DD
MM
YYYY

CATEGORIES

PAGES

DD
MM
YYYY

spot_img

CATEGORIES

PAGES

Home Blog Page 36

Circle Exploring Native Token for its Arc Network with Potential Shift to Proof-of-Stake

By
Paul Ugbede Godwin
-
0

Circle’s CEO Jeremy Allaire recently confirmed that the company is exploring a native token for its Arc Network; a stablecoin-focused Layer-1 blockchain along with a potential gradual transition to Proof-of-Stake (PoS).

Allaire described Arc as an economic OS designed for stablecoins like USDC as a native gas token, tokenized assets, onchain markets, and economic contracts, with sub-second finality and low fees. The token would support governance, incentives for participants including developers and potentially AI agents, and economic alignment across the ecosystem.

It could also reward validators and contributors who help secure the network. Circle is considering a shift from the current consensus model to Proof-of-Stake over time. This would allow staking for network security and further decentralization. Details remain exploratory, with more information expected soon.

Arc is in public testnet launched October 2025, with participation from institutions like BlackRock and Visa. A mainnet beta is targeted for sometime in 2026. USDC and other stablecoins are positioned as day-one native assets for instant delivery-versus-payment (DvP) and collateral use.

Circle first introduced Arc in August 2025 as an open L1 purpose-built for stablecoin finance, aiming to address limitations in general-purpose blockchains for payments and tokenized real-world assets. The token exploration builds on earlier hints from Circle’s 2025 earnings calls.

This move could help Arc evolve from a more centralized and permissioned setup toward greater community-driven decentralization, while aligning incentives for long-term growth. No firm token launch date, tokenomics, or airdrop details have been shared yet—Allaire emphasized it’s still in the exploration phase.

Market reaction included a roughly 10% rise in Circle’s stock price following the comments, reflecting investor interest in the expansion beyond USDC issuance. This fits broader trends where stablecoin issuers enhance their infrastructure with native tokens for better governance and security.

Moving toward PoS would allow token holders to stake for network validation, reducing reliance on centralized or permissioned setups and improving long-term security and resilience in line with industry standards. The token would enable community-driven decision-making (e.g., upgrades, parameters) and reward validators, developers, participants, and potentially AI agents—aligning economic interests across the ecosystem.

As an economic OS optimized for USDC as native gas, tokenized assets, instant DvP settlements, and onchain markets, the token could accelerate adoption by institutions, banks, payments firms, and DeFi builders on a high-performance L1.

This positions Arc as more than a stablecoin settlement layer, potentially boosting Circle’s valuation (stock rose post-announcement) and reinforcing USDC’s dominance in institutional crypto finance. It signals a shift from testnet live now toward mainnet beta in 2026. Tokenomics, launch timing, distribution, and exact PoS transition details remain undisclosed.

Arc launches with a Proof-of-Authority consensus using a small, vetted group of known institutions selected by Circle. This creates a highly controlled environment for sub-second deterministic finality via Malachite BFT engine but introduces single points of failure, potential censorship risks, and reliance on corporate reputations rather than broad, permissionless participation. Critics argue it functions more like a consortium or private ledger than a truly decentralized blockchain.

As the builder and initial controller, Circle and its partners holds significant sway over validator selection, upgrades, governance, and operations. Features like reversible transactions or compliance tools could concentrate arbitration power in Circle’s hands, raising fears of external pressure affecting network integrity. This contrasts sharply with permissionless networks like Ethereum.

Using a fiat-backed stablecoin controlled by Circle for fees ties the network’s economics directly to one issuer. This could enable freezing or restrictions on gas payments and heightens dependency on Circle’s regulatory compliance and redemption processes.

 

Regulatory scrutiny around governance tokens could apply, though Circle emphasizes a measured rollout. Overall, this could strengthen Arc’s competitiveness against general-purpose L1s for real-world financial use cases while enhancing decentralization without compromising its stablecoin-first design. More details expected in the not too distant future, per CEO Jeremy Allaire.

Coinbase in Talks with Anthropic for Access to Claude Mythos Preview

By
Paul Ugbede Godwin
-
0

Coinbase is reportedly in talks with Anthropic to gain access to Claude Mythos Preview often called Mythos, Anthropic’s highly restricted frontier AI model with exceptional cybersecurity capabilities.

This development, first highlighted by The Information and echoed across multiple outlets, stems from crypto firms’ efforts to strengthen defenses against increasingly sophisticated AI-powered threats. Other players like Binance and Fireblocks have also explored or used earlier Anthropic models such as Claude Opus for vulnerability testing and pentesting.

