How Crypto Payments Will Change in 2026
Crypto payments are shifting from a marketing gimmick to a settlement‑focused infrastructure as 2026 approaches. Merchants increasingly prefer hybrid crypto‑to‑fiat processors that convert digital assets instantly, avoiding exposure to volatility. Three models dominate: wallet‑to‑wallet for crypto‑native businesses, hybrid processors that settle in fiat, and embedded APIs that hide crypto behind standard payment flows. This quiet integration aims to align crypto payments with existing compliance, accounting, and user‑experience standards.
Crypto Stocks Sink as Spot Volume Plunges and Bitcoin Tumbles Below $84,000
Bitcoin slipped below $84,000, a 6% drop that pulled crypto‑related equities lower across the board. Coinbase led the decline, falling 7% and extending its losing streak to eight sessions, its longest since September 2024, while other exchanges such as Gemini,...
Banana Pro Expands on BNB Chain, Bringing High-Speed Execution to One of Crypto’s Most Active Trading Ecosystems
Banana Gun has extended its Banana Pro platform to fully support BNB Chain, adding a high‑performance execution engine to one of crypto’s busiest on‑chain markets. The upgrade lets traders run swaps, limit orders and DCA strategies on BNB assets from the same...
Crypto Market Infrastructure Legislation, the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act, Advances Out of Senate Agriculture Committee
The Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act, a crypto‑market‑infrastructure bill, cleared the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee on Jan. 29, 2026. Chairman John Boozman hailed the move as a step toward a comprehensive U.S. framework that safeguards consumers while supporting innovation. The...
Aero DEX Aims to Fix Liquidity Fragmentation and Dethrone the Incumbents
Aero, a unified decentralized exchange built by Dromos Labs, will launch on Ethereum mainnet in Q2 2026, merging the Aerodrome and Velodrome protocols. The rollout aims to challenge incumbents such as Uniswap and Curve by addressing liquidity fragmentation across layer‑2 networks....
Aleo, Toku and Paxos Labs Launch Private Stablecoin Payroll Solution
Aleo, Toku, and Paxos Labs have launched the first fully private stablecoin payroll solution. The platform lets enterprises pay employees with USAD, a Paxos‑backed stablecoin, while zero‑knowledge proofs keep transaction details hidden. Integration with Toku’s API connects to HR systems...
Bitcoin’s Major Safety Net Just Snapped. Why a Drop Below $85,000 Might Risk More Selloff
Bitcoin breached its 100‑week simple moving average, slipping below $85,000 and ending a two‑month support pattern. The breakdown opens the path toward the next technical foothold around $75,000, with deeper support at the 200‑week average near $58,000. Traders note that...
SEC Chair Says 'Time Is Right' For Pension Funds to Include Crypto, CFTC Head Says Digital Assets Set to Flourish
SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the time is right for retirement plans, including 401(k)s, to add cryptocurrency, while CFTC Chair Mike Selig predicted digital assets will flourish once Congress passes a market‑structure bill. The Senate Agriculture Committee advanced the draft...
Grading America’s Progress Toward Becoming the Crypto Capital of the World
One year after an open letter urging the United States to become the crypto capital, U.S. policymakers have made notable strides across three priority areas. Market‑structure legislation is advancing, stablecoin rules under the Genius Act have been enacted, and regulators...
Global Markets Crash as Everything Including Bitcoin Sells Off at Once Erasing Trillions
Global markets experienced a synchronized crash as the US equity open sparked a liquidity‑driven sell‑off across risk assets. Bitcoin slid to $84,000, gold fell $500 per ounce and oil surged above $71 a barrel amid rising US‑Iran tension. Over $800 million...
Crypto Custody Firm Copper in Early Talks for IPO as Crypto 'Plumbing' Becomes New Wall Street Favorite
London‑based crypto custodian Copper is in early discussions about a public listing, potentially partnering with Goldman Sachs, Citi and Deutsche Bank. The decision will depend on the firm’s near‑term revenue performance, even as it publicly downplays immediate IPO plans. Copper...
EToro Adds DKK Accounts in Denmark After Expanding Nasdaq Nordic Data
eToro has launched Danish‑kroner (DKK) accounts, letting users in Denmark deposit, hold, withdraw and trade directly in their local currency. The move eliminates mandatory USD conversion, cutting fees that can drop to 0.15% for high‑tier members. It follows eToro’s earlier...
