Mantle Unlocks Autonomous Economy with ERC-8004 Deployment 48

Mantle, the high-performance distribution and liquidity layer for real-world assets, announced the official deployment of the ERC-8004 standard on mainnet. This milestone introduces a specialized trust and identity layer designed to transform AI agents from isolated scripts into sovereign economic participants capable of operating across RWAs, TradFi bridges, and DeFi.

The Trust Gap: Why AI Agents Were Problematic

Until now, on-chain AI agents have faced a “visibility crisis.” Despite their ability to execute code, agents remained invisible to the broader financial system. They lacked a way to build a reputation across different platforms, approve their historical performance, or be discovered outside of the specific ecosystem where they were created.

This gap has prevented autonomous agents from participating in high-stakes financial markets where verifiable records are non-negotiable.

ERC-8004: The Three Components of Agent Autonomy

By deploying ERC-8004, Mantle provides the foundational infrastructure for a trustless “Internet of Agents.” The standard introduces three critical on-chain registries:

  • Identity Registry: Provides a verifiable, NFT-based on-chain identity for every agent, making them discoverable and unique.
  • Reputation Registry: Establishes a portable track record. An agent’s “credit score” or performance history now follows it across platforms, ending the need to start from zero.
  • Validation Registry: Offers cryptographic proof of work completed, allowing agents to verify the accuracy of each other’s outputs through stake-secured or ZK-based mechanisms.

“At Mantle, we are building the liquid layer for the future of finance, where RWAs and DeFi converge.” said by Joshua Cheong, Head of Product at Mantle. “By bringing ERC-8004 to our ecosystem, we are providing AI agents with the ‘credentials’ they need to manage real capital. This isn’t just about automation; it’s about creating a verifiable workforce that can navigate compliance, liquidity, and settlement at scale.”

Bridging the Gap in TradFi and RWAs with ERC-8004

On Mantle, where institutional-grade assets flow seamlessly, these agents serve as the “connective tissue.” With ERC-8004, agents can now discover one another, verify credentials, and transact autonomously without being locked into a single platform. This enables three primary categories of autonomous building:

  1. Financial Strategy Agents: Executing complex yield or trading strategies with a performance history that anyone can audit.
  2. RWA Coordination Agents: Managing the heavy lifting of compliance, custody, and settlement for tokenized assets.
  3. Cross-Market Bridges: Bridging liquidity between traditional legacy systems and on-chain protocols by acting as verifiable intermediaries.

A Unified Ecosystem Is Now Powered by Mantle

ERC-8004 is designed to be backwards-compatible and works in tandem with the protocols agents already use, including the Model Context Protocol (MCP), Agent-to-Agent (A2A) communication, and the x402 payment standard.

By combining these communication and payment standards with Mantle’s massive distribution layer and $4B+ treasury, the network is uniquely positioned to lead the “DeFAI” (Decentralized AI Finance) revolution.

Ethereum is the settlement layer for AI, and with ERC-8004, the future of autonomous finance is officially live on Mantle.

About Mantle

Mantle positions itself as the premier distribution layer and gateway for institutions and TradFi to connect with on-chain liquidity and access real-world assets, powering how real-world finance flows.

With over $4B+ in community-owned assets, Mantle combines credibility, liquidity and scalability with institutional-grade infrastructure to support large-scale adoption. The ecosystem is anchored by $MNT within Bybit, and built out through core ecosystem projects like mETH, fBTC, MI4 and more. This is complemented by Mantle Network’s partnerships with leading issuers and protocols such as Ethena USDe, Ondo USDY, and OP-Succinct.

For more information about Mantle, please visit: mantle.xyz

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DigiFT Introduces First Actively Managed Tokenized Equity Fund with BNY as Investment Management Services Provider 97

  • First actively managed tokenized equity fund extending tokenization beyond single assets to professionally managed public equity strategies
  • Tokenized on Ethereum and distributed via DigiFT, providing eligible investors a regulated on-chain way to invest
  • Advances institutional adoption of tokenization, building on BNY’s deep investment expertise and DigiFT’s track record of bringing Tier-1 asset manager strategies on-chain

DigiFT, a regulated on-chain exchange for institutional real-world assets, today announced the introduction of DigiFT U.S. Equity Income Fund (“bEQTY”), the first actively managed tokenized U.S. equity income fund on the Ethereum public blockchain.

The launch of bEQTY, which is eligible for accredited investors, represents a significant milestone in the evolution of tokenization—marking a shift from early experimentation with blockchain-based financial instruments toward enabling investors to construct more complete, portfolio-relevant strategies on-chain.

