Crypto Currents: Klarna launches KlarnaUSD stablecoin

As bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies see major legal, institutional, and technological developments, the financial landscape continues to adapt. Stay up on the crypto news that matters with the “Crypto Currents” weekly from The Fly. Also, join us for your essential daily recap, every day at 2 PM ET on FlyCast radio.

KLARNA LAUNCHES KLARNAUSD STABLECOIN: Klarna (KLAR) announced Tuesday it has launched KlarnaUSD, its first stablecoin. The move makes Klarna the first bank to launch a stablecoin on Tempo, a new independent blockchain started by Stripe and Paradigm that’s purpose-built for payments. With cross-border payments generating an estimated $120B in transaction fees annually, Klarna sees stablecoins as a way to dramatically reduce costs for both consumers and merchants. KlarnaUSD is built on Open Issuance by Bridge and will launch on Tempo’s mainnet in 2026. It is currently live on their testnet and not publicly available, giving Klarna early access to its infrastructure for advanced testing, prototyping, and integration.

“With 114 million customers and $112B in annual GMV, Klarna has the scale to change payments globally: with Klarna’s scale and Tempo’s infrastructure, we can challenge old networks and make payments faster and cheaper for everyone,” says Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO. “Crypto is finally at a stage where it is fast, low-cost, secure, and built for scale. This is the beginning of Klarna in crypto, and I’m excited to work with Stripe and Tempo to continue to shape the future of payments.”

VISA, AQUANOW PARTNER FOR STABLECOIN SETTLEMENT: Visa (V) announced Thursday the expansion of its stablecoin settlement capabilities across the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa region through a partnership with Aquanow. The integration of Aquanow’s digital asset infrastructure with Visa’s technology stack will enable Visa’s network of issuers and acquirers to settle transactions using approved stablecoins such as USDC, reducing costs, operational friction, and settlement times.

“By harnessing the power of stablecoins and pairing them with our trusted global technology, we are enabling financial institutions in CEMEA to experience faster and simpler settlements,” said Godfrey Sullivan, Head of Product and Solutions for CEMEA at Visa. “Our partnership with Aquanow is another key step in modernizing the back-end rails of payments, reducing reliance on traditional systems with multiple intermediaries, and preparing institutions for the future of money movement.”

EXODUS MOVEMENT TO ACQUIRE W3C FOR $175M: Exodus Movement (EXOD) announced Monday it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire W3C Corp, the parent entity of Monavate Holdings and its subsidiaries and Baanx.com and Baanx US Corp. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals. Upon the closing of the acquisition, Exodus plans to enter the arena of on-chain payments to become one of the few self-custodial wallets to control the end-to-end payments experience, from wallets to cards. Monavate and Baanx bring issuing, processing and regulatory capabilities that Exodus expects to integrate directly into its existing consumer and enterprise product suite. By way of this transaction, Exodus will assume ownership of the underlying card and payments stack, reducing its dependence on third-party providers and supporting a wider range of assets. Exodus expects to fund the $175M purchase price for the acquisition of W3C with a combination of cash on hand and financing from the company’s credit facility with Galaxy Digital (GLXY) which is secured by bitcoin holdings. The purchase price is subject to customary closing adjustments and the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in 2026.

“Today’s announcement is a major step in our mission to make self-custody and crypto payments practical for everyday life,” said JP Richardson, CEO. “People already trust Exodus to hold their dollar stablecoins and crypto. By bringing card and payments infrastructure in-house, we are closing the gap between holding and spending, and positioning Exodus as the only platform you need for your money.”

Following the report, H.C. Wainwright lowered the firm’s price target on Exodus Movement to $25 from $65 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The firm cites a “rational reflection of market dynamics” for the target cut. The company’s agreement to purchase W3C for $175M cash deal will be modestly dilutive but brings a personal finance platform, the analyst said. The firm said adding W3C’s credit card functionality in multiple geographies brings “pizzazz” to Exodus’ wallet platform.

CLEANSPARK REPORTS FY25 EARNINGS: On Tuesday, Cleanspark (CLSK) reported fiscal year 2025 earnings per share of $1.12 on a revenue of $766.3M, which compared to loss per share of (69c) on a revenue of $379M in FY24. The company reported $1.2B of bitcoin and $3.2B of total assets on the balance sheet as of September 30.

