Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Jefferies: Samsung is likely to follow SK Hynix’s example to list in the US via ADRs.

Jeff Kim, Head of Research at Jefferies, said Samsung is likely to follow SK Hynix in listing on the U.S. market via American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), which will boost the share price of the South Korean chipmaker whose valuation lags behind Micron. "Chip stocks are at a turning point. ADRs will serve as an important catalyst to drive their valuations," he added.

6 minutes ago

UBS and TD Cowen sharply raise Arm’s target price, betting on a revaluation of Arm’s AI data center CPU value.

Arm’s stock price pulled back this week alongside the high-valuation AI sector, though some Wall Street analysts say the correction does not alter the company’s long-term standing in AI data centers. UBS sharply raised Arm’s price target from $260 to $470, retaining its Buy rating; TD Cowen lifted its target from $265 to $475, also keeping a Buy recommendation. Both firms share the view that as agentic AI evolves, CPUs could gain greater importance in data center architectures, rather than GPUs continuing to monopolize the investment narrative. TD Cowen believes that over the long term, CPUs could hold a more strategic position in certain AI workloads. UBS, meanwhile, emphasizes that the real debate in the market centers on the revenue potential of Arm’s self-developed or independent CPU business. The bank projects Arm’s CPU-related revenue could reach around $14 billion by 2030, though the company itself has stated this business will not have a material impact on its finances until fiscal 2028. Arm’s strengths lie in low latency and energy efficiency—metrics that major cloud providers are increasingly prioritizing as they expand AI infrastructure. Even with its stock pulling back from recent highs in the short term, analysts still view Arm as one of the key beneficiaries of the server CPU upgrade cycle.

6 minutes ago

Crypto whale who profited over $23.77 million from BAT ICO liquidates 27,586 ETH

According to monitoring by Yu Jing, a whale that earned $23.77 million from participating in the BAT ICO sold 15,000 ETH (valued at roughly $24.29 million) two hours ago. The whale has now fully liquidated all 27,586 ETH it received from selling 35 million BAT on-chain over the past day and a half, converting the proceeds into 44.836 million USDS at an average selling price of $1,625.

6 minutes ago

Sources: Iraqi officials once considered withdrawing from OPEC, but current plans are to remain a member and pursue a higher quota.

A senior Iraqi oil ministry official said that if OPEC quotas are not significantly increased, Iraq will be forced to consider all available options. Sources said Iraqi officials had considered withdrawing from OPEC, but the current plan is to remain a member and push for higher quotas. (Jinshi)

6 minutes ago

Kepler Cheuvreux raises ASML’s European share price target from €1,460 to €1,830.

Kepler Cheuvreux has raised the target price for ASML’s European shares from €1,460 to €1,830.

6 minutes ago

Stifel: U.S. economy in "overheated expansion" as AI investment cycle outweighs consumer pressure

U.S. large diversified financial services holding company Stifel has raised its year-end S&P 500 target and rolled out a stock allocation framework for a "high-growth, high-inflation" environment. The firm lifted its year-end S&P 500 target to 7,800 points, noting the U.S. economy is entering a "running hot" state—where economic growth is strengthening alongside mounting inflationary pressure. Stifel’s models show U.S. growth momentum is picking up while inflation momentum is clearly overheating, a trend that will reshape the market’s leading sector structure in the second half of the year. Instead of traditional consumer sectors, Stifel’s top picks are investment-led cyclical industries, including banks, transportation, materials, energy, semiconductors, software and equipment. The firm adds that fixed-asset investment in AI remains on the rise: large tech firms including Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Google are projected to combine for roughly $725 billion in total capital expenditures in 2026, some $100 billion higher than prior estimates. This means the AI investment chain is likely to continue outperforming the consumption chain squeezed by inflation. Stifel advises investors to reduce exposure to discretionary consumer, consumer staples, communication services and some financial services sectors, as these areas see weaker earnings revisions. Conversely, the firm favors cyclical value stocks and hedges with defensive value sectors such as insurance, autos, energy and banks.

6 minutes ago

PANews reported on February 22 that the IoTeX team announced it has contained the recent security incident and has strengthened the IoTeX blockchain. Preliminary data indicates the attack caused approximately $2 million in damages, including USDC, USDT, IOTX, and WBTC.

Investigations reveal that this incident was a sophisticated, long-planned attack by professional hackers targeting multiple blockchains. The team is collaborating with exchanges and law enforcement to freeze the stolen funds and conduct investigations and fund recovery efforts. On-chain operations and deposit functionality are expected to be restored within 24-48 hours, and the team will continue to provide transparent updates.

According to previous reports, IoTex hackers have begun converting stolen funds into ETH and then swapping them for BTC via Thorchain .

PANews reported on February 23 that the IoTeX team tweeted that on February 21, they discovered an attack on the Ethereum side of their multi-chain bridge ioTube. The attackers stole 410 million CIOTX tokens and approximately $4.4 million in assets through four steps. Currently, over 86% of the CIOTX has been locked or frozen, 12.8% (52.4 million CIOTX) is being frozen in cooperation with Binance and other platforms, and only 0.4% (1.7 million CIOTX) remains at risk after being exchanged on DEXs. Regarding the bridge's reserve funds, the attackers exchanged the stolen reserve tokens (including USDC, USDT, WBTC, WETH, and other assets) for approximately 2,183 ETH . Of this, 1,572 ETH has been transferred to the Bitcoin network via THORChain.

The IoTeX team has taken emergency measures, including distributing patch fixes, freezing related addresses, and working with exchanges to freeze funds. The ioTube bridge service will be restored after an independent security audit, along with a compensation plan and security upgrades. The team is committed to ensuring the safety of community assets and will release a more detailed compensation plan and hold a community AMA within the next 48 hours.

Previously reported, IoTeX suffered a loss of approximately $2 million in assets and is expected to be operational within 48 hours . Upbit has added IoTeX (IOTX) to its transaction alert list .

Crypto exploits declined by more than 90% in February, with digital asset thieves siphoning just $35.7 million across the ecosystem.

The sharp decline marks the quietest month for crypto security since March 2025, providing a brief reprieve for a sector routinely battered by nine-figure hacks.

Phishing and Oracle Attacks Linger Despite the Sharp Fall in Crypto TheftData compiled by blockchain security firm CertiK revealed a drastic month-over-month drop from January’s staggering losses.

Meanwhile, the figures also represent a massive year-over-year contraction. Last year’s February was dominated by a historic $1.5 billion exploit on the Bybit exchange, an anomaly that heavily skewed annual security metrics.

