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According to Fortune, California cryptocurrency executive Adam Iza admitted on Monday to orchestrating a failed kidnapping attempt against the parents of Veer Chetal.The case is related to the $245 million Bitcoin theft that Veer Chetal was previously involved in. 25-year-old Adam Iza, also known as Ahmed Faiq, previously ran the cryptocurrency trading company Zort and referred to himself as the "Godfather." Veer Chetal and two others involved impersonated Google and cryptocurrency exchange technical support personnel to steal 4,100 Bitcoins from a Washington resident, which was worth approximately $245 million at the time.Adam Iza and his accomplices attempted to obtain part of the stolen funds by kidnapping Veer Chetal's parents. Additionally, Adam Iza admitted to stealing over $37 million by fraudulently accessing Meta's business manager accounts and credit lines between 2020 and 2022. Federal prosecutors are seeking at least 14 years of imprisonment during his sentencing.

According to CoinDesk, global payment networks Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard are preparing to launch a new stablecoin platform. Sources reveal that cryptocurrency exchange Binance is also exploring the possibility of participating in this stablecoin platform.Currently, Coinbase, Stripe, and Visa have all declined to comment, and Mastercard did not respond to comment requests before publication. In addition, the revenue-sharing agreement between Coinbase and Circle Internet is set to renew in August this year, with the current market capitalization of USDC reaching 76 billion dollars.

According to CoinDesk, Mastercard is expanding its settlement network to support regulated stablecoins, planning to offer stablecoin settlement, intraday settlement, weekend and holiday settlement services to meet the demand for real-time fund flow.The new framework will run in parallel with existing fiat settlement processes, aiming to provide financial institutions with more flexible liquidity management. Mastercard will initially support Circle's USDC, Paxos-issued PYUSD, USDG and USDP, Ripple's RLUSD, and SoFiUSD, covering blockchain networks such as Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, Base, Arbitrum, and XRPL. Financial institutions such as Cross River, Lead Bank, CBW Bank, ARQ, and Nuvei will be among the first participants.

According to Finance Feeds, payment giant Mastercard has partnered with the decentralized oracle protocol Chainlink to establish a direct fiat-to-cryptocurrency gateway for its global users.This collaboration allows Mastercard cardholders to bypass centralized exchanges and directly acquire digital assets within on-chain smart contracts. The initial card transaction layer is handled by Shift4 Payments, while Zero Hash is responsible for compliance tracking, custody routing, and instant settlement from fiat to cryptocurrency. Ultimately, the funds are pushed to a public distributed ledger through Chainlink's infrastructure and integrated into the Swapper Finance platform, which utilizes XSwap to obtain liquidity from decentralized exchanges like Uniswap.This integration compresses card processing, regulatory review, cross-chain messaging, and AMM Swap into a single continuous transaction.

According to BBX data, yesterday global payment giants and publicly listed treasury companies made key progress in obtaining compliance licenses and strategic asset allocation, with the core dynamics as follows:Mastercard secures compliance entry ticket in the U.S.: Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: $MA) subsidiary Mastercard Transaction Services (U.S.) LLC has officially obtained a cryptocurrency business license (BitLicense) issued by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), allowing it to legally conduct digital asset-related business in the state. This approval marks Mastercard's full-scale efforts in on-chain payment and settlement infrastructure centered around stablecoins and tokenized deposits.DDC treasury holdings rise to 2,714 coins: DDC Enterprise Limited (NYSE: $DDC) officially announced an additional purchase of 131 bitcoins. As of now, the company's total bitcoin holdings have reached 2,714 BTC, with an overall average purchase cost of $79,135. Benefiting from recent capital operations, its year-to-date bitcoin yield has reached 43.5%.

