Hey there, PoI readers! 💫

It's your favorite crypto connoisseur, Mochi, back with another serving of tantalizing tech and web3 news. From Wall Street banks diving into stablecoins and WazirX's legal entanglements to the crypto IPO parade and Elon's AI-powered encyclopedia showdown, we've got a lot to unpack. So, buckle up and get ready for a wild ride through the wonderland of digital assets!

INTEL BRIEF

🟧 Citigroup is partnering with Coinbase to pilot stablecoin payments, projecting the market to balloon to $4 trillion by 2030 as Wall Street banks race to embrace digital dollars.

🟧 An Indian court ordered WazirX to provide a bank guarantee for frozen XRP holdings from the 2024 hack, potentially complicating the Singapore-approved restructuring plan just weeks after approval.

🟧 Tokenization platform tZero plans a 2026 IPO, joining Circle, Bullish, and Gemini in a growing wave of crypto companies going public amid friendlier US regulations.

🟧 Elon Musk launched Grokipedia, an AI-powered encyclopedia where Grok makes final editorial decisions, positioning it as a "truth-focused" alternative to Wikipedia amid claims of left-wing bias.

Citigroup Partners with Coinbase to Bring Stablecoin Payments to Wall Street in Massive Digital Dollar Push

Citigroup, one of the banking world's absolute giants, is teaming up with Coinbase to explore stablecoin payment services. This could make Citi one of the first major traditional banks to offer tokenized dollar transactions, and honestly? That's kind of a big deal.

According to Bloomberg, this partnership is kicking off with baby steps—helping clients move funds between fiat and crypto more smoothly. But the endgame? Full-blown onchain stablecoin payments. Debopama Sen, Citi's head of payments, explained that clients are increasingly demanding programmability, conditional payments, and 24/7 access (because apparently, banks closing at 5 PM is so last century).

"Stablecoins will be another enabler in the digital payment ecosystem," Sen noted, which is corporate speak for "we're jumping on this train before it leaves the station."

Here's where it gets spicy: Citi recently revised its stablecoin market forecast from "pretty big" to "absolutely massive." They're now projecting the market could hit $4 trillion by 2030, up from roughly $315 billion today. That's more than a 12x increase in just five years! Either Citi's crystal ball is working overtime, or they're seeing something the rest of us should probably pay attention to.

And Citi isn't alone in this digital gold rush. JPMorgan, Bank of America, and other banking behemoths are reportedly in the early stages of stablecoin development. Even Jamie Dimon—yes, that Jamie Dimon, the guy who once called Bitcoin "fraud"—recently told shareholders that JPMorgan "plans to be involved" in stablecoins. Character development at its finest!

Much of this sudden enthusiasm is believed to be tied to the GENIUS Act, which passed earlier this year and establishes a regulatory framework for stablecoins set to take effect in early 2027. Apparently, having clear rules makes billion-dollar institutions feel more comfortable. Who knew?

The market seems pumped too. Circle, the company behind USDC (the world's second-largest stablecoin), went public this year and saw its stock skyrocket 167% on day one. The company now boasts a market cap of around $35 billion, proving that investors are taking this whole stablecoin thing pretty seriously.

Citi + Coinbase = stablecoin payments – Major Wall Street bank exploring onchain payment solutions for clients

$4 trillion by 2030 – Citi's bullish new forecast for the stablecoin market (up from $315B today)

GENIUS Act creating FOMO – New stablecoin regulations have JPMorgan, BofA, and others racing to develop their own solutions

WazirX Faces New Legal Challenge as Indian Court Orders Bank Guarantee for Frozen XRP from 2024 Hack

That $235 million WazirX hack from 2024? Yeah, it's still causing headaches, and now there's a legal plot twist that could make things even more complicated for affected users.

An Indian high court just dropped a ruling that may significantly impact how crypto exchanges handle user claims after hacks or security incidents. On Saturday, Justice N. Anand Venkatesh of India's High Court of Judicature at Madras ordered WazirX's operator, Zanmai Lab, to furnish a bank guarantee of roughly $11,800 as part of arbitration proceedings. The case? A user fighting to recover 3,532 XRP tokens that have been frozen since the devastating cyberattack.

