EcoHash Technology LLC, the dedicated HPC and AI inference subsidiary of Cango Inc. (NYSE: CANG), launched its public digital portal on 13 April 2026, announcing the start of commercial operations.

It also unveiled plans to operate a portion of its 50-megawatt (MW) Georgia mining facility as a live proof-of-concept hub for the AI compute industry. 

What is EcoHash, and why is it entering the market now?

Cango (CANG) founded EcoHash in 2025 as part of its goal to convert the company’s global energy infrastructure into a distributed AI compute network. EcoHash’s commercial launch targets AI developers seeking low-latency, near-source compute capacity, and energy-intensive compute operators looking for modular pathways to infrastructure diversification. Cango (CANG) believes the latter is underserved by conventional data center providers.

This development is coming at a time when researchers from Goldman Sachs are forecasting that U.S. data center power demand could reach 700 TWh by 2030, and this will be driven predominantly by AI inference workloads. 

However, the current available supply remains just above 300 TWh, leaving a gap of about 400 TWh even as compute demand steadily increases. 

This is the commercial rationale EcoHash is built around, and it was pointed out by  Cango’s CEO Paul Yu, who calls the “Power Gap” the disconnect between rising AI compute demand and constrained grid capacity.

According to Jack Jin, chief technology officer of EcoHash, “EcoHash represents the core vehicle of our strategy to architect a future-ready platform and serve as our next growth engine, now entering a phase of accelerated commercialization.”

The subsidiary’s commercial launch follows a period of intensive capital deployment. In April 2026, Cango (CANG) announced the completion of two financing transactions totaling $75 million, a $65 million equity close from board insiders Xin Jin and Chang-Wei Chiu, and a $10 million convertible note from Hong Kong-listed DL Holdings Group Limited (HKEX: 1709). 

Cango (CANG) also entered a memorandum of understanding with DL Holdings for up to $10 million in further co-investment. 

Those transactions followed an earlier $305 million boost from the sale of Bitcoin holdings used to retire debt and reset the balance sheet. 

What is the Georgia facility designed to demonstrate?

EcoHash’s launch strategy is backed by the Cango-owned 50MW Georgia mining facility, where the company is dedicating space to operate full-series container models as what it describes as a “living showroom”. 

The site is engineered to demonstrate real-world performance across varying thermal and power configurations, functioning as a strategic proof-of-concept hub for industry collaborators across the digital infrastructure and mining ecosystem.

Cango (CANG) intends for a portion of the Georgia facility to serve as the replicable template for a globally distributed AI compute network, with ambitions to scale the model across high-potential sites both within and beyond its existing mining locations spanning North America, the Middle East, South America, and East Africa. 

The commercial viability of its plug-and-play modules in Georgia will enable the company to attract global partners into the EcoHash network, operators who can integrate existing infrastructure into the platform instead of building new data centers from scratch.

How does the EcoLink platform come into the picture?

The operational backbone of EcoHash is the proprietary EcoLink Orchestration Platform, a software layer that unifies and schedules geographically dispersed compute capacity across the network. 

EcoLink is built to deliver enterprise-grade uptime through intelligent failover, provisioning compute power to meet real-time workload demands.

It is the mechanism that transforms a collection of repurposed mining sites into something resembling a conventional hyperscale offering.

In his comment, Jin stated that EcoLink is “the central nervous system of our network”, built to enable intelligent, real-time resource allocation connecting decentralized energy assets directly to the demands of large language model inference, generative AI, and a growing range of compute-intensive applications. 

The result, per Cango (CANG), is elastic, low-latency compute that scales on demand, without the capital expenditure and multi-year lead times associated with building new data center capacity. 

Aether Holdings, a company that’s best known for its fintech media publishing efforts, is teaming up with the decentralized data cloud company OORT. They’re building a new, community-focused platform that will decentralize and incentivize the creation of high-quality financial datasets for AI developers. 

The two companies said today they’ve agreed to establish a joint venture called Aether DataHub, which will use OORT’s technology base to address an acute shortage of verified data that can be used by financial institutions to train AI systems. 

The financial services industry is ripe for AI automation, but progress there has been slower than in many other industries due to the acute shortage of suitable data. Aether Holdings says that domain-specific data is sorely needed to build specialized AI models that can automate tasks such as trading, investing, or researching new investments, but it’s proving hard to come by. While no one disputes that there is plenty of financial data available online, the problem is that most of it is unverified, and therefore cannot be trusted by financial organizations that must adhere to strict regulations. 

Aether Holdings’s solution to this conundrum is simple. It’s going to use OORT’s existing decentralized data infrastructure and encourage its 400,000-strong global community of subscribers, many of whom are financial wizards, to create this data. Aether Holdings DataHub will rely on OORT’s platform to manage the full lifecycle of financial data. OORT’s platform is notably incentivized, with each contributor earning crypto rewards for the work they do, whether that’s gathering the data, labeling it, performing validation or enriching it with additional data. The validation step is especially critical, because this is necessary to ensure that any dataset that reaches Aether Holdings DataHub’s marketplace will meet the highest institutional standards. 

The ultimate goal of Aether Holdings DataHub is to build a proprietary data layer that will support both its own internal AI roadmap, and also provide access to other enterprises that need specialized datasets to train their own AI systems. It will be a place where organizations can search for or request specialized, human-validated datasets that cannot be found anywhere else.

