Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

The global financial system holds hundreds of trillions of dollars in assets. Sovereign debt, commodities, cash equivalents, yield-bearing instruments - the building blocks of wealth and commerce that power economies worldwide. Today, only a tiny fraction of those assets exist onchain. That gap is closing fast, and the networks positioned to bridge it will capture extraordinary value.

This is the core of the Kava thesis for 2026 and beyond: tokenized financial assets will grow from a niche crypto use case into a multi-trillion dollar infrastructure layer. Stablecoins are the first proof point. What comes next is far bigger. And Kava has been building the right infrastructure for precisely this moment.

The Trillion-Dollar Real World Asset MigrationThere are broadly two categories of crypto assets. The first is speculative and digital-native - memecoins, NFTs, low-quality tokens driven by narrative rather than fundamentals. The second is tokenized financial assets: onchain representations of real-world financial value including stablecoins, tokenized commodities, yield-bearing dollar products, and structured instruments.

The first category captured headlines during the last cycle. The second category will define the next decade.

The thesis is straightforward: people everywhere want access to the best financial assets the world has to offer. Historically, geography determined opportunity - if you lived outside major financial centres, high-quality instruments were expensive or impossible to access. Onchain infrastructure changes that equation entirely. Tokenization makes sovereign debt, dollar-denominated yield, commodities exposure, and structured financial products globally accessible to anyone with a wallet.

We believe tokenized financial assets will grow into the trillions as onchain rails become the primary global access layer for high-quality financial instruments. The infrastructure that supports this migration - settlement, custody, compliance, liquidity - becomes the most strategically valuable real estate in crypto.

Stablecoins: The Leading Edge of Tokenised Finance  Within tokenized financial assets, stablecoins are the largest and most mature category. They represent tokenized dollars - the dominant onchain derivative of real-world financial value and the primary settlement layer for virtually all onchain financial activity.

But stablecoins aren’t just a product category. They’re a gateway. They function as the on-ramp into tokenized asset exposure, the off-ramp back into fiat liquidity, and the base unit of account for every onchain financial product that follows. Growing stablecoin usage is the first step toward growing adoption of the entire tokenized financial asset stack.

As we covered in our recent analysis of the stablecoin infrastructure shift, Tron’s overtaking of Ethereum for USDT dominance validated a critical thesis: purpose-built payment infrastructure outcompetes complex general-purpose solutions when it comes to moving value at scale. Networks that made the right architectural choices are winning real market share.

This same logic applies to the broader tokenized asset opportunity. The networks that build native, efficient infrastructure for tokenized financial products - rather than retrofitting speculative-era architecture - will capture disproportionate value as the market matures.

Kava’s Structural Advantage‍

Kava didn’t stumble into this position. The network has spent years building infrastructure that aligns precisely with where the market is heading.

Native USDT integration gives Kava first-class stablecoin infrastructure rather than relying on bridged assets with their inherent fragility. Integrations with major partners like Binance provide distribution and liquidity access that smaller networks struggle to replicate. And the ability to deepen stablecoin liquidity through on/off-ramp partnerships creates compounding network effects - more liquidity attracts more users, which attracts more liquidity.

The strategic sequence is clear. Step one: grow stablecoin liquidity and usage within the Kava ecosystem. This is the foundation - the settlement infrastructure that everything else builds on. Step two: use stablecoins as settlement infrastructure for new financial products that bring tokenized real-world asset exposure to a global audience.

With $124.44 million in stablecoin market cap and 88.21% USDT dominance, the foundation is already in place. The question now is how fast Kava can build on top of it.

The Product Expansion PathKava's roadmap extends well beyond stablecoin settlement. The network is building toward a marquee financial product with stablecoins as the settlement layer - a simple entry point to asset-backed yield with clear accounting, using USDT for both deposits and redemptions.   

Over time, this expands into broader tokenized financial exposure: commodities, yield-bearing instruments, synthetic exposures, and structured financial products. The goal is to provide globally accessible onchain exposure to high-quality financial assets - the kind of instruments that have historically been gated behind geographic, regulatory, and capital barriers.

This isn’t about building another DeFi protocol. It’s about building the infrastructure layer through which real financial value flows onchain. The addressable market isn’t other crypto projects - it’s the hundreds of trillions in global financial assets waiting for better rails.

The AI CatalystAlongside the tokenized asset thesis, Kava recognises AI as one of the fastest-growing sectors of the coming decade. The strategy here is deliberate: invest in decentralised AI infrastructure, fund research and ecosystem development, and explore AI-assisted tooling for financial strategy and coordination.

The intersection of AI and onchain finance is particularly compelling. As tokenized financial products grow in complexity and volume, AI-assisted portfolio management, yield routing, strategy automation, and other coordination tools become increasingly valuable. Decentralised AI infrastructure paired with tokenized financial rails creates a stack that neither sector can build alone.

This remains an area of active investment and development rather than near-term product commitments. But the strategic positioning is intentional - the convergence of AI and onchain finance is coming, and Kava intends to be there when it arrives.

The Path Forward: 2026 and Beyond‍

‍

The immediate focus for 2026 is clear: grow stablecoin liquidity, launch compliant dollar-denominated products, and begin expanding into broader tokenized financial assets. Simultaneously, investment in decentralised AI continues to build the infrastructure for what comes next.

The macro environment couldn’t be more aligned. Institutional interest in tokenized assets is accelerating. Regulatory clarity around stablecoins is improving in key markets. Global demand for dollar-denominated financial access continues to grow. And the infrastructure wars of previous cycles have produced clear winners - networks that prioritised real utility over speculative positioning.

We’re building for a world where the best financial assets are globally accessible through onchain infrastructure. Where stablecoins are the settlement layer, tokenized instruments are the product layer, and AI-powered tools help users navigate an increasingly sophisticated financial landscape. The pieces are in place. The market is moving in our direction. And Kava is positioned to capture it.

The next decade belongs to tokenized financial assets. Kava intends to be at the centre of it.

‍

In celebration of Earth Day, Botanic Tonics, maker of feel free CLASSIC® and Kava Mate, today announced a sweepstakes offering five individuals a unique opportunity: a dedicated kava plot in their name at the Pacifikava farm in Vanuatu, where the brand sources its noble kava root.

Each selected participant will have a plot named in their honor, along with ongoing updates from the farm, including photos, harvest reports and insights into the journey from cultivation to final product. The initiative is designed to provide a more direct connection between consumers and the agricultural origins of the brand’s products.

The sweepstakes runs through April 22, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time and is open to legal residents of the 50 United States, including the District of Columbia, aged 21 and older. No purchase is necessary. Additional details and official rules are available at botanictonics.com/pages/earth-day-sweepstakes. Shop at botanictonics.com from April 15–22 for automatic entry, or enter here for a chance to win without purchase.

Botanic Tonics has positioned the initiative as part of a broader effort to highlight the role of sourcing, production and distribution practices in its operations.

“Everything we do starts at the root,” said Cameron Korehbandi, CEO of Botanic Tonics. “From how our noble kava root is grown at our farm in Vanuatu to how our products are packaged and distributed, we’re intentional about building a business that respects the Earth and supports the communities behind it.”

Rooted in Tradition: Sustainable Kava Sourcing in Vanuatu

Botanic Tonics sources its noble kava root from Pacifikava, its exclusive farm located on the island of Espiritu Santo in Vanuatu. The region’s volcanic soil, climate, and cultural traditions support the cultivation of high-quality kava.

The company works with local farmers who grow and hand-harvest kava using time-honored practices designed to protect the land and preserve generations of agricultural knowledge. These small, carefully tended plots prioritize quality, sustainability and respect for the plant’s cultural legacy. 

Beyond sustainable farming, Botanic Tonics invests directly in the communities behind its supply chain, supporting education, economic opportunity and long-term stability for farming families, while helping preserve the traditions that have defined kava cultivation for centuries.

That impact is felt at the family level. As Pacifikava farmer Adison Goodwin noted, “Now with Pacifikava, they sponsored my child to go far in school.”

From Plant to Product: Thoughtful Materials and Packaging

Botanic Tonics’ signature cobalt glass bottles and aluminum caps were chosen deliberately for performance and for what happens after the product is finished. Glass and aluminum are among the most recyclable materials available, and the company actively encourages consumers to recycle or repurpose its packaging rather than send it to landfill.

