The latest in digital assets, markets and regulation.
The European Central Bank launched Pontes, a system enabling financial institutions to settle wholesale tokenized asset transactions using central bank money as an alternative to stablecoins.
Bitcoin surged past $85,000 to an eight-month high, driven by significant US spot ETF inflows and regulatory policy moves despite broader market volatility.
The European Central Bank has begun preparatory work to invest a portion of its non-monetary policy portfolio in tokenised securities, settling transactions through the new Pontes infrastructure.
ZetaChain governance passed proposal 68 with 99.4% support, authorizing the shutdown of its layer-1 blockchain and a 1:1 conversion of ZETA into an SPL token on Solana.
South Korea’s Hana Bank issued a five-year, $100 million digital bond using Euroclear’s blockchain infrastructure, marking the first such issuance in the country to directly utilize this platform.
Bitcoin closed the week at $81,159 on Coinbase, surpassing its 50-week moving average of $78,788 for the first time since November 2025.
A joint advisory reveals that the North Korean hacking group WaterPlum infected 30,000 devices and stole $10.7 million by impersonating recruiters for legitimate AI and cryptocurrency firms.
Visa is closing a loophole allowing meme coin purchases to earn credit card rewards by misclassifying them as digital media, following a challenge from Chase.
A Glassnode and Bybit report reveals Bitcoin gained 28% while the median mid-cap altcoin lost 74% over two years, reversing traditional market rotation patterns.
Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad attributes the failed cloture vote on the Clarity Act to a $200 million bank campaign and timing issues, signaling a regulatory shift toward agency action.
Blue Macellari, head of T. Rowe Price’s digital assets business, argues that institutional interest in Bitcoin is increasingly driven by concerns over currency debasement and fiscal sustainability.
Hunter Albright of SALT Lending argues that Gen Z's minimal share of the new home market is shifting wealth-building strategies toward Bitcoin collateral.