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
GM, Last week’s Blocktrend member meetup came with an unexpected surprise. While I was walking everyone through an airdrop, someone suddenly asked, “Wait, could you explain these tools?” That’s when I realized people were curious about the web3 tools I was using—tools I had grown so used
GM, After the long weekend, the global economy is in a state of turmoil. Stock prices and crypto prices have been dropping for several consecutive days, and I’m sure no one’s in the mood for serious topics now. Even the sign-ups for our member meetup have taken a
GM, Two upcoming events: a badminton session (April 8) at 1 PM at Taipei Datong Sports Center, and a member meetup this Saturday (April 12) at 2 PM at MaiCoin HQ. Priority Registration: Member Meetup Let’s start with Saturday’s member meetup. Blocktrend has received sponsorship from the Base
GM, Today's content isn't an article but a website. The annual ETHTaipei conference, hosted by the Taipei Ethereum community, kicks off on the morning of April 1st. This website provides a brief explanation of each session—what it's about and why it matters. Think
GM, During last year's U.S. presidential election, Blocktrend covered the Polymarket on-chain prediction market. It operates as a marketplace where users can bet on future events using cryptocurrency, with the tagline: Profit from what you know best.However, I also pointed out¹ that Polymarket relies on the
GM, Let’s start with some good news. Geodework, a regional organization spun off from the Ethereum Foundation, recently released a report titled "Ethereum Ecosystem Overview: Taiwan Edition." The report highlights a carefully curated list of Taiwanese builders in the Ethereum space. Blocktrend is honored to be included
GM, Great news has arrived for BlackRock’s on-chain U.S. Treasury fund (BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, BUIDL), launched in 2024 by the world’s largest asset manager. This week, BUIDL’s assets under management surpassed $1.2 billion, solidifying its position as the global leader in tokenized
GM, Decentralized digital identity (DID)1 2 is one of the most popular topics on Blocktrend. This week, Taiwan’s version of DID, known as the Digital Credential Wallet, has made new progress. The Ministry of Digital Affairs announced that the Digital Credential Wallet (hereafter referred to as the Digital
GM, First, a quick event announcement. This Sunday (March 16) at 2 PM, I’ve been invited to speak as an author alongside renowned Hong Kong writer Dong Qizhang and Wang Congwei, Deputy General Manager of Linking Publishing, at "Not Just Library" in Songshan Cultural and Creative Park,
GM, Let me share a small community story. Recently, a user left a comment on Threads, saying that Blocktrend had introduced the Safe multisig wallet, and soon after, Bybit got hacked because it was using Safe. Should Blocktrend apologize? Well, of course. If I hadn’t written that article, Safe’
GM, This week’s podcast recording was delayed, so the episode will be released on Friday. Now, let’s get to the main topic. One of the most classic stories in the crypto space is how, every so often, someone loses a fortune in cryptocurrency—only to come up with
GM, I spent the past ten days at the hospital, so there was no new podcast episode released yesterday. The show is expected to resume next week. Now, let’s get to the main topic. On February 21, North Korean hackers breached Bybit, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, stealing
GM, The world’s second-largest exchange, Bybit, had its multi-signature cold wallet hacked late at night on February 21. Over 400,000 ETH—worth up to $1.5 billion—was stolen. This marks the largest loss in history, 2.5 times greater than the second-largest hacking incident. The attack instantly