Visa (NYSE: V) said Wednesday it has joined the Canton Network as its first major global payments Super Validator, aiming to help regulated financial institutions move payment flows onchain while preserving required privacy standards. Visa is one of 40 Super Validators and will have voting power over decisions tied to the network’s payment infrastructure. The company also cited an annualized stablecoin-settlement run rate of $4.6 billion and said it supports 130+ stablecoin-linked card programs across 50 countries.

Franklin Templeton said it will work with Ondo Finance to issue onchain, tokenized versions of five existing ETFs spanning U.S. equities, high-yield credit, and gold. The tokens are designed for wallet-based access, will trade 24/7, and are intended to be usable across DeFi, with initial availability planned outside the U.S.

Ondo Finance said on March 25 it partnered with Franklin Templeton to offer tokenized exposure to five ETFs through Ondo Global Markets, with Franklin Templeton continuing to manage the underlying funds. The setup issues wallet-held tokens that mirror ETF share ownership, enabling continuous trading outside traditional market hours and potential use in DeFi. The five ETFs span growth equities, large-cap stocks, gold, high-yield corporate bonds, and income-focused equities.

On March 25, 2026, Ondo Finance said it partnered with Franklin Templeton to offer onchain exposure to tokenized stocks and ETFs via Ondo Global Markets, alongside a broader industry push to tokenize traditional assets. The same day, Bitpanda said it is building Vision Chain, an Ethereum layer-2 using Optimism's OP Stack designed to support regulated issuance under frameworks including MiCA and MiFID II, while Startale Group announced a $63 million Series A to expand tokenization and stablecoin infrastructure.

Hyperliquid Strategies Inc. said Tuesday it has launched options trading for its PURR common shares on the Nasdaq Options Market. The firm said the move is aimed at improving liquidity and price discovery for PURR while giving institutional and retail participants additional ways to hedge and express directional views tied to the Hyperliquid ecosystem.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said political parties will be barred with immediate effect from taking cryptocurrency donations. The move follows a review that also proposes limiting annual donations from British citizens living abroad to between £100,000 and £300,000, alongside tighter checks on funding sources.

Tether and Circle blacklisted an Ethereum hot wallet tied to Iranian exchange Wallex on March 25, 2026, freezing about $117,000 across USDT, USDC, and smaller tokens. A related consolidation move left roughly $2.49 million in Binance-Peg BSC-USD stuck on BNB Smart Chain after funds reached a separate address but remained unusable.

The White House said on March 25 that President Donald J. Trump appointed the first members to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), created by executive order to guide U.S. science and technology strategy. The roster includes Marc Andreessen, Sergey Brin, Safra Catz, Michael Dell, Fred Ehrsam, Larry Ellison, Jensen Huang, Lisa Su, Mark Zuckerberg and others, with David Sacks and Michael Kratsios set to co-chair. The council’s remit includes emerging-tech impacts on the workforce and economy, and the structure includes a Special Advisor for AI & crypto as a standing member and co-chair.