Ripple has joined a pilot program run by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), partnering with trade finance platform Unloq to build blockchain-based cross-border settlement infrastructure, according to a press release today, March 25.

The pilot will leverage Unloq’s trade finance platform, which bundles trade obligations, settlement conditions, and financing workflows into a single execution layer, alongside Ripple’s XRP Ledger and its enterprise-focused stablecoin, RLUSD. The pilot is part of BLOOM — short for Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency — a MAS initiative to extend settlement capabilities using tokenized bank liabilities and regulated stablecoins. MAS is both Singapore’s central bank and primary financial regulator.

The use case targets a persistent inefficiency in global trade: payments that must be released only when predefined commercial conditions — like shipment verification — are confirmed, according to the release. Ripple says the structure improves risk transparency and could open up financing access for small and medium sized businesses caught in cross-border settlement limbo.

“Singapore continues to take a leading role globally in providing the regulatory clarity necessary for the digital asset space to thrive,” said Fiona Murray, Ripple’s managing director for the Asia Pacific region.

Singapore is known for having one of the earliest and most robust crypto-specific regulatory frameworks globally. The Defiant previously covered how MAS finalized its stablecoin regulatory framework back in August 2023, which requires issuers to peg to a single G10 currency and maintain full reserve backing — conditions RLUSD is designed to meet.

As The Defiant reported, RLUSD crossed $1 billion in circulating supply late last year, and the stablecoin’s supply now sits at $1.43 billion. Last August, Ripple acquired stablecoin infrastructure platform Rail for $200 million to bolster its payments ecosystem. In October, the firm completed its acquisition of global prime broker Hidden Road in October, which it rebranded to Ripple Prime.

The company has been pushing RLUSD into enterprise rails across multiple jurisdictions, including a partnership with OpenPayd to enable euro and sterling cross-border flows.

This article was written with the assistance of AI workflows. All our stories are curated, edited and fact-checked by a human.

The Solana Foundation is positioning the network as core infrastructure for an emerging “agentic” internet, where AI systems—not humans—initiate and execute economic activity.

“AI is not really a vertical. It’s a platform shift… affecting everything across every industry, including crypto,” said Vibhu Norby, chief product officer of the Solana Foundation, during a panel at the Digital Asset Summit (DAS) in New York.

At the center of Solana’s strategy is payments. Norby said the network has already “processed 15 million payments onchain from agents,” largely tied to machine-to-machine commerce. “The programmatic aspect of crypto payments is what is making it interesting for agents,” he said, adding that “stablecoins are going to be the default thing that agents use to pay for any computational resource.”

This shift could fundamentally reshape internet business models, Norby believes. “Agentic payments are probably going to change the entire way that the internet is monetized,” he said, pointing to the ability to support sub-cent, pay-per-use transactions that traditional rails cannot handle.

The Solana Foundation argues that the network’s performance-focused design gives it an edge in this new paradigm. “Agents are cold, calculated machines… they don’t subscribe to crypto religiosity,” Norby said. “If you ask an agent what’s the best way to pay for something with crypto, most of the time, Solana is showing up at the top.”

At the same time, advances in AI are eroding long-standing developer barriers, noting that tools now allow developers and machines to build across ecosystems more easily.

In response, Solana developers are building directly for AI systems. “What agents like is APIs and documentation and skills,” Norby said, pointing to initiatives like machine-readable “skill” files and AI-first developer platforms.

Looking ahead, Norby expects a dramatic shift in user behavior: “The default way people will interact with crypto is going to be through their agent… 95 to 99% of all transactions… will be coming from LLMs.”

Read more: Solana Foundation taps Mastercard, Western Union, Worldpay for institutional developer platform

CoinMarketCap dropped a wordless rocket meme just as its own Fear & Greed Index bounced from extreme fear and Bitcoin ripped from $67k back toward $71k.

