfly still maintains a strong Asia presence, though its investments in the region have gone down over the years. “You look at the user base of a lot of these chains and [decentralized exchanges], and they're obviously very Asia-based,” he told Fortune, “But in terms of new investment opportunities, there haven't been as many as there used to be.” There were bigger players raising monster funds, including Paradigm and Haun Ventures, which each had vehicles over $1 billion, compared to Dragonfly's comparatively modest second fund of $225 million closed in late 2020. Still, Dragonfly backed winners such as the layer-1 blockchain Avalanche and the financial services firm Amber Group, as well as an investment into the controversial privacy protocol Tornado Cash, which allows users to anonymize crypto transactions. The latter landed Dragonfly in national headlines in 2025 after prosecutors let slip that Schmidt might face criminal charges for the investment as part of a broader money laundering case. Those included building would-be alternatives to the likes of Twitter and Spotify. For crypto investors, these plans revolved around so-called token mechanisms, with venture firms receiving rights to own proprietary cryptocurrencies in lieu of traditional equity stakes. That Web3 vision of the future never fully played out. Even before the collapse of FTX, crypto was headed in one direction: Wall Street. Bitcoin had started out as a form of electronic cash, and then Ethereum built the next layer by allowing developers to code decentralized financial applications for lending and trading. One, Ethena, was building a synthetic dollar that generated yield through a complicated hedge fund-like strategy on the back end. “It's actually offensive that you're even saying this after what just happened,” Young remembered investors telling him. “They were able to look at it from first principles,” Young said. Today, its flagship stablecoin has a market capitalization of around $6.3 billion. “We really loved him,” Qureshi said, even though prediction markets hadn't yet proven successful at the time. Polychain ended up offering a better term sheet, which Dragonfly decided not to match. “It was obviously a massive miss on our part, but we had the right idea,” Qureshi said. “This is the biggest meta shift I can feel in my entire time in the industry,” Schmidt said, adding that investors are realizing there will be fewer native tokens for different crypto protocols, and more tokens that represent a real world asset like stocks and private credit funds. “Which is what I think we do better than anybody.” “I do always try not to lose sight of the bigger picture, which is we made this digital internet money [go] from zero to a trillion dollars in 10 years,” said Schmidt. “The job is obviously not done, and if anything when I look globally, I think that the need for this stuff is more in demand than ever.” Nearly four years after Hadick joined, the crypto venture sector is stuck in another identity crisis, with deals falling and funds struggling to convince backers to refill their coffers. But with its fresh war chest, Dragonfly is ready to shape the next blockchain era. “In a space that is just completely flooded with bullshit and with fakers and self-promoters, I think that has actually been a superpower.” Leo Schwartz is a senior writer at Fortune covering fintech, crypto, venture capital, and financial regulation. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website.

Take a 30-second survey to help improve The Block. Ethereum's tokenized real-world asset market has topped $17 billion in value issued on its mainnet, according to The Block's data, as large players like BlackRock and JPMorgan continue bringing traditional funds onchain. Ethereum currently accounts for approximately 34% of total onchain RWA value across all networks. Stablecoins on Ethereum mainnet have also climbed above $175 billion in aggregate market capitalization, underscoring the network's role as the primary settlement layer for tokenized dollar-denominated assets. The growth highlights an accelerating shift by traditional financial institutions toward blockchain-based versions of familiar products. Launched in 2024 via Securitize, the fund invests in short-term U.S. government securities and has grown to become the largest tokenized money-market vehicle on public blockchain infrastructure. Earlier this month, BlackRock expanded BUIDL's utility by enabling direct onchain trading through UniswapX in collaboration with Securitize and Uniswap Labs, marking one of the clearest intersections yet between institutional capital and decentralized finance. In December, the bank launched its first tokenized money-market fund on Ethereum, seeding it with $100 million and targeting qualified investors. The move builds on the firm's broader blockchain strategy and signals that tokenized yield products are gaining traction beyond crypto-native issuers. Recent market activity suggests the momentum is not confined to Treasuries alone. This week, Wintermute launched institutional trading for tokenized gold, forecasting that the tokenized commodities segment could reach $15 billion in 2026. Commodities already represent more than $5 billion of Ethereum's RWA footprint. The surge in Ethereum-based RWAs also aligns with broader projections from major financial institutions. Standard Chartered has previously estimated that tokenized real-world assets could reach $2 trillion by 2028, with the vast majority issued on Ethereum. ARK Invest has projected that tokenized assets could climb to roughly $11 trillion by 2030 from current levels. Disclaimer: Evgeny Gaevoy, the founder and CEO of Wintermute, previously sat on The Block's board of directors from April 2023 to early November 2023 and remains a minority shareholder. Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. This article is provided for informational purposes only.

