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Ripple has partnered with African payment infrastructure provider Chipper Cash to support crypto-enabled cross-border payments.

According to a March 27 announcement, Chipper Cash will use Ripple Payments for its cross-border transactions as part of the deal. The companies said the partnership is designed to offer faster, cheaper and more efficient settlements.

Reece Merrick, Ripple’s managing director for Middle East and Africa, said that the partnership is an important step in the firm’s expansion in the region. He also highlighted that African consumers and businesses “are increasingly recognizing the potential of blockchain technology.”

Related: XRP ETF ‘obvious’ as Polymarket bettors up approval odds to 85%

The collaboration comes as blockchain adoption continues to grow across Africa, particularly in the remittance and payments sectors. A recent report from Chainalysis found that stablecoins now make up nearly half of all transaction volume in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Similarly, a late 2024 report suggested that a number of emerging economies across Africa have the potential to become digital asset hubs. Merrick said:

“By integrating our technology into Chipper Cash’s platform, we’re enabling faster, more affordable cross-border payments while driving economic growth and innovation across the markets they serve.”

Growing blockchain adoption in remittances

The Ripple executive further highlighted that as the remittance market grows, many companies decide to adopt blockchain technology for the increased operational efficiency that it allows. Chipper Cash co-founder and CEO Ham Serunjogi said the implementation of crypto in the industry has far-reaching consequences in Africa.

“Crypto-enabled payments have the potential to enable greater financial inclusion, accelerate access to global markets, and empower businesses and individuals across Africa,” he said.

Serunjogi further explained that, by integrating Ripple, Chipper Cash was able to allow its customers “to receive payments faster and at lower cost.” The partnership also expands on Ripple’s 2023 Onafriq deal, using the firm’s infrastructure to process payments between 27 African countries and Australia, the United Kingdom and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Ripple moves forward

In March, Ripple also secured a Dubai license to offer cryptocurrency-powered payments in the United Arab Emirates. The company will also likely step up its activities following its recent win against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said at the time that the decision “provides a lot of certainty for Ripple.” He added:

“We now are in the driver’s seat to determine how we want to proceed.”

Ripple and Chipper Cash had not responded to Cointelegraph’s inquiry by publication time.

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Major stablecoin issuer, Tether, invested 10 million euros ($10.8 million) in Italian media company Be Water.

According to a March 27 announcement, Tether acquired a 30.4% stake in Rome-based Media Water. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the company recognized “the importance of independent media in shaping informed societies.”

“Our investment in Be Water aligns with our vision to support technology-driven innovation across industries,” Ardoino added.

Related: Tether seeks Big Four firm for its first full financial audit — Report

According to its LinkedIn page, Be Water is an Italian producer and distributor of films, documentaries and series that address modern social issues as well as journalism.

The company’s executive chairman, Guido Maria Brera, said that the firm’s objective is to be “capable of producing and distributing content across multiple platforms — podcasting, film, television and live events — with a strong, diverse and independent voice.” He added:

“With Tether’s entry and the technological expertise of Paolo Ardoino, we have the opportunity to accelerate our growth and expand our reach both in Italy and globally.”

Significant changes for Be Water

Following the deal, Be Water’s board of directors will be restructured to include Ardoino and Tether chief operating officer Claudia Lagorio. The company plans to use the capital to upgrade its digital infrastructure and expand its content production and distribution capabilities.

The company will also expand the investigative journalism departments of the Italian podcast platform Chora Media and social media news organization Will Media.

Related: Tether’s US treasury holdings surpass Canada, Taiwan, and ranks 7th globally

Tether keeps investing

According to its announcement, Tether saw profits exceeding $13 billion in 2024, with its US Treasury holdings surpassing $113 billion, fueling the firm’s ongoing investment drive.

In February, Tether acquired a majority stake in Juventus FC, a major Series A football club based in Turin, Italy. During the same month, the stablecoin operator sought to acquire a majority stake in South American agribusiness firm Adecoagro.

Some of those investments have already started paying off. Rumble, the video platform in which Tether invested $775 million in late 2024, recently announced the launch of its wallet for content creator payments with support for Tether’s USDt (USDT) stablecoin.

Tether and Paolo Ardoino had not responded to Cointelegraph’s inquiry by publication time.

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BlackRock’s new European Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) is a major step for Bitcoin’s institutional adoption in Europe, though analysts expect lower inflows than its US counterpart.

The iShares Bitcoin ETP, managed by the world’s largest asset manager, began trading on March 25 on Xetra, Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Paris.

While the launch marks a significant step in bringing Bitcoin (BTC) exposure to European investors, analysts at Bitfinex said the product is unlikely to match the success of the US-based iShares Bitcoin Trust exchange-traded fund (ETF), which has seen strong demand from institutional and retail investors.

