Crypto World
Ethereum Community Unveils Feature to End Blind Signing
The Ethereum community has introduced Clear Signing, a security feature that ensures users can clearly understand transaction details before signing, replacing unreadable hex data and reducing risks from blind signing attacks.
“Approving a transaction is meant to be the last line of defense when exercising control over what happens to your assets on the blockchain. When it is done blindly, that defense does not hold,” the Ethereum Foundation said on Tuesday, calling blind signing a “structural flaw” that has contributed to billions of dollars in losses, including the $1.4 billion Bybit hack last year.
The “What You See Is What You Sign” security feature aims to address this issue and is being integrated by several self-custody crypto wallets, including Ledger, Trezor and MetaMask.

Source: Ethereum Foundation
The security feature comes as bad actors target the crypto industry with increasingly sophisticated hacks and scams despite considerable improvements in security measures in recent years.
North Korean state-backed workers have stolen over $7 billion in funds alone since 2009, with a large share of that coming from crypto protocols. The Bybit hack was its largest crypto heist by compromising a third-party service provider and manipulating transaction signatures.
Trezor chief technology officer Tomáš Sušánka told Cointelegraph that attackers have been exploiting this relentlessly due to there not being a widely accessible security feature that is capable of distinguishing malicious smart contracts from legitimate transactions.
This issue has led users to “unknowingly sign them, and lose everything,” Sušánka said, adding that the Clear Signing feature “directly addresses this by making transactions human-readable before approval.”
The Clear Signing feature was introduced through the Ethereum Foundation’s Trillion Dollar Security Initiative and initiated by Ledger through the open-source ERC-7730 token standard.
The foundation said the key components of the Clear Signing feature include “human-readable transaction descriptions” and a “neutral, mirrorable descriptor registry.”
Related: Ethereum’s EEZ could pull other blockchains into its orbit
It also includes an attestation framework enabling auditors to verify those descriptors.
A host of crypto platforms are supporting Clear Signing
Several other crypto wallets and Ethereum privacy and security platforms contributed to the Clear Signing feature, including Keycard, WalletConnect, Argot, Sourcify, Zama, ZKnox and Fireblocks.
Sušánka said Trezor seeks to implement the security feature before June 30.
“We’re implementing this standard because it’s the right thing to do for our users,” Sušánka said before calling the Clear Signing feature a “critical security advancement for our entire industry.”
Magazine: Guide to the top and emerging global crypto hubs: Mid-2026
Crypto World
JPMorgan Launches Second Ethereum-Based Fund to Support Stablecoin Industry
TLDR
- JPMorgan submitted an SEC filing for JLTXX, its second tokenized money market fund built on Ethereum
- The fund’s portfolio will consist of short-term U.S. Treasury securities and overnight repurchase agreements
- JLTXX specifically targets reserve requirements mandated by the GENIUS Act for stablecoin companies
- This filing comes just days after BlackRock submitted paperwork for a comparable offering
- Tokenized real-world assets have expanded to $32.2 billion, with Treasury-backed products accounting for $15.9 billion
JPMorgan has submitted documentation to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for another tokenized money market fund operating on Ethereum’s blockchain network, marking the bank’s second venture into this space following its MONY fund debut in late 2024.
Dubbed the OnChain Liquidity-Token Money Market Fund, this new offering will operate under the JLTXX ticker symbol. The fund’s investment strategy focuses on short-duration U.S. Treasury securities, cash holdings, and overnight repurchase agreements collateralized by government-backed securities.
According to regulatory documents, the SEC approved the filing effective May 13. However, JPMorgan has yet to disclose an official launch timeline.
The blockchain technology powering this fund will be managed by Kinexys Digital Assets, JPMorgan’s proprietary blockchain division previously operating under the Onyx brand name. Ethereum serves as the sole blockchain network accessible to participants initially, though the financial institution indicated plans to incorporate additional networks down the road.
Designed for Stablecoin Issuers
JLTXX has been deliberately architected to address reserve mandates outlined in the GENIUS Act, federal legislation that establishes regulatory standards for stablecoin providers. This regulatory framework requires stablecoin enterprises to maintain reserves consisting of highly liquid instruments including U.S. Treasury securities, cash equivalents, and FDIC-insured bank deposits.
