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Eightco becomes biggest public Worldcoin holder with $326M bet

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Nasdaq-listed Eightco Holdings has disclosed a $326 million position in 277 million Worldcoin tokens, plus ETH, cash, and an indirect OpenAI stake, effectively transforming the stock into a high-beta proxy on Sam Altman’s identity project and AI ecosystem.

Nasdaq-listed Eightco Holdings has disclosed a $326 million asset position centered on 277,222,975 Worldcoin tokens, making it the largest publicly traded holder of WLD globally, according to a press release on PR Newswire. At an indicative price of roughly $0.28 per WLD taken from Coinbase at the disclosure time, the position represents nearly 10% of Worldcoin’s (WLD) circulating supply and effectively turns Eightco into a listed proxy for the controversial identity token.

In the same disclosure, Eightco reported additional digital-asset and cash holdings that round out its balance sheet. The company highlighted an indirect $90 million investment in OpenAI via private vehicles, a $25 million stake in Beast Industries, and roughly $109 million in cash and stablecoins, underscoring that the Worldcoin bet sits alongside broader exposure to AI and infrastructure plays.

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Eightco said its treasury includes 11,068 ETH alongside the WLD position and cash, and described itself as “the largest public market participant in the Worldcoin ecosystem.” As of early March, the firm’s filings indicated that WLD accounts for the bulk of its marked-to-market assets, with cash and stablecoins providing a liquidity buffer against token price volatility.

Chairman Dan Ives framed the strategy as a deliberate attempt to sit at the center of the AI and digital-identity boom tied to Sam Altman’s projects. “We believe the global AI revolution is still in its early innings, and Eightco is strategically positioning itself at the center of this transformation,” Ives said, describing the company’s focus as building “authentication and trust infrastructure” spanning consumer, enterprise and gaming use cases.

The disclosure comes as Worldcoin trades in the sub-$1 range after a sharp retracement from prior highs, with recent data showing WLD changing hands around $0.27 to $0.32 and a market capitalization under $1 billion. That pricing implies Eightco’s 277 million-token stake is a highly concentrated, high-beta exposure to both Worldcoin’s identity experiment and market sentiment on AI-linked crypto assets.

Eightco has previously raised hundreds of millions of dollars in private placements to fund its Worldcoin treasury strategy and related investments, signaling institutional backers are willing to finance a balance sheet tied heavily to a single experimental protocol. For equity investors, the updated holdings turn ORBS into a leveraged derivative on WLD’s future — with upside tied to adoption of proof-of-humanity systems, and downside if the token’s economics or regulatory headwinds overwhelm the AI narrative.

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Permissioned “DeFi”: The Quiet Shift Reshaping Open Finance

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Permissioned “DeFi”: The Quiet Shift Reshaping Open Finance

For years, decentralized finance sold a simple, powerful idea: anyone, anywhere, can access financial services without gatekeepers. No banks, no approvals, no identity checks—just code and capital.

But beneath the surface, something is changing.

A growing number of protocols are quietly introducing permissioned layers—KYC-gated pools, whitelisted participants, and compliance-driven infrastructure. It’s subtle. Gradual. Easy to miss.

Yet it may redefine what DeFi actually is.

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The Shift No One’s Loudly Talking About

Permissioned DeFi doesn’t arrive with headlines. It slips in through features like:

  • KYC Pools – Liquidity pools restricted to verified users
  • Whitelisted Access – Only approved wallets can interact with certain products
  • Compliance Layers – Protocol-level rules aligning with regulatory frameworks

At first glance, these look like optional features. In reality, they signal a deeper evolution:
DeFi is adapting itself to fit inside the traditional financial system.


Why This Is Happening

Let’s be blunt—pure permissionless systems make regulators nervous.

Institutions want exposure to DeFi yields, but they need:

  • Legal clarity
  • Counterparty accountability
  • Risk controls

Permissioned layers act as a bridge:

  • They let institutions participate without violating compliance rules
  • They give regulators something to work with
  • They reduce the “wild west” perception of DeFi

In short, capital is forcing compromise.


What Changes (And What Breaks)

This shift isn’t just technical—it’s philosophical.

