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The Crypto Coin Show News Team covers digital assets, blockchain infrastructure, markets and policy. Crypto Coin Show has been running for more than 12 years, with 1,500+ interviews with founders, investors and builders.

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Polygon co-founder quits, leaving the crypto giant at a crossroads

Polygon co-founder quits, leaving the crypto giant at a crossroads

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Mihailo Bjelic, a Polygon co-founder, has resigned from the blockchain project he helped build. He is stepping down from the Polygon Foundation board and ending his role at the main development studio, Polygon Labs.

Bjelic shared an X post stating, “After much thought and reflection, I’ve decided to step down from the board of the Polygon Foundation and wind down my day-to-day involvement with Polygon Labs.”

This makes him the third founder to leave the team. He joins co-founders Jaynti Kanani and Anurag Arjun, who had also stepped away from their active roles in the blockchain project. Kanani left the company in October 2023, while Arjun stepped down in March 2023 to concentrate on his modular blockchain project, Avail.

Bjelic claims he can no longer give his best to Polygon

Bjelic has played a pivotal role in taking Polygon to greater heights. In 2017, he co-founded the well-known Ethereum Layer 2, originally named Matic Network, along with Jaynti Kanani, Sandeep Nailwal, and Anurag Arjun. 

Ethereum’s Layer 2 scaling solutions provide many advantages for the Ethereum network. These benefits include faster transaction times, lower fees, and better scalability. As a Layer 2 solution, Polygon uses these features to boost its own performance and improve the experience for its users. 

In support of this, it is evident that the firm has made significant contributions to blockchain research and development, particularly in zero-knowledge and proof-of-stake technologies.

Polygon introduced MATIC for POL-on a one-to-one basis in late 2024 and initiated a token migration as a part of its 2.0 plan. This change was to drive more usage of the network’s main token for gas fees, staking, and infrastructure such as AggLayer. 

Following Polygon’s success, Bjelic’s 10+ years of experience as an IT engineer building technology products and platforms were greatly honored.

However, on Friday, May 23,  Bjelic shared an X post stating that he could no longer give his best to Polygon. Based on his explanation, as projects developed and evolved, it was natural for ideas to shift and sometimes become divided up. Afterward, Bjelic mentioned that Polygon leaders seemed sincerely dedicated to seeing the project prosper. He then offered support to them from the sideline and for whatever he could do to assist.

Following his resignation, Nailwal praised Bjelic in an X post, stating he was not only a co-founder but also a brother to him. He added, “From the earliest days — whiteboards full of ideas, endless whitepapers, governance frameworks, strategy calls deep into the night — you have been a force behind so much of what makes Polygon.”

Bjelic reveals himself as a strong crypto believer

Bjelic revealed that he first learned about cryptocurrency in 2013. By 2017, he was really diving into it, excited by the idea of creating a worldwide, inclusive economy. Since then, he has dedicated himself to making that amazing vision a reality. 

This is evident since Polygon’s launch in 2019, as Bjelic and his colleagues have made great progress. According to reliable sources, they have achieved important advancements in zero-knowledge technology and brought on some of the biggest brands in the world, moving closer to that big dream.

By undertaking this great journey, Bjelic initially highlighted taking pride in this and felt lucky to collaborate with many skilled individuals. 

Concerning his resignation, he mentioned that he still felt just as enthusiastic about the potential of cryptocurrency to change systems, empower people, and build a fairer world. Therefore, he added that this belief continues to motivate him, and as a result, he will probably be seen around.

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Tether charts its own path beyond U.S. borders

Tether charts its own path beyond U.S. borders

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Tether, the largest issuer of these digital tokens, says it will focus on markets beyond the United States as Congress further debates legislation to integrate stablecoins into the mainstream financial system.

On Monday, the Senate advanced an industry-supported regulatory bill called the Genius Act. Meanwhile, the House Financial Services Committee has approved its stablecoin legislation, though the full House has not yet passed it.

According to Paolo Ardoino, chief executive officer of Tether Holdings SA, they need to see how the Genius Act distinguishes between foreign and domestic issuers. He notes that their main interest will remain outside of the US.

Genius Act could reshape oversight for foreign issuers

Tether’s USDT stablecoin, based in El Salvador, represents over 60% of the stablecoin market and serves 420 million users across emerging markets. Despite facing conflicts with state and federal regulators over the years, the company has grown more active in the US, encouraged by a more crypto-friendly regulatory climate under President Donald Trump’s administration. 

Ardoino made his first trip to the US in March, stopping in Washington during Trump’s inaugural digital-asset summit. He noted that they are looking at the Genius Act in a way that will allow them to be compliant. He continued to say they could comply while focusing strongly on foreign markets.

The stablecoin bills currently under consideration in the House and Senate mandate that these tokens—typically pegged to the dollar or another currency—be fully backed by cash and “safe assets” like short-term Treasuries. They also require issuers to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money-laundering regulations. Additionally, both bills would permit regulators to approve foreign issuers like Tether if they are governed by “comparable” regulations abroad.

However, uncertainty remains regarding how strictly the law will enforce compliance for those who fail to meet the requirements.

Ardoino said that stablecoins are important in the United States, but there are tons of ways to pay each other, such as Zelle, PayPal, debit cards, credit cards, and cash.

Although Tether does not currently serve US customers, most of the private company’s reserves consist of assets that would comply with the proposed US legislation. 

Tether eyes compliance while targeting the unbanked

However, the firm also backs its token with assets not permitted under the rules, such as Bitcoin and secured loans. Given its size, Tether would fall under federal regulation if it sought a US license under these regulations.

In 2021, Tether settled with US authorities over accusations that it misrepresented its reserves. Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., formerly led by Howard Lutnick, who served as Trump’s Secretary of Commerce, manages those reserves. Ardoino has indicated that the company may issue a new stablecoin designed to meet these regulatory requirements, potentially making it more appealing to institutional investors.

