Solayer, a Layer-1 blockchain developer behind the infiniSVM framework, has unveiled a Visa-compatible physical card that lets users spend USDC balances directly in stores, online, and via contactless payments. The card integrates with Solayer Pay, the company’s digital wallet and payments platform, expanding the utility of stablecoins beyond on-chain transfers to everyday retail use.

According to Solayer Pay’s announcement, existing users can request the card at no cost, while new entrants are charged a $20 annual activation fee. The launch follows Solayer’s April 2025 rollout of Emerald Card, which reached about 40,000 users across more than 100 countries. The new physical card is designed to widen access to crypto-enabled spending by linking Solayer Pay accounts to the Visa payment network, enabling spending of USDC balances globally.

The card supports ATM withdrawals in regions where such services are supported and can be ordered directly through the Solayer Pay app. Solayer emphasizes that the card is built to bridge the gap between digital assets and traditional payment rails, allowing users to pay with stablecoins when converting on the fly at point-of-sale terminals.

In tandem with the card, Solayer highlights its broader platform, which already enables storing, transferring, and spending digital assets through Visa-linked payment infrastructure. The company also notes the existence of infiniSVM, a layer-1 network designed to run high-throughput on-chain applications while leveraging Solana (SOL) for gas fees.

Solayer’s push into physical cards sits within a wider industry trend: stablecoin-backed payment cards linked to major card networks like Visa and Mastercard are expanding rapidly as more issuers and processors participate in crypto-for-pay programs. The landscape includes several notable recent moves by other players in the space, underscoring shifting consumer and merchant attitudes toward digital assets in everyday commerce.

Key takeaways

• Solayer launches a Visa-enabled physical card tied to USDC through Solayer Pay, broadening access to on- and off-chain spend for holders of the stablecoin.
• Existing Solayer users can obtain the card for free, while new users incur a $20 annual activation fee.
• The card operates within Solayer’s Visa-linked payments ecosystem and supports ATM cash withdrawals in supported regions.
• Solayer also markets infiniSVM, its layer-1 network compatible with the Solana Virtual Machine, intended to support high-throughput on-chain applications with SOL used as gas fees.
• The move is part of a broader trend toward stablecoin payment cards, with major players expanding coverage and capabilities across networks and jurisdictions.
• DefiLlama data shows the stablecoin market growing to roughly $322.5 billion, up from about $243.3 billion in May 2025, highlighting growing demand for off-chain spend and cross-border payments.
• USDT remains the dominant stablecoin by market cap (about $189.7 billion, ~58.8% of the market), followed by USDC at around $76.7 billion, signaling continued concentration in the stablecoin sector.

Stablecoins and the card-ification of payments

The Solayer card arrives as a wave of stablecoin-linked cards gains momentum across the ecosystem. In January, OKX introduced a Mastercard-linked card for European users via regulated issuer Monavate, enabling spend of USDC and Paxos’ USDG. The following month, MetaMask expanded a Mastercard-backed crypto card across the United States, including New York, allowing self-custodial-wallet users to pay with digital assets directly at merchants. In March, Visa and Stripe-backed Bridge broadened a stablecoin card program to 18 countries and signaled plans to reach more than 100 countries by the end of 2026, while Mastercard moved to acquire BVNK, a stablecoin infrastructure company serving payments across more than 130 countries, in a deal valued at up to $1.8 billion.

Against this backdrop, DefiLlama’s stablecoins tracker shows the market expanding meaningfully, emphasizing why the card programs matter. The ecosystem’s scale gives issuers and processors a stronger business case to extend card-based access to stablecoins, potentially broadening merchant acceptance and improving cross-border spend efficiency for users who hold digital assets for daily transactions.

Solayer’s approach—combining a specialized layer-1 network with a Visa-enabled card—aims to deliver both high-throughput on-chain capabilities and familiar consumer checkout experiences. For developers building on infiniSVM, the promise of a compatible environment with Solana-inspired gas mechanics could reduce friction when deploying apps that require fast settlement and predictable costs, potentially widening the use cases for on-chain finance in everyday commerce.

