News linked to both this project and an event.
Odaily reports: Crypto wallet provider Tangem has announced the launch of its first physical Visa card, supporting in-store and online purchases as well as ATM withdrawals, with an initial limited release of 5,000 cards. Users can top up the card directly from their self-custodial wallet, and if the card is suspended or closed, funds can be transferred back to the wallet.More than 40% of Tangem Pay payments come from Latin America, and over 30% from the United States. Tangem stated that the physical card currently cannot be shipped to approximately 20 countries and regions, including China, Russia, North Korea, and Palestine, with these restrictions affected by KYC, sanctions, banking rules, and card issuance compliance requirements.Tangem Pay will also offer USDC cashback on eligible purchases, with 1% cashback for Basic users and 2% for Plus users. Tangem plans to showcase the first batch of physical cards during Token2049 in Singapore. (Cointelegraph)
cryptocurrency exchange OKX has announced the launch of OKX Money, a stablecoin savings and payment app, now available in parts of Latin America, Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East, offering up to 10% annualized yield on eligible USDG balances.Users can fund their accounts with over 50 supported currencies, with funds converted into USD-backed stablecoins, and can hold, send, and spend USDG, USDC, or USDT. The app supports both virtual and physical cards, and eligible USDG balances can earn yield without staking or lock-up requirements.OKX stated that the app will roll out gradually in accordance with regional requirements, with specific legal entities and regulatory frameworks varying by jurisdiction, and the initial launch markets have not yet been disclosed. Yields and eligibility conditions vary by region and user, and users can unlock higher yield tiers by meeting a 30-day average deposit threshold, reaching a 30-day spending amount, or upgrading their exchange VIP level. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily News — According to a recently published guide to European crypto trading platforms, Gate Europe has been named one of the European platforms suited for low-cost spot trading and EUR fiat on-ramp. The platform has obtained MiCA authorization from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), offers a standard spot trading fee of 0.1%, and supports EUR funding via SEPA bank transfers. In terms of user coverage, Gate Europe can accommodate the trading needs of users ranging from beginners to advanced traders, with strong suitability for spot trading users; in response to European users' asset migration needs, the platform also supports migration from USDT to USDC. BeInCrypto previously included Gate Europe in its guide to MiCA-licensed platforms, and continues to follow its regulatory progress and service capabilities in the European market.Currently, Gate Europe has taken the lead in obtaining the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) license and a Payment Institution (PI) license, continuously strengthening its compliance foundation in the European market. Meanwhile, Gate Connect, Gate Card, and related support systems have completed PCI DSS v4.0.1 Level 1 compliance assessment. Against the backdrop of the full implementation of the MiCA regulatory framework and European users' growing attention to legal entities, scope of authorization, and fiat channels, Gate Europe is leveraging its compliance credentials to provide European users with a more comprehensive digital asset trading and fund services experience. (BeInCrypto)
Odaily News: On-chain detective ZachXBT posted on X that he once posed as a client to infiltrate a criminal group suspected of laundering money for the North Korea-backed hacker organization Lazarus Group, and assisted in freezing funds related to the 2025 Bybit attack.ZachXBT stated that after Bybit suffered a $1.5 billion attack in February 2025, he discovered that more than 15 accounts in public Telegram and Discord groups were seeking help processing transactions related to the stolen funds. He subsequently contacted one of the Telegram users using the alias "Jimmy Green" and built trust through multiple transactions. According to his disclosure, on March 6, 2025, he transferred $3.497 million in USDC to an Ethereum address for a USDC-to-TRON-chain USDT exchange transaction with the counterparty. The source of gas funds for that address can be traced back to the Bybit attack funds and was publicly flagged as a Bybit attack blacklisted address.ZachXBT said that in subsequent communications, the counterparty revealed that their team had been involved in processing the stolen Bybit funds and disclosed in advance that the funds would be moved across chains including Solana. By matching transaction timing, amounts, and on-chain data, he identified a wallet cluster involving more than $12 million in Bybit attack funds, with fund paths spanning multiple networks including BTC→ETH→SOL→TRON. Approximately 442,000 USDT was frozen by Tether, and the group also attempted to launder money through Uniswap liquidity pools and low-liquidity tokens. Additionally, the counterparty disclosed having helped other clients process approximately $3 million in fraudulent proceeds, and ZachXBT traced the related funds to wallets associated with the sanctioned Huione Guarantee.ZachXBT revealed that in this investigation, he initially invested $3.497 million and bore a loss risk of approximately 5% per transaction. The intelligence ultimately obtained was provided to relevant investigative agencies and law enforcement authorities at the earliest opportunity. Since 2022, he has assisted in freezing over $75 million in funds related to North Korea-linked incidents.
