Kategorie: Crypto Markets

• Flowra and KorDA will explore gold-backed collateral for Solana validators.
• KGLD could help secure SOL for a proposed validator delegation program.
• The 12-month MOU remains subject to regulatory review and due diligence.

Flowra Ltd. and Korea Gold Exchange Digital Asset Co., Ltd. (KorDA) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore using gold-backed digital assets to support Solana validator infrastructure.

The partnership will examine whether KGLD, a gold-backed digital asset held or managed by KorDA or an authorized affiliate, could be used as collateral to secure SOL.

The companies said the SOL could then be delegated to Solana validators through Flowra’s infrastructure, potentially creating a link between tokenized gold and the operation of the Solana network.

The MOU, signed in Seoul, has an initial 12-month term.

During that period, the companies will evaluate the proposed structure, potential counterparties, and the requirements for launching a delegation program.

Gold-backed assets could support SOL

Under the proposed model, Flowra and KorDA would explore sourcing SOL from the Solana Foundation, exchanges, institutional investors, lending providers, and other large SOL holders.

The companies are also considering the Flowra-KorDA Delegation Program (FKDP), which would allocate sourced SOL to eligible Solana validators.

The proposed arrangement would use KGLD as collateral rather than having tokenized gold directly operate validator infrastructure.

The companies are examining whether gold-backed assets could help unlock capital for SOL, which could subsequently be delegated to validators.

The initiative reflects a potential use case for real-world assets beyond simply holding or trading tokenized assets onchain.

However, the companies have not said that the proposed structure has been launched or that KGLD is currently being used as collateral for SOL.

Any use of KGLD as collateral, as well as arrangements for sourcing or delegating SOL, remains subject to legal and regulatory review, due diligence, and separate definitive agreements.

Flowra and KorDA to split infrastructure roles

Flowra would provide the Solana infrastructure for the proposed initiative, including its Open Orderflow Auction (OOA), Programmable Block Policy (PBP) and Block Engine technology.

KorDA would oversee validator operations, including servers, monitoring and key management.

The two companies would also work on standards for selecting validators, allocating SOL and distributing revenue generated through staking rewards, block rewards and MEV tips.

The companies said any collateral used under the proposed structure would be segregated from Flowra’s assets.

It would be held through an eligible independent custodian, escrow arrangement or multisignature wallet.

Flowra would not custody the collateral.

The structure is therefore still at the evaluation stage, with the MOU providing a framework for the companies to assess how the proposed delegation model could operate and what counterparties and regulatory requirements would be needed.

Proposed program remains under evaluation

The potential partnership is centered on connecting a gold-backed digital asset with blockchain infrastructure.

Instead of tokenized gold being limited to onchain ownership or trading, Flowra and KorDA are exploring whether it could be used as collateral to help provide access to SOL for validator delegation.

The proposed FKDP would allocate sourced SOL to eligible validators, while Flowra and KorDA would establish the operational and revenue-distribution framework.

KorDA is affiliated with ITCEN Group and develops blockchain solutions focused on tokenization and blockchain use of precious metals, including gold-backed digital assets such as KGLD.

Flowra focuses on validator and order flow infrastructure for the Solana ecosystem, including delegation programs and MEV-related technologies.

The companies will use the initial 12-month MOU period to assess the proposed structure and determine whether the delegation program can move forward.

Any eventual implementation would require further agreements, due diligence, and regulatory review.

The post Flowra, KorDA explore gold-backed Solana validator infrastructure appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Monero uses ring signatures, stealth addresses, and confidential transactions to break that link.
• Swapping Bitcoin to Monero is a routine operation that takes minutes.
• When you convert BTC to Monero, you are moving from an asset that publishes your activity to one that does not.

Bitcoin and Monero solve different problems. Bitcoin is a transparent ledger where every transaction is permanently public. Monero conceals sender, receiver, and amount by default.

Moving value between them is a common operation, and this guide covers how it works, what it costs, and where the pitfalls are.

Understanding what changes when you swap

When you hold Bitcoin, anyone who knows one of your addresses can trace its full history: where the coins came from, where they went, and how much you hold.