Industry context and what comes next

The broader market backdrop offers several cues about the path ahead. The rapid uptake of stablecoin payment cards reflects ongoing demand for practical on/off-ramp solutions that blend crypto liquidity with conventional payment rails. As more issuers partner with established networks and processors, the geographic reach of these cards continues to grow, with regulatory frameworks gradually catching up to the technology and use cases.

Investors and users should watch how these programs address non-compliance risk, merchant onboarding, and settlement efficiency as card networks push to scale across more jurisdictions. The competition among issuers, networks, and infrastructure providers could shape the pace of adoption, as could shifts in stablecoin liquidity, on-chain fees, and cross-border payment dynamics.

Solayer’s dual approach—an on-chain, high-throughput L1 network and a consumer-facing payment card—adds another dimension to the conversation about stablecoins’ mainstream potential. If Solayer’s card and InfiniSVM ecosystem can deliver a reliable, low-friction user experience at scale, they may help accelerate merchant acceptance and user retention in a field where real-world spend is often the biggest hurdle to broader adoption.

As the market observes, the next milestones to watch include broader card issuance for Solayer Pay, expanded ATM coverage, and deeper integration with more card networks and fiat rails. Regulators’ guidance on stablecoins and electronic payments will likely shape how quickly and how widely these programs expand, but the current trajectory suggests that stablecoin-enabled cards are transitioning from novelty to a persistent feature of crypto finance.

Source data and market context referenced in this report include Solayer Pay’s official announcements and industry-wide coverage of stablecoin card initiatives, with DefiLlama providing sector-wide stablecoin metrics used to gauge overall market growth.

What remains uncertain is how rapidly merchants will embrace stablecoin payments at scale and how future regulatory developments will influence the design and feasibility of such cards. For now, Solayer’s entry adds a concrete example of how digital assets can be bridged to everyday transactions, signaling a continued push toward more practical, payment-ready crypto use cases.

State Street is wiring its Luxembourg fund stack so tokenized fund units run on the same custody, NAV and TA rails as traditional funds, turning RWAs from brochure‑ware into production infrastructure.

State Street Corporation has said it intends to deliver a “tokenized fund servicing capability” from Luxembourg by the end of 2026 through State Street Investment Services, extending its existing fund administration, custody and transfer‑agency services to “support digitally native fund structures alongside traditional funds within a single institutional operating model.” The new offering will be delivered via its Digital Asset Platform (DAP), launched earlier this year, and is designed to support the full lifecycle of tokenized fund issuance, administration and custody, with State Street Investment Management expected to be an early adopter.

Luxembourg is the key tell. In its press release, State Street says Luxembourg was selected “due to its established global funds ecosystem and legal frameworks that support digitally native fund structures,” making it the initial delivery location for the tokenization‑enabled service. This is where a huge chunk of Europe’s cross‑border UCITS and AIF infrastructure already sits; when a systemically important custodian adds tokenized fund shares to the same back‑office rails that handle trillions in traditional funds, you’ve moved RWAs from brochure‑ware to production infrastructure. Angus Fletcher, State Street’s global head of Digital Asset Solutions, spells it out: the goal is “building infrastructure that enables digital and traditional assets to operate together within a unified institutional framework,” with Investment Services “focused on delivering a production‑ready servicing capability” rather than pilots.

Structurally, this means tokenized fund units can live inside the same NAV‑calculation, custody, transfer‑agency and compliance workflows as conventional shares, all through a single client interface. Tokenizationinsight and other specialist outlets correctly point out that there has been “a glaring hole in the fund tokenization stack” — product managers love issuing tokenized feeders and side‑pockets, but without institutional‑grade operating infrastructure, those tokens stay stuck in walled gardens with ambiguous legal settlement. State Street’s move plugs that hole: its Digital Asset Platform is described as supporting tokenized products including money‑market funds, ETFs, tokenized assets, tokenized deposits and stablecoins, all under consistent governance and risk‑management frameworks.