OORT founder and CEO Max Li said the project is a fantastic showcase of how decentralized infrastructure can help to gather and utilize community-based financial intelligence. “We are mobilizing participants to create a living, evolving financial data layer that can become the backbone of the global financial market’s data value chain,” he said. 

Aether Holdings will handle Aether Holdings DataHub’s commercialization and market development, while OORT will be left alone to focus on building the platform itself. Aether Holdings holds majority governance rights, which gives it control over the venture’s future strategy. 

Aether Holdings CEO Nicolas Lin said the next generation of intelligent financial applications can only be as good as the data that powers them, which is why it’s necessary to focus on supplying that resource. “Aether Holdings DataHub positions us to own and operate a critical layer of financial AI infrastructure and participate directly in the financial AI data ecosystem while building a proprietary data asset base that compounds in value over time,” he explained. “This is a long-term, strategically controlled investment designed to define our role in the financial AI ecosystem.”

The same week the dispute went public, BlackRock cemented itself as the world’s largest institutional holder of digital assets as they crossed $130 billion in crypto assets under management. The companies building AI and crypto infra do not function in separate worlds, they are the same companies, backed by the same institutional capital, sitting in the same allocation meetings. When you actually zoom out, the amount of capital flooding into AI and crypto tells a much more deeper story on where institutional allocation might be headed. 

The $50 Billion Fight: Microsoft vs Amazon vs OpenAI 

The Financial Times reported this week that Microsoft is looking to take legal action against both Amazon and OpenAI over a $50 billion deal that handed AWS exclusive third-party cloud rights for Frontier, OpenAI’s enterprise AI agent platform. The reason for the dispute boils down to a contractual gray area. Under the partnership terms, Microsoft’s position is that their agreement requires OpenAI’s API products to run through Azure. OpenAI is pushing back, arguing that Frontier is a “non-API product” and therefore can be hosted elsewhere. Microsoft in return says this deal violates “the spirit, if not the letter” of what they agreed to. 

Microsoft has invested over $13 billion into OpenAI since 2019, holds a 27% stake and signed $250 billion worth of Azure cloud contracts with. This alignment is beginning to crack. Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, has already indicated that the company is “doubling down” on their own models. 

The broader picture makes this messier as well. Anthropic is quickly closing the gap with OpenAI, now sitting at an enterprise revenue of $19 billion versus OpenAI’s $25 billion. A gap that Axios has termed “a wake-up call” for OpenAI. When three of the world’s largest tech companies are in a legal battle on who controls the AI’s infra layer, it sends a strong signal that centralized AI is moving toward a monopoly battleground. 

BlackRock’s $130 Billion Crypto Empire: Built the Same Week  

As the dispute over AI infrastructure takes place, at the very same time, BlackRock is building something just as consequential on the other side of the track. The largest asset manager in the world is now handling around $130 billion across crypto ETFs and on-chain financial infrastructure. The breakdown tells the story. The largest Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, holds 786,329 BTC with over $65 billion in AUM. Their Ethereum position sits at $6.8 billion. BUIDL, their tokenized U.S. Treasury fund, their tokenized U.S. treasury fund now sits at $2.01 Billion making it the largest on-chain Treasury product in existence. 

Source: RWA.xyz

On top of this, on March 12, BlackRock launched ETHB on Nasdaq, a staked Ethereum ETF that debuted with $107 million in seed assets, 80% of the ETH already staked on-chain earning a 3.1% annual yield paid out monthly, at a fee of 0.25% discounted to 0.12% on the first $2.5 billion. BlackRock’s global head of digital assets, Robert Mitchnick stated that ETHB provides investors “with an important new avenue to participate in the ecosystem’s evolution” while earning staking rewards. 

The inflow data over the past week adds another layer. Between March 9 to 17, data from Farside Investors shows that BTC ETFs saw seven consecutive days of inflows that totalled to $1.168. Alongside this, we also saw the SEC and CFTC sign a joint memorandum establishing the first unified regulatory framework for digital assets in the U.S. 

The takeaway therefore is very hard to look past. The regulatory backdrop in the U.S. is moving favourably and quickly all while crypto ETF adoption continues to accelerate. BlackRock isn’t allocating to crypto as a trade. It is actively building the financial infrastructure layer of it. 

The Convergence: Same Capital, Same Committees, Same Thesis 

The overlap is hard to ignore, even if it’s not perfectly traceable at the portfolio level. BlackRock is one of the largest institutional shareholders of both Microsoft and Amazon, the same firm in the middle of the AI infrastructure dispute is simultaneously building the world’s largest crypto stack. At the same time, the underlying rails are already intertwined. Microsoft runs Azure blockchain services, Amazon’s AWS already hosts Ethereum nodes, DeFi backends and exchange matching engines, and OpenAI’s agent platforms are increasingly interfacing with crypto-adjacent infrastructure. The institutional thesis running underneath all of this is that AI and crypto are not competing bets, they are complementary asymmetric plays sitting in the same portfolios. 

The numbers that came out this week alone makes that hard to dismiss. Within the same seven day timeframe, NVIDIA projected $1 trillion in AI purchase orders and BlackRock crossed $130 billion in crypto AUM, both driven by the same global capital base. 

