Cross River Bank has launched a stablecoin payment infrastructure integrated directly into its core banking system, marking a major milestone for blockchain-powered finance in 2025. Led by CEO Gilles Gade, the initiative enhances interoperability between fiat banking rails and blockchain networks while ensuring compliance and enterprise-grade security.

This upgrade bridges the gap between stablecoins and traditional banking, offering businesses a faster settlement environment and stimulating market interest through improved payment efficiency and regulatory alignment.

Cross River Bank’s new platform enables seamless interaction between stablecoin transactions and traditional accounts. By embedding the technology into its core system, the bank removes friction typically associated with blockchain payments, creating a unified and compliant framework for real-time transactions. CEO Gilles Gade emphasized the significance of this shift, stating, “We’re building the future of finance… reimagining every corner of banking—from BaaS to lending—to deliver a faster, more connected financial world grounded in safety and trust.” The platform, developed under the leadership of Luca Cosentino, strengthens financial networks through automation, transparency, and speed.

The launch is expected to accelerate stablecoin adoption across business payments and treasury operations. Enterprises seeking secure, blockchain-based financial tools now gain access to a regulated platform capable of handling real-time settlements without compromising compliance. This positions Cross River as one of the first banks to deliver a stablecoin-integrated environment for fintechs, payment processors, and corporate clients.

Industry analysts view this as a pioneering shift. Previous attempts at stablecoin integration often relied on external platforms or fragmented systems. Cross River’s unified ledger approach resolves these issues by offering interoperability, strict compliance, and direct banking support. The move could reshape how enterprises interact with digital assets, enhancing operational efficiency as regulatory clarity around stablecoins continues to evolve globally.

With this step, Cross River Bank moves into a leadership role in the adoption of programmable money, setting the stage for broader integration of blockchain tools within traditional financial services.

AlphaTON has officially filed a massive $420.69 million shelf registration, marking a major step forward in the company’s transformation into a core infrastructure provider for the TON blockchain and Telegram’s Cocoon AI ecosystem. The filing became possible after AlphaTON exited the SEC’s “baby shelf rules,” which had previously capped how much capital it could raise in a given year.

According to the company’s December 4 announcement, AlphaTON now has the regulatory flexibility to issue a wide range of securities—common stock, preferred stock, debt instruments, warrants, or mixed units—across multiple offerings whenever market conditions are favorable.

Flexible Funding for AI, GPU Infrastructure, and TON Growth

Now free from earlier fundraising restrictions, AlphaTON plans to use the shelf registration to drive its next phase of expansion. The company outlined several target areas for the funds:

• Scaling GPU infrastructure to support Cocoon AI, Telegram’s fast-growing decentralized compute ecosystem
• Expanding deployments of Nvidia B200 GPUs through partnerships with CUDO Compute and AtNorth
• Funding acquisitions of Telegram- and TON-native businesses
• Strengthening its digital asset treasury, including ongoing accumulation of TON ecosystem tokens

CEO Brittany Kaiser emphasized that the expanded fundraising capacity allows AlphaTON to “move quickly and decisively” as demand surges for high-performance compute resources powering Cocoon AI.

Acquisitions Targeting Telegram’s 1B User Ecosystem

A large portion of AlphaTON’s strategy focuses on buying revenue-generating businesses already embedded in the Telegram and TON ecosystem. These include startups working on:

• Blockchain-enabled financial tools
• Content and creator platforms
• Payment solutions
• Gaming infrastructure
• Decentralized services for Telegram’s massive user base

Each acquisition is expected to strengthen AlphaTON’s portfolio of cash-flowing assets directly linked to Telegram’s growing Web3 environment.

Deepening Commitment to TON and Digital Assets

AlphaTON has steadily increased its exposure to the TON ecosystem since rebranding from Portage Biotech in September 2025. Its strategy includes:

• Accumulating TON and related tokens such as GAMEE
• Operating validators and staking nodes to earn yield
• Deploying GPU fleets for decentralized AI workloads
• Increasing participation in TON-linked financial instruments

This direction aligns the company with two of the fastest-growing sectors in the blockchain industry: decentralized compute and real-world ecosystem tokenization.

Positioning for a Decentralized AI & TON-Dominated Future

The new $420 million shelf registration comes at a pivotal time. Interest in decentralized AI compute is surging, and TON has rapidly expanded into one of the most active blockchain ecosystems in the world—powered largely by Telegram’s billion-user network.

With new capital flexibility, AlphaTON is now positioned to:

• Scale its infrastructure at a faster pace
• Capture larger segments of the TON and Cocoon AI markets
• Expand its holdings across digital assets and AI-driven services
• Strengthen its operational footprint ahead of future strategic milestones

AlphaTON’s latest filing indicates a company entering an aggressive expansion cycle, with significant implications for the future of TON, Telegram’s AI ecosystem, and decentralized compute infrastructure.