The timing was pointed. Just 24 hours earlier, CoinMarketCap’s own Crypto Fear & Greed Index had printed at 8 out of 100, locking in one of the deepest “extreme fear” readings of the current cycle, as traders liquidated positions across major altcoins including Solana (SOL) and XRP (XRP). The broader total crypto market capitalization had held around $2.36 trillion even as investors rotated aggressively into cash and stablecoins.

The fear had been building for months. As crypto.news reported in February, the Fear & Greed Index plunged to a yearly low of 5 on Feb. 6 — a level not seen since the depths of 2022 — as the global crypto market cap shed roughly $2 trillion from its 2025 peak. By mid-March, sentiment had crept back toward neutral. But a fresh wave of geopolitical anxiety around Iran dragged it back toward single digits.

The catalyst for the reversal was geopolitical rather than on-chain. U.S. President Donald Trump signaled a pause in military escalations against Iran on March 24, opening the door to diplomatic talks. The announcement triggered an immediate “risk-on” rotation across financial markets. Bitcoin, which had dipped to approximately $67,000 in the preceding days, climbed nearly 4% to breach $71,000 — recovering its market capitalization toward $1.33 trillion, according to Fortune. The wider crypto market cap moved to approximately $2.44 trillion, per CoinMarketCap data, with BTC dominance still elevated at close to 58%.

It was into this precise inflection point that CoinMarketCap chose to post its rocket image. The platform, described in its own documentation as “the Home Of Crypto” and the operator of what it calls “the most trusted” sentiment gauge in mainstream financial media, offered no caption beyond a single emoji. The community read the signal clearly: @DogelonMars replied “Comfy in spot,” while @CaptainBNB_bsc wrote “It’s mesmerizing, I could watch it all day.”

CoinMarketCap’s Fear & Greed Index runs on a 0–100 scale and draws from five data pillars: price momentum across the top 10 non-stablecoin assets, volatility measures on Bitcoin and Ethereum, options put/call ratios, stablecoin supply ratios, and CMC’s proprietary social trend data. CoinMarketCap itself states that “extreme fear likely indicates undervalued asset prices” — and by its own measure, markets had been in that territory for weeks.

Whether the rocket post marks an inflection or a head-fake remains to be seen. But as a sentiment artifact, it captured something real: after months of fear, the data’s own publisher was finally reaching for the launch button.

A decentralized crowdfunding approach is being pitched as a lifeline for NFT artists when market conditions turn sour and traditional middlemen tighten their hold. An on-chain experiment led by longtime collector Batsoupyum and curator Lanett Bennett Grant makes a persuasive case: commit to 1 Ether each week to fund emerging Ethereum mainnet works, share the artists’ stories, and avoid profit-driven flips. The model emphasizes direct, transparent capital flows from collectors to creators, with no centralized gatekeepers dictating who deserves attention.

Originating in an opinion piece by Joshua Kim, CEO and founder of DonaFi, the concept argues that a self-sustaining, on-chain funding pipeline can bypass the friction and fees of conventional platforms. In a bear market, when liquidity is scarce and attention concentrates elsewhere, this approach tests whether a small, committed community can keep artists productive and visible.

Key takeaways

• On-chain, platform-agnostic crowdfunding can deliver predictable funding to artists without relying on gatekeeping or monthly platform fees.
• During downturns, direct from-collector funding can supplement shrinking primary sales and help artists stay active in the ecosystem.
• The approach pairs financial support with narrative context, ensuring supporters see exactly where funds go and artists’ stories travel with each transaction.
• Early supporters demonstrated a network effect—more participants pledged, matched funds, or offered exhibitions—without permission from a central authority.

Crowdfunding without platforms or promises

Everything happens on-chain and in public, one purchase at a time. Artists receive direct payment and gain immediate visibility, while collectors know precisely how funds are allocated. The social layer—stories, context, and curation—travels alongside the transaction rather than getting filtered through a platform’s user interface.

