Bitcoin AI Generated News

Maya, the Philippines’ biggest digital bank, is weighing a US initial public offering that could raise as much as $1 billion, Bloomberg reported. The company — which runs a full suite of banking products alongside a regulated in-app crypto trading arm — has tapped advisers to explore a US listing, a move that could open access to deeper pools of capital and a broader institutional investor base than local markets currently offer. What Maya does - Maya operates under a digital banking license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and offers savings accounts, consumer loans, payments, and merchant and wallet services through its app. - It also provides in-app cryptocurrency trading under a regulated virtual asset service provider framework, though the company has not disclosed how much of its revenue or transaction volume comes from crypto. User complaints over crypto trading Some Maya users have reported intermittent problems executing crypto trades. Screenshots and accounts shared with Decrypt show that during sharp price moves, certain tokens were marked “temporarily unavailable” and the app’s “Buy” and “Sell” buttons appeared disabled or “grayed out,” preventing users from entering or exiting positions. Less volatile coins remained tradable. Maya did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment. Why consider the US? Regional exchanges in Southeast Asia have seen few large tech listings recently, so a US venue could offer Maya deeper liquidity and exposure to a wider institutional base. The broader market backdrop also hints at improving sentiment for tech and fintech IPOs: US deal activity rebounded in 2025 with 202 listings raising about $44 billion (Renaissance Capital), while globally 1,293 IPOs raised roughly $171 billion last year — a 39% year-over-year increase (EY). Investor concerns and how crypto fits in Local advisers and observers say a US listing raises questions about timing, governance, and how investors will price a Philippine digital bank with a built-in crypto platform. “A US listing is doable, but the timing will be judged on whether the company can present a stable, bank-quality earnings story in a market that’s still selective,” Nathan Marasigan, partner at Manila-based MLaw Office, told Decrypt. He added that today’s investors “reward predictability or a clear profitability trajectory, disciplined risk management, and governance, more than just pure growth potential.” The crypto arm, Marasigan noted, “could either support or complicate the IPO case” depending on governance and disclosure; if crypto becomes a material revenue stream, investors will likely take a more cautious view because of volatility and regulatory scrutiny. A different angle: capital-market arbitrage Paolo Lising, researcher at crypto-backed VC firm Sora Ventures, framed the potential US IPO as “purely a capital-market arbitrage opportunity.” A US listing could help Maya solve funding and liquidity constraints, he said, but the longer-term challenge is building scalable, risk-aware financial infrastructure in the Philippines, where adoption may be outpacing both financial literacy and regulatory capacity. Lising expects US investors to assess Maya through a country-and-region lens rather than in isolation. He also predicted digital payments will remain a central crypto theme over the next two years and suggested that a well-executed IPO — aligned with product, infrastructure, and regulation — could position Maya as a trusted regional on-ramp. Bottom line A US IPO could materially expand Maya’s funding options and investor reach, but success will likely hinge on proving bank-quality fundamentals and clear, controlled governance of its crypto operations. How convincingly Maya can make that case will determine whether US markets reward the listing with strong demand. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Bitcoin’s tumble from last year’s peaks could expose an unexpected source of selling pressure in 2026: companies that hold large crypto treasuries. What’s happening Bitcoin (BTC) now trades below $70,000 — roughly 50% under the all-time high reached last October — and many analysts expect the slump could deepen into another bear market. Analysts at The Motley Fool warn that firms with sizable digital-asset treasuries (DATs) may be forced to liquidate holdings if prices stay weak. Why DATs are at risk - Paper losses: Falling token prices have left some companies sitting on steep unrealized losses, with a subset now underwater. - Funding structure matters: DATs differ in how they financed their crypto exposure. Those that leaned on debt are more vulnerable than firms that used equity. - Refinancing and margin risk: If credit conditions tighten or asset values slide further, companies could struggle to roll over debt. Leveraged positions could prompt margin calls that force sales into an already falling market. - ETF competition: Growing adoption of crypto exchange-traded funds gives investors a simpler, lower-risk way to access cryptocurrency exposure (no exchange accounts or private-key management), potentially diverting capital away from treasury-holding companies. Potential market impact Forced sales by DATs could create a negative feedback loop: liquidations put additional downward pressure on prices, leading to more losses and further selling. Motley Fool analysts say such dynamics in 2026 could amplify weakness across the broader crypto ecosystem — affecting investors, related firms, and market sentiment well beyond the treasuries themselves. Bottom line Much depends on whether the current slump deepens into a prolonged bear market. If it does, the intersection of debt burdens, refinancing danger, margin calls and rising ETF competition could place digital-asset treasuries under significant strain — with consequences that extend far beyond their own balance sheets. Featured image from OpenArt; chart from TradingView.com. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Headline: Agant CEO says UK crypto rules are moving forward — but not fast enough to make London a global digital-asset hub The U.K. is heading in the right regulatory direction for crypto, but its pace risks undercutting the country’s ambition to become a global digital‑asset centre, Andrew MacKenzie, CEO of sterling stablecoin developer Agant, told CoinDesk at Consensus Hong Kong. MacKenzie welcomed incremental progress but criticised the timeline. Comprehensive legislation covering stablecoins and broader crypto activity may only be approved by parliament later this year — and won’t come into force until 2027. “People just want clarity,” he said. “If there’s anything I’d like to see from the regulators, it’s just an acceleration in the pace with which we can do things.” FCA registration as a signal of intent Agant recently joined a small group of crypto firms registered with the Financial Conduct Authority under anti‑money‑laundering rules — a rigorous, often slow process that’s a prerequisite for certain crypto activities in the U.K. For Agant, the registration is less about retail adoption and more about signalling institutional intent: the company plans to issue GBPA, a fully backed pound‑sterling stablecoin intended as infrastructure for institutional payments, settlement and tokenised assets. MacKenzie said Agant maintains active, constructive dialogues with the Treasury, the FCA and the Bank of England, though engagement has been iterative. He singled out parts of the Bank of England’s proposed stablecoin framework that the firm has been vocal about challenging. Still, he praised regulators’ willingness to change where a strong case is made. Stablecoins, sovereign reach and competition When asked about central bank and private bank pushback — particularly