According to CoinDesk, Mastercard Transaction Services (U.S.) LLC, a subsidiary of Mastercard, has been granted a BitLicense by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), allowing it to conduct digital asset-related business in the state. This approval is part of its strategy to build a blockchain-based payment and settlement infrastructure, focusing on stablecoins and tokenized deposits.The New York BitLicense requires licensed institutions to meet strict standards in areas such as capital, cybersecurity, compliance, and consumer protection. Mastercard stated that this license will support its layout in digital currencies such as stablecoins and tokenized deposits, while continuing to adhere to the compliance and operational standards of its global payment network, promoting the parallel development of traditional financial systems and blockchain payment tracks.

According to BBX data, yesterday the layout of traditional payment institutions in the cryptocurrency infrastructure showed divergence, with institutions having clear differences in their views on ETH and the altcoin sector. The core dynamics are as follows:Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: $MA) signed an acquisition agreement for the UK stablecoin infrastructure company BVNK on March 17 for a maximum of $1.8 billion (including $300 million in performance-based payments), which directly led Mastercard to abandon its previously pursued strategic investment plan in Zerohash (a privately held company). According to CoinDesk on May 19, Mastercard exited negotiations with Zerohash after the completion of the BVNK acquisition, and Zerohash is currently seeking to initiate a new financing round with a valuation of over $1.5 billion (higher than the $1 billion valuation established during the D-2 round of financing of $104 million in September 2025); the strategic logic behind Mastercard's acquisition of BVNK is that BVNK has a stablecoin payment infrastructure covering over 130 countries and a difficult-to-replicate combination of multi-country payment licenses; Mastercard's Chief Product Officer Jorn Lambert stated that the goal is to integrate stablecoins into the core network of Mastercard Move cross-border payments, rather than treating them as a peripheral experiment.JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: $JPM) analysts cited by CoinDesk on May 19 released the latest research report indicating that in the current market environment, Ethereum and the broader altcoin sector will continue to lag behind Bitcoin, primarily due to three structural weaknesses: weak network activity, stagnation in DeFi ecosystem growth (Solana's TVL has dropped from a peak of $13.1 billion in 2025 to about $5.5 billion), and limited real-world adoption scenarios; analysts believe that for the altcoin sector to catch up with Bitcoin's performance, a "significant network activity explosion" is a prerequisite, and this condition currently lacks visible short-term catalysts.

Crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett revealed that the Federal Reserve has issued a notice for public comment and proposed rulemaking regarding payment accounts (i.e., "streamlined master accounts"), allowing eligible fintech and crypto companies to access the Federal Reserve's payment system for clearing and settlement. This is the next formal action following the end of the public comment period in February and the implementation process of payment accounts by Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller.The Federal Reserve also encourages regional Federal Reserve Banks to suspend processing new "Tier 3" master account access requests (most crypto companies fall into this category) until December 2026 to enhance system consistency while finalizing the framework.

On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order titled "Incorporating Financial Technology Innovation into the Regulatory Framework," directing the Federal Reserve to assess proposals that would allow fintech companies and cryptocurrency firms direct access to the Federal Reserve's payment systems.The order urges the federal government to eliminate overly burdensome policies on financial technology innovation and requires the Federal Reserve to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the regulatory framework for non-bank companies' access to reserve bank payment accounts and services. Additionally, the order instructs the Federal Reserve to clarify whether the 12 Federal Reserve Banks have the legal authority to independently grant or deny access to payment accounts and services, and it requires the Federal Reserve to submit a report to the President within 120 days.