#CertiKStatsAlert 🚨

Combining all the incidents in February we’ve confirmed ~$35.7M lost to exploits with ~$8.5M of the total attributed to phishing.

This figure is the lowest monthly loss since March 2025.

More details below 👇 pic.twitter.com/7McXeoH3BR

— CertiK Alert (@CertiKAlert) February 28, 2026 Despite the broader market slowdown in illicit activity, targeted attacks still drained millions from decentralized finance protocols.

The single largest crypto exploit incident occurred on February 22 on the Stellar network.

According to Quill Audits, a hacker exploited the community-managed YieldBlox Blend pool. The attacker stole more than $10 million through a classic thin-liquidity oracle manipulation attack.

By executing a single abnormal trade in the highly illiquid USTRY/USDC market, the attacker artificially inflated the token’s price by a factor of 100.

This tricked the protocol’s valuation system, allowing the attacker to execute massive undercollateralized borrowing.

A day earlier, on February 21, the Internet-of-Things blockchain project IoTeX suffered a major breach after a private key was compromised.

While CertiK estimated the losses at nearly $9 million, the IoTeX team claimed the stolen amount was closer to $2 million.

Security researchers noted the attacker used the compromised key to access the token safe, quickly swapped the stolen assets for ETH and routed them to Bitcoin using cross-chain bridges.

Rounding out the top three was a $2.2 million exploit of Foom.Cash, a privacy protocol.

In this attack, the hacker reportedly exploited a cryptographic flaw to forge zkSNARK proofs. This allowed them to create fake digital credentials that the protocol accepted, enabling the withdrawal of large volumes of tokens.

Crypto Phishing Attacks Remain a ConcernBeyond smart contract vulnerabilities, phishing remains a persistent threat, accounting for exactly $8.5 million of February’s total losses.

The crypto phishing sector has flourished recently, driven by the rise of professionalized “drainer-as-a-service” providers like Angel Drainer and Inferno Drainer.

These platforms allow scammers to execute large-scale malicious operations with minimal technical expertise. They provide fraudsters with a complete toolkit, including cloned websites, deceptive social media accounts, and automated smart contract scripts.

In exchange for providing this illicit infrastructure, the operators take a percentage of all stolen funds.

Injective USDC is set to be the primary stablecoin standard across the Cosmos ecosystem and dYdX. This automatically sets Injective up to be one of the largest blockchains in history for onchain stablecoin issuance and payments.

Skip:Go, the dominant routing layer in Cosmos, will also make Injective USDC the default denomination across its integrations. 

A four-year minimum commitment will ensure that this integration is carried forward for years to come with a unified stablecoin issuance source. One canonical USDC for the interchain led by Injective.

A Canonical Stablecoin Standard, ExplainedCanonical has a specific meaning here. When a chain designates a canonical version of USDC, every wallet, exchange, lending market, and DEX in that ecosystem treats it as the single source of truth. New issuance flows through one route. Liquidity does not fragment across wrapped or bridged variants. Default integrations point to one place.

A canonical standard extends that across sovereign ecosystems. Multiple chains and applications draw their USDC from a shared issuance source, settle in a common denomination, and route transfers through native infrastructure. With this announcement, Cosmos chains and applications have standardized on Injective USDC.

This is the model that has made USDC durable elsewhere. It is also the model Circle has framed as the foundation of an internet financial system, where regulated digital dollars move with the same openness and reliability as information. A canonical standard reduces the cost of moving capital across chains. It is the reason banks settle in shared currencies, and it is increasingly the reason chains do.

USDC Across the Interchain EcosystemCosmos Hub and Cosmos Labs confirmed that USDC issued through Injective will route across the Cosmos ecosystem via IBC. The announcement carries a four-year minimum commitment to long-term USDC support through Injective, which provides the runway that builders, institutions, and applications need to deploy real capital without renegotiating their stablecoin layer every cycle.

Skip Protocol’s Skip:Go, which handles the bulk of interchain transfers in Cosmos today, is adopting Injective USDC as its default USDC denomination. Migration tooling will be released through Cosmos Labs for chains and applications moving from prior USDC sources.

USDC has anchored payments, swaps, and treasury flows across Cosmos since 2023. What this standardization adds is permanence: a known issuer, native infrastructure, and a single denomination that does not need to be re-bridged for every counterparty.

Filling the Gap Noble LeftEarlier this year, Noble announced its migration away from Cosmos. Noble had been the longtime native USDC issuer in IBC. The move left Cosmos chains and applications without a long-term issuance source. Injective now fills this gap directly and takes over $100 Million in issuance.

The selection of Injective is the result of a deliberate process by Cosmos Hub, Cosmos Labs, and Skip Protocol to find a blockchain that is here long-term and is proven to succeed for years to come. The four-year minimum commitment gives Cosmos chains a stable counterparty to build against and removes the cost of another issuer migration in the next cycle.

For applications already running USDC in Cosmos, the question is no longer which stablecoin comes next. Injective USDC is the only final answer.

dYdX, First in Line alongside Cosmos HubdYdX, one of the largest perpetuals DEXes ever built, is the first chain to migrate. The sovereign Cosmos appchain processes over $4 billion in monthly volume across derivatives markets where USDC is the collateral and the settlement asset.

Every perpetual position, every margin deposit, and every PnL settlement on dYdX will trace back to Injective USDC. Funding rate payments and liquidation flows will settle in Injective USDC. The trader experience does not change. Deposits, fills, and withdrawals look the same on the frontend. Underneath, the dollars come from Injective.

dYdX is one of the most demanding consumers of USDC liquidity in the industry. Choosing Injective as the issuance source for that collateral is a direct statement about which chain dYdX considers the most credible long-term anchor for derivatives in Cosmos.

Skip:Go and CCTP. One-Signature Onchain UX.Skip:Go, Skip Protocol’s interchain routing layer, makes Injective USDC the recommended default USDC denomination across Cosmos. Users moving USDC into and across Cosmos will see Injective USDC as the standard route.

CCTP support on Injective enables one-signature transfers between Injective and the broader CCTP network of supported chains. As of December 2025, USDC was natively available on 30 blockchains, with CCTP connecting 19 of them and processing $126 billion in cumulative crosschain volume. The Skip:Go user experience does not change. A single signature settles a route that increasingly crosses ecosystems.

For builders integrating USDC for the first time, the recommendation is direct: default to Injective. Long-term onboarding support, canonical denomination, and ecosystem alignment all point to one place.

The Numbers Behind This DecisionUSDC entered 2026 with roughly $79 billion in circulation and processed $11.9 trillion in onchain transaction volume in Q4 2025 alone, with 108% year-over-year circulation growth as of 2025. USDC’s lifetime trading volume crossed $55 trillion in January 2026.