concerns that stablecoins could threaten financial stability or unfairly compete with banks — MacKenzie pushed back. He argued that well‑structured stablecoins can extend, rather than erode, monetary sovereignty by enabling the global distribution of a fiat‑pegged digital asset. By issuing a pound‑pegged stablecoin, “we can go and sell pounds globally,” he said, suggesting wider distribution could increase exposure to sterling‑denominated assets and reduce funding costs for the central bank. On commercial banks’ worries that deposits — and therefore lending capacity — could shift into stablecoins, MacKenzie dismissed the argument as overstated. “It really brings to the table that banks need to become more competitive,” he said, adding that credit wouldn’t disappear but could migrate to alternative providers if incumbents don’t adapt. In his view, stablecoins could ultimately boost competition across financial services. Banks moving up the agenda MacKenzie also noted a clear shift in how banks view crypto projects: discussions that once sat at the project level are now reaching the C‑suite. Banks are increasingly focused on programmable reconciliation, instant settlement and cross‑border interoperability, and many see this as a generational transition — a 30‑year shift comparable to the move to digital banking. Time, not just design, will matter For MacKenzie, the real test for the U.K. isn’t merely the shape of the rules but how quickly policymakers enact them. Competing jurisdictions in Europe, the Middle East and Asia are moving faster, he warned, and regulatory delay could cost Britain its shot at leadership. “Zoom out and look at the macro,” he said. “Nothing is set in stone.” Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Crypto’s week is stacked — conferences, governance votes, a rumor mill around a second airdrop, and a wall of macro data landing just as U.S. liquidity comes back after a holiday. Here’s what to watch and why it matters. Quick snapshot - Total crypto market cap (at press time): $2.32 trillion. - Calendar note: U.S. markets are closed Monday for Presidents’ Day, compressing the week’s reaction windows. Feb. 18 — ETHDenver kicks off - Why it matters: ETHDenver is the real-time test of the Ethereum stack: tooling, L2 and app UX, account-abstraction demos, and developer priorities. Expect product soft-launches, roadmap clarifications, and politicized Q&A moments that shape narratives before anyone writes a post-mortem. - What traders should know: It’s an information dump more than a single catalyst — partnerships and announcements can move sentiment and token flows, but treat outcomes as directional signals, not binary triggers. Feb. 17 — Jupiter DAO votes to “pause emissions” - What’s on the ballot: Jupiter DAO holders are being asked to pause emissions — a blunt choice between halting dilution to protect supply or keeping incentives flowing to drive growth. - Why it’s important: The proposal targets net emissions, including team-reserve distributions and how team liquidity events are handled. If it passes, it’s more than a parameter tweak: it signals whether Jupiter prioritizes near-term distribution or tighter supply discipline — and sends a message about how the project expects the market to reward tokens this cycle. Feb. 18 — Hyperliquid “Season 2” airdrop chatter - The situation: Social chatter points to Feb. 18 for a second Hyperliquid airdrop, but the team hasn’t confirmed anything. - Why this keeps matters active: The November 2024 drop was large and high-profile, so traders keep trying to front-run a sequel. Until there’s an official announcement (team statement, governance post, or timeline), treat positioning as speculative risk rather than a confirmed event. Feb. 16 — Presidents’ Day: U.S. markets closed - Market effect: With NYSE and Nasdaq closed, macro liquidity is thinner and crypto can overreact to smaller flows. Many U.S. participants treat Tuesday as the start of the week, compressing responses ahead of midweek Fed minutes and Friday’s inflation print. Feb. 18 — FOMC minutes from the late-January meeting - What to watch: Traders will parse internal Fed disagreement, how officials balance inflation persistence versus labor-market cooling, and what would need to change the rate outlook. - Market impact: Moves will likely be nuance-driven — does “higher for longer” read like base case or just one scenario? That framing matters for risk assets, including crypto. Feb. 20 — PCE inflation print (Personal Income and Outlays) - Why it’s crucial: PCE is the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge (headline and core published by the BEA). The print can shift expectations on rate-cut timing, real yields, and whether macro funds re-risk into the weekend. - For crypto: A surprise either way can dominate the weekly close and set tone for the next stretch of trading. Feb. 20 — Possible Supreme Court opinion on tariffs - Context: The Supreme Court may issue an opinion related to President Trump’s tariff policy. - Why crypto should care: The ruling won’t move markets only if it’s extreme — markets need directional signals. Any change to the tariff framework that re-prices growth or inflation expectations can ripple into rates, the dollar, and risk assets, and crypto will likely follow broader risk flows. Bottom line It’s a dense week where builder-driven news (ETHDenver), token-policy decisions (Jupiter), and rumor-driven positioning (Hyperliquid) collide with returning macro liquidity and big-data events (FOMC minutes, PCE). Watch narrative shifts from the conference and governance votes closely — they’ll interact with macro signals to determine market direction. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Headline: From Wall Street to Web3 — SVB says 2026 is the year crypto becomes financial infrastructure Silicon Valley Bank argues that 2025 rebuilt crypto’s institutional footing, and 2026 will be the year digital assets stop being a niche bet and start operating as core financial plumbing. In a wide-ranging outlook, SVB points to clearer regulation, renewed institutional capital, and a wave of product-building—stablecoins, tokenized assets, custody and AI-enabled services—that are knitting crypto into payments, treasury operations and capital markets. “Crypto is moving from expectations to production. Pilot programs are scaling and capital is consolidating,” Anthony Vassallo, SVB’s senior vice president of crypto, told CoinDesk. “The suits and ties have arrived.” Why SVB thinks this year is different - Regulatory clarity improved in 2025, with the U.S. GENIUS Act (passed in July) establishing federal standards for dollar-backed stablecoins—1:1 reserve backing and monthly disclosures—which SVB says will accelerate institutional use. - Institutional engagement surged as capital markets reopened. Venture funding into U.S. crypto companies rose 44% last year to $7.9 billion (PitchBook), while median check sizes climbed to $5 million and seed valuations jumped 70% from 2023. - SVB now counts more than 500 crypto-company and VC relationships. After its 2023 collapse and purchase by First Citizens, it operates within a top-20 U.S. bank with $230 billion in assets; in 2025 SVB added 2,100 clients and closed the year with $108 billion in client funds and $44 billion in loans. Institutional adoption and corporate treasuries Corporate balance sheets are leaning in. SVB highlights that at least 172 public companies held bitcoin in Q3 2025—up 40% from Q2—and together those companies controlled roughly 5% of circulating BTC supply. A new cohort of “digital asset treasury companies” is treating crypto as a core strategy; SVB expects consolidation as standards tighten and volatility tests business models. Traditional banks are also deepening