Author: CryptoCurrencyNews

POTOMAC FALLS, Va., May 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The Ash Environmental DAO, through its Ash Token (https://ashtoken.io/) cryptocurrency ecosystem, is proud to announce the successful funding of its initial group of grant recipients—marking a major milestone in the DAO’s mission to support high-impact environmental innovation, job creation, and economic transformation through decentralized blockchain finance.

In this inaugural round of funding, the DAO has awarded:

• $2 million to GCS Fibers LLC (www.gcsfibers.com/), a U.S.-based start-up manufacturing company that transforms toxic coal ash into high-performance, non-toxic mineral fiber under the PHEENX^® brand.
• $20,000 to Eco-Green Solutions LLC (www.ecogreensolutions.io), a start-up company focused on greenhouse emissions capture solutions.
• $20,000 to MetaFiber LLC (www.metafiber.io), a start-up innovator in next-generation green material research and development.

“This marks the first demonstration of how the Ash Token ecosystem can be used as a powerful tool to fund real-world, environmentally beneficial innovation,” said Dan Perez (Communications Director for the Ash Env. DAO | Ash Token). “Through these grants, we are laying the foundation for a future where pollution is transformed into opportunity—delivering project financing, economic development, poverty reduction, and long-term sustainability.”

GCS Fibers: Restarting Operations with DAO-Backed Support

From the recipient side, the $2 million investment enables GCS Fibers LLC to resume operations at its flagship facility and begin commercial-scale production of its revolutionary mineral fiber product made from recycled coal ash. This process diverts toxic waste from the environment while creating high-performance, eco-safe materials for global industrial use.

“We are incredibly grateful for this support from the Ash Environmental DAO and the Ash Token community,” said David Quinn Director of Public Engagement for GCS Fibers. “This funding is not just capital—it’s a vote of confidence in the future we’re building. Thanks to this grant, we’re bringing our facility back online, creating jobs, and proving that sustainability and profitability can go hand-in-hand.”

A New Model for Climate Finance

This funding round exemplifies the DAO’s vision of a circular, inclusive economy where innovative solutions to environmental crises are empowered by decentralized capital. Each grant advances the DAO’s core objectives: reducing global pollution, enabling sustainable industry, creating dignified jobs, and delivering superior products and services through its network of sponsored companies.

With the success of this initial funding round, the Ash Environmental DAO invites new applicants, partners, and Ash Token holders to join in scaling this ecosystem and accelerating the global transition to an equitable, sustainable future.

About GCS Fibers:
GCS Fibers is an eco-friendly manufacturing company that repurposes coal ash into high-quality mineral fiber or pulp products.  GCS can convert millions of tons of toxic coal ash (fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag, wet or dry) each year into 6 base mineral fibers yielding end-products such as paper, brake pads, textiles, building insulation, rubber and plastics, and carbon fiber precursors.  All the while creating jobs, cleaning up the harmful effects of coal ash, and helping the environment.  Learn more by visiting https://www.gcsfibers.com/

About ASH Token:

The ASH Token is a cryptocurrency ecosystem that provides grant funding for high impact and sustainable business innovations that seek to eliminate pollution from the global environment while driving the increased adoption of more efficient energy solutions. ASH is a governance token that empowers holders to collectively vote and decide how the funds raised through the token’s transactions fees are used to fund environmentally focused start-ups. Learn more by visiting https://ashtoken.io/

Media Contact:
VARCom Solutions
Email: pr@varcom.com
571-276-3109

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SOURCE GCS Fibers

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HONG KONG, May 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Pharos Network, a high-performance blockchain built for real-world assets (RWAs), announced the launch of its Testnet. Designed for institutional-grade RWAs and enterprise-scale DeFi, Pharos offers a next-generation, modular infrastructure that addresses the key bottlenecks preventing institutions from entering Web3. The platform powers scalable deployment of decentralized applications, enables efficient payment solutions, and unlocks new use cases for tokenized assets.

