Best of fortune.com on Kiwi News
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24 stories from fortune.com have been shared on Kiwi News since 12 September 2023, with 38 upvotes and 15 comments in total. The latest was shared on 22 June 2026. They are listed below, most upvoted first.
Text under a title is an AI summary of the linked article.
- Icebreaker secured $5 million in seed funding, led by CoinFund.
Icebreaker, a blockchain-based professional networking project often described as LinkedIn on a blockchain, announced $5 million in seed funding led by CoinFund, with participation from Accomplice, Anagram, and Legion Capital, among others. The company is valued at $21 million and aims to become the first open-source network for professional connections. Cofounders Dan Stone and Jack Dillé, who previously worked at Google and Coinbase, say the project will let users move their existing profiles and networks into one verified channel, and the new funding will go to scaling the team and product building. CoinFund CIO Alex Felix said the firm is proud to back the team's mission to introduce true ownership of professional identity.
- Uniswap Labs acquires Crypto: The Game – "24/7 crypto reality show"
Uniswap Labs has acquired Crypto: The Game (CTG), a survival-style game built on the Base blockchain, with the purchase price undisclosed and paid in a mix of cash, tokens and equity. Under the deal, founders Dylan Abruscato, Tyler Cagle and Bryan Lee will join Uniswap, and the companies are working on season three while exploring new interactive consumer crypto experiences. Season two sold out its 800 spots in 13 minutes, and Abruscato said the site had 50,000 unique visitors over a 10-day period last season. Uniswap Labs' chief operating officer Mary-Catherine Lader said the game gave the company a behind-the-scenes look at bringing new users into crypto.
- SEC sued over Ethereum, crypto firm asks court to state token is not a security
Consensys, a major backer of the Ethereum blockchain, sued the SEC in Texas federal court, asking the court to rule that Ether is not a security and to head off an expected SEC lawsuit over MetaMask's staking feature. The 34-page complaint argues that the SEC's claimed authority over Ethereum is illegal and would halt use of the blockchain in the United States. According to the complaint, the SEC issued a Wells Notice earlier this month and told Consensys in a phone call that MetaMask was operating as an unlicensed broker dealer. Consensys founder Joe Lubin told Fortune that the theory that staking turned Ethereum into a security is "preposterous," while the SEC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
- Visa launches stablecoin payments in Latin America in major advance for crypto
Visa announced a new product that will let consumers pay with stablecoins in six countries, including Mexico and Argentina, developed with the Stripe-owned startup Bridge. Senior vice president Rubail Birwadker said the offering works like a reloadable Visa card for merchants, who are paid immediately in their local currency. Bridge, acquired by Stripe last October for $1.1 billion, will supply the technology that third-party apps use to build the service, with early efforts expected to feature USDC. The companies expect the offerings to go live in the six Latin American countries within the next few weeks.
- Apple, X, and Airbnb among number of Big Tech firms exploring crypto adoption
Apple, X, Airbnb and Google are all holding early conversations with crypto firms about integrating stablecoins, according to sources who spoke to Fortune anonymously. The sources said these firms see stablecoins as a way to lower transaction costs and optimize cross-border payments. Google Cloud has gone furthest, having accepted payments from two customers in PayPal's PYUSD stablecoin, according to Rich Widmann, head of Web3 strategy at Google Cloud. Airbnb's talks have reportedly been ongoing since the start of this year, according to four sources, while Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said Uber is in the "study" phase.
- 'Hated' Ethereum due for a comeback says crypto icon Arthur Hayes
Arthur Hayes, co-founder of the BitMEX exchange, says Ethereum is due for a comeback and that Bitcoin could reach about $1 million by the end of 2028. In an interview with Fortune freelancer Anna Tutova at Token2049 in Dubai, Hayes predicted Bitcoin could go close to $200,000 in the near term and about $250,000 by year-end. He said Ethereum could outperform Solana over the next 18 to 24 months because it remains widely disliked yet still leads in TVL, developers and proof-of-stake security. Hayes also said he holds about 20% of his portfolio in gold.
- This time, the SEC means it: finally approved spot Bitcoin ETFs
The US Securities and Exchange Commission approved spot Bitcoin ETFs on Wednesday, with trading set to begin Thursday, after a false start on Tuesday caused by a hack of the agency's account. The SEC's filing approved applications from 11 issuers, including BlackRock and Grayscale, a process that began in 2013 when the Winklevoss twins unsuccessfully sought approval for a first Bitcoin ETF. Grayscale had sued the agency in 2022 over approving futures-based ETFs but not spot vehicles, and won its case in August. Chair Gary Gensler, a Democrat, voted with the two Republican commissioners in a 3-to-2 vote, and he stated the approval was not an endorsement of Bitcoin.
- Etherealize raises $40 million to expand Wall Street's use of Ethereum
Etherealize, a startup launched in early 2025, has raised $40 million to build products and infrastructure on Ethereum for financial institutions. Electric Capital and Paradigm led the round, and Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum Foundation also helped fund the company with an initial grant. CEO Vivek Raman said the raise was for equity and token warrants, and that the company is focused on onboarding Wall Street institutions while the current regulatory window remains open. The company plans to tokenize assets such as mortgages, credit, and fixed-income products, which Raman says would be a major improvement over current trading and settlement methods.
