Cryptopolitan

Matador Technologies was cleared to issue up to C$80 million, or roughly $58 million, in shares, a step intended to hasten its plan for a Bitcoin holding capacity of 1,000 Bitcoin by 2026.

The company confirmed on Monday that the Ontario Securities Commission approved it to issue common shares, warrants, subscription receipts, debt securities, or units over the next 25 months.

The company stated that the $58 million base shelf prospectus is designed to fund both strategic Bitcoin purchases and general corporate needs, allowing Matador to access capital efficiently while remaining disciplined in terms of timing and pricing, as part of a long-term Bitcoin strategy. “Obtaining the receipt for our CAD $80 million base shelf prospectus is a critical step in maturing our capital structure,” said Deven Soni, CEO of Matador.

The company expects to build up its Bitcoin treasury incrementally, utilizing multiple financing sources instead of relying solely on one, and noted that shelf approval does not obligate it to raise money immediately. According to BitcoinTreasuries.NET, the firm currently holds approximately 175 Bitcoins, worth around $15.3 million, ranking 90th globally among corporate holders.

Matador bought $4.5 million worth of Bitcoin

Mark Voss, Matador’s chief visionary, insists the firm would keep a close eye on Bitcoin’s volatility and time its capital deployment carefully through the current market cycle. Soni also noted, “Matador may, from time to time, allocate available capital toward Bitcoin purchases or other corporate purposes, depending on market conditions, regulatory requirements, the company’s financial position, and other factors.”

In December 2024, the TSX-listed firm began executing its Bitcoin-first strategy with a $4.5 million Bitcoin purchase, saying at the time that BTC would help future-proof its treasury. Since then, the company has grown its Bitcoin treasury by roughly 767%.

Notably, last month, the company finalized the closure of its convertible note program, signaling a full commitment to acquiring Bitcoin for its balance sheet as it works toward acquiring 6,000 BTC. The firm stated that its decision to add Bitcoin and US dollars to its treasury is driven by concerns that Canada’s debt levels could erode the purchasing power of the local currency.

The company’s ultimate target is to hold 1% of Bitcoin’s total supply, roughly 210,000 BTC, a milestone only Michael Saylor’s Strategy has reached so far.

Some 190 companies hold Bitcoin, though their stocks have been falling sharply. 

Investment in companies holding Bitcoin has grown to over 190 publicly traded companies, a sign of continued institutional traction from the inception of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US. Although most Bitcoin-holding companies have seen their stocks decline during market drawdowns, leading analysts to question the long-term sustainability of their treasury strategies.

Some corporate Bitcoin holders are even selling part of their BTC to settle their financial obligations as the market tightens. For instance, Sequans sold 970 BTC in November to pay off convertible debt, deferring its goal of raising 100,000 BTC. 

In addition, Strategy has temporarily suspended the buying of Bitcoin and raised its cash holding to $2.19 billion following a $747.8 million equity sale. Rising cash balances indicate a desire to maintain short-term financial flexibility and satisfy dividend and debt obligations with a capital structure that incorporates preferred shares and borrowing. With 671,268 Bitcoin, valued at an average price of $74,972, the firm currently holds a total amount of this cryptocurrency of around $50 billion.

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A new orchestral project in Brazil aims to transform Bitcoin’s price data into live music. Sources close to the situation noted that this project was permitted to collect funds through one of the country’s programs, which offers tax incentives for cultural projects. 

Brazil’s Federal Register revealed that this approval process enabled the initiative to raise approximately 1.09 million reais, equivalent to around $197,000. These funds were primarily collected from private firms and individual donors to develop an instrumental concert that utilizes financial data to compose music, incorporating ideas generated from art, mathematics, economics, and physics. 

Nonetheless, sources pointed out that this news did not disclose whether any blockchain technology would be involved in the performance. It was mentioned that the concert will take place in Brasília, Brazil’s modern, planned federal capital.

Brazil takes a different approach in the crypto industry 

Just recently, reports noted that the new orchestral project description has been released. In this project description, it was revealed that the initiative will utilize an algorithm that enables it to transform monetary numerals into musical notation easily. This process will be made possible by monitoring the price shifts of Bitcoin and related technical data in real-time during the show. 

These data inputs are essential in this show as they help shape melody, rhythm, and harmony while the orchestra executes the live performance.

Additionally, this method aims to provide individuals with an auditory experience of BTC’s fluctuations by transforming market sentiment into music, blending traditional orchestral instruments with data-inspired compositions.

Meanwhile, sources familiar with the situation stated that the approval confirmed the newly adopted initiative meets the requirements of Brazil’s Rouanet Law and marks the completion of a technical review, permitting sponsors to deduct their donations from taxes effectively.

Following this statement, individuals in the crypto ecosystem ignited heated discussions. To address this controversy, Brazilian officials attempted to explain that the new orchestral project falls under the “Instrumental Music” category, which, according to their argument, affects the application process for tax benefits. They also pointed out that the fundraising is scheduled to conclude by December 31.

On the other hand, several analysts decided to weigh in on the topic of discussion. They argued that such a project builds upon previous experiments in algorithmic art that have employed crypto-related and other real-world data as inspiration for innovative works.

Brazil secures recognition of programmable digital art that responds to BTC’s price changes

A group in San Francisco, primarily focused on programmable digital art, launched a piece in 2020. This piece adapted its appearance in response to the price fluctuations of Bitcoin.

This initiative was known as Right Place & Right Time by artist Matt Kane. It utilized the cryptocurrency’s live market data to prevent fluctuations in Bitcoin’s value from altering the artwork’s visuals.

Notably, this work was introduced via Async Art, a blockchain platform for programmable, interactive digital art (NFTs). At that time, Kane arranged the artwork into a main “Master” image, consisting of several separate layers. Each layer responded to the price movement of BTC, with data changes greatly impacting aspects such as size, rotation, and positioning with time. 

Additionally, sources identified another artist in a similar field. This artist was called Refik Anadol. He reportedly utilized AI, algorithms, and large datasets to create immersive installations. 

These installations could transform various sources, such as environmental details and historical records, into visual art that changes over time.

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Cryptomarket can be described as cyclic, with focus rapidly changing. Large altcoins slow down. Liquidity seeks the following place to expand. During such times, there are projects, which begin to slowly crawl before they can even be known to the rest of the market. Such a trend has already established itself around a single fresh DeFi crypto that has already risen over 250% when some of the most popular altcoins are performing flat or poorly. The large holder’s early positioning is attracting more attention with allocation currently standing at more than 99%.

A Yield and Risk Control Lending Model

Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is a developing crypto DeFi, which is based on lending and borrowing. Fundamentally, the protocol enables the users to provide assets and obtain yield, and borrowers to obtain liquidity by placing collatorals. On the P2C side consumers inject funds into pools and gain APY according to actual borrowing demand. To illustrate this, a reliable supplier of assets can issue yield, which will change with usage, rather than speculation.

Borrowers on the P2P side are presented directly with terms of lending. The lending to value ratios are set in advance. There are liquidation cutoffs. In the case where the borrower has surpassed the stipulated LTV, collateral may be sold to secure the lenders. These mechanics are used to take away the unexpected shocks, and preserve stability of the system.

Exposure to presale activity has also contributed significantly to the initial development in tandem with the protocol design. The token has done so by increasing the phases in a structured way and has increased by about 250% since its entry level was significantly low. Demand has not been frenzied but steady which is usually an indicator of buildup and not of short term speculation.

