The US banking giant seeks trademark protection for “WFUSD,” covering crypto trading, payments, staking software and blockchain-based financial services. US banking giant Wells Fargo has filed a trademark application covering a wide range of cryptocurrency trading, payments and blockchain software services. A filing submitted to the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on Tuesday seeks protection for the name “WFUSD.” The application is currently awaiting assignment to an examining attorney, according to official trademark records. The filing outlines a broad list of potential products and services linked to digital assets, including “cryptocurrency trading services; cryptocurrency exchange services; cryptocurrency payment processing; financial brokerage services for cryptocurrency trading; electronic transfer of virtual currencies.” Read more
Binance filed a lawsuit after the Wall Street Journal reported a Justice Department probe into Iran’s alleged use of the exchange to avoid sanctions. Update, March 11, 1:00 pm UTC: This article has been updated to add a statement by Binance that the exchange filed a defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal. Binance said Wednesday it is suing the Wall Street Journal after the newspaper reported that the US Justice Department was investigating whether Iran used the crypto exchange to evade US sanctions. Binance filed a defamation lawsuit against the Journal in the Southern District of New York, seeking damages and legal fees, and demanding a jury trial. Read more
The European Central Bank has launched Appia to guide Europe’s tokenized financial ecosystem anchored in central bank money, with early Pontes pilots planned for 2026. The European Central Bank (ECB) on Wednesday published its Appia roadmap, setting out a long-term plan for building tokenized wholesale financial markets in Europe anchored in central bank money. The roadmap is built around two linked initiatives. Pontes is the Eurosystem’s distributed ledger technology settlement solution, while Appia is the broader strategic framework for developing a future tokenized financial ecosystem. The ECB said Pontes is scheduled to launch in the third quarter of 2026. “With Appia, we are building a road from today’s financial system to tomorrow’s tokenized markets, firmly grounded in central bank money,” ECB executive board member Piero Cipollone said. Read more
XRP's weekly chart mirrors the 2017 setup that projects a massive upward rally, but bulls must first break resistance around $2. XRP’s (XRP) weekly price chart is starting to resemble a technical pattern that previously marked a major cycle low and preceded a sharp upside reversal. Key takeaways: XRP's weekly chart fractal resembles the 2017 cycle low before a 1,577% surge. Read more
US prosecutors moved to forfeit $3.44 million in USDt allegedly tied to a crypto investment scam that tricked victims into sending Ether to wallets controlled by fraudsters. US federal prosecutors have filed a civil forfeiture action to recover roughly 3.44 million USDt tied to an alleged online crypto investment scam that targeted victims across several states. According to a Tuesday announcement from the US Attorney’s Office in Boston, the funds were linked to a scheme that persuaded victims to send cryptocurrency to wallets controlled by scammers. Authorities said they seized the USDt (USDT) in February and March 2025, and are now asking a court to authorize the permanent forfeiture of the assets. “In such fraud schemes, scammers obtain funds from victims using manipulative tactics,” prosecutors said, adding that they establish a level of trust with a victim and then entice the victim into investing in a fraudulent investment scheme. Read more
Capo, an external oracle solution used by Aave, triggered around $27 million in liquidations after a pricing glitch, but the lending platform said it is stepping in to cover the losses. A configuration error in a risk-oracle system used by crypto lending platform Aave triggered the liquidation of about $27 million in wrapped staked Ether (wstETH) positions, prompting the protocol to move to compensate affected users. In a post-mortem published Tuesday, Aave said about 10,938 wstETH worth around $27.1 million was liquidated after the protocol applied an exchange rate that was 2.85% below the live market rate for wstETH and Lido staked Ether. The issue stemmed from a mismatch between pricing parameters and timestamp data in the oracle configuration, which caused the system to calculate a maximum allowed exchange rate below the actual rate onchain. Read more