On Friday, Vaultro Finance officially revealed the first-ever decentralised index fund dashboard on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). Calling it “a new era of on-chain portfolio investing”, the fund protocol announced the launch in a blog post, confirming that it is the first protocol to deliver a fully on-chain index fund interface on XRPL. XRP Ledger Gets a Boost With DeFi Index Fund Dashboard For XRPL users, it’s a biggie, as the Vaultro Finance’s launch brings structured, on-chain investment tools like index funds tracking AI, DeFi, and stablecoins, directly to XRPL users. This eliminated the need for centralised intermediaries and reduced technical barriers, claims Vaultro Finance. The significant milestone also boosts XRPL’s utility beyond payments. It also aligns with Ripple’s push into regulated DeFi and tokenized real-world assets like U.S. Treasury funds. As the Ripple lawsuit remains unresolved, such utilitarian projects could brighten the sentiments within the XRP community. In a… Read More at Coingape.com
HashKey Group Chairman and CEO Xiao Feng kicked off the 2025 Hong Kong Web3 Festival on Sunday with a keynote address highlighting blockchain technology’s transformative impact on global financial infrastructure.
Speaking to an early morning crowd at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, Xiao described blockchain as “a new generation of financial infrastructure” that fundamentally changes how financial transactions are recorded, settled and governed.
“Any industrial revolution must wait for a financial revolution,” Xiao told attendees at the four-day event hosted by his company.
Xiao emphasized historical parallels between technological and financial evolution: banking credit supported the British Industrial Revolution, stock markets enabled the electrical revolution in America, and venture capital fueled Silicon Valley’s information revolution.
“Cryptocurrency finance will become the core financial innovation supporting the fourth industrial revolution.”
The executive highlighted key differences between traditional and blockchain-based finance, including the shift from bank accounts to digital wallets and the move from batch settlement systems to instantaneous transaction completion.
Regulatory Changes and Market Evolution
Xiao noted the significance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent decision not to classify dollar-backed stablecoins as securities, suggesting this allows more institutions to participate in monetary creation processes.
HashKey Group Chairman and CEO Xiao Feng at Keynote speech of 2025 Hong Kong Web3 Festival. Courtesy of Web3 Festival
He also pointed to major stock exchanges moving toward 23-hour trading cycles, compared to blockchain markets that operate continuously.
“Traditional exchanges will eventually need to adapt to compete with cryptocurrency markets that have operated 24/7 since day one,” Xiao predicted.
Hong Kong’s Strategic Role
The event features several high-profile regulators, including Paul Chan Mo-po, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Government; Joseph H. L. Chan, Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury; Christina Choi, Executive Director of Investment Products at the Securities and Futures Commission; and George Chou, Chief Fintech Officer of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
While mainland China maintains strict prohibitions on cryptocurrencies, analysts view Hong Kong’s supportive stance as a strategic testing ground for the technology’s potential. This approach effectively creates a regulatory breathing space where blockchain innovations can develop under controlled conditions, potentially informing future policies across the broader Chinese economy.
The Web3 Festival continues through Wednesday with industry panels, demonstrations and networking events, bringing together blockchain developers, investors and technology enthusiasts from around the world.
US Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and John Fetterman have introduced the Clean Cloud Act of 2025. The bill aims to reduce carbon emissions from energy-intensive crypto-mining operations and artificial intelligence data centers.
This comes at a time when Bitcoin miners are increasingly moving towards renewable energy sources to power their operations.
Clean Cloud Act Links Rising Energy Demand to Bitcoin Mining
According to the bill, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would have the authority to set annual carbon performance standards for facilities with over 100 kilowatts of installed IT power.
These standards would tighten each year, with emissions limits declining by 11% annually.
Companies that exceed the cap will pay a starting fee of $20 per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent. This fee will rise yearly, adjusting for inflation and an additional $10 per ton. The bill also enforces strict accounting methods to include indirect emissions from the grid.
The lawmakers argue that crypto miners and AI centers are driving up power demand at an unsustainable pace. According to them, the current clean energy sources cannot keep up with the rapid growth of the demand for Bitcoin mining.
They noted that data centers alone use 4% of all electricity in the US and could hit 12% by 2028. They also pointed out that utilities have even restarted old coal plants to meet rising demand, worsening the country’s carbon footprint.
Considering this, Senator Whitehouse noted that this pressure is driving up electricity costs for consumers. He said the bill would push tech firms toward clean energy investments and help ensure the US power grid can reach net-zero emissions within the next decade.
“The good news is that we don’t have to choose between leading the world on AI and leading the world on climate safety: big technology and AI companies have all the money in the world to pay for developing new sources of clean energy, rather than overloading local grids and firing up fossil fuel pollution. The Clean Cloud Act will drive utilities and the burgeoning crypto and AI industries to invest in new sources of clean energy,” the lawmaker stated.
To protect low-income households, 25% of the revenue generated from emissions penalties will offset energy costs. The rest will fund grants supporting long-duration storage and clean power generation projects.
Following this rapid adoption rate, the report forecast that renewables could support over 70% of mining activities by 2030, driven by cost efficiency, evolving policies, and a broader shift toward sustainable practices
There’s a lot of buzz in the crypto world right now about XRP. Many people online are speculating that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) might soon approve several XRP spot ETF applications. Big companies like Bitwise, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, and 21Shares have already submitted their applications, and some important decision dates are coming up soon.
The first major date to watch is June 17, 2025, when the SEC is expected to make a decision on Franklin Templeton’s spot XRP ETF application. Other decisions are also lined up — Grayscale’s deadline was May 21, 2025 and Bitwise is waiting for a decision on May 25, 2025. The crypto community is keeping a close eye on these dates because if any of these get approved, it could give a big push to XRP’s price and popularity.
At the same time, another rumor is doing the rounds. Some people believe that the SEC and Ripple have already quietly settled their long-running legal battle, and they’re just waiting for the judge to approve it. But former SEC attorney Marc Fagel has cleared things up. He said that the judge actually rejected the request from both Ripple and the SEC.
It’s not actually settled. The parties may have entered an agreement, but implementing the settlement requires court action. And the court indicated it would not simply do what the parties asked without further briefing.
According to Fagel, while both sides may have agreed on a deal, it’s not official yet. The court wants them to explain why it should change the decision it had already made. He added, “It’s not actually settled. The parties may have entered an agreement, but implementing the settlement requires court action. And the court indicated it would not simply do what the parties asked without further briefing.”
In short — both the XRP ETF decisions and the Ripple lawsuit situation are still up in the air. Crypto fans will need to stay tuned for the official updates in the coming weeks.
The post XRP Lawsuit Not Settled, Declares Ex-SEC Attorney appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News
There’s a lot of buzz in the crypto world right now about XRP. Many people online are speculating that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) might soon approve several XRP spot ETF applications. Big companies like Bitwise, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, and 21Shares have already submitted their applications, and some important decision dates are coming …
