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.

Crypto Morning Brief: Dow Hits Record High, BREV Lists on Binance and OKX

Crypto Morning Brief: Dow Jones hits a historic high, surpassing 49,000 points for the first time, with Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan among top gainers. BREV airdrop claims go live on Binance and OKX on January 6. Jupiter launches JupUSD, a reserve-backed stablecoin developed with Ethena Labs. Infinex adjusts its token sale strategy, removing purchase limits. Goldman Sachs upgrades Coinbase to "buy" with a $303 target, citing strong growth prospects. Other notable updates include Starknet's network recovery, Bitmine's additional Ethereum staking, and warnings about new MetaMask phishing scams. Venezuela's opposition leader announces plans to make Bitcoin a key part of national reserves.

marsbit01/06 01:29

Crypto Morning Brief: Dow Hits Record High, BREV Lists on Binance and OKX

marsbit01/06 01:29

What The Fed’s Master Account Means For Ripple And XRP

Discussions around Ripple's potential access to the Federal Reserve’s master account have highlighted significant implications for the company and XRP. According to an analysis by XRP advocate @UnknownDLT, direct integration with the Fed would allow Ripple to connect to central bank transaction flows, reducing reliance on intermediaries. This access could position Ripple Prime, through its acquisition of Hidden Road, to engage with major financial infrastructures like the DTCC, which handles quadrillions in transaction volume. Additionally, Ripple’s rail is seen as a gateway to the stablecoin sector, accounting for roughly 10% of global stablecoin transactions. XRP is framed as foundational infrastructure—enabling cross-border and intersystem payments—rather than a speculative asset. The long-term vision suggests XRP could dominate cross-border payments, with the XRP Ledger supporting high-volume, fast, and low-cost transactions. This outlook is presented as a strategic plan developed over a decade, not mere speculation.

bitcoinist01/05 22:02

What The Fed’s Master Account Means For Ripple And XRP

bitcoinist01/05 22:02

Does The Digital Euro Use XRP? Here’s What We Know

Crypto pundit SMQKE has suggested a potential connection between the proposed digital euro and XRP Ledger (XRPL), noting that the DLT pilot program for the CBDC may use XRPL-based technology from Axiology. However, the European Central Bank has not confirmed if the digital euro will launch on any public blockchain, including XRPL. The XRP Ledger already hosts several stablecoins, including Ripple's RLUSD and EURØP, which could boost XRP adoption. Meanwhile, conflicting views exist on whether banks are accumulating XRP or simply using Ripple's payment solutions for cross-border transactions. XRP's price was up 3% to $2.13 at the time of writing.

bitcoinist01/05 19:06

Does The Digital Euro Use XRP? Here’s What We Know

bitcoinist01/05 19:06

Unveiling the Crypto Industry Salaries: Is a Million-Dollar Annual Salary Really That Easy?

Based on Dragonfly's 2025 crypto industry compensation report, salaries across most roles and regions have declined, though the market is stabilizing. Key findings show engineering remains the highest-paid core function, while product management sees explosive growth at senior levels, with US-based executives earning $391k-$484k. The industry is inherently global, with Europe as a major hiring hub, and remote work remains dominant. Entry-level positions are scarce, comprising under 10% of roles. Salaries for software engineers in the US range from $89k (entry) to $236k (executive). Crypto engineers see steep growth after gaining expertise. Notably, US-based senior individual contributors often outearn managers in design and other functions. Business development shows the highest growth from entry to mid-level roles. Founder salaries increase with funding rounds, with US founders consistently earning more than international peers. The report highlights a "barbell structure" where high compensation concentrates at entry and senior levels, squeezing mid-career professionals. Overall, cash salaries lead in the US, but international roles often compensate with higher equity and token allocations.

比推01/05 16:57

Unveiling the Crypto Industry Salaries: Is a Million-Dollar Annual Salary Really That Easy?

比推01/05 16:57

Crypto Payments Hit A Turning Point With Visa Card Use Up Over 500%

Visa-backed cryptocurrency cards experienced a dramatic surge in consumer spending in 2025, with a 525% increase in net spend—growing from $14.6 million in January to $91.3 million by December. Leading this growth were cards from EtherFi and Cypher, which dominated the majority of transactions. The steady, month-over-month rise indicates growing user adoption, with cardholders increasingly using crypto balances directly for everyday purchases instead of converting to fiat. Visa has expanded its support for stablecoins and tokenized payments, aligning with this trend. While still not mainstream due to regulatory and acceptance barriers, crypto payments are transitioning from niche experiments to real-world use.

bitcoinist01/05 15:03

Crypto Payments Hit A Turning Point With Visa Card Use Up Over 500%

bitcoinist01/05 15:03

The Most Centralized Giant in the Crypto World Starts Selling the 'Decentralized AI' Dream

