Swapin

Crypto payment solutions for businesses and individuals. MasterCard People's Choice Award 2023 🏆 EU-licensed 🇪🇺 Over 7 years of industry experience 🤝

[Swapin @swapincom]

A decade in crypto is like a lifetime.

Swapin has lived through bear markets, bull markets, regulatory waves, and adoption cycles.

But here’s the truth:
Our mission has never changed.

→ Make crypto easy to use in everyday life
→ Make crypto payments secure and fast
→ Make it simple for businesses to integrate

You don’t have to hold crypto or manage wallets to offer crypto payments.

You don't need to be a crypto expert.

You just need the right partner.

“Swapin makes accepting crypto payments easy for any business, even those with no prior crypto experience or knowledge. We help them accept crypto and receive EUR directly in their bank account, just like any other payment method.”
- Evald Hannes Kree, CEO & Founder

Crypto payments can seem complex.

But really, it's about making things easier for your team and offering your clients more ways to pay.

[Swapin @swapincom]

Weekly Crypto & Blockchain Update: June 8 - 14

Market snapshot Bitcoin: $65,90 | Ethereum: $1,740 | Total stablecoin market cap: $315B | USDT dominance at 59.1%
Regulatory developments
Japan moved to put crypto under securities-grade rules, which raises the floor for anyone settling there.
Japan's parliament advanced a bill to classify cryptocurrencies as financial instruments, pulling them under the same legal regime as securities. For a business taking stablecoin payments from Japanese counterparties, this is the direction of travel: clearer rules, stricter disclosure, less ambiguity about what you're holding.

Japan's three biggest banks set a hard deadline for live stablecoin settlement: March 2027.
MUFG, Mizuho, and SMBC will issue yen and dollar-pegged stablecoins under a shared trust structure, starting with settlement for Mitsubishi Corporation. When a country's entire banking core commits to a date, the question for businesses shifts from whether stablecoin settlement is real to whether your provider will be ready when your counterparties are.

Investments, partnerships, launches, & acquisitions

Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, and Coinbase are circling a shared stablecoin platform, and antitrust is the catch.

The biggest names in payments are reportedly in talks to build one stablecoin platform together. If it ships, stablecoin settlement stops being a fintech side door and becomes part of the networks businesses already trust. If regulators block it, expect the same players to keep building separately, which is arguably better for anyone who doesn't want their settlement layer owned by a single club.

Visa put a number on it: stablecoins are now the back end of commerce.
Visa's product chief framed AI as the front end of commerce and stablecoins as the back end, and backed it with a $7 billion annualized settlement run rate through VisaNet. The company is also building a tokenized-deposit layer so banks can issue programmable money while keeping funds on their own balance sheets. The plumbing is being standardized, which is usually what comes right before mass adoption.

Mastercard built a payments rail for AI agents, and stablecoins sit underneath it.

Mastercard introduced infrastructure for a world where software agents make purchases on their own. Machine-to-machine payments need an always-on settlement asset that clears in seconds, and that's exactly what a stablecoin is. This is early, but it's a real signal of where programmable money is headed.

Big banks are moving tokenized cash onto public blockchains instead of walled-off private ones.

After years of building closed, permissioned chains, major banks are shifting toward public infrastructure for tokenized deposits and cash. For a business, public rails mean fewer integrations to maintain and more interoperability between whoever you pay and whoever pays you. The institutions that spent a decade avoiding public chains are now building on them.

Crypto security

Humanity Protocol lost $36 million because its admin keys lived on one employee's laptop.

An attacker compromised a single laptop that held multiple bridge admin keys, then used them to seize control of token bridges and drain funds. The token fell more than 80%. For any business holding stablecoins, the lesson is about custody: a multisig that all sits on one device is a single point of failure wearing a costume. Ask your provider where the keys actually live.

More industry/market updates
Stablecoins held their peg through a volatile week while crypto prices whipsawed.

Bitcoin and ether sold off hard early in the week, dipping toward $60,000 and under $1,900 respectively, then recovered as geopolitical tension eased. The total stablecoin market cap barely moved, sitting near $315.8 billion. For a business, that's the reassuring part: the value you invoice and settle in stays put while the speculative assets around it lurched.

Swapin's Take
This was a week about institutions committing to dates and numbers.

Japan put crypto under securities-grade rules and lined up its three biggest banks for live stablecoin settlement by March 2027. The card networks went public about building stablecoin rails, with Visa naming a $7 billion run rate.

And the Humanity hack was a reminder that as the money gets serious, custody discipline has to get serious too. The settlement layer is maturing fast, and the businesses that pick the right infrastructure now will spend 2027 collecting payments instead of catching up.

[Swapin @swapincom]

Weekly Crypto & Blockchain Update: June 1 - 7, 2026

Market snapshot Bitcoin: $62,960 | Ethereum: $1,665 | Total stablecoin market cap: ~$316B | USDT dominance at 59.03%

Regulatory developments
The UK's House of Lords told the Bank of England its proposed stablecoin limits are too conservative.

The Bank of England had proposed capping individual holdings at £20,000 per coin and requiring issuers to hold 40% of backing in non-interest-bearing central bank deposits. The House of Lords Financial Services Regulation Committee called both rules premature, arguing that holding limits should only kick in if financial stability risks actually materialize.

The BoE's own deputy governor had already signaled the proposals were "overly conservative" in May. For businesses operating in the UK, this points toward a lighter regulatory landing than initially feared.

The Clarity Act, the US crypto market structure bill, is running out of runway.

JPMorgan analysts flagged this week that the midterm election calendar is compressing the window to pass the bill. The Clarity Act cleared the Senate Banking Committee on May 14 but still needs 60 Senate votes, a House reconciliation, and presidential signature. The sticking point: whether stablecoins can pay passive yield to holders.

Banks want to prohibit it; crypto firms want flexibility. If yield restrictions land in the final bill, expect capital to shift toward tokenized Treasuries and money-market fund products.

The US House Ways and Means Committee moved this week toward crypto tax relief.

Seven draft bills under consideration include a "de minimis" exemption for small crypto transactions, which would remove the tax reporting requirement on everyday stablecoin purchases below a certain threshold.

If passed, this is the kind of change that makes stablecoin payments viable for small business use cases in the US market.

US regulators sanctioned four Iranian crypto exchanges this week.

OFAC blacklisted Nobitex and three other Iranian exchanges, citing links to terror financing. This is relevant context for any business operating cross-border payments through crypto: sanctions compliance has to be baked into your stablecoin infrastructure, not bolted on after.

Investments, partnerships, launches, & acquisitions
Mastercard is now settling card transactions in regulated stablecoins, 24/7, including weekends and holidays.

The network will support USDC, PYUSD, RLUSD, USDG, USDP, and SoFiUSD across Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, Base, Arbitrum, and XRPL. Banks and payment firms including Cross River, Lead Bank, and Nuvei are among the first participants.

This means stablecoin settlement is now inside one of the world's two dominant card networks not as a future feature, but as live infrastructure you can build on.

JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Citi are building a shared tokenized deposit network to compete with stablecoins.

The system, operated by The Clearing House and expected to go live by mid-2027, will convert bank deposits into blockchain tokens that move around the clock. The explicit goal: stop deposit flight to stablecoin wallets if the Clarity Act passes and stablecoins become more attractive savings vehicles.

This is the traditional banking system acknowledging, publicly, that stablecoins are a competitive threat worth building against.

Coinbase backed Ethena and is bringing its yield products to 100 million users.

Coinbase Ventures bought ENA tokens on the open market, and Ethena's USDe yield product will roll out on Coinbase's platform and the Base network. Coinbase already serves as Ethena's primary custodian and perpetuals venue. The deal signals that yield-bearing stablecoin products are moving from DeFi-native audiences toward mainstream crypto exchange users.