The more supportive regulatory climate in the US has also motivated Tether to move closer to obtaining a full audit of its reserves by a Big Four accounting firm, which Ardoino said is still under discussion. Currently, Tether provides quarterly attestations certified by BDO Italia SpA.

“They are going through a phase of adjustment, but a full audit is our priority,” Ardoino said.

Stablecoins have become crucial to the functioning of crypto markets, with about $243 billion of them in circulation in May 2025. 

On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that a consortium of major banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo, are exploring whether to issue a stablecoin jointly.

Ardoino expressed confidence that competition from traditional banking giants would have minimal impact on Tether’s core business.

While major U.S. banks are considering launching their own stablecoin, Tether remains focused on underserved global markets. According to Ardoino, these banks are likely to concentrate on Western economies, whereas Tether continues to target the roughly 3 billion unbanked individuals worldwide who remain outside the traditional financial system.

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Is the GENIUS Act protecting consumers at the expense of innovation?

Is the GENIUS Act protecting consumers at the expense of innovation?

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The Senate voted 66–22 to advance the GENIUS Act, showing strong support from both Democrats and Republicans and signaling that the U.S. government is finally ready to take crypto regulation seriously. 

The Act still raises concerns about whether it goes too far or not far enough in protecting consumers and whether it will hurt innovation.

Supporters say the bill will open doors for more businesses to safely enter the market and build better tools for payments and finance. Still, critics warn that the GENIUS Act may either be too soft on risky players or too harsh on small startups and innovators who can’t meet all the new requirements.

Supporters say the bill keeps consumers safe

Supporters of the GENIUS Act believe the bill helps prevent disasters like the 2022 collapse of Terra Luna, which caused billions in losses and sent shockwaves through the entire industry. The Act reduces the risk that coins will lose their value suddenly by forcing stablecoin providers to keep 100% of reserves in safe assets like cash or U.S. Treasury bills so that consumers can’t cash out. 

The law also ensures consumers handling more than $50 billion in stablecoins publish monthly reports about their reserves and go through annual financial audits to help buyers trust the coins they use or hold because the company stands by its promise. If a stablecoin company collapses, the GENIUS Act gives everyday users priority when getting their money back.

Critics, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, argue that the law doesn’t do enough to prevent powerful people from using stablecoins for personal gain while still influencing public policy. For example, the bill doesn’t fully deal with Trump’s USD1 stablecoin, which was created by a crypto company linked to the president.

The law, Senator Warren says, will enable anonymous buyers, foreign governments, and big corporations to use stablecoins to hide money, evade regulation, and perhaps secure special treatment like pardons or special arrangements from officials who have conflicts of interest.

Warren and other critics fear that the system could fall apart once more if companies follow the rules on paper but engage in similarly reckless behavior in practice — only this time, the losses would likely be larger, especially if foreign players or major firms abuse the system without being identified in time.

Supporters argue that the Act provides new startups and established banks with clear rules to follow. They say companies will build useful tools that attract responsible investors, encourage long-term planning, and introduce creative solutions.

Supporters also believe that setting strict standards will allow companies to compete based on the quality of their services.

Critics say strict rules hurt small startups

On the other hand, critics worry that the GENIUS Act’s strict rules might only work for big firms and shut out smaller innovators because it requires firms to create separate subsidiaries to issue stablecoins.

Opponents also fear that the bill’s long list of monthly reserve reports, annual audits, liquidity rules, and marketing limit requirements could make small teams or international developers who want to build for U.S. users feel locked out. 

There’s also concern that if only a few big companies control most of the stablecoin market, they could set the terms for everyone else and cause less diversity in products, fewer choices for consumers, and more market power in the hands of a few firms. 

We must find a fair balance between safety and growth

The GENIUS Act is a historic step in bringing order to stablecoins because, for the first time, stablecoin issuers will have to answer to clear federal laws, something supporters say is long overdue.

However, critics are not wrong when they say important protections are missing because the bill could do more to limit political influence, protect users from abuse, and make room for new voices and ideas in the market. Many fear the law could favor powerful players at the expense of small innovators and everyday users.

Still, the GENIUS Act remains a step, but whether it moves the U.S. forward, backward, or sideways will depend on how it’s enforced, how it evolves, and who it truly serves in the long run. 

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Senate Democrats move to block Trump’s stablecoin payday

Senate Democrats move to block Trump’s stablecoin payday

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Chuck Schumer, Minority Leader of the United States Senate, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley plan to add an anti-corruption amendment to the GENIUS Act. These amendments tackle President Donald Trump’s ties to the cryptocurrency world. 

Senator Jeff Merkley shared an X post stating that passing the GENIUS Act without including their anti-corruption amendment would show that Congress was okay with Trump selling influence and access to those who can pay the most. 

Chuck Schumer is expected to support changes to the stablecoin bill to limit the president’s connections to cryptocurrency. 

Senators propose a new amendment to the GENIUS Act

On May 20, most members of the US Senate voted to move forward with the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act. The bill aimed to regulate the payment of stablecoins. However, some top Democrats wanted to add an amendment to the bill.

This amendment would prevent a US president from making money off stablecoins. This proposal comes after 18 Democrats voted with Republicans on May 20 to advance the bill, following a procedural vote that did not pass on May 8. 

Initially, according to reports from sources, crypto platform World Liberty Financial (WLFI) released its USD1 stablecoin in March. Trump and his 3 sons apparently head the crypto platform. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. are actively involved in the management of the crypto platform World Liberty Financial (WLFI),  and Barron Trump is listed as the project’s “DeFi (decentralized finance) visionary.” 

Concerning President Donald Trump’s ties to the cryptocurrency world, critics have noted the president may still profit personally from legislation supporting stablecoins such as USD1 to be recognized as financial instruments in the US.

Apart from this, an Abu Dhabi investment company announced it would settle a $2-billion investment in Binance using USD1, permitting the president’s family to pocket the transaction fees.

