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Circle Launches Nanopayments on Testnet

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Circle Launches Nanopayments on Testnet

Circle has launched Nanopayments on testnet, offering developers a new infrastructure layer for ultra-small, gas-free USDC transactions.

The product is built on Circle Gateway and designed to serve the emerging agentic economy, where AI agents and autonomous software need to make rapid, sub-cent payments for services such as pay-per-call APIs, usage-based billing, and machine-to-machine marketplaces.

The core challenge Nanopayments aims to solve is an economic one. Traditional payment rails carry fixed fees and overhead that make sub-cent transactions impractical, while even low-cost blockchain transactions can impose fees that dwarf the payment itself.

Circle’s approach sidesteps this by aggregating transactions off-chain and settling them on-chain in batches, effectively reducing the per-transaction gas cost to zero for developers, with Circle absorbing the settlement costs at the batch layer.

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The system follows the x402 open standard, allowing any agent to pay any merchant without creating an account or adding a credit card. When an agent initiates a payment, it signs an authorization that’s validated by the Nanopayments API, the merchant gets instant confirmation, and actual on-chain settlement happens periodically in the background.

In a blog post, Circle highlighted an early proof of concept in which an autonomous robot dog used Nanopayments to pay for its own recharging in USDC, a glimpse at what fully autonomous economic actors might look like.

The testnet supports multiple blockchains, including Arbitrum, Base, Ethereum, Optimism, Polygon, and Sonic.

The launch comes amid explosive growth in the stablecoin sector, whose market capitalization now exceeds $314 billion, up 37% from $228 billion a year ago, according to DeFiLlama.

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Circle’s USDC is the second-largest stablecoin with nearly $79 billion in circulation, according to Coingecko.

The company has been steadily building out its platform beyond USDC issuance. In spring 2025, it launched the Circle Payments Network, a platform for real-time, low-cost cross-border payments using stablecoins. It later unveiled Gateway, a chain abstraction tool that lets USDC holders access a unified balance across supported blockchains, and introduced Arc, a Layer-1 blockchain purpose-built for USDC transactions.

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Can XRP break $100 in a single day? Retail investors are searching for passive income opportunities

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Can XRP break $100 in a single day? Retail investors are searching for passive income opportunities

Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.

Rising interest in XRP is pushing investors to explore passive income strategies, with platforms like NOW DeFi gaining attention for cloud mining and automated crypto earnings.

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Summary

  • Many XRP investors are looking for passive income options such as staking, DeFi yields, and cloud mining.
  • Platforms allow users to participate in Bitcoin mining without hardware by renting hash power remotely.
  • NOW DeFi offers features like free hash power rewards, AI mining optimization, and renewable-energy mining infrastructure.

As sentiment in the cryptocurrency market begins to recover, XRP has once again become one of the focal points for investors. Discussions surrounding XRP’s future price potential have intensified in recent weeks, with some analysts even speculating whether the asset could see a sharp surge in a very short period if market momentum continues to strengthen.

While the idea of XRP reaching $100 within a single day remains largely speculative, a more practical trend is becoming clear: an increasing number of retail investors are no longer focusing solely on price movements but are also searching for cryptocurrency investment methods that can generate consistent income.

Amid rising market volatility, passive income, automated earnings strategies, and low-barrier participation models are becoming new areas of interest. Particularly as popular assets like XRP regain market attention, some investors are turning their focus toward cloud mining, DeFi yield products, and automated digital asset platforms.

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What passive income opportunities are XRP investors exploring?

In the current market environment, many investors are increasingly looking for opportunities that offer:

  • Income models that do not rely on frequent trading
  • Participation methods that require little technical expertise
  • Platform-based services that can grow alongside the crypto market

Among these options, cloud mining is re-emerging as a popular choice among investors.

Compared with traditional hardware-based mining, cloud mining eliminates the need to purchase expensive mining machines or manage electricity, cooling, and maintenance costs. Users simply register on a platform and select a contract to participate in cryptocurrency mining through remote computing power.

