Pudgy Penguins has launched 'Pudgy Petals', a three-day Valentine’s pop-up in New York that brings its characters into a real-world gifting and retail experience. The event centres on a plush bouquet product and interactive activities, as the brand expands beyond NFTs into physical spaces and mainstream culture.
WeatherlyVietnam plans a 0.1% tax on all cryptocurrency transfers made through licensed platforms, treating them like stock trades. Domestic companies would pay 20% tax on profits from crypto, while transfers stay exempt from VAT.
AnaisNevada’s Gaming Control Board has sued Coinbase, saying its sports-based prediction contracts are unlicensed gambling and should be stopped in the state. Coinbase says the products are federally regulated markets, not gambling, and is challenging the action in court.
WeatherlyTether is expanding globally, hiring around 150 more staff and investing in sectors from sports to AI as USDT adoption grows to $185 billion. The company is also seeking regulatory footholds outside the US while rivals like Block reduce staff amid market pressures.
AnaisSouth Korea’s Bithumb exchange accidentally sent over $40 billion in bitcoin to customers as rewards, causing a brief market sell-off. Most of the coins were recovered, but regulators warned the incident exposed weaknesses in crypto systems and called for stricter rules.
WeatherlyThe TON Foundation has launched TON Pay, a new payments tool that lets people pay with Toncoin and USDT directly inside Telegram Mini Apps, without leaving the app or using separate wallets. The system aims to make in-app crypto payments faster and cheaper, with near-instant transactions and fees below one cent.
WeatherlyMoonPay has partnered with Deel to let companies pay employees in stablecoins, starting in the UK and EU, with plans to expand to the US. The service sends wages directly to workers’ crypto wallets, offering faster and more flexible global payroll.
AnaisFormer SafeMoon CEO Braden John Karony was sentenced to 100 months in a US federal prison after being found guilty of running a scheme that misled investors and diverted millions from the project’s liquidity pools. The court said he and his co-conspirators secretly used investor funds for personal profit, despite promising the money was locked and safe.
WeatherlyThe EU plans to sanction two Kyrgyz banks and several other foreign lenders for helping Russia move money through crypto and bypass existing sanctions. It also wants to block all crypto transactions linked to Russia, including stablecoins and the digital rouble, to close this route for payments and trade.
AnaisHong Kong is set to issue its first stablecoin licences in March 2026, following the new Stablecoins Ordinance. The city is also expanding crypto market rules and tokenisation projects while China remains cautious about cryptocurrency activity.
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