In May, the European Commission opened a comment period, seeking feedback on regulations for the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries. 

The comment period will precede eventual revisions and additions to the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislative framework. Some have already dubbed the expected new framework “MiCA 2.0.”

Katie Harries, director and head of policy for Europe at Coinbase, told Cointelegraph that there are several key areas where “refinements could help ensure the framework remains competitive in the next phase of digital asset regulation.”

With an updated version of EU crypto law, the crypto industry is looking for more regulatory clarity in DeFi, stablecoins and tokenization.

MiCA was just the first step

Full application and enforcement of MiCA rules began on December 30, 2024, with the first licenses issued in the first months of 2025.

While the legislative process was long and complex, the EU still managed to create a regulatory framework for crypto ahead of the United States. Per Harries, “MiCA helped set an early global benchmark for digital asset regulation and gave the EU a first-mover advantage.”

It represented an “important first move” for the EU which created a “a single, harmonised rulebook for crypto” among its member states. “It gave consumers greater protection and transparency, while providing businesses with the regulatory clarity needed to build, invest and grow across the bloc.”

Harries said that, for Coinbase, MiCA provided a foundation on which it can expand its business in Europe into “the next phase of adoption across both retail and institutional markets.”

Now, Brussels is looking to recalibrate its landmark legislation. The consultation is split into four parts:

1. Regulatory scope and definitions for crypto assets other than asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and e-money tokens (EMTs)
2. Requirements for EMTs, ARTs and their issuers
3. Defining legal framework for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs)
4. Topics that MiCA 1.0 didn’t cover e.g., DeFi and prediction markets

Stablecoin discussion has regulatory consequences

Per Catarina Veloso, director of regulatory and compliance at Notabene, part 2, which would affect stablecoins, is “longest and arguably the most politically charged section of the consultation.”

How stablecoins are used, be it as a mainstream retail payment instrument, a wholesale settlement rail, or a “complement to existing payment methods for cross-border payments,” could have a significant effect on how stablecoin policy is made.

“If stablecoins are treated mainly as crypto trading instruments, the focus is likely to remain on investor protection and market integrity. If they are treated as payment infrastructure, then redemption, liquidity, reserve management, operational resilience and supervisory reporting become much more central.”

What risks they carry “depend heavily on how they are used, at what scale, by whom, and in connection with which parts of the financial system.”

Harries said that Coinbase would like to see MiCA 2.0 “make euro stablecoins more competitive by recalibrating rules around reserves, rewards and the multi-issuance model.” Allowing a greater share of stablecoin reserves to be held in “high-quality sovereign assets could reduce risk without compromising safety.”

Another aspect is stablecoin rewards. Currently, EMT issuers are prohibited from offering interest. But, per Veloso, “this can weaken the competitiveness of euro-denominated stablecoins and push users either toward foreign-currency stablecoins or toward yield structures outside the regulated perimeter.”

Harries said that “MiCA should allow non-interest incentives such as cashback and loyalty programmes, which are standard features across payments and help drive competition and consumer choice.”

Bringing DeFi and prediction markets into the fold

Presently, MiCA does not cover CASPs that are fully decentralized and operate without any kind of intermediary. Veloso noted that, while it sounds simple, “decentralisation is rarely binary.”

To form an informed policy around DeFi, EU regulators must know how to assess whether a CASP is fully decentralized and “what indicators should matter: control over the protocol, governance rights, admin keys, front-end control, revenue capture, upgradeability, or the ability of identifiable persons to influence outcomes.”

According to Miroslav Đurić, a senior associate at Taylor Wessing, many CAPSs already connect their clients with DeFi platforms. But since these platforms are exempt from MiCA, regulators are now asking “whether CASPs should meet their fiduciary duty vis-à-vis clients by conducting due diligence over DeFi platforms that they make accessible to their clients.”

“The Commission appears to be ready to explore different approaches incl. some that might only permit CASPs to connect their clients with DeFi platforms that are certified (under some new certification regime).”

Prediction markets are also a hot topic currently considered in the EU. Currently there is no unified regulatory structure, and prediction markets are banned in some countries. 