To curb this, Democratic legislators have already called for an investigation into the president’s involvement with the platform. However, Zach Witkoff, a co-founder at WLFI, stated that most people just kept describing this as “ flawed.”

Senators investigate Trump’s “private, secret” dinner

Merkley and Warren are also preparing to respond to Trump’s exclusive dinner event, reportedly set to host up to 220 top buyers of his personal memecoin at his golf club. Among the attendees was Justin Sun, a billionaire and crypto entrepreneur from China. 

According to the senators’ plan, Merkley intended to join a protest in the Trump venue that would be staged by the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen in alliance with a progressive political organization, Our Revolution.

On the other hand, Warren conducted a press conference with Merkley, Senator Chris Murphy, and public citizen representatives demanding that Trump release the guest list for the dinner. This was because most potential attendees remained anonymous even after several publicly declared they owned the wallets that bought the memecoin and were planning to attend.

Murphy described the dinner as a private, secret dinner in which individuals who had put money in the president’s pocket got access to him. He added that this was maybe the most corrupt of all the corruption. 

Furthermore, based on his argument, they were able to pay their way to get an audience with the President of the United States to ask for favorable national security concessions.

The White House did not respond to requests for comments.

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Ethereum’s trillion-dollar rebrand masks deep trouble as Solana eats its lunch

Ethereum’s trillion-dollar rebrand masks deep trouble as Solana eats its lunch

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Ethereum is trying to clean up its image just as it’s losing its grip. The Ethereum Foundation launched a campaign in 2025 called the “Trillion Dollar Security Initiative” to promote the blockchain as the only serious option for securing real-world value.

But the effort comes at a time when the project is slipping across the board, from price performance to user attention and developer support, while Solana is gaining fast.

The message coming from Ethereum’s leadership is all about stability, uptime, and security. But Ether, the token that runs on it, hasn’t kept up with Bitcoin since the Merge upgrade was rolled out in 2022. The gap has only widened.

The Ether-to-Bitcoin price ratio has stayed on a downward slope since then, and Ethereum has struggled to pull in new interest even as it added new tech upgrades. Instead of regaining momentum, it has seen core users and builders Ethereum’s leadership walk away.

Solana gains traction while Ethereum loses ground

In 2024, Solana’s active developer count jumped by 83%, while Ethereum’s dropped by 17%, data from Electric Capital showed. Cheaper fees and better user experience on Solana have pulled in a younger crowd that’s more focused on speed, memecoins, and new ideas than Ethereum’s long-term vision.

That same audience drove Solana’s price to an all-time high earlier this year while Ether stayed mostly flat. Ethereum’s ecosystem has gotten too fragmented, and developers are opting out of dealing with Layer-2 rollups like Base and Arbitrum just to get basic dApps running.

Even the Ethereum Foundation’s own move to promote security is being questioned. Katie Talati, head of research at Arca, said the new initiative was less of a breakthrough and more of a branding effort. “This feels more like a marketing repositioning from the Ethereum Foundation than an actual technical innovation,” Katie said.

“I don’t believe that this announcement alone will be enough to recapture developer and user mindshare. But over the long term, a greater focus on security guarantees via improvements to UX/UI will attract more developers. Users, however, only come when there is something interesting to use.”

Part of Ethereum’s current struggle comes from its scaling progress. After the Dencun upgrade last year, Ethereum did make progress on moving activity off the main chain. But most of that activity landed on Layer-2s.

The core network hasn’t kept that momentum, and as a result, Ether’s burn rate has dropped. That weakens the coin’s previous deflationary pitch, one of the key reasons investors used to hold it in the first place.

Wall Street push fails to spark interest in Ether ETFs

Now, Ethereum’s leaders are chasing attention in Washington and on Wall Street. A group called Etherealize, formed with support from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and led by researcher Vivek Raman, is focused on lobbying for the blockchain’s future in traditional finance.

Vivek explained the strategy in an email, saying, “We speak to TradFi and Wall Street players all day and in the end — a blockchain’s security is the most important quality to ensure trust.” He added that Ethereum’s role will be as “digital oil” to complement Bitcoin’s role as “digital gold.”

That narrative hasn’t worked out well so far. In 2025, spot Ether ETFs in the US saw $42 million in net outflows. At the same time, Bitcoin ETFs brought in $8 billion across a dozen funds. Institutions seem more interested in returns and yield than Ethereum’s security pitch. Ethereum’s roadmap hasn’t been convincing enough to pull serious capital out of Bitcoin’s orbit.

At the same time, Michael Saylor’s firm MicroStrategy is going all-in on Bitcoin again. His company just announced it would sell $2.1 billion worth of 10% “perpetual strife” preferred stock to buy more Bitcoin. That kind of headline doesn’t help Ethereum’s case.

When one chain is pulling in billions through aggressive buying strategies, and the other is launching rebrands to chase institutional money that isn’t even arriving, the contrast is sharp.

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Solana climbs back into tokenization spotlight as R3 brings big banks to its rails

Solana climbs back into tokenization spotlight as R3 brings big banks to its rails

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Software development firm R3 has agreed to a deal with Solana Foundation to let its customers use the Solana network. The move could see Solana become a major tokenization hub.

The UK-based firm announced the deal today, noting that collaboration will allow regulated financial institutions to bring their tokenized real-world assets to the network. R3 develops private blockchain networks for traditional financial institutions.

According to the announcement, the partnership with Solana Foundation will merge TradFi and DeFi by bringing regulated financial products to the public blockchain when the RWA sector is attracting massive interest.

It stated:

“This brings the institutional TradFi and DeFi worlds into true convergence, marrying the unparalleled reach of R3 into the TradFi ecosystem with the scale, liquidity, and innovation of internet capital markets.”

