Following last weeks tariff-caused drama, this was a relatively quiet week in crypto. Bitcoin remained stable around $84k. The CoinDesk 20, which tracks about 80% of the market, was up about 4% in th… [+1797 chars]

Controversies, job cuts, too many lobbyists. A lot happened despite a relatively quiet week on the markets.

CoinDesk

CoinDesk Weekly Recap: EigenLayer, Kraken, Coinbase, AWS

Crypto exchange giant Kraken has laid off hundreds of staffers across all areas of the business over the past several months, as the firm continues to streamline its operations ahead of a potential p… [+1921 chars]

A Kraken spokesperson said the firm is “making the difficult decision to eliminate certain roles and consolidate teams where redundancies exist, while continuing to hire in key areas of the business.”

Kraken Sheds ‘Hundreds’ of Jobs to Streamline Business Ahead of IPO, Sources Say

Hong Kong's securities regulator, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), laid out new guidance that would allow licensed crypto exchanges and funds to offer staking services in the city.
Staki… [+2314 chars]

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission has given a green light for virtual asset trading platforms (VATPs) and authorized virtual asset funds to offer staking services.

Hong Kong Regulator Releases Crypto Staking Rules for Licensed Exchanges

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMBC), one of Japan's largest banking groups, is the latest financial giant to delve into stablecoins as the market for the $230 billion asset class is soaring with r… [+1866 chars]

The Japanese banking giant is the latest example of a roster of firms eyeing the booming stablecoin market, which has grown some 50% to around $230 billion in a year.

Japanese Banking Giant SMBC Explores Stablecoin Use With Ava Labs, Fireblocks

Web3 has a memory problem. Not in the we forgot something sense, but in the core architectural sense. It doesnt have a real memory layer.
Blockchains today dont look completely alien compared to tra… [+7864 chars]

A world computer needs a memory that’s not just decentralized but also efficient, scalable, and reliable. We can build it using Random Linear Network Coding (RLNC), says Muriel Médard, co-founder of Optimum, which offers memory infrastructure for any blockch…

Web3 Has a Memory Problem — And We Finally Have a Fix

Bitso, a crypto exchange focusing on Latin America, is entering the increasingly attractive stablecoin market as global adoption accelerates.
The company's business development unit, Bitso Business,… [+1912 chars]

The newly established subsidiary, Juno, will first issue a Mexican peso stablecoin on Ethereum layer-2 Arbitrum.

Crypto Exchange Bitso Launches Stablecoin Business, Eyeing LatAm Cross-Border Payments

Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk's weekly wrap-up of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I'm Margaux Nijkerk, CoinDesks Ethereum Reporter.
In this issue:
<ul><li>Hello, … [+5384 chars]

Also: Microsoft Raises Alarm of Malware Targeting Crypto Wallets; Halliday Raises $20M for AI Protocol; Sam Altman's World and Razer Want to Defeat Gaming's Bot Problem.