The Commission is seeking comments on whether these offer any economic benefit for consumers, and whether they fall under MiCA or Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFD).

Đurić said this will depend on the nature of the contracts themselves. “Depending on the event contracts available on the platform […] a platform operator can easily become subject to requirements stipulated under different, sometimes conflicting regulatory frameworks: ranging from MiFID II over gambling to MiCA regulatory framework.”

What’s next?

Crypto industry observers say they intend to remain in dialogue with Brussels throughout the process. Harries said that a new, effective MiCA will require “dialogue between industry, policymakers and regulators, learning from how the framework is working in practice and refining areas where greater clarity or flexibility can help support the next phase of growth across the region.”

The period for comment ends on Aug. 31, but according to Đurić, the total process could take years. 

“Given the level of complexity of the points raised in the consultation as well as the usual pace at which the EU legislative process moves […] it is hardly expectable that any concrete legislative proposals will be adopted before 2028.”

Urbelis said he believes AI could eventually reshape the standard of care around smart contract development. Historically, teams could point to the cost and complexity of audits as a reason certain reviews were not performed. That argument becomes more difficult when sophisticated security analysis is available on demand.

“A clean AI report will be seen as no defense,” he said. “A plaintiff may well argue it the other way: the tool existed, it was cheap, and you should have caught it.”

The prospect raises broader questions for the industry: if AI-powered security reviews become ubiquitous, will investors expect them before funding projects, and could failing to run AI-assisted audits eventually be viewed as negligence?

Despite the technology’s promise, neither researcher said he believes AI is poised to replace human auditors.

While machines excel at identifying coding flaws, Urbelis said they remain weaker at spotting the economic and incentive-based vulnerabilities that have contributed to some of crypto’s largest losses. “The bugs that drain treasuries often turn on intent and adversarial incentives,” he said. “Those still need an experienced human in the room.”

Schwed offered a similar warning. “‘Claude, audit my smart contract, make no mistakes’ is not a security program,” he said. “If the person running the tool can’t evaluate what comes back, you haven’t bought security, you’ve bought a false sense of it.”

Pudgy Penguins is pushing its NFT identity deeper into mainstream retail with a new chapter for its trading card game. The Ethereum-based NFT brand says its Vibes Series 3 rollout is arriving at Target stores across the United States, marking what it calls the largest retail expansion for the card game so far.

In a press release shared with Cointelegraph, the company said the launch adds new gameplay mechanics and fresh artwork, alongside characters from its Moonbirds NFT collection. With Series 3, Pudgy Penguins also reports that a total of 15 million trading cards have been circulated.

Key takeaways

• Pudgy Penguins’ Vibes Series 3 is being rolled out nationwide at Target, expanding retail distribution beyond earlier launches.
• The company says total circulated Vibes cards will reach 15 million with the new set.
• Series 3 introduces additional gameplay mechanics and features artwork and appearances tied to the Moonbirds collection.
• Pudgy Penguins continues building a consumer franchise around its NFT IP via toys, licensing, and games—not just on-chain collectibles.

Vibes Series 3 arrives at Target

Vibes began as a way to translate Pudgy Penguins’ NFT ecosystem into a physical collectible format. With Series 3, the project is broadening its consumer reach through a major U.S. retailer.

According to the press release provided to Cointelegraph, the Target rollout is positioned as the biggest retail expansion to date for the Vibes trading card game. The set is designed to be more than a simple collectible: Pudgy Penguins says it includes additional gameplay mechanics, which can help keep the physical product connected to the broader “play-to-collect” narrative behind the project.

The new release also leans on cross-collection recognition. Pudgy Penguins says Series 3 incorporates original artwork and characters from its Moonbirds collection, adding a visible bridge between separate NFT communities in a format that doesn’t require buyers to navigate a crypto wallet.

Turning NFT IP into retail products

The Target push reflects a strategy Pudgy Penguins has been pursuing for years: use its NFT-born intellectual property as the foundation for consumer entertainment. While the trading card game is still rooted in its NFT universe, the company is increasingly developing physical and mainstream digital products that can appeal to audiences who may not engage with NFTs directly.

