TLDR:

•  Zebec launched enterprise payroll on Stellar with support for stablecoin salary distributions globally.
•  European institutions have entered final testing for payroll, benefits, and contractor payment workflows.
•  Workers can access salaries instantly through wallets, payment cards, or local currency conversions.
•  XLM gained over 22% in 24 hours as Stellar ecosystem activity and trading volumes increased.

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Zebec has launched its enterprise payroll platform on Stellar, extending blockchain-based salary payments to one of the industry’s largest payment-focused networks. The deployment introduces real-time payroll capabilities for employers managing global teams and contractor networks. 

Companies can now distribute salaries in stablecoins while workers gain instant access to funds through digital wallets and payment cards. The rollout comes as Stellar’s native token records heightened market activity and a sharp rise in trading volume.

Zebec Payroll on Stellar Targets Global Enterprise Payments

The launch introduces Zebec’s payroll infrastructure directly onto the Stellar network. According to information shared by Stellar, employers can stream salaries and contractor payments in stablecoins through the platform.

Employees can receive funds instantly in supported digital wallets. They can also spend balances using Zebec’s Mastercard-powered cards or convert digital dollars into local currencies.

The company also unveiled a redesigned enterprise dashboard. The interface targets HR departments managing large international workforces and contractor networks.

Several European institutions and multinational employers have entered final testing stages, according to details released by Zebec. These organizations are evaluating salary distribution, contractor payments, and employee benefits workflows.

The testing phase represents one of the first large-scale evaluations of Zebec’s payroll infrastructure on Stellar. The deployments focus on real-world payment operations rather than experimental blockchain applications.

Zebec stated that the rollout builds on its existing relationship with Stellar. The company highlighted Stellar’s growing role in blockchain-based payment infrastructure and cross-border financial services.

Stellar Ecosystem Growth Coincides With XLM Market Activity

The payroll deployment arrives during a period of increased activity across the Stellar ecosystem. Stellar highlighted the launch through its official social media channels, emphasizing instant payment capabilities for workers and contractors.

The network has attracted attention through payment-focused initiatives connecting traditional financial services with blockchain infrastructure. Zebec referenced Stellar’s work in remittances and institutional blockchain adoption as part of the broader collaboration.

The launch also supports Zebec’s wider multichain expansion strategy. The company continues to deploy payment and payroll infrastructure across multiple blockchain networks while focusing on enterprise compliance requirements.

Market activity surrounding Stellar has also accelerated. According to data from CoinGecko, XLM traded around $0.22 after gaining more than 22% over the previous 24 hours.

Trading volume climbed above $813 million during the same period. The token also moved within a daily range between approximately $0.18 and $0.23.

The payroll announcement arrived alongside that increase in trading activity. While the launch and price movement occurred during the same period, the available data does not establish a direct relationship between the two developments.

The deployment adds another enterprise-focused use case to Stellar’s payments ecosystem as organizations continue evaluating blockchain-based payroll operations.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has hired a new chief data innovation officer with deep experience in blockchain forensics in what could be seen as the regulator’s move toward greater focus on the technology.

In a Monday notice, CFTC Chair Michael Selig said that Donald Battle, an adviser to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) crypto task force, would be the commission’s chief data innovation officer. Battle was appointed as an SEC crypto task force adviser in January 2025 with the incoming Trump administration, and previously worked as a blockchain data adviser for the CFTC and crypto enforcement specialist with the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

Source: CFTC

Selig cited Battle’s experience in “data science, blockchain forensics, programming interfaces, and cutting-edge AI solutions” among his reasons for his pick.

The appointment signaled the agency moving closer to addressing crypto regulation and enforcement at a time when Congress is seeking to overhaul the CFTC’s and SEC’s roles with a digital asset market structure bill, the CLARITY Act.

The CFTC chair remains the sole commissioner at the financial agency responsible for many aspects of digital asset regulation and enforcement. Under Selig, the CFTC has claimed exclusion jurisdiction over regulating prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket, resulting in many lawsuits against state-level authorities seeking to crack down on what they called illegal gambling.

