News linked to both this project and an event.
Bitget Wallet has launched a Labor Day QR code payment campaign, running from April 28 to May 7, further driving the adoption of stablecoin payments in everyday consumption and travel scenarios across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. During the campaign, users who complete offline QR code payments using USDT or USDC will receive RLUSD cashback for each transaction. From May 1 to May 7, Bitget Wallet will randomly select one paying user per day to receive an additional 1,000 RLUSD cashback. To lower the barrier to first-time usage, Bitget Wallet will also airdrop XRP to eligible participants—serving as the account reserve required to activate RLUSD withdrawals. RLUSD is a compliant U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by Ripple and regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). This campaign marks Bitget Wallet’s first real-world consumer application following its integration of the XRP Ledger (XRPL) mainnet and onboarding of the RLUSD payment ecosystem at the end of March—and represents a key milestone in advancing Bitget Wallet’s Everyday Finance strategy.
According to Le Monde, France’s National Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime (PNACO) revealed that ransom kidnappings linked to cryptocurrencies have surged sharply since 2023—18 cases in 2024, escalating to 67 in 2025, and reaching 47 so far in 2026, totaling 135 cases. Among the 12 ongoing investigations, 88 individuals—including over 10 minors—have been formally charged, and 75 have been placed in provisional detention. Prosecutor Vanessa Pereira noted that investigations have identified multiple suspects repeatedly involved across several cases, revealing the existence of a structured criminal network. Representative cases include: in December 2025, three masked assailants in Charente forced a couple to transfer approximately €8 million worth of cryptocurrency; and in January 2025, David Balland, co-founder of cryptocurrency hardware wallet company Ledger, was kidnapped. PNACO stated it will continue intensifying nationwide criminal enforcement efforts.
According to Bloomberg, 39 signatories—including Nasdaq, the Boerse Stuttgart Group, and fintech associations from multiple countries—have called on the European Commission and the European Parliament to expedite the review of the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Pilot Regime as a standalone piece of legislation and to separate it from the EU’s Market Integration and Supervision program. The signatories warned that if the overall negotiation process drags on, Europe risks falling behind the United States in DLT adoption. They urged the removal of asset-class restrictions, an increase in the aggregate transaction volume cap to €150 billion, and the elimination of license time limits. The letter also noted that the U.S. has already established a stablecoin regulatory framework through the GENIUS Act and is rapidly establishing leadership in tokenized assets. The European Commission is currently pushing for a swift resolution of the entire regulatory package, viewing it as a key component of its Capital Markets Union initiative. Financial Services Commissioner Maria Luisa Albuquerque has previously called repeatedly for all legislative proposals to be adopted simultaneously.
Odaily News Ripple has announced a phased roadmap, planning to advance the XRP Ledger towards a quantum-resistant upgrade by 2028. The plan includes formulating a "Quantum-Day" contingency plan to address potential sudden threats from quantum computing and will involve preliminary testing and validation in collaboration with Project Eleven. Ripple stated that this initiative aims to prepare in advance for the transition to post-quantum security, with the entire plan to be implemented in four phases:Phase 1: Q-Day Emergency Preparedness (Initiated). Establish a Quantum Day (Q-Day) emergency response mechanism. If existing classical cryptographic systems are suddenly compromised, the network will immediately stop accepting traditional public key signatures and enforce a mandatory migration to quantum-safe accounts.Phase 2: Risk Assessment & Algorithm Testing (First Half of 2026). Conduct a comprehensive assessment of the impact of post-quantum cryptography on the XRP Ledger's network performance, storage, and bandwidth. Collaborate with Project Eleven to perform validator-level testing and Devnet benchmarking, deploy the NIST-standardized ML-DSA quantum-safe signature scheme, and develop a prototype for a post-quantum custody wallet.Phase 3: Devnet Hybrid Integration (Second Half of 2026). Integrate candidate post-quantum signature schemes in parallel with existing elliptic curve signatures on the Developer Network (Devnet), allowing developers to test performance and system impact without affecting the mainnet. Simultaneously explore post-quantum zero-knowledge proof primitives and homomorphic encryption technologies for Confidential Transfers, to advance the privacy and compliance capabilities for tokenized real-world assets on the XRPL.Phase 4: Mainnet Full Upgrade (Target 2028). Submit a formal protocol Amendment. Upon approval through validator voting, natively enable full post-quantum cryptography on the mainnet. (Cointelegraph)
According to Cointelegraph, the blockchain payment network XRP Ledger (XRPL) has partnered with zero-knowledge infrastructure provider Boundless to integrate its zero-knowledge technology into the underlying network, aiming to enable confidential and compliant on-chain transactions for banks and asset management firms. Shiv Shankar, CEO of Boundless, stated that the solution protects sensitive information—including transaction size, frequency, and counterparty details—through selective disclosure and role-based access control, while ensuring regulatory authorities can audit related activities. This integration is expected to drive adoption across multiple institutional use cases on public blockchains, including cross-border corporate payments, treasury management, over-the-counter (OTC) trading, tokenized asset issuance, and decentralized finance (DeFi). Industry observers believe that striking a balance between privacy and compliance is becoming a key factor in driving institutional adoption of public blockchains.