Mastercard is expanding its digital asset services through a new collaboration with MoonPay to simplify stablecoin payments worldwide. The partnership will let 150 million businesses accept stablecoin payments, advancing Mastercard’s push to mainstream cryptocurrency.
Central to this initiative is MoonPay’s Iron technology, which offers stablecoin payment APIs. These allow merchants and fintech companies to quickly add crypto payment options using virtual Mastercards.
MoonPay, acquired by Mastercard earlier this year, aims to boost stablecoin adoption by making crypto payments as easy as traditional card transactions.
Stablecoins have grown into a $245 billion market, with transfer volumes in 2024 reaching $27.6 trillion—surpassing combined Visa and Mastercard transactions.
Meanwhile, regulatory progress continues in the US, where Congress considers two bills aimed at stabilising the stablecoin market. Despite ongoing classification uncertainties, recent regulatory actions suggest growing acceptance of the sector.
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Pi Network has launched a $100 million venture fund to boost its ecosystem and promote real-world adoption of its crypto. The fund, named Pi Network Ventures, aims to invest in startups that integrate Pi tokens or use Pi Network technology.
It targets a broad range of sectors including generative AI, gaming, fintech, ecommerce, payments, marketplaces, and social networks.
Operating like a traditional Silicon Valley venture capital firm, the fund will follow standard sourcing, selection, and vetting processes. Investments will cover startups at all stages, from early seed rounds to later Series B and beyond.
However, unlike most funds focused solely on profit, Pi Network Ventures emphasises value creation and ecosystem utility.
The initiative aims to drive demand for the Pi token by supporting projects that add real-world value and foster innovation. Pi Network hopes to expand its reach beyond purely crypto-native companies and grow adoption across multiple industries.
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Tether challenges Big Tech’s AI control with QVAC, a platform that runs AI agents on personal devices. Unlike traditional AI using centralised data centres, QVAC runs directly on devices like smartphones and brain-computer interfaces.
The company plans to release an open-source software development kit later this year to support developers.
Named after the AI in Isaac Asimov’s 1956 story The Last Question, QVAC aims to create a decentralised AI ecosystem. Tether’s CEO Paolo Ardoino said the platform gives users control over their data and computation, not large corporations.
The system can potentially support trillions of AI agents functioning autonomously and transacting in Bitcoin and USDT.
Tether positions QVAC as a framework to break the centralised dominance of tech giants such as Google and Meta.
The release date and price are unknown, but Ardoino says QVAC aims to be an ‘infinite intelligence platform’ that runs independently, boosts privacy, and ushers in a new AI era.
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BlackRock has highlighted quantum computing as a potential risk to Bitcoin’s long-term security in its recent Bitcoin ETF filing. The inclusion marks a rare mention of quantum risk in mainstream finance.
Bitcoin has been trading strongly, recently surpassing $105,000 before a slight pullback to around $103,000.
Quantum computing could theoretically break the cryptography that protects Bitcoin wallets, but experts stress this threat remains decades away. Bitcoin developers have been preparing for quantum resistance with upgrades like Taproot, and emerging cryptographic alternatives are already under testing.
The risk disclosure by BlackRock mainly follows SEC filing requirements rather than signalling imminent danger.
Bitcoin’s price momentum remains robust after breaking key resistance levels near $97,700. However, technical indicators like the RSI suggest the asset is approaching overbought conditions, which might lead to a short-term correction.
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Russian power engineers have found new ways to spot illegal crypto mining farms in areas with power shortages. In Dagestan, Rosseti and its local branch worked with internet providers to cut internet briefly and measure electricity drops.
The operation detected about 900 mining rigs using 3.2 MW—enough energy for 1,500 homes—even though fewer than 900 families live there.
Dagestan leads illegal crypto mining in the North Caucasus. Despite a winter ban until 2031, many miners operate year-round, avoiding proper electricity payments.
Officials estimate that illegal mining has cost the grid $5 million over three years, causing overloads and losses. Authorities want to expand mining bans and introduce harsher penalties, including possible criminal charges.
Some regions with spare power capacity may allow legal mining, but places like Irkutsk have banned it entirely until 2031. Experts say heavier fines and jail terms could be a stronger deterrent than current minor penalties.
