KuCoin Pay and 2Game Digital are pushing crypto deeper into gaming. The two companies have joined forces to bring crypto payments and blockchain-powered rewards to global gaming communities — starting with an exclusive promotion on August 29, 2025, offering gamers discounts, bundles, and early access to the 2Game Token ICO.

Key Takeaways

• KuCoin Pay integrates into 2Game Digital’s ecommerce, esports, and loyalty platforms.

• 2Game Token will power rewards, gated perks, and competitive features.

• Launch promotions kick off August 29 with 20% discounts and ICO early access.

• 2Game’s esports and play-to-earn ecosystem gains crypto integration.

• GCL Global Holdings is targeting Asia as a hub for Web3 gaming growth.

A New Era for Web3 Gaming Commerce

KuCoin, one of the world’s leading crypto exchanges, is pushing Web3 deeper into gaming through its payment arm, KuCoin Pay. Its new partnership with 2Game Digital, part of GCL Global Holdings (Nasdaq: GCL), allows millions of players to pay with cryptocurrency across 2Game’s ecosystem — from its global ecommerce store to its esports division and loyalty-driven 2Game Pro platform.

KuCoin Pay supports over 50 cryptocurrencies, including KCS, USDT, USDC, and BTC, allowing for fast, borderless, and secure transactions.

Kumiko Ho, Head of Payment Business at KuCoin, said:

“This partnership with 2Game Digital is another milestone in our mission to make cryptocurrency a frictionless part of everyday life.”

The 2Game Token and Community Engagement

2Game is also preparing to introduce its 2Game Token, which is intended to support loyalty programs, unlock gated rewards, and enable competitive features across its ecosystem. The company aims to become one of the first gaming platforms to combine ecommerce, esports, and play-to-earn mechanics under a unified Web3 infrastructure.

Sebastian Toke, Group CEO of GCL, added:

“This partnership not only opens the door to a new era of secure, instant, and seamless transactions, it also allows us to tap into a thriving global crypto community.”

Launch Promotions Begin August 29

To make the partnership immediately tangible, KuCoin Pay and 2Game Digital are rolling out a series of promotions from August 29, 2025.

Gamers who pay with KuCoin Pay here will unlock:

• 20% discounts on select purchases

• Special pricing on new releases

• Biweekly limited-time bundles

• Early whitelist access to the 2Game Token ICO

The promotion is intended to help onboard gamers into the ecosystem while offering added incentives for early participation.

Strategic Impact on the Gaming and Web3 Sectors

GCL is strategically focused on the growing Asian gaming market, where Web3 adoption in esports and digital commerce is accelerating. Through KuCoin Pay, 2Game Digital hopes to offer an accessible on-ramp for gamers to explore blockchain-based commerce.

For KuCoin, the move aligns with its broader effort to normalize crypto transactions in mainstream industries. For 2Game Digital, it represents an attempt to explore how blockchain can enhance user interaction, loyalty, and commerce — without altering core gaming experiences.

What you need to know

• Adobe Firefly integrates Gemini’s Flash 2.5 Image for enhanced AI content creation capabilities
• Users gain the flexibility to switch between Adobe apps seamlessly during their creative process.
• Premium members get unlimited access to Gemini’s features until September 1st, while free tier folks get up to 20 free media generations.

Adobe Firefly is pushing to make content creation seamless by bringing in Gemini’s latest model to the playing field. In a press release, the platform announced that with this addition, “people have even greater flexibility to explore their ideas with industry-leading generative AI models and create stunning content with ease.”

In June, Adobe’s Firefly landed on Android, bringing Gemini’s latest Imagen 4 and Veo 3, and now it is adding Gemini’s Flash 2.5 Image to help with AI content generation.

According to Hannah Elsakr, Adobe’s Vice President of New GenAI Business Ventures, this integration, combined with Adobe’s existing Creative Cloud apps, provides a comprehensive creative process from start to finish.

“Only Adobe delivers a complete creative workflow that takes ideas from inspiration to impact – empowering everyone with the freedom to experiment, the confidence to perfect every detail, and the control to make their work stand out. We invite everyone to try it out today,” Elsakr added.

Adobe states that despite having AI partner models like Google, OpenAI, and Black Forest Labs integrated into its platforms, it continues to work on expanding its FireFly AI models. This gives users a variety of AI generation tools to pick from within a single workflow.

“We’re delivering the flexibility to use the right model for the job, without bouncing between workflows or platforms,” the press release stated. What’s more, users can even switch between different Adobe apps Photoshop, Illustrator, or Premiere, to refine or edit their content while working on FireFly.