BNY serves as the investment manager for the underlying traditional U.S. equity income strategy which extends tokenization into actively managed public equities. This launch demonstrates how regulated on-chain infrastructure is advancing beyond initial applications to address more sophisticated areas of the capital markets.

Tokenization as institutional portfolio infrastructure

Public equities remain a core component of institutional portfolios. Tokenization introduces a digitally native form factor that enables programmable settlement, enhanced transparency, and more streamlined lifecycle management—without changing the underlying investment strategy or governance framework.

By representing equity income strategies on regulated on-chain infrastructure, eligible investors gain greater flexibility in how sophisticated financial instruments are held, transferred, and integrated into portfolios, supporting more agile capital management.

For Web3-native allocators, as on-chain treasuries and funds mature, there is growing interest in incorporating assets that introduce exposure to the real-economy and are less correlated with crypto-native market cycles.

The launch also illustrates how regulated on-chain marketplaces can support wider institutional participation by enabling eligible investors to access the strategy through DigiFT’s regulated framework.

Henry Zhang, Founder and Group CEO of DigiFT, said: “For years, tokenization has been about proving the technology. This launch proves its use case. By bringing an actively managed equity income strategy on-chain within a regulated market, we’re demonstrating how blockchain infrastructure is becoming part of mainstream institutional finance.”

Doni Shamsuddin, Head of Asia Pacific, BNY Investments, said: “We are thrilled to work with DigiFT in bridging traditional finance and emerging on-chain solutions for institutional investors. Leveraging BNY’s deep investment capabilities, we enable a professionally managed portfolio on blockchain — anchored in established trust, scale, and governance.”

From experimentation to portfolio-relevant strategies

Tokenization has gained early traction in short-duration and cash-like instruments, demonstrating the operational benefits of blockchain within regulated frameworks.

As tokenization matures, extending its capabilities into actively managed public equities represents a natural next phase—moving beyond single assets toward actively managed strategies within regulated market infrastructure.

About DigiFT

DigiFT is a next-generation exchange for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). The platform offers end-to-end digital asset services—including tokenization, issuance, distribution, trading, and instant liquidity provision—purpose-built for institutional RWAs. Trusted by global financial institutions, DigiFT is the on-chain tokenization and distribution partner for leading asset managers such as Invesco, UBS Asset Management, and Wellington Management. For more information, visit https://digift.io

About BNY

BNY is a global financial services platforms company at the heart of the world’s capital markets. For more than 240 years BNY has partnered alongside clients, using its expertise and platforms to help them operate more efficiently and accelerate growth. Today BNY serves over 90% of Fortune 100 companies and nearly all the top 100 banks globally. BNY supports governments in funding local projects and works with over 90% of the top 100 pension plans to safeguard investments for millions of individuals. As of December 31, 2025, BNY oversees $59.3 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration and $2.2 trillion in assets under management.

BNY is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. Headquartered in New York City, BNY has been named among Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies and Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators. Additional information is available on www.bny.com.

Verito and Filed Partner to Deliver AI-Powered Tax Automation on the Industry’s Highest-Rated Cloud Infrastructure 111

G2’s #1-ranked hosting provider and AICPA-backed AI platform combine to create Advisory-Ready Infrastructure, helping accounting firms escape data entry and shift to higher-value services

Verito, the top-rated cloud hosting and managed IT provider for accounting firms, today announced a strategic partnership with Filed, the AI-powered tax automation platform selected for the 2025 AICPA/CPA.com Startup Accelerator.

The partnership combines Filed’s AI automation, which cuts tax prep time by 40–80%, with Verito’s #1-ranked hosting infrastructure, creating what the companies call Advisory-Ready Infrastructure : a foundation that frees firms from manual compliance and data-entry work so they can focus on higher-margin advisory services.

The Capacity Problem Holding Firms Back

The accounting profession faces a stark math problem. With 75% of CPAs nearing retirement and a shortage of nearly 340,000 professionals, firms can’t hire their way to growth. Meanwhile, nearly 40% of preparers’ time disappears into repetitive data entry, hours that could generate advisory revenue at 2–3x rates.

Most firms want to offer more advisory services. Few have the capacity to deliver them.

The Verito + Filed partnership addresses both sides of that equation. Filed’s Intelligent Tax Workspace automates the manual stage, document intake, data extraction, and return population, all while working inside the tax software firms already use: Drake, UltraTax, Lacerte, ProSeries, and CCH Axcess. So preparers log in to review-ready returns instead of blank forms. Verito’s infrastructure ensures that automation runs fast, stays online, and meets IRS and FTC compliance requirements.

