StarkWare is integrating EY’s Nightfall privacy protocol into Starknet to give institutions private payments and DeFi access on public Ethereum-aligned rails, while preserving auditability. Starknet developer StarkWare has integrated EY’s Nightfall privacy protocol to let institutions run private payments and decentralized finance (DeFi) activity on public Ethereum-aligned rails, targeting banks and corporates that need confidentiality without giving up auditability. In a Tuesday release shared with Cointelegraph, StarkWare positioned the move as a way for enterprises to use a shared, open layer-2 rather than closed, bank-only networks, while working with a Big Four firm that already audits many of the organizations it wants to onboard. The integration brings Nightfall, an open-source zero-knowledge (ZK) privacy layer built by EY, that lets transactions be verified without revealing underlying data, onto Starknet to enable private B2B and cross-border payments, confidential treasury management and 24/7 token...
The appointments add traditional finance and institutional crypto experience as the layer-1 blockchain scales its post-launch strategy. The Monad Foundation has hired three senior executives from Optimism, FalconX and BVNK as it expands its focus on institutional adoption following its November mainnet launch. Urvit Goel joins as vice president of go-to-market from the Optimism Foundation, Joanita Titan becomes head of institutional growth after leading custody and staking at FalconX, and Sagar Sarbhai joins as head of institutions for Asia-Pacific, most recently at BVNK. The three executives previously held roles at JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, Anchorage Digital, Fireblocks and Amazon, bringing backgrounds in traditional finance and institutional crypto infrastructure. Read more
Stablecoin outflows slow to $2 billion as Binance consolidates 65% of CEX liquidity, signaling capital concentration even amid the ongoing crypto bear market. Stablecoin outflows from centralized exchanges have slowed sharply even as CryptoQuant’s indicators continue to flag weak market conditions, a sign that investor capital is consolidating rather than leaving the sector, the market data provider said. Flows on centralized exchanges (CEXs) have stabilized somewhat, with outflows totaling just $2 billion over the past month, CryptoQuant said in a statement to Cointelegraph on Tuesday. By contrast, late 2025 saw $8.4 billion in outflows at the start of the bear market, highlighting the moderation in redemptions, CryptoQuant’s marketing head Nick Pitto told Cointelegraph. Read more
Investigators say Raees and Ameer Cajee are back in South Africa years after Africrypt’s collapse, while investors still struggle to serve legal papers. South Africa’s so-called “Bitcoin Brothers,” Raees and Ameer Cajee, have quietly returned to the country years after the collapse of their crypto investment platform Africrypt, according to a new TV investigation. A segment aired Sunday by investigative program “Carte Blanche” said the pair is residing inside the gated Zimbali Estate in KwaZulu-Natal, MyBroadband reported on Monday. According to the report, journalists attempted to approach the property but were blocked by private security. The team also reportedly traced the brothers to a holiday location in Umhlanga and a recent address in Johannesburg, but failed to make direct contact. Read more