“The US spot Bitcoin ETFs benefited from pent-up institutional demand, a deep capital market and significant retail investor participation,” Bitfinex analysts told Cointelegraph, adding:

“The presence of a BlackRock Bitcoin ETP in Europe still represents progress in terms of mainstream adoption, and as regulatory clarity improves, institutional interest could grow over time.”

They added that although Europe’s Bitcoin ETP market may develop at a slower pace, it remains a key part of Bitcoin’s global adoption story.

BlackRock, which oversees more than $11.6 trillion in assets under management, could encourage broader adoption of Bitcoin investment products in Europe and open new pathways for institutional capital to enter the crypto market.

Over in the US, institutional adoption of Bitcoin ETFs surged to over 27% during the second quarter of 2024 when over 262 firms invested in Bitcoin ETFs, Cointelegraph reported on Aug. 16.

Related: BlackRock increases stake in Michael Saylor’s Strategy to 5%

BlackRock’s global reputation may build momentum for European Bitcoin ETP adoption

BlackRock’s global reputation and expertise may “gradually build momentum” for European Bitcoin ETPs, according to Iliya Kalchev, dispatch analyst at digital asset investment platform Nexo.

“Modest inflows shouldn’t be interpreted as a failure but rather as a function of structural differences in the market,” Kalchev told Cointelegraph, adding:

“Long-term success in Europe may depend less on first-week flows and more on consistent access, education and infrastructure — elements BlackRock is well-positioned to deliver.”

While BlackRock’s European fund may not replicate the explosive growth of its US Bitcoin ETF, this should be “seen in context, not as a red flag,” considering the smaller European market’s limited liquidity.

Related: Michael Saylor’s Strategy surpasses 500,000 Bitcoin with latest purchase

BlackRock’s US spot Bitcoin ETF briefly surpassed $58 billion, making it the world’s 31st-largest ETF among both traditional and digital asset funds as US Bitcoin ETFs surpassed $126 billion in cumulative BTC holdings, Cointelegraph reported on Jan. 31.

BlackRock’s ETF currently accounts for over 50.7% of the market share of all spot US Bitcoin ETFs, valued at $49 billion as of March 27, Dune data shows. 

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In the rapidly evolving world of cryptocurrency, regulatory shifts, legal battles and groundbreaking policy proposals are shaping the industry’s future. 

The premiere episode of The Clear Crypto Podcast by Cointelegraph and StarkWare brings in a legal expert specializing in the crypto industry to help shed light on the state of crypto regulation in the US, ongoing enforcement actions and the growing role of Bitcoin in government reserves.

Crypto regulation in flux

With the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under a transformed leadership in the Trump administration, the regulatory landscape is undergoing significant changes. High-profile lawsuits against Coinbase, Consensys, Binance and Tron have either been settled or dropped, signaling a new chapter for the industry.

Cointelegraph head of multimedia Gareth Jenkinson highlighted the importance of these shifts, noting how enforcement actions have played a pivotal role in shaping the industry’s approach to compliance. 

He recalled past conversations with Consensys CEO and Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin saying: 

“If no one took the legal battle to the SEC, the industry just would have been regulated into the ground and it would have just been a wasteland.” 

The recent wave of case closures, including investigations into Uniswap, OpenSea and Gemini, marks a stark departure from the SEC’s previous approach.

Related: SEC dropping XRP case was ‘priced in’ since Trump’s election: Analysts

Lawyers as protectors of innovation

Katherine Kirkpatrick Bos, general counsel at StarkWare, also touched on the crucial role legal professionals play in the space in this pivotal moment. 

“The real value of a crypto lawyer is being dialed in —publishing, analyzing risks, and ensuring companies stay compliant while enabling innovation.”

She underscored the integrity within the crypto legal community, saying, “Most crypto lawyers are here for the right reasons — to protect builders and facilitate growth. Of course, bad actors exist, but the broader industry operates with a high level of integrity.”

Keeping up in a fast-paced industry

With regulatory shifts, legal battles and policy proposals unfolding at an unprecedented pace, staying informed is more challenging than ever. “Three massive news events happened in just three weeks — the Libra memecoin scandal, the Bitcoin reserve proposal, and the Bybit hack,” Jenkinson noted. “In crypto, you can’t sleep. You need a 24-hour news operation to keep up.”

As the US moves toward potential regulatory reforms and institutional adoption of Bitcoin, industry participants must remain vigilant. 

Whether it’s monitoring tax policy changes, tracking enforcement actions or preparing for a Bitcoin-backed financial future, the landscape is shifting rapidly. And for those navigating it, understanding these changes is not just beneficial, it’s essential.

