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Blockchain News
Blockchain News
Browse all Blockchain related articles and news. The latest news, analysis, and insights on Blockchain.
Visa and Mastercard Step Up Stablecoin Competition
Visa and Mastercard, two of the world’s largest payment companies, announced separate partnerships on the same day to expand their stablecoin infrastructure. Visa is integrating zerohash technology into the Visa Direct network, while Mastercard has launched a new pilot aimed at improving trust and compliance in cross-border stablecoin payments.The two initiatives focus on different areas. Visa is expanding stablecoin funding and payout capabilities, while Mastercard aims to verify participants in blockchain transactions.Visa Direct Opens Up to Stablecoin PaymentsVisa will expand the stablecoin capabilities of Visa Direct through a collaboration with blockchain infrastructure provider zerohash. Eligible Visa Direct clients will be able to prefund merchant accounts with stablecoins and send stablecoin-denominated payouts to recipients.zerohash will provide both the technical infrastructure and regulatory compliance support for the service. However, the companies have yet to disclose which stablecoins and blockchain networks will be supported or where the service will initially become available.Visa Direct connects to more than 18 billion endpoints across over 195 countries and territories, including cards, bank accounts and digital wallets. The integration could therefore bring stablecoin-based payments to a broader group of institutional clients.Mastercard Focuses on Trust and ComplianceMastercard, meanwhile, has launched a Crypto Credential pilot with Borderless.xyz. The companies will test Mastercard’s existing framework to verify participants and standardize compliance checks in cross-border stablecoin transactions.Crypto Credential generates assurance signals confirming that institutions involved in blockchain transactions meet specific security and compliance standards. Companies participating in the Borderless.xyz network will be able to incorporate these signals into transaction approvals, risk management and compliance procedures.Infinia, Walapay and Koywe are among the first stablecoin payment companies to join the pilot. Borderless.xyz says its infrastructure connects more than 15 licensed stablecoin providers across over 100 countries.Stablecoin Payments Race AcceleratesVisa’s initiative aims to simplify stablecoin funding and transfers, while Mastercard is strengthening the trust and identity verification layer surrounding these transactions. The two payment giants are therefore addressing different challenges within the stablecoin market.Mastercard recently completed its acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure company BVNK. Visa, meanwhile, introduced the Visa Stablecoin Platform in July, enabling financial institutions to issue, manage and transfer stablecoins.The series of developments shows that stablecoins are becoming increasingly embedded in traditional payment networks. Visa and Mastercard are moving beyond crypto-linked cards, creating a place for stablecoins within the underlying infrastructure of cross-border money transfers.
World’s Largest Asset Manager Brings $311 Billion Fund Suite to Ethereum
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, launched its first tokenized fund access in Europe on Tuesday. Working with JPMorgan’s Kinexys platform, the company created onchain share classes on the Ethereum blockchain.The initiative covers funds from BlackRock’s Institutional Cash Series (ICS) money market range. These funds held a combined $311 billion in assets under management as of June 30, so this is far from a small pilot project.According to BlackRock, Kinexys acts as a translation layer between onchain transactions and the funds’ traditional recordkeeping systems. Each token represents a share in an ICS fund, while the official shareholder register remains with the fund’s transfer agent.In other words, blockchain does not change the legal ownership structure. It digitizes the access and transfer layer.A total of 12 tokenized share classes across six fund families are now available: Euro Government Liquidity, Sterling Government Liquidity, U.S. Treasury, Euro Liquidity, Sterling Liquidity and U.S. Dollar Liquidity.Smart contracts allow approved investors to transfer shares directly between wallets around the clock, seven days a week. The structure continues to generate yield, while fund movements can be tracked onchain in near real time.Hannah Winter, head of BlackRock’s Digital Cash business, said tokenized money market funds bring short-term investment instruments into a digital format without compromising capital preservation, liquidity or risk management standards.How will institutions use the funds?According to the announcement, the tokenized share classes can support institutional cash management, digital collateral management, bank distribution channels and integration with broader tokenized financial ecosystems. Access is currently limited to 15 markets.The onchain share classes are available to investors in Bermuda, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Singapore and the United Kingdom.Lithuania’s inclusion on the list indicates that the country’s digital asset infrastructure is also becoming an attractive destination for institutional players.Tokenization has been on BlackRock’s agenda for yearsThis step is not a one-off experiment for BlackRock. In an article published by The Economist in December 2025, CEO Larry Fink and COO Rob Goldstein argued that tokenization could accelerate transaction settlement, reduce operational friction in private markets and expand investment access by recording asset ownership on blockchain-based ledgers.The European launch came only one day after BlackRock unveiled two tokenized money market products designed for stablecoin reserves. BRSRV is a newly established fund, while BSTBL tokenizes share classes of the company’s existing Select Treasury Based Liquidity Fund.Both products invest primarily in cash, short-term U.S. Treasury bills and overnight Treasury-backed repurchase agreements.The move also aligns with the objective outlined last month by BlackRock Chief Financial Officer Martin Small. During the company’s second-quarter earnings call, Small said BlackRock’s ultimate goal was to allow investors to access tokenized Treasury funds, iShares ETFs and private-market investments through digital wallets alongside crypto assets and stablecoins.