For instance, social media content creators can use the Gemini 2.5 Flash Image in Firefly to create multiple graphics for keeping the design consistent across posts and then move these designs into Adobe Express to easily animate, resize, or generate captions. Additionally, Visual Designers can create prototype product concepts or character designs in Firefly, explore multiple directions, and then move them into Photoshop or Illustrator for fine-tuned edits, Adobe adds.

Lastly, Adobe says that all the content created on its platform and across other AI models will not be used to train generative AI models, including the new Gemini 2.5 Flash integration, keeping things secure for the user.

Starting today, Gemini 2.5 Flash Image will be available in Firefly’s Text to Image module and Firefly Boards (beta), and Adobe Express. And Adobe is giving its Premium tier members access to unlimited generations with Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, until Sept.1, while those on Firefly and Express free plans have access to only 20 generations at no cost.

Journalist

Hassan Shittu

Journalist

Hassan Shittu

About Author

Hassan, a Cryptonews.com journalist with 6+ years of experience in Web3 journalism, brings deep knowledge across Crypto, Web3 Gaming, NFTs, and Play-to-Earn sectors. His work has appeared in…

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June 20, 2025

A 23-year-old man was reportedly kidnapped in Maisons-Alfort, a suburb of Paris, in what marks the latest in a growing number of violent incidents linked to cryptocurrency.

According to a Thursday report by Le Parisien, the victim was abducted earlier this week and held for several hours as his captors demanded access to both cash and his Ledger wallet.

The attackers reportedly targeted the victim and his partner, forcing them into a situation that French police are now investigating as kidnapping and unlawful confinement by an organized gang.

Paris Suburb Sees Another Crypto-Linked Kidnapping as Attacks Escalate

The incident began on Tuesday morning when the young couple left their home by car. They had set out on errands. When the driver couldn’t find parking, his partner got out while he circled the neighborhood.

Minutes later, she received a message from her partner claiming he had an urgent work issue.

Unaware of the real situation, she returned home. That’s when the event quickly escalated.

Her phone rang. It was a video call. On the screen wasn’t her partner, but another man.

The person on the call demanded that she gather €5,000 in cash and a Ledger hardware wallet and place them in a bag.

“Violence was used to make him talk,” a source told Le Parisien, indicating the kidnappers had knowledge of the man’s crypto holdings.

The woman, following the instructions, waited outside her home with the bag. A third person arrived and collected it.

By 5 p.m., the victim called his partner. He had been released in the nearby town of Créteil and was on his way back. French authorities have not disclosed any details about the man’s identity or the exact amount of crypto involved.

Police from Val-de-Marne are now handling the case. A source confirmed that the woman has been handed over to the judicial police.

“This is a sensitive case,” a police official said. The Anti-Banditism Brigade has reportedly made several arrests in connection with a series of recent kidnappings targeting crypto holders.

Tuesday’s attack is the tenth such case to surface in France in recent months, raising alarm among local crypto users and law enforcement.

Investigators believe the victim was carefully selected and that the perpetrators had detailed information about his assets and routines.

Surge in Violent Crypto Kidnappings Sparks Security Concerns Across Europe and Beyond

The recent wrench attack in a Paris suburb is just the latest in a chilling trend of violent crimes targeting crypto holders in 2025.

According to data compiled by Bitcoin security advocate Jameson Lopp, at least 32 wrench attacks have occurred globally this year, nearly one-third in France alone, putting 2025 on track to surpass the previous record of 36 incidents in 2021.

The assaults are becoming more brutal and calculated. Early this month, a crypto influencer in Essonne was kidnapped and beaten after attackers demanded €50,000 in crypto. They released him after discovering his wallet was nearly empty.

In January, David Balland, co-founder of Ledger, and his wife were kidnapped in rural France. Balland also had a finger cut off as part of a ransom attempt. Twelve suspects were later arrested.

In one of the most harrowing cases this year, the father of a young poker player-turned-crypto trader was abducted by men posing as delivery workers. The kidnappers demanded up to €7 million and sent a video of the victim’s finger being severed. He was later rescued by police in a dramatic operation.

Other attacks have similarly targeted families of crypto executives. In May, Pierre Noizat, CEO of Paymium, narrowly avoided tragedy when a group attempted to kidnap his daughter and grandson.

That same month, authorities charged 25 suspects linked to a broader kidnapping ring across Paris.

The violence hasn’t been confined to France. In the U.S., victims in New York and Las Vegas were kidnapped at gunpoint, one of them was driven over 70 miles into the Arizona desert by assailants seeking access to his wallet.

Security experts say the increase in ransom demands, mutilation, and family targeting reflects a new phase in crypto-related crime.

