Industry News

Tracks company news, strategic changes, funding activities, and personnel adjustments across the blockchain and crypto industries, delivering a full-spectrum industry overview for our users.

Stepping into the Stablecoin Wave for Six Years, He Sees the Embryonic Form of the Future of Payments

"Six years into the stablecoin wave, Raj Parekh, former head of crypto at Visa and now leading payments at Monad, reflects on the evolution and future of digital payments. He identifies 2019 and Facebook’s Libra project as a pivotal moment that forced traditional finance to take crypto seriously. At Visa, he led efforts to integrate USDC for near-instant settlement, overcoming slow, costly legacy systems. Parekh later founded Portal Finance to build payment infrastructure, but encountered scalability limitations across blockchains. This led to Portal’s acquisition by Monad, where he now focuses on high-performance, EVM-compatible chains capable of sub-second finality—critical for global payment adoption. He sees stablecoins entering a "email moment" for money: enabling instant, low-cost global value transfer. New business models are emerging where issuers share interest earnings with users, transforming stablecoins into interest-bearing assets even during transactions. This shift, coupled with supportive regulation like the GENIUS Act, is driving broader institutional adoption. Looking ahead, Parekh is excited about AI-powered agentic payments and high-frequency finance, where autonomous agents execute microsecond-speed transactions. He envisions a future where decentralized infrastructure seamlessly integrates into everyday apps, enabling global, efficient, and programmable money movement—ushering in a new era for both finance and user experience."

marsbit12/26 05:40

Stepping into the Stablecoin Wave for Six Years, He Sees the Embryonic Form of the Future of Payments

marsbit12/26 05:40

From Exchanges to Hotels: USDT is Penetrating Real-World Consumption Scenes

Trip.com, the overseas version of Chinese travel giant Ctrip, has begun accepting stablecoin payments in USDT and USDC for global users. A real-world test in Vietnam confirmed the functionality, allowing a hotel booking to be completed in under 10 minutes using USDT. Notably, payments with USDT offered significant savings, with flight bookings being approximately 18% cheaper and hotel bookings around 2.35% cheaper compared to traditional payment methods. The service, powered by Singapore-based licensed payment gateway Triple-A, supports multiple blockchains including Ethereum, Tron, and Solana. A key privacy benefit was noted: booking a hotel with USDT required only a name and email, minimizing personal data collection. This development is particularly significant for the vast global population without access to international credit cards. The article contextualizes this move within a broader trend of major corporations, from PayPal and Ant Group to automakers like BYD and Toyota, adopting stablecoins. This shift is often driven by practical necessity in countries experiencing severe local currency devaluation, where stablecoins like USDT have become a critical tool for maintaining financial stability and facilitating cross-border commerce.

比推12/26 05:12

From Exchanges to Hotels: USDT is Penetrating Real-World Consumption Scenes

比推12/26 05:12

Crypto Morning Brief: Offshore RMB Breaks Through 7.0 Against USD Again, Trust Wallet Users' Funds Stolen

China's offshore yuan strengthened past 7.0 against the U.S. dollar, reaching its highest level since September 2024. Bitcoin mining difficulty saw a slight increase to 148.26 T. In regulatory developments, Hong Kong is advancing legislation for OTC digital asset trading and custody services to enhance compliance and combat fraud. A significant security breach affected Trust Wallet users, with at least $6 million stolen due to a vulnerability in its browser extension. Meanwhile, an analyst confirmed that Trend Research’s Ethereum holdings are facing approximately $143 million in unrealized losses. In political news, the Wall Street Journal reported that Changpeng Zhao benefited from an emerging "informal pardon" system during Trump’s presidency, where lobbying for clemency reportedly involved multi-million dollar fees. The AI-related cryptocurrency sector experienced a sharp decline, losing 75% of its market value—approximately $53 billion—in 2025, with several major tokens dropping over 70%. Infinex reduced the valuation for its INX token sale to $99.99 million following market feedback. Pantera Capital’s Jay Yu shared 12 predictions for 2026, including the rise of tokenized gold, AI-integrated crypto interfaces, and consolidation among digital asset trading platforms. An annual CoinGlass report highlighted Binance, OKX, and Bitget as leaders in BTC and ETH liquidity and derivatives trading volume. Finally, Caixin warned about legal risks associated with the use of "U Cards" in China—offshore bank cards that facilitate payments using USDT.

