Bitcoin settled $6.9 trillion in the past 90 days as a growing alternative to traditional settlement networks, but its global merchant adoption remains only a fraction of the international giants. Bitcoin (BTC) and US dollar–pegged stablecoins are emerging as a global alternative for moving value across borders without banks and card networks, as the Bitcoin network’s settlement volume begins to rival the world’s largest payment giants. Bitcoin settled $6.9 trillion worth of payments over the past 90 days, which is “on par with or above Visa and Mastercard,” according to blockchain data platform Glassnode’s digital asset research report for the fourth quarter of 2025, published on Wednesday. Over the same period, Visa processed $4.25 trillion in payment volume and Mastercard $2.63 trillion, for a combined $6.88 trillion, according to the report. Read more
Communication and brand marketing agency Graffiti Plus (GRF+) has signed a contract through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) to fund the company’s listing on the AeRO market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
In a Bloomberg interview, former SEC Chair Gary Gensler reiterated that Bitcoin stands apart from thousands of other crypto tokens, which he described as “highly speculative” assets. Former US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler renewed his warning to investors about the risks of cryptocurrencies, calling most of the market “highly speculative” in a new Bloomberg interview on Tuesday. He carved out Bitcoin (BTC) as comparatively closer to a commodity while stressing that most tokens don’t offer “a dividend” or “usual returns.” Gensler framed the current market backdrop as a reckoning consistent with warnings he made while in office that the global public’s fascination with cryptocurrencies doesn’t equate to fundamentals. Read more