In its regulatory submission, JPMorgan explicitly stated that the fund aims to “satisfy the requirements for eligible reserve assets that stablecoin issuers are required to maintain” in accordance with the legislation. This positioning could make JLTXX an attractive solution for stablecoin organizations seeking compliant, interest-generating reserve alternatives.
The new fund represents a strategic departure from JPMorgan’s initial MONY offering, which served institutional clients managing on-chain liquidity. JLTXX adopts a more specialized approach by concentrating exclusively on the stablecoin reserve segment.
JPMorgan isn’t operating in isolation within this emerging market. Morgan Stanley introduced a comparable money market fund targeting stablecoin reserves just last month, although that particular product operates outside blockchain infrastructure. Franklin Templeton has also entered the tokenized fund arena with its BENJI product.
Wall Street Moves Into Tokenized Assets
BlackRock, commanding the position as the planet’s largest asset management firm, submitted regulatory paperwork merely days ahead of JPMorgan for a tokenized Treasury reserve instrument. The firm simultaneously filed documentation for blockchain-enabled shares of an existing $7 billion money market fund.
The tokenized real-world asset sector has experienced explosive growth exceeding 200% throughout the previous twelve months. Data from RWA.xyz indicates the market reached approximately $32.2 billion as of May 12. Tokenized U.S. Treasury instruments dominate this landscape, representing roughly $15.9 billion of the total.
Tokenization transforms conventional financial instruments into blockchain-native representations. Proponents argue this technology accelerates settlement processes, enhances operational transparency, and enables continuous trading and collateral utilization across all time zones.
JPMorgan has emerged as among the most progressive traditional banking institutions exploring this domain, previously executing tokenized collateral transactions and settlement operations for institutional participants through its Kinexys platform.
The JLTXX submission reinforces the expanding roster of Wall Street entities developing blockchain-powered solutions serving both institutional clientele and the burgeoning stablecoin ecosystem.
Crypto World
Pi Network’s PI Attempts Comeback as Team Drops Important KYC Announcement
Despite the growing criticism toward some of its features and initiatives, Pi Network’s Core Team continues to make major announcements on the KYC front.
In the latest such statement, they outlined the total number of users who have successfully passed the verification procedures and those who have migrated to Mainnet.
Millions and Millions
The blog post on X from the team reveals that over 18.1 million users have already been approved and verified through Pi Network’s comprehensive Know-Your-Customer procedure. In addition, more than 16.7 million Pioneers have been successfully migrated to Mainnet.
The team has frequently outlined that one person is one account, which is Pi Network’s core belief. This means that each of those millions and millions of accounts represents an actual human. According to them, this is what keeps the ecosystem functioning as mining rewards remain fair, payments rely on real participants, and apps can trust actual user engagement.
However, there’s a bit of a catch. Some users continue to be stuck in “Tentative KYC” status. Although many of them keep complaining on X that it has been months and even years in some rare and extreme cases, the team said this does not mean a complete rejection.
Those Pioneers need to complete additional verification as the system is “double-checking for authenticity.” This ‘cautious’ approach helps filter out bots and fake accounts, protect real users, and maintain long-term network integrity, the post reads.
It’s worth noting that Pi Network’s Core Team recently introduced AI-powered infrastructure that will enhance processing and approval speeds and reduce bottlenecks. Nevertheless, they remain committed to human effort as such input is still a notable part of the entire verification process.
PI Returns to Top 50
The native token’s price performance has been quite controversial, to say the least, in the past few months. Every major breakout attempt has been halted in its tracks, and the subsequent rejection has pushed the asset south to its starting point.
This resulted in a growing selling pressure that drove the token to under $0.17 yesterday, which knocked it out of the top 50 alts by market cap after a 6% weekly decline. Nevertheless, PI has rebounded slightly on a daily scale, though the weekly chart is still well in the red, and the overall market weakness has helped it return to the top 50 alts with a market cap of $1.8 billion.

The post Pi Network’s PI Attempts Comeback as Team Drops Important KYC Announcement appeared first on CryptoPotato.
Crypto World
DeFi superapp Legend to go offline in July after two years
DeFi mobile platform Legend has announced plans to shut down after nearly two years of operation, adding another closure to a growing list of crypto applications struggling to remain viable.
