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Ripple has scored a major regulatory milestone in Europe. AMINA Bank AG, a Swiss-regulated digital asset bank, has become the first European bank to adopt Ripple Payments for near real-time cross-border settlements.

The partnership expands the two firms’ collaboration following AMINA’s earlier adoption of RLUSD, and marks a significant shift from trial-phase digital asset experiments to full-scale production deployment inside a regulated banking institution.

Ripple announced the integration publicly, highlighting the importance of a compliant bridge between fiat and blockchain rails. Market analysts quickly framed the move as a meaningful sign for XRP’s global utility, including commentary from Scott Melker.

JUST IN: RIPPLE $XRP PARTNERS WITH AMINA BANK AG TO SUPPORT NEAR REAL-TIME CROSS-BORDER PAYMENTS FOR AMINA BANK’S CLIENTS USING RIPPLE PAYMENTS

AMINA BANK AG IS THE FIRST EUROPEAN BANK TO ADOPT RIPPLE PAYMENTS

— The Wolf Of All Streets (@scottmelker) December 12, 2025

AMINA’s adoption underscores Ripple’s increasing presence in institutional payments infrastructure, particularly across regions where regulation is strict and technology deployment requires extensive due diligence.

A First for Europe’s Banking Sector

AMINA is not just another financial institution experimenting with blockchain. It is a Swiss-regulated crypto bank headquartered in Zug, operating under the supervision of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). Founded in 2018, the bank has expanded its licensed operations into the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and maintains regulated subsidiaries in Hong Kong under SFC oversight.

The bank becoming the first European institution to go live with Ripple Payments marks a significant shift. European banking is among the most conservative and interconnected in the world. Banks rarely move first unless the technology has passed years of compliance review, risk assessments, operational testing, and governance audits.

AMINA’s approval process is not measured in weeks. It is measured in years. That makes this decision notable not just for Ripple, but for the broader digital asset industry, where many platforms still struggle to earn trust within traditional finance.

By deploying Ripple Payments in active, regulated operations, AMINA effectively sets a precedent. It signals that Ripple’s infrastructure has met the high standards required for governance, auditability, security, liquidity management, and settlement reliability.

A Compliant Bridge Between Fiat and Blockchain

One of the most important aspects of this partnership is its role in reducing friction for crypto-native clients. AMINA’s customer base includes institutions and individuals who need efficient cross-border settlement without the lag and cost of traditional correspondent banking.

Ripple Payments provides a compliant, fast, and resilient bridge between traditional fiat rails and blockchain-based settlement. It removes the operational bottlenecks that typically burden institutions dealing with global flows.

The integration means:

Faster cross-border settlements

Near real-time payment finality

Lower operational overhead

Reduced capital lock-up across jurisdictions

More efficient liquidity management

This is not speculation. It is production-level infrastructure being deployed in a regulated environment.

For crypto-native clients who must move funds efficiently across borders, this solves a major pain point. For the bank, it strengthens operational resilience and reduces the inefficiencies inherent in legacy systems.

Ripple’s Expanding Relationship With AMINA

This integration builds directly on AMINA’s earlier adoption of RLUSD, Ripple’s compliant stablecoin. That partnership laid the foundation for deeper technical collaboration, clearing the path for full Ripple Payments deployment.

Ripple’s global strategy is becoming clearer: build secure, compliant digital asset technology that enables banks, not just fintechs, to operate on blockchain rails. AMINA’s rollout reflects that commitment. It positions Ripple as a serious competitor in the institutional payments sector and reinforces the company’s long-term effort to deliver reliable, regulated financial infrastructure.

Ripple stresses that its focus is on providing secure, compliant, and resilient technology that supports the broader growth of crypto adoption in Europe and globally. AMINA’s deployment pushes that vision forward in concrete terms.

A Turning Point for XRP as a Bridge Asset

Ripple Payments is designed to reduce the capital inefficiency baked into correspondent banking. Traditional cross-border settlement often forces banks to hold pre-funded accounts across multiple jurisdictions. XRP offers a neutral, efficient bridge asset to reduce those liquidity requirements and accelerate settlement.

This development strengthens XRP’s case in institutional finance:

XRP enables atomic settlement

It reduces trapped capital

It improves liquidity optimization

It boosts operational resilience

It functions as a neutral asset between fiat currencies

Banks are not adopting this for hype. They are adopting it because it offers balance sheet efficiency. AMINA’s move shows XRP’s role is no longer theoretical. It has entered real-world, regulated financial infrastructure.

Aligned With Europe’s Regulatory Future

Europe is moving toward stronger, more unified digital asset regulation with frameworks like MiCA. Banks across the continent are preparing for a future where digital assets become part of mainstream financial operations.

AMINA going live with Ripple Payments today indicates confidence that the technology will not only comply with current regulations but remain aligned with regulatory structures that will take effect in the coming years.

This is one of the strongest signals a regulated institution can send. It tells the market that Ripple’s solution is future-proofed within Europe’s tightening regulatory architecture.

Quiet Adoption Is the Real Adoption

The broader significance of AMINA’s deployment is not in the headline. It is in how quietly it happened.

True institutional adoption rarely arrives with noise. It arrives through:

Production deployments

Compliance approval

Regulatory sign-off

Multi-jurisdictional testing

Integration with existing banking architecture

Once a single regulated European bank goes live, the adoption threshold for peers drops dramatically. Legal frameworks become reusable. Technical architectures become replicable. Compliance playbooks become shareable.

In other words, AMINA’s deployment de-risks Ripple Payments for the rest of Europe’s banking sector.

This is how meaningful adoption spreads, gradually, through regulated institutions, and then rapidly as network effects take hold.

The Bottom Line

AMINA Bank AG becoming the first European bank to adopt Ripple Payments is not just another partnership announcement. It is a signal of maturity. It represents years of regulatory, technical, and operational groundwork converging into a live deployment under strict oversight.

It shows Ripple’s infrastructure is ready for regulated banking environments.

It strengthens XRP’s position as a bridge asset.

It validates Europe’s shift toward compliant digital asset adoption.

And it sets a precedent that other banks can follow.

The XRP ecosystem is moving from theory into real financial infrastructure, and AMINA’s decision marks a major step in that transition.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!

The post Ripple Payments Lands First European Bank With AMINA Bank AG appeared first on The Merkle News.

Solana Breakpoint wasn’t just another conference this year. It doubled as a stage for Jupiter to roll out its most aggressive product expansion to date.

The team revealed a coordinated set of upgrades touching lending, stablecoins, data infrastructure, developer tools, and trading execution , plus a major acquisition aimed at reshaping onchain liquidity.

The message is simple and loud: onchain finance is no longer a concept. It’s becoming a full system , and Jupiter wants to sit at the center of it.

With $1.08T in combined spot and perps volume year-to-date, the highest TVL on Solana at $2.7B, more than 34M active wallets, and a full 12-product stack across web, mobile, and API layers, Jupiter believes it’s uniquely positioned to drive the industry’s shift from offchain systems to fully onchain rails.

Breakpoint made that vision feel real. Let’s break down the upgrades one by one.

Jupiter Lend Goes Open Source as Solana’s Fastest-Growing Lending Market

The first reveal was a major one: Jupiter Lend is officially out of beta and now fully open-sourced. And it’s not just another lending app.

The protocol solves a historical problem in DeFi lending , inefficient risk management. Most lending markets can’t liquidate risky positions quickly, so they force borrowers into conservative LTV ratios, which limits capital efficiency.

Jupiter Lend, built with Fluid, takes a different path with tick-based liquidity. Every risky position can be liquidated in a single transaction. That unlocks a smoother UX:

 Highest LTVs in the industry

 Lowest liquidation penalties

 Deep liquidity for lenders

 Reduced volatility in interest rates

And there’s clear market demand. Jupiter Lend became the fastest protocol in Solana’s history to hit $1B in total supply, reaching the milestone in just eight days.

Now open-sourced, the protocol enters its next growth phase with full transparency and a design aimed at scaling across asset types.

JupUSD Is Coming , And It Completes Jupiter’s Full Stablecoin Flywheel

Another breakout moment at Breakpoint was the preview of JupUSD, Jupiter’s upcoming native stablecoin built in collaboration with Ethena.

Stablecoins alone aren’t enough , they need native integration. That’s been the missing link for most issuers.

Jupiter already routes billions in stablecoin volume through swaps, perps, and lending. Adding JupUSD completes the loop. When you control both the stablecoin and the platform where it circulates, you can build protocol-level incentives, unified liquidity, and product-layer synergy.

JupUSD goes live next week, but integrations are already built across Jupiter’s product suite:

 DCA

 Limit orders

 Prediction markets

 And more reward-generating surfaces

What stands out most is the potential revenue impact.

Right now, USDC has $78B in circulation, generating over $8M in daily revenue. Using the same ratio:

 Every $1B of JupUSD issued → $150,000+ in daily revenue

 At $10B supply → roughly $1.5M per day

And with 50% of protocol fees used for buybacks, that means $750,000 per day in buybacks at the $10B supply mark.

That number alone explains why JupUSD is one of Jupiter’s biggest bets yet.

VRFD Expands Into a Full Trusted Data Layer for Solana Tokens

Token data on Solana is a mess. Nearly 30,000 tokens launch every day, most of them scams, duplicates, or metadata errors. For years, builders and traders have been guessing.

Jupiter Verify changed that, quickly becoming the most trusted token verification system in DeFi , powering almost every major wallet, explorer, and terminal.

At Breakpoint, Jupiter pushed the system further with VRFD, a full token-data platform integrated across:

 Jupiter’s main site

 Mobile app

 Pro API

 Developer surfaces

VRFD goes beyond verification. It standardizes token metadata, surfaces high-signal insights, and creates a single trusted index for the entire Solana ecosystem.

After four years of iteration, VRFD now offers:

 The fastest approval flow

 Smart social validation

 Six-signal verification scoring

 Unified metadata consistency

It’s now the default truth layer for token information on Solana.

A Stronger Developer Platform and a More Advanced Trading Terminal

Developers have always used Jupiter’s APIs, but visibility was fragmented. Logs, usage stats, and performance metrics lived in separate tools.

The new Developer Platform fixes that. It consolidates:

 Logs

 Error detection

 Usage insights

 Performance analytics

 Real-time tracking for swaps, quotes, and token data

Builders can now monitor everything in one dashboard and debug with precision , including 429s, 500s, or downtime signals. It’s one of the most complete API toolkits in DeFi.

Jupiter also refreshed its trading terminal.

Built on Ultra v3 , Jupiter’s proprietary end-to-end trading engine , the new terminal is a unified hub for all asset classes with features such as:

 Real-time wallet tracking

 Alphascan’s data across 61+ launchpads

 Developer blacklisting tools

 OCO orders

 Partial fills

It’s a professional-grade terminal built around onchain-first execution.

Breakpoint Special: Pushing Onchain Finance Forward

Onchain finance is the future.

It is fundamentally a better system, with open rails, transparent logic, self-custody as a default, and verifiable rules which apply equally to everyone.

But the transition from off chain to… pic.twitter.com/bEygoA87uX

— Jupiter (🐱, 🐐) (@JupiterExchange) December 11, 2025

Rainfi Acquisition and A Unified Push Toward Onchain Finance

Jupiter closed the event with a major acquisition: Rainfi, the team behind Offer Book , a peer-to-peer liquidity model designed for off-chain, long-tail, and long-duration assets.

Rainfi helps Jupiter move toward a bold goal: a money market for every asset.

Offer Book eliminates price-based liquidations, making lending markets simpler and more transparent. The system goes live in Q1, and it plugs directly into Jupiter Lend’s borrower-first design.

Together with upgrades to the Rewards Hub , now tied to a $1M contribution pool plus referrals , Jupiter has strengthened every layer of its stack: lending, stablecoins, data, developers, execution, incentives, and liquidity.

These aren’t new directions. They’re deliberate upgrades to the systems already powering millions of traders and builders across Solana.

Breakpoint wasn’t just a product showcase. It was a signal. Jupiter is not building tools , it’s building the rails for onchain finance to become the default financial experience.

And with JupUSD on the way, the next phase might be its biggest yet.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!

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CryptoBench just landed. Developed by ChainOpera AI and Princeton AI Lab, under the guidance of Professor Mengdi Wang and her PhD student Jiacheng Gu, it isn’t another benchmark.

It is the benchmark. CryptoBench aims to bridge the gap between academic AI tests and real-world crypto stress. It pushes agents to behave like real crypto analysts, pulling live data, scanning dashboards, and making sharp calls on the fly.

The first benchmark for agents in the crypto industry.

Collaborating with @Princeton Princeton AI Lab (Professor @MengdiWang10 and her PhD student @JiachengGu50887), we've built CryptoBench, the world's first expert-level dynamic benchmark for evaluating LLM Agents in… pic.twitter.com/g9tvKNYCZ9

— ChainOpera AI (@ChainOpera_AI) December 10, 2025

CryptoBench brings a new standard to the crypto world. No trivia. No guessing. Real tasks. Real pressure.

Why The Crypto World Needs It

Crypto moves fast. Liquidations. MEV pressure. Oracle drift. Sudden whale trades. DEX flow. Derivatives swings. Traditional AI benchmarks ignore all that. They ask the same old trivia. They test memory. They don’t test pressure. They don’t test real-world judgement.

Crypto analysts don’t just recall facts. They watch feeds. They interpret context. They respond to volatility. They act when the market folds. They predict. They act again. That kind of work needs tools built to test tools. CryptoBench was built for exactly that.

We needed something real. Something dynamic. Something alive. CryptoBench fills that void.

Inside CryptoBench: How It Works

CryptoBench tests AI agents across four core tasks. Each task mimics something a crypto analyst might do on a given day.

Simple Retrieval, Grab a basic datapoint. Price. Total Value Locked (TVL). Funding rate.

Complex Retrieval, Pull from multiple live feeds. Stitch them together. Provide a cohesive picture.