The Pharos Testnet achieves up to 30,000 transactions per second with one-second finality, setting a new benchmark for Layer 1 blockchain performance. Its GPU-like architecture could support billions of users and reduce storage usage by 80%. The network also features built-in support for decentralized AI and privacy preserving SPN. With ZK-based KYC/AML capabilities, Pharos ensures enterprise-ready security and compliance. It remains fully EVM-compatible, offering faster and cheaper transactions, while enabling flexible, on-chain innovation.

Pharos’s product stack directly addresses the core bottlenecks in RWA adoption—scalability, compliance, and flexibility—unlocking new use cases across sectors such as renewable energy industry finance, payment, supply chain finance, and tokenized real estate. Its modular, high-throughput infrastructure enables secure deployment of RWA at scale, while meeting the regulatory and performance demands of the financial industry.

Founded by former AntChain and Alibaba blockchain leaders, the Pharos team brings deep enterprise experience, uniquely positioning it to deliver enterprise-grade solutions for institutions exploring green finance, payments, and new forms of programmable ownership and asset tokenization.

“The Pharos Testnet represents a significant milestone in our mission to unlock the true potential of RWAs. By providing a high-performance, scalable, and adaptable platform, Pharos meet the needs of bringing real world assets on a chain and bringing utilities to these assets.” said Alex Zhang, CEO of Pharos Network. “We’re excited to watch innovation flourish on Pharos and accelerate the convergence of traditional finance and decentralized technology.

Developers and users can access and experience the Testnet by visiting testnet.pharosnetwork.xyz.

About Pharos

Pharos Network is a revolutionary Layer 1 blockchain platform that sets new benchmarks in decentralized technology with its extreme performance and scalability. Founded by ex-blockchain leaders from Ant Financial and Alibaba, Pharos aims to build the best chain for RWAs and enterprise-grade DeFi, achieving the highest EVM Layer-1 performance with 50K TPS and being the first to reach 2 gigagas/sec. In addition, Pharos is a co-developer of SmartCogent, an AI toolkit for large language models (LLMs), and the core development team of DTVM technology. For more information, please visit https://pharosnetwork.xyz.

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LIMASSOL, Cyprus, May 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Amid rising volatility across global financial markets — from gold reaching historic highs of $3,500 per ounce (up 31% since January, according to IG) to tech stocks swinging in response to geopolitical uncertainty and macroeconomic signals — interest in dynamic and narrative-driven trading instruments is surging. Analysts attribute the gold rally to a mix of central bank accumulation (with China importing over 700 metric tons), inflationary pressures, and a weakening dollar, with some projections suggesting a potential climb toward $4,000 per ounce.

Versus Trade enters this environment with a unique approach — offering “Versus Pairs,” proprietary CFD instruments that allow retail traders to speculate on how one asset performs against another. Rather than taking isolated long or short positions, users can now express market opinions in a comparative format, whether it’s crypto vs. commodities or old economy vs. innovation.

As of May 2025, Versus Trade steps onto the scene — a platform developed by traders, for traders, with a clear focus on the fast-growing Asian markets — including Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

Innovative Asset-vs-Asset CFDs for Strategic Traders

The key distinction of Versus Trade lies in its focus on gamified, head-to-head asset comparisons — turning traditional CFD trading into an engaging experience built around rivalry, contrast, and strategic alignment. Instead of simply trading Gold or Bitcoin, traders can now position themselves in the narrative of digital assets versus traditional stores of value, or explore macro themes like West versus East, innovation versus legacy, and growth versus stability.

At the core of the platform are unique trading pairs such as:

• Bitcoin vs Gold – digital gold versus the traditional safe-haven asset
• Amazon vs Alibaba – Western versus Eastern dominance in global e-commerce
• Tesla vs Ford – the electric future versus legacy automotive manufacturing

These matchups are more than just tickers — they are stories. And beyond flagship combinations like Bitcoin vs Gold or Amazon vs Alibaba, Versus Trade offers a broader lineup of asset-vs-asset instruments covering commodities, indices, and thematic sectors — allowing traders to engage with cross-market dynamics and relative performance.

