Exclusive

Exclusive

Finance

Bitcoin Lender Ledn Hits $1B in Loan Origination This Year as BTC Credit Market Picks Up

The crypto lender also crossed $100 million in annual recurring revenue, the firm reported.

Ledn's co-founders, Adam Reeds (left) and Mauricio Di Bartolomeo

Tech

Solana's Marinade Labs CEO Eyes Lower Barrier to Entry for Validators After 'Alpenglow' Upgrade

In a conversation with CoinDesk, Marinade Labs' Michael Repetny gives an overview of the Solana staking ecosystem and the upcoming Alpenglow upgrade.

Solana (SOL) Logo

Finance

Tether Eyes Fresh Investments to Push USAT Stablecoin to 100M Americans at December Launch

Tether plans to launch its U.S.-compliant stablecoin USAT in December, aiming for mass reach in the creator economy, CEO Paolo Ardoino said in a CoinDesk interview.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino at White House

Markets

Crypto Market Maker B2C2 Launches PENNY to Enable Instant, Zero-Fee Stablecoin Swaps

The institutional liquidity provider’s new platform says it will let users exchange stablecoins like USDT and USDC across multiple blockchains without fees.

DeFi networks are global. (NASA/Unsplash, modified by CoinDesk)

Finance

Crypto Exchange Kraken Is Taking Staff on Caribbean Island Retreat in January: Sources

Kraken has also handed all its employees a special one-off bonus, according to the sources.

The Caribbean island of Dominica is issuing a new digital token that will be airdropped to users of the Huobi exchange.

Tech

Securitize Unveils MCP Server to Power AI Access to Onchain Assets

The server is built on the Model Context Protocol (MCP) — an emerging open standard that connects large language models to external data sources and APIs.

Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo (Securitize)

Finance

XDC Network Acquires Contour to Expand Stablecoins and Tokenization in Trade Finance

XDC said it's reviving the once-shuttered blockchain platform to help banks and businesses streamline trade financing from documentation to settlements.

XDC co-founder Ritesh Kakkad (XDC)

Finance

Arch Aims to Help Bitcoin Holders Slash U.S. Tax Bill With BTC Mining Investments

The crypto-backed lender's new offering, built with Blockware and Mark Moss, targets wealthy bitcoin holders with tax write-offs and monthly income from mining.

Arch co-founders Himanshu Sahay and Dhruv Patel (Arch)

Finance

Blockchain.com Has Held Talks to Go Public Via SPAC Deal: Sources

The crypto trading platform and wallet provider is being advised by Cohen & Company Capital Markets, according to a person familiar wih the matter.

Wall street signs, traffic light, New York City

Finance

Astra Nova Raises $48.3M to Grow Web3, AI Entertainment Ecosystem

The company develops no-code tools that enable creators to launch blockchain-based entertainment experiences.

Seed Funding Investment coins in a jar (Towfiqu barbhuiya/Unsplash/Modified by CoinDesk)