their crypto footprints: JPMorgan plans to accept bitcoin and ether as collateral, SoFi offers direct crypto trading, and U.S. Bank provides custody via NYDIG. SVB forecasts more banks rolling out lending, custody and settlement products as compliance guardrails firm up. M&A and the build-vs-buy moment Deal activity has shifted toward acquisitions. SVB’s PitchBook analysis found more than 140 VC-backed crypto company exits in the four quarters through September—a 59% year-over-year increase. Big-ticket deals like Coinbase’s $2.9 billion purchase of Deribit and Kraken’s $1.5 billion acquisition of NinjaTrader show the scale. Regulatory momentum toward federally supervised stablecoin and custody infrastructure has driven interest in bank charters: 18 companies applied to the OCC in 2025 (many blockchain-enabled), and the OCC granted conditional approvals to several digital-asset-focused trust banks, including BitGo, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paxos and Ripple. SVB sees this as a turning point that will push traditional FIs to acquire capabilities rather than risk being outpaced by vertically integrated crypto-native rivals. “We expect M&A to set a record again in 2026,” Vassallo said. Stablecoins: from trading rails to digital cash SVB frames stablecoins as evolving into “digital cash” for enterprise use. Compared with ACH or card networks, dollar-backed tokens offer near-instant settlement and lower costs—appealing for treasury operations, cross-border payments and B2B settlement. Investment into stablecoin-focused companies jumped to over $1.5 billion in 2025 (from under $50 million in 2019). The GENIUS Act and similar frameworks in the EU, U.K., Singapore and the UAE are setting global guardrails. In the U.S., from 2027 only permitted entities—banks or approved nonbanks—will be able to issue compliant stablecoins, and SVB expects issuers to use 2026 to align products with federal rules. Banks are already experimenting: Société Générale launched a euro stablecoin, JPMorgan opened JPM Coin to public blockchains, and a consortium including PNC, Citi and Wells Fargo is exploring a token initiative. Tokenization and onchain real-world assets Tokenization moved from concept to scale in 2025: onchain representations of cash, Treasuries and money-market instruments exceeded $36 billion, SVB reports. Big asset managers like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton have parked hundreds of millions onchain, settling flows directly. ETF issuers and managers are testing blockchain wrappers to cut transfer costs and enable intraday settlement. Robinhood has launched tokenized stock exposure for European users with U.S. expansion planned. SVB expects tokenization to expand from Treasuries into private markets and consumer applications, converging public and private markets on shared settlement rails. AI meets crypto The overlap of crypto and AI is accelerating. In 2025, 40 cents of every VC dollar into crypto went to startups building AI products—up from 18 cents the year before. Startups are creating agent-to-agent commerce protocols and embedding AI into wallets. Autonomous agents that transact in stablecoins could someday negotiate and settle payments without human intervention, while blockchain provenance tools are being developed to address AI’s trust and verification gaps. What this means for users and markets SVB predicts the next wave of breakout apps won’t wear a “crypto” label. They’ll look and feel like fintech products—smoother payments, embedded stablecoin settlement, tokenized assets, and AI agents working behind the scenes. For end users, that should mean more seamless cross-border payments, faster treasury operations and easier portfolio management. The bank’s bottom line: treat crypto as infrastructure SVB’s message is clear: volatility and headlines will persist, but the deeper story is infrastructure. Pilot programs are scaling, capital is concentrating into higher-quality teams, banks are entering the space, and regulators are defining the perimeter. Together, those forces are positioning crypto primitives—stablecoins, custody, tokenized assets and settlement rails—to underpin parts of payments, treasury management and capital markets. “In 2025, momentum in onchain representations of cash, treasuries and money market instruments carried real-world assets into the financial mainstream,” Vassallo said. “This year, cryptocurrency will be treated as infrastructure.” Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Nexo is back in the U.S. after a three-year absence, unveiling a regulated suite of crypto services powered by U.S.-based trading infrastructure from Bakkt. The digital-asset lender, which withdrew from the American market in late 2022 amid regulatory disputes over its Earn Interest Product and multiple enforcement actions — including probes in California and New York — said its return follows a “period of deliberate recalibration.” In April 2025 Nexo reported $11 billion in assets under management and reiterated a long-term commitment to operating in regulated markets. What Nexo is offering in the U.S. - Fixed and flexible yield programs for retail and institutional clients - An integrated crypto exchange built on Bakkt’s U.S. trading infrastructure - Crypto-backed credit lines for liquidity and borrowing needs - Fiat on- and off-ramps via ACH and wire transfers Nexo says these services will be delivered through a compliance-first framework intended to support portfolio management and liquidity access for both retail and institutional users. The company also highlighted its global footprint, noting $371 billion in transactions processed to date. Strategic momentum Nexo framed the U.S. re-entry as part of broader global expansion. Recent moves include the acquisition of Argentine crypto platform Buenbit and marketing partnerships such as sponsorships with the ATP Dallas Open and the Audi Revolut F1 Team. Why it matters Nexo’s return underscores a trend of crypto firms recalibrating products and operations to meet U.S. regulatory expectations while trying to regain market share. The partnership with Bakkt signals an emphasis on locally compliant infrastructure as the company seeks to rebuild trust and scale in the U.S. market. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Japan is quietly staking a claim as a global hub for next‑generation finance — and the XRP Ledger (XRPL) is increasingly at the center of that strategy. Strong regulation, active institutional participation, and growing demand for blockchain-native financial infrastructure are converging, and recent disclosures suggest major Japanese players are doubling down on XRPL’s capabilities beyond payments. What’s happening in Japan - On X, crypto analyst Stellar Rippler reported that Bank of Japan official Kazuo Ueda indicated SBI Holdings has been investing not only in XRP but also in XRPL-native identity protocols, compliance tooling, and lending projects. - SBI CEO Yoshitaka Kitao has also said the firm holds “hidden assets” beyond an officially disclosed 9% stake — a position he values at more than $10 billion. These comments have amplified market attention on SBI’s XRPL-related activities. Why identity matters for XRPL XRPL’s value proposition in Japan appears to be shifting from pure payments to identity and compliance infrastructure. Ripple president Monica Long has described decentralized identity on XRPL as a way to turn personal data into secure, portable digital tokens users can carry and selectively share — reducing reliance on centralized platforms. That concept is already being operationalized: DNAOnChain’s XDNA uses zero‑knowledge proofs to convert identity and compliance information into verifiable zk‑credentials, enabling institutions to confirm