Chainwire

Zug, Switzerland, February 24th, 2026, Chainwire

Institutional adoption of digital art is continuing to accelerate as blockchain technology reshapes how cultural assets are created, traded, and preserved. Among blockchain ecosystems, Tezos has emerged as one of the strongest and most established networks for digital art, supported by leading marketplaces such as objkt.com and a globally recognized creator community. Now, secure, regulated custodial infrastructure has become essential for professional collectors, galleries, and institutions entering the space.

Blockfort, a Swiss-based digital asset custodian established in January 2025, provides institutional-grade storage, -staking, and crypto trading solutions. Built with security as its core priority, Blockfort operates under robust compliance standards, providing its clients with peace of mind when it comes to safeguarding their digital assets.

Since 2021, the Tezos blockchain has become a leading platform for art and is home to a vibrant creator ecosystem. Supported by the Tezos Foundation, which promotes the long-term development and adoption of the protocol, the network has seen continued growth in major art initiatives and partnerships. Platforms such as objkt.com have helped establish Tezos as a culturally significant and technically mature environment for NFT-based digital art.

“Blockchain-based art is a rapidly growing medium and collectors and institutions are beginning to realise the importance of securing their digital artworks. Tezos has earned its reputation as the leading blockchain for artists and creators, and until now institutional participants have lacked the regulated, secure infrastructure to engage with it confidently. Our Swiss Digital Art Fortress is designed specifically to change that — giving collectors, institutions and galleries the peace of mind they need to keep their art safe for future generations,” said Roman Schnider, CEO of Blockfort.

Through its collaboration with the Tezos Foundation, Blockfort now enables secure NFT storage on Tezos via its newly launched Digital Art Fortress in Switzerland. Designed specifically for institutional participants, the solution combines a Swiss-regulated custody infrastructure, advanced security architecture, and audited operational controls. Blockfort’s online platform allows clients to store, visualize and manage their digital artworks. In line with its advanced suite of services, Blockfort also provides a white-glove NFT minting service, designed to guide creators who are new to the blockchain space through the process of minting their work on the blockchain. Together, these elements position Blockfort’s Digital Art Fortress as one of the most robust and institutionally suited storage solutions for high-value digital art assets. 

To learn more about Blockfort, visit https://blockfort.ch

Contact

Sara Moric sara.moric@trili.tech Disclaimer. This is a paid press release.

New York, New York, February 24th, 2026, Chainwire

U.S. spot ETF significantly expands regulated investor access to the Sui ecosystem in the world’s largest capital market

The Sui Foundation today announced that trading has officially commenced on the Nasdaq for TSUI, a spot SUI ETF issued by 21shares, a global leader in crypto exchange-traded products. The fund provides U.S. investors with a regulated, high-liquidity vehicle to gain direct exposure to Sui’s performance through their existing brokerage accounts following recent SEC approval.

The launch marks another major milestone in Sui’s continued growth as a payments platform and modern global finance layer. Sui is the full stack for a new global economy, founded by the tech leaders who spearheaded Meta’s Diem and Libra initiatives, and is advancing a vision of moving money as freely as messages. 21shares has long been at the forefront of bringing digital asset exposure into traditional financial markets, offering a broad suite of regulated crypto ETPs across Europe and beyond. Its expansion into a U.S. spot SUI ETF reflects accelerating institutional confidence in Sui’s infrastructure and ecosystem.

Spot ETFs provide exposure directly tied to the underlying SUI token, offering a straightforward structure for both institutional and retail investors seeking secure and compliant access to emerging blockchain ecosystems. 

Sui’s traction with institutions is rooted in its unique technical design. Built using the Move programming language, Sui’s object-centric model enables parallel execution, sub-second finality, and horizontally scalable throughput. This architecture supports payments, tokenization, stablecoins, BTCfi, and decentralized finance at internet scale, eliminating many of the frictions found on earlier blockchains.

“TSUI marks yet another widely-available access point to Sui, leveraging the industry’s preeminent tech stack to support global payments use cases and financial applications at scale,” said Evan Cheng, Co-Founder and CEO of Mysten Labs, the original contributor to Sui. “In a little more than two years, Sui has made significant inroads into payments and cross-border settlement, which has transformed it into one of the world’s most robust onchain economies and attracted the interest of leading institutions like 21shares as a result.”

The ETF approval arrives amid surging institutional interest in Sui, joining a growing list of institutional-grade products or planned initiatives, including from Bitwise, Canary Capital, Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, and VanEck. In December 2025, 21shares also launched the first leveraged ETFin the U.S. tied to SUI. The introduction of TSUI expands access further through a straightforward, spot-based structure.

“Following our successful launch of a leveraged SUI product, the introduction of TSUI represents the next step in expanding access to Sui through a straightforward, spot-based structure,” said Duncan Moir, President of 21shares. “Sui’s rapid ecosystem growth, technical strength, and institutional relevance were clear to us early on. We are pleased to provide U.S. investors with transparent tools to access this next-generation blockchain.”

As institutional capital continues to enter digital assets and stablecoins gain traction as a global payments layer, Sui’s scalable, low-latency infrastructure is designed to meet the demands of modern finance. To learn more about Sui and explore the ecosystem, visit https://sui.io.

About Sui

Sui, where money moves as freely as messages, is a next-generation Layer 1 blockchain built for scalable finance and global payments. Founded by the core team behind Meta’s stablecoin initiative and powered by an object-centric model, Sui makes assets, permissions, and user data programmable and ownable. Sui’s primitives offer builders everything they need to create high-performance payments and financial applications, including instant agentic payments. Learn more at sui.io. 

Contact: media@sui.io

About 21shares

21shares is one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange traded product providers and offers the largest suite of crypto ETPs in the market. The company was founded to make cryptocurrency more accessible to investors, and to bridge the gap between traditional finance and decentralized finance. 21sShares listed the world’s first physically-backed crypto ETP in 2018, building a seven-year track record of creating crypto exchange-traded funds that are listed on some of the biggest, most liquid securities exchanges globally. Backed by a specialized research team, proprietary technology, and deep capital markets expertise, 21shares delivers innovative, simple and cost-efficient investment solutions.

21shares is a member of 21.co, a global leader in decentralized finance. For more information, please visit www.21shares.com.

Contact: press@21shares.com 

Important Information

Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. There is no assurance that TSUI (“the Fund”) will generate a profit for investors. 

There are special risks associated with short selling and margin investing. Please ask your financial advisor for more information about these risks. SUI is a relatively new asset class, and the market for SUI is subject to rapid changes and uncertainty. SUI is largely unregulated and SUI investments may be more susceptible to fraud and manipulation than more regulated investments.

SUI is subject to unique and substantial risks, including significant price volatility and lack of liquidity, and theft. The value of an investment in the Fund could decline significantly and without warning, including to zero. SUI is subject to rapid price swings, including as a result of actions

and statements by influencers and the media, changes in the supply of and demand for SUI, and other factors. There is no assurance that SUI will maintain its value over the long-term.

The trading prices of many digital assets, including SUI, have experienced extreme volatility in recent periods and may continue to do so.Extreme volatility in the future, including further declines in the trading prices of SUI, could have a material adverse effect on the value of the Shares and the Shares could lose all or substantially all of their value.

Failure by the Fund’s SUI Custodian to exercise due care in the safekeeping of the Fund’s SUI could result in a loss to the Fund. Shareholders cannot be assured that the SUI Custodian will maintain adequate insurance with respect to the SUI held by the custodian on behalf of the Fund.

The Fund is not actively managed and will not take any actions to take advantage, or mitigate the impacts, of volatility in the price of SUI. An investment in the Fund is not a direct investment in SUI. Investors will also forgo certain rights conferred by owning SUI directly. Shares of the Fund are generally bought and sold at market price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the Fund. Only Authorized Participants may trade directly with the Fund and only large blocks of Shares called "creation units." Your brokerage commissions will reduce returns.

If an active trading market for the Shares does not develop or continue to exist, the market prices and liquidity of the Shares may be adversely affected. 

Shares in the Fund are not FDIC insured and may lose value and have no bank guarantee.

This material must be accompanied or preceded by a prospectus. Carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risk factors, and fees and expenses before investing. For further discussion of the risks associated with an investment in the Fund please read the Fund’s prospectus: https://www.21shares.com/en-us/product/SUI

The Marketing Agent is Foreside Global Services, LLC

21Shares US LLC is the Sponsor to the Fund.

21Shares is not affiliated with Foreside Global Services LLC

2026. 21Shares US LLC. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form, or referred to in any other publication, without written permission.

Contact

Sui Foundation media@sui.io Disclaimer. This is a paid press release.