This model resonates with a new generation of retail traders — those who are accustomed to trading on leverage, reacting to news flow, and seeking out high-volatility opportunities. For them, Versus Trade delivers both engagement and strategic optionality in a format that reflects how modern traders think and act.

Built by Traders, Tailored for the Modern Asian Market

Versus Trade was founded by professional trader Vitalii Bulynin, who designed the platform based on real-world trading experience. The platform is not built around promotional gimmicks or corporate marketing goals, but around functional features that support practical execution.

According to Bulynin, the Versus Trade CFD trading platform is designed to move beyond traditional chart-based approaches by enabling modern traders to engage in comparative trading strategies grounded in market conviction and relative asset performance.

This is not just trading — it’s storytelling, choosing sides, strategy, and community.

“Trading is not just about charts. It’s about beliefs, analysis, and the spirit of competition. We want to make it exciting and intelligent at the same time,” says Versus Trade CEO Vitalii Bulynin.

Positioning and Outlook

With its regulated CFD infrastructure, trader-centric design, and a distinctive portfolio of multi-asset, asset-vs-asset instruments, Versus Trade is positioned as a modern alternative to traditional online brokers. Combining product innovation with market localization, the platform aims to reshape retail trading in high-growth regions through transparency, usability, and strategic differentiation.

On the technology side, Versus Trade integrates with MetaTrader 5, offering full support for algorithmic trading, multi-asset execution, and analytical tools for both manual and automated strategies. This positions the platform to serve a wide spectrum of users — from beginner traders to seasoned strategists and signal providers.

By focusing on market relevance, strategic flexibility, and platform reliability, Versus Trade aims to deliver value to both individual traders and institutional partners. In a market crowded with feature-heavy but insight-light offerings, it introduces a trading experience built on clarity, comparison, and conviction.

About Versus Trade

Versus Trade was co-founded by Vitalii Bulynin in partnership with former veteran IB partners from leading companies such as Exness and XM. The company is centered on developing innovative trading mechanisms designed to help traders fully realize their potential. Vitalii assembled a team of industry-seasoned professionals, each with over 15 years of experience, to bring this vision to life.

Users can learn more at www.versus.trade 

Social media profiles:

https://x.com/VersusTrade_
https://www.linkedin.com/company/versus-trade/
https://www.instagram.com/versus.trade_official
https://www.facebook.com/VersusTradeOfficial
https://www.tiktok.com/@versus.trade

Contact

Support Team
Versus Trade
support@versus.trade

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SOURCE Versus Trade

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VICTORIA, Seychelles, May 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — KuCoin, a leading global cryptocurrency exchange, proudly participated in the HODL Summit 2025, held on May 14-15 in Dubai. Oliver Stauber, CEO of KuCoin EU, joined distinguished panelists Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget, Nils Andersen-Röed, Global Head of FIU at Binance, and moderator Nic Watson, Host of Encrypted Podcast, to discuss “Crypto’s Trust Crisis: Navigating Security, Innovation & Adoption Post-Hacks.” During the panel, Oliver emphasized KuCoin’s commitment to security and trust, highlighting the industry’s resilience and unity in the face of challenges.

Strengthening Crypto’s Foundation

“Innovation drives growth, but trust secures the future,” Oliver stated. “Security is the bedrock of KuCoin’s operations, paired with sustainable growth as our guiding principle.” KuCoin balances rapid global expansion with user asset safety through a focus on compliance and cutting-edge technology. The exchange has invested heavily in rebuilding its core systems, ensuring technical excellence and scalability for the long term.