Augur Reveals Lituus Oracle Infra to Fight Market Manipulation Across DeFi
Augur unveiled Lituus, an Ethereum-native oracle protocol designed to act as a shared, manipulation‑resistant truth layer for prediction markets and DeFi. The system leverages algorithmic forks and a migration‑based universe forking mechanism that forces attackers to purchase dominance twice, raising...
This Startup Aims to Solve Crypto’s Broken Key Management Problem
Sodot unveiled its Exchange API Vault, a self‑hosted solution that secures cryptocurrency exchange API keys while keeping them instantly available for trading. The vault combines multi‑party computation and trusted execution environments to split keys, preventing plaintext exposure even during high‑frequency...
Stablecoins Could Boost the Utility of Customer Loyalty Programs
Stablecoins are moving beyond pure payments to become programmable, branded assets that can function like loyalty points. White‑label platforms enable companies to launch their own dollar‑pegged tokens quickly, merging money and reward systems. Examples such as a hypothetical Starbucks BucksUSD...
1inch Team Vows Tokenomics Review After Token Hits All-Time Low
The 1inch decentralized exchange aggregator saw its native 1INCH token plunge about 20% to an all‑time low of $0.112 after early‑investor wallets dumped millions of dollars worth of tokens. The 1inch team publicly denied any sales from its own treasury...
DePIN Rebounds Into a $10B Overlooked Sector, Messari Says
Decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) have grown into a $10 billion market, delivering $72 million of on‑chain revenue last year. While the 2018‑2022 token cohort is down 94‑99 % from all‑time highs, leading projects now trade at 10‑25 times revenue multiples, indicating undervaluation. The...
UK Lords Launch Stablecoin Inquiry as Bank of England Moves to Finalize Rules
The UK House of Lords Financial Services Regulation Committee has launched an inquiry into the Bank of England and FCA's proposed stablecoin framework, inviting written submissions until March 11 and a public hearing thereafter. The BoE aims to finalize a systemic...
PUNKVISM Signs Digital Asset Custody MOU with KODA, Strengthening Security and Transparency
PUNKVISM announced a strategic Memorandum of Understanding with KODA, a digital‑asset custodian backed by KB Kookmin Bank and major investors. The MOU places the project’s coin, RWA‑linked NFT, and community reward assets under KODA’s third‑party custody framework. By delegating storage...
Russia Plans to Cap Retail Crypto Buys at $4,000 as It Brings Digital Assets Into the Legal Fold
Russia’s State Duma will finalize crypto regulations by June, with the rules taking effect on July 1, 2027. Retail investors will be limited to buying up to 300,000 rubles (about $4,000) in cryptocurrencies, while qualified investors must pass a risk‑assessment...
Robinhood Is Investing in Crypto Trading Platform Talos at $1.5 Billion Valuation
Robinhood is committing $45 million to Talos in an extended Series B round, pushing the crypto‑trading technology firm’s valuation to roughly $1.5 billion. The financing brings Talos’s total Series B capital to $150 million and adds strategic investors such as Sony Innovation Fund, IMC, QCP...
January 2026: Top Five Fintech Partnership Stories of the Month
January 2026 saw a flurry of high‑profile fintech collaborations shaping payments, blockchain and digital‑asset ecosystems. Riyad Bank’s Jeel signed an MoU with Ripple to pilot blockchain‑based cross‑border solutions in Saudi Arabia, while JP Morgan Chase will replace Goldman Sachs as Apple Card issuer, bringing...
Inside TapTopia’s Play-to-Earn Model: How Telegram Gameplay Converts Into Tokenized Rewards on TON
Telegram’s TON blockchain now powers TapTopia, a play‑to‑earn game with over 50,000 active beta users. The game links everyday Telegram interactions—taps, quests, and leaderboard climbs—to experience points that will later be converted into on‑chain tokens. TapTopia also plans to mint...
Open Directory Exposure Leaks BYOB Framework Across Windows, Linux, and macOS
The Hunt.io team uncovered an openly accessible directory on IP 38.255.43.60 that hosts the complete BYOB (Build Your Own Botnet) framework, a sophisticated post‑exploitation tool targeting Windows, Linux and macOS. The infrastructure includes five C2 nodes across the United States, Singapore...