Interestingly, R3 announced that it chose Solana because of its performance, fees, and vibrant ecosystem, making it the ideal network for regulated digital finance. Solana Foundation president Lily Liu will join the R3 Board of Directors as part of the deal. The foundation also invested an undisclosed amount into the firm.

Speaking on the deal, Liu described it as proof that public blockchains are ready for institutional adoption while adding that the future of capital markets will be on public infrastructure.

The partnership could boost Solana’s activity

The deal represents a massive milestone for Solana and could help boost the network activity and its image. Despite its emerging RWA tokenization market, the network’s memecoin sector remains the most prominent.

This has impacted the network negatively, with the decline in memecoin interest leading to a plunge in its activity. The result has been struggles for the SOL token, which is down 8% this year despite gaining more than 4% today amidst the general market rally that saw Bitcoin hit a new all-time high at almost $112,000.

However, that could change with R3 being one of the leaders in the RWA tokenization sector. The firm has tokenized $10 billion in on-chain assets while developing permission digital ledger technologies (DLT) for customers such as Bank of America, HSBC, the Italian Central Bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and  Euroclear.

With this deal, R3’s Corda private network will be connected to the Solana blockchain to improve the transaction process. Any of the firm’s customers could choose to move to Solana or stay with the permissioned Corda ecosystem.

If all goes as planned, Solana could challenge Ethereum’s dominance in the RWA tokenization sector. Ethereum is currently the dominant network with over $7 billion in total value of assets, while Solana is seventh with just $338.1 million. Two Ethereum Layer-2 networks, ZkSync Era and Polygon, even rank higher.

Tokenization continues to gain momentum

Meanwhile, R3 efforts to boost RWA accessibility on Solana continued a trend of recent tokenization efforts in the crypto sector. Several companies have announced tokenization efforts in the last few days.

These include the crypto exchange Kraken, which disclosed plans to trade tokenized US stocks off to non-US customers through Backed. Interestingly, Kraken also picked Solana as the blockchain network for its tokenized stocks after the exchange started offering stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in some US states.

Online brokerage firm Robinhood also submitted a proposal for a tokenization framework to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In the 42-page document, the firm wanted to create an RWA Exchange and identified Solana and Base as networks for the product.

Unsurprisingly, there are reports that the firm is also planning to build a blockchain for tokenized US securities in Europe and will likely work with Arbitrum or Solana on the project.

However, it is not just fintech platforms bullish on tokenization; even traditional firms, including BlackRock and Franklin Templeton, are experimenting and believe it is the next phase for capital markets. The SEC is also considering how to regulate the sector, which, according to Standard Chartered, could be worth over $30 trillion by 2030.

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OKX launches xBTC on Sui while Bitcoin nears $109K ATH

OKX launches xBTC on Sui while Bitcoin nears $109K ATH

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OKX’s launch of xBTC on Sui represents a strategic bet on Bitcoin-backed decentralized finance at a critical market inflection point, with Bitcoin hovering near $109K and institutional capital actively exploring on-chain yield opportunities. For institutional investors, the move signals that major centralized exchanges are willing to stake their reputation on Layer 1 alternatives to Ethereum, fundamentally reshaping how Bitcoin liquidity can be accessed and deployed in DeFi protocols.

  • OKX selected Sui as one of only three chains for xBTC’s debut launch, with native minting directly from the exchange and zero minting or redemption fees.
  • Bitcoin-backed assets now represent over 10% of Sui’s total value locked, with approximately 600 BTC flowing into the network since February.
  • Sui’s BTCfi ecosystem now hosts multiple major projects including Lombard, Babylon, and Stacks, positioning the chain as a primary infrastructure layer for Bitcoin DeFi.

OKX, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume, announced the launch of xBTC on the Sui blockchain as Bitcoin approaches its previous all-time high of $109,000. The new asset represents a direct bridge between centralized exchange infrastructure and decentralized finance, minted natively on OKX’s platform and withdrawable as a Sui-native token. The timing coincides with Bitcoin’s 21% surge over the past 30 days and reflects accelerating institutional adoption of Bitcoin-backed DeFi protocols. Sui was selected alongside only two other blockchains for the debut, underscoring the network’s emerging status as critical infrastructure for Bitcoin-denominated on-chain activity. The launch includes exclusive day-one integrations with protocols Cetus and Navi, providing initial liquidity pathways and yield opportunities for xBTC holders.

OKX’s Infrastructure Play: Bridging CeFi Security with DeFi Accessibility

The architectural design of xBTC addresses a longstanding friction point in Bitcoin DeFi adoption: the trust and custody models required to move Bitcoin on-chain. Traditional wrapped Bitcoin solutions like WBTC rely on third-party custodians and multi-signature arrangements, introducing counterparty risk and operational complexity. By minting xBTC directly from OKX’s exchange infrastructure, the asset leverages the exchange’s institutional-grade security and operational standards while eliminating additional intermediaries. Users can withdraw xBTC as a native Sui asset without relying on bridge protocols, canonical wrappers, or external custody solutions. Jason Lau, OKX’s Chief Innovation Officer, emphasized this positioning: “Our unique advantage as one of the most trustworthy and transparent institutions imbues xBTC with a powerful security model.” The economic incentive structure reinforces adoption: xBTC charges zero fees for minting or redemption, with only minimal gas costs on Sui for transactions and interactions.

This fee structure differs materially from competing Bitcoin-backed assets. WBTC, the largest wrapped Bitcoin token by adoption, charges annual fees and relies on delegated custody through Coinbase. Lombard Finance and other newer entrants offer different economic and security models, but none combine exchange-native issuance with zero-fee on-chain availability. For institutional investors managing Bitcoin allocations, the elimination of minting fees creates a direct arbitrage advantage when Bitcoin spot premiums or DeFi yield opportunities exceed transaction costs. The competitive positioning also signals OKX’s confidence in Sui’s technical durability and ecosystem maturity. Launching only on three chains simultaneously represents a deliberate constraint, suggesting OKX is prioritizing network-specific optimization over maximum distribution.