The Next Transition Point, V1 Launch and Security

It is no wonder analysts are keeping a close eye on MUTM, and timing of this case is one of the reasons. The protocol is currently looking to undergo its V1 release that will bring it out of the development stage to active use. Most DeFi crypto projects traditionally start to reprice as soon as the users are able to borrow, lend, and interoperate on chain.

Another big concern has been security. Mutuum Finance has completed a CertiK token scan with excellent rating and full Halborn security review is underway. Another level of protection is included by a bug bounty program. Such measures are important since the lending procedures pertain to direct use of user funds. Serious capital usually holds down its investments until it has the green flag.

According to this arrangement, there can be a conservative price model in which some analysts suggest that MUTM may experience a 3x move on its current price once the first step to V1 adoption takes place. This perception is linked to increase in usage, and not market hype.

mtTokens and Oracle Infrastructure

The major characteristic of this protocol is the mtTokens. Upon the supply of assets, the users are given the mtTokens that reflect their voting power in the pools. These tokens increase in value when borrowers pay interests. This establishes the reason to hold other than trade short term.

The other factor is the buy and distribute model. Protocol revenue is partially spent on purchasing MUTM tokens at the open market and allocating them to the holders of the mtTokens. This forms continuous pressure of buying which is directly related to use.

The role of oracles is also here. There is a need for accurate price feeds to handle LTV ratios and liquidations. Quality oracle data assists in safeguarding the system and has the lending activity foreseeable.

In these mechanics put together, analysts describe a more positive picture in which long-term protocol usage would help justify a 5x-7x long-term growth. In this model, there is an assumption that there is a smooth increase in demand for borrowing, but not abrupt increases.

Why MUTM is compared to Early Aave

Other observers liken Mutuum Finance to the early Aave, not in scale, but in form and in time. Aave succeeded through prioritizing loans before rolling out functions subsequently. It focused on definite regulations, stable interests paying, and excellent security before the mass media coverage came into play.

The same applies to Mutuum Finance. It is in its infancy stage. There are reduced liquidity requirements. Price elasticity is in large measure. Meanwhile, the protocol is constructed with actual DeFi use as opposed to narrative hype.

This is what has made MUTM to be referred to as a fresh crypto with asymmetric upside. It does not need huge inflows to transfer. It is also not reliant on social trends to operate.

Allocation thumbs 99% and bigger holders move in is still being shifted into as attention shifts. Although most leading altcoins have a hard time getting a fresh wave, this crypto DeFi is at the point in which the structure, usage, and timing are starting to cooperate.

For more information about Mutuum Finance (MUTM) visit the links below:

Website: https://www.mutuum.com

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance

A federal court stopped Texas law that would’ve forced app stores to verify users’ ages before they could download apps. The law was set to start January 1st.

Judge Robert Pitman granted an order stopping the Texas App Store Accountability Act (SB 2420) from taking effect. He wrote that the law is like requiring “every bookstore to verify the age of every customer at the door and, for minors, require parental consent before the child or teen could enter and again when they try to purchase a book.”

Pitman hasn’t ruled yet on whether the law is actually legal. But by blocking it now, he’s saying the state probably won’t win this fight in court.

First legal challenge sets stage for national debate

This ruling matters because Texas was first in line with this type of law. Utah and Louisiana passed similar ones, and Congress is now looking at doing this nationwide. So what happens here could set the tone for what comes next everywhere else.

So how the law would work? App stores like Apple and Google would have to check ages, then pass that information along to app developers. The goal is keeping kids away from apps they shouldn’t be using. Parent advocacy groups came up with this idea originally, though Meta and other big tech companies like Snap and X ended up lobbying for it too.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association sued to stop the law. Their members include Apple, Google, and Meta. They claimed the law “imposes a broad censorship regime on the entire universe of mobile apps” and would make teens jump through hoops to access online content. Kids and their parents would have to give up personal data just to use apps.

A student advocacy group filed their own lawsuit too. They argued the law violates the constitution by limiting what speech kids can see. Texas officials say the law is constitutional and should be allowed.

The state can appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has overturned similar blocks on internet rules before. Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office hasn’t said yet whether they’ll appeal.

Judge says law fails constitutional test

Judge Pitman said the law has to pass the strictest First Amendment test. That means Texas must prove it’s “the least restrictive means of achieving a compelling state interest.” He found the state didn’t meet that bar. In fact, he said it wouldn’t even pass a lower standard because Texas hasn’t shown their methods actually connect to their goals.

The judge acknowledged protecting kids online is important. But he added, “the means to achieve that end must be consistent with the First Amendment. However compelling the policy concerns, and however widespread the agreement that the issue must be addressed, the Court remains bound by the rule of law.”

Apple really didn’t want this law to happen. CEO Tim Cook reportedly called Governor Greg Abbott himself to try talking him out of signing it. The company has previously faced antitrust scrutiny in various jurisdictions over its app store policies.

Google opposed the Texas version too but recently supported California’s different approach, which collects less user data.

A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee just advanced two bills that mix ideas from both the Texas and California versions. This push for a national law worried Apple enough that Cook met with committee leaders the day before they voted on the bills.

With all these laws moving forward in different states and Congress, app store companies are starting to make their own changes. Apple rolled out new kids safety features this year, including letting parents share their children’s age ranges with app developers.

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Bolivia’s President Rodrigo Paz announced Tuesday that several large American technology firms plan to reveal investment plans in the country soon.

Speaking at a press conference held online, Paz said company representatives from Tesla, Amazon and Oracle will travel to Bolivia in January to share details about their technology investments. The plans include building data centers in El Alto and Cochabamba, he said.

Foreign Minister Fernando Aramayo told the Wall Street Journal that his government was looking for financial help from the Trump administration and wants to open the country’s large lithium reserves to outside investors.

Aramayo said he had also talked about the possibility of a currency swap with US officials during a trip to Washington in December.

Last week, Bolivia’s government rolled out a sweeping emergency decree that ended two decades of fuel subsidies and also laid out a plan to fix public finances and bring in foreign investment.

The decree did not give any details on lithium or a currency swap agreement with the United States.

A government spokesman told Reuters that lithium reserves were not a topic of discussion with the United States.

“The currency swap is part of the topics related to US support for the economic stabilization process, but the agenda also includes US investment in different sectors. Lithium was not discussed at all,” the spokesperson said.

Satellite internet gets green light

In the press conference attended by Bloomberg, Paz also mentioned that Bolivia has given permission to OneWeb, SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Leo to do business in the country. These companies will use satellites that orbit close to Earth to provide better internet service.

Foreign businesses must get approval to work in Bolivia. The announcement did not specify whether Tesla, Amazon and Oracle have received such approval. The previous administration, led by President Luis Arce and his left-wing government, had turned down a request from Starlink to operate there.

These potential investments would represent a big change for Bolivia, which spent nearly 20 years under socialist leadership that avoided American businesses and built ties with China and Russia instead. Paz, who holds moderate views, took office in November and has shown support for working with the United States.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that “government officials are currently in Bolivia seeking to facilitate investments that will foster prosperity for both our nations.”

Scholarship program for young Bolivians

Paz said IBM, Google, Amazon Web Services, Oracle and the Project Management Institute will provide 10,000 scholarships to young people in Bolivia for technology training next year. The best students will get to tour SpaceX locations in Texas and Florida.