The broader stablecoin market is moving with it. Total stablecoin market capitalization closed Q1 2026 above $315 billion, up roughly 55% year-over-year, and stablecoin transaction volume across all networks exceeded $33 trillion in 2025. Visa Onchain Analytics reported $1.23 trillion in stablecoin transaction volume in December 2025 alone.

Payments adoption is where the trendline gets sharper. BCG’s January 2026 white paper, Stablecoin Payments: The Truth Behind the Numbers, tracked B2B stablecoin payments growing from under $100 million in monthly volume in early 2023 to over $6 billion by mid-2025. Total stablecoin payments volume hit a $122 billion annualized run rate in 2025. Visa’s stablecoin-linked card spend reached a $3.5 billion annualized run rate in Q4 FY2025, growing 460% year-over-year. Fireblocks reported a 3x year-over-year increase in institutional stablecoin payment flows across its enterprise client base in the same year.

The regulatory perimeter has caught up. The GENIUS Act, enacted in 2025, gave US payment stablecoins a federal framework with full reserve backing requirements, monthly disclosure obligations, and holder priority in insolvency. The EU’s MiCA regulation gave issuers a passportable license across the European market. The dollar stablecoin is no longer a parallel system. It is part of the financial system.

The chain that becomes the canonical issuance layer for that dollar inside one of the largest sovereign ecosystems in crypto sits at a different tier from the chain that does not.

Why InjectiveThe architectural reasons are direct. Injective runs an onchain order book with 0.64-second block times and transaction fees as low as $0.00008. Native IBC, Ethereum, and Solana connectivity make it a natural home for an issuer that already lives on 30 chains. The native EVM mainnet that launched in November 2025 added a MultiVM environment supporting Cosmos-native applications and the existing EVM stablecoin tooling stack inside the same execution layer.

The institutional posture is the other half. Google Cloud and Binance’s YZI Labs sit on the Injective Council and operate validators on the network. CFTC-regulated INJ futures began trading on Bitnomial Exchange in April of 2026. Canary Capital has an active staked-INJ ETF filing with the SEC. Paxos has brought yield-bearing stablecoin issuance to the network. USD-denominated stablecoin volume on Injective has exceeded $40 billion since launch.

The combination of payments-grade performance, MultiVM execution, regulated derivatives infrastructure, and an institutional stablecoin footprint is what brought Cosmos Hub, dYdX, and Skip Protocol to Injective rather than another chain.

Migration in MotionThe migration rolls out over the coming months. dYdX is first. Cosmos Labs is coordinating the rollout for additional chains and applications across the ecosystem.

Live integration details will continue to be published at injective.com/usdc. There you will find faucets, simple swaps into USDC and ecosystem projects that support Injective’s native USDC standard.

dYdX leads the migration, with the remainder of the Cosmos ecosystem to follow over the coming months. Cosmos Labs is the operational point of contact for any chain or application ready to move.

About InjectiveInjective is a lightning fast interoperable layer one blockchain optimized for building premier Web3 finance applications. Injective provides developers with powerful plug-and-play modules for creating unmatched dApps. INJ is the native asset that powers Injective and its rapidly growing ecosystem. Injective is incubated by Binance and is backed by prominent investors such as Jump Crypto, Pantera and Mark Cuban.

Website | Telegram | Discord | Blog | Twitter | Youtube | Reddit | Instagram

Top Crypto News This Week: Solana ETF Deadline, Bitcoin Strategy Summit, MOVE Mainnet Launch, and More

