PANews reported on February 20 that Monark Markets, an embedded API infrastructure provider, announced the completion of an $8 million strategic funding round led by F-Prime, with participation from Commerce Ventures, Grit Capital Partners, and BBAE Holdings. The company's API infrastructure supports fintech platforms such as Apex Fintech Solutions and Altruist Financial, embedding private market investments directly into existing customer accounts, which can drive investment demand growth in key economic growth engines of the private market, such as artificial intelligence and blockchain.



Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin defended his blockchain’s 45-day exit queue after Galaxy Digital’s head of digital called it “troubling,” sparking backlash. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has finally addressed some concerns over the lengthening Ethereum staking exit queue, which has now grown to 45 days. His response came after Galaxy Digital’s head of DeFi, Michael Marcantonio, called the exit queue length “troubling” on X and compared it to Solana which only needs two days to unstake. He has since deleted the posts. However, Buterin seemingly took a more ideological stance on the subject, describing unstaking from Ethereum as “more like a soldier deciding to quit the army,” adding that staking is more about “taking on a solemn duty to defend the chain.”Read more