Related: Kraken rolls out perpetual futures for US traders through CFTC-regulated venue

Public comment period opens for proposed CFTC framework on sports event contracts

The CFTC last week released a proposed rule that could distinguish sports event contracts offered on platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket from what it called “games of random chance,” referring to gambling. The public has 45 days to comment on the draft rule that could influence how the financial agency addresses regulation of sports events contracts and betting at the state and federal levels.

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The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has appointed SEC crypto task force adviser Donald Battle as chief data innovation officer as lawmakers continue debating the future of U.S. digital asset regulation.

According to a Monday announcement from CFTC Chair Michael Selig, Donald Battle will serve as the agency’s new chief data innovation officer.

Battle most recently advised the Securities and Exchange Commission’s crypto task force and previously held roles at the CFTC and the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

In the announcement, Selig pointed to Battle’s background in data science, blockchain forensics, application programming interfaces, and artificial intelligence as factors behind the appointment.

Battle joined the SEC crypto task force in January 2025 after the Trump administration took office and has worked on cryptocurrency-related investigations and analytics across multiple federal agencies.

The hire comes as lawmakers in Washington continue work on the CLARITY Act, legislation that would redefine the responsibilities of the SEC and CFTC in overseeing digital assets. While Congress debates those jurisdictional boundaries, the CFTC has remained deeply involved in both crypto-related enforcement and prediction market regulation.

CFTC expands focus on digital asset oversight

Responsibility for many of the agency’s digital asset activities currently rests with the CFTC, which, under Selig, has taken an active role in disputes involving federally regulated event contracts and prediction markets.

Court filings cited by the commission show the agency recently sued New Mexico after state officials attempted to apply local gaming laws to contracts listed on prediction market platform Kalshi. The lawsuit names Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Attorney General Raúl Torrez, and other state officials.

According to the complaint, the CFTC argues that federally regulated event contracts fall under its authority and cannot be governed by state gambling rules.

The case followed allegations from New Mexico authorities that Kalshi was operating without a required license and allowing participation by users younger than the state’s legal gaming age of 21.

Federal regulators have made similar arguments in other disputes involving prediction markets, maintaining that contracts listed on platforms operating under CFTC oversight should be regulated at the federal level.

Sports contract proposal enters public review

At the same time, the commission has opened a public consultation process on a proposed framework covering sports event contracts.

According to the CFTC, the draft rule seeks to distinguish sports event contracts offered by platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket from what the agency described as games of random chance.

The proposal could play a key role in determining how federal regulators treat sports-related prediction markets and how those markets interact with state gaming laws.

The commission said the public will have 45 days to submit comments on the proposal before regulators consider next steps.

Battle’s arrival places a veteran blockchain investigator inside the agency’s data leadership team as the commission navigates overlapping debates involving crypto markets, prediction platforms, and the future division of authority between federal regulators.

With Congress still considering market structure legislation, the CFTC continues to play a central role in several of the industry’s most closely watched regulatory battles.

Kraken on Monday launched perpetual futures trading for eligible US users through Bitnomial, expanding its domestic derivatives offerings months after acquiring the federally regulated exchange.

The products are available through Kraken Pro and include contracts tied to major cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), XRP (XRP), Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK), Dogecoin (DOGE), Litecoin (LTC) and Avalanche (AVAX).

According to Monday’s announcement, the contracts share the same futures wallet as Kraken’s existing CME-listed crypto futures products, allowing traders to manage both positions from a single account.

Source: Kraken Pro

Kraken said perpetual futures, a type of derivative contract with no expiration date, generated more than $60 trillion in global trading volume in 2025 and have largely been traded on offshore platforms rather than regulated US venues.

Kraken has expanded its US trading offerings over the past year, adding support for CME-listed crypto futures in July 2025 and launching margin trading for eligible US customers earlier this month.