Source: Binance EN

This is a general announcement and marketing communication. Products and services referred to here may not be available in your region. Fellow Binancians, Binance is thrilled to launch a Gala (GALA) Trading Tournament where eligible users will have a chance to share a total prize pool of 150,000 USDC in token vouchers! In addition, Binance is introducing an “Early Bird Boost” multiplier, which aims to reward users for trading earlier. Promotion Period: 2026-05-08 10:00 (UTC) to 2026-05-15 10:00 (UTC) Join Now Eligibility: All verified new, regular users and all Binance VIP users can participate.Liquidity providers in the Binance Spot Liquidity Provider Program and Binance Brokers are not eligible to participate. Eligible Altcoin Trading Pairs Trading pairs: GALA/USDT, GALA/USDC Early Bird Boost Multiplier: During the Promotion Period, users will be assigned different multipliers based on the time they complete their trades. The multiplier decreases over time — the earlier you trade, the higher the multiplier and the higher your effective trading volume. Daily Effective Trading Volume = Actual Daily Trading Volume * Early Bird Boost Multiplier Note: Total trading volume for the competition is the sum of the Daily Effective Trading Volume during the Promotion Period. The leaderboard on the landing page will display the Total Effective Trading Volume. The daily Early Bird Boost multipliers during the Promotion Period are as follows: Date (UTC）Multiplier2026-05-08 10:00 to 2026-05-09 10:002x2026-05-09 10:01 to 2026-05-10 10:001.8x2026-05-10 10:01 to 2026-05-11 10:001.6x2026-05-11 10:01 to 2026-05-12 10:001.4x2026-05-12 10:01 to 2026-05-13 10:001.2x2026-05-13 10:01 to 2026-05-15 10:001x How to Participate: Click the [Join Now] button on the landing page to register.Total Effective Trading Volume reaches at least 500 USD equivalent in any of the aforementioned eligible pairs on Binance Spot during the Promotion Period. Users who do not meet this threshold will not qualify for any reward under this Trading Volume Tournament. Reward Structure: Rankings Based on the Cumulative Trading Volume During the Promotion PeriodReward per Eligible Participant (in USDC Token Vouchers)1st Place7,500 USDC2nd Place6,000 USDC3rd Place4,500 USDC4th Place3,000 USDC5th Place1,500 USDC6th - 20th PlacesAn equal split of 13,500 USDC21st - 50th PlacesAn equal split of 12,000 USDC51st - 200th PlacesAn equal split of 21,000 USDC201st - 1,000th PlacesAn equal split of 21,000 USDCAll Remaining Eligible ParticipantsAn equal split of 60,000 USDC, capped at 5 USDC per user Promotion Rules: Trading volume of any zero-fee trading pairs is excluded from the final trading volume calculation.Transaction or gas fees will be excluded from the final trading volume calculation for the tournament.All eligible buy and sell orders will be counted towards the cumulative total trading volume.Token vouchers will be distributed to winners by 2026-05-29, and will expire within 21 days after distribution. Users will be able to login and redeem their token voucher rewards via Profile > Rewards Hub.The Spot Trading Volume leaderboard is updated at least once every 24 hours. The leaderboard will be displayed on the Spot landing page. Data sync times vary daily but will always be completed by the end of the day.Only users who have met the minimum qualifying trading volume threshold will be displayed on the leaderboard along with their trading volume. Don’t miss out on this opportunity and share in the rewards now! To view more promotions for new listings on Binance, stay tuned to this page for the latest updates and exclusive opportunities. Guides & Related Materials: How to Spot Trade (App / Web) Terms & Conditions: These terms and conditions (“Activity Terms”) govern users’ participation in the activity above (“Activity”). By participating in this Activity, users agree to these Activity Terms, and the following additional terms: (a) Binance Terms and Conditions for Prize Promotions; (b) Binance Terms of Use; and (c) Binance Privacy Notice; all of which are incorporated by reference into these terms and conditions. In the case of any inconsistency or conflict between these Activity Terms, and any other incorporated terms, the provisions of these Activity Terms shall prevail, followed by the following in this order of precedence, and to the extent of such conflict: (a) Binance Terms and Conditions for Prize Promotions; (b) Binance Terms of Use; and (c) Binance Privacy Notice.Only verified users who complete the aforementioned criteria for the tournament by the end of the Promotion Period may receive rewards.This Trading Volume Tournament is available to verified new, regular and VIP users enabled for Binance Spot Trading, subject to product (and where relevant, deposit methods’) availability in users’ regions, and may be restricted in certain jurisdictions or regions, or to certain users, due to legal and regulatory requirements.Reward Distribution:All token voucher rewards will be distributed to eligible, winning users by 2026-05-29.Users will be able to login and redeem their token voucher rewards via Profile > Rewards Hub. All token voucher rewards will expire within 21 days after distribution. Winning users should claim their vouchers before the expiration date, and no replacement reward will be provided. Learn how to redeem a Binance voucher.Please note that the actual value of rewards received by a user is subject to change due to market fluctuation.Token voucher rewards are subject to additional terms and conditions.Rewards are not negotiable nor transferable.Once the available rewards have been allocated to users, no further rewards will be provided notwithstanding that an eligible user may have completed the missions.A user’s trading volume in this Trading Volume Tournament will be calculated after the user has opted-in and will be based on the trading volume (i) in their master and sub-accounts, and (ii) on all Spot products, including Spot Trading, Spot Copy Trading and Trading Bots. API trades are allowed. Binance’s calculation of a user’s trading volume is final.Binance reserves the right to disqualify a user’s reward eligibility if the account is involved in any dishonest behavior (e.g., wash trading, illegally bulk account registrations/logins, self dealing, or market manipulation). Binance further reserves the right to disqualify any participants who tamper with Binance program code, or interfere with the operation of Binance program code with other software.Binance reserves the right at any time in its sole and absolute discretion to determine and/or amend or vary these terms and conditions without prior notice, including but not limited to canceling, extending, terminating, or suspending these activities, the eligibility terms and criteria, the selection and number of reward recipients, and the timing of any act to be done, and all participants shall be bound by these amendments.The commencement and operation of the campaign (including the commencement of the Promotion Period) are subject to the successful listing of the relevant token on Binance Spot. If the listing is postponed or cancelled for any reason, the campaign (including the Promotion Period and reward distribution) may be delayed, amended or withdrawn at Binance’s discretion. Binance will not be liable for any loss or inconvenience caused by such changes.There may be discrepancies between this original content in English and any translated versions. Please refer to the original English version for the most accurate information, in case any discrepancies arise. Thank you for your support! Binance Team 2026-05-08 Disclaimer: USDC is an e-money token issued by Circle Internet Financial Europe SAS (https://www.circle.com/). USDC’s whitepaper is available here. You may contact Circle using the following contact information: +33(1)59000130 and [email protected]. Holders of USDC have a legal claim against Circle SAS as the EU issuer of USDC. These holders are entitled to request redemption of their USDC from Circle SAS. Such redemption will be made at any time and at par value.

TLDR: BitGo Bank & Trust now provides regulated MPC custody for XDC tokens and USDC on XDC Network platform.  Integration removes custody barriers preventing corporates and exchanges from deploying capital on blockchain.  XDC Network gains competitive advantage in trade finance and cross-border payments through BitGo partnership.  Institutional asset managers can custody XDC using same security standards required for traditional assets. XDC Network has finalized a custody partnership with BitGo, enabling regulated storage solutions for XDC tokens and USDC.

The integration addresses a critical infrastructure gap that has prevented institutional participants from deploying capital on the network.

BitGo’s Multi-Party Computation wallet technology, delivered through BitGo Bank & Trust, now provides enterprises with the security and compliance frameworks required for blockchain operations.

Regulated Custody Infrastructure Enables Enterprise Deployment The partnership resolves a fundamental barrier facing corporate blockchain adoption. Financial institutions and payment platforms require regulated custody before committing resources to distributed ledger systems.

BitGo Bank & Trust, National Association, operates as the regulated custodian entity supporting XDC chain operations.

According to Amitava Mandal, Director of XDC Tech US, Inc., “BitGo’s custody is infrastructure that unlocks real enterprise deployment.”

He emphasized that trade finance and payment platforms cannot operate on blockchain without regulated custody.

The integration eliminates this obstacle and creates pathways for institutional capital that were previously unavailable.

XDC Network announced the development through its official channels, confirming the custody support would unlock regulated access for tokens on the platform.

XDC Network has secured institutional custody support with @BitGo , unlocking regulated custody for XDC tokens and @USDC on the network, a major step toward enabling enterprises, exchanges, and financial institutions to deploy real capital on-chain.

With BitGo’s regulated MPC… pic.twitter.com/7vLshjl29z

— XDC Network (@XDCNetwork) February 3, 2026

Exchanges and institutional asset managers can now onboard XDC using custody standards equivalent to traditional financial assets. The integration applies the same security protocols that institutions employ for conventional holdings.

BitGo’s MPC wallet technology distributes cryptographic keys across multiple parties, enhancing security while maintaining accessibility.

The architecture prevents single points of failure that have historically concerned institutional participants. Financial service providers can now custody XDC assets within their existing regulatory frameworks.

Trade Finance and Cross-Border Payment Applications Gain Infrastructure Support XDC Network’s technical architecture targets trade finance, tokenized assets, and cross-border payment systems. The BitGo integration strengthens the network’s position in these sectors by providing the custody layer that enterprise applications require.

Legacy payment infrastructure faces challenges including slow settlement times, elevated costs, and limited transparency.

