Circle has joined the Agentic AI Foundation

Anchorage acquires Strategy 11.25% perpetual preferred stock with a 11.25% return, Bitcoin reserve strategy supported by banking institutions

On February 25, the cryptocurrency company Anchorage Digital, which has obtained a U.S. banking license, announced that its balance sheet now holds perpetual preferred shares of Bitcoin asset management firm Strategy. This move is seen as an important signal of institutional capital structuring around the Bitcoin ecosystem. CEO Nathan McCauley stated that this is a form of "belief compound effect," meaning that institutions are no longer just holding Bitcoin but are further investing in related infrastructure and asset management businesses. Subsequently, Strategy Chairman Michael Saylor responded by saying "belief is contagious," implying that more institutions may follow suit by allocating to its income-generating preferred stock products, thereby strengthening capital linkage among institutions around Bitcoin asset strategies. This investment is viewed as a direct endorsement of Strategy's Bitcoin asset management model and also reflects that institutional investors are participating in Bitcoin's long-term value layout through multi-layer structures such as equity and preferred shares.

Metalpha, Exos Financial, and BlockchainK2 plan to establish a joint venture to expand the institutional digital asset market in the United States

Hong Kong asset management company Metalpha has signed a memorandum of understanding with Exos Financial and BlockchainK2 to establish a joint venture focused on providing compliant digital asset solutions for institutional clients in the United States, including OTC derivatives, crypto investment strategies, and securities-linked trading.

Stripe in talks to acquire PayPal! Bloomberg: Both parties have held preliminary acquisition negotiations

Payment processing company Stripe is considering acquiring all or part of its competitor PayPal Holdings, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Stripe announced a tender offer valuation of $159 billion on the same day, while PayPal's stock price has fallen about 85% from its peak in 2021. Bloomberg noted that negotiations are still in the early stages and no deal is guaranteed to be reached.

After six years of setbacks, Meta's ambitions for stablecoins have taken a new turn

Meta plans to re-enter the stablecoin market in the second half of the year with a more cautious approach, opting not to issue stablecoins themselves but to seek third-party technical support. This move reflects lessons learned from the Libra failure and adapts to the new regulatory environment. The restructuring of cryptocurrency regulation in the United States offers the possibility of compliant operations, while the social platform's inherent payment scenarios also make a closed-loop payment system feasible.

Mastercard hires "Cryptocurrency Fund Flow Director"! Stablecoins threaten credit card revenue

Mastercard hired a "Director of Crypto Money Flows" on February 24, with responsibilities covering stablecoin-linked card issuance, DeFi payment expansion, and Web3 network protocol upgrades. Citrini Research's AI doomsday report warns that AI agents will bypass credit card transactions through stablecoins.