South Africa’s First National Bank has launched cryptocurrency trading for retail customers, marking another significant move by the country’s traditional banking sector into digital assets.FNB said its new Crypto Investing service gives customers access to five crypto assets — Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, Solana and Tether’s USDT — through the bank’s existing share-trading platform. Trading is
BlackRock says the rise of autonomous artificial-intelligence agents could create distinct roles for stablecoins as transactional money and Bitcoin as a mechanism for preserving value over longer periods, linking two of the financial industry’s largest technology trends. The asset manager’s thesis centers on increasingly capable AI agents that can perform economic tasks independently, including purchasing
Aptos Labs has unveiled MonoMove, a major upgrade to its Move smart-contract execution architecture that delivered performance improvements of as much as 55 times in testing, as the blockchain developer targets higher throughput and lower computational overhead. The upgrade focuses on how Move smart contracts are executed rather than simply increasing Aptos’ headline transaction capacity.
JPMorgan is working with the Solana ecosystem on new infrastructure designed to allow financial institutions to settle transactions onchain within seconds, marking another step toward connecting public blockchain technology with traditional capital markets. The system is intended to give regulated institutions access to Solana’s rapid settlement capabilities without abandoning the compliance and operational controls required
Crypto exchange OKX has raised new funding at a $25 billion valuation, bringing in strategic investment from Circle, Ripple, Standard Chartered’s venture arm SC Ventures and quantitative trading firm QRT. The round gives OKX fresh backing from companies operating across several of the most important parts of digital-asset infrastructure, including stablecoins, institutional payments, banking and
Abstract, the consumer-focused Ethereum layer-2 network developed by Igloo Inc., is set to shut down on December 15, bringing an end to an ambitious attempt to build a blockchain specifically designed around mainstream consumer crypto applications. Igloo, the company behind the Pudgy Penguins ecosystem, said the project had accumulated tens of millions of dollars in
Michael Saylor’s Strategy has reported an approximately $21 billion gain on its Bitcoin holdings during the third quarter of 2026, underscoring how strongly the company’s financial results have become tied to movements in the world’s largest cryptocurrency. The gain reflects the sharp increase in Bitcoin’s value during the three months through September 30, rather than
OKX Money Turns Stablecoins Into a Consumer Finance Product With 10% Rewards and Global Cards OKX has launched a standalone consumer finance app that lets eligible customers convert more than 50 local currencies into dollar-backed stablecoins, earn rewards on USDG balances and spend through virtual or physical cards, extending the crypto exchange’s push into everyday
Cross-border payments company Conduit Technology has sued Tether after spending more than a year without access to approximately $2.76 million in USDT held in a corporate treasury wallet, arguing that the stablecoin issuer froze the funds without a court order or a request from the Brazilian police investigation linked to the action.The complaint, filed Oct.
Stablecoin payments infrastructure provider Rain has applied to establish a federally chartered national trust bank in New York, seeking to bring digital asset custody, stablecoin reserve management and dollar-backed stablecoin issuance under direct supervision of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.If approved, Rain National Trust Bank would provide fiduciary custody of digital assets