The result: firms recapture thousands of hours previously lost to data entry. Those hours become available for client advisory, strategic planning, and the high-value work that drives growth.

Verito earned #1 rankings in 18 separate G2 categories this winter spanning Usability, Results, Relationship, and Implementation indexes for cloud hosting, managed hosting, and dedicated hosting. The company maintains 100% uptime since 2016, a 95 Net Promoter Score, and sub-60-second support response times from technicians trained on professional tax applications.

“The firms we serve don’t just want compliant infrastructure. They want capacity to grow,” said Jatin Narang, CEO of Verito Inc. “Filed eliminates the data entry that traps preparers in low-value work. We make sure that automation runs on infrastructure that never flinches. Together, we’re giving firms something they’ve never had: the time to actually advise their clients.”

What the Partnership Means for Accounting Firms

Under the agreement, Verito becomes Filed’s preferred cloud hosting and managed IT provider. The partnership delivers:

  • For Filed users: Preferred pricing on Verito’s private cloud hosting and managed IT services, with IRS Publication 4557 and FTC Safeguards Rule compliance built in
  • For Verito clients: Discounted access to Filed’s AI automation platform, enabling faster return preparation without changing existing workflows
  • For firms shifting to advisory: An integrated ecosystem where AI handles prep work, infrastructure handles performance and compliance, and preparers handle the strategic work that commands premium fees

“Great software only works if it’s supported by great infrastructure, and Verito understands the operational realities of accounting firms, and they know how to support modern firms with the right cloud hosting and managed IT Services needed to scale operations.” said Leroy Kerry, CEO of Filed. “We’re excited to partner with them so firms can adopt Filed knowing the technology behind it is secure, dependable, and built to grow with them.”

The Infrastructure Behind the Partnership

Verito earned #1 rankings in 18 G2 Index categories, including:

  • #1 Usability Index for Cloud Application Hosting
  • #1 Results Index for Cloud Application Hosting
  • #1 Relationship Index for Cloud Application Hosting
  • #1 Implementation Index for Cloud Application Hosting
  • #1 Usability Index for Managed Hosting
  • #1 Results Index for Managed Hosting
  • #1 Implementation Index for Managed Hosting
  • #1 Relationship Index for Managed Hosting

Accounting firms ready to build their Advisory-Ready Infrastructure can learn more at verito.com/partners/filed.

About Verito

Verito provides private cloud hosting, managed IT, and compliance solutions exclusively for tax and accounting firms. With 1,000+ clients, 100% uptime since 2016, and a 95 Net Promoter Score, Verito operates under a simple promise: It just works. Securely. Learn more at verito.com.

About Filed

Filed is an AI-powered Intelligent Tax Workspace that automates tax return preparation while integrating with existing professional tax software. Backed by $17.2 million in funding from Northzone, Day One Ventures, and Neo, and selected for the 2025 AICPA/CPA.com Startup Accelerator, Filed helps accounting firms cut prep time by 40–80% and process 3–4x more returns without additional headcount. Learn more at filed.com.

Tharimmune, Inc. Announces Pricing of $55 Million Underwritten Registered Offering 167

Tharimmune, Inc., the first publicly traded company to leverage Canton Coin to support the Canton Network’s ability to digitize traditional financial markets, today announced the pricing of a $55 million registered offering.

Tharimmune, Inc. operates a differentiated digital asset treasury strategy by actively participating in the Canton Network – a privacy-enabled, secure blockchain hosting trillions in assets on chain.

The offering is expected to close on or about January 21, 2026, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The transaction includes the issuance of 1,800,000 shares of its common stock at a price of $2.92 per share and pre-funded warrants to purchase up to 17,000,000 shares of common stock at a price of $2.9199 per pre-funded warrant. The offering will provide the Company with additional growth capital for the continued expansion and development of its Canton-centric digital asset treasury strategy, as well as with working capital for general corporate purposes.

Clear Street is acting as sole bookrunner for the offering.

About Tharimmune

Tharimmune, Inc. is the first publicly traded company to leverage Canton Coin and support the Canton Network to advance institutional blockchain adoption and the digitization of financial markets. In addition to driving value through activities on the Canton Network, Tharimmune also operates clinical-stage biotech research and development. For more information, visit www.tharimmune.com. References to information included on, or accessible through, websites do not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained at or available through such websites, and you should not consider such information to be part of this press release.

AIxC Announces AIxC Hub Exceeds 500,000 Registered Wallets in First Week Following Launch 151

AIxCrypto Inc. (“AIxC”), a pioneer in Embodied AI (EAI) infrastructure, today announced that its flagship platform, AIxC Hub has surpassed 500,000 registered wallets and 200,000 daily active participants (DAU) within seven days of its launch.

