hodler

20 Mar 2026, 10:17

Ethereum Cements RWA Dominance As Amundi Tokenizes $100M SAFO Fund

Amundi, Europe’s largest asset manager, is launching the Spiko Amundi Overnight Swap Fund (SAFO), a tokenized fund on Ethereum and Stellar starting with about $100 million in committed assets. A Traditional Fund With A Tokenized Wrapper Institutions historically related to TradFi have found a way to not to be left behind on the crypto curve in tokenized assets. In a statement published on Amundi’s website , the investment fund announced its collaboration with Spiko, a French-law regulated specialist tokenization platform, to launch SAFO as a tokenized sub-fund of SPIKO SICAV. 𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘: Europe’s largest asset manager Amundi (€2.3 trillion AUM) & Spiko launch new tokenized mutual fund (SAFO) powered by Chainlink. Chainlink is how the world’s leading institutions & tokenization platforms are unlocking the issuance & distribution of tokenized funds. pic.twitter.com/2GQshwqCrC — Chainlink (@chainlink) March 19, 2026 Structurally, SAFO it’s a traditional fund, just with a tokenized wrapper: it’s designed for corporate treasury and collateral management, an “on‑chain cash parking” with low risk and overnight liquidity. The fund invests using fully collateralized total return swaps with top‑tier banks, aiming to deliver stable yields slightly above risk‑free rates while still letting investors get their money back on an overnight basis. It supports multiple currencies (EUR, USD, GBP, CHF) and can be subscribed from as little as 1 unit, which is unusually low for institutional‑grade cash products. The firm highlighted that the fund enables almost immediate settlement, supports multiple ways to hold assets, provides live visibility into the shareholder register, and allows fund shares to move globally around the clock, with automated access through APIs or smart contracts. In the statement, Jean-Jacques Barbéris, Head of Institutional and Corporate Clients, and ESG at Amundi, said: SAFO provides professional investors with a fast and transparent access to cash management solutions. This initiative is part of our ambition to contribute to the rise of tokenized solutions. Where Ethereum Comes In The shareholder register and fund shares live on Ethereum and Stellar, with Ethereum chosen for its smart‑contract and DeFi composability, while Stellar supports faster, lower‑cost transfers and 24/7 transferability of fund units. Chainlink’s network of data providers puts SAFO’s fund value directly on the blockchain and acts as the connector between Ethereum, Stellar, and traditional systems. This gives tokenized funds a secure, standardized way to share information, building on tests Chainlink has already run with DTCC and other major institutions. SAFO is Amundi’s second tokenized fund in a few months. Back in November , the fund rolled out a tokenized share class of a money market fund on Ethereum, working together with CACEIS, one of Europe’s top asset-servicing providers and transfer agents, as reported by Bitcoinist. Amundi’s new venture adds to a growing universe of tokenized money‑market products from players like BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, and Franklin Templeton, and reinforcing Ethereum’s position as the primary settlement layer for institutional RWAs. A €2.3 trillion incumbent plugging into Ethereum and Chainlink cements the thesis that the next leg of the crypto cycle is driven by tokenized cash, bonds, and funds rather than purely speculative DeFi. Cover image from Perplexity, ETHUSDT chart from Tradingview