Logan Paul, Justin Bieber, Neymar, Madonna and others sit on deep NFT losses as the 2021 celebrity hype cycle gives way to a utility-focused market reset. Multiple celebrities who purchased non-fungible tokens during the 2021 market peak have experienced substantial losses as NFT valuations declined, according to public blockchain data and marketplace estimates. Logan Paul purchased a 0N1 Force NFT that has since declined sharply in value, according to blockchain records. Justin Bieber acquired Bored Ape #3001, now estimated to be worth significantly less than its purchase price. Soccer player Neymar bought two Bored Ape NFTs whose combined value has fallen substantially from original acquisition costs. Television host Jimmy Fallon purchased a Bored Ape now valued below its peak price. NFT prices surged in 2021 amid celebrity endorsements and increased speculative demand, according to market analysts. As cryptocurrency market liquidity tightened in 2022 and 2023, NFT markets experienced a prolonged contraction, with many collections losing substantial portions of their peak value. Celebrity purchases during the 2021 period occurred near market peaks, reflecting late-cycle momentum, according to blockchain transaction records. Digital ownership concepts continue to develop in gaming, media and tokenized identity applications, industry participants reported. The hidden infrastructure crisis in mortgage and real estate finance that only tokenization can solve | Opinion Regional banks must partner with crypto startups now or lose out on stablecoin revenues | Opinion

For any grievances under the Information Technology Act 2000, please get in touch with Grievance Officer, Mr. Anirban Mandal at data-query@nasscom.in. From the early days of Bitcoin to the smart contract revolution sparked by Ethereum, digital assets have consistently reshaped how capital is formed and distributed. One of the most debated developments in recent years is the resurgence of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), accompanied by a noticeable rise in influencer-led outreach. This trend raises an important question: Is influencer-led ICO outreach truly driving the latest fundraising boom, or is it simply amplifying an already active market cycle? During that period, projects raised billions of dollars by offering newly issued tokens directly to the public. However, regulatory scrutiny, failed projects, and market downturns significantly reduced ICO activity. Platforms like Binance introduced structured token sales that added a layer of credibility and due diligence. Now, ICOs are seeing renewed interest, particularly among early-stage blockchain ventures seeking decentralized fundraising without traditional venture capital gatekeeping. What differentiates this new wave from its predecessor is the central role played by digital influencers. The cryptocurrency ecosystem has cultivated a strong community presence across platforms such as YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), Telegram, and Discord. Some figures, including personalities like Vitalik Buterin or Elon Musk, have demonstrated how online commentary can significantly impact digital asset valuations. While not directly tied to ICO outreach, their influence illustrates how narrative and visibility can move markets. Crypto investors often rely on peer networks rather than institutional research. Influencers cultivate trust by consistently sharing insights, technical breakdowns, and market commentary. ICOs involve technical components such as tokenomics, smart contracts, vesting schedules, and governance mechanisms. Influencers frequently break down these elements into digestible formats video explainers, infographics, and live Q&A sessions. For retail investors who may not have advanced technical knowledge, this educational framing lowers the barrier to entry. A single livestream or thread can reach participants across continents, enabling rapid capital formation without geographic limitations. This global connectivity contributes to the perception of a fundraising boom, as capital pools aggregate from diverse regions simultaneously. While influencer outreach plays a visible role, it operates within broader market conditions. Crypto markets tend to move in cyclical patterns influenced by macroeconomic trends, technological innovation, and investor sentiment. When token prices rise across the board, capital becomes more risk-tolerant. The growth of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols has normalized