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The once-novel idea of converting cash to Bitcoin and other digital assets at physical kiosks—popularly known as crypto ATMs—is facing a turning point in the United States. Once celebrated for bringing easy access to cryptocurrency, these machines now find themselves under intense regulatory and public scrutiny as scam losses skyrocket and lawmakers rush to act.

The ARC project is a collaboration between Polygon, an Ethereum scaling network, and Anq Finance, a domestic fintech firm with expertise in tokenization and MSME (small business) financing. Polygon brings global blockchain infrastructure experience (it already powers tokenization projects for BlackRock, JPMorgan, etc.), while Anq provides local regulatory know-how.

The Saika Kawakita meme coin, or $SAIKA, is a cryptocurrency on the Solana blockchain, inspired by a viral moment from Saika Kawakita, a Japanese AV idol. In December 2024, a GIF of her smiling from a 2022 film exploded on X, clocking over 20.6 million views in a day.