Bucharest, Romania, February 24th, 2026, Chainwire

Crypto Expo Europe will convene leading global cryptocurrency exchanges and industry executives on March 1–2, 2026, in Bucharest, as renewed market volatility reshapes digital asset strategy across Europe and beyond. The event comes as the crypto market enters a correction phase following growth cycles in 2024 and 2025, prompting exchanges, institutions and infrastructure providers to reassess liquidity, compliance and long-term positioning.

Tickets for the event are available at: https://cryptoexpoeurope.com/checkout

With confirmed participation from Binance, Bitget, KuCoin, Bybit EU, Gemini, BingX, eToro, Kraken, Ava Labs, BitPay, Tokero, Mosaic Galaxy, The Sandbox and CFA Society Romania, the conference will focus on how market leaders are navigating tightening financial conditions and evolving regulatory frameworks.

“Periods of volatility are when the most important strategic decisions are made,” said Ruxandra Tataru, CEO of Crypto Expo Europe. “Crypto Expo Europe is designed to bring together the executives and builders who are actively shaping the next phase of the industry, not just reacting to market cycles.”

Panel discussions will address custody resilience, AML and KYC evolution, real-world asset tokenization, institutional integration of digital assets and the evolving role of exchanges and launchpads in 2026. Industry participants will examine how regulatory clarity in Europe is influencing operational models and cross-border expansion strategies.

A featured session titled “Tokenizing Assets: The Future of Finance and Investment?” will explore the growing institutional focus on real-world asset tokenization. Representatives from BitPay, Ava Labs, Kraken and CFA Society Romania are expected to discuss how blockchain-based asset infrastructure is moving from pilot initiatives to implementation.

Another key panel, “Crypto Exchanges and Launchpads in 2026,” will include leaders from Binance, Bybit EU, Gemini and Tokero, addressing liquidity flows, compliance adjustments and product strategy during uncertain market conditions.

The event will conclude with a keynote discussion, “What’s Next for the Industry and Where the Major Opportunities Will Come From,” featuring executives from Binance, Bitget, BingX, Bybit EU and KuCoin. The session will examine how major exchanges interpret the current market environment and where they see opportunity emerging in 2026 and 2027.

As global financial institutions continue to evaluate digital asset exposure amid macroeconomic tightening, Crypto Expo Europe aims to provide direct access to decision-makers guiding exchange infrastructure, tokenization initiatives and institutional adoption strategies.

About Crypto Expo Europe

Crypto Expo Europe is Eastern Europe’s largest crypto and blockchain conference, serving as a gateway for institutions, enterprises, regulators, and developers shaping the future of digital finance. Hosted annually in Bucharest, the event attracts over 3,000 delegates from more than 60 countries, providing a platform for networking, workshops, and high-level panel discussions.

With a focus on bridging the gap between Web3 innovation and the evolving regulatory landscape of the MiCA era, Crypto Expo Europe unites the industry’s most influential leaders to foster partnerships and drive blockchain adoption across the continent.

Learn more: https://cryptoexpoeurope.com/

Contact

Marketing Manager Alina Neagu Crypto Expo Europe marketing@cryptoexpoeurope.com Disclaimer. This is a paid press release.

Hong Kong, Hong Kong, February 23rd, 2026, Chainwire

Financial Layer 1 Pharos Network announced the formation of the RealFi Alliance,  a strategic ecosystem initiative designed to unify institutional asset issuers, financial infrastructure providers, and onchain builders. The Alliance aims to move the Real-World Asset (RWA) market beyond isolated pilots into a standardized, scalable, and operational execution framework. The inaugural cohort of the RealFi Alliance includes: Chainlink, Asseto Finance, Ember, Faroo, LayerZero, R25, Re7 Labs, TopNod, and Centrifuge.

The RealFi Alliance is designed to solve systemic frictions such as fragmented liquidity, inconsistent infrastructure standards, and regulatory silos by coordinating assets and capital under a shared framework. Rather than treating Real-World Assets as static tokens, the Alliance approaches RealFi as a foundational infrastructure layer where assets remain active, composable, and ready for institutional workflows. This initial group forms the core foundation for RealFi on Pharos, ensuring the network enters the market with real-world counterparts already building.

The Alliance operates across 4 critical pillars designed to ensure long-term network adoption and systemic integrity. Central to this initiative is asset enablement, which focuses on bringing real-world value onchain in secure, composable forms optimized for sustained participation. This foundation is reinforced by a rigorous infrastructure and compliance alignment, leveraging Pharos’ deep-parallel execution and built-in compliance modules to meet the highest institutional security standards. To bridge the gap between issuance and usage, the Alliance prioritizes liquidity and utility design, creating clear functional pathways for assets through staking, yield, and application integration. This is exemplified by the collaboration between Ember and Re7 Labs, where institutional-grade risk management and vault curation are integrated directly into the asset's lifecycle. Finally, by establishing market transparency and clear benchmarks for risk and yield sources, the Alliance builds the necessary trust for sophisticated capital allocators to participate in the ecosystem at scale.

“The core challenge facing onchain finance today is not a lack of assets, but the absence of a unified environment where those assets can function at scale,” said Wish Wu, Co-Founder & CEO of Pharos Network. “The RealFi Alliance is our commitment to building that environment, aligning leaders like Chainlink, the industry-standard oracle platform, with specialized asset operators to ensure that real value moves onchain with institutional-grade reliability.”

This strategic alignment ensures that the upcoming Pharos Mainnet will launch as a ready-to-use financial environment with integrated liquidity and compliance standards. Moving forward, the RealFi Alliance will expand in structured batches, with future members selected based on asset quality, technical readiness, and ecosystem alignment. This long-term approach ensures that as the Pharos ecosystem matures, the quality and utility of its underlying assets remain the highest in the industry.

About Pharos Network

Pharos is the inclusive financial Layer 1 for RealFi, where real value and institutional-grade assets circulate onchain and are composable with decentralized assets, becoming the new financial-grade infrastructure of global finance for all. Pharos combines modular architecture, deep-parallel execution, and built-in compliance to power asset-native ecosystems. Built by leadership and engineers from Ant Group, the project is backed by Hack VC, Faction VC, and other global investors. 

Contact

Kang Michelle michelle@pharoslabs.xyz Disclaimer. This is a paid press release.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, February 19th, 2026, Chainwire

ORQO Group, an institutional asset manager and technology platform operating at the intersection of traditional finance and blockchain, today announced that its fintech platform, Soil, which provides stablecoin holders secure, predictable returns through tokenized real-world assets, has expanded onto Ripple’s XRP Ledger (XRPL). 

The expansion onto XRPL is now finalized as users filled out $1 million asset pools in under 72 hours, with future pools to follow in the coming weeks. Soil has now become a compliant yield protocol on XRPL to enable holders of RLUSD stablecoin to access institutional-grade returns, backed by traditional assets. 

The launch marks a major expansion for Soil, building on a three-year track record of delivering stable, risk-adjusted yield across major Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) networks like Polygon, Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Arbitrum. Soil’s deployment on XRPL expands RLUSD’s utility, transforming it into an asset with consistent, asset-backed return potential, thereby reinforcing ORQO’s mission of bridging TradFi with on-chain infrastructure.  

Through Soil’s protocol, users can allocate RLUSD into on-chain Yield Vaults and earn fixed returns generated via low-volatility financial instruments including private credit, tokenized treasuries, and market-neutral hedge funds.

As stablecoins continue their shift from a niche utility to a foundational global payment rail, industry forecasts project the market to reach $2 trillion by 2028, a trajectory fueled by accelerating mainstream adoption, clearer regulatory frameworks, and significant industry consolidation.

“The stablecoin market’s transition toward a multi-trillion-dollar ecosystem requires the right infrastructure to deliver institutional-grade yield at scale,” said Nick Motz, CEO of ORQO Group and CIO of Soil. “Our expansion onto XRPL leverages our track record to directly integrate transparent, asset-backed yield into the platform. This move positions us to capture a share of this growth trajectory and reinforces the essential role stablecoins play in global finance under the guidance of industry leaders like Ripple.”

Soil chose the XRP Ledger for its next major expansion to leverage the chain’s compliance-ready, scalable ecosystem. XRPL offers near-instant finality and negligible transaction fees, making it an ideal environment for capital-efficient, high-volume operations.

About Soil

Soil is a blockchain-based lending protocol that bridges the gap between traditional finance and the crypto world, reshaping corporate debt and fixed-income investments. It is a debt marketplace where established companies can obtain financing, and crypto investors can lend their stablecoins to earn yield derived from Real World Assets that exist off-chain. Soil makes money by taking a percentage of the interest paid by borrowers to lenders and fees earned from facilitating their connection.