That approach has already shown up in retail. Pudgy Penguins has expanded into toys and other merchandising, and it previously announced that its physical toys entered more than 2,000 Walmart stores in 2023. In May 2024, CEO Luca Netz said in remarks to PRNewswire that more than 1 million toys had been sold over the preceding 12 months.

Pudgy Penguins also highlighted a licensing model that ties ownership to physical product value. The company says NFT holders can receive 5% of net revenue from physical products featuring their individual penguins, creating a continued link between on-chain ownership and offline sales.

For investors and traders watching NFT sector developments, this kind of mainstream retail rollout matters because it suggests a revenue model that is not solely dependent on market activity for the underlying NFTs. If adoption of physical products grows, it can reduce how directly the brand’s audience and monetization are tied to NFT speculation cycles—though the long-term economic balance remains something the market will need to monitor.

Series 3 follows earlier releases—and a gaming push

Pudgy Penguins’ Vibes rollout comes after two earlier trading card game releases, with Series 3 now positioned as the next step in the product roadmap. The brand says Vibes was developed in partnership with Orange Cap Games, and that Series 3 is the latest installment in a system meant to extend the IP beyond simple digital collectibles.

Beyond cards, Pudgy Penguins has also been working to bring its characters into blockchain gaming. In 2025, the company launched the skill-based game Pengu Clash on The Open Network. Netz described gaming as a way to expose the project’s intellectual property to wider audiences, treating play as a growth channel for the IP.

More recently, Pudgy Penguins expanded into mobile gaming with Pudgy Party. The company said in August 2025 that downloads for the title had exceeded 1 million. However, it later announced that it would halt further development of the game and redirect resources toward a browser-based project called Pudgy World, according to earlier Cointelegraph coverage.

This shift—expanding into new formats and then consolidating efforts—highlights a pattern common to emerging entertainment products: not every title keeps its original roadmap, and resources often move toward the games that show the clearest traction or fit with the brand’s longer-term distribution goals. For readers following Pudgy Penguins, the immediate question is whether the combined push across retail and gaming will reinforce each other, driving brand awareness that translates back into the community around Pudgy NFTs.

Where Pudgy Penguins sits in the NFT landscape

Even as the company emphasizes consumer products, Pudgy Penguins remains an established NFT brand in market terms. The press release points to NFT Price Floor data, noting that the project is the fourth-largest NFT collection by market capitalization, based on the tracker.

That positioning can be important context for why partnerships and cross-collection collaborations are feasible in physical formats. Large, recognizable NFT collections typically have more leverage to coordinate with other communities and to attract retail-facing distribution opportunities, especially when the product framing is tied to brand familiarity rather than crypto mechanics alone.

At the same time, the Vibes Series 3 announcement doesn’t specify how physical sales will translate into measurable on-chain outcomes. While the licensing structure suggests a direct economic bridge for holders, the broader impact on NFT demand, secondary-market behavior, or user conversion will likely be something to watch over the coming retail cycle—particularly after the Target rollout begins.

Next, investors and collectors will likely focus on how quickly Vibes cards sell through at Target, whether Series 3’s additional gameplay mechanics drive repeat purchases, and if Pudgy Penguins’ gaming and retail efforts continue to strengthen the brand’s customer funnel rather than fragment it across too many initiatives.

Attorney Ian R. Cohen has filed a new court rebuttal opposing efforts to revive a lawsuit that seeks control of roughly 3.8 million Bitcoin worth an estimated $238 billion, including wallets linked to Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto.

According to a June 20 X thread posted by Galaxy Digital research head Alex Thorn, Cohen’s June 19 filing pushes back against attempts by plaintiffs’ attorney David Lin to overturn a court-ordered stay in a New York case involving 39,069 Bitcoin wallet addresses.

The lawsuit was brought by anonymous plaintiffs identified as ABC Company, XYZ Company, and Noah Doe, who argue the wallets should be treated as abandoned property under New York law.

