Stablecoin-focused banking startup Kast has reportedly closed an $80 million funding round that values the company at $600 million. The capital will be used to scale its payment infrastructure and products across North America, Latin America and the Middle East, while stablecoin transfer volume reached a record $1.8 trillion in February.

On Monday, Coinbase stated it launched regulated crypto and equity index futures for Coinbase Advanced users in 26 European countries under its MiFID-licensed entity. The lineup includes Bitcoin, Solana and a Mag7 + Crypto Equity Index Futures product, offering up to 10x leverage on select contracts as ESMA intensifies its focus on perpetual-style derivatives.

On Thursday, the Cardano Foundation announced that 137 Spar supermarkets across Switzerland now accept ADA for grocery payments via the Open Crypto Pay system from DFX.swiss. The real-time solution enables direct transfers from ADA wallets, with merchants reportedly paying around two-thirds less in fees than on traditional card transactions. Spar had previously introduced nationwide crypto and stablecoin payments for 100 Swiss stores in August 2025 through Binance Pay and DFX.swiss, with plans to expand to 300 locations.

Weekly net stablecoin inflows climbed 414% to $1.7 billion as onchain activity increased, according to Messari. The rebound turned the 30-day average to a positive $162.5 million in daily inflows, while Washington’s clash over yield-bearing stablecoins continued to delay the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts. Messari also noted higher transaction volumes but smaller average transaction sizes, pointing to renewed issuance demand and stronger retail participation.

Strive vice president of Bitcoin strategy Joe Burnett projects that AI-driven technological deflation could pressure central banks into long-term monetary expansion, potentially lifting Bitcoin to $11 million per coin by the first quarter of 2036 and a $230 trillion market cap. His base case assumes Bitcoin's share of global financial assets rises from about 0.2% to roughly 12% and that global wealth compounds at 7% annually, implying around a 53% compound annual growth rate for BTC over the coming decade.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, Bybit reported that its AI-assisted risk monitoring system disrupted or stopped more than $300 million in suspected scam-related withdrawals. The platform said around $500 million in withdrawals were flagged overall, protecting over 4,000 users, many of whom canceled transfers after receiving real-time alerts.

Foom Cash, a decentralized lottery protocol using zero-knowledge proofs, suffered a $2.26 million exploit linked to a Groth16 verifier deployment error. A white hat identified the vulnerability and helped secure and return $1.84 million, with the protocol later paying a $320,000 bounty and $100,000 security fee. The incident highlights the expanding role of ethical hackers in defending Web3 projects against cross-chain attacks.

The United Kingdom's Gambling Commission is examining how cryptoassets could be used as payment methods at licensed online gambling platforms, according to a speech by executive director Tim Miller. Any such option would still require firms to obtain FCA authorization under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and be subject to strict affordability and suitability checks, with implementation aligned to the FCA's new crypto licensing framework targeting October 2027.

Crypto traders have accused Jane Street of driving a recurring 10:00 am Eastern Time Bitcoin price drop through programmatic selling linked to its IBIT holdings and a prior Terraform Labs lawsuit. Market analysts counter that blockchain and price data do not support a systemic dump pattern and argue that Bitcoin's large, fragmented market cannot be steered into a prolonged bear phase by any single trading firm.