Mastercard Officially Completes Acquisition of Stablecoin Firm
Mastercard has completed its acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK as part of its effort to strengthen the connection between crypto assets and traditional payment systems. Mastercard's PR In an announcement published on Tuesday night, Türkiye time, the company said it would use BVNK’s technology and expertise to help financial institutions, fintech companies and corporate clients expand use cases involving stablecoins and tokenized assets. These include business-to-business payments, payouts, settlement and treasury management.Mastercard did not disclose the final financial terms of the deal. The company announced in March that it had agreed to acquire BVNK for up to $1.8 billion.Building a bridge between payment systemsMastercard Chief Product Officer Jorn Lambert said fiat currencies, stablecoins and tokenized deposits now coexist. He added that the future of payments would depend on how effectively these different forms of money and payment rails could work together.Founded in 2021, BVNK provides infrastructure that allows businesses to send and receive payments across major blockchain networks. In a blog post published on Monday, the company stressed that the acquisition would not affect its existing operations or customer relationships.BVNK also said it would soon begin making Mastercard’s broader capabilities available to its clients. These include wider payment access, card functionality and new methods for moving funds globally.An active period for Mastercard’s crypto strategyMastercard has gradually expanded its activities in the crypto sector over recent months. In June, the company broadened its settlement capabilities to include regulated stablecoins alongside fiat currencies.Under the expansion, USDC, PYUSD and RLUSD were added to card settlement processes across Mastercard’s global payment network.In March, Mastercard also launched a global crypto partnership program with more than 85 crypto-focused companies, including Binance and Ripple. The program aims to develop institutional use cases involving money transfers, settlement and payouts.Viewed against this broader strategy, the BVNK acquisition appears to be more than an isolated move. It marks the latest stage in Mastercard’s effort to integrate stablecoin infrastructure directly into its payment rails.Over the past year, the company has continued to strengthen its position in this market through both partnerships and acquisitions.Analysts say moves by traditional payment giants to own stablecoin infrastructure directly reflect an effort to reduce their dependence on third-party crypto service providers. Mastercard rival Visa has also continued investing in crypto and stablecoin infrastructure.
BNY Moves $59 Trillion Asset Servicing Business to Blockchain
BNY, one of the world’s largest custodian banks, is moving a core part of its business onto blockchain infrastructure. According to a Financial Times report published Thursday, the bank will bring its transfer agency services onchain, positioning itself within the infrastructure taking shape on Wall Street for tokenized funds.For BNY, which oversees more than $59 trillion in assets under custody and administration, this represents far more than a routine technology upgrade. Carolyn Weinberg, the company’s chief product and innovation officer, said the bank is modernizing a function that sits behind every fund transaction, with the goal of recording ownership directly onchain.Millions of accounts, one ownership recordThe scale of the project becomes clearer when considering that the 242-year-old bank services $8.6 trillion in assets across 7.6 million accounts. Today, information about who owns a fund and how much they hold is often stored separately across multiple systems. This structure requires constant reconciliation, adding both time and cost to transactions.By moving transfer agency services to blockchain, BNY plans to create a single record of ownership and reduce the number of intermediaries involved in the process.Emily Portney, global head of asset servicing at BNY, highlighted the more realistic side of the transition. She acknowledged that trillions of dollars in fund assets will remain on traditional financial rails for a long time. The shift, therefore, will take place gradually rather than overnight.The first clients have been identifiedBaillie Gifford, which manages more than $261 billion in assets, is among the first institutions expected to use the system. The companies describe the project as the first fully domestically regulated tokenized fund in the United Kingdom.BlackRock and Dreyfus, BNY’s money market and cash management division, are also expected to use the infrastructure for planned funds.Tokenized money market funds are not a new concept. Major asset managers such as BlackRock and Franklin Templeton have already launched similar products in recent years. These funds hold cash and short-term debt instruments, while issuing ownership shares in the form of blockchain-based tokens.The trend extends beyond BNYEdwin Mata, CEO of tokenization platform Brickken, expects Wall Street to operate entirely on blockchain infrastructure by 2030. Other developments across the banking industry also point in this direction.Some of the largest US banks, including JPMorgan, Citi and Bank of America, reportedly plan to establish a shared tokenized deposit network by the first half of 2027. The initiative comes as banks assess the potential threat that stablecoins could pose to traditional deposits.BNY does not expect legacy systems to disappear immediately. The bank will continue operating its traditional transfer agency infrastructure alongside the blockchain-based system.The transition also carries clear risks. Errors in smart contracts, vulnerabilities in bridges connecting different blockchain networks and broader cybersecurity concerns could complicate the adoption process.BNY is betting that a single blockchain-based ownership ledger can eliminate some of the reconciliation work that still creates significant costs in fund administration. The speed of that transformation will depend on how smoothly blockchain infrastructure can operate alongside traditional financial systems.