Monthly open calls create a repeatable pipeline for discovery and support. The point isn’t a single philanthropic gesture; it’s sustained visibility and cash flow that can keep artists producing during a downturn. The model strips crowdfunding down to essentials: capital, trust and consistency.

A bear market proving ground

NFT bear markets don’t just depress floor prices; they shrink income for aspiring artists who rely on primary sales to fund new work and cover living costs. In this experiment, the community’s response was swift and tangible. Punk6529 matched the weekly ETH pledge. Sam Spratt contributed $20,000. Bob Loukas added $100,000. Galleries opened exhibitions, and platforms like Foundation pledged to feature works. Crucially, none of these contributions required permission or centralized coordination—the momentum spread through the ecosystem organically.

That rapid, permissionless response illustrates the strength of decentralized crowdfunding in downturns. It prioritizes conviction over optimism and demonstrates a pathway for artists to receive steady support even when demand in the broader market falters.

A networked approach to crowdfunding

What distinguishes this model from traditional patronage is its networked nature. Each participant amplifies the others; collectors don’t replace markets, but help stabilize them. Artists aren’t pigeonholed into charity narratives; their work is valued on its own merits. Platforms and galleries don’t compete with the effort—they extend it, enabling broader visibility and ongoing dialogue between creators and supporters.

As the original proposal notes, decentralized crowdfunding works because it aligns incentives without coercion. No one is locked in or promised upside; yet the outcome—a steady stream of support and authentic storytelling—can arrive swiftly.

Related: AI agents will have growing pains before innovation can start links to broader conversations about technology-enabled creativity and the evolving role of automation in art markets.

Why this model matters in 2026

This isn’t merely about salvaging NFTs; it’s about proving that decentralized capital can function when speculation cools. In a market where hype wanes, what endures is community, transparency and conviction—foundations that artists need to thrive. If the next phase of NFTs is to matter beyond hype cycles, it will depend on collectors showing up consistently, moving funds on-chain to creators, and telling their stories alongside the art.

Decentralized crowdfunding won’t fix every problem artists face, but in a downturn it already accomplishes something far more important: it keeps artists alive in the ecosystem when other channels go quiet.

As this model evolves, observers will want to see whether more artists participate, whether funding can scale beyond a few high-profile contributors, and how broadly the storytelling and on-chain transparency can be sustained. The coming months will indicate whether this on-chain approach becomes a durable backbone for creator ecosystems or remains a powerful, yet niche, instrument in the NFT landscape.

The United Kingdom has imposed an immediate moratorium on all cryptocurrency donations to political parties, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Wednesday.

The move follows the publication of the Rycroft Review, a 50-page independent assessment of foreign financial interference in UK politics led by former senior civil servant Philip Rycroft.

The government will legislate the moratorium through amendments to the Representation of the People Bill currently before Parliament, and the new rules will apply retrospectively to any crypto donations received from Wednesday onward, Communities Secretary Steve Reed confirmed in the House of Commons.

Why Crypto

The Rycroft Review cited a combination of concerns specific to crypto assets as the basis for its recommendation, including the incomplete regulatory framework for crypto — particularly at the international level — the difficulty of tracing ultimate ownership, the proliferation of different cryptoasset vehicles with varying degrees of traceability, and the emergence of AI-assisted technologies that can fragment crypto holdings into amounts small enough to fall below the £500 threshold at which political donations must be declared.

No crypto donations have reached the reporting threshold to date, according to the review, meaning the Electoral Commission has had no visibility into the scale of crypto flowing into party coffers.

The review framed the moratorium as a pause rather than a permanent prohibition. Rycroft wrote that the measure should be understood as an interval for the regulatory environment to catch up with the reality of cryptoassets, not a prelude to an outright ban. The legislation would include a mechanism to lift the moratorium once Parliament and the Electoral Commission are satisfied that adequate regulation is in place.

Rycroft also acknowledged that the ban is not a complete seal. Donors would still be able to convert crypto holdings to fiat and donate the proceeds, at which point traditional anti-money laundering checks would apply.