Mandal stated that the integration “removes that blocker and positions XDC Network for institutional capital flows that weren’t previously possible.”

The custody solution enables corporates to evaluate XDC Network as an alternative to traditional payment rails. Enterprises can now deploy blockchain-based payment systems with the same custodial protections they expect from conventional financial infrastructure.

Tokenized real-world assets represent another application area gaining infrastructure support. Asset managers and financial institutions can custody tokenized securities, trade finance instruments, and other digital representations of physical assets. The regulated framework addresses compliance requirements that govern institutional asset management.

Cross-border payment providers can leverage the custody integration to build settlement systems on XDC Network. The combination of fast settlement times and regulated custody creates conditions for institutional payment flows.

Payment platforms can now construct blockchain-based solutions without sacrificing regulatory compliance or security standards that their operations demand.

TRON DAO announced it has joined the Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF) as a Gold Member. The blockchain network will serve on the Foundation’s Governing Board.

The move positions TRON’s stablecoin settlement infrastructure within the emerging ecosystem for autonomous AI systems. TRON is betting that AI agents will need fast, cheap, high-volume payment rails — exactly the niche the network already dominates.

What Is the Agentic AI Foundation?The AAIF launched in December 2025 under the Linux Foundation. Anthropic, Block, and OpenAI co-founded the initiative, contributing three core open-source projects: Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol (MCP), Block’s Goose Agent Framework, and OpenAI’s AGENTS.md.

The Foundation now counts 146 members, including AWS, Google, Microsoft, Circle, and JPMorgan Chase. TRON’s Gold membership places it alongside Cisco, IBM, Oracle, and Circle — the USDC issuer whose CTO called stablecoins foundational to the agentic economy.

TRON’s Bet: Stablecoin Rails for AI AgentsThe logic behind TRON’s AAIF membership is simple: AI agents that execute real-world tasks will eventually need to move money. If those transactions are frequent, small, and automated, the chain that wins is the one with negligible fees and near-instant settlement.

Third-party data supports at least part of that case. Arkham Research reported in January that TRON settles over $20 billion in stablecoins daily. Messari’s State of TRON Q4 2025 report put circulating USDT supply at $82.2 billion, with an average daily transfer volume of $23.86 billion. Whether that payment dominance translates to AI agent use cases — where transaction patterns may differ from human remittance flows — remains untested.

“Autonomous AI systems will depend on open, reliable, and globally accessible infrastructure to operate securely at scale,” TRON founder Justin Sun said.

The Bigger Picture: Crypto Meets Agentic AIAI agents handling procurement, subscription management, or cross-border payments could generate transaction volumes that dwarf current DeFi activity. The question is which chains capture this flow.

TRON’s advantage is its existing infrastructure. Arkham Research has described the network as a cost-efficient rail for mid- to large-value transfers, particularly in emerging markets. Stablecoin activity on TRON is concentrated in Asia, with the region accounting for nearly $341 billion annually.

What TRON Still Needs to ProveThe announcement is primarily a governance-and-standards play. TRON will contribute to AAIF working groups on open frameworks for AI-agent interactions with decentralized networks. Concrete technical integrations with MCP or other AAIF projects have not been detailed.

There are also questions about the credibility of TRON’s broader AI ecosystem. Justin Sun has promoted AINFT (formerly APENFT) as the network’s flagship AI project. The platform gives NFTs conversational and decision-making capabilities. But AINFT marketplace data shows just three active collections and a combined seven-day volume of roughly 1,255 TRX — about $358 total.

Sun said at Consensus Hong Kong in February that he is working on Web 4.0, fusing AI with the TRON blockchain. Whether this vision translates into developer adoption or remains aspirational will shape how the market evaluates TRON’s AAIF membership.

Bottom LineTRON’s stablecoin dominance gives it a credible claim to a role in the agentic AI payment stack. But converting governance participation into technical integration remains the harder task. The AAIF’s MCP Dev Summit in New York on April 2-3 will be an early test of whether TRON brings concrete proposals to the table.

ORCA Price’s 50% Rally Fueled by $1 Million Demand – But Risk Flags Emerge

PANews reported on August 26th that dYdX has officially released a new roadmap, with its core development company, dYdX Trading, rebranding as dYdX Labs. Over the next 90 days, dYdX plans to conduct software upgrades to support the community and achieve significant breakthroughs in performance, user experience, and token utility. These upgrades include: 1. Partner fee sharing: Partners who bring trading volume and liquidity to dYdX can earn up to 50% of protocol fees; 2. The introduction of segmented and TWAP orders; 3. Designated proposers to significantly reduce end-to-end transaction latency; 4. Improved order gateways; 5. Telegram trading functionality, enabling seamless trading between dYdX accounts on the web and Telegram, launching in September 2025; 5. Social login, supporting instant login and deposits using Google, Apple, or Passkey; 6. Front-end integration with Osmosis, enabling one-click swaps and staking between USDC and DYDX; and 7. DYDX staking to reduce transaction fees.

Kepler Cheuvreux raises ASML’s European share price target from €1,460 to €1,830.

Kepler Cheuvreux has raised the target price for ASML’s European shares from €1,460 to €1,830.

4 minutes ago

Stifel: U.S. economy in "overheated expansion" as AI investment cycle outweighs consumer pressure

U.S. large diversified financial services holding company Stifel has raised its year-end S&P 500 target and rolled out a stock allocation framework for a "high-growth, high-inflation" environment. The firm lifted its year-end S&P 500 target to 7,800 points, noting the U.S. economy is entering a "running hot" state—where economic growth is strengthening alongside mounting inflationary pressure. Stifel’s models show U.S. growth momentum is picking up while inflation momentum is clearly overheating, a trend that will reshape the market’s leading sector structure in the second half of the year. Instead of traditional consumer sectors, Stifel’s top picks are investment-led cyclical industries, including banks, transportation, materials, energy, semiconductors, software and equipment. The firm adds that fixed-asset investment in AI remains on the rise: large tech firms including Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Google are projected to combine for roughly $725 billion in total capital expenditures in 2026, some $100 billion higher than prior estimates. This means the AI investment chain is likely to continue outperforming the consumption chain squeezed by inflation. Stifel advises investors to reduce exposure to discretionary consumer, consumer staples, communication services and some financial services sectors, as these areas see weaker earnings revisions. Conversely, the firm favors cyclical value stocks and hedges with defensive value sectors such as insurance, autos, energy and banks.