Securitize, the firm running the back-end for BlackRock's tokenized fund, is going public on the NYSE.

The SEC approved its merger registration with Cantor Equity Partners II this week. Shareholder vote: June 29. The ticker will be "SECZ." Securitize handles tokenization, transfer-agent services, and trading infrastructure for BlackRock, Apollo, KKR, Hamilton Lane, and VanEck.

It's also building the NYSE's tokenized securities platform. The tokenized asset market has grown past $30 billion, with Citi projecting $5.5 trillion by 2030.

Crypto security
A four-year-old bug in Zcash's privacy pool could have allowed unlimited, undetectable counterfeit tokens.

Shielded Labs disclosed Thursday that a critical vulnerability in Zcash's Orchard privacy pool active since May 2022 could have let an attacker create counterfeit ZEC that was cryptographically invisible. The bug was found on May 29 by a security engineer using Anthropic's Opus 4.8 model and patched by June 1. ZEC dropped ~38% on the news.

The TrapDoor malware campaign is targeting developer environments across Solana, Sui, and Aptos.

A malicious package campaign is exfiltrating wallet keys, cloud credentials, and production access from developers. The attack vector is software supply chain: compromised dev packages that look legitimate.

A stablecoin on Apyx briefly depegged this week.

The STRC collateralized stablecoin dipped off its peg briefly on June 4. The protocol described this as an intentional design feature rather than a failure.

More industry/market updates
The tokenized asset market tripled in a year and crossed $30 billion.

BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, JPMorgan, and Fidelity are all active in the space now. Citi projects the market will reach $5.5 trillion by 2030. If tokenized Treasuries and money-market funds become mainstream settlement assets, they'll sit in the same infrastructure conversation as USDC and USDT for businesses thinking about treasury management.

Bitcoin ETFs bled $4.4 billion across 13 consecutive sessions.

ETH, SOL, and XRP ETFs also posted outflows in the same period. The capital rotation into AI equities, particularly after Broadcom's chip guidance, pulled institutional money away from crypto. This is context for the price moves this week, not a structural story about crypto adoption.

Goldman Sachs partnered with Apex and Archax to launch a tokenized real estate fund.

Goldman's move into tokenized real estate follows its earlier tokenized bond work. The financial institutions are choosing which assets to start with.

Swapin's take
On June 3, Mastercard started settling card transactions in USDC, RLUSD, and PYUSD across Ethereum, Solana, and XRPL. Cross River and Nuvei are already live on it.

The practical difference for a business is that your money stops sitting in a batch queue waiting for banks in a different timezone to open.

JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Citi announced a shared tokenized deposit network the same week, explicitly to stop deposit flight to stablecoins. When the biggest card network and the three biggest US banks are both building around stablecoin settlement in the same week, the infrastructure question is answered.

[Joel Valenzuela @TheDesertLynx]

Do one meaningful thing to advance your sovereignty today.

Use @spritzfinance, @ZyptoApp, or @swapincom to pay one bill with crypto.

[Swapin @swapincom]

Weekly Crypto & Blockchain Update: May 25–31

Market snapshot Bitcoin: $72,861 | Ethereum: $1,982 | Total stablecoin market cap: ~$320 B

Regulatory developments
The UK added HTX and a Russian ruble-backed stablecoin to its sanctions list, forcing all UK-regulated firms to freeze related assets.

On May 26, the UK designated 18 entities including HTX (formerly Huobi) and the A7A5 ruble-pegged stablecoin, applying banking-style compliance obligations to crypto exchanges for the first time under UK sanctions law. A7A5 logged $93 billion in trading volume in its first year and was partially backed by Russia's state-owned Promsvyazbank.

Trump publicly backed the Clarity Act while advocacy groups intensified pressure on the Senate for a floor vote.

During the week of May 26, Trump posted on Truth Social pledging to codify a "future-proof" digital asset market, and the Digital Chamber of Commerce issued a public call to action urging constituents to push senators for a floor vote.

The bill cleared the Senate Banking Committee 15-9 on May 14 but needs 60 votes to advance on the floor, with ethics provisions around Trump's personal crypto holdings still a sticking point for some Democrats.

Paxos became the first blockchain-native firm to receive SEC registration as a clearing agency.

On May 29, Paxos Securities Settlement Company received SEC clearing agency registration, seven years after the company began engaging regulators on blockchain-based settlement. The approval covers clearing and settlement of US equities on-chain.

The SEC has now formally recognized blockchain as a viable settlement layer for equities, which changes the risk calculus for institutions still sitting on the sidelines of digital asset integration.

Investments, partnerships, launches, & acquisitions
SoFi launched SoFiUSD on Ethereum and Solana, making it the first US nationally chartered bank to issue a stablecoin directly to retail customers. [CoinDesk] [The Block]

On May 27, SoFi's 15 million members gained the ability to hold, buy, sell, and convert SoFiUSD 1:1 in the app. The stablecoin is issued by SoFi Bank, meaning it carries FDIC-backed institutional legitimacy that no crypto-native issuer can claim.

FalconX confidentially filed an S-1 with the SEC, becoming one of the most prominent crypto-native firms to formally pursue a US public listing.

On May 28, FalconX, a crypto prime broker last valued at $8 billion in 2022, hired Cantor Fitzgerald and filed a draft S-1. The IPO is not expected until late 2026, and the confidential filing doesn't commit the company to listing.

But the move signals that institutional crypto infrastructure businesses see viable public markets window this year, which is consistent with Jefferies' projection that crypto IPOs could generate a $1 trillion public market within five years.

Crypto security
TrapDoor, a supply chain attack campaign, planted 34+ malicious packages across npm, PyPI, and https://t.co/C9hnMDsRBa targeting crypto developer environments. [CoinDesk]

Security firm Socket identified the campaign on May 23 and published its findings during the week of May 25. The packages disguised themselves as developer utilities and used install hooks to immediately exfiltrate SSH keys, wallet keystores for Solana, Sui, and Aptos, AWS credentials, GitHub tokens, and browser data.

More industry/market updates
US Bitcoin ETFs saw $2.8 billion in net outflows across nine consecutive trading days, the longest withdrawal streak since the products launched.

BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust shed $528 million in a single day on May 28, its second-largest single-day outflow on record. The streak ran from approximately May 15 through May 28. Macro uncertainty and geopolitical tensions appear to be the driver.

The stablecoin market cap held near $323B through the same period, suggesting capital is rotating out of BTC exposure but staying on-chain.

Swapin's Take
TLDR; 3 highlights of the week.

One, SoFi made bank-issued stablecoins real for retail, shifting the conversation from "crypto native" to "bank native".

Two, the UK put crypto exchanges on notice by sanctioning HTX under banking-style rules, the first time they've done this.

Three, Paxos got SEC clearance as a registered clearing agency, which means blockchain settlement of US equities is no longer theoretical. Meanwhile, the Bitcoin ETF streak of $2.8B in outflows in nine days shows institutional sentiment is cautious even as stablecoin supply holds steady.

[Swapin @swapincom]

Weekly Crypto & Blockchain Update: May 18 - 24

Market snapshot
BTC: $77,366 | ETH: $2,115 | Total stablecoin market cap: $322B | USDT Dominance: 58.66%

Regulatory developments
Trump orders review of crypto firms' access to payment rails

Trump signs an executive order directing the Federal Reserve and other financial regulators to review whether crypto companies should have access to federal payment infrastructure, including master accounts.

A 6-month review window starts now. If it goes the businesses' way, crypto-native and stablecoin payment providers get direct access to US payment rails, which changes the cost and speed structure for dollar-denominated settlement. If it doesn't, the current correspondent banking workaround stays in place. European businesses with US dollar payment flows should watch this. The outcome affects how cheaply and quickly stablecoin-denominated transactions clear on the US side.

