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In brief Mesh raised $75 million in Series C funding led by Dragonfly Capital, achieving a $1 billion “unicorn” valuation. The crypto payments network’s unified infrastructure connects different wallets, chains, and digital assets. Mesh’s technology enables consumers to pay with any cryptocurrency while merchants receive instant settlement in their preferred stablecoin or fiat currency. Mesh, a crypto payments network, announced Tuesday that it has raised $75 million in Series C funding, reaching a $1 billion valuation with over $200 million in total capital raised to date.Dragonfly Capital led the latest round that crowns Mesh as the latest crypto “unicorn” with…

Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure Senator Roger Marshall moved to add a swipe fee rule to a crypto market structure bill last week, a step that briefly put card fees back in the spotlight as lawmakers weigh how to rein in rising costs for small sellers. The change would push banks and payment networks to allow more than one route for processing card payments, giving merchants a choice that could drive down swipe fees. Some analysts also say it could have implications for crypto payment solutions in the US. Marshall Files Swipe…

Bitcoin’s 2026 problem is the weekendI keep coming back to this line because it feels brutally true in the way only markets can be true.The only thing worse than buying Bitcoin this year was not buying Bitcoin. If you held dollars, you got quietly taxed.The dollar has been sliding, and the mood around “anti-dollar” assets has been getting louder by the day.If you held hard assets, you got rewarded loudly and publicly, with the kind of chart that makes people text you screenshots at 2 a.m.Gold has traded above $5,000 an ounce, silver has pushed into triple digits, and even…

Software firm turned Bitcoin treasury company Strategy has been buying Bitcoin for more than five years, pioneering the growing trend of publicly traded firms that are adding cryptocurrencies to their balance sheets.What started as a way to “maximize long-term value for shareholders” has transformed into an industry-shifting paradigm that has been further fueled by greater entwinement of traditional financial markets and crypto. Along the way, Strategy has accumulated 712,647 BTC, or nearly 3.4% of the fixed 21 million total Bitcoin supply—a stash worth about $63 billion at today’s Bitcoin price above $88,000.Regardless of how high Bitcoin’s price goes, though, Saylor has…

In brief The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority is consulting on new rules covering consumer duty, conduct and oversight for crypto firms, including international operators. The proposals are part of a wider UK effort to bring cryptoassets fully under financial regulation. It continues to grant approvals for firms to operate in the UK, including for Ripple earlier this month. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched a new consultation last week seeking feedback on proposals to govern how crypto firms do business in the country.The consultation focuses on how firms offering cryptoasset services should meet requirements around consumer protection, conduct standards…

In brief Bitcoin ETFs saw $6.8 million in inflows yesterday, after five consecutive days in which daily total outflows ranged from $32 million to $708 million. The price of Bitcoin has posted a 1% gain in 24 hours, with analysts arguing that more gains are dependent on whether flows remain positive. Some analysts also suggest that Bitcoin’s price is increasingly tied to the U.S. dollar, which could rebound after a period of steady decline. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $6.8 million in net inflows yesterday, putting an end to five consecutive days of outflows that saw the investment products shed…

South Dakota Republican Rep. Logan Manhart has introduced House Bill 1155, a proposal that would permit the state to invest public funds in Bitcoin.  The legislation, formally filed in the 101st Legislative Session, allows the State Investment Council to allocate up to 10% of state funds available for investment to BTC, marking a potential first for the state in adopting crypto as part of its investment strategy. The bill outlines multiple options for holding BTC safely. State funds could be held directly by the Investment Council through a secure custody solution, entrusted to a qualified custodian, or acquired in the…

Vitalik Buterin said he no longer agrees with his 2017 tweet that downplayed the need for users to personally verify Ethereum end-to-end.This week, he argued the network should treat self-hosted verification as a non-negotiable escape hatch as its architecture gets lighter and more modular.Buterin’s original position grew out of a design debate over whether a blockchain should commit to state on chain or treat state as “implied,” reconstructable only by replaying ordered transactions.Ethereum’s approach, putting a state root in each block header and supporting Merkle-style proofs, lets a user prove a specific balance, contract code, or storage value without re-executing…

In brief Amnesty International says mass escapes from scam compounds have left thousands stranded. Survivors report rape, torture and killings inside compounds run by criminal gangs. The group urges Cambodia and foreign governments to provide urgent humanitarian and consular assistance. Amnesty International warned Tuesday that mass escapes and releases from online scam compounds in Cambodia has created a humanitarian crisis, leaving thousands of people stranded on the streets without state support.“This mass exodus from scamming compounds has created a humanitarian crisis on the streets that is being ignored by the Cambodian government,” said Montse Ferrer, Amnesty International’s regional research director.…

Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin (BTC) treasury company, Strategy, appears undeterred by recent weakness across the crypto markets. Saylor says the firm has acquired an additional 2,932 BTC for approximately $264.1 million at an average price of $90,061 per Bitcoin. Strategy (MSTR) now holds 712,647 BTC acquired for approximately $54.19 billion, at an average cost of $76,037 per Bitcoin. The firm, which trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker MSTR, is the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin and was the first public company to adopt BTC as its sole treasury reserve asset. Strategy’s stock has faced pressure amid broader crypto market…

In brief Standard Chartered estimates that $500 billion will move from bank deposits to stablecoins by 2028. Regional banks face the greatest risk as they rely on net interest margin for over 60% of revenue. Stablecoin yield legislation could reshape traditional banking if passed by end of Q1 2025. Roughly $500 billion worth of cash will shift from bank deposits into stablecoins by 2028, estimated Standard Chartered Global Head of Digital Assets Rearch Geoff Kendrick in a note shared with Decrypt.It’s a more modest estimate than Kendrick offered up in October, when he wrote that stablecoins could lure $1 trillion…