WhatsApp will allow its more than three billion users to create usernames, letting people connect without sharing their phone numbers. The privacy-focused feature will be rolled out globally over the coming months, with username reservations starting from 29 June.
WeatherlyChinese businessman Guo Wengui was sentenced to 30 years in a US prison for running a fraud scheme that raised more than US$1 billion from investors and supporters. Part of the scheme involved promoting H-Coin with false claims that the cryptocurrency was backed by gold, helping him raise more than US$262 million.
AnaisMore than 140 companies, including Visa, Mastercard and Coinbase, have launched Open USD, a new US dollar-backed stablecoin. The project aims to challenge Tether and Circle with fee-free transactions and a shared revenue model.
AnaisBinance and its founder Changpeng Zhao are facing a £150 million lawsuit from nearly 1,700 UK investors who claim they were sold high-risk crypto derivatives without proper regulatory approval. The investors allege they suffered major losses, while Binance says it will defend itself against the claims.
WeatherlyThe US Securities and Exchange Commission has opened a 60-day public consultation to review how exchange-traded funds investing in crypto assets, prediction markets and other novel strategies should be regulated.
AnaisTaiwan has passed a new law requiring cryptocurrency firms and stablecoin issuers to obtain regulatory licences, replacing its previous anti-money laundering registration system. The law introduces stricter rules on customer protection, reserve backing and market conduct, with prison sentences and fines for unlicensed operations, fraud and market manipulation.
WeatherlyThailand's central bank plans to introduce a fully backed baht-pegged stablecoin, initially for use by financial institutions in payment settlements. Authorities are also tightening rules on foreign currency payments and speculative forex activities, warning of fines, licence revocations and prison sentences for violations.
AnaisRobinhood has launched the public mainnet of Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum Layer-2 network built on Arbitrum, alongside new products including tokenised stocks, decentralised lending and AI-powered trading tools.
WeatherlyWorld has launched a fully onchain prediction market on Solana through Phantom Wallet, using Chainlink to automatically settle trades in $CASH. The launch gives Solana a native rival to prediction market leaders Polymarket and Kalshi.
AnaisK Wave Media has sold its entire 88 BTC holdings to repay around US$6 million in debt, ending its corporate Bitcoin treasury strategy less than a year after announcing plans to acquire up to 10,000 BTC.
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