Clarity Act on track to reach Senate floor

Rep. Tom Emmer said the Clarity Act, which would define regulatory jurisdiction between the SEC and CFTC over digital assets, is on track to reach a Senate floor vote despite law enforcement pushback.

For European businesses with US counterparties or US dollar payment flows, US regulatory clarity reduces the compliance uncertainty that currently makes some treasury teams hesitant to approve stablecoin payments at all.

ECB rejects proposals to ease euro stablecoin rules

The ECB warned EU finance ministers that adopting Bruegel Institute proposals to relax MiCA's 200M euro transaction cap on euro-denominated stablecoins would weaken the banking sector.

The 200M euro daily cap on euro stablecoin transaction volume stays in place for now. The ECB's position is that this protects banks from disintermediation. The practical effect for businesses is that high-volume euro stablecoin settlement is still constrained, and any growth in that space depends on legislative revision, not regulatory guidance.

Minnesota banks gain crypto custody authority from August 1

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed a law allowing state-chartered banks to offer crypto custody services starting August 1, 2026.

State-chartered banks are moving faster than federally chartered ones to offer crypto services to business clients. For European companies with US banking relationships, this expands the number of mainstream banking counterparties willing to hold and process digital assets on their behalf.

Investments, partnerships, launches & acquisitions
Qivalis expands to 37 banks across 15 countries

Qivalis, a European consortium building a MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin, expanded its bank membership to 37 institutions across 15 countries, targeting an H2 2026 launch. Total stablecoin market cap at time of reporting: approximately $318B, almost entirely dollar-denominated.

Thirty-seven banks in fifteen countries means settlement coverage across most of the eurozone. The H2 2026 launch puts a euro-native stablecoin alternative to USDC and USDT within reach for businesses that want to avoid currency conversion entirely. The catch, however, is the ECB's 200M euro daily cap applies to euro stablecoins. Qivalis is building within those constraints. For now, USDC/USDT remains the practical settlement option for most European businesses.

JP Morgan: stablecoins retain edge over tokenized money market funds

A J.P. Morgan research note concluded that stablecoins maintain a structural advantage over tokenized money market funds for payment and settlement use cases, citing speed and programmability.

The argument is that tokenized MMFs are better for yield-generating idle treasury cash, while stablecoins are better for actual transaction settlement. For finance teams evaluating treasury strategy, this is a useful framework: stablecoins for movement, tokenized instruments for parking.

Crypto security
Echo Protocol: $76M exploit via compromised admin key

Echo Protocol, a Bitcoin DeFi platform on the Monad network, was exploited for approximately $76M after an attacker gained access to a compromised administrator key, allowing them to drain user funds.

More industry/market updates
Non-dollar stablecoins at 0.5% of market

Despite growth in euro and other non-dollar stablecoins, their combined market share remains stuck at roughly 0.5% of total stablecoin market cap, with dollar-denominated stablecoins holding the remainder.

Thirty-seven European banks building euro stablecoin infrastructure is a structural bet against a backdrop where dollar stablecoins own 99.5% of the market. The demand for non-dollar stablecoins exists but the liquidity, interoperability, and regulatory framework needed to support the volume doesn’t.

https://t.co/JDMiisRkfs files confidential IPO paperwork with SEC

https://t.co/JDMiisRkfs filed confidential paperwork with the SEC for a US initial public offering. Terms and timing have not been disclosed.

Another crypto-native infrastructure company moving toward public markets. This signals the public market appetite for crypto infrastructure companies is back, which attracts capital to the sector broadly and accelerates product development across the stack.

SEC delays synthetic tokenization rule; Commissioner Peirce clarifies scope

The SEC delayed a rule that critics said would enable synthetic tokenization of securities. Commissioner Hester Peirce pushed back on interpretations that the rule would allow synthetic token creation, saying the scope had been misread.

The rule concerns synthetic representations of securities on-chain, which is a step removed from stablecoin payment infrastructure. Peirce's clarification is worth noting because she's consistently been the SEC's clearest voice on crypto regulation. Her view is that the rule as written doesn't do what critics said it would. Monitor for the rescheduled vote, but no immediate action needed for businesses using stablecoins for payment settlement.

Swapin's Take
The Qivalis window, what European CFOs should actually do right now

Thirty-seven banks. Fifteen countries. H2 2026 launch.

Qivalis is by far the most serious attempt yet to build euro-native stablecoin infrastructure at banking scale. If the launch stays on schedule, European businesses that currently convert USDC/USDT to euros on receipt will have a settlement option that skips that step entirely.

If you're assessing stablecoin payments and how to start accepting stablecoin settlement, Swapin's stablecoin payment processing solution is here to help. Speak with our team of experts, here: https://t.co/sH0FdNXOhZ

[Swapin @swapincom]

📆 Six days until Valletta.

We'll be at the https://t.co/02QuotaM4w - The World’s iGaming Community Summit May 26 - 28.

Catch our CEO Evald Hannes Kree speaking at the "Stablecoins Go Mainstream" panel on Tuesday, May 26. As stablecoins become part of everyday payment infrastructure, what does it mean it for businesses moving money across borders?

Find our team Ivar Jaanus, Ramcis Ghidhaoui, and Mike Tiffin• at the Swapin booth on May 27 and 28. Drop by if you want to talk payments, cross-border flows, or what we're building.

Book a meeting, here: https://t.co/dtw5TtYEEt

See you there 👋

[Swapin @swapincom]

Weekly Crypto & Blockchain Update: May 11 - 17

Market snapshot: Bitcoin: $76,894 | -4.9% this week; Ethereum: $2,115 | -9.4% this week; Total crypto market cap: ~$2.56T | -1.59% this week; Stablecoin market cap: $323B | +0.17% this week, USDT dominance at 58.65%

Rising bond yields and inflation concerns drove broad selling this week, pushing BTC below $80K. Stablecoins were the outlier: supply grew by $2 billion in 7 days while everything else fell.

Regulatory developments
The full Clarity Act text dropped ahead of the Senate Banking Committee markup. Over 130 amendments were filed and 44 came from Sen. Elizabeth Warren alone. [Source]

The bill defines which digital assets are securities versus commodities, sets operating rules for stablecoin issuers, and includes DeFi protections. The stablecoin yield provisions stayed contested right through the vote. For businesses with US operations or cross-border treasury arrangements, the specifics of the final text matter now.

Banking groups escalated their lobbying against the Clarity Act's stablecoin yield provisions the same day the bill text dropped. [Source]

The American Bankers Association warned senators that allowing stablecoin issuers to pay yield would pull deposits out of banks. Their argument: yield on stablecoins competes directly with bank savings accounts. The fight isn't about crypto broadly rather who controls the yield layer in a digital dollar economy.

France's central bank broke publicly with ECB president Christine Lagarde over the digital euro on May 12. [Source]

Banque de France deputy governor Denis Beau called for a public-private push to develop euro-based tokenized money, backing the Qivalis consortium of major European banks. Lagarde wants a central bank-issued digital euro targeting 2029. Beau's concern is more immediate: without liquid on-chain euro options now, European businesses will default to dollar-pegged stablecoins. French officials are calling it "digital dollarization."

The Clarity Act cleared the Senate Banking Committee 15-9 on May 14. Two Democrats voted yes. [Source] [Source]

Senators Ruben Gallego and Angela Alsobrooks crossed the aisle. The bill heads next to a full Senate floor vote needing 60 votes to proceed. July 4 is the target for House passage. Polymarket prices 69% odds of passage in 2026. For stablecoin issuers and businesses with US operations, the regulatory floor is being set now.

