Animoca Brands has entered a strategic partnership with blockchain infrastructure provider Rayls, setting the stage for a major expansion in the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs). The collaboration aims to connect traditional finance with decentralized finance (DeFi) by leveraging institutional-grade settlement, privacy tools, and cross-chain infrastructure.

Building a Scalable RWA Tokenization Pipeline

Through this agreement, Animoca Brands will identify suitable asset classes and issuers that can be tokenized using Rayls’ infrastructure. The company will also help shape the economic, technical, and privacy frameworks required for compliant real-world asset tokenization.

Rayls, in turn, will supply settlement infrastructure, private transaction rails, and multi-chain bridge technology. This ensures that tokenized RWAs can move securely and efficiently across blockchain networks.

A key component of the partnership is NUVA, a chain-agnostic vault marketplace that will distribute Rayls-tokenized assets. NUVA’s platform is designed to boost liquidity and investor engagement by offering streamlined access to yield-enhancing, compliant RWA products.

Driving Institutional Adoption of On-Chain Assets

Rayls co-founder and Parfin CEO Marcos Viriato said the partnership aims to accelerate institutional adoption of tokenized financial products. With the support of Animoca Brands’ global ecosystem, the collaboration seeks to onboard traditional finance players while enhancing transparency and reliability in crypto markets.

Animoca Brands Group President Evan Auyang highlighted that combining Rayls’ settlement infrastructure with Animoca’s network and NUVA’s vault tech could unlock tokenization opportunities worth trillions of dollars in real-world assets.

This partnership reflects an industry-wide shift toward institutional-grade DeFi—where traditional assets like credit, treasury instruments, commodities, and private market products become tokenized and available on secure, programmable blockchains.

Broader Animoca Momentum

Beyond RWAs, Animoca Brands recently partnered with Chess.com to integrate the $CHECK token as the native utility asset for its gaming ecosystem, reinforcing the company’s multi-sector Web3 expansion strategy.

Swiss and German authorities have jointly shut down Cryptomixer.io, a major Bitcoin mixing service long associated with cybercrime and money laundering. The coordinated operation, executed on Wednesday and announced Dec. 1, resulted in the seizure of servers, over 12 terabytes of data, and more than €25 million (≈$29M) in Bitcoin.

A Major International Takedown

According to German federal investigators (BKA), the operation was carried out with regional prosecutors in Frankfurt and law enforcement in Zurich. Cryptomixer.io, active since 2016, reportedly processed billions of euros tied to criminal activity.

Crypto mixing platforms function by breaking large cryptocurrency transfers into smaller parts and blending them with unrelated transactions, making it extremely difficult to trace funds. For years, this technique has been widely used in ransomware operations, darknet market payments, and cross-border money laundering.

Authorities seized the platform’s servers in Switzerland and took control of the cryptomixer.io domain. The data haul — more than 12TB — is expected to fuel ongoing investigations into global cybercrime networks.

Why This Crackdown Matters

Europol confirmed its involvement and described Cryptomixer.io as a key infrastructure provider for ransomware gangs and organized cybercriminal groups. The service was accessible both on the regular web and the dark web, making it a widely used laundering route for illicit Bitcoin.

The takedown marks another step in Europe’s tightening stance against crypto-enabled crime. It also demonstrates increasing cross-border coordination between Swiss, German, EU, and U.S. agencies to dismantle the supporting infrastructure behind digital financial crimes.

With Cryptomixer.io offline, investigators expect ripple effects across cybercrime operations that depended heavily on mixing services to hide funds.

PancakeSwap has officially launched on the Monad Mainnet, unlocking access to its v2 and v3 liquidity pools, ultra-fast transaction finality, and significantly lower fees. The deployment connects one of Web3’s largest decentralized exchanges with a next-generation Layer-1 blockchain built for high-performance DeFi.

With sub-second block times, EVM compatibility, and a growing ecosystem backed by major investors, Monad aims to position itself as a core settlement layer for institutional-grade trading — and PancakeSwap’s arrival accelerates that mission.

What PancakeSwap’s Launch Means for Monad

Users can now swap tokens, provide liquidity, and execute advanced capital strategies directly on Monad’s Layer-1 network, benefiting from:

• ~1-second finality
• Low, predictable gas fees
• Full EVM tooling compatibility
• Unified access to both v2 and v3 liquidity mechanisms

Previously, Monad lacked a major DEX with deep liquidity. PancakeSwap changes that instantly by deploying its flagship pools on day one.

Monad Mainnet: A High-Performance DeFi Blockchain

Monad launched its mainnet alongside the MON token airdrop, aiming to create a scalable foundation for:

• High-volume DeFi settlement
• Stablecoin payments
• Institutional trading flows

MON token supply: 100B
Circulating: ~10.8%

• 7.5% public token sale via Coinbase Token Platform (at $0.025)
• 3.3% airdropped at launch

Locked allocations (vested until 2029):

• 27% Team
• 19.7% Investors
• 4% Labs Treasury
• 38.5% Ecosystem development

Why PancakeSwap Chose Monad

PancakeSwap already operates across multiple EVM networks, but Monad’s design checked key boxes:

• High throughput without sacrificing decentralization
• Stable gas conditions even during peak activity
• Faster confirmations benefiting concentrated liquidity strategies
• A scalable validator base

Monad raised $225M since 2022 to build this infrastructure, positioning itself as a serious competitor to other high-performance chains.

How Liquidity Works on Monad: v2 vs v3

v2 — Simple, Always-Active Liquidity

• Deposit a token pair once
• Earn 0.25% fees from all trades
• No price ranges, no adjustments needed
  Best for passive LPs.

v3 — Concentrated Liquidity for Higher Returns

• Provide liquidity only within chosen price ranges
• Fee tiers as low as 0.01%
• Higher capital efficiency if actively managed
  Best for advanced or automated LPs.

PancakeSwap offering both models gives users complete flexibility.

What Traders Gain

Trading on Monad via PancakeSwap delivers:

• Ultra-fast execution
• Better price routing using the Universal Router
• Lower slippage from efficient liquidity
• Low, consistent gas fees
• Fewer failed transactions during volatility

Assets can be bridged easily through Monad’s official bridge, similar to other EVM networks.

The Role of MON in the Ecosystem

MON powers:

• Validator participation
• Governance
• Incentives and grants
• Ecosystem development (38.5B tokens allocated)

Coinbase’s sale generated $269M from more than 85,000 participants — signaling major demand.

Why This Deployment Strengthens Monad DeFi

Adding PancakeSwap at launch gives Monad:

• A trusted liquidity hub
• Deeper markets for new apps
• More stable stablecoin and asset flows
• Better conditions for future DeFi protocols

Historically, networks like Base and zkSync saw rapid adoption after major DEX deployments. Monad aims to follow that trajectory.