Crypto Industry News: LSEG’s Blockchain Move, MegaETH’s Testnet, and AI Mining Shifts

Highlights

• The London Stock Exchange Group announced plans for a blockchain-based Digital Securities Depository for tokenized securities.

• Developers are expanding Bitcoin’s role within decentralized financial applications through layered infrastructure initiatives.

• MegaETH launched its public testnet with high-throughput performance targets.

• Charles Hoskinson presented the roadmap for Midnight, a privacy-focused blockchain built around selective disclosure mechanisms.

• Telegram’s TON wallet introduced cross-chain deposits from Ethereum and Solana.

• The Intercontinental Exchange introduced regulated futures contracts based on CoinDesk benchmark indices.

• Bitcoin mining company IREN announced expansion into AI and high-performance computing data centers.
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The past week included multiple infrastructure-related developments across the Bitcoin and Ethereum ecosystems, institutional financial markets, privacy-focused blockchain projects, derivatives exchanges, and digital infrastructure operators. The announcements span settlement systems, execution environments, wallet functionality, benchmark products, and compute allocation strategies.
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Rather than focusing on market movement, these updates relate to system-level development. They involve backend integration, performance testing, protocol expansion, and operational adjustments by both crypto-native firms and traditional financial institutions.
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The following sections summarize the most relevant announcements across these areas.
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London Stock Exchange Group Digital Securities Depository

On February 12, the London Stock Exchange Group disclosed plans to develop a Digital Securities Depository supported by blockchain-compatible infrastructure. The system is intended to facilitate issuance, custody, and settlement of tokenized financial instruments within regulated market environments.
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The initiative focuses on post-trade processes, including asset servicing and settlement coordination. These processes determine how ownership records are updated and how counterparties reconcile transactions. According to public disclosures, the project is designed to enable interaction between traditional securities and digital representations of those assets.
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LSEG described the initiative as part of its broader digital asset strategy. The announcement emphasized infrastructure development within existing regulatory frameworks rather than the launch of new retail-facing products. Distributed ledger systems are being evaluated for operational use within capital market backends.
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Bitcoin Infrastructure and BTCFi

Activity within the Bitcoin ecosystem continues to expand through layered infrastructure initiatives commonly described as BTCFi. These frameworks aim to allow Bitcoin-backed liquidity to participate in decentralized financial systems without altering Bitcoin’s consensus layer.
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Most BTCFi models rely on sidechains, wrapped Bitcoin representations, or cross-chain bridges. These mechanisms enable Bitcoin liquidity to interact with smart contract platforms while preserving the original protocol’s structure. The Bitcoin base layer itself remains unchanged.
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Recent updates have included integration announcements, development milestones, and testing phases for new frameworks. The goal of these systems is to support financial use cases such as collateralization and liquidity provisioning. Development remains ongoing across multiple independent projects.

MegaETH Public Testnet

On February 9, MegaETH launched its public testnet. The project positions itself as a high-performance execution environment compatible with Ethereum-based development standards.
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The public testnet allows developers to evaluate throughput, transaction processing stability, and latency metrics under real conditions. The development team has stated that the system is designed to support large-scale decentralized applications and sustained transaction loads.
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MegaETH enters a competitive environment that includes existing Layer 2 scaling solutions and alternative execution-focused platforms. Testnet deployment represents an early evaluation stage before any potential mainnet release.
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The launch occurs within the broader environment of scalability development across the Ethereum ecosystem. Ethereum continues to rely on rollups and related scaling mechanisms to increase transaction capacity while maintaining compatibility with its base network.

Midnight and Selective Disclosure

At Consensus Hong Kong on February 11, Charles Hoskinson presented the development roadmap for Midnight. The project focuses on privacy infrastructure built around selective disclosure mechanisms.
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Selective disclosure allows users to verify specific attributes without exposing full identity details. The architecture incorporates cryptographic proof systems designed to validate information in a controlled manner. The stated goal is to balance verification requirements with limited data exposure.
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Midnight is associated with the Cardano ecosystem and is currently progressing through development phases. Privacy-oriented blockchain infrastructure continues to evolve across multiple networks, with selective disclosure representing one approach among several.

Telegram TON Wallet Cross-Chain Integration

Telegram’s self-custodial TON wallet introduced cross-chain deposit functionality this week. Users can fund TON wallets using supported assets from Ethereum and Solana networks through integrated services.
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The update reduces the need for users to interact directly with external bridging interfaces. Cross-chain capability is becoming increasingly common as decentralized ecosystems expand across multiple networks.
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The TON wallet operates within Telegram’s broader ecosystem and continues to add features aimed at improving accessibility to decentralized applications. Cross-chain deposit functionality represents an expansion of wallet-level infrastructure.

ICE CoinDesk Index Futures

The Intercontinental Exchange announced the launch of regulated futures contracts referencing CoinDesk benchmark indices. The contracts include diversified digital asset exposure based on index methodologies.
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These futures are cash-settled and traded on ICE’s regulated derivatives platform. Index-based contracts allow participants to gain exposure without directly holding the underlying digital assets.
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Benchmark indices serve as standardized references within capital markets. The introduction of these futures expands the range of regulated digital asset derivatives available through established exchange infrastructure.

IREN and AI Infrastructure Expansion

Bitcoin mining company IREN announced expansion into AI and high-performance computing data center operations. The company currently operates large-scale energy and cooling infrastructure developed for Bitcoin mining.
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According to company statements, portions of this infrastructure will support AI-related workloads in addition to mining activity. Data centers used for mining can be adapted to accommodate other compute-intensive operations depending on hardware configuration.
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Several mining operators have recently discussed diversification strategies involving AI infrastructure. IREN indicated that expansion into AI hosting will occur alongside continued mining operations.

Ongoing System-Level Development

Beyond the specific announcements outlined above, technical development activity continues across multiple blockchain ecosystems. These include protocol testing, performance optimization, infrastructure integration, wallet functionality expansion, and derivatives product development.
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The updates span both crypto-native companies and established financial institutions. Most involve backend infrastructure adjustments rather than consumer-facing product releases.
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System-level buildout across these areas remains ongoing as digital asset infrastructure continues to develop within regulated and decentralized environments.