Since launching its recycling program in 2023, Botanic Tonics reports diverting more than 357,000 pounds (nearly 179 tons) of materials from landfills, including over 142,000 pounds of plastic and 17,000 pounds of glass.

Circular Systems in Action: Tulsa Manufacturing

At its Tulsa, Oklahoma manufacturing facility, Botanic Tonics operates a closed-loop recycling system. Materials such as wood, aluminum, cardboard and glass are collected and reprocessed to reduce waste.

Twice per month, Botanic Tonics receives fully recycled, heat-treated wood product pallets used to ship feel free. Those same trucks return carrying used materials, including wood, aluminum, cardboard and glass, keeping them in circulation and out of landfills.

Since 2023, the company reports keeping nearly 179 tons (357,687 pounds) of materials in circulation, including:

71 tons of plastic 60 tons of corrugated cardboard 33 tons of metal 8.7 tons of glass 5.4 tons of wood Extending Earth Day Beyond April 22

In addition to the sweepstakes, Botanic Tonics is encouraging its community to recycle its glass bottles as part of its Earth Day initiative. Every cobalt glass bottle is 100% recyclable, and the company provides an easy step-by-step guide on its website alongside updates from its sustainability operations from the farm in Vanuatu to the facility in Tulsa.

The company states that its approach to sustainability is embedded in its ongoing operations, rather than limited to a single day or campaign.

About Botanic Tonics

Botanic Tonics is a botanical supplement company founded in 2020 and headquartered in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. The feel free® product line utilizes traditional botanical ingredients to support energy, focus, and mood. The flagship product, feel free CLASSIC®, is a formulation of noble kava root and natural kratom leaf that contains no synthetic ingredients, alcohol, or chemical extracts. Botanic Tonics products are manufactured in an FDA-registered, cGMP-certified facility and undergo third-party testing for consistency and safety. With over 129 million servings sold, the company’s safety protocols are supported by government testing, clinical trials, and medical review. Botanic Tonics provides consumer education regarding the responsible use of botanicals for adults aged 21 and older. Detailed safety data and product information are available at botanictonics.com.

Disclaimer

The statements made in this announcement have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. These products are botanical supplements and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or medical condition. This content is provided for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. feel free CLASSIC contains natural kratom leaf. Like other botanical stimulants, kratom may be habit-forming and carries a risk of dependency if used frequently or in high doses. Individuals with a history of substance use disorder or those currently in recovery should avoid this product. To date, clinical observations of feel free CLASSIC consumed according to recommended serving sizes have not indicated serious physical or social harm; however, individual responses to botanicals vary significantly. Strictly not for sale to or consumption by individuals under 21 years of age. Botanicals may interact with prescription and over-the-counter medications, particularly those metabolized by the liver. Consult a licensed, qualified healthcare professional before use to assess personal risk. Always follow the serving sizes listed on the packaging. For comprehensive safety data, third-party lab results (COAs), and further guidance, visit our Consumer Education page.

Media Contact

Botanic Tonics
[email protected]

PANews, June 18 — According to Cointelegraph, Michelle Bond, the wife of former FTX executive Ryan Salame, is facing criminal charges for allegedly using FTX funds to finance her 2022 congressional campaign. Manhattan federal judge George Daniels has denied Bond’s motion to dismiss the charges, ruling that the case will proceed. Bond had previously claimed that prosecutors promised not to charge her in exchange for Salame’s guilty plea, but the judge determined that no such promise existed in the plea agreement. Prosecutors allege that Bond obtained $400,000 from FTX through a consulting agreement and received hundreds of thousands of additional dollars transferred by Salame, which were used to illegally fund the campaign while concealing the source of the funds and making false statements to the Federal Election Commission. Bond faces four charges, each carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The case could become the final criminal trial related to the FTX collapse.

A federal judge in the Southern District of New York has denied Michelle Bond’s motion to dismiss campaign finance charges tied to money that allegedly flowed from FTX into her 2022 congressional run. The ruling keeps alive a case that traces a direct line from Sam Bankman-Fried’s collapsed empire into the machinery of American electoral politics.

Bond, who is married to former FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame, was indicted on August 22, 2024, on four counts. Those counts include conspiracy to cause unlawful campaign contributions and excessive contributions, each carrying a potential penalty of up to five years in prison.

The alleged scheme According to the indictment, Salame arranged a $400,000 payment from FTX to Bond, labeled as consulting fees, shortly after she announced her candidacy for New York’s 1st congressional district in the 2022 Republican primary. Prosecutors say that payment, along with additional personal wire transfers, was used to illegally finance her campaign.

Advertisement

Bond previously served as CEO of Digital Futures, a role that placed her squarely within the crypto industry’s orbit. Her campaign positioned her as a candidate with deep knowledge of digital assets.

Salame himself pleaded guilty to related campaign finance crimes in September 2023. He was sentenced to 90 months in prison in May 2024.

Why the case keeps dragging on Bond’s legal team attempted to get the charges thrown out entirely, arguing for dismissal of the indictment. The federal judge’s denial of that motion means the case will proceed toward trial, though the timeline suggests it could stretch well into late 2025 or beyond.

Part of the delay stems from ongoing disputes about Salame’s plea agreement and what it means for Bond’s defense.

Salame’s guilty plea acknowledged that he directed political contributions to candidates across multiple races, making Bond’s alleged scheme part of a broader pattern of FTX money seeping into the American political system.

What this means for crypto and political fundraising Before FTX’s collapse in November 2022, the exchange and its affiliates were among the largest political donors in the country. Bankman-Fried cultivated relationships on both sides of the aisle, and Salame directed contributions primarily to Republican candidates.

If Bond is convicted on all four counts, she could face up to 20 years in prison, though actual sentences in campaign finance cases typically fall well below the statutory maximum.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

Thu 18 Jun 2026 ▪ 4 min read ▪ by Fenelon L.

Summarize this article with:

Last week, SpaceX went public with an initial valuation of $1.77 trillion, before surpassing it by a wide margin. The listing has immediately revived hopes among FTX creditors, the crypto exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, which held an indirect stake in Elon Musk’s company before its collapse in 2022. Could Bankman-Fried’s victims ultimately recover far more than anyone anticipated?

In brief FTX held exposure to SpaceX through venture capital firm K5 Global, with which the bankruptcy estate reached a settlement in January 2025. According to projections from creditor advocate Kyle Schmidt, final distributions could reach 171% of claims exceeding $50,000. The FTX estate has already distributed $10.3 billion to customers, and SpaceX’s IPO could push that figure even higher. SpaceX Goes Public: An Unexpected Asset in FTX’s Portfolio FTX was never just a crypto exchange. Before its collapse in November 2022, the platform had invested in several companies through third-party venture capital firms. Among them, K5 Global held positions in SpaceX, which indirectly exposed FTX to the valuation of Elon Musk’s rocket company.

In January 2025, John J. Ray III, CEO of the FTX bankruptcy estate, reached a settlement with K5 Global to end a lawsuit filed in June 2023. Both parties have since agreed to work together to maximize recoveries. K5 Global still includes SpaceX in its active portfolio.

It is clear that K5 represents a major asset in FTX’s portfolio. The strong performance expected from their investments will be a key driver of recovery efforts.

What Can Creditors Realistically Expect After the SpaceX IPO? Projections are already making the rounds among creditor advocates. Kyle Schmidt, known online as “Mr. Purple,” expects final distributions to reach 171% of claims for customers with balances above $50,000. That figure accounts for liquidation surpluses and interest accrued since the bankruptcy filing.

Sunil Kavuri, a British investor who lost roughly $2 million in the FTX collapse and has since become a vocal advocate for victims, also told Decrypt that “it is always great news to see good investments that could help with the recovery and repayment of FTX creditors.” SpaceX’s market capitalization could moreover surpass $2.5 trillion according to some estimates.

Meanwhile, the SBF case continues to generate new developments. His appeal was rejected and a presidential pardon request was filed with the US Department of Justice, so far without outcome. Senators Cynthia Lummis and Rubén Gallego furthermore introduced a joint resolution on June 17, 2026, formally opposing any executive clemency.

The FTX bankruptcy — long defined by $10.3 billion in losses — is now taking an unexpected turn. SpaceX’s stock market debut, combined with the K5 Global settlement and accumulated interest, thus creates a convergence of factors that could work in creditors’ favor.