20 Mar 2026, 09:05

Polygon Validators Face Crucial Vote on Groundbreaking Fee Distribution Overhaul

BitcoinWorld Polygon Validators Face Crucial Vote on Groundbreaking Fee Distribution Overhaul A pivotal governance discussion is unfolding within the Polygon ecosystem, centering on a transformative proposal to overhaul how network fees are distributed among validators. This initiative directly tackles a growing economic disparity, where a small group of large validators captures a dominant share of revenue, potentially threatening the network’s long-term decentralization and security. The community’s decision could set a significant precedent for proof-of-stake blockchain economics globally. Polygon Network Fees Proposal Aims to Redistribute Validator Rewards The core proposal, currently under community review on the Polygon governance forum, advocates for a more equitable distribution of transaction fees generated on the Polygon network. According to the detailed analysis submitted by the proposal’s author, the current fee distribution model has led to significant concentration. Specifically, the top five validators on the network collectively control 42.1% of all fee revenue. This concentration creates a competitive environment where smaller validators struggle to remain economically viable. Furthermore, the proposal highlights a critical statistic: approximately 66% of all validators operating on the Polygon network cannot cover their estimated monthly operating costs, which average 8,523 POL (approximately $929 at current valuations). This financial pressure risks forcing smaller participants to shut down their operations, thereby reducing the total number of independent validators and increasing the network’s reliance on a few large entities. The new system would allocate a portion of fees into a communal pool for subsequent equal distribution, supplementing the existing proportional rewards. The Economic Challenge for Smaller Validators Operating a blockchain validator requires substantial and ongoing investment. Validators must run high-availability servers, maintain robust internet connections, and ensure constant uptime to avoid penalties. For proof-of-stake networks like Polygon, validators must also stake a significant amount of the native POL token as collateral. The monthly cost of 8,523 POL represents a considerable hurdle, especially when fee income is insufficient. This economic model creates a potential centralization force. Larger entities with more capital can afford to operate multiple validator nodes and absorb lower returns, while smaller operators face existential financial threats. Historically, other blockchains have grappled with similar centralization pressures in their validator sets. The Polygon proposal seeks to intervene before this dynamic becomes entrenched, using economic incentives to preserve a broad and diverse validator base, which is a cornerstone of network security and censorship resistance. Expert Analysis on Validator Economics Blockchain economists often point to validator profitability as a key health metric for proof-of-stake networks. A system where only the largest players profit is considered vulnerable. “A decentralized validator set is not just a philosophical goal; it’s a security requirement,” explained Dr. Anya Petrova, a researcher specializing in cryptoeconomic design at the Digital Assets Governance Institute. “If economic rewards become too concentrated, the network’s resilience to coercion or coordinated failure diminishes. Proposals that carefully recalibrate incentives to support a wider base of operators are critical for long-term sustainability.” The Polygon community must now weigh several factors. They must balance the principle of proportional reward (where those who stake more and process more transactions earn more) against the need for systemic health. Other networks have experimented with similar concepts, such as minimum reward floors or subsidized infrastructure programs, but a direct, equal redistribution of a fee pool segment is a novel approach for a network of Polygon’s scale. Potential Impacts and Implementation Timeline If the proposal passes the requisite community vote and subsequent technical implementation, the impacts would be multifaceted. For smaller validators, it could mean the difference between sustainable operation and shutting down. For the network, it could enhance decentralization metrics by making validation more accessible. However, critics might argue it reduces the reward for efficiency and scale, potentially disincentivizing investment in high-performance infrastructure. The governance process typically involves a temperature check, followed by a formal on-chain vote using the POL token. A successful vote would then trigger development work by the core engineering teams to implement the new fee distribution logic within the network’s protocol. This process could span several months, given the need for rigorous testing and audits on a live network handling billions of dollars in value. Conclusion The debate over Polygon network fees distribution represents a mature evolution in blockchain governance, moving beyond technical upgrades to address fundamental economic design. The proposal to create a more equitable validator reward system confronts the persistent challenge of centralization in proof-of-stake networks. The community’s final decision will not only shape the economic landscape for Polygon validators but also contribute to the broader industry conversation on creating truly robust and decentralized blockchain infrastructures. The outcome of this vote will be closely watched by other ecosystems facing similar validator economics dilemmas. FAQs Q1: What is the main goal of the Polygon fee distribution proposal? The primary goal is to prevent revenue monopolization by large validators and ensure a broader base of operators can cover their operating costs, thereby strengthening network decentralization and security. Q2: How much do the top validators currently earn? According to the proposal, the top five validators on the Polygon network collectively control 42.1% of all fee revenue generated by the network. Q3: Why can’t many validators cover their costs? The analysis states that 66% of validators cannot meet the estimated average monthly operating cost of 8,523 POL (about $929), as their share of the proportionally distributed fees is too low. Q4: How would the new distribution system work? While technical details are pending, the core idea is to allocate a portion of total network fees into a pool that is then distributed equally among all active validators, supplementing the existing proportional rewards. Q5: What happens if the proposal is rejected? If rejected, the current proportional fee distribution model would remain. This could lead to continued financial pressure on smaller validators, potentially resulting in a more concentrated validator set over time. This post Polygon Validators Face Crucial Vote on Groundbreaking Fee Distribution Overhaul first appeared on BitcoinWorld .