For retail investors who are watching XRP’s price action while also seeking passive income opportunities, this model is becoming increasingly attractive.

Five passive income strategies XRP investors are paying attention to

1. Digital Asset Staking

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Staking is one of the most common passive income strategies. By locking certain digital assets, users can earn rewards distributed by platforms or blockchain protocols.

This method is relatively easy to use, though returns are often closely tied to the volatility of the underlying asset.

2. DeFi Yield Protocols

DeFi protocols allow users to generate returns through liquidity provision, lending, or yield aggregation.

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While flexible, these strategies often require a higher level of risk awareness and understanding.

3. Automated Trading Strategies

Some platforms offer quantitative or automated trading strategies designed to capture opportunities in volatile markets.

However, such products can be more complex and rely heavily on the platform’s trading algorithms.

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4. Cloud Mining Platforms

Cloud mining is increasingly viewed as an alternative to traditional cryptocurrency mining.

Instead of purchasing hardware, users can access mining power through cloud-based platforms and participate in the mining rewards of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

For investors seeking a lower technical barrier and more automated income generation, this approach is gaining traction.

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5. Platforms Combining Cloud Mining and DeFi

As more platforms integrate infrastructure with yield mechanisms, services that combine cloud mining with DeFi features are attracting a new wave of crypto users.

These platforms typically emphasize simplified registration, automated reward distribution, and streamlined user experiences.

Why NOW DeFi is attracting attention from XRP and crypto investors

Among the many platforms available today, NOW DeFi is gradually becoming a topic of discussion within the market.

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For investors looking to shift from pure price speculation toward passive income strategies, NOW DeFi offers a more direct entry point. The platform combines cloud mining infrastructure with DeFi-based reward mechanisms while simplifying the participation process.

For many users who have previously focused on trading assets such as XRP, BTC, or ETH, platforms like NOW DeFi are increasingly seen as a potential “second income curve” within the crypto ecosystem.

Key features of NOW DeFi include:

Free Hash Power Rewards
New users can claim a free mining reward upon registration to experience the platform’s mining services.

Daily Earnings Settlement
The platform supports automated daily reward distribution, reducing the need for manual management.

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AI Hash Power Optimization Technology
Dynamic resource allocation helps improve overall mining efficiency.

Renewable Energy Mining Infrastructure
The platform’s mining operations are located in regions rich in renewable energy resources.

According to platform information, its mining infrastructure is primarily distributed across:

  • Norway
  • Canada
  • Iceland
  • Sweden
  • Paraguay
  • Uruguay

These regions offer relatively low energy costs and stable renewable energy supplies, supporting efficient mining operations.

Example mining plans

Plan Investment Contract Duration Estimated Daily Earnings
Entry Plan $100 2 Days ~$4
Mid-Tier Plan $10,000 Varies by plan ~$165
Advanced Plan $50,000 Varies by plan ~$955

It is important to note that actual returns may vary depending on market conditions, network difficulty changes, and platform policies.

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Why These Platforms Are Attracting More XRP Investors

XRP investors are typically highly sensitive to market trends and are often willing to explore new opportunities when the market becomes active.

When popular assets regain attention, investors often begin searching for answers to questions such as:

  • Which platforms can provide passive income?
  • Which strategies do not require constant trading?
  • Which services are suitable for beginners?

As a result, during periods of heightened market interest, cloud mining platforms and automated yield services tend to gain additional visibility.

Conclusion

Whether XRP can truly reach $100 within a single day remains uncertain, but one clear trend is emerging across the cryptocurrency industry: investors are increasingly shifting their focus from single price movements toward more sustainable income models.

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From staking and DeFi to cloud mining and automated yield services, passive income strategies are becoming an important consideration for retail investors managing digital asset portfolios.

For users interested in exploring alternative income opportunities beyond XRP price speculation, NOW DeFi offers a relatively simple way to participate. Users can register by visiting the official NOW DeFi website or downloading the mobile application. After registration, new users can claim the platform’s free hash power reward and begin participating in cloud mining without purchasing mining hardware.

