Nordic Banks Express Hostility to Cryptocurrency 501

Two of Scandinavia’s largest banks have expressed their concern over Bitcoin and other digital currencies. According to a memo sent on Monday, Nordea will no longer allow its employees to trade cryptocurrency.

The ban was confirmed by a phone call received by news outlet Bloomberg which also set a date for the new regulation coming into effect – February 28. Afroditi Kellburg, a spokesperson at the bank cites the “unregulated nature” of the digital currency market as reasoning behind the decision. Additional concerns were the lack of protective measures in place to support investors in the space and the lack of transparency some cryptos have. Finally, Kellburg also highlighted issues with volatility and liquidity to the news source.

Employees exempt

The policy from Nordea will include some “transitional provision for staff with existing holdings” and will allow “for certain exceptions”. This means that any of the 31,500 current employees at the financial institution will be able to keep their existing crypto holdings.

Meanwhile, another Scandinavian bank has also expressed skepticism about the cryptocurrency market. Danske Bank A/S is the second largest Nordic bank. They too are discouraging employees from trading digital currencies. However, they are yet to make a decision on whether a similar blanket ban is required. Danske spokesperson Kenni Leth told the news source via email:

“We’re sceptical toward cryptocurrencies and are advising our employees not to trade them, but we don’t impose an actual ban… We’re currently analysing the situation and time will tell whether there’ll be a formal ban.”

Neither of the aforementioned Nordic banks currently offer any products for their clients to get involved with the cryptocurrency space. In the same email, Leth from Danske Bank stated:

“Due to lack of maturity and transparency in the various cryptocurrencies, we have decided not to provide trading of such securities on our various investment platforms.”

Today’s sentiment coming from the two banking institutions is in line with that expressed by Nordea’s Chief Executive Office Casper von Koskull. In an interview from last December, he called Bitcoin an “absurd” construction alleging that it completely defied logic. He went on to highlight an oft-repeated criticism of cryptocurrency, that it’s used to conduct financial crimes.

Banks hesitant

Meanwhile the European Banking Federation have yet to impose any regulation surrounding Bitcoin. However, a spokesperson for them, Raymond Frenken, has also weighed on the topic of banks banning investment in cryptocurrency. Bloomberg report:

“If banks like Nordea are going to have a very specific policy on this — and we’re hearing regulators are taking a look at this, including the ECB and central banks — probably it will be that it’s changing. With developments like this, it’s more likely that it will have to be discussed in the context of the European Banking Federation.”

The EBF spokesperson concluded by stating that this was the first they’d heard of a bank banning Bitcoin investments. “This could very well be a first”.

 

Previous ArticleNext Article

Leave a Reply

Curve Finance Strengthens Its Position as a Leading Ethereum DEX With 44% Fee Share 78

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 74

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 79

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 78

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 82

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.

AI Infrastructure Company EverMind Released EverMemOS, Responding to Profound Challenges in AI 99

AI infrastructure company EverMind has recently released EverMemOS, an open-source Memory Operating System designed to address one of artificial intelligence’s most profound challenges: equipping machines with scalable, long-term memory.

The Memory Bottleneck

For years, large language models (LLMs) have been constrained by fixed context windows, a limitation that causes “forgetfulness” in long-term tasks. This results in broken context, factual inconsistencies, and an inability to deliver deep personalization or maintain knowledge coherence. The issue extends beyond technical hurdles; it represents an evolutionary bottleneck for AI. An entity without memory cannot exhibit behavioral consistency or initiative, let alone achieve self-evolution. Personalization, consistency, and proactivity, which are considered the hallmarks of intelligence, all depend on a robust memory system.

There is a consensus that memory is becoming the core competitive edge and defining boundary of future AI. Yet existing solutions, such as Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and fragmented memory systems, remain limited in scope, failing to support both 1-on-1 companion use cases and complex multi-agent enterprise collaboration. Few meet the standard of precision, speed, usability, and adaptability required for widespread adoption. Equipping large models with a high-performance, pluggable memory module remains a core unmet demand across AI applications.

Discoverative Intelligence

“Discoverative Intelligence” is a concept proposed in late 2025 by entrepreneur and philanthropist Chen Tianqiao. Unlike generative AI, which mimics human output by processing existing data, Discoverative Intelligence describes an advanced AI form that actively asks questions, forms testable hypotheses, and discovers new scientific principles. It prioritizes understanding causality and underlying principles over statistical patterns, a shift Chen argues is essential to achieving Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

Chen contrasted two dominant AI development paths: the “Scaling Path,” which relies on expanding parameters, data, and compute power to extrapolate within a search space, and the “Structural Path,” which focuses on the “cognitive anatomy” of intelligence and how systems operate over time.

Discoverative Intelligence falls into the latter category, built on a brain-inspired model called Structured Temporal Intelligence (STI) that requires five core capabilities in a closed loop: neural dynamics (sustained, self-organizing activity to keep systems “alive”), long-term memory (storing and selectively forgetting experiences to build knowledge), causal reasoning (inferring “why” events occur), world modeling (an internal simulation of reality for prediction), and metacognition & intrinsic motivation (curiosity-driven exploration, not just external rewards).

Among these capabilities, long-term memory serves as the vital link between time and intelligence, highlighting its indispensable role in the path toward achieving true AGI.

EverMind’s Answer

EverMemOS is EverMind’s answer to this need: an open-source Memory Operating System designed as foundational technology for Discoverative Intelligence. Inspired by the hierarchical organization of the human memory system, EverMemOS features a four-layer architecture analogous to key brain regions: an Agentic Layer (task planning, mirroring the prefrontal cortex), a Memory Layer (long-term storage, like cortical networks), an Index Layer (associative retrieval, drawing from the hippocampus), and an API/MCP Interface Layer (external integration, serving as AI’s “sensory interface”).

The system delivers breakthroughs in both scenario coverage and technical performance. It is the first memory system capable of supporting both 1-on-1 conversation use cases and complex multi-agent enterprise collaboration. On technical benchmarks, EverMemOS achieved 92.3% accuracy on LoCoMo (a long-context memory evaluation) and 82% on LongMemEval-S (a suite for assessing long-term memory retention), significantly surpassing prior state-of-the-art results and setting a new industry standard.

The open-source version of EverMemOS is now available on GitHub, with a cloud service version to be launched late this year. The dual-track model, combining open collaboration with managed cloud services, aims to drive industry-wide evolution in long-term memory technology, inviting developers, enterprises, and researchers to contribute to and benefit from the system.

About EverMind

EverMind is redefining the future of AI by solving one of its most fundamental limitations: long-term memory. Its flagship platform, EverMemOS, introduces a breakthrough architecture for scalable and customizable memory systems, enabling AI to operate with extended context, maintain behavioral consistency, and improve through continuous interaction.

To learn more about EverMind and EverMemOS, please visit:
Website: https://evermind.ai/
GitHub: https://github.com/EverMind-AI/EverMemOS
X: https://x.com/EverMindAI
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/EverMindAI/