Raise 是一家由 PayPal 投资、专门从事数字礼品卡和忠诚度计划的公司,该公司已筹集了由 Haun Ventures 领投的 6300 万美元。此轮融资使 Raise 的总融资额超过 2.2 亿美元。新闻稿称,其他参与者包括 Amber Group、Anagram 和 GSR 等。这家总部位于芝加哥的公司将利用这笔资金开发其基于区块链的智能卡,并扩大零售联盟基金会 (Retail Alliance Foundation),该基金会是一家专注于保护和现代化全球礼品卡网络的非盈利组织。查看所有新闻通讯该公司旨在将礼品卡打造成一种“完全可编程的零售货币”,以增强品牌忠诚度。该平台创始人兼首席执行官乔治·布西斯 (George Bousis) 告诉 CoinDesk:“这不是对市场趋势的反应——而是多年投资、研究和基础设施建设的结果,旨在将完全链上的可编程零售货币带入生活。”“加密行业现在比以往任何时候都更需要真正的实用性。投资者要求实质内容而非投机,消费者厌倦了不兑现的承诺,”布西斯补充道。“我们花了十多年的时间探索区块链如何推动价值数万亿美元的礼品卡行业的现实变革。”除了这轮融资外,该公司还宣布成立新董事会,其中包括 Kraken 前首席法律官马可·桑托里 (Marco Santori)、Honey 联合创始人乔治·鲁安 (George Ruan)、GrubHub 创始人马特·马洛尼 (Matt Maloney) 和 Parity Technologies 首席执行官比约恩·瓦格纳 (Bjorn Wagner)。他们的经验涵盖金融科技、加密和电子商务。(Coindesk)
According to BlockBeats, on February 28th, Glassnode posted on social media that there was a strong accumulation in the $96000 to $98000 region from the end of December 2024 to February 2025. Although some addresses within these price ranges are reallocating their BTC, this supply cluster is still very dense - if we return to this level again, it could become a strong resistance level
Recent security breaches have rocked the crypto space, highlighting the fact that security will continue to need to be a key focus for providers.In today’s issue, Marcin Kaźmierczak from Redstone Oracles breaks down why 2025 will be a critical year for DeFi and on-chain finance.See all newslettersThen, Kevin Tam looks at the institutional adoption of bitcoin as seen from the recent 13-F filings and highlights key positions in Ask and Expert.-Crypto for AdvisorsSubscribe hereThe recent hack of ByBit for nearly 401.000 ETH, valued at about $1.5 billion at that time, exposed that security will play a tremendous role in further crypto adoption. Can institutions expand on-chain after such an incident? Undoubtedly. It’s a matter of gradual adoption alongside ensuring top-notch security procedures.In traditional finance, yield-generating assets are typically seen as stronger long-term investments than non-productive ones since they provide investors with ongoing cash flow and income. This perspective helps explain why some investors prefer ether over bitcoin. Ether is seen as more “productive” because it powers a network supporting a wide range of decentralized applications, benefiting from network effects. Beyond that, ether can be staked to earn consistent yield, aligning well with traditional valuation methods that prioritize ongoing dividends. The rising interest in staking, especially in the context of yield-generating assets, is evident in the growth of liquid staking, which enables frictionless and capital-efficient staking. This trend accelerated further in 2024 with the emergence of liquid restaking — for instance, ether.fi, a leading liquid restaking platform, saw explosive growth last year, with over $8 billion worth of ether staked through its rails.The total amount of staked ether is expected to grow and play a significant role in DeFi. Around one-third of all ETH — or $90 billion — is staked, with further inflows anticipated from traditional financial institutions exploring staking. As staking becomes more accessible through FinTech applications, some investors may transition from custodial to non-custodial solutions as they gain a deeper understanding of blockchain technology.Global demand for U.S. dollar exposure is immense, and stablecoins are the most efficient way to meet it. Stablecoins like USDC expand access to dollar-denominated wealth preservation and streamline value exchange. In 2024, venture capital investments have flowed into stablecoin projects, and we anticipate further development in this space. Regulatory frameworks like the EU’s MiCA have provided more explicit guidelines, further legitimizing stablecoins and likely driving higher adoption next year. Additionally, stablecoins are being integrated into traditional financial systems. For example, Visa has begun using USDC on networks like Solana to facilitate faster and more efficient payments. Additionally, PayPal entered the market with PUSD, and Stripe made one of crypto’s most significant acquisitions by purchasing Bridge to expand its stablecoin operations. In 2024, the total stablecoin market capitalization reached an all-time high, exceeding $200 billion dollars, and continuing to set new records in 2025.A key challenge in DeFi is moving funds across networks to access different investments. By 2025, significant progress is anticipated toward eliminating the necessity of bridging funds by introducing a "one-click solution." This development should simplify the process for new DeFi users, likely attracting more participants to the space. Additionally, wallet providers are expected to improve the security of on-chain finance and streamline the onboarding process by eliminating cumbersome crypto-native setups. This shift, driven by innovations like the Account Abstraction movement, aims to make crypto more accessible and user-friendly for accessing on-chain finance. Currently, the irreversible nature of transactions and the prevalence of sophisticated scams deter many new users. However, improved