Whether the valuation holds, however, remains to be seen. For Bankman-Fried’s victims, this may nonetheless be the first genuinely good news since November 2022. Keeping track of the FTX case therefore remains essential in the weeks ahead.

Maximize your Cointribune experience with our "Read to Earn" program! For every article you read, earn points and access exclusive rewards. Sign up now and start earning benefits.

Join the program

A

A

Lien copié

Fenelon L.

Passionné par le Bitcoin, j'aime explorer les méandres de la blockchain et des cryptos et je partage mes découvertes avec la communauté. Mon rêve est de vivre dans un monde où la vie privée et la liberté financière sont garanties pour tous, et je crois fermement que Bitcoin est l'outil qui peut rendre cela possible.

DISCLAIMER

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.

PANews, June 18 – According to Decrypt, FTX’s bankruptcy estate is receiving a boost from SpaceX’s post-IPO market valuation surpassing $2.5 trillion, due to an earlier indirect investment in SpaceX through K5 Global. FTX creditor representative “Mr. Purple” estimates that clients with claims above $50,000 may ultimately recover up to 171% of their claim amount, higher than previously expected, with approximately $10.3 billion already distributed. The FTX bankruptcy team and K5 Global reached a settlement in 2024 to collaboratively maximize the monetization of related interests. UK investor Sunil Kavuri stated that the strong performance of the SpaceX investment could become a significant source of additional distributions for FTX creditors.

Morgan Stanley raises Micron's price target to $1,200, maintains 'Overweight' rating.

Morgan Stanley released a report raising Micron Technology (MU.O)’s price target from $1,050 to $1,200, while maintaining an "Overweight" rating. The investment bank lifted its fiscal 2027 earnings per share (EPS) forecast for the chipmaker by roughly 40% to $168, and upgraded its free cash flow (FCF) projection from $104 billion to $140 billion. Aligning with Micron’s management, the bank holds that AI will push DRAM demand to consistently outpace supply significantly after 2027. Micron’s last fiscal quarter results matched this trend, with both its quarterly performance and outlook showing notable upside potential.

4 minutes ago

US officials: Israel has withdrawn troops from parts of the buffer zone in southern Lebanon.

A U.S. State Department official said Israel has withdrawn from parts of the buffer zone in southern Lebanon, describing the move as a "goodwill gesture" toward the Lebanese government.

4 minutes ago

CBRS trades below IPO price post-earnings: Erases all gains six weeks after listing, two smart money firms net $5.8 million from first-day IPO shorts.

According to Hyperinsight monitoring, Cerebras (CBRS), the AI chip firm previously dubbed "Nvidia’s strongest challenger", saw its stock price fall in stages after reporting its first quarterly results since going public, as negative guidance overshadowed better-than-expected performance. The stock has dropped roughly 22% since the earnings release and officially broke below its IPO price today. On-chain whales are overall bearish. CBRS trades at $184 on the Hyperliquid platform, down 7.7% in 24 hours. Large-scale short positions (million-dollar level) total around $11.62 million, 2.39 times the long positions ($4.87 million). Two major short positions were placed precisely at high levels as early as the IPO day or even before the IPO: - Whale 0xe0ff: Shorted at $284.51 on May 14 with a 3x leveraged position of $6.13 million, generating an unrealized profit of $3.24 million (+104%); - Whale 0x9996: Shorted at $275.92 on May 11 with a 5x leveraged position of $5.48 million, generating an unrealized profit of $2.64 million (+162%). It is learned that both addresses currently hold short positions in both CBRS and SPCX, and have recorded substantial unrealized profits, preferring to place short positions at high levels before or on the day of major stock listings. With the realization of negative earnings news in this round, the combined unrealized profit of the two positions is around $5.88 million. Currently, the average entry price of CBRS short whales is around $275, and the current price is over 30% lower than that. The nearest short liquidation line is at $200.13, about 7% away from the current price.

4 minutes ago

Multiple high-performing domestic public mutual fund products have tightened their purchase restrictions.

E Fund Management announced in its latest filing that the E Fund Information Industry Select Fund, managed by Zheng Xi, has cut its purchase limit to 10,000 yuan. The same purchase limit reduction to 10,000 yuan applies to another fund under his management, E Fund Information Industry Fund, while E Fund Global Growth Select Hybrid Fund (QDII) has lowered its purchase limit to 10 yuan. In addition, Guolianan Preferred Industry Fund, Harvest Tech Innovation Fund, and Principal Performance-Driven Fund have also announced purchase limits or adjustments to their limits recently. Jin Zicai, a fund manager closely watched by the market, imposed additional purchase limits on multiple public offering funds under his management, with the four funds involved cutting their purchase limits to 500 yuan starting June 23. Purchase limits on high-performing funds likely stem from multiple considerations: they can avoid return dilution caused by short-term concentrated subscriptions, and proactive limits during overheated market conditions also send risk warning signals to the market. As the first half of the year draws to a close, such moves have become increasingly frequent. Overall, Wind data shows that since June alone, 19 funds with year-to-date net asset value returns exceeding 90% have suspended large subscriptions or adjusted their purchase caps. (Source: Cailian Press)

4 minutes ago

The US stock market's optical communication sector rises across the board in pre-market trading, with Corning up 9.28%.

According to Bitget market data, the U.S. stock market's optical communication sector saw broad pre-market gains, with MRVL rising 4.99%, LITE up 3.24%, Nokia up 3.11%, Corning up 9.28%, and AXTI up 6.69%.

4 minutes ago

US-listed AI chip stocks saw mixed pre-market performance, with Qualcomm surging 13%.

According to Bitget market data, U.S. AI chip stocks posted mixed pre-market performance: Qualcomm (QCOM.O) surged 13%, Intel (INTC.O) rose nearly 6%, AMD (AMD.O) gained nearly 4%, and Google (GOOG.O) declined 1.4%.

4 minutes ago

Trust in bitcoin systems has never been more difficult to gain or easy to lose. Following the FTX collapse in 2022, which rocked the business to its core, the events of 2025 provided yet another sobering reminder of the stakes involved. According to Chainalysis, cryptocurrency theft was a total $3.4 billion in February 2025. The Bybit exchange theft alone accounts for $1.5 billion of the yearly total, making it the greatest single digital-asset robbery ever recorded. The FBI’s IC3 2025 Internet Crime Report recorded $11.366 billion in cryptocurrency-related fraud losses across 181,565 complaints, representing a 22% rise year over year.

The message is unambiguous: where you hold your assets and which platforms you use to move them matters enormously. Security is no longer a feature — it is the product.

What will security look like in 2026, then? These days, safety extends far beyond simple two-factor authentication; it includes segregated client funds, cold storage ratios more than 95%, and verifiable verification of reserves provided monthly or in real time. In light of this, the platforms that have truly earned their reputations are evaluated with objectivity.

The Threat Landscape Is Evolving Fast Table of Contents

The Threat Landscape Is Evolving FastChangeNOW: A Fundamentally Different Security ModelKraken: The Benchmark for Institutional TrustCoinbase: Regulated, Publicly Traded, and Structurally TransparentGemini: Compliance as a Core CompetencyBinance: Scale, Liquidity, and Continued ScrutinyOKX and Bitget: Transparency-Driven ChallengersWhat the Data Tells Us About Choosing an Exchange It’s helpful to know what each exchange is up against before assessing it. With centralized exchanges continuing to be the primary targets and accounting for 71% of all recorded crypto platform breaches, cryptocurrency hacks in H1 2025 resulted in losses over $1.6 billion. The attack vectors are shifting too: phishing attacks were responsible for 48% of exchange breaches, while malware-based intrusions climbed 26%, mainly affecting smaller exchanges with weaker infrastructure defenses.

Perhaps most alarming, off-chain attacks (compromised credentials, social engineering, and supply chain manipulation) caused 76% of all hack losses, marking a clear shift away from code-based exploits toward human targeting. The implication for users is significant: even technically sophisticated exchanges can be undone by human vulnerabilities inside their own organizations.

North Korean hackers stole $2.02 billion in 2025 alone, a 51% increase year-over-year, accounting for 76% of all service compromises worldwide. This is no longer a fringe concern; it is a systemic industry risk.

