Latest news with #Merge
Finextra
3 days ago
- Business
- Finextra
Merge expands stablecoin payment offering with EMI and VASP license activation
Merge, a London-based fintech, has activated its Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence and Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) registration. 0 This marks a major milestone in its mission to modernise global payments. The dual licences, granted by France's ACPR and AMF, position Merge among the few financial infrastructure providers fully regulated to operate across both traditional and blockchain-based payment rails. This enables Merge to offer seamless payments in both local and digital currencies, combining the trust of regulated fiat operations with the speed and efficiency of stablecoin-based transfers. These regulatory permissions allow Merge to support businesses in Europe and across the globe with a broad range of needs, from collecting and holding funds to executing cross-border payments and converting between fiat and digital currencies. The company's infrastructure is designed to eliminate the delays, fees and lack of transparency that have long plagued international money movement. Merge's dual licensing is particularly valuable for companies navigating complex markets, where traditional banking and payment channels are slow, fragmented or unreliable. Whether a business is settling global invoices, repatriating revenue, or paying out to vendors in local currencies, Merge simplifies the entire process through one compliant and scalable platform. This expansion builds on Merge's existing platform, which already serves clients globally. Through a single API, Merge provides a comprehensive suite of services including multi-currency accounts, real-time payments, SWIFT connectivity, named sub-accounts and foreign exchange capabilities. These tools allow businesses to manage global treasury operations more efficiently and automate end-to-end payment flows. 'This is a major leap in making global money movement truly borderless,' said Kebbie Sebastian, Founder and CEO of Merge. 'By merging stablecoins with real-time payment rails, we're enabling businesses to move funds instantly and cost-effectively, without the friction of legacy systems. It's a game-changer for companies that have long struggled with international transfers taking days and a lack of visibility throughout the process.' 'Stablecoins are transforming how money moves globally,,' added Michael Burtscher, COO of Merge. 'With both EMI and VASP licences in place, Merge provides the regulatory foundation needed for organisations to confidently adopt stablecoin-powered payment infrastructure at scale.' This milestone reinforces Merge's commitment to powering the future of cross-border payments for corporates, fintechs and digital platforms operating across both developed and emerging markets. With regulatory approval, institutional-grade infrastructure and a single unified API, Merge is positioned to become a key enabler of seamless, real-time global commerce.
Arabian Post
20-05-2025
- Business
- Arabian Post
Ethereum Eyes $4,000 as $2,400 Support Holds Firm
Ethereum's price steadied near $2,400 after a notable pullback, positioning itself for a potential upward move toward the $4,000 mark. The digital asset's resilience at this support level has drawn increased attention from traders and analysts who are monitoring the market for signs of renewed momentum. Following a period of heightened volatility, Ethereum has maintained a base close to $2,400, a level viewed by many as a critical buying zone. This price point has historically provided stability amid fluctuating market sentiment, suggesting that investors see value at this threshold. Trading volumes have also seen a surge, indicating a resurgence of interest as participants weigh the likelihood of a recovery rally. Analysts note that the current consolidation phase may serve as a launchpad for a rebound that could push Ethereum toward its previous highs around $4,000. The cryptocurrency has faced downward pressure stemming from broader macroeconomic factors such as tightening monetary policies, global inflation concerns, and regulatory uncertainties. Despite these headwinds, Ethereum's underlying technological developments and ecosystem growth continue to bolster confidence among market watchers. Recent upgrades to the Ethereum network, particularly those enhancing scalability and reducing transaction fees, have strengthened the asset's appeal. The transition to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, completed with the Merge, has also significantly reduced Ethereum's energy consumption, aligning it with global sustainability goals. These technological milestones are seen as critical factors supporting long-term value, especially as decentralised finance platforms and non-fungible tokens continue to rely heavily on Ethereum's infrastructure. Market sentiment is further influenced by institutional adoption and increasing integration of Ethereum-based applications across various sectors. Financial firms and multinational corporations are exploring blockchain solutions that utilise Ethereum's smart contract capabilities, highlighting the token's growing utility beyond speculative trading. This expanding use case has created a more diversified demand base that could underpin