Crypto Weekly Roundup: Ethereum Pectra Upgrade Goes Live, Meta Mulls Stablecoins, & More

This last week we saw Ethereum rolling out its Pectra upgrade to enhance staking and scalability. Furthermore, Meta is revisiting crypto with stablecoin plans, as institutional interest in altcoins, tokenized real estate, and Web3 projects accelerates. Meanwhile, regulators remain active, with Arizona creating a Bitcoin reserve and the SEC postponing a decision on a Litecoin ETF. Let’s find out more.

Bitcoin

Bhutan has partnered with Binance Pay and DK Bank to launch the world's first national crypto-based tourism system that will allow travellers with Binance accounts to pay for services like hotels and tickets using over 100 crypto assets. 

Ethereum

The Ethereum blockchain has officially launched its Pectra upgrade, introducing a suite of changes designed to enhance staking capabilities, improve user experience, and significantly boost scalability. 

Business

Meta is reportedly revisiting its cryptocurrency ambitions, exploring stablecoin integrations for payment services across its platforms after a three-year retreat from the sector.

Alex Mashinsky, the former chief executive of defunct crypto lending platform Celsius, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for his role in a sweeping fraud that contributed to the platform’s collapse and inflicted billions in losses on investors. 

Two major players in the digital asset investment space, Bitwise and 21Shares, have made fresh moves to diversify beyond flagship cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, signaling growing institutional interest in layer-1 protocols and platform tokens.

Japanese investment firm Metaplanet has further strengthened its position in the cryptocurrency market, acquiring an additional 555 Bitcoin for approximately $53.4 million.  

Web3

KuCoin Pay and WLTG, founded by football legend Patrice Evra, have announced a groundbreaking partnership that blends blockchain, AI, and social impact to empower fans worldwide through seamless crypto payments, AI-driven fan engagement, and a global Pay It Forward movement.

MyDoge, the development team behind DogeOS, has announced the successful capital raise of $6.9 million to expand the DogeOS ecosystem in a funding round led by Polychain Capital, a premier investment firm focused on Web 3 projects.

Mavryk Dynamics has secured an agreement with investment firms MAG and Multibank Group that will see $3B of tokenized real estate issued on Mavryk Network, giving serious momentum as the Layer 1 chain gets up to speed.

The blockchain composability startup Enso is collaborating with cross-chain interoperability protocols Stargate Finance and LayerZero to ensure liquidity flow from Ethereum into Uniswap’s dedicated Layer-2 network, Unichain.

Regulation

Representatives from BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, met with officials from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to seek regulatory guidance and clarity on staking, tokenization, and approval frameworks for exchange-traded products (ETPs).

Arizona has officially established a state-managed Bitcoin and Digital Assets Reserve after Governor Katie Hobbs signed House Bill 2749 into law to convert profits from unclaimed financial property into Bitcoin and other digital assets.

The SEC has delayed its decision on whether to approve a proposed spot Litecoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) from Canary Funds.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice