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Institutional Crypto

Every Crypto Coin Show story tagged Institutional Crypto, newest first, alongside the guides and interviews that give it context.

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BitGo’s assets under custody jumped to $100B in H1 2025
AI News

BitGo’s assets under custody jumped to $100B in H1 2025

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The value of digital assets under BitGo Inc.’s custody has surged. BitGo’s vice president for its Asia-Pacific business, Abel Seow, said it had seen its assets under custody (AUC) rise from $60B to $100B in the first six months of the year.

It represents a 66% increase, demonstrating the growing appetite among institutional and retail players to participate in the crypto-economy. Seow said that the rise was driven by “peak retail interest” in crypto, increasing asset adoption, and greater regulatory clarity in major jurisdictions.

Crypto confidence is growing among investors, as is evident in the demand for secure and regulated custody services.

One big driver of the increase in BitGo’s assets is “staking,” which involves crypto holders locking up their tokens to help validate blockchain transactions and, in exchange, earn passive income.

Today, assets in BitGo Staking represent 50% of BitGo’s total holdings, where yield-based strategies are a core investment theme for modern digital asset holders.

BitGo expands into global markets

BitGo, which was established in 2013, initially offered secure wallets but has since developed into a one-stop shop crypto bank. In addition to custody, BitGo provides clients with the capabilities to trade, borrow, and lend digital assets. It has clients that include institutional investors and firms born on the blockchain.

Over the past year, the company has been growing quickly internationally. BitGo Korea was released in September 2024 with Hana Financial Group and SK Telecom, two of South Korea’s largest financial and telecommunications companies.

Seow said the joint venture is “progressing well” and has begun offering its services to high-net-worth clients and regional institutional participants.

Also, in early 2025, BitGo officially seeded its Dubai operations, entering the region’s growing digital asset ecosystem. Crypto stronghold Dubai has established itself as a burgeoning hub in its own right on the backs of business-friendly regulation and investor appetite.

BitGo’s growing reach reflects a larger trend in the industry; crypto firms no longer want to concentrate only on the US and Europe in traditional markets. Instead, they seek to go global to service local demand, particularly in areas where regulation is favorable and smartphone penetration rates are high.

BitGo plans IPO as crypto market heats up

Riding the wave, BitGo is getting ready for a potential public listing as soon as the second half of 2025, reports Bloomberg. The move would make the company part of an emerging wave of crypto-native firms seeking to tap into public markets, with renewed investor confidence and a more friendly regulatory environment pushing these firms into the spotlight.

BitGo’s IPO strategy is part of a wider trend related to a change in the US approach under President Donald Trump’s administration, which has been particularly friendly to crypto since returning to office.

BitGo was last valued in 2023 at $1.75 billion in connection with a $100 million capital raise. Returning to the underwriters, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., DRW Holdings, Redpoint Ventures, and Valor Equity Partners are all backers of the digital asset custody powerhouse, which means that it doesn’t exactly take a crystal ball to guess which four banks might be involved in the IPO.

During his tenure, there have been appointments of crypto-friendly regulators, an attempt to slide through stablecoin legislation, and even Trump’s projects into the digital asset arena.

There has been so much change in political tone compared to past governments, which makes it easier and more predictable for crypto companies planning to grow and compete for institutional money.

In its most recent round of financing, in 2023, Bitgo was said to have a value of $1.75 billion, according to reports, in connection with raising $100 million in capital. And back to the underwriters, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., DRW Holdings, Redpoint Ventures, and Valor Equity Partners are all backers of the digital asset custody powerhouse.

KEY Difference Wire: the secret tool crypto projects use to get guaranteed media coverage

Will deposit tokens like JPMD make stablecoins obsolete for institutional use?
AI News

Will deposit tokens like JPMD make stablecoins obsolete for institutional use?

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JPMorgan Chase has created a new digital currency called JPMorgan Deposit Token (JPMD) that lives on the blockchain and is only available to trusted institutions like large corporations, asset managers, and pension funds.

JPMD will cater to institutions that want the legal protections, interest payments, and bank integration that regular stablecoins don’t fully offer to move money quickly, safely, and around the clock. 

