Blockchain-based payments network Ripple announced it has acquired crypto-friendly prime broker Hidden Road in one of the largest mergers in the cryptocurrency industry to date. Ripple is acquiring Hidden Road in a $1.25 billion deal, the company officially announced on April 8. The deal will make Ripple the first crypto firm to own and operate a global,…

Dubai’s real estate and crypto regulatory authorities have signed a new agreement aimed at expanding digital asset adoption in the real estate sector. On April 6, the Dubai Land Department (DLD) announced an agreement with the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). According to the announcement, the agreement will link Dubai’s real estate registry with property tokenization through…

The Mantra blockchain network has launched a $108,888,888 ecosystem fund aimed at accelerating the growth of startups focused on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and decentralized finance (DeFi), amid rising demand for stable, asset-backed digital products. Mantra, a layer-1 (L1) blockchain built for tokenized RWAs, launched the Mantra Ecosystem Fund (MEF) to accelerate the growth and adoption of…

China’s response to America’s sweeping trade tariffs could result in capital flight to Bitcoin and crypto, according to BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes. “If not the Fed [Federal Reserve], then the PBOC [People’s Bank of China] will give us the Yahtzee ingredients,” said Hayes on X on April 8 in reference to the catalyst needed to…

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has released the list of executives from US crypto and finance giants that will take part in a roundtable discussion on crypto trading regulation. On April 7, the regulator said its upcoming April 11 roundtable will discuss how it should handle crypto trading rules, calling it “Between a Block and a…

The Bitcoin network hashrate has topped 1 Zetahash per second (ZH/s) for the first time in Bitcoin’s 16-year history, according to several blockchain data sources. Bitcoin’s hashrate crossed the milestone on April 5 at a peak of 1.025 ZH/s, according to mempool.space data, while BTC Frame data said it hit 1.02 ZH/s a day earlier. Data from Coinwarz says…