Website  |  Telegram  | YouTube  |  LinkedIn  |  Twitter   |  Whitepaper

About ORQO Group

ORQO Group is a global institutional asset manager and technology platform, operating at the intersection of traditional finance and blockchain innovation. The Group unites regulated private credit, public equities, digital hedge fund strategies, DeFi-native yield solutions, and tokenized real estate within a unified on-chain investment ecosystem. With approximately $300 million in assets under management and existing licenses in Poland (KNF) and Malta (MFSA), and with its global headquarters being established in Abu Dhabi, ORQO is building a transparent, compliant, and scalable model for the future of capital markets. Backed by a team with deep expertise in both institutional finance and digital assets, ORQO is building a new model designed for institutional investors, including family offices and protocol treasuries. See https://orqo.digital/ for more information.

Contact

Jakub Bojan contact@soil.co Disclaimer. This is a paid press release.

Denver, Colorado, February 18th, 2026, Chainwire

CoinFello, an AI agent capable of interacting directly with smart contracts, will be introduced to ETHDenver attendees during the conference’s opening ceremonies. The debut provides attendees with early access to CoinFello through a special preview application called BuffiBot, created by the CoinFello team.

For ETHDenver, CoinFello developed BuffiBot as the event’s official AI assistant for conference information. Attendees can ask about schedules, speakers, workshops, expo vendors, and side events. The experience is accessible through the ETHDenver app and supports both text and real-time voice interactions.

BuffiBot synthesizes ETHDenver’s hundreds of sessions and activities into a single conversational interface. While the ETHDenver deployment highlights a live event use case, CoinFello’s broader functionality extends beyond conference support.

CoinFello is designed as an AI application for executing and automating interactions with smart contract protocols. Through a chat-based interface, the agent interprets context, executes user-defined intents, and manages both synchronous and asynchronous smart contract actions. The system is built to present smart contract functionality in plain language.

The platform analyzes a user’s wallet history to surface relevant tokens, protocols, and potential actions, reducing reliance on traditional browser-based decentralized applications. CoinFello is also launching as an EIP-8004 agent, enabling it to be called by other AI agents within Ethereum’s emerging agent ecosystem.

CoinFello was founded by JacobC.eth, previously Lead of Operations for MetaMask at ConsenSys. At MetaMask, he helped develop growth and monetization strategies for the Ethereum wallet.

“The previous model for crypto UX is saturated,” said jacobc.eth. “Agentic AI enables onchain execution and DeFi interactions to become accessible to billions of people through familiar and safer user experiences.”

“We’re pleased to collaborate with the CoinFello team as they bring agent-driven experiences to users through the MetaMask Smart Accounts Kit,” said Ryan McPeck, Product Lead at Consensys for the MetaMask Smart Accounts Kit. “We see a future where AI agents can safely act on behalf of users using granular, transitive permissions that allow individuals to define how activity is executed on-chain.”

ETHDenver attendees will receive exclusive access to CoinFello without joining the public waitlist. Access to CoinFello will continue following the conference, while the BuffiBot experience remains exclusive to ETHDenver.

"ETHDenver has always been where the edges of possibility converge — where builders come to test what the future feels like before the rest of the world catches up,” said John Paller, Founder of ETHDenver. “The fusion of decentralized infrastructure and agentic AI signals a new chapter for coordination itself. When humans and autonomous systems co-create in open networks, we expand who can participate and how value is generated. This is the frontier — and it’s unfolding in real time."

About CoinFello

CoinFello is an AI agent designed to explain, execute, and automate interactions with smart contracts. Built for self-custody, the platform is currently available in private alpha for end users, with developer versions expected soon. CoinFello supports EVM-compatible networks, leverages EigenAI to enable a self-custodied AI environment, and integrates the MetaMask Smart Accounts Kit to provide users with control over their assets.

Contact

Chantal Penning / jacobc.eth hello@coinfello.com Disclaimer. This is a paid press release.

Singapore, Singapore, February 18th, 2026, Chainwire

Onchain derivatives protocol MYX has completed a strategic funding round led by Consensys, with participation from Consensys Mesh and Systemic Ventures, ahead of the MYX V2 launch. With the closing of this round, Consensys has officially become the largest investor in MYX. The raise supports the rollout of MYX’s Modular Derivative Settlement Engine, marking the platform’s transition into core infrastructure for omnichain derivatives.

MYX V2 represents a structural shift in how onchain derivatives are built and settled. Rather than operating as a vertically integrated dapp, MYX now serves as a modular settlement layer that other products and platforms can build upon. This design reflects a broader industry move away from siloed DEXs toward shared clearing and settlement primitives, preventing derivatives liquidity from becoming fragmented across chains.

At the protocol level, MYX V2 integrates account abstraction via EIP-4337 and EIP-7702 alongside Chainlink’s latest permissionless oracle stack. Together, these components are designed to remove long-standing frictions in onchain trading including slow listings for long-tail assets as well as inefficient use of capital and complex transaction flows.

MYX V2 enables gasless, one-click trading while preserving non-custodial control and introduces a Dynamic Margin system that supports up to 50x leverage without relying on traditional order book depth. This architecture allows MYX to offer oracle-anchored pricing that eliminates slippage for large orders, significantly reducing execution risk for professional traders.

By decoupling liquidity depth from execution quality, MYX eliminates the trade-off between access and execution that onchain perps traders deal with every day. Traders no longer need to wait for deep order books, ladder into positions, or eat slippage when trading size—especially in new or volatile markets. Pricing is anchored directly to oracles rather than transient market depth, allowing positions to be opened and closed at predictable prices regardless of local liquidity conditions.

The result is materially lower effective trading costs than underlying spot markets, immediate access to newly emerging assets, and consistent execution even during periods of market stress. For active and professional traders, this means faster entries, cleaner exits, and reduced execution risk without sacrificing leverage or capital efficiency. These mechanics are not discretionary or market-maker dependent; they are enforced by deterministic economic models, robust margin systems, and conservative security assumptions designed to perform under real trading conditions.

MYX CEO Ryan added: “MYX V2 is more than just an exchange – it’s an engine. Integrating EIP-7702 and permissionless oracles means we can make onchain perps trading seamless while preserving decentralized sovereignty. We’re grateful to all our investors for aligning with our vision to redefine perpetual settlement standards.”

“As onchain markets mature, derivatives infrastructure needs to evolve beyond siloed venues toward modular, shared settlement layers,” said Ray Hernandez, Senior VP of Corporate Development at Consensys. “We believe that resilient, capital-efficient settlement infrastructure is foundational to the long-term health and scalability of Ethereum’s financial ecosystem. MYX’s approach reflects this shift, prioritizing composability and transparent settlement at the infrastructure layer.”

The V2 launch positions MYX as infrastructure for a broad range of market participants. Professional traders gain access to high leverage and slippage-free execution, while institutional investors can track the emergence of a new clearing and settlement layer within Ethereum’s derivatives stack. B2B partners, including trading apps and automation platforms, meanwhile, can plug directly into perpetual liquidity without building their own settlement rails.

While MYX supports rapid access to newly emerging assets, V2 is not designed purely for retail-focused speculative trading. Instead, the protocol is built to support sustained derivatives activity through robust settlement design, oracle security, and composable integrations. With backing from Consensys and a focus on infrastructure-first execution, MYX V2 aims to play a foundational role in the next phase of onchain derivatives.

About MYX

MYX is an innovative decentralized perpetual exchange that achieves zero slippage through its unique Matching Pool Mechanism (MPM). Through seamlessly matching long and short positions, MYX enables greater capital efficiency, unlocking boundless opportunities for traders. The V2 launch will transform MYX into a foundational infrastructure for omnichain derivatives.

Learn more: https://myx.finance/

Contact

Ryan ryan@myx.finance Disclaimer. This is a paid press release.

Panama City, Republic of Panama, February 18th, 2026, Chainwire

Sai today launched Sai Perps, a perpetuals trading platform built to be as fast and intuitive as a centralized exchange with the transparency and self-custody of onchain settlement. The platform features gasless transactions, removing friction for traders while maintaining full onchain security.

Sai also unveiled Let’s Go Saicho, a one-month onchain trading competition running February 18 through March 19, 2026, with $25,000 in total prizes. The campaign is structured in two phases designed to reward both performance and participation: a PNL competition for profitable traders, followed by a first-come, first-serve “Be Early” phase for traders who engage early and hit a minimum volume threshold.

“Onchain markets shouldn’t require traders to compromise between speed and self-custody,” said Matthias Darblade, a Sai contributor. “Sai Perps is designed for active traders who want a clean, CEX-like experience, while still getting the transparency and settlement guarantees that only onchain infrastructure can provide.”

Why Sai vs. Other Perps DEXs

Sai Perps is built around the premise: trading should be accessible without the usual friction of onchain perps. Compared to existing perpDEXs, Sai stands out in many ways:

CEX-like UX, onchain settlement: A streamlined trading experience designed to be fast and familiar, with trades settling onchain for transparency and verifiability.