marsbit12/26 01:45

Crypto Morning Brief: Offshore RMB Breaks Through 7.0 Against USD Again, Trust Wallet Users' Funds Stolen

marsbit12/26 01:45

Crypto Morning Brief: Offshore Yuan Breaks Through 7.0 Against USD Again, Trust Wallet Users' Funds Stolen

Crypto Morning Brief: Offshore RMB breaks through 7.0 against the USD again, while Trust Wallet users suffer a security breach with at least $6 million stolen. Bitcoin mining difficulty slightly increased to 148.26 T. Hong Kong is moving towards legislation for OTC digital asset trading and custody services. Analysts report significant losses for Trend Research's ETH holdings. CZ is noted as a beneficiary of Trump's informal clemency process. AI-related crypto tokens have lost 75% of their value in 2025. Infinex reduces its INX token sale valuation to $99.99M. Pantera Capital predicts trends for 2026 including AI-integration and tokenized gold. Major exchanges like Binance lead in liquidity and derivatives trading. Concerns are raised about legal risks associated with crypto-backed payment cards in China.

深潮12/26 01:11

Crypto Morning Brief: Offshore Yuan Breaks Through 7.0 Against USD Again, Trust Wallet Users' Funds Stolen

深潮12/26 01:11

Crypto Liquidations Topped $150 Billion In 2025, CoinGlass Report Shows

A CoinGlass report on the 2025 crypto derivatives market reveals that total liquidations exceeded $150 billion for the year, averaging $400-500 million daily. The most significant event occurred on October 10th, when Bitcoin’s sharp drop from its all-time high above $126,000 triggered a historic liquidation squeeze. While initially reported at $19 billion, the actual scale likely reached $30-40 billion, with long positions comprising 85-90% of the losses. That day also saw derivatives trading volume surge to $748.3 billion, nearly triple the yearly average of $264.5 billion. Total derivatives volume for 2025 reached $85.70 trillion, reflecting the market’s heavy use of leverage. Bitcoin was trading around $88,200 at the time of reporting.

bitcoinist12/25 23:02

Crypto Liquidations Topped $150 Billion In 2025, CoinGlass Report Shows

bitcoinist12/25 23:02

ZachXBT flags suspected Trust Wallet extension issue as users report drained funds

Security concerns emerged around the Trust Wallet browser extension on December 25, after blockchain investigator ZachXBT flagged suspicious activity potentially linked to a recent update. Reports suggest a supply-chain compromise may have been introduced in a December 24 update, where newly added code could silently exfiltrate sensitive wallet data—particularly during seed phrase imports—leading to immediate fund draining. Multiple users reported losses, with unverified estimates exceeding $2 million. The malicious code allegedly sent data to a recently registered external domain mimicking Trust Wallet infrastructure. The issue appears limited to the browser extension, with no evidence of mobile app compromise. Trust Wallet has not yet issued an official response or advisory. Researchers emphasize the situation remains under investigation, warning users to avoid importing seed phrases into the extension until clarified. If confirmed, this would represent a significant supply-chain attack.

ambcrypto12/25 21:57

ZachXBT flags suspected Trust Wallet extension issue as users report drained funds

ambcrypto12/25 21:57

2026 Crypto Predictions: Dragonfly’s Hadick Calls Outlook ‘Constructive’

Dragonfly general partner Rob Hadick expresses a constructive outlook for crypto in 2026, emphasizing long-term adoption trends over recent volatility. He highlights significant growth in stablecoins, noting they now handle 3% of cross-border payments and could see a tenfold increase. Prediction markets, like Polymarket, are also expanding beyond sports into broader financial use cases. Hadick avoids favoring Ethereum or Solana, stating both will coexist as the market matures, with Ethereum strong in value and stablecoins, and Solana optimized for high-volume, low-cost transactions. He remains optimistic about macroeconomic conditions, tokenization, and continued innovation driving the industry forward.