The US has also praised Bolivia’s recent economic changes, especially ending a fuel subsidy that kept gas and diesel prices low for almost 20 years.  Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that “we applaud President Paz’s historic efforts to open Bolivia to the world by committing to meaningful reforms to attract international investment”.

“This is the path forward, not one of stagnation, blockades or dynamite,” Paz said about protests against his government’s move to end fuel subsidies.

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Apple wrapped up a banner year with record-breaking sales and a historic market value, but the tech giant is now managing a wave of leadership exits that could reshape its future direction.

The iPhone maker brought in $109.2 billion from its Services division alone this year while pushing its total worth past $4 trillion. That makes Apple only the second company ever to hit that mark, joining Nvidia in an exclusive club. But behind the scenes, several key executives are heading for the door.

Jeff Williams, who served as chief financial officer, has retired from the company. His departure is significant because many inside Apple viewed him as the top candidate to eventually replace Tim Cook as chief executive. Two other longtime leaders are also on their way out. Lisa Jackson, who handles government relations, plans to retire in late January. Kate Adams, the company’s top lawyer, will leave in late 2026.

The changes don’t stop there. John Giannandrea, who runs Apple’s artificial intelligence work, is stepping down. His replacement will be Amar Subramanya, who previously worked on AI projects at Google and Microsoft. Alan Dye, a vice president focused on design, left Apple to take a job running a new design studio at Meta’s Reality Labs division.

Cook prepares his successor

These moves come as Cook appears to be grooming John Ternus, a senior vice president who oversees hardware engineering, to take over when he decides to step aside. The Financial Times reported Cook might leave as soon as early 2026, though Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman says no firm date has been set.

Cook took charge of Apple 14 years ago when company founder Steve Jobs died. Jobs had rescued Apple from near collapse after returning in 1997, following his earlier dismissal in 1985. He then launched a series of hit products like the iPod and iPhone that transformed the company.

Since Cook joined Apple in 1998 and later became chief executive, he has kept that momentum going. Under his watch, Apple introduced the Apple Watch and AirPods. The company’s services business exploded in size. Cook also pushed Apple to design and use its own computer chips, giving the company greater control over how its devices work.

Cook’s skills as a negotiator helped Apple survive several tough spots. The company faced off against the Justice Department, dealt with the pandemic, and navigated trade tensions with China under President Trump. Trump eventually decided not to put tariffs on smartphones and some other tech products from China.

These decisions paid off for shareholders. Apple’s market value jumped from $1 trillion in 2018 to $4 trillion this year. Total revenue climbed to $416 billion for fiscal 2025, compared to $391 billion the year before.

Major product updates on the horizon

Looking ahead, Apple is preparing major product updates. According to Gurman, the company plans to release its first foldable iPhone in the second half of 2026. That could push iPhone sales even higher than current record levels. Apple is also working on a cheaper MacBook model, which would make its laptops available to more buyers. While a budget laptop might not generate as much profit per sale, it could bring in new customers who then pay for Apple’s subscription services.

Whoever follows Cook will take over a company at the height of its success. Phone sales have slowed down overall, but Apple still benefits from hundreds of millions of customers who upgrade their devices regularly and increasingly pay for Apple services.

The next leader will face challenges too. Investors want to see Apple make more progress on artificial intelligence. The company needs to show off its improved version of Siri. Apple will also need to compete with Meta, Google, and Samsung in smart glasses. Meta already sells two different smart glasses models, and Google and Samsung are both developing their own.

For now, Cook remains in charge. Whether that changes next year remains to be seen.

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Chris Kelly, former Facebook executive says the artificial intelligence industry needs to figure out how to use less electricity as companies build massive data centers across the country.

Chris Kelly, who was Facebook’s chief privacy officer and general counsel, told CNBC on Tuesday that making AI more efficient will be critical going forward. Human brains run on just 20 watts of power, he pointed out. AI companies are building facilities that need billions of watts.

“I think that finding efficiency is going to be one of the key things that the big AI players look to,” Kelly said. The companies that figure out how to cut data center costs will come out ahead, he believes.

The construction boom has raised questions about where the electricity will come from. The power grid is already under pressure. Nvidia and OpenAI announced plans in September for data centers needing at least 10 gigawatts of electricity. That’s enough to run roughly 8 million American homes for a year. It’s also about what New York City uses during its busiest summer days in 2024, based on New York Independent System Operator figures.

Worries about expenses grew after DeepSeek released a free large language model in December 2024. The Chinese company said it cost less than $6 million to develop. That’s dramatically lower than what American competitors have spent.

Kelly expects more Chinese companies to become major players. President Donald Trump recently approved the sale of Nvidia’s H200 chips to China. Open-source models from China will give people access to basic computing power and AI tools, Kelly added.

Consumers face soaring bills

The rush to build these facilities is already hitting electricity bills. Data centers that haven’t been constructed yet are pushing power prices higher as reported by Cryptopoltian previously. Regular customers might end up paying for expensive infrastructure that may not be needed if demand predictions are wrong.

Consumers on the biggest electric grid in the country will pay $16.6 billion to guarantee future power supplies for data centers between 2025 and 2027. That’s according to a watchdog report released this month. The grid is PJM Interconnection. It provides electricity to over 65 million people in 13 states, including Virginia, which has the world’s largest data center hub. Northern Illinois and Ohio are growing markets too.

“A lot of us are very concerned that we are paying money today for a data center tomorrow,” said Abe Silverman. He was general counsel for New Jersey’s public utility board from 2019 to 2023. “That’s a little bit scary if you don’t really have faith in the load forecast.”

Data center boom may not be as big as power companies think

Home electricity costs have already gone up in states with major data center activity. Residential prices in September jumped 20% in Illinois, 12% in Ohio, and 9% in Virginia compared to the same month last year. The federal Energy Information Administration provided those numbers. All three states rank among the top five data center markets nationwide.

Joe Bowring leads Monitoring Analytics. He explained that data center power costs show up directly on household bills. “When the wholesale power costs go up, people pay more, when it goes down people pay less,” he said.

PJM predicts data centers will need an extra 30 gigawatts by 2030. That’s enough electricity to power more than 24 million homes annually. But there’s uncertainty about whether that demand will actually happen. Data center developers often explore multiple locations before choosing one, said Cathy Kunkel. She’s a consultant at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. That means the forecasts likely count some projects twice.

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Big crypto wallets cannot move arbitrarily. The whale accumulation in the past cycles has been seen to take place in the late allocation stages where the risk is lesser than the pricing has adjusted. Retail investors are not usually aware of this stage. At this moment, there is an Ethereum based DeFi crypto that seems to be going through that window, and more and more people start being busy as certain things get harder and harder to get.

Mutuum Finance (MUTM) Current State

Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is selling at the present value of $0.035 in presale. The project is at Phase 6 of the allocation cycle and the stage is currently being allocated with more than 99%. The official launching price is $0.06, which is significantly lower than future reference price.

MUTM has left its early presale launch position of $0.01 and is currently being sold at $0.035 since then, when the project was publicly distributed in early 2025. That represents a 250% growth to date. 

Simultaneously, the project has collected approximately $19.4M USD and increased the number of its investors up to over 18,600 holders. These numbers indicate stable involvement as opposed to dramatic attention which is usually an indication of positioning over a longer period of time.

What is Mutuum Finance (MUTM) Building

Mutuum Finance is finding a way of developing a dual lending protocol achieved by borrowing and lending in a structured mechanism. Users are allowed to deposit assets in lending pools and get stakes in the form of mtTokens. These mtTokens are considered to be the ownership of the provided liquidity and their value increases as the interest is paid by the borrowers.

