Sam Altman-backed digital ID project World’s WLD token jumps over 80% with Eightco treasury launch

Major crypto exchange Binance has issued an important security reminder for crypto projects, urging them to stay vigilant against fake listing agents and scams.

Binance, in an official blog post, stated that it has become aware of bad actors attempting to exploit the Binance brand by falsely claiming to be Binance Business Development (BD) employees, official "listing agents," or intermediaries who can guarantee a listing on the Binance platform for a fee.

These claims are a scam, Binance added, as such listings are never guaranteed. This is because Binance evaluates every project on its merits, taking into account factors such as community demand, market conditions, compliance, project viability and business model sustainability, among others.

Crypto projects should note that Binance does not accept or recognize any third-party individual or agency to apply for a listing or negotiate on their behalf.

Binance also does not charge a "listing fee" or any other fees for the platform itself as it seeks to list and support promising projects to meet user demand, not to collect application fees.

In this light, anyone claiming to represent or be affiliated with Binance and requesting payments in any form of fees or tokens before the conditions above are met might be a scam. In addition, Binance will never contact users by "official email" for listing matters or ask for "listing fees" in any channels.

Binance opens crypto payments for 31,000 merchants in South Africa

Through a new partnership with Zapper, one of South Africa’s leading payment providers, over 31,000 merchants will now be able to accept crypto.

From Sept. 9, 2025, Binance Pay will be accepted at over 31,000 South African merchants through Zapper, expanding the Binance Pay network to 63,000 merchants.

Binance Pay currently supports more than 100 cryptocurrencies, including 1INCH, ACH, ACT, ADA, APE, APT, ATOM, AXS, BNB, BONK, BTC, BCH, CAKE, CHZ, COTI, CTSI, DAI, DOGE, DOT, EGLD, EOS, ETC, ETH, EUR, FDUSD, FIL, FLOKI, FTM, GALA, HBAR, INJ, IOTX, LINK, LTC, MANA, NEO, NEIRO, NOT, OM, ONT, OSMO, PEPE, POL, QTUM, SHIB, SOL, TON, TRX, TUSD, UNI, USDC, USDP, USDT, VET, XLM, XRP, XTZ, ZEC and ZIL.

Litecoin (LTC) has, in the last 30 days, shed 6.113% of its value as the coin continues to experience volatility. However, the asset is showing the potential to register a bullish rally as the open interest has, in the last 24 hours, jumped to a new weekly high.

Rising open interest signals investor confidence in Litecoin

According to CoinGlass data, 8.44 million LTC valued at about $958.02 million were committed to the asset’s futures market by investors. For context, open interest refers to the sum of unsettled active futures contracts that investors have committed to Litecoin.

The bullish spike signals that investors are anticipating continued upward movement for LTC. According to available data, the majority of these investors are on the Binance exchange, with 2.44 million LTC valued at $276.93 million. This represents 28.9% of the total open interest within this time frame.

Bitget and Bybit are next, with 15.87% and 14.78% of the total share, respectively. In asset terms, Bitget investors committed 1.34 million LTC valued at $152.05 million, while Bybit registered 1.25 million LTC worth $141.65 million.

The uptick in open interest coincides with increased optimism of a possible approval of the pending exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Notably, there is anticipation that the U.S. SEC will decide on applications, with Nate Geraci placing approval probability at 95%.

Litecoin price action and future outlook

The uptick in open interest and other bullish developments have triggered a slight increase in price. As of press time, the Litecoin price was changing hands at $113.00, a 0.26% increase in the last 24 hours. The coin previously traded at a peak of $114.63 before the correction.

Investors are also actively engaging with the coin as trading volume climbed by 2.31% to $636.73 million.

There was anticipation in some quarters when Litecoin traded at $129 that it could record a 100% increase, as it mirrors Ethereum’s trend. Ali Martinez, the renowned analyst, has predicted a possible rise to $220. Whether it can climb that high only time will reveal.

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, is integrating Ethena Labs' USDe synthetic dollar across its platform, initially as a spot trading pair with the USDT stablecoin. Ethena Labs referred to the move as "one of our most important integrations to date," in a statement on Tuesday.