Summary
- Legend said it will shut down on July 12 after failing to reach a sustainable scale despite raising $15 million from major crypto investors.
- Former Compound Finance executives launched Legend as a mobile DeFi app designed to combine trading, borrowing, and yield services into one platform.
- Step Finance, Parsec, Balancer Labs, and ZeroLend have also announced closures this year amid hacks, weaker activity, and funding pressure.
According to a statement shared Tuesday by Legend co-founder and chief executive Jayson Hobby, the company decided to wind down operations after concluding the product had not reached a scale that could support the business over the long term.
Hobby said the app had managed to attract users, but sustaining the company and meeting investor expectations ultimately proved difficult.
Built by former Compound Finance executives in late 2024, Legend operated as a non-custodial mobile app that combined services from protocols such as Aave, Compound, and Uniswap into a single interface for trading, borrowing, swapping, and yield generation. The platform promoted itself as a simplified entry point into decentralized finance, allowing users to access DeFi products without constantly switching wallets or applications.
In comments posted alongside the shutdown notice, Hobby said the company initially believed mainstream users would engage with decentralized finance if the interface became easier to use. He argued that most users are not focused on whether a product operates on-chain, but instead care about practical outcomes such as better yields, faster payments, and more direct control over their money.
Back in February 2025, Legend raised $15 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz and Coinbase Ventures. Even with backing from major crypto investors, the company said long-term sustainability remained out of reach.
More DeFi platforms continue to close
Across the crypto sector, several DeFi projects and infrastructure platforms have announced shutdowns this year as lower activity and weaker market conditions continue pressuring business models.
Earlier this year, Solana-based aggregator Step Finance closed its operations after a January breach compromised executive devices and drained assets later estimated at nearly $40 million. Step Finance stated in February that it had explored funding and acquisition options before concluding that continuing operations was no longer possible. The company later confirmed that its smart contracts were not exploited directly, attributing the incident to compromised endpoints and weak device security controls.
Elsewhere, decentralized finance analytics platform Parsec announced its closure in February after five years in operation. In a statement posted on X, Parsec’s leadership said user activity patterns changed substantially after the collapse of FTX, particularly in DeFi lending markets where leverage failed to recover to earlier cycle levels. The company said temporary traffic spikes tied to products such as Friend.tech dashboards and election-related prediction markets did not translate into sustained growth.
Additional closures have followed in recent months. DeFi protocol Balancer Labs shut down in March after dealing with financial strain linked to a $116 million hack disclosed in November, while Base based lending platform said in April that volatile market conditions contributed to its decision to wind down. ZeroLend also announced plans earlier this year to cease operations, citing an unsustainable business model after roughly three years in operation.
For Legend users, Hobby said the application will remain operational for another 60 days before going offline on July 12. The company has not released active user figures or total value locked data tied to the platform.
Crypto World
Ethereum wants to end blind signing with new security feature
The Ethereum community has launched Clear Signing, an open standard that aims to replace unreadable transaction prompts with human-readable details before users approve onchain actions.
Summary
- Ethereum Clear Signing turns unreadable transaction data into plain summaries before users approve wallet actions.
- Ledger, Trezor, MetaMask, WalletConnect and Fireblocks are early supporters of the new ERC-7730 security standard.
- The rollout follows Bybit’s hack, where attackers abused signing screens to approve a malicious transfer.
The Ethereum Foundation said a working group of wallet developers, security firms and its Trillion Dollar Security Initiative released the standard on May 12. The change targets self-custody users and institutions that need readable approval records.
The effort targets blind signing, a weak point where users approve calldata or partial transaction data they cannot understand. The Foundation said approvals are often the last defense when users control assets onchain, but “When it is done blindly, that defense does not hold.” It wants “What You See Is What You Sign” to become the default for Ethereum users.
ERC-7730 brings clearer transaction details
Clear Signing uses ERC-7730, a shared JSON description format, a public registry, and independent reviews. The setup lets wallets show what a transaction intends to do without changing existing smart contracts or how transactions settle on Ethereum.