eligibility or regulatory status without exposing sensitive data. Liquidity and bridge-asset use cases XRP continues to function as a bridge currency on the XRPL DEX alongside stablecoins. Analyst Vet on X highlighted recent XRPL DEX activity where RLUSD (a dollar stablecoin) is being traded for EUROP (a euro stablecoin) with XRP serving as the intermediary. Using XRP as a counterparty‑free bridge can boost liquidity across issued assets, improve capital efficiency for users and institutions, and simplify market‑making because market makers can hold XRP without taking on issuer counterparty risk. A blueprint for on‑chain FX? The broader opportunity is vast: the global FX market moves roughly $9.6 trillion in daily volume, and industry insiders envision a future where local‑currency stablecoins settle directly on‑chain against dollar stablecoins. That is exactly the design space XRP was built to address — a native bridge asset that facilitates fast, low‑cost value transfers between currencies and issued tokens. Why it matters If Japanese institutions like SBI are indeed backing XRPL identity layers and zk‑credential infrastructure as well as liquidity rails, the country could be laying the groundwork for regulated, institutional-grade tokenized finance. Combined with XRPL’s bridge utility, these developments could accelerate on‑chain settlement flows, cross‑border liquidity, and compliant identity solutions — potentially making Japan a testbed for a tokenized FX future. Bottom line: Japan’s regulatory and institutional momentum, plus targeted investment into XRPL identity and liquidity infrastructure, suggest the XRPL ecosystem is positioning itself as critical plumbing for the next wave of tokenized, cross‑border finance. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Dogecoin finds itself at a familiar crossroads after a rough 24 hours that saw the meme-coin king slide roughly 10%. The token is hovering in the $0.10–$0.11 band — a price zone that has repeatedly acted as a psychological battleground across past cycles — and analysts say the way DOGE behaves here could dictate whether it rebounds or drifts lower in the coming weeks. Short-term technical strategist BitGuru maps the current action as a replay of earlier cycle dynamics. His daily-chart read: Dogecoin pushed higher during a bullish phase, then suffered a liquidity sweep and has been grinding down inside an extended consolidation since October 2025. That move evolved into a tightening channel of lower highs and lower lows through late 2025 and into early 2026, with the $0.10 area emerging as an important horizontal support that held during the early-February crash. If buyers re-enter aggressively at this support, BitGuru says short-term upside targets sit near $0.13, $0.15 and $0.19 — levels that could be reached relatively quickly if buying pressure ramps up. Those are tactical levels traders often watch for quick bounces inside an ongoing correction. A longer-term view from Charting Guy adds another layer to the picture. On the weekly timeframe he’s focused on the relationship between the 20-week and 200-week exponential moving averages (EMAs). Historically, DOGE has tended to form major cycle lows around the time the 20-week EMA crosses below the 200-week EMA. That crossover has just occurred again, and previous instances have preceded multi-month uptrends in prior cycles. Charting Guy’s weekly data, which spans 2017–2026, shows prior EMA crossovers lining up with significant upward expansions. This time the crossover coincided with a dip to roughly $0.09–$0.10 — right where the current support sits. So what’s a realistic upside if support holds? On the weekly structure, reclaiming the 20-week EMA would be an important confirmatory step and could open a path to a retest of $0.20–$0.25. Moving beyond that territory would likely require broader market strength — particularly from Bitcoin — before DOGE could challenge higher resistance bands around $0.30 and above. Bottom line: traders have a clear short-term line in the sand at $0.10. A sustained hold could fuel a tactical bounce toward $0.13–$0.19, while a failure here would likely extend the correction. Meanwhile, the recent 20/200-week EMA crossover gives longer-term bulls something to watch — historically a signal that major cycle lows can be setting up, but one that still needs follow-through and market support to translate into a durable rally. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

“We do not do illegal things,” insists Oleg Ogienko, the public face of A7A5, as the ruble-denominated stablecoin issuer courts partners and defending its compliance record amid U.S. sanctions. Speaking to CoinDesk at Consensus Hong Kong, Ogienko — A7A5’s director for Regulatory and Overseas Affairs — pushed back against accusations that the company flouts compliance. He said A7A5 is incorporated in Kyrgyzstan, follows local regulations, undergoes regular audits, and has KYC and AML systems built into its platform. “We do not violate any Financial Action Task Force principles,” he added. That legal posture, however, exists alongside a major geopolitical problem: A7A5’s issuing entities (Old Vector LLC and A7 LLC) and the bank holding its reserves, Promsvyazbank (PSB), are sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Those designations cut A7A5 off from much of the U.S. dollar-denominated financial system and raise secondary-sanctions risks for counterparties. The sanctions, Ogienko argues, have not killed the project — they helped create demand. A7A5’s circulating supply ballooned by nearly $90 billion last year, outpacing Tether (USDT), which grew by about $49 billion, and Circle’s USDC, which rose roughly $31 billion, according to Artemis data cited by CoinDesk. Much of the demand, Ogienko says, comes from businesses in Asia, Africa and South America trading with Russian exporters and importers who face banking restrictions. Legality is a patchwork. While U.S. sanctions constrain interactions in dollar-based finance, using A7A5 to facilitate cross-border payments is not a crime under Kyrgyz or Russian law. That mismatch has allowed Russian firms to use the stablecoin for payments and — via decentralized finance (DeFi) bridges — to access USDT liquidity without A7A5 itself holding dollar stablecoins. But liquidity remains a major bottleneck. Centralized exchanges have balked at listing A7A5 because of secondary-sanctions risk, and on-chain liquidity is thin: A7A5’s dashboard shows roughly USDT 50,000 available in DeFi pools for swaps. Ogienko said he was in Hong Kong to try and expand liquidity and partnerships, meeting exchanges and other blockchain projects; the token is already deployed on Tron and Ethereum and may be added to other chains. The political sensitivity of A7A5’s presence at conferences has already surfaced. At Token2049 in Singapore, where A7A5 was listed as a sponsor via Hong Kong-registered BOB Group, references to the company were later removed after other sponsors raised concerns — a sign of how sanctions complicate even legally permissible regional activities. Despite the friction, Ogienko is bullish. He told CoinDesk he hopes A7A5 can capture a significant share of Russia’s trade settlements, targeting “more than 20%” over time. There are real constraints: A7A5 cannot yet be used in Russia because lawmakers are still drafting domestic stablecoin rules. Ogienko says the firm is in consultative talks with Russian authorities on blockchain and payments infrastructure but stresses A7A5’s neutrality. “We’re not politicians. We are traders. We are businessmen,” he said. The A7A5 story highlights a growing fault line in global crypto: projects that portray themselves as compliant and auditable can still find themselves operating in legal grey zones when national sanctions regimes and cross-border trade needs collide. For now, A7A5’s growth and ambitions are real — but so are the liquidity constraints and regulatory headwinds that could shape its future. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Headline: Bitcoin schism widens as BIP-110 sparks heated debate between node operators and core figures A fresh controversy is exposing deepening divisions over Bitcoin’s purpose and governance after the introduction of BIP-110, a proposal intended to curb what its backers call “spam” data — notably images and audio stored on-chain via Ordinals. The debate has pitted longtime industry figures against a rising cohort of node operators pushing for stricter rules. What BIP-110 would do Proposed as a blunt tool to limit large arbitrary data being written to the blockchain, BIP-110 aims to block or restrict content types such as JPEGs and audio files embedded by Ordinals. Developer Dathon Ohm, a vocal supporter, argues the change is urgently needed to stop the blockchain from being repurposed as a data storage layer. Strong pushback from unexpected quarters The proposal’s opponents include Blockstream CEO Adam Back, who on 16 February blasted BIP-110 as a “lynch mob attempt” to impose major changes without broad consensus. Back warned the move risks damaging “bitcoin’s credibility as a store of value” and its “security credibility,” and accused proponents of pressing for a contentious fork despite a lack of agreement. Back further argued that Ordinals’ additions are “just an annoyance” that remain within block-size limits, noting “the op returns are 4x smaller.” He also enumerated technical and procedural objections — claiming BIP-110 could freeze UTXOs, disable features, require a 55% activation threshold, force a flag day, and that proponents have been unwilling to address these concerns. Growing support and shifting node landscape Despite Back’s criticism, the proposal is not without backing: roughly 7.5% of Bitcoin nodes — largely those running Bitcoin Knots — have signaled acceptance of stricter rules tied to BIP-110. The discussion comes amid a broader shift in software diversity on the network. Once dominated by Bitcoin Core (near 98%), Coin Dance data now shows Core running about 77.2% of nodes, with Bitcoin Knots capturing roughly 22.7% — a shift that accelerated after Bitcoin Core removed the 80-byte limit on OP_RETURN in late 2025, making it easier to embed larger pieces of data. Bigger questions: censorship, governance and decentralization BIP-110 is not just a technical fight; it reflects a larger contest over who gets to steer Bitcoin’s evolution. Last year’s leaked messages suggesting Luke Dashjr considered a hard fork to enable a small “trusted committee” to remove illegal data aggravated those tensions. Proponents of such ideas argue they would reduce legal risk; opponents counter that any committee or censoring mechanism would undermine Bitcoin’s neutrality and resistance to censorship. What’s next The controversy shows Bitcoin’s governance debates are intensifying as the ecosystem grapples with new use cases, legal pressures and the changing makeup of node software. Whether BIP-110 becomes a catalyst for a wider protocol change, or fades under community scrutiny, remains to be seen — but the dispute underscores that control of Bitcoin’s rules is an increasingly contested arena. Disclaimer: AMBCrypto's content is informational and not investment advice. Cryptocurrency trading carries high risk; readers should do their own research before making decisions. © 2026 AMBCrypto. Source: Coin Dance. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Harvard Management Company trimmed its Bitcoin ETF stake and shifted capital into Ethereum during Q4 2025, according to its latest SEC Form 13F — a move that looks more like a portfolio rotation than a retreat from crypto. What changed - Q3 2025: Harvard was an aggressive buyer of Bitcoin exposure, adding $318.99 million to the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). - Q4 2025: The firm cut its IBIT holding by $72.49 million, making the Bitcoin ETF one of its largest sales by value that quarter. - At the same time, Harvard added $86.82 million to the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), ranking the Ethereum ETF among its top buys for Q4. (Figures and filing details compiled from the SEC 13F and 13radar.) Market backdrop - Late 2025 saw sustained outflows from U.S. spot crypto ETFs, adding pressure to institutions’ positioning: - Bitcoin spot ETFs recorded monthly net outflows of $677.98 million, with total net assets falling to about $87.04 billion as BTC slid toward the high-$60,000s. - Ethereum spot ETFs posted monthly net outflows of $326.96 million, with total net assets near $11.72 billion while ETH traded around $2,000. How to read the move - The pattern — heavy BTC accumulation in Q3, partial trimming in Q4, and a fresh allocation to ETH — suggests Harvard rebalanced between crypto assets rather than abandoning the sector. - Earlier in 2025, Ethereum ETFs saw stronger accumulation than Bitcoin ETFs, so Harvard’s Q4 tilt may reflect relative asset preferences and risk/liquidity management during a volatile period. - Overall, the filing underscores that large institutional portfolios are actively managing crypto exposure via regulated ETFs in response to market flows and performance, rather than treating crypto allocations as static, buy-and-hold positions. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice. Crypto trading carries significant risk; perform your own research before making decisions. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Bitcoin’s price has stalled below $70,000 and a growing number of analysts are reading the recent weakness as evidence the market may be sliding into a corrective, bear-like phase. Several core on-chain and price indicators have begun to flash signals consistent with extended downside, suggesting the current pullback may not be over. Two metrics in particular are drawing attention. First, CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost highlighted the Bitcoin Daily Price Analysis with SMA Multiplier, which combines moving averages with standard-deviation “multiples” to show valuation extremes. Bitcoin recently moved back into the chart’s green zone and is inching toward the 4‑year simple moving average (SMA), currently near $57,500. On this framework, higher standard-deviation multiples signal overbought conditions, while prices nearer the 4‑year SMA read as increasingly undervalued. Darkfost notes that historically this 4‑year SMA region has tended to mark the late stages of bear markets — periods where BTC hovered near these levels for months — and believes the market is now edging into that historically significant zone. Second, analyst Joao Wedson is pointing to the BTC Long-Term Holder (LTH) Realized Price Bands as another gauge of cycle lows. Wedson observes that major bottoms have often coincided with the price hitting roughly the -0.2 standard-deviation band of this metric — moments associated with capitulation and the last major buying opportunity before a new bull run. By contrast, recent action showed BTC struggling to sustain moves above the +1 standard-deviation band over the weekend, a pattern that implies active, aggressive selling by shorts or long-term sellers at those higher levels. Together, these indicators act as evolving maps of support and resistance across cycles: the LTH bands mark zones where long-term holders historically defend prices, while the SMA-multiplier chart highlights when BTC becomes extremely overbought or undervalued relative to its multi-year trend. As BTC approaches these lower thresholds, the probability of a structural bottom historically rises — but so does market tension, with asymmetric risk concentrated in the zones the charts now identify. What to watch next: traders and analysts will be watching whether Bitcoin finds durable support around the 4‑year SMA and the lower LTH bands or whether selling pressure drives prices further into the bear-like territory those tools imply. For now, the market sits at a decision point between lingering weakness and long-term valuation support — and whether history repeats or a new cycle dynamic emerges remains the central question for the weeks ahead. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Headline: Motley Fool warns 2026 could bring fresh selling pressure as companies sit on crypto losses Bitcoin’s retreat to below $70,000 — roughly 50% under last October’s peak — is exposing a new potential source of downside for the market: corporate treasuries that hold large crypto inventories. Analysts at The Motley Fool say 2026 could be a turning point, when some of these digital asset treasuries (DATs) are forced to liquidate holdings and amplify an already weak market. Why DATs could become forced sellers - Paper losses have ballooned. Many companies that adopted crypto as a treasury asset are now staring at steep unrealized losses; a prolonged downturn could push some “underwater.” - Debt structures matter. DATs financed their crypto positions in different ways—some with equity, others with significant leverage. Firms that relied heavily on borrowed capital face greater pressure if prices stay depressed. - Refinancing and margin risks. Tighter credit conditions or continued price declines can make it hard to roll over debt, and leveraged positions could trigger margin calls. That combination would likely compel sales into an already falling market. A feedback loop that could deepen the slump The Motley Fool warns that forced selling from DATs could create a self-reinforcing cycle: sales depress prices, generating more losses and additional selling across the ecosystem. That dynamic could hurt not just the companies in question but also investors, counterparties, and market sentiment more broadly. ETFs add another layer of competition Compounding the risk is the rapid growth of cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Both DATs and ETFs offer exposure to crypto without the need to manage exchange accounts or private keys, but ETFs are passive, lower‑touch products with fewer operational and balance-sheet risks. As investors increasingly favor ETF exposure, DATs may face capital outflows or reduced demand, intensifying the strain on firms carrying concentrated crypto assets. What to watch heading into 2026 According to the analysts, key indicators to monitor include: BTC price trajectory, ETF inflows, credit markets and refinancing conditions, margin-call activity, and the leverage levels on company balance sheets. If the current slump deepens into a prolonged bear market, the combination of debt burdens, refinancing risk, and ETF competition could force notable liquidation events that ripple across the crypto market. Bottom line The long-term outlook for digital assets remains uncertain, but 2026 could be a decisive year for corporate crypto holders. Investors should be mindful not only of price action but also of how balance-sheet dynamics and capital markets might translate into selling pressure that affects the wider ecosystem. Image: OpenArt. Chart: TradingView.com. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Germany is quietly recalibrating its stance toward the BRICS bloc, acknowledging that treating those countries as a single, monolithic group was a strategic mistake — and promising a course correction. At the Munich Security Conference, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told India’s foreign minister, S. Jaishankar, that Europe “made a strategic misjudgment” by viewing BRICS members through a single lens. “Some years ago, we first considered these countries as being members of the BRICS, and that sort of alienated us from them. And that was wrong,” he said, admitting that the prior approach created unnecessary distance with partners such as India. Wadephul argued the distancing proved counterproductive for policymaking, noting that many BRICS countries share democratic values and overlapping interests with Europe. “We have a lot of things in common with countries like India, like Brazil. Why not focus on these common interests and common values?” he said, describing the shift as part of a “new view Europe and Germany is putting on the world.” He also praised India’s predictability and reliability as a partner: “We know where India is and that you are predictable, and that we trust you and vice versa, perhaps,” Wadephul said, highlighting democratic governance as a key pillar of the renewed partnership. The push for warmer ties with BRICS isn’t limited to Germany. France’s President Emmanuel Macron urged deeper engagement with emerging powers at the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos, calling to “build bridges and more cooperation with emerging countries, the BRICS, and the G20,” and warning that global fragmentation “would not make sense.” Why it matters for crypto audiences: European outreach to BRICS could reshape geopolitical and economic alignments that inform global finance. As governments and blocs reassess partnerships and search for diversified payment and reserve options, conversations around central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), cross-border settlement, and alternative financial rails — including cryptocurrencies — may gain fresh momentum. The move signals that Europe is willing to engage rather than isolate — a dynamic to watch as markets and policymakers respond. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Binance’s Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has joined a growing chorus of industry figures warning that crypto’s transparency problem is holding back mainstream adoption — especially among institutions. Speaking on X, CZ echoed views aired at CoinDesk’s Consensus Hong Kong panel last week: while blockchain’s open ledgers are often celebrated as a democratic check on opaque finance, that same openness makes routine use — payroll, large corporate deals, institutional trading — unwieldy when “anyone can see” transaction amounts and wallet balances. “(Lack of) Privacy may [be] the missing link for crypto payments adoption,” CZ wrote, pointing to a simple but uncomfortable example: if a company paid employees on-chain today, anyone could inspect how much each person earns simply by clicking a sending address. Panelists at the Consensus session made the same point for institutional markets. Fabio Frontini, CEO of Abraxas Capital Management, argued that large transactions require privacy: “Total transparency isn't particularly good. Actually, you want transactions to be auditable and visible, but only to certain people who should know exactly who's behind them.” The discussion came in the context of moves to use public blockchains for traditional instruments. Last December, JPMorgan arranged a $50 million commercial paper issuance for Galaxy Digital on Solana, with issuance and redemption settled in Circle’s USDC. Coinbase and Franklin Templeton participated, JPMorgan handled structuring and on-chain token creation, and Galaxy Digital acted as structuring agent — a high-profile proof-of-concept that exposed both potential and pain points. Emma Lovett, credit lead for JP Morgan’s Markets Distributed Ledger Technology team, emphasized that institutions won’t move large pools of assets on-chain until they can trust that a single discovery of an address won’t reveal all past transactions: “They need to be confident that it's not going to