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GM, Welcome to all the new members who joined over the past few days! Two years ago, I asked everyone a question: “If someone stood in the plaza of Taipei Main Station holding a shiny metal orb, scanning people’s eyes and offering an unknown cryptocurrency as a reward—would
GM, This is Blocktrend’s 693rd article. Here’s a little heads-up: Blocktrend plans to launch a lifetime membership subscription with the 700th article, and will also adjust the subscription rate to $10 per month or $100 per year. The new pricing will only apply to new subscribers or members
GM, Today’s article has a long title because the story is just too fascinating. Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the results of “Operation Raptor,” the largest dark web takedown in history. Among the arrests, Taiwanese suspect Lin Rui-Xiang, who operated the “Incognito Market,” was considered
GM, It’s been a while since I’ve written about a DeFi application. Recently, Solana introduced a new term: PayFi, short for Payment Financing. At first, I didn’t quite understand it—doesn’t “payment” just mean paying money? Later I realized: if a company doesn’t have the
GM, This Thursday (May 22) marks Bitcoin Pizza Day. Fifteen years ago, Bitcoin miner Laszlo Hanyecz spent 10,000 BTC to buy two large pizzas. At today’s prices, the pizzas he shared with his one-year-old daughter would be worth over $1 billion. Those who laugh at him imply that
GM, Today’s article is the most exciting one I’ve written since 2025 began. Last week, Coinbase and several other companies jointly announced a new product: “A New Internet-Native Payment Standard: x402.” It’s a payment protocol built on top of the HTTP standard, specifically designed to serve AI
GM, Over the past week, ETH surged by 40%—a sudden “Ether Blitz,” so to speak. As for the reason? No one really knows for sure. But just one day before the price spike, Ethereum had completed its most important milestone of 2025: the Pectra upgrade (a combination of Prague
GM, Do you have a crypto payment card in your wallet? Last week, the two global payment giants—Visa and Mastercard—each made major announcements expanding their support for stablecoins, signaling an intense rivalry. One thing is clear: more and more companies will soon be issuing stablecoin-backed payment cards, and
GM, In last week's article, I mentioned 1 a Dappnode Ethereum mining rig valued at NT$70,000, which ultimately closed at just $5.48! Many probably thought the auction wouldn’t end so soon, but over the weekend, due to a lack of active bidding, the final
GM, This week’s podcast is on pause, and Thursday’s Labor Day means no new issue—so let’s jump straight in. Can you believe that an Ethereum mining machine originally priced at NT$70,000 is now up for grabs for less than NT$200? A brand-new Dappnode
GM, After the previous article was published¹, Circle has been on the move, announcing a new mechanism called the Refund Protocol and launching a new product, the Circle Payment Network. These developments from Circle consistently make cryptocurrency feel one step closer to everyday life—no longer just a solo game
GM, I’ll be taking a day off next Tuesday—Blocktrend will resume publishing on Wednesday. Also, at this week’s second Web3 Badminton Club session, the crypto payment rate hit 100%. Six people paid using crypto wallets, and one person used an exchange transfer. If you're free