4 minutes ago

Analyst: Micron's earnings boost overall market sentiment for the tech sector

Chris Strazzeri, Financial Trading Manager of Moomoo’s Australia and New Zealand branch, stated: “The targeted sell-off indicates that following a sustained, strong rally in AI-related and speculative growth stocks, investors are enforcing strict valuation discipline. This serves as a warning to the market that actual earnings levels must now rise to support the currently overvalued price-to-earnings ratio. Micron Technology’s post-market earnings results largely confirm this, and its robust performance has lifted overall market sentiment in the tech sector.”

4 minutes ago

2x Leveraged Long DRAM ETF (RAM) Records $383 Million in Trading Volume on Its First Day of Listing

According to Bitget market data, the Roundhill T-REX 2X Long DRAM Daily Target ETF (Nasdaq ticker: RAM) officially launched trading yesterday. On its first trading day, the fund recorded a total turnover of $383 million, and rose 29.47% in after-hours U.S. stock trading to hit $30.8. Note: RAM’s underlying exposure covers companies engaged in memory-related technologies, including DRAM, NAND and storage solutions, targeting active traders seeking leveraged exposure to the memory chip theme and artificial intelligence infrastructure development.

4 minutes ago

BCA Research raises its S&P 500 target to 8,100 points, with AI remaining a core variable.

BCA Research has become the latest strategy firm to raise its US stock market target, reflecting Wall Street’s growing optimism about earnings support for US equities in the second half of the year. The institution lifted its year-end S&P 500 target from 7,700 points to 8,100 points. BCA’s core view is that first-quarter corporate earnings exceeded expectations in both strength and breadth, and the US economy has re-entered an expansion phase. Similar to JPMorgan Chase, BCA believes this stock rally is not only driven by valuation expansion—earnings themselves are delivering the index’s gains. AI remains the core variable in this assessment. Large tech firms including Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta and Oracle continue to increase capital spending on data centers and AI infrastructure, driving growth in orders for chips, servers, construction, power and related industrial chains. This provides a clearer fundamental basis for upward revisions to 2026 and 2027 earnings. The institution points out that risks exist: the earnings expansion brought by AI investments has already been quickly priced into the market. If subsequent returns on capital spending are questioned, or interest rates remain elevated, further upside for the index will require more earnings confirmation rather than relying solely on investor risk appetite.

4 minutes ago

Tom Lee: Markets have nearly priced in two interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve this year, and the rise in US Treasury yields is weighing on market sentiment.

Tom Lee said the market is still digesting Kevin Warsh’s remarks from his first press conference last week and repricing the macro environment. Over the past week, oil prices have pulled back, with war premiums contracting. Current oil prices are not far from the roughly $65 level seen before the conflict, indicating the market views related war risks as declining. On the other hand, 10-year U.S. Treasury yields continue to rise, now around 4.5%, higher than the pre-conflict level of roughly 4.2%. The main headwind the market has faced recently has shifted from oil prices to yields. Tom Lee noted that the market is not only focused on 10-year U.S. Treasury yields but also starting to price in potential additional interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. According to federal funds futures, the market is currently pricing in nearly two rate hikes this year. Bank of America further projected today that the Fed will raise rates three times this year, in September, October, and December respectively. Jeffrey Gundlach often emphasizes the importance of monitoring 2-year U.S. Treasury yields, as they typically lead the Fed and signal the central bank’s policy direction. Between 2023 and 2025, the relationship between 2-year U.S. Treasury yields and the federal funds rate indicated that the Fed’s policy was overly tight, requiring interest rate cuts. However, this relationship has recently reversed, meaning the Fed would need two rate hikes to catch up with 2-year U.S. Treasury yields. He believes that, at least for now, yields have become a headwind for the market.

4 minutes ago

Attackers drained roughly $2.1 million from a deprecated Thetanuts Finance vault in the latest Decentralized Finance (DeFi) exploit. Whitehat defenders recovered about $2 million in option tokens.

The breach hit an old vault that the protocol had already migrated from years ago. Thetanuts said the vault has no connection to its active products or current systems.

Inside the Thetanuts Vault DeFi ExploitBlockchain security firms flagged the incident on X (formerly Twitter). SlowMist traced the root cause of the integer division flaw in the contract’s mint function. 

Following the vault drain, the deposit formula evaluated to 0 due to rounding during integer division, allowing an attacker to mint tokens for free. The flaw ultimately enabled unlimited token creation.

PeckShield revealed that the exploiter swapped $105,000 in USDC (USDC) for around 60 Ethereum (ETH). The wallet still holds roughly $34,000 in option tokens.

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Thetanuts also addressed the exploit in a public statement.

“Our preliminary investigation indicates that this is once again, a deprecated vault that we have migrated from years ago. It has no relation to any of our current contracts or products. We will release a post-mortem once we get more details,” the team said.

The attack fits a pattern of exploits striking dormant or legacy code. Old contracts often stay live on-chain even after teams stop maintaining them.

BeInCrypto reported that attackers drained about $2.1 million from Aztec Connect, which was deprecated three years ago. A separate breach hit Raydium (RAY) legacy liquidity pools for roughly $1.3 million.

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SpaceX is set to debut on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX as early as June 12, 2026, after filing its S-1 with the SEC on May 20. Elon Musk has agreed to lock 100% of his shares for 366 days.

The arrangement has redrawn how crypto venues price the company before listing. Hyperliquid, Binance, OKX, Bitget, and BingX each run synthetic SPCX perpetuals while accredited investors access real shares through Forge Global and EquityZen at a $1.75 trillion valuation.

Six Investor Questions on the SpaceX IPO MechanicsThe following are some of the questions and answers investors must have, even as Elon Musk locks up 100% of his SpaceX holdings for a year.

JUST IN: Elon Musk locks up 100% of his SpaceX $SPCX holdings for 366 days

— Gemini (@Gemini) June 2, 2026 Follow us on X to get the latest news as it happens

1. Can retail investors actually buy SpaceX shares before the IPO, or only synthetic exposure?Direct ownership remains off the table for anyone outside the cap structure.

Synthetic perpetuals listed on Hyperliquid, Binance, Bitget, OKX, and BingX simply mirror an implied valuation through derivative contracts and confer no shareholder rights.

Secondary platforms such as Forge Global and EquityZen require accredited or qualified institutional status, locking out smaller buyers.

Crypto perpetual contracts therefore stand as the sole entry point for non-accredited traders looking to position around crypto markets pricing SpaceX ahead of June 12.

2. How do crypto perpetual markets like SPCX-USDC price SpaceX without a public listing?Pricing flows from a constructed oracle rather than a live exchange feed, because no public market for SPCX exists yet.

The oracle blends comparables from recent private tender offers, mention-weighted public-company proxies, and likely midpoints from Polymarket and Kalshi prediction markets.