Sui’s BTCfi Infrastructure Reaching Critical Mass

Sui has accumulated approximately 600 BTC since February, representing roughly $26 billion at current spot prices. Bitcoin-backed assets now comprise over 10% of Sui’s total value locked, a remarkable concentration for a Layer 1 blockchain that only achieved meaningful adoption in 2023. This accumulation reflects institutional Bitcoin holders’ active migration from Ethereum and other established chains to access Sui’s throughput advantages and lower transaction costs. The network’s combination of high transaction finality (one to two seconds) and sub-cent gas fees creates structural advantages for frequent position rebalancing and yield farming—key behaviors in Bitcoin DeFi.

The ecosystem supporting Bitcoin DeFi on Sui extends far beyond OKX’s xBTC launch. Stacks brings Proof of Work settlement, Lombard offers liquid staking derivatives, Babylon provides Bitcoin staking infrastructure, and RedStone supplies oracle services. This density of Bitcoin-focused infrastructure in a single blockchain environment has created what Christian Thompson, Managing Director at the Sui Foundation, described as evidence of “complete product-market fit in a matter of months.” The ecosystem approach contrasts with Ethereum’s more fragmented Bitcoin DeFi landscape, where major protocols operate across multiple rollups and sidechains. For institutional investors seeking concentrated Bitcoin DeFi exposure, Sui’s unified ecosystem reduces operational complexity and counterparty surface area.

Market Implications and Institutional Capital Flows

The xBTC launch arrives during a critical moment for Bitcoin price discovery. Bitcoin’s 21% monthly gain and proximity to its $109,000 all-time high indicate renewed institutional and retail demand, driven partly by spot Bitcoin ETF inflows and macroeconomic considerations. However, the Fear and Greed Index reading of “Greed” sentiment suggests current prices may incorporate speculative positioning. Within this volatility backdrop, Bitcoin DeFi products provide alternative value capture mechanisms beyond simple price appreciation—specifically, through yield generation on borrowed Bitcoin, liquidation opportunities on over-collateralized positions, and trading fees within decentralized markets.

OKX’s commitment to Sui signals confidence that Layer 1 alternatives can sustain institutional-grade infrastructure and liquidity depth. The exchange’s decision to mint xBTC natively rather than deploying on Ethereum or multiple chains simultaneously suggests a strategic bet that Sui’s throughput and cost structure will attract sufficient capital to justify concentration. For institutional investors managing Bitcoin positions, xBTC provides a new mechanism to access DeFi yield without maintaining custody of private keys or relying on third-party custodians like major institutional staking providers. The zero-fee structure creates meaningful arbitrage dynamics when yield exceeds gas costs—potentially driving sustained demand.

The competitive landscape for Bitcoin-backed assets will likely intensify as other major exchanges evaluate similar launches. However, OKX’s first-mover status on Sui, combined with Cetus and Navi’s exclusive day-one partnerships, establishes xBTC as the primary liquidity hub for Bitcoin DeFi on the network. Institutional investors monitoring Bitcoin DeFi growth should track xBTC’s TVL accumulation, yield rates across Cetus and Navi pools, and whether OKX expands xBTC to additional chains. The launch validates a broader thesis: institutional-grade Bitcoin DeFi infrastructure requires both exchange-native security and blockchain-native scalability. Sui’s accumulation of over 600 BTC and xBTC’s positioning suggest this thesis is moving from theory to operational reality.

White House crypto czar says stablecoin bill will unlock trillions for US treasury

White House crypto czar says stablecoin bill will unlock trillions for US treasury

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The White House’s top crypto advisor has claimed that federal stablecoin legislation could generate trillions in Treasury demand, positioning the measure as both economic policy and a potential financial windfall for US government finances. The GENIUS Act has already cleared a critical Senate filibuster threshold, setting up a floor vote that could reshape how digital dollar tokens operate across US markets.

  • David Sacks predicts stablecoin bill could create “trillions of dollars of demand” for US Treasuries “practically overnight.”
  • GENIUS Act cleared 66-32 cloture vote in Senate, surpassing 60-vote filibuster threshold with 15 Democratic supporters.
  • Stablecoin issuers would be required to hold 100 percent reserves in cash or Treasury bonds, with pending House passage still needed.

The White House’s leading cryptocurrency official has made an ambitious economic claim about pending stablecoin legislation, arguing that federal regulatory clarity could channel trillions of dollars into US Treasury holdings. David Sacks, President Donald Trump’s chief advisor on crypto and artificial intelligence policy, stated during a Wednesday interview that the proposed GENIUS Act could generate enormous demand for Treasury instruments by providing legal certainty for stablecoin issuers. “If we provide the legal clarity and legal framework for this, I think we could create trillions of dollars of demand for our Treasuries practically overnight, very quickly,” Sacks said. The legislation has already passed a significant procedural hurdle in the Senate, clearing a 66-32 cloture vote this week that exceeded the 60-vote threshold required to overcome a filibuster. Critically, 15 Democrats voted with Republicans on the measure, signaling unusual bipartisan alignment on a crypto policy question that has traditionally divided the parties along ideological lines.

GENIUS Act establishes mandatory 100-percent Treasury reserve backing for all stablecoins

The core mechanism of the GENIUS Act, formally titled the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, would impose uniform federal standards on how stablecoin issuers maintain and manage reserves. Under the bill’s framework, stablecoin issuers must hold reserves that fully cover every token in circulation, with those reserves limited to easily accessible and safe assets such as cash or US Treasury bonds. This design is intended to guarantee that stablecoins remain stable in value and redeemable at par, addressing a foundational concern among regulators and institutional investors about whether digital dollar tokens can maintain their peg during market stress or operational disruptions.

