Web3 stories

Visa takes a direct stake in Tempo's blockchain operations, joining an early group of outside validators as it deepens its stablecoin and payments push.

Ledger names Ian Rogers as Chief Human Agency Officer, putting hardware approval and human oversight at the centre of its AI security push.

Animoca Brands unveils AliBAE AI creator platform with 100,000 CHECK in bounty rewards and Alibaba's Qwen models.

Animoca Brands' Yat Siu argues autonomous AI agents will become the internet's main actors, with blockchain supplying payments, identity and trust.

Nium unveils a stablecoin card issuance platform that lets businesses spend digital dollar balances via Visa and Mastercard through one API.

Solana unveils an API-based developer platform for banks and payment firms, backed by Mastercard, Worldpay and Western Union pilots.

Austrian startup TACEO unveils encrypted shared network to run finance, identity and AI workloads without exposing sensitive data.

Mastercard to acquire stablecoin platform BVNK in a deal worth up to USD $1.8 billion, deepening its push into on-chain payments.

Bybit launches AI Trading Skill, letting users place crypto trades and manage accounts via natural-language prompts across top AI tools.

KuCoin launches AI Skills Hub, an open marketplace of modular tools letting agents tap exchange data and automate crypto workflows.

Modern Treasury joins Mastercard's Crypto Partner Program to power fiat-crypto on/off-ramps and cross-border blockchain payment flows.

Sentinel Global rebuilds its AI-driven venture team around GIC veteran Jeremy Kranz and expands Sentinel Labs, targeting a 2026 fundraise.

SoFi and Mastercard will use SoFiUSD stablecoin for card settlement worldwide, targeting faster payments, remittances and B2B transfers.

Bitget launches a global Blockchain4Her drive for International Women's Day, pushing gender inclusion and women's leadership in Web3.

Easy Crypto will cease NZ trading, shifting customers to Swyftx as crypto platforms consolidate and demand for advanced tools surges.

Crypto enters 2026 swinging as regulation, stablecoins, Bitcoin and DeFi trade blows in a defining bout for digital finance's future.

Unicity Labs raises USD $3m seed round to build peer-to-peer protocol powering high-throughput autonomous agentic AI marketplaces.

Animoca partners with CryptoSlam's Ethoswarm on Animoca Minds, a cloud platform for always-on AI agents aimed at non-technical users.

YAP Global appoints Otto Jacobsson as CEO, signalling expansion and a broader service mix as the crypto and digital assets sector matures.

Ben Goertzel and Jaron Lanier clash over whether increasingly autonomous AI deserves moral standing or must always remain under human control.