Tether, the highly centralized issuer of the USDT stablecoin, reported $13 billion in profit in 2024—far exceeding the combined revenues and losses of major AI firms like OpenAI and Anthropic. With only 150 employees, Tether earns primarily by investing user funds in U.S. Treasury bonds, profiting from the interest without paying users any yield. Now, Tether is aggressively investing in AI. It loaned over $600 million to Northern Data, Europe’s largest GPU cloud provider with over 10,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs. It also released QVAC Genesis, a massive open-source AI training dataset, and acquired Blackrock Neurotech, a brain-computer interface company, for $200 million. Total AI-related investments approach $1 billion, with potential additional deals in robotics sector. Despite its centralized control over USDT reserves and lack of external audits, Tether promotes a “decentralized AI” vision—advocating for local AI operation and individual data ownership. Critics find this ironic, given Tether’s opaque governance. Tether’s move into AI may stem from concerns over declining Treasury yields and a desire to position itself as a tech innovator. Unlike AI startups burning billions without clear profitability, Tether uses stablecoin profits to fund speculative AI bets—insulating itself from sector risks while gaining influence. The article suggests that in 2026, the best business model in AI might be not doing AI at all, but rather funding it with profits from a separate, lucrative venture.

比推01/05 14:50

The Most Centralized Giant in the Crypto World Starts Selling the 'Decentralized AI' Dream

比推01/05 14:50

Taisu Ventures and Keio FinTEK Center Launch Keio ChainHack 2026 Focused on Web3 Innovation

Taisu Ventures, a global Web3 venture capital firm, has announced Keio ChainHack 2026, a one-day pitch and hackathon co-hosted with the Keio FinTEK Center. The event aims to support early-stage builders working on blockchain infrastructure, regulation, and real-world adoption. It will bring together students, founders, academics, and investors to explore practical blockchain applications. The announcement highlighted several portfolio companies: Helix, which provides institutional infrastructure for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and stablecoins; Lofty, a blockchain-based real estate exchange enabling fractional property ownership; and Pruv, Indonesia’s first licensed platform for permissionless RWA issuance. Each company emphasized Taisu’s active support beyond capital, including strategic partnerships and regulatory guidance. Keio ChainHack 2026 reflects Taisu’s strategy to foster innovation through academic-industry collaboration. Taisu Ventures has over 120 early-stage investments in Web3 sectors and supports the ecosystem through events and founder forums.

TheNewsCrypto01/05 14:24

Taisu Ventures and Keio FinTEK Center Launch Keio ChainHack 2026 Focused on Web3 Innovation

TheNewsCrypto01/05 14:24

Visa-Issued Crypto Card Spending Soars 525% in 2025, Led by EtherFi

In 2025, spending via Visa-issued crypto cards surged by 525%, growing from $14.6 million in January to $91.3 million in December, according to Dune Analytics. This growth signals a shift from crypto as purely an investment to a medium for everyday transactions. EtherFi led this expansion, processing $55.4 million—over 60% of all Visa crypto card payments—followed by Cypher with $20.5 million. These cards function like traditional debit cards but are linked to crypto wallets, allowing users to spend the value of staked or locked cryptocurrencies like ETH at regular merchants. Key drivers include clearer regulations, improved user experience, economic uncertainty, and Visa’s trusted payment network. Stablecoin transaction volume also exceeded $2.5 trillion, dominated by USDT and USDC. The trend underscores crypto’s growing use in travel, online shopping, and cross-border payments, accelerating its path toward mass adoption.

TheNewsCrypto01/05 13:20

Visa-Issued Crypto Card Spending Soars 525% in 2025, Led by EtherFi

TheNewsCrypto01/05 13:20

Scammers Stole Personal Data of Ledger Crypto Wallet Users

Summary: Cryptocurrency hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger has suffered another data breach, this time through its e-commerce payment partner, Global-e. According to crypto investigator ZachXBT, the incident compromised users' personal data, including names and contact information. An email shared by ZachXBT, reportedly sent to affected users, stated that Global-e detected suspicious activity and that an unauthorized party had accessed certain personal data. At the time of reporting, Ledger had not yet released an official statement with details of the incident. This is not Ledger's first breach; in 2020, the data of over 270,000 customers was compromised, which led to years of targeted phishing attempts against users. The summary also notes that the American exchange Coinbase faced a major data breach in 2025, causing an estimated hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.

RBK-crypto01/05 12:52

Scammers Stole Personal Data of Ledger Crypto Wallet Users

RBK-crypto01/05 12:52

MEXC Launches “Galaxy Quest” Trading Event With up to 1,000 USDT in Rewards

MEXC has launched a month-long trading event called "Galaxy Quest," offering participants the chance to earn up to 1,000 USDT in rewards. Running from January 2 to January 29, 2026, the event requires users to register and complete futures trading and referral missions to unlock planet nodes. Each node provides immediate rewards like vouchers and tokens, with the full Star Voyage reward claimable after unlocking all nodes. The gamified structure aims to enhance user participation and lower entry barriers. MEXC, serving over 40 million users globally, emphasizes user-centric features such as zero-fee trading, deep liquidity, and a wide selection of tokens. Full event details are available on the MEXC Galaxy Quest page.

TheNewsCrypto01/05 10:16

MEXC Launches “Galaxy Quest” Trading Event With up to 1,000 USDT in Rewards