Infrastructure built for deep, smooth markets: Sai has focused heavily on liquidity, risk systems, and oracle design to support more consistent execution and robust market integrity.

Accessible to both new and experienced traders: A platform experience optimized for speed and clarity, without sacrificing advanced trading capability.

Roadmap beyond crypto perps: Sai’s planned expansion includes stocks, commodities, and FX markets, plus user-focused capital efficiency features like Sai Savings (yield on deposits), and cross-chain deposits.

Let’s Go Saicho: $25,000 Trading Competition (Feb 18 - Mar 19, 2026)

Let’s Go Saicho is a one-month competition rewarding trading on Sai across two two-week phases:

Phase 1 (Feb 18 – Mar 4): PNL Competition | $20,000 prize pool, 50 winners

Phase 2 (Mar 5 – Mar 19): Be Early (First Come First Serve) | $5,000 prize pool, 50 winners

All markets listed on Sai are eligible in both phases. Traders may go long or short on any listed pair using supported collateral (e.g., USDC and other supported assets such as stNIBI, as available on Sai). For more details on Sai’s Trading Competition, visit here.

About Sai

Sai is a new perpetuals trading platform designed to feel as easy and fast as a centralized exchange, while still settling fully onchain. Sai’s mission is to make advanced trading accessible without sacrificing transparency or self-custody.

Sai is focused on finalizing its core trading infrastructure and user experience, building liquidity and risk systems for smoother execution, and laying groundwork for yield features that help users earn on idle collateral. Next on the roadmap: expanded markets (stocks, commodities, FX), Sai Savings, cross-chain deposits, and smart accounts for gasless trading.

Contact

PR and Media Inquries Press@sai.fun Disclaimer. This is a paid press release.

George Town, Cayman Islands, February 17th, 2026, Chainwire

Zircuit, a security-first digital asset company backed by YZiLabs, Dragonfly, and Pantera, today announced the launch of Zircuit Finance. Incubated by a team from Quantstamp, Zircuit Finance is a secure platform for institutional-grade strategies, a stablecoin vault designed to generate yield on USDC and USDT, with a stated target range of 8–11% APR, subject to market conditions and variability.

Historically, access to professional asset managers and institutional strategies required significant minimum investments and long lockups. Zircuit Finance removes those barriers with a simplified, cross-chain interface that provides access to institutional-grade yield strategies through a single interface, enabling deposits and withdrawals across multiple chains while supporting diversified exposure.

“The future of DeFi isn’t about chasing the highest yields, it's about building the most secure foundation for capital to grow,” said Dr. Martin Derka, Co-Founder of Zircuit. “Zircuit’s vault is part of a broader shift to create a more stable, transparent, and trusted on-chain economy where users can move large sums of capital efficiently and safely.”

Zircuit Finance vaults allocate a portion of assets to Monarq Asset Management, which manages regulated institutional-grade arbitrage and delta-neutral strategies. Monarq has a proven track record managing the Monarq Digital Asset Opportunities Fund, and the team includes professionals from Tower Research, LedgerPrime, BlockTower, UBS, and Bank of America.

Zircuit Finance also integrates Fidelity’s tokenized money market fund, Aave, and Morpho for diversified exposure across both regulated and decentralized venues.

Complementing this institutional framework, Zircuit Finance is partnering with Forteus, an FCA-regulated asset management division of the Numeus Group, which is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, with offices in London and New York. The partnership develops digital asset investment portfolios focused on generating risk adjusted returns on Ethereum and Bitcoin, leveraging Forteus’ investment strategies and institutional risk management capabilities.

Zircuit Finance will also integrate with FalconX as its prime broker and infrastructure provider, enabling institutional-grade execution, custody, and risk management. FalconX, a digital assets prime brokerage, provides a globally recognized institutional platform trusted by leading hedge funds and asset managers. Its infrastructure supports efficient capital deployment and compliance-aligned operations across multiple venues.

The core features of Zircuit Finance include:

Targeting 8–11% APR on USDC and USDT, with multi-chain deposits and withdrawals. The vault maintains a portion of capital for fast withdrawals (often within 24 hours for smaller requests) while deploying the rest to generate yield. Larger requests may take up to 14 days as capital is being withdrawn from deployed strategies.

Cross-chain messaging infrastructure provided by LayerZero technology. This architecture enables secure, omnichain access to vaults and partner strategies across multiple chains, all from a single interface.

"As liquidity flows into DeFi at scale, the platforms that will lead are those delivering both performance and safety while bringing institutional-grade strategies accessible on-chain. Our collaboration with Zircuit Finance reflects Monarq’s commitment to powering that next phase of growth, anchored in deep liquidity, disciplined risk, and operational transparency," said Shiliang Tang, Managing Partner of Monarq Asset Management.

Zircuit Finance is built by cybersecurity veterans who secured more than $200 billion in assets and conducted over 1,100 audits. The team behind Zircuit Finance brings unmatched security expertise to DeFi, with $3 billion in TVL previously staked through the Zircuit Staking program.

Zircuit Finance is now open for deposits. Additional information on depositing USDC and USDT is available at finance.zircuit.com.

ABOUT ZIRCUIT

Zircuit is a security-first digital asset company founded in 2022 by experts from Quantstamp. Zircuit builds secure onchain products designed to help users deploy capital safely and efficiently. Backed by deep cybersecurity expertise, the team has secured over $200 billion in assets and conducted more than 1,100 audits. Zircuit Finance is the company’s institutional-grade platform offering yield on stablecoins and major digital assets.  

Users can visit zircuit.com and follow @Zircuit on X.

Disclosure: Zircuit Finance vaults are not bank accounts or insured deposits. Yields are variable and not guaranteed. Participation may be subject to digital asset risk, including smart contract and market volatility. Users should conduct their own due diligence before investing. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Contact

Head of Communications Jennifer Zheng Zircuit jen@zircuit.com Disclaimer. This is a paid press release.

Los Angeles, USA, February 17th, 2026, Chainwire

A Patented, Institution-Grade Architecture Establishing a New Standard for Compliant Precious-Metal Real World Asset tokenization

Serenity Labs Holdings Inc. (“Serenity”), a regulation-aligned security, biometric, and digital infrastructure company, today announced the launch of a multi-billion-dollar dual-tokenization framework for precious metals, in collaboration with leading technology, infrastructure, and precious-metal specialists, including Chainlink Labs, Zoniqx, and C-Gold Technologies. The initiative is built on Serenity’s patent-pending Dual Tokenization Architecture and is designed as a collaborative, institution-grade standard for Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization.

The framework establishes an integrated model for how physical precious metals — beginning with gold and expanding to silver and other strategic metals- are tokenized and monetized as real-world assets within compliant, institution-grade digital markets. 

An Institutional Framework

Each participant in this initiative is contributing critical expertise across the asset lifecycle — from physical sourcing and custody to on-chain verification, token issuance, governance, and interoperability.

Serenity Labs, as the lead organizer, contributes its Dual Tokenization Architecture, biometric security systems, and real-world services infrastructure, providing the foundational design for compliant dual-layer digital assets.

Chainlink supports the framework through its provision of Data Feeds, Proof of Reserve, and the Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP). This enables live precious-metal pricing, cryptographic verification of audited reserves, and secure synchronization between physical assets and blockchain representations — ensuring transparency, integrity, and real-time accuracy across networks.

Zoniqx is a Silicon Valley–based fintech company providing an operating system for the tokenization and lifecycle governance of real-world assets (RWAs). Designed for financial institutions, asset issuers, and enterprise participants, Zoniqx enables compliant digital asset issuance, structured lifecycle management, and operational governance across regulated environments.

C-Gold Technologies LLC (“C-Gold”) contributes institutional precious-metal expertise, including physical gold procurement, price-lock mechanisms, vaulting coordination, reporting, and audit integration through regulated global vault networks. C-Gold acts as a key supply-chain and infrastructure participant supporting the physical-asset foundation of the framework.

Additional global partners are planned to expand geographic coverage, liquidity access, and operational scalability.

Initial Deployment and Asset Scope

In its first phase, the framework is designed to support the tokenization of up to 100,000 ounces of physical gold, representing an estimated value of approximately USD 500 million at current market prices.

Each tokenized unit is structured to be:

Fully matched with physically deliverable and redeemable gold

Stored in regulated vaults

Independently audited

Verified through cryptographic Proof of Reserve mechanisms

The framework integrates physical-asset controls, institutional governance, and blockchain verification to deliver one of the most transparent and compliance-forward digital precious-metal systems to date.

The Dual-Tokenization Standard

At the core of the framework is Serenity’s Dual Tokenization Architecture, filed under its U.S. patent “Gold-Collateralized Digital Dual Token System and Method.” The model introduces a two-layer structure:

Commodity / Institutional Layer: Tokens representing verified, audited physical precious-metal holdings with defined redemption rights.