Everyone likes to talk about RWAs as fintech porn — tokenized T‑bills, private credit, shiny dashboards. The real power is exactly this kind of boring plumbing: Luxembourg lawyers updating fund prospectuses, State Street ops teams wiring DAP into custody and TA systems, regulators signing off on “digitally native fund structures” that settle on chain but behave like any other regulated fund in their back office. If this works, mainstream European managers can launch tokenized share classes, feeders or side‑pockets out of Luxembourg with real legal settlement finality, and DeFi protocols that want to touch those assets won’t have to pretend they’re dealing with some exotic wrapper; they’ll be interfacing with assets that sit squarely inside TradFi’s legal superstructure, serviced by one of the world’s largest custodians.

Signal May Exit Canada

Privacy-focused messaging app Signal has hinted it could exit the Canadian market if it is forced to comply with the proposed lawful access bill, Bill C-22.

According to the company’s vice president of strategy, the bill requires companies to build surveillance capabilities that could threaten end-to-end encryption.

Bill C-22 was introduced in March 2026 as part of a broader regulatory package. It requires electronic service providers to build surveillance capabilities and retain user metadata for up to a year, in an effort to help law enforcement agencies investigate serious crimes such as terrorism and child exploitation.

Udbhav Tiwari, Signal’s vice president of strategy and global affairs, said during an interview with The Globe and Mail that the lawful access bill threatens encryption and could expose private messaging apps to cybersecurity risks.

Bill C-22 could potentially allow hackers to exploit these very vulnerabilities engineered into electronic systems, with private messaging services serving as an ideal target for foreign adversaries.

Critics Warn of Implications to User Privacy

However, the bill has drawn substantial criticism due to implications for user privacy, drawing comparisons with the EU’s chat control proposal, which threatened encryption by pushing for client-side scanning of private conversations.

Jacob Mantle, a Canadian Conservative Party member of Parliament, claimed that every member of Parliament in Canada uses Signal because of its privacy features, arguing that the bill would give the government access to everyone’s messages.

Some companies, including Meta, have supported specific aspects of the bill, arguing that it gives law enforcement the necessary legal framework to obtain evidence and ensure public safety. However, they flagged concerns that some provisions of the bill negatively impact privacy and cybersecurity.

Privacy-Focused Companies under Pressure

Signal is not the only company opposed to the proposed bill. Windscribe, a VPN service provider, also said it could exit Canada if forced to comply with the legislation. The company argued the proposed legislation poses a significant threat to user privacy.

We won’t be far behind if C-22 passes. In its current state, VPNs would almost certainly require us to log identifying user data. Signal isn’t headquartered in Canada, so they can just shut off Canadian servers, but our HQ is. We pay an ungodly amount of taxes to this corrupt government, and in return, they want to destroy the entire essence of our service to basically spy on its own citizens.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

XRP leads altcoin rally after CLARITY Act vote as SHRMiner cloud mining interest grows in 2026.

Following the vote on the CLARITY Act on Thursday, the price of XRP surged, driving a broad rally across payment-focused cryptocurrencies. The token rose 4.51% within 24 hours to reach $1.49, while Bitcoin climbed to $81,449 and Ethereum traded at $2,288. XRP, Stellar Lumens, Cardano, and Hedera posted even larger gains, with all four outperforming Bitcoin on the day.

Buoyed by progress on the regulatory front in Washington, an increasing number of investors are seeking more stable channels for passive income. For users who wish to participate in cryptocurrency mining but are unwilling to bear the high costs of mining hardware and the complexities of technical barriers, SHRMiner cloud mining is emerging as an increasingly attractive alternative.

Why SHRMiner offers a competitive advantage

SHRMiner is a leading global cloud mining service platform. Headquartered in the UK, the company has been dedicated since its inception in 2018 to providing secure, efficient, and scalable cloud mining services to over 5 million users across more than 180 countries. 

The platform’s data centers are strategically located in regions abundant in renewable energy resources, utilizing solar, hydroelectric, and wind power to ensure low-carbon operations. The platform offers flexible short-term smart contracts, stable revenue mechanisms, and flexible payment channels supporting multiple cryptocurrencies. This enables users to participate in mining with ease, requiring neither specialized hardware nor technical expertise.

