Alchemy Pay plans to launch the Alchemy Chain L1 public chain testnet on February 23.

V God draws a red line: "Neutrality belongs to the protocol, principles belong to people" — you don't have to agree with me to freely use Ethereum

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin emphasizes that Ethereum should maintain its permissionless and censorship-resistant protocol attributes, allowing users to freely use it without necessarily endorsing his views. He points out that individuals should be encouraged to express their positions, and that the neutrality of the protocol should not hinder personal value judgments. 2026 will be a pivotal year for Ethereum to regain autonomy, driving technological and privacy protections improvements to achieve true decentralization.

Crypto lending platform Nexo re-enters the US market

PANews February 17 News, according to Businesswire, the crypto lending platform Nexo announced that it will officially re-enter the U.S. market in 2026. Aiming to provide a regulatory-compliant framework for its investment and lending products, it is reported that its digital asset trading infrastructure is provided by Bakkt. As part of its U.S. operations, Nexo has launched a comprehensive digital asset service designed to support advanced portfolio management and liquidity needs.

On Polygon, the weekly USDC trading volume reached 28 million transactions, surpassing Solana to become the most active USDC chain.

Last week, the USDC transaction volume on the Polygon network hit a new high of 28 million transactions, surpassing Solana to become the most active chain. The total transaction volume reached 32.6 million, a 67% increase year-over-year. Additionally, Polygon joined the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance and plans to provide USDC tax refund services at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Alchemy Pay Advances Alchemy Chain As Blockchain for Stablecoin Payments

Alchemy Pay has announced a roadmap and design update for Alchemy Chain, positioning it as a next-gen blockchain for stablecoin payments. This innovative development aims to create a robust, compliant, and scalable infrastructure for global digital payment solutions, enhancing merchant checkouts and cross-border settlements.

deBridge launches Model Context Protocol for cross-chain trading AI agents

deBridge's new Model Context Protocol (MCP) enhances cross-chain transactions, enabling AI agents and developers to perform swaps and multi-step on-chain transactions on EVM networks and Solana. MCP allows seamless execution, user asset custody, and supports AI tools for automated trading and execution strategies.

Japan's strategic shift towards XRPL infrastructure

Japan is establishing itself as a leader in the new generation of finance through blockchain technology, with strong involvement from financial organizations. The Central Bank and SBI Holdings are investing in XRP Ledger for payments, digital identity infrastructure, compliance, and lending. XRPL’s decentralized identity model enhances secure personal data sharing, while projects like DNAOnChain utilize zero-knowledge proof for privacy-preserving validation. XRP acts as a liquidity intermediary between stablecoins and assets within the XRPL ecosystem.