Maple Finance, BitGo, Copper, and Hex Trust Launch lstBTC on Core, Unlocking Institutional Bitcoin Yield 2565

The Core Foundation, in partnership with Maple Finance, BitGo, Copper, Hex Trust announces lstBTC, a new liquid, yield-bearing Bitcoin token designed for institutions to earn returns on idle Bitcoin . By transforming Bitcoin into a productive asset, lstBTC offers holders a way to put billions of dollars back into their pockets while maintaining security, compliance, and liquidity. Designed to unlock capital efficiency while maintaining security, compliance, and liquidity, lstBTC enables institutions to earn sustainable yield on idle Bitcoin holdings without disrupting existing custody arrangements.

Unlocking Yield-Bearing Bitcoin Collateral

For years, institutional Bitcoin holders have faced a tradeoff: keeping BTC as a secure store of value or sacrificing security or liquidity to earn yield. lstBTC changes this dynamic by allowing institutions to earn yield paid in Bitcoin without transferring BTC away from trusted custodians.

With over $500 billion in Bitcoin accruing fees in custodial accounts, lstBTC unlocks significant savings. It allows institutions to generate sustainable yields on Bitcoin holdings while maintaining principal security, liquidity, and capital efficiency within industry-standard custody practices. Maple Finance brings its expertise in institutional credit markets and risk management to lstBTC by overseeing yield generation strategies that align with regulatory and risk standards. Maple helps lstBTC holders simplify earning yield without transferring BTC out of custody. By integrating lstBTC into its broader institutional infrastructure, Maple Finance helps institutions maximize capital efficiency without sacrificing security.

“The lack of Bitcoin yield options has been a noticeable void in the market for some time. Maple is proud to partner with CORE on lstBTC which enables institutions to earn yield on their BTC without giving up the security of trusted custodians,” said Sidney Powell, CEO and Co-Founder at Maple Finance

How lstBTC Works

Institutions can mint lstBTC by depositing Bitcoin with trusted custodians like BitGo, Copper, or Hex Trust.

  • lstBTC accrues yield while remaining fully liquid—institutions can trade, transfer, or pledge lstBTC as collateral.
  • When redeemed, holders receive their original Bitcoin plus accrued yield in kind, delivered directly to their custodial accounts.

lstBTC leverages Core blockchain’s Dual Staking mechanism, enabling Bitcoin to earn CORE rewards while securing the network. Maple Finance, a trusted investment manager, employs defined strategies with institutional-grade risk management to optimize yield transparently, while the custodian ensures compliance and asset security.

This approach ensures capital efficiency, security, and scalability, offering institutions a seamless way to earn yield on their Bitcoin holdings without disrupting existing workflows.

What Sets lstBTC Apart

Unlike alternative Bitcoin yield solutions, lstBTC is designed specifically for institutions, without asset transfers or unnecessary risk.

  • No custody changes required – Institutions keep their Bitcoin with existing custodians.
  • Real BTC Yield – Earn BTC-denominated yield via Core’s Dual Staking mechanism without bitcoin leaving the custodian.
  • Fully liquid and scalable – lstBTC can be traded, transferred, or pledged as collateral while the underlying Bitcoin earns yield.
  • Built for institutional use cases – Seamlessly integrates into existing and new portfolio strategies to increase returns.

“This partnership is a breakthrough for institutional Bitcoin holders,” said Hong Sun, Institutional Contributor at Core DAO. “lstBTC finally allows institutions to earn yield on their Bitcoin while maintaining their existing custodial and security frameworks. By combining the Core blockchain’s Dual Staking, Maple Finance’s risk-managed strategies, and the trusted custodial infrastructure of BitGo, Copper, and Hex Trust, lstBTC sets a new standard for institutional Bitcoin solutions.”

Redefining Bitcoin for Institutional Investors

lstBTC empowers institutional customers—portfolio managers, ETP issuers, accredited investors, and market makers—to maximize Bitcoin productivity without compromising security or operational efficiency. With the most trusted names in asset management, digital asset custody, liquidity, and risk management behind it, lstBTC sets a new standard for institutional Bitcoin yield.

For more information on lstBTC and how it can help institutional Bitcoin holders generate yield securely, visit lstbtc.coredao.org.

