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Over $208M Raised! BlockDAG’s Keynote 3 Has Builders Lining Up While Hedera Secures $8B & SHIB Surges 

By
TI Partners
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0

Hedera and Shiba Inu have taken bold paths since their launch—one backed by big tech, the other powered by memes and momentum. Hedera rides on enterprise partnerships and a unique consensus model, while Shiba Inu thrives off social buzz and token expansion.

But BlockDAG is flipping the script. Rather than relying on hype or corporate weight, it’s investing in long-term ecosystem growth through education and grassroots leadership. With its Academy and Ambassador Program stealing the show in Keynote 3, BlockDAG may be rewriting the rulebook on sustainable crypto adoption.

Hedera Hashgraph: Big Names, Strong Tech, & an $8B Market Cap

Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR) entered the scene in 2018 with its own spin on distributed ledger tech: the hashgraph consensus. It offered speed, fairness, and security—something traditional blockchains weren’t always built for. Its governance? A powerhouse council including IBM, Google, and Boeing ensures decentralized oversight with global reach.

Like many coins, HBAR saw early turbulence. But by late 2024, it had surged into the top 20, nearly hitting $0.40 in January 2025 thanks to huge partnerships—SpaceX among them.

Fast forward to March 26, 2025: HBAR trades at $0.19. That’s a 65.81% pullback from its peak, but still a 1,873.79% jump from its lowest ever price. Now boasting an $8.2 billion market cap, it’s holding strong at 19th place globally.

Shiba Inu: From Meme Token to a Growing DeFi Powerhouse

Shiba Inu (SHIB) made its debut in 2020 with one mission—to take on Dogecoin. Riding Ethereum’s rails, it exploded in popularity, then built out its ecosystem with LEASH, BONE, and its own DEX, ShibaSwap.

The numbers were insane—SHIB posted a 27,000% price surge in its early days. And in 2025, the excitement hasn’t died. On January 27 alone, SHIB spiked over 300% in just one year, showing it still has legs in the meme coin arena.

Today, SHIB trades at $0.00002, with a market cap near $12.94 billion. And it’s not just about price—ShibaSwap’s volume rocketed 244% last week to $10.09 million. Total value locked (TVL) soared to $67.94 million. The message? People are still betting big on SHIB’s potential.

BlockDAG Academy & Ambassador Program: Growing the Builders, Not Just the Crowd

BlockDAG isn’t just chasing users—it’s creating builders. Keynote 3 made it clear: its Academy and Ambassador Program are more than just perks—they’re the foundation of a movement.

The BlockDAG Academy simplifies crypto education with a 3-level curriculum. The Elementary track eases users into crypto basics. The Intermediate tier teaches hands-on tools like smart contracts and staking. And the Advanced tier? That’s for future developers, with full dApp deployment and smart contract integration. As Maurice Herlihy said in Keynote 3:

“This isn’t about button pushing—it’s about understanding the ‘why’ behind the tech so you can use it with confidence.”

But learning is just the start. The Ambassador Program turns community members into leaders—empowering them to teach, organize, and grow the ecosystem from the inside. “From newbies to devs,” said Steven Clarke-Martin, “we’re giving people the tools and support to lead.”

And it’s paying off. BlockDAG has now raised over $208 million in its presale, sold more than 18.9 billion coins, and is at batch 27 with a price of $0.0248. Early holders? They’ve already scored a 2,380% ROI since batch one. This isn’t just a raise—it’s a rally.

Key Insights!

Compare all three and the difference is clear. Hedera has corporate might. Shiba Inu has meme power. Both offered early gains—but they’ve also ridden waves beyond their control.

BlockDAG’s route is slower—but smarter. It’s cultivating talent, teaching builders, and turning users into leaders. With 800,000+ users already on its mobile platforms and a swelling developer pipeline, it’s not chasing adoption. It’s generating it.

In a world chasing fast pumps and flashy launches, BlockDAG is building something the others aren’t—a movement with depth.

Website: https://blockdag.network

Presale: https://purchase.blockdag.network

Telegram: https://t.me/blockDAGnetworkOfficial

Discord: https://discord.gg/Q7BxghMVyu

 

Elon Musk Magic Saves X As xAI Acquires It

By
Ndubuisi Ekekwe
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0

The Elon Musk magic saves X (yes, Twitter): Elon Musk’s xAI has acquired Musk’s X for $33 billion, in an all-stock deal consolidating the two companies, and making it easier for Grok (AI model) to have feedstock for training. Including $12 billion in debt, the deal is valued at $45 billion and that means Twitter’s investors made $1B on paper.