Ethereum.org says a descriptor links a contract deployment to readable labels and field formats. A compatible wallet can then show action details such as the asset sent, the minimum received, the recipient and expiry time, instead of raw function selectors and integer values. Developers can add support to existing protocols without redeploying contracts.
Additionally, Ledger helped start ERC-7730 and early tooling, while teams including ZKnox, Sourcify, Cyfrin, Zama, WalletConnect, Fireblocks, Trezor, Keycard, MetaMask, Argot and independent contributors took part in the wider effort. The Foundation said its security initiative will host the infrastructure and support adoption.
The move follows several wallet and signing attacks that exposed weak approval screens. Earlier reports noted that North Korea’s Lazarus Group stole more than $1.4 billion in ETH from Bybit by exploiting Safe Wallet’s user interface and that Bybit’s CEO could not fully verify transaction details before signing. That case made signing transparency a direct exchange security issue.
Why timing matters
Market updates have tied Clear Signing to the wider rise of phishing and approval scams. As previously reported, ERC-7730 replaces “hex gibberish” with auditable transaction summaries and said Binance security data showed 22.9 million phishing attempts were blocked in the first quarter of 2026.
Related coverage also said crypto protocols lost more than $606 million in the first 18 days of April 2026, the worst month since the Bybit breach. Clear Signing does not remove every attack path, and wallets still choose which registries they trust. But it gives users and institutions a clearer chance to see what they are about to approve before assets move.
Crypto World
Wells Fargo’s Q1 filing shows bigger Ether ETF exposure
Wells Fargo increased its exposure to spot Ether exchange-traded funds in the first quarter of 2026, according to its latest 13F filing.
Summary
- Wells Fargo raised ETHA and ETHW holdings even as Ether posted back-to-back quarterly losses.
- Bitcoin ETFs still led the bank’s crypto ETF exposure, with IBIT valued around $250 million.
- Wells Fargo cut Galaxy Digital shares sharply while more than doubling its Strategy position.
The bank reported larger positions in BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust ETF and the Bitwise Ethereum ETF.
ETHA rose from about 672,600 shares in the fourth quarter of 2025 to roughly 1.1 million shares in the first quarter. ETHW increased from around 186,800 shares to more than 257,000 shares. The filing placed Wells Fargo’s Ether ETF holdings at around $21.5 million.
Ethereum exposure grew during weak prices
The Ether ETF increase came while the underlying asset was under pressure. Ethereum posted two straight quarterly losses, falling about 28% in the fourth quarter of 2025 and about 29% in the first quarter of 2026.
Spot Ether ETFs also faced withdrawals during that period. Still, Wells Fargo reported higher positions at quarter-end. The filing does not state whether the positions were held for clients, internal portfolios or other investment accounts. That point remains important because 13F filings show holdings, not the reason behind each trade.
Meanwhile, Wells Fargo’s Bitcoin ETF exposure moved in different directions. The bank slightly reduced its position in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, while increasing holdings in the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF and the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF.
IBIT still accounted for the largest crypto ETF position in the filing, with a value of about $250 million. Earlier crypto.news coverage noted that Wells Fargo and Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch allowed some brokerage clients to access spot Bitcoin ETFs after the products saw strong early demand.
Strategy rises as Galaxy stake falls
The larger shift appeared in crypto-linked equities. Wells Fargo cut its Galaxy Digital position from about 2.5 million shares in the fourth quarter of 2025 to around 78,600 shares in the first quarter of 2026.
At the same time, the bank raised its Strategy stake from about 322,700 shares to roughly 726,000 shares. Strategy remains the largest public holder of Bitcoin, making its stock a common indirect Bitcoin exposure for some investors. Wells Fargo’s filing does not explain why it reduced Galaxy Digital and increased Strategy.
The update adds to evidence that large financial firms continue to use regulated products for crypto exposure. A recent crypto.news report cited a Coinbase and EY-Parthenon survey showing that many institutions planned to raise crypto allocations in 2026, with exchange-traded products among the preferred routes.
Crypto World
Prediction market conference blamed Nevada pressure for move. Regulators say no.
Predict 2026 says it moved to New York from Las Vegas because of “regulatory pressure” from the Nevada Gaming Control Board. A spokesperson for the regulator says otherwise.
