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BOB Leads the Next Era of Bitcoin DeFi with the Launch of Hybrid BTC Yield Products

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BOB solidifies its position as the ideal home for Bitcoin DeFi, pioneering a seamless and secure way to access Bitcoin yield across multiple chains. First partners include Veda, Euler & Lombard.

LONDON, Feb. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — BOB (“Build on Bitcoin“), a hybrid Layer-2 combining the security of Bitcoin with Ethereum‘s DeFi innovation, is introducing a series of Hybrid BTC yield products, creating the first-ever multi-chain BTC-yield layer. This hallmark innovation will allow users to deposit assets into managed vaults on the BOB network, and seamlessly collect Bitcoin yield from other chains. With Bitcoin finality rolling out on BOB mainnet in the near future, there will be no need for anyone to compromise on security in the pursuit of Bitcoin yield, further solidifying BOB’s position as the ideal home for Bitcoin DeFi. BOB’s initial partners for launching Hybrid BTC are Veda, Euler, Lombard, Gamma, Oku and Hourglass.

The HybridBTC.pendle vault, the first in a series of planned products, was created in partnership with Veda to access Bitcoin yield on Ethereum and return it to users on BOB in the form of BTC. Veda, which has grown to more than $3 billion in TVL, builds consumer-grade DeFi yield products and plays a crucial role in deploying and managing these vaults.

BOB’s unique Hybrid L2 model means that the network, the bridges, and all transactions involved in Hybrid BTC will be secured by Bitcoin. This provides users with an unmatched level of security, simplicity, and Bitcoin alignment, adhering to core principles of security, decentralisation, and trust minimisation. The Hybrid BTC vaults will also streamline access to diverse Bitcoin yield sources, enabling users to maximise BTC yield without needing to navigate different interfaces or wallets. Lombard’s LBTC will be accepted as an underlying asset for the new vaults, providing additional utility to the $1.8B TVL Bitcoin liquid staking token (LST). More vaults are planned to access yield on chains including Solana, BNB, Base, Move and Berachain.

Alexei Zamyatin, BOB Co-Founder and BitVM Core Contributor said: “As a Hybrid L2, BOB is building the first multi-chain yield layer for Bitcoin. Thanks to our unique hybrid L2 model, BOB will be the best place to earn yield on Bitcoin, with the safest connections to other chains. HybridBTC.pendle is the first of many Hybrid BTC yield products, allowing anyone to do what whales are doing at scale on Ethereum, but without high gas fees and without needing to manually create and manage these positions.”

Zamyatin added: “Hybrid BTC is a very powerful Bitcoin DeFi tool and will position BOB as the home for L1 and L2 chains to acquire BTC liquidity. Because BOB has Bitcoin security, other chains only need to check and trust Bitcoin to see that BOB is secure. That is an easy task for every smart contract chain, so the potential reach of Hybrid BTC is large.”

Sun Raghupathi, Co-founder and CEO, Veda said: “2025 is shaping up to be a major year for Bitcoin DeFi. BOB’s Hybrid BTC model significantly enhances security and usability in the pursuit of Bitcoin yield. At Veda, we’re committed to making DeFi seamless and bringing every asset on-chain. Partnering with projects like BOB allows us to push that vision further and make DeFi‘s benefits more accessible to a wider audience.”

Yield Bearing Assets

These cross-chain yield positions are tokenised on BOB into yield-bearing assets (YBAs), which can be utilised in DeFi applications on BOB. HybridBTC.pendle is already integrated with Euler v2 and Hourglass, which also launched on BOB today.

Euler is a flexible decentralised lending and borrowing platform that enables users to leverage their HybridBTC.pendle positions. Euler’s permissionless design makes it a powerful tool for DeFi users seeking efficient BTC liquidity management. Hourglass provides leveraged airdrop farming.