1inch Opens New Protocol to Users Across 13 Chains
Decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator 1inch has opened its shared liquidity protocol Aqua to users across 13 Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible chains.How Aqua worksAqua allows liquidity providers to use the same wallet balance across multiple positions instead of dividing their assets among separate pools. Tokens remain in the provider’s wallet until a matching swap takes place.1inch co-founder Sergej Kunz explained that tokens remain in the provider’s wallet and under their control instead of being split among smart contract deposits. A single balance can therefore support several positions across different strategies.In an example provided by 1inch, a $100,000 balance can support three separate positions offering a combined $300,000 in quoted liquidity. This does not mean that additional capital has been created; the figure represents the total amount of liquidity quoted across the positions.Orders can only be executed against assets that are actually available in the wallet. If the balance is insufficient, the swap fails.Unveiled last year1inch first introduced Aqua in November last year, releasing a software development kit, libraries and documentation alongside the protocol.The newly launched public interface allows users to create full-range, concentrated liquidity or fixed-rate positions across several networks. Supported chains include Ethereum, Base, BNB Chain, Arbitrum and Robinhood Chain.The idle liquidity problemThe launch follows research commissioned by 1inch into capital efficiency across concentrated liquidity exchanges.The study found that 85% of the $1.84 billion in liquidity tracked across major concentrated liquidity exchanges was underutilized during the first half of 2026.During an average week, around $542 million remained entirely outside active trading ranges. According to the research, this inactivity resulted in an estimated $150 million in lost annual trading fees.Aqua aims to improve capital efficiency by allowing liquidity providers to deploy the same wallet balance across several strategies without transferring their assets into separate pools.Security and incentives1inch said Aqua has undergone eight independent security audits. Liquidity providers nevertheless remain exposed to risks including price volatility, impermanent loss and smart contract vulnerabilities.A liquidity incentive program distributed through Merkl has also gone live alongside the protocol.The 1inch Foundation has committed 10 million 1INCH tokens over a three-month period, while the 1inch DAO is adding another $500,000 in USDC. At current prices, the token allocation is worth approximately $870,000, bringing the total value of the incentive program to around $1.37 million.Impact on the 1INCH priceThe 1INCH token, which will fund part of the incentive program, was trading at $0.0838 at the time of writing. The token had lost 1.59% over the previous 24 hours.Its price moved between $0.0818 and $0.0863 during the day. The broader performance presents a different picture, with 1INCH gaining 23% over the past 30 days and 5.69% over the past week.The dollar value of the foundation’s 10 million 1INCH commitment may therefore fluctuate from day to day depending on short-term changes in the token’s market price.
Circle Acquires IBM’s Blockchain Patent Portfolio
Digital finance platform Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL) announced that it has acquired a significant portion of IBM’s blockchain patent portfolio. The deal adds more than 680 patent families and approximately 1,000 granted patents worldwide to Circle’s intellectual property holdings.The portfolio covers a broad range of areas, including core blockchain technologies, banking and financial services, insurance, enterprise infrastructure, supply chain verification systems and secure cloud operations. With the acquisition, Circle has become the largest holder of blockchain patents in the United States.How the deal could affect Circle’s productsIn its announcement, Circle said the expanded patent portfolio supports the USDC stablecoin, its cross-border payment infrastructure Circle Payments Network, the enterprise blockchain network Arc, and the company’s broader range of onchain products and autonomous financial tools.Circle and IBM also plan to explore further commercial partnerships in the future, although neither company has shared specific details at this stage.Circle General Counsel and Corporate Secretary Sarah Wilson said intellectual property plays an important role in the company’s goal of accelerating the adoption of onchain infrastructure. According to Wilson, IBM’s long-standing technology expertise strengthens Circle’s ability to develop global financial infrastructure.The companies have not disclosed the financial value of the patent portfolio or the amount Circle paid for the acquisition.IBM’s blockchain history and the background to the saleIBM’s blockchain patent portfolio is the result of years of research and development. Beginning in 2015, the company played a leading role in Hyperledger Fabric, an open-source project hosted by the Linux Foundation. IBM also invested heavily in bringing enterprise blockchain solutions to banking, insurance and supply chain management.Over the past several years, however, IBM has scaled back its blockchain operations and shifted its focus toward artificial intelligence and cloud services. Against this backdrop, the patent sale can be viewed as an effort to monetize intellectual property in an area that is no longer among the company’s main priorities.For Circle, the acquisition comes as cryptocurrency companies place greater emphasis on patent strategies. Rivals such as Coinbase and Ripple have also increased their patent applications in recent years. These portfolios can serve as a defensive shield against intellectual property disputes while potentially creating additional revenue through licensing agreements.Circle is a financial technology company operating across digital assets, payment applications and programmable blockchain infrastructure. Its platform includes a stablecoin network anchored by USDC, the Circle Payments Network for global money transfers and the Arc enterprise blockchain network.The company provides the infrastructure that businesses, financial institutions and developers use to build blockchain-based financial products.