take one person to find out what their address is and then know all the transactions they've done — that's really key.” Thomas Restout, group CEO of institutional liquidity provider B2C2, added that privacy sits alongside “certainty of execution” as a precondition for institutional scale. Institutions are thinking not in thousands but trillions — and that scale demands extreme confidence in both confidentiality and reliable settlement. Why it matters: public blockchains offer speed, composability and transparency that many in finance find attractive, but those same traits can be dealbreakers for corporate confidentiality and regulatory comfort. The industry is now balancing two competing needs: auditable, verifiable records and controlled visibility so only authorized parties can see sensitive details. What to look for next: wider adoption will likely depend on privacy-preserving approaches that still allow regulated auditing — think permissioned access, selective disclosure, zero-knowledge proofs, or private/consortium chains — alongside stronger tooling for custody, settlement certainty and counterparty risk. For now, the message from CZ and institutional panelists is clear: until privacy gaps are addressed, both Main Street payrolls and Wall Street’s biggest ledgers will remain cautious about moving fully on-chain. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

What to watch this week in crypto: Hive, Riot earnings and Fed minutes Crypto markets will be watching a mix of miner earnings and macro developments this week. Hive Digital Technologies and Riot Platforms lead the slate of industry quarterly reports — both operators have been expanding beyond pure bitcoin mining by adding high-performance computing (HPC) capacity aimed at artificial intelligence workloads alongside their mining infrastructure. Investors will be looking for updates on production, power usage, and how these new AI services are contributing to revenue and margins. On the macro side, the Federal Reserve’s minutes from its most recent Federal Open Market Committee meeting are due Wednesday. The committee left interest rates unchanged in January, but two members dissented in favor of a rate cut — details in the minutes could influence risk appetite across crypto and equity markets. The week also features multiple Fed remarks from officials including Raphael Bostic, Michelle Bowman and Neel Kashkari, any of which could further shape market expectations for monetary policy and volatility in risk assets. Plus: keep an eye on miners’ earnings calls and governance votes across protocols for additional catalysts that could move crypto prices and sentiment. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Metaplanet (TSE: 3350), Japan’s largest bitcoin treasury company, is riding a sharp recovery in operating profit after cashing in on option-writing premiums — but large unrealized crypto losses still loom on its balance sheet. The Tokyo-based firm, which holds 35,102 BTC, said operating profit jumped 17-fold in 2025 to 6.29 billion yen ($40.8 million). That surge was driven by option-writing income, with premiums swelling to 7.98 billion yen from just 691 million yen in 2024. Total revenue for the year shot up 738% to 8.9 billion yen. Despite the boost to operating profit, Metaplanet posted a heavy non-cash valuation loss of 102.2 billion yen after bitcoin’s price slid from a near $125,000 peak to finish the year under $90,000. That markdown pushed net income into a loss of 95 billion yen ($605 million). Looking ahead, the company said it expects nearly all of its 2026 revenue to come from its bitcoin holdings and forecast full-year revenue to climb almost 80% to 16 billion yen, with operating profit rising 81% to 11.4 billion yen. On the balance sheet, Metaplanet still holds more than $2.4 billion in bitcoin but is sitting on roughly $1.2 billion in unrealized losses given BTC’s price drop to about $68,550. Investors appeared unfazed in the short term: the stock ticked up 0.31% to 326.0 yen on Monday. Metaplanet’s results highlight the trade-off for crypto treasury companies that use options strategies to monetize holdings: strong near-term cash income from premiums can bolster operating results, but volatile spot prices can create large paper losses that dominate net earnings. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Animoca Brands secures Dubai VASP license, clears path for regional expansion Animoca Brands has won a key regulatory approval in Dubai, obtaining a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from the Emirate’s regulatory authority for digital assets, the company said Monday. The Hong Kong–headquartered blockchain investor and infrastructure provider said the license lets it begin operating in Dubai, offering broker-dealer services along with digital-asset management and investment products. The approval follows Animoca’s in-principle nod as a regulated fund manager in Abu Dhabi last November and comes as Dubai builds out its crypto regulatory framework. The emirate created the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) in 2022 to license and supervise cryptocurrency and crypto-adjacent firms, a move that has helped attract major platforms including Binance and OKX. Animoca — which filed for a Nasdaq listing through a reverse merger late last year — manages a portfolio of more than 600 blockchain investments and provides institutional services such as crypto treasury management and digital-asset infrastructure. The new VASP license clears a major regulatory hurdle for the firm’s Middle East push and enables it to offer regulated services directly out of Dubai’s growing digital-asset hub. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Russia’s crypto market is far larger and more opaque than many observers realize — and that’s forcing regulators to choose between strict crackdowns or tighter, more formal oversight. What’s happening - Officials now estimate roughly 50 billion rubles in crypto turnover inside Russia each day — a run-rate that translates to more than 10 trillion rubles a year. Media reports put the market’s scale at roughly $129 billion, highlighting how substantial and complex on‑ramps, off‑ramps and trading corridors have already become. - Ivan Chebeskov, Russia’s deputy finance minister, warned that “millions” of people participate in these flows and that a large share of activity occurs outside official systems, beyond easy regulatory supervision. Regulatory recalibration - The tone in Moscow has shifted. After initially favoring a hard ban, the Central Bank of Russia now talks about licensing, limits and monitoring. Vladimir Chistyukhin, the bank’s first deputy chairman, indicated lawmakers could act during the State Duma’s spring session, giving firms some runway to adapt to new rules. - The proposed approach appears pragmatic: let ordinary citizens hold a small, limited exposure to crypto while keeping larger bets and institutional activity tightly regulated and traceable. Proposed measures and international pressure - Draft rules reported by regulators would cap what non‑qualified (retail) buyers can hold — a suggested ceiling of about 300,000 rubles per year for casual investors — and would bar privacy coins from the list of permitted assets. - The European Union’s concerns about crypto being used to skirt sanctions are adding pressure for tougher cross‑border limits on transactions tied to Russia, reshaping incentives and prompting stricter monitoring proposals. Why it matters - Requiring licenses and excluding privacy-focused coins signals regulators’ twin goals: allow limited public participation while ensuring transactions remain auditable and channelling activity into supervised entities rather than underground networks. - The critical question is whether new rules will bring the market into clearer view or simply push large volumes deeper into unregulated channels. How the State Duma acts in the spring — and what licensing and enforcement look like in practice — will determine whether authorities regain control over one of Russia’s fastest-growing financial arenas. What to watch next - Spring session of the State Duma for passing crypto rules. - Final text on retail caps (300,000 ruble proposal) and the list of permitted/forbidden assets. - Implementation timeline for licensing and enforcement by the Central Bank. - EU regulatory moves targeting cross‑border crypto flows linked to Russia. The scale and secrecy of Russia’s crypto ecosystem make this a pivotal moment: regulators can either fold these flows into the formal financial system, or risk driving them further out of reach. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