JPMD combines traditional banking features with blockchain speed and access on a public blockchain (Base, built on Ethereum) to attract big institutions who fear stablecoins like USDC or USDT will raise concerns about regulation, stability, and trust.

But will deposit tokens like JPMD completely replace stablecoins for institutional use, or will they simply serve different purposes and grow side by side?

How are deposit tokens different from stablecoins?

Deposit tokens fit into commercial banks’ existing financial and legal framework because they come with added benefits, like deposit insurance, interest payments, and accounting clarity for managing large volumes of funds.

On the other hand, stablecoins don’t enjoy the same trust or integration with banks because the US Congress is still debating the rules around using and backing them.

In addition, the openness and availability of stablecoins for trading, remittances, lending, DeFi protocols, and as a fast way to store and move value across borders have helped them grow into a $260 billion market.

Constrastly, deposit coins set large transactions, enable tokenized securities, handle business-to-business payments, and manage digital cash in a way that ties back to a real-world bank account to serve the complex needs of institutions.

So, while stablecoins operate outside the bounds of traditional finance and serve a wide global audience, deposit tokens help the banks move money faster and more efficiently within the trusted, regulated walls of the banking system.

Why does JPMorgan believe JPMD is better for institutions?

JPMD combines the convenience of blockchain with the confidence and structure of commercial banking for institutional users who need digital money that moves fast but also complies with strict legal, financial, and operational standards.

JPMorgan hosts JPMD on the Base blockchain (a public Layer 2 network built by Coinbase on top of Ethereum) to protect it from misuse or unwanted exposure and allow only verified institutional clients to interact with the system.

This way, the bank creates access to faster settlements and lower fees while controlling who uses the token through permissioned access. The Base blockchain bridges JPMD to future blockchain use cases with its connection to Ethereum’s broader ecosystem.

Businesses can also use JPMD in treasury operations, accounting systems, and financial reports without the extra friction that comes with third-party stablecoins. This is because the token allows them to treat it like cash they already hold in their JPMorgan accounts.

Accountants, CFOs, and risk officers can easily trust, track, and report JPMD tokens because they are tied directly into the bank’s own infrastructure. This differs from stablecoins that sit outside the banking system and may raise questions about compliance or reserve backing.

JPMorgan also said JPMD will likely pay interest while still providing instant settlement and on-chain liquidity. This will make it more appealing as a long-term financial tool for institutions with large cash balances and wanting their funds to generate yield. The token may also become insured like bank deposits to reduce risk and offer a level of protection that stablecoins currently can’t match in high-value transactions.

Moreover, JPMD makes it easier for institutions to incorporate blockchain-based transactions without overhauling their internal workflows or facing delays due to incompatible systems. The token integrates seamlessly with enterprise treasury platforms, payment processing tools, and settlement engines. It also supports financial reporting systems to manage cash flow, settle trades, facilitate cross-border payments, and ensure regulatory compliance.

Businesses can also settle payments across jurisdictions instantly with JPMD to reduce delays, high costs, and limited operating hours in cross-border business-to-business (B2B) payments and tokenized asset settlements.

What could stop deposit tokens from taking over?

Deposit tokens have less potential as a universal digital cash solution because JPMD is only available to pre-approved institutional clients connected to the bank. While anyone with a crypto wallet can access and use stablecoins, the permissioned nature of deposit tokens prevents smaller businesses, startups, or individuals from accessing the token, despite it running on a public blockchain.

Banks using or issuing these tokens may face strict capital requirements and other compliance burdens. This is because current Basel guidelines classify digital tokens operating on public, permissionless blockchains as high-risk assets.

These institutions may be constrained by rules that make large-scale deployment expensive, risky, or not worth the effort, unless the Basel Committee updates its guidance or makes exceptions for well-structured deposit tokens.

Moreover, JPMD may end up being siloed within a limited ecosystem because many institutions and platforms may prefer Ethereum mainnet, Polygon, Avalanche, or private blockchains for their digital asset strategies over its Layer 2 network built on Ethereum (Base). 

In contrast, Stablecoins like USDC and USDT are highly attractive to developers, fintech companies, crypto exchanges, and users in emerging markets who want to move value across platforms without worrying about permissioned access or network compatibility. These stablecoins operate on multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, and Tron. They have a wide global reach,  widespread wallet support, and integration with decentralized applications.

Similarly, smaller firms, fintechs, and international businesses may not have the technical infrastructure, legal clarity, or compliance capabilities that large institutions require to work with a permissioned token tied to a US bank. Firms operating in multiple regions or jurisdictions may not want to maintain a relationship with a specific bank to undergo a complex onboarding process. 

It may be difficult for deposit tokens to reach the scale and utility that stablecoins have already achieved when their growth is limited to a small circle of elite users. JPMD and similar tokens remain too tightly linked to individual banking ecosystems.

Stablecoins and deposit tokens will likely grow side by side

The infrastructure around digital tokens and stablecoins will decide which models succeed and at what scale as banks, governments, and global companies continue to experiment with tokenized assets, digital payments, and programmable money.

Both stablecoins and deposit tokens could grow together, serving different types of users and use cases if public blockchains become widely accepted as safe, reliable environments for moving real-world value. 

It’s unlikely that either stablecoins or deposit tokens will completely replace the other, so the more realistic outcome is coexistence. Deposit tokens will likely dominate in highly regulated, high-value environments where trust, control, and integration with existing systems are essential. On the other hand, stablecoins will continue to lead in areas where openness, speed, and accessibility matter most, such as retail payments, global remittances, and decentralized applications.

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Solana set to shine as financial applications expand, says Cantor
DeFi

Solana set to shine as financial applications expand, says Cantor

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Solana’s growing footprint in the financial sector could position its treasury companies for rapid growth, according to a new report by Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Thomas Shinske, who initiated coverage of Solana-focused firms with an “overweight” rating on Monday.

He argues that increased liquidity, low transaction costs, and staking rewards offer SOL an edge over other cryptocurrencies in the treasury asset space.

While Bitcoin remains the dominant crypto treasury asset, popularized by Michael Saylor’s Strategy, Shinske believes Solana offers more efficient, scalable solutions for institutional finance, especially as the industry explores tokenized securities.

“With increased liquidity making it easier to raise capital, Solana treasury companies can follow the ‘Saylor playbook’ and raise capital at a premium to NAV, purchase SOL, and increase SOL-per-share,” Shinske said

Solana-linked firms surge as Shinske flags $250M capital potential

Shinske pointed to several firms poised to benefit from Solana’s cachet. DeFi Development Corp., a blockchain protocol and SOL treasury company came out as the number one choice. With the firm’s US capital markets access and a crypto-native leadership team, the firm is expected to raise $250 million annually at an average premium of 250% to net asset value (NAV).

Nasdaq-listed Upexi Inc., an e-commerce company, was also estimated to raise $250 million yearly, even though it has less presence in the Solana ecosystem. SOL Strategies Inc., a Canadian operation, is another company on the cusp of getting listed in the US and is anticipated to raise the same amount at a 250% premium. Shinske commended the company’s forward-looking approach toward SOL despite a more passive approach to acquiring SOL on the open market.

Those companies’ stock rallied on the news, with DeFi Development surging as much as 19% on Monday. Upexi soared 12%, and SOL Strategies rose 9.4%.

Staking edge positions Solana treasury firms for faster growth than Bitcoin peers

Unlike Bitcoin, Solana allows token holders to stake their assets directly to validate transactions, earning rewards in the process—without diluting equity. This, Shinske says, gives SOL treasury firms a structural advantage.

“Combining staking with treasury operations should result in Solana treasury companies growing SOL/share faster than BTC treasury companies growing BTC/share, all else equal,” he wrote.

Although SOL remains more volatile than Bitcoin and currently has a lower total value locked (TVL) than Ethereum, Shinske sees it as a potential frontrunner in the evolving treasury asset market.

SOL is currently trading around $157, a 19% drop on the year. By contrast, Ethereum (ETH) is nursing 21% losses and changing hands for $2,644, while Bitcoin is up 14% for the period and is exchanging hands for $107,597.

Even in the face of market headwinds, Cantor Fitzgerald’s endorsement puts Solana treasury companies in pole position as a new means of crypto exposure, particularly for the investors who can’t go straight to the source or custody a digital asset themselves.

With Shinske now the sole Wall Street analyst with formal coverage of Solana treasury companies, the sector may experience more institutional interest, especially if Solana’s use in financial apps continues to do well.