How to earn Bitcoin using SHRMiner? 

Simply follow three easy steps to start generating earnings.

1. Create an Account: Complete registration to receive $15 in free computing power, and earn daily returns of $0.60 by purchasing a free trial contract (click here to register).

2. Select a Mining Contract Plan: Choose from popular short-term or long-term cloud mining contracts (ranging from 1 to 50 days), tailored to your personal needs.

3. Start Earning: Track daily rewards and withdraw earnings in a preferred cryptocurrency.

Curated mining contract plans

SHRMiner offers a diverse range of yield-generating cloud mining contract plans designed to cater to the varying investment preferences and financial objectives of different users. Whether someone is seeking flexible short-term returns or prioritizing stable long-term yields, they can find a suitable option on our platform.

Mining revenue examples

Upon purchasing a contract, earnings will be automatically credited to an account within 24 hours. When the contract expires, the principal will be returned in full. Users may choose to withdraw their principal or reinvest it to enjoy higher returns.

For more details regarding mining contracts, please click here.

Why investing in SHRminer is worth it

The company operates in full compliance within the UK, holding a UK operating license to ensure both regulatory adherence and transparency.

It operates a global network of 150 large-scale mining farms and data centers, providing genuine mining hash power.

Offering 100% remote access, users can track their earnings in real-time — without the need for any hardware — via the SHRMiner app or the platform’s website.

Utilizing security protocols from McAfee® and Cloudflare®, the platform safeguards the funds held within user accounts.

Mine, track earnings, and reinvest — all operations are seamlessly conducted from a single, unified platform.

Conclusion

As the regulatory landscape gradually gains clarity and market liquidity continues to rebound, the cryptocurrency market may be entering a new window of opportunity for growth. For investors, while keeping a close watch on market trends and policy shifts, the question of how to generate long-term returns through smarter and more stable methods is emerging as a key area of ​​focus. SHRMiner has introduced a cloud mining smart contract service, offering cryptocurrency enthusiasts a new, low-barrier option for generating passive income from digital assets. 

For more details, please visit our official website or download our mobile application.

10th June 2026 – Focus Rooms – Universe, South Africa

South Africa’s banking, financial services, and insurance sector is entering a defining phase of transformation, driven by rapid technological advancements, changing customer expectations, evolving regulatory landscapes, and increasing demand for secure, agile, and inclusive financial ecosystems. Curated by Exito Media Concepts, a globally recognized B2B events and media organization, the BFSI Innovation & Technology Summit draws on deep industry expertise and international best practices to create a strategic platform for forward-looking conversations that accelerate financial innovation.

As financial institutions across South Africa continue to modernize operations, adopt intelligent automation, and strengthen digital capabilities, the industry is laying the groundwork for greater resilience, operational efficiency, and long-term competitiveness. These efforts reflect South Africa’s broader ambition to position itself as a leading financial innovation hub across the African continent while ensuring financial services remain accessible, secure, and future-ready.

At the same time, this rapid evolution highlights critical priorities such as strengthening cybersecurity frameworks, ensuring data privacy compliance under POPIA and global standards, modernizing legacy infrastructure, enhancing real-time payment systems, and leveraging artificial intelligence to drive operational intelligence. Addressing these focus areas will be essential to creating a more inclusive, sustainable, and technologically advanced financial ecosystem.

Event Overview

The 36th Edition of the BFSI Innovation & Technology Summit – South Africa 2026 forms part of Exito’s global summit series hosted across multiple international markets.

As South Africa’s BFSI sector continues to evolve through digital transformation, the summit will convene 200+ CTOs, CIOs, CISOs, Heads of Digital Transformation, IT Infrastructure Leaders, and senior decision-makers from the country’s leading banking, financial services, and insurance organizations.

Under the theme:“Recalibrating South Africa’s Financial Edge”

The summit will deliver strategic discussions focused on innovation, operational resilience, financial inclusion, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies shaping the future of finance.