ChangeNOW: A Fundamentally Different Security Model While custodial exchanges compete on the strength of their cold storage ratios and insurance funds, ChangeNOW operates on an entirely different premise — one that sidesteps custodial risk almost entirely.

ChangeNOW takes a fundamentally different approach to trust: by operating as a non-custodial platform, it eliminates counterparty risk entirely. The exchange never stores user funds, ensuring investors retain full control of their assets at all times. Operational since 2017, ChangeNOW supports 1,500+ digital assets across 110+ blockchains, with most swaps completing in under one minute. Available via desktop, and applications both on iOS and Android, as well as Telegram bot.

The security logic here is structural rather than defensive. Because the service is non-custodial in standard use, it does not pool large amounts of client funds in long-term centralized wallets. Funds pass through the platform only for the time needed to complete the exchange. This design eliminates the single most common attack surface that has cost exchange users billions of dollars — the centralized custody pool.

Reports indicate that ChangeNOW has had no major breach of its own infrastructure since launch. The company has also been noted for cooperation with law enforcement in recovering stolen funds. For context: that clean record spans nearly a decade of operation in one of the most hostile threat environments in fintech.

ChangeNOW acts as an automated liquidity aggregator integrated with several major trading platforms (including Binance, OKX, and Huobi) to source liquidity. When a user wants to swap one asset for another, ChangeNOW calculates the most efficient route across these partners. Because it is non-custodial, the service never holds user funds.

The platform also offers a native mobile wallet called NOW Wallet, available on iOS and Android, supporting over 40 blockchains and natively integrating swaps via ChangeNOW, fiat-to-crypto purchases, and staking.

The model does require a shift in how users think about responsibility. Because there is no custodian holding assets on their behalf, users must manage their own wallets and private keys carefully. That is a reasonable trade for anyone serious about asset security — and a natural fit for those who have followed the broader industry’s evolution toward self-custody.

Kraken: The Benchmark for Institutional Trust Kraken has long occupied a unique position in the market — one of the oldest surviving exchanges, with a security posture that has been tested repeatedly and held. Kraken’s Security Labs team works beyond the company’s own products to promote industry-wide safety by detecting and revealing vulnerabilities in third-party goods and services. That level of proactive, outward-facing security culture is uncommon.

Kraken’s institutional ambitions have increased dramatically by 2026. The company paid $1.5 billion for NinjaTrader (the largest crypto-to-TradFi transaction to date) and has filed for a US IPO at a reported valuation of $20 billion. Its xStocks platform for tokenized stocks has crossed $20 billion in total trading volume, and the stocks Transformation Gateway will be deployed in March 2026 through a groundbreaking cooperation with Nasdaq.

Kraken’s regulatory depth, institutional scale, and pristine security track record put it at the top of the most trusted exchange rankings. For traders who prioritize regulatory certainty and want an exchange that has survived every major market cycle without a catastrophic breach, Kraken remains the standard.

Coinbase: Regulated, Publicly Traded, and Structurally Transparent Coinbase‘s core security argument has always rested on its regulatory framework. The platform uses advanced security features including two-factor authentication and cold storage for the majority of its assets. As one of the few exchanges that is publicly traded, it operates under stringent regulatory guidelines, adding an extra layer of trust and transparency.

That transparency carries real weight. A publicly traded company faces disclosure obligations, auditor scrutiny, and shareholder accountability that private exchanges simply do not. For retail users in the United States, Coinbase also offers FDIC insurance on cash balances — a protection that has no equivalent on offshore platforms.

The tradeoff, as many users have noted, is cost. Coinbase’s fee structure skews toward retail convenience rather than trading efficiency, making it less attractive for high-volume users. But for those entering the market for the first time, or for institutional buyers who need a regulated counterparty, it remains an industry cornerstone.

Gemini: Compliance as a Core Competency Gemini is a well-established cryptocurrency exchange emphasizing security and regulatory compliance. It operates under the requirements of global regulators, including the New York Department of Financial Services, the Central Bank of Ireland, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the UK Financial Conduct Authority.

Gemini’s status as a regulated trust company in New York heavily influences its approach to security. The platform stores the vast majority of client funds offline in cold storage that is geographically distributed across the globe to prevent any single point of failure. It also offers insurance coverage for assets held in its online hot wallet.

Gemini’s appeal is clearest for users in heavily regulated markets who require documented compliance and auditable protections. It does not lead on asset variety or fee competitiveness, but on trust infrastructure (particularly for institutional participants) it is difficult to fault.

Binance: Scale, Liquidity, and Continued Scrutiny Without including Binance, which is still the biggest platform in the world by trading volume, no discussion about secure exchanges would be complete. The security infrastructure of Binance has changed dramatically, especially in response to industry-wide pressure to enhance reserve reporting and transparency. Deep liquidity, a strong infrastructure, and an insurance fund specifically created to shield users in dire situations are all advantages.

Binance continues to be a high-value target for attackers due to its size and global exposure, and it is subject to differing regulatory scrutiny in different jurisdictions. Unmatched availability and liquidity combined with ongoing regulatory uncertainties in some markets characterize the Binance user experience. Users who understand those tradeoffs and operate in jurisdictions where Binance is fully licensed will find a robust, well-resourced platform. Those who do not should proceed with clear eyes.

OKX and Bitget: Transparency-Driven Challengers OKX has made significant investments in infrastructure security and transparency, particularly in its Proof of Reserves implementation, offering a balanced combination of liquidity, transparency, and technical security infrastructure. Its reserves attestation process has become notably thorough, publishing monthly on-chain verifiable data that users can independently audit.

Bitget has positioned itself as a security-focused exchange with strong emphasis on verifiable reserves and institutional-grade protection mechanisms. Both platforms represent the next tier of trust — exchanges that have put serious resources into transparency after the FTX collapse reshaped user expectations permanently.

What the Data Tells Us About Choosing an Exchange The right platform depends heavily on the use case. For privacy-focused swaps, non-custodial solutions like ChangeNOW are the natural choice. For active trading, derivatives access, and comprehensive asset support, custodial exchanges such as Binance or Kraken are more appropriate. When regulatory compliance and fiat integration represent primary concerns, Coinbase is the reference point.

What the data from 2025 and early 2026 makes clear is that no custodial arrangement is immune to risk. Q1 2026 hack losses fell 88% year-over-year to $168.6 million, though researchers note that a single large exploit could reverse that trend instantly. The improvement is encouraging but fragile.

For users who move in and out of positions periodically, or who value speed and asset breadth without the overhead of a full trading account, non-custodial platforms have moved from niche alternatives to serious consideration. The industry’s biggest losses have consistently come from the same source — large pools of user funds held by a central custodian. Architectures that eliminate that pool eliminate the most dangerous attack surface in crypto.

In 2026, selecting a truly safe crypto exchange has become a top priority for users worldwide as regulatory enforcement tightens, institutional capital flows increase, and exchange hacks (though rarer) still occur with losses reaching hundreds of millions in isolated incidents.

The platforms above have each, in their own way, built systems designed to withstand those pressures. Understanding the differences between them is not an academic exercise — it is the foundation of any serious approach to managing digital assets.

PANews, June 20 – Alex Svanevik, CEO of on-chain data analytics platform Nansen, posted on X stating that from a hindsight perspective, if Binance founder CZ had completed the acquisition of FTX back then, his potential asset structure might have changed significantly. He could have indirectly held approximately an 8% stake exposure in Anthropic, around a 5% stake exposure in the AI coding tool Cursor, and some investment interests related to SpaceX.

It is reported that CZ disclosed the proposed acquisition in November 2022 but announced its abandonment after due diligence uncovered issues beyond his control, after which FTX filed for bankruptcy protection. ‌‌

FTX exec’s wife scheduled for November trial on campaign finance charges

Michelle Bond has lost her bid to dismiss criminal charges, with a federal judge setting her trial to begin on Nov. 9 after rejecting arguments tied to her husband Ryan Salame’s plea agreement.

Summary

A federal judge has denied Michelle Bond’s bid to dismiss campaign finance charges and scheduled her trial for Nov. 9. Prosecutors allege Bond and Ryan Salame used about $400,000 in FTX funds to illegally finance her 2022 congressional campaign. Bond’s trial is among the final criminal cases tied to FTX’s collapse, while Sam Bankman-Fried continues pursuing post-conviction legal options. According to an order from Judge George Daniels in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Bond will face trial on four campaign finance-related charges in November. The ruling came one week after the court denied her request to throw out the indictment, which argued that federal prosecutors had agreed not to charge her if Salame pleaded guilty.