Musk wrote in X: “@xAI has acquired @X in an all-stock transaction. The combination values xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion ($45B less $12B debt).

Since its founding two years ago, xAI has rapidly become one of the leading AI labs in the world, building models and data centers at unprecedented speed and scale.

X is the digital town square where more than 600M active users go to find the real-time source of ground truth and, in the last two years, has been transformed into one of the most efficient companies in the world, positioning it to deliver scalable future growth.

xAI and X’s futures are intertwined. Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent. This combination will unlock immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach. The combined company will deliver smarter, more meaningful experiences to billions of people while staying true to our core mission of seeking truth and advancing knowledge. This will allow us to build a platform that doesn’t just reflect the world but actively accelerates human progress.

I would like to recognize the hardcore dedication of everyone at xAI and X that has brought us to this point. This is just the beginning.”

Lesson: you never go wrong with principals with parallel assets as they have more options to save sinking ships.

Jiji Expands Beyond Africa, Enters Bangladesh Booming E-Commerce Market

By
Ojukwu Emmanuel
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0

Jiji, one of Africa’s largest online marketplaces, is making its first expansion outside Africa, with a move into Bangladesh.

This decision marks a strategic shift from the company, as it aims to tap into the thriving Asian e-commerce market. With Bangladesh’s e-commerce industry projected to hit $13 billion by 2027, Jiji wants to capture its market share, replicating its successful marketplace model in the country.

In an email to TechCabal, a Jiji spokesperson said,

“With a solid financial foundation and a scalable business model, we have grown into a profitable leader in Africa’s e-commerce space. Our success in Africa has shown us how to navigate fast-growing markets, and we believe Bangladesh has the same potential for Jiji to thrive, helping to grow the e-commerce sector”.

Bangladesh E-commerce Market on The Rise

Reports reveal that Bangladesh’s e-commerce market is thriving, fueled by rapid digital transformation and increasing mobile connectivity.

The country is an emerging player in the Asia-Pacific e-commerce market, with over 125 million internet users, presenting a significant opportunity for online retail expansion. Despite being faced with challenges such as limited financial inclusion, the sector continues to expand at an impressive pace.

Bangladesh’s e-commerce market is shaped by a reliance on traditional payment methods and a strong preference for mobile shopping. According to data, the primary methods for e-commerce in Bangladesh, by share of volume are Cash on Delivery (75%), Digital Wallet (11%), Credit Card (8%), and Debit Card (6%).

Jiji, which currently operates in seven African countries, which include Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, Senegal, Uganda, and Ethiopia, sees Bangladesh as a natural next step. However, its entry into the Asian country will see it compete with established players such as Bikroy, Daraz, Evaly (formerly active), Pickaboo, and AjkerDeal.

Founded in 2014 in Lagos, by Antin Volianskyi, the company entered a competitive e-commerce market in Nigeria, joining the likes of OLX, Jumia, and Konga. But soon after, it positioned itself as a major player.

In 2016, Jiji partnered with Airtel, a global telecommunications services company. This meant that customers of the Jiji site would not pay for data if they accessed the websites via the Airtel network. In April 2017, the company received the Nigeria Internet Registration Association Award as the most innovative online service of the year in Nigeria. In the same year, it emerged as the finalist of The West Africa Mobile Awards (WAMAS), having entered the top 5 representatives in the Commerce & Retail Category.

As of January 2018, it held over 800,000 ads, attracting over 160,000 sellers and 7 million original users per month, who look for bargains in cars, household goods, mobile phones, cosmetics, toys, pets, livestock, electronics, services, and most recently, to look for jobs by searching through job vacancies.

Fast forward to 2024, Jiji was ranked as the 42nd overall most visited website in Nigeria by Alexa, and as the 42nd TOP site in Nigeria for all categories by SimilarWeb.

Looking ahead

Jiji’s entry into Bangladesh signals a broader ambition to expand beyond Africa. If successful, this move could pave the way for further expansions into other high-growth emerging markets, particularly in South Asia and Southeast Asia.

By leveraging its proven marketplace model, scalable technology, and deep experience in navigating complex digital economies, Jiji is positioning itself as a global player in the online classifieds and e-commerce sector. Whether it can replicate its African success in Bangladesh remains to be seen, but the move underscores the company’s determination to grow beyond its home continent.