The fracturing of centralized AI infrastructure also strengthens the crypto case in a way that does not get discussed enough. When three of the world’s largest tech companies cannot agree on who gets to control the AI infra layer, the permissionless nature of crypto starts to become a lot more attractive. No exclusive deals, no legal disputes on who gets to control what. Bitcoin at the low $70s post-FOMC is sitting at a level where the same institutions driving AI infrastructure demand are still accumulating BTC through ETFs at roughly $160 million per day. Whether that convergence is the primary driver is difficult to prove at the portfolio manager level, but directionally, the capital flows point in one direction. 

What This Means for Bitcoin and What to Watch

Bitcoin is currently trading at the low $70K region, down approximately 2% since the FOMC yesterday. So far, the typical 48-hour window where BTC dips after the FOMC is playing out like clockwork. That dip window between March 19-20 is now active and historically this timeframe is where volatility has compressed before the directional move. If the recent demand in Bitcoin ETFs continues, this dip could very well be absorbed fast.

Beyond flows, there are two structural catalysts to watch. First, the Microsoft–OpenAI–Amazon dispute: if it resolves quietly, the AI narrative shifts back to execution; if it escalates into a prolonged legal battle, it reinforces a core crypto value proposition, no gatekeepers, no exclusivity, no dependency on a single platform. Second, the regulatory backdrop is quietly improving, with the recent SEC–CFTC coordination framework laying early groundwork for clearer rules around staking, tokenized securities, and DeFi, potentially unlocking the next wave of institutional products. Stepping back, the bigger question for Q2 2026 is no longer “AI or crypto?” but “how much of each?” The same institutions driving trillion-dollar AI capex cycles are still allocating aggressively into digital assets.  

Cango Inc. was up more than 3% in pre-market ahead of its first full trading day after news that Enduring Wealth Capital Limited (EWCL) made a fresh $10.5 million commitment to the firm’s Bitcoin mining business with operating bases across over 40 sites in North America, the Middle East, South America, and East Africa.  

According to public disclosures seen by Cryptopolitan, EWCL will subscribe for an additional 7 million Class B ordinary shares in cash at $1.50 per share, which is 20% above the firm’s baseline share price of $1.25 and closing market price of $1.36. 

Market observers often attribute this level of oversubscription as a bullish signal for future returns not yet reflected in a business’s performance. 

EWCL backs Cango to lead changing BTC mining sector

According to Cango’s press release, the proposed investment, which is expected to close in January, subject to certain customary closing conditions, including the requisite approval by the New York Stock Exchange, EWCL’s shareholding in the Bitcoin miner is expected to increase from approximately 2.81% to approximately 4.69% of the total outstanding shares.  

Correspondingly, EWCL’s voting power is expected to rise from approximately 36.68% to approximately 49.61% of the total voting power of Cango’s outstanding shares. The EWCL management team is expected to continue to provide core resources for Cango’s 50 EH/s operations and AI transformation. 

Earlier in June, EWCL completed an aggregate purchase of 10,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, a total purchase price of up to $70 million securities purchase agreement with Cango.

This latest cash injection also boosts Cango’s cash reserves and provides the liquidity to pursue its 2026 AI/HPC expansion. 

Paul Yu, CEO and Director of Cango, commented on EWCL betting on Cango to the tune of $10.5 million to maintain profitability into the future. 

“The increased investment from EWCL is a powerful vote of confidence in our strategic roadmap. The strengthened alignment with a major shareholder who thoroughly understands our vision enables us to execute with greater certainty and ambition. In 2026, we will continue to  strengthen our Bitcoin mining operational capabilities, with a focus on improving hashrate efficiency, upgrading  our mining fleet, and selectively acquiring strategic mining assets.”

Cango has a long runway

Despite the 20% oversubscription for the deal, analysts still believe Cango’s 7,400+ BTC reserves, 50 EH/s fleet, and $450.20 million market cap are still severely undervalued, backing the firm’s chain-to-cloud strategy to take off.

Earlier this month, Greenridge analysts assigned Cango a $4 target price even before the announcement of its latest deal with EWCL. HCW analysts made a less bullish case, foreseeing a 100% gain to $3 as more probable for the CANG stock. 

The impetus for those bullish calls came from the strong numbers that Cango published in its Q3 2025 earnings report. Total revenue was up 60.6% at $224.6 million, with Bitcoin mining making up $220.9 million of the final count for the quarter.

Cango’s operating income came in at $43.5 million, net income was $37.3 million,  and adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of 2025 was $80.1 million. 

During the third quarter, Cango increased its total output by 37.5% and daily production by 36% compared to the second quarter of 2025, earning a total of 1,930.8 BTC for the quarter at a daily average of 21 BTC. The firm managed to couple its productivity boost with an average return of about $18,000 on every Bitcoin it mined during the quarter. 

As of the end of September 2025, Cango reported that it had mined 5,810 BTC throughout its lifetime. 

Other than the provision of fresh capital to accelerate its core growth initiatives, the timing of EWCL’s investment in Cango represents a level of conviction that is bucking a trend of BTC miners and their backers reevaluating their business models as profitability is no longer a forgone conclusion due to falling token prices, ballooning hashrates and reduced rewards for mining blocks. 

Less profitable outfits have simply jumped ship, repurposing their mining equipment for hyperscalers to run AI data centers due to the competition in the market. 

