Coindesk

Consensys, the Ethereum infrastructure company behind the popular MetaMask wallet, said it has acquired Web3Auth, a provider of wallet infrastructure, in a move aimed at improving usability and developer accessibility across its platforms.Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.The acquisition is designed to modernize MetaMask’s onboarding experience and tackle one of the most persistent challenges facing self-custodial crypto wallets: seed phrase management. According to Consensys, internal data indicates that 35% of MetaMask users fail to back up their seed phrases — a key vulnerability that can result in permanent loss of funds.Web3Auth’s technology, already integrated across some 8,200 decentralized applications, offers login and recovery tools that mirror Web2-style user flows. With this integration, MetaMask users will have the option...

Riot Platforms (RIOT) has hired industry veteran Jonathan Gibbs as its Chief Data Center Officer, marking a strategic move by the bitcoin miner to branch out beyond crypto into the broader data infrastructure business.Gibbs brings over 15 years of experience and a résumé that includes designing and building more than one gigawatt of data center capacity across North America, Europe and Asia. He most recently served as Executive Vice President at Prime Data Centers, where he led projects across the U.S.Now, he’s tasked with launching Riot’s new data center platform aimed at companies that require massive computing power to support cloud services and artificial intelligence. The company plans to build out non-bitcoin-focused facilities, leveraging 1.7 gigawatts of power capacity it...

Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, is aiming for a fully diluted valuation of up to $7.2 billion in its upcoming initial public offering, according to a Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).The company now plans to offer up to 32 million shares priced between $27 and $28 each, up from 24 million shares at $24 to $26 when it first filed in May. The move suggests investor interest in Circle’s business is growing, and possibly heating up faster than expected.That interest appears to be coming from some of the world’s most influential investors. In May, it was reported that BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is considering purchasing up to 10% of Circle’s IPO shares,...

Shares of SharpLink Gaming (SBET) slipped 30% in early trading Monday, giving back a small bit of last week's 2,000% surge.The historic move higher — the stock moving from less than $3 to above $100 at one point — came following news that Sharplink was raising $450 million to launch an ether ETH treasury strategy, with ether co-founder Joseph Lubin to join the company board as chairman.The company Monday morning announced the closing of that fundraising.SharpLink sold 69 million shares to raise the capital. Pharmaceutical entrepreneur Martin Shkreli last week noted that most of those shares can’t be freely traded yet. “The 69 million shares issued are subject to a registration rights agreement, which be effective for months. Those...

Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, has introduced a new structured bond that tracks the price of bitcoin BTC and the dollar-to-ruble exchange rate.Initially available over the counter to a limited pool of qualified investors, the bonds let holders earn based on two variables: the future performance of BTC in U.S. dollars and any strengthening of the dollar relative to the ruble.Investors can access these instruments without opening a crypto wallet or using foreign crypto exchanges, with all transactions being processed in rubles within Russia’s “legal and infrastructure systems.”The bank plans to list similar structured products with cryptocurrency exposure on the Moscow Exchange, according to a recent announcement.Sberbank, per the announcement, is also launching a bitcoin futures product via its SberInvestments platform...