Another model applied in the protocol is the buy and distribute model. Part of the protocol revenue is invested in the purchase of MUTM tokens in the market and allocating it to the owners of the mtTokens. This establishes a direct correlation between the use of protocols and the demand of tokens, and it is highly viewed by many analysts as more sustainable as compared to the speculative demand only.

The design also involves security. Mutuum Finance has undergone a CertiK token scan of 90 out of 100. Moreover, Halborn security is in the process of scrutinizing the contracts regarding lending and borrowing. There is a live bug bounty program with a $50k reward with the aim of detecting the code vulnerability early.

Price Outlook and Stablecoin Plans

In the future, Mutuum Finance will launch a protocol stablecoin and implement powerful oracle infrastructure. Chaininglink data feeds, fallback solutions, and aggregation oracle solutions are expected to be used in the roadmap. These factors play a fundamental role in proper pricing, secure liquidations, and dependable lending business.

Other analysts feel that in case the protocol is successful in launching V1 and starts creating lending volume, MUTM can experience multi stage repricing. It is projected that in a conservative scenario, analysts propose that the 2x move will be made at the current levels during the forming of utility expectations. In a more aggressive scenario, linked to long-term usage and recycling of deal revenues, 4x to 6x forecasts have been considered. These opinions are questionable and will be dependent on the execution and market conditions.

What’s Next?

Mutuum finance intends to release its V1 to Sepolia testnet in Q4 2025 according to official updates about X. The change of the development to active testing is marked. This is the period in history when most of the DeFi crypto projects start to get more capital.

There is yet another layer of urgency of phase 6 selling out quickly. The new demands have to fight over the remaining tokens as it restricts allocation. The recent news of 6 figure allocations of whales indicate that not all large investors are willing to wait till the start of the Phase 7 pricing.

As card payments become functional, as does a daily participation-based 24 hour leader board, and security review checks are approaching 100, Mutuum Finance is entering an even more noticeable phase. A large number of market commentators believe that this confluence of declining supply, future utility, and infrastructure preparedness is the reason why whales are hoarding today.

Among the investors monitoring the potential best crypto and the top crypto narratives developing before 2026, MUTM is becoming one of the assets that are being asymmetrically positioned at its current stage.

For more information about Mutuum Finance (MUTM) visit the links below:

Website: https://www.mutuum.com

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance

Payment companies raised $6.2 billion in 2025, a meteoric rise from the $540 million raised in 2024, as investors bet on blockchain-based financial infrastructure replacing traditional settlement systems.

The raises, which represent more than a 1,000% increase from the previous year, were led by stablecoin issuer Circle’s $1.05 billion initial public offering (IPO).

Circle, Figure, Ripple, Tempo, and Rapyd were responsible for more than half of the year’s total funding, after collectively raising around $3.6 billion through public markets and private rounds, respectively.

How much did payment IPOs raise in 2025?

Circle’s June IPO priced shares at $31, securing an $8.06 billion valuation backed by 15 investment banks, including JP Morgan, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs. The company, which issues USDC, the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, saw its share price rise to over $123 at some point on the day of its IPO.

Figure, a blockchain-based lending platform, raised $1 billion through its September IPO, valuing the company at $7.6 billion. The firm has facilitated more than $17 billion in home equity lending across the United States, with Sixth Street investing $200 million of equity capital with recycling capability for future loan production in February 2025.

Ripple completed a $500 million round at a $40 billion valuation, led by funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group, Citadel Securities, Brevan Howard, Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, and Marshall Wace.

Rapyd, which acquired fintech company PayU, raised $500 million earlier in the year, partly from equity and debt.

How much did companies raise in December?

The year’s closing weeks saw continued appetite for payment infrastructure investments. RedotPay, a stablecoin payments platform, raised $107 million in Series B funding led by Goodwater Capital with participation from Pantera Capital, Blockchain Capital, and Circle Ventures.

The company processes more than $10 billion in annualized payment volume, nearly tripling year over year, while generating over $150 million in annualized revenue and operating profitably.

According to data compiled by Alex Obchakevich, a payments data scientist at Polygon, more than 20 companies secured significant funding rounds beyond the top three.

Tempo also raised $500 million in a round led by Thrive Capital and Greenoaks, while AlloyX secured $350 million, and Rail Financial and Moonpay each obtained $200 million.

Observers believe that investors are emboldened by the current pro-cryptocurrency posture of the Trump-led White House, which signed into law the GENIUS Act.

Which networks led stablecoin payments in 2025?

Beyond capital raises, 2025 saw more development of payment-focused blockchain infrastructure. Obchakevich pointed out that more than 35 blockchain networks identify Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, and Base as top-tier payment chains, citing partnerships with Stripe, Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and Revolut, among others.

He also spotlighted Tempo, Plasma, and Arc, calling them “part of a new wave of stablecoin infrastructures” that emerged specifically to optimize global payments and settlements using stablecoins. He placed all of them in the S-tier.

Tron and Ripple remain fundamentally important for payment projects, with Tron processing more than half of all USDT stablecoin transactions globally.

Meanwhile, Celo has made significant contributions to stablecoin payments in Africa and Asia through projects such as MiniPay and Noah. Obchakevich placed Tron and Ripple in the A-tier and also categorized others that have emerged in the ecosystem in the group, with some in tier B, C, and finally D.

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Gnosis Chain has confirmed that it has executed a hard fork to recover approximately $9.4 million in funds frozen following the November 2025 Balancer V2 exploit. The hard fork activated on December 22, 2025, and the announcement came the next day via the official Gnosis Chain account. 

According to the official announcement posted on Gnosis Chain’s X page, the hard fork has been activated, and the funds are no longer within the hacker’s control. To ensure consensus, the post also urged all remaining node operators to take action to avoid penalties.

The decision to rewrite the blockchain’s recent history to make users whole was touted as a solution, but it has exposed fault lines over governance and precedent on Gnosis Chain.

Gnosis Chain initiates a hard fork

According to a governance forum post, Philippe Schommers, Gnosis’ head of infrastructure, floated the idea that the network would need to undergo a hard fork on December 12. According to Schommers, this would help return funds frozen during the recent exploit of the DeFi protocol Balancer.

The hard fork was scheduled to go live on December 22.

Schommers wrote to nodes that fail to follow the chain with a majority of stake that they will face penalties. He said the team was focused on returning user funds by Christmas.

The move was framed as a technical “rescue mission,” but the announcement sparked a heated debate in the project’s community over who gets to decide when a blockchain’s immutability can be broken.

At the time, Schommers called the surrounding debate “an important one and, as always, we welcome all contributions.” He also emphasized that the hard fork depends on Gnosis Chain validators to go through.

“As it stands, our validators have a choice to exercise their collective power transparently, to protect users, even as we work toward a future where no one has that power at all,” he said.

Schommers also countered fears of the update affecting the chain’s immutability. “The hard fork requires relatively minor changes that do not affect chain history – and therefore do not affect fundamental immutability, which stands at the core of our ethos,” he said.

Why is Gnosis Chain going through a hard fork?

Balancer, an established decentralized exchange and automated market maker protocol, was targeted in November when an attacker exploited a vulnerability to siphon $128 million from Balancer V2 liquidity pools across multiple chains.