Notably, USDe will be integrated directly with Binance Earn, enabling users to earn dollar-denominated rewards payments. Binance will also offer USDe rewards, which will begin paying out at the end of the month, for using the asset as collateral in futures and perpetuals trading.

"USDe is set to completely transform trading on Binance as the first externally-developed dollar asset made available as collateral on the platform with native rewards," Ethena Labs wrote in a statement. "Similar to other exchange partnerships, Binance users will be able to earn rewards paid weekly by Binance for simply holding USDe anywhere on the exchange, including within portfolio margin on futures and perpetuals trading."

USDe is the largest non-fiat-backed dollar asset in the space with nearly $13 billion in supply. The asset earns yield and maintains its peg to the U.S. dollar through hedging crypto positions.

The move comes as Ethena mulls flipping a so-called "fee switch" for its governance token, ENA, that would share protocol revenues with holders. Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes said the Binance integration could accelerate this fee switch, which could "unlock $500m of buybacks."

ENA is up nearly 2% at press time to trade at $0.79. This is up from a recent low in June of around $0.23, according to The Block’s price page. The token has an all-time high of $1.52.

Trading on Binance, which has an estimated 280 million users, has historically been dominated by Tether's USDT. The Ethena team argues this status quo could be upended by offering USDe as collateral for futures and perpetual contracts, which theoretically boosts capital efficiency by earning on margin balances. Users can trade any asset "with USDe collateralising their entire portfolio," Ethena noted.

The team pointed to an earlier integration on rival exchange Bybit in 2024 that saw USDe overtake USDC among users due to built-in rewards. USDe now reportedly accounts for 12% of total USD balances on Bybit, Ethena said.

According to the announcement, additional spot trading pairs using USDe on Binance are underway.

Last week, TLGY Acquisition Corp. and StablecoinX Assets Inc., which are looking to merge and list on Nasdaq as StablecoinX (ticker USDE), announced they are raising $530 million through a private placement to build out an ENA treasury.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut interest rates after weak jobs data last week. Investors are already reacting. Gold prices touched a new record at $3,600 as markets bet heavily on easier monetary policy.

The question now is how this shift will affect cryptocurrencies like XRP. Analysts argue rate cuts won’t matter much for long-term holders. Others believe lower rates could unleash a wave of new investors.

“If rates fall, more money flows into the system,” said James Rule on Paul Barron Podcast. “That cash won’t just stay in banks. People will look to gold, metals, and crypto. We’re already seeing new, first-time users flooding in.”

Why XRP Could Benefit From Rate Cuts

In recent months, XRP has attracted retail investors who view the asset as a hedge against inflation and a bridge for cross-border finance. Lower borrowing costs could accelerate this trend by pushing savers to diversify.

“We’re getting newcomers every day. A rate cut is fuel for that growth,” Rule said. 

Ripple’s Lawsuit Legacy

Beyond macroeconomics, XRP’s story is tied closely to Ripple’s landmark battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Ripple faced allegations that its XRP sales were unregistered securities. The case sparked a fierce defense from the company and the broader “XRP Army.”

Lawyer John Deaton became a central figure, rallying thousands of XRP holders to formally challenge the SEC’s claims. “We all fought that fight,” Rule recalled. “And it wasn’t just about Ripple. It set the tone for all of crypto.”

The victory for Ripple is now seen by many as a turning point. It provided clarity that has emboldened other projects and signaled to Wall Street that digital assets could withstand regulatory scrutiny.

Wall Street, Nasdaq, and Institutional Adoption

Signs of mainstream adoption are hard to ignore. Nasdaq has unveiled a proposal for tokenized securities, a step toward blending traditional markets with blockchain infrastructure. Stripe has hinted at launching its own blockchain network.

Meanwhile, Ripple’s upcoming Swell conference is drawing top institutional speakers, seen as a signal of growing corporate interest in XRP and blockchain adoption.

“From Capitol Hill to Wall Street, the groundwork was laid by Ripple’s fight,” the experts said.

TL;DR

VivoPower International PLC announced the move on September 8, indicating that its EV subsidiary – Tembo e-LV – has started to accept payments in Ripple’s stablecoin, RLUSD, which launched less than a year ago.