Mythos is Anthropic’s most capable unreleased model to date, showing a major leap in coding, reasoning, and agentic abilities. It excels at autonomously discovering and exploiting software vulnerabilities—including zero-days in major operating systems, web browsers, and other critical software that had evaded human reviewers and automated tools for years or decades in some cases.

Anthropic has chosen not to release it publicly due to dual-use risks: the same strengths that make it a powerful defensive tool (finding flaws at scale) could enable offensive cyberattacks if misused. Instead, they’ve launched Project Glasswing, a defensive cybersecurity initiative.

This provides limited, vetted access to Mythos Preview for select partners—focusing on securing critical software and open-source infrastructure—along with up to $100M in usage credits and $4M in donations. Coinbase’s Chief Security Officer, Philip Martin, has noted that models like Mythos will accelerate digital threats as well as digital defense, emphasizing the need for proactive, scalable testing of systems.

Why Coinbase and crypto firms are interested

Crypto exchanges and custodians handle massive value in digital assets and face persistent threats: hacks, phishing, smart contract exploits, and now AI-augmented attacks that can chain vulnerabilities rapidly. Mythos could help by: Performing deep, automated pentesting on infrastructure. Identifying subtle weaknesses in code, wallets, or custody systems that human teams might miss.

Enabling faster response to emerging AI-driven threats. This fits broader industry moves—Binance and Fireblocks have already used prior Anthropic models to uncover issues missed by traditional testing. Coinbase has a history of security incidents including data exposures, so bolstering defenses with frontier AI makes strategic sense.

Access remains tightly controlled under Project Glasswing, with mitigations like monitoring to prevent misuse. Anthropic prioritizes defensive applications while acknowledging the model’s potency. This reflects a growing realization in tech and finance: as AI coding and reasoning capabilities advance rapidly, the offense-defense balance in cybersecurity is shifting.

Governments and institutions have expressed concerns about Mythos-level models enabling autonomous attacks on defended systems, though real-world tests on hardened targets are limited. For Coinbase, securing access could enhance operational resilience amid rising AI threats. Negotiations appear ongoing, with potential integration into their security stack if approved.

Mythos can autonomously discover thousands of zero-day vulnerabilities including in major OSes, browsers, and long-ignored flaws that traditional tools miss. This allows Coinbase to pentest its infrastructure, wallets, smart contracts, and custody systems at unprecedented scale and speed, potentially reducing the risk of hacks or exploits.

AI like Mythos boosts both offense and defense. While it helps defenders like Coinbase stay ahead, it also signals that AI-powered attacks could become faster, more sophisticated, and accessible to non-state actors—raising the overall threat level for crypto exchanges handling billions in assets.

Under Project Glasswing, access remains tightly controlled with monitoring and mitigations to prevent misuse. Coinbase and peers like Binance and Fireblocks gain a defensive edge without broad public release of the high-risk model. Success could pressure other crypto firms and financial institutions to adopt similar AI tools.

It may influence regulatory conversations around AI in critical infrastructure, while highlighting how frontier models are reshaping security priorities beyond traditional methods. In short, it’s a pragmatic move in an arms race where AI is both the biggest new risk and the best new shield for critical infrastructure like crypto platforms. Details on any final agreement are still emerging.

Visa Officially Launches Validator Node on the Tempo Blockchain

By
Paul Ugbede Godwin
-
0

Visa has officially launched a validator node on the Tempo blockchain and is serving as one of its first anchor validators. Visa configured and runs the validator node entirely in-house, after about six months of collaboration with Tempo’s engineering team.

It joins Stripe and Zodia Custody; majority-owned by Standard Chartered as the initial external anchor validators. These anchors help ensure the network’s reliability, resilience, and performance in its early phase, particularly for high-volume payment use cases.

Tempo is a purpose-built Layer 1 blockchain focused on payments at scale, especially stablecoin transactions and emerging machine-to-machine (agentic) payments. It’s EVM-compatible, designed for fast finality and high throughput, and was incubated by Stripe and Paradigm. The goal is to create efficient onchain infrastructure for real-world payments, addressing limitations in general-purpose blockchains for stablecoin settlement and fintech applications.

Visa’s deeper blockchain commitment — Instead of just partnering or experimenting, Visa is now directly securing a blockchain by running critical infrastructure. This follows Visa’s other blockchain initiatives like  stablecoin settlements, Canton Network involvement and signals traditional finance’s growing role in operating crypto rails.