price stability. See also Flipster Secures Naming Rights in Talon Esports' Dota 2 Rebrand On the technical front, Ethereum's price charts show a clear pattern of support forming around the $2,400 mark, which has acted as a floor against deeper declines. Momentum indicators such as the Relative Strength Index have hovered near neutral levels, indicating neither overbought nor oversold conditions. This suggests room for upward movement if buying pressure intensifies. Traders are also closely watching the broader crypto market, where Bitcoin's performance often sets the tone. Bitcoin's stabilisation above key support levels has contributed to a more optimistic environment for altcoins like Ethereum. Correlations between Bitcoin and Ethereum prices remain significant, meaning that a bullish trend in Bitcoin could catalyse Ethereum's push toward $4,000. Regulatory developments continue to shape investor behaviour. Authorities in major economies are increasingly engaging with digital asset regulation, aiming to establish frameworks that encourage innovation while protecting investors. The clarity brought by such regulations, though sometimes viewed as restrictive, can reduce uncertainty and foster institutional investment. Ethereum's developer community remains active, with ongoing initiatives focused on network improvements and new protocol enhancements. These efforts aim to address scalability challenges and reduce costs further, which are essential for supporting growing user adoption. The vitality of this ecosystem contributes to Ethereum's positioning as the leading platform for decentralised applications. Investor interest is also driven by the emergence of layer-two solutions, which operate atop the Ethereum blockchain to increase transaction throughput and lower fees. These technologies are critical for managing network congestion and enhancing user experience, making Ethereum more competitive with alternative blockchains. Arabian Post – Crypto News Network
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
1 No-Brainer Cryptocurrency Down 45% to Buy on the Dip in 2025
Ethereum is almost 60% below its all-time high and continues to decline in 2025. Long known for its complex tech upgrades, Ethereum appears to be pivoting to a new strategy based around simplicity. A simpler and easier-to-understand Ethereum could unlock tremendous value and help it regain its former luster. 10 stocks we like better than Ethereum › Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) is down almost 40% this year, and many investors are now starting to question its long-term outlook. At a current price of almost $2,100, Ethereum is nowhere close to its all-time high of $4,891 from 2021 and continues to lose ground to blockchain rivals. So, it might seem ludicrous even to consider investing in Ethereum right now. But there is one compelling reason you might want to consider buying Ethereum on the dip. Ethereum is unique among the major cryptocurrencies in that it actually has a coherent roadmap for future development. This goes beyond just a mission statement or some broad expression of goals and proposed milestones. Every year, Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, lays out the exact technological upgrades and improvements that are coming up, as well as some context for how they will make Ethereum better, faster, and stronger. This leads to some exciting technological breakthroughs, such as the much-ballyhooed Merge that took place in 2022. On May 7, Ethereum unveiled yet another technological upgrade called "Pectra" (an amalgam of "Prague" and "Electra"). As with past tech upgrades, Pectra will offer improvements in terms of scalability, speed, and overall performance of the Ethereum blockchain. The problem is that these annual tech upgrades are often so wonky and so complex that they are largely indecipherable to the layperson. This makes it very difficult for the average investor to value Ethereum and to come up with any kind of exciting investment thesis for it. For example, take the new Pectra upgrade. As the Ethereum Foundation points out, one key improvement is that "L2 scaling data storage blobs increased by 2x." Sounds simple enough, but it requires you to know that Ethereum has a two-layer blockchain architecture (the L1 and the L2), that storage blobs ("binary large objects") are a sophisticated way of storing data and a key piece of Ethereum's overall strategic roadmap, and that the L2 layer is very important now for how quickly transactions are processed on the Ethereum blockchain. That's a lot to wrap your head around. And just imagine trying to convince a neighbor, friend, or family member to invest because "Ethereum has blobs." That's why I'm so excited about what seems to be a major shift in Buterin's thinking about the future of Ethereum. Just days before the Pectra launch, he came out with a new vision to make Ethereum "as simple as Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC)" within five years. "One of the best things about Bitcoin is how simple it is. This simplicity has lots of benefits. Let's bring these benefits to Ethereum," Buterin posted on social media. This is a potential sea change. Right now, Ethereum is too complex for most people to figure out, so anything that could make it simpler to use and understand would be welcome. Simplicity