Cango is on track for long-term AI compute expansion goals

Cango has progressed past its ADR program phase to transition to a direct listing on the NYSE, which is expected to unlock capital structure, corporate transparency, and strategic benefits for a firm with plans to expand to serve the growing demand for AI compute capacity.

Notably, Cango has activated pilot projects in both integrated energy solutions and distributed AI computing since entering the digital asset space in November 2024, pursuing expansion opportunities ahead of the market squeezes that have forced contemporaries to sharply pivot their businesses. 

According to official Cango documents, the firm maintains a long-term vision to build a global, distributed AI compute grid powered by green energy. It also plans to operate multiple hubs and edge nodes as a utility-like provider of AI compute for multinationals and large‑scale AI applications. 

Commenting on the opportunity for future pivots, Yu said: “Beyond our core mining business, this capital also supports the parallel development of our strategic pillars in energy and AI compute. We are actively exploring  and investing in synergistic opportunities in these areas as we build toward our long-term goal: establishing an  integrated, global infrastructure platform capable of powering the future digital economy.” 

This article highlights the six must-have cryptocurrency applications that investors actually use, each excelling in its own distinct category. These apps were selected based on daily usability, strong mobile performance across operating systems, security, multi-chain support, speed/reliability and most importantly a clear use case for those managing or looking to gain exposure to digital assets. 

By using these crypto apps in combination, a crypto investor in 2026 can cover all the facets required to potentially build wealth in this space. 

1. ChangeNOW – Best Crypto App for Fast, Non-Custodial Crypto Swaps 

Why it ranks #1 

ChangeNOW is on the top of our list for quick and easy crypto swaps. It’s a non-custodial exchange platform with minimal onboarding steps. Users can swap coins directly from their wallet without depositing into a centralized exchange.

This means no custody and fewer verifications for most basic swaps, unlike traditional crypto exchanges. Crypto swaps are near-instant and all carried out on a single terminal, making it extremely simple for those new to crypto swaps. For users looking to add or reduce exposure to a specific crypto on the go, the app is available on both Android and IOS. 

Key Strengths 

Despite its simplicity, ChangeNOW supports a huge number of crypto assets. This includes over 1,500 cryptocurrencies across 110+ blockchain networks and support for over 70 fiat currencies. Users can convert everything from Bitcoin to small cap altcoins or even gain more exposure to a specific crypto sector all in one place.

With over 5 million users worldwide, ChangeNOW stands out for its clean and beginner friendly interface. It lowers the barrier for anyone looking to rebalance their portfolio or react to market moves on the go. 

Speed and transparency are the biggest strong points for the platform. Swaps are typically completed within 1-2 minutes. Transparency is also at its core with rates clearly mentioned on the terminal before any swaps are initiated.

ChangeNOW aggregates rates from various exchange partners to offer the most competitive prices. In addition, users have access to 24/7 customer support. For investors, the platform essentially provides a very convenient way to do quick swaps without managing orders on a traditional exchange. 

Best for 

ChangeNOW is an ideal platform for users looking to quickly rebalance their portfolios with the help of fast swaps. The platform makes it extremely easy to rotate out of one token into another in just a matter of seconds and taps. 

As a non custodial service, it’s also great for those who value privacy and security. For those looking for convenience without the complexity of charts and trader heavy jargon, ChangeNOW is a platform that will appeal to this group. 

Limitations 

With its simplicity however comes its flipside. It is not a platform built for traders as there are no advanced trading features, order books or charting tools. The platform also does not provide you with a comprehensive overview to track your portfolio over time. 

In this sense, ChangeNOW should be considered as a specialist swapping tool in one’s arsenal but you will probably be better off combining this with the other apps mentioned on our list to create a well rounded investor toolkit. Overall, however, its speed, non-custodial swaps with broad asset support makes it a top utility app for crypto investors in 2026. 

2. CoinRabbit – Best Crypto App for Crypto-Backed Loans and Passive Growth  

Why it’s essential

Launched in 2020, CoinRabbit started as a crypto lending and is now growing into an all-in-one crypto platform. It combines crypto loans with a wallet, exchange and savings tools in one place. While the platform continues to evolve, crypto lending remains at its core, allowing users to use crypto as collateral and receive stablecoin loans instantly.

This way, they can access liquidity for any needs without having to sell their holdings . In terms of asset support, currently CoinRabbit lets people use over 350 cryptocurrencies as collateral with a loan-to-value (LTV) of up to 90%, depending on the asset. 

CoinRabbit also ensures a no rehypothecation policy, meaning your crypto stays untouched and is stored in cold wallets with multisig access. This gives full control and safety of your assets. 

Loans are usually issued in under 10 minutes without any credit checks and the platform offers 27/7 human support. The loan feature starts at amounts under $100 so the barrier to entry is not high for even small holders. 

For high net worth individuals or institutions managing $500,000 or more in digital assets, the platform has a dedicated Private Program. The perks in this exclusive service include a personal relationship manager, cross-collateralization, special loan, restoration options and personalized borrowing rates. 

Apart from instant loans, the platform is also known for its easy to use Earn feature. Users can deposit stablecoins like USDT and USDC or certain cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum generate yield in a passive manner.

A compound interest of 5% APY can be expected from stablecoins across different networks and interest is paid on a daily basis. Users also have flexibility here as they can opt to withdraw the complete amount or partially at any time. 