The case remains one of the last criminal proceedings connected to the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which entered bankruptcy in 2022. Several former executives have already been prosecuted following the exchange’s failure.

Bond will face campaign finance charges in November According to the August 2024 indictment, prosecutors allege that Bond and Salame illegally financed her 2022 campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives in New York’s 1st Congressional District.

Prosecutors claim Salame used about $400,000 originating from FTX through what they described as a sham payment to support the campaign in violation of federal campaign finance laws.

Federal prosecutors have charged Bond with conspiracy to cause unlawful political contributions, causing and receiving a straw donor contribution, causing and accepting excessive campaign contributions, and causing and accepting an unlawful corporate contribution. Each count carries a maximum prison sentence of five years.

The indictment further alleges that Bond tried to conceal the source of the campaign money by making false statements to a congressional committee and the Federal Election Commission. Bond has pleaded not guilty, and the allegations remain accusations that must be proven in court.

Earlier filings from Bond’s legal team argued that prosecutors had broken an agreement allegedly made during Salame’s plea negotiations by later bringing charges against her. Judge Daniels rejected that argument, allowing the prosecution to proceed toward trial.

Bond unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for New York’s 1st Congressional District in 2022, losing the primary election to Nicholas LaLota.

Most FTX criminal cases have already concluded Meanwhile, Salame is serving a 90-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions. After his sentencing, he attempted to withdraw his plea, arguing that prosecutors had misled him about whether Bond would face charges. He later abandoned that effort and reported to prison in October 2024, leaving the legal dispute to be addressed through Bond’s case.

Among senior FTX executives, Salame, former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, and former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison received prison sentences. Former FTX engineering director Nishad Singh and co-founder Gary Wang were sentenced to time served after cooperating with prosecutors and testifying during Bankman-Fried’s trial.

Apart from Bond’s upcoming proceedings, Bankman-Fried remains the only former FTX executive whose case was decided by a jury. He was convicted on seven felony counts and sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2024.

More recently, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Bankman-Fried’s appeal against his conviction and sentence. Court records leave a review by the U.S. Supreme Court or a presidential pardon as his remaining legal options. Bankman-Fried has also reportedly sought a pardon from President Donald Trump.

On September 24, Monolith announced the addition of Kyber Network’s KNC token to its Visa debit card.

Monolith is an Ethereum-based banking alternative for the world of decentralised finance. Users can now exchange KNC and other Ethereum-based tokens to fiat and load them onto their cards. Monolith Visa debit cardholders can also use KNC to purchase goods and services at 45 million locations worldwide that accept Visa as a payment method. TKN, Monolith’s token, is also listed on Kyber’s Ethereum-based decentralised exchange.

To encourage people to try Monolith, the two teams are collaborating on a giveaway. 30 winners will split a total of $900 in KNC with another bonus being added for users with Monolith Wallets.

Mel Gelderman, CEO of Monolith stated, “We admire Kyber’s efforts in creating a leading decentralised exchange. It will be a key feature in Monolith’s non-custodial banking replacement. Having TKN listed on Kyber, and KNC listed on the Monolith Visa Card makes sense due to our shared vision of the benefits of decentralised finance.“

Kyber Network Technology and Programmes 

Kyber is an on-chain liquidity protocol that powers instant and secure token exchanges in any decentralised application. From September 9 to October 21, the project and several of its partners are hosting a virtual hackathon. The purpose of this 6-week event is to educate more developers around the world about its liquidity protocol and token swap technology, and how they can be used to create innovative payment flows and DeFi (decentralised or open finance) products. As part of this competition, $42,000 in bounties are up for grabs across multiple development categories.

As of September 2019, Kyber supports more than 70 different tokens, and powers over 70 integrated projects including popular wallets such as MEW, Trust, Enjin, and HTC Exodus smartphone. The project’s protocol is adding integrations with a growing list of dApps, particularly ones focused on decentralised NFT and ecommerce payments, exchanges and trading integrations, and DeFi.

Monolith Continues Expansion

Monolith is pioneering the real world application of DeFi by shipping the world's first non-custodial Ethereum wallet linked with a Visa debit card. The project is working hard to realise its vision of bringing the token economy to the real-world. On this front, Monolith is busy enabling ERC20 tokens to be spent on its platform. In addition to KNC, ETH, and TKN, Monolith’s debit card can now be used to spend Maker (MKR), Dai (DAI), DigixDAO (DGD), and Digix Gold (DGX) tokens. The Monolith wallet now supports a number of popular ERC-20 tokens. 

The Monolith App is currently available in the iOS App Store and will soon be available for public release in the Android Play Store. Recently, the project sent invites to the first 120 people who registered for its Android beta testing.

On September 23, the project announced a community-wide vote to determine which tokens will be added next to the Monolith Card. The two tokens with the most votes out of the following four choices will be selected. Candidates include 0x (ZRX), Chainlink (LINK), Pundi X (NPSX), and Augur (REP). The project is working towards eventually making all Ethereum tokens spendable. 

Tagged:

Maker, the largest DeFi project to date, just celebrated its biggest milestone yet with the successful activation of its Multi-Collateral Dai (MCD) upgrade.

Launched on November 18th, the MCD system will allow Maker users to draw out automated Dai stablecoin loans using collateral beyond just ether (ETH), a structural limitation of the Single-Collateral Dai (SCD) system that the MCD has replaced.

As such, SCD Dai that have yet to migrate to MCD are now known as “Sai” and can be upgraded to MCD Dai using Maker’s migration portal. Per the redesign, users can draw out collateralized debt positions — now known as “Maker Vaults” — using ether and Basic Attention Token (BAT) to start, as these were the first two cryptocurrencies vetted into MCD through Maker community governance votes.

In the future, more cryptocurrencies may follow pending similar votes. A key thread to watch going forward will be how conservative or aggressive MKR voters prove when it comes to adding new assets in. Notably, these voters were fairly conservative out of the gate, as they only voted ETH and BAT in out of seven initial contenders, with the other inaugural candidates having been 0x (ZRX), Augur (REP), DigixDAO (DGD), Golem (GNT), and OmiseGo (OMG). As for what comes next, REP is again on the slate to be considered by MKR holders.

For the Maker team, the activation day was the culmination of years of work and thus cause for celebration. As Maker Foundation chief executive officer Rune Christensen commented once MCD was live:

“I’ve been imagining this moment for five years. It’s incredible. MCD can improve the lives of so many people, from the unbanked individuals living in regions like Nigeria to the underbanked in the United States.”

Meet Oasis and the Dai Savings Rate Another major element of the MCD activation is the upgrade’s launch of the Dai Savings Rate (DSR). Akin to a decentralized checking account, the DSR will allow Dai holders to lock their holdings in a smart contract to earn an annual savings rate on those funds.

Some benefits to call out:
???? DSR is simple, free, & powerful
???? Available to any Dai holder
???? Exchanges are integrating DSR allowing traders & savers to benefit on idle Dai held
????‍???? Businesses can earn additional Dai on their capital float
????Stimulates DeFi growth opportunities

— Maker (@MakerDAO) November 16, 2019

At launch, the DSR was two percent, so if that rate were to hypothetically remain constant then 100 Dai locked in the underlying smart contract would generate two extra Dai after one year’s time, for example.

To streamline user access to the DSR and the new Maker Vaults system, the Maker Foundation has expanded its Oasis “all-in-one decentralized finance (DeFi) hub” to include Oasis Save and Oasis Borrow, which join the platform’s already launched Oasis Trade exchange.

Looking to the horizon the platform could be further expanded around other Dai related projects, the Maker team said:

“In the future, additional steps toward creating an ultimate all-in-one DeFi hub will be taken. Oasis might one day include features developed outside of Maker but that use Dai, for example. This will allow for deeper integrations with other DeFi projects.”

On the Dai Rebrand The Dai logo has undergone a calculated re-envisioning as part of the MCD transition, as the stablecoin’s original diamond-shaped logo (which now represents Sai) has given way to a new, more familiar “D” shaped logo that has clearly been designed to make it aesthetically nearer to the logos of the world’s top currencies.