Industry Unity and Resilience

During the panel, Oliver contrasted the crypto industry’s response to security challenges with the 2008 financial crisis. “When Lehman Brothers collapsed, trust among banks evaporated, leading to years of suffering for clients and the broader economy,” he said. “In contrast, when hacks occur in crypto, industry leaders collaborate swiftly. This unity ensures no user or the market as a whole suffers long-term damage, fostering trust from both users and the market.”

Rebuilding for a Secure Future

Oliver shared KuCoin’s proactive approach to security, noting that over the past years, the exchange has undertaken a comprehensive rebuild of its core systems. This initiative focuses on enhancing security protocols, improving scalability, and ensuring reliability to meet the demands of its growing user base while maintaining the highest standards of asset protection. These efforts reflect KuCoin’s commitment to staying ahead of threats and delivering a robust platform for its 40 million users worldwide.

Building Trust in the Crypto Ecosystem

“Exchanges are the backbone of crypto’s future, built on transparency and trust. Our ISO 27001:2022 certification is a testament to our unwavering commitment to security,” Oliver asserted. KuCoin reinforces reliability with maintaining over 100% Proof of Reserves audited monthly by a third party, SOC 2 Type II certification, and the newly earned ISO 27001:2022 certification, announced May 13, 2025, as part of its efforts to build a more secure and trustworthy crypto ecosystem. Further, KuCoin recently announced its $2 billion Trust Project, aiming to set new benchmarks for security and compliance.

With five global regulatory licenses in hand, KuCoin plans to launch compliant platforms in Europe and Australia by late 2025, while expanding the KCS ecosystem to deliver greater value to its global community.

About KuCoin

Founded in 2017, KuCoin is one of the pioneering and most globally recognized technology platforms supporting digital economies, built on a robust foundation of cutting-edge blockchain infrastructure, liquidity solutions, and exceptional user experience. With a connected user base exceeding 40 million worldwide, KuCoin offers comprehensive digital asset solutions across wallets, trading, wealth management, payments, research, ventures, and AI-powered bots.

KuCoin has garnered accolades such as “Best Crypto Apps & Exchanges” by Forbes and has been recognized among the “Top 50 Global Unicorns” by Hurun in 2024. This recognition reflects its commitment to user-centric principles and core values, which include integrity, accountability, collaboration, and a relentless pursuit of excellence. Learn more: https://www.kucoin.com/. 

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SAINT HELIER, Jersey, May 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — CoinShares International Limited (“CoinShares” or “the Group”) (Nasdaq Stockholm: CS; US OTCQX: CNSRF), a leading global investment company specialising in digital assets, has today published its results for the quarter ending 31st March 2025.

Jean-Marie Mognetti, Chief Executive Officer of CoinShares said:

“Despite the sharp decline in digital asset prices during Q1, CoinShares has demonstrated exceptional operational resilience and strategic discipline. Our proactive approach to market volatility has not only enabled us to remain robust but has also supported continued growth—most notably through our CoinShares Physical platform, which is outperforming peers at an unprecedented pace.

Shifting conditions create opportunities. Our brand strength has positioned CoinShares as the leading provider of crypto ETPs in Europe, attracting sustained inflows and reinforcing our market leadership.

In parallel, we are re-affirming our long-standing objective of securing a U.S. exchange listing. With the US regulatory environment evolving in a more constructive direction, this goal is realistic—further advancing our strategy to extend CoinShares’ presence in the world’s largest and most influential capital market for digital asset firms.”

