executive

Coinbase is undergoing the largest executive reshuffle in recent years. Chief Talent Officer Lawrence Brock has stepped down and transitioned to an advisory role, while co-head of the institutional division Greg Tusar has moved to a policy position; previously, General Counsel Paul Grewal planned to leave, and Jesse Pollak has stepped down as head of the Base app. After laying off 14% of its workforce in May, Coinbase is accelerating its transformation into a comprehensive trading platform that includes stocks and prediction markets.

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed an executive order to coordinate the regulation of virtual assets, strengthen cooperation among the country's financial, tax, and capital market institutions, and address the fragmentation of digital asset regulation. The executive order establishes a virtual asset committee composed of heads of Nigeria's main financial regulatory agencies, responsible for guiding relevant policies. The Nigerian tax authorities will update digital asset policies and provide more details on their impact on taxpayers.The President's Special Adviser Bayo Onanuga stated that the executive order does not establish new regulatory bodies nor transfer power between institutions; each agency retains its statutory responsibilities and independence, and registration requirements will be determined based on the nature of the activities and the assets involved. A report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in June indicated that since 2019, Nigeria has accounted for about 60% of the stablecoin inflows to sub-Saharan Africa; from July 2023 to June 2024, the country's cryptocurrency inflows are estimated to be around $59 billion.

According to The Block, Trezor's Chief Business Officer Danny Sanders refuted recent criticisms of cryptocurrency hardware wallets made by blockchain investigator ZachXBT.Earlier this week, ZachXBT posted on Telegram, "All hardware wallets are complete garbage and I do not recommend using them for important tasks such as signing transactions or storing funds," and suggested that users use a dedicated iPhone to store funds and sign transactions.In response, Sanders acknowledged in an interview that firmware/software updates for hardware wallets can sometimes interfere with urgent or large transactions, and that the user experience can indeed be "clunky," understanding the users' frustration. However, he opposed ZachXBT's blanket statement: while hardware wallets may not be the best single solution for advanced users managing large amounts of funds, they are not garbage.He pointed out that compared to hardware wallets, the operating system and connectivity features of an iPhone present more "attack risks." For the average cryptocurrency user, hardware wallets remain the best self-custody option available.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has signed an executive order on virtual assets aimed at regulating virtual assets and combating unregistered operators. The measure has taken effect immediately and will establish a new supervisory framework to coordinate the fragmented regulatory environment.The newly established Virtual Assets Committee will serve as the main policy-making and coordinating body, chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (NSEC) as vice-chairs. An Office of Virtual Assets will be set up within the CBN to handle daily inter-agency operations and information sharing. Securities-related financial activities will be managed by the NSEC, while payment, settlement, and custody services for non-securities virtual assets will be managed by the CBN.The CBN plans to launch a regulatory sandbox that allows qualified operators to test virtual asset products and blockchain solutions in a monitored environment. The Virtual Assets Committee is required to develop an implementation framework for the executive order within 30 days.

According to KPMG's latest survey report involving 2,145 executives from 20 countries, as technology companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, and GitHub recently shifted some of their AI services from fixed subscription models to usage-based billing, businesses are facing challenges in cost forecasting and management during the scaling of AI deployment.The report indicates that 29% of corporate executives find it difficult to understand and control operational costs when scaling AI deployment, and one-third of executives believe that insufficient understanding of AI economics hinders the deployment of AI entities. Due to costs exceeding expected value, nearly half (about 49%) of corporate organizations have chosen to delay or readjust their AI deployment plans; meanwhile, low-cost, high-fidelity large models are accelerating their impact on corporate AI strategies.In addition, tech giants are increasing capital expenditures to build AI capacity. Amazon plans to spend about $200 billion on capital expenditures this year and is investing $1 billion in its AWS frontline engineering organization to assist customers in adopting AI entities; Microsoft's total capital expenditure is expected to reach $190 billion this year, with $2.5 billion allocated to the new entity Microsoft Frontier Company. KPMG emphasizes that, in addition to cost pressures, accountability in AI governance, employee engagement rules, and the prevention of system "hallucinations" remain core challenges faced by businesses today.

Strive's Vice President of Bitcoin Strategy Joe Burnett stated that there are currently three types of investment views on Bitcoin in the market: first, the bulls, who believe that Bitcoin's long-term annualized return rate is higher than the cost of financing, and therefore are willing to borrow long-term capital to increase their Bitcoin holdings; second, the neutral investors, who view Bitcoin as a "Digital Credit" asset, only needing to believe that Bitcoin will not disappear and can generally follow the growth of USD inflation over the long term to meet their return needs.For example, according to Michael Saylor, if Bitcoin grows at an average annual rate of 3.3%, it can sustainably rely on capital gains to pay current dividends; third, the bears, who can express their views by shorting Bitcoin or leveraging Bitcoin products. Burnett believes that as bulls, neutrals, and bears all have corresponding Bitcoin investment tools, more capital is expected to enter the Bitcoin market.

