Mind The Block: Your Weekly Dose of Web3 News and Insights
Mind The Block Headlines This Week
Table of Contents
- PYUSD expands to Cardano
- Arkham adds Mantle data
- OKX gets MiCA license
- Humanity raises $1.1B
- Crypto boosts banks
- The Beacon Listed
- Stellar Eyes 16% Surge
- Best crypto bridges
News
- Solana has surpassed Ethereum in transaction fees collected in 2024.
- PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin, issued on Solana and Ethereum chains, is now accessible on Cardano’s ecosystem.
- Starknet plans to launch the second phase of STRK staking for its native token in Q2 2025, following the launch of the first phase in September 2024.
- Bitget Wallet has unveiled its 2025 strategy, focusing on PayFi, seamlessly integrating earning, spending, and sending crypto.
- Igloo Inc., the parent company of Pudgy Penguins, has launched Abstract Chain.
- Russian power giant Rosseti Group is exploring mining opportunities to optimize idle power in Russia.
- Nasdaq’s proposal to allow in-kind redemptions for BlackRock’s Spot Bitcoin ETF could significantly impact trading strategies.
- CDARI has partnered with Squirrel Wallet to improve Web3 asset security.
- Bitcoin and the crypto market are at risk of an extended correction due to the rise of DeepSeek, a China-based artificial intelligence startup.
Extras By Mind The Block
- Swell and LIFT have announced a strategic partnership to merge AI and Web3 technologies.
- INTO has partnered with Ark of Panda, a popular virtual reality platform, to revolutionize Web3-based social networking through VR.
- Virtuals Protocol, an AI-focused platform, has announced its expansion to the Solana blockchain, supported by Jupiter Exchange and LayerZero.
- BlockDAG’s historic presale, which raised more than $185 million, has given major coins a run for their money.
- Maple Finance has launched a Bitcoin-linked yield product, “Lend + Long,” which combines treasury yields with Bitcoin upside potential.
- Lugano, a key hub for Bitcoin adoption and education, has significantly influenced local cryptocurrency trading activities and investor interest.
- EU Parliament Member René Aust advocates adopting Bitcoin to protect against government manipulation and inflation.
- Zoth has launched its first Restaking Layer for Real-World Asset Finance (RWAFi), ZeUSD.
- DePIN Union has partnered with DeSpeed to boost real-time, blockchain-verified connectivity data.

Major Companies Making Moves
- Arkham Intelligence has integrated Mantle data into its blockchain analytics platform.
- World Liberty Financial, supported by the Trump family, invested $10 million USDT in Ethereum.
- Bybit Pay has launched in Brazil, enabling instant crypto and fiat payments for over 60 million users.
- TRON DAO has launched the TRON Portal by Messari, providing users with real-time insights and key metrics on the TRON network.
- Microstrategy plans to issue 2,500,000 shares of Series A Perpetual Strike Preferred Stock through a public offering.
- TON plans to launch a layer-2 payment network as part of The Open Network’s 2025 roadmap
Government, SEC & Regulation
- OKX has secured a MiCA license, expanding its regulated crypto services to over 400 million users across 30 European countries.
- Trump’s tax-free US crypto policy could boost US projects but risks disadvantaging global crypto competition.
- South Korea’s Web3 industry faces challenges due to unclear regulations and a lack of guidelines.
- KuCoin has pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and agreed to pay $300 million in fines and forfeitures.
- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has announced plans to hold public roundtables to discuss digital asset regulation and market structure.
- Tuttle Capital seeks SEC approval for its first-ever Chainlink, Cardano, and Polkadot ETFs.
- Chinese lender Bank of Communications has issued a $300 million digital bond in Hong Kong.
- The US Senate has confirmed Scott Bessent as the new Treasury secretary, succeeding Janet Yellen.
- Alchemy Pay has registered as a Digital Currency Exchange Provider with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre.
- Poland has become the world’s fifth-largest Bitcoin ATM center after installing 10 new machines, surpassing El Salvador.
- Venice.ai founder Erik Voorhees has launched the VVV token to combat AI censorship and surveillance.
Raises & Major Investments rounds
- Humanity Protocol, a decentralized identity blockchain solution, has secured a $1.1 billion funding round from Jump Crypto and Pantera Capital.
- Pixion Games (Fableborne) raised $12.40M in a funding round led by Delphi Digital, with participation from Sky Mavis.

- Layer 1 stablecoin blockchain BenFen raised $10M in a funding round from Bixin Ventures.
- Analog secured $5 Million in a funding round, raising its total funding to $21 Million to advance web3 interoperability.
Trends & Narrative
- Vitalik Buterin suggests’ skin in the game for governance’ to enhance governance in open cryptosystems.
- Crypto policy can revitalize community banks, the backbone of local economies, by adopting digital cash stablecoins and blockchain technology.
- Memetic warfare, the strategic deployment of memes to shape public opinion and influence societal narratives, will define the digital age.
- Primus Labs aims to help developers build Web3 apps using advanced cryptographic tools that bridge Web2 data with blockchain-powered internet.
- OECD highlights the eight main obstacles to tokenization, including a lack of liquidity, industry standardization, and legal clarity.
NFTs, Gaming, Metaverse
- The Beacon, a free roguelite RPG, has been listed on Steam and the Epic Games Store, allowing players to wishlist it ahead of its global release.
- DraftKings has settled with the NFL union over a NFT pay dispute.
- Beragame, a P2E game on Berachain, combines strategy, NFTs, and a player-driven ecosystem.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art is introducing a blockchain-based game called Art Links.
- Colle AI, a multichain AI-NFT platform, has integrated Ripple’s XRP Ledger to enhance blockchain connectivity.
- Hungri Games has launched Metahorse Unity, a blockchain-based horse racing game on the Base blockchain.
- YGG Pilipinas, the regional partner of YGG in the Philippines, has released a short film titled “Metaverse Filipino Worker” on YouTube
Onchain Data
- Stellar’s price prediction suggests a 16.61% increase in the next five days, reaching $0.473876.
- TRON is under bearish pressure, with bulls struggling to defend $0.22 support.
- OM surged 60% due to strong market momentum and investor confidence, focusing on AI and RWA tokenization.
- UNI’s price action is influenced by a few key cohorts, including bearish large investors and UNI whales.
- Cardano (ADA) price dropped 8% in 24 hours, with bearish pressure pushing it between $0.87 support and $0.95 resistance.

Educational Guides and Tips from Mind the Block
- How do you buy Bitcoin with a Gift card?
- Create a crypto investment strategy in 3 steps: A 3-step beginner strategy for Long-term gains.
- Best crypto bridges for Cross-chain transactions in 2025.
- How to find new meme coins early? Discover the next 100X meme.
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