Odaily News: The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) filed a lawsuit on Friday against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenging its authority to grant national trust bank charters to crypto firms and asking the court to vacate the final rule dated March 2, 2026, and Interpretive Letter No. 1176.ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said the charters give crypto firms the credibility of a federal bank charter without requiring compliance with federal deposit insurance, capital and liquidity standards, and the Community Reinvestment Act. The ICBA also seeks to revoke Protego Holdings' conditional charter, citing deficiencies in its governance and risk controls.The lawsuit involves digital asset firms that have applied for or obtained OCC charters, including Circle, Ripple, Paxos, Fidelity, BitGo, Kraken parent company Payward, Block, and World Liberty Financial. Senator Elizabeth Warren separately accused the approvals of being unlawful, drawing pushback from the industry; the OCC plans to complete stablecoin rules under the GENIUS Act by November. (Decrypt)
Odaily News: USDC issuer Circle has submitted recommendations to the European Commission, advocating for revisions to the rules for foreign stablecoins under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and the establishment of a recognition mechanism for foreign issuers.Circle suggests that foreign stablecoin issuers should be primarily regulated by the authorities in their place of registration, and after obtaining equivalence recognition from relevant parties and the European Banking Authority (EBA), EU-licensed local entities would be responsible for distribution. This mechanism would also allow euro stablecoins to circulate in foreign jurisdictions.Circle also requested the removal of the requirement for e-money token issuers to hold 30% of reserve assets in commercial banks; for "significant" e-money tokens, the ratio is 60%. The company argues that this requirement increases exposure to banking credit risk and counterparty risk. (Bitcoin.com News)
Circle has submitted a formal response to the European Commission’s consultation on the review of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). Circle stated that currently only three of the top 25 global stablecoins by market capitalization—USDC, USDG, and EURC—are regulated under MiCA. Therefore, it recommends retaining the "Multi-Issuance" mechanism, allowing globally circulating stablecoins to be jointly issued by EU entities authorized under MiCA and overseas regulated entities, to prevent related demand from shifting outside the EU's regulatory scope. Circle also recommended establishing a long-term "equivalence and recognition" regime for overseas-regulated stablecoins, and revisiting MiCA's requirement that e-money token issuers deposit at least 30% of reserve assets in commercial banks, proposing instead more flexible minimum asset liquidity requirements. Furthermore, Circle recommended removing the 35% position limit on single sovereign assets and the restriction limiting single banking exposure to no more than 1.5% of the bank's total assets.