Investments, partnerships, launches, & acquisitions
Corpay brought stablecoin wallets to 800,000 corporate clients on May 11. Stablecoin settlement is now inside one of the world's largest corporate payments networks. [Source]

Corpay, which processes $12 billion in payments monthly, partnered with BVNK to embed stablecoin wallets directly into its platform. Corporate clients can hold stablecoin balances alongside fiat, and send, receive, store, and convert digital dollars within Corpay's ecosystem. Corpay is also integrating stablecoin rails into its own treasury operations to reduce reliance on pre-funded accounts.

Circle raised $222 million for Arc, a new public blockchain built for institutional finance, with a16z, BlackRock, and Apollo as lead backers. [Source] [Source]

The Arc token presale values the project at $3 billion. Arc is built for stablecoin-based capital markets, tokenized assets, cross-border settlement, and on-chain finance. Circle holds 25% of Arc's initial token supply and plans to operate validator infrastructure. This is Circle moving beyond USDC issuance toward owning the settlement infrastructure layer underneath it.

JPMorgan filed on May 12 and launched JLTXX on May 13: a tokenized money market fund on Ethereum holding short-term US Treasuries, built specifically to meet GENIUS Act reserve requirements for stablecoin issuers. [Source]

JPMorgan seeded JLTXX with $100 million at launch. For stablecoin issuers navigating GENIUS Act compliance, this is regulated reserve infrastructure from the world's largest bank, live on a public blockchain.

KDDI, Japan's second-largest telecom, agreed to acquire a 14.9% stake in crypto exchange Coincheck Group for $65 million on May 13. [Source]

The deal is expected to close in June. Coincheck is one of Japan's largest crypto exchanges. The move follows Japan's progressive crypto regulatory framework and signals growing telco-crypto convergence across Asia-Pacific.

Stablecoin neobank Fasset raised $51 million in Series B on May 14 to expand across 125 countries. [Source]

Backed by Japan's SBI Group, Investcorp, and Turkey's Arz Portföy. Fasset processes $32 billion in annualized volume for over 1,000 SMBs across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, using stablecoins across 50+ payment corridors. The raise funds expansion into new markets plus lending and trade finance products.

Crypto security
THORChain halted all trading for 13 hours on May 15 after a $10.7M exploit targeting its MPC signing infrastructure. [Source]

An attacker exploited a weakness in THORChain's GG20 TSS (threshold signature scheme), draining $10.7M across Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Base. Security researchers identified it as MPC vault key leakage: a failure at the cryptographic infrastructure level. Businesses using MPC-based custody or cross-chain bridge solutions should ask providers specifically about their TSS implementation and key management practices.

The T3 Financial Crime Unit disclosed it has frozen $450 million in illicit digital assets since launch, coordinating with law enforcement across 50 countries. [Source]

The T3 FCU is a joint operation run by Tether, Tron, and TRM Labs. The $450M figure covers a range of sanctions violations, fraud schemes, and ransomware cases. It also signals that stablecoin issuers are now actively participating in financial crime enforcement, not just being regulated from the outside.

Lombard Finance will replace LayerZero with Chainlink's CCIP for cross-chain infrastructure, after a security review triggered by the $292M KelpDAO exploit. [Source]

Lombard manages over $1 billion in Bitcoin assets. The KelpDAO exploit used a LayerZero bridge vulnerability. The post-exploit pivot to Chainlink's CCIP reflects a pattern developing across DeFi: bridge dependencies are being audited and replaced after incidents, not before. For businesses holding assets on cross-chain platforms, it's worth tracking which bridge infrastructure your providers rely on.

More industry/market updates
Institutional investors exited Bitcoin ETFs this week as US Treasury yields climbed, keeping BTC below $80K despite the Clarity Act vote. [Source]

The Clarity Act committee vote didn't reverse the selling pressure. Rising bond yields are making fixed income more attractive relative to volatile crypto assets. Stablecoin supply grew by $2 billion in the same period: institutional money is risk-off on BTC, but stablecoin infrastructure keeps expanding.

Stablecoin networks are making a direct play to replace Visa and Mastercard as the settlement layer for B2B payments. [Source]

Stablecoin payment rails are positioned as an alternative settlement layer with lower costs and faster finality. Visa and Mastercard still own the consumer-facing rails. The B2B settlement layer is being contested.

Dune Analytics cut 25% of its workforce on May 15 and is pivoting to AI and institutional on-chain data products. [Source]

Dune is one of the primary tools for on-chain data analysis. The layoffs follow a broader pattern: crypto infrastructure companies built for the retail analytics cycle are repricing for institutional and AI use cases.

What caught our attention this week:
Corpay, JPMorgan, Circle: three infrastructure bets in four days

Three things happened between Monday and Thursday that don't usually happen in the same week.

On May 11, Corpay brought stablecoin wallets to 800,000 corporate clients. Not a pilot. Live, inside a platform that processes $12 billion in payments every month. Also on May 11, Circle raised $222 million from BlackRock, a16z, and Apollo to build a new blockchain for institutional finance. On May 13, JPMorgan launched a tokenized money market fund on Ethereum specifically built for stablecoin issuers to hold their GENIUS Act reserves.

These are companies that move last and move biggest. When they commit in the same week, the adoption story shifts. The question for your business isn't whether stablecoins will be used for B2B payments. It's whether the infrastructure is getting built fast enough that waiting becomes the risk.

Sources:

Corpay/BVNK — CoinDesk
Circle Arc raise — CoinDesk
JPMorgan JLTXX — CoinDesk

Don't miss out on the latest trends and news in the crypto and blockchain world - if you haven't subscribed yet, do so now and receive these updates directly in your inbox every Monday morning.

[Swapin @swapincom]

Weekly Crypto & Blockchain Update: May 4 - 10

Market Movements
- Bitcoin is up 1.34% over the last 7 days, currently at $80,654
- Ethereum is sitting at $2,329 with a 1.3% decrease from the previous week
- Last week’s top 3 gainers were VVV (88.4%), TON (65.4%), and JUP (42.6%), while the top 3 losers were SKYAI (21.7%), DASH (4.99%), and DOGE (2.83%)
- The crypto market’s Fear & Greed Index is at 50 Neutral today (CMC)
- Crypto market capitalization is at $2.69 trillion, up 0.03% since yesterday
- Bitcoin's market cap dominance is currently at 60%, Ethereum at 10.4%, and other cryptocurrencies at 29.5%
- Stablecoins' market capitalization has risen by 0.63% in the last 7 days, currently at $322 billion, with USDT dominance at 58.76% (DefiLlama)
- NFT sales volume increased by 48.31% over the previous 7 days, while total transactions decreased by 15.13% (CryptoSlam)

Regulatory Developments
- Meta owes the Senate a straight answer on stablecoins before the Clarity Act vote, Warren says
- SEC chair wants securities rules rebuilt around blockchain and AI, not patched over them
- Kraken's parent company applies for OCC national trust charter to expand institutional crypto custody
- ECB's Lagarde says euro stablecoins would weaken the currency, not strengthen it
- Australia's AUSTRAC audits crypto firms for money laundering risks ahead of regulatory reforms
- White House wants crypto market structure bill through the House by July 4
- Bittrex wants its $24 million SEC penalty back after the agency reversed course on crypto
- Bermuda is airdropping USDC to residents and merchants to make stablecoin payments an everyday reality
- Nigel Farage failed to disclose a $6.7 million gift from a crypto billionaire and is now under parliamentary investigation

Investments, Partnerships, & Acquisitions
- AWS teams up with Coinbase and Stripe to let AI agents pay with stablecoins
- Kraken's parent pays $600 million for Hong Kong stablecoin firm Reap to crack Asian payments
- Bitcoin ETFs pulled in $3.8 billion over five weeks as institutional demand hits record $108.76 billion in net assets
- OKX lets traders bet on OpenAI, SpaceX, and Anthropic valuations without owning a single share
- OpenTrade raises $17 million from a16z and others to build out stablecoin yield infrastructure
- a16z raises $2.2 billion for its fifth crypto fund, bringing total crypto capital under management to $9.8 billion
- State Street and Galaxy launch SWEEP, a tokenized fund that lets investors earn yield on stablecoins around the clock
- Western Union launches its own stablecoin on Solana, targeting consumers across 40 countries by end of 2026
- GameStop bids $55.5 billion for eBay, promising $2 billion in cost savings from a cash and stock deal
- Kraken's parent acquires CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange Bitnomial to launch futures and options in the US

