A new a16z report finds that stablecoins now account for over 1% of US dollars in circulation as institutions and fintechs get involved. The cryptocurrency market in 2025 is increasingly being shaped by institutional adoption and the rise of stablecoins, underscoring rapid advances in blockchain technology capable of supporting broader mainstream use, according to venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).In its latest State of Crypto report, a16z highlighted the growing involvement of traditional financial giants such as BlackRock, Visa, Fidelity and JPMorgan Chase, alongside fintech companies like Stripe, PayPal and Robinhood, all of which are expanding their presence in the digital asset space.Part of this growth is being driven by improvements in underlying blockchain infrastructure, with some networks now processing over 3,400 transactions per second, a more than 100-fold increase in throughput over the past five years.Read more A new a16z report finds that stablecoins now account for over 1% of US dollars in circulation as institutions and fintechs get involved. The cryptocurrency market in 2025 is increasingly being shaped by institutional adoption and the rise of stablecoins, underscoring rapid advances in blockchain technology capable of supporting broader mainstream use, according to venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).In its latest State of Crypto report, a16z highlighted the growing involvement of traditional financial giants such as BlackRock, Visa, Fidelity and JPMorgan Chase, alongside fintech companies like Stripe, PayPal and Robinhood, all of which are expanding their presence in the digital asset space.Part of this growth is being driven by improvements in underlying blockchain infrastructure, with some networks now processing over 3,400 transactions per second, a more than 100-fold increase in throughput over the past five years.Read more

                                                                               Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin defended his blockchain’s 45-day exit queue after Galaxy Digital’s head of digital called it “troubling,” sparking backlash.                     Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has finally addressed some concerns over the lengthening Ethereum staking exit queue, which has now grown to 45 days. His response came after Galaxy Digital’s head of DeFi, Michael Marcantonio, called the exit queue length “troubling” on X and compared it to Solana which only needs two days to unstake. He has since deleted the posts. However, Buterin seemingly took a more ideological stance on the subject, describing unstaking from Ethereum as “more like a soldier deciding to quit the army,” adding that staking is more about “taking on a solemn duty to defend the chain.”Read more