Sacks framed the legislation as more than a regulatory measure, describing it instead as “a national economic strategy” aimed at strengthening the dollar’s dominance in internet-based financial systems. He argued that stablecoins provide a new settlement layer characterized by improved efficiency, lower costs, and real-time payment capabilities compared to traditional wire transfer and banking infrastructure. For institutional investors, the clarity matters significantly: a federal regulatory framework would remove substantial legal uncertainty that has previously hindered institutional adoption of stablecoins. Banks and asset managers have expressed interest in using stablecoins for treasury management and settlement, but have largely held back absent clear regulatory status.

The Treasury reserve requirement is particularly favorable to federal finances. By mandating that stablecoin collateral consist primarily of Treasury instruments rather than other asset classes, the legislation would effectively create a new and substantial buyer of government debt. Sacks’s claim that this could generate “trillions” reflects the scale of potential stablecoin circulation if the market reaches even a fraction of the maturity achieved by traditional payment systems or money market funds, which manage roughly $6 trillion in assets globally.

Trump family stablecoin USD1 stands to benefit directly from GENIUS Act framework

The advance of the GENIUS Act has generated significant controversy centered on potential conflicts of interest involving the Trump family’s direct financial stakes in the crypto industry. World Liberty Financial, a venture backed by Donald Trump Jr., has launched USD1, a stablecoin collateralized by precisely the asset class that the GENIUS Act would regulate and legitimize: US Treasuries and dollar deposits. This alignment has raised alarms among Democratic lawmakers and government ethics observers, who argue that the bill could function as a preferential regulatory gift to the President’s family business.

The controversy intensified earlier this month when Abu Dhabi-based investment fund MGX pledged significant capital into USD1, routing the investment through Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. This investment represents the largest single capital infusion into the Trump-linked stablecoin to date, according to available reporting. Senator Elizabeth Warren and other Democratic critics have explicitly warned that the GENIUS Act could channel billions of dollars into the President’s and his family’s financial positions, creating what they characterize as an unprecedented conflict of interest. Warren and allied lawmakers have called for stronger ethical safeguards in the legislation designed to prevent elected officials from profiting personally from regulatory frameworks they shepherd into law.

Sacks has expressed confidence that the bill will advance further, yet he has declined to address direct questions about Trump’s financial ties to stablecoin ventures. His silence on the matter has not resolved the underlying ethical questions, which may resurface during House debate and floor votes. The conflict-of-interest question remains unresolved at the legislative level, and no amendments addressing Warren’s concerns have been publicly proposed or incorporated into the Senate version of the bill.

House passage remains uncertain as final floor vote timeline emerges

While the GENIUS Act has secured Senate passage through the procedural cloture vote, the bill has not yet been voted on by the full Senate chamber, and House passage remains dependent on future legislative scheduling and potential amendments. The 66-32 cloture vote indicates sufficient support to overcome a filibuster, but the actual Senate floor vote has not occurred. Institutional investors monitoring the measure should note that multiple legislative steps remain, and unexpected delays or substantive amendments could alter the bill’s final form. The House of Representatives has not yet scheduled floor debate, and committee review timelines are not publicly established.

The bipartisan nature of the cloture vote—with 15 Democrats joining all voting Republicans—suggests that significant portions of the Democratic caucus may be willing to support a stablecoin framework despite ethical objections raised by Warren and other progressive lawmakers. This split within the Democratic party could be decisive if House Democrats face internal pressure to advance or block the measure. Some Democrats may prioritize the economic benefits of regulatory clarity and Treasury demand over ethical concerns about Trump family involvement, while others may refuse to support legislation they view as a conflict of interest.

Institutional investors should monitor whether House Democrats introduce amendments designed to address the conflict-of-interest concerns raised by Warren, such as provisions preventing sitting government officials or their close family members from holding financial stakes in regulated stablecoin issuers. The absence of such safeguards in the current Senate version may prove contentious during House debate. Additionally, investors should track whether the Trump administration or stablecoin advocates provide further public statements clarifying how Treasury demand from stablecoin collateral could reach the “trillions” figure Sacks cited, or whether that projection is subject to revision based on actual market adoption rates.

VanEck debuts PurposeBuilt fund to invest in Avalanche-based applications

VanEck debuts PurposeBuilt fund to invest in Avalanche-based applications

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AI NewsMay 22, 2025·5 min read

VanEck is launching a dedicated private fund in June 2025 to invest exclusively in token projects and early-stage companies building on the Avalanche blockchain, marking a significant institutional bet on ecosystem-specific infrastructure beyond generalist crypto exposure. For institutional investors seeking focused exposure to a maturing blockchain network with real-world application development, this signals both VanEck’s confidence in Avalanche’s enterprise potential and a broader shift toward utility-driven token selection over speculative assets.

  • VanEck PurposeBuilt Fund will launch June 2025, exclusively investing in Avalanche-based token projects and venture-backed blockchain companies
  • Fund will be managed by the team behind VanEck’s Digital Assets Alpha Fund, which has deployed over $100 million in AUM since 2022
  • Focus areas include gaming, financial services, payments, and AI—with capital deployed at or near token generation events for liquid and early-stage projects
  • June 2025 Expected launch date for VanEck’s Avalanche-focused PurposeBuilt Fund investment vehicle
  • $100M+ Assets under management in VanEck Digital Assets Alpha Fund since its 2022 inception
  • $50B Current market capitalization of the Avalanche blockchain ecosystem

VanEck, one of the world’s largest asset managers, is launching the PurposeBuilt Fund to deploy capital into projects building real-world applications on the Avalanche blockchain. The fund, expected to launch in June 2025, will target companies issuing tokens on the Avalanche network, focusing on ventures with tangible use cases rather than speculative assets. Investments will span both liquid token positions and early-stage venture-backed projects in sectors including gaming, financial services, payments, and artificial intelligence, with most capital deployed at or shortly after token generation events.

