Author: NBTC

Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk’s weekly wrap of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I’m Margaux Nijkerk, a reporter at CoinDesk. In this issue: New React bug that can drain all your tokens is impacting ‘thousands’ of websites Ripple Expands $1.3B RLUSD Stablecoin to Ethereum L2s via Wormhole in Multichain Push Aave DAO Pushes Back as Interface Fees Shift Away From Treasury NFT Project Pudgy Penguins Takes Over Las Vegas Sphere in Holiday Campaign Network News BUG THAT COULD DRAIN WALLET AFFECTS THOUSANDS OF WEBSITES: A critical vulnerability in React Server Components is being actively exploited by multiple…

Real estate investor Grant Cardone is expanding its multifamily housing fund strategy that pairs a traditional commercial property with Bitcoin allocations, offering a hybrid approach to real estate and digital asset exposure. The company recently launched its fifth commercial multifamily investment property, a 366-unit multifamily housing complex that was purchased for about $235 million, with $100 million in Bitcoin (BTC) added to the fund, Cardone told Cointelegraph. Real estate’s low volatility, tax benefits, income generation and stable value combined with the high volatility of Bitcoin gives the fund the best of both worlds, allowing it to funnel rental income into…

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has made a new statement regarding its altcoin listing process. Accordingly, Binance introduced a three-stage Alpha-Futures-Spot listing system. The exchange also added that it aims to help altcoin projects better understand how to participate in Binance’s listing ecosystem and increase user confidence regarding the quality and legitimacy of listed assets. In its statement, Binance announced that there will be a new three-stage process for listing projects on its platform. Binance stated that the new system will offer various listing options to suit the different status and needs of projects, and will evaluate projects based…

Following a monumental year for the cryptocurrency space, new data from CoinGecko highlights the significant diversity of the most active blockchains by mindshare in 2025. The ranking reflects relative interest and engagement across networks rather than price performance, offering insight into which ecosystems are capturing the most traction this year. Overall, the data illustrates a shifting landscape in 2025, where high-performance and application-focused blockchains are gaining a growing share of attention, even as established networks like Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) continue to play foundational roles in the broader crypto ecosystem. Solana (SOL) Solana (SOL) tops the list with 26.79%…

The debate between Aave DAO and Aave Labs continues to escalate. In what began as a spat over the “private monetisation” of features on the platform’s front-end, the DAO is now seeking ownership of “brand assets.” The rift may have been sparked by a relatively small revenue stream, but the focus is now on brand ownership. Aave is DeFi’s biggest app, currently making $100+ million per year, and the brand carries enormous potential for making money off future products and features. A forum post from longtime Aave contributor Ernesto Boado of BGD Labs requests that control of “domains, social handles,…

Key Takeaways Major technology companies, particularly those focused on AI, lost $1.5 trillion in market value within 48 hours. Prominent firms affected included Nvidia, Microsoft, Palantir, Tesla, Amazon, Intel, AMD, Oracle, Alphabet, and IBM. Major technology companies lost $1.5 trillion in market value over 48 hours as investors dialed back expectations of a December interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve, pushing the next fully priced cut into March. At the same time, large fiscal stimulus plans in the US and Japan are stoking fears that governments are fighting inflation with policies that could actually keep it higher for longer.…

KuCoin announced an exclusive multiyear deal with Tomorrowland Winter and Tomorrowland Belgium from 2026 to 2028, making the exchange the music festival’s exclusive crypto and payments partner. The move comes just weeks after KuCoin secured a Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) service provider license in the European Union. KuCoin’s MiCA play goes mass‑market KuCoin EU Exchange recently obtained a crypto asset service provider license in Austria under the EU’s MiCA regime, giving it a fully regulated foothold in the bloc as Brussels’ new rulebook for exchanges, custody and stablecoins comes into force. The Tomorrowland deal signals how KuCoin plans to…

Tokenized stocks and commodities reached peak valuations, on a mix of increasing token supply and growing market prices. Stocks and commodities are still the smallest class in tokenized RWAs, but have been growing actively in the past months. Tokenized stocks and commodities reached peak valuations, based on Token Terminal data. Asset tokenization remains one of the growth narratives in 2025, with more platforms seeking to add their own standard of stocks. Tokenized commodities reached $3.7B in December, mostly based on the performance of gold. Tokenized stocks hover around $808M. Tokenized commodities mostly rely on Tether’s gold-backed tokens for their growth.…

Following the launch of its institutional loans program on its centralized platform, offering up to 4x leverage and potential zero-interest terms for high-net-worth customers, Binance has launched a Web3 loan feature within its self-custody wallet. The world’s largest exchange has spread its tentacles across the decentralized finance space with its expansion into lending. Ethereum protocols control about 80% of the DeFi lending market share. The move pits the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume against established players like Aave, which alone controls about 60% of the DeFi lending sector. Binance Wallet launches DeFi loans with Venus Protocol Binance just…

Japan is advancing custody rules, Hong Kong is standardizing digitally native bond issuance, and Singapore has approved the first retail tokenized fund. The sequence is rules, issuance, and cash-like instruments. The link to crypto is not narrative but plumbing that reduces friction for collateral and settlement near BTC and ETH venues. Japan’s Financial Services Agency set out a pathway that brings crypto closer to Financial Instruments and Exchange Act treatment while reaffirming hardware-segregated custody as the baseline. The agency’s English discussion paper cites more than 12 million exchange accounts and user assets exceeding ¥5 trillion held by exchanges as of…