The UK Parliament’s Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy last month described crypto’s presence in UK politics as an unacceptably high risk to the integrity of the political finance system, and endorsed the review’s findings today.

Reform UK in the Crosshairs

The moratorium lands squarely on Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, the only major British party to actively court crypto donations. Reform became the first mainstream UK party to accept Bitcoin donations last year, and its largest donor — Thailand-based Christopher Harborne, a major Tether investor — has donated £12 million to the party over the past year, including a single £9 million contribution.

The Electoral Commission has said that Reform has not shared any crypto wallet addresses with the regulator, limiting the watchdog’s ability to independently verify the party’s crypto funding sources.

Reform UK MPs walked out of the House of Commons during Starmer’s announcement. The Prime Minister took a direct shot at Farage, telling MPs that there was only one party leader willing to say anything if paid to do so.

Broader Crackdown

The crypto moratorium is one of 17 recommendations in the Rycroft Review, which found that foreign interference in UK politics from Russia, China, and Iran is persistent and growing more acute. The review was triggered by the November 2025 conviction of Nathan Gill, Reform UK’s former leader in Wales, who was sentenced to more than 10 years for accepting Russian bribes.

Alongside the crypto ban, the government immediately adopted a £100,000 annual cap on political donations from British citizens living overseas. Rycroft also recommended limiting corporate donations to a party’s reported taxable profits — a measure aimed at closing a loophole that could allow foreign individuals to funnel money through UK-registered shell companies.

The Rycroft Review also warned of threats beyond direct political financing, noting that foreign-linked social media bots and disinformation campaigns represent a relatively cheap way for hostile states to interfere in democratic processes. Rycroft separately flagged what he called a potential new threat from allies like the United States, citing a willingness of foreign actors and private citizens to interfere in politics abroad in pursuit of their own agenda.

This article was written with the assistance of AI workflows. All our stories are curated, edited and fact-checked by a human.

BitMine Immersion Technologies (NYSE: BMNR) has officially launched MAVAN — the Made in America Validator Network — its proprietary institutional-grade Ethereum staking platform, the company announced on Wednesday, March 25.

The move marks a major operational milestone in BitMine’s pivot from Bitcoin miner to what Chairman Tom Lee is calling “one of the leading staking and on-chain infrastructure platforms globally,” per the release.

MAVAN is designed to serve institutions and custodians requiring U.S.-based validation, with a globally distributed architecture for international clients. Per the release, via MAVAN, BitMine will eventually expand staking services for other proof-of-stake blockchains beyond Ethereum, as well as provide crypto infrastructure services.

BitMine currently has 3.14 million ETH staked, making it one of the largest entities staking the second largest cryptocurrency. As of the past week, the firm has staked about 101.7K ETH via MAVAN, and said it plans to eventually scale to staking “nearly all of Bitmine’s remaining unstaked ETH.”

Per BitMine’s latest report on Monday, the firm holds a total of over 4.6 million ETH. Once its remaining holdings are fully onboarded to MAVAN in the coming weeks, BitMine projects annual staking rewards approaching $300 million at a 2.83% yield, according to today’s press release.

As The Defiant previously reported, the company’s aggressive ETH accumulation has been backed by institutional heavyweights including ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood, Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, Pantera, Galaxy Digital, and DCG, all aligned behind the firm’s goal of owning 5% of all ETH in circulation. BitMine’s current holdings represent 3.86% of the ETH supply.

The launch arrives as the broader Ethereum staking ecosystem continues to see record participation, with over 30% of ETH’s circulating supply now locked in staking contracts. ETH is trading around $2,160 today, well below its August 2025 peak of nearly $5,000.

As The Defiant has reported, Lido remains by far the dominant Ethereum staking entity, with approximately 8.9 million ETH staked across its liquid staking protocol, per data from Dune Analytics.