Private firms like Amsterdam-based Infinite Risks International report a surge in demand from crypto executives seeking 24/7 protection.

“Fraud mitigation isn’t just an on or off switch; rather, it’s a balance that requires merchants to understand how security, authentication, authorization, fraud detection and the impact on the shopping experience work in harmony with one another,” said Cindy Turner, chief product officer at Worldpay. “For example, false positive declines of good faith purchases and additional steps in the checkout process present serious challenges to fraud mitigation strategies. This is why we partner with card networks like Visa to enhance authorizations – at the end of the day, it helps merchants achieve the highest standards of security while improving the overall customer experience.”

Worldpay research shows more than half (55%) of U.S. consumers abandon a transaction if it takes multiple tries to complete, demonstrating the importance of ensuring that a valid payment goes through on the first try. 3DS Flex boosts authorization rates and reduces extra authentication steps while maintaining heightened levels of security.

“With 3DS Flex, Worldpay is helping facilitate next-level collaboration between issuers and acquirers on the Visa network,” said Kirk Stuart, SVP and head of enablers, merchants and fintechs at Visa. “This game-changing innovation will help make transactions more secure and improve the customer experience – while also increasing merchant sales, or authorization rates. This is an exciting development for the payments ecosystem.”

The post Worldpay and Visa Join Forces to Boost Authorizations, Enhance Shopper Experience appeared first on FF News | Fintech Finance.

Aircraft brokerage firm Jetcraft will now accept Bitcoin and other crypto payments, thanks to its partnership with CoinPayments.

On 15 May 2025, Jetcraft announced entering a partnership with crypto payment gateway CoinPayments. Through this alliance, aircraft payments and private aviation services can be paid for with crypto, as confirmed by Fintech Finance news.

“By partnering with CoinPayments, we’re bringing forward an innovative payment solution that matches the forward-thinking mindset of our customers,” said Jahid Fazal-Karim, Owner and Chairman of the Board, Jetcraft. “At Jetcraft, we evolve with the ever-changing needs of our global clientele, many of whom dominate the tech, AI and entrepreneurial spaces. However, we’re often constrained by outdated processes and systems.”

Meanwhile, Alex Alexandrov, Chairman of CoinPayments said, “Our partnership with Jetcraft represents a significant milestone in cryptocurrency adoption within HNW markets.” 

“By offering cryptocurrency payments for private aviation transactions, we’re expanding digital asset utility while providing Jetcraft’s clientele with the payment flexibility and efficiency they deserve,” Alexandrov added. 

JUST IN: PRIVATE JET GIANT JETCRAFT NOW ACCEPTING #BITCOIN AND CRYPTO FOR PAYMENTS

BILLIONAIRES SPENDING BTC. BULLISH pic.twitter.com/SGfXIgT1JS

— The Bitcoin Historian (@pete_rizzo_) May 15, 2025

DISCOVER: 20+ Next Crypto to Explode in 2025 

Explore Best Crypto To Buy!

Ahead of this data release, smart investors are shifting from gold to Bitcoin.

Changpeng Zhao of Binance predicts Bitcoin could hit $500,000 this cycle. With the Federal Reserve likely to cut rates in the next meeting, confidence in Bitcoin’s prospects is growing.

Investors are flocking to the BTC Bull presale, one of the hottest presales in Q2 2025. Its appeal lies in blending meme culture with the Bitcoin performance.

BTC Bull holders will receive free BTC when BTCUSDT reaches $150,000, with more distribution once the digital gold rises by $50,000. The last airdrop is once BTC hits $1 million.

Moreover, the token is deflationary.

Once Bitcoin breaches $125,000, the project will burn a portion of its supply, with additional burns after every $25,000 spike.

Presently, over $5.7 million has been raised, but demand is surging, and token prices will rise in the next two hours. For now, each BTCBULL token is available for just $0.00251.

After buying BTCBULL using crypto or bank cards, presale investors can stake for 72% APY. Staking is an opportunity to earn passive income and earn more free BTC.

VISIT BTC BULL PRESALE

DISCOVER: 17 Next Crypto to Explode in 2025: Expert Cryptocurrency Predictions & Analysis

Aviation Payments with Crypto? Jetcraft and CoinPayments Join Forces to Make it Possible

Bitcoin traded flat near $84,500 on Friday, holding its range as U.S. markets observed Good Friday.

With equities, bonds, and commodities largely offline, the crypto market offered a rare window into investor sentiment absent broader liquidity and institutional flow.

The muted price action followed a session on Thursday that saw sharp moves across traditional assets before the holiday shutdown.

Gold climbs, oil surges as macro signals diverge

Gold rose 1.74% on Thursday, bolstered by a convergence of dollar weakness and renewed physical demand.