Date: 10th June 2026
Time: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Venue: Focus Rooms – Universe, South Africa

The summit is also CPD Certified, reinforcing its commitment to professional learning and industry advancement.

Meet the Visionaries

The 36th Edition of the BFSI Innovation & Technology Summit – South Africa 2026 will feature some of the most influential leaders shaping South Africa’s financial technology ecosystem.

A few distinguished speakers joining the summit include:

• Lelané Bezuidenhout Chief Executive Officer Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa
• Pragashani Reddy Business Banking Exco: Executive Director – Digital Absa Group
• Meshack Ndwandwe Chief Information Officer First National Bank
• Dr. Gavin Moss CIO: Corporate Banking Rand Merchant Bank
• Sanisha Packirisamy Chief Economist Momentum Investments
• Khetha CeleGroup Chief Information Officer

Ithala Development Finance Operation

• Dr Thabang Chiloane Head of Financial Inclusion and Public Policy The Banking Association South Africa
• Pieter Geldenhuys Futurist Keynote Speaker

…and many more industry leaders and innovators.

Key Topics to Be Covered

Attendees will explore South Africa’s most pressing BFSI transformation priorities through focused discussions, including:

• AI-Powered Financial Transformation Modernizing systems, driving automation, and unlocking new revenue opportunities through intelligent technologies.
• Ethical Financing & Sustainable Growth Aligning profitability with ESG objectives, inclusivity, and long-term economic resilience.
• Strengthening Cybersecurity Frameworks Designing resilient systems for threat detection, AI governance, compliance, and secure cloud adoption.
• Financial Inclusion Through Technology Expanding access to digital banking through innovation-led financial accessibility initiatives.
• Data Privacy & Regulatory Compliance Navigating POPIA and global compliance standards while ensuring trust and operational security.
• Legacy Modernization for Agile Banking Transforming infrastructure to support scalability, flexibility, and innovation.
• The Future of Customer Experience in BFSI Leveraging predictive insights and hyper-personalization to redefine banking engagement.

BFSI 100 Recognition

A key highlight of the summit will be the BFSI 100, recognizing South Africa’s most influential technology leaders across banking, financial services, and insurance.

Curated through nominations, applications, research, and industry interviews, the BFSI 100 offers a definitive view of the visionaries shaping the future of South Africa’s financial technology landscape.

About Exito

Exito stands for “success”, a principle reflected in every experience we design.

With over 15 years of experience, Exito is a globally recognized B2B events and media organization delivering 240+ conferences annually across technology, digital transformation, cybersecurity, healthcare, manufacturing, and emerging enterprise sectors.

Through carefully curated agendas, global speaker communities, and market-driven insights, Exito creates platforms that foster strategic collaboration, accelerate innovation adoption, and drive measurable business outcomes worldwide.

For more details on the BFSI Innovation & Technology Summit – South Africa 2026, visit: https://bfsiitsummit.com/south-africa/

For Media Enquiries, please contact:

Prakruthi Nayaka
Media and PR Executive, Exito Media Concepts
Email: prakruthi.nayaka@exito-e.com

XRP Power gains attention as investors shift toward AI-driven crypto automation in volatile 2026 market.

Even with only $1,000, small capital can still offer opportunities to participate in popular global asset markets. However, all investments carry risk. This article is for market trend analysis only and does not constitute any financial advice.

For ordinary people, the truly important thing is not “how much money to invest,” but rather how to choose the most suitable participation method with limited funds.

Before investing, clarify these 4 things

Before starting, consider the following questions:

• How long are you willing to hold?
• Do you need flexible withdrawals?
• How much volatility and risk can you tolerate?
• Are you willing to invest time learning about the market?

Whether it’s cryptocurrency, stocks, or gold, there is no truly “guaranteed profit.” Especially in highly volatile markets, sharp rises or falls in a short period are very common.

Therefore, when participating in the market with small capital, it is even more important to focus on a long-term perspective and risk control.

