Stripe’s new payments-focused blockchain, Tempo, secured $500 million in Series A funding led by Thrive Capital and Greenoaks, valuing the Layer-1 network at $5 billion, according to Fortune. The raise comes less than two months after Stripe unveiled Tempo in partnership with Paradigm, positioning it as a “payments-oriented L1” optimized for high-scale, real-world financial applications like stablecoin payments and cross-border settlements.

From WWII supply drops to humanitarian relief to Apple AirDrop and today’s free crypto tokens — the history of “airdrops” is wilder than you think. In this guide, we break down how crypto airdrops work, strategies to maximize them, and the scams you should avoid. Learn how to spot good airdrops, claim them safely, and protect your winnings with cold storage wallets like Ledger and Cypherock.

South Korean exchange Upbit has drawn attention after dramatically increasing its XRP reserves, bringing their value nearly equal to its Bitcoin holdings. This unusual move highlights XRP’s dominance on Upbit, a key crypto trading hub in Asia, and has raised speculation about rising demand and potential upside momentum. Analysts view these large reserves as a significant indicator for XRP price action, especially in global markets where Bitcoin typically leads.

Wyoming just made history with the launch of the Frontier Stable Token (FRNT), the first U.S. state-issued stablecoin. Backed 102% by U.S. dollars and Treasuries, FRNT promises faster payments, government efficiency, and public benefit funding through school programs. Supporters see it as a breakthrough in digital money, while critics call it a “state CBDC.” Here’s why FRNT matters for investors, states, and the future of blockchain.

Japan’s third-largest credit card company, Credit Saison, has announced the launch of a $50 million blockchain venture fund aimed at supporting early-stage startups in the U.S. and helping them expand into Asia. The fund, named Onigiri Capital, has already raised $35 million and will focus on innovative projects in stablecoins, tokenization platforms, decentralized finance (DeFi), and digital payment infrastructure.

The Polygon network successfully implemented a hard fork to resolve a critical software bug that caused several nodes to fall out of sync with the blockchain. This disruption briefly halted consensus and transaction validation, raising concerns about reliability on the popular Ethereum scaling solution.

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce has raised new regulatory concerns for Layer-2 (L2) blockchain networks that rely on centralized sequencers. In recent remarks, Peirce stressed that these systems, which handle the ordering of transactions off-chain before posting them to Ethereum or other base layers, could fall under the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s definition of an exchange.

Binance has announced the listing of OpenLedger’s native token, OPEN, marking a key milestone for the AI-focused blockchain project. The listing follows its selection as the 36th project on Binance’s HODLer Airdrops program. Eligible Binance users who participated in Simple Earn or On-Chain Yields between August 18–21, 2025, will receive retroactive OPEN token distributions before trading begins.

World Liberty Financial (WLFI) token holders are being targeted by hackers exploiting Ethereum’s EIP-7702 upgrade, according to blockchain security firm SlowMist. The exploit, dubbed the “classic EIP-7702 phishing attack,” allows attackers to plant malicious delegate contracts within victim wallets once private keys are leaked. When unsuspecting users transfer Ether or receive WLFI tokens, the exploit lets hackers quickly drain the assets.

El Salvador has taken a notable step to protect its national Bitcoin treasury against potential future risks posed by quantum computing. The government recently redistributed its holdings of 6,274 BTC across 14 different wallet addresses as part of a wider security effort. This move was motivated by growing concerns that quantum computing, once sufficiently advanced, could undermine existing cryptographic protections that secure Bitcoin’s blockchain and user wallets.

Blockchain empowers DeFi by cutting out middlemen, offering transparency, security, and control over assets—unlike traditional, centralized.