“The Nevada Gaming Control Board did not direct, request, or otherwise pressure any licensee or venue to cancel or decline to host any recent or upcoming event or conference, as has been suggested,” a spokesperson told CoinDesk.
Earlier this month, the Prediction Conference, which featured some top traders from Polymarket, took place in Las Vegas – but at a hotel without a casino.
“We had a successful event last month that was attended by several stakeholders and will be hosting a second edition in November again in Las Vegas,” its founder, Ish Milly, told CoinDesk. “Our venue is off the strip and not in a casino.”
A spokesperson for the Nevada gaming regulator also told CoinDesk that “Gaming licensees are expected to adhere to all federal, state, and local statutes and ordinances and prevent any occurrences that may bring discredit to the state or the gaming industry.”
Nevada is one of the states that is locked in a legal battle with the prediction market industry.
In April, a judge in the state ruled that Kalshi’s prediction markets were “indistinguishable” from gambling and ordered an in-state ban on the platform to be extended.
Recently, Michael Selig, chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, told Axios that sports betting and prediction markets are “two separate things.” Selig also said that the CFTC is working with major sports leagues on market surveillance and other market integrity measures.
Crypto World
XRP traders eye $1.5 as Ripple-linked token tops bitcoin (BTC) volumes in Korea
XRP is back at the top of South Korean trading screens.
The token’s won pair was the most traded market on Upbit over the past 24 hours, with about $110.9 million in volume, ahead of bitcoin’s $88.6 million and ether’s $67 million, CoinGecko data shows. On Bithumb, XRP/KRW recorded about $41 million in volume, ranking second behind USDT/KRW and above both BTC/KRW and ETH/KRW.
That matters because Korea has long been one of XRP’s most active speculative markets. Bitcoin and ether usually dominate global exchange activity, but Korean traders have repeatedly pushed XRP into the top volume slot during periods of heightened interest, often before volatility expands.
Price-action has been muted, however. XRP traded near $1.44 to $1.45 across the two exchanges, up roughly 3% on the week. That beats bitcoin over the same period, but trails stronger gains in BNB and Solana’s SOL, both of which have risen around 8%.
The setup is less about a finished breakout and more about pressure building under a level the market has not been able to clear.
Data from CoinDesk analytics shows XRP is still battling the $1.49 to $1.50 zone, an area that has repeatedly rejected upside attempts since February. The token has continued to compress below that resistance while holding higher lows above the broader $1.40 support floor.
That kind of structure tends to matter when volume starts rotating in. Repeated tests can weaken resistance, and liquidity above current levels appears relatively thin. If sellers are absorbed near $1.50, a sustained move through that level could accelerate faster than the recent price action suggests.
Korean activity also stands out against a choppier local macro backdrop.
South Korea’s Kospi fell sharply Tuesday after comments from a presidential policy aide raised questions over how the government could return part of the country’s AI-driven corporate gains to citizens through tax revenue.
The index remains one of the world’s strongest markets this year, powered by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, but the pullback showed how sensitive local risk appetite has become after a steep rally.
That makes the XRP flow more notable. Traders are not simply buying everything tied to Korean risk appetite. They are concentrating activity in one of the market’s most familiar high-beta crypto names.
High volume does not guarantee upside, however. It can also mark aggressive selling or late positioning near resistance. But when XRP starts leading Korean exchange volumes while price compresses below a long-tested ceiling, the market usually pays attention.
Crypto World
Senate crypto bill receives over 100 amendments before CLARITY markup
More than 100 amendments have been attached to the Senate’s crypto market structure bill ahead of Thursday’s Banking Committee markup.
Summary
- Senate lawmakers filed more than 100 amendments to the CLARITY Act ahead of Thursday’s markup vote.
- Democratic senators proposed tighter stablecoin yield restrictions and new ethics rules tied to crypto holdings by public officials.
- Developer protections and plans to restore the Justice Department’s crypto enforcement unit were also added to the amendment list.
POLITICO reported that most of the proposed changes came from Democratic senators, while Republicans submitted a narrower set of revisions tied to sections already debated during months of closed-door negotiations. Committee members are expected to review and vote on the amendments during Thursday’s hearing before deciding whether to move the legislation to the Senate floor.