This article was written with the assistance of AI workflows. All our stories are curated, edited and fact-checked by a human.

Key Highlights

• Micron achieved unprecedented quarterly revenue of $23.86 billion in its fiscal Q2 2026, delivering 74.4% gross margin and $13.79 billion in net income
• The memory chipmaker projected fiscal Q3 2026 revenue at $33.5 billion and increased its 2026 capital expenditure forecast above $25 billion
• Western Digital generated $2.82 billion in fiscal Q1 2026 revenue, marking a 27% year-over-year increase, with cloud segment revenue climbing 31%
• Wall Street assigns Micron a Buy rating with $453.55 average target; Western Digital receives Moderate Buy with $265.58 target
• The companies address AI infrastructure needs through complementary technologies: Micron via memory solutions, Western Digital through storage systems

The artificial intelligence revolution has created powerful tailwinds for technology hardware companies, with Micron and Western Digital emerging as notable beneficiaries. However, these firms occupy distinctly different positions within the AI infrastructure ecosystem—one dominates the memory chip segment while the other focuses on cloud storage solutions.

Micron has delivered extraordinary financial performance recently. During its fiscal second quarter of 2026, the semiconductor manufacturer generated unprecedented revenue of $23.86 billion. The company achieved remarkable profitability metrics, including a 74.4% gross margin, 67.6% operating margin, and net income of $13.79 billion. The quarter also produced $11.9 billion in operating cash flow.

Micron Technology, Inc., MU

Management’s outlook proved equally impressive, with fiscal third-quarter 2026 revenue guidance reaching $33.5 billion and projected gross margin of approximately 81%. These figures represent performance levels that would have seemed unattainable for memory chip manufacturers in the recent past.

The catalyst behind this exceptional growth is high-bandwidth memory technology, which has become indispensable in artificial intelligence computing systems. Micron belongs to a limited group of global suppliers capable of producing these specialized chips, creating significant pricing advantages and margin expansion during the current AI infrastructure expansion.

To maintain production capacity aligned with market requirements, Micron elevated its fiscal 2026 capital investment plan beyond $25 billion. This substantial commitment demonstrates management’s confidence in sustained demand, though it also represents considerable spending during a period when memory markets have historically experienced boom-and-bust cycles driven by supply-demand imbalances.

Western Digital’s Enterprise Storage Focus

Western Digital presents a contrasting narrative. Following the divestiture of its flash memory division, the company now concentrates exclusively on hard-disk drive technology and enterprise storage infrastructure.

Western Digital Corporation, WDC

During fiscal first-quarter 2026, the company posted $2.82 billion in revenue, representing 27% year-over-year growth. Cloud segment performance particularly impressed, with revenue increasing 31% to reach $2.51 billion. Management attributed this strength to elevated shipments of high-capacity enterprise drives and customer migration toward higher-density products.

For the full fiscal year 2025, Western Digital delivered $9.52 billion in revenue alongside a 38.8% gross margin. Leadership also unveiled a dividend program, authorized a $2 billion share repurchase plan, and emphasized debt reduction as a strategic priority.

These developments illustrate a company leveraging improved cash generation to reward shareholders while capitalizing on robust cloud demand for revenue expansion.

Wall Street Perspectives

According to MarketBeat data, Micron holds a Buy consensus rating from 38 Wall Street analysts. The distribution includes 34 buy recommendations and 4 hold ratings, with zero sell ratings. The consensus 12-month price target stands at $453.55.

Western Digital receives a Moderate Buy rating based on input from 24 analysts, comprising 21 buy recommendations and 3 hold ratings. The consensus price target of $265.58 notably trails recent trading levels.

This divergence between analyst targets and current market prices suggests Wall Street perceives limited near-term appreciation potential for Western Digital following its recent valuation expansion.

Micron’s investment thesis centers on constrained supply in the AI memory marketplace. The counterargument acknowledges that memory industry cycles can shift rapidly when production capacity aligns with or exceeds demand.

