Paxos’ Global Dollar stablecoin, USDG, has begun issuing on Arbitrum, expanding the stablecoin’s footprint as Arbitrum positions itself as a settlement and tokenization platform for onchain finance. According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, USDG is now natively issued on Arbitrum One and integrated with DeFi protocols including Fluid, Morpho, GMX, and Maple. Kraken will handle deposits and withdrawals, while Stargate will support transfers between Arbitrum and other blockchains. Key takeaways USDG is now issued on Arbitrum One, with DeFi integrations spanning Fluid, Morpho, GMX, and Maple. Transfers across networks will be supported via Stargate, while Kraken will manage deposit and withdrawal rails. An ArbitrumDAO proposal would earmark 100 million ARB for incentives tied to USDG adoption and growth. Arbitrum will share in rewards generated by USDG activity through the Global Dollar Network partnership. Arbitrum already holds about $4 billion in stablecoins, an...

Raoul Pal, founder of Real Vision, argues that crypto’s next leg higher may depend less on idiosyncratic token catalysts and more on macro liquidity conditions—particularly the US dollar and US bond yields. In a recent episode of Cointelegraph’s Trade Secrets , Pal said the dollar’s strength and higher yields are keeping liquidity from moving freely into risk assets, including digital currencies. Pal also highlighted an increasingly important cross-asset dynamic: capital has been competing between crypto and AI equities. He believes a “pause” in AI trading—rather than a full-blown downturn—could help rotate funds back into the crypto market. At the same time, he expects the growth of AI agents to favor smart-contract platforms such as Ethereum and Solana over Bitcoin for a portion of the resulting economic activity. Key takeaways Raoul Pal links crypto momentum to macro liquidity: a weaker US dollar could provide a “green light” for further market movement. Bond yields and the str...

Ethereum’s Glamsterdam upgrade has officially gone live on the Sepolia test network, marking a late-stage rehearsal ahead of a broader rollout to the network’s next environments and, ultimately, mainnet. According to blockchain data from the Sepolia Blockscout explorer, Glamsterdam launched on Tuesday at 1:53 pm UTC (epoch 353,024). The upgrade is part of Ethereum’s ongoing layer-1 scaling roadmap, and the Ethereum Foundation outlined its goals in a Sept. 28 blog post. Key takeaways Glamsterdam is now running on Sepolia at epoch 353,024, continuing Ethereum’s staged testnet-to-mainnet upgrade plan. The upgrade’s core protocol changes include enshrined proposer-builder separation (EIP-7732) and block-level access lists (EIP-7928). EIP-7732 is designed to improve block production and validation by more cleanly separating roles and reducing validation bottlenecks. EIP-7928 adds block-level access lists to support more efficient parallel state access and validation. After develop...

Prediction market platform Polymarket has started rolling out “Protocol V2,” a smart contract overhaul aimed at making it easier to launch new types of markets and, eventually, expand beyond its current Polygon deployment. The upgrade begins with a limited test on live markets, with a planned switch to V2 for new markets in early November. According to a post on X by Rajath Alex, Polymarket’s head of protocol, the company is moving to a redesigned smart contract system meant to support multiple market formats through a single exchange layer rather than requiring separate infrastructure each time market mechanics evolve. The upgrade replaces older code from 2019 that reportedly relied on additional contracts for new market types. Key takeaways Polymarket began deploying Protocol V2 on Monday, initially for a small set of live markets, with new-market migration targeted for Nov. 2. The new system is designed around pUSD as the sole collateral token and consolidates functionality into...

Blockchain investigator ZachXBT says a Chinese organized crime network helped launder more than $1 billion stolen in multiple crypto exploits tied to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. The claim comes from an investigation that ZachXBT conducted by infiltrating an alleged money-laundering operation in February 2025, shortly after a major Bybit hack. In an Oct. 5 post on X, ZachXBT described how he posed as a paying client to gain access to the laundering pipeline. He said he provided $349,700 in stablecoins and accepted a 5% loss on each order to build trust with an operator known as “Jimmy Green.” ZachXBT also said information from the laundering network helped him identify a cluster of more than $12 million linked to Bybit, and that Tether later froze $442,000 in associated USDt. Key takeaways ZachXBT alleges a Chinese intermediary network laundered over $1 billion stolen by Lazarus Group across multiple exploits. The investigation described an infiltration attempt that ZachXBT said be...

Bitcoin’s position with traders may look calm on the charts, but the on-chain activity around one of the biggest liquidity hubs has been anything but. According to new analysis from CryptoQuant, Binance has seen its largest Bitcoin withdrawals in more than three years, with net outflows topping 23,000 BTC in the fourth week of September. The same report also points to a second, potentially complementary trend: whale-linked entities have been sending more stablecoin capital to Binance—stability that traders often treat as “dry powder” for future buying. Together, the data suggests accumulation behavior off-exchange while liquidity reserves on-exchange rise. Key takeaways CryptoQuant data shows Binance recorded net Bitcoin outflows of 23,137 BTC in the seven days through Sept. 27—its biggest weekly outflow since June 2023. Binance’s total BTC reserves have fallen by nearly 40,000 BTC since Sept. 20, aligning with the outflow surge. CryptoQuant links the outflow trend with improved ...

OKX has begun rolling out OKX Money , a stablecoin savings and payments app designed for users in parts of Latin America, Africa, South Asia and the Middle East. The exchange said the program can pay eligible customers an annual percentage yield (APY) of up to 10% on certain USDG balances, with rewards delivered without staking or lockups. In a rollout that is taking place market by market , OKX said it is adapting the launch to local legal and regulatory requirements. The company has not yet disclosed which specific countries are included in the initial phases. Key takeaways OKX Money combines fiat-to-stablecoin onboarding, balance holding, and payments via virtual or physical cards. Eligible users may earn up to 10% APY on certain USDG balances, with no staking or time lock required. The app supports deposits in 50+ currencies , converting funds into dollar-backed stablecoins for account balances. OKX will roll out functionality by jurisdiction , and rates/eligibility v...