Released Monday, the Senate Banking Committee’s updated CLARITY Act draft revived talks that had stalled earlier this year after Coinbase publicly stepped away from negotiations. The company had objected to earlier restrictions tied to stablecoin reward programs, prompting lawmakers and industry groups to reopen discussions around the bill’s language.
One of the newest amendments targets the stablecoin yield compromise included in the revised draft. Senators Jack Reed and Tina Smith are seeking tougher wording that would prohibit interest-like rewards using a “substantially similar” standard instead of the current “functionally equivalent” test tied to bank deposits.
Banking organizations have already criticized the revised language. Earlier this week, the American Bankers Association and four other financial trade groups said the proposal could still allow stablecoin products to compete with traditional savings accounts by offering reward mechanisms that resemble deposit interest.
Senate debate expands beyond stablecoins
Away from the stablecoin fight, several amendments focus on ethics restrictions and criminal liability tied to crypto activity. Senator Chris Van Hollen has proposed a measure that would prevent the president, vice president, members of Congress, senior executive officials, and their families from holding or promoting crypto-related businesses.
Ethics provisions have remained unresolved since lawmakers restarted negotiations earlier this year. During Consensus Miami 2026, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said Democratic support would depend on conflict-of-interest protections being added to the legislation. Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren later criticized the revised draft for leaving those restrictions out.
Developer protections have also resurfaced through a proposal from Senator Catherine Cortez Masto. Her amendment would create a safe harbor protecting software developers from criminal liability for failing to register as money transmitters.
Crypto advocacy groups have supported similar language tied to the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, which was folded into the committee’s updated draft earlier this week. Under that section, developers and infrastructure providers that do not control customer funds would not automatically fall under money transmitter rules.
Concerns from law enforcement officials, however, have not disappeared. Punchbowl News reported this week that Senators Chuck Grassley and Cynthia Lummis reached a separate agreement designed to preserve prosecutors’ ability to pursue crypto-related financial crimes.
Additional amendments expected during Thursday’s session include sanctions provisions, rules tied to institutional crypto activity, and a proposal from Senator Andy Kim seeking to restore the Justice Department’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, which was dismantled last year.
Republicans still control the Banking Committee and hold the Senate majority, though internal disagreements remain. Senator Thom Tillis previously warned he would not back the bill unless changes were made to several provisions.
Outside Capitol Hill, lobbying pressure has intensified ahead of the markup. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said during an X livestream on May 12 that the latest draft preserved the crypto industry’s “must haves,” while banking lobby groups continued pressing senators for stricter limits on stablecoin rewards.
Even if the Banking Committee advances the legislation this week, senators would still need to combine it with the separate version approved earlier by the Senate Agriculture Committee. Passage on the Senate floor would require support from at least 60 lawmakers, forcing Republican sponsors to secure Democratic votes before the bill can move forward.
Crypto World
CFTC Backs Kalshi in Ohio Appeals Court Fight
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has backed Kalshi in the company’s legal fight against the state of Ohio, asking an appeals court to affirm that the regulator has jurisdiction over prediction markets.
The CFTC filed an amicus brief in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday, accusing Ohio of “jurisdictional overreach” after state authorities told Kalshi last year to stop offering sports event contracts in the state, calling them unlicensed sports gambling.
Kalshi sued Ohio authorities in October, seeking to have a federal court stop the Ohio Casino Control Commission and the state attorney general from taking action, but the court denied the request in March, leading Kalshi to appeal the decision.
“The federal district court in Ohio took an improperly narrow view of the Commission’s jurisdiction, and we are asking the Court of Appeals to correct that error,” CFTC Chairman Mike Selig said in a statement. “As I’ve said repeatedly, the CFTC will not allow overzealous state governments to undermine the agency’s longstanding authority over these markets.”
The dispute is one of many similar cases determining whether states have the power to restrict federally regulated prediction markets and has implications for major prediction market platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket.
The CFTC’s latest amicus brief is its second backing a prediction market after it filed one in the Ninth Circuit Appeals Court in February supporting Crypto.com in a legal battle against regulators in Nevada.
In its brief, the CFTC argued that “Ohio’s jurisdictional overreach into the Commission’s sphere threatens regulatory upheaval,” as the agency oversees event contracts trading as swaps or binary options on designated contract markets (DCMs).