VanEck’s digital assets team brings $100M track record to Avalanche-focused strategy

The PurposeBuilt Fund will be managed by the same team that oversees VanEck’s Digital Assets Alpha Fund, which has accumulated more than $100 million in assets under management since its 2022 launch. DAAF has established a reputation for investing in scalable liquid tokens tied to real-world products, providing institutional investors with a disciplined alternative to hype-driven crypto fund management. By assigning this experienced team to oversee Avalanche-specific investments, VanEck is signaling confidence both in its portfolio managers’ ability to identify quality projects and in Avalanche’s maturation as an ecosystem.

Avalanche has emerged as one of the most active blockchain networks globally, with a current market valuation near $50 billion and growing adoption across enterprise and decentralized applications. The network is recognized for technical attributes including high transaction speed and low on-chain costs—advantages that matter to developers building production systems rather than proof-of-concept projects. VanEck’s decision to create an Avalanche-specific fund, rather than continuing a generalist approach, reflects the network’s evolution from a competitive layer-1 candidate into a mature ecosystem capable of sustaining sector-focused capital allocation.

The timing of this announcement aligns with increased institutional interest in blockchain networks that have demonstrated real-world transaction volume and developer retention beyond cyclical market enthusiasm.

Token investments at launch prioritize projects with immediate utility over pre-revenue speculation

The fund’s investment thesis departs sharply from the typical venture crypto playbook. Rather than backing teams with whitepapers and roadmaps, PurposeBuilt will deploy capital into projects at or near their token generation events—the moment when tokens transition from private allocation to public trading. This approach assumes that serious projects will have demonstrable traction, user adoption metrics, or revenue-generating capability by launch, allowing investors to evaluate projects on fundamental business metrics rather than speculative potential.

Pranav Kanade, portfolio manager at VanEck Digital Assets, framed the fund’s conviction in concrete terms: “The next wave of value in crypto will come from real businesses, not more infrastructure.” This statement reflects a deliberate pivot away from capital allocation toward blockchain infrastructure layers themselves—a positioning that dominated venture crypto funding from 2017 through 2021. Instead, PurposeBuilt targets application-layer companies in fintech, tokenized real-world assets, and AI, where token value derives from network usage and revenue-sharing mechanisms rather than technical necessity.

The next wave of value in crypto will come from real businesses, not more infrastructure.

Pranav Kanade, Portfolio Manager, VanEck Digital Assets

The fund plans to maintain liquidity by directing capital into Avalanche-native real-world asset products, such as tokenized money market funds, that generate yield while supporting on-chain economic activity. This approach allows the fund to remain positioned for capital redeployment into new opportunities rather than illiquid long-term holdings, a critical operational requirement for institutional fund management.

Patient capital strategy addresses funding gap for quality developers competing with meme-coin narrative

One implicit thesis underlying PurposeBuilt is that the cryptocurrency market systematically underallocates capital to developers building genuine applications because market attention concentrates on speculative assets and short-term momentum plays. Developers working on fintech infrastructure, payment rails, or AI integration receive less media coverage and retail investment interest than teams launching tokens with built-in hype mechanisms or celebrity endorsements, even when the latter lack sustainable economics.

VanEck’s fund is designed to provide an alternative capital source with an explicit long-term horizon, allowing founders to prioritize product development over quarterly token price performance.

This positioning reflects broader institutional recognition that previous cryptocurrency cycles produced waves of infrastructure that never achieved meaningful adoption. By contrast, projects selected by experienced managers with skin in the game—measured by track records like DAAF’s $100 million AUM—have a higher probability of attracting follow-on capital, developer talent, and user adoption. The fund offers both financial resources and the implicit signal value of VanEck’s institutional brand, which carries weight in enterprise and traditional finance conversations.

Institutional investors watching Avalanche and the broader Layer-1 ecosystem should monitor the PurposeBuilt Fund’s investment announcements beginning in June 2025, as they will serve as real-time signals of which application categories and teams a top-tier asset manager believes warrant patient capital in the current market cycle.

VanEck’s Ecosystem Bet Reflects Institutional Shift Away From Generalist Crypto Exposure

VanEck’s decision to launch a dedicated single-blockchain fund represents a notable strategic divergence from the industry’s five-year pattern of generalist crypto exposure. Between 2020 and 2024, institutional crypto allocations overwhelmingly flowed into diversified products tracking broad market indices or multi-chain portfolios, with firms like Grayscale and Fidelity building scale through exposure to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and uncorrelated assets. The PurposeBuilt Fund’s vertical focus signals that institutional investors have begun viewing mature Layer-1 networks as sufficiently differentiated to merit dedicated capital allocation, similar to how traditional venture capital manages sector-specific or geography-specific funds.

Avalanche’s $50 billion current market capitalization sits below Ethereum’s $2+ trillion but substantially above emerging Layer-1 networks, positioning it as a proven infrastructure layer rather than speculative emergence. VanEck’s choice to anchor institutional capital here rather than to newer chains reflects institutional risk tolerance increasingly calibrated toward networks with demonstrated developer retention and transaction throughput. The fund structure—deploying capital at token generation events rather than on open markets—also indicates VanEck’s confidence that Avalanche-native projects will command premium valuations post-launch, justifying early-stage entry points.

The fund’s June 2025 launch will test whether other Tier-1 asset managers follow with similar ecosystem-specific vehicles. Competitors including Fidelity, Blackstone, and Invesco have not yet announced comparable single-chain institutional funds, leaving open whether VanEck’s move reflects a broader trend or a calculated bet on Avalanche’s specific regulatory and technical trajectory over the next 18 months.

