First CDK OP Stack Deployment with Native Agglayer Integration Goes Live

Agglayer has achieved two significant milestones by becoming officially chain-agnostic and connecting its first non-EVM chain through Miden. **Key developments:** - Miden Testnet now maintains privacy by default while accessing unified liquidity across the ecosystem - An end-to-end verified bridge between Miden and Sepolia has been completed with Gateway - Private chains can now connect to broader liquidity without sacrificing their privacy features This integration demonstrates that privacy-focused chains no longer need to operate in isolation from the rest of the ecosystem. [Full technical report](https://gateway-fm.github.io/miden-agglayer/smoke-test-report.html)

A payments executive discussed the critical role of privacy in enabling institutional adoption of stablecoins during an interview with Fintech TV. **Key Topics Covered:** - The Open Money Stack framework - Payment infrastructure developments - Privacy as the key barrier to institutional stablecoin use The conversation builds on ongoing industry discussions about stablecoins addressing real-world challenges, including: - Currency volatility hedging - Reducing remittance costs - Enabling cross-border payments As institutions explore stablecoin integration, privacy features emerge as the essential component for widespread adoption in traditional finance.

Polygon shipped two infrastructure upgrades this week that fundamentally changed the chain's performance: **Block time dropped to 1.75 seconds** - the first reduction since the network launched. This 250ms decrease delivers 14% more payment throughput. **Gas limit increased to 140M**, pushing maximum capacity to 3,800+ TPS with sub-5-second finality. The upgrades arrived alongside ecosystem expansion: - ZKPanther deployed mainnet for private DeFi transactions - 0Fiat added USDT payments across 45+ countries - Messari published Q1 data showing continued payment growth - Hadron and Ignyte launched a 25K USDC commerce infrastructure challenge Polygon now processes over 3,200 TPS in production. The chain's stablecoin supply reached $4.3B in April, up 13.33% month-over-month, as payment infrastructure continues scaling.

**Hamilton Lane**, a major asset manager with over $1 trillion under management, has tokenized two of its funds on Polygon through Securitize. - This marks a significant institutional adoption of blockchain technology for traditional finance - The funds are part of over $60M in tokenized assets issued by Securitize on Polygon - Hamilton Lane's feeder funds are available exclusively on the Polygon chain This move demonstrates growing confidence from traditional financial institutions in blockchain infrastructure for asset management and tokenization.

**$48 billion in loyalty rewards go unused annually.** @0xAishwary explores how stablecoins could bridge this gap and improve customer retention. **The opportunity:** - Nearly $1 trillion in loyalty points sits idle on corporate balance sheets - These unused rewards represent significant value locked away from consumers - Traditional loyalty programs struggle with redemption rates **The stablecoin solution:** - Converting loyalty points to stablecoins could make rewards more liquid and usable - Tokenized loyalty points could function like cash across multiple platforms - Infrastructure like BLOCKv is building enterprise-ready systems for this transition **Potential impact:** - Increased customer engagement through easier redemption - Better retention as rewards become more valuable to users - Loyalty points could evolve into a major currency category This represents a practical application where blockchain technology addresses a real-world problem in consumer loyalty programs.