News linked to both this project and an event.
Odaily reports: Vantage Bank and Rio Bank, through the Participate loan servicing platform, used Hazel Network tokenized deposits to complete principal and interest payments for loan participants. Participate stated that after Vantage submitted the payment, the platform completed the allocation of principal and interest, and the tokenized deposits reached the receiving institution's digital wallet in less than 3 minutes. Loan balances and payment notifications were automatically updated in sync, connecting with the traditional process that relies on wire transfers, spreadsheets, and email notifications. The payment, announced on October 19, is the first implementation following the two banks' collaboration in April of this year. Custodia CEO Caitlin Long confirmed that the transaction occurred on the Ethereum mainnet. Hazel was jointly developed by Vantage Bank and Custodia: Participate is a company under BankLabs, providing loan workflows and payment instructions; Vantage provides banking services and reserves; Custodia handles wallets, blockchain operations, compliance, and reconciliation monitoring. According to the Hazel whitepaper, the settlement model includes both on-chain records and traditional bank ledger records, only approved participants can transact, and customer identity and account information remain off-chain. Participate plans to offer tokenized deposits and Fedwire payment automation services to 750 banks for loan participations and syndicated payments.
According to BeInCrypto, Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) ruled on August 31 to suspend presidential candidate Renan Santos's digital campaign and freeze approximately 3.3 million reais (about $640,000) in public campaign funds. Justice Dias Toffoli ruled that because Santos registered his 16 campaign social media accounts 12 days past the filing deadline, he violated regulations. He was barred from participating in debates and placing paid political advertisements, with a fine of 50,000 reais (about $10,000) imposed for each violation. Santos had publicly pledged at the "Rio Blockchain 2026" conference on August 13 that if elected, he would establish a national Bitcoin reserve and turn Rio de Janeiro into a "crypto-friendly" city, while abolishing the Financial Operations Tax (IOF), making him the only candidate in this election to openly support a Bitcoin reserve. Santos termed the ruling "censorship" and stated he would pursue an appeal. His candidacy has not been revoked, and street campaigning may continue. Brazil's general election will take place on October 4.