Acurast has raised $5.4 million to use smartphones to power a global decentralized cloud computing network. Acurast enables users to participate in confidential compute tasks, decentralized AI, and blockchain infrastructure, all while earning rewards by leveraging the processing power of smartphones. Acurast utilizes Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) and Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) of the mobile phones to ensure secure and scalable compute, while maintaining confidentiality without requiring trust in the device owner. “The ACU token lies at the heart of this economy. Acurast allows anyone and everyone to run compute with their mobile phones, providing real decentralization, and become stakeholders in the network powering a secure, scalable and decentralized computer economy while incentivising active collaboration and sustainable growth,” said Alessandro De Carli, president of the board and cofounder of Acurast. Acurast’s high-performance Proof of Stake blockchain orchestrates global demand and supply for secure decentralized compute, without centralized data centers. This chain verifies genuine hardware on-chain with Smartphone manufacture attestations and anchors confidential workloads, ensuring trustless and verifiable execution across billions of smartphones. Acurast’s Android and iOS apps offer end-to-end checks of each phone’s secure elements, delivering unstoppable trustless compute at scale. Centered on openness, composability, and decentralization, Acurast forms the foundational layer for the decentralized compute economy, unlocking mass adoption and enabling unprecedented innovation for web3 and beyond.
Block to enable merchants using the Square POS to accept bitcoin payments directly through their Square hardware via QR code sca
Block plans to launch bitcoin payments on its business technology platform Square, enabling merchants using the Square Point of Sale app to accept bitcoin payments directly through their Square hardware. The company plans to begin rolling out this new, native Bitcoin For Businesses offering in the second half of the year and then extend it to all Square sellers in 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. With Square’s integration handling the complexity behind the scenes, and the Lightning Network enabling near-instant settlement, customers will be able to pay with bitcoin by scanning a QR code at checkout. Bitcoin For Businesses builds upon Square’s Bitcoin Conversions features, which was launched in 2024 and allows qualified merchants to automatically convert a portion of their sales into bitcoin. “When a coffee shop or retail store can accept bitcoin through Square, small businesses get paid faster, and get to keep more of their revenue,” Block Bitcoin Product Lead Miles Suter said. “This is about economic empowerment for merchants who like to have options when it comes to accepting payments. We believe in an open, decentralized, fair, fast and low-cost money system for everyone, and that’s exactly what we want to bring to Square sellers,” he added.
Exodus’s self-custody wallet with native on-ramping enables seamless purchase of cryptos in-app in <60 seconds by eliminating the need for third-party exchanges
Exodus announces the launch of XO Pay, a new service that allows customers to buy and sell cryptocurrency directly within the Exodus Mobile wallet. Developed by Exodus and powered by Coinme’s Crypto-as-a-Service API platform, XO Pay is the first self-custody wallet with native on-ramping. XO Pay eliminates the need for third-party exchanges, providing a seamless crypto buying experience for customers with all the benefits of self-custody. JP Richardson, Co-Founder and CEO of Exodus. “By integrating the purchasing process directly into our mobile wallet, we’re removing barriers and simplifying the journey from fiat to crypto, and back.” Key Features of XO Pay: Complete purchases in under 60 seconds with quick and easy onboarding; Maximize buys with industry-leading competitive rates; Access world-class support from Exodus’ elite customer service team. Customers can initiate a purchase by tapping the Buy & Sell icon in the Exodus Mobile app, selecting their desired cryptocurrency and purchase amount, and choosing XO Pay as their provider. The platform will then guide customers through a straightforward verification process. “By creating a Web2 checkout experience into a Web3 self-custody wallet, Exodus has set a new bar for crypto user experience,” said Neil Bergquist, CEO and co-founder of Coinme. “Exodus’ innovative integration of Coinme’s APIs delivers the seamless in-app purchase flow users expect while keeping them in full control of their assets.”