Earlier this month, New York Justice Kathy King granted a stay after Cohen sought permission to participate in the case as amicus counsel. A hearing related to the amicus application has been scheduled for July 14.

Cohen argued in his latest filing that the stay was issued by the court itself after reviewing the matter and was not simply granted at his request. According to the filing, the court exercised its authority under New York procedural law when it paused the proceedings.

Cohen says dormant wallets do not qualify as abandoned property

At the center of the dispute is the plaintiffs’ claim that long-inactive Bitcoin wallets can be classified as abandoned assets and transferred through a court order. Court documents cited by crypto.news previously showed that the plaintiffs contend the original owners can no longer access the funds because of an alleged technical flaw.

Among the addresses listed in the lawsuit are wallets associated with Satoshi Nakamoto and the “1Feex” address, which blockchain researchers and crypto investigators have linked to Bitcoin stolen during the Mt. Gox breach.

Cohen has repeatedly challenged the legal basis of the case. In earlier statements, he argued that New York’s lost-property laws do not apply to self-custodied Bitcoin, that inactivity alone does not establish abandonment, and that private keys fall outside the jurisdiction of New York courts.

His latest filing also disputes the practicality of the lawsuit. According to Cohen, the defendants are not identifiable individuals but 39,069 pseudonymous Bitcoin addresses, making it unlikely that the affected parties would appear in court to defend their interests.

The filing argues that lifting the stay could allow plaintiffs to secure a default judgment against the wallet addresses without meaningful opposition, potentially affecting property rights tied to billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin.

Recent blockchain activity challenges abandonment claims

Elsewhere in the filing, Cohen challenged the factual foundation of the abandonment argument by pointing to evidence that some of the targeted wallets have recently been active on-chain.

According to the filing, the complaint itself identified addresses that recorded outbound transactions, indicating that someone with access to the associated private keys had moved funds. Cohen cited those transactions as evidence that at least some wallet owners remain capable of controlling their Bitcoin.

Galaxy researchers reached a similar conclusion. Thorn said Galaxy identified 52 named addresses that collectively moved 34,335 BTC, while 29 of those addresses transferred 12,302 BTC after receiving notice of the lawsuit.

Criticism of the case has also emerged elsewhere in the crypto industry. Last month, Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz questioned how a New York court could assert authority over Bitcoin wallets whose owners are unknown and scattered across a decentralized network. 

According to Schwartz, the lawsuit’s jurisdictional argument was one of its most serious weaknesses, and he warned that the legal theory could ultimately result in people losing control of their crypto assets.

The debate has even drawn comparisons to future discussions about dormant Bitcoin holdings. Recently, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao suggested that wallets linked to inactive owners, including those believed to belong to Satoshi, could one day be frozen after a transition to quantum-resistant cryptography if their holders fail to move funds within a designated migration period. 

Zhao said any such change would require community consensus and would not be decided by a single individual.

Bio Protocol has launched OpenLabs, a platform that combines AI-assisted research development, community funding, and on-chain governance as its ecosystem surpasses $33 million in capital raised.

According to Bio Protocol, the platform was introduced on June 19 during DeSci.Berlin 2026, an event held at KÖNIG GALERIE as part of Berlin Blockchain Week.

The project said OpenLabs is designed to let researchers develop scientific ideas, coordinate with contributors, and seek funding through a single interface rather than relying on separate grant applications, governance platforms, and collaboration tools.

At the event, Bio Protocol presented OpenLabs as an alternative to traditional research funding processes, which often involve lengthy review cycles and institutional oversight. The project stated that community members can vote on research proposals while AI-powered workflows assist researchers in developing and refining projects.

Despite the launch, Bio Protocol (BIO) continued to trade lower alongside the broader crypto market. The token declined more than 8% in the past 24 hours as investors assessed the hawkish tone adopted by Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh and uncertainty surrounding the implementation of the proposed U.S.-Iran peace framework.

OpenLabs combines research collaboration with funding decisions

Under the model described by Bio Protocol, researchers and community participants work within the same platform where project development and funding decisions occur. The BIO token functions as the governance and utility asset used in voting and ecosystem participation.

