Now that spring is finally here, it’s time to start transitioning your wardrobe from winter into the current season. That doesn’t necessarily mean put away all sweaters and coats, because as we know spring can be very fickle. But there are a few tricks to making those winter-looks more spring friendly.
Transitional Coats: Last week I talked about transitional coats, and these are the perfect items to add into your wardrobe right now. Lightweight, but will still keep you warm on a cool night. Spring Sweaters: Layer with a transitional coat, or wear on its own, some of your winter sweaters are easy to wear into spring. I lived in these cashmere sweaters from Everlane all winter, and I know I’ll be pairing them with skirts and shorts for spring. Pumps instead of Boots: I’ve traded in my boots for pumps. Keeping my feet warm isn’t a priority anymore, so it’s time to break out my favorite heels and pair back to effortless denim. These pumps have been worth the investment – I wear them the most during spring.
What’s the problem?
Trees are more important today than ever before. More than 10,000 products are reportedly made from trees. Through chemistry, the humble woodpile is yielding chemicals, plastics and fabrics that were beyond comprehension when an axe first felled a Texas tree.
Immutable (IMX) is up 10% today after announcing a partnership with Ubisoft. The pair is releasing a new mobile game based on the “Might and Magic” series as part of Ubisoft’s broader Web3 strategy.
Immutable is planning to expand its gaming operations after the SEC dropped an investigation against the firm last month. The company is yet to announce more details about this new project.
Ubisoft Extends Its Web3 Venture
The past few years have been financially straining for Ubisoft, one of the largest and most popular AAA studios in the gaming industry. Known for its beloved gaming series, such as Assassin’s Creed, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six, Far Cry, and more, the studio has been slowly expanding into the blockchain space for some time now.
Today, the studio announced a new mobile game, which both parties seem optimistic about.
“Partnering with Ubisoft is a defining landmark for Immutable. There are clear synergies between Immutable Passport, Immutable Play, and Ubisoft Connect. By bringing these together into a combined offering for Might and Magic Fates players, we’re hoping to smoothly onboard into the Immutable ecosystem the 138+ million Ubisoft Connect users,” said Justin Hulog, Immutable’s Chief Studio Officer.
Earlier this year, Ubisoft was on the brink of fiscal insolvency. Unsuccessful gaming titles and a lack of sales almost paralyzed the company. The gaming community has constantly criticized the studio for forcing microtransactions without prioritizing gameplay.
However, the success of its latest release, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, helped Ubisoft somewhat recover. Yet, the company still needs additional revenue streams to regain forward momentum.
For Ubisoft, a partnership with Immutable might provide the key. Blockchain gaming fell slightly in Q1 2025, but it started the year in an inflated market.
That said, the press release is very light on details about the actual game and the specific Web3 connection. Ubisoft’s announcement calls Might and Magic “one of the strongest IPs in gaming” but doesn’t mention Immutable’s role in the project.
The new title is set to be a card-based game with potential crypto-backed rewards. More details are expected in the coming days.
The role of stablecoins is expanding beyond the crypto market and attracting attention from traditional financial institutions. Meanwhile, new regulations from Europe and the US could make stablecoins more useful in the real world.
However, these regulations also pose challenges for stablecoin issuers like Tether and Circle. Currently, Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC dominate the stablecoin market capitalization, but many experts believe this could change in the future.
Expert Questions the Sustainability of Tether and Circle’s Business Model Under New Regulations
A recent PitchBook report revealed that the top 10 stablecoins have a total market capitalization of approximately $220 billion—up from less than $120 billion two years ago. Tether alone accounts for about 65% of this total, while USDC holds another 25%.
Market Capitalization of Top 10 Stablecoins.Source: PitchBook
The report also highlighted that fiat-backed stablecoins are the most common, making up around 95% of the total supply. However, Robert Le, a senior analyst at PitchBook, warned that such a high concentration carries risks.
“Another major risk is centralization, in which a single entity such as Tether or Circle controls the minting and burning of tokens, raising concerns about decision-making and conflict of interest. An issuer might halt redemptions or freeze funds under regulator pressure, hurting legitimate holders,” PitchBook Analyst Robert Le commented.
Legal risks are also becoming more evident as US regulators draft specific rules for stablecoins. Several bills, including FIT21, GENIUS, and STABLE, are currently under discussion.
The US is expected to introduce stablecoin-specific legislation next year. This would legalize stablecoins but impose stricter requirements on issuers, such as higher reserve standards, mandatory audits, and increased transparency. Meanwhile, the EU’s MiCA regulations require stablecoins to meet banking-like standards. In response, Tether has opted out of the European market to avoid MiCA compliance.
Traditional Finance Firms Plan to Enter the Stablecoin Market
A report from Ark Invest stated that in 2024, the total annual transaction volume of stablecoins reached $15.6 trillion—equivalent to 119% of Visa’s volume and 200% of Mastercard’s. Despite this, the number of stablecoin transactions remains relatively low at 110 million per month, only 0.41% of Visa’s and 0.72% of Mastercard’s.
This suggests that the average stablecoin transaction value is significantly higher than those of Visa and Mastercard.
Meanwhile, investment giants such as BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and Fidelity are offering tokenized money market funds. These funds function similarly to stablecoins and could directly compete with USDC and USDT.
“We further expect that every major financial platform or fintech app will seek to launch its own stablecoin, hoping to lock users into seamless payment ecosystems. However, we believe only a handful of trusted issuers—those with regulatory greenlights, recognized brands, and proven technological reliability—will ultimately capture the majority of market share.” – PitchBook predicted.