Best For

CoinRabbit is a platform best suited for investors looking to unlock extra liquidity without having to sell their crypto assets. This is especially useful during volatile periods as the platform’s model allows investors to hold and not sell at a potentially inopportune time.

Investors who are in crypto for the long term will also find this platform useful for its Earn feature. The ease of use along with high security standards allows long term holders to earn passive interest on their idle assets. 

3. MetaMask – Best App for Web3 & DeFi Access 

Why it’s included

Metamask has built a reputation as the best web3 wallet app. It is a must have for anyone looking to explore DeFi, interact with decentralized applications (dApps) or on-chain invest/trade. Launched in 2016, it’s an established self-custodial wallet, putting you in control of your private keys while providing a gateway to the world of decentralized web. 

Starting out as a browser extension, MetaMask later expanded to a full mobile app on both IOS and Android. With MetaMask, you can receive, store and send cryptocurrency, primarily Ethereum and ERC-20 tokens. Its real utility, however, comes from how easy it is to connect to dApps.

The app has a web3 browser that lets you navigate to a decentralized exchange, NFT marketplace, DeFi lending and borrowing protocol etc and Metamask can directly connect and act as your wallet login. 

This way, MetaMask essentially becomes a users key that unlocks the word of web3. This simplicity has enabled MetaMask to acquire around 30 million monthly active users globally as of 2025. 

Another reason for its popularity is its strong ecosystem support and flexibility. MetaMask is not limited to Ethereum’s mainnet, it supports connecting to multiple Ethereum compatible networks like Polygon, BNB chain, Arbitrum, Optimism, Avalanche and others. 

Best For

MetaMask is undoubtedly made for those looking to explore the world of dApps. It’s the go to crypto app for holding your crypto in a secure place with an option to use your crypto in the decentralized space. Long term holders can use MetaMask to store their assets while active traders can use it to link to a decentralized exchange or earn yield through lending protocols. 

4. TradingView – Best Crypto App for Charting & Technical Analysis 

TradingView is the ultimate platform for technical analysis and charting. This application is not limited to cryptocurrencies as it’s an established tool used in other traditional markets like stocks, commodities, forex etc as well. This support across various asset classes is actually a massive strength as users can analyze how crypto is performing against other assets from a macro perspective. 

The mobile application comes with almost all trading pairs and these can be overlaid with trendlines and technical indicators. It comes loaded with 100+ pre built technical indicators and 90+ drawing tools. It also comes with the flexibility of custom script support, meaning those who want to code their own indicators can do so. 

One of its stand out features is the ability to set alerts. You can set custom price alerts on a specific asset and TradingView will automatically push a notification when that condition is met. For a market like crypto that runs 24/7, this feature is especially useful. 

Multi device and account syncing is another strong feature of TradingView. Once you sign in and set up your charts, all the data, including trendlines, indicators and alerts are synced across devices. 

Apart from this, it can also be seen as a place to learn from other technical analysts. It has an active community wherein traders post their ideas with live charts enabling knowledge sharing.

Best for 

TradingView is best suited for technical traders and anyone looking for in-depth market analysis. During volatile periods, timing can become crucial. TradingView helps in strategizing your trades by providing the resources to identify market structures, trends and signals. 

Even long term investors can use TradingView to identify potential local bottoms or tops by keeping a longer timeframe on the charts. Crucially, TradingView is built for both beginners who just want to check real time prices and for pro traders who might build their own strategy using various indicators. 

5. CoinStats – Best Crypto App for Portfolio Tracking

Why Investors Use it 

For many crypto investors, tracking your balances across different exchanges and wallets becomes a challenging task. CoinStats is a platform that tackles this problem by creating a unified dashboard where investors can track all their balances from these different sources in one place.

CoinStats is basically a complete view of your entire portfolio in one application. It does this by having access to 300+ exchanges and wallet services (portfolios are connected via API or public addresses), effectively aggregating your balances and transaction history automatically

Best for

CoinStats is best for crypto users who store their assets across different wallet addresses or between different networks. Whether you’re a long term holder or using hot wallets for shorter term trades, this platform gives you a birds eye view of your entire portfolio on any given day. 

6. Google Authenticator (or Authy) – Best Crypto App for Security 

Last but not least, strong account security is a must have for crypto traders and investors. As crypto scams get more sophisticated by the day, the use of two factor authentication (2FA) apps like Google Authenticator or Authy becomes non-negotiable. 

These authenticator apps generate time based 6 digit code that you must enter when loggin into your exchange or wallet that has 2FA. This basically adds another layer of safety beyond a password. 

This sort of security is especially important in crypto, as breaches to your wallet or exchange can mean irreversible loss when transferred. 

Best for

An authenticator app is best for everyone’s security. It’s essentially mandatory for account protection in 2026. It dramatically reduces risks when holding crypto and is a security practice that most exchanges and wallets require you to set up. 

Summary

In this article, the team behind BitHide, a confidential business crypto wallet, explains which technologies allow maintaining privacy while remaining AML compliant.

Common Privacy Tools Don’t Work for Businesses

Many familiar transaction-anonymization tools, privacy coins, or mixers turn out to be unsuitable for businesses.

Privacy Coins Guarantee Only Relative Anonymity

Once you convert assets into stablecoins or withdraw them to a KYC exchange, privacy disappears. Major platforms like Binance classified Zcash and Monero as high-risk crypto assets back in 2024. In addition, starting in 2027, the EU will introduce new AML rules banning the use of Monero and Zcash.