Disclosure: This content is provided by a third party. Neither crypto.news nor the author of this article endorses any product mentioned on this page. Users should conduct their own research before taking any action related to the company.

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Dogecoin zooms as Elon Musk announces X Money launch date for April

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Here's how Elon Musk's SpaceX–Tesla merger could impact 20,000 bitcoin (BTC)

Elon Musk said late Tuesday that the payments features on social application X will go live next month.

Dubbed X Money, the feature turns X into a fintech app with peer-to-peer transfers, bank deposits, a debit card, cashback re

The platform is licensed in over 40 U.S. states through subsidiary X Payments and has Visa as a partner for account funding.

Dogecoin rallied as much as 8%, before reversing gains, after the annoucement despite it containing zero references to crypto. It hit nearly $0.10 over the past day before settling around $0.093, making it the best-performing major crypto over both 24-hour and seven-day periods.

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The reflexive move reflects a pattern that has played out multiple times since 2021. Musk says something about X payments, and DOGE pumps on speculation he’ll integrate it.

Musk has called dogecoin his “favorite cryptocurrency” and Tesla accepted DOGE for merchandise in 2022. But X Money as described is a pure fiat product, with peer-to-peer transfers, bank linking, debit card. That’s closer to Venmo with a social media app attached, not a crypto wallet.

As such, X’s head of product Nikita Bier said in February that crypto trading tools would come to X through Smart Cashtags, but clarified the platform wouldn’t execute trades or act as a brokerage.

It would provide data and links that redirect users to exchanges. Musk recently reposted a third-party forecast of X Money’s future features that included “crypto integration,” but the company hasn’t confirmed anything.

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The more interesting question for crypto markets isn’t whether DOGE gets added. It’s the 6% yield.

Six percent on a balance inside a social media app used by hundreds of millions of people is higher than virtually every U.S. savings account and competitive with money market funds. Whether it’s subsidized by X to drive adoption, generated by lending deposits, or backed by some other mechanism matters enormously for how regulators view it.

The timing collides with Congress fighting over the CLARITY Act, which would set rules for yield-bearing stablecoin products.

The Senate Banking Committee is targeting mid-to-late March for markup. The core policy question is whether non-bank platforms should be allowed to offer deposit-like yields to consumers.

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X Money isn’t a stablecoin product, but it’s targeting the exact same consumer demand, people looking for better returns than their bank offers, through a different regulatory path.

If X Money launches at scale with 6% APY before the CLARITY Act passes, it creates an awkward comparison. A fiat fintech product inside a social media app gets to offer yields that crypto stablecoin products are being legislated out of.

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Ethereum’s on fire with record activity, but ether price and blockchain fees lag

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(DeFiLlama)

Ethereum’s network activity has surged to all-time highs across multiple metrics, but the growth has failed to lift ether’s price or boost fee generation at the base layer.

A weekly report from analytics firm CryptoQuant published March 10 found that daily active addresses on Ethereum approached 2 million in February 2026, exceeding peaks seen during the 2021 bull market. Active addresses are unique blockchain wallet addresses that have sent or received a transaction within a specific timeframe, like the past 24 hours

Smart contract calls, or codes on blockchain telling it to do something specific, topped 40 million per day, and token transfers driven by internal contract interactions also set records. The findings point to broad adoption across DeFi, stablecoins and automated protocol activity, even as investment demand for ether has weakened.

Record network user activity typically bodes well for the market value of the blockchain’ native token. But that’s not the case with Ethereum.

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It’s native token ether is down roughly 30% over the last six months, and the one-year change in Ethereum’s realized capitalization has turned negative, indicating net capital outflows from the market.

Exchange flow data from CryptoQuant shows ether moving to trading venues at a faster rate relative to bitcoin, a pattern consistent with elevated selling pressure.

Focus on capital flows

CryptoQuant argued that capital flows, rather than network activity, now explain ETH price dynamics more effectively.

