Category: Business

Stablecoins, the $300 billion class of digital dollars, may have started as a faster way to move money across the globe, but companies are now asking a different question: what can they actually do with them?

That shift is driving a new phase of adoption, according to Chunda McCain, co-founder of Paxos Labs, who says the industry is moving beyond basic infrastructure toward real business use cases.

“The first step was getting a stablecoin,” McCain said in an interview with CoinDesk. “The next question is: what now?”

Last week, Paxos Labs underscored that direction by raising $12 million in a strategic funding round led by Blockchain Capital, with participation from Robot Ventures, Maelstrom and Uniswap. The lab unit was incubated under Paxos, the New York-based digital asset firm behind popular stablecoins such as PayPal’s $PYUSD ($PYUSD) and the Global Dollar (USDG). Paxos itself builds stablecoins and the immediate underlying infrastructure, while Paxos Labs intends to build tooling for further use of those stablecoins.

With the fresh funds, Paxos Labs is building what it calls a “financial utility stack” that lets companies turn digital assets into products through a single integration.

Its newly launched Amplify Suite bundles three core tools: Earn, which offers yield on digital assets; Borrow, which enables lending against them; and Mint, which supports branded stablecoin issuance. The idea behind that is to let firms integrate tokens into a business, then layer on capabilities over time.

Turning cost into revenue

For years, enterprise crypto adoption focused on “first-touch” capabilities like trading, custody or issuing a stablecoin. Those steps opened the door but rarely generated returns on their own, according to McCain

“Stablecoins [have been] loss leaders for years,” he said.

The opportunity lies in how those assets are used. Payments are a clear example: merchants typically give up 2% to 3% in fees, while stablecoin rails can reduce those costs and even generate yield on balances held onchain.

“You turn what has always been a cost into revenue,” he said.

Some of the more novel use cases sit at the intersection of payments and credit. Payment providers already track merchant revenues and cash flow, which puts them in a position to underwrite loans, McCain argued.

That could allow merchants to access financing based on real-time performance, while earning yield on incoming payments and settling instantly across borders. These models are still early, but the building blocks are starting to come together, he said.

Not every firm needs its own token

To capture these benefits, not every firm needs its own stablecoin.

While companies like PayPal have launched branded tokens to control payments and margins, issuing one requires significant investment in liquidity, compliance and distribution.

“If you just need the economics, you don’t need to build your own,” McCain said.

Many firms can instead integrate existing stablecoins and still benefit from lower costs and added yield.

The shift may lack the hype when big firms like Western Union announce their own token, but it carries tangible impact on how businesses operate.

Stablecoins are starting to reshape margins, unlock credit and change how money moves globally, especially where traditional systems remain costly or slow.

“It might sound boring, but this is the math,” McCain said.

The KelpDAO-related security breach crisis in the cryptocurrency market has led to a significant liquidity shock in DeFi protocols. According to recent data, large-scale $ETH outflows have occurred via Aave, while investor confidence is visibly weakening.

According to information shared by the on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain, the KelpDAO exploit resulted in a “bad debt” on Aave after the attacker withdrew $ETH from the system using rsETH collateral. This development triggered panic selling, particularly among large investors.

According to the data, a total of over $5.4 billion worth of $ETH was withdrawn from the platform. During this period, it was reported that Justin Sun, a leading figure in the cryptocurrency market, also withdrew approximately 65,584 $ETH (approximately $154 million).

Following these intense outflows, Aave’s $ETH usage reached 100%. This indicates that the protocol’s available liquidity has been largely depleted and that new borrowing capacity may be severely limited.

*This is not investment advice.

Aave just watched $6.6 billion walk out the door, and it’s not because anyone hacked Aave.

The protocol’s total value locked dropped from $26.4 billion on April 18 to nearly $20 billion in U.S. morning hours on Sunday, per DefiLlama. The $AAVE token fell 16% to $92, and daily fees spiked to $1.99 million as liquidations ripped through the weekend.

Depositors are running because Aave is carrying a hole it did not create. When attackers drained 116,500 rsETH from Kelp’s bridge on Saturday, they dumped the stolen tokens on Aave V3 as collateral and borrowed wrapped ether against them.

On-chain trackers put the Aave-specific borrow at roughly $196 million, with total positions across Aave, Compound and Euler around $236 million.

Aave is the largest lending protocol in DeFi, where users deposit crypto to earn yield and other users borrow against collateral. Kelp is a liquid restaking protocol, which takes ether that has already been staked on Ethereum and routes it through a separate yield-generating system called EigenLayer, issuing a receipt token called rsETH in exchange.