That is not a flaw; it is how Bitcoin establishes consensus without a trusted third party. But it does mean your financial activity is public by default.

Monero uses ring signatures, stealth addresses, and confidential transactions to break that link.

Balances are not publicly readable, and an observer cannot pick out which participant in a transaction actually spent.

Monero’s own documentation describes this as plausible deniability rather than an absolute guarantee, which is the honest way to put it.

When you convert BTC to Monero, you are moving from an asset that publishes your activity to one that does not.

Custodial versus non-custodial routes

This distinction determines almost everything about the experience, so it is worth being precise about it.

A custodial exchange takes possession of your Bitcoin, credits an internal account, executes the trade on its own books, and lets you withdraw. During that window the exchange holds your funds.

This requires an account, identity verification, and trust that the venue stays solvent and operational. Many custodial venues have also stopped supporting Monero entirely.

A non-custodial swap does not hold a balance for you. You send Bitcoin to a one-time deposit address, the service routes the trade through its liquidity, and Monero is delivered to the address you specified.

There is no account, no stored balance, and no withdrawal step. Platforms such as GhostSwap operate on this model across roughly 1,600 assets.

The mechanics, in order

A non-custodial swap has five inputs and takes around eight minutes once your deposit confirms.

• Select the pair: Bitcoin in, Monero out.
• Choose a floating or fixed rate. Floating settles at market on arrival. Fixed locks the rate for a small premium and is worth it on larger amounts.
• Enter the Monero address that will receive the funds.
• Enter a refund address. If the swap cannot complete, this is where your Bitcoin returns automatically.
• Send your Bitcoin to the deposit address and wait for confirmation.

The reverse works the same way if you later want to swap Monero back to Bitcoin, which is a common pattern for people who hold privacy assets and periodically rotate back into a more liquid asset.

Costs, and where they hide

There are two separate costs and conflating them is the usual mistake. The service fee is quoted upfront and is typically a small percentage of the trade.

Network fees are charged by the Bitcoin and Monero networks themselves and vary with congestion.

On small swaps during busy periods, network fees can exceed the service fee. Always read the total quote rather than the headline percentage.

Fixed-rate swaps carry a slightly worse rate than floating in exchange for certainty.

On a small trade that premium is usually not worth paying. On a large one, protecting against a move during confirmation usually is.

Practical cautions

Address accuracy is critical. Monero addresses are long, and blockchain transactions are irreversible. Copy and paste, then verify the first and last several characters.

Set the refund address every time. It costs nothing, and it is the difference between an automatic return and a support conversation.

Understand the compliance exception. Non-custodial services route through licensed liquidity providers who screen incoming deposits automatically. The vast majority of swaps complete with no verification of any kind.

However, a deposit flagged as connected to illicit activity can be held pending review, and that decision sits with the compliance process rather than the platform. This is uncommon, but any honest guide should mention it.

Summary

Swapping Bitcoin to Monero is a routine operation that takes minutes and does not require an account if you use a non-custodial route.

The things that actually matter are simple: verify the destination address, always set a refund address, read the total cost rather than the headline rate, and choose fixed pricing when the amount justifies it.

 

The post Bitcoin to Monero: a complete guide to private crypto swaps  appeared first on CoinJournal.

• KuCoin adds UTA support to its institutional lending program.
• New API clients face a lower 30-day volume requirement of 10M USDT.
• Eligible institutions can borrow up to 3M USDT across key products.

KuCoin has upgraded its Institutional Interest-Free Lending Program by integrating support for its Unified Trading Account (UTA), as the crypto platform looks to streamline capital management for institutional clients.

The upgrade reduces the qualifying external 30-day trading-volume requirement for newly registered API clients from 30 million USDT to 10 million USDT.

Eligible clients can also access 0% interest for the first two months without a trading-volume requirement.

Under the upgraded program, eligible institutional clients can borrow up to 3 million USDT.

Borrowed funds can be used across Spot, Margin, and Futures trading, while borrowing is available in USDT, USDC, Bitcoin, and Ethereum.