- The world's richest inmate is free. What will Binance billionaire 'CZ' do next?
Changpeng Zhao, known as "CZ," was released from federal custody in Long Beach, California, after serving a four-month sentence for failing to implement proper anti-money laundering controls at Binance, the crypto exchange he founded. The article speculates about his next moves, including spending more time with his family and possibly pursuing philanthropy through Giggle Academy, a project he launched before his incarceration to provide free learning tools for children. It notes that under his criminal settlement he had to quit as Binance CEO and stay away from day-to-day operations, though he remains the company's largest shareholder. A Binance spokesperson said the company is "excited to see what he does next."
- Discord cuts ties with Peter Thiel-backed verification software
Discord has ended its test partnership with Persona Identities, an identity verification vendor, after researchers found about 2,500 accessible front-end files on a U.S. government-authorized endpoint. Researchers said the files showed Persona running facial recognition checks against watchlists and 269 distinct verification checks, including screening for "adverse media" in 14 categories such as terrorism and espionage. Persona CEO Rick Song told Fortune the files were uncompressed front-end code, not a vulnerability, and denied any ties to Palantir, ICE, or the government. Both Persona and Discord said the partnership lasted less than a month and had ended before the files were found.
- Circle plans IPO for late April
Circle Internet Financial, issuer of the stablecoin USDC, is moving forward with plans for a traditional IPO, with JPMorgan Chase and Citi working on the listing, according to two sources familiar with the situation. The sources said Circle aims to publicly file its paperwork in late April, though the precise listing timing is unclear. The company is seeking a $4 billion to $5 billion valuation, according to one of the sources, and would be the biggest crypto IPO since Coinbase's 2021 direct listing. Circle, JPMorgan Chase and Citi declined to comment.
- Why going cashless has turned Sweden into a high-crime nation
Sweden's shift to cashless payments has made it a growing target for financial crime, according to reporting that links the country's digital systems to rising fraud and organized crime. Online fraud and digital crime took 1.2 billion kronor in 2023, double the 2021 figure, and law-enforcement agencies estimate the criminal economy could reach 2.5% of GDP. Economic crime prosecutor Daniel Larson says fraudsters use fake companies and forged documents to exploit the welfare system, and that this profit fuels gang violence. BankID, the digital authorization system used by nearly all Swedish adults, is cited as a factor, and banks are introducing optional extra security measures.
- Index Ventures, Union Square Ventures back trading app Fomo at $550M valuation
Index Ventures and Union Square Ventures have backed Fomo, a crypto trading app, in a $75 million Series B round that valued the startup at $550 million, according to the company's announcement on Monday. Index Ventures led the round, with participants including Mark Pincus, Humam Sakhnini, and Kevin Hartz. Cofounders Paul Erlanger, Se Yong Park, and Prashan Dharmasena, who previously worked at dYdX, built the app to simplify buying tokens, which Dharmasena said should take about 30 seconds. Erlanger said the company wants to be seen as more than a crypto app, and Park said Fomo onboards about 3,500 new users per day.
- Inside the $400 million Coinbase breach: An Indian call center and teenage hacke
Coinbase disclosed on May 15 that criminals stole personal data from tens of thousands of customers, an incident it says could cost up to $400 million. The hackers allegedly bribed overseas customer support agents employed by TaskUs, a New Braunfels, Texas company that provides Coinbase with customer service staff in Indore, India. Coinbase says the stolen data covered over 69,000 customers and was used by fake agents in social engineering scams, and it has put a $20 million bounty on those responsible. A Fortune investigation, based on messages with a self-described hacker, suggests the attack was carried out by a loose network of young English-speaking hackers known as "the Comm."
- Exclusive: Circle cofounder raises $18 million to apply AI to payments in new st
Sean Neville, who cofounded the crypto startup Circle in 2013, says his new startup Catena Labs plans to build an "AI-native bank" and has raised $18 million in a seed round led by the crypto arm of Andreessen Horowitz. Other investors include Breyer Capital, Circle Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and Tom Brady. Neville predicted that in the future only AI agents, not humans or businesses, will execute financial transactions. He said his eight-person team has developed an open-source protocol for AI-powered payments and AI identity, and that Catena's software will integrate stablecoins without being defined by them.
- 'Size does not matter': Bhutan’s tiny sovereign wealth fund banks on green energ
Bhutan's sovereign wealth fund, Druk Holdings and Investments (DHI), is using its small size and the country's cheap hydropower to pursue green energy, crypto mining and new industries, according to CEO Ujjwal Deep Dahal. DHI has around $3 billion in assets under management and stakes in 24 Bhutanese companies, far smaller than Singapore's Temasek at $300 billion. Dahal says the country can test technologies such as pumped storage and hydrogen power before taking them global or regional. The country has 2.5 gigawatts of capacity and 3 gigawatts under construction, and Bhutan is one of the world's largest sovereign Bitcoin holders.