Simple Prediction, Look at clean inputs. Make a straightforward call. Basic judgement.

Complex Prediction, Think deep. Do multi-step reasoning. Forecast trends. Run scenario analysis. Use context like on-chain flows, DEX activity, MEV signals, and more.

Under the hood, CryptoBench uses 20+ live crypto data sources. On-chain intelligence tools. Market data. DeFi dashboards. DEX flow. Derivatives flow. MEV activity trackers. Everything an analyst might watch.

Then the system rotates variables. Wallets. Assets. Time windows. Every month it ships 50 new questions. Every week it releases a new dataset for evaluation. This keeps the benchmark fresh. Realistic. Unpredictable.

This isn’t a static quiz. It is a rotating, breathing environment. A sandbox and a battle ground.

What CryptoBench Shows Us

The creators tested 10 top AI models, both base LLMs and “SmolAgent” versions tuned for crypto tasks. They ran them through CryptoBench. The result was telling.

The models handled retrieval tasks well. They could fetch prices. Total Value Locked stats. Funding rates. On-chain balances. They could read dashboards. Pull numbers. Summarize them. Solid.

But then came prediction. That’s where most stumbled. Forecast future moves. Assess DeFi risk. Combine signals. Predict trends. Very few got it right. Even the strongest performer, Grok‑4 Web, managed only 44% accuracy on complex prediction tasks.

That gap, between retrieval and reasoning, reveals a deeper truth: raw language-model IQ ≠ real crypto thinking. Memorizing data ≠ understanding markets.

In short: many current AI agents are like students memorizing facts. Few behave like seasoned analysts making high-stakes decisions.

What This Means for Crypto AI

CryptoBench doesn’t just expose weaknesses. It sets a new bar. A real world bar.

For developers: Build beyond retrieval. Focus on reasoning. Context. The messy reality of DeFi. Chains. Oracles. Flows.

For researchers: Use dynamic, live data benchmarks. Static tests won’t cut it. Real agents need real tests.

For investors or traders: Understand that current crypto AI is still early. Pretty UI or flashy claims don’t equal skill. Look for tools that reason. Adapt. Respond.

CryptoBench marks a shift, from toy tests to true stress tests. From passive recall to active thinking. From static benchmarks to dynamic, live simulation.

 The Final Takeaway

Crypto is brutal. Fast. Adversarial. Chaotic. It punishes sloppy reasoning. It rewards quick, sharp thinking.

CryptoBench brings that pressure into AI testing. It demands live data retrieval. It demands complex reasoning. It demands predictions under uncertainty.

And it shows, loud and clear, that most AI today still lacks what it takes. Great at data lookup. Weak at deep reasoning.

CryptoBench is not just a benchmark. It is a wake-up call. A direction. A test for the next generation of real crypto-capable AI agents.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!

The post CryptoBench: AI Meets DeFi, Head-On appeared first on The Merkle News.

Binance is expanding its stablecoin strategy again. The exchange has confirmed it will launch new USD1 trading pairs and convert all Binance-Peg BUSD collateral into USD1.

The move marks one of the largest stablecoin migrations on the platform since Binance shifted away from BUSD earlier this year.

The announcement arrives as the exchange continues tightening its stablecoin infrastructure and boosting USD1’s presence across spot markets. The update was first shared publicly through industry channels and later amplified by major market watchers, including this post from World Liberty Financial:

🦅☝️MAJOR WLFI MOMENT☝️🦅

Massive expansion of USD1 utility on @binance

✅ New Spot Pairs Available: BNB/USD1, ETH/USD1, and SOL/USD1✅ Zero Fees for All Users: 0% fees on USD1/USDT and USD1/USDC✅ Zero Fees for VIP2-9: 0% fees on BNB/USD1, BTC/USD1, ETH/USD1, and SOL/USD1…

— WLFI (@worldlibertyfi) December 10, 2025

New USD1 Trading Pairs Go Live December 11

Binance is adding fresh spot trading pairs for the exchange’s biggest assets. The new markets , BNB/USD1, ETH/USD1, and SOL/USD1, will open for trading at 16:00 (UTC+8) on December 11, 2025.

The exchange is also enabling trading bot services, including spot algorithmic order tools, for these pairs at launch. That makes USD1 one of the fastest-expanding stablecoins in terms of supported automated trading functionality.

The choice of assets is not random. BNB, ETH, and SOL remain among the most actively traded on Binance, and attaching USD1 pairs to them increases liquidity routing while creating deeper stable-based markets for high-volume traders. The exchange has already done similar rollouts for other major assets, but the USD1 expansion reflects a clear strategic push.

Zero-Fee Trading Widens USD1 Adoption

Alongside the new pairs, Binance is rolling out an aggressive zero-fee structure designed to push USD1 deeper into daily trading flows. The platform confirmed the following fee policies:

 0% fees for all users on USD1/USDT and USD1/USDC

 0% fees for VIP2-VIP9 users on BNB/USD1, BTC/USD1, ETH/USD1, and SOL/USD1

This creates a cost advantage for traders choosing USD1 over other stablecoins. For retail users, fee-free conversion between USD1 and leading stables removes friction. For higher-tier traders, zero-fee access to major crypto/USD1 markets boosts arbitrage potential and deepens professional liquidity.

Binance has historically used zero-fee incentives as a mechanism to strengthen liquidity in early-stage or priority markets. The same strategy accelerated its dominance in BTC/USDT trading and later BTC/TUSD markets. Now the exchange appears to be repeating the model with USD1.

Binance-Peg BUSD Collateral Will Convert to USD1

The most consequential update is the full conversion of Binance-Peg BUSD collateral assets into USD1.

Binance states the conversion will occur automatically at a 1:1 ratio. The process will be completed within one week of the announcement. Afterward, users will be able to track all conversion details through the B-Token Proof of Collateral page by searching for “BUSD.”

This move effectively winds down the last major internal component of the BUSD system still operating on Binance. Since Paxos halted BUSD issuance, the exchange has gradually phased out the product across trading, lending, and collateral ecosystems. Converting collateral removes a key backend dependency and makes USD1 the default settlement asset in several internal systems.

For users, nothing changes functionally in terms of balances or access. But for the exchange’s risk and liquidity teams, the consolidation simplifies collateral management and aligns Binance with its long-term stablecoin strategy.

USD1 Solidifies Its Position on the Exchange

The cumulative effect is clear: USD1 is now a core infrastructure asset on Binance.

Between new trading pairs, zero-fee incentives, and the backend migration from BUSD to USD1, Binance is building a stablecoin framework that centers on USD1 instead of third-party alternatives.

This also aligns with global regulatory shifts. Many jurisdictions now expect exchanges to maintain clearer backing structures, real-time collateral visibility, and consistent reporting. Centralizing around USD1, an asset for which Binance can design standardized transparency flows, gives the platform greater operational control.

Market analysts expect the shift to strengthen USD1’s usage across derivatives, liquidity pools, and automated trading systems in the coming months. With BUSD off the table, USD1 now becomes the anchor for future stablecoin-related expansions on the platform.

What This Means for Binance Users and the Market

For traders, the advantages are immediate. More pairs. More liquidity. Zero-fee routing. And deeper interoperability with algorithmic trading tools.

For institutional desks, USD1’s standardized framework reduces risk and increases transparency around collateral mechanics.

For the broader market, this shift signals the end of BUSD’s era and the rise of USD1 as the new central stablecoin on the world’s largest exchange. Binance has spent most of 2025 restructuring its asset operations, and this update shows the direction is now firmly set.

With USD1 positioned at the center of Binance’s infrastructure, and the last BUSD components being sunset, the exchange is creating a more streamlined stablecoin ecosystem. The expansion of trading pairs and collateral support makes the transition smoother and prepares Binance for a new phase of stablecoin-driven liquidity.

As adoption grows and fee-free trading accelerates inflows, USD1 is likely to become one of the most used stablecoins across spot and algorithmic markets. Binance’s latest update confirms the exchange is backing USD1 as the foundation of its next-generation trading environment.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!

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The Polygon PoS network has activated the Madhugiri Hardfork at block 80,084,800 around 10:00 UTC, marking another major step in the chain’s aggressive scaling roadmap.

The upgrade arrives months after the Bhilai milestone, which helped the network break 1,000+ transactions per second, and now pushes throughput well beyond that threshold.

The next leap toward an institutional-grade, global money network is here.

Meet the Madhugiri Hardfork, now live on Polygon:• adjustable blocktimes• increased stability via faster consensus• higher throughput by 33%• stronger Ethereum-grade security via Fusaka support pic.twitter.com/ozWEw2Asqm

— Polygon | POL (@0xPolygon) December 9, 2025

Polygon shared the activation update on X, confirming smooth network progression.

Throughput Pushes Toward 1,400 TPS

Early benchmarks coming in from node operators show the network running at an observed 1,400 TPS, representing one of the highest sustained rates yet on Polygon PoS.

The upgrade also expands block gas capacity, with the project communicating a gradual configuration path toward 60 million gas per block. While the full transition will be phased, developers say the new parameters are already helping the network handle denser traffic loads without introducing instability.

In addition, several Fusaka-aligned Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) are now live in production environments. These changes form part of Polygon’s long-term plan to remain synchronized with Ethereum’s evolving security architecture while still optimizing for performance under high-load activity.

Validator and node operator feedback indicates no syncing issues, no consensus stalls, and no significant propagation delays since activation, suggesting the hardfork landed cleanly.

What the Madhugiri Hardfork Introduces

The highlight feature of Madhugiri is its shift to a 1-second consensus timing model. For the first time, Polygon PoS can now adjust its block interval without requiring future hardforks. That flexibility becomes crucial as the network’s throughput targets increase.

The hardfork also introduces canonical inclusion of StateSync transactions, ensuring these system-level messages follow a standardized verification flow. This reduces fragmentation across nodes, speeds up syncing processes, and helps new nodes align with the chain state much faster.

Another major change is the application of ModExp-related security constraints. These constraints reduce computational overload vectors that attackers could exploit, while keeping costs predictable for legitimate computation-heavy operations.

Madhugiri also enforces stricter transaction gas caps, preventing single transactions from consuming disproportionate block resources. This protects users from unpredictable fee spikes and ensures block space is shared more evenly during high-traffic periods.

Technical Significance for Polygon’s Scaling Model

The Madhugiri Hardfork is the latest phase in a long-standing modernization effort. Over the past year, Polygon has implemented a layered set of upgrades aimed at improving efficiency without disrupting the network’s large user base.

Madhugiri continues several architectural priorities:

Reinforcing the PoS chain’s scaling backbone, introduced during earlier upgrades like Bhilai.

Increasing operational resilience as the chain moves toward higher-load environments common in gaming, payments, and global consumer applications.

Aligning with Ethereum’s Fusaka upgrade, which shipped security improvements around computational constraints and verification efficiency.

Together, these updates widen Polygon’s throughput ceiling, reduce bottlenecks at the consensus layer, and establish a more flexible block-production environment suitable for future congestion peaks.

Activation and Validator Requirement

Polygon confirms that all validators must run Bor client v2.5.x or higher to remain in consensus after the fork. As with previous upgrades, regular users do not need to take any action.

The network is reporting full stability following activation. No mismatches, rollbacks, or missed checkpoints have been observed. Block explorers and third-party infrastructure providers have also completed their compatibility confirmations.

Developers monitoring the chain say the improvement in consensus timing and StateSync processing is already noticeable in how new nodes catch up, especially under simulated load tests.

Next Steps in the Scaling Roadmap

The Polygon PoS team calls Madhugiri another foundation layer in the chain’s broader strategy. As workloads on L2s expand, the chain is preparing for more aggressive throughput demands, particularly from real-time applications, global payment rails, and large gaming ecosystems.

The planned move toward a 60M gas per block configuration is expected to roll out gradually over upcoming releases. Meanwhile, developers will monitor throughput performance at the 1,400 TPS mark as they test the network’s behavior under higher-stress activity.

With Fusaka-aligned EIPs now active, Polygon PoS remains synced with Ethereum’s evolving security architecture. Combined with its new consensus timing flexibility, Madhugiri positions the chain to handle the next wave of performance-heavy decentralized applications.

Polygon’s update post on X highlights the network’s continued focus on predictable upgrades and stable operations throughout the transition.

The next leap toward an institutional-grade, global money network is here.

Meet the Madhugiri Hardfork, now live on Polygon:• adjustable blocktimes• increased stability via faster consensus• higher throughput by 33%• stronger Ethereum-grade security via Fusaka support pic.twitter.com/ozWEw2Asqm

— Polygon | POL (@0xPolygon) December 9, 2025

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!

The post Madhugiri Hardfork Goes Live on Polygon PoS, Pushing Network Toward High-Load Scalability appeared first on The Merkle News.

Circle is making a bold move. The company partners with privacy-focused blockchain Aleo to launch USDCx, a stablecoin designed with privacy at its core.

Aleo co-founder Howard Wu explains the goal clearly , USDCx enables hidden transaction records and invisible asset flows. It aims for bank-level confidentiality, especially for institutional settlements and large-value transfers.

In a market where every stablecoin transaction sits openly on a public ledger, this shift stands out. Circle is signaling that privacy is no longer optional. It is becoming a required feature for serious financial applications. USDCx arrives as a response to that demand.

Aleo has launched USDCx on Aleo Testnet via Circle xReserve, a USDC-backed stablecoin for its privacy-first blockchain infrastructure.

USDCx on @AleoHQ enables a range of use cases including global payroll, critical aid distribution, global e-commerce, P2P payments &… pic.twitter.com/4fVzwUgu9z

— Circle (@circle) December 9, 2025

Built on Aleo’s Privacy Infrastructure

Aleo launches USDCx on Aleo Testnet, using Circle xReserve as the foundation. The design is simple and trust-focused. Each USDCx token is 1:1 backed by USDC held in xReserve , no fractional reserve, no expanded supply, and no hidden mechanics.