Harry Donnelly, founder and CEO of Circuit, has tagged Balancer’s breach “a serious warning” for the DeFi ecosystem. According to Donelly, the target was “one of the most trusted names in the space” and “an early pioneer with a culture of compliance, backed by rigorous audits and open disclosure.”

In response to the exploit, validators approved a soft fork that restricted bridge movements, freezing $9.4 million of the stolen assets on-chain. Recovering those funds required a hard fork, which is what triggered debates on the network’s commitment to immutability.

There have been mixed reactions to the move, with the camp split over how to interpret it.  Lefteris Karapetsas, the founder of Rotki, a privacy-focused portfolio tracker, claimed the move reflects accountability rather than centralization.

“The coordinated soft fork and the clear plan toward a hard fork show that Gnosis Chain takes security, users, and ecosystem responsibility seriously,” wrote Karapetsas.

Others have claimed it sets a dangerous future precedent and have demanded formal rules to govern future interventions.

A user under the alias TheVoidFreak noted in their forum response that accepting a hard fork requires “a strict framework that no one can deviate from,” arguing that without it, violations of “Code is law” and immutability would have unmanaged consequences.

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Big crypto breakouts are hardly initiated when all of us are looking. They tend to be created earlier, where a project has entered core development and is more likely to be nearer to actual use. It is the stage where one starts concentrating at a low level. One of the Ethereum based DeFi cryptos is entering that zone as Q1 2026 approaches and its current stage appears nearly finished.

Mutuum Finance (MUTM)

Mutuum Finance is a DeFi Crypto that specializes in lending and borrowing. The flow is created with support of the real usage rather than a temporary hype. Users will be able to borrow with collaterals, lend assets and earn yield under transparent guidelines.

As an illustration, lenders are able to input into pools and get a mtToken. These tokens constitute their stock and increase with paying of interest by borrowers. Liquidity is available to borrowers through locking collateral and adhering to specified loan to value ratios. In case the collateral falls excessively, the liquidations safeguard the system.

Mutuum Finance intends to roll out its V1 on Sepolia testnet in Q4 2025 based on official updates on X. This is where development is replaced with active testing. Meanwhile, Halborn Security is auditing the smart contracts of the protocol and its code is already developed and being subjected to formal analysis.

Growth Prior to Full Visibility

Till that time, Mutuum Finance has raised approximately $19.4M and invited over 18,600 investors. These figures are significant since they indicate consistent attendance of the full utility prior to full utility becoming operational. Such development would tend to take place preceding much broader market coverage.

The MUTM coin began at $0.01 and it is currently selling at a price of $0.035 in presale. That is approximately 250% of the increase in the initial stage. This price action is an indication that demand has been accumulating, and not hyped suddenly.

The aggregate supply of MUTM is limited to 4B tokens. Out of that 45.5% is to be distributed early which quantifies to approximately 1.82B tokens. Some 820M tokens have already been sold.

This is important due to tightening of the supply as allocation goes on. As Phase 6 approaches its completion, the quantity of tokens accessible at present prices is less. Mutuum Finance also operates a 24 hours leaderboard which pays out top contributors of money per day with a reward of $500 in MUTM. This has enhanced open action and engagement.

Security and Long Term Planning

The first important consideration of any DeFi crypto that wishes to have long term relevancy is security. MUTM has undergone a CertiK token scan and scored 90 out of 100. This assists in eliminating or mitigating risks.

The fact that Halborn Security undertakes a continuous review provides an extra security measure. Further, Mutuum Finance has made a declaration that it intends to have a protocol stablecoin in the future. The stablecoins can facilitate easier borrowing and lending and make the system less volatile.

Why Urgency Is Increasing

Phase 6 is rapidly selling, and recent on chain trading is a reported $100K whale allocation. Big entries at this point are usually an indication of the belief that the existing pricing is not going to be sustained long.

The more the allocation, the higher the attention. According to the views of many commentators in markets, this is the time when a new crypto has left being ignored and has taken up a watching status. As V1 approaches, security reportage continues and as supply constraints, Mutuum Finance is already positioning itself as the next crypto to look forward to before the year 2026 in Q1.

Others think that this mix of development, involvement, and lack of supply helps them justify why MUTM is being referenced more and more among the potential best crypto and the top crypto stories that create a new stage of the market.

For more information about Mutuum Finance (MUTM) visit the links below:

Website: https://www.mutuum.com

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance

Top officials at the Federal Reserve are now taking into account how artificial intelligence might boost worker output as they map out future economic conditions, a shift that could reshape how the central bank approaches interest rates and employment targets.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell touched on this issue during his press briefing in December. Looking back at previous technology waves, he noted that past innovations brought more jobs and better pay despite initial concerns. However, he said the outcome with AI remains unknown.

Research suggests these new AI tools, especially those that generate content, could significantly change both how much workers produce and the makeup of the job market itself. Two economists studying this issue created different models to see what might happen. Ping Wang from Washington University in St. Louis and Tsz-Nga Wong from the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank mapped out several possibilities.

Dramatic productivity scenarios take shape

Their most dramatic scenario assumes AI reaches full development over several decades. Under those conditions, about 23% of workers would lose their jobs, but those still working would produce three to four times more than they do now.

Wang explained that over the coming ten years, output per worker might climb roughly 7 percent each year. He stressed this represents one possible path, not a guaranteed outcome. The technology’s ability to learn and improve as people use it drives these potential gains, he said. Workers can also figure out better ways to use AI and customize it for their specific needs, leading to major productivity jumps.

These changes could affect how the Fed pursues its two main goals: keeping people employed and preventing prices from rising too fast. In December, the committee that sets interest rates predicted the benchmark rate would settle around 3 percent in the long term. Economists at the Cleveland Fed said this would be somewhat loose compared to a neutral rate of 3.7 percent.

Data center investment boom draws comparisons to 1990s

Some market watchers see parallels between today’s rush to build data centers and the 1990s spending spree on network equipment. Dan Tolomay, who oversees investments at Trust Company of the South, said rising valuations make him more cautious about returns going forward.

Vice Chair Philip Jefferson addressed college students in Germany this November about AI’s rapid spread. He said ChatGPT now has 800 million people using it each week, up from 500 million at the end of March. A recent study found that 45.9 percent of American workers were using generative AI at their jobs by June and July, compared to 30.1 percent last December. About one-third of those who adopted the tools use them daily.

The study showed AI use is highest among younger workers with more education and higher pay. Those workers saw substantial productivity increases when they used the tools.

Research by Stanford economist Erik Brynjolfsson found AI tools helped customer support workers resolve 14 percent more issues per hour. The gains were even larger for newer employees with less experience.

In scientific work, an AI system called AlphaFold changed protein research dramatically. Five years ago, scientists understood the structures of only 17 percent of the roughly 20,000 proteins in human bodies. Each discovery took months or years and could cost tens of thousands of dollars. AlphaFold now predicts structures for all human proteins plus 200 million more.

AI could match historic innovations

Jefferson said AI might prove as transformative as the printing press, steam engine, or internet. But he cautioned that figuring out AI’s effect on jobs and prices remains difficult. While the technology could replace some workers, it might also create new job types and boost overall economic growth.

On prices, Jefferson said increased productivity could lower costs and reduce inflation. But AI could also push certain prices higher as companies compete for skilled workers and build energy-hungry data centers.

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Long term crypto profits are hardly achieved through purchasing during the time of highest excitement. They normally occur when a project changes out of the build mode to execution and price has not adjusted properly. This is a stage that most investors overlook. Too early means high risk. When it is too late, there is not much upside. There are now a few DeFi projects occupying that intermediate zone. A single Ethereum based altcoin is gaining some ground as this window narrows down.