Mastercard has abandoned its investment plan for the cryptocurrency infrastructure company Zerohash, which had previously agreed in March to acquire the UK stablecoin infrastructure company BVNK for $1.8 billion. Mastercard had considered a strategic investment in Chicago-based Zerohash in January of this year. At that time, Zerohash was seeking to raise $250 million at a valuation of $1.5 billion, while the company is currently advancing a new funding round at a higher valuation. Founded in 2017, Zerohash primarily provides APIs and developer tools for cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and tokenized products.Meanwhile, recent transactions involving Kraken's parent company Payward and Bullish indicate that consolidation in the digital asset infrastructure sector is ongoing. In terms of stablecoin payment arrangements, Mastercard has acquired BVNK for $1.8 billion and may pay an additional $300 million in performance-based compensation. BVNK currently serves payment and payroll platforms like Worldpay and Deel for cross-border payments, fund settlement, and financial management.Mastercard plans to integrate BVNK's technology into its Mastercard Move network to support 24/7 stablecoin settlement for payment institutions and merchant acquirers, and to explore adding stablecoin checkout functionality in payment gateways. Analysts believe that this transaction will further intensify the competition between Mastercard and Visa in the networked strategy of payment networks and accelerate the evolution of traditional cross-border clearing systems towards stablecoin settlement models.

According to market news, the actual controller of the recently collapsed European cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto is reportedly hiding in Dubai, and the losses for the exchange's customers may exceed $100 million.Polish media Onet Wiadomości disclosed that the official representative of Zondacrypto is in Dubai with a man nicknamed "Maniek," who is the true controller of the cryptocurrency business, while CEO Przemysław Kral is merely a "front figure." Kral has been missing since the company was revealed to have reserves drop by over 99%, and he was previously thought to have fled to Israel but is now confirmed to be in the UAE. The exchange was formerly known as BitBay, founded in 2014, and was taken over by Kral in 2021 and renamed Zondacrypto, moving its operations to Estonia.Polish media reports that the exchange may be controlled by the Russian Tambov gang, with about 30,000 Poles potentially becoming victims, with preliminary estimates of losses at least 350 million zloty (approximately $97 million), and the actual amount may be higher. Additionally, founder Sylwester Suszek went missing in 2022, and it is claimed that a wallet key containing 4,500 bitcoins that he controlled was never handed over.

The next-generation financial operating system PhotonPay has won three awards at the Mastercard Annual Partner Awards Gala, namely: New Product Launch Award (Physical Card), New Service Launch Award (MDES Digital Empowerment), and New Service Launch Award (Consulting Services). This marks PhotonPay's role as a next-generation financial operating system that is comprehensively reshaping the financial infrastructure landscape for global enterprises.The PhotonPay physical card is issued on the Mastercard network, supporting real-time consumption tracking globally, multi-level limit control, 3D Secure authentication, and significantly reducing cross-border transaction fees. The flexible open API meets the personalized customization needs of enterprises.MDES Digital Empowerment reflects the deep integration of PhotonPay with Mastercard's digital empowerment services, allowing virtual and physical cards to be linked to Apple Pay and Google Pay in seconds, with transaction security ensured throughout by tokenization technology.The Consulting Services Award recognizes the effective collaboration between PhotonPay and the Mastercard expert team, helping PhotonPay create more compliant and competitive card product solutions for global clients.Lewison, founder and CEO of PhotonPay, stated that these honors reflect Mastercard's trust in PhotonPay and PhotonPay's adherence to its own standards. The company remains focused on building financial infrastructure that provides global enterprises with the tools for borderless operation, expansion, and competition.

According to the official blog of Ondo Finance, Ondo Finance (Ondo) has completed its first near-real-time tokenized U.S. Treasury fund cross-border interbank exchange in collaboration with Kinexys by J.P. Morgan, Mastercard, and Ripple.In this pilot project, Ripple exchanged its Ondo short-term U.S. government bonds (OUSG) held on the XRP Ledger. After processing the exchange, Ondo sent fiat payment instructions via the Mastercard Multi-Token Network, with the settlement of funds executed by the blockchain infrastructure of Kinexys by J.P. Morgan, and the U.S. dollar funds delivered to Ripple's bank account in Singapore through its correspondent banking network.This project demonstrates the feasibility of public blockchain infrastructure working in conjunction with interbank settlement systems, establishing a framework for global banks to utilize tokenized assets for 24/7 real-time cross-border settlements.

