Agents Get TradFi and Crypto Infra
gm, Defiers!
TL;DR
- Visa launches AI shopping infra
- WH report says banks’ stablecoin yield concerns are overblown
- Securitize tokenizes Currenc Group’s shares
- Why Now Is the Best Time to Stake ETH on Rocket Pool [SPONSORED]
Let’s dive in.
Crypto markets are seeing a muted rally today on the rapidly changing geopolitical landscape around the ongoing war in the Middle East. Markets broadly surged starting last night when news broke that the U.S. and Iran had reached a two-week ceasefire deal, but the momentum tapered off into today after Iran said Israel violated the terms of the deal with its continued attacks on Lebanon.
Conflicting reports around the current status of the strait of Hormuz are adding to the confusion, while market sentiment remains in the “extreme fear” zone.
On the crypto news front, agents and stablecoins dominated headlines today. From the TradFi side, Visa announced its own infra for AI agent-powered e-commerce, Intelligent Commerce. Today also saw new on-chain infra for agents, with Biconomy unveiling a new execution standard for agents, ERC-8211, co-developed with the Ethereum Foundation.
In stablecoin news, the FDIC board of directors approved a proposed rule related to the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin-focused legislation that passed into law last year. Also today, the White House Council of Economic Advisers released a report on the issue of stablecoin yield, which has become a major sticking point between the crypto and banking industries in passage of a broader crypto market structure bill. The study found that banks’ concerns about competition from stablecoin yield were broadly overblown, saying deposit flight concerns related to stablecoin yield are "quantitatively small."
Finally, Securitize announced that it will tokenize the Currenc Group’s ordinary shares on Ethereum and Solana.
Read more below! But first, please give our sponsors some love; they make this newsletter possible.
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We’re back! Here’s what you need to know in web3 today
📈 Markets in the Past 24 Hours
| TICKER | VALUE | 24H | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Bitcoin | $71,742 | 4.51 % |
 | Ethereum | $2,227.64 | 6.30 % |
 | XRP | $1.36 | 3.92 % |
 | BNB | $606.82 | 0.42 % |
 | Solana | $83.84 | 4.65 % |
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🎬WATCH
The DeFi Exploit That Exposed a Bigger Problem
In this episode of The Defiant Podcast, Cami sits down with Omer Goldberg, founder of Chaos Labs.
A new DeFi exploit triggered millions in losses, but the deeper story is about risk. Goldberg explains how the attack unfolded, why the damage spread across lending markets, what vault curators got wrong, and whether DeFi is truly ready for mainstream adoption.
Watch the full interview:
Top News in the Past 24 Hours
Biconomy, Ethereum Foundation Unveil Execution Standard for AI Agents
Blockchain infrastructure company Biconomy has unveiled ERC-8211, an execution standard for on-chain AI agents, co-developed with the Ethereum Foundation.
Why it matters: On-chain AI agents are increasingly capable of executing complex DeFi strategies, but devs say a shared on-chain execution layer was lacking.
Deposit Flight Concerns Over Stablecoin Yield Are 'Quantitatively Small': White House Report
A White House Council of Economic Advisers study released Wednesday concludes that banning stablecoin yield would have minimal impact on bank lending and would harm consumers.
Why it matters: The question of stablecoin yield for U.S. consumers has been a major bone of contention between representatives of the banking and crypto industries, as banks see the possibility as competition for deposits.
Securitize Partners with Currenc Group to Tokenize Shares on Ethereum and Solana
Securitize announced a partnership with Currenc Group (Nasdaq: CURR) to tokenize the company's ordinary shares on Ethereum and Solana.
Why it matters: Securitize was recently named the first digital transfer agent in the NYSE's on-chain securities initiative.
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