KuCoin integrates lending with unified accounts

The integration is designed to reduce capital fragmentation between separate trading accounts.

KuCoin said institutions operating across multiple products and strategies can face higher costs and operational friction when capital is divided between accounts.

UTA provides eligible users with a single account structure for managing capital across supported trading products.

With institutional lending integrated into the framework, borrowed funds can be deployed across Spot, Margin and Futures without requiring transfers between separate trading accounts.

The setup is intended to bring financing closer to execution and allow professional trading teams to deploy collateral and capital more efficiently.

KuCoin said the upgraded infrastructure is focused on how institutions access, manage, and deploy digital assets across different trading strategies.

Lending program expands from targeted credit

KuCoin introduced targeted interest-free credit in 2024, initially offering eligible API traders and quantitative teams access to up to 500,000 USDT alongside benefits including fee support, enhanced connectivity, higher API limits and technical assistance.

In 2025, the borrowing limit increased to 3 million USDT.

The program also added support for multiple borrowing assets and allowed clients to combine funds from sub-accounts as margin across eligible products.

The 2026 upgrade represents the latest stage of the program’s development, moving beyond targeted credit support toward a more integrated institutional capital infrastructure, according to the company.

The latest changes also lower the entry requirement for newly registered API clients, potentially expanding access to the lending program.

KuCoin highlights capital efficiency for institutions

Alison Qin, Head of KuCoin Institutional & VIP, said professional market participants require flexible and capital-efficient access to liquidity.

She added that institutional lending infrastructure needs to combine financing at scale with tailored terms and competitive pricing to support sophisticated trading strategies.

Qin said integrating lending with UTA brings capital closer to the accounts and products used for those strategies, while helping clients maintain control over execution and risk.

The company said the upgrade forms part of its broader product development strategy, connecting financing, account infrastructure and execution for institutional users participating in the digital asset market.

Founded in 2017, KuCoin said it serves more than 45 million users across more than 200 countries and regions.

The platform provides access to more than 1,500 digital assets and said it has built a compliance framework that includes AUSTRAC registration in Australia, a MiCA license in Europe, and regulatory progress in other markets.

 

The post KuCoin upgrades institutional lending with unified trading account support appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Flowra launches an open auction for Solana blockspace and MEV.
• Early tests showed a 20.6% increase in compute units per block.
• Programmable policies give Solana validators more control over blocks.

Flowra has launched an Open Orderflow Auction (OOA), a new block-building framework for Solana designed to introduce greater competition into the network’s maximal extractable value (MEV) market and potentially increase validator revenue.

The Seoul-based blockchain infrastructure company said the system allows registered searchers to compete for transaction inclusion through a transparent auction instead of relying on closed orderflow channels.

Flowra said the approach could improve price discovery while allowing validators to capture more of the value generated by MEV.

Flowra opens Solana block building to competition

The Open Orderflow Auction is intended to create an open marketplace for Solana blockspace, allowing searchers to compete through bids for transaction inclusion.

Flowra’s approach is inspired by competitive block-building models that have emerged on Ethereum.

The company said open bidding on Ethereum has contributed to higher proposer revenue and believes Solana’s high throughput and low-latency architecture could support a similar model.

In early testing on a single validator, a Flowra-enabled setup increased compute units per block by 20.6%.

The validator moved from 84% of the network average to 101%, according to the company.

Flowra also reported higher block fees than comparable validator software, alongside 100% block production and 99.999% block engine uptime during the test.

The results are based on early testing rather than a broader network-wide deployment.

Programmable policies give validators more control

Alongside the auction system, Flowra is introducing Programmable Block Policy, which allows validators to establish their own transaction inclusion policies at the block-building layer.

The company said the feature is designed to provide validators with greater operational flexibility, including the ability to meet regulatory and institutional compliance requirements without modifying the underlying Solana protocol.

Flowra recently announced a collaboration with compliance infrastructure provider Honeypot to bring sanctions and risk screening to this layer.

According to Flowra CEO Harry Hwang, Solana’s technical performance has helped make it a leading blockchain network, but its MEV market remains concentrated.