USDCx also stays fully interoperable with regular USDC across all supported chains. That means a user can move value between public and privacy-enabled environments without breaking denomination or liquidity. And the biggest advantage: it removes the need for third-party bridges. This is a major improvement for security. Bridges have historically been some of the riskiest points in crypto systems. Removing them shifts control back to the user and the protocol itself.

Aleo provides the environment for private computation, private transaction proofs, and zero-knowledge settlement. Circle brings the stablecoin liquidity and trust. Together, the two systems create a settlement rail that behaves like money , but doesn’t leak information.

Private Payments for Real-World Use Cases

USDCx is not another experiment in DeFi engineering. It is built for real-world payments where privacy is essential.

Aleo highlights several core use cases:

Global payroll – Companies paying remote teams can now keep salary details private.

Critical aid distribution – Organizations can send relief funds without exposing recipient identities.

Global e-commerce – Merchants can accept stablecoins without letting competitors track their transaction volume.

P2P payments and remittances – Friends and families transfer money privately, without exposing amounts or frequency.

DeFi – Users can lend, borrow, or provide liquidity with private balances and private transactions.

Configurable compliance – Institutions can selectively reveal transaction history when required, without exposing the entire flow.

These use cases show why privacy is becoming important. Public blockchains expose too much information. Every payroll. Every vendor payment. Every donation. Every personal transfer. All visible forever.

With USDCx, only the proof of validity is public , not the transaction details. That difference unlocks scenarios traditional stablecoins simply can’t support.

Key Benefits: Backing, Interoperability, and Trust Minimization

Circle outlines three core advantages of USDCx on Aleo:

1. 1:1 Backed by USDC in Circle xReserve

The peg is simple. For every USDCx on Aleo, there is an equal amount of USDC held in reserve. This mirrors the existing model that made USDC a trusted stablecoin.

2. Fully Interoperable With USDC Across Supported Chains

USDCx doesn’t fragment liquidity. Users and institutions can move between chains while keeping the same stablecoin denomination. Privacy becomes an optional layer, not a separate ecosystem.

3. No Third-Party Bridges Required

The design eliminates one of the biggest attack vectors in crypto. Instead of relying on bridge operators, the token remains native and backed by Circle itself.

These features make USDCx distinct. It is not a separate token economy. It is USDC itself , with a privacy wrapper enabled by Aleo.

Market Reaction and What Comes Next

Aleo is already moving higher as the market reacts to Circle’s announcement. It’s a clear sign that privacy is becoming a serious direction for stablecoin development. This is not a niche experiment. It feels like a preview of where the industry is heading.

Confidential payments are gaining momentum. Users want stable value without public exposure. Institutions want blockchain settlement without leaving sensitive financial trails open to competitors. Aid organizations want distribution without risk.

Circle choosing Aleo confirms that demand exists. And that demand is growing.

If the model proves itself , strong backing, strong privacy, strong interoperability , it could push the entire market toward a privacy-first stablecoin era. That shift would have major consequences for global payments. Payroll. Commerce. Remittances. Business-to-business flows. All could migrate to stablecoins that behave like digital cash, not public receipts.

The move also hints at something bigger. It shows stablecoins evolving. First they solved volatility. Then they solved liquidity. Now they are solving privacy. The next wave of digital finance could be built around tokens like USDCx , tokens that act privately by default but remain auditable when needed.

Circle’s announcement aligns with this direction. Aleo’s infrastructure accelerates it. If USDCx succeeds on Aleo Testnet, it could open the door for broader deployment. More chains. More integrations. More real-world adoption.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!

The post Circle and Aleo Introduce USDCx as Privacy Becomes the New Stablecoin Frontier appeared first on The Merkle News.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is having a breakout year. While most major Layer-1 tokens remain underwater, BCH is pulling away from the pack.

According to data shared by Crypto Koryo, only four L1 assets are positive this year, BCH, BNB, HYPE, and TRX, and BCH leads them all with a nearly 40% gain.

$bch is the best performing l1 coin of the year.

they don't even have an official twitter account.

here might be few reasons why:supply side:1/ entire supply is circulating. no unlocks 2/ no foundation, vcs dumping

demand side:1/ potential etf 2/ one the most liquid… pic.twitter.com/wi5CFgZ7sS

— Crypto Koryo (@CryptoKoryo) December 7, 2025

It’s a surprising move in a market where attention rarely stays on older chains. But BCH is proving something simple: sometimes the strongest performer is the one with the cleanest supply, stable demand, and no hidden overhead.

In a cycle dominated by talk of “the next big L1,” BCH is quietly outperforming every competitor with almost no marketing, no hype machine, and not even an official Twitter account.

A Clean Supply Structure With Zero Sell Pressure

One of the biggest factors behind BCH’s strength is its supply structure.

It’s simple. It’s clean. And investors love that.

BCH has:

 100% circulating supply

 No unlock schedule

 No foundation treasury waiting to sell

 No VC allocations

This makes BCH one of the few major L1s with no structural sell pressure.

Most newer chains still face heavy token unlocks. Their foundations hold large treasuries. VCs sit on early allocations that eventually hit the market. Every unlock wave puts downward pressure on price, and traders know it.

BCH avoids all of this.

The entire supply already trades freely. There are no cliffs, no vesting events, no silent backers waiting for liquidity. Every move in price comes from actual market demand, not from supply dumping into rallies.

This alone sets BCH apart in 2025.

New Demand Drivers: ETF Speculation + Liquidity Appeal

On the demand side, BCH is picking up momentum from two key themes.

1. ETF Speculation

There is growing speculation about a potential BCH exchange-traded product. Nothing is confirmed. But the possibility alone has pushed traders to explore assets with regulatory lanes already established. BCH fits that profile.

Bitcoin Cash has existed since 2017 and maintains a consistent track record with U.S. exchanges. This makes it one of the “cleaner” candidates should institutions ever pursue a broader set of crypto ETFs.

Even early speculation can attract capital, especially in a cycle where traders are looking for assets with narratives outside of high-risk L1 launches.

2. High Liquidity + Low Volatility

BCH is also one of the more liquid L1 assets. Its volatility is modest compared to many majors.

This combination makes BCH an appealing option for:

 funds seeking beta exposure

 systematic strategies

 liquidity-driven trading models

 accounts looking for low-slippage movement

Liquid assets with predictable trading ranges often become quiet winners during uncertain market cycles. BCH fits that mold perfectly.

Bch Outperforms Majors: ETH, SOL, AVAX, ADA, DOT struggle

Crypto Koryo notes that while BCH is up nearly 40% this year, many leading L1s remain deep in the red:

 Ethereum (ETH)

 Solana (SOL)

 Avalanche (AVAX)

 Cardano (ADA)

 Polkadot (DOT)

These chains still face ongoing dilution through unlocks, foundation spending, and ecosystem incentives. Their token economies remain tied to heavy emissions, and markets are punishing that model right now.

BCH’s fully-circulating supply becomes a major contrast. No dilution. No emissions. No scheduled dumps.

This is exactly why it’s outperforming in 2025.

“The Best-performing L1 Of The Year”, With Zero Marketing

Crypto Koryo points out something remarkable:

BCH is the best-performing L1 of 2025 and the project doesn’t even have an official Twitter account.

While newer L1s spend heavily on marketing, influencer networks, hackathons, and ecosystem incentives, BCH’s narrative is growing entirely from organic trading flow. It’s price-led attention, not attention-led price.

In an industry where every project tries to manufacture hype, BCH is winning without trying.

No VC backing.

No foundation campaigns.

No glossy rebranding.

Just supply and demand doing exactly what they should.

Why This Move Feels “Clean” To Traders

Traders love BCH’s current setup for one reason: there’s no one left to dump on you.

That line from the original thread sums up the psychology driving this rally.

Newer L1 tokens tend to trade like leveraged VC products. Big unlocks crush every pump. Foundation treasuries create predictable selling zones. Incentive programs expand supply faster than users expand demand.

BCH avoids all of it.

When a token has full circulating supply and no hidden overhang, price movement becomes “clean.” A rally isn’t being sold into by early investors. A breakout isn’t capped by vesting cliffs. The chart reflects real demand.

That’s exactly what BCH is showing this year.

A Mature Asset Benefiting From A Maturing Market

Crypto cycles usually favor new narratives. But 2025 is different.

Investors are more cautious. Liquidity is smarter.

The market is rewarding:

 stable liquidity

 predictable supply

 proven assets

 lower risk profiles

 clean tokenomics

This environment naturally pushes capital toward assets like BCH. The same way BTC benefits from predictable issuance and low dilution, BCH benefits from its fully non-dilutive structure.

It becomes a “safe” L1 bet in a market still recovering from high-risk speculative excess.

The Quiet Lesson Of Bch’s Rally

BCH’s performance this year teaches a simple lesson:

In a cycle obsessed with finding the next Solana, sometimes the strongest trade is the asset with no supply landmines.

BCH doesn’t promise the next generation of L1 technology.

It doesn’t claim to be the fastest or most innovative.

It doesn’t need a massive ecosystem push.

It just has clean tokenomics, steady liquidity, and fresh demand, and in 2025, that’s enough to outperform every major L1 in the market.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!

The post Bitcoin Cash Emerges As The Best-performing L1 Of 2025 appeared first on The Merkle News.

The Canton Network has officially gone live with USDCx, a USDC-backed stablecoin powered by Circle’s xReserve.

The launch marks the first integration of Circle’s new reserve framework and gives institutions a way to access cross-chain USDC liquidity while retaining privacy, atomic settlement, and interoperability across Canton’s regulated ecosystem.

With USDCx now available through Canton apps and service providers, businesses gain a settlement asset built for private, multi-party workflows, without relying on third-party bridges or fragmented liquidity. The launch positions Canton as a leading environment for next-generation financial infrastructure.

A New Settlement Standard: USDCx Arrives With 1:1 Backing and Interoperability

At the core of the rollout is Circle’s xReserve, a reserve ledger that holds USDC backing USDCx at a strict 1:1 ratio. This ensures that every USDCx token is fully redeemable and synchronized with the broader USDC ecosystem across supported chains.

Unlike stablecoins locked behind siloed bridges, USDCx is designed to be fully interoperable with USDC. That means liquidity moves seamlessly across environments, without added layers of trust or complex bridging mechanisms.

Circle describes USDCx as “USDC-backed digital cash with configurable privacy.” Canton delivers that privacy at the chain level, allowing participants to transact using confidential settlement channels while maintaining compliance and auditability.

This makes USDCx a significant upgrade over traditional stablecoin models, especially for enterprises that require precise control, confidentiality, and real-time settlement.

Canton Becomes the First Chain to Integrate xReserve

Canton is the first blockchain to integrate directly with Circle’s xReserve and launch USDCx as an onchain settlement asset. It’s a major milestone for the network, which has spent the last two years building a privacy-enabled, interoperability-first ecosystem aimed at institutions, financial markets, and enterprise-grade blockchain adoption.

Canton specializes in privacy-preserving execution, atomic settlement, and multi-app composability. Those features are central to the rollout:

USDCx behaves like USDC, but with the privacy, control, and deterministic settlement that only Canton’s architecture provides.

The integration shows how Circle is positioning USDC for enterprise-grade adoption, while Canton positions itself as the modular financial infrastructure layer connecting global markets.

USDCx on @CantonNetwork is now available via Circle xReserve, a USDC-backed stablecoin with seamless access to crosschain USDC liquidity.

With USDCx on Canton, businesses and users unlock seamless atomic settlement of tokenized assets, privacy-preserving payments, and… pic.twitter.com/1b3JF17bsU

— Circle (@circle) December 4, 2025

Why USDCx Matters: Settlement, Privacy, and Cross-Chain Cash

The arrival of USDCx brings several major advantages to the Canton ecosystem:

1. Atomic Settlement Across Asset Classes

Canton’s architecture allows USDCx to settle against tokenized assets with atomic guarantees. This applies to tokenized:

 bonds

 repos

 alternatives

 wrapped Bitcoin

 DeFi instruments

Institutions can execute across asset classes 24/7 with deterministic finality and “need-to-know” privacy.

2. Privacy-Preserving Payments

USDCx enables confidential onchain payments, including:

 corporate payroll

 B2B payouts

 cross-border treasury flows

Payments become instantaneous, programmable, and private, solving one of the biggest barriers to institutional blockchain adoption.

3. Interoperable Digital Cash for Multi-Party Workflows

USDCx is not a siloed asset. It’s powered by the Canton Token Standard, meaning it works across apps, assets, and networks within Canton and maintains interoperability with USDC on other supported blockchains.

This enables multi-party finance workflows such as:

 clearing and settlement

 collateral mobility

 OTC trade settlement

 escrow and fund administration

All with synchronized liquidity to USDC elsewhere in the ecosystem.

Unlocking 24/7 Markets and Real-Time Collateral Mobility

The broader vision behind USDCx is the transition to always-on markets, where financial institutions operate without the constraints of traditional settlement rails.

USDCx supports:

 round-the-clock settlement

 instant collateral movement

 real-time risk management

 automated clearing between multiple participants

Canton’s unique design lets every application maintain privacy while still sharing a synchronized global state where necessary, a critical requirement for real-time financial operations.

The result is an environment where assets, liquidity, and counterparties can interact without exposing sensitive data or relying on intermediaries.

Institutional Adoption Begins: Apps and Participants at Launch

USDCx is live today, with support across multiple Canton-native applications, wallets, and ecosystem participants. Launch partners include:

 Bron Wallet (@bronwallet)

 CertiK (@CertiK)

 Cantor8t (@cantor8t)

 Dfns (@dfnsHQ)

 DRW Trading (@DRWTrading)

 Digital Asset (@digitalassetcom)

 G20

 HydraX

 IMC Trading (@IMCTrading)

 QCP Group (@QCPgroup)

 Send (@Send)

 Temple (@temple_ny)

 Canton Loop (@canton_loop)

The mix spans trading firms, market infrastructure providers, crypto security leaders, custodians, and enterprise blockchain developers. It signals a coordinated move toward institutional-grade digital cash, running on a privacy-first chain.