security features should encourage more individuals to engage with decentralized finance.While simply holding bitcoin on its native network isn’t inherently linked to on-chain finance, we’re witnessing a growing integration of bitcoin with decentralized financial ecosystems. For example, roughly 0.5% of bitcoin’s total supply through staking protocol Babylon is now locked to secure Proof-of-Stake (POS) chains. The increased acceptance of bitcoin by large banks and some governments is anticipated to create trickle-down effects, changing the public’s perception of digital currencies away from being seen purely as a speculative asset or illicit activities toward being a legitimate financial instrument, bringing new users on-chain.Marcin Kaźmierczak, COO, Redstone Oracles SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin 122 may encourage banks to integrate digital assets into the regulated financial system. By opening competition, banks can compete with centralized exchanges. Banks can offer services like bitcoin-backed lending, staking and custodial services, which treat digital assets more like traditional assets.This is a positive move into a more flexible regulatory approach and balancing investor protections with the operational realities of financial institutions.From institutional investment to mainstream recognition, this is another major shift in how the world views and interacts with digital assets. The accumulation by sovereign wealth funds, and pension funds is just getting started.Mubadala Investment Company PJSC (the wealth fund owned by the government of Abu Dhabi) holds $436 million in one bitcoin ETF with overall assets under management of $302 billion. Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund (AIDA) manages a combined $1.7 trillion, indicating that their bitcoin investment is a relatively small portion of the overall portfolio.Additionally, this past fall, Mubadala offered to acquire Canadian asset management firm CI Financial Corp. for $4.6 billion.In the U.S., the State of Wisconsin Investment Board’s latest report shows its bitcoin ETF holdings have more than doubled from last quarter to over $321 million. Recent Q4 2024 SEC filings reveal that Canadian Schedule 1 banks, institutional money managers, pension funds and sovereign wealth funds have disclosed significant bitcoin holdings (see charts).Notably, Bank of Montreal now tops Canadian banks with $139 million in spot bitcoin ETF investments. And BMO’s bitcoin holdings went from zero to over $100 million in a single year.Currently, in North America, there are approximately 1,623 large entities holding over $25.8 billion in bitcoin ETPs.-announced plansLinkedIn postannounced
On February 28th, according to CryptoSlate, the Russian central bank has indefinitely postponed the full launch of its digital ruble project. The Russian central bank has started testing digital currencies since August 2023, conducting a limited pilot program. The plan involves 12 banks and approximately 600 employees, testing wallet functions, transfers, and automatic payments. The company has also explored using digital rubles for transactions, with initial plans to achieve wider adoption by July 2025. However, the launch plan has been postponed and no new timetable has been announced. The Russian government has decided to extend the pilot phase to further improve the technical aspects and allow banks to evaluate the economic model. Elvira Nabiullina, the Governor of the Russian Central Bank, reportedly confirmed the extension, emphasizing that the additional time will help financial institutions adopt models suitable for their clients. She also emphasized that delaying the launch is to ensure that the digital ruble benefits all stakeholders.
BlockBeats news, on February 27th, BRN analyst Valentin Fournier stated that "US President Donald Trump's announcement of a possible 25% tariff on European goods has reignited investor fear, causing the cryptocurrency fear and greed index to drop to 10, in an area of extreme fear. Although some people are concerned about the beginning of a bear market, history shows that a 25% pullback is common during bull cycles, and the efforts of the United States to establish national cryptocurrency reserves remain an important long-term catalyst. We maintain a bullish stance and expect the market to rebound before the end of this week. We will continue to increase our holdings of Solana and remain neutral on BTC and ETH (The Block)
According to Cointelegraph, Chainalysis' 2025 "Crypto Crime Report" shows that crypto crime has entered a specialized era dominated by AI driven scams, stablecoin money laundering, and efficient network groups, with illegal transactions reaching $51 billion in the past year, breaking previous records. Preliminary estimates indicate that there will be a decrease in cryptocurrency crime by 2024. But deeper analysis suggests that this is not the case: criminals have adopted advanced money laundering techniques, relying on stablecoins, DeFi, and artificial intelligence driven deception to create the illusion of reduced crime.