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26 Mar 2026, 10:30

Cardano Founder Says This Midnight Deal Could Bring Billions In TVL

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson says Midnight’s new partnership with Monument Bank could become one of the biggest commercial wins yet for the privacy-focused network, after the UK lender unveiled plans to put retail customer deposits on a public blockchain. In a post on X, the Cardano founder wrote : “This is one of the largest deals we’ve ever done and could bring hundreds of millions to billions of TVL to the Midnight ecosystem. I’m extremely proud of Fahmi Syed and his team at the Midnight Foundation for the hard work they put into the negotiations with Monument. Midnight is the home of Web 2.5 ventures.” Why The Cardano So Enthusiastic Monument, a UK digital bank serving the mass-affluent segment, said it plans to become the first UK bank to tokenize retail customer deposits on a public blockchain, with Midnight providing the underlying network and privacy-preserving architecture. The first phase is concrete. Monument said it is targeting up to £250 million in tokenized deposits, with each token representing a one-to-one claim on funds held at the bank. Those deposits are intended to remain interest-bearing, redeemable in pounds sterling and protected within the existing regulatory framework, including the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Monument says it currently serves more than 100,000 clients and has over £7 billion in savings deposits, giving the project a real balance-sheet base rather than a purely experimental starting point. That setup is central to Midnight’s pitch . The tokenized deposits are not being framed as a new synthetic asset or an offshore wrapper, but as a blockchain mirror of traditional bank deposits. According to the release, transaction data on Midnight will be shielded and visible only to Monument and its customers, an architecture aimed at preserving the confidentiality banks need while still using public-chain rails. Midnight Foundation President Fahmi Syed used the deal to make a broader point about institutional blockchain adoption. Financial firms, he said, have struggled with the tension between openness and banking-grade confidentiality. Midnight, in his words, is designed to “represent assets on public networks” while protecting “sensitive financial information,” and Monument’s rollout is meant to show that regulated products can move on-chain without stepping outside existing compliance and consumer-protection frameworks. The longer-term roadmap explains why Hoskinson is talking in terms of billions rather than the initial £250 million. Phase two would expand beyond tokenized deposits into tokenized investment products delivered through the Monument app, including access to private equity, commodity funds and structured products. Phase three would introduce Lombard-style lending, allowing clients to borrow against investments without selling them. Monument also said its technology affiliate aims to extend tokenized-deposit functionality to other institutions through its Banking-as-a-Service platform. In that sense, Hoskinson’s TVL projection reads less like a claim about day-one inflows and more like a statement about the size of the pipeline if the rollout expands as planned. The hard figure disclosed so far is £250 million in the first phase. But if Monument can move from deposit tokenization into investment products, lending and third-party enablement, Midnight would be competing for balance-sheet-linked activity that is structurally different from mercenary DeFi liquidity . For Midnight, the partnership is also a live test of its core thesis : that privacy-enhancing infrastructure can make public blockchains usable for regulated finance. If Monument executes beyond the pilot, the deal would give the Cardano-linked network something many crypto projects still lack, a banking use case tied to real deposits, real customers and a product roadmap built to stay inside the guardrails of traditional finance. At press time, Cardano traded at $0.26.

26 Mar 2026, 09:45

EF mandate signing triggers backlash within Ethereum Foundation

The Ethereum Foundation is causing a rift in the community with its recently published EF mandate document. The document outlines the future of Ethereum, but has caused controversy through its language and concepts. The Ethereum Foundation has been vocal about its active engagement with the future of Ethereum. Recently, the Foundation started tracking its progress toward making Ethereum quantum-resistant . The Foundation has also set out to make Ethereum the backbone of on-chain finance, with the ambitious goal of carrying $1T in assets. Its other objectives, related to privacy, self-sovereignty, and security, are causing controversy. Members of the Ethereum Foundation asked to sign document or be fired All members of the Ethereum Foundation were asked to sign the Mandate document or be fired effective immediately. This has sparked a discussion on the overwhelming pressure for alignment and agreement, to the potential detriment of building real Ethereum upgrades. The document focuses on diverse points, but leans toward censorship resistance as a core value. “ Censorship Resistance: No actor can selectively exclude valid use or break functionality, including by gaining durable, non-competitive control of any critical mechanisms,” states the Mandate. The Ethereum Foundation will support unstoppable work, with no centralized intermediaries or kill switches. This approach may clash with the current practice, where necessity has led to the decision to freeze some assets and offer at least some modicum of control when carrying significant value within protocols. Mandate document causes rift between the Milady community and Go Ethereum Some of the controversy around the Ethereum Foundation mandate stems from the clash between the Milady community and Go Ethereum. Miladies, as they are known on social media, use the NFT collection as their avatars and rally around their own vision of Ethereum. Ethereum’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, is also a self-professed Milady, signaling loyalty to the online community. Milady NFT owners have been one of the main supporters for adding almost esoteric language to Ethereum’s objectives and development. At the same time, Go Ethereum, one of the major node clients , has spoken for a more pragmatic approach to running the network. [x] milady’s core product is larp with the goal of growing the cult, it’s entirely inward-facing. the entirety of the lore is self-referential and the gap between self-ascribed importance and actual influence is vast. the philosophy hasn’t traveled any serious distance [..] https://t.co/RyBUX7BULZ — ً (@lightclients) March 25, 2026 The recent EF mandate document further sharpened the battle between Go Ethereum and the Milady community. The rift revealed Milady’s preferences for using the Foundation as the vehicle for cypherpunk ideas. Those ideas were set against the attempt to use Ethereum for its economic value and reliable products. The Ethereum Foundation mandate was heavily influenced by Milady community ideas and esthetic, while others pointed out the EF has been influenced too much by the NFT community, with the support of Vitalik Buterin. | Source: Ethereum Foundation . The Milady controversies are relatively unknown to those users of Ethereum who have seen the chain as a decentralized computer, suitable for financial operations. For some, the inclusion of Milady imagery in the EF mandate is worrying, sending a message beyond the text points. For some, the recent EF mandate is a form of ‘ ideological babble ’, and even the NFT and styling may harm the brand in an attempt to build a ‘fun’ social media culture. The Milady fraction influence is significant for Ethereum, and the community is in charge of spending what remains of the still-significant Ethereum Foundation treasury. The Milady NFT owners have also launched a Milady Cult Coin ( CULT ), which is now 97% down from its peak. The current social media discussion may signal a deeper rift for Ethereum, potentially creating problems for future development. The Ethereum Foundation has also been accused of overspending and selling too much ETH, only lately agreeing to stake some of the coins. Despite this, the Foundation deployed another 20,000 ETH in February and is left with 209K ETH . Ethereum may be promising, but the Ethereum Foundation’s approach may be closely watched for turning into a cultish expression and swaying future development decisions. If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter .

26 Mar 2026, 09:20

Michael Saylor’s Strategy dominates DAT bitcoin buying as treasury demand collapses

Strategy accounted for nearly all recent BTC digital-asset treasury purchases, with other firms’ share dropping from 95% to about 2%, CryptoQuant data show.

26 Mar 2026, 09:00

Coinbase Dismisses Revised Clarity Act, Signals Ongoing Friction

In January, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong posted on X the night before a planned Senate Banking Committee markup, declared his company could not back the bill, and forced the hearing off the calendar. Now, after lawmakers unveiled fresh compromise language for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, the exchange is signaling the same resistance. A Bill That Keeps Hitting Walls Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks announced the revised text March 20, with White House backing. The compromise bans rewards paid simply for holding a stablecoin but allows activity-based rewards tied to payments or platform use. Banks got what they wanted most. Crypto platforms got a narrow lane — though what qualifies as activity-based rewards remains, according to sources familiar with the draft, frustratingly vague. The SEC, CFTC, and Treasury would have 12 months to define the rules more precisely, a timeline that offers little immediate comfort to the industry. Crypto insiders who attended a closed-door Capitol Hill session Monday said the language was overly restrictive. One person familiar with the industry’s first look described the opening impression as a letdown. What’s At Stake For Coinbase The numbers behind Coinbase’s opposition are not hard to find. Stablecoin-related revenue made up roughly 20% of the company’s total earnings in the third quarter of 2025. Reports say the exchange pulled in $1.35 billion from stablecoins in 2025 alone, most of it from USDC distribution arrangements with Circle. Armstrong’s public argument has been that USDC rewards are not a deposit product — they are revenue sharing from interest earned on Treasury bills held in reserve. Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent has already criticized what he called recalcitrant actors resisting compromise, urging Senate passage this spring. Banks, other crypto firms, and the White House are increasingly aligned. Coinbase is not. A Fragile Timeline With New Complications The bill still faces multiple hurdles before it becomes law, including a full Senate floor vote requiring 60 votes and reconciliation with the House-passed version from July 2025. Senator Bernie Moreno has been direct: if the bill does not reach the Senate floor by May, crypto legislation risks going dark until after the midterm cycle. The stablecoin market sits at $316 billion. For now, the clock is running — and Coinbase has made clear it is not ready to get behind the deal. Featured image from Quakers and Business, chart from TradingView

26 Mar 2026, 08:13

XBASE secures crypto license from Dubai regulator

Amidst the ongoing situation in the Middle East, the Dubai Virtual Assets Authority is still moving full steam ahead, and has granted Xbase Virtual Assets Broker & Dealer Services LLC, part of RELM Group, a virtual asset service provider license allowing it to offer crypto brokerage services. As per the license , XBase, one of the subsidiaries of RELM group, will be able to offer spot OTC crypto trading to institutional and qualified investors. The license, unlike others, is active and not just issued. XBASE had received its in-principle approval in October of 2025. At the time, RELM had noted that the approval reinforced their commitment to building a secure, transparent, and fully regulated digital asset ecosystem in one of the most forward-thinking markets in the world. XBASE sought to have a fully compliant, multi-jurisdictional licensing, secure, and confidential OTC trade execution tailored for institutions and clients worldwide. XBASE was able to receive its license with the support of The Private Office of Sheikh Ahmed bin Faisal Al Qassimi for Consultancy and Project Development, CFC MENA, which offers crypto and fintech consultancy services, and Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). RELM has already executed over $1 billion in total trades across its large-order crypto and fiat trading and payments under its Trade Fluidity ecosystem. RELM boasts of deep liquidity as it aims to make crypto accessible to merchants across all market sectors and industries. RELM currently offers access to 140 fiat currencies and all major cryptocurrencies. Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority has issued to date over 43 VASP licenses ranging from crypto brokers to exchanges to investment management, crypto custody, and more. Your bank is using your money. You’re getting the scraps. Watch our free video on becoming your own bank

26 Mar 2026, 07:20

Bitcoin falls below $70k amid uncertainty over Iran war, US regulation