Today in crypto, activist investor Starboard Value is pushing Riot Platforms to move faster in developing its AI/HPC business, while the European Central Bank (ECB) is set to begin selecting European Union-licensed payment providers for its digital euro pilot this quarter, with the 12-month pilot set to kick off in the second half of 2027. In Washington, lobby group Coin Center urged the US Senate to advance a developer protection bill.
Riot Platforms urged to ramp up AI/HPC push by activist investor
An activist Riot Platform shareholder is pressing the crypto mining company to accelerate its pivot to high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence.
In a Wednesday letter to executives, Starboard Value, which holds about 12.7 million shares of Riot, said that the company could generate between $9 billion to $21 billion in equity value contribution from AI/HPC data centers in Texas. The shareholder said that “time is of the essence,” stressing urgency in getting “more material deals completed” as it moves deeper into AI and HPC.
“With 1.4 [gigawatts] of gross capacity remaining to be monetized, Riot is in an enviable position – but it must execute with excellence and urgency,” said Starboard. “We believe Riot should be able to attract high-quality tenants for tier-3 data centers with terms similar to or better than the peer transactions announced towards the end of 2025.”
“The recently announced transaction with Advanced Micro Devices […] is a positive signal and confirms our views regarding the intrinsic value of Riot’s key sites, but it is a small proof of concept deal, and we, like you, expect significantly more,” said Starboard, referring to a data center lease and services agreement announced in January.
ECB digital euro provider selection begins in Q1 2026
The ECB is moving closer to a pilot for a digital euro, with Executive Board Member Piero Cipollone outlining plans to begin selecting payment service providers (PSPs) in early 2026, ahead of a 12-month test scheduled for the second half of 2027.
Cipollone on Wednesday held an executive committee meeting of the Italian Banking Association. He said the pilot would involve a limited number of payment service providers, merchants and Eurosystem staff. Selection of participating providers is expected to start in the first quarter of 2026.
Cipollone said the digital euro will be designed to ensure it protects European card schemes and keeps banks at the core of the Eurozone payments system, according to Reuters.
EU-licensed PSPs will be at the core of digital euro distribution, Cipollone said. For participating PSPs, the pilot offers an early-readiness advantage ahead of a potential broader rollout, including hands-on experience with onboarding, settlement and liquidity management.
He added that it also provides clearer visibility on future infrastructure, compliance and staffing costs, helping companies plan investments more accurately.
Crypto lobby urges Senate to push crypto dev protection bill
Crypto lobby group Coin Center urged the US Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday to advance a bill that would prevent developers of crypto protocols to from being prosecuted for their projects.
A new version of the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) was introduced in January by Senators Cynthia Lummis and Ron Wyden to clarify that software developers and infrastructure providers who do not control user funds are not money transmitters under federal law.
Coin Center policy director Jason Somensatto told Senate Banking that blockchain innovation is stifled in the US as crypto developers face threats of prosecution, while being “engaged in what should universally be considered lawful activity.”
He added that the bill ensures that developers can “develop the very systems that a market structure bill is designed to promote and protect,” mentioning the separate legislation that the Senate is currently looking to pass.
Somensatto argued that removing or weakening the bill would lead to legal uncertainty for crypto developers, potentially deterring well-intended developers from operating in the US and therefore pushing them offshore.
Senate Banking is yet to mark up or vote on the latest BRCA draft.
