Welcome to this week’s edition of Crypto Weekly Digest, where the blockchain never sleeps and neither does the news. From Kraken letting you buy your morning coffee with Bitcoin, to Ric Flair elbow-dropping Web3 with tokenized Telegram stickers — the crypto universe is blooming with innovation (and a touch of chaos 🌸).
Whether you’re staking, trading, mining, or just meme-watching from the sidelines, we’ve got the hottest stories to keep you plugged into the pulse of Web3.
Grab your sunglasses — this week’s crypto action is shining brighter than your ledger wallet screen at 2 a.m. ☀️💻
Kraken and Mastercard are rolling out a shiny new crypto debit card across the UK and Europe! 🌍 Now you can finally pay for your croissant or train ride with Bitcoin — how très chic! 🥐🚆
It's part of Kraken’s plan to make spending crypto feel as easy as tapping your phone. Just don’t try it on vending machines from 1999. 😅
The card will support multiple assets and even offer crypto rewards — because who doesn’t love cashback in crypto?
🕵️ Ripple Goes Prime Time with Hidden Road
Ripple just made it rain — to the tune of $1.3 billion 💸 — to buy Hidden Road, a major prime broker known for handling trillions in trades. This bold move pushes Ripple deeper into institutional territory. 📊💼
The goal? Strengthen its infrastructure and win over big-league clients. Ripple's clearly playing the long game — and now it’s got a secret road paved in high-frequency trades. 🛣️📈
Big finance meets blockchain! Standard Chartered and OKX are piloting a project that lets institutions use crypto as off-exchange collateral. 🔐
It’s like putting your Bitcoin in a suit and sending it to work in a bank. 👔💻 The pilot aims to improve risk management while letting crypto and traditional finance finally share an office — no more awkward water cooler moments. ☕🤝
If it works, it could open the door to a lot more cross-market collaboration.
Web3 gaming in Q1 was a bit of a mixed loot box — more deals, less treasure. 🪙📉 The number of investments soared to 107 deals (up from 73), but total funding slipped to $288 million. Still, the space is buzzing with activity. DappRadar dished out the data, showing that developers are shifting from hype to building solid infrastructure.
MARBLEX, the blockchain arm of South Korean giant Netmarble, announced plans for a "semi-publishing" model to support a broader range of Web3 titles.
They’re also joining forces with Immutable to launch a $20 million+ fund for game development. Meanwhile, Dubai-based startup The Game Company raised $10 million to create a cloud gaming platform promising to let users play anything, anywhere — even if that means your old-school smart fridge. 🎮🧊
So while the cash dropped, the ambition definitely didn’t. Game on. 🕹️👾
HashKey just got the regulatory nod to offer crypto staking services in Hong Kong — a big step in legitimizing the staking game. 🇭🇰🪙
This approval strengthens Hong Kong’s position as a crypto-friendly hub while giving HashKey a head start in a space that’s still finding its footing. 👣
Institutions can now stake with confidence (and compliance), which could bring some serious capital to the staking table. 💼🔐
Magic Eden just made a bold move by acquiring crypto trading app Slingshot. The NFT marketplace, born on Solana, now wants to trade more than just funky jpegs — we're talking 8 million tokens across top blockchains! 🔄💥
With this expansion, users can swap tokens directly without bridges or centralized exchanges, keeping things smooth and slick. It’s like giving your NFT wallet a turbo engine and a map to the entire multichain galaxy. 🚀🌐
⚡ RedStone’s Oracle Is So Fast, It Might Break the Speed Limit
RedStone has launched an oracle on Ethereum Layer-2 network MegaETH, and it’s blazing fast — like 2.4 milliseconds per update fast! ⏱️📡
This thing feeds on real-time prices from centralized exchanges and delivers them directly to smart contracts. It’s designed for traders who blink and miss the action. ⚔️📈 If you’re into latency-sensitive DeFi, this oracle’s your new best friend.
With trade war chatter heating up — thanks to Trump’s tariff talk — blockchain firm Truebit suggests that Web3 might be the unexpected hero. 🌍🛠️
Imagine governments verifying the origin of goods using trustless blockchain tech instead of messy bureaucracy. 📦🔗 It’s like turning the customs office into a smart contract with receipts. If things escalate, expect some old-school policies to meet cutting-edge protocols.
Swiss fintech firm Taurus just dropped Taurus-Network (TN), and it’s not your average blockchain side project. 🧠💼
This interbank network is built to connect regulated institutions working with digital assets — think of it as the VIP lounge for crypto finance. 🌐🔐 The goal? Make transferring and managing digital assets between financial giants faster, safer, and way less annoying.