Strive's Vice President of Bitcoin Strategy Joe Burnett stated that the annualized rate of return (ARR) for Bitcoin's breakeven point is often misunderstood, and understanding this concept is crucial for grasping the market. He categorized global capital allocation to Bitcoin into three paths: Bullish Bitcoin - believing that Bitcoin will appreciate significantly, borrowing long-term funds at a cost of less than 20% to increase positions; Neutral Bitcoin (digital credit) - Bitcoin only needs to grow by 3.3% annually to permanently cover dividends through capital appreciation, such buyers only need to believe that Bitcoin will not disappear and will outpace inflation, which may have become a global consensus; Bearish Bitcoin - expressing a bearish view through shorting Bitcoin or amplifying Bitcoin.Burnett pointed out that these three paths correspond to three types of Bitcoin-linked instruments, allowing major global capital allocators to find allocation methods that match their worldview, which is precisely the path through which over a trillion dollars of capital is gradually flowing into the Bitcoin market.

VanEck's Head of Digital Assets Research, Matthew Sigel, posted on the X platform that according to the latest 8-K filing submitted by Strategy, the $135 million Bitcoin sale by Strategy last week did not utilize the $1.25 billion BTC Monetization Program limit.This is because the program only restricts sales used to supplement cash reserves, and sales directly used to pay dividends are not included in this limit. Sigel pointed out that this means Strategy's actual Bitcoin selling capacity exceeds the commonly understood $1.25 billion.

Strategy Investor Relations Director Chaitanya Jain stated that STRC is gradually recovering after a brief fluctuation.He mentioned that the company's goal is to maintain STRC's long-term trading price in the range of $99 to $100, and it will support this through variable dividend rates, continuous increases in dollar reserves, improving Bitcoin ratings, removing convertible bonds, implementing stock buybacks, and functional upgrades.

Jurrien Timmer, Global Macro Director at Fidelity Investments, stated that Bitcoin is approaching the long-term Power Law model support level, or facing a critical technical test. Currently, the support line of this model is at $58,237, while $60,000 is seen as an important psychological and technical threshold. In addition, Jurrien also pointed out that due to the slowdown in global liquidity growth and speculative funds continuing to flow into technology stocks and other risk assets, Bitcoin currently lacks the macro catalysts necessary to drive a trend reversal. Although this model support level has historically become a market bottom multiple times, Bitcoin may still oscillate in this area for a while, waiting for a more favorable macro environment to drive a new round of increases.

Gate today announced that Edwin Cheung has officially been promoted to Executive Director, where he will participate in the overall strategic planning and global business development of the group, further advancing Gate's long-term layout in the digital asset and fintech fields, supporting the group's continuous expansion in the global market and enhancing its overall competitiveness.Previously, Edwin was responsible for Gate's global fiat currency business strategy, long-term promotion of institutional cooperation, payment infrastructure construction, and global market expansion, and actively participated in international business, laying a solid foundation for Gate's globalization layout and long-term strategic development. Edwin holds an MBA in Fintech from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and a Bachelor's degree in Commerce from the University of Melbourne. With nearly ten years of experience in the financial industry at HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank, he has accumulated rich experience in institutional business, payment systems, and strategic cooperation. He stated, "I am deeply honored to serve as Gate's Executive Director. In the future, I will work with the team to promote the implementation of the group's long-term strategy, continuously enhance global business synergy capabilities, strengthen Gate's competitive advantages in the digital asset and fintech fields, and create greater long-term value for global users."This appointment reflects Gate's ongoing commitment to globalization development, long-term strategy, and organizational construction. In the future, Gate will continue to adhere to an innovation-driven development concept, steadily advance its global business layout, continuously enhance product and service capabilities, and create a more open, secure, and professional digital asset ecosystem for global users.

According to Business Insider, Worldcoin developer Tools For Humanity previously hired two law firms to investigate internal financial irregularities, employee classification, and whether there were violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in its operations in Thailand.The report also stated that the investigation involves allegations of senior management approving large payments to foreign companies to boost the performance of Worldcoin tokens. The company stated that after the investigation, it has terminated its relationships with Thai partners and strengthened internal compliance policies and due diligence processes, and currently has not found sufficient evidence to prove that the company or its employees violated relevant anti-bribery laws.

During the 2026 New York Tech Week, Zack Anderson, Chief Data and Analytics Officer of J.P. Morgan Payments, shared the latest applications and strategic outlook of AI in payment infrastructure at a seminar. He stated that the application of AI in the banking industry is becoming increasingly mature, with most AI agents currently operating invisibly in the background, significantly enhancing the efficiency of payment flows and risk management capabilities.Anderson pointed out that with the proliferation of Agentic AI, the core challenge facing the payment sector lies in the governance and auditability of "machine authorization" (especially for high-value payments). He emphasized that leveraging AI to handle complex cross-border payment compliance rules is an important opportunity in the near term, which is expected to significantly reduce payment rejection rates. Furthermore, although current corporate AI investments are largely focused on the customer front end, "Agentic Treasury" will be an important early opportunity for the future, and its large-scale application will still rely on further improvement of underlying data and governance infrastructure.

