Stablecoin & payments expansion: Research projects stablecoin payments and settlement adoption rising as banks and payment firms push cross-border use cases, with regulatory clarity and better accounting/ops cited as key unlocks. Regulation showdown: Conflicting U.S. court rulings on prediction markets are deepening the fight over whether event contracts are swaps under federal rules or gambling under state laws, setting up a likely Supreme Court clash. AI-to-crypto on-ramps: X’s Grok now lets users buy crypto inside the chat via MoonPay’s PayBox flow, aiming to make transactions happen where people already talk. Institutional stablecoin rails: OSL Group reported strong interim results, highlighting its B2B stablecoin payment infrastructure growth and record transaction volume. Crypto security & crime enforcement: The FBI and Australian police dismantled a cybercrime laundering network tied to malware-infected open-source tools, alleging 500,000+ stolen credentials and 1,000+ compromised orgs. Pakistan regulation push: Pakistan’s crypto regulator says about 40 million people hold crypto accounts and is moving to register and rein in the sector. Tether vs BIS: Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino hit back at BIS concerns about tokenized bank deposits, arguing stablecoins are fully backed while deposits are fractional. Prediction markets under scrutiny: The CFTC filed an amicus brief in a Polymarket insider-trading case, keeping event-market regulation in focus. Corporate BTC buying: Strive added 1,800 BTC for ~$143M, boosting its treasury rank among public companies. Cyber scams: A fake Chrome update scam tied to a malicious browser extension is flagged as a fast-moving malware lure.