Coindesk

Conduit, a stablecoin-focused cross-border payments provider, said on Thursday it has teamed up with Brazil's Braza Group for real-time foreign exchange (FX) swaps between the Brazilian real and major foreign currencies using stablecoins.The service allows users to convert Brazilian real to U.S. dollars or euros and settle transactions in minutes with stablecoins —a sharp departure from the traditional FX infrastructure, where settlement can take up to three days, according to the press release.Braza, which owns Brazil’s largest FX bank and processed $67 billion in transactions last year, launched its own real-pegged stablecoin BBRL on XRP Ledger earlier this year. Braza will mint BBRL tokens when a payment originates in Brazil. Conduit then swaps the BBRL for dollar- or euro-pegged stablecoins...

Christopher Wong, a former FBI Supervisory Special Agent and a leading figure in the agency’s cryptocurrency investigations, has joined blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs."Chris is not only one of the most talented and respected investigators in the world, he’s also an inspiring colleague who makes everyone around him better," Ari Redbord, global head of policy at TRM Labs, told CoinDesk. "He’s been a critical part of elite teams throughout his career, and now brings that same excellence to our mission at TRM." During his ten years with the FBI, Wong worked on some of the most high-stakes crypto crime cases to date. He co-led the investigation into the 2016 Bitfinex hack, which resulted in the largest crypto seizure in U.S....

Strategy (MSTR) has officially launched trading of its third "bitcoin-backed preferred stock", STRD, on the Nasdaq, with shares making their debut on Wednesday. The new security, formally named the 10% Series A Perpetual Stride Preferred Stock (STRD), closed the day slightly higher, gaining 0.24%. STRD offers a fixed 10% annual dividend, making it the highest-yielding instrument among Strategy’s capital offerings, which also include STRF and STRK. Unlike those, STRD is non-convertible and non-cumulative, meaning dividends are paid only when declared by the board and do not accrue if missed. Despite this added risk, the product is positioned to attract long-term investors seeking strong yield with no management fees.Strategy aims to raise nearly $1 billion through the offering by selling 11.76...

The international unit of Alipay owner Ant Group plans to seek stablecoin licenses in Hong Kong and Singapore, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.Ant International will apply for a stablecoin issuer's license once the regulatory regime comes into effect in August, according to the report, citing people familiar with the matter. The firm is also planning to apply for a similar license in its native Singapore, as well as Luxembourg.Hong Kong has been establishing a stablecoin regime since 2023, with the legislation expected to go into effect in August.Stablecoins are tokens pegged to the value of a traditional financial asset, such as a fiat currency, providing a counterweight to the volatility of BTC, ETH and other cryptos. As such they may...

Stablecoin-focused blockchain Plasma raised its deposit cap to $1 billion early Thursday — and hit that limit within 30 minutes.The new cap marks a doubling from the prior $500 million ceiling, which had itself been raised just days earlier following a community-driven outcry over bot activity and rapid sellout times. Plasma said the short-notice announcement was designed to give real users, such as those active in its Discord, a fairer shot at joining. But it’s not a token sale just yet.“Deposits are not the sale itself,” Plasma clarified in a post. “All funds remain fully owned by depositors and will be bridged to Plasma mainnet beta.” Participants earn the right to buy into the eventual $50 million XPL public sale...