Crypto Security
- Vitalik Buterin lost money to a sandwich attack on his own network, wants encrypted mempools to fix it
- The man behind a $60 million crypto fraud is now a popular scam watchdog
- Bitcoin Core bug let miners remotely crash and hijack nodes across four years of software versions
- Iggy Azalea hit with federal class action over claims she misled investors on her Solana meme coin
- Coinbase sued for holding onto $55 million in traced phishing funds without returning them to the victim
- Aave is fighting to unfreeze $71 million on Arbitrum that it says belongs to users, not North Korean hackers

Blockchain Tech & Gaming
- Solana Foundation and Google Cloud launch a gateway letting AI agents pay for APIs autonomously with stablecoins
- DTCC's tokenized securities platform goes live in July with Blackrock and Goldman Sachs on board
- California cannabis company is rewarding vape pen users with Bitcoin, and health experts are not impressed

More Industry/Market Updates
- Stablecoin cards could take double-digit market share in Latin America, Rain predicts
- Overheated S&P 500 options market is pulling Bitcoin along for the ride
- Trump's American Bitcoin lost $82 million in Q1 even as it mined more coin at lower cost
- ICE, OKX, and Securitize flag risks in synthetic tokenized stocks as NYSE parent plans its own regulated alternative
- Michael Burry exits GameStop entirely after the company's $55.5 billion eBay bid breaks his investment thesis
- Coinbase cuts 14% of its workforce as Brian Armstrong bets on AI to absorb the load
- Trump's World Liberty Financial and Justin Sun are suing each other after his token holdings were frozen

[Swapin @swapincom]

We’re thrilled to announce Swapin as the official crypto payment partner for @nextdotio - The World’s iGaming Community

Attendees at NEXT Summit: Valletta can now purchase tickets in crypto. Sponsors and exhibitors can pay for sponsorship packages and exhibition booths with the cryptocurrency of their choice.

💬Pierre Lindh⚡️, Co-founder & Managing Director at https://t.co/02QuotaM4w:
“Working with Swapin allows us to offer a flexible and modern payment experience for our partners and attendees. As crypto adoption continues to grow across the industry, this integration ensures we stay ahead while keeping payments simple and secure.”

Connect with team Swapin at the upcoming NEXT Summit in Valletta.

Have questions? Reach out and speak with an expert: https://t.co/p2plACLeLE

[Swapin @swapincom]

Weekly Crypto & Blockchain Update: April 27 - May 3

Market Movements
- Bitcoin is up 2.6% over the last 7 days, currently at $79,685
- Ethereum is sitting at $2,358 with a 1.9% increase from the previous week
- Last week’s top 3 gainers were SKYAI (223.3%), LUNC(51.8%), and H (51.6%), while the top 3 losers were M (34.2%), DEXE (29.2%), and WLFI (18.4%)
- The crypto market’s Fear & Greed Index is at 47 Neutral today (CMC)
- Crypto market capitalization is at $2.64 trillion, up 1.46% since yesterday
- Bitcoin's market cap dominance is currently at 60.5%, Ethereum at 10.8%, and other cryptocurrencies at 28.7%
- Stablecoins' market capitalization has risen by 0.05% in the last 7 days, currently at $320 billion, with USDT dominance at 59.07% (DefiLlama)
- NFT sales volume decreased by 24.33% over the previous 7 days, while total transactions increased by 7.39% (CryptoSlam)

Regulatory Developments
- Warren and Wyden probe Tether loans to Commerce Secretary Lutnick's family trust
- Seoul court blocks six-month suspension of crypto exchange Bithumb over AML violations ruling
- Warren flags World Liberty Financial's ties to sanctioned individuals as Trump family crypto firm denies wrongdoing
- Gemini gets CFTC derivatives clearing license to settle prediction markets and futures trades in-house
- Senator Tillis eyes vote on Clarity Act as stablecoin rewards dispute stalls crypto legislation
- Celsius founder Mashinsky banned for life from crypto after $10 million FTC settlement
- Nigel Farage's undisclosed $6.7 million crypto gift from billionaire donor puts UK political finance rules under scrutiny
- Canada proposes ban on crypto ATMs to curb scams targeting elderly and vulnerable users
- Trump's CFTC sues Wisconsin over state attempts to regulate prediction markets as gambling
- Israel approves its first shekel-pegged stablecoin, developed by Bits of Gold on Solana with Fireblocks
- EU sanctions Russia with full ban on crypto providers, platforms, and its central bank digital currency

Investments, Partnerships, Launches, & Acquisitions
- Riot Platforms logs its first AI data center revenue at $33.2 million in Q1 2026
- MoonPay launches a debit card that lets AI agents spend stablecoins directly from on-chain wallets
- Shuttle Pharmaceutical to acquire United Dogecoin in $11 million deal to scale mining operations
- Polymarket partners with Chainalysis to add insider trading detection and on-chain compliance tools
- MegaETH token launches at $176 million market cap with distribution tied to network performance metrics
- Tether proposes three-way merger of Twenty-One Capital, Strike, and Elektron Energy into a single public Bitcoin company
- Coinbase launches CUSHY fund to bring stablecoin credit markets on-chain across Ethereum, Base, and Solana
- Meta lets creators in Colombia and Philippines receive earnings in USDC via Solana and Polygon
- Visa hits $7 billion in annualized stablecoin settlement volume as it adds Base and Polygon to its network
- Securitize and Computershare team up to bring stock tokenization to Wall Street's biggest companies
- Western Union to launch Solana-based stablecoin USDPT for settling payments with its global agent network
- Morgan Stanley launches money market fund for stablecoin issuers to park reserves in GENIUS Act compliant assets

Crypto Security
- $65 million DeFi theft suspect Andean Medjedovic linked to fresh money laundering activity while seeking presidential pardon
- Wasabi Protocol loses $4.55 million after attackers exploit single-key admin access with no timelock or multisig protection
- Suspicious HOOD futures shorts on Hyperliquid before Robinhood earnings miss raise insider trading concerns
- Fake stablecoin tokens flood Hong Kong markets ahead of HKMA's first licensed product launches
- Woman gets 71 months for Bitcoin investment scam that targeted elderly victims across multiple states

More Industry/Market Updates
- Steak 'n Shake credits Bitcoin payments for same-store sales growth and cost savings, outpacing McDonald's and Taco Bell
- White House crypto advisor teases progress on US Bitcoin reserve as Treasury holds off on new purchases
- Bitcoin ETF inflows surge but negative funding rates and weak spot demand signal shaky ground ahead

Don't miss out on the latest trends and news in the crypto and blockchain world - if you haven't subscribed yet, do so now and receive these updates directly in your inbox every Monday morning.

