Solana’s Dogwifhat Gets Its Own Validator Node

Hi! In today’s edition:

• 🐶 DeFi Dev Corp spins up Dogwifhat validator

• ⚡ ZKsync’s Airbender can hit 35s single-GPU proofs

• 🛑 Coinbase helps feds freeze $225M in USDT

• ☁️ Aptos & Jump Crypto launch Web3 storage network Shelby

On the podcast:

• 🎙️ Unchained: Crypto-fintech convergence as AZA exits to dLocal

• 🎧 Bits + Bips: Powell, wars, and meme IPOs w/ Anthony Scaramucci

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DeFi Dev Corp. Launches Dogwifhat Validator

Solana treasury-focused public company DeFi Development Corp. has launched a dedicated Dogwifhat (WIF) validator node on the Solana blockchain in partnership with the Dogwifhat community.

The new arrangement will see staking income, block rewards, and maximal extractable value (MEV) split between DeFi Dev Corp. and the Dogwifhat community.

The initiative is part of DeFi Dev Corp.’s broader strategy to grow its “SOL per Share” metric by accumulating and compounding Solana, as well as through validator operations and staking. 

The firm, formerly known as Janover, was taken over by a group of former Kraken executives and rebranded to DeFi Development Corp. in April, shifting its focus to Solana and decentralized finance.

It operates its own Solana validator nodes and has tokenized its Nasdaq-listed stock on the blockchain under the symbol DFDV.

ZKsync’s Airbender Helps Prove Ethereum Blocks in Under 35 Seconds on Single GPU

Matter Labs, the company behind the development of Ethereum layer 2 ZKsync, unveiled a new open-source RISC-V-based zero-knowledge virtual machine (zkVM) called Airbender.

“Powered by Airbender, ZKsync OS (our new zkEVM execution environment) is proving Ethereum blocks end-to-end in under 35 seconds on a single GPU,” said the team in a post on X.

“This opens the door for truly decentralized at-home proving.”

For context, existing setups require 50–160 GPUs to achieve a 12-second proof, depending on block size.

It would also make Airbender the fastest open-source RISC-V zkVM, outperforming other leading systems by a wide margin.

RISC-V (pronounced "risk-five") is a free and open set of rules (called an instruction set architecture, or ISA) that tells a computer processor how to perform basic tasks like math, memory access, and decision-making.

Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin has proposed replacing the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) with the RISC-V instruction set architecture as a way to improve the efficiency, speed, and scalability of Ethereum’s execution layer.

Coinbase Helps Feds Freeze $225M in Crypto Tied to Major Scam

Coinbase said it played a pivotal role in a major U.S. law enforcement operation that resulted in the seizure of approximately $225 million in crypto stolen from “pig butchering” scams.

The U.S. Secret Service, FBI, and U.S. Attorney’s Office filed an order last week to seize the funds, which were mostly in the form of Tether-issued USDT.

Coinbase’s compliance and security teams collaborated with federal agents to trace the illicit funds on the blockchain, identifying how the stolen assets moved through various wallets and linking them to accounts on its platform.

The exchange also helped identify over 130 Coinbase customers who were victims of the scam, with losses totaling $2.3 million.

“As part of the seizure, Tether burned the $225 million in frozen USDT onchain,” said Coinbase.

“The equivalent amount of new USDT was then issued and transferred to a USSS-controlled wallet, where it will be held until distribution to verified victims.”

Aptos Labs and Jump Crypto Launch Web3 Storage Network ‘Shelby’

Aptos Labs and Jump Crypto have jointly launched Shelby, a new chain-agnostic, decentralized cloud storage network designed specifically for Web3, AI, and decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) applications.

Shelby is compatible with Ethereum, Solana, and Aptos, designed to provide sub-second reads, millisecond settlement, and cloud-level reliability.

The network enables monetizable storage for data-rich applications and supports features like pay-as-you-go billing, token gating, smart contract permission control, and dynamic pricing.

It is entering a highly competitive cloud storage market dominated by AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. 

“Storage is broken. Big Tech controls data. Web3 can't rely on Web2 infra. It ends now,” said Aptos Labs on X.

Bits + Bips: Bitcoin Brushes Off Another War & Will Powell Relent on Rates?

Global tensions are rising. Rates may fall. Is crypto prepared for what comes next?

As tensions flare between Iran and Israel, investors are watching oil, gold, and, of course, crypto. In this episode of Bits + Bips, the panel digs into the market response to war risk, the chances the Fed will actually cut rates, and how Circle’s IPO is being treated more like a meme stock than a fintech play.

Plus:

• Why Scaramucci says we’re all living in a surveillance state 

• Whether stablecoins are being kneecapped by U.S. regulation 

• When altcoin ETFs are coming

• And what BlackRock’s Larry Fink secretly told Scaramucci about Bitcoin in 2021 👀

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Crypto and Fintech Are Colliding. Who Wins, and How?

AZA Finance was built on Bitcoin before most people could spell blockchain. Now it’s being acquired.

Cross-border payments. Mobile money. Stablecoins. Crypto.

Elizabeth Rossiello has lived through every cycle, not from a trading desk, but on the front lines of African markets.

Now, the founder of AZA Finance is selling her company to global fintech giant dLocal, a signal that the line between crypto and traditional finance is blurring fast.

In this episode, she talks about:

• How stablecoins are powering 24/7 commerce in emerging markets

• Why new entrants keep failing to gain traction

• And how liquidity, not tech, will determine who wins this new game

All that, plus the inside story of AZA’s journey from a Nairobi-based Bitcoin exchange to one of the most important fintech players in Africa.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

• 🌴 WazirX was granted more time by a Singapore court to argue its restructuring plan as the exchange begins relocating operations to Panama following a massive $234.9 million hack and strong creditor support for its recovery proposal.

• 📉 Upexi shares plunged nearly 60% to under $4 after investors filed to offload over 43 million shares, the same float used to raise funds for its 680,000 SOL treasury, triggering fears over dilution despite prior bullish analyst targets.

• ⚽ Tether, now Juventus’ second-largest shareholder with a €128 million stake, is pushing for a board seat and more influence amid stalled communications with the club’s owners despite months of attempted engagement.

• 📊 The New York Stock Exchange filed a rule change to list Trump Media’s Bitcoin-Ethereum ETF, which would allocate 75% to BTC and 25% to ETH.

• 💳 Chainlink and Mastercard teamed up to let 3 billion cardholders buy crypto directly onchain using a new system that links card payments, custody, and DEX swaps through Chainlink’s interoperability protocol and partners like Uniswap and zerohash.

• 🏛️ Arizona lawmakers approved a bill to create a state-managed Bitcoin reserve funded by seized digital assets, setting protocols for asset handling and earmarking the first $300,000 of forfeitures for the Attorney General’s office.

• 🇰🇷 South Korea’s largest bank KB Kookmin filed 17 stablecoin-related trademarks ahead of a planned consortium with seven other top lenders to issue a won-backed digital currency, aligning with government-backed efforts to fast-track crypto legislation.

• 📈 Polymarket is close to securing over $200 million in new funding led by Founders Fund, pushing its valuation above $1 billion as the company eyes a U.S. return and explores launching a token following record-breaking election volume.

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