Ripple And Chipper Cash Partner to Revolutionize Cross-Border Payments in Africa

By
Ojukwu Emmanuel
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0

Ripple, a leading provider of cross-border payment and digital asset custody solutions, has partnered with payments provider Chipper Cash to enhance cross-border payments into Africa through Ripple payments.

This collaboration leverages digital assets to enable faster, more cost-effective, and seamless international transactions.

With over five million customers across nine African countries, Chipper Cash will now integrate Ripple’s crypto-enabled payments solution to facilitate 24/7/365 global fund transfers. This innovation significantly reduces friction and delays, making cross-border remittances into Africa more efficient than ever.

Commenting on the partnership, Reece Merrick, Managing Director, Middle East and Africa, at Ripple said,

“Our partnership with Chipper Cash marks a key milestone in the expansion of Ripple’s business in Africa. Consumers and businesses across the continent are increasingly recognizing the potential of blockchain technology, and we are excited to bring our crypto-enabled payments solution to our partners in the region. By integrating our technology into Chipper Cash’s platform, we’re enabling faster, more affordable cross-border payments while driving economic growth and innovation across the markets they serve. With over a decade of experience in tokenizing real-world assets, Ripple’s journey began by bringing fiat currencies on-chain to simplify international money transfers. As the global cross-border payments market grows, more institutions like Chipper Cash are tapping into the transformative power of blockchain technology to drive efficiency and innovation.”

Also commenting, Ham Serunjogi, Co-founder & CEO at Chipper Cash said,

“Crypto-enabled payments have the potential to enable greater financial inclusion, accelerate access to global markets, and empower businesses and individuals across Africa. Through integrating with Ripple’s global payments network, we are excited to be able to harness the transformative potential of blockchain technology to enable consumers to receive payments faster and at lower cost.”

Ripple’s secure and compliant digital asset infrastructure positions it as a trusted partner for financial institutions seeking to tokenize, store, exchange, and transfer digital assets. With a global reach spanning 90+ payout market, Ripple Payments covers over 90% of daily FX transactions and has processed more than $70 billion in volume.

With over a decade of expertise in digital assets and 60+ regulatory licenses worldwide, Ripple continues to drive innovation in cross-border payments, enabling institutions like Chipper Cash to unlock new opportunities for financial connectivity and inclusion across Africa.

The Growth of Cross-Border Payments in Africa

In recent years, Africa has witnessed a transformative shift from traditional payment methods to increased adoption of alternative payment methods for domestic and cross-border payments for individuals and businesses.

Cross-border payments on the continent are experiencing significant growth, driven by technological advancements, increasing internet penetration, and a rising demand for seamless financial transactions.

With Africa’s digital economy projected to reach $180 million by 2030, cross-border payments will play a crucial role in the continent’s economic growth.

While high transaction costs remain a hurdle, the introduction of Blockchain is making cross-border payments in Africa faster, cheaper, and more secure. In the past, payments have to go through multiple banks, which sometimes causes delays and extra fees. But with Blockchain, transactions are swift with little fees, eliminating the need for intermediaries.

This has been crucial for businesses in Africa, who rely on fast and affordable payments. Reports reveal that over time, blockchain will help African countries rely less on foreign currencies and make it easier to trade using local currencies.

In summary, Africa’s cross-border payments landscape is on an upward trajectory, fueled by digital innovation and increasing connectivity. While challenges persist, ongoing initiatives and technological advancements are paving the way for a more efficient and inclusive financial ecosystem across the continent. Notably, the partnership between Ripple and Chipper Cash represents a major advancement for cross-border payments in Africa.

A Foray into CME Group Vs Google’s Cloud Partnership

By
Paul Ugbede Godwin
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0

CME Group, a leading global derivatives marketplace, has indeed partnered with Google Cloud to integrate blockchain technology into its operations, though the focus is broader than just its futures trading platform. This collaboration leverages Google Cloud’s Universal Ledger (GCUL), a programmable, distributed ledger designed for institutional finance, to explore innovative solutions for the financial markets. The partnership aims to enhance capital market efficiency by piloting blockchain-based solutions for wholesale payments and asset tokenization. This includes streamlining processes like collateral management, margin requirements, settlement, and fee payments, with the potential to support 24/7 trading operations.