is the key to unlocking Ethereum's full potential. For example, as Buterin points out, simplifying the architecture of the blockchain makes it much easier and cheaper to maintain, reduces development and testing time, improves overall scalability, and dramatically reduces the chances of "catastrophic bugs" hiding within the software. This is vitally important because Ethereum seems to be losing ground right now to a number of smaller, nimbler blockchain competitors. All of them are taking market share from Ethereum, making it impossible for Ethereum's price to move higher. At one time, Ethereum led the way with new developments and technological breakthroughs. It was the clear market leader and the top innovator. And that's exactly what made it so valuable and why it became the second-largest cryptocurrency in the world, with a huge $250 billion market cap. By simplifying, Ethereum has a chance to reinvent itself and regain its former mojo. That's it. That's my new investment thesis for Ethereum. Think about buying a new sports car. Do you care more about the sophisticated engine technology under the hood or that it can go from 0 to 60 in less than three seconds? Instead of talking about all the super-cool technology under the hood, Ethereum just needs to say something like, "We're going to process 1 million transactions per second soon, and that will make us the clear industry leader." So, don't give up on Ethereum quite yet. It has been a top crypto for nearly a decade now and is led by a true industry visionary. It could be very undervalued right now, making it a prime candidate to buy on the dip. Before you buy stock in Ethereum, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Ethereum wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $623,103!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $717,471!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 909% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 162% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 5, 2025 Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 1 No-Brainer Cryptocurrency Down 45% to Buy on the Dip in 2025 was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Mayor
04-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Ethereum's Pectra upgrade: Buterin says THIS is its biggest threat!
Vitalik warned that Ethereum's growing complexity may threaten decentralization; Pectra upgrade triggers key debate. ETH whales showed mixed strategies as price stagnates, reflecting uncertainty ahead of Pectra rollout. As the Pectra upgrade looms – arguably Ethereum's [ETH] boldest leap since the Merge – Vitalik Buterin is asking hard questions about where all this complexity leads. Meanwhile, the market seems unsure whether to cheer or flinch. Whales are divided, price action is sluggish, and the network feels like it's pausing mid-stride. Is this the weight of overengineering starting to show? Pectra on deck, but is Ethereum building a castle on sand? As Ethereum gears up for the highly anticipated Pectra upgrade – set to expand blob capacity, streamline validator ops, and bring in long-requested UX enhancements – Vitalik Buterin is sounding a different kind of alarm. In a new blog post, Ethereum's co-founder warns that the protocol may be drifting toward unsustainable complexity, urging a return to simplicity before it becomes a liability. 'Even a smart high school student is capable of fully wrapping their head around and understanding the Bitcoin protocol. A programmer is capable of writing a client as a hobby project.' The implication? Ethereum's current architecture is edging away from that level of accessibility… and it's a problem. While Pectra does offer tangible improvements, Buterin questions whether piling on features at the base layer is the right long-term strategy. He points out that Ethereum is increasingly reliant on a small group of highly technical contributors, which risks 'centralizing control and raising the barrier to entry for new developers.' 'Simplicity should be seen as a core value, just like decentralization.' Pectra may polish the protocol, but unless the community embraces a minimalist mindset, Ethereum could be building a future that's brilliant – but brittle. Read More Ethereum's Dencun upgrade gets a new touch — Here's how Whale watch: Mixed signals in murky waters If Ethereum's codebase is complex, its whales are even harder to read. While Buterin talks about clarity, large holders are doing anything but showing conviction. On-chain data paints a picture of hesitation, one that is more akin to a poker game than a market strategy. Source: X Take the whale who just scooped up 3,029 ETH at $1,895. That's a $5.74M bet… now sitting $142K in the red. Yet since March, the same wallet has walked away with $300K in profit by buying dips and flipping tops. Not bad, but hardly a vote of long-term confidence. Meanwhile, in just the past few hours, two whales borrowed a combined $5M in USDC from Aave to buy ETH – while another wallet quietly pulled 2,250 ETH off Binance. A bullish sign? Maybe. But then there's the short whale who's doubled down with a 10,000 ETH ($17.9M) short, now $510K underwater. Source: X And let's not forget the long-term staker who finally unstaked 5,180 ETH after two years – only to lock in a $255K net loss. Source: CoinMarketCap Price? Barely