As Bitcoin Volatility Continues, a Growing Group of Investors Is Watching Bitcoin Everlight
Bitcoin volatility is thinning market participation, prompting investors to focus on infrastructure rather than price swings. Within this narrowed discourse, Bitcoin Everlight gains attention for its BTCL token presale and node‑based routing model. The project’s transparent audits and tiered staking...
Neobank Dakota Launches Stablecoin Platform for Businesses
Dakota, a U.S. neobank founded by former Coinbase executive Ryan Bozarth, has pivoted to become a stablecoin infrastructure platform for businesses. After raising $12.5 million in a Series A led by CoinFund, the firm now provides APIs for stablecoin custody, cross‑border treasury,...
January 2026: Top Five New Launch Stories of the Month
January 2026 saw a wave of fintech launches, beginning with the NYSE unveiling a blockchain‑based tokenised securities platform that promises 24‑hour trading and real‑time settlement. Estonia‑based Iute Group is set to launch IuteBank in Ukraine, inheriting roughly 13,000 retail customers...
Solana Validator Count Drops 68% as Node Costs Squeeze Small Operators
Solana’s validator count has slumped 68% to 795 nodes, down from a March 2023 peak of 2,560, as rising operating costs and fee competition force smaller operators offline. The network’s Nakamoto Coefficient also fell 35% to 20, signaling reduced decentralization. Validators...
Doppler Raises $9M Led by Pantera Capital, Becomes the Default Launch Infrastructure for Onchain Assets
Doppler announced a $9 million financing round led by Pantera Capital, positioning the startup as the default launch infrastructure for on‑chain assets. The capital infusion will accelerate product development, expand its API suite, and broaden global node coverage. Doppler’s platform now...
Crypto Payments Firm BCB Group Appoints Tim Renew as CEO in Leadership Reshuffle
BCB Group appointed Tim Renew as CEO, moving co‑founder Oliver Tonkin to a newly created president role. Renew, who joined as chief revenue officer in 2024 and later became deputy CEO, will steer the firm’s next growth phase after securing...
MEXC to List XYZ on January 29 as Early 2026 Markets Favor New Participation-Driven Projects
MEXC announced it will list XYZVerse’s native token XYZ on January 29 at 13:00 UTC against USDT, backed by a launch campaign offering 50,000 USDT in rewards and APR boosters. The token entered the market after a presale that raised nearly $16 million, with...
More than Half of Bitcoin Investors Are Officially Underwater as the $88,000 Price Level Fails to Hold
An on‑chain analysis shows 63 % of Bitcoin’s invested supply has a cost basis above $88,000, meaning most investors are underwater. The UTXO Realized Price Distribution indicates tens of billions of dollars sit between $85,000 and $90,000, creating selling pressure if...
Paradex Expands Beyond Trading With “Money Badgers,” Its New Cultural Layer for DeFi
Paradex, the privacy‑first zero‑fee on‑chain perpetuals exchange, has launched Money Badgers, a cultural and loyalty layer that tokenizes identity, community participation, and utility. The initiative builds on the same team that created Paradigm, which processed over $1 trillion in institutional derivatives...
SEC Statement on Tokenized Securities
The SEC’s staff issued a detailed statement outlining how existing federal securities laws apply to tokenized securities, whether issued by issuers or third parties. It distinguishes issuer‑sponsored models—using on‑chain, off‑chain, or hybrid record‑keeping—from third‑party models such as custodial and synthetic...
Stablecoin Bank Kontigo Suffers Cyber Attack
US neobank Kontigo, a stablecoin bank serving Latin America, suffered a cyber attack that impacted 1,005 users and resulted in the loss of 340,905.28 USDT. The breach exploited a flaw in the Auth provider’s Apple OIDC authentication flow, allowing attackers...
Papaya Global Releases Global Workforce Wallet Powered by Fireblocks
Papaya Global and Fireblocks have launched Banco Wallet, a global workforce wallet that enables real‑time payouts in both fiat and stablecoins across more than 180 countries. The solution leverages Fireblocks’ digital‑asset infrastructure, combining embedded wallets, treasury operations, and a stablecoin...
Bybit to Launch Retail Bank Accounts with Personal IBANs in February
Bybit announced the launch of “My Bank powered by Bybit,” a retail banking service that will provide users with personal IBANs beginning in February. The product enables fiat deposits, bill payments, salary receipts and crypto trading under a single account,...