To hear the full conversation on The Clear Crypto Podcast,  listen to the full episode on Cointelegraph’s Podcasts page, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And don’t forget to check out Cointelegraph’s full lineup of other shows! 

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Paolo Ardoino, CEO of stablecoin issuer Tether, said the industry has just entered a new era, marked by an influx of stablecoin solutions from both private companies and governments.

In a March 27 X thread, Ardoino said the crypto industry just entered the “stablecoin multiverse” era, where multiple stablecoins are launching to meet growing global demand.

Related: Rumble wallet rolls out with Tether’s USDT for creator payments

Not everyone agrees with the assessment

However, Slava Demchuk, CEO of crypto compliance firm AMLBot, told Cointelegraph that he disagrees “with the premise that there are hundreds of stablecoins launched by companies and governments.”

He said the claims are an exaggeration and highlighted that “launching a stablecoin is a complex and resource-intensive process,” made even more involved by the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework:

“MiCA, for instance, imposes stringent requirements — particularly prudential ones such as capital reserves, liquidity buffers, and robust governance structures — that not all companies can easily meet. “

On the other hand, Demchuk noted that a growth in the number of stablecoins poses challenges and risks. He pointed out that regulatory differences across jurisdictions are an issue with MiCA providing clarity in the EU while the US market is still in debate, leading to a global “patchwork of rules.”

He warned that such inconsistency risks pushing companies to less regulated markets. The consequence of such an exodus would be that consumer protection efforts would be undermined.

Related: Tether seeks Big Four firm for its first full financial audit — Report

Ardoino expects fast growth

In a subsequent X post, Ardoino claimed Tether currently counts 400 million users worldwide, adding that he expects that number to reach one billion soon. He attributes the quick growth to an approach different from that of players in traditional finance:

“We always focused on the adoption from the ground up, working in the streets, among other people, while traditional finance was watching at us from their ivory towers.“

Vasily Vidmanov, the chief operating officer of decentralized finance compliance protocol PureFi, told Cointelegraph that Ardoino’s forecast “is interesting but not entirely realistic.” He cited “the recent delisting of USDT in the EU,” noting that it “has shown that resisting regulation is futile — adaptation and new approaches to decentralization are necessary.“

The comments reference Tether’s USDt (USDT) being delisted for European Economic Area-based users of Binance, Crypto.com, Kraken and Coinbase. A Tether spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the firm found the actions disappointing.

Vidmanov explained that data concerning swaps between USDT and Circle’s competing USDC (USDC) “indicates a noticeable increase […] following the delisting.” He also raised concerns over the firm’s reputation and “ongoing investigations in the US related to sanctions compliance and Anti-Money Laundering.”

US authorities are reportedly investigating third-party use of Tether’s stablecoins for criminal activities.

Ardoino already commented on those claims when they surfaced in late October 2024, calling the story “old noise.” Still, according to Vidmanov, with all those challenges, “achieving the projected figures within the next one to two years seems unlikely unless there are significant shifts in global policy and a substantial influx of new users from underpenetrated crypto markets.”

Tether and Paolo Ardoino had not responded to Cointelegraph’s inquiry by publication time.

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South Korea’s Ethics Commission revealed that high-ranking public officials in the country hold an average of 35.1 million won ($24,000) in crypto assets. 

On March 27, the country’s Ethics Commission for Government Officials reportedly disclosed that more than 20% of the surveyed public officials hold 14.4 billion won ($9.8 million) in crypto. This means 411 of the 2,047 officials subjected to the country’s disclosure requirements hold crypto assets. 

The highest amount disclosed was 1.76 billion won ($1.2 million) belonging to Seoul City Councilor Kim Hye-young. 

The officials held different crypto assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), XRP (XRP), Dogecoin (DOGE), Luna Classic (LUNC) and others. 

South Korean public officials disclosed crypto holdings

The disclosure of public officials’ crypto assets follows calls for transparency from its prime minister.

In 2023, South Korean Prime Minister Han Deok-soo said in a news conference that high-ranking government officials must include crypto in their property disclosures. The official said crypto should be treated similarly to other assets like precious metals.

On May 25, 2023, South Korea passed a bill mandating public officials to include crypto in their public asset disclosures. The new system granted South Koreans access to the crypto holdings of at least 5,800 public officials starting in 2024. 

In June 2024, crypto exchanges in the country launched information provision systems to simplify the registration of information about crypto holdings. 

Related: South Korea temporarily lifts Upbit’s 3-month ban on serving new clients

Lawmaker controversy spurred crypto disclosure laws

The new law was created in response to the controversy involving South Korean lawmaker Kim Nam-kuk, who was accused of liquidating crypto assets and concealing holdings of around $4.5 million before lawmakers in the country enforced the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) “Travel Rule.”

