Author: Benjamin Lee
Cross-border stablecoin transfers are surging nearly 78 percent over the past year even as the broader crypto market experiences a sharp decline. Transfers of the dollar-pegged tokens across borders climbed from $124.2 billion to $220.3 billion in the 12 months through June 2026. Monthly volumes more than doubled from $11 billion in January 2025 to $24 billion by June 2026. The surge occurred even as the total crypto market cap fell 50 percent, a $2.1 trillion contraction that marked the worst bear market since 2022. The growth came mainly from smaller payments averaging about $3,000, used for supplier payments, sending…
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Sunday that bans state public officials from launching memecoins. In addition to the ban on state officials, California Assembly Bill 2409 also prohibits crypto service providers from offering California residents the sale of any memecoin launched in association with federal, state or local public officials. That second stipulation applies to memecoins issued on or after January 1, 2027. Newsom, considered a prominent potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2028, targeted President Donald Trump in a press release announcing the bill’s signature. “While the scam that is Donald Trump continues to hurt American families,…
Iran has been leaning on Tether’s dollar-pegged USDT to dodge a U.S. sanctions dragnet and move money for the regime and proxies such as Hezbollah, according to a new Senate Democrats report. The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations says the token has become a primary payment rail for Tehran and a funding tool for terrorist proxy groups, reports The Wall Street Journal, which viewed a copy of the findings. Tether’s USDT accounts for about 60% of all stablecoins by market capitalization. Because the token tracks the dollar, it is less volatile than other crypto — making it useful for payments and,…
Cardano’s (ADA) recent price surge is running into fresh headwinds from fading trader interest and large-holder exits. Futures open interest for ADA has dropped 9% over the past week, sliding from $1.99 billion to $1.81 billion as traders cut back on leveraged bets, says Ali Charts on X. Whales also appear to be taking profits. “Since September 20, large holders have offloaded roughly 90 million ADA, worth approximately $22.5 million, adding to the recent selling pressure.” This decline in demand aligns with a Tom DeMark Sequential sell signal that appeared on Cardano’s daily chart. “Since then, ADA has fallen 10%,…
A major billion-dollar bank is executing a live pilot of its proprietary dollar-backed stablecoin on a public blockchain to move funds across borders. U.S. Bank, which is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, says the transaction was completed on the Stellar network between its North American and European entities. The pilot validates the bank’s Digital Asset Platform, which supports minting, redemption, freezing and clawback functions while remaining linked to existing finance, risk and compliance systems. Gunjan Kedia, chairman and chief executive officer at U.S. Bank, addressed the pilot’s impact. “This live pilot demonstrates our ability to accelerate global cash management and money…
JPMorgan Chase is now reviewing whether to launch its own stablecoin. The bank is doing that work on a separate track from a group of 21 banks and financial firms that plan to build a dollar stablecoin for business payments across borders, reports The Wall Street Journal. That group includes Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Santander and Goldman Sachs. They want the venture running in the first half of 2027 and plan to set up a company to run it. The token will be pegged to dollars, with other Group of Seven currencies planned for launch in the future. Use…
A Michigan court is barring a prediction market platform from offering sports wagers to state residents or risk massive daily fines for failing to block access. The order requires KalshiEx, LLC to maintain geofencing using a state-licensed third-party provider, with violations triggering a $500,000 daily fine. The injunction prohibits offering, facilitating, advertising, or processing any internet sports betting contracts to anyone in Michigan, including users aged 18 and older. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel secured the ruling after filing suit in March 2026 alleging unlicensed sports betting under the Lawful Sports Betting Act. A temporary restraining order was already in…
Grayscale Research is warning that artificial intelligence may heighten financial surveillance risks on transparent blockchains by improving the ability to link transactions with off-chain data and de-anonymize addresses. This dynamic builds on past waves of privacy concerns tied to technological shifts, including the 1970s digitization of financial records and the 1990s rise of the internet. Grayscale Research says a third wave is underway, driven by AI tools that could make blockchain address labeling more effective and widespread. Source: Grayscale Bitcoin (BTC) transactions are visible by default on the public ledger, a risk noted in its white paper. In contrast, Zcash…
A group of 21 banks and financial firms including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs are preparing to launch a dollar stablecoin for business payments across borders. The firms say they will form a new company in the second half of 2026 and aim to have the token live in the first half of 2027, reports the Wall Street Journal. Stablecoin are digital tokens meant to stay pegged to a currency, in this case the U.S. dollar. The first customers are meant to be companies sending money overseas. Some regions may later offer it to regular customers.…
Crypto platforms are suffering massive losses to sophisticated exploits despite many having undergone independent security audits. A new CoinGecko report shows that between January 2025 and July 2026, crypto platforms suffered a staggering $3.63 billion in losses across 245 documented incidents. Notably the top 10 largest attacks accounted for more than 72.5% of the total value stolen during the period. Out of 245 documented incidents since early 2025, 147 involved protocols that had undergone audits before being compromised. These vetted entities represented a staggering 88.44% of the total capital drained over the last 19 months. Only about 11.0% of these…