Mixers Don’t Solve the Problem

Mixers do not provide a complete break in traceability. Modern algorithms can analyze transactions even after mixing and reconstruct likely links. Today, using mixers is more likely to draw attention than increase privacy: you automatically fall into the ‘suspicious’ category, your funds may be frozen, and the chain of transactions can still be reconstructed afterward.

Complex Routing Don’t Confuse Analysts

Multi-step paths through bridges and DEXs don’t work: platforms track cross-chain movements and correlate transactions by timing and volume. Complex routes lower an address’s trust score and attract additional attention from compliance teams. 

How BitHide Enables Companies to Maintain Confidentiality and Compliance

BitHide is a confidential business crypto wallet operating since 2021. The solution does not store clients’ private keys and has no access to the client’s infrastructure. BitHide combines protection of business data from hackers, criminals, and competitors with convenience, including mass payouts, AML checks, role-based access, crypto swap, creation of multiple wallets, reporting, and much more. The confidential technologies include Dark Wing and Transaction Safety Levels.

 Dark Wing hides IP addresses and metadata before they reach public nodes. Another feature — “Safety Levels” — is a payout framework that allows companies to choose the level of protection for each transaction:

·        Basic — activates Dark Wing, hiding real IP addresses and transaction metadata.

·        Medium — adds a transit address to aggregate and forward funds.

·        High — applies AML checks, a transit address, Dark Wing, and a crypto swap before sending funds to the recipient, ensuring maximum confidentiality while maintaining full AML compliance.

Built-in AML solutions automatically filter out suspicious cryptocurrency from sanctioned addresses. Transactions remain confidential to outsiders while retaining transparency for regulators.

The Future of Corporate Privacy

Blockchain privacy for businesses is gradually becoming a standard requirement, much like a firewall or VPN in a corporate network. Companies are building multi-layered protection systems, including address management, transaction metadata control, encryption, and secure key storage. According to BitHide, in a few years having a private layer for business will become essential. Blockchain will transform from a “file open to everyone” into an invitation-only document.

• Thailand’s finance minister, Pichai Chunhavajira, revealed that his nation is thinking about lifting duties on additional American-imported items.
• Chunhavajira added that in order to lessen the effects of Washington’s tariffs, Thailand had prepared soft loans totaling around $6.1 billion (~200 billion Baht).
• As it prepared to create plans to lessen reliance on the United States, the Thai Commerce Ministry examined the effects of U.S. tariffs on particular industries.

“The country added a few items to its zero-tariff bracket on select products imported from the United States,” said Pichai Chunhavajira, Thailand’s finance minister.

In an effort to convince the United States to lower its 36% tariff rate on Thai goods, Thailand simultaneously reduced tariffs on 90% of its exports to the United States.

Chunhavajira clarified that the goal of removing additional U.S. imports from tariffs was to promote trade between the two nations. Thailand pledged to increase its imports from the United States in order to strengthen bilateral trade. The Finance Minister added that in order to lessen the effect of U.S. tariffs on regional companies, his government was ready to provide soft loans totaling about $6.1 billion (~200 billion Baht).

If an agreement was not reached by August 1, the United States threatened to impose a 36% tariff on Thai imports.

Thailand does, however, expect that after examining its suggested tariff cuts, the Trump administration will take lowering the rates into consideration.

The Thai National Shippers Council, or TNSC, stated that the 36% tariff rate would increase the cost of U.S. imports and that a 20% duty would be easier to administer.

Additionally, it can make domestic companies less competitive.

Chunhavajira thinks the high tariffs may restrict Thailand’s economic growth this year to 1%, which would be less than the 2.3% increase the country’s central bank had predicted.

The TNSC identified rice, processed foods, electronics, consumer products, and rubber as susceptible industries. Additionally, the Council anticipates job losses in labor-intensive industries. Additionally, declining farm incomes may put more strain on rural economies.

Chunhavajira claims that the latest tariff plan was informed by U.S. input

According to Minister Chunhavajira, the updated list of U.S. goods that are free from taxes was informed by input from U.S. trade representatives. Within ten years, the revised plan would balance trade with the United States, he claimed.

Prior to this, the Finance Minister stated that Thailand intended to lower taxes on U.S. corn and import more natural gas from the United States. According to the Thai Feed Mill Association (TFMA), a 73% import tariff was imposed on U.S. corn.

Chunhavajira further stated that beyond the conclusion of the 90-day tariff respite, trade negotiations between the two nations were anticipated to continue. He emphasized that discussions necessitated stakeholder consultations.

“I think the conditions that we have set are very favorable and should satisfy their needs…we are not offering zero tariffs across the board but we do offer zero tariffs for a significant number of products.”– Pichai Chunhavajira, Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand 

Chunhavajira questioned why the United States had not examined Thailand’s updated tariff proposal prior to the confirmation of the 36% tariff threat. He did stress, though, that 10% of U.S. imports will continue to be subject to Thai government taxes. Thailand took this action to shield its own companies from the effects of free trade agreements with other nations.

Thailand considers the effects of tariffs on several industries

The Thai Commerce Ministry planned to create plans to diversify its markets and lessen Thailand’s reliance on the United States after analyzing the effects of Trump’s tariffs on particular industries.