About Core

Core is Bitcoin’s first Proof of Stake (PoS) layer and the largest Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem, merging the unparalleled security of Bitcoin with the scalability of the Satoshi Plus consensus. Core’s Dual Staking empowers Bitcoin holders to potentially earn secure and sustainable yields by staking both BTC and CORE, all while retaining full control of their assets.
Over 5,500 BTC and 165M CORE are currently staked on the Core blockchain, enhancing Bitcoin’s utility and security. Core is the most Bitcoin-aligned EVM blockchain with ~80% of Bitcoin mining hash power contributing to the network’s security. This breakthrough has amassed millions of Core adopters — over 40M unique addresses, 350M+ transactions, and over $850M TVL since its mainnet launch in January 2023.

For more information, visit coredao.org.

About Maple Finance

Maple Finance, launched in 2021, is DeFi’s institutional lender, offering institutional-grade lending markets that are transparent and verifiable on-chain. As a leader in decentralized finance, Maple is building a global lending ecosystem focused on innovation and accessibility. Central to this ecosystem is the SYRUP token, introduced in 2024, which empowers the Maple community through staking, governance, and shared protocol growth. Together, Maple is driving the next generation of institutional credit markets in DeFi.

For more information, visit www.maple.finance.

About BitGo

BitGo is the leading infrastructure provider of digital asset solutions, delivering custody, wallets, staking, trading, financing, and settlement services from regulated cold storage. Since our founding in 2013, we have focused on enabling our clients to securely navigate the digital asset space. With a large global presence through multiple regulated entities, BitGo serves thousands of institutions, including many of the industry’s top brands, exchanges, and platforms, as well as millions of retail investors worldwide. As the operational backbone of the digital economy, BitGo handles a significant portion of Bitcoin network transactions and is the largest independent digital asset custodian, and staking provider, in the world.

For more information, visit www.bitgo.com.

About Copper

Since being founded in 2018, Copper has been building the standard for institutional digital asset infrastructure with a focus on custody and collateral management. Underpinned by multi-award-winning technology, Copper has built a comprehensive and secure suite of products and services required to safely custody and trade digital assets. At the core of Copper’s infrastructure is ClearLoop, which enables clients to manage collateral and settle trades across multiple exchanges, while mitigating counterparty risk and increasing capital efficiency.

For more information, please visit: www.copper.co.

About Hex Trust

Established in 2018, Hex Trust offers regulated institutional digital asset custody, staking and markets services to builders, investors and service providers. Get access to our comprehensive, secure and regulated suite of services built on our proprietary and fully integrated infrastructure.

For more information, visit www.hextrust.com.

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$HLS Token Launches Across Major Tier-1 Exchanges 98

Helios is the ETF Layer for Cross-Chain Finance – a Layer 1 blockchain engineered to make automated, diversified, multi-chain portfolios a native blockchain primitive.

With the TGE now live, $HLS becomes available to the public, enabling broader participation in the Helios ecosystem as the network developers.

$HLS Now Live on Major Exchanges

At launch, $HLS is available for trading on multiple centralized exchanges, including:

  • KuCoin
  • BingX
  • MEXC
  • Weex
  • Lbank

This initial exchange availability is designed to provide global access and liquidity while Helios continues progressing toward its full mainnet launch.

Phased Launch Architecture

At TGE, $HLS is introduced as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum and Arbitrum, aligning with Helios’ current Mainnet Beta phase. This approach allows Helios to leverage established infrastructure and ample liquidity while continuing development of its Layer-1.

Helios Mainnet is scheduled to launch in Q1 2026, at which point $HLS will become native to the Helios chain. Following mainnet launch, users will be able to bridge $HLS to Helios Mainnet via Hyperion, Helios’ cross-chain execution modules designed to enable seamless interoperability across ecosystems.

Strong Financial Backing and Community Participation

Alongside the TGE, Helios also confirmed it has successfully secured $19 million in total funding to date.

This includes:

  • $15 million commitment from Bolts Capital, providing long-term strategic backing for product development and ecosystem growth
  • $4 million raised through launchpads, reflecting strong community participation and demand ahead of the TGE

The capital raised supports Helios’ continued development across core infrastructure, ecosystem incentives, and upcoming product launches.