Conduit the cross-border payments platform powered by stablecoins differentiates with direct partnerships with two dozen banks, support for highly inflationary local currencies and by lacking liquidity constraints
Conduit, the cross-border payments platform powered by stablecoins, closed a $36 million Series A funding round. Conduit transaction volumes surged 16x in 2024, surpassing $10 billion in annualized payment volume. It will use new funding to expand its geographic reach and increase the range of fiat and digital currencies supported through its innovative real-time global payment rails. Conduit’s cross-border payment network seamlessly integrates stablecoins, USD and local currencies, providing businesses with a faster, cheaper, and more reliable alternative to the legacy SWIFT system. Conduit transaction volumes surged 16x in 2024, surpassing $10 billion in annualized payment volume. It will use new funding to expand its geographic reach and increase the range of fiat and digital currencies supported through its innovative real-time global payment rails. Clients choose Conduit for:
Speed and Efficiency: Unlike payment platforms that rely on slow and disjointed networks of correspondent banks, Conduit has direct partnerships with two dozen banks across the world, enabling transactions to settle in seconds rather than days.
Broad Geographic Coverage: Conduit natively supports a diverse range of currencies and payment methods, including highly inflationary local currencies in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
Deep Liquidity: Conduit’s robust network of institutional-grade FX providers ensures large transactions can be processed seamlessly without liquidity constraints.
Volante launches Web3 EWA prepaid card featuring tokenisation; eligibility for wage access is determined using proprietary AI tools designed to assess user data in real time
Volante Labs Limited has launched the Volante Card, a Web3-enabled prepaid card designed to facilitate salary payments without a traditional bank account. The card, issued through a licensed VISA-certified institution, enables direct salary transfers from employers to employees, particularly in regions with limited banking access or volatile local currencies. It supports multiple fiat currencies and integrates with Earned Wage Access systems, allowing employees to access wages on demand. The card also features enterprise-grade security measures, tokenisation, and AI-powered fraud detection. Volante aims to modernize payroll infrastructure using blockchain and artificial intelligence technologies, reducing the demand for short-term lending options and potentially improving workforce satisfaction and retention rates. The company’s token, VOL, was listed on BTSE and BingX in March 2025. eligibility for wage access is determined using proprietary AI tools designed to assess user data in real time. Additional features include enterprise-grade security measures such as MV3D Secure, tokenisation, and AI-powered fraud detection. The card also supports high deposit thresholds, up to USD 1 million, with no restrictions on usage.
TokenFi launches real-world asset tokenization platform with smart identity framework that links token ownership to verified investor identities
TokenFi, a tokenization project by the Floki ecosystem, has launched its real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platform, aiming to make it easier for businesses to bring physical and financial assets on-chain in a fully compliant way. The platform, which will go live on May 23, offers a no-code platform for companies to create and issue regulatory-compliant tokens backed by real-world assets. These tokens are built on the ERC-3643 standard, embedding compliance capabilities directly into the token itself. The platform’s core is ONCHAINID, a smart identity framework that links token ownership to verified investor identities, allowing companies to issue tokens that can only be held or traded by qualified investors who pass KYC and meet regulatory requirements. The platform works across all EVM-compatible blockchains, giving projects flexibility on where to launch.
Santander applied for a European cryptocurrency license under the Mica Regulations and may enable retail access to digital assets and stablecoin, crypto offering
Banco Santander is mulling introducing euro and dollar stablecoins, or potentially making a third party coin available to clients, citing sources. This move aligns with broader crypto ambitions, as its digital bank, Openbank, has reportedly applied for a European cryptocurrency license under the Mica Regulations and may enable retail access to digital assets. Should Santander confirm plans to launch a stablecoin, it will be the fourth global systemically important bank (G-SIB) to do so. Santander’s involvement could extend beyond an individual initiative. The bank is a shareholder in The Clearing House, where US banks are exploring the potential to create a joint stablecoin. If a US initiative took that route it could involve nine more G-SIBs including Bank of America, Barclays, BMO, BNY Mellon, Citi, HSBC, JP Morgan, TD Bank and Wells Fargo.