“Fiscal 2025 was the year CleanSpark achieved operating leverage. We surpassed 50 EH/s in operational hashrate, set new revenue records, and demonstrated strategic capital stewardship by choosing accretive capital market tools, such as convertible debt and bitcoin backed revolvers instead of an ATM to finance the business during the calendar year,” said Matt Schultz, CEO. “We are evolving into a comprehensive compute platform that is prepared to optimize value from both AI and bitcoin workloads. Our deep expertise in power procurement, infrastructure development, and efficient scaling gives us a unique advantage in meeting surging global demand for compute.”

Following the report, H.C. Wainwright lowered the firm’s price target on CleanSpark to $27 from $30 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The firm trimmed fiscal 2026 revenue estimates to reflect a slower ramp in CleanSpark’s hash rate and lower average bitcoin prices for the year.

Needham raised the firm’s price target on CleanSpark to $25 from $23 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The company reported inline revenues but beat on adjusted EBITDA while mining reached a milestone of 50 EH operational, the analyst said. CleanSpark has materially pushed towards high-performance-computing and its management stated that “two customers want to sign by year-end”, though the firm is taking a more conservative approach to lease timing, Needham added.

B. Riley lowered the firm’s price target on CleanSpark to $22 from $25 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The firm believes the company’s decision to pursue AI and high performance compute deployments across applicable sites within its 1.3 GW of contracted capacity “removes a key hurdle that had previously kept some investors on the sidelines.” It cited CleanSpark’s higher spending to accommodate this growth for the target cut.

Additionally, Macquarie lowered the firm’s price target on CleanSpark to $27 from $30 and kept an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm cited peer group EBITDA multiple weakness as of late for its trimmed target, saying this is partially offset by added value from MW portfolio and forecast high-performance computing EBITDA in its sum-of-the-parts estimate given more recent focus on HPC capacity.

Meanwhile, Clear Street lowered the firm’s price target on CleanSpark to $27 from $30 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. CleanSpark’s expansion into HPC and AI data centers is accelerating, with CEO Schultz indicating robust demand for the company’s data center assets following recent meetings with Nvidia (NVDA), reinforcing the scarcity of near-term high-density capacity, the analyst said. The firm thinks CleanSpark could secure its first tenant within six months, a timeline meaningfully faster than peers.

CIPHER MINING UPGRADE: JPMorgan upgraded Cipher Mining (CIFR) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $18, up from $12. The stock has declined 45% from recent highs just a few weeks ago, which offers a “nice entry point for one of the top operators” in bitcoin mining, the analyst said. The firm thinks Cipher is well positioned to sign additional high performance compute deals at other approved sites, which could drive additional medium-term upside.

Additionally, the firm raised its price target on IREN (IREN) to $39 from $28 and kept an Underweight rating on the shares. The “flurry of deal activity” in high performance compute gives JPMorgan higher conviction in the bitcoin miners. It cited richer integrated cloud valuation assumptions for the target boost.

JPMorgan also lowered the firm’s price target on Riot Platforms (RIOT) to $17 from $19 and on Mara Holdings (MARA) to $13 from $20. The analyst kept an Overweight rating on the names. The firm cited lower bitcoin prices and higher share count for the target cuts.

Meanwhile, Compass Point upgraded Mara to Buy from Neutral with a $30 price target.

OTHER CRYPTO NEWS: 

• Bitmine Immersion (BMNR) announces ETH holdings reached 3.63M tokens
• Gemini (GEMI) price target lowered to $17 from $28 at Truist, to $15 from $30 at Evercore ISI
• DDC Enterprise (DDC) acquires 100 bitcoin
• Ondo invests $25M in Figure’s (FIGR) $YLDS stablecoin
• Bullish (BLSH) price target lowered to $50 from $68 at Canaccord
• Soulpower (SOUL), SWB enter business combination agreement
• Coinbase (COIN) cut to Hold at Argus on valuation
• Naver (NHNCF) to acquire crypto exchange Upbit’s parent Dunamu

CRYPTO STOCK PLAYS: Publicly traded companies in the space include Bit Digital (BTBT), Coinbase, Core Scientific (CORZ), Greenidge Generation (GREE), Mara Holdings, Strategy (MSTR), Riot Platforms and TeraWulf (WULF). 

PRICE ACTION: As of time of writing, bitcoin rose roughly 11% this week to $92,305 in U.S. dollars, according to CoinDesk.