Here's where it gets legally spicy: WazirX is headquartered in India, but its parent company, Zettai, is based in Singapore. This jurisdictional split is believed to be making the claims process for users about as straightforward as explaining blockchain to your grandma.

The court filing acknowledged the messy reality: "Since the cyber attack took place, there are insufficient crypto currency tokens attributable to the platform's user liabilities to satisfy unsecured crypto currency claims." Translation? There's not enough crypto in the pot to pay everyone back what they lost, which is... well, terrifying if you're a WazirX user.

But wait—there's a silver lining buried in this legal drama! In the same ruling, Justice Venkatesh declared that cryptocurrency qualifies as property that is "capable of being enjoyed and possessed" and "being held in trust" for legal purposes. This is actually huge for crypto users in India, as it provides legal recognition that could strengthen future claims and protections.

Now, here's where things get really interesting. Just last week, WazirX announced it would restart operations more than a year after the hack. The exchange relaunched trading on Friday as part of a phased reboot—the first action since everything went dark in July 2024. Timing is everything, folks!

Adding another layer to this legal lasagna: Zettai's restructuring plan was approved by Singapore's high court on October 13, setting the framework for repaying affected users after over a year of uncertainty. That plan was supposed to provide a "fair and orderly manner of distribution" under Singapore court supervision.

But with this new Indian court decision—and the fact that many WazirX users are based in India—the implications for Zettai's carefully crafted restructuring plan remain unclear. Will the Indian ruling supersede Singapore's plan? Can users pursue claims in both jurisdictions? Your guess is as good as ours at this point!

Cointelegraph reached out to WazirX for comment, but the exchange had gone radio silent at the time of publication. Shocking, right?

Indian court orders bank guarantee – WazirX must provide ~$11,800 guarantee for frozen XRP from 2024's $235M hack

Crypto = property in India – Court ruling recognizes cryptocurrency as legally possessable property held in trust

Singapore vs. India legal tangle – New ruling may complicate the restructuring plan approved by Singapore courts just weeks ago

Tokenization Platform tZero Plans 2026 IPO Joining the Growing Wave of Crypto Companies Going Public

The latest to throw its hat in the ring? tZero Group, a blockchain infrastructure company that's betting big on the future of tokenized securities and real-world assets.

On Monday, the New York-based platform announced plans to go public in the United States sometime in 2026. Founded way back in 2014 (ancient history in crypto years), tZero helps companies raise capital and trade securities on blockchain-based platforms while staying compliant with US securities laws. Think of them as the bridge between traditional finance and the blockchain world—but with more regulatory paperwork.

CEO Alan Konevsky told Bloomberg that tZero is currently chatting with several banks but hasn't locked down an underwriter yet. The company, which employs just over 50 people and isn't yet profitable (hey, at least they're honest!), may also pursue an additional funding round before the listing. Gotta fuel up before the big race, right?

So what exactly does tZero do? They specialize in tokenization—the process of converting real-world assets like fiat currencies, stocks, and real estate into digital tokens on a blockchain. This enables these assets to be traded 24/7 online, which is basically the financial world's version of never having to wait for the store to open.

According to tZero, their decision to go public reflects a belief that asset tokenization will become central to making capital formation and cross-border transactions more efficient. The company has raised approximately $200 million to date, and one of its investors is none other than Intercontinental Exchange—the owner of the New York Stock Exchange. Talk about having friends in high places!

But tZero isn't alone in this IPO rush. We're witnessing what's believed to be a crypto IPO wave, driven largely by greater regulatory clarity in the United States. The passage of the GENIUS Act in July and the pro-crypto stance of the Trump administration have apparently given crypto companies the confidence boost they needed to dip their toes into public markets.

Let's review the class of 2024-2025, shall we?

Circle, the stablecoin issuer, made its NYSE debut in June with an upsized IPO exceeding $1.05 billion. The stock absolutely exploded, soaring 167% on its first day of trading. Not too shabby!

Bullish, the crypto exchange and parent company of CoinDesk, also went public on the NYSE in August, adding another name to the growing list.

Then there's Gemini, the exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins (yes, those Winklevoss twins from Facebook fame). They made their trading debut on Nasdaq in September after upping their IPO valuation just days earlier. When you're hot, you're hot!

And the speculation doesn't stop there. Kraken is reportedly eyeing a 2026 listing as well. The exchange raised $500 million in September at a whopping $15 billion valuation, amid growing chatter about a 2026 IPO.