Source: Mike Selig
“If States can restrict event contracts on sports, the Commission’s longstanding jurisdiction over these other event contracts could be imperiled too,” it wrote. “The Court should enforce the Commission’s exclusive jurisdiction and hold that Ohio cannot regulate event contracts traded on DCMs.”
Related: Prediction market battle gets closer to Supreme Court
The CFTC’s brief comes after it sued five states to assert its jurisdiction over prediction markets, launching action against regulators in Wisconsin, New York, Arizona, Connecticut and Illinois.
The states had either sent cease-and-desist letters or had sued the prediction markets Kalshi, Polymarket, Crypto.com, Robinhood, and Coinbase, all of which are CFTC-regulated DCMs, over their offering of sports event contracts.
“States cannot circumvent the clear directive of Congress,” Selig said last month after the CFTC sued Wisconsin. “Our message to Wisconsin is the same as to New York, Arizona, and others: if you interfere with the operation of federal law in regulating financial markets, we will sue you.”
Magazine: Should users be allowed to bet on war and death in prediction markets?
Crypto World
Banking Africa: Cantor8 Moves Deeper Into Africa’s Mobile Money Sector via Yiksi Limited
[PRESS RELEASE – Zug, Switzerland, May 12th, 2026]
As part of a broader initiative to expand access to essential banking infrastructure across Africa, Cantor8 has revealed plans to bring leading mobile money systems such as M-PESA and EVC Plus onchain via Yiksi Limited.
Cantor8 has secured exclusive MOUs with Yiksi Limited, outlining plans to bring leading mobile money systems onchain and enable direct digital money services-to-crypto conversion via blockchain rails.
Through its partnership with Taran App, a leading African fintech platform, and Yiksi, Taran App’s cryptocurrency exchange, Cantor8 will leverage Taran App’s infrastructure to bring two of Africa’s most widely used forms of mobile money on-chain via the Canton Network.
The partnership serves as a crucial pilot for a broader rollout across additional African nations and mobile money ecosystems, demonstrating how onchain digital money infrastructure can scale across the continent.
Mobile Money Infrastructure and Blockchain Integration
Limited banking infrastructure in regions like Kenya and Somalia has led to the widespread adoption of mobile money systems like M-PESA and EVC Plus.
These platforms are vital for financial inclusion and economic activity in mobile-first ecosystems where traditional bank penetration, around 15% in Somalia, remains low due to physical and documentation barriers.
Migrating these systems to blockchain networks like the Canton offers a significant opportunity to enhance interoperability, settlement efficiency, and global connectivity. This evolution, in turn, provides users with a fully integrated digital financial system that bypasses conventional infrastructure.
Despite access challenges, ongoing innovation in digital onboarding continues to reduce barriers, scaling payments and remittances across these emerging markets.
The Need for Digital Money in African Economies
To understand the impact of digital money and mobile-based transfer systems like M-PESA and EVC Plus, it helps to first understand the regions in which they operate and have seen widespread adoption.
At the core, three key factors have driven the success of these systems in emerging economies like Somalia and Kenya:
- Limited-to-non-existent access to reliable banking infrastructure.
- A high degree of mobile phone access and competence.
- Unworkable local currencies.
The Banking Gap
Since 1991, Somalia has transitioned into a mobile-first economy led by services like EVC Plus, filling the void left by a sparse traditional banking sector. According to the US State Department’s 2025 Investment Climate Statement, formal banking penetration sits at just 15% due to branch scarcity and rigid ID requirements.
Cantor8 aims to bridge this gap by integrating secure digital infrastructure and modernizing mobile connectivity.
The firm is targeting similar inclusion gaps in Kenya, where M-PESA dominates but rural barriers persist. By deploying mobile-first technology, Cantor8 intends to scale financial access and integrate these emerging markets into a cohesive digital ecosystem.
Nonviable Local Currencies
Somalia and Kenya are increasingly pivoting toward mobile-first financial systems to navigate structural economic challenges.
In Somalia, decades of central banking limitations and counterfeit Somali Shilling (SOS) circulation have driven a market shift toward the US Dollar and mobile money for stability.