Additionally, according to the ministry, Thailand was thinking about lowering tariffs on low-risk U.S. imports including apples and grapes. The Thai government, however, was determined to safeguard delicate goods like grain, soybeans, and pork.

Due to pressure from low demand and the growing usage of synthetic rubber, a market dominated by the United States, the rubber sector was already down 36% year over year.

According to the Federation of Thai Industries, the nation would suffer losses of about 900 billion Baht the next year if the present uncertainties are not resolved.

According to the Federation, if the U.S. tariffs are not changed, Thailand could drop to fourth place among ASEAN investment destinations, behind Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Cambodia and other low-cost nations may attract foreign direct investment (FDI), especially in the food processing, electronics, and equipment industries.

The Board of Investments 2025 warned that up to one million jobs could be lost as a result of the wider economic consequences, putting its FDI target of 800 billion Baht in jeopardy. Additionally, the Thai Chamber of Commerce cautioned that companies would probably turn to automation if Thailand’s approved tariffs were higher than Vietnam’s by over 50%.

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• Within a year, millions of users will be able to trade Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies via Sparkassen’s banking app.
• The movement is driven by new EU crypto regulations and rising consumer demand.
• There will be no in-branch support and risk alerts as the service is self-managed.

Millions of customers will be able to trade Bitcoin and other digital assets directly through Sparkassen’s banking app as the biggest banking group in Germany makes a historic entry into the cryptocurrency market. The action is more than just a new product introduction.

Sparkassen’s decision represents a larger institutional shift toward acknowledging digital assets as a valid component of the financial future in a nation where traditional banking has traditionally influenced consumer finance.

The German Savings Banks Association (DSGV), which had resolved a few years ago not to offer crypto services, is making a significant policy change with the launch, which is scheduled for the upcoming year.

The new service will be made possible by DekaBank, the primary securities service provider that is controlled by about 350 Sparkassen.

Sparkassen enters the cryptocurrency space due to client demand and MiCAR clarification

The change follows the introduction of the Markets in CryptoAssets Regulation (MiCAR) by the European Union, which establishes a uniform legal framework for crypto assets throughout EU member states. Even the most conservative banks in Europe appear to have been unable to ignore the dynamics created by MiCAR’s regulatory clarity, competitive pressure, and indisputable customer demand, according to DSGV.

In a formal statement, the organization stated, “Therefore, we will enable interested self-determinants to access DekaBank’s crypto offering via the Sparkasse app in the future.”

The program is intended to be self-serve and will not offer in-branch support or investment advice. Consumers will be clearly warned about the extreme volatility and potential for complete loss that come with investing in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

“Self-determined” investors looking for direct access to digital assets are the product’s target market. With many traditional banks providing access to cryptocurrency while avoiding advisory liability in a changing regulatory landscape, this cautious approach is indicative of broader industry changes.

The timing is in line with the landmark EU Markets in CryptoAssets regulation, which gave banks entering the market a long-awaited set of rules.

Sparkassen could now construct a compliance framework supported by DekaBank’s securities infrastructure, eliminating the need to negotiate a gray area.However, the urgency cannot be explained by regulation alone.

In an April interview with Bloomberg, Matthias Dießl, chairman of the Bavarian Savings Banks Association, alluded to the true motivator, saying, “Our clients are asking for this.”

Sparkassen ran the risk of becoming obsolete if it did not respond to the competition from German cooperative banks like Volksbanken, which were already vying for crypto services.

Fintech pressure and growing demand for Bitcoin force legacy institutions to change

Sparkassen’s entry into the cryptocurrency market comes after its rivals have taken comparable actions. The Stuttgart Stock Exchange and DZ Bank, the national bank for Germany’s cooperatives, are collaborating on a cryptocurrency trading pilot that will grow this year.

Meanwhile, traditional banks are under pressure to innovate as fintech companies like Trade Republic have grown significantly to cater to retail cryptocurrency investors.

Additionally, the date aligns with a renewed interest in Bitcoin, which in late May reached an all-time high of $111,970.

With more than 200 businesses currently keeping Bitcoin in their corporate treasuries, institutional adoption has sped up.

Philippe Laffont, the founder of hedge fund Coatue Management, said he added Bitcoin to his firm’s Fantastic 40 list, a collection of investments it sees as major winners through 2030.

That’s partly because Laffont believes the total market cap of the world’s biggest crypto could rise to as much as $5 trillion one day. That implies Bitcoin’s total value could rise 134% from a market cap of around $2.1 trillion.

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• Ledger unlocked its newest models, Flex and Stax, with a new hardware device.
• According to a new whitepaper, tamper-proof chips and specialized firmware safeguard the hardware device.
• In order to prevent granting authorization to fraudulent smart contracts, Ledger introduced extra signing protection.

For new wallets, Ledger will include a new key recovery capability that will enable offline access to the private key. Since Ledger’s devices were promoted as a means of rendering private keys inaccessible, the move raised a number of security issues.

In the future, Ledger will provide a key recovery function to new wallets, allowing certain devices to have a secondary PIN. Recovery Key is a new service that can be utilized completely offline and is optional. The business recently released a whitepaper outlining the capabilities of its new offline recovery system.

The new Ledger Recovery key is a smart card that generates the Secret Recovery Phrase by storing a copy of the master secret. The card can share the master secret from the Ledger Hardware Wallet, connecting via Near Field Communication. 