As Reuters reported, Citi raised its three-month gold target to $3,500, citing supply deficits and increased purchases by newly authorized Chinese insurers. Physical tightness continues to shape the bullion market, with strategic allocations growing more common among state-linked institutions.

Oil registered a 5.04 percent gain after the U.S. announced fresh sanctions on Iran’s state-linked shipping firm, Sahara Thunder.

The Treasury Department’s move curtailed expectations of supply normalization, fueling concern over the availability of key Persian Gulf crude. The announcement came in thin liquidity, exaggerating price movements into the Thursday close.

U.S. dollar weakness further amplified both commodity moves. The dollar index fell 0.46% as the European Central Bank cut rates again and U.S. political uncertainty intensified.

President Trump revived speculation over Fed leadership by floating the potential removal of Chair Jerome Powell. That commentary, alongside renewed dovish pressure from Europe, weighed on the dollar and bolstered dollar-denominated alternatives.

Risk assets retreat on policy and legal uncertainty

S&P 500 futures dropped 1.1% before the close as traders de-risked into the long weekend. While cash equities were shut on Friday, Thursday’s sell-off was attributed to judicial and executive tensions over central bank independence.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling potentially easing the path for removing the heads of independent federal agencies. Combined with White House commentary about replacing Powell, futures trading responded with reduced risk appetite.

Bond prices were also adjusted. U.S. 10-year Treasury prices declined marginally by 0.03%, with a slight yield uptick. New York Fed President John Williams pushed back on expectations for near-term easing, noting that inflation data, particularly from tariffs, did not warrant immediate action.

The next scheduled release of the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the PCE index, on April 30 adds pressure to reposition ahead of the data, even as fixed income desks prepared to close for the long weekend.

Chinese 10-year government bond prices remained stable, reflecting Beijing’s plan to hold Loan Prime Rates steady. Officials opted to maintain current levels to preserve financial stability, especially as the yuan showed resilience amid shifting global trade conditions.

Bitcoin rangebound as volatility concentrates elsewhere

Despite the activity in traditional markets, Bitcoin’s response was subdued. The digital asset held its level even as gold, oil, and equities reacted to macroeconomic and geopolitical developments.

That divergence, while not unusual during U.S. holidays, reflects both reduced institutional volume and the absence of a dominant crypto-specific catalyst.

In recent sessions, Bitcoin has mostly outperformed macro flows, diverging from its recent correlation with equity futures and inflation-sensitive assets.

Traders are watching for holiday developments in the ongoing global trade war, which has seen Trump escalate via Truth Social over the past weekends. Repositioning may begin when CME futures and bond markets resume trading.

Until then, Bitcoin is one of the few live indicators of sentiment in a macro environment increasingly shaped by policy signaling and cross-asset volatility.

Mentioned in this article

The big picture: Scientists have spent decades trying to unravel the mysteries of the proton – the tiny particle at the heart of every atom. Despite their minuscule size, protons are incredibly complex, with dynamic internal structures that physicists are still striving to fully understand. Now, a team of researchers has taken a major step forward by producing the most detailed map yet of the forces at work inside them.

To achieve this, a team from the University of Adelaide used a powerful computational technique known as lattice quantum chromodynamics. Directly observing the proton’s constituent quarks and gluons is extremely challenging, so the researchers developed a novel approach that essentially “breaks down space and time into a fine grid,” as one team member described it.

This virtual grid allowed them to apply highly complex equations to simulate the interactions between quarks inside the proton. After extensive computational work, the simulations produced an unprecedented visualization of the forces at play.

The team discovered that these forces are extraordinarily intense, reaching up to half a million Newtons – even at scales thousands of times smaller than a single atomic nucleus. To put that into perspective, it’s equivalent to the weight of around 10 elephants compressed into an almost infinitesimally small space.

A PhD student whose calculations drove the research noted that these force maps offer an entirely new way to understand the proton’s intricate internal dynamics and its behavior in high-energy particle collisions.

Such high-energy experiments take place at facilities like CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, where over 10,000 scientists smash protons together to study their fundamental structure. A deeper understanding of a proton’s internal forces could help refine theories describing one of nature’s most essential building blocks.

The researchers are so confident in these findings that one team member compared their work to Thomas Edison’s pioneering studies on the fundamental nature of light before developing the lightbulb. Just as those discoveries led to technologies like lasers and modern imaging, unlocking the mysteries of the proton could pave the way for future scientific and medical advancements.

One field that could particularly benefit is proton therapy for cancer treatment, which uses accelerated protons to precisely target tumors. A more refined understanding of proton forces may help scientists optimize and improve this life-saving technology.