Solana-Based Bridge Protocol Hit by $1.65 Million Exploit
Cross-chain stablecoin bridge Allbridge Core has paused its protocol after approximately $1.65 million was drained from its liquidity pools on Solana. Blockchain security firms CertiK and PeckShield confirmed the exploit.Allbridge enables users to transfer assets between blockchains that do not communicate directly with each other. Its Core product moves native stablecoins such as USDC and USDT from one network to another through liquidity pools, without creating wrapped versions of the assets. How did the attack happen?According to Onchain Lens, the attacker took out a $1.12 million flash loan from Solana-based lending protocol Kamino. A flash loan is an uncollateralized loan borrowed and repaid within the same transaction, meaning the attacker did not need to provide any capital upfront.The attacker then used the borrowed funds to execute a series of trades between USDC and USDT in an Allbridge Core stablecoin pool, disrupting the pool’s internal pricing balance.According to analyst DBCrypto, the sequence was straightforward: borrow the funds, distort the exchange rate, withdraw assets at the manipulated price, repay the loan and keep the difference. Simple, yet effective. A single withdrawal transaction was reportedly worth approximately $2.24 million.The stolen assets were bridged to Ethereum and distributed across multiple addresses. Some reports suggest that the funds are being routed through privacy-focused infrastructure, which could make them more difficult to trace. It remains unclear how much the attacker still holds.Allbridge responds to the exploitAllbridge announced that it had paused the protocol as a precaution while investigating the incident. The team also urged liquidity providers in the affected pools to withdraw their funds.The manipulation created a temporary imbalance in the pools, allowing some traders to profit from arbitrage opportunities. Allbridge is now asking these traders to return the funds so they can be used to compensate liquidity providers.Spot On Chain analyst Hupzy described the rapid movement of funds from Solana to Ethereum as a common money-laundering tactic and said it could complicate recovery efforts.Still, Hupzy noted that the loss remains small compared with Solana’s total market capitalization. Therefore, the exploit is expected to have only a limited direct impact on SOL’s price.Solana market remains calmAt the time of writing, SOL is trading at $76.66, up 1.06% over the past 24 hours. Its daily trading volume has reached $1.43 billion.The main concern centers on trust rather than price. Incidents of this kind weaken confidence in cross-chain bridges, which have repeatedly become targets for hackers because of the large amounts of liquidity they hold.Whether the exploit will accelerate withdrawals from Solana-based bridges and how it will affect the total value locked in these protocols should become clearer in the coming days.This is not the first timeAllbridge suffered a similar flash loan attack targeting its BNB Chain pools in 2023. That incident resulted in losses of approximately $650,000.The company later said it had recovered most of the stolen funds and reviewed its liquidity and withdrawal calculation mechanisms.Allbridge also raised $2 million in 2022 to expand its bridge infrastructure and allocate more resources to security audits. The fact that the same type of attack proved effective again three years later raises fresh questions about how much progress the protocol has made in addressing this vulnerability.
Major Partnership in Japan: SBI and Solana Join Forces
Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings has formed a strategic partnership with the Solana Foundation to build a Japan-based onchain financial market. Under the agreement, the Solana Foundation will acquire a stake in SBI’s blockchain subsidiary, SBI R3 Japan, directly aligning the interests of the two parties under the same structure.According to an announcement released by the company on Monday, SBI R3 Japan plans to change its name to SBI Solana Global. The new company will continue its growth strategy with SBI Holdings and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group as shareholders. The involvement of two major financial groups gives the initiative considerable weight in terms of both capital and institutional credibility.The company’s priorities include issuing and distributing stablecoins, particularly the group’s yen-denominated stablecoin JPYSC. It also plans to structure, tokenize and distribute assets such as corporate bonds, commercial paper, investment funds and real estate.The company will also work on cross-border payment infrastructure. This initiative stands out as an attempt to accelerate trade flows, particularly within Asia.The new venture will provide onchain financial services for institutional investors and develop payment infrastructure for artificial intelligence agents. The latter is especially notable. Building a system in which AI agents can independently make payments remains an area that only a small number of companies currently take seriously.All products will operate on the Solana blockchain.The second major move following JPYSCThe announcement came only a few weeks after SBI launched JPYSC, described as Japan’s first yen-denominated stablecoin backed by a trust bank.On the same day, the group announced that applications would open on July 16 for a 12-week product offering an annual return of 3% on JPYSC deposits through SBI VC Trade. The product indicates that SBI is attempting to position JPYSC as more than a payment instrument, turning it into an investment product capable of generating yield.SBI’s recent expansion has continued at a rapid pace. Last week, the company became the sole investor in Gauntlet’s $125 million Series C funding round. During the same week, it also single-handedly funded EDX Markets’ $76 million Series C round.The fact that both investments occurred within the same week, with SBI acting as the only investor in each deal, highlights both the group’s financial strength and its confidence in crypto infrastructure.In June, SBI also acquired Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Bitbank for approximately $289 million. The acquisition gave the group a direct presence in the retail crypto trading market.Taken together, SBI’s intentions are becoming clearer. The group does not want to remain an investor that simply provides capital to crypto companies. It aims to become a major operator controlling tokenization and stablecoin infrastructure.Bitbank covers the retail market, while Gauntlet and EDX Markets strengthen the infrastructure side. SBI Solana Global completes the picture by establishing a presence in institutional onchain finance.From the Solana Foundation’s perspective, the partnership provides a direct route into Japan, a market with a relatively mature regulatory framework, at an institutional level.Japan’s decision to move relatively early on cryptocurrency regulation also makes the partnership with an established financial group such as SBI a strategic gain for the broader Solana ecosystem.At the time of writing, Solana’s SOL token was trading at around $76.