The master secret is stored on a tamper-resistant chip in the Secure Element, which prevents it from leaking or being removed by hardware. The component provides multiple security layers, such as a secure factory environment to prevent tampering or putting compromised devices, and a separate operating system for exclusive communication with Ledger devices.

In response to multiple high-profile instances of locked devices, this is the second attempt to provide recovery to Ledger users. The recovery option, however, also presents further security risks for misuse of the secondary PIN.

Flex and Stax models saw the introduction of Ledger Recovery

Ledger Recovery is designed especially for Ledger Flex and Ledger Stax, two touchscreen products. The original Ledger device can be unlocked with the new spare key, which is stored in a different secure device. A user has the option to generate several spare keys, which are protected and generated online.

“With Ledger Recovery Key we are making secure self-custody easy-to-use for everyone. Too many people are compromising by keeping their assets on exchanges and insecure software wallets. With Ledger Recover and now Ledger Recovery Key, as well as the traditional 24-words, we are proud to offer a recovery solution for every category of user.” 

~ Ian Rogers, Chief experience officer at Ledger

Ledger Recover, a premium function that grants access to the device, will coexist alongside the new service. Ledger Recover, however, is a de-anonymizing service that necessitates KYC. After several kidnapping cases, some cryptocurrency owners are still hesitant to have their identities associated with cryptocurrency ownership. Owners of ledger wallets have also been targeted, primarily to coerce them into unlocking the device. In certain situations, the device itself may also be misplaced or misused. Ledger is now one of the top tools for crypto hardware storage, having already claimed over 7.5 million total sales.

The ledger presents the transaction check

Ledger also improved its software to intercept potentially dangerous transactions as Web3 usage rises. The newest function in Ledger Live, Ledger Transaction Check, is designed to screen transactions. Ethereum users are the primary goal of the increased security.

Despite the increased security provided by Ledger, signing with the devices could still be exploited. Even though Bybit was allegedly employing a Ledger Nano, a multisig wallet was used to hack the exchange, resulting in a $1.4 billion loss.

Despite the safe hardware protection, the functionality makes signing more transparent in a setting where malicious smart contracts can take control of Ethereum wallet permissions.

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• With more than 13 million users and $100 million in venture funding disclosed, Pi Network celebrates 100 days since the debut of its Open Mainnet.
• Pi Coin suffers below $0.60 with limited trading volume, even with the expansion of the ecosystem and new features like PiFest and.pi Domains.
• As traders watch the June 28 Two-Pi Day for a possible shift in bullish momentum, technical indicators are displaying conflicting indications.

After more than six years of ecosystem development, Pi Network launched its Open mainnet on February 20, 2025, and has now completed its first 100 days. With the introduction, Pi’s blockchain gained external connectivity, allowing for real-time functionality and increasing access for developers, merchants, and more than 13 million mainnet users worldwide.

The price of Pi Coin (PI), which has had difficulty gaining traction and is currently trading below $0.60, did not benefit much from the 100-day celebrations.

With current trade volumes hanging at $77 million, down 35% from the seven-day average, the currency was unable to break the $0.61 resistance indicated by the 50-period exponential moving average.

Pi Day 2025 and a $100 million Pi Network venture fund

A blog article claims that the Pi Foundation established Pi Network Ventures in 100 days, a project supported by a $100 million fund divided between Pi and USD.

According to the Pi team, the project will assist in funding new ventures and companies that expand or include the Pi ecosystem. It further stated that initiatives that promote the Pi coin’s practical uses and commercial use would be given priority by the fund.

Pi Network’s fruit-matching mobile game FruityPi is one of the other ecosystem additions.

Pi Day 2025, held on March 14, was the beginning of the first PiFest event following the Open Network launch. The week-long event, which ran through March 21, brought in more than 125,000 registered merchants, including 58,000 active sellers.

The organization said, “In the first 100 days of Open Network, Pioneers have shown that the widely used, utility-based Pi cryptocurrency is here to stay and grow.”

Over 1.8 million Pioneers used the community-driven “Map of Pi” app during the event, and over 45,000 ratings were left. Real-world commerce inside the Pi ecosystem was tested at PiFest.

Auction prices for pi domains surpass 69,000

Cryptopolitan reported on the opening of the.pi Domains auction last Tuesday, which allowed users and companies to purchase unique domain names inside the Pi ecosystem.

According to the foundation’s report, over 57,000 distinct participants have placed over 123,000 active bids to date. More than 3 million Pi have been staked throughout the ongoing auction process, and there are currently active bids on over 69,000 domains. According to the Pi Foundation, the domains offer user customization, brand visibility, better app discovery, and instant utility.

Since February, Pi Network has also been updating its mainnet ecology interface. Developers no longer need prior whitelist clearance in order to deploy apps using the Developer Portal.

In a move to support monetization, Pi App developers have been invited to apply for the Pi Ad Network. Those selected will join the first group of apps from the pilot program already receiving ad revenue. The network is seemingly building an economically sustainable ecosystem for developers and content creators.

Over 3 million more Pioneers have joined the mainnet since February 20th, bringing the total number of users to over 13 million. With almost 7.4 billion Pi transferred, 5.2 billion locked, and 2.2 billion unlocked, blockchain activity is increasing.

Pi Network’s internal blockchain explorer indicates that more than 400,000 nodes are currently operational across testnet1, testnet2, and the mainnet.

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