HashStack #030

Stack BTC Plc secured investment from Nigel Farage, who takes a 6.31% stake in the UK bitcoin treasury firm chaired by former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng. (source)

Kazakhstan's central bank announced plans to invest up to $350 million in cryptocurrency assets as part of its reserve management strategy. (source)

Paraguay's government announced plans to mine Bitcoin using confiscated mining rigs as part of a state-run operation. (source)

Strike received a BitLicense from NYDFS, enabling it to offer Bitcoin financial services to New York residents. (source)

Ethereum Foundation outlined a long-term 'Strawmap' roadmap through 2029, proposing faster transactions, higher capacity, and new privacy features. (source)

Vitalik Buterin proposed a quantum roadmap for Ethereum, with one protective measure potentially deployable before the end of year. (source)

Ethereum Foundation created a dedicated team to support privacy-first, permissionless DeFi builders focusing on security and open-source principles. (source)

Starknet launched strkBTC, a Bitcoin wrapper integrating enhanced privacy features for DeFi while maintaining composability. (source)

An AI-powered audit by Octane Security uncovered a high-severity bug in Nethermind, a key software client running the Ethereum blockchain. (source)

Kraken's banking arm secured a Federal Reserve master account, marking a significant milestone for crypto-TradFi integration. (source)

21Shares launched the first US spot Polkadot ETF, trading under ticker TDOT on Nasdaq, expanding the altcoin ETF landscape. (source)

21Shares launched the TSUI ETF on Nasdaq, giving US investors regulated exposure to the Sui blockchain. (source)

Aptos token holders voted nearly unanimously to hard cap APT supply at 2.1 billion tokens, shifting the network to deflationary tokenomics. (source)

Western Union partnered with Crossmint to launch the USDPT stablecoin on Solana, targeting seamless cross-border money transfers. (source)

Pakistan's parliament passed the Virtual Assets Act, establishing a statutory digital asset regulator and introducing criminal penalties nationwide. (source)

Cardano's ADA token became accepted as payment at Spar supermarkets in Switzerland via integration with DFX.swiss. (source)

Dubai's VARA ordered KuCoin to immediately stop offering crypto services to residents, citing the exchange's lack of proper licensing. (source)

Aave's monthly active users reached all-time highs of ~155,000 as investors shifted capital toward DeFi lending amid fewer low-risk yield alternatives. (source)

Marc Zeller's Aave-Chan Initiative announced its exit from Aave DAO amid a protracted governance dispute, escalating the power struggle. (source)

Uniswap's DAO voted to activate the protocol's fee switch across eight additional blockchains following its earlier activation on Ethereum. (source)

A court dismissed a class action lawsuit against Uniswap, reaffirming decentralized platforms' immunity from liability for third-party misuse. (source)

Resolv and Centrifuge launched a $100 million tokenized credit strategy on Aave, integrating traditional credit into DeFi. (source)

ZachXBT accused Axiom trading platform employees of insider trading by using internal tools to access customers' private wallet data. (source)

Solv Protocol was exploited for approximately $3 million in a DeFi security incident. (source)

Fluid's developers proposed transferring all intellectual property to a DAO-controlled foundation, granting the community ultimate governance authority. (source)

Kalshi faced a class action lawsuit after refusing to pay out prediction market contracts tied to Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei's death. (source)

Kalshi and Polymarket are each exploring fundraising rounds targeting $20 billion valuations, double their previous round valuations. (source)

Backpack partnered with Superstate to offer users on-chain access to IPO shares. (source)

Researchers found an Alibaba-linked AI agent hijacked GPU resources to conduct unauthorized cryptocurrency mining via a reverse SSH tunnel. (source)

Core Scientific secured up to $1 billion from Morgan Stanley to fund its strategic pivot from Bitcoin mining to AI infrastructure. (source)

Jack Dorsey's Block announced a 40% staff reduction in a major AI-driven restructuring, the first time the company cited AI as the reason. (source)

Venice AI surged above a $600 million valuation after becoming the recommended private model provider for OpenClaw. (source)

Circle settled $68 million in internal intercompany transfers in 30 minutes using USDC via its Mint platform, replacing slow bank wires. (source)

Florida became the first US state to pass a stablecoin bill, providing a framework for payment stablecoin issuers aligned with the federal GENIUS Act. (source)

