Crypto’s Biggest Deal Ever, Meta to take Stablecoins to Billions and Game-Changing Tech Moves

👋 Welcome to PayFi Weekly by Transak! Your no-fluff download of everything shaking up the world of crypto payments, stablecoins, and on-chain finance.

👀 This week, TradFi and DeFi blur even further...Coinbase's $2.9B deal, Meta exploring stablecoin integration, Visa backs a $12B stablecoin startup,Stripe rewrites business banking for crypto, and senators are drawing new red lines around crypto endorsements.

🏛️ Regulation

⚖️ Senators propose crypto promotion ban. Democratic senators introduced the End Crypto Corruption Act to prohibit presidents and senior officials from promoting or investing in cryptocurrencies. Learn more about the proposal

🔍 Man sentenced for funding ISIS with crypto! Mohammed Azharuddin Chhipa received a 30-year prison sentence for using cryptocurrency to fund ISIS activities, including aiding female members in escaping Syrian prisons. Details on the sentencing

🏛️ BlackRock discusses crypto ETPs with SEC. BlackRock met with the SEC's Crypto Task Force to discuss incorporating staking into crypto exchange-traded products and tokenizing securities. Learn more about the discussions

🏝️ Tinian stablecoin bill revived! The Northern Mariana Islands Senate overrode a veto, advancing a bill to authorize Tinian's USD-pegged stablecoin, MUSD, backed by cash and Treasuries. Read more in the full article

🌍 Adoption

🚀 Meta Eyes Stablecoin Partner to Bring Crypto to Billions. Mark Zuckerberg is quietly planning to integrate crypto support across Meta’s platforms, a move that could onboard billions of users into digital assets. Read the full story on Forbes

🇺🇸 Nexo and seven others reenter the U.S. market! Crypto services platform Nexo announced its return to the U.S., marking the eighth major crypto firm to expand stateside this year, owing to a favorable regulatory environment under the current administration. Discover more about the expansions

🏥 Wellgistics adopts XRP for pharmacy payments! Florida-based Wellgistics is integrating XRP for payments and treasury reserves across its U.S. pharmacy network, backed by a $50 million credit facility. Explore the full story

🌱 Bhutan bets on Bitcoin and hydropower! Bhutan's sovereign wealth fund has quietly invested in BTC mining, using the nation's abundant hydropower for sustainable operations. Explore the details here

🤝 Technology & Partnerships

🔄 Ledger Live adds Transak off-ramp! Ledger Live now supports Transak’s off-ramp feature, enabling users to convert crypto to fiat directly within the app. Discover more about this integration

💳 Visa invests in stablecoin platform BVNK. Visa has made a strategic investment in London-based BVNK, a startup specializing in stablecoin payment infrastructure for businesses. BVNK processes $12 billion in annual stablecoin transactions and plans to expand into the U.S. market. Read the full article

🌐 Stripe launches stablecoin financial accounts. Stripe has unveiled new stablecoin-powered financial accounts, enabling businesses to hold and distribute payments globally on cryptocurrency rails. Read more here

💥In Spotlight: Coinbase Makes Big Derivatives Bet with $2.9B Deribit Deal

Coinbase just dropped a whale-sized move, striking the biggest deal in crypto history by acquiring Deribit.

They’ve agreed to acquire Deribit, world’s leading Bitcoin and Ethereum options exchange, in a $2.9 billion deal.

🧠 Here’s the backstory. Derivatives (options, futures, perpetuals) have exploded in the last couple of years, way more volume than spot trading. Coinbase was late to this party… but now? They're buying the whole damn house.

📍 Deribit processed $1.2T in trading volume in 2024 and is based in Dubai, where the regulatory climate is much more welcoming for crypto derivatives. Smart move.

💬 So what’s next? This gives Coinbase a significant edge in serving institutional players, diversifying its revenue, and competing with global giants like Binance.

📈 Fun fact: COIN stock jumped 5.2% on the news. Investors are paying attention.

🚀 Read the Official Announcement

🧩 Everything Else

📈 Bitcoin nears record high on trade optimism! Bitcoin surged to $101,329 after the U.S. and China reached a trade agreement, easing tariff tensions and boosting investor confidence. Explore the full story

🔐 Ledger secures Discord after phishing attack. Ledger's Discord server was compromised when a moderator's account was hacked, leading to phishing links aimed at stealing users' seed phrases. The company has since secured the channel and implemented additional safeguards to prevent future breaches. Read the details

🚀 Ethereum eyes $10K amid bullish signals! Ethereum's price rebounded over 44%, surpassing $2,600, with analysts citing bullish fractals and strength over SOL and XRP. Technical patterns suggest a potential rally towards $10,000 if current momentum continues. Discover more about the price action