Financial Institutions and Crypto Brokers

OKX, a crypto broker, has announced the official launch of its trading platform and Web3 wallet service in the Netherlands. The platform will allow Dutch customers to trade nearly 150 crypto assets. As a promotional offer, Dutch customers can deposit euros into their accounts for free, and the broker offers at least 60 trading pairs that can be traded with EUR.

American broker Robinhood announced the acquisition of one of Europe’s largest crypto brokers, Bitstamp, for $200 million. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the first half of 2025. Bitstamp currently holds more than 50 active licenses and registrations worldwide, with Galaxy Digital Partners LLC acting as its sole financial advisor.

Binance announced that it will restrict the availability of stablecoins in the European Union that are deemed unregulated by the EU from the end of June. The rules outlined in the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) will come into effect at the end of June. This will be the first step towards entering the new regulatory framework and will significantly impact the stablecoin market in the European Economic Area. During the transitional period, there is no information yet on which assets meet the MiCA regulations. Until further notice, trading with the two most popular stablecoins, USDT and USDC, will continue to operate smoothly on the platform.

Austrian financial company Bitpanda has partnered with Deutsche Bank to enable real-time incoming and outgoing fiat payments for German crypto traders, providing greater liquidity for the platform.

MoonPay, a company dealing with crypto payment infrastructure, has made structural changes and laid off 10% of its workforce, about 30 people, citing a high-cost structure and lower-than-expected operating margins.

Binance has re-partnered with Mastercard, allowing users to purchase crypto assets using their cards.

Project Investments

Modular blockchain Avail, which spun off from Polygon last year, raised $43 million in a Series A funding round before the launch of its mainnet. Investors included Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, Dragonfly, and Cyber Fund. With this round, total funding has reached $75 million, which will be used to build a rollup-centric infrastructure.

Polygon Labs announced the acquisition of Toposware, a blockchain research company specializing in zero-knowledge technology. This is their third significant ZK acquisition in less than three years, part of their strategy to enhance their ZK arsenal.

Blockchain Developments, Partnerships, Web3, and DeFi

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has appointed Mo Shaikh, co-founder and CEO of Aptos Labs, as a new member of its subcommittee on digital assets, among other members from BlackRock, BNY Mellon, Uniswap Labs, and Polygon Labs. The 34-member team advises the agency on regulation and rulemaking.

Galaxy Digital, led by Michael Novogratz, has tokenized a Stradivarius violin made in 1708, once owned by Russian Empress Catherine the Great. Its current owner is Yat Siu, co-founder of Animoca Brands, and it is valued at approximately $9 million. Tokenizing this iconic instrument marks a significant step in applying blockchain technology to preserve the value of unique real-world assets.

North American Bitcoin mining and hosting service provider Core Scientific has signed a 12-year contract with AI hyperscaler CoreWeave. The partnership diversifies the company’s business model between Bitcoin mining and alternative computing storage, aiming to maximize cash flow and minimize risk. The deal is expected to generate an average annual revenue of about $290 million.

IOTA Network announced the launch of IOTA EVM, a fully EVM-compatible Layer 2 solution that introduces features such as smart contracts, cross-chain functionality, parallel processing, and enhanced security against Maximal Extractable Value (MEV). The launch marks a significant step toward integrating real-world assets into DeFi, with partners including LayerZero, Stargate Finance, Pyth Network, and Supra.

The Cardano Foundation, behind the Cardano blockchain, announced a new partnership in Argentina. Under the agreement with Entre Ríos province, Cardano aims to promote blockchain adoption in the region.

The privacy protocol Nocturne, supported by Vitalik Buterin, announced its gradual shutdown and the discontinuation of the privacy protocol created last year. The reason for the closure was not disclosed.

Leading interoperable platform Wormhole launched the Stake For Governance feature, allowing W token holders to participate in the governance of Wormhole DAO and the platform’s future direction. However, they must bridge their W tokens from Solana to an EVM chain.

Rug Pull

WWE wrestling legend Hulk Hogan reportedly briefly entered the crypto industry. He promoted a Solana-based memecoin online and then quickly deleted the posts. The suspicious rug pull operation saw the token’s market capitalization plummet from $17 million to $2 million after he deleted the tweets about it.