USDCx Enables a New Architecture for Onchain Finance

The launch of USDCx on Canton is more than a new token. It’s a shift in how institutions interact with stablecoins and settlement networks.

The combination of:

 audited reserves

 cross-chain USDC interoperability

 privacy-preserving execution

 atomic settlement

 multi-party composability

creates a settlement layer that both enterprises and market participants can use at scale.

USDCx introduces the kind of digital cash needed for tokenized markets to operate globally, without exposing sensitive flows or sacrificing regulatory expectations.

It’s the type of system institutions have been waiting for: programmable, private, synchronized, and built for full lifecycle financial operations.

A Step Toward Global, Private Onchain Markets

With USDCx now live, Canton and Circle have opened the door to a new settlement model, one where digital cash moves across chains, across applications, and across markets without bridge risks or privacy leaks.

It pushes onchain finance closer to a world where:

 settlement never closes

 collateral moves instantly

 payments remain private

 multi-party trades finalize atomically

 liquidity stays unified across networks

The move signals a clear direction for institutional blockchain adoption: privacy, interoperability, composability, and compliance, without sacrificing the speed and programmability of crypto.

USDCx is the first step. The global onchain financial stack is beginning to take shape.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!

The post USDCx Goes Live on Canton Network, Unlocking Private, Cross-Chain USDC Settlement appeared first on The Merkle News.

MetaMask has rolled out one of its most significant feature integrations to date: MetaMask Prediction Markets, built directly into the MetaMask Mobile app and powered by Polymarket, one of the leading platforms in the sector.

The new feature makes onchain prediction trading faster, easier, and accessible to millions of existing MetaMask users. It brings curated markets, one-click funding, seamless onboarding, and MetaMask Rewards into a single mobile-native environment.

MetaMask Prediction Markets are LIVE. 🔮

The fastest, easiest way to make onchain predictions – powered by @polymarket, now built natively into MetaMask Mobile.

Trade the world’s biggest questions, on the go, all inside the wallet you trust. 🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/MklOXMUe1H

— MetaMask.eth 🦊 (@MetaMask) December 4, 2025

With prediction markets hitting record-high volume in November, the timing of this release could not be more strategic. MetaMask is aiming to make onchain predictions a mainstream activity, all from inside the most trusted wallet in Web3.

A Native Experience: Prediction Markets Inside MetaMask Mobile

The integration is not an add-on or a link-out. MetaMask Prediction Markets are built natively into MetaMask Mobile, beginning with version v7.60. Users can open the app and enter markets directly from the interface they already use for swaps, staking, and wallet management.

MetaMask’s announcement emphasizes simplicity above all else:

 1-click funding using any EVM token

 Under 5 seconds mobile onboarding

 Curated, high-quality markets

 Automatic MetaMask Rewards

By bringing Polymarket’s market infrastructure into the wallet, MetaMask is removing the friction that has historically limited prediction market participation. No bridging. No new app setup. No complicated onboarding. Just pick a market, fund it, and trade.

MetaMask calls it “the fastest, easiest way to make onchain predictions.” The design backs that promise.

Polymarket is officially LIVE in the @MetaMask mobile app.

Introducing MetaMask Prediction Markets — powered by Polymarket.

The future of prediction markets, now in your wallet. pic.twitter.com/9Kcm19w1NW

— Polymarket (@Polymarket) December 4, 2025

Powered by Polymarket: Trading the World’s Biggest Questions

Polymarket, which already ranks among the top prediction platforms globally, now powers the market engine inside MetaMask. Users gain access to Polymarket’s liquidity, market creation, and pricing mechanisms, but experience it entirely through the MetaMask interface.

This gives traders exposure to the “world’s biggest questions,” including:

 global politics

 sports

 cultural events

 crypto trends

 real-world market outcomes

All of it, on the go, inside a mobile wallet used by tens of millions of people.

MetaMask’s choice to integrate Polymarket signals recognition of the platform’s leadership and reliability in the prediction ecosystem. For Polymarket, it represents massive distribution, possibly the largest onboarding funnel prediction markets have ever seen.

A Breakout Month for Prediction Markets: $14.3B in Volume

The launch also comes as prediction markets continue to surge in user activity and transaction volume. November set a new all-time high with $14.3 billion in market volume, a 54% increase compared to October.

At a time when many crypto sectors are struggling to retain engagement, prediction markets stand out as a clear exception. According to recent data:

 Kalshi led the month with $5.8B

 Polymarket followed with $4.3B

 Opinion Labs reported $4.2B

The sector’s momentum has been building throughout 2024 and 2025, but November’s spike represents the strongest month yet.

MetaMask’s integration taps directly into this trend. It positions the wallet at the center of a fast-growing sector while lowering the barrier for millions of new users to enter prediction markets for the first time.

The Mobile Advantage: Fast, Familiar, and Low-Friction

A defining element of the rollout is MetaMask’s emphasis on mobile. The wallet has leaned heavily into mobile usage over the past year, integrating swaps, buying options, and rewards to align with how many users now interact with crypto daily.

Prediction markets fit this pattern perfectly. Most trading decisions in this sector are time-sensitive, news-driven, and reactive. Doing it all from the phone makes the experience natural and frictionless.

The features come together to deliver a fast mobile-first workflow:

1-click funding from any EVM token

No need to swap manually. MetaMask routes funding instantly.

 <5-second onboarding

Prediction market access loads immediately with no additional steps.

Curated, high-quality markets

MetaMask pulls from Polymarket’s strongest, most active markets.

MetaMask Rewards baked in

Users earn loyalty rewards as they trade, similar to MetaMask’s swap rewards program.

The UX focus is clear: remove every barrier and streamline every step.

MetaMask Strengthens Its Position as Web3’s Primary Consumer Hub

MetaMask has spent the last two years expanding beyond simple wallet functionality. The addition of:

 MetaMask Staking

 MetaMask Buy

 MetaMask Snaps

 MetaMask Bridge

 MetaMask Learn

 MetaMask Rewards

has turned the platform into an all-in-one Web3 engagement layer.

The prediction market integration further solidifies MetaMask as the default consumer entry point for onchain activity.

Instead of predicting through a separate platform, users can now:

 trade markets

 earn rewards

 manage funds

 swap tokens

 track portfolios

All without leaving the MetaMask app.

It’s a consolidation strategy, one aligned with MetaMask’s goal of becoming the universal portal for everyday crypto interactions.

Prediction Markets Move Toward Mainstream Adoption

Prediction markets have long been one of crypto’s most compelling use cases, offering direct market signals on real-world outcomes. But the UX has often been complex, especially for retail users.

MetaMask’s integration may be the bridge that finally brings prediction markets into the mainstream. By embedding them directly inside the wallet that millions already use, it removes one of the sector’s biggest bottlenecks: onboarding friction.

Users no longer need to ask:

“Which platform should I use?”

“How do I deposit?”

“What token do I need?”

“Is this app safe?”

MetaMask answers all of these automatically.

A New Phase for Onchain Predictions

With prediction markets hitting record numbers and MetaMask now providing the easiest entry point in the ecosystem, the sector is entering a new adoption phase.

This integration does three things at once:

 boosts Polymarket’s reach

 expands MetaMask’s functionality

 accelerates mainstream visibility for prediction markets

It blends the trust and accessibility of MetaMask with the market depth and speed of Polymarket.

Prediction markets were already growing. Now, they’re becoming mobile-native, wallet-native, and easier than ever to use.

To access this feature, ensure you’re on the latest version of MetaMask Mobile (v7.60) and start predicting.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!

The post MetaMask Launches Native Prediction Markets Powered by Polymarket appeared first on The Merkle News.

TRON ended November as the top blockchain by fees, extending its dominance in payment infrastructure and stablecoin settlement.

Despite experiencing its lowest fee revenue since January 2023, the chain still outperformed every major competitor, signaling strong real-world usage and accelerating adoption.

Data shows TRON generated $29.4 million in fees for November, ahead of Ethereum’s $22.8 million and Solana’s $19.9 million. The numbers underline a shift happening across crypto: users are favouring cheaper, faster networks for day-to-day transactions, particularly stablecoin transfers.

Tron is the top chain by fees in November.

Tron generated $29.4M in fees, it’s the lowest level since January 2023, but still higher than any other chain.

Ethereum ($22.8M) and Solana ($19.9M) follow closely behind.

Interestingly, 84% of Tron’s fees come from USDT transfers. pic.twitter.com/X1pgSkRgpJ

— CryptoRank.io (@CryptoRank_io) December 2, 2025

And on TRON, the trend is overwhelming.

84% of TRON’s fees come from USDT alone.

TRON’s Stablecoin Engine Continues to Grow

TRON has quietly become the backbone of global USDT movement. Over the past year, it has consistently processed the majority of Tether’s on-chain circulation, now keeping a firm hold over stablecoin transfers worldwide.

New network stats show how significant its footprint has become:

 350 million total accounts crossed

 $23 trillion in total transactions processed

 Physical goods purchases via USDT up 64% in Q3

These metrics point to something larger than blockchain speculation. TRON is increasingly being used for real commerce. The surge in physical goods purchases reflects stablecoins growing into a primary payment tool, especially in emerging markets where banking infrastructure struggles to keep up.

🔥 NEW: TRON has officially surpassed 350M total accounts. pic.twitter.com/4MzzUmJUq8

— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) December 3, 2025

CryptoRank and other analytics platforms say the data strongly suggests payment infrastructure adoption is accelerating, and TRON is at the centre of it.

Perpetual DEX Boom Reaches TRON With Massive Growth

Another major trend is reshaping the TRON ecosystem, the rapid expansion of on-chain perpetuals.

Perp DEX activity has been one of the most explosive growth sectors in crypto this year, and TRON has now joined that momentum. In November, perpetual trading volume on TRON hit an astonishing $9.078 billion, marking a 271% jump compared to October.

This sharp rise shows derivative traders are shifting to TRON for several practical and competitive reasons:

 Extremely fast processing speeds

 Near-zero transaction fees

 Deep liquidity from the largest USDT supply in crypto

 Highly efficient execution for leverage trading

The network’s stablecoin liquidity is especially important. With billions in USDT circulating on TRON, traders can open long and short positions, deploy leverage, and execute trades in near real-time with minimal cost.

For active traders, these factors are critical, especially during volatile market swings when execution delays or high fees can make or break a strategy.

TRON’s Evolution: From Stablecoin Rails to Derivatives Hub

The surge in perpetuals volume indicates a larger shift underway. TRON is expanding beyond being simply a “railway” for global stablecoins.

It is becoming a full on-chain derivatives trading hub, one where traders operate 24/7, accessing deep liquidity pools and ultra-low-cost infrastructure.

Xu hướng Perp dex lan rộng đến @trondao

Sự bùng nổ của Perp dex là điểm sáng trong những tháng vừa qua của market và trên TRON cũng vậy, trong tháng 11, khối lượng giao dịch perps trên TRON đã đạt mức 9.078B$, tăng tới 271% so với tháng 10

Điều này cho… pic.twitter.com/Ra6ln5rWB6

— Danh Tran (@danhtran68) December 3, 2025

This evolution is significant for several reasons:

1. It solidifies TRON’s role in real financial infrastructure

TRON’s network is no longer just moving stablecoins. It’s now facilitating sophisticated trading strategies and advanced financial operations at scale.

2. It showcases the chain’s practical advantages

High throughput, extremely low fees, and a proven track record in stability are attracting more than just remittance users.

3. It increases TRON’s competitiveness

Ethereum still leads in DeFi innovation. Solana leads in speed. But TRON is becoming the chain for high-frequency, low-cost, high-liquidity activity, especially in stablecoins and derivatives.

As more traders migrate to cost-efficient environments, TRON’s user base and transaction volume are likely to keep expanding.

4. It highlights TRON’s shift toward utility-based adoption

TRON’s growth is driven by daily real-world use, payments, trading, transfers, not speculative hype cycles.

Why TRON Keeps Dominating Fees Despite Market Fluctuations

Even with its November fee revenue hitting the lowest level since early 2023, TRON still ended the month ahead of every other chain. This shows two things:

 Stablecoin usage on TRON remains extremely sticky

 Users choose reliability and low friction above all

Ethereum still dominates institutional-grade DeFi and high-value settlements. Solana leads in high-speed applications. But TRON’s role is clearer than ever:

 It’s the global settlement layer for billions in stablecoin value, used daily.

USDT transfers remain the single most utilized blockchain action on TRON, accounting for 84% of all fees. That type of concentration is unusual, but also perfectly aligned with TRON’s mission: being the world’s most efficient payment layer.

What Comes Next for TRON

Market analysts believe TRON’s momentum in perpetuals trading could accelerate in 2025 as traders search for lower-cost alternatives and platforms experiment with more user-friendly derivatives products.

At the same time, stablecoin adoption is rising at unprecedented speed. With 350 million accounts now created and trillions in transaction value processed, TRON’s role in global digital payments appears to be strengthening, not slowing down.

If the network continues to grow both sides of its ecosystem, payments and derivatives, TRON could solidify itself as the most practical and widely used blockchain infrastructure in the world.

Not because of hype.

Not because of speculation.

But because people actually use it

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!

The post TRON Leads All Blockchains in November Fees as Perpetuals Trading Surges 271% appeared first on The Merkle News.

Prediction markets just locked in another breakout month. November closed with $14.3 billion in total volume, marking a sharp 54% jump from October.

While most crypto sectors continue battling slowing user activity, prediction platforms are running in the opposite direction, straight up.

This is now the strongest month in the history of on-chain and regulated forecasting markets. And momentum isn’t slowing. From major media partnerships to token plans, the industry is entering a new phase of mainstream adoption.

A Sector That Refuses To Cool Off

While trading apps, L2s, and DeFi protocols struggle to keep user numbers stable, prediction markets stand out as the clear exception.