Cryptocurrency: High volatility and high attention coexist

In 2026, the cryptocurrency market will once again experience rapid growth.

Besides the continued attention on Bitcoin and Ethereum, emerging projects like Polygon and Solana have also gained significant market attention in a short period. Simultaneously, more and more ordinary users are refocusing on the digital asset sector, hoping to find new growth opportunities.

However, rapid market volatility has also made many users realize that frequent trading and emotional decisions rarely lead to long-term stability.

Therefore, some users are turning their attention to more intelligent and automated ways of participating.

XRP Power AI Intelligent System is gaining attention.

Compared to traditional manual monitoring, XRP Power emphasizes AI-intelligent analysis and automated operation.

The platform combines cloud computing power with its AI intelligent system to continuously optimize overall operational efficiency and risk control capabilities, aiming to create a safer, more stable, and intelligent digital service platform, providing users with a more efficient and robust user experience.

XRP Power AI System supports: AI intelligent analysis and automated execution/real-time data synchronization / multi-layered risk control mechanisms/24/7 intelligent operation/global app operation experience

For new users just entering the digital asset market, compared to complex trading processes, more and more people prefer to participate in the market through clearer, simpler, and more structured methods. 

Currently, new users who register receive $21 in trial funds to experience the platform’s AI smart contract system.

The platform offers various types of AI smart contracts, allowing users to choose different periods and modes according to their needs. Once activated, the AI ​​will automatically execute according to the platform’s operating mechanism, synchronizing relevant data and account status in real time.

Stocks: Relatively stable long-term assets

Compared to cryptocurrencies, the stock market generally experiences lower volatility.

In 2026, the US stock market remains active, with technology, healthcare, and new energy sectors continuing to receive attention. For users who wish to hold for the long term, index funds and high-quality company stocks remain the mainstream approach.

Index ETFs

Products like the S&P 500 ETF and Nasdaq ETF are more suitable for long-term allocation.

Features: Relatively low risk/High liquidity/Simple operation/More suitable for long-term holding

Individual Stock Investment

While individual stocks may offer higher returns, they also rely more heavily on market research capabilities and industry judgment.

For users with smaller capital, reasonable risk diversification is usually more important.

Gold: A Traditional Safe-Haven Asset

Gold has long been considered one of the world’s safe-haven assets.

Gold typically regains market attention during periods of increased market volatility or economic uncertainty.

While gold doesn’t experience the same short-term surges as cryptocurrencies, its long-term value storage properties are still recognized by many investors.

Common investment options include: physical gold, gold ETFs, and precious metal funds — all relatively low-risk and suitable for more conservative investors.

For small-capital investments, risk management is paramount.

For small amounts of capital like $1,000, the real focus isn’t on short-term profits, but on achieving stable, long-term asset growth while managing risk.

Today, more and more users are focusing on: AI-powered intelligent analysis, automated management, real-time risk control, and more structured participation models.

Compared to frequent chasing of highs and lows, more people prefer to use intelligent systems to assist in management, reducing the impact of emotional trading.

In this market trend, the XRP Power AI intelligent platform is also gaining attention from some users. The platform provides users with a simpler and more efficient digital participation experience through AI-powered intelligent analysis, automated operation mechanisms, and a real-time data synchronization system. For new users just entering the market, choosing a clearer, more stable, and intelligent approach compared to complex trading processes may become the new trend.

For more details, please visit the official website.

Risk Warning

Markets such as cryptocurrencies, stocks, and gold all involve volatility and risk. Prices may be affected by various factors, including the global economy, market sentiment, and policy changes. Before participating in these markets, users should fully understand the rules of different assets and contracts and participate rationally based on their own risk tolerance.

Compared to traditional high-volatility trading models, XRP Power focuses more on intelligent management, risk control, and long-term stable operation. The platform continuously optimizes overall system stability and user experience through AI-intelligent analysis, multi-layered risk control mechanisms, and real-time data monitoring.

Before participating in any AI smart contracts, users are advised to carefully understand the platform rules, contract periods, and related instructions, rationally plan their capital allocation, and enhance their risk awareness.