US Treasury recommended Congress grant crypto platforms a 'hold law' to temporarily freeze suspicious funds while investigators secure warrants. (source)

FATF flagged peer-to-peer stablecoin transfers as a top money laundering risk and urged issuers to embed freeze controls in smart contracts. (source)

Visa and Stripe-owned Bridge rolled out stablecoin-linked cards to over 100 countries, enabling spending at Visa's 175 million merchants worldwide. (source)

SoFi and Mastercard partnered to integrate the SoFiUSD stablecoin for global settlement on the Ethereum network. (source)

Jack Dorsey's Block announced it would support stablecoins, responding to competitive pressure from Stripe and PayPal. (source)

South Korea's financial regulators moved to block firms from holding USDT and USDC on corporate balance sheets. (source)

Russia's Ministry of Finance announced plans for a new stablecoin bill to capitalize on what officials described as the asset class's 'colossal potential.' (source)

Revolut joined the UK Financial Conduct Authority's stablecoin sandbox, focused on issuing stablecoins in real-world conditions. (source)

Tether invested in Utexo, a startup developing infrastructure to enable USDT settlement directly on the Bitcoin network. (source)

Angle Protocol announced it would shutter its EURA euro stablecoin after a five-year decline from its position as the largest euro stablecoin. (source)

Brale integrated Radius Network to enable stablecoin settlements at 2.5 million transactions per second. (source)

Trump sided publicly with crypto firms in the stablecoin yield dispute, criticizing banks for undermining his pro-crypto agenda. (source)

MoonPay and M0 launched PYUSDx, a development framework simplifying the creation of application-specific stablecoins backed by PayPal's PYUSD. (source)

Tokenized assets surpassed $25 billion in total value after nearly quadrupling in a year, driven by Treasurys, private credit, and commodities. (source)

Real-world assets on Ethereum topped $15 billion, with tokenized gold surging past $4 billion as a major contributor. (source)

US federal banking agencies issued guidance clarifying that tokenized securities should receive identical capital treatment to traditional securities. (source)

Bank of Canada and the country's largest lenders completed their first tokenized bond trial, a milestone for institutional blockchain adoption. (source)

Kraken launched xChange, a unified cross-chain execution layer for its xStocks tokenized equities across Ethereum and Solana. (source)

DTCC, Clearstream, Euroclear, and BCG published a report declaring interoperability essential for digital assets to reach their full potential. (source)

Barclays announced it is evaluating a blockchain-based settlement platform integrating stablecoins and tokenized deposits. (source)

RedStone Oracle infrastructure went live on Stellar to support the network's DeFi ecosystem, where RWA value recently crossed $1.3 billion. (source)

NYSE parent ICE invested approximately $200 million in OKX at a reported $25 billion valuation, forming a strategic partnership targeting tokenized NYSE stocks.

KAST, a stablecoin-powered financial platform, raised an $80M Series A round co-led by QED Investors and Left Lane Capital. 

Zcash Development Lab, which previously founded Zcash, raised a $25M seed round.

Utexo, a Bitcoin-native infrastructure provider, has raised a $7.5M seed round co-led by Tether, Big Brain Holdings and Portal Ventures to advance USDT settlement on the Bitcoin network. 

Crossover Market, an institutional digital asset trading firm, secured $31M in Series B funding led by Tradeweb Markets.

ARQ, a stablecoin-focused financial app, raised $70M funding from Sequoia Capital and Founders Fund. 

JPYC, a yen-pegged stablecon, raised a $12M Series B led by Asteria Corporation. 

Kaito Studio launched beta, focused on ambassador and creator matching, performance attribution in Web 2.

Pendle shared new features to launch in 2026, including direct access to Pendle on CEX Earn, one-click auto-leverage and looping, etc.

Peaq partnered with OKX Wallet to turn a tokenized robo-farm in Hong Kong into an onchain trader using AI agents for market monitoring, trades, and multi-chain transactions, with part of its real revenue already generating five-figure yields for 200+ onchain holders.

Starknet introduced strkBTC, a wrapped BTC that allows users to do the same DeFi activities but without revealing their positions

Altlayer recorded nearly 50,000 agents registered in its 8004 network

Japan’s SBI Holdings and Startale Group unveiled their Japanese yen-denominated stablecoin, JPYSC, which is expected to launch in Q2 this year.