Skip to content
News on crypto, fintech and digital infrastructure

TechWatch — News on crypto, fintech and digital infrastructure

Bitunix Care Fund Expands to $50 Million USDC with On-Chain Verification

Bitunix increased its dedicated user protection reserve to $50 million USDC on October 19, 2026, and published an Ethereum address for independent verification.

Around the clock

  1. Solana Alpenglow Consensus Upgrade Activates on Mainnet with 150 Millisecond Finality

    Solana activated the Alpenglow consensus upgrade on mainnet-beta October 21, 2026, retiring TowerBFT at slot 459,653,000 and targeting 150 ms deterministic finality.

  2. Standard Chartered Zodia Custody Acquisition Advances with Signed Definitive Agreements

    On October 21, 2026, Standard Chartered announced definitive agreements to acquire 100 percent of Zodia Custody through its subsidiary, integrating regulated crypto custody operations.

  3. Grvt Token Burn Removes 1.1 Million Tokens as Platform Details RWA Perpetual Futures Roadmap

    Grvt burned 1.1 million GRVT tokens on October 20, 2026, cutting nearly 1% of circulating supply and outlining launches for yield products and zero-fee RWA perpetual futures.

  4. Blockchain.com Crypto Options Trading Launch Rolls Out Buy-Only Contracts on Seven Assets

    Blockchain.com introduced options trading on October 20, 2026, allowing eligible users to buy call and put contracts on BTC, ETH and five other assets with upfront USDC funding.

  5. Mastercard Stablecoin Security Tool Screens Payments for Fraud and Sanctions Risks

    Mastercard introduced its Stablecoin Security tool on October 19, 2026, at Money20/20 USA to screen stablecoin transactions for fraud, scams, and sanctions exposure using combined payment and blockchain data.

  6. Mural Series A Tether Funding Secures $15 Million for Stablecoin Cross-Border Platform

    Mural closed a $15 million Series A round led by Tether on October 20, 2026, bringing total funding to $28 million for its stablecoin-powered cross-border payments infrastructure.

  7. Mesh Visa crypto payments partnership expands access to 175 million merchants

    Mesh announced a partnership with Visa on October 19, 2026, to let users spend crypto and stablecoin balances directly at Visa merchants through supported wallets.

Earlier

All news