bitcoinist12/25 18:07

2026 Crypto Predictions: Dragonfly’s Hadick Calls Outlook ‘Constructive’

bitcoinist12/25 18:07

Top DeFi Trends to Watch in 2026

In 2026, DeFi is poised for significant evolution driven by three major trends. First, the stablecoin sector will address liquidity fragmentation through unified layers. Issuers like Circle and Tether are already advancing solutions such as cross-chain protocols and omnichain stablecoins to enhance capital efficiency and reduce transaction costs. Second, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) will increasingly compete with centralized exchanges (CEXs). Improved user experiences, intent-based trading, and AMM innovations on networks like Solana have narrowed the liquidity and competitiveness gap. Growing disillusionment with CEX failures, including data breaches and unfair liquidations, has accelerated DEX adoption, which now accounts for over 21% of all crypto trades. By late 2026, DEXs could capture 50% of the market. Lastly, privacy will become a critical adoption driver. Protocols and blockchains focusing on privacy, such as Zcash and Ethereum’s expanding privacy efforts, are gaining traction. Institutional players require privacy features like private multisig wallets to protect sensitive data, paving the way for broader DeFi integration. These trends will collectively shape a more efficient, competitive, and secure DeFi landscape in 2026.

marsbit12/25 17:55

marsbit12/25 17:55

Trump's Stablecoin Capitalization Exceeds a Record $3 Billion

Former US President Donald Trump's team-launched dollar-pegged stablecoin, USD1, has surpassed a record $3 billion in market capitalization. The growth of over $200 million in 24 hours was driven by new token issuance on the Ethereum blockchain, though the majority of tokens remain on BNB Chain. The surge coincided with a Binance launch of a bonus program offering 20% on USD1 deposits, which caused a brief, extreme price fluctuation in its Bitcoin trading pair. The issuer, World Liberty Financial (WLF), uses a business model similar to major stablecoins like Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC, generating revenue from interest on underlying US government bonds. While USD1 grew rapidly, other stablecoins like USDT and USDC also saw more modest increases, whereas Ethena's USDe experienced a notable decline.

RBK-crypto12/25 16:21

Trump's Stablecoin Capitalization Exceeds a Record $3 Billion

RBK-crypto12/25 16:21

Decrypting the 2025 Crypto Wealth Map: 12 Winners and the Next Wave of Opportunities

The year 2025 marked a pivotal shift for the crypto industry, transitioning from a "recovery year" to one where infrastructure gained mainstream recognition. Key winners emerged, fundamentally reshaping the financial landscape. The U.S., under the Trump administration, became a dominant force by enacting pro-crypto policies like the GENIUS Act and banning CBDCs, positioning itself as a global crypto hub. U.S. spot ETFs, led by products like IBIT, saw massive institutional inflows, with Ethereum, Solana, and XRP ETFs gaining traction. Solana (SOL) evolved beyond a "meme coin casino" to become a core liquidity layer, with on-chain volumes surpassing major centralized exchanges. Base, an Ethereum L2 by Coinbase, leveraged its user base to drive consumer crypto adoption. Ripple and XRP overcame legal challenges, leading to ETF approvals and transforming into a liquidity engine. Privacy coins like Zcash surged, shedding their stigma and attracting institutional interest for compliant use cases. Real-World Assets (RWA) tokenization grew significantly, with SEC support enabling traditional finance integration. Stablecoins surpassed a $300B market cap, cementing their role as critical financial infrastructure. Perpetual DEXs broke credibility barriers, recording $1.2T in monthly volume as traders migrated from CEXs. Prediction markets like Polymarket gained legitimacy, bridging gambling and finance. Hong Kong emerged as a key Asian hub, with growing ETP volumes and a robust regulatory framework for exchanges and stablecoins. Finally, early crypto believers were vindicated as major institutions entered the market, validating their long-term thesis. These winners collectively drove structural shifts, setting the stage for continued innovation and integration in 2026.

比推12/25 15:21

Decrypting the 2025 Crypto Wealth Map: 12 Winners and the Next Wave of Opportunities