The initiative builds on a long-standing relationship between CME Group and Google Cloud, which began with a 10-year strategic partnership in 2021 to accelerate CME’s shift to cloud-based infrastructure. That earlier deal included migrating CME’s trading systems, data, and clearing services to the cloud, with Google also investing $1 billion in CME Group.

In the latest development, announced, CME Group has completed the first phase of integration and testing with GCUL. The next steps involve direct testing with market participants starting later in 2025, with plans to launch new tokenization-related services by 2026. While this does not exclusively target the futures trading platform, it will enhance the infrastructure supporting CME’s futures and options markets by introducing blockchain efficiencies. For example, the technology could optimize post-trade processes across various asset classes CME already trades, including cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum futures, which the exchange has offered since 2017.

This move aligns with broader industry trends where traditional financial institutions are adopting blockchain to modernize operations, spurred by growing demand for faster, cheaper, and round-the-clock settlements. CME’s leadership, including Chairman and CEO Terry Duffy, has emphasized the potential for blockchain to deliver significant efficiencies as markets evolve toward continuous trading, a capability that futures markets already partially support through near-24/6 access on the CME Globex platform.

Blockchain technology offers a range of benefits that make it appealing for applications like CME Group’s partnership with Google Cloud. At its core, blockchain is a decentralized, distributed ledger that records transactions across a network of computers in a secure, transparent, and tamper-resistant way. Every transaction on a blockchain is recorded on a shared ledger visible to all authorized participants. This creates an auditable trail, making it easy to track the history of an asset or payment.

For financial markets like futures trading, this could mean clearer visibility into trades, settlements, and collateral movements, reducing disputes and enhancing trust. Blockchain uses advanced cryptography to secure data. Once a transaction is added to the chain, it’s nearly impossible to alter without consensus from the network, thanks to its immutable design. This reduces the risk of fraud, hacking, or unauthorized changes—critical for high-stakes environments like derivatives markets where billions are transacted daily.

Unlike traditional systems that rely on a central authority (e.g., a bank or clearinghouse), blockchain distributes control across a network of nodes. This eliminates single points of failure and can reduce dependency on intermediaries, potentially lowering costs and speeding up processes like clearing and settlement. By automating processes through smart contracts—self-executing agreements coded into the blockchain—tasks like trade settlement, margin calculations, or fee payments can happen in real-time or near-real-time. In traditional finance, these can take days (e.g., T+2 settlement), but blockchain can enable 24/7 operations, aligning with the always-on nature of global markets. Cutting out middlemen (e.g., custodians or third-party validators) and streamlining operations can significantly lower transaction costs.

For CME Group, this might translate to cheaper collateral management or reduced fees for market participants, making trading more accessible and competitive. Once data is written to the blockchain, it’s locked in. This permanence ensures records can’t be retroactively altered without network agreement, providing a reliable “single source of truth.” In futures trading, this could prevent errors or manipulation in post-trade processes.

Blockchain platforms like Google Cloud’s Universal Ledger support programmable features via smart contracts. This allows for customizable logic—say, automatically releasing collateral when conditions are met—enhancing flexibility and reducing manual intervention. Modern blockchains can be designed to work with other systems or networks, enabling seamless data sharing across institutions.

For CME, this could mean integrating tokenized assets with existing futures contracts, bridging traditional and digital finance. CME’s initiative, blockchain could allow tokenized assets (e.g., digital representations of cash or securities) to be used as collateral, settled instantly, or traded 24/7. This aligns with the shift toward continuous markets and the growing role of cryptocurrencies, where CME already offers Bitcoin and Ethereum futures. It could also reduce counterparty risk by ensuring funds and assets are verifiably available before trades execute.

While the benefits are significant, blockchain isn’t flawless. It can be energy-intensive (depending on the consensus mechanism, like proof-of-work in Bitcoin), complex to implement, and faces regulatory uncertainty in some jurisdictions. Scalability—handling massive transaction volumes like CME’s daily trades—also remains a challenge, though solutions like Google Cloud’s GCUL are built to address this for institutional use. Blockchain’s benefits lie in its ability to make systems more secure, efficient, and transparent while cutting costs and enabling new possibilities.

For CME Group, it’s a step toward future-proofing financial markets in a digital age. While the partnership with Google Cloud introduces blockchain technology to enhance CME Group’s broader ecosystem—not solely its futures trading platform—it will undoubtedly impact futures trading by improving the underlying infrastructure with distributed ledger capabilities. Testing begins in 2025, with operational services expected in 2026.

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