Utility Layer: A free-floating digital token algorithmically linked to the above commodity token, enabling staking, yield participation, payments, and on-chain services.

Together, the two layers form an integrated economic system in which real-world commodities generate on-chain utility, while digital activity reinforces demand for the underlying physical metals. The structure is designed with institutional risk-management and mitigation principles to support long-term sustainability.

Serenity’s native utility token, $RWS, will act as the exclusive service fuel across the ecosystem, supporting validation, inheritance, redemption, biometric actions, audit verification, and Real-World Services (RWS)

Strategic Context

Gold has been selected as the initial asset class due to its renewed global relevance. As BRICS nations and other economies advance commodity- and gold-backed digital currency initiatives — collectively representing more than 35% of global GDP — demand for compliant, institution-ready digital metal frameworks continues to accelerate.

The consortium framework is positioned to serve institutional issuers, asset managers, financial platforms, and sovereign-adjacent initiatives seeking regulated, transparent, and interoperable precious-metal tokenization solutions.

“This initiative reflects a shared vision across the consortium to build durable financial infrastructure rather than isolated digital instruments,” said Venket Naga, Co-Founder and CEO of Serenity Labs. “By combining physical-asset expertise, enterprise tokenization, and decentralized verification, the framework establishes a new institutional standard for precious-metal RWAs.”

About Serenity Labs Holdings Inc.

Serenity is a next-generation data-infrastructure company developing secure digital-asset access, biometric authentication systems, real-world tokenization frameworks, and privacy-preserving storage solutions. Its patented survivability protocol (US20240249276A1) enables secure recovery, inheritance, and transfer of digital assets through cryptographic and biometric methods. Serenity's ecosystem serves enterprises, financial institutions, governments, and blockchain networks seeking compliant, secure, scalable digital-asset infrastructure.

About Chainlink

Chainlink chain.link is the industry-standard oracle platform bringing the capital markets onchain and powering the majority of DeFi. The Chainlink stack provides the essential data, interoperability, compliance, and privacy standards needed to power advanced blockchain use cases for institutional tokenized assets, lending, payments, stablecoins, etc. 

Many of the world’s largest financial services institutions have also adopted Chainlink’s standards and infrastructure, including Swift, Euroclear, Mastercard, Fidelity International, UBS, S&P Dow Jones Indices, FTSE Russell, WisdomTree, ANZ, and top protocols(Aave, Lido, GMX, etc.). Chainlink leverages a novel fee model where offchain and onchain revenue from enterprise adoption is converted to LINK tokens and stored in a strategic Chainlink Reserve. 

About Zoniqx

Zoniqx www.zoniqx.com is building the compliant internet of capital markets, the operating system for tokenized RWA. While most platforms stop at issuance, Zoniqx addresses the real bottleneck in tokenization: fragmented standards, manual compliance, and broken distribution. Through a vertically integrated, three-layer architecture spanning SaaS, network distribution, and protocol-level compliance, Zoniqx embeds governance directly into the asset itself, turning tokenization from isolated pilots into scalable, liquid capital markets. Proven at institutional scale across 20+ jurisdictions and billions worth in tokenized assets, Zoniqx is powering the infrastructure required for the next generation of regulated, on-chain finance. 

About C-Gold Technologies LLC

C-Gold Technologies LLC www.cgoldtech.com is an A+ rated global institutional precious metals technology and physical-gold provider offering procurement, price-lock mechanisms, secure storage coordination, reporting, and auditing through regulated vaults worldwide. C-Gold operates multiple precious-metal brands, including its online retailer Great American Bullion www.greatamericanbullion.com, precious metals retailer Jefferson Gold Group, and benefits and subscription services www.goldsavingsplan.com

Contact

Press contact Sagar Bhansal Serenity sb@s.technology Disclaimer. This is a paid press release.

Hong Kong, Hong Kong, February 17th, 2026, Chainwire

Centrifuge and Pharos today announced a partnership focused on enabling institutional-grade assets, including tokenized U.S. Treasuries (JTRSY) and AAA-rated structured credit products (JAAA), to be distributed and operated onchain at scale through a shared infrastructure framework.

The collaboration centers on solving one of the key challenges in institutional onchain finance: distribution. While tokenization has made significant progress, many institutional assets remain difficult to access, fragmented across platforms, or passive once issued. This partnership focuses on enabling institutional assets to move beyond issuance and remain usable within live onchain financial systems.

Across many markets outside the U.S. and Western Europe, access to U.S. dollar-denominated credit and treasury products continues to face regulatory, onboarding, custody, and operational constraints. Even when these products are tokenized, distribution is often indirect and fragmented, limiting their ability to reach new participants or be actively deployed once onchain.

By combining Centrifuge’s institutional-grade tokenization infrastructure and asset standards with Pharos’ inclusive, execution-first Layer 1, the partnership addresses these challenges at the system level. Pharos serves as a strategic liquidity and distribution layer for assets issued through Centrifuge, providing the high-performance infrastructure and ecosystem connectivity needed to facilitate broader capital entry and deeper onchain liquidity pathway. This integrated environment spans wallet access, platform and enterprise channels, and execution capacity, allowing assets to be accessed, pooled, allocated, and reused rather than remaining static after issuance.

“Tokenization alone does not solve the access and usability problem,” said Bhaji Illuminati, CEO of Centrifuge Labs. “This partnership focuses on building the distribution and infrastructure layer that allows institutional assets to function within real onchain financial environments.”

Pharos is designed as an inclusive financial Layer 1, built to support high-throughput, real-world financial workflows through native deep-parallel execution and modular architecture. The network is designed to host large-scale institutional asset activity and enable continuous onchain operation.

“The challenge isn’t demand, it’s infrastructure,” said Wish Wu, CEO of Pharos. “This collaboration focuses on creating an environment where institutional assets can move onchain and remain active within open, composable financial systems.”

This partnership represents an early step toward operational onchain finance, where institutional assets are not only represented onchain, but are supported by infrastructure designed for distribution, execution, and long-term participation.

Pharos Network

Pharos is the inclusive financial Layer 1 for RealFi, where real value and institutional-grade assets circulate onchain and are composable with decentralized assets, becoming the new financial-grade infrastructure of global finance for all. Pharos combines modular architecture, deep-parallel execution, and built-in compliance to power asset native ecosystems. Built by the leadership and engineers from Ant Group, the project is backed by Hack VC, Faction VC, and other global TradFi investors.

https://www.pharos.xyz/

Contact

Michelle Kang michelle@pharoslabs.xyz Disclaimer. This is a paid press release.

Panama City, Panama, February 17th, 2026, Chainwire

Pred, a peer-to-peer sports prediction exchange, announced a $2.5 million funding round led by Accel, with participation from BEF by Coinbase Ventures and Reverie. The capital will support team expansion, liquidity development, and global user onboarding as Pred builds exchange-grade infrastructure for sports prediction markets. The platform is live in private beta, with traders being onboarded through an invite-only program ahead of broader public access.

Pred is building the fastest sports prediction exchange on Base, Coinbase’s layer-2 blockchain network. The platform lets traders buy and sell positions on sports outcomes with 200-millisecond execution and spreads under 2 percent. It is designed for traders who approach sports markets with the same analytical discipline used in financial markets, emphasising transparent order books, market-driven pricing, and on-chain settlement.

"Prediction markets have proven their value for episodic events, but sports represent an entirely different scale of opportunity, continuous, global, and deeply liquid. Pred is building purpose-built infrastructure for this market rather than retrofitting general-purpose tools. That's the kind of focused execution we back." - Prayank Swaroop, Partner at Accel.

While prediction markets have historically demonstrated strong forecasting accuracy, most applications have been limited to episodic events such as elections or macroeconomic outcomes. Sports present a fundamentally different environment, with continuous global demand, frequent events, and a natural fit for high-speed trading strategies. Despite the scale of the global sports betting economy, the majority of volume remains concentrated within house-controlled sportsbooks that set prices and manage risk internally.

Pred takes a different approach by applying an exchange model to sports predictions, allowing participants to trade directly with one another. Prices emerge through real supply and demand, reflecting collective market sentiment rather than fixed odds. By removing the house from the equation, Pred aims to create a more efficient, transparent, and trader-driven marketplace for sports outcomes.

“Sports prediction is a $500B global industry still running on infrastructure that punishes winners. We built Pred to change that, a decentralised exchange where speed, transparency, and skill are rewarded, not penalised.” - Amit Mahensaria, CEO and Co-Founder.

Pred will use the funding to build out its team with talent from financial and sports sectors, deepen market liquidity through institutional partnerships, and drive the trader growth needed to sustain a high-velocity exchange. The goal: become the premier global destination for sports prediction trading.