BIS quantifies stablecoin impact on Treasury rates- stablecoin issuers have surpassed China to be the third largest purchasers of Treasuries bills as market influence grows
New research from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) reveals striking statistics about stablecoin market influence. While stablecoin issuers have been noted as major holders of short term Treasuries, surpassing the holdings of countries such as China, the BIS highlights that during 2024, they were the third largest purchasers of Treasuries bills*. That figure is based on the net increase in stablecoin reserves. Regarding the impact on Treasury rates, the BIS study notes that a naive analysis of a $3.5 billion change in stablecoin holdings of Treasury bills implies a 25 basis point (0.25%) change in short term Treasury yields. However, it says this significantly overstates the impact, because many factors will simultaneously influence both stablecoin demand and Treasury rates. To try to isolate the impact of stablecoins, it explored major crypto events unrelated to movements in interest rates. Based on its research, the BIS concludes that the impact of sales of $3.5 billion of Treasuries by stablecoin issuers causes an increase in Treasury bill yields of six to eight basis points (0.06% – 0.08%). This is a much bigger effect than purchases, because sales are frequently more urgent given they may involve a mini crisis. A similarly sized purchase of Treasuries would result in a decline in Treasury rates of three basis points (-0.03%). The paper also noted that stablecoins are still comparatively small and the research is based on current volume levels. As stablecoins grow, the relative impact will increase. This will also create financial stability risks because of their effect on Treasury rates if there’s a run on a stablecoin. Additionally, with larger volumes of stablecoins, it will reduce the ability of the Federal Reserve to influence interest rates.
Mass adoption of DeFi requires a requires a shift away from liquidity pools, offering a model where individuals negotiate fixed terms, choose their collateral, and eliminate reliance on centrally controlled oracle pricing
Decentralized finance (DeFi) aimed to create a global, permissionless financial system based on peer-to-peer transactions, free from the constraints of traditional finance. However, over time, DeFi protocols have drifted away from this vision, relying on liquidity pools, external price oracles, and heavily automated market makers (AMMs). These structures have unlocked liquidity but at the cost of user control, transparency, and exposure to centrally overridden “oracles.” Today’s users are boxed into preexisting liquidity pools, often with little say over collateral assets or risk profiles. Even DeFi leaders don’t follow the most basic principles of decentralization, as demonstrated by the recent Hyperliquid exchange exploit. DeFi’s promise of a genuinely independent P2P system has been strayed from its roots, and newer DeFi protocols are abandoning many of the golden rules of decentralization. The Hyperliquid incident shattered the decentralization illusion, as a decentralized platform that retroactively rewrites rules and dictates prices cannot be considered truly decentralized. Mass adoption of DeFi requires a user-centric shift, offering a model where individuals negotiate fixed terms, choose their collateral, and eliminate reliance on centrally controlled oracle pricing. This model will appeal to crypto-native users and newcomers alike, and the demand for DeFi hasn’t gone anywhere despite the rocky market.
Clearstream partners Azimut to develop DLT-based private funds solution – providing broader access to private market strategies, along with a liquidity option that will allow investors to unlock the illiquidity premium embedded in private asset portfolios
Stablecoins are gaining traction in B2B payments, offering speed, cost-efficiency and U.S. dollar stability. They represent an emerging reality across emerging markets. Annualized at $36 billion as of February, B2B transactions are no longer just theoretical experiments but are serving as critical plumbing for modern financial flows. The total stablecoin volume over that same period was $94 billion, meaning that B2B transactions now make up the largest segment of stablecoin payment volumes, surpassing even peer-to-peer transfers and card-linked spending. where stablecoin B2B payments are thriving is where banking can often fail. Latin America and Africa, in particular, are hubs of real-world adoption. In Brazil and Colombia, platforms like Bitso and Conduit have enabled faster euro and U.S. dollar settlement, replacing clunky wire networks. In Kenya and Ghana, businesses use stablecoins to sidestep currency devaluation and cross-border delays. “Stablecoins are a great way to transfer value,” Conduit CEO Kirill Gertman told. BVNK and LianLian Global partnered to enable merchants to use major stablecoins to fund cross-border transactions illustrates, crypto continues pushing forward with innovations designed to streamline corporate spending. PayPal used its own native stablecoin to pay EY, while the President Donald Trump family’s new stablecoin was reportedly used for a $2 billion investment into Binance by Abu Dhabi’s MGX.