Key Takeaways CCN’s Top 101 in Crypto and Blockchain 2026 has reached its halfway point. Featured names and Crypto Citizens have shared the list across social media. With the Top 10 and Top 3 still to be announced, anticipation is rising over who will be named 2026’s most influential force in crypto. The Crypto Citizens Network’s (CCN) Top 101 in Crypto and Blockchain 2026 has reached its halfway mark, with 50 profiles now revealed as the editorial countdown moves closer to the industry’s most anti ...

Aptos (CRYPTO: APT) is among the more unique cryptocurrency projects I've been keeping an eye on. Much of that has to do with the fact that this project was founded by former Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) engineers, using the Move programming language for its secure contracts, achieving impressive throughput and low-latency transactions, perfect for gaming and other decentralized finance applications. That said, given the market turmoil we're seeing today, it's perhaps not surprising that Aptos has declin ...

Key Takeaways Crypto-focused travel platform Travala has added access to more than 1,700 car rental brands across 50,000+ locations in over 150 countries. The expansion follows a milestone 2025 in which Travala surpassed $113 million in annual gross revenue. Crypto car payments remain limited. Crypto-focused travel booking platform Travala has launched a global car rental service, adding access to more than 1,700 brands, including Hertz and Avis, as it expands deeper into the digital asset economy. ...

The ETF approval arrives amid surging institutional interest in Sui, joining a growing list of institutional-grade products or planned initiatives, including from Bitwise, Canary Capital, Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, and VanEck. In December 2025, 21shares also launched the first leveraged ETFin the U.S. tied to SUI. The introduction of TSUI expands access further through a straightforward, spot-based structure.“TSUI marks yet another widely-available access point to Sui, leveraging the industry’s preemine ...

U.S. spot ETF expands regulated access to the Sui ecosystem as institutional momentum acceleratesNEW YORK, Feb. 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 21shares, one of the world’s leading issuers of crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), today announced the launch of the 21shares Spot SUI ETF (TSUI), which has officially started trading on Nasdaq. TSUI allows U.S. investors to integrate SUI into their portfolios via traditional brokerage accounts, without the need to directly hold or manage digital wallets. TSUI is not ...

Core Insights - Vitalik Buterin's decision to leave college was not a planned move but a reaction to circumstances he faced at the time [1][4] - His early involvement in the cryptocurrency space included a desire to intern at Ripple, but visa issues led him to work on Bitcoin Magazine instead [2] - The pivotal moment for Buterin came during the Bitcoin Miami Conference in January 2014, where he realized he would not return to university after presenting Ethereum [3] Company Development - Ethereum was developed as an alternative to Bitcoin, focusing on broader use cases in decentralized finance, and was officially launched in 2015 [5] - As of now, Ethereum is the largest blockchain for decentralized finance, with over $54 billion in total value locked [6] - The native token of Ethereum, ETH, is currently the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization [6]

Market Conditions - Anthony Scaramucci believes markets have entered a bear phase, emphasizing that the real issue is the duration of this downturn rather than its existence [1][3] - Scaramucci describes bear markets as prolonged periods that persist until market participants exhaust their energy, rather than simply ending when fear peaks [2][4] Bitcoin Insights - Scaramucci suggests that Bitcoin's current behavior indicates a divergence between younger investors entering the crypto space and older investors favoring gold and silver [3][4] - He argues that if the market were driven solely by currency debasement fears, Bitcoin would be experiencing significant gains, which it is not [4] Investor Sentiment - Scaramucci notes that the loudest pessimism often coincides with investors being under-allocated rather than overexposed, based on his experience through nine bear markets [5] - He maintains that downturns typically conclude not when fear dissipates, but when market participants become fatigued [4][5] Regulatory Environment - Scaramucci expresses optimism regarding potential U.S. regulatory reforms that could positively impact Bitcoin, suggesting that addressing regulatory issues may lead to a price target of $150,000 [7][8] - The anticipated regulatory changes could foster growth in decentralized finance and blockchain sectors, influencing investor sentiment and allocation during the current bear phase [8]

Core Insights - SBI Holdings is intensifying its integration with the XRP ecosystem through strategic initiatives aimed at enhancing retail crypto onboarding and corporate developer adoption [1] Group 1: SBI Bond Offering - SBI announced a blockchain-based security token bond offering worth 10 billion yen ($64.5 million), named SBI START Bonds, which rewards retail investors with XRP [2] - The bond, with a maturity of three years, offers an indicative annual interest rate between 1.85% and 2.45%, with pricing set for March 10 and issuance on March 24 [2] - The XRP rewards are intended to serve a deeper purpose beyond yield enhancement, contributing to the revitalization of Japan's capital markets and sustainable economic growth [3] Group 2: Customer Acquisition Strategy - To receive cryptocurrency payouts, domestic investors must open and verify an account with SBI VC Trade by May 11, which is a strategic move for customer acquisition [4] - The bond offering channels conservative retail investments into SBI's digital asset platform, allowing for cross-selling of services such as spot trading, staking, and margin trading [5] Group 3: Support for Startups - SBI Ripple Asia has partnered with the Asia Web3 Alliance Japan (AWAJ) to create a venture studio model that provides technical and regulatory support to regional startups [6] - The initiative requires startups to build financial services natively on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), positioning SBI as a technical support partner [7] Group 4: Developer Momentum on XRPL - Unlike competitors like Ethereum or Solana, XRPL lacks a robust decentralized finance ecosystem, but SBI is introducing new features to attract institutional interest [8] - By funding a venture studio focused on XRPL, SBI aims to stimulate developer momentum within the blockchain network [8]

Aave’s civil war has its first casualty. Bored Ghosts Developing, a company hired by digital cooperative Aave DAO to provide software development services for the world’s largest decentralised finance protocol, said on Friday it would not seek renewal of its contract in April. And it blamed Aave Labs, the creator of the that protocol. In a lengthy post on Aave’s governance forum, Bored Ghosts said it could not continue to work on the latest version of the protocol while Labs attempts to push users to a ...

Core Insights - DeFi Technologies Inc. is hosting a webinar on February 24, 2026, to discuss the launch of the DEFT Valour Investment Opportunity Index, which aims to provide an institutional-grade benchmark for capital allocation in the digital asset market [1][1][1] Company Overview - DeFi Technologies Inc. is a financial technology company that connects traditional capital markets with decentralized finance (DeFi) [1][1] - The company is the first Nasdaq-listed digital asset manager, offering equity investors diversified exposure to the decentralized economy through an integrated business model [1][1] - DeFi Technologies includes subsidiaries such as Valour, Stillman Digital, Reflexivity Research, Neuronomics, and DeFi Alpha, each focusing on different aspects of digital assets and financial technology [1][1][1] Webinar Details - The webinar will feature Andrew Forson, President of DeFi and Chief Growth Officer at Valour, who will provide updates on the DVIO Index and discuss its implications for regulated investor flows and future market analytics [1][1][1] - Registration for the webinar is available through the company's website [1]