High-Frequency Engagement & Behavioral Intelligence

The platform has processed millions of directional predictions on the Company’s proprietary C10 Index. Beyond simple engagement, AIxC Hub serves as a massive behavioral data engine, capturing real-time human decision-making patterns to train the Company’s Embodied AI models.

  • Zero-Capital Arena: A zero capital participation model that removes financial barriers, allowing for authentic analytical instincts
  • C10 Index Forecasting: Users perform high-frequency predictions on top digital assets, updated every 10 seconds
  • Merit-Based Recognition: A unified Points system rewards accuracy and community participation, creating a highly engaging skill-building environment

“Reaching 500,000 accounts in a week validates our strategy of using zero-capital environments to collect high-quality behavioral intelligence,” said Jerry Wang, Co-CEO of AIxC. “These datasets are the foundational inputs our EAI systems need to optimize decision-making in real-world asset (RWA) contexts.”

Global Community Network & Data Integrity

AIxC has built a robust global user network through multi-channel outreach. The Company maintains approximately 42,000 followers across social media platforms (AIxC Twitter 23,000 + Foundation Twitter 19,000), with core communities concentrated in Discord (27,000 members) and Telegram (17,000 members), totaling approximately 44,500 community members. This multi-tiered community architecture provides a solid foundation for the platform’s rapid growth.

To ensure the integrity of this training data, AIxC utilizes advanced AI-driven quality assurance to filter automated bot activity, ensuring the dataset reflects genuine human cognition. With users distributed across multiple countries and regions, the platform is building a globally diverse behavioral library essential for training adaptable AI systems.

Deep Community Engagement Initiatives

The Company will host its first Twitter Space next week, themed “Futurist Dialogue: Where Are the Opportunities for Ordinary People in the AI Era?” The event will feature industry guests discussing the convergence of AI and Crypto, alongside the launch of the Company’s first community AMA to address questions about the product roadmap.

Concurrently, the platform will launch an interactive AI Agent that uses gamified dialogue to help users understand their decision-making styles. After users provide basic information such as birth details and professional background, the AI generates personalized behavioral analysis.

To explore AIxC Hub, visit:
https://hub.aixcrypto.ai

To explore AIxC S1 Arena gameplay and season rules, visit:
https://aixc.gitbook.io/aixc-hub-docs-en/

About AIxCrypto:  

AIxCrypto is a U.S.-Nasdaq listed company dedicated to building a world-leading ecosystem that integrates AI and blockchain while bridging Web2 and Web3. Its core products include the BesTrade DeAI Agent and the AIxC ecosystem products.  

Morph Supercharges Institutional Stablecoin Flows With Cobo as First Payment Accelerator Partner 121

Morph is excited to announce that Cobo, a leading institutional digital asset custody and wallet infrastructure provider, has joined as one of the inaugural partners in the Morph Payment Accelerator program.

This deepened collaboration builds on our existing integration with Cobo, announced in January 2025, and focuses on routing institutional-grade stablecoin flows through Morph’s payment-optimized Layer 2. Cobo brings a comprehensive suite of digital asset custody and wallet infrastructure to Morph, spanning enterprise-grade Custodial Wallets, Multi-Party Computation (MPC) Wallets and Wallet-as-a-Service with support for more than 80 blockchains. Backed by deep expertise in cross-border payouts and high-frequency settlements, and with an established operational footprint across the globe with a strong presence in APAC markets, Cobo is a natural first partner to help scale institutional volume on Morph.

Introducing the Morph Payment Accelerator

To accelerate the shift toward onchain payments at global scale, Morph recently announced the $150 million Morph Payment Accelerator, powered by the BGB ecosystem.

The Payment Accelerator is a performance-based incentive program designed for payment companies, financial institutions, and infrastructure providers building real-world payment products. It rewards partners for bringing meaningful, verified stablecoin payment volume onto Morph mainnet, creating a transparent model where incentives scale directly with onchain activity. The program targets high-impact Network Verticals including crypto cards and digital issuing, cross-border remittance, and payment gateways, helping partners unlock lower costs, instant settlement, and programmable features.

A Shared Vision for Borderless Finance

Institutions are increasingly turning to stablecoins for treasury management, payroll, remittances, and merchant settlements. With stablecoin transaction volumes already surpassing traditional networks and projected to reach trillions more in the coming years, the need for fast, secure, and cost-effective rails has never been greater.

By routing more institutional stablecoin flows through Morph, Cobo’s clients, ranging from exchanges and payment providers to enterprises, will benefit from lower effective costs, faster execution, and seamless multi-chain interoperability.

