Autor Cointelegraph by Nate Kostar

The International Holding Company (IHC) executed a 110 million dirham ($30 million) transaction using the DDSC stablecoin on ADI Chain. The company described the transfer as one of the largest disclosed stablecoin transactions executed in the United Arab Emirates.The transaction follows recent approval from the UAE central bank for the dirham-backed stablecoin ecosystem launched by IHC, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Sirius International Holding.DDSC operates on ADI Chain, a layer-2 blockchain developed by ADI Foundation. According to the announcement, the system is designed for institutional use cases including cross-border payments, treasury operations and trade settlement.The IHC said the transaction was intended to demonstrate that DDSC and ADI Chain can support institutional-scale financial activity, with future plans focused on payment corridors linking the Middle East with global markets.First Abu Dhabi Bank is the largest bank in the UAE by assets, while IHC is one of the country’s largest listed investment companies.The announcement comes as UAE financial institutions and digital asset companies expand regulated stablecoin infrastructure. In January, Universal Digital launched USDU, which it described as the first US dollar-backed stablecoin registered by the Central Bank of the UAE under the country’s Payment Token Services Regulation framework.Related: Trump denies knowledge of Abu Dhabi royal’s $500M stake in WLFICrypto companies expand regulated UAE operationsThe UAE has continued attracting global crypto exchanges and financial institutions seeking regulated access to the regional market as the country expands licensed digital asset services tied to payments, custody and institutional trading.Earlier this month, Crypto.com received a Stored Value Facilities license from the central bank allowing residents to pay Dubai government fees using cryptocurrencies through the company’s platform. The approval allows the company to support payments under Dubai’s broader cashless government payments strategy.Crypto.com secures SVF license. Source: Crypto.comMeanwhile, BNY partnered with Finstreet and ADI Foundation in May to develop institutional digital asset custody services in Abu Dhabi, with initial support for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) and plans to later expand into stablecoins and tokenized assets.On Thursday, Kraken said it received preliminary approval from Dubai’s VARA regulator as part of its planned expansion in the UAE. The company said the approval would support UAE dirham funding, margin and over-the-counter trading, along with institutional services through Kraken Prime.Magazine: ETH bears growling, Tom Lee’s buying, XRP to ‘explode’: Market Moves

Crypto services company Blockchain.com confidentially filed for a US initial public offering (IPO), becoming the latest digital asset player to pursue a public listing as crypto firms return to equity markets.The company said it submitted a draft S-1 registration statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) related to a proposed offering of Class A ordinary shares. Pricing and the number of shares have not yet been determined.According to Thursday’s announcement, the proposed IPO remains subject to market conditions and SEC review. Confidential S-1 filings allow companies to begin the IPO process and receive regulatory feedback before publicly disclosing financial and offering details.Founded in 2011, Blockchain.com said it has more than 95 million wallets, over 43 million verified users and has processed more than $1.1 trillion in crypto transactions. The company offers consumer trading and wallet services alongside institutional products.The filing follows several expansion efforts this year, including a deeper push into African markets and the launch of perpetual futures trading through its self-custodial wallet via the Hyperliquid protocol.Related: SpaceX reveals larger-than-expected Bitcoin holdings in IPO filingCrypto IPO plans shift with market conditionsSeveral major crypto companies have explored public listings over the past year, though some plans have shifted alongside changing market conditions.Crypto trading platform Backpack Exchange said in February that it plans to move toward a potential US IPO, with its forthcoming Backpack token structured to unlock in stages ahead of a public listing. The company said some token holders may eventually be able to exchange staked tokens for company equity.In January, digital asset custodian Copper was reported to be weighing a potential IPO. However, reports this week suggest the company is now be exploring a sale instead of pursuing a listing.Kraken, one of the largest private crypto exchanges and a long-rumored IPO candidate, saw its public listing plans fluctuate over the past year. Parent company Payward confidentially filed for a US IPO in November 2025 before reports in March suggested the company had paused its plans amid weaker crypto market conditions.Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi later said in April that the company was still pursuing a public listing, though it was reported in May that the debut could be delayed until 2027 following a round of layoffs at the company.While crypto companies continue to weigh, delay or cancel public listings, BitGo completed one of the largest crypto IPOs of 2026 in January, pricing shares at $18 and raising about $213 million in its NYSE debut at a valuation exceeding $2 billion. Since launch, the stock has fallen about 57% to around $7.66 per share amid the broader downturn in crypto markets, according to Google Finance data.Source: Google Finance Magazine: 5 tech predictions the mainstream media got horribly wrong

Bitget Wallet said it has integrated xStocks infrastructure, giving its 90 million users access to more than 130 tokenized stocks and ETFs through its self-custodial wallet platform.The integration expands Bitget Wallet’s tokenized real-world assets offering to more than 300 products, including equities, commodities, precious metals and index-linked assets, according to a Tuesday announcement.The company said its tokenized equity products have processed more than $30 billion in transaction volume since launching in 2025. The products are not available in the United States, United Kingdom or other restricted jurisdictions, according to the company.Bitget Wallet said the launch supports both request-for-quote (RFQ) and automated-market-maker (AAM) liquidity models and allows users to trade tokenized assets with zero trading fees and gasless execution.According to the company, users can access tokenized equities and other real-world assets from the same interface used for cryptocurrency trading, swaps and storage while retaining control of their private keys and funds.It is now operated by Payward, the parent company of Kraken, which acquired the tokenized equities platform through its purchase of Backed Finance in late 2025.Related: Ondo brings proxy voting to tokenized stocks and ETFs with BroadridgeCompetition grows in tokenized equities marketCrypto exchanges and trading platforms are fast expanding into tokenized equities and stock-linked derivatives offerings.In March, Coinbase launched stock perpetual futures for international users, offering leveraged 24/7 exposure to publicly traded US equities through its derivatives platform. Kraken also expanded its xStocks business recently with bundled crypto-and-equity investment products and tokenized equity perpetual futures for non-US users, while Binance said earlier this year it was exploring a return to tokenized equities after shutting down its stock token business in 2021 following regulatory scrutiny in Europe.Data from RWA.xyz shows the tokenized equities market has grown to nearly $1.5 billion, with products linked to companies including Circle, Nvidia, Tesla, Alphabet and Strategy among the sector’s largest assets.Ondo is currently the largest tokenized stocks platform by represented asset value at roughly $883 million, followed by xStocks at about $391.5 million. Several xStocks products linked to Strategy, Tesla, Nvidia and the S&P 500 index rank among the largest tokenized equity assets tracked by RWA.xyz.Snapshot of global Tokenized Stocks sector. Source: RWA.xyzMagazine: ETH stalls at $2.4K five times, SOL to rally to $120: Market Moves