Kenya’s Shilling (KES) remains more integrated into global markets, though its debt profile reflects heavy infrastructure investment. Despite macroeconomic pressures, Kenya continues to lead in digital innovation, utilizing mobile platforms to deepen economic participation.
Together, both nations demonstrate a move away from physical cash toward digital foundations, clearly setting the stage for next-generation payment infrastructure and improved fiscal stability across East Africa.
Mobile-Native Populations
Somalia and Kenya are cementing their status as mobile-first economies as cellular connectivity outpaces traditional banking growth. Somalia’s mobile penetration has reached nearly 60%, with 11.5 million connections growing at a 7% annual clip, driving widespread adoption of digital finance.
Kenya’s ecosystem is even more saturated; as of late 2025, SIM subscriptions hit 78.4 million (a 149.5% penetration rate). This high density of roughly 1.5 SIMs per person underscores the central role of telecoms in regional commerce.
Together, these metrics provide a robust foundation for next-generation digital payment infrastructure across East Africa’s most connected populations.
The Rise of Digital Money
The aforementioned factors create the perfect conditions for a financial system that is (a) denoted in USD, (b) immediately accessible through mobile devices, and (c) provides similar functionality to bank accounts, to flourish.
Digital money system, EVC Plus (operated by Hormuud Telecom) is now the backbone of Somalia’s economy. Mobile money adoption in Somalia is among the highest in the world, with over 87% of the population using mobile money services.
For additional context, Hormuud currently serves nearly 5 million users, the vast majority of which use EVC Plus for daily transactions.
Similarly, as of 2025, a staggering 85% of Kenyan adults had access to financial services through digital platforms like M-PESA. Indeed, several estimates put M-PESA’s share of mobile money transaction value in Kenya at well over 90%.
Enter Canton Network & Cantor8
By leveraging Cantor8’s cutting edge infrastructure components, such as its C8 Registry token issuance engine, mobile money systems like M-PESA and EVC Plus can be brought directly onto blockchain rails – Canton Network specifically.
In doing so, said mobile money gains access to both the advantages brought by blockchain generally, and those that only Canton Network can deliver.
Instant Settlement
Blockchain rails are able to provide atomic settlement on transactions, meaning transfers and other actions are settled instantly, all in one single transaction. This entirely eliminates the aforementioned ‘in-transit’ risk and dramatically reduces the operational burden placed on mobile money providers.
No settlement gap. No extractive middlemen. More efficient money.
Compliant Privacy
While public blockchains like Ethereum and Solana expose all historical transaction data, the Canton Network provides a privacy-focused alternative essential for regulated industries like banking. Built to shield sensitive details, including counterparties, balances, and timing, Canton ensures transaction data remains confidential.
To meet compliance standards, the network generates tamper-proof audit trails accessible only to authorized regulators and auditors. Integrating M-PESA and EVC Plus onto Canton’s rails allows users to maintain total financial privacy while enabling seamless, foolproof oversight for authorities.
Interoperability
Canton operates a so-called ‘network-of-networks’ where differing institutions operate and maintain their own blockchain ledgers, ensuring privacy is maintained, while the network’s key interoperability component (The Global Synchronizer) allows for these separate networks to interact seamlessly.
In the case of mobile money, users will be able to put their funds to use in different countries and at different merchants, without undertaking lengthy and high-risk conversation processes.
Banking Africa
Through an interoperable system of mobile money platforms, users will be able to leverage the stability of the US Dollar, seamlessly use and transfer their funds across borders, and much more.
The end goal of Cantor8’s initiative is to create a seamless pan-African payments system that remedies inequalities around banking infrastructure and creates a more interconnected and efficient African economy. This is just the beginning.
About Cantor8
Cantor8 is the leading infrastructure provider for the Canton Network ecosystem. Founded and operated by Oxbridge alumni, exited founders, and best-in-class DAML developers, Cantor8’s product suite spans self-custody wallet solutions, private transfer infrastructure, compliant token issuance, bespoke development services, and much more besides.
If you are interested in speaking with us, users can reach out to reni@cantor8.tech.
The post Banking Africa: Cantor8 Moves Deeper Into Africa’s Mobile Money Sector via Yiksi Limited appeared first on CryptoPotato.
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