According to Jinshi reports, the UK's financial regulatory authority has launched an investigation into Mastercard (MA.N), Visa (V.N), and PayPal (PYPL.O) due to suspicions of anti-competitive behavior regarding the flow and use of funds in the PayPal digital wallet.The UK's Financial Conduct Authority stated on Wednesday that it has not yet concluded whether the relevant companies have violated competition law. PayPal disclosed this investigation in a regulatory filing this week. A representative from PayPal stated that the company is cooperating with the FCA investigation but will not comment further as the case is still ongoing.

According to Forbes, the Bitcoin mining company GoMining plans to launch its Bitcoin native payment protocol GoBTC, based on its own block production, at the Consensus conference.The protocol offers users instant authorization and settlement on the Bitcoin mainnet within a few hours, charging merchants a fee rate of 0.2%, which is an order of magnitude lower than the 1.5% to 3.5% rates of Visa and Mastercard.

According to Fortune, the stablecoin infrastructure startup Rain is currently valued at $1.95 billion and has announced a partnership with payment giant Mastercard to issue credit and prepaid cards, as well as explore pathways for using stablecoins for payment settlements.Previously, Rain primarily relied on the Visa network to issue card products, and this collaboration with Mastercard signifies its entry into the "dual card network" layout phase, further expanding its institutional client market. Rain stated that this partnership will focus on serving large institutional clients that are deeply bound to a single payment network, enabling them to introduce stablecoin settlement capabilities without changing their existing payment systems.Meanwhile, the application of stablecoins continues to expand at the industry level, with institutions such as Stripe and Coinbase promoting the integration of stablecoin payments and settlements, indicating that the fusion of traditional finance and crypto payment infrastructure is accelerating. Analysts believe that as the regulatory framework becomes clearer, stablecoins are rapidly shifting from trading tools to enterprise payment and cross-border settlement infrastructure.

According to The Block, MoonPay has launched the "MoonAgents Card," a stablecoin debit card based on the Mastercard network, designed specifically for AI agents, allowing them to spend directly from on-chain self-custody wallets.This virtual card is issued through Monavate and in collaboration with the Exodus wallet, enabling real-time conversion of stablecoins to fiat for payments to online merchants worldwide that accept Mastercard, without the need to preload funds or move assets off-chain; in case of transaction failure, funds are immediately returned to the wallet, and custody of the wallet always remains unchanged.The CEO of MoonPay stated that this addresses the pain point of AI agents being unable to spend at merchants previously. It is currently available in the UK and Latin America through MoonPay CLI, with the US and EU set to launch soon (subject to KYC completion). This move targets the trend of AI agents increasingly using cryptocurrency for transactions in the future.

KuCoin announced the launch of KuCard in Australia, allowing users to use cryptocurrency assets for daily consumption at merchants worldwide that accept Mastercard, with payment options through Apple Pay and Google Pay. The service initially supports 37 USDC trading pairs, covering mainstream digital assets such as BTC, ETH, and USDT, with real-time conversion to fiat currency during the settlement process. KuCoin stated that this move is an important step in enhancing compliance and transparency in the cryptocurrency payment experience, and it is the latest progress in promoting the real-world application of cryptocurrency assets after completing its registration with AUSTRAC as a digital currency exchange (DCE).

According to BeInCrypto, Mastercard has joined the Blockchain Security Standards Committee (BSSC) as a charter-level member, collaborating with members such as Coinbase, Fireblocks, Anchorage Digital, and BitGo to develop a security framework for blockchain networks and tokenized assets.Mastercard will also join a working group focused on security and privacy guidelines, with Claire Le Gal from the security solutions department, responsible for fraud prevention, cyber resilience, disputes, and threat intelligence, representing Mastercard on the BSSC board. The executive director of BSSC stated that Mastercard's payment experience is of significant value in establishing robust blockchain security rules. Mastercard has launched multi-token networks and crypto credential products aimed at embedding trust in blockchain and tokenized infrastructure.