News & Research

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has launched Krak, a blockchain-powered global money app allowing users to send funds peer-to-peer across 110 countries without needing bank details or wallet addresses, CoinDesk reported. Krak supports over 300 assets, including crypto, stablecoins and fiat currencies. The app also offers up to 4.1% rewards on USDG stablecoin balances and up to 10% yield on over 20 digital assets.

Wormhole announced on X a partnership with Ripple (XRP) to provide multichain interoperability for the XRP Ledger and its upcoming EVM sidechain. The integration aims to support developers and institutions building multichain applications across payments, DeFi and real-world asset use cases.

Aqua1 Foundation, a Web3 investment fund, has invested $100 million in WLFI, the governance token of Trump-linked DeFi platform World Liberty Financial, according to its Medium blog. The partnership aims to advance blockchain-based finance, focusing on real-world asset tokenization, stablecoin use and global expansion. The two entities will also co-develop BlockRock, a platform for institutional-grade RWA tokenization.

Taurus, a digital asset infrastructure provider, has launched a private stablecoin contract on the Aztec Network, targeting financial institutions wary of privacy issues, according to CoinDesk. The contract combines zero-knowledge privacy with USDC-style compliance features, allowing encrypted transactions while enabling regulatory access when needed.

U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) declined at an annual rate of 0.5% in the first quarter of 2025, missing the market forecast of a 0.2% contraction, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis available on Investing.com. This marks a significant reversal from the previous quarter’s 2.4% expansion. The figure released today is the final estimate.

Stablecoin payments platform Rain has partnered with Toku, a compliance provider for digital asset compensation, to launch a stablecoin payroll system. According to CoinDesk, this system enables real-time, cross-border payroll processing while adhering to labor and tax laws in over 100 countries. Initially supporting USDC, RLUSD and USDG, the service integrates with existing payroll systems and will expand stablecoin support based on demand and compliance.

Canadian cryptocurrency mining company HIVE Digital Technologies announced via its official website that it holds $181.1 million in digital assets as of the end of fiscal year 2025, including 2,201 Bitcoin.

The Central Bank of Brazil will update its accounting rules for digital assets held by companies, including those issued, received or held in custody, according to Bitcoin.com News. A public consultation on the regulatory draft will begin on Aug. 24, covering assets from staking and airdrops.

Swedish-listed firm Bitcoin Treasury Capital revealed on X that it has acquired 66 Bitcoin for approximately $7 million, or 66 million Swedish kronor, at an average price of around $105,270 per coin. The company said the purchase marks the start of its long-term Bitcoin treasury strategy.

Financial services and investment management firm Galaxy Digital has raised $175 million for its new venture fund, surpassing its initial $150 million target, to invest in startups at the intersection of traditional finance and crypto, according to Fortune Crypto. The firm has already deployed $50 million into companies like EVM-compatible blockchain project Monad and stablecoin protocol Ethena (ENA).