In prior cycles, particularly 2018 and 2021, rising on-chain activity coincided with price rallies. That relationship has weakened. The firm’s scatter analysis showed recent observations clustering at high activity levels but relatively low prices, suggesting incremental usage growth now has less explanatory power for ether’s valuation.

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The fee picture reinforces the disconnect. Data from DefiLlama shows Ethereum generated roughly $10.3 million in transaction fees over the past 30 days, placing it third behind Tron at nearly $25 million and Solana at about $20 million.

(DeFiLlama)

On a revenue basis, the gap widens further. Ethereum ranked fifth in 30-day protocol revenue at $1.22 million, trailing Tron as well as Polygon, Base and Solana. Base, an Ethereum layer-2 network built by Coinbase, generated roughly three times Ethereum’s protocol revenue over the same period.

(DeFiLlama)

The disparity reflects the growing role of Ethereum’s layer-2 ecosystem. Networks such as Base and Polygon process large volumes of transactions while paying relatively small settlement costs back to the base chain, distributing economic activity across the broader Ethereum ecosystem rather than concentrating it on the base layer.

Stablecoins remain a bright spot for adoption. Ethereum hosts approximately $162 billion in stablecoin supply, roughly 52% of the global market, according to DefiLlama. Yet that activity has not translated into proportional value capture for ether itself.

Ethereum may be busier than ever, but the blockchain’s native asset is capturing less of the value created on top of it.

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Strategy Posts Record STRC Sales After ATM Rule Change

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Strategy Posts Record STRC Sales After ATM Rule Change

Michael Saylor’s Strategy, the world’s largest public holder of Bitcoin, sold a record amount of its perpetual preferred equity, Stretch (STRC), after amending its sales rules on Monday.

Strategy is estimated to have bought 1,420 Bitcoin (BTC) in a single day after selling roughly 2.4 million STRC shares through its at-the-market (ATM) program, according to data from STRC.live. The amount marks the largest estimated daily issuance of STRC and BTC purchases, surpassing the previous record of 1,069 BTC, according to a Monday X post from STRC.live.

Strategy announced a major rule change to its at-the-market (ATM) share sales program on Monday, allowing a second agent to sell the securities before the US market opens and after it closes, easing a prior restriction limiting such sales to one agent per trading day.

STRC sales versus estimated Bitcoin purchases by Strategy. Source: STRC Live

STRC is one of the major pillars of Strategy’s Bitcoin buying

STRC is Strategy’s variable-rate perpetual preferred stock, launched in July 2025 as one of several securities the company uses to help fund its Bitcoin treasury strategy, alongside other ATM programs such as Stride (STRD), Strife (STRF), Strike (STRK) and common stock (MSTR). Strategy says the stock pays monthly variable cash dividends, with the annualized rate for March set at 11.5%.

Strategy’s Stretch (STRC) details. Source: Strategy

Some market observers said the updated sales structure could make it easier for Strategy to issue stock more efficiently during premarket and after-hours trading, potentially accelerating future capital raises tied to Bitcoin purchases.

“A lot more capital will be raised, and a lot more Bitcoin will be purchased,” market observer Ragnar said.

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Source: BitcoinQuant

According to STRC.live, last week’s estimate suggested STRC proceeds would fund a weekly purchase of approximately 4,300 BTC ($303 million). However, the actual purchase exceeded expectations, as Strategy reported selling around $378 million in STRC in its filing with the SEC on Monday.

Related: Oil tumbles, crypto gains as Trump sends mixed signals over Iran war

Source: SEC

The company reported a massive $1.3 billion BTC purchase, marking one of its largest Bitcoin acquisitions on record. Common stock MSTR accounted for the largest proceeds in reported sales, generating nearly $900 million in proceeds.

The results for STRC underscore ongoing rapid acceleration in investor interest, despite the Bitcoin price trading below Strategy’s reported average cost basis of $75,862.

Magazine: The debate over Bitcoin’s four-year cycle is over: Benjamin Cowen