[Swapin @swapincom]

Weekly Crypto & Blockchain Update: April 20 - 26

Market Movements
- Bitcoin is up 3.8% over the last 7 days, currently at $77,616
- Ethereum is sitting at $2,312 with a 0.79% increase from the previous week
- Last week’s top 3 gainers were STABLE (39.5%), ZBCN (33.5%), and H (32%), while the top 3 losers were TRUMP (10.2%), SIREN (9.14%), and ENA (8.03%)
- The crypto market’s Fear & Greed Index is at 44 Neutral today (CMC)
- Crypto market cap is at $2.59 trillion, up 0.64% since yesterday
Bitcoin's market cap dominance is currently at 60%, Ethereum at 10.8%, and other cryptocurrencies at 29.2%
- Stablecoins' market cap has risen by 0.01% in the last 7 days, currently at $320 billion, with USDT dominance at 59.18% (DefiLlama)
- NFT sales volume decreased by 16.49% over the previous 7 days, while total transactions decreased by 1.89% (CryptoSlam)

Regulatory Developments
- Wisconsin says prediction markets at Kalshi, Coinbase, Polymarket, Robinhood, and https://t.co/wu5GpcRovT are illegal sports bets
- US Treasury sanctions Cambodian senator and 28 entities over alleged crypto scam operation
- Over 100 crypto firms urge Senate to advance the Clarity Act
UK authorities raid eight London premises over illegal peer-to-peer crypto trading
- Russia passes crypto bill classifying digital assets as property and permitting use in foreign trade
- New York sues Coinbase and Gemini over alleged illegal prediction markets for underage users
- Bank of Korea governor shifts focus to CBDCs and deposit tokens, dropping stablecoin emphasis
- Qivalis consortium launches euro-backed stablecoin to challenge dollar-pegged dominance

Investments, Partnerships, Launches, & Acquisitions
- Morgan Stanley launches money market fund for stablecoin issuers to invest compliant reserves
- Fold launches program letting companies pay employees in Bitcoin bonuses
- GSR launches ETF offering exposure to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana with staking rewards
- Robinhood Ventures opens private market exposure to retail investors, including an OpenAI stake
- Polymarket and Kalshi plan to add perpetual futures trading beyond prediction markets
- DoorDash teams with Tempo to pay delivery workers via stablecoins in over 40 countries
- Polymarket seeks $400 million in funding at a $15 billion valuation
- KAIO raises $8 million from Tether to bring traditional UAE funds onto blockchain

Crypto Security
- Tether freezes $344 million in USDT linked to alleged illicit activity
- John Gotti's grandson sentenced to prison for diverting $1.1 million in COVID funds to crypto
- Kelp DAO hackers begin laundering $175 million in stolen funds across multiple blockchains.

Blockchain Tech & Gaming
- Quantum computer cracks 15-bit key in early sign of threat to Bitcoin and Ethereum
- Ronin to shift to the Ethereum layer-2 network in May, causing brief downtime
- Coinbase warns of quantum computing risks for proof-of-stake blockchains like Ethereum and Solana

More Industry/Market Updates
- Metaplanet issues 8B yen in bonds to fund Bitcoin purchases
- Sam Bankman-Fried withdraws retrial request in letter to judge
- Justin Sun sues Trump-backed World Liberty Financial over alleged extortion and coercion
- DeFi traders amplify risk by leveraging Strategy's STRC for higher yields
- Coinbase premium index signals sustained US investor demand for Bitcoin
- Tether market cap hits an all-time high after DeFi hacks as USDC faces circulation pressure
- Strategy overtakes BlackRock's iShares ETF to become the largest Bitcoin holder
- Reabold Resources explores Bitcoin mining to fund UK gas field development
- Coinbase lets UK customers borrow USDC using Bitcoin or Ethereum as collateral
- Strait of Hormuz closure weighs on global oil prices and GDP growth projections

Don't miss out on the latest trends and news in the crypto and blockchain world - if you haven't subscribed yet, do so now and receive these updates directly in your inbox every Monday morning.

[Swapin @swapincom]

Weekly Crypto & Blockchain Update: April 13 - 19

Market Movements
- Bitcoin is up 5.8% over the last 7 days, currently at $74,870
- Ethereum is sitting at $2,296 with a 5.1% increase from the previous week
- Last week’s top 3 gainers were 币安人生 (134.6%), DEXE (49.8%), and EDGE (49.1%) , while the top 3 losers were ZRO (18%), DASH (16.4%), and STABLE (14%)
- The crypto market’s Fear & Greed Index is at 52 Neutral today (CMC)
- Crypto market capitalization is at $2.53 trillion, down 0.35% since yesterday
- Bitcoin's market cap dominance is currently at 59.3%, Ethereum at 11%, and other cryptocurrencies at 29.7%
- Stablecoins' market capitalization has risen by 0.62% in the last 7 days, currently at $320 billion, with USDT dominance at 58.37% (DefiLlama)
- NFT sales volume increased by 11.64% over the previous 7 days, while total transactions increased by 6.57% (CryptoSlam)

Regulatory Developments
- Tennessee weighs bill to let state invest a share of public funds in Bitcoin
- UK moves toward full crypto regulation by October 2027, with trading and custody in focus
- South Korea to pilot blockchain deposit tokens for government payments in late 2026
- Pakistan lifts banking ban for registered crypto firms after eight years
- Stablecoin yield talks in market structure bill could reshape crypto exchange offerings
- ClearBank Europe wins MiCA approval to offer stablecoin services in the Netherlands

Investments, Partnerships, Launches & Acquisitions
- Kraken parent Payward moves to buy Bitnomial in deal worth up to $550 million
- eToro acquires self-custody wallet firm Zengo in $70 million deal
- Dogecoin Cash outlines a gold-backed token tied to physical reserves
- XRP Ledger adds Boundless integration to bring zero-knowledge privacy tools to institutions
- Deutsche Börse takes $200 million stake in Kraken as traditional finance deepens crypto push

Crypto Security
- Circle faces class action over response to Drift Protocol hack
- French crime groups use social media to recruit youths for violent crypto wrench attacks
- Ethereum Foundation initiative identifies North Korean IT operatives working across crypto firms
- Polkadot-Ethereum bridge hack caused $2.5 million in losses, far above initial estimate
- Kraken says it faces extortion threat tied to stolen customer data

More Industry/Market Updates
- AI agents lead in crypto yield strategies, but fall short in open-ended trading scenarios
- Charles Schwab weighs a prediction markets push focused only on financial assets
- Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin ETF pulls in $100 million in its first week
- VerifiedX launches Bitcoin privacy layer as XRP Ledger adds zero-knowledge tools for institutions
- Adam Back’s call for optional quantum-resistant Bitcoin upgrades fuels debate among developers
- Sentinel Action Fund backs Ohio Senate race with $8 million push tied to Solana-linked supporters
- Justin Sun challenges World Liberty plan to lock WLFI tokens for years
- Winklevoss Capital receives $43 million in Bitcoin after holdings fall to 14-year low
- Goldman Sachs files for a Bitcoin income ETF built around options-selling strategy

[Swapin @swapincom]

Weekly Crypto & Blockchain Update: April 6 - 12

Market Movements
- Bitcoin is up 2.23% over the last 7 days, currently at $70,735
- Ethereum is sitting at $2,185 with a 2.2% increase from the previous week
- Last week’s top 3 gainers were RAVE (3633%), ZEC (42.2%), and DASH (33.2%), while the top 3 losers were WLFI (20.5%), TAO (19.4%), and ALGO (18.2%)
- The crypto market’s Fear & Greed Index is at 42 Neutral today (CMC)
- Crypto market capitalization is at $2.41 trillion, down 1.02% since yesterday
- Bitcoin's market cap dominance is currently at 58.8%, Ethereum at 10.9%, and other cryptocurrencies at 30.3%
- Stablecoins' market capitalization has risen by 0.80% in the last 7 days, currently at $320 billion, with USDT dominance at 57.56% (DefiLlama)
- NFT sales volume increased by 29.05% over the previous 7 days, while total transactions decreased by 21.21% (CryptoSlam)