Kim departed from the Democratic Party at the height of the controversial lawsuit to relieve party members of the burden of the lawsuit.

While prosecutors requested a six-month prison sentence for Kim, the lawmaker was eventually acquitted after a judge ruled that crypto assets were not subject to public disclosures at the time Kim made the transactions. 

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European banks and financial institutions may be significantly underestimating the demand for cryptocurrency services, with fewer than one in five offering digital asset products, according to a new survey by crypto investment platform Bitpanda.

The study, which surveyed 10,000 retail and business investors across 13 European countries, found that more than 40% of business investors already hold cryptocurrencies, with another 18% planning to invest in the near future.

Yet, only 19% of surveyed financial institutions said their clients showed strong demand for crypto products — suggesting a 30% gap between actual investor adoption and perceived interest.

Moreover, only 19% of surveyed European financial institutions are offering crypto services, while over 80% of institutions acknowledge crypto’s growing importance.

Related: Michael Saylor’s Strategy surpasses 500,000 Bitcoin with latest purchase

Still, some European banks are recognizing the growing demand for digital assets, with 18% of surveyed financial institutions planning to expand their crypto service offering, particularly offerings related to crypto transfers.

“Financial institutions in Europe know that crypto is here to stay, but most are still not offering services that match investor demand,” according to Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, deputy CEO of Bitpanda.

The main barriers to adoption aren’t external issues such as regulation but internal, like a “lack of resource or knowledge,” he told Cointelegraph, adding:

“These can be overcome, and the challenge to financial institutions is clear: go and check your revenue outflows. You can see where customers are moving their money; you can see just how real the demand for crypto is.”

More crypto products from banks may increase European crypto adoption, considering that 27% of the survey’s respondents would prefer to invest in cryptocurrencies through a traditional bank, while only 14% would choose a crypto exchange.

In comparison, 36% of business investors choose to invest through an exchange, while traditional banks were only the third most popular option with 27%.

Related: Security concerns slow crypto payment adoption worldwide — Survey

Financial institutions with no crypto integration risk losing revenue

Banks and financial institutions without cryptocurrency integrations risk losing significant revenue share from both businesses and retail investors, according to Enzersdorfer-Konrad.

“Financial institutions that delay integrating crypto services risk losing revenue to their competition or crypto native companies. With the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) providing regulatory clarity, the time to act is now,” he added.

Moreover, 28% of surveyed institutions said they expect crypto to become more relevant within the next three years.

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Sony’s Soneium blockchain partnered with Animoca Brands to boost anime culture in Web3 by integrating anime artwork in decentralized digital identities. 

On March 27, the companies announced a collaboration that targets global anime and manga fans to boost user engagement in Web3. 

With the partnership, Animoca’s digital identity infrastructure platform, Moca Network, will create an identity layer on the Soneium blockchain, starting with Anime ID, a decentralized identifier and reputation layer.

Anime ID is spearheaded by San FranTokyo, an initiative to integrate traditional anime and manga culture with decentralized technologies. 

Anime-themed experiences are coming to Web3

The partnership integrates Moca Network’s Account, Identity and Reputation Software Development Kit (AIR SDK) into the Soneium blockchain. This allows users to maintain embedded accounts with unique identities and credentials as they use different decentralized applications (DApps) on the network. 

San FranTokyo’s Anime ID will be the first to adopt the AIR SDK, enhancing anime fan engagement on Soneium. In addition, San FranTokyo will collaborate with Animoca Brands to launch anime-inspired cultural campaigns on Soneium to onboard anime fans to the Soneium blockchain and connect with new anime-themed experiences.

Sony Block Solutions Labs (Sony BSL) launched the blockchain’s public testnet on Aug. 28, 2024. The layer-2 network aims to foster a fan community centered on creators who connect diverse values through the blockchain. 

On Jan. 14, the blockchain’s mainnet went live amid backlash from community members. Pump.fun’s Alon slammed the network for blacklisting specific memecoins and “nuking everyone’s position to 0.”

Related: Captain Tsubasa NFT soccer game debuts on Oasys blockchain

Ghibli-inspired memecoins flood the crypto market

On March 25, OpenAI launched image generation for its ChatGPT-4o mode. This was met with social media users generating images in the art style of Studio Ghibli, a company known for its anime films. Following the surge, a Ghibli-inspired memecoin reached a market capitalization of $20 million. Since then, at least 20 other Ghibli-related memecoins have been created in the market. 

While the news may be great for Web3 and anime fans, anime and crypto may not always work in favor of men seeking relationships. On Aug. 26, women ranked anime as the third-most unattractive hobby for a man, while crypto took the number two spot. 

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