Activity is rising. Volumes are accelerating. And new entrants keep pushing the space forward.

November’s leaderboard shows how tight the race has become at the top:

 Kalshi – $5.8B

 Polymarket – $4.3B

 Opinion Labs – $4.2B

Each platform is scaling in its own direction. But one trend is obvious: the market is expanding fast enough for multiple winners.

Kalshi Takes the Crown Again

Kalshi ended November as the industry’s volume leader, moving $5.8B across its event markets. But the real story isn’t just scale, it’s legitimacy.

Kalshi secured a $1B funding announcement that values the company at an $11B fully diluted valuation. It’s one of the highest valuations ever recorded in the prediction market sector.

At the same time, Kalshi revealed plans to launch tokenized markets on Solana, shifting part of its ecosystem into crypto rails. The hybrid approach, regulated U.S. markets plus on-chain markets, could make Kalshi the first true bridge between traditional finance and decentralized prediction platforms.

But the biggest development came from outside crypto:

CNN officially partnered with Kalshi to integrate prediction markets into its newsroom.

CNN becomes the first major global news network to embed Kalshi’s forecasting data directly into its reporting. Election odds, economic forecasts, geopolitical risk, all will increasingly be informed by real-money prediction markets.

A new era of media formatting is here.

The line between journalism and market-driven probability is now blending in real-time.

CNN partners with Kalshi to integrate prediction markets into its global newsroom.

The first major news network to embrace Kalshi prediction markets.

A new era of media is here. pic.twitter.com/uXLlWVLjQs

— Kalshi (@Kalshi) December 3, 2025

Polymarket Pushes Forward With 2026 Token Plan

Polymarket continues operating as crypto’s most recognizable on-chain prediction venue. November volume hit $4.3B, placing it firmly in second place, and only slightly behind Kalshi.

But unlike Kalshi, Polymarket is going fully decentralized. The platform confirmed its plan to launch a token in 2026, setting the stage for one of the most anticipated token drops in the sector.

Alongside that announcement, Polymarket revealed several new ecosystem partnerships:

 Kaito, advanced AI search for market signals

 Brevis, zero-knowledge-powered data verification

 Eigen Re, enabling verifiable on-chain “mindshare markets”

These integrations bring credibility, verifiability, and deeper liquidity to Polymarket’s markets, especially around politics, crypto, and global risk events.

Token Snapshot, POLY (Not Yet Released)

 Price: Not launched

 Launch Date: Confirmed for 2026

 Focus: Governance + liquidity incentives

Polymarket is positioning itself as the decentralized alternative in a world where regulated platforms are moving inward. And with volume still climbing, user demand appears far from saturated.

Opinion Labs Quietly Climbs to Third Place

Opinion Labs isn’t as loud as Kalshi or Polymarket. But the numbers speak for themselves.

The platform processed $4.2B in November, just shy of Polymarket, placing it comfortably in third.

Opinion Labs has become the dark horse of prediction platforms. Its rise is driven by:

 A clean UI

 Fast market creation

 Strong in-house liquidity

 A growing set of real-money global users

If the current growth rate holds, Opinion Labs could challenge for the 2 spot in Q1 2026.

Myriad Markets Launches In-Wallet Prediction Markets

Another breakthrough this month came from Myriad Markets, which rolled out in-wallet prediction markets directly inside Trust Wallet.

Users can now trade event outcomes without leaving their wallet environment, a UX upgrade that could unlock an entirely new user segment.

This integration matters because:

 Trust Wallet has millions of active users

 In-wallet trading removes onboarding friction

 It positions prediction markets as a standard Web3 primitive, not a niche app category

If prediction markets become a default feature inside crypto wallets, adoption could accelerate far faster than most analysts expect.

The Narrative Is Shifting

November’s data makes one thing clear: prediction markets are entering their breakout moment.

 Volume is at record highs.

 Institutional media is entering the space.

 Tokens are coming for the top platforms.

 Wallet-native markets are launching.

 On-chain verification tools are improving market integrity.

The sector isn’t just growing, it’s becoming unavoidable.

Prediction markets set another volume record in November – $14.3B.

With volume rising a solid 54% compared to October, prediction markets appear to be the only sector not facing user activity issues.

Volume leaders:

Kalshi – $5.8BPolymarket – $4.3BOpinion Labs – $4.2B pic.twitter.com/LzZBrOyeJk

— CryptoRank.io (@CryptoRank_io) December 3, 2025

Conclusion: The Only Crypto Sector Still Surging

With $14.3B in November volume, a full 54% month-over-month jump, prediction markets are defying the weakness seen across most of crypto.

Kalshi leads with scale and mainstream media penetration.

Polymarket anchors decentralization and future tokenization.

Opinion Labs is rising fast.

Myriad Markets pushes UX into wallets.

Each platform is building a different part of the same future.

Prediction markets aren’t just surviving the bear market cycle.

They’re rewriting what user engagement looks like in Web3.

And for the first time ever, the mainstream is watching.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!

The post Prediction Markets Hit New All-Time Highs as November Volume Surges to $14.3B appeared first on The Merkle News.

Kraken has announced the acquisition of Backed, the tokenization platform behind some of the fastest-growing real-world asset products in crypto.

The move positions Kraken to push xStocks, its rapidly expanding tokenized equities product line, into a new era of global adoption, unified infrastructure, and deeper market integration.

The acquisition arrives during a breakout year for tokenized assets. With billions in volume and tens of thousands of holders piling in, xStocks is emerging as one of crypto’s strongest product-market wedges. Kraken’s decision signals a clear intention: consolidate issuance, trading, and settlement under one roof, and build an open capital markets stack that can scale worldwide.

Kraken announced the news on X, confirming BackedFi is officially joining the company to accelerate the expansion of xStocks.

📣 We’re bringing @BackedFi, the company driving the issuance of xStocks, fully into Kraken.

Why? Because tokenized equities won’t reach global scale without unified rails.

With @xStocksFi now fully in-house, we’re accelerating the future of open, 24/7 capital markets 👇…

— Kraken (@krakenfx) December 2, 2025

A Unified Tokenization Engine

BackedFi described the acquisition as a natural next step for two teams that have been working side-by-side since the early days of xStocks.

Today, we are announcing that Backed will become part of @krakenfx. For us, this moment represents the culmination of a long and demanding journey, one shaped by a clear vision, guided by discipline, and driven by a small group of people who believed that equities deserved an… pic.twitter.com/5e1dN3CSmU

— Backed (@BackedFi) December 2, 2025

Before the launch of xStocks, tokenized equities existed only in small pockets of the industry. The products were inaccessible, limited to narrow geographies, and held back by poor liquidity. Kraken and Backed changed that on June 30, delivering the first true large-scale tokenized equities lineup, over 60 equities and ETFs, all backed 1:1 by the real underlying assets.

The tokens run on Solana and Ethereum, with integrations for TON, Tron, Mantle, and BNB Chain already in progress. This multi-chain footprint is central to Kraken’s strategy: bring tokenized assets to users wherever they already are.

xStocksFi reaffirmed that mission, framing the acquisition as a new chapter in building open, neutral, widely accessible financial infrastructure.

Tokenized equities need real infrastructure to grow.@BackedFi is becoming part of @krakenfx to elevate tokenized equities to a new level. Backed and Kraken have worked closely since the inception of xStocks, from idealization, to launch, to expansion. Every time we joined… pic.twitter.com/1p3HXew2Qg

— xStocks (@xStocksFi) December 2, 2025

A Breakout First Five Months

The numbers reveal just how fast tokenized equities have scaled.

One day after launch, nearly 9,000 users already held xStocks in their wallets. People were buying SPYx alongside SOL, storing MSTRx beside BTC, and swapping TSLAx on decentralized exchanges the same way they would any crypto asset.

Liquidity spread quickly across major Solana protocols:

 trading on Jupiter

 liquidity pools on Raydium

 collateralization on Kamino

 custody on Solflare

For the first time, users worldwide could access U.S. equities at internet speed, 24/7, permissionless, and settlement-final.

Five months later, the footprint is dramatically larger:

 84,000 holders, up nearly 10×

 $30M+ in daily trading volume

 Over $12B in cumulative trading volume

 $175M AUM and rising so fast the team jokes they “can’t even post milestones on time”

xStocks now power activity on Solana, Ethereum, and soon several additional chains. They also exist inside everyday apps like Telegram Wallet, allowing users in emerging markets to reach U.S. markets with a single tap.

Deep Exchange Integration

Kraken’s acquisition comes as xStocks expand across global exchanges.

The tokens are now listed by:

 Kraken

 Bybit

 Gate

 Regional exchanges including Luno, VALR, Pintu, Innodax, and LBank

This distribution network brings tokenized equities to countries previously cut off from U.S. financial products. The strategy is deliberate: xStocks are chain-agnostic, jurisdiction-agnostic, and designed to circulate freely across the internet the same way stablecoins do.

With Backed now absorbed into Kraken’s infrastructure, issuance and compliance can tighten further, removing fragmentation across markets and creating a unified, scalable framework.

Why Kraken Wants Tokenized Equities

Kraken sees tokenized equities as the next major frontier after stablecoins.

The vision is straightforward:

 send SPYx as easily as sending USDC

 borrow against TSLAx the way people borrow against ETH

 build savings portfolios combining crypto, RWAs, and equities in a single wallet

 make tokenized equities composable across DeFi, DEXs, lending protocols, and consumer apps

Kraken and Backed argue that the future of finance is one where tokenized assets blend seamlessly into daily financial activity, both for institutions and everyday users.

They point to the broader macro trend: digital bank money overtook cash. Stablecoins are now overtaking digital dollars. Tokenized equities, they say, will follow the same pattern.

A Global Open Capital Markets Layer

The acquisition also reveals Kraken’s long-term strategy. Tokenization is inevitable, but Kraken wants to define how it happens.

The winning model, according to BackedFi, must be:

 open

 permissionless

 transparent

 accessible

 affordable

Closed systems won’t scale. Proprietary rails won’t become the world’s financial backbone. The market needs decentralized infrastructure that exchanges, banks, fintechs, and institutions can rely on.

Kraken believes xStocks can become that backbone.

With issuance, trading, custody, and settlement now consolidated, they can push tokenized assets deeper into both consumer finance and institutional rails.

Expanding Beyond Crypto

There’s also a strategic cultural shift. Kraken wants crypto to represent more than speculation. They want Ethereum, Solana, and TON to act as the hidden plumbing inside major financial institutions.

In their vision:

 banks will settle transfers over blockchain

 credit card networks will run on crypto rails

 stablecoins will handle everyday payments

 tokenized equities will become the primary form of ownership

The acquisition of Backed accelerates that roadmap by giving Kraken tighter control over compliance, issuance, and global distribution.

With the acquisition complete, Kraken and Backed will now:

 expand the number of tokenized equities

 launch new chains for xStocks

 deepen liquidity across exchanges

 improve settlement infrastructure

 build the regulatory and legal frameworks needed for trillions in tokenized assets

xStocks are already one of crypto’s fastest-growing real-world asset products. With Kraken now absorbing Backed, the next phase aims much higher.

The goal: make tokenized equities as normal, convenient, and widely used as stablecoins.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!

The post Kraken Acquires Backed to Supercharge Tokenized Equities as xStocks Enters Its Next Phase appeared first on The Merkle News.

Trust Wallet is stepping into a completely new lane. The CZ-owned self-custody wallet has launched Predictions, its first built-in prediction market hub, and it’s doing it in a way the crypto industry has simply never seen before.

The feature goes live with Myriad Markets, letting millions of users trade on real-world events directly from inside the app. No accounts. No KYC. No hoops.

And this is only the start. Kalshi and Polymarket integrations roll out in the coming weeks, turning Trust Wallet into a gateway for the fastest-growing sector in crypto.

Let’s break down why this move matters, and why it could end up being one of the most underrated unlocks for retail this year.

A First for Wallets: Predictions Go Native

Trust Wallet is now the first major self-custody wallet to embed prediction markets directly inside its interface. Not as a link. Not as a third-party redirect. Fully native.

Introducing Predictions in Trust Wallet 🔮

The first major wallet with native predictions.

Trade sports, crypto, politics & more. All in one place & self-custodial.

Powered by @MyriadMarkets (live). @Polymarket & @Kalshi coming soon.

Update now: https://t.co/VHh3snlsip pic.twitter.com/LCOu9BbjTH

— Trust Wallet (@TrustWallet) December 2, 2025

The launch announcement says it outright:

“Trade sports, crypto, politics & more. All in one place & self-custodial.”

This positions Trust Wallet far ahead of competitors still stuck on swaps, Web3 browsing, and NFT storage. Predictions adds a new layer, one that blends entertainment, speculation, data, and massive industry momentum.

The product is simple:

 You open the app.

 Tap “Predictions.”

 Choose an event.

 Trade.

It feels like a natural extension of what wallets should be doing in a world moving toward super-app status.

Myriad Markets Goes Live First

The first partner to launch inside the new hub is Myriad Markets, which becomes the first prediction market ever integrated directly into a wallet.

For Myriad, the partnership is a milestone:

It puts the platform in front of 200+ million Trust Wallet users.

It places Myriad directly inside the BNB ecosystem.

It moves prediction markets away from isolated dApps and closer to mainstream retail.

Myriad itself framed the moment clearly:

“This is the first ever native prediction market product inside a wallet.”

With zero friction and full on-chain execution, Myriad’s visibility jumps overnight. Instead of trying to win users one by one, Myriad now sits inside one of the world’s largest crypto distribution channels. For any prediction platform, that’s a dream scenario.

Kalshi and Polymarket Are Next

Trust Wallet confirmed integrations with @Polymarket and @Kalshi, two of the biggest players in the industry.

And timing couldn’t be better.

Prediction markets are on a tear right now:

Kalshi hit $5.8B in November trading volume.

Polymarket recorded $3.74B in the same period.

