Switzerland has launched its first live municipal blockchain project through a biodiversity reward voucher system built on the Hedera network and backed by a Swiss franc-linked digital payment instrument.

According to an announcement shared with crypto.news by the Municipality of Muri bei Bern, the Canton of Bern municipality partnered with Swiss Web3 engineering firm The Hashgraph Group, blockchain developer Swisscoast, and digital transformation company Apps with Love to roll out BIDI, a blockchain-based biodiversity voucher designed to reward residents for participating in conservation work.

Built on the Hedera distributed ledger network, the system issues on-chain vouchers pegged to the Swiss franc for activities such as meadow restoration, hedge maintenance, invasive plant removal, riparian repair work, and wetland conservation. Residents can redeem each BIDI voucher for 1 Swiss franc at participating local merchants and service providers inside the municipality.

Municipal authorities said the initiative replaces a paper voucher program that had operated in Muri bei Bern for the past eight years. By moving the system on-chain, the project introduces digital verification and settlement infrastructure while keeping the existing community redemption model intact.

Swisscoast developed the payment layer using its HCHF digital Swiss franc stablecoin on Hedera, while The Hashgraph Group participated as ecosystem partner. The project also received backing from The Hashgraph Association through its Enterprise Accelerator Program for enterprise and government blockchain applications.

Swiss municipalities test blockchain infrastructure

Coming after Switzerland opened consultations in late 2025 on a dedicated stablecoin licensing regime under oversight from FINMA, the BIDI rollout adds another example of Swiss institutions experimenting with tokenized payment systems tied to public services.

Under the proposed Swiss framework published last year, stablecoin issuers would be required to maintain fully backed reserves, provide redemption rights, and operate under a dedicated payment instrument license category. Officials at the time said stablecoins could support tokenized asset markets and strengthen digital settlement infrastructure within Switzerland’s financial system.

At the municipal level, BIDI now extends blockchain use beyond financial services into environmental programs and local commerce.

“We are proud to offer BIDI, an existing, trusted Swiss instrument, in collaboration with The Hashgraph Association,” Swisscoast AG President Toni Caradonna said. Caradonna added that the company previously worked with Hedera on another project called HLiquity and viewed distributed ledger technology as important for both innovation and conservation efforts.

Within the same announcement, Stefan Deiss, CEO and co-founder of The Hashgraph Group, said tokenization was expanding beyond finance into public administration tools such as vouchers and reporting systems.

“Public-sector instruments such as vouchers, claims, and reporting tokens will become verifiable, and BIDI demonstrates DLT credibility through provenance, not novelty,” Deiss said.

Apps with Love CEO Stephan Klaus said the project showed how digital products could connect ecological participation with local economic activity while improving efficiency and verification processes.

Hedera, which promotes itself as a carbon-negative network through the purchase of carbon offsets exceeding its energy use, said its governing council includes organizations focused on sustainability initiatives and environmental reporting.

Designed as a reusable framework, the BIDI infrastructure can reportedly be adapted for other Swiss municipalities within weeks rather than requiring long deployment timelines. Municipal officials and project partners said the structure could eventually expand to cities and regions outside Switzerland as European governments continue testing blockchain-based public service systems.

• XRP Ledger has reached a record 332,230 wallets holding 10,000 or more XRP.
• Growth after a sharp dip earlier in the year highlights long-term holder conviction.
• XRP price eyes a breakout above key resistance around $1.50.

The XRP cryptocurrency continues to navigate choppy waters below $1.50, largely fluctuating alongside top altcoins.

Meanwhile, the XRP Ledger has hit a new milestone, with on-chain data revealing an all-time high in terms of wallets holding at least 10,000 XRP.

But what does this wallet growth suggest? And could broader gains lift prices above the key resistance level?

XRP Ledger wallet growth: Record high for 10,000+ cohort

Whales have largely bought the dip on major altcoins in recent weeks, and on-chain metrics highlight this as the case for XRP Ledger.

Data shows a fresh streak in crypto inflows coincides with an expanding XRP holder base. In particular, addresses with 10,000 XRP or more have climbed to 332,230.

According to data Santiment shared early Wednesday, this is the highest ever recorded mark for this cohort. The expansion has persisted through 2026’s price stagnation, where XRP has so far traded below its recent peak.

