Vitalik Buterin said low-risk DeFi protocols can bring in stable revenue for the network, like how Google Search does for Google, but while also ensuring Ethereum’s core values remain intact. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said revenue from low-risk decentralized finance protocols could give the network economic stability — much like Google Search supports Google — while letting nonfinancial apps uphold Ethereum’s cultural values. Low-risk DeFi could address “important tensions” in the Ethereum community over whether apps that bring in enough revenue to economically sustain the ecosystem align with the cultural and ethical values that brought people to Ethereum in the first place, Buterin said in a blog post on Saturday. The former has been a combination of nonfungible tokens, memecoins, and speculative trading, while the nonfinancial and semifinancial apps that reflect Ethereum’s cultural values have either struggled to gain widespread adoption or haven’t generated enough fees, he said. Read more
Solana’s Alpenglow upgrade promises 100-150 ms transaction finality — faster than a Google search. Explore how this leap could transform DeFi. Solana has always pitched itself as the blockchain for speed. With Alpenglow, it’s attempting a quantum leap. Validators have voted overwhelmingly in favor of the upgrade, with almost 99% support across the network. If successfully implemented, Alpenglow is expected to reduce transaction finality from roughly 12.8 seconds to just 100 to 150 milliseconds. Read more
Google’s AI payment protocol was developed in collaboration with Coinbase, signaling crypto’s growing role in powering the AI-driven digital economy. Google has unveiled an open-source protocol that allows AI applications to send and receive payments, including transactions using stablecoins — highlighting the growing role of dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies in the emerging AI-driven web. The initiative is being launched in partnership with Salesforce, American Express and more than 60 other companies, Fortune reported Tuesday. Stablecoin functionality was developed in collaboration with crypto exchange Coinbase, and the Ethereum Foundation was also consulted on the project. James Tromans, head of Web3 at Google Cloud, confirmed the rollout, telling Fortune that the protocol was designed to support both “existing payment rail capabilities as well as forthcoming capabilities such as stablecoins.” Read more
Google Cloud’s Web3 head used a LinkedIn post to brand the company's upcoming Universal Ledger as a neutral blockchain for financial institutions. Google Cloud’s head of Web3 strategy used a LinkedIn post to share new details on the company’s in-development layer-1 blockchain, the Google Cloud Universal Ledger (GCUL). Rich Widmann described the blockchain as the result of “years of R&D at Google,” designed to be credibly neutral and compatible with Python-based smart contracts. According to Widmann, GCUL is meant to serve as an open infrastructure layer for financial institutions. “Tether won’t use Circle’s blockchain — and Adyen probably won’t use Stripe’s blockchain,” he said, suggesting that Google’s network reported neutrality could help broaden adoption. Read more
The Bitcoin miner’s pivot into AI infrastructure hosting includes a decade-long colocation agreement with Fluidstack, backed by Alphabet’s Google. TeraWulf has become the latest cryptocurrency miner to pivot into AI infrastructure hosting, reaching a long-term agreement with Fluidstack that’s backstopped by Alphabet’s Google — in a move expected to significantly increase the company’s revenue run rate. During its shareholder call on Thursday, the company disclosed that it has signed 10-year colocation lease agreements with Fluidstack, an AI infrastructure provider, worth $3.7 billion in contract revenue. That figure could more than double if five-year extensions are exercised. Google’s involvement comes through supporting Fluidstack’s $1.8 billion lease obligations with TeraWulf and providing debt financing. In return, Google received warrants for roughly 41 million WULF shares, representing about 8% of the company. Read more
Bitcoin briefly flipped Google parent Alphabet’s $2.4 trillion market capitalization to become the fifth-largest global asset, driving a wave of optimism among investors. Bitcoin climbed to an all-time high above $124,000 on Thursday, stoking fresh optimism that the next leg of price discovery could push the cryptocurrency’s market value toward Apple’s $3.4 trillion. Bitcoin (BTC) hit an all-time high of $124,457, leading the world’s first cryptocurrency to briefly surpass Google’s $2.45 trillion market capitalization, becoming the fifth-largest global asset. “Bitcoin all-time high and it’s only Wednesday,” said Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss in an X post, triggering a wave of optimistic responses, including from popular investor Kyle Chassé, who predicted that this would be the “best week for Bitcoin.” Read more
Retail investors have been the biggest net sellers of Bitcoin throughout 2025, but this might change once BTC hits new price highs. Key takeaways: Google search data and app rankings show retail Bitcoin investor demand near 6-month lows. Retail investor interest typically peaks 1 week after BTC breaks all-time highs. Read more