With tZero now joining this parade, it's clear that crypto companies are seizing the moment while regulatory winds are favorable. Whether this marks a new era of mainstream crypto adoption or just a really good year for investment bankers remains to be seen!

tZero going public in 2026 – Tokenization platform joins growing wave of crypto IPOs, has raised ~$200M with NYSE owner as investor

Not profitable yet, but optimistic – Company employs 50+ people and may pursue additional funding before listing

Crypto IPO boom continues – Circle, Bullish, Gemini already public; Kraken reportedly targeting 2026 with $15B valuation

Elon Musk Launches Grokipedia Where AI Makes All Editorial Decisions in Challenge to Wikipedia

Elon Musk has done it again. On Monday, the billionaire entrepreneur launched Grokipedia, an AI-powered online encyclopedia that's positioning itself as the "truth-focused" alternative to Wikipedia. Because apparently, what the internet really needed was another place for people to argue about facts.

In a series of X posts following the launch, Musk declared that Grokipedia "is fully open source, so anyone can use it for anything at no cost" and that its goal is to deliver "truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth." He added, "We will never be perfect, but we shall nonetheless strive towards that goal." Humble? Maybe. Ambitious? Absolutely.

The launch had actually been delayed a few days because Musk wanted to "purge out the propaganda" from Grokipedia first. The site reportedly crashed temporarily after going live (classic launch day vibes), but quickly bounced back. At the time of writing, it's fully functional and claims to host over 885,000 articles already. Not bad for day one!

So what makes Grokipedia different from Wikipedia? The biggest distinction appears to be who—or rather, what—calls the shots. While Wikipedia relies on a blend of editorial volunteers and automated tools, Grokipedia hands the editorial reins to X's Grok AI. Yep, artificial intelligence gets the final word here.

Musk explained that users will be able to request changes to content, but Grok makes the final decision on whether to accept or reject those changes. "Grok generated about 1M articles using a lot of compute. You will be able to ask Grok to add/modify/delete articles and it will either take the action or tell you it won't and why," Musk wrote. So basically, you can suggest edits, but the AI overlord decides if you're right.

Already, users are noticing differences in how Grokipedia presents information compared to Wikipedia. One X user pointed out that the George Floyd articles differ significantly between the two platforms. The first paragraph of Grokipedia's article highlighted Floyd's extended criminal record, while Wikipedia's article emphasized that he was killed by a "white" police officer. The editorial choices, it seems, reflect very different perspectives.

This launch comes after Musk has criticized Wikipedia on multiple occasions, alleging the platform has a left-wing bias. Interestingly, while Musk's direct criticism isn't mentioned in Grokipedia's own article about Wikipedia, it does highlight studies suggesting the platform leans left politically.

"Studies analyzing article language and tone reveal deviations from neutrality, with right-leaning political figures and topics more frequently depicted negatively compared to left-leaning counterparts," the Grokipedia article states, suggesting Wikipedia's policies "do not fully mitigate ideological skews."

But wait—there's more! Wikipedia has already created an article about Grokipedia (because of course they have), and it cites concerns from critics that Grokipedia has the potential to be slanted toward "far-right" perspectives aligned with Musk's viewpoints. Wikipedia's article notes that NBC News pointed out Grokipedia's entry for Musk didn't mention a hand gesture he made in January 2025 that many viewed as a Nazi salute—while Wikipedia's article does include it.

So we've got two encyclopedias, each accusing the other of bias. What a time to be alive!

AI gets editorial control – Grokipedia's Grok AI makes final decisions on content additions, modifications, and deletions

885K articles at launch – Open-source platform claims "truth-focused" approach, initially crashed but now functional

Dueling bias claims – Grokipedia highlights Wikipedia's alleged left-wing bias; Wikipedia cites concerns Grokipedia favors Musk's far-right perspectives

And that's a wrap, my lovely PoI readers! I hope this edition left you feeling informed, entertained, and maybe even a little bit richer (in knowledge, of course). From Citi's $4 trillion stablecoin dreams to Grok deciding what's "truth," today's crypto world is serving up more plot twists than your favorite Netflix series. Remember to stay curious, stay informed, and keep spreading the love. Until next time, this is Mochi, signing off with a virtual high-five!

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