Silicon Valley blockchain firm Gluwa becomes partner in Nigeria’s CBDC project

Bitget works towards goal of Bitcoin ecosystem supportBitget Wallet, a Web3 trading wallet offered by the Bitget Seychelles-based crypto derivatives platform, has unveiled a plan designed to bolster its support for and development within the Bitcoin ecosystem.Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashEnhancing user experienceIn an effort to elevate user experience and expand trading options, Bitget Wallet is committing to extensive product research, development initiatives and increased investments. The company plans on offering a wide array of services tailored to the Bitcoin ecosystem.This includes robust support for BTC asset management, cross-chain swaps, on-ramping for externally owned account (EOA)-based wallets, multi-party computation (MPC) wallets, Taproot compatibility and streamlined asset transfers for both BRC-20 tokens and NFTs. In October, Bitget announced that it was taking the route of enhanced security by embarking on integrating MPC.Integrated dApp browserThe platform also provides users with insights into macro and micro market trends through Bitget Swap, enabling interaction with popular projects via its dApp browser.Bitget Wallet’s move has already garnered support from several Bitcoin ecosystem projects, with integrations on official websites such as Unisat, ALEX Lab, LifeRestart and Bitmap Explorer. The integrated dApp browser ensures convenient user access to these projects, fostering increased engagement and accessibility.Looking forward, Bitget Wallet aims to capitalize on the medium to long-term market prospects within the Bitcoin ecosystem. The company is directing its efforts towards enhancing both technological infrastructure and product features, with a specific focus on critical areas such as Lightning Network, Nostr, Taproot Assets, BRC-20 and ARC-20 inscriptions.Facilitating cross-chain transactionsAn important facet of Bitget Wallet’s approach involves supporting multiple address formats, particularly within the Lightning Network. By doing so, the platform aims to improve asset transfer efficiency and introduce asset swaps between the Bitcoin mainnet and the Lightning Network. This move is geared towards facilitating cross-chain transactions between BTC and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) assets on Bitget Swap, providing users with increased opportunities for portfolio diversification.Alvin Kan, the Chief Operating Officer of Bitget Wallet, underscored the significance of Bitcoin as the foundational cornerstone of the crypto industry. He emphasized the platform’s commitment to becoming a key player in the growing Bitcoin ecosystem, providing users with robust and seamless ways to manage and grow their assets.Formerly known as BitKeep, Bitget Wallet stands as Asia’s largest all-in-one Web3 trading wallet, boasting a five-year legacy and over 12 million users worldwide. On a global basis, the non-custodial wallet recently ranked fourth overall in terms of the number of wallet downloads.Bitget acquired the Singaporean startup wallet project in June. Its addition helped the broader Bitget platform to achieve the milestone of 20 million users. The product was rebranded as Bitget Wallet shortly afterwards.The company is keen to support other blockchain networks and ecosystems also. Earlier this month, the company announced an investment into Morph, a layer-2 blockchain that uses zero knowledge roll-up technology in an effort to focus on enhanced consumer experience.Last week, the platform added support for ZKFair, a zero knowledge layer-2 network which is based on the Polygon CDK.

RIGO, a public blockchain catered to private blockchain-based digital assets, is ringing in the new year with a joint airdrop event with BYFFIN, a South Korean private blockchain-based digital asset management service, according to an official announcement on RIGO’s website. Photo by GuerrillaBuzz on Unsplash"This RIGO X BYFFIN airdrop event with BYFFIN is designed to provide an easy and convenient experience for many users to use RIGO tokens," RIGO said. "We will strive to provide various experiences and benefits to users who participate in the RIGO blockchain ecosystem." Event detailsFive RIGO tokens will be airdropped to each of the first 3,000 participants on a first-come, first-served basis until Jan. 23 (KST). Participants are required to download the mobile BYFFIN Wallet app and create a personal wallet to be eligible to receive the rewards. This is the first promotional event held by RIGO and BYFFIN, and the two organizations plan to further expand their collaborative ventures in the future. RIGO’s wide-ranging servicesRIGO offers a variety of services, including RIGO Core, which provides custodial services of digital assets and manages data storage; RIGO Bridge, which supports hyperledger-based private blockchains; and RIGO Scan, a public real-time blockchain status dashboard.

Several Japanese companies, including Remixpoint and Metaplanet, have been increasing their Bitcoin (BTC) holdings, underscoring the growing institutional interest in cryptocurrencies in the region.Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashRemixpoint, an energy consulting firm listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, recently announced an additional purchase of 32.83 BTC valued at 500 million yen ($3.4 million), according to local news outlet CoinPost. This acquisition took place on May 13 at an average price of 15.23 million yen ($104,270) per BTC, bringing the company's total BTC holdings to 648.82 BTC. Remixpoint's crypto portfolio, including BTC, is now valued at 11.1 billion yen ($76 million) and also comprises Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), XRP and Dogecoin (DOGE). The firm began actively accumulating BTC late last year, motivated by multiple factors, including the positive price trend following the latest Bitcoin halving event, increased market activity after the latest U.S. presidential election and the growth in institutional participation, particularly after the approval of spot crypto ETFs in the U.S. Metaplanet becomes a major BTC holderAnother notable player, Metaplanet, a publicly traded Japanese company specializing in Bitcoin investment, has positioned itself as one of the largest BTC holders globally. As of May 12, Metaplanet’s Bitcoin yield reached 170%, with total holdings of 6,796 BTC. This places it as the 11th largest Bitcoin holder worldwide and the largest in Asia, surpassing El Salvador, which currently holds 6,177 BTC, according to data from Arkham. Metaplanet's ongoing Bitcoin accumulation aligns with CEO Simon Gerovich's advocacy for Bitcoin. In a March podcast, Gerovich said he encourages his friends to allocate "100% of their net worth into Bitcoin." The company’s strategic goal is to amass 10,000 BTC by the end of 2025 and 21,000 BTC by 2026. Reinforcing its influence, Metaplanet appointed Eric Trump, the second son of pro-crypto U.S. President Donald Trump, to its newly formed Strategic Board of Advisors in January. Evolving crypto policies, including national reservesBefore Trump's second term, Gerovich expressed his expectation that other countries would follow the U.S. once it established a national Bitcoin strategic reserve—a move formalized by President Trump through an executive order in March. In a related development, Ukraine is reportedly drafting a bill to create a similar reserve in collaboration with Binance. Meanwhile, in Taiwan, lawmaker Ko Ju-Chun has been advocating for adding Bitcoin to the country's national reserves. In a similar trend, another Japanese firm, Value Creation, disclosed plans last month to acquire 100 million yen ($660,000) worth of Bitcoin, further reflecting the growing interest among Japanese companies in crypto investments. Complementing this corporate adoption trend, Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) has been shaping its regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. The agency aims to redefine digital assets as financial products under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, a move viewed as an attempt to balance innovation with investor protection. Building on this approach, an FSA discussion paper released on April 10, which remained open for public feedback until May 10, proposed classifying crypto assets into two categories: those used for fundraising and business activities, and those that are not—such as BTC and ETH. This regulatory evolution, alongside increasing corporate investment in BTC, reflects Japan's efforts to adapt to the evolving global crypto landscape.