Tembo describes itself as a company seeking practical solutions to real-life challenges that affect conventional international wire transfers, which include longer waiting periods and high transaction costs.

The statement reads that RLUSD will allow for international wire transfers to be completed “almost instantaneously” at a “fraction of the cost” of conventional ones. The stablecoin also provides security to users as it’s pegged 1:1 to the US dollar and is fully backed by greenback deposits, short-term US treasuries, and other cash equivalents.

According to the announcement, the expected benefits of relying on RLUSD instead of traditional wire transfers will be as follows:

• Improve Efficiency: Speed up transactions, especially for international customers and partners.
• Reduce Costs: Lower fees and delays associated with traditional banking channels and fiat currency.
• Support Innovation: Promote the adoption of enterprise-ready digital assets that meet strict compliance and audit standards.
• Expand Treasury Options: Broaden the Company’s digital asset and decentralized finance (DeFi) strategy.

The move, which was also announced on X, led to some questions from users about why the company has opted only for the stablecoin and has left Ripple’s much more popular and bigger in market cap asset – XRP – out of the picture.

Although the statement doesn’t address this, the most probable reason is likely related to the lack of price fluctuations against traditional options like the USD. Both assets operate as cross-border tokens, but RLUSD maintains its value against the greenback, while XRP can be highly volatile.

Nevertheless, VivoPower, which said it “is undergoing a strategic transformation into the world’s first XRP-focused digital asset enterprise,” has already started to accumulate the asset. Itmade a $30 million purchaseearlier this month, and plans to expand that number to $200 million worth of XRP.

Coinbase has acqui-hired the two founders of Sensible, a crypto yield-earning platform, as part of its push to build what it calls the "everything exchange." The pair, Jacob Frantz and Zachary Salmon, will join Coinbase as Sensible winds down operations.

Founded in 2022 and backed by Coinbase Ventures and Dragonfly, Sensible let users earn yields through staking rewards as well as through DeFi protocols. At Coinbase, Frantz and Salmon will focus on advancing the company’s onchain consumer strategy.

"The pair bring unique expertise in building DeFi-powered consumer applications and will lead key teams shaping our onchain consumer strategy," Coinbase said. "Onboarding more users to the onchain economy requires simplifying access to DeFi, and the team’s experience will help strip complexities, elevate use cases, and make crypto that much easier for our users."

Frantz and Salmon said they will continue their focus on making crypto something people can use, not just own. Sensible will shut down in October, with users required to withdraw funds by Oct. 10. It is not clear what will happen to the rest of Sensible’s employees; its LinkedIn page shows the startup employed between two and 10 people. A Coinbase spokesperson declined to comment on the broader employee base, saying the scope of the deal was limited to the founders.

The Sensible deal is Coinbase’s seventh of 2025, adding to full acquisitions of token management platform Liquifi, web3 adtech firm Spindl, and crypto derivatives exchange Deribit, alongside acqui-hires of Iron Fish, Opyn, and Roam.

"At Coinbase, we believe the future of finance is onchain," the company said. "Our vision is clear: to make Coinbase an everything exchange, the gateway to a thriving onchain economy, and the best place to grow your money and manage everyday finances."

Coinbase's 'everything exchange' vision

Coinbase has recently laid out its ambition to become an "everything exchange" — a one-stop platform where users can trade, borrow, stake, spend, and earn. Plans include adding tokenized stocks, prediction markets, and early-stage token sales.

"We're building an exchange for everything," Max Branzburg, vice president of product at Coinbase, recently said. "Everything you want to trade, in a one-stop shop, on-chain. … We’re bringing all assets onchain — stocks, prediction markets, and more. We’re building the foundations for a faster, more accessible, more global economy."

Last month, Coinbase announced a decentralized exchange integration to give traders access to “millions” of digital assets not previously available on its platform. The move followed second-quarter results that showed revenue down 26% from the prior quarter, with transaction revenue falling 39% and spot trading volumes dropping more than 30%. The company also disclosed a highly publicized data theft that cost $307 million.

Coinbase shares, listed on Nasdaq, rose about 3% today to $311, giving the company a market cap of more than $80 billion, according to The Block's COIN price page.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.