Startup Meanwhile just raised a cool $40 million to build life insurance... backed by Bitcoin. 🪙⚰️ Sounds wild? Maybe — but in countries battling inflation, it could be genius. Instead of your policy melting with fiat, it grows with BTC. 📉🔥
Now your insurance might actually moon before you do. 🚀🧓
📈 Kraken Dives Into Stocks and ETFs — Not Just Crypto Anymore
Kraken is branching out beyond crypto with commission-free trading for U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs. 📊🇺🇸 Starting with select U.S. states and aiming to expand globally, it’s all about giving users one app to rule them all. 🧙♂️📱
Now you can buy Bitcoin, Tesla, and your favorite meme stock in one place. Is this the future of finance? Kraken sure thinks so. 💡🌍
Tokenized gold has just crossed the $1 billion trading mark — the first time since the 2023 U.S. banking crisis. 🏦✨ With markets shaky and tariffs in the air, investors are diving into shiny digital bars backed by real gold. 🔐💰
It's DeFi's answer to the classic “buy gold when the world goes weird” strategy — only this time, it’s on the blockchain.
Bitcoin isn’t just for crypto bros anymore — it’s looking sharp in a business suit these days. 🧑💼🪙 In Q1 2025, publicly traded companies increased their collective Bitcoin holdings by 16%, stacking up to 688,000 BTC worth around $57 billion.
Twelve new firms joined the BTC club, including Hong Kong construction player Ming Shing (via Lead Benefit), which grabbed 833 coins, and even YouTube-alternative Rumble, adding 188 BTC. 🎯💼
One firm — HK Asia Holdings — made headlines for buying just one Bitcoin, and somehow managed to nearly double its stock price. Meanwhile, Japan’s Metaplanet is on a buying spree, now holding 4,525 BTC, climbing into the global top ten. With corporate FOMO rising, it seems Bitcoin boardrooms are the new bull market frontier. 🚀📊
Crypto gaming and gambling platforms are spending big — like really big — just to bring in new players. 💸🎰 Some are shelling out up to $500 to onboard a single user. That’s more than a console and three AAA titles combined! 🎮💥
Despite the sky-high costs, platforms are going all-in on marketing, hoping those users will stick around long enough to make it worth the gamble. But with competition this fierce, acquiring players is starting to feel like an actual boss battle. 🕹️🔥
Tether has teamed up with Bitcoin mining pool Ocean in a bid to spread the hashpower love. 🌊💪 By directing some of its Bitcoin mining activity to Ocean, Tether hopes to chip away at the dominance of mega-miners and keep the network more decentralized. 🧱🌐
It’s a small move with big implications for Bitcoin’s health, and a sign that Tether isn’t just printing USDT — it’s also mining for the greater good. 🪙🤝
Move over, lunch money — now you can pay for a Scottish education in Bitcoin. 🏫🪙 Lomond School in Scotland has become the first in the UK to accept BTC for tuition payments, starting autumn 2025.
The school will convert BTC into pounds instantly, so there’s no "when Lambo?" risk involved. 🚗💷 It’s a bold step into the future, showing even the classroom isn’t safe from Bitcoin adoption. 👩🏫⚡
Nasdaq has filed to list the VanEck Avalanche Trust, a spot ETF that would track the price of AVAX. 📊🧊 If approved, this would open the doors for traditional investors to tap into Avalanche without needing a crypto wallet or private keys. 🔐📉
It's part of the bigger ETF wave bringing Web3 closer to Wall Street — because apparently, even ETFs are catching crypto fever now. 💼🔥
Swedish lawmaker Rickard Nordin thinks it’s time the country stashed some sats. 💼🪙 In an open letter to Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson, he proposed adding Bitcoin to Sweden’s reserves to hedge against inflation and future-proof the economy. 🛡️💡
It’s a bold pitch — one that echoes El Salvador vibes, but with a Nordic twist. ❄️ Will Sweden take the bait? Stay tuned…
Legendary wrestler Ric Flair is body-slamming his way into Web3 with... Telegram stickers. 🤖💬 But these aren’t just any stickers — they’re tokenized collectibles with possible rewards for fans down the line.
Think: crypto meets smackdown energy. 🔥💥 Flair’s move shows how celebs are finding fun, low-key ways to get fans involved in blockchain — and yes, he’s still stylin' and profilin'. 🎩✨
Aave’s community has spoken — and it’s bullish. 📢📈 The DeFi protocol just passed a proposal to buy back $4 million worth of AAVE tokens, and the market responded with a 13% price jump. 🪙💰
It’s the first phase of a broader strategy to revamp Aave’s tokenomics and reward loyal holders. This isn’t just a pump — it’s a carefully crafted power move. ♟️🚀
The Mantra (OM) token just took a nosedive — more than 90% in a single day. 📉💀 The sudden collapse has traders and bagholders asking: what happened?!
