Web3 Project Updates and Developments

Mastercard unveiled a sweeping new initiative on Wednesday aimed at knitting together the fast-moving world of digital assets with the settled rails of global commerce. The newly announced Crypto Partner Program brings together more than 85 crypto-native firms, payments providers and financial

Wells Fargo submits "WFUSD" trademark application, indicating its deepening involvement in blockchain and digital assets, covering services such as cryptocurrency payments and asset tokenization. This move shows that major banks are actively exploring digital assets and may work together with JPMorgan Chase to advance the development of USD deposit tokens.

Mastercard launched the "Crypto Partnership Program" on March 11, collaborating with 85 digital asset and financial institutions. The goal is to meet the projected demand for stablecoin transfers reaching $27.6 trillion by 2025 and to create a Payments Industry Blockchain Alliance. By implementing a Multi-Token Network (MTN) for real-time settlement, this initiative targets cross-border payments and B2B transactions, responding to market needs with lower costs and faster speeds, thereby enhancing payment efficiency for consumers and businesses.

Gate News Announcement: On March 12, the privacy browser Brave Wallet added support for NEAR Intents functionality, allowing users to perform cross-chain asset swaps within the browser, covering Bitcoin, Solana, Zcash, Cardano, and EVM chains.

Gate News Announcement, March 12 — On the Base chain, ZK privacy protocol Veil.Cash developer Apex777.eth announced that Veil.Cash will launch a sub-account feature. This feature allows users to receive funds without exposing their main account and can be used with any ETH-supported or

Pi Network has moved up the deadline for upgrading to version v20.2 to March 12, requiring mainnet nodes to complete the upgrade before the deadline or face disconnection. This move coincides with a 50% surge in PI token price. Analysts are cautious about the sustainability of the rally due to the closed mainnet limiting liquidity. Version v20.2 emphasizes enhanced KYC and biometric verification to improve platform security and compliance.

Bitpanda's 2025 revenue is projected at €371 million, a 16% increase. User registrations rose 25% to 7.4 million, but adjusted EBITDA fell to €13 million due to higher expenditures. The platform expanded its asset offerings and regulatory compliance, launching a Web3 wallet and entering new markets.

Risk Labs proposes "The Bridge Across" plan, transforming the ACX token into a U.S. C Corporation, offering two options: equity exchange or repurchase at $0.04375. Holders can exchange shares proportionally or sell tokens to receive USDC. The proposal aims to enhance legal contract signing capabilities, facilitate institutional cooperation, and maintain normal operations during the transition period.

Ripple moves to secure an Australian financial services license, positioning its blockchain payments network for deeper expansion across Asia-Pacific while tightening regulatory footing in one of the region’s most active digital asset markets. Ripple Strengthens Global Compliance Network With Aust

Gate News Announcement, March 12 — Backpack has confirmed that the TGE will take place around March 23. Real-time betting data from a prediction platform shows that the probability of Backpack's TGE first-day FDV exceeding $300 million is about 68%, and the probability of exceeding $500 million is 33%. Backpack CEO Armani Ferrante previously stated during an official Twitch live stream that the token TGE date is approximately March 23.

Gate News Announcement, March 12, OP Labs CEO Jing Wang tweeted that OP Labs will lay off 20 employees to streamline operations, accelerate decision-making, and reduce coordination costs. Jing Wang emphasized: "This decision reflects a narrowing of our focus, not a liquidity crisis." Affected employees will receive three months of base salary and N+1 compensation, and health insurance will be extended for six months.

Gate News bot message, Tether has burned $1 billion USDT on the Tron network after a month. The large-scale token destruction operation was completed on the Tron blockchain.

Across Community proposed a new plan on March 12th to transform the existing "DAO + Token" structure into a U.S. C-corp company, holding the protocol's intellectual property rights. ACX holders can choose to exchange for equity or sell tokens for USDC at $0.04375 per share, with plans to execute within 6 months.

Backpack Exchange CEO Armani Ferrante announced during a live stream that the Backpack token's Token Generation Event (TGE) will take place on March 23, with a total supply of 1 million tokens, of which 62.5% will be allocated to users. Users who stake tokens can exchange for 20% of the company's equity after one year. This design aims to attract long-term investors and avoid selling pressure.

ChainAware.ai and AgentLauncher have partnered to enhance Web3 project launches through AI-powered predictive analytics and fraud detection, promoting transparency and risk reduction in token launches. Their collaboration focuses on providing real-time wallet behavior analysis and leveraging a robust network of partners to foster user engagement and ensure project integrity.

Gate News Report, March 12 — According to Onchain Lens monitoring, the WLFI team transferred 39.7 million WLFI tokens to a certain CEX, valued at approximately 4 million USD.

Sonic Labs launched US Sonic Dollar (USSD) on March 12 as the core liquidity layer. This stablecoin is built on Frax Finance's compliant infrastructure and supported by multiple institutions. It is pegged 1:1 to the US dollar and aims to enhance ecosystem yields while supporting cross-chain fee-free minting and flexible redemption.

Base Ecosystem Trend Prediction Platform Noise opens waitlist registration on March 12. The platform completed a $7.1 million seed round in January, attracting multiple investment institutions. Its testnet was launched last year, with over 1,300 users participating in cryptocurrency topic predictions.

Ethereum Layer-2 network Optimism is undergoing more than 20% layoffs, according to internal employee discussions on social media. The layoffs involve multiple core departments, and the reasons are unclear, possibly to improve efficiency or respond to market pressures. The OP token has already fallen over 55% this year, and market sentiment remains cautious. The impact of these layoffs on the super chain project remains to be seen; in the short term, Base's operations are unaffected, but long-term development capabilities may face challenges.

The March 12 crypto market news includes the Backpack token TGE scheduled for March 23, Across Protocol exploring the exchange of ACX tokens for equity, FDIC Chairman stating that stablecoins will not be covered by deposit insurance, Hyperliquid crude oil contract trading volume nearing $1 billion, and more.