On Monday, U.S. President Trump signed two executive orders aimed at accelerating the development of U.S. quantum computing capabilities and advancing the government's transition to post-quantum cryptography. Although the executive orders did not directly mention Bitcoin, industry insiders believe this could benefit the blockchain's post-quantum security research and development.The two executive orders focus on defending against advanced cryptographic attacks and promoting cutting-edge quantum innovation. They include a clear timeline: to advance the construction of quantum sensors by September 2028 and require federal high-value assets and high-impact systems to complete the transition to post-quantum cryptography by the end of 2031. Project Eleven CEO Alex Pruden stated that this means the U.S. government will invest time and resources to achieve post-quantum security goals and may extend related requirements to the entire federal contractor system, not just limited to government agencies, thereby accelerating the implementation of post-quantum cryptographic technology.At the time of this policy announcement, the blockchain industry’s concern about quantum threats continues to rise. Organizations like the Ethereum Foundation and the Solana Foundation have begun advancing post-quantum security research and development, while the Bitcoin community is also discussing potential risks. Some publicly exposed Bitcoin addresses are believed to face the risk of private keys being derived once powerful quantum computers emerge in the future. Pruden pointed out that this executive order clearly sets the deadline for adopting post-quantum cryptography as 2031, which is more binding than the previous guidance from the U.S. government that proposed phasing out traditional cryptographic systems by 2035. For Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency industry, government investment in post-quantum security may accelerate the maturity of related tools, standards, and migration paths.

Hsiao-Wei Wang, the first Chinese Executive Director of the Ethereum Foundation, announced her resignation today. In the announcement, she stated, "I have decided to prioritize my personal life and future direction. Now is the right time to step back and I am still contemplating what my next steps should be." In response, Vitalik Buterin praised Hsiao-Wei Wang's contributions, stating that she has been a "steadfast contributor to the Ethereum ecosystem for the past decade" and expressed his "anticipation for her next adventures."On March 10, 2025, the Ethereum Foundation (EF) announced that Hsiao-Wei Wang (Chinese name: Wang Xiaowei) was promoted to board member, becoming the first Chinese leader to rise from the technical grassroots to the board in the seven years since EF's establishment.

According to The Block, executives from hardware wallet manufacturer Trezor stated that the market's trend of fully pushing Bitcoin towards ETFization may pose a long-term risk to the core principles of the crypto industry. According to the company's Chief Business Officer Danny Sanders during the BTC Prague event, the current global crypto user base is approximately 600 million, but only about 10% of users choose to self-custody their assets, with only about 12 to 13 million users using hardware wallets.Since the launch of the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF in 2024, which has attracted over $53 billion in inflows, institutional allocation of Bitcoin has significantly increased. However, Sanders pointed out that this trend may also weaken users' behavior of directly holding private keys. He believes that self-custody is one of the core attributes of the Bitcoin system, but there are still significant challenges in terms of user experience and security thresholds, leading more users to prefer participating in the market through custodial tools like exchanges or ETFs.Sanders emphasized that the industry should focus on improving the usability and security of self-custody, rather than simply accepting the path of "putting Bitcoin into ETFs." He stated that if the long-term evolution leads to an ETF-dominated holding structure, it would undermine the foundational logic of Bitcoin as a decentralized asset, which could be the "least ideal outcome" for the industry.

According to a report by TheStreet Roundtable, Coinbase's Head of Institutional Sales, John D'Agostino, stated in an interview at the New York Stock Exchange that Coinbase is committed to migrating the existing financial infrastructure from the outdated ledger system of decades ago to a faster, cheaper, and more stable blockchain ledger, with the goal of becoming a fully functional integrated financial platform in the crypto space.D'Agostino pointed out that Coinbase's current growth mainly comes from four directions: first, derivatives; the company acquired the world's largest crypto options exchange, Deribit, for $2.9 billion last year, becoming a market leader in this field; second, tokenized securities; approximately 20 stocks have been tokenized and are continuously expanding, with assets like REITs included in the tokenization scope, claiming the market size is about $15 trillion; third, DeFi; Coinbase has become the official USDC treasury deployer for the Hyperliquid platform, with about $5 billion USDC in revenue used for repurchasing HYPE tokens on the platform; fourth, stablecoins; continuously deepening the coverage of USDC in the on-chain market.He summarized Coinbase's positioning as, "The safest custody for crypto assets is our foundational moat, while hyper-fast growth comes from tokenizing everything and creating universal applications."

According to CoinDesk, Ondo Finance has hired former Invesco ETF executive and Grayscale Managing Director John Hoffman, aiming to expand its tokenized investment products beyond stocks and government bonds.John Hoffman will serve as Managing Director and Head of Portfolio, focusing on building and distributing tokenized portfolios, including portfolios co-developed with asset management companies and strategies built around Ondo's existing products.This move indicates that Ondo Finance plans to go beyond tokenized versions of single assets and shift towards custodial investment products on the blockchain. Currently, the market size for tokenized assets has exceeded $30 billion.

According to Bitcoin Magazine, Coinbase's Vice President of Tax, Lawrence Zlatkin, has proposed to U.S. lawmakers to establish a de minimis capital gains tax exemption threshold for everyday small Bitcoin transactions, arguing that "Americans shouldn't have to hire an accountant just to buy a pair of jeans with BTC."