How a forgotten protocol rebuilt itself into Solana’s liquidity backbone—and the battles that shaped its rise.

It All Started With a Name Everyone Forgot

On Solana, projects rise and vanish faster than most people can track. When the FTX collapse tore through the ecosystem in late 2022, Mercurial became one of the many casualties.
Its treasury was trapped, its token collapsed, and the once-active community faded into silence.

Most people moved on.

But a small faction didn’t.
The group that would eventually build Meteora refused to walk away. They knew Mercurial couldn’t be revived—the damage was too deep. So instead of trying to fix the past, they chose to rebuild everything from scratch.

Their mindset shifted:

“Don’t repair the old machine. Build something engineered for Solana’s speed.”

And so Meteora was born—not a rebrand, but a complete reboot designed to answer one question:

What should liquidity look like on a chain that operates faster than anything else in crypto?

Where Meteora Began: Reinventing Liquidity

The answer became the Dynamic Liquidity Market Maker (DLMM).

Unlike traditional AMMs with smooth pricing curves, DLMM uses:

• Discrete price bins
• Zero-slippage trades inside each bin
• Bin-to-bin price progression
• Real-time liquidity intelligence

This wasn’t a pool—it was a high-speed liquidity engine, built to operate in milliseconds, just like Solana itself.

By early 2024, momentum exploded:

• Trading volume surged
• TVL stabilized
• Market makers migrated from Raydium and Orca
• Jupiter began routing heavy flow to DLMM

By early 2025, Meteora was processing $33 billion in monthly volume.
A protocol once written off as dead had become Solana’s liquidity backbone.

But Solana rewards speed—and punishes hesitation.

And soon, Meteora faced the first real test of its new era.

Glory and Pressure in the Age of Algorithms

DLMM turned Meteora into a star.
LPs earned more, traders got better quotes, and Jupiter treated DLMM as the default route.

Then came HumidiFi—out of absolutely nowhere.

It had:

• No front end
• No community
• No public LPs
• Zero transparency

Yet it instantly competed with Meteora.
Sometimes it even won.

Why?
HumidiFi operated like a dark pool on Solana, run by a private market-making entity.

Its spreads were razor-thin—as low as five basis points.

Jupiter didn’t care about decentralization.
It cared about the best price.

For Meteora, this wasn’t just rivalry—
It was an existential question:

Can open liquidity survive in a market where secrecy performs better?

DLMM’s full transparency—once its greatest strength—became a tactical weakness.
Competitors could study it in real time.
HumidiFi revealed nothing.

As one developer joked:

“Meteora showed everyone its engine. HumidiFi covered its engine in smoke—and somehow went faster.”

And just as the team began adapting to this new reality, a storm hit from an entirely different direction.

The TGE That Tested Everything

On October 23, 2025, Meteora launched its long-awaited token through a “Liquid Launch”:

• No lockups
• No VC allocations
• No vesting
• Nearly half of the supply—48%—released on day one

It was radical transparency.

But Solana moves at lightning speed.
Within seconds, the entire float was absorbed.
Sell pressure exploded.
Buy walls couldn’t form fast enough.

Within days, $MET fell over 70%.

Supporters admired the honesty.
Critics called it irresponsible.

Before sentiment recovered, another blow landed:
Co-founder Ben Chow was named in a class-action lawsuit tied to unrelated memecoin projects.

It wasn’t connected to Meteora—but timing is everything in crypto.

Confidence slipped.
FUD spread.
Every crack became visible.

But the engine?
It kept running.

• DLMM executed flawlessly
• Billions flowed through daily
• LP yields held strong
• Jupiter kept routing to Meteora

Beneath the surface, the real question lingered:

Can a radically transparent protocol survive in a market that rewards shadows?

What Comes Next

By early 2026, Meteora made its move—not by retreating, but by doubling down.

Key initiatives included:

Launch Suite 2.0

A rebuilt, safer, more transparent token-launch framework.

Enhanced Anti-Bot Infrastructure

Designed for Solana’s extreme speed environment.

DLMM Upgrades

Faster bin adjustments, better fairness, smarter liquidity logic.

HumidiFi remained a rival—but Meteora chose not to copy it.
Instead, it leaned harder into:

• Openness
• Design precision
• Engineering excellence

Their philosophy became clear:

You don’t beat dark pools by becoming a dark pool—you beat them by out-engineering them.

A Protocol Forged in Chaos

Solana hasn’t slowed down, and neither has Meteora.

Despite storms, controversies, rivals, and market volatility, Meteora continues to anchor massive trading flows across the network. Its story mirrors Solana’s own:

• Brutal
• Fast
• Relentless
• Always moving forward

Born in collapse.
Rebuilt through innovation.
Tempered by volatility.

Meteora is no longer a comeback story—it’s a reminder of what still drives Solana:

Speed, risk, and the belief that better systems are always possible.