And that’s precisely what the project’s builders are going for, as explained in a recent blog post:

“The Maker Foundation and the larger MakerDAO community are confident that Dai can sit alongside the other major currencies of the world, from inside Bloomberg Terminal platforms to beside cash registers in coffee shops. The new Dai logo is memorable, powerful in its simplicity, and, unlike the old one, easy to draw and digitally replicate. These attributes are very likely to attract new users, increase adoption, and expand brand awareness.”

William M. Peaster

William M. Peaster is a professional writer and editor who specializes in the Ethereum, Dai, and Bitcoin beats in the cryptoeconomy. He's appeared in Blockonomi, Binance Academy, Bitsonline, and more. He enjoys tracking smart contracts, DAOs, dApps, and the Lightning Network. He's learning Solidity, too! Contact him on Telegram at @wmpeaster

Total Ethereum Value Put into DeFi Apps Breaks Previous Record by 12.5% Per DeFi Pulse Analytics

This Token Project Offered to Shut Down. Its Market Cap Shot Up $10M

MARKETS DAILY: Russian Drugs and The Most Illegal ICO Ever?

You may be forgiven for forgetting about Filecoin, the $257 million mega ICO of 2017. However, this project is silently making development strides.

This decentralised file storage blockchain is looking to shape up the status quo of centralised web servers and storage providers. It has also just recently released its much awaited testnet and is shaping up for a mainnet launch in 2020.

So, will Filecoin really meet up to its expectations?

In this Filecoin review, I will attempt to answer that. I will take an in-depth look into the use cases, technology and long term project potential.

What is Filecoin?Filecoin is a decentralized data storage protocol that will allow anyone in the world to rent out their spare hard drive storage space. And of course, it will also permit anyone in the world to purchase the storage they need from the network.

This will create an immense pool of global data storage, which the founders of Filecoin feel is necessary for the coming decades as more and more systems become computerized and as storage needs grow exponentially.

Benefits of Filecoin. Images via Filecoin Website

The project was the brainchild of Protocol Labs and its founder Juan Benet. This is the same company and individual who is behind the Interplanetary File System (IPFS). Not unsurprisingly, this is the same technology that the Filecoin Blockchain is built on.

Given that the data will be stored on a blockchain, not only will it be distributed but it will be immutable. This means that no one can tamper with the data and Proof-of-Storage is immediately verifiable for everyone to see on the transparent ledger.

Filecoin is also known for another really important record: it was one of the largest ICOs ever. The project managed to raise a total of $204 million from contributors who bought SAFT agreements in the 2017 raise - I will cover this a bit more below.

Now that you have a basic understanding of what Filecoin is, let's take a look at the reasons why we need decentralised alternatives.

Need For Decentralised StorageThere are many different ideas that have given rise to blockchain projects. For some reason using blockchain technology for cloud computing and data storage hasn’t been given as much attention as they deserve.

The likely reason is that data storage just seems boring, and projects with more hype have taken the spotlight from utility projects like Filecoin and its competitors Storj and Siacoin. Yet decentralized storage has many benefits over its centralized counterparts.

One of the most mentioned benefits is the safe storage of private data offered by decentralized blockchain storage solutions. The popular centralized storage solutions from the likes of Dropbox and Google are vulnerable to attacks.

Dropbox Hacked. Source: Guardian

If a hacker can break through the security perimeter of one of these centralized networks they can access all of the data stored there. Much of that data can be sensitive and private in nature, including financial details, passwords, and other personal data. Because the theft of this data can become dangerous it is critical to protect it the best way possible.

And the best way possible is by storing such data on a decentralized blockchain solution like Filecoin. It takes data stored and first encrypts it before breaking it into smaller chunks and storing them in multiple nodes.

Only the person who holds the private key can reassemble all the pieces to view the data in its entirety. Any potential errors in the storage and reassembly of the pieces are handled through redundancy of storage on the nodes.

Tapping the Vast Unused Resources. Image via: Filecoin Primer

Decentralized data storage will also increase the efficiency of storage, which will lead to reduced storage costs. Consider that Amazon S3 charges $25 per terabyte per month, but Filecoin should be able to reduce that to around $2 per terbyte per month. Decentralized networks can lower costs so dramatically because they don’t have the running costs of centralized networks.

Other benefits are that data transfer will be both smoother and faster. And finally, Filecoin includes its currency layer, which provides incentives for storage nodes and data retrieval.

Filecoin TechnologyFilecoin was among the first blockchain projects to introduce the concept of a decentralized storage network (DSN). A DSN is a data storage scheme that includes a network of independent storage nodes and clients. The DSN aggregates the storage offered by the independent node operators, and coordinates the storage and retrieval of the data.

The aggregation and coordination is decentralized, which removes the need for trusted third parties. Instead, security is achieved through the operating protocols which coordinate operations and verify the data storage and retrieval.

Consensus MechanismsFilecoin has created two new consensus algorithms to make their storage system publically verifiable. These are Proof-of-Replication (PoRep) and Proof-of-Spacetime (PoSt).

Proof-of-Replication (PoRep): This is a new Proof-of-Storage algorithm that allows a server (or node) to convince a user that it has replicated some data in its physical storage.

In the Filecoin system, the server also commits to store x number of replicas of the data, and then convinces the user that it is storing each replica of the data via a challenge/response protocol. PoRep improves on prior schemes by preventing Sybil attacks, Generation attacks, and Outsourcing attacks.

Robustness of the Proof-of-Replication Consensus. Image via Filecoin Primer

Proof-of-Spacetime: In a Proof-of-Storage scheme a user can check if the storage provider is actually storing the expected data at the time a challenge is issued. However, it doesn’t verify that the data remains stored across a given period of time.

One way to accomplish this would be to repeatedly challenge the storage provider. Of course, this introduces a huge amount of complexity and communication, and would become a bottleneck to the Filecoin system since storage providers must submit their proofs to the blockchain network.

Proof-of-Spacetime bypasses this by allowing a verifier to check If a storage provider is storing requested data over a range of time. It accomplishes this by requiring the storage provider to:

generate sequential Proofs-of-Storage (in our case Proof-of-Replication), as a way to determine time;recursively compose the executions to generate a short proof.PoSt and PoRep both use zk-SNARKS, making proofs very short and easy to verify.

IPFSAs mentioned, protocol labs is also behind IPFS. This is a decentralised Peer-to-Peer storage protocol that was launched in 2015. IPFS allows users to store their files across a network of computers in much the same way that BitTorrent does.

Basically, IPFS indexes each file on the network with a fingerprint or "cryptographic hash". This means that the files are unique and only is effectively able to split it up and distribute it in such a way that it is most able to latency - serving files quicker than centralised systems.

Demand for IPFS Resources Since Launch. Image via Filecoin Primer

IPFS is not just a concept and there has been a great deal of adoption across the world for the technology. Over 5 billion files have been added to IPFS and this spans a number of industries. There are also a number of blockchain companies that are using this tech including Wings, AdEx and DigixDAO.

Smart ContractsSmartcontracts were included to allow users to access stateful programs which allow for the validation of storage proofs, request storage and retrieval of data, and spend tokens.

The smart contracts are triggered by certain transactions sent to the ledger. Filecoin has extended the smart contract system to include its own blockchain specific operations such as proof of verification and market operations.

Cross-chain InteractionsWhile not fully implemented yet, Filecoin’s developers are working on support for cross chain interaction through the use of bridges. This will allow other blockchains to utilize the Filecoin storage system while also allowing Filecoin to benefit from the functionalities of other blockchain platforms.

Mining on FilecoinOnce the Filecoin mainnet is live users will have the opportunity to earn FIL tokens by providing data storage and retrieval services to users across the global network.

The more data that a miner stores, the greater their storage power becomes. By increasing storage power the miner increases the likelihood of generating new blocks and winning block rewards. Miners get to choose if they want to participate in storage mining, retrieval mining, storage power consensus, or all three.

Mining on Filecoin is different from mining on a Proof-of-Work blockchain because Filecoin mining is based on storage power consensus rather than raw computing power. That means the more proven storage you have on the network, the more likely you are to win block rewards.

Ways to Mine Filecoin on the Network

The storage power is linear with respect to the amount of storage added to the network by each miner. The amount of GPUs does not determine the likelihood of winning block rewards. This is in contrast with a Proof-of-Work blockchain where miners all compete on GPU power to win block rewards.