That’s nearly $10B combined, and these platforms are dominating flows across all sectors, from crypto traders looking for hedges, to sports bettors migrating on-chain, to political bettors exploring higher-variance markets.

By adding these integrations, Trust Wallet positions itself as the default portal for the prediction market boom.

Users won’t need to move across apps. They won’t need a separate signup. They simply open their wallet and start trading global events.

Myriad Markets partners with @TrustWallet to become the first ever native Prediction Market product inside a wallet.

Trusted by over 200 million people, Trust Wallet will make Myriad Markets' on-chain predictions accessible in a way the industry has never seen before. pic.twitter.com/y2wYEUmtV2

— MYRIAD (@MyriadMarkets) December 2, 2025

The No-KYC Advantage

One of the core selling points of this rollout is simple and powerful:

No KYC.

 No account creation.

 Just tap → trade.

This is the experience that centralized platforms can’t offer. Regulation forces them to require identity verification and restrict certain markets.

Trust Wallet avoids all of that by working with fully on-chain prediction providers. The users keep their assets. The trades settle transparently. The wallet never holds customer funds.

It’s self-custody as it should be:

fast, simple, private, and open.

A Gateway Before Mainstream Hits

Prediction markets are moving from niche crypto corners into the global spotlight. Every cycle has a new breakout category, and in 2024–2025, prediction markets are that sector.

Trust Wallet’s move signals a strategic understanding of where attention is heading next.

As one analyst put it:

“This is how wallets become super-apps.”

By offering swaps, dApps, NFTs, staking, and now predictions, Trust Wallet is building an environment where users never need to leave the app. The platform becomes the central point for every on-chain action.

And because Trust Wallet already has over 200 million users, its distribution power is unmatched. The wallet reaches markets that many prediction platforms struggle to access, especially regions where centralized betting apps face regulatory hurdles.

Why This Is a Win for Myriad and the BNB Ecosystem

For Myriad, this integration is more than a product launch. It’s a brand expansion event.

The platform becomes the default prediction market inside Trust Wallet. Users opening the feature for the first time will see Myriad front-and-center as the live provider.

This gives Myriad:

Deep penetration into the BNB ecosystem

Exposure to hundreds of millions of retail users

A first-mover edge before Kalshi and Polymarket go live

A more seamless, mobile-native user flow than any standalone dApp

It’s a rare distribution advantage, the kind that can shape a project’s next growth phase.

For BNB Chain, Myriad’s presence reinforces the network’s push into real-world market categories. It aligns perfectly with Binance-linked infrastructure and positions BNB as a top chain for prediction-based financial activity.

Trust Wallet Reinvents Itself as a Super-App

With Predictions now live, Trust Wallet is rewriting the expectations for what a crypto wallet should be.

The new experience is:

Faster than Web3 browsing

More intuitive than standalone prediction platforms

More accessible than centralized betting apps

More private than every legacy option

It’s a leap forward, not just for wallets, but for the entire on-chain prediction sector.

If prediction markets are really heading toward mainstream adoption, this is the kind of frictionless access point that makes it happen.

Trust Wallet’s launch of Predictions, powered first by Myriad and soon by Polymarket and Kalshi, marks one of the most significant consumer-facing upgrades in the wallet’s history. It opens the door to a fast-growing, multi-billion-dollar industry, directly from a self-custody app trusted by millions.

No friction.

 No signup.

 No KYC.

Just open your wallet and trade the world.

This rollout isn’t just an upgrade.

It’s a turning point, one that positions Trust Wallet as a true Web3 super-app, ready for the wave of prediction markets heading for mass adoption.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!

The post Trust Wallet Launches Native Predictions: A New Era for On-Chain Betting appeared first on The Merkle News.

Today marks exactly one year since the Hyperliquid genesis event and the launch of its native token $HYPE on November 29, 2024.

The project is celebrating its first anniversary just as its long-awaited weekly unlocks officially begin, a moment the community has been anticipating for months.

This anniversary isn’t just symbolic. It marks the start of a new distribution era, one that will test the ecosystem’s maturity while adding clarity to how the Hyperliquid team manages supply, incentives, and trust.

The first unlock is already live. And the numbers give a clear picture of how Hyperliquid intends to move forward.

Happy 1 Year Anniversary @HyperliquidX

Today marks exactly one year since the Hyperliquid genesis event and the launch of its native token $HYPE on November 29, 2024. That day kicked off with a massive community airdrop distributing 310 million tokens to nearly 94,000 early… pic.twitter.com/BK9RrL0zdC

— MB (@MBxxvv) November 29, 2025

A Look Back at Genesis: The Day Hyperliquid Broke the Mold

The Hyperliquid genesis event made waves across the entire crypto landscape last year.

It launched with a massive airdrop of 310 million $HYPE tokens to almost 94,000 early users, immediately setting the tone for a different kind of ecosystem.

No private rounds.

No VC allocations.

No institutional lockups shaping the early supply.

Instead, Hyperliquid chose a VC-free launch, a bold stance that placed ownership directly in the hands of traders, market makers, and early builders. At a time when most new chains and protocols were leaning heavily on venture money, Hyperliquid went in the opposite direction, and the market took notice.

That ethos made the project one of the standout stories of late 2024.

And now, one year later, the first major supply unlock since staking began is finally here.

Weekly Unlocks Begin: 2.6 Million $HYPE Unstaked

After months of anticipation, Hyperliquid’s Weekly Unlocks officially started today.

The first batch: 2.6 million $HYPE tokens unstaked.

But what happened next is what caught the community’s attention.

Hyperliquid did not simply dump these tokens into the market. Instead, the movements were precise, controlled, and, for many holders, surprisingly bullish.

Update about the unlocks from Hyperliquid:

2.6M unstaked854k restaked by Hyperlabs team1.745M distributed to team wallets

From these team wallets the following is done:* 609k sold OTC (through Flowdesk)* 235k is staked again by team members* 902k is still in spot on… pic.twitter.com/lr4LQhaklx

— Hyperliquid Eco (@HyperliquidEco) November 29, 2025

Breakdown of the First Unlock:

 2.6M $HYPE unstaked in total

 854k $HYPE immediately restaked by the Hyperlabs team

 1.745M $HYPE distributed to team wallets

This distribution triggered deeper tracking of how these tokens were managed once they arrived in team-controlled wallets. And the follow-through tells its own story.

Where Did the Tokens Go? A Transparent, Trackable Breakdown

From the 1.745 million tokens sent to team wallets, the internal allocation followed three clear paths:

1. 609k $HYPE Sold OTC

These tokens were sold over-the-counter through Flowdesk.

This is the key detail that has many community members feeling more optimistic than expected. The sale did not go through open market sell pressure. No slippage. No spot-market impact. No sudden price walls.

OTC is typically used by teams that want:

 controlled liquidity distribution,

 reduced volatility,

 and long-term holders rather than short-term traders.

2. 235k $HYPE Restaked

Team members voluntarily restaked a meaningful share of their tokens.

This signals:

 internal confidence,

 long-term alignment,

 and commitment to maintaining validator security.

3. 902k $HYPE Remaining in Spot on Hypercore

This portion is currently untouched.

No sells.

No staking movements.

No transfers.

It sits idle, likely awaiting either future internal allocations or transparent movement updates.

Community Reaction: Controlled Unlocks Seen as a Positive Signal

The response from traders and long-time HYPE holders has been cautiously optimistic, even bullish.

The key reason: the team chose OTC sales instead of market sells.

That single decision prevented sudden price swings and reduced the risk of cascading volatility. For a token that prides itself on fair launch principles, this approach reinforces the culture of sustainability over short-term extraction.

A researcher tracking the wallets publicly wrote:

“Seems quite bullish to me. The team is only selling OTC, not on the market. Will keep tracking what they are doing.”

Transparency and clean on-chain behavior matter, especially in ecosystems built around high-frequency traders and large liquidity flows. Hyperliquid’s consistency in showing its work strengthens that trust.

Why This Unlock Matters: A New Phase for Hyperliquid

The first anniversary also marks the official beginning of Hyperliquid’s next phase.

The market is watching closely for several reasons:

1. Supply Dynamics Are Changing

For the first time, meaningful unlocks introduce new liquid tokens into circulation. How these are handled will shape price behavior, market depth, and staking incentives.

2. The Team’s Behavior Sets the Tone

If the team continues using OTC channels and restaking their allocations, it may reduce volatility and reinforce long-term alignment.

3. Growth Expectations Are Rising

Hyperliquid is no longer a new experiment.

It is now:

 a year old,

 deeply integrated across on-chain trading,

 and supported by one of the most active derivatives ecosystems in crypto.

The market wants to see how weekly unlocks affect metrics like:

 open interest,

 daily volume,

 staker participation,

 and governance flows.

So far, week one has delivered a cleaner outcome than many expected.

A Full Year Later: Hyperliquid’s Identity Remains Intact

One year after its VC-free genesis, Hyperliquid is still operating with the same principles it started with:

 transparency,

 community ownership,

 and open market behavior that doesn’t blindside holders.

The launch of weekly unlocks could have introduced chaos.

Instead, it has shown a methodical, predictable approach that maintains confidence and supports long-term sustainability.

Hyperliquid enters year two with:

 a growing user base,

 a maturing token economy,

 and a clear structure for unlocks and supply movements.

The ecosystem now faces its next test: converting this careful management into continued growth and product expansion.

For now, the first unlock has landed cleanly.

And the market is watching what Hyperliquid does next.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!

The post Hyperliquid Marks One Year Since Genesis as Weekly Unlocks Begin appeared first on The Merkle News.

Ethereum is gearing up for its most consequential scalability leap in years.

The Fusaka hard fork, the second major network upgrade of 2025 and the most ambitious since The Merge, activates on December 3rd at slot 13,164,544 (21:49 UTC).

After Pectra earlier this year, Fusaka pushes Ethereum further into high-throughput, low-latency territory. It ships a stack of core EIPs designed to improve user experience, strengthen Layer-2 performance, and prepare the chain for long-term decentralization.

#Ethereum’s Fusaka Hard Fork Goes Live on December 3rd

Fusaka, the most ambitious scalability upgrade since The Merge and @ethereum’s second major network upgrade of 2025, activates December 3rd at slot 13,164,544 (21:49 UTC).

Following Pectra earlier this year, Fusaka delivers… pic.twitter.com/ftKKyDDe8P

— Crypto Miners (@CryptoMiners_Co) November 29, 2025

Testnets are ready. Clients are aligned. Audits cleared the final checks.

Four days remain before mainnet flips the switch.

A New Era of User Experience: Faster, Cheaper, Simpler

Fusaka introduces upgrades everyday users will feel immediately.

Near-Instant Transaction Inclusion

Preconfirmations arrive as part of the new upgrade, enabling validators to provide sub-second transaction assurance before finalization. Users get faster feedback. Wallets get snappier. Apps feel instant.

This is the closest Ethereum has come to “tap, send, done.”

Native Passkey Support (EIP-7951)

Fusaka integrates secp256r1 (P-256) as a precompile, a long-requested feature that brings native support for passkeys and WebAuthn.

This move:

 aligns Ethereum with global authentication standards,

 improves wallet UX,

 and makes account-abstraction flows far smoother.

Corporate and enterprise users also gain compatibility with existing security hardware.

Lower Layer-2 Fees Through Blob Capacity Improvements

Blob space is increasing after Fusaka, delivered in staged increments through post-upgrade BPO deployments.

This means cheaper data availability for rollups such as:

 Base

 Arbitrum

 Optimism

 zkSync

 Scroll

The result: lower fees for L2 users and a smoother pipeline for rollup throughput.

Massive Boosts for Layer-2s and Rollups

If Pectra set the foundation, Fusaka builds the highway on top.

PeerDAS (EIP-7594)

PeerDAS is the centerpiece, a decentralized sampling system that dramatically increases data availability throughput for rollups without centralizing validators.

Rollups get:

 bigger blocks,

 cheaper posting costs,

 and predictable data bandwidth.

Ethereum gets:

long-term scalability without compromising security.

Blob Capacity: Gradual, Controlled Expansion

Rather than jumping directly to 48+ blobs per block, Fusaka enables a progressive rollout.

The Blob Pricing Overhaul (BPO) roadmap ensures that:

 fees remain stable,

 client load stays manageable,

 and the network avoids congestion spikes.

More Predictable Data Posting

Rollups gain consistent windows for posting data, a major improvement for sequencers and proving pipelines.

Developers Get Sub-Second Preconfirmations and Cleaner Execution

Fusaka delivers tangible quality-of-life improvements for builders.

Sub-Second Preconfirmations for Apps

Developers can now build experiences that feel instant, a major win for:

 on-chain games,

 DeFi trading interfaces,

 social apps,

 high-frequency marketplaces.

Ethereum is no longer limited by block times for responsiveness.

Execution-Layer Improvements

A series of internal changes streamline execution, setting the stage for future Verkle transitions and more efficient state access.

These are under-the-hood optimizations, but they lower friction for clients and tooling providers across the ecosystem.

Per-Transaction Gas Cap at ~16.7M

A new per-transaction gas ceiling of 2²⁴ (~16.7M) prevents block stuffing and improves mempool reliability.

Node providers like:

 Alchemy

 Infura

 QuickNode

will see more predictable load, fewer outlier transactions, and cleaner block construction.

Node Operators See Gas Target Shifts and Pruning Improvements

Fusaka also touches the backbone of the network: validators and node operators.

Network Gas Target Moving Toward 60M

Ethereum is gradually inching toward a 60M gas target.

Client teams have coordinated extensively to ensure:

 timely encoding,

 stable block sizes,

 and validator readiness. 

Updated History Window and Pruning (EIP-7642)

This change reduces storage bloat and brings smarter pruning logic, allowing nodes, especially mid-scale operators, to run longer without manual intervention.

PeerDAS Sampling Load

PeerDAS introduces new sampling responsibilities, but primarily for large validators, not hobbyist stakers.

