🌍 This Week in Web3forGood
old world <> new world
gm gm,
The edges of the old and new worlds are blurring fast. Western Union is launching a stablecoin on Solana, a move that says as much about crypto’s growing influence as it does about how incumbents adapt when their time is up. Meanwhile, a16z’s State of Crypto 2025 report maps the shift from trading to building real systems. Stablecoins, privacy tech, and identity tools aren’t just conceptual anymore; they’re starting to power actual change on the ground.
This week’s stories explore that tension between innovation and control, progress and co-option. From global remittances to regulations to reflections on tech and meaning, everything is moving fast and getting closer to something “real.”
WAGMI (we are going to make an impact!)
What’s Inside
📚 What We’re Thinking About
📣 Latest News
🔈 Watch & Listen
🚀 Opportunities & Calls to Act
🎪 Events
📡 On Our Radar
✨ And One More Thing
📚 What We’re Thinking About
💰 Western Union’s Stablecoin Play
This week, Western Union announced USDPT, a new stablecoin launching on Solana, marking the company’s first major move into blockchain-based remittances. The goal is to let customers send digital dollars instantly and cheaply through the same network that once charged some of the world’s highest transfer fees. For a company long criticized for taking double-digit cuts from migrant workers, this shift feels both overdue and complicated.
On one hand, this could be a meaningful step toward lowering costs for millions of people who rely on remittances every day. Western Union’s global footprint and local payout networks could help solve crypto’s “last mile” problem (how to easily move between digital and local currencies in hard-to-reach markets). For billions without stable on-ramps, this kind of infrastructure could accelerate financial inclusion in practice, not just in theory.
At the same time, the move raises important questions about what kind of system we are building. Crypto’s original promise was to disintermediate the middlemen who profited from the world’s poor, not to empower them with better rails. Western Union’s pivot is a sign that the old guard sees the writing on the wall. For the Web3forGood community, it’s a reminder that competition is here and values matter. The challenge now is ensuring that this next phase of digital finance truly gives people choice and not just a faster way to pay the same gatekeepers.
💭 a16z’s 2025 State of Crypto Report
The State of Crypto 2025 report from a16z is all about “the year crypto went mainstream.” Aka crypto is no longer about trading tokens… it’s about building systems that work in the real world. For the first time, blockchain networks are powering payments, identity, and coordination tools that feel ready for mainstream use, especially in places where the existing systems fall short. Here are our key takeaways for the Web3forGood community:
1. Stablecoins are leading the way.
Stablecoin payments now outpace Visa and PayPal combined, becoming the most used blockchain application globally. In emerging markets, they’re already helping people save, send, and receive money with more stability and less friction. For nonprofits, this is a practical breakthrough; stablecoins make it possible to deliver cash aid directly, pay global teams instantly, and track funds transparently.
2. Builders are back and infrastructure is maturing.
Developer activity has surged across modular and Layer 2 ecosystems like Base, Arbitrum, and Optimism. Smart wallets, account abstraction, and mobile-first design are making crypto usable without crypto literacy. This opens the door for NGOs, community projects, and local innovators to build with blockchain without needing deep technical expertise or complex setup.
3. Privacy, identity, and trust are evolving.
Zero-knowledge technology is reframing privacy as a public good, allowing verifiable yet private transactions. New identity frameworks are emerging that let users prove who they are or what they qualify for without revealing personal data. These are foundational tools for humanitarian work, where safety, trust, and transparency must coexist.
4. Finance meets the physical world.
DeFi is transforming into RealFi, linking on-chain finance to tangible assets like renewable energy projects, small business credit, and community infrastructure. For social enterprises, this could unlock new capital flows into the kinds of projects traditional finance has overlooked.
5. Culture and governance are changing too.
NFTs and DAOs are being repurposed for belonging and coordination rather than speculation. These new digital communities are testing models for collective ownership and participatory decision-making that could inspire the next generation of civic and nonprofit governance.
6. Regulation is slowly catching up.
The landscape is still uneven, but the direction is clearer; stablecoin frameworks, ETF approvals, and more nuanced policy debates are paving the way for collaboration between public institutions and decentralized systems.
The takeaway for the Web3forGood community is simple: the infrastructure is ready. Stablecoins, smart wallets, and privacy layers now make it possible to design financial and civic systems that are global, transparent, and human-centered. What happens next depends on who chooses to build with them and for what purpose.