One in Two Respondents Said Integrating Wealth Management with FinTech Firms Would Boost Sales
PwC’s Asset and Wealth Management Revolution 2025 report surveyed 300 global leaders and found that 50% view wealth‑management integration with FinTech as the top driver of revenue growth through 2030. Tokenisation and digital assets were identified by 38% of respondents...
Hang Seng Launches Physical Gold ETF with Tokenization Option
Hang Seng Investment Management has launched a physically backed gold ETF on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under code 3170. The fund tracks the LBMA Gold Price AM, holds London‑good‑delivery gold bars, and charges 0.40% per year with a -0.50%...
Best Crypto Exchange Presale to Buy Today: USE.com Enters Investor Watchlists
USE.com is launching Stage 3 of its public token presale at $0.20, with more than 60% of the allocation already sold. The exchange positions itself as a next‑generation, compliance‑focused platform offering sub‑5 ms latency, deep liquidity routing, and a $25 million insurance fund....
How People in Czechia Build Real Wealth with Crypto
Czech investors are turning to structured crypto investing, using platforms that blend investment and trading tools. The article highlights how automated systems like Kellner Luxerise help remove emotion, enforce risk rules, and support both long‑term holding and active trading. It stresses...
HTX Announces Listing of USDe, Expanding Global Access to Ethena’s Delta-Neutral Synthetic Dollar
HTX announced it will list USDe, Ethena’s synthetic dollar, expanding access to a crypto‑native stable asset. USDe maintains price stability through a delta‑neutral hedging strategy rather than fiat reserves. The listing enables HTX users to trade, use USDe as derivatives...
UAE's Central Bank Has Approved a USD-Backed Stablecoin
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates has granted approval for USDU, the country’s first USD‑backed stablecoin, under its Payment Token Services Regulation. Issued by Universal Digital, the token is fully collateralized 1:1 with reserves held in on‑shore accounts...
Universal Launches UAE's First Central Bank-Registered Stablecoin
Universal Digital has launched USDU, the UAE’s first central‑bank‑registered USD‑backed stablecoin. The token is classified as a Foreign Payment Token, making it the inaugural live implementation of the Central Bank of the UAE’s approved digital settlement framework. Reserves are held...
Cere Network Co-Founder, Board Face $100M Lawsuit over Token Sales
Crypto infrastructure platform Cere Network’s co‑founder Fred Jin, his family members, and board members have been sued in San Francisco federal court for allegedly executing a $41 million pump‑and‑dump scheme surrounding the November 2021 token launch. The plaintiff, investor Vivian Liu, seeks $100 million...
XRP Millionaire Wallets Are Ramping up in 'Encouraging Sign': Santiment
Santiment reports that 42 new XRP wallets holding over one million tokens have appeared since the start of 2026, marking the first increase in such "millionaire" wallets since September. Despite a modest 4% price dip year‑to‑date, XRP trades around $1.87,...
ECB Advances Integration of DLT, Blockchain Tech in Collateral Framework
The European Central Bank will start accepting distributed‑ledger‑technology (DLT) assets as eligible collateral for its credit operations on 30 March 2026. Eligible assets must be issued through central securities depositories (CSDs) that use DLT services and comply with existing Eurosystem standards, including...
First Gold and Silver, Now Oil's Starting to Rally and That's Bad News for Bitcoin
Oil prices surged in January, with West Texas Intermediate climbing 12% to $64.30 per barrel and Brent reaching $68.22, the highest levels since September. The rally stems from geopolitical tension over Iran, shrinking U.S. inventories, and broader supply concerns. Higher...
Bitcoin Rallies Expected to Be Short-Lived Until Liquidity Returns: Data
Bitcoin held above the $80,700‑$83,400 support zone, staving off a sharp decline, but futures data suggest the rally may be brief until liquidity improves. Glassnode points to the 90‑day realized profit/loss ratio as the key gauge, noting it must stay...
US Senators Quiz Deputy AG over DOJ Crypto Unit Shutdown
Six Senate Democrats have confronted Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche over his April 2025 decision to disband the Justice Department’s national cryptocurrency enforcement team, a unit created in 2022 that pursued high‑profile cases such as Binance. The senators allege Blanche...