Hyundai Tests Stablecoin Transfers With Tether and Avalanche
Hyundai Card has completed the first phase of a cross-border stablecoin remittance test carried out in cooperation with Tether and Avalanche. According to the announcement made on Thursday, the test was not conducted on paper. It involved a real money transfer between Hyundai Motor’s U.S. and Mexico units.Hyundai Motor America converted a $20,000 amount into USDT on the Avalanche network. The amount was then sent to the Mexico office and converted back into dollars there. The transaction took about seven minutes. The same transfer would take three to four hours if processed through traditional interbank channels.In traditional cross-border transfers, this delay is usually caused by the transaction passing through multiple intermediary banks. Each intermediary bank carries out its own control and settlement process, which extends the total transfer time. In a stablecoin-based transfer, the number of intermediaries decreases because the transaction takes place directly on the blockchain.Hyundai Card emphasized that the test was not a theoretical trial and was designed around a real settlement need between the company’s overseas units. The company handled the regulatory review, legal and tax checks, and the design of the remittance structure itself. Blockchain payment infrastructure company Axiym also took part in the process.Hyundai Card is one of South Korea’s leading credit card companies and operates under Hyundai Motor Group. The company’s test came at a time when Korean financial institutions are increasing their experiments with blockchain infrastructure. As a similar example, KB Card had also carried out a stablecoin-focused project with Avalanche in recent months.Second Test in EuropeHyundai will launch a second test between its European units later this month. Visa and USDC issuer Circle will also participate in this round.In the second test, real stablecoin transfers will be tested using various local currencies besides the dollar. The goal is to see how much cost advantage stablecoin-based money transfers can provide.While USDT and the Avalanche network were preferred in the first test, the involvement of Circle’s USDC and Visa’s payment infrastructure in the second phase shows that Hyundai Card wants to test different stablecoin and network combinations. This will allow the company to compare which infrastructure is more suitable at an institutional scale using its own data.Institutional stablecoin use has recently attracted growing interest in sectors such as automotive, retail and logistics. For companies, the main appeal is cost as much as speed. In the traditional banking system, commissions and foreign exchange costs can accumulate even in intra-group transfers. Hyundai Card’s two-phase test approach aims to measure these costs with concrete data.The company will decide in the coming period whether to open stablecoin-based payment infrastructure to broader use based on the results of the PoC process.
BNB Chain Builds Its Fourth Chain for Artificial Intelligence Trading
BNB Chain is working on a new layer-1 blockchain designed for agent-based trading and transactions. The project aims to bring transaction pre-confirmation below 50 milliseconds and make front-running attacks harder by operating without a public mempool.The new chain will run alongside the existing BNB Chain infrastructure. According to The Block, the project is part of a technical roadmap covering the second half of 2026. It has been under development for months and is now being shared in this level of detail for the first time. The testnet is planned for the end of 2026, while the mainnet is expected to go live in the first months of 2027.The goal of the project is to offer an experience close to centralized exchanges while allowing users to retain control of their own assets when trading on a decentralized platform.The Gap With Centralized Exchanges Is Not Closing, but It Is NarrowingBNB Chain Chief Technology Officer David Z said a centralized matching engine can operate within microseconds, but no real-world trader actually feels that speed. According to him, round-trip times for co-located market makers remain in the single-digit millisecond range, while the delay is even longer for other users. A pre-confirmation time below 50 milliseconds matches the range that a typical exchange user actually experiences.Z acknowledged that centralized exchanges still lead in co-located high-frequency trading. “For co-located HFT, CEX still wins today. For everyone else, this is a CEX-like experience without custody risk,” he said.Mempool-Free ArchitectureA feature called TxStream routes transactions directly to the block leader instead of sending them to a public mempool. According to Z, this removes the window in which an attacker could see a pending transaction and build a sandwich attack around it, because ordering is locked before the transaction becomes publicly known.This design raises the question of whether the block leader itself creates a monopoly or censorship risk. Z said validators rotate every 200 milliseconds and that this period is not long enough for any validator to build a business around its position. “TxStream does not eliminate MEV. Nothing can. It makes the dominant attack types practically ineffective,” he said.A second component called PriorityLane reserves block space for oracle, liquidation and bridge transactions through an on-chain managed mechanism.BNB Chain