Blockchain & Web3 Weekly Bytes Edition #102

🏦 Kraken Fed Access, Solana $650B, Forks Explained

Mar 7, 2026

Hello Blockchain Enthusiast,

Welcome to Edition #102 of Blockchain & Web3 Weekly Bytes! Kraken reached the Fed’s core payment system. Solana posted a record $650 billion in stablecoin volume for February. PayPal USD entered the trucking finance market via TCS Blockchain. Taken together, the week pointed to one thing: crypto rails are showing up in places that used to belong only to banks, card networks, and invoice desks.

TLDR – This Week at a Glance:

Kraken Financial won a Federal Reserve master account, giving it direct access to Fedwire
Solana hit a record $650 billion in stablecoin transaction volume in February
TCS Blockchain added PYUSD to its on-chain trade-finance flow for trucking, aiming to speed up the payouts
Tech Spotlight: Forks in Blockchain Explained
Chart of the Week: Currency debasement trend, and why long-term savers pay attention to monetary dilution
Affiliate Spotlight: CoinLedger remains a practical option for crypto tax tracking and report generation

🧠 Weekly Trivia

Which wallet setup removes the single point of failure by splitting approval across multiple devices or parties?

A) Paper wallet
B) Multi-party computation
C) Vanity address
D) Wrapped token

*Answer revealed at the end 👇

📰 This Week’s Blockchain and Web3 Highlights

Kraken plugs into Fed rails: Kraken Financial became the first crypto-native firm to receive a Federal Reserve master account. That gives the company direct access to the U.S. payments system, bypassing intermediary banks.

Solana stablecoin flow hits a new monthly high: Grayscale reported $650 billion in Solana stablecoin volume during February, more than double the prior monthly record. The note also pointed to a broader tilt toward SOL-stablecoin activity and payment usage.

PYUSD reaches trucking finance: TCS Blockchain is using PayPal USD in its trade finance solution for transportation carriers. The model is designed to let truckers exchange TCS utility tokens for PYUSD and receive funds faster than in traditional invoice factoring.

Visa and Bridge widen stablecoin card coverage: Visa and Bridge said their stablecoin-linked card program is live in 18 countries and is planned to reach more than 100 countries across Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East by year-end.

Morgan Stanley names its proposed bitcoin ETF custodians: An amended S-1 for the proposed Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust lists BNY and Coinbase Custody Trust Company as custodians of bitcoin.

Florida advances a state stablecoin framework: Florida’s legislature passed a payment stablecoin bill that sets licensing and supervisory rules for issuers and aligns parts of the framework with federal GENIUS Act standards.

🔦 Tech Spotlight: Blockchain Forks Explained

A fork is a change in a blockchain’s rules.

That change can be narrow, like making some previously valid transactions invalid. Or it can be wider, like adding rules that older software will not follow. In Bitcoin terminology, a soft fork is backward-compatible, while a hard fork can require all full nodes to upgrade.

Why it matters:

A soft fork tightens the rules. Older nodes can still accept blocks produced under the new rules. Bitcoin’s glossary describes soft forks this way.
A hard fork introduces rules that older clients may reject, which means broader coordination matters more. Bitcoin Core’s capacity FAQ states that hard forks require all full nodes to upgrade, or users may face risk.

Takeaway: Forks are how a chain updates itself. The real question is not “fork or no fork.” It’s how much coordination the new rules set demands.

📊 Chart of the Week: Small Inflation, Long Damage

A 2% or 3% annual loss in purchasing power rarely feels urgent in a single year. Over the decades, it has become a very different story.

This chart shows how major fiat currencies have weakened since 2000. The Japanese yen is down 51%. The euro 74%. The British pound 76%. The US dollar 79%. The Chinese yuan 96%.

That long arc is one reason many people choose to save in Bitcoin. The weekly number matters less than the cumulative effect of monetary dilution over time.

Source: River

😂 A Little Blockchain Humor Break 🤣

Source: Tooly

That wraps up Edition #102. Kraken reached the Fed’s payment rails. Solana posted a record month for stablecoin volume. PYUSD entered trucking finance. Visa and Bridge widened stablecoin card coverage, and Florida advanced a state stablecoin framework.

✅ Trivia Answer: B) Multi-party computation

MPC splits signing authority across multiple devices or parties, so approval does not depend on a single key sitting in one place.

We’ll be back next week with more sharp, useful insights across blockchain and Web3.

Thank you,
Blockchain and Web3 Insights

🌐 blockchainweb3insights.com
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