The Filecoin miners only use GPU power during the ElectionPoSt, and only if they have winning election tickets. In short, the cheapest way for a miner to gain power on the Filecoin network is by adding more useful storage to the network.

It is possible to test mining on the testnet, which went live in December 2019. You can learn more about how to test Filecoin mining here.

For small miners who worry about GPU power for the ElectionPoSt, the Filecoin team is researching ways to outsource the SNARK computation to minimize GPU costs for miners.

Filecoin TeamUnlike most blockchain projects, Filecoin was not founded by an individual or group of individuals. Instead, it comes from a U.S. company called Protocol Labs. Protocol Labs was founded in 2014 by Juan Benet and long before it became involved with Filecoin it was involved with creating foundational internet infrastructure technology.

One of its most widely known and used inventions is the interplanetary file system (IPFS), which is a decentralized web protocol that hopes to replace HTTP. The company continues to research, develop, and deploy network protocols.

Juan Bennet & Protocol Labs

In addition to IPFS Protocol Labs also developed libp2p, a modular network stack for peer-to-peer apps and systems. It also launched CoinList, a platform for token investment and sales. Protocol Labs does all of its development in an open and transparent manner, seeking to create massive value for the world.

The core team at Protocol Labs includes members with a deep understanding and expertise in the following fields: fintech, open source software development, open source community development, cryptography, and distributed systems.

The Filecoin CrowdsaleFilecoin’s ICO was the largest in history when it went down, with the sale bringing in an eye-watering $257 million.

One issue with the ICO was that it was only open in the U.S. to accredited investors, meaning those with over $1 million in capital, or an income of more than $200,000 per year.

Filecoin did this in an attempt to meet all the regulatory requirements to make their sale available in the U.S., however many community members were left with a bad taste in their mouths due to the snubbing of the smaller investor.

Filecoin Token Sale Details. Image via Token Sale Paper

Also causing some outrage among the community was the pre-sale, which offered tokens to hedge funds and other large investors for less than half the price of the public token sale. The pre-sale included Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Union Square Ventures, among others.

The ICO was different from most in that Filecoin structured it as a Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT). As such there are no actual FIL tokens in existence yet. Investors paid for the right to collect the tokens once Filecoin launches its mainnet and mines the genesis block.

As of January 2020, the Filecoin tokens have of course not been released. Having said that, there are Filecoin Futures markets on LBank and BitForex but I would avoid these given that these exchanges are not that well known.

DevelopmentOne of the best ways to get a sense of the amount of work being done on the Filecoin blockchain is to take a look into their open source code repositories.

The total code commits that the project has pushed over the past year is a great indication of the total development activity. I dived into the Filecoin GitHub and below are the total commits for the top 3 repositories.

Total Commits to chosen repos over past 12 months

As you can see, there has been extensive work done over the past 12 months. While other projects were launching half baked products and fizzling out, Filecoin has been quitely pushing code.

I should also point out that there are a further 64 other repositories that have varying levels of commits. There are also over 18 people who are working on the code on a daily basis.

Of course, most of this work relates to the testnet launch that was announced in December of 2019. There is also a great deal of preparation taking place for the rollout of the mainnet this year.

Roadmap and TestnetThere was a detailed roadmap produced by the Filecoin team back in 2017, prior to the ICO. Since then they haven’t provided updates until the launch of the testnet in December 2019.

Now they have also posted a Gannt chart that’s updated in real-time and can be accessed to see where the team is in development. Note the current roadmap shows the mainnet for the project launching in March or April 2020.

The testnet allows for live testing of the Filecoin protocol. At this time the tam is using it to test, benchmark, and optimize the network. The entire purpose behind the testnet is to evaluate the network at scale in order to identify and fix any issues prior to the launch of the mainnet.

Filecoin Testnet Launches!

The testnet is considered to be the most realistic implementation of the coming Filecoin mainnet, but is still subject to significant changes based on what’s discovered during the testing period. Meanwhile, anyone is free to access and join the testnet, and the codebase also remains completely open source for anyone who wishes to examine it.

Benefits of having the testnet include:

Prospective storage miners can experience more realistic sealing performance and hardware requirements due to the use of near-final proofs constructions and parameters.Prospective storage clients can store and retrieve real data on the testnet. Clients can participate in deal-making workflows and storage + retrieval functionality.Developers can begin building applications on top of testnet-compatible implementation APIs.Currently, the Filecoin testnet operates with one Filecoin implementation: lotus. In the future, additional implementations will join the network, since the network has been built to be implementation-agnostic.

The Filecoin team has posted this IMPORTANT NOTE:

The Filecoin protocol is not yet 100% complete or stable. Testnet will not be a stable network; the entire purpose of testnet is for us to find and fix bugs, so this is expected! The network will be restarted at least once, and possibly several times, between now and mainnet launch.

If you wanted to keep up to date with developments from the Filecoin team then there are a number of places the developers are active. You could follow their discussion forum, chat on slack or follow their Twitter. More formal announcements will be made on the Filecoin Blog.

Filecoin Vs Siacoin and StorjWhile Filecoin is still in the testnet hase, there are other projects with similar goals to Filecoin which have already launched their networks. The most well-known and notable of these are Siacoin and Storj.

Siacoin has over 300 storage providers with a total capacity of 2 petabytes and current utilized storage of nearly 700 terabytes. It’s software has been downloaded 1.2 million times and it’s the 71st largest cryptocurrency (SC) with a market cap over $52 million.

Filecoin vs. Siacoin vs. Storj

Storj has recently launched their public beta network and expect their mainnet to go live within the first weeks of 2020. They have a functioning cryptocurrency (STORJ) since 2017, which ranks 170th with a market cap of over $12 million.

Also, consider that the centralized players in cloud computing aren’t going to give up easily. Amazon S3 is currently the largest file storage platform in the world, but others such as Microsoft and Alphabet are working hard to claim market share as well.

It could be extremely difficult for decentralized options like Filecoin to overtake these centralized giants who have strong business connections, offer reliable service, and is easily scalable. It is also an excellent choice for developers who want integration with other Amazon services (or Microsoft or Alphabet depending on the platform being used).

ConclusionUndeniably file storage is one of the strong use cases for blockchain technology, even if it isn’t as glamorous as the DeFi applications that are currently so popular. Still, I believe this can be one of the more successful utilizations of blockchain, especially once it gains mainstream adoption.

And in the file storage space, Filecoin appears to be the best positioned to make it work. Not only did it have one of the biggest ICOs of 2017 but it has also been hard at work over the past two years building out the protocol. This is all on top of some highly effective tech like IPFS and ibp2p.

Moreover, the project has some really high profile backers in the VC funds invested in it and a strong team behind it. These should all add weight to the resolve of the Filecoin project.

There are challenges of course. It will not be easy to get people to move away from centralised systems. They like the convenience that comes from services like Google drive and Amazon Web Services. Can Filecoin develop a simple to use interface and user experience?

Time will tell...

Either way, Filecoin is definitely one to keep your eyes on. If the testnet development goes according to plan, we could very well see that much awaited mainnet launch in March of 2020.

DigixDAO Votes to Liquidate $64M Treasury

Altcoins Forging Fresh Highs While Bitcoin Remains Stagnant

Digix Co-founder Shaun Djie: Having DigixDAO Continue to Exist Would Be Good But It’s No Longer Possible0

How Facebook Libra Has Been Influencing Crypto, Politics and Finance

CORRECTION: The original article stated that the price of Metal’s tokens had declined during the last 30 days. In fact, the price trended upward during that time period.

The original article included a comment, attributed to an anonymous Metal token-holder, that a recently announced equity investment by Erik Finman in Metal was a “pseudo-announcement.”  Although the comment was accurately reported, we decided to remove the comment due to a lack of corroboration.

The revised article also includes additional details regarding Metal’s “PoPP” reserve and certain concerns expressed by Metal token-holders regarding the company’s use of that reserve, as well as comments from a Metal spokesman. 

San Francisco-based payments startup Metal Payments, which raised some $3 million in a token sale in June 2017, has been furiously reviving old news, possibly to boost the price of its flagging token, MTL.

At the same time, the startup has been accused of misusing whatever is left of its diminishing winnings to cash out and invest in dubious side projects.