Bitcoin miner Hut 8 committed $16 million to expand water capacity in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, as part of development plans for its River Bend AI data center campus.According to a Tuesday announcement, the investment includes a new water well, about eight miles of water main and other system upgrades. Hut 8 said the assets will be transferred to the parish after completion, which is expected in the second half of 2026, at no cost to taxpayers.Hut 8 said Phase 1 of the River Bend campus represents a multibillion-dollar capital investment and is expected to support about 1,000 construction workers at peak build-out and at least 75 permanent jobs once operational.The company said the campus will use a closed-loop cooling system designed to reduce ongoing water demand and rely on water sources outside the residential aquifer.The River Bend campus is part of Hut 8’s North American energy and digital infrastructure platform, which the company said is being developed in partnership with public- and private-sector stakeholders.Related: Bitcoin miner Canaan posts $88.7M net loss in Q1 amid BTC declineHut 8 shares climb on the year amid AI infrastructure expansionDespite posting back-to-back quarterly losses in late 2025 and early 2026, shares of Hut 8 have climbed around 93% year-to-date, according to data from Bitcoinminingstock.io, as investors increasingly focus on the company’s AI infrastructure and power leasing business.In December 2025, Hut 8 signed a 15-year lease for 245 MW of AI data center capacity at the River Bend campus in a deal the company said is valued at $7 billion. Hut 8 said the agreement includes payments financially backed by Google.The company followed that agreement in May with another 15-year lease tied to 352 MW of capacity at its Beacon Point campus in Texas in a deal it said is valued at $9.8 billion. Hut 8 added that the two campuses represent a combined $16.8 billion in contracted lease revenue tied to 597 MW of AI data center capacity.Shares of publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies have broadly gained this year, with data showing all of the top 10 miners by market capitalization are up double digits year-to-date.Source: Bitcoinminingstocks.ioThe gains come even as mining profitability remains under pressure across the sector. Publicly traded miners sold more than 32,000 Bitcoin in the first quarter of 2026, while hashprice, a measure of miner revenue, has fallen to around $35 per petahash per second per day, near breakeven levels for some operators.Magazine: Crypto scammers face death, Aussie CGT makes Asian hubs attractive: Asia Express

Crypto custody company BitGo launched a modular digital asset infrastructure platform for banks combining custody, trading, settlement, staking and stablecoin services for financial institutions exploring crypto products and onchain payments.The company said banks can integrate services individually while maintaining control over compliance, governance and client-facing operations. BitGo said the platform is already being used by institutions including Erebor Bank, Banco de Crédito del Perú, TowerBank and InvestiFi.BitGo said the system also includes “crypto-as-a-service” tools that allow banks to offer custody, wallet and trading services under their own branding. The company said institutions can adopt products in stages based on operational and regulatory requirements.“The rapid growth in the value of cryptocurrencies and digital assets has led to growing banking needs for the crypto industry and growing interest in new potential business opportunities from the banking industry,” the US Congressional Research Service said in a February 2025 issue analysis.Founded in 2013, BitGo is a California-based digital asset infrastructure company that provides crypto custody, trading, staking and settlement services for banks, exchanges and institutional investors.Last week, the company reported $3.8 billion in first-quarter revenue, up from $1.8 billion a year earlier, as higher crypto trading activity and growth in its stablecoin business boosted results. Despite the revenue increase, the company posted a net loss of $60.7 million for the quarter, partly due to a non-cash loss tied to the value of its Bitcoin treasury holdings.Related: OKX accelerates US push with BitGo off-exchange settlementCrypto companies expand banking and institutional infrastructure servicesCrypto companies continue to build infrastructure products aimed at banks and financial institutions exploring stablecoins, tokenized assets and digital asset custody.Ripple expanded its prime brokerage business after completing its roughly $1.25 billion acquisition of Hidden Road last year. The deal gave Ripple a platform serving hedge funds and trading firms across digital assets and traditional markets.In April, Fireblocks introduced a platform allowing institutions to deploy stablecoin balances into onchain lending markets through Aave and Morpho-powered products.Earlier this month, Anchorage Digital partnered with Mexico’s Grupo Salinas to provide stablecoin-based settlement and dollar payment infrastructure for banking operations in Latin America. The companies said the system would use GENIUS Act-compliant stablecoins for treasury management and cross-border transfers.Some crypto exchanges are also pursuing regulated banking and custody frameworks. Kraken parent company Payward recently applied for a national trust company charter with the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to expand digital asset custody services.In March, Kraken Financial gained access to the Federal Reserve’s Fedwire payment network through a Federal Reserve master account, allowing the company to settle payments directly on US banking rails instead of relying on correspondent banks.Source: Custodia BankMagazine: Crypto scammers face death, Aussie CGT makes Asian hubs attractive: Asia Express