Decentralised Finance

The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) has partnered with LayerZero, a leading interoperability protocol, to enable native connectivity between Stellar and more than 150 blockchain networks. The integration allows assets—most notably USDC and other stablecoins—to move seamlessly across chains without relying on centralized bridges or intermediaries.

DappRadar, a seven-year-old blockchain analytics platform, has shut down due to financial difficulties. Its closure leaves a gap in cross-chain data services, affecting developers, investors, and users who relied on its analytics.

Circle is exploring ways to make USDC transactions reversible in cases of fraud or hacks while keeping settlements mostly final. The plan involves its new Arc blockchain, aimed at institutions, to add fraud protection without fully breaking blockchain rules.

For the first time, Binance has entered a country without using the binance branding, unlike the many other instances where the Binance branding has always been prominent, like Binance Japan(Japan), Gulf Binance (Thailand) or Binance France (France). Instead, it created an independent entity called Meda.

Binance Pay has teamed up with French fintech Lyzi to introduce cryptocurrency payments to over 80 businesses across the French Riviera, including the glamorous cities of Cannes, Nice, Antibes, and Monaco.

Garden Finance was accused of helping move stolen crypto linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, after earning $300,000 in fees in 12 days. An investigator said most of the funds came from the Bybit hack, but the platform’s founder denies any wrongdoing.

Bybit is launching Byreal, a new decentralised trading platform on Solana, with a testnet set for 30 June and mainnet in Q3 2025. It aims to combine the speed and liquidity of a centralised exchange with the fairness and openness of DeFi, using hybrid features like RFQ and CLMM routing.

Cryptocurrency wallet firm Tangem is collaborating with Visa to bring self-custody and mainstream payments together.

A U.S. court has sentenced a man to 30 years for funding ISIS with crypto—marking one of the harshest penalties in digital asset-linked terrorism cases.

The small Italian town of Fornelli is unveiling Italy’s first Satoshi Nakamoto monument on 1 May 2025, funded by the local government. The village, known for its high Bitcoin adoption, is positioning itself as a crypto-friendly destination.