About Pred

Pred is building a sports prediction exchange that lets traders buy and sell positions on sports outcomes with 200ms execution and spreads under 2%. Unlike traditional sportsbooks that limit or ban winning users, Pred operates as a peer-to-peer exchange where skilled traders are welcome.

*Disclaimer: Pred does not operate in India, Singapore, the US, or OFAC-sanctioned countries.

Contact

Pred pr@pred.app Disclaimer. This is a paid press release.

Karavas, Cyprus, February 17th, 2026, Chainwire

At a time when much of the blockchain industry is still recovering from one of its harshest downturns, a small number of companies are quietly moving in the opposite direction: expanding, building, and positioning themselves for the next era of adoption.

Public Masterpiece, a Cyprus-based real-world asset tokenization company, has announced PMT Chain, its own purpose-built Layer 1 blockchain. Alongside the announcement, the company confirmed a strategic repositioning: PMT, once short for Public Masterpiece Token, will now stand for Public Masterpiece Technology.

The timing is notable. Crypto did not simply experience a correction, but a $1.1 trillion stress test that dismantled inflated narratives and exposed weak token models. Many projects will not return.

Public Masterpiece is positioning itself as one of the exceptions. Even before revealing its Layer 1 ambitions, the company built traction through its Layer 2 presence on BNB Chain. Over the past 12 months, PMT has reportedly increased in price by 75%, outperforming 86% of the top 100 crypto assets, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, while trading above its 200-day moving average and remaining near its all-time high.

CoinMarketCap Screenshot of the Public Masterpiece Token Chart as of 13.02.2026

PMT Chain is designed specifically for real-world asset tokenization, with the company positioning the network as infrastructure for internationally renowned museums, galleries, private collectors, and global brands seeking secure and transparent certification solutions.

At the center of the ecosystem will be a Certification Hub in the UAE, staffed by evaluators, art experts, and historians. The goal is to establish an international framework for authenticating and evaluating physical artworks on-chain, addressing long-standing issues such as forgery, provenance manipulation, and the illegal trafficking of art, artifacts, collectibles, and historical goods.

CEO Kamran Arki described the mission with clarity:

“The last market cycle proved one thing: narratives collapse when foundations are weak. PMT Chain was built for real-world value and long-term trust. Museums, collectors, and brands need transparency, security, and permanence. That is exactly what we engineered.”

Public Masterpiece revealed that PMT Chain has been built over seven years, with five years dedicated solely to research and development, a timeline that stands in sharp contrast to the rapid-launch culture of the blockchain sector.

COO Garen Mehrabian emphasized the broader responsibility behind the project:

“Web3 will not reach mass adoption if it feels like a casino. Builders have the responsibility to create systems people can trust and understand. We didn’t build PMT Chain to ride a wave. We built it to create an ecosystem that survives every wave.”

Public Masterpiece Keynote Presentation at the main Stage of the RWA BUILDERS SUMMIT 2025

While art remains the cultural foundation, Public Masterpiece confirmed that PMT Chain is designed to scale beyond it, including real estate tokenization and broader RWA deployment. The network will also offer white-label tokenization and certification solutions, enabling institutions and companies to integrate blockchain infrastructure without building their own systems from scratch.

Perhaps most notably, Public Masterpiece confirmed that several governments are already in discussions regarding PMT Chain implementation. No names have been revealed, and the company has not announced a launch date. While the blockchain is reportedly ready, the founders have stated it will go live only when the timing is strategically optimal.

In a market where speculation has been punished and confidence is scarce, Public Masterpiece is betting that the next era of blockchain adoption will be defined by infrastructure, not hype.

About Public Masterpiece

Public Masterpiece is a real-world asset tokenization company building blockchain infrastructure designed to support tokenization, certification, and provenance for physical value across art and broader real-world asset markets.

Useful Links:

Website: https://www.publicmasterpiece.com/

X (Twitter): https://x.com/pm_token

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/public-masterpiece/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/public_masterpiece/ 

Contact

Kamran Arki info@publicmasterpiece.com Disclaimer. This is a paid press release.

MIAMI, United States, February 16th, 2026, Chainwire

Nexo is relaunching its flagship Yield, Exchange, Loyalty, and Credit Lines in the United States. 

Nexo today announced its formal return to the United States market in 2026. The company’s official U.S. relaunch is being executed in partnership with regulated partners, providing a U.S.-compliant framework for the company’s investment and credit product offerings. Digital asset trading infrastructure is provided by Bakkt, a publicly listed U.S.-based digital asset platform purpose-built to support institutional risk management and compliance. 

Nexo’s renewed presence in the United States follows a period of deliberate recalibration and reflects the company’s long-term commitment to operating in markets where regulatory frameworks are evolving, institutional standards are clearly defined, and innovation can be pursued responsibly. The relaunch represents a strategic alignment with clients and partners who prioritize resilience, strong governance, and disciplined risk management in the digital asset ecosystem. 

As part of its U.S. offering, Nexo is introducing a comprehensive suite of digital asset services designed to support advanced portfolio management and liquidity needs. These include: 

● Flexible and Fixed-term Yield programs, enabling clients to accrue returns through investment structures administered within a regulated framework. 

● An integrated Exchange, providing access to digital asset buying and selling through a single, optimized interface. 

● Crypto-backed Credit Lines, offering access to liquidity without the need to liquidate digital assets, with flexible repayment mechanics and support for multiple collateral types. 

● A Loyalty program, alongside streamlined crypto and fiat on- and off-ramps supported via ACH and wire transfers.

Digital asset trading infrastructure is provided by Bakkt through a partnership that establishes a robust foundation and aligns Nexo’s global platform with U.S. regulatory expectations and best-in-class governance standards. This event marks a significant milestone in the company’s strategy to build an enduring digital wealth infrastructure rooted in trust, innovation, and long-term value creation. 

With over $371 billion in processed transactions, Nexo continues to deliver secure, institutional-grade digital asset solutions globally. Its return to the U.S. marks the firm’s conviction that the next chapter of digital asset adoption will be shaped by regulatory clarity, institutional-grade standards, and responsible growth. 

Nexo’s renewed U.S. footprint comes on the heels of its ongoing global expansion, which further reflects its worldwide brand partnerships. The company recently became the first-ever Title Partner of the ATP 500 Nexo Dallas Open in a multi-year agreement. Across the Atlantic, Nexo is the inaugural Digital Asset Partner of the Audi Revolut F1 Team, the Official Digital Assets Partner of the DP World Tour, and the Australian Open. Beyond sports, the company has expanded its footprint in Latin America through the strategic acquisition of CNV-registered Virtual Asset Service Provider Buenbit in Argentina. 

– ENDS – 

About Nexo 

Nexo is a premier digital assets wealth platform designed to empower clients to grow, manage, and preserve their crypto holdings. Our mission is to lead the next generation of wealth creation by focusing on customer success and delivering tailored solutions that build enduring value, supported by 24/7 client care. 

Since 2018, Nexo has provided unmatched opportunities to forward-thinking clients in over 150 jurisdictions. With over $371 billion processed globally, we bring lasting value to millions worldwide. Our all-in-one platform combines advanced technology with a client-first approach, offering a Flexible and Fixed-term Yield product, crypto-backed loans, sophisticated trading tools, and liquidity solutions, including the first crypto debit/credit card. Built on deep industry expertise, a sustainable business model, robust infrastructure, and stringent security, Nexo champions innovation and long-lasting prosperity. 

Official website: nexo.com/us

Media contact 

Nexo Communications Team 

communications@nexo.com 

About Bakkt 

Founded in 2018, Bakkt is building the backbone of next-generation financial infrastructure. The company provides solutions that enable institutional participation in the digital asset economy — spanning Bitcoin, tokenization, stablecoin payments, and AI-driven finance. With the scale, security, and regulatory compliance demanded by global institutions, Bakkt is positioned at the center of a generational transformation in what money is, how it moves, and how markets operate. Bakkt is headquartered in New York, NY. 

For more information, visit: https://www.bakkt.com/ | X | LinkedIn | Instagram 

Media contact 

bakkt@lunapr.io

Contact

Nexo Communications team communications@nexo.com Disclaimer. This is a paid press release.

New York, USA, February 16th, 2026, Chainwire

Rain, fresh off $250M Series C, deploys unified detection-to-response framework to further protect stablecoin payments

Guardrail, a real-time blockchain security platform backed by Coinbase Ventures and Haun Ventures, has launched an integrated security model that connects continuous runtime detection directly to managed incident response. The model addresses the attack cycle at the crucial step between vulnerability exposure and live attacks.

Rain, the global stablecoin payments platform for enterprises, neobanks, and platforms, recently deployed this unified security framework within its smart contracts and wallets used for settlement with Visa, further improving security for millions of purchases in over 150 countries.

Stablecoin transaction volumes crossed $27.6 trillion in 2024, surpassing Visa and Mastercard combined. As traditional finance accelerates its move onchain, the security challenges and unique risks it poses are widening the gap.