Plus:
🪙 What If I Was a Bitcoin?: “Think about it: in a world where cryptocurrencies dominate the financial system, we’d be divided by nothing else than our own personal interests. Are you a real-estate enthusiast? Then, go for the RWAs coins. Are you a music and digital art aficionado? Then, the NFT crowd are your kind of people. Memecoins, stablecoins, dAI, DePINs, just choose what makes you get butterflies in your stomach.” (Albena Kostova-Nikolova)
⚖️ Kenya’s New VASP Law: A No-BS Legal Guide for Bitcoin and Crypto Builders: “In plain English: it doesn’t regulate Bitcoin the protocol or your private self-custody. Instead, it regulates companies that touch customer assets — exchanges, custodians, token issuers, investment advisors, brokers, and trading platforms.” (Bitcoin Magazine)
🤖 72 Hours with Friend AI: “There’s something very Judeo-Christian about how Friend seems to comprehend the nature of experience. In our philosophical tradition, experience is often centered on logos, the word. Famously, in the beginning was the Word (see John 1). Similarly, with every new technology, we develop new ways of understanding the world, currently, with the advent of large language models, everything is flattened into language. In each new technological epoch, we must define a system of inputs and outputs that the machine can process. In the industrial age, that meant encoding actions into mechanical logic; now, in the age of large language models, it means translating everything into language.” (being-on-line)
📣 Latest News
Western Union Announces USDPT Stablecoin on Solana and Digital Asset Network
OpenAI lays groundwork for juggernaut IPO at up to $1 trillion valuation
Ethereum Foundation rolls out new institution-focused site amid Wall Street’s crypto push
Global Policy, Regulation, and Adoption News
Kenya Signs Virtual Asset Bill Into Law, Ushering New Era for Bitcoin and Crypto Regulation
Argentine Stablecoin Use Surged Ahead of President Milei’s Midterm Election Win
Philippine Blockchain Budget Bill Risks Centralization and Privatization, Lawyers Warn
Scan to Pay enables direct cryptocurrency payments through MoneyBadger integration in South Africa
🔈 Watch & Listen
Crypto Altruists - Episode 223 - Octant Epoch 9 Special - Part 2 - Building a New Creator Economy on Ethereum
Crypto Altruists - Episode 224 - Pesabase - How Stablecoins Are Transforming Remittances and Empowering Local Economies in South Sudan
Green Pill - S.10 Episode 3 – Protocols for Post-Capitalist Expression: Rethinking Capital with Akseli, Dick & Jorge
Green Pill - S.10 Episode 2 - Deep Funding: The Future of AI-Powered Public Goods Allocation — with Devansh Mehta
Anita Posch - Bitcoin for Fairness Podcast
What Bitcoin Did - Bitcoin vs Dictatorships | Leopoldo López
🚀 Opportunities & Calls to Act
Hack: Octant DeFi Hackathon 2025 is looking for builders who can bring innovation, uniqueness, and an interesting perspective to DeFi strategies, design, and public goods for Octant’s vaults; over $20k in prizes available.
Learn: All Tech Is Human has launched five dynamic Responsible AI courses designed for aspiring RAI practitioners and AI Governance professionals, as well as those preparing to build AI Governance programs within an organization.
Volunteer: Apply to represent Gitcoin at the Ethereum World Fair at Devconnect this year. Booth dates are Nov 17 - 19, and each volunteer will be required to be available for a multi-day commitment. Each volunteer will receive a free ticket to Devconnect or something of similar value if you’ve already secured a ticket.
🎪 Events
🆕= New to the roundup this week
Virtual
Beyond the Bank: Financial Tools for Democratic Organizations, hosted by Bread Cooperative, is happening November 6. 🆕
IRL
Bitplebs Summit is happening November 1 in Goa, India.
Borderless 4.0 is happening November 1 at University of Nigeria Nsukka.
Women In Crypto Afternoon Tea in Mayfair is happening November 6 in London. 🆕
FIL Dev Summit 7 @ DevConnect is happening November 13 in Buenos Aires.
LabWeek Web3 by Protocol Labs is happening November 13-19 in Buenos Aires.
The Uniswap Cup is happening November 16 in Buenos Aires.
Devconnect 2025 is happening November 17-22 in Buenos Aires.
DePIN Day Buenos Aires is happening November 18 in Buenos Aires.
Funding the Commons: Buenos Aires 2025 is happening November 19 in Buenos Aires.
Schelling Point is happening November 20 in Buenos Aires.
Vision Weekend USA 2025 is happening December 5-7 in San Francisco.
The Oslo Freedom Forum is happening June 1-3 in Oslo, Norway.
ETHBoulder is coming in 2026…
Recurring
Monthly Earth Day is a global event that happens on the 22nd every month, not just once a year. Get involved next on November 22.
📡 On Our Radar
Campfire is an on-chain renewable energy investments platform.
ZAR is accelerating stablecoin adoption for the next billion users living in countries with unstable money.
Eco is a stablecoin liquidity network powering fluid, real-time money movement across blockchains.
Minibits is an ecash and Lightning wallet exploring how ₿-backed ecash can enable instant, cheap, and private value transfer.
✨ And One More Thing
It's interesting how the 'blurring edges' feel like the moment a complex narrative in a book finaly clicks into place. Realy insightful to see these shifts become tangible.