Singapore-based payments firm dtcpay has closed a $25 million Series A funding round, bringing in Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India as the lead investor and adding further backing from SBI Group , the Japanese financial conglomerate. The round—completed after dtcpay’s initial April fundraising—also included participation from Genedant Capital and existing investor Kwee Liong Tek . dtcpay positioned the funding as a step toward making stablecoin payments feel as routine as conventional financial rails, stating that it aims to improve how money is moved across borders. In a statement shared with the public, the company said the strategic investment reflects institutional confidence in that direction, with dtcpay’s CEO and founder Alice Liu describing the raise as intended to transform cross-border payments rather than simply maintain the current business momentum. Key takeaways dtcpay completed a $25 million Series A , led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India . ...

Singapore-based payment firm dtcpay has closed a $25 million Series A funding round, initially led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India and now bolstered by an additional anchor from Japan’s SBI Group. The company says the investment underscores growing institutional interest in stablecoin payments that aim to work with everyday finance instead of sitting on the margins of crypto. dtcpay previously secured the Series A’s initial tranche in April, and the final round now includes participation from Genedant Capital and existing investor Kwee Liong Tek. In a company statement released Friday, dtcpay positioned the funding as a step toward making cross-border value transfers as frictionless as traditional payments. Key takeaways dtcpay has completed its $25 million Series A round, with SBI Group joining as a strategic anchor investor. Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India led the April portion of the raise, with additional participation from Genedant Capital and existing...

Dragonfly managing partner Haseeb Qureshi has urged the Zcash community to wind down the protocol’s ZEC development fund after it expires under current rules in 2028, arguing the fund has grown large enough to cover remaining work while also becoming increasingly vulnerable to “politicization” as its size nears $100 million. The proposal lands amid a broader internal debate over how (and whether) the development fund should be controlled—an issue that has intensified as the ZEC token’s rally boosted the fund’s value. At press time, ZecStats reported the fund held 63,962 Zcash (ZEC) tokens, worth roughly $95 million. Key takeaways Haseeb Qureshi argues the Zcash development fund should be treated as a final “dev fund,” ending when it expires in 2028. Based on ZecStats data, the fund’s balance is about $95 million and sits outside circulation until governance disburses it. Supporters say the fund is crucial for sustained development amid fast-evolving threats, including AI and quan...

Ethereum’s push to speed up block production is gaining sharper backing from within the institutional community, as Ethereum Institutional (a non-profit) publicly endorsed Ethlabs’ effort to reduce Ethereum block times. The group argued that faster blocks are increasingly necessary as more institutional activity moves onchain. The momentum also comes amid broader industry experimentation: other networks have already moved to shorten their slot or block targets, framing the changes around latency, confirmations, and competitiveness. Key takeaways Ethereum Institutional backed Ethlabs’ motion to reduce Ethereum block times, saying “more institutional activity moves onchain” and requires Ethereum to be faster. Ethlabs points to support from 20 DeFi founders for EIP-8198 (“Quick Slots”), targeting an initial reduction in block time from 12 seconds to 10 seconds. Network-level speed initiatives are underway elsewhere, including Zcash’s approval for a faster target block time and Solan...

Binance is extending its derivatives lineup into foreign exchange with the launch of 24/7 perpetual futures, starting with a U.S. dollar–Brazilian real contract. The new product, the USDBRLUSDT perpetual, begins trading on Monday, according to a Binance announcement published Friday. Unlike traditional FX venues that pause over weekends, Binance says the contract will trade continuously using a dual-mode pricing approach. During standard FX hours, the contract’s pricing will reference a weighted index compiled from third-party data providers, while on weekends and public holidays Binance will switch to an orderbook-based method designed to keep prices aligned with on-exchange supply and demand. Key takeaways Binance will launch 24/7 FX perpetual futures with a US dollar–Brazilian real contract (USDBRLUSDT), starting Monday, with settlement in USDT. The contract uses a dual pricing system: an indexed feed during regular FX hours, and an orderbook-based mechanism over weekends and pu...

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan changed his view after the Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act. He now sees the setback as temporary rather than a threat to the crypto rally. His revised case rests on market strength, institutional activity, and federal rulemaking. Bitcoin Supports Hougan After CLARITY Act Setback Bitcoin became the main evidence behind Hougan’s change because its rally continued while passage expectations weakened. Bitwise data shows Bitcoin bottomed near $57,950 on July 1 and later moved above $80,000 on September 4. Meanwhile, Polymarket odds for 2026 passage fell from 39% to 18% during the same period. That divergence weakened Hougan’s earlier argument that failed legislation could stall the crypto bull cycle. He had previously linked regulatory progress with stronger market confidence and warned that declining passage odds could pressure prices. However, Bitcoin advanced for much of the period even as the bill’s political path deteriorated. The Senate rejected clotur...

Binance is pushing deeper into traditional finance-inspired trading by launching foreign exchange (FX) perpetual futures that are designed to trade around the clock. The exchange will start with a US dollar–Brazilian real contract, priced and settled in crypto—highlighting how major venues are trying to capture demand for currency exposure beyond conventional market hours. Binance said the new USDBRLUSDT perpetual will go live on Sept. 21 and settle in USDT. The contract is positioned as a 24/7 offering, with up to 100x leverage, and uses a dual-mode pricing approach to mimic FX market continuity when global trading desks are typically closed. Key takeaways Binance will launch a USDBRLUSDT 24/7 FX perpetual futures contract on Sept. 21, settling in USDT. The product uses two different pricing methods: index-based pricing during normal FX hours and an orderbook-based mechanism on weekends and public holidays. Binance aims to extend “price discovery” for currency pairs outside trad...