USDC circulation climbed to $75.3 billion as Circle posted strong fourth-quarter growth with revenue rising 77%. The company is advancing its Arc mainnet launch and expanding global stablecoin partnerships.

FG Nexus has sold 7,550 ETH, extending a string of liquidations after accumulating more than $196 million worth of ether in 2025. The firm is now sitting on an estimated $82.8 million loss as ETH trades below $2,000.

South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has announced plans to end the country’s crypto regulatory vacuum by drafting new rules to integrate digital assets into the national capital flow management regime.

Bitwise Asset Management has acquired Chorus One, folding one of the crypto industry’s longest-running staking infrastructure firms into its expanding onchain division.

The Treasury Department sanctioned a Russian exploit broker network accused of trafficking stolen U.S. trade secrets and government cyber tools for cryptocurrency, marking the first use of a key intellectual property law to counter escalating national security threats.

XRP Ledger was deliberately engineered to prevent Ripple from controlling it, Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz claimed, describing it as a design choice meant to shield the network from corporate influence, court orders, and regulatory pressure.

Meta, Coinbase, and Kraken are racing to build financial superapps, blending stablecoin payments, 24/5 stock trading, and 24/7 tokenized derivatives as digital assets converge with mainstream markets under evolving SEC guidance.

Ripple is accelerating its push into institutional finance after deploying roughly $4 billion in acquisitions, as CEO Brad Garlinghouse positions the blockchain firm as core infrastructure linking traditional markets with digital assets.

Tether’s market capitalization has declined for a second straight month, a rare occurrence last seen after the 2022 Terra collapse. This contraction, alongside muted bitcoin ETF demand, points to fragile market conditions.

A new research report from bitcoin-focused financial services firm River estimates that 23 nation-states now hold bitcoin, signaling a steady shift from fringe asset to sovereign balance sheet contender.

Citadel Securities has issued a pointed rebuttal to Citrini Research’s viral “2028 Global Intelligence Crisis” artificial intelligence (AI) scenario, arguing that current labor data and adoption trends offer little evidence of imminent white-collar collapse.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has been trimming his ethereum holdings, at least according to onchain data flagged by the X account Lookonchain. The chatter arrives as ether briefly slipped beneath the $2,000 threshold earlier this morning before regaining its footing by the afternoon.

It appears another digital asset treasury (DAT) outfit is waving the white flag, as GD Culture Group Limited disclosed on Wednesday that its board authorized the sale of 7,500 BTC. At press time, that stash ranked GD Culture as the 15th largest bitcoin treasury firm by holdings.

Stripe says 2025 marked a turning point for startups, stablecoins and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven commerce, as $1.9 trillion in payment volume flowed through its network and a new generation of global-first companies took shape.

On Wednesday, global markets experienced a sweeping relief rally, reversing a 48-hour sell-off triggered by tariff-related fears.