said it is targeting more than 100,000 transactions per second and sub-second block finality through jointly optimized consensus, parallel execution and LtHash-based storage. These figures are still targets for a chain that has not yet reached testnet.The Bottleneck Is in the Execution LayerZ said the performance gap is not in consensus or storage, but in the execution layer. He noted that popular smart contracts, such as a DEX swap or a token transfer, repeat the same operations millions of times. As a solution, the team is highlighting just-in-time compilation, known as JIT, and strength reduction methods, techniques that have been used in software development for decades.Regarding the risk that the new chain could split liquidity with BSC, Z said an official native bridge will connect it to BSC, that BSC will remain the settlement hub, and that BNB will function as a unified asset across all chains. The new chain will become the fourth member of the BNB Chain family after BNB Smart Chain, opBNB and Greenfield.The roadmap comes amid a broader competitive landscape in which projects such as Solana’s Firedancer, Monad and MegaETH are also trying to overcome execution-layer bottlenecks.Quantum Security and H1 DataBNB Chain is also running quantum-resistant security tests. Instead of replacing existing cryptography, the project is following a hybrid approach that adds a post-quantum protection layer on top of it. Z said no one in the industry has a full quantum migration plan yet, and that BNB Chain is no exception. He added that the lattice-based LtHash structure used for chain state integrity is already post-quantum today.Updating the signature scheme without changing wallet addresses is a harder problem. Z described the “harvest-now-decrypt-later” scenario as an open issue for the entire industry. If the public key of any account has been exposed, that account could theoretically be at risk once a sufficiently powerful quantum computer emerges.The roadmap also included data on BNB Smart Chain’s performance in the first half of 2026. The block interval dropped to 450 milliseconds, while reference throughput nearly doubled to approximately 5,200 transactions per second.
Binance to Carry Out Six New Listings
Binance is adding four new trading pairs to its Spot market under its tokenized stock product family, bStocks. The exchange announced that Advanced Micro Devices (AMDB), iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWYB), Intel (INTCB), and Strategy (MSTRB) bStocks will begin trading against USDT on June 23, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. Türkiye time. Spot Algo Trading Bots will also be enabled for the same pairs. bStocks are tokenized securities issued by BTech Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of the Binance group. These products are offered under a prospectus approved in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and are not being offered in any other jurisdiction. There is one important detail: bStocks do not represent direct ownership of the underlying shares. They are classified as “certificates representing certain financial instruments” under paragraph 92 of Schedule 1 of the FSMR, meaning investors gain an entitlement to the underlying securities held with the issuer, but do not become shareholders of the company.For the four newly listed pairs, Binance will apply zero maker fees during a promotional period that will run until September 1 at 2:59 a.m. Türkiye time. This may create a cost advantage, especially for users relying on algorithmic and high-volume trading strategies.The conversion mechanism also stands out. Users will now be able to convert their real shares into bStocks at a 1:1 ratio with zero fees. Deposits and withdrawals for all four tokens will open on June 23, 2026, at 5:40 p.m. Türkiye time. All bStocks are managed through smart contracts on BNB Smart Chain; each token has a separate contract address, and these addresses can be verified through BscScan.Binance also highlighted several risk warnings in its announcement. bStocks investors are exposed to liquidity risk, issuer risk, custody risk, broker risk, operational and technological risks, regulatory risk, and tax risk. The exchange urges users to review the relevant prospectus, which is available only to users located in ADGM, as well as the risk disclosure statement, terms of use, and securities trading product terms before trading.The geographical restrictions are also clear. bStocks are not offered in the United States or for the account or benefit of U.S. persons. These products are not registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 or any state securities law, and no public offering is being made outside ADGM. Binance also emphasized that users’ eligibility to trade may vary depending on their country or region, and that the list of restricted jurisdictions may be updated in line with applicable regulations. Users who want to trade these pairs must also complete account verification.On the Margin Side: Two New Pairs for XLMBinance also made a move on the Margin side on the same day. The exchange opened the XLM/U and XLM/USD1 pairs for Cross Margin trading on June 23, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. Türkiye time. Binance warned that newly listed pairs generally tend to show volatility and called on users to apply strict risk management. Details on margin data, collateral ratios, and current rates are available on Binance’s Margin Data page.