Founded by Marshall Hayner in April 2016, Metal Payments launched on the promise that it would create 66,588,888 tokens, and distribute them across various projects—21,088,888 ($10,544,444) to founders and advisors at around $0.05 each; 3,378,000 to the founding team, for free; and 13,378,888 ($6,689,444) to an app development fund.

In addition, there were two pools of funds that Metal Payments said it would “set aside:” 2,000,000 for the Metal Foundation, which would fund charity projects; and 26,341,112 for a “proof of processed payments pool” (PoPP) designed to reward users for making payments.

When MTL was worth $14 on September 8, 2018, the total funds held briefly amounted to $364 million.

But by February, by which time Metal’s price had sunk significantly, Metal holders began to notice that funds were leaving the PoPP pool at a rate higher than advertised in the white paper. It was only in April that Hayner disclosed in a Medium post that he had appropriated funds from the payments pool and the foundation to fund the “core metal team." Metal Payments executives then proceeded to move those funds and sell them on the market.

Holders were confused. “This was meant to be an untouched resource with maximum 7,200 taken out per day so pop would last,” wrote one investor on the company’s Discord channel. “Taking from the foundation and PoPP pool isn’t cool at all,” said another. “I don’t know how that isn’t illegal.”

In the last thirty days (as of publication), over 2.8 million MTL tokens have left the PoPP pool, according to Etherscan, worth around $1 million.  And in May, the company paid an undisclosed amount for “Crumbs,” a now-defunct micro-investing app Hayner had previously invested in, sparking further concerns from holders. 

Though it has slightly gone up over the past month, the Metal token’s price remains at just over half its value in April.

Now Metal is apparently doing whatever it can to resurrect its token’s ailing price. Over the past few weeks, the company has been breathlessly re-releasing old announcements—some dating back to 2017—via one of its primary investors, the popular “teen bitcoin millionaire” Erik Finman, leading to brief spikes in MTL’s value. 

And it’s worked. 

On August 19, for instance, Finman announced the launch of the “Metal Pay” app, positioning it as a competitor to Facebook’s planned digital currency, Libra. MTL’s price grew from $0.30 to $0.34 on the news, but it needn’t have—Metal Pay officially launched in September of last year.  

Meanwhile, on August 21, Finman announced that MTL would be listed on Binance, an enormous exchange known for doubling the value of newly listed tokens. Again, the news shook the price, sending it from $0.36 to $0.46—but in reality, MTL had been listed on the exchange since October 2017. 

Again and again, Metal promoted old news as new. Finman announced on August 24 that Metal was hiring, but the relevant job listings have been online for several months. And on August 25, Finman announced that Metal was moving into a new office—offices that, according to screenshots seen by Decrypt, the company has occupied since March. (“The tour of the new office was not triggered by moving in, and the announcement did not mention ’moving in,’” a Metal spokesman said after this story was published. “But by unpacking, cleaning, and decorating the office, Metal readied it for public presentation and video tour.“)

As this has played out over the past thirty days, MTL’s price has trended marginally upwards—but the amount left in the PoPP pool has dwindled further. 

We reached out to Metal Payments, and a spokesman explained that many of the reiterative announcements had been addressed to new users. And indeed this is true—for the Binance “announcement,” both Finman’s video and an accompanying press release addressed these “new users,” citing  “all the press we got this week” as the impetus. But isn’t Finman’s tweet—titled simply, “ANNOUNCEMENT: We’re listed on Binance”—still misleading?  

In response, the spokesman just directed us back to Finman’s video. 

We asked also about Finman’s “announcement” of Metal Pay, which actually launched late last year. To this, the spokesman said that the original launch had in fact been of Metal Pay’s “beta” service. But the original press release made no mention of a beta launch, and Finman, in his announcement, made no such mention either. Asked about this, the spokesman did not respond for further comment. 

Neither Finman, nor Hayner, responded for comment. 

Of course, running dubious publicity campaigns to boost investor sentiment is nothing new in the cryptocurrency space. So-called third-generation blockchain startup IOTA, for instance, said in late 2017 that it had partnered with Microsoft, when it had actually just subscribed to the tech giant’s online cloud service, Azure. Tron’s Justin Sun, meanwhile, has become something of a connoisseur in the art of desperate publicity, and has been derided for announcing announcements and playing up his tenuous relationships with big-name businesses and investors.

But Metal Payments, as brazenly transparent as its ruse is, makes a fine case study. 

Daily Debrief NewsletterStart every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.

EOS: a billion dollar failure?

Famous Bitcoin Millionaire Erik Finman Launches $1 Million Metal VC Investment Fund

Tron, a blockchain-based decentralized platform just announced its partnership with a digital payment processing app called Metal Pay. 

The resulting collaboration will allow US citizens to instantly acquire Tron (TRX) through the Metal Pay app through credit or debit card payments, providing a fiat-to-crypto on-ramp to TRX in the United States. On the other hand, Metal Pay also has its own native token— Metal (MTL) which it offers as a reward token to users who transact on the platform. 

The development is one of a series of recent partnership efforts by the Tron Foundation and its CEO Justin Sun to improve TRX adoption in the US—helping to make cryptocurrencies more accessible to those without a detailed understanding of the industry. 

Significance of the Partnership

Tron and Metal Pay can be considered established, but growing platforms in the cryptocurrency space, since both projects were launched in 2017. 

Both Tron and Metal Pay launched in an industry dominated by major players that had been operating for several years already—as such, the odds were not in their favor to succeed. For example, Tron’s biggest competitors included blockchain giants like Ethereum, Cardano, Qtum and more, whereas Metal Pay was up against payment processing giants, including Square, Venmo and Payoneer. 

Few people know just how easy it is to send cryptocurrency to friends.

On Metal Pay, you never pay a fee for sending crypto to another Metal Pay user.
No need to type in a messy wallet address - just tap a contact and you’re good to go.

Crypto was always meant to be this easy.

— Metal Pay (@metalpaysme) March 14, 2020However, despite the competition, both Tron and Metal Pay have risen up to become successful platforms in their own rights, by offering a range of features that appeal to practically everyone. On one hand, Tron offers a free content sharing platform that can be leveraged by anyone, anywhere, while Metal Pay makes sending payments more rewarding by providing up to 5% rewards on eligible transactions. 

This partnership signifies the rising tide of blockchain-based projects and their entry into traditional finance, by allowing Metal Pay customers to easily purchase and sell TRX (and 26 other cryptocurrencies), and transfer it to their friends and family just as easily as sending a text message.

The Tron Foundation Presses Forward

As previously mentioned, this partnership is just one of many recent partnerships and collaborative efforts made by the Tron Foundation, the organization behind the development of the Tron ecosystem. 

In the last year alone, Tron has formed partnerships with several major projects and platforms—all with the goal of ushering in the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies, including TRX in particular. 

One of the most notable recent efforts made by Tron include its recent arrangement with Samsung, which saw TRX integrated into Samsung’s proprietary Blockchain Keystore wallet—thereby allowing Samsung users to easily store their TRX private keys within a secure vault-like environment on their mobile device. 

Another prominent partnership was announced by Poloniex back in November, a popular US-based crypto trading platform which recently listed TRX to its retail trading platform. This resulted in TRX being listed on the exchange against several other established cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC). Poloniex also acquired Tron’s decentralized exchange platform TRXMarkets after being spun out from parent company Circle. 

Tron has also been heavily featured by online gaming platforms and casinos such as Sportsbet and Bitcasino, courtesy of its partnership with the Coingaming Group. 

It was an honor meeting the legendary Woz, @Apple co-founder! Looking forward to our partnership! https://t.co/Y1faA9UCcy

— Justin Sun (@justinsuntron) January 22, 2020Although these achievements are already impressive enough, they might just be the tip of the iceberg compared to what comes next. According to a recent tweet by the CEO of Tron, a partnership with Steve Wozniak might be in the works. Widely regarded as one of the modern pioneers of personal computing, onboarding Wozniak or forming an arrangement with him could be a strong indicator of further success—after all, look how Apple turned out. 

All-in-all, the staggering rate at which Tron has made acquisitions, gotten listed on major exchanges and ramped up its presence in the US is a good part of the reason why it’s currently one of the largest blockchain platforms in existence, and the second most popular blockchain for decentralized application (dApps).