What Comes Next for Helios

Following the TGE, Helios enters a new execution phase focused on expanding network functionality and onboarding users and developers. Near-term priorities include:

  • Operating the Helios Mainnet Beta with supervised validators
  • Activating incentive program
  • Continued development toward a full permissionless mainnet in Q1 2026

Looking further ahead, Helios is building Forge, its application for creating and minting on-chain ETFs, alongside automation and AI-driven portfolio strategies designed to support a broad range of digital and real-world assets. Read more about Forge here:

About Helios

Helios is a Layer-1 blockchain platform designed to support the creation, management, and automation of on-chain ETFs and portfolio products. By combining native interoperability, automation modules, and asset-centric primitives, Helios aims to provide the infrastructure for next-generation decentralized investment products.

For more information, users can visit https://helioschain.network.

Curve Finance Strengthens Its Position as a Leading Ethereum DEX With 44% Fee Share 92

Ethereum’s market is one of the most competitive corners of DeFi, and it has virtually no “meme”-driven trading activity. This makes it easier to measure the more organic market volumes, where low fees and the trading of core assets such as ETH, BTC (wrapped), and stablecoins are predominant.

This week, Curve Finance delivered one of the clearest signals that it stands among the top players in this scene.

According to DeFiLlama’s data, Curve now ranks among the top Ethereum DEXs in terms of fees metrics over the past 30 days, overtaking other long-standing leaders in the space.

One thing that is particularly notable here is how much the scale has shifted. Around this time last year, Curve accounted for roughly 1.6% of all DEX fees charged on Ethereum. Today, its share stands at about 44%, marking the most significant overturn in fee dominance that DeFi has seen in 2025.

These figures highlight rising trader activity and fees paid by users on Curve. But it should be noted that this is not a reflection of profit or yield distributed among liquidity providers or the protocol itself.

There are several factors that drove this growth. Trading activity around Curve’s native crvUSD stablecoin has increased sharply, pushing volumes higher and reinforcing the protocol’s position as a core venue for on-chain stablecoin liquidity. By trading volume (24H), crvUSD has moved into the top 5 stablecoins, superseded only by major leaders like USDT and USDC. This reflects its rapid adoption and growing role in on-chain liquidity.

At the same time, integration with Yield Basis has concentrated the largest on-chain Bitcoin liquidity in DeFi on Curve, with the protocol now hosting three of the deepest on-chain BTC liquidity pools used by Yield Basis protocol. The pools rank at the very top by both TVL and depth, well ahead of BTC pools on other DEXs.

Here’s how Michael Egorov, founder of Curve Finance, has commented on this shift: “DeFi users are increasingly prioritising sustainable revenue models over short-term speculation. We’re seeing a clear move away from hype-driven trading and towards protocols with transparent economics and real yield. This change in long-term behaviour is reshaping where liquidity and volume ultimately settle.”

About Curve Finance

Curve Finance is one of the largest DeFi protocols, specializing in stablecoin trading with minimal fees and slippage. Launched in 2020, it has grown into a full ecosystem with liquidity pools, lending markets, its own stablecoin (crvUSD), and DAO governance, becoming a key infrastructure layer for Ethereum and other EVM networks.

Vantage Wins ‘Best Mobile Trading App – APAC’ at the UF Awards APAC 2025 83

Vantage, the leading multi-asset broker, is delighted to announce it has been awarded Best Mobile Trading App – APAC at the prestigious UF AWARDS APAC 2025, held during the iFX EXPO Asia 2025.

Now in its sixth edition, the UF Awards APAC recognise excellence across the Asia-Pacific region, celebrating the finest fintech and online trading brands that deliver outstanding products and services. This recognition was presented to the Vantage brand as part of the event’s regional award categories.

The Best Mobile Trading App award honours Vantage’s commitment to delivering a best-in-class mobile experience. With intuitive design, lightning-fast execution, and advanced features built for both new and experienced traders, Vantage’s mobile platform offers the tools and performance needed to trade confidently.

