Из жизни альткоинов

American multinational financial services company Western Union has unveiled a stablecoin strategy to expand its digital business and cross-border remittances. In particular, the money transfer firm is looking to launch a stablecoin card service targeted at nations with high inflation rates.

Matthew Cagwin, chief financial officer and executive vice-president at Western Union, has shared various ideas the financial service giant holds around the adoption and potential offerings of stablecoins. These revelations were made in a presentation at the UBS Global Technology and AI conference on December 2, 2025. 

Notably, Cagwin acknowledges that Western Union views stablecoins as a significant opportunity to free the company’s cash flow for other purposes. Due to the instantaneous and predictable nature of these cryptocurrencies, the executive outlines a business model in which Western Union can settle transactions immediately, without needing to hold hundreds of millions of dollars for liquidity, as is typical in the traditional financial system.

Notably, Western Union also aims to offer a “stable card”, modeled on the prepaid card in the US but targeted at users in nations with high inflationary pressure. Cagwin explained the need for this product, referencing Argentina as an example. 

The CFO said:

… If you’re — I have a big workforce in Argentina. Can you imagine living in a country where last year, your inflation was 250%, 300%. We gave our employees 4 raises last year because if you didn’t, they made — they couldn’t afford their bills. So imagine a world where your family in the U.S. is sending you $500 home, but by the time you spend it in the next month, it’s only worth $300. So we can see a good utility for our stable card there,…

Cagwin also explains Western Union’s ongoing efforts to establish a digital asset network (DAN). Notably, the financial services firm has established partnerships with four service providers with the intent to offer on-ramp and off-ramp services to users from H1 2026, using the yellow wallets and agents, such as a big box store or check casher.

In addition to the stable card, Cagwin states that Western Union plans to launch a stablecoin, which they believe will scale easily, considering their present business network. In opting against onboarding existing stablecoins, Cagwin explains the firm’s goal of maintaining end-to-end of the proposed coin’s use, economics, and distribution operation.

At press time, the total crypto market cap is valued at $3.05 trillion, after a 0.37% gain in the last day. Meanwhile, total stablecoins are valued at $317.63 billion, representing 10% of circulating digital assets.

According to the latest on-chain data, BitMine viewed the latest market downturn as an opportunity to further increase its exposure to Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. In two separate fresh buys, the Ethereum treasury firm expanded its holdings by over $199 million worth of Ether tokens.

In a recent post on the social media platform X, blockchain data firm Lookonchain revealed that BitMine acquired $199 million worth of Ethereum in the past two days. This fresh round of accumulation included two separate buys; 41,946 ETH equivalent to $130.78 million on Friday, December 5 and 22,676 ETH worth $68.67 million on Saturday, December 6.

This latest acquisition spree brings the Ethereum treasury firm’s holdings to around $11.3 billion, solidifying its position as the world’s largest corporate Ether holder. With its continued accumulation of the largest altcoin over the past few months, BitMine now holds about 3.08% of the total Ether supply.

It is worth noting that BitMine’s aggression in the market comes while the hype around digital asset treasuries (DATs) have died down. While crypto asset acquisitions have slowed down among treasury companies, shareholders are losing significant amounts in value—as the market downturn continues to also affect crypto-related stocks.

However, BitMine’s general performance has been quite impressive, with the firm announcing its intention to pay crypto’s first-ever dividend to shareholders. What’s interesting is that the Ethereum treasury firm sits on a cash reserve of nearly $900 million, which could go into additional ETH purchases.

BitMine’s continued accumulation of Ether is a proof of its faith in the token’s long-term promise. However, this aggressive purchasing activity has somewhat been opposite to what the market trend is suggesting.

The Ethereum price is hovering around the $3,000 mark after a mild correction from its recent local high around $3,200. According to on-chain data, mid-sized whales (holding between 1,000 and 10,000 ETH) have kept significant selling pressure on the market.

Meanwhile, Alphractal also revealed that the large whales (with over 10,000 ETH) have remained much more in a neutral and calm state, showing only light distribution.

Whales are typically regarded as some of the most influential investors in the market, as their moves often give insights on a coin’s trajectory. While BitMine counts as a whale—due to its significant holdings, it is interesting to see the firm move in the opposite direction of other relevant market participants.

The narrative around XRP has definitively moved past the era of pure retail speculation. While the global financial system is accelerating its transition to real-time settlement, XRP is emerging as a contender for enterprise-level treasury flows. As Ripple’s institutional network continues to expand, the altcoin is stepping into a role where digital assets can enhance liquidity management and power the next generation of global value transfer.

The bearish view of XRP is clouding the bigger transformation happening behind the scenes. Analyst Xfinancebull has mentioned on X that XRP is embedding itself into the financial engines where global treasury systems teams move trillions. With the GTreasury acquisition, Ripple gains access to the operational layer where $12.5 trillion in enterprise liquidity flows.

This is about the altcoin becoming a native rail inside the financial command centers of over 1,000 multinational giants where trillions move. Treasury teams move real money, not just $100 payments, but payroll, supply chain financing, and liquidity management across continents. 

The XRP niche is that it moves trillions fast, 24/7, across borders. Meanwhile, Ripple now controls the infrastructure platform that interacts with BNY Mellon to move trillions and automates finance at scale.

According to Xfinancebull, the token goes from a speculative asset to invisible plumbing. This shift doesn’t make the front-page headlines, but it moves everything behind them. Most analysts won’t notice that this has unlocked the token to become a standard settlement rail in the GTreasury automation stack, making its utility broader, invisible, and massive.

Founder of Lux Lions NFT and host of the crypto Blitz YouTube show, RipBullWinkle, stated that the Federal Reserve has officially halted its Quantitative Tightening (QT) measures, ending the two-year liquidity drain that weighed down the entire crypto sector. 

Vanguard, the world’s second-largest asset manager with $11 trillion in AUM, has reversed course and will now allow clients to have access to the regulated crypto ETFs. This single move clears the path for trillions in passive capital, a macro environment of liquidity, compliance, and global settlement that XRP is engineered for. 

While the crypto market has been struggling to find its footing, an observer and researcher of the current tech shift, SMQKE, has noted that WisdomTree data shows that XRP is the only major cryptocurrency posting positive year-to-date returns in 2025. On a year-to-date basis, where the broader markets were pulling back, the altcoin has stood out as the lone performer, holding onto a modest +4% gain year-to-date.

In a challenging year for most large-cap digital assets, it has emerged as the top-tier asset with a positive year-to-date performance. Even after experiencing drawdowns in line with the broader market during Q4, XRP has demonstrated remarkable relative resilience and remains up +4% YTD and +12% over the past 12 months.