Teams like:

 Prysm

 Lighthouse

 Teku

 Nimbus

have already validated PeerDAS behavior on testnets.

Institutions Gain Better Key Compatibility and Fee Predictability

Enterprises have long requested more alignment with existing security infrastructure.

Native P-256 Support

With EIP-7951, Ethereum now supports the same curve used in:

 corporate HSMs,

 government systems,

 banking infrastructure,

 mobile security modules.

Companies like Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance benefit from smoother onboarding, reduced operational overhead, and easier account abstraction pathways.

Stable Blob Fee Dynamics Through BPO

Institutional teams can better model costs and throughput as blob fees enter a more predictable lifecycle.

This strengthens Ethereum’s appeal as a settlement layer for high-volume enterprise applications.

Testnets Passed Smoothly, Audits Cleared, No Critical Issues

All major testnets, Holesky, Sepolia, and Hoodi, have already completed Fusaka activation with no major issues.

The Ethereum Foundation conducted:

 audits,

 security contests,

 client coordination calls,

 cross-client validation,

  ahead of mainnet.

Nothing critical was reported publicly.

Ethereum maintains its record:

major upgrades with zero downtime.

Pectra + Fusaka: Two Landmark Upgrades in One Year

With Pectra landing earlier in the year and Fusaka now going live, 2025 becomes one of Ethereum’s most productive years since The Merge.

Two back-to-back network upgrades.

Both focused on performance, UX, and scaling.

Both executed without disruption.

Fusaka’s arrival signals Ethereum’s next phase, faster, cheaper, more decentralized, and ready for the applications that couldn’t exist before.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!

The post Ethereum’s Fusaka Hard Fork Goes Live December 3, The Biggest Throughput Upgrade Since The Merge appeared first on The Merkle News.

At exactly 23:24 UTC+8, the price of SAHARA, the token behind Sahara AI, took a sharp dive. It bottomed out at an intraday low of $0.0346.

Ever since, it slowly clawed back to $0.04426. That value still marks a nearly 45.6% drop from the 24-hour high of $0.08141.

What happened in the minutes before the plunge remains unclear. The team behind Sahara AI has remained silent. No statements, no explanations, no commentary. The silence speaks as loudly as a tweet: the project seems unprepared for this collapse.

SAHARA’s streak hasn’t always looked so bleak. Not long ago, the token soared, rising from a modest $0.02 up to $0.16 after a major exchange listing. That surge sparked excitement. Many treated it as a sign that Sahara AI might be onto something. The hype was real, the gains were real.

But hype doesn’t last. The dramatic climb didn’t hold. The price bled slowly, then sharply. Recently, SAHARA hovered around $0.07–$0.08. That zone looked shaky, a plateau built on expectation rather than substance. And then the bottom dropped out.

Big Backing, Bigger Expectations

Behind much of the early buzz stood serious money. Sahara AI raised about $49 million from well-known backers such as Pantera Capital, Polychain, and YZi Labs. That kind of financial muscle gave SAHARA legitimacy. Many thought it would carry the token through volatility.

Yet cash alone doesn’t guarantee stability. The backers’ confidence might have encouraged others to jump in. But confidence needs reinforcement, and a quick drop like this erodes it fast.

What the Crash Signals

SAHARA’s descent isn’t just a price event. It reflects broader concerns. Several themes stand out:

 Falling confidence, Once investors saw sharp gains, they piled in. Now, many appear eager to exit. The speed of the fall suggests panic more than strategic profit-taking.

 Fragile faith in AI tokens, Sahara AI is part of a growing pack of AI-themed cryptos. The crash shows just how fragile faith in these projects can be. When the market wavers, AI branding offers no shield.

 No safety nets, No public response, no reassurances, no transparency. That absence unsettles remaining holders and potential investors.

In short: SAHARA’s crystal-clear decline shows the danger of assuming that big money or flashy names equal long-term stability.

A Risky Landscape, What New Investors Should Know

For newcomers looking at altcoins, especially ones tied to trending sectors like AI, SAHARA’s crash delivers a stark lesson.

These tokens can pump hard. And fast. Early adopters might cash out early and escape with gains. Or not. But the other side is uncomfortably close: a violent crash, deep losses, and little recourse.

Here are key takeaways:

 Volatility is more the rule than the exception. A token can swing from $0.02 to $0.16, and back down half from there, in weeks or even days.

 Backing doesn’t guarantee success. Big investments may signal confidence, but they don’t guarantee sustained price support.

 Silence can be dangerous. Without active communication, rumors, fear, and panic can drive a collapse faster than fundamentals justify.

What’s Next for Sahara AI?

Right now, Sahara AI faces a crossroads. The market has reset expectations. Investors will likely wait for signals. They’ll watch for:

 public communication or explanation from the team,

 any tokenomics adjustments or new developments,

 renewed activity that rebuilds confidence.

If none arrive, SAHARA may linger in a weak state, stuck between lukewarm support and further decline.

But if Sahara AI manages to deliver a convincing roadmap or a meaningful update, some optimism may return. It won’t erase the damage. But it could stabilize the token.

For now, though, SAHARA sits in a rough spot.

Sahara AI’s journey, from $0.02 to $0.16, then crashing through $0.03, shows how thin the line can be between boom and bust in the crypto world. Enthusiasm, good funding, and flashy listings can work wonders. They can boost a token price into the sky.

But when markets shift, sentiment can turn. Fast.

Maybe Sahara AI recovers. Maybe it stabilizes. Or maybe it becomes one more warning sign: treat AI-themed altcoins as high-risk, high-reward plays.

For those watching, or entering, the space now: tread carefully. Don’t let momentum blinker your judgment. Ask questions. Demand transparency. Know what you’re getting into. Because in this world, what goes up can crash down, just as quickly.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!

The post Sahara AI’s Token Plunges, What Went Wrong? appeared first on The Merkle News.

Plasma entered 2025 as the chain that promised everything. Perfect execution. Heavy backers. The cleanest infra rollout the industry had seen in years.

But 10 months later, that story is cracking.

And the data over the past 30 days paints a brutal picture.

The network has lost 70% of its stablecoin market cap, 33% of its TVL, and most of its users. Its native token, XPL, is down 87% from its all-time high.

For a chain that launched as the “next big base layer,” the unwinding feels fast, deep, and structural.

Plasma lost 70% of stablecoin market cap over the past 30 days

The chain also saw a 33% drop in TVL, now sitting at $7B, which is half of its ATH.

Meanwhile, $XPL has dropped to a $397M market cap – 87% decline from its ATH.

What do you think went wrong for Plasma? pic.twitter.com/6yVojZ3k5Q

— CryptoRank.io (@CryptoRank_io) November 28, 2025

A Month of Sharp Declines

Plasma’s stablecoin ecosystem was once its strength. High liquidity. Clean rails. Smooth flow.

Not anymore.

Stablecoin market cap is down 70% in 30 days, a drawdown so sharp industry trackers flagged it as one of the deepest contractions in any major L1/L2 this year. TVL now sits at $7B, roughly half of its ATH, after a 33% drop that accelerated week by week.

The biggest red flag?

None of this came from technical failures.

It came from users leaving.

Daily active addresses are down 90%.

Transactions? Down 75%.

Protocol flows show “unwinding, not growth,” as one analyst put it.

The hype era is over.

What’s left is the part most chains struggle with, organic demand.

XPL’s Freefall Shows the Market’s Verdict

Plasma’s token, XPL, tells the rest of the story.

Now sitting at a $397M market cap, XPL is down 87% from its $1.68 ATH, trading around $0.22 despite maintaining deep liquidity on major exchanges.

The recent 88.9M token unlock only added fuel to the sell-pressure. Bigger cliffs are scheduled throughout 2025 and into mid-2026, and investors know it. The market is pricing in dilution well ahead of time.

Even worse, most of the remaining demand is speculative, short-term traders rotating in and out, not long-term participants building inside the ecosystem.

A token without a narrative.

A chain without sticky users.

That’s the dynamic playing out right now.

The App Layer Problem: Too Narrow, Too Thin

Plasma’s execution layer works flawlessly.

Its infrastructure is world-class.

Its backers are elite.

But ecosystems don’t survive on engineering alone.

Right now, three protocols, Aave, Pendle, and Fluid, account for 90% of the chain’s TVL. All three are essentially running the same trade: yield farming and carry optimization in different wrappers.

It’s not an ecosystem.

It’s a loop.

DEX volumes have evaporated.

RWA activity is close to zero.

New project launches have slowed to a crawl.

The organic app layer simply did not form. And without one, Plasma looks less like a vibrant chain and more like a temporary home for mercenary liquidity.

The farmers came.

Harvested everything.

And left.

The One System Still Working: Stablecoin Infra

In fairness, not everything is breaking.

Plasma’s stablecoin infrastructure, one of the most advanced in the industry, continues to run flawlessly. USDT flows remain healthy. Market share hasn’t collapsed. Liquidity hasn’t dried up.

Plasma’s launch was one of the most anticipated events of 2025, and on the infrastructure side, it delivered flawlessly.

But the past few weeks show a chain struggling to convert perfect execution into sustained, organic demand.@Plasma flows tell the story.

• TVL is down 35%… pic.twitter.com/zn5loIcqQ8

— Stacy Muur (@stacy_muur) November 28, 2025

But even that stat comes with an asterisk.

Stablecoin liquidity without active applications is just idle capital waiting to leave. Tether has no reason to pull out, but users aren’t sticking around for 0% yield and low activity.

It’s stability without movement.

Alive, but not beating.

Plasma One: The Lone Bright Spot

One product is still showing real traction: Plasma One, the neobank built on top of the chain.

It offers:

 Zero-fee USDT payments

 A 4% cashback debit card

 10%+ APY on stablecoin savings

Unlike the rest of the chain, Plasma One is actually gaining users, consistently pulling 20k–30k monthly active users across Latin America and Southeast Asia.

It’s not enough to support a $7B ecosystem.

But it’s proof that consumer products move faster than DeFi loops when markets tighten.

If Plasma finds its second wind, it will likely start here.

The Hard Lesson for 2025: Execution ≠ Demand

Plasma’s rise and stumble is becoming the case study of the year.

The chain did everything right on paper:

 flawless infra launch

 major backers

 every big CEX listing

 clean developer tooling

 strong bridge integrations

Yet it couldn’t convert incentives into sustainable user demand.

That’s the lesson every L1/L2 team is now taking seriously:

Infrastructure wins respect.

Applications win survival.

The market is quick, ruthless, and unforgiving when a chain stalls. Plasma is discovering that in real time.

Where Plasma Goes From Here

For Plasma to regain momentum, several things must happen:

1. XPL needs a real narrative, something beyond incentives.

2. The chain needs new applications beyond the Aave–Pendle–Fluid carry loop.

3. User retention must stop relying on liquidity mining.

4. Developers need reasons to build, not just reasons to farm.

The fundamentals are strong, but fundamentals alone have never carried an ecosystem.

Right now, Plasma sits at a crossroads, still powerful, still respected, but losing the very thing a chain needs most: real demand.

If it can rebuild its app layer, it still has a shot.

If not, the last 30 days may be remembered as the point where the chain lost its edge.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!

The post Plasma’s Shine Fades as TVL, Users, and Token Value Collapse appeared first on The Merkle News.

IRYS launched this week with momentum, hype, and a clean narrative: a decentralized data infrastructure layer branded as “the on-chain AWS.”

Backed by more than $13M raised from VCs, the project promised cheaper, faster, and more resilient data rails for Web3.

But within 48 hours of launch, a much different story surfaced.

According to new research from @bubblemaps, a cluster of 900 near-identical wallets claimed 20% of the IRYS airdrop, then funneled millions in tokens straight to Bitget, raising fresh concerns around Sybil attacks, pre-funded wallets, and fairness in major token distributions.

Already, $4M worth of IRYS has been moved to Bitget.

And the pattern behind the wallets is difficult to ignore.

The Airdrop: Designed for Early Users, Quickly Exploited

Two days ago, IRYS launched its token with an 8% airdrop reserved for early users, a reward meant to celebrate organic adoption and decentralization.

Instead, it appears that a coordinated cluster slipped in just before the cutoff.

Someone claimed 20% of the $IRYS airdrop

Using a cluster of 900 identical wallets funded just before launch

$4M already sold 🧵 pic.twitter.com/Xas2AjZoxn

— Bubblemaps (@bubblemaps) November 28, 2025

@bubblemaps’ analysis shows:

 900 addresses funded immediately before launch

 All funded through Bitget

 Wallets receiving near-identical ETH amounts

 No prior on-chain activity

 All claiming IRYS as soon as the airdrop opened

In other words, the exact fingerprints of a Sybil operation.

The total haul?

Roughly 20% of the entire airdrop allocation.

For a project positioning itself as a core data layer for Web3, that’s a worrying start.

How the Wallet Cluster Was Built

The timeline is precise.

Between Nov 21 and Nov 24, Bitget sent ETH to batches of fresh wallets, 20 separate funding waves, each consisting of roughly 50 addresses.

Every address:

 Was brand new

 Had zero on-chain history

 Received almost identical ETH amounts

 Appeared within tight time windows

 Claimed IRYS immediately at launch

This is not organic user behavior.

This is systematic preparation.

The fact that all 900 wallets followed nearly identical steps, from creation to funding to claiming, is what triggered the red flags.

$4M Already Sent Back to Bitget

What happened after the claims further confirms the pattern.

Roughly 500 of the 900 wallets executed the exact same sequence:

1. Claim IRYS

2. Move tokens to a fresh intermediary wallet

3. Route everything to Bitget

4. Likely execute a market sale

As of today, more than $4M in IRYS has already hit Bitget.

That means nearly half of the Sybil cluster has already cashed out.

The rest remains in motion.

While the data points to a highly coordinated farm-and-dump structure, there is currently no evidence linking the IRYS team to the wallets.

The research only establishes:

 the behavior,

 the timing,

 and the routes of funding and disposal.

