zeus

Powering the future of financial services, one block at a time. #Cardano #Ada

[Charles Hoskinson @IOHK_Charles]

After reflecting deeply on this governance process, a few things are clearer to me than ever.
Cardano is alive. The community is engaged. And that matters more than any single vote.

But this process has shown me something important: Cardano's governance is real. You are not passive holders. You are owners. That is exactly what we built this for.

It has also reminded me that when Cardano has needed it most, the Pentad delivered. IOG, EMURGO, the Cardano Foundation, Midnight Foundation, and Intersect have proven they can coordinate and bring critical integrations to life when the ecosystem needed it. That coordination layer matters now more than ever.

So let me show up the way I should.

I will be in Singapore for the Cardano Summit and I will be on stage. I am also personally committing to partially top up our Token2049 sponsorship to Title level. Being on that main stage is where Cardano and Midnight need to be heard.

To the Pentad, I am inviting all of you to sit down and have a real conversation about the future of governance and how we formalise this coordination going forward.

I am 100% focused on Cardano and Midnight. Always have been. Let me prove it. #strongertogether

[TapTools @TapTools]

JUST IN: Banks are favoring Cardano’s Midnight over Ethereum and Solana.

A new Benzinga report highlights growing institutional interest in Cardano’s privacy-focused infrastructure.

This isn’t niche coverage.

Benzinga reaches ~25 million monthly readers.

[FluidTokens @FluidTokens]

We just performed the first Atomic Swap between Cardano and Bitcoin in Mainnet.

This means native BTC was traded for native ADA.

0.0001 $BTC swapped for 50 $ADA

Bitcoin is on Cardano 🧡 ↔ 💙

[David Tso (dave.base.eth) @davidtsocy]

Decentralized telecom, settled onchain

@WorldMobileTeam is building the world’s largest shared wireless network on @base

130,000+ AirNodes deployed and no signs of slowing down

[Joe - 🌍📲 @Joe_DePin]

@Def7771 @base @WorldMobileTeam +3mil actual subscribers

[Base @base]

What if you could own your phone's network?

@WorldMobileTeam is a user-owned mobile network with coverage across 99% of the USA and 60+ countries. Anybody can deploy an AirNode to extend network coverage and earn rewards.

User-owned. Globally distributed. Live on Base.

[The Building Blocks @thebldgblocks]

Today we announce with pride that after years of quiet work our portfolio company @monument_bank is partnering @midnightfdn to deliver the world’s first tokenized retail deposits by a fully licensed bank. https://t.co/ldu8kdGtCg

[Micky (Mr Telecom) Watkins @MrTelecoms]

I 100% agree; that's why we do what we do at World Mobile. It's not right that half the world can't speak to the other half of the world.. Internet = opportunity. It's crazy to me how Big Wireless hasn't managed to solve the problem and it’s down to individuals and movements to find the solution.

[Ed Conway @EdConwaySky]

📽️ From Donald Trump to Britain's wind power trade body, there's a growing coalition calling for more drilling in the North Sea.
Raising the question: if we DID encourage more exploration, how much oil & gas could we actually get?
Our MEGA primer on the North Sea👇
Ps it's longer than usual, but it turns out this topic has SO MANY misconceptions. Time to put some of them right.
Let me know what you think

[Sky News @SkyNews]

Not long ago, Britain was one of the world’s biggest oil producers, with revenues accounting for six percent of all government revenues in the mid-1980s.

@EdConwaySky looks at how much oil and gas Britain could extract from the North Sea if it really wanted to.

🔗 https://t.co/WSbcaQAzJT

[CoinDesk @CoinDesk]

LATEST: @Mastercard breaks down how its crypto cards will allow small businesses to accept crypto.

Mastercard crypto cards will let users pay with crypto while the transaction is processed in fiat on the Mastercard network behind the scenes.

[John Stepek @John_Stepek]

"perhaps the most effective of all pension reforms we could see would be for parliamentarians to be switched into DC pensions like the vast majority of the rest of us." https://t.co/yUCR9QKNHU

[Liqwid @liqwidfinance]

Proposal 119: NIGHT Airdrop Allocation Re-vote is now live in Review.

Voting begins in 12 hours🗳️https://t.co/yf7CP2Cs05

[Micky (Mr Telecom) Watkins @MrTelecoms]

This is the most excited I've ever been since I started World Mobile. We're in for a very special year and a very special few months. $WMTx

[Indigo @Indigo_protocol]

We’re excited to share that Indigo is in a strategic collaboration with IO to bring primitive Bitcoin DeFi to Cardano! ⚡️

This lays the foundation for Indigo’s BTC collateralized lending & leverage suites.

