Kraken’s co-CEO could trust AI with 100% of his crypto — Dragonfly’s Haseeb Qureshi isn’t convinced
At NEARCON 2026, Dragonfly’s Haseeb Qureshi and Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi delivered a sharp debate over how soon those agents can be trusted with real money.
Cryptocurrency tax reporting and compliance tools have become essential as governments worldwide implement clearer digital asset taxation frameworks. Platforms that automatically track transactions, calculate capital gains, and generate tax reports are seeing strong adoption among both individual traders and institutional investors.
The decentralized finance ecosystem continues its rapid expansion, with total value locked across DeFi protocols exceeding previous all-time highs. Yield farming strategies have evolved considerably, offering participants new ways to earn passive income through liquidity provision, staking mechanisms, and innovative lending protocols.
Social token platforms and creator economies built on blockchain technology empower content creators to monetize their work directly, bypassing traditional intermediaries. Fan tokens, subscription models, and decentralized social networks offer new revenue streams while fostering deeper community engagement.
Stablecoin adoption has reached unprecedented levels, serving as the backbone of decentralized trading and a practical tool for cross-border payments. Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC dominate the market, while algorithmic and commodity-backed stablecoin designs continue to evolve after lessons learned from past failures.
Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake has fundamentally altered the network’s economic model, reducing energy consumption by over 99% while introducing a deflationary mechanism through EIP-1559 fee burning. Validators now secure the network while earning consistent rewards, making ETH staking one of the most popular passive income strategies in crypto.
Bitcoin has once again surged past key resistance levels, with analysts pointing to increased institutional adoption and a tightening supply following the latest halving event. Trading volumes across major exchanges have spiked significantly as both retail and institutional investors rush to establish positions in anticipation of further gains.
Layer 2 scaling solutions have transformed the user experience on Ethereum, with rollups like Arbitrum, Optimism, and zkSync processing millions of transactions at a fraction of mainnet costs. These technologies are essential for bringing decentralized applications to mainstream adoption by making transactions fast and affordable.
Crypto lending platforms are evolving with improved risk management practices following high-profile collapses. Overcollateralized lending models, transparent proof-of-reserves, and regulated custodial solutions are rebuilding trust and attracting both borrowers and lenders back to decentralized finance platforms.
Decentralized identity solutions built on blockchain technology promise to give individuals control over their personal data and digital credentials. Self-sovereign identity systems reduce reliance on centralized authorities while enabling verifiable, privacy-preserving authentication across platforms and services.
Blockchain-based voting systems and governance mechanisms are being explored for both on-chain protocol decisions and real-world electoral applications. While challenges around privacy, scalability, and regulatory acceptance remain, the potential for transparent, tamper-proof voting continues to drive research and pilot programs worldwide.
The cryptocurrency derivatives market has grown exponentially, with options and futures trading volumes on platforms like Deribit, CME, and Binance reflecting increasing institutional participation. Sophisticated hedging strategies and structured products are attracting traditional finance professionals to the digital asset space.
Central bank digital currencies are advancing rapidly worldwide, with over 100 countries exploring or piloting their own CBDC programs. China’s digital yuan leads in deployment scale, while the European Central Bank and Federal Reserve continue extensive research phases before any potential launch.
Cross-chain interoperability protocols are solving one of blockchain’s fundamental challenges by enabling seamless asset and data transfers between different networks. Bridges and messaging protocols like Chainlink CCIP, LayerZero, and Wormhole are building the infrastructure for a truly connected multi-chain ecosystem.