That rsETH is what users trade and, critically, what some users posted on Aave as collateral to borrow against.

On Saturday, attackers tricked Kelp’s cross-chain bridge into releasing 116,500 rsETH, about $292 million worth, to an address they controlled. They then deposited that stolen rsETH onto Aave V3 as collateral and borrowed wrapped ether against it.

A bridge is a blockchain-based took that transfers tokens between different networks, where they may not be originally supported.

Aave first said the Umbrella reserve would cover any deficit. By Saturday afternoon the language had softened to “explore paths to offset the deficit.” That is not how a protocol talks when it knows how much it owes and has the money to pay it.

The concentration explains why the damage lands here. Aave’s loan book spans 22 chains, but Ethereum alone holds $14.24 billion of the $17.82 billion in outstanding borrows. WETH is 39.49% of all loans on the protocol, meaning the attack hit the exact collateral-to-WETH pair that dominates Aave’s book.

Stani Kulechov, Aave’s founder, said the exploit was external and the protocol’s contracts were not compromised. But Aave accepted a liquid restaking token as collateral, and that token’s backing vanished on a bridge Aave does not control. The depositors lose either way.

Liquid restaking tokens were whitelisted across every major lending protocol because they carried yield and represented growing share of Ethereum’s locked value.

The risk models priced them as if they would hold peg under normal conditions. However, none of them priced a scenario where the collateral goes to zero because a bridge on a chain Aave does not touch got exploited on a Saturday.

“$AAVE is the backbone of DeFi, has billions in there, and pretty much every single new DeFi infrastructure on new chains is a fork of it,” trader Altcoin Sherpa wrote on X. “When $AAVE has contagion risk, it shows the fragility of the entire system.”

What the token price is trying to answer now is whether Umbrella is big enough to cover the hole, and whether stkAAVE holders who back that reserve are about to eat the loss.

4AI and AquaFlux have partnered to put decentralized AI agents to work optimizing real-world asset yield. 4AI handles the agent marketplace on BSC. AquaFlux handles the RWA protocol and the tri-token structure that lets the yield vary by risk tier. Together, they’re making agents active participants in yield decisions rather than background infrastructure.

We’re partnering with @AquaFluxPro to unlock the next layer of onchain intelligence by combining decentralized AI agents with structured RWA yield.

🔸 Decentralized AI marketplace enabling anyone to build and deploy intelligent agents
🔸 Tri-token (P/C/S) model bringing flexible… pic.twitter.com/0jZaYCXZCY

— 4AI 🔶 BNB (@4aibsc) April 18, 2026

What 4AI Actually Does

4AI is a marketplace on Binance Smart Chain where anyone can build and deploy AI agents. Backed by 0x Labs, the idea is that you shouldn’t need to be a major institution or a specialized developer to create an intelligent agent. Request what you need, someone builds it, you deploy it. Agents become reusable building blocks instead of custom tools you have to commission from scratch each time.

An agent trained to optimize yield strategies can be requested, built, and deployed by users who need exactly that capability without maintaining their own AI infrastructure.

How the Tri-Token Model Changes Everything

AquaFlux’s three-token structure brings real flexibility to RWA markets that have historically been fragmented and illiquid. Different tokens represent different risk and yield tiers. When you add AI agents that can analyze yields across those tiers and move capital between them in real time, the whole thing becomes smarter.

An AI agent connected to AquaFlux moves capital between risk tiers automatically, based on market conditions and yields. It’s fast in ways manual management never will be. It has the intelligence tools to optimize decisions and the onchain infrastructure to execute them atomically.

How the Partnership Works in Practice

The onchain risk engine that AquaFlux operates becomes the decision-making framework for AI agents optimizing yield strategies.

Rather than agents operating on general instructions or historical patterns, they have access to a structured risk assessment model that’s transparent, verifiable, and continuously updated based on onchain data.

An AI agent trying to maximize yield for a user can now evaluate RWA opportunities through AquaFlux’s risk framework, understand the composability options across the three-token model, and execute rebalancing decisions that balance yield with risk in real time. The agent knows how to optimize and it knows how to act.

Why This Bridge Matters for DeFi and RWAs

The separation between DeFi and RWA markets has created inefficiencies where capital doesn’t flow freely to the highest risk-adjusted returns because the two markets operate with different infrastructure, different custody models, and different user bases. Intelligent agents that can operate across both and make allocation decisions based on unified yield metrics begin to break down those inefficiencies.

For users, that means yield optimization that’s smarter and faster than doing it manually. AquaFlux’s RWA yield now reaches DeFi’s liquidity. Capital allocation happens through agents instead of sitting fragmented across separate infrastructure.