Notably, accumulation has picked up after a major dip between February 6 and 8, which saw more than 4,500 wallets drop from the 10k or more XRP category.

The sharp decline as seen in the chart below aligns with the crypto market bloodbath that triggered massive liquidations on February 5.

This resilience points to accumulation by conviction-driven investors.

Analysts say such whales are less swayed by volatility and more focused on XRP’s utility and long-term outlook.

It’s a move that signals increased institutional adoption, especially as crypto funds notch a multi-week streak.

XRP price outlook

As noted, the XRP price currently consolidates below the $1.50 resistance level.

However, it’s forming a tight range amid the latest upswing for risk assets, hovering near $1.45 as of writing on May 13, 2026.

Bitcoin’s push for a retest of $82,000 means muted upward action for altcoins, and XRP could mirror the sentiment as renewed risk appetite slowly sips into the broader market. Yet buyers may have eyes on breaking higher.

In this case, the token faces immediate overhead resistance at the $1.50 level, where prior rejections have capped momentum.

From a technical perspective, XRP exhibits a bullish consolidation pattern on the daily chart, with support holding at the 50-day moving average near $1.35.

Meanwhile, the RSI indicator hovers in neutral territory, meaning further room to manoeuvre before entering overbought conditions.

A breakout could allow bulls to target $2.00 and $2.75. The main focus could be a return to above $3.00.

Conversely, a drop below $1.35 might mean a retest of $1.20 lows.

Decentralized finance mobile “superapp” Legend has announced it is winding down after about two years of operation, adding to a string of crypto apps deciding to shut down this year. 

Legend was a DeFi aggregator that aimed to bring DeFi to its users rather than forcing them to sign into multiple different wallets or applications to use their crypto. 

“We believed the right interface could put DeFi’s most powerful primitives in front of mainstream users.” Legend co-founder Jayson Hobby said on Tuesday. 

However, despite the product finding an audience, it didn’t “grow to the scale the company needed to be sustainable long-term,” said Hobby. “Closing is the right call for our team and our investors.”

Over 20 DeFi, NFT and GameFi protocols have announced they are shutting down this year, including ZeroLend, which said in February that it planned to shut down after three years of operations, citing an unsustainable business model.

Closure notice on the Legend website. Source: Legend.xyz

Solana DeFi aggregator Step Finance said it was closing down in February after a $40 million treasury wallet breach in January, and DeFi derivatives protocol Polynomial also ceased operations in February. 

Balancer Labs, the team behind the DeFi protocol Balancer, shuttered in March after mounting financial pressure following a $116 million hack in November.

Meanwhile, Seamless Protocol, a DeFi lending protocol on Base, said it was winding down in April, blaming volatile market conditions.

Users don’t care whether product is onchain or not

Legend is a non-custodial, mobile-first DeFi aggregator launched around late 2024 by former Compound Finance executives, including CEO Hobby. It is used for earning, trading, borrowing and swapping assets like stablecoins and Ether via integrations with other DeFi protocols such as Aave, Compound and Uniswap. 

It aimed to bring DeFi to its users rather than forcing them to sign into multiple different wallets or applications to use their crypto. 

It announced its first funding round, raising $15 million from Andreessen Horowitz and Coinbase Ventures, in February 2025. 

Related: Kelp DAO eyes unpausing withdrawals after attackers’ rsETH on Arbitrum is burned

However, Hobby said that mainstream users don’t care if a product is onchain or not. “They want outcomes,” he said. “Better yield, faster payments, more control over their money.”

“The product that wins isn’t the one that explains crypto better, it’s the one that hides it completely. The benefits are felt, not explained.”

Legend has not disclosed active user counts or total value locked figures, as it operates as an aggregator, but the TVL for the broader DeFi ecosystem has tanked 50% since October in the wider crypto bear market. 

The Legend app will keep running normally for the next 60 days and will go offline on July 12, said Hobby.

Magazine: DeFi’s billion-dollar secret: The insiders responsible for hacks 

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.

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.

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.

Wells Fargo increased its exposure to spot Ether exchange-traded funds in the first quarter of 2026, according to its latest 13F filing. 

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.

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.

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.