20 Mar 2026, 09:02

Bittensor price jumps 17% on Nvidia buzz: can TAO reach $500?

Bittensor (TAO) rose sharply on Friday, jumping more than 17% in intraday gains to hit highs above $300. While the token is trading slightly below its 24-hour peak, bullish sentiment suggests that TAO could extend its V-shaped recovery and target further upside movement. Could the attention brought by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Chamath Palihapitiya to Bittensor’s decentralized AI ecosystem push prices higher? What did Nvidia CEO say about Bittensor? As noted, Bittensor’s price rose sharply amid the latest commentary from industry leaders on the blockchain project's decentralized AI advancements. Chamath Palihapitiya and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang have both endorsed Bittensor’s large language model training. They shared their comments on the All-In Podcast. According to Chamath Palihapitiya, the training of a “4 billion parameter LLaMA model” via a distributed network is a “pretty crazy technical accomplishment.” NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang responded positively, stating that decentralized and proprietary AI models can coexist harmoniously in the market, emphasizing “these two things are not A or B; it’s A and B.” This aligns with Bittensor’s peer-to-peer compute-sharing model, which rewards participants with TAO tokens. Notably, the buzz relates to how Huang’s take ties into Bittensor’s Covenant 72B-parameter model. TAO price reacts, jumps to $300 Covenant is fully trained on the decentralized Subnet 3 platform, with over 70 contributors utilizing standard internet connectivity. Anticipation around the 72B Covenant has reinforced investor confidence in its potential growth. Many predict Bittensor could become a defining part of the AI-crypto intersection, and TAO is up as excitement skyrockets. Analysts note Palihapitiya and Huang’s endorsement of decentralized AI could bolster the broader AI-crypto sector. TAO and other cryptocurrencies in the category are posting notable gains, including Render, Kite, and Internet Computer. Bittensor price pumped to highs above $300. Data from CoinMarketCap indicates the market cap of the AI and Big Data category has increased 4% in the past 24 hours to $17.2 billion. Bittensor price outlook: Is 500 next for TAO? TAO price is currently up by more than 28% over the past week and 56% this past month. At current levels, Bittensor has formed a V-shaped recovery from lows of $240 a day earlier. Bullish momentum has also flipped prices from lows of $143 on February 11, 2026. The uptick since the breakout from an ascending triangle pattern sees TAO testing resistance levels last seen in December 2025. From a technical perspective, short-term optimism holds as prices hover above both the 100 and 200 EMAs on the daily chart. Breaching immediate resistance at $310 could bring targets at $365 and $450 into play. TAO reached its all-time high of $767 in April 2024. However, the daily RSI is in the overbought territory around 76, signaling a potential reversal. Also, the MACD remains above its signal line, but the shrinking green histograms suggest momentum could be fading. Bittensor price chart by TradingView If sell-off pressure mounts, key support remains at the 100-day and 200-day EMAs at $233 and $265, respectively. The post Bittensor price jumps 17% on Nvidia buzz: can TAO reach $500? appeared first on Invezz