MoneyGram Announces Third Blockchain Partnership: Solana
Money transfer giant MoneyGram has taken another step forward in its crypto expansion. The company has started operating as a validator on the Solana blockchain and joined the Solana Developer Platform. This means MoneyGram now runs validators on three different networks at the same time.MoneyGram Chooses SolanaGlobal payments company MoneyGram has officially become a validator on the Solana blockchain and joined the Solana Developer Platform. This marks the company’s third validator operation after Tempo and Midnight Network.MoneyGram CEO and Chairman Anthony Soohoo explained the reasoning behind the move in a statement: “Blockchain infrastructure is becoming increasingly important for global payments. We believe institutions that rely on these networks should also contribute to their security and long-term development.”Becoming a validator gives MoneyGram the ability to stake SOL, validate transaction blocks and directly contribute to the security of the network. Membership in the Developer Platform also means access to financial product development tools on Solana, alongside institutions such as Mastercard.MoneyGram’s blockchain history is not new. The company’s MGUSD stablecoin was built in collaboration with Stripe’s Bridge, Crossmint, Fireblocks, M0 and Stellar. Soohoo recalled that since 2021, the company’s partnership with Stellar has introduced stablecoin cash-in and cash-out points, the MoneyGram Ramps API and in-app stablecoin balances. With its recent partnership with Kraken, MoneyGram has also expanded its off-ramp services.“We have been building real-world payment solutions with blockchain and stablecoins for more than five years,” Soohoo said. “We never saw blockchain as an end in itself; we saw it as a tool that makes money transfers faster and simpler.”The Ripple experience is also part of this story. MoneyGram signed an agreement with Ripple in 2019 and used RippleNet’s XRP-based On-Demand Liquidity product. According to Ripple, the two companies reached billions of dollars in transaction volume during this period. Ripple also paid MoneyGram millions of dollars in fees as part of its expansion into new markets.The partnership was suspended in 2021 after the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple. The SEC alleged that the company had conducted a $1.3 billion unregistered securities offering through its XRP sales. The case was finally closed last year. The 2023 ruling that XRP itself is not a security and that sales on public exchanges did not violate the law remained in place, but Ripple’s direct sales to institutional investors were found to have violated the law. Ripple had previously said both companies were open to working together again in the future. When Soohoo was asked about the possibility of a new partnership with Ripple, his answer was brief: “We cannot comment on potential future partnerships at this time.”At the time of writing, SOL price is around $74.34.
Wave of Attacks Hits Crypto Protocols as Three Platforms Face Pressure
The crypto sector was shaken this weekend by a series of security incidents across three separate protocols. Secret Network’s Axelar bridge fell victim to a multimillion-dollar fake minting attack, Ethereum layer 2 network Taiko completely halted block production after an exploit, and DeFi protocol Altura was forced to liquidate its stablecoin vault following intense withdrawal demand.Secret Network’s Axelar Bridge Exploited for $4.67 MillionA vulnerability in the IBC bridge contract connecting Secret Network to Axelar allowed the attacker to mint unbacked Secret-wrapped tokens. According to an analysis by Common Prefix, the attacker drained around $4.67 million through this method. The attack took place on June 10 but was not detected until June 17, when a failed cross-chain transfer revealed that an escrow account had been emptied.Opening an IBC channel does not require permission, and the attacker used that feature to their advantage. They created a single-validator Cosmos chain, opened a channel to the bridge contract, and relayed fake packets that matched token definitions on the allowlist. Because the contract could not distinguish those packets from ones arriving through the real Axelar channel, it minted unbacked tokens. The flaw traces back to the contract’s original deployment in 2023, while a March 5 update carried over the same missing controls.Axelar disabled the Secret and Secret-SNIP connections and said its own protocol was not affected. Around $672,000 of the stolen assets still remain in the attacker’s wallet. Secret Network requested that these assets be frozen, but Axelar decided not to pursue that request.Taiko Halts Block Production After AttackEthereum-based rollup Taiko confirmed that its chain state validation mechanism had been compromised and told users to withdraw funds from all bridges on the network. All proposers suspended new block production during the investigation, and the team also asked exchanges to halt deposits for the native token. Security firm Blockaid traced the issue to a flaw in Taiko bridge’s source-signal proof verification. Fake message proofs were accepted as valid on Ethereum mainnet without a corresponding real event on the source chain. This allowed the attacker to register fake bridge messages and withdraw assets from the ERC20 vault without authorization.Blockaid estimated the loss at around $1 million, while PeckShield placed the figure closer to $1.7 million. The attacker also moved 1.99 million Taiko tokens, worth about $169,702, to an exchange.Altura Liquidates Vault After “Unprecedented” Withdrawal DemandDeFi protocol Altura announced that it had begun an orderly liquidation of its yield vault after a surge in withdrawal requests over the weekend. CEO Ranveer Arora said more than $8.5 million in instant redemptions had been processed over the past 24 hours. At its peak, the vault held $39 million in stablecoins allocated across strategies such as funding rate arbitrage, market making and real-world asset positions. Arora said the protocol had no direct exposure but was affected by unfounded market narratives. This was a reference to the collapse of Main Street’s yield-bearing msUSD stablecoin, which lost more than 70% of its value. Main Street’s token plunged after proof provider Accountable terminated its service agreement with the protocol.Accountable also provides a similar verification service to Altura. Although this partnership does not create a direct link between the two protocols, it fueled contagion fears across the market.
