Here’s what happened in crypto today
Today in crypto, Divine Research has issued 30,000 unbacked USDC loans using Sam Altman’s World ID to verify borrowers, targeting underserved users, Bitcoin may be heading for significant upside in 2026. Meanwhile, a Solo Bitcoiner miner mines block. Divine Research issues unbacked crypto loans using Sam Altman’s World IDSan Francisco-based lender Divine Research has issued around 30,000 unbacked short-term crypto loans since December, using OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s iris-scanning platform World ID to verify borrowers.Divine offers loans under $1,000 in the USDC (USDC) stablecoin, mainly to overseas borrowers underserved by traditional finance. It uses World ID to ensure users cannot open multiple accounts after defaulting.“We’re loaning to average folks like high-school teachers, fruit vendors . . . basically anyone with access to the internet can get access to our funds,” Divine founder Diego Estevez told the Financial Times. “This is microfinance on steroids.”Interest rates range from 20% to 30%, with a reported first-loan default rate of around 40%. “High interest rates compensate for these losses,” Estevez said, adding that free World tokens issued to borrowers can be “partially” reclaimed.Bitcoin ‘up year’ is 2026, and the four-year cycle is dead: BitwiseBitcoin’s price could see significant upside in 2026, bucking the traditional four-year market cycle, according to Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan.The prediction comes as other analysts are divided on whether Bitcoin will stray from its historical pattern or follow the traditional halving cycle and peak in the coming months.“I bet 2026 is an up year,” Hougan said in an X video on Friday. “I broadly think we’re in for a good few years,” Hougan added.Hougan said the four-year halving cycle “is dead” for several reasons, including the Bitcoin halving becoming “half as important” every four years, and the interest rate cycle being positive for crypto. Since April, US President Donald Trump has been publicly pressuring Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates, a potentially bullish catalyst for Bitcoin, as lower rates make traditional assets like bonds and term deposits less appealing to investors.Solo BTC miner mines block, scores rewardA solo Bitcoin (BTC) miner successfully mined a block and added it to the blockchain ledger on Saturday, collecting the 3.125 BTC block reward, valued at $372,773. The miner added block 907283, which contained 4,038 transactions and block fees totaling $3,436, through the Solo CK pool, which controls around 6.3 exahashes per second (EH/s) of computing power. The mining industry is increasingly dominated by large, corporate players. However, solo miners continue to mine blocks, although the odds of a successful solo miner are similar to winning the lottery.