What Mutuum Finance (MUTM) Is Building

Mutuum Finance (MUTM) is a DeFi crypto that deals with lending and borrowing. The protocol is designed based on the two markets which cater to various user requirements.

Under the P2C market, the users place their assets into shared liquid lakes. They will, in their turn, get mtTokens. These tokens are a symbol of their deposit and increase in value by returns in the form of interest by borrowers. To take an example, a user who provides USDT receives a yield at the moment without trying to lock funds manually.

Within the P2P market, the user communicates with one another. Borrowers are allowed to fix their terms in terms of durations, rates; and lenders select one that best suits their level of risk. There are also loan to value regulations and liquidations are activated where the collateral goes below the order. This structure is in favor of controlled risk rather than open leverage.

Mutuum Finance has so far raised approximately $19.4M and expanded to over 18,600 holders. Such numbers are important since they reflect high engagement in anticipation of complete functionality. It is scheduled according to the X official news that V1 is set to hit the Sepolia testnet in Q4 2025.

Phase Dynamics, Supply and Token Price

MUTM is slightly undervalued, currently in Phase 6 and the phase is more than 99% dedicated. The total token supply is 4B. Of that figure, 45.5% is to be distributed early, representing an approximate of 1.82B tokens. Approximately 820M tokens are already sold.

MUTM has grown approximately 250% since the early 2025 than its first phase price of $0.01. At the official launch price of $0.06, phase 1 participants would be in a growth position of approximately 500%. Every phase will have a price increment and the next phase will see the value of the tokens increase by almost 20%. This is important since the supply becomes narrow at the time when the cost of entry increases, and this tends to alter the behavior of buyers.

Security as a Principles

Any DeFi crypto that harbors long term expansion requires security. Mutuum Finance has been certified to have 90 out of 100 through a CertiK scan. This assists in detecting the risks prior to live use.

Meanwhile, the lending and borrowing contracts are under an independent review at Halborn Security. The code is completed and in a formal analysis. It also has a bug bounty, a $50k price which awards the developers who discover bugs. Such layers minimise uncertainty and this is what most investors delay making commitment capital.

Why Urgency Is Building Now

Phase 6 has reached the point of the increased investor activity. The protocol has a 24 hour leaderboard which pays out the highest contributor in MUTM every day with $500. This has increased the apparent interaction and rivalry.

Also, it accepts card payments, making the entry barrier easier. Higher allocation will be likely to occur faster in late stages because it becomes easier to do so. With supply being scarce, small inflows may cause an even greater impact on price.

Positioning Ahead of Q1 2026

Being an Ethereum based DeFi crypto, Mutuum Finance is placing itself ahead of the bigger market changes that are likely to occur in 2026. MUTM is now shifting to execution phase with V1 near hand, security checks ongoing and majority of the allocation already done.

This, according to some analysts, is the point at which long term upside will become apparent. According to market commentators, in cases where utility exhibits low supply there is a tendency of repricing. Even though results are dependent on adoption and market realities, the existing configuration is the reason why most people view MUTM as one of the most promising top crypto to watch in terms of long term gains.

For more information about Mutuum Finance (MUTM) visit the links below:

Website: https://www.mutuum.com

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance

One of China’s largest short video platforms, Kuaishou, suffered a setback after a cyberattack incident disrupted livestream service, exposing its users to explicit content.

The company made a report to the police following the breach that occurred on Monday evening, an incident that spread across social media, attracting the attention of investors, regulators, and the wider tech industry.

Kuaishou’s users shocked at the data breach

According to reports, the company indicated that its livestream platform was flooded with explicit content, leaving users in shock and questioning how such prohibited data managed to get through all of their safeguards.

Some users stated they had never seen that type of content before on the app. Many users shared screenshots and video clips of what occurred on social media, increasing the public’s concern until moderators were able to intervene and address the situation and remove the affected Kuaishou livestream accounts early Tuesday morning.

The social media company claimed to have contained the issue and had reported it to the police and other pertinent agencies while simultaneously working to suspend the perpetrating accounts and restore proper functionality within the Kuaishou app.

In a public statement issued on Tuesday, Kuaishou stated that the live broadcast function of their platform was a point of concern, adding that they invoked emergency procedures as a result.

The company further committed to eradicating illegal and damaging content from the platform, as well as promising to cooperate with law enforcement investigations into the incident.

Experts on cybersecurity have highlighted that the scale of these attacks is indicative of how the methods used have changed. One expert cited by SMP said that now cybercriminals can create and manage thousands of fake accounts at once, given the availability of automated tools. Resultantly, this makes it difficult for human reviewers to act quickly enough.

“This type of attack will overwhelm traditional methods of verification, because everything occurs nearly instantaneously,” the individual said.

The expert warned that many platforms still depend on manual controls excessively. Another analyst noted that companies need to focus internally as well, because weaknesses regarding internal access will cause greater vulnerabilities to external threats.

The market negatively responded to the cyberattack

As these services were progressively restored, the market was immediately affected by this incident. On Tuesday, Kuaishou shares fell considerably to their lowest point in nearly five weeks, following the announcement on the back of concerns over reputational damage and potential costs related to implementing enhanced security protocols.

The Chinese firm later stated that some parts of the app were not affected, adding it was going to pursue legal action against the perpetrators, signalling a much tougher stance as scrutiny around online content continues to grow in China.

Some reports also indicate that the company is now looking to hire more cybersecurity staff to enhance security. Online posts that were shared insinuated openings for engineers and security specialists, highlighting a wider push to strengthen defences following the attack.

The attack on Kuaishou comes as Chinese regulators are increasing pressure on digital platforms, with authorities calling on companies to remove harmful material and prevent its spread with haste. These have specifically cited content linked to violence, vulgarity, or risks to minors.

As Cryptopolitan reported, regulators recently summoned major tech firms over content violations as part of a broader crackdown on online platforms. The campaign aims to clean up digital spaces and hold companies accountable for what appears on their services.

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Telegram now runs the largest crypto black-market economy ever documented, with Chinese-speaking users transacting literally $2 billion every month.

According to an Elliptic’s investigation released this week, simple access to Telegram, the ability to relaunch banned channels, and Chinese-language moderation have replaced the technical barriers that once defined darknet crime.

Elliptic estimates that one of those markets, Huione Guarantee, moved $27 billion between 2021 and 2025.

2025 has been a year of breakthroughs, takedowns and firsts.

Our blockchain intelligence drove real-world impact at every turn: supporting the $96B Garantex takedown, launching AI-powered Copilot, exposing $35B in illicit Telegram marketplaces and securing HSBC's strategic… pic.twitter.com/8it0QBuJHB

— Elliptic (@elliptic) December 23, 2025

Scam markets on Telegram generate record monthly volumes

Elliptic identified two markets, Tudou Guarantee and Xinbi Guarantee, as the current leaders of this system. Together, they enable close to $2 billion per month in crypto transactions tied to laundering services, stolen personal data, fake investment websites, and AI deepfake tools. The listings also include pregnancy surrogacy services and ads linked to teen prostitution.

These markets supply infrastructure to large-scale romance and investment scams known as pig butchering, which are run mainly from compounds in Southeast Asia. Thousands of trafficking victims are forced to work inside those compounds. The FBI estimates these scams take in about $10 billion a year from U.S. victims alone. By selling laundering and operational tools to those networks, Tudou Guarantee and Xinbi Guarantee expanded at the same pace as the scams they support.