To support the growth of HybridBTC.pendle and Bitcoin DeFi in general, BOB has launched BOB Rise, a DeFi campaign allocating 750,000 OP tokens from Optimism Grant Season 6. The initiative aims to enhance BTC liquidity provision while facilitating lending and borrowing of Bitcoin liquid staking tokens (LSTs) and the new YBAs.

Michael Bentley, CEO at Euler said: “With the launch of Euler v2 on BOB, we’re excited to provide Bitcoin holders with a secure way to put their Bitcoin to work. Allowing users the ability to use HybridBTC.pendle as collateral unlocks new capabilities for leverage and liquidity management. We’re proud to be part of a new era in innovation, and work with BOB to provide a major step forward for DeFi solutions on Bitcoin.”

About BOB (“Build on Bitcoin“)

BOB (“Build on Bitcoin“) is a Hybrid Layer-2 blockchain that combines the best of Bitcoin and Ethereum to create the home for Bitcoin DeFi. The unique Hybrid L2 model merges the strengths of both ecosystems—Bitcoin‘s security and dormant capital, with Ethereum‘s DeFi innovation and versatility. By positioning BTC as the backbone of a new decentralised finance system, BOB can unlock new use cases and trillions in BTC liquidity. BOB uses BitVM to inherit security from Bitcoin and create trust-minimized bridges between BOB, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other L1s. As a result, the Hybrid L2 does not need to rely on third-party bridges for interoperability, concentrating liquidity around Bitcoin instead of fragmenting it across chains. BOB is backed by leading investors such as Castle Island Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Ledger Cathay Ventures, and IOSG.

Website | Twitter | Discord | Telegram

About Veda

Veda is the leading DeFi vault platform, enabling crypto applications, asset issuers, and protocols to build consumer-grade cross chain yield products. Veda’s technology powers many of DeFi‘s largest vault products, including ether.fi Liquid, Lombard DeFi Vault, and Mantle cmETH. More than 100k depositors trust Veda with ~$3B of assets.

Website | Twitter | Discord | Telegram

About Euler

Euler revolutionizes DeFi by letting any asset become collateral for a lending market. Lenders and borrowers get market leading risk-adjusted rates. Builders can create and manage markets exactly how they want them, with institutional-grade security. For more information, visit euler.finance.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bob-leads-the-next-era-of-bitcoin-defi-with-the-launch-of-hybrid-btc-yield-products-302387597.html

SOURCE BOB (“Build on Bitcoin”)

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Shoplazza Launches the World’s First AI-Native Commerce Operating System with a Unified Suite of AI Agents

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TORONTO, April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Shoplazza, a leading global commerce platform, announced the launch of the world’s first AI native commerce operating system recently, along with a unified suite of AI agents designed to execute across the entire ecommerce lifecycle. The release marks a major step forward in the company’s evolution from a traditional software platform to an AI-driven commerce infrastructure built for global scale.

At the core of the system is Shoplazza AI Store Builder, an intelligent agent that fundamentally changes how online stores are created. Instead of configuring tools manually, merchants can now generate fully functional, ready to sell storefronts through simple natural language input. By interpreting product information, target markets, and customer profiles, the system automatically builds site architecture, generates localized content, and provides initial go to market recommendations. What once required weeks of setup can now be completed in minutes, with a complete store and launch ready foundation.

Shoplazza also introduced LazzaStudio, an AI powered visual creation agent that streamlines how merchants produce content at scale. From product imagery to marketing creatives and campaign visuals, LazzaStudio transforms traditionally complex production workflows into a prompt driven process. With built in brand learning capabilities, the system generates consistent, high quality assets tailored for global audiences, enabling merchants to deploy content seamlessly across storefronts and advertising channels while significantly reducing production time and cost.

To complete the growth loop, Shoplazza launched AdValet, an AI advertising agent that automates campaign execution end to end. AdValet translates product data and market signals into audience targeting, creative generation, media planning, and campaign deployment. During live campaigns, it continuously monitors performance and dynamically optimizes outcomes through real time feedback and model iteration. This shifts advertising from manual, experience based trial and error to a system of continuous, AI-driven performance optimization.