Marc Despallieres, CEO of Vantage, stated: “We are honoured to receive this recognition from the industry. Winning Best Mobile Trading App in the APAC region underscores our dedication to developing technology that empowers traders. We will continue to innovate and deliver mobile solutions that make trading smarter and more accessible.”

This accolade adds to Vantage’s growing list of international honours and reinforces the brand’s position as a leading mobile-first trading platform.

About Vantage

Vantage Markets (or Vantage) is a multi-asset CFD broker offering clients access to a nimble and powerful service for trading Contracts for Difference (CFDs) products, including Forex, Commodities, Indices, Shares, ETFs, and Bonds.

With 16 years of market experience, Vantage goes beyond the role of broker, providing a reliable trading platform that provides clients access to trading opportunities.

HaHa Wallet Partners with Onramper to Expand Access to the Monad Ecosystem 92

Partnership follows Monad Mainnet launch to unlock global onboarding

Onramper, the world’s leading fiat-to-crypto onramp aggregator, today announced a strategic partnership with HaHa Wallet, next-generation, Monad-native crypto wallet, to broaden global accessibility for users engaging with Monad ecosystem.

Through the integration, HaHa Wallet users can now buy crypto using over 130 local payment methods across 190+ countries, benefiting from competitive rates and optimized fees. Following the launch of Monad’s public Mainnet in November 2025, the partnership makes it easier for users worldwide to enter Monad and begin trading, bridging, and exploring dApps.

HaHa Wallet has quickly become a leading gateway into Monad, offering a fast, intuitive, and reward-driven user experience. With Onramper’s global payments coverage and smart routing engine, users can move from fiat to crypto in just a few clicks and start interacting onchain.

“Realizing Monad’s full potential depends on frictionless onboarding,” said Thijs Maas, CEO of Onramper. “Our partnership with HaHa Wallet brings trusted, localized payment access directly into the Monad ecosystem. Together, we’re making it easier than ever for people everywhere to get started on Monad.”

Monad’s unique architecture enables parallel transaction execution, delivering faster speeds, quicker finality, and lower fees without sacrificing decentralization. Combined with Onramper’s global payment infrastructure, HaHa Wallet provides users with a streamlined entry point into Monad’s high-performance blockchain environment.

“Our focus is building the simplest possible entry point into the Monad Ecosystem,” said Mu Li, founder of HaHa Wallet. “Integrating Onramper allows us to offer trusted local payment methods, helping users get onchain quickly and confidently, no matter where they are in the world.”

Onramper continues to lead the onramp aggregation space, connecting more than 30 global fiat gateways and supporting over 2,000 digital assets, driving greater accessibility and inclusivity across Web3.

To learn more, please visit onramper.com and haha.me

About Onramper

Onramper is the leading fiat-to-crypto payments aggregator, providing a turnkey API-based solution for dynamically routing fiat-to-crypto onramp flows based on algorithms optimizing for conversion, fees and payment methods. Onramper’s platform allows users of clients to buy 2000+ digital assets, in over 190 countries with over 130 payment methods in 120 currencies, with advanced routing options and unified analytics. The company is based in the Netherlands. To learn more about Onramper, visit www.onramper.com.

‍About HaHa Wallet

HaHa Wallet is the Monad native, high performance smart wallet built to maximise how users earn and participate on chain. Purpose built for Monad’s low latency, parallel execution environment, HaHa delivers lightning fast swaps, deep native integrations with Monad dApps and ecosystem campaigns, and seamless access to multiple EVM chains through a single non custodial experience. Users earn Karma for meaningful on chain activity, unlocking rewards, ecosystem access, and future HaHa token utility, positioning HaHa Wallet as the primary consumer gateway to Monad and a rewards driven hub for Web3 participation.

Sushi Announces Strategic Investment and New Leadership to Accelerate Next Phase of Growth 83

This week, Sushi announced a major strategic development in the protocol’s long-term roadmap, backed by a significant investment from Synthesis, led by entrepreneur Alex McCurry. As part of this investment, Synthesis has acquired more than 10 million $SUSHI tokens, underscoring its conviction in Sushi’s future and its role in the evolving DeFi landscape.

Alex McCurry will join the Sushi Protocol as its new chief executive. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and seasoned founder, Alex has built and scaled eight-figure software companies and brings deep operational, product, and DeFi expertise to Sushi’s next chapter.