Odaily News — Gracy Chen, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Bitget, said the company is not optimistic about recovering the $388 million in crypto assets lost in last week's security incident. Citing the Bybit hack in 2025 as a reference, she noted that approximately one year after that incident, only about 3.5% of the stolen funds had been frozen, and that this does not equate to a completed recovery.Bitget has set up a bounty program offering 5% rewards for frozen funds and recovered funds respectively. The NEAR Intents team said it has intercepted over $50 million in assets related to the attack and frozen approximately $500,000. Tether and Circle have blacklisted the relevant wallets, freezing $318,000 worth of USDT and USDC.Gracy Chen stated that preliminary investigations indicate the attack may match VPN addresses used by North Korea-linked groups, but Bitget has not yet fully ruled out the possibility of an insider job. Bitget has resumed withdrawals in phases, starting with Bitcoin transactions on Monday and continuing with ETH transactions on Tuesday. (Cointelegraph)
Odaily reports: Aztec Network developer Aztec Labs has relaunched the self-custodial wallet zk.money. The wallet can conceal payment amounts, balances, and recipient information through Aztec Network, and supports transfers via readable names or links.Users can deposit DAI, USDC, or USDT from Ethereum, with USDC and USDT being converted to DAI. Deposit records remain publicly traceable, while subsequent transaction activity remains private.The early Alpha version limits individual deposits, payments, and withdrawals to under $2,500, and screens addresses in accordance with sanctions policy. The software has not yet undergone a full audit and carries security risks. (CoinDesk)
Odaily News: Circle Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Circle Internet Group, has announced the launch of two grant programs in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Food Programme (WFP) to explore the use of regulated stablecoins and digital financial infrastructure for international development and humanitarian aid payments.Circle Foundation will fund UNDP in establishing a Digital Asset Innovation Pool to support its country offices in scaling regulated stablecoin payments from local pilots to full project delivery. The mechanism is designed to complement traditional banking systems.Another grant awarded to World Food Program USA will support WFP in building governance, risk, compliance, and fund reconciliation frameworks for digital asset distribution. WFP plans to test stablecoin payment channels in 2 to 3 countries over the next three years and conduct independent research to establish benchmarks for speed, efficiency, and cost. (Bitcoin.com News)
Odaily News: Franklin Templeton has expanded its off-exchange collateral program to Bybit, allowing users to use their tokenized money market fund shares as collateral for crypto trading. These shares represent approximately $686 million in net assets and can be used to borrow USDT or USDC, while the underlying assets continue to generate yield.Users do not need to transfer the underlying assets to Bybit. The regulated custody platform ByCustody will hold the relevant assets off-exchange, with their value mirrored within Bybit's trading environment. Franklin Templeton has previously offered similar services to Binance and OKX users.
In an 8-K filing submitted on September 25, Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL) disclosed that co-founder P. Sean Neville has resigned from the board of directors for personal reasons, effective immediately, reducing the board size from eight to seven members. On the same day, CFO Jeremy Fox-Geen notified the company of his intention to step down and will remain through the end of 2026 to assist with the transition; Circle has engaged executive search firms to find a successor. The company stated that neither departure was due to disagreements regarding the company's operations, policies, or practices.
Stablecoin issuer Circle is currently recruiting for the "Senior Director, Ecosystem Growth, South Korea" role in South Korea, responsible for developing market entry strategies, tracking regulatory developments, and establishing partnerships with domestic financial and digital asset industry players. The position requires candidates to possess over 13 years of business development experience, familiarity with stablecoins, DeFi, and institutional finance flows, as well as fluency in both Korean and English. Circle has previously indicated that its South Korea strategy does not involve directly issuing a KRW stablecoin, but instead focuses on partnering with local KRW stablecoin issuers to provide infrastructure linking to USD stablecoins.
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen thanked Circle and Tether for their swift action. The Bitget Asset Recovery Bounty Program has now been launched, offering a 5% reward respectively to participants who assist in freezing the attacker's funds and recovering the assets, and calls on exchanges, security researchers, and on-chain investigators to participate.
Circle Foundation announced its support for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Food Programme (WFP) to advance digital payment infrastructure, exploring how to enhance the efficiency, transparency, and financial accessibility of funding disbursement for development projects and humanitarian aid through regulated stablecoins. Specifically, Circle Foundation will fund UNDP’s establishment and operation of the Digital Asset Innovation Pool, facilitating the deployment of regulated payment stablecoins from pilot projects into standard programs. Previously, UNDP has tested solutions such as digital cash payments, fund disbursement in low-connectivity environments, and mobile wallets in locations including Aleppo, Syria; Haiti; Guatemala; and Gambia. Circle Foundation will also provide an additional grant to World Food Program USA to support WFP in building the governance, risk management, fund management, reconciliation, and compliance systems required for stablecoin payments, alongside integration into local fintech and mobile payment networks. Over the next three years, WFP plans to pilot stablecoin payments across payment channels in two to three countries to evaluate their costs, speed, transparency, and operational feasibility.