Facilitated by @IOGroup, this integration aims to bring billions in BTC liquidity to Indigo. 🟠

[Circle @circle]

USDCx on @Cardano, a USDC-backed stablecoin with seamless access to crosschain USDC liquidity, is now available via Circle xReserve.

With USDCx, enterprises and end users can power payments, lending, trading, borrowing, liquidity provision, and more using a highly liquid stablecoin.
Supported at launch by Cardano DeFi apps @liqwidfinance, @MinswapDEX, and @SundaeSwap.

Key benefits:
✅USDCx is 1:1 backed by USDC held in xReserve
✅Fully interoperable with USDC across supported chains
✅Trust minimized with no third-party bridges required

**For the first 10 days, IOG will be covering all costs for bridging USDC to USDCx on Cardano, helping early adopters get started without fees or friction.**

Learn more: https://t.co/yOA12hJQDk

[Justin Bons @Justin_Bons]

1/16) What is decentralization & how do we really measure it?

We rate BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, TRX & ADA in this thread

The results are surprising, as we rate ETH & ADA highest! With BTC & XRP scoring lowest!

Methodology is key, as objective analysis defeats the crypto cults: 🧵

[Justin Bons @Justin_Bons]

@cybercapital 15/16) Much shorthand was used for this model, though I still stand by the results

Despite a more sophisticated model weighing these differently

ADA coming out ahead is surprising, but makes sense

Going from 3k to 5k nodes does not make up for the lack of on-chain governance!

[Charles Hoskinson @IOHK_Charles]

Circle and Pentad https://t.co/qSfF1D7bcM

[Dave @ItsDave_ADA]

I was cautiously optimistic about Bitcoin DeFi on Cardano. It made sense on paper, but the open question for me was whether it would actually materialise.

I have confidence in teams like FluidTokens and have no doubt they will deliver solid work on their side to fill gaps. My concern was broader. After the initial announcements there was very little visibility, and I know I was not the only one asking what progress had been made.

I watched the Essential Cardano360 January 2026 update and that concern has largely been put to rest. The work underway is substantive, and the explanations from Omer Husain on the Bitcoin DeFi track at Input Output were clear and detailed. Credit as well to whoever organised that session. It was a genuinely useful update and did a good job of closing the information gap.

Omer Husain, Manager for Bitcoin DeFi at Input Output, explains how they are building an end to end Bitcoin DeFi liquidity stack. The goal is to enable Bitcoin holders to earn real yield. To do that, they need access to stablecoins for investment, with Bitcoin locked non custodially as collateral to borrow those stablecoins, alongside defined borrowing terms and interest rates that are attractive for participation.

He outlines three core requirements:

A credit market that creates stablecoin liquidity

A yield application that deploys capital into real world, off chain yield opportunities

A trust minimised BitVM based bridge that allows users to use Bitcoin as collateral without custodial risk

End to end, for users, the experience is intended to be as simple as using an earn product on a centralised exchange.

Rather than pulling ADA out of staking, which is already safe and attractive, this approach allows external liquidity, especially in the form of Bitcoin, to enter Cardano. The trust minimised BitVM based bridge is materially safer than fragile multisig alternatives and aligns closely with Bitcoin’s preferred security model and ideology. The result looks more like mirrored UTXOs rather than wrapped assets as seen on other blockchains.

On the lending side, he states that they have addressed DeFi’s biggest flaw, liquidation risk. Instead of margin lending, they use a peer to peer credit model that resembles private credit. Collateral is only at risk in the case of real default, not short term market volatility.

The result is higher quality and more sustainable TVL, increased capital inflows, stronger alignment with Cardano and Bitcoin’s values, and lower systemic risk.

Omer references two primary audiences: Bitcoin holders and the Cardano ecosystem.

“Institutions that need predictable, non liquidating borrowing, and retail users looking for high quality yield on idle Bitcoin.”

“Cardano builders benefit from Bitcoin liquidity, design patterns, ecosystem growth, and the treasury benefits from direct protocol activity.”

Overall, this brings a new class of users into Cardano, including tier one institutional treasuries that have historically avoided DeFi due to liquidation risk and instability. It positions Cardano as a leader in Bitcoin utility and opens access to a trillion dollar asset base.

They are planning a formal proposal as part of the Cardano 2026 budget cycle for the above from what I can understand

Great update, and speaker, very interesting.