Funding payments then nudge the contract back toward the anchor whenever traders push it too far in either direction.

The setup leaves SPCX-USDC more vulnerable to oracle disputes and forced unwinds than a typical listed instrument.

3. What happens to pre-IPO derivatives and tokenized products after the Nasdaq debut?Once SPCX prints on Nasdaq, deployers will either retire the pre-IPO contracts or migrate them to perpetuals tied to the live share price.

The Hyperliquid HIP-3 upgrade gives Trade.xyz the flexibility to convert or sunset the market entirely. Bitget, OKX, and BingX have stayed silent on what comes next for their pre-IPO products.

Tokenized SpaceX shares from Ondo, Backed Finance, and Dinari are queued for release within hours of the bell, creating a parallel 24/7 access layer.

250+ assets. 20+ sectors. 24/7 access.

The world's largest tokenized stock platform covers a wide range of assets across:

✅ AI
✅ EV
✅ Tech
✅ Space
✅ Telecom
✅ Defense
✅ Financial
✅ Industrial
✅ Quantum
✅ Consumer
✅ Commodities
✅ Fixed Income
✅ Cybersecurity
✅… pic.twitter.com/g4YjWzHQNL

— Ondo Finance (@OndoFinance) April 3, 2026 4. Is SpaceX’s reported Bitcoin treasury figure fully verified or partly based on tagged wallets?The S-1 filed with the SEC on May 20, 2026, is the controlling source, and that document records 18,712 Bitcoin (BTC) on SpaceX’s balance sheet.

SpaceX Bitcoin Holdings Listed on S-1 FilingArkham Intelligence has publicly identified only 8,285 BTC tied to labeled SpaceX Bitcoin treasury holdings through April 2026, leaving a substantial portion unlabeled.

Analysts attribute the shortfall to corporate addresses that have not yet been mapped on-chain.

“Elon’s SpaceX holding 18,712 BTC isn’t the real story. The real deal is that on-chain trackers only saw the tip of the iceberg. Arkham Intelligence had it pegged SpaceX Bitcoin holdings at ~8,000–8,285 BTC. So… how much Bitcoin are public companies actually hiding?” a popular user on X posed.

SpaceX values the position at $1.293 billion, against an acquisition cost of $661 million, with an embedded gain of nearly $632 million.

5. Why did Hyperliquid gain a first-mover advantage over centralized exchanges in SPCX trading?The HIP-3 standard allows independent deployers to spin up perpetual venues without waiting for a centralized listing review, thereby dramatically compressing the launch cycle.

CEX rivals must clear internal compliance and risk processes that typically take weeks.

Hyperliquid captured the resulting head start in volume, clearing $33 million on launch day on May 18 as the contract briefly hit $216 before resetting near $203.

The largest IPO in history prices in three weeks.

Five crypto platforms are already trading it and none of them are selling the same thing.

Here's a detailed walk-through 👇@HyperliquidX: Trade[.]xyz (SPCX-USDC)
Pure synthetic perpetual without SpaceX shares involved.… pic.twitter.com/3LTzDOC3rQ

— Onur 🍌🦍 (@0xc06) May 22, 2026 Trade.xyz, the deploying entity, is part of Hyperliquid’s tokenization arm, Hyperunit.

6. How should investors separate real IPO mechanics from speculative trading narratives?The cleanest split is to anchor every fact against the SEC filing and treat everything outside it as market interpretation.

The S-1 sets the legally binding inputs, including the 366-day Musk lock-up, the staggered 180-day terms for other shareholders, the 5% friends-and-family carve-out, and the 18,712 BTC treasury.

Synthetic perpetual prices, oracle constructions, and tokenized wrapper roadmaps sit in the second category and can move on sentiment alone.

Pegging positions to the filing first, then layering venue-specific risks on top, keeps trading narratives from contaminating the underlying valuation thesis.

The Bottom Line on the SpaceX IPOThe 366-day Musk lock-up cuts back near-term insider selling pressure. Other shareholders face staggered 180-day restrictions with early release triggers tied to earnings reports and share price performance above the IPO price.

The S-1 carves out roughly 5% of shares for employees and a friends-and-family pool with no lock-up.

For institutions weighing how to invest in SpaceX pre-IPO, the gulf between synthetic exposure and real equity stays wide until shares trade.

Musk retains roughly 85.1% of voting power through dual-class stock, keeping control concentrated even after listing.

Whether the constructed oracle pricing on crypto venues converges with the Nasdaq print after June 12 will be the cleanest test of how well these markets handled price discovery for a $1.75 trillion company.

Read also: SpaceX Wins $2.29 Billion US Space Contract, and 10 Assets Can Benefit 5 Ways Crypto Markets Are Pricing SpaceX Before Wall Street Can 10 Surprising Facts About Elon Musk’s $1 Trillion SpaceX IPO 3 Space Stocks To Watch Amid Elon Musk’s SpaceX IPO Hype Space-Themed ETFs are Flooding Wall Street Before Elon Musk’s SpaceX IPO

Stablecoin Card Firm Rain Raise $58M from Samsung and Sapphire

As the January 15 markup of the crypto market structure bill—known as the CLARITY Act—draws closer, reports indicate that Coinbase (COIN) is reconsidering its support for the legislation. 

A Monday report from Bloomberg suggests this shift in position is contingent on whether the anticipated bill includes provisions beyond enhanced disclosure requirements tied to stablecoin rewards.

High Stakes For Coinbase The CLARITY Act is expected to be marked up in at least one Senate committee this Thursday, and Coinbase’s potential withdrawal could have significant implications for the bill. 

A source familiar with Coinbase’s stance told Bloomberg that the exchange would re-evaluate its support if the legislation veers too far from its interests, particularly regarding stablecoin incentives.

Some insiders suggest the bill might restrict the ability to provide rewards to regulated financial institutions, a move that aligns with the banking sector’s concerns about losing deposits to crypto platforms.

Coinbase currently holds applications for a national trust charter that could permit it to offer those kinds of rewards under regulatory rules. However, many crypto-native firms are pushing back against potential restrictions, arguing that such measures could disrupt competition in the market.

The stakes for Coinbase are high, as rewards programs play a crucial role in its business model. The exchange allows users to earn 3.5% rewards on Circle’s USDC holdings. 

Should the market-structure bill include bans on these incentives, fewer users might choose to hold stablecoins on the platform. This could jeopardize an anticipated revenue stream projected at $1.3 billion in 2025, according to Bloomberg.