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1. Participation Is No Longer Universal

The original promise of DeFi was inclusion.
Permissioned systems introduce exclusion by design.

If access requires:

  • Identity verification
  • Jurisdiction checks
  • Approval from a governing entity

Then DeFi starts to look a lot like the system it aimed to replace.


2. “Open Finance” Becomes Conditional

DeFi assumed:

If you have a wallet, you’re in.

Permissioned DeFi changes that to:

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If you meet the criteria, you’re in.

That’s a massive shift. It replaces code-based neutrality with policy-based access.


3. Liquidity Fragmentation

Instead of one unified pool of capital, we get:

  • Public pools (permissionless)
  • Private pools (permissioned)

This can lead to:

  • Uneven yields
  • Reduced efficiency
  • Insider advantages for approved participants

Basically, the market starts splitting into tiers.


4. Power Starts Re-centralizing

Whitelists don’t manage themselves.

Someone decides:

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  • Who gets access
  • Who gets removed
  • What rules apply

Even if governance is “decentralized,”
Control creeps back in through decision-making layers.


The Trade-Off: Growth vs Principles

Let’s not pretend this is entirely bad.

Permissioned DeFi enables:

  • Institutional capital inflows
  • Regulatory survival
  • Scalable adoption

Without it, DeFi risks staying niche—or getting shut out entirely.

But there’s a cost:

  • Less openness
  • Less censorship resistance
  • Less equality

So the real question isn’t whether permissioned DeFi is good or bad.

It’s this:

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How much of DeFi’s core ethos are we willing to trade for growth?


The Future: Two DeFis?

We may not end up with one unified ecosystem.

Instead, expect a split:

Permissionless DeFi

  • Open to everyone
  • Higher risk, higher innovation
  • Resistant to control

Permissioned DeFi

  • Regulated and compliant
  • Institution-friendly
  • Controlled access

They’ll coexist—but not as equals.

One maximizes freedom.
The other maximizes scale.


Final Thoughts

Permissioned DeFi isn’t sudden; it’s a slow drift.

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No dramatic announcements.
No clear line crossed.

Just small changes… that quietly redefine everything.

And if you blink, you might miss the moment when “open finance” stops being fully open.

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OpenAI buys tech talk show TBPN as it builds out communication strategy

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OpenAI buys tech talk show TBPN as it builds out communication strategy

OpenAI has acquired technology talk show TBPN as it looks to refine how it communicates with audiences beyond its core products.

Summary

  • OpenAI has acquired TBPN, a Silicon Valley-focused tech talk show, as it expands its role in shaping public conversations around artificial intelligence.
  • TBPN will continue operating with editorial independence while also contributing to OpenAI’s communications and marketing efforts.

According to an Apr. 2 announcement, the deal brings the Los Angeles-based program under OpenAI’s umbrella. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

TBPN, hosted by John Coogan and Jordi Hays, streams live for three hours each weekday and features interviews with founders, venture capitalists, and senior technology executives. Guests in recent months have included Mark Zuckerberg, Satya Nadella, and Sam Altman, underscoring the show’s growing influence within the tech ecosystem.

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OpenAI’s leadership framed the acquisition as part of a push to shape how conversations around artificial intelligence unfold. 

In an internal memo, Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s chief of strategy, said the company sees a need for “real, constructive conversation” as AI systems become more embedded in society. The company believes TBPN can help create that space while also expanding its reach.

Despite the ownership change, OpenAI has emphasized that TBPN will retain full editorial control.

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Behind the scenes, the show is expected to contribute to OpenAI’s communications and marketing efforts beyond its daily broadcasts. Simo noted that TBPN’s track record in brand storytelling and its close view of industry trends played a role in the decision.

Founded in October 2024, TBPN began daily livestreaming in March 2025 and has since carved out a niche audience. Each episode draws roughly 70,000 viewers across platforms such as X, YouTube, and Spotify. 

While modest compared to traditional financial media, the show has gained traction among technology leaders who see it as more aligned with industry perspectives than legacy outlets like Bloomberg or CNBC.

The acquisition comes shortly after OpenAI closed a $122 billion funding round led by Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank.