Bio Protocol highlighted two projects during the launch. According to the team, RheumaAI is being developed as an AI agent focused on rheumatology research, while PeptAI is focused on peptide discovery.

The project stated that OpenLabs integrates AI-driven processes into scientific collaboration while allowing token holders and community members to participate in funding decisions. Rather than relying solely on traditional grant committees, project proposals can be reviewed and supported through community governance mechanisms built into the platform.

DeSci.Berlin has previously served as a venue for decentralized science initiatives. According to Bio Protocol, earlier editions of the conference helped incubate projects, including Molecule Labs.

Bio Protocol expands its decentralized science infrastructure

OpenLabs forms part of Bio Protocol’s existing decentralized science strategy. According to the project, it has been developing infrastructure that uses tokenized intellectual property and BioDAOs to direct funding toward biotechnology and scientific research programs.

Bio Protocol said its BIO Genesis initiative has raised more than $33 million to date. The project describes BIO Genesis as a fundraising mechanism that supports research-focused organizations operating within its ecosystem.

Bio Protocol’s work with AI research tools predates OpenLabs. In August 2025, the project launched the Ignition Sale for Aubrai, a decentralized BioAgent developed with VitaDAO for longevity research. According to Bio Protocol, Aubrai functions as an on-chain AI co-scientist capable of generating hypotheses and helping design laboratory experiments.

According to Bio Protocol, the decentralized science sector seeks to apply blockchain-based systems to research funding, governance, and intellectual property management. Supporters of the model argue that transparent funding records and community participation can provide alternatives to conventional research financing structures.

Regulatory questions remain a potential challenge as these models evolve. Tokenized intellectual property tied to biotechnology projects intersects with securities regulations, patent frameworks, and pharmaceutical oversight requirements.

As research programs progress from early-stage concepts to commercial development, legal and compliance obligations could become more complex for projects operating in the decentralized science sector.

May 26: The company confirmed it had used its cash reserve to finance the bond repurchase. The transaction had reduced the fund to $871 million.

The buyback reduced that reserve to roughly six months of STRC dividend coverage. The company had previously said the plan was to maintain about 24 months of dividend coverage.

STRC traded at $99.33, bitcoin hovered around $77,000.

June 1: Strategy sold 32 BTC, its first bitcoin sale since 2022. The move appeared intended to demonstrate that the company was willing and able to sell the token if necessary to fund dividend obligations.

The sale accounted for just 0.0038% of the company’s holdings. Nevertheless, the company’s common stock (MSTR) dropped 5.9% and bitcoin fell to as low as $70,500 before closing at $71,286. STRC closed at $98.07.

June 5: Bitcoin fell below $60,000 for the first time since October 2024, closing around $61,000, according to CoinDesk data. STRC dropped to as low as $90 to end the day at $93.40.

June 8: Strategy shareholders approve the plan to pay STRC dividends twice a month. Strategy bought 1,550 BTC and said the balance of its dollar reserve had risen to $1 billion.

June 15: Strategy bought another 1,587 BTC and said the balance of its dollar reserve was now $1.1 billion.

Pudgy Penguins is taking another step to move its NFT brand into mainstream retail with a new nationwide rollout at Target stores in the United States. The project says its Vibes Series 3 trading card set will be released through Target, expanding the reach of the trading card game beyond its earlier distribution.

According to a press release shared with Cointelegraph, Vibes Series 3 represents the biggest retail expansion Pudgy Penguins has made for the card line so far and brings the total number of circulated cards to 15 million. The set is also positioned as a more feature-rich edition, adding new gameplay mechanics alongside original artwork, plus appearances from characters associated with the Moonbirds collection.

Key takeaways

• Pudgy Penguins is expanding its Vibes trading card game into U.S. retail via a nationwide Target rollout.
• Vibes Series 3 is described as the project’s largest retail push to date and lifts total circulated cards to 15 million.
• The new card set includes additional gameplay mechanics and original artwork tied to Moonbirds characters.
• Pudgy Penguins continues to market its NFT IP as a broader entertainment franchise through toys, licensing, and blockchain gaming.