Tom Robinson, Elliptic’s cofounder and chief scientist, said that these markets are “the biggest ever recorded online.”

Bans fail as platforms and payment rails stay in place

In May, Telegram banned Huione Guarantee after it rebranded as Haowang Guarantee and was named as a money laundering operation by the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

Tudou Guarantee, in which Haowang Guarantee holds a stake, expanded quickly, as Elliptic now tracks its activity at about $1.1 billion per month, compared with Haowang’s earlier level of $1.4 billion. Xinbi Guarantee reached around $850 million per month after being banned and relaunching.

In its statement, Telegram said it reviews cases individually and defends user privacy and financial autonomy. Analysts rejected that position. Elliptic and other observers said most activity on Tudou Guarantee and Xinbi Guarantee is criminal.

Aside from scam services, the markets sell prostitution, including posts that suggest sex trafficking of minors through terms like “lolita” and “young girl.” The scam groups they serve are also widely linked to forced labor inside brutal compounds.

AlphaBay, once described by the FBI as ten times the size of Silk Road, processed only around $1 billion across two and a half years, while Hydra, a Russian market that also served ransomware groups and crypto thieves, handled more than $5 billion over seven years.

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Cardano (ADA) is ending 2025 pressesurized, as it was observed by the cryptonews community that the market was filled with an uncertain vibe about its price movements. Currently, ADA is trading around $0.38, marking a fall of over 20% in the previous month, and it has left the community puzzled about which cryptocurrency to invest in for the coming year 2026. 

Even though the development process of Cardano has been in full swing, ending a major milestone on its network, its price is not showing the same. A new cryptocurrency that is priced at $0.035 launched a presale and has picked up major momentum.

Cardano Pressured Despite Positive On-Chain Indicators

Cardano has seen a very noticeable downtrend lately. ADA has maintained a bearish momentum, including after it has launched the Midnight privacy protocol on its network. It was expected that after this upgrade, a certain boost would be experienced by ADA; on the contrary, a sell-the-news phenomenon has occurred in the markets, and as a result, the short-term market participants continue to exit their positions, thereby accentuating a bearish trend. For ADA to maintain a stable value, it needs to protect the crucial support area between $0.36 and $0.37.

However, on-chain transactions by large holders seem to offer a contradictory scenario. Blockchain analytics suggest that large holders who possess between one and ten million ADA seem to be buying actively. In just two days, these holders seem to have accumulated around 1.76 billion ADA, worth around $630 million at the prevailing price level. It is clear that large investors are treating the current price level as a long-term investment opportunity. 

It seems that Cardano has bagged a significant progress in terms of governance by reinstating full functionality to their Constitutional Committee after a successful on-chain vote, while still facing regulatory uncertainties in the United States market. For now, ADA still appears to be a wait-and-watch investment for those who are planning to invest in their next big crypto holding.

Why Mutuum Finance Is Acquiring Popularity So Rapidly

As Cardano faces challenges in reviving its pace, Mutuum Finance is gradually becoming an attractive and cost-efficient alternative for investors looking for early-stage developments. The presale event of the project is in Phase 6 and is 99% sold out, creating tremendous market-driven Fear Of Missing Out. Phase 6 is selling MUTM tokens at $0.035, which is the last phase before entering Phase 7, where an expected close to 20% hike in price will take place to $0.04. Since the launch of presale, Mutuum Finance has managed to rake in $19,500,000 and 18,560 holders.

Price appreciation has already been considerable. This is because the Phase 6 pricing indicates a 250% appreciation from the Phase 1 pricing of $0.01 per token. With a launch pricing at $0.06, it can be noted that a potential 410% return for those who invest at the prevailing prices awaits at launch. This particular aspect is what makes MUTM a premier choice for an investor seeking a potential benefit of a crypto despite awaiting appreciation for larger-market cap assets.

Mutuum is also working to increase engagement with a newly launched dashboard, which includes a leaderboard of the top 50 holders. The 24-Hour Leaderboard is an added fun element on a daily basis by rewarding the highest ranked user a $500 MUTM bonus, provided they process at least one transaction within a time period of 24 hours. The leaderboard renews at 00:00 UTC each day.

From a development standpoint, there is increasing confidence in the independence audit in progress, as Halborn Security reviews lending/borrowing contracts of Mutuum. The team also verified that the V1 protocol will be launched on the Sepolia testnet in Q4 2025. The testnet will feature liquidity pools, mtTokens, debt tokens, as well as a liquidator bot, with the ETH and USDT assets as the first to be supported in the protocol. Such developments ensure that the cryptocurrency, MUTM, is a solid DeFi crypto with real-world applications and not just a hyped project.

Adding to the sense of urgency is a $100,000 giveaway hosted by Mutuum Finance, where a win of $10,000 in MUTM tokens is up for grabs for a total of ten lucky participants. 

A Clear Position for 2026 

Though Cardano is developing for the future, Mutuum Finance is creating momentum for the current time. For investors trying to find  which cryptocurrency to invest in at the current price rates, MUTM comes ahead as a major option before its next price hike and launch.

For more information about Mutuum Finance (MUTM) visit the links below:

Website: https://mutuum.com/ 

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance

The Japan Fair Trade Commission plans to conduct a fact-finding investigation into search engines that use generative artificial intelligence. It is expected to target companies such as Japanese tech giant LY Corp. and US firms Google and Microsoft.

Japan’s antitrust watchdog suspects that the unauthorized use of articles from news organizations by IT companies in the display of search results may constitute an abuse of their dominant position in violation of the antimonopoly law.

“The investigation is not intended as a crackdown, but rather to gain a better understanding of the situation,” an official from the commission stated.

The probe is to be conducted as an extension of the 2023 investigation

AI-powered search engines can understand questions asked in a conversational tone and respond accordingly. The AI generates summarized answers from data collected through the internet. The technology is regarded as more convenient than traditional search engines because it provides more direct answers.

However, the unauthorized use of articles from news organizations and other sources by tech companies in their responses has become a problem. News agencies generate revenue by displaying ads on their sites, so the spread of AI-generated news summaries could lead to a decline in that income.

Besides the search engines, conversational AI operators such as OpenAI, which runs ChatGPT, and Perplexity AI Inc., a US startup, are part of the problem. The decision comes amid a series of lawsuits and protests against Perplexity by Japanese news organizations over a conversational AI service. They claim copyright infringement and raise concerns that the system uses news articles without permission.

Two years ago, the watchdog published a report on contracts for the internet distribution of news by major IT companies. It warned that one-sided contract changes that significantly lower payments to news organizations for their articles are a violation of the antimonopoly law. To that end, the latest probe will be conducted as an extension of the 2023 investigation.

The EU and UK tighten their rules against US tech companies

Similar investigations have been launched overseas into AI search services. Earlier this month, the European Commission launched a formal antitrust investigation into Google’s use of publisher and YouTube content to train its generative AI systems, including AI Overviews and Gemini. 

The Commission is investigating whether Google’s scraping such content without appropriate compensation or an “opt-out” mechanism breaches EU competition rules. This follows a fine of approximately €2.95 billion imposed in September over anti-competitive practices in its adtech segment.