Q1 2025 financial highlights

• Asset management revenue of $29.6 million (Q1 2024: $24.5 million)
• Capital markets gains/income of $11.9 million (Q1 2024: $14.1 million)
• Principal Investment loss of $1.5 million (Q1 2024: $8.9 million gain)
• Total revenue, gains and other income of $40.0 million (Q1 2024: $47.5 million)
• EBITDA of $29.8 million (Q1 2024: $35.3 million)
• Net profit of $23.8 million (Q1 2024: $41.5 million)

Q1 2025 operational highlights

• CoinShares demonstrated robust performance across its platforms in Q1 2025, with management fees of $29.6m. CoinShares Physical led the European crypto ETP market with $268m in net inflows—triple its closest competitor—despite challenging market conditions that saw Bitcoin decline 12.1% and Ethereum fall 45.2%. While the flagship BITC product attracted $202m after strategically reducing its management fee to 0.25%, and a new partnership with BoursoBank expanded reach to 7m+ French clients, other platforms showed mixed results: XBT improved with reduced outflows of $154m (vs $370m in Q4 2024), the BLOCK Index outperformed peers despite a 13.1% decline, and the US Valkyrie platform experienced $288m in net outflows while maintaining its strong retail base amid broader market corrections that impacted total AuM across all platforms.
  
• CoinShares’ Capital Markets division experienced moderate Q1 performance across all segments, generating gains and other income totalling $11.9m, returning to typical levels following Q4’s exceptional post-election rally when Bitcoin appreciated 50%. Despite Bitcoin‘s 13% decline during the quarter, the Trading Team generated $3.6m from delta-neutral strategies, while liquidity provisioning contributed $1.9m amid cooling bullish sentiment. The company maintained strict credit discipline in its lending portfolio, prioritizing borrower quality over volume and ending with $101m in open loans at 4.2% average yield, while Ethereum‘s 46% decline affected staking revenues, which decreased 26% quarter-on-quarter to $5.6m.
  
• Since its 2021 Stockholm listing, CoinShares has pursued a U.S. exchange listing to enter the world’s largest digital asset market, a goal becoming more viable given recent regulatory improvements. Simultaneously, the company is boosting share liquidity through expanded analyst coverage and institutional roadshows while demonstrating shareholder commitment via the May 6 distribution of its first quarterly dividend for 2024.
  
• Despite recording a $3.0m unrealized loss on the Group’s treasury holdings due to Q1’s pronounced price declines, CoinShares continued building its strategic Bitcoin position, increasing holdings by 45% from 163 to 236 BTC by quarter-end.

Functional & presentation currency change

Effective 1 January 2025, the Group has amended its functional and presentation currency from GBP to USD to more accurately reflect the economic environment in which the Group is operating as it continues to expand.

In accordance with IAS 21 – The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates, the change in functional currency has been applied prospectively from the date of change. Accordingly, all items in the financial statements were translated into USD at the exchange rate prevailing at that date. The change in presentation currency has been applied retrospectively. The comparative financial information has been restated as if USD had always been the Group’s presentation currency.

Further information, along with the full detail of the Q1 results, are included within the full report, available here.

Download the Swedish Executive Summary here.  

ABOUT COINSHARES

CoinShares is a leading global investment company specialising in digital assets, that delivers a broad range of financial services across investment management, trading and securities to a wide array of clients that includes corporations, financial institutions and individuals. Focusing on crypto since 2013, the firm is headquartered in Jersey, with offices in France, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US. CoinShares is regulated in Jersey by the Jersey Financial Services Commission, in France by the Autorité des marchés financiers, and in the US by the Securities and Exchange Commission, National Futures Association and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. CoinShares is publicly listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm under the ticker CS and the OTCQX under the ticker CNSRF.

For more information on CoinShares, please visit: https://coinshares.com
Company | +44 (0)1534 513 100 | enquiries@coinshares.com
Investor Relations | +44 (0)1534 513 100 | enquiries@coinshares.com 

This information is information that CoinShares International Limited is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation 596/2014. The information in this press release has been published through the agency of the contact persons set out below, at 6:30 am CET on 13^th May 2025.

PRESS CONTACT

CoinShares
Benoît Pellevoizin
bpellevoizin@coinshares.com

M Group Strategic Communications
Peter Padovano
press@coinshares.com

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SOURCE CoinShares Group

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