The actor behind the operation is still unknown.

IRYS: A High-Profile Launch Now Under Pressure

The timing couldn’t be worse.

IRYS entered the market with strong positioning, a decentralized storage and data network aimed at providing:

 lower costs,

 faster access,

 fully on-chain compute pipelines.

VCs backed the vision with more than $13M, positioning IRYS as a major infra player heading into 2025.

But now the conversation is dominated by Sybil clusters, not technology.

The optics matter:

 A brand-new token

 Supposed to reward real users

 Instead, millions siphoned by clean, pre-funded wallets

 All linked to a single CEX funding source

Fairness questions hit hard in the days after launch, especially when token price discovery is still underway.

Sybil Problems Aren’t New, But This Scale Is

Airdrop exploitation is not new in crypto.

But the industrial scale of this one stands out.

The numbers tell the story:

 900 brand-new wallets

 20 coordinated funding batches

 Identical ETH deposits

 Simultaneous claiming behavior

 20% of the airdrop captured

 $4M already off-ramped

This is not one actor clicking fast.

This is structured farming.

Bitget’s role as the funding and withdrawal rail also introduces a new layer. It’s not evidence of wrongdoing, but the consistent routing through one exchange highlights how centralized hubs can serve as infrastructure for Sybil attacks at scale.

What Comes Next: Investigation and Governance Vote

@bubblemaps has left the door open for further findings, saying there is “no evidence linking the team to those wallets” but confirming that investigation continues.

A case is now live on the Bubble Maps Intel Desk, and users holding $BMT can vote to push the case into public spotlight for deeper review.

That includes:

 tracing intermediaries

 expanding cluster mapping

 monitoring more Bitget routes

 analyzing disposal patterns

 and identifying links between wallet controllers

If the case receives enough governance votes, it becomes a front-page investigation inside the Intel Desk ecosystem.

Airdrop Fairness Is Entering a New Era

This IRYS incident marks yet another example of how sophisticated Sybil frameworks have become.

Airdrops were once a reward for early adopters.

Now they’re a battleground between:

 real users,

 bot farmers,

 institutional farming operations,

 and exchanges acting (sometimes unknowingly) as funding rails.

The scale of this IRYS cluster, 20% of a major airdrop captured through 900 wallets, shows how far the industry still is from solving fairness.

Sophisticated actors increasingly use:

 fresh wallets

 batch funding

 patterned claims

 fast liquidity exits

 high-volume exchange routing

And unless protocols enforce strong anti-Sybil models from day one, the same outcome repeats.

IRYS Still Has Room to Recover, But Trust Took a Hit

The IRYS team hasn’t been implicated.

The tech remains unchanged.

The roadmap is still intact.

But perception matters.

A project can raise millions, launch cleanly, and ship strong infrastructure, and still lose narrative control in 24 hours if the token distribution appears compromised.

For IRYS, the next few weeks will be critical:

 community response

 team transparency

 exchange cooperation

 and continued on-chain research

  will shape how investors and users view the network going forward.

For now, the data stands:

20% of the airdrop captured.

900 wallets.

$4M sold.

Cluster still under investigation.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!

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Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon is asking a U.S. court to cap his prison sentence at five years, marking the latest turn in the ongoing fallout from the 2022 collapse of the Terra ecosystem.

The request comes as prosecutors in South Korea push for a dramatically harsher outcome, up to 40 years behind bars.

The filing, submitted on November 27 and first reported by Bloomberg, sets up a critical moment in one of crypto’s most consequential legal battles. Two years after TerraUSD’s implosion erased $40 billion in value and triggered one of crypto’s worst market cascades, the man at the center of the storm is now fighting over how much punishment is enough.

Kwon pleaded guilty in August to conspiracy and wire fraud. https://t.co/FMalrAMJHs

— Bloomberg (@business) November 27, 2025

A Bid for Leniency After Pleading Guilty

Kwon pleaded guilty in August 2024 to two federal charges, including conspiracy to defraud, avoiding what would have been a high-profile U.S. trial. His legal team now argues that a sentence beyond five years would be “far greater than necessary,” given what he has already endured and the penalties he has accepted.

In the filing, attorneys say Kwon has already spent nearly three years in detention, including long stretches in what they describe as harsh prison conditions in Montenegro.

Kwon was arrested there in 2023 for attempting to travel with a forged passport, before being extradited to the United States in mid-2024.

They also highlight the significant personal cost he has incurred since the collapse of TerraUSD:

 The forfeiture of more than $19 million

 The loss of multiple properties

 Ongoing financial penalties related to the plea deal

His lawyers argue these consequences should factor into sentencing, claiming he has already paid “a substantial personal and financial price.”

U.S. Prosecutors Already Agreed to a 12-Year Cap

Under Kwon’s plea agreement, U.S. prosecutors agreed not to seek more than 12 years in prison. But his defense insists five years is enough to satisfy justice while acknowledging the harm caused by the collapse.

The argument centers on proportional punishment. Kwon’s team says a five-year term reflects accountability but avoids what they describe as an excessive response fueled by public anger over Terra’s downfall.

Whether the court accepts that reasoning remains unclear. Judges in large-scale financial fraud cases often weigh the scope of the losses heavily, and Terra’s collapse remains one of the most devastating failures in crypto history.

The Shadow of a 40-Year Sentence in South Korea

Regardless of what the U.S. decides, Kwon’s legal troubles are far from over.

Prosecutors in South Korea continue pursuing a separate case tied to the same events. Their recommended sentence: up to 40 years. That number reflects both the scale of investor losses and the country’s view that the fraud originated on Korean soil.

South Korean officials have made clear they intend to bring Kwon back home, arguing their case is broader and rooted in local regulations. The competing sentences create a rare jurisdictional standoff, one that could influence where Kwon actually serves time once the U.S. proceedings conclude.

Legal experts say South Korea is unlikely to drop its case even if the U.S. imposes a lengthy sentence. With many victims based in Korea, prosecutors there view domestic accountability as essential.

Do Kwon Says 5-Year US Sentence Is Enough as South Korea Seeks 40 Years.

Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon is asking a U.S. judge to limit his prison sentence to five years.

Meanwhile, in South Korea, prosecutors are seeking up to 40 years in prison for him over the 2022 collapse… pic.twitter.com/a9ddYqAS6d

— TheCryptoBasic (@thecryptobasic) November 27, 2025

A Collapse That Reshaped Global Crypto Policy

The TerraUSD disaster remains one of the most defining events in the history of digital assets.

In May 2022, the algorithmic stablecoin, designed to maintain a $1 peg through a complex mechanism with its sister token, LUNA, entered a death spiral. Within days, its value collapsed, wiping out billions and triggering a chain reaction that toppled entire firms across the industry.

The fallout helped accelerate stablecoin regulation in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, and brought unprecedented scrutiny to algorithmic stablecoin models. For many policymakers, TerraUSD became the clearest example of systemic risk in unregulated digital finance.

Kwon, once a celebrated figure in the crypto world, became the face of accountability for that collapse. His disappearance, flight, and eventual arrest only intensified global attention on the case.

Defense Strategy: Emphasizing Time Served and Cooperation

Kwon’s legal strategy in the U.S. centers on cooperation, remorse, and the argument that additional punishment beyond five years is disproportionate.

Key elements of his defense include:

 Time already spent in custody, including months in Montenegro

 Acceptance of guilt through the plea agreement

 Financial penalties already paid, including multimillion-dollar forfeitures

 Willingness to face remaining charges, including those in South Korea

His lawyers say the combination of those factors demonstrates sufficient accountability and reduces the need for a harsher sentence.

The court will also weigh the plea deal itself, which typically signals an agreement between prosecutors and the defense that a moderate sentence is appropriate.

A Sentencing Decision With Global Consequences

The U.S. judge’s decision will set the tone for what happens next, both for Kwon personally and for regulators still wrestling with the implications of Terra’s collapse.

If the court sides with Kwon and imposes a five-year sentence, it will mark one of the lighter outcomes for a financial collapse of this scale. If it leans closer to the 12-year cap, it will be seen as a strong stance against crypto-related fraud.

But either way, the looming 40-year request in South Korea means Kwon’s legal journey is still far from over.

The sentencing outcome may also influence how future cross-border crypto cases are handled, especially those involving billions in losses and overlapping jurisdictions.

Two years later, the TerraUSD collapse remains a turning point for global crypto markets. It reshaped regulatory priorities, changed investor expectations, and forced lawmakers to consider how digital assets operate across borders.

Now, Do Kwon’s sentencing, both in the U.S. and potentially later in South Korea, stands to shape the next chapter. The world is watching closely, not just to see how one case ends, but to understand how international courts will treat major failures in the digital asset ecosystem.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!

The post Do Kwon Pushes for 5-Year U.S. Sentence as South Korea Seeks 40 Years appeared first on The Merkle News.

Around dawn on November 27, Upbit confirmed an abnormal outflow of Solana-network assets worth roughly 54 billion KRW (~$38.5 million).

The transfer hit at 04:42 KST, drained funds across multiple Solana-ecosystem tokens, and went straight into unknown external wallets.

Upbit paused all deposits and withdrawals immediately. It’s a normal procedure on paper, but the sudden silence that follows an incident like this is never normal. Something broke inside the fortress, and the market felt the shock.

The Breach: A Multi-Token Drain, Not a Single-Asset Spill

Upbit didn’t lose one token. It lost an entire basket.

The exchange confirmed unauthorized withdrawals involving a long list of Solana tokens:

2Z, ACS, BONK, DOOD, DRIFT, HUMA, IO, JTO, JUP, LAYER, ME, MEW, MOODENG, ORCA, PENGU, PYTH, RAY, RENDER, SOL, SONIC, SOON, TRUMP, USDC, and W.

This wasn’t a small user mishap or a mistaken internal movement. It was wide. Coordinated. Fast.

The chain showed a massive sweep straight to external wallets that nobody with legitimate access should control. Upbit later revised the figures, lowering the confirmed loss to 44.5 billion KRW (~$30.43 million). An additional 2.3 billion KRW (~$1.57 million) worth of Solana-based assets is currently frozen.

The most worrying part isn’t the amount. It’s the angle. A drain across dozens of tokens suggests access at a level far deeper than a single private key slip. Something closer to core liquidity pathways.

And Upbit still hasn’t confirmed the cause.

Immediate Freeze: Hot Wallets Locked, Funds Shifted to Cold Storage

Within minutes of spotting the anomaly, Upbit shut down deposits and withdrawals across all Solana-related assets. The priority became containment, freezing everything that could still be saved.

A few critical points stood out in the exchange’s emergency statement:

 The outflow was not planned internally

 Targeted assets belonged exclusively to the Solana ecosystem

 All funds were quickly migrated to cold storage

 Freeze attempts secured roughly ₩12 billion KRW

 Upbit promises users will take zero loss

And that last line matters. In previous South Korean exchange breaches, user reimbursement wasn’t always immediate. But here, the exchange pledged to cover 100% of the outflow from its own reserves.

That’s a confidence-first approach, necessary, considering Upbit’s reputation as a top-tier security exchange.

A Premium Surge: Solana Tokens Spike on Upbit

And then something strange happened.

While Upbit froze activity, South Korean trader demand didn’t slow down. Instead, it intensified. A supply crunch formed overnight because users couldn’t move tokens on or off the exchange.

Prices broke away from global markets.

ORCA jumped to 3,410 KRW (~$2.33), a premium of more than 25%.

Other Solana tokens saw similar jumps as liquidity thinned and the “Kimchi premium” effect kicked in. Where global markets were stable, Upbit became a pressure cooker.

This dynamic always happens when Korean exchanges lock a token’s channels, but this time the cause wasn’t a normal suspension, it was a hack. That amplified the tension, the speculation, and the urgency.

Regulators Move Immediately: FSS Launches On-Site Inspection

South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service didn’t wait.

The Virtual Asset Supervision Bureau sent a team directly to Upbit for an on-site inspection, and the review is expected to continue until next Friday. South Korean regulators are known for rapid responses, especially when retail safety is on the line.

Their questions will likely mirror the community’s questions right now:

 How did the outflow occur?

 Was it a key compromise?

 Was there an internal permissions gap?

 Was there a relay or API exploit?

 Was the attack systemic or isolated?

Upbit hasn’t answered anything yet. So far, it has only confirmed the outflow, not the mechanism.

And when a trusted exchange stays quiet, the silence becomes the loudest part of the story.

A Crack in the Fortress

Upbit built itself on a reputation of being “unbreachable.” Institutions trusted it. Retail trusted it. Even skeptics gave it credit. But trust is fragile in crypto. One breach fractures more than user balances, it fractures perception.

Around $36–38 million didn’t just disappear. Confidence did.

One line in the commentary from your provided data captures the mood:

“When a fortress cracks, the shock isn’t the loss, it’s the silence that follows.”

Because the chain shows everything. A clean sweep. A precise timestamp. A wallet nobody recognizes. And no public explanation from the exchange.

For now, blockchain explorers tell a clearer story than the exchange does. The assets left. They landed where they shouldn’t. And until Upbit discloses what happened, the market is left waiting, and watching.

Upbit will reimburse the losses, secure user assets, and stabilize Solana-related trading pairs. That part feels certain.

What remains uncertain are the deeper issues:

 Was this a one-time breach or a symptom of something systemic?

 Did the attacker exploit infrastructure, not keys?

 Could this same vector exist in other exchanges?

 Will regulators tighten frameworks around hot wallet management?

Crypto exchanges rarely panic publicly. But markets don’t need statements to sense when something is off. They look at chain activity. They look at sudden freezes. They look at premiums erupting out of nowhere.

And right now, all signs point to one truth:

If Upbit can be breached, everyone else should assume they can be too.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

Follow us on Twitter @themerklehash to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, and Metaverse news!

The post Upbit’s Solana Shock: $38M Vanishes, Premiums Spike, and Regulators Move In appeared first on The Merkle News.