While details remain murky, the sharp drop has sparked a mix of panic, memes, and serious concerns about transparency. For now, it’s a reminder that crypto’s not all sunshine and gains — sometimes it’s rug season. 🧶🚫
Bitcoin miners have been raking it in, generating nearly $800 million worth of BTC in Q1 2025. 💰⛏️ Big players like Marathon, CleanSpark, and Iren reported major hauls, capitalizing on high prices and optimized mining gear. 📈⚡
Post-halving hustle is real — miners are grinding harder, stacking stats and stacking sats. Still tough work, still big rewards. 💪🪙
Maple syrup meets Solana! 🍁🔥 Canada is officially launching the world’s first spot Solana ETFs, giving investors exposure to SOL — and even offering staking options. 📊🧬
It’s a major win for institutional access to the Solana ecosystem, and a big step in legitimizing altcoins beyond just Bitcoin and Ethereum. Who said Canadians were boring? 🇨🇦🪙
YouTube is handing creators a shiny new AI toy — a free music-making tool that pumps out royalty-free tunes based on your prompts. 🧠🎧
Want "epic synthwave for a cooking vlog"? Boom, you got it. It’s built to help creators dodge copyright claims and spice up their videos. Think of it as your new robot bandmate who doesn’t complain or demand royalties. 🤖🎵
Incident.io just raised $62M to help tech teams keep calm and carry on when everything breaks. 💻🔥 Their platform organizes incident response like a digital fire drill — but with fewer sirens and more Slack threads. It’s designed to help companies move quickly, document efficiently, and recover with dignity. 🛠️📋 At a $400M valuation, it seems a lot of folks are betting that panic-mode can be automated.
OpenAI’s CTO Mira Murati is reportedly raising a mind-blowing $2 billion seed round for her new AI venture. 😲💼 That’s not a typo — that’s seed.
While details are hush-hush, the scale alone is setting Silicon Valley’s espresso machines buzzing. ☕🚀 Whatever she’s building, it’s big — and VCs are clearly lining up before there’s even a demo.
RLWRLD (say it three times fast) just bagged $14.4M to build a foundation model… for robots. 🛠️🧠 Basically, they’re training AI to help robots understand the world — which sounds a little Skynet-y, but in a friendly, vacuum-your-floor kind of way. It’s like giving machines a crash course in common sense. If they start making playlists next, we might be in trouble. 😅
🎨 Canva Gets Brainier: AI Assistant, Sheets & Code
Canva’s not just for pretty presentations anymore. It’s adding an AI assistant, spreadsheet tools, and even coding support to its platform. 💡🖥️
Now you can brainstorm with AI, crunch numbers, and dabble in development — all without leaving your pastel-filled dashboard. Canva is clearly on a mission to become the ultimate productivity playground. 🎠👩💻
AI-powered insurtech Ominimo just scored its first investment — and it came with a whopping $220M valuation. 💸📈
Their pitch? Smarter, faster, and friendlier insurance using AI to assess risk and cut the paperwork nightmare. It’s like giving your policy a robot intern who never sleeps. 🧾🤖 Early days, but the market seems to like the promise of less pain in insurance.
Hugging Face, known for its open-source AI models, is hugging something new — a humanoid robotics startup. 🧸🤖 No exact name yet, but the move hints that they're going beyond text and language into embodied intelligence.
Think: chatbots with legs (and maybe feelings?). A heartwarming step or a soft pivot into robot overlords? Stay tuned. 😄👟
Meta is gearing up to train its AI on public content across Facebook and Instagram — yes, your vacation captions included. 🏖️📱
But in the EU, this kind of data grab gets a lot more scrutiny. European regulators are already poking around, and privacy folks are raising brows. It’s a reminder: if it’s public, it’s probably going into someone’s model. 🤔🧠
And That’s a Wrap – But the Chain Keeps Spinning
That’s it for this round of crypto curiosities, power plays, and pixelated plots. Whether it was Avalanche ETFs, billion-dollar Bitcoin buys, or oracles that run faster than your morning espresso machine — the Web3 world keeps delivering the goods. 🚀
Until next week, stay curious, stay decentralized, and remember: not every token needs to moon for your portfolio (or your mood) to be in the green. 🌿
Thanks for reading Crypto Weekly Digest — see you on-chain!