KEY Difference Wire: the secret tool crypto projects use to get guaranteed media coverage

Will Fidelity’s stablecoin transform the crypto market?
Blockchain

Will Fidelity’s stablecoin transform the crypto market?

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Fidelity Investments, one of the world’s most respected financial institutions, has made significant strides in digital assets in recent years.

The firm offers institutional clients Bitcoin and Ethereum custody and trading services through Fidelity Digital Assets. It has also explored blockchain applications in settlement and tokenized securities—efforts that underline its long-term commitment to bridging traditional and digital finance.

While there is no official confirmation, a representative of Fidelity recently said that the firm’s digital asset arm was experimenting with a stablecoin. However, it did not have immediate plans to launch one.

The arrival of Fidelity into stablecoins will likely bring more trust, attention, and skills to the stablecoin ecosystem. However, it could also invite tougher scrutiny from regulators and raise concerns about fairness or the likelihood that a handful of large players could dominate the market.

Some people believe Fidelity’s new stablecoin will help provide safer, more reliable digital payment options. However, critics say it could create problems with oversight, limit competition, and concentrate too much power in the hands of a few large firms.

How does Fidelity’s stablecoin help innovation?

Reports indicate that Fidelity has a pilot program for a stablecoin backed by the US dollar to make faster, cheaper, and more efficient payments and settlements than traditional methods. The company wants to build a bridge between old and new finance, and its investment shows that trusted, well-established financial institutions see stablecoins as a serious and credible part of the future financial system.

Some crypto experts suggest Fidelity’s move will push banks, payment providers, and fintech companies to adopt blockchain technology faster and improve their services due to the growing competition.

Blockchain experts also pointed out the success of Fidelity’s early pilot programs, saying the trials show promising results that could fuel optimism among other big players and make digital financial systems more accessible for everyone.

What risks come with Fidelity’s stablecoin?

Some critics say unclear rules for digital currencies make it hard for investors, companies, and regulators to know what’s fair or how to keep the market safe.

Others, though, fear that large firms like Fidelity will crowd out small start-ups and prevent these new and innovative businesses from getting a fair shot at competition and that the end result will be less fresh ideas and new competition.

Some people fear that if just a handful of big companies dominate most stablecoins, it could risk the entire financial system if any one of them encounters trouble. They also worry about whether these companies will be truthful when they claim to manage their reserves responsibly and to keep users safe.

Fidelity’s stablecoin initiative is part of a larger trend where many traditional banks and fintech companies actively develop their own stablecoins or explore blockchain technology to improve payment systems and financial services.

Those advantages have attracted the attention of political leaders and regulators who agree there is an opportunity for the industry to expand and offer benefits to more people but have also sought to create clear rules to remove the risks associated with these tokens and to shield consumers from potential harm.

Some crypto projects are concerned that large finance companies like Fidelity will use their vast amounts of resources to take over a large part of the crypto space and discourage new innovations from startups, which beats the whole purpose of cryptocurrency.

As a result, there is a growing push and pull between industry experts who want regulators to create soft laws that will help the crypto industry grow by making it fair for small companies to compete with large firms and those who want strict rules that will protect everyone from the dominance of large financial institutions.

What does Fidelity’s stablecoin mean for the future?

People and financial firms that have doubts about cryptocurrencies will get a positive perspective about investing in digital currency when they see Fidelity’s stablecoin initiative succeed.

Big banks and fintech companies will also be motivated to develop their own stablecoins or develop new blockchain solutions to help make digital finance accessible to a wider audience.

We still can’t ignore the risks involved because it is possible that large firms like Fidelity might try to dominate the crypto market once they see the company succeed. This means they will have more influence on whether they are worthy of joining the crypto space, which would make it difficult for smaller firms to compete.

The current laws around cryptocurrency also don’t fully address the problems big companies bring when they introduce their own coins. This is because these firms must follow heavy compliance requirements and need tight supervision that smaller companies will struggle to keep up with.

The success or failure of Fidelity’s stablecoin will likely shape the future of both traditional finance and the crypto world, influencing how open, fair, and innovative this industry can become.

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VanEck debuts PurposeBuilt fund to invest in Avalanche-based applications
Blockchain

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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