Crypto didn’t slow down yesterday. Stablecoins dominated headlines from Washington to the Middle East, a major prediction market deal reshaped infrastructure, and another analytics firm shut its doors. The industry continues to split between expansion in some corners and consolidation in others.
Polymarket Acquires Dome to Strengthen Prediction Market Infrastructure
Polymarket announced it has acquired startup Dome for an undisclosed amount.
Dome, part of Y Combinator’s Fall 2025 cohort, built a unified API that allows developers to create tools across prediction platforms, including Polymarket and Kalshi. The startup had raised $500,000 from YC and a $4.7 million seed round.
Polymarket, last valued at $9 billion, has rarely pursued acquisitions. The move signals a push to control more of the developer layer as competition in regulated and on-chain prediction markets intensifies.
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$141B in Illicit Stablecoin Flows Draws Attention
Stablecoins were also at the center of a major compliance report. Blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs estimated that illicit actors moved $141 billion through stablecoins in 2025, a five-year high.
About 86% of that volume was tied to sanctions-linked activity, including roughly $72 billion associated with a Russian ruble-pegged token operating in networks designed to bypass restrictions. Underground marketplaces processed more than $17 billion in transactions, with stablecoins accounting for nearly all of it.
That said, the report notes illicit flows account for roughly 1% of overall stablecoin activity. The figures highlight why stablecoins remain central to both enforcement efforts and policy debates.
White House Weighs Compromise on Stablecoin Rewards
In Washington, the White House held its third meeting in just over two weeks with crypto firms and banking groups as lawmakers work to finalize broader crypto legislation.
Companies such as Coinbase and Ripple described the latest talks as constructive. A potential compromise would allow platforms to offer limited rewards tied to active stablecoin use, such as transactions or trading, while blocking passive yield for simply holding balances.
The House has already passed its version of the bill, but the Senate still needs bipartisan backing. Whether this rewards compromise sticks could determine how quickly a final framework moves forward.
UAE Embeds Stablecoins Into Everyday Payments
While U.S. lawmakers debate structure, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates is already rolling out a regulated payment ecosystem.
The country’s first licensed AED-pegged stablecoin, AE Coin, is now being accepted at nearly 980 service stations through ADNOC Distribution and is being piloted for telecom payments by e& UAE.
In parallel, the UAE launched the retail phase of its Digital Dirham, designed to operate alongside private stablecoins rather than replace them. Over Dh20 trillion has already flowed through local payment systems this year, underscoring how serious the UAE is about weaving blockchain into routine financial activity.
Parsec Shuts Down as Market Structure Shifts
On-chain analytics platform Parsec announced it is shutting down after five years in operation.
With backing from Uniswap Labs and Polychain Capital, Parsec carved out a niche in DeFi and NFT analytics. That niche shrank fast. NFT sales slid to about $5.63 billion in 2025, a 37% drop from the year before, and trading patterns after the FTX collapse never quite returned to their old form.
The closure adds to signs that consolidation is accelerating as projects that thrived in prior cycles struggle to adapt to new demand patterns.
What This Means for Crypto Users and Markets
Yesterday’s developments showed an industry evolving unevenly. Stablecoins are moving further into day-to-day payments in places like the UAE, even as regulators in Washington keep tightening the screws. At the same time, some firms are buying up infrastructure, while others are quietly shutting down.
Crypto’s direction isn’t being shaped by one narrative alone. Policy, compliance, infrastructure, and shifting user behavior are all moving at once, and that mix continues to define the current cycle.
