StakeStone has teamed up with the Trump family’s crypto project, WLFI, to offer cross-chain liquidity support for the USD1 stablecoin. This collaboration bridges real-world assets (RWA) and native DeFi liquidity, allowing users to move funds seamlessly across different blockchains. The partnership also enables users to earn sustainable yields and access liquidity without locking up their assets, making it easier for everyone to manage and grow their investments in the crypto space.
Istanbul Blockchain Week 2025 became the biggest annual edition of the event. It attracted thousands of global Web3 participants to Türkiye’s economic hub.
The two-day event, held June 26–27 at the Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel, solidified Istanbul’s growing influence in blockchain innovation.
From Tron’s Justin Sun to Pudgy Penguins – Key Highlights
This year’s event hosted high-level discussions on stablecoins, real-world assets (RWAs), AI agents, tokenized finance, and regulation.
Organized for the fourth time by EAK Digital, the conference featured keynotes, workshops, and the launch of new formats, reflecting both scale and ambition.
Notable speakers included Mehmet Çamır, Chairman of OKX TR; Justin Sun, CEO of Tron; John Linden, CEO of Mythical Games; and Marco Dal Lago, VP of Global Expansion at Tether.
“The Turkish market is becoming a powerhouse in gaming in general. There are some really strong companies coming up here. We have a new FIFA game and the Turkish market is quite strong for that too. There are mobile game fans, and a few football fans out here. So it is a green market,” said John Linden, CEO of Mythical Games.
Industry executives and policymakers shared insights into institutional growth and regulatory changes shaping the sector.
Sun pointed to Türkiye’s growing relevance as a testbed for retail adoption and sovereign stablecoin applications.
Meanwhile, Mehmet Çamır addressed the regulatory space. He noted Türkiye’s large retail crypto base, with over 14 million users, making compliance and investor protection a top priority.
BlockDown Festival returned with a new format, combining Web3 art and music. This year, it introduced AI-led performances in collaboration with Pudgy Penguins, showcasing the fusion of autonomous agents and live entertainment.
Also, the event featured new additions like the RWA Builders Summit and DefaiCon Istanbul. These segments highlighted infrastructure progress in tokenized assets and decentralized finance.
Christian Thompson of the Sui Foundation announced a developer bootcamp aiming to train 2,000–4,000 local builders in 12 to 18 months. The move underlines Türkiye’s emergence as a talent hub for blockchain development.
After months of speculation and rumors, the long-running legal battle between Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) appears to be inching toward a turning point. Although many in the crypto community expected the SEC to withdraw its appeal in the case, it hasn’t done so yet, prompting fresh debate about the timeline and outcome of the lawsuit.
SEC Still Silent on Appeal Withdrawal
Crypto lawyer Bill Morgan, who has closely followed the Ripple-SEC case, confirmed that the SEC has not yet withdrawn its appeal. While there is no strict deadline for the SEC to do so, the commission is expected to provide an update to the appellate court by August 15, 2025. According to Morgan, that date serves as an informal deadline for the SEC to either act or request more time.
The SEC has not withdrawn the Appeal in the Ripple matter yet. There is no deadline on the SEC to withdraw the appeal however the SEC needs to report to the appeal court by 15 August 2025, which acts as a deadline for the SEC to do something although it may just ask for more…
“We should hear something within the next two weeks,” Morgan said, pointing to the pressure building up around the SEC’s next move.
Experts Weigh In: Delay Possible, but Unlikely
Another industry expert said that delays are still possible due to the SEC’s bureaucratic structure. “The SEC is a government agency and tends to move slowly and it can take months for them to review and approve actions,” the expert said. “But will they act before August 15th? I’m betting yes. Probably more likely than not.”
SEC no doubt is a bureaucracy, and takes months to approve and sign off on things. Will they make it before Aug 15th, I am betting more likely than not.
But yes, they can (jointly) after to more time.
Given Trump’s pro crypto stance and driving things aggressively, I would be…
The expert also said that both Ripple and the SEC could jointly file for more time if needed. However, with the 2024 U.S. election bringing in a more pro-crypto stance under President Donald Trump, the expert said the political climate could push regulators to act faster.