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Kazakhstan is looking to modernise its energy system through digital mining. The government is also considering broader legalisation of crypto trading beyond its current regulatory zone.
Under a proposed ’70/30′ model, foreign investors would fund upgrades to thermal power plants, with 70% of the new energy routed to the national grid and 30% used by mining operations.
Kanysh Tuleushin, First Vice Minister of Digital Development, said the model mirrors practices in the United States, where miners consume surplus electricity to help stabilise supply.
He also suggested using leftover petroleum gas to power mining farms, cutting waste and boosting income for oil producers. The mining sector has contributed $34.6 million in tax revenue, registering over 415,000 devices and issuing 84 licences.
The government is working on plans to extend crypto trading beyond the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), which currently holds exclusive authority. Although trading within the AIFC reached $1.4 billion in 2024, the overall market is much larger and mostly unregulated.
Kazakhstan is additionally expanding the use of the digital tenge to ensure full transparency in public expenditure. The central bank has issued 250 billion digital tenge so far, using unique tags to trace how funds are spent.
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European authorities have broken up a crypto laundering ring that moved over €21 million for criminal groups tied to China and the Middle East. Dubbed the ‘mafia crypto bank,’ the group used the hawala method and cryptocurrency to obscure illicit fund transfers.
Seventeen suspects were arrested in a Spanish-led operation, with additional arrests in Austria and Belgium. Most of those detained were of Chinese and Syrian origin, allegedly serving clients involved in drug trafficking and migrant smuggling.
Police seized €4.5 million in assets, including digital currencies, cash, vehicles, shotguns, and luxury goods.
The group posed as a remittance business and advertised its services on social media. The crackdown highlights growing concern over crypto’s role in organised crime, with illicit transactions reaching $51.3 billion in 2024.
Crypto crime continues to surge in 2025, with $1.74 billion in losses reported already—exceeding all of last year.
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The Ethereum Foundation has launched the Trillion Dollar Security Initiative to boost security across its network. The project aims to improve user experience, wallet protection, smart contract safety, and infrastructure resilience.
It is led by Fredrik Svantes and Josh Stark, with support from ecosystem experts samczsun, Medhi Zerouali, and Zach Obront.
Ethereum remains the leading platform for decentralized finance (DeFi), holding 50-60% of total value locked across blockchains, with nearly $80 billion as of mid-May. The Foundation emphasises that billions of users collectively secure trillions of dollars on the Ethereum network.
Ethereum’s recent Pectra upgrade, the most significant since The Merge, has introduced key enhancements including smart contract external accounts, higher staking limits, and data blobs per block.
Since the upgrade, Ethereum’s native token ETH has surged over 43%, signalling renewed market confidence.
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Google is introducing new protections on Android devices to combat phone call scams, particularly those involving screen-sharing and app installations. Users will see warning messages if they attempt to change settings during a call and Android will also block the deactivation of Play Protect features.
The system will now block users from sideloading apps or granting accessibility permissions while on a call with unknown contacts.
The new tools are available on devices running Android 16 and select protections are also rolling out to older versions, starting with Android 11
A separate pilot in the UK will alert users trying to open banking apps during a screen-sharing call, prompting them to end the call or wait before proceeding.
These features expand Android’s broader efforts to prevent fraud, which already include AI-based scam detection for phone calls and messages.
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US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester Peirce recently discussed the potential of tokenising traditional financial assets. These include stocks and bonds, which were addressed during the Crypto Task Force’s roundtable on 12 May.
Peirce highlighted tokenisation as a natural evolution of financial infrastructure, bringing crypto assets onto blockchain networks. She argued that this shift would make financial assets more accessible and flexible, offering significant efficiency and participation benefits.
At the core of the transformation are smart contracts, which automate asset management tasks like dividend distribution and asset transfers. Peirce highlighted stablecoins and tokenised money market funds as examples of blockchain enhancing financial systems.
By decentralising assets, tokenisation allows for broader participation and enables their use in more advanced financial applications, including decentralised finance (DeFi).
Despite its promise, legal uncertainties around tokenisation remain a barrier to its widespread adoption. Peirce called for clearer regulatory guidelines, stressing the importance of treating tokenised assets and traditional securities similarly.
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