The blockchain industry lost over $3.4 billion to theft in 2025. More than 90% of exploits targeted code where security audits and a comprehensive review were completed. The pattern is consistent: audits examine code during development, but attacks take place in production environments through compromised keys, operational failures, and runtime exploits that static code review cannot anticipate and prevent.

Why Post-Deployment Security Matters for Stablecoins

Stablecoin infrastructure operates differently from typical DeFi protocols. When software events translate directly into payment outcomes across 150+ countries, a configuration error or a malicious transaction pattern can cause immediate user harm, with limited options for reversal.

Each application of stablecoin technology by geography, financial application, underlying assets, and wallet infrastructure brings incredible potential while simultaneously growing security risk possibility for unique attack vectors. Industry data shows that off-chain incidents compromised keys, phishing, and operational failures now represent the majority of funds lost, underscoring the need for security extending the attacking surface to: onchain activity, offchain integrations, API dependencies, and user-facing entry points.

"As Web3 matures, risk management and proactive security measures that leading institutions have built into traditional products need to be offered when transacting with stablecoins, like their fiat counterparts. Unifying risk discovery, real-time detection and managed automated response is the gold standard we're excited to be shaping for our industry,” said Samridh Saluja, CEO of Guardrail.

How the Framework Operates

Guardrail's platform evaluates transactions and state changes in real time using configurable detection modules. These identify conditions beyond standard vulnerability signatures, economic anomalies, permission violations, oracle deviations, and abnormal approval patterns with sub-second detection across 30+ chains.

When an incident is flagged, alerts route directly into managed response workflows developed in collaboration with Cantina, a Web3 security firm. Response operates through 24/7 triage, pre-built playbooks across technical and governance tracks, and escalation paths with defined ownership. Evidence is captured throughout proactively, resulting in an informed security posture.

Institutional-Grade Security for Onchain Finance

As stablecoins move into enterprise payments and institutional custody, security expectations shift. Partners evaluating onchain infrastructure ask direct questions: Who owns containment? How is authority structured? What evidence trail exists? How does the system perform at 3am on a Saturday?

Rain's security model with Guardrail and Cantina answers these questions universally. Runtime signals feed governed incident workflows. Escalations route to named owners. Containment follows documented playbooks. Evidence trails support both internal review and partner diligence.

“Our enterprise partners rely on Rain to protect real-world payment flows totaling billions of dollars annually. Integrating Guardrail’s real-time monitoring and Cantina’s managed response capabilities enhances our ability to detect anomalies early and act decisively,” said Charles Yoo-Naut, CTO and Co-founder of Rain. “This is an important addition to the broader set of onchain security partners we rely on to safeguard our ecosystem.”

The integrated detection and response model is a template for protocols operating stablecoin infrastructure, custody flows, enterprise payments, and onchain financial products.

About Guardrail

Guardrail is a real-time blockchain security platform with sub-second detection across 24+ chains. Backed by Coinbase Ventures and Haun Ventures, the platform uses AI-powered anomaly detection and configurable security modules to identify exploits before funds are drained, with automated response capabilities including contract pausing and circuit breakers. Guardrail currently protects over $20+ billion in TVL across thousands of contracts for protocols including Euler, EigenLayer, BadgerDAO, and Bluefin.

Website: https://www.guardrail.ai

Contact

CEO Samridh Saluja Guardrail Inc. info@guardrail.ai Disclaimer. This is a paid press release.

Johannesburg, South Africa, February 16th, 2026, Chainwire

VALR, Africa's largest crypto exchange by trade volume, concluded its role as a Gold Sponsor at the Africa Tech Summit in Nairobi on 11–12 February 2026. The event underscored Africa's growing prominence as a centre for crypto innovation and adoption.

Africa's financial landscape remains fragmented, with 54 countries and multiple national currencies in use. Cross-border payments continue to face high costs, often averaging around 7-8% for remittances according to sources such as the World Bank and industry reports from 2025, and delays of several days via traditional systems. Inflation averaged above 13% across the continent in 2025, according to the African Development Bank's Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook Update from November 2025. These factors limit access to relatively stable foreign currencies such as the US dollar and encourage the use of alternatives for value preservation and efficient transactions.

Crypto adoption has accelerated in response. Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 52% year-over-year growth in crypto activity through mid-2025, according to Chainalysis' 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index and Geography of Cryptocurrency Report. Stablecoins such as USDT and USDC play a prominent role in transaction volumes in the region, supporting practical applications including hedging inflation, remittances, and payments.

Countries including Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Ghana rank among the highest globally for crypto adoption, according to Chainalysis data. Nigeria leads Sub-Saharan Africa with over $92 billion in transaction value in the 12 months to mid-2025, followed by South Africa. Africa accounts for only about 3% of global trade volumes, yet these markets demonstrate leadership in applying crypto to real-world challenges around accessibility, participation, and capital flows.

VALR has expanded rapidly over the past two years, establishing itself as Africa's leading crypto exchange by trade volume. It offers the deepest ZAR-denominated crypto markets in the world and ranks among the largest minters of USDC globally. Licensed by South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) and with regulatory approval in Europe, VALR serves over 1.7 million registered users and 1,800 corporate and institutional clients.

Co-Founder and CEO Farzam Ehsani delivered a keynote speech on the VALR Stage. He addressed the need for the global financial system to reflect the fundamental oneness of humanity, with crypto well-positioned to play a key role in achieving this. 

Reflecting on the summit, Ehsani said: “The Africa Tech Summit in Nairobi reinforced a clear message: “Africa is not merely adopting crypto but leading its practical application to solve pressing financial needs. We are optimistic about the continent's future and the role of unified, inclusive finance globally. VALR remains committed to building infrastructure that bridges divides and advances this shared vision.”

Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer Badi Sudhakaran participated in a panel on crypto adoption in Africa. He emphasised that adoption stems from necessity, positioning the continent as a hub for innovation and real-world application.

About VALR

Founded in 2018, headquartered in Johannesburg, and backed by leading investors including Pantera Capital, Coinbase Ventures and Fidelity’s F-Prime Capital, VALR is a global crypto exchange offering a comprehensive suite of products—including Spot Trading, Spot Margin, Perpetual Futures, Staking, Lending, Borrowing, OTC services, VALR Invest, Crypto Bundles, and VALR Pay. Licensed by South Africa’s FSCA, with regulatory approval in Europe, VALR serves over 1.7 million registered users and 1,800 corporate and institutional clients worldwide. The exchange is dedicated to advancing a just financial future that upholds human dignity and the unity of mankind. For more information, visit valr.com.

Contact

VALR press@valr.com Disclaimer. This is a paid press release.

New York, New York, February 13th, 2026, Chainwire
CertiK, the largest Web3 security services provider, received an award for “Best Security & Compliance Solution 2026” at the SiGMA AIBC Eurasia Awards ceremony on February 10, 2026. This award recognizes CertiK’s technological innovation capabilities and signifies its irreplaceable role in driving the global crypto industry towards compliance and institutionalization. It is one of the most credible and widely recognized honors in the Eurasian market.
The SiGMA AIBC Eurasia Awards, jointly created by the globally renowned industry summit organization SiGMA and AIBC, is a prestigious award for the digital technology and innovation industries in the Eurasia region. It focuses on cutting-edge fields such as AI, blockchain, Web3, and compliance security, and is known for its stringent judging standards and international judging panel. This year, other award winners included globally renowned Web3 companies, including Crypto.com, OKX Wallet, Avalanche, and Cointelegraph. 
At the awards ceremony, CertiK’s deep-rooted presence in the Middle East became a focus of media attention. Since officially establishing its branch in Abu Dhabi in 2025, CertiK has launched a localized team recruitment drive to address the urgent demand for high-standard security services in the Middle Eastern markets. 
Unlike during its initial startup phase, CertiK's strategic focus in the region has now fully shifted to providing "institutional-grade" security services. This service model aims to provide banks, sovereign wealth funds, and large multinational corporations with underlying security measures that meet traditional financial security requirements through high-standard engineering capabilities and a robust defense matrix.
CertiK has established multi-dimensional cooperation with Abu Dhabi regulators, participated in roundtable discussions on the framework for virtual asset regulatory activities in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), and provided local regulators with real-time risk monitoring and compliance analysis capabilities through the enterprise-grade security platform Skynet Enterprise. CertiK’s services assist regulators in assessing the potential impact of abnormal events on corporate entities and the broader financial ecosystem, and promoting the parallel development of security compliance and innovation in the digital economy.

