Crypto’s barbell; speculation and stablecoin payments won users, Tempo’s Romero says

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — After years of experimentation, today’s cryptocurrencies have boiled down to two core uses: transactions and payments. Speaking during a fireside chat at Consensus 2026 in Miami, Dan Romero, Tempo’s head of marketing, said the industry is forming a “barbell” between speculative trading such as the Hyperliquid market on the one hand…

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Man charged in US with stealing $450 million from Mexican billionaire in loan scheme

A man with multiple aliases used the names of the prominent Astor family to defraud a Mexican billionaire of approximately $450 million through a phony stock-backed loan scheme, according to a newly unsealed U.S. indictment and other court records. Federal prosecutors allege that 63-year-old Vladimir Sklarov, also known as Gregory Mitchell and Mark Simon Bentley,…

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State Street says institutions want improved blockchain security in wake of recent DeFi attacks

Large traditional financial firms need guardrails in the world of blockchain-based assets, especially given that decentralized finance (DeFi) remains so vulnerable to hacks and losses, the head of digital assets at custodial banking giant State Street said on Tuesday at the Consensus conference in Miami. What’s still fresh in people’s minds is that last month…

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Kraken eyes IPO as it partners with MoneyGram to bridge crypto-to-cash gap

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Payward and Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said cryptocurrency exchanges are “about 80% ready” to go public, underscoring the company’s IPO ambitions as it forges a new partnership with MoneyGram aimed at solving the “last mile” problem for cryptocurrencies. Sethi, who spoke at the Consensus Conference in Miami alongside MoneyGram Chairman and…

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