Having Visa, Stripe, and a major bank-backed custodian as early validators lends significant institutional weight to a payments-focused chain. It supports the shift toward onchain stablecoin payments, which could enable faster, cheaper, 24/7 settlement—especially useful for AI-driven or automated agentic payments.

Big players in payments are moving from using blockchain to actively running and shaping it. Visa has noted this helps accelerate development of onchain payment infrastructure. The move is still in the early and mainnet phase for Tempo, with more validators expected to join later.

Daily testnet volumes have been modest so far, but the participation of these heavyweights is seen as a strong signal for institutional adoption of stablecoin-focused blockchains. This is another step in the convergence of traditional payments giants with blockchain infrastructure, with a clear focus on making stablecoins practical for large-scale, real-time payments.

Deeper institutional integration into blockchain infrastructure: Visa shifts from experimenting with or partnering on blockchain to actively running critical network operations. This embeds traditional finance expertise directly into onchain security and validation. Boost for Tempo’s credibility and reliability: Early participation by heavyweights like Visa, Stripe, and a Standard Chartered-backed custodian signals strong institutional backing for a payments-focused L1.

It helps ensure high performance, resilience, and trust in the early mainnet phase, tailored for stablecoin and machine-to-machine payments. Acceleration of stablecoin and real-time payments adoption: Tempo is purpose-built for fast, scalable stablecoin transactions with dedicated payment lanes.

Visa’s involvement strengthens the infrastructure for 24/7, efficient onchain settlement—potentially benefiting fintech, AI-driven commerce, and cross-border flows. Visa positions itself at the core of future payment rails: By operating the node internally after 6 months of engineering work, Visa gains hands-on control and influence over transaction validation.

It can apply its reliability standards directly, while earning stablecoin rewards as a lead validator. This is more strategic than economic at this stage. Signals payments giants moving beyond interfaces to actively shaping and securing blockchain networks. It could encourage more institutions to participate as validators, speeding mainstream onchain payment infrastructure while addressing regulatory and performance expectations.

Overall, this is a low-risk, high-signal step that reinforces stablecoins as practical infrastructure for high-volume payments, with Visa helping set the bar for enterprise-grade blockchain operations. More validators are expected as the network matures.

OPay’s Rumoured U.S. IPO Could Catalyze Higher Standard and Capital for African Fintech

By
Paul Ugbede Godwin
-
0

OPay, one of Africa’s leading fintech unicorns, is widely seen as positioning for a public listing—potentially in the US—though no formal SEC filing or official announcement has been made as of April 2026.

The Nigerian-headquartered with Singapore base digital payments and banking platform has shown clear signs of IPO readiness: it recently brought in a high-caliber global management team with public-company experience, including Lars Boilesen (former Opera CEO) as Co-CEO for expansion and regulatory work, and James Perry as CFO.

Opera Limited (Nasdaq: OPRA), which holds roughly 9.4% of OPay, has publicly noted in earnings calls and filings that all signs point to OPay’s natural next step being a public company, while analysts project a potential IPO window in the next 9–15 months at a valuation possibly exceeding $5 billion.

OPay itself has delivered impressive growth: daily active users topped 20 million by late 2025; placing it in the global top 10 fintech apps by some metrics, monthly transaction volumes have hit billions of dollars, and it achieved its first monthly profit in 2024. Its valuation sits around $2.7–3 billion based on recent Opera filings, up from the $2 billion unicorn mark in 2021.

A successful US listing by a homegrown African fintech of OPay’s scale would be a landmark event—similar to how Jumia’s 2019 NYSE debut or Flutterwave’s funding rounds signaled the continent’s potential. US IPOs expose companies to deep pools of institutional capital; pension funds, mutual funds, tech-focused investors that often view African markets as high-risk and high-reward.

A strong debut would de-risk the narrative around African fintech, encouraging more cross-border investment. Africa saw a funding slowdown in 2025, so an OPay exit could reopen wallets for peers in payments, remittances, lending, and embedded finance. OPay’s growth from payments super-app to full digital bank with agency banking dominance in Nigeria would set a new ceiling.

Analysts eyeing $5B+ valuations would give other Nigerian giants like Moniepoint, PalmPay, or Paga clearer paths to liquidity. It would also highlight profitability potential in emerging-market fintech, where many players have burned cash for years.

Proven public-market success attracts top engineers, product leaders, and compliance experts back to Africa or keeps them from emigrating. Regulators in Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and beyond could accelerate sandbox approvals and licensing, seeing listed fintechs as economic engines for inclusion and jobs.

US listing standards would raise the bar continent-wide, making African fintechs more attractive to sophisticated capital. OPay’s story—Chinese-backed but Africa-first, mobile-first, focused on the unbanked and underserved—proves scalable digital finance works at massive volume despite currency volatility and infrastructure challenges.

A US IPO would amplify this narrative, potentially inspiring dual listings or local exchange debuts, some analysts have even floated Nigeria’s NGX as a future home. It would also counter Africa risk perceptions amid global IPO recovery in 2026. Currency devaluation (Naira), regulatory scrutiny in Nigeria, competition from banks and telcos, and geopolitical optics around foreign ownership could affect timing or pricing.

Opera’s stake also means any IPO proceeds would flow partly back to a listed Nasdaq company, creating a virtuous cycle but adding complexity. While not yet official, OPay’s trajectory points to a major liquidity event that could catalyze the next wave of African fintech growth—more capital, higher standards, and renewed global excitement for the sector’s role in financial inclusion across the continent. Keep watching Opera’s filings and OPay’s executive moves for the next signals.

Bitmine Immersion Crosses Milestone of Holding 4% of Ethereum’s Total Supply

By
Paul Ugbede Godwin
-
0

Bitmine Immersion Technologies (NYSE: BMNR), chaired by Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, has crossed a major milestone by holding over 4% of Ethereum’s total circulating supply. As of April 12, 2026, the company reported 4,874,858 ETH, equating to approximately 4.04% of the ~120.7 million ETH in circulation.

This came after its largest weekly purchase since December 22, 2025: 71,524 ETH roughly $157 million at the time, based on an ETH price around $2,206. The company described this as part of an accelerated buying pace over the past four weeks, viewing the period as the final stages of the ‘mini-crypto winter. Bitmine launched this ETH treasury approach about nine months ago. It is now ~81% of the way toward owning 5% of total ETH supply. Its average acquisition cost basis for the ETH stack is around $2,123 per token.

As of the latest update, Bitmine’s combined crypto, cash, and moonshot equity holdings totaled ~$11.8 billion. This includes the ETH position valued at ~$10.7 billion, 198 BTC, $719 million in cash, a $200 million stake in Beast Industries, and an $85 million stake in Eightco Holdings (ORBS).

A significant portion ~3.33 million ETH, or about 68% is staked via MAVAN, generating roughly $212 million in annualized staking revenue at a ~2.89% yield. This provides ongoing income even during price dips. Bitmine positions itself as the largest corporate Ethereum treasury holder. It continues aggressive accumulation even amid market volatility, contrasting with some other digital asset treasuries that have slowed or paused buying.

The news aligns with Bitmine’s consistent messaging: it sees ETH’s long-term fundamentals like potential in tokenization, finance, and AI applications as strong and treats pullbacks as buying opportunities rather than reasons to stop. Chairman Tom Lee has publicly called Ethereum a wartime store of value in this environment. Note that on the same day as these updates, Bitmine also reported a $3.82 billion quarterly net loss, driven primarily by unrealized losses on its ETH holdings due to fair-value accounting amid price weakness.

These are paper losses unless realized through sales; the company has continued buying and staking regardless. Staking revenue ~$10 million in the quarter offers some offset. This move reduces liquid ETH supply on the market, which some analysts view as potentially supportive for price over time if demand holds or grows—though corporate treasuries carry risks tied to volatility, regulatory shifts, or liquidity needs.

In short, Bitmine’s latest buy and 4%+ milestone underscore aggressive corporate conviction in Ethereum as a treasury asset, even through a challenging period for crypto prices. The strategy echoes Bitcoin treasury plays like MicroStrategy’s with BTC but focused on ETH. Market reaction will likely hinge on broader ETH sentiment, staking yields, and whether Bitmine sustains this pace toward its 5% goal.

Bitmine aims to use scale to create recurring income primarily through staking on the Ethereum network. The 5% threshold is not arbitrary: It represents a significant but achievable concentration that could make staking rewards material enough to potentially fund operations, dividends, share buybacks, or further growth.

At that scale, the company believes it can insulate itself somewhat from pure price volatility by generating protocol-level yield (native Ethereum staking rewards). It also positions Bitmine as a dominant institutional player in the Ethereum ecosystem, potentially acting as a toll booth for broader adoption in areas like tokenization, DeFi, and institutional finance.

1...353637...8,542Page 36 of 8,542

© Tekedia. All rights reserved.

Term & Privacy

© Tekedia. All rights reserved.

Term & Privacy