These agents operate together within Shoplazza’s AI-native commerce operating system, where merchant intent is translated directly into coordinated execution. By unifying store creation, content production, and marketing into a single system, Shoplazza replaces fragmented workflows with an integrated layer of automation that enables faster, more predictable growth.

Shoplazza currently supports more than 650,000 merchants worldwide. With its AI-native architecture, the platform brings together previously disconnected capabilities into a single intelligent system, delivering improvements in efficiency, scalability, and operational reliability for businesses operating in increasingly complex global markets.

Looking ahead, Shoplazza will introduce Athena very soon, an AI admin agent designed to extend automation into day to day business management. Covering areas such as product management, order processing, analytics, and content operations, Athena allows merchants to interact with the system conversationally while orchestrating multiple agents in the background. This will complete a fully connected agent ecosystem spanning store creation, creative production, marketing execution, and ongoing operations.

“Commerce has reached a point where adding more tools no longer solves the problem,” said Jeff Li, Founder and CEO of Shoplazza. “What merchants need is a system that can understand intent and execute across the entire business. That is what we are building with our AI native commerce operating system. It is not just about making things easier. It is about making outcomes more predictable, scalable, and aligned with how modern commerce actually operates.”

About Shoplazza

Shoplazza is a global AI-native commerce operating system that enables brands to build, launch, and scale their online businesses. Built on an AI agent-native framework, Shoplazza integrates storefronts, marketing, payments, and operational workflows into a unified system designed to support scalable, long-term growth across global markets. Learn more at https://www.shoplazza.com/.

 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shoplazza-launches-the-worlds-first-ai-native-commerce-operating-system-with-a-unified-suite-of-ai-agents-302746904.html

SOURCE Shoplazza

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Pricer and JRTech Solutions sign 51 MUSD digital store transformation deal with Sobeys in Canada

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MONTREAL, April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ – Pricer AB, a global leader in digital shelf-edge solutions, announces that its Canadian partner JRTech Solutions has signed a major agreement with Sobeys, one of Canada’s leading supermarket chains. The contract includes the deployment of Pricer’s latest electronic shelf label (ESL) technology and the cloud-based platform Pricer Plaza across an estimated 300–350 stores.

The agreement covers the supply of multicolor electronic shelf labels and the necessary store infrastructure, with a total hardware and infrastructure value of approximately 51 MUSD (excluding Pricer Plaza). The deployment is scheduled for an 18-month period starting in May 2026.

“We are very grateful for the trust and that Sobeys has once again chosen Pricer as its long-term strategic partner,” says Mats Arnehall, Chief Growth Officer at Pricer. “This deal confirms our leading position in the North American market and the value of our high-performance system in high-density retail environments. Our scalable cloud platform, Pricer Plaza, will be the intelligence behind every label, enabling Sobeys to act faster and work smarter.”

“After years of close collaboration and shared success, we’re proud to grow our partnership with Sobeys even further with an expanded rollout,” says Diego Mazzone, President and CEO of JRTech Solutions. “That momentum is driven by our ability to consistently deliver reliable, high-quality solutions in complex retail environments. Together, we are positioning our digital smart labels at the heart of a broader digital transformation, driving operational excellence, unlocking real-time intelligence, and creating meaningful value for both Sobeys and their customers.”

Orders will be included in Pricer’s order intake as they are received.

About JRTech Solutions
JRTech Solutions Inc. is the leading North American turnkey Electronic Shelf Label (ESL) provider and the largest worldwide distributor of Pricer ESLs, involved in over 2,000 store installations since 2008. JRTech Solutions is the exclusive Canadian provider of AI-powered inventory scanning robotics powered by Brain Corp for automated inventory management.
For further information: www.jrtechsolutions.com

About Pricer
Pricer is a pioneer and partner for in-store communication and digitalization in the rapidly evolving retail tech landscape. As a global technology leader, we empower leading retailers worldwide to shape effortless and inspiring shopping experiences that fundamentally change buying behaviors, boost sales, and drive operational efficiency. Leveraging cutting-edge innovation, we deliver scalable, high-performing solutions that easily integrate with existing systems, are energy-efficient, and user-friendly. Founded in Sweden in 1991 and listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, Pricer has delivered over 380 million electronic shelf labels in more than 28,000 stores across more than 80 countries.
For further information, please visit www.pricer.com

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SOURCE JRTECH SOLUTIONS INC.