“By opening block building to transparent competition, we’re creating a more efficient market for blockspace,” Hwang said. He added that the system would give validators greater control over block construction while providing verifiability and auditability.

The company’s architecture separates these block-building policies from changes to the underlying network protocol, according to the announcement.

Flowra targets institutional validators

Flowra is currently onboarding institutional-grade validators to its Open Orderflow Auction, with a broader rollout planned as participation in the Solana ecosystem expands.

The OOA is now available to validators and searchers participating in the Solana ecosystem, although the company did not provide details on the number of participants currently using the system.

Flowra describes itself as a blockchain infrastructure company focused on validator and orderflow solutions for Solana. Its products include validator infrastructure, delegation programs and MEV-related technologies.

The company said its broader objective is to improve transaction transparency, value distribution and incentive alignment among validators, users and builders.

The launch comes as Flowra seeks to apply a more market-based approach to Solana’s block-building process.

Its initial testing suggests potential improvements in block utilization and validator fees, while the Programmable Block Policy adds a mechanism for validators to customize transaction inclusion.

The broader impact of the system will depend on adoption among validators and searchers as Flowra expands its rollout across the Solana ecosystem.

The post Flowra launches Open Orderflow Auction for Solana blockspace appeared first on CoinJournal.

• KuCoin earns ISO 42001 certification for its AI management system globally.
• ISO 42001 focuses on AI accountability, transparency and human oversight.
• New certification strengthens KuCoin’s wider security and trust framework.

KuCoin has secured ISO/IEC 42001:2023 certification for its Artificial Intelligence Management System, adding a dedicated AI-governance standard as crypto exchanges increasingly use artificial intelligence across risk, compliance and customer operations.

The certification applies to the management framework supporting KuCoin’s global digital-asset exchange.

The company said AI is used across areas including anti-money laundering, fraud detection, market surveillance, customer service, product intelligence and operational automation.

ISO/IEC 42001 was published in December 2023 and is the world’s first international management-system standard for artificial intelligence.

It sets requirements for establishing, maintaining and continually improving an AI management system, with a focus on accountability, transparency, risk management and oversight.

AI governance becomes a bigger financial-sector issue

The certification comes as financial companies expand AI use beyond simple automation into functions that can influence compliance, risk management and customer outcomes.

S&P Global analysts Miriam Fernández and Nicolas Charnay have warned that more complex AI systems could amplify risks including privacy concerns, operational failures and financial instability.

In a report on AI adoption in banking, they said: “Without careful governance, banks could be exposed to material operational risks with financial, regulatory, reputational, and systemic implications.”

Those concerns also apply to digital-asset platforms, where automated systems can operate continuously across transaction monitoring and fraud prevention.

KuCoin chief executive BC Wong said governance is becoming inseparable from AI adoption.

“AI is becoming a foundational capability of digital financial infrastructure, but greater capability must be matched by greater responsibility,” said BC Wong, CEO of KuCoin.

We believe the future of the industry will not be defined simply by more advanced AI, but by more trusted AI. Achieving ISO/IEC 42001 demonstrates our commitment to embedding responsible AI governance into the way we build, deploy and operate AI across our platform. As we continue to innovate, we remain equally committed to ensuring that every AI capability is transparent, accountable and designed to strengthen user trust.

Certification adds to KuCoin’s trust framework

ISO/IEC 42001 adds an AI-governance layer to KuCoin’s existing security and operational framework.

The exchange already holds ISO/IEC 27001 certification for information security, SOC 2 Type II attestation and ISO 22301 certification for business continuity and operational resilience, according to the company.

Unlike a cybersecurity standard, ISO/IEC 42001 focuses on how organisations manage AI throughout its lifecycle.

ISO says the framework covers policies, risk assessment, monitoring and continual improvement rather than certifying individual AI applications.

The distinction matters as financial platforms deploy AI into sensitive operations. It can improve fraud detection, compliance monitoring and efficiency, but also raises the need for clear human accountability.

For KuCoin, the certification is less about a single AI tool than formalising how the technology is governed across the platform.

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