Flutterwave partners with Polygon Labs to launch a stablecoin-powered cross-border payments network spanning 34 countries across Africa. Flutterwave, Nigeria’s largest fintech company, is developing a cross-border payment platform powered by stablecoins, highlighting the growing role of blockchain technology in streamlining payments across Africa. The company is partnering with Polygon Labs to launch the service across its 34-country network, Bloomberg reported Thursday. Polygon’s blockchain infrastructure, built to provide scalable, faster and cheaper transactions on Ethereum, will be used to enhance settlement speed and efficiency. Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga Agboola said the move could transform the flow of funds across the continent, enabling businesses and consumers to bypass the high costs and delays that often plague traditional payment systems. Read more
Senator Chris Murphy alleged corruption over the exchange "promoting Trump crypto" shortly after the US president issued a pardon for Binance founder Changpeng Zhao. Update (Oct. 30 at 7:30 pm UTC): This article has been updated to include an X post from Binance.US. Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy is calling out Binance.US, alleging the cryptocurrency exchange played a role in US President Donald Trump’s pardon of former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao. In a Tuesday X post, Murphy responded to a social media post by Binance.US announcing the launch of trading for USD1, the stablecoin tied to the Trump family crypto company World Liberty Financial. According to the senator, the exchange was “promoting Trump crypto” just a week after the president “pardoned Binance’s owner,” referring to Zhao. Read more
The Bitcoin mining industry is financing its expensive pivot to AI data centers with convertible debt that sometimes features a 0% coupon. Bitcoin (BTC) miners have raised $11 billion in convertible debt — corporate debt that is convertible to stocks — over the last year, amid a pivot into artificial intelligence data centers. Miners completed 18 convertible bond deals following the April 2024 Bitcoin halving that slashed the block reward by 50%, according to TheMinerMag. The average convertible bond issue more than doubled, with mining companies MARA, Cipher Mining, IREN and TeraWulf each raising $1 billion through single bond issues. Some offerings have featured coupons as low as 0%, signaling investors’ willingness to waive interest payments in exchange for potential equity upside. Read more