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Mitate Zepto Technica Joins JST’s Next-generation Edge AI Semiconductor R&D Program as Social Implementation Partner

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– MZT to Lead Product Commercialization through Its Genome-analysis Accelerator “RASEN” –

TOKYO, April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Mitate Zepto Technica, Inc. (hereinafter “MZT”), based in Tokyo’s Shibuya district, announced on April 20 that it has joined the national research initiative “Next-Generation Edge AI Semiconductor Research and Development Program” promoted by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST). MZT participates as a designated social implementation and commercialization partner for the research theme “Accelerating Edge Intelligence for AI for Science” (Principal Investigator: Makoto Taiji, Program Director, TRIP Headquarters, RIKEN).

Logo: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/img/202604167540-O1-5Sz6I68Q 

This research theme aims to achieve advanced computational infrastructure through the integration of AI technology and next-generation edge semiconductors, with genome analysis as one of its key application domains. MZT participates as an organization responsible for the productization and social implementation of research outcomes through its proprietary genome-analysis accelerator “RASEN.”

Background

Since its founding in 2020, MZT has pursued a distinctive approach to genome analysis: purpose-built ASIC acceleration. Following technology validation through joint research with Tohoku University and other partners, MZT now participates as an R&D institution responsible for social implementation under this research theme.

MZT’s Role in the Program

Within this research theme, MZT will integrate AI research outcomes from RIKEN and Tohoku University into the RASEN architecture, and lead the R&D work toward social implementation through ASIC development and productization. As the industrial partner bridging research and real-world deployment, the company targets social implementation by 2029.

Program Overview

Research theme: Accelerating edge intelligence for AI for science
Promoting agency: Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)
Principal investigator: Makoto Taiji, Program Director, TRIP Headquarters, RIKEN
Participating institutions: RIKEN, Tohoku University, Keio University, Mitate Zepto Technica
MZT’s participation start: April 2026 (FY2026)
JST program period: FY2025 onwards

Comment from Keisuke Harashima, President & CEO, Mitate Zepto Technica:
“It is a tremendous honor that we can lead the social implementation of this research theme through the acceleration of genome analysis via dedicated semiconductors — a challenge we have pursued since MZT’s founding. RASEN is at exactly the right inflection point, transitioning from research to real-world deployment. We will use this participation to accelerate commercialization across healthcare, drug discovery, and research infrastructure.”

About RASEN

RASEN is MZT’s proprietary genome-analysis accelerator under development, built on a purpose-designed ASIC architecture. In internal validation, RASEN has demonstrated the ability to complete whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analysis in approximately 5 minutes on a standard workstation — without the need for supercomputers or high-performance computing infrastructure. In independent validation studies conducted with Tohoku University, RASEN achieved 99.8% concordance with conventional analysis methods across 12 samples, confirming that its speed advantage does not come at the cost of accuracy.

About Mitate Zepto Technica

Mitate Zepto Technica is a Japanese deep-tech startup developing purpose-built semiconductor solutions for genome analysis. By harnessing cutting-edge chip technology, MZT aims to deliver transformative speed improvements in genomic computation –contributing to the resolution of global challenges in healthcare, food security, and energy through its proprietary products.

Website: https://mitatezeptotechnica.com/en/company/ 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mitate-zepto-technica-joins-jsts-next-generation-edge-ai-semiconductor-rd-program-as-social-implementation-partner-302746768.html

SOURCE Mitate Zepto Technica, Inc.

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