This partnership underscores Morph’s growing role as the settlement layer for global onchain payments. Cobo is welcomed as one of the inaugural partners in the Morph Payment Accelerator, with further updates to follow as institutional stablecoin activity accelerates in the months ahead. As adoption continues to expand, onchain rails are increasingly positioned to shape the future of modern money movement.

ADI Foundation and Finstreet Partner with BlockBooster to Lead Ecosystem Development for Regulated Tokenized Products 154

  • The ADI Foundation will provide the sovereign–grade, compliance–first blockchain infrastructure and ecosystem governance needed to support regulated tokenized product development and adoption.
  • BlockBooster serves as the ecosystem-building partner to support asset onboarding, market activation and coordinated go-to-market while exploring UAE Dirham-backed stablecoin adoption and institutional-grade tokenized assets.

The ADI Foundation (“ADI”), Finstreet Limited (“Finstreet”) and BlockBooster announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) to explore a strategic collaboration aimed at accelerating the development and adoption of regulated tokenized products and related ecosystem infrastructure.

Under the MoU, the Parties will explore partnership opportunities across three priority areas:

  • UAE Dirham-backed stablecoin, including market development, distribution channels and on-chain adoption initiatives;
  • Institutional-grade tokenized assets, including the exploration of opportunities for sourcing, structuring, tokenization and listing of private credit, private equity and technology-related assets suitable for institutional investors; and
  • Ecosystem development, including potential collaboration on investments, supporting infrastructure, asset onboarding and coordinated go-to-market activities.

BlockBooster, a leading Web3 venture studio and asset manager focused on stablecoins and RWAs, will explore the viability of potential collaboration areas with the ADI Foundation and Finstreet.

Any projects arising from the MoU will be operationalized subject to relevant regulatory approvals.

Ajay Bhatia, Principal Council Member of the ADI Foundation, said: “The future of digital finance will not be built on speculation, but on trust, regulated access, and real utility. This partnership with BlockBooster brings together market infrastructure and sovereign-grade blockchain rails to move tokenized assets and stablecoin use cases from concept into execution; embedding blockchain as a functional layer of the real financial system.”

Samuel Gu, CEO & Founder of BlockBooster, said: “We see strong potential to work alongside the ADI Foundation and Finstreet to support the development of a compliant and scalable ecosystem for regulated tokenized products. Building on the ADI Foundation’s infrastructure capabilities and Finstreet’s regulated market framework, BlockBooster will focus on supporting asset onboarding, market activation and coordinated go–to–market efforts within the appropriate regulatory frameworks, contributing to Abu Dhabi’s position as a hub for institutional–grade digital asset innovation.”

About the ADI Foundation

The ADI Foundation is an Abu Dhabi–based organization building sovereign-grade blockchain infrastructure that empowers governments and institutions to accelerate the growth of digital economies.

The Foundation was founded by Sirius International Holding, the technology arm of $240B+ holding company IHC. The ADI Foundation is catalyzing large-scale social and economic inclusion by bringing 1 billion people globally into the digital economy by 2030, building on a strong foundation of the 500+ million people already within its project ecosystem.

For more information, please visit: www.adi.foundation

About Finstreet Limited

Finstreet Limited is a subsidiary of International Holding Company (IHC) through Sirius International Holding. Finstreet Limited is a holding company based in ADGM, with three subsidiaries licensed for the following regulated activities:

  • Finstreet Global Markets Limited (“FGM”) is licensed to conduct the Regulated Activity of Operating a Multilateral Trading Facility;
  • Finstreet Global Clearing and Settlement Limited (“FGCS”) is, licensed to conduct the Regulated Activity as a Digital Settlement Facility and Central Securities Depository; and
  • Finstreet Capital Limited (“FCL”) is licensed for the Regulated Activities of Arranging Deals in Investments and Advising on Investments or Credit. Finstreet Capital Limited is also licensed for the Regulated Activities of Operating a Private Financing Platform, Managing a Collective Investment Fund, Advising on Investments or Credit, Arranging Deals in Investments, and Arranging Custody.

For more, visit: www.finstreet.ae

About BlockBooster

BlockBooster is a leading Web3 venture studio and asset manager focused on stablecoins and RWAs, backed by various leading organizations, with a proven track record investing and co-building multi-chain DeFi infrastructures.

The company mission is to pioneer the progress of the Web3 industry through the strategic investment and co–building of promising Web3 projects. We aim to empower builders in the space and to be the trusted bridge for investors between Web2 and Web3.

For more, visit www.blockbooster.io