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US Job Market Flashes Warning Signs Last Seen During 2020 Pandemic

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The US job market is showing alarming deterioration. According to The Kobeissi Letter, government job openings dropped 51,000 in February to 701,000.

This marked the second-lowest reading since December 2020. Available government vacancies have fallen 524,000 since their 2022 peak and now sit at pre-pandemic levels.

In addition, federal government openings fell to 89,000, the second-lowest since the pandemic low. This level is also in line with readings from 2017 and 2018.

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“Meanwhile, the government hiring rate stood at 1.4%, one of the lowest levels since mid-2020 and matching the 2016 and 2017 lows. Government hiring is frozen,” the post read.

US Government Job Openings
US Government Job Market Openings Decline Since 2022 Peak. Source: X/The Kobeissi Letter

Meanwhile, the private sector is shedding jobs at scale. Oracle reportedly laid off up to 30,000 employees on March 31. Amazon cut 16,000 corporate roles in January, and Block eliminated over 4,000 positions. These were just some of the many companies that made job cuts.

Consumer Sentiment Signals Trouble Ahead

In a separate post, The Kobeissi Letter suggested that forward-looking indicators” point to a further increase in US unemployment.” The Conference Board’s March survey showed that only 27.3% of consumers described jobs as “plentiful.”

This was a marginal uptick from 26.7% in February, but still well below the roughly 55% who felt that way in 2022. At the same time, 21.5% said jobs were “hard to find,” up from approximately 10% over the same period.

The gap between these two readings, known as the labor market differential, fell to just 5.8 points. That represents the lowest level since the 2020 pandemic.

The Kobeissi Letter noted that historically, this indicator has been one of the most reliable leading signals of rising unemployment.

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“Furthermore, current levels in this indicator have only been seen prior to or during a US recession since the 1990s. The job market is set for even more weakness,” the analysts added.

US Consumer Confidence. Source: X/The Kobeissi Letter

With these indicators pointing in the same direction, the March jobs report will be closely watched to determine whether underlying deterioration is cyclical or marks a deeper shift.

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The post US Job Market Flashes Warning Signs Last Seen During 2020 Pandemic appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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Circle targets the wrapped Bitcoin market with cirBTC

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How Circle settled $68M in minutes using its own USDC rails

Circle plans to launch its own version of wrapped Bitcoin on the Ethereum network to target institutional markets.

Summary

  • Circle plans to launch cirBTC on Ethereum, a 1:1 bitcoin backed wrapped asset targeting institutional markets.
  • Wrapped Bitcoin allows BTC to be used on networks like Ethereum, giving institutions access to decentralized finance applications.

In a Thursday announcement, stablecoin issuer Circle said it plans to introduce cirBTC, a token that is backed 1:1 by bitcoin and aimed at over-the-counter desks, market makers, lending protocols, and other institutional participants, framing the asset as a “highly secure and neutral version of wrapped BTC.”

Wrapping allows a native asset like Bitcoin to be tokenized and used across other blockchains. In this case, wrapped Bitcoin lets BTC be brought onto networks such as Ethereum, which gives users access to decentralized finance applications.

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The token will also launch on Circle’s layer-1 blockchain Arc and integrate with the Circle Mint platform.

Circle joins a growing list of participants that have introduced wrapped Bitcoin as demand for decentralized finance continues to expand among institutional users.

The sector is currently led by BitGo’s Wrapped Bitcoin, which currently holds a market capitalization of about $8 billion.

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Coinbase also launched its own version, Coinbase Wrapped Bitcoin (cbBTC), in September 2024, which has since grown rapidly to reach a market capitalization of $5.9 billion. Last year, Coinbase launched Wrapped ADA (cbADA) on the Base blockchain to facilitate cross-chain liquidity.

Meanwhile, several other exchanges have released their own wrapped assets, including Kraken Wrapped BTC (kBTC), Binance Wrapped BTC (BBTC), Bitget Wrapped BTC (BGBTC), and OKX Wrapped BTC (okBTC), among others. These offerings are often paired with proof-of-reserve transparency to assure institutional traders that the underlying assets are held in secure, 1:1 custody.