on-chain participation. Users familiar with staking, liquidity provision, and governance tokens are more comfortable engaging in ICOs. This ecosystem familiarity reduces friction and makes community-driven fundraising models more viable. Some jurisdictions have introduced clearer guidelines for token issuance and digital asset classification. Although global regulation remains fragmented, incremental clarity reduces uncertainty for both founders and contributors. When combined with influencer-driven awareness, this regulatory evolution can accelerate participation. Influencer-led outreach operates at the intersection of behavioral economics and community dynamics. Successful ICOs frequently present compelling visions scalable infrastructure, decentralized governance, or real-world utility. Influencers who articulate these narratives effectively can shape how audiences interpret a project's long-term potential. When influencers analyze tokenomics or question project founders publicly, it can signal scrutiny. Viewers may interpret this transparency as a form of informal vetting, even though it does not replace professional auditing. The resurgence of influencer-led ICO outreach is not without controversy. In some cases, influencers receive token allocations or financial incentives for coverage. Without transparent disclosure, audiences may misinterpret commentary as purely independent analysis. Regulatory bodies in various countries have begun examining how digital asset endorsements align with securities laws and consumer protection standards. Retail participants may lack access to the same data as insiders or early contributors. Even well-intentioned influencers cannot eliminate fundamental project risks such as execution failure, liquidity constraints, or governance challenges. Capital inflows into early-stage Web3 ventures have also risen, particularly in sectors such as: Social media engagement metrics reveal that ICO-related discussions have expanded in parallel. Spikes in community membership and token wallet creation often coincide with influencer-hosted events. Influencer outreach may amplify visibility, but underlying technological developments and market optimism also contribute significantly. If influencer-led ICO outreach continues to expand, several long-term outcomes may emerge: Influencers could adopt standardized reporting practices when discussing token allocations or compensation. Projects may provide more comprehensive documentation, third-party audits, and governance clarity to maintain credibility within influencer communities. Some influencers are evolving into research-oriented analysts, publishing detailed reports and hosting technical workshops. This shift could elevate the overall quality of public discourse around token sales. It accelerates information flow, amplifies community engagement, and lowers educational barriers. Influencer-led outreach has become a central feature of this landscape, shaping how projects are introduced and evaluated. Yet sustainable growth will depend on transparency, robust project fundamentals, and informed participation. The fundraising boom may be visible on social feeds and token dashboards, but its durability will ultimately be determined by real-world utility, technological execution, and community governance. The contents of third-party article/blogs published, are provided solely as convenience; and the presence of these articles/blogs should not, under any circumstances, be considered as an endorsement of the contents by NASSCOM in any manner; and if you chose to access these articles/blogs , you do so at your own risk. Europe is gradually becoming a place of the most promising developments in decentralized finance (DeFi), with the leading role in this process being taken by decentralized exchanges (DEXs). Decentralized finance (DeFi) emerged from a technical breakthrough: programmable financial agreements operating on public blockchains. Early discussions focused heavily on cryptography, token design, and capital efficiency. And tokens launched without structure rarely survive past the hype phase. Startups across the globe are recalibrating their digital growth blueprints, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have become central to that shift. While NFTs were initially associated with speculative art sales and viral collectibles, their functional… Only 1 edit allowed, for more you can contact us at communityadmin@nasscom.in Blog has been submitted for review and it will be live after approval.

