Author: James Wilson

AI finance platform Rogo raises 160M USD led by Kleiner Perkins to scale its agentic workflow OS for banks and asset managers, as AI agents sweep regulated finance. Summary Rogo closed a 160 million dollar Series D round led by Kleiner Perkins, lifting total funding above 300 million dollars to scale its “agentic platform for finance” across major institutions. The New York‑based company builds workflow‑specific agents like Felix that plug into internal and external data to automate research, modeling, and client communications for more than 35,000 finance professionals. Backed by Sequoia Capital, Thrive Capital, Khosla Ventures and J.P. Morgan Growth…

Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only. Retail traders adopt AI trading bots in 2026 for faster execution, discipline, and market monitoring. Summary AI trading bots grow in 2026 as retail traders use platforms like BitsStrategy for simpler automated crypto trading. BitsStrategy attracts beginners with fully managed AI trading, removing the need for coding or manual strategy building. Automated trading demand rises as BitsStrategy offers 24/7 AI execution and hands-free crypto trading support. Automated trading is no longer only for professional quants or hedge funds. In…

Solana multisig leader Squads raises $18M to scale its Altitude stablecoin accounts for enterprises, reinforcing Solana’s role as plumbing for onchain dollar treasuries. Summary Squads secured an $18 million strategic equity round led by Solana Ventures, with Coinbase Ventures, Haun Ventures, L1D and others, bringing total funding to $42.9 million. The protocol underpins Solana with multisig smart accounts and granular treasury controls that DAOs, teams and protocols widely use as the network’s de facto multisig standard. New capital will scale Altitude, a stablecoin-native business account that turns Solana into a 24/7 settlement rail for payroll, vendor payouts and global dollar…

Hong Kong regulators have warned investors about counterfeit stablecoins circulating under the names of newly approved issuers, even as the city prepares for its first regulated launches. Summary Hong Kong Monetary Authority warns of fake “HSBC” and “HKDAP” tokens, with HSBC and Anchorpoint Financial confirming no regulated stablecoins have been issued. HSBC and Anchorpoint reiterate that official launches are yet to begin, urging users to rely on verified channels amid rising scam activity. Hong Kong’s new licensing regime imposes strict reserve, AML, and governance rules, with enforcement powers including fines, suspensions, and license revocations. Scammers have begun promoting fake tokens…

Crypto payments firm MoonPay is stepping further into institutional services after acquiring Sodot, a startup focused on digital asset security. Summary MoonPay acquires Sodot in a deal reportedly worth around $100 million, using its key management tech to launch an institutional division. New unit to serve financial institutions across trading, tokenized assets, payments, custody infrastructure, and stablecoin issuance, led by Caroline Pham. The move comes amid rising demand for secure crypto custody solutions, with firms like OKX and BitGo also expanding institutional offerings. The company said Wednesday that it will use Sodot’s key management technology as the backbone of a…

Robinhood shares fell sharply on Wednesday after the trading platform reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter results, with a slowdown in crypto activity dragging on both revenue and profit. Summary Robinhood shares fell about 11% after the firm missed Q1 revenue and profit estimates, as weaker crypto trading weighed on transaction-based income. Cryptocurrency revenue dropped 47% year-over-year to $134 million, with analysts citing crypto as a key “pressure point” amid reduced retail participation. The earnings miss coincided with a phishing warning from David Schwartz, who flagged emails mimicking Robinhood’s system that passed standard authentication checks. The stock dropped around 11% following the release,…

CertiK’s Skynet report shows AML enforcement and security standards have replaced securities angst as crypto’s main risk axis, with Basel and DORA baking rules into code. Summary CertiK finds regulators in the US, EU, Hong Kong, Singapore, UAE, Japan, Turkey, and Brazil have shifted from consultations to live AML‑centric regimes that increasingly mirror TradFi. AML fines exceeded $900M in H1 2025, including $504M for OKX and $297.4M for KuCoin, while SEC crypto penalties fell 97% as DOJ and FinCEN took the lead. The Basel cryptoasset framework, DORA, and new licensing rules now treat smart‑contract audits, capital adequacy, segregation, and operational…

Mezo Prime launches with Anchorage and Bullish to route institutional Bitcoin into segregated, qualified‑custody vaults that earn onchain yield and mint BTC‑backed MUSD. Summary Mezo has launched Mezo Prime with Anchorage Digital Bank and Bullish to let corporate treasuries earn onchain BTC yield inside a qualified‑custody framework. The product uses segregated Enclave vaults at Anchorage, with no commingling or rehypothecation, allowing BTC to be locked as veBTC for protocol fees or used as collateral to borrow MUSD. Bullish is the first institutional customer and is deploying part of its treasury BTC into Mezo Prime, alongside a 250 BTC investment into…

Ethereum Foundation’s Q1 2026 grants pour into ZK research, core clients, validator security, and public-goods infra, signaling long-term conviction in cryptography-first scaling. Summary Q1 2026 allocations fund execution clients like Geth and Erigon plus Lighthouse consensus upgrades, focusing on post‑Pectra performance, monitoring, and validator security tools such as Vero and DISC‑NG. Cryptography and ZK grants target Poseidon hash analysis, Gröbner basis attack research, quantum-resistant schemes, and formal verification of a RISC‑V zkVM, aligning with Ethereum’s zkEVM and post‑quantum roadmaps. Ecosystem funding supports BuidlGuidl, WalletConnect clear-signing libraries, L2BEAT analytics, privacy and identity standards, and DAO-governance research as shared public goods for…

Andre Cronje blasts modern DeFi as UI-wrapped CeFi, backing circuit breakers after April’s $600M exploit wave and warning that true decentralization means no safety nets. Summary Andre Cronje argues most current DeFi apps prioritize slick UX over trustless, immutable designs, making them functionally closer to centralized platforms. April’s exploits on Drift, Kelp, and others wiped roughly $600M, pushing Cronje-linked Flying Tulip to roll out withdrawal circuit breakers that throttle abnormal outflows. Cronje says “real” DeFi lives in command lines, not websites, and warns regulators and UX sugarcoating are pushing builders away from pure decentralization. DeFi pioneer Andre Cronje sparked industry debate, arguing…