Western Digital’s bullish case emphasizes expanding cloud storage requirements and a streamlined business structure following its corporate separation. The bearish perspective notes that hard-disk drive technology lacks the pricing power inherent to high-bandwidth memory products.

Both enterprises benefit from identical AI infrastructure investments, though through different technological avenues.

Investment Considerations

Micron and Western Digital represent legitimate beneficiaries of artificial intelligence infrastructure expansion, operating at distinct layers of the hardware architecture. Micron demonstrates stronger financial metrics and more direct exposure to AI memory demand currently. Western Digital offers a more conservative, stable investment profile with enhanced capital return programs. Neither qualifies as speculative—both companies produce tangible earnings supporting current market attention.

Opinion by: Joshua Kim, CEO and founder of DonaFi.

Traditional crowdfunding has always been pitched as a lifeline for creators. For non-fungible token (NFT) artists, most centralized models feel out of sync with reality. Fees are high, visibility is inconsistent and platforms increasingly optimize for momentum rather than need. During a market downturn, when liquidity dries up dramatically, the deck is stacked even higher against artists.

Decentralized crowdfunding ensures a more direct, transparent capital flow onchain from collectors who care about art, as opposed to quick flips. The recent effort led by longtime collector Batsoupyum and curator Lanett Bennett Grant makes the case very well.

Rather than launch a flashy fund or token, they committed to spending 1 Ether (ETH) every week on Ethereum mainnet works from emerging artists, sharing the stories behind each piece and explicitly not flipping for profit. No middlemen or no platform deciding who “deserved” attention. Just consistent, visible support when artists need it most.

When markets crash, artists feel it first

NFT bear markets don’t just reduce floor prices; they erase income for aspiring artists. Many artists rely on primary sales to pay rent, fund new work or stay in the space at all. When speculation collapses, attention moves elsewhere, and artists are often left invisible.

What’s striking about this decentralized crowdfunding effort is how fast others stepped in, despite brutal conditions. Punk6529 matched the weekly ETH pledge. Sam Spratt added $20,000. Bob Loukas followed with another $100,000. Galleries offered exhibitions. Platforms like Foundation committed to features. None of it required permission, approvals or centralized coordination — it just spread.

That’s the strength of decentralized crowdfunding in downturns. It doesn’t depend on optimism; it depends on conviction.

Crowdfunding without platforms or promises

Everything happens onchain, in public, one purchase at a time. Artists receive direct payment and immediate visibility. Collectors know exactly where funds go. The social layer, stories, context and curation travel alongside the transaction instead of being abstracted away by a platform UI.

Monthly opens create a repeatable pipeline for discovery and support. That matters. One-off gestures help, but sustained visibility plus cash flow is what keeps artists producing through a downturn. This is crowdfunding stripped down to its essentials: capital, trust and consistency.

A network effect, not a charity

What makes this different from patronage is that it’s networked. Each participant amplifies the others. Collectors don’t replace markets; they stabilize them. Artists aren’t boxed into charity narratives; they’re valued for their work. Platforms and galleries don’t compete with the effort; they actually extend it.

Related: AI agents will have growing pains before innovation can start

Decentralized crowdfunding works here because it aligns incentives without forcing them. No one is locked in. No one is promised upside, yet the result is tangible support, fast.

The importance of this model in 2026

This isn’t about saving NFTs; it’s about proving that decentralized capital still functions when markets are cold. When speculation leaves, what remains is community, transparency and conviction. That’s exactly what artists need right now.

If the next phase of NFTs is going to mean anything, it won’t be built on hype cycles or centralized gatekeeping. It will be built on collectors showing up consistently, using onchain tools to move money directly to creators and telling their stories along the way.

Decentralized crowdfunding won’t fix every problem artists face. In a downturn, however, it’s already doing something far more important: keeping artists alive in the ecosystem when everything else goes quiet.

Opinion by: Joshua Kim, CEO and founder of DonaFi.