Legal Veteran Marc Fagel Shares Insight
Former SEC official and legal expert Marc Fagel added more context, saying that internal processes within the commission take time. “It can typically take one to two months for the SEC to vote on an enforcement recommendation,” Fagel said. “We don’t even know when that recommendation was submitted to the commissioners.”
Fagel also said that Ripple is likely waiting for the SEC to dismiss its appeal before making a joint filing. “Ripple said they would, but they haven’t yet–presumably waiting until the SEC approves dismissing their own appeal so they can file something jointly.”
The post Ripple Lawsuit News: Expert Shares Fresh Timeline as SEC Yet To Withdraw Appeal appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News
After months of speculation and rumors, the long-running legal battle between Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) appears to be inching toward a turning point. Although many in the crypto community expected the SEC to withdraw its appeal in the case, it hasn’t done so yet, prompting fresh debate about the …
The crypto market has entered the fifth month of 2025, yet retail investors have not seen much improvement in their portfolios. Meanwhile, what directions are venture capital (VC) firms taking amid the 2025 market landscape?
The answer to this question could serve as valuable insight for individual investors.
What Sectors are Attracting VC Attention for the Remainder of 2025?
Andy, the host of The Rollup Co., shared key highlights from his conversations with top venture capitalists. These insights reveal the sectors that are drawing strong interest.
According to Andy, the first area of focus is stablecoins.
“Stablecoin issuers are very investable & will likely 10x in quantity,” Andy revealed.
CoinMarketCap lists over 200 stablecoins, while CoinGecko tracks more than 300. Data from Token Terminal shows that the stablecoin market cap has surpassed $225 billion, issued by over 50 entities. However, Tether and Circle still dominate most of that market cap.
Stablecoin Capitalization by Issuer. Source: Token Terminal
If this prediction holds, the number of stablecoin issuers could increase by hundreds. This would open new investment opportunities for individuals through airdrops, stablecoin yields, and DeFi protocols.
VCs also find AI an interesting sector. However, they recognize a gap in how AI applications are developed in Web2 versus Web3.
“The AI sector is interesting but better builders in Web2, for now,” Andy added.
Recent reports from BeInCrypto show that the number of AI agents is growing at an average monthly rate of 33%. Yet, Web3-based AI solutions account for just 3% of the total AI agent ecosystem. These figures align with VCs’ observations. Web3 AI may need more time to prove itself with practical and efficient use cases.
Anthony, founder of blockchain121, also commented on a trend where decentralized AI projects now attract top-tier talent from the Web2 AI space.
“Legit DeAI projects really are, for the first time, attracting legit world-class engineers and researchers from Web2 AI,” Anthony said.
In addition, Andy revealed that VCs have a particularly strong focus on real-world assets (RWAs).
“RWAs, RWAs, RWAs are all that matter,” Andy emphasized.
BeInCrypto reported that the market cap of RWAs surpassed $20 billion in April. At the time of writing, the RWA.xyz platform shows the current market cap at $18.9 billion.
The involvement of major financial institutions like BlackRock and Fidelity has boosted investor confidence in the sector’s long-term potential. Tren.finance even predicts that RWA market capitalization could reach over $10 trillion by 2030.
Finally, in addition to stablecoins and RWAs, Andy mentioned that Bitcoin liquidity markets are also of interest to VCs.
VCs Suffer Losses in 2025 Amid Market Decline
As the market cap has dropped significantly, VCs haven’t been immune to losses in 2025. Unpredictable macroeconomic policies like tariffs have added pressure, triggering a harsh shakeout.
“Crypto VCs are getting their margins squeezed as of recent. Many will not return their LPs positive returns. Others are having trouble raising new funds, especially in the post-tariff world. A lot of the tokens they invested into over the last two years haven’t launched or are beaten down badly. OTC markets are much drier than before. There will be an exodus at some point. The strong will survive,” Andy disclosed.
According to CryptoRank, crypto VC funding reached $4.8 billion in Q1 2025—the highest since Q3 2022. This was largely driven by major deals such as MGX and Kraken. In April alone, VC funding hit $2.3 billion across 87 investment rounds.
Overall, VCs remain cautiously optimistic despite the pressure from investor withdrawals and macroeconomic headwinds since early 2025. This optimism is reflected in the increase in funding volume and deal flow compared to 2023–2024.