A trading card push with retail-first distribution

The move to Target is important because trading cards—unlike on-chain collectibles—rely heavily on physical availability, in-store discovery, and shelf presence. By tying Vibes Series 3 to a major U.S. retailer, Pudgy Penguins is effectively widening the funnel from NFT holders and crypto-native audiences toward casual consumers who may never interact with the underlying Ethereum-based collection.

The project developed Vibes in partnership with Orange Cap Games, and Series 3 is the next step after two prior releases. Pudgy Penguins previously framed Vibes as an avenue to extend its intellectual property beyond digital ownership, and the retail rollout underscores that strategy by prioritizing distribution and physical engagement.

With Vibes Series 3, the project also emphasizes creative integration: the set features original artwork and includes appearances from Moonbirds characters. That kind of cross-collection presence is a way to tap into existing fan communities while giving the franchise a reason to be collected and discussed in the broader collectible market.

From Ethereum collectibles to consumer goods

Pudgy Penguins has spent several years translating its Ethereum NFT brand into consumer products and entertainment experiences. The trading cards arrive after earlier expansion into toys and retail distribution.

In 2023, Pudgy Penguins’ physical toys entered more than 2,000 Walmart stores, and in May 2024 CEO Luca Netz said that more than 1 million toys had been sold during the preceding 12 months, according to a statement shared with Cointelegraph (see PR Newswire).

There is also an incentive layer tied to NFT ownership. The project’s licensing model allows NFT holders to receive 5% of net revenue from physical products featuring their individual penguins. That approach is designed to maintain a connection between on-chain holders and off-chain merchandise—while still building a consumer-friendly storefront.

In other words, Pudgy Penguins is trying to sustain two value paths at once: mainstream retail can expand awareness and adoption of the brand, while its licensing structure aims to keep NFT communities financially and emotionally engaged.

Gaming and entertainment extensions—plus shifting priorities

Retail is only one front in Pudgy Penguins’ efforts to build an entertainment franchise. The project has also pushed into blockchain gaming, describing games as a way to bring its characters to wider audiences.

In 2025, Pudgy Penguins launched the skill-based game Pengu Clash on The Open Network, and at the time Netz pointed to gaming as a vehicle for reaching broader audiences (as covered in a press release shared with Cointelegraph via PR Newswire).

Later, the project released a mobile title called Pudgy Party in August 2025. Pudgy Penguins said at launch that downloads exceeded 1 million. However, the company later said on Monday that it would halt further development of Pudgy Party and redirect resources to a browser-based game called Pudgy World, according to earlier coverage from Cointelegraph (Pudgy Penguins winds down Pudgy Party mobile game).

This pattern—launching one experience while eventually reallocating effort to another—suggests the brand is treating games as iterative experiments. The Target rollout for Vibes Series 3 can be viewed through the same lens: test, measure consumer response, and focus distribution where engagement is strongest.

Why this matters for NFT-linked brands

For NFT projects, the critical question has often been whether their IP can live credibly outside crypto rails. Pudgy Penguins’ strategy—physical products, retail partnerships, and entertainment formats layered around its characters—reflects a broader industry push toward “utility” that doesn’t depend solely on token markets.

The Target expansion is likely to be watched closely because it signals a shift from niche trading circles to mass retail visibility. If the cards perform well, it strengthens the case that NFT-derived IP can function like a conventional entertainment brand, complete with recurring releases, collector mechanics, and cross-brand artwork.

Still, the durability of that model depends on more than shelf placement. Investors and users will likely focus on whether Pudgy Penguins can maintain repeat consumer interest across series, expand its retail presence sustainably, and keep enough momentum in its games and merchandise to avoid the stop-start churn that can affect entertainment launches.

Readers should watch next for how Vibes Series 3 performs in-store and whether Pudgy Penguins’ retail push influences other collectible releases tied to its franchise—especially given the project’s history of shifting resources between gaming products as it searches for the most durable audience fit.