Google was able to overturn an old AdSense fine of €1.49 billion in late 2024, but that hasn’t stopped the flow of new claims. Recently, France’s Autorité de la concurrence confirmed a €250 million fine for violating intellectual property rights. Meanwhile, the UK’s CMA has temporarily granted Google’s advertising arm “Strategic Market Status” (SMS), which will enable stricter oversight in 2026.

Additionally, regulators have opened a new front. The EU began a trade investigation into Meta’s new WhatsApp rules at the beginning of the month, as reported by Cryptopolitan. The probe looks into whether Meta is blocking other AI providers from the WhatsApp Business Solution so that its own Meta AI assistant can be used instead.

Meanwhile, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) accused European regulators of pursuing a “persistent course of discriminatory and harassing lawsuits, taxes, fines, and directives against US service providers.” The Trump administration says if these practices continue, the US is prepared to impose fees and restrictions on European companies operating in the American market.​

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While reviewing the detections of its in-house YARA rules, Jamf Threat Labs claims it observed a signed and notarized stealer that did not follow the typical execution chains seen in the past. 

According to 23pds from Slowmist, this stealer is a new variant of the MacSync variant famous for bypassing macOS security. 

Slowmist claims user info already stolen 

In an X post, Slowmist’s Chief Information Security Officer, 23pds claimed that there is a new variant of the MacSync that bypasses the macOS gatekeeper security system, and it has already hijacked the information of many users. 

According to 23pds, to evade detection, the variant employs techniques like file inflation, network connection verification and self-destruct scripts after execution. It can reportedly steal sensitive data like iCloud keychains, browser passwords, and crypto wallets. 

The warning came attached to a blog from Jamf Threat Labs, reporting that this is not its first contact with MacSync. 

The macOS-targeted information stealer malware reportedly first emerged in April 2025 as “Mac.C”, developed by a threat actor known as “Mentalpositive”. It was rebranded to MacSync shortly after, which it quickly gained traction among cybercriminals.

To protect yourself from it, only download apps from the Mac App Store or trusted developer websites, keep your macOS and apps updated, use reputable antivirus/endpoint security tools that detect macOS threats, and be cautious with unexpected .dmg files or installers, especially those promising crypto-related or messaging tools.

Is there a new MacSync malware? 

The sample in question reportedly looked highly similar to past variants of the increasingly active MacSync Stealer malware but was revamped in its design. It differed from earlier MacSync Stealer variants that primarily rely on drag-to-terminal or ClickFix-style techniques, as it employs a more deceptive, hands-off approach. 

The sample is reportedly delivered as a code-signed and notarized Swift application within a disk image named zk-call-messenger-installer-3.9.2-lts.dmg, distributed via https://zkcall.net/download. 

That removes the need for any direct terminal interaction. Instead, the dropper retrieves an encoded script from a remote server and executes it via a Swift-built helper executable

Jamf Threat Labs also observed the Odyssey infostealer adopting similar distribution methods in recent variants. They expressed surprise that the familiar right-click open instruction is still present in the new sample, even though the executable is signed and does not require this step.

“After inspecting the Mach-O binary, which is a universal build, we confirmed that it is both code-signed and notarized. The signature is associated with the Developer Team ID GNJLS3UYZ4,” they claimed. 

They made sure to verify the code directory hashes against Apple’s revocation list, and at the time of analysis, said none had been revoked.

Another notable observation made is the unusually large size of the disk image (25.5MB), which they said appears to be inflated by decoy files embedded within the app bundle. 

At the time of analysis, some of the samples uploaded to VirusTotal were detected by only one antivirus engine, while others were flagged by up to thirteen. After confirming that the Developer Team ID was used to distribute malicious payloads, Jamf Threat Labs reported it to Apple. Since then, the associated certificate has been revoked.

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New cryptos have a narrow span of becoming salient before becoming a topic of discussion in every market cycle. This stage normally arrives when the infrastructure is in its final stages and supply is already getting tighter. Price often reacts later. The trend is beginning to take shape around a DeFi crypto with less than $0.1, but has some indications of breaking into a significantly bigger growth stage.

This project has not been dependent on hype but it has been through constructing first. Consequently, analysts are working towards higher upside capitalization which is pegged on usage, rather than speculation.

Mutuum Finance (MUTM) Presale Development and Vision

Mutuum Finance is an Ethereum based DeFi crypto, which consists of lending and borrowing. On a high level, the protocol will enable users to provide assets and collect yield and borrowers access liquidity by pledging assets. The system is designed in terms of coherent regulations, direction of interests and forensible results.

The MUTM token has gone through gradual price increment presales in various structured phases. The per unit presently is selling at $0.035 in presale which is a 2.5x jump from initial phase 1 price of $0.01. Increase in funding has been gradual and the holders have increased to over 18,600 participants. This is a trend that is usually regarded as accumulation rather than short term trading by the analysts.

The interesting part is that a large proportion of the entire pre-sale allotment is already shared. This implies that at this point new entrants are getting into a phase where the supply is highly constrained compared to where it used to be at the beginning of the process.

Demand driven Revenue, V1 Launch and mtTokens

A major point in analyst models is the upcoming V1 launch. After the protocol goes live, the chain becomes active in terms of lending and borrowing. This is what typically happens when the DeFi crypto valuation changes to the usage based pricing instead of the idea based pricing.

One of the important parts of the design is mtTokens. Once users add their assets, they get mtTokens which reflect their lending pool rank. These mtTokens increase in proportion to the interest paid by borrowers. This forms a rationale to hold, as the yield builds up as time goes by.

A model of buy and distribute is also used in Mutuum Finance. A fraction of protocol revenue is used to purchase MUTM tokens in the market and allocate it to the holder of the mtTokens. This connection, as analysts note, places the protocol usage directly in relation to token demand.

According to conservative post-V1 adoption, other analysts describe a price situation in which MUTM may increase by 4x-5x of its current value with the increased borrowing spurred by the transitional rate.

Layer 2 and Oracle Expansion

In addition to V1, the roadmap contains a native borrower-backed stablecoin. Stable assets can also see their use rise day by day due to the reduced volatility risk of the assets to the lender as well as the borrower. This may cause an increase in the volume of transactions on the protocol.

There will also be expansion Layer 2. With reduced charges and quick deals, lending business will become more available to less prolific customers. Analysts tend to consider Layer 2 support as one of the successive moves to scale DeFi protocols beyond their first adopters.

Oracles are also important. Valid price feeds are required to control the loan to value ratios and liquidations. Credible oracles assist in hedging lenders and stabilising the system during market fluctuations.

Some analysts describe an even more bullish case of over the upside, guaranteed by stablecoin use, Layer 2 support and trustworthy oracle information together. MUTM could achieve a higher growth of 600-800% in the long term period in this model since the increment would not be linked with short term momentum.

Security, Bug Bounty and On Chain Activity

Security has not been considered as an afterthought. Mutuum Finance has already had a CertiK scan report with a score of good and is being fully reviewed by Halborn. A bug bounty of $50,000 USD is one more added protection that encourages outsourcing testing.

The other board monitored by the analysts is the 24 hour leaderboard. This is not a one time affair but a continuous activity. Demand is also increased with card payment support and the new users can easily enter the ecosystem.

Combined with this, it is why others refer to MUTM as a new crypto with one of the more obvious upside profiles below $0.1. The infrastructure is almost ready, supply is already constrained, and usage is shortly to start, which analysts are detecting an arrangement in which price can immediately spur ahead once utility is launched.

For more information about Mutuum Finance (MUTM) visit the links below:

Website: https://www.mutuum.com

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/mutuumfinance