Monday’s launch follows Kraken’s late-May announcement that it planned to introduce Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulated perpetual futures through Bitnomial, the crypto derivatives platform acquired by parent company Payward in April.

Related: OKX expands X-Perps in Europe with Magnificent 7, gold and oil futures

US exchanges compete for crypto derivatives market

Kraken’s launch comes amid a broader push by USexchanges to bring crypto derivatives trading onshore.

On May 29, the CFTC approved Kalshi’s Bitcoin perpetual futures contract and issued a no-action position for Coinbase, paving the way for regulated perpetual futures products in the domestic market.

That same day, the company announced that its Coinbase Financial Markets unit would provide US institutional clients access to global crypto perpetual futures and options markets, which the exchange said account for roughly 80% of global crypto trading volume.

Kalshi also launched perpetual futures contracts on May 29, describing the products as its most significant expansion beyond prediction markets and a step toward becoming a broader derivatives exchange.

The regulatory approvals followed months of discussion around bringing crypto perpetual futures to the United States.

“The CFTC’s approval of the KalshiEX BTCPERP is not the end of the regulatory story; it is the beginning,” said Gontran de Quillacq, CEO and founder of Navesink International.

In a January speech, CFTC Chair Michael Selig said the agency would use its existing authority to support perpetual futures and other novel derivatives products in the US, arguing that years of regulatory uncertainty had pushed trading activity offshore.

Speaking at the Milken Institute’s Future of Finance conference a few months later, Selig said the CFTC was working to establish a framework for “true perpetual futures” in the US.

Source: Mike Selig

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BitMine Immersion Technologies continued to expand its Ether holdings last week, acquiring more of the second-biggest digital asset despite a prolonged market downturn as its large staking operation continues to generate yield.

On Monday, the crypto treasury company reported that it acquired 76,881 Ether (ETH) over the past week, potentially reducing its average cost basis as ETH briefly plunged below $1,600 during the period. The company has been steadily acquiring Ether during the bear market, regardless of price action.

BitMine now holds 5,620,754 ETH acquired at an average price of $1,718.

BitMine is sitting on large unrealized losses on its ETH holdings. Source: DropsTab

At current prices, the company’s ETH portfolio is worth roughly $10.2 billion, though it is sitting on an unrealized loss of nearly $9 billion, according to DropsTab data. At last look on Monday, Ether was trading at $1,843.69, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Bitmine’s latest purchases brings the company closer to its stated goal of owning 5% of Ether’s total circulating supply of 120.68 million tokens. The company currently controls approximately 4.66% of all ETH.

At the same time, BitMine has staked more than 4.1 million ETH, worth roughly $8.1 billion at current prices. Staking allows the company to earn protocol rewards by helping secure the Ethereum network, providing a recurring source of yield even during periods of price weakness.

Related: Ethereum can quantum-proof accounts for just 7 cents, says Ethereum’s Kohaku lead

Ethereum faces structural headwinds

The crypto treasury model has come under pressure this year as digital asset prices retreated sharply. The downturn has also weighed on spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which recorded four consecutive days of net outflows last week. 

Selling pressure has persisted since early May, with daily net outflows exceeding $60 million on several occasions.

BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) remains the biggest US-traded ETH ETF, with net assets of $4.75 billion. It holds 2.36% of the crypto’s circulating supply.

ETH’s decline has coincided with large outflows from spot ETFs. Source: SoSoValue

For Ethereum, however, the challenges extend beyond price action.

The network’s layer-2 scaling strategy, designed to deliver faster and cheaper transactions, has come under scrutiny. As more activity migrates to layer-2 networks, the Ethereum mainnet captures less transaction-fee revenue and burns less ETH, potentially weakening its deflationary dynamics.

Internal changes at the Ethereum Foundation have added to the uncertainty. At least nine senior leaders, researchers and core contributors have departed the nonprofit so far this year, marking one of the largest waves of talent attrition in its history. The departures have coincided with the foundation’s organizational overhaul and renewed community debate over its governance, strategic direction and role in Ethereum’s long-term development.

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