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IPO Move - Crypto custodian BitGo has filed to raise approximately $201 million in a U.S. Initial Public Offering (IPO).
Ethereum Outlook - Standard Chartered's Global Head of Digital Assets Research, Geoffrey Kendrick, forecasts 2026 will be "the year of Ethereum," expecting ETH to outperform crypto peers.
Strategy Buys - Michael Saylor’s Strategy buys another 13,627 bitcoin for $1.25 billion following MSCI indexing decision
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Messari's protocol reports give you a deep dive on the foundation and state of top crypto protocols, including key metrics and notable events. See the complete list of protocol reports here and get a preview of our latest report below.
DeCharge is a DePIN EV charging network that lets individuals and businesses deploy chargers and earn real usage-based revenue instead of relying on centralized operators.
The protocol combines physical charging hardware, onchain data verification, and a capital layer to track performance and distribute cash flows transparently.
DePINFi pools allow stablecoin financing of charging sites, with yields driven by real-world metrics like uptime and energy delivered.
A planned CHARGE token will power payments, incentives, governance, and access, effectively turning EV charging into an onchain energy capital market.
Stable launched its Layer-1 blockchain mainnet on Dec. 8, 2025, designed specifically to support high-throughput, low-cost USDT transfers for both retail users and institutions.
Unlike typical chains, Stable uses USDT as the native gas/payment token, removing reliance on volatile tokens for transaction fees.
The protocol’s native token, STABLE, has a 100 billion supply and is used for governance and securing the network via staking/delegation, not for paying gas fees.
Architecturally, Stable combines a delegated Proof-of-Stake consensus, an EVM-compatible execution layer, and optimized storage/RPC to enable fast settlement and familiar developer tooling.
io.net replaced fixed token emissions with a demand-driven Incentive Dynamic Engine (IDE) that ties issuance and rewards to real compute usage and revenue.
A dual-vault system stabilizes GPU provider payouts in USD terms, reducing volatility and improving supplier retention.
Stress testing indicates the new tokenomics is more resilient to price shocks and demand downturns, supporting long-term network sustainability.
io.net operates as a DePIN protocol aggregating decentralized GPU supply to serve AI and machine learning workloads.
From Our Sponsor
Rain has closed a $250 million Series C funding round led by ICONIQ Growth, establishing a post-money valuation of $1.95 billion. The round included participation from major backers such as Sapphire Ventures, Dragonfly, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Lightspeed. This capital injection accelerates Rain's transition from a corporate card issuer to a comprehensive global settlement layer for enterprise clients.
What Does Rain Do: Rain is an enterprise infrastructure platform that allows businesses to embed stablecoin financial services into their own products. While they started with cards, they have evolved into three distinct technical verticals:
Stablecoin-Native Card Issuance: Unlike traditional programs that require pre-funding in fiat, Rain’s API allows companies to issue cards backed directly by self-custodied stablecoin collateral (utilizing smart contracts). This enables the real-time spending of onchain treasury assets without requiring an off-ramp first.
Global Liquidity & Settlement: Rain acts as a replacement for SWIFT, providing the rails for cross-border payouts that settle 24/7/365. They handle the complex "last-mile" conversion between stablecoins (USDC) and local fiat banking rails in 150+ countries.
Embedded Wallet Infrastructure: They provide "Banking-as-a-Service" modules for crypto, enabling platforms (such as neobanks or gig-economy apps) to offer their users custodial wallets, fiat on-ramps, and yield products without building their own compliance stack.
Rain’s growth from $7.7 million to $280.1 million in monthly deposit volume was catalyzed by its strategic pivot from a direct card issuer to a "Credit-as-a-Service" infrastructure provider. This means Rain now supplies the backend infrastructure for other fintechs to launch their own branded card programs, allowing them to aggregate massive transaction flows from partners like Nuvei and KAST rather than acquiring single users. This surge was compounded by the launch of "7-day stablecoin settlement," which allows Rain to pay Visa in USDC on weekends when traditional banks are closed. This capability seemingly drove enterprises to migrate millions in treasury float to Rain, enabling them to avoid locking up idle cash on Fridays and instead keep funds in yield-bearing USDC until the exact moment of settlement.
Why They Raised: According to their Series C announcement, the $250M capital injection is targeted at three specific initiatives:
Global Licensing: Acquiring direct Money Transmitter Licenses (MTLs) and banking charters in LATAM, APAC, and EMEA to reduce reliance on third-party partners.
M&A Strategy: Pursuing strategic acquisitions of smaller regional payment gateways to vertically integrate their settlement corridors.
The "Invisibility" Layer: Investing in R&D to make the crypto component completely invisible, where the end user sees only local currency while Rain handles the entire stablecoin lifecycle in the background.
This strategy acknowledges that the future of finance relies on retrofitting existing banking rails with superior technology rather than displacing them entirely. Rain focuses on the enterprise settlement layer, betting that stablecoins will function primarily as a high-velocity bearer asset for business-to-business transactions. If executed correctly, Rain will become a foundational utility where the primary feature is the immediate finality of payments, making the underlying technology irrelevant to the customer experience.