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SEC charges Unicoin and three top executives for $100 million securities fraud

SEC charges Unicoin and three top executives for $100 million securities fraud

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The SEC’s $100 million fraud enforcement action against Unicoin Inc. and three senior executives marks a significant test of how aggressively regulators will pursue token issuers who misrepresent asset backing and regulatory status to retail investors. The case demonstrates that aggressive marketing of unregistered securities offerings—regardless of blockchain framing—remains squarely within the SEC’s enforcement mandate and carries substantial personal liability for executives.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges on May 20 against New York-based Unicoin Inc., CEO and board chairman Alex Konanykhin, former president Silvina Moschini, and former chief investment officer Alex Dominguez for defrauding more than 5,000 investors through the sale of unregistered “rights certificates” tied to an unissued token. The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that the defendants systematically misrepresented the value of underlying assets, falsely claimed federal regulatory approval, and inflated sales figures to drive purchases. According to the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, Unicoin raised approximately $110 million in certificate sales while claiming proceeds exceeded $3 billion. The enforcement action seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, civil penalties, and officer-and-director bars against the named executives. General counsel Richard Devlin reached a settlement without admitting or denying allegations, agreeing to a permanent injunction and a $37,500 civil penalty.

The Three Core Misstatements That Triggered Enforcement Action

Unicoin’s marketing campaign centered on three false or misleading claims designed to attract retail capital. First, the company and its executives asserted that Unicoin tokens, once issued, would be “asset-backed” by billions of dollars in real estate holdings and pre-IPO company stakes. SEC investigators determined that actual company assets represented only a fraction of those representations. Second, Unicoin advertised that it had sold more than $3 billion in rights certificates to investors worldwide, a claim directly contradicted by actual proceeds of approximately $110 million across the offering period. Third, marketing materials explicitly described certificates and future tokens as “SEC-registered” or “U.S. registered,” suggesting federal approval had been obtained when no registration application had been filed with the commission.

The scale of the marketing effort amplified the reach of these misstatements. Unicoin placed advertisements in New York City airports, across thousands of taxi cabs, on television, and across social media platforms. This mass-market approach—typically used for consumer products rather than complex financial instruments—targeted retail investors with limited institutional resources to conduct independent due diligence. Each investor who purchased a rights certificate believed it would convert one-for-one into an actual Unicoin token upon issuance, creating an expectation of future ownership tied to assets and regulatory status that did not exist as represented.

CEO Konanykhin’s personal participation in certificate sales further underscores the intentional nature of the alleged scheme. Investigators allege that Konanykhin sold 37.9 million of his own rights certificates, frequently at discounted prices, suggesting internal awareness that certificate valuations could not be sustained once claims were scrutinized. This executive participation in the offering itself, combined with the centralized control of marketing narratives through airport and taxi advertising, indicates the alleged fraud was not incidental but rather structural to how the company operated.

Unregistered Offerings and Regulatory Status Misrepresentation

The SEC’s charges include violations of both the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the foundational statutes governing capital markets in the United States. Unicoin’s offering of rights certificates—financial instruments granting rights to future token ownership—constitutes a securities offering under settled legal interpretation. By selling these instruments to more than 5,000 purchasers without registering the offering or qualifying for an exemption from registration, Unicoin violated core prohibitions established nearly a century ago. The distinction between calling an instrument a “certificate” or a “token” does not alter its functional character as a security under federal law.

The misrepresentation of regulatory approval compounds this violation. Marketing materials stating that certificates or tokens were “SEC-registered” or “U.S. registered” created false impressions of government approval and oversight. Such claims are particularly potent for retail investors with limited familiarity with securities regulation. An investor reading that an instrument is “SEC-registered” would reasonably interpret this to mean the SEC had reviewed and approved the offering, when in fact no such review or approval had occurred. This form of misstatement—conflating marketing claims with actual regulatory status—has become increasingly common in retail crypto marketing and appears to be a focal point for SEC enforcement priorities.

The SEC’s complaint also names general counsel Richard Devlin, alleging he repeated these false claims in private placement memoranda distributed to investors. Devlin’s settlement without admission or denial of the allegations, coupled with a $37,500 penalty and permanent injunction, suggests the SEC secured his cooperation or determined that subordinate counsel liability warranted a more modest remedy than charges against the CEO and C-suite officers directly responsible for corporate strategy. This bifurcated enforcement approach—aggressive charges against senior executives paired with negotiated settlements for lower-ranking individuals—reflects standard SEC practice in complex schemes.

Institutional Implications and Broader Enforcement Trajectory

For institutional investors and fund managers evaluating crypto-related investments and partnerships, the Unicoin enforcement action clarifies that the SEC views token offerings marketed through mass-media channels to retail investors as securities offerings subject to full registration and anti-fraud requirements. This determination has immediate relevance for any crypto project that has issued or plans to issue tokens through direct solicitation to retail audiences without SEC registration. Projects operating under the assumption that calling an instrument a “token” rather than a “security” shields them from registration obligations will find little support in the SEC’s enforcement record, particularly when marketing emphasizes asset backing, yield expectations, or comparisons to traditional investments.

The case also underscores personal liability exposure for executives in crypto companies making affirmative misstatements about asset value and regulatory status. Under the Securities Act and Exchange Act, individual officers and directors face potential disgorgement of personal gains, civil penalties, and permanent bars from serving as officers or directors of public companies. Institutional investors considering board service, executive roles, or advisory relationships with crypto projects should recognize that marketing claims made by the company could trigger personal liability regardless of formal role divisions within the organization. Due diligence on representations made to investors—particularly claims of asset backing, regulatory approval, or sales figures—becomes a personal compliance obligation for executives.

The enforcement action also reflects the SEC’s sustained focus on what it views as unregistered offerings of securities disguised as blockchain or token projects. With over 5,000 retail investors defrauded, the Unicoin case demonstrates scale sufficient to warrant resource-intensive litigation in federal court. Institutional crypto funds and asset managers should monitor SEC enforcement patterns to identify whether additional actions against comparable offerings are likely, as enforcement tends to cluster around similar fact patterns. The commission’s willingness to pursue both civil charges against the company and coordinated enforcement actions against multiple executives suggests the SEC has allocated meaningful resources to this investigative area and intends to sustain this enforcement approach through multiple cases.

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