Conclusion

4AI and AquaFlux are connecting decentralized AI agents with structured RWA yield in a partnership that brings automated, intelligent capital allocation to real-world asset markets. AI agents can now evaluate RWA opportunities through AquaFlux’s tri-token framework and execute yield optimization decisions in real time onchain.

The partnership connects two markets that have historically operated separately by giving agents the tools to work across both at the same

France is facing a rise in crypto-related kidnappings as so-called “wrench attacks” become more frequent, brazen and violent.

That shift was visible this week amid the staging of an annual international blockchain and crypto conference. A police motorcade escorted VIP guests to a dinner at the Palace of Versailles. And security was also notably reinforced at the Carrousel du Louver, where the conference was taking place.

Wrench attacks in France have put the country so notably under the international spotlight that government officials took the stage at the conference in Paris to acknowledge their alarm at the scale of the problem. They said that this year alone, the country has suffered at least 41 crypto-related kidnappings and home invasions. That’s one every two to three days.

Jean-Didier Berger, Minister Delegate to the Interior Ministry, said a new set of measures is being prepared with Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez to tackle the growing issue. A prevention platform has already drawn thousands of registrations, but authorities say further steps are needed as incidents continue to rise.

Wrench attack epicenter

The country has become the epicenter of a global rise in wrench attacks. Across multiple jurisdictions, attacks on crypto holders are becoming more frequent and more violent, according to security researchers and law enforcement data.

Globally, the trend is also on the rise. In 2025, there were 72 verified physical coercion incidents globally, a 75% increase from the previous year, according to Certik and crypto researcher Jameson Lopp’s data, which tracks 188 attacks since 2014. Many more go unreported, he said. Cases involving physical assault rose even faster, up 250% year-over-year.

The term “wrench attack” refers to the use of physical force to extract access to digital assets. For some attackers, it is easier to coerce a person than to break encryption.

“Every time a wrench attack is successful, it tells the world that crypto owners are juicy targets,” Lopp told CoinDesk.

Unlike traditional bank transfers, crypto transactions cannot be reversed. Once a victim authorizes a transfer under duress, the funds can be moved quickly across wallets and chains.

Attackers seek points of weakness

Researchers say the way attackers identify victims has also changed.

“We’re seeing a shift from ‘find a wallet’ to ‘hunt a person,’” Phil Ariss of TRM Labs told CoinDesk. Rather than scanning for technical vulnerabilities, attackers build profiles, he added. They look at social media activity, public appearances and leaked datasets. They track routines and identify points of weakness.

“The biggest avoidable mistake is tying real-world identity, location and routine too tightly to visible crypto wealth,” Ariss said.

The problem is exacerbated when attackers get a helping hand from government officials. In one widely known case, in which a French tax official sold wrench attackers sensitive data. The case raised concerns among security experts that insider leaks and compromised state data were feeding directly into wrench attacks.

The pool of potential victims has widened, with mid-level holders increasingly being targeted, sometimes based on limited or indirect signals.

Anybody is a potential victim

Cases now include families, with children targeted alongside crypto-holding parents, making the attacks harder to categorize by severity.

In January 2025, Ledger co-founder David Balland was kidnapped in France along with his partner. During the attack, one of his fingers was severed and sent to associates as part of a ransom demand. He was rescued after a police operation.

Other cases have involved prolonged captivity and torture, such as one in New York, where a crypto investor was held for more than two weeks. In Canada, a home invasion escalated into waterboarding and sexual violence as attackers attempted to force access to funds.

Lopp said both opportunistic and organized groups are involved, but there are signs of increasing coordination. “We do seem to be seeing more organized groups now,” he said.

TRM Labs’s Ariss says his team has observed similar patterns, noting some groups operate with defined roles and pre-planning, including surveillance and follow-home tactics.

“These look less like one-off robberies and more like small kidnap or robbery crews specializing in crypto jobs,” Ariss said.

After funds are obtained, attackers tend to move quickly and frequently the crypto assets they attain are converted into stablecoins and routed across multiple chains, making recovery more difficult.

France’s role in this trend may reflect a mix of factors, Lopp said, including cases involving leaked personal data and cross-border criminal networks.

Rising prices, heftier loot

More broadly, rising asset prices have increased the potential payoff from a single attack, while improvements in digital security have reduced the effectiveness of purely technical exploits.

“It’s far easier than trying to rob a bank,” Lopp said.

Another issue is visibility: wrench attacks might be significantly underreported because many are reported as standard robberies or home invasions, with no mention of crypto.

“A large share of incidents are still recorded as simple robberies,” Ariss said, adding that the crypto element is often left out at the time of reporting, which can make it harder for authorities to connect cases or identify broader patterns.