Bitget CEO Gracy Chen posted a 12-hour progress report on the security incident on X, including:1. Affected assets include ETH, XRP (largest single-chain loss), BNB, AVAX, USDT, USDC, and other tokens. Affected chains include: Ethereum, XRP Ledger, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Optimism, BSC, and Base. All on-chain cold wallets have been confirmed secure and unaffected.2. All foundations of the affected chains have been contacted, and some foundations have confirmed the freezing of the hacker's wallet addresses.3. Based on IP behavioral characteristics and on-chain analysis, the attack methodology is highly consistent with known patterns of North Korean hacker groups. Relevant authorities have been notified, and full cooperation is being provided for a global investigation.4. Bitget Wallet (decentralized wallet) operates completely independently from Bitget exchange infrastructure, and this incident has no impact on it. Bitget Wallet assets are completely safe.5. Transparent disclosure regarding the platform's financial status: In addition to over $464 million in protection funds (all held in publicly verifiable wallet addresses), Bitget's own assets exceed $1 billion. User funds are covered at a 1:1 ratio, and all data can be verified on-chain.6. Regarding withdrawal recovery timing: The goal is to achieve full recovery as soon as possible. Once a specific time window is confirmed, an announcement will be made immediately. No commitment will be made to timelines that cannot be fulfilled.
Privacy stablecoin payment network Payy Network has confirmed that its cross-chain contract on Ethereum was hacked, resulting in the theft of its entire balance. The investigation is ongoing, and all Payy Network transactions have been suspended, including deposits, withdrawals, transfers, and card transactions. Payy has notified law enforcement authorities and is collaborating with multiple incident response organizations. Previously reported, according to monitoring by Specter Investigation, Payy Network was suspected to have been hacked, with approximately 1.8 million USDC transferred out.
Odaily News: Visa has released its "Money Travels 2026" report, based on a survey of 2,192 U.S. adults, showing that if stablecoins were equipped with bank-grade fraud protection and deposit insurance, consumer willingness to use them would rise from 36% to 56%; if offered through existing financial institutions, willingness would also increase to 45%. The survey also found that 56% of respondents had never heard of stablecoins, and 64% of respondents had greater trust in payment providers than in the technology itself. Currently, the total global supply of USD-pegged stablecoins has exceeded $295 billion, with USDT at approximately $183.4 billion and USDC at approximately $76 billion; Visa's annualized stablecoin settlement volume has surpassed $20 billion, representing more than a 15-fold increase from a year ago. (The Block)
According to The Block, Visa released its Money Travels 2026 report. Based on a survey of 2,192 U.S. adults, consumer willingness to use stablecoins would rise from 36% to 56% if they feature bank-level fraud protection and deposit insurance; if offered through existing financial institutions, willingness could also reach 45%. The survey also indicates that 56% of respondents had never heard of stablecoins, while 64% trust payment providers more than the technology itself. Currently, the global total supply of USD-pegged stablecoins exceeds $295 billion, comprising approximately $183.4 billion in USDT and around $76 billion in USDC. Visa's annualized stablecoin settlement volume has already surpassed $20 billion, representing an increase of over 15 times compared to a year ago.
Russian Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov stated that Russia has approximately 20 million cryptocurrency users, with citizens holding cryptocurrencies and related financial products totaling around $44 billion, and daily trading volume of about $595 million.Russia is advancing comprehensive regulation to clarify the rights and responsibilities of service providers, intermediaries, and investors; it plans to pursue criminal liability for illegally organized cryptocurrency trading activities starting July 1, 2027, while ordinary individual transactions are excluded. The Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank are studying the operational models and application scenarios of domestic stablecoins; if assets such as USDT and USDC are frozen due to actions by foreign issuers and Russian custodians are not at fault, related losses will in principle be borne by investors.