Banking Vs. Crypto The GENIUS Act, passed into law in July of last year, prohibits stablecoin issuers from offering interest on token holdings, and does not prevent third-party partners like Coinbase from providing rewards tied to customer balances. 

The banking industry, however, argues that allowing exchanges to pay such rewards could negatively impact bank deposits and, consequently, community lending. 

As reported by Bitcoinist over the past month, the American Bankers Association (ABA) has voiced concerns that this situation could displace “billions” from local lending, allegedly harming small businesses and households.

In contrast, Faryar Shirzad, Coinbase’s chief policy officer, has argued that maintaining rewards tied to stablecoins is crucial for preserving the dollar’s dominance, especially in light of China’s announcement to start offering interest on its digital yuan.

Banking Lobby Fights Back A potential compromise being discussed would permit only licensed banking entities or financial institutions to provide rewards on stablecoin balances. 

Recently, five crypto firms, including Ripple, Circle, and Paxos, received conditional approvals from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to become national trust banks, a move met with opposition from the banking lobby. 

If restrictions are indeed imposed, the report suggests that this could lead to creative workarounds as crypto firms seek alternative ways to reward customers. 

The 1-D chart shows the exchange’s stock, COIN, surging 4% on Monday towards $245. Source: COIN on TradingView.com Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com

At the WebX Fintech EXPO held in Osaka last Friday, panelists discussed Japan’s evolving stablecoin landscape, emphasizing the gap between regulatory progress and practical adoption.

Participants included Akio Isowa of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Tatsuya Saito, CEO of Progmat, and Kenta Sakakibara, Circle’s Japan Manager, moderated by Kenta Sakagami, COO/CFO of DeFimans.

Japan and US: Contrasting Approaches to Stablecoin RegulationJapan’s financial sector is witnessing growing interest in stablecoins, a digital currency pegged 1:1 to fiat. On August 19, Japan’s Financial Services Agency approved JPYC, the country’s first yen-backed stablecoin, scheduled for formal issuance this fall. Regulatory oversight, however, has been in place since 2022, giving Japan a first-mover advantage.

By contrast, US stablecoins like Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC were widely adopted before federal legislation. The GENIUS Act, passed by Congress and signed by the President in July, now establishes a regulatory framework for issuers, including federal oversight for issuances exceeding $10 billion—USDC alone issues $67 billion and falls under the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Sakakibara of Circle highlighted three key differences:

Japan introduced pioneering stablecoin regulations in 2022, serving as a reference for other countries. US legislation now subjects large issuances to federal supervision. Transaction caps differ, with Japan limiting transfers to ¥1 million, contrasting sharply with the US. Isowa noted, “In the US, the combined issuance of Tether and Circle totals ¥30–40 trillion, fueled by higher short-term government bond yields. Japan’s low yields limit growth opportunities.” He also emphasized anti-money laundering challenges: “Banks manage AML, but with stablecoins, issuers must ensure compliance themselves, which remains a critical issue.”

From left: Kenta Sakagami, Akio Isowa, Tatsuya Saito, Kenta SakakibaraChallenges for Stablecoin ProvidersTatsuya Saito, CEO of Progmat, a platform for digital asset infrastructure co-founded by major Japanese banks, discussed operational hurdles. “Depending on whether a provider is a bank or a crypto-adjacent company, regulatory impacts vary subtly,” he explained.

He elaborated, “Retail transactions rarely exceed ¥1 million, but banks handling wholesale transfers for corporations or institutional clients face stricter rules. Ensuring compliance across all scenarios remains a challenge.”

Market Potential and Global Ripple EffectsPanelists agreed that JPYC’s launch as Japan’s first yen-backed stablecoin represents a significant milestone. Sakakibara explained Circle’s strategy: “We began USDC operations in Japan at the end of March. The market has shared use case ideas, including moving wholesale international payments and treasury operations onto stablecoins. We see strong demand for yen-backed tokens and expect positive spillovers from the GENIUS Act to Japan’s ecosystem.”

Japan’s experience with QR-code cashless payments since the late 2010s informs potential stablecoin adoption. Isowa remarked, “Initially, multiple QR payment systems created consumer confusion, but interoperability has improved. Stablecoins will likely follow a similar path. Early coordination on which tokens to adopt is crucial.”

He added that wholesale banking could benefit from internal stablecoins: “Global companies pool funds via cash management systems, but time-zone differences delay transfers. Stablecoins enable instant movement, boosting efficiency and labor productivity.”

Stablecoin Advantages Over Cashless SystemsSaito highlighted technical benefits: “Current cashless payments are siloed per merchant database, preventing interoperability. Stablecoins, built on shared standards, allow easy exchange between different tokens.”

He predicted market consolidation: “Initially, multiple stablecoins will emerge, but they will converge over time.” Saito concluded, “The GENIUS Act and JPYC’s issuance are wake-up calls for Japan’s financial sector. Ignoring stablecoins now carries a greater risk than engaging with them.”

TL;DR 0x is opening Swap API access to AI agents through a pay-per-request model. The setup uses USDC and the HTTP 402 payment concept to remove traditional API keys and subscriptions. The move shows how crypto payments may become invisible infrastructure for autonomous software. AI Agents Get A DeFi Payment Rail 0x Protocol is opening its Swap API to AI agents through a pay-per-request model that uses USDC, giving autonomous software a way to access decentralized liquidity without traditional API accounts, subscriptions or manual billing flows.

The development sits at the intersection of two fast-moving themes: AI agents and crypto payments. Instead of a company signing up for an API key and paying an invoice, an agent can theoretically pay for a request directly from a wallet. That is a small technical shift, but it hints at a larger change in how software may pay for services online.

Why HTTP 402 Matters The idea leans on the long-dormant HTTP 402 “Payment Required” concept. In practice, the web never widely adopted native machine payments. Crypto rails, especially stablecoins, give developers a way to revisit that model because small payments can be settled programmatically and globally.

For DeFi, the application is straightforward. An agent that needs a token quote, route or swap can pay a tiny fee in USDC per request. That reduces friction for builders who do not want enterprise contracts, and it may make API access more modular for bots, wallets, trading tools and agentic workflows.

Still Early, But Strategically Important This is still an early infrastructure story rather than evidence of mass AI-agent trading. Developers will need to manage security, permissioning, wallet controls and payment reliability before autonomous agents can safely interact with financial APIs at scale.

Even so, the direction is notable. Crypto’s strongest AI-adjacent use case may not be tokens branded around artificial intelligence. It may be stablecoin payments and wallet-based identity quietly powering machine-to-machine commerce in the background.

This coverage is based on information from Crypto Briefing.

This article was written by the News Desk and edited by Samuel Rae.

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