- JPMorgan Chase steps beyond ‘walled garden’ to settle transaction on public bloc
JPMorgan Chase settled a transaction on a public blockchain for the first time, using crypto firms Chainlink and Ondo Finance, the bank announced on Wednesday. In early May, its blockchain division Kinexys moved money between two accounts on its private blockchain to pay for tokenized treasuries on Ondo's public ledger, with Chainlink triggering the payment. Kinexys head of platform settlement solutions Nelli Zaltsman told Fortune that the step is part of a roadmap the bank has followed for years and is not a response to political shifts. Chainlink cofounder Sergey Nazarov said the structure is on track for "production."
- Exclusive: Meta in talks to deploy stablecoins three years after giving up on la
Meta is reportedly in preliminary talks with crypto firms about using stablecoins, mainly to make small cross-border payouts, three years after it abandoned its Diem stablecoin project. According to five anonymous sources cited by Fortune, the company has hired Ginger Baker, a former Plaid executive, as a VP of product to help steer the explorations. One crypto executive said Meta could use stablecoins to pay creators at Instagram amounts around $100, at lower fees than fiat payments. Meta declined to comment.
- Ethereum giant Consensys slashes workforce by 20%
Consensys, maker of the MetaMask crypto wallet, is cutting about 162 of its 828 employees, roughly 20% of its workforce, across all divisions. CEO and founder Joe Lubin announced the layoffs in a blog post, attributing them to macroeconomic headwinds and legal expenses from the company's long-running battles with regulators. Lubin wrote that multiple SEC cases, including Consensys's own, have cost companies millions of dollars and jobs, and he described the layoffs to Fortune as a "tough but prudent decision to streamline our operations." The company says it is offering generous severance, including career support and extended health care benefits.
- BBVA plans Visa-backed stablecoin launch in 2025
BBVA plans to launch its own stablecoin in 2025 through a Visa program, with the Spanish bank aiming to reach prototype phase and live activity by then. Head of digital assets and blockchain Francisco Maroto told Fortune that the bank is currently in the sandbox phase of the Visa program, which helps firms launch tokenized assets. Maroto said BBVA has not decided whether the stablecoin will be backed by deposits, money market funds, or fiat currencies, and that it will likely be built around the euro and used for settlement on exchanges. He said BBVA chose Visa for its brand and regulatory compliance, and that the U.S. is not on its short-term horizon.
- Facial recognition firm Clearview fined €30.5 million banned in the Netherlands
Dutch authorities fined US facial recognition firm Clearview AI 30.5 million euros (about $33.7 million) for illegally creating a database of billions of face photos, which they called a massive rights breach, and banned its use in the Netherlands. The Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP) also warned companies working with Clearview of hefty fines. Clearview scrapes face images from the internet without permission and sells access to clients including law enforcement agencies. AP chairman Aleid Wolfsen said facial recognition is a very invasive technology, and the AP warned Clearview of further penalties of up to 5.1 million euros if it does not stop its violations.
- Elon Musk denies reported $45 million a month pledge to Trump
Elon Musk denied during a Monday interview with Jordan Peterson, hosted on X, that he is donating $45 million a month to Trump, though he confirmed he created the America PAC to support Trump's candidacy. Musk said "what's been reported in the media is simply not true," and the Wall Street Journal first reported the donation claim, citing unnamed sources. The super PAC has backers including Ken Howery, Antonio Gracias and the Winklevoss twins, and is led in part by Joe Lonsdale, according to the New York Times. Musk said the PAC is "not supposed to be a sort of hyperpartisan" organization.
- Buenos Aires to improve access to personal documents with zero-knowledge proofs
Buenos Aires is launching QuarkID, a blockchain- and zero-knowledge proof-based system that gives citizens digital, verifiable versions of official documents, with release set for October. It was created with Extrimian, a blockchain digital identity company, and uses Matter Labs' zkSync Era Layer-2 protocol as a settlement layer. According to Diego Fernández, the city's secretary of innovation, no personal document is stored in a centralized database or on-chain, which makes the data impervious to hacks. The city plans to add proof of income and certificates of academic attendance in November.
- Google Cloud to verify msgs sent between blockchains in agreement with LayerZero
Google Cloud will verify data sent between blockchains on the messaging protocol of LayerZero, a crypto startup recently valued at $3 billion, according to an announcement from LayerZero. LayerZero CTO Ryan Zarick told Fortune that Google Cloud will be added as the default verifier for any future application using the protocol, alongside existing oracles such as Chainlink and Polyhedra. Zarick said outside verifiers receive a small fee per transaction but declined to project Google Cloud's revenue from the role. James Tromans, head of Web3 at Google Cloud, said the partnership covers 15 chains and will enhance the security of LayerZero's cross-chain messaging.
Most discussed
- Etherealize raises $40 million to expand Wall Street's use of Ethereum
- Icebreaker secured $5 million in seed funding, led by CoinFund.
- The world's richest inmate is free. What will Binance billionaire 'CZ' do next?
- Uniswap Labs acquires Crypto: The Game – "24/7 crypto reality show"
- SEC sued over Ethereum, crypto firm asks court to state token is not a security