Regulatory Developments
- Hong Kong approves stablecoin issuer licences for HSBC and Standard Chartered-backed groups
- Japan moves to classify cryptocurrencies as financial products under proposed law overhaul
- Securitize appoints former SEC official Brett Redfearn as president ahead of public listing
- Bessent urges Senate to advance the Clarity Act as stablecoin yield dispute delays crypto bill
- Treasury proposes AML and sanctions requirements for stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act
- Coinbase says stronger US-EU regulatory alignment could unlock faster growth in Europe
- SEC enforcement actions drop in 2025 as agency shifts to a friendlier stance on crypto
- White House economists say banning stablecoin rewards would do little to boost community bank lending
- Trump-backed World Liberty faces due diligence questions over partner linked to sanctioned figures
- IMF warns stablecoins could trigger runs as tokenized finance grows and outpaces crisis safeguards

Investments, Partnerships, Launches, & Acquisitions
- OKX Ventures and HashKey back CAEX as Vietnam prepares regulated crypto trading pilot
- Swiss banks launch trial of franc-pegged stablecoin for domestic blockchain payments
- XFUNDS launches NGHT, a Bitcoin ETF built to capture overnight market moves
- Binance adds in-app prediction market trading through https://t.co/0UTjOEl1RD on BNB Chain
- Morgan Stanley enters the spot Bitcoin ETF market with rock-bottom fees and a built-in adviser edge
- Polymarket rolls out major platform upgrade with native stablecoin and rebuilt order book

Crypto Security
- Operation Atlantic freezes $12 million in stolen crypto with support from Coinbase, Binance, and law enforcement agencies
- US Treasury opens cybersecurity information-sharing program to crypto firms to strengthen cyber defenses
- Bithumb takes legal action to recover 7 BTC, valued at $496,000, mistakenly distributed in trading error
- South Korean teens arrested over fake crypto trades that led to robbery and assault, police say
- Bitcoin Depot says security breach led to $3.7 million Bitcoin theft
- FBI says US crypto fraud hit a record $11.4 billion in 2025, with older Americans hit hardest

More Industry/Market Updates
- World Liberty Financial’s WLFI token falls 14% amid controversy over DeFi loans and token unlocks
- Nakamoto considers reverse stock split as shares trade below Nasdaq’s $1 minimum
- Iran’s reported Bitcoin toll idea for Strait of Hormuz shipping draws expert skepticism
- DeFi Lender Sky revamps products to improve credit rating and attract institutional investors
- Chainalysis says stablecoin volumes could reach $1.5 quadrillion by 2035, surpassing traditional payment networks
- Iran introduces Bitcoin-based toll plan for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz
- JPMorgan says Q1 crypto inflows fell sharply as volatility and geopolitical pressures weighed on markets
- Hyperliquid trader makes millions on oil short after ceasefire news sends crude prices lower
- AI’s growing power demand intensifies competition with Bitcoin miners for energy capacity

[Swapin @swapincom]

Hello from sunny Tallinn ☀️

We had the pleasure of hosting Andrei Lugovoi from BVNK at Swapin HQ today where we talked through what better payment flows actually look like for our clients moving money globally.

Swapin's payment infrastructure allows businesses to accept and send stablecoins instantly, with zero volatility risk and zero integration overhead.

No building from scratch. Just start accepting from day 1.

And a big congratulations to the BVNK team on their acquisition by Mastercard! Onwards and upwards 🎉

Curious what this looks like for your business? Let's talk. Book a call with our team → https://t.co/yHNPzbl671

[Swapin @swapincom]

Weekly Crypto & Blockchain Update: March 30 - April 5

Market Movements
- Bitcoin is up 2.3% over the last 7 days, currently at $69,251
- Ethereum is sitting at $2,143 with a 3.9% increase from the previous week
- Last week’s top 3 gainers were ALGO (47.3%), M (21.1%), and BSV (14.2%), while the top 3 losers were SIREN (64.9%), NIGHT (11.5%), and WLD (11.5%)
- The crypto market’s Fear & Greed Index is at 37 Fear today (CMC)
- Crypto market capitalization is at $2.37 trillion, up 3.04% since yesterday
- Bitcoin's market cap dominance is currently at 58.4%, Ethereum at 10.9%, and other cryptocurrencies at 30.7%
- Stablecoins' market capitalization has risen by 0.58% in the last 7 days, currently at $317 billion, with USDT dominance at 58.04% (DefiLlama)
- NFT sales volume increased by 3.89% over the previous 7 days, while total transactions decreased by 51.12% (CryptoSlam)

Regulatory Developments
- New Attorney General Todd Blanche held bitcoin while pursuing cases against crypto developers
- US Senator Blumenthal questions Binance’s honesty over Iran-linked transactions
- Cambodia’s new law targets crypto-related online scams with harsh penalties
- Coinbase secures conditional national trust bank charter approval
- Former FTX engineering head Nishad Singh ordered to pay $3.7 million for misappropriated assets
- Coinbase exec says crypto market structure bill movement is imminent
- KuCoin barred from serving US users after $500K CFTC settlement

Investments, Partnerships, & Acquisitions
- OpenFX secures $94 million to expand global payments using stablecoins
- Keyrock reaches $1.1 billion valuation in Series C round led by SC Ventures and Ripple
- Midas raises $50 million to improve liquidity for on-chain yield investors

Crypto Security
- Feds recover $600K in crypto from phishing scam targeting Ledger wallet users
- US authorities charge man over $53 million Uranium Finance exploit
- Steakhouse Finance users targeted by phishing scam after front-end exploit

Blockchain Tech & Gaming
- Tether’s USAT stablecoin expands to Celo blockchain
- Ethereum Economic Zone proposed to improve layer-2 network collaboration
- Aave V4 launches on Ethereum to expand lending and borrowing capabilities

More Industry/Market Updates
- MARA cuts 15% of workforce after $1.1 billion bitcoin sale to pivot toward energy and infrastructure
- Circle introduces cirBTC, a wrapped bitcoin token backed 1:1 by on-chain reserves
- Crypto startup apologizes for betting on its own fundraising via Polymarket
- Stablecoin velocity doubles, but Standard Chartered maintains $2 trillion market cap forecast for 2028
- Archblock, TrustToken, and TrueCoin file for bankruptcy amid fraud allegations and failed deals
- Nakamoto Holdings sells bitcoin to boost finances as stock hits all-time low
- XRP influencers mislead followers with false American Express partnership claims
- American Bitcoin stock hits post-IPO low despite 7K BTC milestone

Don't miss out on the latest trends and news in the crypto and blockchain world - if you haven't subscribed yet, do so now and receive these updates directly in your inbox every Monday morning.

[Swapin @swapincom]

Swapin partners with Apifonica!

Apifonica is a European AI-powered communications technology company headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia, founded around 2015–2016.

Their cloud-based platform allows businesses to automate and manage customer interactions across voice, SMS, and messaging channels. With products including AI-powered voicebots, messaging automation, and call center solutions that integrate with existing systems such as CRM and ERP platforms.

Apifonica focuses on solving the challenge of communication overload, where businesses struggle to meet rising customer expectations for fast, real-time, multi-channel responses, helping organisations reduce manual workload, improve response times, and scale customer communication efficiently.

💬Gundega Strode, CFO at Apifonica, says:
At Apifonica, we serve enterprise clients across banking, healthcare, e-commerce and beyond – and our portfolio is inherently international. As we grew, so did the demand for flexible payment options, crypto included.

Partnering with Swapin was a straightforward decision: it allows us to meet that demand without adding compliance or technical complexity on our side. Our focus stays on building the best AI Voice Agent platform – Swapin takes care of the rest.

With Swapin, Apifonica can now accept crypto payments without any integration or compliance hassle, allowing them to tap into a growing user base ready to make crypto payments.