The announcement follows a pivotal year for Sushi: in 2024, the protocol became profitable, generating over $10 million in revenue across its Automated Market Maker (AMM), aggregator, and related product lines. With Synthesis’s backing, Sushi aims to scale this annual revenue in the coming years through disciplined growth, clear execution, and sustainable business fundamentals.

Sushi’s ecosystem continues to expand through key partnerships, including the rapid growth of Katana, a Layer 2 (L2) network supported by Polygon. Katana has accumulated over $100 million in TVL on Sushi, strengthening Sushi’s position as a foundational liquidity and routing layer for established and emerging networks.

As part of this transition, Sushi Labs managing director Jared Grey will step down from his leadership role and transition into an advisory position, continuing to support Sushi with long-term strategic guidance.

Under Alex’s leadership, Sushi will focus on four core priorities:

  • Deepening liquidity and execution quality across the protocol
  • Expanding protocol-owned liquidity (POL) and sustainable revenue streams
  • Strengthening tokenomics and aligning long-term incentives across the ecosystem
  • Supporting partners and builders who choose Sushi as their liquidity home

This leadership transition and strategic investment mark the beginning of a renewed phase of growth for Sushi, with an emphasis on operational excellence, ecosystem expansion, and user-aligned value creation.

About Sushi

SushiSwap is a leading decentralized exchange (DEX) and Aggregator that lets you SWAP ANYTHING. Powered by an advanced aggregation stack, SushiSwap ensures optimal pricing for swaps and seamless user experiences across dozens of networks.

Sushi Labs, the development arm of Sushi DAO, is building a multi-DEX powerhouse with strategic partnerships and cutting-edge DeFi primitives.

Superfortune launches AI-powered mobile app, targeting $392 billion metaphysics market beyond Web3 94

Superfortune, the web3 AI application incubated by Manta Network, has launched the first version of its mobile app, marking a strategic expansion beyond crypto-native users into the global consumer market. The app brings AI-powered metaphysics — including systems such as BaZi and Feng Shui — to a broader audience through personalized, data-driven readings and guidance.

The launch follows Superfortune’s early success within web3. The platform currently serves more than 20,000 daily active users and ranks as the top AI application on BNB Chain, signaling early product-market fit prior to its mobile expansion.

The move reflects Superfortune’s broader strategy to build consumer-facing applications that extend blockchain utility beyond financial use cases. While metaphysics-based services represent a multi-hundred-billion-dollar global market — particularly across East and Southeast Asia — the space has historically remained fragmented and offline. Superfortune aims to modernize this category by combining traditional metaphysical frameworks with scalable AI infrastructure.

The mobile app is powered by a proprietary, domain-specific AI system fine-tuned for metaphysics and personalized readings. By leveraging large language model configurations trained on structured metaphysical knowledge, the system delivers contextual guidance while maintaining consistency and cultural grounding at scale. The Manta Network team is expanding the AI model configuration to enable even more unique features for the mobile application.

The application will support several core use cases, including daily personal guidance and self-reflection, decision support for business and professional contexts — particularly in Asia — and access to real-world temples and practitioners for users seeking more personalized experiences.

“The Web3 industry has spent years building financial primitives, but real adoption comes from applications people actually use every day,” said Kenny Li, cofounder of Manta Network. “Superfortune shows how AI and blockchain can support consumer-facing experiences with real users, real engagement, and real revenue.”

The mobile launch complements Superfortune’s existing on-chain features, including its Qi Purification mechanism released in collaboration with Trust Wallet and Four.meme, which allows users to convert dormant or low-value digital assets into the platform’s native token. Together, these features position Superfortune as a hybrid Web2–Web3 application focused on utility, engagement, and long-term sustainability.

The Superfortune mobile app is available now on the Google Play Store with a future release soon on the iOS App Store. More information can be found at https://Superfortune.xyz.

About Superfortune

Superfortune is an AI-powered metaphysics platform that combines traditional Asian systems such as BaZi and Feng Shui with modern machine learning and blockchain infrastructure. Incubated by Manta Network, the platform serves more than 20,000 daily active users and ranks as the top AI application on BNB Chain.