All Eyes on June 25 for Base’s New Upgrade: B20 Token Standard Is Coming
Base, the Ethereum layer-2 network incubated by Coinbase, deployed its second major upgrade, Beryl, to the Base Sepolia testnet on Thursday. Mainnet activation is scheduled for June 25.At the center of the upgrade is B20, a native token standard designed to issue stablecoins and other assets directly within Base’s node software. Beryl will also reduce the standard withdrawal period from Base to Ethereum from seven days to five. Token Logic Moves Inside the NodeB20 fully implements the ERC-20 specification, including the ERC-2612 permit feature. This allows users to approve token spending with a signature instead of submitting a separate transaction. As a result, the standard is directly compatible with existing wallets, exchanges and indexers built for ERC-20 tokens.The key difference lies in how the tokens are executed. B20 tokens do not operate like conventional smart contracts. They function as precompiled contracts, meaning their logic is written in Rust and runs directly within the node software instead of being deployed onchain as EVM bytecode.The standard comes with an Issuer Toolkit featuring role-based access controls, minting and burning functions, optional supply caps, detailed transfer policies, and freezing and seizure mechanisms for regulatory purposes. Two variants will be available at launch: a general-purpose asset version and a stablecoin version with a fixed six-decimal precision that allows issuers to define their own currency codes.The toolkit is built on code audited by Base and Spearbit. Future upgrades are expected to allow issuers to pay gas fees with their own B20 tokens instead of ETH.Withdrawal Period Reduced to Five DaysBeryl also shortens the time required to withdraw assets from Base to Ethereum. The waiting period on the standard route used by most bridge providers will fall from seven days to five.The change builds on the Multiproofs system introduced with Azul, Base’s first independent upgrade, which went live on the mainnet in May. Multiproofs created a one-day fast-finality route when a trusted execution environment, or TEE, and a zero-knowledge proof agreed that a transaction was valid. However, the high cost of generating ZK proofs has limited the route’s practical use.Beryl instead focuses on the more commonly used slow route, which relies on a single proof. The previous seven-day waiting period was based on Base’s former fault-proof system, which included lengthy delays to give challengers enough time to dispute a withdrawal.Multiproofs narrowed the purpose of that delay to detecting and disabling a faulty prover. According to Base, this change allows the withdrawal window to continue shrinking.Scaling Improvements Behind the ScenesThe upgrade also introduces Reth V2. The new version of the Rust-based execution client, which has served as Base’s sole client since Azul, reduces disk usage across full, minimal and archive nodes.This allows Base to increase its block gas targets without overloading sequencer and RPC nodes, expanding the amount of blockspace available to developers.Base Accelerates Its Upgrade ScheduleBeryl is arriving roughly four weeks after Azul was activated on the mainnet. Base attributes this faster pace to its decision in February to move away from its shared dependency on Optimism’s OP Stack and transition to its own unified technology stack.Base’s next upgrade, Cobalt, is scheduled for September. It is expected to introduce native account abstraction, turning smart accounts into a protocol-level feature and directly integrating capabilities such as gas sponsorship and transaction batching into the network.The roadmap also includes additional B20 features and a single node binary combining the chain’s consensus and execution clients.
New DeFi Exploit Drains $2 Million in Assets
Aztec Labs, which develops privacy-focused scaling solutions on Ethereum, announced that it is investigating a security vulnerability in a discontinued payment product that resulted in losses of approximately $2 million.Blockchain security firm PeckShield estimates that the attack drained roughly $2.165 million worth of crypto assets. The stolen funds included 1,158 ETH, 150,000 DAI and 0.47 renBTC. According to the firm, the attack was funded with 0.134 ETH originating from HitBTC. Second Attack in Four DaysThe incident marked the second exploit targeting discontinued Aztec infrastructure within four days. Last Sunday, a separate attack targeted the immutable Aztec Connect smart contract, draining approximately $2.1 million in assets.Security research firm BlockSec said the latest attack appeared to be connected to the June 14 exploit, although it targeted a separate pool through a different entry point. The firm identified a verification flaw that allowed the attacker to withdraw assets while still passing onchain validation checks.According to BlockSec’s post on X, the vulnerability differed from the flaw used in the previous attack. However, both were associated with circuit public input binding issues and displayed similar execution traces.The Aztec Foundation stressed that there is no connection between the affected product and the smart contracts linked to its current network or the AZTEC ERC-20 token. The compromised product was described as an immutable Stage 2 rollup that had been discontinued four years ago.Aztec Labs also noted that its team has no administrative authority or control mechanism over the system. This is because the rollup, which was shut down in 2022, remains entirely immutable.A Difficult Period for DeFiThe latest incident adds to one of the most severe periods of security failures recently experienced by the DeFi sector. Amid advances in AI-assisted attack techniques, more than 30 protocols have suffered combined losses exceeding $600 million. The largest of these incidents was the Kelp DAO exploit, which caused an estimated $292 million in losses.The attack occurred while the market was already struggling with a growing number of security breaches targeting smart contract platforms, cross-chain bridges and decentralized finance protocols. It has generated further frustration across the crypto community.Cross-chain bridges and rollup systems remain attractive targets for attackers because of the substantial liquidity locked within them. The arrival of another incident shortly after the previous attack has increased concerns among users that these vulnerabilities may reflect a systemic problem rather than isolated failures.Repeated security breaches can cause significantly greater damage to user confidence than a single exploit. The latest attack has therefore dealt another blow to the reputation of the broader DeFi sector.