20 Mar 2026, 08:30

Apex Group and Coinbase Asset Management Launch Tokenized Bitcoin Fund

Apex Group and Coinbase Asset Management have debuted a tokenized bitcoin yield fund on the Base network to modernize fund distribution. On 19 March, 2026, Apex Group Ltd and Coinbase Asset Management (CBAM) announced the launch of the tokenized Coinbase Bitcoin Yield Fund on the Base blockchain. This collaboration utilizes the ERC-3643 permissioned token standard

20 Mar 2026, 07:51

XRP Ledger Gears Up for AI-Powered Agent Commerce Takeover

XRPL’s Agent Commerce Push Signals the Rise of a Fully Autonomous Digital Economy The next wave of digital commerce won’t be powered by people tapping screens, it will be driven by autonomous agents that execute tasks, verify results, and settle payments instantly. According to t54.ai, that shift is already taking shape on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), where Agent Commerce is rapidly moving from concept to real-world deployment. At its core, Agent Commerce turns the XRPL into a self-operating marketplace where AI agents don’t just assist, they transact. They can accept tasks, execute them, and get paid automatically, without human input. Built on Virtuals Protocol, the system follows a clear, trust-driven flow: jobs are escrowed upfront, verified by independent evaluators, and settled instantly once predefined conditions are met. That vision is already gaining serious backing. Ripple has committed $5 million to t54, signaling a strong bet on AI-powered DeFi and the infrastructure needed to support autonomous, secure machine-to-machine transactions. This goes beyond automation, it’s the emergence of fully programmable economic activity. At the center of it is t54’s x402 facilitator, which enables AI agents to transact natively in XRP and RLUSD, removing the lag between work and payment. The impact is immediate and practical because an agent can analyze data, moderate content, or execute financial tasks, then receive payment the moment the job is verified, entirely on-chain, with no intermediaries or delays. XRPL Bets Big on Autonomous Payments as AI Agents Enter the Economy The implications are difficult to overlook. By embedding trust layers such as escrow and third-party validation directly into the transaction flow, XRPL is emerging as a dependable foundation for machine-to-machine commerce. Intermediaries, delayed settlements, and manual oversight become largely unnecessary, as every step, from task assignment to final payment, is enforced programmatically by the network. Against this backdrop, Brad Garlinghouse has suggested that 2026 could mark a breakout period for XRP, as Ripple continues to expand internationally, integrate AI-driven capabilities, and develop new XRPL tools aimed at enhancing payments and liquidity. More importantly, this development lands at a time when the tech world is rapidly moving toward autonomous systems. AI agents are no longer experimental tools, they’re starting to function as real participants in digital economies. By allowing these agents to transact seamlessly, XRPL is enabling a new category of economic actors that can operate continuously, scale on demand, and execute tasks with consistency and precision. The idea of “trillions in on-chain payments” may sound bold, but the groundwork being laid is very real. As AI agents become more embedded in everyday business operations, the infrastructure that powers their transactions will be just as critical as the intelligence behind them. As Coinbase’s CEO recently suggested, the next major wave in crypto may not be led by retail users, but by autonomous agents capable of handling payments on their own. With Agent Commerce going live, XRPL is effectively betting that the future of payments won’t just be faster or cheaper, but fundamentally autonomous. Conclusion Agent Commerce on the XRP Ledger goes beyond an incremental upgrade—it points to the direction digital markets are heading. As AI agents shift from passive tools to active participants in the economy, the need for infrastructure that supports secure, autonomous transactions becomes essential. By integrating escrow, verification, and instant settlement into a unified on-chain process, XRPL is aligning itself with this emerging model. If adoption grows as expected, the real shift won’t just be faster payments, it will be an economy where machines execute tasks, verify outcomes, and receive payment without human intervention. In that light, XRPL’s move into Agent Commerce looks less like a test case and more like an early framework for how value may circulate in an AI-driven future.