[Swapin @swapincom]

Weekly Crypto & Blockchain Update: March 23 - 29

Market Movements
- Bitcoin is down 1.2% over the last 7 days, currently at $67,728
- Ethereum is sitting at $2,070 with a 0.6% increase from the previous week
- Last week’s top 3 gainers were CHZ (26%), M (24.8%), and FET (20.1%), while the top 3 losers were SIREN (41.8%), KITE (24.1%), and DOT (9.4%)
- The crypto market’s Fear & Greed Index is at 28 Fear today (CMC)
- Crypto market capitalization is at $2.34 trillion, up 1.4% since yesterday
- Bitcoin's market cap dominance is currently at 58%, Ethereum at 10.6%, and other cryptocurrencies at 31.3%
- Stablecoins' market capitalization has gone down by 0.41% in the last 7 days, currently at $315 billion, with USDT dominance at 58.33% (DefiLlama)
- NFT sales volume increased by 13.40% over the previous 7 days, while total transactions increased by 118.58% (CryptoSlam)

Regulatory Developments
- FTC warns Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and Stripe over debanking practices as Trump family ties crypto shift to alleged banking discrimination
- Binance Australia ordered to pay millions in penalties after exposing retail investors to high-risk derivatives without proper protections
- US government-backed mortgage system begins accepting Bitcoin and USDC as collateral for home loans under Fannie Mae standards
- Trump crypto and AI czar David Sacks steps down after 130 days with key legislation still pending
- Brazil passes law allowing authorities to seize digital assets from criminals as part of crackdown on organized crime
- Coinbase challenges UK ban on political crypto donations, arguing it undermines transparency and fails to address foreign influence concerns
- Bhutan cuts Bitcoin holdings by 66% since late 2024 after transferring over 500 BTC amid accelerated outflows
- Australia moves toward regulated tokenized asset markets as central bank advances legal and trading frameworks for institutional adoption
- Trump appoints Mark Zuckerberg and Jensen Huang to science and technology advisory council to guide policy on emerging technologies
- Bank of Korea hires crypto experts to assess impact on financial stability ahead of planned regulatory changes
- Delaware introduces stablecoin bill to establish regulatory framework and position itself as a hub for digital asset issuers
- CFTC forms innovation task force to develop regulatory frameworks for crypto, AI, and prediction markets
- Senator Elizabeth Warren warns MrBeast’s firm over potential crypto offering in banking app aimed at young users

Investments, Partnerships, & Acquisitions
- Fannie Mae partners with Coinbase to offer crypto-backed mortgages using Bitcoin and USDC as collateral
- McLaren Racing joins Hedera Council to help govern the blockchain network and contribute to its enterprise ecosystem
- Franklin Templeton and Ondo Finance partner to launch 24/7 tokenized ETF trading and expand on-chain access to traditional assets
- BMO partners with CME Group and Google Cloud to launch tokenized cash platform for real-time institutional transactions
- NYSE partners with Securitize to develop standards for blockchain-native securities and enable round-the-clock digital asset trading
- Mastercard and Western Union adopt Solana’s enterprise development platform to build blockchain-based financial products
- H100 Group agrees to acquire two Norwegian Bitcoin firms to expand holdings and strengthen its position in Europe’s crypto market

Crypto Security
- India arrests alleged kingpin in Myanmar-based crypto cyber-fraud trafficking network linked to forced scam operations
- Fenbushi founder Bo Shen offers bounty to recover $42 million in stolen crypto assets with help from on-chain investigators
- UK government sanctions Xinbi for providing crypto services to Southeast Asian scam centers and facilitating illicit transactions
- Irish authorities access $34 million Bitcoin wallet linked to convicted drug dealer with Europol support

More Industry/Market Updates
- Ark Invest trims positions in Meta, Nvidia, and other tech stocks while also reducing its Bitcoin ETF holdings and broader crypto exposure
- Bitwise predicts Circle could nearly triple its market cap to $75 billion by 2030 despite short-term pressure from regulatory uncertainty
- Judge certifies investor class in lawsuit alleging Nvidia concealed crypto-related GPU revenue impact
- Google sets 2029 deadline to transition to post-quantum cryptography amid rising threat to current encryption standards
- Visa joins Canton Network as super validator to support privacy-focused blockchain infrastructure for institutional finance
- MoonPay launches open wallet standard to enable AI agents to manage crypto transactions across blockchains
- Australian pension fund Hostplus explores offering Bitcoin and crypto access to members amid rising demand

[Swapin @swapincom]

@web3estonia It's always a pleasure meeting new startup founders joining the crypto and fintech space. Here's to more meetups 🎉

[Estonian Web3 Chamber @web3estonia]

We had a lovely community brunch today at Basiilik Restoran ☕

A big thank you to everyone who joined! Your energy is what makes this community so special 💙

Special thanks to our member @swapincom for treating all guests with a delicious dessert 🍰

See you again soon!

[Swapin @swapincom]

Weekly Crypto & Blockchain Update: March 16 - 22

Market Movements
- Bitcoin is down 6.9% over the last 7 days, currently at $68,169
- Ethereum is sitting at $2,038 with a 9.4% decrease from the previous week
- Last week’s top 3 gainers were DEXE (48%), M (22.3%), andJST (15.5%), while the top 3 losers were WLD (19,9%), ENA (19.8%), and TRUMP (19.8%)
- The crypto market’s Fear & Greed Index is at 25 Fear today (CMC)
- Crypto market capitalization is at $2.34 trillion, down 1.09% since yesterday
- Bitcoin's market cap dominance is currently at 58.3%, Ethereum at 10.5%, and other cryptocurrencies at 31.2%
- Stablecoins' market capitalization has risen by 0.31% in the last 7 days, currently at $316 billion, with USDT dominance at 58.10% (DefiLlama)
- NFT sales volume increased by 12.47% over the previous 7 days, while total transactions decreased by 29.10% (CryptoSlam)

Regulatory Developments
- House Financial Services Committee to discuss tokenization, SEC–CFTC coordination, and regulatory oversight this week
- Kentucky crypto ATM bill amendment draws backlash over hardware wallet security concerns
- ECB seeks experts to draft digital euro rules as 2029 rollout awaits political approval
- SEC Greenlights Nasdaq Push Into Tokenized Securities Trading
Senate Republicans push to pass Clarity Act crypto bill by May
- South Korea expands digital won pilot to test bank-issued deposit tokens
- FINTRAC revokes registrations of 23 Canadian crypto firms in AML crackdown
- SEC drops case against BitClout founder, adding to list of dismissed crypto enforcement actions
- US, UK and Canada launch joint crypto task force to combat approval phishing scams
- Australian Senate panel backs framework to regulate crypto platforms and custody services
- Bithumb fined $24.6 million and faces partial suspension in South Korea over AML violations

Investments, Partnerships, & Acquisitions
- World Gold Council proposes standards for tokenized gold with new framework initiative in partnership with Boston Consulting Group
- Kraken delays IPO plans amid challenging crypto market conditions
- PayPal expands PYUSD stablecoin to 70 markets for cross-border payments
- Mastercard acquires BVNK to expand global crypto and stablecoin payment support
- Theo launches gold-linked yield-bearing stablecoin after $100 million raise

Crypto Security
- CoinDCX denies fraud allegations, says FIR against co-founders is false and warns of over 1,200 fake websites
- Gemini faces shareholder lawsuit over alleged misleading disclosures on prediction markets pivot and restructuring plans
- Crypto scammer sentenced to six years in prison for $3 million investor fraud
- $50 million DeFi swap blunder sparks questions over accountability and fund destination
- Bitrefill reports breach affecting customer data, suspects North Korea-linked attack

More Industry/Market Updates
- Morgan Stanley updates Bitcoin ETF filing, names Fidelity as custodian and targets NYSE Arca listing
- BlackRock’s iShares Staked Ethereum Trust reaches $254 million AUM within first week of launch
- Early Bitcoin whales offload BTC as Fed signals slower pace of rate cuts
- Vitalik Buterin proposes merging Ethereum software components to simplify validator node operations
- Institutional investors hold Bitcoin positions despite volatility, signalling continued market confidence