Silicon Valley Bank: 2026 Is the Year Crypto Becomes Financial Infrastructure After a recovery in 2025 that restored crypto’s institutional footing, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) says this year will be when digital assets move from experiments to core financial plumbing. Improved regulatory clarity, a return of institutional capital and reopened capital markets have shifted the focus away from price cycles and toward integration — payments, custody, treasury management and capital markets are all getting onchain. “Crypto is moving from expectations to production. Pilot programs are scaling and capital is consolidating,” Anthony Vassallo, SVB’s senior VP of crypto, told CoinDesk. SVB — which maintains relationships with more than 500 crypto companies and venture firms — argues that institutional capital, consolidation, stablecoins, tokenization and AI are converging to reshape how money moves. SVB’s own turnaround underscores the momentum. After its 2023 collapse, the bank was acquired by First Citizens and now sits inside a top-20 U.S. bank with $230 billion in assets. In 2025 SVB added 2,100 clients and closed the year with $108 billion in client funds and $44 billion in loans — prompting the bank’s blunt assessment that “the suits and ties have arrived.” Venture capital and corporate treasuries follow the money Venture funding for U.S. crypto companies jumped 44% in 2025 to $7.9 billion, SVB cites PitchBook data. Deal counts fell even as median check sizes rose to $5 million and seed valuations climbed roughly 70% from 2023 — signaling capital is concentrating on fewer, stronger teams. SVB warns supply of institutional-grade crypto firms may lag rising demand, predicting continued deal concentration in 2026 as investors favor proven projects and follow-ons. Corporate balance sheets are also leaning in. SVB cites data showing at least 172 public companies held bitcoin in Q3 2025 — up 40% from Q2 — collectively controlling roughly 5% of circulating supply. A new crop of “digital asset treasury” companies that treat crypto accumulation as core strategy has emerged, and SVB expects consolidation as volatility tests business models. Traditional finance is stepping in Large banks and incumbents are deepening their crypto playbooks. Bloomberg reported JPMorgan plans to accept bitcoin and ether as collateral; SoFi offers direct trading; U.S. Bank provides custody through NYDIG. As regulatory guardrails harden, SVB expects more institutions to launch lending, custody and settlement products rather than cede ground to crypto-native competitors. M&A and charter activity point to industry consolidation. In the four quarters ending September, more than 140 VC-backed crypto companies were acquired — a 59% year-over-year jump, SVB’s analysis shows. High-profile deals such as Coinbase’s $2.9 billion purchase of Deribit and Kraken’s $1.5 billion acquisition of NinjaTrader underscore the scale. Meanwhile, 18 firms applied for OCC charters in 2025 and the agency granted conditional approvals to digital-asset-focused trust banks and custody providers including BitGo, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paxos and Ripple. SVB sees these moves as a turning point — stablecoin and custody infrastructure edging inside the federal banking perimeter — and predicts M&A activity could set records again in 2026. Stablecoins: from trading tool to digital cash SVB frames stablecoins as a practical accelerator of integration. With near-instant settlement and lower costs than ACH or card rails, dollar-backed tokens are attractive for treasury operations, cross-border payments and B2B settlement. Regulatory momentum has been decisive: the U.S. GENIUS Act, passed in July, established federal standards for stablecoin issuance (1:1 reserve backing and monthly disclosures). Beginning in 2027, only permitted entities — banks or approved nonbanks — will be allowed to issue compliant stablecoins in the U.S., and SVB expects issuers to spend 2026 aligning products to that framework. Banks and corporates are already experimenting: Société Générale issued a euro stablecoin, JPMorgan expanded JPM Coin to public blockchains, and a consortium including PNC, Citi and Wells Fargo is exploring a joint token initiative. Venture funding into stablecoin-focused companies topped $1.5 billion in 2025, up from under $50 million in 2019, SVB notes. The bank expects tokenized dollars to be embedded in treasury workflows, collateral management and programmable payments in 2026. Tokenization and asset markets go onchain Onchain representations of cash, Treasuries and money-market instruments surpassed $36 billion in 2025. Asset managers such as BlackRock and Franklin Templeton have accumulated hundreds of millions in tokenized funds that settle directly onchain. ETF issuers and managers are testing blockchain wrappers to cut transfer costs and enable intraday settlement. Robinhood has launched tokenized stock exposure in Europe with U.S. expansion on the roadmap. SVB predicts private and public markets will increasingly share settlement rails as tokenization expands beyond Treasuries into private markets and consumer-facing use cases. AI meets crypto: a new composability layer AI and crypto are increasingly entwined. In 2025, 40 cents of every venture dollar into crypto went to firms building AI capabilities, up from 18 cents a year earlier, SVB’s analysis shows. Startups are creating agent-to-agent commerce protocols while blockchains begin integrating AI into wallets. Autonomous agents able to transact in stablecoins could let machines negotiate and settle payments without human intervention, and blockchain provenance tools are being proposed to help address AI’s trust and verification gaps. Practical impact: crypto without the label SVB expects 2026’s breakout consumer-facing apps won’t carry overt “crypto” branding. Instead they will resemble fintech — fast, cheap settlement and asset access running on tokenized rails and powered by AI agents working quietly in the background. The bank’s central message: treat crypto as infrastructure. Pilot programs are scaling, capital is concentrating, banks are entering, regulators are defining the perimeter — and blockchain technology is poised to underpin treasury operations, collateral flows, cross-border payments and pieces of capital markets. “Momentum in onchain representations of cash, treasuries and money market instruments carried real-world assets into the financial mainstream in 2025,” Vassallo said. “This year, cryptocurrency will be treated as infrastructure.” What to watch in 2026: consolidation and productization as institutions and regulators push crypto deeper into traditional finance — and as stablecoins, tokenization and AI further blur the line between Wall Street rails and Web3 rails. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news