28 May, 2025

TON Foundation Hires Former Crypto-Focused Visa Exec to Oversee Its Global Payments Strategy

The TON Foundation, an organization overseeing the development of The Open Network, hired former Visa executive Nikola Plecas as its vice president of payments. Plecas is stepping into a new role at the TON Foundation to spearhead its global payments strategy. This involves managing partnerships for applications based on TON and Telegram and the foundation's compliance strategy."As payments become a more central part of TON’s ecosystem, it made sense to have dedicated leadership focused on this area," Plecas told The Block in an email. "The goal is to help accelerate the development of payment capabilities across TON, so creating this role was really about aligning resources with that growing priority.”"In the first few months, the focus is on shaping a clear payments vision for TON’s ecosystem," Plecas said. "That means identifying where we can have the most impact — both in terms of user experience and infrastructure. One concrete goal is to streamline our on- and off-ramp flows, with the aim of making noticeable improvements in how easily users can move between fiat and crypto within the ecosystem."Plecas previously served several crypto-focused executive positions at the major payments firm Visa, including as the crypto business lead in Europe and as a senior director managing new product commercialization for Visa Crypto, according to LinkedIn.Plecas will now work closely with TON Foundation CEO Max Crown, who joined the organization in April after co-founding, and serving as CFO and COO, of the crypto payments platform MoonPay. "Payments are central to TON’s mission of delivering decentralized services to mainstream users,” Crown said in a statement. "With deep industry expertise and a clear vision for scaling payment infrastructure, Nikola brings the experience and leadership we need to accelerate TON’s global growth.” TON is a Layer 1 blockchain that was built to be used within the messaging platform Telegram. The network's token, Toncoin, maintains a $7.5 billion market capitalization.

23 May, 2025

Bitcoin Pushes Past 111K While Wall Street Stalls

Wall Street Edges Sideways While Legislation Fuels Deficit ConcernsWall Street posted modest moves Thursday. The S&P 500 dipped 0.04 percent, the Dow remained unchanged, and the Nasdaq gained 0.28 percent. Behind the scenes, a contentious tax and spending bill passed the House by a single vote. The measure, projected to increase the federal deficit by nearly four trillion dollars, combines aggressive tax cuts with expanded military outlays.Late revisions—namely broader deductions for state and local taxes—helped gain just enough conservative support to advance the bill to the Senate.Treasury Yields Spike Amid Debt Auction WeaknessThe 30-year Treasury yield briefly rose above 5.16 percent before easing back. The 10-year yield settled at 4.55 percent. Analysts pointed to lackluster demand in the latest 20-year bond auction as a trigger, reviving concerns over long-term debt sustainability and potential inflationary consequences.Jed Ellerbroek of Argent Capital remarked, “Short term, the tax package is stimulative. Long term, markets cannot ignore what it adds to the national balance sheet.”Bitcoin Sets New High but Traders Stay CalmBitcoin’s rally extended past its prior all-time high, touching $111,880. The ascent was driven by optimism surrounding Senate discussions on stablecoin regulations and a high-profile event featuring major crypto donors.Yet trader behavior was measured. According to 10xResearch and Amberdata, the current rally is fueled by spot market demand rather than speculative derivatives positions. The long to short ratio remains just above 1, a sign of confidence without irrational exuberance.Derivatives Data Signals Balanced SentimentOver $175 million in shorts and $47 million in longs were liquidated in the past 24 hours. While bearish positions were punished, the restrained reaction suggests a more mature phase of market behavior, lacking the extreme leverage seen in 2017 or 2020.Ethereum Lags as Altcoins Follow Bitcoin’s LeadEthereum gained 1.87 percent, riding the momentum but struggling to attract sustained institutional inflows. Altcoins in the top 50 by market cap posted gains, hinting at broader support in the digital asset space, though attention remains fixed on Bitcoin’s next move.