The increase in attacks has raised questions about the risks of self-custody, a core principle of cryptocurrency.

Some security experts point to measures such as multi-signature setups, withdrawal delays and spending limits as ways to reduce risk by limiting how much can be accessed under duress.

“If coercion cannot produce immediate access to the majority of funds, the risk and return changes,” Ariss said. Such measures do not eliminate the threat but may reduce the incentive for attackers.

As crypto adoption grows, attacks are becoming more frequent and severe, turning what was once a niche concern into a broader security risk.

Institutional investors are warming to digital assets, with improving sentiment and broader use cases emerging as key drivers of adoption, according to a new survey from Tokyo-based bank Nomura and its crypto unit Laser Digital.

The study, based on responses from more than 500 investment professionals in Japan, found that 31% of respondents now hold a positive outlook on crypto over the next year, up from 25% in 2024. Meanwhile, negative sentiment has declined, pointing to a gradual shift in perception as the asset class matures.

A central theme is diversification. Some 65% of respondents said they view crypto as a portfolio diversifier, while 79% of those considering exposure plan to invest within three years. Most expect relatively modest allocations — typically between 2% and 5% — suggesting institutions are still in the early stages of adoption.

That shift is being supported by a changing regulatory and policy backdrop. In Japan, policymakers have spent the past year refining crypto frameworks, including discussions around classification, taxation and investor protections. Globally, clearer rules in major markets — alongside the approval and expansion of crypto investment products such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and tokenized assets — have reduced some of the uncertainty that previously kept institutions on the sidelines.

As a result, interest is expanding beyond simple price exposure. More than 60% of respondents expressed interest in staking, lending, derivatives and tokenized assets, reflecting growing demand for yield-generating strategies and more sophisticated portfolio construction.

Stablecoins are also gaining traction, with 63% of respondents identifying potential use cases ranging from treasury management to cross-border payments and investment in tokenized securities.

Still, barriers remain. Concerns around volatility, counterparty risk and the lack of established valuation frameworks continue to weigh on adoption. Regulatory uncertainty, while improving, has not fully disappeared.

Even so, the survey suggests the conversation is shifting. Rather than debating whether to invest in crypto, institutions are increasingly focused on how to do so — a sign that digital assets are moving closer to becoming a standard component of institutional portfolios.

Traditional finance giants Charles Schwab and Citadel Securities are both considering entering prediction markets, with each separately weighing up how they wish to get involved in the fast-growing sector.

“I think at some point we likely will have prediction markets,” Rick Wurster, the CEO of the banking and investing titan Schwab, told investors during a call on Thursday.

He added that prediction markets weren’t “of tremendous interest” when he recently asked a group of Schwab clients about them, but it was an area the company would “take a hard look at, and it would be quite straightforward for us to offer.”

Prediction markets such as the popular Kalshi and Polymarket have exploded in use over the past few months, with both platforms seeing a record combined total monthly trading volume of $23.6 billion in March, according to Token Terminal.

However, Kalshi, Polymarket and other prediction market platforms have also caught the ire of some US state regulators, who have accused them in court of offering unlicensed sports betting.

Some federal lawmakers have also vowed to crack down on prediction markets, claiming the platforms weren’t doing enough to stamp out insider trading.

Wurster said Schwab’s potential offering would steer away from allowing bets on areas such as sports, politics and pop culture as it looks to position itself as a partner for building long-term wealth.

“Prediction markets that are not aligned to that are not something that we want to pursue,” he said. “If you look at the stats on the success of gamblers, they’re not strong, and people generally lose money.”

Citadel “keeping an eye” on prediction markets

Meanwhile, Citadel Securities president Jim Esposito said at a Semafor conference in Washington, DC, on Thursday that the company is “absolutely keeping an eye on developments” in prediction markets.

“We’re not there yet, there’s not that much liquidity,” he added, but said that the market is likely to “ramp and scale,” and it was “certainly possible” that the market-making firm would potentially look to get involved.

Related: Democrats question CFTC chair on insider trading in prediction markets

Esposito said Citadel was “not looking at sports at the moment at all, I don’t see us entering that market,” but did signal an interest in some event contracts.

He added that Citadel could see its retail and institutional clients use some event contracts as a hedge for risks to their investments, such as contracts for elections, which have been known to move markets.

“That’s going to be some of the biggest risks to investors’ portfolios that they’re going to have to grapple with,” Esposito said. “Having a clean and distinct way to hedge certain risks, I think there’s a good use case and industrial logic to it.”

Magazine: Should users be allowed to bet on war and death in prediction markets?