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Japanese Gen Z Fears Crypto Scams More Than Any Other Generation

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Japanese Gen Z stands out as the most scam-conscious generation when it comes to crypto. A new survey of 1,486 people across Japan found that younger users are far more alert to fraudulent pitches on social media than their older peers.

The gap between generations reveals that Japan’s crypto trust problem is not uniform — it varies by age and online habits.

Gen Z Watches for Scams, Boomers Struggle With Basics

The survey, conducted by Tokyo-based consulting firm Clabo in February 2026, asked respondents why they view crypto as suspicious. The top answer overall was “I don’t understand how it works,” chosen by 23.3% of respondents. Price swings came second at 21.1%, followed by fraud concerns at 19.2%.

But generational breakdowns tell a different story. Gen Z respondents flagged social media scams as their primary worry. They encounter fake giveaways and shady promotions on platforms they use daily. Older cohorts, including Japan’s bubble generation, pointed instead to the complexity of blockchain technology itself.

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How well do you understand crypto? Most Japanese respondents said they have only a vague understanding of how crypto works. Source: Clabo Inc.

Millennials showed the highest rate of actual crypto investment among all age groups. They also reported the most active information-seeking behavior.

Across all groups, half of the respondents said they had never invested in crypto. Only 33.7% said they currently hold digital assets. Another 15.7% said they once invested but have since stopped.

YouTube Leads for Investment Decisions

When it comes to where people get crypto news, traditional news sites ranked first at 38.4%. Social media followed at 36.7%, with YouTube at 31.6%. But for actual investment decisions, YouTube jumped to first place at 27%.

The survey suggests that Japan’s crypto industry still faces a basic education gap. Clabo, which offers wallet recovery and security consulting, recommended more accessible educational content tailored to each generation’s specific concerns.

The post Japanese Gen Z Fears Crypto Scams More Than Any Other Generation appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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Circle to Launch cirBTC Wrapped Bitcoin for Institutions

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Circle to Launch cirBTC Wrapped Bitcoin for Institutions

Stablecoin issuer Circle said it plans to launch its own version of a wrapped Bitcoin, which would put it against incumbents Coinbase and BitGo as it targets institutional users. 

The asset, called cirBTC and announced on Thursday, is set to launch on Ethereum, backed 1:1 by bitcoin (BTC) and aimed at over-the-counter desks, market makers and lending protocols. 

Circle said the asset is designed to provide institutions with a “highly secure and neutral version of wrapped BTC.”

Financial institutions, which have become significant buyers of Bitcoin, have been actively exploring decentralized finance. Wrapped versions of Bitcoin would allow the asset to be used on other chains, such as Ethereum, giving them access to DeFi. 

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In addition to Ethereum, the new asset will also launch on Circle’s layer-1 blockchain Arc and its Circle Mint platform, said Circle. 

Cointelegraph contacted Circle for further details, but did not receive an immediate response. 

Circle joins race led by Coinbase and BitGo

Circle’s new wrapped Bitcoin joins a market currently led by BitGo’s Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) and Coinbase Wrapped Bitcoin (cbBTC).

Coinbase’s cbBTC was launched in September 2024 and has a current market capitalization of $5.9 billion and a current supply of 88,800 tokens. 

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BitGo’s wBTC is the dominant wrapped Bitcoin token, with a market capitalization of about $8 billion and 119,157 tokens in circulation. However, that figure is roughly half its November 2021 peak, when Bitcoin hit its cycle all-time high.

Related: WBTC expands to Hedera as Bitcoin liquidity flows into new DeFi rails

WBTC supply has declined over the past few years. Source: Dune

Crypto exchanges launched their own wrapped Bitcoin

Several crypto exchanges have launched variations of wrapped Bitcoin, including Kraken Wrapped BTC (KBTC), Gate Wrapped BTC (GTBTC), Binance Wrapped BTC (BBTC), Huobi BTC (HBTC) and OKX Wrapped BTC (XBTC), but their market caps are a fraction of the two leaders. 

The total combined supply of wBTC and cbBTC stands at roughly 208,000 BTC, according to CoinGecko.

Magazine: Your guide to surviving this mini-crypto winter

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