While Bitcoin (BTC) attempted to climb back above $70,000 and Ethereum (ETH) slipped below $2,000 again, cryptocurrency news was buzzing about WWE wrestler Logan Paul's sale of a Pokémon collectible card for a record $16.5 million, which was once listed as a non-fungible token (NFT). Delphi Labs general counsel Gabriel Shapiro said on X, the Logan Paul Pikachu NFT fractionalization fiasco is a classic case of "slop tokenization", the token is basically just 'juxtaposed' with property but has no rights to it Shortly thereafter, Liquid Marketplace went offline, and users could no longer withdraw their funds. Paul said he personally paid to get the site back up and that users can withdraw their funds at any time. He has not been as patient when it comes to his other NFTs. X news aggregator WatcherGuru was reportedly blocked by the WWE wrestler after the channel pointed out that Paul purchased an Azuki NFT for $623,000 in 2021, and now its value is down to just $155. Bitcoin's price was trying to hold above $68,000 on Tuesday morning, down 1.4% in the last 23 hours. On Stockwits, retail sentiment around the apex cryptocurrency trended in ‘bearish' territory amid ‘low' levels of chatter.Ethereum's price slid to $1.971, down 0.9% in the last 24 hours, with retail sentiment also trending in the ‘bearish' zone, accompanied by ‘low' levels of chatter. Read also: Bitcoin's $70K Tease Turns To Tumble, ETH Dumps Below $2K – Fed Minutes, PCE Data On Traders Radar For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

The head of Germany's central bank signaled a deliberate shift in Europe's approach to digital money, endorsing euro-denominated instruments as a path to greater autonomy in payments. He noted that EU officials are actively pursuing a retail CBDC and argued that stablecoins pegged to the euro could help Europe “become more independent in terms of payment systems and solutions.” The comments underscore a broader, ongoing debate about how Europe should compete with dollar-based rails in a rapidly evolving digital money landscape. Market context: The dialogue arrives as Washington accelerates work on a broader regulatory framework for digital assets, including stablecoins, with White House discussions and Senate consideration surrounding the CLARITY Act. The GENIUS Act, referenced in policy discussions, would shape how payment-focused stablecoins are governed in the United States, potentially influencing cross-border competition and global liquidity channels. At the core of Nagel's remarks is a recognition that Europe cannot rely solely on US-dominated payment rails if it wants to preserve sovereignty over its monetary infrastructure. The Bundesbank chief's emphasis on euro-denominated stablecoins points to a belief that European coins could complement, rather than replace, traditional fiat money by enabling near-instant cross-border transactions at a lower cost. Nagel highlighted that a wholesale CBDC could unlock programmable payments in central bank money, a feature that could transform how financial institutions manage liquidity, settlement risk, and monetary policy transmission. Still, he warned that if USD-denominated stablecoins were to gain outsized market share, European monetary sovereignty could be compromised. Those tensions mirror broader global debates about who controls the rails for a digital, borderless payments landscape and how to balance innovation with financial stability. Lawmakers and White House officials have been meeting with banking and crypto industry representatives ahead of potential votes on legislation such as the CLARITY Act, which seeks to establish a comprehensive framework for digital assets. These developments signal a convergence of policy considerations in the United States and Europe as both blocs weigh how best to foster innovation while protecting financial stability. Against this regulatory backdrop, European institutions have continued to explore practical pilots and market offerings that could align with a euro-centric digital money strategy. The intersection of central bank digital currency planning and private sector stablecoins could yield a spectrum of options for users—from instant, low-cost cross-border transfers to programmable payments anchored in central bank money. The evolution of these ideas will likely depend on how policymakers assess risk, privacy, interoperability, and compatibility with existing monetary policy frameworks. Nagel's remarks reflect a strategic shift: rather than purely adapting existing fiat rails, Europe appears to be exploring digital instruments designed to operate alongside traditional money while offering new capabilities for payments and settlement. The emphasis on euro-denominated stablecoins as a vehicle for cross-border transactions aligns with a broader push to reduce frictions in regional commerce and to avoid overreliance on dollar-based settlement networks. By framing these instruments as potential levers for European sovereignty, Nagel signals that digital money policy is moving from abstract theory to concrete policy design and market testing. A wholesale CBDC, with its programmable-money feature set, could enable central banks to automate and tailor payments at scale. Yet such capabilities raise questions about privacy, data governance, and the potential impact on bank balance sheets as settlement rails evolve. On the policy front, the United States is actively shaping its own framework for digital assets, and lawmakers have signaled a willingness to adopt a comprehensive regime. The GENIUS Act and related measures aim to provide a clear regulatory pathway, while ongoing White House discussions with financial institutions and crypto firms illustrate the complexity of balancing innovation with risk controls.