moved – up just 1.83% this week. The big fish are swimming, but no one's steering. What history tells us Ethereum's major upgrades tend to follow a familiar pattern—anticipation, volatility, and eventual price movement. When the Merge launched in September 2022, ETH initially dropped over 20% within days. However, it rebounded months later, supported by macro tailwinds. The Shanghai upgrade in April 2023 unlocked staked ETH. Markets expected a surge in selling pressure, but ETH instead jumped over 10% in the following week. Investors appeared relieved by the smooth implementation. Read More Nakamoto upgrade delay raises concerns as STX struggles below $2 This trend highlights short-term volatility followed by gradual, meaningful repricing once speculation settles. Pectra, though less headline-grabbing than the Merge, introduces scalability improvements, better validator experience, and expanded rollup capabilities. Whether it sparks a rally or simply strengthens Ethereum's foundation, history suggests markets rarely react instantly to technical advancements. Instead, the impact unfolds over time. Breakout or breakdown? At press time, ETH was hovering around $1,846 with muted volatility, as RSI held steady at 58, neither overbought nor oversold. The MACD hinted at bullish momentum, but just barely. Whales seem split because ETH itself is. With fundamentals improving but concerns over complexity rising, price is treading water. Source: TradingView This sideways churn may signal compression before a breakout, or the start of a longer consolidation phase.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nuvocargo acquires South Carolina-based 3PL
Nuvocargo announced it has acquired third-party logistics provider Merge Transportation, the company's first 3PL acquisition. Deepak Chhugani, founder and CEO of Nuvocargo, said the acquisition gives the company a 3PL focused on intra-U.S. freight solutions and helps expand their service offerings across all of North America. Nuvocargo was founded in 2019 as an all-in-one AI-powered platform for trade among the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The company offers 3PL, 4PL, freight brokerage, customs brokerage and managed transportation solutions. 'With the acquisition, we become a full North America logistics business now, adding intra-U.S., with Mexico and Canada,' Chhugani told FreightWaves in an interview. 'Now we have intra-U.S. brokerage with Merge Transportation. Nuvocargo is growing and has different capabilities. Merge is an awesome partnership where our customers are going to benefit from support with intra-U.S. capabilities. We believe Merge's customers are going to benefit from their needs with Mexico and Canada cross-border.' Charleston, South Carolina-based Merge Transportation was founded in 2019. The company, which has about 14 employees, provides full truckload, less-than-truckload, refrigerated, rail, air and hazmat transportation services across the U.S. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The entire Merge team is expected to join Nuvocargo. Chhugani said he expects the acquisition of Merge Transportation to add 'tens of of thousands of shipments a year by the end of the year.' In addition to acquiring Merge Transportation, Nuvocargo is expanding its Mexico City office, hiring more people to join its product team. Chhugani said the company is growing the Mexico City staff to improve its AI-powered tools such as NuvoOS and be closer to clients south of the border. NuvoOS is the company's end-to-end transportation management system tailored to the complexities of U.S.-Mexico trade. 'One of our business units is our U.S.-Mexico 3PL, our brokerage in Mexico City, and we have some folks from our product teams based in the office,' Chhugani said. 'Because they're the ones helping scope out the requirements of what to build, we've found a lot of success in having them be very embedded in the operation and seeing the day-to-day, especially for cross-border, places where there's a lot of complexities and handoffs between the different people at the border, so they're shadowing these teams that are using NuvoOS and the AI tools that we've built day to day.' Nuvocargo also recently received Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism certification for its customs brokerage. CTPAT is a voluntary supply chain security program offered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 'A big part of our U.S.-Mexico cross-border brokerage is CTPAT carriers, because that's what shippers need,' Chhugani said. With so much uncertainty in the supply chain due to tariffs being imposed across the global marketplace, Chhugani said he remains bullish on U.S.-Mexico trade. 'Even in this deep 30-month freight recession we've been in, Nuvocargo's three business units all grew more than double,' he said. 'We're seeing a lot of resonance with our business units and our technology in the past year. We've seen a lot of strong momentum organically, and now it's even more exciting with this merger and acquisition. The company has really grown significantly, and I think we're positioning ourselves really well in the future of North America and also the future of artificial intelligence.' The post Nuvocargo acquires South Carolina-based 3PL appeared first on FreightWaves. Sign in to access your portfolio