20 Mar 2026, 07:33

Fake FBI tokens on TRON linked to $9B crypto scam targeting users

Criminals are now sending TRON users fake tokens that pretend to come from the FBI to scare people into giving away their personal information, thinking their wallets are under investigation. In a post on X, the FBI New York office warned users to avoid any tokens claiming to be from the agency, especially if they ask users to verify their identity on a website. Fake FBI tokens scare users and steal their data Scammers send Fake FBI tokens to users without alarming them, since crypto wallets often receive random tokens from time to time, so the transaction appears normal. However, the user panics when they click or expand the token details and find a warning message claiming to come from the FBI that urges them to verify their identity because the wallet is under investigation. Furthermore, the message adds more pressure by accusing users of anti-money laundering (AML) violations and warning them that their assets could face a “total block” if they do not act quickly enough. These tactics are strategic and effective because they leverage the authority of the name “FBI”, instill fear by mentioning investigations and frozen assets, and create urgency without critical thinking by telling the user to act quickly. From there, the message guides users to click on an unknown link that leads to a real, professional website that looks just like government pages or trusted financial platforms. The website requests the user to enter their personal information, including name and ID, wallet information, and even login credentials, which scammers use to quickly access and drain their wallets. These hackers then move the funds through multiple wallets and spread them across different addresses, making the tracking and recovery process almost impossible for authorities. As a result, the FBI has warned users not to provide any sensitive information to any website linked to the tokens and to report any incidents to its official platform at ic3[.]gov , so law enforcement can begin investigations. The FBI also explained that it would never send tokens or ask users for personal information through random messages, as scammers do. Users have mocked the TRON blockchain, creating yet another layer of mixed reactions and building an environment where scammers can continue to operate. These emotions play directly into the hands of scammers because they reduce careful thinking and increase quick actions. What’s clear is that this Fake FBI token scam is just part of a much larger, more advanced system of crypto fraud that keeps evolving every day. Crypto scams are growing fast and stealing billions worldwide Crypto scams accounted for at least $14 billion in 2025, and estimates suggest the total could exceed $17 billion as authorities continue to discover more scam wallets. Scammers are becoming more active, more organized, and more effective in targeting victims, as the amount of money lost to scams keeps rising year after year. Specifically, scammers are more successful at pretending to be someone else than at creating entirely new identities, as impersonation scams have grown by more than 1400% in just one year. Because people trust authority figures like the FBI, it becomes extremely easy for scammers to exploit this by combining fear and trust in a fake message about investigations or violations, and get users to act very quickly. The fake TRON token scam controls the user’s actions using technical delivery through blockchain technology, with social engineering psychological tricks like fear and urgency. What this shows is that scammers are now using advanced tools and systems to improve their operations, with AI at the center, enabling fraudsters to create deepfake identities that appear to be real people. Similarly, AI can generate messages that sound natural and convincing and can even run automated conversations that respond to victims in real time, making it very easy for scammers to handle many victims at once with little effort. On top of that, scammers rely on phishing-as-a-service platforms to build pages that look exactly like real government or financial websites, making it hard for the average user to tell them apart. Experts call this trend the “industrialization” of scams because the crimes look more like organized systems in which fraudsters come together and assume different roles within a single scam. For example, one group writes scripts and messages, another builds phishing tools and websites, another sends large numbers of messages, and another focuses on laundering stolen money. Surprisingly, turnover is high because the cost of the tools scammers use is extremely low. In fact, phishing kits can cost as little as $20 to $50, and people can buy full scam setups for under $500 without much knowledge. The damage, however, is unimaginable and grows quickly: one campaign that sent 330,000 scam messages in a single day targeted more than 1 million victims across different countries and generated up to $1 billion. Add AI to this system, and the results become extreme, as AI-powered scams generate about 4.5 times as much revenue as traditional scams. Law enforcement is working to fight back, and the FBI has launched efforts such as Operation Level Up to identify victims early and warn them before they lose more money. But despite these efforts, and the recovery of 61,000 Bitcoin in one case, and the seizure of around $15 billion linked to scam networks, scammers continue to adapt quickly, and their attacks evolve just as fast. Don’t just read crypto news. Understand it. Subscribe to our newsletter. It's free .