About CertiK
CertiK is the largest Web3 security services provider, utilizing industry-leading formal verification technology to protect and monitor blockchain protocols and smart contracts. Founded in December 2017 by professors from Yale University and Columbia University, CertiK applies cutting-edge innovations from academia to enterprise, enabling mission-critical applications to scale with safety and correctness.
One of the fastest-growing and most trusted companies in blockchain security, CertiK is a true market leader. To date, CertiK has worked with more than 5,000 enterprise clients, secured over $600 billion worth of digital assets, and detected more than 180,000 vulnerabilities in blockchain code. Its clients include industry-leading projects such as Binance, Ethereum Foundation, BNB Chain, Aptos, Ripple, Sandbox, Polygon, and TON.
​​Since its inception, CertiK has secured investments from 12 top-tier funds, including Sequoia, Coatue, Goldman Sachs, Shunwei Capital and Insight Partners, with a valuation of more than $2 billion. 
Follow X, LinkedIn, and Telegram for the latest news and announcements.

Contact
Elisa Yiting Xu
yiting.xu@certik.com

London, United Kingdom, February 16th, 2026, Chainwire

OpenPayd, a leading provider of financial infrastructure, has won the ‘Best Early-Stage or Future Payments Initiative’ award at the Cards and Payments Awards in recognition of its stablecoin infrastructure, enabling businesses to receive, hold, convert, and send stablecoins globally.

OpenPayd was selected from a highly competitive shortlist featuring major global financial and payments players, including NatWest, Visa, Elavon, U.S. Bank, SummaPay, Baanx, and CompoSecure.

OpenPayd’s stablecoin infrastructure, which was launched less than 12 months ago, delivers a rails-agnostic solution that enables businesses to embed stablecoins into payment flows in the same way they use fiat - supporting real-time cross-border movement of value with minimal friction.

“This award is a great milestone for OpenPayd and a strong validation of the work we’re doing to modernise global payments infrastructure,” said Iana Dimitrova, CEO at OpenPayd. “Being recognised alongside some of the most established names in financial services highlights the increasing demand for stablecoin-enabled payment rails that are scalable, compliant, and built for enterprise adoption.”

OpenPayd’s stablecoin infrastructure is designed to help financial institutions, fintechs, and global businesses unlock new capabilities, including:

●     Receiving and sending stablecoin payments globally

●     Holding and managing stablecoins alongside fiat

●     Instant cross-border settlement

●     Seamless conversion between stablecoins and traditional currencies

●     Embedding stablecoins into existing treasury and payment workflows

Unlike siloed or blockchain-specific solutions, OpenPayd’s rails-agnostic infrastructure provides the flexibility businesses need to operate across multiple networks and payment ecosystems, delivering real-time settlement without sacrificing usability or control.

The award reinforces OpenPayd’s position at the forefront of next-generation payments, as stablecoins increasingly become a mainstream tool for faster, more efficient global commerce

About OpenPayd

OpenPayd is building the universal financial infrastructure for the digital economy. Founded in 2018 by Dr. Ozan Ozerk, their rails-agnostic platform enables businesses to move and manage money globally – across fiat and digital assets – through a single, powerful API. OpenPayd provides embedded accounts, FX, domestic and international payments, Open Banking, and stablecoin on/off ramps – delivering interoperability between traditional finance and digital assets. With one of the most comprehensive banking networks in the market, OpenPayd enables real-time money movement, everywhere.

Trusted by global brands including eToro, Kraken, OKX, and B2C2, they process more than $180 billion in annual volumes for over 1000 businesses. OpenPayd is the infrastructure layer powering the next generation of financial services.

Contact

OpenPayd press@openpayd.com Disclaimer. This is a paid press release.

Dubai, UAE, February 15th, 2026, Chainwire

At Consensus Week in Hong Kong, one of the world’s leading conferences for blockchain, digital assets, and crypto regulation, Irina Heaver, Founder of NeosLegal, shared practical insights on UAE real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licensing, and regulatory structuring.

Known internationally as the UAE Crypto Lawyer, Heaver and her team at NeosLegal works with founders, exchanges, and institutions, helping them build compliant blockchain businesses in the United Arab Emirates.

Her session focused on one core message: tokenization doesn’t fail because of technology. It fails because of weak legal structure.

With more than 300 Web3 and crypto projects structured since 2016, Heaver concentrates on what many conferences overlook: how to actually launch regulated blockchain projects, not just talk about innovation.

Dubai RWA Tokenization: Why Legal Structure Comes First

RWA tokenization is one of the fastest-growing areas in crypto. From commodities and real estate to private credit and structured products, more assets are moving on-chain.

But tokenizing assets is not only a technical exercise.

It requires:

Proper company structuring

Clear definition of token rights

Regulatory classification

Custody and governance planning

Compliance with UAE crypto laws

Heaver explained that many projects struggle because legal design is treated as an afterthought. In regulated markets like the UAE, legal structure must come before issuance.

Widely recognised as one of the UAE’s leading legal authorities for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and VASP licensing, Irina Heaver advises founders, institutions, and governments on compliant token issuance, crypto company structuring, and regulatory authorization across Dubai and Abu Dhabi. With over 300 Web3 projects structured since 2016, her work sits at the intersection of blockchain innovation and regulated finance.

The Legal Blueprint Behind RWA Tokenization and VASP Licensing

Based on hundreds of live mandates, Heaver shared what she calls the legal blueprint for blockchain finance in the UAE:

Structure the asset-holding entity correctly

Design the token from a legal perspective, not just technical

Map regulatory requirements clearly

Build compliant issuance and distribution models

Align business activity with VASP licensing obligations

This approach helps projects scale without regulatory surprises — one of the most common reasons tokenization initiatives fail.

Her work spans commodities, venture structures, private markets, and institutional RWA platforms, helping clients bridge traditional finance with blockchain infrastructure in a compliant way.

Understanding VARA, ADGM, and UAE Regulatory Pathways

Many founders struggle to understand which regulator applies to their project.

In Dubai, digital-asset activities often fall under the oversight of the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). Depending on the structure, RWA projects may require issuer authorization or platform VASP licensing.

In Abu Dhabi, projects operating through Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) are regulated by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) under a separate financial free-zone framework, or under Federal Regulator Capital Markets Authority (CMA, former SCA).

Choosing the correct regulatory pathway is critical. Regulatory misclassification remains one of the most expensive mistakes in RWA deployment.

For founders entering the UAE market, Heaver has become a reference point for compliant RWA deployment and crypto licensing strategy.

NeosLegal: Building Compliant Crypto and RWA Projects in the UAE

At NeosLegal, Heaver leads advisory work on RWA tokenization, VASP licensing, exchange structuring, and UAE crypto regulation. The firm supports projects from early concept through regulatory approval, helping clients navigate VARA, ADGM FSRA, and federal UAE frameworks.

NeosLegal works with founders and institutions to design legally sound tokenization models that can scale globally while remaining compliant locally.

Contact

Katerina NeosLegal Hello@NeosLegal.co Disclaimer. This is a paid press release.

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, February 12th, 2026, Chainwire

Buck today announced a major update to its core yield-bearing token, increasing its annual yield to 10% and introducing a series of upgrades designed to simplify the holding experience for users. The changes will go live on February 12th and apply to the existing token, not a newly issued asset.

The update increases Buck’s yield from 7% to 10%, positioning it among the highest-yielding options in the decentralized finance market. In addition, Buck has removed its prior claim reward mechanism requirement, replacing it with automatic rewards distributed directly to the holder’s wallet. 

“This is a monumental step forward for the Buck ecosystem,” said Travis VanderZanden, CEO of Buck Labs. “The 10% yield and automatic yield distribution are not just features, they are a commitment to our holders’ future financial freedom. We’re aggressively positioning Buck to be the leader of the new SavingsCoin category, providing an unmatched value proposition that redefines digital asset holding.”

Previously, token holders were required to manually claim their yield through the app.  With this update, all holders receive rewards automatically, removing friction and reducing the operational complexity often associated with yield-generating tokens. The new structure is designed to make passive income more accessible without requiring active management The changes come as competition within decentralized finance continues to intensify, with users increasingly prioritizing sustainable yield models and straightforward user experiences. Buck’s latest update reflects a broader industry shift toward simplifying onchain financial products, increased yield, while maintaining transparent and predictable mechanics.

The upgraded token and its features will be available starting Feb 12. Additional details on the updated yield mechanics and token structure are available on Buck’s website.

About Buck Labs

Buck Labs Inc. is a digital asset technology company with a HQ in Miami, Florida, and the creator of the world’s first Bitcoin Dollar savings coin. Buck offers 10% annual rewards that are calculated by the minute with no lockups, providing a flexible and globally accessible savings community.  

https://www.buck.io

Buy Buck https://app.buck.io/

Legal 

Not intended for US persons. Not an offer of securities or investment advice. Check local regulations for token purchase restrictions. . Price floats based upon market demand. Terms and Conditions apply. 

Contact

Media Contact press@buck.io Disclaimer. This is a paid press release.